Bless Us O Lord...

New favorite five-minute bread

2012-01-27T12:50:00.001-05:00

I have blogged before about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I love it, and I resolved to try more recipes this year. So far I have tried three new ones -- just in January! The problem is, I found one I really love and I may never make another.

My new favorite is the Portuguese Corn Bread, called Broa. Mine is a little higher than the one pictured at the Artisan Bread website, but the taste and texture were perfect for me, so I'll not change anything. It was rather crunchy, but still soft on the inside, and made the best toast! Yum!

To make it, follow the same directions for the Master Bread, subbing 1-1/2 cups cornmeal for 1-1/2 cups of flour (as stated at the Artisan bread website). I did not use a cast iron skillet, just my same-old, same-old method for the other five-minute Artisan breads.

it works! II

2012-01-24T13:38:00.002-05:00

I had every intention of posting this idea last week right after the last one. But these people, called my family, have these expectations that I should cook, clean, launder for them, shuttle them places, and, uh, school them, of all things. I tease because I don't really mind, but it really cuts into blogging time. I often head for the computer, but am sidetracked by someone or something. I feel like Batman and Robin, "Foiled again!"

I saw this idea at the Daily Buzz along with the strawberry idea below. I always knew you could pop popcorn without special gadgetry but didn't know that it was quite this simple. Popcorn and a brown paper bag. That's it. Easy peasy. Even the kids can do it, though there was one burned popcorn incident at 1 a.m. with a particular 19 yo boy (did you know the smell of something burning can wake you from a dead sleep?). Just don't recook the old kernels.

I used a jumbo size brown lunch bag and about 1/3 cup popcorn. As you can see below there was plenty of room left in the bag for more popcorn, but the kids each had their own bag, so 1/3 cup was plenty. We have a popcorn setting on our micro -- I think most do these days -- but if you don't just micro on high until the popping slows down.

We added a tablespoon of melted butter and salt after the popcorn was popped. Shake and serve.

it works!

2012-01-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a question for you (unrelated to the post title): why is it that when I use my oven timer with the oven on, the timer doesn't shut off when I turn the oven off? Don't answer that. I know the answer. It's just a constant source of frustration for me.

Anyway...I saw this great suggestion yesterday on the the Daily Buzz. I just happened to have strawberries planned for dinner last night (to go with Eggs Benedict) and it works! So easy. And for fun you can put a strawberry on the straw for the kids to use in their juice or smoothie. Or even chocolate milk.

Iced fruity green tea

2012-01-16T16:17:00.001-05:00

How odd that I should blog about iced tea in the middle of winter. I normally keep my cold hands wrapped around a mug of something super hot and toasty all day long. A few weeks ago, however, I drank my first iced green tea at Panera, with my lunch (it was my first iced green tea ever, not just first one at panera) and I can't get it out of my head. I have since tried two other brands and was disappointed with both -- too acidic for me.

I did a little online research and found out that Panera makes their tea from a mix produced by Republic of Teas and it's not available to purchase. Pft. Republic of Teas sells black tea with papaya and passion fruit, but not green. I like having green, if for no other reason than reduced caffeine.

I found and ordered some Tea Nation Green Tea with Papaya and Passion Fruit and it arrived today. I brewed a double strong cup, added 2 tablespoons of sugar, and poured it over a full glass of ice. It's pretty good. Not quite as good as Panera's but at $2.79 a pop (and NO refills), I think I'll find a way to make it good. It might need some honey, and maybe just a tiny bit of lemon.

Tell me, do you have a favorite item that you'd love to be able to make at home?

NOTE: After trying the Tea Nation a few times, I have decided I don't like it. It has an off taste. I am still on the hunt.

Budget soup

2012-01-13T19:40:00.004-05:00

I don't like to use the word "budget" because I think it has negative connotations, but I am also one who calls a spade a spade. This is budget soup. The ingredients are inexpensive to buy, and when feeding a large family that's something.

Though it is far from haute cuisine, it is most edible, and, in fact, quite tasty, and I would definitely make it over and over. I found the recipe after a friend told me she had purchased a jar of soup ingredients at a holiday craft sale. She mentioned the name of the woman who put the soups together, and I remembered that I had seen this same person's recipe in a school cookbook. The recipe was originally created to assemble a jar of it and give it someone else. The only thing the jar needs in addition to the ingredients in the jar, is a pound of ground meat and a can of tomatoes. I never assembled it in a jar, just measured the ingredients as listed and dumped them in a pot.

The leftovers were great for lunch on the go.

The recipe gives the option of using chili powder for seasoning or Italian seasoning. I used my own combination of Italian herbs, shown below. I did not have barley or split peas when I made it so I subbed more lentils for the peas and more rice for the barley. I also used all star shaped pasta instead of the recommended ABC pasta and additional shaped pasta. I wouldn't mind using the other ingredients, but it's all grain and I think you would be fine with almost any combination.

I ate the leftovers for lunch several days later (as well as took two jars to my neighbors) and it was a little more like stew left over -- the grains swelled and absorbed the broth. You could add more broth or another can of tomatoes, but it was really very good like that.

Budget Soup

(aka Love Soup -- I guess for when you are giving it away)

1/3 cup beef boullion or soup base (see note)

1 T. chili powder OR 1 1/2 T. Italian seasoning (see note)

1/4 cup onion flakes (see note)

1/2 cup split peas

1/2 cup ABC macaroni

1/4 cup barley

1/2 cup lentils

1/2 cup rice

pasta (any shape)

1 pound ground meat (I used ground chuck)

1 can chopped tomatoes (see note)

salt and pepper

To give away in a jar: Layer ingredients, in order listed, in a 1-quart jar. Use shaped pasta to fill the top. Close jar with a ring and cap. Add preparation instructions on a tag.

To prepare: brown 1 lb ground meat ; drain.

Reserve shaped pasta to add later. Add remaining ingredients to beef and add 12 cups water. Add can of tomatoes with juice. Simmer for 45 minutes. Taste and season. Add reserved pasta and cook until pasta is tender, 10 to 15 minutes, Serve.

Notes:

If you prefer not to use soup base, you can use beef broth, but that will raise the cost. You'll also have to adjust seasoning.

For Italian seasoning, use equal amounts of dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and marjoram to equal 1 1/2 tablespoons.

I used 3 T. onion powder instead of onion flakes.

The recipe called for 28 oz. of tomatoes, however to reduce acid I used a 14 oz can with fine results. Use whatever suits your taste.

Meat can be left out for vegetarian soup.

Source: St. Paul School cookbook

Everyday simple food

2012-01-12T13:26:00.002-05:00

This is one of my favorite lunches -- poached eggs on toast. Such a simple pleasure. Good bread is nice but not crucial. Salt and pepper are crucial. That's all -- bread, butter, eggs, salt and pepper. This dish gives me carbs and protein for a little staying power.

One of my favorite breakfasts is cream of wheat made with low fat milk, and topped with a bit of white sugar and cream. I often think I should have fruit and yogurt or a smoothie for breakfast, but when I get up in the morning I want grain. No matter how hard I try I can't talk myself into anything else. Even in the summer I prefer a hot bowl of grain to almost anything else.

What are your simple pleasures? Favorite breakfast and lunch?

PS I so appreciate your comments, but because the pharmaceutical spammers have been out in force I had to turn on moderation, so your comments will show after I release them.

Jamie's Chicken Chow Mein

2012-01-06T11:01:00.001-05:00

I have a recipe for Chicken Chow Mein in my cookbook, and it's a good recipe, but after trying Jamie Oliver's version for dinner the week, I'm afraid I'll never make my old recipe again. This recipe was the epitome of what I am looking for in meals this year. It was easy. It was delicious. But best, it was made with simple and whole ingredients, getting most of the flavor from fresh vegetables, herbs, and citrus, with no jarred sauces (except soy). The flavors, unlike most in Chinese/American were bright and fresh and definitely a little spicy. I used the recipe as written on Jamie's website and modified just a little (subbed red pepper flakes for a whole red Chili unavailable at my grocer). I also doubled it for four of us with just a little bit leftover. You could get two adult and three or four child servings from the recipe below. I think in the future I will sub some fresh veggie (like snap peas) for the water chestnuts, but mostly because my kids are big fans of water chestnuts. I did not use the mushrooms because we have mushroom haters.

Just so you know you can cook Chinese without special equipment, I cooked mine in a large nonstick skillet.

Jamie's Chicken Chow Mein
serves 4-5

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a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 to 1 t. red pepper flakes

2 large skinless chicken breast fillet (I used four med/small and we had a lot of chicken)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 scallions

a small bunch of fresh cilantro

1 to 2 heads bok choy, depending on how much you like it

Optional: 4 shiitake mushrooms

10 oz. chow mein noodles

peanut or vegetable oil

1 T. cornstarch

8-ounce can of water chestnuts (or 1 cup of another quick-cooking veggie, like snow or snap peas)

4-5 tablespoons soy sauce

1 small lime

To prepare your stir-fry
Put a large pan of water on to boil. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Place your red pepper flakes with the ginger and garlic. Slice the chicken into finger-sized strips and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cut the ends of your scallions and finely slice. Halve the bok choy lengthwise and cut crosswise into large strips. If using the mushrooms, either tear into pieces or leave whole.

To cook your stir-fry
Preheat a wok or a large frying pan on a high heat and once it’s very, very hot, add a good lug of peanut oil and swirl it around. Stir in the chicken strips and cook for a couple of minutes, until the chicken browns slightly. Add the ginger, chile, cilantro stalks, mushrooms (if using) and half the scallions. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, keeping everything moving around the wok quickly. Add your noodles and bok choy to the boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no longer. Meanwhile add the cornstarch, water chestnuts, and their water to the wok and give it another good shake to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce (start with half and taste to see if you need more). Halve the lime, squeeze the juice of one half into the pan and mix well. Drain the noodles and bok choy in a colander over a bowl, reserving a little of the cooking water. Stir in the noodles and bok choy, with a little of the cooking water to loosen, if necessary, and mix well. Have a taste and season with more soy sauce if needed.

To serve your stir-fry
Use tongs to divide everything between two bowls or plates, or lift onto one large serving platter. Spoon any juices over the top and sprinkle with the rest of the scallions and the cilantro leaves. Serve with lime wedges.

Yum.

Springerle

2012-01-03T17:12:00.004-05:00

I hate to bring up Christmas cookies, just as you are brushing out the crumbs and packing away the tins, but I added a new cookie to my repertoire this year and I want to report on them to you. I have always been fascinated with ethnic cookies because 1) I think they taste better than the average American cookie and 2) I love the history behind most ethnic cookies.

Springerle are an old German cookie and it is said that folks used to pass out Springerle the way we pass out Christmas cards. Each family had their own unique style and recipe. The word "springerle" means "jumping horse" an image which was apparently a popular one to use for the molds.

Last year for Christmas, my husband gave me a springerle mold, which was very specifically a Christmas mold, with images of candy canes, bells, a Christmas tree and holly leaves. I was anxious to use the mold for Christmas, and though I only made four types of cookies this year, Springerle were one of them. As it turns out, it was one of my children's favorites, funny little Germans that they are. They love my pizzelles, and with their anise flavor, the Springerle were very similar in flavor. Their texture, however, was very different. The Springerle are dense, and slightly crisp. The recipe I used stated that they are better two weeks after they are baked. Sadly mine did not last that long, but next year I will plan ahead.

The preparation and baking of these cookies takes a little planning, as well, and a little room. In order to give the image it's best chance at remaining on the cookie after it is baked, the molded and cut cookies sit out for 24 hours before baking, and then to achieve the right texture in the baked cookie, the baked cookies sit out for 24 hours as well. I didn't test to see what would happen if I baked or stored them too soon. I just followed the recipe.

The recipe I used came from, ironically, What's Cooking America, and it was easy and fool-proof for me, so I'll not mess with a good thing. It did offer the choice of using anise extract or anise oil and I used the extract, so I am recording as such here.

Spingerle

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4 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 T. butter, room temperature

1 t. baking powder

1 t. anise extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Avoid insulated cookie sheets as they will cause the Springerle cookies to brown during baking (Springerles are supposed to be white).

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs on high speed of your electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add sugar, butter, and baking powder; beat at high speed for 15 minutes (yes, minutes), scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in anise oil or extract. Gradually beat in flour until well mixed.

Lightly flour your springerle rolling pin; set aside.
On a lightly floured board, knead the dough a few time (the dough will be sticky at first, so knead in just enough flour to make it manageable.) Using a standard rolling pin, roll into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick.
Using your well-floured Springerle mold, press into the dough firmly.
Using a sharp knife, cut cookies apart and trim off outside edges. Place cookies on your prepared cookie sheets.
Roll out scraps of dough and repeat. NOTE: Be sure to flour the rolling pin and board before each pressing. This will insure the dough will not stick.
Place cookies on your prepared cookie sheets. Let cookies stand, uncovered, overnight to dry.

When ready to bake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place oven rack in middle of oven.

Bake one baking sheet at a time only. Bake approximately 10 minutes until slightly golden on bottoms, but white on top. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to wire cooling rack to cool (let cookies stand overnight to completely dry before storing).

Keep cookies in a tight container for 2 or 3 weeks before using to achieve the best flavor.

Gingerbread Scones

2011-12-27T14:12:00.000-05:00

I have not been a very good food blogger in the last month. My only defense is that I successfully gifted an awful lot of homemade items this Christmas, and so, you know what I've been doing instead -- knitting, wiring, sewing. I'm afraid I wasn't doing a whole lot of exciting cooking either (I guess you didn't miss anything great). I did, however, make these yummy Gingerbread scones a few Sundays ago, with some sausage patties, for breakfast before Mass. They were delish, and would be a nice, annual, holiday treat.

The recipe came from Joy of Baking.com, though I omitted the dried fruit and lemon zest, and used a simple vanilla glaze (powdered sugar, milk and vanilla) instead of the maple glaze they used.

Gingerbread Scones

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 t. ground ginger

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. ground cloves

1/4 t. salt

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Zest of 1 lemon (optional)

1/3 cup (35 grams) dried cranberries or cherries (optional)

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 T. unsulphured molasses

1 t. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest and dried cranberries, if using. In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, molasses and vanilla and then add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not overmix the dough (you may have to knead it a few times to get it to come together).

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 8 or 9 inches round and about one or so inches thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet so that they are near each other but not touching.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Christmas Menus

2011-12-21T17:16:00.000-05:00

This week has been an incredibly different week for me. If you read my other blog you know my oldest son (Geoff, 22) had his tonsils out on Monday. So instead of baking cookies and wrapping gifts, like I would in a normal week before Christmas, I've been making jello, cream of wheat, and chicken noodle soup, and handing out the pain meds. It doesn't feel like Christmas, but it doesn't help that it feels like a spring day out. No white Christmas here.

I'm trying to get myself in the mood, and today I made my list of dishes I'll cook on Christmas Eve and Christmas day and put together my grocery list. My extended family comes to my house on Christmas Eve, and we will attend 10 p.m. Mass, but Christmas day will be low-key with just my own family and Doug's parents over during the afternoon. We ordered a smoked turkey from Honey Baked Ham for Christmas Day, and I'll just make a few side dishes. We'll munch on apps during the afternoon instead of a lunch-time meal.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Braciole

Cheese Manicotti (much like this recipe but with store-bought shells)

Salad

Bread

Christmas cookies

~~~~~

Christmas Day

Overnight French Toast

Sausages

BBQ Smokies

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Braunschweiger Spread & crackers (this is the same recipe I use)

Shrimp Cocktail

Smoked Turkey

Au Gratin Potatoes

Asparagus

Dinner rolls

Buche de Noel

What's up around here

2011-12-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry to be such an absent blogger. Please check in over on my other blog to see what we've been up to.
I'll be back tomorrow (God willing) to post Christmas menus.

Scottish Shortbread

2011-12-07T12:01:00.002-05:00

The feast of St. Andrew was Nov. 30 -- mid week last week. It was a busy week day, as they all are, but I simplified dinner (Tuna Noodle Casserole -- St. Andrew was a fisherman) so we could enjoy a nice feast day dessert. I made the Scottish Shortbread featured at Catholic Cuisine, and some simple, comforting Vanilla Pudding. It was a nice treat. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland (and has many other patronages as well) and so the Scottish shortbread was a lovely way to remember him. The Scottish translation of that being: "It's a brammer way tae min' heem. "

Scottish Shortbread II

2 sticks of butter
2 C. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. white sugar

Pat into a small jelly roll pan (I used a 13x9 with a short lip), prick all over (I sprinkled mine with some Turbinado sugar) and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, then lower to 300 for 30 minutes or until slightly browned on top.

I used a sharp knife and cut my shortbread into rectangles as soon as it came out of the oven and then left it in the pan to cool. Shortbread will last for a week or more in a cookie jar.

Easy Hollandaise

2011-11-29T17:47:00.001-05:00

Ah, we've gotten past the big food feast of Thanksgiving and I have a little breathing room until Christmas is upon us. Just ask my kids...I won't even discuss Christmas for two more weeks. I torture them with lectures about how Advent is a season of waiting, not celebrating. "Do we celebrate your birthday a month before your birthday?" I ask them. They usually give up just around the time I plan to get the tree out -- in two weeks.

Anyway, I'm back with a recipe I tried on my husband's birthday, two Sundays past. He loves Eggs Benedict and usually asks for it for his birthday. I always groan because it is not an easy recipe to make for a crowd, and even when it's just us, that's a crowd, especially when it comes to poaching eggs, toasting English muffins and keeping the hollandaise from separating. When I made it this year for his birthday, I used a new recipe. It was so easy peasy, I will be making hollandaise much more often -- steamed asparagus here we come. I made four plates of Eggs Benedict -- that's four separate batches of poached eggs -- and the sauce never separated. Amazing. You're going to love it. I simply placed the blender down in a pot of hot water and it was perfect a good 20 minutes after I blended it. The recipe came from Simply Recipes and it is so simple. Simply Recipes offers the option of adding cayenne pepper, but I did not.

Easy Hollandaise

makes a bit more than 1 cup of sauce

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3 egg yolks

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 t. salt

10 T. unsalted butter (if using salted butter, skip the added salt)

Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away (I used the microwave for this step)

Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, and salt into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds. The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.

Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.

Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.

Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop (or in a pot of very warm water). Use within an hour or so.

Source: Simply Recipes

Quick stuffing tip

2011-11-23T12:15:00.001-05:00

Cubing then toasting the bread makes a lot less mess than toasting and cubing. Toast on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven until no longer soft.

Orange Cranberry Sauce

2011-11-22T09:30:00.002-05:00

Cranberry sauce is the brunt of many a joke -- that stuff that comes out of the can in a solid lump looking nothing like sauce -- but it need not be. Cranberry sauce is easily one of the most simple menu items you will prepare for Thanksgiving -- as easy as mashed potatoes. My son Geoffrey asks for it every year. It's his "it's not Thanksgiving without..." menu item. He makes it only slightly more complicated for me by requesting it be completely smooth and chunk-free. It adds an extra step or two to traditional cranberry sauce, but he's my baby (and I tease him that he likes his cranberry sauce baby food style). If you like a chunky sauce, just stop after you cook the mixture, refrigerate and pull it out an hour or two before dinner is served. I made mine last night.

Orange Cranberry Sauce

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1 cup sugar

1/2 cup orange juice (not from concentrate, either fresh squeezed or good bottled juice)

1/2 cup water

3 cups rinsed cranberries

1 pear, peeled, cored and diced (you could also use an apple or just omit entirely)

Combine sugar, water and orange juice in a saucepan.

Turn onto medium heat. Add cranberries and pear. Bring to a simmer and turn down slightly so it doesn't bowl over. Cook for about 10 minutes. You will hear the cranberries popping -- that's good. Cook until pear is soft and cranberries look pretty well popped.

If you want a chunky sauce, pour mixture into a storage bowl and cover. Refrigerate until Thanksgiving.

For a smooth, seed and pulp-free sauce, cool mixture slightly. Pour into food processor or blender. Process (or blend) until pureed.

A little at a time, pour mixture through a sieve into a bowl, using a spatula to scrape the seeds aside. Cover and refrigerate until Thanksgiving. Spoon sauce into a serving dish.

Thanksgiving Week: planning ahead

2011-11-20T22:00:00.001-05:00

I am so very frustrated with Blogger. Every time I start a post, I get a few sentences in and a dialog box pops up to tell me I am now logged out. If I try to log in, I lose the post. If I close the box, I lose the post. I have tried copying the post to save it but it happens about every other sentence I type, so I inevitably lose something while I am writing. I am typing this on my phone and plan to copy and paste. It's a real pain and I am inclined to give up. My German stubbornness is the only thing that keeps me from doing that.

Anyway, I lost this post six times, but here I am. Back at it.

This is it -- the big food week. Is there a bigger food holiday? Not in my house. My children LOVE Thanksgiving. It's one holiday where we have no expectations of anything other than being together and enjoying a good meal. No gifts, no special plans.

It's a tough holiday for cooks, however, unless you plan ahead and work ahead. Aunt Leila had a good post yesterday about starting early in the week. I especially like the part about getting the bills paid and cleaning the "other" parts of the house way before Thursday. It's a long weekend for me with out-of-town company, so I want to make sure to pay the bills due before Monday. And if I get other parts of the house clean, that's fewer tally marks of all the things I need to get done before Thursday. It's nice to go into the bedrooms and not think "oh, more to do."

I will also start cooking well before Thursday. Tomorrow is shopping day for the few items I waited to buy. I won't venture into a grocery store after tomorrow, not for anything. I think Wednesday might be the biggest grocery shopping day of the year. So I'll shop tomorrow, as well as prepare a few dishes -- cranberry relish and cranberry sauce. I will chop onion and celery and store it away in sealed bags. I might toast my bread and cube it, too. There are quite a few things you can do early in the week: wash and iron linens, polish silver, make sure there are enough candles, plan out seating arrangements, borrow chairs if necessary, plan the cooking timetable for the big day.

Tuesday I will blanch and freeze green beans, and clean most of the "public" rooms, as well as get caught up on laundry. Wednesday will be spent readying all the dishes and serving ware, glassware, centerpieces. I will clean the baths and make sure the kitchen is as clean as possible -- clearing anything unnecessary from the counters and fridge.

I don't have tiny tots to stop and feed and hold any more, or even small children I have to watch carefully, but it's still helpful for me to spread the work out over the week. These feet and legs can't handle doing it all in one day. Besides, if I spread it out I can enjoy it longer. Right?

I must remember to get a good supply of chocolate at the store tomorrow. Sustenance.

Homemade Pasta

2011-11-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Years and years ago my mother-in-law bought me a pasta roller (like this) for a gift. I enjoyed having such a "gourmet" piece of kitchen equipment, and I used it some, but it was sort of relegated to the kitchen equipment which we use only for special occasions. Ironically, I still made homemade noodles by hand, but the pasta machine was put away in a basement cabinet.

This past Sunday, I planned spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then I realized I had no dry pasta. I dislike going to the grocery store so much I went down to the basement and dusted off the pasta machine. When I was finished cutting the spaghetti I realized I had invested very little time, actually, and after we ate I realized how much I love homemade pasta. There is just no comparison. Homemade pasta is so tender and tasty and wonderful. I actually have no good words to describe it. You really must try it. If you don't own a pasta machine, maybe you can put it on your Christmas list (there are an awful lot out there in all price ranges).

I use the food processor to make my pasta dough and it's really super easy -- three ingredients: flour, salt and eggs (cheap, too!). From start to finish it takes less than two minutes to make the dough. It takes less then 20 minutes to roll and cut it. It may not be practical every night, but it's not so tough with just a wee bit of time. Your family will love you for it, so consider it a labor of love.

Homemade Pasta

serves six for dinner

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2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 t salt

4 eggs

Place flour and salt in bowl of food processor. Crack eggs into a measuring cup with a spout. Turn machine on and pour the eggs through the feeding tube. Let run for about 30 seconds until dough gathers in a ball. Pull dough out and put machine back together. Turn it on and, tearing off balls of dough (small enough to feed through the tube, but not too small), feed them into the machine one at a time, but fairly quickly. Let the machine run until dough gathers in a ball again.

Remove ball of dough from machine and wrap in plastic wrap. You can use it right away in a pinch, but it will be better if you let it rest for 30 minutes.

Unwrap dough after rest and cut into 10 or so pieces (see photo).

yes, it is that yellow

Flour each piece lightly and set rolling side of pasta machine on the lowest setting. Roll each piece through once.

Set the machine on a higher setting, two or three notches above the lowest. It really depends on what kind of pasta you are making at this point. I wanted spaghetti, so I set it two notches above, leaving it a little thick.

Keep each piece floured lightly as you work with them and cut them in half as necessary to keep them from being too long and unmanageable.

After all pieces are the desired thickness, it's time to cut. I used the most narrow setting for spaghetti. If you wanted fettuccine, you would use the wider setting. For angel hair, I would use the narrow setting and a very thin sheet of dough.

After flouring each sheet, feed them through the machine to cut it. Lay each bunch on a floured surface. Let sit for about 30 minutes.

Bring several quarts of water to a boil, salt. Add pasta, in thirds, to the water and stir to prevent sticking, until all pasta is in water. Cook for two to three minutes until desired texture. Drain.

Thanksgiving Plans

2011-11-17T09:58:00.001-05:00

Seven Days and Counting. I tried pretending it wasn't happening this year, but that didn't work. I noticed it just got closer on the calendar. When one hosts an event, it does no good to pretend it isn't happening. I can't say I am terribly excited to be hosting Thanksgiving Dinner this year. I would much rather be invited. But, I'm not. I host and my brothers and their families, and my aunt and uncle, and my mother all come here. I see no way out of it at this point. It seems inevitable for the foreseeable future and that's probably why I'm not excited. It's not really a choice for me, unless I want to ruffle lots of feathers, and that's not me.

So, I must embrace it and pretend like I have a choice. I do have a choice -- in the menu. Maybe I should make meatloaf. Ha!

I mentioned on my other blog that I was not feeling the Thanksgiving love this year and my friend Jennie reminded me that Thanksgiving is easy. And it is. A lot of people get nervous about such a big meal -- getting everything ready at the same time. That part doesn't bother me too much. But it is a big day and a lot of work goes on that day and the days before, so I really would rather be invited this year. Instead I shall just take control of my own menu and keep it as simple as possible.

I purchased a turkey yesterday. He is 22 pounds (he is a "he" because "shes" don't get to 22 pounds). I also purchased a whole breast to roast along side, because we never have enough white meat for everyone, and certainly not for leftovers. I purchased cranberries, celery, oranges and sweet potatoes on Monday, so I'm getting there. Far from there, however.

I decided to simplify my menu a little this year, just because I'm not quite up to my usual spread, but when I wrote it all down I think I only managed to cut out frozen corn and an apple pie. I should have cut out dinner rolls or something, but I can't bring myself to cut out anything else, nor taking shortcuts (buying rolls or cranberry sauce). I asked my family to tell me their "it's not Thanksgiving if _______________ isn't on the table" menu item. Two of the boys said "Sweet Potato Souffle," and Faith said "turkey, especially skin." Doug said "sweet potatoes," but he doesn't mean sweet potato souffle, unfortunately. He means his mother's sweet potatoes which I haven't served for years (since we discovered Sweet Potato Souffle). They are boiled and drained sweet potatoes simmered in brown sugar and butter. They take up a burner on the stove, which is why I switched to souffle. That's what I get for asking. I think I might have to make his up ahead of time and heat them up again at the last minute. I won't make much since everyone else likes the souffle. My oldest hasn't given me his pick, but I imagine it will be Orange Cranberry Sauce.

The menu is below, with simple apps (already purchased), and my mom brings all the pies.

Cheese and crackers

smoked almonds and beer nuts

assorted olives

beer, wine, soda

(someone else is bringing beverages so I can't be picky)

Roasted upside-down turkey with Rosemary Butter

Giblet Gravy

Grandma Ruth's Sausage Stuffing

My mom's Stuffing

Make ahead Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Souffle
Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes

Green Beans with Shallots and Peppers

Cranberry Relish

Orange Cranberry sauce

Southern Dinner Rolls

Pumpkin and Pecan Pies

Coffe and tea and Bailey's Irish Cream

Creamy Italian Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-11-13T19:27:00.001-05:00

I made this soup last Sunday and then enjoyed the leftovers for several days' lunch. My husband fussed about it, didn't really enjoy it -- but then, he's really not a soup guy. Steak, potatoes, salad? Yes. Soup? No. Don't pay any attention to his opinion. This soup was wonderful and the kids enjoyed it too, even though it had "green stuff" in it. My son's girlfriend really raved about it, but then she's a college freshman living in a dorm and has a great new appreciation for anything that doesn't come in a can or freezer box. ;-)

It's a super easy recipe, though I can't say it's a particularly healthy with all that half & half. I guess if you're just having a light supper of soup and salad, however, it's not that bad. The recipe came from Taste of Home Cooking (not to be confused with Taste of Home) and I modified quite a bit. First, I did not use gnocchi -- that sounded way too heavy -- hence the new name. Second, I was cooking a whole chicken so I made my own broth, but you could certainly use canned broth and a rotisserie chicken for a short cut. Third, I doubled the butter, flour, chicken broth and parsley for the extra quantity. It stretched nicely. And tasted great leftover.

Creamy Italian Chicken Noodle Soup

serves 8

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1 1/2 cups ditalini or other smallish pasta

1/2 cup butter
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 ribs celery, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half and half
2 cups milk
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I shredded mine is small bits and I like that texture instead of chunks)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
2 T. fresh parsley, minced

salt and pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain pasta. Set aside.

Heat butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Saute the onion, celery, carrot and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add the flour and cook for about a minute. Add the half and half and milk. Bring to a simmer, then add the chicken.

Once the mixture becomes thick add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked pasta, spinach, and seasonings, then simmer until soup is heated through.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Source: modified from Taste of Home Cooking

Pumpkin Doughnuts

2011-11-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

I have had this recipe in my head since I saw it several weeks ago, late in September, at Annie's Eats. I love a homemade doughnut, but really pretty much limit myself to Soul Cakes and Fastnachts -- doughnuts twice a year. Not that we only eat them twice a year, ha! We love our doughnuts, so why not make them instead of buy them? I saved my oil from the Soul Cakes and planned to make them right away. I don't have storage space for used oil, so I just covered the pot with paper towels and placed the lid on top, leaving it on top of the stove. I knew if I stored it away Pumpkin Doughnuts wouldn't happen.

Anyway, back to the recipe. What's not to love? Pumpkin doughnuts. Delicious pumpkin cake with rich pumpkin spices, and buttermilk to make them tender. I finished half off with sugar cinnamon and half with glaze -- definitely my favorite. The kids couldn't decide which they liked best. I made a simpler glaze than Annie -- just powdered sugar, milk and vanilla (no spice).

I followed the doughnut recipe exactly, except I chilled the dough all night. It was still a little soft, but I worked with half the dough at a time and just floured the surface and dough so it didn't stick to my hands. Just don't over flour. And flour the cutter as well. Mine is a biscuit/doughnut cutter -- you can take the middle out and just use it to cut biscuits -- or you can take the middle out and just cut holes, which I did when there was little dough left.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

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Yield: about 16 doughnuts and doughnut holes

3½ cups all-purpose flour
4 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
½ t. ground nutmeg
¼ t. ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 t. vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree

Canola oil or peanut oil, for frying (I used a vegetable blend)

Cinnamon sugar mix:

½ cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
several tablespoons of half & half or milk

1/2 t. vanilla

To make the dough, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter and beat until well blended. Stir in the egg, then the egg yolks, and then the vanilla until incorporated. Combine the buttermilk and pumpkin in a liquid measuring cup and whisk together. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Once the dough is mixed, cover and chill for at least 3 hours or until firm. (I chilled it overnight.)

On a well-floured work surface, roll or pat out the dough to a ½-inch thick round (I pat it to prevent them from getting too thin). Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour. Using a 2½ to 3-inch round doughnut cutter, cut out doughnuts. Reroll and cut the dough scraps as necessary.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven(a depth of about 2-3 inches). Attach a thermometer to the side of the pan and heat the oil to 365-370˚ F. Add the rings and balls of dough to the hot oil so that they are in a single layer and not touching. Fry, turning once, until both sides are golden brown and doughnuts are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes total.

Use a skimmer/strainer to remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined rack.

To make the cinnamon-sugar, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish and stir to blend. When the doughnuts are just cool enough to handle, dip half of them in the cinnamon-sugar to coat completely, shaking off the excess.

To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla and half & half in a small bowl, until a thick glaze is formed. If necessary, add a bit more half & half to thin the glaze out. Dip the remaining half of the doughnuts in the glaze (I only dipped the tops).

Source: modified slightly from Annie's Eats

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

2011-11-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

You might say, after my last post about my family not eating dinner, that you wouldn't eat my dinner either if it was Cauliflower Soup. To that, I say "Pft." ;-)

I saw this soup at Annie's Eats a couple weeks ago and knew I would love it. I have never met a soup I didn't like. In fact, if it was just me here, I'd probably eat soup five nights a week. Even in the summer. Soup is comfort food for me, no matter the flavor. This soup, however, was enjoyed by both of the kids who ate it, and my husband, and that's saying something (he is not a big-on-soup guy).

It's an easy recipe, and I love that the creaminess comes from a potato pureed in with the cauliflower and onions, instead of real cream. The flavor was just slightly reminiscent of the Dijon included, but you could cut back to 1 teaspoon and I think still benefit without as much mustard flavor. The croutons have Dijon in them as well, but I bet you could cut it out almost entirely and made add some garlic powder to the butter/oil mix for some zest. And speaking of the croutons, I almost skipped them and subbed store-bought, but they are worth the extra effort, which is hardly anything. I used a whole wheat bread and they were really, really yummy. Enjoy, it's soup season!

I modified the recipe only to use the chicken broth instead of vegetable broth.Annie modified it to use vegetable instead of chicken, but I thought chicken would be better. If you are going meat-free, go with veggie! I also baked my croutons longer until they were brown.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

4-6 servings

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About 6 oz. whole grain bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (I used five slices, including the "heel")
2 T. unsalted butter, melted
2 T. olive oil
1 T. Dijon mustard
Kosher or sea salt

2 T. unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
Kosher or sea salt
1 medium potato, peeled and diced into ¼-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3½ cups chicken broth
½ head cauliflower, chopped into small florets
2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for garnish
2 t. Dijon mustard

To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Add the bread cubes to a medium bowl and toss with the melted butter, olive oil, and mustard until evenly coated. Spread the bread cubes out in an even layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with the salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crunchy.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt, then mix in the potato, garlic and chicken broth. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, keep covered, and let cook for about 8 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the cauliflower and cook about 5-6 minutes more, until the cauliflower is tender. Stir in the cheese and mustard.

Puree with an immersion blender (or a food processor, vented to allow the steam to escape). Mix in additional water or broth if the soup is too thick. Season with additional salt to taste. Serve warm topped with additional shredded cheese and the croutons.

Source: Modified from Annie's Eats

Ho hum

2011-11-04T10:06:00.001-04:00

I am in a cooking rut and I lay the blame squarely on my family's shoulders. They are in an eating rut.

It doesn't seem to matter what I cook, they barely eat.

Last night I made pork chops with gravy, mashed potatoes and steamed sugar snaps, and both Doug and Noah dumped half of their plate in the sink.

Noah says, "I'm not really hungry, mom." And half an hour later he's eating cold cereal.

Doug says, "I must have had a bigger lunch than I thought. You know I'm not big on pork chops."

Hmmm. Pft. It's six o'clock and no one (but me) is hungry for my dinner.

Faith ate well after her ballet lesson (one little pork chop and sides), but Josh dumped most of his after he came home from school, and I found the evidence in the sink.

I'm almost to striking point. Why should I bother cooking if they don't bother eating? I'd rather picket than cook.

Part of the issue is the change of seasons. Fall brings soups and stews and casseroles -- at least to me -- and my family would rather be eating grilled ribs, steaks, chicken legs.

What's a mother to do? What do you do when your family doesn't eat your meal?

Dia des los muerto

2011-11-02T14:17:00.000-04:00

I switched up our menu a little bit and moved the tacos to tonight. Though we have not a drop of Mexican blood in our family, we see that the Mexican culture certainly does All Soul's Day in a big way.

We lit the vigil candles this morning, took chrysanthemums to the cemetery at noon, and we will have a big bonfire after dinner, with our Soul Cakes. I love a day in which spend time learning, in a real way, about our faith and its traditions.

Do you have plans to remember your special souls on this holy day?

Get your Soul Cakes

2011-11-01T16:37:00.000-04:00

This is the third or fourth year for Soul Cakes at my house -- a yummy way to celebrate these two feast days today and tomorrow. Learn about this tradition and find my recipe here.

Drying Fresh Herbs

2011-10-29T11:19:00.000-04:00

My brother gave me some fresh sage and lime-thyme (he assures me it's tasty in salsa) from his garden a few weeks ago and they have been on the top shelf of my pantry in paper sacks since then. I just took them down and pulled them out of the bags, and, voila, dried herbs. My brother taught me this little trick and it's wonderful -- just place your fresh herbs in a paper bag -- he just uses a lunch sack -- and wait. After a few weeks they were completely dry and I placed them in plastic zipper bags in my spice cabinet.

My girlfriend gave me a huge bunch of rosemary, and because it was so large, I just tied it and hung it next to my kitchen window. For a few days my kitchen smelled wonderful.

I haven't cut any herbs from my own garden, but a hard frost is around the corner, so I better get out there. Of course, you don't have to have a garden to dry herbs. The next time you have purchased fresh herbs leftover, just tuck them inside a paper sack for a few weeks, and then enjoy them dried.

Rosary Cake

2011-10-25T08:01:00.000-04:00

It's been a few weeks since we enjoyed this delicious edible rosary, but you know that the entire month of October is dedicated to the rosary, so you still have a whole week to celebrate.I kept this year's rosary super simple -- with just two boxed brownie mixes baked in a large sheet pan (13 x 18). You could make a wonderful homemade Texas sheet cake, or this yummy Mexican sheet cake, or even a batch of Sugar Cookie Bars, or you can keep it simple and buy two boxes of brownie mix (the 13 x 9 size).

I made some homemade buttercream frosting (because I wanted the "beads" to pop), but you could use chocolate frosting as well. The Aves are just M&Ms and the Paters are Junior Mints. I "welded" two twix bars together (one cut in half) with some melted milk chocolate.

I didn't plan my rosary very well -- actually I didn't plan it all -- and that's why it looks a little crazy, but my kids are not perfectionists, so they didn't mind a bit.

I'm back (I hope!)

2011-10-24T19:35:00.000-04:00

One of my readers sent me an email this weekend inquiring about my welfare. Such a sweetheart!

I am well, thank you (Linda!), and hopefully I am back in the proverbial saddle again.

I had vein surgery in my leg two weeks ago, and while the vein surgery wasn't so tough to recover from, just a few days afterward, I was hit by the fever and cold my kids had passed around and that hit me like a ton of bricks. I went for a flu shot a few days after the surgery and the night after the shot, I woke shivering with a fever. Of course my greatest fear was that I had sepsis or some hospital-acquired bacterial illness, but I think I just over-taxed my immune system. I should have the known the cold and fever my kids shared would eventually make it to me!

Anyway, the past few weeks I spent with my head barely above water. I didn't do much cooking, and that which I did cook was hardly blog-worthy. I also couldn't sit at the computer for long (unfortunately I don't have a laptop or pad --just a big old screen at a desk).

So, just here to say I am back, and I hope to get share a few yummy ideas over the next few days. Thanks for hanging in there -- if you're still there!

It's time for Betty

2011-10-09T17:14:00.000-04:00

If you have bushels and pecks of fresh apples around, it's time to make some Betty. Your husband will love you (ok, he already loves you, so he'll love you more), and it will be the only time you are happy for him to enjoy another woman!

We enjoy it warm with just a splash of cool half & half. Yum.

Polish Pancakes: Naleśniki

2011-10-06T09:58:00.000-04:00

When I realized only the two younger children and I would be home for dinner on the Feast of St. Faustina, yesterday, I decided not to make our traditional pierogie dinner. While the kids don't mind plain pierogies, the dish I usually serve on St. Faustina's feast day has peas and onions, and they are not huge fans, though Doug and I very much enjoy it.

Instead I was thinking "pancakes," because it was a dish my mom would often cook for us when my dad was absent from dinner. It was cheap and easy and we preferred it to just about any dinner food. ;-) So pancakes and bacon it was, but these were no ordinary American pancakes. I did a little research and found that Polish pancakes are a real treat, and nothing like their American counterparts. The pancake itself is very thin -- crepe-like. And they are filled with yummy things and rolled up, and often baked or fried again. I decided to make the traditional cheese naleśniki, which reminded me very much of a blintz, which I have a few times and very much enjoy.

I topped my own Naleśniki (according to Google translate pronounced nah-leh-shneek) with warmed up Marion Blackberry jam, as did Faith, but Noah used pancake syrup, even though I told him the Polish don't have Eggo syrup. I served them with bacon, in the American tradition. I have not a drop of Polish blood, and have never eaten authentic Naleśniki, but I did enough research and combine what looked like authentic recipes, so I think we came pretty close. These are a little messy to make, but once you get a rhythm going of making them, they are a pretty easy dish to prepare.

Faith ate one pancake, and was full, so I would count on one for each small child. I messed up one of the "crepes" but would have had ten if not for the first mess-up.

St. Faustina, pray for us.

Naleśniki

10 pancakes/rolls

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Pancake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup lukewarm water

4 large eggs

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 T. sugar

Pinch salt

three or four tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

2 cups solid yogurt cheese (see note below) or, alternately, ricotta cheese

2 egg yolks

1 whole egg

5 T. sugar

2 T. flour

2 t. vanilla

Place pancake ingredients in a blender and whirl until combined. You could also use a mixer but the blender makes it easy to pour from.

Stir together filling ingredients until combined.

Butter a 9 x 9 dish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Over medium-high heat, heat a large non-stick skillet. When it is hot, butter it, using a heat-safe pastry brush and melted butter. Pour a very thin layer of pancake batter into skillet and rotate until a large part of the bottom is covered -- just a thin layer, but not so thin that it falls apart. You shouldn't be able to see through it, but it should not be anywhere near as thick as an American pancake -- it should be crepe thin. Cook until edges begin to brown and then dump it -- upside down -- onto a buttered platter.

Butter the skillet again and pour in more batter.

On pancake you dumped out, spread a thin (about 1/8 inch) strip from edge to edge down the center of the pancake. Fold one uncovered third over the filling , and then the other. Then roll it up from one short end. Place seam side down in dish.

Repeat with all pancakes, having one cooking while you are filling the other.

When your dish is full, brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 30 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on top.

* For yogurt cheese, I started in the morning and spooned 2 to 3 cups of good, 2% Greek yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined strainer (you could also use several layers of paper towels, and you can also use whole milk yogurt; I would not use non-fat myself). Place strainer over a bowl to collect whey. Refrigerate all day until you have a very solid ball of yogurt cheese -- it should be the consistency of ricotta cheese. If you start with regular yogurt instead of Greek (in which the straining process has already been about 50% done) you'll need about 4 cups yogurt and you may want to start the night before to leave enough time to get a nice solid ball.

Get.Some.Now.

2011-10-02T14:35:00.000-04:00

I bought a box of these oh-so-yummy treats and they went so fast I had barely a nibble. But it was a delicious nibble and now I must.get.more.

My guess is they will be a seasonal item, so get yours quickly.

Apple Butter Cake

2011-09-29T09:16:00.000-04:00

Faith and I made a trip to the apple orchard last weekend and we came home with a large jar of their apple butter. We all like apple butter during the season, but honestly we eat it a few times and then we are done with it. I guess we really prefer fruit jam on our toast and biscuits (and PB sammies), but like the "idea" of apple butter. I found a cake recipe that uses that wonderful butter to suffuse wonderful spicy flavor into a moist delicious cake. Oh Yum! The recipe (found at allrecipes.com) called for pecans in the streusel, but because of my son's nut allergies, I used an equal amount of old-fashioned oatmeal -- just for some texture. As it turned out he turned his nose up at the oatmeal -- give me a break! The rest of enjoyed it, however, with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Apple Butter Cake

serves 15-20

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1 cup packed brown sugar

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used old-fashioned oatmeal)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup apple butter

1 t. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup whole bran cereal or wheat germ (I used wheat germ)

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray or grease 9x13 inch pan.

Prepare the topping by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped pecans (oatmeal).

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Blend together butter and sugar; add eggs and beat well. Add apple butter, vanilla, wheat germ or bran cereal. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with sour cream; mix well after each addition.

Spread 1/2 batter into pan, sprinkle 1/2 the topping over top. Spread remaining batter and top with remaining topping.

Bake for 40 minutes until tests done with a toothpick.

Source: modified from allrecipes.com

Grocery shopping...revisisted

2011-09-28T09:47:00.000-04:00

Back a month or so ago when I posted about how much I hate to grocery shop, a kind reader suggested that I stretch my shopping to every two weeks instead of once a week. Hmmm. I've tried to do a month before, but it took so long to shop with two carts, bring it home and put it away that I was discouraged from doing it again. But two weeks? Maybe I can handle two weeks.

Because I plan my menus, it really isn't that hard to make my grocery list. And besides a few produce items I knew wouldn't last into next week, two weeks worth of food fits in my pantry and two fridges, so why not? Yesterday was the experiment. My son was home because he doesn't have class on Tuesday and so I left my daughter at home with him. You would think I would have brought a kid with me to help, but kids slow me down, and kids make impulse buys. No kids.

I fit everything in my cart (it was very full) and I even bought for my college kid on campus. I realized when I checked out and spent a full $100 less than I normally would for shopping two weeks in a row (one week times two), that I probably spend a lot on "I'll just grab that" items, and shopping once instead of twice really cuts down on that. I think also because I didn't want to push two carts I really only bought what I absolutely needed (except that Snicker's bar!).

I will probably have to get more milk at some point, and I definitely will have to pick up those produce items that won't last, but I'm really happy that I have all the meat (went to the butcher shop on Saturday) and groceries I need for two weeks!

~~~~~~~

And speaking of grocery lists, a couple months ago we talked about grocery list apps. I had a few suggestions, and went ahead and loaded Grocery IQ. It's free and at first I really liked it. I could scan UPC symbols of items I use a lot and keep a list of favorites that transfer to my weekly grocery list at the touch of the screen.

But two things drive me nuts about it. First, it freezes all the time. It might only be for ten seconds, but when you are trying to do something quickly (aren't we all always trying to do something quickly?), and the device freezes for ten seconds every few minutes, it's very frustrating.

The other thing is, the app is loaded with all sorts of brand names that I don't use. Because each list is divided into sections of the grocery store -- canned goods, dairy, fruits and vegetables, if it doesn't recognize your input, it puts it in "other." Because I shop in a discount grocery store and many of the brands are unknown to Grocery IQ, a lot of my items go into "other" and then I have to change them manually to the section the item is in. If it was just one or two items, I wouldn't mind, but it ends up being a lot of items. That is probably confusing if you've never used this app, but suffice it to say it takes longer to make a grocery list than it should.

I also thought since my college son could load it on his Droid that our lists would interface, but they don't. He can only email the list and then I have to manually put the items on my list.

So, back to the drawing board and I'll try another of the suggestions I originally got.

Peach Crumb Bars

2011-09-21T16:49:00.003-04:00

About midway through the month of August I stopped by a local orchard and bought myself a couple pecks of peaches, one to eat and one to bake with. The peach I bought to bake with were seconds -- not perfectly shaped, but perfectly usable. They were white peaches, which are not quite as "peachy" as the old-fashioned peaches, but they were mighty tasty in these Peach Crumb Bars. This was a simple recipe, quick to put together, and they were a wonderful treat. I sent the leftovers to work with Doug so I wouldn;t be tempted to eat the whole pan by myself.

The recipe came from Brown-Eyed Baker and the only change I made was to omit the spices. Because the peaches were so mild I didn't want to over power them.

Peach Crumb Bars

24 bars

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3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten

5 cups diced or sliced peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)
2 T. lemon juice
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I did not use)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I did not use)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly. Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Place the diced (or sliced) peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and spices, if using. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.

Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Source: Brown-Eyed Baker

On my honor

2011-09-15T10:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday for dinner I prepared a Rachael Ray dish -- Pasta Carbonara with Corn and Chiles. Sounds good doesn't it? I think it might have been, if someone else had prepared it.

I just don't do pasta very well, I think. I can cook the noodles, and make the sauce, but it's the combining of the two that is really apparently very difficult for me.

In this dish you are supposed to add the pasta and the eggy pasta water at the same time and toss quickly "to form a silky sauce, 1-2 minutes."

Mmmmm, not happening.

After about 30 seconds of tossing I had corn and bacon pieces flying every where, and my eggy water had pretty much dried up. Not exactly the scrambled eggs I always fear in this dish, but definitely not " a silky sauce."

The flavor was good, but it was dry, and unlike me, my family does not eat dry pasta. They like it really saucy.

I vow to never again create a pasta dish that needs to be tossed. Really. I do. And for a while (like a couple months) I vow to not try any new dishes that aren't guaranteed to be yummy and foolproof.

On my honor.

Triple Layer Cheesecake

2011-09-13T19:52:00.001-04:00

These photos have been sitting on my desktop for a month now, since my son's birthday in August. Everytime I sit down at the computer they are a reminder of its yumminess. ;-)

I love cheesecake and so do all of the members of my family, but I always forget just how very easy it is to make. It's easier than pie because there is no bothersome crust to fuss with, and in many ways easier than cake -- no fussy frosting after it cools. Simple ingredients and great awe factor!

For his 15th birthday last month my son asked for a triple layer cheesecake. He wanted a super duper chocolate layer, a medium chocolate layer, and a vanilla layer. It sounded complicated, and truly until I was in the midst of it, I thought it would be. But the layers are dense -- especially the bottom one, so they don't run into each other at all. I made the base of the cheesecake and then added different quantities of melted chocolate to two of them, giving me the three layers.

Noah requested a graham cracker crumb crust, but this would be just as good (and more chocolatey!) with chocolate cookie crust. I added a little bit of cocoa for some chocolate flavor.

Triple Layer Cheesecake

serves 12-14

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1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1/4 cup

melted butter

3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 t. vanilla extract

pinch salt
1 T. flour

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) bittersweet, or extra dark, chocolate chips, divided

1 t. shortening

You'll need a 9" springform pan and a portable or stand mixer.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and cocoa. Stir until combined. Add butter and mix until mixture resembles sand. (If you crush the crackers in the food processor just add the other ingredients one at a time until you have the sandy mixture)

Pour into 9" springform pan and press against bottom and about

1-1/2 inches up the side. I use the flat bottom of a glass for good compression.

Set crust aside.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until very smooth. Gradually beat in eggs, heavy cream, vanilla and salt, beating until well blended; set aside.

Saving 2 tablespoons of the chocolate chips, place remaining chips in large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds on high. Stir. Continue to microwave on high for 30 seconds, stirring after each period, until chips are melted. It should take about 1 min 30 sec.

Cool for several minutes.

Gradually blend 1/3 of the cheesecake batter into melted chocolate. Spread 3/4 of that mixture into the prepared crust (just a rough guess -- not science).

Add another 1/3 of the base into the chocolatey base remaining in the bowl. Carefully spoon it over the first layer.

Add 1 T. flour to the remaining vanilla base, mixing well, and then carefully spread it over the second layer.

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven to wire rack. With knife, immediately loosen cake from side of pan. Cool to room temperature.

Place reserved 2 T. chocolate chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at until melted. Drizzle over top of cheesecake. Cover; refrigerate several hours until cold.

Leftover buns

2011-09-12T17:23:00.000-04:00

For some reason I have been finding myself with lots of leftover buns lately. Hot dog, hamburger, sub buns -- we're using about half of what I buy and the rest is going uneaten. Must be mismatched numbers of eaters and buns is all I can think. I don't like freezing them because they are never as good after they thaw. Besides feeding the ducks (and they should really eat cracked corn instead) I came up with a few uses for all my leftover buns. What do you do with yours?

Fresh bread crumbs -- just throw the bread/bun into the food processor and give a whirl. Place the fresh crumbs in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer until you make a meatloaf or meatballs.

Toasted bread crumbs -- put the bread in a 300 degree oven until it's completely dry and then do the same as you would with fresh crumbs.

Make a delicious bread pudding for dessert.

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My brother John's Ginormous Double Chocolate Cookies

2011-09-08T09:55:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend we had a family gathering at our house and my brother John promised he would bring his latest culinary invention -- 1/2 pound chocolate cookies. My brother is a perfectionist when is comes to cooking, so he tries a recipe and tries it again until he gets it perfect. These cookies are pretty near perfect if you ask me, but if you're not a chocaholic, they might be just a little too much cookie for you.

Am I baiting you? Maybe ;-)

Really, I couldn't even eat a whole cookie at one sitting -- not even a half, so they really are a lot of cookie. But if you have the need, these cookies definitely fit the bill. One recipe would make a whole batch of cookies, but with this recipe you divide the dough up into six or seven giant balls and end up with six or seven half-pound cookies. The texture is wonderful -- soft and chewy but not gooey. They would be a great addition to a tailgate party or home football party -- even if you had to cut them in quarters to give them away.

My brother's notes are in italics.

John's Ginormous Double Chocolate Cookies

3 cups flour

1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1 T. corn starch
1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar (I use dark but it can be either)
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 t. kahlua

2 cups quality chocolate chunks (I use Graeter's dark chocolate)

In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients. (I didn't sift, just made sure they were well mixed)

In a separate bowl cream butter with the sugars. Add eggs and kahlua, and mix.

Slowly mix in the flour mixture. (I did it about a cup at a time). This is a very heavy dough.

Stir in 2 cups of chocolate chunks.

Bake (on a parchment paper covered pan -- extra large cookie sheet) in preheated oven at 375 for 8 minutes.

Without opening oven door turn temperature down to 325 and bake an additional 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheet for 10 minutes.

NOTE: When placing the dough on the cookie sheet I go with 6 at a time. I make them somewhere around tennis ball sized, maybe a touch smaller. I've never weighed them but I would go with somewhere between 6 - 8oz each.

Grocery shopping

2011-09-03T13:01:00.001-04:00

Just curious today....when do you do your grocery shopping?

I used to get up bright and early on Saturday and get it done. Sometimes grocery shopping involves two grocery stores and I would not get home until almost lunch time. It took a lot of my day and the worst part was when I got home, the house was usually a mess because no one did anything while I was gone. So then, I was faced with groceries to put away and a mess to clean, or direct the cleaning of. It wasn't a good start to the weekend.

Lately I have been shopping on Friday night. During the fall, or more specifically high school football season, Doug and at least one of the boys take off on Friday evening to a game. That leaves Faith and I to head to the store, which is o.k., but still not great. On Friday evening, I'm pretty wiped out, and I could find about 600 things I'd rather do that grocery shop, followed by unloading and putting groceries away.

But that really is the crux of my problem, at any given time I can find 600 things I'd rather do that grocery shop. I just don't like grocery shopping.

So, my question is, when do you do it? How do you make it a more enjoyable task, or is that just not possible?

;-)

Bacon pancakes

2011-09-02T14:57:00.001-04:00

That one in the middle needed more time.

My friend Jamie sent me a photo a while back -- this one below from an old Aunt Jemima ad. I guess she thought it looked like a dish I might make. Hopefully it wasn't because I remind her of bacon. ;-)

I showed the picture to my kids and they almost died at the possibility -- two of the most wonderful things ever, bacon and pancakes, together in one dish.

It didn't take long for me to try it -- I used breakfast for dinner as the opportunity. They thoroughly enjoyed them, and so did my husband. The salty, smoky bacon with the sweet, soft pancakes were so yum! I wouldn't do it all the time, because it is a lot of bacon, and thus a lot of fat, but an occasional treat would be fine.

I'm not going to post a recipe, because if you have a recipe for pancakes, you really don't need a recipe, but I will tell you what I did.

I made this batter for Buttermilk Pancakes. It's a pretty thick batter, so you might have to add extra buttermilk if it's too gloppy.

In the meantime I had bacon cooking in the microwave. If you normally cook bacon on the stove, you can use that method, but doing it the microwave way cuts down on the fat and the slices are cooked nice and flat so they work better overall. I got them fairly crisp so they would be easy to cut with a fork -- if they are too chewy I don't think you could cut through the pancake very easily. When the bacon is done remove it from the paper towels and place it on a platter, saving the greasy paper towels for greasing the griddle.

When the bacon was cooked to my liking and the batter was ready, I heated up my griddle. I use a Lodge cast iron griddle for pancakes, but any pan will do, a well-seasoned cast iron or non-stick. A griddle is not necessary but it made it easy to make several cakes at the same time.

I used a greasy paper towel from the bacon to smear grease all over the hot griddle. I placed several strips of bacon on the griddle, leaving room in between for the batter to spread a little. Then, with a spouted measuring cup I poured my batter on top of the bacon from one end to the other. I let it cook until bubbles appeared around the edges, and then flipped. I cooked them until they were completely done and them removed them from the griddle to a warming platter.

I served them with butter, syrup, and fresh fruit and milk -- for a complete breakfast!

Grilled Chicken with Caprese Salsa

2011-08-31T08:43:00.000-04:00

This was a fabulous, simple dish. I should make it a Summer Supper, but I hesitate to relegate it to "summer only." If you grill at all during the other three months, this dish would be wonderful to have all year long. Cherry, or grape, tomatoes are available at the grocer all year, so why not? All of my children enjoyed it and it was super simple to make. I found the recipe here, but only (roughly) used the salsa recipe. I marinated the chicken in balsamic and olive oil, with a little salt and pepper -- just for a short while.

Grilled Chicken with Caprese Salsa

serves 6

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6 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (if you have large chicken breasts, slice them in half lengthwise for two better proportioned pieces)

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (regular can be used but it will color the chicken dark)

1/4 cup light tasting olive oil

salt and pepper

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (or quartered if using large grape tomatoes)

2 cups fresh mozzarella cubes (I used one large ball and diced it in 1/2 inch cubes)

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar (I used regular for the salsa because I think it has a richer flavor)

1-2 garlic cloves, minced (to taste -- I like less)

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. pepper

Mix together the first measures of vinegar and oil. Place chicken in a glass or ceramic dish (or disposable zipper bag) and pour mixture over chicken. Salt and pepper each side. Let sit for 30 minutes or so to marinate.

When ready to grill, preheat grill.

Meanwhile, mix together all salsa ingredients. Let sit at room temperature for a short while (if you make ahead, chill until 30 minutes before serving).

Grill chicken until done throughout and remove from grill. Serve hot chicken with salsa on top.

Serving suggestions: Roasted corn, sliced watermelon or bing cherries

Bonefish Grill Salad

2011-08-25T09:34:00.002-04:00

For my birthday this year my mom took me out to dinner. What a treat -- just the two of us with no children or husband to interrupt our conversation. ;-)

But besides having uninterrupted time together we also had a wonderful meal. She took me to the Bonefish Grill, which, as you can imagine, specializes in fish. In our area, the Bonefish Grill is a rather quiet and darkened restaurant, conducive to adult conversation. It was a pleasant experience. But even though my mother and I both ordered fish from the menu (and both dishes were very good) what I remember most is the delicious house salad my mom ordered. I actually did not order salad, but I had a few bites of hers, and nibbled some of the blue cheese crumbles from the edge of her plate, and it was delicious. I was still thinking of that salad several weeks later and decided to try my hand at home. It was a wonderful copy, even though I actually did not even use the same salad ingredients. The Bonefish house salad is a plate of greens topped with hearts of palm and tomatoes, and sprinkled generously with kalamata olives and blue cheese crumbles. It's dressed with a light and yummy citrus herb vinaigrette. I did not go hunting for fresh hearts of palm (I can't even imagine I would have found them) but I tossed my greens with some red cabbage, red onion, pumpkin seeds and blue cheese squares, and a version of the Bonefish dressing that was awesome. I would eat this salad any day as it was light and refreshing and would go well with any meal.

My version is below. The dressing is really the only thing that is truly authentic. If you want to copy the salad exactly, see the above content for the ingredients as it is served in the restaurant.

My Own House Salad with Bonefish House Dressing

serves 4

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4 cups mixed greens, washed and cut

1/2 cup finely sliced red cabbage

3 thin slices red onion, quartered

1/4 cup roasted hulled pumpkins seeds (pepitas) -- sliced and roasted or candied almonds, pecans or walnuts would also be good

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (I buy jars of small squares of blue cheese in olive oil and spices -- delicious)

Dressing:
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
3 T. water
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 t. minced garlic
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 t. lime juice
2 t. orange juice
2 t. minced fresh parsley
1/2 t. dried basil
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Place ingredients in a glass jar (mason style -- or other glass container that has a lid) and cover. Shake jar vigorously for a minute.
Remove lid and heat mixture in microwave on high for about 30-45 seconds (so that sugar will dissolve).Remove from microwave and let cool a minute or two. Replace lid and shake until mixture is well-combined.

Cover and chill for 1 hour before serving.

Place all salad ingredients in a bowl (do not add pepitas or blue cheese until ready to serve). Toss with chilled dressing and serve.

Instant Simple Syrup

2011-08-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

I like to have simple syrup on-hand, especially during the summer when we drink a lot of iced tea, but I don't always remember to start it before I need it. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to make it on the stove, and if you are almost ready to serve dinner, that's too long.

I tried using the microwave recently and found it makes a perfect simple syrup in just over a minute.

Instant Simple Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Place sugar and water in a canning jar or other microwave safe container (not plastic) -- no lid. Microwave on high for one minute. Stir gently and carefully -- just stir it in the micro so you don't have to handle it twice. Microwave for another 20 to 30 seconds, until it starts to boil. Stop the microwave as soon as it starts to boil and rise, or you'll have a big mess. Carefully remove with a hot pad. Store leftovers in the refrigerator -- they last quite a while.

Today's treat...

2011-08-23T17:37:00.001-04:00

Faith saw this picture of this yummy cinnamony bread this morning and decided we had to make it.

It's rising now.

Just wanted to share. ;-)

UPDATE: The verdict is -- it was pretty crunchy on the outside, and I don't like crunchy bread. The kids ate it, but the middle was definitely the favorite part (and even though it was well-cooked on the outside, there were a couple of spots inside that were still just a tad doughy). I think I would just make cinnamon rolls for the trouble.

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Frozen Key Lime Pie

2011-08-22T11:49:00.005-04:00

I stepped out the back door this morning to let the dog out, and the air felt cool, light, and oh-so-slightly fall-like. I could breathe. Oh my goodness, I think my lethargy this past summer might have something to do with lower oxygen levels in my blood -- for the humidity all summer long I felt like I could hardly breathe.

Anyway, when I got that breath of fresh, cool air this morning, I realized there were some yummy summer recipes that I had not yet shared with you, one of which being this wonderful Frozen Key Lime Pie. I, myself, am not big on Key Lime Pie, but I tell you, I could have eaten this entire pie by myself, it was that good. The recipes comes from my new, favorite ice cream cookbook, A Passion for Ice Cream.

One thing I like about this cookbook is it not only offers great ice cream recipes, but it offers recipes using those great ice creams. This recipe, however, does not use ice cream -- it's made to be just this pie. The crust is made with sugar cone crumbs (yum!), and it is topped with a macadamia nut whipped cream, which we unfortunately had to do without because of my son's tree nut/peanut allergy (I'm sure it's wonderful, however and I have included the measure of nuts in the ingredients in case you want to use them). If you don't use the nut cream you could top the pie with some grated lime peel, or just leave is clean like I did.

Note: I used Rose's lime juice instead of key lime juice as neither key limes nor their juice are available at any of my local grocers.

Frozen Key Lime Pie

serves 8-10

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12 sugar cones, broken up

6 T. butter, melted

6 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup Key Lime juice (I substituted Rose's lime juice available either in the juice aisle or with bar mixers)

1/8 t. salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Whipped topping

3/4 c. whipping cream

1 T. sugar

1/4 t. vanilla

2/3 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and roughly chopped (optional)

Place sugar cones in processor and grind them to fine crumbs. Add butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumbs in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Place in the freezer.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, eggs and sugar. Whisk in lime juice and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula or wooden spoon, until thick, about 8 minutes. (The curd is done when you can briefly see the bottom of the pan as you stir.) Pour curd into a bowl set inside an ice bath and cool.

When curd is cool, whip the 1 cup whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold cream into curd. Pour into shell and freeze for at least four hours or until firm.

To serve: whip cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold in nuts if using. Spread over pie and serve.

To make ahead: cover pie tightly and freeze for up to 2 days. Whipped cream can be made up to three hours ahead and placed on pie at serving time. (I found that the cream tasted just as good on the leftover pie after it had frozen, so this is your choice -- frozen cream or soft cream).

Modified from A Passion for Ice Cream

Steak Seasoning

2011-08-17T11:59:00.003-04:00

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I can not explain my lack of posting here lately, except I feel pretty yucky and I have no energy. No particular reason except maybe the summer doldrums. I'm also worried about my kids (yeah, who isn't?) and I'm not up to coping well with life. I'm sure it's just a phase and I'm holding out hope that when the first brisk fall wind comes a blowing, I'll perk right up. In the meantime, I'm lying low, doing everything that needs to get done, with a little less oomph.

I will tell you that this steak seasoning perked me up the other night. My third son requested steak for his birthday dinner on Monday -- Filet Mignon, no less. While normally I allow Filet Mignon to stand on its own, I just wanted to jazz it up a smidge. I found this recipe online -- supposedly the seasoning Outback Steakhouse uses. I have never been to Outback, so I have no idea if it is authentic, but it tasted really, really good and jazzed up those filets just right. I altered the recipe I found for less salt and less cayenne and omitted both coriander (which I can't stand) and tumeric (which I didn't have) and doubled it for seven small filets. They were cooked to perfection -- medium -- and very, very tasty. I imagine this seasoning would be tasty even on hamburgers, however. You could mix up a nice big jar and use it on everything you grill.

Steak Seasoning

1 1/2 t. salt
2 t. paprika
1 t. freshly ground black pepper (it's important that it be freshly ground)
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small glass jar or shaker. Sprinkle over both sides of steak before grilling and grill to desired doneness.

Feeding Fido

2011-08-11T14:22:00.003-04:00

If you really knew me you would know how extremely ironic it is that I have chosen to start cooking for our dog, Maggie. The dog and I have a love/hate relationship in some ways. I like her, I love that she is great with the kids, I like having a dog. I hate the dog's fur. Hate it. Of the three dogs we have had since we were married, they have all been major shedders -- two were the same breed, Australian Shepherd. I don't learn.

I also almost got rid of a dog once because I was practically cooking for her due to pickiness. She was a Corgi and she was incredibly picky, resulting in me mixing up a bunch of dog food to suit her. I refused to cook for the dog. Now I voluntarily do it. That's very much like me.

Now, for the disclaimer:

I have absolutely no knowledge of canine nutrition. I only know what I know and that is based mostly on common sense and reading dog food labels.

I believe the verdict is out on whether or not domesticated dogs are carnivores or omnivores. Wild canines -- wolves -- are probably carnivores, at least if given the choice to eat meat. Domesticated dogs, however, will voluntarily eat anything (ever see them get into a garbage can?) and commercial dog food has grains, vegetables as well as meat, and even sometimes dairy.

I contacted my vet before I started cooking for Maggie and they told me to feed her commercial dog food. They were completely unsupportive of my venture, but mostly because they also have no knowledge of canine nutrition, other than commercial. Kind of disheartening to me.

So, why would I cook for the dog? First, and primary, because the dog is overweight (aren't we all?). She has big brown eyes and she loves to beg and my family loves to make her happy. Isn't that the story of most canine obesity? Well, I thought that by cooking for her I could, one, control what is in her food, and, two, she would be happier with homemade food and thus beg less.

Well, number one might work but I learned that Maggie is a dog and dogs are never happy with enough, they always want more. I guess it is instinctive to eat as much as you can possibly get irregardless of whether or not it is "enough." So, that leaves me as in charge of portion control, and hopefully getting a nutritious low-fat diet will help enough with her weight.

The vet tech told me that we should stick with a commercial food because it has all of the vitamins and minerals she needs. Well, that may be true, but it also has a bunch of junk in it (and possible contaminants), and no matter how many vitamins and minerals she gets, the junk is still junk. I could spend a small fortune and buy the top of the line Science Diet for her, but believe it or not, cooking for her costs a lot less and I refuse to believe that the dog will be malnourished with a home-cooked diet. I have read what is in the commercial dog food and I firmly believe that if the dog food has processed meat by-product, processed vegetable by-product and processed grain, I can do better than that at home.

The reason that I even started thinking about cooking for the dog was a post written by my friend Charlotte about her little dog. I was curious, really, just out of nosiness. But then I started think about Maggie's weight and decided maybe cooking for her would be more than a culinary favor.

I read around a little bit, but by no means did much research. I decided that her food should primarily be protein, followed by grain and vegetables. It's really very simple, and takes less time than it does to prepare dinner (and it lasts for two weeks). The great thing about dogs is they don't care if you peel the carrots, use frozen veggies, or season to their taste. It's just food to them and so I kept it pretty simple. I have made her food twice now, first by using ground turkey, and the second time by using fish. The only change from the first time to the second time was subbing fish for turkey, and I used primarily carrots the second time because I have noticed that she does not digest the corn from the mixed vegetables (yuck!). You would think that using fish would be expensive, but I had several cans of salmon in the pantry, and some fish filets in the freezer that were left from various recipes and none of it would have ended up being used for use. Essentially then, it was all free (in my mind).

I did not use dairy because first of all, cheese is fattening, and dairy is expensive. If I have whey I will add it.Stick with me on this project -- I intend to continue to learn and I'll share with you what I find out.

Another note: there are some things dogs should absolutely not have and of the things that I know, a few are: grapes, onions, garlic, avocado, alcohol, macadamia nuts, and chocolate,

Homemade Dog Food

5 pounds meat (ground turkey, ground beef, shredded chicken or fish)*

5 cups cooked grain (brown or long grain rice, bulgar, barley)**

2 pounds frozen vegetables

8 eggs

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups meat or vegetable broth

In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the meat until done. Add vegetables and cook until they are tender (if using raw vegetables, such as carrots or sweet potatoes, cook them first and then add to the meat -- they will take longer to get tender). Add eggs and cook until done. Add rice, oats, and broth and mix until combined.

Freeze food in portions appropriate for your dog -- I used jumbo muffin tins, as well as 9 x 9 pans, cutting the food into appropriate portions before freezing.

Thaw overnight in the fridge, or defrost in the microwave.

* Because I intend to switch the meats I use each time, I feel that Maggie will be getting an overall well-rounded diet. She happens to love fish, but if your dog will not eat fish, you might want to consider adding some fish oil.

** There is some controversy about whether dogs should really have grains at all because of their inability to truly digest them (they don't chew so the nutrients must be completely digested in the intestines and dogs don't have the necessary make-up to really digest them in the intestines). I have started with a rather high ratio of grain to meat and will probably play with this a little possible reducing the grain quite a bit. I would probably increase the eggs because they are cheap and more nutritious.

Subpar Peaches

2011-08-09T12:57:00.001-04:00

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You pick up a large peach and sniff it. Mmmm, smells sweet and peachy, just like it should. Feel soft, just gives a little under your thumb. Looks absolutely perfect.

One bite, however, reveals a mealy, dry, albeit soft and sweet peach. Completely inedible in my opinion, relegated to cooked dishes or the compost (or the dog).

Today I discovered that subpar peaches, diced up in a bowl of granola with cold milk (and any other fruit you might have around) are completely and totally delicious.

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Arnold Palmer Ice

2011-08-07T10:19:00.002-04:00

The summer is getting mightily long in the tooth isn't it? I don't know if that phrase applies to anything other than people and farm animals, but I think it does here. This summer has gotten very old. No rain and extended heat and humidity makes for very grumpy people, and we're all pretty grumpy. Each morning I wake up with less and less energy. Hence my absence here -- I don't even have the energy to blog.

This recipe, however, requires very little energy, and it's cold and sweet and very tasty. I personally can not enjoy it because of all that lemon juice, but I have it on good authority (my husband and all the kids) that it's really very good. I've made it several times this summer. The recipe comes from A Passion for Ice Cream. which we have really enjoyed this year, and is based on Arnold Palmer, the beverage. The author, Luchetti, includes some blueberries and raspberries in the recipe for serving on top, but my guys like it straight up -- it's just like lemon ice, but with a little tea mixed in. Yum. I modified the recipe just a bit because I thought it would be too tart and my guys said it was perfect.

Arnold Palmer Ice

serves 6

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3 cups water, divided

1 T. English Breakfast tea leaves or other black tea (I use two Barry's Gold tea bags)

1/2 cup plus 1 T. sugar

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (alternately I used Italian Volcano Lemon Juice once, but used less of it because it's pretty strong)

pinch kosher salt

fresh blueberries and rasperries, if desired

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil. Turn off heat, add tea, cover and steep for five minutes. Strain tea (or remove tea bags), stir in sugar and let cool to room temp.

Stir in lemon juice and remaining water and salt. Refrigerate until cold.

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. If desired, freeze until scoopable, about 2 hours. If you freeze for longer than two hours, you'll get a harder, icier product which you can scrape with a fork to serve.

If desired, serve with berries spooned over the top.

A Peach of a Saint Pie

2011-07-28T19:43:00.002-04:00

For the feast of Saint Anne I looked for something special to make that had some significance to her. Apparently lobster is a traditional dish, but I wasn't planning to spend quite that much. ;-)

Catholicculture.org mentioned that fruit pie is a traditional treat because her feast day, and the feast of her husband St. Joachim, is mid-summer, and fruit is certainly plentiful, not to mention delicious. I decided a Peach Pie was in order because St. Anne is certainly a peach of a saint: the mother of the Blessed Mother, the grandmother of our Lord Jesus? Yup, she's a peach.

This recipe is based on my Apple Crumble Pie recipe, but with adjusted thickener and sugar and a splash or two of amaretto for added depth. The amaretto is not absolutely necessary but nice. And if you go for it, you can also add a handful of sliced almonds to the topping. I would have if I had any.

A Peach of a Saint Pie

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1/4 cup sugar, divided
1/4 c. flour
6 medium to large peaches, peeled and sliced in bite size pieces (just use a potato peeler)
1 T. lemon juice

2 T. amaretto (optional)

3 T. butter
Pastry for single-crust pie prepared and placed in 9" pie dish (the one I use is here)

1/2 cup sugar
½ cup flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
¼ cup butter

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl (the same one you use to make the crust is fine), sprinkle peach slices with lemon juice and toss. Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour and toss. Sprinkle with amaretto and toss. Pour in prepared crust. Dot with 3 T. butter cut in small pieces.

Combine remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour and spices. Cut in 1/4 cup butter until crumbly. Add almonds, if using, and sprinkle atop peaches.

Bake for an hour. Serve warm or room temperature.

Summer Supper #7

2011-07-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

I apologize for being such a poor blog host lately. I'm here, and I am still cooking, but I'm feeling rather lazy about posting recipes. I'll blame the heat; everyone else does! ;-)

I hope that you tried one of the red or green margaritas. Really, you must. On Sunday evening, I tried a variation of the strawberry by substituting a whole diced peach for the strawberries. Oh my goodness, it was really so very good -- and a whole serving of fruit. Yay!

Today's Summer Supper is what my husband calls the epitome of a good summer dinner. It's rather light (as in not a large quantity of food) but very tasty, with a little bit of grilling and some wonderful summer flavors.

I will warn you, it's a hot dog. "Yuck," you say. "I don't eat hot dogs." Well, I don't normally serve hot dogs for dinner, but the right kind can be quite a treat. I use good hot dogs (Nathan's or Hebrew National Beef almost exclusively) which you will pay a buck or two more for than pork dogs, but they are worth it. I have served this dish twice to my family and I think they would eat these dogs every week. They are really, really good. Try them.

I served them with a side of fresh fruit -- some watermelon or a bowl of diced fresh fruit, and some chips for ease of homemade potato salad. It's an easy meal and won't fill you too much.

Avocado Hot Dogs

serves 8

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8 good beef hot dogs

8 hot dogs buns (I prefer split top)

2 ripe avocados, peeled and diced

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered or diced finely if they are large

a handful or cilantro, minced

2 T. finely diced red onion

1 clove garlic, minced

a few squirts of lime juice

a dash or two of salt

ketchup and mustard, if desired

Preheat the grill.

In the meantime combine the avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, onion and garlic. Add a few squirts of lime juice (the plastic green lime kind is fine) and a dash or two of salt. Stir gently to combine and taste. Adjust lime juice or salt if needed.

Grill hot dogs until hot and with grill marks.

Place hot dogs in buns. Top with mustard or ketchup if desired and Avocado Relish.

Serve with cubed or diced watermelon or fresh fruit salad, and some chips or potato salad.

Red and Green...Margaritas

2011-07-21T20:12:00.002-04:00

I don't know what it is about a Margarita that makes it such a quintessential summer drink. I guess the frostiness and the fruitiness -- I almost never want one in the winter. This summer my husband and I have been enjoying red and green -- he goes for the tartness of the lime margarita and I enjoy a strawberry -- with just a hint of tang. They are so easy to prepare -- it just takes a minute and you have a cool fresh drink in your glass. The basic ingredients are Rose's lime juice, silver tequila, and triple sec or orange liqueur. Add five strawberries for the strawberry version. Just keep the ingredients on-hand and you'll always have the makings of a frozen summer beverage.

The key to the quick fixings and quick clean-up for me is the use of an immersion blender. You can certainly use a standard blender, but the immersion blender and the cup that comes with it is really all you need. It makes it super fast to make (less than 15 seconds of blending) and super fast clean up -- just drop the blade end and the blender cup in soapy dishwater.

One Minute Frozen Margarita (Optional Strawberry)

serves one

2 ounces Silver Tequila

1.5 ounces triple sec or orange liqueur

2 ounces Rose's lime juice

Fill the immersion blender cup (or standard blender) with 1 cup crushed ice. Add alcohol and lime juice. Using the immersion blender (or standard blender) blend for about 15 seconds until ice is completely blended (may take longer in a standard blender).

For strawberry version, reduce lime juice to1/2 ounce and add 5 whole large strawberries (washed and leaves removed) and 2 T. simple syrup.

Pour into margarita glass. If salt or sugar (for strawberry variety) is desired, rub edge of glass with a juicy lime slice, and dip glass upside down in a dish of coarse salt or sugar.

Simple Syrup: 1cup sugar, 1 cup water: In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, a couple minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely. Store int he fridge for up to a month and use in other cold beverages like iced tea.

Summer Supper #6

2011-07-19T19:49:00.005-04:00

This is the kind of dish I would order from any restaurant menu. I love summer vegetables, and if you pair them with bacon for flavor and pasta for a little filler, they make a great summer supper dish. I saw this recipe at MyRecipes.com, but switched it up a little in terms of pasta shape and variety of summer vegetable. You could really use a multitude of vegetables for this recipes -- whatever is growing in the garden, available at the farm market, or just needs to be used from the veggie drawer of the fridge.

All the kids enjoyed this dish (much to my surprise) and I can't wait to try it again. I modified the recipe to my taste, but feel free to substitute the veggies for what's available to you. I could not find cavatappi at my store, so I used Roman Rigatoni ( a curved variety of rigatoni) but would look for cavatappi in the future -- I love that shape.

Pasta with Bacon and Summer Vegetables

serves 4-6

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1 lb. uncooked cavatappi

8 slices bacon, chopped

2 T. olive oil

1 cup chopped red or green onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

3/4 cup yellow pepper, sliced thin and cut in bite-size sticks

1 cup edamame

1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, ends trimmed and strings removed

1 1/2 cups quartered grape tomatoes

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese (or up to 1 cup, to taste)

1/4 cup small fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

While pasta cooks, cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving drippings in pan; add oil to drippings. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini and peppers; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in edamame, tomatoes, and sugar snaps; cook 5 minutes or until tomatoes soften, stirring occasionally.

Add hot pasta to vegetable mixture; toss. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add 1/4 cup cheese, basil, salt, and pepper; toss to combine. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Source: modified from myrecipes.com

Serving suggestion: Serve with some crusty bread and a bowl of fresh fruit salad, or served with some grilled chicken breast for a heartier meal.

Strawberry Ice Cream Bombe

2011-07-18T20:30:00.006-04:00

Last night we celebrated the birthday of my son's girlfriend -- her nineteenth (oh to be so young again!). She is not a dessert lover (totally can't relate there!), but I know that she enjoys ice cream from time to time, so I planned an ice cream style dessert. She also does not enjoy chocolate (???) so I created a fruity ice cream dessert for her to enjoy.

A bombe style dessert has an impressive presentation so I chose to make a Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Bombe. It tasted wonderful and I topped some of the individual servings with Marshmallow topping for an extra dose of sweet!

You can use store-bought ice cream and you'll have a perfectly edible dessert, but I used the opportunity to make my favorite Strawberry Gelato and Basic Vanilla Ice Cream which made it infinitely more yummy! You need a bowl with a nice round bottom to make a perfect bombe, and as you can see, mine was not -- it was flat on the bottom (top). A pyrex bowl makes a perfect bombe. I used a modified version of this strawberry cake and it was very tasty -- I will have to remember to make it to enjoy just the cake sometime.

Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Bombe

1 quart strawberry ice cream, softened

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

19-inch baked strawberry cake (recipe below)

1 large strawberry washed and sliced up to the greens

Strawberry Cake

1 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup pureed strawberries

1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray and dust with flour (I use the kind of spray that has flour in it).

In a large bowl, combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, and eggs, and stir until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

~~~~~

Line a 3 to 4-quart bowl with plastic wrap. Spoon in the softened strawberry ice cream, spread smooth and freeze for an hour.

Spoon on the vanilla ice cream and spread smooth.

Freeze for an hour. After cake has cooled, top the vanilla ice cream with the cake, press firmly, but gently all around, and wrap with plastic wrap. When ready to serve wash and slice strawberry up from bottom to the greens, but not through. Unmold bombe and place upside down (ice cream side up) on serving plate. If necessary, smooth any "wrinkles" with a spatula. Top with strawberry fanned out.

Source: Cake modified from Dash of Sass, and strawberry gelato recipe from italylogue.com
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Asian Pasta Salad

2011-07-14T11:44:00.003-04:00

This recipe for pasta salad is one I have been eating and enjoying for years. A good friend made it for us once, probably almost 20 years ago, and I remember calling her at least twice for the recipe. Of course, I lost it twice as well, but it's easy enough that you really don't even need a recipe if you remember the basic ingredients. There is really nothing particularly Asian in it, but the flavors go so well with Asian food I always make it with some yummy Asian marinated meat on the grill. Mostly what you taste in the dish are the wonderful fresh vegetables -- they go so well together. I usually put the cashews in a dish on the side, not only because I have a nut-allergic child, but also because the cashews get soggy in the leftovers, which are otherwise wonderful. There is no vinegar in this recipe, so don't think you're missing something. ;-)

This pasta salad is best served at room temperature, so if you make it far enough in advance that you don't want it sitting out for hours, remember to remove it from the refrigerator at least an hour before serving time -- more if it is thoroughly chilled. There is no dairy in it and nothing that will spoil even if left out for several hours. I wouldn't go more than three.

Asian Pasta Salad

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1 lb. rotini pasta

3/4 cup yellow bell pepper, sliced thin and in bite-size lengths

3/4 cup red bell pepper, sliced thin and in bite-size lengths

1 cup sugar snap or snow peas, washed and string removed, halved

1/2 medium red onion, quartered and sliced thin

1/2 to 3/4 cup mild oil -- mild olive, canola or peanut

4 cloves garlic crushed

salt to taste

1 cups cashew pieces or whole cashews, salted

Cook pasta to al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water. Drain but do not rinse. Drizzle with a small amount of oil (a few tablespoons) to keep it from sticking and let sit to cool, tossing occasionally.

Meanwhile, add garlic to remaining oil and cook to simmering in the microwave (or over the stove). Do not cook the garlic, you just want to infuse the oil with the flavor and lose a little bit of that raw garlic flavor. When oil has simmered for about 10 seconds remove from microwave and let cool.

When pasta cools to just a little warmer than room temp add oil and toss. You can start with a half cup and add more if it seems dry. Or save some of the oil and add it just before serving if you have a long hang time. Add peppers, onions and peas and toss. Salt to taste and let sit at room temp until ready to serve. Serve with cashews.

Source: my friend Gina

Sunday Breakfast

2011-07-10T10:26:00.001-04:00

Elisa (and Kelly) shared these wonderful scones and we enjoyed them for breakfast this morning. Oh my, yum. Recipe to come but if you just can't wait, follow the links. :-)

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Peach Ice Cream

2011-07-09T20:48:00.003-04:00

I apologize in advance for my photographs. My camera is being very fickle about which objects it would like to focus on and I can not anticipate its mood. I know that you know what Peach Ice Cream looks like, so you'll be o.k.

That said, this ice cream was much better than it looks, even in focus, and it looked pretty darn good. I have a love for peach ice cream about once a year in July. I used to go mad buying up UDF peach ice cream because you can only get it once a year and when it's gone, it's gone. But this year I decided to forgo a trip to UDF and make my own. I was a bit concerned that my peaches were not all that good, but in this recipe the peaches are cooked with sugar and lemon juice, and you probably know that almost any fruit is improved with cooking and sugar (except strawberries and melon -- I prefer those uncooked). They were wonderfully sweet and tender, and because I let the warm peaches sit in the cream base while they both chilled, the base tasted pretty peachy too.

The recipe came from Emily Luchetti's A Passion for Ice Cream, which I borrowed from the library but enjoyed enough to purchase. The book offers much more than ice cream recipes -- lots of yummy sauces, cookies and cakes, pies and other ice cream desserts, but so far I have only tried the straight stuff -- ice cream! I modified it just a little for expediency, but I don't think it was a major change. The base was very thick (probably due to the pectin in the fruit) and made a wonderfully creamy ice cream.

Peach Ice Cream

serves 8

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5 large ripe peaches (the recipe called for 2 pounds but I had 5 large peaches and had no idea how much they weighed -- be more precise and weigh if you like)

3/4 cup sugar, divided

large pinch kosher salt

1/t t. lemon juice

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

Peel, pit, and chop the peaches (I cut them in a rather fine dice, but you can cut them more coarsely if you like).

Place them in a medium saucepan with 1/2 cup sugar, salt and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until jamlike in consistency, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, combine cream, milk and remaining sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until liquid begins to bubble around the edges, stirring occasionally.

Transfer to a bowl and add peaches and sauce. Place bowl in a bowl of ice water and let sit for about 30 minutes or until room temp. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instruction. Freeze until scoopable to your preference.

Source: modified from A Passion for Ice Cream

Next up: Arnold Palmer Ice

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Penne Franco

2011-07-08T09:46:00.001-04:00

This dish may not look like much, but, oh my, is it flavor-packed! I first enjoyed this pasta dish at Carrabba's on the evening my second son, Joshua, graduated from high school, in May. After one bite I knew I would have to recreate it at home, and as it turns out, it was a breeze to make and tasted just like the original. Doug enjoyed it too, even though he usually doesn't enjoy pasta dishes without sauce (he's a saucy guy!), and though only the two youngest kids were home, they both enjoyed it very much, too (I made them macaroni and cheese and a piece of grilled chicken but neither could resist the smell of this dish).

When I first ate this dish I had it without the chicken, but I did enjoy it with the chicken at home, so I'll make it that way again. This is definitely a meal you could make in under 30 minutes, so keep the ingredients on-hand and try it soon!

Penne Franco

serves 4-6

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7 cloves garlic, sliced

7 T. extra-virgin olive oil
four sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and sliced in thin slices (or use oil-packed)
8 oz. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 can artichoke heart quarters, drained
15-20 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped (according to taste)
3-4 chicken breasts (use the greater amount if you have big meat-eaters)

1 lb. Penne pasta (I used Roman Rigatoni because I forgot to buy penne, but the original recipe included penne)

Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt and add pasta, stir and cook until al dente. Keep warm.

Salt and pepper chicken breasts and grill until done. Let sit for a few minutes and then slice crosswise in thin slices. Keep warm.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil until tender (about five minutes). Drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and saute garlic for about a minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. Cook until heated through. Add mushrooms, chicken and cooked penne pasta and stir. Make certain all ingredients are hot. Season with salt and pepper.

Place in serving dish and top with shredded cheese to taste.

Just Pics

2011-07-07T18:53:00.000-04:00

I am trying to get caught up with all the dishes I've made recently and intend to post here, but for now I have "just pics." This was my birthday cake this year and homemade vanilla ice cream. Though we were out of town on my actual birthday, I squeezed in a cake over the weekend. This is the third year in row that this has been my birthday cake: Caramel Buttermilk Cake and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (found here).

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Strawberry Freezer Jam (and, of course, some biscuits to go with)

2011-07-06T12:51:00.001-04:00

I have been making strawberry freezer jam every year for about 10 years. It's so simple -- really not much more complicated than mixing strawberries with sugar. And though I have been tempted to try to make "real" jam (cooked and processed instead of frozen) I really prefer the flavor and texture of fresh strawberries. That's the difference between this jam and "real" jam -- the strawberries are not cooked in this recipe, so you get that yummy fresh fruit flavor every time you open a jar. It's the best thing on toast -- nothing else compares. Yum!

This is just the recipe from the package of Sure-Jell. I noticed the last time I bought it that they now sell a Freezer Jam package. I don't know if the product was any different -- I think just the packaging. It tasted just like the jam I make every year.

I have just a few notes in the recipe in italics -- those are just my thoughts, learned from experience. You can double this recipe, and I did, though I wouldn't do that with just any jam recipe.

The biscuit recipe is easy as pie (easier, actually) and is the most wonderful recipient for that delicious, mouth-watering jam.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2 cups crushed strawberries (buy 1 qt. fully ripe strawberries)

4 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl

3/4 cup water

1 box Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin

Rinse 5 (1-cup) plastic containers and lids with boiling water (or use any combination of glass jars and plastic containers -- I like the small jars because I am the only one who eats it -- yes my kids are picky about chunks of fruit in their jam). Dry thoroughly.

These are just grocery store berries, bought when they were super cheap. If you have a glut of garden berries, please do use those. I don't get more from the garden than we eat fresh, so I use grocery store berries, which are just wonderful for this purpose -- plenty of sugar to make up for any mediocre flavor.

Cut, but not yet crushed

Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly, 1 cup at a time (I cut the berries into smaller parts and crush about 2 cups at a time). Measure exactly 2 cups prepared fruit into large bowl (do not use more than 2 cups or your jam will not set up -- if you have leftover crushed berries, sugar them, and eat them over ice cream).

Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Crushed with sugar

In the meantime, mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Continue boiling and stirring 1 minute. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 minutes or until sugar is almost dissolved. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)

Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. (this last time I froze them right away and it turned out just the same)

Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using (because jam has no preservatives, use it withing a month of removing it from the freezer).

Buttermilk Biscuits
makes about a baker's dozen

3 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
⅔ c. shortening
1 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening. Add buttermilk and stir into a soft dough. Knead dough on floured surface and cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter.

Place on a baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes.

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Summer Supper #5

2011-07-05T17:10:00.001-04:00

This salad used to be a favorite of mine in the days when we used to eat out. By the time my husband and I had our third child we could no longer eat out cheaply and so it's been a long time since we ate out regularly. But I remember this salad fondly and my homemade version lived up to the memory.

It's a simple salad -- very few ingredients, but topped with a yummy piece of grilled chicken and some crunchy pumpkin seed kernels, it's filling and satisfying. I modified my Cilantro Ranch Dressing because I can never remember to buy tomatillos, but its still good and I think with all that cilantro the tomatillos get a little lost anyway.

Grilled Chicken, Romaine and Pepito Salad
serves 4 dinner servings

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2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped and washed and dried
several slices red onion, quartered
3 Roma tomatoes diced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Mexican Marinade (below)
1/2 c. pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels), roasted and salted (buy them roasted and salted)
Cilantro Ranch dressing (below)

Place four chicken pieces in a bowl with marinade. Marinade for several hours.

In a large bowl, toss lettuce, onion and tomato.
Chill until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, preheat grill and grill chicken until cooked through.
Allow chicken to sit for five minutes and then slice across the grain thinly.

Top salad with chicken breast and sprinkle with pepitas. Drizzle with salad dressing and serve.

Marinade

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

1 pkg. Ranch Buttermilk Dressing mix
1/2 c. mayonnaise (you could use sour cream also)
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
heavy dash cayenne pepper

In a food processor, place dressing mix, sour cream, mayo and buttermilk. Add cilantro and process under cilantro is finely chopped. Add cayenne if desired. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Firecracker Sugar Cookies

2011-07-02T22:56:00.005-04:00

Maybe you can't decide whether to prepare an Apple Pie or something chocolatey for your Fourth get-together, or maybe you are looking for something cute and kid-friendly to add to your dessert buffet. Either way this is an idea I think will make a big bang (pun intended) on the dessert table this holiday weekend.

I saw the idea executed at Recipe Girl, baked my favorite sugar cookies and used some store-bought decorating aids to create these sweet little firecrackers. I admit I was not nearly as particular as Recipe Girl about my decorating, partly because I am never that fussy about how food looks -- come on...we eat it -- and also because my nine-year-old daughter, Faith, was helping.

I used Wilton's Cookie Icing to top the baked and cooled cookies with white icing and then used Wilton Icing Writer in blue and red to make the fireworks. Just follow the directions at Recipe Girl, or just give the stuff to the kids -- they'll figure it out. It's an easy and cute idea and your crowd will love them. (I tasted the icing and it's really not bad at all. Faith thought it was good and licked her fingers a lot!).

The cookie icing was firm and stackable after about two hours.

PS Wilton's icing products found at Michael's.
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Breakfast of Champions

2011-07-02T12:30:00.002-04:00

The other night when my brother's family was over for dinner, I made a huge pan of this Blueberry Crisp (I added some peaches so it, too). Oh my goodness I do love that dessert, but because my children are incredibly finicky when it comes to fruit desserts -- there is only a small handful they will eat -- I only make this dessert if other adults are coming over to share. Of course, I completely overestimated how much everyone would eat (and since I also made Rice Krispie Treats the kids were not at all tempted) and had half a pan left over.

Thus...I present the Breakfast of Champions. It's fruit, and oats, and cream -- sounds like breakfast to me. Yum.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream -- Basic Recipe

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 cups heavy cream

2 t. pure vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the ice cream churner on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Rich Chocolate Cake and Sweet Vanilla Buttercream

2011-07-01T13:11:00.001-04:00

My brother was in town from Maryland for his birthday this year. We usually don't see each other on our birthdays -- mine is just two days after his -- one year and two days apart, but this year he was in town for my grandma's 95th birthday party, the same day as my birthday -- we have a lot of late June birthdays in my family.

My brother asks every year for a chocolate cake with white frosting and this year I was able to oblige him. I made my favorite dark chocolate cake and a variation of my favorite vanilla buttercream frosting -- a wonderful combination. I split my cake batter up into three pans for a super tall cake -- makes for great presentation. I piped a pretty edge around the top and bottom, shaved some Lindt dark chocolate on top and studded the bottom edge with dark chocolate covered espresso beads. It was a sight to behold if I do say so myself. ;-) Fortunately it tasted just as good as it looked.

My house was nice and cool so the cake sat on the dining room table awaiting the singing of the birthday song, but if it's at all warm in your house you will want to make room on a refrigerator shelf -- this buttercream frosting is very soft and will not hold up to heat.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

2 c. sugar
1¾ c. flour
¾ c. cocoa
1½ t. baking soda
1½ t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup oil
2 t. vanilla
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour two (or three) round 9” pans.
In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.
Beat on medium speed for two minutes.
Stir in boiling water by hand (batter will be thin).
Pour into prepared pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes for two round pans about 20-25 for three (toothpick test).
Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans.
Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 T. vanilla extract

milk as needed to make frosting of spreading consistency

2 oz dark chocolate for grating

dark-chocolate covered espresso beans or other decorative candy

Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.

Reduce the speed to low and gradually add all of the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, adding milk by the tablespoonful and scraping the bowl as needed until frosting is fluffy and spreadable.

Frost cake (using a crumb coat first because the chocolate crumbs will show on the white frosting). Using a grater, grate a layer of chocolate shavings over top of cake. Pipe a scallop around top and bottom edge if desired and stud bottom edge with coffee beans.

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Summer Supper #4

2011-06-30T08:01:00.001-04:00

I am experimenting with some of the apps we "spoke" about in my last post, and I'll let you know what I think of them in a few days. In the meantime...

...today's summer supper recipe was a really big hit with my entire family (except Peach who said it was spicy -- and it was), but I really loved it the most. I could have eaten it until it came out my ears. Luckily, it's low in fat so I practically did! This is not really a summer supper in that it's not made on the grill, nor needs seasonal ingredients, but it is very light and I just know my family would leave the table unsatisfied in the winter when you just feel like you need a stouter fare. Paired with some yummy Asian Broccoli, this meal was very satisfying on a summer night, and I can't wait to have it again.

The recipe came from Taste of Home Cooking and the only change I made was to use all white turkey instead of chicken. It was very tasty. If you have little ones who don't like it spicy, like Peach, you can cut back on the Sriracha, or prepare a small quantity in a separate pan without the Sriracha.

Spicy Asian Lettuce Wraps

serves 4 to 6

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2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons ginger root, peeled and grated
1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken (or turkey)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small can water chestnuts, chopped
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1-2 heads butter lettuce

Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan, add onion and saute about 2 minutes, then add garlic and ginger root and saute another minute. Add ground chicken (turkey) to frying pan and break apart, then add soy sauce and Sriracha. Cook until the chicken (turkey) is brown and crumbling apart about 5 minutes.

While chicken (turkey) cooks, wash and chop cilantro. Remove the core end from lettuce and separate leaves. Chop peanuts and put in small bowl to serve at the table. When turkey is done, add chopped water chestnuts and chopped cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes more.

To serve: place turkey mixture on lettuce leaf, sprinkle with peanuts, and fold the leaf closed to make it easy to grab and eat.

Source: Taste of Home Cooking

Kitchen Apps

2011-06-28T15:59:00.002-04:00

My husband gave me a new iPhone for my birthday. I really wasn't sure it would be worth it for me to have one, I don't play games and I thought maybe it would be a little bit of a waste of money. I have found it to be handy during down times, like sitting in an doctor's office, or riding as a passenger on the freeway -- I can check email and Google Reader and generally fool around (something I usually avoid doing).

What I didn't realize until just a few days ago is that there are recipe apps, and grocery list apps, and cooking iBooks that I can access from my phone. I also never realized how often I print recipes -- it's so much easier to just find the recipe on the internet and read it on my phone. It's very handy that way.

Anyway, I downloaded a free grocery list app last night, but then realized that if I wanted to use it the way I wanted to use it, I would have to spend a couple bucks to buy it. I don't mind doing that -- imagine all the paper I would save -- but I want to get a good one if I'm going to buy one.

So, my post today is a bleg -- do you use any cooking apps? Grocery list apps? Would you share your preferences either in the comm box or email me?

Thanks, friends!

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Summer Bulgur Salad

2011-06-27T14:06:00.006-04:00

This is the kind of food that I could eat all summer long, every single day. Simple food, simple and healthy ingredients. I love bulgur, and it's high and fiber and low in fat. It cooks quickly and adds a nutty flavor and great texture to this sunny salad -- bright with lemon, parsley and mint, tomato and cucumber. Yum.

Summer Bulgur Salad

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2 cups bulgur, cooked according to directions
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon or 1/4 cup
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup sliced green onions
4 diced Roma tomatoes
1 cup peeled and chopped cucumbers (more or less to taste -- I probably used 1/2 English cucumber and didn't measure)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Cook bulgur according to package directions. When done cooking, dump in a large bowl.

While the bulgur cooks, mix lemon juice, minced garlic, and olive oil.

Add dressing to cooked bulgur and zest lemon directly into bulgur.

When bulgur has cooled somewhat -- almost to room temp., add parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes and cucumber. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper and serve at room temp.

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Muffins that Taste Like Donuts

2011-06-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

I really try to make a special breakfast on Sunday morning -- something that is a treat for my family like Cinnamon Buns or Bun Bread or Scones. Usually I start the night before -- at least when I am making dough -- so that minimal effort is required on Sunday morning. Of course, that doesn't always happen. Recently I woke up on Sunday morning and realized I had failed to start dough the night before, but I remembered the recipe for these little muffins on my list of recipes to try and decided to give them a whirl.

These are yummy little gems and they really do taste like an old-fashioned donut. While old-fashioned is not my kids' favorite flavor (they actually all have their own favorite flavor), this plate of muffins disappeared in absolutely no time. Note to self: double the recipe next time.

The recipe came from Cheat Day Cafe and I made them exactly as written. There really were no specific directions for dunking the baked donuts in cinnamon sugar so I only dunked the tops. If you would like to dunk the entire muffin you'll need more butter and cinnamon sugar. I did rewrite the recipe just a tad for clarity.

Muffins that Taste Like Donuts

makes 12

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1¾ cup flour

1½ t. baking powder

½ t. salt

½ t. nutmeg

½ t. cinnamon

⅓ cups oil

¾ cups sugar

1 egg

¾ cups milk

¼ cups butter

⅓ cups sugar

1 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tin cups.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.

Remove muffins from tins while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix.

Source: modified from Cheat Day Cafe

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2011-06-23T16:53:00.003-04:00

Last week a dear reader, who also happens to be my oldest son's former sixth grade language arts teacher, left a comment saying she had made this recipe for Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with a Red Velvet cake mix and enjoyed them. Hmmm. It just so happens that my oldest son, Geoffrey, always asks me for Red Velvet cake, but I have never made one. I can't get past all that red food color. But, with a doctored-up cake mix, I wouldn't need to know how much red food color is in it. Right?

I thought about it for about five minutes and decided I definitely needed to try it out. After a quick text "consultation" with Geoffrey, asking chocolate ganache or traditional Red Velvet Cream Cheese Frosting, I decided to make these babies for Father's Day with the traditional Cream Cheese Frosting. They were very popular and I heard nary a negative comment among the whole family. I can't say I have ever had Red Velvet cake (at least that I remember), so I had nothing to compare it too, but I thought they were delish. And the frosting...divine!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
24 -28 cupcakes

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1 pkg Red Velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2 T. unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
½ cup oil
½ cup water
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners (I do one pan at a time, so you can just use one pan if you want). Set pans aside.

Place cake mix, cocoa powder, sour cream, oil, water, eggs and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Blend on low for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and beat 2 minutes longer. Pour batter into cupcake lined pans two-thirds full. Bake until cupcakes spring back lightly when touched, 20-26 minutes. Cool on racks for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack until completely cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting and refrigerate if it's very warm in the house. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Cream Cheese Frosting

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla

Whip cream cheese and butter until creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar, then add vanilla. Whip until smooth and of spreading consistency. Add more powdered sugar or a little bit of milk if necessary to get frosting to the right consistency. Place in decorator bag and pipe onto cupcakes, or spread with a knife.

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Cupcakes for a Little Cupcake Shower

2011-06-21T14:12:00.001-04:00

Double post today (first time ever, I think!). You may have already seen this bit of news at Praying for Grace, but I couldn't pass up the chance to shower my dear friend Charlotte with more good wishes, and give you the opportunity to wish her well (as well as the chance to win something neat).

Charlotte is expecting. Maybe you heard. ;-) And her family is calling their little darling "Cupcake," which I think is very sweet and very apropros. After all, what is a cupcake except a tiny bundle of yummy sweetness? Yup. Just like a baby.

Because I'm such a cupcake lover I knew I had to play along when Jessica posted news about a Cupcake Decorating Contest at the Virtual Baby Shower. But when I tried to think up something cute I just kept coming back to cupcake... cupcake... cupcake. Hmmm.

So cupcake it is...Cupcake themed Cupcakes (I wonder how many times I can type the word cupcake in one post). I made cupcake lollies with white and milk chocolate and popped them into the yummy vanilla cupcakes. Creative they really are not, but cute? I sheepishly admit they are -- all creamy and pink and sweet, just like a baby. And I don't mess around with cupcakes -- the best thing about these is the flavor, which I really wish I could share with my dear friend, Charlotte (Vanilla cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream frosting, dear C.).

If you haven't been to Jessica's blog to vote on the cutest cupcake or to decide which baby face belongs to which Catholic Cuisine contributor please go. (Did you find me? I'll give you a hint -- I'm old enough that my picture is black and white...and the picture was taken on my first birthday... in June...outdoors...big enough hint?) You'll find door prizes and a baby pool, and lots and lots of love.

God bless that little cupcake, Charlotte. We can't wait to meet her!

Summer Supper #4

2011-06-20T09:46:00.002-04:00

The grill is getting quite a workout so far this summer, and with delicious results. Note to self: get a propane back-up -- nothing worse than running out of gas halfway through the cookout.

This recipe was a huge hit again with the menfolk. I enjoyed it, but I'm not really a dark meat eater, so though I ate my share, I ate in moderation (always a good thing!). I think the next time I make it I'll prepare a few boneless breasts, even though I have a feeling they won't soak up the marinade quite as well as the thighs did. The recipe for the chicken came from Christy at The Girl Who Ate Everything. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except, knowing that the marinade gets discarded after the chicken soaks, I just couldn't "waste" 2 cups of soy sauce -- that's like more than a whole bottle. Besides, I could see my little pile of chicken thighs and I knew that I didn't need all that liquid. As it turned out, exactly half the marinade quantity was enough to completely submerge all the chicken -- any more than that would have been a waste. Thus, I have halved the recipe for posting here. In order to not waste the extra coconut milk (most cans are 14 oz.), substitute it for some of your cooking water for the rice -- it adds some creaminess that you'll enjoy.

For the grilled veggies and pineapple, just cut some veggies (I used red onion, red peppers and zucchini as well as fresh pineapple) into 1 inch pieces, or 1/2 inch slices for the zucchini and wedges for onion, skewer them and grill them right next to the chicken. It helps to spray the skewers with olive oil to keep them from sticking.

Grilled Hawaiian Chicken

serves 6 to 8

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3 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 cup water

3/4 cup brown sugar
4 green onions, chopped
2 T. finely chopped white onion
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
1 t. sesame oil
6 oz. ounces coconut milk

Trim chicken thighs of any visible fat. Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, sesame oil, and coconut milk in a large bowl. Marinade chicken for at least 4 hours or overnight to make sure the flavor gets infused.

Grill chicken at a low heat so that the marinade does not burn for 5-7 minutes per side or until done. (put the veggies on the same time as the meat).

Serve with grilled veggies and pineapple over a platter of coconut rice and garnish with green onions.

Source: modified from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Summer Supper #3

2011-06-15T20:03:00.001-04:00

Today's Summer Supper is really not a true summer supper because it was prepared indoors, but it was simple and easy to eat, so I count it as a summer supper.

I admit I actually was not completely gaga over this dish. It was very tasty, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure I'm really a cheesesteak kinda girl. My husband and sons, however, really liked it a lot. Faith and I split a sandwich and we were all happy.

The recipe called for making a cheese sauce, but I drew the line at that. I like the creamy, stringy texture of melted provolone, so I placed a slice on each sandwich and it melted perfectly. I say don't bother with cheese sauce. I also upped the steak sauce per the original recipe from Rachael Ray. I like the addition of the peppers, however (what's a cheese steak without peppers?) so my recipe is a combination of both recipes. Recipe below modified to my taste. You can Google the recipe to find Rachael Ray's original.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
4 to 6 servings

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1 T. olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup A-1 steak sauce
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
4-6 dinner rolls (meat mixture is enough for 6 rolls, so use enough rolls for your family -- I used this recipe to make roundish sort of sub buns)
4-6 slices provolone

In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and then brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Turn off flame and drain off fat (or use paper towels to sop it up -- my method). Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 10 minutes, until veggies are soft and liquid is thickened.

Split open rolls and toast briefly for a little color and texture. (Or don't -- up to you)

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls. Top with a slice of cheese.

Serve with sliced watermelon and cole slaw for an easy summer meal.

Source: modified from Taste of Home Cooking

Chocolatey...so very chocolatey... Gelato

2011-06-14T15:16:00.008-04:00

My husband likes chocolate. At our favorite local ice cream store he always gets Chocolate Chocolate Chip, sometimes with bittersweet chocolate topping. There's just no such thing as too chocolatey for him. He almost died and went to heaven last night when he ate this Chocolate Gelato. I made it for St. Anthony's feast day, and had every intention of making pizzelle cones, but since I was churning the ice cream as dinner cooked, the cones didn't happen. Luckily we had sugar cones in the pantry. And he ate two -- with big scoops.

It was good, I'll give him that (though I am more of a Strawberry Gelato girl). The kids loved it, too. So, I guess we'll make it again. I found the recipe here, but when I went to make it, I just couldn't imagine not using cream, so I did -- one cup of cream and two cups of milk. I know it's more fattening, but it's dairy fat, not like partially hydrogenated shortening fat. So, the recipe below is modified to my taste (and need for cream). Another note: I started mine the day of and not the night before, so don't let a little lack-of-planning stop you. Place your mixture in a bowl inside a bowl of ice for 30 minutes before you refrigerate it to give it a head start. I use this ice cream freezer and I love it!

So Very Chocolatey Gelato

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2 cups milk (I used 2%)

1 cup cream
3⁄4 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Bring 2 cups milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then remove from heat. Combine remaining 1 cup cream, sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa in a bowl, add to hot milk, and cook until sugar and cocoa dissolve.

Set aside to let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight (see my note above). Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions (mine was not quite perfect after churning so I froze it for an hour -- then it was perfect).

Modified from Saveur

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Summer Supper #2

2011-06-13T11:41:00.002-04:00

My second summer supper of the season is Chicken Fajitas and Peppercorn. Chicken Fajitas are a favorite in our house, but they always seem to require a lot of work. Like with tacos, I always feel obliged to offer a huge array of toppings, plus a side of rice and refritos, and then, suddenly, it's a big deal. For this meal, I simplified my toppings and sides, and every one was happy with them just the way I served them. I started the meat marinating in the afternoon, but my chicken breasts were frozen, so they thawed in the marinade on the counter. The marinade is really only a few ingredients, so it was not a big deal to get them started. The Peppercorn is a quick and easy side for grilled meat, but was wonderful on top of the meat inside a warm corn (or flour) tortilla. Topped with sour cream, a little jarred salsa and paired with some fresh fruit -- it was a completely satisfying and easy summer supper.

Easy Chicken Fajitas and Peppercorn

serves 4

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Fajitas:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1-2 t. cumin
2 T. fresh minced cilantro, if desired
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
corn or flour tortillas
sour cream
your favorite jarred salsa

Mix together olive oil, lime juice and spices. Place chicken breasts in plastic zipper bag and pour marinade over. Seal and let marinade for several hours (in the fridge unless chicken is frozen).

At dinner time, preheat grill. Drain off marinade and discard. Grill chicken until done. Let sit for 5 minutes and then slice thinly crosswise. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve on warm corn or flour tortillas with sour cream, peppercorn and salsa, if desired.

Peppercorn

1 T. olive or canola oil
12 oz. bag frozen corn
1 red or orange pepper, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
6 green onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 t. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Lime (optional)

Heat large skillet over medium high heat. Heat oil in skillet. Add corn and peppers and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until corn is hot and peppers are tender. Add green onions, garlic and cumin and stir, cooking until corn is cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze a half a lime over corn (if desired) and serve.

Serve this meal with some orange wedges, fresh berries or sliced watermelon for an easy and healthy summer supper.

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Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-06-11T17:27:00.000-04:00

I have another summer supper to post here, but I need more than a few moments to gather my recipes and post them. In the meantime, I'll post this absolutely scrumptious recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes. You can make them in almost the time it takes to say Chocolate Cupcakes three times. Maybe a little longer ;-) but they are really easy.

I combined two really yummy cupcakes to come up with them. I made this recipe from Tasty Kitchen a few months ago but I really was not gaga over the cake. You know me and cake. So for my son's grad party, I took my favorite, super easy cupcake recipe and combined it with the truly delicious ganache frosting from the other recipe. The cupcake is so soft and moist and perfect, and the ganache gets a little bit firm (unless left in the heat -- don't do that!). It's delightful to break through the topping to get to the soft cupcake. It's very, um, Hostessesque, but so much better. I modified the ganache recipe for ease in measuring and for a little bit more ganache.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache
24 cupcakes

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1 pkg plain devil's food cake mix
2 T unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
½ cup oil
½ cup water
3 eggs
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners (I do one pan at a time, so youu can just use one pan if you want). Set pans aside.

½ cups heavy cream

½ cups butter

2 cups good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat the heavy cream and 1/2 cup butter in the microwave until it is steaming. Remove and add the chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes (really -- just let it sit, don't fuss) then stir until smooth. If necessary, heat again very briefly until chocolate is completely melted.

Let it sit for at least an hour or until it becomes ‘spreadable’. You may have to put it in the fridge in summer months in order to help it along. Spread on cool cupcakes.

Irish Soda Scones

2011-06-09T20:17:00.001-04:00

Yummy, yum. You know I love scones (just click on "scones" in my sidebar), and I really love Soda Bread. So, I knew when I saw this recipe for Irish Soda Scones I would love them, it just took me a while to get around to making them. But this morning I did, bright and early before it got too hot. The oven doesn't have to be on all that long, so it did not warm things up much at all. And these little yummies were more than worth any heat they generated. Little Irish Soda Bread loaves is what they are -- soft and slightly sweet, with raisins and caraway, just the way I think soda bread should be.

One note to make: I used shortening because I was low on butter, but I did brush the tops with melted butter after they came out of the oven. Serve them with jam or butter or on the side of a plate of eggs -- anyway is good, just serve them!

Recipe modified just a tad from the Brown-eyed Baker.

Irish Soda Bread Scones

makes 12

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3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ t. baking soda
1½ t. cream of tartar
1 t. salt
4 T. unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cups buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup currants or raisins
1 T. caraway seeds (optional)
2 T. butter, melted (for brushing)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and position rack in upper-middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (or lightly grease).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Work the softened butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or a fork or your hands until the flour mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add the buttermilk, egg, raisins and caraway seeds and stir with a fork just until the dough begins to come together. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead gently just until the dough is cohesive. It should be bumpy – overworking it will cause the resulting scones to be tough instead of tender and flaky.

Divide the dough evenly into two pieces and pat each into a round shape. Using a sharp knife, each round into six triangular scones. Place on baking sheet in the rounds, but separating scones so they are not touching. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. The scones should be golden brown and a thin knife or skewer should come out clean. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with the melted butter. Allow to cool to room temperature.

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Summer Supper #1

2011-06-08T19:55:00.003-04:00

After my recent post about summer cooking I decided to take a look at the dishes I prepare in the summer, and find a way to make over the dishes we enjoy, making them simple to prepare on these hot summer days. I will share with you all the (successful) meals I makeover and hopefully we'll all have a cool, laborless summer of good eats.

It's just the first week of June and already the temps are in the mid 90s, so I not only don't feel like cooking, but I hardly feel like eating. I had a recipe for a Balsamic Steak I wanted to try, however, and I chose some other simple sides that made a quick and yummy meal. I altered the steak recipe to throw it on the grill and added a simple salad and Camp Potatoes for a yummy, super simple supper . Everything that is cooked goes on the grill and it took no longer than five minutes to prep any item.

Though I have listed exact ingredients and preparation methods, these are such simple recipes they can be enjoyed the way you like them. Add some other veggies to the salad if you like, or some Blue Cheese sprinkles for a little extra tang, or some croutons for crunch. And add whatever spices you like to the potatoes -- paprika is nice and mild, cayenne gives them a nice kick, or thyme is wonderful to go with some grilled chicken.

The skirt steak is a very tender cut -- I really prefer it over flank, but my grocer only had flat iron when I was there -- also a really great tender cut.

Balsamic Steak and Salad with Camp Potatoes

serves 4-6

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Steak:

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

2 t. dark brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1-2 pound skirt steak (I used a 1.5 pound flat iron)

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add steak, turning to coat; seal and marinate at room temperature 25 minutes, turning once (or for several hours in the fridge). Remove steak from bag; discard marinade.

Preheat grill. Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Add steak to grill and turn down to medium low; cook 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steak from pan and cover with foil; let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across the grain into thin slices and serve next to or on top of salad.

Salad:

2 heads romaine lettuce, cut and washed

several thin slices red onion, quartered

2 Roma tomatoes washed and halved and sliced thinly

Dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
½ t. kosher salt
3 T. white balsamic vinegar
3 T. olive oil oil
1/8 t. black pepper

Place lettuce, tomatoes and onion in a salad bowl.
Mix all dressing ingredients in a jar.
Shake for a minute to completely blend. Toss salad just before serving.

Camp Potatoes

serves 4-6

4 to 5 large Idaho potatoes, washed and sliced thin

1/4 red or Vidalia onion, sliced thin and quartered

salt and pepper

vegetable oil

several teaspoons of melted butter (optional)

sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Preheat grill.

Spread a large sheet of aluminum foil on your work space (or smaller sheets for individual servings).

Drizzle with a teaspoon or so of oil.

Place a layer of potatoes (about half) on foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with half the onions and the remaining potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the remaining onions. Drizzle with several teaspoons of oil. Fold up top and sides of foil to make a sealed packet.

Place on grill and cook on low for 40 to 50 minutes. Check potatoes to see if they are fork tender (the ones on the bottom will get a lot of color, but that's o.k.)

Remove from packet (or serve from the packet for really easy clean up). Taste and add salt or pepper as needed. Drizzle with melted butter and/or cheese for extra yum.

Yummy, Soft White Bread

2011-06-07T09:39:00.001-04:00

I have had a lifelong search for white bread (just a slight exaggeration) -- the perfect, homemade, soft-as-bakery-bread, white bread. Occasionally I find a recipe that I think is the best, and then I try a few more recipes and find another. None have been perfect, but this one today is really almost there.

This recipe was sort of an accident, an experiment you might say. I took a recipe that I had used many times and I subbed bread flour for all-purpose. Oh. my. goodness. What I ended up with was the softest, yummiest white bread I had ever made. The substitution of the bread flour for all-purpose took a loaf that was originally dense and chewy (very tasty and perfect for its purpose) and made it squishably soft.

The first day I baked it I used bread flour because I ran out of all-purpose. It performed exactly the same as the all-purpose dough when I kneaded it and formed the loaves, and when it came out of the oven, it looked and felt identical to the all-purpose loaf. I set it on the rack to cool with no expectations at all, but when I grabbed it later to slice it for dinner -- oh my -- it squished! What I sliced into was so soft it was just like a cloud of white bread.

Maybe you think I am going a little over the top here for a loaf of bread, but homemade bread is so magical anyway that creating a soft delicious bread by accident was just incredible to me.

I now make this bread every week -- using a loaf pan for the traditional shape and for fitting slices into the toaster -- and so far I have not even thought to look for another recipe. We are happy right now, me and my bread.

If you like wheat bread, I'm afraid I can't help you today -- this loaf is all about being soft and white.

Soft White Bread

makes three round loaves or two traditional bread pan loaves

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1 1/2 T. yeast

3 c. warm water

7 c. bread flour (plus more for kneading)

2 t. salt

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

Mix the yeast in the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes. After the yeast sits, add several cups of flour and the salt. Stir in the oil. Add flour until you can no longer stir with a spoon.

Place the dough on a flat surface with some flour sprinkled on it. Knead the dough until it becomes firm and elastic (or use Kitchen Aid mixer with dough hook). Grease the bowl and place the dough in it. Turn the dough so it is greased all over.

Cover the bowl and set in a warm place until the dough has doubled in volume.

Remove the dough and knead it again over a floured tabletop, to remove air pockets and until the dough feels smooth. Return the dough to a covered bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes. Cut the dough as desired to form bars, loafs or balls and place on greased pans. Cut slits in top of bread as desired.

Let bread rise on pans 30 more minutes. Place in a very hot oven (450 degrees F) for 30 to 50 minutes (30 minutes is plenty for three balls, but 40 will be necessary for large loaves, longer if you make one large loaf), or until the tops of the bars become toasted and they sound hollow when knocked on the bottom. Remove the bread from the pans and let cool.

Corn OFF the Cob Gadget

2011-06-02T09:41:00.000-04:00

It seems every summer for the past few we've had a child in braces. I was thinking about the numbers of kids in braces and figured the odds are pretty good you have one, too. Because corn on the cob is such a favorite in our house, and because kids with braces have to eat their corn OFF the sob, this gadget sure comes in handy in the summer.

My aunt always gifts me a few fun kitchen gadgets at Christmas and this was one I received last year. It sure beats standing the cob in a bundt pan and slicing all the corn off. And if you buy one, you can make this salad in no time. Huge bonus!

Summer Cookin'

2011-05-30T15:03:00.002-04:00

The change of seasons is always an exciting time for me. The change of seasons means a change in cooking style and available foods. You know how comforting stews and casseroles are to prepare and eat in the winter. Grilled meats and fresh salads taste just as good in the summer.

In the past few weeks, I've been cooking more summer foods and I've noticed an unfortunate thing...it seems to me that summer foods require more time in the kitchen and I'm trying to figure out why. Maybe it's the meals my family loves to eat in the summer and less about the actual season, but I have noticed that summer foods seem to require more advance prep than winter foods.

While in the fall and winter I might have to start a winter stew or casserole an hour or two before dinner time, I can pretty much throw all my foods in a dish or pot and forget about it until dinner time. But pasta and potato salads require advance preparation to allow for them to be chilled, and grilled meats usually require some sort of early-in-the-day fussing over marinade or rubs.

Today I made a Bacon and Onion Potato salad and some Strawberry Gelato to take to a cookout and I spent quite a bit of time early this afternoon prepping in the kitchen -- not what I wanted to do today.

So my questions to you today are these: what are your favorite summer meals? And do you find that you do more or less meal prep in the summer vs. the winter?

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Hoagie Dip

2011-05-29T11:27:00.000-04:00

This week I tried a recipe that has been on my "recipes to try" list on my sidebar for a while. I saw it back at the end of the professional football season -- a suggested Super Bowl dish. When I saw it I knew my boys would love it and they did. I did, too! All of the flavors of a delicious meat hoagie, in the easy to serve and eat form of a dip. I made two loaves of Artisan Bread (in 5 minutes) and sliced one up and used the other to serve.

My version of the dip is maybe what you would call "poor man's" because I used only salami and ham instead of the pricier prosciutto, but I think this dip would be good with almost any meat -- even bologna. I used 1/2 pound of both ham and salami. I think next time I'll had some hot ham for spice, but other than that I wouldn't change a thing. The day after I made it I thought that using it for cold topping on a hot pepperoni pizza would be almost divine, so we'll try that soon -- a sort of pizza sub. Yum!

Hoagie Dip

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1/2 purple onion diced

4 pickled pepperoncini peppers drained and diced (I used 8 medium)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce chopped about the size of nickels
1 large tomato, halved, seeded, and diced (I used two)
1/2 pound deli-sliced Genoa salami, sliced and diced
1/2 pound deli-sliced ham, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese, sliced and diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 10-to-12-inch round loaf of choice, hollowed out
8 hoagie rolls, cut into pieces or halves for spreading dip on (I sliced another loaf of bread)

Combine the chopped vegetables, meats and cheese in a large bowl.

In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and red pepper flakes and stir until everything is all mixed up.

If you are going to serve within an hour, pour the dressing over the meat/veggie mixture and toss until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you are NOT eating it soon, keep all ingredients refrigerated until about an hour before then toss together so that the lettuce does not get soggy.

Carve out the center of the bread loaf to make a bowl and cut the top piece taken out into bite-size pieces. Serve the hoagie dip in the bread bowl, with the extra bread and hoagie rolls to scoop it up.

Source: modified from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Number 2 Stovetop Mac and Cheese

2011-05-27T13:21:00.001-04:00

My family loves, loves good old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese. But that's a recipe that I don't make for lunch -- it's a little more involved than I like to get into for lunch when we are sometimes schooling right through the lunch hour. I love this recipe for a quick mac 'n' cheese, but sometimes for lunch my kids beg me (I mean it) not to make the kind with veggies. O.k., sometimes you just want simple comfort food without the veggies.

Rachel Ray's Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese is just right for a quick comfy lunch without the neon orange cheese that comes in the blue box. It's soft and creamy and very cheesy. I call it the Number 2 Mac 'n' Cheese because all the ingredients come in twos -- super easy to remember. It does call for 2 cups of half and half and when I read that the first time my arteries gave me a gratuitous squeeze. I do use half and half, but I water it down -- about 1 1/4 cups half and half with the rest of the two cup measure being water. It tastes just as yummy. I'm sure you could use milk as well, just don't use a really low fat milk (fat = flavor). Don't forget to taste and salt and pepper at the end, and if your people like a little spice, add a dash of cayenne pepper. I use an 8 oz. block of sharp cheddar cheese shredded in the mini cuisinart and reserve a little to put on top of each serving.

Number 2 Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese

serves 4

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2 cups elbow macaroni

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

2 cups half-and-half, warmed

8-ounce bag shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente; drain in a colander.

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the warmed half-and-half and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is steaming hot and thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar until melted. Stir in the cooked macaroni and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: Rachel Ray .

Chili con Carne a la Nigella

2011-05-24T08:25:00.003-04:00

I noticed this photo in my iPhoto album the other day and realized I had never posted the recipe. I do that sometimes when I have a lot of recipes at once -- someone always gets left behind (luckily it wasn't one of my kids!). This was a really yummy recipe, however, and I'm glad I found it because I need to put it on the menu again. It is modified just a smidge from Nigella Express -- she used coriander in hers, as well as cardamom and I don't like either spice really (I can't stand coriander). The recipe called for 1/2 t. coriander, and three cardamom pods, if you want to add it. The quantities should be an approximation for you, because you want it to taste the way you like it -- if you like more or less spice, more or less beans, whatever, make it your way. We ate it dumped over baked potatoes with some lovely white cheddar shredded on top. Use the cheese you like, or sour cream -- whatever tastes good. It was a very quick dish to make, starting an hour or more ahead for the potatoes, but only spending 30 minutes or so on the chili -- mostly just simmer time.

Note: I sliced open the sausages and dumped the chorizo into the pot with the beef, but if you would rather have pieces, slice it up instead -- it should be the raw chorizo, not smoked). I also doubled the amount for my family.

Quick Chili

serves 2 to 4

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1/3 lb (just over 5 ounces) chorizio sausage
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 t. ground cumin (more or less to taste -- I used more)
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
16 oz. jar good quality tomato & chunky veg sauce for pasta
14 oz. can mixed spicy beans (I used pink chili beans)
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (found this in the Asian food aisle)
1/4 t. red pepper flakes

Cut the chorizo links open and place in a hot, heavy pan and cook over a medium heat until the sausage crisps a little and gives up its orange-red oil. Add ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up to help it brown.

When beef is browned, stir in the spices and then add the pasta sauce, spicy beans and chilli sauce. Also add chilli flakes if desired.

Bring to the boil and then turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese or sour cream over baked potatoes.

Source: modified from Nigella Express

If you need some alone time...

2011-05-22T20:28:00.000-04:00

...try doing the dishes.

Haha -- that's a funny saying, but it sure is true. Whenever I ask for help with the dishes, my kids, who just moments before may have been bored to tears, always find something to do.

We recently purchased a new dishwasher and I am thoroughly enjoying loading and unloading -- two jobs I admit I never enjoyed before. During the long season of Lent, I was washing every dish, so loading and unloading seems like a breeze now.

At the start of Lent, I had decided that I would try very hard not to make any unnecessary purchases. That was before the dishwasher died, for the umpteenth time. After having repaired the darned thing half a dozen times over the past two years, my husband said he wasn't spending another nickle to fix it. He said, "Buy another." I, however, knew in my heart of hearts, that a new dishwasher is not a "necessary purchase." I can not physically heat the oven or cool the refrigerator, but I can wash a dish. Urg. And wash I did.

For all of Lent I went through the process of cleaning up after meals the way my mother (in her younger days) and my grandmother and their mothers before them -- the methodical process of efficiently rinsing, washing the least dirty items first, and then the messy pots and pans. I actually didn't mind the whole process, but I admit I am enjoying my new dishwasher (a Kitchen Aid Classic Series).

When I was washing the dishes several times a day, however, I did a lot of thinking about dish soap (what else do you think about when you have in sudsy water much of the day?). I always had a favorite dish soap, Palmolive Oxy. But I got a little bored with it and switched around a bit. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Palmolive) I never found another soap that made as many bubbles. It may not be indicative of cleaning power, but I do like a lot of bubbles.

Eventually I went back to the blue Palmolive, but the other day at Target I picked up a bottle of JR Watkins natural dish soap and I'm going to give it a try.

Anyway...the point of this post was just to ask what dish soap do you use? Do you like it for its cleaning ability, its scent, its ecological factors? I admit my college son has me thinking more about what chemicals are in my soaps and that's why I am trying the Watkins. What is important in a dish soap for you?

Kalua Pork and Cabbage

2011-05-19T08:52:00.000-04:00

Last week we celebrated the feast of St. Damien of Molokai with a Ohioan/Hawaiian luau (Ohio because that's where we are!). We have learned about St. Damien at home and my children find his life to be fascinating (who wouldn't?). We've never enjoyed Hawaiian food, however, and so I wasn't sure what to expect. I asked Esther for a recommendation on typically Hawaiian food and she told me that Kalua Pork and Cabbage is one to try. She gave me a link for a crock-pot method, which is the one I made. But now that I know what I'm looking for in terms of taste, I think I'll try the other method she gave me, which is a little more jazzed up. I must say, however, that almost every recipe I found for Kalua Pork is exactly three ingredients: pork, salt, and liquid smoke. Pretty simple stuff.

I admit I was hesitant about the liquid smoke in this recipe. I don't like a smoky flavored BBQ sauce and I was afraid the smoke flavor would be overwhelming, but because the list of ingredients is so basic, there didn't seem to be any way around it. I used a Mesquite flavored liquid smoke (which is apparently a mild flavor) and it was very natural tasting -- it tasted as though it had been smoked outdoors. My family loved the flavor and the texture of this tasty pork and I think we will enjoy it again -- it's just too bad St. Damien's day only comes once a year.

Kalua Pork

serves 6

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about 3 lbs. Pork butt or shoulder
3 T. concentrated liquid smoke (I used the mildest Mesqite flavor)

3 T. Kosher, rock, or Hawaiian salt (I used Kosher, but if you can find Hawaiian that might be a real treat)
Small head of cabbage
Water

Place pork roast in the crockpot. Pour liquid smoke over it and sprinkle with salt. Fill crockpot with water to cover.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Roast should pretty well fall apart when stuck with a fork. Remove pork from crockpot and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Cut cabbage into large chunks and place in the broth of the crockpot and let cook on high until cabbage is tender. When pork is cool enough to handle, shred and add back to the crockpot until serving time.

Serve cabbage and pork over hot white rice.

Tea

2011-05-17T15:19:00.001-04:00

The ladies at Snapshots Around the World are enjoying tea (or at least photographs) this week, and so, I'm posting my picture here, again.

My tea is Barry's Gold with a bit of sugar and 1% milk. Enjoyed with a chocolate, chocolate chip, cherry biscotti.

Tea for me, is much more than a beverage. Tea, is an event, whether enjoyed alone or with family, or with a friend. To me, tea is a process, and a moment to be enjoyed. I know some people make tea with a cup of water in the microwave. For me, heating one's water in the microwave defeats the purpose. The point is to have a moment of two during the day (and by moment I mean more than a minute) to slow down, to relax and divert one's attention from work. The process of brewing the tea is important to the total experience.

Fill the kettle with cool, fresh water and put it on the stove. Heat until boiling (the water must be very hot in order to brew the tea properly). When the water boils, turn it off and let it sit for just a moment. The decision to use a tea bag or loose leaves is personal. Loose leaves are not always superior over tea bags, as long as quality tea is used -- with either method. Quality tea does not have to be exorbitantly expensive -- just choose a good, reliable brand, or visit a tea shop and ask for advice. Place loose leaves in a strainer (or chose a bag) and place in cup or tea pot. Add hot water and let steep for at least three to five minutes -- taste to determine your preference. Do not dunk twice and discard -- you are completely missing the point, and the taste. After steeping, remove bag or strainer (do not squeeze). Add sugar, lemon or cream (or leave plain). Serve with a treat. Keep a box or tin of cookies in the pantry just for tea, or bake some scones and pop them in the freezer -- pull one out and heat in the oven or toaster oven for 20 minutes before tea time. Sit and enjoy with a book, a friend, or just quiet moments looking out the window.

A good cup of tea should recharge you, and not just because it's caffeinated.

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