New Farm Inspired Spicy Lentil Loaf

As mentioned in the previous post, I was experimenting with some new recipes this weekend.  The lentil loaf recipe appealed to me because I had some leftover rice in the fridge and I love lentils.  I put my own twist on this recipe which I found in the New Farm  Cookbook edited by Louise Hagler and Dorothy Bates.  I highly recommend this cookbook.  It has many great recipes that can be customized to suit anyone’s taste.

Spicy Lentil Loaf

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups Lentils

3-1/2 cups water

2 small or 1 large Onion, chopped

2 cups Brown Rice, cooked

1/2 tsp. minced Garlic (optional)

1/3 cup + 1/3 cup Hot or Mild Salsa, divided

 Seasonings of your choice (I like cumin, chili powder and crushed red peppers)

 

Directions:

Rinse and sort you lentils then cook them with 3-1/2 cups of water.  Lentils are ready when almost all of the water has been absorbed.  While the lentils are cooking, sauté your onions and garlic in oil or water until onions are clear and soft.  In a large bowl, partially mash lentils with a fork or potato masher and combine with the onion and garlic mixture, brown rice, 1/3 cup salsa and seasonings.  Firmly press this mixture into a well oiled loaf pan and cover the top with remaining salsa.

Bake for 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

I enjoyed this with some vegan cornbread and mixed green salad.  How do you like you lentils prepared?

From scratch baby food

Hadley started solid foods (well, not really solid because they are pureed until they do not resemble anything solid) about two weeks ago and besides the little reaction to sweet potatoes, all is well. So far, she like peas, loves carrots and tolerates pears. We will be trying green beans, apples, yogurt and plums in the next round. Basically, she has to eat the same thing for four straight days so we can be sure she is not going to react to it and then we can vary up the menu a little. Not that she minds eating the same thing for every meal because she has basically been doing that for the last six months.

My plan all along has been to make baby food but I decided to buy the organic jars of food first so I could see what she likes and then start making food after that. Since she only eats an ounce of food at a time, I did not want an abundance of food she did not like and I knew if she did not like peas that Kerry was certainly not going to finish them off for me.  I say I will be making it from scratch but really it is just steaming the food and then pureeing in my food processor. No additional ingredients. Nothing complicated.  Best part- the serving are easily stored in ice cube trays (perfect one ounce serving) and we can just pop out and defrost as needed.

Crumble

When in Namibia, we used to travel occasionally from ever-sunny Ombalantu to the capital, Windhoek. It was, I guess, seven, eight hours of driving along basically straight, flat, featureless road. But Windhoek was the bright lights, and always fun to be there. We used to stay with an hospitable Kiwi couple and I remember one night, Julie whipped up an apple crumble for dessert. I was SO impressed. What a gift, I thought, what a sign of a perfect guest. And it was that night that I learned the desirability of having a few recipes up your sleeve when staying with friends.

 I was reminded of that when we returned from the Sunday market with a couple of bundles of rhubarb stalks in our bag. And deciding to make rhubarb crumble for dessert. Five stalks of rhubarb chopped into short lengths and one peeled apple sliced, gently simmered in a pot for maybe 15 minutes with ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup water. Maybe a bit of cinnamon, a dash of vanilla essence.

Then, transfer to a shallow baking dish and top with … well, this is probably my favourite topping … Combine:

½ cup soft brown sugar

½ cup flour

½ cup coconut

¼ cup melted butter

1 tspn cinnamon

And bake in a moderate oven for maybe 30 minutes. So the top browns and the liquid bubbles. Divine when it starts to caramelize! And served with whipped cream.

Tofu, Minced Pork and Cabbage

One of my favourite dishes is Mabu Dofu, which I’ve loved every since I lived in Japan and always end up eating on my birthday.  Japanese mabu dofu is much milder than the original Chinese Szechuan dish – although I’ll more than happily eat either.

This isn’t quite mabu dofu, but is not a million miles away and still extremely tasty…

While the rice was happily cooking away in the Cook Japan rice cooker, I turned my attention to rest of the dish…mixing a bit of water, miso, sugar, mirin and salt in a bowl, then frying the cabbage over a low heat with the minced pork.  Once the mince starts to change colour in comes the mixed seasoning and then the tofu cubes for a final 10-minute simmer and the whole thing goes on top of a steaming bowl of rice.

Although the miso gives the dish a nice deep flavour, I love my mabu dofu a bit spicier than my children so in goes a really good dollop of kotsujan (korean spicy miso paste) to give the whole dish a kick…

…as I say not really a “pure” traditional Japanese, Chinese or Korean dish, but one where having robbed bits and pieces from each kitchen the resulting dish is lovely.

Creamy Scallop and Broccoli Pasta

Scallops
broccoli
angel hair pasta
cheese
milk
flour
chicken salt
all spice
pepper
parsley
dry white wine

Create a white sauce by melting the butter and adding an equal amount of flour. Add the milk gradually, to create a nice consistency. add all spice, pepper and chicken salt to taste. add a handfull of cheese. Cook scallops. remove scallops from pan, add finely chopped parsley and garlic. add some wine. cook angel hair pasta drain. meanwhile lightly steam the small bite sized pieces of broccoli. add pasta and a little of the liquid into the pan add the white sauce, broccoli and scallops. serve. yummy!!! and not too rich.

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Soup

 

I know there are scads of pumpkin soup recipes out there, but I love this one for the use of fresh pumpkin, the light ginger flavor and ease to make. You can also use butternut squash when pumpkins are not available.

2 1/2 lbs pumpkin
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3-4 slices orange rind
1-2 bay leaves
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4-6 tablespoons cream (optional) or yogurt (optional) or mascarpone cheese (optional)
snipped chives (optional)
Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds, then cut the flesh into 1 inch cubes.
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottom pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry over low heat until soft, but not colored.
Add pumpkin and toss for 2-3 minutes.
Add stock and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt, pepper, ginger, lemon juice, orange rind, and bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, until pumpkin is tender.
Discard the orange rind and bay leaves. Cool slightly then press through a strainer OR process in a food processor until smooth (this is what I do for a heartier soup). Pour into a clean pan.
Add milk and reheat gently, Adjust seasonings if necessary. Optional, garnish with cream and chives, and swirl for a pretty effect.

Calling all foodies!

I just saw an ad in the local paper for a yummy day out at Barrington Court in Somerset on 3rd-4th October. They are calling it Chutfest and it’s a big food festival where you can take along your own homemade jam, chutnies and other preserves, and swap them for ones made by other people. If you take along a jar or two, you get in free, otherwise you have to pay the normal entrance fee as it’s a National Trust property. There will also be lots of other local food stalls including one of my favourite places Pitney Farm Shop who make THE most delicious sausages ever! I’m going to take along some damson jam and chutney and see what I can swap it for. I won’t however be taking any of my fig jam, I only managed to make three jars with the figs we had this year, and it’s just too good to share!!

Kitchen Experiments: Apple Turnovers & Sausage Chili

I recently made some fresh puff pastry.  The last time I made this was during the pastry module while I was in culinary school.  I was fascinated with how the layers would form just from folding some dough and wrapping it around butter.  Seriously, whoever thought of this procedure is a pure genius and for me, he/she is right up there with Albert Einstein!  Since I made the dough, I stored it in the freezer for another day.  Yesterday happened to be the day when I decided to take it out and make something wonderful with that puff pastry:  apple turnovers!  Who doesn’t love warm, sweet apples nestled in layers of flaky dough? With a cup of coffee, this simple treat is a great way to start my morning!

Apple Turnovers Yield, 10 to 12 turnovers
Ingredients:

• 1 large sheet of puff pastry (Of course you can use your preferred brand of store bought puff pastry!)
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best)
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional, but if using freshly ground is best)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 T milk

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, add the apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, cinnamon salt, nutmeg, and cloves, if using.  Set aside.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out your puff pastry into a large sheet.

   Puff pastry before rolling

   Rolled out puff pastry

3. Using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, cut your puff pastry in half.  Set one half aside.  Cut the remaining half into 6 even rectangles.
4. Fill each rectangle with about a tablespoon of the apple mixture, draining it of any juices that may have developed in the bowl.
5. Brush the edges of the rectangle with beaten egg and fold the rectangle over, pressing lightly to remove any air.  Use a fork to crimp together the edges.
6. Place each turnover on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush each with the beaten egg.
7. Using a sharp knife, cut 2 or 3 slits in the top of each turnover, to create slits. These slits will serve as vents and will keep your pastries from exploding!

8. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

While your turnovers are cooling, you can make the icing!

1. In the bowl of a mixer, combine confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract and milk.
2. Mix until it reaches a thick consistency, resembling icing.  If you need to thin it out a bit, add a few drops of more milk.
3. Using a spoon, drizzle the icing on top of your turnovers.

After spending the day surrounded by sweets, I decided I wanted something spicy for dinner, so I made some sausage chili.

Sausage Chili, Yield 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 links of hot italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeños, seeds and stems removed and diced
• 1/2 dried habañero, stems and seeds removed and minced
• 3/4 cup red wine or 1 bottle beer
• 2 T of cajun seasoning
• 2 T of chili powder
• 2 T of cumin
• 1 (1lb, 13 oz) can of pink beans
• 1 (28 oz) can of tomatoes
• Top with crumbled cotija cheese or cheddar

1. Warm a stock pot or dutch oven to medium heat.
2. Add olive oil.
3. Once olive oil is heated, add onion and cook until soft and edges are brown, about 5 – 6 minutes.
4. Add sausage.  Crumble the sausage while cooking.  Cook until browned through about 10 minutes.
5. Add garlic, jalapeños and habañero and cook 2 minutes more.
6. Add wine or beer and scrape the bottom of the pot to remove any bits that are stuck. Cook another 2 minutes until liquid is reduced.
7. Add cajun seasoning, chili powder and cumin, stirring to incorporate. Cook another minute.
8. Add beans and tomatoes.
9. Simmer, covered, for about 20-30 minutes until thick.
10. To serve, ladle into bowl and top with crumbled cotija or cheddar cheese

In Preparation Mode

As I write this, I’ve got rice cooking so that I can make rice balls for today’s elementary school sports festival, there’s an overnight bag on my bed that I’ll be using this evening so that I can celebrate The Japanese Best Friend’s birthday, and I’m also listening to The Daily Show (continuing this week’s theme of Checking in With America). I feel as though I’m trying to cover three major areas of my life at once: My Work, My Friends, My Eventual Return to The Homeland. And it’s only 4:48 in the morning!

So, Friday! Because it’s still Friday in most areas of the world where this blog is perused.

Friday was the one day of the week where I actually had to work, and since that only entailed one class with my Baby Buddha Fifth Graders, it wasn’t overly stressful. I was particularly pleased with the lesson, though, because I gave them their first “let’s read and write actual honest-to-goodness English” worksheet and they all did extremely well. Also, because the reading section used sentences and expressions that The Enlightened Ones already know how to say (in the context of conversation), I think that their reading and pronunciation skill was at least as good as my middle school students’ (*cough*ifnotbetter*cough*).

The actual memory that I want to take from the day happened after lunch, when I joined the teachers and the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders to set up for Saturday’s sports festival. Quite simply, it was extremely entertaining. I was able to help with erecting tents, and then I also carried an ungodly number of tables and chairs from the second floor of the gym to the field. (Unfortunately, my ability to carry a table all by myself only served to provoke the fifth year boys, who promptly decided that THEY TOO could carry a table all by themselves. Sometimes, I wonder if I will ever fully grasp how impressionable children are.)

Still, the kids were all in a really good mood and I was feeling playful, so we had about an hour and a half of goofy good times. My fourth graders were obsessed with climbing on to my back (what is it with these Monkey Children????), my fifth years kept tracking me down to recite tongue twisters (when they weren’t carrying those tables, that is), and I was cajoled into arm wrestling most of the sixth grade boys.

There is one particular student (currenly a sixth grader) who has been attached to me since the day that I arrived, and he has recently discovered that I am very ticklish. This means that in addition to the aforementioned goofy good times, I spent the afternoon looking over my shoulder and anticipating his attacks (which came about once every ten minutes). Unfortunately, as soon as he began to lose interest in the “Let’s Harass Julie” activity, some of his classmates started to help him corner me, and so then it became a communal “Let’s Harass Julie” extravaganza, which was even better. I called upon the 4th years to defend me, which they did by climbing on to my back…

Teacher? I’m a teacher? Zoo keeper, my friends.

And so, Saturday will be my last sports festival. It will definitely be the last one for this year, and I’m fairly certain that it will be my last one for quite some time. In some respects, I’m happy that it’s going to be with this school, because I am extremely fond off the students and I know that they will help me to do this day the right way. Unfortunately, there is a Very, Very, Very Good Chance that I am going to have not one, but two events that will shatter and remove all traces of my pride and dignity.

I seriously mean that. I won’t go into it now – it will be more worthwhile to include it in Sunday’s Sports Festival Reflections post.

For now, let’s just say that if I have to make a prediction as to how this will go down, I predict: Badly. Based on my experiences last year, the year before, and the year before that, in addition to this year’s theme of Let’s Embarrass Julie So Much That Her Very Soul Quivers, I do believe that the odds are stacked against me.

I’ll see you guys on the other side. -_-;;

“Heaven can wait, dance ’til you die.”

making a 5 leaf lunch

I’ve been eating a lot of salad in the last week or two.  Perhaps it’s the sunshine.  I suspect it’s the runner bean chutney I keep using as a dressing mixed with a blob of mayonaise.  Yes that’s it, no wonder I’m half way through my third jar of chutney already.  So much for stocking up for the Autumn!  Mikey’s not impressed with my lack of will power.

Did you guess what the 5 leaves were in my salad?  It’s a little tricky to see past all the iceberg lettuce and dressing but there’s a scattering of spinach, beetroot tops, celery tops and rocket in there as well

allotment ingredients: rocket, spinach, beetroot tops, grated beetroot, tomato (from Dave), runner bean chutney

shop bought ingredients: iceberg lettuce, celery tops, cucumber, sunflower seeds, egg, mayo

Welcome to our Kitchen, and Soul.

It is 11:35 AM in L.A. I’m currently at work in my corporate office working on an excel spreadsheet regarding product pricing reports. Naturally, this seems like the perfect time to introduce myself to the world. Hi there, I’m Corelyn. My lovely neighbor and blogging partner is Jennie.

We are both 23 and live in Hollywood in a charming old building that Jennie found with her boyfriend last year. My husband and I promptly capitalized on their hard apartment hunting and moved into the unit right below them. With my husband, I came to the city of Angels from all the way across the country in Virginia. Jennie and Jeff came from school in Boston, but Michigan and New Hampshire before that. Like so many millions of Angelinos before us, we are imports.

So that’s us. We were friends; we became neighbors; now we are cooking buddies and general life planning confidants. Our mission: the pursuit of delicious and nutritious food for ourselves and our picky men while sticking to a budget and a tight schedule. Most days, we throw together meals based on whatever we find in the larder and throw recipes out the window.

We are loud and giggly. We make huge messes. We take lots of pictures. This is our life. Please enjoy your stay.

Ten Things Tuesday

Ten Things that Make Me Happy:

1.  Students who make gorgeous observations about the work we’re doing (one student, today, pointed out a scene in The Last Samurai that I never thought anyone would see).  These moments are often unexpected, and they always geek me right out.

2.  Having Mr. Chili come home early and proclaim that he wants to go out for dinner!  YAY!

3.  New t.v. on my TiVo.  I’ve resisted watching Son’s of Anarchy until I can have at least two episodes in my queue.  The next episode airs tonight.  Guess what I’LL be doing tomorrow night…

4.  Flowers.  I brought home a bunch of flowers from a trip to Trader Joe’s the other day, and they make me smile.  I’ve also got a little blossom on my goldfish plant; coming downstairs in the morning and finding a new flower on one of my houseplants lends a lot of light to my day.

5.  Positive feedback.  I’m getting a LOT of support from the director of CHS, and that goes a long way to helping me love my job.  My co-workers (well, all but one) totally frickin’ ROCK.  Also, I sent out a “Hi, I’m your young person’s English teacher” email to parents this morning, and so far I’ve gotten two very positive responses.  Woot!

6.  The latest Outlander book!  A month or so ago, I called my local library and asked for them to order the book (and to put me at the top of the list when it came in).  I got the email this morning and picked up the book this afternoon.  I’m not going to get a damned thing done for the next three days, I just know it…

7.  New music.  In the last few days, I’ve downloaded new Rob Thomas, Dave Matthews Band, and Vertical Horizon records.  Woot!

8.  Text messages from people who love me.  No particular reasons, nothing important to say, just that I was thinking of you and wanted to tell you so.  Mmmmm!

9.  People who are smarter than I.  I’m not intimidated by people who are smarter than I am because they make me think, and they teach me things.  I try very hard to surround myself with people who are wicked smaht.  “Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him” -Thomas Carlyle

10.  Homemade yummies.  I’ve got a pan of mac and cheese ready for dinner tomorrow night, and I’m contemplating a batch of lemon poppy seed muffins for tomorrow.  Mmmmm.

I Remember Our Kitchen

I don’t need a special day

Lucy & Nusha

          to remember you

Or our kitchen.

A place that invited all of us in

With smells and tastes

Not matched by any restaurant.

A place where we would gather

For sustenance and hugs

As well as daily discussions

          of earth shaking proportions

Of who did what to whom.

Your kitchen came filled with laughter and love.

Where all my friends wanted to visit, and stay

So they could spend time with my Mom.

You know…

I will never again find a place

          where I feel so at home

As in your kitchen…

And where you are so at home

          as in my heart.

 

All rights reserved.  ©2009 by Sara Fryd

home grown

There’s a lot to be said for beautiful, fresh from the garden produce. And I don’t mean fresh from the garden in an it was picked earlier this week way or even in an it was picked yesterday sense. I mean in the I just plucked this off the vine definition. I mean that my feet are still covered in rich, dark earth and the strawberry bush is brushing my leg.

Home garden vegetables are never the most perfect looking creatures. The strawberries were tiny, finger nail sized and lumpy but they were the sweetest berries I’ve ever had. They tasted exactly like strawberries ought to with so very much flavor packed into each tiny one of them. I’m almost ashamed to admit that I didn’t share with my dad. The tomatoes were sunshiny and acidic and the green beans were sweet and firm and snappy. All in all, it was a mighty fine harvest.

<em>DSL.</em> Fuel, or, Chump Change We Can Be Livin'

Anyone who blogs for more than one grocery cycle will eventually field such questions from his most faithful reader:

Q. Blogger, what do you eat? And how do you eat for under $100 monthly while still keeping your porkly figure? And please describe, briefly, your daily meals, that I might make them again after describing, er, reading of them. After the epic saga from your bronze-age blogging last year of how you sunk the whole of your annual $1.49 cookware budget in an electric wok (formerly $2.99) on 50%-off Green Tag Day at Goodwill, I was left hanging as to your cognate penchant for saving at the greengrocers, that I, too, might stay fat as you on $3 a day.

A. Observe and learn; I’ll be parked in Sector B-17 by the cart corral:

Vegetables and fruits: 50 pounds per month, or 10 half-cup servings a day, at an average of $1 per pound. Fresh: banana, bell pepper, berries, broccoli, butternut squash, cabbage, cantaloupe, cooking greens (beet, collards, kale, Swiss Army charred, turnip), lime, onion, salad greens (chicory, romaine lettuce), sweet potato. Frozen: broccoli, cooking greens, Greenpease, spinach. Canned: cooking greens, spinach, tomatoes: 375 calories daily, $50 per month

Legumes: 8 pounds dry per month, or 2/3 cup dry per day,  in 1-pound bags at $1 per pound. Black beans, Great Northern, kidney, lentils, navy, pinto, split peas green and yellow, white, whole peas green and yellow. 400 calories daily, $8 per month

Grains: 1 5-lb. bag whole rye flour at $4 (1/2 cup daily), 2 42-ounce cans oats at $2 each (1/2 cup daily). 450 calories daily, $8 per month

Dairy: 4 1-gallon jugs whole milk at $2.29 per gallon (2 cups daily). 320 calories daily, $9 per month

Meat, eggs, fish: 1 3-pound chicken at $.69 per pound; 1 2-pound package sale boneless/semi-boneless pork sirloin roast/chops at $1 per pound; 3 dozen medium brown eggs at $.99 per dozen; 2 1-pound tubs chicken livers at $1 per pound; 3 15-ounce cans mackerel at $1.25 per can; 1 15-ounce cans pink salmon at $2.50 per can; total daily ration, cooked and drained: 3 1/2 ounces meat/fish/fowl, plus one egg. 275 calories daily, $15 per month

Optional, sparingly, for flavor/fat/sweetness, any desired combination within budget: spices, herbs, salt, pepper, hot sauce, spice blends,*

*At only $2.99 per salt-free 11 oz. shaker, we like new Goya Sazonador Total: “Enhances the natural flavor of your savory foods, making any dish something truly special.”

butter ($1.99/lb.), sugar ($2.50/5 lb.), sour cream ($.99/lb.), grated parmesan ($3.99/lb. bag), pork sausage ($1.19/lb.), bacon ($2.29/lb. sale), pepperoni ($3.99/lb.). 200 calories daily, $10 per month

Daily calories: 2020

Monthly bill: $100

Breakfast: Whisk in large plastic microwave bowl 1 egg, 1/2 cup whole rye flour, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp. grated parmesan or romano cheese or sour cream, 1 tbsp softened or melted butter, season to taste. Microwave 12 minutes on high, flipping cake over halfway. Accompany with small piece canned fish with hot sauce,  and milk blended with banana and berries.

Lunch: none/optional

Daylong beverages: 6 cups bagged tea ($2.29/100 bags), over ice with squeezed fresh lime halves; 2 cups Café Bustelo (a Cuban-American bodega standby for 80 years) and 2 cups Café El Aguila ,

Giuseppe, at An Affordable Wardrobe: “When we first got poor enough for me to really pay attention to prices, I tried like hell to shave every penny I could from the grocery bill. My coffee was one of the last things to suffer the cut. Thankfully, I discovered Cafe El Aguila. It’s rich and creamy, very strong. I like it with some sugar and a healthy bit of milk in the morning. At a mere $1.59 per 250 gram brick, it’s the best deal going. The company is based in Miami, and apparently it’s popular with Cuban ex-pats. Last I checked, they know a thing or two about real coffee.”

blended strong and liberally milked, over ice: two strong, dark, fine-ground espresso blends from the Caribbean that belie their supercheap prices; let’s hand our French-press coffee-glass over to the Java Janes at Blast O’ Hot Air, the blog of freeform radio station WFMU:

FAVE FIVE

This month, brand new assistant station manager LIZ tells us what keeps her happy in her new job.

Top Five Brands of Pre-Ground Coffee Found In Your Corner Deli That Will Get You Through A Java Emergency Relatively Unscathed

It’s happened before: you wake up on a cold winter morning, severely uncaffeinated, only to find you’re out of beans. Curses! You’ll have to settle for mediocrity. Head out to your local deli and pick up one of these (don’t you dare consider purchasing anything ready-made, instant, or touted by a TV commercial):

Café Bustelo – It’s dark, it’s smooth, and you almost can’t tell it came from a can/vacuum-sealed foil pouch… until you have about 3 cups. Still, this is the best alternative to the real deal.

Café El Aguila – Tastes remarkably like Bustelo, but only half the price. This brand takes second for 2 reasons: a) El Aguila is pretty obscure and can’t be found in most corner delis, and b) it’s not available in a can (c’mon, cans are classy).

Café El Pico – By far the best looking can of the lot. The coffee’s decent, too.

Café Goya – Red beans, black beans, pinto beans… wait, coffee beans? Yes, indeed. The Goya bean empire would not be complete without sinking into the market of mud. Dark, tasty, may leave you on the jittery side.

Café Pilon – A tad nutty, but far from chock full ‘o nutty.

Dinner: soak overnight 1/2 cup medley of dried legumes, or quick-soak by boiling for 2 minutes and setting covered 1 hr. Place drained legumes in bottom of large saucepan with 1 qt. water, season and fat to taste. Place empty steamer or steamer insert atop saucepan. Place in steamer a medley of as many different chopped vegetables as you have on hand and can fit, including canned tomatoes poured on top in the center. Season to taste; 1 tbsp. grated cheese, small portion chopped meat/fish/fowl/pepperoni optional atop vegetables. Place lid atop saucepan and simmer for c. 1 1/2 hours. Turn heat off. Pour cooked legumes and leftover water into blender, then add steamed vegetable medley to blender. Add water if necessary to fill blender. Blend for 30 seconds and pour into large bowl. Eat your soup before, while and after it gets cold, depending on appetite. Do this every day at dinnertime.

Excursus on soap: Besides food (and toothpaste, shaving supplies, paper products, cleaning supplies, &c.), you only need to buy soap. And instead of body soap, shampoo, dish soap, and laundry soap, you only need one soap from among them for all such uses. This is because all such uses involve one central antagonist: animal fat. The body oil and grease you scrub off in the shower: animal fat. The grease you shampoo off your scalp: animal fat. The food grease you scrub off your plates: animal fat. The body grease your clothes washer scours off your clothes: animal fat. That’s why for all our soap needs, we recommend, in addition to the liquid castile soaps available from Trader Joe’s and Dr. Bronner’s,*

*[From our 2005 blog SUB SPECIE ÆTERNITATIS] Best liquid soap: Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Castile Soap (peppermint scent). The close-printed hippy-dippy metaphysics spread far and wide across the plastic bottle will make for amusing bathroom reading, and you may have to try the health-food shop, but there’s nothing quite like the invigorating rush from the peppermint oil on your skin in confederacy with the scent in the shower – and the all-purpose versatility you’ll find when you’ve got Dr. Bronner in the House will have you inviting him to all your well-scrubbed functions. A little goes a long way, lathers gloriously and rinses swiftly. Honorable Mention: Trader Joe’s peppermint-scented Castile Soap.

in bar form, Kirk’s Coco Castile soap .*

*[again from 2005] Best bar soap: Kirk’s Coco “Hard Water” Castile Soap. …You won’t need a trip to the health-food store for this one, just a decent big-box supermarket. The lather goes from Zero to Shaving Cream to Shooting Niagara in seconds, and is truly a pleasant luxury you ought not deny you. It really does, per Mfr.’s claim, “rinse with thrilling ease” – and, like Dr. Bronner’s, makes a pretty country-fair shampoo as well…

And for both the dishes and the laundry, you can set a $1 bar to dissolve in a pint of hot water, and squeeze-bottle it for a nickel a load.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I’ve been meaning to make this recipe for over 8 months, but just never got around to it.  This version is inspired by Hungry Girl, but I changed it quite a bit to suit my tastes.  Growing up my mom never made something like this, so it was fun to try to make a very traditional “comfort food” recipe.

Ingredients

(Not pictured: grated Parmesan cheese)

12.5oz Dreamfields whole wheat elbow macaroni

12oz frozen, shelled edamame

2  6oz cans Albacore tuna in water, drained

2 cans Campbell’s Healthy Request 98% fat-free condensed cream of mushroom soup

4 wedges Laughing Cow Light cheese, swiss flavor

4 TBSP Parmesan cheese

cayenne pepper, to taste

black pepper, to taste

salt, to taste

Makes 6 7-point servings. (I plugged it all into the WW.com eTools Recipe Builder).  Obviously, if you made the portion size smaller, the points would decrease.

Directions:

Boil pasta in water until al dente, about 7 minutes.

Place frozen edamame in colander and rinse with cold water. Drain pasta over edamame in colander to defrost.

In a large pot (I used the one I cooked the pasta in), add tuna, cheese wedges, cream of mushroom soup, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 2 TBSP Parmesan cheese.

Combine all ingredients, mixing well.

Spray a baking pan with Pam and add pasta mixture.

Sprinkle remaining 2 TBSP of Parmesan over casserole.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

The reason I made this recipe with edamame instead of the more traditional peas is that I hate peas.  Plus, I figured that the edamame added more protein and still retained the look of the dish.

Favorite Things - Favorite Dessert - Lemon Icebox Pie

Tonight we’re seeing friends and as is often my willing role, I’m bringing dessert.  Sometimes I buy dessert.  Sometimes I concoct dessert in the form of fancy ice cream sundaes that make people complain about being served dessert in a bucket later.  But today I decided to actually cook dessert.  Miss M has been asking all summer for a particular dessert I make and as summer is almost over, Tuesday September 22 being the official first day of fall, I thought I’d better squeeze this summer dessert in at last.  Lemon Icebox Pie.  I’m also making a petite chocolate Bundt cake that is also always a winner for all our chocoholic friends who will be in attendance this evening.  The great thing about the lemon icebox pie is that it’s easy to make two—one to leave at home for Miss M and one to take to share with friends.

 

This particular lemon icebox pie recipe came from my Uncle G.  Something I’ve noticed over the years about southern gentleman is that while southern women are known far and wide for being fabulous cooks, most of the men actually have at least one thing they can cook.  For example my Granddaddy, Mom’s dad, made fried chicken that had a fabulous reputation especially among Mom’s school friends who would beg her to trade when she brought it on picnics.  My Dad made excellent gumbo.  Many of these men fry the fish they catch or do the traditional grilling.  Well, leave it to my goofball uncle to have a specialty like pie.  Luckily I was able to twist his arm for his “secret” recipe.  He warned me about the complications of making this pie, but said he thought I could do it seeing as I’m a smart cookie.

 

So this morning before I even ate breakfast or finished my coffee, I set about making lemon icebox pie.  One of the ingredients in said pie is condensed milk.  I remember condensed milk from when Mom would make homemade ice cream when I was a little girl.  I always got to lick the cans.  Well, with Miss M gone to her Dad’s, I still got to lick the cans.  Oh, my goodness, that stuff is still yummy!  But be warned, making this pie also involves homemade whipped cream and all these ingredients are lemoned and sweetened “to taste”.  As a result, I ended up with a morning sugar high before I had anything on my stomach!  In truth I felt a little sick.  But it was worth it because that pie is going to be a delight this evening and cooling on the mouth after Miss S’s green chili stew we’ve been promised!

 

So, now that I’ve gone on and on about making pie.  I thought I’d share that “secret” recipe with you.   Shhh.  Just don’t tell my uncle!

 

Uncle G’s Lemon Icebox Pie

 

2 NILLA® Wafer Pie Crusts*

2 cans condensed milk

10-12 fresh lemons, juiced

1 quart of heavy whipping cream (you’ll use about 2/3 -3/4 of it)

Sugar to taste for whipped cream

 

Directions:  Whip lemon juice into condensed milk to taste…I like mine quite lemony.  Divide between the two pie crusts.  Whip the cream adding sugar to taste until stiff and spread on top of lemon filling.  Refrigerate for several hours to set up (in a pinch the freezer for a couple hours will do).  Slice and enjoy!  Keep refrigerated after serving as this pie does not hold its shape at room temperature.

 

* If you can’t find NILLA® Wafer pie crusts you can just use crushed NILLA® Wafers divided between two pie plates with whole wafers around the sides instead!

A delicious fusion of flavors...

Trying exotic dishes is one of the things I enjoy the most. I love to know what others eat and how they prepare their food. And living here in Toronto this couldn’t be more fun in such a multicultural city! If you follow my blog you probably already saw some of the places I visit, remember what I showed you here?

This time I was invited for lunch at the Wang’s Kitchen restaurant in Mississauga, Ontario. Their dishes are a fusion of Indian and Chinese food. I decided to take a few shots to show my favorite ones. Take a look at the first photos above, this is Chilli Chicken, then Chicken Manchurian and for desert Fried Ice Cream.

I am going to hint you about the ingredients of Chilli Chicken. It has of course chicken, soy sauce, chilli paste… Let me tell you about Chicken Manchurian. It has chicken, green chillies, chilli paste, soy sauce, ginger…You will discover the rest when you taste it!

I never heard about Fried Ice Cream before, for me it’s just “iced”…but fried as well? Yes! Imagine a fried ball of batter stuffed with Vanilla Ice Cream sitting on syrup and sprinkled with cashew nuts! Take a look at the photo above. It’s delicious!

You definitely have to try this deliciousness! And these are lunch dishes, wait until you see what they offer for dinner…I know you want to find this amazing restaurant. Here is map for you to get there!

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Soufles that don't rise

So yesterday I followed my Nestle ramadan recipe book and tried to make a soufle ( well it was caled lemon and orange cake). I spent what seemed like hours getting the egg whites into ”peaks” and ”folded it carefully” into the mixture. While carrying the roasting pan of 3/4 boiling (??) water- should the water have been 3/4 boiling or the pan 3/4 full?- I burnt my thumb.   55 minutes later my 6 year old asked me why the oven was on fire.  

Crockpot Creamy Corn Potato Soup

Tuesday was Crockpot Attempt Number Two, and I was really hoping to make use of the wonderful corn that arrived as a last minute addition to our farm share this week. A neighboring farm had shared enough for each of us to take six fresh ears, and I had some potatoes left from last week’s share. We also got red bell peppers this week, too, so this soup was meant to be.

Tuesdays I usually work in the afternoon, so I got up when Charlie was leaving for work and started chopping veggies. It took a while because of the arthritis in my hands, but eventually, everything was ready to be thrown into the pot. By the time I got home from work, we had delicious soup and enough plenty of leftovers. The crockpot is turning out to be brilliant for Mondays and Wednesdays when Charlie has class until 9pm, since it just keeps things warm, and then whenever we’re ready to eat, it’s ready to feed us.

Ingredients

4 large ears of corn, kernels cut off

1 carrot, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

4-5 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 small onions (or one medium, but I had these from the farm share)

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (I eyeballed it to coat the onions at the bottom)

1 tablespoon dried parsley (use double fresh if you have it)

1 teaspoon tarragon

1 teaspoon thyme

2-3 shakes red cayenne pepper

2 bay leaves

vegetable stock to cover the the veggies (or, I was out of stock, so I used 3 large bullion cubes and water)

1/2 pint light cream

Directions (for a 4-Quart Slow Cooker)

If you’re feeling ambitious, sauté the onion and garlic for a minute or two, but if not, give them a toss in the olive oil. Then, proceed to dump the corn, carrots, potatoes, pepper, and celery on top of it. Toss in the tarragon, parsley, thyme, and red cayenne pepper in. Pour vegetable stock in until the vegetables are covered by the liquid. Give it a stir. Do not add the cream.

Put the lid on, set the slow cooker to “low” and let it cook for about 7-8 hours. Your milage may vary with cooking times, of course, but try to get it so that the corn is crisp and the potatoes are soft.

When you’ve achieved that, pour in the cream and stir it until it’s incorporated. Taste it and adjust any seasoning.

...hummus, and tabouli, and baba ganoush

I had this song stuck in my head when I was at the grocery store today.  I gave into the lyrics and got an eggplant to make baba ganoush.  It didn’t make the song leave my head, but it was yummy!

For the baba I microwaved the eggplant (lazy, yes, but effective as well), and then scooped out the inside.

I blended it with tahini, garlic, and parsley.  It was tasty!

I also made falafel.  They seemed to go together.  I had soaked chickpeas (most recipes asked for soaked, but not cooked) because we need to make more hummus, so I was good to go.  All the directions I saw told you to use a food processor.  I have a blender.  It took a while.  I started with this

And watched it become this

And finally this!

Then I shaped them into balls and sprayed ‘em with pam.  Baked for about 20 minutes!

They turned out pretty good

My lunch was the falafel and baba plus lettuce, carrots, and a tahini-yogurt sauce.  Loved it!

Only sad things is that I didn’t make extra…

But, to make up for it, I used my coupon ninja skills to get cheap chocolate!  15 cents per bar baby…

Now to hide it.  I’ve learned a valuable lesson that if I bury candy in the freezer I forgot it’s there until I really need something sweet, and the fiance doesn’t steal it!

Do you ever hide food so you don’t have to share?

Don't Ask Sofanda Where to Put the Kernels!

We were hanging around our back yard on Saturday afternoon playing a cut throat game of dominoes with the girls when Bryan offered to make some popcorn to snack on. While the initial interest was low to medium that all changed once the popcorn made it’s way to the patio table. Suddenly there were squeals of joy and moans of pleasure as we were informed that this was the best popcorn they had ever eaten, possibly the best popcorn on the planet – no in the entire fucking universe!

In fact it was so good that the consensus was that I must post our super secret recipe on my blog for the entire fucking universe to enjoy our chemical free microwave popcorn. Well actually the first idea was to send a question to Sofanda Cox for her to answer in this month’s column. After realizing that her answer would be for you to shove the kernels in your ass and jump up and down quickly until the popping slowed we decided my version was probably better or at least more hygenic.

So here we go, here’s the not-so-secret microwave popcorn recipe that we’ve been using since I saw it on some food blog and modified it as my own.

Required:

• 1 brown paper lunch sack
• Popcorn kernels – I get mine in the bulk section and store in the refrigerator
• Olive Oil (I suppose wesson oil would work, but ewwww)
• Popcorn Salt – I prefer Morton’s, but that’s my issue not yours

Optional:

• Stapler
• Butter
• Garlic

Directions:

• Put about a 1/4 cup of kernels in the paper bag. Sometimes I measure and sometimes I just dump a in handful.
• Pour in about 2 tablespoons of oil – or just glug some in like I do.
• Shake in some popcorn salt (or you can do it after it’s popped but I like to put it on now)
• Fold over the top of the bag twice and shake the bag to distribute the oil and salt
  • Optional Step – staple the bag shut. YES, I KNOW… metal and the microwave is bad. But honestly one staple isn’t enough to make it spark. I just fold it over because the stapler lives on the desk upstairs and I’m way to lazy to go get it just because I want to make popcorn.
• Nuke that bag until the popping slows to a few seconds between each pop or you smell burnt popcorn. The popcorn button on our microwave is too long or too short I never can remember because I don’t use it.
  • Optional Step – crush a clove of garlic and place in a bowl with some (if you’re Bryan – a lot) butter. Melt butter and garlic together. Drizzle garlic butter over the popcorn and toss, add more salt if so inclined.
• Eat it.

This is almost as good as the stovetop popcorn my grandmother used to make so that’s saying something. I like it so much more than regular microwave popcorn and I think it’s much healthier this way. If that’s not enough you’ll save enough money by making it this way to afford more beer and there can’t be anything wrong with that, now can there?

**********Disclaimer************* if you die or burn your house down or melt your microwave or kill your elderly parents by using my recipe it’s obvious that you’ve done something wrong and it’s no fault of mine.

Cover story

It’s been an exciting week this week as Karen (our designer) and I have been commissioning illustrators to create cover ideas for the 2011 Dairy Diary.

There are so many talented people out there is was very difficult to narrow it down to just five, who will create rough designs for our research groups at the end of this month.

Dairy Diary covers have changed radically over the last three decades, with subject matter varying from tennis rackets to teapots. We have decided to go full circle and take inspiration from the very first edition – 1982, choosing butterflies and flowers as the subject matter. Obviously the style will be radically different to the 1982 diary, with a soft and feminine feel but contemporary design.

Photography has featured on the covers of the diary in recent years, so we felt it was time for a change and illustration was the right route to take. I can‘t wait to see the designs that the illustrators create for us!

Dairy Diary Chat launch competition winners

This week’s other exciting news – we have drawn our competition winners!

Congratulations to Maisie, Christina, Clara, Gillian, Coral, Wendy, Doreen, Mike, Eve, Natalie, Janet, Aurora, Kate, Emma, Alison, Maureen, L Rose, Angie, Jackie and L Robbins. Just One Pot Dairy cookbooks are on their way to you. I hope you all enjoy the new recipes and let us know how you get on. Happy cooking!

For a taste of what Just One Pot has to offer try this delicious Onion, Mushroom & Goats’ Cheese Pizza.

Homegrown vegetables

If I’d have written this two months ago ‘homegrown vegetables’ would have been categorized as ’stuff that should be lovely but is actually just plain irritating’. It all started so well: I had broad beans and peas heading skywards, chard nearly ready for picking and beautiful lettuces waiting to be made into salad. And then the slugs arrived. Within 3 very rainy days they levelled the lettuces, reduced the beans to twigs and made the chard look like green lace doilies. Nothing seemed to work: I tried egg shells, coffee grounds and slug hunting at twilight, but any seedlings daring to peek above ground would be demolished before I could even tell what they were. More in hope than expectation I planted runner beans at the end of July, and made little collars for them out of plastic milk cartons, in the hope that even if they didn’t prevent the slugs getting to my beans they would at least cause them some serious pain on the way there. I also caved in and bought slug pellets from an organic gardening catalogue. It may be that the last month has been less wet than July was, it may have been the pellets or the collars, but tonight I had my first homegrown runner beans for dinner and veg growing is back on the lovely list. Now I just have to think of things to do with hundreds of runner beans…

Granola

I love granola especially the homemade kind because I get to put whatever I want and it’s my special mix.  I have been using one recipe from Barefoot Contessa and have adjusted it to our household preferences.  I found a new recipe from Jeannette Ordas of Everybody likes Sandwiches and wanted to give it a try.  It’s pretty much the same except for a new ingredients like the apple sauce, spices and add ons.  Matt couldn’t find any wheat germ at TJ’s so we left that out and it was fine… yes I send him to the supermarket and he’s awesome about getting all the items right!  What a wonderful fiance.  I decided to add dried cranberries and apricots… these I just added at the end of cooking time so that it wouldn’t burn.  I apologize for the horrible picture taken from my iphone, but I’m feeling lazy and didn’t want to take out the camera.  It turned out delicious!!  I usually don’t like coconut flakes but it bakes into the whole thing and you don’t get a strong coconut flavor.  It adds a hint of nutty aroma and flavor to the granola.  Non-fat plain yogurt and granola equals awesome breakfast for the whole week!  Must remember to drinks lots of water also as this has tons of fiber. =D

Changes I made:

• addition of dried cranberries and apricots
• didn’t have any wheat germ so I left that out
• didn’t have any whole flax seeds so I just added a bit more ground flax seed
• addition of maple syrup (we like it a bit more sweet)
• didn’t have cardamom, nutmeg or ginger but did have pumpkin pie seasoning that worked out great

Everyday Granola

3 1/2 c organic large-flake rolled oats

1/2 c wheat germ

1/4 c flax seed

3 T ground flax seed

1 1/2 c dried shredded coconut

1 c walnuts, roughly chopped

1 c almonds, roughly chopped

1/4 c sunflower seeds

2 T cinnamon

1 t ground ginger

large pinch each of cardamom and nutmeg

1/2 t of kosher salt

1/4 c canola oil

1/4 c apple sauce

1/3 c brown sugar

1/3 c honey

1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300ºF. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. In another bowl, stir the oil, applesauce, brown sugar, honey and vanilla together until it emulsifies somewhat. Pour the wet over the dry ingredients and stir well so that everything gets evenly coated.

Spread mixture on a baking sheet or large glass baking pan and toast in a 325 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, checking on it and stirring it occasionally until mixture is dry. When cool, store in a tightly lidded container.

[Via http://carterdrive.wordpress.com]

The wonders of bread...

One of my (formerly) dear friends once lamented at how difficult it is to make homemade bread.  She had recently received the Professional 6 — the most robust of KitchenAid’s commercially available stand mixers — for a wedding present and was looking forward to, one day, making her own bread.  “Mmm,” she’d grinned, “someday.”  This seems to be a widely held belief, that homemade bread is especially difficult to make, but in fact, it’s quite easy.  Flour, salt, water and yeast.  These minimal and, if you know where to look, inexpensive ingredients are all you need to make what is known as a lean bread (that is, a bread without any fat).  But, you might be thinking, I can get this bread at the grocery store for only slightly more than what it could cost to make it at home, and in a fraction of the time it would take to made a loaf from scratch.  Why bother?

Is the welcoming aroma of fresh baked bread enough to justify spending the time it takes?  Or is experiencing truly fresh bread that isn’t pumped full of preservatives a good enough reason?  In truth, lean bread, like that pictured above, won’t keep.  Because there are literally no preservatives — either natural ones like fat or eggs or chemical ones found in everyday bread at the grocery — this bread will only keep for two days, max.  I’m reminded of my sophomore year in high school when I learned, with some surprise, that French people visit le marche everyday for fresh bread for that night’s dinner.  Once I started baking bread at home, I understood why.  Last night’s bread won’t be as fresh.  That is, as moisture moves out from the crumb and is absorbed by the crust, the contrast between the crisp of the crust and the elasticity of the crumb won’t be as significant.  It just won’t be as good.  But that’s not to say we should chuck last night’s bread.  French toast, for instance, is a perfect way of using up last night’s stale bread.  Actually, French toast is best when made with stale, lean bread (more on this in a future post).

What worries me most about the sweeping assumption that bread is so difficult to make, and I suppose the reason I’ve decided to start this blog, is that as more people fall into believing cooking to be the most difficult thing in the world, I worry we will lose some of the most basic and beautiful customs in our culture.  Knowing how to bake bread used to be one of our most important skills.  The need for such knowledge has dried up as technological advancements have made the mass production and distribution of bread both easy and cheap.  But, consider what we lose if we allow such seemingly unnecessary knowledge to simply rot away.  Does it matter that I know how to bake bread?  I can make an artisan loaf of bread for about 60 cents, so I save maybe $1.50 every time I bake bread.  That’s all fine and dandy, but I think knowing how to feed ourselves — I mean really knowing, not just depending on our local grocer to provide what we need — is a basic human need.  In a sense, I guess the purpose of this blog is to touch on that issue, but it is also a space where I can reminisce on the very special ways food and cooking have touched my life in ways a trip to the grocery never could.

Lean bread (for two 18 oz. loafs):

21.5 oz. flour (bread or AP)

14 oz. spring water (the 80 cent gallon at the grocery will suffice)

1 tsp. instant yeast (I keep mine frozen — you can use it right from the freezer)

2 tsp. salt

Heat water in glass measuring cup in microwave for 1 minute (or until water is approx. 105 degrees).  Whisk yeast into water until dissolved.  Add water mixture, flour, and salt to mixing bowl.  Using a stand mixer (like KitchenAid’s Artisan) with dough hook in place, mix dough on Speed 1 for 3 minutes.  Increase to Speed 2 for 4 minutes (this is the kneading stage).  Shape dough into ball and place in buttered glass bowl (I used glass so I can watch the dough develop), turning the dough to cover it fully with butter.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in moderately heated room (around 70-75 degrees) for 1 1/2 hours.  Turn down out onto slightly floured cutting board and flatten dough with your palms.  Fold the top down into the center of the loaf.  Fold the bottom up.  Fold the left side in.  And finally, fold the right side in.  Reshape into ball and place back in bowl.  Cover and let sit for 1 1/2 hours.

Turn out onto slightly floured cutting board and shape into two loaves.  Place loaves pretty far apart of a cookie sheet, cover and let rise for an hour.  Thirty minutes before the proofing stage is complete, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  At end of proofing, place loaves into oven and cook for 18-21 minutes.  They should be golden brown.  To test, turn loaf over and thump its bottom.  If it’s cooked thoroughly, it should sound hollow.  Let cool on rack.  Do not cut until the loaf is completely cool — cutting before will prevent the acids from dispersing and the flavor of your loaf will be slightly off.

[Via http://talesofscratch.wordpress.com]

Julie and Julia

I saw Julie and Julia last night. Cute film but not really what I was expecting. I suppose I never knew much about Julia Child other than she was the first real celebrity chef in North America. I certainly didn’t know she was a bit of a giant and had possibly the most annoying voice on the planet. Nor did I realise that actually she wasn’t a great cook, she was just someone who liked to cook.

The fact that Julia Child wasn’t really a great cook and something that Amy Adams character said have left me with a desire to learn how to cook. Julie Powell (Amy Adams) said that she likes cooking so much because it is something that she can control. It got me thinking, Patrick is a total control freak and perfectionist. I am no where close to the same level of those characteristics, but I do prefer to be in situations where I can control the outcome. Maybe after all of these years I will yet discover that I actually can cook…if I put my mind to it.

My commitment to learn how to cook is not a commitment to the same level that Julie Powell made, but the next time Patrick is off and cooking for me, I am going to get in there and help (and hopefully learn). My typical modus operandi when he’s in our kitchen is to open a bottle of wine and talk to him through the kitchen door while he works – probably not the behaviour of the most grateful wife. But actually he has tried to teach me to cook and winds up just getting angry and doing it all himself. Like I said, control freak and perfectionist!

I’ll keep you posted on how this goes. I don’t need to be a great cook, but it would be nice to be able to make something other than grilled chicken, couscous and spinach salad. The repertoire gets old really quickly!

As Julia would say: “Bon Appetit!”

Meryl Streep as Julia Child

[Via http://lifeasthewife.wordpress.com]

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Been wondering why there weren’t any more posts on the best chocolate chip cookie challenge?  I did make one more batch that turned out spectacularly… but, really I have stopped baking because I found out that I gained 8 pounds between my 20 and 24 week checkup.  It was a major wake-up call.  Hence, the daily walking and watching my carb/sugar consumption…  I’ve been doing really well since, definitely curbing the extra weight gain.  I  decided to try out a healthier recipe.  I came upon a jewel!

I wouldn’t actually call this a “chocolate chip cookie.” It’s an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips…  After trying it a few nights ago, I want to turn it into a breakfast cookie recipe.  Add some dry fruit, less (if any) chocolate chips.  My main victories with this recipe are how easy and quick it was to throw together, how yummy it is without tasting either too sweet or too “healthy,” a very nice crispy/soft ratio, and Sophia LOVED it!  So, my next baking adventure is turning the following recipe into a breakfast cookie.

BEST EVER OATMEAL COOKIES (http://www.recipezaar.com/best-ever-oatmeal-cookies-365661) Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter (I used more like a 1/3 cup of the extra crunchy variety.)
• 1/2 cup sugar (Planning to use 1/2 cup honey instead.)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons water  (I omitted this.)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Dry Ingredients

• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-2 1/2 cups oats
• handful chocolate chips (Planning to add handfuls of cranberries and nuts.)

Directions

1. Cream together WET ingredients.
2. Add DRY ingredients and combine.
3. Drop by tbsp onto baking sheet (Planning to form a thinner rectangular shaped cookie.)
4. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies puffed up a LOT.  They didn’t spread at all.  So, I’m hoping they’ll make a great oatmeal breakfast bar.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

[Via http://mylifeasnarrative.wordpress.com]

An Apple A Day . . .

Dear Readers,

It’s September and apples are arriving daily at the Farmers’ Market.  They look so delicious – there are so many varieties to choose from.  Here’s an apple dessert that I’ve been preparing since I was a newlywed and that’s 39 years ago!  It’s easy and tastes fantastic warmed up and sitting beside a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Virginia Apple Pudding

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup sifted flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 cups peeled, raw apple slices

Melt butter in an 8 or 9 inch square casserole pan.  Sift dry ingredients together and add milk to make a batter.  Pour over melted butter in casserole.  Pile apple slices in center of batter.  Bake in a 375 degree oven until batter covers fruit and crust browns – 30 to 40 minutes.  Serve warm, plain or with vanilla ice cream.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Enjoy and remember:  an apple a day keeps the doctor away!  But I’m not sure if that counts for desserts!!!  Oh well.

Keep smilin’!

[Via http://mimismotherlytips.wordpress.com]

Cook with me...

Don’t know if anyone will actually do this, but I’d LOVE to hear about someone elses experiences with the same things I’m cooking in school.

If you’d like to cook with me, try out this recipe!

Tonight’s dishes include: Black bean soup, vatapa, and matambre with chimichurri

(I’ll include the recipe for the black bean soup below and should anyone want the others, just let me know!)

 

Enjoy!

 

Black bean soup

Ingredients:

2 c black beans

t/t s&p

A/N Bean liquor

A/N Chicken stock

2T Annatto oil (or whatever oil you have on hand)

1C onions, minced

2 t garlic, minced

8oz ham, minced

1 ea tomato, concassee

1T malt vinegar

1/2 t cumin, toasted & ground

T/T black pepper

 

Procedure:

1) (After soaking) Wash the beans and transfer to a saucepan. Add salt and water to cover.

2) Cook until tender (approximately 2 hours)

3) Drain beans and reserve cooking liquid. Add enough chicken stock to desired yield (recipe yields 4-6 servings)

4) Heat annatto oil & saute onions and garlic, add ham, tomatoes, vinegar, cumin, and pepper and cook until sauce consistency

5) Combine one cup of beans (and mixture from #4) and one cup of liquid at a time in a blender until completely pureed, while reserving about 1/4 of the whole beans

6) Combine puree and whole beans and stir. Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper if necessary. Serve hot.

[Via http://cortneybuchholz.wordpress.com]

ある日のおべんとう

今日はごはんのお話。

こちらの写真は先日のお弁当です。冷凍した卵焼きはランチタイムにちゃんと美味しくいただけるか、を実験してみました。朝冷凍庫から取り出してお弁当箱に詰め、あとはほかほかごはんの温かさで自然解凍。普通の出汁巻き卵です。結果は、全く問題なく美味しくいただけました♪。もちろん、比べてしまえばそりゃあ作りたてを詰めたほうがふわふわなんですが、私にはじゅうぶん美味しくいただけると思えるレベルでした。

当初は普通に成功するという話の他に、「高野豆腐みたいになる」とか「すが入っちゃう」とかいう話もネットでちらりと読んで少し不安だったのですが、母の「すが入っても卵だし食べられるよ」の一言に、そりゃそうだ気にすることないやと思い直したのでした（笑。母は偉大ですね。

「おべんとう」っていう言葉の響きがもう何とも言えずかわいいです。「おべ」となってから「ん」でスウィングして「とう」にいくという日本語の音の流れが、美味しいごはんやおかずを連想させます。細かいけど、「べんとう」よりも「おべんとう」のほうがかわいくて好き。

日本に生まれて嬉しいことはいっぱいありますが、その中のひとつは何と言ってもお弁当文化の素晴らしさではないでしょうか。世界的に見ても群を抜いている気がします。ドイツではサンドイッチと果物がほとんどでした。お十時におにぎりを食べていたら友達に「何その黒いの」と言われたので「海草だ」と説明してひと口あげたら、うへぇ、という複雑な顔をされたことがあります（笑。

お弁当箱も最近はかわいいのがいろいろあって目移りしてしまいますが、自分は中でもとりわけ、木で出来た曲げわっぱのお弁当箱が好きです。今使っている写真のお弁当箱もそうで、母がプレゼントしてくれたものです。ごはん半分、おかず半分で詰めると分量もちょうどよくて（良い具合にお腹いっぱいになります）、ごはんもよりいっそう美味しくなります。

・曲げわっぱのお弁当箱例１（柴田慶信商店）

・曲げわっぱのお弁当箱例２（大館工芸社）

[Via http://fiskmas.wordpress.com]

Officially bored with Param :p

We are officially tired of the Pasar Ramadhan food. The quality of the food can be very bad at times and we are getting bored of the options. It is the 19th of Ramadhan and we have tried almost everything (tipu la kan, we buy the one we like only laa).

Yesterday, after browsing through all the recipes online, I decided to make bread pudding to replace the usual kuih because it is delicious and easy to make. Furthermore, almost all ingredients are ready accept for the raisins and the ground cinnamon. Thank god for the internet, finding a recipe is always easy, at the tip of your fingers. However, try the recipe at your own risk and you do need to tweak the recipehere and there to suit your ingredients and equipments. With my inferior butterfly oven, the cooking time of only 30 minutes turn out to be 1 hour haha. I cook using the heat at the bottom for 40 minutes and another 20 minutes using the heat at top and bottom.

Here’s the results:

The bread pudding

Since we have extra bread, I just heat the non-stick pan and cook the ol french toast atau nama melayunya, roti celup telur :p Easy and yummy!

As usual, Zara will be sibuk hanging at my feet. Trying to stand up like me and hubby. She is so hardworking, hubby said she wanted to learn how to cook. Ye la tu, tukang sibuk aje :p

The main menu for the day is nasi ayam kukus with sambal kicap, fish ball soup with bak choy and freshly cut tomatoes as garnish.

The simple nasi ayam kukus

The drink of the day is Longan with Ribena. I love it! Thanks hubby for helping out.

Longan + Ribena

Hmm, what to cook for today? We’ll see. I will keep you posted on our Ramadhan culinary adventure (adventure la sangat haha). Til then, selamat berbuka!

[Via http://mrsdjones.wordpress.com]

Documenting a good day :)

Tuesday, 11:00 am

Today I feel GOOD! …. Not GREAT, and not 100%, but GOOD and I’m so grateful and excited because GOOD is so much better than CRAP.

I’m like a kid in a candy store today:) I’m not sure where to start or what to do first! I feel motivated and itching to do so many things but i’m very aware now that beans are limited and not to waste them all at once. I would love to get stuck into the gardening but i’m nervous about that, all that digging and pruning might wear me out. My Tuesday appointment  has been moved to tomorrow so I have to make sure to still have enough beans to do that tomorrow afternoon.

11am and already I have tidied up a bit about the house, changed the sheets on my bed, done two loads of washing, washed the dishes, packed away the heaters as well as some brain-thinking stuff like changing my online banking settings and organising my study schedule for my new subject. Things like that can only get done on good days when i’m thinking clearly and can focus! It helps to make lots of lists on days like this too, plan everything ahead of time so that if i hit a patch of bad days again, at least my to-do lists are there in front of me to remind me how to live my life;)

Symptoms on this ‘good’ day:

• slight cough and sore throat
• bit sleepy
• little bit achy, some twinges in my calf muscles (bit worse after school pick up walk)
• very cold hands and feet
• a little bit nauseous and dizzy on the walk to school this morning but has gone away
• a few bad nerve twinges while I was resting after school pick up

Noticeable improvements

• less muscle pain, almost no joint pain
• no immediate pain / fatigue after the school walk
• woke feeling more alert and awake
• more strength in my legs arms & wrists
• feel positive and motivated
• feel like ‘me’, almost back to normal
• lymph nodes in my armpits, neck and groin have reduced noticeably

Tuesday 5:30 pm

Since last writing, I did more washing, a bit of gardening (i couldn’t resist!), packed up my study ready for re-arranging, ate some healthy lunch then had a nap! I was a bit worn out from all the excitement After picking the kids up from school I had another lie down while zo read me her school reader, then we spent the afternoon out in the yard. Which was nice:) I did some more gardening, a bit of mowing, watered the ‘herb’ (mint & chive) garden, got in all the dry washing and helped zo collect a huge bowl full of mulberries. It was good fun – we got an old sheet and spread it under the tree then shook it like crazy and collected up all the ripe berries that fell down. I have some pastry out for zo to experiment with, she’s making some sort of concoction with mulberries and cream yumm:) Tonight Is Gnocchi with Zucchini & Chicken in a tomato sauce for dinner. (i’m extra excited about this because Tuesday night is usually pizza night as I’m feeling so revolting and can’t think clearly enough or stay upright long enough to cook … i’m cooking tonight yay!!)

I’ve been trying to think why I’m feeling so much better today, sometimes it all feels so maddeningly random! I did have 1.5 hours rest after work  yesterday which i think really helped and having that rest meant that I was able to cook a really good meal which I’m sure helped too. I guess I had a pretty restful weekend – it was busy but i was sitting down most of the time and even had a lie down in the afternoon on father’s day at grandma’s house! Grandma went for her lie down, Mumsy had a rest because she’s just had surgery and I had a lie down on the sofa too – what a wild bunch we are !!! The girls have also been helping out A LOT which is a huge help too. I have stopped drinking coffee (again;) and started the Magnesium and Calcium supplements.

Well, I’m off to cook now, still grinning like a fool and loving feeling slightly more ‘normal’ if only for a day.

m

[Via http://littleweirdy.wordpress.com]

The art of falling apart

by Soft Cell is today’s song. Most people know about their Tainted love, but not about all their other amazing tracks with interesting and different lyrics. This one I found quite fitting at the moment. For me, every autumn comes with depression. I don’t know why but the autumn really drags me down, every year. I start thinking about things I should do, obligations. How short life is, how hard it is. How I miss my old life, my life in Japan, my childhood. In autumn times, the future seems incredibly dark, and sometimes like it’s not planning on coming at all. Like my life has ended already. My peak has passed.

And the reason to why this song is so suitable, is because I know that it’s me in my mind, taking out these dangerous and negative feelings that makes me fall apart. It’s something I have always done. And this year, it is extra hard, since I have moved away from my secure Japan and all my friends there. I think about all the hard studies I have ahead and what I would have to do if I would fail or chose to quit, instead of thinking about all the fun I will have at uni and what an amazing career I would have ahead if I really started liking what I do.

However, I am starting to know myself. I know my flaws, I know how I react in different situations and that fear and uneasiness could be the product of irrelevant thoughts that I am making up for nothing. To be aware about problems, that’s a start. Then to process and heal them, that’s the next step. There are some good ways of turning rainy sad autumn days in to something good and bright. Like mushrooms. Tasty mushrooms to be picked in a beautiful forest, filled with yellow and red leaves. Chanterelles are the best. First of all, they are tasty. Also, there are plenty of them. And another important feature of theirs is that there is no chance you could take them for being some other kind of mushroom. In other words, you wont risk die of liver failure just because you eat shrooms from the forest next door. As for how to cook them, the best way is without any doubt to fry them with butter, a little salt and pepper. First all the water will come off, but if you are just patient enough the water will turn into vapour, and after some minutes the chanterelles will turn golden brown. Serve them warm on a piece of dark bread with butter. Yummie!

Another amazing thing to do in the chilly autumn is to go visit your lovely cousin and have a cup of tea accompanied by some delicious macarons that she just purchased in Paris. This is to be done while talking funny nonsense, discussing happy memories and great futures to come while maybe doing some studying. In that way, studying will be connected to something good. Well, the point is to make good things happen. To keep the good mood and ignore pointless negative thinking. There is really no bad sides of that. Really. Well, I will try and do some outfit blogging sometime soon. I have an awesome new APC top that I love, and I think you would think the same.

[Via http://nyanyanavecmoi.wordpress.com]

Pickles Bring Good Luck

Here is step two of the pickle-making process… (step one here)

The lovely little chilis were from the vegetable collection, they look like tiny aubergines!

Unfortunately the chilis and peppercorns and assorted spices float in the pickle brine, so only the first jar got them, which is a shame because they’re really pretty. Maybe next time I’ll distribute the first scoops of brine between the jars.

I still haven’t opened them to try any, I can’t decide how long to leave it… part of me wants to eat them now, but the rest of me prefers old pickles to new pickles.

I might be getting more cucumbers, so I should probably try the first batch before I make the second. This preserving lark is more complicated than I thought!

[Via http://creatingmisericordia.wordpress.com]

clean out the fridge night

Having spent most of Saturday recovering from Friday night and had a diet mainly consisting of coffee & biscotti, there was nothing much in the fridge for dinner, couldn’t be bothered to go to the shop so was a question of making something out of whatever stuff knocking about.

There was some butternut squash leftover from the previous night’s risotto, conveniently already peeled and some curry paste that was begging to be used up so it was definitely curry for dinner. Fried up an onion, added a good dollop of curry paste & the chopped squash and a peeled & choped potato that had definitely seen better days plus a can of coconut milk & another of chickpeas from the larder (larder sounds rather grand, it’s actually some shelves in the small corridor that leads from the kitchen to the bathroom but I have delusions so larder it is), anyway, all in the pan & simmered for 20 minutes or so until the veg is tender & the sauce thickened then served with rice for veggie restorative goodness.

Pudding was some of the vanilla ice cream from Friday with hot chocolate sauce ( plain choc, melted with golden syrup & a dash of milk)

[Via http://ruthyrat.wordpress.com]

Caramelised White Chocolate

After reading an encouraging and inspiring post from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, I decided it was time to experiment with the recipe David Lebovitz posted on Caramelised White Chocolate. He came upon the recipe/technique when studying at the Valrhona school. I say recipe/technique because can this really be a recipe if there is only one (yes ONE) ingredient, that is White Chocolate ?

I wouldn’t be the world’s greatest white chocolate fan but this caramelisation process intrigued me. With a ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained’ approach I followed his steps and the end result was amazing. The interim results were frightful, ugly, dried out, mottled, yuck … but I remained patient determined that this white chocolate would transform into something resembling runny smooth peanut butter.

My patience paid off. Finally a really really good reason for buying white chocolate! I would not put this before a bittersweet chocolate sauce but it is rather good (as Daddy Pig would say) drizzled over pancakes. It’s like a very good runny vanilla fudge.

My notes for the future:

- preheat to 120C

- spready 12oz white chocolate (Belcolade Blanc 29.5%) on a baking tray

- stir every 10mins until it looks like peanut butter in color

- err on the side of caution and bake for longer rather than higher temp. My batch took 1hr 20 mins to reach that golden brown color. It may take under an hour depending on the oven, chocolate etc.

- even if the mixture dries out in the oven, stirring in the tray will bring it back to a runny consistency

- it will solidify once stored and look awful but the magic microwave will return it to golden runny sauce

[Via http://somesaycocoa.wordpress.com]

Tortillas!!

As I stand here listening to my washing machine, which sounds like it is on the verge of total collapse with a fairly constant kush-kush-kush sound and takes two hours to clean clothes, I realize that I have a wonderful life . I very much enjoy whatever it is I happen to doing at the moment… Being Saturday that generally involves attempting some new recipe. If you rememebr, a few weeks ago, I attempted porridge (not well) and succeeded a few weeks after. Today the great cooking escapade was tortillas.

For me, one of the most difficult parts of living practically in the desert of southern Africa has been food. It isn’t that I don’t like the food, just that I miss Tex-Mex. It is incredibly challenging to find jalepeños, chilis or anything spicy with a few expections – curry and peri-peri which comes in a TON of fun flavors: regular, hot, or supa (Nando’s is great ! Anyhow, no Tex-Mex flavors or spices or packaged foods… even South Africa has a tortilla mix from El Paso, but Botswana? Nope… So, this morning I woke up and thought, “I’d like a tortilla!” So, I made them. Amazingly enough, they turned out pretty well and were much easier than I expected. I made half a batch according to recipe, which yielded 5 whole tortilla (one of which was super tiny). It was great! I’ll have to make more next time.

Next weekend I’m sure it will be a whole other adventure in cooking. Maybe I’ll try to make refried beans or convince someone to teach me how to make papa and seswaa… Yum! I highly recommend it to everyone, but it’s not really easy to explain – basically it is boiled beef and maize meal. Well, now I’m off to do something else… maybe I’ll hadwash my clothes again, I’m sure it would be faster than the washing machine.

[Via http://walkbygrace.wordpress.com]

Cooking for Henri's parents

HI All -

Happy Friday! I am really excited that I have a four day weekend to look forward to. I have spent a good amount of the day cooking for Tim & Nicole and I’m about to run out the door to deliver their food and to visit with them and their new beautiful baby, Henri.

I made them a baked mac and cheese with broccoli and tomato and a quiche with sauteed onions, mushrooms (on one half because Tim doesn’t like mushrooms very much !?!?) and broccoli. I hope this will keep them going for a couple of days at least!

I must say that blogging can be pretty hard… especially when you cannot find your camera cord to download your pictures! I have to keep searching through my things, I guess this is what happens when you take a week off from blogging! Meh.

Well, this will be a lot less interesting without pictures – but here you go.

This morning I slept in until 10:30 which was amazing. I do feel caught up on my sleep, I must say. For breakfast I had peanut butter puffins and half a banana sliced on top with organic skim milk. This was a great breakfast! It also kept me going for many hours…

I got to the grocery store at noon. I thought I would be ahead of the crowds since it was Friday and I thought most people would still be at work. Wow – was it a mad house! But I managed to get in and out in under a half an hour – not bad! I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts on the way home and ordered a medium iced coffee with milk and (you always have to say this part!!) no sugar. It was very refreshing! When I got home I started cooking – I decided to do the mac and cheese first because it is a little more labor intensive than the quiche. I started off with a basic Martha Stewart recipe for mac & cheese with tomato and of course had to make my own changes! After I had the mac & cheese baking in the oven, I started the quiche which was pretty easy since I make quiche a lot. When I find the camera cord, I’ll post the pictures.

For lunch I had a small dish of mac & cheese with tomato and broccoli. I took the leftovers and baked it with bread crumbs in one of my small Le Creuset baking dishes. Because I had made a few changes, I wanted to try it out before Tim & Nicole did. It was good – and I really liked using the whole wheat pasta elbows. I also really liked the veggies, I think it added a good amount of heartiness to the dish. Oh, and don’t forget the whole wheat bread crumbs sprinkled on top. That is the most important part!

I will be back soon with pictures (hopefully!) and a recap of this week… The blog is back, I promise

[Via http://sugarnspiceblog.wordpress.com]

Spiced Pineapple Pajeri

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Fresh pineapple (Canned may be used if chosen)
• 200 ml Coconut milk
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• 3 pcs Star anise
• 1 tbsp Dried shrimp, (optional, soaked in water then drained)
• 1 no Large white onion
• 3 clove Garlic
• 1 tbsp Ginger, chopped
• 2 tbsp Madras Curry Powder, diluted with water
• 1 tbsp Brown sugar or palm sugar
• 60 ml Low cholesterol oil
• Water
• Seasoning to taste

Method:

1. Peel the pineapple and slice in to ½ inch thick pieces.
2. Grind the onion, garlic, ginger and dried shrimps.
3. Heat a thick bottomed pan and sauté the ground ingredients until fragrant.
4. Then add the curry powder, star anise and mustard seeds, sauté until fragrant.
5. Add about 100ml water; add in the coconut milk and brown sugar.
6. After the sugar has dissolved add in the pineapple slices.
7. Let them simmer until the sauce thickens.
8. Adjust the seasoning before serving.

Notes:

If you prefer a tangy kick to the sauce, apple cider vinegar can be added before the reducing process. If coconut milk is not desired due to cholesterol issues, you can change it with low fat cream instead. Chef Kasdi has garnished his pineapples with some tiny birds eye chilies and a few small strips of sweet red chilies for color contrast.

[Via http://chefstales.wordpress.com]

Warm Bacon Potato Salad

Yield

4 servings

Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

* 1/2 cup white wine vinegar

* 1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard

* 1 tablespoon sugar

* 2 1/2 pounds red potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes

* Salt

* 6 bacon slices, chopped

* 1 medium sized red onion, diced

* Freshly ground black pepper

* 2 cloves garlic, chopped

* 1/4 cup freshly chopped dill leaves, plus more for garnish

Directions

For the vinaigrette:

Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Add potatoes to pot of salted cold water. Bring to a boil, over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl. Cover with foil to keep warm, if necessary.

Add bacon to large saute pan and cook until crisp over medium heat. Remove to a paper towel-lined sheet tray and reserve. Add onion, dash of pepper and garlic to bacon grease and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add vinaigrette to vegetables. Let cook until reduced and thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add potatoes, dill and bacon to the pan and toss to coat with dressing. Allow to cook for 3 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Transfer potato salad to a serving platter and sprinkle with chopped fresh dill.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/warm-bacon-potato-salad-recipe/index.html

[Via http://dv8s.wordpress.com]

Blushing Beetroot

Am writing this in our kitchen after a very traumatic 24 hours. You can still smell the trauma. Literally. More on that in a moment.

Beetroot have taken over my life recently. My village of Hamsterley held its annual ’Hoppings’ event at the weekend. And for all amateur gardeners a new and potentially rewarding event…a produce show in the social club. One category caught my eye  - beetroot.

So I dug all mine up the day before the show; selected the three best (or three which were the same size); brought them inside; washed them and prepared my acceptance speech.  I’d checked on the internet how to show off such vegetables and was confident. They were whoppers. I went to bed and fell into a confident slumber.

I’d read that they should be kept in salty water overnight. I forgot but woke up at 0525 and went down to immerse them. Was it too late? How sad had my life become?

And so to the day of the show. I prepared the three little darlings and strode down the street towards the show area.  However all confidence evaporated when the show judge who was taking the money at the door looked at me, then at the entries, then uttered the killer phrase “you shouldn’t have cut the tops off” .

Deflated I trudged home, having lost all interest in the stupid competition. The afternoon wore on and word spread. The vole’s beetroots had been placed…..third.

Now I’m not that competitive but for something I have grown to be recognised by leading authorities in the horticultural as the third best in our village, on a Sunday in August, is worth celebrating. I now have a very nice rosette.

And now back to the kitchen, and that smell. Yesterday I boiled two huge pans of beetroot for pickling purposes. And then I forgot about them. For hours. The pan is a goner…and the less said about the poor beetroot the better.

However, today’s a new day. The beetroot I rejected yesterday as not suitable are now boiling nicely. I’m keeping a very close eye on them. Want a jar?

[Via http://questingvole.wordpress.com]

Baked Chicken Breasts

Baked Chicken Breasts

“Baked” chicken without having to turn on the stove!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Serves 4 to 6

2-3 whole chicken breasts, halved

2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup dry sherry

1 tsp leaf tarragon or leaf rosemary

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 can (4 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry; place in Crock-Pot.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken breasts.

Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High 4 to 5 hours.

[Via http://chrisy58.wordpress.com]

Exams; Big Eww!

Good morning afternoon everyone!

I am trusting your having a great day!

My days been average, I had two exams today, Biology, three hours, and French, also three hours!

Biology was a lot better than I expected, though French was an utter disaster!

haha, I don’t know, I think it was something to do with the amount of study and effort I put into them…

Last night wasn’t the most glorious night of my existance either…

I was trying to cook ravioli (I have issues with thing out of a packet, it needs to be real food) and it said “add six litres of water” well, I looked at the packet, and was like, “six litres, what the fuck” so I went into the loungeroom where the parents were enjoying doing nothing infront of the TV, and asked if there was any chance that the packeted really actually ment six litres…

well, shit hit the fan, I am a failure, and embarrassement, and all this other stuff that you don’t need to hear…

So yeah, after I was told repeditively how horrible I am, I decided that I wasn’t hungry anymore… I wish I hadn’t thought thatk, because at around three am I woke up with the worst tummy ache!

At least I’ve learnt my lesson ‘ey??

Hit me up if you want to ask me anything!

xx

Ali

[Via http://music4mylyf.wordpress.com]

Highschool reunion

As the end of the year approaches I find myself in a turning point between morning pastries and fitting into my jeans again.

You might call it vanity, I call it the non-spending-machine. For many reason I do believe that if I watch what I eat I’ll be able to save more money. But the question in my head remains..I don’t really have unhealthy eating habits, so where should I cut back?

You see, I love vegetable and I cook dinner from scratch every evening. I love fresh produce and I get excited over ripped tomatoes and green herbs.  But if I have to be truly honest, I know exactly where I have to cut back. And that is the hardest thing I have to do.

I live in the country of the great cow, which means all our dairy is extremely creamy and delicious, including my biggest enemy: Butter.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not Paula Dean, but I do love my french bread and butter and if I tell you my hubby and I can get a kilo down in no time, that wouldn’t help the situation. So there you have it. If I want to fit on my nice summer clothes for my 19th high school reunion this December, I better start cutting back on those.

Let’s see how it goes…

[Via http://goodpueblo.wordpress.com]

To can or not to can

 

     I can’t believe it.  We’re halfway through our second jar of my Cousins’ homemade jam.  The first jar we finished was his raspberry jam what a heavenly delight!  This one is sour cherry-raspberry and all I can say is wow.  I’m sorely tempted to open all the others to taste them but I will restrain myself and go one at a time.  I’m not certain as to which one we’ll try after this jar is empty.

     We have a number of choices.  There’s the blueberry, the strawberry, the strawberry rhubarb, and sour cherry sitting in the cupboard waiting for us to dive in.  My cousin and his daughter make tons of jams for the family every year.  Another cousin makes a wonderful salsa.

     I’ve also been hoarding a jar of my Aunts’ tomato relish—it’s my last jar. 

     I’m sorry to say that I haven’t done any canning in several years.  I used to make this wonderful tomato pear chutney, a port wine jelly, an apple ginger jelly, and a jalapeño jelly.  Dear Hubby misses the jalapeño jelly most of all.  I quit canning when my dishwasher died, it was a portable, and we never replaced it because it took up too much room.  It had a sterilizing cycle that I used to sterilize all my jars, lids, and rings.  It’s too time consuming and too much work without it.

[Via http://doggonedmysteries.wordpress.com]