Well, this was out of my comfort zone!

Tonight's contribution to the rice challenge was Wild Rice Cakes with Bacon. This is a Cooking Light recipe, and it more than surprised me. Not only was it good, but Andy thought it was a definite repeater- which is about the highest marks you can get at my house. We are already planning on making these again with Thanksgiving leftovers. Adding some chopped turkey to the mix, changing out the thyme for some basil, and adding a cranberry sauce as a topper. The only change I made to the recipe tonight was that I could not find a brown and wild rice blend in our little store. In fact, I couldn't find a white and wild rice blend either. So I improvised using a Wild Rice Pilaf from Far East. I simply left out the seasoning packet and cooked the rice like normal. Worked well, but I bet they will be much better when I can find the actual brown and wild rice blend.

Wild Rice Cakes with Bacon

Make the rice cakes ahead, then reheat in the oven to free the stovetop for other items.

2 teaspoons butter
1 cup uncooked brown and wild rice blend
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
Cooking spray

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add salt and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, and rice is tender. Drain any excess liquid. Cool slightly.
Place egg and egg white in a large bowl; add flour and baking powder, stirring with a whisk. Add the rice, green onions, and next 4 ingredients (green onions through bacon), stirring with a rubber spatula until well blended.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Spoon 3 (1/4-cup) mounds rice mixture into skillet; flatten slightly with spatula. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown and thoroughly heated. Repeat procedure with remaining rice mixture. Serve immediately.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 cake)

NUTRITION PER SERVING:CALORIES 128(30% from fat); FAT 4.2g (sat 0.9g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 4.7g; CHOLESTEROL 20mg; CALCIUM 28mg; SODIUM 412mg; FIBER 1.6g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17.7g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003

Iron Chef....Rice???

Well all right, per Andy's request this week's challenge is going to be the most undramatic rice. He didn't specify, so I guess I can use any kind of rice I want, but he seems to think I can come up with some new ways to make rice that I haven't before. I may choose to do a risotto this week, because other than my doomed pumpkin risotto a few weeks back, I've never actually made risotto- that could be fun. I am also thinking a rice pudding. Andy suggested an ice cream...maybe a rice pudding ice cream with rum soaked raisins? My usual uses for rice are actually pretty limited. I make a creamed rice that is just milk and rice, and we top it with cinnamon sugar (A Mom specialty- comfort food to me). I eat rice plain as a side (both brown and white). And I have done fried rice- although I am not super fab at that, I do okay. And of course, I top rice with anything Indian or Asian inspired- but thats really plain rice anyway.

This is unexpected, as Andy has always struck me as a non- rice eater, and he'll be around all week. So, tomorrow I will post something ricey!

And in the meantime....I am pleased to announce for all to see that my beautiful baby sister (well, one of them for now anyway) is engaged!!!!! Rachel has finally met her soulmate- and I have to say she did very well at that! I already love Cody like a brother- and my kids are pretty darned fond of him too. So congratulations you two!!! I look forward to helping with the planning and witnessing the beginning of forever!!!!

A slice of Heaven, and a real challenge today!

I have to start with the challenge of the day. Yesterday I was presented with 3 pheasant to make for company dinner tonight. Um, yeah. Like I know what to do with pheasant. But never one to shy away from a challenge, I set the little buggers to thaw overnight. I went back and forth on how to prepare them. Part of me thought that a lemon-pepper marinade would be good, and part of me thought they'd be perfect for a cacciatore style braise. Well, the lemon pepper marinade one, and I found a pre-made one that was lemon juice based, versus the usual water, corn syrup and flavorings that are so common.

Then I unwrapped those pheasants.

I was greeted by these tiny skinless bodies with their feet still attached! They really were rather disgusting looking, yet they were tiny and delicate. Chicken shaped, but much smaller and darker, and well, yucky. I set my kitchen shear to removing those nasty clawed feet and in the process discovered many a clump of feathers. I had such a hard time cleaning them up. Yuck. I have no problem with chicken, but this... So after further examination, I realized there was very little fat to these little birds, and decided they probably needed some, or they would dry out in no time. That was an easy fix- on to the applewood smoked bacon! After a soak in the marinade, I wrapped the pheasants in bacon and popped them in the oven.

Unfortunately, I still overcooked them, and they did end up a little dry, but the flavor was quite good. I would be tempted to order pheasant out, I think, and I would prepare it again IF I could get them from a butcher properly dressed- not from a hunter. When it came down to it, there was very little meat on one pheasant, and for three families there was hardly enough for much more than a taste, so Andy and Al headed out for a quick bucket of chicken to round out the entree part of dinner.

Then we had dessert. :-) All I can say is hail to Valchemist on the CLBB. She has shared the most wonderful dessert- Gooey Apple Sheet Cake. This is a pan of pure perfection. A moist layer of a spicy apple cake topped with a creamy cheesecake-like layer, yet bits of cake poke through the cheese layer and get all crunchy and yummy. It really is super simple- and it is a definite WOW in the kitchen- and will impress, to be sure. So here is the recipe, make it! It is so easy.

And finally, if you are reading this Lizzie, and haven't done so yet after camping, CALL RACHEL!!!!!!


Gooey Apple Sheet Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter -- melted
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c buttermilk
2 c chopped apples -- (1/4-1/2 inch pieces)
1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon
For the Topping:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 oz. lowfat cream cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c oats

Mix melted butter and sugar with a mixer. Add eggs and beat well. Combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well. Fold in the chopped apples. Spread batter into well greased (or sprayed) 13 x 9 baking pan. Mix Topping ingredients and put over cake BEFORE baking. Bake in a 350ºF oven for 40-45 minutes. You can store this on the counter or in the refrigerator. Great warm, cold, or at room temperature.
Source: "shared by valchemist on CLBB" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A cozy night at home

I do apologize from my lack of posting this week. I have both been busy and under the weather. I've been spending a lot of time working on costumes for Bye Bye Birdie at our local High School. And while it is fun, it is terribly time consuming. I truly hope the kids will appreciate the madness I am enduring to give them their attire. :-) I also hope I still have friends when I am done with this- because I have very little time for anything other than the costumes and my kids.

Anyway, I fear I have not gotten back ot the leeks. Maybe over the weekend I will feel more inspired, but I seem to have this cold that just won't go away, and inspiration is running a little low in the kitchen. Tonight I did make a very comforting Cheeseburger Soup as shared by Sweetnicks. It was pretty darn good. The kids didn't eat much- but Andy and I enjoyed it. I will post the recipe at the end of my post for anyone interested. I made it as is, except that I used a full pound of ground beef- having a half a pound leftover sitting around seemed silly, so I used it all.

Now, I want to ask my online fellow-food lovers for some assistance. Next Friday I am hosting Pampered Chef party. I am doing a theme party of chocolate! Because PC parties aren't normally my favorite thing to go to- I find the recipes are not for me and rely heavily on processed food. (Cool Whip, pre-made dough, cake mix, etc) I am trying more and more to stay away from those foods if possible. But I figure a chocolate party will be safe, and I booked it to get my friend a booking bonus from her party. Anyway, I am ISO easy chocolate recipes. Right now I have a cake and a fondue from the PC rep, and I am going to make fudge as well, but any other sugegstions, recipes would be more than welcome. Let me know if you have a suggestion.

Anyway, it's been a fairly slow week, but a good week, and I have a feeling it is only going to end up being a really awesome couple of weeks here. There are very, very exciting changes occurring among the lives of family and friends alike, and I'm looking forward to sharing in those experiences. I will not expound more at this time, as it is not for me to share yet, but very soon, there will be some exciting news on my blog. Have a good weekend!

* Exported from MasterCook *
Cheeseburger Soup

1/2 lb browned ground beef
4 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup shredded carrots
8 oz Velveeta
3/4 cup diced celery
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream

Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 T butter for about 10 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and hamburger. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt about 3 T butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, for about 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

This one's for Mom Waz...

Mom was curious as to why I was doing an ingredient challenge. It started with that bunch of pumpkin last weekend. I've always been afraid of pumpkin- especially when I thought of it in a savory sense. Pumpkin was for pie and muffins- not ravioli and enchilada sauce. As it turns out it tasted a lot like squash- which I really like, so I learned a valuable lesson, and I figured there were many more things like that, so I would personally challenge myself to think outside of my comforrt zone.

So yes, maybe if I use the ingredient a few times- it will become mine, in the sense that I won't be afraid to use it more often. This weeks leek is already an eye opener. So hopefully it will become more a part of my repertoir as time goes on.

And it is good!

Tonight was the first experiment with the leek. I thought it would be best to try the leek as a more straight up type of vegetable, and I was not disappointed! After looking at several recipes for leeks, I decided to combine a couple that I found on www.recipezaar. com. Since it was only me, I used just one leek- although it was a rather large one. I cut in half and rinsed it out, and then sliced it into thin slices. I heated up about a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet and added the leeks. I cooked them over medium low heat until they started to look tender, and then I seasoned with salt and pepper. Next I added a half a cup of chicken broth and let the leek slices braise for about 15 minutes- until the broth was gone. Then the crowning glory. I grated up some cheddar cheese, sprinkled it on top, and broiled the whole pan until the cheese was bubbling like crazy. And it was crazy good. I think this was a good dish to try with Andy out of town, because I'm sure I smell like one giant leek- but oh was it good.

I also am in the process of making a vegetable stock with the green leek tops. I'm not sure it's going very well though, I think I may have used too many onion relatives, and not enough sweeter vegetables. I used 3 green leek tops, 2 med-small onions, 2 cloves garlic, 4 carrots, 2 corn cobs, and 1 green pepper. Oh, and peppercorns, bay leaves, and herbes de provence. It smells really good, but I took one taste to adjust the salt- and I really taste the onion products. So we'll see. About an hour ago I also took a handful of plum tomatoes that were softening, cut them in half and tossed those in, so hopefully we added some flavor and sweetness there.

That's it for tonight- but I wanted to add that if anyone has a suggestion for a food product to challenge in the future- send it my way- I'm open to most suggestions, as long as I can find it around here. Tomorrow I may try something that incorporates leeks as a smaller part of a larger dish- maybe some kind of pasta...

My own little challenge and some pyramids

I really don't have anything new to add today as far as a recipe goes. Tonight we had a classic meal of Hot Dogs and French Fries- as requested by my dear son. However, Abigail said one of the cutest things to day. She brought home some schoolwork that she hadn't had time to finish at school today. So being a good Mom, I sat down with her after supper to let her finish it. She did just fine making her big F's and little F's. When she was done though she looked at me and said "Look Mom, I added some pyramids." and smiled. Pyramids? I didn't see any pyramids on her paper. "See, here." And she pointed to a little dot at the end of her line of F's. Yep, you guessed it. Periods. LOL! That is just too priceless, and I will never look at a period again without thinking about Abigail's pyramids.

Now on to the challenge part of my post. After the brain games of the past weekend, and attempting to "think pumpkin". It got me thinking that there are probably dozens of food items that I don't give just attention to. So I am going to do that. Every Monday I am going to pick a food item and some time between Monday and the following Sunday, I am going to use that food item. Whether that be one dish, or one dish a day, we'll see how it goes. And of course, if anyone wants to join me in my weekly challenges, please do, and let me know, and I'll post your results as well!

So this week I have chosen the humble LEEK as my challenge ingredient. I have only ever used leeks in two dishes. One being potato-leek soup. The other being a pot pie with leeks. So I will try to avoid those dishes. And I highly doubt there will be a leek dessert in my near future. Then again, you never know. ;-)

Last night's Mexican inspired meal.

Last night was fun. I hinted at it in my previous post, but I just didn't have time to post more last night. Poor Zander was needing his Mommy after spending the day playing really hard.

Anyway, last night I made an empty-the-fridge sort of Mexican meal, and it was awesome! I even had leftovers for lunch today- and I'm not a leftover type of girl. I started with a Double Meat and Roasted Red Pepper Enchilada. I can't say that I have exact ingredient amounts here, but I can give a general guidline, and you can adjust accordingly to your tastes.

I started with half a leftover pork roast, and half of a leftover chuck roast. I used a fork to shred up the meat on both and tossed them in a bowl. Then I slowly carmalized 4 medium onions, and added all but about 2 large spoonfuls to the meat. In goes about 1/2 cup diced roasted red pepper. Then I stirred in about 3/4 cup of sour cream and spices. The spices were cumin, chipotle chile powder, coriander, salt and pepper. Finally, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese completed my filling. The sauce I'm almost embarrassed to share- it was super simple. I took one large can of whole tomatoes and crushed the tomatoes with my hands. Next I added the remaining carmalized onions and turned the heat on medium low. I let this stew for about 15 minutes, drawing out the sweetness from the onions into the tomatoes. Then I added a pint and a half of homemade salsa. I let this simmer together for about 5 more minutes before attacking the pot with my immersion blender. A check for seasoning and a pinch of salt, I had enchilada sauce, that was awesome! I rolled up the enchiladas in flour tortillas, topped with extra shredded cheese, and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes. Mmmm were they good!

Next I made a new salad: Chickpea, Tomato and Pickled Red Onion Salad. This recipe comes from 1,000 Mexican Recipes by Marge Poore. While I enjoyed the salad, I don't know that the salad itself was anything to write home about. However, the pickled red onions themselves were a star. I think they will make a great condiment for just about anything, and you could easily substitute a different herb for the mexican oregano. Here is the recipe for the pickled onion, followed by the recipe for the salad.

Pickled Red Onions

3 TBS olive oil
1 large red onion, quarted lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano (Mexican variety preferred), crumbled
1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and oregano. Cook, stirring, until the onion is barely tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Marinate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. Serve the onions at room temereature, or sizzle the onions briefly in a hot skillet just before serving.
Makes about 1 cup.

Chickpea, Tomato, and Red Onion Salad

1 red onion, pickled
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 TBS olive oil
Freshly ground black pepepr, to taste
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese)

Prepare the pickled red onion and let marinate at least 1 hour. Reserve in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, tomatoes, vinegar, salt, olive oil, and pepper. Drain the onions and add to the salad along with the crumbled cheese. Toss gently to mix. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Pumpkin Wrap Up

My pumpkin challenge for the weekend is officially over. A big thank you to Elizabeth for finishing it for me with her pumpkin flan. It was quite good, and I have the recipe here from her, so we all cna have some caramelly flan goodness. It was somewhat reminiscent of pumpkin pie, yet not quite. It was good. It makes me think that I would like to figure out how to add a layer of caramel to my pumpkin pie. Anyway, here is that recipe. I also tried out a new salad tonight. It was a pickled onion, garbanzo bean, and tomato salad- and I really liked that. I will post that recipe tomorrow, as Zander is having a rough nite and needs some Mommy time.

Pumpkin Flan

1 1/2 C. Sugar
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp pie spice
1 16 oz. can pumpkin
1 13 oz. can evaporated milk

Put 1 cup of sugar into a heavy skillet and stir over medium heat until the sugar melts and carmalizes. Immediately, pour into a 10 inch pie pan and tilt to coat.

Beat remaining 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, salt, vanilla, spice, pumpkin, and evaporated milk. Pour into the prepared pan. Place pan in another pan and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Cool and refrigerate until serving.

Makes 6-8 servings

I've been tagged!!

I'm honored! I didn't know I had "following" on my blog. LOL. Anyway, I've been tagged for the 23/5 Meme.


This is the 23/5 Meme.
1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog, along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext, or hidden agendas.
5. Tag others to do the same


So here is my sentence. It makes me laugh just reading it. I can't believe this was my 23rd post.

I purchased 3 tickets to the midnight screening of the movie to take Caleb and Rachel with me.

That was a sad day indeed. I was supposed to go see Star Wars Episode 3, and I'd had to give my tickets away because Andy was out of town and I couldn't go flitting off to a midnight movie and leave my kiddies home alone. Although, after the fact, I was having a rough week, and I seem to remember that Zander wasn't feeling well, so the loss of sleep if I had gone would have been disastrous. I spent that night and the next few watching LOTR instead, and enjoyed watching it from the comfort of my own home. And Andy was able to take me to my movie later- which made him happy.

Hmm. I'm not totally sure who has been tagged and who hasn't. But for the 23/5 Meme I tag Lizzy of Soul Food, Chandra of Lick The Spoon, and Ana of Kitchen Space.

Battle Pumpkin Continues

And to be completely honest, it's just not going as well as I had hoped. I am completely intrigued by the pumpkin. I have always enjoyed pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, but I've never enjoyed it as the vegetable it really is. So far I have to say, I like it best plain with a pat of butter. Although that ravioli was pretty good...

Anyway, today's adventure took me to risotto. I must have sustained a head injury recently with all of my poor choices in the kitchen. First of all, I've never actually made risotto. So that's a strike in itself. Secondly, I was already cooking up some brown rice to go with our dinenr tonight, so I started the risotto process halfway through cooking using the wrong rice. Ah well, texture wise, it did turn out okay, but flavor wise it was sorely lacking. I started with the rice and added about 3/4 cup fresh pumpkin puree, a bit of sage, and some salt and pepper. I let that cook in, and then I added a bit of half-and-half to help it get creamier. I continued cooking and stirring occasionally. I don't know waht I was thinking. I guess I expected the "magic flavor fairy" to just show up and flavor the risotto with something. It was so bland. I added more salt, Penzey's Fox Point, and lastly, a drizzle of pure maple syrup, trying to get SOMETHING out of my risotto. Eh. It got a thumbs down from all. At least Andy did a fine job smoking a roast on the grill- so we had that to enjoy.

So tomorrow to finish up my challenge, I have engaged some help, and a friend is bringing over a pumpkin flan for dessert- now that sounds like my kind of pumpkin! We are having our friends over for our weekly to-do, and the theme tomorrow is Fiesta. I have yet to decide for sure what we're making, but I may be inspired enough to try a recipe I found recently for a spicy pumpkin sauce and enchiladas. Again, complements of the one and only Bob. Maybe he'd like to join us for dinner tomorrow. I could use some good karma in the kitchen after this weekend.

And on a brief business note, I have added several new foodie blogs to my blog- do check them out- there is good food lurking around every single page!

Iron Chef- Battle Pumpkin

Did not go so well at times today. After the fire fiasco, I should have known better than to attack something even remotely tricky.

First I cooked up Abigail's pumpkin. It most definitely is not a pie pumpkin. :-( It's missing a sweetness that is in the pie pumpkins, and it is really wet. So she didn't get to make her pie today. I have the puree sitting in the fridge draining, so hopefully tomorrow enough water will have seeped out and we'll be able to play with it then.

My second project was a Pumkin Walnut Fudge. Sounds good- doesn't it. Ah, yeah. The ingredients were simple, the direction simple. I must have done something wrong. I put the ingredients in the pan, and stirred while the sugar dissolved. The directions said to stir until dissolved, and then don't stir again while it gets up to temp. So I didn't stir and carefully watched the temperature. Well, as it's climbing and still 10 degrees from it's mark- I notice that it's starting to smell dark- you know, that burnt sugar smell. I tried to stay away and just be patient, and finally, that smell got the best of me, and I dipped my spoon in to check it. And scraped up a nice layer of black sugar. :-( The best I can guess is that I had my burner set too high, so it was scorching that bottom layer instead of coaxing it up to temp. So that was the end of that challenge. I am hesitant to try again, because I am not totally sure that the burner was the problem. There was another pumpkin fudge I saw recently on the CLBB that I will look at and see if it's worth trying.

The third project of the day was tonights dinner. I was making a pork roast with apples and sauerkraut, and I wanted something fall-inspired to go with it. Back to the pumpkin. I decided to try my hand at homemade ravioli. I know. What was I thinking! I made a simple filling of pumpkin, pepper, eggs, and asiago cheese. Then came the pasta dough. That was tough! It started out fun, making a well in flour, adding the eggs, and watching it all come together. But it was a really tough dough to work with, and according to Mario Batali, needed to be kneaded for a full 10 minutes. Ugh! It did work, and then came the rolling. Andy bought me a pasta roller 2 years ago, and this was my first attempt at using it. It would have been better if it fit my counter. It was a real struggle, and it took a long time to get all that dough rolled! After several hours I had a tray full of beautiful little pockets, ready for simmering water.

The ravioli did turn out. I tossed the boiled puffs in a sage brown butter and toasted walnuts, and then sprinkled with asiago cheese. Andy was very sad to learn that he'd eaten them all- so I guess they need to be made again. I would just like them to not take all day to come together! And of course, I had a request from my children to make normal ravioli next time.

The pumpkin battle will continue into tomorrow, as I still have plenty of pumpkin to use up, both of the fresh and canned variety. So we'll see how ambitious I get tomorrow!

Reason #9,999 why I hate my electric stove

Those darn drip pans catch fire!!! :-o

Yeah...um, last night while my potato-leek soup simmerd away, I had to get supper going for the kids. Abigail requested Blue's Clues Mac-N-Cheese. Worked for me. I put the pot of water on the burner and walked away. Zander asked to go downstairs to play, and he doesn't like to go down those steps, so I carried him down, made sure he was settled okay, and headed back up. I walked into the kitchen and glanced at the stove and headed for the sink. Wait. What was that? I turn around and under my pot of simmering water were flames! It was almost funny, actually. Realizing kitchen fires can get crazy though, I stepped over and reached over the flames to turn off the burner. Then I walked across the kitchen and grabbed the baking soda. I moved the pot and doused the fire. Then I just stood there for a second. It was just a little fire, but normally in that situation, I think I would have freaked out- but I was almost scary calm about it.

So what did I learn? That I really do hate my electric range. And I really, really want a duel fuel. I have found that I like the electric oven- it does heat correctly, and evenly- which I didn't have with my gas range. But the stove top has got to go. As I write this, my drip pans are soaking in the sink, I just hope I can get those crusties off so this doesn't happen again. Oh, and I also learned that I need to purchase more baking soda to keep in the cupboard immediately over the stove.

Today after I get the stove cleaned up I am going to be baking off Abigail's pumpkin that she planted and picked in Grandma's garden. She wants to make pumpkin pie out of it. I am pretty sure it's not a pie pumpkin though, so we'll see how it works. I do have some canned pumpkin so if the cooked pumpkin is not quite right for the pie, I can use it for something else and give her the canned pumpkin to use. And, before it gets warm again, I am going to try something else with pumpkin. Tune in later to find out what. I promise you won't be disapponted. (providing it works! ;-p)

A couple of new recipes today!

This last week I picked up some yukon gold potatoes and some leeks to make a new recipe in this months Cooking Light, Golden Potato-Leek Soup with Cheddar Toasts. I wasn't quite sure when I was actually going to make it- but today at Sam's I got my hands on a pair of piping hot baguettes- and that cemented it for me. Soup tonight. It was pretty good. I halved the recipe- as it was just me, and I used homemade chicken stock instead of the canned veggie called for. Other than that, I made the recipe mostly as written. Oh, and I used half-and-half instead of whipping cream. If I have whipping cream in the house I will whip it and eat it any way I can, so I try to only buy it when I really need it. I thought half-and-half would do this time. And it did. The only change I would make if I made it again would be to elminate the water completely and use all stock-whether chicken or veggie. And the cheddar toasts really complemented the soup nicely. I would make both again.

The second challenge today was brought to me by Abigail. She told me the other day that she wished she could have hot lunch so that she could have the chocolate cookies with M&M's. Well, since I know very well that she won't eat the rest of the hot lunch, I decided it was a challenge to come up with those cookies.
I really hunted high and low for a basic chocolate cookie. You would think they would be everywhere- but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I finally decided on a recipe posted over on Cookie Madness- Chewy Chocolate Cookies. I logged onto Allrecipes and printed out the recipe. Then while walking home with the kids, we headed over to the store to pick up some eggs. While we were there, it occurred to me that there is a good chocolate cookie on the back of a bag of Reese's PB Chips- so we picked up a bag of those as well so that I had the recipe. So I made my cookies- omitting the chips, and adding 2 cups of regular size M&M's. They turned out very good. They work for Abigail, that's for sure. The funny part comes in when I walk to the computer and pick up the recipe I didn't use. It was exactly the same as the one from the PB chips- except it had chocolate chips listed. :-) So it will be repeated with the M&M's- but no one really gets credit for it. Here are the recipes- Enjoy!

Golden Potato-Leek Soup with Cheddar Toasts
From
writeDinnerTonight();
See All Dinner Tonight Recipes
Yukon gold potatoes are the key ingredient to give the soup rich, buttery flavor.
Soup:
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups thinly sliced leek (about 3 medium)
6 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potato (about 2 1/4 pounds)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (14-ounce) cans organic vegetable broth (such as Swanson Certified Organic)
2 thyme sprigs
Cheddar Toasts:
8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut sourdough French bread baguette
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Remaining Ingredients:
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Thyme sprigs (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°.
To prepare soup, melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally (do not brown).
Add potatoes, water, salt, broth, and 2 thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
To prepare cheddar toasts, place baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 7 minutes or until toasted. Turn slices over; coat with cooking spray, and sprinkle 1 tablespoon cheese over each slice. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle evenly with red pepper.
Remove pan from heat; discard thyme sprigs. Partially mash potatoes with a potato masher; stir in cream. Sprinkle with black pepper. Serve with cheddar toasts. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup soup and 1 toast)

NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 299(25% from fat); FAT 8.6g (sat 4.7g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 7.5g; CHOLESTEROL 25mg; CALCIUM 113mg; SODIUM 660mg; FIBER 3.9g; IRON 2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.4gMark Bittman Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

Chewy Chocolate Cookies I
Submitted by: Linda Whittaker

"These are GREAT chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Always a request at Christmas from friends and family!" Original recipe yield: 4 dozen.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. Cookies will be soft. Cool slightly on cookie sheet; remove from sheet onto wire rack to cool completely.
This recipe is featured within our Allrecipes cookbook. If you would like to learn more, please click http://allrecipes.com/arcookbook/.

Product Review Time

Part of being a foodie is being open to trying new foods. So I have decided that another facet to my blog should be product reviewing. I mean, I rave about websites, blogs, and cookbooks. Why not a new product that I think everyone should have!

The first product I will review is Yoplait's new Chocolate Whips. Now, I really don't like Yoplait's line of whips. If I want yogurt- I want yogurt. Normally the whips are way too sweet for my taste- and definitely not substantial. I don't know for sure, but I also doubt they carry the same health benefits of traditional yogurt. However, the chocolate whips are a category all their own. Copps in Green Bay carries them in Chocolate, Chocolate Cherry and Chocolate Raspberry. All I can say is yum. It is a perfect little something when you just want chocolate. Because it is in a yogurt container you can pretend it's good for you! They are on the sweet side, but not overly sweet. My least favorite is the chocolate cherry, as it has that slight almond flavor- moreso than cherry. The calories for 1 serving of chocolate whip is 160- which is a little on the steep side, but it is better than a brownie. My usual Brownie is around 298 calories for 1 brownie- so thatis substantial savings in calories. So my recommendation for Yoplait Chocolate Whips is a big thumbs up.

The second product I have to review comes from the cereal aisle. I have become quite the fan of oatmeal. And I don't mean instant powdered oatmeal. I'm talking about steel cut Irish Oats that take a good 15 minutes to fully swell up and burst with goodness. The coarser the beter, actually. I can't tell you the last time I had instant oatmeal, or even quick- cooking oats in the house. Anyway, I was looking for something new to try and stumbled upon Mother's Mulitgrain Hot Cereal. It contains 100% natural rolled rye, barley, oats,and wheat. Sounded good to me. Oh, it is wonderful! It actually only cooks in a few minutes. I have been throwing in a handful of dried fruit along with the cereal, and it needs very little as far as a sweetener goes. It's so good, and it really sticks with me. What's rare is that I can stick with the recommended serving amount- add my dried fruit and a drizzle of milk, and it's a fabulously healthy breakfast- and I feel like I'm spoiling myself. I just wish I'd found this cereal during berry season. It would be phenomenal with some juicy blackberries and a drizzle of honey. So Mother's Mulitgrain Hot Cereal gets a huge thumbs up from me!

If you have a favorite new something that you would like me to try and review- let me know, I will be open to suggestions! And I'm always up for a challenge- well, unless mice are on the menu. :-)

Turns out, I am seriously afraid of...

Mice!

This morning, Zander and I went to church to do my weekly cleaning. Now, I know there has been at least one mouse who has taken up residence in our church. I clean every week and am frequently taking care of the tiny droppings. Andy has put out those sticky traps to no avail. Now while there have been several reports of mice sightings- I never saw one, and never worried about it really. Until today.

Today I met my nemesis.

And I am afraid of mice! I opened up the closet door to retrieve my cleaning suppplies, and there he was. Sitting right on top of the vaccum! He turned and glared at me with those nasty little beady eyes, and twitched his whiskers at me!!! Of course, like any sane person I screamed bloody murder and slammed the door. Then I grabbed Zander who had followed me in and we ran to the other side of the church, as if that mouse would have swallowed up my precious boy had I left him in the room. Ugh. I get the shivers just thinking about it. It was so, so icky and creepy. Blech. I had made up my mind to call Andy and tell him that he was cleaning the church on Saturday, because I simply could not go back to that closet. Well, Pastor Mark chose that moment to show up at church, and while he is not fond of mice himself, he was kind enough to retreive the vaccum for me so that I could finish my cleaning. But let me tell you, I avoided the ladies bathroom and that dreaded closet like it contained the plague! Andy IS going to have to clean the bathroom and closet- and by golly that mouse had better be out of there ASAP- because I don't think I can stomach being in the same building as that horrible twitchy creature!!!!

So today I am overwhelmed with an urge to clean my house and wash my hands 800 times- and will take a very long hot shower this evening. I doubt I will do much cooking at all today. Maybe tomorrow I will feel a little cleaner and ready to tackle a delicious new project!

Learning to bake bread

Yesterday I had another happy moment in the kitchen. I recently picked up The Bread Bible and made my first recipe out of it. It was a simple hearth bread- and a little involved- but the end product was so wonderful. I don't know why I avoided that book for so long! One of my recent accomplishments has been to bake pretty good bread- but I want to take that a step further, and I certainly did that yesterday. I will certainly share the recipe is someone is interested- but it's pretty long so I may have to e-mail it. Let me know if you're interested. In the meantime I will share some of the details. :-)

This was my first experience with a "sponge", and certainly won't be the last. Basically the sponge is the water, yeast, and some flour combined and left to grow and ferment. It imparts a fabulous flavor to the bread- slightly tangy, and also adds to the tenderness I believe. Sourdough is a perfect example of bread made with a starter. I made my starter before going to church in the morning, and 4 hours later I started the kneading process. I love to knead bread. This also was different. I started the kneading, and kneaded for about 5 minutes. Then I covered the bread and let it rest for 20 minutes. Then I continued kneading for another 5 minutes, or until I felt the texture change- and it noticably changed! I baked the bread after spritzing it with water, and steamed it by throwing some ice cubes into a preheated cast iron pan.

The bread was perfect. It was made with just 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour thrown in- and the flavor from that! The crust was so wonderfully chewy, and the bread had a moist, tight crumb that tore beautifully. I am sure the chewiness is from the steam- and I hope to make this bread again tomorrow because my mouth is watering just thinking about it! :-)

In other news, Abigail has her very first field trip to the apple orchard tomorrow. She is so excited. I'm not sure if she is more excited about the actual field trip, or riding the school bus to the field trip. I will be anxious to pick her up from school tomorrow. Today she picked her special pumpkin from Grandma's garden and declared that it will become pumpkin pie. I'm not sure it's a pie pumpkin, but I will be a good Mommy, and on Friday while she is at school, I will bake the pumpkin for her to turn into a pie when she gets home. She has really taken an interest in the kitchen lately. I'm looking forward to the holidays this year. Actually, Zander wants to help too. I made marinated olives yesterday and he wanted to "pinch" the asiago cheese into the olives for me. It's soooo nice to have a kitchen big enough that my two kids can stand on chairs at the counter and help me out. I get warm fuzzies just thinking about it! Andy took pictures of it- so maybe someday I will post that. (Gotta get that digital camera on my Christmas list!)

The fiddle is broke.

Anyone who has read Dean Koontz's Watchers will appreciate the title to today's post. Probably the best he's ever written. I have read it so many times, and it still affects me when I read it. :-)

SO I'm not posting much today- I apologize for that. The fiddle is broke is a reference that I really don't feel well. Zander has had a bit of a cold- and my thoughtful son shared. Of course I never get a "bit" of anything.

So since I am unwell, I have a pot roast going in the crockpot. Pot roast is one of the few things I make in a crockpot that doesn't have that crockpot flavor to it. In reality, mine is super simple. I take a good size chuck roast, season it with salt and pepper, and throw it in the pot. I pour an undiluted can of Campbell's French Onion soup over the top and turn it on low for about 6 hours. For the last two I will throw in some vegetables, and turn it up to high. I forgot to get the soup yesterday and since I don't feel much like going out, I made my own condensed soup- sort of. I took a cup of boiling water and added 2 teaspoons beef soup base. Then I added a handful of dried onion slices from Penzeys. The roast got extra seasoning with Chicago Steak Seasoning. I made sure the onions were soft from the hot broth before pouring it over. The canned soup is easier and lazier- but the homemade version is actually better, so it all works out okay.

Hopefully tomorrow I will feel like cooking. If not, Sunday I am making a Mexican inspired dinner, and I will be sure and post recipes then. Happy weekend!

An "Outrageous" Day

I am a God in the kitchen. :-)

Today I successfully mastered the art of chicken stock. Being a thrifty girl at times, I have tried over and over to make homemade chicken soup with homemade chicken stock. Yet I have always found my homemade stock to be SEVERELY lacking. It always tasted like a pot of nothing, and I have always had to add several scoops of chicken soup base. Until today. I loosely followed the directions given by Sara Moulton to make a brown chicken stock. And here is my process.

I started with the remains of two chickens I had made recently. I took two whole chickens and cut them myself into pieces. Then I took the backs, wings, necks and gizzards and tossed them in the freezer for later. It was those rejects that I used for the stock. After a quick defrost in the microwave, I seasoned the pieces with seasoned salt, pepper, and Penzey's Fox Point seasoning. I baked them in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes- flipping them over once. While that was roasting in the oven, I prepared my aromatics. I took 4 whole carrots, washed them and cut them into 4 chunks a piece- discarding the stem end. I also used 2 celery stalks- cut into 4 pieces each, 1 large onion, peeled and quartered, 2 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp whole peppercorns, and about 1/2 tsp dried thyme. I added the roasted chicken to this- leaving the juices and drippings in the roasting pan. Then I added water to cover the chicken and veggies, as well as a few healthy pinches of kosher salt.

Then I poured the drippings into a measuring cup and let that sit for a few minutes. Once it had settled I drained the fat off and added those fabulous juices to my stock pot. Then I used boiling water to deglaze my pan and added that to the stock pot as well. (I forgot to mention that I discarded the gizzards, hearts, and livers after roasting- I did not add those to my stock pot. ) Next, I brought my stock pot to a gentle boil and turned it down to simmer. The important part is here. I left it alone. About once an hour I would give it a gentle stir and a taste. At first, I was so disappointed, and thought I had better give it more time, adn while I was at it, I should add some more salt. Bingo. Every time I tasted, it tasted better and better. I am certain it was part patience, and part seasoning. The fact that I continued to add healthy pinches of kosher salt while it simmered away really brought out the flavors. After about 4 hours, I had myself a pot of chicken stock. :-) I strained out the chickens and veggies and tossed them- their flavors were gone.

I used the stock tonight to make some chicken soup for supper- it was the best chicken soup I ever had. It was just plain old chicken soup- but that stock is pure golden goodness. NOw I have a huge meal of soup ready to go in the freezer for another time AND I also have 2 quarts of homemade chicken stock in the freezer, ready and waiting. I am looking forward to repeating this many times, and having a plentiful supply of chicken stock on hand at all times. Yeah me!

It gets better!

I also made Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. Oh my. Let me start off by saying that thses should be renamed "Oven Baked Fudge" because these brownies are absolute perfect fudgy goodness. I am not crazy about the edges- I may have overbaked them by 2 minutes or so, but once I trim away the crust, oh man. And of course, the recipe makes a sheet pan. Seriously. Ina calls for them to be cut into 20 brownies. I could easily get 60 out of this pan. A little goes a long way here for me. I love that this recipe can be made well ahead of time- Ina says up to a week ahead. And they must be refrigerated. If you make these- do not skip the refrigeration process, and above all, do not give in to temptation and sneak a taste warm- you will be sorely disappointed. And yes, these ingredients are correct. A pound of butter, pound of chocolate chips, 1 cup of flour...try it, you'll see. :-)

* Exported from MasterCook *
Outrageous Brownies
Pound unsalted butter
1 Pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350º. Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet. Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.
Description: "Makes 20 Large Brownies" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : Notes from Contessa: Flouring the chips and walnuts keeps them from sinking to the bottom. It is very important to allow the butter to cool well before adding the chocolate chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies. This recipe can be baked up to a week in advance, wrapped in plastic and refrigerated

Marinated Olives

We had company tonight, so I tried something new with some Mediterreanean olives I had sitting in the fridge. They are good olives- just not special, and I have A LOT of them. I took about 2 TBS of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dried rosemary, and some lemon zest and marinated some of the olives for a few hours. Every once in a while I would open up the fridge and give them a shake in their container, but it was so easy, and they turned out fabulous! I really liked them. It was such a neat twist- and the zest really added nice flavor.

And speaking of zest, I FINALLY got a microplane. I don't know what I was doing without one!! Oh my gosh- lemon zest was such a piece of cake. Usually I use my box grater, so I have to wrap it in plastic, zest, and then go back with a toothpick to clean out those rediculous holes. Hooray for the microplane! I've given several as gifts, but I never splurged on one for myself. I did so yesterday at Williams-Sonoma. I also bought a nice half-sheet pan, as I haven't had one, and I've been dying to make Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies. So I imagine I will be making those soon and posting quite the review. In the meantime, make some marinated olives!

It's just a happy day!

Today was just a good day. I spent most of the day with Andy and Zander- and Abigail when she wasn't at school. Andy got today off- so Abigail was super excited to have Daddy here to walk her to and from school. It's just been a pleasant day. I can't say that I got a whole lot done, but it just was nice.

Anyway, I am debating on whether or not I need/want a panini maker. There is a big part of me that says "Hey, it's just fancy grilled cheese!" But I wonder if it would make a difference? Today for lunch I made the most wonderful grilled cheese for Andy and I. I could easily make different kinds of grilled cheese any day of the week. Hence the panini maker. It might be fun to play with.

The sandwiches I made started with slices of white bread. The filling was: Monterey Jack cheese, carmalized onions, Irish Blue Cheese, Roasted red peppers. It was so simple- yet so good. I don't know which part I liked best, but Andy informed me that he will never eat grilled cheese again without the roasted red peppers. :-)

This morning I also made breakfast- simple scrambled eggs and bacon. But- I have to tell you about my new favorite spice blend from Penzey's. Their California Seasoned Pepper is awesome! It didn't do much for us as far as steak was concerned, but it really perked up the eggs, and it is equally good on the grilled chicken we had tonight for dinner. If I was stuck on a desert island with my choice of only two jars from Penzey's- it would be Fox Point and California Seasoned Pepper. So if you haven't tried them- shame on you! Go to www.penzeys.com and order some right away! You will have it in a few days. :-)

Abigail and Lunch

Yesterday after school I cleaned out Abigail's lunch box (as has become daily habit). I was dismayed to find out she hardly ate anything at lunch- a few bites of sandwich, two cookies, and some Cheetos. Her apple remained untouched, her juice box untouched, and most of a sandwich, in the garbage. So I asked her about it- was she not hungry yet at 10:45 am, or should I pack something else? Her response- "No Mommy, I don't want to miss recess" and "The 4th graders were coming! We had to hurry!" :-( It's been like this for the most part. And of course after school she is starving. I've been making her a second lunch when she gets home. I"m still not sure what to do about it. We had a talk about how she needs to eat lunch so she is not hungry- and so that she doesn't get so tired every day. I doubt our talk helped. I suspect that she has been having lunch with another friend I know who has attention problems- and doesn't sit still for more than a few minutes. I'm suspecting this person eating some of her lunch and then telling Abigail to hurry up. And what I want to do is tell Abigail to sit with someone else, because I don't like that little girl in the first place..

Anyway, since I try so hard to be a good Mom, last night (late last night), I decided I needed to make her some new cookies for lunch- and I needed to make them a hearty cookie. That way is she only ate her cookies, I would know she ate something partially substantial- as substantial as a cookie can be I suppose. So here's the recipe I started with:

* Exported from MasterCook *
White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the rolled oats, white chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

I took that cookie recipe, added a teaspoon of cinnamon, and eliminated the white chocolate chips and pecans. I added 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts, 1 1/2 cups raisins, and 3/4 cup of sweetened coconut flakes. The cookies turned out really well. It's a pretty dense cookie, and I made them a little large, but really, quite good. I didn't think of it at the time, but I think I would like to try subbing whole wheat flour for some of the white. And I think I will also add some mini chocolate chips next time. The original recipe I found on Cookie Madness, but I think it was created/develpoed/tested by Valchemist from the CLBB. I'm not entirely sure of that though, but I don't want to steal credit for an already spectacular cookie recipe. :-)

And speaking of Cookie Madness, I have added 2 more blogs to my links. I have been enjoying their cooking adventures- I hope they don't mind me adding a link! Do check them out- very yummy stuff going on in blog-world.

The Under-Appreciated Egg

I think we don't eat enough eggs. I can't tell you how many time I open the fridge and think, there's nothing here to eat. Yet there is always a carton of eggs. So today I made myself a little fritatta for lunch, and I have to tell you, it is wonderful. The beauty of a fritatta is that you can put in whatever you have on hand, and it always come sout good. And you don't need a crust. If you add a crust, then it's more like quiche- which is a wonderful experience all in itself. Anyway, here is today's fritatta. I did use up a tiny knob of the Irish Cheddar that I have been enjoying, but again, this goes back to using what you have on hand.

Today's Fritatta

4 eggs, beaten
1/4 C. half and half
Pinch sea salt
1/8 tsp. California Seasoned Pepper (Penzeys)
Dash Penzey's Fox Point
2 Slices prosciutto, chopped
2 TBS Irish White Cheddar cheese, crumbled
1 small roasted red pepper, finely diced (about 2 TBS when chopped)
1/8 C. finely chopped broccoli

Combine eggs, half and half, salt and seasonings. Beat well with a whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients, and pour into a greased small baking dish. Bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes, or until set.

Now I am off to find a good recipe for Caramel Apple Pie. If I meet success there, I will be sure and share it. :-)

Happy Anniversary

Today has been a nice day. After the hectic last few days, Andy and I mostly relaxed and didn't do much. We went to church, watched a bit of football, I went to church this afternoon to do my weekly cleaning, and neither of us wanted to work too hard on dinner. So I picked up some tenderloin steaks and Andy grilled them up. We had some leftover potatoes from last night, and I roasted up some vegetables a la Fresh Every Day. It is the recipe I already posted- only I threw in some extra onion. We topped the tenderloins with that fabulous Irish blue cheese from yesterday, and added some of the onions from the roasted vegetables. Add to that a bottle of the award winning wine that Andy's Dad made, and we had a great casual dinner. I have to give credit for dinner though to Miss Sweetnicks- her link is over on the right. She had a picture of smothered filet mignon- and it inspired our dinner. So thanks Sweetnicks! Oh- and thanks Dad Waz for the Baco Noir and Foch. Very nice- I will enjoy the bottle very much.

And for dessert I have a nice ooey-gooey brownie pudding cake hot out of the oven. In a few minutes I will whip the cream, and our evening will close with perfect goodness. So until tomorrow... :-)

Happy Anniversary!

Today is mine and DH's 6th anniversary! Six years may not be very long, but it's sure been a busy 6 years! We have gone through 3 moves and 2 children have come into our life. It' sbeen a ride, that's for sure. We're not doing anything special today, we have always encountered a challenge to our plans. Our first anniversary Abigail was just a few weeks old, so we spent it being with her. Our second anniversary was the terrorist attacks- and our anniversary felt small. And since then they've all snowballed. Andy has been out of town for two of them, and I was sick for another. So we have made no plans, and plan to just enjoy the day...and of course, the beginning of Packer season.

This last few days we had a very nice visit with Andy's parents. We had a really lovely time visiting and I am pretty sure that they enjoyed spending time with the kids too. I think that Abigail is a little sad today because she just loves "being with that Grammy." But it really was a nice visit. I can't say that I cooked anything really special while they were here- but yesterday Mom and I went to a very nice Farmer's Market and I got a beautiful collection of tomatoes, so we had a nice composed salad with dinner that consisted of tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and fleur de sel. Oh, that was a great find. We also made a trip to the fromagerie and got some great cheeses and had a cheese plate yesterday afternoon. We had two Irish cheeses that were phenonmenal! I want to go back and explore more Irish cheeses. We had an Irish white cheddar that was creamy and smooth, and slightly nutty, and slightly sweet. Oh, it was so good. The othre Irish cheese was an Irish Blue. Oh my. I suspect it was a triple creme, because it was just that, super creamy and slightly fruity, and slightly salty. It didn't have the tang that a lot of blues have, and I really enjoyed it. I am trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers today- it deserves a star treatment. I am toying with a pear and walnut salad, but I am also debating picking up some steaks and doing a topping- we'll see. Check me out tomorrow to find out what I do!

And lastly, it was also bake sale weekend. I was asked to bring 2 dozen baked somethings to our church bake sale. The sale was being run by our youth- with all proceeds going to Katrina relief. Well. First of all, I could not just do 2 dozen anything. Second of all, in my opinion, bake sales always lack big time. Bake sales should be full of those goodies grandma used to make, and that someone put a lot of time and effort into. Not the. "I'll pick up a box and make this and try and sell ot." Or even worse, picking up something pre-made and re-packaging it. Anyway, I digress. I really went all out, and I think I want to do something like that again. It really was fun spending a day in the kitchen making goodies for an army. I started with Cinnamon Scented Rice Krispie treats topped with chocolate ganache. Then I added Peanut Butter Chippers, Coconut Biscotti dipped in Chocolate Ganache, White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, and my triumph of the day was Orange-Walnut muffins with Lingonberry Preserves. The white choclate oatmeal cookies can be found at www.cookiemadness.blogspot.com and they really are very good. I left out the nuts, added a few dashes of cinnamon, and dumped in a bag of craisins. Oh, yummy. The PB chippers were a standard PB cookie recipe, but I chop the chocolate chips before dumping them in, and I make them small. Two bites and they are gone. I do want to share the recipe for the Orange muffins, They are very good, and I had fun coming up with it. The lingonberries are found in a jar by the canned fruits at my grocery store. These ones I found in a jar, and it simply says Swedish Lingonberries. It does have added suagr and pectin, so it is very similar to a wholeberry cranberry sauce, only I really think the lingonberries have a more delicate flavor. I REALLY like them. Anyway, if you can't find lingonberries, you could get a good substitue by reaching for whole-berry cranberry sauce. Just make sure you buy a good brand. Of course, if you are lucky you can find lingonberry jam at some farmers markets and general stores, so if you have some actual jam- use that.

Orange-Walnut Muffins with Lingonberry Preserves

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/3 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 C. mandarin orange yogurt (yoplait is a good one here)
1/4 C. light sour cream
1 tsp. very finely grated orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. almond extract
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
12 TBS lingonberry preserves

Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffin cups (Either use pan or liners, just make sure you spray!)
Combine all ingredients except walnuts and lingonberries. Fold in walnuts. Batter is very thick. Spoon half of the batter into the muffin cups. Use a spoon or your fingers to make a little "cup" in the top of the batter. Spoon a tablespoon of preserves into each muffin. Top with the remaining batter, spreading to the edges. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.


These muffins keep very well- and are just as good the next day. I have toyed with the idea of adding a tiny bit of streusel or cinnamon sugar to the top...I'm just not sure they need it, but it would look good. Be sure you check them at 20 minutes- they may need a little longer, so don't be afraid to give them an extra few mintues. Enjoy!

A pretty darn good meal

Today Andy's parents arrived from Buffalo to spend the weekend with us. We had a nice visit this afternoon- and the kids had a very fun time with them. That was so nice to see. I was worried that it would take Zander all weekend to warm up to them, and very glad that it only took about 10 minutes or so. As soon as Grandpa expressed interest in Zander's "choo-choo's" he was hooked.

So for a casual dinner tonight I made two recipes from Rachel Ray, and am quite happy with the results actually. I made her Potato, Tomato, and Spinach Soup- which really was super simple, and quite good. The only adjustment I made to the recipe was to add some frozen tortellini for the kids- and it really completed the soup, IMO. It was a light soup anyways, and the pasta made it more of a meal. I think I will add tortellini again. The only warning I have about this recipe is the nutmeg. It really does work in this soup- but you definitely can taste it, so if you have any aversion to nutmeg, leave it out. The recipe says it serves 4- and let me tell you, it made a lot of soup. You could easily plan it to serve 6 or 8 as a first course or with a sandwich.

The second recipe is actually two, and I really changed the one, so I'm not sure it counts... but it's a panini with pancetta, roasted peppers and mozarella. I didn't make panini's though. Instead, last night I made a whole wheat french bread and today I sliced it in half, filled it with the panini fillings and popped it in the oven to let the fresh mozarella get all melty. Oh, it was quite good. Do make it- in a panini or a hot sub as I did. I also had had an eggplant sitting around that needed to be used, so I made Giada's Caponata. Caponata is an Italian relish, and it was quite good, albeit a little on the spicy side. The recipe calls for a can of diced tomatoe, and I grabbed a can of Fire-roasted tomatoes with green chilis. So it added a bit of heat- yet it is still good. I had a little on my sandwich, and it was good, but I preferred the sandwich by itself. The caponata will be around for a few days and make its way into other sandwiches and other applications that I come up with. The only change to the caponata was the amount of oil. I only used about a drizzle of oil at the beginning. 1/4 cup is a lot of oil to get absorbed by that eggplant.

So here are the recipes

* Exported from MasterCook *
Potato, Spinach and Tomato Soup Recipe
Recipe By : courtesy Rachael RayServing Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:10
3 cloves crushed or finely chopped garlic
1 large onion -- chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 quarts chicken broth
3 pounds all purpose potatoes -- peeled and thinly sliced
1 pound fresh triple washed spinach -- stems picked and coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg -- grated or ground
Salt and pepper
1 can chunky-style crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes in puree -- (28-ounce) 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano

In a deep pot, saute garlic and onion in oil for 2 or 3 minutes. Add broth and bring liquid to a boil. As you slice potatoes, add them carefully to the broth. Cook potatoes 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The potatoes will begin to break up and thicken broth as the soup cooks. Stir in spinach in bunches as it wilts into soup. Season soup with nutmeg, salt and pepper, to your taste. Stir in tomatoes and heat through, 1 or 2 minutes. Remove pot from the stove to a trivet. Stir grated cheese into your soup and serve.
Source: "30 Minute Meals"Start to Finish Time: "0:20" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

* Exported from MasterCook *
Panini with Prosciutto, Roasted Pepper and Mozzarella
Recipe By :Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:05
1/3 pound thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma
8 thin slices chewy -- crusty Italian bread from a large loaf
1 jar roasted red peppers -- (16-ounce) drained well
1 pound fresh mozzarella -- sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil -- for drizzling

Preheat a grill pan or large nonstick griddle over medium to medium high heat. Build your sandwiches: place 2 or 3 slices of prosciutto on 1 piece of bread. Top with an even layer of roasted pepper and an even layer of sliced mozzarella, top with another slice of bread. Drizzle the tops of your assembled sandwiches with extra-virgin olive oil. Place the olive oil coated bread face down on the grill or griddle and drizzle the opposite side with additional extra-virgin olive oil. Weight the sandwiches down with a tin foil covered brick or a heavy skillet filled with a sack of flour or heavy canned goods. Press the sandwiches 2 or 3 minutes on each side, then serve immediately.
Source: "30 Minute Meals"Start to Finish Time: "0:06" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


* Exported from MasterCook *
Caponata
Recipe By : Recipe courtesy Giada De LaurentiisServing Size : 6
1/4 cup olive oil
1 celery stalk -- chopped
1 medium eggplant -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper -- cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion -- chopped
1 can diced tomatoes -- (14 1/2-ounce)
3 tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon drained capers

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery and saute until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and saute until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Season with salt. Add the red pepper and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, raisins, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat until the flavors blend and the mixture thickens, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar, and capers. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Source: "Everyday Italian" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The hardest thing EVER

Just thinking about this morning brings tears to my eyes. I took Abigail for her first day of Kindergarten today. She woke up this morning with the biggest smile on her face. She gave me the biggest hug- I almost started crying right then. I had decided to make waffles for her for the big day- and she cheered at that. :-) That was fun. Our walk to school showed the grown up side of Abigail too. She declined a ride in the wagon and walked beside me the whole way. She held my hand for most of it, talking about how much fun she was going to have, and all the friends she was going to make. Then we got to school. We met some kids that Abigail knew, and they helped her to find her line on the playground. That was so sweet. I stood by that line with another Mom that I know. I was doing really well until she looked at me- eyes welling up and said "How are you doing?" It took me second to answer. And of course, I was totally honest "I'm not doing very well, I think". I was grateful to be holding Zander in my arms. It gave me something to do, and he snuggled right back. Such a sweet boy. The bell rang, the kids all lined up, and off they went into school. Abigail never even looked back. It was a long walk home for Zander and I. He rode in the wagon, pointing out squirrels and birds, and I kept thinking that before I know it, it will be him that I am sending into school for the first time.

So far I have spent today playing with my son. Now he is napping, but already today he is amazing me. He called for Abigail twice this morning, and I imagine will do so again when he wakes up. Fortunately we will be heading back up to school shortly after he wakes up. We spent this morning playing cars, and puzzles, and playing outside blowing bubbles, and riding the "wee!"- which is Zander speak for the slide. He did take a short break to watch a bit of Barney ( got the dishes done then) and then a little bit of computer time. He definitely felt like a big boy sitting in that chair playing his game. Every once in a while he would say "uh-oh" and I knew that was the signal that he's pushed the wrong button. So I would fix it for him- but he amazes me with his speaking ability, and his comprehension. "No Zander, Abigail's at school." to which he would say "Oh, right." LOL. I am grateful to have him to keep me company while ABigail goes to school. I don't know what I'll do when it's his turn!

Well, I have things to do. Andy's parents are headed this way for a visit this weekend, and I have much to do- and no energy to do it. :-) First on this afternoon's agenda is to finish putting my desk together. The I need to clean the kitchen counter and I hope to get the dough going for some bread. Tomorrow night I am trying a new pair of recipes from 30 Minute Meals 2- by Rachel Ray. I am making a tomato, potato, and spinach soup with a Roasted Red Pepper and Mozarella Panini. Only I'm not making panini's. Instead I am going to make some whole wheat French bread and top it, and turn it into a toasted sub. Simple supper of soup and sandwiches- only with a little flair. I hope it turns out well. I will post the recipe and results when I get a chance.

A dinner with Bob...well, sort of

On the bulletin board that I frequent, there is a very kind gentleman who goes by bob. A while back bob shared the most wonderful dish- a lentil and potato stew. Oh yum. And every time I make it, I wonder if I make it just like bob does, and I think kind thoughts about him. As it happens, today I was reminded that he is moving out of NYC to a country community, and I said a quick prayer that the move is a smooth transition for him. It's funny how food can bring people to mind that you don't normally think of. Maybe that's a way for God to tell us to pray for someone- I dunno, but it seems to be working for me.

Back to the stew. This is a lovely Indian dish- very simple, justa few ingredients, but oh so good. Seriously, this is lick the spoon AND the pot good. I like to top mine with a cucumber raita. A cucumber raita is sooo simple. Simply take a cucumber and grate it into some plain yogurt (or sour cream if you are out of yogurt). Raita is a great cooling complement to the heat of many Indaian dishes. I serve the stew over brown rice to complete the protein with the lentils. Finally, I add a touch of sweet. Normally, I saute a handful of almond slices and raisins in butter. Mmm. Truly, that is what makes this dish. Sad for me I found today that I was out of almonds, so I pulled a jar of Major Grey Mango Chutney out of the pantry to try. Blech. I can't say that I've ever had chutney before- but I definitely did not like this. I will try making my own chutney sometime before I pass judgement completely- but ew. After a few bites, I decided to scrape off the chutney and just add a handful of plain raisins. The raisins were good, but I missed the almonds. Thankfully, this recipe makes enough for 8 people, so I will have leftovers for myself for the week. Tomorrow I will pick up some almonds and finish the dish properly. Here is the recipe for anyone adventurous enough to try it- please do, it really is wonderful. And say a little prayer for my friend bob while you're at it. And Bless him for sharing it!

* Exported from MasterCook *
LENTIL & POTATO STEW
Recipe shared by bobmark
1 cup lentils
4 cups water
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large potatoes -- peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes (2 to 3)
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste
Salt to taste (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large tomatoes -- peeled and chopped, or 2 cups canned chopped tomatoes (I use crushed, and have even used sauce in a pinch)
2 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp sugar or honey
Water -- if necessary

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the lentils, water, salt (if desired0 and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, and simmer the lentils until they are just soft, about 30 minutes.Do not drain the lentils! Discard the bay leaf, then set the lentils aside.
2. In a large dutch oven or saucepan with a nonstick surface, heat the butter or margarine and oil briefly, and add the potatoes. Sprinkle them with the turmeric, cayenne, salt (if desired), and pepper. Cook the potatoes, tossing them, over medium heat, for about five minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, the reserved lentils and their cooking liquid, the garam masala and the sugar or honey to the potatoes.
4. Cook the stew over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes (I go a bit longer until I reach a thickness I like), stirring the mixture from time to time and adding water if the stew seems to be too dry.
Serving suggestion: Serve with a cucumber raita or a mixed green salad and brown or white rice or an Indian rice with peas.
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NOTES : Notes: I almost serve this over brown rice with a dollop of either low fat sour cream (usually) or yogurt on top and as many different chutneys as I can find on the side! By all means use the three potatoes, really big ones, to stretch the dish. I also increase the spices on the potatoes because I like the play of the various flavors, turmeric for sweetness, cayenne for heat, and salt for...well...saltiness, which I think typify the best Indian dishes.
Brody also points out that you can make a reasonable facsimile of garam masala by combining equal amounts of cardamon, cumin, cinnamon, coriander with smaller amounts of ground cloves and black pepper.

Comfort food- A dedication to Pudding Cake

I love pudding cake. It has to be one of my all-time favorite desserts and comfort foods. As I posted a fabulous blueberry pudding cake a few weeks ago, I thought I would share two other favorites of mine. The first is a delightful lemon-blackberry pudding cake. This one is extremely light and fluffy- and glowing with lemon flavor. It can be made with fresh or bottled lemon juice- although the lemon flavor is much brighter, and really shines when using freshly squeezed juice. The blackberries are the versatile part of the dish. Feel free to substitute raspberries or blueberries- or a combo of all three. It's delicious anyway you make it. The second pudding cake is chocolate heaven- also called Brownie Pudding Cake. How can you beat a chocolate cake floating on a warm chocolate pudding. All it needs is a bit of whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream to finish it off. On a particularily sinful evening, I may even add a drizzle of caramel sauce to the top- but mostly I eat it just as it is. I usually leave the nuts out of the actual recipe, and occasionally sprinkle them on the whipped cream as well. The recipe doubles, triples, etc. very easily.

So enjoy the pudding cakes! I post these specifically for the people who have been enjoying the blueberry pudding cakes. Gives these ones a try- you won't be sorry. And let me know if you have a favorite pudding cake. I will try and track the recipe down and post it for you!


Blackberry-Lemon Pudding Cake


1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large egg yolks
3 large egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups blackberries
Cooking spray
3/4 teaspoon powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl; add the buttermilk, lemon rind, lemon juice, butter, and egg yolks, stirring with a whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into the buttermilk mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Fold in blackberries.
Pour the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Place in a larger baking pan; add hot water to larger pan to depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Sprinkle cake with powdered sugar. Serve warm. Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
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NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 285(23% from fat); FAT 7.2g (sat 1.7g,mono 2.8g,poly 1.8g); PROTEIN 6g; CHOLESTEROL 89mg; CALCIUM 86mg; SODIUM 198mg; FIBER 3.3g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51.2gCooking Light, JUNE 2001

Brownie Pudding Cake
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup boiling water

4 servings
In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, the 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon of the cocoa powder, and the baking powder.
Add milk, oil, and vanilla.
Stir until smooth.
Stir in nuts.
Transfer batter to an ungreased 1-quart casserole.
In a small bowl stir together 1/3 cup sugar and the remaining 2 tablespoon s cocoa powder.
Gradually stir in the boiling water.
Pour the mixture evenly over batter in casserole.
Bake in a 350 degree oven about 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean.
Serve Warm.

Human Relief Blog Day

Today is Human Relief Blog Day in the blogging world. Please consider a donation to help with relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina victims. If you wish to donate, please consider the American Red Cross. Their number is 1-800-HELPNOW. Or you can go online at www.redcross.org and make a donation there. Thank you.