fruitcake or nuts

Biscotti Love

2012-01-14T18:38:00.001-05:00

*Ginger Biscotti*

recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated

2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground white or black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup toasted almonds

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together dry ingredients, stir in toasted almonds. In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and egg yolks until a light lemon color. Stir in the vanilla. Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, just until combined. Divide in half and shape each half into a 13x2 inch loaf. Bake about 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time, until just starting to crack on top. Cool for 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 325 degrees. Cut each cooled loaf into 3/8 inch slices. Arrange on baking sheet and return to oven. Bake 15 minutes, turning cookies over halfway through baking time, until crisp and golden. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Poule au Pot - Boiled Chicken

2012-01-14T18:06:00.000-05:00

The other day my son and I were looking trough Tastespotting and he saw some boiled chicken and asked if I had ever had it. I told him yes but it has been years since I have made it. He then asked if I would make it and I thought this meal was a great idea. I had forgotten how easy this is to make and how yummy it is. Thank you DS for the suggestion!

~ Boiled Chicken ~

1 Whole Chicken
1 Onion cut into quarters through the root with skin removed
a bunch of peeled, whole carrots
a few potatoes. I cut them into quarters because they were kind of big.
2 large bay leaves
a tablespoon of peppercorns
salt and/or soup seasoning with salt
cold water

Wash the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken to a large pot along with all the other ingredients and cover all with cold water. Place on stove over low medium heat and cook for about an hour or until chicken is 170 degrees. while the chicken is cooking skim off any or the foam that floats to the top of the water. Once chicken is cooked remove it from the pot leaving the potatoes and carrots in the pot because they most likely will not be done yet. Turn the heat up to medium high and cook the potatoes and carrots until they are tender, about 10 minutes. While the potatoes and carrots are cooking remove the skin from the chicken and get it ready to serve.

I love meals that only require dumping everything in a pot and letting it simmer for a while so you can go do other things like study.

Pork Sliders from Leftover Carnitas

2012-01-11T18:51:00.001-05:00

One of the things that I really enjoyed while in Mexico was Carnitas. Now every once in a while I pick up some pork rump roast or ribs to make my own Carnitas and when I do this there is enough meat for 2 or may even 3 meals. The last batch was not exception so I made sliders with that pork on day 2.

The sliders were on homemade ciabatta bread with sliced cabbage, onion, leftover pork, and lots of yellow mustard. they were a big hit.

To make the Carnitas meat I season to pork with salt and pepper and then brown all sides in a hot pot with a little oil. Once the meat is brown I add cold water just to cover, a tablespoon of cumin (or more), 2 bay leaves, an onion cut into quarters, a few chilies, garlic, 1 teaspoonish garlic powder and a little more S&P. Simmer on the stove for a couple of hours, until the meat is tender and falling apart.

Gingerbread cookies

2011-12-20T14:10:00.004-05:00

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and salt; set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients; mix just until a dough forms. Place dough on floured plastic wrap; pat into an 8-inch square. Wrap well; chill until firm, 1 to 2 hours.

bake in preheated 350 oven for 10 - 12 minutes

from here

Candied Ginger Biscotti

2011-12-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

Back before I logged my cooking and baking adventures on this blog I baked up a storm for Christmas. To this day I wish that I had logged those recipes because everything turned out beyond my expectations. Now I know better and when I find a recipe that really worked for me I blog it, today is one of those recipe days.

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1 cup almonds, toasted
1/3 cup candied ginger, chopped

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup almonds, toasted
1/3 cup candied ginger, chopped

preheat oven to 350 degrees with wrack in the center of oven.

Sift first eight ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir in the candied ginger and almonds

Whisk sugar and eggs in a large bowl to a light lemon color; stir in vanilla extract. Sift dry ingredients over egg mixture, then fold in until dough is just combined.

Halve dough and turn each portion onto an oiled cookie sheet covered with parchment. Using floured hands, quickly stretch each portion of dough into a rough 13-by-2-inch log, placing them about 3 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Pat each dough shape to smooth it. Bake, turning pan once, until loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes.

Cool the loaves for 10 minutes; lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. Cut each loaf diagonally into 3/8-inch slices with a serrated knife. Lay the slices about 1/2-inch apart on the cookie sheet, cut side up, and return them to the oven. Bake, turning over each cookie halfway through baking, until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes.

"Belgium" Cheesecake

2011-12-17T16:25:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine gave me this recipe and I hope that I can make this for her sometime soon. She said it was called a "Belgium Cheesecake" a few months ago and I searched to internet looking and looking but could not find the recipe. My friend got in touch with the person that makes this cheesecake (they do no live in Michigan) and got the recipe for me.

Belgium Cheesecake
Take 1 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 package of unflavored gelatin (.25 oz.), and mix.
Heat in a double boiler until gelatin and sugar dissolve.

Take 1/2 cup of cold water and 4 egg yolks and mix with a whisk or mixer. Add this to the hot mixture in double boiler and stir until mixture starts to thicken.

Remove from heat.

Mix 12 oz of cream cheese and 2.5 tablespoons lemon juice with a mixer until creamy. Blend this into the hot mixture until well mixed and creamy. Place the mixture in refrigerator for about 45 minutes or until it starts to set.

Make a Graham cracker crust: 1 cup crushed graham crackers with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter. Butter a spring-form pan with butter and 1/2 of the sugar graham cracker mixture.

Whip 1/2 cup whipping cream and then blend in with the cheesecake filling that was in the refrigeration.

Whip 4 egg whites to stiff peaks and mix into the cheesecake mixture.

Pour cheese cake mixture into graham cracker lined pan, cover the cake with the rest of the graham crackers and chill for at least 3 hours.

Almond Cake

2011-11-22T17:21:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we were watching TV and saw Lidia make this cake and it looked so good that my Daughter, her friend, and I gave it a try. Almond Torta with Chocolate Chips was as good as it looked on her show and we had fun making it!

~Almond Cake~

10 ounces butter, soft, plus more for the pan
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated zest of orange
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 cups almond flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (we used chopped bitter sweet baking bar)
½ cup sliced blanched almonds, lightly toasted (we did not have these so we did not do this)

You will need a 10-inch springform pan and an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Arrange a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 350 degrees. Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each in thoroughly before adding the next; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the lemon zest and almond extract, then raise the speed to high and beat the batter until very light, a minute or more.

On low speed, mix in half of the sifted flour mixture, beating just until it is incorporated; beat in half the almond flour. Scrape the bowl, and mix in the remaining all-purpose flour and remaining almond flour. Beat briefly on medium to a smooth batter, then, again on low speed, mix in the chocolate chips just until evenly distributed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and spread it in an even layer. Scatter the sliced almonds all over the top. Bake the torta for 45 minutes-rotating the pan halfway through the baking time-or until the cake is golden brown on top and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Run the blade of a paring knife around the edge of the cake, then open the spring and remove the side ring. Cool the cake completely before serving. Cut it in wedges, and dust with confectioners' sugar or accompany with whipped cream, ice cream, or zabaglione.

Puttanesca - Inspired by Klaus, Violet and Sunny Bouldalare.

2011-09-10T10:30:00.000-04:00

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon pepper flacks

1 cup katamala olives

1/2 jar capers (about 1/4 cup)

1 28 oz can chunk tomatoes

1 package whole grain angle hair spaghetti

1 teaspoon oregano

a large bunch fresh basil, cut into ribbons

salt and pepper

**Note: if not careful the dish can get over powered with salt so be sure to rinse the oloves before cutting them up and the capers.

Breakfast

2011-09-09T21:54:00.004-04:00

I love the blog Simply Breakfast and I have been taking some photos of my morning meal myself. Here I have Vinta Crackers with brie and honeydew melon with a side of coffee. Setting out one back deck enjoying my wonderful garden.

Recipe from 64 sq ft kitchen

2011-08-24T15:53:00.001-04:00

Muhammara

Recipe: Gourmet, December 1993
- 3 red peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled, or a 7-ounce jar roasted red peppers, well drained - 2/3 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup walnuts, toasted lightly and chopped fine
- 2 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- ¼ to ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Bread to spread on

I come back to this recipe over and over again and every time I have to search through my friend Warda's blog to find it so today I am going to save it here so I can find it easy. thanks for such a great dip, I love it!

Now What

2011-08-24T15:22:00.003-04:00

okay, I have been done with my summer class for a few weeks now (got an A by the way) and I am cooking. I have not had time since last summer to enjoy the kitchen and wow I am enjoying. I have canned dill pickles, sweet pickles and tomatoes; all out of my own garden. I have also been creating new for me dishes and working with my daughter on things that she wants to try cooking. All of this has been so fun!

On top of all of that my husband has gotten me all kinds of new camera equipment to play with. The new stuff has given me a learning curve for photo taking but it has been fun.

I am sure you are starting to think, why has she not been blogging since she is doing all this kitchen play? I have a really good answer, my computer died. I am typing this on the Dell Latitude we have for the kids. While this is a great little computer for the kids I can't get the hang of typing and using this little thing and to blog on it would not really be very enjoyable to me. soooooooooo if it isn't one thing it is another and in 7 short days I will be back in class. I hope to post a few recipes soon, wish me luck!

blahhhhh

2011-07-20T23:13:00.002-04:00

I hate to say it but I have not been making anything new these past few months...hope to find creativity soon and come back to this place on the web.

Thanks
~Shayne

Menu 5/4/11

2011-05-04T12:02:00.002-04:00

Lamb kabobs with flat bread and yogurt cucumber salad
Fried Chicken with potatoes and tomato salad
Shrimp tacos
Aloo Gobi with bread and yogurt
Chop Salad
Chicken soup

Chicken and Mushroom Cream Pasta

2011-04-06T13:43:00.001-04:00

This is a dish I made with what I needed to use up in the fridge. Fresh peas, crimini mushrooms and chicken combined with garlic cream sauce and whole grain pasta make a nicely rounded meal.

This dish can easily be made into a vegetarian meal by simply omitting the chicken

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size chunks

1 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced

1to 2 tablespoons butter

garlic, minced

1 cup fresh peas

1 cup cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 box whole grain pasta

1 cup pasta water, reserved from cooking the pasta.

fresh herbs such as basil

pepper

salt

Cook the pasta following the directions on the box. While the pasta is cooking brown the chicken in a pan with a little butter. Once chicken is brown place the chicken pieces in a bowl and set aside. In the same pan add the rest of the butter and the mushrooms, cook the mushrooms until soft and a little browned.

Place the chicken back in the pan with the mushrooms and garlic. stir the garlic through the dish and then add the peas and pasta. stir a little and then add the cream and if needed a little pasta water and 1/3 cup of the cheese.

Stir until all is well mixed and bubbly. turn off the heat and add the herbs. season with salt and pepper if needed. top with the rest of the cheese

Shrimp Tacos

2011-04-04T13:11:00.004-04:00

While looking trough food blogs I came across this post of Shrimp Tacos. The tacos looks like a great idea and the fact that is was a quick make made the draw of the recipe even greater.

1 pound cleaned shrimp, well dried

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

1/3 cup corn starch

2 tablespoons oil

2 mangos, cut into little chunks

1 avocado, cut into little chunks

onion, chopped

tomato, cut into little chunks

flour or corn tortillas

1 lime cut into wedges

place the dry shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with the spices then cover with the corn starch, stirring to get a good thin coat on the shrimp then put in a colander and shack off extra corn starch.

Heat a cast iron pan, add the oil and then fry the shrimp for about 3 minutes on each side until browned on each side and done trough. remove the shrimp and place on a paper towel lined place to absorb any grease.

Heat tortilla shells (we like corn) and then place some shrimp and toppings on the tortilla, a squeeze of lime and enjoy.

Menu week March 28, 2011

2011-03-28T09:14:00.002-04:00

Shrimp Tacos

Stuffed Poblanos

Pasta with chicken and mushrooms

Paprikash

Week of March 20 Menu

2011-03-20T08:07:00.001-04:00

Tikka Masala
Loaded Quesadillas
Calzones
Minestrone or sausage bean soup
Venison if I can find it or veal scallopini if I can't fine the venison

Glorious Spring Morels

2011-03-19T20:04:00.009-04:00

This month my food tribe is focusing on their favorite spring food or ingredient. I love so many foods associated with spring but my favorite is Morel mushrooms. I don't just love them for their flavor but for the whole experience associated with morels for me. Ever since I was a child my family would venture out into the spring forest and hunt for them, we would spend the day meandering through the forest in search of those beauties pocking up from the earth while the frogs sang their wonderful spring songs.

To this day I always take a few days around my birthday (April 22) to wonder through forests breathing in that wonderful spring air, soaking up the warm spring sun, losing myself in the sound of the spring peepers in search for morels. For me the whole experience with this little mushroom is pure peace and joy.

This is the dish I am going to make this year with my morels, I just love them with cream.

~Pork Loin Chops with Morels in a Thyme Cream Sauce~

4 6oz 1 inch thick boneless pork loin chops
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 pound fresh Morels, brushed clean of any dirt
2/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

Season the chops with salt and pepper. Heat a good size fry pan, add oil, 1/2 the butter and chops. Cook chops for about 5 minutes. Turn chops and cook over medium low heat for about 8 minutes or until just done through (we like to eat our pork a little closer to medium so I cook them a little less then this) Remove chops and set aside, covered with foil to keep them warm.

Turn the heat under the pan up to medium high heat and add the wine the pan add the wine and cook it down a little. Add the rest of the butter and mushrooms, stir them around a little (about 3 mintes), reduce heat to medium low and then add the thyme and cream, stir a little more then place the chops back into the pan to cook with the sauce for another 2 or 3 munites and serve.

March Spice Rack Challenge - Cardamom

2011-03-18T22:20:00.006-04:00

This month Mother from Mother's Kitchen chose cardamom for the spice rack challenge. I love cardamom and thought of several things to make such as granola like this one from 64sqftkitchen that we all love. However, DD and I chose to make gingersnaps which is one of my all time favorite cookies.

Cardamom Gingersnaps

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1 1/2 cup flour

sugar for topping cookies

Combine sugar, butter ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne, baking soda, sale and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again until fluffy. Blend in molasses then add the flour a little at a time until well blended.

drop a teaspoon full of dough 2" apart onto lightly greased baking sheet and sprinkle sugar on top of each.

Bake in a 350 oven for 15 to 18 minutes until lightly browned on the edges, cool on wire rack.Here is DD making the cookies

Lunch Pack

2011-03-16T13:01:00.004-04:00

On this day I packed DS pita chips, hommus, cucumber,s blackberries and juice while DD got Cheese, salami, crackers, cucumbers, blackberries, blueberries and juice.

Fondant

2011-03-14T10:33:00.002-04:00

I love this idea and I think that I will try it out on my Birthday cake next month

Marshmallow Fondant

Week of March 13 Menu

2011-03-12T18:06:00.006-05:00

Ground Turkey Tacos
Braised Short ribs with mashed potatoes, cabbage salad, and roasted asparagus
Baked Cod with squash and rice.
Grilled Shrimp, Brussels sprouts, and pasta**
Hot Dogs, salad, and Perigees
Chiliquiles

**Note: I made Shrimp pasta with garlic and spinach with a touch of olive oil and pepper flacks

Mac & Cheese In the Oven

2011-03-11T09:41:00.001-05:00

My kids love homemade macaroni and Cheese and I love that I can make it a little better for them then the stuff out of the box. The secret to healthying (is that even a word) up this dish is tomato juice, but it does not just add a touch of healthy goodness but it adds a level of rich goodness and well it adds that orange color that, for some reason, kids want.

1 box pasta - I like Barilla plus penne

large post of boiling salted water

2 eggs

1 5.5 oz can V8

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1.5 cups milk

1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

dash of nutmeg

1/4 cup cracker crumbs

Cook the pasta 2 minutes shy of being done. Mean while in a good sized sauce pan over medium heat melt the butter and then add the flour. Cook for 30 seconds to cook the flour taste out of the roux. add in the V8 and the milk, continue to stir the sauce to keep it from burning and getting lumps until it starts to boil. Remove the sauce from the heat and add in 2/3rds of the cheese, sour cream and nutmeg. Mix until all the cheese is melted.

Strain the pasta and stir in 2 beaten eggs then add the sauce and stir until all is well mixed together. Pour the pasta into a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese and cracker crumbs.

place the mac & cheese in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake until the top is nice a golden anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes.

If you are making this for adults I found that a little hot pepper sauted in the butter before adding the flour adds a wonderful new level to this dish.

Menu Week of March 6 2011

2011-03-06T08:36:00.000-05:00

Part of the reason I started posting a menu was I need it to keep track. I can plan all I want, get all the ingredients for the week but if I do not have a list of what to make I will draw a blank at least one day of that week (anyone that has been pregnant, given birth, stayed at home all day with little kids will know how this could happen). I realized that I have to write a menu down where I will not lose it and where I can find a reference recipe if need be. This is by far the best way to do all of that.

Matchbous Ala Dajaj
Teriyaki Chicken
Tomato soup
Gnocci with tomato meat sauce - Kids really want these.
Breaded pork cutlets with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach

Molassas Glazed Carrots

2011-03-03T11:04:00.001-05:00

4 medium to large carrots

1/3 cup broth or water

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons molassas

salt

pepper

Peel the carrots. cut the carrots about 1/4 inch this on a bias (at an angle). Add the carrots to a pan over medium high heat with the broth (I used chicken with this batch), cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until the carrots are just short of being cooked. Remove lid and let any liquid cook out. Add in the butter, sugar, molassas and seasoning. Stir to coat the carrots as the butter and sugar melts and remove from pan and enjoy with your meal.

Lunch Pack

2011-03-02T18:42:00.004-05:00

Today I packed the kids crackers, pepperoni, cheddar cheese, cucumbers, blueberries and chocolate milk.

A Friend's New Blog

2011-02-28T10:57:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine just started his own blog. His blog is not about food like most I follow it is about Detroit, Detroit Suburbs, real estate, and what ever else strikes his fancy. The blog is simply called Jason's Blog.

Menu Week 2/28/11

2011-02-28T09:18:00.008-05:00

Curry Chicken
Shrimp Stir-Fry or Shrimp Fried Rice
Baked Cod with whole wheat couscous and cucumber onion salad
Turkey Burgers with Cabbage Salad

Often my menus will not have 7 meals listed for the week. This is because I give myself room to make something that I crave, go out to eat, or have leftovers. I rarely cook 7 meals in a week nor do I have the gumptions to try.

School Lunch for the Kids

2011-02-25T09:22:00.004-05:00

I pack lunch for the kids to take to school almost every day. On mornings that I am not feeling up to packing a lunch and I suggest school lunch the kids yell NOOOOOOOO! They are not the biggest fans of school lunch and would much rather a packed lunch; however, I don't always come up with good ideas of what to pack so I started browsing blogs for ideas. After a while I started thinking that maybe I should share what I pack for their lunches to maybe give other parents ideas of what they could pack.

Today my Dear Son (DS) had a toasted slim bun with cheese and hard salami, tomatoes (which he likes to eat on his sandwich), kiwi, and chocolate milk.

My Dear Daughter (DD) had Nutella sandwich on whole grain bread with the crust cut off (crust off in part because she likes it that way and part so it will fit in the container), carrot sticks, banana, and juice.

I pack it all in a insulated bag with a freezer packs that I got from IKEA, they are the best packs ever, I will have to share what ones in a future post.

Spice Rack Challenge for February - Orange Zest

2011-02-21T19:27:00.006-05:00

I have grown to really enjoy polenta with braised short ribs. Simply by accident I discovered that polenta was great with a hint of orange.
One day as the short rids came out of the oven I was whipping up a batch of polenta when I realized that the orange zest I was going to add to the meat to add another layer of flavor while they braised in the oven was still setting on the counter in a little bowl. I figured if that could have been good in the braise maybe it would work in the polenta so I added it in. It came out really great and the kids just loved it and, truth be told, they are not really polenta fans so now orange polenta it is.

When it was announced that orange zest was the Spice Rack Challenge for February I was not so sure what to make for the challenge and then I had a craving for braised short ribs and remembered the orange polenta. At that moment I knew that I was going to do the polenta for the SRC. Visit Mother's Kitchen later this week to see the roundup

Orange Polenta

3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup corn meal or dry polenta
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
pepper
dash of nutmeg.

In a sauce pan add in water salt and orange zest and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once water is at a boil whisk in the corn meal/dry polenta. Be sure to whisk vigorously to avoid getting lumps. Cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Add in the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.

MLFB Challenge - Kitchen Gadget Love

2011-02-21T19:16:00.004-05:00

There are so many things I love to use in the kitchen but the two that I had to take with me to Mexico, just in case I could not find them there, were my garlic press and cast iron fry pan. While I was in Mexico I did very much like the lemon juicer that I was using (never used this kind before Mexico) so I am adding that to the list.

This month the Michigan Lady Food Bloggers asked that we share some of our kitchen tool must haves. Please visit the Michigan Lady Food Blogger Blog later this week for the roundup.

Week 2/19/11 Menu

2011-02-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

~MENU~

Braised Shortribs over polenta
Lamb kabobs with peppers and couscous
Chicken Divan
Asian Noodle soup - meat free day
scallops with sweet potatoes

Week of 2/13/11 Menu

2011-02-17T19:53:00.002-05:00

not a lot going this week for a menu

Chili
Blueberry pancakes
pulled pork BBQ sandwiches/pork tacos - it is all about what each person wanted to do with the pork.
Pork Fried Rice
breaded pork cutlets with boiled potatoes and creamed spinach

Menu for Week January 29 2011

2011-01-28T15:18:00.002-05:00

Pork Satay
Lasagna
Breakfast for Dinner (eggs)
Tomato Soup
Lamb stew
Leftovers

2nd Annual Michigan Lady Food Bloggers Soup Swap

2011-01-24T10:01:00.009-05:00

Yesterday a few of us Michigan lady Bloggers got together to swap some soup. The soup swap was started last year and I was not able to go because I was in Mexico at the time so when the question came out a few months ago as to who was going to host this year I jumped at the chance.

Winter and very cold weather just screams soup and on the day of the swap it was all of that here in Michigan. Despite the very cold temperatures Sarah, Mary, Margot, Bee and Yvonne made it out with their crock pots full of soup.

Potato Dill with Sausage

Galician Winter Stew

Creamy Potato and Canadian Bacon

Vegetable Chowder

Spicy Peanut Ginger Stew

Indian Spiced Red Lentil

Thank you ladies for a nice afternoon of great company and soup.

2011 Spice Rack Challenge #1 - Rosemary

2011-01-18T14:55:00.004-05:00

with only 3 days to get this posted I figure I better get a move on. My friend over at Mother's Kitchen just started this great new cooking blog challenge called The Spice Rack Challenge and for the first challenge she chose Rosemary.

After a visit to one of my favorite eateries (Marie Catrib's) I chose to make rosemary pita chips out of a naan recipe that I have been playing around with for the last month. I made the naan, rolled it out, covered it in herbs and fried it up into pita chips. they turned out nice, not like what we get at Marie's but good as their own entity.

Naan

1 packet yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
1.5 cups flour
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pepper
salt
oil for frying

In a measuring cup add 3/4 cup water yeast and sugar, stir to mix and let set for a few moments to bloom.

in a bowl add the flour and salt and mix together. then add in the water/yeast mixture, butter and yogurt. I use my kitchen aid to mix it all but you can knead it on the counter top until it is elastic, about 5 minutes.

place dough in an oiled bowl and let rise for about an hour.

mix the herbs and seasoning on a plate

punch the dough down and divide into small rounds (I divide into 8ths). Roll the rounds out into little disks and pat into the herbs and fry in a some oiled cast iron pan until crisp.

Playing With Paint on the Wall

2011-01-05T14:38:00.008-05:00

Feeling so guilty here that I have not been keeping up on my blogging. Blogging, the way that I wanted to log a reference for my recipes, crafts, home decor and art. It has nothing to do with neglecting all of these things, because I sure have been doing them; however, now that I look back I do not have a story or reference for the things I did do. Guess what, I am shooting myself in the foot for not writing it down.

Yesterday, after many weeks of thinking it through, I took the leap and painted the half bath in our new house the color inspired by the movie The Bridge to Terabithia. Yes, I painted the bathroom gold with that simmer effect to it, Ralph Lauren Metallic paint called Golden Candlestick. While there is a little touch up that needs to be done to my less then perfect paint job, I love it.

See for yourself...

Sink Before

Wall Before

Toilet Before

After

The painting on the right I painted a few weeks ago

I am so excite. I still need to find a rug and I would like to place some kind of twigs or branches over the toilet but that will have to wait for the right ones to come along, until then this is what it is.

I want to do this in the bedroom with silver but the hubby is not excited with that idea.

As the Years Drift By

2010-12-18T09:21:00.003-05:00

So my baby girl is not a baby any more she turned 7 at the beginning of the month and she is in 2nd grade. It is hard to believe that one of my first blog post was of her 3rd Birthday.

For her Birthday she wanted this beautiful cake that a friend of mine gave me a recipe for and we all enjoyed eating it very much but what was the best was making it with her.

Breaded Mushrooms

2010-11-28T21:31:00.002-05:00

I saw this some where in cyberspace, can't remember where but it stuck in my head so I had to try it. Yep, breaded mushrooms. There were really great but one must be very careful not to end up with great balls of grease. I found fresh hot oil at about 1/4 inch worked well (next time I will try a spray of Pam). also the mushrooms should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch too thick and it just does not cook right.

2 or 3 portobello mushrooms, sliced 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick

1 egg

1T milk

1 cup bread crumbs

oil for cooking

salt

beat eggs with milk in a shallow dish for dipping the mushrooms. in another shallow dish put bread crumbs to dip the mushrooms. heat a pan, add oil up to about 1/4 inch, wait for the oil to ripple and place in mushroom slices that have been first dipped in egg mixture and then bread crumbs. Fry mushroom slices on one side until golden and turn and fry other side until golden. remove from pan onto a paper towel and season with salt.

Squash Bread

2010-11-19T19:37:00.003-05:00

This is just wonderful bread and it was my 6 year old's idea. One day we had some very ripe bananas and my 6 year old thought it would be a good idea to make banana bread with them. I got online and found a recipe that was simple and easy for a 6 year old to follow.

She did a good job, with a little coaching, and made a good batch of banana bread. As we were eating our fresh warm bread she looks up at me and said this would be so good made with pumpkin. What a great idea so we went to the kitchen the next day and steamed up some sweet potato (it was the closest thing I had to squash or pumpkin in the house that weekend). That sweet potato made some killer bread too.

Since that day, a few months back now, we have worked out our squash break recipe to be something that we find outstanding.

1 to 3 butternut squashes, enough to make 6 cups of puree.

cut the squash into chunks, with skin on, and steam until tender. let cool and the remove the skin from the meat and mush up the squash meat to use in bread.

6 cups squash or pumpkin puree (do not used canned stuff, I could tell you stories that would make you want to wash out your mouth with a toilet brush, yes that bad)

2/3rd cup butter, melted (I will try to replace half of this with apple butter next time)

2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 cups flour.

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350F

mix flour, spices,baking soda and nuts in a bowl and set aside.

mix the squash, butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla until well blended. pour in the flour mixture and mix until all the white flour is just combined. pour into 2 oiled (I use cooking spray) loaf pans and bake for 1 hour.

Concord Grapes and Turkey Burgers

2010-10-26T10:12:00.000-04:00

I very much love concord grapes and we so happy when I saw them at the store. Being the only one int he house that likes them I was lucky enough not to have to share so I had a little bunch with every meal until they were gone.

This meal was concord grapes with a turkey burger topped with cabbage and of course catchup mustard and relish on a toasted this bun.

Turkey Burgers

1/2 large onion chopped

2 sprays cooking spray

salt

1/4 cup worcheshire sauce

Salt the onions and caramelize in a pan sprayed with cooking spray over low heat. this can take a while but it is well worth it. if the onions get too dry a little water can be added to cook them down and then for the last few moments of browning spray with another spray of cooking spray to help the browning. Once the onions are browned add the worcheshire sauce and let it cook down for about 30 to 60 seconds. Turn off heat and set aside.

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup milk

place the panko in a small bowl and add the milk, let it set so that the bread sucks up the milk.

1 package ground turkey - about 1.5 pounds

salt

pepper

the panko

the onions

In a large bowl add ground turkey. squeeze any extra milk out of the panko and crumble into the bowl with the turkey. mix in the rest of the ingredients.

with a kitchen scale measure out 4 oz patties of turkey mixture. Place the patties into a hot pan over medium heat that had been sprayed with cooking spray. Do not mess with the patties as they cook or they will start to fall apart, just let them cook until you see that the bottom edges are brown and with a good spatula flip the patties with good aim because once they hip the pan you can not move them until they are done.

Cut some cabbage very thin to top the burgers.

If you are wondering why I added milk soaked panko bread crumbs I can tell you. Panko crumbles up evenly into the turkey better then regular and the milk keeps the burger moist. If you were to try to soak regular bread crumbs in mild it would turn into a dough ball and never evenly distribute into the turkey.

A Simple Lunch

2010-10-23T09:59:00.002-04:00

hard boiled egg, smokey pork loin and cucumbers. So simple yet filling and delicious.

Peach Cobbler

2010-09-11T18:36:00.004-04:00

Back in the day, when I started this blog one of the things in my head was I could put my Great Grandmother's peach cobbler recipe on the blog and not have to hunt for it every fall. for the last 5 years or so that I have had this blog, the weather gets cold and I am hunting for that cobbler recipe. Well no more, I am posting it here today.

4 T. Butter
1 C. flour
1/4 t. salt
2 t. baking powder
3/4 C milk
3/4 C. sugar
2 C. peaches
1/2 C sugar
Cinnamon

slice peaches and mix with 1/2 C. sugar
Melt butter in the bottom of a baking dish
Combine flour, salt, baking powder, 3/4C sugar and milk. Beat until smooth. pour batter over melted butter in baking dish. top with sugared peaches
Bake at 375 for 40ish minutes

Stir-fry Beef and Green Beans

2010-08-31T16:25:00.003-04:00

We had bags and bags of beans out of my mother's garden this summer. We ate several popped in the pressure cooker for 4 minutes with some Mrs. Dash and Canadian bacon, but I still had to find other creative ways to cook some up so I tossed together a stir-fry that tuned out to be a nice way to eat up the beans without adding a ton of calories.

1 pounds sirloin stake, cut into this strips against the grain of the meat.

2 pounds green beans topped and tailed (I am not very adamant with the top and tailing)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 cloves minced garlic

1 inch nob minced ginger (I grate it on my box grater with the fine shred side)

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup beef broth

1 bunch green onions, sliced into oblong rounds whites and a little of the green. Roots removed

2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

add the beef, soy sauce, corn starch, 1/2 garlic, 1/2 ginger, brown sugar and corn starch in a bowl and let set for 30 minutes.

Heat your wok to very hot add 1 tablespoon oil and the beef and cook until just browned on both sides and remove onto a dish and reserve. do not worry about cooking it through because you will add it again later and be sure to keep the sauce in the bowl that the meat was in.

add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan then add the beans and the other half or the garlic and ginger. toss a little and then add the beef stock and cover wok with a lid to let the bean steam up for about 2 to 4 minutes.

once beans are crisp tender add in the green onion sauce that was left over from meat and the meat. stir for a few seconds until all is saucy and a little thick.

server with a cup of Brown rice

the whole dish is 1600 calories 119 carb, 65g fat, and 163g protein. I say this dish served 5 and is worth 7 zucchini points and 1 cup of brown rice is 4 so total meal is 11 zucchinis

The Poof Act

2010-08-21T10:11:00.004-04:00

ok so I have been neglecting my blog a little...alright, alright a lot but it has been a whorl wind summer with the return from Mexico and then living with my parents while looking for a house and joining weight watchers (not cooking a lot of new things) and moving into our new home and now unpacking and then more unpacking. I do plan to join you here on a weekly basis soon, really that is the plan. until then here are a few photos of the new place before we make our changes.
These photos are of the house before we owned it so the furnature, colors and stuff are not ours

Orange Marmalade Pork

2010-07-21T16:08:00.004-04:00

I think at one time I saw a recipe with orange marmalade on pork and it stuck in my head. The other day I had some pork loin roast that I cut into 3 to 4 ounce chops. As I looked at them the orange marmalade idea popped into my head again so I got to looking in the cupboards and sure enough there was a jar of orange marmalade so I went to work on a marmalade.

8 3 to 4 ounce pork loin chops, trimmed of fat
8 oz orange marmalade
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flacks
1 tablespoon salt
pepper to taste

put all ingredients in a Ziploc back and marinade over night or for about 8 hours

Heat the grill. pull the pork out of the marinade and put marinade in a pan and reduce. cook pork on the grill basting with the reduced marinade until done (mine took about 4 minutes a side)

I also steamed some broccoli and cut a pineapple into rounds and grilled those also.

If you are watching your weight or food intake the pork was about 2 tablespoons of marinade as 5 zucchinis

Peek

2010-07-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

One of the things I loved about Mexico was all the little doorways that peeked into something beautiful.

Spring Rolls

2010-06-30T19:57:00.003-04:00

My first try with spring rolls. They were a little short on flavor and texture being filled with peppers, bean sprouts, minced ginger, radishes Udon noodles (that is what I could find) and some cucumber. I went to White on Rice Couple after to figure out what I could do the fix this and they had tons of ideas, I now have to try those ideas.

Sugar: The Bitter Truth (The SHORT Version)

2010-06-21T11:16:00.002-04:00

Wow so much said in 11 minutes.

there is so much great information at undergroundwellness.tv

Garlic Scape Pesto and Spring Squash

2010-06-12T18:17:00.002-04:00

Here I am without my Camera. I don't know what it is but for some reason I do not keep my camera attached to my side anymore. It is not that I don't want to snap at everything that I see I just have not been. Maybe I am too busy talking to the kids about the stuff we see or (which is more the case) I feel up rooted and scatter brained. We have Moved back to Michigan from Mexico in March but we still do not have a place of our own to live in. While I have been staying with my parents and now house sitting for a friend and my dear husband 3 hours away working I just feel discombobulated.

Today my new neighbor and friend to the friend I am house setting for stopped by to pick me up and take me to the local farm market. the Rockford Michigan farm market is really nice, I enjoyed it so (still no camera) and while there I picked up garlic scapes, honey sticks (the kids were with me you know), zucchini & baby summer squash and young potatoes.

The woman that was selling the garlic scapes was giving a garlic scape recipe with ever purchase, I thought that was very nice and thoughtful of her. once I got home I looked at the recipe and did not have but only half of what the recipe called for. It went something like this...9 cut up garlic scapes (she was selling in bunches of 10, so this was good) pecans (hummm what does my friend have...oh look pine nuts (that is pestoy) Parmesan cheese, nope not that but look feta, ok lets try that then olive oil and salt and pepper. I ended up with a bright green gem all made in the vita-mix smoothy (nope my friend does not have a food processor, but the vita-mix worked well)

Garlic Scape Pesto
10 garlic scapes cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup of olive oil
salt
pepper
lemon juice

ok these measurements are approximate because I was just kinda dumping the stuff into the vita-mix but it turned out great.

Zucchini and Summer Squash

5 baby zucchinis
5 baby summer squashes
1T. olive oil
salt

wash the squashes and cut in half. heat a pan, once hot ad 1 tablespoon olive oil place zucchini and summer squash cut side down on hot oil, cook until browned, salt. set aside covers to let them soften just a little.

Cook while wheat spaghetti once done (take some pasta water and set aside) drain and toss pasta with the pesto (if dry add some pasta water) serve with cooked squash

Stuffed and Rolled

2010-06-08T16:45:00.001-04:00

corn tortillas rolled around Mexican cheese (a kind that is a lot like ricotta) and onion and spinach topped with red salsa and cheese. bake at 350 until hot a bubbly

Sundried Tomato and Basil Chicken Roll

2010-05-31T10:53:00.002-04:00

I just went through a group of pictures I took and noticed that I have not been taking very pretty pictures of my food lately and I will have to start focusing on that here now that I am adjusted to being back home. Until the new photographer is discovered in myself I will have to post some beauties like the one above.

I am sure you can tell by the photo on this meal I got distracted and over steamed the broccoli which is why it has this olive green color and not the bright spring green color of perfect tender crisp broccoli, but that is how life is now isn't it.

This is one of the meals I had the first week on my weight watching diet. it is sun dried basil stuffed chicken breast with half a baked potato and broccoli. I will have to go back and look at how many zucchinis this added up to but it was not too many and it was a filling meal.

thin chicken breast at about 4 oz piece per person.
1 to 2 sun dried tomatoes per person, chopped
3 or 4 large basil leaves per person, cut into ribbons
a little cheese, about an ounce per person
salt and pepper

roll all inside the chicken sear all sides in hot pan and roast in 400F oven for 15 minutes or until done.

meal is 7 points with the overcooked broccoil

Spring 2010 in Michigan. Beautiful things found in the Woods

2010-05-22T11:19:00.009-04:00

Wintergreen

Veggie Burgers with Tiziki - worth 5

2010-05-03T12:35:00.004-04:00

I have tried Boca burgers in the past and did not care for them. When I saw veggie burgers at Costco I was hesitant to buy them thinking that they would be like the boca burgers. These veggie burgers are not exactly like the Boca but you have to be very careful when cooking them or they just turn out to be a mushy grainy "patty". While Baking them did turn out nice I found that dry pan frying them over low heat works great, the low heat slowly warms the patty but more importantly it drys the patty out a little then crisps the outside for a really nice textured patty and the flavor of these veggie patties is very nice.

Photoed above was the veggie patty dressed up like a hamburger on a thin bun but I found that a tiziki sauce on the patty with a toasted thin bun and some onion and lettuce is the best.

low fat tiziki

1/4 cut grated cucumber that has been salted and squeezed of excess juice

2 tablespoons fat free plain yogurt (the zippy'er the better)

2 tablespoons fat free sour cream

1 to 2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

mix all together in a bowl and top your veggie burger that was slowly pan fried without oil

thin bun, toasted, thin slice of onion and a leaf of nice crisp romain lettuce.

while the individual ingredients in the tiziki would not add up to any points I still count the tiziki as one point

total for a veggie burger with tiziki and bun is 5

served with a watermelon wedge and 1/2 cup tabbouleh (2 points) and cucumbers

I stole this Banana Bread

2010-04-27T22:36:00.005-04:00

I do not usually copy and past a recipe but I really liked this one and I do not want to forget it. I got it from Cookingbread.com

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe: Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

1 large egg
1 cup banana (mashed)
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup shortening (melted)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins or pecans

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

In a bowl mix butter and sugars together. Add egg, molasses, shortening, buttermilk and bananas. In another bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. Add rolled oats. Slowly add dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Combine till moistened. Add raisins or pecans. Pour into a large greased bread pan. Bake in a preheated 350 F oven for 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 1/2 hour before removing from pan.

Changes I have made thus far. replaced the flour with whole wheat pastry flour and plan to replace some fat with apple sauce next time.

without the fat replacement these muffins are 5 "zucchinis" each

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 14
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 257.2

Total Fat: 10.7 g
Cholesterol: 24.6 mg
Sodium: 214.3 mg
Total Carbs: 40.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.5 g
Protein: 3.9 g

General Tso's Chicken

2010-04-19T20:02:00.001-04:00

My husband loved General Tso's Chicken. After about a year in Mexico he was really missing General Tso's chicken, we were just unable to find it in Mexico City so I thought it would be nice to make it for him. One of the issue with making it for him was I had never eaten General Tso's Chicken so I really had no idea what I was doing or what it should end up tasting like. I had however seen it on his plate many times and I had smelled it before so I set out to read up on the dish and what people (including my husband) said it tasted like and what the texture of the sauce was like and reading many online recipes on it I moved forward with the following.
3 eggs
1/2 cup cornstarch

minced garlic
minced ginger
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
6 to 10 hot peppers
1 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 to 2 pounds chicken cut into 1 inch pieces
oil for frying

heat the oil in a pan for deep frying. mix the 1/2 cup corn start with 3 beaten eggs. dip the chicken pieces into the batter and deep fry in batches, drain on a paper towel lined plate.

mix together the soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, honey, brown sugar, and rice vinegar.

add 1 tablespoon peanut oil with sesame oil to a hot wok with the chili peppers then add the garlic and ginger, mix into the oil then add the sauce. Cook the sauce until it is thick, then, and this is the tricky part you can add the chicken to the sauce and stir to coat or put the thickened sauce into dipping bowls and dip the chicken into it, that way the breading on the chicken does not get soggy.

My Hubby said that I got the sauce spot on for flavor but the chicken breading did get soggy.

Learning to Sew with 4H and Grandma

2010-04-15T10:14:00.006-04:00

My Mom signed my daughter up for her 4H group the sew-unsews. Here DD is learning how to sew, she loved it.
As you can see she has been practicing on her scooter too, took a little spill and got the elbows, she is now practicing with long sleeves on.

Week One on the Weight Program

2010-04-14T21:50:00.003-04:00

while it is not fancy it is a good diet meal. Whole Wheat Spaghetti with ground turkey spaghetti sauce, simple salad with light balsamic dressing and balsamic strawberries.
1 small package cooked spaghetti (serving on 1 cup per person)
8 oz ground lean turkey
1 med onion
jar of your favorite low cal spaghetti sauce

1.5 cups cleaned and quartered strawberries
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tomato, chopped
4 cups lettuce, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
4 tablespoons light balsamic salad dressing

meal serves 4 (with extra pasta for the growing, hungry kids) the meal equals...lets not call them points...9 zucchinis

Swordfish Quesadillas

2010-04-09T16:20:00.002-04:00

I while back I talked about making some really great grilled swordfish. When I make the swordfish we had some left over so I thought that I would make some fish quesadillas with it and they were oh so tasty.

I has blue tortillas because they are every where in Mexico city and, well, we like them best
oaxaca cheese but I think you could use mozzarella
pieces of leftover grilled swordfish
salsa verde
chopped onion
chopped tomato
canned jalapenos
lime
butter

Lightly butter one side of a tortilla and place it in a fry pan then put the cheese and fish on one half of tortilla and fold in half. Cook quesadilla on both sides, serve with salsa and veggies and a squeeze of lime if you like.

my hubby said he thought it was the best "taco" he had ever had with his new favorite fish.

shrimp stir-fry

2010-03-23T21:52:00.000-04:00

while this dish tasted good I would do things a little different next time. instead of Julian the vegetables I think that they would be better matched with shrimp if I cut them into chunks and maybe add some red pepper flacks for some heat.

cut veggies into chunks such as

onion
celery
red bell peppers
carrots
minced garlic
minced ginger

dust cleaned and dried shrimp with corn starch.

In a hot hot pan add in peanut oil with a touch of sesame oil and saute the shrimp in a single layer. when the shrimp is just pink on both sides remove a set aside. Clean the pan and get it hot hot again, add a little peanut (or avocado) oil with a touch of sesame oil add in the garlic, ginger and veggies. toss the veggies a few times, add the shrimp to reheat and serve over steamed rice.

Returning to Michigan

2010-03-10T18:07:00.003-05:00

We have lived in Mexico City for more than a year now and it is time to go home. We will be returning to Michigan in just a few short weeks and once I do that I have to lose some of this weight I put on while in Mexico. The plan is to join Weight Watchers when I get back and to start blogging again on a regular basis but blogging weight watcher friendly food. At least for the first 3 to 4 months of being back.

Bell's Porter

2010-03-05T22:59:00.002-05:00

It doesn't get much better!

Grilled Swordfish

2010-02-07T22:22:00.004-05:00

I love swordfish but I have only had it a few times do to the issues with over fishing. Recently I read that swordfish has made a come back and now can be eaten sparingly so I treated the family when I came across a few steaks

I marinated the fish of a few hours in lime juice (limes and lime juice being very Mexico City) a good Mexican olive oil I got from a friend for Christmas, chopped garlic and salt and pepper.

When I was ready to cook the swordfish I heated my cast iron frill pan on the stove for a good 5 minutes. Then patted the fish dry so that it would sear well on the hot grill pan and grilled each side for about 4 to 5 minutes each. I personally so not like my tuna or swordfish rare (unless in sushi) and I do cook it medium to medium well (just a little pink inside for Tuna)

I also made a nice dijon dill sauce with plain yogurt, sour cream, dijon mustard and chopped dill. and served with whole wheat couscous with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers

This dish was really really good but what I did with the leftovers was out of this world...stay tuned for that dish coming up soon.

Moshi Moshi - Sushi

2010-01-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

We (the kids and I) really love sushi; however, it is hard to find good sushi here in Mexico City. Yes around every corner is a Sushi Itto but their sushi is crap and the service even worse. But there is a light at the end of the sushi tunnel and that light is Moshi Moshi.

Moshi Moshi does the conveyor belt with sushi and it is great we all can pick the roll we like and go to town. There is one drawback; however, when sushi is so easy to grab the bill can climb quite fast and Moshi Moshi's prices are not thrift so beware.

Wheat Germ Pasta with Mushrooms

2010-01-21T19:15:00.001-05:00

I picked up some wheat germ pasta at the store, not because I was planning a meal but because it was there and I had never tried it. After thinking about what the pasta might taste like I figured it would go well with onions and mushrooms so that is what I did. In the end the dish tasted ok but it really didn't look very good so it took a lot to get the kids to try it. They picked the pasta out and ate that and left the rest so that tells me to try the past again with another condiment

1 onion diced
1 package mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper
olive oil
wheat germ pasta
chopped parsley

start the pasta cooking in a large pot of salted boiling water
caramelize onion in oil then add the mushrooms and brown them a little, add the peppers and seasoning. add in the wine and cooked pasta with a little pasta water to make a sauce. top with chopped parley

MMMMM Brunch

2010-01-19T18:49:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Carved Wood Gate/Door

2010-01-17T08:18:00.001-05:00

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon
men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that
emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews
a weary spirit.
- Robert Louis Stevenson

Faux Gumbo

2010-01-15T10:35:00.004-05:00

This Dish was a bit of an experiment. I like paella and gumbos and dished similar to that so I thought I would try a faux copy with chicken, plus I found a packet of paella spice I was dieing to try. it turned out very flavorful and the chicken was tender and yummy and the family loved it, that is always a big bonus with a meal.

a package of chicken legs and thighs (how ever many it takes to feed your family)
flour
salt and pepper
oil for browning
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 to 10 mushrooms, sliced or chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 large cans stewed tomatoes with juice
paella packet of seasoning
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
1.5 cups rice

Wash and dry the chicken. Add flour salt and pepper to a shallow bowl. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. Once pan is hot add oil. dredge the chicken in the flour and place the chicken in the hot oil (laying away from you). brown the chicken on all sides and remove from pan and set on a plate and set aside. keep the pan on the fire but turn it down to a medium to medium low heat. remove all but 2 tablespoons of the oil.

add into the hot pan the chopped vegetable and cook them covered until they are soft, uncover, turn up the heat a little and saute until there is a little browning on the veggies and add the paste, cook for a few more seconds so that the paste darkens a little.

Return the chicken and all it's juices to the pan and add the tomatoes and seasoning and rice, cover and cook until the rice is done, stirring occasionally. If there is not enough liquid from the tomatoes feel free to add a cup or two of chicken stock, water or even a little white wine.

Roasted Cauliflower

2010-01-01T21:06:00.005-05:00

For the new year, just like half of the world, I am going to try to eat a healthier diet, exercise more and try to loss a few pounds that have found their way onto my body. So with that said my first post if 2010 is roasted cauliflower. Roasted cauliflower is one of my favorite veggie dishes and I add a little nutrition and flavor punch with diced red peppers and onions.

Preheat oven to 400F

cut a head of cauliflower into little bit size florets.
chop a red bell pepper into a small dice
chop a small onion into a small dice
3 tablespoons olive oil
course sea salt
fresh cracked pepper

place all ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat with oil. Pour the vegetables into a cast iron pan (cast iron gives a better browning) and bake the cauliflower in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until it is browned slightly and tender, be sure to stir the cauliflower ever 10 minutes or so.

By no means is this only way we make cauliflower in our house, my daughter loves hers steamed and one day I make cauliflower with a nice cheese sauce baked in the oven and she took one bit looked up at me with a look on her face and said "mom please don't make this with the uky sauce again" LOL she is such a purest.

North African Lamb Stew

2009-12-26T16:20:00.006-05:00

A few years ago I tried my first North African dish when I met my fellow food blogger and now good friend Warda over at 64 sq ft Kitchen. She served several wonderful spiced salads (vegetable dished) and a lamb soup called Harira. The Harira was wonderful so wonderful my then 3 year old daughter took the soup from me and ate it up. I have had a few lamb dished at Warda's home and now that I am living in Mexico and I am so far from her I have to try to make these dishes on my own. While mine are not nearly as tasty as Warda's I do think that my ability to cook her Algerian dished are coming along and are in their own right tasty.

For Christmas Eve I wanted to make a lamb dish, I wanted something hardy but flavorful like Warda would make so I followed two of her recipes to come up with a lamb (mutton) stew where I combined her Harira recipe and her Lamb and Vegetable Stew recipe and came up with a great and flavorful dish of my own.

2 pounds boned lamb leg or shoulder
4 onions, halved and each stuck with a clove
5 carrots, quartered
4 potatoes, quartered
4 zucchini, quartered
3 stalks celery, cut into 4 sections each
2 large tomatoes, quartered
2 cups chickpeas
5 to 8 cups water or stock
Cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
one bunch cilantro, tied
2 tablespoons tomato paste
a pinch saffron
salt and pepper
oil

Cut the lamb into large chunks and brown in a hot pan with some oil. once the meat is brown add in the tomato paste and stir. Add in the vegetables and spices and stir then add in the the water then the rest of the ingredients except the chickpeas. cook stirring occasionally until the carrots are tender, about an hour, adding the chickpeas and removing the cilantro bunch in the last 15 minutes of cooking. I served this with couscous that I made following Warda's directions but with a makeshift couscous steaming pot and pita bread.

Mystery Fruit #4

2009-11-25T05:33:00.002-05:00

Guanabana

not much to say, didnot like this one either. Guess I am just an up north girl who love fresh apples and pears and peaches

Phantom and a Pumpkin

2009-11-23T09:05:00.003-05:00

photos I snapped on Halloween

Game Hens

2009-11-22T20:50:00.004-05:00

As the kids get older I have noticed that they are eating a lot more. A year ago DD would eat one chicken leg and DS would eat maybe a bit of a chicken leg (he has never been a big meat eater). In the last few months one roasted chicken would disappear and they would be asking for more.

One day while shopping I notice the Game hens and realized it had been years since I had made then and I also thought the kids would get a kick out of having their own little chicken. The kids did get a kick out of it and they loved the slight gaminess of the bird.

Herd Roasted Game Hens
4 game hens
a few bunches each of fresh time and rosemary
several cloves garlic
onion
lime or lemon
salt
pepper
olive oil

rinse the hens and pat dry
preheat over to about 400 - 425F
season the inside of the birds with salt and pepper
stuff inside the bird little bits of everything else
put more of your onion and herbs in a roasting dish
place the hens on the herbs
season the outside of the hens with salt pepper and a little olive oil

roast for about 45 minutes or until done

give each little person a little chicken.

Note: it did get a little messy

Mystery Fruit #3

2009-11-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Star fruit

Okay so there really isn't much mystery in this one, i is starfruit and I am sure most people have seen this one in the stores. However, it is one of my favorite, it is juicy with a hint of acid like an orange plus a slight pear flavor. it is just good!

Mystery Fruit #2

2009-11-11T05:47:00.001-05:00

Pitaya or Dragon Fruit
This Dragon fruit had a tropical flavor kind of like papaya or melon with the typical musky undertone of most tropical fruits. I just cut the fruit in half and tried a few bites with a spoon. I did not care for it but once I did a little reading it appears that it is often made as a sorbet with straberries and I can see it being very good that way.

Mystery Fruit # 1

2009-11-04T18:27:00.005-05:00

Cherimoya

About once a month something will pop up in the produce section of my local grocery store that I do not recognise or I have never tried before. I have been calling them mystery fruits and this one is one of the first that I tried. To tell the truth I find most of these mystery fruits to have a musty or musky taste kind of like musk melon or papaya which I am not a fan of. This fruit was not any different, it was sweet with a texture almost like the inside of a pumpkin with a slightly acidic musk like undertone.

It's Getting Chili

2009-10-09T22:14:00.007-04:00

I have never been good at making chili and to tell the truth unless it is just "right" I don't really like chili. The other day I was watching some videos on a site like health.com or cookinglight.com for some lite meal inspiration and one of the videos was chili and it sounded good. I figured if they can make a light chili sound good I had to try it. It turned out great! Of course I did my own version but still yum yum. The only issue I now have with it is I can't find good old American chili powder here in Mexico. My mother is mailing me some but I don't expect to see it until Halloween.
2 thick slices nice smoky bacon, cut into cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
10 ounces lean beef
5 ounces ground chicken (this is what I can find at teh stores here)
minced garlic, 2 cloves
1 bottle beer
15 oz can stewed tomatoes with juice, break the tomatoes up with a spoon (or your by squeezing with your hand)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon smoked chipotle powder
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
can black beans drained and rinsed (or what ever bean you like)

Brown bacon in a deep pot, once brown add in the onions and cover and let cook over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. add into the pot the garlic and ground meat and let it brown. Once the meat is brown add in the beer and cook until it evaporates and the meat is really cooked down, about 10 minutes. add in the rest of the ingredients except the beans, cover and cook for about 30 minutes. add the beans and cook for another 5 minutes.

Server with Cornbread

On the way to Puebla

2009-09-19T18:35:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back we took a trip to Heroic Puebla de Zaragoza. This was one of the first cities founded by the Spanish in 1531 that was not built on top of ruins of local civilizations. When visiting this city it is apparent that it was a European planned city because the streets are square, they are not set a odd angles with strange intersections but laid out in a grid formation.

Colorful Puebla.

Puebla University, I hear it is a very good school.

Beautiful brick work

along one of the store fronts in front of the Zocalo (city center or downtown) is a bronze model of the city, this was unexpected for me.

The kids posing in front of one of the sculpture

This is a very interesting sculpture. It is a cylinder with half moons on each side and it is sculpted like leaves a trees.

The Cathedral of Puebla.

Photos of the colorful city.

The Drive from Mexico City to Pueble is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken. It was mountainous and green and spectacular, unfortunately or is a narrow highway without a shoulder going up or down the mountain so I was unable to get many photos of the mountains, but I managed a few of the volcano. The highway between Mexico City and Puebla bass next to volcano Popocatepetl and volcano Iztaccíhuatl and these are beautiful indeed.

Eating out in Mexico City - What I have to say about the Restaurants

2009-09-11T15:53:00.001-04:00

I am not much for reviewing restaurants. I may say it is good and a friend may say the opposite. I think that Restaurants for the most part are ever changing, from one day to the next and from one item to the next, so I don't often write about them here on my blog. However, I have been eating out here in Mexico and some places I have enjoyed very much, but what I find when I do a search on the net for a place to eat is laking, the results tend to come up a little short so I have decided to say a little bit about the places I visit and provide a few photos too, photos never hurt.

Today I am going to tell you about a Thai place we went to in La Condesa called Mibong. I learned of this place through my Spanish tutor who happens to be a big Thai fan just like my husband.

We set out with the address in a Taxi and after the taxi drove around for a while (Condesa is full on one way streets, not easy to get around in) he dropped us right in front of the restaurant.
I had Pad Thai, it was very nice, the noodles were cooked perfectly the chili has a very Mexican flavor to it and the sauce has a nice peanut flavor to it. This is not the Pad Thai I am used to eating in Michigan but it was a great dish done well.

My Husband ordered a fried rice dish that our 5 year old daughter stole from him and ate us so I can't tell you first had how good it was but she seamed to love it, good enough for me.
We also tried a seafood soup that they offered and it was very nice. We all got to have a few bites but in the end this was the big hit for my 3 year old son and he got to eat most o it. The kitchen is small and well used but clean!
The menu has much to offer with both sides full of many appealing looking items listed.

MiBong
Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese
Campeche 396-B
ph. 5211-2078
Sun – Wed: 1 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.
Thurs – Sat: 1 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.

He is turning 4 and he is eating Batman's Head

2009-08-31T16:22:00.000-04:00

Not a whole lot to say, just wanted to post the cake I made for my babies 4th Birthday...well I guess he is not my baby any more he is my big boy and he is into cars, robots and super heroes. and of course he wanted to eat Batman's head

A peek at what has been on the table

2009-08-30T10:08:00.007-04:00

Loving Michigan

2009-08-18T13:40:00.002-04:00

I know I have been MIA yet again but the kids and I are off in Michigan visiting family for the summer. We will be back in Mexico next week with a schedule again and regular blogging will take place once again. Until then Enjoy the summer, we are.

It was not Sulfur Soup at all

2009-08-03T10:43:00.007-04:00

I enjoy asparagus very much. I like it blanched, plunged into ice water, drained and topped with course salt. I like it roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper and then covered with a few shavings of Parmesan cheese, I like it raw and even steamed with butter. But the idea of asparagus soup always turned me off, I thought that it would taste the the harshness that asparagus has from the sulfur particularly when it is over cooked. I imagined a big bowl of green sulfur soup, after all one much cook the daylights out of the asparagus to make soup out of it.

The other day I looked it the fridge to see what I could put together for dinner and I had a kilo of asparagus, some onions that are in desperate need of being used, cream and some left over Asian chicken stock which was had a light and wonderful garlic ginger taste to it. The only conclusion i could come up with was asparagus soup.

Like almost everything I make I figures I would start with caramelized onion because everything and anything will turn out wonderful with nice sweet onion. I figured I would add some richness by cooking the onions in butter.

I cleaned the asparagus and and chopped it into pieces and added it to the onions just before they browned with a little salt and pepper. I reserved some of the tips of the asparagus and blanched them for pretty photos later.

Once I sauteed the asparagus and ions for a few minutes I added the Asian chicken broth and broth, a bay leaf and a little thyme to it all and brought to a boil and cooked for about 30 minutes, until the asparagus was tender.

Once the asparagus was cooked, I removed the bay leaf and blended the soup (in batches) with my blender until smooth.

I place the soup back on the heat and when it came up to a boil I added a half cup of cream and a squeeze of lime juice. Tested for seasoning, had to add a little more salt and enjoyed.

The soup did not have a touch of sulfur taste to it at all it was rich and creamy and simply one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

Ginger Asparagus Soup~

1 kilo Asparagus
6 cups ginger chicken broth (you can make your own or heat up purchased broth and add 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger)
1 medium onion
3 tablespoons butter
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 cup cream
Salt & pepper
juice of 1 lime

Chicken in a Cream Wine Sauce over Fettuccine

2009-07-26T21:01:00.004-04:00

Chicken breasts, thin. get scallopini at the store or cut it yourself.
flour
salt
pepper
oil
mixed mushrooms (portobello , oyster, and button)
good white wine
cream
1 clove minced garlic
parsley
fettuccine

clean and slice mushrooms, set aside. mix a good amount of salt and pepper in a cup of flour. Set a large pan of water to boil for pasta.

Once water is boiling add pasta.

Heat a frying pan (I use cast iron) with vegetable oil. Dredge the chicken in the flour and when oil is hot (looks like it ripples in the pan) lay the floured chicken in the oil. As you lay the chicken in the oik place the chicken in the edge of the pan closest to you and and down away from you to avoid getting burned.

Brown the chicken on both sides (being sure it is done through but not over cooked). set the cooked chicken on a plate and set aside.

Drain the oil from the pan but do not clean off all the drippings in the pan. add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan and the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms the way you like them, personally I like them browned. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and add them to the chicken.

pour 1 cup wine in the hot pan and let it cook down while scrapping the bits up into the sauce. If sauce is looking too dry add more wine or water but you have to be sure the wine cooks a little to get the alcohol taste out. add the cream a half cup to a cut, you be the judge.

Once sauce comes up to just a boil add in the mushrooms and chicken to coat and heat up, finish with chopped parsley and serve with fettuccine.

My Lucy Doll, Your Lucy Doll

2009-07-14T22:37:00.005-04:00

Years ago a once good friend of mine made a doll for her Daughter. Her Daughter named that doll Lucy after the doll of the show Little Bear. My Daughter, Z. always wanted to play with that doll, she was only 2 at the time and she thought that doll was the greatest thing. For Z's 3rd birthday she received her very own Lucy. Look how happy she was!
Z still to this day, she is five and a half, she sleeps with Lucy. However, my son took a liking to Lucy so for Christmas when he was two and a half he got his very own Lucy with fuzzy orange hair and he too sleeps with his Lucy every night.

After we got settled into our new place here in Mexico our new neighbor has a Daughter who is two and a half and she took a liking to Z's Lucy so I made her her very own Lucy, see below.

this is just after I stuffed the 12" doll body with polyfill and I am working on applying the face

here is Sara's Lucy with face and hair and I am getting ready to make the dress. As you can see she is a pretty little thing.

A Trip to the Grocery Store

2009-07-12T15:14:00.002-04:00

I wrote this a year ago and never posted it...I guess I will

I only go to regular grocery stores maybe once every 2 months because I do not enjoy it one bit. The other day I had four things I needed to pick up at Kroger that I just could not get any where else in a reasonable size. The items were: Kosher salt, cream cheese, gelatin, and well I can't remember what it was and I am sure I forgot to buy it too.

With the kids in the back I pull into the parking lot of the grocery store. after navigating the 4 stop signs every 10 feet so that a costumer doesn't get run over I choose a lane that I plan to park in. I slowly turn the car waiting to that rouge customer that avoided the area where there was a stop sign (how he managed to do that I am not sure) and is now walking down the center of the driving lane looking right and then left and right again apparently trying to locate his misplaced car. Hummm the car did not get up and move when you were shopping buddy. then he veers to the right and crosses over to the next lane.

I find a parking spot but the shopper that was driving that over sized H2 parked in 3 parking spots. I guess he didn't want someone to ding his doors or maybe he is....well I will stop there. I chose to park where I usually park in a lot way in the back where the plastic bag blow in the wind like tumble weed. It is safer for the kids to get out of the car out here anyway; however, I do have to try to keep them from getting hit until we get the the safety of the stop signs. What all these stop signs and the cars are still not stopping and we almost get hit by a man with very large sunglasses with he side Shields, you know what ones, they help keep the light out of cataract.

The kids an I make it to the door. the door slides open and we are hit with the sound of crushing metal, clinking glass, machine motors, and a stench of old beer. we step through the door and immediately our sandals stick to the floor and the kids run to that never been washed shopping cart that looks like a car that has a broken front wheel. I say no way and they start to cry, I try to explain why but they can't hear me over the crushing of the beer cans and the cries of "why not Mommy". I crab the closest regular cart and push my way through the next set of doors.

Push through the second set of doors is an exaggeration because as the doors open and I move the kids and the cart forward there is a large stand of sales items right in front of where most people would walk into the store. ok quick right or left dang there are people in the way. the kids keep walking right through the legs of the people looking at the ad right inside the door. I navigate around the end caps, flowers, people, and some large cardboard Chiquita banana and manage to grab my son before he made a break for it down the chip isle. At this point it hits me, oh wow that is bad the smell of bad meat or is it just the way meat counters smell but it is not nice. I grab the kids and we go to find the salt.

As we are trying to move our way to the baking isle (where is that isle?) the kids see a pretty end cap with toys, of boy! I tell them to put that feather flamingo pen back and come with me. DD says ok and I move on to that baking isle. while trying to determine what kosher salt I need I pull my cart along the far edge of the isle and stand right in front of it so that people can move though the isle while I stand and look at my salt options and prices. I look up and the kids are gone. hummm must with those flamingos, oh here is DD but where is DS (DS has a gift at disappearing in the store but he is too big for the cart, just my luck I have a 2 year old the size of a four year old) I send DD to go find him but as she steps out a woman comes around the corner of the isle, almost careens into DD. DD dodged the cart and slips through, that goodness she made it without losing a toe. Woman with cart stops right in front of me and starts fingering through the spices. I will not put into words what I was thinking. I moved my cart forward so that people could move around crazy driving spice woman and I go to find my children. Yes they were over still playing with feathery flamingo pens and alligator wined up toys. the kids and I return all the toys, go back to the baking sile and wait for crazy driving spice woman to move over enough the me to reach an arm between her and her cart and crab a box of salt, any salt at this pint it did not matter. Ok let get the gelatin. where did it go, last year when I bought gelatin it was right here. Of course this was Farmer Jack back them and now it was Kroger. of look they have a whole new section, there is the gelatin, grab it and run.

To the dairy isle. this Isle is always so cold. Beer, wine coolers, orange juice, stuff that says juice drink, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, milk......no cream cheese hummmmmm. ok lets go back. Milk, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, cheese, butter, hummm, juice drink, OJ, coolers. What is the cream cheese doing on the other side of the beer anyway. In the corner with not room and a really big guy looking for cheep beer. Oh boy, get around the guy grab the cream cheese, ok kids yeas you can have some bagels, grab them and lets, darn someone else after the beer. Excuse us please.

The checkouts. Stay far away from the candy lanes, that leaves the self checkout. that is cool I was a cashier at a grocery store for 2 years I could scan over 100 items a minute (yes I kicked butt) self checkout looks like my best choice. Walk up, press start order, DD wants to ring stuff up. ok go ahead and ring up those bagels you have in your had. Pass, Pass, pass, move up and down, up, down, right, left, ok let me try. pass, pass, pass, stretch out bar code pass, pass, ring. place in bag on scale. I say to kids "Please do not touch or everything will stop" . cream cheese rings up, set on scale DD picks it up and everything stops, attendant is not to be found.........there she is, she does her magic I ring up everything, get out my Kroger Card (I really don't like cards to get my sale items) and DD picks up the bag, everything stops, attendant is off talking, again. Oh wait here she comes. I ring up the card and get my $.74 savings, $20.00 I did not buy anything, moving forward, I swipe my card DS grabs the receipt and off we go. Not that easy they have big balls, Cars and princess kids tables (did I tell you my son is obsessed with cars and my daughter is obsessed with princesses, well they are) and they veer straight to the tables and balls. ok set for a second, oh now the special needs guy is coming and he always wants to play with the kids. "come on you guys lets go, DD push the cart, DS here help with the bag" we are free, at the door, oh no the parking lot. hold my hand kids. STOP, car blew right through that stop sign. we make it to the car but I am unable to back up because there is a row of carts behind me, there he is getting the last cart over by that grocer bag tumble weeds. He waves with a smile and moves the carts and I can leave. Thank god I will not have to do this again for another 2 months.

This is why I shop at the fruit market and Costco and that is it.

A peek at what was on the table this week

2009-07-08T15:28:00.010-04:00

Pasta Salad

Tostadas My daughters new favorite thing, and she can make them herself

Wine & Butter poached fish

Strawberry shortcake

Buffalo Wings, Teriyaki wings, and greens with caramelized onion

A Little Peek at what was for Dinner this Week

2009-06-28T20:42:00.002-04:00

June 2009 Daring Baker Challenge - Bakewell Tart

2009-06-27T22:00:00.009-04:00

"The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England."

I have to say I was not a fan of this months challenge, too bad I have already missed my 2 for the year do to my relocation to Mexico and that all of my cooking stuff had to be left in Michigan.

here is the recipe for BAKEWELL TART.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)

15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and

slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to

curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

I am really hoping that July's challenge is a little more exciting

Love this Photo of My Girl

2009-06-22T18:49:00.000-04:00

How to Make Parihuela - Peruvian Seafood Soup

2009-06-21T17:33:00.006-04:00

Last week I talked about my attempt to make a wonderful Peruvian seafood soup that we discovered at a restaurant near by called La Mar. While the soup that I attempted was delicious it was nothing like the parihuela that we at La Mar.

The night of my post my husband and I returned to taste that soup again, I was determined to figure out how to make it. As before the soup was WONDERFUL, delivered to our table in a sizzling hot ceramic bowl, the broth bubbling and boiling right in front of us. That first taste, mmmmmmm flavorful and spicy...well that and I burned my mouth and had to grab a quick sip of beer.

I ate that wonderful soup and was not any closer to knowing how to make it then I was before. Stumped and puzzled I ate my meal pondering the possible ingredients of the soup. To tell the truth the second trip to La Mar was a far better experience then the first, this time we knew what to order. We got the soup but we also got a Plancha, the marinara plancha to be precise. it is cooked on a hot cast iron pan with seafood and a garlic butter sauce, so great.

The meal was heaven but I still had no idea how to make that soup so I asked and guess what neither do they. The restaurant makes a tomato based seafood broth and adds a chili sauce that they buy from Peru and I was informed that I would not find the Peruvian chili needed to make the soup. I think maybe next time go I will ask if I can buy the chili sauce they use.

An Old Wheelbarrow

2009-06-17T10:28:00.002-04:00

This is an old wheelbarrow out near the garden at an old family farm in Lake County Michigan.

Daring Cooks Challenge Number Dos

2009-06-14T15:44:00.007-04:00

As always I am a day late and a dollar short. today is the second daring cook post date and I am whipping up pot stickers on posting day. I was worried that this was going to be a very involved long process to make pot stickers but they came together very fast and I had fun doing them with my 3 year old son. I made the dough and he kneaded while I put the filling together. then I kneaded the dough a little more for good measure.

Once the dough sat for 15- 20 minutes I cut it into little 1 inch square pieces and Luka rolled them out while I filled them. Filling 3 year old rolled, not so round, pot sticker dough is a bit of a challenge. But towards the end he had is down, making perfect little round rounds to be filled.

I chose to fry them as that is the usual method when I buy them from the store. And everyone enjoyed eating them. I would have gotten a cross section photo but Luka ate them so fast that I did not have a chance to get the camera out for that.

I was not able to follow the exact recipe given in the challenge because here in Mexico City all ingredients are available some of the time they are never ready at a whim. Napa cabbage and shitake mushrooms were nowhere to be found so I left out the mushrooms and replaced the napa with regular green cabbage.

I chopped the green onion (they were a little large) and the cabbage, sauteed them in a pan until they were soft. place in a bowl and added, chopped water chestnuts (bamboo shoots being another no find item) garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, corn starch and once cool the ground pork.

I will make these often not that I know how easy and delicious they are.

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

pork filling:

1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried - rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough: (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1: Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky.[Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

Make the dough, Method 2 (my mom’s instructions): In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Both dough methods: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

2009-06-12T10:05:00.004-04:00

* A Delicious Failure *

For the first time since we moved to Mexico my husband and I were able to go out on a date. We hired a baby setter and simply went out for dinner but I was still the first time the two of us got to do something together in months, without the kids.

We went to a Peruvian restaurant near where we live called La Mar that was highly recommended by some friends and the food was good (not great) and the staff were very helpful and even found and old menu in English for us and a staff member that spoke a little English. After pouring over the menu and asking for suggestions we ordered the clasico seviche and the Parmesan scallops for our starters.

The seviche was ok, it was covered in cilantro and that was all I could really taste and being a person who apparently has the anti cilantro gene the whole dish tasted like soap to me.

The scallops we cooked perfectly but the thick layer of cheese over them over powered the dish, I pulled the cheese off and very much enjoyed the scallop underneath.

For our main courses I had the atun (tuna). This was a tuna steak grilled, placed over a bed of mashed potatoes with a sauce/gravy. As I ate the tuna the center was raw, not rare but raw, I could tell that the tuna was still frozen in the center when they put it on the grill. I think that if that spot in the center had not been frozen when they put the fish on the grill it would have been done perfectly with the right amount of seasoning, the mashed potatoes were nice but the sauce was a little overpowering for the dish.

My husband got the parihuela which is a seafood soup with a tomato chili base and it was WONDERFUL the highlight of the evening. This soup was so good that I now have to figure out how to make it and this post is my first attempt at the soup and it was not even close; however, it was delicious.

After doing a little Internet research on Peruvian cooking I learned that there are a few ingredients that are very common such as chillies, potatoes, onion and seafood. With that information I attempted the following.

I made a fish stock with some great mackerel I found at the market along with some carrots onions and celery.

2 tomatoes
1 large potato, diced
1 large onion
a few dried chilies (guajillo chilies is what I used)
8 cups fish stock
10 shrimp
1 mackerel cut into pieces
fresh parsley or cilantro
salt and pepper
lime

On a hot cast iron pan blacken the tomato, onion and chillies on all sides. Place the blackened vegetables in a food processor or blender with a cup of stock and blend until smooth

In a large soup pot add fish stock, blended vegetable and potatoes. bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add in the fish and cook for about 3 minutes then add the shrimp, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until shrimp is just done. Serve and top with a squeeze of lime and fresh green cilantro or parsley.

While this soup was good it was nothing like the Peruvian soup at La Mar. The base was flat in comparison to the real thing and the chili used was not a good choice. This chili had a rich almost cocoa flavor to it and not the hot crisp chili that this dish needs.

We are going back to La Mar tonight just for some more Peruvian Seafood soup.

I'm a Guest Blogger

2009-06-08T22:12:00.002-04:00

I am so excited to announce that I have been asked to be a guest blogger for the first time in my blogging career. Stop over at Rookie Cookie to see what I cooked up for her to serve for dinner.

Thank you Whitney for giving me a place at your table.

2009-06-05T21:57:00.002-04:00

~Menu~

-Asparagus Risotto with Fish of theWeek

-Salad with young greens, blue cheese and crisp pancetta

-A little something I saw on Design Sponge - Cottage cheese with strawberry rhubarb compote and reduced balsamic.

-Tofu lettuce wraps

-Seared chicken breast and mushrooms with a white wine cram sauce and fettuccine

Asian Lettuce Wraps

2009-05-27T10:21:00.006-04:00

Filling:
1 head bib or iceberg lettuce or any lettuce that will hold up as a wrap
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 medium carrot
6 medium button mushrooms
1 small zucchini
one can water chestnuts
2-3 green onions
1/4 cut chopped peanuts
peanut oil
sesame oil

Sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon pepper flakes, if you like it hotter.

dice the chicken into small (1/8th inch) cubes, place in a bowl and add a few dashes of soy sauce, a tablespoon of corn starch, stir and set aside. cut the carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, and water chestnuts into little cubes and put each in its own little bowl. Cut the green onion into little rounds like you would for any other Asian dish... you know just slice it and set aside.

mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Carefully pull the leaves off the head of lettuce and wash in cold water. dry the lettuce leaves and store in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that cold lettuce is crunchy and the filling will be hot and you looking for the contrast. I think keeping the lettuce very cold and adding the filling just before eating will give the best results.

Place a heavy bottomed pan or wok over high heat for about a minutes add about 2 to 3 tablespoons peanut oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil and let it heat until the oil starts to ripple. Add in half of the chicken quickly stir it around and once it is browned all over remove and set aside in a clean bowl. Repeat with second half of chicken. Add another tablespoon of peanut oil and a tablespoon of sesame oil into the hot empty pan and add the carrots. cook stirring for about a minute then add the mushrooms, cook for another minute to 2 minutes and then add the zucchini and water chestnuts then add in the cooked chicken and sauce and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute or until the sauce thickens a little add the green onion and peanuts and serve.

This dish was a huge hit with the family. it was a little difficult to get the kids to try it because they thought it looked bad. But once they took a bite they could not get enough. Next time I make it I will have to double the batch.

if you would like to keep this vegetarian I think that little cubes of tofu could easily replace the chicken and I do plan to try it that way next week when I make this dish again. I am also thinking celery would be a nice element too.

Kids Toys

2009-05-21T06:46:00.000-04:00

A Nice Little Hiding Place for Morel Mushrooms

2009-05-20T06:50:00.002-04:00

Kids at Play

2009-05-19T06:57:00.000-04:00