When the Chips are Down

Pinterest.

I love Pinterest.

I find all sorts of recipes, pottery and art, humor, clothes styles, interior and exterior decorating, gardening, and DIY.  I love  DIY. 
These pinners make everything look so easy to do.

I also love to cook and bake.  And eat.

I think eating is my number one favorite thing.

I have been saving receipes to my Boards and today had a wee corner of time in which to try one of my saved and  treasured recipes from Pinterest.

Sweet Potato and Beet Chips.

The outcome?

Sad.

Common sense should have told me that 35 minutes at 350 deg was not a good choice.

The repinned recipe was supposed generate crispy and delicious (as well as nutritious) chips.
 Or so said several other pinners.

 Apparently they, like I, pinned it before they tried it.

I don't think "chips" should bend this easily.
I couldn't leave them in the oven longer as they were taking on that ever-so-nasty burnt taste.
 

And then I found this Pinterest fail site.  You know the kind - how it should be and how it is.

 http://www.pinterestfail.com/

I need to post my chips there.

Here's what the supposed-to-be crispy beet and sweet potato chips look like.

They  look like failure.

They also taste like failure.

I wonder if the hundred other recipes and DIY's I pinned there are also useless.

Really though, they look like they would be so good.
I'm so easily fooled.

Maybe I'll put a Post-It note on my computer..... "Remember the Beet Chips!"

Invasion of the Gourd - and other things...

There is a joke in the Canadian Prairies that says to be sure to lock your car.

If you don't you will find, upon your return, the back seat  full of bags of zucchini.

This might be funny if it weren't true.

Each year I plant one zucchini plant and each year I have enough zucchini for the neighborhood.

It is amazing how many things you can make with zucchini and still have a gunny sack full and you just don't know don't know what to do with them.  

Each year we let them get as large as a football players lower leg just to go "wow, is that one ever big!"

Each year we say, "Let's not plant zucchini next year."

But I always find the seed packet in the seed  bag in the garage fridge and think, oh, what the heck - might as well.

This year I found a new recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

It is very delicious.

Worth buying a zucchini at the store if you haven't grown your own garage full.

This is it.

2 1/4 cup AP Flour

3/4 cup Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Butter

2/3 cup Vegetable Oil

2 Eggs (large)

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 cups grated unpeeled Zucchini

1 cup semi sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup chopped Walnuts

Oven at 350 deg F.

Use a buttered and floured 9 x 13 pan or a Bundt Pan .

Sift flour, cocoa, b.soda and salt and set aside.  Beat sugar, butter and oil till well blended and add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk - start with dry and end with dry.

Mix in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts.

Bake 50 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan and 1 hr 10 min for a bundt pan.  

Dense, chocolately and delicious.

We all thought so but Son #2, who should be a detective, said "there's something in here - what is it?"

"walnuts". I said.

In addition to zucchini I love having a garden full of veggies and fruits.
And as an ex-prairie girl who moved to gardening heaven I grow (or try to grow) everything.
After digging, seeding, watering and weeding ( and complaining that I get no help and my lower back hurts!) here are some of the results of my efforts.

Peas and Carrots. - crunchy and sweet.

I bought a fig twig last year.  This year it produced fruit.  When we returned from our little vacation there were two figs that had ripened.  They were drooping on the stalk and were a deep purplish color.
 I was so excited.
I had never tasted one -  fresh and juicy,  right off the tree.
I bit into it and excitement was replaced with disappointment.

Like the zucchini they are flavorless.
Sweet but bland.
Darn it! I was hoping for something delicious.

Tomato, about a week and a half away from being a toasted tomato sandwich

 Peas, Beets, Carrots and Leeks.

Zucchini Blossom - too big to stuff with goat cheese filling and deep fry.
But there will be more.

Green Gage Plums - Now these are delicious!


But today, instead of making pickles and relish or jams and jellies, we did this.

I love the Okanagan!
  

A Sign - just in time for the Weekend.

I often take things as a "sign" and seeing this today I jumped to the conclusion that I was meant to make these this weekend and so I shall.  

 You may, or may not, hear from me soon. 

Because if they are good.... well, you get the picture.

http://o.canada.com/2012/08/16/summer-sips-blackberry-gin-and-tonic/

Method:

- In a cocktail shaker, muddle the blackberries and lime juice. Fill with ice and add simple syrup and gin. Shake vigorously for about 10 seconds.
- Fill a Collins glass with ice. Double strain into serving glass using a cocktail strainer and its strainer or a mini fine-mesh strainer to prevent the blackberry seeds from going into the glass. Add tonic water and stir gently. Garnish with a few blackberries on a skewer.

Note: To make simply syrup, combine equal parts of water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. Cool before using, It will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Source: Serious Eats via Gwendolyn Richards, Calgary Herald

Photo credits:
Ingredients (with the exception of the tonic water and gin) from Fotolia.com
Tonic water courtesy of Fever-Tree
Gin courtesy of Hendrick’s Gin
Intermezzo Satin highball designed by Erika Lagerbielke from Orrefors

Do as I say, Not as I Do.

Words of wisdom.

Seldom followed.

This past weekend was a cooker in the sun and heat department.

34 deg C  around 100 deg F for those of you who don't Celsius

Great weekend for boating and playing in the water and eating melon and drinking beer

(but not at the same time)

"Did you put on sun screen?"

"Yes, mom."

This question was asked and answered several times over the weekend.

When we got home late last night my shoulders and chest were too burnt and  too sensitive to the flash of the camera to show you a picture but this is similar to how my skin looks.

When I found this picture I also found this recipe - looks good doesn't it?

Red Beets  

http://aromacucina.typepad.com/aroma_cucina/2008/03/red-beets.html

Red Beets
Is there a more pain in the ass tuber? Probably not, and yet, they are still worth the trouble and the red hands and the stains on the cutting board. (And if you eat a lot of them, you pee red, which in the middle of the night, when you’ve forgotten that you’ve eaten the beets, can give you quite a scare.)  But, I digress.

Here’s a flavor match made in beet heaven.

Roast Beet, Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad
2-3 fresh, smallish red beets
1 chunk of good blue cheese, firm and sharp
1 handful of walnuts
2 bowl sized portions of salad greens
Olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper

You’re making a salad, ok, so you really don’t need exact quantities here. You like a lot of blue cheese…add some more. You prefer goat to blue, go for it.

Turn the oven on to 350. Wash the beets, don’t go crazy, and just get off any obvious dirt lumps. Pierce the skin of each beet a few times and put them in the oven, directly on the rack. Roast until soft (not falling apart soft, just resilient soft). When they are cool enough to handle, peel the beets, the skins will just come off without a lot of struggle.  Slice into ¼” thick slices, then cube.  Place the cubes in a bowl with 2T olive oil and a dash of vinegar. Coat the beet cubes and let stand at room temperature until you are ready to serve the salad.

The walnuts. Here you have some more options. You can use half walnuts, or roughly chop the walnuts and serve them like that. You could also melt a small amount of butter to a pan, melt it, add some sugar and then caramelize the walnuts, coating them in the melted sugar and butter.

Crumble the blue cheese.  Make a simple vinaigrette dressing: 4 parts olive oil, 1 part good red vinegar and a little bit of mustard. Some people like a little salt and pepper added to the vinaigrette.

Throw the salad into a bowl and add the dressing, toss well and divide the salad into two serving bowls. Add the beet cubes, cheese and walnuts on top of the bowls and serve. The reason that you need to serve this in individual bowls instead of family style is that you just know your dining partner is going to snitch all the walnuts, or the beets, and this eliminates any bickering at the table. See, I think of everything.

Anyway enough about beets. 

 I was also going to post a picture of fried bacon which my skin also might  resemble but I can't eat bacon and wouldn't have a recipe to include so never mind........

Remember, put on that sun screen!

Rain: liquid water in the form of droplets that causes the Cancellation of Planned Events

http://danielyunhx.wordpress.com

It rained this weekend.

That's because I washed the windows.

And because it was a long weekend.

We had planned a couple of days at the family cabin.

We would be staying in our trailer as the cabin

gets very crowded on long weekends....

.....and our trailer has a potty.

We don't like the outhouse very much.

On Friday, in anticipation of the weekend,  I planted the rest of the vegetable garden and then the boys (who had the day off from school) and myself washed the windows.  

We have a lot of windows (twenty one) for such a small house.

The Husband was at work.

There was a lot of grumbling and whining.  

(and it wasn't all me)

I promised pizza for dinner - thank goodness I can still bribe them with food.

I can't eat pizza (cooked cheese! you are not my friend).

So I had this. 

Vietnamese Chicken and Mint Salad

(it is very good - I think this recipe originally came from Nigella Lawson)

1 chili, a hot Thai chili, seeded and minced

1 fat Garlic Clove, peeled and minced

1 tbsp Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Rice Vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp Lime Juice

1 1/2 tbsp Fish Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 medium Onion, finely sliced 

Black Pepper - to taste

2 generous handfuls of shredded Cabbage

1 Carrot, shredded, julienned or grated
(feel free to add other veg - I often add cucumber or red pepper)

1 handful cooked Chicken Breast - cut into strips

1 small handful Mint - I used half a small handful of Lemon Basil this weekend and it is delicious!

In a bowl, combine the chili, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, onion and black pepper.

Set aside for half an hour or so to let the flavors develop

In a big plate or bowl, mix the cabbage, carrot, chicken and mint. Pour the onion-soused, chili-flecked dressing over the veg and toss so that everything is combined and thinly covered. 

Taste to see if salt or pepper is needed.

Top with a bit more mint (or lemon basil) and chopped chili

This recipe makes enough for two very generous sized salads

It rained all weekend - and then it rained some more.
And it was cold.

The three days were a blur of shopping,  avoiding the rain, dressing warmly, avoiding the rain, staying home, shopping, visiting, no boating, no cabin, more shopping, too many bargains and a debit card that unfortunately was pulled out of the purse too many times and appears to have scorch marks on the edges.
And rain.


Maybe we can go boating next weekend.
Or camping and canoeing!  she thought hopefully........


rain, rain, go away......

Suz, For you - Because I Am a Sharer

From the recipe files of "good lord! how did her thighs end up like that!"

Chocolate Cake

 1 1/2 cups AP Flour

1 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Cocoa

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

 Mix these ingredients together in a large bowl or even the 8" pan that you will be cooking in - (really, it is that easy.)

Combine together the following

1/2 cup melted Butter (I have used oil and it works just fine)

1 tbsp White Vinegar 

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Instant Coffee (this is optional but it does add a deeper chocolate flavor somehow)

1 cup Hot Water

Pour this into the dry mixture and with a fork or a whisk (or any manual utensil) mix everything together

You will initially get some bubbling up like the volcanos your kids made in science class.
This will go away.

Keep stirring until everything is well blended.

If you haven't mixed it in an 8" pan pour the batter into that now.  

No need to butter or flour the pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 deg oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean.  

Cool before diving in. Sometimes I put icing on this and sometimes we just eat as is. 

I use this recipe to make 12 cupcakes (350 - 25 min)  that the boys have been known to sell to the highest bidder during lunch hour at school.  

If you want to make the atrocity that I sent with Son #1 on Friday, double the recipe and use two 8" springform pans, cut each cake in half when cool.  Fill with the chocolate mousse that is used in Black Forest Cake recipes, drizzle ganache and pretty it up with cream cheese filled strawberries.

Chocolate Mousse Filling
Whip one cup whipping cream and 2 tbsp sugar to stiff peaks and set aside.
Combine 3 oz. semi sweet chocolate and 2 tbsp amaretto (optional) and melt.  I use a microwave on power 5.  When melted whisk in 1 well beaten egg.  When this is well blended fold into the whipped cream and set this sit in the fridge for at least two hours before using as a cake filling.
Sometimes when you layer cakes on something this soft and delicate the weight compresses the filling and the cake tips and slides to the floor and you might say a few choice words and abandon the project. (I speak from experience) so follow these steps.
Place one of the sliced cakes back into the springform pan, spread on the mousse and then top with another layer of the cake, top this layer with mousse.  This is the bottom half of the cake
Take another springform pan ring, set it on a cooling rack, place one split layer of the cake in , spread with mousse and top with the other split layer cake. No more mousse - this is the top of the cake and you will drizzle with ganache, or dust with icing sugar or chocolate icing or whatever you like.
  Put these in the fridge to cool and firm up.

Ganache
1/3 cup whipping cream
5 oz. semi sweet chocolate
Heat the cream to just below boiling.  Add the chocolate and stir till melted and creamy.

Drizzle this over the top of the cooled, assembled cake.

Cream Cheese Filled Strawberries

Strawberries, ripe and juicy and as many as you like.
Cut off the tops and hollow out the core

Mix together:
1/2 pkg cream cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tbsp orange juice

 table cream to soften (about 1/2 cup maybe less)
add a little at a time to get the right consistency

Once you have a not too soft  texture fill a disposable piping bag - no tip - and fill the hollowed out berries.  Dip the other end of the berry into melted chocolate, roll in crushed pistachios or cashews and place on the cake or just eat them like this because they are delicious!!

Run 1/2 mile, do 20 sit ups, and hope that bathing suit season doesn't come!


Side Note:   it took long to type out these recipes than it does to make the cake.

Cake Friday

So many bloggers I read have a day where they post on specific topics.

Eco Friday,

Crafting Wednesday,

Kiddos Monday,

You get the gist.

I have Fridays off and spend a good portion of the day baking.

I love baking and I love eating even more.

So I thought of "Foodie Fridays" or" Fat Fridays" or "This is why I can't comfortably wear a bathing suit Fridays"

But then I changed my mind and will stick to "Free as a Bird Fridays'  where I will post, or not, about anything I like.

This Friday I am posting a picture of a cake I made for Son #1 to take to his friends birthday party which is tonight.

He usually takes Tex-Mex style pinwheels but they were so popular that everyone is making and taking them so we needed a switch up.  I've had moms call Sean !!!  for the recipe.
Maybe they thought I wouldn't share.
I'm sure I posted it on this blog earlier.

Focus! Get back on topic!

The cake.

It is decorated with cream cheese stuffed strawberries set on top of chocolate ganache and has chocolate mousse between four layers of dense moist chocolate cake.

The cake recipe doesn't have milk or eggs in it and is one of the best,  no fail cake recipes I have ever used.

So I guess it is a bit of a Food Friday but, oh well.

Just wait till next Friday!
Hope I can come up with a topic other than food.....

Green Goodness

The Husband thinks avocados are nasty - texture, taste, smell, all of it.
Son #1 agrees with him.

Son #2 (my personal favorite - I like him best!) loves avocados.
Just like me.
Mostly we like guacamole, but we like it sliced on sandwiches, diced into salads and this favorite.
Avocado Yogurt Dip

Here's the recipe.

1/2 cup plain yogurt 

I drain my homemade yogurt so that the dip its thicker and creamier but you could use Greek yogurt

2 ripe avocados, peeled, pit removed and mashed (I know they have fat - but it's the good fat)

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 clove garlic finely minced 

1/2 tbsp finely chopped shallot

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper (sometimes I live on the edge and use cayenne peppers)

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Salt and black pepper, to taste
Cilantro - did I say that already?

 Place everything in a bowl, mash with a fork until smooth. You can put this in a food processor if you prefer creamier dip.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Maybe a splash or two of your favorite hot sauce (mine is Tobasco)

 Scrape dip into a serving bowl and serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or cut up veggies.

Crack an ice cold beer as a chaser  because this dip might be too healthy, or too spicy, or just because.

(Son #2 doesn't have beer)

I wonder if an avocado tree will grow in Zone 4?

I have Culture - Live and Active!

This weekend I made yogurt. 

It's not the first time but it has been a while.

It's like making bread.  

When you make it you wonder why you don't always, but in reality, who has the time!

I made yogurt when my boys were toddlers  as I don't trust some of the food producers.
Not all - but some.
 When I read an ingredients list that looks like chemical warfare I don't want my family ingesting too much of that stuff.

 I have found some no-additive products but still, in the back of my mind, I question cleanliness and employee disgruntlement (is that  word? - it should be) 

Where does it start though?
I don't milk  cows - or goat as the case may be .  I buy  milk from a grocery store and perhaps the dairy that the milk came from would annoy me if I were to inspect it closely.

Have you read the ingredients list of a whipping cream container?  Some of them have added cellulose.  Cellulose!  isn't that paper pulp? It's real name is hydroxypropyl methylcellulose.

 My grocer told me it was a stabilizer.

 I didn't buy his whipping cream.

Our government restricts me from buying dairy from the farmer down the road because it might be bad for us. Cellulose (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose)is good for us?
I just wanted whipping cream.

I'm pissed.

I'm writing a letter.  A stern letter.

Here is my recipe for yogurt.
It doesn't have cellulose in it, or gelatin, or artificial sweetener, or sugar, or cornstarch, or color,  or potassium sorbate.
 It makes 5 pints and a half pint to use as starter for the next batch.

Sterilize 5 pint jars, 1 half pint jar and lids .  I usually boil them in a canner.
You will need as well a large heavy bottom pot with a lid, a candy thermometer, a sink 1/3 full of cold water and a small waterproof cooler.

8 cups milk - I use 2% but you can use whole or skim
1/2 cup plain yogurt - that has been stirred quite well
 (this yogurt cannot have gelatin, additives and must be pure, plain yogurt) next time you can use the yogurt from the 1/2 pint made in this batch.
2 tbsp powdered milk - I use skim powder.

Put the milk and milk powder in the heavy pot and heat over med heat with the lid on.  Stir often to avoid scorch.
Scorched milk tastes nasty and, ergo, so will your yogurt - so keep a sharp eye on this!

When the temperature reaches 85 - 90 deg C (185-195 deg F) place the pot in the sink of cold water and whisk in the yogurt starter.  Stir until the temperature reaches about 55 deg C (125F) then pour into the sterilized jars.  Twist on lids finger tight and place them in the cooler.  Add hot water - no hotter than 50 deg C and no cooler than 40 deg C. about 2/3 up the sides of the jars. Close the lid.  Add hot water as necessary - I let the candy thermometer float around so that I can see the temperature at a glance.

  Just a wee bit of information -  lactobacillus (yogurt culture)  won't grow below 37 deg C and will be killed above 55 deg C.

After about 3 hours, remove the jars from the cooler, dry them, tightened the lids a bit, mark the date on the jars and place in the fridge.  The lids will seal and the yogurt will keep for about 6 weeks (if the jars stay sealed) 

Delicious!  but be sure to sterilize pots, stirring utensils and measuring cups

Full Figure Fall

Every fall since I was a teenager I have enjoyed eating as if I were going into hibernation.  Pack on the pounds so that they will carry you over the cold and snowy months to come.  
Unfortunately, unlike the bears and other hibernating animals, I continue to eat throughout the fall and winter months, sleeping as often as possible (don't want to burn off that fat!)

 Then Spring arrives and I am disgusted, dismayed, disappointed.  


In any case, all whining aside,  I love minestrone soup and if it weren't for the bacon, cheese, and pasta this might be a bit of a  figure friendly recipe.






Minestrone

Save the rinds from your Parmesan cheese in the freezer and toss them in to simmer with the soup.

 If you buy blocks of bacon, save those rinds too. Magic.

2 tbsp  Olive Oil

4 slices pancetta or bacon, cut into cubes 

1 Onion, chopped

2 - 3  Carrots, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

2 sticks Celery , chopped

2 tbsp finely minced Fennel Fronds or you can use dill if you don't like fennel

1 1/2 cup  Zucchini  - chopped

1 small bunch Spinach
3 cups canned Tomatoes
1 tbsp dried Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Parmesan cheese rind, if you have one,
If you don't have one you should  go to the store and buy some - you will be glad you did.

2 cups Stock - chicken, beef, vegetable - you choose (or water if you hate decision)

1/2 cup Wine (red with beef stock, white with chicken stock, veg stock or water)

1  can Cannellini Beans, rinse and drain (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup Pasta, Ziti type

Handful fresh basil leaves (quantity depends on your love of basil)
Ingredient quantities and cooking times are flexible - this is soup, not souffle.

Heat pan and add the bacon.  Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook until softened, 10 minutes or so.

Add the remaining ingredients up to the wine and simmer  for 10 minutes.

Add the pasta and the beans and cook at a slow boil for 20 minutes.


 Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkled with chopped basil leaves and large crusty roll covered with cream cheese and a big glass of red wine and sit on the couch with a blanket and a book and  wonder if seconds are in order and discover that Yes! they are.


And, the vicious circle continues.

Are we Too Old for This?

 

Tomato Cheese Tarts

1 package thawed Phyllo Dough

2 - 3 tbsp Butter - more or less - melted

1/2 cup chopped (shelled!) Pistachios

1 package Boursin cheese or herbed Goat Cheese ( 6 - 8 ounces)

1/3 cup crumbled Feta Cheese

1/4 cup Cream Cheese

1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper

 1 pkg Grape or Cherry Tomatoes (I prefer the grape as they are smaller and more bite size)

Sea Salt

Brush melted butter over five sheets of phyllo dough - one at a time and stacking one on top of another.  

Cut the dough into 24 equal sized squares and press one into each muffin cup using a muffin tin with 24 small cups.  

These don't have to be perfect but should be pressed in quite well.  Firm but gentle - just like raising a child. Phyllo rips and tears but sticks together quite nicely when baked so don't stress this part of the recipe.

Bake this in a preheated 400 deg F oven for about 12 minutes until golden and crispy.  Make sure the bottom of the shells are golden and crispy not pale and doughy (like my thighs).  Any over-cooked top edges can be broken off if they get too dark.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and remove to a cooling rack.

Meantime, mix together the cheeses and lemon pepper.

When the cups are cool spoon in the cheese filling, sprinkle with pistashios, top with a  grape tomato in half and sprinkle with salt - not too much as the cheese mixture might be a bit salty depending on the Boursin and feta.  Taste test two or three to be sure you have the seasonings correct.

Put on a Oktoberfest Beer Server costume, take the tarts and The Husband (dressed in Lederhosen and a bad hat) to a Halloween party up the street.

Stay out too late, eat too much food and drink too much beer.

So there will be no pictures of the costumes (probably) and next year's costume will be a 'morning mom' -  pj's, robe, big fuzzy slippers, no makeup, hair in a scrunchie and a big cup of coffee in hand.

No Beer for Me!
and yes, I am too old for this.....

Put the Coffee On - I'll be Over for Muffins...

Apple Sauce Muffins 

1 1/2 cups Flour 

2 tbsp Oat Bran

 (you can leave this out but don't as it regulates blood sugars!)

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 

1/2 tsp Baking Soda 

1/2 tsp Cinnamon 

1/4 tsp Ground Allspice 

1/4 tsp freshly grated Nutmeg 

1/4 tsp Salt 

2 large Eggs 

1/2 cup Brown Sugar 

1/2 cup Butter, melted 

3 tbsp oil 

1 cup unsweetened Applesauce 

1 cup Walnuts chopped – use Pecans if you like 

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Put paper muffin cups in pan.

Stir together flour, oat bran (use it dammit - it's good for you), baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix eggs and brown sugar in a bowl, then add butter, a little at a time, whisk till creamy. Stir in applesauce, then fold in flour mixture until just moistened. Stir in nuts, put batter into muffin pan. 

Bake until muffins spring back when touched, about 25 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.

This makes 12 standard size muffins.

Yum.

Who Says Stuff from the Freezer isn't Good?

Freezer Biscuits

 just under 1 tbsp regular Yeast

2 tbsp White Sugar

1/4 cup Warm Water

5 cups  Flour

3 tbsp White Sugar

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 tsp Salt

1 cup  cold Butter 

2 cups Buttermilk

In a  bowl, stir yeast and 2 tbsp sugar with warm water; let sit for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix flour, 3 tbsp sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter to medium coarse texture.   Stir in yeast mixture and buttermilk, and mix  until dough sticks together. It will be soft and a bit sticky. Flour your work surface, roll out dough to 3/4" thick. Cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2 in biscuit cutter and poke tops with a fork. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once biscuits are frozen, put in a freezer bag (mark what's inside and the date) and return to freezer. Biscuits can be frozen for up to one month. 

To bake, take out number of biscuits needed and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm spot and let rise for about 1-2 hours (pretty vague time requirement!) until biscuits almost double in size. 

Preheat oven to 425 deg F or 220 deg.C , and bake for about 10 minutes, watch carefully, as cooking time depends on thickness and size.   Yes, size matters.

Dining Alone

Both boys had  volleyball tournaments weekend.
The husband and dad did the driving.
He is also in charge of feeding them which was meals from the drive through.
One meal was Subway sandwiches so that's not so bad.....
Better than fries or poutine, I guess.

This was my opportunity to make something for my dinner that not one of them will eat but something that I absolutely love!

Beets and squash, two of my favorite foods.

So this is how it goes together.

1 (2-pound) chunk of Squash (butternut is my favorite) peeled and cut
 into 1-inch cubes


1 pound Beets, (3 or 4) tops cut off, peeled and cut into 
evenly sized chunks



1/3 cup Olive Oil


3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar


1 tsp. Fleur de Sel

 Pepper to taste


1 Tbsp. fresh Thyme 

Crumbled Goat Cheese

Place the squash and beet pieces in a bowl.

Add the oil, balsamic vinegar, fleur de sel and cracked pepper.

Toss well to coat.

Transfer to a cookie sheet and spread out in a single layer.

Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for about 50 to 60 minutes or until vegetables are golden brown and tender.

Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with a bit more olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Sprinkle the thyme leaves over top and garnish with goat cheese.

Season to taste with additional fleur de sel and pepper.

Try to use Fleur de sel in this recipe.  The taste is superb.

Serves 4-6.
  


But I almost finished it all.  


Yum.

My Pail Runneth Over....

...with apples, that is.

I made this on Friday because my apple tree is full of apples.

And because I love to eat.

This is very quite easy to make and really, really good.

This baked thing in the background of this photo is not the Apple Pudding Cake but it also uses apples, is cut into squares and is great in the kids lunch.  One day I'll post the recipe.

Apple Pudding Cake

Step One

2 cups Apples - peeled and sliced
I usually partially cook the apples before using them in the recipe and then I add the following

2 tbsp Lemon juice

1/2 cup   Brown Sugar - packed

(You can add a handful of raisins if you like but I don't because my kids complain)

Butter bottom and side of 9" pan.  

Put apples, lemon juice and brown sugar in a bowl and mix around until apples are coated with sugar.

 Gently press apples into the pan and set aside.

Step Two

1/2 cup  Butter

1-1/4 cups Brown Sugar - packed

1 Egg

1 tsp  Vanilla

1-1/3 cups Flour

1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp  Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

3/4 cup Milk

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Stir into butter mixture alternately with milk, 3 dry additions and 2 wet additions.

 Pour batter over apples; smooth top.

Step Three

1-1/4 cups Apple Cider or Juice - Hot

1 Tbsp Cornstarch 

Heat the cider and cornstarch to just below boiling, either on the stove top or in the microwave.

It doesn't have to be thick, just hot.

Pour over cake batter.  

Do Not Stir. 

Place in a 350 deg F oven and bake for 35 -  40  minutes or until cake is set and apples are tender.

The cider will form a pudding sauce with the apples on the bottom of the cake.

Cool for 15 - 20 minutes.

Serve with Rum laced Whipped Cream
(unless you don't want the kids to get tipsy in which case leave out the Rum.)

This is also delicious with a blob of vanilla ice cream.

This picture is not very good.  It doesn't show the spicy cake, just the caramelized apples.
I was just too excited to begin eating it to take a better photo.


There are leftovers in the fridge - I hear them calling me.....

For People who Hate Marmalade

I love everything citrus - except for marmalade. 

 I find it to be too bitter and too sweet. 

There is also annoyingly thick chunks of citrus peel that are just too intense for my palate.

I have a lot of peaches.  

I made peach freezer jam, sliced and froze pounds and pounds of them to use in smoothies and baking during the winter, gave several boxes to neighbors and the food bank and still had a lot of boxes of picked peaches left.

I complained to my mother-in-law about the over-abundance.

She suggested Peach Marmalade.

 (Yuck, I thought) 

 But to not hurt her feelings I told her it looked good and I would make it.

(After all, I can always gift it at Christmas time.)

The recipe is amazingly simple.

And amazingly delicious.

It is:

5 cups peeled and diced Peaches

1 large Orange

3 1/2 cups Sugar

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Peel and chop the peaches.  With a rasp, grate the rind off the orange and add to the peaches.  Cut the remaining white pith off the orange and throw that in the compost.  Cut the orange into quarters and finely chop in a food processor or blender.  Add the peaches and pulse two times - short bursts - don't puree - leave some small pieces.

Pour this mixture into a large heavy pot,  add the sugar and lemon juice and stir on medium low heat until the sugar has dissolved.  When the sugar is dissolved bring to a full rolling boil and watching closely and stirring often.  Let cook until jam/marmalade begins to set.  You will see it go from runny to thicker and when you hold your stirring spoon up over the liquid you will see that it drips off slower and kind of forms a rounded end to the drip.  The citrus has lots of pectin in it so it gels quite quickly - 10 minutes or so.

Pour into sterilized jars, top with lids and process in a canner water bath for 15 minutes.

It is so good that I am going to make more.  

and some croissants!  I think is would be delicious on a croissant.

Or maybe I should go and paint trim on the house.

Annoyed That I Missed It

Did you know that July 20th is National Junk Food Day?

Well, I didn't  and I'm a bit annoyed that I wasn't alerted.

I'm setting the calendar date-reminder on my phone to remember it for next year.

(along with my anniversary and birthday)

This recipe, which I have not tried but certainly will next July 20th, was one of the suggestions to celebrate National Junk Food Day.

"BTS Shake"

Ingredients:

1 oz. Butterfingers, crushed

1 oz. Twix, crushed

1 oz. Snickers, crushed

9 oz. Vanilla Ice Cream 

2 oz. whole Milk

1 to 3 oz. Bourbon or Rum

(Frankly, I think I'll go for the 3 oz. version)

Directions:

Place all ingredients into large blender. Blend until mixture is just thin enough to drink through a straw. Do not over-mix. Pour into tall glass and enjoy.

"BTS Shake" created by Beverage Director Scott Clime of Passion Food Hospitality.




I can hardly wait for July 20th! 


I can feel the sugar headache already.