Acorn Squash with Frosted Cranberries

Ok. I know it’s been a while. There are reasons for my near-month of silence, though. Christine and I got to skip out on our cooking quite a few times this month, due to a few parties and our parents’ 26th anniversary. Our whole family got sick, recovered, and is now well…oh, and my sister Morgan and I went off to Washington, DC for a weekend. Not that the trip had anything to do with cooking nights, but it did make for a busy month.

Anyway, this week, we had this squash dinner on Wednesday, October 28; we got to change things up a little on Thursday, because it was my dad’s 50th birthday. I know – congratulations to him! My mom made him Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourgignon, which I thought was very apropos. Christine created a beautiful salad, and I mashed the potatoes. It was a joint effort, and the meal was delicious. Positively amazing.

But that’s not what this post is about. This post is going to tell you all about Susie Fishbein’s recipe for acorn squash. Are you a squash fan? I never really was. Then my mom told me that pumpkins are squash. I nearly fell over. You mean PUMPKIN PIE is made out of squash!?!? NO! You must be mistaken. And of course, she wasn’t. That sort of opened my eyes to the wonders of food and the different flavors you can get by adding different ingredients. Butternut squash, we’ve learned, makes great soup. Pumpkins make good pies (and just about nothing else, so it’s good we found something to do with them). Zucchini and summer squash are versatile, and you can do a lot with them in their season. Then there’s acorn squash. They’re big and green, with an occasional blotch of orange. Very interesting. They are also exceptionally hard. You really have to work to get the knife through them.

Susie Fishbein’s recipe for Acorn Squash with Frosted Cranberries, which can be found in her Kosher By Design cookbook, is absolutely *the best* recipe for acorn squash. It just can’t be beat. The squashes are baked for a while, face down, absorbing water and softening until tender. Then we put a little dollop of a brown sugar & honey mixture, which melts into the hollow left by the seeds you remove. Finally, you put a handful of frosted cranberries (those are cranberries that have been boiled for a little while in a simple syrup and then tossed with sugar) into the hollow and serve. Ahhhh. So good. The flavors meld into autumnal perfection. We make this recipe all the time. It’s that amazing.

On the side, we decided to serve risotto. We used one of the Barefoot Contessa’s recipes, but we removed the chunks of butternut squash she had in hers, since we were already serving squash. Risotto, if I haven’t mentioned it before, is a real labor of love. Regular rice can be stuffed in a pot with some water and boil itself away for an hour or so. Risotto, on the other hand, take constant attention and work. The liquid is added a little at a time, so you can never walk off and leave it. But the creamy consistency and incredible flavor really do make up for this. We made saffron risotto, which promptly turned bright yellow. Christine’s comment was, “That’s not a color found in nature. But then again, it is.” Meaning that it looks like Heinz Mustard – very fake – but since the color comes from the stamens of crocuses, it’s actually real. There’s perception for you.

It was about…4:50 (and we were thinking dinner at 5:30) when Christine said something about muffins. “We shoudl make some kind of muffin to go on the side,” she proclaimed. I looked at the clock doubtfully. “Ok…what kind?” I was dubious. Her answer was our mom’s classic Maple Morning Muffins (I think it originally came from Aunt Thelma – not sure about that). I asked if she could mix it up in 10 minutes, and then it could bake until 5:30. We were optimistic about the timing, so we started whisking cheerfully. I did the wet ingredients, she did the dry – we’re a perfect team. We had them ready to go, but our squash was still hogging the oven, which was also at the wrong temperature because of that. The muffins had to sit forlornly on the counter, waiting for their turn in the oven. Dinner had to be pushed to 6:00. But we didn’t feel like failures – dinner is whenever we say it is, anyway.

Then it happened. We pulled them out of the oven, golden brown and beautiful. We let them cool for a minute or so, and then started to put them in our basket. Uh-oh. The combination of gluten-free flour and heat caused them to turn into muffin crumbles and dust. Heartbreaking. We ended up with a napkin full of ice cream topping, if you know what I mean, and no muffins for dinner. THAT’S when we felt like failures.

But that feeling passed quickly, as we tasted the squash and risotto. Wow. They were perfect in every way. And so was the dinner, even without the infamous muffins.

On a scale from 1 to 10: 10.

It doesn’t get better than this, folks. Especially for a cool night in October. You need this recipe (http://www.amazon.com/Kosher-Design-Picture-Perfect-Holidays/dp/1578197074/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256928029&sr=8-1).

Gifting Recipe Books

Image via Wikipedia

We are not only invited to the wedding, but also to the wedding showers. My husband and I are in the stage of our lives where we are invited to many weddings. Our children are planning their weddings and so are their friends. My niece gave me a great idea one day because she called and asked for a recipe.

I love to cook and feed people. Our house has always been the gathering spot for the neighborhood children as well as the friends that our son and daughter made in college. I decided that I would make recipe boxes filled with recipes that I have served over the years.

I was trying to think of an idea for a shower gift that would be unique as well as inexpensive, due to the number of weddings we had in a short period of time. As a result I am often asked for recipes.

I decided that I would have a kitchen theme for the shower gifts. I created the recipe boxes by scanning my favorite recipes into the computer.

This was great because they were hand written without me having to write each one. I then made copies and pasted the recipes onto index cards. I found several different recipe boxes that I liked. Most of them came with blank cards in them. One of the recipe boxes I purchased had a great idea in it. On the sample recipe card it had a list of side dishes and wines that would complement the recipe on the card.

I showed this to my daughter and she agreed that this was a difficult part of cooking for her, knowing what to serve together. I added cards to each box that included menu ideas as well as table decorating ideas.

The first bridal shower was given for twins that were getting married a week apart. They have always been close and had wanted a double ceremony; however one of the groom’s families did not like the idea. I brought the two recipe boxes along with a set of hot pads and wooden spoons for each bride. My sister was at the shower and asked if she could get one of the recipe boxes. I also had several other requests. My idea of making a simple, inexpensive shower gift has developed into a small business for me. I custom make recipe boxes for people as well as selling some generic ones. It is a fun extra income stream.

Read more

Eddie Ross

www.eddieross.com

Our Favorite Home Decor & Entertaining Magazines deconstructed and really Made Available to Us by a Master 

Eddie Ross blog image: A Vegetarian Lunch for six

 Have I been in under a blogospheric rock? Don’t answer that. I have been enchanted with all things Martha Stewart, Traditional Home, Elle Decor, HGTV &c. (you get the similarities) since I can remember. And here in this world, this whole, time has been Eddie Ross. Who is Eddie Ross, you may be asking? Let me answer by saying, “You should also be asking, what is Eddie Ross?” First the who. Eddie Ross is a former Martha Stewart mag staffer, and all around decorator extraordinaire, residential style maker, floral designer and chef de jour. Those glossy magazine pages of perfectly decorated and embellished homes, and current HGTV Halloween block party entertaining and decorating ideas were conceived and created by Mr. Ross. Second, the what.  Eddie Ross is a blog where Mr. Ross gives us a behind the scenes look at the how, where and when those perfectly coiffed images are created. While it makes you lose a bit of hope in your ability to be the perfect decorator/host(ess)  because of all the dispelled myths, Mr. Ross swoops in and saves us. How? He still gives us the ability to learn how to do the most amazing holiday and basic decorating on a budget (i.e. have never read the words “dollar store” so much, or “flea market”).  Let me just close by saying, you cannot miss Eddie Ross…he’s the creative guy in the corner with all the best ideas.

 

Sorakaya Pappu (Dudhi Dal)

Recipe
——–
¾ cup – toor dal (kandi pappu)
1½ to 2 cups – finely cubed bottle gourd (Sorakaya, Dudhi)
¼ cup – coarsely chopped onion
½ teaspoon each (or to taste)- red chilli powder and turmeric
Marble ball sized tamarind

Preparation for popu or tadka
——————————–
1 tablespoon ghee or peanut oil
6 each – curry leaves, crushed garlic
Pinch each – cumin, mustard seeds and hing (asafoetida)

Take toor dal in a pressure cooker. Rinse the dal with water. Add the bottle gourd cubes, onion, chilli powder, turmeric and tamarind. Add about one to two cups of water. Mix. Close the lid and steam-cook until toor dal reaches the fall-apart stage. Then add salt, and coarsely mash the ingredients together.

The dal benefits greatly from my daily vitamin dose, I call “popu or tadka“. Let’s heat ghee or oil in a vessel. Add the curry leaves and garlic. Toast them to pale brown, and then add the cumin, mustard seeds and hing. When the seeds start to pop, add the mashed dal to the vessel. Mix and serve the dal with rice or with chapati.

For a true Andhra experience, mix the dal with rice and ghee. Dip them in pickle or podi. Enjoy.

Big Changes

I’m back in Miami after spending a pretty fantastic summer in Utah. As weird as it was to adjust to being in Utah, the adjustment to being back in Miami is equally weird.

I turned 40, in July, and now know what I want to be when I grow up…..a pastry chef. I just got into culinary school, in Utah, and will be moving back in March. As much as I love/loathe South Beach, I know in my heart that my time here is up, and I’m so okay with that.

I vow to post regularly. There’s some weird shit going on, that I need to get off my chest. I just have a shitty feeling of unease, and I feel that my safety has been compromised. This topic, is worthy of it’s own post. Actually, I have a list of items which all deserve their own posts.

Bobby Flay's Meatloaf

My Dicing Skills on Point

So I’m becoming a big fan of Bobby Flay’s recipes.  The dude is kind of a chief on TV, but the mofo’s recipes have been a hit every time I’ve cooked them.  The latest winner was his Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze.  Yes, the title does make it sound kind of disgusting.

The cooking began with a true test of my dicing skills, and, setting modesty aside, they were on point.  (Guy Fieri lingo rules!)  But beyond the dicing, it didn’t require much skill as this recipe was made for a stand mixer.  This was my second time using the stand mixer, and it did not disappoint.  It took two pounds of meat, a boatload of diced vegetables, a cup of breadcrumbs and ketchup, a few eggs, and some other stuff and mixed it in about 20 seconds.  From there I threw it into a baking sheet, cooked it for an hour, and then inhaled it.

a few things

1. i cooked up my version of this lentil soup last night and it was killer. the only difference was i added some cumin, garlic, and a dash of curry powder. then i topped it off with the saffron yogurt, some lemon and garlic olives, and feta cheese. good stuff.

lentil soup with toppings

2. chickpea looked so cute today i spent a few moments trying to take her picture but she was way too excited about climbing onto me and snuggling in (which is pretty much what she wants to do all day everyday at this stage) so she wouldn’t hold still long enough for a nice picture.

a cutie pea

"mama!" (she realizes i am at a grab-onto-able level)

and here she comes to climb onto me

hope everyone has a lovely weekend.
peace, love, joy, woowoo

Lemons In My Bra

I saw a greeting card once – I believe it was a Maxine cartoon – that said on the front “When life gives you lemons . . .” and inside “. . . stick ‘em in your bra.  Can’t hurt, might help.”  I believe that’s an excellent philosophy.

That being said . . . my front yard is currently occupied by a backhoe, a very large dead bush, a huge pile of dirt, aaaaand . . .

. . . a ginormous hole.

Oh yeah, and no sewer line.

Soooooo . . . When life gives you major construction equipment, dead landscaping, a pile of dirt,  and an 8 foot deep pit in your front yard, and malfunctioning plumbing, make pie.  Can’t hurt, might help.

Mmm . . . pie.  This pie is my very favorite thing to bring to functions like family gatherings and work potlucks to spring on unsuspecting non-vegetarians.  Especially if they’ve said things to me like “I could never be a vegetarian, I hate tofu.”  I’ve been told by coworkers that this is the only item that I’m allowed to bring to work potlucks because they would be sad if I didn’t bring it.  The recipe is from Alton Brown’s show Good Eats on the Food Network.  I make only a few minor changes.

Moo-Less Chocolate Pie

• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup coffee liqueur (I’ve used regular coffee and that works well too.  I want to try it sometime with different flavored liqueurs.)
• 1 block silken tofu (I find that firm silken tofu works best if you have a choice)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 prepared chocolate wafer crust (I usually use a plain graham cracker crust.  If you want to skip the crust and make it more portable, you can just spoon the filling into custard cups.  I also think it would be fun to make little bite sized tartlets using those mini, prebaked philo cups.)

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and coffee liqueur in the bowl. (Melting the chocolate in the microwave also works well.  Just put the chips in a large glass measuring cup with your liquid of choice.  Microwave in short bursts – no more than a minute at a time and shorter as they start to melt – and be sure to stir frequently to check meltiness.)  Stir in vanilla.

Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture, and honey in the blender jar. Liquefy until smooth. (If you use firm tofu, you’ll need to poke at it some to get it all to blend together.)

Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling is set. (If you use firm tofu this step will require more scraping than pouring, but it’s worth it because the finished pie sets up so much nicer after it’s chilled.)

Serve to your favorite tofu-hater if you want to blow their minds.  Don’t tell them what’s in it until after they taste it.  Alternately, tell them what’s in it, watch them turn up their noses in disgust without tasting it, then enjoy the whole pie yourself.  Mmm . . . pie.

Welcome, Se�or Porcus!

Naming our food is a long tradition in my family, starting with Boris the Bull, who I believed would cause my parents’ divorce (do YOU really understand how large a whole steer is? Yeah, us neither…). Last year we bought half a hog and named it Eric. This year’s participant has been dubbed Señor Porcus. No absent referent here!

We picked up our 1/2 hog from Old Pine Farm on Oct. 17th. They have a very nice farm – hogs are pastured with some supplemental feed, not confined to a muddy sty. They are slaughtered on-farm and then sent to the butcher, so there’s no travel stress for the pigs. I feel extremely grateful that we have such a farm near us, and that we can afford to buy our food from them.

Looks like we ended up with about 85 lb of meat (for $300, including cutting and smoking, so somewhere around $3.50/lb). Old Pine Farm is unusual in that they charge a flat price for your hog, no matter what size, and they do not charge extra for cutting and smoking. You get to pick how you’d like your meat cut up. Here’s what we got – showing our strong preference for sausage and pulled pork in this house! My only complaint so far is that the meat is wrapped in Saran Wrap, which I find hard to remove from the meat. Hopefully it will fend off freezer burn – since there’s no air inside the wrapping, it should do that. So long as the wrap is thick enough. We’ll see.

• Loin roast: 10lb in 3 large packages. Wonder if we should have gotten this sliced into chops?
• Shoulder roast: 20+lb in about 10 packages (will become pulled pork)
• Bulk Sausage: 18 one-pound packages
• Smoked kielbasa: 10 – two to four links per pkg
• Ground pork: 6 – 1.5 lb packs
• Bacon: 5 lb in one-pound blocks
• Smoked hocks: 8lb in 2 hocks
• Ribs, pork butt, other misc: 8lb
• Plus about 5 pounds of soup bones and 5 lb of fat for lard
• The tail, the bladder, and possibly the squeal for the Cooking with Laura Project, which I will get to in a few weeks

This filled 2 large coolers and a paper grocery bag; it takes up about 2/3 of our tiny 7cu ft chest freezer and close to half the space above the fridge.

I think this was a steal for $300. I think prices are going up for next year, and they will be worth it.

Chocolate recipes

Cream Filled Chocolates

It may take a little longer to whip up a batch of cream filled chocolates because the chocolate has to be tempered first, but that little extra effort is certainly worth it.

If you follow the instructions for tempering, you will love the results.

You may also like to try these buttercream candy recipes, too.

Chocolate Dipped Candies

Whether you are dipping nuts, fruit, fondant, or caramels into melted chocolate, these recipes will help you design a chocolate covered treat that is a winner and that your whole family will enjoy.

You may even want to get creative and drizzle a contrasting melted chocolate on top for added eye appeal (White on dark, dark on milk, etc.). Let your imagination soar!

Chocolate Fudge

Some people wouldn’t classify fudge as candy. Chocolate fudge happens to be one of my all time favorite luxuries, so I couldn’t bear to leave it out. It has that melt in your mouth richness that you can savor with every bite.

There are quick and easy microwave fudge recipes as well as old fashioned slow cooking fudge creations that are assembled on the stove top. Both methods produce results that are hard to keep around, at least at my house.

Molded Chocolate Candy

Chocolate candy made in molds can be especially fun for kids. They can make a variety of different designs without too much trouble.

Chocolate candy molds are also really great for favors at parties, showers, and other special events. With these recipes for chocolate candy molds, you can change the flavor by adding your own preferred flavored oil.

Chocolate Peanut Brittle

I love peanut brittle, but when you add chocolate it takes on a whole new dimension.

Try some of these chocolate peanut brittle recipes for something a little out of the ordinary. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results, I’m sure.

Additional Homemade Chocolate Candy Recipes

There are plenty of different kinds of chocolate recipes from which to choose. You can try some of these to get started:

• basic chocolate candy recipes
• white chocolate recipes
• dark chocolate recipes
• chocolate toffee recipes
• chocolate peanut butter recipes
• chocolate peanut butter cups
• chocolate peanut butter marshmallow cups
• chocolate peanut butter balls.

For the holidays you can check out some other extra special recipes:

• Christmas recipes
• Valentine’s Day recipes
• Easter recipes

Which homemade chocolate candy recipes will you choose?

Gather your supplies, assemble the tools of the trade, don your apron, and choose one of these homemade chocolate candy recipes. Let’s get started! The sooner we get done the sooner we can sample!

 

Got A Scrumptious Homemade Chocolate Candy Recipe?

Do you have any tried and true homemade chocolate candy recipes? PLEASE, please be so kind as to divulge them to the rest of us chocoholics. We just can’t get enough

Sloppy No’s

I used to use the Boca version of soy chuck and a pre-made canned sauce to make this so when I saw The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Cooking used pinto beans I had to try it.

I mashed up pinto beans, oat bran, nutritional yeast, amino bragg, and molasses in a bowl and added them to a skillet with sautéed onions with tomato paste, oregano, chile powder, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

I served the Sloppy No’s on wheat bread with a little bit of shredded vegan cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. They were pretty good, not too spicy and the pinto beans added a very unique spin to the usual taste of Sloppy No’s.

DIYDS: Crab Rangoon

Welcome back to another installment of DIYDS (Do It Your Damn Self)! A series where I share DIY tips to save you money while still staying gorgeous.

To me, deep fried anything is a comfort food. And who doesn’t love comfort food? It’s good for the soul yet bad for the arteries, but it’s great to indulge once in awhile. I made some crab rangoon for LB boyfriend and me to scarf down eat while watching football.

Crab rangoon is a fried dumpling filled with cream cheese, crab, and scallions. Many Chinese restaurants serve this, but the filling is usually lacking in crab meat (it’s also not an authentic Chinese food). That’s why I love making them myself, I can stuff all the crab I want into it! It’s a pretty rich snack, but so yummy and so easy to make, it’s stupid, haha! You can make a bunch for a party or a little bit just for yourself. Here’s how to make it!

What you’ll need:

• Wonton skins. 1 package is more than enough, trust me. These can be found at most markets nowadays, but if not, try your local Asian market (if you have one in your town).
  • If the market is out of these, you can get the larger egg roll/spring roll wrappers and cut each sheet into four even squares. It saves time if you cut 3 or 4 sheets at a time. Just use a very sharp knife to avoid snagging and ripping the dough.
• 8 oz. of cream cheese (neufchatel cheese works also)
• Lump crab meat or imitation crab meat. I actually use imitation quite often as it’s much more affordable. The amount is really up to you. If you want it really meaty, add more crab. More cheesy? Use less crab.
• Chopped scallions. Again, the amount is up to you. You can leave it out all together, if you like.
• A small bowl of water to “glue” the edges of your wontons together.
• Vegetable oil for frying.
• Sweet and sour sauce or Thai sweet chili sauce for dipping. These can usually be found in the Asian foods section at you local market.

Note: 8oz. of cream cheese is enough to make anywhere between 30-40 pieces, depending on how much you fill each one.

What you do:

1. Put the cream cheese in a medium-sized bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes to get it nice and soft.
2. Once the cheese is softened, add your crab. You can chop it up into small pieces with a knife, or just crumble it in with your (clean) hands. Then, add the scallions and mix it all up with a small spoon. Filling done!
3. Time to fill em’ up! Spoon a small amount of filling in the middle of your wonton skin. Try not to put too much filling in so it won’t pop open when you fry.
4. Using your finger, wet the outer edges of the skin and fold it diagonally, into a triangle, to seal it all up. You can leave them as triangles or make them into little “bunches” as shown in the pic. To do that, just wet the two farthest ends of your triangle and fold them together. There’s your little crabby, chessy bunch!
5. Fill and fold ’till you have your desired amount.
6. Heat up your oil and fry ’till golden brown. If you don’t want to deep fry, you can just fill a pan with a little bit of oil and fry one side at a time. Be sure to flip only once to keep from getting soggy wontons. Also, don’t crowd the pan to help keep the oil temperature from dropping too much. That also causes soggy wontons.
7. Drain your golden, fried wontons on a towel and let them cool for a bit.
8. Grab a bunch on a plate, add the sauce on the side, or just pour some sauce right over the wontons.
9. ENJOY!

See? Told ya it was easy. Let me know how it turns out if you try this!

Friday's fun

Wow, so today I got to welcome William, Tessa and Emily into the world, and there is still another babe on its way. Its been rather hectic, but good. I do enjoy this whole Happy Birthday thing, its such an amazing privilege to be a part of such a special day! I just wish that babies came during office hours!

Last night was cooking club, as I mentioned. We were served a bacon, avo and roasted onion salad, served with a creamy chilli dressing. This was followed by deboned lamb loin, roasted with a pistachio and herb crust, served with lemony roast potatoes and fresh green beans. Pudding was a rather heavenly chocolate moussey ice cream – divine, I loved it! Charlie did the wine duty last night, and he looked after his wife well, with some Boekenhoutskloof Chocolate Block inter alia.

Anyway, its back to work for me, babies wait for noone!

Bread in five minutes a day. Honestly.

I took out Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day from the library over the summer, and have been working on perfecting the basic boule loaf ever since.

I think I’ve got it now. And now it really does take me five minutes of active work to make the dough, shape the loaf, and stick in the oven. At first it was sticky mess that took waaaaay longer than five minutes, but now the recipe lives up to it’s name.

Now, onto bigger, more complicated things. Because, you know, I just have to make things complicated. I’m a Martha, not a Mary, remember? Busy, busy, busy.

I have been following the blog of the authors of Artisan Breads, and am thrilled that they are coming out with Healthy Breads in Five Minutes a Day at the end of this month. Just in time for my birthday, I told my mom. She thought it was kind of funny that I wanted either a bread baking book for my birthday or kettle bells & a kettle bell workout dvd. Carbs or weights. Yada yada. But that’s another story.

So… I have been noticing some new recipes on Jeff & Zoe’s blog and was drawn particularly to their Garlic, Chard, and Parmesan Bread. I love swiss chard and had a ton in the garden, but never got around to making this during peak harvest.

I picked the last of the chard this past week, but was a little insecure about bringing more chard over to our neighbors for dinner (and particularly end-of-the-harvest- chard), so I opted to use some bagged baby spinach I had on hand. I’ve been somewhat addicted to spinach this pregnancy so there’s always some around here. I also opted to use the bread dough that I had in the fridge, which is the basic boule recipe (found here) and I used the cheese I had on hand. Part Skim Shredded Mozzarella and some romano cheese. I don’t like parmesan much and Keith would eat the kind that’s in the green tube without flinching. Yuck. Thank goodness I do the grocery shopping around here. We’re a romano cheese kind of family.

Mmmm. It was delicious! I enjoyed a slice, but left the rest of loaf at the neighbors, or else I would eat it all. And THAT would negate my spin class workout, right?

Plus there’s enough temptation coming out of the oven on a regular basis over here anyways.

How to make your children love you more than life itself.

It’s easier than it sounds, just five simple steps and here’s a heads up: caramel. But wait, there’s more! You can also simultaneously ease your guilt for not doing more home-baking for your family. I’ve tried it before, believe me it really works.

Step 1. now this one requires the most effort, so get it out of the way first – you need to go the supermarket and purchase ready made pastry cases (small) and a tin of top & fill caramel.

Step 2. open tin of caramel. Warning- you will at this stage be extremely tempted to lick the lid, careful, it’s sharp!

Step 3. with some kind of kitchen utensil, fill each pastry case with caramel.

Step 4. decorate – you can use just about anything you have laying around, given that it’s edible. I try to stick with tasty ones – nuts, ginger, sliced banana etc. (this is where it turns to healthy:)

Step 5. feed to your children after school (directly following shouty days works best) and watch their smidgy little eyes light up with yumminess and adoration!!!

Believe me, children will go nuts about your cleverness at inventing caramel and will love you for all eternity. Certain children have even been known to spontaneously hug, praise and even do chores for their wonderous mothers in the hope of  earning future serves of gooey caramelly goodness.

Thanksgivings

Hello My Love,

 I am terribly sorry for how long it’s been since I last wrote.  It has been an extremely difficult time these past days.  My last letter was the night before Caia’s 2nd birthday, her first without you, and though I was still reeling from the emotions next day I had planned to write you that night and share some of the day and the photos, but a new ordeal began.  I received a tremendously hurtful message and I unfortunately allowed this person’s condemnation and judgment challenge me on my decision to write and on the content of what I have written.  I questioned myself.  I tortured myself going back over the old Caringbridge posts from shortly before you died (though most of them I couldn’t read in their entirety as it was too painful).  It was all incredibly upsetting.  I know writing in this forum opens up the possibility for things like that, but I think if it was a random stranger it would have been easier to take.  I didn’t imagine that someone I had once felt close to would intentionally be so hurtful at a time like this, and for what?  But, in the end I decided that I need to write.  People who don’t like it don’t need to read it (and if they read it anyway, they don’t need to send hurtful messages).  I write for myself, and for my girls.  It may be ridiculous, but I feel like I am writing to you and it gives me a small sense of peace, which can be very hard to come by these days.

 It has been incredibly busy with our full schedule up and running.  I sometimes have a hard time keeping track of what’s going on from one day to the next – I need to find a way to be more organized, as it’s tougher keeping up with the house now too.  I’ve fallen asleep on the couch the past number of nights (another reason it’s taken me some time to write again) as it seems my body has just given up on staying up late.  There’s so much to do, and still so much gets left undone.  It’s funny how, though I always talk about how much you did around the house (because you did a lot), we really were a team and we worked together.  There were jobs that we just naturally each took on, without any real discussion/argument.  I ‘usually’ was the one to unload the dishwasher, for example.  Even though I used to do this job 95% of the time and it never bothered me, now that I know I’m the only one to do it – I can’t stand it.  Likewise I’ve found with a number of other jobs that were primarily mine.  I guess it’s also because there are so many ‘new’ ones added to the list, but it’s funny how I’ve come to hate jobs that I used to have no problem with. 

 I’ll get to Caia’s birthday in a moment, but in the days following that (aside from the afore mentioned added grief) I had to finalize my application for the Aspire program and submit it.  The following Saturday we went to the fall fair at Eibhlin’s preschool.  It was a fundraiser for a new playground they want to build.  It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time.  At first I was so busy keeping up with them checking everything out, but when we finally sat down for a bite to eat and I looked around the playground, I saw all these dads playing with their kids, and I felt a sudden pit growing in my stomach.  It’s hard.  It was close to Caia’s nap time anyhow, so we packed up and left.  The next day (Sunday) we went to visit with your parents.  I had to work in Vancouver on the Monday, so we came a day early to see them and spend the night. They looked after the girls for a few hours on Sunday while I went to Catherine’s for a massage and a visit with her.  It was SO great to see her, the massage was awesome, and we shared a few laughs and tears about you as well.  On Monday your parents looked after the girls while I worked, and they had a long walk at the bird sanctuary and went to the pumpkin patch.  The rest of the week seemed to fly by – on Wednesday night we had another parent’s meeting at the preschool and I managed to sit through all of that one.  Yesterday we went to a birthday party and were invited to stay through dinner, which was really nice, and this morning I had my parents over for a waffle breakfast and then we went with my Mom to the annual fair at Quality Farms. 

 Caia’s birthday ended up going as well as can be expected I think.  Caia woke up beside me and spotted the photo I had framed for her almost right away.  She looked at it so lovingly, and clearly enjoyed looking at the other photos from her birth as well.  It’s so hard to believe you have been gone for almost a quarter of her life now.  I made the girls pancakes for breakfast, then Sian picked up Eibhlin for the music-preschool run and my Mom took Caia to the grand opening celebration at Cedar Grove for their new playground.  After I was off work, we went to my parent’s house for dinner and presents.  Caia was very excited for the day, and that was one thing that kept me going and keeping it together – there was still something to celebrate about the day – but I could physically feel the effect of missing you throughout the day.  My stomach felt almost nauseous and my head felt ‘spinny’ for much of the day.  After dinner we all headed back to our house to have Buz, Sian and the boys over for cake.  I managed to get through the singing and blowing out of candles without turning into a blubbering mess, though it took a lot of deep, calming breaths before and after.  It was an ice cream cake from IGA.  It was good, and of course it made me think of the ice cream cake you made for Eibhlin’s 3rd birthday . . . . (though you probably don’t want me to remind you – but it tasted SO good, regardless of how it looked!).  I couldn’t help but notice that when all the pieces were handed out, there was one piece left on the platter, and I decided that it must have been yours (though I still ate it the next night).  It was only after the girls were in bed and that the tears came.  I lay down on the couch and felt like I had just run a marathon.  My whole body felt weak and still had the light headed and nauseous feeling.  You were definitely a part of the day, but it hurt so much to have you absent. 

 The week to come should be another busy one.  I have orientation at the preschool on Saturday so I can do the parent duty days, and I also need get a doctor’s signature and arrange to do an observation day this week so I’ll need to adjust my work schedule around that.  On Friday I have my presentation for the Aspire program, and I should find out that afternoon if I’m in or not.  I’m obviously hopeful to get in, but it will be good to know either way so I can try to make more arrangements in advance for when the program starts if I get in, or figure out what I need to do otherwise moving forward. 

 Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  I had really wanted to write something hopeful and post about the things I am thankful for – because they do still exist, but at the same time I didn’t have the best day today, and Thanksgiving was always one of our favourite holidays, so it’s again really hard to miss you on this day.  I loved the fact that it’s not a ‘hallmark’ holiday.  It’s not for gift giving.  It’s not about big characters bringing things for kids.  It’s just getting together with the people you love and sharing a wonderful meal, and being thankful for what you have.  And we no longer have you.  You always loved being a part of the cooking – whether you did the whole meal at our house, or if you helped out wherever we went, you loved having extra people to cook for and were amazing at putting together big, delicious meals.  You even made brussel sprouts taste delicious (something else I must have picked up from you because I made some pretty decent ones the other night).  It was fun just watching you in the kitchen on a day like that.  So busy and focused, but you managed to have so much fun too.  When people would inevitably come and ask you questions about how you did something and why, you would always take the time to explain it.  When you would taste something someone else made, if they asked for suggestions you managed to find a gentle way to offer something helpful without offending them.  It was easy to see why you were such a good teacher.  The kitchen will seem awfully empty tomorrow.

It was also three years ago this weekend that we moved into this house.  I still remember that first night here so clearly.  It had been a long day, we were pretty tired from the move, but when we finally got to lie down on our mattress on floor, we couldn’t hear anything but the crickets.  It was so quiet and peaceful, and we just had the sense that we had made the right decision to move here.  It felt so right.  We looked at each other with big smiles, and knew that the other was thinking the same thing.  We were thankful.

 Now, though it is hard I still am thankful.  Thankful for our home (though it often feels so empty at times).  Thankful for our two little girls who I love so dearly.  Thankful for my family and friends who have somehow managed to make this experience a little more bearable (which says a lot more than it sounds like . . . ).  Thankful that I’m finding a way to creep forward and make the days as best as they can be for the girls and me.  And most of all I’m thankful for you.  For the life and love you gave me. 

 ~Chelsea

 P.S.  I Love You

Recipe: Cheesy Cheese Scones

Although the recipe made six scones,
there are only five in the photo because we had to taste one!

In continuance of my Domestic Goddess-ness, I have decided that I should really learn to bake as it’s the one big area of cooking that I have never mastered.

Today, out of the blue, I suddenly had a hankering to make cheese scones. I’ve always loved them and have never made them myself, so I had a quick look online and found a simple recipe on BBC Food for which I already had all the ingredients. I then modified it just a teensy bit because I like really, really cheesy scones. So, the final recipe went something like this:

Cheesy Cheese Scones
Prep time: 10-15  minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

This recipe is very easy to multiply if you want to make a larger batch – 1 part butter and 1 part cheese to 2 parts flour, a large pinch of salt and then add milk to make the soft dough – so you don’t even have to weigh the ingredients if you’re in a hurry!

Ingredients (makes 6 scones):
225g / 8oz self raising flour
Pinch of salt
55g / 2 oz butter
55g / 2oz finely grated strong cheddar
150ml / 5fl oz milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven (or in my case, combi-oven) to 220C / 425F / GM 7
2. Lightly grease baking sheet
3. Mix together flour and salt, then rub in butter
4. Add the cheese and then gradually stir in milk with a metal knife (I used my Grom’s trusty “chop-chop-stir method) to a soft dough
5. Flour a work surface, turn out the dough and knead very lightly
6. Pat into a round approx. 2cm / ¾” thick and cut out rounds with a cutter (I used a glass – it worked fine!)
7. Lightly knead together the remaining dough, pat down and cut more rounds till all dough is used (I had to shape the last scone myself without a cutter)
8. Place scones on the baking sheet and brush with a little milk
9. Pop in the oven for 20-25mins or until scones are golden and well risen
10. Cool on a wire rack
11. Serve with butter and ENJOY!

The verdict on my first ever attempt at scones, cheese or otherwise, was a solid two-thumbs-up – they were scrumptious! (Agreed by myself, Dale and Xander.)  As I used all the flour I had left in the kitchen to make these, I shall have to get some more next weekend as I am definitely making these again.

And as this was such a positive (and lip-smackingly delicious) experience, I have decided that each weekend I will attempt to bake something. Eventually I hope to get round to baking a cake from scratch – then I’ll be able to cross that item off my list of 50 Things To Do Before I’m 50!

someone else's chicken, con't....

Day 2: Sandwiches

After the dishwasher has done its work, I chop up some of the dark meat from someone else’s chicken and make chicken salad for sandwiches.

My add-ins change, depending on what’s in season or what I have on hand.

Traditional Chicken Salad

- diced chicken

- diced red pepper  (or roasted red pepper)

- chopped green onions or celery

- olive oil mayonnaise

- 1 T of sour cream (optional)

- salt and pepper

Indian-Inspired Chicken Salad

- diced chicken

- sliced grapes

- diced celery

- olive oil mayonnaise

- ¼ – ½ tsp. curry paste or powder

- salt and pepper

Stir together and load onto sourdough toast. And then, eat it quickly before someone else discovers how good it is.

By now, you might only have a bit of chicken left on the bones. I have plans for those bits and bones, too. Stay posted…

Chilli-con-Carne in the Rice Cooker

Still very cold, so after soup yesterday and with family round for dinner we figured a nice bowl of chilli would go down well with everyone.   Rather than messing about with pots, pans and keeping an eye of stuff as well the chilli was cooked in the rice cooker during the afternoon with us safe in the knowledge we could just leave it to one side on “Keep Warm” to let the flavours build and develop until we were ready to eat…

So how was this enterprising dish made in our trusty Cook Japan rice cooker…

…first, using the “Braise” mode we cooked the onions and garlic…

…then in went the mince and some of left over ox cheeks we had from yesterday that didn’t make it into the soup…

…with the meat nicely browned, in went some tomatoes, kidney beans, cheeky grating of chocolate, a glug of wine, salt and pepper, and some good old chillies and seasoning to give it that nice kick you want on a cold evening.

The rice cooker kicked into “keep warm” and it was left like this for about 5-hours until we were ready to eat dinner.  All that was left to do was make some rice in our other rice cooker (yes, we have 2 of these divine appliances), get out the bowls and chow down…

…with a couple of cold beers, what more could you want on a cold evening…

…and the best part is there’s a good healthy portion left for tomorrow when the flavours will be even richer – time set the rice cooker for a quick 10-15 minute cook cycle and then leave it on “keep warm” until ready to eat at lunch…

Ossie Beck

About:

While pursuing Pre-Med at the University of Santa Barbara, Ossie Beck enrolled in acting to balance the intensity of his biology and chemistry courses. Originally intending to be a
pharmacist, Ossie instead found early success in business as a Senior Consultant and ultimately became Employee of the Year for International Dairy Queen. But it was not meant to be. He soon left his soft-serve life to pursue another melting passion – acting.

Upon his return to his native Southern California, Ossie studied acting in Los Angeles with Margie Haber, Lesly Kahn and at the Odyssey Theatre with Ron Sossi. He is also an Alumni of the World Famous Improv Olympic. Ossie’s preparation met the perfect opportunity when he was hand-picked from a World-Wide search by Steven Spielberg to Co-Star in the film MUNICH.

What’s Ossie up to these days? He’s back from entertaining thousands in Spain, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Malta for the last 6 months. It’s an ironic twist of fate…exactly three years after Ossie was there for filming MUNICH and it’s also the birthplace of his grandparents(Greece). He also recently finished producing THE MIKADO PROJECT. The feature film version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s original play. He is currently developing the feature film KAIFENG – check out www.kaifengthemovie.com. Ossie has a new Sitcom coming soon! The very funny television adaptation of the book SCREENING PARTY by Best-Selling author Dennis Hensley is complete! The 2008/2007 Emmy Winning Production company is meeting with major networks now.

As Seen On:

“Alamo Poker Tour”, Cooking with Chef Robbie”

Video:

Steamed Eggwhite Fantasia!

Immediately after last week’s Frittatas, I have started to plan for this week’s cookery. It was just so quick when I’ve came across the idea of making something about eggs, steamed but tastes like if the eggs are boiled. I was planning the recipe on the day when I’m having Frittatas at work, and heard about my partner’s idea to put some broccoli. This is it, the idea started t0 shape up in my brain: A layered steamed egg, with mostly egg whites!

I think that’s hard to imagine what the dish will be at last, so you can just think about eating boiled eggs with a twist:

Ingredients checklist to make one serving:

• About 4 eggs, in which to extract their egg-whites, and keep only ONE egg yolk.
• 1 piece of bacon (I prefer to choose one with less fat)
• 1 small portion of Cauliflower
• A pinch of salt
• 1/4 portion of tomato
• A piece of  chive (for garnish)
• Just a little bit of olive oil

Prepare the following equipments:

• A wok or a “pot” that will fit some water, your glass cup and a riser in.
• A glass you prefer (preferably one that can see-through)
• A metal riser (to be sit in the wok for steaming)
• A pan
• Chopping board
• A few bowls.
• A timer

Click here to check out the photo gallery.

With every thing’s ready, we would begin to spark the fantasia by the eggs first. You will gonna need only ONE egg yolk, while keeping all the egg-whites. To do so, beat the eggs slightly to create a small hole on top, and tilt the egg slightly to “pour” the egg white out, hold the egg yolk up until all the whites are out, then you’re free to let go the yolk as well (to another bowl, actually I would prefer to sit the yolk in a tablespoon, which will make things better go later).

Keep doing the same for all other eggs, and let them sit for later use.

Now turn to the tomato and cauliflower. It’s simple as you only need to do one thing to them – chop it, as fine as possible. Once done, sit them in another bowl for later use. Then do the same to the bacon, cut it roughly into about 1cm x 1cm pieces.

When the bacon is ready, heat up the frying pan with olive oil, and chuck the bacon in to stir-fry it until it’s golden brown. Turn of the heat and leave it there for later use (again).

It’s time now to make the real thing, fill some water into the wok, get the riser in and start the heat until the water is boiling. Get your glass up and fill about 1.5 cm of egg-whites in, it’s a bit hard when you use a spoon to scoop the egg white, I found that it’s easier to get the egg white if you pour it.

When the water in the wok starts to boil, and your glass of egg white is ready, just put the glass in, close the wok-lid and let it steam for about 5 minutes. (Set the timer now man!)

5 minutes later, turn off the heat and open the lid (beware of the steam, it’s hot!!), carefully get the glass out (with a cloth as the glass is also extremely hot!). Now the egg white should be really in white colour (otherwise put back to steam for another 2 minutes). Scoop all the bacon in(sans the excess oil, you’d not like so much fat, right?), just on top that cooked egg white. Then pour another 1.5 cm layer of raw egg white into the glass, turn the heat on and put the glass back to steam for 8 minutes.

The whole process thereafter is same, do the same thing again and again for the remaining tomato, cauliflower and the rest of egg whites, with some salt added. So the layer break-down should be like this (from bottom to top):

1. Egg White
2. Bacon
3. Egg White
4. Tomato
5. Egg White
6. Cauliflower
7. Egg White

If at any stage you found the egg white has not turned opaque yet, just put back to steam for 2 minutes or more, until it’s turned white colour (this is important, you must make sure the egg is cooked every stage otherwise you’ll have food poisoning fantasia when you eat!!)

Okay back to the track, when the rest is cooked, you are then ready to put the egg yolk in. Your egg yolk should be ready in a table spoon, and all you need to do is hold-up that spoon, and slightly “slide” that egg yolk into the glass, right on top of the last layer of egg white. Steam for 10 minutes.

After that, the egg yolk should look cooked (remember if you don’t feel like the thing is cooked through, just chuck it back to steam for longer, and keep checking it). Then you can put chives on for garnish and steam one more time for 1 minute.

Lastly you can get the thing out of the steaming wok and just let it cool down a bit. You’re then ready to enjoy this fantasia!

That Fish Guy

Every summer, dozens of young men make the pilgrimage to Alaska to try their hand at one of the most physically demanding professions around: salmon fishing the pristine waters of Bristol Bay.

It’s a one-month season full of long hours, heavy hauls and soggy gloves, but those are some of the things Ryan Cruze fell in love with when he took his first fishing trip in the summer of 2008.

“My friend had been fishing up there his entire life and, when he took control of his own boats, he invited me up,” Cruze said. “He knew I could handle the work, and we spent the summer operating two net sites for Sockeye salmon.”

Operating out of Nugashak Bay — an area that plays home to the world’s largest salmon run — Cruze and his fishing companions use nets as opposed to fishing line to troll the entrance of the bay’s major tributaries for Sockeye before they return to their natal stream to spawn.

After his second season in 2009, Cruze returned to his home in Denver, CO with 100 pounds of fish for family and friends. The fillets disappeared out of the cooler within days of him stepping off the plane, and people were clamoring for more.

“I couldn’t even hold on to what I had,” Cruze said. “I knew I wanted to invest in something with the money I made fishing, so starting a business to sell the product I was already dealing with made sense.”

After tossing around some ideas and logistics with his girlfriend, Cruze came up with the concept of selling fish door-to-door, and “That Fish Guy” salmon delivery service was born.

 “Fishing in the wild taught me a lot about how we as consumers contribute to the sustainability of the area,” Cruze said. “Supporting Alaskan fisherman, as opposed to fish farms, is crucial in regards to protecting the environment, supporting the local economy, and allowing future generations to enjoy the natural resource coming from the sea.”

Although farm-raised fish accounts for 90 percent of salmon sold in the US, it doesn’t come without a price. A 2004 report done by Science magazine found that there were “significantly higher” amounts of contaminants in farmed fish as opposed to those caught in the wild, and some farms even feed fish synthetic pigments to give their flesh the deep red color associated with how wild, fresh salmon should look.

But those in and around the Denver area no longer need to worry about where to look for quality, because a quick call to That Fish Guy is all it takes to get fresh “Red Gold” delivered straight to your freezer.

“Everybody needs a fish guy,” Cruze said. “And, now they got one.”

Prices:

 2lbs fillet……………………..25.00

22.5 pound box ……………300.00 per box

Restaurant cost available

Those interested  can call Cruze at (970)485-1123.

The Best Part of Team Building

For corporate team building, I suggest Seattle team building cooking events hosted by the parent corporation. The members of the corporation’s core teams will be put into groups, each using their own existing skill sets such as innovation, organization, and attention to details while having fun and learning new culinary skills at the same time.

The best part of a San Diego cooking party is that you don’t need prior cooking experience. Each participant assists as much or as little as they want to. However, the goal is to promote a cooperative effort to produce the tastiest cuisine. Working together is really the only way to accomplish that if each team is given a time limit.

Ideally, the company conducting this competitive cooking teambuilding exercise will provide the food, chefs, non-alcoholic drinks, the equipment, and the clean-up afterwards. You provide enough employees for 2 or more teams of eager participants who will have a terrific time learning new cooking skills, building relationships with co-workers, and eating the results of their efforts. If not, you can always go back to the boring team building exercises like trust falls and personal sharing time.

Mitch Peders

October Challenge

Are you ready for another challenge?
This month, the challenge is to cut out hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils for 7 days. Check your labels, you might be surprised to learn what foods contain these oils.
Partially hydrogenated oil is the same thing as trans fat. The problem is that a lot of packages claim 0g of trans fat per serving, but it really is anywhere from 0 to .49g. The FDA allows the manufacturer to claim 0, if it is less than .5. Well, half a gram doesn’t sound bad, does it?
Let’s think about it this way, though. When was the last time you just ate 1-oz. of chips. If you have a scale, try weighing out 1 ounce. It isn’t much. Most of us eat more than one serving of most foods at a time. The manufacturer makes that serving size so small so that they can hide how much trans fat and/or sugar the item really has. So, then you are really eating possibly 1.5g of trans fat, every time you enjoy those chips. Studies show that even 2 grams of trans fat a day are dangerous.
If you normally cook with Crisco, use butter instead. Butter is a very healthy fat. It has had such a negative connotation for far too long. Click here to read about that.
Click here to learn more about hydrogenated oils.
I will check back in at the end of the 7 days and report my results. See you then!

Christmas in October?

Meet Mr. Lumpybear.  He’s a few hours work and it shows.  Mr. Lumpybear gets his name because I did a terrible job stuffing him.  Otherwise he turned out pretty cute.

The sequence of photos together was my first official Photoshop project.  Please don’t ask me how long it took to figure out how to add an image or even MOVE the image once it was there! >.<;;  Back to Mr. Lumpy.  I’m planning my gifts for Christmas and thought it would be pretty fun to hand-sew some ornaments for my family.  Since we’re a small family, I think I’ll be able to manage.  My goal this year is to not buy any “retail” items.  You know, the typical dvd or cds or gift cards that people watch, use or listen to one time.  I hope that by taking the time to make the items, my family will take the time to cherish them!

On another note, I thought I’d put up a wonderful Mulled Cider recipe to go along with my Christmas-y post.  Its from a good friend of mine whom I call my Queen Skank.  Enjoy it!

Mulled Cider:

4 qts Apple Cider                                                                     1/2 cup Fresh Lemon Juice (about 2 lemons)

1/2 cup sugar                                                                          1 1/2 tsp whole cloves

1 cup Fresh Orange Juice (about 4)                                            2 large cinnamon sticks

Lemon and Orange Rind (optional)

Heat 2 qts cider with other ingredients, simmer 10 minutes.  Strain out cloves, cinnamon and rinds.  Add into 2qts *cold* cider.  Serve warm.

Skitzy thought: Serve this at a potluck or family gathering in a crock pot to keep it nice and warm!  Also, thanks to Cameron from Cottage Industrialist for her encouraging comment to my first post here on Skitz with Scissors!

New Dog. Old Tricks.

I learned a new skill this summer.  Well, new to me.  Women have been performing this feat for generations and I finally finally joined them.

While in Colorado this summer my mom and I intended to empty her freezer of the bags of gooseberries she has been saving to make into jam.  However, neither of us knew how.  And we were both two emotionally spent to figure out how to learn.
When I came home I begged my friend, canning pro Lisa, to teach me to make jam.  It took me a solid month to pick berries AND show up at her house the same day but I made it just before the last of the berries disappeared.  It was a snap.  And fun.  And I went home with 6 piddly jars.  My kids have been begging for blueberry jam but I couldn’t handle opening what I had just barely sealed.  Mean huh?

My mom came to visit so I sent my husband off for a bag of peaches and I pretended like I remembered what Lisa taught me.  And viola!  6 piddly jars of peach jam.  This time I was smart though.  I kept out half a jar unsealed.  Sort of smart.  It was gone in 3 days. 
I sent my mom home to can those gooseberries and I sent my husband back for more peaches.  This time I managed on my own with a houseful of kids and only an hour to spare.  Turns out making jam is one of those things I should have been stuffing into my life all along.  This last time I was REALLY smart.  I managed to eek out 8 jars plus a BIG jar for the fridge.  My husband wants to know when I’m taking all 14 jars off the counter AND how long they last.  Can’t say on either account.

Another option sometime I’d love to try – a LOW low sugar, no pectin version of blueberry jam from Orange Flower.