So very …

My life over the last year and a half has been so very, well actually … very. I don’t have words to describe exactly how it’s been. Very love-filled. Very fairy-tale-like. Very exciting. Very transformative. Very different. Very new. Very much unexpected. I fell in love with an old love. I moved to a new part the country. I got married (something I thought would never happen). I went to Paris, Firenze AND Amalfi, Italy (something I truly thought was only a dream!). My life is blessed.

For most of my life, as a single woman, I was blessed with many things. I have had an abundance of truly good friends who are more like sisters. I have a family who loves each other, despite our differences and failings. I never went without things but money was something I did not have a lot of. If I needed something I had to budget for it and there was no guarantee I would be able to get it. Buying the latest, greatest of anything just wasn’t an option. I bought clothes at thrift stores, discount stores or I went without.

My new life hasn’t changed how I buy but it has changed my ability to buy. It’s a change that I’m still not accustomed to and hope never to be. I’m thrifty because it’s smart to be so but it is nice to have options and access to quality rather than, “it’s better than nothing”.

So now I’m living a new life. I’m searching for my place in this new life. I’ll be searching for a job, a church, a social life and a place to contribute in my new community. I have been on this journey for a year now but for the last year I have focused on learning how to be a wife, homemaker, wedding and honeymoon. The reality is I don’t know where I fit in here in Elizabethtown but I’m gonna have to find a way to do it.

And now for something completely different which is actually food related.

I went to Italy for my honeymoon. I learned how to cook pasta. Wow. The. Best. Pasta. Ever. Bucatini. I also learned just how much better food is when it’s FRESH. All the restaurants served fresh food, freshly made pasta, bread, sauces, seafood and meat.

Bucatini – it’s a like a fat spaghetti with a whole in the middle.

Now I’m on a quest to buy this type of pasta here in the states. I also may actually try to make some pasta. It’s so much better when it’s fresh. Also, Guinness tastes so much better in London than it does here. Maybe that’s just a psychological affect or maybe it’s really better.

I’ve wondered also whether this blog is a good thing, helpful thing, interesting thing, needed thing. What makes my blog worth reading when there are literally thousands of food bloggers out there doing this much better than I do? Ultimately, I do it as an outlet. As a way to have a conversation when there’s no one else to talk to. I don’t know what the end user experiences (those few that I have). I can’t see it from there eyes. I like to think I have an affinity for writing and communicating things I know about. The one thing I know most about is cooking which is sadly not very much. I’m learning as I do this. I’ll hopefully inspire someone else to either learn to cook or to step out in life to do what they know how to do. Just like most people, I want to have a positive affect on this life and do something worthwhile. Maybe this is a way for me to do that.

Home Grown!

I grew these on my back deck and I can’t wait to make some guacamole with them.

There is something very satisfying about growing your own food. I am less tempted to let home grown produce spoil in the fridge. I just wish my tomatoes and peppers would all ripen at the same time. This is the fourth tomato I’ve harvested. They are very sweet and mild. Yes, I have tried to eat raw and by themselves. My stomach still rejects it. So, I’ll cook with them and I’ll get the nutrition another way. The peppers are very spicy hot. In fact, I should probably use gloves with them because last time my fingers stung for days after chopping them. I suppose I’m gonna make some guacamole with these. I just wish I had some of those avocado’s cousin Julie grows.

Boredom is a bad thing …

During this prolonged unemployment I have been challenged with ways to keep busy, stay useful, and sane. There are any number of things I could be doing with my time besides setting on my ass watching TV, surfing FB, Pinterest or any other internet based time waster. Frankly, I can’t with a clean conscience turn the TV on during the day. It depresses me and saps any self-esteem I may have.

Instead, I could be mudding the bonus room we’re trying to finish. It’s tedious, dirty and I’m not very confident in my abilities. I can clean this house, again. I tire quickly of dusting and I should do it at least once a week but I usually only get the energy for that twice a month. We have carpet and even though it’s the bane of my domestic existence (well isn’t that a pathetic thing to say?) I manage to vacuum it twice a week. Oh how I yearn for hardwood floors.

What I have been doing is planning the wedding. Designing wedding programs. Shopping online and at the store I’ve learned to hate, Bed Bath and Beyond. I could literally never step foot in that store again. Ugh. I should have registered at Lowe’s and Pottery Barn. Oh well, hindsight you know.

I have also been baking. Now that’s exactly what a soon-to-be-bride absolutely should be doing, right? Ugh. It fills the time and it tastes good. Last week I got it in my head that I needed to make Italian Peasant Bread so that I could then make some proper French toast. HA! Yes, that’s exactly what I needed to do to fit into a tight wedding dress. Oh, good grief! I found a fabulous recipe online by this professor at a college. His directions were very thorough and impossible to follow. So I adapted them for my own use. The bread did in deed turn out beautiful. This picture was of his bread, not mine but mine was equally beautiful.

Pane Rustico – Italian Peasant Bread

And if this wasn’t enough trouble to get into, last weekend, upon seeing some apples in the fridge, I thought, “Hey those need to be used! Make a pie!” Yeah, not a great idea.  I put it together anyway and by Tuesday night, D and I had it all eaten. Pie, pie, I love pie! It was so very tasty!

I didn’t tell him until after he had a few bites down.

My D is not a fan of veggies. Oh, he’ll eat any veggie I put in front of him . . . if it’s fried.  He will eat broccoli, salad and the occasional green bean without the batter or cheese but that’s about the limit to his culinary range. Needless to say, I cannot be frying veggies every day and quite frankly, to me, that’s kind of a sacrilegious thing to do to a perfect summer vegetable. I, on the other hand, can eat almost all veggies, except for turnips and beets, eww. So last night I thought I’d test his mettle completely with black bean and mushroom burgers.  I researched several different recipes on the internet and most of them were some variation of the same thing. Curiously, my favorite cookbook, Cook’s Illustrated, was completely devoid of any meatless burger, which was highly disappointing. Anyway, I’ve made veggie burgers before with broccoli, carrots, zucchini and they are delicious but very time consuming.  However, I had never attempted a bean version. What I came up with didn’t take long at all. In part, because of my food processor, well actually . . . now that I really think about it, because of my food processor but not everyone has one so if you want to you can do it all by hand. I’m certain this recipe could be tweaked in a million ways depending what tastes you want at the time. I made mine with an Italian bent but they would be wonderful with curry or Spanish flavors. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to go make some curried burgers with goat cheese and mango chutney. I suppose I should use lentils in that case, huh? **Note to self: Add lentils to your grocery list.

So, here’s what I used:

1 small onion
1/2 medium orange bell pepper (any color will do)
1 large garlic clove
1 carton mushrooms (crimini or white)
1 can black beans
1 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard (I love Trader Joe’s)
1 tbsp tomato paste
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp chopped parslay
a pinch of salt
black pepper to your taste

The first thing you’ll want to do is rough chop your onions and pepper then throw them in the FP (food processor) with the garlic clove and finely mince. Pour that mixture into a large mixing bowl. Next, put the mushrooms and black beans (rinsed) into the FP and chop until finely minced, then combine with the onion mixture. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined (you may need to use your hands).

Make into patties (about six) and before pan frying them lightly dredge them in flour and Italian breadcrumbs. Cook until browned then place in the oven for 10 minutes with goat cheese on top to melt.

Yum.

I served these with couscous and kale sauteed with bacon, onions and a farm fresh egg (just like Granny used to make). It was so good I may make this every night.

Black Bean and Mushroom Burger with warm goat cheese served on Couscous with Kale sauteed in Bacon and Onions and Egg.

When in doubt … just ask mom!

I’ve been trying to make cole slaw. I’ve gone to my favorite places and the results were, well, less than wonderful. Yesterday I just called mom and finally got what I was looking for. Cole slaw so good I could seriously eat all of it in one setting. In the past I have made my own version of Asian slaw, which is fabulous, but I wanted to branch out and try something different. I’m not sure what the heck I was thinking. I love moms. It’s just the right blend of creamy and tangy without being too mayonnaise-y. I didn’t write down what I did so this is from memory. Just futz with it till it tastes the way you want it to.

Blend together until you get a nice consistency, like say, melted ice cream.
3 tbsp mayo
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

TASTE and modify as you like or need

1/2 of a small cabbage, finely chopped (I use my fancy new food processor!) but you can do it all by hand VERY easily, I promise!
1/4 of a small red cabbage, finely chopped
3 good sized carrots

Put it all in a bowl and stir till it’s all evenly coated. Try not to eat it all in one setting. Good luck.

Things I’ve learned recently …

I was recently able to spend some time back home in Kansas City. Going home after moving away proves that it’s harder to move away than I imagined it would be. Driving around the city just made me realize how much I missed the streets and buildings even. It’s a security blanket type feeling I imagine. I’m a highly social person (or so I thought) but I’m having a difficult time finding a social network in this small community. It may be I’m not trying hard enough.

Anyway, while I was home I had a conversation with my friend Trisha who is a faithful reader of my blog (thank you dear!). She is the one who was mystified by the pie weights I received as a wedding present. First of all, she was amazed I actually make pie crust from scratch. Second, she couldn’t imagine what the hell pie weights were and how in the world  they could be used. Needless to say after explaining how they are used to prevent a par-baked pie crust from bubbling up and burning, there were some lewd references and jokes made and much laughter was had. But I digress … she and I were discussing my blog and she felt that my recipes were too lengthy and complicated with too many ingredients. I suppose that could be true. If someone doesn’t like to cook then the fewer ingredients and the less time actually spent putting food together is important. For me however it’s about creating something and sometimes that requires more effort than others. I did agree to try to do more simple things for those who think less is more.

In that vein I present a BBQ Dry Rub for chicken or pork. It’s so easy and so tasty you won’t believe it. And of course, I found this in Cook’s Country magazine (from the people who bring you Cook’s Illustrated). The BEST magazines and food knowledge sources for every level of cook, hands down. I made it their prescribed way several times before I started tweaking it with my own ideas. It’s particularly good with a touch of Vietnamese* Cinnamon and Mace … but not everyone has these in their cupboard and I suppose that may be complicating the thing more than Trisha would approve of. That’s the joy of cooking. You can make it as easy or as challenging as you like … you just need to know what you like!

Ingredients
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground mustard
2 tsp chili powder (I use chipotle pepper powder – you can use what you have on hand)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne powder (or more if you like it more spicy)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Mix all these together, pat the pork or chicken dry and coat it with half of the rub. Let it marinate for and hour or two (or not – your choice) then before you pop in the oven or grill, use the rest to re-coat. When doing chicken I use bone in and bake at 400 for 30 min. For pork steaks or chops, I bake at 350 for 20, flipping at the 10 min mark.

Voila! Easy, peasy, mac&cheesy!

* You can use what ever cinnamon you may have in your cupboard. I have recently discovered the most amazing Vietnamese variety and let me tell you it is worth hunting down. It’s so much more fragrant and vibrant. Yum-mee!

Smoothie health … it’s not pretty.

My father says that my very first word was pretty. He says he was holding me in his arms and showing me a picture on the wall. Apparently, I repeated the word “pretty” when prompted. He likes to say that it was befitting because I was so pretty. Father’s are biased you know.

One thing I know for sure is, my smoothies are not pretty. They look quite tasty when you blend banana’s, blueberries, cherries and blackberries. It’s when you add the four cups of chopped kale that dramatically alters the appearance. It ends up being a thick, brownish-green sludgy looking mess. I tell myself that these drinks are making me healthy. They certainly do have a “cleansing” effect on my digestive system. Wow! I drink them regardless because it’s really challenging for me to get all my green’s consumed like I’m supposed to.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

You can’t judge everything by it’s looks. It may not look tasty but it is. Not, chocolate cake good … but good.

The parable of this story is, “You have to do things that seem onerous at first but the benefits and results make life so much richer.” Oh well, some crap like that. I don’t know. What I do know is I want to be healthy when I’m at the retiring age so that I can enjoy my life without pain and discomfort. Choosing this over chocolate cake, fried chicken and Cheetos will hopefully pay off.

Or I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Anything is possible.

Naan and all things Indian, I love it!

Indian food is amazing to me. The intense heat, the complex spices and the subtle sweetness to balance it out just thrill me. I wish I could make all of the complex dishes I love at home. I confess however, that I don’t know enough about them to understand the names of dishes let alone all the necessary ingredients. In fact, I could probably count on my hands and toes the number of times I’ve actually eaten at Indian restaurants. Kansas City has one in particular that was a favorite of mine. Korma Sutra is in mid-town KC and it was there that I discovered my love of okra, roasted goat and samosas. Honestly, there isn’t an Indian dish I’ve tried that I didn’t enjoy.

I have made a few impromptu curry dishes with just the basic curry powder and coconut milk. They are good and many people I’ve served them to have complimented me on them. They are in no way authentic or do they compare with the fabulous dishes I’ve had at restaurants. The food creates a picture of India for me that makes me yearn to visit. How can food which tastes so good not come from a fascinating and beautiful country?

I have a friend from Mumbai who would tell me she thought I could handle visiting India above many of her other friends. In part because I do love the food so much but also because I am accepting of cultures and have an adventurous spirit. I hope that’s true and I hope some day to find out. After seeing the new film, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” with Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and a myriad of amazing British actors, I’m certain that I could not only endure the vibrant odors, colors and culture but relish it!

So, what’s this all about? Well, yesterday I took a second stab at baking Naan (leavened flatbread). Several years ago I attempted to bake some and read the recipe wrong, adding a tablespoon of salt rather than the recommended teaspoon. This time I rigorously adhered to the recipe (well I did tweak it a bit). My efforts were successful, even if I do say so myself.

Simply beautiful!

I used a different recipe this time, one that I knew would be fabulous from Ruth Reichl’s “Gourmet Cookbook”. I have made many of the recipes from this book and every one of them is wonderful. Ruth was the editor of “Gourmet” magazine until is was shut down last year. All of the recipes in the book are the most successful recipes from the magazine.  They have been tested and used and perfected. It’s my second favorite cookbook, buy it if you can! I bought it when it was first published for over $30. You can now buy the same book at Amazon for $7 – $8. Wow.

So, anyway, here is the recipe. Keep in mind that I modified the recipe to exclude the poppy seeds.

Naan
Leavened Flatbread with Mixed Seeds
NOTE: The Indian leavened flatbread called naan doesn’t require a traditional tandoor oven; a pizza stone works well. It doesn’t need to be restricted to an Indian meal either; it’s delicious with leg of lamb or a vegetarian dish with a smidge of cumin or curry powder.

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar {I used honey}
1 tablespoon warm water (105-115 degrees)
3-4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons black poppy seeds {I didn’t use any}
1/2 cup warm whole milk (105-115 degrees) {I used non-fat buttermilk}
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt, at room temperature {I used Greek non-fat}
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten (room temp)
1-1/2 teaspoon mixed seeds, such as nigella seeds, sesame seeds, and/or white poppy seeds {I didn’t use any}
Kosher salt for sprinkling {I used lavender sea salt instead – If you can find it, get it! It’s the most amazing herb to cook with!}

NOTE ABOUT SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: A baker’s peel is an especially helpful tool for inserting dough onto the pizza stone. I don’t own one so it was a bit tricky getting the very pliable dough onto the extremely hot stone without burning myself but I made do with two wide spatulas.

Stir together yeast, sugar, and water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Sift together 2-1/2 cups flour, salt, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon black poppy seeds into a large bowl. Stir together milk, yogurt, onion and 2 tablespoons of butter in another bowl. Make a well in the flour mixture, then add yeast mixture, milk mixture, and egg and stir until a soft, sticky dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding just enough of remaining flour to prevent dough from sticking. Form dough into a ball, transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Place pizza stone on oven floor if using a gas oven, on the lowest rack if using electric (remove other racks in either case), and preheat oven to highest setting (500-550 degrees F). Allow about one hour to preheat stone. Flour two or three baking sheets.

Once dough has doubled, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into quarters. Roll out each quarter with a floured rolling pin into a 1/8-inch oval about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide. Transfer to floured baking sheets, cover with kitchen towels, and let rest for 10 minutes.

If using, stir together remaining seeds into a small bowl.

Transfer 1 dough oval to a well-floured peel. Brush top of oval with about 1/2 tablespoon of remaining butter and sprinkle with one quarter of the seeds and kosher salt. Line up far edge of peel with far edge of stone and tilt peel, jerking it gently to start dough moving. when edge of oval touches stone, quickly pull back peel to transfer loaf to stone (do not pull dough back). Bake until edges are golden brown and bread bubbles (top will be an uneven golden brown), 5 to 6 minutes. Keep naan warm, loosely covered with foil, while you bake remaining loaves, one at a time, in the same manner.

NOTE: Baking these w/out a peel is dangerous! Be careful and DON’T burn yourself, please.

Enjoy this amazing bread.  Since I didn’t have an Indian dish to serve this with I just made a goat cheese spread using my favorite curry powder. Simple, easy, and YUM-MEE!

Carrot Cookies with Orange/Lemon Curd glaze.

You’ll be missing out if you don’t use lemon curd in the glaze! So yummy!

It doesn’t seem possible that any cookie could be good if it doesn’t have chocolate in it. For years though, my mother has been baking my favorite cookies. They are cakey, moist, light and absolutely delicious. You might think they’re like carrot cake but they are not. These have a glaze on them that sends them right over the top! I tweaked the recipe slightly the last time I made them and it worked out great! I’m not sure I can even describe them properly. You’ll have to make them. Here’s how:

1 cup softened butter
1 egg + 1 yolk, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

First, shred two or three carrots into a small bowl and cook in the microwave in five or six, 30 second intervals or until soft. Set carrots aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Using a mixer, combine sugar and butter and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and yolk and vanilla beating until very light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Add cooled carrots and combine until just mixed. Finally, mix in the flour and mix until thoroughly combined. Spoon cookies onto baking sheet and bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.

While the cookies are baking put the glaze together with 1 cup of powdered sugar,  2 tbsp orange juice and 3 tbsp lemon curd. Mix well and top cooled cookies with as much or as little as you like. Lemon curd is optional but oh, so tasty!

It’s my moon Daddy.

It’s my moon Daddy!

When I was a girl my father and I used to have “date” nights. He would take time every now and then to spend time with just me. Many times we would simply take a walk at night to star gaze and dream together about the future. I would tell him about the six grandkids I would provide for him and he would tell me about being a boy and the kinds of games he used to play or jobs he had. Many times, when the moon was full, we would set on our front porch with our legs dangling and argue over just exactly who the moon belonged to. I would tell him that when I was born God and given it to me and he would tell me that it was still his and I wouldn’t get it until he said so. We would go on like this until he eventually caved and would say, “Yes, yes … you can have it, I gladly hand it over to my little girl.”

Needless to say as a grown woman now I understand the gift my father was really giving me.  He may not have been able to give me all the latest and greatest toys, clothes or gadgets but he gave me the moon.  He instilled within me a wanderlust for the truly big things in life. As it turns out I didn’t give my father six or even one grandchild. The future had other plans for me I suppose. I don’t think he minds so much because all I have to do is call him when the moon is full and remind him about our night time excursions. He falls right back into the rhythm of the conversation and the argument starts all over again.

It’s because of these memories that I truly cherish the moon. I can set and stare at it endlessly. If I had the opportunity to travel there, I would go in a moments notice. It’s mysterious, calming, creepy, comforting and always a dream. Tonight is the so called, “Super” moon, when the moon is closest to the earth during it’s annual trek. I most certainly feel it’s effect. I’m feeling anxious and homesick but the moon soothes my troubles and makes everything just a bit easier. I’m so thankful for those special moments with my father. Because of them I inherited the moon.