Category Archives: Cooking

A Holiday Dinner

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In our family, Valentines Day is a family affair. My husband started the tradition because he wanted to do something special for all the women in the family and it became a couples event. There is much planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, and baking that takes place.

We get out the good dishes. There are decorations, and flowers.

And of course there is cake made from scratch! This one was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

The menu was:

Homemade potato vegetable soup with heavy cream

Marinated salad with cucumber, olive, onion and other delights

Flank or tuna steak from the grill with reduced mango sauce

Fettuccine

Asiago Cheese Bread

Carrot Cake

Occasionally a guest joins our family to partake of the fun. Sadly, this year was an adults only event since my nieces were sick. We didn’t get to see them in their matching tights with hearts on them. We did have three guests of the canine persuasion in addition to our own so it was still an exciting event.

Fresh Bread

Cooking, Country Life,

I have been enjoying baking bread. It is such a heartening cold weather activity. It is good for the palate and the soul.

There is nothing like slicing a piece of bread while it’s still warm from the oven and melting a pat of real butter on it. That is all. The yeasty simplicity needs nothing more.

Tomorrow when it’s day old, will be the time to have it toasted and drizzled with honey.

This particular loaf is whole wheat. And there is enough dough in the refrigerator to make a second loaf later in the week. Something to look forward to mid-work week.

Random Gifts

Cooking, Country Life,

It’s that time of year. This was yesterday’s harvest from our vegetable garden. We get this much every second or third day. There are zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and turnips. We also have basil plants that are the size of shrubs.

We are fortunate to have such gifts from the garden. I have already made two batches of zucchini bread. One year we had so many yellow squash that I used them to make scads of muffins for grandma’s 90th birthday party. No one realized they weren’t zucchini muffins.

My coworkers will soon be gifted with vegetables. In fact, if you see me coming, you may want to keep your car windows up, lest you return to find produce on your seat!

Valentine Blessings

Cooking, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,

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Valentine’s Day is a family event for us. And what a blessing our family is. My husband cooks a dinner for all the women in his family. The men of the family are allowed to tag along too.

This year was a five course dinner. Two soups, a salad, entrée, and chocolate layer cake. All from scratch. I was allowed to make the bread sticks this year. That was nice because I got to hang out in the kitchen and we talked while while I kneaded the dough and rolled out the bread sticks.

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This year we had my husband and myself, his mother, our daughter and her boyfriend, and my brother, his wife, and their little girl. We had such fun! My niece saw the cake being frosted in the kitchen and her eyes got big. She kept wanting to know when it was time for the cake and announced “I like cake”. A girl after my own heart.

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And nothing at our house is complete without the animals. Here Morty inspects the flowers which were courtesy of my mother-in-law. In addition to our four dogs we also had Coco the Corgi.

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I hope that each of you had a Valentine’s Day that contained as many blessings as ours did! Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends.

Simple Things

Cooking, Thoughts On Life, ,

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Sometimes the simplest things can make me so happy. One of those things for me is to have leftover pancakes for lunch at work as I did one day this past week. The pancakes I had this time were blueberry oatmeal chocolate chip.

My lunch made me smile that day. I think that it is good that small things can make me happy. That means that I am happy more often than if only monumental things could make me happy.

May your joy be great and your pancakes be plentiful.

Creative Cooking

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My method of cooking is rather creative, especially when it comes to vegetables. I rarely have a recipe and often don’t know what I will make when I get started. I begin with a few ingredients, generally whatever is ready in the  garden,  and the dish just sort of takes on a life of its own.

That’s what happened with the dish above that I made for lunch recently. I noticed that some turnips were ready for harvest so that started the base for my dish. I washed off the dirt and peeled a turnip then I chopped it into matchsticks and sliced the greens from the top. The matchsticks went into a nonstick skillet with a little butter. When they were partially cooked, I added the greens and sautéed a little  longer. When this was nearly cooked, I added some leftover corn from a cob and diced up a tomato that was laying around. Add salt,  pepper,  and some garlic powder and voila! A feast fit for a king. Or at least someone with a fine appreciation of vegetables.

Zucchini Dish

Creative concoction number two for the week is seen above. The zucchini are finally ripe! Oh happy day! Get out your aforementioned nonstick skillet and melt the butter. No margarine for us. We do often use olive oil instead of butter but the first harvest of vegetables merits the use of real butter. Wash the zucchini, cut off the ends, and quarter it. Cut the quarters into slices. Of course how you choose to cut the zucchini depends on its size. Mince some fresh garlic and lightly brown it in the butter. Add and saute the zucchini until nearly cooked. Then put in quartered baby Bella mushrooms and saute slightly.  Add previously cooked corn, removed from the cob. Season with salt and pepper. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with lid and turn off heat. Return to eat in about five minutes when cheese is all melty and delectable.

Cooking can be fun because it is a science, an art, and a way to nourish yourself all rolled into one. I  encourage you to grab some things from your garden, or local farmer’s market, and create something new and satisfying.

Baking and Friends

Cooking, Thoughts On Life, ,

Peanut butter Frosted & Filled Cupcakes I made a batch of cupcakes this evening. They are one of my signature creations. The cake is a delicious chocolate fudge. The filling is a creamy peanut butter concoction. And the frosting is buttery, creamy peanut butter as well.

Said cupcakes are all packed up and ready to go to work in the morning. We are having a party at work. A combination cook out and retirement celebration. So these cupcakes are a gift to share with people I care about. We are a close bunch at work. Especially those of us who have worked there together for a long time. I have been employed at this same place for over 28 years. So although not too many have been there as long as me anymore, I have known some of these people for a long time.

Long lasting friendships and bonds have been formed. In years past when it was a smaller crew, we hung out together and had gatherings just because we liked to. There were also numerous times when these folks were there for me when I needed them. Two different bosses (read as friends) helped me move on two separate occasions. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Friends from work came through for me on so many occasions. Those bonds run long and deep.

Some have since retired. I miss having the pleasure of seeing these old friends on a regular basis. But the bonds are still there. Last month I got a call from a couple of these friends out of the blue. I hadn’t seen them in a few years. They packed up and moved to Florida when they had the chance. A married couple that both worked here at one time. (Hi Kenny and Kathy!) This is one of those instances when Facebook is a wonderful thing. The wife had been reading my blog on Facebook and decided to give me a call. When we were done talking she handed the phone over to her husband. I’m glad that she did. What an enjoyable opportunity to catch up with both of them!

Sometimes I see other retiree friends around town. It always gives me that feel good feeling to experience the connection that is still there. Some of the best and longest lasting bonds need not have continual contact.

Gifts of Patience

Cooking, Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings, Thoughts On Life, , ,

Cherries

I seem to find opportunities to build the strength of patience all around me lately. I think this might mean that I am cranky and impatient. Never the less this gives me the chance to work on this virtue.

Our family was very fortunate this year to have the largest crop of cherries that has grown in the almost 12 years that we have lived here. You can see them in the basket. We think that they are Queen Anne cherries or a similar variety. They are heirloom and organic. Not to mention delicious. It took three of us 20-30 minutes to pick this many cherries. Now I must have the patience to seed all of these cherries and make them into a pie. At least this has its own rewards!

Service Berry Pie

It also took a certain amount of patience to pick all the berries for this service berry pie. As I stood in the puddles of rain water from our continual storms as of late, I was swarmed by mosquitos. I knew if I wanted the pie that this was my only chance. The berries are only on the trees for a short time before the birds eat them all. This took patience, and swatting, to finish the job. The prize was worth it. It was the first time we had enough service berries to bake a pie. It tasted like a cross between cherries and plums and another unidentifiable but heavenly flavor.

Friends

I had a chance to exhibit patience last evening as well. On a therapy dog visit to the care facility as we sat and conversed with our friends there was one lady who was telling tidbits from her life. She shared with us the fact that she had a dog named Trixie who was like a member of her family. She shared this great revelation with us about 10 times. To be honest it didn’t take much patience for me to listen to her repeat the tale. It made her so happy. And we never ran out of things to talk about or had that awkward silence. She could always tell me about Trixie again. I would want someone to show me the same kindness.

Gracie and Zoey

(Picture of two past foster dogs, Gracie and Selah, now in a loving home.)

And when I got home last evening I called a lady that I was told needed some rescue help with her dogs. It turned out that she did not think she needed help from rescue. She had found help in the form of two young people to assist her with day to day dog care. I pray she is right. But I listened to her tell me about their bloodlines starting 30 years back. And various animals she had rescued over the years. Not to mention information about her fantastic memory and other information about her family. This was all well and good. That lady sounded lonely and was in need of an ear to bend and  to share her troubles. It gave me time to practice my skills of patience. And keep a good rapport and the lines of communication open on the chance that there is ever a day when those dogs do need us.

So the easier times of having patience to do unimportant things like pick fruit to make a pie, are training for things of consequence like improving lives. Lives of dogs and lives of people. Rescue work is multi-faceted.

The Versatile Grilled Cheese

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I love the many faces of the grilled cheese sandwich. It is such a versatile food that can be prepared in so many ways. Above, you see it on Italian bread made with Muenster cheese and freshly sliced avocado. It was the most delightful thing I had tasted in a long time. And it was only a lowly grilled cheese. But it had been elevated to new heights.

The first consideration in making one of these sandwiches is the bread. Which one to pick? Oh, so many choices. I tend to prefer the “white” breads for this use. Not just your squishy store brand white bread though. I prefer something like a crusty Italian, French, sourdough, olive oil, ciabatta, or some other bread with a nice texture. Wheat bread is not my favorite for grilled cheese but it will do. The texture of the wheat interferes with the overall sandwich for me.

The next decision is what cheese to use. There is always good old American cheese. This is my last choice. One of my favorites is Muenster. It is mild but with good flavor and oh, so creamy. The various cheddars are also good bets. New York White, extra sharp, medium, or mild, excellent choices all. Brick, farmer’s cheese, provolone, mozzarella, these are all good to use. Although I like the taste of smoked cheeses, in my experience, they don’t melt well. If you want to use a smoked cheese, I would add a little of it with another type of cheese. You get the smoked flavor but still have the “meltiness” of the other cheese.

At this point you may have everything that you want in your sandwich. Not me. I like to put in extras. Thinly sliced onion is the most basic choice. Other add-ins that I might use are the afore mentioned avocado, alfalfa sprouts, sliced tomato, or fresh spinach. I also enjoy grilled cheese with jam, a nice raspberry or strawberry is good. I thought this sounded odd the first time I heard of it but it is delicious.

When getting ready to grill the sandwich, melt some butter in a non-stick pan and coat one side of each slice of bread with it. I like to then sprinkle the buttered bread with some garlic powder (except for the jam version) and grill on a medium heat until it turns that beautiful golden brown color.

Plate it up, and then enjoy!

New Food Invention!

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I came up with a new recipe this evening.  I call them Mexican Egg Rolls. They were delicious. Gather the following ingredients.

  • Oil
  • Fresh garlic, minced
  • Onions, diced
  • Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, small amount of thyme
  • Green Cabbage, finely shredded
  • Fresh Spinach, finely shredded
  • Pepper – green, red, orange, or yellow, diced
  • Sharp Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
  • Large burrito wrappers
  • Cut up shrimp, chicken, pork, or bacon

Saute garlic in preheated oil til golden brown (about 30 seconds to one minute). Add the diced pepper and saute one more minute. Add the cabbage and spices and continue cooking until slightly wilted but still crisp. Add the spinach and cook for a minute more. Remove the cabbage mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Put a generous amount of cabbage mixture in a burrito wrapper. Top with minced onion, Cheddar cheese, and your choice of meat. Or leave the meat off for a vegetarian version. Roll like burritos or egg rolls.

Heat a small amount of oil in a  non-stick pan. Place the rolls in the skillet and cook briefly on all four sides until nicely golden brown. The cabbage inside will still be slightly crunchy.

Serve and enjoy. These are good with sour cream.

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