June 30, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're having homemade pizza and salads.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:26 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Gluten-Free Dinner Muffins
Still on my quest to find a dinner "roll" for Jamison that is gluten-free. I've tried some of the recipes out there that are supposed to be to "die" for, but so far no dice. This recipe makes a quick, yeast free muffin and they are really quite good, however you would want to eat these the day you bake them or the next because after that they get kind of gummy and/or chewy.
What You'll Need:
2/3 cup of tapioca flour
3/4 cup of sweet rice flour
1 1/2 cups of sorghum flour
2 tablespoons of xanthan gum
2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon of baking powder
2 eggs
1 2/3 cup of buttermilk
1/3 cup of safflower oil
Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a large bowl mix tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, organic cane sugar, sea salt and baking powder and stir until incorporated. Dump eggs, buttermilk and safflower oil into the dry mixture and stir until a sticky dough forms:
Next spoon the "dough" into a muffin pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray:
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes roughly 2 dozen muffins.
Notes: No notes for this one...Gluten-free baking is a pretty exact thing. If you tweak it you end up with a mess.
Posted by Dianne at 1:08 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Out To Lunch
My parents are visiting and we're off to do a few things and then go to lunch. Check back this afternoon for a gluten-free dinner muffin recipe and What's For Dinner! Until then take a look at the June Daring Baker's Challenge or have a peak at Alexis' Tinkerbell cake!
Hope you're all having a good day!
Posted by Dianne at 8:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 29, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm tired. It's been a long few days and my parents are here so we decided to chill and ordered out. Alexis is getting edamame and rice, Jamison is getting steak hibachi, my Mom is getting sesame chicken, my father is getting beef with broccoli and I ordered some sushi (1 cucumber, 1 avocado and 1 salmon roll). Jamison is on his way to pick up our order now.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 5:30 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Daring Bakers June 2008...Danish Braids!
This month's Daring Bakers challenge was a danish braid from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking
We had a little leeway with this one to fill it as we saw fit and I chose to use blueberries and cream cheese for the filling. I made a simple blueberry sauce and mixed a little cream cheese and organic cane sugar. If you've read Dianne's Dishes for a while then you know I'm a fan of both blueberries and cheesecake so this was a bit of an homage to both and I must say it turned out quite well. Jamison's mom and I both liked the finished product!
I must be honest though and tell you that my braiding didn't really stick. One one of the Danishes it just popped completely open for the most part and in the one pictured below it popped a bit. But it didn't affect the taste, though it wasn't very pretty to look at. I looked at the diagrams and it just didn't come together and stick. Oh well. This is my second semi-failure in as many months. Part of that is probably because I was also baking Alexis' birthday cake, as well as some easy French bread and doing party prep all at the same time. You could say I was just a little busy! ;oP
As you can see when it went into the oven it looked like it was ok:
I even liked the way the ends came together and they actually held!
The dough for this was also gorgeous, but then again I love dough in general.
It was soft and springy and just perfect! I chose to omit the cardamom and since I was using blueberries I incorporated lemon instead of orange, which was also an allowed change.
Now let's talk flaky! This dough baked up to be so flaky! There was just layer upon layer of beautiful flakiness! I had never made anything like this before and I was very pleased with the result. It was really good the first morning after having cooled overnight, but still good the next day too! I'll definitely be making this again and I'd like to play around with fillings too!
So there you have it my June Daring Bakers challenge! Be sure to stop over at the Daring Bakers blogroll and see what all the other bakers cooked up!
I can't wait to see what next month brings!
What You'll Need for the Danish Dough:
(Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
What You'll Need for the Butter Block (Beurrage):
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
DOUGH:
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.
BUTTER BLOCK:
Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
DANISH BRAID:
(Makes enough for 2 large braids)
1 recipe Danish Dough (see above)
2 cups filling, jam, or preserves
For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.
Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.
Proofing and Baking
Spray cooking oil onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.
Posted by Dianne at 10:26 AM | Comments (31) | TrackBack
June 28, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Jamison's dad brought a bunch of catfish that he caught so we're having a fish fry to help celebrate the big birthday. We'll have fried catfish, hush puppies, curly fries, onion rings and slaw.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:35 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
It's Time For A Birthday Party, So Let's Have A Tinkerbelle Cake!
So it's not perfect, but here it is! This year Alexis decided that she wanted to have a Tinkerbell birthday party. OK, that sounded good to me, so my mind immediately started thinking. I knew I wanted to do a topsy turvy cake, but I didn't want to make it too topsy turvy because I was worried about it slipping into a cake disaster.
I also knew that ultimately I wanted the top layer to be flat, because my initial plan was to put a Tinkerbell snow globe on top of the cake, but I failed to check the dimensions of the snow globe we purchased and let's just say it was as big as Alexis' head and leave it at that! So obviously without out some serious support that wasn't happening so we went to plan B and we ended up with multiple Tinkerbells, because you know just one is not enough! ;o)
So first of all I baked the cakes. I doubled this recipe to make 5 layers and then had to make 1/4 of the recipe to make the last layer after the first five were baked since I only had one pan in the size of the middle layer. So once the first cakes baked, I whipped up 1/4 of the recipe and baked another layer. The layers cooled and then I put them in airtight containers and left them overnight.
Yesterday afternoon I began construction. As you can see above I cemented the layers together with icing. Then we proceeded from there with a crumb coat, since this was a crumby cake that was necessary.
Once the crumb coat was on, and the regular layer of icing was added I let it sit for an hour or so while we had dinner and then came back and added the green borders.
Who needs just one Tinkerbell when you can have a bazillion instead?
And now the cake is under cover awaiting this afternoon when it can be pulled out and devoured!
And after all isn't that what a party is all about? I can tell you how I see the icing isn't smooth enough and this didn't turn out well enough and that could have been better, but in the end it's about eating the cake and all about how a certain little girl feels and as long as she likes it then the rest just doesn't matter.
Happy Saturday everyone! I'm off to blow up balloons and make a Tinkerbell fairy wonderland!
Posted by Dianne at 7:03 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
June 27, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Whew! It's been a long day and it's only past noon! Everything is purchased for the birthday party tomorrow, except for picking up the helium tank in the morning. I've got to whip up some punch, ice/decorate the cake, make some dip, decorate, vacuum, mop (AGAIN!) and various other things I'm sure I'm forgetting. Sorry, but no recipe today! I will however tell you what we're having for dinner...
I'm making some pork chops and roasted potatoes for the guys and Alexis, and some vegeterian chili for Jamison's Mom and me. We'll also have a salad and some homemade biscuits.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:12 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 26, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Jamison's family is arriving this afternoon for the birthday party on Saturday. We're going to have lasagna (I'll make one 8 X 8 meat lasagna and one 8 X 8 cheese lasagna), salad and homemade French bread.
What are you having?
I'm off to bake chocolate birthday cake! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 3:22 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Vegetable Stir Fry
The other day I set out to make stir fry, vegetable/tofu for me and beef for Jamison. Jamison's stir fry turned out great, mine tasted like cardboard! Not to be dissuaded I decided to tweak it and try making it again for lunch since I had some left over rice and let me tell you the second time was a charm! This meal is healthy, hearty and oh so good! It's the perfect combination for a quick, easy meal!
What You'll Need For The Marinade:
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/4 cup of soy sauce (Note: Normally I would recommend using low sodium soy sauce, but in a marinade I prefer using regular.)
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
1/2 a block of lite firm tofu, cut into cubes
2-3 scallions, chopped (green and white section)
1 green or red chile pepper, chopped fine
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, chopped fine
Freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic, chopped fine
In a canning jar or glass bowl mix together sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar until incorporated. Add tofu, scallions, chile pepper, ginger, black pepper and garlic and toss to coat. (Note: If you put it in a canning jar it makes it really easy since you can just shake the jar.) Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour stirring or shaking occasionally.
What You'll Need To Finish The Stir Fry:
Extra virgin olive oil or non-stick spray (Note: I used olive oil spray.)
1 cup of snow peas
4-6 mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchstick pieces
1 cup of edamame
The contents of the marinade (See above)
1 - 2 cups of steamed broccoli
1 cup of cooked brown rice per person
In a large skillet over medium heat sauté snow peas, mushroom and carrot, until mushrooms are tender. Stir in edamame until mixed. Next stir in the contents of your marinade and cook until the liquid is absorbed. Add broccoli and toss to coat. Serve over brown rice.
Makes 2 generous servings.
Note: You could do this with chicken, beef, shrimp, scallops...Well you get the idea! Any vegetables you like work as well.
Posted by Dianne at 7:59 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 25, 2008
What's For Dinner?
We've had a very busy, very non-stop day. I'd like to say it's done, but sadly no. We're thick in the midst of party planning/cleaning! Plus we had to take the recycling to the drop off place so that took up a chunk of time too. So we're doing simple tonight. We'll probably have sandwiches or a salad or something along those lines.
What are you having?
Back to work I go!
Posted by Dianne at 3:14 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Spinach Ravioli
Several years ago for Christmas Jamison got me a pasta maker
You don't really need a pasta maker to make ravioli if you're willing to roll out the dough over and over, but the pasta machine makes that step so much easier! I also don't have a ravioli "mold", but you don't really need one...All you need is a pizza cutter and you're good to go!
This version is made with semolina flour, ricotta and spinach. I had intended to throw in mushrooms too, but I got side tracked and it was all good in the end so that is all that matters. Don't let homemade pasta intimidate you because it is really quite easy, not to mention completely delicious!
What You'll Need:
2 cups of semolina flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3 eggs (Note: Depending on humidity and such you might just need 2 eggs.)
1 cup of part skim ricotta
1 cup of chopped, cooked spinach, drained well
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Tomato sauce (Note: I usually just eat tomato sauce, but in this instance I used Jamison's meat sauce from his spaghetti and it turned out great!)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
In a large bowl stir together semolina flour and sea salt until incorporated. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture an add 2 eggs. Stir until mixed and test dough by squeezing with your fingers. If it sticks together like dough then you won't need the other egg, if it's still crumbly then add another egg and stir to combine. Take your hands and knead the dough until a ball forms. Set aside.
In a glass bowl mix together ricotta cheese, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper and stir to mix. Add spinach and mix until incorporated. Set aside.
Divide the pasta dough into eight sections. Sprinkle a little flour onto your pasta machine and squish the dough into a flat circle. Run the pasta through your machine several times until smooth. If you need to add a little more flour then do. Each time you send it back through the machine, just fold the dough over on itself. If it seems grainy or it isn't sticking together like you think it should, just keep sending it through the machine and it will come together. The first time I made pasta I didn't work the dough enough and it turned out crumbly.
Take the rolled out dough and on a floured surface cut it into 2-3 inch strips.
Place a dollop of ricotta mixture in the middle of the strip (1/2-1 tablespoon of the mixture) and fold over. Mash the dough around the dollop of spinach ricotta and then use your pizza cutter to cut off the excess dough.
Place the individual raviolis on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper and then repeat until you run out of dough an filling.
Rule number one for pasta making...It doesn't have to be perfect! Just have fun. If you get a little spinach and/or ricotta into the dough no big deal. If it isn't perfectly sealed, well that's ok too! Once you have made the ravioli set it aside.
At this point you can do one of two things: 1) Boil some water and make ravioli or 2) Freeze the ravioli. If you want to freeze the ravioli simply put the baking sheet into the freezer and freeze until solid (by freezing them first it keeps them from sticking together) and then put in a storage container and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. With this batch I froze half of them and cooked the other half. If you want to start cooking see below.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water with a little sea salt and add a single layer of the ravioli to the pot. (Note: They will sink to the bottom.) As the ravioli cook they'll start to float. When they float take them out of the water. If you have one that seems to be taking longer than the others then take your spoon and give it a nudge, it might be stuck. If it's not stuck then let it keep cooking until it floats. (Note: I've never noticed this with store bought ravioli, but it happened with every one of the ones I made.) Repeat this process until all the ravioli is cooked.
Once you remove them from pot let them drain in a colander or on a wire baking rack for a moment. Then place them on a plate, top them with a little hot tomato or meat sauce and some freshly grated Parmesan and serve immediately.
Notes: Cooked mushrooms would be a good addition to the filling, as would caramelized onion or you could do a simple ricotta an herb filling instead.
Posted by Dianne at 7:09 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 24, 2008
What's For Dinner?: Alexis' Birthday Edition!
We have a tradition that you get to pick what you want to eat on the day of your birthday. Alexis chose waffles for breakfast, pizza for lunch and drum roll please....
For dinner she has chosen spaghetti! Shocker I know! ;oP I'm going to make a fresh pasta topper with grape tomatoes, asparagus, onions, mushrooms and a little thyme and rosemary for me and regular spaghetti for Alexis and Jamison.
Tomorrow she'll get back on a more healthy, less bad carb laden track, but for today it's her birthday so it's all good! ;o) Saturday is her actual birthday. We're having a Tinkerbell party and her cake will be then! I hope to have pictures of the cake to share. We'll see how the cake ends up and if I can get a good shot with the cameras available. I miss my 20D! :o(
What are you having?
Update: 5:39 PM: While Alexis was playing I spent the past few hours weeding the flower beds. I'm in the mood for anything, but something warm, so I made up a veggie and fruit plate with cucumbers, cherries and blueberries for my dinner instead. Sometimes when you're hot, you just want something light and cold to eat! Jamison and Alexis are still having spaghetti. :o)
Posted by Dianne at 1:50 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Tuesdays With Dorie: My Version Of A Mixed Berry Cobbler, With A Mini Blueberry Sidecar Cobbler On The Side
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
So this week's recipe was Mixed Berry Cobbler and was chosen by Beth of Our Sweet Life! And cobbler is one of those desserts from my childhood. My mom made many cobblers! Normally she would make peach, which I adored, or blackberry, which was not my thing, and it was most likely served while still hot with some vanilla ice cream! So I have to admit when I saw Dorie's recipe I decided immediately that I would be using my own recipe this week, but that's good for you because you get an extra recipe, and who doesn't like another recipe to add to the collection! ;oP
I actually made two cobblers. I made the Mixed Berry version for my sister, because I had some frozen raspberries that I needed to get rid of. In honor of full disclosure I have to say I detest raspberries. I've tried them over an over, but I just do not like them. I do not like blackberries either. With raspberries it's a taste (Too sweet? Too tart? I can't figure it out!) and texture thing (they are fury!) and with blackberries it's just a taste thing. Alexis had wanted to try raspberries, so we picked up a small package and she wasn't all that fond on them, so I froze them, intending to give them to my sister anyway because she does like them and then I kept forgetting to take them to her so now she got them, but she just got them in a bit different form! ;oP
I also made a small mini-cobbler with just blueberries for me. I ended up putting all the strawberries in the Mixed berry cobbler. But I was ok with just blueberries too. I love me some blueberries!
My sister brought over some berries that they had picked at their CSA and I used those. There is just nothing like a fresh strawberry! I must say however that I do not agree with Dorie in terms of strawberries in cobbler (or maybe cooking in general). I don't find that they have too much water content in them and I don't find that they make a soggy cobbler. In fact I've made cobblers many times with only strawberries and they turn out no differently than any other, so throw in as many strawberries as you like!
Sadly I didn't have any vanilla ice cream on hand, but the cobbler was good all on it's own. My sister really liked the Mixed Berry version. (She tried both and actually took the Mixed Berry Cobbler home!) I tried them both as well, but to me the Mixed Berry version was overpowered by the raspberries. Katherine commented on how the raspberry didn't over take the cobbler, but I think for me if the raspberry is there at all I taste it and it ruins the entire thing for me. Oh well. She enjoyed it and that is all that counts!
So there you have it my take on this week's Tuesday With Dorie Mixed Berry Cobbler. Check out the recipe below and be sure and stop over at the other Tuesday With Dorie blogs and see how their cobblers turned out!
What You'll Need For The Mixed Berry Cobbler Filling:
3-4 cups of mixed berries
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar
1/2 cup of apple juice
Place berries in a large bowl. (Note: They can be fresh, frozen, or a mixture of both. Also if you want more than 4 cups of berries throw them in...There are no wrong answers with cobbler!) I used fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries and frozen raspberries. Add sugar and apple juice and stir to coat. Set aside.
What You'll Need For The Cobbler "Dough":
2 cups of unbleached flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/3 cup of organic sugar
1 cup of half and half
1 cup of light sour cream (Note: I normally use buttermilk, but I was out and sour cream works just fine.)
2 eggs
1 stick of butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda and organic cane sugar until well mixed. Next add half and half, sour cream and eggs and stir until smooth. Add melted butter and stir until completely mixed. (Note: You'll have a batter, not a dough.)
Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray and pour the batter into the dish. Dump the fruit mixture on top of the batter and place the baking dish on a baking tray so if it spills over you're oven is safe from dirtiness! ;o) Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30-340 minutes until crust is well browned. Serve immediately or keep covered and serve at room temperature.
Notes: I sometimes sprinkle sugar on the top of the cobbler before baking, though I did not this time. Also cobbler is superb with vanilla ice cream so don't be afraid to break out a scoop or two! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 6:52 AM | Comments (20) | TrackBack
June 23, 2008
What's For Dinner?
I have some boneless, skinless, chicken breasts thawed, but I don't know what I want to do with them yet. It's a very warm day today too so I know I don't want to heat up the oven. I've got some asparagus I need to use too...Who knows??!?!?
What are you having?
Update: 5:53 PM: Baking some chicken in the toaster oven with a little seasoning blend. Going to make some potatoes for Jamison and some asparagus for me and Miss G. Dinner will be a little late, but that's ok. :o)
Posted by Dianne at 2:39 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Black Chick Pea Salad
Alexis loves chick peas so when I saw black chick peas
This salad takes elements from many different types of food. The vinegar gives it a slight sushi aspect, while the fresh vegetables give it an air of chopped salad. Any way you look at it, you've got a cool, refreshing, easy, healthy dish that really hits the spot on a hot summer day!
What You'll Need:
2 cups of cooked black chick peas, coole
2 ribs of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 cup of edamame
1 cup of corn kernels
1 cup of pea pods, chopped
1/3 cup of sushi vinegar (Note: As always look for a version that has no high fructose corn syrup! Or better yet make your own.)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Toss together black chick peas, celery, carrot, edamame, corn and chopped pea pods until completely incorporated. Set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together sushi vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground pepper until mixed. Pour mixture over tossed vegetables and stir to coat. Serve immediately or chill and then serve.
Note: Because of the vinegar you'll want to eat this salad within 24 hours or so of being made. The vinegar will start to break down the vegetables and after that it will just be a mushy mess. You can add other vegetables into the mix. Some crumbled nori would be a good addition too.
Posted by Dianne at 7:28 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 22, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Jamison wants meatloaf, so I'll make him a mini-meatloaf and some mashed potatoes. I think I'm going to have a mixed green salad with some homemade blue cheese dressing and Alexis wants watermelon and blueberries...How's that for a mixed bag? ;oP
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:51 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 21, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Alexis and Jamison love spaghetti and I'm utterly bored with that dish. I've been trying to put them off, but tonight I'm going to make some for them. I however am going to make some homemade spinach ravioli with mushrooms. I'm also baking a gluten free loaf of French bread.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:24 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 20, 2008
What's For Dinner?
We're doing super easy tonight and I threw a pot roast into the slower cooker since Katherine, Nelson and Grant are over today. I'll make a tossed salad and some roasted potatoes to round out the meal.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:02 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Mixed Vegetable Risotto
I love risotto, but I don't make it that often. It's good, but with the cheese and the white arborio rice element it's a bit on the heavy side if you're trying to eat more healthily. (I've been trying to experiment with a brown arborio rice, but I haven't had much luck. We'll get back to that another time.) However I'm a firm believer in everything in moderation and sometimes you just want a good risotto!
Another element of this dish is the vegetables. I had a bunch of things on the verge of being unusable so I decided a vegetable risotto was just the thing to utilize them! This dish is creamy, delicious and oh so easy. It's just right when you want to just splurge a little, with a little healthy on the side!
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
3-4 scallions, chopped
1 cup of carrot, cut into rounds (Note: I used yellow carrots, but you can use whatever type of carrot you have on hand.)
4 button mushrooms, chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of arborio rice
1 cup of green peas (Note: I normally used frozen, but I used fresh this time around.)
1 cup of corn kernels
Broth or water (Note: I usually start out with broth and then use water with each additional addition. You can use chicken or vegetable broth.)
1-2 ounces of goat cheese
1-2 ounces of Parmesan, grated
In a large skillet or pot sauté scallions, carrot and mushrooms with a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper until the carrot is just tender. Next stir in the arborio rice and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring frequently. Add peas, corn and enough broth or water to cover the ingredients and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until arborio rice is tender. You will most likely have to keep adding liquid to the pan as it cooks. Don't worry if you have to add more liquid, this is a normal step in the process of making risotto. (Note: If you use broth and it's salted then cut back on the sea salt.)
Once the rice is soft remove from heat an stir in cheese until melted. Let risotto sit for 5-10 minutes and then serve.
Notes: Any vegetable will work that you like. Risotto makes great leftovers too!
Posted by Dianne at 8:46 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 19, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're having barbeque chicken, sweet corn, roasted sweet potatoes for Alexis and I, a baked potato for Jamison and a side salad.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:30 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Grilled Dill Shrimp With Asparagus
I love shrimp and Alexis does too. In fact shrimp is one of those things she asked to try recently, though she had had it when she was younger and liked it then too, but had forgotten about it and I'm all about the "If you want to try it, we'll try it!" thing because one of my biggest pet peeves is saying you don't like something you've never tasted! So when she wants to try something we get it for her to try. She wanted to try raspberries, though I'll admit I'm not a fan of those, but if she wants to eat them then fine! She wanted to try lobster so we got a lobster and steamed it and she loved it!
See there I go getting side tracked again...The point is if she wants to try something I'll make it happen, but back to what we were really talking about.
Where was I? Oh yes...shrimp!
I rarely buy shrimp because even with Maryland being a water state it's hard to find truly fresh shrimp! Maryland is proud to be more of a blue crab/oyster state. Sometimes even if you buy frozen shrimp it is old! But every once in a while I'll stumble on to some that is actually fresh and in the case it was fresh AND on sale! Now what is better than that? So of course I grabbed some and we headed home.
There are so many things you can do with shrimp and all sorts of ideas popped through my mind. I thought about making some kabobs with thyme (which by the way you should try because they are to die for!), I thought about boiling some with some Old Bay Seasoning, I thought about making a white shrimp pizza, but my inspiration finally came from Alexis.
Alexis and I love to spend time on the front porch. We have a swing, her sand box, chairs and plenty of room to move around and play. It's just perfect because it's completely shaded in the afternoon. We were out on the front porch enjoying a lovely summer day and she decided to taste my dill plant. She knows that she can eat anything out of my herb box. It's all organic and she can munch to her heart's delight. She hadn't tried the dill before, but that day she decided to give it a munch and low and behold she liked it! So that made me think about possibly adding some chopped dill to the shrimp and thus the idea for dinner was born!
This dish is quick, easy and healthy. Throw in some grilled asparagus and a side salad and you've got a wonderful meal!
What You'll Need:
A pound of shrimp
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons of fresh chopped dill
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Asparagus to grill
In a bowl toss cleaned and deveined shrimp together with the olive oil, dill, a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper and put covered in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
Heat your grill or grill pan (which is what I used) until hot.
Brush the grill pan/grill with a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle the asparagus with a little sea salt and place it on the grill first and grill for about 5-6 minutes until it is just starting to soften.
Next add the shrimp turning and cook until just pink. This will happen quickly, approximately 2-3 minutes. Don't cook them too long or they will turn rubbery.
(The burger was for Jamison! ;oP)
When the shrimp are cooked remove them from heat and serve immediately or you can serve them chilled. They are good either way!
Notes: If you don't like dill you could do this with rosemary or thyme. You could also do this with scallops instead of shrimp.
Posted by Dianne at 8:56 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
June 18, 2008
What's For Dinner?
I'm thinking some sort of stir fry tonight. I have some tofu I need to use. Most likely there will be some snow peas, carrot, scallion, perhaps some broccoli and mushrooms, with some nori shreds and maybe some edamame over brown rice. I'll make Jamison some beef stir fry with rice as well.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:12 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Not Quite General Tso's Chicken
While my first attempt at a slimmed down General Tso's Chicken didn't turn out completely as I had hoped, and wasn't quite what General Tso's Chicken should be, it did turn out to be quite lovely! It had a very spicy element along with a little sweet. It was good and I would make this again, but I'm going to have to experiment a little more. For now I'll share this with you, because really if you like a little sweet an spicy then this is the dish for you!
What You'll Need:
1 tablespoons of sesame oil
3-4 scallions, chopped (both white and green parts), Plus additional scallions cut into strips for garnishing
2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 large green chili pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup of soy sauce
1/2 cup of rice vinegar
A pinch of sea salt
1/3 cup of honey
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup corn starch
Extra virgin olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2-3 cups of steamed broccoli
Cooked brown rice (Note: Brown rice takes about an hour to cook so keep this in mind. The dish itself takes about 30-35 minutes from start to finish.)
In a medium sized pot over medium heat sauté scallions, ginger, chili pepper and crushed red pepper flakes until onion is wilted and tender. Stir occasionally to keep from burning.
When onion is tender add soy sauce, rice vinegar, sea salt, honey and 1 cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir together remaining chicken broth with 1/3 cup of corn starch until smooth and add to the pot. Stir sauce until thickened (this usually takes a minute or two) and remove from heat.
Let sauce cool for a minute and then strain into a bowl. Set aside.
While the sauce is cooking, in a large skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil sauté chicken until browned and done through. Once cooked add strained sauce and cook for a minute or two to let the flavors meld.
While the chicken is cooking steam broccoli and the strips of green onion until tender. (Note: I usually do this in the microwave by putting a few tablespoon of water in the bottom of a glass bowl and then putting the vegetables on top. It takes about 2-3 minutes in my microwave.)
To assemble place a cup of rice on a plate and then top with the chicken/sauce mixture. Top with the steamed scallions and broccoli. Serve immediately.
How easy and delicious is that?
Notes: You could do this with shrimp or beef instead. Or if you wanted an entirely vegetarian dish you could use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and mushrooms or tofu instead of meat. If you wanted to make it vegan you'd have to find a substitute for the honey. Agave nectar might work, but I'd have to play around with that to be sure.
Posted by Dianne at 8:58 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
June 17, 2008
What's For Dinner?
For Jamison I'm making a broiled t-bone steak with a no-salt seasoning blend that has everything from garlic to bell pepper to oregano in it, along with some standard mashed potatoes.
For Alexis and me I'm going to broil a salmon steak with a little dill and some asparagus. Alexis is not a fan of any type of mashed potatoes, so she'll sit that side dish out. I think I'll kick mine up a little with some fresh rosemary and some labneh.
We'll also have some wilted spinach for Alexis and me as well. I think I'm also going to try and make Jamison some gluten free rolls too. We'll see how they turn out!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 4:38 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Tuesdays With Dorie: Not Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, But Mini Strawberry Milk Chocolate "Puffs" Instead
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
As you can see I deviated a bit. Now I love mint and I love chocolate, but for some reason this week I just wasn't feeling the whole mint/chocolate combo, but I did have some fresh local strawberries and thought it would be fun to play around with a strawberry and milk chocolate combo and that's just what I did!
I also decided to make mini puffs instead of one big puff and while my puffs rose beautifully in the oven they promptly fell flat when I remove them. I thought about starting over, but I hated wasting all those ingredients, so I decided to just use the flat "puffs" as shells, top them with strawberry cream and then drizzle them with milk chocolate. It worked perfectly and oh my...Yum!
First things first...The dough!
It pulled away from the pan an formed a little ball beautifully! And once it was added to the mixer and the eggs were put in it still looked fantabulous!
See how creamy and lovely that looks? I was highly impressed!
The next step involved placing the "dough" in a pastry bag and piping it out onto a baking sheet:
I did circles an even a few hearts. Still looking pretty good and oh so creamy!
I put them in the oven and let them do their thing and because of their small size they were done in about 8 minutes. That was probably my first problem since they completed their cooking at the higher temperature and did not have a chance to be lowered to a cooler temperature as the recipe had called for.
They rose beautifully and sadly I didn't get a picture of them risen. Within in a minute of bringing them out of the oven they deflated. As I said before I thought about throwing in the towel. I walked a way for a bit, because sometimes you just have to walk away to gain some perspective, and an hour later decided to use them as shells instead.
So here's my sad looking little "puff" shell:
For a shell not bad, but definitely not a mini puff!
Next I piped on some strawberry whipped cream:
Look at that cream! Aren't those little bits of strawberry heavenly? Why yes...Yes they were! ;oP I made the strawberry whipped cream by combining a pint of strawberries, 2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of organic cane sugar. I pureed the strawberries with 1 cup of cream until smooth, then added the remaining cream and sugar and beat until stiff. How easy is that?
And last but not least I topped the strawberry cream with a drizzle of milk chocolate and Alexis even made one of her own:
Not bad my little sous chef, not bad! She got a little crazy with her piping, but hey she had fun doing it so that is all that matters!
I made the chocolate according to Dorie's instructions, but I used milk chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate because while I'm all for dark chocolate alone, I much prefer milk chocolate in desserts.
So there you have my twist on the Peppermint Cream Puff Ring, or more aptly what became Mini Strawberry Milk Chocolate "Puffs" instead. Sometimes it's fun to just play around with a recipe and take elements and mix and match them with something else! I definitely enjoyed this little walk down Variation Lane! ;o)
Be sure and stop over at the Tuesdays With Dorie blog and take the links to see what the other ladies an gentleman came up with!
Until next week!
Posted by Dianne at 7:10 AM | Comments (41) | TrackBack
June 16, 2008
What's For Dinner?
It's a mixed bag for us this evening. Jamison is going to have left overs from yesterday's father's day feast and Alexis and I are going to have some homemade chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
What are you having?
Update: 4:49 PM: Make that Chickenless Noodle soup! I forgot to add the chicken. Oh well! It has a ton of veggies though, so it's all good!
Posted by Dianne at 2:30 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Grilled Chicken Sandwich With Grilled Mushrooms And Provolone And A Side Of Old Bay Oven Fries
A grilled chicken sandwich is sort of a classic. You can go really simple and have a grilled chicken breast, with some lettuce, tomato and mayo, but why not kick it up a notch? You've still got your basic grilled breast, but why not top it with some sautéd mushrooms and a little Provolone cheese and you've got a sandwich that went from good to fabulous! Pair it with some Old Bay Oven fries and you've got a quick and easy meal.
What You'll Need Per Person For The Chicken Sandwich:
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large mushrooms, sliced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 slice of Provolone cheese
2 slices of whole grain bread or a whole grain bun
Mayonnaise and/or brown mustard if desired
What You'll Need Per Person For The Old Bay Oven Fries:
1 potato (Note: I usually use russets.)
Extra virgin olive oil
Old Bay Seasoning
A small pinch of sea salt (Note: Go VERY easy on the salt as Old Bay has some salt in it. Just use a minute amount. Possible 1/4 a teaspoon or so.)
Pre-heat a grill or a grill pan until it's hot. (I used a grill pan.)
While the grill or pan is heating (my pan is cast iron so it takes a bit) pre-heat oven to 425 F.
Wash potato and cut into strips. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and toss to coat. (Note: You need no more than roughly a tablespoon to make oven fries. Don't go overboard or the fries won't crisp. You don't want the fries to be sitting in oil, you just want a slight coating.) Sprinkle generously with Old Bay seasoning. (Note: Old Bay has a bit of a kick to it. If you don't care for spicy use less, or you could simply use sea salt and black pepper.) Sprinkle with sea salt and place in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until fries are browned and slightly crisp.
While the fries are baking it's time to start working on your chicken sandwich. Depending on the size of your breast you may be able to get two sandwiches out of one breast. If the breast you are using is large and/or thick cut it in half. It it is still thick then pound it flat. You want the breast to be uniform in size. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper.
Brush the hot grill with extra virgin olive oil (again you just want a thin coat, you don't want the breast sitting in a pool of oil. A tablespoon or two will cover the entire grill) and place the chicken breast on the grill. Turn the breast a few times and cook until done through. If you're not sure if it's done you can cut into the breast, but you can usually tell by looking at it when it's done. It takes about 5-8 minutes on medium to high heat. Toward the end of the cooking time add mushrooms to the grill and cook until tender.
When the chicken is done spread mayo and/or brown mustard on a couple of slices of toasted whole grain bread. Add chicken breast and top with a slice of cheese and then add sautéd mushrooms. Top with the other slice of bread, cut and serve with the Old Bay oven fries.
Quick, easy, delicious and healthier than a sandwich that has been fried and served with regular fries. Plus the taste is fabulous!
Notes: You could use Swiss cheese in place of the provolone. You could also add in sautéd onions and/or bell pepper if you like. I always use light mayo and this time around I skipped the mustard.
Posted by Dianne at 8:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 15, 2008
What's For Dinner?
It's Father's Day! So today is Jamison's pick! We're having pulled pork, potato skins, corn on the cobb and a salad for Alexis and I.
What are you having this Father's Day??
Oh and Happy Father's Day too all you fathers out there!
Posted by Dianne at 9:37 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 14, 2008
What's For Dinner?
What's for dinner? Good question! I have thin steaks thawed and a pork roast, but neither of them are really calling to me. It's cloudy and there is a line of thunder boomers heading our way, which always makes me wary, so my brain keeps focusing on the weather instead of dinner. And why am I craving cheesecake and what does that have to do with dinner? Absolutely nothing! You see how my mind is working today...I have a pretty good idea of what I'm making tomorrow for Father's Day, but today is just refusing to materialize in my head!
What are you having?
Update: 6/15/2008: 8:53 AM: I ended up taking the thin steak, slicing it into strips and seasoning it with some Old Bay seasoning and tossing it in the skillet with some mushrooms and making a spicy steak sandwich and some oven fries. Not fancy, but quick and delicious!
Posted by Dianne at 3:31 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 13, 2008
What's For Dinner?
This evening I'm finally going to experiment with making a General Tso's type chicken dish that is not breaded. I'll make some regular grilled chicken for Alexis and Jamison and we'll all have brown rice and some steamed broccoli for Alexis and me. I also made some homemade mint chocolate "chip" ice cream for dessert. (Look out...We'll be having an ice cream week here on Dianne's Dishes soon! ;oP)
If the GTC turns out well I'm sure you'll see it on the blog soon! This should be fun! ;oP
What are you having?
Update: 8:02 PM: It wasn't quite General Tso's in taste, but it was spicy and a bit sweet and I liked it! I need to play around with the sauce a bit more to make it a true General Tso's type sauce, but what I made tonight really hit the spot if you like a hot/sweet mixture with a kick!
Posted by Dianne at 12:49 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Gluten Free "Granola" Squares
When we discovered that Jamison had Celiacs we immediately tried out some gluten free products. Many of them didn't make the cut, but one of the ones that did were EnviroKidz Panda Peanut Butter Crispy Bars and the quickly became a regular on our grocery list. The only problem with that is that depending on when you catch them they run from $4-5 for 6 bars. That adds up fast! So I decided to try and make something along those lines at home and I kept putting it off and putting it off, but earlier this week I finally got around to playing around with some ingredients.
I knew right off the bat I'd be using puffed rice and some form of peanut butter, but I felt like it needed just a little something else. I debated milk chocolate chips, but I didn't have any on hand. I also thought about raisins, but while Jamison likes raisins on their own, he's not a big fan when they are in something. I also thought about nuts, but we have much the same situation as the raisins with those too, so I decided to skip those as well. I finally decided on some unsulphured coconut, because it's so small it doesn't really show up in the bar, but it helps sort of bind things together and it gave a faint hint of coconut, without being overpowering.
The result was very good. I even liked them and this is coming from a person who doesn't care for Rice Krispee squares! Jamison liked them too so I'll be whipping these up to take place of the "Panda Bars" as Alexis calls them so he'll have some to take in his lunch. Yeah me! ;oP
What You'll Need:
4 cups of puffed rice cereal
1 cup of unsulphured coconut
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cups of peanut butter powder
1/4 cup natural brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix rice cereal and coconut in a large bowl and set aside.
Add maple syrup through natural brown sugar into a large pot and bring to a slow boil. Boil 3 minutes and remove from heat.
Quickly pour hot liquid mixture into the bowl with the rice/coconut. Be extremely careful as the liquid is VERY hot! Stir quickly to coat rice/coconut completely.
Pour mixture onto a baking dish that has been lined with a silicone mat and spread out into a rectangle. (Note: You can shape with your fingers, but be very careful as it is still warm/hot!)
Bake 5-6 minutes at 350 F and then let cool. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.
Notes: This should work with puffed corn as well. You can add in other things as mentioned above including raisins, nuts and/or chocolate chips.
Posted by Dianne at 12:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 12, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Jamison has an appointment tonight so it's just me and Miss G for dinner and I have no clue what we're going to have yet. Most likely it will be something along the lines of a salad or sandwich, but I just don't know. We might make some soup, since Alexis has asked for it the past couple of days. We'll see what the afternoon brings.
What are you having?
Update: 6:58 PM: We ended up doing ultra simple. I had strawberries and avocado. Alexis had strawberries, banana and grapes. it was cool, refreshing and healthy!
Posted by Dianne at 1:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Barbeque Chicken Pizza
Every couple of weeks we have pizza night. Jamison always has a tomato sauce with pepperoni and ground beef on a gluten free crust with rice mozzarella, Alexis usually has a tomato sauce with mozzarella, Parmesan and black olives, though as of late she has eschewed the olives and me, well I like to switch it up. Sometimes I have Chicken, Artichoke and Spinach Pizza or a Goat Cheese Pizza with Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes or taking the dough and making a Calzone or you can leave out the crust all together and make Eggplant Pizzas. The possibilities are endless!
This go around I decided to make something a bit more contemporary and put together a Barbeque Chicken Pizza on a White Whole Wheat Crust! You can top this any way you like and you end up with a personalized pizza that hits the spot! What's better than that?
What You'll Need For the Crust:
2 cups of white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
3/4 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of honey
4 teaspoons of yeast
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
In a large bowl stir together flour and salt to incorporate. In a glass measuring cup add honey and yeast to warm water and let sit for 3-5 minutes until foamy. Add olive oil to the flour mixture and then slowly add water/yeast mixture stirring until ball of dough forms. (Note: Depending on humidity and such you may need a little more or a little less water. Eyeball it as you go. Once the ball forms you'll know to stop. It's hard to mess this recipe up. It's very forgiving. If you go too far with the water then add more flour a tablespoon at a time until ball forms. If you need more water then add it a tablespoon at a time. Easy peasy.)
Once the dough ball forms you need to let it rise. This make roughly one large pizza or 4-6 personal sized pizzas depending on how big you like them. I like to make personal sized pizzas so that way everyone can have their own favorite toppings. If you're making one big pizza simply place the dough on a baking sheet in your oven with your oven light on (the oven light puts out just enough heat to rise to dough) or if you want to make personal sized pizzas divide the dough into 4 to 6 small balls and place on a baking sheet and follow the same procedure as for the large ball. You can freeze the dough balls before you let them rise if you want to use them later and then pull them out and let them thaw and rise at another time. If you aren't freezing the dough then let the dough balls rise for at least one hour. Then roll or push out the dough on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (use a little olive oil on your hands to keep it from sticking) and top with your favorite pizza toppings to bake.
What You'll Need To Complete The Personal Sized Pizza:
1/4-1/3 cup of barbeque sauce
1/2 cup of shredded chicken
1/3 cup of mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup of Parmesan, shredded
1/4 cup of sliced black olives
1/4 of an onion, chopped (Note: I used Vidalia, but any onion will work.)
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Spread a layer of barbeque sauce out onto the spread out crust. Next add a layer of chicken. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan and then add olive and onion. Bake for 8-12 minutes until crust is golden brown, cut and serve.
Notes: Pineapple is a good addition to this pizza. Green peppers work too.
Posted by Dianne at 10:55 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
June 11, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Tonight Alexis and I are having some pan grilled shrimp with dill and also I'll grill some asparagus with a little extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and pepper. We'll probably have some sort of side salad too and we'll grill a burger for Jamison on a gluten free bun.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 5:23 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
What's In The Bag? Otherwise Known As What We Got At The Farmer's Market!
Dear Lord it's a beautiful day! It's currently 88 degrees with 31% humidity and a breeze of about 5 miles per hour as I sit here barefoot on the front porch watching Alexis play in her sand box and type this little missive. You've gotta love a good breeze and wireless internet! This is what summer should be! ;o)
On Wednesdays from 4-7 PM there is a Farmer's Market in our local park. This is the first time we've made it to a Farmer's Market this season. We missed last week's opening, but I marked my calendar so I wouldn't forget this week and I'm so glad I didn't! The selection was amazing! There was everything from fruit to vegetables to yarn to baked goods to plants to homemade doggie treats! Oh my!
My main hope for today was to find some peas and we lucked out! I also hoped for some strawberries and wouldn't you know we got those too!
We also ended up with a bunch of radishes, some asparagus, a few bell peppers, some sweet cherries and a purple basil plant. Not bad at all and MUCH cheaper than the supermarket! (For example the strawberries were $4.50 and the same sized container at the store has been running around $5.99. The cherries were $3.50 and at the store they've been running $4.99/pound...You get the idea!) Plus it's all local...What's not to like about that?
Now...What do I want to do with all these lovely goodies? ;oP
Posted by Dianne at 5:06 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
More To Come This Afternoon...
Alexis and I are planning on going to the Farmer's Market this afternoon when it opens at four so I'll update after we've perused their wares. I don't know what we're going to have for dinner this evening, I want to wait until after we see what they have at the Farmer's Market and then plan a meal around that. It's much cooler today and it's pleasant outside so we'll see what the day brings. Stay tuned for more this afternoon/early evening!
Have a great day everyone! We'll catch you on the flip side! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Alexis loves beans and has been asking for them for a few days. Yesterday afternoon we threw some into a bowl and let them soak overnight. This morning we put them in the slow cooker. Jamison doesn't like beans (or more aptly has most likely never tried them and just says he doesn't like them) so he's getting left over roast beef and a microwave "baked" potato (not as good as an oven baked potato, but it's 100 degrees outside!) We'll also have a salad.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:12 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Not Tuesdays With Dorie, But No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake Instead!
It's Tuesday! And that should mean Tuesdays with Dorie
Last week was a long week! Seriously it was jam packed busy. I had planned to make the Tart on Friday to serve on Saturday when our friends came over for an early dinner/ play date, but my sister called me to come help her out so she could pack for their trip to Tennessee and well baby cuddles won out! By Saturday it was too hot to bake and I didn't have time after we finished putting in the garden in Saturday morning anyway! So I ended up making a No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake instead!
The Strawberry tart looked heavenly and I'll probably make it in the future, envisioned cheesecake layer and all, but I ultimately went with the much cooler, no oven required cheesecake instead and just because I like you all so much I'll share that recipe with you now! I mean seriously how cool and creamy does this look?
This really hit the spot on Saturday when the temperature topped out somewhere in the hundreds with a heat index of who knows what and humidity in the twelvety two billion range! Let's get a little closer look at that shall we?
Doesn't that just look cool and creamy? Yum!
Be sure and stop over at the Tuesdays With Dorie blog and take the links to see what everyone else came up with...I'm sure it was a fabulous dessert! After Alexis' dance/gymnastics show today things should settle down considerably and it's supposed to cool down later in the week too so I'll catch you all next week. Until then enjoy some No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake, because you all know how I am about both Key Lime and Cheesecake...Why not put the two together? Oh wait I've done that already! Well why not put them together again? ;oP
What You'll Need:
1 sleeve of graham crackers
1/4 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter, melted
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 - 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (Note: I used fat free.)
1/2 cup Nellie and Joe's Double Strength Key Lime Juice
(Note: This recipe involves "cooking" your crust in the microwave oven so you must use a glass pie dish. If you want to use metal or use a springform pan you'll have to bake the crust in the oven until golden. If you wanted to you could buy a pre-made crust.)
Crush graham crackers and a medium sized bowl. Add sugar and butter and stir to mix. Set aside.
Spray a glass pie dish with non-stick spray and press the crust into the dish. Place in the microwave for 1 - 1 1/2 minutes until the crust hardens slightly. Set aside to cool while making the filling.
In the bowl of your mixer cream together cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until completely smooth. Add key lime juice and mix until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pie shell an spread out to cover the entire crust.
Place pie dish in the fridge for at least 3 hours (overnight is better). When ready to serve cut into slices (sometimes the first slice is a bit of a mess) and serve with whipped cream if desired.
Note: You could do this with either lemon or orange juice instead if Key Lime isn't your thing.
Posted by Dianne at 7:34 AM | Comments (23) | TrackBack
June 9, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Well it's another steamer outside so it's another slower cooker day in the kitchen! It's currently 90 degrees and depending who you believe we'll either hit 98 or 102. We're going to have steak tips and I'll steam some rice and asparagus right before dinner. I put some steak cut into strips, along with some Vidalia onion and mushrooms in the slow cooker and some seasonings and have it set on low.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 10:14 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Stuffed Pork Chops
I get bored with food. More specifically I get bored with the food that Jamison will eat. How he eats such a bland diet and does so over and over is beyond me! I can't even begin to explain to you how much I love him, but I get bored with his food quickly! ;o) So sometimes when I'm thinking of what to make for dinner I'll make something plain he'll eat (in this case a pork chop) and kick it up a bit so that I'm not having to eat the same things over and over and over. In my mind life is too short not to try different things!
A while back I saw Tyler Florence stuff a pork chop. I don't remember exactly what his had in it, but it had another form of pork (either pancetta or ham) and some sort of cheese, then again maybe it wasn't Tyler and maybe there was no cheese, but I specifically remember thinking "Really? Pork twice?" and then I started thinking about hardening arteries and heart disease and life in general...See how that works? See how I just get sidetracked like that?
Where was I? Oh yes....Stuffed pork chops!
Anyway, the other day I decided to try my hand at stuffed pork chops, but I decided that two forms of pork was just a bit much. So I started thinking of things that go well with pork chops and apples were the first thing that came to mind. Then I started thinking about something that would meld well with the apples and immediately thought of blue cheese and thus these babies were born!
Once baked the flavors just combine perfectly! The apples soften and meld with the blue cheese and the whole overall taste is just superb! Pair the chops with a little wild rice and a steamed vegetable and you've got a wonderful meal that is sure to wow! These chops take the ordinary and very easily make them extraordinary. What's better than that?
What You'll Need Per Person:
1 thick cut pork chop
1/4 of an apple, cut into thin rounds
1 ounce of blue cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375 F. (Note: I actually baked these in my toaster oven.)
First you want to cut a pocket into your thick chop. You do this by cutting in to the thickest part of the chop. Insert the knife and make a clean cut, making a pocket, but do not cut it alll the way through. You want a pouch, not two separate pieces of pork.
Once the pork chop is cut, then cut an apple into thin rounds and place the rounds inside the pocket:
Next top the apples with blue cheese:
After you add the cheese you want to secure your chop. I used cooking twine, but you can use toothpicks if you want:
Brush the top of the chop with a little extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until pork is done through. (Note: I know some people advocate baking pork like beef, but not me! Pork has to be well done. If it is not well done then don't eat it! Trichinosis anyone? Didn't think so!)
Remove from oven, untie and serve immediately.
Notes: You could use goat cheese and pears if you liked instead of apples and blue cheese.
Posted by Dianne at 7:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 8, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Another scorcher today! We went over the 100 degree mark yesterday and today is shaping up much the same. Again in the theme of not heating up the house we're having a slow cooker meal. (You'll probably see another slow cooker meal tomorrow too since it's going to be hot as Hades then as well! This summer may just become the summer of the slow cooker!) I put some potatoes and a roast in with some salt and pepper. We'll have pot roast, potatoes and a side salad with Ranch dressing.
What are you having?
Update: 5:26 pm: I forgot to say we're having corn on the cob too! It's one of Alexis' all time favorites. I just pulled the pot roast out of the slow cooker to rest for a few minutes and it looks perfect!
Posted by Dianne at 10:31 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 7, 2008
Garden Update: It's In!
Last night we decided to get up early and get the rest of the plants in the ground. We wanted to get ahead of the smothering heat/humidity forecast for today. When we woke up it was also foggy and thankfully it stayed that way until about the last 25 minutes we were finishing up. Even at 7:20 it was sweltering! Seriously hot!
How's that for a foggy, sticky morning?
Thankfully my Wellies came yesterday and trust me they came in handy!
What? Your garden boots don't have polka dots all over them? ;oP
Anyway, let's get started with the containers on the front porch first! Alexis is beside herself because we finally have peas!
Of course you're lucky to get to see one or two of them, because if Alexis sees them first then they are an immediate snack! ;o)
Our experiment pimento plant (i.e.the one that was put in the garage last fall and pulled back out this spring) is going great!
It bloomed and we've got baby Pimento peppers! You can see them there in the picture if you look closely. They are roughly the size of tic tacs right now.
The spinach is still going strong:
As you can see the spinach is just hanging out there next to the peas, both of them are just doing their thing.
The herb box on the front porch is doing superb!
I ended up adding the chocolate mint to this box next to the spearmint, since mint of any variety in the ground is just a recipe for it taking over everything. Seriously if you've never grown mint before keep it in containers because it's VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY and did I mention VERY invasive! It will end up everywhere! Mint is the perfect container plant and nine times out of ten it will come back each year, but if you plant it in the ground you'll end up with it trying to take over your garden and then it will move on to your yard and then it will move on to your neighbors yard and then...Well you get the picture.
Now where were we? Oh yes...So that's it for the porch right now. Let's stop off at the apple tree on the way down to the garden:
The apples are about the size of quarters right now. Ultimately these apples end up about the size of large plums. They are miniature for the most part.
Here's the garden completely planted. It's a bit hard to see the little plants in the middle, but in a few weeks you'll see a great change there!
I planted 40 tomato seeds back at the end of March and 39 of those seeds sprouted! I planted one of the cherry tomatoes on the front porch for Alexis and the other 38 were planted this morning in the garden...38 tomato plants! What was I thinking? ;o) I also picked up a few tomatoes plants here and there so I'm not quiet sure how many I have total, but there are a lot of tomatoes plants there!
Oh yes...I remember what I was thinking...Lots of tomatoes! Some for canning, some to enjoy fresh, some to make salsa, some to make sauces with, some to make ketchup, some to share with people I like...Need I go on?
The tepees in the back have zucchini, cucumbers, yellow squash, 2 tepees of various kinds of beans and peas. Behind the tepees are the two rows of corn we planted. In between the tepees are either leeks and/or onions depending on where you are looking. To the left of the tepees are the watermelon and cantaloupe and in the middle is mostly tomatoes, but also herbs and a little bit of everything else.
We've got variegated sage:
Funny thing about sage, I love to grow it and usually end up with loads of it, but it always ends up that I use it only on Thanksgiving...I think I'm going to have to find something else to do with sage! ;oP
We've got thyme:
Dear lord I love thyme! And I have no trouble at all finding things to do with that! ;oP
Broccoli:
It's probably a little hot for the broccoli. We'll see how it does, but they really like cooler weather. I mean seriously it's almost 100 degrees and the humidity is at eleventy billion percent, so most likely these little guys won't do so well, but we'll see.
More marigolds:
These are from my Mom's marigolds. She brought me some seed years ago and I keep pods every year and replant them. I have no idea why, but these remind me of my grandfather every time I see them.
So that's where we are right now. I didn't take a picture of the peppers, but I'll do that next week. I'll also try to get a shot of the watermelon and cantaloupe. I need to do some weeding this week, but I'm going to wait until it cools off a bit toward mid week!
How are your gardens coming along?
Posted by Dianne at 1:48 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
As I mentioned yesterday we're having some friends over for an early dinner and a play date. As I also mentioned yesterday we went from pre-spring to Hades in about a week, so I wanted something that didn't involve firing up the oven! So I decided to make some crock-pot pulled pork on whole grain buns with barbeque sauce and slaw, some potato salad, a veggie tray for snacking with some Ranch dressing and a no-bake key lime cheese cake for dessert.
What are you having?
P.S. We finished getting the garden in this morning before it got ungodly hot so there will be a garden update...Stay tuned! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 12:00 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 6, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Yikes it's hot! This afternoon and for the next few days we're under an extreme heat advisory. Two weeks ago we were in the 50's and now we're supposed to hit 98 tomorrow! Dear lord! So in sticking with the I'm not going to heat up the oven anymore than I have to theme we're going to have turkey club sandwiches and some sliced veggies.
Tomorrow we're having some friends over for an early dinner. I'm still trying to figure out what to do for then too given it's supposed to be so hot...
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 4:03 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Pineapple Chicken Salad
My sister, Ben and the boys are getting ready to fly to Tennessee tomorrow and she needed someone to distract Nelson and keep Grant out of the two year old grasp of his brother so she could pack. Alexis and I headed to their house this morning to do just that! We even swung by Starbucks and brought drinks because well Alexis is all about Starbucks (even though I don't drink coffee, they've got great tea...And before anyone asks and the answer should be obvious, but I'll share anyway, Alexis doesn't drink coffee either, but she loves their Strawberries and Cream Frappuchino! ;op)
Earlier in the week when I picked up groceries I grabbed a chicken because I was running low on broth and needed to make some. When I found out we'd be going over to Katherine's today I decided to use the breast meat from the chicken to make a batch of chicken salad and take it over for lunch today along with some fruit for a quick an easy lunch. I saved the rest of the meat for use later, but that's neither here nor there right now! ;o)
I've made variations of this chicken salad hundreds of times. The idea for the pineapple came from a chicken salad sandwich we used to get a long time ago in the little town I grew up in Tennessee and was probably my first improvised recipe in that I tasted it, remembered I liked it and recreated it years later. Every time you make it it is slightly different due to the pineapple. Sometimes the pineapple is really sweet, others not so much (and sadly this go round it was not so much), but it's good either way, though I prefer it slightly sweeter.
The chicken has a slight hint of thyme and rosemary from the cooking process of making the broth and the almonds and sunflower seeds give it a little crunch, but overall this is the prefect, summery salad that can be used to make sandwiches or even served on lettuce and really hits the spot on a hot summer day!
What You'll Need:
2 chicken breasts, shredded (Note: If you don't use chicken that you've used to make broth with herbs then you could add in 1/4-1/2 of both dried thyme and rosemary.)
1 - 20 ounce can of crushed or tidbit pineapple in its own juice, drained
1/3 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup of whole almonds
1/4 cup of light mayonnaise
In a large bowl add all ingredients and stir to mix. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.
Seriously how easy is that?
Notes: You can add 1/2 of a small red onion finely chopped, but I was out. You can also add chopped scallions instead if you want. Cashews can be used instead of almonds and pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds or a combination of any of them.
Posted by Dianne at 3:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 5, 2008
Ridiculously Easy Labneh Cheese
As much as I love to cook, I really, really, really, really, really, really and did I mention really HATE to shop! I don't like to shop for clothes, shoes, craft supplies, gardening equipment, computer stuff, food, or well anything! I'm just not a shopper. I never really have been. I'd rather spend time at the park, or near a body of water or at the library or on a picnic or on a walk or with friends or well you get the picture.
Anyway, now that you get how much I hate shopping we'll get on to the real story. Sometimes you just run across the most interesting people when you're out and about and I just love it when you click with someone right off the bat. The other day when Alexis and I were at the market I grabbed a tub of Greek yogurt. A lady standing nearby asked me if I had ever made cheese before. I told her about my mozzarella and goat cheese. She then told me I had to try to make yogurt cheese. "Take that container of Greek Yogurt, add the juice and zest of a couple of lemons, along with a pinch of salt (which I actually forgot, but oh well), tie it up in some cheesecloth (we'll talk more about this below), tie it onto a dowel rod and suspend it in your refrigerator overnight over a bowl and in the morning you've got yogurt cheese. It's perfect and just so tangy! I forget what the actual name of the cheese is...Google 'yogurt cheese' and you'll be set!" We talked for a few more minutes about other things and then went on our respective ways. I call this a drive by friendship. ;oP
So it's no surprise I was completely intrigued. I came home and got started. I Googled 'Greek Yogurt Cheese' and found that it's called Labneh. I also discovered that a lot of different people make it many different ways. I decided to follow the lady's description from the store since we hit it off so well and she swore it was the way to go. What I ended up with is a smooth, creamy cheese along the lines of goat cheese, with a hint of tangy citrus and the best part is this is ridiculously easy to make!
What You'll Need:
1 - 1 pound container of fat free Greek yogurt (Note: I used Okios.)
The zest of 2 lemons
The juice of two lemons
A pinch of sea salt (Note: I forgot to add the salt and the cheese turned out fine.)
In a bowl stir together yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice and sea salt until fully incorporated. Place yogurt mixture into triple layered cheesecloth. (Note: I have very fine cheesecloth and I originally tried to use just one layer and the yogurt oozed through so I had to use another piece of cheesecloth and layer it to get it to work correctly.) Secure the edges of the cheesecloth into a bundle and tie onto a dowel rod:
Place the dowel in the fridge propped up over a bowl so that the cheese can drain overnight, but make sure it's up high enough so that the bottom of the bundle does not go into the liquid that has drained.
The next day open the cheesecloth remove the cheese. Place it into a glass jar and store in the fridge.
Notes: You could add herbs into the cheese after it's made by blending them in. As I mentioned this cheese has much the same consistency of goat cheese, so you could use it anywhere you would use that. It's also cheaper to make, than to buy goat cheese so that's always a plus. And the coolest thing...It's fat free, though you would never, ever guess that by taste!
Posted by Dianne at 2:42 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Man it's hot outside! We went from pre-spring weather to hot as Hades in 0.2 nanoseconds! We're supposed to be in the high 90's this weekend. Yikes! So cool is in order for dinner. I think I'll make a Chef salad for Alexis and I. Jamison has pizza left over from the other night so we'll reheat that for him.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:01 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 4, 2008
What's For Dinner?
So I'm feeling blah today. Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel eh? It's cloudy and dreary and I'm sure that's not helping matters. So what does this have to do with anything? Who knows. Welcome to my world people...It's that kind of day! ;oP
On the dinner front I'm drawing a blank. I was going to make a slimmed down version of General Tso's Chicken that wasn't breaded or fried, BUT I don't have any broccoli on hand and really you need steamed broccoli to make General Tso's Chicken come together. I have a bag of frozen broccoli, but it's just no the same for this dish.
So since I have chicken ready to go I guess I'll come up with something to utilize that...What? I'm not sure yet, but something chickeny is in order I suppose...Or maybe not. Now you see what I'm saying! ;oP
What are you having?
Update: 7:21 PM: I ended up making some pan grilled chicken sandwiches on whole grain bread with grilled mushrooms and provolone along with Old Bay oven fries.
Posted by Dianne at 1:48 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Fruit Salad a la Alexis
Last week when Alexis and I were at the grocery store one of the people that worked there gave Alexis a piece of paper that had kid geared recipes on it along with some cartoon character, which I don't remember at the moment, designed to get kids interested in cooking. I didn't want to burst the person's bubble and tell then that Alexis already was interested in cooking so we took the free handout and went home.
When we got home Alexis of course wanted to read the sheet. I glanced over it and there was nothing offensive (i.e. trying to market a specific product to a child) so when she asked me what the main recipe said we read it together. She can read some small words, but she can't read completely by herself yet, though she gets better at doing just that everyday.
The recipe was for a Waldorf type salad. It had apples, grapes, mayonnaise and sugar. (They were actually marketing this as a "healthy" recipe...Um no!) Alexis immediately told me "Let's make this! But I want to add cherries and strawberries." Easy enough. "Oh and Mom no mayonnaise and sugar!" Well I agree with that too. "And when we finish I want for you to put it on your 'bog'!" "Blog..." "That's what I said!"
So today's recipe is directly from Miss G! She also liked this so much she had it for lunch two days in a row! I pointed out that she had had fruit salad many times before, but she told me "Your fruit salad is good, but mine is better!" OK then!
Anyway, so this is the fruit salad that Alexis "came up" with...She's so my child! ;oP
What You'll Need:
1 large apple, chopped
1 cup of grapes
1 cup of strawberries
1 cup of sliced cherries
Toss fruit together and serve.
Notes: Any fruit will work.
Posted by Dianne at 9:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 3, 2008
What's For Dinner?
Alexis wants to make pizza for dinner. We make individual personal sized pizzas. We'll make her and Jamison's standard fare and I think I'm going to make a barbeque chicken pizza for me.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Tuesdays With Dorie: French Chocolate Brownies With A Twist...There's Always A Twist!
It's Tuesday! So you know what that means...Tuesdays with Dorie
Where was I? Oh yes...Chocolate Brownies! What else do you need to say? I mean seriously...What's better than an ooey, chocolately, fudgy brownie? Not much in my opinion and these brownies are all of that! They are just delicious!
Of course I tweaked this recipe a bit...I mean you know me and tweaking. When I read the recipe I thought that raisins were a little weird, but then I started thinking about a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar and well I love those things so it started making a little more sense! Then I thought well if it's got raisins, then why not just throw in some almonds too and then they will be just like the Fruit and Nut bars! So that's just what I did and I must say I really LOVED the result!
I sent the majority of these to work with Jamison, but I kept a couple for Alexis and I. On the one that I ate I added some of the left over cream cheese frosting from last week's sticky buns. I mean why not take it and kick it up another notch? I don't think I've found anything that didn't taste better with a little cream cheese frosting. ;o)
As I mentioned above these brownies were lovely inside and out. They were very chocolately and they had a very nice crumb. I ended up using 7 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate instead of 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate and I would have used milk chocolate, but I was out. I've told you all my theory on cinnamon and chocolate before so we won't dwell, but needless to say that didn't make the cut. I melted my chocolate in the microwave as well instead of bothering with the whole double boiler thing.
I skipped the cooking of the raisins and the rum. Simply not my thing, though I do enjoy the flaming part. I added 1 cup of raisins and 1 cup of whole raw almonds instead of just 1/3 cup of raisins. I also baked them as individual cupcakes to make them easier for Jamison to take and share. I ended up with 26 cupcake brownies and it took them about 18 minutes to bake.
So there you have it...My tweaked brownies. Did I mention these were heavenly chocolate? ;oP
Be sure and stop over at the Tuesdays With Dorie blog and take the links to see how everyone else's brownies turned out!
What You'll Need:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/3 cup raisins, dark or golden
1 1/2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 12 pieces
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil, place the pan on a baking sheet, and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon, if you're using it.
Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the water almost evaporates. Add the rum, let it warm for about 30 seconds, turn off the heat, stand back and ignite the rum. Allow the flames to die down, and set the raisins aside until needed.
Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Slowly and gently melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the butter, stirring so that it melts. It's important that the chocolate and butter not get very hot. However, if the butter is not melting, you can put the bowl back over the still-hot water for a minute. If you've got a couple of little bits of unmelted butter, leave them—it's better to have a few bits than to overheat the whole. Set the chocolate aside for the moment.
Working with a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and pour in the chocolate-butter, mixing only until it is incorporated—you'll have a thick, creamy batter. Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 30 seconds—the dry ingredients won't be completely incorporated and that's fine. Finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula, then fold in the raisins along with any liquid remaining in the pan.
Scrape the batter into the pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top is dry and crackled and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the brownies to cool to warm or room temperature.
Carefully lift the brownies out of the pan, using the foil edges as handles, and transfer to a cutting board. With a long-bladed knife, cut the brownies into 16 squares, each roughly 2 inches on a side, taking care not to cut through the foil.
Serving: The brownies are good just warm or at room temperature; they're even fine cold. I like these with a little something on top or alongside—good go-alongs are whipped crème fraiche or whipped cream, ice cream or chocolate sauce or even all three!
Storing: Wrapped well, these can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Posted by Dianne at 7:04 AM | Comments (47) | TrackBack
June 2, 2008
What's For Dinner?
I've been trying to not fire up the oven as much as possible since it has gotten warm outside, but I really want to make stuffed pork chops for dinner and they have to be baked, so I'm going to compromise. I'll make a stuffed pork chop for me and plain pork chops for Alexis and Jamison and I'll bake them in the toaster oven. It's a great way to bake in the summer and it doesn't put out as much heat! We also are going to have some steamed whole grain wild rice and dill carrots.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:16 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Steak Sandwich Done Right
When I attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and lived in the dorm there was a grill across the courtyard from my dorm that had the best (and the time the only) steak sandwiches I had ever had! The grill wasn't on my meal plan, but you had "bonus" dollars on most plans and those could be used there. A friend of mine and I would go down to the grill once a week or so and indulge. Given we had to walk a mile or so to class and then a mile or so back for many of our classes and we were usually walking quite quickly we easily burned off these splurges and I do mean splurge!
Let's take about these gut buster sandwiches why don't we? These sandwiches had lord knows how much fat and calories! The meat was cooked in butter and then if you added vegetables (I always had just mushrooms) then those were cooked in butter too. After that they'd slap down a little more butter and "toast" the bun on the grill and then put the whole thing together! And I'm not talking just a little butter, I'm talking like 1/4 of a cup at least for each thing that was "cooked" or as the case may be fried! Then we'd top it off with a large order of French fries. Oh my! I can hear my arteries hardening just thinking about all that butter! ;oP
As I have gotten older I just can't eat like that anymore. Over the past two years anything that has too much fat or if I eat too much fried stuff it just doesn't sit well. Plus who wants that much butter in a sitting? (OK...Maybe Ina or Paula Deen, but still! ;oP) Also I really worry about beef in general. I don't eat a lot of beef and I most definitely eat grass fed beef when I do. Mad cow anyone? I think not! It was time to take your basic steak sandwich and take it to a whole other level.
This sandwich actually uses a steak. It does not use that minute steak stuff, which I'm sure is not grass fed. Throw in some mushrooms, some provolone and serve it on some whole grain toasted bread and you've taken the standard, greasy steak sandwich and made it into something much lighter and much better for you. Who says you can't revamp something bad into something better?
What You'll Need:
1 - 1 pound grass fed steak
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Sliced mushrooms (optional)
Sliced onions (optional)
Sliced bell pepper (optional)
4 slices of whole grain bread, toasted
2 slices of Provolone cheese
Slice a 1 pound steak into thin strips. Place in a glass bowl and drizzle with some olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper and then toss to coat. Place bowl covered in the fridge for at least one hour.
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add a little olive oil and cook mushrooms, onion and pepper until just tender. (I used only mushrooms, but you can use all of them or none of them...It's completely a matter of taste.) Once vegetables are tender add steak and cook until the meat is done to your likeness. (I like mine medium.) Remove from heat.
To assemble the sandwich place the layer of meat/veggies onto a slice of toasted bread. Top with Provolone. Add any condiments that you like. (I like a little light mayo.) After the condiments top with the other slice of toasted bread. Cut in half and serve.
Makes 2 sandwiches.
Notes: This method would work with chicken too if you wanted. At the grill they served the sandwich on a hoagie bun. You could serve it on a whole grain bun if you liked. For a vegetarian version you could just use more mushrooms and/or other vegetables.
Posted by Dianne at 8:22 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
June 1, 2008
Garden Update: The Garden Is Going In!
So we started putting in the garden this morning. We worked for about 2 1/2 hours and we're about 1/3 of the way done. We got two rows of corn seed planted (2 kinds of sweet corn and some popcorn), part of the tomatoes and peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, pea seeds, cucumbers, zucchini and squash. We have more tomatoes, some beans, carrots, lettuce, herbs, peppers, eggplant and marigolds yet to plant. We plan on working on that later this afternoon once the sun isn't high in the sky and it's a bit cooler.
It's important to note that at this time last year my garden had been in the ground for two months. It's bee so cool and rainy this spring that we just couldn't get it done before now. The seedlings have however grown a lot on the front porch, so that's good in the grand scheme of things.
So on to the garden itself! Let's take a look at what we have so far.
First off let's look at the peas on the porch are blooming!
An before we get on to the garden let's take a look at one of the apple trees:
These are known as "baking" or "cooking" apples. It appears we are going to have a bumper crop!
Now let's move on to the garden itself. In terms of size we were thinking big this year. We started out by digging and that was getting us no where fast. Jamison dug a rectangle that was about double the size of our old garden (12 X 6). We realized quickly that this we would be digging this time next year at the rate we were going. So we decided to rent a tiller:
So we had several issues right off the bat. One the belt kept slipping off the tiller so Jamison had to stop and put it back on every few feet. Another issue that arose was that the tiller lost a bolt or two...Obviously this tiller we rented wasn't in the best of shape, but oh well.
We also discovered that part of our yard is also under the water table, so the garden is slightly misshapen, because there were areas that could not be tilled, but we didn't know it until we started. In case you don't know what under the water table means, if you start digging your hole it fills up with water. This is both a plus and a minus...A minus in that we had to rethink the size a bit, a plus in that it's easier to keep the plants moist. So we rolled with the punches and this is what we ended up with:
The above pictures were taken from the breakfast area of our kitchen which is two stories up. It's hard to get a good idea of the size and to be honest I haven't measured the final outcome, but it's big. That little groundhog in the picture...I think he and I are going to get on each other's bad side quick! He lives down by the creek, which is not far behind the garden.
Do foxes eat groundhogs? Because he lives down there near the creek too! ;oP
Anyway, we had to cart the plants down the hill to the garden. I told Jamison that I wished we had a wheel barrow and he suggested using Alexis' wagon...Why didn't I think of that?
The seedlings took two loads to carry down the plants and Jamison kindly rolled them down for me. I also have/had some seeds to plant too and as I mentioned I already planted from seed 2 rows of corn, some beans, shell peas and snow pea pods. If you'll notice some of the plants are already blooming. We've got small squash and tomatoes on some of the plants.
Isn't that gorgeous? I just love squash blooms! Or it may be a zucchini, but you get the idea none the less!
So this is what we started with:
Right behind the garden is a massive patch of honeysuckle and the whole garden area smells sweet! It's heavenly. Once I get everything planted I will show you an after picture.
The marigolds are doing really well too. I'll plant these underneath the tomatoes. They help ward off nematodes and things like that that can bother and/or destroy your plants.
I also plant herbs and garlic and things for bug protection as well. I'll share my "recipe" for organic bug spray later on. It is a mixture of garlic, cayenne pepper, etc that you boil and then steep for a while. It works like a charm!
So that's where we are right now. In a couple of hours we'll go back out and hopefully finish up the rest of the garden today...Stay tuned!
Posted by Dianne at 2:13 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I think I'm going to make some sushi. I'll make a veggie roll and an avocado roll.
What are you having?
Update: 4:48 PM: I'm out of sushi rice! How did that happen? Back to the drawing board...
Update: 6:11 PM: Jamison cooked dinner. We had pasta. :o)
Posted by Dianne at 1:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
