queen of the castle recipes

The Cutest Cup in the World

2012-01-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

This is the cutest idea I've come across in ages.

Start with your basic orange. Score the rind around the center -- just the rind, not the fruit.

Drop the orange into a pot of boiling water. Boil for five minutes, then remove orange from hot water and let cool a minute or two. The rind should have separated a bit from the fruit. Once it's cool enough to handle, carefully pull one end of the rind down (to form the bottom of your cup) and the other half up, to make the drinking part of your cup.

See? How simple is that? Would this not be darling for a little girl's tea party? Or for a picnic lunch with your sweetie? It doesn't get any "greener" than your own fruit providing the drinking vessel.

By the way, in case you're wondering . . .

. . . flaming cognac, even with a pinch of sugar, a clove, a cinnamon stick, and served in the most darling cup in the world . . .

. . . is disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.
Ugh.
If you have any cognac, just pour that stuff right down the drain.
My little handy hint for the day.
But the orange cup? Priceless. Next time I'm trying it with warm apple cider.

NOTE: Idea from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook by John J. Poister. A very fun book, even if I spit out the cognac.

Kitchen Wrap-Up

2012-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a quiet week here in Lake Wobegon, my hometown.
Wait a minute, that's somebody else's opening line.
It's actually been a delightful week here at the castle.
While seeking out homemaking inspiration, I discovered some lovely new blogs , including Jeannine's Grace and Peace, where she writes about her family's Epiphany celebration (a holiday I now have a hankering to celebrate). She is also a fan of Queen of the Castle, which of course makes her my new best friend. :)
(What? You haven't read Queen of the Castle? Click here to see what you're missing.)

With the zeal for decluttering that seems to hit me this time of year, I spent a bit of time cleaning out and organizing one of my kitchen drawers, discovering some napkins, napkin rings, and other assorted treasures I'd completely forgotten about. I even put down new shelf paper, seeing as the old stuff had been in there since my two manly sons were in diapers . . . Yeah. That was quite some time ago.

I made some interesting pumpkin-studded bread.
Let's just leave it at "interesting," shall we?

And I discovered this wonderful book, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn, which I think would make a perfect housewarming gift for young people moving into their first apartments, or newlyweds, or anyone, really, who is even a little bit interested in food and who never got the chance to go to cooking school. I've been playing in my kitchen for decades now, and I still have soooo much to learn. In this book, I'm learning about different methods for cooking meat, and different ideas for vegetable cookery. Whether you're a novice or somewhat experienced in the kitchen, there's something in this entertaining book for you.

So I leave you today not with a recipe, but with these inspiring words from author Kathleen Flinn:

"So who says you can't cook? Not every meal has to be from scratch, nor does everything you consume have to be organic, locally sourced, and pasture raised. Try to find a comfortable place somewhere between Tuna Helper and Top Chef. If you burn, scorch, drop, overcook, undercook, underseason, or otherwise put a meal together that's less than a success, in the end it doesn't matter. It's just one meal. You'll make another one tomorrow."

So bon appetit. Enjoy your warm, homey kitchens, wherever they may be.

Apple Almond Rice Mix

2012-01-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

We are only a few days into 2012, and it is shaping up to be a mighty fine food year already.
Mighty fine.

From the authentic Mexican restaurant seafood dish of shrimp and octopus cocktail topped with avocado, an oyster, cilantro, drenched in oyster juice (yum)

to the homemade mocha frappuccino which, turns out, can be blended most adequately at the bathroom sink of your basic Motel 6 room (do I love my happy frappies? Indeed I do)

to the apple almond rice mix, which can be stirred up ahead of time and bagged for your pantry, ready to be simmered later with water, apple juice, and a touch of butter for a slightly fruity, crunchy, very flavorful side dish.

2012. Oh yeah. Bring it on.

NOTE: I omitted the parsley flakes in this recipe because I didn't have any. The recipe makes four bags of mix, but you can divide it your first time to see if you like it. Recipe kindly provided by the USA Rice Federation.

Christmas Baking

2011-11-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

Can you ever have too many Christmas cookies? Some new favorites I've discovered in recent years include this yummy chocolate-coconut potato candy; orange snowball cookies; mocha truffle cookies; and frosted lemon ricotta cookies. Yum. Cookies. Bring 'em on.

But if you find it a challenge to squeeze in all the holiday baking you'd like to in the weeks before Christmas, see if author and guest blogger Gina Conroy's tips, below, don't help.

Gina, by the way, has a brand new novella coming out in a month. Called Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers collection, you can read all about it here. Then bake yourself some nice warm cookies and cozy up to a delicious fire. It's the recipe for a perfect chilly evening, if you ask me.

HOLIDAY COOKIES MADE EASIER
by Gina Conroy

I remember the time I took a plate of Christmas cookies to my daughter's preschool teacher and was surprised by her comment.

"Thank you. Not many people give homemade Christmas cookies any more. It seems to be a lost art."

That made me sad to hear that so many people forego this holiday tradition. As I was growing up, my mom always filled shoeboxes of cookies for neighbors, relatives, and friends. It was her gift to them. And they'd come to expect it every year and cherish their favorite cookies.

I have to admit I don't bake nearly as much as she still does. One of the reasons is that it's too stressful cooking with four kids' schedules and trying to do everything else for Christmas. But if you still want to bake and give those holiday cookies without the stress, here are some great ideas that have helped me.

YOUR FREEZER IS YOUR FRIEND
Pies, cookies, sweet breads all freeze great. So don't be afraid to freeze them. I usually freeze holiday cookies (and cookies throughout the year) for those unexpected guests. Then I just pull them out and let them defrost. Instant homemade treat.

ORGANIZE A COOKIE EXCHANGE
This is the BEST way to do the least amount of work and get the most variety of cookies. Invite your friends over to a cookie exchange party. Then have everyone bring a couple dozen of one or two varieties of their favorite cookies. On the day of the party, break out the Christmas eggnog and coffee, scented candles and music, and arrange all the cookies on the dining room table. You can even have everyone bring their favorite snack to share at the party.

Make sure everyone brings an empty container to take home cookies. Then after you visit for a while, start revolving around the table, grabbing three or four cookies of each variety. If you brought three dozen cookies, you take home three dozen. If you brought two dozen, then you leave with two dozen.

Then take them home and enjoy. I usually share my goodies with teachers and friends. They don't have to know you didn't bake them all.

GIVE COOKIES IN A JAR
This has been my standard teacher's gift for the last couple of years. It's so easy to do, and everyone loves to make their own cookies without all the measuring and the mess. You can assemble these ahead of time, so start saving those applesauce, mayo, and tomato sauce jars now.

Check to see if you have to cut the recipes in half for smaller jars, and don't forget to attach instructions. Also, don't be afraid to change up the ingredients and get creative.

(Lynn's note: Here's a recipe for chocolatey peanut butter cookie mix, and another for homemade brownie mix.)

Christmas cookie baking doesn't have to be stressful, especially if you plan ahead. So resurrect this lost Christmas tradition and bless someone this holiday season.

Gina Conroy is founder of Writer . . . Interrupted, where she mentors busy writers. Her first novella, Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers collection, releases from Barbour Publishing in January, 2012. Gina loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter.

Excess Halloween Candy Ideas

2011-11-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Got a little too much of this lying around? Me, too. If you need some ideas on how to use it, check out this excellent post by Janet Rudolph of the wonderfully choco-licious blog Dying for Chocolate. Janet provides more than a dozen creative ways to use it up.

Like using M & M's to make your own trail mix. Doh! Why didn't I think of that?!

Apple Yogurt Salad

2011-10-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

Louise over at Months of Edible Celebrations has one of the most entertaining food blogs around. Every post, she culls through old cookbooks, researches food holidays, tells her readers about historical events and magically connects them to food. If you've never stopped in for a visit, you must go, and soon. You are in for a treat.

When Louise posted her challenge earlier this month -- to try out a recipe from a cookbook you own that corresponds with one of the October food holidays she spotlighted on her blog -- I knew I had to give it a go.

We've got an apple tree

and I happen to have a few cookbooks . . . and October, according to Louise, is Apple Month.

So just in under the October wire, here is my apple contribution. Not the grated apple pie I made, not the baked apples with custard sauce, not the applesauce or apple and cheese platters -- though they were all yummy. But the recipe I'd like to share for Louise's cookbook party is this humble apple yogurt salad. It's easy, tasty, and healthy, passing my test for a recipe that's a keepr.
Taken from this book, one in my collection that I really ought to use more, this delightful little dish serves 6, at about 100 calories apiece.

APPLE YOGURT SALAD

1/4 c. walnuts, chopped
2/3 c. plain yogurt
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. honey
2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
lettuce

Toast the walnuts at 350 degrees until lightly browned -- 5 minutes or so. Stir together yogurt, lemon juice, cinnamon, and honey. Toss sliced apples with yogurt mixture and serve on lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Chocolate Goodness without Excess Guilt

2011-10-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

I've gotta admit, some recipes I try without a lot of hope that they'll actually taste good. You know the ones I mean. Filled with sneaky little pulverized vegetables. Low-fat. Bran.

With low expectations is exactly how I approached this recipe -- a whole wheat brownie made with more than a cup of applesauce. Healthy-ish, for a brownie. But probably not a brownie you'd make again with any enthusiasm.

Well. Can I just say here I was wrong.

This little beauty, from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, certainly surprised me. It's moist. Fudgy. Even crowned with a handful of chocolate chips. Two hundred calories for a square like this one. Just 100 calories if you cut it in half.

But then, of course, you'd have to eat two.

If you're looking for a nice little October brownie to have with your cup of hot tea, look no further. Whole-wheat brownies, Martha's way. It's a good thing.

Homemaking in the Fall

2011-10-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Turns out sometimes you're too busy being productive at home to actually blog about being productive at home. Like a squirrel gathering nuts, I have been nesting -- saying goodbye to the season past and preparing for the one to come.

There were the leaves collected and flattened and traced and turned into the cutest autumn towels ever.

Idea from this delightful book.

There were the home-grown tomatoes, transformed into oniony/Parmesan-y tarts, soup for the freezer, dehydrated disks, and juice, glorious juice.

There were the apples made into chips, dehyrated snacks, and a nice little side dish doused with a citrus-y dressing of orange juice, lemon juice, and diced red onion.

There was the eggplant -- itty bitty ones, to be sure, but enough for a quiche and lovely cracker spread and a couple other dishes I forgot to photograph ;)

And finally, the peppers. Are they not gorgeous?

This year, rather than making pickled peppers, I opted for lots of slivering for the freezer, and a wee bit o' roasting.

To roast, just cut them in half and remove core and seeds, put them in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 10 minutes or so, until quite blackened, then sweat them out in a sealed zippered plastic bag for 20 minutes before peeling.

A bit of work, I'm not gonna lie. But in the end, the roasted peppers, pureed with a clove of garlic and a bit of olive oil, circled around a platter of lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, salami, and tomatoes -- probably the best meal of the season.

Happy fall.

Y'all.

NOTE: Instructions for roasting peppers came from an old issue of Cooking Light magazine. Salad idea with the roasted pepper puree came from another old magazine clipping -- maybe McCall's? Not sure.

Panzanella

2011-09-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

And to think, until a couple years ago, I'd never even heard of panzanella, also known as bread salad. Thanks to the wonderful world of blogging, this is now one of my favorite quick summertime meals -- especially once the home-grown tomatoes are flourishing.

Which they are.

One of the things I love most about this recipe is I usually have all the ingredients on hand. It takes less than a half hour to throw together.

And it is delicious.

Did I mention how delicious it is?

In the book Real Simple Celebrations: Easy Entertaining for Every Occasion, author Valerie Rains suggests that rather than freezing those hot dog and hamburger buns left over from summertime barbecues, you use them in this salad instead. Brilliant idea.

Here are the instructions based on the recipe from the book:

PANZANELLA (BREAD SALAD)

2 hot dog or hamburger buns, cut into 1-inch pieces

2-4 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

4 - 8 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1/4 c. thinly sliced basil

1/4 c. olive oil

1 T. balsamic or red wine vinegar

1/4 t. Kosher salt

1/8 t. black papper

Place cut up buns on baking sheet; bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. In large bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, cheese, and basil. Add the oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Add the toasted bread and toss.

So is anyone else swimming in tomatoes?

Chocolate Pasta

2011-09-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of it? Ever tried it? Inquiring minds want to know . . .

Pasta Salad with Pesto, Feta, and Sun-dried Tomatoes

2011-09-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

September? How can it be September already? I still haven't gotten myself to the mall to buy a new swimsuit. I still haven't finished using my five-year-old can of spray tan on my lily white legs. I still haven't roasted any tomatoes.

Alas, the calendar says it really is September, and even I know better than to contradict my calendar. There is still enough summer left to make this amazing pasta salad, which I discovered recently via Mary at her blog, What's Cookin' with Mary.

The toasted slivered almonds provide the crunch, the feta cheese gives the squish and creaminess, the sun-dried tomatoes add the surprise of yum. I believe we have found ourselves a new summer staple here at the castle.

This would be a great addition to a potluck, by the way. The only changes I made to Mary's (really, her brother's) recipe is I omitted the onions. It just tasted so perfect already.

So go pop by Mary's and print out this tasty, tasty dish. And tell me about anything good that's going on in your kitchen.

Roasted Thai Chicken

2011-08-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

I rarely get the chance to roast meat since Kahuna usually wrestles it away from me for the backyard grill. But this chicken?
Mine. All mine.

The recipe for this tasty lime-coconut version came from a recent issue of Counry Living magazine. It turned out moist and flavorful with a bright hint of lime. Mmmmm.

You start by layering your roasting pan with lime slices. Then you pop in the blender (or food processor) some lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, salt, and my new favorite ingredient, cream of coconut (see this post for more about that).

You're also supposed to add hot chiles . . . but sorry, no stinkin' way. Any food that calls for wearing gloves while handling most definitely does not belong river-rafting its way down my throat. I know, I'm a wuss. But that's my policy and I'm not wavering.

Take this oozy mixture from the blender and squirt it over your chicken, underneath the skin and into little knife-piercings you've made on the thighs.

Then bake away.
Recipe here.
Anything good cooking at your house?

Today's Quiz

2011-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

So which of the following was this week's biggest hit at the castle, the recipe I'll definitely be making again? Was it

these jam-filled muffins?

Was it this shortcake topped with

blueberries and home-grown peaches?

Was it these oven-barbecued spareribs?

Was it . . . wait a minute.

Was it this three-berry freezer jam, made with home-grown strawberries, blackberries, and store-bought raspberries?

I'll give you a minute.

(Idle whistling. Whistle whistle whistle.)

Ready?

You sure?

If you guessed jam-filled muffins -- nah. Too much muffin, not enough jam, even though the jam kind of oozed out the sides of the muffins. Not bad, but not stellar.

Did you guess the fruit-topped shortcake? This was definitely tasty, but I am still auditioning shortcake recipes. I believe this is the fifth so far this summer. No worries, friends, I will bravely soldier on.

The spareribs? Ding ding ding ding, we have a winner. I loved these. They came from a children's cookbook but I am not ashamed. They were simple, tasty, foolproof. I love that in a recipe.

The cute little table runner is a demonstration of my current obsession, using up fabric scraps to match flowers from the garden. Yesterday Kahuna spotted yet another little tabletop trivet and announced, "You are dangerous." Yes indeedy that's me. The dangerous little scrap hoarder.

The three-berry freezer jam, just finished, tastes promising but is still runny, even after the recommended 30-minute wait time. It may debut as ice cream sauce rather than jam. Nummy either way.

Here, then, is my favorite of the week. I'd love to hear about yours.

OVEN BARBECUED SPARERIBS
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
1/4 c. chicken broth (I used powdered bouillon mixed with water)
1 t. ground ginger
1 rack pork spareribs (3 - 4 pounds)

In bowl, mix sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chicken broth, and ginger. Cut rack of ribs into manageable pieces and place in large plastic zipper bag (gallon size). (The ribs I bought were not quite 3 pounds so they all fit into one large bag; if you buy more ribs, you may need to use a second bag.) Pour in the marinade and let soak four hours or overnight, turning occasionally if you think about it.

When ready to cook, heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet (or two, if you need to) with foil and place ribs on foil. (Throw out marinade at this point.) Bake for one hour. Cut to the bone to make sure meat isn't pink on the inside. If it is, bake 15 more minutes. (Mine was done after one hour.) Cut into individual ribs before serving.

Microwave Strawberry Jam

2011-07-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

. . . is not as grand an idea as one might think.

Paper towels. My new best friend.

So what's going on in your kitchen?

Fruit and Cheese

2011-07-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes one thought hopscotches to the next and you find yourself in the library searching for a book about Thomas Jefferson's years in Paris and wondering just how, exactly, you got there?

Well.

I started by thinking about Bastille Day, July 14, a patriotic holiday in France. Bastille Day led me to thinking about French food, which led me to

cheese fondue (which is Swiss, turns out, in spite of the fact that this one is called French Onion Fondue). Which led me to a book about cheese, written by a poet who mentions Moby-Dick and cheese curd in the same sentence and makes it seem like a natural pairing. That led me to my Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook

and its listing of fruits and cheeses, which led me to our backyard peach tree

which got me to wondering if I'd written about cheese and fruit pairings before, which led me to the Too Hot to Cook chapter of my book Queen of the Castle

where, turns out, I certainly had.

And now I'm curious about cheeses and France and the late 1700s and Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson and about what resources there are for homeschoolers interested in France

even though I am not a homeschooler and have no plans to teach a unit on France and by now Bastille Day is long over.

So here's a sandwich. A fine snack or part of a meal when it's too hot to cook.

Bread (skinny baguettes are good)
Cheese (Mascarpone, a sweetened cream cheese that, turns out, is from Italy, not France)
Backyard or grocery store peach, sliced

Put the cheese on a slice of the bread. Put a slice of peach on the cheese. Eat.

Red Onion Preserves

2011-07-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've made this recipe twice so far this summer, and there are more red onion preserves in my future, I can just feel it. Kahuna's garden is going strong, and we have a plethora of onions, I tell you, a plethora.

This tasty little condiment is wonderful on homemade pizza; as a side dish for grilled meats; and on open-faced sandwiches on toasted English muffins with melted Swiss cheese. Yum.

The recipe is (slightly) adapted from a beautiful book called Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes by Andrea Reusing. I changed a couple of minor things, according to my taste and what I had on hand, so will post it here the way I made it.

RED ONION PRESERVES
2 T. olive oil
4 medium red onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt
1 c. dry red wine
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. honey
2 t. ground coriander seed

In a medium-sized pot over low heat, cook olive oil, onions, garlic, and a sprinkling of salt, covered, for about 10 minutes, until onions get soft. Add wine, vinegar, honey, and coriander and cook, uncovered, for about 20 more minutes at medium or medium-low heat. The liquid should start to get syrupy. When it's done, put into jars and use as needed. Reusing says it should keep for a few weeks in the refrigerator and I agree.

You can cut this recipe in half to give it a try; you'll end up with one small jar. I'm thinking I will freeze some of this to use later in the year.

So how does your garden grow?

Coconut-Pineapple Smoothie

2011-07-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

When it's too hot to cook, you just might need to drink some of your calories. Here's a tropical coconut smoothie recipe I discovered in an old issue of Sunset magazine.

This is just the kind of discovery that keeps me constantly trying new recipes. It introduced me to cream of coconut -- an ingredient I'd never used before, but one that has become an immediate new favorite. You can find it in the liquor section of the grocery store (though it's not alcoholic), near the grenadine and margarita salt. Apparently it's used in pina coladas. I was happily surprised to see it cost less than four dollars.

All I can say is, this cream of coconut is terrific in smoothies, especially if the other ingredients are mild enough that the coconut flavor shines through. (When I put some in my mocha frappuccino, for example, the coffee flavor overpowered it.) It's also terrific mixed with maple syrup (one part cream of coconut, two parts syrup), heated, and served over waffles.

Mmmph, it's good by the spoonful, too, straight from the can. But if you tell anyone I said that, I 'll have to lie and say, no I didn't.

If you're curious about more uses for this creamy, sweet, coconut goodness, check out this web site.

And I would love to know: Have you ever used cream of coconut, for drinks or other recipes? Please share.

DELICIOUS COCONUT-PINEAPPLE SMOOTHIE

For one serving, combine in blender:
1/2 c. plain, unflavored yogurt
1/4 c. frozen pineapple chunks
1/4 c. cracked ice (about 3 or 4 ice cubes)
1/2 banana, sliced
1 1/2 T. cream of coconut (mmmmm)

Whirl in blender until it's smooth.

Vine-Ripened Tomato Cologne

2011-07-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

Any idea what this is?
OK, I guess I gave it away with this post's title.
It's a little experiment. Homemade cologne. Made with tomato leaves. And lemon zest. And basil. And mint (shown here). Put the first four ingredients in a clean jar, pour in some vodka (and glycerine, if you have it), shake gently and let sit, mysterious, in a darkened, cool spot for a couple weeks until it's time to strain it and and come up smelling beautiful.
At least that's the hope.
VINE-RIPENED TOMATO COLOGNE
4 T. fresh tomato leaves, chopped
1 T. fresh lemon zest
1 t. fresh basil leaves
1 t. fresh mint leaves
1 c. vodka
1/4 t. glycerine (I don't have any of this, so I'm hoping it won't matter that I've omitted it, especially since it's such a small amount. Glycerine is "a clear, odorless, sticky liquid" that "attracts moisture and keeps products from drying out," according to author and the source of this recipe, Janice Cox, in her book Natural Beauty from the Garden.)

I just made this, so I won't know the verdict for a couple of weeks. But I stuck my nose in it just a minute ago, and it smells pungently, wonderfully lemony.

Do you ever make your own beauty products? Feel free to leave a link if you've found a great recipe.

Olallieberry Cake

2011-06-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ooh la la, olallieberries.

After the jam

and before the syrup

came the cake.

Dense and rich and studded with berries, this cake is a winner. Even though it's topped with a powdered sugar glaze, I believe you can still sneak a piece and call it breakfast. It has fruit in it, for heaven's sake.

That totally counts.

OLALLIEBERRY CAKE
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
4 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (I use regular milk and squeeze in the juice from one or two lemon wedges; stir and let sit a few minutes before using)
1 t. vanilla
4 3/4 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 c. fresh (or frozen) berries

GLAZE:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1 T. (plus more, as needed) milk

In large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
If you're using this substitute for buttermilk, measure out the milk now and squeeze in the lemon juice. Add vanilla and set aside.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. To the butter mixture, add some of the flour mixture, then some of the buttermilk, stirring well after each addition. Alternate adding the dry and liquid ingredients until all have been incorporated into the batter. Fold in the berries.
Spread in greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Cool comletely. (I can never make myself wait, but diligent student that I am, I pass on the wisdom anyway.) Stir together powdered sugar and enough milk to make a drizzling consistency and drizzle over the cake. Delicious.

This recipe was clipped from a magazine; my guess is it was from Better Homes and Gardens.

Any berry picking going on in your neck of the woods?

Norwegian Rhubarb Soup Revisited

2011-06-28T15:26:00.000-07:00

Turns out you can make Norwegian Rhubarb Soup in California, too.
Though your meringues might bear a strong resemblance to amoeba.

Or maybe that's just me.

Norwegian Rhubarb Soup

2011-06-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

If you've never had rhubarb before, you're in for a treat.

If you've had rhubarb lots of times before, you're still in for a treat.

This fruity dessert soup, served cold, has a wonderful orange undertone with a hint of cinnamon. It's not hard to make, and it's so delectable I would suggest doubling the recipe. The Norwegian master chef, shown here,

says it should serve six to eight, but I have a feeling Kahuna and I could dust this off handily all by ourselves. It is that good.

The garnish, you may notice, is a strawberry, mint leaf, and meringue. These are optional; if you have the time, the meringue makes a nice touch. But if you have time to make only the soup, feel free to serve it meringue-less.

Try this. Not kidding.

RHUBARB SOUP
4 c. diced rhubarb (cut into pieces 3/4-inch to 1-inch long)
4 1/2 c. water, divided
1 c. sugar
1 t. grated orange peel
1 orange peel (section off the peel in large pieces; you will fish it out of the soup later)
1 cinnamon stick OR 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. vanilla
(optional) 2 T. Grand Marnier (with the yellow cord around the neck, if you have it; otherwise regular Grand Marnier or other orange flavored liqueur)

In large pot, place rhubarb, 4 c. of the water, sugar, orange peel (both grated and large pieces), and cinnamon. Boil for one minute. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

Mix cornstarch into 1/2 c. water. Stir into soup until it thickens slightly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Add liqueur if using. Let cool and cover with plastic, refrigerating until chilled. Remove cinnamon stick and large orange peels and serve, garnished with whole strawberry, a mint leaf, and a small meringue island, if desired.

MERINGUE ISLAND (optional garnish)
3 egg whites
6 T. sugar
4 c. milk

Beat egg whites; add sugar gradually. Boil milk, drop in egg mixture by soup spoonfuls; turn, and drain.

This Chocolate Idea Looks Promising

2011-06-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

Look what I saw at the airport in Amsterdam.
It's a hot chocolate mug that includes a wooden spoon (the kind you get when you order a chocolate malt ice cream cup at the ball game), embedded in a big ol' hunk of chocolate.

Have I mentioned that I love the Amsterdam airport?

Garden Goodness

2011-06-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

I went out to the garden to pick these
and was momentarily blinded by these.

Aren't they beautiful?

Our first crop ever.

From these five trees.
Sigh. God is good.

On another note: Garlic fries. Kahuna and I shared a stack of these at the San Francisco Giants game the other night. I've never made them myself. Have you? The closest I've come is these garlic mashed potatoes. But I'd love to give the fries a try.

Because we have plenty of this (garlic). Which could use a little weeding, I'm just now noticing.

I'll get right on it. Right after I try a new recipe for strawberry shortcake. See replies to post, below, for strawberry shortcake ideas.

Strawberry Shortcake

2011-06-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to report that sometimes a low-fat, low-sugar, low-calorie strawberry shortcake bears a disappointing resemblance to a hockey puck.

Does anyone have a great shortcake recipe to share?

New Cookbook

2011-05-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

Look what I just bought.

Because I really neeeeeeeeed another cookbook.

OK, maybe need is the wrong word.

But isn't it cute?

Does anyone else have this book: At Our Table by Roxie Kelley, illustrated by Shelly Reeves Smith? Are you hooked on cookbooks, too? What are some of your favorites?

Lemon-Poppyseed Jelly

2011-05-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Is there anything more appealing than a jar of home-preserved jam or jelly, bursting with fruit flavor fresh from the garden?

This lemon-poppyseed jelly is one of the best arguments I know for spending a couple hours in the kitchen, concocting your own fruit-infused condiments.

The most time-consuming part of the process is squeezing all the juice -- especially if your lemons, like many of mine this year, grew to be not much bigger than a quarter.

You think I'm kidding?
But in the end . . . look, oh look, at what you end up with.

Jars of tart, jelled bliss, ready to spread on a slice of homemade bread for the most perfect morning snack ever.

The recipe comes from an outstanding book called The Bountiful Kitchen by Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey. Readers of Queen of the Castle may recognize this as the book that provided me with the best fresh tomato sauce recipe in the entire universe.

You think I'm kidding?

HONEYED LEMON POPPY SEED JELLY

Before making this recipe, make sure you have your canning supplies in order -- clean jars, big vat with boiling water, etc. If canning is not your thing, just make sure you have six or eight clean jars or plastic containers to fill with your finished jelly. You can pop it in the freezer or give it away to friends with instructions to keep it refrigerated and eat up in the next couple of months.

2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained (according to Bluestein and Morrissey, this will take about 13 lemons; my experience with itty bitty lemons, however, says just keep squeezing until you have enough -- maybe a gazillion lemons or so)

1 c. water

1 c. pure honey

1 box (1 3/4-oz.) powdered fruit pectin

3 1/2 c. sugar

1 T. poppy seeds

In large pot, combine lemon juice, water, honey, and pectin. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring. I use a wire whisk to help get out all the little pectin lumps. Once it's boiling well, add the sugar all at once and keep stirring with the whisk. Bring back to boil and cook for precisely one minute.

Remove from heat and let sit five minutes. Skim off foam; stir in poppy seeds. Can, using your preferred method.

(Mine, for jams and jellies, is simple: I just use hot, clean Mason jars fresh from the dishwasher; fill with jelly and top with new, flat lids bought from the grocery store that have been waiting in scalding, nearly boiling water on a nearby burner; top the lid with canning jar rings, which generally come with a new box of jars; invert on a towel on the kitchen counter for five minutes; then turn right side up. Voila! Canned jelly.)

Mango-Avocado Gazpacho

2011-04-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

I am so in love with this soup, I can hardly stand it. It's like getting to drink a delicious mango smoothie combined with the fresh herbi-ness of salsa and the creamy mouth feel of guacamole. I am probably not making a whole lot of sense here -- that's what love does to you.

Two words: try this.

Recipe is adapted from The Hot Flash Cookbook by Cathy Luchetti.

MANGO-AVOCADO GAZPACHO
2 cucumbers, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 large ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
4 whole green onions, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 c. minced fresh parsley
1 T. minced fresh cilantro
1 large ripe avocado
juice of 2 limes (4 - 6 T.)
1 c. cold water
1/2 - 1 T. salt (to taste)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. sugar

Prepare first six ingredients (cucumbers through cilantro) and place in large bowl. In separate bowl, smush up the avocado with the lime juice.

Add avocado to the mango mixture; add rest of ingredients and stir together. Working in batches, place a cup or two of the mixture in blender and blend away, to desired chunkiness. Proceed until the whole batch is blended.

(Optional: You can add 1 T. minced fresh basil, if you have it -- I didn't.)

Cover and refrigerate at least an hour to allow flavors to blend. Serve cold. Serves 4 - 6.

Chocolate Crunch Brownies

2011-04-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

Golden idea of the week: Make your favorite brownies. Once cooled, top with a layer of marshmallow creme (for a 9 x 13-inch pan, you'll use the whole 7-oz. jar; if your yield is a 9 x 9-inch batch, use a little less). In medium saucepan, melt 1 c. peanut butter and 2 c. chocolate chips over low heat. (NOTE: This is for a large panful of brownies; if your brownie batch is smaller, adjust accordingly.) When smooth and melted, remove from heat and stir in 3 c. Rice Krispies. Spread over the marshmallow creme. Can chill brownies and store in refrigerator.

This recipe came from an old issue of Taste of Home magazine.

Citrus Shrimp Salad

2011-04-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

There have been so many outstanding food experiments lately here at the castle, it's hard to decide which to share first. From main dishes to fudgy desserts, veggie offerings to salads -- sometimes the kitchen is just on a hot streak. And all we can do is eat up with a smile on our faces and napkins in our laps, ready to dab our faces prettily when we're done.
This salad, loaded with shrimp, grapefruit segments, cucumber, and edamame (which you can find in the frozen food section), and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds, works beautifully as a side dish or a light main dish. A three-cup serving is about 400 calories.
The recipe comes from an outstanding publication my mother-in-law sends us called Nutrition Action Healthletter. Though not a recipe magazine, each issue is packed with readable and informative articles on the latest health and nutrition research.
And sometimes? There are even some amazing recipes in there.
Go here, all ye shrimp lovers, to the March 2010 issue to find this outstanding Citrus Shrimp Salad recipe. Scroll down to the third recipe and announce to your tastebuds it's time to enjoy.

Chocolate Oranges

2011-03-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Well I knew you could do this with strawberries.
And I knew you could do this with cherries.
And now I know you can do this with oranges, too
.
Chocolate-covered orange slices. Just peel and segment an orange, careful to remove as much of the white pith as possible without breaking the membrane. Melt a square or two of semi-sweet baking chocolate and dip away. Place on wax paper-lined plate and refrigerate 10 minutes until hardened.

Any other good ideas for chocolate dipping? Because a girl can never have too many chocolate options.

Banana-Honey-Lemon Syrup

2011-03-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

Talk about simple. This yummy honey-lemon-banana combination goes together in minutes (I was going to say seconds, but that would be hyperbole). And it is sooo good -- the sweetness of honey joining the tang of lemon juice. I had it over whole grain waffles from Trader Joe's, but it would be equally delicious over pancakes, and maybe even ice cream.

Next time you're looking for something to jolly up your morning meal, whip up a batch of this.

And when you're done, try not to lick the plate. It's really not very classy (she says, wiping syrup off her nose).

BANANA-HONEY-LEMON SYRUP
3/4 c. honey
4 T. lemon juice, divided
2 ripe bananas

In small pan, heat honey and 3 T. of lemon juice until just bubbling. Remove from heat. In separate bowl, slice bananas and squeeze remaining lemon juice over; swish fruit around in bowl so bananas are covered with juice (this will keep them from turning dark). Add into honey mixture and serve over waffles or pancakes.

NOTE: If you're not feeding a crowd, feel free to divide recipe in half or in quarters. The banana slices look a tad gnarly the next day.

ANOTHER NOTE: I have linked this post to Works for Me Wednesday over at We Are That Family blog. Check it out for some great ideas.

Shamrock Cookies

2011-03-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

Five lessons learned while making cute little shamrock cookies:

1. Despite rolling dough between wax paper for ease of removal, note there will be no ease of removal.

2. "Chill dough until it is firm enough to roll" means waaaaay longer than an hour.

3. Sprinkles go on before baking, else the effect will be similar to trying to stack grapes on a hill.

4. "Cook 9 minutes" = too long.

5. Even if the cookies on the plate never quite measure up to the cookies in my imagination, I am still a sucker for cute little seasonal cookie cutters (only $2!! At Ross!!).

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Baked Cinnamon Bananas with Strawberry Sauce

2011-03-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

Mmmm, tonight we have the perfect dessert for this time of year.
Why is it perfect, you ask?
OK, you didn't really ask. But humor me.
1. Spring is coming, so strawberries are starting to show up at the grocery store.
2. Yet it's still chilly enough outside that making an oven-baked dessert is not a bad warm-up strategy.
3. You can use any frozen strawberries you happen to have if the fresh ones haven't yet appeared in your part of the world.
4. Bathing suit season is not far off. And certain people have perhaps over-indulged in the baking department this winter.
Sorry, bathroom scale.
BAKED BANANAS WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE
2 firm bananas
1 t. lemon juice
cinnamon, to sprinkle
2 c. strawberries, sliced
2-4 t. sugar, to taste
1/2 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Peel bananas and slice lengthwise. Put on parchment-covered baking sheet (or non-stick baking sheet). Brush lemon juice on cut sides of bananas. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce: put sliced strawberries in bowl with sugar and vanilla. (If you're using frozen whole berries, you can just smush 'em up a bit with a pastry blender at this point.) Put about half a cup of strawberry mixture in blender and whirl them around, then add back to the rest of the sliced berries. When bananas come out of the oven, top with sauce.

Anything healthy-ish going on in your kitchen?

Chocolate-y Toffee Shortbread

2011-02-28T19:51:00.000-08:00

According to one of my favorite magazines, FamilyFun, these rich chocolate-y shortbread bars are a hit among Irish families, making them the perfect choice for serving on St. Patrick's Day.

All I know is these received two bellies up -- the highest honor -- among the guys who gather at our house for weekly Bible study.

Two bellies up -- these babies are winners.

Go see the recipe at the FamilyFun site, here.

Coffee Liqueur

2011-02-23T16:08:00.000-08:00

This time of year I have lots of extra empty jars around, as we've been making our way through the year's stash of olallieberry jam, sweet freezer pickles, peach nectar, etc.
This seemed like the perfect moment to try making some coffee liqueur. I've never made this before, but love the flavor of coffee in chocolate desserts.
And hey, I've got all those empty jars, right? It had to be done.
I won't know for sure the success of this experiment until the liqueur has "mellowed" for two or three weeks. But based on a preliminary taste I'd say this will be a winner. It came from the book Homemade Christmas by Mary Harvey Gurley, the same book that gave me this yummy lemon curd recipe. Same exact page, by the way -- page 41. It's a good page.

One more note: I checked in my trusty Pyromaniac's Cookbook to see what dishes I could set aflame with this and, alas, I learned that while coffee liqueurs are acknowledged as tasty, author John. J. Poister says "their low proof does not make them suitable for flaming unless neutral spirits are added to bolster up the alcoholic content."
Sigh. I did so want to light my food on fire.

COFFEE LIQUEUR
2 c. water
4 1/2 c. sugar
4 t. instant coffee
drop vanilla extract
1 c. brandy
1 c. rum

In saucepan, combine water, sugar, coffee, and vanilla. Heat over low-ish heat, stirring, until sugar and coffee powder are dissolved. Set aside for a minute or two to cool, then add the brandy and rum. Pour into clean jars and close 'em up good. Liqueur should be ready in two to three weeks.

NOTE: This seemed like it would be a whole lotta liqueur, so I cut these amounts in half and still ended up with two-plus small jars full. FYI.

Five Sneaky Little Healthful Steps that Even Diehard Foodies Can Live With

2011-02-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Michele at Fit Foodista blog is hosting a blog carnival on food, health, and wellness. When I hear the word carnival, I think cotton candy and caramel apples and I am most definitely in. Here's my contribution to the carnival:

Five Sneaky Little Healthful Steps that Even Diehard Foodies Can Live With

1. Don't drink soda, drink water. Except with pizza. You gotta have soda with pizza.

2. Make your own Happy Frappies. I don't know the exact calorie count of my homemade blended frappuccino, but I'll bet with skim milk it's less than half the 500-plus calorie count of some local coffee shops' offerings.

3. Good bread without butter is actually quite tasty. Really.

4. Instead of joining the rest of the family in shoveling in yummy salty French fries at the drive-through, just take a deep whiff instead. The smell is just as good as the taste. Maybe better. And no calories whatsoever.

5. Find some form of exercise you love and schedule it regularly into your life. It will become like brushing your teeth; you will automatically do it without even thinking of skipping.

Bonus tip: Better one blissful bite of blueberry muffin that actually tastes good than a whole huge fiber-filled wad of muffin that tastes like particle board. As the author of the book French Women Don't Get Fat says, "Fortunately, with good chocolate, you don't need, and should not want, pounds of it for pleasure. A couple of choice pieces a day won't disable your budget or your weight maintenance program."

Amen?

Amen.

Have you got any healthful tips to share with those of us who love our food?

Take Care of Those Wooden Spoons

2011-02-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

For a very cool tip on taking care of your wooden kitchen utensils, check out Food in Jars blog. Pretty nifty.

Cheese-Oozing Onion Bread

2011-02-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well I'm not sure I even need to add any words to this; the picture pretty much says it all. A round of bread sliced almost all the way through, oozing with cheese and diced green onions and poppy seeds. You pull off cubes of the cheese-soaked bread with your fingers and pop them into your mouth.

Does it get any better?

No. It does not.

One word of warning: The first time I made this, I had no idea how filling it was. I served it with spaghetti.

We did not need the spaghetti.

The second time, I served with a small fruit salad.

Much better.

This would also be wonderful with a light (think broth-y) soup.

This recipe is officially an appetizer, but if you think cheese fondue, you can call it a main dish and I'd be behind you 100 percent. Just don't think about calories.

Tomorrow you can have salad for dinner. Tonight? Lick your fingers and enjoy.

Go visit Leigh Anne at Your Homebased Mom blog for the recipe and a thorough "Bloomin' Onion Bread" tutorial. She got the recipe from See Jane in the Kitchen! who got it from The Changeable Table. You know a recipe's a winner when it keeps getting passed from blog to blog.

Today's Quiz

2011-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

When your hobby is trying new recipes, you never know when you'll pounce upon an unexpected gem.

You also never know when you'll wind up with some . . . let's just say, less than spectacular results.

The last couple weeks have been bulging with mediocre results.

See if you can spot which of the following dishes was my favorite, the one I'll be making again.

Was it this dried apricot/fresh rosemary yeast bread?

Was it these Scottish shortbread cookies, made with cornmeal?

Could my favorite be this retro chicken and rice casserole, topped with those '50s standbys, cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix?

Maybe the favorite was these lemon custard cups, recipe from my great-great grandma Hattie.

What do you think? Could the best of the bunch be this "light" recipe for fresh cranberry and lemon scones topped with powdered sugar?

Or could it be these ever-so-humble peachy carrots, a 3-ingredient recipe where carrots are simply heated with jelly and a bit of butter and served?
I'll give you a minute to think.
La la la la la.
Do you have your answer?
Give you a minute more. La la la.
OK. Time's up.
The dried apricot/rosemary bread was definitely interesting. But the rosemary overpowered the apricots, and I couldn't figure out whether to eat it for breakfast or with dinner. Dried apricots in bread is a wonderful idea, but I won't be pairing them with rosemary next time. Pass.

Shortbread -- I've never tasted a shortbread I didn't love. Until now. The cornmeal in this made it dry as dust. The bulk of these, sadly, ended up in the garbage.

On to the retro casserole. I had high hopes for this one, onion soup mix being one of my favorite dip ingredients. Also in its favor, the recipe came from a cute little booklet put out by the Republican Congressional committee eons ago, which even included a recipe for "General Eisenhower's Beef Stew." Alas, my California representative from way back when let me down. It needed the extra zip of teriyaki glaze just to give it enough flavor to be edible. Sorry, Mr. Congressman.

How about these lemon custard cups? While these were mighty tasty, I couldn't be sure I cooked them all the way as great-great grandma Hattie didn't give very explicit instructions on that front. They were souffle-like on top, pudding-like on the bottom -- more like a pudding cake than custard. With some tweaking, I bet they'd be good. But as is, I was a little nervous that perhaps I was eating raw eggs. Yikes.

Cranberry scones -- more like cake than like scones. Not that there's anything wrong with cake. I just wanted scones. Sigh.

So have you guessed yet? The very best recipe I've made in the last two weeks, the one I'll be making again? It's Peachy Carrots, from The Four Ingredient Cookbook. Who'd have thought such a simple little recipe would surpass the others? Here's the recipe, and I will save you all that time-consuming experimenting.

You're welcome.

PEACHY CARROTS

1 lb. package of carrots (the authors recommend you slice and cook them; I simply took a 12-oz. bag of petite carrots and used them whole, without pre-cooking)
1/3 c. peach preserves (I used peach pit jelly I had made over the summer)
1 T. butter

In small skillet or saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook over medium heat until heated through. That's it. Sweet and yummy and pretty darned simple.

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

2011-01-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where I got this recipe -- probably from my grandma when she first gifted me with a bread machine many moons ago. But it's a keeper. A great everyday loaf to eat with dinner or make into sandwiches. And warm, with butter oozing into every little crevice? Mmmmm.
I'm sure I will return to cooking something other than breads and cookies eventually. What is it about the dark, sometimes dreary winter months that make baking sound like the perfect leisure-time activity?

HONEY-WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
1 egg
1/3 c. water
1 c. milk
1/4 c. honey
1 T. butter
2 t. salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. bread flour
1 package (2 1/4 t.) yeast

Dump everything into your handy-dandy bread machine in order listed. Push the magic button and voila. Four hours later you will be inhaling the delicious aroma of homemade bread and slathering on the butter and thinking you really should cook some carrots pretty soon.

"S" Cookies

2011-01-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

These sure don't look like the "s" cookies my grandma used to make.

Thaaaaat's more like it.
Turns out they needed a whole lot more flour than my recipe, "brought from Germany," claimed.
Anyone got any must-try cookies to recommend?

Honey Mustard Dip

2011-01-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's the simplest food combinations that turn out to be the best. Bananas with peanut butter. Bagels and cream cheese. Onion dip with . . . just about anything.

This recipe is just such a find. A simple mayonnaise/honey/Dijon mustard combination, this makes a tangy, surprisingly addictive dip for pretzels. Or raw veggies. The perfect snack to munch on while you cheer for your favorite football team.

HONEY MUSTARD DIP
1 c. mayonnaise (regular or no-fat)
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. honey
1 t. horseradish
1/2 t. dry mustard powder
1/4 t. garlic powder

Combine all ingredients and enjoy with pretzels or raw veggies.

Breakfast for Reluctant Eaters

2011-01-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

Do you have reluctant breakfast eaters at your house? Maybe it's even you who can't face that morning meal.
Head over to the Proverbs 31 Ministries site to read my article, The Champion of Breakfasts, complete with recipe for this delicious berry-lime smoothie, as well as an oatmeal-peanut butter bar recipe that may convince even the most skittish eater at your house to scarf down some early morning calories.
Happy New Year.

Chocolate-filled Rolls

2010-12-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

Sadly, I'm going to have to give these chocolate-filled rolls a fail. Not only were they too much dough and not enough chocolate, but they also took a lot of effort

as well as three expensive bittersweet chocolate bars. Wasted. Grrrrr.

If you want chocolate bread, try this chocolate chip bread recipe instead.

Meanwhile, I'll be trying to figure out how to get rid of 18 of these.

Lemon Cheesecake

2010-12-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

I'd like to welcome a guest poster today, a new friend from No Reason Needed blog. We decided it would be fun to do a blog post swap (you know, kind of like a cookie swap only via the magic of the internet). Here, then, is Carol's post, a yummy looking cheesecake made with lemon curd -- doesn't that sound heavenly? Take it away, Carol:

Hello, Queen of the Castle readers. Carol from NO REASON NEEDED here, popping over from my blog to share a Lemon Cheesecake recipe.

Originally obtained from Veronica’s blog, La Recette du Jour it was previously unknown to me that cooks in Europe measure dry ingredients by weight, not volume (i.e. cups). Many of her recipes use European standards for measurement; weights are in grams or kilos, volumes are in litres, centilitres, or millilitres, and oven temperatures are in Celsius.

Fortunate for me, Ivy from Little Ivy Cakes had used the same recipe previously and had converted the measurements to American standards...THANK YOU!!!

I L♥VE all things LEMON and wasn't in the least bit apprehensive to try her Lemon Cheesecake.

LEMON CHEESECAKE

the bottom crust:
1 1/4 cup shortbread biscuits (I used Arrowroot's)
1/2 cup butter

the filling:
1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup caster sugar & 1/4 cup granulated sugar)
3 eggs
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus the juice of half of it
3/4 cup lemon curd

-Preheat the oven to 350F. Have a large spring-form pan ready
-Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a meat tenderizer or roll with a rolling pin. Don't reduce them to powder leave some biggish lumps, otherwise the base will be too stodgy. Melt the butter, mix with the biscuits, then spread the mixture over the base of the tin, patting it down firmly,
-bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 280 F.
-Meanwhile, put all the cheese in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk for 30 seconds to make it smooth and light. Beat in the sugar, then the eggs, one by one, followed by the lemon zest and juice.
-Swirl in half the lemon curd
-Pour into the tin and bake for about an hour (I baked for 1 hour at 280F and an additional 15 minutes at 300F). The filling should be only just set and still a little bit wobbly in the middle. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in it to cool.

- When it's completely cold, unmould it and put it on a plate.

- Spread the rest of the lemon curd over it and decorate.

LEMON CURD
Juice of 2 lemons
1 large strip lemon peel
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tbs. butter cut into little pieces
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until mixture thickens and starts to bubble a little(5 mins), mixing occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat immediately and press through a sieve. Stir and then store in a container. Chill at least 1-2 hours before serving. I stored mine in the fridge until I was ready to use.

Aside from Dalton (my picky eater)... Dakota, John and I LOVED it. Dakota even went on to declare it being "a little taste of heaven", and somewhat "similar to Lemon Meringue Pie, 're-arranged'"

That said, I was impressed with how EASY this cheesecake was to make and how well it held up, without crumbling upon being sliced.

This recipe is a DEFINITE keeper!!!

Orange Snowball Cookies

2010-12-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today I'm guest posting over at No Reason Needed blog.
The topic? you ask.

Christmas cookies. These orange snowballs, in fact.

Recipe snagged from this delightful book, for which Frosty and I have made further plans. Many further plans.
How about you? Any Christmas baking going on at your house?
Fill me in. I am dying to know.

Fabulous Dinner Rolls

2010-11-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

Are you looking for an out-of-this-world roll recipe to add to your Thanksgiving menu? Look no further.

This yeast roll recipe comes courtesy of Meg from Little Bit of Life blog. She got it from her great-grandmother Lola.

And I ask you, does anyone make rolls better than a great grandma?

I think not.

I've gotta tell you, I am a staunch believer in my own garlic cheese rolls, a family favorite for a number of years. Every roll I bake is measured against the venerable GCR. Very few make the cut.

These? Well just look at them. I think, rather than Yeast Rolls, they should be renamed Mile High Rolls. One roll stretches from chin to eyebrow. Eating one is like eating buttery air.

This year, for Thanksgiving? I will make two kinds of rolls. My garlic cheese rolls (because we want no serious pouty-faces around here). And these.

They are that good.

Five-Minute Christmas Food Gift

2010-11-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

Got my scented candle burning,

my Big Band Christmas CD blasting (this one is outstanding, btw),

the dough for my rolls percolating in the trusty bread machine -- it's a great homemaking day here at the castle.

It seemed like the perfect day to power up my brand new super-duper whizmo blender that Kahuna got me for my birthday.

I think he may have gotten a tad tired of the BANG BANG THWAP of me pulverizing coffee ice cubes with a meat tenderizer for my mocha frappuccinos.

Which leads me to: strawberry butter. Yes indeedy, a five-minute food gift idea that is truly stellar. So what if you didn't make any homemade jams and jellies this summer? All you need for this is frozen strawberries, butter, and powdered sugar. Get a cute little ramekin and add a wooden spreader, and you've got a wonderful, quick Christmas or hostess gift.

STRAWBERRY BUTTER

10-oz. package frozen strawberries

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

Let strawberries thaw and take butter out of fridge to soften. Put all ingredients in blender and blend away until mixture is smooth. Pack in cute little containers. Makes 2 1/2 c.

Note: I cut this recipe in half and it blended perfectly. I also cut the butter into about 10 or 15 pieces before plopping it in the blender. Recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens Gifts from Your Kitchen.

Have you ever made any special flavored butters? I would love to hear about it.

Winter's coming

2010-11-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

We are in winter preparation mode around here. Step one: Get these very green Roma tomatoes picked before they freeze on the vine; wrap them in newspaper, as shown here, so they'll ripen up.

Step two: Start pulling out tired gift bags emblazoned with random store logos and see if you can spruce them up with scrapbook supplies languishing under the bed because you last worked on your scrapbook in 2002.

Step three: Get so inspired by your own creativity that you start splattering paint on brown paper lunch bags.

Follow that with a raid on your grandma's button box.

Proceed with an episode of glitter.

Or two.

At which point you realize you have perhaps gone a little too far in winter preparation mode while completely neglecting to make any actual food for dinner.

Green tomatoes, anyone?

NOTE: For more great ideas, go check out Works for Me Wednesdays at We Are THAT Family blog.

Whole Wheat-Molasses Bread

2010-10-27T12:03:00.000-07:00

In my quest to find a recipe delicious enough to give away for Christmas food gifts, I came across this: a dark, slightly sweet, very tasty yeast bread that's studded with caraway seeds.

Yum. I do believe we have a winner.

The original recipe gave directions by hand, and yielded two loaves. I cut it in half so I could use my handy dandy little bread machine.

Aren't bread machines wonderful?

WHOLE WHEAT-MOLASSES BREAD
7/8 c. water
1/4 c. molasses
1 T. shortening
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. white flour (and maybe a little more)
1/8 c. packed brown sugar
1 T. caraway seed
1 1/2 t. salt
2 1/4 t. yeast (or one package)

Pop all the ingredients into machine in order listed, press the "dough" setting, and start.
Check on the dough as it starts to knead; you want to make sure it is stiff. If it looks too wet, add more flour until it's the right consistency.
When the machine beeps, shape dough into a slightly flattened 6-inch ball and place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled (maybe an hour?). Bake at 375 for 30 - 35 minutes, until browned and sounding kind of hollow when you tap it. (I took mine out at 28 minutes). Yields one loaf.

The recipe came from this book, which used to belong to my husband's grandma. My own grandma is the one who gave me my first bread machine. So it seems to me this loaf is truly a family effort.

Happy holiday baking. Any ideas for great Christmas food gifts coming out of your kitchen?

P.S. The lovely blogger, Bitterroot Mama, posted this review yesterday of Queen of the Castle. Thank you, Bitterroot Mama!

Ratatouille

2010-10-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

Summer may officially be over, but the weather here is finally starting to feel summerish, and the garden is liking it.

I mentioned here that our most pleasant garden surprise this year was the eggplant. Absolutely every recipe I tried with it was scrumptious.

Who knew we even liked eggplant?

I tried another recipe today, with the last of our cute little eggplant. It, too, was outstanding.

If you aren't sure you even like vegetables, you might want to give this one a taste. Yowzer, it's good.

RATATOUILLE
2 1/2 c. diced eggplant (leave the peels on)
3/4 c. thinly sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
3 green peppers, cored and thinly sliced
(recipe called for 3 c. zucchini, thinly sliced, but I didn't have any so omitted)
2 c. tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 t. fresh basil, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
plain yogurt (optional)

Put eggplant in colander (in sink) and salt lightly. Leave for 30 minutes to drain.
Meanwhile, in large, deep-ish non-stick skillet (one that has a lid), over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until golden. Add peppers, zucchini if you're using it (I didn't), and tomatoes. Add drained eggplant and basil and simmer, covered, over low heat for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more to reduce liquid. Add salt & pepper to taste; serve warm or cold with a dollop of plain yogurt, if desired.

The recipe claims this serves eight, but it really serves two. Insert smiley face here.

Fudgy No-bake Drop Cookies

2010-10-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

If you need a quick chocolate fix, here's a great recipe that stirs up in no time. You dump most of the ingredients in a bowl, microwave for three minutes, add the last couple ingredients, then plop onto a greased cookie sheet and pop in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Voila. Done.

You may want to use oven mitts as you take the bowl out of the microwave. And next time I'll grease my cookie sheet a little better, or even use parchment paper, so the tasty little morsels will slide off the pan more easily.

Also, I cut this recipe in half to get the amount shown here.

Because we all know that if cookies are just sitting on the counter, they are asking for it.

Go visit Sandra at Keeping it Simple to get the recipe.

Now I have a question for you. On a completely unrelated chocolate note,
How the heck do you get chocolate curls, not chocolate dust? Any secrets?

Chocolate Chip Bread

2010-10-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

While I could have posted aboutthese vegetables that I made today, which were good, honesty prevails upon me to admit that the chocolate chip bread, visible here thanks only to a cookbook photo seeing as we descended upon and devoured the actual product like a pack of famished wolves before a true-life photo could be taken, was better.

What can I say? We like our treats around here.

The recipe came from this book, because I think it is entirely appropriate to start baking Christmas-y items once October rolls around. I use my bread machine, so I'll alter the directions to reflect that.

CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

3/4 c. water

1/4 c. butter

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/4 c. sugar

3 - 3 1/2 c. flour

3 T. cocoa

3/4 t. salt

1/8 t. ground cinnamon

1 package (about 2 1/4 t.) yeast

Place these ten ingredients in bread machine in order listed. Make sure machine is on "dough" setting and press button to start :) Once it starts mixing, check to see if it looks like the amount of flour you've added is enough.

When the dough is done, remove from pan and roll out with floured rolling pin on floured surface to an 18- x 10-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with about 3/4 c. chocolate chips (the recipe in the book called for 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chunks, but I had chips, not chunks, so that's what I used; I also decided 1/2 c. did not look like nearly enough -- a good decision). Press chips lightly into dough, then roll up starting from shorter side. Fold ends under and place, seam side down, in greased 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. Cover, let rise in warm place for about an hour, until doubled. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until loaf sounds hollow when you tap it. Remove from pan immediately. When cooled, drizzle over this glaze:

GLAZE

1 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 T. milk

1/2 t. vanilla

Mix all glaze ingredients together.

NOTE: My loaf rose quite a bit while baking, so make sure you bake on a rack toward the bottom of the oven to give it plenty of room.

So what's your favorite thing to bake this time of year?

Book Winners

2010-10-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

Big congratulations to Confessions of a Closet Hoarder, Meg at Little Bit of Life blog, and Barbara at candy di ricette barbare blog for winning the Goosberry Patch books. May you have many happy hours of pumpkin and apple baking. And thanks so much, everyone, for entering.

Fall Book Giveaway

2010-09-26T15:07:00.001-07:00

Fall is here! And in honor of this most glorious of seasons, I'm giving away some very gently used Gooseberry Patch cookbooks: Flavors of Fall, Good for You!, and Thanksgiving/Pumpkin recipe booklets. Three prizes, three winners. Just leave a comment here by Friday, Oct. 1, noon Pacific time, and tell me what's your very favorite thing about fall.

If you want to enter more than once, you can mention the giveaway on your blog or on Facebook and enter again.

And make sure, if you don't have a blog, to leave an email address so I can let you know when you win.

Happy fall, y'all!

Summer Food Wrap-up

2010-09-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

With Kahuna's gardening prowess and my enthusiasm for playing with my food, we've had a good summer here at the castle. Here's my wrap-up of the season -- or, What I Learned (about Food) on My Summer Vacation. 1. Most tragic food blunder: garlic paste. Thinking this was a good way to preserve

our garlic harvest, I used fully half of the year's crop, roasting and turning it into a paste to use on bread, in stews, etc. Result: a very mellow-tasting spread that doesn't even make a decent piece of garlic bread.

Grrrr.

Epic fail.

2. Most ill-advised historical food experiment: these muffins from a 17th-century recipe. I don't remember the name, but I do remember they tasted like chalk and contained enough baking powder to make a horse float. A castle record: amount of time from taking first bite until entire batch is pitched into the garbage -- 1.2 seconds.

3. Biggest surprise: homemade "butter," whereby cream, blenderized and promised to magically transform into fresh home-made butter, instead resolutely remained cream, albeit slightly dazed cream. Said cream's sole action was, upon seeing daylight as blender top was lifted, to defiantly and maniacally splash into blender wielder's eye.

"Butter" - 1. Castle Queen - 0.

4. Biggest (pleasant) garden surprise: eggplant.

Our first time growing this, we grilled, roasted, and baked it. Vegetable medleys, ratatouille, eggplant Parmesan -- all were delicious. All were eaten within minutes.

Our mothers would never believe it: we actually like vegetables.

5. Most frequently made recipe: pear nectar. Or maybe peach nectar. What can I say? I love nectar. Probably because I love sugar, and after a summer of eating vegetables, I am a tad sugar-deprived.

6. Most triumphant garden victory: enough basil for homemade pesto. The fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Totally worth the wait.

Never mind that we received said basil as a gift, already a very large plant. The point is, at this date it is still a very large plant, thriving in Kahuna's garden and popping out an abundance of leaves daily.

You go, basil. You go.

So how about you? Any summertime hits, misses, surprises? Feel free to leave a link if you've posted about your summertime food adventures. We'd love to read all about it.

Pickled Peppers

2010-09-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

Cue up the Peter Piper jokes, 'cause here come my pickled peppers.

Last year's crop of green peppers were eenie-beenie little things -- maybe golf ball size, if that.

But this year? This year our peppers have been amazing. Big as a softball. See?

We've had lots of them, and they're still going strong.

Kahuna is a sucker for anything pickled. So pickled peppers it is.

Here's a wonderful recipe I unearthed from the depths of my file drawers. It's from an ancient issue of Cooking Light, back when home-grown peppers were merely a twinkle in Kahuna's eye.

PICKLED PEPPERS

4 large bell peppers, either red, green, yellow, or any combination (about 2 lbs. total)

2 c. water

1/2 c. sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar or white vinegar

1/4 c. honey

1 t. black peppercorns

4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 c. sliced onion (about 2 small)

Slice up peppers, lengthwise, into strips about 1 inch wide; discard stems and seeds. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, heat water, vinegar, honey, peppercorns, and garlic until boiling. Add peppers and onions and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and continue cooking for 20 minutes, or until peppers are very tender. (I cooked mine about 30 minutes.) Let cool, and pack into jars or plastic containers. Refrigerate. Serve with a slotted spoon.

I've made several batches of this, and what we didn't eat, I popped into the freezer. 'Twill be a wonderful reminder of warmer days come February.

So how about you? Any surprise successes in your garden this year?

NOTE: I'm entering this recipe in the Grow Your Own food roundup, held this month at Girlichef's blog.

Blackberry Syrup

2010-08-31T17:04:00.001-07:00

Our summer here in northern California has been cool, which makes for a paltry tomato crop but a very, very happy bunch of blackberries.

I've picked so many berries for the freezer this year that I've run out of containers. Which means I was enormously pleased to come across this recipe for berry syrup from Jenn at Pint-sized Pioneering.

If you have just three cups of berries, some sugar, and a bit of water, you can make a jar of delicious syrup. So far I've made three batches (that's two batches, above).

Now if only I can find more room in the freezer . . .

Anyone else finding interesting things to do with excess fruit this time of year?

Simple Summertime Tomatoes

2010-08-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Some of us need recipes in order to cook, while others can take a handful of mushrooms, some leftover sweetened condensed milk, a wad of wilted lettuce and somehow magically transform them into dinner.

My sister's one of the latter.

This is her summertime dish, a delightful combination of garden tomatoes, onions, and basil. There are not many specific measurements here as, alas, she does not need them. So just do your best; add ingredients until it looks and tastes right. It's hard to go wrong with this, especially if you're starting with garden fresh tomatoes and basil. Bon appetit.

MATERS
Cut tomatoes into bite-sized chunks. Slice an onion into rings. Cut basil with scissors. Combine all, and add 1 T. sugar. Cover with balsamic vinegar and some olive oil (optional). Let stand a few hours on the counter so tastes blend and onion loses its acidity.

So how about you? Are you a recipe cook? Or do you have the gift?

Mocha Frappuccino

2010-08-24T11:55:00.001-07:00

I post this recipe as a public service to all those former frapppuccino lovers who have been suffering severe withdrawal these last months after Starbucks changed its formula from icy, chocolatey, coffee perfection to a drink that, alas, while still icy, no longer tastes like either chocolate or coffee.

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth -- and yes, a few beseeching phone calls to Starbucks headquarters -- we, here at the castle, have moved on.

Ok, by we, I mean me.

Ongoing experimentation, aided by other bereft, recovering SB addicts (thank you, LJ), has yielded this recipe, which I happen to love. I hope you will love it, too.

MOCHA FRAPPUCCINOS
This recipe starts with a "base" mixture you stir together and keep in the fridge. When you're ready for your drink, you simply pop 3/4 c. of the mix into the blender, add a dollop of chocolate sauce (about 1 T.), and about 10 frozen coffee cubes, and you're all set.

FRAP BASE
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (about 1 1/4 c.)
2 1/2 c. double-strength coffee (for this, I use instant espresso powder mixed with water, according to the package directions -- about 2 heaping tablespoons in 2 1/2 c. water)
2 1/2 c. milk

Mix the base together and keep in the fridge until you're ready for your yummy drink.
Handy hint: My blender doesn't do a great job at grinding up ice. If yours doesn't, either, use your meat tenderizer hammer-thingie to smash up the coffee ice cubes before putting them in the blender. I don't do this on my tile countertops because I wish to crack the ice, not the tile.

Another handy hint: Any extra hot coffee Kahuna leaves in the pot in the morning gets immediately whisked away and frozen into cubes. If you want to lighten the coffee flavor, you can use 5 coffee cubes in your drink and 5 regular ice cubes.

Cheers.

Rosemary-skewered Fish and Veggies

2010-08-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

We swiped this flavorful bbq idea from Brownieville Girl, who blogs about food all the way from Ireland.

You simply use rosemary sprigs as your skewers, cut up chunks of fish (we used tuna), spear the little suckers alternately with cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with seasoning salt, and barbecue 'em up.

The skewers in the back are filled with garden onions and peppers along with the tomatoes.

Delicious. Thanks for the idea, Brownieville Girl.

Peach Nectar

2010-08-09T22:12:00.001-07:00

In the epic 2010 battle over the backyard peach tree, with the teams the Castle Dwellers vs. the Stinkin' Squirrels and Blue Jays, I declare we Castle Dwellers the victors.

Exhibit A: We got canned peaches. A couple of batches. Exhibit B: We made off with enough peaches for a pie.

Exhibit C: Peach pit jelly. A minor victory as it doesn't include any actual peaches. But a victory nonetheless.

Let the record show we are not even presenting evidence for Exhibit D, peachy tart, for the simple reason we do not wish to condone the silly practice of peach blotting in any form.

Which brings us to:

Exhibit E: as in excellent. Peach nectar. So good you'll drink it almost as fast as you make it.

Take that, you lousy squirrels and blue jays. We win.

Ha.

You may cease your obnoxious squawking now.

SIMPLE PEACH NECTAR

My favorite way to use up an abundance of peaches, this is the recipe I go back to year after year. No need to can; you simply mix up a batch in your blender, pour into glass jars, and place lovingly in the freezer.

4 c. peeled, sliced peaches

4 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

1 T. lemon juice

Place peaches and water in large saucepan. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit. Place sugar and lemon juice in large bowl and set aside. Working in batches, whirl peach mixture in blender, then pour into bowl with sugar and lemon juice. Repeat until everything's blended. Stir well, then pour into glass jars and freeze.

Peachy Tart

2010-08-05T21:00:00.001-07:00

Really, fussy little recipe from upscale food magazine?

After two and a half hours of constructing this orange juice-laced crust, a jam-liqueur glaze,

this pulverized almond, slowly-thickened cream center . . .

you're really gonna make me drain each and every peach slice on a paper towel then pat it dry?

This peach tart had better taste fine, is all I'm saying.

Mighty, mighty fine.

Flaming Omelet

2010-08-01T08:44:00.001-07:00

I do love to play with my food.

So imagine my delight when I came across this book at a recent library book sale.

The Pyromaniac's Cookbook: The Best in Flaming Food and Drink (by John J. Poister). What could be more fun?

I'd never set my food on fire (on purpose, that is; the blazing toasted sesame seeds and the s'more pie's marshmallow topping hardly count, and I'd prefer we not mention those again, thank you for asking) until last fall, when I tried a banana, butter, and brown sugar number that you ignite with a touch of rum. Seeing as that was my first intentional kitchen conflagration, I had my son standing by with the fire extinguisher.

That experiment was a complete success, so it was with supreme confidence I set out this morning to flame my omelet, fire extinguisher snugly tucked away in its kitchen cabinet home.

I am happy to report that the flaming omelet was another complete success. All flames stayed in the pan where they belong. You'll note the lack of spectacular flaming photos because, well, I was a little busy there for a few seconds.

We have lots of these onions on hand at the moment, since we had to harvest them before the bunnies did. So I rejoiced to see this omelet called for onion. And also for blue cheese, which, if you check out this post, you will learn is a particular favorite of mine. I am sure, for the non-blue cheese lovers out there, you could substitute any kind of favorite cheese.

Now get out your little skillet, check the cabinets to see if you have any gin handy, find a nearby relative with a fire extinguisher if you're a tad nervous, and get cookin'.

Oh and please do not sue me if you happen to catch anything on fire.

BLUE CHEESE AND ONION FLAMING OMELET FOR ONE

about 1 T. diced onion (or green onion)

1/2 T. butter

2 eggs

2 t. milk (or cream)

2 t. water

salt/pepper, to taste

1 T. crumbled blue cheese

about 2 T. dry gin, warmed in the microwave for 15-20 seconds

Saute onions in butter until soft, but not browned. Remove to small dish. Add a smattering more butter to your skillet, if needed. In small bowl, whisk eggs, milk, water, salt and pepper. Pour into skillet and cook over medium heat until top is pretty well set.

I like to use the wooden spoon to gently lift up the edges of the egg as it's cooking, tilting the pan so the runny part makes its way to the pan's edge. If the center of the omelet is still too gooey for my liking, I'll poke a couple small holes in the middle to let the egg run down to the pan's bottom to cook.

When eggs are pretty set, sprinkle on the onions and the blue cheese. (Poister also added green olives and chopped parsley here, but I did not.) While top of omelet is still creamy, fold over, add the warmed gin, and light on fire. Make sure your wooden spoon is not still on the edge of your pan (ahem). Serves one. Deliciously.

Quote from The Pyromaniac's Cookbook: "The pyrotechnical display connected with flaming dishes does and should have a positive psychological effect on both the server and the servee. At the very least it should be a treat, if not a feast for the eye."

Additional note: If you check out the Amazon link to this book, you'll see a very sweet review written by the author's son.

Crunchy Lemon-Garlic Carrots

2010-07-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

A simple yet tasty carrot dish, this one takes just a few minutes to make. If you remember to make it ahead of time, the lemony-garlic flavor of the marinade infuses the carrots. Either way, it's a beautiful little addition to a summertime lunch or dinner table.

2 carrots, peeled and slivered into thin pieces with a cheese grater

2 t. olive oil

1 clove garlic, mashed

juice from half a lemon (maybe 1-2 T?)

salt and pepper, to taste

a pinch or two of sugar

In small bowl, mix together olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and sugar. Add carrot slices and store in fridge until ready to eat (four hours ahead, or overnight, would be perfect). Serve to your adoring family.

If members of your adoring family are big vegetable eaters, you may want to multiply accordingly. If adoring family is vegetable-phobic, experiment with this small batch first and see how it goes over.

This recipe comes from the charming book, Joie de Vivre: Simple French Style for Everyday Living by Robert Arbor and Katherine whiteside. Its official name is Carrot Rapee. That sounded suspiciously like a dish that might take hours in the kitchen. So Crunchy Lemon-Garlic Carrots it is.

Garden Goodness

2010-07-08T20:27:00.000-07:00

The first carrot from our garden.

The Kahuna and Me carrot.

When It's Too Hot to Cook

2010-06-29T13:28:00.001-07:00

When the days are sweltering, the idea of heating up your kitchen to make dinner is about as appealing as taking a sauna. So what's the ingenious homemaker to do?

Toss together a main dish salad.

Like this one: lettuce, orange segments, precooked shrimp.

And this tangy cilantro-flavored dressing with a lime bite, whipped together in the blender with dollops of yogurt and mayonnaise.

LIME-CILANTRO SALAD DRESSING

1 large lime (you'll use both the peel, grated, and the juice)

1 c. loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 c. mayonnaise

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. plain yogurt

In blender, place grated lime peel, lime juice, cilantro leaves that you've washed, mayonnaise, sugar, and salt. Blend at medium speed until well blended, about 30 seconds. Add the yogurt and blend until smooth. Serve over salad of lettuce, orange segments, and cooked shrimp.

What are your dinner favorites for when it's too hot to cook?

Butter-steamed Artichoke Hearts

2010-06-25T15:34:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how many cooks in blogland would be interested in making this dish. It's one I make two or three times a year at the end of artichoke season, which lasts about a month -- May/June, where we are. It's the perfect buttery way to use those

eeny little artichokes that signal the end of the harvest --

the ones that are too small to steam and eat with mayonnaise.

The prep takes about 45 minutes. But if you have the time -- and the eeny little artichokes -- it is a dish that, in its simplicity, is absolute perfection.

BUTTER-STEAMED ARTICHOKE HEARTS

Set aside any larger artichokes you're planning to eat in the traditional manner.

Next, pull off tough outer leaves of small artichokes. Keep going until you've reached the center, where the leaves are soft and pliable.

With sharp knife, cut off top half of artichoke and discard. Trim off stems, and cut each artichoke into quarters, lengthwise.

At this point, pull out your glasses as you will need them to see the eeny little chokes in the eeny little vegetables.

Use your eeny little paring knife to pare out the fuzzy little center choke part.

Repeat for 45 minutes, at which time you should have a small bowl of hearts and a large sinkful of refuse.

This concludes the time-consuming portion of our program; the rest is a matter of melting 2 T. butter over medium-high heat in a 10-inch skillet that has a lid. As butter is just starting to brown,

add the hearts,

pour in 1/2 c. water, cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If water evaporates before the time is up, add a bit more so you don't fry the bottom of your pan. When done, the base of the hearts should be tender when poked with a fork. Season with sea salt and pop into your mouth. Mmmm mmmm good.

The recipe is from this book, by the way, which instructs that you can use frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, if you don't have fresh. I have never tried that, though.

Any other artichoke heart fans out there? Do you have a favorite way of serving them?

Graduation Cupcakes

2010-06-18T17:03:00.001-07:00

. . . because graduation is just one more excuse to play with your food . . .
Aren't these cupcakes the cutest? You just make regular old cupcakes, add food coloring to frosting to match school colors, then top off with mortarboard hats made of candy

(mini Reese's peanut butter cups turned upside down, small squares of Ghirardelli dark chocolate, the top of a Dots candy, and sour candy that comes in rainbow strips that I forgot the name of ; "glue" them all together with a mixture of powdered sugar and water).

Voila! Oh so cute cupcakes. A big thank you to Mimi of Mimi's Kitchen for the inspiration.

Smoky Hard-Boiled Eggs

2010-06-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a fun summertime snack, perfect for taking on a picnic, look no further. These hard-boiled eggs, marinated overnight in a soy sauce/sesame oil mixture, are fun and different and quite yummy -- if I do say so myself. I got the recipe from one of those cute little community cookbooks from about 30 years ago.

Don't those community cookbooks have the best recipes ever?

1/4 c. water

1/4 c. soy sauce

1 T. sugar

1 t. sesame oil

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. liquid smoke

4-6 hard-boiled eggs

Mix all ingredients but the eggs. (I mix everything right in the measuring cup.) Put the eggs in a small bowl (lidded is good, if you have one) and pour marinade over. Refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Check out more Wordless Wednesday posts here.

Scrumptious Homemade Mayonnaise

2010-05-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

Do you know what these are?

Yes, I know they're artichokes. But do you know what they really are?

Vehicles. Vehicles for mayonnaise. Vehicles for this mayonnaise.

Creamy, beautifully pale yellow, thick and smooth and tasting of lemons mayonnaise, the kind where, after you've tasted it, you look around for any respectable excuse to eat it.

This was my first attempt ever at making mayonnaise.

It took a fair amount of steady hand whisking to achieve the finished results (so if you already have a serious case of tennis elbow, consider yourself forewarned). But it was well worth it. I will definitely be making this again. Many, many times.

Because thankfully, we have lots more artichokes in the garden.

LUSCIOUS MAYONNAISE
1 t. salt

1 t. dry mustard

1/2 t. sugar

2 egg yolks

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 c. oil (recipe calls for "Wesson oil"; I used Canola)

In medium bowl, mix together salt, mustard, and sugar. Add egg yolks and 1 T. of the lemon juice and whisk for a minute or two. Add the oil in droplets, whisking all the while. Keep adding the oil very, very slowly, so it incorporates into the mixture. As it thickens up, you can add the other T. of lemon juice. Keep going until all oil is incorporated.

This recipe was from the exceedingly delightful book Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining life (with Recipes) by Julia Reed.

Reed adds a pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste, at the end, but I did not. I also cut this recipe in half, because I wasn't sure how much we'd use or how well it keeps. I will probably cut the recipe in half next time, too.

By the way, after making this I was quite proud of my cooking prowess and thought I'd check in with Julia Child for the inevitable congratulations. Child says that while "you should be able to make it by hand as part of your general mastery of the egg yolk," she prefers to make it in the food processor. She finds this "takes no skill whatsoever."

Hmmph.

Scientific side-by-side comparison: On the left is store-bought mayo. On the right is the one I made myself. Apparently with no skill whatsoever.

Super Simple Chocolate-Orange Truffles

2010-05-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

If you happen to have any leftover evaporated milk hanging around -- which you will, if you made this -- whip up a quick batch of these yummy, chocolatey morsels. You need just four ingredients; cute little melon baller and mini cupcake papers are optional.

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE TRUFFLES

1/2 c. evaporated milk

1/4 c. sugar

2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 t. orange extract

itty bitty paper cups, if desired

Bring evaporated milk and sugar to a boil over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil gently for three minutes. Add chocolate chips and orange extract and stir until smooth. (I turned the burner off and did this over the warmed heating element.) Use cute little melon baller, or clean hands, to make into balls when cooled.

Eat.

Beans 'n Bacon

2010-05-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

There is almost nothing more fun than poking through an old cookbook. And this old cookbook, published in 1966, is a doozy.

I'm pretty sure I bought it at a library book sale, and have tried maybe half a dozen recipes from it over the years. The recipes are excellent -- easy to make, different, and, as you might guess from the title, economical.

And the text is grand fun to read. This is from the foreword, by Louise Bogan: "Poets are often out of funds. Many times they try to keep body and soul together by eating candy bars, apples, doughnuts, and an occasional hamburger, usually standing up. This is a mistake. Meals should be eaten sitting down."

The dish I made tonight, called simply "Conde," starts with sauteed pieces of bacon and sliced green onions. Add to it a can of kidney beans and a couple of other ingredients, and you've got an inexpensive dish that you can serve with a salad, some fruit, a roll perhaps, and call it dinner.

1/4 lb. bacon, diced
4 green onions, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 1/2-lb. can kidney beans
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 c. water
1/4 t. gumbo file powder (I didn't have this, and after looking it up online, decided I didn't need to substitute anything for it)

Brown the bacon and onions in large skillet. Add rest of the ingredients except for the file powder and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the file powder and serve.

Do you have a favorite "nickel dinner," as author Ann Rogers puts it?

Honey-Oatmeal Bread

2010-04-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Yummy honey-oatmeal bread, which made delicious mint tea sandwiches for lunch. (See this post; and if you've never tried a mint tea sandwich, well, you simply haven't lived. Just sayin'.)

If you have a bread machine, you'll be able to throw together the ingredients for this in just minutes.

1 c. water
1 T. vegetable oil (I used Canola)
1/4 c. honey
1 t. salt
1 c. oatmeal
2 c. bread flour
2 1/2 t. yeast

Toss all ingredients into the bread machine pan and push the little button.

Magic.

Recipe from The Bread Machine Cookbook II by Donna Rathmell German.

Chai (Indian Milk Tea)

2010-04-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Please ignore the muffled sobs coming from this little corner of the blogosphere. It's just me, quietly (ok, not so quietly) mourning the loss of my FAVORITE DRINK IN THE WHOLE WORLD, Starbucks' mocha frappuccino. The company has decided to discontinue the beloved old formula -- which is a whole 'nother matter -- but rather than continue to weep and wail over this sad day in American history, I have begun my quest for alternate wonderful beverages.

And this one's a fine start.

It contains plenty of sugar, making it a drink you'll want to consume in moderation. I'm choosing to call it dessert -- then I can calmly sit and sip my drink in peace.

CHAI (Indian Milk Tea)

3 c. cold water

2 three-inch cinnamon sticks, broken in half

1 1/2 T. loose tea

3/8 c. sugar

1 c. milk

In medium saucepan, combine water and cinnamon sticks. Bring to boil, then cover and boil for ten minutes. Add the tea. Return to boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, for three minutes. Stir in sugar and milk until sugar dissolves. Cover and simmer for four more minutes. Strain before drinking. Serves 3. (You can keep this in the fridge and reheat in the microwave later.)

Do you have a great beverage recipe you'd be willing to share? Perhaps one that contains sugar, caffeine, and chocolate, she asks with a wee bit of hope in her voice?

This Week's Quiz

2010-04-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

So what do you think? Which of the following recently-made dishes was the hands-down favorite, the one I'll be making again soon? Was it the sour cherry-chocolate chip scones, sprinkled with sugar?

Was it the potato, sliced almost all the way through and studded with onions and butter, topped with mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, then wrapped in foil and baked?

Was it the honey-balsamic mixed berry fruit salad?

Or was it the chocolate tea bread, flecked with chocolate chips?

Cue the Jeopardy music here. Doo doo doo, doo-doo, doo doo doooooo. Doo doo doo doo DOO! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

Got your answer? You sure?

Okay, here's the scoop.

The scones were pretty good, but at the risk of sounding like a scone snob I've got to say they were not nearly as tender my regular chocolate chip scones. I won't be making these again -- though I'll definitely consider adding chopped dried sour cherries next time I make my favorites.

The potatoes? These were supposed to be slowly grilled on the barbecue as we roasted a chicken. But we were too engrossed in our weeding and wall-building to get to the store to buy the chicken to roast the chicken to roast the potatoes. So I ended up baking them instead. They were not bad, but I have plenty of potato recipes I like better. Like this one, for example; you can't go wrong with Mom's roasted garlic potato wedges.

The fruit salad? Delicious. A winner. If you guessed this one, you get a million billion points. Sorry, the points are redeemable for exactly nothing. But you get the pride of knowing you were absolutely, one hundred percent right. And how often do you get to hear that in your life? This dish was simple to make and the taste was outstanding -- two of my favorite qualities in a recipe. Best of all, I got to use some homegrown blackberries from last summer I still had stashed in the freezer. I will be making this one again. Soon. And repeatedly.

The chocolate tea bread was definitely in the running, but it crumbled when cut. Big time crumbled. It's hard to serve crumbs, even chocolate ones, to hungry guests. Sorry, chocolate tea bread. You were edged out by this nummy fruit salad.

HONEY-BALSAMIC MIXED BERRY SALAD

2 c. mixed fresh berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.)

2 c. seedless green grapes

2 T. honey

2 T. balsamic vinegar

mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Wash the fruit, drain, and place in bowl. Mix honey and vinegar; pour over fruit and mix gently. Refrigerate until time to eat.

NOTE: This recipe comes from the book The Universal Kitchen by Elisabeth Rozin.

NOTE #2: Rozin suggests serving this in small ripe cantaloupe halves (seeded, of course), one half cantaloupe per person. If I'd had cantaloupes on hand I would have done it; I'll bet it would be beautiful.

Red Snapper with Anchovy Butter

2010-04-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

In our attempt to eat healthier, the Kahuna and I enjoyed this Weight Watchers meal for dinner tonight: red snapper topped with anchovy butter, small baked potato, vegetable, and V8 juice with celery stick.

I'm not sure if kids would go for this dish as the parsley and chives leave green flecks hovering suspiciously in plain view. But Kahuna gave it two thumbs up, making it a winner on my blog.

RED SNAPPER WITH ANCHOVY BUTTER

2 red snapper fillets (1/4 lb. each)

1 T. chopped shallots (or garlic)

2 t. chopped fresh parsley

2 t. dry vermouth (I substituted white wine vinegar)

2 t. lightly salted whipped butter (I used soft margarine)

1 t. mashed drained canned anchovies

1 t. lemon juice

1 t. chopped chives

1/4 t. Dijon mustard

With sharp knife, lightly score skin side of fillets and place (skin side down) on broiler pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Mix together remaining ingredients, and spread evenly over fish. Broil, six to eight inches below heating element, for about five minutes, until fish flakes easily with fork. Transfer to plates and pour over any remaining juices from pan. Serves 2. (Recipe from this book.)

Now if we can just steer clear of these . . .

Kiwi Cheesecake with Key Lime Sauce

2010-04-08T12:50:00.001-07:00

Consider yourself fortunate if you have friends who invite you over for the occasional dinner. Consider yourself inordinately fortunate if said friends are amazingly good cooks.

We are inordinately fortunate.

I won't induce you to envy by describing our dinner of succulent smoked ribs, creamy potato salad, or beans simmered with bits of pork.

Envy is not an attractive quality and I want no part of leading you down that dark path.

But in the spirit of sharing that typifies bloggers and food lovers everywhere, I would like to share with you this dessert that our good friend and accomplished kitchen genie Stuart made for us the other night.

Cheesecake (you can buy it or make your own), topped with thinly sliced kiwi that's swimming in this key lime sauce.

Arrange kiwis artfully over creamy cheesecake, spoon on a bit of the sauce, and serve to applause.

Thank you, Stuart.

Pork Chops with Orange-Mushroom Sauce

2010-03-30T19:52:00.001-07:00

I was all set to blog about

this lemon poppyseed shortbread. But then I made

these pork chops with a delicious orange-mushroom sauce, and the shortbread idea wafted into the kitchen exhaust fan and blew out into the night sky.

Because the chops were just that good.

PORK CHOPS WITH ORANGE-MUSHROOM SAUCE

4 pork shoulder chops or steaks (about 1/2-inch thick)

2 T. butter

1/2 lb. small mushrooms, halved (mine were a little large, so I quartered them)

1 c. orange juice

1 T. grated orange peel

1 1/2 t. cornstarch

1/2 c. plain yogurt

Place pork chops in large skillet, overlapping. Cook over medium-high heat, covered, for 10 minutes. This should draw out the meat's juices. Remove the cover and cook until the liquid boils off. Brown chops on both sides. Remove to plate.

Add butter and mushrooms to skillet and cook until mushrooms start to brown, maybe three or four minutes. Add orange juice and peel; stir, scraping up bits off the bottom of pan.

Put the chops on top of the mushrooms and liquid, cover, and simmer over medium heat until chops are tender when cut, about 15 minutes or so.

Remove chops and mushrooms to a plate and keep warm (you can stick them in the oven at the "warm" setting). Mix the cornstarch into the yogurt, and stir into juices in the pan. Cook on high, stirring constantly, for about three minutes, until sauce boils and then thickens. Place chops and mushrooms on plate and serve with sauce.

And yes, that is one mighty large pork chop.

And yes indeedy, I did eat the whole thing.

Thank you for asking.

And the winner is . . .

2010-03-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

Helena at A Gal Needs at Least 2 Blogs , who won the mixer. Yeah, Helena!

And Karenpie, who happens to be hosting her very own giveaway this week to celebrate her one-year blogging anniversary, won the copy of Queen of the Castle. Yeah, Karenpie!

Congratulations to you both. And a big thank you to everyone who entered. Because what fun would a giveaway be if no one entered?

Homemade Brownie Mix

2010-03-23T12:02:00.001-07:00

Aaaaah, brownie mix. Convenient to have on hand and, for those of us who love to play with our food, fun to mix up for yourself. You can store it in quart-sized glass jars or zippered plastic bags and pull it out next time you need a quick dessert.

I found this terrific recipe over at Lynn's Kitchen Adventures blog. They bake into tasty, fudgey treats, which you can

shape into brownie pops

or, for your own amusement, simply leave in the jars and pose among the grape hyacinths

or the pretty pink tulips.

Because we are all about keeping ourselves amused.

And referring to ourselves as the royal "we."

NOTE: One more day to enter the giveaway for the mixer and the copy of Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker. Enter here.

St. Patrick's Day Giveaway

2010-03-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

Top o' the mornin' to you.

In honor of this, my 180th post, not to mention St. Patrick's Day, we're having a giveaway here at the castle. Because is there anything we like better than a cool prize that's absolutely free?

I was contacted recently by CSN Stores, a company that owns a number of sites selling all kinds of stuff -- from kids bedding to accent rugs to -- whaddya know -- some really nifty cooking stuff.

They're offering one of you, dear readers, the chance to win this 5 speed mixer.

I would love to win it myself, but somehow I think it'd be a bit suspicious if every commenter is named "Lynn."

So.

Here's the deal: If you want a chance at winning this handsome mixer, leave a comment below. If you mention the giveaway on your blog and link up, leave a second comment so you'll be entered twice. I'll randomly choose a name in a week, on Wednesday, March 24. Let's say by noon, so we all have time to get out of our p.j.'s.

And just for fun, I will pick a second name of someone who'll receive a copy of Queen of the Castle: 52 Weeks of Encouragement for the Uninspired, Domestically Challenged or Just Plain Tired Homemaker.

Because I just really like that book :)

Best o' luck to you! Don't forget to leave contact information if you don't have a blog.

Full disclosure: I have received no compensation for this post other than the joy of knowing one of you will get a free mixer. With which you can, we hope, whip up some magically delicious goodies.

This Week's Quiz

2010-03-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

So which one of this week's cooking experiments was the best of the bunch? Was it the poppy seed bread sticks?

The scalloped potatoes with cheese (official name: Gratin Dauphinois)?

The chocolate bundt cake with coconut-cream cheese center?

The scallop-peppers salad?

Or the crocheted potholder? Ooops, how'd that get in there?

What do you think?

If you guessed the bread sticks, you'd be wrong. The dough was ooey and gooey and difficult to work with. I won't be making this again.

If you guessed the potatoes -- you'd be half right. We loved them. Best of all, as a Cooking Light dish, they weren't loaded down with fat. I will definitely be making these again.

If you guessed the bundt cake -- you'd be totally right. I was in the mood for chocolate, and this recipe started with a cake mix, making it pretty easy. I should have taken a picture once we cut into it because the center is filled with a thick white ribbon of cream cheese and coconut goodness. But alas, no picture. We ate the subject as it posed.

If you guessed the scallop salad, we will throw a few points your way because it was plenty tasty. But it was not the true winner.

Because really, how can you compete with chocolate bundt cake filled with cream cheese/coconut goodness?

NO-FUSS CHOCOLATE RIBBON CAKE

1 (18 1/2-oz.) package chocolate cake mix

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

2 T. butter, softened

1 T. cornstarch

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. coconut

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour into well-greased bundt pan. In separate bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and cornstarch; beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Add egg and vanilla, stirring until smooth, then add coconut. Plop mixture evenly over the cake batter and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes (mine took 55), until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, then remove from pan and serve.

The directions say to store leftovers in the refrigerator, but I cannot verify this by experience. At our house there were no leftovers.

Note: This recipe comes from a little book called Hospitality Clues for the Clueless.

Secondary note: If anyone wants the potato recipe, send me an email and I'll launch it your way.

Versatile, Delicious Plantains

2010-03-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Is this not one of the most beautiful desserts you've ever seen? It's a Banana Plantain Crisp, made by Michelle over at Big Black Dog blog.

A couple weeks ago, after a discussion spurred on by this post, Michelle and I decided it would be fun to do a plantain recipe swap. We'd both post about plantains on the same day, and also post pictures and link to each other's plantain dish.

That was back when I knew absolutely nothing about plantains.
Now? Now I know these things about plantains:

Plantains are more expensive than regular bananas, and you can't find them at every grocery store.

Just like bananas, there are different levels of ripeness. The one on the left, with the black stuff, is more ripe. The one on the right, that's kind of green, is less ripe. The one in the middle? It's . . . well, it's in-between ripe.

I learned that plantains can morph from veggie to fruit. When they're green, they're firmer and similar to potatoes; use as a veggie. When they're blacker, they're softer and sweeter; use for desserts.

Also, keep plantains at room temp. Do not refrigerate.

So what to do with my plantains?
Plucked from the depth of my ever-expanding file of recipes to try

was this wizened newspaper clipping. "Versatile, delicious plantains," it claimed. I believe this article was written sometime during the Carter administration.

The article gave me ideas.

For its first suggestion, I selected the greenest plantain,

then peeled, sliced, and boiled until tender (at least five minutes).

Drain, mash, and season like potatoes.

Not bad.

Suggestion number two: using the medium-ripe plantain, I again peeled and sliced. (Peeling, by the way, takes effort. You don't just peel these babies with your hands like you would a banana. You will need a knife, a sharp one, to pare the skin off.) Saute slices in butter until brown and a bit crispy. Sprinkle with salt.

These make a decent side dish or after-school snack for kids. They're potato-y, kind of like mini hash brown patties you'd get at a fast food restaurant.

The third suggestion was for "fully ripe" fruit. Aaaah, dessert time. I'd saved my blackest plantain for this one.

A surprise, however, was in store. When I cut off the skin, the fruit inside was mottled. My little newspaper clipping had not warned me about mottled fruit. I wasn't sure I wanted to eat mottled fruit. So using my trusty vegetable peeler, I cut off the mottled parts.

Leaving me with this. Posed next to regular bananas for the full effect.

It was a plantain stick. A plantain nugget. A little itty-bitty, mini-plantain.

Not only that, my mini-plantain was very firm. Not much different from the other two. My hopes for a glorious dessert were dashed.

Ditching the article, I decided to slice and saute what was left in butter, salt it and sprinkle with sugar. Hmmm, not bad. Probably the best of the three.

My conclusion? Go visit Michelle over at Big Black Dog blog. When it comes to plantains, that girl knows what she's doing.

So what do you think? Have you ever eaten plantains? Ever cooked with them? Do tell.

Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

2010-03-02T17:31:00.001-08:00

Yummola.

That's the best word to describe this blue cheese salad dressing. Recipe thoughtfully provided by Lisa who blogs about family, faith, food, nature -- lots of fun stuff -- over at Moore Minutes.

I've tried five blue cheese dressing recipes over the last month or two. Most have been edible (well, except for the one that was mainly water and vinegar). But I was looking for that knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark recipe. I love making foods from scratch but honestly, if I can't at least duplicate the quality of what I can buy at the store, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.

Until this recipe, I had always liked store-bought blue cheese dressing better than what I could concoct myself. But now? No stinkin' way. Lisa's recipe is superb. Better than the stuff I've been buying. Reminds me of the cold, creamy, chunky dressing you'd get at your favorite restaurant.

LISA'S BLUE CHEESE SALAD DRESSING

2 c. mayonnaise (do not use fat-free or light mayo, says Lisa. Also, no Miracle Whip)

1 c. sour cream

3/4 c. buttermilk (I used regular milk with a couple t. of lemon juice added; let sit 5 minutes)

tub of blue cheese crumbles

a few drops Worcestershire sauce

a few drops red wine vinegar

garlic salt

onion powder

pepper

dash of salt

Stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, and blue cheese. Add in seasonings and refrigerate.

This makes a lot, so feel free to divide if that works best for your family.

What do you think? Do you have foods you prefer to buy ready-made because you can't find a great homemade version?

NOTE: I've linked this post to Works-for-me Wednesday, the blog carnival where you can get all kinds of great new ideas. Check it out here.

Pureed Vegetable Soup

2010-02-24T15:57:00.000-08:00

Being a "recipe cook" myself, I have long admired people who can simply look in the cupboard, check what's in their fridge, and whip together a scrumptious meal. No cookbook, no directions, no guidance needed save what they already possess, whether from instinct, practice, or lessons absorbed from a mentor or two along the way.

I am thrilled to have discovered just such a mentor, though she's one I've never met except through her book. The teacher is Ellen Ecker Ogden, the book is From The Cook's Garden, and today's lesson is all about vegetable soup.

Did you know you can pretty reliably combine vegetables that grow in the same season and come up with taste combinations that just work? (Tomatoes and eggplant and basil in the summer, for example; or potatoes and leeks in cooler weather.)

I learned that from Ellen Ecker Ogden. I also learned that she starts most of her cooking from the garden simply by heating up a little olive oil, adding chopped onion and garlic, then running outside to see what's ripe.

Sounds like a successful recipe to me.

In that spirit, I recently tried her pureed vegetable soup. The olive oil, onions, and garlic were already on my shelves. From the freezer, I plucked a zippered baggie of 1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree I had made back in the fall (for instructions, see this post from Kevin's Closet Cooking blog). From my fridge came a couple of carrots. And from my kitchen window ledge came some home-grown, dried rosemary.

Have a little rosemary, won't you? Please. I insist.

The result? The best soup I have ever made. Absolutely delicious. Here are the instructions, in case you want to try it yourself.

PUREED VEGETABLE SOUP

2 T. olive oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 t. finely chopped fresh herbs or 1/2 t. dried herbs (I used rosemary)

3 c. chopped mixed vegetables (I used pumpkin puree and a couple carrots)

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

4 c. vegetable broth (I used 4 c. water plus 4 vegetable bouillon cubes)

salt and pepper to taste

In large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the herbs, vegetables, and potato, and cook about 5 more minutes, stirring often. Add the broth and let simmer over medium heat, with the pot partially covered, for about 30 more minutes. Vegetables should be tender. Process in blender in small batches until it's all pureed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.

A couple more hints from this book: You can add cream to this soup, or sherry, or fresh leafy greens before blending. You can also top with a dollop of sour cream or, my choice, plain yogurt.

So how about you: Are you a recipe cook? Or are you blessed with that instinct that lets you create away in the kitchen without written instructions?

NOTE: This post is linked to Works-for-me-Wednesday at the We Are That Family blog. Check it out for zillions of great ideas.

NOTE #2: Check out the "grow your own" roundup, for a collection of recipes that contain home-grown ingredients. Roundup hosted by Nate @ House of Annie blog.

Salad a la Marinated Peppers

2010-02-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

Last summer's garden produced quite an abundance -- more tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers than the inhabitants of this castle could wolf down.

We had all kinds of fun figuring out what to do with the excess. One solution, discovered from someone's blog somewhere, was to slice the peppers into slivers and tuck them in the freezer in zippered plastic storage bags, ready for a rainy day.

Well, that rainy day has come. And several times now we have enjoyed these lovely orange, green, and red pepper slivers, marinated very simply -- and yummily, I might add, if yummily were actually a word -- and added to a salad. Along with anchovies, for my fellow anchovy lovers.

Or not.

The marinade makes a fine dressing. And while the simplicity of lettuce, peppers, anchovies, and vinaigrette is quite satisfying, feel free to add whatever other salad goodies make your heart sing. This recipe is hospitable that way.

MARINATED PEPPERS

a bunch of bell pepper slivers (maybe 1/2 - 1 large whole pepper)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed,
1/4 t. salt
pinch pepper
anchovies, diced, as many as your little heart desires
lettuce and/or spinach

Sliver up the peppers (or if you already have some in your freezer, just take 'em out). Mix together olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Marinate for four hours (or however long you like). Serve over lettuce and sprinkle anchovies as desired.

Recipe adapted from The Wonderful World of Freezer Cooking by Helen Quat, circa 1964.

Today's Quiz

2010-02-02T11:31:00.001-08:00

So guess which one of these recently-tried recipes was the winner -- the one I'll be making again soon.

Was it the lemon-blueberry bread, complete with glaze?

Was it the braided cheese bread, sprinkled with sesame seeds?

( Please excuse my ooze.)

Was it the mushroom-sherry sauce, served over a fine piece of beef?

Or would our winner be the from-scratch chocolate cake, made with nearly one whole pound of butter?

Ticktock. Ticktock.

I'm waiting while you make up your mind.

Got your answer?

Let's see if you were right.

The lemon-blueberry bread, alas, was nothing special.

The cheese bread, while making a lovely albeit humongous loaf, was also nothing my taste buds are screaming to experience again.

Likewise, sad to say, the chocolate cake with nearly one whole pound of butter.

Did I mention there was a lot of butter in this recipe?

The hands-down winner, in spite of my blurry little photo, was the mushroom-sherry sauce, adapted slightly from a Julia Child/ Louisette Bertholle/ Simone Beck recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

You wanna try it yourself? Here are the instructions.

First, fry up some filet mignon steaks in a skillet with 2 T. butter and 1 T. oil. Cook on medium-high, about four minutes a side for medium rare. (Yes, filet mignon is very expensive. Yes, this is a dish to save for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary or Valentine's Day dinner.)

In separate skillet, saute in butter 1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced, until lightly browned.

When meat is done, remove from heat and keep warm. (I used my oven's "warm" setting.) Pour out any excess oil from pan you cooked your meat in. Stir into the pan 1/2 c. beef bouillon (I used 1/2 c. water and about 1/2 t. powdered bouillon) along with 1 T. tomato paste. Boil rapidly for a couple minutes, scraping up whatever's in the pan, until liquid is down to 2-3 T.

In measuring cup, stir together 1/4 c. sherry and 1/2 T. cornstarch. Stir this mixture into stock mixture. Boil rapidly for one minute to let the alcohol evaporate. Add the sauteed mushrooms and serve over the beef, sprinkled with a touch of dried tarragon.

Et voila. Julia, your sauce is tres magnifique.

Sauteed Bananas

2010-01-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Don't you love recipes that take just a couple ingredients and a few minutes? This is one of those. A lovely little dessert that's super simple to make. I found it in a nifty cookbook by Mark Bittman called The Minimalist Entertains.

These directions will serve one, so multiply accordingly.

Peel one banana. Cut it in half then split in half again lengthwise. You will have four pieces.

Melt a pat of butter (about 1 T.) in a skillet over medium-high heat. Wait until foaminess subsides.

Dredge banana pieces in a bit of flour. Shake off excess flour, then

place banana in butter.

Cook until golden, turning when needed. (Bittman says this takes 10 minutes, but mine browned in about 2-3 minutes.) Sprinkle with 1/2 t. - 1 t. sugar and cook for one more minute. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice.

Anything you like to make with bananas that the rest of us should know about?

Salad in Search of Dressing

2010-01-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm trying my best over here. But I'm not having much luck in the blue cheese salad dressing department.

First there was this batch, a low-fat version made mostly of water and vinegar and tasting of . . . well, water and vinegar.

Then there was this batch, made of cottage cheese, buttermilk, and blue cheese, blended together. The texture was fine but the taste was bland and uninteresting and not at all blue cheese-pungent.

So help a girl out here, if you can. Know of a great blue cheese salad dressing recipe you'd be willing to share?

Asian Meatballs and Noodles with Black Bean Sauce

2010-01-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Oh my! Talk about a good blogging day.

I discovered this delicious garlic-black bean sauce from Vanilla Sugar's blog.

Which led me to these Asian noodles from the Dishing Up Delights blog.

Which led me to these meatballs from the big ol' Costco bag in my freezer.

Which led to some pretty happy tummies around here.

What quick-to-fix dinners are making your tummy happy these days? Please share. Because your kindergarten teacher was right.

Sharing is good.

Walnut-Coconut Squares with Citrus Frosting

2010-01-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

. . . because I'm just not convinced we've all had enough sugar yet.
I made an orange cake with glaze the other day, and must say I came away with the conviction that while glaze is good, frosting is better. So when I came across this recipe from great-great-grandma Hattie's stash, complete with orange rind/lemon juice/powdered sugar frosting, I knew exactly how I wanted to use that final orange from the toe of the Christmas stocking.

An added bonus: the recipe also allows you to smush.

And I do love smushing.

See that crust to the left? Completely smushed, with fingers and all. If you have little ones around, they would love to help with this part.

The recipe came from an old newspaper article that's probably close to a hundred years old. I made a few changes, most notably ditching the raw egg yolks in the original frosting version.

There is only so far I will go for the sake of historical accuracy, and salmonella poisoning is a titch too far.

I also added quite a bit less than the 2 3/4 cups brown sugar called for in the original walnut filling. The 1 1/2 cups I added were plenty.

Enough chatter. On to the recipe (originally called Walnut Cookies, but as you can see from the photo above, it's a grossly inadequate name for these lovelies).

WALNUT-COCONUT SQUARES WITH CITRUS FROSTING

Crust:

1 c. butter

2 c. flour

Cream butter and flour in large bowl with pastry blender. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan, and smush mixture into pan to make crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

While crust is baking, prepare filling.
Filling:

4 eggs

1/4 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/4 c. shredded coconut

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1 c. chopped nuts (I used pecans)

Mix all together.

Spread over baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make frosting.

Frosting:

rind of 1 orange, grated

2 t. fresh lemon juice

2 T. orange juice

3 T. cream (I used this in lieu of the 2 egg yolks in the original recipe. If you don't have any, I'm sure milk would work fine)

about 2 c. powdered sugar

Mix all together until frosting is smooth. Drizzle over warm (cooked) cake and spread.

So here's the question: Have we all had enough sugar yet?

What I Love About Being a Homemaker . . .

2009-12-10T17:37:00.000-08:00

. . . on a random day in December:
Scented candles
An extra trip to town for dinner ingredients, because I just felt like having shrimp and lemon and garlic pasta tonight
Lowering the kitchen lights, lighting the Advent candle, and soaking in thoughts of the Light of the world
Getting to have a half-hour telephone conversation with my son who's two states away

Enjoying homemaking pictures from inspiring magazines, even if they are of iced tea in pretty crystal glasses while I'm two feet from the fireplace and wearing layers
Being home to get fires going, giving physicality to the statement, "Keeping the home fires burning"
Homemaking books from my shelves that inspire me to love my family even more

Food, glorious food
These are simple SMOKED SALMON APPETIZERS. Spread smoked salmon strips with softened cream cheese. Put sliver of dill pickle in center and roll up. Voila.

What do you love about being a homemaker on a random day in December?

Not So Fond o' This Fondue

2009-12-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to be able to share with you a wonderful, festive fondue recipe, dense with Gruyere cheese, diced shrimp, white wine, and tarragon.
Alas, what I am able to share with you instead is this glop. Rhymes with flop.
The cheesiness never quite came together with the white wine - apple juice - lemon juice liquidness, save for about 20 seconds mid-cooking, and even then I had to whisk furiously to keep the whole thing from looking like a chemistry experiment gone awry.
As Julia Child liked to chirp, Never Apologize.
So I shan't apologize, but simply direct you, if you have a hankering for a nice, festive dinner of cheese fondue, to try instead this recipe.
Cheers.

Thankfulness and Potatoes

2009-11-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

"O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" (Psalm 34:8)
Happy Thanksgiving. What a wonderful holiday filled with feasting and family and gratefulness for the abundance of good gifts from our Father in Heaven. (See James 1:17 :))
Among many, many other blessings, I am thankful for my mom's awesome cranberries (two kinds!), my friend Pam's make-ahead gravy (love that gravy), and, of course, pecan fudge pie (recipe, pg. 255, Queen of the Castle).

If you have extra mashed potatoes lurking in your fridge (see this post for a shining example), you will be overjoyed to learn of this recipe: chocolate-coconut potato candy.

You might also want to look into these delicious, light as air potato rolls.

Now go. Eat. Be filled with thankfulness.

And if you get a chance to go see the movie The Blind Side? Go do it. Awesome.