Sugar. Cookies.

Papooh's Brussels Sprouts

I'm trying not to get too excited about these brussels sprouts.  Honest and truly, they are the best I've ever had, and are super simple to make.  The roasted cashews, the crunchy sprouts, the roasted cashews, the flavor, the roasted cashews... so good.

  Aside from being an avid gardener, Papooh is an excellent cook.  Here is his recipe for the best way to eat brussels sprouts.

Wash the sprouts and cut them in half.  This was probably a 10" pan, half-full of sprouts, and it fed 8 people.  Maybe plan on 4-6 sprouts per person.  That's all the measurement I have for you.  Dice 1-2 stick celery, and 1/4 onion.

While you're doing this, heat several tablespoons of olive oil (butter would probably work) in a large pan, and saute 1/2-3/4 cup cashews.  These were roasted and salted already, but raw would probably work, just cook them longer.  When they start to brown, they're done! Get them out of that hot pan and into a bowl.

Add the brussels sprouts, celery and onion to the pan, and cook until they are almost done (they should still have a little crunch on the inside).  Add the cashews, heat a couple minutes more, and you're done!

NOTE:  He used fresh sprouts - I don't know if this would turn out as well with frozen sprouts.  Maybe if you steamed them first, then cut them in half and sauteed them a bit?  If you try frozen sprouts, let me know how it goes!

Summertime

     Ice cream with friends after church on Wednesday evening, temps in the 100's the rest of the week, grilled chicken and watermelon tonight.  Summer is indeed here, and there are good deal of things to do.

• Summer school -  So far, so good.  I think I'm in the fun part of college now, when the classes start to all build off of and relate to each other.  BONUS: I thought classes started Tuesday.  Nope, Monday.  Too bad I realized that Monday night!
• Canning - Rhubarb and black tea jam, and strawberry-rhubarb jam are both done.  I'd love to learn to make tomato sauce!  
• Reupholstery - Beth and I are going to try our hands at reupholstering two chairs that have lived quiet lives in the basement up until now.
• Reading -  I finished last summer's reading list about a month ago (I know, I know...), and am ready to start another.  I've started How The Gospel Brings Us All The Way Home by Derek Thomas, and highly recommend it so far.  It's not too long, either, so you could bring it with you for vacation reading. 
• Music - One of my closest friends, her husband and their three sweet kiddos are going to a folk/bluegrass music festival, and I get to join them!  I hear that the lemonade is a reason to go in and of itself.

What are you up to this summer?  

Valentine's Day

     Valentine's Day smelled so good this year!  Mainly like onion, garlic, and cilantro, and tikka masala.  And chai tea.  

     It also smelled like naan.  Chrissy and David's youth leader and his wife lived in India for nine months several years ago.  Carolyn came over on Valentine's Day and showed us how to cook this delicious meal!  Don't worry, she got to go on a date with her husband - Chrissy babysat for them a few days earlier in exchange for this lesson.

     Did I mention the garlic yet?  Let me mention it again.  There was so much garlic in everything (excepting the chai tea)!  Even the naan had garlic in it.  I loved how Carolyn measured the cilantro - she just grabbed a bunch of it and starting snipping it into the masala until it looked right.

     This photo does not properly convey the warm, complex taste and creamy texture of the masala.  If you've never had Indian food, you don't know what you're missing!

When a Boy Makes Dinner...

    
     David made supper for our family recently.  I think it was a success!  The broccoli was right, and the meat was good, though a bit dry, due to a miscommunication over setting timers (these things happen).  As you can see, however, this potato was the most remarkable food on the table, and with good reason.

If looks could kill, no one would live to eat this spud.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Luke 24: 5-7

     It's 11:00 and I just realized that I had not yet posted.  Ordinarily I would have gone back to bed and just posted in the morning, but it's Christmas break and I really can stay up late (and yes, eleven is late - my brain usually shuts off at ten).  Here I am!

     Because it's after ten, and my brain isn't functioning properly, here is a quick link to an oyster stew recipe.  We used to have it for Christmas dinner, and are semi-resurrecting the tradition by having it for dinner tomorrow night.  With grandparents!  The recipe calls for a pound of fresh oysters, but, being land-locked, we use about 3 cans, and add some clam juice.  Enjoy!

A Neighborhood Brunch

     Today was the day!  My dear mother had ten ladies from our neighborhood to the house this morning for an evangelistic brunch.  Oh, so fun.  A lady from our church (who happens to also be a neighbor) shared about the birth of Christ, and how this Christmas is a time to "fear not," to forgive and be forgiven, and to rejoice in the hope that we have been given through Christ!

     One of the foods we served (well, several of them, actually), I had never had before. This one sounds extremely odd, but was really very good.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts
     For 1 hour, marinate two drained cans of water chestnuts in 3/4 cup soy sauce, and 1/4 cup brown sugar or marmalade or jam or honey, or something else sweet. Wrap each chestnut in a half slice of bacon, and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

     P.S.  Don't forget about the Twelve Days of Christmas! Everyone is welcome to participate - just leave a comment letting my know that you are doing it, and I'll link to your blog in each post, so that we can share each other's ideas.

A Recipe for Fall

     If you are a relative of mine in the North country, and it is not yet Thanksgiving, please do not read this.  You could spoil a surprise.

If you are still reading, stop it!

If you are not a relative, keep reading.  

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

     In a bowl, stir together 1 egg white and 1 teaspoon of water.  Using a fork, whip it until it is frothy.  Add 4 cups of shelled almonds and stir to coat.  In a small bowl, mix 1/2-3/4 cup sugar with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.  Dump the sugar on top of the almonds and stir well.  Cook on a greased jelly roll pan at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring once or twice.

I think this recipe is from Allrecipes.com.

Calzones

Once a week, I'm stranded on campus over the lunch hour.  I'm way to cheap to pay three to five dollars for lunch every time (it adds up fast!), so I've been making food on Monday afternoons (when I'm home) and freezing it until it's needed.  So far, I've made pot pies (Pyrex, I love you) and pumpkin soup.  

On Saturday, we went to the farmers market and I planned to buy peppers and tomatoes for a pizza.  I left with just peppers and detailed instructions on making paprika.  Today, the time came to bake, and I realized that pizza is a difficult thing to carry in a backpack.  But I still had the peppers and I still wanted pizza.  Hello-o?  Calzones!  

 

Yeast proofing in a hot-water bath.  

The dough before kneading.  Yes, the yellow bowl makes it look more spectacular than it really is.

Dough after kneading.  Yup.

This photo I'm adding simply for it's beauty.  It reminds me of Norman Rockwell or Andrew Wyeth.  I wrapped the bowl in a dish towel and stuck it in the warm oven.  It was warm because we had just made frozen pizza.  Sorry, we don't live glamorous lives where frozen pizzas are unheard of.  

Farmers' Market peppers. Aren't they gorgeous?  The pumpkin lookalike on the right is the kind they make pimentos from.  I wrapped them in foil and olive oil and baked them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Then I chopped them up, along with tomatoes (my garden), basil (the farmers' market), and garlic (my Arabian uncle).  

(Ok, fine.  Kroger).

By this time the dough was stretchy.

 Self-explanatory.  Baked at 450 for about 20 minutes.

 

Done!  If you make calzones, do me a favor and brush them with egg whites or milk before you bake them.  I always forget to do that to breads, so they're never shiny.  Please take a picture of your shiny bread and send it to me.  That way, I'll know someone has learned from my mistakes (because I sure haven't).  

Mind you, making calzones is not a mistake.  Oh, no.  I can hardly wait to be stranded on campus this week!

P.S.  They're really easy. 

The CSA

Yesterday, we drove downtown to a farmer's market to pick up Beth's first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share. Because Beth moved on campus this year, she and her roommate Sarah decided to subscribe to one of these. Basically, once a week for ten weeks, Beth will go to the farmer's market with a special cardboard box, and return with the box loaded with vegetables from the farm she supports. The idea behind this is that the farmers and the consumers will get to know each other, the farmer will have an source of income which is not subsidized by the government, and the consumer will have access to good quality, local, non-chemically treated food (organic in all but expensively certified name). Beth and Sarah can even drive to the farm and help with planting if they want to!

The two owners of the farm are so sweet! While the wife was talking to us, the husband was putting an additional squash, a pumpkin and tomatoes in Beth's box because "She's a growing girl and needs lots of good food." They really love what they do, and Beth and Sarah will love the food. Their share looks a bit expensive at face value, but the quality and sheer quantity of produce they get, as well as knowing who grew it, where, and what went into the food they eat is well worth it.

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Galettes

Have you ever heard of these?  If not, please let me explain.

A galette is basically a mixture of meat, vegetables, or fruit encased in a circle of pastry.   The pastry, which can either be a yeast dough or a pie crust, is pulled up and around the stuffing and pleated, pinched, or otherwise cajoled into an upper-crust of sorts.   We've made galettes twice now, once filled with ground turkey and a bunch of other veggies, and tonight with an Indian tikka masala filling.  It was delicious both ways.  

I made two, so we can have some for lunch tomorrow!

Picture from Honeyflake.  She used a yeast dough.  We used pie crust.  Speaking of which, I'd like to make an apple pie galette.  Or a juneberry galette!

Lime Curd

The British know what they're doing when it come to toppings. Lime curd is delicious! It was so simple to make. I halved the ingredients from here and cooked it according to directions here. So, all in all, here is the recipe for

Lime Curd

Cream together 1/4 cup butter with 1/4 cup sugar. Add three large eggs, mixing between each addition. Add the zest of one lime, and the juice of three limes (about a 1/2 cup of juice). Stir again. Transfer to saucepan, and stir over medium low heat for about 5-15 minutes. It will seem as though nothings is happening, and then all at once the eggs cook and your mixture thickens. Once this starts to happen, stir like crazy until you're sure the eggs are all cooked. Makes a little over a half pint. I've heard various numbers as to how long it will last in the fridge. One person said a week, another three weeks, another a month.

You could probably make lemon curd with this recipe too, just ignore the number of fruit - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice.

I put in on toast, but it would be really good on scones too, or as a filling in a shallow tart. It's also pretty tasty by itself. There. You've been warned.

Breakfast Cocoa

The idea of having cocoa with breakfast has always seemed, well, weird to me. Too sugary for the morning (though sugar in the afternoon is just fine!). I don't like to put much syrup on my pancakes, and am perfectly happy to skip the sugar and just have cinnamon toast, so hot cocoa with breakfast was out of the question.

Until...

I realized that it is possible to make cocoa that is not wildly sweet. You just heat up a mug of milk for a minute and thirty seconds in the microwave, and while it's heating mix about a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder with around a teaspoon of honey, and a bit a cream. Stir that into the hot milk, and you have breakfast cocoa! It goes well with just about everything, and doesn't send you on a sugar high. What do you like to drink with breakfast?

Peppermint Patties

From Ceramic Canvas. My only comments are that you can substitute butter for the shortening, and that they are absolutely delicious, no matter what you do to them.

Dark chocolate and creamy peppermint. I don't think it's possible to mess these up.

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup

Perfect for a very snowy day (six inches!). I made the Allrecipes version, which has over three thousand reviews and a five star rating, so I figured it must be good. And it was!

Delicious Ham and Potato Soup (from Allrecipes.com)

• 3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 3/4 cup diced cooked ham
• 3 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules (or, just add some strong broth - or curry powder!)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk (or more)
  
• Directions

1. Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

I would have pictures, but I'm afraid Chrissy's camera needs resuscitation. Hopefully we'll have the needed parts soon!

Happy Thoughts

While the elegant grays, browns and whites of January are beautiful, I'm really beginning to miss the sun... so I'll think of warm, bright, cheerful things!

• A pot of vegetable broth bubbling on the stove and steaming up the kitchen windows
• A vintage, honeycomb-patterned milk glass planter that I found for 50 cents at the thrift store the other day. Hello, new pencil holder!
• This quote from The Valley of Vision, a collection of puritan prayers:
  

"...In all good things there is
somewhat that pleases me,
somewhat that please Thee...."

• The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, and the fact that David enjoys it as much as (if not more than) I do!
• Christ is alive and intercedes before the Father on our behalf! Though we deserve death, through him we have life!

Divinity from a Vintage Recipe

When my family lived in North Dakota, our town had a HUGE craft fair every year. One thing I always looked forward to getting (and eating) was divinity - it was so creamy and sweet. We haven't been to that event in years, but here's the recipe I use now to make divinity, slightly adapted from a 1950's Better Homes and Garden's cookbook.

In a 2 qt. sauce pan, mix together:

2 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 water
1/4 ts. salt

Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved (so that it's clear). Now, leave it alone and let it start to boil - once it starts boiling, beat two egg white to stiff peaks. Continue to let the sugar syrup boil until it reaches the hard ball stage (260 degrees F), then slowly pour it over the egg whites in a thin stream, while beating the eggs on high speed.

Once the syrup and eggs are combined, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla (but really, more or less is just fine). Then, continue to beat the divinity on high speed until it is almost to stiff peaks (If you over beat it, that's all right - it just won't be as pretty).

Quickly put spoonfuls of the mixture onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet, pushing it off of one spoon with another. In it gets too stiff, the recipe says to stir in a bit of hot water, but I always forget this and end up with several ugly candies. Let them sit until firm, or overnight in you want them really creamy (and can wait that long!).

Voila! Vintage candy!

P.S. If you happen to be bringing the candy to an anatomy class party as an after-dissection-snack, feel free to put a lifesaver candy on top of each divinity and fill the center of the ring with chocolate for a cow's eyeball!