The Delay.

It has been almost 30 days since my last posting.  Bad blogging indeed.  And while I do not think that I have “followers” persay; I do think that I should be posting more often.  I will explain to you just a bit, but not too much, to avoid “debbie downer time’.

I had a health issue which caused me to deal with a great number of shifts in my day to day life.  I have been in strong dedication to making it all work for the best. Yet, I am on a strict diet now.  Must be rid of the many pounds put on by all of the glorious recipes I have posted here. – And there it is. The reason I was gone for almost 30 days. Learning to eat again. Learning to live again.

It has not been easy. The ins and outs of learning food.  Learning how to handle cravings.  And I admit, I do not know how to cook the way I need to. Thus how can I post a recipe…

It is an interesting development of life.

So today, I ask for your recipes. Healthy, good recipes. Something that you can really sink your teeth into and enjoy for every moment. So go on and hit me with it.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

So much more than Bread and Jam for Frances. I love you mom.

It is funny how time flies. I made the realization that it has been over 10 years since I first moved away from Georgia. I have only moved back once for about three months and have only visited 4 or 5 times.  I would like to visit more often, but financially it is simply too difficult – almost impossible to do so.  I could afford the gas to drive there and back, but not hotel rooms nor time off of work. I could afford time off of work, but only if I am staying home and incurring no extra expenses. It is a catch-22 of damned if I do, damned if I don’t.  Perhaps for Christmas I shall start asking for airline and hotel vouchers instead of books and Muppet shows.  I am particularly heart sore by the fact that my son Sean has been cast in a play and I am not going to be able to make it down to see the show unless someone wins the lottery and sends me winnings.

Most days, I do not miss my Georgia home. Most days, I remember the heat and sweating and think “Yuck!”. Most days, I recall the “things to do about town” and realize that I do not want to do those things. What I do miss, terribly so, are limited to my mom, my sister, and my twins. (Ok.. and Chick-Fila.) And I miss the idea of Sunday Dinner.  Something that if my life were instantly transposed into Georgia, I would miss regularly due to work anyhow… Sad but true. But I do miss Sunday Dinner. I also miss the fact that somehow, I had always envisioned that eventually I would take over the task of cooking the feast of Sunday dinner. I imagined my mom trying to help and being able to insist that I have it under control and she could sit down and read the questions off of  the Trivial Pursuit game cards aloud for us to answer, or give me the beginnings of lyrics for me to finish or name the song and artist of.  But, 900 miles away, well I do  not have to tell you how difficult Sunday dinner and trivia matches are to obtain.

I imagine this over and over again and it plays out in my mind so easily. I can even see the dinner I prepare for my mom’s birthday (which was only two days ago). A shrimp pasta dish with cream sauce and white wine. Fresh bread of course and a salad made of baby spinach and crab meat. A meal I think she would love.

Since I am so far away, maybe someone will make it for me and take it over to her house…. maybe.  Why doesnt anyone have a business that can do this? bleh.

In honor of my mother; her birthday, her love of trivia – music – and seafood (not always in that order). I share this recipe with you.

Garlic Shrimp with White Wine Cream Sauce.

You will need:

2 lbs of Shrimp. You can use the full sized ones and leave them whole in the dish or chop them up. OR use the small cocktail shrimp like you might get on a salad at red lobster or some such place. I will give directions for both below.

1 lbs box of Pasta. I like Rotini or Medium Shells for this dish. Penne or Gemmelli also work.

1 large onion (Diced)

4 cloves of Garlic (Minced)

Olive Oil

Butter

2 cups of White Wine

12-15 ounces of Tomato Sauce (whichever size can you have will work.. It will just make it less or more tomato flavor.)

1 and 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Salt and Pepper

Fresh Basil

Good Parmesan Cheese.

1 Medium Tomato (Diced) (optional)

How to make it happen:

You will want to cook your pasta per the package directions and drain well. Set aside. (FYI: You do not have to worry about keeping it warm because you will add it back to the dish before you complete its cooking.)

IF you are using the cocktail shrimp which usually you find precooked – you are in luck. You simply need to make sure that they are not frozen. Put them into a bowl toss them with about 1 clove worth of your minced garlic and about 1-2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil.  Splash it with some of your white wine (about 2 tablespoons perhaps) and let it set to the side while you do the rest.

IF you are using raw shrimp of any size. You will need to peel them and make sure that they are cleaned. Melt a dab of butter in a skillet and swirl in about 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil. Salt and pepper to taste.  Add in about 1 clove worth of minced Garlic and cook over low heat for about 3 minutes. Add your shrimp and cook  for about a minute. Your shrimp will NOT be fully cooked. Remove it from the heat and set it aside in a bowl for the moment. Once you have cooked the shrimp IF you desire to have small pieces of shrimp and you used the full sized shrimp you can chop them up and set them aside in the bowl. Otherwise, go ahead to the next part. Again, please do not keep this warm. Your shrimp will overcook and become rubbery. Just let them chill out.

For the sauciness,  Add to your skillet about 1 Tablespoon of Butter and about 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil.  Add in your onions and remaining garlic and cook on medium low heat until your onions begin to pale. Add in your white wine and allow this mixture to cook for about 5-7 minutes to reduce. (I admit, I have been known to let this go for quite a while and add in more wine than the original recipe calls for, this produces a stronger note of the wine in the final dish, but it is equally good either way you go. I usually end up with this option because I am bustling about the kitchen doing 40 things at once instead of just watching my skillet.) Add in your Tomato Sauce and stir well. Allow this to warm through and then add in your heavy whipping cream. Reduce your heat to low and allow this mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often.

Chop your Basil and shred your cheese. Add your pasta to the sauce mixture (Often this means that I actually add the sauce to the pot I cooked the pasta in and add the drained pasta to that.) Mix til combined and covered. Toss in your Basil, cheese and shrimp and cook only until the entire mixture is warm and bubbly. (About 2 minutes but admittedly not much more at all. Keeping your heat low as to not overcook the shrimp!) Salt and Pepper to taste. Remove from heat and plate it all up for someone you love. I like to top it with fresh diced tomato and more cheese. I have also topped it with Black Beans and added Crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce.  I have also substituted Chicken for Shrimp in times of broken bank accounts.  The best thing about this dish is that you can infinitely doll it up or dress it down. Dont have the nice Parmesan cheese. Go without! No shrimp. Use chicken or no meat at all! Make the sauce on the pasta and eat it that way. Add beans! Add olives or pepperonis!  Make the sauce and put it on Rice! It all works.

I only offer TWO bits of advice with regard to this dish.   1. This sauce WILL BREAK if you keep it on the heat too long once you add the cream to the tomato.  It reheats fine – IF you have left overs.. I never have.  2. Be careful of who you invite over to eat this dish, you may not get rid of them.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

Will you be my Valentine?

Have I mentioned lately…

I truly adore my husband. I can think of no one more fantastic and amazing with whom I could spend my days. He is witty, funny, smart, and devilishly handsome. Did I mention that he does most of the housework, cooks, and always rubs my back at night before bed, wakes me with kisses AND starts my shower every morning. Seriously, someone needs to get him a sainthood quick.

This makes it all the more amusing that being our first year of marriage, neither of us seem so terribly interested in Valentines’ Day.  We discussed getting one another some small token of our love and decided that instead we would share a six pack of Bell’s Porter (YUMMYY!!) and watch cheesy Kung Fu Movies.  Yep, My life is wonderful. There is so much love in our life day to day that Sunday… well its just another Sunday afternoon with snow on the ground and time to spend inside with the dogs. Happy Happy Happy! I count my blessings I assure you.

However, that said… Rachel and Jennifer are coming over tomorrow for our monthly girls night.  Over the last few months we have taken to rotation of duties. One cooks dinner, one brings wine, the final bringing dessert. This month, I get to take it easy and bring the wine!  Rachel has plans on having us swoon for a traditional Korean dish from her family recipe box. Jennifer is going to wow us all with a chocolate cherry cake. And I am going to make us all smile with a bit of pomegranate wine cocktail.  Gary – my ever dutiful love – asked “What do I bring?”  I jokingly replied “Valentines!”.  He giggled and agreed since he is the invading/invited male in our ‘girls night’ that he supposed it was his duty to do so. He then commented that we do so adore Rachel and Jennifer that perhaps Valentines are in order.

Who am I to argue with a man who wishes to show his adoration for my best girls?! No! Not me! I wont argue a bit. Ill help!  He has some super secret plan to make us all smile but I decided to dust off an old favorite and make them a bit of homemade toffee. After all everything I love about toffee is the exact same things I love about those two gals. Sweet, dark, and nutty as all get out.

The best part is that this entire recipe will take you ten minutes of hands on time to make. Cant beat that! No excuse to not make some up for your lovelies is there!

English Style Toffee with Nuts

You will need: 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of Sugar, 1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla (try it with Maple sometime too its great!), 1/4 Teaspoon of Salt, 1/2 cup of Nuts (Your choice I like Pecans or Walnuts but even NONE is acceptable), and finally 1/2 cup of Chocolate Chips (again your choice of milk, white or dark – Or any other chips you like really or WITHOUT.)

How to make it all happen:  Line a cookie sheet with either parchment, wax paper, or a silpat mat. Sprinkle with half of your nuts (if you are going that route.) Set aside. In a large saucepan, melt your butter on low heat and add in your extract, salt, and sugar. Stir well and turn the heat up to medium high. Use a wooden spoon to stir your mixture and bring it up to a boil. Continue to stir the mixture over, scraping the bottom often and cook for about 5-8 minutes.  You will watch as your mixture takes on a few color changes before turning a medium caramel brown.  Remove from the heat and pour over onto your prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and the chocolate chips. Wait a few moments (I usually take this time to put water into the pan that I cooked the toffee in and let the water work on it for a few.). Return to your pan with a rubber spatula and spread your chocolate chips (which will now be soft and meltly like but will have not lost their shape until you begin to spread them of course!) out over the mixture.  Thats it! Let it set up for about 20 minutes – or until your chocolate firms up again (I put mine on the back patio where it is cool and this helps speed up the process). Break your toffee into pieces and wrap them up for friends or loves. Or perhaps.. Keep them all and remind yourself that it is good to be you! Either way…

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

Pal Joey.

My Texan friend Joey, is not so much into sweets and desserts.  Unless, of course, you mean Gummy Bears or Frosting from the tub. – Don’t ask guys, you really don’t even want to know that story.  When I mentioned this little blogging project to him, I gave him the subtle warning that the recipes lately have leaned towards cake and gave him a touch of encouragement that there was CHICKEN in some older posts.  I promised him that tonight’s posting would not be dessert oriented. Something that perhaps he might sink his teeth into. – Although, in retrospect, he is a Texan and it never gets cold enough in his neck of the woods to REALLY hanker down on a big ole bowl of soup. Oh well – His wife is Canadian – SHE at least knows about snow and coldness and SOUP! Maybe she will have a craving and he will make her a Big Texas Pot of this stuff.

I got the inspiration for this recipe from The Amateur Gourmet’s Soup Battle of 2010. http://www.amateurgourmet.com (This is a fantastic blog you guys with tons of happy things to make you smile) I was drawn to this “Soup Battle” because I love soup more than words can express. And while it shames me a bit to confess, I spent almost two hours reading the comments posted for entry into the contest. The soup that ultimately placed second in this battle was a beautifully rich Italian Pasta and Bean soup. I admit, looking through the entries I had spied this one myself and was elated to see it pictured and in the running.   My husband and I decided to attempt this soup – but of course, we do nothing the way that it is initially presented. (Our apologies to Allen Small (Original submitter of said recipe) and to the Amateur Gourmet for our liberties… it was unavoidable. I know you understand.) You can find the recipe as submitted at the site above, but our tinkered version is what I am posting.

Mr. Small’s Italian Pasta and Bean Soup – Part Duex.

Ingredients:

4 ounces Bacon, chopped – Use a bacon you like well.

1 Large Onion , diced

1 Rib Celery

6 Cloves of Garlic

1 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 anchovy fillets,  minced. (try to avoid having excess oil from the container. Not that you need to pat them dry or anything, just try to avoid excess.  A while back we made a soup with anchovies and it came out too fishy for our liking due to excess oil on the fish so I mention this to save you trouble.)

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes with liquid

1 (15 ounce) can Crushed Tomato (or Tomato Sauce)

1 chunk of Parmesan cheese rind – Ours was about 4 x 3 inch. But.. Go with what ya can get your hands on.

1 Large can of white beans. We used Navy Beans because it is what we had on hand. Whatever you have will work as well.

4 Cups Chicken Stock (We used the reduction that we make every time we roast a chicken (see my post of Dec 29, Just us SPRING Chickens for how we roast our birds here.)

8 ounces small pasta (orzo is the original here, we used Small Shells because again it is what we had.)

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar. (not part of the original recipe but.. work with me.)

Salt and black pepper to taste.

Grated Parmesan cheese for topping your soup.

You will also need Butter, Olive Oil, a Dutch Oven or other big stockish pot, and a big ole spoon.

How to whip this up in no time flat:

We got out our beautiful cast iron dutch oven, melted up a touch of butter and a touch of olive oil (about a tablespoon of each.)  We added our chopped bacon, onions, garlic, and celery all at once and let the bacon cook while making the onions, garlic, and celery beautifully softened and caramelized. We stirred this often and let it run on Medium heat for about 5 minutes total. Then we added in the anchovy paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stirring and cooking for another minute or two until the smell began to change. Next in the pot are the tomato products (be sure to scrape up the pan bottom to loosen the goodness there and get it into your yummy soup.) and the cheese rind. Bring up to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally (Or perhaps a great deal of standing over the soup and stirring commenting on how darn good it smells – like I did) .  Add in your chicken stock and your beans (Please drain and rinse your beans… thank you). Feel free to salt and pepper and taste this lovliness, I say this because REALLY.. This soup does NOT require the pasta.. I do think I might add an extra can of beans if I were to omit the pasta, but that is me.  That said. IF you are going to go the traditional pasta route. Bring your soup back up to a boil and add in your pasta.  Boil for about 10 minutes (see also loosely follow the cooking time of your pasta. If it says 7 minutes, check it at that point and see if it is done.) When your pasta is al dente’, turn off the heat, find and fish out your rind (or rind pieces mine fell apart!) and add in your balsamic vinegar. Stir it in and let it set for a few minutes while you warm your bowls. Seriously, this is my favorite trick with soup. Warm your bowls up in your microwave or under hot hot water in your sink. Somehow it makes your soup seem so much more satisfying. I think it is just the superior way to serve up soup. Warm bowl. Warm Soup. Warm homemade bread.

Just remember. Soup is like love. No matter what kind it is, it is a good thing. Best kept hot, never less than warm, always filling and satisfying. Its easy to make, but requires attention and care to make great.

There ya go Joey. I hope you and the lovely wifey enjoy it as much as my hubby and I did.  Huggles and things.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

Punxsutawney Peanut Puddle Cake – Or.. The cake that saw its own shadow.

A few years ago, we began to celebrate random little holidays with my husband’s young son.  Jacob has always been excited to observe and talk about holidays from around the world, and we have found some fun to be had with even the most minor holidays.  Towel day we watched a bit of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (BBC production).  Dias de los Muertos we make sugar skulls and Hispanic foods.  Last year, we celebrated Groundhogs Day with cake that Gary concocted while I was at work.

Now, you really have to imagine this. My beloved angel of a husband – wanting to celebrate a holiday and have fun with his 7 year old son – having sufficent culinary skill to make a cake and decorate it with professional skill, opted to make a cake and simply .. well lets just say he had fun with it. So imagine if you will a chocolate cake which has been baked in an angel food cake pan.  Along side of it in the oven is a 4 inch round cake pan with enough batter in it to make a tiny cake. Now imagine that both cakes are cool and my husband decided to bend the large cake in half to have one half of the cake sticking directly upwards. Now, that is not what he did, he hacked the darn thing in half and used royal icing to mortar the cake bricks together… THEN.. he frosted the entire cake with dark chocolate frosting, dusted the cake with cocoa (a layer of dirt of course), SPRINKLED the cake with Green jimmies sprinkles (grass shoots), then and only then did he recall (I think with disappointment) that it is February and still snowing and he opted to coat the entire thing with a layer of powdered sugar to emulate snowfall…  Im thankful that none of us are diabetic as simply walking by this cake may have caused a coma in some. And to give this creation a cute little groundhog  – I’m not sure you really want to know, but I will tell you all the same. He took the 4 inch cake, broke it into pieces, SMUSHED it back together in a weird double lump and DIPPED it into melted chocolate then added some crumbs for ears.  He then decided that this vermin needed eyes. After all, you can not see your shadow or not see it if you have no eyes. More of the royal icing was dabbed on, a little more heavily than he intended I believe and our creature had HUGE eyes. He then decided to make some of the royal icing black to make pupils since it currently looked like a creepy rat with glaucoma. Well after adding the pupils it looked more like a creepy rat on cocaine, but my dearest husband declared Mr Cake Groundhog fit for habitation in the dirt mound and hole… FROM the back end of the cake, Gary then thrust our poor witless cake creature into the cake, and OUT into the light on the front side of the cake, disturbing the ‘ground’ enough for “Authenticity” – YES.. he used that word.

To say that this cake was UGLY is an understatement. To say that this cake was AMAZING is also an understatement.   Jacob loved it. Strung out vermin and all.  But thus began somewhat of a tradition. Groundhog day means some variant of ugly cake.

This year… was my turn. Digging into my recipe box I found the recipe I was looking for and set to work in the kitchen.  I have made this cake so many times, I have morphed the recipe to be exactly what I had hoped it would be and have never found disappointment in its rich and nutty taste and moist texture. Admittedly, Gary’s cake of last year was FAR superior in the element of decor… but I think mine had more of a flavor induced love… Then again, I suppose we could make the cake in an angel food pan and let him decorate it up…. wait.. no. never mind. This cake is so good on its own, lets not mess with a good thing.

So here you have it…

Punxsutawney Peanut Puddle Cake

Preheat the oven as follows: 375 for a metal pan and 325 for a glass pan.

For the cake:

Mix together 3/4 cup of Peanut Butter and 1/2 cup of Shortening with 1 and 1/4 cup of Granulated Sugar. Beat until well combined and add in 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of milk. Combine well and then add in 1 and 1/2 cup of Gram Cracker Crumbs and 1 cup of Flour. Blend well before adding in 3 eggs one at a time til fully incorporated and finally adding in 3 and 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder. Beat on Medium for 2 minutes.

Pour into a greases 13 x 9 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes – do not remove from pan. Poke holes in the surface of the cake. (I poked mine about 12 times total.)

For the frosting:

In a large saucepan on low heat, melt a stick of butter (8 tablespoons) and incorporate 2 heaping Tablespoons of Cocoa and 2 teaspoons of Vanilla. Add in 2/3 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream, 2 and 3/4 cups of Powdered Sugar and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Chopped Peanuts. Stir well and bring heat up to Medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue to stir (and boil) for 3 minutes. Pour frosting over the cake evenly and slowly, allowing it to seep down into the cake through the holes you poked.

The cake – has a tendancy to “drop” a bit once it comes out of the oven. Depending upon the pan used, the temp in the house, the humidity, and so many other factors, the amount of drop varies. Sometimes, it is minimal. Others it is fairly dramatic causing a pooling or puddle of frosting… Seriously. This cake is NOT for you if you REQUIRE beautiful perfect food (in fact, likely none of my recipes are going to do you much good). I have no intention of reworking this recipe to make the middle NOT fall in and once you taste it, I doubt that you will care about the middle of the cake falling in. In fact, you may come to appreciate that your beautiful frosting is collected so nicely for you and thus when you cut your cake (With a spoon!) all of the fudgey goodness wraps itself lovingly around your piece, coating it with happiness that ANY groundhog – 8 year old – or 38 year old would love…

So enjoy 6 more weeks of winter. Enjoy the cake.. and.. as always …..

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

What do you mean there is no dessert?

There are a lot of things rumbling around in my head today so be aware that my thoughts may roam a bit.

I was born in the 1975, a time when if it was avoidable – women still tended towards staying home with the kids and men worked.  And while I do not know the entire circumstance of my early early years, I know my mother stayed home with me most of the time prior to my parents deciding to end their marriage. I recall with fantastic fondness this time with my mother.  For lunch we had Red Beans and Rice the same color as the faux brick linoleum tiles of the kitchen floor I played on as she cooked.  I recall learning to read and spell the word “Apple” from the kitchen towels that hung on the wrought iron railing that lead to the back room area.  What I do not recall was any discussion of money until we moved to Georgia to live with my grandparents. The shift happened when I heard my mom discuss with grandpa the need of a new car. Now, I do not recall what kind of car it was, but I do recall that we broke down a lot in the car and waiting for people to come help us.  I knew cars cost money.   I knew we had “none” to speak of.  It never bugged me. I had food and clothes.  I had toys and books.  I really did not need much and I had more than that.  My mom did a great job of making sure that I never had to think twice about the necessary things being there. I do recall being so very proud of her for getting the job that she seemed to want at Unijax.  I seem to remember my grandpa insisting on taking us for a nice dinner to celebrate.

I think that as a child it is those small things that always make the largest memories. I recall a girl whom I was friendly with and her family, their poverty was scary to me – All because I thought they must be very poor since they did not have dessert after dinner every night, only on special occasions.  We had some kind of desert every night. Watermelon or strawberries as often as ice cream or cake, but desert by that blessed name.  Amazing abundance!

Today, I do not have dessert every night. Mainly because I am already a large gal and have no aspirations of being as large as a well fed prime cattle.   But I do love dessert!  Then….

My W2 came today.  I opened it with a rare burst of curiosity to see how much I actually made this year. I make an hourly wage and while I know roughly what each check will be, it is not something I have bothered to sit down and add up to a “yearly wage” since I never know exactly how many hours I will be given from one week to the next.  I sat at the table with some flourish of formality and ripped away the tabs to unfold my statement. To read “Worth” in no certain terms.  There it was…. $13,363.49 – I had to read it again. $13,363.49. A family of three… and I make $13,363.49 in a year. How can this be?  National Poverty Guidelines say I have to make $18,310 to not be in poverty.  I couldnt possibly make $5000 more in a year by working a few more hours here and there – mainly because I already work very close to full time hours in a part time job and secondly because there are not extra hours for me to take at my job.  I felt a sense of panic at reading this. I had to read it a few more times before it settled in on me that Not only did I make money that was less than poverty level for a family of three (AND even for a family of TWO), but I brought home less than poverty level for a family of ONE. – But… we have dessert! (And all of the utilities and shelter in which to make and consume said desert…. this is not about making the choice for cake and not paying the heating bill…) It makes me think about the use of the word “Poverty” or “Poor”.  Neither of which, we are.  The whole thing simply seems like some sort of misuse of vernacular; a depressing one at that.  Isn’t RICHNESS made of up those things which bring you joy and peace? Isn’t WEALTH measured by smiles and your ability to share friendship.  Are we not measured most accurately by the love we give – the lives we touch – the changes we create around us each and every day? I do not want to be judged on a bank statement or a W2.  I want to be judged by the dessert I share with those people who matter the most to me and the dessert I would share with those far away.  I’d love to give you all a small piece of the bliss my mom gave me to me in having the money we make not make the people we are. – And Id like to serve it with cake and a glass of milk – Every night of the week.

This cake. Its cheap to make. Its rich of chocolate. Its full of lavishness. Let your friends judge you on cake instead of paycheck.

In honor of this ideal of how we could view one another and our financial situations – a variation of a Texas Sheet Cake that I like to call – Tax Break Cake.

TAX BREAK CAKE

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup PLUS 1 Tablespon cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup Yogurt – Plain or Vanilla.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the water and the cocoa and whisk together until well combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.  In a large bowl combine, Sugar,  Flour, Salt, and Baking Soda. Then add in the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla and combine well. Finally add in your butter/water/cocoa mixture and combine well.  Add this mixture to a jelly roll pan (15×10 in pan) and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  While your cake cooks, make your frosting.

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup Coca-Cola
• 4 cups Powdered Sugar – this is an approximate, if it is too thin add more. But, incidentally 4 cups is about 1 pound of powdered sugar.
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 7 oz of Marshmallow Fluff

No… This frosting is not any good for you. All the same. Melt the butter over low heat and whisk in the cocoa and the soda. Add this mixture to the powdered sugar and combine well. Add the vanilla and the marshmallow fluff and beat well. Pour this deliciousness DIRECTLY onto your cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Sprinkle with nuts (I like Pecans!) if you desire but it is not necessary to make your family and friends swoon.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

a few days.

The new year began and I have, sadly, not been in any frame of mind to cook, share, or give to anyone. Perhaps in retrospect it might have made me feel better if I had pushed myself to do just that and thus grant a sense of normalcy and perky to my life and perhaps yours. But, for a few days, I did not.

Last night, I opted to take a dig into my recipe box and make some sort of sweet. My desires for this sweet thing were being picky however. I discarded Chocolate cake for one – though so simple, purely tasty, and FAST – I could not imagine eating more chocolate as I was quite gluttonous over the holidays – particularly with chocolates.  I also dismissed the Toasted Coconut Rum Cream Pie which is delicious but a pain in the derriere to make.  I gave some serious debate to an easy as can be Key Lime Tartlet (Which I always always keep the ingredients on hand for because it is so good!). And while I dismissed it, I hit upon the understanding that I wanted something mellow and creamy tasting.  Not spicy or tangy, nothing too zesty, just CREAMY. Thick, Moist, Cream. So.. To hell with sized 10 jeans. CREAM and BUTTER here I come.

POUND CAKE! – Yes It has both. Cream and butter. Hallelujah! And BINGO!

My mother, shared this recipe with me a few years ago. I am unsure where she obtained it but she will swear to you that it tastes just like her Grandmother’s did. – Which means in original form its likely Paula Deen if anyone you would recognize by name.  But I leave nothing alone. Least of all sweet things. (This is also how I obtained my husband – the sweet thing that he is I wouldnt leave him alone… Everyone say AWWWW!)

For a 10 inch Bundt pan – which you will thoroughly butter and flour – you will need all of the following and a strong arm.

1 Cup Butter – Softened – Yes it must be butter and no you can not use Margarine.

3 Cups of Sugar

6 Eggs – Large and at Room Temperature if you can manage.

3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt  – I use Kosher and my 1/2 Teaspoon measure heaps a bit.

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract – I admit, I do not measure this at all and instead pour it directly from the bottle as I see fit. Sometimes I even split it up and use half Vanilla and half almond – Rarely I have used half vanilla and half maple.

3 Cups of Flour

1 FULL Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream (this is a pint and make sure you get it all out of the container.)

Your directions are this.

Get out a big bowl and a heavy wooden spoon. I like to think of my great grandma making this pound cake (even if it is or is not her recipe) she would not have used a hand mixer and darn it!  I will be the first to tell you that I have made it with a hand mixer and by hand and by hand tastes better somehow. I promise. I have no idea why. It may only be that you have worked up an appetite by stirring this stuff, but seriously, take some time today.. make a cake, make it the way your great grandma or mine would have. By hand.

Cream your butter and Sugar together. Add your eggs one at a time and incorporate fully. Add in your Baking powder, salt and extracts, mix together well again. Add in your flour, half a cup at a time and mix up well before you add more. Last of all, Slowly slowly and so lovingly pour in a little cream and fold it in, more love and more cream with more stirring. Until each drop of it is mixed into your lovely yellow creamy batter.

Now remember that Butter/floured Bundt pan.  – Again, seriously folks No subs here. No Pam spray. No Crisco. No margarine. Butter it. Heavily so. Then Flour it delicately, but fully.  Only then shall you pour your lovely batter into the pan; insert said pan into a COLD oven, set a timer for 1 hour and 15 minutes and FINALLY turn on your oven to 325 degree. – Now. Leave it alone. Do not look at this cake (Unless your oven is REALLY a wack job like mine is and then you may check the temp ONCE – after it has been on for about 20 minutes and adjust your oven accordingly, but otherwise leave it be.)  Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes then invert to remove from pan. Cool it a while longer if you wish, but around here, we mostly just tear into it as soon as we can get it from the pan.

Its lovely.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

Just Us “Spring??” Chickens.

My work is in the process of converting to spring.  Yes yes, I know – there is still snow on the ground and it is expected to continue to come along for the next 2 and a half months at least. YES, I know that it is as bad as Christmas arriving in early October.  All the same it makes for busy days of completely changing around the format of the store, pushing aside Christmas arrangements and making way for new and bright spring colors.  There is always a mixed emotion with this in that after 3 months of Christmas time – 2 months of Christmas music – and 1 month of extended hours; I am ready for it to be over. Additionally, the change over of flowers to work with gives me a renewed freshness and a readiness to get busy. However, I am with you – we havent even seen single digit temps, winter is in no way over, and the worst is yet to come. I feel set up to fail emotionally by being geared for spring.  Yet, there is no sense in complaining and really, there is not much to complain about. I mention it because of the “BUSY” quality involved with the shift of seasons at my work.  The hours in to get things put together and out in the store is tremendous and the work is at double time.

Busy time means that once home I suffer from the lazies and the slows.  Thankfully, my husband understands these weeks and does make sure that things are running smoothly for me by keeping the house squared away.  Now, I have a confession – If I have not already mentioned – I am spoiled. My husband and I have a non-traditional set up in that I am the bread-winner (as it were.. crumb-winner some days!) and he is the best House-Husband on the planet.  He does work as well, but on a more limited basis than I do, and for the most part his JOB is to take care of me, the dogs, the house, and his 8 year old son. He does a fantastic job day in and day out. I am SPOILED. I do not do laundry with any sort of regularity. I do  not do dishes. I cant tell you the last time I folded towels, made a bed, or ran a vacuum cleaner. If I had to remember to feed the dogs – they would be jumping into my lap then down to the floor in their secret semi-fore dance that says “Get with it lady!” before I remembered to do so, and I LOVE my dogs! It just is not my job day in and day out.  Wonderful husband also does a heavy dose of cooking – being the chef he is – and I am thankful for it. I am. My husband is fantastic. Basically, the point is that the MINIMAL amount that I am required to do, gets thrust upon my lovely man during this busy time and he becomes more busy too.

With the business and the cold combined, we tend to lean heavier on the crock pot. With the laziness and slow that I am afflicted with we tend towards making more when we cook and stockpiling the leftover stash.  Another confession,  I do not want to eat the same food 4 nights in a row, no matter how tasty it always is. I get bored. My body also does not enjoy the experience and I begin to sleep walk to the fridge to eat random things – such as entire bags of carrots or whole onions as if they were apples. Oh how I wish I were being funny.  Thus, leftovers must be – absolutely must be convertible.

Did I also mention the crumbs I make – Oh yeah…  People often ask me how we get by on seemingly so little income.  Now, dont feel sorry for me. WE made the choice to have hubby home most of the time and for me to work a job I do sincerely love doing even if the pay is less than astounding.  We do so by making convertible foods and sapping every last bit out of everything we do make.  Subsequently, we eat better than almost everyone I know – Including those corporate-worlders who make 4 times what I do each year. We eat steak 3-5 times a month, fish and seafood regularly enough, and always have a full freezer and fresh veggies.  We do not hurt. I promise.  We just live a bit frugally with our food and do as much with it as humanly possible.

I am 100% certain that the recipe or idea that I share with you today is not a new concept. What with the way that people feel about the economy, budgets, and spending; I am certain you can search the internets and find some very similar if not exact ideas. So if you too are a blogger and have something similar to so close you can smell your own chicken cooking – please know I am not “stealing from you” – Heck, put your link in the comments Ill be glad to have it!  This is just part of how my husband and I live – day in and out.  Getting by. Making it work.

Chicken chicken chicken.

Lets face it, Chicken is cheap and buying it whole is most agreed the way to go about it.  Whole chickens in this area of the world (Michigan) go for about $0.69 a pound day to day. I have seen sales that bring them down as low as $0.39 a pound. (We stock up!) As far as versatility goes, chicken is the clear winner in the race.  Now you are thinking, that I said I was busy, and you are busy too, and roasting a whole chicken is not a quick way to get dinner on the table.  Well yes, I said that.  But whole chicken, while not fast, is about as easy as it gets to get dinner on the table. Follow me.

The Roasted Chicken and The Crock Pot – a love story.

1 whole chicken. Guts removed if it came with the bag o’ guts. (I go for about a 4 lb chicken.)

Seasonings – I use a liberal amount of salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, and onion powder. That said Season it more than you really think you should or else your chicken meat can be bland. – We dont like bland chicken.

Put it in the crock pot. Do not add liquid. Put on the lid. Set your crock pot on low and set a timer for 8 hours. Go to bed, go to work, go shopping, watch a few movies, take the kids to and from where ever it is kids go.  8 hours, the timer goes ding, and tada.. CHICKEN. Roasted lovely chicken. My recommendation is that you eat chicken dinner this night. Chicken and Mac and Cheese with a lovely salad is my favorite way to go but any sides would do.

Once dinner is over and your chicken is cool, pick it apart. However you choose to do this is fine by me. Lob off the breasts whole and cube them, or leave them as whole meat pieces off the bone. Use forks to shred it up. Hack of bits with a knife or just pull it from the bones with your fingers. You should have a good deal of chicken left. Get it all out.

Put your bones back in the crock pot. And that skin too. Dice a carrot, onion, and some celery if you are so inclined.  Put in water to about 2 inches below the top of your crock pot and put the lid back on. Leave it on low overnight. Strain it off tomorrow morning (or afternoon or evening keep it on all day if you want, it will be fine!) reserve the liquid and throw away the bones and stuff. Now you have a LOVELY chicken stock. A good bit of it too. We put ours in small freezer bags by about two cups measure. Zip them up and freeze them flat so that we can stack them and have portions ready to use. OR.. Just put it all in a gallon zip lock and make soup later in the week. Either way, this is great stuff. Stock is NOT cheap here. If I were to buy a gallon of Chicken stock in the store I would spend almost $10.  This is free! Just add water. The carrots, celery and onion are not even required!

Take your meat and put it in a container for fridgey storage.

Make Chicken salad, make the pechuga poblano I posted a few days ago, make enchiladas, make tacos, make soup, or chicken and dumplings, make nibblings direct from the fridge container because you had a busy day and you have the munchies! Pour BBQ sauce on it and make sandwiches.   Make Stir Fry. Make Chicken and Rice casserole. Make – Chicken pasta! ANYTHING that you make with chicken. Make it with this chicken and you will love it.  I usually get 3 -4 meals out of a whole bird for the three of us. Though admittedly it is usually TWO meals for three of us, ONE meal for two of us, and a Lunch for two. – WITHOUT using the stock….. Sometimes I just go from Roasted chicken to some type of stew or soup using the stock and the left over chicken. Then I can feed about 6 people soup or the three of us can have a few bowls each.  See how this makes life easier to get dinner on the table.

It is good stuff I promise. I will also post my similar treatment of pork shoulders, hams, and beef roasts in the near future.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

December 26th, The Hangover…

Dear Food Coma,

Evening to you and thank you for having molded and shaped my day.

Sincerely.

ME.

We had discussed our hectic Christmas day schedule and opted to make Apple popovers for the morning. Gary labored lovingly over the pastry and I worked out the filling.  The pastry was the star of the dish, but in all honesty I have no idea what he did to it.  At my father in law’s house, there was an assortment of nibblings. All delicious. Then off to my mother in laws house were the nibblings were more substantial, but – still just that. Finger foods.  Nibble nibble nibble nibble. Seems like we began at 9 AM with the popovers and ended at 10 PM with chocolate.  The food coma hit hard and fast.  I slept like a rock and had very intense sensory dreams. This morning – work required me at 8 AM and at 6:30 AM I did not want to leave my dreams, my warm bed, or my husband’s side.  Then I realized that not all was well with tummy land and the food coma was going to hang out with me for my morning activities.  At work, I had the most astounding yawn fest as I attempted to make floral arrangements and help customers locate all manner of holiday hoopla at 70% off.  Lunch break consisted of some more munchie foods.  This simply gave second wind to food coma and it renewed forces and 20 minutes after eating I am almost sure I was drooling on my design center counter top. (Not in a literal sense, but you understand my situation I am sure.)  Yes… Food Coma had extended its annual visit into the majority of today.  I came home more sleepy than I could stand. This lingering soreness in my legs and back prompted my love to pull me up the stairs and pour me into a hot tub along with the demand that I stay put for twenty minutes coupled with two aspirin and a swig of water.  I did my time found jammies and furry socks before finding a place on the couch with my dog to nap until dinner was ready.

I wanted REAL FOOD so badly… a REAL meal was the only thing that was going to fix me up. Ok Ok.. 12 hours of sleep might have done just as well but FOOD was on my mind and I was HUNGRY!

My husband woke me with a kiss and informed me that dinner was ready and I should come eat.  I woke from my nap and groggily went to the table.  SOUP! I felt as fine as Oliver – FOOD glorious FOOD!  Ah the smell! Oh the taste! Uh WOW! Was this soup ever good. I ate two bowls then made my husband tell me quite specifically what he had done to this soup.  Thankfully, he did. Now I will share with you HIS recipe.

So with my lovely husband’s permission of course.

Black Bean and Chicken Stew.

Lately we have been roasting whole chickens in a crock pot. (Ill post that recipe tomorrow!) And this recipe began with chopping up about 3 cups of that left over chicken and setting it aside.

Chop 4 carrots, 1 large onion, and 4 cloves of garlic.  Saute in 2 Tablespoons of butter in a large stock pot (We used a 5 quart cast iron dutch oven) until the onions go slightly pale.  Season with celery salt, black pepper, cumin and chili powder. (all to taste. – start with about quarter to half a teaspoon of each – sorry I cant be more specific he just shakes it over the pot til it looks good to him. DARN TALENTED MAN!) add in 2.5 quarts of Chicken Stock (which you can also get from the crock pot roasted chicken, from a can, a box, bullion, or even soup base) Add in 4 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste and stir well. Bring up to a bowl and add in 4 cups of cooked black beans and 1 cup of corn.  Cook for about 3 – 5 minutes then add in your cooked chicken.  Heat chicken through and check your soup for seasoning levels. Adjust as needed then serve it up with Tortilla chips, sour cream and a small shred of cheese. A dash of hot sauce is also nice, but not required.

Seriously people this stuff is fantastic.  It also falls under the category of “wow I love my astounding husband”.

Give it a shot. See what you think. Feedback and suggestions always accepted.

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J

PS – I actually GOT that digital camera for christmas. I will post pics on this post in just a bit.

The recipe for sisterhood.

My little sister and I are a grand and glorious 10 years apart in age.  Even so, we grew close and yet had the luxury that most with siblings do not have; the luxury of being completely separate.  By that I mean to say that she was not forced to wear my hand-me-down or get my second hand toys.  I was not forced to delay rights of coming-of-age based on my sister being too young to also enjoy the right.  We had our own rooms, our own things, and for all practical purposes both lived as the “only child” for the different stages of life at home.  Before my sister was 8 years old, I was moving out of the family home.  I missed my sister more than I care to admit.  I miss her now more than I can admit without a fountain of tears coming to my eyes.  Perhaps as a product of our age difference, time, parenting changes, different fathers, or just plain ole fate being what it is; my sister and I are dramatically different people.  I have always been the emotional trouble maker I suppose and my sister the calm and logical one.  Not to say that I lack logic or that she lacks emotion, it is merely that we are more ruled by our respective points on the line.  I follow my heart against logical reasons and she will logically evaluate a situation and almost always rule in its favor over whatever emotion she might feel.  Yet, there are the similarities of course.  Our mother loves music and thankfully imparted the both of us with a deep seated love of all things noteworthy.  My sister and I still share music on occasion.  Mostly, her exposing me to the new life of music as she is more readily exposed in her college town.  But on rare moments, I share something with her that I have come across.

However, once upon a time….

The exact year evades me, but it had to be around 1996 or 97, early to mid December.  I lived with my boyfriend across town from my mother’s home.  It was a weekend and the phone rang much earlier in the morning than I would have preferred. (Another trait my sister and I share now is the ability to sleep – Thanks mom! -) My sister’s excitement had her up early and she all but yelled at me until I agreed to dress and come over as quickly as possible.  I have no idea what went through her mind as I grumbled, showered and dressed; but no sooner than I pulled into the driveway my sister was standing in the front door waving to me with a huge smile on her face.   I was immediately taken back to my sister’s room – my old bedroom and sat down on the bed across from the TV that sat perched on a painted green desk.  My sister grabbed up the remote and turned on the television and the VCR. My mom smiled knowingly and watched my confusion as Mariah Carey came onto the screen. BLEH – I cant stand that girl or her high pitched whining.  “no.. thats not it, wait a second… “, my sister hit the fast forward button and soon I saw Bon Jovi and realized this was a recording of Pop Up Video on VH1.  My sister once again hit the fast forward button and grumbled about the slowness of it all.  When she finally stopped the VCR it was an image of David Bowie… “HERE IT IS!”, Triumphant over all things technological… “I recorded it for you…”

My favorite Christmas song… The only one I can honestly say I adore.  My sister, in the middle of the night scrambled through the house to find a VHS tape… to record on.  Shifting through Nascar races and recorded War Movies… To find a blank – or at least allowed to copy over – tape, and get it into the VCR before the video actually came on after she had seen the prompting question before a commercial break that told her of the upcoming video.  Now.. all of this might seem unnecessary to you… what with the internet being the source of all things these days.  But, back at this time in our life, the internet was not bursting at the bandwidth to offer us selections. We had the internet at home, used it regularly even, but this was not a click away. This was a big big deal.   I cried and watched mesmerized as these two sang so balanced and with such unity…

Two men so different. From different times.  But – TOGETHER. Amazing…

Reminds me of my sister and I. two gals, very different, from different times and places. At different times and places in our lives… But. Together we are AMAZING.  I love my sister abundantly.

If anyone wants to fly her up to Michigan…. feel free.  Please and thank you Santa…

Enjoy it all as much as you can, and love more than you think you are able,

J