In the first few years of or marriage, I can only imagine the bruises I might be tempted to vent upon my poor husband if a birthday or Christmas gift to me was a cooking pot or dish towels. How twenty-some years changes an attitude! One of the best Mother's Day gifts I've ever received from him was a blender with horsepower to spare. No, it is not something I can wear or decorate the house with but it sure saves me time when I need to grind grain or smooth out a fast sauce. Just the money we've saved making our own milkshakes and smoothies had etched this handy item into my heart.
My treat of the day? A fondue pot! In my ignorant youth, a few extra dollars in my pocket would have gone for perfume or a new blouse. The current windfall brought a new fondue pot into the house and I'm thrilled! Age and practicality certainly changes viewpoints.
We used to have a cheap, little fondue pot that did okay and we had quite a few fun dinner adventures with it. Even when the children were small, no one ever got stuck by a waving fondue fork! I went through all the recommendations on-line and read the reviews. I actually got a product that lived up to what was written about it and am excited to put it to use this week.
I'm currently researching recipes for my Friday meal to treat my husband. Right now, Swiss will be the predominant cheese although I'm looking at a couple of others that might go well in combination. I basically go with a white wine, splash of brandy, Swiss cheese mixture. Besides the garlic-rubbed bread cubes, I also put out crisp broccoli, spears of pear, grilled bites of sausage, steamed cauliflower . . . and whatever else will stay speared on the fork and survive dipping in hot cheese.
I'm a basic cheese fondue person but am always looking for new ideas and open to suggestions.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Attack of the zucchini!
With a few lingering fears from last year, my husband went ahead and planted two zucchini plants in his 2011 garden. Bugs do not seem to bother zucchini squash. Neglect isn't much of a hazard to these hardy plants. The finger-length squash you may see on the plant one day tends to be ten times the size the very next day as if it is trying to grow it's way into your kitchen. Let's just say that we ate a lot of zucchini last summer and friends seemed to not be at home when we'd come to share our excess produce.
When my husband set out all his carefully nurtured seedlings, some of the other vegetable plants took a day or two to get over the stress of the transplant. Not the zucchini seedlings. The moment they hit the outdoor soil, I'm sure they grew an inch and spread out their leaves and got to the business of populating the world with lots and lots of zucchini. The time our vegetable-eating dog has gotten into the garden, she has pulled up radishes and eaten them happily. She actually pulls tomatoes right off the plants and chowed down. The zucchini plants? She steers clear of them.
I'm already on the look out for zucchini recipes for the upcoming onslaught. I already make a dish with zucchini/garlic/tomato and onion. The key is to not overcook the squash. You still want some crunch. I've made cakes, cookies, and bread out of this hardy green vegetable. I even eat it raw and shredded into salads. Today, however, I ran across yet another recipe that MIGHT have potential. Be warned! I, personally, haven't tried it yet but it sounds like it MIGHT work!
Zucchini Cobbler
8 cups chopped, peeled, seeded zucchini (about 3 lbs.)
⅔ cup lemon juice
1 tablespon grated lemon zest
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups cold butter or margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
In large saucepan over medium to low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15-25 minutes or until tender. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer one minute longer. Remove from heat. Set aside.
For crust, combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in ½ cup of crust mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining crust mixture into a greased, 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Yield: 16-20 servings.
When my husband set out all his carefully nurtured seedlings, some of the other vegetable plants took a day or two to get over the stress of the transplant. Not the zucchini seedlings. The moment they hit the outdoor soil, I'm sure they grew an inch and spread out their leaves and got to the business of populating the world with lots and lots of zucchini. The time our vegetable-eating dog has gotten into the garden, she has pulled up radishes and eaten them happily. She actually pulls tomatoes right off the plants and chowed down. The zucchini plants? She steers clear of them.
I'm already on the look out for zucchini recipes for the upcoming onslaught. I already make a dish with zucchini/garlic/tomato and onion. The key is to not overcook the squash. You still want some crunch. I've made cakes, cookies, and bread out of this hardy green vegetable. I even eat it raw and shredded into salads. Today, however, I ran across yet another recipe that MIGHT have potential. Be warned! I, personally, haven't tried it yet but it sounds like it MIGHT work!
Zucchini Cobbler
8 cups chopped, peeled, seeded zucchini (about 3 lbs.)
⅔ cup lemon juice
1 tablespon grated lemon zest
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Crust
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups cold butter or margarine
1 teaspoon cinnamon
In large saucepan over medium to low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15-25 minutes or until tender. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer one minute longer. Remove from heat. Set aside.
For crust, combine flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in ½ cup of crust mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining crust mixture into a greased, 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Yield: 16-20 servings.
Your spiritual quilt may not be complete . . .
I love to quilt. I enjoy the challenge of taking bits and pieces of different fabric and turning them into a whole cloth again. When you sew a dress or suit, you have to keep in mind how the various colors and patterns work together. You would never sport a striped blouse with a flowered skirt. In quilting all these rules are left behind and you find the oddest combinations seem to work amazingly well.
I am beginning to see that our world is a lot like a quilt. We all come in different colors, patterns and sizes. Alone we are something but together we can make a formidable whole. We all have a place in our world-wide quilt of humanity. Each person is in his or her place as a part of a pattern that wasn’t designed by mortal hands. Our free will, however, is starting to make a difference in the fabric of our lives.
When you make a quilt, each piece, square, triangle is stitched carefully to the next one. Each segment is dependent on the pieces connecting it to the whole. Because one piece is in place, the rest can be built accordingly. The pieces of a quilt provide a meaning and basis for the entire quilt. The world’s quilt is starting to miss spaces. The solid fabric of its connecting pieces are fraying and disappearing. God sends children into the world to step into the places left by the souls called to Heaven. He keeps older people in the world until He calls them to their eternity.
Mankind has been arranging its quilt without consulting God. Abortion leaves empty spaces and euthanasia leaves gapping holes that bring down our solidarity. You look around at your friends and relatives and wonder what life would be like without them. How many other people should be in our lives that were not given the chance to take their place in our quilt? I have heard that abortion and euthanasia weed the unproductive and unneeded. Will your child miss out on the perfect partner because they were weeded out? Will the wisdom of an older person be missing when you need it the most because someone decided they were unproductive?
The reasons for destroying our unborn and eliminating our elderly and sick are not valid, at least not to the minds that see God’s Hand in our lives. Although we will all pay for this holocaust, we, as pro-life Catholics, know where the future of our world is going. We understand why scientific cures are not being discovered. We realize why there is a lack of vocations, either in religion or marriage.
In this day the best blessing we can give anyone is to pray that they are surrounded by all the quilt pieces of life that should be there and that their children will always be surrounded by the people God planned on being there. This is a hopeful blessing although the sins of those who justify their wrongs can be seen in our lives.
I love to quilt, yet as I sew, these thoughts go through my mind. I can only pray the bits and pieces of our lives will be eventually sewn together with as much love as I put into my quilts.
“The one peculiar and characteristic sin of the world is this, that whereas God would have us live for the life to come, the world would make us live for this life. (Cardinal Newman)
I am beginning to see that our world is a lot like a quilt. We all come in different colors, patterns and sizes. Alone we are something but together we can make a formidable whole. We all have a place in our world-wide quilt of humanity. Each person is in his or her place as a part of a pattern that wasn’t designed by mortal hands. Our free will, however, is starting to make a difference in the fabric of our lives.
When you make a quilt, each piece, square, triangle is stitched carefully to the next one. Each segment is dependent on the pieces connecting it to the whole. Because one piece is in place, the rest can be built accordingly. The pieces of a quilt provide a meaning and basis for the entire quilt. The world’s quilt is starting to miss spaces. The solid fabric of its connecting pieces are fraying and disappearing. God sends children into the world to step into the places left by the souls called to Heaven. He keeps older people in the world until He calls them to their eternity.
Mankind has been arranging its quilt without consulting God. Abortion leaves empty spaces and euthanasia leaves gapping holes that bring down our solidarity. You look around at your friends and relatives and wonder what life would be like without them. How many other people should be in our lives that were not given the chance to take their place in our quilt? I have heard that abortion and euthanasia weed the unproductive and unneeded. Will your child miss out on the perfect partner because they were weeded out? Will the wisdom of an older person be missing when you need it the most because someone decided they were unproductive?
The reasons for destroying our unborn and eliminating our elderly and sick are not valid, at least not to the minds that see God’s Hand in our lives. Although we will all pay for this holocaust, we, as pro-life Catholics, know where the future of our world is going. We understand why scientific cures are not being discovered. We realize why there is a lack of vocations, either in religion or marriage.
In this day the best blessing we can give anyone is to pray that they are surrounded by all the quilt pieces of life that should be there and that their children will always be surrounded by the people God planned on being there. This is a hopeful blessing although the sins of those who justify their wrongs can be seen in our lives.
I love to quilt, yet as I sew, these thoughts go through my mind. I can only pray the bits and pieces of our lives will be eventually sewn together with as much love as I put into my quilts.
“The one peculiar and characteristic sin of the world is this, that whereas God would have us live for the life to come, the world would make us live for this life. (Cardinal Newman)
Funny but with insights . . .
"Seeing ourselves as others see us would probably confirm our worst suspicions about them."
-- Franklin P. Adams
"I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated."
-- Poul Anderson
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity."
-- Frank Leahy
"Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them."
-- Leo Tolstoy
-- Franklin P. Adams
"I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated."
-- Poul Anderson
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity."
-- Frank Leahy
"Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them."
-- Leo Tolstoy
Monday, April 4, 2011
Signs that it might be a bad day . . .
The internet provides us with such great advice . . . Okay, it provides us with some laughs some of which might hit rather close to home.
You can tell it is going to be a bad day if . . .
1. Your car horn stays stuck as you follow a pack of Hell’s Angels on motorcycles.
2. You walk to work and discover your dress is stuck in the waistband of your pantyhose.
3. You see a 60 Minutes News Team waiting in your front yard.
4. Your pet rock snaps at you.
5. Your car costs more to fill up than it did to buy.
6. The boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
7. You turn on the news and they’re showing emergency routes out of the city.
8. The bird singing outside of your window is a vulture.
9. Your four year old tells you that is almost impossible to flush a grapefruit down the toilet.
10. Your income tax refund check bounces.
You can tell it is going to be a bad day if . . .
1. Your car horn stays stuck as you follow a pack of Hell’s Angels on motorcycles.
2. You walk to work and discover your dress is stuck in the waistband of your pantyhose.
3. You see a 60 Minutes News Team waiting in your front yard.
4. Your pet rock snaps at you.
5. Your car costs more to fill up than it did to buy.
6. The boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
7. You turn on the news and they’re showing emergency routes out of the city.
8. The bird singing outside of your window is a vulture.
9. Your four year old tells you that is almost impossible to flush a grapefruit down the toilet.
10. Your income tax refund check bounces.
Throwing some creativity into the mixing bowl . . .
Most everyone either has a favorite chocolate brownie recipe or a must-have brownie mix that is a staple in their cupboard. Nothing like the aroma of baking browinies to bring people into the kitchen to see what is happening.
I've found there is a lot you can do to brownies to make them even more special, your own take on a common subject, so to speak! Here are a few ideas I've used with some success for changing a regular brownie into a nice change of pace.
Add some freshly grated orange rind and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon to give it a South of the Border flair.
Add some instant coffee to the batter or a good splash of coffee brandy or some sort.
Increase your chocolate tolerance and add chocolate chips to the mix.
When the brownies exit the oven put down a layer of flavored chips (chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc) over the hot brownies (One flavor, only!), let it set a minute and then gently spread it out and finish cooling the brownies and you have an instant glaze.
Finely chopped, dried pineapple goes great with chocolate. Just add this extra ingredient to the batter before baking.
One of my daughters like chocolate and mint as a combination and you can often find mint chocolate chips or even just plain mint chips to add.
I have even added a teaspoon of chili flakes to the brownie batter and came up with a chocolate brownie with a tang no one can figure out.
I've found there is a lot you can do to brownies to make them even more special, your own take on a common subject, so to speak! Here are a few ideas I've used with some success for changing a regular brownie into a nice change of pace.
Add some freshly grated orange rind and a generous teaspoon of cinnamon to give it a South of the Border flair.
Add some instant coffee to the batter or a good splash of coffee brandy or some sort.
Increase your chocolate tolerance and add chocolate chips to the mix.
When the brownies exit the oven put down a layer of flavored chips (chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc) over the hot brownies (One flavor, only!), let it set a minute and then gently spread it out and finish cooling the brownies and you have an instant glaze.
Finely chopped, dried pineapple goes great with chocolate. Just add this extra ingredient to the batter before baking.
One of my daughters like chocolate and mint as a combination and you can often find mint chocolate chips or even just plain mint chips to add.
I have even added a teaspoon of chili flakes to the brownie batter and came up with a chocolate brownie with a tang no one can figure out.
DECADENT COFFEE CAKE
DECADENT COFFEE CAKE
Definitely not for the diet conscious but very comforting on a cold evening.
¾ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping:
1½ cups dark brown sugar
½ cups chopped nuts (chose your favorite)
1 stick butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8-to 9-inch square baking pan.
Thoroughly combine the shortening and sugar. Beat in each of the eggs. Add the flour, baking powder, cream and extract and mix until just combined.. Spread into prepared pan. Set aside.
Combine the topping ingredients and spread over batter. Bake approximately 20 to 30 minutes until set and brown. Cool slightly and serve.
This coffee cake is definitely dense so don’t expect a light ending to a meal! Hot, it tastes sort of like french toast and syrup. Cold, it ain’t bad either!
Definitely not for the diet conscious but very comforting on a cold evening.
¾ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Topping:
1½ cups dark brown sugar
½ cups chopped nuts (chose your favorite)
1 stick butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8-to 9-inch square baking pan.
Thoroughly combine the shortening and sugar. Beat in each of the eggs. Add the flour, baking powder, cream and extract and mix until just combined.. Spread into prepared pan. Set aside.
Combine the topping ingredients and spread over batter. Bake approximately 20 to 30 minutes until set and brown. Cool slightly and serve.
This coffee cake is definitely dense so don’t expect a light ending to a meal! Hot, it tastes sort of like french toast and syrup. Cold, it ain’t bad either!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)