Breakfast is ....

Sage Derby cheese and an apple for breakfast.
 

... the most important meal of the day, right? I have mixed feelings. Often, when I eat breakfast, I'm hungry all day. If I don't have breakfast, I don't eat anything until after lunch. I'm not sure it matters just what I eat, either.
What I do know is that once I changed my thinking about what constitutes breakfast, I became more likely to eat something. Back when I was a kid, breakfast was cereal, toast, eggs or pancakes. Today, breakfast usually doesn't mean any of those things (unless it's a big weekend kind of breakfast). Today, breakfast is yogurt, cheese, fruit, smoothies -- even leftovers from last night's dinner.
I bring this all up because I was having the discussion the other day I was having a discussion about pie for breakfast. One of my coworkers was taking a break and she had eggs, toast, hot cereal and a piece of pie on her plate. I love the enthusiasm she has for food and she makes no apologies for what she eats. She is also about a size 4 .. so ... go figure.
Anyhoo, my understanding is that pie for breakfast was an old farm tradition. Fruit pies kept well without refrigeration so they were often served in the morning to the farmhands.
I haven't had pie for breakfast lately but I have a bunch of other stuff I like. This morning I'm having some cheese -- Sage Derby -- with a fresh apple. I love peanut butter smeared on a banana washed down with a cup of coffee.  I used to eat bananas and peanut butter on a rice cake for breakfast almost every day. I enjoy Greek yogurt, plain, mixed with a little jam. Sometimes I throw some fruit in a blender along with an instant breakfast drink. We like what we call "fake" sausage, the Morningstar Farms soy-based sausage patties and I always have hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator. Yesterday I had hummus and pita chips for breakfast.
Rather than worrying about whether or not it's a "breakfast" food, today I concentrate on what is healthy and appealing to me in the morning. Sometimes I get both in, like today. Other days, pie for breakfast sounds perfect.

The (other) thing I would do for free

This apple pie, topped with a crumbly granola topping,
is one of the recipes  I'm  using in a pie class next month
at Your Kitchen Store in Keene.

You may have heard this before: When we are trying to figure out a career, we should try and find something to do that we would do for free. The idea is that it will never feel like work.
After losing my job as a columnist earlier this year, I had to figure out what it was that I would do for free. But, truthfully, my job as a columnist was that thing. It was a little challenging to figure out something else ... other than sleep. I love to sleep; I'd do that for free. But I imagine it would be hard to make a living at it.
As it turns out, there is something else I would do for free: teach people to cook. Last fall, I had an opportunity to teach a few classes through the Keene Community Education program. I offered a course titled "Cooking for Scaredy Cats," designed for people who lacked confidence in the kitchen. We made appetizers, entrees and desserts. After those three classes, I was invited to teach a few more. And then last spring, the folks at Your Kitchen Store in Keene, asked me to teach a few classes there.
I'm a social person. And I'm not a shy person. And I love cooking and being in the kitchen. But mostly, I like to share that passion with others. For me, cooking is the easiest thing in the world. For others, it's a struggle. I like having the opportunity to bridge that gap.
I remember hearing a long time ago that if you can read, you can cook. I don't really believe that. I believe cooking requires a certain rhythm in the kitchen which is born of confidence. Gathering people together to share recipes, techniques and shortcuts is a way of boosting that confidence. And during the class, we always sample the food we are making. This "breaking bread" ritual is bonding for all of us; once you've shared food with someone, you have a connection.
In the next few months I'm teaching classes about pie making, using pumpkin in cooking, holiday gifts from the kitchen and several others. I am honored that so many folks want to come out and spend an evening in the kitchen with me. It is always fun. And I always learn something. I've made new friends, made a few mistakes here and there and had many of those lovely moments where strangers become friends through food and fellowship.
Today, I don't call this the thing I'd do for free anymore. Now I have a different (albeit cliched) name for it: following my bliss.

Okay, so maybe I'm a little obsessive about this ...

Nirvana!
 

Farm stand after farm stand, I heard two things: "No, not yet ... " or "Oh, we don't have that ..." Silver Queen corn was what I sought. It's white corn ... and it's harvested late in the summer. One friend said that's because they save the best for last.Silver Queen isn't always the sweetest corn and the kernels aren't the most plump. But to me, it's the most flavorful. And each year I go through the challenge of finding a stash of it before it's too late. My search reminds me of trying to swim in the ocean in New Hampshire in the summer. There's a very short span of time when you can actually swim without seeing ice cubes floating by. It's as if there is one day in mid-August, between the hours of 1 and 3 p.m. when everything lines up to make that swim tolerable. But if you attempt that same swim the very next day, your limbs will go numb and fall off.
Last year, I went out to find Silver Queen and heard several times "It's too early. Next week." But then the following week, they were all out.
Blink and you miss it.
Well this year, I swam in the ocean in New Hampshire (and I still have all of my limbs intact) and I found Silver Queen corn.


At last ...

I went to three farm stands to find it, a total of about six visits before I found the corn. And when I finally saw it, sitting in the corner of a farm stand in Harvard, Mass., I'm pretty sure I saw a light shining down from above and heard the angels singing.
I bought 18 ears of corn. We had some for dinner that night. I made corn chowder salad the next night (bacon, potatoes, red bell pepper, onion) and put the rest in the freezer ... sliced off of the cob, blanched and packed in freezer bags.
 I'm a very happy girl.

A summer dinner

Sliced cukes, steamed corn on the cob and fresh tomatoes
make up the perfect summer dinner.

Last night after a concert in Boston, I had a piece of pizza that was perfection in its simplicity. It had a thin crust, a light slather of red sauce and enough cheese to make things interesting. I was really hungry and the pizza was hot and fresh. I folded it over and ate it standing on Yawkey way right outside of Fenway Park. It was the perfect late night food.
Tonight I had another perfect meal, the quintessential summertime dinner: corn on the cob, sliced cucumbers and chunks of tomatoes. My neighbor provided the cukes and tomatoes and I bought the corn from a farm stand this afternoon.
The times I eat a vegetarian dinner are few: when I choose to have cereal for dinner, for example, or when I have popcorn for dinner because I'm too lazy to even have cereal. Yes, I am that lazy sometimes.
But the summertime dinner isn't about vegetarian or organic or healthy, it's about summer right on your plate, right on your fork.
I like fresh tomatoes sliced with chopped fresh basil, some garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. And I enjoy cukes dipped in mayonnaise. The corn is delicious with unsalted, melted butter and some chopped dill or fresh chives. But all of those things are just accessories. Summer vegetables fresh out of the garden don't need to be all dressed up.
Summer is waning. I'm going to eat all the corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini that I can. When I'm sitting around this winter, I want to dream about summer: swimming, walking on the beach, wearing flip flops every day, riding in my car with the sunroof open and eating fresh, lovely summer dinners.

This is what I do now.

A friend in Michigan started a blog titled "I Used To Get Paid For This" after being laid off from her journalism job. She would write about all of the things she wrote about professionally in her blog each week. I'm not sure if there was a snarky factor in naming the blog but my guess? There was.
When the bottom dropped out of my professional life in March, I spent a great deal of time feeling intense sadness, loss and shock. I was one of those lucky people; I got to do what I loved for a living. When people would ask if I liked my job, I got to say yes. I said yes pretty much every day for 18 years. And truth be told, many people don't ever get to say that ... not even for one day.
So with a grateful heart for all of those years, I started trying to figure out what the next chapter of my life would look like. My professional life has been in media for more than 20 years; I worked in radio for several years before I went to work at a newspaper. But both radio and newspaper jobs  are scarce. Journalism is alive and well but print media is seriously challenged and live radio has been shrinking for more than a decade.
But before all of that, I had (yet another) career, in the restaurant business. I worked in a bunch of restaurants as a bartender, server, manager, and for a large family restaurant chain as a corporate trainer. And one of the most rewarding things I did in journalism was to write about food.
It's been said that if you find something to do for a living that you would do for free, it will never feel like work. The things I would do for free? Feed people. Write about food. Teach people to cook.
As of last week, I am doing all three and getting paid to do two out of the three.
The very first job that I applied for back in May is the job I started last week. I didn't get a call for an interview for that job for more than a month, and frankly, that's the norm. In fact, if you hear anything at all, it is surprising. I will avoid going on and on about what it's like to be unemployed and to be out there trying to find employment principally because you've heard it all before. Suffice it to say, it can be very disheartening. The whole process sucks your ego dry. And yet, in order to get anywhere in that process, you have to stay strong, believe in yourself and be positive. It's beyond tough. 
I now work at a small nursing-rehabilitation facility near Boston. I am a cook and I prepare meals for about 90 residents. I really like my boss, who is a cool guy who plays in a band and drives a Mini Cooper. And I love feeding people and this week I made all kinds of good food: meatloaf, muffins, pork roast, salads and garlic mashed potatoes.
Teaching cooking has brought great joy to my life. I have classes scheduled at two locations (Your Kitchen Store and the Community Education Program, both in Keene) through the end of the year. During the classes, I get to spend a few hours in a great kitchen surrounded by people who love to cook or want to learn how. That, to me, is bliss.
I'm doing a bit of catering too; at the end of the month, I'm making a small wedding cake and 60 cupcakes for a wedding in Jaffrey.
And I continue to write about food, here on my blog, on my Facebook page and hopefully, other places somewhere down the road.
So, this is my life now. I no longer feel such great sadness or loss. I miss the readers who used to call or write to me and comment about the stories I'd written. I miss some of the folks I worked with and was close to over the years.
Once again, I feel useful, engaged and as if I am contributing ... to my community and my family. It's not how I pictured my life unfolding. But in all honesty, that's a good thing.

One, one, one plus a little.

The recipe for this blueberry galette with lemon zest is easy. And it's easy to remember.

I'm a big fan of the Beekman Boys, who you may know from their show "The Fabulous Beekman Boys" on Planet Green. Well, there's no more Planet Green channel but the show will be on the Cooking Channel starting later this summer.
Anyhoo, these two guys raise a lot of the food they eat at their farm in Sharon Springs, NY. They also market a whole line of products they make using goat milk (cheese, soap, etc.) and other cool stuff that they sell online and at their mercantile in Sharon Springs.
I watched a video not long ago of Josh making a galette (a free form pie) that was wicked easy, I had to make it. And frankly, I wasn't sure it was that easy. Turns out I was wrong.
I've made several of these easy desserts and they all come out beautifully. And here's another bonus: The recipe is easy to remember: one, one, one plus a little.
One stick of butter, chilled and cut up
One heaping cup of flour
One handful of sugar
A little salt.
Cut the butter into the other ingredients. When the butter is the size of peas, start adding a little cold milk or water. When the dough starts coming together, take it out of the bowl, throw it on a floured surface, add some more flour to the top and roll it out, into an oblong shape.
Put the dough onto a rimmed cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) --  I line mine with parchment but you don't have to. Add a pint of berries (approximately) and some kind of herb or citrus -- strawberries with basil, blueberries with lemon zest, raspberries with orange zest, etc., and throw on another handful of sugar.
Pull the dough up around the berries and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. The galette should be golden when it's done.
That's it.
The berries may leak, but that's fine. You may want to serve this with ice cream or whipped cream ... but  you don't have to.
A friend told me this week that she used this recipe to make an apple galette for her family for breakfast. And I've made several this summer using fruit from the farm stand or fruit that I picked.
Oh, and the crust recipe can be doubled for a double-crusted traditional pie.
Bonus!

I've got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart ...

Find something to do that you would do for free.
That is often the advice given to people looking for jobs or trying to figure out a career path. It's a great thing to say, but sometimes not as easy in practice. It would be hard to make a living if what you love the most is ... sleeping, for example.
Over the years, I've found a couple of those things that I would do for free. One of them is feeding people. The other is teaching people to cook. Clearly, the whole food thing works for me.
I love it all: shopping, chopping, cleaning, preparing, serving. I am happy when I am in a kitchen, especially when I'm surrounded by other people who feel the same way I do about cooking.

Fresh berries were the main ingredient of my
"Easy Peasy Berry Desserts" class
at Your Kitchen Store this week.

I started teaching cooking classes in Keene last year throught the Community Education program at Keene High School. I taught five classes there and each one was a blast. We made all sorts of food and laughed a lot during class.
To me, food is always going to be better if you have some role in the preparation process. In other words, get your hands in there. So during classes, I try and get people to let go of the fear and embrace the process of preparing food. Some folks grow up in homes where the mom didn't want anyone in the kitchen. Other folks just didn't have any interest in learning to cook.
In my family, we all helped out in the kitchen and we all love to cook.
This week, I taught a class at Your Kitchen Store. First of all, the staff there is wonderful and helped make the class really easy. And, there are a gazillion gadgets to use during the class. But also, there is this amazingly lovely, well stocked kitchen there. It's a dreamy kitchen.
And then, I had a dreamy group of students come for the class: fun, interested, excited to be there.
We had a ball making a fresh strawberry-basil galette and a vanilla panna cotta with a berry coulis.
This is the thing I would do for free. I love preaching the gospel of good food to a group of people to go to that same food-loving church.
I've been invited to teach more classes and we have four more scheduled. The next class is on Wednesday, July 11, from noon-2 and it's all about salads and homemade dressing. It's time to step out of the bottled dressing thrown on a bagged salad mix zone.
Go to the website for more info or message me and I'll get you the details.
When you come to class, I'll be the one with a big smile on my face.

Well, lookie here.

My shiny new crockpot. Yay!

During the recent heatwave, I didn't cook. I planned well. A roasted chicken, salads, hard-boiled eggs and a bucket of American chop suey were all packed into the fridge. There were popsicles in the freezer, plenty of cold drinks on hand and crackers and granola bars in the cabinet. But I realized that something was missing. I wasn't actually craving hot food, but I saw a few people posting on Facebook that they had dinner in the crockpot. And as ... easy ... as that sounds, I typically only use a crockpot in the winter. It was, I confess, a bit of an a-ha moment.
I went out and bought a crockpot on Saturday. It was a splurge only because I'm currently unemployed ($20), otherwise, such a deal. My old one died last winter.
And for so many reasons, I'm excited. I always look forward to a new cooking challenge. Truthfully, I don't think I've ever put a thing in a crockpot in the warmer months. There was a small cookbook stuck inside the box. Rosemary Pork with Mushrooms and Shallots? Chicken Casablanca? African style Turkey on Couscous?
I can't wait to crank it up.

This is the perfect yellow bowl

This yellow melamine mixing bowl came in the mail yesterday,
a gift from my sister.

Now I confess, I have many bowls to use for mixing. But I get kind of in a groove with one bowl and use it for years. Most recently, I've had great success with a white plastic bowl made by Martha Stewart Living that was great for a few reasons: It had wide handle, it had a rubber rim around the bottom that kept it from sliding on the counter and it was deep enough so that food didn't come flying out the top when I used a hand mixer. But it has gotten kind of beaten up after years of use.
On a visit to see my sister in New Jersey, we visited a fun kitchen store and I was looking at all the mixing bowls, hoping to replace mine. I didn't find the perfect bowl but she continued the search after I left. The bowl in the photo arrived yesterday in the mail. It's a great bowl. It's got a nice handle, a rubber rim on the bottom, and it's a lovely shade of yellow.
I made a quiche for dinner last night and whipped up all of the ingredients in the new yellow bowl. Later today I'm practicing my pie crusts so I'll use the bowl again.
In fact, I have a whole list of things I want to use the bowl for. That's how we are, right? Some people see just a bowl ... but we foodies see endless possibilities.

Bring back the corn fritters

Oh, the lovely corn fritter. Words cannot do this magnificence justice.

A restaurant my family frequented when I was a kid, The Black Lantern, in Keene, N.H., served corn fritters with real maple syrup along with the bread basket before the meal came. It was like having dessert first.
My mother used to make them at home every once in a while, lovely little soft fried balls of dough dotted with kernels of corn. She'd fry them in one of her cast iron skillets -- or the electric frying pan if she was making a big batch.
Later, I remember hearing someone describe making corn fritters with cornmeal. Really? You don't make them with corn? They are called corn fritters because they are made with cornmeal? Doesn't that make them more like a hush puppy? Wikipedia says that corn fritters are often mistaken for johnnycake. I've not made that mistake.
Okay, enough with the complications. Here's the crux of the matter: Corn fritters should be back on the front burner, so to speak. Everyone needs a little corn fritter love. Is it good for you? Yes. It's delicious. It's homemade, it's sweet, it's savory, it's fried. It's good for you. It's not good for your body. It's good for your soul and your brain. It's a comfort food.
I made some corn fritters last night. I hadn't eaten a fritter in years. I had two. They were hot and fluffy and I ate them in my favorite bowl with some (real) maple syrup swirled on the top. As I ate, I was reminded of Sunday nights when we would have breakfast for dinner when I was young. My mother would cook pancakes and bacon or eggs and homefries. And sometimes she would make corn fritters. It's likely that my mom didn't have the makings for dinner on hand so she made due with what she had. There's pretty much always breakfast food in the house, right? Some eggs, bread, cheese ..
I didn't have a rough day or anything yesterday. But I felt so much better after my fritter dinner.
You can make them with Bisquick if you like, but I've included a traditional recipe as well. And corn fritters made with fresh corn? Well, that's just crazy good.

Corn Fritters
¾ cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 whole eggs
½ cups milk, more to thin, if necessary
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned 
Oil, for frying - vegetable or canola
Maple syrup

Mix flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add eggs, milk and salt. Stir together to make a batter.
Add corn and mix to combine.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a pan to 365 degrees. When oil is heated, drop spoonfuls of batter and cook, flipping to the other side, until golden brown.
Drain on a towel-lined plate. Serve while hot, drizzled with maple syrup.

Fast Corn Fritters

1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup Bisquick
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
Blend together egg, milk, and Bisquick. Stir in corn.

In a frying pan, heat 2 inches vegetable oil. Using 2 teaspoons, gently drop a rounded teaspoon of fritter batter into hot oil. Fry 6-8 fritters at a time, turning until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot, with maple syrup.

I heart cupcakes

Sometimes, you just feel like a cupcake. Sometimes, I just feel like making them. I made these this morning. I used a boxed yellow cake mix, but homemade icing. I think it's okay to use a mix for the cake part or a mix for the frosting but not both.

Cupcakes on a pretty plate? That's a bucket of happy right there. 

I made some little ones and some big ones.

I use a pastry bag and a tip ... but just a knife works too.



Is there crack in the chicken patties?

I've discovered a new food ... which isn't really new at all but new to me. I've checked out a couple of markets down here (the Fitchburg/Leominster area) that I was referred to. Specifically, these market sell good meats and deli products. Both of these markets (Romano's and the Central Street Market)
sell chicken patties. These are raw chicken breasts, or are made of breast meat, and they are seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and sometimes peppers and onions.

Not much to look at here, but trust me, these little patties are filled with delicousness.

The first time I saw them was at Romano's and the guy beside me ordered five pounds of them. I asked him, "What's up with the chicken patties?" He told me that he'd always bought them but that particular weekend he was buying them for his in-laws, who were visiting from Maine. They brought them back home with them. He explained that you cook them on the grill or on the stove.
I bought four, two plain and two with peppers and onions.
These chicken patties are not very different from eating a pounded fillet of chicken with some seasoning. But they taste better for some reason. I cooked them in a skillet and served them on some fresh burger rolls I bought at a bakery. I put cheese on the ones Barry would eat and made some homemade mayonnaise. He loved them and so did I. They were moist and flavorful and very quick to make.
I bought more last week when I visited the Central Street Market. I noticed they had them in the case for $1 a piece. I said to the guy behind the counter, "I've never seen these anywhere before ... is this a local thing?" He told me they had always had them, they make them there and they sell out fast.
I'm pretty sure there is crack in the chicken patties. I cooked them tonight, again in the skillet and made some herbed mayonnaise to go with them. Barry (my boyfriend), ate his on buns and I ate mine plain. They were so freaking good. I wanted to eat about 10 more. I did not.
I made a kick-ass macaroni salad but the chicken patties cast a big shadow over the entire table.
I can't wait to have chicken patties again. Maybe I'll cook them on the grill this time. Barry said, while still eating his first one, "I love these. I'll have these again anytime."
And so, we shall.

Cake? Bar? Cookie? Pie? It's your birthday.

The plain cheesecake in all its glory.

When a friend or relative celebrates a birthday, I think it's important to offer a treat of some sort. I think birthday cakes are lovely, but I don't love cake; I love icing. I typically offer a cake, bar, cookie or pie to the celebrant. You can have a chocolate cake, a plate of cookies, some blonde brownies or perhaps a pecan pie. Gone are the days of just a big old cake with a few candles stuck in it. If that's what you want, fine. But it's your birthday, so I'll give you a choice.
Often folks want the cakes that they don't get to have very often ... well, the homemade version anyway. Many of my friends like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Others like red velvet, some like something more pedestrian, like a chocolate chip cookie.
For Barry's birthday, which is today, he asked for a cheesecake. I make a pretty standard cheesecake but pretty it up with caramel topping, ganache and chopped pecans. It has all the ingredients of a turtle confection only it sits on top of a creamy, sweet cheesecake. In the sugar and fat department, it's an overload. But the cheesecake feeds a crowd and it's very festive.
Here's the recipe for the cheesecake (which is chilling in the fridge right now) along with the ganache and the caramel topping.
This is a good recipe on its own, unadorned. But it would also be good with some fresh berries or even a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

The lovely cheesecake with a big pile of caramel.

And some chopped pecans ...

And some ganache. Delicious!

Crust:
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
11/2 graham cracker crumbs
Mix ingredients together and press into well greased 10 inch springform pan. Place in freezer.
Cake:
11/2 cups sugar
4 packages cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix the sugar with the cream cheese until well blended. Add the cream and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the flour, sour cream and vanilla. Mix well until filling is fluffy and blended. Pour into crust.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour, shut the oven off and leave the cake in the oven for 5 hours (yes, 5).
Remove from oven and chill at least 24 hours before serving.
Caramel topping:
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Melt the butter and the sugar in a heavy bottomed pan. Allow to simmer for about a minute and then add the cream. Allow the caramel to simmer for another minute, stirring well. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature. Stir it every 15 minutes or so so that it doesn't separate. It will continue to thicken.
(BTW: this is awesome on ice cream. But be careful .. you will just want to make it all the time to eat with a spoon, right out of the pan.)
Ganache:
Heat 1 cup heavy cream over medium high heat until bubbles form around the rim. Pour hot cream over 1 cup chocolate chips. Stir well until all of the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool.
When the cake is cooled, spread the caramel on top. Chop 1 cup of pecans finely and sprinkle around the outside of the cake; the caramel will hold them in place. Make a design with the ganache on top of the caramel.
I put some of the ganache in a plastic bag and snip off one end. I make a few lines across the cake and then pull a knife through it to make a groovy design.

Did everyone have Jamaican food for breakfast?

My niece Dawn and her fiancee Shane. I heart them.

My only experience with Caribbean food is the food I've eaten on vacations to Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. It was very American-ized, perhaps flavored with the spices of the islands but nothing close to the real thing.
Last weekend, on Mother's Day, I was treated to breakfast at my niece's home in New Jersey. Dawn is engaged to marry Shane, a lovely man who enjoys cooking and hails from Jamaica. On the menu Sunday: peanut porridge, ackee and saltfish, callaloo, boiled dumplings and bananas. Shane also made a plate of sweet dumplings.
When we arrived, the table was set with pretty flowers and we were offered coffee, juice or a mimosa.

Jamaican breakfast: clockwise from left: sweet dumplings,
callaloo, peanut porridge, boiled dumplings
and banana, ackee and saltfish.

I took a plate with a little of everything. I loved the peanut porridge; think hot cereal like oatbran only really flavorful. I also enjoyed the callaloo, greens almost like kale, which is flavored with a soup mix. I didn't love the ackee and saltfish, I think because it was .... fish for breakfast or too salty, but that was just a matter of what one person likes to eat compared to another; my sister loves it.
 The boiled dumplings and banana were also good; very different from anything I've ever had. And the fluffy sweet dumplings were wonderful ... I could have eaten the whole plate, which I did not.
I come from a family of cooks and when we gather together, we always eat well. Shane officially joins our family on June 9, when he and Dawn are married. We happily anticipate his gifts from the kitchen.

Jamaican Peanut Porridge

1 cup raw peanuts
1 cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Water as needed, approx. 2 cups
Place the peanuts in a blender and process until almost smooth. Set aside.
Place 1 cup of water in a saucepan to boil; add salt.
Put the oatmeal in a blender and process until it becomes powder.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, peanuts and oatmeal in a bowl. Slowly pour water into the
bowl until the ingredients form a paste. Pour the liquid paste into the boiling water.
Stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on medium heat, but remove the cover periodically to keep it from boiling.
Cook for 12 minutes and lower the heat and add the vanilla, nutmeg and milks. Stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook 2 more minutes.
Allow porridge to cool slightly before serving.

A trifecta of trout

These trout all came from the same lake; caught by a neighbor yesterday.
 The top trout is a brown trout, the middle is a rainbow
 and the one on the bottom is a tiger trout.

The neighbor brought over a trio of trout this week: a brown trout, a rainbow and a tiger trout. I'm a big fan of trout, having grown up eating the fish my dad (and mom) caught regularly. My mother cooked them in bacon drippings in a cast iron skillet after rolling them in flour and cornmeal.
I cook them the same way, but I haven't perfected her method yet, in part because I don't get fresh fish often enough to practice.
I cooked two of what a friend called the "trifecta of trout" tonight. The fish was tender and delicious. I didn't add anything but some salt and pepper. The skin kind of came off when I took them out of the pan and one of them broke in half ... so they didn't look great, but they tasted delicious. Boyfriend Barry liked them enough but was put off by the bones. He doesn't like to have to work too hard at eating. A lot of people feel like that; lobster is too much work, etc. I don't mind the fuss, especially not when you are talking about fresh trout or lobster.
Mostly I loved the taste. There is nothing to compare to a fresh fish -- caught yesterday. We had a salad with warm goat cheese and some Brussel sprouts to go with it. But to be honest, I would have been fine with just the fish.
Also, who doesn't love a neighbor/friend/colleague that brings you food? It may be tomatoes from the garden or homemade cookies during the holidays, doesn't much matter. Who doesn't love food gifts?

rhubarbrhubarbrhubarb

I can't think of rhubarb without thinking of "rhubarbrhubarbrhubarb." That is what the actors in old time radio shows used to make the noise of a disgruntled crowd in the background. I learned that in a public speaking class a million years ago.
As a kid, we used to cut the stalks off of the bush and stick them in the sugar bowl to eat. I'm not sure I could do that now. Rhubarb has lovely flavor, but it is very tart.
While having coffee with a friend last week out on her deck, I noticed a very healthy rhubarb bush in her yard. When I asked her if she cooked with it, she said no and if I wanted it, she'd cut it for me. I went home with a big bagful. If you are lucky enough to be given rhubarb or if you buy it at the store and you have more than you need, you can chop it up and throw it in the freezer to use later.
I make a delicious rhubarb coffee cake. There's plenty of sugar in it to soften the tart rhubarb and a streusel topping that includes brown sugar. So, it's sweet and tart.

Rhubarb Crumb Bars are made with lots of butter and powdered sugar.

I also make rhubarb crumb bars which are a big pan of buttery goodness.
My boyfriend Barry often says he doesn't like rhubarb. The rhubarb cake I made tonight? It's missing three pieces already and I haven't had any ... neither have the dogs.

The stalks in the top picture yielded about 10 cups of rhubarb. What I didn't use got chopped into small pieces and put in the freezer for later. Each bag has two cups of rhubarb.

The crumb bars just before they went in the oven.

I'm in love

It'd be a challenge to sum up all of the food I ate over the weekend in one blog post. I was in Atlanta at a wedding for my boyfriend Barry's niece Kim to her beloved Brad. It was a lovely weekend ... lots of fun, great visits with family and a whole bunch of food.
The reception was held at The City Club of Buckhead, on two floors (the 17th and 18th) with amazing views. For dinner, we were served a salad of field greens, sliced strawberries, goat cheese and candied pecans, a buffet of roasted turkey, beef tenderloin, brussel sprouts, glazed carrots, broccoli, three kinds of risotto and .... wait for it ... a mashed potato bar. There was a large dish of creamy mashed potatoes, and various toppings: crumbled bacon, chopped green onions, grated cheddar cheese, fried onion rings and sour cream. We were given chunky martini glasses to put our potatoes in. I swear, I could have just had the potatoes for dinner and would have been a very happy girl. It was comfort food, for sure. But was also fun food ... and delicious.
I told Barry that we were having a mashed potato bar for dinner some night this week, no other food, just the potatoes and toppings. I am in love with the mashed potato bar.
On Sunday morning at brunch, the caterer told us that they offer a sweet potato bar when they cater events. They include mashed sweet potatoes and various accoutrements such as toasted pecans, mini marshmallows, brown sugar and raisins.

I'll post more photos of the wedding food; it was all excellent, including the red velvet wedding cake with cream cheese frosting, the buttermilk biscuits stuffed with ham at Sunday brunch, the grilled salmon with polenta at the rehearsal dinner and the Chick fil a minis the morning of the wedding.

I will have some onion candy. Thanks.

Step 1: Raw onions go into an olive oil coated pan.

Midway through the cooking  .. the onions are about where they would be if you were looking for fried onions.

The finished product look something like this ... dark and limp, very flavorful. They smell like heaven. 

Onions are a wonderful thing. Caramelized onions? Come to mama. It makes perfect sense to me that we embrace vegetables with even more passion once they are cooked to the point of tasting sweet, almost like candy.  Is anyone surprised by that?
Anyhoo. Here's a quick tutorial for making caramelized onions at home:
Take a bunch of onions ... 5-7 medium sized yellow onions. Peel them and then slice them in to small slivers. Heat a cast iron skillet (or non stick) on medium-high heat and cover the bottom with olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the onions. Swirl them around to cover them with the oil and allow them to cook, stirring frequently, until they start to brown. Add salt and pepper and a tablespoon of sugar. Continue cooking, and be sure to get all of the sticky parts off of the bottom of the pan. The onions will brown and caramelize, but it's important to keep the heat consistent and the process slow.

When the onions start to look like they are done, keep cooking them. When finished, they should be a caramely-brown color and very soft texture.

Caramelized onions are wonderful on a sandwich, pizza, baked potatoes, grilled chicken, fish and all sorts of other foods.

They are also delicious right out of the pan with a sprinkle of salt.

One note: Even a big bunch of onions cooks down to a small amount. If you love caramelized onions, start with a big pile of onions.

How can you hate popcorn?

My boyfriend Barry hates popcorn. I can't imagine life without popcorn. Once a week, maybe less, I have popcorn for dinner. I love the smell, the taste, the texture ... everything about it.
Barry says he hates it because pieces get stuck in his throat and it makes him crazy. I don't like that part either, but I'm not about to give it up because of a silly inconvenience.
I eat microwave popcorn, but not the kind that comes in a bag. I cook my popcorn in a microwave popper; a device I bought at Sears many years ago. My sister bought one not long ago at Target. They cost somewhere between $10-15 and keep all of the unwanted ... stuff ... out of the popcorn. I typically pop the corn and add my own melted butter or just some salt. It's fresh and delicious, takes about 3 minutes to cook. I buy the popcorn in a bag at the grocery store and it's certainly more economical than the alternative.
I don't buy popcorn at the movie theater. I'm not sure what, exactly, they put on it, but it isn't butter and it isn't oil (butter-flavored oil?) .. anyhoo, it's nasty stuff. I have on occasion, snuck my own popcorn into the theater. I know that's wrong, but ... I swear, i don't care how expensive it is at the theater, it's not about that. It's about taste. It just doesn't taste very good.
Here's a photo of the popcorn maker I have. As I said, it's pretty old, but still works beautifully.

Switch hit

When a former colleague of mine brought a lovely, lemony couscous salad to a potluck at work, I was immediately in love ... not with her, with the salad. It had bright green peas, toasted pecans and tart cranberries, all of which combined into not only a beautiful dish, but an unusual combination of flavors. I've made the salad a few times but this week switched out the couscous for quinoa.
I bought a big bag of quinoa about a month ago, hoping to add something different to our mashed potato/rice/sweet potato/pasta rotation. But I haven't done anything with the quinoa because I've really only eaten it a handful of times.
Quinoa, if you haven't tried it, has a really nice, nutty kind of taste. It's an excellent grain and frankly, tastes a whole lot better than barley or cracked wheat.
There are lots of options for recipes, but I knew this recipe well, so I tried it.
Barry liked it a lot and he often says he doesn't like lemon or cranberries. (He likes both, he just sort of thinks he doesn't.)
When you make this recipe, adjust the garlic, onion and lemon to suit your taste. Also, add the dressing just before serving to keep everything crunchy.

Couscous or Quinoa salad with Lemon-Garlic Dressing
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup dried cranberries
1 peeled, chopped cucumber
3 chopped green onions, sliced
1/2 cup toasted, choppped pecans
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Boil the water and add the couscous or quinoa. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until done -- water should be completely absorbed. Set aside to cool.
put the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt and pepper in a jar and shake until blended.
Put the couscous or quinoa in a large bowl and add the peas, cranberries, cucumber, onions and pecans. When ready to serve, toss with dressing.
Best served at room temperature or chilled.

My very first cookbook was the Moosewood Cookbook. I don't think I even knew that it was vegetarian when I bought it.
A couple of the recipes I've made over and over include the Hungarian Mushroom Soup and the Swiss Cheese and Mushroom Quiche.
Last night for dinner, I made the quiche, only I switched out the ingredients. Mine included asparagus (so delicious and cheap right now) some leftover ham and shredded smoked gouda. I was nice and puffy and brown and the crust rocked. I'm not typically great at pie crusts, but this one was very, very good.
We are having the leftovers for dinner tonight (yes, leftover ham in the quiche and the leftover quiche for dinner) with some scalloped potatoes.
Can I get a witness?

the bloggedy blog thing

I confess that I don't always have time to read the blogs I love. So, it might not make sense to start one of my own.
Mostly, I want to share more than just a food photo here and there (like I do on FB) and also be able to add lots of recipes and comments and such.
Blogger is really user friendly as well.
So, here goes.
This morning, I'm roasting a chicken. One thing about working from home that is lovely is that I can roast a chicken while working. I throw some fresh herbs, a half an onion and a lemon in the cavity, rub the skin with some butter and throw it in the oven.
When it's done, I have enough chicken for a couple of main meals, some chicken salad and maybe the makings of a chicken stock. Delicious!
Welcome to my new blog.