Pots and Pins

Baby Max Attack...

Okay, quit yer whining...here's what you've been waiting for....the latest pics of Baby Max...honestly, isn't he just the cutest baby in the world?!? 

He just melts my heart....into puddles...puddles I tell you...puddles! 

Win a Quilt!

Hey friends - I know you'll want to get in on this...although by telling you I'll lower my odds but that's okay, I'll deal with it...go to Old Red Barn and enter to win a fabulous quilt with Michael Miller fabrics...and you can also read about a highly recommended machine quilter who only charges $0.01 per inch!  Now that's good news!

Now hurry on over to the Old Red Barn because you have to enter before midnight on July 22nd....winner to be announced on July 23rd....

Good luck...I think!

Pomegranate Jelly...

Call me crazy but I do love jelly!  And I love making it, too!  This was fast and easy and it's so dang good I know you'll want some - c'mon, deep down inside where you don't know it you know you do!  This is made from 100% pomegranate juice, the kind you can buy in any grocery store now.  With a box of Sure-Jell and some sugar you'll have jelly in practically no time.  I'm not sure if the boiling of the jelly takes out the vitamins and the nutrients in the pomegranate juice - does anybody know?  If not, then this is a HEALTHY jelly...pay no mind to the sugar!

Pomegranates are tart but this jelly has just the perfect "bite" to it - not too sweet, not too tart.  Have you noticed how pomegranates are the new thing these days?  They are everywhere!  Well, their juice is.  I'm going to make more of this jelly to give as gifts around the holidays - the only thing more fun than spreading this jelly on toast in the morning would be to spread it on toast on Christmas morning!

Garage sales have the best cook books!  I picked up this cookbook from The Women's Club of El Paso, Texas, published in 1994, and this recipe was on the first page I turned to.  With recipes submitted by members - their best tried-and-tasty recipes - this cookbook was a great find for 50 cents!  If anyone knows Doris Elliott in El Paso, Texas please tell her HI for me!

Pomegranate Jelly - From A Century of Cookery, The Women's Club of El Paso, Doris Elliott

1 box Sure-Jell

6 cups sugar

4 cups pomegranate juice

Follow directions for sterilizing jars from the Sure-Jell enclosure.  In a large pan, stir Sure-Jell into juice and bring to a full boil.  (The jelly will foam and increase in size so use a large pan even if it looks too big.)  Add sugar and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim off foam with large metal spoon and pour into hot sterilized.  Add sterilized lids and screw on rings.  If not using the jelly right away, process jars in a hot-water bath for 5 minutes, with two-inches of water covering top of jars. 

"Good food has a magical appeal.  You may grow old, even ugly, but if you are a good cook people will always find a path to your door."   James Beard

SWAG...

Sealed With a Gift - isn't that what SWAG stands for?  Well it does in this case!  The boy played in a golf tournament yesterday and he made out like a bandit!  He came home, sunburned and tired, but carrying a load of goodies....check this out:

A Reebok duffle bag, golf shirts, golf caps, a jacket and a WATCH!!!  When I oohed and aahed over every little thing the boy said, "Geeze, you act like you've never been to a tournament before!"   Duh....I never have!  The boy won the putter - not sure how - but he was mighty proud of himself for winning it!  A HUGE thank you to Jeff Jones, for taking the boy and letting him play and for giving him a wonderful memory!

This golf tournament, the Warren Moon/Steve Pool Classic, is an annual charity event which raises money for Children's Hospital - and they raised over a half a million dollars!  (When the girl was little she spent quite a bit of time at Children's Hospital - it is a phenomenal place and the care they give is the best in the world!)  Jeff Jones, owner of Evergreen Restaurant Group which is the franchisee for 37 Outback Steakhouse and Bonefish Grills around the Northwest, has been a huge sponsor of this event for years...so why don't you all help me thank him?!?   C'mom Mates, get yer Bloom on!  Good on ya then - let's go...let's go Outback tonight!  

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes...

This is a keeper!  Last week when my quilt group met to work on the American Hero Quilts, Stephanie served us these cupcakes...first, let me stay that they were beautiful to look at.  And now let me say that they were incredible to eat!  One wasn't enough...after we finished our lunch and the cupcakes for dessert...we went back to work...but an hour later those cupcakes magically appeared in the workroom and one by one, they disappeared.  Stephanie's cupcakes were a luscious yellow color...with a beautiful soft yellow-colored frosting since they are made with lemonade...but when I went to make the cupcakes I only had pink lemonade in the freezer so I made pink lemonade cupcakes...same great taste, different color.  You decide how to make yours - if you want pink lemonade cupcakes just add one drop of red food coloring to the batter and one drop to the frosting.  If you want them au naturelle then leave out the food coloring.  Either way, they will melt in your mouth and you'll be a happy camper.

   

Frozen lemonade is a staple in our freezer because the mister loves it.  I have made him fresh lemonade and he whines - he likes the "real" stuff the best.  I love the color of pink lemonade though and if I had my way my bedroom would be done in "pink lemonade" but, as if I need to say, I didn't get my way with that!  Like I said - this recipe is a keeper and on a hot day, this is worth heating up the oven and the house for...somehow, eating these sugar-loaded-bombs, that would be a technical diabetic term, you'll feel somewhat cooler even if it's a skorcher out...go figure!

Ziplock bags work great to "pipe" the icing on the cupcakes - no decorator tip either - just snipped off a tiny bit of the corner - give it a try!

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes - Adapted from Stephanie Allgood, Cupcake Afficionado

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cake:

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoons grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 drop red food coloring

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 cups flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 drop red food coloring

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In large bowl of electric mixer combine, sugar, butter, lemon zest, lemonade concentrate, food coloring and vanilla.  Beat until well blended, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients, mixing with a whisk.  Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, alternating with buttermilk, mix only until blended.  Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.  Makes 24 cupcakes.

For Frosting:  Combine in the bowl of an electric mixer at high speed, butter, lemon zest, lemonade, vanilla, food coloring and cream cheese.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, at low speed, and beat until well blended.  Chill frosting for one hour before using.  Spoon into Ziplock bag, snip one corner to pipe onto cooled cupcakes.  Refrigerate, loosely covered, but serve at room temperature. 

Just had to show you my new pink depression glass platter that I picked up at a garage sale for $2....the ceramic cupcake bank was another garage sale find....lucky me...now if only I had some money to put in it!

Grilled Tuna Steaks With Warm Bean Sauce...

The first time I had real tuna - fresh from the sea and not the can - I was in total disbelief!  It was nothing like canned tuna!  It was meaty and very unfish like...and I loved it!  In almost every Italian cookbook that I've read, there is a recipe for tuna and white bean salad...I decided there must be something to the tuna/white bean connection but I didn't want to make a salad - instead I made a white bean sauce that was, as Borat might say, verrrry niiiiiiiiiice. 

Marinating the tuna in olive oil and lemon juice, letting it just "hang out and be happy" is the first step...who talks like that?  Emeril?  Someone does...I was thinking it was Bob Ross but he's a painter and he always painted "happy trees"...but someone says stuff like that in the kitchen....if only my mind worked as good as my mouth!  Making the sauce is a cinch - all the ingredients go into one pot, to be heated so the flavors will meld and then into the blender and all of this is done before the fish goes on the grill.   

Grilled Tuna Steaks With Warm Bean Sauce by Me

Warm Bean Sauce:

1 can (15 oz.) White Beans, drained

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup, loosely packed, parsley, chopped

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

1 teaspoon butter

fresly ground black pepper to taste

For the Tuna:

4 tuna steaks (1-inch thick about 5 oz. each)

juice from 1/2 of a lemon

2 Tablespoons olive oil

In a sauce pan, over medium-heat, combine all of the ingredients for the warm bean sauce.  Heat to almost boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and pour into a blender.  Blend on high for 15 seconds.  Pour into a serving dish, cover with foil to keep warm until serving time.

Put tuna steaks on a plate and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.  Turn to coat both sides.  Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.  Spray grill with cooking spray and place tuna, on grill to cook, turning once.  Cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, for a total of 8 minutes cooking time.  When tuna is barely cooked through it is done.  Remove from grill and serve tuna with warm bean sauce.

My mom called me to ask what was on the menu...I told her tuna steaks and she said, "Do you know what the monkey said when he peed into the cash register?  This is going to run into a lot of money!"

But mom, really, it was very cheap!  I bought the tuna steaks at Trader Joe's for a song and $8...and the left over tuna will make great sandwiches...so you see, I'm saving money right an left!  Oh, the extra bean sauce will make a great dip with pita chips!  Why, there is no end to my resourcefulness! I've saved so much money that I think I'll go do a little "antiqueing" today!

Oatmeal Pancakes...

You would have thought I was serving the mister cod-liver oil pie for breakfast...I put his plate in front of him and he turned up his bulbous nose (I can say bulbous because he's irritated me) to me and asked where his grits were...he always has grits...I told him he was having a very famous pancake and he was not the least bit impressed - until he finally took his first bite.  He took a second and third bite before proclaiming them "very good"...which in his lexicon means OUTSTANDING! 

I picked up this cookbook at a garage sale - the Sun Valley Celebrity & Local Heroes Cookbook - for 50 cents.  I thought it would be a good read - and it was.  Printed in 1993, there are some great recipes in this book, including a recipe from Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, when they were still together, long before Ashton Kutcher was born, and from Maria Shriver and Arnold-I'll-Be-Back-Schwarzenegger.  There are recipes in here from every Winter Olympian who ever stepped foot in Sun Valley...plus several Hollywood folks and the local celebs like the mayor of Sun Valley and the Rotary President.  I've already dog-earred several pages where the recipes "spoke" to me...and one I couldn't wait to make was the Oatmeal Pancakes from Morado Farms.

   

This recipe is from Christin Cooper of Morado Farms, Idaho.  Christin won a silver medal in the 1984 Olympics for giant slalom.  When this book went to print she also had the distinction of being the first and only American Triple World Championship medalist in Alpine skiing.  Kudos Christin!  A quick internet search showed that Christin Cooper is still alive and well and is now living in Bozeman, Montana and is the co-owner of a restaurant and bar there.  If you see this book at a garage sale or in a used book shop I'd recommend you get it - it's a keeper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oatmeal Pancakes - From Christin Cooper of Morado Farms, Sun Valley, Idaho

1 cup oatmeal, quick cooking or instant

1 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 egg

2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt (or 1/4 cup buttermilk)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour (white or wheat or a mixture of the two)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon oil (optional)

Soak 1 cup rolled oats in the boiling water and brown sugar.  Mix to blend.  Beat in 1 egg.  Add the yogurt, milk, flour and baking soda, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Add oil if using.  Cook on a hot griddle, little or no oil is needed for cooking.  Serve with honey, syrup or fresh fruit.

The batter will look runnier in the bowl than traditional pancake batter, but the cakes fluff up in the cooking.  Also, the oats continue to absorb the liquid as the batter sits, so you may want to add a little milk halfway through to maintain the light and airy texture of these fine cakes.

(Christin Cooper wrote:  "Countless days of powder skiing, gate training, ski racing, rock climbing and mountain peaking have been inspired by these gentle cakes, and breakfasts at our place in the Rockies have reached legendary status among visiting friends, who even put up with a cold house and no TV in exchange for a couple of oatmeal pancakes and a cup of strong coffee." 

"Housework is what women do that nobody notices until they don't."  Author Unknown

Note to Self...

I drove a boat.  A boat on water.  I drove a boat on water.  At high speed.  It's true.  I am not making this up.  This is HUGE...really, really huge!  Janice, boat owner, driver, skier extraordinaire, took me and a few girls out on the lake the other morn - it was absolutely beautiful.  I just expected Janice to drive the boat while everyone else got in the water - I do not get in the water - don't like water, don't like fish who poop in water and I especially hate sharks...I've heard lake sharks are the worst.  So I was happy to sit and watch the falderall around me....

This is the view from the back of the boat - isn't is beautiful?!  We had sun for about an hour and then the clouds moved in but it still couldn't change the beauty of this place.  Everything was going swimmingly...until Janice decided that she wanted to ski.  I tried to make myself invisible...but she told me that I needed to drive the boat (I was the only other adult on board!) and that I could ...and even though I protested she insisted...I've never driven a boat before, let alone pulled a skier!  And what kind of person just jumps in the water leaving an ejit to drive the boat?!?  Seriously...would you tie a rope to a car, hand some retard the keys and tell them to get in and floor it while they pulled you around the street?!?  While you might be questioning my sanity I suggest you think about that!  So, I did what she told me...pushed the thingy down...then when she said okay I pushed it all the way down...except that the steering wheel was cranked so the boat was floored trying to go in a circle!  My heart about jumped through my nostrils!  I shut it down and we tried again and this time - with the help of everyone on board, I managed to drive the boat...not well, but well enough that Janice got to ski...

Janice is an incredible skier - she is graceful and a joy to watch on skiis!  And because she is so good she can ski for hours and hours before she lets go!  After what seemed like a week she finally dropped the rope...I picked her up without running her over and with a huge sigh of relief I turned off the key. My heart was pounding...it's simply a miracle that it didn't explode. 

This is my hand on the steering wheel of the boat - driving the boat....I didn't dare show you the full picture because my mouth is open and you can actually SEE me screaming while I'm driving...it's not a pretty sight so I'll just let you get your own visual.

I'd like to thank Janice for a wonderful outing...I'd like to, but I'm not over the shock of it all yet.  To say it was tramautic would be silly...it was SEVERELY TRAMAUTIC! 

Janice, being the kind and caring person that she is, thought she had cured me of one of my "issues"....what she doesn't know is that she's created another!  Now I cannot even THINK about even stepping foot on a boat!

In my next life I'll be brave.  Maybe. 

Marinated and Grilled Greek Chicken...

I was fortunate enough to have dinner at one of the fashionista's homes - and I say fortunate because it was worth every calorie!  I know, I know, using the term fashionista and calorie in the same, long-winded sentence is a literary oxymoron...everyone knows that calories to a fashionista are like a cross to a vampire...but, because this fashionista actually exercises...yes, mind-boggling isn't it - she does eat, too!    

While the food is cooking, let me show you my "find of the day"...while garage-saling Saturday morning, I found this faburiffic potting cart for $10!!!

We put the cart  on the deck - underneath the wooden dolphin - which has been hanging on the back of the house since 1994...I made it for a school project for one of the chirrens...it got a C- which is why parents should never try to do their children's projects for them!  I'm just tickled with my new cart - put my empty pots on it right away and even have a distressed hydrangea to transplant - and now I can do it with my "state-of-the-art" cart! 

The marinade for the chicken is made with Greek yogurt - which is more tangy than regular plain yogurt and you can find it at Trader Joe's.  I let the chicken marinate for about 3 hours - and I have to say, this was some of the best tasting chicken we've had in a very long time - even the mister commented on how good it was!  You will reserve about 1/2 cup of the dressing to be served with the chicken after it's cooked and I also used it as the dressing on my salad. 

To cook haricot verts/green beans on the grill, throw them onto a piece of foil with a little butter and salt, seal up the foil into a little pouch and put on the grill for about 5 minutes - they will be perfect!

We had quite the feast!  Marinated Greek Chicken, roasted haricot verts, grilled corn on the cob, fresh salad with mini-heirloom tomatoes, snap peas, fresh mint and romaine lettuce and watermelon for dessert!

Marinated and Grilled Greek Chicken - Adapted from MSN Lifestyles Recipes and the Fashionista

Marinade:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves, washed and dried

In a medium-bowl, whisk yogurt, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until blended.  Remove 1/4 cup of the dressing to be served later with the chicken and to also be used as dressing on salad, if desired, or use all as a marinade.

Pour remaining chicken into a ziplock bag or a baking dish and put in chicken to marinate for at least 2 hours or up to 24, in the refrigerator. 

Prepare outdoor grill by heating to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade, and place on heated grill, turning heat down to medium.  Grill chicken, about 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.  Remove to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.  Serve chicken with reserved marinade.

"Fashion is what one wears oneself.  What is unfashionable is what other people wear."  Oscar Wilde

Tomato Risotto...

Ahhhh...risotto...a three syllable word that means comfort...at least it does in MY cookbook!  I LOVE risotto - and I love making it...yes, it takes a bit of time but it's so worth it.  This is my new favorite risotto dish and I found the inspiration for this dish in the August 2008 issue of Good Housekeeping.

      

 

If you're the kind of person who loves to stand at the grill and flip meat over and over, never letting it sear correctly, but too anxious to just stand there doing nothing - then you're the kind of person who would love making risotto because you have to keep stirring it...you can't leave it unattended, not even for a minute.  You'll look like a pro standing over the pot with a wooden spoon in your hand - and if someone tries to stick their pinky in for a taste feel free to smack them over the back of their hand with the spoon!

 

This dish is rich and creamy and yet it still has a "fresh-from-the-garden" taste because of the last minute addition of chopped tomato and fresh basil...garnished with a few shavings of Parmesan cheese and you'll have one of the best tasting meals ever!

Tomato Risotto - Inspired from the August 2008 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine

(The Good Housekeeping recipe was called Microwave Tomato Risotto...their microwave recipe took almost as long as the stove top version so really, only a few minutes were saved.  I figured that if it was going to take almost as long, why not just make it right - over the stove, stirring in the love along with the broth!)

1 can (32 oz.) chicken broth

2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped

6 medium tomatoes, fully ripened

1 small wedge of Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Prepare tomatoes before starting the rice.  Holding tomatoes at the stem end, grate 4 tomatoes, 1 at at ime, on coarse side of grater into a bowl.  Discard skins.  Cut remaining 2 tomatoes into 1/2-inch chunks and set aside.  In a small pan, heat to boiling the two cups of water, keep hot.   

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute onion in butter and olive oil, for 3 minutes.  Add rice, stirring for 2 more minutes.  In a medium sauce pan over low heat pour in chicken broth and heat to near boiling.  Add 1/2 of the basil leaves and stir.  Keep broth over low heat to keep warm.  Stir one cup of broth into skillet with rice, stirring until liquid is absorbed.  Gradually stir in another cup of broth stirring until all liquid is absorbed before adding the next cup.  Stir the tomato juice into the rice mixture and add another cup of chicken broth.  Stir until all liquid is absorbed.  With a vegetable peeler, shave about 10 or 12 pieces of Parmesan cheese into the rice mixture, more if you want it cheesier.  Stir to blend.  Gradually stir in remaining broth, 1 cup at a time, cooking and stirring until liquid is absorbed before adding another cup.  If after adding all of the chicken stock the rice is still not soft, add water, 1/2 cup at a time up to 2 cups, until the rice is fully cooked.   

When the rice is cooked, stir in salt and pepper to taste, the reserved tomato chunks and the remaining basil.  Serve with additional Parmesan cheese shavings.  Makes about 8-1/2 cups.

"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch."  James Beard