Eat it Raw

Friday nights I get together with a bunch of friends for food and fellowship. It's always interesting to see what dishes people bring, and something to look forward to during the week. There are also dietary restrictions to consider which mainly include limiting refined sugars--which fits right into my own food lifestyle.

I couldn't resist a jumbo head of cauliflower at the farmer's stand last week, and it was still sitting in my fridge, amazingly still blemish-free and at the peak of freshness. It only seemed right to serve such a perfect specimen as a raw crudite.

That's not much of a recipe for a food blog, is it?

What I can share is the recipe for the curry dip served alongside, which was a nice change from the usual ranch dip (which I also served, for the kiddos and the unadventurous).


Curry Dip

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons hot curry powder

Combine sour cream, mayonnaise and curry powder in a bowl; transfer to a serving bowl and serve with fresh vegetables.


This would be equally delicious served over a piece of chicken or fish, or used as a dressing in chicken or turkey salad.


Mrs.W

Escarole Soup

As I have often mentioned before, Mr.W is a very picky eater. It's difficult for me to balance the foods I like to cook and eat with those that he will eat.


To be fair, he will eat what I prepare. But he might only pick at it discreetly and not really eat much of it, avoid seconds or leftovers, without saying a word. There have been several occasions where I will make a dish several times because I thought he was eating it--when in fact he was not.


Which of course leads to, "I thought you liked this!"


"It's fine."


"But you're not eating it, and I'm throwing away leftovers."


"I eat it."


"But you don't like it."


"It's fine. Maybe it's not my favorite."


"Why don't you just say you don't like it so I don't keep making it for you?"


Silence.


Of course this is a recipe for disaster in my house. How can he tell me he doesn't like something? The poor man is caught between a rock and a hard place, and I know it.


Well there is one thing I know I can make and he'll eat it all weekend long, rain or shine. Escarole soup.



It's an italian comfort food that once you've tried it, you cannot resist. And it can be made a number of ways according to your taste and how many people you're feeding--so I will provide only a loose outline of a recipe here.


Escarole Soup

about 6 cups chicken broth or stock (may be mixed with other broth/stock as desired--ham stock is good here)
1 large can whole tomatoes, squished up
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts that you've poached in 2 cups of water with some onion & celery (use poaching liquid as part of your broth or freeze for another use)
1/2 cup cooked ham
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 head escarole, washed, trimmed and rough-chopped
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (I use the cheap stuff!)
1 cup acini de pepe pasta



2 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat broth in a large soup pot over low heat. Stir in tomatoes with juices from the can for a nice chickeny-tomatoey mixture. (Alternatively you could use tomato or V8 juice here, or your favorite bottled spaghetti sauce, to taste.) Always check flavor as you go. Stir in cooked chicken and ham. Cover pot with lid.




In a large skillet set over a medium flame, heat olive oil and saute chopped onion until transparent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Now begin adding escarole in batches. As one batch starts to wilt down and make room in the skillet, add more, until all of it is in the skillet. (Add salt and pepper to taste as needed during this stage.) Keep turning and stirring the escarole to distribute the onions & garlic among greens and to cook evenly. When all of the escarole is wilted, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and turn off heat. Let it sit for a minute to allow the cheese to melt a little. Then add it to your pot of broth. Stir to combine.




Stir in acini de pepe and bring to a simmer. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked. (Some people cook the pasta separately in boiling water--either way will work.) Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and serve.


Watch your liquid level--you might need to add more broth if you like a soupier soup. We like our soup with lots of stuff in it!


Variations: ham stock from the freezer adds depth of flavor. Tiny turkey or beef meatballs added is an extra treat. Additional veggies, diced potatoes and even white beans are also delicious additions. I've used all sorts of leftover meats, including pork in this soup. In a pinch you can substitute spinach for the escarole, but the texture will be different.




The next time you want a homey chicken soup, try this. It's very forgiving, and you can vary this soup any way you like.



Warm, soupy regards,

Mrs.W

Eggplant Protuberances

At the farmer's market stand, my friend and I couldn't help but snicker as we perused the eggplant selection. (Aubergines, for my international friends.)


I asked the lady at the counter if this was a particular variety of the fruit... I'd never seen them quite like this before.


"No," she replied, "they get like that when there's a cold snap."


Well I had to buy one, of course. Here's my little feller, complete with a crooked nose.


He spent some time in the fridge while I wondered how to cook him. So lunch it is! And what better way to use this particular eggplant than for fries?



I skinned him and sliced him into traditional french fry sticks, and fried them in oil set at 350*F in my wonderful electric skillet. I discovered a few things:

1. Eggplant tends to be rather floppy even after frying. So they must be dredged in flour before hitting the oil. And flouring more than doubles the frying time, but the result is a slightly crisper fry.
   
2. You must fry in batches. Don't crowd the eggplant fries!
   
3. Between batches, let the oil come back up to full temperature for best frying results.
   
4. I should have salted the eggplant sticks before coating and frying. There was a distinct bitterness... which was okay, and certainly covered by the dipping sauce, but there nonetheless.
   
5. And last, the more uniform the shape, the better the result.

After my fries emerged from the fat (vegetable oil, of course), I let them dry on paper towels for a few minutes, then dusted with grated parmesan cheese (yes, my favorite cheapo kind in the green can) and served with ranch dressing, made from a packet mix, and instead of using sour cream I used cottage cheese (16oz), blended smooth and thinned with a little half-and-half.

What a delicious treat! Low carb without the flour coating, and minimum carbs with, it was a healthy lunch for me. Next time I'll try using soy, chickpea, or an alternative flour for dredging.

And as for my eggplant's appendage? It was less bitter than the rest of the fries, believe it or not.

Mrs.W

British Food Fortnight: Quick Chicken Curry for Two

It is British Food Fortnight, a time when people worldwide celebrate the foods eaten and produced in Great Britain.

When I think of England, I think of the Queen, Wallis and Gromit, the tube, tea with scones and clotted cream, fish and chips, bangers and mash, and of course my many friends who are either living in the UK or have lived there in the past. I think of the day I spent in London's Heathrow airport in the luxurious Delta lounge gearing up for the long flight to Cape Town. But I digress.

So many cuisines have been introduced to England's culture that I would venture to say that their diet is as diversified as in the United States. There is one thing, however, that every Englishman that I know talks about.

A good curry.

So for British Food Fortnight, hosted by Fuss Free Flavours , I've created Quick Chicken Curry for Two. See the roundup here, even though FFF forgot my entry!

Of course Mr.W won't touch curry. So in my house it's really for one... but this recipe makes two servings.




Quick Chicken Curry for Two

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chopped yellow onion
about 3 tablespoons finely sliced carrot (I used 4 “baby-cut” carrots)
1/8 cup frozen broccoli florets
about 8 pitted dried plums (Okay, they're really prunes, but I seem to have fallen into the marketing ploy of making them sound less prune-ish by calling them dried plums.)
½ cup chicken broth or water
4 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste
1 small tomato, chopped
1 grilled chicken cutlet, cut up (or leftover meat of choice)
2 small potatoes, peeled and boiled, cooled and diced

In a large skillet, melt butter and saute chopped onion until transparent and beginning to brown. Add carrot, broccoli, dried plums and chicken broth. Sprinkle curry powder over all. Stir well to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat. If water seems to be evaporating too quickly before your broccoli softens, add a lid.

When broccoli is softened, add tomato, chicken and potatoes. Stir gently to combine. Cover and cook until heated through. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.


It was delish.

Spicy curry regards,
Mrs.W

Farmer's Market Foray

One of my pals has a house she rents a few towns away, and is in the process of cleanup to ready the house for sale. I've been going with her... it's always good to help a friend spiffy up a house.

Along the way is our favorite farmer's market stand, where they sell the produce they've grown. In the last week I've purchased an eggplant, a hubbard squash, two spaghetti squash, a bunch of beets, three seckel pears and a large head of cauliflower, most of which I have no idea how to use or what they taste like. Well, except for the eggplant and cauliflower. I'm an old pro at those.

My first taste test was the seckel pears.

According to my internet research, the seckel pear is also dubbed the sugar pear, and is reportedly best for eating out-of-hand. That was not my experience.

They were okay, but the skin was rather thick and, well, they weren't as sweet as I'd like in a pear. Maybe they weren't ripe enough?

The size was nice, though--the perfect amount of treat. That is, if it had been the treat I had expected it to be.

Conclusion: I'd give it another try, but let it ripen a bit more to see if they truly are as sweet and delicious as everyone else seems to claim.

As for the other produce, I'd love to hear from anyone with ideas for those squash and the beets, and I'd love some new ideas for cauliflower and eggplant.

Mrs.W

A Beautiful Wedding

Saturday I attended a wedding. What a wonderful day, and such a blessing to see two good friends fall in love and tie the knot.

I met the groom in kindergarten, and the bride years later through my brother's wife. They met each other and started dating a little over a year ago... as we watched their romance we knew they were right for each other.

The reception was held at The Blue Flag Room in Utica, NY. Here is a snapshot of the room before the guests arrived.

The cake was gorgeous AND delicious!

My sweet sister-in-law. She and I did the decorating and the reception florals.

My handsome brother was the best man. Here he is, giving the toast.

The bride's father made a touching speech.

Even the groom said a few words.




There was dancing...




Here is the matron of honor, the bride's sister, dancing with her daughter, the flower girl.





Merriment was had by all.

Best wishes to Zeb and Jennifer as they begin their life together as husband and wife!



Mrs.W

I've Lost My Noodle Zucchini Lasagne

Warm greetings to all of you out there in blogland. Please accept my apologies for my lack of communication this week. I have been busy with wedding planning. Friends are getting married this Saturday, and I've been involved with crafty things--making decorations for the church (pew bows and the standards for the front), helping make the favors (assorted handmade chocolates), and I'm expecting the flower delivery today so that I can start work on the reception centerpieces.

So that, along with getting a haricut, various errands and other family and community obligations, I have been utterly overwhelmed with activity. So much so I have not visited any of my favorite sites & blogs.

Well... on to the lasagne. I host a ladies' meeting every Tuesday morning, which is followed by a light lunch. Many of the women watch their carbs, so those of us who prepare food try to take that into account. And my no-noodle lasagne was a huge success.

Here's the recipe:

I've Lost My Noodle Zucchini Lasagne

(recipe adapted from the back of the Barilla No-Boil Lasagne Noodle package)

1 jumbo-sized zucchini, peeled and seeded, sliced into thin slices
1 16-ounce container small curd cottage cheese or ricotta cheese (low fat if desired)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups (divided) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1-1/2 pounds ground turkey or ground beef, browned and drained of excess fat
2 jars (26-ounce each) of your favorite spaghetti sauce, or the equivalent amount of homemade sauce

Directions

Spray a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350*F.

In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, 2 cups of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. (Note: I like to puree down the cottage cheese so that it's a smooth consistency, more like ricotta. In my town, ricotta is waaaaay overpriced.)

Start lasagne by a couple of spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of your baking pan. Spread it around. Top the sauce with enough zucchini slices to cover the bottom.

Carefully spread a layer of cheese mixture, then sprinkle liberally with cooked ground turkey.

Dollop with sauce, and repeat the layers until you've used up your cheese mixture and you're close to the top of your pan. Some people divide the layers in thirds... I just go by eye.

Finish with a layer of zucchini, then spread with sauce and sprinkle with remaining 2 cups of mozzarella cheese.

Cover your lasagne with foil and bake 1 hour.

Be careful, because the zucchini releases a lot of water--I had to use a turkey baster to siphon off excess liquid--which was delicious, by the way--and it still spilled over in the oven. So you should plan to place a baking sheet under your pan to catch spills.


This lasagne was served with a pasta fagiole soup. Normally I'd also serve bread, but this group of women does not really eat a lot of bread, so we did not bother. A salad would be a nice addition, too.

Everything was gobbled up with rave reviews.

And a small addition here--my dear friend, Angela, brought these beautiful flowers as a centerpiece for our lunch. What a lovely thought! She grew them herself--aren't they gorgeous?

Mrs.W

More Zucchini

Well I was given more garden produce from friends--another giant zucchini, as well as several beautiful tomatoes that were just a tad beyond their peak of freshness.

(The above photo is not mine.)

I already have several cups of shredded zucchini in the freezer. As for the tomatoes--I cooked them down into a spaghetti sauce. I don't really have a sauce recipe--I made it basically the same as my Spicy Italian Ketchup, except without cooking it down to a ketchup-y consistency.

I decided to slice this zucchini down for a vegetable lasagne--the lasagne replacing the noodles, of course using the homemade sauce. I'll be cooking it for a ladies' luncheon I'm hosting tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Mrs.W

Mary had a little lamb... and it made some darn good soup!

I just might have to give MYSELF a prize for this one. The soup I started yesterday turned out fantastic! I invited my family for dinner this evening because tomorrow is my mom's birthday. I served a full meal--london broil, a side of spaghetti-and-broccoli, and fresh butter & sugar corn from the farmer's market stand--but since I had started that soup yesterday, and the smell was all over the house, I felt it was only right to offer some to my guests.

The rest of the meal was veritably ignored. They just wanted the soup.



It's chock full of low-carb goodies--garbanzo beans, baby spinach, broccoli, squash, zucchini and tomatoes. The lamb was very tender and not at all gamey. If you like lamb--heck, even if you don't like lamb--try this soup.


Chicky-Lamb Soup

In a large crock pot, combine:

1 pound boneless lamb neck meat
1 3-pound can low salt organic chicken broth (or, if you have enough, homemade stock from your freezer)
1 2-inch piece of celery
1 teaspoon salt (you might add more later on to taste)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Set on low for 8 hours. Strain through a wire mesh strainer into a large bowl. Pick through strained bits to remove chunks of meat; return meat to broth. Discard any remaining strained bits. Refrigerate soup overnight.

In the morning, remove any hardened fat from soup. (My lamb had very little fat so there was almost no fat to skim.) Return broth and meat to crock pot. Add:

1 15.5-ounce can chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans) with liquid
1 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes, chopped (or use chopped tomatoes)
about 4 ounces fresh baby spinach, washed

Set crock pot on low. After about 6 hours, add:

1/2 pound bag frozen mixed veggies of your choice (I had some leftover veggies in the freezer from a veggie tray we served at the bridal shower that I used--zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli florets.)

Continue cooking for about 2 hours. Serve hot, with bread for sopping up the delightful broth.


Thankfully they left me some for lunch tomorrow.

Mrs.W

Waiter! There's something in my...

Believe it or not, after a horrid, rainy, drizzly, disgusting morning, the sun decided to shine and warm up my little patch of earth this afternoon.

Even so, I realized that I had some tomatoes that were about to go beyond their shelf life. As I began to grate them to make a homemade ketchup, I remembered this month's "Waiter! There's something in my... savory preserves!" event hosted by Johanna of The Passionate Cook.

Yay! I've been wanting to enter a WTSIM event for a while now! Click here to view the roundup for this event.

So here it is... my savory preserve. Spicy Italian Ketchup.




Making ketchup is basically just reducing a sauce to an almost paste-like consistency. With some tomatoes on the windowsill bursting at the peak of freshness, today was the perfect day to make just that.

As a diabetic, it's hard to find tasty condiments that are not loaded with added sugar or... *gasp* the dreaded high fructose corn syrup. So I find it's easier to just make my own--then I can make it taste any way I like.

I was raised in a small Italian-American town, so it's understandable that my tastebuds tend toward italian flavors--basil, oregano, olive oil, tomatoes, garlic and onion. The flavors all blend together to bring me back home, no matter where I've lived or traveled in the world. And, well, spicy is a must in my house.

So my ketchup is just that--spicy and full of italian flavor. It's great on anything, from eggs to french fries (though I don't indulge in those too often these days), and unlike store-bought ketchup, this can be used almost like a sofrito, to season other dishes with a burst of tomatoey italian flavor.

Here's the recipe:


Spicy Italian Ketchup

Ingredients

olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon chopped yellow onion (I used one small boiler onion)
4 ripe tomatoes, grated over large holes of box grater, skins discarded
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I used a basil ice cube)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch dried oregano
1/2 cup red wine
2 teaspoons crushed red cherry peppers (these were home-grown red cherry peppers that I chopped and stored in white distilled vinegar in the fridge)

Directions

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium saucepan; saute onion until translucent. Add garlic and saute 1 minute--be careful not to burn the garlic.

2. Add grated tomatoes with their seeds & juice (okay, if you want to take the time to strain out the seeds you may. I'm just too lazy for that) with remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until liquid is reduced to 1/3 the original amount.

3. Remove sauce from heat and empty into a tall container. Puree using an immersion blender until fairly smooth. This only takes a few seconds. Return sauce to saucepan and return to a simmer over medium heat and continue to reduce until almost all liquid is gone and you have a ketchup-like consistency. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

4. Pour sauce into a clean glass jar (with a metal spoon to keep glass from cracking). Float a little olive oil over the top and seal the lid. When fully cooled, store in the refrigerator.


I keep this in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks. Note that I do not process the jar--hence the time limit to use this stuff up. If you want to make a larger batch and process, go for it. Or it could be frozen in a plastic freezer-safe container.

Whoo-hoo that IS spicy... and my tongue is tingling! You have to try this if you love a spicy tomato condiment!

Bye for now,
Mrs.W

Rain, Soup, Bread Pudding and a New Year

Well.

It is a dreary, dreary day here in Central New York. It has been alternating rain and drizzle all day. The temperature has dropped significantly--it's become sweater weather overnight.

What can I do but make soup?

Well, bake a bread pudding, of course.

Yes, I have two projects going today at the same time. The base of my soup is a lamb-chicken broth going in the crock pot, with a piece of celery and a bay leaf, and of course the requisite salt and pepper. Once I have a rich broth, I'll go from there. My soups are a lengthy process--usually a 2-day crock pot affair. However those very soups are rich and full of flavor. Why hurry?

The bread pudding is a quickie, though. Made from cubed tea breads leftover from the bridal shower Saturday made for a perfect base, and allowed me to use a lot less sugar than a pudding made from french or regular white bread. It smells divine. I'll be sending it to the office with Mr.W tomorrow.

Here is the pudding recipe. I'll post the completed soup recipe tomorrow.


Tea Bread Pudding

1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 cups leftover tea bread, cut into cubes
few scrapes nutmeg

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used salted butter)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped nuts or raisins (optional--I did not use)

1. Combine first four ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

2. Grease a 9x13x2-inch pan and place bread inside. Pour egg-milk mixture over. Stir gently to combine. Scrape a little nutmeg over the top. (I did not use much here because there are spices in the tea breads--I used a combination of banana-sour cream tea bread and zucchini-spice tea bread.)

3. Combine brown sugar and butter in a small bowl. Work in flour. Stir in nuts or raisins, if using. Dollop over bread.

4. Bake pudding in a preheated 350*F oven for 45 minutes or until browned on top. There should be no liquid remaining in the bottom of the pan.


As many of you may know, tonight begins Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. May blessings be poured upon you this new year! It is a new beginning.

Peace,
Mrs.W

TRGWT #6: Apples and Lavender

Since this is the first time I've ever participated in a foodblogging event, I thought I'd start small. But a simple recipe doesn't mean a bad one--no, sometimes simple is good. And this is one of those times.

The very talented and delightful Inge at Vanielje Kitchen is hosting TRGWT (These Really Go Well Together) #6, and selected apples and lavender as the required ingredients to, well, go together. It inspired me, so I had to go for it--especially since I bought a little bag of dried lavender blossoms only a month ago, and had been thinking about how to use it. Perfect.

I started with grandiose ideas--a tart? Crostada? Lavender-scented madelines sandwiching apple butter? But alas, I don't have much time these days... dear friends are getting married in less than two weeks, and I have gotten myself into the planning production, which I love doing. Add to that a weekly ladies meeting I've offered to host in my home every Tuesday, and I've become a busy little bee.

Which led me to simple.

What I've created is a lovely little dessert--one perfect apple, baked in foil with a drizzle of lavender-infused agave nectar and a breath of nutmeg, served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, more nectar and a dollop of whipped cream sprinkled with sliced almonds.

Before I give you the recipe, I must take time to explain that I am a diabetic. A foodie, a food-blogger and a lover of all things sweet and delicious, yes, I am a Type 2 Diabetic. So... here I've started a diet, and there are all these dishes to make, to try, to eat! This recipe was created with this in mind--hence the use of agave nectar, which is diabetic-safe. While I don't normally indulge in apples (I prefer to use berries or melon, since they are lower on the glycemic index), the fiber is a good thing, and, well, apples were in the rules. The ice cream I used is store-bought, no-sugar-added vanilla, and the whipped cream is made with sucralose. For those of you who do consume sugar, all of this can be made the very same way using regular ingredients--honey instead of agave nectar, and regular ice cream and whipped cream.

So let's get on with it, shall we?

This... drumroll, please... is the finished creation!

Hot, soft apple, with cold, melting ice cream, the fragrance of lavender and just a hint of nutmeg... divine, clearly a gift from God Himself.

The photo simply does not do it justice--and I am the last person to claim more than average skills as a point-and-shoot photographer. It is indeed a study in shades of white and ivory.

Baked Apple with Lavender-Infused Agave Nectar, Vanilla Ice Cream and Whipped Cream

Ingredients

For Lavender-Infused Agave Nectar
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms

For Baked Apple

1 cooking apple, peeled, cored & cut in half (I used a golden delicious)
2 tablespoons lavender-infused agave nectarfew scrapes nutmeg

Vanilla Ice Cream
Whipped Cream (any recipe you like)
Sliced Almonds

Directions

For Lavender-Infused Agave Nectar
In a small saucepan, warm nectar just until you see the first simmer bubble appear; remove from heat and add lavender. Steep 30 minutes, then strain through a wire-mesh sieve, discarding lavender.

For Baked Apple
Spray a square of aluminum foil with canola oil spray; place apple halves on the foil and drizzle each half with 1 tablespoon lavender-infused agave nectar. Scrape nutmeg over each half--just a wee bit for the barest fragrance. Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for 20 minutes.

While the apple is baking, prep one nice scoop of vanilla ice cream, so that it can be assembled quickly while hot.

To Assemble
Unwrap hot baked apple halves and carefully transfer to a dish. Quickly top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, more lavender-infused agave nectar, a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of sliced almonds.

One final note. I would recommend using alternative containers if you try this yourself. I detected an ever-so-slight metallic taste. It could have been from the small metal saucepan I used to warm the nectar, or from the foil used for apple-baking. Next time, I would heat the nectar in a glass measure in the microwave, and use a ramekin to bake the apple.

Perhaps this will inspire you to try this for yourself, a diabetic friend or relative, or anyone who might be watching their sugar intake. It's very satisfying—and no doubt the sugared-version would be as delicious or even more so!

Warm, lavender-infused agave nectar thanks to Inge for this fabulous idea for ingredients! To see all of the lovely dishes created for this event, visit the roundup part 1 and part 2.

Blessings,

Mrs.W

One Hot Kitchen

Let me tell you--it's too hot to be baking. Really. It was a scorching 95*F outside today, and silly me, I procrastinated all week and HAD to bake today.

You see, I am the co-host of a bridal shower tomorrow.

Yes, a dear friend of mine is getting married soon, and tomorrow is an afternoon tea bridal shower, for which I baked scones tonight, along with a yellow cake to be used for a strawberry trifle. My scones turned out so well that I felt I must share the recipe.

See how good they look?

Chock full of dates and dried cranberries, lightly sweet and not your typical 'gut bomb' scone, these are light with a fine crumb. Perfect with butter and jam.

Cranberry-Date Drop Scones

2 cups cake flour
1/4 cup sugar (or 1/4 tsp stevia powder for a no-sugar-added treat)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup light cream

Preheat oven to 425*F. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. With a fork, quickly work the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles crumbs. It's okay if there are some chunks of butter--they should be no larger than the size of peas. Stir in dates and dried cranberries. Add egg and light cream, and stir until just mixed. Do not overmix--stir only until it comes together.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm, slathered with butter and jam alongside a hot cup of tea. Or cool and store at room temperature for future scone bliss.

Scones can be held at room temp for about a day. If you want to store longer, they should be frozen, wrapped in plastic zip-top bags. When you want to eat them, thaw on the counter, then bake in a 350*F oven for about 10 minutes, or until warm.

Mrs.W

Candied Chicken

Have you ever seen a more glorious bird from your very own oven?

And it's so simple, using regular pantry ingredients. I've used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, whole chickens, bone-in assorted pieces of chicken and turkey. Simply adjust amounts and timing appropriate for your cut--use that thermometer! And it's versatile--add herbs as desired or vary the type of vinegar used. I've even added tarragon, substituted mustard for the ketchup and substituted tarragon vinegar for a delicious alternative. You're limited only by your imagination.

The recipe I've provided below serves 2.

Candied Half Chicken

1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey, or a combination)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
half chicken
olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine the first three ingredients in a glass measure and stir to combine.

Rinse and pat dry chicken. Oil your baking dish well with olive oil. Place chicken in pan and drizzle olive oil over, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour maple syrup mixture over chicken; cover with foil and bake at 350*F for 1 hour or until chicken begins to pull away from the bone. Remove foil, baste, and return chicken to oven for a nice color--about 15 minutes more.

I've made this many times--succulent, not too sweet, crispy skin... not to mention with items you usually have around the house. I must recommend pairing this delectable bird with a melange of roasted veg--sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, oh my! However with my current bounty of garden and farmer's market produce, I enjoyed my chicken with one of my favorites--roasted cauliflower along with a surprisingly luscious slice of yellow-flesh watermelon.

Bon apetit!

Mrs.W

Zucchini Heaven

As I muddle through use of my stockpile of veg from various friends' gardens and farmer's market forays, I'm finding new ways to use the same old same old.

For instance, the zucchini. Quite a large zucchini, in fact.

I decided I would separate this overgrown fruit into thirds and prep them for current and future use. One-third was peeled and cut up for a pan-fried vegetable sometime this week. One-third was peeled and finely grated (using the tiny holes on the grater) for use in baking. And one-third was grated using the large holes on the grater for things like fritters or omlettes, where you would want the obvious taste and texture. And into baggies the grated mass went, and into the freezer.

Except for one cup of fine-grated zucchini, used in these.

Kitchen Sink Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon coconut rum
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup regular-cooking oats
3/4 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup shredded zucchini

Beat shortening, sugar, egg and coconut rum together until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350*F oven for about 8-10 minutes or until top just begins to brown. Remove from oven; cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Note: I found it best to bake these cookies in the upper third of my oven. They cooked a bit more slowly that way (actually took about 15 minutes each batch), but they were more evenly baked.


I brought these cookies to a friend's home and everyone absolutely loved them. The texture was very nice, the mix of ingredients made them very interesting. Kids and adults alike gobbled them up! I hope you'll try them, too.

Mrs.W

Patty Pan Squash

Well, I discovered that the mystery white squash is called Patty Pan Squash. Although I found a few recipes online, I decided to use it simply, as a side vegetable with pork chops. After all, isn't that the best way to determine the actual flavor of a new food? Only from that point can you determine how to create with it.

I simply washed and sliced it, skin on. The seeds are confined to the center, so I just scooped out any small bits that were attached to the slices, even though the seeds are edible.

So I pan-fried some thin-sliced pork chops, and after they were done, I sauteed my sliced patty pan squash (skin-on) in the pork drippings (with a touch of added olive oil) with a bit of salt and pepper, and finished with a pat of butter.

Mr.W walked in whilst I was doing all of this and skeptically inquired, "What is that?" He was clearly afraid I would ask him to eat the colorless fruit with that certain zombie quality. I gave him a tiny, tiny piece to try, eaten carefully and with wrinkled nose. I see this is going to be another of those items I sneak into his diet hidden in other foods.

Which, as a matter of fact, I have become quite good at. I hide baba ganoush in ground beef made into patties or meatballs. I hide baby spinach, sliced in a chiffonade in any soup, stew, chili or spaghetti sauce. I hide roasted vegetable purees in casseroles and italian dishes. It gets a few more vitamins into Mr.W. Perhaps this is how God is preparing me for picky children.

Back to the patty pan squash. It is quite good--though I do not recommend leaving the peel on. It gave a bitter quality to the food, but when I nibbled around the peel the flesh was excellent. Very smooth, delicate taste and texture, with a sweet note. It held its shape well, though the cooked squash would yield well in a mash or puree.

So I recommend it highly. It's quite delicious! Now I can begin to devise new ways to use this interesting fruit!

Until next time,
Mrs.W

Nature's Bounty

A friend passed along to me some of the vegetables from another friend's garden--one giant zucchini, a lovely tomato, and five beautifully red cherry peppers. And if that wasn't enough, I stopped by the farmer's market and picked up this delicious-looking white squash (I don't know what it's called) and a petite seeded watermelon.

Now I know what I'm going to do with that watermelon.

But as for the rest... I'm not sure. So if any of you, my dear readers, have suggestions for this wonderful harvest, I'd love to hear them!

Mrs. W