"Fire burn, and cauldron bubble" MrsLee Cooks in 2024, Part 1

Whew. The holidays are over (entertainment-wise), except for the clean up and put away.

My DIL made a lovely pot roast with oven roasted vegetables. A delicious combination. Other foods over the weekend included frozen lasagna, roasted sweet potatoes and onions, charcuterie boards (cheeses: Camembert, blue, Parmigiano, Edom), Fried tiny potatoes with eggs and sausages (courtesy my son), empanadas (courtesy of my daughter), scalloped potatoes (son), more eggs, plus a lot of lovely desserts from Italian and German bakeries (daughter), and fresh veggies and fruit. We are not lacking in any way. Somehow we ended up with all the leftovers, as well as some smoked turkey, green bean casserole, truffled provolone and white truffle honey. I think my kids want me to find the ten pounds I lost in December. I have no doubt that I will.

Anyway, no food goals this year except to find the energy and appetite to make and eat it. As most of you know, there is chemical warfare going on inside me at the moment in my war against cancer. Enough about that.

I hope to read two cookbooks, one on Chinese techniques and the other on Indian curries. They are large and in my way and I will report here as reading.

Starred!

Did I mention in my old thread that I have begun making eggnog? It is the most marvelous thing at the moment. I don't like thick, cloggy nog from the store, nor do I like ingredients that don't have to be there. I found the simplest (to me) recipe online that required heating the nog to 160° so I would feel justified not guzzling it. I cut back on the 6 egg yolks to 4 because I like mine thinner. I also cut back on the sugar by 2 T. because I'm not much of a sweet fan. It comes out just the way I like it. I drink about 6 oz. a day. My almost quart of eggnog adds up to $3.50, whereas the closest thing I can get to it in the store is about $9.00 for the same amount.

These days of immunotherapy my appetite is an iffy thing and sometimes just the thought of food makes me ill, but this I can drink with relish and I feel like it is good for what ails me.

You might want to try a variation I learned about in Geneva. Our local store sold regular milk, goat's milk, and 'lait de poule' (chicken milk), which turned out to be egg nog, but with vanilla instead of nutmeg.

>3 MrsLee: recipe?

Since I have my own chickens now I know their diet and living conditions. I'm not afraid of raw eggs, just cautious.

>4 MarthaJeanne: The recipe I use, which is below, has both! I adjust either one to my mood. Last time I confused the amounts of vanilla vs. nutmeg, but it was still delicious. My grandson calls it "egg-milk" but I like "chicken-milk" better!

>5 fuzzi: My sister remembers my grandma making eggnog and donuts for after school snacks. I don't have that memory, but now I could do it if I wanted to!

Eggnog
4-6 egg yolks (whites can be used for another purpose, or whipped and folded in when eggnog is ready to serve)
1/2 c. (or less) sugar

Mix yolks and sugar well in a 2 c. bowl.

2 c. milk
1 c. whipping cream
pinch of salt
1/2 t. nutmeg

Combine in heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring a bit so it doesn't stick. You just want it hot and steamy, not boiling. Turn heat off, with ladle in one hand and whisk or fork in the other, add milk to eggs bit by bit mixing well. This will temper the eggs, when most of the milk is in, then pour the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan and bring heat up to 160° and remove from heat.

Add
1/4 t. vanilla

Stir, strain into jar (unless you like little chunks, yuk), then cool and refrigerate. Stir before serving, fold in egg whites if desired (I never do), serve with brandy, whiskey or rum if desired (not for me). This makes just shy of a quart.

Tonight I used 5 yolks instead of 4, I hate having an uneven number of eggs in the carton. It made 1 qt. That was the only difference, except I forgot the 1/4 t. Vanilla. Will know how it tastes in the morning. Too hot right now.

>5 fuzzi: The eggs are cooked, not raw.

>8 MarthaJeanne: I just saw that. Hmm, I always thought egg nog had raw eggs, like mayonnaise.

>6 MrsLee: thank you! I can do that. I might have to substitute oat milk or goat milk as I'm lactose intolerant, will let you know how it turns out.

I use a lot of goat's milk. I like it, and it comes in 1/2 l packages here, which is more convenient for me than litres, but it has only slightly less lactose than cow's milk.

I have seen some recipes for eggnog on You Tube.

I made egg nog years ago. I thought I was going to have to make it this year as it was the 4th store where I finally located it.

>13 thornton37814: I was buying a brand called Strauss. Not sure if it is national, it is made here in California. Comes in an old fashioned milk jar which you can return to the store for a $2.50 redemption. They make a killer ice cream, too.

My daughter made a version that was fermented for a couple of months with a LOT of booze in it. Very yummy, you mixed it with whipped cream when ready to serve. Son bought some eggnog at Costco this year, Kirkland brand, which reminds me of hers. 14% alcohol. I can't drink it, even 2 oz. is too much for me on my present medication.

>14 MrsLee: I purchased Southern Comfort which was without alcohol in spite of the branding. The other option was Borden which was a local dairy to the area.

My appetite is quite finicky these days. Gone are my spicy international foods and fatty meats. Comfort food for the win.

Today I made Split pea soup with a hambone broth. I added lots of extra vegetables and greens so that I can feel virtuous eating it. Blended it together, then added the cup of ham bits off the bone. Hits the spot on a winter day.

>16 MrsLee: oh, I love split pea soup. Aldi's store brand version is really good.

>16 MrsLee: I like the north-German version, with one or more Frankfurters or similar sliced into it while cooking. In Germany I've seen mustard served on the side.

What we used to have here in Austria was called 'Erbswurst'. It sort of looked like a small sausage, but was dried pea soup. It came with or without bacon bits in it. You cut off a section and reconstituted it with boiling water. It was really quite decent soup and very easy to use, even on mountains. But demand let up, and it is no longer made. I miss it.

>17 fuzzi: I haven't tried that. I save the ham bone and fat when we have ham, then stick it in the freezer until we want a bean or pea soup. Yesterday I boiled the bone and fat with a bay leaf, whole mustard seed, whole black pepper, whole allspice, bird's eye chili, and cloves. After three hours I removed the solids from the broth, dumped in the split peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, ginger, turnip greens and some baby spinach and kale I had frozen. While that was cooking I stripped any meat I could find off the hambone and shredded it into small pieces. When the veggies and peas were done (about 30 minutes) I took my hand blender and mostly pureed them, then added in the ham. Adjusted flavors with salt, pepper and hot sauce. It is delicious, although a little thinner than I usually make it. I wasn't paying attention to how much broth I had.

>18 hfglen: To my north American, California ears, that sounds so wrong! We put frankfurters in beans, so of course I'm sure they are delicious in split peas as well.

>19 MarthaJeanne: That does sound convenient. I wonder if it went by the wayside when dried foods became the thing?

I am not personally cooking, but my freezer is getting fuller! My sister is here visiting. We froze some green pea soup (I made), one of her friends sent me some lovely beef stroganoff, so part of that went in the freezer and part of it was eaten by my family who came to visit tonight. It is delicious! She made it with shredded beef which was moist and tender. I've always made mine with thinly sliced beef. My sister also made creamy Mac n cheese for my birthday tomorrow, but she made a double batch and froze two casseroles of it.

I use the freezer on one refrigerator for ready to eat meals, and the other one for ingredients. Theoretically. I have a lot of green chilies frozen in my ready to eat freezer. In the ingredient freezer are lots of bits and pieces I was using for smoothies. I want to use those up, and make a couple more batches of soup from the broth packages I have frozen (when I have bits and pieces of vegetables or bones from meat I throw them in a ziplock freezer bag until it is full enough for a soup broth starter).

I have all this lovely food and today the random nausea that hits me as a side effect kicked in. I'm going to take the nausea medicine I have until Wednesday and hope to keep it at bay, because my sister also made a lovely German chocolate cake with coconut-pecan icing and I want some!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Happy Birthday! It snowed here the night before last, all day yesterday, and last night. We have 10 inches on the ground. Last night I made a huge pot of beef vegetable soup. I'll share a bowl with you virtually in case it will work better with your stomach.

"

>22 fuzzi: & >23 thornton37814: Thank you!

>23 thornton37814: Yum! I can almost smell that! We had a bowl of clam chowder at a market today. It was really good!

Hello MrsLee. I ❤️ soup and your pea soup with a hambone and broth sound scrumptious and made with lots of veg is so good. Hoping that you get well very, very soon and get feeling much better soon too with all your energy back.

>25 mdoris: Thank you! :)

Made it through the birthday dinner with no ill effects so far. It was incredible! Probably cost about $30 a plate, but no way could you get a comparable meal in a restaurant for that, and we have leftovers! 1 pound of scallops is $39.99. I bought almost a pound, 8 scallops.

>27 MrsLee: That makes me feel a lot better about buying scallops, which I do about once a month. We love them, butl I try not to notice that I am paying over €30 for eight.

>27 MrsLee: my dh loves scallops, so once a year when we go to the shore for a long weekend we find a nice restaurant, and he orders them for dinner.

Happy Birthday.
Everything sounds so good and looks good.
I am in central Minnesota and barely have any snow of the ground. It will come.
Drive safely.

My best birthday gift this year so far has been from my doctor. No immunotherapy infusion. Instead I had what is called a "Happy Hour" IV drip of saline solution. I was dehydrated, low on sodium, kidneys and liver functions way down, and needed thyroid replacement therapy. So, IV to kickstart,, back on Prednisone, new prescription of synthroid. I felt good enough to drag my sister around Costco for 2 hours looking for healthy and easy food.

Not feeling quite as nice as yesterday, but had the energy to fry oysters for my brother and make a delicious Asian inspired egg drop chicken soup. About 8 c. Swiss chard thinly sliced like noodles, 1c. cooked chicken sliced thin, 2 c. oyster mushrooms, onions, garlic, ginger. I sliced all the veg. thin. Used soy sauce, lemon juice and hot sauce to balance flavor. At the end, I whisked 2 egg whites and slowly poured them in soup. Very yummy!

>31 MrsLee: I'm not a fan of egg drop soup; but that sounds delicious! I'm glad you got some good news from the doc.

I plan to make salmon patties tonight. I am going to use the leftover oyster juice in them. Also some green onions and mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Then I dip them in egg, then in Panko crumbs. I will let you know if they are edible.

>31 MrsLee: that sounds very yummy!

>32 lesmel: I'm not a big fan either, but there were egg whites to be used and spouse bought oyster mushrooms, so my mind flipped over from from farm veg and chicken, to Asian.

>34 fuzzi: Thanks!

Wrong time of year to find green onions in my garden, but I think I found enough for the salmon patties.

>35 MrsLee: Salmon patties accomplished. I had forgotten how to make them, so looked up grandma's salmon loaf for clues. No mayonnaise. 1 can drained Salmon, 1 egg, I used about 1/4 c. Oyster juice, 2 T. minced green onion, celery tips (I had some of these left from celery stick snacks, didn't measure, but probably about 2 T.), 1 t. Dill, less than a t. kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, about 1/2 c. saltine crackers crushed to absorb extra fluid. After it sits a bit to blend flavors, form patties and roll in egg, then panko crumbs. Put in fridge for 1/2 hour, then fry in lots of hot butter. 3 minutes on first side, 2 minutes on second side. Yum. Oh, I squeezed lemon over mine.

>36 MrsLee: That sounds utterly delicious!

It's been a long time since I made salmon patties. My mom didn't add oyster juice or dill to hers, and I think she used regular onion instead of the green ones most of the time--just because that was what was in the house. We didn't have panko back, but I don't remember coating them before frying (in oil instead of butter), although she may have. The egg and crackers were in the mix itself. Her salt would have been regular salt instead of kosher.

>37 hfglen: Thank you!

>38 thornton37814: My mom and grandma usually made a loaf covered with a creamy hard boiled egg sauce. My husband's family was Catholic, so fish on Friday. He hated his mom's salmon patties. Said they were dried out and flavorless. He loves mine. :)

Hoping, if energy allows, to make fried rice tonight. If I do, I am going to stir-fry lots of veggies to put in. Carrots, celery, beet greens and stems, ginger, garlic Some eggs and shrimp for protein. Also any bits and pieces of Chinese food which are leftover, but I think there is only rice left now.

Normally I would know about the leftovers, but when we bought the meal, the next day in the middle of lunch I had a bought with nausea (not Chinese food induced, but cancer treatment effect) and it ruined me for the Chinese food. I think reworking it into fried rice will do.

Fried rice accomplished. A bit different than above. No shrimp, lion's mane fungus, but essentially the same. A good reliable way to make a healthy dinner out of leftovers and vegetables that need using.

My sourdough bread is suddenly failing. I don't think it's the sourdough, it bubbles up fine when I feed it. I have been trying to change from the pulling method to the Kitchen-Aid mixer kneading, and I think that is where I'm going wrong. I may be over kneading it with the machine. I will try once more with the machine the next time I make it. I read that you only knead 2 minutes at a time or the dough can overheat (I might have overheated the water I added). After that I will go back to the pulling method.

I made pickled beets today with some changes. I mostly like them on my salad. I had one rutabaga which I added. I made small cubes instead of flat circles or quarters. Then I looked for some Asian inspiration. I used bird eye chilies (tiny things, only 4) toasted with Szechuan pepper. 3 cloves, 1/2 star anise, 2 T. minced ginger, 2 T. minced garlic. I say minced, but it was bigger than a mince, smaller than a chop. 5 T. sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper, and 2 tiny mandarin oranges. When the beets were starting to soften, I tasted and it was slightly bitter, so I removed the mandarins and added some more salt. They are sitting to cool now, but a second taste told me they are pretty good!

>41 MrsLee: what an artiste!

I love, LOVE pickled beets, almost anything pickled. I've not tried eggs or pigs' feet though I'm told my grandfather loved both of those.

>42 fuzzi: *snort* If you saw my loaf of bread you might not say that! :D I will take a picture for my daughter in law to show her that even if you get it right a lot of the time, sometimes you don't. She needs encouragement.

Today, along with doctor visits, we will pick up some fresh oysters for frying and a lobster tail. Both for recipes in the family cookbook. I made the oysters last week, but forgot to take a photo!

I've never made lobster before. I am opting for a frozen tail as the recipe doesn't mention cooking a live one, and I don't need that learning curve right now. I'm supposed to open the tail in two halves, cut up the meat and sauté lightly, then mix with stuff, put in the shell and bake. Sorry for the vagaries, but I don't have the recipe at hand. Will report more when I actually make it.

I mentioned in the reading thread that I am reading Chinese Techniques by Ken Hom. So far it has cost me $45. I ordered some fermented black beans and two varieties of dried mushrooms; shitake and black mushrooms called something like cloud ears. I think a good investment, as all will keep indefinitely if stored correctly.

I am very tempted to order a wok spatula and ladle, but then my practical side kicks in and reminds me that I've been cooking for 40 years using my wooden paddles and other ladle.

>43 MrsLee: my cooking doesn't look pretty!

I made lobster, once, used a live one. No one told me to drop him headfirst into the boiling water...I dropped him in tail-first and he tried to get out. I felt so bad I never made lobster again.

Back in boarding school a friend and I caught crabs in the local streams. One of the other girls in the dorm was incensed that we intended dropping them into boiling water. One of the crabs got loose, and chose her bed to hide under. Suddenly she no longer wanted to fight for its life, but just wanted us to get it out of there.

The crabs tasted very good.

>45 fuzzi: & >46 MarthaJeanne: LOL, this is why I don't feel like getting a live lobster. I have no qualms about the morality of it, but the fuss and bother are not worth it to me. I do love to eat all shellfish though. I married the wrong man for that. He is not fond of any of it, but he isn't allergic.

>42 fuzzi: I forgot to mention, I've not had pickled pig's feet, but I do pickled eggs in a cheating sort of way. Whenever I have a jar of pickled or olive brine left, I toss in a few hard boiled, peeled eggs (just enough so the brine covers them) and leave then for 3 days. Then you can quarter them along sandwiches, use then to make sandwich filling or deviled eggs. They are something special! I only use the brine once for this, because it loses its flavor to the eggs. Oh, I use my pickled beets brine too, then you get pretty pink/fushia eggs. Pickle brine makes a pretty chartreuse egg.

>47 MrsLee: oh, those eggs sound good. If my chickens get prolific in their laying habits I might just try that.

>45 fuzzi: Back in the day when such things were affordable (50+ years ago!), student scuttlebut was that one should drop the lobster into a bucket of Lieberstein (local cheap white wine -- the best thing about it was the price!) and let it swim around a bit beforee transferring to boiling water. At least it would die happy.

>49 hfglen: that's funny, and it reminds me of a joke about a man who drowned in an open vat of beer. His coworkers kept pulling him out and he kept jumping back in...

I cooked the lobster tail last night. The recipe is very easy, but I managed to overcook at least the smaller bites of lobster. It calls for lobster to be removed from the shell, cut up, seasoned with salt, pepper and cayenne then braised quickly in butter, add sherry and French mustard and put back in the shell in an ovenproof pan. Pour a mixture of 2 egg yolks and whipping cream over it and broil until browned.

It was just ok. For $39 a pound (I bought a big tail, so it was $39), I would rather have it grilled and dipped in butter. The egg yolk ran down through the lobster, out of the shell and into the bottom of the pan, so it didn't moisten the meat, which I supposed was it's duty.

However, after I popped the lobster in the oven to broil, I threw some spinach in the pan that had butter, sherry and mustard in it and sautéed it. When the lobster came out, I served it beside the spinach, poured the sad lobster pan eggs over the spinach, and that was delicious! Will try to post a photo later.

Pork roast and broccoli tonight, nothing special, but delicious. Now I have the fixins for the pork gravy I use when I make Egg foo young, which I will be making to photograph for the family cookbook.

Here are some photos of the recipes I've tried recently for the cookbook.

Broiled Lobster with Spinach


Fried Oysters

The lobster photo is for the recipe itself, the oysters photo is for the Seafood Heading page, hence the skeleton. Skeletons on the heading pages will be my signature for this cookbook.

I accidentally discovered that I can cook the oysters a bit longer to make them a deeper gold, but as I live in fear of overcooked seafood, I usually don't. The gills get tough if you go much longer.

>53 MrsLee: yum yum. Nothing like fresh seafood, a few hours from the water.

>54 fuzzi: I wish I could get it that fresh, but the store I shop at, which is 30 miles away, but in the town where my medical treatments are, has very fresh seafood. I think they get daily delivery. I really want some Dungeness crab.

I made the Egg Foo Yung tonight. It took me 2 1/2 hours with all the veggie wash and prep, but I was moving pretty slow. I wanted to enjoy the process and work with my new cleaver. I love it! The feel, balance and weight are easier to use than my French chef knife. I never thought I would say something was better than that knife.

It's really amazing when that happens, isn't it? My current favourites were part of a supermarket deal, and I only bought one of the smaller knives when I had just more standard sized chef's knives than made sense. For most of my chopping I now use the smaller, lighter ones. Yes, I managed to get a second one before the offer ran out.

Egg Foo Yung photo for the Heading page of Eggs, Cheese and Dairy in the family cookbook. Every heading page has a skeleton with the food, some are more obvious than others. Since this new lunar year will be the year of the Dragon, I thought I would make that the theme. My book of Chinese Fairy Tales is in the background, but hard to see the dragon on the page.

I'm getting a break in the feeling crappy mode, which is wonderful!

I have to get up by 5:00 a.m. to take my thyroid supplement, then I usually go back to bed until 7:00 a.m. when I have to get up and take some Prednisone to help my with side effects of immunotherapy. Well, the past two mornings I have been wide awake and feeling decent (probably Prednisone effect), so I did small projects.

Yesterday I wanted to see if I could save some sad, failed sourdough bread I made (I think I overheated the dough somewhere in the process because it didn't rise and was very dense). I made a raspberry simple syrup, soaked the bread with that and whipping cream, then layered it with mixed berries. Covered and baked at 350° for about 1 1/2 hours, then uncovered and baked a bit longer. It is like a berry bread pudding! Best save ever.

This morning I had a beef brisket to cook. I made chili Colorado with it. Now I'm simmering the bones and some ham bones to make a broth to cook beans in. Working up to having all the ingredients for a Monster Nacho dinner sometime this week.

>58 MrsLee: yum yum.

I have a pie recipe to cook for the cookbook, but I don't want to. If I am going to do it, it needs to be today because this is a fine day and soon we will have a week of rain again. I don't want to eat pie right now because I am supposed to have a PET scan soon and I need to keep my sugar levels low. Besides, not in the mood for sweets. Husband doesn't like pie. But I need that photo for the pie heading page.

>60 MrsLee: Can you share it with neighbors? What about the local fire station or library?

>61 lesmel: It is possible. I decided to make grandma's Raisin Pie #2, which is a custard pie served cold with whipped cream, instead of a baked pie. Husband is more likely to eat that.

Grandma's recipe for "Never Fails" pie crust is made by pouring 1/2 c. Boiling water over 1 c. Lard and 1 t. Salt. Stir until it is clear, then stir in 3 c. Flour mixed with 1/2 t. Baking powder.

I have never made a pie crust like this the lard never got clear. It melted, but wasn't clear. It makes a rather wet dough which goes in the refrigerator. Says enough for 3 covered pies. We shall see. I know my pie crust recipe works, but you have to know the technique to make pie crust. I'm not dealing with the crust until 5 o'clock. Then I will roll and bake it.

Wow. I'm pretty impressed with that crust! I did a little online research to find a similar recipe with clear instructions and most actually boiled their lard before adding to the flour, they didn't just pour boiling water into it. They also said to work with the dough when it was warm as it would crack if it cooled. They said it was for meat pies. I beg to differ. When I went to get the dough, it was the easiest I had ever worked with. Rolled right out, no cracks, thin as I wanted it and didn't break when I put it in the dish. I did a braided edge for the crust with no problem. The taste? I loved it! Light, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I can see that the butter crust is a bit richer for desserts, but I like this one fine. I used the leftover bits to make little treats with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on them. Husband was very happy.

We haven't actually tasted the pie yet. I got it ready for the photo, but it was too late at night for me to eat, so I probably won't be eating a piece until tomorrow afternoon. Medical appointments in the morning.

The custard isn't my favorite. The recipe calls for a "heaping" Tablespoon of flour. That seems too much. Plus; I don't like raisins.

In the photo, the teapot, teacups and handkerchiefs belonged to my grandmother Nora, whose recipe this is. I'm not sure she would approve of the skeleton in the photo, but then again, she did let my cousin sing the "Worms Crawl in, the Worms Crawl Out" song at the breakfast table one time.

I tend to make my pie crusts with half butter and half lard. I like the taste, and cut into the flour, the lard gives a very flakey crust. I think the one with boiling gives a sturdier result.

>64 MarthaJeanne: That is the way I've always made them before. It can be tricky, especially if you haven't made one in awhile, to get the tender crust I love that isn't a real pain to work with. I expected the boiled lard recipe to be tough, or chewy, but it was flaky and lovely.

>65 MrsLee: One advantage of half butter half lard is that the lard is much easier to work in. I cut the butter into quite small cubes, and then rub the fat in with my fingers. The cold butter can be hard to rub. But I have cold fingers. Always have. I have tried other methods of combining the fat with the flour, but I gave up on owning a food processor decades ago. More hassle leaning than it was worth to me, and I was constantly having to replace plastic pieces that weren't up what I expected of them. My fingers work better than the various implements I've tried. I need to bale a pumpkin pie soon. 'Vegetable, milk, egg, flour. Nutrition!" It always feels like comfort food. (My other comfort food is rice with banana and yoghurt and a spoonful of hot lime pickle, but I have trouble convincing anybody else.)

>63 MrsLee: noted. I use my mom's pie crust recipe which is lard and flour and a tablespoon of milk. It tastes fine but I just can't roll it out with any competence. I have been buying the Aldi's brand of ready-made pie crust and it's quite good. And easy.

>63 MrsLee: Skelly looks excited to try that pie😁

>68 2wonderY: He kept trying to dip his fingers in it!

I finally was able to eat a slice today, and the problem I had with the custard disappeared overnight. When I tasted it yesterday, the flour had a grainy texture in it. I had pre-browned the flour, thinking it might add a bit of nutty flavor without nuts. Today the custard was smooth as silk. This is a very sweet pie. The raisins are poached before being added to the custard. My grandma Nora was a teetotaler, but I think they would have been good poached in a little brandy or rum. My husband disagrees. He likes it the way it is, but then he likes raisins.

Another possibility is tea. I quite like raisins and other fruit soaked in tea.

>70 MarthaJeanne: I could see that working! Especially a favorite herbal tea, like hibiscus or lavender. I think their delicate flavor would survive in the custard. Or Earl or Lady Grey.

Made my nachos tonight. I cut in half the amount I thought I wanted, and still couldn't eat it all, but the night is young!

Layers in the bowl:
1/2 c. Mashed pinto beans
1/2 c. chili Colorado
Dollops of Velveeta cheese with green roasted chilies in
Dollops of fire roasted tomato salsa (in a can, but whole ingredients)
Heat until hot. I did this on reheat in my air fryer.
Toppings:
Guacamole
Sour cream

Today's recipe trial was Beef Short ribs. The recipe was deceptively simple. I say deceptive because I didn't expect much of it. Brown the ribs, add salt, pepper, (I had to guess all amounts, only ingredients were listed), tomato sauce (I added about 1/3 c. of leftover tomato salsa from yesterday), 1 onion, 6 cloves garlic and water to cover. Simmer until ribs are almost done (1 1/2 hours), add 4-5 potatoes (I used red medium size), simmer another 30 minutes. Adjust for seasoning. It needed no adjustment, it was plain out delicious! This is why people are meat and potato people.

>73 MrsLee: That sounds really great!

I had extra sourdough starter and pumpkin that needed using, so I'm making Sourdough Pumpkin bread this morning. Correction. I made it last night, I'm baking it this morning. It is a recipe from the internet. A sweet bread, I suppose. I would like to try making an actual loaf of bread using the pumpkin instead of water and light spices. Might try that today or tomorrow. My pumpkin is from a fresh pumpkin which I baked, pureed, then froze. It is runnier than canned pumpkin.

You can always cook down the fresh pumpkin. It takes some time; but the interwebs swears by it.

I saw one cookie recipe that called for using paper towels to suck up extra liquid (from canned pumpkin).

If I were cooking it down I think I would spread it out on a cookie sheet and use a low oven.

>76 lesmel: & >77 MarthaJeanne: Yes, I usually do this before freezing. I didn't do it to the consistency of canned pumpkin though.

I made my loaf of pumpkin sourdough bread. Added whole wheat flour, some oatmeal, pecans, pumpkin seeds, flax and sesame seeds. I added water slowly as I mixed, and it seems to be a good dough. Won't bake it until tomorrow.

Exciting thunder and lightning storm right now. One cat is hiding in the chimney, the others are in secret places.

The pumpkin sourdough loaf is not a total flop, but I didn't bake it long enough. We will have to toast our slides in the frying pan to finish cooking them. It didn't poof a lot, very dense, but I'm pretty sure I let it rise long enough (when I pushed a finger in it the indent stayed). It is just a dense and moist loaf due to the pumpkin and all the other things in it. Kind of what I wanted, only I was hoping to get it baked all the way through!

I had some things to use up in the refrigerator and they added up to a dish of enchiladas. Chicken, spinach, cheddar cheese, sour cream, onions and sauce. I did this to use up the extra Colorado sauce, but since I put the onions and the leftover tomato salsa in it I still have as much as I was trying to use up.

Also baked some cod. I don't care for baked cod (texture) and I oversalted this. Will mash it and make a cream sauce and put it over toast or noodles.

Not my most glorious day of cooking. As my great-niece would say, I wasn't cooking with my heart.

Maybe try your cod over biscuits. I always forget how easy they are, and they feel more special than noodles or toast.

>80 MarthaJeanne: Biscuits would be good, but my husband is a big fan of noodles and doesn't get them as often as he thinks he should. I think I will try my seafood spaghetti recipe, but use the cod and maybe some shrimp to supplement. Something in me isn't in the mood for cream sauce right now. Seafood spaghetti is made with cream which has been reduced, and garlic, with Parmigiano cheese. I won't make it until tomorrow though. Too much food to eat at the moment.

Think I'm going to make some chimichangas with the beans I have leftover. Buttery, baked goodness, then what we don't eat we can freeze.

I seem to be late to the party again. I have just learned that it is best to keep berries in glass jars in the refrigerator. The information seems to disagree on whether to wash first or not. Last night I washed the strawberries and raspberries, but did not wash the blueberries and grapes. Since the whole point is to put them in the jar as dry as possible, it doesn't make sense to me to wash first.

I also found a sourdough discard recipe for granola that I want to try. I would like to be able to make my own granola that isn't too sweet, but doesn't break your teeth when you try to eat it. Being able to control the nuts and fruits seems like a good idea. I am dehydrating some strawberries right now to see if they will be a texture we like or if they come out like rubber.

>83 MrsLee: I look forward to the results.

I don't know about washing berries, but I have read that washing eggs is not recommended until just before using.

Fudge has been made! That is my last recipe needed for photos in the cookbook. Now it is a matter of lauout, proof reading, ans fixing contents and index with page numbers. Getting close! I hope I have some days of not feeling crappy after this infusion.

By the way, my husband is not a fish or seafood fan. Last night when I made the seafood spaghetti with the over-salted cod, he said it was the best fish dish he has ever tasted. Win!

>85 MrsLee: double yippee!

I went a little loco today. Perhaps it is the knowledge that tomorrow is my infusion and I might be out of commission or worse, for another month or so made me want to have a last hurrah.

After the doctor appointment we went to a meat & seafood market. I purchased Applewood bacon, a family pack of hamburger (5 lbs.), Mark wanted a pork roast and I wanted a crab! Then at Costco I bought some asparagus and cherries.

Arrived home about 5, put the roast in the oven, dumped the cherries on a towel to dry, washed the asparagus and prepared for roasting (freezing the ends I broke off for soup). I then portioned the hamburger into 1 lb. lumps and froze them. After that I worked on cleaning the crab. I like the body meat in a salad and the claw meat with butter and sourdough bread. Sadly, this crab was not the finest and the flavor was faint. I hope very much that I don't get sick. :P No bad flavor, just not much flavor.

Anyway, the roast and asparagus were delicious.

>87 MrsLee: ooh, asparagus. Yum.

We've been praying for you here, will continue.

>89 fuzzi: Thank you! Most appreciated. So far no ill effects from the crab. :)

Not cooking much but I did make spaghetti today. Feeling OK with reservations so far.

I have proof-read, finished the layout, and completed adding page numbers to the contents and index of the Family Recipes Cookbook I am making. 239 pages. Now I will send it to my daughter to proof-read.

I'm trying to find a photo for the cover. There are not that many photos of my grandmothers in their kitchens. My sister says she has the perfect one, but doesn't know where it is. Thanks, sis. My daughter suggested making a collage of photos of the women and the food they cooked (which I could do from the photos of the food I cooked for the book). I kind of like that idea, I'm just not sure how to do it. Maybe I'll send her the photos and let her do it. :) I would love to have this thing ready to publish before the end of the month.

This is the cover image I created on Canva for my cookbook. Hope I can get it to work on Lulu! The top photos are of grandmas, (two of mine, one of my husband's), the bottom is me, my sister, mom and niece. The food photos are some of the specialties of the ladies featured, especially the grandmas. Pumpkin stew is mine, salsa is my mom's.

Entirely right, proper and appropriate. Well done. You continue to amaze me as to how productive you are despite all the heavy stuff you're dealing with.

>93 haydninvienna: Thank you!

>92 MrsLee: that's a nice design!

>92 MrsLee: You found some lovely portraits!

>95 fuzzi: Thank you: )

>96 2wonderY: The black and white one is my grandma Nora in her new kitchen, about 1951. She got a whole new house that grandpa built for her, but she loved her kitchen. All the modern conveniences! As with most women, my sister and niece think that is a terrible photo of them, and I just love it, in spite of wishing it were a better photo of me! lol We all agree that we love mom in it. Aren't women silly? My grandmother Charlotte is at the top eating her ice cream, and Mark's grandma is leaning on her stove in the 1950s. We called her Nana and her heart and personality were as warm as her smile.

Oh dear. I'm afraid the infusion is affecting my appetite again. I can't even work up enthusiasm to cook some squash and cabbage. It must be done though.

I would like to try a recipe for Sourdough brownies, but not sure I will get the energy or will power.

I did cook the veg and brownies. I undercooked the brownies. I have them back in the oven to see if I can fix that. Underbaking things is getting to be a habit with me #*@%$.

>99 MrsLee: I would love to try Sourdough brownies.

>100 fuzzi: This is the recipe I used. If you meant you only wanted to taste mine, come on over!

https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-brownies-recipe/

Be warned though, that I was not the only one who had issues with the gooey texture. Others said they baked it up to an hour longer than the recipe called for. I used a glass pan. Another lady said she added 50 g. of flour and baked it 20 minutes longer.

Me? I'm looking hard at those Costco Kirkland brand brownies and remembering how easy they were to bake and how delicious they were. :D

>101 MrsLee: thanks!

If I ever get west of the Mississippi again I'd love to take you up on that invitation.

Dropping by to say hello!

>92 MrsLee: Very nice and full of memories.

>103 mdoris: Hello!

>104 mnleona: Thank you.

I'm in a cooking slump again. I did bake bread yesterday and it came out pretty good in spite of the fact that I forgot to slash it before putting it in the oven.

My cooking inspiration today was sort of a "That was darned good steak and I'm not allowing it to go to waste." and "I need to cook that sweet potato before it goes bad." So I made what was supposed to be hash. Only I didn't get the sweet potato to brown before it got too mushy. I added onion, garlic, sprig of rosemary, sage, salt, pepper and some chipotle chili powder. Put in the diced meat and threw in some leftover rice from last night for good measure. Also a bowl of chicken drippings that was in the back of the refrigerator. Smelled fine, no mold. *crosses fingers* What I ended up with was a tasty way to fill the fuel need, but nothing I would ever put in front of company.

Husband cooked a pot of spaghetti tonight using sauce I made awhile back. That's probably all the cooking that will be happening in this kitchen for awhile.

>105 MrsLee: Baking bread is an accomplishment. I bet it was good with the pasta.

Finished the cookbook and it's ready to print! I'm taking orders from family and plan to place the order by Monday. So far there are 22 ordered. They came out to $25 each with shipping and taxes. I thought that was pretty reasonable for 329 pages. Very excited, I can't wait to see it!

Wow, congratulations!

>107 MrsLee: That is wonderful. Lots of good memories for everyone.

Placed a second order of cookbooks, up to 40 ordered now! The fun thing is hearing from all the cousins who are spread far and wide. Also a few friends have ordered them. Hope they are not disappointed. I'm not sure they know what they are getting into!

>110 MrsLee: I can speak as one friend who is very happy reading a pdf of The Book. The pictures are excellently chosen, heartwarming of a family I've never met, and convey precisely what the food should look like. I now have the agonising decision: which recipe to try first. I'm reminded of the alleged last words of Cecil John Rhodes (possibly more famous here than in California!): "So much to do, so little time".

>111 hfglen: I'm glad you are enjoying it! Let me know if you have any questions regarding "same language with different meanings" issues. :) I will be interested to know what you choose to cook!

Not doing much creative cooking here. More survival fare. Smoothies in the morning, lots of veggies.

I made some artichoke tea yesterday. First time I've boiled artichokes, we usually steam them. Interesting. I liked how soft they were, easy to eat, but they lost a lot of flavor. Also roasted a leg of lamb. I see curry in my future.

Today I'm making a big pot of "Save the Vegetables" soup. Broth made with the frozen bits of things I keep in the freezer, some ham fat and a turkey neck with skins of onions and other vegetable trimmings. I will strain that when it's done and add baby lima beans, cabbage, carrots, one sad turnip, celery, onion, garlic, ginger and some leftover rice if it passes the smell test. Also a chili and some garden herbs.

>113 MrsLee: that's kind of like "Hobo Stew", which we had in Girl Scouts. Each of us would bring in a can of something, and dump it all in a big soup pot. I don't recall how it tasted.

>114 fuzzi: I think mine is going to be a comfortable soup verging on stew. The rice made the cut, but the turnip didn't. It had gone very pithy on the inside. I won't be cooking or doing much else the next few days, but we won't be suffering. Constantly grateful for the abundance and variety of foods available to us.

Re your family cookbook project, you might find this interesting:

Where do you find all of these older volumes?

I’m not a big drinker or a big drug user. The greatest high I get in my life is going to library sales and church sales and other book sales in the tristate area. I go picking, and I am wild. When I started out 10 or 12 years ago, it would be me and my dad. My nonna would come because we didn’t have anyone to watch her.

There’s a whole world of people finding and scanning books. There are people that have been doing this for 30, 40, 50 years. It’s a very interesting subculture.

From here.

>116 haydninvienna: Nice article. At first, I thought the bold sentence in your post was referring to the volumes mentioned in old cookbooks, like, a teacup of flour, or an egg sized lump of butter or even more obscure mentions like a glug. Lol

Thank goodness for the internet which often helps in researching those terms.

I often add a glug of oil of wine or other liquid to a dish when it needs it. Hmm! Safari spell check does not like glug. It does not like a lot of words I use.

I love language and use of words like glug. . Google/Safari can take a hike!

>117 MrsLee: >118 MarthaJeanne: Some of the TV chefs (notably Jamie Oliver) have almost made a technical term of "glug" and "lug".

Much as it hurts to say so, the only decent spell checker is the one in Microsoft Word. The Apple ecosystem has a system-wide spell checker, but it's kind of a pain. The spell checkers in other Microsoft applications such as Teams aren't that great either.

If I could turn this one off, I would. I hate it, and haven't updated my iPad since they did this to me.

>118 MarthaJeanne: & >120 haydninvienna: My brother and I were looking at one of my dad's recipes for pork marinade yesterday. He wrote things like; "oregano, plenty" and "beer, enough." Brother asked what my idea of plenty was. I said, "enough." You just know it when you see it.

>119 mdoris: Agree!

>119 mdoris: onomatopoeias!

Because my liver and kidneys are being particularly stressed by the cancer treatment I'm receiving, I'm working on feeding them lots of good things. A salad I made yesterday had cabbage, zucchini, carrots, pickled beets, onions, garlic, ginger, cilantro and mint. Then I put in some cumin, fennel and Nigella seeds. A simple glug of oil and a smaller glug of vinegar, some salt, pepper and sugar. Delicious and great for the intestinal bacteria. :)

A smoothie each morning with a vegetable, a fruit or two, oatmeal, flax or chia seeds, almonds and a little plain yogurt along with aromatics like orange peel or ginger. Turmeric spice blend and sometimes cocoa powder. I'm always mixing things up.

I made a loaf of sourdough buckwheat bread today. Successful. For dinner I had a little leftover roasted chicken breast meat. Fried it in avocado oil, added chunks of gouda and cheddar cheese, then poured eggs blended with curry powder and sherry. Garnished with kim chi. Wasn't sure how that would turn out, but husband and I loved it.

I've been drinking hibiscus tea and artichoke tea in the afternoon/evening. No caffeine after noon because between that and my medication I won't sleep.

>123 fuzzi: Had to look up the definition! Too true! Actually I would know the word if I heard it but have never seen it spelled before so that confused me!

Birthday party tonight for my son and his wife, their birthdays are 5 days apart.

I have a frozen (well, it was frozen) spiral sliced ham we received as a gift at Christmas. Will make Marion Grasby's mango glaze for it.

Macaroni and cheese casserole my sister made in January and froze.

Cole slaw which involves a lot of chopping, and will be dressed with a Ranch style dressing for my kids (I prefer traditional creamy dressing with mustard, but it isn't my party).

Brussel sprouts, roasted

I am making mashed sweet potatoes with butter, cream and some truffle honey. Never done it this way before, I usually just roast them and if I'm feeling fancy, fry them in butter.

A chocolate espresso cake made with sourdough starter to add a bit of tang, and frosted with espresso frosting. Only I don't have instant espresso powder, so I'm going to use instant coffee powder and powder it somewhat. Served with chocolate or vanilla ice cream.

Last night I made a version of Marion Grasby's Vietnamese three flavors salmon. I say version of because I used some of my red curry paste from the freezer instead of making her sauce. The salmon is fried in a very hot pan, skin side down and pressed with a weight, to crisp the skin. Either my heat was not hot enough, or I didn't let it go long enough, but I didn't get a lot of crisp skin. I did however, get lovely salmon. Served it with a rice dish I made from the leftover rice I used to keep my bread from burning. That is an experiment I won't repeat; the bread part I mean. Anyway, the quite browned rice was cooked in chicken broth with some Asian inspired aromatics; onion, garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom. Mixed in some chopped fresh herbs just before serving; cilantro, mint & thyme. Very tasty.

Also cooked some frozen veg, and served a platter of sliced cucumber and avocado sprinkled with salt, pepper, lemon juice and cilantro. Very green, delicious.

>124 MrsLee: do you like pickled foods? I do, and I read a suggestion to put hard-boiled eggs in leftover pickle juice. I've tried it with dill-spears juice and after a couple weeks in the refrigerator the eggs taste like deviled eggs, yummy. Be sure to peel the eggs, and don't use any with cracks/openings to the yolk as it makes the brine messy.

I put a couple eggs in pickled beet juice, need to see how they turned out...

>125 mdoris: it's a lovely word, isn't it?

>127 fuzzi: I pickle my own eggs ever since the deli price reached $1 each.

>129 2wonderY: are you doing them proper (water bath, canning jars) or the quick method I've described here?

The hens are giving me 4-6 eggs per day, so I'm enjoying different ways to ingest them!

>130 fuzzi: Just as you describe.

>127 fuzzi: Yes, see >47 MrsLee: :)

Yesterday I made a batch of sourdough chocolate chip cookies. They sit in the fridge overnight and are baked the next day. I plan to bake a few, then freeze the rest so we don't have to eat our way through a mountain of cookies, and we can have fresh baked cookies when we want.

>132 MrsLee: bwahaha! I didn't recall you mentioning it. Duh.

Today's cooking aspirations are sourdough bread, a vegetable pasta dish with zucchini, mushrooms, kale, onions and garlic, and a pot of baked beans. I sent my husband to the store for more vegetables, so the menu may change depending on what he brings home.

>134 MrsLee: Sounds wonderful, all of it, especially the kale part. I notice that whenever I eat a serving of cooked leafy greens (from fresh, not frozen greens), I always get a great night's sleep! Speaking of bread, I baked a loaf of herb bread today, which did not really taste of herbs at all. Can anyone recommend a decent herb bread recipe?

Pasta didn't happen yesterday, but I will work on it this morning. Husband brought asparagus home from the store so that will go into the mix.

Having thought about it during the night when I was trying to get back to sleep after being rudely awakened by cats, this is the process I will use:
Brown the onions in oil and butter and pour over cooked pasta, toss in.
Barely sauté the mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus and kale seasoned with salt and pepper, each separately, make little mounds on the pasta.
Heat some oil, brown a few panko crumbs, then add garlic, red chili flakes and parsley, toss just until garlic is softened. Pour over the pasta dish and toss all together with some Parmesan cheese. I may add pesto if this is too tame, but I can't remember if I have some in the refrigerator or not.

Since I have a lot more veg than will properly fit in the pasta, we will have a nice bowl of them to make salads or just enjoy.

Husband informed me that we have some milk that is expired (still tastes ok), so I will have to make something with it today. I might surprise him with a banana custard pie.

Update on herb bread recipes --- > see the 75th anniversary edition of Joy Of Cooking ... which has four different variations of fresh herbs, dried, or seeds for herb bread. It also features a revised recipe of their longtime JOY favorite, Dill Batter Loaf.

>137 MaureenRoy: I'm glad you found that. Although I do bake sourdough loaves, I've not ventured much into mixing anything in them except some other forms of grains and seeds. I made a loaf once with garlic and cheese which was nice. I precooked the garlic just until soft. I would imagine that dried herbs would work best in bread?

Pasta has been made and consumed. Delicious. I did not put the kale in it after all. No need.

Banana custard pie has been delayed until tomorrow. We had to pick our grandson up at daycare because his mom was stuck in an appointment. This was not a hardship for us, but a privilege. :D Now that I'm thinking about the pie, I might make a chocolate sauce for the top, with some roasted peanuts.

More milk on the edge than I thought! The custard recipe I'm using from my Family Cookbook called for a pint (4 cups), in the cookbook one only makes the custard to make ice cream, which called for 3 cups, that left me with 2 more cups of milk, so I made hot cereal. However, we discovered in the process of serving the cereal that our whipping cream was even sketchier than our milk. Also not much of it; so we used it on the cereal, but then didn't have any to make ice cream. So I made a dinner roll recipe from the book which called for exactly 3 c. milk.

The recipe didn't specify how much flour, just enough to make a stiff dough. So I played with the ingredients a little. About 6 cups bread flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour, some sourdough starter and instant yeast instead of a yeast cake. It's still rising. I plan to bake one pan today and freeze the others to have for Easter weekend.

Also baking a loaf of sourdough which I started yesterday before I knew about the rolls.

The pie is still unknown, custard is cooling, I will be making a graham cracker crust, husband said no to chocolate and peanuts.

>140 MrsLee: I used to love chocolate and peanuts with ice cream. Dairy Queen sold buster bars that were like a little parfait on a stick.

>141 fuzzi: Chocolate and peanut butter anything is my favorite.

Custard is still runny. Not a pie. I don't know whether I undercooked it or if it is supposed to be that way, since it is made to go in ice cream.

So change of plan. I will bake a yellow cake today and make a sort of trifle with cake, banana custard, graham cracker crust crumbles, chocolate sauce and peanuts! We will be having the grandson this morning, so maybe he will help bake the cake.

>142 MrsLee: that sounds wonderful.

>143 fuzzi: It was! So much fun having the grandson help with the cake. I had measured the ingredients like flour and sugar out, having learned from experience that he will stick his hand into any canister for a taste. I showed him how to crack an egg: when he did his it plopped out on the counter, so I scooted it into the bowl. He took over the mixer right away, turned it to speed 4 for mixing in the flour, so we had a nice dusting of flour in the kitchen. Fun day.

Tonight I'm making carnitas to freeze for the taco dinner we are having on Easter. In the process I found a typo in my cookbook. *flowing tears* This should not surprise me, almost every hand written recipe of mine has a misspelling, nonetheless, I am sad.

>145 MrsLee: Perfection is not for us mortals. Which heritage makes it a practice to weave a mistake into their rugs? The Navajo?

>146 2wonderY: Several different ones from around the world. "Only Allah is perfect." I've never had to make a deliberate mistake in any of my weavings, though.

>145 MrsLee: I'm sure jillmwo will back me up when I say that ALL books contain at least one typo. You are not alone, and your book is blessedly (almost) error-free. Well done!

>146 2wonderY: & >147 MarthaJeanne: Thank you for the reassurance. It is like the first scratch on your new car. Initially painful, then we acquiesce to the inevitable.

>148 hfglen: Thank you, for the record, I found an error of omission this morning in my carnitas recipe. I followed it last night (to make sure everything works), and the meat instructions are fine. Delicious. However, in the list of accompaniments at the end, I forgot finely shredded cabbage! :/

>144 MrsLee: I would love to bake with my granddaughters.

We're tentatively planning to meet our daughter and her family halfway between our homes this summer. I reserved a cabin in Kentucky for a few days. I'm thinking maybe we can cook breakfast together one morning.

>150 fuzzi: I hope you can! Something they can get their hands into is usually best. :)

Busy family weekend. My youngest son,and his wife and 6 month old son, arrived on Friday afternoon. Sadly I am not feeling well because of some side effects of treatment.

Friday we pulled some beef stroganoff out of the freezer, served it over noodles with a green salad.

Yesterday my daughters-in-law prepared a lovely dinner with a chicken and pasta salad, baby carrots cooked in butter and brown sugar with a little chevre sprinkled over, and my contribution of a fiesta salad (peas, corn, jicama, colorful bell peppers and such). My 2 year old grandson got to hunt eggs twice. Once in the sprinkle of rain in our front yard rock garden, and again after dark with glowing eggs in the backyard.

Everyone is coming over again today for the meal of carnita tacos, also my daughter is coming for the day. Never a dull moment.

>138 MrsLee: --- you may be right on the superiority of dried herbs over fresh in herb bread, at least in the case of dill. I used a generous amount of fresh dill in JOY's dill batter loaf recipe, with extremely underwhelming results. My next move will be to use the freshest possible dill (AKA farmers' market fresh dill, stuff that was literally just harvested days ago). And if that does not yield decent results, I will move on to a few other herb loaf recipes. One such recipe does call for a combination of fresh and dried dill, how about that.

Also I just bought two more containers of organic saffron from my local Bristol Farms grocery store to try out a bread recipe for saffron challah, or that's what the recipe calls it. Time will tell.

>151 MrsLee: that's the plan, at least. I'm thinking that grandma and Ruthie may be scrambling eggs one morning...

I pulled a bucket full of wild onions this morning. The plan is to dehydrate a lot of them for a salt blend I want to make (onions, seaweed, rosemary, pepper and salt). Also want to try making tempura of the stems and flowers, and fermented baby onions of the bulbs. May try a mayonnaise of the bulbs if I have a lot, and fermenting some of the stems and leaves. Any left will get chopped and frozen.
Of course I might do none of that. We are picking up my grandson from daycare today so grandma won't have much energy left. I have them all in water, so hopefully they will be fine until tomorrow.

Oh, I also picked some redbud blossoms to make tea with, and some leaves for salad. I learned last night they are in the legume family and edible! Apparently lilac blossoms are also edible, so if I get enough of them blooming, I will dehydrate them to add to my herbal tea blend. Going to use the onion flowers for tea as well. I saw a recipe for onion, honey and alcohol elixir for cold prevention, but I'm not much into that.

Today I spent three and a half hours processing wild onions. The videos that make it look easy leave out the excessive cleaning that is necessary. These are as bad as/worse than leeks. Dirt works its way into all the layers.

First I cut off twelve blooming stems for the tempura, and all the blossoms for tea. Will be frying shrimp and some regular onions tonight along with the wild blossoms. I made tea last night of some onion blossoms and redbud (mixed them because the redbud doesn't have much flavor and I didn't have enough picked to make a special tea of them). I love the flavor. Somewhere between artichoke, asparagus and onion. Mellow and warm. Dehydrating the extra blossoms for tea.

Second I cut off the bulbs, cleaning as I went and trimming off the roots. Also trimmed up the stems and leaves. The bulbs I put in a pint jar, filled with brine, added a little sauerkraut brine to kickstart it, and a little raw vinegar, a cabbage leaf on top to keep the bulbs under the brine, then topped with a fermenting lid.

Third was the white part of the stems. Cut and washed, opening up as needed to get the dirt out. These stems are very small. I used them to make an onion aeoli for dipping the tempura in. It made about 2 pints, so may use it to dress a coleslaw in a day or two as well.

Forth, the green part of the stems. Sliced enough to cover a large baking tray (rinsing after slicing, more dirt) to dehydrate for a salt blend which will have onions, rosemary, a small amount of black pepper, seaweed and salt.

Fifth and last, the last 3-4 inches of the greens (1/4 lb.) Rinsed, chopped, kneeded with a 1/8 t. sea salt until a brine is formed. Put into 1/2 pint jar, added a t. sauerkraut brine and topped with plastic bag, egg shaped glass and water in it for weight. Ferment 5-7 days. Supposed to be yummy on anything you would use chives on.

This is why people who have a life buy stuff at the store.

The tempura onion blossoms were delicious, especially dipped in the aeoli. I also did some shrimp. I prefer going to a restaurant for deep fry though.

That was so filling we couldn't eat all the shrimp I thawed. Instead of dipping and frying them (doesn't keep well), I saved the rest to make shrimp patties tonight. They came out almost as tasty as fried oysters, but without the squish. I used finely chopped celery, green onions and parsley, some bread crumbs, my onion salt, pepper, an egg, a little flour, the shrimp. Mixed that and let it sit while I got the pan and butter hot, then mixed in just enough carbonated water to make the patty stick together. Fried on med. + until golden on each side.

Earlier in the day I made asparagus stem soup. Used this and that, Asian type seasonings, onion, celery, garlic and 1 Thai chili. Cooked just until vegetables were tender then ran in the Vitamix to puree. Added parsley, green onion, a bit of onion salt, a bit of sugar, vinegar and soy sauce. It was just what the doctor ordered. My husband and I are showing symptoms of a cold, but I'm hoping is allergies. This hot/sour soup was perfect. Amazing what one little Thai chili can do! It was about 10 cups of soup.

I'm glad I have the European wild garlic. I just pick however many leaves as I want (until they flower), put them through the salad spinner, chop them up and use them.

Last week I sautéed a shallot with few leaves of spinach, sorrel and wild garlic in clarified butter, and added the whole lot to some fresh cheese for a spread. It was delicious. I should do it again while I can.

Most restaurants here have Bärlauchsuppe this time of year, and one near us has a lovely Bärlauch risotto.

But I haven't been convinced by attempts to lengthen the season. I suppose I could freeze some, as I really have a lot under the apple tree this year. I think chop it, give it a quick sauté, and freeze spread out so it can be portioned easily from frozen.

>158 MarthaJeanne: I wonder if your wild garlic is the same as what we call wild onion? I read that the names can be interchangeable. This has a very mild, almost sweet flavor. I would liken the flavor more to leeks than onion.

If I can find the energy, I am going to dig a few more out of a flower bed and chop and freeze them. Not bother to cook first. Might do another ferment of the leaves also.

My daughter brought me some Thai chilies and a large fresh galangal root. Ingredients I rarely find fresh here. I used some in my soup yesterday (the root), then chopped the rest. Froze some, dehydrated some. I knew galangal was a tough root, but wow. To chop it I had to use my cleaver with a mallet.

Bärlauch (Allium ursinum) is definitely garlic flavoured. Allium is a big family. This particular species grows wild in Europe and Asia.

Bärlauch (Allium ursinum) is definitely garlic flavoured. Allium is a big family. This particular species grows wild in Europe and Asia. Known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic...

>160 MarthaJeanne: Ah, yes. That would be closer to what we call ramps in the states. I don't have them in California. I once spent a pretty large penny to buy some from the east when they were in season. We loved them, but not enough to sacrifice more pennies. Like truffles, they were a one time indulgence.

Not feeling great, but one must eat, and if possible I always feel better eating healthy rather than take out or prepared food.

We have steaks drying in the fridge but husband isn't feeling like grilling tonight so they will be done tomorrow.

I wanted a choppy salad, so chopped up cabbage, cauliflower, celery, carrots, onions, ginger, garlic and cilantro. Used my onion aeoli for the dressing like a coleslaw. It is in the fridge waiting for the ingredients to "get familiar."

Had a little remnant of alphabet pasta we had bought to amuse the grandson. The pasta seems to be more amusing than edible. It dissolves if you cook it the slightest too long, but is hard and chewy otherwise. Thought I would try a Mexican tomato soup with it which calls for the pasta to be fried until brown, then simmered until soft. Not impressed. Pasta is somehow dissolving, but still too chewy. Oh well. The soup is for husband since I don't eat tomatoes.

How strange, I have used alphabet pasta before when my kids were small and it wasn't exciting but it acted like regular pasta. Did you recognize the brand or manufacturer?
Your salad sounds delightful and I hope you enjoyed it. I cannot swallow raw vegetables right now and I find I am missing them. Still, there is always steaming, pickling and soups.

>164 catseyegreen: It was a pasta sold in the Mexican section of our grocery. Not a known brand to me, but the only brand that I've ever seen alphabet pasta. My husband cooked more noodles and made the soup into spaghetti. A good save because the soup was very thick. I had used my hand blender to puree it.

Sounds like soup and a hand blender would be a good thing for you at the moment.

I have a small jar of alphabet pasta; but it is decades old. We used it for a wizardry lab display at the library once at a Harry Potter celebration. It was an ingredient for a do it yourself spell.

>166 2wonderY: IMO that is the best use for it! Or perhaps other crafts as well. My husband says his spaghetti is the closest to Chef Boyardee he's had in years. lol

We have temperatures in the 80s today, so there will be surf and turf for dinner tonight. Grilled steak, and I will deep fry some shrimp Chinese style from my cookbook Chinese Technique.

I took out my frustration of ineffectiveness by cooking today. Plan to send a loving hands at home goodie box to my niece. She can tell my brother about it since he can't eat. I call it motivation for him.

I've been wanting to try some of the recipes online I'm seeing for sourdough discard use. It seems a bit of a fad to put sourdough in everything now, most of the recipes would be great without it too. However, the crackers and the pizza dough are exponentially easier than making a regular dough. I love the crackers. The pizza needs refinement. It was delicious, and crispy good on the bottom, but inside just chewy, not bread-like. Next time I will try flipping it after the prebake and then add toppings to the "bottom." The pop tarts are yummy but in my opinion would be just as yummy with regular pastry dough.

Made Parmesan-onion salt crackers, spiced pecans, Apricot Pop Tarts, Crisp Coconut Cookies topped with chocolate. For our lunch I made pizza. I think it was the massive Prednisone dose I am on that funded the energy, because I am done in now.

The coconut cookies are from the recipe book I made. I used unsweetened coconut and although I like them because I don't love extreme sweet things, they probably would be better with sweetened. I wonder also if it affected the dough. Recipe said to mix until it was a firm dough, but the dough was powdery. I added pineapple tepache by the tablespoon full until the dough held together. They didn't spread out, which surprised me. Sort of like a shortbread Mexican cookie. I flattened the next batch before baking and that was better. Then I dipped them in chocolate on the theory that anything is better dipped in chocolate. Maybe. Problem is, my cold is messing with my taste buds so I'm not exactly sure what they taste like. Husband says good.

I was cleaning and straightening my baking cupboard this morning because I saw a moth that looked suspiciously like a weevil moth. Sometimes when I empty a box or bag of product into my Tupperware it doesn't quite fit so I keep the overflow tucked on the top shelf to be used first. Then I forget about it. Anyway, there was some brown sugar and powdered sugar, both sealed in a ziplock freezer bag. They fit in the containers now so that took care of them. Then there was a little cornmeal in the box. I don't use cornmeal as often as other flours, so I suspected that. Sifted it carefully, found no weevil indication, so measured it and it was 2 cups minus a tablespoon or 2. Enough for 2 cornbread recipes. I also had some buttermilk to use up, which amazingly was exactly the amount I needed for the doubled recipe. I can take a hint, so I made the cornbread, have lots to freeze for future snacks, and my cupboard is tidy and mostly weevil proof.

There is still some rice in a bag, so I will go through that and rinse it then use it to make a casserole with vegetables and some leftover porkchops we froze at Christmas time.

Couldn't sleep past 3:30 this morning so I got up and made the rice and veggie casserole. It is somewhat bland, but my taster isn't working quite right yet so I told husband to season it according to his taste. He thinks it is fine.

Tonight's dinner was deep-fry fish, coleslaw and cornbread. I have used my oil 3 times and now I can throw it out and never deep-fry again until I forget why I don't. I do this about every 5 years or so. Watch some shows or read some cookbooks that make it look simple; then try it, get very frustrated and swear I'm never going to do it again.

My daughter told me about a method of cleaning the oil after frying so it can be used again without burnt residue. I've either let it sit, then carefully poured out the good, or used cheesecloth. The new method is gelatin. You mix some up, stir it vigorously into the cooled oil, let it sit and refrigerate overnight, then pour off the oil. The gelatin stays solid in the bottom of the bowl with the crud. In theory, easier and cleaner. I am not convinced. The oil (peanut oil) became thick and hard to pour. There was still a dirty bowl and gelatin goo to get rid of. Then, when I heated the oil tonight, it didn't just sizzle, it exploded! I was prepared with a lid because I had been warned of the sizzle pops, but it could have been a disaster. Eventually that stopped and I got my fish fried, but we are not amused.

I did a splurge today for myself. I have a 2.5 qt. enamel cast iron casserole dish which was my grandmother's, and I love it. Can't remember the brand, but maybe something Dutch. The orange blending to red color. It has chips, the bottom rusts, and it is quite worn, but is great for custards, puddings, sauce and such. Today I bought a new 5 qt. Cuisinart enameled Dutch oven. I have a cast iron one, but when I make a casserole like I made earlier, I don't like to use the cast iron. It's perfect for most stews, but delicate flavors can take on the flavor of the pot. Anyway, I didn't go for the Le Creuset brand because wow. The money. This was about a third of the cost, and had lots of great reviews so since I am likely two thirds done with my life, or more, I thought it would hold up for the time I need it. It is a beautiful blue which will be lovely on my yellow shelves which have some Italian serving dishes in blues and yellow. Sometimes a splurge is nice.

I intend to make a lilac simple syrup today. Trying to get creative with flavors to use in mocktails since it doesn't look like my liver will be able to tolerate alcohol for a long time. It isn't the alcohol itself that I miss. I actually don't care for the physical effects of alcohol. It is the flavor and creativity, the beauty of the cocktails in the glasses. I don't care for sweet drinks, and without the sweet or the alcohol you aren't left with much. So I reach for flavors. The simple syrup will be sweet, but I will add a bit of citric acid and perhaps some bitters to counteract the sweet. A bit of flavored vinegar can also help.

Recipe I'm using:
1 c. Sugar
1 c. Water
1 c. Lilac blossoms
5-8 blueberries for color
1 t. Citric acid granules
Simmer sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add blossoms and blueberries, simmer 10 minutes. Add Citric acid and stir, strain into bottle. Store in refrigerator.

Other goals:
Use up some steak by making beef pot pies, boil a chicken and make some chicken pot pies. These will be frozen for future times. Won't put them together until tomorrow.

Roast second chicken, remove meat and make a rich broth from bones of both chickens.

Problem with all these plans is that my grandson woke up this morning telling his mother that he is coming to our house today. This is a request which cannot be denied. The other issue is that my legs are wobbly today. No strength. I hope a bit of rest will fix that.

>171 MrsLee: Your new Dutch oven sounds delightful, I love the idea of your yellow shelves and blue pot.
I have a vintage green Dutch oven I inherited from my MIL, unfortunately it is aluminum so I cannot fix tomato dishes in it. I have not purchased anything for my kitchen for a very long time, maybe I will go and look at the Cuisinart line.

>173 catseyegreen: I hope you find something to bring you joy in your kitchen. We need that now and then.

Sometimes I think my kitchen is one big If you Give a Mouse a Cookie story. I was working on the 2 chickens* today, turned around and saw that Bob, my sourdough starter, was gently flowing over the sides of his jar into his bowl. Hadn't planned on mixing any bread products today, but due to his exuberance I decided to make what in California we call "Dutch Crust"** sandwich rolls. They won't be ready to bake until tomorrow, but the dough is made. Only have to finish the stretch and pull and the bulk ferment, then pop it in the fridge overnight.

* I roasted one chicken as described in above post >172 MrsLee:, the other I simmered according to the instructions in my Chinese Techniques of Cooking by Ken Hom. Best. Boiled. Chicken. Ever. The flavor, texture and moisture of the meat is much better than the roasted chicken and better than any boiled chicken I have made. This will be my technique when I need cooked chicken in future.

**People make a big deal about "Dutch Crust" bread originating in California. But I found that it is only the name, not the product the came from here. Apparently it is called Tiger or Giraffe bread in England and other countries. I shall now call it tiger bread. It is delicious and I hope the recipe works because it would be lovely to create this at home. I am using the one from
lemonsandanchovies.com

Tiger bread in Tesco (UK): https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/256334800
And in Woolworths (Australia): https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/279665/woolworths-bread-loaf-c....

>175 haydninvienna: That is the one! Here our upper end grocery store sells it in their bakery in a paper wrapper. They don't slice it. When it is still warm, I could eat a whole loaf. But of course I don't. When the kids lived at home we did! I'm thinking a sandwich roll size will be a good compromise, but it will probably never see a sandwich filling, unless it is a little (or lot of) butter.

Hello Mrs. Lee! Isn't butter the best!

>177 mdoris: I'm a fan!

I made the Tiger rolls and they came out perfect! Woo hoo! The first one was eaten with butter, but for dinner I'm going to have a fish sandwich using a roll, the onion aeoli I made the other day, and some pickle. A green salad on the side.

Working on chicken and beef pot pies today. Thinking I can freeze them for future hard times, although I am running out of freezer space!

The inspiration was leftover steak. Grilled steak isn't sitting as well as it used to for my husband and I, and even though we didn't grill much, it is more than we want. So, I'm making beef pot pies. I checked a recipe in Nanny Ogg's Cookbook to make sure I was on the right track, but of course I'm not exactly following it. Ingredients: All chopped to small cubes; beef, onion, garlic, celery, mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, fresh ginger, oregano, sage, red chili, allspice, nutmeg, clove, black pepper, salt, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, broth, pineapple tepache (because I don't have beer), flour, butter. In a pie crust to fit muffin pans.

Southwest Chicken pot pies: chicken, onion, garlic, celery, mushrooms, corn, carrots and sweet potatoes (because I had extra), roasted green chilies, oregano, cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper, gravy made with broth, flour and water. Pie crust.

This may end up being a two day project. The fillings will be made today, but if my energy goes too low I will put them together and bake tomorrow.

Also want to get a cranberry shrub started. Will report back if I do.

>174 MrsLee: I am checking out the website, it looks like fun. I call my sourdough Jaime (J pronounced as an H the way it is in the Hispanic community here). He hasn't been exercised lately, I need to pull him out and at least refresh him. I am out of freezer space right now, maybe I just need to give a loaf of bread to everyone who gives me a ride or provides some other service.

>179 MrsLee: Yes, I would be interested in learning more about your shrub. I seem to be increasingly limited in the solids I can swallow, I have been researching lots of health drinks and tonics.

>171 MrsLee: America's Test Kitchen recommends the cornstarch method for cleaning your oil. I don't deep fry because it seems wasteful; but I'd be willing to try the cornstarch method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgADlZClDAE

>180 catseyegreen: I'm sure they would like that! If you have the energy to make more, that is. For about 6 months it was almost more than I could manage to bake a loaf of bread, and I don't knead it! Right now I'm on a Prednisone energy kick and can't sit still very long. That's why the massive kitchen explosion of activity. :D

>181 catseyegreen: I will be reporting back here. In the meantime, someone told me today about oxymel beverages. I know nothing except the little I read online. They sound similar to a shrub but a longer fermenting time and no vinegar. Interesting stuff. Would you be interested if I posted some of my yummier smoothie concoctions? I make the as a protein and vitamin supplement because I hate eating in the early mornings but need to for the medicine I'm on. So far I have 2 favorites. Cinnamon Toast Crunch (only there is no Crunch because it's a smoothie) and Reeses Candy Bar. A chocolate and peanut butter inspiration.

>182 lesmel: I think I will stick with the "I don't deep fry because it seems wastful" advice. lol

Way back, when it was just the two of us, I had a 'Fry Baby', which was a tiny deep fryer. It only took about a cup of oil, and made enough for us to eat right out of the machine as I cooked it. I didn't use it that often, but for special treats it didn't seem that wasteful. Once we had kids old enough to want some too, it wasn't useful any more.

Once we were back down to two I looked for something similar, but even the smallest fryers I could find needed quite large amounts of oil, so I gave up on the idea.

One of the engines of the little train in the Prater has been altered to take old oil from the many restaurants. I'm not sure it still does, but it was fun to see it go by smelling of French fries. Without that way of disposing of the used oil it does seem wasteful.

>184 MarthaJeanne: Back in the 1980s my dad built a still, or some such thing to convert cooking oil into fuel for his tractor. I don't think he ran more than a couple of successful batches. He went to local restaurants for the oil, then they wanted to start charging him for it.

Made another sourdough discard pizza today. It was better, not perfect. I activated the discard by adding flour and water, hoping for better bread consistency in the dough, but perhaps it didn't sit long enough. I will try again next week because there is potential here, but at this point I'm thinking it might be easier to make a traditional dough.

>156 MrsLee: "This is why people who have a life buy stuff at the store."

Ha! No kidding.

Enjoying all the cooking posts.

>182 lesmel: I have never seen that method. I will try it. Thanks.

Mrs Lee- I always like reading your messages. You are very creative.

>183 MrsLee: I am also drinking a smoothie every morning because I am not a breakfast person either. I just found out that I lost another 8 lbs over the last two weeks, so I need all the nutrition I can get. DH is also a cancer survivor and I try to keep an eye on his nutritional status as well.
As far as the bread baking, I really enjoy it, bread is one of my favorite things to make. I am in this weird limbo, knowing I am very sick but stuck trying to get through all the Doctor's preliminaries. I literally have had a doctor visit or procedure every day, sometimes two for the last 2 weeks. I feel exhausted and I have yet to actually reach the treatment phase! Having a big lump pf bread dough to manipulate can be therapeutic.

>190 catseyegreen: I think the delays in treatment were what surprised and disturbed me the most at the beginning of my journey. I know there is this horrible thing happening inside me, do you mean the world doesn't stop and tend to it right now?! Get it out! Now my delays are caused by my own body fighting against me making further treatment impossible at this time. Each day is a philosophical journey, as well as physical.

>183 MrsLee: Me! Me! I want to know more about your smoothies!

>192 lesmel: OK! :) Disclaimer, I have a Vitamix which turns almost anything I put into it to a very smooth liquid in one minute at the setting of 7. I count five at each setting as I turn it up, run one minute, and count five at each setting as I turn it down.

I add 4 ice cubes to my smoothie before blending because it keeps it from being lukewarm.

I buy green bananas (I read that they are best for the gut biome), peel, cut in half and freeze.

My goal in writing these combinations is to not have to think every morning and create. I want a basic recipe which I can tweak for different flavors according to my mood.

These usually make enough for 2 - 12 oz. Glasses, I'm not good at making less, but then you don't have to make them every day.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
3 T. Oatmeal, 1 T. Flax or Chia seed - soak overnight in 3/4 c. milk.
1 heaping T. 100% peanutbutter
1 heaping T. Plain Greek yogurt
2 T. Ovaltine
1 T. Cocoa powder
1/2 banana
2 dates
1 t. Vanilla
Pinch of cayenne powder
1/2 avocado or greens (avocado gives a pudding texture)
1 egg white - optional
1/8 t. Salt
Milk to blend.
4 ice cubes
Put all in blender, add enough milk to bring liquid to 2 c. Mark. Blend.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Follow instructions above with the following ingredients.
3 T. Oatmeal
1 T. Flax or Chia seed
1/4 c. Almonds- soak overnight in water, discard water and rinse nuts before using.
2 dates
1/2 banana
1/2 t. Cinnamon
3 T. Malted milk powder
1/4 c. Plain Greek yogurt
2 cardamom pods
1/2 t. Nutmeg
1 t. Vanilla
1/8 t. Salt
1 egg whites- optional
Milk to blend
4 ice cubes

Green Goddess
Follow above instructions using these ingredients.
3 T. Oats
1 T. Flax or Chia seeds
2 T. Almonds
1-2 c. Greens
1/2 banana
1/2 avocado
1" fresh ginger, sliced
2 dates
1-2 T. Plain Greek yogurt
1/2 t. Fennel seed
2 cardamom pods
5 black peppercorns
1 t. Tajin or 1/4 t. Cayenne and lime juice
1/8 t. Salt
1 egg white, optional
1-3 T. Light vinegar
Water to blend
4 ice cubes
If you want a chocolate smoothie, add 2 T. Cocoa powder and maybe don't add some of the spices? Up to you.

>193 MrsLee: The cinnamon toast crunch smoothie is good! It's really filling, too. I made it this morning. I needed to add ice to the smoothie itself since my Blendtec made it lukewarm even with several cubes in the blender.

>194 lesmel: Glad you liked it! It's kinda my favorite too.

Working on shrubs for summer mocktails. So far I have:

Cranberry-orange, ready to strain today. It will then sit in refrigerator for 5-7 days to mellow before use. I will use the fruit I strain out to make a Cranberry-orange loaf bread/cake.

Day before yesterday I started a Watermelon-mint shrub. It is in the refrigerator, will probably strain it tomorrow and use the strained fruit to make smoothies.

Today I cut up some mango for breakfast, so I used the peel and seed to begin a mango-honey shrub.

I am also working on a recipe for cocktail cherries. This is somewhere between a syrup and vinegar/alcohol concoction. Sugar and cherry flavored brandy. I'm letting them soak for a couple days, but I added some water and vinegar to maybe edge the brandy a bit towards sour. Then will put in the refrigerator for some more soaking time. Then I will strain, put the cherries in a jar and taste the juice. At that point I might boil it down some to thicken the syrup, then pour over the cherries. They are supposed to keep in the fridge for at least a year. I'm using elements from several different recipes. One thought I had was to dehydrate the cherries a little when they had soaked to give them a little chewier texture. Not dried out, just dense. If I have extra syrup, I will let it sit exposed to the air and see if it turns from alcohol to vinegar, then make a cherry shrub!

Later today or tomorrow I will start a fennel-celery shrub with the aromatics for gin flavoring. My goal is a nonalcoholic martini!

I also bought a bottle of not so expensive ($13) sparkling wine to make "champagne" vinegar out of for use in shrubs. For good measure, I bought a bottle of "champagne" vinegar too. It was $3.49. Unless the homemade vinegar is outstanding, it isn't worth the price. Probably more cost effective to make the vinegar if you have leftover wine or champagne from an event or dinner. Which I cannot imagine. At least from a dinner. But then I don't open 5 bottles of wine for a dinner, either.

Yesterday I made a shrub mocktail thst tasted like a mild root beer! .75 oz. of homemade grenadine, .50 oz. tonic syrup, .75 oz. homemade elderberry vinegar, a t. of spice balsamic vinegar made by a local company. Carbonated water to taste. My husband liked it too.

For those of you who like a walk on the wild side, I give you:
Jolly Rancher Sour Watermelon Smoothie.
2 T. Oatmeal
1 T. Chia seeds
Soak overnight.
1 c. Watermelon
2. T. Sugar or Watermelon syrup if you have it.
1 T. Lemon juice
1/4 c. Plain Greek yogurt
1-2 T. Pistachios or cashews
1/2 banana
2 T. Coconut flakes (I used unsweetened)
1/4 c. Egg white
1/8 t. Salt
Blend, taste, add vinegar or sugar to get the right balance of sweet and sour. Add 4 ice cubes and blend.

I made this with the Watermelon that was used for the shrub, so it had been soaking in sugar for a couple of days. I don't usually use sugar in my smoothie, and will probably try this with dates, although I don't think the flavor will be as pronounced.

Cranberry loaf was more sour than I'm used to, but husband and I both liked it.

I've been playing with sourdough recipes, looking for easy and practical ones. I tried one for hamburger buns yesterday. The buns are edible, but not what I had hoped they would be. Recipe called for TWO packets of yeast, plus 1/2 cup sourdough starter and only about 3 cups flour. For all that leavening I thought the buns would be light and fluffy, but they were not. They were somewhat dense. I did follow the recipe instead of my heart on the rising times. I may try this one more time going with my gut.

The second recipe I made was for ciabatta rolls. This one was a success! Very easy and the rolls are exactly as I expected/wanted them to be. Found the recipe at
www.alexandracooks.com

Have you tried beans in your smoothies? I was seeing something about using white beans as a base like you would banana or avocado.

>199 MrsLee: No, I haven't, but that would make a nice neutral protein to add. I'm not sure I need the extra gas though. :D

My doctor told me how she makes a carrot cake smoothie where the carrot flavor comes through. She roasts carrots the night before, then uses some of those and some raw carrots, plus a little maple syrup. This I must try. Will report back.

I splurged today and finally tried a Boba taro tea. It was yummy! The place I was at let me choose the sweetness level (25%). I enjoyed the chewiness of the Boba, but I loved the flavor of the taro tea. Looking it up when I got home I realized how good taro can be for you, so I ordered some flour to play with (expensive!). I predict pretty, purple baked goods in my future, and possibly a purple smoothie. I also ordered some butterfly pea blue powder and some seeds to plant. Now to come up with a blue and or purple themed flavor for a smoothie! Blueberries and plums sound too easy. ;)

I will definitely be making some pastry with a pretty taro filling, and maybe some blue and some purple loaves of bread.

I hope to find some taro at the store to cook as well. I've had it before and it is the best substitute for potatoes that I've yet to find.

I'm on my prednisone high. Cooked all these this morning: steamed green beans, steamed asparagus, boiled artichokes (saving water for tea), baked sweet potatoes, roasted carrots, meatloaf in the oven, oxtail stew is about to be started, strained 2 shrubs, fennel-celery (using the vegetables in the stew) and mango-honey (making tepache, a slightly carbonated fruit drink, from leftover fruit scraps of that), started a pineapple tarragon shrub with the pineapple peel, I still need to make a chocolate sauce so Mark can make a chocolate milkshake for me when I get home from the hospital tomorrow, and I made a little blackberry bread pudding with some bread that needs using up. Then I won't have to cook for a week.

>204 MrsLee: Wow, I'm impressed!. It would take me all day to do all that. But not worrying about dimmer for a week would be worth it.

>205 catseyegreen: To be fair, I didn't finish until 10 p.m. I don't think I could have done that without the prednisone, even before I got cancer! Sometimes you gotta take whatever wins you can find. :)

Delurking to say hi!

>207 fuzzi: Hello :)

Carrot Cake Smoothie
3 T. oatmeal
1 T. flax/chia seeds - soak with oats in milk overnight
2 T. pecans/almonds - soak in water overnight, drain & rinse
2 dates
1/2 banana
3/4 c. roasted carrots
1/2 c. raw carrots
1/4 c. plain yogurt
2 T. 100% maple syrup
1/4 t. turmeric/cinnamon blend or only cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. almond flavoring
1/2 t. vanilla
Milk as needed for texture
4 ice cubes
1 egg white optional

Blend and enjoy!

>208 MrsLee: oh, my...

Lilac Shrub


Smoothie experiment for tomorrow: The Blue Legume, as named by my husband. :D

The Blue Legume

3 T. oatmeal
1 T. flax/chia seed
3 T. unsweetened coconut
1-2 t. Butterfly Pea Powder
Soak oatmeal, flax, coconut & pea powder overnight in warm coconut water or milk (warm the fluid to mix, but leave in refrigerator overnight).
2-3 dates
1/4 c. fresh pineapple
1/2 banana
1/4 c. canned/cooked white beans/cashews/macadamia nuts
1/4 c. plain yogurt
1 t. rum flavoring
1/8 t. salt
4 ice cubes
1 egg white (optional)
Blend smooth and drink. Butterfly pea powder is blue unless it meets acid, then it turns a lovely lilac color and you will have a Purple Legume. The first time I made this I used blueberries because I hadn't put enough pea powder in. It turned purple. The second time I thought I would leave the pineapple out too, but the flavor was sadly lacking, so I added it and oddly enough, the drink stayed blue, which it shouldn't have. This is delicious and needs both the coconut and pineapple to make it so. I didn't notice the rum flavoring, didn't want to add more.

It doesn't look as blue in the photo as it did in person, but could have used even more pea powder for a darker blue.

In other kitchen news. I'm working to perfect a sourdough sandwich loaf. There are a lot of good recipes out there, but most of them either use yeast or make things a bit complicated. I think I can do it without the extra yeast (who is in a hurry, anyway?), and simplify the method. I cobbled together two recipes on my last batch and was very pleased with the flavor and crumb, but I don't think I let it rise enough before putting it in the oven. I followed a recipe instead of my heart/experience.

Made some more sourdough discard crackers and got that recipe right where I like it. 1 c. discard, 4 T. butter, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. baking soda, 2 T. parmesan cheese. Mix, spread on parchment paper on baking tray as thin as possible. Bake at 350ºF 10 minutes, cut with pizza cutter, put back in oven for 15 minutes, turn pan, 15 more minutes. Remove when golden. A lovely crisp but melt in your mouth texture and tastes cheezy.

Made a no flour desert/muffin thing cup this morning which had oats, chia seed, peanut butter, milk, egg and whatnot. Supposed to be cups to fill with jam. Husband said, "Well, they taste healthy." Yeah. Not saving that recipe. They didn't know whether to be crisp or chewy, needed a bit of sweet for flavor, couldn't taste the peanut butter. Too many strikes against it to bother with.

>212 MrsLee: I'll have to try the crackers.

>213 MarthaJeanne: I used a 15" x 11" baking tray and spread it thin enough to almost cover the whole thing.

In a surprise move from my kitchen, I walked past the fruit bowl and saw 2 beyond ripe bananas. Time for banana cake, and since the oven was hot from baking some rolls (I had made the rolls for my Easter company, but we ended up not needing them, and I need the pans they are in), I decided to make the cake. Recipe called for 3 bananas. I added about 1/3 c. sourdough starter to make up for a banana. Usually if you are adding starter to a nonsourdough recipe, if you are putting in say 1/2 c. starter, you remove 1/4 c. flour and 1/4 c. liquid. Since this was a substitute for a squishy item, I didn't change the rest of the recipe. I also used einkorn flour instead of regular. This was a game changer folks! The crumb if the cake is fine and tender, it is moist and rose better than ever without the soggy pudding texture the middle usually has. I'm adjusting my recipe. Can't wait to try this flour in cookies and other cakes, maybe pie crust, too. But I better wait. We have too much food to eat up!

Your smoothie recipes all sound amazing. Minus the carrot cake one. Carrots don't belong in cake ;) one of these days I'll have to try these.

>215 Narilka: LOL, that used to be my opinion of carrot cake, but something about being an "aging" woman has changed my view. I won't say I like it better than chocolate, but I do like it.

I present:
Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie
3 T. oatmeal
1 T. flax/chia seeds -soak with oatmeal in milk overnight
2 T. pecans - soak in water overnight, rinse
2 dates
2 T. 100% maple syrup
1/2 banana 1/4 - 1/2 c. roasted sweet potato or pumpkin
1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
1" fresh ginger root
1 heaping t. Golden milk powder (mix of 1 part turmeric, 1 part cinnamon, 1/2 part ginger, 1/8 part black pepper and pinch cloves and cayenne)
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
egg - optional
Milk to blend and 4 ice cubes

This was really yummy!

I strained my cucumber-rose petal shrub today. It isn't bad, but I'm not sure I can actually taste the cucumber or the rose, which is weird because I could smell it very well in the jar. Will see what happens after it sits for a week melding together. It will still be a good sweet-sour additive, but I would like to taste some of the botanicals I put in! I picked out the cucumbers and kept them in a bit of the leftover solution in a bowl. They are delicious sour-sweet pickles! Husband loves them.

I tried a recipe for sourdough discard bagels and we like them! I have always been afraid of making bagels because the boiling stage unnerved me, but this was not as complicated as I had made it in my mind. These will definitely be made again. The recipe called for yeast, which I did not add, because I was not in a hurry, so could wait for the rise. When they had finished rising, I put the dough in the refrigerator overnight to continue fermenting. Love the flavor of it.

Having trouble with my Purple People Eater Smoothie. It refuses to TASTE like anything. Part of that may be because I was not sure what I wanted it to taste like, but I have settled on a dark berry flavor. Now if I can only get the berries to cooperate. I may have to wait for summer and Farmer's Market. Or maybe I will try frozen and a mix of blueberries and blackberries. I've added citric acid (I'm not supposed to be eating citrus fruit right now or I would have used more lemon), tamarind paste, cardamom pods and more. It isn't a bad flavor, it's just about as close as you can get to a non-flavor. I have to take into account that my flavor/taste is off right now because of the high dose of Prednisone that I'm on. Frustrating.

Made sourdough hot dog buns yesterday and they came out just as I wanted them. They have a bit of chew and don't fall apart or get too soggy, but are tender to bite.

Today I make cinnamon toast bread for my trip with my sister. I'm going to bake it, cool, then slice and freeze well wrapped. Also starting a batch of ciabatta rolls to take on the trip. Those will get baked tomorrow.

Made pizza tonight with sourdough discard and this time the crust was edible! I added a little baking soda, followed a technique I found elsewhere and obtained the chewy but not dense crust I wanted. Very happy with this.

Had some rice in the refrigerator that I cooked after boiling shrimp the other day. Decided to cook some red beans. Will add some onions, garlic, cilantro and chili powder, the rice and some shrimp. Should be a nice way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

We had company yesterday and I'm glad I made those rice and beans! They were a hit, although I got them a bit spicy, kind of like I always manage to do. Nice thing about company is that they chowed down on the baked goods I've been making and really put a dent in it, so now I can bake more things! I had put a moratorium on my baking until we ate our way through some of it.

I made the ciabatta rolls for my trip, but used half all purpose flour instead of all bread flour, and I misremembered how big to cut the rolls; so although they were perfectly edible, they were not perfect. Since the kids ate a bunch yesterday I decided to make another batch for the trip, so hopefully these will be perfect. They won't get baked until tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will start the dough for English Muffins, which will get cooked on Wednesday. I like the slow pace of sourdough. Especially for new recipes. It gives me time to work up my nerve for each step.

My daughter-in-law brought over 2 large buckets of radishes she pulled. She left the greens on for me. Some of them didn't have a full radish because she was thinning them. They are now washed and sorted. I have a quart of radishes, a bag full (I wash, dry, and wrap greens in a dish towel, then put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator; they keep a week or two this way) of greens for cooking with, and a bag full of small radishes and greens for salads and fermenting. I want to make a kimchi and a jar of fermented radish greens, Japanese style.

Another marathon round of baking the last few days.

Ciabatta rolls for trip - first batch sketchy, 2nd batch perfect. Frozen to go.

French bread for trip (and one for husband)

English Muffins - taking a couple on trip because they are YUM! Rest are for us before trip.

Rosemary spiced almond and maple syrup and cayenne pecans, taking some on trip.

Nora's Cookies from my family recipes book. There was no flour listed in this recipe. Another recipe just says, "flour, enough" no amount. Ended up adding 5 c. of flour before this was even a possible dough. Cookies are not bad, just meh. I indented them and added apricot jam. Still meh.

Granola bars - wanted to try this because it uses straight sourdough discard, not extra flour. They taste "healthy." Not bad, but I'm going to tweak it once more. The first time I follow the recipe when I am cooking something unfamiliar (aside from forgetting to add the coconut oil until it had baked 10 minutes! Another reason to give this one a second chance). Next time will add less sourdough, more chocolate chips, some sugar to replace some honey (I want to like honey, but I really don't) and not forget to put anything in! Oh, think the nuts I add will be peanuts and chopped almonds. I used up some finely chopped pecans in this one. Not the best choice. These came out over an inch thick, and very cake-like.I want a bit more chew.

On the drinks front, I made a Vulcan Bloody Smoothie with some radish leaves, which is good, but hard to repeat. Then today, same inspiration but no smoothie stuff like oatmeal, seeds or nuts, I made a mocktail I am calling the Vulcan Bloody T'Mar. All the ingredients of a Bloody Mary except radish greens instead of tomatoes and fennel shrub instead of vodka. Delicious! Like a V8. :D

ETA: I also made more cheese crackers.

I did a sort of save with the rest of the cookie dough from my failed cookies mentioned above. Spread the dough in a greased baking dish and poured chocolate chips over the top. Baked up nice.

Back from my trip. We did some cooking there. We were happy with our planning, which was mostly for ingredients, then we decided what to cook with them when we were there. For a bit we thought we had a miracle refrigerator because it seemed there was more food every time we opened it in spite of the fact that we never bought food! Well, we bought some cheese, but most of it stayed wrapped to bring home. We also ate our seafood meals out because it was easier.

Meals were things like:
Roasted chicken, salad, bread with cheese
Ossobuco with polenta, roasted Brussel sprouts
Omelets or Frittatas with cinnamon toast or English muffins
Sandwiches on ciabatta rolls
and a special dinner my sister made because I got sick on the trip; chicken soup!

We did bring some food home, but not much, and part of that was due to eating out one more time than we intended. All in all, we were happy with our planning and cooking. So nice to travel with someone who likes the same food as you and has the same ideas about how to relax.

Now to ease back into the day to day cooking. I'm not enthused yet, but I'm also still sick.

Went to Farmer's Market today and came home with spring onions, baby turnips and daikon radishes, spinach, a butternut squash and a potted herb called zatar, which smells very like oregano when a leaf is crushed.

Then husband came home with a large pork roast. So I roasted that, and in its juices I roasted mushrooms, onions, taro root and carrots.

Made a pizza with sourdough discard for crust.

Started a batch of dough to make pita bread tomorrow.

Yesterday after about 3 hours searching the interwebs with every term I knew, I finally found a recipe for a Mexican sweet bread (pan dulce) which my husband loves. We have always called them guayabas, probably because of there shape, because there is no guava in them. However, Mexican sweet breads can go by many names and when I found a chart with a picture of the one I was looking for, it was called a Magdalena. Searching with that term took me into the Hispanic interwebs and I found a video on YouTube of a baker showing how to make them. In Spanish. Ok, so I watched him through to see the technique, then went to the recipe in the description which of course was in Spanish, but I'm good enough with food words to work that out, and the few things I couldn't get, Google helped me. So far so good, but the recipe was in kilos and was enough to make about 150 buns. I was not looking forward to getting from kilos to grams or ounces, let alone cups, and then paring it all down to a reasonable size. Happily, with a bit more searching, I found that the same man had made a video of the recipe for home cooks which makes 6 buns. Made them this morning; not only are they very easy to make, but they are delicious and husband approved.

ETA: When I transcribed the recipe I left one line as it was; "vanilla al gusto." I like the way that sounds.

You are so creative.
Yesterday I watched on You Tube (free channel) Ancient Egyptian Spiral Bread of the Pharaoh. Tasting History with Max Miller. It was on the channel 11 days ago.

>226 mnleona: Thank you for that, I will try to watch it.

Today I baked the pita bread. It is good, but I don't love pita bread and this reminded me why. You can't easily make a sandwich in it, and they are messy. The instructions called for the pitas to be rolled 5 1/2" round. Too small, because they shrunk in the oven. Didn't keep the recipe because the ingredients are the same as my sourdough bread, so if I ever want to try again I will use that.

I also tried a recipe from my family cookbook called "Nora's Cake." Another one with minimal instructions, but they worked. It didn't say what kind of pan, or size, or oven temperature or time of baking. I decided against a loaf pan, because this recipe was not like a pound cake. It only had 2 tablespoons of shortening to 1 1/2 c. flour and 2/3 c. sugar. Also for liquid, 2/3 c. coffee. I baked it in a 9" round, the only kind I have, but it would be better in 8" round. I used einkorn flour, so reduced the liquid a little. It tasted really good! We debated about a coffee flavored glaze or frosting but decided against. Both my husband and I are not big icing fans. I looked up similar cake type recipes to come up with oven temperature and time. Probably could have baked it a little longer, einkorn flour can be dense. I want to try this one again with cake flour, but I love the fine and tender crumb that einkorn flour gives.

It's starting to warm up here, so I am trying to get the baking/cooking done in the mornings. Today I roasted baby turnips and daikon radishes. Roasting took the severe bite out of the radishes and left them mellow enough to enjoy.

Also made a bread pudding with strawberries. I had to use the strawberries as they were on the edge, and I had several bits and bobs of bread or bread-like items floating in the refrigerator because who wants to eat the old stuff when I'm baking new stuff all the time? Anyway, it made a delicious pudding which will definitely get eaten!

Still need to cook some chicken thighs and some turnip and radish greens for dinner. Will probably air-fry the chicken and cook the greens on the stovetop.

I made a rhubarb shrub which promises great things. Still waiting a few days for it to finish melding flavors. I started the process of an apricot shrub today. We had a flat which I bought Friday to share with son and family. By the time it went on a six hour drive, sat for the weekend, and a four hour drive yesterday, they were starting to dissolve, so this morning I froze most of them, started the shrub, also some vinegar, and have enough for a pie filling.

>230 MrsLee: I need to check on my rhubarb plants. I am sure some are ready to pull.

>231 mnleona: I wish I could grow it here! My sister tries to give me some each year, but she lives 5 hours away. I also use it to make ketchup, since I try not to eat tomatoes.

Just found this list of fgubarb recipes. I have to try out several.

https://www.almanac.com/favorite-rhubarb-recipes

>233 MarthaJeanne: Haha! I like the rhubarb trivia at the bottom. Will have to try mumbling it when I'm stuck in a large group of people. I suspect that doing that would at least make people give you some space.

I get so little rhubarb (it is very expensive in our stores since I only get it from my sister), that I have narrowed down my recipes to the few essentials. When I make rhubarb syrup, or shrub, I use the strained rhubarb to make a lovely compote. Since I'm allergic to apples, this makes a great substitute for applesauce. I mentioned the ketchup above. One other dish I make if I have an abundance, is what my grandmother called rhubarb Betty. Layer buttered slices of white bread (preferably homemade) with rhubarb which has been mixed with sugar. You can add cinnamon, nutmeg or cardamom if you want. Begin with bread on the bottom of the pan and end with bread on the top. Bake in 350 F oven until bread is golden toasty and rhubarb and sugar are cooked and melted together. You have to press it down a couple of times while baking. I like this better than pie.

I made an apricot pie this morning. Been awhile since I made one because my husband doesn't care for pie. I forgot to add a little tapioca to thicken it, so it's a mess, but tastes delicious.

Well, my apricot shrub will be interesting. It needs to sit now and meld flavors for a week, but it is very thick with apricot pulp. I'm thinking of mixing it with either coconut water or ginger beer. Those sound like they would play well with the apricot flavor which seems very delicate at this point. Yesterday I made a delicious drink using my pineapple shrub, crushed mint, a couple of ice cubes and some water, with a fresh mint garnish. After it sat a few minutes the flavor was wonderful! Probably a drink which would benefit from shaking with ice, but I can't be bothered to do that for only me.

I'm attempting an apricot vinegar, by making a wine first, then letting it go to vinegar. Interesting process.

My attempt at champagne wine vinegar was a flop. It developed kahm yeast, which is not harmful but tastes nasty. Down the sink it went and I will be buying my wine vinegar from now on. More cost effective that way and far less trouble.

I made a recipe for pandesal, a Portuguese (?) breakfast roll, today. I'm going to have to try it again. I like the flavor, slightly sweet with a sourdough background, but I don't think I gave the dough enough time to rise properly yesterday, and I don't care for the way they had me prepare the rolls.

Cooking is going to slow down here. We have triple digits on the thermometer for a couple of weeks. Will be relying on salads for the most part.

Only for my brother. Recently home from a 2 month scary ordeal in the hospital, he requested a loaf of my sourdough bread and some oatmeal cookies from Grandma Cronk's recipe. I baked them today, will deliver tomorrow. Also baked a foccacia loaf today. Now no more oven for awhile!

Prepping and cooking for the next couple of days. Cooked some gold string beans and made a three bean salad, steamed some zucchini and patty pan squash and broiled some cheese (smoked cheddar) on them, cooked some yellow squash and topped with butter, added spices to the water (same water beans and squash were in) and boiled some shrimp, froze that water/broth for future. Chopped up a pineapple and made a ham and pineapple pizza, then used the skin to start a shrub.

Guess I'm grilling burgers tomorrow. I would make hamburger buns, but I haven't found a recipe I like yet.

Eighty degrees inside my house today and what do I do? I baked a loaf of wheat and rye sourdough bread. Need to have my head checked.

Not necessarily. Clearly you needed the bread.

>239 MrsLee: Love it. Bet is was tasty.

>240 hfglen: Perhaps need is too strong a word, when the grocery store is a 5 minute drive away. They don't carry my bread though. :)

>241 mnleona: It was! A slice of bread with butter, and a small bowl of the three bean salad made a perfect dinner.

Temperatures for the next 10 days at least are going to be 110° + so any cooking I do is done before noon.

Yesterday I made a pizza-pasta salad, inspired by a photo from Pinterest which my daughter-in-law sent to me. I changed up the recipe somewhat due to the fact that I don't eat tomatoes much. Mine had bowtie pasta, chicken, pepperoni, onions, roasted garlic, Feta and Mozzarella cheese, basil and a creamy basil dressing. Really delicious.

Today I boiled corn, then artichokes, then broccoli. We love all of them cold, and I have several other vegetables sliced and ready to eat raw. Also a bowl of watermelon. I baked a meatloaf this morning also for sandwiches.

I had some pineapple bits after I made another pineapple shrub, so I cooked them with some brown sugar and used them to make a no-bake dessert. The crushed pineapple is mixed with sugar (I didn't add more sugar since I had cooked the pineapple in enough), chopped nuts (I used toasted pecans), butter, vanilla and salt. The recipe is an old one and calls for two raw egg yolks, but I substituted whole milk Greek yogurt, then for good measure I added cream cheese. That all gets mixed together, then layered between Graham crackers, pressed, and I let it sit in the refrigerator a couple of hours. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and cherries on top.

I exerted myself and made a frittata sort of thing. Mushrooms, red bell pepper, cilantro, green onions, garlic, ginger, Gouda cheese, eggs and seasoning.

Also made a chicken and wild rice salad. No more cooking for a couple of days.

Yesterday the thermometer outside read 120°. It doesn't register above 120. Supposed to be the same today.

>244 MrsLee: Wow, only a 113 degrees here today. I am not feeling the hot kitchen thing either. Your fritatta sounds like an excellent quick meal.

>239 MrsLee: Personally, once the thermometer is 110 or above, it's all too hot! Stay cool.

I'm revisiting a lot of salads this month, and looking into no bake desserts. Ice cream is obvious, but I don't really like to buy pre-made items if I can help it. I have some recipes for no churn ice cream I might try. Also want to look at "fools" an old time dessert made with fruit and whipped cream or custard. Maybe some no bake cookies, although I've never found a recipe for those that I like. I do have frozen cookie dough I can bake in my airfryer in the mornings.

Made a delicious peanut butter ice cream with chocolate and caramel peanut butter swirls. I don't have an ice cream maker, so after the peanut butter mixture cooled, I folded in some whipped cream, then layered in the pan with the swirls and froze for 5 hours. It was the perfect texture. Today I could barely get it out of the container, but the texture was still good.

Also made a choppy salad with broccoli, cabbage, onion, cilantro, ginger, garlic, tiny peas and sweet corn.

I have 3 binders of clipped recipes from magazines and newspapers. Remember those? Anyway, 1 binder is full of recipes I haven't tried, one is full of tried baked goods/desserts recipes and the other is full of tried savory/meal type recipes. Today I went through the untried binder pulling out the recipes I had tried and marked good (if they aren't good I pull them out immediately and throw them away), and putting them in one of the other appropriate binders.

Going through my head was the thought, "Why am I saving these?" For the most part I don't use recipes now, although I do find them handy when I need to kickstart my creativity.

As I slowly try to get the piles reduced around here I come across lots of magazine clippings. Some are needlework, which I mostly sadly throw into the paper recycling.

The recipes I try to figure out why I clipped them. Sometimes I can't. Most of the rest join them in the recycling, a few I try - luckily BBC Good Food has all their recipes online. Much easier to read!

In general, I don't think keeping these recipes has ever really been about cooking from them. It's just a more intense way of reading. And I like reading cookbooks and cooking magazines. Marking the recipes in some way impresses the ideas in them on my brain somehow. At least I hope so.

>249 MarthaJeanne: Interesting the reason you have deduced for clipping the recipes. I used to clip garden ideas, and I think for that same reason. The recipes though, I started my binder when I was first married; trying to expand my repertoire. Later, perhaps it was more for the reason you gave.

I tried one today; rice with mushrooms, celery, onions and chicken broth. I added a small bit of chicken breast which needed using, some garlic, ginger and fresh ground black pepper. It was very nice, but I didn't keep the recipe. It is similar to a thousand dishes I have made like it and I don't need a recipe for it.

I have big cooking plans for the morning. We shall see what I actually get done.

Did pretty good this morning, into the afternoon.
I roasted bratwurst sausages and bacon in the oven, then baked a Blueberry Boy Bait. A favorite coffee cake of our family.

Started a pork shoulder marinating which will be cooked as Puerco Pibil: roasted in layers of corn husks long and low temp. Supposed to be banana leaves, but those are hard to find here. The recipe is from Robert Rodriguez who directed Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

I made strawberry jam following my grandmother's recipe from the family recipes.

Made a "potato" salad using taro instead of potato. It tastes great, now to see how it holds up.

Notato salad is delicious! I'm betting no one could tell it wasn't potatoes unless they were told.

>249 MarthaJeanne: Same here. I live alone so I do not make a lot of "new" recipes to me. I was going through my needlework books the other day and will not make the majority of patterns.

I pulled my rhubarb and it is very thin this year Plants need to be moved.

>248 MrsLee: I have the same problem. I have lots cut from newspapers when they had them.

Had a wilted spinach salad and a Cobb salad. Today will be chicken fried in the air-fryer, tomorrow grilled steak and grilled summer squash, sweet onions and mushrooms.

Still making shrubs. I can't help myself. Apricot, peach and blackberry are the most recent. My refrigerator is overflowing. They are so yummy.

This morning I made the pineapple and graham cracker non-cooked dessert from our family recipes book, only I used apricots and a little nutmeg instead. I think next time I will try bananas, and then cherries. My husband wanted me to mix fruits, but I want to try them on their own first.

The frozen apricots may be too mushy. If so, next time I will try dried apricots which have been stewed to moisten. I really love this dessert now that I can think outside the box of pineapple. I think my grudge against pineapple has to do with the "chew" of it. Stringy.

>257 MrsLee: You could also try chopping dri ed apricots into the frozen ones while they defrost. They would soak up the extra liquid.

I haven't tried this combination, but I have often combined fresh and dried fruits to great advantage when the fresh ones are too juicy for what I wanted.

>258 MarthaJeanne: good thinking.

The day started by discovering a decent amount of digs on the tree. What to do?

The ones which had been bird pecked, or were somewhat shriveled, I used to start a shrub mixture. There were too many for the shrub, so I also made a fig and nut bread.

That was all fine, but I have a friend coming to lunch tomorrow and planned on tuna sandwiches, but no bread. So I began a batch of sandwich bread, but wasn't sure it would finish in time, so I baked a fast whole wheat loaf. The white bread dough rose faster than I expected, but it was still 10:30 before I pulled the baked bread out of the oven. Now I'm waiting for it to cool a bit before covering with a towel. I have plenty of bread for tomorrow's lunch though!

>260 MrsLee: I think I figured out that you have figs, not digs. For a moment I was very worried for your tree.

>261 MarthaJeanne: LOL what comes of posting late at night when your eyes can't see to proofread. Yes, figs.

>257 MrsLee: Agreed on frozen apricots ... they don't seem to take to freezing at all. We also tried to use fresh apricots in place of fresh cherries in the old U.S. antebellum recipe of cherry bounce ... very mushy results there as well! Perhaps rehydrated dried apricots are the way to go in cherry bounce, or let the original recipe stand as is.

A completely different question arose for me today --- have you had a chance yet to work with any "prep kitchen" built-in furniture or standalone prep kitchen furniture? If so, what do you think of that kitchen design approach?

>263 MaureenRoy: My answer to your question would have to be no I think. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by built-in furniture, etc.?

I have always lived in American houses or apartments which were built in or around the 1950s. They have counters, cupboards and drawers. The trick is to make those work for you. I have visited homes which had a center island in the kitchen with a small sink and built in cutting boards, they were nice when more than one person was working in the kitchen. I'm sort of a kitchen hog. I don't play nice with others in my kitchen (mostly because when I organize my cooking time in my head I do it with only myself in mind and it throws me off to have someone jump into the flow and try to help), so I've never cared much about a center island. I have also discovered that I prefer a small kitchen with lots of storage space but not much space for humans. :)

>264 MrsLee: I have recently seen (on Instagram) kitchens that have salad bar furniture -- free-standing units that are refrigerated (or not); but have all the little removable bins with covers, etc. I've also seen counter-top style units for prepping/prepped veggies -- like you might see at a well-stock bar for garnishes.

>265 lesmel: The question is whether or not such a unit would get enough use to justify the amount of space it requires. In a large kitchen for a large household, it might prove reasonable, but for most of us, probably not.

>265 lesmel: Sounds like something I would be all gung-ho about for a few weeks, then never use. I think square/ rectangle storage containers would be more useful to me, but even then, bowls get used more often for storage in our house.

A new comment I saw in a paywalled magazine article today is that prep kitchen strategies are starting to replace kitchen islands. That makes sense to me since so many kitchen islands have gotten gargantuan in size. I for one do not want to have a kitchen where I often have to maneuver around the kitchen island (AKA Titanic) to get to the refrigerator. My ideal kitchen will include a prep kitchen plus ye olde kitchen table.

>268 MaureenRoy: I Googled "what is a prep kitchen" and this is the AI response:

"A prep kitchen, also known as a back kitchen, scullery kitchen, or dirty kitchen, is a separate space that's attached to the main kitchen and used for food preparation. It's designed to support the main kitchen by providing extra work space and concealing more practical elements from the main kitchen's design.
Prep kitchens can offer several benefits, including:
Convenience: Freeing up space and countertops in the main kitchen
Efficiency: Improving efficiency by separating messy tasks from the main kitchen
Keeping the kitchen clutter-free
Being attractive to those who entertain frequently
Prep kitchens typically include:
Counter space
A large practical sink
Tailored kitchen appliances that meet the cooking needs of the homeowner, such as dishwashers, stoves, coffee makers, and microwaves
Shelving
Storage
The design and appliances can be highly customized to the individual homeowner's needs. For example, an efficient prep zone needs a minimum of 36″ to 48″ of uninterrupted countertop frontage to allow the cook to spread out efficiently while prepping food."

All that sounds like a kitchen to me. What on earth would you do in the kitchen itself? Are we talking about something similar to a butler's pantry, where vegetable prepping can go on, then do the actual cooking in the main kitchen? I guess that would be nice for someone who entertains a lot and wants their kitchen to be a showplace.

I think my whole kitchen is a prep kitchen, lol. It is a galley kitchen, no space to entertain company.

So, I searched a little more. And I realized that at this time, I could have a prep kitchen if I wanted to because technically, I have 2 kitchens at the moment. We have an apartment attached to our house which has access from the house kitchen to the apartment kitchen. My grandmother lived in the apartment until she died (we moved into the main house to help her), then my mother lived in it until she died. At the moment, it's just extended space for us, but I'm eyeing it for my old age if I can find someone to move into the main house to help me!

We have used that kitchen at holidays, extra oven, sink, etc. Sometimes if I have cooked a bunch and don't have time to clean it all, big pans, etc. get thrown out there to be out of the way. I like to cook and prep everything in my little galley kitchen though. It is very handy and I can reach everything.

These set-ups are also called "Kitchen Prep Table" with photos on Amazon. It's most often not a room, it's furniture. One example:

https://www.amazon.ca/CHBMZ-Kitchen-Bakers-Storage-Warehouse/dp/B0CVVVPHQZ

>271 MaureenRoy: I couldn't follow that link (Canada), but looked up the term on my Amazon account. So it is basically a table on wheels with either a stainless steel top or a chopping block top? Kind of like a movable island? I saw some with drawers or shelves. I can see how that would be useful if a person had the room for it.

I was browsing a home improvement site a few months ago, and saw where people were buying mechanics workbenches/ tool storage units to use in their kitchens. They liked the many drawers, the fact that it was wired for multiple outlets to use for appliances, and it was on wheels. Also they were saying they were less expensive than other options. I don't know about that.

We've had two days of lovely weather, in the 70s instead of 90s and 100s. Wish I had thought to prepare some bread dough to bake.

Instead, we went to Farmer's Market this morning with a light sprinkle of rain. I bought Watermelon (a grey-skinned variety, very sweet), baby turnips, beets, a variety of green been I've never seen (purple spotted on green), okra, which I learned today is delicious raw, and if they are large and the skin is tough, peel and you will have a little "cob" of okra seeds to eat. Also bought three types of summer squash, an Armenian cucumber, 2 red onions, a tomato and 3 peaches.

Sent my husband to the store to buy 2 whole raw chickens while I prepared a bed of vegetables to roast them on. Turnips, carrots, beets and onions. Yum. Nice to use the oven without dreading the heat.

ETA: Oh, played with my mom's recipe for a pineapple and graham cracker dessert. Instead of pineapples and pecans, I used bananas, added cacao powder and peanuts. Also drained whole yogurt overnight to make the "cream cheese" which her original recipe doesn't call for, but replaces some of the butter. Delicious. Like a banana cream pie. Think next time I won't add the chocolate, but maybe pour a chocolate sauce over the top.

Another Farmer's Market day. This time all we wanted were tomatoes and peaches. Came home with those plus a cucumber, 4 cobs of corn, some tiny delicious pear tomatoes, golden oyster mushrooms, elm oyster mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, onion and garlic.

Will be making golden oyster mushroom and egg fritters tonight. I plan to use the other oyster mushrooms in a stir-fry with zucchini and a black bean and garlic sauce. The shitake mushrooms I will use in a beef stir-fry.

This morning I made a pasta with pesto sauce and vegetables; broccoli, zucchini, onion, garlic, parsley and black olives. It is delicious warm or cold.

The fresh corn this year in California is outstanding. Tomorrow I want to use our fresh organic bean sprouts to make Egg fu Yung, via recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health cookbook.

>275 MaureenRoy: Yes it is. Egg fu Yung is one of my favorites. Yum!

Fried chicken this morning.

Had the bright idea that some biscuits made with green chili, cheddar cheese and green onions might go well with the chicken and also use some of my sourdough starter. I made these from my head and not a cookbook, but when I added milk, I added too much. Then I realized I forgot the sourdough starter. So I added more flour and the starter. They were pretty good, but needed a little salt. Decided to make chicken gravy which solved the salt issue, but then you couldn't taste the chilies and cheese.

Also made a choppy salad to use up the rest of the veg in the refrigerator since tomorrow is Farmer's Market day.

The weather turned cool here so I made a cake. Devil's food cake from our family recipe book. Grandma wrote on the recipe that it was the same one used by her grandmother from Illinois and my grandfather's grandma from Ohio. That puts it back as far as the 1850s. She also mentioned that the same recipe is in Joy of Cooking, under the name, Devil's Food Cake Cockaigne. That recipe has better instructions than the one in our book, but essentially the same. Our recipe uses brown sugar instead of white. The cake is lovely, with a light crumb and a deep chocolate flavor.

What threw me was the recipe my grandmother had for the filling. First you boil to the candy stage 2 c. sugar (1 brown & 1 white), 1 c. water and 1 T. Vinegar, then you pour that over 2 beaten egg whites and 1/4 lb. marshmallows, stir, then boil again and whip until creamy. Those last instructions are rather vague. What you get is a very sticky mess that unless you spread it very quickly, you won't be able to spread it at all. The flavor is just sweet. A real PITA. Next time I make this cake, I will be using a lovely dark ganache as a filling and a frosting.

I didn't really intend to clean out the refrigerator, but in the end, that's what happened. I made a gumbo/jambalaya type of thing today. Followed no recipe except my heart. Cooked some red beans, added broth and drippings, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, okra, mizuna, cilantro, rice, chicken, sausage & lamb. A bay leaf, some poultry seasoning herbs and a hot chili mixture I make. Tastes wonderful!

Also made bread dough to be baked tomorrow. Added whole wheat flour to the bread flour, along with oatmeal, sesame seeds, chia seeds and pumpkin seeds.

Had some fig puree leftover from making a shrub a couple of weeks ago. I decided to see if it would work as the filling in my fig Newton cookie recipe. I added a banana that needed using, some prunes, a little sugar, pinch of salt and some lemon peel. The I got lazy and didn't want to roll out dough, so I made thumbprint cookie shapes and filled them with the fig mixture. They tasted great, but I wasn't sure how to store them due to the sticky filling, so I made little sandwiches of the by pressing their faces together. Covered them with a shower cap and today even the dough has the soft texture of the fig Newton cookie bars. I'm very happy with this.

With the idea of cleaning out the refrigerator, I made a pumpkin spice Bundt cake today. Will frost it with a cream cheese frosting later.

Will also make (tomorrow, probably) a pumpkin sauce for spaghetti noodles. Then I have one more package of pumpkin. Sigh. Have to use this before I need to freeze more!

Since I have a family reunion coming up in October, maybe I'll make another cake.

Now to use the elderberries up. I don't want jelly. What to do? I think I will just make juice and we can drink it.

Today I made my nomato spaghetti sauce. A bit of lots of this and that, pumpkin for the base. All the frozen pumpkin is gone! However, while digging around, I found a bag of frozen persimmons. My tree is loaded this year, so I better get these eaten before the others get ripe.

Tomorrow I plan to casserole roast a chicken, a la Julia Child, and stuff it with a mushroom stuffing. The mushroom grower was at Farmer's Market today. Chanterells and oysters. I plan to make an oyster mushroom and pea dish from La Vera Cucina Italiana.

That roasted chicken with mushroom stuffing was to die for.

One of the hottest days this month, over 100°, and what am I doing? Processing elderberry syrup. Each batch needs 40 minutes in the hour water bath due to their high acidity. My pot takes 4 pints at a time. I have 8 pints. I would have had more, but I made some shrub and 2 cups of refrigerator syrup

The syrup recipes I found are basically shrubs, but instead of vinegar, they call for brandy. I used honey for the sweetener. I decided that storing sealed jars of syrup was easier than freezing it. I have very limited freezer space.

I read that elderberry can make some of the side effects from immunotherapy worse, so I needed a good way to preserve since I won't be taking it in large amounts. Will probably give some away for Christmas, too. At least I've used up the elderberries that were in the freezer!

If you have a persimmon tree, I have heard that persimmon leaves make a good tea. That might be fun to try, if there are still leaves left on your tree this fall.

>285 MaureenRoy: I think it will be too late for this year, but I will try it next spring. Thank you.

>284 MrsLee: I've seen a red "wine" made from elderberries. You need a lot of berries for that.

>278 MrsLee: I probably had enough for a small batch, but I think I'm over my "wine making" episode. It takes a lot of space, a lot of time, and the results (for me) are unpredictable. The syrup is nice though, especially over ice cream.

I made a pork curry recipe today from the Curry cookbook. Well, I riffed on the theme of the recipe. I used leftover pork roast, onion instead of shallot, added radish and carrot greens, and other minor variations due to lack of ingredients (haven't a clue what pickled garlic and its syrup is, but I used lots of garlic and some brine from other fermentation with sugar). It was incredibly delicious!

I am making what I predict to be a failure bread. I ordered some vegetable powders for coloring baking goods early this year. Never got around to it, and I think they work better in cakes than bread, but bread is more what we like to eat. Yesterday I cut my normal bread recipe in half, and of the amount of flour, I added 1/2 c. of the vegetable powder instead. I think the proportions are still ok, there are 2 c. flour. Mixed 3 batches; one with beet powder, one with matcha tea powder, and one using oatmeal to make the 1/2 c. I added too much water to the beets and the oatmeal dough. Decided to use my Kitchenaid to knead it (this is always sketchy with sourdough because it can get too hot, but I did it carefully letting the dough rest between mixings). It rested 4 hours on the counter last night, and possibly in my imagination it started to raise a bit, or it could have just spread out in the bowl. At that point I had to go to bed and didn't want to leave it out all night, so it went into the refrigerator. It's out now and I will watch and wait for the dough to rise, no matter if it takes all day. Since the temperature in my house is 63°, it just might take that long. When it does puff, I will braid the three doughs, let it rise again, and then bake it. After I made the doughs, I read that vegetable powders do not keep their colors after baking, but turn a dull sort of color unless you add some vitamin C to the dough. Oops. So if I get bread at all, it will be ugly and probably taste a bit odd. I don't know why I get these whims, but at least I will have learned something.

I might make some pease porridge hot today. Yellow peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, ham broth, some greens minced up and some garden herbs. If not today, then tomorrow.

We went to Farmer's Market yesterday and I bought some shitake mushrooms, so thought one day this week I would make some creamy mushroom pasta.

I love the beginning of autumn. Our weather has cooled of and it is a pleasure to be in the kitchen again.

Yesterday I baked a beef pie (had made the filling and frozen it a few months ago). Also made my version of osso buco. Ox tails, mushrooms, celery, onions, carrots, garlic and leeks with beef broth, red wine and spices. Long, slow cook until the ox tails melted off the bone. Yum.

Today I plan to roast a chicken resting on a bed of parsnips, fennel, onions and carrots.

Cozy, comforting eating.

Looked in the refrigerator yesterday and discovered some mushrooms I had forgotten. Made chicken stuffed shitake mushrooms and scrambled eggs with orange oyster mushrooms. A lovely brunch.

Also made a dessert, still playing with the recipe from my mom that uses graham crackers and pineapple. I made it with roasted almonds and cherries. Tasted the filling and I think this will be very special.

Then we had Thanksgiving. This year I didn't make gravy for our meal, instead I saved the pan drippings of both turkeys and made a killer gravy a couple of days later. Made a wonderful turkey and noodle casserole with it.

I'm not telling about the wonderful adventure of the meal, how the power went out, etc., did all that in the Green Dragon pub.

Today I found a pie dough I had lost track of in the refrigerator. Found one the other day as well, so made a quiche. This time I used up some mincemeat and some cranberry dressing to make a yummy pie.

I have set myself a holiday baking/cooking schedule that would be difficult to accomplish when I was 20 years younger. We make our plans, but they don't all need to come to fruition.

My daughter is arriving the weekend before Christmas. We will have clam chowder and sourdough bread the Friday night she arrives. That Saturday we will have tostadas (the way my mom made them, which was the best, even if the salsa has tomatoes; feeling sentimental).

The weekend after Christmas, my son and his family will be here. I haven't thought up an arrival meal, although it might be homemade pizzas since I just discovered how to easily make them and get the crust the way I like it. That Saturday we will have prime rib, twice-cooked sweet & regular potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and maybe some other stuff.

The goodies I plan to make, but in no way will stress over accomplishing are:

Cinnamon rolls - 2 pans for us, one for each weekend of company, and 2 pans as gifts (1 for my brother, 1 for neighbor)
Nana's biscotti - recipe from my husband's grandmother
Gingerbread cut outs, with icing - mostly for my grandson's entertainment
Cathedral windows - providing I can find the miniature colored marshmallows, again, for the grandson
Eggnog Sugar Cookies with icing - A new online recipe because I love homemade eggnog and sugar cookies, so win-win
Almond Rocha bark - easy recipe, delicious results
Salted-Sweet peanut bark - new recipe to try, I have been craving the whole chocolate-peanut butter thing.
Chocolate-Mocha ball cookies - more like individual brownies
Cardamom Shortbread - new recipe which sounds yummy

Oh, and Date Balls - My daughter wants to make these when she is here.

I made bicotti and the almond toffee, not bark. A good start to the week.

This morning I got up and thought I could tackle one cookie recipe before we had to go on our errands for the day. Started on the cocoa-mocha recipe and realized I didn't have enough unsweetened chocolate. Substituted with cocoa powder and extra butter, then got to the instruction where it said to put the dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

I was sure I had read that recipe through. Oh well, dough went on the fridge and I went ahead and made the cardamom shortbread, but didn't have time to add the orange glaze.

Home now and trying to work up the energy to glaze the shortbread and bake the other cookies. Zzzz

Did the mega shopping today. They had banana leaves at the store so I decided to add roasted pork achiote to the Saturday menu. We see banana leaves once in a blue moon for sale here.

I made 2 batches of cinnamon roll dough, will finish and freeze tomorrow. I might do 2 more batches on Monday for gifts. Also made the peanut candy, but I am waiting for it to get solid before I try it. The plan is to make 3 jars of pickled beets tonight. Two for gifts. I want to nap instead.

Also intend to make some Asian plum sauce tomorrow for gifts.

>297 MrsLee: You make me grateful for my good fortune in living where I do. To get banana leaves, all I have to do is cross the driveway into the garden and harvest them -- at least the monkeys don't steal the leaves!

>297 MrsLee: Will you share the plum sauce recipe, please?

>298 hfglen: I tried to grow a banana tree here, but it didn't thrive and then we had a hard frost that killed it. There is one across town. I am tempted to ask the people if I can have a couple of leaves now and then, but haven't been so desperate yet.

The puerco pibil is fantastic. The banana leaves make all the difference.

>299 2wonderY: I would be happy to, but I have company this weekend and no access to my computer. My hands hate my phone for long posts.

If I don't remember by Tuesday, will you give me a reminder?

>301 MrsLee: Will do. Enjoy your family!

>302 2wonderY: Chinese Plum Sauce

15-20 small-medium plums (or 1 1/2 c.)
6 cloves garlic
1/3 c. onion
1 T. fresh ginger
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T. sweet chili sauce (optional)
1/4 c. honey or brown sugar
3 T. rice vinegar
1 T. sherry
1 t. chili powder or red chili flakes
1 pinch star anise cloves
1 t. salt

Simmer 20 minutes, blend, add 2 T. raw apple cider vinegar & bottle, leave on counter 6-8 hours or overnight then refrigerate (this will cause the vinegar to "ferment" a bit with the other ingredients and the sauce will last longer in the refrigerator). I have used mine up to 6 months later and it was still good.

*Alternatives/options:
Dried prunes can be used
1/2 t. Szechuan peppercorns - I add these
1 t. Chinese 5 spice - I add this, but less

The ingredients in the recipe can be substituted for more authentic ingredients, but I try to use what is in my cupboards.

>303 MrsLee: Thank you! I think I have most of those items on hand.