Leftover Cornbread

A couple days ago I posted about the Easter dinner I made for my friend and myself. This morning I realized I still had some of the cornbread sitting on the counter. Now, I love cornbread, but when it sits around a few days it gets a little old tasting. I have been known to use the leftovers to make stuffing (and I guess I've never blogged that because I can't find a post... weird). But, since it was morning and I was looking to have some breakfast, not plan dinner, I revived my days old cornbread by cutting it in half, slathering it with butter, and pan frying it until it was golden and delicious. I also realized I was out of syrup, so I improvised and made molasses honey to pour over the top of the cornbread. Voila, simple, delicious breakfast made with what I had in the house.

Cornbread with Molasses Honey

day old cornbread, sliced in half
butter
1/4 c honey
1 tbsp blackstrap molasses
pinch of salt

Butter the cut faces of the cornbread and put in a skillet over medium heat.
Fry the cornbread until golden, then flip.
Briefly fry the cornbread on the other side, then remove from the pan.
While the cornbread is frying, in a small sauce pan, heat the honey, molasses, and salt over medium heat.
Once warm and salt is dissolved, remove from heat.
On a plate, place your cornbread and drizzle with the molasses honey.

Where My Ego Takes Over

This past weekend was practically perfect. I went to a friend's camp on Thursday night and we had some wine, enjoyed the weather, and built a fire. Friday started off warm, but overcast, so we read for a while on the dock. Once the sun came out, it was hot and lovely; perfect for sunning and swimming! In the afternoon, a storm rolled in and we went inside to watch the pouring rain. On Saturday, I biked to the beach with another friend. Even though we didn't do much swimming (the water was thick with tiny red seaweed), we laid in the sun. It was very hot, but the wind kept us from getting overheated. Sunday I went back to camp for more sun (slightly less humid and definitely more windy) and swimming. I am now more than relaxed; it's almost like I was on vacation.

I also picked up my farm share on Friday. This week I received:

1 gallon tatsoi
1 quart green beans
1 very full gallon of lettuce
3 small zucchini
1 gallon kale
1 gallon chard
1/2 gallon carrots
fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives)
fresh cut flowers

The farm also raises sheep, pigs, and chickens; so I picked up some lamb steaks, bacon and eggs. I made some bacon on Saturday morning. It's interesting, not quite as salty and smokey as bacon usually is, but still really good. This was my breakfast on Saturday:

Herbed Scrambled Eggs, Greens and Bacon

3 strips bacon
2 cups mixed greens (spinach, tatsoi, and kale)
1 tsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
pinch of salt and pepper
1 tbsp fresh basil, cut into thin strips
toast
strawberries

In a heavy skillet, place the bacon strips and turn to medium-high heat.
Once bacon starts cooking, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking, turning frequently.
While bacon is cooking, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat.
Beat eggs well, then beat in salt, pepper and basil.
Once butter is melted, pour eggs into skillet. Allow to cook for a while, then stir gently, allowing uncooked egg to reach the bottom of the pan. Continue this method until eggs are cooked but not dry. Remove to a plate.
Once bacon is done to your liking, remove to a cooling rack (put paper towel under the cooling rack to catch any drippings).
Drain most of the grease from the pan (put in a heat-safe pyrex dish to save for later use).
Add greens to the pan and cook until wilted, then transfer to plate.
Serve bacon, eggs, and greens with toast and fresh fruit.

Besides my wonderful breakfast, I also experimented with carrot soup. I really like cooked carrots and raw carrot sticks are a great snack, but with all the carrots I got this week, I knew I was going to have to try something new. I decided to try making a ginger-carrot soup, but since it's so hot, I wanted to chill it. I ended up with a fresh tasting, simple soup that is perfect for a hot summer day. Served with a plain green salad and bread with butter, it was another mark of happiness in a wonderful weekend.*

Chilled Ginger Carrot Soup

1 tbsp bacon grease (or olive oil)
2 to 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 c red onion, grated
2 c carrot, grated
3 c water
1 tsp chicken Better than Bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp cilantro, rinsed and chopped

In a soup pan, melt bacon grease over medium heat.
Add ginger and onion and cook until onion is translucent.
Add carrot and cook, stirring for 3 minutes.
Add water, bouillon, salt and pepper and turn heat up to high.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Pour soup into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Pour soup into a serving bowl, stir in cilantro, then place in the refrigerator until chilled.
Serve with green salad and bread.

*As noted, I forgot the ego bit. I meant to say how I couldn't believe the amazing deliciousness of the soup. It was just so perfect! And I made it without starting from another recipe. It's all me and all wonderful. (There, ego boost).

Bonus Day

I have tomorrow off, so I thought I would post two things today (ooo). Last night I had breakfast for dinner, but without any syrup requiring breads (I don't have any syrup at the moment, bummer). Instead I made an omelet and a potato-kale scramble. Do you call it a scramble if it doesn't include eggs? Hmm... Anyways, it was delicious and accomplished 2 goals: finish the last of the spinach from the share the week before last and knock down one bag of kale from last week's share. I didn't have any bread for toast (should probably go shopping), but I found a large boiled Yukon Gold potato in my refrigerator. Ah leftovers, how you save the day more often than not.

Spinach and Cheddar Omelet with Potato-Kale Scramble

2 tsp butter, divided
3 eggs
3 tbsp green onion, sliced thin
1/2 c spinach, washed and chopped
1 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1/2 c cubed cooked potato (cold)
3 c kale, washed and torn into pieces
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a pan over medium heat, melt 1 tsp butter.
In a bowl, beat eggs well.
Mix green onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper into the eggs.
Spread butter in pan evenly, then pour in eggs.
Once the eggs are well set, but still slightly wet on the top, use a spatula to flip.
Sprinkle spinach and cheese on one half of the omelet, then turn other half over to cover. Remove to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Place 1 tsp butter in the same pan and add garlic.
Once garlic is fragrant, add potato and kale.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stir while cooking (using spatula to scrape any browned potato from the bottom of the pan).
Once potato is hot and kale is wilted, transfer to plate and eat while warm.

I think I also mentioned that I was going to make some coleslaw with all the cabbage I had left from two weeks ago. I researched a variety of recipes in my old cookbooks. I find, when you're looking for something classic, the old cookbooks are always the best. Too many cookbooks today try to make things less fat (eat less) or time (I enjoy cooking, so I don't necessarily need all my meals done in 10 minutes) or are trying to reinvent recipes (which I have no problem with, I do that a lot, but again, looking for classic). Also, if I'm looking to experiment myself, I like to know how people typically make something and to think of variations all on my lonesome.

After digging around, I found that a "boiled dressing" was a classic for coleslaw. It's not actually boiled, but it is cooked in a pan and then allowed to cool before dressing the vegetables. I took ideas from a few different recipes and settled upon adding mustard seeds and celery seeds to the dressing. For the vegetables, I added shredded zucchini, kohlrabi, and carrots. I also met someone once who salted the vegetables and allowed them to weep before adding the dressing, so I also did that. After a few days, it's gotten a bit watery, but the first couple days it was delicious. Eaten with some cold cooked chicken, it was a nice summery meal.

Classic Coleslaw

6 c finely shredded cabbage (mixture of green and napa cabbages)
2 zucchini, shredded with a grater
1 kohlrabi bulb, peeled and then shredded with a grater
1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
3/4 c half and half
1/4 c vinegar
1 c onion, sliced paper thin
2 c carrot, shredded with a grater

Place cabbage, zucchini, a kohlrabi in a salad spinner and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and toss.
While vegetables are sitting, place other 1/2 tsp salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and flour in a sauce pan and whisk together.
Add egg yolks to seasonings and mix well with a whisk.
Slowly add half and half, whisking smooth.
Add butter and vinegar, then turn on heat to medium-low.
Stirring constantly, cook dressing until it starts to thicken.
Remove from heat, then pour into a Pyrex measuring cup and put in the refrigerator to cool.
When dressing is cool, rinse the vegetables with water and spin dry.
In a large mixing bowl, combine these vegetables with the onion and carrots. Stir well.
Pour dressing over the vegetables and mix well.
Place in the refrigerator and allow to sit for at least 2 hours before serving.

Oh internet

So, apparently there is a conspiracy to prevent me from updating my blog on a daily basis. Enter "loss of Internet for the weekend." Well, despite the inability to post, I did not fast over the weekend, far from it. I have too many vegetables to eat! So many, in fact, that I incorporated them into my breakfast. Enter "the breakfast sandwich." It's oh so delicious and envied by other breakfast sandwiches that lack its vitamin richness. Or so we can imagine in our little world of walking-talking breakfast sandwiches. I imagine those fast food ones would be the kids getting picked on. Or, maybe I have it backwards and they're actually the popular kids and my little guy is the outcast. Good thing it's all in our imaginations. Except the sandwich; it really is tasty!

Egg and Kale Breakfast Sandwich

2 slices hearty whole grain bread, toasted
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp black pepper olive oil
6 medium to small kale leaves, washed and torn in half
salt and pepper to taste

Once bread is toasted, spread 1/2 tbsp cream cheese on each slice.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add butter.
At the same time, heat a small cast iron pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Once the butter is melted and sizzling, tilt pan to spread and then crack the eggs into the pan. Break the yolks and salt and pepper "to taste."
Once the oil is shimmering in the other pan, tilt pan to spread and then add kale.
While your eggs are cooking, occasionally stir the kale until wilted. Remove from heat.
When eggs are mostly done, flip and cook the rest of the way.
When eggs are done, put kale on one slice of the bread, top with eggs and then the second piece of bread.
Eat while hot.

Breakfast Review - Bintliff's American Cafe

So, I mentioned that Kurt, Jen and I were going to try to go to Bintliff's American Cafe. Well we ended up going twice. The food was wonderful and I really love the atmosphere. The color scheme is eggplant and cream, which gives a cozy feel while allowing it to be properly bright for a brunch cafe. They play jazz and the walls are decorated with old photos and documents from 1800s grocery stores and sailing logs. While waiting for a table, you can enjoy a cup (or three) of their Coffee by Design blend. Jen was happy to discover that they will give you soy milk for your coffee, even when you're standing waiting. The menu is full of creative and tempting options. The first morning Kurt and I both ordered the Eggs Benedict and Jen ordered the Vegetable Hash with an English muffin. The mountain of vegetable hash was perfectly cooked so that the vegetables were done without being overdone. The eggs Benedict was absolutely perfect! You know how most times, when you order this dish, the hollandaise sauce is an obscene yellow goop over undercooked eggs and slightly burnt English muffins? Well, at Bintliff's the sauce is thin, flavorful, and I believe freshly made. The eggs were perfectly done and the muffin was crisp and perfectly browned. Their three potato hash is also divine. It's a combination of sweet potato, red potatoes and either russets or Yukon gold. Besides fresh thyme, there was a spice in them that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but it reminded me of one of the warm flavors in jerk seasoning - perhaps allspice? Jen and I shared one of their chocolate chip macadamia nut pancakes. It was fluffy without dissolving in the syrup and there were just the right amount of chips and nuts to add flavor without being over powering. Kurt ordered the fruit plate. He was disappointed to find that it was half melons. Other than my mom, nobody in my family is a fan of melon. Seeing that Kurt hadn't eaten half his fruit, our waiter did not charge us for it. We were so happy with the meal that we went back the next day, even without a reservation.

The second morning I had the Raspberry Almond pancakes, which were delicious, with a side of maple sausage and eggs. The sausages were so large, I could have shared them with someone else and gone without the eggs. Now I know. Kurt had their Georgia Pecan Carmel waffle, which he enjoyed. Jen had their Dark Chocolate waffle with a side of medium rare steak. Once again we were all full to the brim and completely satisfied with our meals. Now I know why everyone waits at Bintliff's for their brunch. I highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the area.

Christmas Eve Breakfast

My whole family has postponed our Christmas celebration to January. While this meant that we haven't quite felt that holiday spirit this year, it turns out it wasn't that bad of a decision. If my brother and his girlfriend had been flying home, they would have found themselves stuck on the west coast due to the recent weather. Let's hope that January, which tends to be snowier all around, doesn't throw us for a loop too!

Postponed family Christmas celebration means postponed traditional meals. On Christmas Eve we usually have sausage, cheese, dill bread and soup. Christmas morning brings caramel rolls and scrambled eggs. The Christmas Day meal is typically either ham or turkey. There was one Christmas where my mom and I tried to break with tradition and had an Indian meal one day and Cajun the next. I still haven't heard the end of the gastronomic adventures my weaker stomached family members experienced.

Since I have tradition to look forward to and I'm spending this Christmas Eve and Day with my brother and sister-in-law, we're covering the Puerto Rican traditions of my sister-in-law's family. If you haven't had the pleasure to eat good home cooked Puerto Rican food, you are missing out! Earlier this week Jen (my sister-in-law) made Frijoles con bollitas (stewed black eyed pea with green banana dumplings). It's one of my favorite Puerto dishes. Tonight, for Christmas Eve dinner we'll be having Alcapurrias (green banana and plantain dough filled with seasoned beef and deep fried). Tomorrow we'll be having pork roast seasoned with garlic, green olives and adobo. Yum!

This morning, while my brother, Kurt, and Jen went for a run, I made breakfast. I fried up the mashed potato filling from the varenyky like hash. I scrambled a few eggs and cooked some sausages. While all of that was delicious, it mainly played the role of accompanying my first attempt at Ginger Scones. Jen and I have both had Ginger Scones that we've loved. I wanted to capture the variety of tastes you can get from ginger in its many forms, so I used candied ginger, ground ginger, and freshly grated ginger. The only thing I would do differently is to squeeze the juice out of the grated ginger and not use the pulp. Oh, and follow the recipe accurately and not add an extra 1/4 c of butter (oops). What follows is an adaptation of a Buttermilk Scone recipe that my mother found online and which we've found to be the best basic scone recipe. I've marked the items I added with an asterisk. That way you can omit or change those to make your own creations.

Ginger Scones

3 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon*
1/2 tsp ground ginger*
3/4 c unsalted butter
1/2 c candied ginger, chopped*
1/4 c walnuts, chopped*
juice from 3 inches of fresh ginger, grated*
1 c plus a dash buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ground ginger in a large mixing bowl and stir together well.
Cut butter into the dry ingredients until coarse meal is achieved.
Stir in candied ginger and walnuts.
Mix fresh ginger juice into buttermilk.
Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients.
Using a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula, gently mix. (I slide the spoon into the bowl along the edge, scooping up through the center.)
When everything is JUST moist, gather dough into your hands and gently form into a loose ball.
Divide dough in half.
With each half, pat into a loose ball then place on a lightly floured surface.
Pat ball flat to about 1 inch thick.
Cut each dough round into 8 wedges and arrange on cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until inside is dry and outside is only slightly browned.
Serve warm.

Breakfast Sandwiches

I assume that most everyone has had either one of those chain breakfast sandwiches or something similar. Well, my sister-in-law made her own version the other morning. When I saw her choice of meat I wondered... hard salami on a breakfast sandwich? But it was tasty. This morning, looking for a quick breakfast and seeing the fresh French bread sitting on the counter, I made a goat cheese and egg version. Breakfast sandwiches are fun and easy to be creative with, so get out your eggs, find your favorite bread, and start creating!

Jen's Egg Sandwich

1 egg
1 tsp butter or butter substitute
salt and pepper to taste
1 slice hard salami
1 English muffin
butter for muffin

Heat the teaspoon of butter in a pan.
Add egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover pan and fry until the egg is cooked to your desired firmness.
Toast English muffin while egg is frying.
Butter muffin.
Once egg is cooked, place on the muffin.
Place the slice of hard salami in the hot pan and fry quickly on both sides.
Place salami on the egg, top with other half of muffin and serve hot.

Goat Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

5 inches of French bread, sliced in half
1 tsp butter or butter substitute
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp goat cheese

Heat butter in a frying pan.
Add eggs and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
When eggs are mostly cooked, flip over and cook until yolk is your desired firmness.
While eggs are cooking, spread goat cheese on the bottom half of the French bread.
When eggs are done, cut in half and place length wise on the bottom half of the bread.
Replace top half of the bread and serve hot.

You could easily add fresh basil and thinly sliced tomatoes to this sandwich. Or maybe mix some dill weed into the goat cheese before spreading on the bread. Or if you'd like to add meat, what about pan frying some prosciutto a little? Eggs go well with mustard, so you could put a thin layer of mustard on your bread, under the goat cheese. The best way to approach your kitchen is to keep an open mind. When you have an ingredient you want to use, look through your refrigerator and cupboard for the things that might go well with it. Don't be afraid to break with tradition and you'll have the culinary variety needed to expand your cooking repertoire and to keep cooking fun.

After losing my internet at home, I have been strongly neglecting my blog, but last night I devised a plan to finally update you on some of the recipes I’ve been making lately. Type the posts at home and upload them before work.

We begin this long journey into my recent past with a recipe for a Pasty potpie style. Some of my coworkers and I have created a cooking club and I was hosting the first round. We chose to do our club like a potluck, since we would be holding them on work nights. We also felt that a theme would help ensure that the foods would complement one another. The first theme was fall foods, which I was forced to enforce with certain individuals, who shall remain nameless, but had chosen the theme and suggested she bring a spring vegetable. Ahem. My strict enforcement of the theme prompted a rather unflattering association between myself and a certain WWII German political party. I, personally, had no trouble deciding what I was making. I had been craving a good pasty, but I had never made one and wasn’t quite sure what gave it its delicious flavor. Enter the internet and it’s perpetual eagerness to find what I needed in less than 4.832 seconds. I found that a generous helping of pepper and onion was the key, as was rutabaga. Done. Many of the recipes had their own pastry recipe, but our family has a tried and true recipe that I opted to use due to its dependability. I did alter the pastry recipe slightly, since I was out of sugar, but I did have some honey and it worked just as well. The pasty ended up tasting exactly how I wanted it to, thank you mom for teaching me how to smell for flavor, rather than tasting.

Pasty (potpie style)

1 double pie crust
1 lb ground pork
1 ½ onions, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large rutabaga, peeled and cubed a little smaller than the potato, but not as small as the carrots
freshly ground black pepper to taste (somewhere between 2 tsp and 1 tbsp)
salt to taste (about 1 tsp)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the ground pork and onions in a cast iron skillet and cook over medium heat. You do not want the pork to brown, but you do want it to cook all the way through. Stir it often enough to prevent browning.

In a large pot, put the potatoes, carrots and rutabaga, covering with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat a bit so that it does not boil over, and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop cooking.

Once the pork is cooked through, mix in the cooked vegetables and add the black pepper and salt. Smell the mixture, you should smell a good amount of pepper. If you don’t, add more. Then add about ¼ c water to moisten the mixture a bit.

Roll out one half of the pie crust and place in a 9x9 baking dish. Pour in the filling (I ended up with a little extra. My dog loved that!). Roll out the second crust for the top. Before laying the second crust on top of the mixture, use some cool water and moisten the edges of the bottom crust, along the rim of the baking dish. Gently roll the second crust onto your rolling pin and lay over the pie. Gently press down when you moistened the bottom crust. Trim both crusts so that you have just over 1 inch of crust over hanging. Roll under and crimp the edges. Use a sharp knife to slice a couple slits in the top of the crust.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden.

One of my coworkers is engages to the son of cranberry grower, which means that at harvest time she kindly brought many of use a bag of fresh cranberries. Yum! I used them to make Cranberry Walnut Pancakes, a fruit cobbler and a filling for crepes. The cobbler came of another day where I was trying to make something from what I had in the house while also attempting to sate a sweets craving. I’ve been making crepes on the weekends recently. They are just so delicious. I’m going to share the fruit cobbler recipe I made and how I’m going to make my next batch of crepes.

Fall Fruit Cobbler

2 soft apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and sliced thin
½ c cranberries, washed and halved
¼ c brown sugar
¼ c flour
dash of salt
4 tbsp butter, softened
¼ c honey
½ c walnuts
½ to 1 c rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place apples, pear, and cranberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with brown sugar, flour, and salt and coat well. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Pour the fruit into a bread dish.
With your hands, mix together the butter, honey, walnuts and oats. Spread over the top of the fruit.
Bake until a fork meets no resistance when inserted into the cobbler.

Orange Crepes with Cranberries

Crepes (make approximately 6):
¾ c flour
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 c milk
1 egg, beaten
½ tsp vanilla
1 tbsp melted butter
zest of ½ an orange

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add all remaining ingredients and whisk until completely smooth.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Using a stick of butter with the paper turned back, quickly grease the pan. Pour in ¼ c of the batter and quickly tilt pan in a circular motion to spread the mixture thinly over the bottom of the pan. Cook until slightly brown on one side, flip and brown other side. To keep the crepes warm, place in a covered dish in an oven set to warm.

Cranberries:
¼ lb cranberries
6 tbsp sugar
½ c water
zest of ½ an orange

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until sauce is thick.

To serve:
Place a crepe on a large plate, put a line of filling along the middle 1/3 of the crepe. Fold over one side, then the other. Slide aside and repeat until the desired number of crepes are on the plate. If desired, you can sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the cranberry sauce before folding the crepes.


The past few days I’ve been craving Indian food, but I’ve also been watching my budget. This means using up what I have in the house. I discovered that I have three half-full bags of lentils in my cupboard, one of regular lentils, one of red lentils, and the last of Moroccan lentils. I used two with the following soup that was inspired by dal.

Indian-spiced Lentil Soup

1 tbsp oil
½ an onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp Indian curry powder (the kind that is not spicy)
½ lb of red lentils
½ lb of Moroccan lentils
Enough water to cover, plus more to maintain soup consistency while cooking
1 tsp chicken boullion
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pan over medium-high heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft.
Add cumin seeds and curry powder and cook until fragrant.
Pour in lentils, stir to coat, the add water to cover.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Stir in the chicken boullion.
Add water as the soup cooks. You want to maintain a slightly thick consistancy.
Once red lentils have cooked away and Moroccan lentils are tender, add the salt.
Heat a bit more, then serve.
I let this soup simmer for a few hours before eating it.

Tonight I had a craving for Indian, but also for cream of potato soup. This was the result (though, I did have to run to the store for a couple of things). Warning, this is a bit spicy!

Creamy and Spicy Potato Soup

4 red potatoes (big enough that you can’t quite fit your hand around them), washed and cubed
2 ½ tbsp butter
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ a medium onion, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp flour
2 ½ c milk
salt to taste

Place potatoes in a soup pan, cover with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Heat the butter in the same pan over medium heat.
Once the butter has melted, add the mustard seeds and cook for a couple minutes.
Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Add ground ginger, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and cumin seeds and cook until fragrant.
Add the flour and cook for about 1 minute.
Slowly add the milk, then heat over medium-high heat until thick.
Once the sauce is thick, add the salt and potatoes and stir. Bring to desired serving temperature and serve.

Now that I’ve devised my system of continuing my blog, you’ll be hearing from me more often!

Pancakes with Banana Sauce

I forgot to get syrup at the store last weekend. So I made pancakes and used two ripe bananas to make a sauce for them. If you like banana bread, you'll like this.

Pancakes (enough for 2 to 3 people)

1 1/4 c buttermilk
1 egg
1 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
Allow to sit while you make the banana sauce.
Once the banana sauce is started, heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Once the skillet is hot, lower heat to medium to medium-low.
Use a paper towel to spread some shortening on the skillet before the first pancakes go on.
Using 1/4 c measuring spoon, put three measures of pancake batter on the skillet.
Once pancakes are bubbly and starting to just dry along the edges, flip. Do not press down on the pancakes - that makes them flat.
Allow to cook on other side a few moments, remove and add more pancake batter to the skillet.
I keep the pancakes warm by putting them on a plate covered with aluminum foil.

Banana Sauce

2 ripe bananas that have started getting a lot of brown spots
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter

Put bananas in a sauce pan and mash.
Add sugar and molasses and stir.
Cook over medium-high heat, bring to a boil.
Stir in the salt and butter.
Once butter is melted, turn off the heat and allow to cool a bit before serving.

Colorful Breakfast

I had a wonderful breakfast this morning that also happened to be very colorful. Two of our dyed eggs, strawberries (more than just three. I thought three would look nice in the picture), and a piece of homemade bread with butter and honey. That is no ordinary honey. It's pumpkin honey. We got it last fall when we went to pick out pumpkins for our Jack O' Lanterns. It has a delicate flavor and you can definitely taste flowers. While I love clover honey, this is far superior. It's so good, I've refused to use it in my tea. I spread the pumpkin honey on bread and biscuits only.

Lemons and Limes

Today we made... scratch that, my mom made Lemon Poppyseed Scones. I took the dogs for an early morning run again. Unlike the Maple Nut Scones, these are more like biscuits in moisture and texture. With the coming of spring, I crave fresh flavors. What's fresher than lemons?

Lemon Poppyseed Scones
(adapted from this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_1528,00.html)

3 c flour
1/3 c sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 c butter
2-4 tbsp poppyseeds
1 c buttermilk
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and lemon zest together.
Cut in the butter until coarse meal.
Stir in poppyseeds and then buttermilk. (Mix as with the Maple Nut Scones, gently.)
Divide dough in half, pat into rounds on a floured surface.
Cut each round into 8 to 10 wedges.
Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.
Mix lemon juice and powdered sugar into a frosting, drizzle over the scones.

I have some plans for these limes. I'll post that experiment soon.

Maple Nut Scones

I've realized that using a Mac with Blogger has its drawbacks. Like not having the option to insert a cool link into my post (that one down below was only acheived because I used a PC that time). Instead you get this: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Restaurant-Quality-Maple-Oatmeal-Scones/Detail.aspx. Not exactly pretty, is it? Nonetheless, this link goes to a great scone recipe that I use regularly, even switching it up and making other flavors. My Gingersnap version is widely appreciated (at least the people at the local lumberyard love it). I do, however, make a few changes and have a few tips, if you should like to make these. First, I don't add the dried cherries, but instead a cup of chopped walnuts. Also, scones are a type of biscuit. I have no idea why so many of their recipes ask you to stir in the extras after mixing in the liquids. That is a quick way to end up with some tough, nasty scones. Instead, stir in any extras (nuts, raisins, poppy seeds) after you've cut in the butter and before you stir in the liquid. Speaking of the liquid, I add an extra splash of buttermilk so that I don't have to stir as much to wet all the ingredients, and I use 1 teaspoon of maple extract, not 1/2 of one. Why, you might ask? Because I am my father's daughter; if 1/2 is good, 1 must be extra good. (But don't tell him that. I enjoy teasing him mercilessly about the fact that if he's sent to the store for one quart of half-and-half, he inevitably comes home with two, "Just in case." This goes for most everything.)

Back to the stirring and preparation of the scones, I find that you should start off by gently folding to incorporate dry and wet ingredients. Then, when it's almost all mixed, I get my hands dirty (and sticky) by gathering the multiple lumps and working in that stubborn bit of dry lingering in the bottom of the bowl by patting the lumps into a large ball and dabbing the damp outside into the lingering dry bits. When you're done, the whole thing should be a moist, somewhat sticky ball. Don't try to pack the ball too tight, though, because you might ruin some of the biscuit structure. Basically, over-mixing is your enemy while making scones. Put a very liberal amount of flour on your counter, do NOT knead the dough as the recipe tries to trick you into doing, and proceed to divide the dough and cut as the recipe tells you. If you put this dough on a lightly floured surface, you WILL be using something to scrape it off. It sticks. But the end result is delicious. Oh, and keep an eye on them the first time you make them. Ovens are finicky appliances, and you don't want to end up with burnt scones. I top mine with a "never the same twice" icing of powdered sugar, dash of salt, maple extract and hot water or coffee. If you make it runny enough (but not so much that it just sinks into the scones), and put it on after they've cooled a bit, it should harden nicely on the outside. I find these store best uncovered, as when they're covered they tend to get sticky. Enjoy!

Experimenting with Cranberries

Breakfast is a fun thing to experiment with. This morning we decided to have french toast, and I decided to make a cranberry syrup to go with it. I've done some experimenting with cranberry syrups before, but this time I added cinnamon and maple flavoring. Before I was just making a fruit syrup (sugar, water, fruit, maybe some vanilla extract or vanilla bean). We also made scrambled eggs.

French Toast
11 slices of homemade bread
6 eggs
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp cinnamon and sugar mix
butter for the pan

Beat eggs in a shallow dish.
Add milk and beat.
Add cinnamon and sugar mix and beat.
Heat a skillet (we use cast iron) over medium-high heat.
Once hot, reduce heat to medium to medium-low.
Put butter on pan and spread around.
Dip each side of two slices of bread in the egg mixture and place on the skillet.
Brown the first side, turn, and brown second side.
Too keep warm while making the rest of the toast, place on a plate in an oven set to about 200 degrees.

Cranberry Syrup
1/2 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp mapeleine (maple flavoring)
1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low.
Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Allow to cool a bit before serving.

Scrambled Eggs

8 eggs
1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter

Beat eggs well.
Add pepper and salt and beat until blended.
Melt butter in a steel skillet over medium to medium-low heat.
Once the pan is hot, add the eggs.
Allow a layer to cook and scrape up.
Repeat until the eggs are cooked, but still glistening.
Do NOT overcook, unless you like rubber for breakfast.