Garden Veggies

Garden Veggies
Made into tile for my stove backsplash

Portland Rose Garden

Portland Rose Garden
Mike and my 2 youngest sons Ian and Leif

Grandson Michael's Birthday 2014 throwing water balloons

Grandson Michael's Birthday 2014 throwing water balloons
With son Beau, Grandson Luke and his mom Jennifer

Maren

Maren
I cut this out of a wedding line. I must take more pictures of her.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

CRANBERRY CRUNCH CAKE WITH WARM ORANGE SAUCE


This was my favorite new recipe this Christmas season.  My sister-in-law, Alicia Chilcote,  made the cake for my birthday in November.  I liked her version but thought it needed a little orange zing in the cake and the sauce.  I also have an Orange Crunch Cake I like and decided to put the crunch topping on this.  I cut half the fat from the original sauce and the cake only has 3 T. of oil, which I questioned but it works.  The fresh cranberries add all the needed moisture.  This is a very nice holiday or winter dish.


THE CRUNCH TOPPING  -  Crush 3 whole graham crackers (1/2 C)  and mix with 1/4 C brown sugar, 1/4 C of  fine chopped nuts (optional) and 1/4 C melted butter  -  Press into the bottom of a well greased bundt pan and up the sides a little.  

CRANBERRY CAKE 
2 Cups flour    
1 Cup sugar  
1 egg beaten
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
½ tsp salt
3 T Oil
3 cups fresh Cranberries (sort out the squishy ones)
The juice of 1 large orange and milk to make 2/3 cup
1 T. finely grated orange peel

Mix dry ingredients together.  Add orange juice mixture, egg and oil.  Mix well (will be a stiff batter, add 1 T of milk if it seems too dry)  add cranberries and peel.  Pour over the crunch mixture carefully.  Bake @ 350 for about 35-40 min.   This can be made in a 9x13 pan also.  I have had a little problem getting the middle top cooked in the bundt. pan.   Serve with warm sauce.

SAUCE
Melt 1/4 C butter in a sauce pan add 2 T flour and stir for one minute on medium heat.  Add  1 C. sugar 3/4 C. fresh orange juice and 1 T. orange peel and 1/2 C whipping cream.  Bring to a boil.  Serve warm over the cake. Lovely, lovely!


Tuesday, December 28, 2010

LOST IN BUDAPEST

 I loved Budapest, even though my first day didn't turn out so well (as you will read in the story that follows)   I read "The Bridge to Andau" by James Mitchner (about the 1956 revolution against the Russians) before coming on this vacation and the story captivated me so that I couldn't wait to see the city. I wasn't disappointed.   I liked it better than Vienna.  The Danube separates the cities of Buda and Pest and something about a river running through a city is always charming.  That is what I loved about Paris also.   I have a Picasa Web Album with some select pictures of Budapest if you are interested.  

This story is a bit embarrassing on my part but oh well, here it is. 

This was the restaurant that we checked out as we moved down the street.  I waited across the corner from here.

An event from my 5 weeks in Europe on Sept 23, 2010

I yelled on the streets of Budapest, loud enough for everyone on the street that day to hear me, all the while Mike was sushing me.  “Everyone can hear you, he said.  “I don’t care if they can hear me,” I screamed.  I wanted sympathy, not censure.  I wanted understanding, not blame.  I still think I was right but not to yell, necessarily.

I didn’t plan to get mad.  I had been in control up until the moment Mike finally found me, at least I thought I was.  I couldn’t imagine how we had come to this.  Isn’t the first rule of being lost to stay put and the second rule to go back to the last place you were together?  These two ideas nailed me to a Budapest street corner and I couldn’t move in fear of making it all worse.

We arrived in Budapest after 3 days in Vienna, taking the train for 2 ½ hours through the fields of corn and red roofed hamlets.  It was a miserable ride for me.  Four German speaking adults, facing each other, sat across the aisle from us, chatting so loudly that I began to be irritated.  I was tired and wanted to sleep but the seats were not comfortable.  I tried to read but the ongoing guttural German distracted me.  We hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was 2:30 when we arrived and 4:30 before we were settled in our charming flat.  We needed to exchange euros into Hungarian money and the place to do it was temporarily closed.

It was 5:30 before we headed down the street to find a restaurant.  My stomach was hurting and I was set up for a good low blood sugar tantrum.  We spent several minutes on a corner checking out a restaurant menu.  Cheryl went across the street to take pictures of a church she said was bathed in the afternoon sun.  When she returned she said, “You should take pictures of that church, it is very lovely.”  So I crossed the street and moved down a bit out of sight to snap my photos.  When I returned they were all gone.  I better stay put, was all I could think. I had drummed into my children often the rules of being lost (but obviously not to my husband).  There was a street that angled off on the left besides the 4 corner streets and we had wondered about restaurants there...what if they took this street?  So, I parked myself by a piece of granite on our corner.  I thought it would be good because they could see me from the cross street also.   That turned out to be a mistake.

After 30 minutes I started to panic a little.  I knew I could find my way back to our flat but it was too early for that.  I just couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t come back.  50 minutes later a scruffy looking man came and stood next to the marble block I was leaning on and started to smoke.  I moved away and leaned against the side of a building close to the corner.   Within the hour I saw Mike far down the street moving toward me.  His face was like a thundercloud.  He hadn’t eaten either.   Two low blood sugar eruptions were inevitable.  He started to blame me for not coming on down the street.  He said there was a plaza in front of the church and they had been waiting there, thinking that surely I would know that was where they were.  I argued the point.  How would I know there was a plaza there?  How would I even know which street they took?  The more critical he became of my decision to stay put the angrier I became.  “ Why wouldn’t you come back to the place you saw me last?”  I screamed.  “I couldn’t move.  I was paralyzed with not knowing what to do, surely you can understand that.”  But he argued with me, saying he looked up the street and didn’t see me.  My decision to stand by the marble block was clearly not the best idea as it put me out of the direct line of view.

I wanted Mike to come running up the street when he saw me, take me in his arms and press my head to his chest.  I would cry and he would say, “I am so glad we found you.  I was so worried.” ...what a fantasy that was.

We regrouped and found a lovely little restaurant with a patio.  We had a nice meal, but I didn’t enjoy it in the spirit I wanted to.  There was tension between Mike and me.  He told me later that he was more embarrassed for me on that day than he has ever been.  That was hard to hear but I can say that I was more disappointed in his reaction to my difficulty than I have ever been. (After 40 years of marriage I doubt that is true of either of us.)   His criticism crushed me.  The hour alone on that corner was filled with a lot of fear and stress.  Then the argument on top of it all left me physically and emotionally drained.

So, why did I write this? (One reason is I needed to vent after the incident that night with my trip journal)  I think there are lessons for both of us and one of them is that when the situation is understood there is no reason to blame the other.  Another lesson is abiding by the rules of being lost in the future.   The lost shouldn’t move and those looking for the lost should go back to the last place they were together.  Also, don’t scream in the street just because someone doesn’t agree with your decisions.  And lastly, carry some food with you.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

THIN MINTS



I have posted this previously but without process pictures.  These Thin Mints can me made with  chocolate flavored drops, which I use, because I have a source of good fresh ones at Kitchen Kneads in Ogden.  I made them once with chocolate drops from Hobby Lobby and they were not as good.  Michael's crafts sells them also but I have yet to try those.   I am sure they can be made with real, good, bulk chocolate but everyone seems to be happy with these as I have always made them so I continue as such.   You need almost 2 lbs. of chocolate drops and 1 lb. of green ones, may be mint flavored but not necessary.  As you will see I augment the drops with a generous handful of good chocolate chips.  It makes all the difference. These are quick and easy to make.  My family loves them.  Enjoy!

 Layer one
Layer two
Layer Three and Cut


1.  Get a large sided cookie sheet and put four or five sheets of parchment paper (actually you can use newspaper if you don't have parchment.)  in the bottom cut to fit nicely. (this keeps you from cutting up the
bottom of your pan when you slice the mints) Next put 3 sheets of waxed paper or parchment over this cut to fit. The better the fit the nicer the edges of your mints.

2. You need 2 medium glass bowls (no plastic in the microwave it is not healthy) Add 1 lb. of chocolate drops (For a better flavor I remove 1/2 C and add in 1/2 C. good semisweet chocolate chips.)  Add 3 T. vegetable oil and 4-5 drops of mint extract (any mint you like). Heat in the microwave on 4 or 5 power for 3-4 minutes. You might need to stir to get them all melted.

3.  Pour onto the wax paper and spread with a spatula to get as even as possible. Tap a few times on the counter to level. Place in a cool place just until set. The only problem these mints have is if you let them sit too long between layers sometimes they separate when cutting.

4.  Make the mint layer the same with the entire pound and 3 T. of oil and I always add a little more mint even if they already have some mint flavor. Pour over the chocolate layer being careful not to interrupt your chocolate too much as you smooth it out. Tap to level again.

5. When your 2rd layer is set melt the last pound of chocolate as the first and pour, even and tap. Let them set an hour or so. They cut easier if they don't set up too long.

6.  I use an  exacto knife to cut them.  Score them first with a ruler to get an even cut or if you are not fussy just do a  1 1/4 inch eyeball.  Its OK if they are a little skeewampus...they taste the same. Sometimes the paper sticks to the bottom and must be peeled off some squares. I put them into plastic bags and then into a Large Christmas tin and then store them in a cool place. They stay beautiful all month and even until Valentines Day if you can keep them that long. This makes 3 lbs. I have often made 2 batches while I am at it so I have some to give away. Enjoy!


Monday, December 13, 2010

CASHEW BRITTLE

 This is not like peanut brittle.  It is thin, crispy, buttery, and very addictive.  If I can get someone started on it they are hooked for life. 

CASHEW BRITTLE
2 C. Sugar            1 C. Lt. corn syrup
½ C. Water
Bring to boil  in a large sauce pan or dutch oven size pan
and add 1 C. butter and cook to
Soft crack. (I just do a water test on this.
  When it feels hard in a bowl of cold water it is ready) 
Add 3 C.  raw cashews
(must be raw but the broken ones work fine) 
cook to a hard crack stirring constantly.
(Again I water test this when the nuts begin to brown a bit and
the syrup is a light caramel color drop a little syrup into a small
bowl of cold water.  It should be crispy hard but don't over cook) 
Add 1 tsp. Soda  and stir well. Pour onto the
Bottom of 2 well greased cookie sheets.  Stretch
the candy off the sheet while hot to as thin as possible--
two forks helps.  Break into pieces when cool


 Cooking the syrup to a soft crack


 Adding the nuts and stirring until it is a hard crack


 Add the soda and pour onto the bottom of two
cookies sheets sprayed well with Pam 



With a couple of forks stretch the hot mixture
gradually off the edge of the pan
making it as thin as possible.
Break into serving sizes when cool and store in an airtight container.
It will keep good for as long as it will last.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

THE DANCING CHRISTMAS ELVES

Merry Christmas from the dancing elves,  Michael, Luke, Beau and Grandma and Grandpa Anderson.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

FRESH HOMEMADE PASTA

Roll into a thin circle.  For lasagna cut into 2 inch slices

Cut into 4 pieces


Stack the pieces together and roll up

Slice the rolls into the desired width

Shake out the rolls to separate
The noodles can be cooked now or dried a little or a lot.
They cook faster when fresh.


Fresh Homemade Pasta   is easier and faster than you think and so delicious.

Just Egg Noodles
Beat 4 large eggs add 2 tsp. Oil and enough flour to make a kneadable dough. Knead for 5 minutes and let rest 15-30 minutes before rolling.  The dough needs to be stiff but not so stiff it is difficult to roll.  If you have a Kitchen Aid type mixer you can knead it there but by hand is very energizing

Spinach Egg Noodles
Beat 4 large eggs add ½ cup drained chopped frozen or fresh cooked spinach and 2 tsp. oil. Add flour to make a kneadable dough. Knead for 5 minutes and let rest before rolling.

Semolina Flour Noodles

Beat 4 eggs with 2 tsp. oil Add 1 cups of semolina flour and enough white flour to make a kneadable dough. Knead for 5 minutes and let rest  before rolling.  Semolina flour can be purchased at Kitchen Kneads in Ogden.  It makes a firmer noodle than just eggs.

Rolling and Cooking

Cut the dough into about 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a circle to the desired thinness. (For soup I usually make the noodles quite thin...for lasagna a little thicker. ) Use a little flour on the board when rolling and then dust with flour and cut into 4 pie shaped pieces. Stack the pieces on top of each other with the corners meeting. Roll into a small roll and slice into the desire noodle width. If you want to make lasagna noodles just cut the circle into 2-inch strips.  (Homemade noodles make fantastic lasagna)

Undo the rolls and dust with flour. This can be made ahead until ready to boil—just let sit on a cookie sheet or counter or cook right away.

Each of these recipes makes a large pot of soup or enough pasta for about 3-4 people. If you don’t want the noodles to thicken your soup boil them separately in water then drain and add to your soup (this makes a clear broth.) The flour you dust on them to keep them from sticking together thickens and clouds your soup, which can be nice if you have a rich broth.  Fresh pasta cooks very quickly in about 2-4 minutes, depending on the thickness.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

HALLELUJAH

This made my day...very inspiring that there are that many people in the food court willing to rise and sing with such gusto. Merry Christmas!