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Make it a holiday gift to yourself.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Good Gumbo
My latest posting is at https://wordpress.com/read/blog/id/60305480/
I hope all of you are warm on this snowy Saturday.
Merry Christmas!
Colleen
P.S. Please scroll down the new blog and use the orange FOLLOW button to ensure you get all my posts!
I hope all of you are warm on this snowy Saturday.
Merry Christmas!
Colleen
P.S. Please scroll down the new blog and use the orange FOLLOW button to ensure you get all my posts!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
I have moved to http://foodfarmsandfarmmarkets.com/ and back in the groove for posting. Check out the recipe in time for the holidays!Don't forget to subscribe to the new blog site.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Did you hear the news?
I dropped the ball and I apologize for not picking it up before today. A recent bought of illness caused an upheaval in my schedule. Added to this is the fact I am developing the new site for the blog and trying to finish the painting of a bathroom, life has been hectic.
The new blog site will debut after Thanksgiving, just in time for baking season. Until then, the blog is on hold. The new site will have previously the new posts, published posts, recipes, and a comments section which will (hopefully) work! Afterwards, I hope you will visit the new site and tell all your friends. One of my goals for next year (I hesitate to call it a New Years Resolution) is to to expand the readership and will need your help.
Until then, enjoy the holiday and shop small!
The new blog site will debut after Thanksgiving, just in time for baking season. Until then, the blog is on hold. The new site will have previously the new posts, published posts, recipes, and a comments section which will (hopefully) work! Afterwards, I hope you will visit the new site and tell all your friends. One of my goals for next year (I hesitate to call it a New Years Resolution) is to to expand the readership and will need your help.
Until then, enjoy the holiday and shop small!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Olio Nuovo is here! Get it while it lasts!
Taste the olive oil before purchasing. I had heard this, but
it is not possible when you shop at a grocery store. Grocery stores want you to
purchase their olive oil, take it home, decide if you like it, and keep the oil
regardless of your opinion. Honestly, for a long time I wondered if there was
any reason to taste olive oils as they had to taste the same. Right? My
skepticism was heightened by the results of a study I had heard about. Turns
out, when you may not be getting what the label states is in the bottle. A
study by the University of California Davis Olive Oil Chemistry Laboratory and
the Australian Oils Research Laboratory uncovered a greater than 50% chance the
imported olive oil was not what the labels stated. The figure for California olive
oil was just 10% (which I find to be 10% too high). (Full disclosure: There are
some voluntary
labeling standards from the USDA.)
What’s a girl to do? This girl was lucky enough to discover Olive Oil Etcetera in
Doylestown, PA. Here you can taste the olive oil and balsamic vinegar offerings
prior to making a purchase. I don’t compare much anymore. Upon my first
tasting, I became a convert to Olio Nuovo, which is a first press California olive
oil available only in the fall. Last year I missed my opportunity and had to
make due with a small sample bottle. The balsamic choices have me turned
up-side down. First, I was all about the Black Walnut balsamic, now it might be
the Fig Balsamic vinegar.
I don’t know the source of origin for all the oils which are
sold by Olive Oil Etcetera
but they do carry California Olive oils which, for me, are the right purchase.
California Olive oils are as ‘local’ a source for as I can get, have high rates
of label integrity, and are sold by a local business owned by two of the nicest
people I have met. Make a point to stop by their store and sample their
offerings, pick up a gift or two, and meet wonderful people who care about the
community.
Those bottles of olive oil at the grocery store? They are
still waiting for me to purchase them and bring them home.
Currently, when you purchase a bottle of the fig balsamic
vinegar a dollar is donated to help Judy the wife of the owner of Vine & Fig Bistro. She is
facing the post-surgery battle that cancer brings to people. I don’t know how
long this will last, but
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Green and Gouda
Last week my coworker was discussing her weekend during
which she taught people the techniques of 18th century cooking. She
described a green onion bread that made my mouth water and left me intent on
making a pot of soup to go with this onion bread. She was kind enough to send
it to me, but I was missing two ingredients. Instead of giving up, I decided to
create my own recipe by adapting a quick bread recipe. I was surprised how small changes lent themselves to making a delicious loaf of
onion bread.
The first step was to select a basic quick bread recipe so I
pulled a fruited quick bread from my files to use as the basis for ingredient
proportions. My first change was to swap out the fruit for leeks which were in
my freezer from a previous share box. Although I had previously sliced the
leeks, I decided to chop them so the onion was finer and could be fully
distributed throughout the bread. Next I
decided to use the remaining smoked gouda in the bread. Dicing this cheese
required patience to achieve a dice no larger than one-eight inch. I had only a
half coup of the cheese and I added a bit of the flour to the cheese in order
to make certain the cheese spread throughout the bread. My final change was to
cut the sugar in half, but how exciting of a change is that?
It is not a perfect recipe (too moist), there are some minor
changes still to be made, but it is the first time I have successfully changed
an existing recipe. So, for one wonderful weekend there was excitement, great
flavors, and great aromas in my kitchen. The only task for me to accomplish is
to identify the cheese I want to use in
the next loaf.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
National Cookie Month
With today being Homemade Cookie Day and the start of
National Cookie Month, I have taken the liberty to post early in the week. Cookies
are a favorite treat of mine and I enjoy making cookies as I find the baking
process to be relaxing. The weather is
still beautiful with warm days and cool nights. These cool nights signal
holiday baking season is soon around the corner.
Each year the selection of holiday cookies I bake changes,
but a few cookies make an annual appearance.
Peanut butter, sugar cookies, gingerbread, and snowballs are on the
holiday trays. The specific cookie selection is influenced by family members
who tell me they want to eat, as well as what I want to bake, and those recipes
which find their way into my hands.
Years ago, a cookie came into my hands and is now baked each
year, but this particular cookie never makes it to anyone in my family. (It
does not travel or freeze well.) It is a delicious, decadent and beautiful thumbprint
cookie. So, these particular cookies I give to friends and, mostly, keep for
myself. These cookies are a cherry and coconut thumbprint cookie. The coconut
turns a beautiful brown and the accent of a bright red cherry is both beautiful
and tasty. They are a bit of heaven in my mouth. If I could only make one
cookie each year it would be this one. While it takes a bit of time to roll the
dough in coconut and add the whole cherry, it is time well spent as the payoff
is amazing. Use your favorite thumbprint recipe or give me a heads up and I
will send the recipe I use.
Enjoy National Cookie Month and try a new recipe and share
with friends and family. May this be the
start of the best baking season you have experienced.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
My friend Bob
A very dear friend recently gave me a wonderful gift of
three red jalapenos he let ripen on his plants. We were having lunch when I
mentioned the need for red jalapenos because I wanted to roast them in order to
make my own chipotle peppers. Or a close approximation as the peppers would be
oven roasted because I lack a smoker and I am not able to dig an in-ground
smoking pit. The problem I was experiencing is the two-fold: most people do not
realize jalapenos turn red when left on the vine and I had never smoked
peppers.
The peppers were cut in half lengthwise with the seeds and
membrane removed then placed into my cast iron pan. These were put into a
too-hot oven and began to blacken too early in the process. The temperature was
reduced, but some was lost to charring. Ideally, these would be smoked in a
smoker with a hardwood to help provide flavor. Maybe some day.
What did I do with my now-roasted jalapenos? I put them in a
jar and will use them in my cooking this weekend. I have a plan for them. I
will keep you updated.
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