Mom's Banana Bread

It's humble. It's a modest housewife's sweet response to the ethos of Mom's Depression Era generation - 'waste not, want not'. It's one of the first baked quick breads that Mom showed me how to make. Granted, Mom came from the generation of bottled lemon juice and walnuts only at Thanksgiving time or for very special baking holidays. She came around in later years ... and now, her legacy lives on and continues to grow in her kids and grands, and great-grands.

DH's Slaw and Stories

Here's a cabbage and apple slaw without all that mayo. Diana Henry presents it as a great healthy side dish in her cook book called A Change of Appetite - Where Healthy Meets Delicious. This crisp and crunchy side nestled up to potato salad and a slow-cooked beef brisket dressed with Bourbon-Peach BBQ Sauce last evening. More on that beef brisket in another post.

A Quiet Saturday Morning and Hot Cross Buns

All week long, I've tried to make these traditional rolls ... it's just been one thing after another and tangled schedules that have kept me from the kitchen work table and oven. But ... this morning ... it was an enforced quiet that made me stop. Stop. SB left early on for a men's breakfast at our little church. The dogs napped in the sun and I found myself smack dab between the darkness of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday.

It was time to make the batch of hot cross buns ... a spicier batch than I've made in the past ... big ones. Buns large enough for a cup of tea or coffee. Buns that won't disappear in a couple bites.

Manchet and a Tribute to a Book

Normally, I'd write a reaction to any book I want to share with folks over on my literature and writing blog, Buch Handling. This book, though, just has to be recommended to all my foodie friends and followers.  Lawrence Norfolk has given foodies a taste of the life of a cook during the late 17th century. I've given you ... bread!

A Birthday Coffeecake ... and a Dream

A post about a pretty perfect birthday or breakfast coffeecake and a wonderful dream .....

Pansies and a Pear Tart

Oh, Spring! At last, you seem to be rearing up and stretching your arms! Blow your breezes and bring on your showers! We are so ready for open windows and clean sweeps!

Banana Walnut and Chocolate Chip Muffins

This winter is shaping up to be a real marathon affair. This morning, I knew we'd need  some sweet starts to the mornings this weekend, as there will be MORE SHOVELLING to do. New England is bracing for one more significant snowfall and I am whining already! And just as I whined my way through making these muffins, the mail arrived and I had two small parcels to cheer me up - a postcard written by Sprout Kate regarding a cheery breakfast at the Neue Galerie's cafe and posted on on a lovely painting/card by Egon Schiele and a parcel that contained a book by Tasha Tudor called The Springs of Joy from my dear friend, Diane! No more whining ...just cheerful thoughts of loved ones that cared enough to pass the joy on ...

Making Cookies ...

It's been an age, it seems , since I made a good batch of oatmeal cookies for Silent Bob. He's not a complainer, but I'm pretty sure I heard a sigh when he came in from loading the woodboxes yesterday and rattled the top of the cookie jar. He must have been expecting the elves to have stocked it overnight, but alas. Hence, the sigh.

So, this evening, while he is off at a planning meeting for a series of bike tours he'll work on come Spring, I am baking him oatmeal cookies with pecans and butterscotch chips. The fire is humming along in both stoves, the cats are chasing each other through the house and stirring up the smart Corgis, and I am blissfully baking cookies, taking photos, and ...

Food Trends for 2015 ... Personal Prognostications

That business over cocktails the other evening got me thinking about the food trends that will be coming our way in 2015. It seems that every year restaurant chefs, food writers, and bloggers catch on to a few select spices, vegetables, meats, fruits, or techniques that become a fad. So I got to wondering what some trends for 2015 might be ...

1. Fritters - Both sweet and savory make wonderful little desserts, tea time bites, and platforms for all sorts of savory sauces or delicate meat and/or vegetable accompaniments. I was recently looking at one of  Diana Henry's cook books and when I saw her recipe for ricotta fritters, I thought them perfect for a food trend jumping off point.

2. Ramen Noodle Bowls - The possibilities are endless for additions to a bowl of noodles. Making a cheap bowl of pasta healthy and tasty is surely a challenge that the foodie world should embrace ... right? Besides, getting interest in more ramen stands and food trucks would be a public service, so a food trend is def called for here.

2. Escarole - This leafy green has much to offer in main dish presentations and salad and vegetable side dish recipes. Let's go, chefs! Serve up the escarole!

4. Honey - Using honey as a small sweetener and as a main ingredient is just the right thing to do. If we're ever to turn around the plight of the honey bee, it will be directly tied to the market force of 'supply and demand' so we need to use more honey. Period. Time to trend!

5. Rabbit Meat - It's lean and healthy. It's a meat source that small producers can humanely raise without shoving corn and junk into the little creatures. Certain species of rabbit and hare are smaller and more realistic in portion per piece. In a time when, meat consumption is becoming less a daily thing and more considered, rabbit's time has come.

6. Sandwich Cookies - Now that cup cakes are off the trendy list of sweet treats for the urban hipster coffee crawl, I'm thinking that a good sandwich cookie could be the next big thing. I recently saw a recipe for oatmeal cookies with a creamy filling that made me think that the world could use at least a hundred more creative ways to knosh two cookies at a time! Sandwich cookies! Yes!

7. Tempura - There must be a zillion ways to prepare and spice a tempura batter. I'm thinking tempura veggies, tempura fruits as embellishments for main dishes, tempura meats and seafood bites.
The tempura technique is ripe for experimentation. It's a food trend just waiting to happen!

8. Grains - Getting good grains that are not full of chemical residue is a pretty important thing, so I'm hoping that smaller organic grain producers get their due in 2015. A trend is called for ...

9. Airline Food 'Alternative Caterers' - Small packs prepared right in the terminal for folks to grab on the go before they hit security and pack away for consumption on the planes (that refuse to step up to the foodie challenge) could make for happier travelers. Just saying ... there's a foodie opp here, if only someone would develop the idea! Or ... has it already been developed. It's been so long since I've been able to AFFORD to travel !!!!! I may just be out of the airline terminal loop.

10. ..... hmmm.

I could probably go on for a bit, but I'm wondering what followers and creepy blog stalkers might think ... feel free to let me know in comment section. What will be the next big foodie thing in 2015?

One Sick Mama, Risotto, and the Tree ...

Well, I could make one more cookie cutter Christmas. I'm good at that ... making cookies, pulling all the same stuff out of the closet and sorting through it meticulously. This year, though, things are a bit different. The kids will be making Christmas Eve dinner. We are attending a different church. I am sick with a horrid cold and don't feel great. I need comfort food, a slow approach to all the decorating and hub-bub. I have been doing a series of home made gifts that I really want to concentrate on and damn the commercial end of things. Thank goodness, I got most of the foodie gifts made before I turned into Typhoid Mary ... now I can sit around on my ass and stitch the rest of the presents ... and hopefully, ditch this sickness!

A Baker's Dozen Foodie Finds for Christmas 2014

                                                                               


Thanksgiving comes and goes ... and while we relish holding on to the memories and Thanksgiving Day leftovers for a few days, there's no denying that Christmas preparations kick into high gear within days of the carving of the turkey and the brief pause to reflect on our blessings! That being said, here is a fun selection of gifts that you just might find fun for giving to the favorite foodie in your life. Wrapping things up in creative fashion is always part of the fun too ... check out Charm Bracelet Diva's website for a fun Christmas post on wrapping and decorating!

I had such fun scoping the Internet for some of these ... and of course, you KNOW that most of them fit my interests. I'm only hoping that my taste reflects just a bit what others in the blogging world think is fun and worthwhile...

Random Recipes - Crusty White Bread

... a return to Random Recipes brings me to an artisan bread worthy of a good soup ...

An Aside ...

I went to lunch with a friend last week at Pickity Place over in Mason, New Hampshire. After lunch, Diane and I meandered around the lovely herb gardens and saw a bird bath perched in the middle of a small raised flower bed. It had flowers floating in it ... so lovely. Well, I don't have a big ceramic bird bath, but I have a pretty pottery bowl and the hollyhocks are blooming alongside the wild daisies. My verbena is a pretty pink this year, too.

If only the Japanese beetles would leave the verbena alone! I have become a mercenary when it comes to Japanese beetles ...I make twice daily patrols of the flower beds, flicking sex-starved gnawing beetles into 'the can of death'. I have a young friend that lives in Brooklyn. She and her husband lament the passing pedestrian children that pick her flowers and wreak havoc on her little green space. I know how she feels, as the beetles are never ending at this time of year. A pest's a pest, I guess.

Simple Elegance ...and Father's Day

This is how I woke up this morning ... six perfect fresh strawberries sitting on the counter top, a sunny Sunday morning - brand new and waiting for me on the back porch, and soft vanilla yogurt chilled in the fridge.

It's Father's Day ... and my sweet husband and father of our three sprouts has paced out the acreage, checked on the lettuce greens and the Swiss chard, picked these berries to cheer me up, and poked around the flower beds. He was up at dawn, as usual ...

I have brewed coffee ... and patted the dog's heads ... and puttered about the kitchen a bit. Opposites DO attract, don't they? Now, it's time to sit in the sun and slice those berries into the yogurt, and think about the day and memories and such ...

The strawberries match my house robe ... hmmm. Perhaps I should title this one self portrait with berries ...

Happy Father's Day to all ... cherish the day, the men in your life, the memories of those gone... and hopefully, the sunshine !

Maple Pecan Cookies

One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to seek out some new and worthy cookie recipes ... score! I picked up a cook book from the church rummage sale last weekend and found these cookies staring me in the face ... and isn't it Kismet that it's maple season here in New England?

Pot Luck Bread - Nigel Slater's Cider Bread

Waking up this morning, the steady drip of the gutters made me almost think that the house had a tinny heartbeat - the ice and snow is no competition for the stronger warmth of the sunshine. And it's a brilliant sunny day here on the side of Gap Mountain ... the light is perfect for quilting and I have been alllllll about finishing up the binding on a major project. I spent the entire morning with the quilt draped over the dining room table and my needle taking little stitches around the outer edge while I thought a thousand thoughts and hummed along to music on the CD changer. It's amazing how much I got done when I wasn't thinking about just ... how ... many ... stitches it would take to finish the project!

My neck and shoulders, though, finally began stiffening up, so I had to stop. Tomorrow, I thought, you can finish it tomorrow! Then, I went off to make some bread so I could use my shoulder and arm muscles to knead out the stiffness ... am testing a recipe for possible potluck fare at next week's church supper.

My Love Affair with Nigel Slater ...

It all started when I got a copy of Nigel Slater's memoir called Toast out of my little public library. I curled up with tea, toast, and Nigel's memories. You've gotta love a kid that truly appreciates food and the making of food, and the sublime sensory imprints that certain foods put on the brain and the heart. I was immediately smitten with Nigel and left that book happy for him when he made the move away from his 'oh so English, stuffy, backwater home' and out into the world.

Then, the movie adaptation came out and of course, I viewed it. And guffawed at Helena Bonham Carter's sassy ass sashaying around the house and bending over that oven door. A sweet adaptation that hit all the highlights, but the book was better and that's all I'll say on THAT.

And yes, on further investigation, I learned that Nigel Slater turned out 'just fine'. Take the boy out of a stiff and stifled family life, let him spread his wings...  and it's amazing the wonderful things he can accomplish! God, if Nigel Slater EVER reads this post, I hope he doesn't take offense at my overly frank impression of his early life. That being said, he has gone on to much better and more fulfilling things than trying to outdo his father's second wife in the kitchen.

Anyway...

Chicken and Chickpea Curry

A cold day, stick-to-your-ribs dinner with a just enough spice to heat you from the inside out ... no fuss ... just a slow cook in a heavy pan with a pot of rice steaming alongside. Two burners cooking supper throw a bit more heat into the cold, drafty house. 

Everybody's Doin' It ... the 2013 Foodie Round-Up

New Year's Day is for looking back, even as one looks forward. I've been seeing so many bloggers looking back on their 2013 blogging year to choose their finest, tastiest, most amazing foodie pride moments. I wasn't going to do that and then I got thinking ... I've made some amazingly good dishes this past year and I have not returned to remake many of them because  I was too busy moving on to the next good thing. I have decided to go back and choose one of the recipes from each month of the year and make it again. Sometime during the next couple months or whenever I can get the ingredients (should 'seasonal ingredients' be a huge issue), the following meals will be repeated.

And to keep me honest ... here's the list ... pictures, links and a few words of comment for posterity's sake. Think of it as my list of  Foodie New Year's Resolutions. So here we go ...

January 2013 

King Ranch Casserole

... Note to Self: make half the recipe ! ...

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February 2013

Stohrer's Cake aux Olives et Jambon

... savory quick bread at its finest ...

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March 2013

Spring Greens Salad with New Hampshire Maple Syrup Mustard Vinaigrette





... fresh greens when you REALLY appreciate them ...
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April 2013
Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic Hummus





... guilt-free snacking ... anyone have a good gluten-free bread stick recipe? ...
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May 2013
Simon Hopkinson's Lemon Surprise Pudding





... Note to Self: must research this guy even more ! ...
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June 2013
Strawberry Shortcakes





.... well, HERE'S a no-brainer!  Bring 'em on! ...
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July 2013
Pan-Seared Lemon Pepper Swordfish with Orecchiette and Peas





.... perfect seafood sear with melt in your mouth pasta ...
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August 2013
Stuffed Portabellas with Melting Fontina (or Tallegio)





... small bite bliss ...
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September 2013
Viennese Potatoes





... a perfect potato side dish ...
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October 2013
Gluten-Free Chai-Spiced Cheesecake with Spiced Apples





... gorgeous use of apples and spices !!! ...
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November 2013
Pizza with Tomatoes, Olives, Capers, and Rosemary





... who knew capers on pizza could be so darn good ?!? ...
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December 2013
Prawn, Chili, and Coriander Pasta





...Note to Self: investigate the gluten-free corn pasta suggestion that Kim made ... thanks, Kim! ...
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So, there you have it ... some of the best of what I made this past year. Looking at the list, I see a few dishes that are loaded with glutens ... and glutens have been bothering me of late. Hence, I will try to get some gluten-free options into the pantry so I can make them again. If I can't, I won't lie, I'll splurge and make the 'real deal' recipe. Life's too short to pass up some of these dishes.

Happy New Year, dear readers! Have a tasty year, but don't forget the good stuff in the archives!

New Years Eve

What are you doing New Years Eve?

Since the adolescent years, that question has cropped up every year in the time between Christmas and New Years Eve ... and it's always been a loaded question. When I was a teen, I dreaded New Years Eve. If one didn't have a special person to share the New Years kiss with, one was pitiful. During the college years, New Years Eve was a time of complete alcoholic excess and loud ranting bedlam. During the young family years, it was a time of packing up the kids and travelling to family parties. Now, in retirement we finally have a real choice, but still there's always the question. What are you doing New Years Eve?

Do I admit that the last thing I want to do is get all dressed up and go lollygagging around someone's fancied up house drinking too much champagne and chatting it up over music that's too loud? Do I lie and say I have special plans when asked ? The truth is I don't have special plans and I don't plan to get dressed up. I don't want to get bundled and walk around outside in the cold at some 'First Night' celebration. I don't want to make a huge meal and eat at ten o'clock at night, dallying at the table for a midnight toast. I don't want to walk the neighborhood in a progressive Open House that ends with fireworks shot off the neighbor's deck and champagne toasts echoing down over the back yard. I don't want to have a huge family get-together with way too much food and drink and a massive midnight clean-up. I don't want to remain glued to a television special or movie fest. I don't want anything contrived  or falsely jolly. 

Nope. I just want a quiet evening with my favorite person in the world. That's all. This year, I want to stand outside in the quiet of the early evening with my arm around SB. I plan to look up at the stars and enjoy a quiet moment. Then, I plan to come inside, make a pot of black tea, warm plates of Chinese pork dumplings, chicken wings, spicy wontons, and fried rice, set out some cool Asian pickle and enjoy dinner. As midnight draws near, I plan to uncork a nice bottle of chilled Prosecco and sip away while playing backgammon. And at midnight, I plan to be fast asleep ... bringing in the new year peacefully.

So ... what are YOU doing New Years Eve? Whatever it is, I hope you enjoy yourself just the way you like. I hope you enter the New Year full of peace and in the New Year I hope you have enough of everything that makes you comfortable and happy. 

Video Credit:  You Tube - What Are You Doing New Years Eve - Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt