Happy Fall Y'all!

First off, Mr. Burns the black racer is getting his wardrobe ready for the impending "cold" weather here in Florida.


I found this snake skin, almost 5 ft. long, in the garden the other day. It looks like we have a naked snake slithering around here at JTRS.


No comments from the peanut gallery. Ahem.

Secondly, I have been researching and poking around about initiating, maybe even teaching (gulp), canning and preserving classes here in Central Florida! I bet you didn't know it, but there is a Canvolution going on. Yes, right at this very moment!

You see, I've been talking with the folks at local Cooperative Extension offices about offering a Master Preserving course here in Orlando. It's a no go. Not enough money, interest, politics, yadda-yadda-yadda. So, I let it sit in the back of my mind, but not forgotten. In the meantime, I've been taking the online courses at the NCHFP.

Then, a few weeks ago, a good friend of mine said, "Well, shoot Kathy, you don't need no stinkin' certification to teach people how to can." And you know something? She's right!

I believe in synchronicity, that we are all connected through the-right-time-at-the-right-place, and that our friends, lovers, aquaintences aren't coincidences. I've been reading Shauna's blog at Gluten Free Girl for years, who also happens to sponsor the Canning Across America website, which advocates local, slow food, which by the way, I BUY raw milk from the VP of Farmer Relations at our local Slow Food chapter!

Whew! All of these people have been nudging me ever so gently in their own special way over the years.

So, fall is a time to rest for many. A time to gather resources and hunker down (I hate that phrase!). But really, I hope it is a time to start anew and take on new adventures! I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Rosemary Port Fig Jam

Doesn't this sound intriguing? I spied this recipe somewhere...dunno where, and tweaked it via Christine Ferber of Mes Confitures. I started it last night and it smelled very interesting, so I'm curious to see what it turns out to be. I bet this would be great with some goast cheese. Heck, ANYTHING would be good with goat cheese!

So, now what do I do with a whole-bottle-minus-one-cup of white Port wine?



Kathy's Rosemary and Port Fig Jam
- recipe adapted from Food and Wine Magazine
- Method adapted from Christine Ferber

4 pounds green or purple figs, stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 cup white port wine
1 4-inch sprig of rosemary

Place chopped figs, sugar, lemon juice, port, and rosemary in a nonreactive jam pot and let ingredients marinate for 30 min (till sugar is mostly dissolved and figs are juicy). Bring ingredients to a simmer over med-high heat, stirring occasionally, and then set aside off heat. Cool and cover jam pot; place in the refrigerator over night to macerate.

The next day, simmer the fig jam over moderate/high heat, stirring occasionally, until reaching gel stage. Remove rosemary and discard.

Spoon the jam into 6, 1/2-pint prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top. Process in a BWB for 10 minutes.

Deep-Dish Apple Pie

Have I mentioned how much I love Ina Garten? I have? Are you sure? Well...maybe just a little. Well then, let me get right to the point about her deep dish apple pie!

My wonderful, awesome husband gave me a food processor for my birthday last week. A 16-CUP-OMGBBQAPOCALYPSE-CUISINART!!!! This baby smokes my little, 5-cup Kitchen Aid FP into the dust. Still, there were some good memories there over the past 10 years.

Anyway, I went cah-razy and made pie crust this past weekend, cause OH, I CAN. Making pie crust in my old FB was a pain. And so, since I was making crust and all, why not make pie?

The crust was amazing; probably the best I've made. Oh, and the pie was good too!

Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Recipe Source: Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Pie Crust Ingredients(for 2, 10 inch crusts):

1 1/2 sticks of butter, cut into 1" cubes
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
3 cups APP flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 T of sugar
6-8 T of ice water (about 1/4 cup)

Place flour, salt, and sugar into FP and pulse a few times to mix. Add butter and shortening and pulse 8-10 times till butter/shortening is the size of peas. With the machine running, add water in a steady stream until dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Pie Ingredients:

5-6 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
2 T of lemon juice
1 T of orange juice
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 T to sprinkle on top of crust
1/4 cup APP flour
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1 egg beaten with 1 T of water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine apple, zests, juice, sugar, flour, salt and spices in a large bowl. Divide pie crust into halves and roll out one half for the bottom pie crust. Don't stretch out dough. If it's too small, re-roll until it drapes into pie dish with a little hanging over the side.

Fill bottom pie crust with apple filling. Brush edges of pie crust so top crust will adhere. Roll out second half of pie dough for the top pie crust. Top the pie with the pie dough and trim to about 1 inch over the pie dish rim. Tuck top crust edge under bottom pie crust edge and crimp together with fingers or a fork. Brush entire top crush with egg wash and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cut 5 slits into top crust for venting.

Place pie on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. If necessary, cover pie crust edges with tin foil if they brown too quickly.

Sign of the Times

Do you know what today is? Do you? Why today, dear friends, is the day that Fourbucks starts selling their Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

Meh, you might think, but I will have you know this landmark means a non-stop, unrelenting fallhalloweenthanksgivingchristmas free-for-all till the end of the year! PREPARE FOR THE BESOTTED FRUITCAKE!!

I actually like Fourbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte and they're not bad calorie wise if you get the tall (small). It's only around 260 calories with non-fat milk and whipped cream. If you ditch the whipped cream, then it's around 200 calories. Not bad for a seasonal treat and they fill me up with all sorts of warm fuzzies and excitement for the frigid Florida winters. BAH!

Happy Anniversary

It all goes by so darn fast, but that’s a good thing!

Here’s to many, many more years with my husband that include laughter, kindness, hard work, curiosity, patience, persistence, Sunday mornings, good coffee, good wine, good cheese, health, stability, ambition, dumb jokes, funny faces, baked goods, sweat equity, gentle kisses, passion, trust, stinky shoes, weird neighbors, beautiful gardens, great adventures, frequent flyer miles, steady income, good friends, tolerance, intelligence, wit and cynicism, bravery, great cooking, sloppy mistakes, tender moments, and lot’s of LOVE.

McFarmlovin'

Last weekend, hubs and I bought about 100 lbs. of organic, pasture-raised, grass-eating, hormone-free, and generally all-over-happy-to-be-here beef from a local farmer. As I mentioned before, Community Sustainable Agriculture (CSAs) programs are pretty darn hard to come by in Central Florida. That makes me sad.

I have to really, REALLY look hard and go a bit out of my way to find people who care about how our food is raised, prepared, and sold around here. We drove through the valleys and over the (muddy) hills, managed to get lost, but eventually found our way to Misty Meadow Farm in Barberville/Pierson Florida.

They don’t have a website, but they are truly legit. Their phone number is (386) 749-9007; ask for Anne.

Anne and Frank were some of the nicest, down-to-earth couples my husband and I have met in a long time. You know they really care about what they are doing, and Anne couldn’t dream of being anywhere else than right there on that farm. Besides organic beef, they sell organic pork, duck meat, duck eggs, goat’s milk fudge, and some of the best goat cheese I have ever had. It’s all organic. It’s all unpasteurized. It’s all wonderful!

So, we pulled out 2 T-bone steaks and fired those babies up on the grill on Sunday. Like buttah!

Now if we can keep the ‘canes away from us this season, we’ll be happy campers in the meat department for some time!

Asian Plum Sauce

It's plum season, so be sure to get your hands on enough plums to make this Asian Plum Sauce! I've had my eye on this recipe for a while, but like asparagus, plums can be mighty expensive if acquired out of season.

This is a sweet-and-sour sauce that is TO DIE FOR! I'm ashamed (almost) to admit that I ate half a jar of this sauce spooned over take-out Chinese last night.

Again, this recipe was acquired from my beloved Harvest Forum. I'm not sure if this is a recipe from a book, but it's plum yummy!

Asian Plum Sauce

4lbs plums
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 T mustard seed (I only used 1)
2 T chopped green chili peppers (I used jalapeno)
1, 1/4x1 piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 T salt
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup cider vinegar

Pit & chop plums (don't peel). Combine plums with remaining ingredients in a large pot, bring to boil, reduce heat. Cook until thick and syrupy, about 1 1/2 hrs. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps and process 20 minutes in a BWB.

Yeild: about 4 pints.

Red Rubies

Last week, hubs and I bottled up this year's batch of Strawberry wine. Look how beautiful the bottles were when the morning sun shined on them the next morning!

If you can follow a recipe, you can make wine! This wine really turned out to be a Strawberry Raspberry blend, as I didn't have all the ingredients the original recipe called for. So I mixed in some raspberry juice concentrate in with the strawberries and waited. It turned out very tasty indeed.

I'm getting better with every batch.

Laughing Hysterically

I never really understood the term “laughing hysterically” until now. Anyone who knows me well knows I like to bake cakes, well any kind of baked goods really, but there’s nothing like a really pretty, (and tasty!) homemade cake.

I haven’t been sleeping well, well since LAST YEAR! I don’t know what it is, maybe its anxiety, thyroid, hormones, but somehow my body forgot how to fall asleep. So, mix that loverly, unrelenting condition with this website and well, I laughed until I choked. Maniacally. No control. I mean leave-your-desk-cuz-people-are-looking type of laughing.

Please, by all means, give yourself a good laugh today and check out Cake Wrecks. Flashbacks of The Seasonal Non-Sequitur, Santapillar cakes and The Holland Belly Cake will have people giving me strange looks all day.

Baked Ziti Representin'

Baked ziti is the Rodney Dangerfield of the pasta family. It gets no respect.

Thrown together with a jar of store-bought pasta sauce, some grainy ricotta, sprinkled with bagged, shredded cheese, and baked till dry as leather, baked ziti is often sadly used as a cheap, main dish for feeding a lot of people without much effort. Now, don’t get me wrong, those church potlucks can be expensive and your group of picky pre-teens may turn their noses up to anything else, so cheap and easy have their place in the kitchen. It’s just that, well, it can be so much different than that. Oh yes, it can be VERY different!

In the past, baked ziti was too saucy, too dry, too cheesy, too mushy from overcooked pasta, too bland. Too many extremes. Sometimes a ground meat of some sort is thrown in the mix, but really, most baked ziti simply poses as spaghetti in a different shape and acts as a vehicle for all that melted cheese.

Upon eating this last night, hubs proclaimed, “This is probably the best baked ziti I’ve ever eaten in my life!” That’s quite a compliment, huh? Trust me. Step away from the jarred pasta sauce and preshredded cheese. It’s time we got a little respect around here!

Baked Ziti
Recipe source: Cooks Illustrated, April 2009

1 lb. whole milk or 1% cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Salt
1 lb. ziti
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
5 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves, divided (or 1 tablespoon dried)
1 tsp. sugar
Ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
8 oz. low-moisture mozzarella, shredded (not preshredded!)

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F. Whisk cottage cheese, eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan together in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave in colander.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sautee for 1 to 2 minutes, do not brown. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off the heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and the sugar, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and heavy cream. Transfer the mixture to the now-empty stockpot over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce and 3/4 cup mozzarella. Stir to combine. Add the pasta and toss to coat thoroughly with the sauce.

Transfer the pasta to a 9×13″ baking dish and spread the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil from the pan and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons basil and serve.

Photo from: http://www.castellofoodcompany.com/

Chicken Pot Pie

Oh, July.

I’d say that I dislike you almost as much as August, but at least August has back-to-school sales, which means the fall merchandise will be making an appearance soon. But, July has that extra holiday thrown in there, so it’s a toss up. Sigh.

You know how I feel about pretending it’s fall in the middle of the summer. Some people start putting up their indoor Christmas decorations in October, so why can’t I start wishing for fall in July? That means I'll usually make fall-type foods on a regular basis, even though it’s too bloody hot outside to even go check the mail. I guess it’ll do until the real thing gets here.

This is an EASY pot pie to make. And everyone loves chicken pot pie, right? You don’t even have to make the crust, and who doesn’t love that? This recipe is adapted from the book Kitchen Sense, and is perfect for those days when you wish it were cooler outside, even when it’s not.

Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from Kichen Sense

3-1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken (a generous pound by weight – Precooked rotisserie chickens work great for this)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 oz small mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp thyme leaves (stripped from the stem or ½ tsp dried)
Salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sherry or dry white wine
5 T all-purpose flour
2 cups poultry stock
1 bay leaf
1 T chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
Your favorite pie crust dough (enough for 9-inch pie pan)
1 small egg, beaten with 1 T cold water

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion until soft, then add the carrot and celery and continue cooking for another 3 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until the mushrooms give up their liquid. Add salt, and pepper to taste; stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Deglaze the pan with half of the sherry; remove the cooked vegetables and their juices to a bowl and set aside.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet, then whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the paste takes on a blonde color, Whisk in the stock and the remaining sherry, then add the bay leaf, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer until thickened.

Add the cooked chicken and sauteed vegetables, and peas to the sauce. Transfer the mixture to a 1-1/2 quart baking dish (such as a deep-dish pie pan) and set aside in a warm spot near the oven.

Roll out the pie dough about 1 inch larger than the diameter of the baking dish and about 1/4-inch thick (or like me, I made a bit more of the filling and put it all in a large casserole dish and used 2 pieces of prepared pie dough (Pilsbury) pinched together in the middle). Place the dough atop the pie filling, and press the overlap to the outside of the dish. Place the filled and covered pie on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Brush with the beaten egg, then make a few slits to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 20 minutes (depending on size of pot pie) at 425°F until the crust has risen and begun to take on color. Reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve.

Monkey on My Back

Hey, where the heck did June go? Last time I was here, I was just settling in from a wonderful vacay and now it's 6 weeks later! Let's me summarize the past 6 weeks:

• Barry is a Barbara and laid eggs!
• I worked something like 5 weeks in a row without a day off
• My sweet, dear MIL passed away - We miss you Jean!
• Hubs and I rebuilt all the shelving in our office closet - Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?
• Our house is worth less than we paid for it 5 years ago before the economy went into the crapper
• Raw milk has saved me

A couple of months ago Jojo at Goodness Gracious Acres posted a wonderful article/link about the benefits and legality of raw milk. I've been a supporter of the raw milk moo-vement (sorry...couldn't help it) because I believe that it is OUR right to decide what kind of food we want available to us, not the government's decision. If I want to eat or drink unpasteurized milk or cheese, that should be my choice and not the law. Unfortunately, it is considered illegal to sell raw milk in many states, including Florida, which forces many people to seek out underground "mooshine" dealers for their fix.

However, some have found a loophole in Florida's law and it is legal to sell raw milk if it is labeled for "pet consumption only". Anyone who is keen on what is going on knows what this is really about and will gladly nod their head, buy their milk, and feel like they just won the lottery.

I am one of those people. About 6 weeks ago (coincidence?) I started having terrible, unrelenting heartbearn. On some days, nothing would wipe it out and it didn't matter what I ate or didn't eat. I figured, oh I'm just getting old...work is a bitch...stress, stress, stress...blah, blah, blah. But then I had remembered something about raw milk healing people with digestive issues. I did some research, found a "dealer" in the Winter Park Dairy Company, and I HAVE NOT HAD A HEARTBURN INCIDENT SINCE!

Also, hubs has issues with IBS and he is getting better every day from drinking raw milk. And let me tell you, it tastes just like regular ol' milk you buy in the store...only A GAZILLION TIMES BETTER! It's not cheap though. It's $15 dollars for a gallon! So now I have a $60 a month milk habit.

There could be worse things to be addicted to.

Memorial Day

Last night, hubs and I watched a commentary by Andy Rooney on his thoughts regarding Memorial Day. Like him, I feel that Memorial Day has become, for the most part, just another day on the calendar, or just another day off. It is a day that we have traditionally set aside to remember the young men and women who "gave their lives" for freedom and honor of our country.

But like Andy, I believe the purpose of remembering isn't really for the dead, but for the living. Rememberance does the dead no good. I feel that instead, we should be honoring those young men and women who are GOING to die for our country, and that maybe we can find a better way to resolve our problems and differences than through war.

Riesling Bound

Where have I been lately?

Well, dear friends, hubs and I just got back from a badly needed vacation up to the Niagra/Finger Lakes area, and I couldn’t very well have posted HEY, THERE’S NO ONE AT OUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW! I suppose I could have posted some sort of silliness in the past week or so, but we completely unplugged.

No computers, no phones, no internets. Sweeeeeeet!

I have lots of pics…some awesome, but a lot that really sucked. Insert sad clown face here. I thought I would be better with my camera by now, but I obviously need a lot of work. If it’s any consolation, I made up for it in sheer number. Folks, I’m talking many, many gigs of memory!

Let me just say this: we have to be the only dorks from Florida who go to Canada when it is cold AND GET SUNBURNED!

An ohhhh, the wine! Did you know that Wayne Gretzky had a winery? Neither did we. So does Dan Akroyd. We had raw milk cheese, Cuban cigars, and even a touch of poison ivy. Awesome! We saw signs for Fries Poutine, more water falls that we could shake a stick at, and THE FLOWERS! Oh, the flowers!

Le sigh.

I’ll follow-up in the next couple of posts with pics and lots of adventurous stories.

Barry's Back and A Humble Harvest

Remember Barry the Box Turtle? Well last year, I saw him scurrying around the yard, I got a rare photo of him, then he disappeared. I figured my handling him the one or two times for photo-ops made him say "Screw this...I'm outta' here!" And then he was gone.

Well last weekend he showed back up! My local earthworm population must be shivering in their...um...slime? Poop? Dirt? Hopefully, he'll keep the local Cuban treefrogs in check too.
On other good things from the garden, we were able to harvest a small handful of yummy produce! I LOVE homegrown tomatoes, so hopefully, this is a sign of things to come. Small, I know, but here's hoping.
Everything is in full bloom and taking advantage of the small window between "Warm" and "Hot-As-Balls". That's an official temperature in Florida, dontcha' know!

Dried Herbed Tomatoes

Ah, so you’ve planted a ton of tomatoes this spring and now you wait. Well, if you happen to have too many tomatoes and you don’t know what to do with them, here’s a great idea: dry them! Dried tomatoes are so versatile that you can literally add them to hundreds of recipes. From pizza, to pasta sauces, dried tomatoes add a concentrated touch of tomatoey goodness that instantly perks up any dish.

And have you seen the prices for commercially dried tomatoes in the store?! The best thing about this recipe is you don’t need any fancy schmancy dehydrating equipment, just an oven and patience will do. Once dried, you can store these delicious little morsels in a ziplock bag in the freezer for 6-9 months. That is if you don’t eat them all first! They're won-der-ful!

Dried Herbed Tomatoes

In large bowl combine:
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tsp. Lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh chopped (or dried) Parsley
1 Tbl. chopped Rosemary
Dried Pepper flakes to your taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Amount of tomatoes is up to you (Note: I use Roma tomatoes, as there is less liquid - I use enough tomatoes to cover 3 full cookie sheets...about 3 lbs. worth)

Leave skin on and cut tomatoes into thin slices. Place tomatoes in the oil mixture and refridgerate for at least 2 hours to overnite. Set oven on 200 degrees. Take tomatoes out of mixture and spread on cookie sheet. It's OK if they touch. They will need to oven dry for about 14 to 16 hours (depending on amount of tomaotes). Size of pieces will determine time. For example, put them in the oven about 7pm and get them out the next morning around 10:30am.

The tomatoes are done when they have a leathery feel to them. There usually is some oil left in the cookie sheet, which I blot off with a paper towel. Cool and lay dried tomatoes on paper towels to absorb any remaining oil. Store in ziplock baggie in the freezer for 6-9 months.

On The Hoof

What do they say about the best laid plans?

This past Sunday, hubs and I went to visit my good friend Mary that lives in Deland. Her and her husband own a cattle farm with lots of animals, beautiful landscape, and lovely gardens.

I had some ideas for a few good pictures I needed for my photography class, but mix 4 rambunctious farm dogs with a couple of sticks of cheese, some used red high heel shoes, fishing string, a big red ball, and well...let's just say the cows were more cooperative!

Still it was all good fun. Thanks Mary!

Pickled Asparagus: Tis' the Season!

I wait all year for this to happen, and then I move in for the kill. I’m talking about asparagus season! For Florida, fresh asparagus is obscenely expensive most of the year. It usually runs close to $4 a pound! But for a brief window of time, it’s in season and affordable. I buy as much as I can, gorge, and then make pickled asparagus.

I make this every year and I’m very protective of every little jar. Pickled asparagus is wonderful with any antipasta tray, chopped up in salads, served as a condiment, or my favorite, inside a sandwich wrap. Basically, anything you can do with a pickle, you can do with pickled asparagus. I also like that the spears never lose their crunch, and afterwards, the leftover brine makes a fan-friggin-tastic dirty martini!

Pickled Asparagus
Recipe source: The Joy of Pickling
Makes 5, 12 oz. jars

3 lbs of fresh asparagus (sometimes I need more or less, depending on spear thickness)
5 garlic cloves, peeled
15 allspice berries
50 black peppercorn berries
20 coriander seeds
Red pepper flakes
Nutmeg
2 ½ cups white wine vinegar
2 ½ cups water
2 ½ tsp canning salt
2 T sugar

Trim asparagus to fit inside canning jars, giving ½ inch of space from the tip of the spears to the top of the jar. Prepare jars for hot water bath canning. In a saucepot, mix vinegar, water, salt, and sugar; bring to a boil. When brine has boiled, fill each hot jar with 1 garlic clove, 3 allspice berries, 10 black peppercorns, 4 coriander seeds, a dash or two of the red pepper flakes, and a pinch of nutmeg. Fill jars with asparagus spears, tips up, till comfortably full without packing. Ladle brine into jars, giving ½ inch headspace; top jars with prepared lids, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Wait 4-6 weeks before eating.

**Note: If you don't want to process for canning, just pour the hot brine over the asparagus and keep in the refridgerator.

Golabkis! - Polish Comfort Food

There's really no pretty way to photograph a golabki.

What's a golabki you ask? Well, golabkis, pronounced as: GO-wump-kees, or GO-lump-kees, GO-wonk-kees, or my favorite, GO-boink-kees are a Polish dish of meat-stuffed cabbage leaves with either a sweet/sour tomato sauce or even sauerkraut. They're exactly like stuffed green bell peppers except, well, you use cabbage leaves!

I can't remember if my mother made them, but I've had them before I met my husband, who is only two generations off the boat! His family is Polish and they used to eat these back in the day, so I was happy to make them for him. They're really good, especially with mashed taters!

This is another loverly recipe I snagged from The Cooking Forum. Thanks Diane!

Diane’s GOLABKI

a 3 # head of cabbage
½ # ground beef
¼ # ground pork
¼ # ground veal
1 ½ C cooked long grain rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
salt & and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp ground horseradish
1 C condensed tomato soup
2 T brown sugar
1 T vinegar
1 C beef broth

Remove the core from the cabbage, place cored end down in large pot with an inch or two of water & steam for 15-20 min. Or what I do is freeze the whole head the night before I make these, defrost in the sink for a couple of hours--then cabbage leaves are just as pliable as steamed. When ready, CAREFULLY peel down leaves by placing the cored end up and doing one leaf at a time (if steaming).

Mix ground meats, egg, onion, rice, salt, pepper, garlic and horseradish. Scoop out about 1/2 C of mixture and GENTLY pat into an oval. Place the oval on thickest part of cabbage leaf and roll once. Then tuck edges over the rolled part & continue to roll. Place all rolls into heavy pan that is lined with a few cabbage leaves, layering rolls as needed.

Mix undiluted soup, beef broth, brown sugar & vinegar and pour over rolls. Cover and bake in 350° oven for 2 -2 1/2 hrs.

Also can be made in casserole form. Just layer steamed cabbage leaves with a layer of meat and rice mixture, another layer of cabbage leaves. Pour sauce over all and bake.

Note: I made double the sauce because I found I needed (wanted) more gravy!

Spring Has Sprung

Our Meyer's Lemon tree is chock-o'-block full of lemon blossoms, more than it ever has had before. Wish you could smell these!

It Ain't Easy Being Green

But it sure can be yummy sometimes! I bring you Key Lime Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese icing for you lucky Irish folk out there today. Or really, anyone who loves all things limey.


Key Lime Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes
Recipe source: Bon Appetit

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 T of *lime zest
2 1/2 T of lime juice
Green food coloring (I used paste)
3/4 cup of butter milk

Mix flours and salt together, set aside. Beat butter till light a fluffy, add sugar and continue to beat until incorporated and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down butter mixture in between each egg. Add lime zest and lime juice (batter will look curdled) and mix well. Add food coloring to reach a color you like. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour mixture. Mix till incorporated.

Preheat oven at 350°. Pour batter in paper lined muffin tins 1/2 full. Bake 20 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to cool on a cake rack. Ice with Key Lime Cream Cheese icing.

*I used regular, store-bought limes as Key Limes aren't in season right now and are hard to come by.

Key Lime Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick butter
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 T lime zest
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add lime zest, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

I'm Going to Make Millions!

“Smell my finger.”
“WHAT?!”
“Smell my finger! Smell it!!”

I shoved my right hand under his nose and he took a cautious sniff. He stopped in mid-smell, looked up at me, and I swore I saw his pupils dilate. He then buried his face into my palm and inhaled long and deep.

“Oh my God, that smells SOOOO good! I am going to EAT YOU UP!”

Ahem.

Ladies, listen closely. If at any time you find yourself making beef jerky, be sure to dab a drop of Liquid Smoke in a few strategic locations on your body. You will be ravaged!

Now, if I could only figure out a way to bottle it with some beer and give it some foo-foo French name, I’ll make MILLIONS!

Wednesday's Slowcooker Lasagne

I seem to notice a trend lately. Hmmm...what could it be? Oh, I know! I've been pretty lame with my posting of late, and it seems I've been neglecting my darling readers! Fear not, o' dedicated ones! I will forsooth, and umm thou, and umm merrily, and ummm. Aw, hells bells, I've been blazy (half busy-half lazy)!

I've finished my first photography class and I've really learned some neat things, but mostly my pictures still suck ass (hey, that rhymes). I just need to follow that golden rule when trying to get to Carnegie Hall...practice, practice, practice. Here's hoping.

Anyhoo, I put this very yummy slowcooker recipe on to cook while Hubs and I tried to reclaim our poorly frost-bitten yard on Sunday. We got hit pretty bad, even though we did The Bedsheet Boogie. Oh well, just leaves more room for new plants!

Even better, this is a Weight Watcher's recipe that I got from The Weight Watcher Chick! I had extra sauce (I used my home canned Chunky Basil Pasta Sauce) so I just doubled the cheese mixture and made more layers. Lots-o-leftovers, plus the house smelled SOOOOOO good!

Slow Cooker Lasagna
WW Points: 8 Servings: 6

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef (7% fat)
1 small onion, chopped
1 med garlic clove, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
15 oz canned tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 ½ cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup parm cheese, shredded
6 pieces dry lasagna noodles (not cooked)

Sautee beef, onions & garlic. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, oregano, basil, and red pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. In medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella. Set aside.

Spoon 1/3 meat mixture into a greased (spray with Pam) 5 quart slow cooker. Break 3 lasagna sheets in half and arrange over beef mixture. Top with half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer and finish with 1/3 beef mixture.

Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 – 6 hours. Combine remaining ½ cup mozzarella with the parmesan cheese and sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover and set aside till cheese melts and lasagna firms up.

How Do You Get Your Bottles So Pretty?

Meh...it's Wednesday again. It's not that I haven't had a lot to talk about lately, I've just been busy and uninspired. I've been taking photography classes and still training with my running team. Good news is Hubs is down 11 lbs. and I'm down 8 lbs. since the beginning of January.

Woot!

So, today I am going to show you just how we go about bottling our wine and making the bottles look "pretty". I often get a lot of questions on how I make the bottles look like they were bottled professionally, so I thought I'd let you have a look. It may look like a lot of work, but Hubs and I have a sort of assembly line system down, plus it's fun to taste while we're working! The last time we bottled was around the holidays, but don't worry...there's always another batch-a-brewing, just waiting for the right time.

First I clean the bottles with a cleaning solution called BeBrite, which is basically an oxidizing solution like Oxyclean. It's safe and helps remove any seen and unseen debris, which can ruin wine. Like my sophisticated "Poison Control" label? Don't worry, we don't have kids.

After rinsing very well, I spray the inside of the bottles with potassium metabisulfite (kmeta), which is basically a sterilant used to help sterilize the bottles. Any bateria, residual yeast, or wild microorganisms that weren't removed with the BeBrite will be taken care of with this.

Next we add the wine and cork. We use a corking contraption that basically squeezes the corks into a size that can be pushed into the bottle neck. A lifesaver for sure!

After being corked, the bottles get a good wipe down with a damp rag, are dried, then labled. I do this by hand and "eyeball" the correct height and placement. I know there are little contraptions I can build with scrap wood that will help make this easier, but I haven't found the need for it for such small batches of wine.

Lastly, the bottles get their sleeves. The bottle sleeves are slid on the neck then shrink wrapped to the bottle using a heat gun. See? No fancy schmancy equipment here!

See how pretty they are? These babies are ready for some lovin'!

Bread!

Is it Wednesday already? These past two weeks have kept me as busy as a one-armed paper hanger on a windy day! I don't know where all the time goes, but homemade bread always has a way of slowing things down.

A few weeks ago, I visited another loverly blogger's website at Lindsey's Luscious and spied a tasty looking bread recipe. It looked good enough for me to brave snail-mail spam and order a bag of Harvest Grains Blend from King Aurthur Flour company.

Why is it that when you order something from one company, a thousand other companies send you junk mail for their junk? Anyway, the bread was worth the risk! Thanks Gina!

BTW, this makes the best damn toast you ever wrapped your lips around!

Ahem.


Honey Oatmeal Harvest Grains Bread
Recipe Source: Lindsey's Luscious

Makes 2 large loaves

1 cup prepared steel-cut Irish oatmeal (cooled)
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup whole milk
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup mixed nuts and seeds (I used KA's Harvest Grains Blend)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup water (more or less/as needed)
egg wash (one egg beaten with a tablespoon of half-and-half)
rolled oats

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all ingredients except the egg wash and rolled oats. Mix until fully combined, cover the mixer with a tea towel, and let sit for about 20 minutes to fully hydrate the dough before kneading.

After the dough rests, remove the towel, turn the mixer up to medium speed (about 4 on my Kitchen Aid) and knead with the dough hook for five minutes (it will seem a little soft and sticky, but that's okay).Turn the dough into a large, greased bowl (I spray mine), cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled.

Punch down the dough, divide in half, and on a well-floured work surface, shape into two rectangular loaves. Press each loaf into a well-greased pan. Cover the loaves loosely with sprayed plastic wrap, and let proof in a warm place for about a half hour, until about an inch over the top of the pans. While the loaves are proofing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.When loaves have fully proofed, carefully remove the plastic wrap, brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with rolled oats.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the loaves are golden brown on the bottom. (You may need to cover the tops of the loaves with foil after 30 minutes to prevent over-browning.) Remove from the oven, and cool loaves in the pans on a rack for fifteen minutes or so. Then turn the loaves out of the pans and cool completely on the rack. Store in an airtight container, bag, or wrap.

Photo from Lindsey's Luscious

Clam Chowder!

Feeling a little chilly today? Well, I have the perfect thing for you! How 'bout a nice hot bowl of clam chowder with some crusty bread, or even some oyster crackers? A glass of white wine, a big ol' blanket to wrap around you, a good book or movie on the couch and I'm set. Baby, it's cold outside today!

Many people I know don't make clam chowder that often because it seems like a lot of work. I'm one of them. My typical recipe involves makeing a roux, and let's not even talk about whether to use real or canned clams. I'm already tired!

Well anyway, I had a hankering for clam chowder but didn't have the time to make it the way I usually do. I found this recipe on Recipezaar and it seemed easy enough to send to Hubs and let him take the lead.

Let me tell you, I've had A LOT of clam chowder in my time and this stuff ROCKED!! I was impressively surprised and it is so, so, so easy! Don't be a hater because of the Cream of Celery soup, trust me!

Clam Chowder
Recipe Source: Recipezaar

6-7 pieces bacon, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 (5 ounce) cans baby clams, with juice reserved (drain juice into a bowl or cup)
1 bottle clam juice
5 potatoes, peeled and cubed into 2” chunks
2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans cream of celery soup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 ½ tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon dried dill weed (if you don’t have dill weed, use thyme)
1 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Add bacon to dutch oven and cook on medium heat until crispy. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add clam juice from both cans plus bottle of clam juice. Add potatoes, bring to a simmer, and cover until potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally so potatoes won't stick. Add clams, soup, cream, milk, dill weed, and stir together. Add butter and let melt into the chowder, then add pepper. Simmer for about 30-45 minutes or until thickened. Stir occasionally and add salt to taste.

NOTE: This can be lightened by using 2 cups of milk instead of cream.

Image source: http://www.treehugger.com/

Superbowl Sangria

My head hurts a little today. Maybe it's because I drank too much of this last night:

Spanish Sangria
Recipe source: Barbara Hansen's Mexican Cookery (1981)

1 bottle, dry full bodied red wine
2 tablespoon orange liqueur (Grand Marnier)
1/3 cup of simple syrup
1 lime thinly sliced
1 orange thinly sliced
1 lemon thinly sliced
Juice of one orange
1 cup club soda

Combine wine, syrup, brandy and orange juice and stir. Add sliced fruit and just before serving add the soda water. Do not let the fruit slices sit in the Sangria for more than one hour before serving as the peels can cause the drink to be bitter.

Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Bring water and sugar to a boil and simmer until liquid is clear and the sugar has dissolved. Pour in to jar and refrigerate. Keep for 3 weeks.

Servings: 4

Warm Chicken Sandwiches with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Fontina

There's something to be said about a really good sandwich. The first time I saw the recipe for this sandwich in Bon Appetit, I just knew I had to make it. Something about it said, "You know I'm that good!"

Hubs and I have determined that really, all one needs to make any version of this sandwich are 4 things: a protein, some sort of sauteed or grilled veggie, a soft, meltable cheese, and a condiment.

I can't remember if the name for this sandwich is called Warm Chicken Sandwiches with Spinach, Mushroom, and Fontina, but I do remember that it had the word warm in it. That's all it took.

Warm Chicken Sandwiches with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Fontina
Recipe Source: Bon Appetit

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T of olive oil
1 container fresh, sliced mushrooms (the ones found in the produce section)
1 bag fresh spinach
Spicey mustard (we used Zatarain's Creole)
2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
4 medium sized hoagie rolls

Take chicken breasts and flatten to about 1/2 inch thick. We put ours in a gallon sized ziplock, one at a time, and flatten/pound with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer. Season chicken breasts and sautee with olive oil in a medium/high skillet till cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate.

Add mushrooms to skillet and sautee till they release their juices, add spinach and sautee till wilted and cooked through. Preheat oven to 325°, slice hoagie rolls down the center without cutting through, and the toast rolls in oven.

When rolls are toasted, remove from oven and slather a tablespoon of spicey mustard in each roll. Cut chicken into pieces, add to rolls, top with mushroom spinach mixture, and top that with shredded cheese. Wrap each sandwich in tin foil and place in oven for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from oven, add salt and pepper if desired and dig in! These reheat in the oven very nicely.

Hey Ya'll, Back from Savannah

Before I got sick last week, hubs and I used the MLK holiday weekend to drive up to Savannah for some R&R. Of course we HAD to check out Paula Deen's The Lady & Sons restaurant. I would have to say the dinining experience there was more of a novelty than really good. The food was...meh. Okay. It came across as more Cracker Barrel than anything else, but it was one of those "try it once" experiences.

We checked out her gift store and I bought her memoire. That woman sure has worked hard for where she is today! She suffered from agoraphobia for almost 20 years. We also went to her brother's restaurant Uncle Bubba's Oyster House and it was FABULOUS!! It was so good, we went there twice! I highly recommend it, especially the chargrilled oysters!

We did a lot of touristy stuff, sight seeing and such. It was COLD for us Floridians, let me tell you! I had to buy a scarf and we layered up. Hey y'all up north, don't laugh!

I even got a picture of a ghost, I think. We were doing one of those ghost tours inside the Sorrel-Weed house, which is supposedly an actual proven and documented haunted house. The Sci-Fi channel did a story on this house or something. Anyway, we were in the basement and it was pitch black...there were no lights except the ones coming in from the patio. I took this picture in the dark with my flash and I think there is an "orb" right about where the door handle is (a little above to the left).

Either that or it's dust. :-)

Irony?

Was it irony, divine intervention, karma, or intuition that kept me home "sick" on Tuesday? I really wanted to stay home and watch the inauguration, so I called my boss and told him I wasn't feeling well. Cough. Party on!

Two hours later, I had my head in the toilet and my butt cheeks clenched tight. Something got a hold of me and I really WAS sick with some sort of intestinal bug. I felt perfectly fine that morning, thinking I'd be able to enjoy the day watching history being made. Three days later and I'm still unable to keep solids down. Bleh!

How does the universe know these things?

Wrapping Things Up

Like most red-blooded, patriotic Americans, I made a string of resolutions for the coming year, one of which I will be starting tonight. I signed up for a local walk/run training program that will meet twice a week and teach us how to go from 0 – 3 miles in 10 weeks! I did great on the Couch to 5K program, but got stuck on week 6. That whole, run-for-twenty-minutes-straight thing hung me up. Almost half fail.

Secondly, I signed up for a community education class in digital photography! I start that on the 26th and it’s 6 weeks of introducing myself to my new camera. I can’t help it; the thing scares me with its ISO settings, aperture, and what-nots. I really want to learn how to take good pictures, and I think I will. I need a mentor.

Thirdly, hubs and I have come to terms with our blubber and have started a NEW! IMPROVED! diet regimen. All the good cooking and drinking that’s been going on at our house has paid its toll. I think we’re off to a good start and he’s down 4 lbs. and I’m down 3.1 lbs. so far.

Forthly, I would like to turn JTRS into a real, honest-to-God website this year and free myself from the Blogspot oppression. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been great, it’s just I want more. We can be friends, o.k.? But I just need more and it’s not working for me. You’ll find something better Blogspot and I’ll never forget you. It's not you, it's me.

Fifthly, It’s time for me to rethink the path my life is going down. I know that sounds waaaay too heavy for a morning post and I appologize, but it has occurred to me that you, my dear readers, have no clue as to what I do for a living. I will talk all about that soon. Stay tuned!

It Gets Better!

I bet the principal came to work on Monday and was like "WTHOMFGBBQapocalypse! CHANGE IT NAOWWWW!!!"

"Hmmm...holli...holla...holly...Aw hell, NO SCHOOL"

"Fo' shizzal my dismisal"

Do they have Sonny Tannen filling out the announcement boards or something? This happens all the time. I weep for the future.

Also, is it me or does it seem like kids get waaaaaay more time off from school these days? We never got inauguration day off!

Why Some Florida Schools = Fail

What's wrong with this picture? I took it over the past weekend. For realz.

Happy New Year: Wine In Review

This past year has been an exciting journey into wine making. If you had asked me 5 years ago if I saw myself making wine, GOOD wine, I'd say you were crazy. So far (knock-on-wood), all my experiments have been delightful, with some even good enough to be repeated or improved upon. Of course, wine tastes are subjective and what I think is good could taste like the back of an L.A. schoolbus to another. Thankfully, I have good friends who are more than willing to be guinea pigs.

Here's to another great year filled with good friends, love, health, and good wine!


“Cock of the Walk” Cherry Red – A semi-dry, vanilla-oaked cherry wine made with organic cherry juice, dried cherries, cranberries, and raisins. This batch was made in June and when tasted in December, it had strong potential to age into a nice Pinot Noir type red. It is still very young and probably won’t be drinkable for at least a year. The original recipe said it would be “drinkable in 6 weeks”…HA!

Florida “Spiced Orange Meade” – A sweet honey wine made with Florida oranges, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and organic, Florida honey from Frederickson Apiaries in Eustis. This is a sweet desert wine that can be served chilled or heated for those frigid Florida winters! I made two batches of this meade this year, one with raw honey and one with filtered honey. Both turned out beautiful.

Florida “Strawberry Muscat” – A semi-dry, blush with a wonderful strawberry bouquet and a delicate strawberry flavor. I made and bottled this in April and it needed a good 6 months to age to perfection. This wine surprised people, as they expected a wine that was sweeter and not as complex. It was blended with a Black Muscat from Washington State and was outstanding when chilled. Will definitely make a bigger batch this year!

Kathy’s “Lemongrass Mint” – An herbal wine made from my own recipe of organic lemongrass and spearmint. It turned out to be very crisp, dry, with a clean lemon flavor, and was spectacular with any kind of seafood, or spicy dish such as Latin, Thai, or curries. However, I felt it needed some more body, a little less acidity, and more of the mint to shine through. I’m starting my second batch this week, which will be made out of lemon balm and mint from my garden.

Mary’s “Harvest Fig Blush” – This wine was inspired by a dear friend that lives in Deland. Every year she blesses me with fresh figs grown on her property, so it seemed perfectly fitting to make a wine in her honor. This wine was started in August and bottled in October and we haven’t tried it since bottling, but it appeared to be drinkable even then! I can’t wait to really taste it in a few months. It was made with fresh figs, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, oranges, lemons, and dried fruit.

Kathy’s “Banana Grigio” – This wine should really be called a banana Chardonnay, as it is extremely full bodied. I made this in May and when tried in July, it nearly punched me in the mouth! I didn’t like it! However, after 6 months of aging, we tried it again and were completely BLOWN away at how good it turned out. It mellowed out into a full bodied, almost-desertish fruit wine. The banana is definitely there, but it’s not cloying and would be phenomenal with any kind of Latin food.

Hello, Nice to Meet You

I have to apologize for my little absence, but you see, the holidays were a blur and there’s very little left of 2008. Christmas turned out to be deliciously lazy, as hubs and I stayed home instead of driving the 8-10 hours to visit the fandamily. We enjoyed every slothful moment!

Speaking of delicious, I made some Peppermint Candy ice cream courtesy of David Lebovitz and Williams and Sonoma. Every year, we pick up a jar or two of the Chocolate Filled Peppermint Snaps from W&S, as they are very addictive, perfectly minty without being too much so, and have a sinful chocolate center. Earlier this year, it dawned on me that these darlings would make an AWESOME ice cream. I was right.

Peppermint Candy Ice Cream
Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp peppermint extract
½ cup crushed, hard peppermint candies (or more or less depending on your taste)

Warm the milk, sugar, and 1 cup of cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour other cup of cream into a large bowl with a mesh strainer on top. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and temper the egg mixture into the warm milk mixture. Stir warm milk and egg mixture until it thickens and coats the back of a spatula. Pour warm milk and egg custard through the mesh strainer and into the bowl of the remaining cream. Add vanilla and peppermint extract. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, add crushed peppermint candies.

The Perfect Weekend

I think I quite possibly had the perfect weekend. On Friday night, I baked up a big-ol-batch of Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Egg Nog bread that was destined to be delivered to the staff and volunteers at the SPCA.

So Saturday, hubs and I got up, did exactly 1 hour of yard work (which is unheard of…we usually work until we drop of exhaustion, heat, or bugs), we cleaned up, delivered the bread, and then went to go have a ONE! HOUR! MASSAGE!

Le sigh!

Feeling all loosey-goosey, we then had a nice, late lunch, came home, and I proceeded to take a NAP! Later, we went to go look at Christmas lights.

Yesterday, we went for an hour long bike ride, drank coffee and read the newspaper, did more yard work, THE! DOLPHINS! WON!, and then we met some friends for a festive German dinner.

What’s wrong with this picture? Shouldn’t we be running around like chickens with our heads off right about now?

I’m gonna go have another cup of coffee.

Things that Make Me Laugh

Every time I look at one of these Scared of Santa pictures, I think of that scene in "A Christmas Story" where the kid is plopped on Santa's lap and he immediately lets out an ear-piercing scream.

Call me evil, but I can't help but laugh every time!

Things that Make Me Feel Good

I know I’ve been a little MIA this week, but life has been a blur. The holidays are acoming and I’ve been busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest! Not to mention that I have a brand new camera that I need to figure out how to use before the return policy expires, and I’ve yet to take one picture!

But I have a lot to be grateful for, and no I don’t need any cheese to go with my whine!

Hubby and I completed the 5K run last month and I’m proud to say I wasn’t the last person over the finish line! Actually, he ran his in a little over 30 minutes, and I ran/walked mine at around 40 minutes. We’re very grateful that we are healthy enough to participate in such a thing and want to do more in the future!






I am also grateful that another loverly blogger, Sol, elected me for a blogger award. This makes me feel all sorts of tingly inside. Thank you Sol! And to spread the love, I am nominating the following bloggers for the same award:

FC over at Pure Florida: He’s a teacher, philosopher, critter wrangler, handyman, and an all around neato kind of guy. Ch-ch-check him out!

Gina at Lindsey’s Luscious: Another teacher over here. She lives precariously close to Canada in northern New York and is an exceptional pie maker, canner, and promoter of all things yummy.

Jojo at Goodness Gracious Acres (a.k.a Goings on at Jojos): Another Florida blogger who loves all critters and anything in the form of a dragonfly! She’s a marketing designer with a knack for bringing up controversial topics or in a jiffy, she’ll learn ‘ya about some goats!

Ohiomom at Cooking in Cleveland: Another yummy blogger who seems to have an endless supply of enthusiasm for good, old fashioned home cooking! A supporter of her community in Ohio, she promotes green living, healthy fare, and helping others. Don’t pass up on the Granny Cake!

Here are the rules for the recipients:

1. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog.
2. Add a link to the person you received the award from.
3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.
4. Add their links to your blog.
5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on in the comments section of their blog.

Another Mouth to Feed - Chocolate Amish Bread

To make a segue from Pricey the Home Seeking Squirrel ~ We've temporarily started parking the car in the garage and have removed the tempting bird feeders from the back yard. We think his/her fuzzy little butt was sleeping in a warm bed at night and setting his/her little squirrel alarm to commute to the back yard every day.

We've placed Havahart traps to capture and release somplace else. I know, KNOW! I'm not going to kill these buggers even though I'm very tempted! Let them live out overfed lives in some park versus squirrel stew or swimming wit' da' fishies. Right now they're doing drive-bys in the Havahart and taunting my husband.

O.k., back on the ranch.

Someone gave me some Amish Bread Starter a few months ago and I've been feeding it and giving away it's offspring like unwanted kittens and puppies. "Take one home, pleeeeease!" I've exhausted my workplace like some sort of twisted (yet yummy) chain letter.

The original Cinnamon Amish Bread recipe is DEVINE; me gusta mucho! But, I've been playing around with the recipe and have been making Chocolate Amish Bread. Incidentally, this is the same starter for the infamous Amish Friendship Bread. I've not seen any recipes online for a chocolate version, so I'm hoping to start something new.

If anyone is interested in a cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter, let me know and I'll mail you some!

This chocolate version, BTW, is fabulous! Dark and chocolatey without being too sweet.

Chocolate Amish Bread

2 cups of Amish Bread Starter
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup light brown sugar
2 T of instant expresso powder (I use International Delights Swiss Mocha)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp of baking power
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 box Jello chocolate instant pudding
Cocoa powder sugar (explained below)

For cocoa powder sugar: mix 1/2 cup of regular white sugar with 2 rounded tablespoons of cocoa powder and set aside.

Mix all bread ingredients in a glass or plastic bowl using either a plastic, wooden, or rubber spatula. Do NOT use any metal utensils or bowls!! Mix well until there are no lumps in the batter. Preheat oven to 325 °.

Take 2 regular loaf baking pans and spray with Pam, add just enought cocoa sugar to coat the bottom and sides of pans. Pour bread batter equally into both pans and sprinkle the remaining cocoa sugar over the batter. Bake for 1 hour, or until butter knife inserted comes out clean.

A Squirrel Ate My Car!

So, I drive a PT Cruiser. I love that car! It's small, but big when I need it, and it's cute with lot's of tailgating potential. I take good care of it, so when it started acting funny the past day or two, I told hubs to take it in to Chrysler for an oil change and to have it checked out.

He called me later and told me that a squirrel had gotten under the hood and decided it looked awful homey, so it built a nest using ohh, insulation and wiring it managed to gnaw from the ENGINE!

WTF? I drive my car everyday, so it's not idle. We don't have any trees around our house and we live in a subdivision, not the boonies. This is going to cost mayjah $$ to fix, but the worst part is the little *&%^$#er will come back and rebuild! This isn't New Orleans, you squirrely little bastard!

I've heard of this happening up north, but not in Florida! Does anyone know what I should do?

Santa Came Early

All right people, get your minds out of the gutter. Seriously!

The photography at Just the Right Size will be greatly improved over the coming months. You see, I've been going to the Central Florida Camera Society meetings on and off for the past few months, but it's kinda lame if you don't have a good camera. I've been using a Sony Mavica, which has its purpose, but it's not a Nikon D60!!!!

I was like Jesus Christ Acapella Reprisal when I got it! Now I gotta figure out how to use it!

And Then There Was Ina

I was having a little pre-Thanksgiving meltdown last night about side dishes. First, let me mention that we are having TWO dinners this year, one at my sister-in-law's-sister-in-law's house (yes, that's correct), and one at our house on Saturday. See, hubs and I agree that one of the best things about Turkey Day, besides family and friends, are the leftovers.

Now going to someone else's house for Turkey Day is great, but no leftovers at home! So, we're having our own throw down with some friends on Saturday. So, back to the side dishes...

I always find myself in a rut about vegetables. There's always so many rich, gravied, smothered, and sugared things on the table for Turkey Day already, and I like to keep a few things simple. I panicked. I was already making roasted beets and butternut squash, and I was CERTAINLY not going to have a nasty, green bean casserole.

Then I remembered Ina. I have every one of her cookbooks, and every one of her recipes are pure, simple, let-the-food-shine-through gold.

Have a happy, safe, and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Green Beans with Shallots
Recipe sourse: Family Style by Ina Garten

1 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned
3 shallots, sliced thin
2-3 tablespoons of butter
Kosher salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Blanche the green beans in boiling water 2-3 minutes, then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process. In a sautee pan, melt the butter and sautee the shallots over medium/high heat until they start to caramelize, toss the green beans with the shallots just enough to reheat. Season with salt & pepper, serve hot.

Meet Mr. or Mrs. Burns!

To save you from the constant onslaught of food porn that is pouring in from other foodies this week, I bring you Mr. or Mrs. Burns the Black Racer!

We've seen this little guy (girl?) zipping around our property for some time. Maybe a year or so. But lately we've seen a few babies here and there, so we've considered renaming him/her to Mrs. Burns (anyone a Simpson's fan?).

She's sweet and sleepy lately due to the cool weather, but she still manages to give me a good jump every now and again when I least expect it. She's about 4 foot long and a nice addition to our cache of critters.

Anyone know anything about snakes? Is this a black racer? (I hope!)

BRRrrrrr!

Do you feel that? The temperatures got down into the 30's last night here in Central Florida! I was lucky though, it hovered just above freezing and I didn't have to do the Bedsheet Boogey for my more sensitive plants.

I LOVE it though! Even though hubs and I are Florida natives, we both have families that are only one or two generations off the boat from Europe. We both LOVE the cold, so we can blame it on our Norwegian ancestry.

Last night, we built a fire outside in our fire pit and had a big bowl of this chili to keep us warm. This is a really good "chili", although it's more of a soup. Either way, it'll warm you up!

Kathy’s White Bean, Chicken, & Corn Chili

2 poblano peppers, diced (or 2 green bell peppers)
1 habanero pepper, diced (or 1 jalapeno)
1 onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
4 cans navy beans
4 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 7.5 oz can chipotle peppers w/adobo, chopped (I usually use only 1 chili from the can, but you can add more or less depending on the "heat" factor you like)
1 32 oz. Chicken broth (or 2 if you want a bigger pot of chili)
2 T chili seasoning mix
1 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped and cooked

Saute diced poblano, habanero and onion in olive oil until tender (2 minutes). Add navy beans and next 4 ingredients and bring to a boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce temp, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Add cooked chicken and cilantro, simmer 5 – 10 minutes more.

Brandied Cherries

If any ol' stranger would to stumble upon this blog and say, "Oh what's over here?" then they'd surely think I have a drinking problem.

I give you dear readers, yet ANOTHER recipe that contains alcohol! Yay me! Actually, don't let these sweet, innocent maraschino cherries fool you, they contain quite a punch. It's simple, batta-bing-batta-boom. Two step wonders over here! The best part is making these into chocolate covered cherries for the holidays!

Step 1: Buy a large, Big Box store jar of maraschino cherries and dump out half of the juice.


Step 2: Back fill with brandy. Put lid on, and stick in the refrigerator to marinate for several weeks. Enjoy at own risk!