Rice Puddling

The midsummer blues have settled upon me along with the hot, humid, and lazy days of a Memphis summer. In just a few short weeks my "real life" will resume and I needs to savor the freedom that summer offers. Unfortunately I have already began to stew over how I have spent my summer and what I will do with my remaining time. I have barely scratched the surface of my "to do"list. I know that I will not elicit sympathy from those who work at year-round jobs, but most teachers have experienced what I am going through at this moment. But while I have the time I will continue to cook, bake and eat my way through the rest of these weeks while squeezing in a few home improvement projects just to ease my conscience. I often feel the need to prove that I have been a responsible contributing member of society during these two months off, while in reality I revert back to my childhood summers and usually just enjoy not having too much of a routine.


I recently had a craving for Rice pudding and since my mpm's stomach is always acting up I thought this might be a good change of pace from the baked custard that I have been making for her. Usually I bake my rice, but I was running short on time so I prepared the rice on the stove top. I made the Rice Pudding using a recipe from the cafeteria manager at the first high school I taught at more than 20 years ago. Wow! I am old. The food was really good. Really! One of my friends got the recipe from Mrs. Klinke, the kitchen manager, and pared it down for the home cook.

Rice Pudding

2 tbsp. butter - melted in 8x8 baking dish

Mix the next 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Add the next 3 ingredients to the mixing bowl along with melted butter from baking dish
2 cups warm milk
3/4 cup cooked rice
1/4 to 1/2 cup raisins ( I use golden raisins)

1 or 2 tsp. of cinnamon sugar (optional)

Pour mixture from bowl into the 8x8 baking dish used to melt the butter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Set in a pan of hot water "Bain Marie".
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until set around edges. The middle may be a little shaky, but will set up.

It's great when still warm and even better the next day with berries for breakfast.

Also, if you have a little time to spare you might want to improve your vocabulary and donate rice at the same time by visiting the Free Rice website.

Hamster for dinner tonight?

Our first family pet was a fish. Low maintenance, cheap, and a short shelf life. Nevertheless, I thought my daughter's Beta fish would never die. Finally, we went on vacation and my mom kept it. When we returned home it died a few days later. How can I ever thank her enough? It's just that the water would get dirty and I always had to clean it. We kept it in the kitchen so it became part of my duties. Finally, when the kids were 7 and 12 we caved in and Santa brought a Carin terrier to come live with us. My husband works at home and Holley became his "duty". It's a miracle that Holley and my husband both survived her "house training". My usually calm partner became like the voice of God talking to Moses while scolding the puppy for soiling the Oriental. Her ears would become pinned to the side of her head and we would all cower as he shamed the poor pup. Of course, hubby bonded with the dog and loves her more than just about anything, maybe even us? When the neighbors care for her while we are on vacation he hounds me to call Kathleen and check on the house and Holley "the light of his life".
Holley has been our only pet for the last 6 years until my daughter got a bee in her bonnet so to speak. It came upon up so quickly we were totally caught off guard. All of the sudden she kept her room neat and even began to do her own laundry. I didn't even know she could turn on the wash machine, much less throw in her clothes and even use laundry detergent. What was going on? Then she hit us with a load of bricks. She had prepared a power point presentation with a voice over and a binder on the subject of "The Habits and Diet of Hamsters and the Responsibilities of Hamster Ownership". She could talk on great length of the proper bedding, diet, climate, and housing for a hamster. A list of items necessary and the costs were posted on the outside of her door. If this was a school subject she definitely would excel in it. At last, I weakened and took her and a bevy of wide-eyed teen aged or near teen aged girls to Petco to buy the "rat". One her friends had supplied her with quite a few items from her newly deceased hamster. We brought the little thing home and she came to live in a cage with the best food and bedding available. Her bed is a lovely green pair that looks like a hobbit might me at home there also. At night we could hear the whirr of her running on her wheel if we forgot to close the playroom door.
Daughter forgot to mention that they poop every other minute and the bedding and their dinner often ends up on the carpet along with a couple of poop pellets. Yuck!!! There "Hammy the Hamster" lived during the cold winter months until my friend Dani gave me a wonderful idea. Having lived in El Salvador and Guatemala during her childhood she just happened to mention that their gerbils lived outside in their cages all year long. Aha! Wouldn't Hammy be happier out in the sultry summer heat of our Southern climate. I could plop that hamster outside on the screen porch for a summer vacation. Let her get a taste of the real world. The only worry was how would Holley take to the hamster. It was love at first sniff. Up to the cage Holley trotted and began that soft whimper that she uses to tell other dogs that she is ready to play. They actually rubbed noses and Hammy didn't try to nip at her like she did to me when I put my finger in the cage. Hamsters are still not high on my list, but I do enjoy watching her come out at about 5 in the evening and enjoy our company as we sit on screen porch and wait for dinner with a cocktail. I wish!!! I am busy making dinner, but we do enjoy eating on the porch and watching the pooch and the rat interact for a while.
Both the pets and the family eat well. Hammy eats a mixture of dried corn and nuts. While Holley who has allergies has been eating a dog food that is made of salmon and sweet potatoes this month. Last night my parents came over and we had the standby for when they visit - salmon. Not the same that Holley has. We had salmon with a citrus sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and sauteed organic baby spinach. My husband is in charge of the salmon and I make the citrus sauce.

Buttery Citrus Sauce for Fish
Ingredients:
• 1½ cups orange juice
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice ( I use lemon if I don't have a lime)
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tablespoons shallots, minced
• ¼ cup (½ stick) chilled Challenge
European Style Butter, cut into 4 pieces ( I use my butter from Costco. European butter has more fat and costs more.)
• 4 (6-oz.) pieces of salmon or halibut fillets
• salt and pepper
OPTIONAL GARNISH:
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley and orange
segments (1 orange with peel and white pith
removed, segmented)
Instructions:
Boil orange juice and lime juice in saucepan until reduced to approximately ½ cup, about 10 minutes. Boil wine
and shallots in another saucepan until wine is reduced to approximately 3 Tablespoons, about 3 minutes. Add
orange juice mixture to wine mixture. Add butter pieces, one at a time, whisking until melted. Remove from
heat. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Spoon over cooked fish and garnish as desired.
Yield: 4 servings
Source: Recipe developed by Challenge Home Economist for print ad photos.
You can find more great recipes at www.challengedairy.com.

Blogs: A Childhood Memory

Will my children remember my blog along with Beanie Babies, Webkinz, Razor Scooters, and Poggs? Everything is so faddish. It comes and it goes oh so quickly! Every time I get a food magazine it seems like it is dominated by a "new" recipe ingredient. One month every recipe called for sherry vinegar. The next month it was smoked paprika, and then I had to search for Harissa which I was able to find at World Market. It's a paste and not a powder. However, I use these ingredients in my Southern Comfort food. The Middle East meets the Deep South. What a crazy, mixed up world we live in now. Mass communication and international trade makes it possible that a favorite dinner in our MidSouth home is Black Gram Lentils Curry "Dal Bukhara" or Spicy Szechwan noodles. However, when I have my 73 year old mother and 76 year old father over for dinner I need to go a bit bland which happens on Sunday nights. Usually when I have my parents over on Sunday nights we eat Salmon which is loved by all. Nevertheless, yesterday we ventured into the world of chicken. We feasted upon Spiced-Up, Oven Fried Chicken, Beef's Best Friend, and Squash Tunica. I know, beef's best friend should not go with chicken; however, cows at the slaughter house might be prone to promote it.

The recipes follow. Please take liberties. I always do. I feel that a recipe is really just a suggestion and the cook is at liberty to interpret it to the needs of the family and the bounty of the pantry. Baking is an exact science which involves the laws of chemistry; whereas, cooking is an open book where you can write the finish and enjoy the fruits of your labor or imagination.

Spiced-Up, Oven -Fried Chicken

4 cups crushed plain conflakes (from 8 cups whole cornflakes) I used Kroger brand.
2 tbsp smoked parika, to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 to 3 tsp salt
t tbsp frehly ground pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk,or milk
3 chickens (3 to 31/2 pounds eache), cut into 8 ieces each
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray with non-stick cooking sprya or butter each dish.
2. Combine the crushed cornflakes in a large bowl with the spices.
3. Lightley beat eggs with the milk or buttermilk in a bowl.
4. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, shake off excess, and then into the crumbs, coating well. Place on the baking sheets, leaving space between the pieces.
5. Bake, in batches, for 1 hour or until golden brown and cooked through.
6. to serve, arrange the chicken on a large platter an sprinkle with basil.

Beef's Best Friend

9 medium potatoes
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups light cream or 1% organic milk (Depending on what the scale said this morning)
Onion juice to taste or onion powder
1/4 or 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese grated

Boil potatoes in their skins. Cool, refrigerate overnight and then peel and grate. Heat butter, salt, cream/milk and onion until hot. Do not boil. Pour over potatoes and gently mix. May be prepared a day or more ahead. Bake in buttered casserole for 1 hour at 350F. Serves 8-12.

This is a very forgiving recipe like Jesus. You can change it to suit your family's tastes and what you have on hand.

Squash Tunica

2 pounds yellow squash, sliced
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon sugar, a very Southern ingredient
1/2 stick butter
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Ground salt and pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons butter

Boil squash in water with salt and sugar. Turn to low, cove and cook about 15 minutes. Drain, return to pan an add 1/2 stick butter. Mash until well blended. Add rest of ingredients, except bread crumbs and 3 tablespoons butter. Pour into 2-quart casserole and top with the bread crumbs. Cut butter into small pieces and put on top of casserole. Bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes. Serve 6-8.

Recipe Chain - Chicken?

I got an email from a good friend that was titled , "Recipe exchange". I was excited until I opened it up and read it.

You have been invited to be part of a recipe exchange.  (That sounds good so far!)  Please send a recipe to the person whose name is in number 1 position.  It should be quick, easy and without rare ingredients.

Then copy this letter into a new email; move my name to the number 1 position and put your name as number 2.  

/

Send to 20 friends.  If you cannot do this within 5 days; let me know so it will be fair to all those who do participate.  It' a  lot of fun and should receive 36 recipes.

Okay!  I  guess I could do this even though I usually delete these chain emails.  I guess I will play along.  But one problem is that my friend and I are in the same circle and she just used up about 10 people that I might possibly send it to.  I guess I'm just not that popular.  Then the other problem is that the email says to send it back if you can't comply.  I hate rejection. My friend  Mary said that she had already received 5 emails back saying that they couldn't play along.  

I have to admit that I have friends that don't actually email.  They are not tied to their computers.  My friend and neighbor Beth who is a kindergarten teacher only uses a computer during the school year when it is absolutely, positively required to keep her job.  We exchange recipes, but it is through the old-fashioned way.  She has lovely decorated index sized cards that she gives me when I request a recipe.  I just copy recipes for her onto an unadorned index card. 

I did send out a couple of recipes that are standbys and I will include them in my blog today.

 

Both of these recipes are very flexible and you can adapt them very readily to what you have on hand and to your family's preferences.

Spinach and Egg Drop Pasta Soup

½ lb. tubetti, ditali or other small pasta

2 quarts chicken stock ( I used canned broth.)

4 cloves of garlic, minced ( I use 2.)

5 oz. baby spinach ( More or less - I buy organic baby spinach at Costco and throw it into whatever I am cooking at the time.)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 large eggs, beaten

½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggino ( I use cheese that was already grated.)

Extra virgin olive oil, lemon wedges, and more cheese for topping

1. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain well.

1. In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer with the garlic for 3 minutes.

1. Add the pasta, the spinach and cook over moderate heat until the spinach wilts.

1. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the beaten eggs, breaking them into long strands.

1. Gently simmer the soup for a 1 minute. Stir the cheese. Ladle the soup into the bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and serve, passing lemon wedges and more cheese on the side.

This is a great recipe to use with leftovers. I usually make it when I have some leftover chicken and throw that into the mix. I have also added turkey and leftover peas. It is very flexible and even picky eaters seem to like it.

Chicken and Wild Rice

1 6 oz. box of long grain and wild rice mix
3 to 4 cups diced chicken
1 4 oz. jar chopped pimento, drained ( or diced red or green pepper)
1 16 oz can green beans (or diced artichoke hearts, or sautéed mushrooms)
1 medium onion, chopped ( I sauté mine in olive oil.)
1 can cream of mushroom (or celery) soup
1 cup mayo ( I only use 1/2 cup and only Hellmann's.)
Ground salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese

Cook rice according to package directions. Mix together the next 8 ingredients. Place in a greased 3-quart casserole. Top with cheese. Also good if topped with toasted almonds or pecans. Serves 8-10.

This recipe is very forgiving. You can use whatever you have on hand. It is great to take to a family who needs a home-cooked meal.

Recipe for a Messy Room

My son is home from his first year of college.  He was 7 hours from home and his bedroom at home had been immaculate since his departure last August.  I did not have to rake the floor of his room all year long.  Yes, rake the floor!  Don't you rake the floor of your children's bedroom?  Perhaps you don't find it necessary, but it worked for us.  Although he is a wonderful student he seems to have a gene missing that helps a person organize their "stuff".  He has been suffering from this disorder for years, or rather he suffers when I finally blow my top at the sheer chaos that qualifies as his haven from the world.  

"How can you get dressed in the morning if you can't find a pair of matching shoes?"  I shrilly cry at him in exasperation.  "The roaches have sent out a mass invite to Will's room.  The resources are plentiful and there are lots of dark places to seek cover if your dining experience is interrupted by his mom."   I am by no means a neat freak, but there are no bounds to his lack of order.  Nonetheless, he never went to class unclad and he didn't lose his school work under a mound of granola wrappers.  

I've actually been enjoying my summer with my first born although I was warned about how difficult it could be when a child returns home from college.  Life with Will has been peppered with difficult situations even though he is a great kid by most standards.  He's a bit stubborn and so am I.  He's the one that fell behind everyone while on a visit to Yellowstone.  His sister who was 9 at the time came back with the fateful report.  Will is whining because as he scooted along the picket fence at Mammoth Springs he picked up a rather large splinter in his butt.  Yes, my kids use the word "butt" and "stupid" if the situation deems it necessary which at the time both words came in handy.  He survived, but only after heroic efforts were made to recover the offending piece of wood.

I've managed to enjoy my summer by avoiding the upstairs and keeping his door closed.  Which by the way no longer has the newspaper clipping on it.  You know the one about the mother that accidentally killed her son over his messy room.   This poor woman picked up a cane to beat the messy son with.   A false cap fall off the end of it and revealed a hidden blade which she inadvertently used to stab her first born son.  Not that we've ever come to blows, but I thought this might give him something to ponder the next time he absent-mindedly placed a Cheezit box next  to the empty Vanilla Wafer's box which was on top of the Fruit Loops cereal box.

I made the mistake of opening the door.  He was out for the evening and old habits die hard.  I organized his room, but not the closet.  The closet was more than I could bare.

The next day I didn't say a word.  I waited.  I waited a bit longer.  Finally, I broke down and asked,  "How's your room?"  His reply was, "You've destroyed my natural habitat."  Dear Lord, is there some saint I could possibly pray to?  He also had taken his Poptart box out of the trash and put it back on his dresser.  "I've had that box for awhile now.  I need it for my change."

I closed the door.  I have not decided that if you can't beat them join them, but I am considering finding him a room close to a junkyard so he can be with "his element".

Now how does this relate to food?  Well, I found quite a bit in his room.  

Recipe for a Messy Room

1 box of Apple Cinnamon Nutragrain bars ( in bag with hangers)

1 box of Ear Gray's tea

1 empty box of Vanilla Wafers

1 half empty box of Cheezits

1 kitchen sponge

2 Electric guitars

1 acoustic guitar

1 saxophone

1 keyboard

1 humongous 30 year old amp

1 small fairly new amp

1 wahwah pedal??  I think that's what it is.

1 bed

1 nightstand

1 shelf unit from dorm

1 book shelf

1 recliner from dorm

1 dresser

1 desk and chair

1 trillion cds

old records with turntable

1 lap top

2 sets of hand barbells

an old stereo with speakers

clothes, books, shoes

papers, notes, binders from highschool

sheet music 

5 different blankets (We live in the deep South.  It's not hot.  It's sweltering!)

childhood toys and memories

Legos, Poggs, Brio train set, Matchbox cars, Sports cards, and more

several high school uniform ties on floor along various magazines, wet towels and dry ones, bike helmet, socks, t-shirts, glasses, Jones soda cans, art supplies, wrappers, pens, highlighters, binders,  pencils, ect.  There is a veritable Wal-Mart on that Kid's/adult's floor!

I went walking with my neighbor Laura this afternoon.  As usual we commented on the general upkeep or decline of the homesteads in our middle class subdivision.  We often fantasize about writing tickets up for each of the offenses that we view.  What is wrong with our neighbors?  Haven't they heard of the "edger"?  We can hardly walk down the sidewalk with all the grass and weeds in our way from the guy on the corner.  Those shutters are "Pepto Pink".  What were they dreaming of?   Or have they put another ornamental butterfly on their shutters?  Where do they find these butterflies that look like they're on growth hormones and steriods.  Here's one place, but buy only if you don't live near me: butterflies. We need to buy them a net!   My daughter thinks that I am a bit preoccupied with my neighbors' home decor.  I guess I just prefer to look at pleasant homesteads.  I am not asking for aesthetically pleasing, just something that doesn't make me feel slightly queasy.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Oh, well back to the eternal question.  What's for dinner?

 

After Laura has taken me and her dog on a grueling walk I am panting and begging for her to slow down.  Trouper, her dog, and Laura are in great shape.  I ,on the other hand, can barely keep up.  Finally, we arrive at my doorstop and with great effort I invite her over for dinner tonight.  Although I love my husband dearly his company can need a bit of livening up from time to time.  She accepts the offer and we part at 6:00 for dinner at 7:00.  We'll dine on the screen porch again.  

Hum!  What to have?   Well, I quickly work up a menu in no time flat.  Nothing like having company to help inspire the family cook.  Here is the menu.  

Harissa Marinated Pork Chops

Squash Medley

Baked Stacked Eggplant

Roasted Potatoes

yogurt and cucumber sauce

The Recipes follow:

Harissa Marinate Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops

2 tsp harissa  ( I found it at World Market.  It is a spicy paste used in North  African cooking.)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon 

1 clove of minced garlic

Marinate in a plastic bag for one hour.  Cook on grill until husband thinks it is done.

Roasted Potatoes

1 to 2  lb of potatoes, baking or red

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Chop potatoes into small pieces.  Coat bottom of an 9 by 13 cake pan with olive oil.  Put chopped potatoes in cake pan.  Drizzle 3 tbsp of olive oil on top of potatoes.  Sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper.  Bake at 45o for one hour or until brown and crispy.  Be sure to check on from time to time and scrape the bottom of the pan so they don't stick.  You can also add a bit of onion or fresh rosemary if you like.

Squash Medley

3 small squash, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

1/4 green pepper, sliced

1/2 small sweet onion, sliced

1/4 jalapeno, diced

1 clove of minced garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat skillet.  Add 2 tbsp olive oil and heat.  Add garlic and onion and cook until translucent.  Add jalapeno, red and green pepper and cook for about 3 minutes.  Then add squash and cook until desired state.  Are you a mushy or crisp vegetable eater?

Stacked Eggplant

1 large eggplant

1 large onion

1 large tomato

olive oil

salt 

grated Parmesan cheese

Cut ends off eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thickness.  Slice tomato and onion into 1/4 inch slices.  Stack eggplant, tomato, and onion on a cookie sheet greased with olive oil.  Add a small splash of olive oil on top of each stack.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake 1 hour at 350.  Remove foil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.  Bake uncovered until cheese melts.

The leftovers are great as a pasta topping.  I also salt the eggplant and drain in a colander for an hour before baking.  I rinse and pat dry before using the eggplant in the recipe to avoid the bitter bite that it often has if one doesn't do this.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cucumber

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

Drain yogurt 1 hour before making sauce.  You are supposed to use cheesecloth, but I just put the yogurt in a paper towel and then place it in a colander and put it in the sink to drain.  

Peel cucumber and take the seeds out and then grate it.

Mince the garlic.

Mix the yogurt with cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.  

This sauce is good with salmon croquettes also. I usually add dill. It also is good on pita chips or a pita sandwich or use like a salad dressing.

  

You are what you eat?

Let's just go ahead and get to the heart of the matter which is the title of my blog, "The Meal Maker".  Just what is it that I make for dinner and why am I so obsessed with it?  I do not have an answer about my obsession with  food, but I do have the menu and the recipes from last night's grand performance.    

Menu

   Lemonade Marinated Pork Tenderloin on the grill 

New potatoes with Dill Butter

    Medley of Summer Squash and Peppers

 Speckled Butter Beans

Fresh Pineapple with Cottage Cheese

 Irish Brown Bread

Doesn't sound particularly interesting or sheeky, but it was just an old-fashioned Southern cooking which we enjoyed on our screen porch.  I am a Southerner or at least I am from the South - born and bred.  My father is from Chicago and my mother was born in the South, but her father was transferred to Chicago. They met while working for Illinois Central Railroad.  Both were number crunchers.  My Dad has an accounting degree from De Paul and my mom worked in the accounting office.  They somehow ended up back in Memphis by the time I arrived. They fondly reminisce about all the wonderful food to be had in Chicago.  Whoops!  I have derailed once again.  Now for the recipes!

Lemonade Marinated Pork Tenderloin

1/2 cup of Minute Maid Lemonade

1/4 cup of Orange Juice

1/4 cup of olive oil ( I always use the extra virgin from Spain via Costco.)

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp.  ketchup

3/4 tsp.  ancho chili powder

1 tsp.  garlic and onion spice blend

1 large pork tenderloin ( about 2 pounds) or 2 smaller tenderloins

Place all of the ingredients in a plastic freezer bag and shake together.  This is quite fun and your children can do it for you.  Marinate for at least an hour or longer.   Just make sure it is tightly sealed and doesn't have a hole in it like mine did last night.  I had to mop the floor.  Well, really my daughter mopped the floor for me.

You can cook it in the oven at 325 uncovered, approximately 30 to 45 minutes or using a meat thermometer until the internal temperature is 185.  

My husband cooks it on the grill and how long it is cooked seems to be somewhat of a mystery.  It depends on if the grill is gas or charcoal, how big is the fire, and how hungry is the crowd.  Also, my mother still thinks you can die from trichinosis so since she was dining with us he cooked it for a nice long time to allay her fears.  

Speckled Butter Beans from the Farmer's Market

1 lb. of Speckled Butter Beans

2 slices of bacon

1 sprig of thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried

1/4 of a sweet onion, Vidalia

1 can of low fat, low sodium chicken broth

water to cover the bean

Fry 2 slices of bacon in the bottom of a dutch oven.  Add can of chicken broth.  Add rinsed speckled butter beans, thyme, onion, and water to cover the beans.  Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for at least an hour.  I toss out the onion, but you could dice it before adding to beans.

Farmer's Market Squash Medley

4 small yellow squash, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1/2 red pepper, sliced

1/4 jalapeño, diced

1/2 sweet onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

olive oil, @2 tbsp. to cover bottom of skillet

salt and pepper to taste

I slice the squash in half, lengthwise (like a hot dog).  Then I slice them thinly.  I also like to slice the pepper in long thin slices vertically.  (If a pepper can be slice vertically?)  Then I dice the jalapeño and the onion and mince the garlic.  Place a large skillet over a medium heat.  Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Then add peppers and squash and cook until desired state is achieved.  Are you a crunchy vegetable person or a mushy vegetable person?

New Potatoes with Dill Butter

2 lbs.  of new potatoes

2 tbsp. fresh dill chopped

2 to 3 tbsp. of butter

freshly ground salt and pepper

Wash potatoes and cut in fourths.  Boil for about 15 to 20 minutes checking for softness.  Drain potatoes in a colander.  In the empty pot add fresh dill and the butter and when the butter is melted add the potatoes from the colander.  Then add freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Irish Brown Bread 

This recipe is the only one I didn't make up or reinvent.  It is from the March 2008 issue of Food and Wine.  It is very simple and only takes 10 minutes to throw together.  It is great toasted the next morning  with lots of butter.

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Butter an 8-by-5 inch metal loaf pan.

2.  In a large bowl whisk both flours with the baking soda and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the egg; stir into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until a rough dough forms.

3.  Transfer dough to a lightly flour surface and knead until smooth.

4.  Form the dough into a loaf and place in pan.

5.  Bake about 50 minutes. Once unmolded it should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Let cool to warm or room temperature, then slice and serve with butter!!

I am not much of a baker.  It is not a very forgiving art form.  There is an exactness that must be adhered to that my inner being seems to rebel against.  However, when I do bake I try to follow the rules otherwise I end up with a "baking disaster" on my hands.

Are we what we eat?  I hope so!

Musings of a Teacher on Summer Break: Lunch and Dinner

Once again I woke with little sense of purpose or order in my life.  I did not have to rush to ready myself and my daughter for school.  We are both at home this summer.  No lunches to be made, no last minute checks to be written, and no searching for the gym shorts that seem to disappear in the black hole also known as "the dryer".   The day holds so many possibilities, but I must muster the energy, creativity, and money to make it happen.

When in doubt and lacking substantial funds one can always bake.  I have already gained five pounds this summer as we bake our way through the season.  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies were the first order for the day.  We used an old trusted "family recipe".  That would be the one on the inside of the Quaker Oats lid.  Why is it on the inside of the lid?  I looked all over that container for the reciped  before I considered ever opening up the oats.  Lo and Behold!  What did I find once I opened it up?  Not only the oats, but the darned recipe.  Life is hard enough without the Quaker Oats people hiding "our family recipe" for oatmeal cookies.

The search for meaning in my life brought me to the next major event of the day which of course would be lunch.  My husband says I remind him of his dearly departed grandmother.  After breakfast, she pondered what they should have for lunch.  After lunch, the next pressing issue would be the subject of dinner.  I've been told that a great many people spend way too much time thinking of sex.  I, on the other hand, probably spend an overly generous amount of time thinking about not the meaning of life, but rather like the question that Robert Mitchum poses on the beef commercials, "What's for dinner tonight?"  I find meaning in life by eating.  It means that I will live to see another day so I can make dinner again.

Once again I have meandered away from the path.  Lunch today was absolutely simple and delicious.  I made a Pita sandwich with hummus and dressed it with a cucumber and tomato salad and ate it open face.  Yummy!  The recipe follows.  Beware!  I am not one to follow the recipe to the letter of the law.  When I invent something I rarely write down the exact measurements that were actually used.  I consider this to be an existential approach to cooking.  I am creating something new each time; therefore, I exist.  

Open-Face Pita Hummus Sandwich with Tomato and Cuke Salad

Ingredients:          1.   Pita Bread

        2.  Hummus

Salad :   3.  1 tomato, chopped

 4.  1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped

             5.  2 tbsp. lemon juice

              6.  4 tbsp. olive oil

             7.  2 tbsp chopped cilantro

              8.  freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

How to:        Open the pitas up and cut so that you have only one side of it.  Toast in the oven.

Spread with hummus.  Top with the salad and extra cilantro if desired.  Olives and

artichokes would also be a good addition, but I didn't have any on hand.

I've been rambling for quite some time and haven't even made it to dinner yet.  Dinner will be al fresco, which is rather unusual for a June night in Memphis.  We are having a cold front and the high today will only be a chilly  86 without the smothering humidity.  Now, since the cold front will soon be moving out I am off to the zoo.  Dinner can wait, but daughter cannot.  She is growing like a sunflower and soon will move on without me.  But for now she is mine and I will tend to her.

What will I do today? Laundry

I am free, at least for another 6 weeks.  Is it only 6 more weeks!  As a teacher I have the summers free, but with that freedom comes quite a burden.  I know that people who don't have the summers off will have little or no sympathy for me, but let's see if they can't empathize  for just a few moments.  All through the months of August until May I run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to keep up with work, the house, the children's lives, my parents, and friends.  Oh, yes!  I forgot my husband and the ever present and overly oppressive duties of  the laundry.

My daughter thinks that my whole life revolves around the laundry and in reality I bet it has, at least for the last 15 years.  My husband might suggest going out of town for the weekend.  We could leave Friday when I get home from work and come back on Sunday evening.  He thinks it would be nice to just get away from our routine for a short time.  I do too, but who is going to do the laundry.  What will we have to wear on Monday morning when we return to our real lives.  I have nightmares of being smothered by the great mounds of laundry that I have amassed on the dining room floor as they await their turn in our old, but faithful washer.  The dryer I do not refer to with any such informalities or with terms of endearment.  The dryers in my life have all been fickle and high maintenance.  Luckily my husband has become quite a self-taught handyman and has managed to milk along the last dryer through many an illness.  He gave her a new belt, rollers, and timers on more than one occasion.  In fact, as I reflect upon it now I feel a little jealous of all the time and gifts he has showered upon her.

I guess I should go back to the thesis statement of my first paragraph.  I am an English major, but you could never tell by my writing.  I like to meander.  It is how woman talk to their friends.  Our conversations are never linear.  They are much more free flowing and creative.  One idea opens the door to another and we just follow them until somehow we return to the original.  For instance, Dani and I began talking about swimming lessons and then veered off the topic to our fears.  Mine are of flying and heights and she thought long and hard to come up with hers as she is an incredibly well-adjusted individual.  She does not like to swim in lakes where she cannot see the bottom.  Who knows what is lurking in the water grass beneath the surface.  Maybe some Harry Potter-like creature is there to take to the bottom. 

Summertime is difficult for many teachers as we can be filled with a restless ennui.  After so much structure for ten months out of the year how do we enjoy two months without it.  Some teachers travel.  Some teach summer school.  Some plan for the coming year.  Some teachers have young children and they fill their days entertaining them and providing transportation.  And some like me, turn into a worm.  It takes me all day long to just get from Point A to Point B.  Going grocery shopping can become the big event of the day and it can take me several hours to just get to the point of being ready to leave for the store.

I have decided to blog to add a little structure and discipline to an amorphous summer lifestyle.  I really do get things accomplished in the summer and I will keep a rambling record of those ehem! accomplishments.  The most important thing in our household to me is not the laundry, but the food.  I know this will come as quite a surprise to my daughter, but not to the other members of the family.  But to honor my daughter's view I will include not a recipe for food, but one for laundry detergent.  Yes, I make my own detergent.  I know it's popular to be green and I have jumped on the bandwagon.  I still make it to church on Sunday so hopefully I have not made "green"  my new religion.  Everything in moderation is my motto.  Even religion is included in this philosophy. 

After researching laundry recipes on the net I came up with this one and it works well.

Laundry Detergent

1 cup of Borax

1 cup of Arm and Hammer Super washing Soda

1 cup of Pink Zote Soap, grated

2 dashes of Rosemary  Essential Oil

Mix together and use 1 to 2 tablespoons per wash.

Well, the blog was white and wide open for a rambling ride. Now I am ready to begin my day.  I have some laundry to do before I wake up the teenagers.  It is 10:00 am.  What am I going to do now?