Grandma's Kitchen Table

CEiMB: Emerald (and Ruby) Stir-Fry with Beef

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's book So Easy: Luscious Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week, was selected by Alyssa at Alyssa's Two Bites and is Emerald Stir Fry with Beef, found on pages 122-123, or you can also find it on the web, click here.  

I get it, all the vegetables in this are green, so the title is Emerald, but I had to add the Ruby part because the guys just don't eat snow pea pods (I think it falls in their list of Real Guys Don't Eat......), so I decided to sub in a red pepper for the snow peas.  I like to stay true to a recipe the first time, but the red bell pepper was $1.00 and the snow peas were $4.99, so I was thinking the red pepper was looking better and better and I knew that they would eat that and not just toss it aside like they would the pea pods.  It also brightened things up a bit, and I am hoping Ellie is not frowning because it is, after all, a more nutritious sub. 

I haven't made an actual stir-fry before.  Oh, I have a wok, and I have thrown veggies and meat in there and sallied them about but I have never actually put it together with an actual stir-fry sauce until today.  Chopped and diced everything earlier in the day so it was ready to go, just had to make the rice and put it all in the pan for the tossing about in the oil and sauce and dinner was ready in a flash.  Which is good, because there was more Big Ten Basketball on tonight.

Did we like it?  Yes, it's a keeper, and I think I might just wok some more things in the near future as it was a very satisfactory experience.  Once again, Ellie rules. 

Next week:  Curried Chicken Salad, recipe found in Ellie Krieger's new book:  So Easy:  Luscious Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week, on page 67.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cocoa-Nana Bread

Thanks to Steph of Obsessed with Baking for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Cocoa-Nana Bread, found on page 45 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.   

Chocolate and Banana, do those go together?  Apparently so as the guys liked this quick loaf quite a lot. 

The ingredients went together quickly (you can click on Steph's site to get the recipe), I made it as directed, and the only thing that needing tweaking was that mine took an extra ten minutes to finish in the oven, making it 85 minutes instead of 75, but everyone's ovens vary, so you might do better on that.  

I don't make a lot of quick breads, like hardly ever, and I wasn't aware that there is supposed to be a crack in the top until Caitlin enlightened me, otherwise that threw me off a bit.  I didn't like the looks of it bare, so I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top to pretty it up a bit.   

The whole thing was dense and very chocolatey with two kinds of chocolate.  I was baking this with Leslie on Twitter and she wanted to go ahead and do the TWD bars from last week at the same time, but one very chocolatey concoction a day is stretching my limit, so I finished those up the following day a couple of weeks ago.  Yes, indeed, ahead, who knew!  

Guys liked, not a Top 5 selection, but good enough they would happily eat it again should it appear in the future.  Matt shown here with a piece for breakfast on his way out the door in the morning.  Chocolate for breakfast??? Apparently so.

Next week:  Kristin from I'm Right About Everything has chosen Milk Chocolate Mini-Bundt Cakes, found on pages 188-189. 

TWD blogroll found here. 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.  I developed a love for Edith Wharton's books/stories in college and it seemed like a fine time to visit an old favorite, the one that won her the Pulitzer Prize.  She was first woman to win one. I love the fact that no matter how you think you can figure out how her stories will end, you are never right (unless you have read them before, of course).  The ends are always totally unsatisfyingly satisfying.  You will need to read something of hers to understand what I am talking about in this regard.  Go ahead, read Edith Wharton and tell me how you hate to love her work, but that you do.

LISTENING TO:  Started with On Eagles Wings and now to Music from the 1920's...what a kick!

COOKING BYTES:  Not only is my tarragon plant sprouting new shoots, so is my sage plant...I know this doesn't particularly excite you, but it does me.  I thought all the herbs would die within weeks of bringing them inside, so this just thrills me to no end.  Cheap thrills, I know.  Putting Giada's books into play for awhile...not getting enough playing time with them around here, so plan to step it up.

FAV NEW FIND:  The Eiteljorg Museum has an exhibit opening in a couple of weeks called "Pistols: Dazzling Firearms" which at first I sort of skimmed over, but then I was thinking one night when I couldn't sleep, that I should check into the description of that exhibit because, maybe, just maybe, the "dazzling" part might, just might, refer to the decorations/engravings/etchings, etc. on the pistols themselves.  I first became interested in this venue when I was visiting the Frasier Museum in Louisville a couple of summers ago and stumbled on a couple of rooms that I thought to pass by and decided to just give a peek inside.  After all, I had no particular interest in guns, so it would just be a minute or two.  Two hours and then some later:  Wow, I had no idea that guns could be so decorative, so personally decorated, so interesting, so historically wonderful, and so beautiful.  So, I pulled up the little ditty describing the upcoming Eiteljorg exhibit and guess what????  The exhibit explores the history of handgun decoration! A gift for me in February.  Go ahead, roll your eyes, or you can click here and read all about it and come with me! 
FAV THING THIS WEEK:  The swim meet last weekend was nice, nothing great in the way of swim times, but great in the way of good times, friendships, and just being together.  Sometimes those things say every bit as much as the swim times themselves.  Not sure the coaching staff would agree, but as parents, it is fun to see the kids all having a great time together doing what they love.
  

GOING TO:  Have a weekend of reflection, I think, just doing a little of this, a little of that, enjoying the simple things in life.  Going to finish knitting another baby blanket for Project Gabriel, read (of course), cook some nice meals for my family, look at the flower catalogs and find something new we can plant this year, watch Big Ten Basketball, and maybe take a trip to the museum during the Colts game when no one will be there and I can wander about to my heart's content.  Alex needed transport to and from work on Sunday, so I gave my ticket to the IU/Iowa game to Matt's friend Mike so the guys are headed to Hooville for that on Sunday night (new game time is 6:00, not 5:00, due to Colts' game) and I am planning on cheering from my wingback chair by the fireplace.  Staying close to home, the time of year when I like to just curl up and be on my own for a bit.  What's up there?

PRAYING FOR:  Both for loved ones who have gone before us and the families/friends left to give thanks for their lives and the wonderful memories they have left behind, please join me. 

CEiMB: Five Layer Mexican Dip

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's web entry at Food Network, was selected by Karena at Mama Cooks and is Five Layer Mexican Dip, recipe found on the web here.  

 

Another keeper.  So simple, so easy, so very very good and good for you!  Ingredient list:  Black Beans, Corn, Onions, Cilantro, Avocado, Lime Juice, Tomatoes, Scallions, 2 kinds of Peppers, Cheese, Cumin, well you can click on the link and check the list yourself, and then go make it...it's easy, it's good, it's healthy, and it skips all the fatty ingredients found in most layered dips.   

 

I baked some whole wheat tortilla chips and broke them into pieces to serve with the dip, perfect match.  The only thing I changed was that I put the whole thing in an 11x7 inch dish rather than an 8x8 one so that it wasn't as deep and went a little further per portion for guys watching basketball games. 

 

It was perfect for watching Big Ten Basketball games.  You are watching the Big Ten Basketball games each week, right?  I thought so, just checking to be sure. 

 

Next week:  Emerald Stir Fry with Beef, recipe found in Ellie Krieger's new book:  So Easy:  Luscious Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week, on pages 122-123.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

Thanks to Lillian of Confectiona's Realm for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars, found on pages 114-115 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook.  No, Lillian, really, thanks...I am probably going to be making these regularly from now until the kid leaves for college, and then probably sending care packages of them to him there.  He loved them THAT much.  He could barely stop eating them to pose for a photo this week.  

 

I made a full batch, but half of it went down to the swim meet for the hospitality room this past weekend, leaving half for Matt and Mark here at the house.  There have been several requests in the last couple of days that I make them again, like today or tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure that this is one of the desserts that disappeared the quickest. 

 

A few of us baked them together on Twitter last week, debating the pros and cons of subbing in this or that for different kinds of nuts or the value of leaving the raisins in or subbing them out...but I made them EXACTLY as Dorie said to make them for the exact amount of time, etc. and they were perfect. 

 

The pan with all the ingredients in it weighed a lot, because there was a lot in these:  the regular cookie-making suspects and then oatmeal, chocolate, raisins, and lots and lots of peanuts.  

 

There are three layers, a bottom crust, a fudgy middle crust, and then more of the bottom crust, but this time scattered on top.  A very big hit, definitely Top 5 for them. 

 

I think I may have stumbled upon the mystery to the perplexing issue of whether they like nuts IN things or not.  I believe the answer lies in the chocolate factor, i.e. if the recipe includes chocolate, they like nuts IN things, however, if the recipe does not include chocolate, they don't like nuts IN things.  I'm going to test this theory over time, but I do believe I have it nailed.   

 

Next week:  Steph from Obsessed with Baking has chosen Cocoa-Nana Bread, found on pages 46.  TWD blogroll found here. 

MSC Club: Coconut Cupcakes & Seven-Minute Frosting

It's time for another cupcake adventure this month from the Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book.  This one, Coconut Cupcakes, is found on pages 28-29 of the book, and was chosen by Jennifer of Cinema Cupcakes.   

 

The recipe is easy with common pantry ingredients, flour, baking powder, salt, coconut, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  The only unusual ingredient was coconut milk, of which Tracey and I have much left so we are going to cook something Thai for this Saturday night with it, she in Rhode Island, and me here in Indiana.  It was all assembled in just a few minutes, and put in to bake for about 20 minutes. 

 

I used the recommended frosting in the book, Seven-Minute Frosting(the coconut version), which was just sugar, water, corn syrup, egg whites, and coconut extract, recipe can be found on page 303.  The frosting was just as easy (although it takes half again as long as the 7 minutes) and went smoothly on the cooled cupcakes, complimenting the flavor of the cupcakes nicely, maybe too nicely as these are dangerous things to have around.  Sooooo good!

 

I made half a recipe which gave me 12 cupcakes, while Tracey made it into 9 cupcakes as we were baking together on Twitter yesterday and comparing notes.  I would do the 9 the next time as it is more ratio of cake to icing/coconut. 

 

It was great not having to worry about how the icing was going to look as the flaked coconut took care of that nicely...sort of looks like snow on top with my little snowmen cupcake wrappers.  This is as creative as it gets from here, folks, yep, that's the extent of it. 

 

Make them, but make sure you have a lot of people to share them with so there are no leftovers hanging around because you won't be able to resist. 

 

Next month's recipe selection was chosen by Mary Ann from Meet Me in the Kitchen and is S'more Cupcakes, found on pages 150-151.   Blogroll and Schedule found here.

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  The Murder of King Tut:  The Plot to Kill the Child King - Nonfiction Thriller by James Patterson and Martin Dugard.  Goes between the time of Tut, the time of the discovery of Tut's tomb by Howard Carter, and present day. 

LISTENING TO:  Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, Indianapolis Opera is performing it in March.

COOKING BYTES:  My herb pots from the deck that we brought in for the winter to try and save, i.e. keep growing so that I could have freshly cut herbs all year instead of needing to buy them in the winter, are doing GREAT!  I have been snipping away daily for the past 3 months and the tarragon has even started growing new shoots at the base of the old ones.  Chives are a little sparse, and Basil died before I even got it into the house, but everything else is going strong.  Just thought you'd like to know, in case you want to try it at your place next winter. 

FAV NEW FIND:  Cold, windy, snowy, icy January is half-way over!  So want to see greenery and blooming things, walk barefoot in the grass, and just feel the warm sunshine every single day.   

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  I loved having all the Christmas decor around, but it was good to get it all squirreled away and things back to normal.  I like normal.  I like normal on an everyday basis.  It was a good week filled with nice times and enjoying the most simple of things with my family.  

GOING TO:  Three day USA swim meet at the Nat in Indy.  Our club hosts, so that means our family works the sessions as well.  Matt was asked to be one of the two altar servers for the Ravens' Mass before the big game with the Colts on Saturday and then he will get to do some fun things and be a guest at the game, so he is also looking forward to that.  Sunday for him is swimming, choir rehearsal, and then swimming finals at night.  I hope this is a light homework weekend!

PRAYING FOR:  Those struggling with learning to live without a loved one, please join me. 

READING:  The Murder of King Tut:  The Plot to Kill the Child King - Nonfiction Thriller by James Patterson and Martin Dugard.  Goes between the time of Tut, the time of the discovery of Tut's tomb by Howard Carter, and present day. 

LISTENING TO:  Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, Indianapolis Opera is performing it in March.

COOKING BYTES:  My herb pots from the deck that we brought in for the winter to try and save, i.e. keep growing so that I could have freshly cut herbs all year instead of needing to buy them in the winter, are doing GREAT!  I have been snipping away daily for the past 3 months and the tarragon has even started growing new shoots at the base of the old ones.  Chives are a little sparse, and Basil died before I even got it into the house, but everything else is going strong.  Just thought you'd like to know, in case you want to try it at your place next winter. 

FAV NEW FIND:  Cold, windy, snowy, icy January is half-way over!  So want to see greenery and blooming things, walk barefoot in the grass, and just feel the warm sunshine every single day.   

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  I loved having all the Christmas decor around, but it was good to get it all squirreled away and things back to normal.  I like normal.  I like normal on an everyday basis.  It was a good week filled with nice times and enjoying the most simple of things with my family.  

GOING TO:  Three day USA swim meet at the Nat in Indy.  Our club hosts, so that means our family works the sessions as well.  Matt was asked to be one of the two altar servers for the Ravens' Mass before the big game with the Colts on Saturday and then he will get to do some fun things and be a guest at the game, so he is also looking forward to that.  Sunday for him is swimming, choir rehearsal, and then swimming finals at night.  I hope this is a light homework weekend!

PRAYING FOR:  Those struggling with learning to live without a loved one, please join me. 

CEiMB: Arugula, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, was selected by Maria at Half Meatball Half Matzah Ball Children and is Arugula, Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Pizza, found on page 173.  (Maria has the recipe and some great photos posted on her site under this date.) 

This recipe is definitely a keeper.  So simple, so easy, so very very good!  Ingredient list is short:  red onion (to be caramelized), arugula (to be just wilted in with the onions at the end), 6 inch whole wheat tortillas (to serve as the pizza crust), and goat cheese to scatter on the top.  Toss it in the oven for 10 minutes and you have one very fine lunch at only 141 calories. 

A picture is worth a thousand words, enjoy...and make the pizza recipe just as it is written as it is perfect!  Thanks for the pick, Maria, I loved it. 

Next week:  Five Layer Mexican Dip, recipe found on the web here.

Cooking Italy: Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chili Peppers

The recipe for the Cooking Italy group this week is Shrimp with Tomatoes and Chili Pepper, found on page 303 of the cookbook we are using:  Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

 

The recipe itself is quite easy:  the sauce starts with finely minced onions, garlic, hot chili peppers, and parsley being lightly cooked in olive oil before adding in the tomatoes and juice, simmering for about 25 minutes until the oil separates from the tomatoes (meaning the water is all cooked out).  This produces the most amazing sauce, the taste is just wonderful.  When it reaches this stage, you add the shrimp and cook a few minutes until they are just done, do not overcook or they will be tough. 

 

I served it over linguine because the guys like pasta and the swimmer is always looking for pasta after a long practice.  Absolutely delicious.   

 

The book suggests serving it with crusty bread, but I made Focaccia for the BBA group, so I served it with that and it was a great choice.  

 

Am loving this cookbook and the recipes in it and so is my family, the recipes are easy and yet so flavorful.  I have learned so many techniques that produce the wonderful flavors.  If you would like more information on the Cooking Italy group, want to see the menus and schedules, and want to see fabulous food and photos, visit Angela's site here. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Mrs. Vogel's Scherben

Thanks to Teanna of Spork or Foon? for her Tuesdays with Dorie pick of Mrs. Vogel's Scherben, found on pages 157-159 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

This was an unusual and interesting recipe this week, leave it to Teanna to find something along those lines in the book...go visit her blog, not only for this week's recipe, but her cooking and catering are amazing. 

The dough was easy to make, butter, salt, sugar, flour, egg, and baking powder mixed and formed into a ball to rest in the refrigerator.  Cutting and styling followed next, with another stint in the refrigerator.  After the resting, their little selves found themselves in a hot oil bath for less than one minute before being plucked out and dusted with powdered sugar.   

And while I don't care for fried foods on a general day-to-day basis, once in awhile it breaks the routine and seems like a little treat.  They were very tasty, light in texture from the airiness of the puffed dough and powdered sugar, and very crunchy (I always love crunchy).  Completely satisfying and delicious, especially if you enjoy the taste of treats like funnel cakes, which I do. 

Guys verdict:  "Very good, why didn't you make more of them?" (The recipe made 32.)  Mark said they were "scrumptious, tasty, and delicious," high praise from a man who loves potato chips more than any other snack item, hands down. 

And a word about these photos...no time to pose anything as they were eating them as fast as I could fry them up.  I didn't have time to get the swimmer to comb his hair after swim practice (pretty much a wasted effort anyway with chlorine infested hair) and although it looks like he has deep circles under his eyes, in reality they are simply marks from his goggles. 

Next week:  Lillian from Confectiona's Realm has chosen Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars, found on pages 114-115.  TWD blogroll found here. 

It's a Win, a Win, a Win, a Win, and a Win!

The CHS boys with their trophy after the meet.  Matt is in last row, far right.  Very exciting for all of them to win the trophy for the school.

 

Another great swim meet for Matt yesterday.  CHS hosted the MIC Championships, so there were eight teams competing.  Carmel boys & girls team won the meet.  Swimmers can swim up to 4 events (2 individual events; 2 relays or 1 individual event; 3 relays, which is what Matt swam yesterday).  All three of his relays came in first by quite a good margin.(Photo shows Matt finished and waiting for Gus to come in for the 200 Freestyle.)

   
He won his 200 Freestyle hands down against an old friendly foe from NCIN, Gus, who he has been swimming against since he was seven years old in USA swimming.  A formidable foe indeed.   Matt went in at 1:44.55 and came out with a new best time of 1:42.07, which might, with the exception of Kyle W who is Olympic bound, make him the fastest in the 200 Free in the state at this particular moment.  If not, he is very close. 

 

He and Gus were laughing afterward as Gus said, "My coach said, 'Get in there, all you have to do is beat Gerth, you can take him, you've done it before,' and I thought, 'Yeah, I can do it.'  Then when you came out like a shot out of a cannon, I knew there was no way I was going to be able to to catch you within the first ten seconds!"  Usually Matt and Gus are very close on times.  Yep, the boy had a great meet and was all smiles all the time.  They were all having a great time.   

And, another fun shot, this one of father and daughter goofing at the intermission:  The Judge was officiating and The Swimmer/Singer came to support her USA teammates since she goes to Brebeuf and not CHS and swims for them from October-February.  Laurie was also there, eager to go home and finish the Ellie soup I made this week as Ali decided to go to the meet after Laurie was already in prep for the soup.  Great to see them all, since during the high school season, Ali is not allowed to swim with her CSC team, high school rules, so other than choir, sightings of her around the pool are rare.   

 

 

 

And sometimes, when you have four boy swimmers, this IS date night...so cute seeing Ron and Sue (Mike's parents) spending time timing together at the meet.  They are one busy family with four boys swimming in four different groups and sometimes different meets on the same weekends in different states...I don't know how they do it! 

 

IU had a great first half against the Illini last night, but the youngsters just cannot seem to play a great 40 minutes total...we are patient, their time will come, who would have thought they would be this good this year?  Yep, we are the patient sort when it comes to good team building. 

 

It's another cold day.  Matt is off to choir rehearsal this afternoon and it is still up in the air whether I can move Mark into a museum visit this afternoon or not.  It might just be a day for hanging out staying warm and cozy at home. 

 

Taking all the Christmas decor down and packing it away until after Thanksgiving.  Each year I think that sounds like forever, and each year it comes sooner than I can ever imagine.  Have a great week.

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  What If? edited by Robert Cowley...827 pages, so give me a couple of weeks, okay? Have some lightweight reading going on as well. 

LISTENING TO:  Yiruma's River Flows In You (Shari got me started and now I am listening to it once a day)

COOKING BYTES:  Made flatbread for the first time this week...so easy, so tasty, and so much fun!  Thanks to Tracey and you can find the recipe here.  (It's supposed to be a little brown at the edges.)

FAV NEW FIND:  Matt struggled academically this first semester making the change from Guerin Catholic High to Carmel High and we were beginning to panic about the drop in grades during the adjustment period. Panic, truly panic.  But, the boy with all his swimming, his choir commitments, being president of his chapter and also president of the state chapter of the Knights, and making the change in schools as a junior, managed to pull off a 3.1/4.0.  Kudos to the kid.  School does not come easily for him and his time for studying is at a premium.  3.1 sounds like heaven to us!   

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  Don't tell anyone...I still have all the trees and Christmas decor up and around. I begged the guys to let me have it all up just one more week, and they agreed.  I enjoyed every moment of every single day with the twinkle lights on and everything.  It was my favorite thing all week.  It comes down tomorrow.  Seriously, it does.  

GOING TO:  Enjoy the weekend being inside as much as possible wherever I go this weekend. It is COLD here and snowy, and windy, and icy, and I keep tapping my heels together three times chanting "There is no place like San Diego..." but apparently tapping one's heels together and chanting only works in movies with munchkins and yellow brick roads as I am still here.  Swim meet should warm me up!

PRAYING FOR:  Safe travel for people on the go this winter, please join me. 

It's About Time(s)

Running a little behind with the swim news for those readers who venture to the Table for just such fodder.

 

Three happy relay slayers (the fourth was wandering somewhere not in photographing range), Matt, Nik, and Mike.  They swam a killer relay, Matt swimming anchor and getting them the big win at the end...nothing more exciting to end a meet.

 

Last Saturday, January 2nd, CHS played host to Homestead (Indiana) and St. Charles (Columbus, Ohio), some very stiff competition for our gals and guys.  The girls won their meet while the guys tied with St. Charles.  (I believe St. Charles guys won their state meet last year.) 
Photo is Matt coming in at the finish for his 100 Freestyle, Mike's dad timing in that lane, and Mark timing in the next lane, concentrating on the swimmer in his lane, but wanting to know how Matt was doing in the lane next to him. Matt won both his individual events, the 50 and 100 Freestyles, finally breaking his 100 Free time, which was beginning to haunt him by way of his coach repeatedly saying (even though Matt would win the event at meets), "That's about the hundredth time you have swam that at 47, Gerth."  Interpretation:  "Not impressed until you start getting that time down."  As you can see by the scoreboard, the boy went a 46.29, which while making everyone happy, now sets the goal at "Let's get that under a 46."  Goals, it's what keeps them all going.  

 

Since both visiting teams had a long drive home, our team fed everyone with a taco bar, which I thought was very nice and very classy.

 

The swimmers were all starving, and their parents were delighted to be included in the invitation as well.  It was very nice seeing everyone gathered to eat together and chat after the meet.  Matt enjoyed the opportunity to get to talk with some of the competitors about swimming, about upcoming meets, and reacquaint himself with some guys he had met in years gone by, especially Blake who went to the Brophy Sports Center with the Indiana kids the summer before last where they all swam as Team Indiana and not CSC and Homestead, giving them some fun memories of representing their state together and not just their individual teams.  We parents had a nice time chatting with the parents of the other teams as well. 
It's also very nice to see this familiar face floating around doing his coaching job, socializing, and being such a great role model for Matt...who knew we would all be wearing CHS attire this year?!  Since we had Roch as Matt's coach for his first two years of high school swimming at Guerin, it means a lot to our whole family that Roch is now part of the swim coaching staff at CHS where Matt will complete his last two years of high school swimming.  Swimming is a family thing, it's great to have Roch continuing on.  Things are settling in.  The next meet is today with eight teams participating, a huge amount of swimmers to be filling up the lanes and heats, etc.  Looking forward to it actually, lots of swims, lots of swimmers, lots of fun! 

CEiMB: Sweet & Spicy Peanut Soup

The recipe chosen this week for CEiMB, using Ellie Krieger's cookbook, The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, was selected by Mary at Popsicles and Sandy Feet and is Sweet & Spicy Peanut Soup, found on page 77. 

This was absolutely delicious, the guys pronounced it "most excellent" and further stated "you can make this all the time, it's really great."  So, what was I thinking only making a half a recipe of this?  I was thinking that sometimes the guys around here can be a little finicky when it comes to eating nuts IN things.  I was thinking I have the only kids in the world who will not eat peanut butter.  I was thinking I wasn't really prepared to eat a whole recipe all by myself in case it didn't work out.  I was thinking I was playing it safe.  Now I am thinking I should have made an entire recipe of it. 

What's in this wonderful soup?  Well you can go here and see for yourself as it is the same recipe, although on the site it is called Nutty Sweet Potato Soup instead of Sweet & Spicy Peanut Soup as it is titled in the book. 

The recipe is super easy, combine onion, red bell pepper, carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peanut butter, a little honey, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic, fresh ginger, chicken broth, and top it all off with some freshly sliced scallions after whirling it through the blender.  I would offer you some, but there isn't any left.  You are on your own.   Definitely a keeper.  Thanks, Mary, we loved it!

Next week:  Arugula, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza, page 173.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake AND Tarte Tatin

Thanks to Laurie of slush (where you will find the recipes) for her Tuesdays with Dorie picks of not one, but two recipes this week to celebrate the Second Anniversary of the group:  Tarte Tatin, found on pages 312-313 and Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake, found on pages 256-257 of Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. 

Laurie is the founder of the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group and you can read more about that at the TWD blogroll site's link at the end of this post.  When selecting the recipes, Laurie had the bakers all give their ideas, narrowed it down to several choices, and then we could all vote on the final selection.  Laurie then picked the top two recipes with the most votes.  Each baker could select the recipe she/he wanted to make this week.  Or, some bakers, like myself, made both!  

I first made the cake as I figured I wouldn't have too much trouble with that one and it could be the only one I made if I messed up on the Tarte Tatin.  The guys here, however, are not very big cake eaters for some reason.  I can never seem to get rid of a whole cake...they will eat one piece enthusiastically and then it's either gifting or garbage.  Gifting one of Dorie's desserts is usually fairly easy. 

In light of this, I used my little 6" pans and made half a recipe.  These little cakes are just so small and cute...and much easier to dispose of as the size makes them go quickly.  (Please note that I cannot swirl frosting, so I just decided to give this one a spiked look instead.  Guys appreciate things like that more than swirls.)   

I made everything, cake and accompanying icing recipe, exactly as written, except of course, divided the cake batter ingredients by half for the smaller pans, and using 3/4 of the icing recipe as even though it is only half a cake, you still need more than half the icing to go around it.  (Tip I learned this year from my fellow TWD bakers.) 

Two kinds of chocolate in the cake, two kinds of chocolate in the icing.  A whole lot of chocolate.  The guys really enjoyed it...the frosting has malt powder also, so according to them, it tasted like chocolate malt balls, which was a very good thing.   It ranked high on the list of favorites.  

 

 The Tarte Tatin was delicious.  Not a drop of chocolate anywhere in it.  Apples, caramelized sugar, and Dorie's sweet tart dough crust and you have yourself a tart in no time. 

I did make one change and that was to cut the apples into slices rather than leaving them in large half-size portions that would require a knife to cut while eating it.  It's just me, I have a thing about knives not being appropriate for desserts at the table, that one should not have to work slicing and sawing away at a dessert after a meal.  Desserts should be fork and spoon only: a more gentle and quiet time of the meal, something to sit back and enjoy at leisure.  Okay, it's a thing with me, you don't have to agree.  I did, however, slice the apples so they would be fork friendly without any need to slice the apples during the dessert eating.  It worked out nicely and looked lovely. 

I like fruit desserts best, and the flavor of caramel with baked apples is way, way, too appealing, so I made only a half size of this one as well, knowing the guys could put it away in an evening after I had a nice piece for myself.   

Absolutely wonderful, easy, and definitely ranked very high on the list of favorites. 

Laurie and many of the bakers have been pursuing this adventure of baking their way weekly through this huge book of Dorie's for two years now.  I joined after the first four months of it, so I have only been doing it for 20 months instead of 24.  Have learned much about baking and making all sorts of things I never thought I would bake in that time.  Still find myself saying, "Well, I don't really know how to bake, I am still just learning."  As Laurie is fond of saying, "Bake on!" 

Next week:  Teanna from Spork or Foon? has chosen Mrs. Vogel's Scherben, found on pages 157-159.  TWD blogroll found here.

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  What If? edited by Robert Cowley...What if...827 pages of speculations such as (but not limited to) ...Pontius Pilate hadn't ordered the crucifixion of Christ...Abraham Lincoln hadn't abolished slavery...a Confederate aide hadn't accidentally lost General Lee's plans for invading the North...The Allied invasion of D Day had failed...the Mongols had succeeded in conquering Europe...etc.  by various illustrious historians.  You get the drift...a fun way to end/start the New Year. 

LISTENING TO:  CATS...I never get tired of it.  

COOKING BYTES:  For Christmas I got the new Ellie Krieger book So Easy: Luscious Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week and I am thinking of cooking All Ellie All The Time for a couple of weeks at least!

FAV NEW FIND:  I actually have a New Year's Resolution this year.  Was going around the house the other day thinking, "I should use this more often.  I should wear this more often.  I should get this out and enjoy it more often," so I am resolving to try to buy NOTHING new for myself all year and enjoy, use, and wear what I already own.  Looking forward to it actually.    

FAV THING THIS WEEK:  All the extra time with my family around...just enjoying the day-to-day with husband and kids.  

GOING TO:  Enjoy the weekend just hanging around...okay, you caught me, I might, just might, go back and see the Sacred Spain exhibit one more time before they dismantle after Sunday.  You know, every time you see an exhibit, you notice something you missed the previous times.  It won't ever be back you know.  It's FREE, the parking is FREE, the entry into the IMA is FREE, so there really is no reason not to go one more time.  I figured you would see my point eventually.

PRAYING FOR:  A Happy, Healthy, and Enjoyable 2010, please join me.