AppleSauce

For the 5th straight day in a row my head has been killing me! Now that I have my complaining out of the way, let's talk apples and sauce.

The neighbor brought over some apples yesterday along with a HUGE piece of homemade apple pie! Her husband always squawks at her for giving me a piece of his favorite pie. Let me tell ya, he hasn't met a pie he doesn't like and neither have I. Now my arse on the other hand, well it really doesn't need the extra layer of insulation, but non the less, I ate the piece of pie (and wished for another).

The secret is her crust and she has had some practice. She has baked a pie every other day or every third day for the past 55 years. How many pies do you think she has baked so far? And you thought word problems were such a waste of time. Well the answer is C: A (bleeping) lot.

In addition to the pie, she gave me about 10 apples from a local non-commercial orchard. They were labeled, "soft, excellent for sauce," but the variety remains a mystery. I'll let you know if the label was correct.

I usually peel and core my apples when making applesauce, but my neighbor advised me to keep the skins on because, "they add color and fiber." True on both counts. "The farmer doesn't use bug spray either," she added.


Applesauce

Large stock pot with about 1 inch of water in the bottom
10 apples, chopped and peeled or not
Boil apples, reduce heat and cook till tender
Remove from heat, let cool slightly
Once slightly cooled, puree to desired texture using a blender or food processor
Transfer pureed apples back to stockpot, low heat
Add sugar and cinnamon to taste OR try cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice, mace, other pureed fruits

If you are going to can your applesauce follow your canning directions. I am going to freeze this batch.

Note: If you like your applesauce chunky, peel the apples and use a potato masher to mash.

Happy Fall!

Darn Funny

I have a 92 year old friend and she is a riot most days.

Yesterday, she made a copy of an article that she reads to me (almost) daily.
She said she wanted to make sure I had a copy of this article because, "When I am gone I want you to laugh and think of me." Then she added, "I know you will be sad, but don't be too sad because I will be where I want to be. "

I was curious to know where she thought she would be so I playfully asked, "And where will your bucket be?" as I motioned up then down. She swatted at me and replied, "UP!"
"Just checking." I replied.

I hope you enjoy a taste of her humour! The original author is unknown.  This article was reprinted in the Record Courier, Gloria Prendergast's column. The original author is unknown.

1. Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
4. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
5. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again it was probably worth it!
6. Never buy a car you can't push.
7. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to
stand on.
8. The second mouse gets the cheese.
9. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
10. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
11. Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
12. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
13. We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some
have weird names, and all are different colours, but they all have to live in the same box.
14. Life is short. Enjoy it!

Fuel Up!

You wouldn't fuel your car with bad gas, so why do you fuel yourself with bad gas? Yea, I'm even funny in the morning.

Some days I feel like crap.

Then I think about what I ate or didn't eat that day or the day before. I don't know about you but my body will turn on me if I fuel it with bad gas. Believe me, if I eat fast food...I'll be sorry in an hour or so and regret it for the rest of the day and into the next. I can still function, I just have to put forth the extra effort and pray a bathroom is near. A little too much information? So sorry, but I'm sure a lot of you are in agreement with me and can relate.

If I eat processed, junk, fried or high sodium foods (just to name a few), my body hits the reject button. What's a girl to do? Well this girl has learned to comply and provide her body with the best fuel possible, which includes not over eating, eating only what my body needs, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and removing toxic things from every day living.

Eating only what my body needs? What does that mean? I find that if I eat unprocessed, organic, semi raw (except meat) foods my body is happy. Don't get me wrong, I love doughnuts and sweets, I just know I'll be sorry if I have more than just a rare bite.

I know that if I eat nitrite containing meats, aspartame or drink soda pop, I'll get a headache.
Listen to your body, fuel it properly. Don't go on a diet, change your diet. Eat healthy, and respect yourself and your environment. Do the same for your kids, teach them early to love and respect themselves and their body type.

School Starting...What's for Lunch?

School lunches, fan or not?

Do you let your little bundle of love flesh buy or pack his/her lunch?

If your child packs, what's he/she packing?

What's his favorite school lunch to buy?
What is the daily or average price of your school lunch?

Does your child eat lunch before or after recess?

Does your child eat breakfast?

Smoothie

Needed a smoothie booster!

1/2 c organic frozen strawberries
1 banana
1 heaping T of organic flax seed
1/4 c vanilla low fat yogurt
1/2 cup filtered h20

Blend on high till blended, drink.
I like to use frozen strawberries v. adding ice. Ice gives me a brain freeze, frozen strawberries add just the right amount of chill.

Berry Couscous

Meet my new BFF, a box of couscous.

If you can boil water, you can make couscous. Just chop and dice a few additional ingredients and add them to hot or cold couscous and wa-la! Then send it packing in your kid's lunch and your lunch too!

I buy Near East plain couscous and dress it up with whatever I have on hand. I let this couscous cool a bit in the freezer before I added wild organic blueberries, a stalk of celery, a green onion, parsley, basil, lemon pepper, and fresh ground pepper.

I like sauces, dressings on my food, always have. I'm not talking about a blob of gooey cheese, or an artery clogging mess, but something simple that compliments the dish. So to satisfy my palate I made a simple dressing of 1 T apple cider vinegar, 2 T wild flower honey, 1 tsp whole grain Dijon mustard. Taste your dressing or sauce before pouring it to make sure it is just right, then drizzled it on and stir. I also like my flavors to absorb and blend together, so I refrigerated this dish for at least an hour before I indulged. Couscous can be served hot or cold.

For lunch today I packed a few radicchio and bibb lettuce leaves, plus a side of berry couscous. Berry couscous lettuce leaf roll-ups.

Other Ideas
Couscous plus...:
1. Feta, diced tomatoes, cucumbers parsley, basil, pepper (good hot or cold)
2. Organic strawberries, orange slices, grated ginger, cinnamon, almonds (serve chilled)
3. Sliced grapes, feta, cranberries, parsley, cinnamon, pecans (serve chilled)
4. Cucumber, green onion, blueberry, parsley (chill it)

Drizzle a bit of low fat plain or vanilla yogurt over top, serve on lettuce leaves or just eat it already!

Chicken Soup is Good for the Soul, and a Cold

Soup and Grilled Sandwiches...coming soon!
Nothing like roasted, toasted fresh summer veggies on the perfect bread, and maybe cheese, or egg or fish or meat or ....it's endless and all fabulous. Fab-delicious to be exact!

Fresh Berry and Red Haven Peach Pie

A little Happy Birthday pie with a generous dollop of fresh whipped cream!

Fresh Berry and Red Haven Peach Pie
You can make your favorite crust or use a frozen prepared crust
1 small container of Discoll's red raspberries
1 small container of Discoll's blackberries
1 small container of Discoll's blueberries
3 Red Haven Peaches (I bought my fresh peaches from Beckwith Orchards Cider Mill, Ohio)
2 T white sugar
1.5 T brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 dash of cinnamon
1.5 tsp corn starch
1 T sugar to sprinkle on crust

Wash berries and place in a bowl. Wash, remove peel, pit and slice peaches into 8ths and place in bowl with berries. Add sugars, vanilla, cinnamon and corn starch; stir. Place prepared crust into pie pan and add fruit. Fold down edges. Dampen top of folded edges with water and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown.

I baked this pie at 325 F convection for 25-30 minutes.

Fresh Whipped Cream
1 pint ultra-pasteurized Heavy Whipping Cream
1 -2 T white sugar

Whip on medium speed until set. Chill. Use generously!

Share with family and friends!

Roasted Chicken

I forgot to take a picture of the roasted chicken before we started carving. Not to make excuses, but I'm going to, kind of. We were starving and the the roasted chicken looked and smelled delicious. So needless to say, the roasted chicken held up it's end of the bargain by tasting delicious. My sister and I held up our end of the bargain by stuffing our faces!

Now I bet your thinking, where did she get that bird, I want one!?

My dear friend Colleen and her husband Les (and clan of six) gave me this (dead, phew) bird after a fun filled weekend at their place in Indiana. The bird was frozen in a block of ice and took three days to thaw. I could have starved before it thawed, but I didn't because they gave me other yum yum goodies for the ride home. Let's just say I ate a bag of Dove chocolates minus four, in the first two hours of driving. I won't admit to anything more, but I wish the scale read less. So their frozen gift became my birthday dinner, and boy was it tasty!

Prepping the bird was a piece of cake! I was feeling lazy and didn't want to go to the market, so I opened the refrigerator door for the 100th time that day and opted to use the ingredients I had on hand. I'm so smart and resourceful. After I dressed the chicken I realized I needed a side dish, you know, the perfect shoes to go with the dressed bird. I decided to go with fresh from the field sweet corn.

Tie on your apron and start shucking. Shuck corn and place in a 9 x 13" plan with 1-2" of water, cover with foil. I added the corn during the last half hour of roasting the chicken. Heaven.

Roasted Chicken
1 thawed fresh chicken from a dear friend (not certain of the weight of this chicken. 10lbs?)
1 lemon, sliced
salt/pepper/seasoning
3 sprigs of parsley
2 medium size leaves of basil
1 small sprig of Greek oregano
5 carrots, washed and cut into 2" chunks
5-8 cloves of garlic, peeled and whole
3 stalks of celery, washed and cut into 2" chunks
8 red new potatoes, halved
1-2 T butter, melted or at least soft


Preheat oven to 350F bake or 300 convection.

Rinse the inside and out, remove any pinfeathers and pat dry. Place chicken in a baking dish or roasting pan. Salt (1/4 tsp) and pepper (3-4 cranks) the cavity. Place 3 cloves of whole in the cavity. Slice one lemon and squeeze the juice into the cavity and then stuff the lemon quarters into the cavity, along with 1 sprig of parsley.

Wash and prepare all the vegetables. Arrange vegetable around bird in roasting pan. Brush the outside of the chicken with melted butter, salt and pepper taste. I also generously seasoned the outside of the chicken with a lemon pepper too. Sprinkle chopped herbs on top of chicken and/or under skin. It's now ready for the oven.

I cooked this chicken for 1 hr at 300 F convection, reduced the heat to 250F convection and cooked for 1 hr, then 30 minutes at 300F convection. I had to turn the heat down because I had to run an errand and did not want the chicken to overcook while I was away. When done, the juices should run clear and the minimum internal temperature should be 165F for 15 seconds. Cover the chicken with foil and let rest for 15 - 20 minutes after removing from the oven and before carving.

Thanks Les, Colleen and family! XXOO

Zucchini Bread

Every summer my grandma would make loaves of zucchini bread from one monster zucchini. Let me clarify, she would make the BEST EVER zucchini bread from one monster zucchini.

Her zucchini bread was so cinnamony and I am a fan of cinnamon. I would say my favorit part was the crunchy outer top layer followed by a tender- moist center, ending with a full flavor of cinnamon. Simply delicious. The bread was perfect plain, but add a thin layer of cream cheese to a slice and talk about a little slice of heaven.

She was a wonderful lady. I am sad to say she died last year. She was 102 years of age. So in her honor I made six monster loaves, three different recipes, of zucchini bread from one monster zucchini I bought at the local farmers market. Each recipe very good, but her bread will always be the best.

Zucchini Bread
3 eggs (or 1 whole egg, plus whites of two eggs)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (or 1T extra virgin olive oil and 1/2 c fuji plain applesauce, homemade)
1 T vallina extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups flour (I use 1 c all purpose and 1 cup Hodgson Mill Insta-Bake whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1.5 T cinnamon
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Cream eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla, and salt in mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add zucchini; mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in baking soda, powder, cinnamon, and walnuts (optional). Spoon into greased and floured bundt/tube pan or 2 loaf pans.
Bake at 325 F for 1 hr.

If you have left over zucchini, freeze it! Shredded zucchini freezes/thaws wonderfully.

Happy summer!

Another Fun Word to Say....Ratatouille!

My neighbor stopped over the other day with a bag full of vegetables still warm from the sun, and ALL of them perfect!

With the above selected, I decided to make ratatouille. I made it this time in a large, heavy skillet with plenty of olive oil. I didn't even wait for the rustic bread to finish baking before I helped myself to a bowl full, topped with grated Parmesan Reggiano.

Ratatouille (guidelines)
1-3 T Olive oil
1 medium size onion chopped
1 -2 cloves garlic minced
1 small eggplant, peeled and cubed (I leave some of the peel on)
1 small yellow crookneck or staightneck squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 red pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced long
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
salt/pepper
2 small leaves fresh basil, chopped
2-3 small sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
2 leaves Italian oregano, chopped

You can really have fun with this recipe. We'll get to variations in a minute, but here the basics.

When cutting eggplant, use a stainless steel knife v. carbon steel. Carbon steel will react with its phytonutrients and cause the eggplant to turn blackish. I

"To tenderize the eggplant (flesh) and reduce some of its naturally occurring bitter taste, you can sweat the eggplant by salting it. After cutting the eggplant into the desired size and shape, sprinkle it with salt and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. This process will pull out some of its water content and make it less permeable to absorbing any oil used in cooking. Rinsing the eggplant after "sweating" will remove most of the salt. " This little fun fact was taken from www.whfoods.com

Remember to stir your Ratatouille as it is cooking, and often!

If stove top cooking, you can use either a heavy stock pot or large heavy skillet. Cook onion and garlic till tender in 1 table spoon olive oil, medium heat. Add a little more olive oil to the skillet then add eggplant. Eggplant will soak up some of the oil, and then release it as it cooks. Add yellow squash, zucchini and red pepper, cook till slightly tender 5-10 minutes. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer with lid on for 20-30 minutes. Vegetables should be tender, but not mushy. Add herbs and continue cooking for 10 minutes with the lid off.

Serve on a bed of rice or with a chunk of rustic bread for dipping, and grated hard cheese.

The great thing about this recipe is it has a lot of play room. Here are a few more options...

Caramelize the onions and garlic, then cook each vegetable individually in olive oil. After all have been cooked, combine together with herbs and tomatoes, marrying the flavours.

Combine all the ingredients and roast, uncovered in a 350F oven. Don't forget to drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the vegetables, and a dash of salt and pepper. Once the vegetables are tender and the skins have started to brown, add the fresh herbs and return to the oven covered until the vegetables are tender to your liking.

TOMATILLO!

Tomatillo (toe muh TEE yo)!
Such a fun word to say, and a darn cool looking fruit!
Don't they look like little paper lanterns?
They still need a few more weeks of sun and water before they are ready to harvest, stay tuned.

Chewy Chewy Eggless Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

Simply Delicious!

The remaining four cookies you see in the cookie jar... I ate 'um for breakfast!

The original recipe from Cooks.com used too much butter, so I made a few changes.

Eggless Oatmeal Craisin Cookies
1/2 of a stick of butter, soft
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1.5 c quick cooking rolled oats
A handful or more of craisins
1/2 c chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine sugars and butter. Add vanilla, water and vinegar; mix well.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt and add to wet ingredients. Stir in craisins and rolled oats and pecans if desired. If batter looks too dry, add a few drops of water till batter holds a bit of shape. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased stoneware cookie sheet or cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown for chewy cookies. Let stand for 2 -5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

I have a ton of zucchini and thought I would substitute shredded zucchini for the craisins, I'll let you know the results.

Pork Chops and Roasted Vegetables

A birthday dinner for a friend of mine. She is turning 91 years old today!
She's a bit of a picky eater and if it's not a meat and potato dish, don't bother serving her.

Tonight's birthday dinner is not fancy, but it's what she likes and it's really easy! Cut up all your vegetables into thick wedges or large pieces. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then place three frozen 1-1 1/2" bone in pork chops on top. You can mix and match your vegetables to suite your taste. I also like to make this dish with fennel, parsnips, turnips and everything else listed below.

1 vidalia onions
5 Idaho potatoes
4 carrots
2 Fuji apples
3-4T olive oil
3 -4 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
3 pork chops, bone in about 1-1 1/2" thick and frozen
I topped the pork chops with a 1 1/2 T Dijon mustard, 2 tsp Apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp olive oil.

Cut vegetables. Place in 9"x13" baking and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay pork chops on top of vegetables.

Whisk together in a small bowl the Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar and olive oil. Pour over pork chops.

Bake at 300F for 30 minutes uncovered. Bury the pork chops, cover with foil and bake for an additional 30-50 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the meat thermometer reads 145 F for at least 15 seconds. Once the chops are done, remove from oven and wrap in foil, let rest. Toss vegetables, return to oven and continue cooking until golden brown and tender.

Arrange the vegetables and pork chops on a platter, top with chopped parsley.

Lunch

I had just enough pesto leftover for lunch today and it was delicious and so was the slice of tomato. Nothing like homemade pasta, and fresh basil, parsley and tomatoes from the garden. The tomato was not from my garden, I paid a greenback for it at the local farmers market.

Black Raspberries!

My first harvest. They are SO sweet, delicate and just melt in my mouth!