Crunchy Culinary Capers

Pumpkin season

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:13:00 +0000

Pumpkin season
Originally uploaded by leann_richardson

I love pumpkin season! I love pumpkin bread, pies, smoothies, ice cream, and the latest fetish is that Pumpkin Spice Latte I had last night from Starbucks! Tis the season for pumpkin food so today I bought a few at the local health food store along with pumpkin seeds and will be baking and cooking some yum over the next few weeks. Stay tuned...

Candy Corn and peanuts in jars from Dollar Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:11:00 +0000

Candy Corn and peanuts in jars from Dollar Tree
Originally uploaded by leann_richardson

I love simple food... and it does not get more simple than peanuts and candy corn in these simple little plastic jars from Dollar Tree. This a family favorite. We love snack mixes and trail mixes in this house as well as granola. Crunchy is our fare of choice! :)

Still baking TONS of bread...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:38:00 +0000

We have been making some great breads at school. I can honestly say that I would rather use my pastry degree for baking bread much more than decorating cakes. I love baking all kinds of things but I don't enjoy the decorating of cakes nearly as much as making yummy baked goods like yeast and quick breads and cakes, teabreads, cookies. The whole frosting and decorating part is just not my thing as much as the baking part.

This past week I made a 9 grain bread and an olive loaf with my team. Our team is great and is starting to really work well together. I am getting to be a whiz at the baker's percentages, too. It is a bit confusing at first but is making great sense to me now. :)

Here are some more yummy photos...

This is the 9 grain.... it was AMAZING!!!

Breads and Rolls from school...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:44:00 +0000

This is why I am not around so much. I am baking my brains out but it is all for school... lol
Ciabatta bread, Italian bread, Champagne bread, Focaccia Bread and a whole slew of other fun things!

No Bake Cookies...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:59:00 +0000

No Bake Cookies
(I love this recipe to get the kids in the kitchen making fun food!)

1/2 cup milk (I use whole milk)
2 cups sugar
1 stick of butter (real butter works best - unsalted)
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups old fashioned oats

Mix milk, sugar, butter and cocoa in saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute (no less). Turn heat off and add the peanut butter and I whisk until it is combined and then add the oats. Mix and drop from a spoon onto a parchment or wax paper on the counter or on a cookie sheet. Let them cool and get firm. If they are not hardening well you can refrigerate them to make the process faster.

There ya go... enjoy! :)

Pie Baking Again...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:08:00 +0000

I made some pies today for a Bible Study brunch we are having. It is a picnic themed thing and so pie was the choice for desserts. These are the two I made...

A buttermilk pie with my Meemaw's recipe...

and an apple pie...

Menu Plan... September 8-13, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:50:00 +0000

Monday: sandwiches on focaccia bread and fruit
Tuesday: Leftover goulash from Sunday and fruit
Wednesday: Baked chicken, veggies, salad and pie
Thursday: Sandwich night
Friday: Spaghetti, bread, salad and a movie
Saturday: probably more leftovers to clear the 'fridge

I am also green smoothying for breakfast for the duration and doing vegetarian lunches.

Menu Plan....

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:11:00 +0000

Yeah, I didn't make it up yesterday. I had all of this in mind just no time to really post. This is a simple overview and is subject to change based on a whim from time to time. I may crave Frito Pie again and add it instead! LOL

Monday: Cook out on the grill
Tuesday: Baked potatoes and salad
Wednesday: Taco Salad
Thursday: Crock pot stew with cornbread
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Leftovers from the week

Looking for some help and charts and such for menu planning? Here are a few I found to be handy...

Menu Planning from Organized Home

Organizing Junkie

Hillbilly Housewife

Future Girl Menu Chart

Hatch Chile Festival 2008...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Ristras abound...

Roasting chiles filled the air with YUM!!!

Demonstrations on salsa making was a delicious part of the day.

Green chile crafts were offered by the local 4H Club.

A tired bunch ready to head home full of chiles and salsa and fun.

Oh, and I cannot forget to mention the cookbook.... there is ALWAYS a cookbook when we do this kind of outing! LOL

Trying to reestablish habits... Menu Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Here is this week's plan....

Monday: Beans and cornbread and baking bread today

Tuesday: Cookout with scouts

Wednesday: Baked fish, broccoli and rice and making granola and breakfast foods today to freeze

Thursday: pan of chili rellenos and refried beans

Friday: Grocery day!!! Homemade pizza and more bread baking and freezing of foods ahead

Saturday: Leftovers from the week

We are tight on money until Friday so it is simple. Click on the graphic above to see more menu planning ladies.

From the Hubby...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:25:00 +0000

I got an e-mail this morning from Dan at work...

"What are you doing next Saturday?

How about www.nmchili.com/hatch_chile_fest.htm ?"

XXOO
D

My response...

"LOL.... I am SO there!!! :)"

A Birthday Cake...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:16:00 +0000

Our middle boy had a birthday on the 5th and we celebrated with friends on the 8th. That is when we had the cake, too. It is a devil's food cake (no box mix) and a 7 minute frosting made with brown sugar instead of white. The brown sugar makes it a Sea Foam frosting. We tried to make it look like a moonish kinda thing so here it is...

That is a land rover and a moon unit on top. LOL

Ratatouille...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:13:00 +0000

It's like Rat and Patootie.... RatPatootie....and that does NOT sound delicious!
Linguini from the movie Ratatouille.

Oh, but it was SO delicious!!! LOL

I had some things on hand. The perfect ingredients for an almost classic Ratatouille.

* eggplant
* zucchini
* onion
* garlic
* bell pepper
* tomato sauce
* thyme
* basil
* I added corn instead of yellow squash because
I did not have yellow squash.

So, I chopped up some things and layered them in a casserole dish which had been sauced with a tomato sauce layer underneath the ingredients. I drizzled it with a little olive oil, covered it with parchment paper and baked it for about 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

It turned out nicely...

I plated it up and then put a little more of that tomato sauce with some spices added to finish it.

YUM!!!

Simple Peanut Butter Pie...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:43:00 +0000

Today is the middle boy's birthday

We are doing the cake on Friday for his party so today we just made a simple little pie that you can whip up in about 15 minutes and refrigerate.

Pie Crust...

You need 24 graham cracker squares
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

I put the graham crackers into a food processer or blender and process until fine crumbs. Then I add the sugar and butter and combine. It will still be very crumbly. You put it into the pie pan and press the bottom and up along the sides until it is evenly distributed. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes and then remove and cool.

While it is cooling you can make the pie filling.

Ingredients include...

To food processor add:

* 8 ounces cream cheese
* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
* 6 Tablespoons milk (I used almond milk)
* 8 ounces whipped topping
* chocolate chips (optional)
* chopped peanuts for topping (also optional)

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and milk in processor and blend until smooth. Fold in topping (I use a separate mixing bowl and not the food processor to do this). Spoon into baked crust. I also put some chips into the pie and some on top. Garnish as you like with chocolate chips and/or peanuts. Refrigerate until firm.

Here is the finished pie

Two being refrigerated for tonight. YUM!!!

Vacation 2008.... Pie Town, New Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:08:00 +0000

On Highway 60 from Soccoro we headed west and took some time to stop through and see the Very Large Array and do some more camping. On this road we went through a tiny little town on the Continental Divide called Pie Town, New Mexico.

There really is a pie shop... actually there are two pie shops right on the divide. We stopped at the Daily Pie Cafe.

So, we stopped in and had some pie and coffee. We sampled the peanut butter pie, apple pie, harvest pie, pecan pie and chocolate cream pie.

We could not leave this little town without purchasing one to go.

We picked up, what they call, a New Mexico Apple Pie.

It has apples grown in New Mexico, chilis and pine nuts. OH.MY.GOODNESS!!! YUM!!!!!

I will be practicing this one for my family for the holidays.

I also picked up this little gem...

(it is ALL pie recipes!!!)
and a coffee cup, 'cause what is pie without coffee?

Here is the NM Apple Pie recipe from the Daily Pie website...

Smithsonian New Mexican Apple Pie

4 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 c. sugar
3 T. flour
2 t. cinnamon
¾ t. nutmeg
½ c. green chili, hot or mild to taste
3/4 c. pinon nuts
1 T lemon juice

Put apple slices into large mixing bowl. Top with seasonings, chili and pinon mix well. Set aside to blend flavors while the crust is being prepared.

Pastry crust (makes four crusts)
This recipe will use two crusts.
The other two can be frozen for future use

2 ½ c. flour
¼ t. baking powder
1 t. salt
½ c. salted butter
½ c. shortening
1 egg
1 T. white vinegar
1 c. cold water

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter and shortening. In separate bowl, mix egg, vinegar and water. Add to flour mixture and blend with hands until dry ingredients are moist (more water may have to be added).

Divide dough into four sections. Roll out one section on a floured board to fit 9” pie pan. Put crust into pan. Place apple mix , mounded in the center. Top with one rolled section of crust. Flute edges, cut vent holes into top crust. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle natural sugar on top (optional). Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then 400 degrees for one hour. Pie is done when juices bubble thick around the outer edge.

Vacation 2008... Camping food

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:30:00 +0000

A typical camping breakfast consists of things like biscuits, pancakes, granola, muesli, sausage for the boys and low sodium bacon occasionally. We add eggs and breakfast breads such as muffins and fruit breads, too. Breakfast is our favorite meal of the day when we camp and we make it large and yummy!

When the weather is good we will often eat outside to enjoy the scenery while camping.

In the evenings we will enjoy marshmallows and s'mores around the campfire.

We also make camp desserts like banana pudding and
banana bread once the bananas start to go ripe.

Typical dinner fare will include soups, stews, chilis and casseroles because they are quick and easy and filling after a long day of playing and hiking. We pair them with cornbreads and biscuits as often as we can.

Hot chocolate is great in the early morning with breakfast or after dinner around the fire.

When we go sight seeing we will stop and make sandwiches. This particular one is a turkey and cheese on a whole wheat bagel. It was delicious!

There are the odd evenings in the trailer when it is raining and we have to eat and play games inside without a campfire. This particular night was a lentil stew night followed by banana bread and the kids got hot chocolate while Dan and I enjoyed coffee.

Littlest never turns away food... LOL

Tomorrow it is all about the pie!

Vacation 2008... Silver City, NM

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:12:00 +0000

This is a touristy little town with some fun things to do and see. We stopped in at a yarn shop, a food coop, an herb shop and a used bookstore and they had several food places including this little vegetarian deli...

While I was here I got a sampler plate with a fruit salad, hummus and flax seed crackers and a raw coleslaw. This whole plate was raw and pretty yummy. I must say that I like my coleslaw better, though. The flax seed crackers were the best. We also sampled a raw vegetarian pizza.

This was the herb shop and it had everything but eye of newt in it! LOL

I picked up a sampler of hemp and a little paper that talked about using hemp in a variety of ways and I got some whole nutmeg, which is hard to find where we live. I loved this shop.

...and here is the little Food Coop run by the participants of the community.

Next up is camp food... :)

Saturday...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:42:00 +0000

Hey guys! It has been a while. My mom has all the news she can get and she will have to undergo chemo. The tumor was removed and there were no lymph nodes involved but the cancer was aggressive and not hormone related so they are taking all precaution to keep the cancer from coming back. Please continue to pray for her as she undergoes this chemo over the coming months.

We just returned from a week long trip through the Gila National Wilderness. What a great time we had! I will share all of our foodie adventures on our trip but I am planning some foodie fun this weekend.

First, a trip to the local Farmers Market

and then a local fare...

I will be taking lots of pictures to share here with you. :)

Some news...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:14:00 +0000

For those of you who do not read my main blog...

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last Friday. My posting is scarce here because I am preparing to make the trip for her surgery. If you are a praying person I would appreciate prayers for her and for our family. Thanks so much!

Houston Trip Eats... the other stops

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Here are a few other places we ate...

You cannot travel in Texas without a stop to a Dairy Queen for a burger, fries and Blizzard in 105 degree weather. LOL

We had dogs and pizza at Minute Maid Park while we enjoyed the Astros/Yankees game!

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on Father's Day with Dan at the Hyatt Dining Facility
called Shula's after Don Shula. Our waiter Tony snapped the picture for us. Thanks Tony!

We also made a stop at the local Luby's Cafeteria to eat with both Dan's and my parents and brother and his family. Here is my motley crew!

We also made our fair share of stops at roadside spots for a leg stretch and a bite along the way.

Check out the monkeys!!! LOL

This was a very fun trip. Check out my main blog for more details later today. Thanks for stopping by!

Houston Trip Eats... Fredricksburg stop

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:41:00 +0000

We made a fast and furious trip to Houston last weekend for the oldest boy in our family. He won, for the second year in a row, a composition competition held by the TMTA (Texas Music Teachers Association). All our children are student affiliates with this program. He performed on the Original Composers Recital on Sunday at noon. What a treat! But you don't come here for the bragging... that is usually done on my main family blog. You came for the food!!!

On our way there we stopped off in Fredricksburg, Texas for some German Pastries and bread. Here is a bit of the adventure for you...

This is a small town restaurant with a little bakery counter. The aroma as you walk in is fantastic!!!

They had shelves lined with a variety of White Bread, Rye Bread, Pumpernickel Bread and Wheat/Multi-grain Bread. The loaves are beautiful!

Here is a bit more close up

The Pastry Windows! YUM!!!

So, now the question is... "Was the food good?"

This picture says it all...

Raw breakfasts....

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:30:00 +0000

Besides green smoothies I have taken to eating something called Muesli. I had originally bought some but made my own this morning and it was better than the store bought stuff. I basically mixed all of the following and stored it in a bag...

6-8 cups rolled oats
1 package of dates
1 cup sunflower seeds shelled and unsalted
1 tsp salt

You can add just about any fresh fruit when you serve it and I pour rice or almond mylk over it and that is a typical breakfast for me these days. I love the crunch and texture and you don't bake or cook it at all. Just serve it RAW!

Not raw but...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:24:00 +0000

This was dinner last night. I made crab cakes and roasted asparagus. I gotta eat something NOT raw sometime. For me it is more about the protein and the blood sugar than anything so I got my protein fix and some yum veggies. I also find that I am craving grains and whole wheat carbs. I have no huge desire for white food (things made with white flour and sugar) so that is good. I do admit that I want chocolate, though. LOL

It's a wrap!

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:28:00 +0000

I have been craving guacamole this week, so I made some and used romaine lettuce to make a wrap. Those French fry looking things next to it are NOT fries at all... they are Jicama slices tossed in a bit of lime juice and chili powder. I am not used to eating Jicama so it was a bit different but not unpleasant at all. The whole meal was raw! :)

A bit of inspiration...

noreply@blogger.com (Leann) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:06:00 +0000

I have been reading lots of raw food sites since I started eating more raw a few weeks ago. I also picked up some books to read on the subject and am trying some new things. One of my favorite sites that I have found (along with her book I just picked up) is Ani Phyo. She made a wild rice salad that is really great! I made a few changes for my own tastes and ingredients I had on hand and this is what I came up with ...

Soak wild rice for 24+ hours changing water 3-4 times. It is recommended to use filtered water but I did not have any on hand. I do plan to pick up a filtered pitcher soon to do this more often.
I used 1 cup of rice uncooked to start this process.

After the rice was ready I added...

1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 small bunch of chopped cilantro
the juice of 1/2 a lime
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper to taste
chopped tomato.

Toss all together and enjoy. Very flavorful and filling!