cup-a cup-a

Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2013-06-12T07:53:00.002-05:00

I love how children shed light on things by questioning what we adults sometimes don't think to question.

Like why is a hamburger called a "hamburger" instead of a "beefburger"?

Or why is a "step parent" called a "step" parent?

Or is he a 2nd cousin, or a cousin-in-law, or a cousin twice-removed, and why?

Or why is coffee cake called "coffee cake" if it's not coffee-flavored?

I made this yummy coffee cake recently, that my friend, Haley introduced me to at church.

When I made it I asked the kids if they wanted to try it, and Lainey said, “No, thanks, I don’t like coffee.”

I said, “Oh no, there’s no coffee in it, it’s almond raspberry cream cheese! You love all of those things!”

To which she replied, “Then why is it called coffee cake?”

I said, “Well, you eat it with coffee.”

"But I don't drink coffee."

"True, but you don't have to drink coffee with it, you just could."

“Why?”, she asked.

“Because it’s like breakfast cake, kinda, I guess, or afternoon cake with coffee…you know, I am not sure. It’s kinda confusing, huh?”

So I did what any good mom would do. I googled: “Origin of Coffee Cake”.

And here’s what I discovered:

According to Wikipedia: (bold my addition)

Coffee cake is a common cake or sweetbread available in many countries. The term “coffee cake” can refer to any of the following:

A class of cakes intended to be eaten alongside coffee (for example, as part of a breakfast meal) or that may be eaten during a “coffee break” or offered to guests as a gesture of hospitality on or around a coffee table. Under this definition, a coffee cake does not necessarily contain coffee. They are typically single layer cakes that may be square or rectangular like a Stollen or loaf shaped rectangular cakes, or they may be ring shaped. Coffee cakes may be flavored with cinnamon or other spices, seeds, nuts and fruits. These cakes sometimes have a crumbly or crumb topping called streusel and/or light glaze drizzle.

Since I love coffee, and would choose to drink it morning, mid day and evening. I could, by this definition, eat this cake 3 times a day! Fabulous!

And since this definition doesn’t narrow down things very much, my suggestion is that we come up with a definition of what’s NOT a coffee cake.

A coffee cake is a cake that is NOT covered with thick frosting, served at a wedding or with candles on top for a birthday. Pretty much, that’s what’s I surmise is not a coffee cake. Most everything else could potentialy qualify.

This coffee cake is one of the yummiest I have ever had. The day Haley brought it to church, I tasted a sliver, and proceeded to walk around the crowd, asking people if they knew who made this cake!? I found out it was Haley and in the next few minutes, people started asking me about the cake – if I knew who made it! By the end of the morning, 3 or 4 of us had requested the recipe. She said she got it from a Cookbook from her daughter's school. My mom has a theory that church cookbooks/school/neighborhood cookbooks, etc. where people submit their favorite and best recipes, you find winning dishes. Individuals have taken their best, tried and true recipes, and put their name beside it and put them in the cookbook. This qualifies.

It’s like an almond crumble cake– meets a raspberry cream cheese danish.

Raspberry Almond CreamCheese Coffee Cake

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter, cold and diced into pieces

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp almond extract

1 egg

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup raspberry preserves (I prefer a little more than this)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat 350. Grease and flour 10" spring form pan.

Combine flour and ¾ cup sugar; cut in butter to make coarse crumb. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. To remaining crumbs add baking powder, baking soda, salt, sour cream, almond extract and egg. Blend well. Spread over bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan.

Combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 egg. Blend well. Pour into batter prepared pan. Carefully spoon preserves over batter. Combine reserved crumbs and almonds and sprinkle over preserves. Bake 45-55 minutes; or until cream cheese is set and crust is golden.

So if you have a need for a sweet treat for breakfast with coffee, or for "coffee break" (if your workplace has those), or to serve at your coffee table, I highly recommend this one.

(Oh, and this almond shortbread, and almond poundcake, or this gorilla bread, or plum cake, or apple cake, or lemon berry poundcake , and my go-to-sour cream poundcake. I think these all might qualify for coffee cake! )

Finding Your Menu-Planning Groove

2013-06-06T09:11:00.001-05:00

This is the signature bumper sticker from the great blog, Dinner A Love Story

I have had several conversations with people lately about MENU PLANNING. I think people have to find their own personal style and the system that works for them. We have finally found a system that works for us. The challenge is staying on my game and being disciplined to keep it in motion. But when I do…boy, does it pay off!

There is nothing more overwhelming than coming home from work/school, getting stuff put away, homework assessed, and then trying to think about WHAT’S FOR DINNER!?!?! If I were left to decide at 5:00 what was for dinner every night, we would be having pasta or cereal or ordering pizza 7 days a week. You too?

Here is my “formula” for successful menu planning:

1. Do a personal inventory.

I think it’s important that you know your values when it comes to dinner.

Consider what things you value most about meals:

Health?

Simplicity (not a lot of complex recipes/ easy to prepare)?

Cost?

Crowd Pleasing?

Dietary Restrictions- Accommodating?

Creativity?

I have some friends who subscribe to online menu-planning resources and love getting new recipes (with grocery lists included) for each week. Other friends feel overwhelmed by weekly “risks” and new recipes to navigate.

You have to know yourself and your needs.

Meat-focused meals are not what I desire (for health and budget) and therefore a crockpot type of approach isn’t usually the best for my household. For others, it is their go-to technique.

You need to consider what your priorities are and let them lead you.

We have made a list of meals that we know "work", are successful and meet our "qualifications" in our home. We add to that list when we find a new winning meal. When I feel stuck in meal planning, I look to my list to remind me.

2. Be practical.
I think it’s really important to think about how much time you are able/willing to devote to meal preparation each night. Some evenings I have more time than others. If I know we have a busy night, or I’m going to be coming home later from work, then I plan to keep it simple. I am not going to try a new recipe, or plan something that will take a long time to prepare on those nights. I will plan to have something the night prior that we can have as leftovers, or choose something that is a fast prep (or can be prepped the night before) for the menu.

Also, as another matter of practicality, use things you have on hand. (This may be obvious, but I have to remind myself to do this). Every week, I go through my refrigerator, freezer and pantry and “take inventory” of what we have and try to plan some upcoming meals to use up what we have on hand.

3. Let the seasons inspire you.
Not only is produce best when in season (cost, availability, and quality) but the seasons can also inspire what meals sound appealing. In the winter I make soup. At least once a week. And sweet potatoes, and apples inspire dishes in the fall. In the summer, we have “farmer’s market meals” where we see what’s at the market and create a prep-and-serve meal from it (sliced tomatoes, corn on the cob, melons, grilled zucchini, and fresh peaches and ice cream for dessert)! And we usually grill at least once a week during warm weather months.

4. Plan out your meals for the week. (I usually try to do it on Sunday for the week ahead, or at least a tentative plan of the meals I plan to prepare at some point during the week, and make my grocery list based on the plan.)

Then POST IT somewhere visible.

my week's menu plan on the fridge

Place that list where you will see it. I put it on the dry erase board that hangs on our fridge and by doing this we are all on the same page – people can know ahead of time what's for dinner, I don't feel so lost and there is built-in accountability.

I try to cook 3 or 4 meals each week, we eat leftovers at least one night, and eat out (or bring in food from a restaurant) once or twice each week. I plan according to what we have scheduled for each day of that week – considering when I have more time to prepare, and what perishable ingredients (like produce and meat) that I purchased need to be used more speedily .

On my board I also list recipes that I have been wanting to make, new things to try, and foods I have been craving.

5. Have your groceries on hand! If you don't, your motivation to stick to your menu planning will drasticallly dwindle! I think having your ingredients at home is half the battle won.

A couple of weeks ago, I was having my friend Ashley over for dinner. She lives in South Africa and is visiting Nashville for several weeks. I wanted to make a meal that was seasonal, fresh, special, but simple. I wanted to be able to focus on her instead of fumbling with new recipes, stressing, preoccupied while she was hanging out.

Our menu was:

Salmon

Bruschetta

Corn on the Cob

Sliced Watermelon

and for dessert- Chewy M & M bars

I had on my list of "things to make" the Bruschetta that Pioneer Woman had inspired me to make the other day. (My mom TiVoed the episode and showed it to me and it made my mouth water.) I had seen corn on the cob in the store for a good price and we all love corn on the cob at my house, and watermelons have been delicious the past few weeks. I bought some Salmon, thinking it would make the meal feel special. I made a batch of the Chewy M & M bars, because I was newly in love with them!

It was a super simple and yummy meal. Best of all, we got to enjoy focusing on being together.

DISCLAIMER: Please know that though I love to cook (and love to eat even more), and though I have a strategy in motion for menu planning, I don't have this down pat. Some weeks we start off whompyjawed and don't have a good plan. Sometimes we have lack-luster meals, I'm unmotivated and weary and sometimes we eat out more than we should. However, I am thankful to have a system that works when we work it!

Find your groove and hopefully take some of the angst out of "what's for dinner"?

My "Here Comes Summer " List

2013-05-21T08:52:00.003-05:00

Sometimes when I haven't gotten to talk to a friend for a while and we have lots of things to catch up on, I start a list before we get together of topics I don't want to forget to discuss. I don't know if you are like me when you start talking with people you love, and one conversation leads to another, and you realize that you have 2 or 3 (or 8) conversations going at once.

Making a list prior to getting together is sometimes helpful for me. My brain is too full to have a mental list so I usually have to have a written down list. These lists usually include things about which I need to hear an update, or things I want to share with a friend (something I learned, or tasted or cooked that I want to pass along), or sometimes it's advice I need about something. Most of the time it includes sharing, collaborating and passing along.

I've been thinking about this blogging hobby and there are times that it seems pointless in the midst of the 3,000 other food blogs out there and the little amount of "hobby time" that I have. But one of the main reasons I do this is to share the things from life (and kitchen) and the tips and pitfalls I'm discovering along the way. This feels fun and purposeful. This week as I was thinking about what I wanted to write on the Blog, I kept adding to a list of what has inspired me, or things I enjoyed and wanted to pass along.

So, here are a few of the things that are on my mind this week, as I am preparing for the end of the school year and beginning of summer. (They range from a book I'm loving, to a beauty product I've found, to a summer parenting tool, to yummy treats).

1. I love that during summer I have more time to read! I have been reading a book that has been so centering that I wanted to share with you. It is called Here and Now: Living in the Spirit, by Henri Nouwen. I have quoted him on this blog before. He was an incredible writer, thinker and man of God. I am continually blessed by his writing. I find that no matter what I read of his, it is fresh, relatable, honest, deep, simple and yet profound. I am sad that I am near the end of this book. Thankfully, he wrote about 40 books!

One quote from the book about Living in the Present is, "God is always in the moment, be that moment hard or easy, joyful or painful." I need that reminder.

2. I made Brazilian
Limonada this week for a Fish Taco Fiesta we had. Zippy and refreshing! Summer in a glass! I posted about it a couple of years ago, but wanted to mention it again.

3. Summer refreshment makes me think about a great skin product that I have recently discovered: Origins VitaZing Cream. Do you know about it? It's pretty amazing! It is 15 SPF sunscreen, moisturizer AND it is tinted-by-chemical reaction to your skin. So, it works with your skin. I don't get it, but it is pretty great. (The employee told me it was what other product companies are calling BB Cream - I trust Origins more, and they have a money back guarantee that drug store brands don't). It was recommended to my friend Amy, when we went to Origins in January, and then for Mother's Day, Dave bought me an Origins gift card with a couple of samples, one of the VitaZing. I am sold! It's a great product for this time of year!

4. My friend Sharon has been posting on Instagram this month "Milkshake Mondays" at her house. Every week they make a different flavor. How fun is that?? Last week was Lemon Meringue, the week before was Chocolate Peanut Butter, I think. I love it. This is a tradition my household would really appreciate. Sharon told me today that this week might be Strawberry because she went Strawberry Picking and has some berries on hand.

4. (part 2) (see what I mean? one topic leads to another topic)

In our part of the country it's Strawberry Picking Time! I really hope I get to go this week. I was supposed to go with a couple of friends last week, but one of the friend's sons got sick and we had to cancel. If you haven't been picking, I encourage you to do it. I talk about it HERE. My sister got some and made some fun recipes this week with her berries: muffins and pop tarts!

5. Speaking of friends with great ideas, my friend Laura brought these delicious M & M Cookie Bars to a college lunch we had and they were the winning dessert- hands down! I asked for the recipe and she sent it to me. It is simple and super delicious! I made them for the end of the year party for my 5 year old's Preschool class - they look like a celebration and are easy to transport. I then made them again when a friend came for dinner for my family to enjoy. They were the "Goody on the Cake Stand" or Featured Dessert at our house this week.

5. (part 2) By the way, this "Goody on the Cake Stand" is referencing the domed cake stand on the end of my counter that contains whatever the baked good of the day/week is. It keeps the goody covered, and yet visible to those in the house. My mother started doing this years ago and I adopted it. There are some people (including my father in law who claims to not be a "dessert person") who after coming into the house and exchanging greetings, make their way over to see what's under the dome.

6. And one last thing. As summer is on our heels, I needed to get a system in place to help manage the pending chaos, positively motivate the troops to do their tasks (chores sounds so dreadful, I like to call them tasks), and do some brainwork this summer. Lainey has had a system in her class at school this year that has been very effective that we are adopting. It's a reward cards system and they get a "punch" with each action that is deemed worthy. When the card of 20 spots is filled, they can choose a reward. We are calling it Summer Rewards. I made a list of Punch-Earning Items and Rewards. We will continue to add to the lists, I'm sure. I unveiled it to them this weekend and so far they are pretty excited and motivated.

I love that they added "pillow fight" to the list of rewards!
(I got the punch cards at the Parent-Teacher store- 35 for less than $4, though you could absolutely make them from card stock. I just thought the printed ones might make it seem more "official".)

Oh and another thing I forgot...meal planning strategies! I'll have to wait on that one- too much to say! Maybe next week, I'll write about my plan for getting dinner on the table every night.

I'm thankful for the summer days ahead and the change of pace from the breakneck speed, homework, choir, basketball, lunch packing to; more time to be with my kids, read books, cook tasty food, take lots of walks and hopefully, relax.

Crispy Baked Onion Rings

2013-05-15T13:10:00.001-05:00

In 1991, the spring of my freshman year of college, I had a memorable encounter with onion rings and baby back ribs. I was thrilled to be asked out on dates with guys in college, as this dating thing was a new experience for me. I was invited to dinner by this guy that I had become acquainted with at school. He was a nice guy and I was happy that he wanted to take me out. When he picked me up he said he wanted to take me to Tony Roma’s (a Ribs Restaurant) because it was his favorite. I had never been there and actually I had never had ribs. I had tasted a bite of my dad’s before, but I had certainly never ordered them at a restaurant. I'm not really a ribs kinda gal.

The restaurant is a sit-down, glassware and cloth napkin kind of an establishment. My date said, “You have to order ribs. It’s my treat and I insist!” As I looked at the menu I became a little overwhelmed with the rib options. I told him I didn’t know what kind to order and he advised me to order the baby back ribs. I followed his suggestion. He also said that we must order an onion ring loaf to share.

(Have you ever had an onion ring loaf? It’s amazing! It’s like a pile of skinny crisp onion rings all pressed into a loaf that you pull apart to eat.)

I agreed. I had experience with onion ring eating.
The onion loaf came as an appetizer and it was delicious.
Crispy and thin, salty and savory. I dug in!

Then the ribs came.

I realized that this is not the most polite, lovely, feminine food to eat and that I didn’t quite know what I was doing. So, I just watched him eat his first rib, and I tried to replicate his technique. This went okay. I certainly was making a mess of my face and hands, but really enjoying the meal. (I am already a pretty messy eater and use a lot of napkins).

I couldn’t tell you a thing we talked about, for I was too focused on eating the ribs correctly and not embarrassing myself. It began to dawn on me that I better speed up my eating because there was a good chance that he would finish his food before me (as men often do) and then he would WATCH me eat the rest of my ribs. My parents diligently taught me to not waste food, and therefore I felt like it was appropriate to clean my plate – especially when someone else was paying for it.

So, with this dilemma swirling in my head, I decided to switch it into high gear and pick up the pace. I ate and ate and discreetly licked my fingers, and piled bones on the “discard stack” until I looked up and realized that I had eaten my entire platter of food and he still had half of his meal yet to be eaten.

Oh no! In my fear of being watched while eating this very messy meal, I had overdone it and had beaten his time on cleaning his plate. He replied with a jolly and a little surprised reaction, “Wow! I would say you liked your meal!?” I grinned and said, “Yes! I did. I might have paced myself a little wrong in my attempt to keep up with you! (nervous laughter…awkward smile…)"

Interestingly (and perhaps not so surprising) he never asked me out again. I don't think we were each other's type anyway. And I have actually never ordered ribs again.
However, I have eaten many, many onion rings since then. I really, really like them.
I have never, though, made onion rings. I think I was intimidated by them as I don't have a deep fryer and don't like to make fried food at home, and I couldn't imagine they would be any good baked. But now I know it's possible!

Everyone in my house likes onions. A lot. Therefore everyone loves onion rings! As far as eating onion rings out at a restaurant, there is quite the variety of onion ring quality. I love an onion ring loaf, though it’s hard to find probably because I like thin and crispy ones, and I like for them to not be so densely breaded.

I pulled this recipe from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine years ago in the "Eat Smart- Healthy Toolbox section" and have had it in my notebook to try. I saw them the other day and was driven to go buy the ingredients and make them, along with some Turkey Burgers. They are baked, not fried (healthier and less messy). They are really, really delicious!

Crispy Baked Onion Rings
borrowed from Everyday Food
(serves 4)

1 large sweet onion (like Vidalia) thinly sliced into circles, separated into rings
1 1/2 cups cornflakes
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
coarse salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 450˚. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

Dip onion rings into egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in crumb mixture; place on a large plate or tray.

(I found that the crumb mixture quickly becomes gummy with the egg mixture, so it is wise to split the crumb mixture in half and just use part of the mixture at a time so as to not waste it- I learned this the hard way.)

Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil.

Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Place on a paper towel lined plate and season with salt.

dipped in ketchup – served with a turkey burger

My "take aways" are: don't eat ribs on a first date, do try these onion rings and set aside some of the crumb mixture so it doesn't get all gummy, and accept the reality that messy rib-eating can't make or break a relationship. If it's not "meant to be" it's not meant to be.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

2013-05-05T23:37:00.000-05:00

I have been depriving myself the fun of blogging the past few weeks as I have been in the thick of paper grading and semester-ending for school. It has been a discipline to stay away from the BLOG in order that I might focus all of my quiet, productive hours on grading the stacks and stacks of papers that my students have written. I have missed it!

I have now reached the end of the semester so there is daybreak ahead. I wanted to share a recent recipe that I've made lately.

I have made several things in the past few weeks that I have been wanting to share, but haven't had the time to ponder, write about, and edit. I've made: crispy onion rings, a raspberry cream cheese coffee cake that is super yummy, cream cheese brownies and almond shortbread cookies from a new cookbook magazine, peanut butter banana frozen sammies (a quick and easy treat), and more. So...what to write about first? I think these Reese's-like Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars because they are so good, so easy and I have made them three

times in the past month.

They are speedy to put together, they are really rich and a crowd pleaser.

Lainey's teacher loves peanut butter and chocolate, so on her Teacher Appreciation day, I decided this was just the thing to make her. The report from Lainey was that Ms. Stevens wasn't willing to share with her co-workers, which Lainey took as a good sign. The peanut butter layer is thick and creamy and then it's topped with semi-sweet chocolate.

When I was making this recipe, I decided to buy a bigger, cheaper, more "regular" kind of peanut butter than the natural-stir-Trader Joe's kind that I normally use. We bought a big jar of JIF. I made the bars for Lainey's teacher and then I made another batch a few days later. So, when Lucy (my new reader, who is currently loving reading every single label she sees) saw it, she said, "can I have the "J-I-F-peanut butter" on my sandwich? I said, "Oh, the JIF? This is for the bars I'm making. Let's use the Trader Joe's kind we normally use." Dave gave me a hard time for not giving her the JIF, reminding me that, after all, "choosy mothers choose JIF". (Do you remember this slogan of theirs?) So, for the next few days, until it was gone, she had "J-I-F and banana sandwiches".

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

1 stick butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups peanut butter

2 1/2 cups (or a little more) confectioner's sugar

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave until butter and peanut butter are melted, one to two minutes.

Remove from microwave and use a large spoon to stir all of the ingredients together until they form a ball of dough that leaves the side of the bowl. (If this doesn't happen, spoon more confectioner's sugar a little at a time until it pulls from the side of the bowl).

Pat into 9 X 13 pan.

Pour chocolate chips into another microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until completely melted. Spoon over top of peanut butter mixture evenly.

Allow to cool completely until chocolate hardens (place in refrigerator to help with this process).

Cut into bars with a sharp knife. Serve.

They are best kept in the refrigerator so that the peanut butter layer doesn't get too soft and the chocolate layer doesn't get melty.

(adapted from southernplate.com)

Dave's "guilty pleasure" when he travels doing music (or should I say ONE of his guilty pleasures, along with Taco Bell, and who knows what else) is eating Reese's cups. I find the wrappers in the car the next week under the seat sometimes. So, when I made these bars, I said, "Oh Dave you are gonna love these! You are going to wonder why I haven't made these your whole life!"

After tasting it, he said, "They are good", in a less than enthusiastic tone.

"GOOD!?!?! It's amazing! It's just like a Reese's."

To which he replied that the problem was that this bar only has chocolate on the top, and he likes that a Reese's cup is covered in chocolate (top and bottom). In addition, he likes the softness of Reese's filling. I realized the softer part was because mine were cold from hardening in the refrigerator, and the chocolate on the bottom part I attempted to remedy with this solution:

I made hockey-puck sized peanut butter cups in muffin tins.

I coated muffin cups with chocolate (covering the bottom and the sides).

I spooned the peanut butter filling into the cup to the top

Then I smoothed a layer of chocolate on top and leveled it.

They worked and met the "Dave/Reese's Test". I'll stick to the bars. I love them. They are almost too good. I can't keep my hand out of the pan.

These are no-bake, fast to put together and highly addictive.

Salmon Cakes

2013-04-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I had an unexpected opportunity. I had recently stopped by my friend Connie's house when she was making Salmon Cakes. I had honestly never thought about making Salmon Cakes. I don't know why. I guess my mother never made them when I was a kid. Connie suggested I email our friend Kendra to get her recipe. I did and she sent it to me. My kids love fish so why would they not like Salmon Cakes? This recipe calls for bell peppers and onion, which they like, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Once I got the urge to make Salmon Cakes and started digging around to compare recipes, it was clear that this dish spans the gamut. Some call them "Salmon Patties", others call them "Salmon Croquettes". And then some call them "Salmon Cakes". They range from simple, down-home – canned salmon with crushed saltine crackers and pickle relish; to high class – panko-encrusted freshly broiled salmon with capers; and everything in between. I think this recipe is an in-between one. It's simple and quick to put together and is open to tweaking as you like.

I planned a menu of:

Salmon Cakes with zippy cream sauce, served with green salad tossed in a little lemon vinaigrette, roasted asparagus and roasted potatoes.

It was my next door neighbor's birthday who was eight months pregnant with her first baby. I suggested to my kids that they make a sidewalk chalk birthday card in front of her house while I got dinner started. They jumped at this idea and all three kids created a festive greeting on the sidewalk outside of her home.

They rang her door bell to "give her the card" and she emerged graciously and enthusiastically receiving their art display. I asked her what her birthday dinner plans were and she said she had none and was thinking of making herself a sweet potato, or something, because her husband was sick and was only eating broth. I said, "Oh No! Well, I'm trying a new recipe, and there's no guarantee it will be any good, but I'd love to share a plate with you if you would like." I told her our menu. She ended up coming over and we pulled out the red "You are Special" plate and had an extremely spontaneous birthday dinner with her. This was my Salmon Cake debut. We all enjoyed them and loved celebrating our neighbor.

I'm reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

It's really great. It's fresh, down to earth, inspiring, honest, creative, smart and practical – all things I value in a book. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of her life that she is evaluating and seeking to improve. The chapter I read this week is on friendship.
One of her goals was to be more generous. She talked about how to define generosity beyond spending large amounts of money or shopping for gifts to give.

It made me think about what generosity looks like and about some of the ways I want to be generous in relationships.
Here are a few ideas I jotted down in my journal:

1. Offer my home to others: For baby showers, for book clubs, for a night's stay, etc.

2. Give rides to the airport.

3. Invite people with no family in town over to our holiday meal.

4. Lend books – (and try to keep track of where I lend them).

5. Offer produce to a neighbor when I'm leaving town.

6. Pass along out-grown clothes, toys or gear to people with younger children.

7. Accompany a friend with a dreaded task.

8. Help rearrange or decorate a friend's house.

9. Share food (taking a meal to someone who needs it; sharing our picnic with a friend we run into at the park; or spontaneously serving a birthday dinner to my pregnant next door neighbor whose husband is sick).

Salmon Cakes with Zippy Cream Sauce

from Kendra

[makes about 12 (3-inch) cakes]

For Salmon Cakes:

12 oz. pink salmon (if from can, drained)

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion or green onion

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro (or a few shakes of dried if you don't have fresh on hand)

1 cup panko breadcrumbs, plus more for coating

1/3 cup light mayonaise

1 egg white

For Sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream

3 Tbsp mayonaise

the juice of a lime

For salmon cakes:
Drain salmon, place in a bowl and flake with a fork.

Finely chop bell pepper and onion. Snip cilantro. Add pepper, onion and cilantro; bread crumbs, mayo and egg white into the salmon mixture. Mix well.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle bread crumbs onto the bottom of shallow dish. Scoop salmon mixture into balls and use hands (and a spatula) to form into patties. Place in a pan of bread crumbs and coat evenly with the crumbs.

Heat Skillet. Spray with cooking spray. Cook cakes 6-8 minutes per side until golden brown, carefully turning once.

For sauce: Stir together in a small bowl: sour cream, mayo and the juice of one lime. Chill until ready to serve.

(The photos are from two different batches – the second time I didn't have red pepper but much better light for photographing, so you may notice a difference in the look of the salmon cakes.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Salmon Cakes

and ways to practice generosity in your relationships.

Easter Treats

2013-03-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

I love Easter treats. Easter candy is my favorite holiday candy! It’s pretty and pastel and chocolatey too. Jelly beans, sweet tarts, chocolate bunnies, peeps, chicks and bunnies, Cadbury cream eggs, robin eggs (Whoppers but candy coated and speckled), chocolate dipped coconut and peanut butter eggs, just to name a few. The list goes on and on. Cadbury mini eggs are at the top of my list. (In case you don't know these: they are really yummy chocolate "eggs" coated with a candy shell. The shell is matte, which for some reason is a lovely feature. )

I have been thinking about coconut nests and wishing that I could make some coconut macaroons in nest-shape, holding these Cadbury eggs for Easter. I tried a few recipes and, after 3 batches and lots of coconut-eating, I think I got what I was hoping for and am ready to share the recipe with you.

The nest: I tried a couple of different nest recipes, because the first ones I made felt a little goopy and they oozed some condensed milk when cooking - which made them stick to the parchment, ugggh.

see the ooze?

So, I tried more coconut, which worked somewhat but then I found a recipe that was similar but called for an egg white. I liked it better and the egg white seemed to bind it together. It's such a simple recipe and so lovely.

The chocolate: I tried a variety of methods of adding chocolate and here’s what I discovered:

IDEA 1: I tried some with the bottom dipped in melted semi-sweet chocolate

RESULT: they were delicious but the mini chocolate eggs fell out at times and the chocolate melted in your hands (as the chocolate was a little tacky to the touch)

IDEA 2: I tried some with a tiny smear of melted chocolate in the nest to secure the eggs

RESULT: without the bottom dipped, they didn’t feel chocolately enough. However, they solved the problem with the eggs falling out.

IDEA 3: I tried some with a big blob of melted chocolate in the nest to secure the eggs

RESULT: they didn’t mess up your hands, the eggs stayed in, but the one complaint I got from my testers was that candy eggs were “stuck” in the chocolate and you couldn’t lift them out to eat (they had to be eaten with the nest).

IDEA 4: So, I thought maybe ganache instead of melted chocolate would solve that issue, as it doesn't harden. I added some cream to the chocolate and made a small batch of ganache and filled the nest with that before placing the eggs

RESULT: the eggs were removable, the chocolate was yummy and no chocolate got on your hands. I think it's the winner.

(If you want to go without chocolate, I tried some plain and filled with jelly beans. These are cute and fun for non-chocolate people, but the jelly beans easily fall out in transportation. So be prepared.

Also, I saw a recipe with Nutella filling the nest. I know Nutella is all the rage, but I really prefer to stick to the semi-sweet chocolate. But if it's your crave, then I think it would work well).

The ganache

So…here it is.

It is really so simple and yet so lovely and festive!

Coconut Macaroon Nests

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 large egg white

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/8 tsp. salt

4 cups sweetened coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy cream

egg shaped candy

Preheat oven to 325 ˚. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, egg white, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir until combined. Add in the coconut and mix well.

Scoop batter in 2 Tbsp portions on prepared pan. Form the cookies into the shape of the bird nest. Make sure your well is deep and the edges are high. Press down the center with your thumb.

Bake cookies for 12 minutes or until they become slightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and press the center of the nests again. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes until set. Remove with spatula.

Meanwhile, make the ganache by mixing the chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Stir together and cook in microwave at 30 second increments, stirring in between until fully melted and well mixed. (If it seems too thick, add a tad more cream, if too thin, then add more chocolate chips).

Place a spoonful of the ganache in the nests and place a few candy eggs on top.

Let set. (If you want to speed this along, you may refrigerate them).

These can be made and stored in an airtight container for 3 days or so.

Makes about 12 nests.

simply stir together the few ingredients

and make piles with DEEP nests

hands are necessary

You want them to be well built nests, so that they are deep enough, have high enough walls, and yet messy enough that they look like nests. [Think of the way people are styling their hair with "messy buns". It's that natural, organic, and intentionally free form.] Like-a-bird-built-it style / not a mass-produced-with-a-cookie-cutter style.

bake til dry and toasty.

I put a couple in little bags to take to Lucy's teachers today for a Spring Break "happy".

IF YOU DON'T LIKE COCONUT AND ARE DISINTERESTED in Coconut Nests...what about this??

I know some people abhor Peeps. I like them. I admit it. I especially like when the package has been opened and they get a little stale.

Yes, I know they are just fluffed up sugar, dipped in sugar. But they are PEEPs! And they are an Easter tradition.

At Target today, Asher and I saw this crazy gimmick: a lollypop-o-peeps! 4 peeps stacked together on a stick. A little insane.

Last year my kids and I dipped some peeps in chocolate. Even better than peeps, we decided, were chocolate-dipped peeps!

We just melted some chocolate chips and dipped the peeps in and let them dry until hardened.

some family members got a little out of hand with the dipping

IF YOU ARE NOT INTO COCONUT AND REPULSED AT PEEPS...how about Growing Spring Grass for a centerpiece??

We also did a really fun and SUPRISINGLY successful planting of a patch of Spring grass last week. My mom told me about doing this and asked if we wanted to try. She gave us some wheat grass seed that she bought at a health food store. We soaked them in a bowl of water overnight and then the next day we planted it. We filled a tray with potting soil.

We generously spread seed over the entire surface, in a concentrated manner.

We covered it with a thin layer of soil and watered it.

and in 7 days, look what we got!

In one week we got a crop of very fun, very green grass! We are going to put some eggs in it once we dye eggs this week for a springy decoration. (We might have to mow it with some clippers soon).

I am starting to plan my Easter Lunch for our hodge podge of people, as is our tradition.

If you have ideas of what you are cooking for an Easter feast, share your ideas! I'd love to hear!

Banana Pudding

2013-03-12T23:33:00.001-05:00

Last week I found a list I had written about 6 months ago of “things to post on the blog”. I realized that I could mark most of them off of my list because I have since blogged about them. I had this moment of panic and thought,

“Oh no, am I at the end of the road? Have I posted all of my recipes? Have I run dry?”

And then I started thinking of all the things I haven’t yet posted. Banana pudding was the first item I put on the list.

“I haven’t written about Banana Pudding!?” I thought, “It’s a classic!”

Then within the next few minutes, a list of about 35 recipes followed, not to mention all of the new things I am sure I will come across in the coming months that I will want to blog.

(This moment reminded me of the commercial for DirecTV where the man reaches the end of the internet…do you remember that? As if, you can ever reach the end of the internet, or ever reach the end of recipes and stories to write about.)

So, the journey continues.

This past week, Dave was out of town for 7 days and at about day 4, and this pudding was on my mind. It had been on my mind, since I had added it to my blog list last week. I was seeking comfort from the long and hairy days of managing the house of 3 kids and a dog alone, so I made a batch. Lucy and I had fun making it, and licking the bowls. She then wanted to take some to her teachers at school… which we did. And they asked me for the recipe when I picked her up from school. We also gave a container of it to a friend (who then emailed me later that week to ask for the recipe because she had devoured the container we had given her). This was confirmation that I needed to post about this Banana Pudding.

There are two main camps of Banana Pudding Recipes. Some people prefer the warm, baked, topped with meringue banana pudding. I call it Granny Banana Pudding. My friend, Amy, makes the Granny kind. And she makes a splendid version… that she learned from her Granny, obviously.

Others people choose the cold, whippy, layered banana pudding. I call this one Fluffy Banana Pudding. People tend to be opinionated, and often times narrow minded about their banana pudding. I see the greatness in both types.

I learned Banana pudding making from my mom. She always made the fluffy kind, though different versions, with an array of ingredients over the years. We’ve had varieties made with sour cream, sometimes with cream cheese, other times with sweetened condensed milk. You really can’t go wrong with any of these.

The other night when we were digging into bowls of pudding, Lainey said, “This tastes different than the pudding at the school cafeteria.” To which I replied, “Because it IS different.” She said, “I like this a lot better.” I said, “There is a reason! This recipe has sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, pudding, bananas, vanilla wafers and freshly whipped cream.”

It is light and fluffy and yet rich and creamy. It is easy to make and though it doesn’t last long (with bananas as an ingredient), that never seems to be an issue at our house. It goes fast.

Notice the pudding hanging off of Lucy's chin. We're classy here at the Hunt house.

Big smiles!

Fluffy Banana Pudding
Serving Size: 16

An action shot- making the pudding

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 cups milk

2 (6- serving size) instant vanilla pudding and pie filling

1 cup sour cream (or more)

4-6 bananas

1 box vanilla wafers

16-ounces Cool Whip or fresh whipped cream (sweetened to taste)

whipping the cream

1. In large bowl, combine milk, pudding mix until blended. Add sweetened condensed milk and sour cream. If it is still too sweet, add a little more sour cream. Mix until well blended. Chill 5 minutes.

2. Spoon 1 cup pudding mixture into trifle bowl.

3. Top with one-third each of vanilla wafers, bananas, pudding mixture and whipped cream. Repeat layering twice, ending with pudding mixture. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with vanilla wafer crumbs. Chill. Store leftovers, covered in refrigerator.

layering

and layering

crumbled wafers on top because that's what my mom has always done
and it's pretty!

Ready to eat!

P. S. I wanted to give a warm welcome to any of you that popped over to Cup-A Cup-A via the (in)courage book study! I’m so glad you stopped by. I hope you will stick around and find some inspiration and recipes!

P. P. S. If you have no idea what in the world I was talking about in my P.S., I had the honor to help with an online book club of Richard Foster’s great book, Prayer with my friends Angie Smith and Jessica Turner, who lead the Bloom book club through (in)courage. (If you are curious, you can follow this LINK to see it.)

Chicken Salad

2013-03-03T22:45:00.001-06:00

Chicken Salad is a personal thing. I think there are as many recipes for chicken salad as there are personalities. They range from savory, to nutty and fruity, to pickle-y, to curried, to sweet, to smooth, to chunky... you get my point. My favorite bought Chicken Salad is from Bread and Company. They actually have 3 types: Curried, Honey Walnut and Almond Tarragon. I like them all, but Honey Walnut is my favorite! They have this amazing artisan cranberry walnut bread. Their chicken salad sandwich, made with that bread is called the "Iroquois". It's super special. In fact, during my third child's labor and delivery, when I was trying to find a "focal point" to help me deal with my pain, I thought of an Iroquois Sandwich and Fruit Tea from Bread and Company. I know, kind of ridiculous. My focal point was not Hawaii, or some beautiful beach, or a sunset, or the sight of my sweet baby on her way, but a chicken salad sandwich. Call me a realist. I think I was focusing on the immediate reward that I imagined could actually be at the end of this anguish. And it worked. And she popped out, and my in-laws went promptly to Bread and Company and fulfilled my dreams with my focal point-lunch!

So, I guess you could say I have a strong connection with Chicken Salad. The good news with making it, is that you can't go wrong and you really don't need a recipe. You just need some good ingredients and some test-drives to find the way you like it.

For me, the key ingredients are: Mayonnaise, Chicken (of course), grapes (or other fruits are good too), honey, nuts, a little lemon juice, salt and pepper.

I sometimes add chopped celery, and onion - depending on who my eaters are.

I like a thick, smooth chicken salad. Some people prefer cubed or chunked chicken.

If you like a smoother, creamy chicken salad, then I have a trick for you that I just learned this past year – use a stand mixer to tear/smooth the chicken! In a matter of seconds, the chicken goes from hunks, to pulled, creamy chicken! (Thank you, Casey, for this great tip!)

This recipe really isn't a recipe. To those who love a recipe with exact measurements, this might drive you a little crazy.

1. Cook your chicken.

You can roast it: brush with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt and ground pepper, place on a baking sheet and roast it in a 400˚ oven until done.

You can boil it: place your chicken in a pot of boiling water with some large chunks of onions (and celery and carrots if you want).

You can crock pot cook it: A great tip that came from Connie via her mother-in-law is to place your frozen chicken breasts, and chunks of onion (and carrots and celery if you want) in a crock pot and cook on low until the chicken cooks to pulling-apart tenderness. It is moist and tender.

Or...you can start with a rotisserie chicken. Just tear off the meat you want to use and you are set.

Cook your chicken, by the method of your choosing, then chop or dice if that's your desired outcome, or put in the mixer for a creamed effect.

2. Then, add Mayo. People are crazy-devoted to their mayo. Have you experienced this? Some are Hellman's-purists, some are Miracle Whip people, some are low-fat, some see that as an abomination. And then there are Duke's fans. Regardless, mayo is key in Chicken Salad.

I add some lemon juice (start with about a teaspoon) to the mayonnaise and then I add it by the large spoonfuls and mix between additions to ensure that it is creamy enough but not gloppy with mayonnaise.

3. Salt and Pepper to taste. Obviously.

4. The personality: And here is where the road diverges and you must make your decision about spices: tarragon, honey, onion, curry. You have to choose.

And "mix ins": Raisins, grapes, sliced almonds, toasted pecans, walnuts, pickles, chopped celery, chopped onion. And those of you who love measurements in recipes, I am sorry, there really can't be, since you don't know exactly how much meat you will have, or how creamy, nutty, flavored you'll need it.

Keep refrigerated after preparation.

I have wondered when to post about chicken salad, pondering which season is the most chicken salad-ish. I think it is a good summer meal, cold and yet hearty. Lovely on a bed of lettuce, or with a tomato, or scooped on a pineapple boat. It is a great spring picnic item. But it's on my mind because I have eaten it twice in the past few weeks. Nashville weather last week was warm and springy and this week it was blistery and flurrying. So, really this can be an anytime dish.

This is the pineapple trick that my mom taught me. She has served this at ladies lunches before. It is delicious and lovely . Chop the top off of the pineapple. Quarter it. Shimmy a sharp, long knife between the outside skin and the fruit to separate it from the skin, starting on one end and working all the way around the piece. Slice the long hard core piece away from the top, making it flat instead of pointed. Slice in thin slices. For the fancy zig zag effect, just gently push the pieces with your pointer fingers.

Then plop a big scoop of chicken salad on top and you are ready to have a luncheon.

I'd love to hear your favorite methods, ingredients, ideas for Chicken Salad YOUR Way!

Sick Days: Soup, Vicks, Emergen-C and TLC

2013-02-27T10:06:00.000-06:00

We have had a week of sickness around the Hunt house. Strangely, it has spanned the gamut from a migraine headache mom; to a stomach-nastiness-turned dry-coughing-at-night and runny-nose-in-the day girl; to a coughing-hacking-sniffling boy... and in my mind is swirling, "the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever..." NyQuil's classic ad.

So, the comfort measures in our home have been:
drinking lots of liquids – water, water, water (the healing flush)
and hot tea with honey,
and icy orange juice.

Eating popsicles, and taking Emergen-C (I swear by it, to help preempt the sickness when you first start to detect it, and to lessen the symptoms and quicken the course for after the sickness has already set in). It's like Airborne. It's a packet of tangerine fizzy yumminess that is packed with vitamins and protective factors.

And Soup. I made Tortellini soup, which I had made just the other day for Valentine's dinner when Lane came to hang out. Though that day, it was actually ~~Tortellini~~ Ravioli Soup. Dave had done the grocery shopping and there was a slight mix up in that he got cheese ravioli from the freezer section instead of cheese tortellini. Thankfully it was mini ravioli and so it could legitimately be eaten as soup because it fit in the spoon. So, we had ravioli in our "tortellini" soup. I told Dave it was apropos for our Valentine meal, as "love bears all things" came to mind from I Corinthians 13.

~~Tortellini~~ Ravioli Soup

I made it this week again, and this time with the tortellini and it was super yummy and I would have to say, less awkward to eat.

You really can't go wrong with this recipe. You can add to and take away from and make it the way you like it. You can use meat-filled tortellini, you can add beans to the soup, or use cheese-filled and then add hunks of Italian sausage or turkey/chicken sausage if you'd like. You can add other veggies chopped and sauteed; or add more diced tomatoes or less spinach. Tweak it and make it your own.

Asher described it as tasting like "pasta soup".
He's right.

Tortellini Soup and Salad

Tortellini Soup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup onion, chopped (depending on your preference)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 bag of tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed and cut into slices
Salt and Pepper to taste
Crushed Red Pepper flakes (optional)
Grated parmesan, for serving

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the oregano, basil and diced tomatoes. Add the broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions. One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste (and a few crushed red pepper flakes if you want a kick). Serve warm with grated parmesan as desired.

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I also made a new twist on Snickerdoodles, as per this BLOG that I love, In Praise of Leftovers. They are Brown Butter Snickerdoodles and are rich and lovely. Dave, my resident Snickerdoodle-freak, however, still stands by my recipe as his favorite.

And then my mom, knowing that I had children coughing up lungs around here, texted me the amazing trick she just heard of. You put a liberal coat of Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottoms of the child's feet and cover with socks, before bedtime and it keeps their coughing at bay during the night. She emailed me this LINK to the article. Fascinating, huh? Therefore, we have been slathering Mentholatum and/or Vicks on my kids feet this week and it has been really effective. And, of course, the humidifier is being rotated room to room each night depending on who's in the greatest need.

So, that's what's happening in our house.

I hope you and your household are doing well. We are hanging in there, making the most of the time for snuggles, and comfort food, and lots of Tender Loving Care.

French Toast For Breakfast... or Dinner

2013-02-17T07:00:00.002-06:00

I really love breakfast foods. However, sometimes it's too early in the morning for me to want heavy or savory things, and of course most mornings I don't have time to prepare breakfast meals. It's most likely that I eat yogurt and granola, a bowl of fruit or oatmeal, or an english muffin with a fried egg. So I love breakfast for dinner! I have more time to prepare and I am more in the state of mind for a heartier meal.

The only problem is that my husband is reluctant about the concept of breakfast for dinner, or at least he once was. When we would discuss what we should have for dinner I would throw out ideas, and we would go back and forth talking through our options. Then when I would suggest breakfast for dinner he would say, "oh...really? breakfast for dinner?" I saw this becoming a trend and so I asked him what his hang up was with breakfast for dinner. Direct communication is always the best. (Just a little free therapeutic advice I thought I'd throw in). He said, "I guess it's just hard to think of breakfast...for DINNER". This didn't dissuade me. Finally we uncovered that it was the meat category. His favorite part of breakfast for dinner was meat: bacon, sausage, country ham, etc. and yet sometimes we would have a meatless breakfast for dinner. So I made him a promise that I would try to always serve meat when we have breakfast for dinner. And he committed to being open to breakfast for dinner. It was win-win.

For our Breakfast for Dinner Menu we usually have:
something bready: biscuits, muffins, toast, waffles, scones, pancakes or french toast;
and something eggy: poached eggs, scrambled or fried eggs, a strata or such;
some fruit...cause we love fruit;
coffee and juice (sometimes icy orange juice if the kids get their wish);
and MEAT: bacon usually, but sometimes sausage, country ham, or sometimes we'll put some deli turkey that we have for sandwiches on the griddle and warm it up.

One of my favorite breakfast foods is french toast. The best french toast from a restaurant, in my book, is at the Pancake Pantry. We went there for my birthday last week. It is incredible...though it should be since they charge $9 for a plate of it. (I could serve my entire family french toast for less than that)!

I was trying to decide what makes it so super great and I really think there are a few keys, starting with thick Italian bread slices. The cinnamon and powdered sugar on top and the whipped salted butter are definitely part of what makes it special. (Oh and that amazing cinnamon cream syrup with the pancake syrup poured together on top are an amazing aspect as well).

My favorite recipe that I have found is in The Best Recipe. (I talked about this cookbook HERE). They give a scientific explanation for the egg-to-milk ratio needed to create the perfect french toast depending on the type of bread being used. It is a great recipe and has been my go-to for years.

French Toast (adapted from The Best Recipe)
1 large egg
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
8-12 slices firm, day-old European-style bread, such as French or Italian, 3/4 inch thick
Butter to grease skillet

Heat 10 to 12-inch skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile beat egg lightly in shallow pan or pie plate; whisk in milk and vanilla, and then sugar, flour, and salt, continuing to whisk until smooth.

Soak bread without over-saturating, about 30 seconds per side. Pick up bread and allow excess batter to drip off; repeat with remaining slices.

Swirl 1 Tbsp of butter in hot skillet. Transfer prepared bread to skillet.

Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on first side and about 1 minute on the other side.

(Continue adding 1 tablespoon of butter to skillet for each new batch.)

Sprinkle with cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

So whether for breakfast or dinner, or lunch for that matter, I recommend you try this french toast recipe, pronto!

My Someday List & Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

2013-02-10T06:41:00.000-06:00

I am an avid list maker. I come by it honestly – we're a list-making family. It’s what we do – (though they vary in methodology and rigor). I always have multiple lists going. Sometimes, when my mom and I need to feel productive, we put things on our lists that we are already doing just so we can have the satisfaction of marking things off the list. I have lists of:

things to do at work,

things to do at home,

long range "to do" lists,

house project "to do" lists,

foods to make,

foods that I’ve made and photographed to blog at some point,

bucket lists, etc.

A new list I’ve started is a “some day" list.

This list contains things that someday I want to do. They are inspired by people doing them for me and they mean so much that I want to do them for someone someday, or they are things I see others doing that I want to also do when the time is right. Many of these things are related to my children when they are grown, things to write about, places to go, hobbies to try.

Here are a few things on my “Some day List” :

My friend, Blair’s mom, Ruth, has sent amazing baked goods to me via Blair as a THANK YOU for loving her daughter in Nashville, being a home away from home for her, as she lives a few hours from home. She sent these INCREDIBLE oatmeal raspberry bars which I love, and a lovely plump loaf of her homemade whole wheat bread. She included a lovely note of gratitude. Little does she know that WE are the blessed ones! Blair's wonderful presence and friendship to our family is a gift.

(I thought to myself, “do this someday”! When my kids are out of my nest. I want to show gratitude via notes and food to those who love and take them into their families and homes).

another thing on my "do that someday" list is:

When Dave and I bought our first house, I was so excited to have a home and super excited to have a porch on which to rock. Evidently, I had expressed this dream of porch-rocking to my coworkers at Oasis Center, because the week we moved into our house, we arrived home to our new house, to find a rocker on the front porch with a large bow on top with a card attached. They put their money together and bought and delivered a rocker to the porch of my new house. A dream come true- a house with a porch and a rocker to rock in. It was an overwhelming and unforgettable moment many years ago, where I felt so supported and celebrated by my co-workers about something happening in my personal life (buying our first home). It meant the world to me!

My friend, Hannah, told me many moons ago about something her mother-in-law did when Hannah went to visit. Her mother-in-law would have fresh flowers and a magazine on the bedside table in the guest room where they would stay awaiting her when she arrived. She said these lovely touches made it feel like such a vacation to visit their home and she felt so honored and welcomed. I want to do that someday!

I hope someday if Asher marries, I can bless his wife with lovely touches like that. I expect the way I will love Lainey and Lucy’s someday-husbands will be cooking their favorite foods, like my mom has so wonderfully done for my husband.

These are a few of the items on my "to do some day"list.

In the meantime, I am making these oatmeal raspberry bars when I need an easy to make, tasty treat!

There are many versions of this recipe with little differences. I think one (Ruth's) is a winner. It has so few ingredients! The ingredients are lots and lots of butter, brown sugar, oats, self-rising flour and raspberry jam.

This recipe is simple and yummy!

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

2 sticks butter (softened)

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 ½ cups oatmeal (old-fashioned oats)

10 oz. raspberry jam (seedless is best)

Mix first 4 ingredients with hands until crumbly.

Spray a 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray. Line pan and up sides with foil or parchment. Spray the liner.

Pat half of the mixture into the pan.

Spread jam over the first layer and top with the remaining oatmeal mixture.

Bake at 375˚for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool and cut.

You can add toasted coconut, or change the kind of jam. You can make them in a smaller pan if you want them thicker. You really can't go wrong, I don't think.

.................................................................................................................................................

Thank you, Ruth, for inspiring me and sharing your daughter with us! I hope my kids will bless families they meet when they leave the nest, like Blair does. And I hope I will be as thoughtful to those people as you have been to me.

Lemon Artichoke Soup

2013-01-28T20:40:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago when our Social Work program was going through our accreditation reaffirmation we had a dinner with our site visitor. My colleagues, the site visitor, and I met on a rainy weekend evening at Midtown Cafe. I had never been there but had heard it was the "it" place for prestigious locals to dine. It is lovely, dimly lit, quiet, and understated. I was told that the house soup, Lemon Artichoke, is a must-order. So, of course, I ordered it.

We were having a nice time, visiting with each other, talking about family, books, and travel. I recall that we all ordered some type of seafood entree and we each ordered a cup of soup. The soup was delicious. It was complex, smooth and memorable. However, I found myself in a bind. I was analyzing the soup in my head, and really wanting to analyze the soup with my fellow tasters. I wanted to ask everyone's ideas on what was in the soup, pull out my note pad and brainstorm the ingredients, and ask the server for some inside information on the recipe, so I could recreate this at home. The problem was, it was not the time or place. I'm sure I couldn't resist commenting on the flavors or soliciting the input of my companions, but I tried to keep it tame. If the site visitor hadn't been there, my colleagues would have fully expected me to snap a photo, scratch down some notes, analyze it, and ask their input. They have learned this about me and have accepted this quirk about me. (Thank you, team).

I remember thinking: butter, wine, garlic, onion, lemon juice, something with kick...cayenne I bet, artichokes, salt...

Once home, I started looking in cookbooks and searching online for soup recipes with these ingredients. I found one and played around with it and I think it is really good. I wish I could go to the Midtown Cafe and try their soup again, for comparison sake. But I can't afford to go there when it's not a business dinner.

My friends who have tried this soup really like it and Dave is a fan, though, it's not the most popular with the kids, (and when I told my mom what I was writing about this week, she was not so enthusiastic). She said it goes in the Sushi post category...interesting, but I doubt if I will try it.

If you like creamy, lemony, artichoky dishes and a little kick...you'll love it. It's quick to put together and I think it's nice to have a different soup up your sleeve. You can add couscous or orzo if you wanted it to have more of a starchy soup. (Though I usually lean on the crusty bread served with it to be my starchy addition).

It would be a lovely soup for the first course of a dinner, or great with a yummy sandwich like this one (turkey, apple, spinach, co-jack, craisins, honey mustard on Ciabatta). It is great to a enjoy as leftovers for lunch or an easy second-day dinner.

Lemon Artichoke Soup

1/4 cup butter
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup or more)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 cups milk (2% or whole milk- depending on how heavy you want it to be)
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
dashes of cayenne pepper

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add minced onion and garlic; cook until clear. Add chicken broth, artichoke hearts, and olive oil. Bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch. Stir into the boiling liquid and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and heat through. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. I like to sprinkle a little on top for added color and kick.

One of my favorite things about winter is soup-making and eating.

It is comfort in a bowl. This one is a bright mix of tangy, creamy, and kicky that makes it nice any season.

Enjoy!

Guideposts for Life- applied to Coconut Chocolate Pie

2013-01-13T21:44:00.003-06:00

My whole life my mom has reminded me of the golden rule – Do to others as you would have them do to you. Did you grow up with this as a mantra in your life? When I had girl drama with school friends as a teenager, I would be reminded to treat others in a way that I would want to be treated. When there was any kind of conflict or dilemma, this was a guiding principle in our home.

In adulthood: as a friend, as a sibling, employee, teacher, neighbor, – keeping in mind this simple guidepost is transformational. Many times a week I ask myself, “How would I want to be treated?” This changes things. When I want to put someone in their place because I am irritated, when I want to give up on someone who is flaky, when I want to elevate myself, in those moments, if I ask myself “How would I want to be treated?”, it usually alters my response. I turn towards a response of mercy, compassion, gentleness, and generosity. After all, that’s the treatment I long to be given!

So the other day, friends came for dinner, and I broke a different principle of my mom’s by trying a new recipe when company is coming. Because it was “low pressure” company – a couple from our small group at church, they love us/we love them, I thought it was worth the risk. I recently reorganized my cookbooks in the kitchen, and with the new arrangement, I am trying to use them more, now that they are more accessible. A Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts Cookbook is one that I had wanted to use but hadn’t had a chance to. I flipped through the pages the other day and marked recipes that looked especially yummy (and/or doable). I found a recipe for a Coconut Chocolate Pie and it looked amazing. I remembered that this couple we were hosting likes coconut, so it would be fun to make it for them. I followed the simple recipe and made the pie. And it bombed! The chocolate filling didn’t set up at all. I was so disappointed. After a couple of hours, I moved it to the freezer, instead of the fridge, hoping it would firm up. I kept checking it, and finally gave up. Our friends were kind and gracious. I was irritated.

My first reaction was to be mad at Martha Stewart and to mark this recipe off as a dud. I was tempted to dismiss the entire cookbook. “If this one was touted as one of the simple ones, and I couldn’t accomplish it, then surely I couldn’t succeed at the others!”, I thought to myself. Then the golden rule popped in my mind. What would I want someone to do with my recipe? What if someone came to my blog, tried a recipe that I claimed was simple and when they tried it, it didn’t work, and so they dismissed the recipe (that I found to be a treasure)? What if they just rejected the whole blog? I would be disappointed. I would want to say, “Oh, no! Let’s trouble-shoot; tell me what you did. What went wrong? Try this, do this, let me know how it goes.”

So, I decided to try again: to give the recipe the benefit of the doubt, to own the possibility that I could have done something wrong. This time I looked on-line to see if anyone had made it and had tips. I found a couple of blogs where they had tweaked things a little. I re-read the simple recipe from the cookbook and evaluated my ingredients. I realized that while the recipe calls for “bittersweet chocolate - preferably 61% cacao”, I had used semi-sweet chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand. I thought it would be fine. But then I realized that the less pure, less dark chocolate probably was to blame for the pie not setting up. The filling is made with just two ingredients: heavy cream and dark chocolate. Therefore, each ingredient really needs to be correct.

We bought 60% cacao chocolate bars from Trader Joes and finely chopped it, as was instructed in the recipe. And low and behold, it worked beautifully. So, really it wasn’t the recipe at all, it was my using the wrong ingredients. Which leads to another guiding principle of my life – taking personal responsibility for my part of a problem. I find that our culture is especially prone to blame-shifting. We would rather point a finger at others than to self-reflect and own our part of the problem. When we can “own our junk”, take responsibility, and admit our faults, it can make a huge difference in our lives (and in the lives of others around us)!

I have a feeling the pie mess-up was a divine gift. It was a humble reminder to extend grace, give it another chance, own my part of the problem and enjoy the delicious rewards of trying again.

(I know these are deep thoughts regarding pie. I guess this is what happens when a social work professor is also a baker. Thanks for going there with me.)

Coconut Chocolate Pie

(borrowed from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts)

For the Crust:

4 Tbsp. butter, softened

11 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

For the Ganache Filling:

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate

(preferably 61% cacao) finely chopped

Make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 ˚. In a food processor, process butter and 1/3 of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 coconut over mixture, and combine with your fingers. (which I love to do)

Place a 9 inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Lightly spray pie plate with cooking spray. Press coconut mixture into the bottom and up the sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place foil around edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil, and bake 4 to 6 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the filling: Bring cream just to boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour into coconut crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

(The cookbook noted that this pie is gluten-free, with the crust made out of coconut).

It really is easy and lovely. Next time I would like to top it with toasted almond slices. Mmmm. I have always wished that Almond Joys and Mounds candy bars could flip-flop, because I like the dark chocolate with the almonds.

(we served it with a dollop of whipped cream and we decided it didn't add much
to the flavor but added a nice texture)

A New Year: Goal Setting & Sushi-Making

2013-01-06T22:19:00.000-06:00

As I have said before, I love a new year, a new calendar, a clean slate. I love to assess, reflect and goal set. So, the end of December/ beginning of January is a time I do some personal reflecting on the year past and the year ahead. I try to evaluate various parts of my life: spiritual, physical, relational, mental, work, parenting, and consider what I want to work on in the future year. I try not to set “resolutions” necessarily- where I will myself to do grandiose things and it’s up to my discipline to do so. The goals I set are typically more like baby steps towards change, or attitude shifts.

Our family has recently needed to bring back our Rules of the House list to post on our refrigerator. It’s helping with issues that we are having in our home (issues of kindness, obedience, sharing, respect…you know, ALL of our house rules)! Dave and I decided that we might should set some rules for ourselves as parents as well. These include: Do not yell. Do not shame. Do not argue. (The kids requested this one. We didn't realize we needed this rule, but we trust that if they feel like we are arguing, we must be. So to the list it went). We are trying to uphold these and model for the kids working on self-improvement, self-control and leaning into God in our weakness.

We thought it would be fun/beneficial to try to set some family goals for the new year.

We decided to each have a stack of index cards of a certain color on which to write our individual goals and then a "family color" for our family goals. We each set some goals, wrote (and decorated) them, and attached them together with twine. We hung it on the laundry room door so we can see it often as a reminder.

Some of the goals were comical, some far-fetched, some right on target. Our family goals ended up including: clean up after yourself and play more games together.

My son has one about working on his portion control. He has another one about trying to not fix his thoughts on technology but on other things as well. My 8 year old's cards included cleaning room and keeping up with her stuff. My 4 year old decided "be kind" and "stay in my room until the sun comes up" would be her goals.

I am seeking to be steadfast in life. That's the big, overarching goal of mine. And to read, and to go to bed on time so that I can wake early each morning and have quiet time.

There is something powerful about putting things in print and as well as speaking things aloud to another person. There is accountability in both. So, we are going to tell each other our goals. I will tell a friend or two my goals, so that I have some adult accountability and support and we will attempt to work towards these goals…becoming the better versions of ourselves.

When thinking of a New Year’s recipe to post about, I thought about Sushi-making. It seems fitting because it is a way to save money (it is MUCH cheaper to make than buy), it is healthy– though carb-filled, and is a new adventure, at least it was for us this year. These seem to fit into many people’s new year’s resolution categories.

I don’t know what you think about Sushi. Some people adore it, some are grossed out by it. I learned to enjoy sushi when my co-workers at the stationery store - my job during graduate school- would go to the Sushi restaurant across the street for lunch. It took getting used to, but I quickly loved it. (Albeit the “whimpy kind”. I don’t like the flesh strip across the top of my sushi – thank you very much). I like California Rolls, crunchy shrimp, Philadelphia, and the like – the low risk kinds. Dave loves it and in the past few years my kids have grown to love it. So much so, that it is hard for us to afford going out for sushi. Sushi isn’t expensive when you want the simple kinds and you are buying for one, maybe two. However, Sushi for 5 is not cheap! We struggle with this. We had been talking about making our own and figured it must be fairly simple and pretty cheap when you think about the ingredients. So, last summer, Dave did it. He watched a couple of You Tube videos and successfully made Sushi. It was simple, he said, and it’s really great. I thought you would need to buy a bunch of supplies but all you really need is a bamboo mat, which we bought at World Market for a couple of dollars, and some simple ingredients. Most everything ingredient-wise is available at the grocery in the International Section.

Here's his recipe:

Ingredients: Sushi rice (prepared as directed on package).
Avocado
Shrimp, crabmeat (fully cooked), or Surimi- imitation crab meat
Seaweed paper
(Cream cheese, cucumber, sesame seeds, roe, mayo etc. are some optional ingredients as well...amongst two thousand others.)

Step One: Cover mat with plastic wrap while cooking Sushi rice and prepping ingredients (slicing, cooking, peeling, etc.)

Step Two: Place seaweed on the mat and cover with a thin layer of cooked rice. Use wet hands to move and spread across the seaweed. Then gently flip the seaweed over.

Step Three: Place sliced and prepped veggies and meat/shrimp on top of seaweed. Roll up around it.

Step Four: squeeze the mat around the roll to make it uniform and smooth.

Step Five: Cut with a good, sharp knife into 1 inch pieces

Step Six: Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger slices.

Some tips from Dave are:

· Sushi rice is shorter and stickier than standard long-grain rice. The instructions will likely tell you to soak it. This is important.

· You need a mat, and using plastic wrap on top of the mat makes it much easier to roll the sticky rice.

· Rinsing your hands (in a bowl of water with a little vinegar) throughout helps to keep your hands from sticking to the rice, and it also keeps them clean for the rolling.

· You use a lot of rice but little bits of the other ingredients: seafood, avocado, etc.

Happy New Year!
Here's to a clean slate,
a new beginning,
a chance to improve on some things,
let go of others,
and try something new!