Donata's Painted Kitchen

Prologue...

2012-02-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

I love a Sunday Dinner. From so early an age I recall sitting around my grandmother’s table, or maybe at a “kid’s” table since the adult table was so full…listening to my great grandmother share some naughty story not meant for a child’s ears. Or so I thought anyway as even at a young age my mother called my mind carnal. Great Grandma spoke with a thick Italian accent with her large lips and slight mustache where on certain enunciations she would end up spitting to speak.

I was in awe of my mother’s big family and felt grossly naïve of the relationship she had with her 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Growing up they were largely left alone to play the day away, as were most children of that era and so they shared all sorts of inside jokes and stories. And at times, during my grandmother’s bouts of depression would fend for themselves and live in worry about what might be happening behind their mother’s bedroom door.

My grandfather was strict, having no time for “girl giggles” or whining or rough play. A hug was something he seemed incapable of until he found himself taking over the role of nurturer during my grandmother’s lengthy fight with Alzheimer’s.

I always found his aloofness befuddling as it was so obvious that he and my grandmother had a very fulfilling intimate relationship. (Even aside of the not so subtle jokes about his “Helen Dot”, that suspect of a woman that provided my grandmother with a source of jealousy over their journey as a couple).

On these particular Sundays, though, I did have a part, aside from helping with dinner. I would sit on the back porch with my youngest uncle and sing Kenny Rogers songs. The Gambler sticks out most vividly. I felt rather protective of my uncle as he was not quite the same after a terrible car accident in his young teenage years.

My grandfather, even in his aloofness, lovingly taught me to bake chocolate chip cookies. I remember vividly the way he took the cookies out of the oven (the dough pre-made by my grandmother) and gently shooing away the metal spatula I wielded and telling me how we must let them cool on the pan for a few minutes to allow them to hold their shape before scooping them off the cookie sheet with the hard metal.

My grandparents never stayed in one home for very long. Yet, surprisingly, every house was most definitely their home. Every home had a flourishing garden. Every home had carefully selected current pictures of each child and grandchild, and of course of

Great Grandma and Uncle Jimmy. Every home had a guest room sparingly yet perfectly attired. Every home had a canning room.

How I loved the canning room. Every canning room in every home smelled exactly the same, the smell like some magic energy that carried from place to place as a lost soul might, but without the chill of the earthly departed. Instead the canning rooms were lusciously cool despite any exterior heat. Their rooms always lined with shelves most lovingly made by my grandfather.

On these shelves, as surely as grandma were to attend Sunday Mass, you would find the deepest darkest green pint size jar of the most perfectly selected cucs, magically morphed into Sweet Pickles and most definitely a deep ruby red jar of Pickled Beets. On any given year you might find a deep mustard colored jar of Mustard Pickled Vegetables, cauliflower, pearl onion, carrot, green pepper. Grandma canned apple sauce, and fruit butters, and apple pie filling, and sweet meats, and green beans, and dill pickles, and the most divine Bread and Butter pickles. The whole display as appealing to the eyes and nose as it was to the feeling of comfort and stability I felt to my very core.

On rare occasions my grandma would share some tidbit of gossip or secret as she cooked and cleaned. Maybe it would be about the transformation of one of my uncles from his violent years as a young father, to the wonderful, yet strict, man he’d now become. Sometimes she would share the very deep and dark poems my mother had written in her younger years. Sometimes she would share her own stories.

“You know”, she would say,” I was engaged to someone else when I met your grandfather”. And I would imagine my grandmother and her sisters all dressed up in their nylons with the seam up the back in their collared and button down dresses with the big patent belts and matching patent shoes. Their hair rolled and curled to perfection in typical 1940’s fashion, with dark reddish orange lips expertly pouting on their faces, going out on the town after their work in the ship yards to drink martinis and dance the night away with the navy boys who were in town; which, as I imagine it, is how she met my grandfather in Seattle who was originally from Virginia.

My grandmother, apparently, was the first to marry. My great grandmother, in her infinite carnal wisdom, said that she must see my grandmother the very “morning after” her wedding night to get a good look at her to see if she looked any different. What was going through the woman’s head I can only imagine, and often do! But with 9 of her own living children the older woman must have felt a need to arm herself with the most intimate of details to protect her younger offspring.

And protect she did. For all of her physically capable elder years my Great Grandmother lovingly cared for my uncle jimmy, whom from some accident of birth had water on the brain; as it was told to me anyway. Uncle Jimmy was very loving and resided not with our grandmother, but in a wonderful Chalet for people with neural issues in Snohomish, Wa. Grandma always dressed Uncle Jimmy in blue and white striped over alls and he was always clean as a whistle. Someone would always pick grandma and Jimmy up for church, or Sunday dinner, or a holiday, or special family event.

Jimmy gave the best hugs, drooled a lot, and communicated a bit. But in the Chalet, in the Chalet, he was a rock star. What with being one of the longest residents and always having a girlfriend around. Plus, he had the most cool room, decorated with all of his arts and crafts and things from home.

Going to the Chalet was a special retreat. My mother had worked there during high school so I always felt as I was learning a little bit about her, she being a sort of private person regarding her younger years. Although the visit would often bring back memories for her and sometimes she would share. She took up smoking while working at the Chalet, she was once in an accident on the way to work on a little winding road around Blackman’s Lake. Stories like that.

Slowly the little wall of stability for me cracked as the universe became more clear and more family stories shared.

My mother had taken off to Italy once when she was sixteen, and again when she was 19. She had family living in the north of Italy and I imagine her intent was to “feel” all of the stories that were held by my great grandmother and great grandfather who immigrated to the states during the ‘20’s to find prosperity in dairy farming.

I lack many a detail, but while working at La Cremea, in Chiavenna, she met a couple of boys, one an English boy and one a Southern Italian boy whose mother had absconded from a family of criminals, or Mafioso, to raise her son in a crime-free environment. Mom really liked the English boy, but felt oh so sorry for the Italian boy and ended up following him into the woods for a weekend to hang out. She says she had no intention of sleeping with him, and is a bit unsure and speculative of how it happened…maybe a Mickey??...but, alas, I was conceived.

Mother’s famiglia were none too happy that she had carried on with this Southern Italian garbage and hence she moved north to help a woman in a ski lodge near St. Moritz, which consequently, is where she found out about my existence. The woman she stayed with was most gracious, even offering for her to stay on and raise me. But my mother trudged home, boldly, holding her head far too high for a good catholic girl of the early ‘70’s.

Once home, as supportive as my mother’s nuclear family was, the plan was to find a father for me, and to find one quick! And find one the family did. And so far, a good 35 years and 4 children and 15 grandchildren, and too many Sunday dinners have sprung from this most interesting state of affairs.

But I digress, Sunday dinners for me were like foreplay for the big family reunion, La Famiglia Nostra. La Famiglia is always held the second weekend of August, the weekend of my birthday, which is also the day of Ferragasto, the celebration of The Virgin…

From Wikipedia: Ferragosto is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15. Originally, it may have related to a celebration of the middle of the summer and the end of the hard labour in the fields. The Catholic Church celebrates this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary—the real physical elevation of her sinless soul and incorrupt body, into Heaven.

Before the Roman Catholic Church came into existence, however, this holiday was celebrated in the Roman Empire to honor the gods—in particular Diana—and the cycle of fertility and ripening. In fact, the present Italian name of the holiday derives from its original Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Festivals [Holidays] of the Emperor Augustus") ^[1].

Almost the entire month of August was taken as a holiday and leisure time in Italy in honor of this feast day.

In present days, Ferragosto is mainly a short holiday when Italians take brief vacations. The holiday often coincides with peak activity of the Perseid meteor shower, leaving Italians at a particular advantage to view the astronomical event seen best at pre-dawn hours…

La Famiglia always starts at noon on the second Saturday of August. A huge buffet dinner happens at precisely at two. This is the only part of the picnic that has not changed in the 37 years that I have attended. My favorite year was one that ended up in the Snohomish tribune. There were something like 300 people present, I was probably nine. It was held at the new St. Michael’s building where CCD was held, the new church not yet in existence. Our picture was taken and put in the paper with a brief family history.

We played baseball, we ate copious amounts of food, we held a raffle to pay for the following year, we had our annual auction. I had my annual crush on my second cousins…oh there are plenty of kissing cousin stories, but really, why tell them!

I envied my older cousins blossoming bodies, and looked in awe at cousins who were obviously having sex because they were having babies…silly.

My grandmother cooked and cooked and cooked for this. Making spaghetti and risotto and jello salad, bringing her canned goods and baked treats and some years, vino. Alcohol being a tradition that comes and goes over the years based on the level of alcoholism present in the famiglia… Always there were black olives and hard Italian wine salami, sometimes polenta, sometimes those yummy deep fried cookies. Always, always there were Biscotti and Sherry Cake and Pasta Salads and Lasagnas and Fried Chicken and Zucchini in a billion different dishes.

Not a lot of Italian was spoken at these picnics, now and again a cousin who resided still in Italy would pop in, or someone would bring an Italian friend. But this was just really the offspring of a few brothers who came here to farm and raise their families, a generation removed from their heritage.

I am uncertain if the family intentionally chose this date, I’d like to think so. I would also like to think that my name was chosen by divine powers.

The story goes that my mom wanted to name me Donata Rosa. Donata mi una Rosa, she often says. Meaning, He gave me a Rose, meaning God gave her a rose. My aunt found this name far too Italian. And I’m sure my Grandmother did as well.

Grandma was spit on in her younger years for being a whop. She and her siblings didn’t speak English well into elementary school, as it wasn’t spoken at home and they suffered terrible ridicule for this. So purposely and so boldly marking this supposed little girl as Italian didn’t work for her.

The choice was no longer theirs, however. For as my grandmother, aunt and laboring mother burst into the hospital halls, they saw no one but heard a voice yell, “Dona, where’s Rosa!?”.

I figure, if the good lord (or the Universe, as I like to call it) took the time to choose my name, and give me this wonderfully holy of birthdates, it surely must have some sort of divine plan for my life…I’m waiting…maybe it’s to host Sunday Dinners….

Best Damn Ribs

2012-02-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

My youngest son requested Baby Back Ribs for his birthday dinner and while everything from the smoked chicken, baked beans, quinoa salad, caesar salad, corn, baked potatoes and corn bread was smack your lips delicious....we had the Best Damn Ribs!

I purchased a three rack of pork baby back ribs, 12 pounds total I think, from that big warehouse store I don't usually like to shop in, but I'm human, and to err is human! So err I did to the tune, of, well, you know the drill when you visit that place, way too much $$!

So I brought this package of pork home and took down my GINORMOUS stock pot. In the stock pot went 3 bottles of Stella Artois, 6 bay leaves and a couple tablespoons of chili flakes.

The Ribs curled up inside the pot, and water was added until the ribs were submerged.

Onto the stovetop the pot went to boil away for an hour.

Turned the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (is that a german word?)

Moved the ribs to a baking sheet...

Mixed some of the cooking liquid with some of our favorite store-bought bbq sauce, lightly covered the ribs with this sauce.

Roasted for an hour and half, basting with the bbq/cooking water "glaze" every now and then.

DONE! Cut into portions, roughly 3 ribs each, and served up with extra bbq sauce.

Not Your Grandma's Cabbage Patch Soup

2012-02-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

My grandma grew cabbage in her garden every year, and every year she would make Cabbage Patch Soup, and it was sooo good. She started with ground beef and diced onions and added tomato paste and water, you know the old cabbage patch soup way. So with this in the back of my noggin rambling about like all the rest of the food nonsense that fills my noggin versus other things that could fill my noggin like: politics, finances, religion, discipline, will power...you know, the typical stuff, I digress...I recalled my grandmother's recipe as I cruised thru the contents of my dying produce, barren freezer, and dwindling pantry stores.

I came up with a hipster (that's a new word I learned from my 20 year old son...urban hipsters, it's the new thing apparently, and apparently he is one)...a hipster, new version of Cabbage Soup; aka, Clean out the Fridge Soup.

***And, as always, please note that my "recipes" are more ideas for you than any tried and true recipe...but this soup was AWESOME! Even the 17 year old enjoyed it...Woohoo!

Not Your Grandma's Cabbage Patch Soup

Start with your, or my, mirepoix (or in this case the dying produce from my fridge):
1/2 yellow onion; diced
1 cup diced kale
2 carrots; diced
1/2 fennel bulb; diced

Throw in a large pot and saute in leftover white wine until veggies are tender.

Add:
1 pound ground turkey

Continue to cook the tender veggies with the turkey until the turkey is cooked through.

Then add:

1 large can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth (or wine or water or whatever)
2 small cans pinto beans (don't drain!)
1/2 small head cabbage; diced

To all this add:
2 tablespoon mild/medium chili powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 clove crushed garlic
Simmer all day in the crockpot or at least an hour on the stovetop, 3 hours = amazing!

quote 2 (self quotes)

2012-02-07T10:09:00.001-08:00

I don't like recipes, I like Ideas

-Donata Thomas

Cioppino

2012-02-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

Fish stew has a myriad of different names and cultural influences, but whatever you call it, fish stew is just yummy. I'm going to call it Cioppino today because this recipe, or as I'd rather think of it "idea" is for more of an Italian inspired tomato based concoction.

Cioppino
Should serve up six quite nicely

The Base:
In a large pot add:
1 Shallot, diced sauteed in a couple tablespoons of olive oil
Once translucent add:
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Oregano
1/2 tablespoon Chili Flakes
1/4 teaspoon Smokey Salt
1/2 tablespoon Sea Salt
Wilt the herbs then add:
2 14 oz. cans Organic Diced Tomatoes
1 cup of Broth or Wine or even Water
chop 1/2 cup of Sun Dried Tomatoes that you've plumped in 1/2 cup of water, add the tomato and water the the mix.

Let this all simmer away for at least an hour.
______________________________________
Now you get to start adding your favorite things from the sea. I like to add the things my kiddos like: prawns, salmon, scallops, clams, muscles. And I do love adding white fish of any sort.

With the last batch I was craving the little octopus that come out of the Ligurian Sea...ahhhh.

Some freezer sections even have a cute little package of frozen seafood for cioppino.

To cook this up I like to cut down the fish fillets so they are in size relevant to the smallest addition. Also note that things will cook up a little differently, so I like to add the fish in stages: dense white fish will take the longest, then salmon, then lighter white fish, then scallops, then prawns, then shellfish. If you start cooking the seafood about ten minutes before serving time you should be set.

So set the broth to boiling and start adding your goodies, cover the pot between each addition to get a good steam on your seafood.

Baconey Vinaigrette over Greens

2012-02-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

Oh, I know it's evil, that bacon grease. But I had been saving it for some flavorful intention. It rested in the freezer until some lightnin spark of an idea came to mind to "render" it godly. A chance to use it's flavorful smokiness in a simple way to entice my family to eat an otherwise untempting array of fresh ingredients. I think I achieved my goal.

My bacon had come from Silvana Meats, whom, I must say, makes the most righteous bacon I have ever consumed. Now I am uncertain where the pig came from or how it was raised, as when I ask questions about the meat products the gal at the counter just shrugs. Silvana's website does state that they only serve up the " finest all-natural meats with no additives", so alright.

I have heard rumor that the pigs often come from neighbor farms, individuals whose pigs feed on their land in the flood prone fields. But wherever it all comes from it's so DAMN good!

I often buy whole chickens at Silvana, they are a lovely white, odor free, void of slime, with a few nubby feather parts often still jutting out, they are fatty, but don't have large lumps of fat, and are uniformly plump, not major pumped in the breast area. The chicken roasts up beautifully moist and flavorful.

The pork at Silvana tastes incredible. It's color ruby like or whitish, not some crazy neon pink like when you buy pork at some groceries. The smell, again, barely detectable...no slime, no extras...just wonderful cuts of pure pork.

The Beef?! Well, I am not the best roaster or griller, but every time I've played with their beef the family has sung my praise...'nough said.

But don't take my word for it, if you live in Snohomish/Skagit County it's just a quick trip into Silvanah...go for yourself!

Silvana Meats

1229 Pioneer Highway
Silvana, WA 98287

Baconey Vinaigrette

Should Serve up 4 folks quite nicely

On a lovely plate spread out about 3 cups of your favorite greens assortment (see what I used below)
Sear 1/2 cup of your favorite salty smoked stuff until crispy and crumble(I used Prosciutto this time);
Sprinkle your meat crumbs over the greens
Slice 1/2 cup of your favorite mushroom
Sprinkle the mushrooms over your greens

Then, the coup de grace (had to look that up):

Melt 1/4 cup bacon fat in a microwave proof measuring cup
add a tablespoon apple cider vinegar
add a tablespoon of honey
Mix together
Taste
Add more vinegar and/or honey, just a teeny bit at a time until you achieve a perfect sweet and sour balance.
Drizzle over the salad
Sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper
SERVE!!!

For this salad I used:

lunch...

2012-02-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

"Chop" Salad

Crown of Broccoli
1/4 Bulb (smallish) of Fennel
1/2 a small apple
Tablespoon Onion
Chop everything and throw in a bowl

1/4 cup of Nut Butter

Tablespoon Onion
Tablespoon Vinegar
Tablespoon Honey
Dump all this onto your chopped ingredients and mix thoroughly
Sunflower Seed
Sprinkle these on top of your salad.

Eat 1/2 the salad for lunch and the rest as a snack. It's super filling!

Homemade bars, cliff bars, energy bars, power bars, whatever you call 'em. A great snack, and a great chocolate fix.

2012-02-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I made up some "bars" for the kids today and my daughter said: "You have to put these on your blog or whatever." So I am.

I first had an aha to do these little puppies when I visited the Food Co-Op and they had some raw fudgies for sale (no bake cookies). They were so good and were even better than the white sugar butter and milk laden stuff. So I came home and made some.

Then I surfed the web for an actual recipe, because I was sure that with all the new raw/gluten free/paleo foodies out there, there was sure to be a bundle. And there were...and are...so check those out, but in the meantime I'll give you a few "recipe" ideas.

We'll be packing these to wrestling tournaments, softball tournaments, hikes, boat rides and bike races. Offering these up as energy snacks and after game snacks. The kids have them for breakfast and after school snacks, and heck, even for dinner if the boy has to make weight for wrestling. A banana, a bar, and some sort of milk...we like coconut or soy...an awesome power snack!

Homemade Cocoa Bar (very approximate recipe)
2 cups oats (may need more if bars are too sticky)
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder(or more to taste)
Heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons finely grated coconut
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
Pinch of salt
teaspoon vanilla extract (or beans, yum!)
Mix all together with your hands, form into bars and wrap in wax paper. Store the bundles in the fridge. Make again with any old thing you can think of! Add Chia, Dried fruit, oatmeal and spices with coconut oil instead of the nut butters, different kinds of nut butters, puffed rice cereal in place of the oatmeal, have fun with it!

Peanut Cereal Balls
I remember my sister and I making these when we were younger, they were so good. We used cornflakes, but I"m not such a fan of over processed corn products anymore:)

2 cups puffed rice or flake cereal or both!
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey

That's it, that's all! Smoosh mixture together with your hands. Store in an airtight container Make this your own! Add coconut, add fruit, whatever!!!

About me:

2012-02-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

§ My Kitchen’s Not A Show-Piece, It’s a Workshop.

Donata Thomas

Blender Pizza Sauce and Pizza kits!

2012-01-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Making Pizza Kits for some of my little friends who are constantly begging to come to my house for a cooking class to make pizza/calzones! Since there seems to be no time between sports and things to make this happen, I decided to make these little kits...Maybe you'd like to make some to have handy for fun dinners!

Start with the dough...Click the purple letters to: make the dough for this bread...omit the rosemary

After the first rise, pull out roughly 1 cup of dough for each pizza and gently form into a ball, lightly cover the ball with flour and flatten slightly. Place in a freezer bag, refrigerate or freeze, when ready to use just let thaw or warm for a bit on the counter. It doesn't need to rise again.

Assemble a:

Blender Pizza Sauce

1 can organic diced tomatoes
handful of fresh parsley
teaspoon of dried basil
teaspoon of dried oregano
tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
tablespoon of brown sugar
1 clove garlic
dash pepper
pinch of chili flakes

Whiz up! That's it. 1/4 cup of sauce per pizza should be plenty!! Pour into small freezer bags.

To make the kits: put a cup of cheese in a baggie, a bag of sauce, a disk of pizza dough, and your favorite toppings!! Freeze for later!

Let the kids make their own calzones. They can grab a fistful of dough, pat or roll in a circle, put on their favorite toppings, fold in half, crimp the edges, and done!

I like to cook these on a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven or on the stone in a piping hot gas grill, cooking times vary.

A few of my favorite things

2012-01-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

my two favorite things: paying bills, and cooking

I get to do these today, a lot of both, and I LOVE IT! Plus, it's a gorgeous day, how can you beat that!

So on today's docket, since the daughter was doing some complaining that I wasn't stocking the painted kitchen with what she wanted,it's a pizza crust/focaccia, mac and cheese, caramleized onion, chicken soup, salsa making kind of day...the kitchen magic is on my side today so everything turned out pretty spankin' good, but the salsa is so fun I gotta share...

Ingredient note: Today I used Trader Joe's organic fire roasted diced tomatoes with chiles...super good! If i had some fresh chilis around I soo would have used them. next time, I will plump up some dried chilis and forget about the tomatoes entirely...mole!

Blender Salsa

1 can Diced Tomatoes

1/4 red onion

1 clove garlic

1 bunch fresh cilantro (i cup)

Whiz it up in the blender! that's it! The tomatoes have enough salt, so no need to add any!

What's For Lunch

2011-10-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

Chickpeas doused in Arugula Pesto, finished with Chili Flakes and Kosher Salt and a little Parmesan. Followed by a cup of cocoa sprinkled with Cayenne, Cinnamon and Orange Zest. That otta cure the mid-week blues!

Yummy Cabbage Salad

2011-09-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

So tonight, in an effort to get my kids to consume some fiber, vitamin c, and some free radical fighting food, I"m going to defile a perfectly good head of cabbage with Ramen seasoning and noodles... and sugar. This salad was a smash bang hit at the mother-in-laws back in the days when the whole family actually got together weekly. Back when the kids were still cute enough to set in the middle of the room and oogle over, before we all began to have different opinions about parenting, healthcare, finances, and life in general.

We always ate this with a big round loaf of brown and serve sourdough bread and lots of butter. So good!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Roughly 2 cups of cooked Chicken; shredded or chopped
1 medium head of cabbage ( or combo of cabbages, because they all give you different nutrients)
4 Green Onions; sliced
1/4 cup chopped Almonds
Sprinkle of Sesame Seeds
Crushed Ramen noodles (2 packs)

Dressing:

1/2 cup Oil (Grapeseed/ canola/ whatever???)
1/4 cup Vinegar (Cider/Rice Wine/whatever???)
1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
3 Tbsp. Sugar or Honey
2 flavor packets from Ramen noodles

Pre-assemble the salad ingredients minus the Ramen noodles, set those aside for just before serving.

Pre-assemble the dressing and let the flavors combine until your ready to serve.

Douse the salad with the salty, sugary dressing. Then, throw in the Ramen noodles.

Sherry Cherry Pork Chops

2011-08-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

It's about this time of year when cherry sauces appear on all the great restaurant menus...If my family doesn't end up devouring the cherries that we procure at market before they start to wilt, I'm able to make this fantastic, flavorful, scrumptious concoction.

Sherry Cherry Pork Chops

Slice One Large Onion (pref walla walla sweet) and layer bottom of your favorite roasting ware (mine's often a 9x13 with a foil "lid")

Take One Chop per person, bone in (preferably from one of our local pig farms) Season chops on both sides with salt and pepper and place, in a single layer if you can, over the onions.

Pour enough Sherry over the chops to just coat the bottom of the pan

Pit and chop just enough Cherries to cover each pork chop

Cover your roasting dish, cook at 400 degrees for 40 minutes

Remove from the oven and, hopefully, when you lift the lid, there will be plenty of sauce to serve over your chops at the table.

Another Amazing Book: Pacific Feast

2011-08-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yea!!! My mom reached out to Jennifer Hahn and bought me a signed copy of this book!!!

Jennifer's words to me:

"To this delicious ocean-earth! Long may we sustain one another!

Wild Cheers-Jennifer Hahn"

Thanks Mom!

An amazing book by my mom's favorite Northwest Kayaker...all I can say is, yum and awe inspiring....

Love This Book: My First Crush, misadventures in wine country

2011-08-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

Dreamy book about one couple's experience buying a winery and moving states away to the beautiful Yam Hill area of Oregon. I'm ready to volunteer my soul to the sorting line after this eye opening rendition of Linda Kaplan's experience.

Love This Book: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2011-07-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

Barbara Kingsolver explains the state of our food (and economy, and environment) so brilliantly and eloquently. If those food docu-dramas bore you, or seem too dramatic, this book is a good substitute. Why do you need to read it? Because knowledge is power and what we teach our children to consume now affects the future. Written by a mother and completely relate-able for this mother. I love the insight and research she put into her thoughts. I love the idea of learning the history behind what we might grow in our own garden and what we consume. I love the idea that someone else finds the importance of their family's most basic need, sustenance, just as important as knowing the contents of the Bill of Rights. LOVE!

Indian spices...yum

2011-06-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Had some ground lamb in the fridge for making stuffed grape leaves, but was just too lazy to pull that off today. So instead the lamb got sauteed with a little garam masala, cloves, and cardamon, added a little yogurt and some sliced onions and let it simmer together. Yum. Made a chickpea flat bread to go with it and served it with a scrumptious carrot salad, a rendition of a Jamie Oliver salad.

Indian Spiced Carrot Salad
I grated up a few carrots into ribbons, chopped some radish tops, shredded a couple mint leaves, sprinkled on a few sesame seeds and added a dressing of: grated garlic, grated ginger,grated onion, a dash of cumin, a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt...wow!

Busy weeknight dinner idea...Crockpot Chicken Tacos

2011-06-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

Today's the last day of school, and it's a for sure thing that I"ll have extra kids hanging out just as I did last night for the "pre" funk of this long awaited day So I turned to one of my favorite easy, kid-friendly dinners...the chicken taco bar...the crockpot chicken taco bar.

Yes, I said "crock pot", in the summer. There are so many summer days when I want to avoid the drive-thru but have a car full of starvin' kids who have been active all day at the beach or on the boat. To have dinner a ready and waitin' to feed the ravenous mass of god knows how many beings, the crockpot comes in handy.

My kids love soft tacos, hard tacos, taco salad. They get a little roughage, a little dairy, a lot of protein, a serving of carbs and I can feel good about it. The condiments can set out for a bit as the kids come and go while well-seasoned, shredded chicken stays warm in the crock pot! IF there are leftovers, we can make a yummy soup with chicken chunks and juices, or make a yummy enchilada.

And of course, this method works just as well with pork or beef....

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

If you can afford to, grab free range, local, hormone free, antibiotic free boneless skinless chicken breasts, but if you just can't swing it...Grab that bag of flash frozen chicken and dump it in your crockpot...tonight I'm doing 2.5 pounds because the leftovers will be used to make an enchilada like dish.

Throw the chicken pieces in the crockpot and add:
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon medium chili powder
1 Tablespoon Cumin
1 Tablespoon Corriander seeds
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 chopped tomatoes
1/4 chopped onion

A few ideas for Accompaniments:

Soft Tortillas
Hard Shells
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Salsa (homemade pico, of course)
Guacamole (just avocado, lime and salt for me, thank you!)
Shredded Romaine Lettuce or Shredded Cabbage
Cubed Tomatoes
Sour Cream
Chipotle Tabasco
Chopped Green Onions

Toss the chicken and spices into your crockpot, put the lid on, and let simmer all day...my crockpot will have to go on high because it's wimpy, but yours may have different settings so wing it.

At dinner time, or whenever the kids will have time to eat, shred the chicken by pulling the meat apart with two forks and then set out the accompaniments (of course if they're going to sit out a while cover with wax paper so the fruit flies don't attack) and let the hordes of children have at it!

Yet another leftover idea for a quick snack/lunch: Taco leftovers are made into frozen burritos here...we crack open a can of beans and perhaps use some leftover rice and roll anything leftover, except the lettuce, into a tortilla and wrap them individually and freeze them so that the kids can pop them in the microwave at a later date, or we like to bake them in the oven with a little seasoned tomatoe sauce on top.

Rome, Cinque Terre, Tuscany: Post 9

2011-06-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

Two different types of Pecorino from a Tuscan Dairy served with Creamed Honey and Triple Berry Jam, as an appetizer, a good thing.

Mediterranean Summer

2011-06-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

I am loving this book! Even more so now that I've had the experience of just a small piece of the Mediterranean. Being in love with a kitchen challenge myself, I love how David writes about the creative chaos he experiences in procuring ingredients and putting them together in the most simple and elegant way for the owner's of the yacht he's been hired to cook for over a summer. Sailors will love the detail described of the boats' experiences in inclement weather and the upkeep of the glimmering vessel and the daily relations of the crew. Fisherman will love the tales of freshly scored uncommon fruits of the sea. And all of you "E" channel watchers will love the insight of how the rich and famous explore the Mediterranean Coast in the lazy days of summer.

Rome, Cinque Terre, Tuscany: Post 8

2011-06-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

A great benefit of traveling with my mother is that she always has a store of Geocache sites for any area we may be exploring. In Italy, she found a spot in Arezzo, near our villa in Tuscany. Unfortunately, I decided to head back to the villa to cook while she and my husband went to look for the cache.

They had the best time and saw the most lush scenery Tuscany had to offer. They were so excited to be able to take a photo of the scenery used in DaVinci's Mona Lisa. If you look closely at the original Mona Lisa, in the bottom right hand corner, you will see the arched bridge shown in the bottom picture here.

Chamomile

2011-06-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

It seems that I forgot that I had planted Chamomile seeds in my deck planter some time....ugh, I can't remember when. I planted bulbs in the planter at some point too, and mint, and little button thingys....so, now, everything is a blooming! And I have Chamomile!!!

Ever inspired by the the Herb Mother and her daily dose of herbal medicine, I decided to pillage my garden for the makings of a sun tea from fresh herbs. Oh, I'm no herbalist and I'm not consistent with my ingestion of herbs, I'm more of a flavor voyeur...:)

Today, with the chamomile hosting, I've added: orange rind, raspberry leaf, lemon balm, chocolate mint, peppermint, orange mint and lavender. We'll see how it goes. I hear fresh chamomile tastes a lot different than dried. Yesterday I tried fresh picked, but it didn't turn out so well, the blooms didn't have that chamomile taste yet. But when I woke up this morning and came down the hall and the aroma of chamomile said good morning, I knew today was the day to try it again...can't wait.

Rome, Cinque Terre, Tuscany: Post 7

2011-06-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

This lovely little home (?) sits high up in the hills of the Cinque Terre on the trail between Monterosso and Vernazza. Roughly 2 1/2 miles of steep, rocky terrain separate this place from either town. There were two men tending the masses of small gardens and rose bushes and lemon trees and grape vines and olive trees that clung to the terraces make-shifted into the side of the slope. The gardens hosting oodles of basil, tomatoes, what looked like fennel and masses of other delights... I recall seeing a kumquat tree, and the memory of small waxy jasmine blooms and their intoxicating smell keeps invading my memory as I write this.

I imagine, that before tourists, this lovely place was blissfully secluded. My dream home really. Now, hundreds of tourists walk by in a matter of hours.

But the inhabitants will always be blessed with this magnificent view of the Ligurian Sea

And they will always be blessed with the co-op that shares the production of wines from the grapes grown, quite literally, all over the hills of Cinque Terre. A wonderful crisp, barely sweet, almost effervescent white.

(The view from the lower trail coming from Vernazza towards Monterosso)

Rome, Cinque Terre, Tuscany: Post 6

2011-06-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

One of the things I loved about Vernazza, one of the towns of the Cinque Terre, was how it was so "Italian". Everywhere I looked, I kept thinking...that is so cliche, and wonderful.

The ladies of Vernazza. Their skirts are a little short, but their style of dress over the days we stayed in this little town mirrored the clothes my great grandmother would have worn twenty years ago and more.

The wonderful narrow lane between the masses of "homes". The apartment like structures are literally piled up the hills for a 1/2 mile or so.

And of course, every morning wash or bedding is hung out the windows to dry and/or freshen up while people lean out their windows to check out the tourists and to bark at each other.