Food Worth Cooking

Important Update!

2013-11-26T13:59:00.001-06:00

In case you have not noticed, I have not posted any of my "Things I'm Thankful For" challenge posts in a few days. No, I have not missed them. I have actually moved the blog! I have been having a few issues on here that I have been having problems getting anything done about. So, I just moved everything over there and since I had the day it has been a lot easier to move everything than I thought.

Also, it is a lot easier to update and keep everything organized over there and I also have an actual website format which makes things look a lot nicer.

If you care to find me and continue reading about food, fashion, and fun then head on over to

The New Prussian Review on wordpress.com!

Hope to see you all there!

Things I'm Thankful For Challenge!

2013-11-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

So, I've decided to do this Things I'm Thankful For Challenge. Mine can be found over on my fashion blog. Why is it not on my Facebook or twitter like everyone else's? Well, because I write too much for that. I am an author at heart and I tend to either write nothing when I am thanking someone for something or I am entirely too long winded. I figured that my blog would be a better place to do the challenge. If you want to check it out feel free to. Here is the link for you all.

New Prussian Review

A Brief Update!

2013-10-14T14:58:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! Happy Thanksgiving to my wonderful readers in and from Canada! I love you all!

I have not forgotten about you all! I promise. I have been and will be pretty busy for the rest of the month, but I will try to post something soon. So, what is going on that has me so busy? I will tell you.

First off, for those of you that have not heard I will be having a book signing coming up. It will be in Stillwater, OK at their public library on the 26th of this month. I would love to see you if you are in the area! It will be a lot of fun. I am also doing a reading from my book that day later in the day.

Also, next week is Oklahoma Grand Chapter of Order of the Eastern Star. I will be helping with one of the banquets and as such I have a lot of things to get done. It will be worth it in the end!

This past weekend was Spiritual Boot Camp at my local church which turned out to be a lot of fun and we also were getting ready for a wedding at the church the coming week.

I also have my usual things to do like work, tutoring kids, good old fashioned book learning, and other fun stuff like that. So, I will be pretty busy and hopefully I will be back to posting on a regular basis after this month is up. You can also look forward to the new website! I will tell you more about it as it is being finalized.

Until next time! Wish me luck on my book signing!

Stay wonderful and beautiful.

Red Velvet Funnel Cake

2013-09-30T13:10:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone!

I have had several people request this recipe from my church since I gave the recipe to our pastor’s wife. So, I will be sharing it with everyone! What is the recipe for you may ask? Red Velvet Funnel Cake of course! The reason for this being brought up in the area of where I come from is because at the county fair they had a food stand that was selling them. I first found this recipe when I was in college and had completely forgotten that I had it until I was looking for another recipe in my recipe box. The recipe box in question was the one that I had taken to college with me and since it was on a note card rather than my recipe cards is how I knew I came to acquire it while at college. It was mixed in with my various recipes for red velvet cake. So, without further ado. On with the recipe for Red Velvet Funnel Cake!

Ingredients

·2 cups All Purpose Unbleached Flour

·1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder

·½ teaspoon Baking Powder

·½ teaspoon Salt

·1 ½ cups Milk

·1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

·2 Lightly Beaten Eggs

·1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

·½ teaspoon Baking Soda

·½ teaspoon Red Food Colouring

·2 quarts Vegetable Oil

Directions

·Pour the oil in a large pot and place over medium heat and heat the oil to heat up to 365⁰F.

·While the oil is heating in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt then set aside.

·In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla, and eggs.

·Add to the flour mixture and whisk to together.

·In a separate small bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar and baking powder

·Add to the batter and whisk until smooth.

·Mix the red food colouring in.

·Place the batter in a large pastry bag or a Ziploc bag and seal.

· Carefully snip off a small tip, or corner of the bag.

· Pipe the batter into the hot oil in a swirl pattern for each funnel cake.

· Flip the funnel cake once the batter puffs up and has hardened a bit on the bottom.

· The funnel cake is finished when both sides are puffy and slightly hardened on the outside.

There you have it! I hope you enjoy it. Hopefully, I will be able to find a recipe in my huge box/book of various recipes for the drizzle that they served on the ones at the fair. Until then enjoy it with powdered sugar. They are amazing!

Back to Church Sunday

2013-09-01T19:57:00.003-05:00

Terve!

Today I am going to be posting about something that is near and dear to my heart. As most of you already know, I am a Christian and I do go to church every Sunday and on Wednesday when I can. In a couple of weeks, September 15, it is National Back to Church Sunday. As such, this post is going to be religious in nature. If you find that offensive then please feel free to skip over it. If not, please enjoy it. Either way, I do hope that you read this and that it inspires you even just a little bit.

If you were to ask me what denomination I am I would tell you that I am an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. No, I am not a part of the Westboro Baptist Church group! Not all Independent Fundamentalist Baptists are. That would be like saying all Muslims are Jihadist which is completely and total FALSE! I have many friends that are of the Islamic faith and they are some of the nicest people that I know. However, a great number of my friends from college describe me as more of a “Messianic Jew”. Why is this? Well, I do come from Jewish ancestry and I do acknowledge Jewish holidays. I have been known to share in Jewish festivities and I find this important. Why? I feel that as a Christian it is important to understand Jewish traditions to better understand the Bible and the roots of the Christian religion. Many people forget that Jesus was a Jew. I have also been called a Calvinist. Why is that? That is also an easy question to answer. My father’s family is full of Mennonites. Either way, I am a Baptist through and through and am perfectly happy as such.

Since I go to church as often as I do, you are probably wondering about when I was saved and baptized. I was saved when I was 9 during Sunday School at Central Baptist Church in Ponca City, Oklahoma. I was baptized on Easter Sunday when I was 10. I do not have a story where I hit rock bottom, discovered that I needed Jesus in my life, went to church, and then got saved. I have been going to church since I was a little girl. That was the way that I was raised. It always made sense to me. However, the older lady that was helping with my Sunday School class, Ms. Georgina was the one that really deserves the credit on leading me to get saved. She answered all my questions, and as a curious child I had a ton of them, and was very patient with me. She was an amazing lady I dearly miss her. I was baptized the next year by our churches wonderful Pastor, John Waterloo. That is my story. I know it isn’t very amazing or exciting, but there you have it.

When I went off to college is another story though. I first went to college at Cottey College, a private all women’s college, in Nevada, Missouri. I went to the Baptist churches in that area and could not find one that suited me. None of them were quite the same as my home church. So, for the first year I just did not go. I sat in my room and read my Bible on Sunday and listened to the recordings from Central Baptist. However, my second year at Cottey I joined choir and our choir director invited me to her church where she led their choir. So, I gave it a try. This particular church was the First Presbyterian Church of Nevada, Missouri. It was a nice church. The minister was good and I knew some of the people that attended there. I was pretty happy with it. However, going to a Baptist church my whole life and then switching to a Presbyterian Church was a bit strange. The beliefs are similar, but not the same and some of those really bothered me. It was a relief to get back home to Central Baptist. While I attended university at the University of Central Oklahoma I started attending Forest Hill Christian Church. Once again, this was not a Baptist church and the beliefs were slightly odd to me. I have friends that attend that church and I did enjoy the time that I went there. The thing that was always a bit odd to me was that it was a bit too contemporary for my taste. There were no pews in the sanctuary and they sang a good number of more Christian pop songs, but overall it was a nice church. However, it was not my home church. After graduating from UCO I got back to Central Baptist and love every moment I get in that church.

I feel like it is important to have a home church. Why? That is a simple question to answer. To me the people at church are like an extension of my family. I love each of them. We help each other out and take care of each other like a family does. I owe a lot to my church family. They have helped me through some pretty hard times. While I really came out of my shell and started being less shy at UCO, I will post more about that later, some of the people I at my church helped out with that recently. My friends from UCO helped me learn that it is okay to be a geek and that there is a group of people that will love you and accept you for that. The people at my church in a way helped me learn that it is okay to be myself around everyone. In fact, I would not be quite as active at Central Baptist had it not been for me, being as shy as I am, gathering up as much courage as I could and going up to our Minister of Music and asking him if I could join the choir. So, José, if you are reading this, thank you. Joining the choir at Central Baptist really helped me find my place at the church. I have made some amazing friends at Central Baptist and I cannot imagine my life without those people. Those people helped me become less shy around everyone, not just my friends. Go out and find a home church! It is the best thing I can think of to have in the world outside of a loving family.

On September 15 you should go to church. Go to your home church if you have not gone in a while. Try a church if you do not have a home church. If you go to your home church faithfully, invite someone to go with you! Ask your neighbour, ask your family, ask a co-worker, ask your classmates, ask a friend. Just go out and ask someone! The worst they can say is no. Do not be pushy about it. That does not give them a good impression about the religion. Just ask. Remember, not even the Apostle Paul could reach everyone. He did his best. You should too. Need some more inspiration? Have you ever heard of Penn Jillette? You know from Penn and Teller. Yeah, he is an Atheist. Just watch this little video that I found on YouTube.

Well? A little bit more inspired? So go out and tell people about your faith! Invite someone to church with you! They may not go with you, but you at least invited them.

Share your faith! Go tell people about what you believe in. So what if they get offended by it. It is there loss. It does not matter what you believe in, if you truly believe in it why would you not want to let people know? I believe in God and that he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of all mankind. I am grateful that he did so. I would love it if everyone else believed the same as me. I invite people to go to church with me whenever I can. Just because you go to church does not mean you are obligated to join. In fact, every church that I have been to have been very kind and welcoming even if I just visited them one time. Even if you are from a different faith, visit a Christian church on September 15. If nothing else, it might help you understand your Christian friends a bit better. You are not committing yourself to that church or to the Christian faith by simply visiting.

Until next time my lovelies! Stay lovely and blessed!

Sour Cream Coffee Cupcakes

2013-08-21T17:30:00.000-05:00

Good Evening Everyone!

I have exciting news. In addition to having my book published, I might be moving to London! I have been super busy trying to get everything all situated. I have been applying to jobs over there in management positions, some of them I was asked to apply for. For those of you who do not know, some of my cousins live in England and some of my ancestors are from that area. I would dearly love to be able to go visit family and see the places were my family once lived. My family is a close knit family even though we live pretty much all over the globe. I just got a package from my cousins in Canada the other day. Where I live we cannot get the commemorative Royal Baby Carriage PANDORA charm. My super amazing cousins were able to snag me one and shipped it to me. I also went to visit my aunt last weekend and got my Miss Hedgehog charm. This is another reason for my posts being delayed. My aunt has not been in good health recently and we’ve been worried about her. Also, I have had some dental work done and that has been a not so welcome treat. I hope to be getting back on my posting schedule though. Fingers crossed.

Anyways, today’s recipe that I am sharing with you is a Sour Cream Coffee Cupcakes. It is quite delicious and incredibly moist! I like it with chocolate frosting and I will post that soon! No worries. On with the recipe!

Ingredients

·         2 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
·         1 ¼ teaspoons of baking powder
·         1 ¼ teaspoons of baking soda
·         1 ¼ cup of vanilla sugar
·         ¾ cup of softened butter, NOT margarine
·         3 large eggs
·         1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, I have found that the artificial extract makes this recipe taste a little funny
·         1 ¼ cups of low fat sour cream

Directions

·         Preheat your oven to 350⁰F
·         Line your cupcake pan with the cupcake papers
·         In a small mixing bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, and baking soda then set aside
·         In a large bowl beat the butter and vanilla sugar until it is fluffy and light
·         Add the eggs one at a time and mix well between each egg added
·         Add the vanilla and mix well
·         Mix in the flour mixture and sour cream alternating between the two until it is fully incorporated
·         Fill each of the cupcake papers until they are about ¾ of the way full
·         Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean

I hope you all like this recipe and find it delicious! Try mixing different types of frosting with this recipe for something a bit different. As I said above I will be posting the recipe for chocolate frosting a little bit later. Also, below is a link to my book if you all would like to purchase it. For some reason when the book was formatted it caused some strange errors that were not there in the finished manuscript. I apologize for that. Hopefully when the second book in the series comes out and the new edition of this first one is released it will resolve itself. Anyways, enjoy!

Fractured Bottles
Fractured Bottles for Kindle

Zucchini Muffins! Also a quick update on my novel!

2013-07-13T10:40:00.001-05:00

Howdy everyone!

I do have a recipe for you all today and a quick little update on my novel. If you prefer to read your books on a Kindle, it is now available for the Kindle! I will post the link to it below for you all. For now, on with the recipe!

Today's recipe is a old favorite of my family's: Zucchini Muffins! They taste sort of like banana nut muffins, but they do not have bananas or nuts. I do not know about where you all live, but right now Zucchini where I live are ready for harvest and ours just keep producing. We bake it, we fry it, we grill it, we freeze it, we bake with it and we still have a bunch left over. So, I will be sharing this recipe for Zucchini Muffins with all of you so that if you all have a bumper crop of Zucchini where you live you will have something else to do with it.

Ingredients

1 1/2cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2cups grated zucchini

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp. baking powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, & nutmeg.

Set aside

In a medium bowl, combine grated zucchini, eggs, vanilla, and oil.

Stir well to combine, then gently stir into flour mixture.

Fill lined muffin tins about ¾ of the way with the batter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden.

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family does! Until next time.

Fractured Bottles on Kindle

Don't forget to Like the Book on Facebook!

Update! How is My Book Publishg Going?

2013-07-11T23:55:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone!

I have wonderful and exciting news to tell you all. If you have been following me for a while then you know that I have been working on a novel. In my last post I gave you all a sneak peak at the cover for the book. Tonite I am happy to tell you all that my book is published and on sale! Hurray! I am so excited. You can buy it here at amazon. In about a month you will be to go buy it in your local book stores.

So, about this book of mine. What kind of book is it? It’s a young adult fantasy book that introduces some philosophic ideas without them realizing it. This basically means that it is a young adult fantasy book that can be enjoyed by adults as well.

As for the interesting names in the book, that will be explained on the website when it is all up and running; at the moment it only has the about the author part up and I will like the website below. I tried to give the characters names that fit with not only their ethnic background, but also with the story and had some meaning behind them. For example, the main character’s name is usually not used as a name. Koowu is the word for strength in Arabic. While she is not physically strong, she has strength in other areas.

Will there be another book? Yes! Of course! It is already in the works. Fractured Bottles is the first in the “Bottles from Ozymandias” series. The second book does not have a name as of yet, but when it does have one you all will know.

You can also like the series on Facebook. Just click the like button down below!

Check it out! Have a read! Enjoy! It would mean a lot to me.

Love you all! Stay lovely and charming!

Sneak Peak!

2013-07-05T14:28:00.000-05:00

Hallo Schöne Leser!

So, this isn't related to food, but I feel like sharing it with you all. In my last post I mentioned that I was in the process of finalizing the cover art for my novel that is coming out. Well, I have good news for you all! Since you all are such wonderful and amazing readers I figured that I would let you all have a little sneak peak at it.

Tada! There it is. I think it turned out well. Hopefully there will be a site up for it soon. The facebook page is in the works and I shall let you all know when it’s up and going. I will keep you all posted on how it is going. For now I will leave you all with this lovely description that is going to be up on the online stores for the book.

Enjoy!

Koowu has never been to school and her first experience is Ozymandias Boarding School. Much to the Djinn’s dismay she is to be roommates with a Rakshasi named Rajani who is her exact opposite, loud and hyper. Being they anti-social creature that she is does not lend itself well to making friends. However, she manages to become friends with not only her hyperactive roommate but also the Nephilim (Leopold), a Mujina (Kouti), and two Greek deities (Artemis and Apollon). Just in time too. Several important artifacts from the school have been stolen and the misfit group takes it upon themselves to try and figure out where they have gone. Will the group find the missing artifacts or will they end up disappearing as well?

4th of July Special! 3 Recipes for 1 Post!

2013-07-04T10:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day Everyone!

So, it is the 4^th of July and that means Independence Day for us here in the United States. How am I celebrating? I am going to be finalizing the cover for my novel that will be in about a month or two. Huzzah! Anyways, I want to say a big Thank You to all of our troops have served our country and are currently serving! My father, numerous other relations, and friends of mine have served and several are currently serving and I appreciate all that they do and have done. Thanks guys and gals I love you and thank you for all I do. I love you all. <3

With it being 4^th of July and all I figured that I should post something that is red, white and blue. Even though it is after breakfast, you all will enjoy these recipes year round. Today I will be posting 3 recipes. One for each colour. Red will be Red velvet pancakes, white will be whipped cream, and blue will be blueberry glaze. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it. Let’s get started!

Red Velvet Pancakes

Ingredients

·         1 cup of unbleached or whole wheat flour
·         1 ½ tablespoon of cocoa powder
·         1 teaspoon of sea salt
·         3 tablespoons of vanilla sugar
·         1 cup of buttermilk
·         1 tablespoon of vinegar
·         1 large egg
·         1 teaspoon of vanilla
·         1 teaspoon of red food colouring

Directions

·         Heat pan or griddle on medium heat
·         While it is heating mix all of your ingredients together in a medium to large bowl
·         Once the pan or griddle is hot either a bit of butter in the pan or spread it on the griddle, you can use cooking spray if you want and if you do I recommend Pam with Olive Oil
·         Pour your pancake batter into the heated pan and let them cook until the edges look firm and   dry and the top has stopped bubbling then flip to the other side and cook for 2 to 3 minutes

Whipped Cream

Ingredients

·         1 cup of heavy cream
·         1 cup of sour cream
·         ½ cup of powdered sugar
·         1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions

· Mix in a medium bowl on high until the mixture forms stiff peaks

Blueberry Glaze

Ingredients

·         ½ cup of vanilla sugar
·         ½ cup of water
·         2 teaspoons of cornstarch
·         1 tablespoon of lemon juice
·         2 cups of fresh blueberries
·         If you want the glaze to look more blue add a few drops of blue food colouring to the water before you start

Directions

· Mix together in a sauce pan
· Cook while stirring until the mixture thickens

Well, that’s it! You can use these together or separately. They are pretty easy to make. The blueberry glaze also tastes great on cheesecakes and deserts.

I hope you all enjoy these recipes. Have a happy and safe 4^th of July!

Update on How Things are Where I Live, or Why I Haven't Posted in a While

2013-06-20T13:36:00.000-05:00

Hello World!

So, as most of you probably know/remember, or if you are new here/have forgotten I live in Oklahoma. That is the reason for me not updating in a while. Those of you who sent me messages asking about how I was and if all was well, thank you. I am pretty sure that I have replied to you all by now. If not, consider this post my reply.

I do not live in either the Oklahoma City or Tulsa metropolises which is where a great deal of the bad damage was. I live in north central Oklahoma. We did have a few tornados around where I live, but none that hit where I am at. The extent of the “damage” that my house and area got was that the streets flooded and we got some leaves blown out of our trees. The rivers around where I live were up which is a good thing since we have been in the middle of a drought and it makes growing our vegetables and fruit hard when the rivers are low.

While I was not directly affected by the tornados in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa area tornados, I had a couple of family members and some very dear friends of mine that were. I nearly got caught in the storms that produced the EF5 tornado that hit Moore area really hard on May 20^th. In fact, if I had left any later than when I had, I would probably not be here since I was traveling at the time. If you saw pictures of the Warren Theatre in Moore, I was actually in that part of the theatre only a couple days before watching a movie with about 20 of my friends. Of those same friends 1 does not have a house anymore, 3 have homes that they cannot live in at the moment because of the damage to their property, and about 10 of them have minor damage to their homes/flats. One of my friends and a cousin of mine are nurses and were put on call. My cousin was sent out to help with little kids affected by the storms. Another cousin of mine is in the Army National Guard and was helping out down there as well. For those of you who do not know, I volunteer with the American Red Cross when it was needed. For those of you who did know this and were wondering why I was not down there helping, here is the reason: there were so many people down in the area helping that the Red Cross and other organizations were asking people that were wanting to volunteer to not go down to the affected areas because there were already too many people. Also, the meteorologists were predicting more violent storms and they wanted to make sure that not all of their volunteers were in one area if another tornado hit in another area. One of tornados that hit the Tulsa metropolis were about a mile away from my big brother’s house and close to some of my other cousins’ and my aunts’ houses. However, the only damage that they got were some tree limbs down and some shingles got ripped off.

So, all is well, or a well as it will be until everything is back to being all shiny and new looking again. Hopefully I will be able to get back on my schedule. For those of you who are reading this on my fashion and beauty blog, I was doing a series of monthly posts on the birthstone of the month. Since June is a pearl I do not feel the need to repost the same thing over again. Instead, I will post a link back to it down at the bottom. For those of you who are reading this on my recipe blog, I will be back to posting recipes again soon! My friends that are from various countries in the world that do not know much about the weather where I live, tornados and bad storms are fairly commonplace in Oklahoma. However, ones that are this devastating and horrific are not. It is very rare that we get ones that are this awful that cause this much damage.

Those of us here appreciate all the help and prayers that the world has been sending us!
Lots of love and happiness!

If You Would Like To Read About Pearls Click Here!

Crème de Menthe Truffles

2013-04-27T16:08:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

I have a new recipe for you all to try. They are delicious beyond reason. I have made them several times and each time they are gone in minutes. Today’s recipe is Crème de Menthe Truffles. The recipe makes about 4 dozen truffles. You can easily cut the recipe in half if you do not need that many. Keep in mind that this recipe has liqueur in it and as such may not be suitable for taking to events where children are involved. On with the recipe!

Ingredients

v 2 cups of whipping cream
v ½ cup of vanilla sugar
v ½ cup of butter
v 32 ounces of dark chocolate chips
v 2 tablespoons of Crème de menthe

Directions

v In a saucepan over medium heat whisk the cream and vanilla sugar together until the cream starts to bubble and the sugar is dissolved
v Remove from heat
v Quickly whisk the butter, dark chocolate chips, and Crème de menthe into the cream and sugar mixture until the butter and chocolate chips are fully melted
v Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature
v With a tablespoon spoon the mixture out and roll into balls about 1” in diameter
v Refrigerate for an hour or until the truffles are firm

Tips

v For a bit of something extra you can roll the truffles into various “toppings”, such as powdered sugar or coconut, before you refrigerate them
v You can change up the flavour of the truffles by changing the Crème de menthe liqueur for another kind of liqueur

Hope you all love these! They are easy to make and really delicious. So, if you are looking for a good desert, or just something easy to make, give these a try and see how well they are loved by your friends and family!

Until next time!

Yorkshire Pudding

2013-04-20T10:50:00.002-05:00

It’s time for more recipes!

Today I will be sharing the recipe for a delicious and ridiculously easy recipe from the UK. Now, most of the people that I have spoken to hate British food. Why is that? I have yet to have any bad British food? Maybe it is because people in the States are not used to having food that does not have a ton of salt or sugar in it. Whatever the cause, food from Britain is not bad. It is quite tasty in fact. After all, how can one say that all British food is bad when the British gave the world those delicious Cadbury cream eggs? Anyways, on with the recipe for today: Yorkshire Pudding! This recipe makes 4 individual servings. You will need either a set of for ramequins or a large muffin pan

Ingredients
· 4oz of unbleached flour

·         1 large egg
·         10 fl oz of milk
·         teaspoon of sea salt
·         The drippings from a roast

Directions

·         Preheat oven to 400⁰F
·         Sift flour into a bowl with the salt into a bowl.
·         Mix the milk and eggs together
·         Add the milk and egg mixture into the flour while beating with a whisk until the well-blended
·         Refrigerate for about 1 hour
·         Place a little of the drippings into each ramequin or section of the muffin tin and heat
·         Once the pan or ramequin is hot fill each with the batter and place back into the oven
·         They are done when they have risen and are firm and brown
That’s it! They are pretty tasty. They go well with roasts and various other meat dishes. Sometimes they are used with other recipes like when one is making Toad in the Hole. I will have to post that recipe for you all to check out later.

Enjoy!

Some Questions to Answer! A.K.A. Why My Spelling and Some Phrases I Use are "Weird" to Some of You

2013-04-18T16:57:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! I have a post for you all that is amazingly not about food.

So, I have had several people ask me about my spelling. My favorite time has been when I had a person come up to me at college and tell me that I was spelling things wrong or that I was calling things by the wrong name. All I have to say is, oh silly American English. So, today I am taking a break from my usual posting to clear up some terms and spellings that people keep telling me are incorrect.

First things first. Where was I born? Not in the Commonwealth! Amazingly I was born in the middle of the United States to my wonderful Mother and Father that are of Oto-Missouria/Dutch/Prussian/Scottish/English decent. So, how do I end up sounding like I’m British rather than American? Well, it comes from learning my English from people that use Oxford English. *sigh* For the longest time my teaches and professors thought I grew up overseas. Oh well. That’s life.

Next: the questions that I get the most. “What is up with you adding a u to various words?” and “why do you keep spelling the word color wrong?” I am not spelling colour wrong. To me you all are spelling colour wrong. I spell it the same way that I have always spelled it. The same thing goes with flavor, labour, honour, and neighbour. Also, I sometimes people think that I spell words like centre, litre, and theatre wrong. No, that’s how the English spell the words center, liter, and theater. Sometimes I spell things like practise instead of practice or connnexion rather than connection. Most of the time I spell things like catalog this way: catalogue. That’s just one of my quirks. I’m not spelling it wrong. I’m spelling it right…in the Commonwealth.

Also, some of the phrases that I use in my everyday life are more British than they are American. For example, I often ask people if they would fancy a cuppa. Most of the time I end up with people looking at me strangely. Of course growing up in Oklahoma asking someone if they want a cupppa tea isn’t that far of a stretch and people there just look at me like I’m abbreviating the sentence and then finish it with what they want. When being asked if you fancy a cuppa, what a person is asking is if you want a cup of hot tea. Speaking of tea, when being asked how one takes their tea or coffee what you are being asked is do you want cream, milk, sugar, or nothing in it and not what kind of cup you want it in. In a lot of places outside of the States it isn’t uncommon for people to put milk or cream in their tea. I do this all the time. For a long time my boyfriend thought I was drinking coffee until he notice the tea bag in my empty cup. For those who would like a new type of tea to try I would recommend PG Tips. It’s delicious. I enjoy it quite a bit. I always have a box at work and at home so that when I feel the need for a cuppa I have it available. I also use my mobile not my cell phone. For the ladies, and this relates back to one of my previous fashion posts, I wear tights regardless of if they are called pantyhose. It weirded my boyfriend out when I started talking about ice lollies. Those are popsicles for those who don’t know.

I could go on and on, but alas, I have so many things to get done today that I must cut my post shorter than what I would like. I will try to start posting little random tidbits at the end of my post though or explain things that may be unfamiliar to those who were not raised by Europeans.

Until the next time!

Eggs Benedict

2013-03-27T13:21:00.002-05:00

It is Passover everyone and Easter is just around the corner! Today I will be posting the recipe for my favorite breakfast food, Eggs Benedict! Surprise! Not something for Passover or Easter. Well, I guess it could be eaten for Easter. Defiantly not for Passover though as it is not kosher at all. Although I guess you could substitute the pork for turkey bacon if you wanted too, but I have not tried that. If you do please let me know how that turns out. This particular recipe makes 2 servings and is fairly easy to change depending on how many people you are serving.

Ingredients

v 2 egg yolks

v 1 tablespoon and 2 ¼ teaspoons of lemon juice

v A small pinch of white pepper (you could use black pepper if you cannot find white pepper)

v 1/8 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce

v 1 ½ teaspoons of water

v ½ cup of butter that is melted and 1 tablespoon of butter that is softened

v 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

v 4 eggs

v ½ teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

v 4 large pieces of Canadian Bacon

v 2 English muffins that are split (If you are living outside of the United States they are also called Muffins or Breakfast Muffins. I have run into this problem as my friends outside of the States have no idea what the term English muffin means)

Directions for the Sauce (Hollandaise Sauce)

v Fill the bottom of a double boiler with water making sure that it is not full enough for water to get into the top pan

v Bring water to a point just before it boils

v Whisk egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon of water together in the top pan

v While whisking add the melted butter to the mixture slowly until well mixed

v Add salt and remove from heat

v Tips!: If the sauce seems to get too thick you can add a teaspoon of hot water to the mixture. To keep the sauce from cooling to much while you are making the rest of the dish you should keep the pan lid on

Directions for Eggs (Poached Eggs)

v Fill a large pan with about three inches of water and bring to a point just before boiling

v Add vinegar

v Break eggs carefully into the water

v Cook eggs for 2 ½ to 3 minutes keeping in mind that the egg yolks will still be soft in the center

v Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a plate

Finishing the Dish

v Brown the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins

v Butter the toasted muffins with the softened butter and place a slice of the bacon on each one

v On top of the bacon place one poached egg and drizzle with the sauce

Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Raspberry Meringues

2013-03-11T16:54:00.004-05:00

So, I have been busy and I don’t know when it’s going to let up. So, I am not promising how often I will update. I am trying to make time to update as often as I can! Today I will be posting a recipe that is pretty tasty. It is a type of candy, although some people insist that they are a type of cookie. However, since there is not any flour in it I have a hard type thinking of these as a type of cookie. Today I will be posting the recipe for Raspberry Meringues.

Ingredients

v 3 large egg whites (a little tip for you: if you have them at room temperature it is easier to mix for this)

v ¾ cup of white sugar

v 1/8 of a teaspoon of sea salt

v 1/8 of a teaspoon of cream of tartar

v 1 teaspoon of raspberry extract

v Red gel food colouring (You must use the gel food colouring for this recipe or it will mess up the recipe!)

Directions

v Preheat your oven to 200⁰F

v Set a heat proof bowl over a pot of simmering water

v Wisk egg whites and sugar together until sugar is dissolved and it is warm

v Mix in the sea salt and cream of tartar

v Using an electric mixer whip the mixture on medium-high while slowly adding the raspberry extract until it forms stiff and glossy peaks (this should take about 6-8 minutes and the mixture should be almost cool

v Paint 3-5 vertical stripes of the gel colouring inside of a large pastry bag

v Fit bag with a ½ inch round tip

v Once the mixture is ready fill with the meringue without smudging the colouring

v Line your baking sheets with parchment paper

v Pipe 1-2 inch circles onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart

v Bake them for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes (They should be crisp on the outside, but not hard)

Hope you all enjoy this! Until next time!

Baked Apple Dumplings

2013-01-14T16:17:00.002-06:00

So, it’s 2013. My classes have started up again. Before I get too busy again I will post a new recipe. This is pretty tasty and super easy. My mother made these baked apple dumplings for me the other day for breakfast. I also made it for my church’s choir luncheon on Saturday and it was very well loved. This recipe is also pretty inexpensive to make as well. It took me about an hour and a half to make so they go along pretty quickly.

Ingredients

· 4 large baking apples

· The juice of 2 lemons

· 2 cups of sugar

· 1 cup of butter, not margarine

· 16 fluffy buttermilk biscuits from a can (you know those things that you pull the paper and it pops open

· 2/4 teaspoons of vanilla extract (Not imitation vanilla!)

· 8 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

· 2 cups of water

· 1 bowl of water

Directions

· Preheat your oven to 375⁰F

· Peel and core your apples and then slice them into 8 slices, if possible use one of those apple slicer/corers to do this

· Take your bowl of water and mix the lemon juice into it

· Place your apple slices in this bowl of water (This keeps your apples from turning brown and you can do this with apples for fruit trays as well)

· Mix 2 cups of water, 1 ½ cups of sugar, the butter, and vanilla in a large saucepan to make a simple syrup

· Using medium heat bring this mixture to a boil

· While this is boiling wrap each slice of apple in one of the biscuits and pinch the ends and seams together

· In two separate 9x12x2 inch baking dish, or one that is twice that size, place the wrapped apples with the long seams facing the bottom

· Mix the rest of the sugar with the cinnamon and set aside

· Pour the hot simple syrup over the apples and sprinkle the sugar cinnamon mixture over the top

· Bake in for about 35 minutes or until they are golden brown

These particular dumplings are best served warm. However, they are pretty good cold with coffee too. Hope you enjoy!

Otoe Pumpkin & Corn Recipe

2012-12-17T13:55:00.001-06:00

Here is a recipe that is very near and dear to my heart. This recipe is a traditional Oto Missouria recipe. This particular recipe was first posted on my tribe's website by Linda Francis who is a member of the Owl Clan. My family is from the Coyote Clan, but this is well loved by all of the Oto Missouria Tribe. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

1 whole fresh pumpkin (you can also use canned pumpkin, but Linda recommends fresh)
1 bag dried sweet corn (can also use fresh)
Cinnamon—to taste
Sugar—to taste

Directions: Remove seeds and "guts" from pumpkin. Cut meat from rind. Cube pumpkin meat and place pumpkin in pot on stove. Cook until soft. Boil dried sweet corn. Corn is cooked when it is soft. Once cooled, combine cooked pumpkin and corn. Add cinnamon and sugar to taste. This amount varies depending on the size of your pumpkin and your preference. Add sugar slowly. You do not want to add too much sugar so that the flavor of the pumpkin is overwhelmed by sweetness. The combination should result in a gently sweet, pumpkin combination with a pleasant spice hint. VARIATION: Another tribal member recommends using brown sugar instead of the white sugar and cinnamon. Remember that our ancestors didn’t use measuring cups and spoons. Learn to trust your own palette and experiment with the balance of flavors.

For refference here is where the recipe originally is from: Otoe Pumpikn & Corn Recipe
That would be my tribe's website so, if you want to learn more about the Oto Misouria Tribe feel free to browse around.

Polish Rice Cakes

2012-09-18T11:31:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone!
Sorry it seems like forever since I last updated. I've been super busy! At least things have slowed down quite a bit and I can now update regularly again. I hope. Anyways, to get things back to running in a fairly normal fashion, I will share with you a recipe that I adore like it's nobody's buisness. This is a delightful recipe that I aquired over in Europe a few years back for Polish style rice cakes. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Ingredients

2 cups of white rice, preferable long grain, but if all you have is short grain that will work as well.
6 cups of milk, I prefer soy milk, but you can also use regular milk
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of butter. It has to be real butter! The fake stuff doesn't work on this recipe because it will not cook right.
8 ounces of
3 eggs
1 cup of half-and-half
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Not immitation! The recipe tasts funny if you use the immitation vanilla
1 cup of self rising flour
1/2 cup of raisins. You can leave these out or substitute them for another small dried fruit like cranberries if you like

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
Grease a 9"x13" glass baking pan
In a saucepan; mix rice, milk, and salt
Stir frequently and cook until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice
Remove from heat
In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and Neufchâtel cheese
In a seperate bowl mix eggs, vanilla, and half-and-half
Stir egg mixture into the cream mixture making sure to mix well
Add in the rice and mix well
Mix flour in making sure that it is well blended
If raisins or dried fruit is being used stir them in
Pour batter into the baking pan
Make sure that you get as many of the air bubbles out as you can. An easy way to do this is to pour half in and then pat the top with a large wooden spoon and repeate with the other half of the batter
Bake for 1 hour
After taking it out of the oven let it set for at least one hour before serving

Kolache

2012-04-06T08:25:00.004-05:00

Hello again everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything. I have been ridiculously busy with school and the like. I am back again and I will try to post something at least once a week. In celebration of spring I will be posting a lovely Czech recipe for a delicious pastry that most people know as a kolache. In Czech it is called a koláč. For people who have no idea what they are, think of a jelly doughnut, or this.

That is also a kolache. A highly decorated kolache, but a kolache none the less. Looks tasty! Today I will share my recipe with you all. I hope you enjoy. Keep in mind that this recipe makes about 70 of them. I have a huge family and require huge recipes to cook for them.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups warm milk
1 ½ (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
½ cup white sugar
½ cup shortening
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 ½ cups unbleached flour
½ cup fruit preserves of your choice

Directions

1. Pour warm milk over the yeast, and let dissolve completely

2. Add sugar, shortening, sea salt, eggs, egg yolks, and flour

3. Stir until completely combined

4. Remove the dough and place in a well-oiled bowl

5. Turn once in the bowl to coat the surface with oil

6. Cover bowl with a towel and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled (this takes about an hour)

7. Spoon out dough with a spoon and roll into ball and set on baking sheet

8. Brush the tops with shortening and let rise until doubled once again

9. Flatten the balls and make a depression in the centers with the back of a spoon

10. Pre-heat your oven to 375°F

11. Fill the depressions with whatever fruit preserves you have chosen and allow to rise once again

12. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned

Molasses Cookies

2011-12-16T17:12:00.003-06:00

Since it has been finals week and I’ve had so many papers to write. I am a bit behind. So, to make it up to you all I will be posting the recipes now. I have them all typed up, but I just haven’t had time to post them. As such, the introductions will be almost non-existent. I will, however, post them under the days they were supposed to be posted. Here is today’s: Molasses Cookies! They are super delicious. I hope you enjoy them!

Ingredients

· 3/4 cup sugar

· 2/3 cup softened butter

· 1/4 cup orange or lemon juice

· 1/2 cup dark corn syrup

· 1/2 cup dark molasses

· 4 1/2 cups unbleached flour

· 2 teaspoons ground ginger

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

· 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

· 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions

· In a bowl, cream sugar and butter

· Blend in orange or lemon juice, corn syrup and molasses

· Combine the dry ingredients before adding to creamed mixture

· Mix well

· Chill overnight

· Roll out the dough to about ¼ in

· Cut into shapes

· Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets

· Bake at 350 degrees F for 14 minutes

Glass Candy

2011-12-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

This is a recipe that has been in my family for a while. It is really easy and really pretty when you make various colours. Here is today's recipe: Glass Candy.

Ingredients

2 cups of sugar
2 cups of light corn syrup
1 tablespoon of food colouring
1 tablespoon of flavouring oil

Directions

In a thick sauce pan combine the corn syrup and sugar
Bring to a boil while stirring constantly
When it starts to boil heat to 300 degrees F without stirring
When hard crack is reached, remove from heat and stir in colouring and flavouring
Pour onto a cookie sheet that has edges
Make sure to set to cool overnight
Using a kitchen hammer, break into small pieces

Weihnachten Stollen!

2011-12-07T10:28:00.001-06:00

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Today I will be posting a recipe that is near and dear to my heart. The good German that is me demands this at Christmas time. Now, this is a food that you can buy at all times of the year. However, I find it best to eat it at Christmas. So, today I present to you Weihnachten Stollen! I hope you enjoy this super traditional German food.

Ingredients

· 1 ½ cups warm milk at 115°F

· 2 packages active dry yeast

· 6 ½ cups unbleached flour, divided

· 1 ½ cups butter

· ¾ cup sugar

· 3 eggs

· ¾ teaspoon salt

· ¾ teaspoon grated lemon peel

· ½ pound raisins

· ½ pound chopped almonds

· ½ cup chopped candied fruit

· 3 tablespoons butter, melted

· 1 ¼ cups of confectioners’ sugar

· ¼ cup of lemon juice

· 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

· 2 sheets of rolled marzipan

Directions

· Combine milk and yeast

· Let stand 3-5 minutes

· Add 1 cup flour and mix well

· Cover and let rest in a warm place until light and foamy or about 1 hour.

· In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar

· Beat in eggs, one at a time

· Add salt and lemon peel

· Stir in the yeast mixture and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough

· Knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes

· Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

· Punch dough down; knead in raisins, nuts and fruit

· Divide into two parts and roll each into an oval

· Fold each in half lengthwise and place on a greased baking sheet

· Brush with melted butter

· Cover and allow loaves to rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

· Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown

· Cool on wire racks

· Combine confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract

· Brush on tops of cooled loaves.

· Cover each with a sheet of marzipan

Kaiserschmarm

2011-12-06T11:30:00.000-06:00

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Today’s recipe comes from Austria! Hurray! Austria is so pretty and beautiful. Since I <3 it so much I will be posting the recipe for what is probably the most famous sweets in Austria. Today you get Kaiserschmarm! It’s delicious. Of course, Austria is known for its sweets so this is a really sweet recipe. If you don’t like sickly sweet things, I don’t recommend eating it. That being said, if you make it for a Holiday Party it will be the hit of the party. So enjoy!

Ingredients

· ½ cup of unbleached flour

· 5 tablespoons of vanilla sugar

· ½ teaspoons of sea salt

· 1 cup of heavy milk

· 5 eggs that are separated

· 2 tablespoons of butter

· Confectioners’ sugar

Directions

· Sift flour, sugar, and salt together in a mixing bowl

· Pour the milk slowly into the dry mixture while stirring

· Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating until well blended before adding the next egg yolk

· Place the egg whites in a separate bowl

· Beat until egg whites form stiff peaks

· Gently stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter

· Fold in the remaining egg whites.

· Melt 1 tablespoon butter in an 8 inch skillet over moderate heat

· Pour in half the batter and cook about 4 minutes or until browned on the bottom

· Loosen edges and slide pancake onto a plate using spatula

· Invert the pancake back into the skillet and cook until both sides are brown (Takes about 2 minutes)

· Remove to a warm platter and keep warm

· Repeat with the rest of the batter

· Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve

Soft Maple Candy!

2011-12-05T11:47:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!Joyeux Noël!

Maple Candy is a recipe that comes from my country’s northern neighbor, Canada! It is so delicious. I <3 it crazy like wow! Of course, I hardly ever get to make it because as far south as I am it makes getting good maple syrup rather difficult. That is not to say that it is impossible, but Canadian maple syrup is expensive! OMG, really. $15 a bottle for just the small one and that would be with my discount. Ugg… Really, that’s like buying Saffron. I will have to make some this year though. I do have lots of Canadian buddies and family. I hope you enjoy this. It is really sweet and filled maplely goodness. Also, it is really easy to make since there are only 2 ingredients, but keep in mind that you do need to know how to make candy for this. I also recommend getting a candy mold as they are much more fun when they are in a molded shape.

Ingredients

· 2 cups of pure maple syrup

· ½ cup of chopped walnuts

Directions

· In a large, heavy pan, bring maple syrup to a boil

· Cook to 235°F while stirring occasionally to prevent scorching

· Remove from heat and cool to about 175°F without stirring, this will take about 10 to 15 minutes

· Stir mixture rapidly with a thick wooden spoon, or it might break, for about 5 minutes or until the colour lightens and the candy becomes creamy, but still thick

· Stir in the walnuts

· Pour into molds

· Cool before popping out of the mold