ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR NEW RECIPES

Monday, December 13, 2010

Life on the Lake

As I was cooking this afternoon, I looked out my windows and saw a deer grazing in the yard.  Then, there were two more.  I ran upstairs to take some pictures.  I knew if I went out on the deck, they would hear me and run off.  So I hung out the window and attempted to get some pictures.  In the first picture, it looks like only one deer; however, all three are standing together.  I guess Cleg thinks he is feeding the birds.... actually, he is feeding the deer and the squirrels.


And, two days ago the resident fox was strolling the shoreline.  Unfortunately, he is too fast for me to take a picture!!  But George would love to catch him!!

VOM

I bet you do not know what that means??!!  Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation


It seems Gracie is having some problems with her lower back.  We did not realize this until twice in a four week time frame she would not eat or jump up or run around.  You could tell she was in pain.  I lucked out that I was taking her in for a 6-month regular check-up the day she was not feeling well.  X-rays were done and revealed the cartilage deterioration on her spine.  But guess what???  Our vet has a doggie chiropractor on her staff!!  Looks like we caught this early.  Gracie has had 5 adjustments, and is doing great!!  She is on a different dog food, and has to take Glucosamine daily.  So you can now laugh.... Gracie  sees a chiropractor!!

Thanksgiving

I got to spend Thanksgiving in NYC with Abigail.  On Wednesday night, we went to a restaurant called Fetch.  All the walls of the restaurant were covered with photos of dogs!!  It was awesome!  And the food was good, too.  However, no dogs allowed in the restaurant.
As always, we cooked a Thanksgiving meal at her apartment.  It was our traditional vegetarian meal.... homeade macaroni & cheese, roasted veggies (bell peppers, onions, fennel), roasted potatoes with bacon,  and salad with pears, blue cheese & dijon vinaigrette.  It was yummy!!  I did not even miss the turkey.




And later that night, apple pie... "Harvest Table Apple Pie."  

Friday, while Abigail was at work, I did some Christmas shopping.  And that night we went to Madison Square Garden to see Cirque du Soleil......"Wintuk."   It was fabulous.  They released paper snowflakes towards the end of the show..... it definitely looked like it was snowing!!  Our clothes and hair were covered with snowflakes!!  It was a great Thanksgiving.

Cookies, Cookies

Wow!!  It has been a while since I have posted.  About a month ago I baked several recipes of Chocolate Chip Cookies (Caroline's recipe...in our family cookbook) and took them to my hairdresser.  A client of hers lost her son in Afghanistan.  So my hairdresser sent care packages to the rest of his troop to show appreciation for all that they do for us.  The least I could do was bake cookies!  We must remember these men and women as they fight for our country and our freedom.  Especially during the holidays.


Today is a really cold & windy day here...in the 20's and tonight is going down into the teens!  So this is a good day for baking.  My favorite holiday cookie to make is "Old Fashioned Ginger Strips" (Abigail's favorite).  It is also in our family cookbook.  Here is the recipe if you do not have our cookbook.

Old Fashioned Ginger Strips
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Glaze
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 T. margarine, softened
1 T. milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets.  In large bowl, combine margarine, sugar, egg, molasses.  Mix thoroughly.  Sift flour, soda, salt, spices together.  Blend into dough.  Divide dough into 6 portions (it will be sticky).  You may need to refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Using wax paper, roll each portion into a 12-inch log.  Place 3 logs onto prepared cookie sheet.  Flatten slightly with fingers. Brush tops with water; sprinkle lightly with sugar.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes.
Mix all glaze ingredients together..add more milk if needed.  Spoon glaze over bars.  Allow glaze to harden.  Cut diagonally into 3/4 inch bars.
ENJOY!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Carrot Fries

Another new recipe... these are delicious!!  I got this from a gluten free website that I like.  Many of the recipes are just about good simple cooking.... www.elanaspantry.com... check out the recipes on her blog.

6 carrots
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

Cut carrots into 2 inch long sections, and then into thin sticks.  Combine all in a bowl and toss to coat carrots.  Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Cook at 425 degrees for 18-22 minutes, or until browned.

Looks like Fall


 The weather has been beautiful here for the last few weeks.  The days are crystal clear, and the nights are cooler. Cleg and I took some photos of our property so we can share the fall images.  Note the sprinkler system running in the photo on the right.  The new grass Cleg planted has done well thanks to the sprinklers (water pumped from the lake).  He controls them with a hand held remote... what will they think of next?



Can you believe how blue the sky is?  I took this photo late yesterday afternoon.  Unfortunately, there was no area void of trees to get a better picture. This photo was not enhanced in any way.












Looking up the driveway


















Taken by Cleg this morning... a grey rainy day














Sunday, October 31, 2010

Dried Butternut Squash

I hope I am not boring you with my dehydrating news.  I dried butternut squash puree about 2 weeks ago.
I began with 2 butternut squash, cooked them in the oven, removed the pulp, and pureed in the food processor.



Then I spread the puree on the sheets that came with the dehydrator..... about 10 hours later, I had these large rubbery-looking sheets.


Next I chopped the sheets in the processor.  I packed in an air-tight ziploc and shipped to Abigail (along with a lot of other goodies); she can make butternut squash soup or have butternut squash puree with pasta or whatever she wants.  All the chopping and cooking has already been done; just add hot water!!  Thanks, Tommy, for all the butternut squash!

Squirrels, squirrels, squirrels

Poor  Gracie.  She loves this time of year.  Just open the door, and she runs like the wind to try and catch a squirrel.  She chased the squirrel up this tree and is so hopeful that it will run back down.  She did catch a baby squirrel in our basement one year.  Gracie is definitely part retriever!

Grilled Apple Salad

I got this recipe from Southern Living Sept. 2009.  Cleg and I ate it a lot last fall and winter.  Hope you like it as much as we do.  Sometimes we grill the apples a day or half-day in advance and reheat in toaster oven.

  • 1 cup pecan halves, toasted
  • 4 Gala apples (we like Granny Smith)(needs to be a crisp apple)
  • 1 (6 oz.) pkg baby spinach, washed
  • 1 (5 oz.) pkg spring greens mix, washed
  • 3 oz. extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, shaved (or your favorite cheese)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette
Coat cold cooking grate of grill with cooking spray.  Preheat grill to 350 - 400 degrees.  Cut apples crosswise into 1/4 inch thick rings, cutting from one side through the other.  Grill apple rings, covered with grill lid, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until crisp-tender.  Arrange spinach and spring greens mix on serving platter;  top with apples, cheese, and toasted pecans.  Season with salt & pepper.  Serve with Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette.  Serves 8

Brown Sugar-Cider Vinaigrette
  • 2/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 green onions, minced
  • 3 Tbsp. light brown sugar
  • 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
  • 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
Whisk together all ingredients until blended.

Friday, October 22, 2010

New Window

This week we had a glass company come to replace the glass in the large picture window in our dining room.  The seal had broken.  I was in the basement with the dogs when Cleg called me upstairs to see the beautiful new glass.  This is what I saw.


I was shocked to see the view was so clear.  As I got closer, I saw the glass was not even there.  Unfortunately, the glass guy had measured wrong, and the glass was too big.  They took the glass back to the shop, and came back in several hours.  Good thing it was not winter or summer.  Whew!!

Beautiful Day on the lake



Several days ago we went for a boat ride in the late afternoon.  We had not been on the lake in several weeks.  The day was crystal clear, and as you can see by the pictures, it was a little windy.  The trees have not really changed much.   But the sky was gorgeous!



Cleg tried to take pictures of George and Gracie, but they were not cooperating.  Gracie always turns away when the camera appears.  Do you like Gracie's life jacket?  She loves the water!!



As we drove into our cove, we noticed the full moon was already visible.  This is my attempt to get a good picture of the late afternoon sky.  Hope you can see the moon!!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Food Dehydrating 101

About 4 weeks ago, I purchased the Excalibur 5-Tray Dehydrator.  This is an experiment in preparation for next year's garden harvests.  I researched dehydrators for weeks before purchasing this one directly from Excalibur;  they were running several promotions.  The first thing I dried was apples;  they took about 8 hours.  They are pretty easy to do, and are a great snack item.






5 trays:  Before dehydrating
The next attempt was tomatoes.  I sliced them paper thin, peppered them, and then dried them.  These are the before and after pics of the tomatoes.  We have tried them on salads and I added them to a stew I made the other day.  They are really tasty eaten all by themselves!  I can also use them to make tomato sauce this winter.  The best part is you put them in the dehydrator, turn on the timer to the hours needed, and it will turn off by itself!!  I have so many fruits/veggies I want to try.  Just think, fresh vegetables year-round!
1 1/3 pint jars: After dehydrating

Favorite Dressing

I think I make this dressing once a week.... I got this recipe from a great cookbook Abigail gave me... "EARTH TO TABLE by Jeff Crump & Bettina Schorman".  The recipes are writtten by season; the book is all about organic farming... very interesting!

Dijon Vinaigrette
1 shallot, minced
2 T. rice vinegar
2 T. sherry vinegar
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & freshly cracked black pepper

In a bowl, combine shallot, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar;  let stand for 15 minutes.  Whisk in sugar and mustard.  Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until well blended.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  (Make ahead:  Cover & refrigerate for up to a week.)

Makes 1 cup

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Kitchen Photos

 Last week a professional photographer came to take pictures of our remodeled kitchen.  Our builder is using some of the photos on his website, www.atlantabuilding.com, as well as for "remodeled kitchen" contests.  The cabinet-design store is using them for literature showcasing their cabinets.  Thought you would like to see a few of my favorites.  Please note our new banquette table built by Cleg from solid cherry.  It is beautiful!!  I am so lucky to have such a fabulous kitchen!!




Local Wineries

A week ago, Cleg and I decided to take a road trip towards Dahlonega.  We wanted to visit the local wineries in the area.  We were shocked to find there were so many.  The first one we visited was "The Three Sisters Vineyards."  The tasting of three different wines was free, and the wines were fairly good.  The next winery was Frogtown Cellars which had a large banquet room and a large outdoor patio.  Unfortunately the wine was just fair.  This picture was taken from their deck; it was a gorgeous day!!

And the last winery we visited was Montaluce Vineyards.  We did not do a tasting here, but did eat lunch at their beautiful restaurant.  The food was delicious!!  I ate a fig arugula salad, and a margherita flatbread pizza.  This is a picture of their restaurant and winery.

Pears, Pears, Pears

Cleg's brother Tommy has a pear tree in his yard, and has been busy picking pears for everyone.  I think he gave us about 50+ pears.  So, I decided to make pear chutney.  I tried two different recipes, but my favorite was from the canning book published by "Ball" (the Bible of canning and preserving).  After cooking it for several hours, I then put it in pint jars, and into a boiling water bath.  The yield:  12 pint jars.
And, pears were still left over.  The last project was "Pear Honey" (it really is the consistency of preserves).  This was a "Paula Deen" recipe from a Food Network show by Giada de Laurentiis.  The recipe called for 10 cups of sugar, but I only used 6 cups.  It also said to only cook for 30 minutes... I cooked it for 2-3 hours (Giada was using a different type of pear).  It is yummy on your morning toast.  The yield:  13 half pint jars!!  Thanks, Tommy, for all the pears.


Pear Chutney

  • 4 qts finely chopped, peeled pears (about 20 medium)
  • 2 to 3 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup mustard seed
  • 2 T. ginger
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 hot red pepper, finely chopped
  • 5 cups vinegar
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot.  Simmer until thick.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Ladle hot chutney into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Adjust caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

My First Blog

I have finally decided to start blogging about my love for food and my constant quest for new recipes.... thanks to my sister-in-law Kerry.  My family and friends are always passing along new recipes.  And I am always perusing cookbooks, blogs, magazines, and the internet.  As I grow older, I realize the importance of cooking with local fresh ingredients from our Farmers Market.  And, this year, Cleg has also had good success with his garden at our new home.  To try to preserve these yummy vegetables, I decided to try pressure canning instead of freezing.  As a trial, I bought a 16-quart pressure canner and sent Cleg to the local Farmers Market to buy green beans and tomatoes.... his garden yield was not enough.  I was able to can seven quarts of green beans and only four pints of basil tomato sauce (that was 14 lbs of tomatoes) !!  One of the tomato sauce jars did not seal, so we really enjoyed it on pasta the next night.
In my quest for recipes for the current local ingredient, peaches, I found a recipe for Peach Chutney on the Food Network website.  It is yummy and pairs well with pork tenderloin... probably with a white fish, too.  So stay tuned and offer any suggestions..... and, keep on cooking!!!




Peach Chutney
  • 1 T. butter
  • 1 T. finely chopped garlic
  • 2 shallots finely diced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & diced
  • 1 1/2 pounds fresh peaches, blanched and diced
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • Salt & pepper
Melt butter, add garlic, shallot & jalapeno & sweat for 1 to 2 minutes; add diced peaches.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes; add sugar, deglaze with brandy and vinegar.  Allow to cook on low heat until peaches are soft.  Season with salt and pepper.