Category Archives: Food

I ordered these cookie cutters

Oct 24

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     I couldn’t resist them. 

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Another fall recipe

Oct 4

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     It’s that time of year when gardeners will soon have to harvest what is left of the tomatoes on their vines.  Yes, do harvest those green ones and give this a try.

Green Tomato Chutney

 

  • 2 1/2 pounds firm green tomatoes, about 6 cups diced
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mixed pickling spices
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger

Preparation:

Trim the stem and blossom ends from tomatoes and cut into 3/4-inch dice (you should have about 6 cups). Combine all ingredients in a heavy kettle; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 1 hour, until thickened.
Spoon chutney into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner, or 20 minutes for altitudes of 1001 to 6,000 feet. Over 6,000 feet, process for 25 minutes.

Makes about 3 pints of green tomato chutney.

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Fall is here, what do you start to crave at this time of year?

Sep 24

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This is the time of year when I begin to crave things like green tomato pie, pumpkin pie, and gingerbread.  I dug out my gingerbread recipe to make some later today.

Gingerbread

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 egg

1 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
  3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.
  4. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

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Slow cookery–tasty!

Sep 2

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     I love food cooked in my crock pot and wonder why I don’t do use it more often.  We had a lovely, tender and flavorful beef roast with all the trimmings last night. The Curmudgeon was one very happy camper.

     Last time I used the crock pot I made some pretty lousy apple crisp oatmeal.  I won’t be making that again.  It was the first thing I ever made in a crock pot that actually turned out bad.

     What I love about my Kindle is that I have downloaded a bunch of free cook books and that included several crock pot cook books.  Once the cool weather settles in here, I do believe the crock pot will get a good workout.

     Do you have any favorite crock pot recipes?

     You all have a good one!

 

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Phooey on grocery shopping and how much it costs.

Jul 26

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     I really hate grocery shopping.  I know I’ve said that many times before but it is true.  Today’s shopping wasn’t too bad, the store was practically empty.   It was the cost of them, the unloading of the car, and putting it all away that about killed me.  The Curmudgeon tried to help but he can only carry so many heavy bags and then he has to quit.

     My list wasn’t as long as past lists but I swear the groceries cost two times more than the last time…again.  It’s not as though I went to an expensive grocery store either, I shopped at a discount grocery store.  If the prices keep rising we are nearing a beans and rice three times a week budget.

     You all have a good one!

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I’ve become a lazy baker and cook.

Jul 13

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     Hehehe!  I baked oatmeal cookies tonight and kept tripping over two dogs who thought whatever Mom was making smelled wonderful.  I don’t spend time mixing batter and fussing anymore.  I get most of my meats and some other items through a lovely company called Five Star Home Foods  http://www.fivestarhomefoods.com.  They have several different cookie doughs.  😀

     I love their cookie dough because I can bake exactly what I want, usually 4 cookies, two for me two for The Curmudgeon.  We get fresh from the oven cookies.  I don’t have to dirty a mixing bowl and their cookies are good.

     Yes, after years of being an excellent baker and cook, I have gone the lazy route.

     You all have a good one!

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And how was your holiday?

Apr 9

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     Yesterday would’ve been my father’s 97th birthday if he were still with us.  I love you Dad and miss you every day!

     I made us a lovely dinner of leg of lamb, pickled beets and eggs, potato salad, and one deviled egg for both of us.  The Curmudgeon was in heaven over it.  It had to be one of his absolute favorite meals.  In fact, each component is a favorite of his so he was quite over the moon.  The deviled egg I served him made him giggle.

     Gavin and Patty sure enjoyed the tidbits of lamb he provided for them. 

     I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a good day today!

Posted in Food, Holidays, In memory of...

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It wasn’t a low cholesterol dinner…

Feb 1

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     Every once in a while I do have to make The Curmudgeon something special for dinner.  I knew I wasn’t going to have time to get fancy last night because I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon. 

     My solution at 4:30 in the morning, was to slice some onions, toss them in the crock pot, put the frozen chuck roast on top of them, season it and pour a bottle of Guinness Stout over all.  I set the pot on low and went to bed.

     Right before I left for my 2:00 appointment, I dumped some baby carrots in the pot.  The roast smelled marvelous.

     Arriving home a little before four, I checked the roast.  The carrots were almost done–we’d eat at five.

     A quarter to five, I made mashed potatoes, pulled out the carrots and roast, and made gravy.  The Curmudgeon enjoyed his dinner.  I did too because this sort of meal is becoming scarce in this house.

     I’ll make up for it during the rest of the week.

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Another ‘almost’ fail recipe

Dec 22

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     It’s a good thing that I’m good at doctoring recipes.  I tried one from the AHA Meals in Minutes Cookbook last night that could have been a total fail. 

     The recipe is called No-Chop Stew and the flavor was not there at all.  I added garlic,  basil, and oregano to boost the flavor.  After the additions the taste was acceptable.  I made notes in the cookbook.

     Anyone getting my old cookbooks after I’m gone will find notes on most of the recipes.  The notes range from, “This is a good one.” to added ingredients to make the recipe a good one.

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Honey Chipotle Pecans

Dec 20

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Honey Chipotle Pecans

This recipe doubles easily.

2 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder

3/4 tsp cinnamon

2 cups pecans

2 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium skillet, combine honey, chipotle powder and cinnamon over medium heat until melted and combined. Stir in nuts. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until fragrant. Cool slightly (1-2 minutes). Combine sugar and salt in a bowl, add pecans and toss until coated. Spread out on a piece of parchment paper and cool completely. Be warned that if you have one…you will have another. Store in an airtight container.

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Changes in our diet

Dec 5

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     Big changes are coming.  Today I put my meat order in with a company we’ve dealt with for several years.  I think we will surprise our service.  I’ve made some big changes in what we’ll order.

     We do this every six months.  Then they come in and load our freezer and I don’t need to buy meats at the grocery store.

     We won’t be ordering anywhere near the red meats that we have in the past.  Although The Curmudgeon doesn’t like fish or turkey, we’ll have some on the list.  I’ll eat it and he can has a cheezeburger.

     I’m looking forward to the changes.

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Thank goodness the cooler weather is coming

Oct 1

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     Now I can add soups and stews to our menu.  I love to make them from scratch.  It is easy to make them in a heart healthy manner too.  Which is something I am trying to do with everything these days.

     It’s also one way to get DH to eat less meat and more vegetables without complaining. 

     Over the next week or so I’ll be digging through my recipes and pulling out all my favorite soup and stews.  I do have a few out and have some of the fresh ingredients on my list for the farmers market. 

      Don’t get me wrong, I do not like cold weather.  However, I don’t mind cool weather.  (We can only hope it is dry.)

Posted in Food, Heart Attack

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