Do you ever have half a red pepper lying around? Maybe a single stalk of celery is sitting right beside it with a quarter of an onion. It doesn't seem as if you have enough of any one ingredient to make something delicious to eat. So you probably feel propelled to go out, and buy more vegetables or other ingredients-- only to have odds and ends of those left over too. It's a vicious cycle with a solution (or several), of course.

With a little creativity it can usually lead to some interesting salads and random noodle dishes. With enough care, most of these creations have the potential to turn out well, and have. But, my favorite way to use up ingredients that would otherwise be odd to find together is in a simply fried rice dish.

In general, stir-fries are a great way to use up small amounts of unused vegetables, but fried rice creations are even better. They're far more forgiving, and you can use less of any singular ingredient.

In this case, I wound up with an intensely colorful fried rice with two different colored peppers, radishes, eggs, and baby lima beans. For a simple, basic fried rice recipe please go here.

You can subscribe to Flexitarian Menu here.

I try to make it as often as possible. If you would like to join in on a nice and spicy dish, here is the recipe: more or less. Keep in mind, that I'm a culinary improviser, so I'm giving the best directions I can here...

Pasta Diavalo

1/4 lb bacon, chopped

1 small/medium onion

2 T cooking wine

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup diced black olives

16 oz diced tomatoes

2 tsp crumbled basil (spicier the better)

2 T hot sauce

black pepper

1/2 lb angel hair pasta

Fry bacon in skillet. (An excellent tip I came across is to cut raw bacon into small pieces with kitchen shears--no need to crumble bacon.) Remove bacon and drain most of the grease. Deglaze pan with cooking wine, fry onions. After onions are cooked, add garlic cloves. Garlic cooks a bit faster than onions so do not add them at the same time. When garlic cloves are slightly browned, add olives and tomatoes. Let tomatoes break down into sauce. For chunkier sauce, decrease cooking time and add 1/4 cup tomato sauce or juice to mix. As sauce cooks, add pepper sauce and spicy basil until dish has the right amount of fire for your palate. Finish off with fresh-ground black pepper.

Serve dish over angel hair pasta. Toss pasta with parmesan cheese so sauce will stick to the noodles better! Of course, feel free to top entire dish with more peppers and parmesan.

Mmmmmm

The weather is quite brisk now, cold on the face while hands are warm in gloves. Long walks, hot drinks, umbrellas, hats, scarves, wet grass, foggy breath, parrots, movies and baking. Winter is delicious.

Eating Indian

• My post about eating from banana leaves in India remains one of my most popular posts. Aayi's Recipes has a wonderful post full of photos and links to recipes, describing in great detail the Konkani (from Goa) thali, served directly onto banana leaves..
• Peppermill makes a very delicious Mixed Vegetable Kadhi, with a yoghurt gravy base. I love yoghurt based dishes.
• Asankhana makes some beautiful heart-shaped cranberry and paneer desserts from Bengal. Cranberry Sandesh.

Eating Oats.

• I have been playing around with organic oats and steel cut oats. So far, organic oats win, but my experiments continue. Lucullian Delights has a gorgeous oats and strawberry smoothy for your breakfast.
• Limes and Lycopene has a healthy oat based Fruit, Nut and Tahini Breakfast bar for food on the run.

Eating 5 Veggies plus 2 Fruits, some Lentils, Nuts and Coffee

• It is often so hard to fit all of the things you need to eat each day into your meals. Veggies, fruit, nuts, lentils, yoghurt, oats or muesli, ghee (I am vata), and so it goes. But these Greek Mushroom Cups from The Well Seasoned Cook look delicious.
• Insanity Theory has a happy hazelnut heaven where she bakes some hazelnut cookies garnished with ground coffee beans! No eggs....
• Cygopie makes a wonderful GARLIC and Tomato Soup. Stuffed full of garlic and smelling wonderful. And Passionate about Life'nSpice makes a Red Pepper Soup AND a Green Pepper Soup.
  
• Not soup weather were you are? Go for the Courgette and Feta Salad with toasted pinenuts, from My French Kitchen.
• Leek and Tomato Crumble. Another wonderful recipe from Nourish Me.
• You know that I am mad about chickpeas. Orangette has a so so delicious chickpea with lemon and parmesan salad. Then follows it up with Mushrooms with Mozzarella and Thyme.
• Fascinating! Just Hungry makes Goma Dofu - a Japanese tofu-like substance made from tahini.
• One way to eat more fruit it to make salsa. Noshtopia has made a cherry salsa to eat with sea salt rice crisps.
  
• For dessert, Eat Make Read brings ricotta and mint stuffed strawberries.
  
• To complete you meal, finish with some Sorbet made from Instant Expresso Coffee. From The Perfect Pantry. I have made sorbet and icecream from freshly brewed coffee too - just make it extra strong.
  

Hints and Tips.

• Make your own ginger paste and keep it frozen for later use. From The Cook's Cottage. Or a chilli, garlic and ginger paste from Things we Ate for Dinner.
• One of the first posts I ever posted was about making eggless pasta. It has remained one of the most popular ones. Recently Helen from World Foodie Guide posted about her method. Have a look. The photos are gorgeous.
• Tony Tahhan takes us through the process of making yoghurt from goat's milk, and then turning it into labne.
• Ever wondered how to cut down on your cleaning products bill? Go more environmentally conscious? Have a look at The Herbal Home Handbook for recreating your cleaning philosophy. Or see the Top Ten reasons to make your own cleaning spray, from Elana's Pantry.
  
• Or if you are in the market for a new set of saucepans, here is how to select a cookware set. From Kim Vallee.
  

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Other Wonderful Recipes, Food and Cooking:

*Drum Roll* Introducing my very 1^st homemade moon cakes! 100% homemade! Homemade snow skin with <homemade lotus paste>! :D I must say, it is pretty fun to make these lil ones! The only fuss will be the cooking of lotus paste, other than that, the rest is like ABC.

Ordered this mooncake mould from Elyn of Shop and Bake sometime back... received them in May and have been wanting to try them out! Been putting the thought on hold as It just seems too early to welcome Mid-Autumn Festival!

Recently, both Ling and I have been doing some "research" for recipes to try out, Yummy recipes from Aunty Yochana such as <this> , <this> , <this> and <this> really excites me! Before venturing into these "high level" recipes, i decided to start simple... :) so here it is... a simple plain snow skin with lotus paste.

Ingredients: (makes 10 x 5.2cm diameter mooncakes)

Snow Skin
100g Koh fun (commercial fried glutinous rice flour)
70g Icing sugar
30g Shortening
120g Cold water

Fillings
300g Lotus Paste
50g Melon Seeds

Steps:

Snow skin

1. Sift Koh Fun and Icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
2. Rub shortening into the flour mixture.
3. Gradually mix in cold water till a soft dough forms.
4. Scale and weigh 30g per portion for each mooncake. (According to the size of your mooncake mould.)

Fillings

1. Mix together lotus paste with melon seeds
2. Scale and weigh 40g per portion for each mooncake filling. (According to the size of your mooncake mould.)

Assemble

1. Wrap each portion of filling with a portion of snow skin.
2. Press into mooncake mould.
3. Knock out and chill before serving.

Verdict?
Pretty impressed with the soft texture of the snow skin *yum yum* shall update on the texture of the snow skin after a few days. And for the mould… just like what Elyn promised! It is sooooo easy to use! :P no knocking or banging... 1 Word, NICE! :D

- .: Amanda :.

The upside, well......... let me think about it for a sec....... OK OK, a second is just too long..... It's the borsch!!!!, Luda's borsch. Of coarse I miss Larisa... For her smile, sense of humor, the kisses morning and night... But her moms Borsch is to die for. To be fair, Larisa makes great Borsch too, in fact it's so tasty, my mouth is watering as I type. Every time Larisa comes back home, she always brings her mom's Borsch back with her. Maybe this food for thought is just the opportunity for another phrase....The way to a mans heart is through his stomach.... Thank heavens Larisa loves my cooking too)

Recipe Ingredients:

1/2 cup Margarine, (1 stick)
2/3 cup Sugar
Dry sugar substitute equal
1/4 cup sugar
1 Egg, (large)
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cup All-purpose flour
2 tbsp Dry Buttermilk
1 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Water at room temperature

Recipe Instructions:

Cream margaring, sugar, and dry sugar substitute
together at medium speed untill light and fluffy. Add
egg and vnill and mix at medium speed for 30 seconds,
scraping down the bowl before and after adding the egg
and vanilla. Stir flour, dry buttermilk, baking soda
and salt mixture, along with water, to creamy mixture,
and mix at medium speed to blend well. Drop dough by 1
1/2 tablespoonfuls onto coolie sheeet that have been
sprayed with pan spray orlined aluminum foil. Press
cookies down on the bottom. Remove them to a wire rack
and cook to room temperature.

Food exchanges per serving: 1 STRACH/BREAD EXCHANGE +
1 FAT EXCHANGE

Calories: 96, FAT: 4g, CHO: 13g, Na: 107mg, PRO: 2g,
Cholesterol: 12mg Source: Desserts for Diabetics by
Mabel Cavaiani, R. D.

Shared by: Kathleen's Recipe Swap Page
http://www.ilos.net/~answers/recipe
recipes@ilos.net

Servings: 24

Ingredients:

200g Lotus Seeds
180g Sugar (personally not a fan of paste that's overly sweet, reduced it to 120g)
160ml Peanut oil (I Opt for healthier option, reduced to 100ml of Olive Oil)
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Condense milk
1/8 Tsp salt

Steps:

1. Soak Lotus Seeds with water and allow it to rest for 20 mins.
2. Drain and discard water from Lotus seeds. Pour in hot boiling water and cover it for 30 mins.
3. Wash away lotus seeds skin and remove green centre then cook seeds with water till soft and tender.
4. Blend the lotus seeds till smooth.
5. Heat up a wok/pan, melt half the sugar until it turns golden brown in color.
6. Pour in blended lotus seeds, remaining sugar, oil and salt.
7. Cook over medium flame, stirring all the time until the lotus seed paste thickens.
8. Stir in honey and condense milk. Continue stirring till paste leaves the side of the wok/pan.
9. Cool before use.

Hi Ivory,

I have been trying to decide on the perfect recipe for trying out my homemade vanilla extract which has been steeping for several days now. The vanilla extract is on the right and the glass on the left contains brandy only, so you can compare before and after. Quite a bit darker and more vanilla extract-like than the hue of the original brandy before the vanilla bean went in:

I want to see how it tastes in some kind of dessert. After some deliberation I have chosen:

Vanilla Custard Ice Cream

I want a neutral backdrop to showcase the pure flavor of the vanilla, and as the mercury is nosing up toward 100 degrees, ice cream seems the logical choice. If a blackberry cobbler in need of a scoop happens to show up, we can deal with that, too.

I leafed through a few cookbooks and think I have found a winner. It is The Southern Living Cookbook's

Vanilla Ice Cream Spectacular.

5 cups milk

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 T. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

5 eggs, beaten

4 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 T. vanilla extract

Heat milk in a 3-quart saucepan over low heat until hot. Combine sugar, flour, and salt; gradually add sugar mixture to milk, stirring until blended. Cook over medium heat 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Gradually stir about 1/4 of hot mixture into beaten eggs; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat, and let cool. Chill at least 2 hours.

Combine half-and-half and vanilla in a large bowl, add chilled custard, stirring with a wire whisk. Pour into freezer can of a 1 gallon hand-turned or electric freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Let ripen 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Yield: 1 gallon.

Packed and ready to freeze:

We have ice cream!

I made one alteration to the recipe; I used only 1 1/4 cups sugar instead of 2 1/4 cups sugar. Then I followed the rest of the directions except while the custard cooled some of it mysteriously evaporated. Hmm. I refrigerated it overnight.

The next day I added the half-and-half and the homemade vanilla extract and did indeed follow the ice cream freezer manufacturer's instructions. It was plenty sweet without the extra cup of sugar and the homemade vanilla extract was just right. Overall, in a word, delicious.

This link is for a no-freezer method of making ice cream complete with photo tutorial and lesson on how ice cream freezes.

Here one can travel back in time to Monticello and try out Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream.

Tommie

I went over my $100 weekly budget by $13 :(

I fixed Broken Lasagna for dinner tonight. It was yummy with the ricotta cheese. I didn't have any leftovers for it so I improvised and used canned marinara, fresh chard, no boil noodles, some frozen broccoli and the ricotta cheese I picked up at the grocery store. I cooked it in my Demarle Fluted Square Mold.

I can already tell my grocery list needs revision. We can't get through the week with one loaf of bread or 1 package of bagels. I am out of butter and only have 3 eggs left. One day left...one day left....one day left...

As luck would have it, the recipe for the souffle are on little flyers at the front of the restaurant. Here it is:

8 oz. semi sweet dark chocolate (I suggest trying Valrhona or Amano)
12 tbsp. butter
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 eggs plus 4 egg yolks 

In a mixing bowl combine sugar and cornstarch.  Have the eggs and yolks mixed together in a separate bowl.  In a saucepan bring butter to a simmer. Add chocolate and mix until smooth.  Continue to mix until chocolate begins to simmer along the edges.  Mix until combined. Add eggs and mix at low speed until mixture is smooth and sugar is dissolved.  Pour into a bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line each metal ring with a strip of parchment paper and spray with pan release.  Place ring on a square of parchment paper then onto a baking sheet.  Fill the ring 2/3rds with the filling.  Bake for 28-30 minutes.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and while holding each mold with tongs, slide a metal spatula underneath and transfer to a plate.  Gently lift off the mold and remove the parchment paper. 

Serve immediately with ice cream.                                 Serves 4

From The Kitchen Of James R. Wilson

Fortune smiled upon me when I was a student in France, affording me the chance to live in Normandy among some very talented cooks.  My dear friend, Andrée Harivel, of Paris and Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy, was a particularly gifted cook.  Dédée, as her friends and family called her, used to make this blended vegetable soup whenever the main ingredient 'les poireaux' (leeks) were in season.  She insisted that it was a real elixir and just what I needed in my diet-full of vitamins and minerals, and some "oligo-elements".

Green Velvet Soup was a purifier, in Andrée's repertoire of home remedies.  Eating these "oligo-elements" would help to detoxify the liver so one would not suffer from 'mal au foie' or even worse, the 'crise de foie'.  (Of course, the first time someone told me that I was suffering from a 'sick liver', I was deeply concerned.  I had never known anyone who had had such an affliction.  I later discovered that it is a very common malady in France, something I had mistaken/continue to mistake for heart burn.)

In any event, according to Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don't Get Fat, leek soup is what French women eat/drink/live on when they want to shed the extra pound or two. The magical Leek Soup is, in her estimation, the Spartan alternative to overeating and for 'recapturing your equilibrium from time to time'.

For me, Green Velvet Soup, so named for its creamy green appearance after it has been blended with a "robot Marie" (a hand held mixer) or in a blender, also brings back plenty of fond memories of watching Dédée chop the veggies, add them to her pressure cooker and then sit back and chat with me over a glass of fine wine.  We would be but seven minutes from a fine meal.  I learned, later, that cooking this soup in the pressure cooker helped it to maintain its high level of vitamins, minerals and those elusive 'oglio-elements'.  In case you don't have a pressure cooker, though, I will tell you how to make it stovetop just the same.

Going Shopping:

Leeks, about 1 kg (2 pounds)
Zucchini, or yellow summer squash (3-4 small ones, or a larger one w/o the pulp section)
Carrots, two or three nice orange ones
Potatoes, a couple of small ones
Tomatoes, four medium-sized
Spices:  Herbes de Provence, sea salt (about 1 Tbsp), fresh ground pepper, bay leaf
(Essentially, you can also add most any vegetable you like to this soup, or any left over veggie that you might have.  I have in the past added spinach, sometimes green cabbage, chunks of winter squash, green bell peppers, sweet onions.  Whatever you choose to put in, make it something that would blend nicely.  Corn, for example, would not and would make this soup seem very strange in the end!)

Herbes de Provence-in case you can't find a prepared mix at the store:
* 3 tablespoons oregano leaves
* 3 tablespoons of marjoram leaves
* 3 tablespoons thyme leaves
* 1 teaspoon basil leaves
* 1 teaspoon sage leaf
* 3 tablespoons savory
* 2 tablespoons lavender flowers
* 1 teaspoon rosemary
Combine and mix well.  Store the mixture in a small airtight jar in cool location.

Soup Preparation:

Start by cleaning and rinsing the leeks well.  They are a strange vegetable in that they trap some of the dirt they are grown in amongst the layers.  To clean leeks, it isn't difficult.  Dédée showed me how to take my knife and starting about one inch from the rooted bottom, slide the blade in and pull straight up, slicing it open all the way to the top.  She then turned it one quarter turn and sliced it up again-essentially cutting the leek into quarters without fully separating the plant.  Holding the rooted end, she could then manage to wash fully the leeks without having to deal with the mess of losing parts of it in to the sink.  She would then trim off the roots, and the very tips of the leeks, and discard those.  Don't get rid of the dark green part os the leek-it is very flavorful and gives the soup its color.
Chop the leeks in to smaller pieces, about an inch or two wide, so that they will cook and blend easier.  Add them to the pressure cooker/stew pot.
Wash zucchini or summer squash, remove ends, chop and add to leeks.
Peel potatoes and carrots, chop, add to pot.
Wash and remove stem from tomatoes (or use one large can of tomatoes from store), add to pot.
Add spices.
About 2 inches of water.

Cooking Instructions:

If you are using a pressure cooker, like I do, you put the lid on, seal it, and bring to a boil.  Cook for seven minutes when it reaches pressure.  After, remove from heat and run pot with cover on under cold water until pressure releases before attempting to open the pot.

If you prefer to make the soup in a stew pot, bring to boil, and simmer, uncovered for 20 to 30 min. until vegetables are all tender.

Once you have cooked the soup, either under pressure, or in a stew pot, be sure to remove the bay leaf, which is tough and will not blend.

Serving Suggestion:

Blend the soup either in a blender/food processor or with a hand held blender until it is a smooth green texture.  It should appear like fine green velvet when finished.

(You can, of course, eat the soup without blending, but it isn't as nice to look at, and some people don't like all the big chunks.)

Top with sprig of fresh parsley, serve hot.
In Normandy, many will often put a tablespoon of 'crème fraîche' (essentially sour cream) on the top as a garnish as well.

Bon Appétit!

Technorati Tags: GreenVelvetSoup, LeekSoup

Frosted with mashed potatos and flavoured with basic staples in most Canuck kitchens, this will do the trick if you need to whip something up on the fly. It has received the thumbs-up from both my Spawn, both of whom happen to be fairly picky eaters. 

Enjoy

  Wickedly Simple Meatloaf

Ingredients:

Loaf:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 large egg

1/3 cup prepared barbecue sauce

1 packet dry onion soup mix 

Potatos:

6 medium potatos, peeled and halved

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup shredded cheddar/ monterey jack blend cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 C. 

Bring a large pot of water to boil; add potatos and cook over med-high heat until soft and ready to mash. I like my potatos well cooked; the only part of a potato I like crunchy is the skin and those are looong gone at this point in the recipe.

Drain and add butter or margarine and salt; mash well and set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl combine egg, dry soup mix and barbecue sauce. Mix well, and then add ground beef. Using a wooden spoon mix until well blended. What I like to is just dump the whole mess into a loaf pan; I find it makes draining the fat off later on much easier. But if you like, you can line a shallow baking dish with foil and shape your meat into a loaf. It's totally up to you. 

Once you figure out which way to go the next step is to frost the meatloaf with the mashed potatos.

Pop into the preheated oven for one hour; remove and sprinkle with cheese. Place back in the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. 

I served mine with a green salad (not pictured; will do better next time) and corn on the cob. 

Served 2 adults and 2 children

***before you scoff at me posting a meatloaf recipe as my first example of the thrilling skill I display in the kitchen, try it out. It's tasty and delicious according to the Spawn.

રીત :
સૌ પ્રથમ મગની દાળ 7 કલાક પલાળી રાખો. પાણી નાખ્યા વગર મીક્સરમાં વાટી લો. તેમાં મીઠું-હીંગ અને આદુ મરચાં નાખી પકોડી માટે ખીરૂ બનાવો. તેલ ગરમ કરીને નાની નાની પકોડી તળો. દહીં વલોવીને ઠંડુ કરો. એક વાસણમાં એક ચમચી તેલ ગરમ કરીને જીરૂ તથા લીમડાનો દહીંમાં વધાર કરો. તેમાં મીઠું-ખાંડ નાંખો. એક પ્લેટમાં પકોડી ગોઠવો. તેના પર દહીં-ગળી ચટણી-કોથમીર-મીઠું-મરચું જીરૂ પાવડર, દાડમના દાણા-ચાટ મસાલો નાંખીને સર્વ કરો.

http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive-12-7-2008/htm/2vnewruchi.asp

First of all, we should not be listening to the media and accepting the fear they’re handing out.  Ultimately, God is my source of prosperity and I will not panic when the economy around me is looking grim.  The economy will bounce back; it has had these ups and downs throughout our whole nation’s history.  Our economy runs on bubbles and the next bubble is brewing.  We are coming out of the housing bubble, before that there was the dot.com bubble.  I have heard that alternative energy could be the next bubble.  So we shouldn’t live in fear that our country could sink into another great depression.  We should, however, be WISE with our money in times like these (for that matter, all the time).

In general, it is not wise to make large, unnecessary purchases in times like this.  Wait to buy that toy when the economy is doing better.  It is also a general rule to have (at least) three months salary saved up in case of layoffs or job loss.  You would want to put money into this fund BEFORE your IRA or retirement fund.  If there was a layoff or job loss situation, you wouldn’t want to pull your money out of retirement funds and have to pay the penalties and extra taxes.  In general, in good times and bad, you should be saving 10% of your income.  This is your rainy day fund; you never know when you need a new dishwasher, oven, or washing machine.  Most importantly, get out of debt, if you have any.  Debt is bondage; the Bible tells us that the borrower is SLAVE to the lender.  I’m not talking about house debt here, which is widely regarded as an investment, but all other debt that is typically on items that depreciate (lose value), like cars, televisions, appliances, and of course credit card debt.  If needed, get some help, check out someone like Dave Ramsey.  And above all, don’t stop giving!  (Luke 6:38)

If you don’t have a budget, you need to sit down and write one out.  Many people feel that a budget will restrict them, but in reality it does the opposite, it brings freedom.  With a budget you no longer have to live paycheck-to-paycheck, you won’t have the stress of wondering how you will pay for that car repair.  You can go and buy fun stuff, guilt-free, when you have a budget.  There is a Biblical principle at work here, too.  If you are believing for financial prosperity and increase, now is definitely the time to budget your money, control your spending and manage your money wisely.  When you are faithful with least, you will be blessed with increase.  When you are UNfaithful with the little that you have, you won’t be able to handle increase and therefore won’t be blessed with increase.  (Matt. 25:21 & Luke 16:10) 

When you write out your budget, think of EVERY category that you spend money on, not just the basics, like house, gas, and food.  If you have a once yearly expense for termite protection on your house, split that expense into 12 monthly payments and set that money aside.  Then when the bill is due, you have all the money to pay it.  Set aside a certain amount for car repairs, house repairs, household decorations, dining out, entertainment, and even an allowance of sorts.  This allowance, one for you and one for your spouse, allows for frivolous spending without guilt.

We started doing an envelope system.  Each month we divide our paycheck into various envelopes, like oil changes, car tags, lawn spray service, groceries, gas, etc.  With my utility bills I figured up what my average was, using my last 12 bills.  If my current bill is below the average, then I set aside the difference, in cash, in the envelope.  If it is over, then I pull the cash out of that envelope and put it in the bank to cover that bill.  So as far as my budget is concerned, my utility bill stays the same every month.  I hope that makes sense.  Every so often we do need to re-evaluate those utility bills and adjust our budget.  I noticed recently that the rates had increased on my electric bill.  Now, if you really need some discipline in this area, stick to cash only and use your envelopes.  Take groceries, for example, figure what you SHOULD be spending and take your cash to the store.  Don’t let yourself use the debit/credit card or checks, only spend what cash you brought.  I brought my calculator to the store with me for several months until I got in a good routine.  I would add up my items as I shopped so that I knew what my total would be before I got to the checkout.  Then there is no embarrassment when you need to put certain items back if you are over your limit. :)

Now if you write out a budget and realize that you can’t save 10% of your income or your expenditures exceed your income, you need to find ways to cut back.  There are many ways to cut back that most people don’t think matter, but it’s the little things that add up.  You can cut out the daily Starbucks, take a sack lunch to work instead of eating out, cut back on dining out in general, cut out the tanning, nails, gym membership (workout at home), housekeeper, and expensive haircuts and color (go to Sally’s and do your own color).  Review your bills and see if things can be changed.  Are you on the right cell phone plan?  You can cut back from digital cable to basic cable, or cut out cable altogether.  We cut out our land line years ago and just have cell phones.  You can increase your deductible on your insurance to save on the monthly fee (but be aware that if you have to make a claim, you will pay the higher deductible).  Organize and clean out closets and cupboards.  You will realize there are things in your house that you forgot about and thought you needed to buy.  Have a garage sale or post your items on eBay.  Visit your local library to checkout books, CDs, magazines, and DVDs.  Skip the theater and wait for the DVD, it only takes four months now to be released.  Can your Netflix be downgraded?  They have plans that start at $5.00 now.  Also, check out Redbox, an automated rental vending machine system in local grocery stores.  You can go online and reserve your movie and then go up to the local store and pick it up.  The best part is, their movies are ONLY $1.00 each!

Often, cutting out the above-mentioned unnecessary items makes a big difference, but what if you don’t spend money on those items and you still need to cut back?  Now you need to get into FRUGAL mode.  I will tell you ways I am frugal, but you can get a lot more ideas from a publication like The Tightwad Gazette, it’s available at the library.

First get rid of temptations, don’t go to the mall if you can’t handle it.  I HATE shopping, so the mall isn’t a temptation to me, but I did like to ogle over catalogs.  This created wants that didn’t exist before.  My mental list of things just kept growing and growing.  I finally recognized the problem with this, so I started throwing away the catalogs the minute they came in the mail and the funny thing is, they don’t come any more!  I didn’t think junk mail EVER stopped.  I didn’t even have to protest like Kramer did.  :)  Seriously, turn off the TV, do whatever you have to do to get rid of the temptation to spend money.  I realized this was an issue with the weekend newspaper, too.  We cancelled it because the coupons didn’t justify the purchase of the paper and then I recognized that each week I was looking over the sale ads, it just made me spend more and want more.  It’s certainly okay to buy things you want, but DON’T let advertising MAKE you want something!  I especially watch this in my children, they only get to watch a fraction of the commercials on TV and we are always discussing marketing on packages.  I really only used to screen commercials for the clean/family viewing factor, but one day we were watching America’s Funniest Home Videos and a pharmaceutical commercial came on.  I didn’t bother to switch the channel because there wasn’t anything lewd on it.  Then, all of a sudden, my son said, “I need that.”  I looked up and realized it was an ad for a sleep aid for insomnia!  My 8 year old does NOT need to THINK that he needs a drug to help him go to sleep.  I had to explain to him that commercials are temptations; they make you THINK you need things when most often you don’t!  A legitimate advertisement informs you of a service or product WITHOUT trying to appeal to your flesh (sex sells), your eyes (think about the shampoo commercial that shows the woman with super-shiny, thick, lustrous hair), or your ego (think car commercials).

This brings me to my next point; identify your needs and your wants.  Cut out the wants.  This can be hard, sometimes, often our wants look like needs.  For example, I have a gas grill in my backyard that is about 11 years old.  The handle on the front has broken off, the flame isn’t consistent; it has hot spots, and the starter button has broken; we have to use a lighter to ignite it.  Many would say that I need a new grill, but I don’t.  I could stand to buy a new set of the ceramic “coals” and a new burner (to get a consistent flame), but I can live with lighting it with lighter and I use an oven mitt to open the lid.  All this will cost less than $50, rather than a new grill averaging $400.  Sure, I want a new grill, but it is WAY down on my list.  I don’t actually need a new grill.  So sit down and identify what REALLY are your needs and your wants and start cutting back on the wants.  It is CERTAINLY okay to spend your money on the wants, BUT if they are putting you in the hole or keeping you from saving your 10%, then you have GOT to cut them out.

Here is my list of frugal tips.

·         Turn off lights – this is one I’m trying to get better at.

·         Use washcloths instead of paper towels (I do keep paper towels on hand for certain jobs like cleaning up grease or cutting up a chicken, but that’s about it) and use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins.  When I do need a paper towel, I think of the least amount I need for the job, often that’s a piece only a few inches square.

·         Cut out the chemical cleaners – I almost exclusively use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning and it has saved me a LOT!  I do keep rubbing alcohol on hand to cut the kitchen grease that builds up on cabinets and the top of the fridge, but that is also much cheaper than cleansers.

·         I use half the recommended dishwashing powder, I only fill one cup instead of two.

·         I buy the cheapest laundry detergent I can find, Xtra.  It’s only about $3.00 for a bottle that says it does 50 loads.  I think I use less than the recommended amount.  I add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to each load to boost the detergent’s power.  So for each load I pay .06 cents for the detergent and .03 cents for the baking soda, for a total of .09 cents.

·         Buy some foaming soap pumps.  This has saved me a lot in hand and dish soap.

·         Save on gas – stay home!  I am serious.  :)  We had to make do with one car for 5 months, so I got in a good habit of only doing errands once a week.  If you do have to go out, drive the speed limit or even a little under, it does make a difference.  Plan your route to conserve gas.  Have your spouse run an errand or two on the way home from work, rather than making a special trip on the weekends.

·         Never go shopping without a list and plan your meals for the week.  Set a specific shopping day and stick to it.  The more often you shop, the more you spend.  Each time you will buy some impulsive items, so if you can cut out the middle of the week trips you will save.  As stated before, you will save money if you take a calculator to the store and add as you shop.

·         Cut out packaged food (have I said that before?).  :)  You’re just paying for extra packaging, handling, and shipping charges.  When you go to the grocery store, think ingredients.

·         I cut out deli meats; since they are more processed, they are more expensive.  The cheapest is about $3.00 a pound.  I can buy chicken for .88 cents a pound and cook the breast meat for sandwiches instead.  We were buying a pound a week from the deli, now that we’re not I’m saving $9 a month.  Plus, my husband says it tastes SO much better!

·         Buy cheese in the block and shred yourself.

·         Deny yourself the steaks and shrimp for a while.  Hey!  Eating chicken more often is better than eating rice and beans!

·         Check the local grocery ads and see if your store will match the prices so you don’t have to drive all over town.

·         I buy whole chickens and cut them into parts for our different meals, I save an average of $22 EVERY week by doing this.  That’s $95 a month!!!!  Who couldn’t use an extra $95 a month?!?  That is definitely worth the few minutes it takes to cut them up.  See below for instructions.

·         Make more things from scratch.  I cut out granola bars and just keep homemade muffins in the freezer now.  I haven’t done the math, but I can bet the muffins cost mere pennies compared to the granola bars.  So if I saved $2.50 on a box of granola bars a week that would be $10 a month.  It does seem like a little here and there, but you must realize these things really do add up.

·         Choose cost-conscious meals.  I don’t do casseroles, but we do a lot of soups.  This stretches the dollar and saves me nights in the kitchen.  Some dollar-stretching meals that come to mind are Chili, White Chili, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken and Dumplings, Spaghetti with Marinara (meatless sauce), Macaroni and Cheese, and homemade pizza.

·         Cut back on eating out.  If you’re going to be out, think ahead and pack a little cooler with some sandwiches and snacks, rather than grabbing fast food.  I cannot remember the last time I ate fast food; really, it’s been years.  Instead of going out for pizza, make a great tasting one at home.  Make a batch of my French Bread dough, let rise, then roll out on a pizza stone, cover with Marinara and various toppings.  Bake at 400°F for 15 to 30 minutes (depending on how many toppings).

·         I have simplified my beauty regimen, including facial products, hair products and lotions.  I used to spend $60 to $90 for a line of facial cleansers, toners and moisturizers.  Now I spend under $10 AND, my skin has never been clearer.  See here for more info.

·         Do you really need the salon shampoos and conditioners?  Again, identify the needs versus the wants.

·         Eat less.  Okay, now I’m reaching.  But, seriously, if you need to lose some weigh, cut back on your portions, it will save you some money!  J

I will include another piece of advice that has been working for others.  Clipping coupons.  I have tried this in the past, but haven’t been able to save much.  Either I don’t buy enough packaged food items or I’m not doing something right.  Some are coming out of Walmart with $100 worth of groceries, but only paying about $20 after coupons.  I am going to check this out again.  See these websites for more information.  http://www.moneysavingmom.typepad.com

http://www.moneysavingmom.com/

Just remember, every little bit helps.  Pray and ask God for wisdom in your finances, He will give you ideas.  I believe that it’s important to step out in obedience to God, first, and practice self-control in our spending.

How to Cut a Chicken

Rinse the chicken and lay on cutting board.  I like to put some paper towels down to soak up juices.  Make sure your knife is sharp.  I like to start with the breast, so I have it breast up.  It’s easiest for me to have the legs facing away from me.

First cut in the middle of the breast.  You will encounter the breastbone (sternum); you will need to cut along side this bone.

Keep cutting down along side the breastbone and the rib bones.  I pull the knife toward me in long slicing motions; I don’t use sawing motions here.

You will not be cutting through any bone, if you encounter a bone, just cut around it.  There is a small ligament to separate the breast meat.  Then the breast meat just pulls easily away from the skin. 

Next I turn the chicken 90° so that the legs are to my right (I’m right-handed).  Do the same on this side as the last, cutting on the other side of the breast bone and down along side the ribs.

Next, I grab the chicken by the wing and hold the wing up.

In this picture you will see that I am cutting the wing off of the chicken.  I cut with my knife (this time in sawing motions) under the wing pit, looking for the joint.  You won’t have to cut through bone; you should find the joint and cut right between the two bones.

Now that the wing is off, I lay it on the cutting board and cut off the tip at the joint.  Again, you won’t be cutting through bone, just between joints.  I save the tips for broth.

Now I have the remainder of the wing, I will hold it in my hand and pull the knife up between the joints.

Now you have two parts of the wings, the little drumstick and the other piece.

Next I flip the chicken over, breast side down.

Grab hold of the leg and bend it backwards to pop the joint out.

Now cut the leg off at the thigh along side the body.  You won’t cut through bone, you will see the thigh joint and just cut between the joint.

Now you have the leg and thigh piece.  Sometimes there is excess skin to cut off.  I leave the leg/thigh pieces together.  If you want your drumsticks separate from the thighs you can easily cut them apart at the joint.  Most recommend looking for the line of fat that runs under the skin between the leg and thigh, but that is never a guarantee for me.  Instead, I press with my thumb to feel the indentation of the joint, and then cut at that point.

Now I am left with the carcass, I will put this in a freezer bag along with the wing tips to save for chicken broth.  I freeze the breasts in separate bags, freeze the wings together in a bag, freeze the leg/thigh pieces together in a bag.  Then we can pull out the breasts for such meals that call for boneless, skinless breasts, we can have a wing meal (like hot wings or teriyaki wings) when we have a couple of bags saved up, and we roast up the leg/thigh pieces in the oven or put them on the grill.  If I do a soup I will pull out some carcasses and cook up some broth and then just cook a whole chicken for the meat of the soup.

I hope this helps.  Happy saving!  Share your any tips you have for saving money.

Recipe Ingredients:

1/2 cup Margerine, (1 stick)
2/3 cup Sugar
Dry sugar substitute equal
-to equal to 1/4 cup sugar
(optional)
1/4 cup Egg, (whites)
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Black Walnut flavering
1/4 cup Water
2 cup All-purpose flour
1/3 cup Black Walnuts (chopped)
2 tsp Dry buttermilk
1 tsp Baking soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Recipe Instructions:

Cream margarine, sugar and dry sugar substitute together at medium speed until lightly and creamy. Add egg whites, flavoring and water, and mix at medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl before
and after adding egg whites, flavorings and water. Stir flour, nuts, dry buttermilk, baking soda and salt together to blend well, and add to creamy mixture. Mix at medium speed to blend. Drop dough by 1 1/2
tablespoonful onto cookie sheets that have been sprayed with pan spray or lined with aluminum foil. Press each cookie down to 1/2 thick with the back of a tablespoon dipped in cold water. Bake at 350 for 12 to 14 minutes, or until cookies are browned on the bottom. Remove them to a wire rack and cool room temperature.

Food Exchanges servings: 1 bread and 1 fat Calories: 107, CHO: 14g,
PRO: 2g, FAT: 5g, Na: 108mg, Cholesterol: 0

Source: Desserts for Diabetics by Mabel Cavaiani, R. D.

Brought to you and yours via Nancy O'Brion and her Meal-Master

Servings: 24

Semolina is not a grain unto itself. Semolina is the endosperm of durum wheat. Durum semolina is made from hard wheat and is used for pastas, couscous, and flours. Soft wheat semolina or farina (i.e. Cream of Wheat) is made from wheat with a lower protein content and when ground into a coarse meal is used in sweetened breakfast cereals and desert puddings. Often, semolina in a broader sense refers to any type of grain that is ground into a coarse meal, for example “rice semolina” or “corn semolina” (or grits). Semolina or durum flour refers to semolina, which has been milled into a fine flour. Hard durum wheat has a high protein to carbohydrate ratio and thus produces a high gluten flour. This is why semolina is often used in pastas, which benefit from a high gluten content to hold the noodles together during pasta making and cooking.

Semolina flour is a rich yellow to gold color that imparts a gorgeous blonde hue to bread. After coming out of the oven, my loaves sat like two bricks of gold on my kitchen counter, filling the kitchen with an intoxicating aroma of warm yeast and flour. I am truly enamored with this recipe of mine. I think adding a touch of olive oil to it would be a pleasant addition to try, but I wanted to focus on the flavor and texture of semolina for my first loaves. It tasted smooth, full, and rich, but not over powering. Resonantly & simultaneously subtly flavorful, the semolina complimented the sourness of the bread in a delicate sort of dance, leaving me always wanting just one more slice.

After baking these loaves, I froze one of them, (I’m living alone at the moment and even my bread-loving self can’t eat two loaves of bread before one of them goes stale), and kept the other out for myself. As I write this post, I have only my memory of that loaf. I finished the last of it today for lunch and am tempted to pull the second one out of the freezer right now.

Semolina Sourdough

Yield: ~1700 g

400 g ripe, 100% hydration sourdough starter
400 g semolina flour
200 g whole wheat flour
200 g all purpose flour
450 g water
18 g salt

Dissolve the starter in the water, mixing them together to form a frothy liquid. Add to this the flours. Knead until thoroughly combined. Let rest or autolyse for 20-30 minutes.

Add the salt and continue kneading until the dough reaches a medium level of gluten consistency or passes the window pane test.

Allow the dough to ferment in an oiled container for 3 hours, folding at 1 and 2 hours. (Alternatively, as I did do to that pesky midday activity called work, I let the dough ferment for one hour at room temperature, folded it, stuck it in the refrigerator for ~8 hours, took it out of the refrigerator, folded it again, and let it sit in a warm spot for another hour.)

Divide the dough in half and shape into tight balls. Let rest for 15 minutes, allowing the gluten to relax. Shape the dough into batards. Proof seam-side up in a floured proofing basket or linen-lined container for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 500°F with a steam pan. Over turn the loaves onto a peel, score them, and then place in the oven with steam. Turn down the oven to 450°F and bake for 15 minutes with steam. Remove the steam pan and bake for another 30 minutes without steam.

Turn off the oven and crack the door. Leave the loaves in for 10 minutes longer. Remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semolina

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5172162206208681536]

I've been making these really awesome (vegan) popsicles with coconut milk lately. Here's the basic recipe:

MJ's Tasty Popsicle (GF & vegan)

1 can of coconut milk

1/2 c powdered sugar

1. Mix these two ingredients together and pour into your popsicle-making apparatus. This will make about 5 popsicles, depending on your apparatus. [caption id="attachment_264" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Popsicles in vitro"][/caption]
2. Freeze.
3. Eat.

Here are some variations:

• For coconut popsicles, add 1 c shredded coconut. Try it toasted, too. Mmmm.
• For any kind of fruit popsicles, add 1 c sugared-fruit.
• For cinnamon popsicles, , add 2 tsp cinnamon (these are my current favorite).

Next I want to try:

• Walnut and/or rum raisin
• Cherry-chocolate
• Pineapple
• Lemon
• Earl Grey (soak the tea bags in warm coconut milk)
• Bacon and goat cheese (this is the non-vegan version)
• Making these without sugar. I have no idea what the freezing properties of agave syrup are, but I intend to find out.

Popsicles are incredibly versatile. And because they are so easy (less than two minutes!), I feel like I just can't go wrong.

[caption id="attachment_266" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The humble popsicle"][/caption] ]]> http://syrupandcornbread.wordpress.com/?p=68 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:10:25 +0000 Aimee http://syrupandcornbread.wordpress.com/?p=68 Did you miss me?

OK, you can admit it. You didn't even know I was gone, did you? I had to go to down South for a few days on business. Don't worry, I did lots of eating and am prepared to tell you about all of it. Just remember, I'm not a restaurant critic so don't expect me to critique the wine list or rate the authenticity of the confit.

The highlight of the entire trip was my dinner at Watershed. The Chef, Scott Peacock, co-wrote one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, The Gift of Southern Cooking with Edna Lewis. It's just a great book, combining Peacock's Alabama cooking tradition with Lewis's Virginia upbringing. The restaurant is famous for its fried chicken and pimento cheese. Of course I got both. We also ordered a hummus plate and shrimp & grits served with a huge "plank" of buttered toast:

Although I was most excited about the pimento cheese, I have to say the shrimp & grits were outstanding. I know from his cookbook that he uses shrimp paste, which is why it doesn't look like shrimp & grits you might find elsewhere.

The fried chicken is brined overnight and then soaked in buttermilk, which is why they only serve it once a week. It's served with biscuits, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was delicious. Tender, flavorful, crunchy. The biscuits were good too; I ate an extra order of those.

The next day I had lunch with my cousin and her son. They took me to the Varsity, which is legend around those parts. It's been open for 80 years and is famous for chili dogs, onion rings and a drink called the Varsity Orange, which tastes just like a Push-Up (do they even make those anymore?). Of course, even though chili dogs aren't my favorite, I had to order a number 1 combo: two chili dogs, with fries and a drink. My cousin got the onion rings and we shared. The "chili" was really just meat sauce, and it was pretty darn good.

I also had a couple of nice meals with friends and family that stood out more for their company than for their food (don't get me wrong the food was good, but if it's not fried or laden with meat sauce I'm not writing about it here). It was a great trip, and now I need to go eat some vegetables.

Here's Scott Peacock's recipe for pimento cheese. I haven't made it myself but I've eaten it and it's really good. Pimento cheese usually falls into two camps: sweet and savory. This is a savory recipe, which is my preference. Although his calls for roasted red bell pepper and homemade Mayonnaise, I can tell you that it's ok to use a jar of pimentos and some store-bought Hellman's. I need to work on my recipe a little, but once I get it tweaked I'll post it for ya. It's hard to find really sharp yellow cheese here in New England (I have no idea why), so mine is usually white-ish, but the kind I always had growing up was almost day-glow orange. Regardless of color, homemade pimento cheese blows the store-bought stuff out of the water. It can be served as a dip or on a sandwich; it's great as a grilled cheese.

Scott Peacock's Pimento Cheese
1 1/2 c. (10 oz.) grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
salt to taste if needed
5 or 6 grinds of black pepper
3/4 c. homemade Mayonnaise
3 tbs. finely chopped roasted red bell pepper or pimento

Stir together all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl until they are well mixed and creamy. Taste carefully for seasoning and adjust as needed. Cover and store, refrigerated, until ready to use.

Enjoy!

experience seems to be essential to a Portland summer; many people make a tradition of doing it at least once a year. For some, it is a way to return to childhood memories of growing up on or near farms, and for others it’s a novelty to see food growing in an up close and personal way, and/or a way to feel connected to local food production—if in a fairly superficial way. (I suspect there are quite a few of the latter here in Portland.) I don’t remember going to a U-Pick more than a scant handful of times during my childhood, and I’m fairly sure Hawai’i still has nothing in the way of a U-Pick, but I do have very fond memories of fresh summer fruits.

Growing up, I spent summers here in Portland with my father, stepmother, and sisters. (Sometime, ask us what Historic Irvington was really like before gentrification.) The neighbor in the house behind my dad’s had an enormous cherry tree. I don’t know what kind they were, but they were a deep red and delicious, only slightly tart, and perfect for pie. A few times a summer, the big kids would climb up onto the garage roof to pick cherries, and we would have an orgy of fresh cherries and cherry pie for a few days. Once, I accidentally swallowed an entire cherry whole—pit, stem, and even a small leaf.

Once or twice a summer I would get to stay with my aunt for a few days or a week. This was always one of the highlights of the summer, a time when I could stay up late, watch scary movies, and eat food that wasn’t supposed to be “healthy.” One of the best things about staying with Auntie Joanie was when she’d take me to a vacant lot near her place in Tigard to pick blackberries. Afterward, she’d make jam, and she always made sure to send me back to my father’s with a load of it. This jam would be mine to eat for the rest for the summer, and whenever I was allowed to make my own lunch, I would slather the hated slices of hippie bread with my blackberry jam until my sandwiches were more jam than bread.

Another good time were annual visits with Auntie Cynthia. Maiya (my little sister) and I would go out to Puget Island, a tiny island in the Columbia River near Cathlamet, Washington. Cynthia had vegetables, berries, and fruit trees growing on her property, and we could spend afternoons lying in the cool grass beneath the blueberry bushes, picking and eating the luscious fruit. That is, if we weren’t off riding horses, swimming in the Columbia, or playing with neighbor children on a dairy farm. If we didn’t bake a pie or three there with Auntie Cynthia, she’d always send us home with blue berries and raspberries for pie. Yeah, Portland and its surrounding areas can be a great place to spend a summer.

Well, last week Eli and I came home with just over fourteen pounds of blueberries and Marionberries (for a mere $18), and I spent most of the afternoon cleaning, measuring, and freezing berries since it was far too hot to jam out.

That night, Eli made a crisp out of fresh Marionberries, but we hadn’t done anything else with them until a few nights ago when I decided to make a Marionberry Upside Down Cake. I used oil since I was running low on oil, and baked it in a cast-iron skillet, like early upside down cakes were. The cast-iron beautifully caramelizes the sugar, and the crusty edges are to die for. It’s extremely moist and tender, and tastes amazing even days later. This Marionberry Upside Down Cake was quick to throw together, and makes a lovely coffee or snack cake, as well as a great summer dessert.

1 pint to 3 cp blackberries
¼ cp butter
½ cp brown sugar
½ cp chopped pecans
a dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg

2 cp flour
1¼ cp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cp milk
2 eggs
¼ cp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet melt butter with brown sugar, stirring til blended. Remove from heat and add chopped pecans and spices. Next, spread Marionberries evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside, and preheat oven to 375.

For the cake batter, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla in a bowl. Blend until mostly smooth. Pour batter evenly over Marionberries, and place skillet in the oven for 45 minutes, or until the cake has been thoroughly cooked. You can do a knife test to make sure it is done.

You may serve the cake directly from the frying pan or inverted on a plate to show off the berries. To loosen the cake, run a knife along the edges of the skillet before inverting.

After I laid out the pan, I realized I had way too much zucchini and eggplant.  Being the frugal shopper that I am, I couldn't justify buying the smaller $6 eggplant when the larger one was more my price range.  So while I waited for the ratatouille to cook, I made this recipe with the excess vegetables.  I've got it all layered in the crockpot, ready to cook tomorrow while we're at church.  I'm looking forward to putting it over polenta.

Yummy! I love cooking with fresh vegetables in the summer.

Note: I am in no way an expert cook.  I'm just a working mom who thinks good should be more than just nutritional.  For a great cooking blog, see my dear friend from college's cooking blog at Caroline's Bake Shop. She's amazing!

My recipe for our anniversary potluck came from a Publix supermarket recipe card. I was searching for a fun, colorful appetizer for my grandmother's homemade pesto.  (When grandma's pesto is in short supply, the jar variety in the pasta/sauce aisle works just as well -- and a little goes a long way.)  The beauty of this appetizer is that you can put the contents into a loaf pan, shallow baking dish or a round bowl to sculpt the three layers into your desired shape as it chills. Serve on a dish with slices of toasted French baguette and you have a tangy, creamy, Italian-themed spread suitable for any occasion.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 2 hours or Overnight

3 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons sweet cream butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes with herbs
¼ cup basil pesto sauce
1 loaf of fresh French bread

Line loaf pan (or other straight-sided pan) with a double payer of plastic wrap.

In a food processor or mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, garlic and lemon juice until thoroughly blended.

Remove 1/3 cheese mixture (about one cup) from bowl; set aside.  Remove additional 1/3 mixture from bowl; set aside.

Beat sun-dried tomatoes with remaining cheese in processor bowl.  (If not using a processor, finely chop tomatoes first.)

Spread tomato mixture in an even layer over bottom of loaf pan, spread one reserved portion of plain cheese mixture evenly over tomato layer.

Return remaining reserved cheese to processor bowl, beat in pesto sauce.  Spread pesto mixture evenly over cheese in loaf pan; cover with another piece of plastic wrap.  Refrigerate two hours or overnight for cheese to set.

To serve: remove top layer of plastic wrap.  Place serving plate over pan; flip cheese onto plate; carefully peel off plastic wrap.  With a knife blade, smooth top and sides of cheese.  Sprinkle top with chopped parsley, if desired.  Spread over toast or crackers.  Enjoy!

By Vanessa Smith