Gingerbread Dutch Baby

We are taking a little Christmas inspiration from food-blogging-goddess, Joy The Baker. I've made this recipe a couple times in the past and  each time I've changed it a bit here and there to better suit my family's tastes.

I love this recipe for it's simplicity....dump it in the blender then dump it in the skillet. So easy! And it's delicious!

Recommended Kitchen Essentials, Gadgets, and Other Goodies from America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Country, and Cook's Illustrated

I have been an avid follower of the America's Test Kitchen brand since 2011. I love that they test and retest recipes so that the average home cook can (typically) produce a wide variety of dishes. Did you know that they also do the same intense processes to their cookware? They do every test imaginable, from sawing coolers in half to bashing skillets against cement blocks to test their durability.

My kitchen utensils in the past have mostly been acquired out of necessity and price. Most, even the cheapest of items, have lasted for several years with proper care. Then my niece came to visit. Let's just say that 15-year-olds don't do well with cheap kitchen items. Now I'm in the place of needing to replace some items and while in the process I figure I might as well upgrade.

While all these "winning" items are listed on their website, I find it quite time-consuming to repeatedly search their website and spent a rainy day just cutting and pasting the links of items I'm planning to purchase, would love to own, and some of the "this actually exists?!" items into a file. Now I am sharing my list of links with you. (Most of these links point back to Amazon, with a few to William's Sonoma.)

This is in no way meant to be a complete list and I will occasionally add to this list and repost it as I find new items, new reviews, and, inevitably, realize that I've left off some items. 

The Kitchen Essentials

A good non-stick skillet. ATK recommends the 12" OXO Good Grips skillet. When it comes to non-stick skillets, I like to have 2 10" skillets and a 12" with a lid. No matter how much you spend, the non-stick coating wears out, gets scratched up, and destroyed in other various ways. I prefer to buy this type of skillet at the restaurant supply section of Sam's Club or Costco. They end up being about $15 instead of around $40 each for the OXO brand. Also look for one that is also oven safe, so you can quickly melt cheese on top of one-skillet dinners. 

A high quality stainless skillet with a lid. The top brand is All-Clad. It also comes with a top of the line price tag that is enough to make the average home cook cry. But after having used lesser brands and then acquiring one of these...WOW, what a difference! It's also almost indestructible, so one will last you a lifetime. (They also have a great warranty if you register your products). If you can't afford over $100 for a skillet, Cuisinart makes a 12-inch skillet comparable in performance. It just won't stand up to the same level of abuse as All-Clad. Or keep an eye on eBay and other online resale sites. I got 2 pieces of All-Clad for under $42 including shipping! 

A good 7.25 quart enameled cast iron Dutch Oven. Le Creuset is crazy expensive and on my "Dream" list. If anybody would like to buy me one, I love the Provence color sold at Sur La Table. I will be your best friend if you buy me this! Lodge also makes a nice Dutch Oven for much cheaper. I have a large and small one of these. 

A 5 1/2 quart enameled cast iron Dutch Oven. Necessary for certain recipes.

A 3 1/2 quart enameled cast iron Dutch Oven. Necessary for certain recipes.

A 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet. One of the most versatile items you can own! Amazon currently sells this skillet cheaper than any brick-and-mortar store I've ever seen. I personally have 2 of these and reserve one for "sweet" and one for "savory" dishes just because some flavors can tend to linger in the skillet for a bit. I'm not a fan of biting into a blueberry-garlic flavored pancake YUCK! 

A 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet. You may ask why you need a 10-inch and a 12-inch...a lot of dishes are size-specific, such as Dutch baby pancakes, one-skillet meals, and baked goods. It's great for stovetop and oven use. 

A giant stock pot. This All-Clad one top of the line. There are cheaper options which are satisfactory. 

Sauce Pan aka the standard 'pot'  or this one. It is good to have at least 2 different sizes. 3.5 or 4 quart is a good size but you may also want a small one for heating canned soup or boiling water for a make-shift double boiler.

Mixing bowls, in several sizes

Muffin Tin. Because cupcakes. 

9x13 Inch Broiler Safe Pan. A 9x13 pan is one of the most useful bakeware items. Lasagna, cakes, one pan dinners, and so much more can go into this pan. 

1.5 lb loaf pan Works for both 10 x 5-inch ( 1/2 and 2-lb) and 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch (1-lb) pan recipes. The loaves will be shorter and bake faster but a smaller pan is not a necessity. 

Angel Food Cake Pan. Nothing else can duplicate this pan, so it is one of the few "single-use" items on this Essentials List. 

Bundt Pan  Another single-use pan, however there are countless recipes for various bundt cakes, so if Bundt cakes are your thing, you can get excellent use of this item. 

Pie Pan

Baking Sheet While one of these work, ideally you would want 2 so you can bake multiple trays of cookies at a time. Personally, I prefer to have 4 or 5 cooking sheets like this. One of my favorite things about this pan is that there is also a lid available, which is ideal if you bake bar-style cookies and are too lazy to cut and remove them like I may be. 

Cooling Rack You need at least 2 of these. This one fits perfectly inside the NordicWare half-sheet pan baking sheet. 

Steamer Basket Great for steaming veggies without the need for a special steamer pot. 

Collander (aka strainer) Great for straining pasta & veggies, rinsing fresh fruits and vegetables, and saves you from needing an expensive pasta pot with a built-in strainer. 

Kitchen Tongs. Essential for searing meat, grabbing ears of corn from boiling water, and so much more! 

Measuring Cups. 

Measuring Spoons. 

Whisk.

Pastry Brush.

Spatulas. Buy 2 or 3. You always seem to need more. 

Wood Spoons. Another item you always seem to need at least 2 of.

Spoonula. A mix between a spoon and a spatula. I love mine for mixing cookies and other baked goods. 

Rolling Pin

Vegetable peeler. You wouldn't think the handle shape would make a huge difference, but this peeler is amazing!

Highly Useful Kitchen Items-Unlike the essentials, these are very handy and good to have items but not highly necessarily as you can "make do" with items from above. 

Large Roasting Pan with rack. This is great if you have a family and roast a lot of meat. This particular one holds up to a 25lb turkey. I love this rack because it allows for easy removal of the meat to transfer to a board for resting and carving. Most smaller cuts of meat can be roasted in a standard 9x13 baking dish. 

Counter Top Griddle. Great for pancakes, multiple grilled cheese sandwiches, or breakfast for a crowd. Many newer griddles have one major drawback...they are slightly domed to help remove excess grease from food, which is not ideal when trying to cook thin batters. 

Biscuit Cutters

9-inch Round Cake Pan - You need 2 or 3 of these for layer cakes

Square Cake Pan - Ideal for thicker brownies, small cakes, and many other desserts

Glass 9x13 Baking Dish. Great for numerous oven dishes from sweet to savory. I have 3 because they are used frequently in my kitchen. 

Rimless Baking Sheet. Handy for baking and allows more air circulation around cookies, which is helpful for some cookies. Nice to have but not a necessity as a rimmed baking sheet will still do a satisfactory job. 

9x13 Cake Pan 

1-lb loaf pan Gives smaller loaves the necessary rise so your loaves aren't short and squatty. 

Pie Drip Catcher Highly necessary to protect your oven if you bake pies

Pie Server Great for dishing up sliced pie, round cakes, and pizza. 

Mandoline. Makes quick work of slicing. Very nice when slicing large quantities of something. 

Meat Pounder. I've been known to pound meat thin using my rolling pin, but this ensures more evenly smashed meat. 

Nice to Have a few items that are nice to have but by no means irreplaceable in your kitchen. If you have the space and money these can be nice items to have around.

Cheese Plane.

Tart Pan.

Pizza Stone

Pie Weight Yes you can use beans, ceramic pie weight beads, and other numerous inventions to keep your empty pie crust in the proper shape. BUT this is just nifty to have. 

Cherry Pitter

Pomegrante Tool

Meal Planning on a Budget - Take 3

Here it is Sunday again. Remember when we were little and weeks seem to just drag by, weekend breaks from school seemed like a massive amount of time to play, have fun, and be with family? Whatever happened to that? Now you blink and whole weeks seem to just vanish. This has become especially true since having my boys. I have no idea how they have gone from these tiny helpless creatures to independent, stubborn little trouble makers who snatch my ingredients off the counter when my back is turned. My toddler ended up eating almost an entire diced, raw onion I had setting out waiting on the pan to get hot to begin our Creamy Cauliflower Soup.

To simplify your meal planning, here is a look back at my week of yummy eats, complete with shopping list and prices from my local store. My menu does include some items that should be left over from last week, which are noted in a separate list. Using what was in my pantry, some couponing apps (Do you use Ibotta? I got back over $300 last year!), paper coupons, and local sales my total for the week of food was just over $135 (for 2 adult meals and 2 kid meals, that comes out to $1.61 per meal!)

Pork Lo Mein with Vegetables

There is something immensely satisfying when you find a restaurant that can produce a flavorful, perfectly charred Lo Mein. For the last 20 years that had been a local place near my father's house. But like all wonderful family-owned restaurants, the family-element has moved on and the new chef leaves something to be desired. So I have spent a few weeks researching recipes, techniques, and ingredients to produce my beloved lo mein at home.

Living in the middle of nowhere, with almost a foot of snow on the ground makes for wonderful excuses to mix up some Hot Chocolate, toss in some homemade marshmallows, and flip through cookbooks and scour the world-wide-web in search of the perfect lo mein dish.

If you live in a well-populated area or have access to Amazon Pantry, getting the ingredients for this recipe should be pretty simple. If you live in the middle of nowhere, like me, this is one of those dishes you'll want to stock up on the pantry/shelf items used in this recipe, mainly the dried lo mein noodles. Also, opt for the more expensive brand of toasted sesame oil, it makes a huge difference!

Meal Planning on a Budget - Take 2

This past week was the first full week of sticking to a strict food budget. And it was mostly successful-my toddler may have sabotaged me just a bit by getting his own milk (i.e. pouring a full gallon on the floor) and giving the dogs a box of crackers.

By cooking from scratch, and using some of what was already in my pantry, I was able to feed 2 adults and 2 kids for under $150 for 21 meals, 7 snacks, and 7 desserts! My husband might argue that "there's nothing in the house to eat" but he will slowly adjust to the lack of processed, pre-made junk. We by no means went hungry, although it took almost the entire week to break the habit of walking into the pantry to find the quick and easy foods. Well it took the week for me, my poor husband hasn't adjusted as quickly.

After posting in a few foodie groups I belong to on Facebook, I realized that many people struggle with meal planning or find it too complicated to start. I would like to share my past week of yummy eats, my shopping list, and the prices at my local store. 

Let's start with my favorite meal...BREAKFAST!

1. Pancakes with blueberries

2. Oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins, and real maple syrup

3. Scrambled eggs with sausage, tomatoes, and cheese. Served with 1/2 a grapefruit. 

4. Dutch Baby Pancake with real maple syrup. Served with "Cuties" (i.e. the baby oranges/tangerines)

5. Breakfast polenta with blueberries 

6. Fried Breakfast polenta

7. Fried eggs, toast, and sausage

Lunches were fairly simple, sandwiches, fresh fruits and veggies, and a small treat. 

1. Grilled Cheddar Cheese sandwiches served with pickles, and a small handful of potato chips

2. Yogurt, cheese & crackers, carrots and celery with peanut butter, Cuties

3. Left over sausage ragu, french bread and butter

4. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, celery with peanut butter, Cuties

5. Turkey sandwiches with mayo, tomatoes, and lettuce; handful of potato chips, orange slices

6. simple tuna salad, crackers, sliced tomatoes

7. Yogurt, turkey lunch meat on crackers with cheese, apple slices with peanut butter, 

And for the delicious dinners...

1. Brown Sugar glazed Salmon, fried white rice with peas

2. Sausage Ragu with Pappardelle pasta, french/italian bread & butter

3. All Most Hands-Free Risotto with Chicken and Herbs

4. Left Over Sausage Ragu

5. Cast Iron Chicago Style Pizza

6. Sausage, Rapini/Broccoli Rabe, and White Beans , corn bread

7. Left Overs Clean Up 

Dessert all week was a double batch of Molasses Spice Cookies that made just under 4 dozen cookies

I love that this worked out so well that there are no leftovers sticking around my fridge at the end of the week. (Except for a few cookies in the freezer). Everything that was cooked has been consumed, so no "science experiments" get lost at the back of the fridge. (This is a HUGE win in my life. I have a very large fridge and over the last year have frequently "lost" food in there.) One of the biggest wastes of money is throwing away food that gets forgotten or goes bad. 

Here is my shopping list from this past week. Eventually all these recipes will be up on my blog, however a simple Google search will give you the results for all of these recipes. 

I have posted the shopping list and prices at my local store below. The ingredients came out to a total of $203.06 but that is if you have to buy everything from the store and do not have anything in your pantry. At the end of the week you will still have the flour, sugar, spices, and a few other pantry staples remaining.

Grocery List 

1 bulb garlic	0.69
5 tomatoes	2.49
2 grapefruit	1.98
5lb bag of cuties	6.47
4 oranges	3
fennel bulb	2
celery	1
carrots	1.98
4 apples	2.5
head of lettuce (I prefer romaine)	2.28
1 lemon	0.5
1 onion	1
rapini	2.48
2 lb Sweet Italian Sausage (bulk)	5
1 lb Milk Italian Sausage (bulk)	2.5
2 bone in, skin on chicken breast	6.46
4 pieces of salmon	16
breakfast sausage patties (I prefer Swaggerty's)	7.98
1/2 lb turkey lunch meat	4
1 loaf French/Italian bread	1
2 loaves sandwich bread (I prefer Pepperidge Farms)	3.99
1 jar sweet pickles	1.98
mayo	2.48
soy sauce	2.48
peanut butter	1.98
grape jelly	1.93
1 15oz can cannellini (white kideny) beans	0.58
canned whole tomatoes	2
tomota paste	1
white rice	0.98
arborio rice	2.79
2 lb pappardelle pasta	4.96
triscuit-thins crackers	2.36
2 cans of tuna	2.26
pepperoni	2.48
bag of potato chips	2.48
vegetable oil	1.93
olive oil	4.12
salt	0.4
crushed red pepper	0.97
pepper	2.68
oregano	1
parsley flakes	1
fennel seeds	2.71
ground cinnamon	1.98
ground ginger	1.98
ground allspice	2.98
vanilla extract	4.98
molasses	2.98
baking soda	0.52
baking powder	1
yeast	1.34
sugar	1.58
dark brown sugar	1.06
flour	1.08
cornmeal	1.44
raisins	2.87
pizza sauce (I used a pasta sauce)	0.99
Better than Bouillion, Chicken flavored	3.48
oatmeal	2.33
pure maple syrup	6.98
dry red wine	3.46
dry white wine	3.46
8 oz mozzarella cheese	1.72
3 oz parmesan cheese	3.98
16oz cheddar cheese	3.42
8 yogurts	2.74
1 gallon of milk	2.5
2 lb of butter	4.72
frozen blueberries	9.64
frozen peas	1
2 dozen eggs	4

Add in a box of K-Cups, a box of tea bags, a bottle of apple juice, a bag of Tostitos, and a jar of salsa and you have my entire shopping list for the week. I managed to stick to my $150 budget because I already had the flour, sugars, spices, other baking staples, blueberries (fresh picked and frozen from the summer), the wines, and a few other ingredients that I always have on hand. Even if you're starting from scratch with your pantry, there are still over $70 of ingredients you won't have to buy again for the remainder of the month, some for multiple months.

Happy Cooking! 

Sausage Ragu with Pappardelle

This sounds like a fancy recipe but it's really simple. And best of all, it comes out to under $2.50 a serving! I saw this recipe in an older copy of Cook's Country Magazine, from October of 2016.

I live in a remote area and had a little trouble sourcing a fresh fennel bulb for the recipe, but it was definitely worth the effort to locate this wonderful ingredient. Fennel is the slight anise-like flavor used in Italian sausage. My picky-eater of a husband loved this, as did both my boys.

With the original recipe calling for either using 2 lb of pasta or freezing half the sauce for a later date, I decided to go ahead and pick up extra pasta. Once the sauce was finished however, I realized that I wouldn't need 2 lb of pasta since we like our pasta pretty saucy.

Meal Planning on a Budget - Take 1

Meal planning. It seems simple enough. Find yummy food and cook it. So why is it such a complicated task?

I used to sit down once a month and dig through cooking magazines, food blogs, and a massive pile of cook books. I would scribble out recipes on a note pad, clip things from magazines, and bookmark a ton of links on my computer. Then I married a man who doesn't eat most foods and I had 2 babies back to back. I got out of the habit.

2018 is the time to get back on track and back on budget.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Toasted Pecans and Dried Cherries

One of my New Year's resolutions is to make sure that my family is eating less processed foods this year. I admit it, I have fallen into a bad habit of buying convenience foods in the last 2 years. As a new mom and then a mom of two under two, it was just so much simpler. But I am determined to rid my house of prepackaged cookies, skillet meals, and frozen pizza.

Much to my husband's dismay, the junk will NOT be getting replaced in my pantry. Once it is gone, it's gone. Not only will the processed foods be vanishing from our home, I am also committing myself to a $500/month food budget.

As my family dives head-first into this healthier eating plan on a budget, I will be sharing my meal planning and any helpful tricks and tips that I come across.

As we have finished off the last of the Christmas cookies and my fridge is still stuffed full of leftovers from various family holiday celebrations, my first recipe to share is cookies.

I also needed an excuse to test out my new Nordic Ware baking sheets (http://amzn.to/2qiksCx) that are highly recommended in several cooking communities as being the best for even heating/browning. After years of using Wilton baking sheets, one batch of cookies on these beauties and I'm sold! (As an added benefit, these also have an optional lid that will be extra useful!)

These are one of my favorite cookies, packed full of good things that are even relatively good for you. The recipe was sent in an email from America's Test Kitchen quite a while ago. I've changed it just a bit to suit my personal preferences. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies with Toasted Pecans and Dried Cherries
Modified to America's Test Kitchen
Makes Approx 3 dozen cookies

3/4 cup chopped pecans

12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar, preferably dark

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chopped, or chocolate chips

1 1/4 cup dried cherries (I use unsweetened to avoid the added sugar)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; preheat oven 350.

2. Toast pecans. Set aside.

3. In bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar at medium speed. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low speed until fully incorporated. With mixer still running on low, gradually add dry ingredients; mix until just incorporated. Gentle fold in

pecans, cherries and chocolate chunks.

4. Using dinner spoon place blobs of dough on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 11 minutes for chewy cookies or 13 minutes for more crisp cookies at 350. The cookies will not be brown when done, but will have flattened out and may be a tad shiny yet. 

5. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks and cool to room temperature.

It's been too long...

It has been over 2 years since I have updated this blog. Life has thrown a lot of curve balls my way and it's time to get back on track.

I lost my mom to cancer in the fall of 2015, had my first baby in the spring of 2016, built a small garage apartment for our family's living arrangements until we can build our dream house, fired 6 contractors, finished building my temporary home myself while 8 months pregnant, had my second baby in the spring of 2017, and have just been struggling to catch up with life for the remainder of the year. Hoping 2018 brings about a lot of positive changes, including the ability to get the remainder of the down payment needed to begin construction on my forever home.

In learning to adjust to my new normal, I have struggled with adapting to a TINY kitchen, a ninja toddler, a second baby, my husband's new job that takes him away from us 50% of the time, and life in general has just kicked my ass.

Since November, I have finally found a happy balance and have started cooking real food again. I've got a legitimate work from home job to supplement our income to help make our dream home a reality that much sooner.

My goal for 2018 is to give you, my awesome readers, at least 4 new recipes a month, posts filled with helpful kitchen tips and advice, and some product reviews as I slowly upgrade and replace much of my 10 year old kitchen utensils.

Best wishes to all for 2018!

What a summer it has been!

I wish I had a ton of delectable recipes to share with my readers. Unfortunately I do not. I am hoping that will change before the end of the year. I NEED this to change before the end of the year. I miss the freedom of tossing together random ingredients and creating something delicious. It is my therapy and I am not me without it.

It has been a very rough year. Moving states, incompetent contractors who don't understand the concept of using multiple nails to hold walls together, and my mother being diagnosed with stage 4 bladder cancer and her numerous radical surgeries, appointments, and procedures that have followed. Now I am in the position as an only child to do all I can to help her out.

In the midst of all that insanity, somebody threw out a cute little black lab-like puppy that my husband JUST HAD TO HAVE. Let me tell you. That PUPPY is not a puppy. It is a 1 year old, full grown dog with more energy than the Energizer Bunny. The vet said she is a boxer-lab mix. But somebody small and ridiculously hyper has sneaked its way into the mix. And let's not mention that the dog thinks my precious kitty cats are play toys for her.

In case that hasn't been enough of a whirlwind, I am currently 13 weeks pregnant with my first child.

I really hope that I can get back to regularly experimenting in the kitchen and posting all my delicious discoveries with you!

Come Read with Me!

Have you ever had one of those nagging feelings that won't go away? One of those that make you feel extremely compelled to do something, even though rational thought tells you it is insane? I had one of those feelings back in September. In October it became even more of a nagging feeling. In November, I went along with it.

I put my house up for sale in December. I came to Ohio and purchased over 60 gorgeous acres that has three gorgeous ponds on it. In March I found a contractor and got an estimate for my dream home, it would be a stretch but it was doable. Two weeks later I sold my house in NC. Dream house had to be put on hold. I hired a contractor to build a garage apartment as my temporary home until I could build up my savings again for my dream home.

Then I fired my contractor. He cheated on the size of windows. Walls fell over & leaned. Now my father is spending his days off helping to teach me how to build my house. I am also looking for a new contractor for my dream house. But I wouldn't trade this for the world, even though it leaves me without a decent kitchen to cook in and internet too slow to use.

After being back in Ohio for almost 3 months, my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and we are currently awaiting test results to find out if she is strong enough for surgery to remove the cancer and infected organs. She is already having too many problems to risk trying chemo or radiation. While this is a horrible thing to be watching her go through, I am beyond thankful to get to spend a lot of time with her over the last several months.

While I have very limited internet and have been cooking out of necessity instead of desire, it means that this blog has been put on a back burner for a while. I promise though, once I have a kitchen I can move in again, I will be back with full force and numerous delicious recipes to share!

As for now, I leave you with my extensive summer reading list. (Descriptions taken from Amazon)

Day Shift by Charlaine Harris (read the first in the series)
There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.

Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading.

Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
 
A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.
 

At The Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the Colonel very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster—Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her sheltered world behind. 
 
As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich (read the others in the series)
Murdered and mummified nearly a century ago, notorious bootlegger Collier “Peg Leg” Dazzle discovered and re-hid a famous pirate’s treasure somewhere along the coast of New England. A vast collection of gold and silver coins and precious gems, the bounty also contains the Stone of Avarice—the very item reluctant treasure seeker Lizzy Tucker and her partner, Diesel, have been enlisted to find. While Lizzy would just like to live a quiet, semi-normal life, Diesel is all about the hunt. And this hunt is going to require a genuine treasure map and a ship worthy of sailing the seven seas . . . or at least getting them from Salem Harbor to Maine.

Miss Hazel & the Rosa Parks League by Jonathan Odell
Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League is a brilliant reimagining and republication of Jonathan Odell’s debut novel, The View from Delphi. Set in pre-Civil Rights Mississippi, and inspired by his Mississippi childhood, Odell tells the story of two young mothers, Hazel and Vida – one wealthy and white and the other poor and black – who have only two things in common: the devastating loss of their children, and a deep and abiding loathing for one another. Embittered and distrusting, Vida is harassed by Delphi’s racist sheriff and haunted by the son she lost to the world. Hazel, too, has lost a son and can’t keep a grip on her fractured life. After drunkenly crashing her car into a manger scene while gunning for the baby Jesus, Hazel is sedated and bed-ridden. Hazel’s husband hires Vida to keep tabs on his unpredictable wife and to care for his sole surviving son. Forced to spend time together with no one else to rely on, the two women find they have more in common than they thought, and together they turn the town on its head. It is the story of a town, a people, and a culture on the verge of a great change that begins with small things, like unexpected friendship.

The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs a work camp for orphans. Superiors in the state soon recognize the boy’s loyalty and keen instincts. Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do rises in the ranks. He becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over--and see everything anew. 

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

An historic literary event: the publication of a newly discovered novel, the earliest known work from Harper Lee, the beloved, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Originally written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird. Assumed to have been lost, the manuscript was discovered in late 2014.

Go Set a Watchman features many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird some twenty years later. Returning home to Maycomb to visit her father, Jean Louise Finch—Scout—struggles with issues both personal and political, involving Atticus, society, and the small Alabama town that shaped her.

All The Light We Cannot See  by Anthony Doerr
Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

I hope you enjoy these books! I am looking forward to reading them myself. 

Creole Catfish Court-Bouillon

This is a story of compromise. My fiance loves catfish. I have made catfish 20 different ways and have never liked it. I can tolerate it, but I'd not be sad if I never had to eat it again.

Being the awesome person that I am, I decided to make him catfish tonight. To try to find a recipe where it actually tastes good, I asked the wonderful people on Cast Iron Cooking for suggestions.

Catfish Court-Bouillon was mentioned several times, so I gave it and decided to make it tonight for dinner.

For a hater of catfish, this dish was actually really good. I think it would be better with the addition of other types of seafood as well, especially some shrimp. While I didn't include them in the recipe, tossing in a few cleaned shrimp would be a good addition to this recipe as well.

Creole Catfish Court-Bouillon
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tbsp. minced garlic
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
5 cup fish stock or water
2 cup diced tomatoes (or 1 can)
1 tbsp. sguar
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp. cajun seasoning
black pepper to taste
4 cat fish fillets, cleaned

In a large Dutch oven over medium, stir together butter and flour, cooking until browned and resembling melted milk chocolate.

Add in remaining ingredients, except catfish. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Add catfish. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until catfish is cooked.

Serve over rice.

TGIF! Let's Celebrate!

Already onto the second Friday of 2015! I am 9 days into my resolution of eating better quality food, as chemical free as possible with the American dietary standards. I am excited to be moving in the late spring/early summer to a beautiful spot, with few people and lots of land. I'm looking forward to gardening, canning, and freezing up a storm. I'm starting to research the best options for pressure canners for my late summer kitchen adventures!

Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

Cauliflower is one of those poor vegetables that often gets neglected. You rarely see it on restaurant menus. There are limited recipes for this vegetable.

More than likely you grew up eating it steamed, smothered in Velveeta style cheese.

While I do love it just sliced thin and roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper; this is a delicious new take on how to prepare a cauliflower. And it looks beautiful setting on your table.

Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
modified from Joy the Baker

For the Cauliflower:
1 head cauliflower, cleaned
2 tbsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. smoked paprika
Water

For the cheese sauce:
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Place cauliflower, salt, oil, lemon juice, butter, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, and bay leaf into a large pot or dutch oven. Fill with water until cauliflower is submerged. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. If you like a fairly firm texture, simmer until just beginning to soften. If you like your cauliflower fairly soft, simmer until easily pierced with a fork. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a 10 inch oven safe skillet, combine butter and flour for the sauce. Cook over medium-low heat until the roux is lightly browned. Stir in milk, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, cheese, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Place cauliflower in center of skillet, drizzle with olive oil or melted butter, sprinkle with smoked paprika and additional red pepper flakes if desired.

Place under low broiler for 3-5 minutes until cauliflower is beginning to brown.

Cut into wedges and serve!

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Homemade Funnel Cakes

What is it about fair food that brings even the most nutrition conscience people to their knees?

Don't judge. I ate a funnel cake for breakfast. I put blueberries on it though. So it was good for me.

I started 2015 with 1 simple resolution, to make a move towards eating better food. While a funnel cake is far from a healthy choice, I made it with all organic, farm fresh ingredients. So it still keeps me on track for my resolution.

Funnel Cakes
Makes 4
modified from Paula Deen

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
oil for frying

Heat oil either in a deep fryer or a cast iron skillet. Make sure that oil is at least 2 inches deep. Heat to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add wet ingredients. Stir, starting from the center working outwards until well combined.

(I highly recommend getting a squeeze bottle to use for this.) Pour batter into a funnel or into a squeeze bottle.

Squeeze into hot oil, starting in the center and spiraling outward. Once it begins to float, using tongs, to push it back down so that it is submerged in the oil. If you cannot submerge it, you'll have to flip it over.

It will only take 2-3 minutes to cook each funnel cake. Remove when nicely browned.

Serve with fruit compote, powdered sugar, or your choice of topping.

Healthy Eating: Tea, the Good, the Bad, the Disgusting

For my New Year's resolution, I vowed to cut out all highly processed and chemical-filled foods. I have done a lot of research and one of the first places I plan to start cutting out the chemicals in my food is with my tea.

Tea is a staple in my world. I drink anywhere from 2 to 5 cups a day. I never gave it a second thought until reading an article on 100 Days of Real Food. Which lead me to Food Babe. Which lead me to an article on The Atlantic. Which sent me off to do some real research.

Arguments can be made that 100 Days of Real Food and Food Babe simply read as promotional for certain types of tea. One thing lacking is real sources being sited for their articles. So I did a lot of research. Most of it through Google Scholar (links to REAL scientific studies).

Here is what it boils down to...

Teas are touted around the world as being good for you. You read countless articles about how tea is rich in anti-oxidants and may contain cancer-fighting properties. Tea can provide a magnitude of benefits....stress relief, a pick-me-up for an energy boost, calming to help you sleep. But what is really in your cup?

You can search online and find countless studies about what is really in the tea we drink. It is all fairly simple though.

The Tea Bag
I've found that most tea bags contain things I have no interest in putting in boiling water. (I am in no way saying that these are safe/unsafe, just that I personally will avoid using them.)

Many tea bags contain epichlorohydrin. The EPA states "Epichlorhydrin is used for making glycerine and as a monomer/building block for making plastics and other polymers, some of which are used as coagulant aids in water treatment. It is also used in the paper and drug industries as an insect fumigant." The CDC lists it as a "potential carcinogen" as well as "reproductive effects" and that it targets the "eyes, skin, respiratory system, kidneys, liver, reproductive system." Read more about the uses of epichlorohydrin.

Most brands use what I call a "traditional tea bag." These bags made from wood, that sounds safe enough, right? Unfortunately, it is highly processed and bleached, then chemically treated to neutralize the bleach. 

Another popular tea bag, marketed towards the health/eco conscience is listed as "corn-based" or "biodegradable." A better alternative to chemical laced, plastic, or bleached; however I am anti-GMO, so these bags are a no-go for me as well.  

The final type of tea bag that is common among popular US brands of tea is the mesh pyramid, that brags about the design being ideal for steeping the best cup of tea. I am not going to argue the shape of the tea bag being ideal. I am however going to argue that these "mesh teabags" are made of plastic material. 

Tea Leaves
Like most produce, tea is treated with a vast majority of pesticides to prevent bugs from ruining the crops. Unlike the produce you buy, you cannot wash your tea after purchasing it at the store.

Here is an article about Celestial Seasonings Tea. The study found that 91% VIOLATED US standards for pesticides. The FDA already allows a certain percentage of pesticides, insects/pests, and other less-than-desirable things to slip into our food supply. So not only are their teas full of legally allowed pesticides, they have gone and exceeded that limit. They've also had two prior warnings from the FDA. For me this brand is a definite to avoid.

CBC News in Canada has tested top brands of tea. Their study shows just how many chemicals are in the top brands, many of which we drink here in the USA.

Other Ingredients
Natural Flavors-sounds good right? WRONG. This is one of those tricky things that makes something sound better than it is. Natural Flavors imply anything in natural that can be broken down to taste like what you want. That means the flavor could come from a rock that has been chemically treated. If you have to add "natural flavoring" to something and can't come out and list what it is, you probably want to avoid it.
Artificial Flavors-artificial...enough said.
Soy Lecithin-soy based products. It mostly comes from soy bean oil that is chemically extracted. Again, not something I want in my tea.


What to Look For
Tea Bags: organic bag, non-GMO
Tea: organic, non-GMO

Recommedations
My personal recommendation is to buy a good quality stainless steel tea infuser and buy any brand of organic tea. If you buy tea already in a tea bag, just cut it open and pour the contents of the teabag into the tea ball and steep your tea that way. I prefer a mesh tea infuser just because it helps keep even the finest pieces of tea secure. Or if you're a Keurig lover, just use a mesh reusable filter.

Numi Teas-with prices varying from 27¢ to 89¢ per tea bag, it can become costly if you are an avid tea drinker. However Numi Teas are organic and have a non-GMO, organic tea bag.

Traditional Medicinals Tea- a more cost effiecent brand, averaging between 20¢ and 30¢ per tea bag. However there is a limited variety of flavors to choose from. I have found that Traditional Medicinals tends to brew a very flavorful, almost exceedingly strong cup of tea for my taste.

Rishi Tea - another quality brand, with greatly varying prices based on what type of tea you buy. However Rishi Tea is loose leaf tea, so a tea infuser is required. Or if you prefer, they also manufacture their own tea bags that you can fill yourself.

Happy New Years!

Here we are, welcoming 2015! Can you believe another year has passed by so quickly?

Old Fashioned Johnny Cakes

I am not sure why, but I have always been a fan of historical things...antiques, old books, living history re-enactments, 1800's architecture, and so much more. I am beginning to plan my dream house, modeled after an 1800's plantation. While being wrapped up in staring at Google Images of restored older homes, my inability to focus for long periods of time, I seem to constantly end up going off on tangents to everything else from that time era. Lately my new "go to" tangent has been antique cook books. With the internet, you can get vintage cook books with a few simple clicks, ready for reading on an e-reader. Technology is a wonderful thing!

Last night, my attention wandered in the direction of breakfast foods in a 1908 cook book. While looking at the pancake recipe, I noticed a "Indian Fritter" recipe that I had to try out once I put a little effort into modernizing it. I believe they are also called Johnny Cakes in the south, which for modern day purposes and the need to be politically correct, is what I will be referring to them as.

Mince Pie

In preparation for a family Christmas, I decided to try my hand at a Mincemeat Pie. This is a heavily spiced pie that is filled with a modernized version of traditional mincemeat.

Mince Pie
makes 1 9 inch pie

prepared 2-pie crust recipe (to follow)
3/4 cup finely chopped beef, cooked
2 1/2 cup chopped apples
3/4 cup raisins (I used a mix of golden and regular)
1/4 cup candied citrus fruit peel (citron used in fruit cakes)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 cup demerara sugar
zest and juice of 1 orange
4 oz. brandy

Preheat oven to 400. Line a 9 inch pie pan with bottom crust.

You do not have to cook the mincemeat if you do not wish to. I was in a hurry and needed to rush my pie along a little, so I tossed it all in a pot and cooked over low heat, stirring frequently, until sugar was melted and apples began to soften.

Pour into prepared pie crust. Top with second crust. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, until crust is nicely browned.

(If you are really late, you rush and don't even weave the lattice crust together). If doing a lattice crust, make sure to use a little egg wash to make it all stick together properly.



Simple Oil Pie Crust Recipe (again for when you're in a hurry)
makes 2 crusts

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2/3 cup  vegetable oil
3 to 6 tbsp. water or milk

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the oil and water/milk and pour over the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until the dough is evenly moistened. Divide dough in half. Pat half the dough across the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides. A flat-bottomed measuring cup can help you make the bottom even. Press the dough up the sides of the pan with your fingers. 

With the other half of the dough, roll out on a floured surface until less than 1/4 inch thick. Either place on top of the pie whole (remember to cut a few slips for the steam to escape),  cut into strips for lattice, or cut out shapes to overlap on the top of the pie.

Flute the edges together.

Bake as required for the pie.

Merry Christmas!

I want to take a moment to wish all my friends a very Merry Christmas! I hope that whatever you do on this day, rather you are religious or not, that you take a minute, sit back, relax, sip on a cup of hot chocolate, and reflect on all the positives in your life. This is the time of year to be celebrating friends, family, and all that you do have in your life.