Feet Are the Scars of the Soul and Other Blogging Nightmares

Dreams are funny things, aren't they? I've never been too interested in dream intrepretation, but I've had a couple recently that might be worth the effort. A couple of nights ago, I had a rather bizzare dream that included my daughter and her best-friend-since-childhood who is now married with children of her own. I'm so glad they are still BFF's even though the job of parenting keeps them apart a lot. As children, there were a lot of nights spent together at their respective homes, and they joined forces on many creative endeavors that still make my heart warm with the memory. Okay, back to the dream: we were all together just chatting away and this sweet young woman looks at me and says, very dramatically and with a straight face, "Feet are the scars of the soul." I do remember I was very impressed and immediately asked her if I could "use that" (somewhere in my dream mind thinking of the blog). Feet are the scars of the soul.....I guess it could take on some deep philosophical meaning if you thought about it long enough.

And a few nights later: my high school senior class needed to raise money and decided to do so by making a porno film. While in the light of day, the thought is cringe-worthy, in my dream, everyone was very cool about it and didn't seem the least concerned. We were matched up with our partners and with no rehearsing (thank goodness), no script (do porno films use scripts?), everyone went on their merry way to meet back later. Now, I started out as a high school student, but when it came time to meet everyone at the appointed place, it came to mind that I was no longer that young nubile student but more my current age with all the gravity-defying parts that go with it. I also realized as I looked around at the beautifully coufed, made up girls, I was the only one who didn't use the time to have her hair and nails done!! (Like that was the worst of my worries). I also recall the location of "my" shoot was to be in the pool which is really scary since I do not swim and whenever I have attempted to try, sink like a rock. High anxiety was starting to kick in so I was very grateful my granddaughter did a sleeping back flip and kicked me in the throat, waking me up. Close call and one dream I DO NOT want to know the ending. The intrepretation here would be very interesting, I'm sure, sort of like the dream people have of standing naked at the podium to give a speech. I just can't help but wonder what we were raising money for and what happened to car washes and Krispy Kreme doughnuts! (Hmmm, hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts - now that's something to get excited about!)

EASY-PEASY TOOT-PLEASING SPAGHETTI

Greetings! I have had the glorious experience recently of cooking for my two-year-old granddaughter, lovingly nicknamed "Toot" and not because she likes trains (although that is the reason we'll give her when she's older). It can be somewhat frustrating how quickly yesterday's favorite is now today's "NO!" but it definitely keeps me on my toes, or at the stove, as the case may be.

One thing she hasn't lost her passion for is anything pasta, but especially spaghetti, the messier the better. Truly, is there any more pleasing compliment to a cook than wearing the meal over such a smile?

EASY-PEESY TOOT-PLEASING SPAGHETTI

1lb ground beef

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 teas. minced garlic

1 jar favorite tomato pasta sauce

Dried basil, oregano, salt/pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained


In a medium large pot, brown ground beef with onions and garlic until beef is no longer pink and onions/garlic are soft. Drain grease from beef and return to pot. Add tomato sauce. Add water to jar (approximately 1/3 cup), replace cap and shake to mix; add to pot and stir well. Add additional dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. (Or no extra if you're happy with the flavor of the sauce). While sauce simmers and thickens (about 15-20 mins), cook spaghetti per package directions and drain. Add spaghetti to sauce and stir to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and stir briefly to melt cheese. Let cool slightly for tiny mouths and serve - no fork needed! (We usually plan spaghetti night on bath night.)

What does your toddler love best?

Round the Kitchen Table...

Happy 2011 everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and the New Year has started out safe and warm and happy.

When I think of a "vintage" kitchen, it's not just food that comes to mind. I remember my grandmother sitting at her kitchen table the better part of the day starting everyday at 5:30 a.m. to prepare my grandfather's breakfast before he went off to work first shift at the mill. Breakfast done and he was out the door before 6:30 and once breakfast was cleared away, my grandmother began the daily ritual of preparing lunch/dinner. Grandad came home for lunch, which was always a full meal with plenty left to warm over for dinner.

As a young woman, my grandmother was hit by a car and ultimately had to have both kneecaps removed. I remember thinking of her and my grandad as Jack Spratt and his wife because my grandad was tall and slender and my grandmother was petite and as years of physical inactivity accumulated, somewhat wide. I can still see her walking around the kitchen table, holding onto the edge of the table from sink to stove and back again, doing what was necessary to prepare the family meals. Moving from room to room required crutches and later, a walker.

While she couldn't do much else, her handicap didn't stop her from preparing delicious southern meals daily. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried pork chops, gravy and rice (face it, folks, "FAT" is a bonafide food group in the South!) but always with fresh vegetables and homemade biscuits and something yummy for dessert.

The kitchen was her domain and friends, neighbors and family members spent precious time there, discussing life over a meal or a cup of coffee fresh and hot from the percolator.

When she wasn't at the table, she was in her favorite chair in the "den," the room right next to the kitchen, where she watched "her" shows. She did not miss General Hospital, for one, and she loved Wild, Wild, West. She called Jim West "Tight Pants," and coming from my soft spoken, white-haired grandmother, this was hysterical to us kids. Her bedroom was next to the den so while they lived in a two story house built in the 1900's, with a total of 11 rooms, she seldom went beyond those three connecting rooms. She didn't leave the house often, maybe twice I can remember, but she made the two-hour trip to see me married. A strong Christian, my grandmother was always a champion for the underdog and the one who taught me unconditional love. I still miss her.

So in honor of my grandmother, in addition to recipes new and old, sometimes we'll just sit around the kitchen table and talk, over a cup of coffee. Anything you'd like to dish about? Any relatives that made an unforgettable impact on your life?

Oh, La, La, Lavender

Years ago when I came across the following recipe in the August/Sept 2008 Taste of Home magazine, I was intrigued about the prospect of cooking with lavender. My daughter's first baby shower was coming up and this recipe sounded perfect. After checking locally for edible grade lavender and finding none, I tried the vendor suggested in the recipe, Penzeys Spices, which turned out to be another exciting find!

Penzeys Spices has a wide selection of top grade spices and once on their mailing list, send a colorful catalog which not only displays and educates about their spices but also includes delicious recipes from their readers. When I called to place the order, the rep was very pleasant and helpful and a very reasonable $4.95 later brought a 4oz bag of edible grade lavender right to my door! Four ounces may not sound like a lot, but trust me, it is a lot of lavender but keeping it double-bagged in a cool, dry place, it is as fragrant and fresh as when purchased over two years ago.

We tried this delicious moist and flavorful cake again recently and with holiday gift giving in mind, I decided to try baking it in miniature loaf pans. It is just as delicious made in the bread pans and well worth the effort to locate the lavender.

Almond Lavender Cake
Lillian Julow, Gainesville, FL Taste of Home Magazine Aug/Sept 2008

2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 TBLS plus 1 teas dried lavender flowers, divided
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teas vanilla extract
1 8oz cup sour cream
1/4 cup half and half cream
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
4 teas boiling water
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Additional dried lavender flowers, optional

Grease a 10-inch fluted tube pan and sprinkle with sugar, set aside. Place 1/2 cup sugar, the almonds and 1 TBLS lavender in a food processor, cover and process until finely ground.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy; beat in almond mixture until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream and half and half. (In another bowl) Combine flour, baking soda and salt, add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, beating well after each addition.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 mins before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.
For drizzle, combine boiling water and remaining lavender in a small bowl. Steep for 5 mins. Strain, discarding lavender. In another small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and enough infused water to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over cake. Garnish with additional lavender, if desired. 12 servings.

Almond Lavender Mini Cakes

Follow the basic recipe above except grease and sugar 4 mini bread pans and one full size bread pan (or 6 mini pans). Divide the batter among pans, filling small pans first, about 3/4's full and spoon remaining batter into large pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 mins, remove to wire rack and cool completely before adding glaze. Garnish with additional lavender, if desired, but do so quickly and press down gently. Glaze dries very fast! If not eating or giving away immediately, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then foil and store in freezer. Let thaw and come to room temperature before serving.

Now, what to do with all that left over lavender.....how about some

Lavender Shortbread Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart Living

1 cup unsalted butter,* room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teas salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teas almond extract

Almond Crunch Topping
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
2 teas lavender

Lavender Glaze
1/3 cup boiling water
1 cup confectioner's
2 teas lavender
*If using salted butter, lower salt to 1/2 teas.

Preheat oven to 325. Butter or lightly spray (wipe off excess) 2 cookies or baking pans.
In a food processor, combine almonds, sugar and lavender and process until finely ground. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

Sift together flour and salt in a small bowl, set aside. In large bowl, cream butter until fluffy, about 4 mins. Add sugar and continue to beat, 2 to 3 mins, until fluffy and light in color, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in almond extract. Add flour mixture and beat on low until flour is incorporated and dough sticks together. Roll into 1-inch balls, then roll in almond mixture. Set aside remaining almond mixture. Refrigerate 20 mins. Bake until cookies are firm and just beginning to brown. Cool on pan 5 mins, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

To prepare glaze, add lavender to a tea strainer and set inside small bowl, pour boiling water over, cover tightly and steep for 5-8 minutes (water should be light lavender in color and fragrant). Add by teaspoons to sugar (about 3 to 4) and mix until smooth. Dip tops of cookies in glaze and then in remaining almond crunch mixture. Set aside to dry. Store covered at room temperature. Makes approximately 40 cookies.

These cookies are very flaky and melt-in-your-mouth. If you prefer a crunchy shortbread, substitute granulated sugar for the confectioners'.

So have any of you tried cooking/baking with anything unusual and out of the norm? Would love to hear about anything new and different!

Happy Baking!

Snack Mix, Anyone?

Amazing that it has been almost a year since my last post! Life has a way of doing that, though, doesn't it, changing things when you least expect it, turning itself upside down. It all comes out in the wash, as they say, just gotta roll with it and trust God to see you through. Sometimes the most heart-breaking events take you just where you need to be.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and now ready to jump into the Christmas season. This one will be extra special for me since I will spend it with my maaavelous daughter and son-in-law and that ever-incredible full-speed-ahead 2-year-old granddaughter, Toot.

As you may have noticed from previous recipe blogs, I am a big snack mix fan and love coming up with new flavor combinations. I would like to make a confession to any who may think this is such a feat: with the basic syrup recipe, you are only limited by the flavors of cereal and Jell-O you can find, available dried fruit and your own imagination. The real fun is coming up with your own favorites. I would love to hear of any concoctions you've come up with....

Here's the latest for your consideration:

CRANBERRY CRUNCH MIX

9 Cups* Chex Cereal, corn or rice or combination
2 cups Frosted Cheerios
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 TBLS corn syrup
6 TBLS butter, cubed
1 bag dried cranberries or Cranraisins
1 cup dried banana chips
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup whole cashews (optional)
2 3oz boxes Cranberry Jell-O
1 large roasting bag

Combine cereals (and nuts) in a large microwavable bowl and set aside. Combine cubed butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in microwavable measuring cup or small bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir well and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted. Mix well. Pour approximately one-half of syrup over cereal and fold gently to coat. Microwave 2 minutes, folding well after each minute.

Add banana chips, fruit and remaining syrup. Fold well to coat and return to microwave for one to two minutes, folding well after each minute. Set aside to cool briefly while you pour one box of Jell-O into the roasting bag. Add cereal mixture and pour second box of Jell-O onto top. Close securely and shake well to coat all pieces. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store airtight.
*9 cups is one box of cereal*


This one has moved to the top of the favorite stack.

Island Pineapple Melody

9 cups Chex cereal
2 cups Frosted Cheerios
1 7oz bag Sunmaid Tropical Trio (pineapple, mango, papaya)
1 cup banana chips
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup whole cashews (optional)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 TBLS corn syrup
6 TBLS butter, cubed
2 3oz boxes Island Pineapple Jello
1 large roasting bag

Follow directions for cranberry crunch above and enjoy!

Happy Snacking!

Flu Fighter/Good for You Cookies

I promised this recipe - one correction, it came from The Food Network Magazine, not Taste of Home (both are excellent sources for recipes and ideas). The first recipe is the original from the October issue and the second (Good for You Cookies) is an adjustment I made, substituting special dark chocolate (also a good antioxidant) for the walnuts. Full of natural antioxidants, these cookies are seriously yummy and - you guessed it, Good for you!!!

FLU FIGHTER COOKIES from the Food Network Magazine

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp (teaspoon) baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves =
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1 TBLS (tablespoon) freshly grated ginger
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (about one lemon)
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups golden raisins
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
1 1/4 cups roughly chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Add the molasses, yogurt, ginger and lemon zest and beat until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture to make a sticky batter (do not overmix). Fold in the oats, and half the cranberries, raisins and walnuts. Mix the remaining dried fruit and nuts in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto prepared baking sheets. Top each with some of the reserved fruit/nut mixture and chill for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 d.

4. Bake cookies until dark golden but still soft, 10 to 12 minutes; cool on rack. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week. Makes about 30 cookies.

GOOD FOR YOU COOKIES
Using the recipe above, substitute Special dark chocolate chips (different from semi-sweet) for the walnuts, adding approximately 3/4 cup to the batter and the balance of chips mixed with the cranberries and raisins to top the cookies.

Our Cat, Pat?

A couple of months ago, a pretty little black and white kitten came to our house via the motor of my car. We found her when we stopped the car to find out what "that noise" was. The kitten was unhurt and looked young, female and full of the nastiest smelling gas ever to come out of a living being. I took it to the vet who could not determine an age and did an ultrasound to make sure the kitten was not pregnant since female cats apparently go into spontaneous ovulation by just being around a male cat (hey, that's what the professionals said). Too full of poop, literally, to tell. Sold me some medicine to give the kitten over the next four months. So pretty, sweet and cuddly. We put a red rhinestone collar on "her" and named her Bella.

Time passes and the children come to visit for New Year's. My daughter, ever the diplomat, is watching the kitten crawl around the couch which prompted her to ask: "Mom, what did you name the cat?" "Bella," I answer, "why?" "Because," she answered, stifling a giggle, "Bella is a boy." NO WAY!!! I don't want a boy cat (they spray to mark their territory - the worst - cause their territory is wherever there's room to back up and shimmy). "No, no, no," I cried, "I refuse to accept Bella as a boy!!!"

My daughter, knowing I believe in the power of prayer, solemnly advised, "Mom, praying to Jesus is not going to change the sex of this cat!!" So Bella has become Bela, like Lugosi, with the added moniker of "Pat." SNL fans of Julia Sweeney may remember her character, Pat, the androgynous character no one could determine if male or female for sure. So, I accept that Bela is a one-L, two T feline, for now. He better watch his "pees" and "poops", though - I understand there is an old tyme method of removal involving rubber bands - Ouch!