Tag Archives: food

It’s a Good Thing

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With a nod to Martha Stewart for a phrase I am sure she thinks she invented, I’d like to tell you something that I love, something I think is a good thing:

ovenbaglg

Reynold’s Cooking Bags.  Yes.  I love them.

I just roasted 6+ pounds of roast beef for the chimichangas we are making later.  I threw in onions and garlic and peppers, walked away and came back to pure succulence.  It IS a good thing.  I have got to start remembering that I can use them at times other than Thanksgiving (when they provide a lovely turkey and cut down on the mess)!

Green Trend

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How much of what is now called “green” really is?

 

Dave was thinking of writing a blog about how appalled he was by the number of those little plastic food-sample cups we go through in American food stores every weekend as grocers try to entice us into buying $15.99-a-pound cheese or $28-a-pound  deli herbed-roast-beef .  Though it sounds noble and Dave seems almost “green,” it was really just based on the fact that he and I alone had approximately 17 empty little containers in our cart after a half hour in Target. 

That is probably more of an indictment against us than against the state of plastic-sample-cup use across America.

We did find a nice cheese in our price-range with a coupon…Jeanie

NOTE TO SELF: Skip lunch before Target next time.

Holiday Fare – Top Ten Tips

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This came in emails from several friends last week and I must wholeheartedly concur with this very good advice for eating and diet during the holidays.  I was told a member-in-good-standing with Weight Watchers wrote it (?).  I truly suscribe to this thinking!  Here are the top ten tips to get you through the holiday buffet:

 
10.  Avoid carrot sticks.  Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet
table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit.  In fact, if you see carrots,
leave immediately.  Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls. 
 
9.  Drink as much eggnog as you can.  And quickly.  It’s rare.  You
cannot find it any other time of year but now.  So drink up!  Who cares
that it has 10,000 calories in every sip?  It’s not as if you’re going to
turn into an eggnog-a-holic or something.  It’s a treat.  Enjoy it.
Have one for me.  Have two.  It’s later than you think.  It’s Christmas! 
 
8.  If something comes with gravy, use it.  That’s the whole point of
gravy.  Gravy does not stand alone.  Pour it on.  Make a volcano out of
your mashed potatoes.  Fill it with gravy.  Eat the volcano.  Repeat. 
 
7.  As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or
whole milk.  If it’s skim, pass.  Why bother?  It’s like buying a sports
car with an automatic transmission. 
 
6.  Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control
your eating.  The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat
other people’s food for free.  Lots of it.  Hello? 
 
5.  Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New
Year’s.  You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the
buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of
eggnog. 
 
4.  If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like
frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position
yourself near them and don’t budge.  Have as many as you can before
becoming the center of attention.  They’re like a beautiful pair of
shoes.  If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again. 
 
3.  Same for pies.  Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat.  Have a slice of each.  Or if
you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin.  Always have
three.  When else do you get to have more than one dessert?  Labor Day? 
 
2.  Did someone mention fruitcake?  Granted, it’s loaded with the
mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost.
I mean, have some standards. 
  
And the #1 and final tip:  If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party
or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention.  Re-read
tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
Remember this motto to live by: 
 
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand,
champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming
“WOO HOO what a ride!”

author unknown

‘Nuff said.

images: google!

A Thankful Tree, the Flu, a Light Snow and a “Blogoversary”

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Thanksgiving.

Can I just say the sooner the leftovers are gone, the better (except for Stormie’s pumpkin pies)?  But all delish.

We did a “thankful” tree on Thanksgiving, everyone filling out little “leaves” and hanging them with things for which we are grateful written.

Thumbnails (click for larger image):

  • The Thankful Tree
  • Wrex, whose medium was colored pencils, wanted his art on the “family art wall.”  The picture was drawn by Amy Jo Becker and includes the lyrics to a little turkey ditty (Five Fat Turkeys are We) to the tune of a song from The Mikado.
  • Turkey-bread by Stefane (who, as a devoted Texan, also introduced us to “Armadillo Eggs”-which are fabulous!)
  • Fake Thanksgiving-food cupcakes by Tredessa and Stormie for Jovan, who does not like one thing  - not one  Thanksgiving-related food (not turkey, not dressing, not mashed potatoes, nor gravy…not green bean casserole, not cranberries, not even pumpkin pie!)!  So the girls made cupcakes (which she loves) that LOOKED like Thanksgiving food using icing, white chocolate, Starburst candies and melted caramel.

    •  

    The Flu.

    In the middle of the night following Thanksgiving, I got hit with a full-on, horrid stomach flu, complete with fever, chills, and wrenching.  I won’t say more.  If it hadn’t been for the entire Kelley family having contracted and suffered through it just before Thanksgiving (Gavin does go to public school now – germ breeding grounds!), I’d have been thinking food poisoning.  But no, just a very untimely stomach bug!  So I spent Friday, while my husband and daughters were all shopping madly, in bed – when I wasn’t running to the bathroom.  Truly a “Black Friday” for me!

    I wish the google image above really did reflect my 3 a.m. view Friday morning!

    Snow at Last.

    At about 11 o’clock last night, we looked outside to see the most beautiful snow.  My nephew Zach from Montana, living with us while he completes a ministerial internship here, had just asked 2 days ago, “Yeah-so when do you guys get snow here?”  I am not a huge fan, but since it has so politely remained largely at bay this year so far, it was a welcome sight.  This morning the grass is almost covered and every branch has a puffy white coating and it is lovely and makes you want to watch Christmas movies and wrap presents.

    This is the snow-on-the-branches view out the back door this morning at 7:15 a.m., just after the bunny rabbit, who’d been looking in at me, hopped away.

    Blogoversary.

    Teena from Toronto left me a “Happy Blogoversary” message this morning and I realized that, yes, it is indeed my “blogoversary.”  How did she know that?

    Two years ago today, I started blogging.  The kids found and bequeathed the image that adorns my blog banner to get me started.  They all said she looks just like me, and I am happy they understand the inner me, for surely that is what they see. 

    To blog was both exhilerating and trepidatious for me.  I was so afraid to hit the “post” button back in those days, fearful of what my words would reveal of me, but also needing a place to tell some truth and speak some words I was struggling to communicate, especially to my children.  I was so cautious and agonized over how much to say, carefully wondering how much I could really tell truthfully, lest my truth hurt some one else.  You can read my very first blog here. (from 11.29.06)

    Now I blather on with both spiritual epiphanies as they come (they are for me, anyway) and the torrid, word-filled minutia of my life (like telling you about my stomach flu, for crying out loud!!).  This is my 398th post and I have 30 drafts in the folder waiting for me to finish off and publish – there is no end in sight, people!  And I always wonder about when I am gone - if my offspring should really ever begin to read this stuff, investigating it as they look for meaning and understanding of their past and their own lives – how really weird will they think I was? 

    It all remains to be seen…from the ever-graphomaniacal Jeanie

    NOTE TO FAMILY:  To all the Rhoadeses in every direction-hope Thanksgiving was warm and wonderful for you.  To the whole Moslander bunch, far and wide, always think of you and miss you on these days. 1991 was our last everyone-together Thanksgiving, and that does not seem right!

    A Very Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!

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    OK. This is what happens.  You spend years making ridiculous amounts of food for Thanksgiving.  Then one day you realize: NO ONE needs that much food at one meal on one day EVER.  So, you say to the now-grown children, “Let’s simplify.  Let’s do less.  L:et’s decide to fix only what we must positively have to create the Thanksgiving feast of our dreams.”

    And when all is said and done and everyone has made their decisions – we are still having too much food! 

    At least now they all pitch in, so my life really is easier.

    We’re pretty traditional.   I am roasting the 23.18 pound turkey.  I’ll just create the fabulous dressing on the side because that whole stuffing-inside-the-turkey thing is still a bit scary…you never know.  I will also mash 10 pounds of real-butter-and-heavy-cream potatoes with just the right amount of garlic.  They are to die for, if I must say so myself.  And I am an amazing gravy-maker.  There’ll be some dips and hors d’eouvres (gotta have the shrimp cocktail with Bookman’s sauce) and that is it!  The rest of the sides and pies and must-haves will come from my kiddos.

    What are you eating Thursday?…Jeanie

    NOTE TO SELF:  Better check Martha’s website to make sure I’m up on the latest turkey info…

    Choo! Choo! Train Cake for Hunter

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    Whereas last year’s firetruck cake (see here) was about 80 pounds and I toiled in fear over it, I have now realized I am not really “into” novelty cakes and was very relaxed.  It was simple and straightforward (with Dave explaining to me what a train must have) and instead of doing lots of piping and icing stuff, we “glued” Tropical Twizzlers and M & Ms and Dots, along with a couple of varieties of cookies onto this train cake for Hunter’s 4th birthday.  Dave piped windows for me and I came up with mini-Kit Kats as the idea for the railroad ties.

    The board it was on was 13 inches wide by 3 feet long.  The engine was 3 2-inch layers of cake at it’s highest part and was 4″ wide by 14″ long. The other cars were 8 inches and 12 inches long, respectively.  The “coal” was a box of Junior Mints.  It was just plain white cake wih the almond-infused buttercream, which, it turns out, Hunter is not a fan of.  He wants his icing (which he prefers to cake) to be plain, old vanilla-flavored.  Next time, Magoo, next time. 

    The smokestack was my favorite part: icing glued cookies, and a “Dot” base holding a cocktail pick threaded through popcorn for the smoke.  Pretty cute!

     

    I had looked at a bunch of train cakes online and cracked up at them and wondered why people would even post them.  Then mine turned out like theirs.  Ha!  But there wasn’t any sweat and the grandkids loved it. It was quick, simple, easy, fun and in the end the candy was the huge hit!

    There are still vats of buttercream here…takers?…Jeanie

    NOTE TO SELF:  A Candyland cake!  YES!  Using MMF and lots and lots and lots of candy!

    pictured: the cake, the chalkboard in the kitchen;  and Hunter at his house about to blow out his candles!

    October is Orange

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    October is pumpkins and spice, rustling leaves, brilliant carrots and abundant gourds and squash.  It is wool socks, leather shoes and a new pair of dark blue Levi’s.  October is tricks and treats, turtlenecks, Sunday suppers and chimnea fires.  It’s roasted seeds and amber and gold with browns and greens.  It’s spicy, cool mornings and indigo-dark skies.  It’s cinnamon rolls and fresh spicy pies.  It’s blazing color and fried green tomatoes, and caramel and taffy and apples, too.   But mostly, October is orange.

    DECORATE WITH ORANGE. 

    http://blogs.hgtv.com/hgtv/design/archives/2008/10/fall_into_orange.html

    ORANGE (“the color of craving”) AS DESIGN PASSION. 

    http://www.whorange.net/

     

    1 Kings 8.65 The Message: …”This is how Solomon kept the great autumn feast…Two solid weeks of celebration!…”

     

    Roasted Pumpkin Seeds  (modified from a recipe by Alison Aves)
    In a 10″ x 15″ baking pan,
    mix 2 cups unwashed* pumpkin seeds,
    1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter,
    1 1/4 teaspoons salt (use a seasoning salt, if desired) and
    1 teaspoon (or more to taste…for me? always more) Worcestershire.
    Spread seeds out in pan.
    Bake in a 250-degree oven, stirring occasionally,
    until browned and crisp (about 2 hours).
    Serve warm or cool.
    Thoroughly cooled seeds can be stored in an
    airtight container for up to a week.

    So-I am a summer-lover, but fall feels really romantic and lovely to me, too…Jeanie

    NOTE TO SELF: October is also when I have been called for Jury Duty, too.  Poo.  Jury duty is NOT orange.

    *Don’t worry – the orange slime from the pumkin that is still on the seeds will form a deliciously salty, crunchy coating on the seeds.

    pictured: a deliciously orange google image-collage

    What do you get when…

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    OK, a riddle:

    What do you get when you puree a couple dozen huge, juicy, red seeded tomatoes with several cloves of garlic, a big handful of cilantro, a giant super-sweet onion, the juice of 3 limes, some jalepenos (as much as you can take and still be functional) and Kosher salt (accept every blessing you can get!)?

    The answer:

    Fresh, home-made garden salsa - the kind that makes your tongue tingle and dimples pop!  Soooooo good.  I swear, I woke up thinking about it this morning!  YES!  It is that good!

    Sugar Shock

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    The sweets and baking arts are not my calling, though I enjoy  baking a wedding cake  for a crowd  because of  the challenge.   But through the years, I have latched on to a few, and I mean a few, recipes which have become known as “Family Favorites.”

    One is Fruit Pizza.

    Please do not mistake this goodie  for the pretty pictures of fresh fruit on a light crust that you might see in a Pampered Chef booklet or a Pillsbury Dough magazine ad.   This little pile of indulgence is heavy and sweet, chewy  and laden with fat and sugar  and could probably kill you, if you ate the whole thing.

    The recipe came to Dave and I within a few weeks of our marriage from one Mrs.  Howard Helm  of Minot, North Dakota.   She was a faithful  KHRT radio listener, where Dave was the afternoon/evening dj at the time  and she stopped by the station to bring this dessert – in a time and place where it was received readily, without reservation and enjoyed by the whole staff.

    This is old-fashioned-if-you’ve-gotta-die-of-something-it-may-as-well-be-dessert Fruit Pizza.   Nothing light and fresh about it – well, the fruit is until you bathe it in the “sauce.”   But it is pretty darn-tootin’ fun on occasion.   Tristan asked for it for his family birthday celebration and though we all get very excited about it initially, we can barely finish our servings and are bemoaning how rich it is before we finish.   But give it a couple of hours and we’re back.

    Do you have the courage?

     

    Old-Fashioned (Killer) Fruit Pizza

    Crust: one roll of prepared sugar cookie dough, pressed onto a pizza round or into a cake pan or cookie sheet, baked 12-15 minutes (until browning).   Remove from oven, set aside to cool.

    Sauce (make this while the crust is in the oven): 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate (don’t mix it with water-just the actual concentrate!), 1 cup of sugar, a dash of salt and 3 tablespoons of corn starch.   Whisk these and bring to bubbling in a saucepan.   Cook until thickened and then set aside to cool (must be totally cool before spooning over the fruit).

    Filling:   Beat 8 oz. softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  

    Fruit: any combination of your favorites in season or frozen.   We love bananas, strawberries, kiwi and even mandarin oranges or fresh peaches.   Then we pop raspberries and/or blueberries on top because they look so pretty.   I used to place all the fruit in very careful patterns and designs, but when I started just using a cake pan, the sauce covered it all up anyway, so now I just throw it in.

    Finish:

    • Spread the cream cheese filling over the cooled crust.
    • Place fruit over the cream cheese.   Load it up and pack it on.
    • Spoon the sauce over the fruit.   Chill for a few hours or overnight.

    Over the years, we have strayed from the traditional o.j. concentrate glaze and tried fruity combinations like mango-orange, or strawberry-grape.   I also put way less sugar in now, but you can’t tell!

    My teeth hurt just recounting this.

    The Convivial Table

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    “The convivial table is where it all begins,” I once read  with immediate agreement  and wish I could remember where and to whom it should be attributed.   Naturally I liked the word “convivial” because it denotes lively feasting and banqueting with loved ones, being in good company with lots of good food for all.

    I was perusing an old issue of Architectural Digest   recently, a lovely magazine I try to pick up from the annual library clean-up sale,  when I  saw an ad for Electrolux appliances which said,

    “In my kitchen: I preheat a memory.   I fold in old friends with new.   I bake a good laugh.”  

    I enjoyed the clever marrying of cooking and baking terms to the meaning of life.   There’s an ad person with a poet’s heart, methinks.  

    And isn’t the kitchen truly the lifeline of home and family?   Is this not where we experience unforgettable laughter and memory, the aromas of love and home-cooking?       Isn’t it in the kitchen we hear the music of the percolating coffee, the sizzle of the bacon, the the beep of the timer signifying the wait is over, the promise has arrived?     Is this not where we see the garden’s burst of  color  and taste of life itself?  

    The convivial table is life-giving.   The convivial table is a place of gratefulness and feasting.   “The convivial table is where it all begins,” and the place we keep hoping to get back to and should visit often.

    I my kitchen I…what?

    Eat, drink and be merry with some people you love…Jeanie

    NOTE TO SELF: Tomorrow the table will be laden with fish tacos and fruit pizza for Tristan’s birthday (hey it is his menu!), and with love for him and loud talk and laughter amongst all.

    pictured: a table spread for Christmas cheer moments before the lively and much-loved guests arrived