Peanut Butter Love

My girlfriend Shawna just posted on Facebook, Peanut Butter and Butter. I happen to love this, as a kid I would never eat peanut butter and jelly, it had to be butter. In my Snoopy lunch box, with grape juice in my thermos. On a road trip. To this day, I love it. There is something about the butter that is creamy and does something to the texture of the peanut butter to make it perfectly smooth and greasy and not at all sweet. It's the goopy good stuff...

In high school, the cafeteria offered peanut butter fluff sandwiches for free, if you didn't have a lunch. And to this day, when I need my fix, I have to have my peanut butter fluff sandwich, sometimes just with a spoon and both jars on the counter.

Now there are all kinds of 'butters' available. I happen to like almond, cashew is alright and let's not forget Nutella. Dear, God, let's not forget Nutella. Ahh, but this is a different story all together.

I have recently, the past few nights after dinner gone to the cupboard and broke off a piece of dark chocolate and scooped the peanut butter right out of the jar, just like the old commercials. It's just perfect, absolutely perfectly goopy and good...

Weight Watching

Julia Child was asked about eating healthy and maintaining weight.
This list is from the American Institute of Wine and Food, co-founded by Julia Child:

Moderation
Small Helpings
A Great Variety of Foods
No Snacking
Weight Watching
Sensible Exercise
Have A Good Time!

I think this is the list to live by. It very simply says, no bags, no boxes, don't obsess and eat home cooked food. Enjoy every bite!!!

Effortless?

Time. Time is the difference between a wannabe and a pro. A pro will relish the time and create the time to do the extra work involved, to know more and be more, to be more knowledgeable and at ease with the subject at hand. Whereas, the wannabe will take every short cut they can find to try to get to the same place as the pro, but it just won't happen; they are not truly giving of themselves, they are simply trying to 'get', by avoiding. A pro really cares and there is nothing they can do to stop the flow of ideas. Ideas come to them easily because they are in tune with what they want and focus on it. There is pride in workmanship, by putting themselves into what they are doing, there is not a 'getting' mentality. It is a giving in it's true form.

We, as a nation, seem to be more interested in speed and the elimination of work; striving for less work, less steps involved. Looking for the flick of a switch or press of a button...and Voila! it is there for us and waiting...Fast and cheap with little to no effort. Just think about that mentality. Think about the society, our society that has put that into our minds, our thinking, molding our daily routine. Putting the thought in our head that our lives are all about the time we save. Save time to do what? Spend more time watching t.v.? So, we have more time, wouldn't it be nice to have that time to live creatively, taking time, spending time on the things that matter to us? To be made to feel that something valuable to us is not worth our own effort is a life-diminishing thought. I am not a piece on an assembly line, nor a dollar sign; as an individual I do not see myself as being something or someone so easily replaceable. To be made to feel that way is an insult to my intelligence.

Cottage Pie...Royally

I love English cooking. Growing up, living in West Los Angeles and Santa Monica, I was taken to the Tudor House as a child and am still in love with the little shop on 2nd Street. I have to go every once in a while and get my necessities: McVities milk chocolate biscuits, an Empire biscuit from the bakery and I have to have a look at the linen tea towels, which I have grown addicted to.

With the frenzy this week of the Royal Wedding, there have been recipes abound...Cottage Pie, Sheperd's Pie, traditional English breakfasts, puddings, scones...you get the picture. I found a recipe in People magazine for Cottage Pie and it was very good. Here is my slightly adapted version.

1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
2 heaping T. flour
1 1/2 c. water
2 t. herbs de Provence
1 T. Kitchen Bouquet
1 beef bouillon cube
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

7-8 med potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 c. whole milk
1/4 stick butter
1 t. kosher salt
1 c. grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the beef in a large skillet, drain the fat. Add the chopped onion, cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Add the flour, water, herbs and flavorings. Whisk slowly until thick. Pour into casserole dish.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes until tender. Drain water, add milk, butter and salt. Mash with potato masher, then use an electric mixer to make the potatoes fluffy. Layer the mashed potatoes over the meat in the casserole dish. Spread evenly with spatula and sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Easy Dog Food

I love that Rachel Ray has dog treat recipes in her magazine. In my patisserie and baking book from culinary school, the author/chef has a recipe for dog treats in the very beginning of the book. I have been making my little dog, Duke's, dog food for years, it's super easy and I find he's satisfied with less food. His habit is to sit by the stove when I'm making it, knowing good and well what's cooking.

I have a very simple recipe that he loves.

1lb ground turkey
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 cup barley

If I have any ends of bread or potatoes that have not been seasoned or rice, I will throw that in the skillet, as well.

Brown the meat in a skillet. Add the oatmeal and barley and cover with water. At this point the grains will absorb all of the water, and you will have to stir and add more water to cover again. When the barley is soft after about 30 minutes on low heat, it will be done. Cool and store in a container and refrigerate. Duke is about 18 pounds and this usually lasts him about 10 days. He knows where to wait...when it's time to eat he will be sitting right at his bowl!!

"Correct" Seasoning

Have you ever read in a recipe "Correct" Seasoning? I love to see this because it simply means taste what you're cooking and see if you like it. Add more of this or that and see if that makes it taste good for 'You'. Just because a recipe calls for a certain ingredient does not mean you have to put it, or the whole amount of what it says. You know what you like and you know who you are cooking for, so you be the judge, the final judge of the recipe you made. That is real cooking.

Time for Reflection

It is  not possible to have a perfect life; but it is possible to have a life I love. For this way of thinking, I look at life this way: To be more than I was yesterday and less than I will be tomorrow. I love to cook, I love to eat and I love my kitchen. I am not fond of the word domestic. It creates in my mind a vision of duty. Real cooking to me is a process: make a mess, make a meal, eat, clean it up. Repeat. It's a cycle, a living breathing cycle. A home is not a shrine or a gallery, it is where we as human beings are comforted, fed, bathed, warmed, cooled, guided, rested and rejuvenated. How we do these things lies our quality of life. Our kitchen deserves our respect, as does our home in the fact that it is a place and not a station.

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Yep, I felt blah. Energy-less. Not motivated. Blue, but not dark blue. So, I made lentils. I have written about lentils before. They are, absolutely, my all time favorite economical and tasty meal. Extremely nutritious, lentils contain high levels of protein and are a good source of iron. Along with, fiber, folate, B1 and minerals. Lentils are a legume that grows in a pod with 2 seeds. Fully the most nutritious meal for the money.

Make sure to rinse lentils well, remove any debris that floats or little rocks.

Cooking for myself, I cook a cup of lentil in 2-3 cups water. I like to cook them on a low flame for about 20- 30 minutes before I add anything else. After that I will add about 1/2 cup of onion, a chicken bouillon cube and maybe some sliced carrots. I happen to like mine thick, not too soupy, but definitely watch the liquid because lentils cook quick and will absorb the liquid in no time, so make sure to add a little or a lot according to your liking. Cooking time is about 40 minutes, I like mine soft. I poured them over brown rice and seasoned with some Spike. Then I took a nap and felt much better.
Tasty. Hearty. Nutritious. Like an old friend, lentils are always in my cupboard when I need them.

A Bitters Moment

Whenever I see my bottle of Angostura bitters in my kitchen, I see home. I feel my grandmothers presence in my kitchen. To open the bottle and smell the aromatics, lifts me. There are many things in my home that make me feel home as I knew it growing up with her, but there is something about the senses being lifted that keeps me close to her.

I splash it in tonic water, milk or orange juice. I add it to anything with cinnamon or my stir fry's, over fruit and cottage cheese. I love the stuff. I have to have my bitters moment of the day...

I could not go a day without seeing the bottle in my kitchen, next to my stove, a permanent fixture in true retro-classic style. If I've said it once, I'll say it a million times, Angostura rocks!!

Buy A Cooler

I have different size coolers: a small one, a medium sized one and small insulated ones I use for lunch. When I was a figure skater it was common to see skaters that skated the early morning sessions carrying their coolers and their skates on a wooden rack into the ice rink at 5:15 in the morning. I took juice, fresh fruit, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, turkey burgers, leftovers, salads and usually a thermos of tea. Working in an office, I always take my lunch, most often its leftovers of pasta or a sandwich, fresh fruit and something I baked, cookies or a sweet bread.

There is a feeling of self-sufficiency knowing that my food for the day is there. It has already been thought about, so all I have to do is take the time to eat it, when the time comes.

I love to take my own food when I go places. When I take a long hike or a road trip, I have a cooler that fits right in the back seat on the floor as if it were always meant to be there. And I love that it's there for me.

Preparation

Mise en place. Everything in place. Thinking ahead to the next meal or the next day. Cleaning vegetables; washing lettuce and spinning it; washing herbs. Cubing the butter for the biscuits. Measuring flour and other dry ingredients for a loaf bread or a cake. I find this kind of thinking ahead takes a bit of the pressure off when I have to get to work. At the end of an evening when I am tired yet tireless, knowing what I will be preparing next, I can get the ingredients together on a second wind which makes it easier to ease into the next go round. This really helps, knowing what I have already prepared, it really takes a mental load off of the task. If you're in the kitchen and you know the next day you will be baking bread, measure out the flour and put it into a container with a label. If you have more time on a certain evening, knowing your cooking plan for the week, wash things, measure things, measure and prepare the single ingredients. Take the time to prepare and have everything ready - You'll be happy you did and it's good for you.

Safety First

Yesterday my son was in a construction accident; he was cutting tubing with a grinder and it caught, flew up and hit him in the face. He called me and very calmly said he didn't have that good of a day, proceeding to tell me that he spent the day in the ER and had 42 stitches in his face. He was wearing safety goggles but not a full face mask; he was cut from his lip to his chin. I was glad I was sitting down when he called, knowing full well the sight of blood and gore causes my arms to tingle and a bag to go over my face. But he was calm as could be and today he had to start his new job for vessel assist in the Santa Monica Bay. He was on call, he told me, as of today, and wouldn't you know it, he got called and last I heard he was in search of a boat to tow in. Tough, I know and I'm grateful he loves being on the water and enjoys what he does, even in pain...but for God's sake, from now on please wear all of the protective safety gear...words to live by.

Character and Integrity

I consider myself to be a tireless advocate of the kitchen. The more I go, the more I learn and believe in what I'm talking about. I truly believe we can elevate our quality of life by taking the time to prepare home cooked meals with whole ingredients from scratch. By doing this we encourage diginity and ground ourselves. The habits we form are what make us who we are. Our way of life = Our quality of life.

Sometimes the reason we do something is because we don't know any better. We do know better, in this case, we just need to look back a generation or two at history. Look back to our great grandparents - what they cooked and how they ate. Good food is not fast, it takes time. It doesn't come in a box or a bag.

Food should be made by hand; It is an extension of ourselves. A good working, productive kitchen shows character and integrity. For our soul, it should calm us and restore us through our hands and our senses. Just take the time to think about what comes from your kitchen. What kind of a place is it? Is it actually a place or a reheating zone? Do you eat there? Does your kitchen sustain you or is it just a room in your house? What is your relationship with your kitchen? When was the last time you made a meal from scratch? I love to cook and it's taken me time to reform my eating habits to my thinking. It's worth it.

Mirepoix

The combination of chopped onion, carrots and celery that is the base for sauces, soups, stews and stocks; sometimes referred to as aromatics. The heavenly smell that gets the senses flowing as it sautees in butter or olive oil.

In Cajun cooking onion, bell pepper and celery are known as the Holy Trinity.

A lot of the time in home cooking, the bases are forgotten. This is a base to never be forgotten. I use it to make every soup and stock, I even use it for marinara sauce and will puree it after it has cooked to make a nice thick texture. I usually do a rough chop of the vegetables, making sure that they are about the same size, but not pretty. The calculation is 50% onion, 25% carrot and 25% celery. So 1 medium onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery ribs.

Butter can be omitted and olive can be used or bacon fat or ham. Just remember this combination used in your cooking can make all the difference. More often than not, it will be whats missing when you make something and find that its just 'off'. So wash your hands, sharpen your knife and turn on the stove...and your home will smell amazing!

Foods of Love

I was just asked to name 10 aphrodisiac cooking ingredients, I thought I would share them with you:

1. Dark Chocolate, the darker the better

2. Oysters, something about seafood
3. Garlic, the aroma and the taste gets your senses flowing
4. Caviar, the saltiness and the texture
5. Figs, fresh and seductive, drizzled with dark chocolate
6. Asparagus, the sexiest vegetable of all
7. Avocados, smooth, creamy and erotic
8. Ginger, a certain relaxing zing
9. Vanilla or Almond Extract, the aroma is enticing
10. Coffee...keeps you up!

Any fresh fruit that is juicy and ripe in summer, shared of course, is awesome, too!

Taste Style

Like the legend on a map, our palate has a taste map, Sweet, Salty, Bitter and Sour. The proper combination of the different tastes, done well, is what makes our mouths water. In addition to tasting the flavors, there is smell and texture. All of our senses must be fulfilled as part of the ritual. The gastric juices in our stomach must flow so that we may digest our food; they are supposed to flow and make us feel hungry. The smell is the first part of the process. Next is the aesthetic appeal of the food on the plate. A combination of the smell and the taste and texture of the food in our mouth complete the process, yet at the same time are just a part of the ritual. There is the sound of the utensils clinking and scraping the plate. Hearing the crunch or the slurp of the food we chew. Look. Smell. Listen...Feel...and...Taste. It's all a part of the experience.

Happy Birthday, To My Son

23 Years, yesterday!! I am proud of my Son, the captain. I know he loves my cooking which is the greatest compliment a mother could get. Many Happy Returns!!!!

Basic Loaf Cake

This basic loaf cake is the best recipe I have for making variations:

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat bran (unprocessed)
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan by spraying with nonstick spray or oiling and flouring.
In one mixing bowl whisk the dry ingredients. In another bowl whisk the wet ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix well with a wooden spoon, but do not over mix. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes. Test with skewer, making sure it comes out clean.

Instead of bananas, add any of the following: 2 cups shredded carrots and 1 tbsp cinnamon. 2 cups shredded zucchini, 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice. 2 peeled, chopped apples, 1 tbsp cinnamon with 2 tbsp sugar.

This loaf cake is a staple and it comes out great every time. Enjoy!

So What If I'm Old School?

I love hot water bottles and mason jars and if that means I'm old school, then I take that as a complement. Foods that don't come in bags or boxes are, obviously, real foods to me. I realize the foods I have chosen to eliminate for reasons of human value and a philosophical point of view are mostly genetically modified foods (GMF). Although, I am now reading up on gmf's, I prefer to live my life from a philosophical point of view. Living my life with the intention to be my true self and who I need to be is what really matters to me.Taking time to care and find quality; looking for my own reasons within myself as to why I want to do something; why it would mean something to me. One thing I fully, heartily believe in is to think for oneself.

If taking the time to prepare a meal from scratch describes me as being old school, thanks. It also means the difference between a wannabe and pro. I prefer the thought of being a pro at being myself. A real professional will always find the time and take the time.

It's Edible

The house smelled fantastic. After 45 minutes, I opened the oven door and Voila! it was a hot mess of a flop.
I love Nigella and used her recipe for Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake. The loaf sunk quite perfectly in the middle, like it just gave up. It's not dry, in fact, it tastes pretty good. The crumb seems to be a bit thick, not a fine crumb that I'm used to seeing. I do live at about 5,000 feet altitude, and last summer I had something similar happen to a pound cake, actually, it was most likely the same thing. If I were able to put the two loaves together I might start humming Ebony and Ivory. Well, it's edible and half of it is gone. There's a smirk, and a wink and a bite for 'ya. I'm pretty sure it's the altitude as Nigella can do no wrong.

The Pleasure Is Not A Sin

Life should be rewarding, on a daily basis, or preferably several times a day. It is our rightful heritage to enjoy our meals, enjoy our daily rituals and feel the feeling of being rewarded and feel special. If something or someone does not make you feel special, it needs to be removed and replaced by something that makes you feel alive. We are human beings and we need to feel and be as true to our selves as we possibly can. It seems so many of us are preoccupied with counting calories and working out that we miss the pleasant simplicity of daily rituals, like having a good quality simple meal or taking a walk or reading a book. Enjoy life, that's what we're here for.

A Day In The Life

This is what I'm working with today...A snoring little dog and a prima donna cat. It's been a gloomy day, which means a great day for baking. I'm about to put a chocolate orange loaf cake in the oven...will let 'ya know how it turns out. :)

Rock On April!!!!

I honestly did not say this, my brother did...But SPRING is here in Hailey, Idaho. I love these mountains but spring is an unpredictable time of year. It's worth it's weight in gold because spring always leads to summer. Oh, it may snow overnight, only to melt by 10am. Most of the big snow has melted in the yard and I can see little green sprouts coming up, the first hearty ones. To live here and grow here you have to be hearty. This is not the place for the feint of heart and the high maintenance, because the weather will get you every time. This winter was one of the coldest I have ever experienced, many a time it was well below zero. Two layers of clothes on the bottom and four to five on top. Hot water bottles, heating pads, 6 thick blankets on my bed. Many a time I had to shovel snow from my door to the car 2 or 3 times a day. I often opened the front door and the snow was so high that it took a couple of good shoves before I could get out. Cabin fever...don't get me started! But the change of seasons is happening as it is everywhere (I hope), and with great relief I can feel the sun on my face and the warmth in the air. There is a certain smell in the air from the river that will come soon and that I love the most. Rock on April!

Chocolate Sandwiches

My grandmother had a favorite story of my youngest aunt and uncle that were found sitting on top of the kitchen counter one morning eating bread and Hershey syrup: Chocolate sandwiches. To my grandmother it was a chocolate thing; my uncle was and is a chocoholic without a doubt. I am pretty sure it was my aunt that drummed up the whole thing because she is quite the innovative leader; I am sure my uncle said he was hungry and my aunt said well let's climb up here and make something. I, myself, have never eaten a Hershey chocolate sandwich, but I have recently discovered just how wonderful a really good chocolate sandwich can be. What it takes is a fresh, crispy baguette, warmed with a bit of butter and a few squares of good dark chocolate in the middle. This is so good it has it's own category on my good-o-meter: Scandalously Good.

Canned Green Beans

I despise them. It has to do with certain segments of my childhood. Recently, I was served a meal and the meal included canned green beans. At the time I was happy with my company, but as I saw the can being opended while I watched dinner being prepared, I was dumbstruck. It was a fault of huge measure for the person making me dinner, yet, I didn't know how to say that I hated them, because I thought I really liked the person, at that odd moment of time in my life. Fresh green beans I love, steamed, or especially my new found way of roasting them. But, I did eat them, and I did not utter one word about my dislike or my bad childhood experience with them, and I do not quite understand why. In all honesty they were tolerable, I ate them all and didn't gag. But it wasn't worth it; it just wasn't worth the trouble. The same went for my company; tolerable, but in the end not worth the trouble. I will never do that to myself again.

School Lunch Mystery

I do not understand the big issue of offering vegetables in lunch cafeterias. I just read that they are trying to market the vegetables to the kids. There are so many good cooks and chefs in this country. My question is: Are they not teaming up with the nutritionists? Am I blind thinking there is some kind of conspiracy going on here? This is not rocket science. There are so many ways to add vegetables to food for kids that they will love: use whole wheat flour, make zucchini bread, carrot cake, pumpkin bread, apple cake, use whole wheat pasta and make the meal appetizing. Cut out at least half of the sugar, add bran and flax to the recipe. Use WHOLE FOOD ingredients to make the recipes for the school lunches. I don't understand why this is such a huge issue. To introduce new foods to kids, maybe have a day of tasting at the school so that kids learn about the new healthy food offered to them so they can make good healthy choices. Take the mystery out of what to do by inviting the kids to taste the new healthy items offered, and use some of the budgeted marketing money for this. If it's good, they will like it and continue to eat it. It seems like there is too much of an issue here and it doesn't have to be that way. There are a lot of people in this country that love to cook. Planning lunch menus for a year is not that big of a deal. Give me a week and an industrial kitchen and I can prove it.