Monday, September 13, 2010

Monday! Monday! Monday!

I guess I'm not like most folks - I happen to like Mondays!  I think of it as a fresh start, a new week.  I can put all the crazy mistakes from the previous week behind me and move forward.  I think of all the wasted inner conversations I have had with myselfy over the years - Monday will be the first day of my "new" diet...lol  how many of us has said that on Sunday as we are stuffing that second hunk of cake in our mouths??? lol  It makes me laugh - what the hell was I thinking???  lol  At this point in my life it is far more important for me to be healthy than skinny.  Of course I would take being skinny too...lol  But I have accepted the fact that my boobies will never again be perky, nor will my belly be flat (unless I amy laying down lol) but I am coming to term with who I am & I am thinking I am ok - most of the time...lol

My garden.......well  soon I will be doing the prep for next spring.  I still have tons of tomaties on the vine, and a few eggplants and peppers ready to be picked.  And of course my gourds.  In the next week or so I will get out all my fall decor to transform my house into Autumn!  Yep!  I am one of those crazy people who decorated their home for almost every holiday and or season..lol  You know the kind - its the house on the street that has a new wreath on  the door, those holiday flags flying in the breeze, you just know the inside is decorated as well - the house you  say those people must not have enough to do, she must be a stay at home mom..............you secretly wish you had the time to decorate your home.  lol    Well I am one of those people..lol  but a little worse..........I also change my dishes for each season and sometimes my curtains.....I know I know it's a sickness!!!   lol

Whats cooking in the kitchen???????

Thursday, September 9, 2010

...if an apple a day keeps the doctor away...

.....what does a a few dozen apples do for ya? lol If you walked into my kitchen yesterday you smelled the aroma of Mcintosh apple w/ cinnomon & cloves simmering in the crockpot - soon to be apple butter! YUM! On the stove I had Gala apples simmering in SF apple juice - chuncky apple sauce on the agenda.....and to top it all off Banana Choc chip muffins (whole wheat of course) in the oven.


How can you tell if you have had a busy day in the kitchen??? If your apron (you do wear an apron?!) is a mess - you had a successful day! Thanks to my cuz I have a few funky aprons - yesterday I was sporting my pink flamingo apron - let me tell you it is a hit with the UPS man.....lol .....espically when I wear my bright yellow w/ red lady bug garden shoes - yes I also wear an apron in the garden - lol What a sight!!!!!


...back to the apples.........I use applesauce whenever I bake. I replace the oil with either applesauce or prunes, somethings both. Works great, less fat, very moist - try it. I buy no sugar added apple sauce. I have tried many bands, but am most happy with the store brand - why pay more $$ for the same thing?! I got this wild urge to try to makemy own apple sauce - who knew it was so easy & we all know I am lazy & like it easy. Try it!


AppleSauce
12 apples ( I used Gala - the sign said great for applesauce - lol)
-peel, core, chunck apples
Apple Juice ot Apple Cider ( I used SF apple juice - which worked fine- I used almost a gallon)
Boil till mushy ( like you are making mashed potatoes)
Smoosh with a fork - I used my electric mixer - quicker
At this point you could freeze it, I put mine in a plastic container & stuck it in the frig
YUMMY! Add some cinnomon & serve it!
Homemade Apple Sauce

Gala Apples
Simmering in apple juice

YUM!   Try it!   I will share the Apple Butter recipe in my next post - it is still a work is progress.
 
Lets talk.......................bananas..................................

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

....whata weekend

super busy weekend!  I started out my weekend with a bang - we went to my all time fav store - Trader Joes!  If you haven't been to a Trader Joes you are missing out! For sure!   I discovered Trader Joes while we were living in Monterey, CA. OMGosh - I love this store!  Check it out online!!!!  Besides for having the best recycled shopping bags, Trader Joe's offer a an assortment of organic fruits, veggies, wines, etc. ect. ect. (non organtic as well).  I went there looking for a roasted red pepper sauce that is to die for & Naan bread to make pizza ..but I founds so much more!!!!!!

 Who likes pomegranate ?  Who knew they sold dried pomegranate seeds?? YUM!!!!! Those will be great in cookies, muffins, etc.  I also found a great deal on Japanese style Panko Bread Crumbs - if you haven't tried panko crunbs when breading chix, fish, etc - you are missing out.   You use as a breading - add spices and bake - these will brown in the oven and stay cruncky w/o deep frying - try'em! 

I also found Whole Wheat Potato Gnocchi - I hven't seen the whole wheat kind in the store - was going to make my own (still may - found an easy recipe) so I am looking forward to making a yummy dish!!!  And last but not least I found Mini Ravioli w/ cheese filling.  They so small & cute - I had to make a salad for a friend's get together so.........
I just boiled the pasta following the directions on the package, cut up the last of the cucumbers from my garden, plus some green peppers, tomatoes & onions......added some graded parm cheese - tossed it all together with some Italian dressing and cracked black pepper - yum!

I also made..........

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Busy day in the kitchen......and it's not over yet

ok- so my Roma tomatoes were just asking me to make something otta them - so their wish was my command.  Pasta Sause on the agenda today ~ I have alot of friend who cook who follow the recipes to an T, then there are people like me - I like to modify the recipe - in otherords make it as easy as possible.  Yes I am lazy by nature.  lol  Well I found this recipe on line - seems simple enough so what the heck.

 Pasta Sauce (3 cups)
10 tomatoes
2 _ olive oil ( I didn't write the proper measurement - so I just poured some in - lol)
1 onion
1 green pepper
2 carrots
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c basil
1/2 t Ital. seasoning
2 celery stalks

First off - let me just say  if I am going to all this effort I am gonna make more than 3 cups!  Turns out I had 40 Roma tomatoes, still used 1 onion, 6 green pepper - also had 3 habinarros (HOT) so I they them in too.  Added a bunch of carrots & celery and fresh basil from my herb garden and 1 c Ital. seasoning.  
The directions said to boil the whole tomatoes in hot water then put them in cold & skin..........oh no.  Woman with food processors here!!!  I put ecerything in the food processor & crancked that baby up till things were smooooth.  Told ya I was lazy.  Put it all in a big pan, brought it to a boil  & let it cook for a few hours. 
Soooooo....right after Days of Our Lives ( love it!!! ) My pasta sauce was ready to put in the containers - I decided to freeze my sauce. Well...do you remeber theose 3 habinarros I thought I would just throw in - OMG - I took a taste & I know I lost at least two layers of skin in my mouth - what to do  what to do   what to do?????? I called my cuz - she didn't know either  lol.......................so I pulled 3 containers of sauce & am calling them 3 Alarm Chili Starter (good save huh?!)  I added suger to the rrest of the sauce in the pot - it took a little heat off - so I ended up freezing 4 containers of Pasta Sauce.   I am just gonna say that was my plan from the beginning - HA!

One would say thats alot for a day - oh  not not for a domstic goddess like myself - haha.  I marched my aprowaering self out to the herb garden and.....

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Hello September!!!!!!

I was thrilled to jump outta bed this morning knowing it was the first day of September - Yippee!  My fav time of year! Although  it sure didn't feel like fall this morning - ya would think I would have a tiny little butt as much as I was sweating this morning on my walk. I am soooo ready for the cool, crip fall days!!!!

Anyway......so this morning I picked a bunch of Roma tomatoes - I now have enough to make my pasta sauce.


My plan is to make & freeze a bunch of pasta sauce for use this winter. So I will keep ya posted on my progress.  I think I will have enough tomatoes to make salsa tooooo - YUMMY- there is nothing better than homemade salsa & my own (not really home made but kinda-recipe to follow)  tortilla chips and of course my best friend Jose Cuervo - does life get any better than that ? - NOT!   Well maybe, but only when my other pal Patron Silver makes an appearance - Ole'!

My kinda homemade tortilla chips
1 bag 6" Corn torillas
Using a pizza cutter - cut in half & then in half again to you have 4 triangles from each torilla
Place on baking sheet  - you could season them at this point if ya want
Put in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes - serve warm with salsa!!!!
Try'em & let me know what ya think.