Our Wonderful Weekend at Laguna Beach

In the midst of a negotiations crisis, it was heavenly to be able to get away for a weekend at the beach. Yes, it was a "working retreat," but it was still a retreat. I joined 14 colleagues from several other local chapters (Redlands, Jurupa, and Rialto) at a planning retreat for our Uniserv. We stayed at the Inn at Laguna Beach, which is truly ON the beach.

Don and I drove down early Friday afternoon, through the pouring rain, and found the place easily. We were lucky enough to get a room with an ocean view. It had a porch we spent many hours on, where we could sit and watch not only the waves, the boats, and the dolphins, but the people: a walking path goes right by our room. This walking path is used by everyone, it seems, and while we may have seen them, they never noticed us. So we still felt "isolated." All the walkers would come up the hill from the beach, and stop to rest at the bench in the photo to the right. This is the view from our little porch.

We drove down to Dana Point so Don could check in on the sportfishing trip, and then we ate dinner at Wind & Sea - a great restaurant on the harbor. He had the Sesame-Crusted Ahi, which he'd had when we came down here 4 years ago, and I had the Seafood Combination - shrimp, scallops, and albacore. Delighful!




Saturday morning, Don got up really early, and went deep sea fishing all day while I spent the day in our planning session. I got lucky - it was in THIS room. And I sat in one of the chairs facing the ocean - where I found myself staring often. We finished early, and I was able to spend some more time on my little porch, reading and watching the walkers and the waves.



This was our view in the other direction :












Dinner Saturday night was at Las Brisas, a very nice Mexican restaurant next to the hotel. What a feast! Appetizers: jumbo fried shrimp, calimari, guacamole and chips, tuna salad, chicken skewers, and roasted tomato salsa. Salad: mixed field greens, candied walnuts, cranberries, feta cheese, grape tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette. Entree: Filet Mignon with truffle sauce, golden beets, asparagus, and a potato-corn dish (that I didn't eat). Dessert (which was shared by Ashley, Dan, Don, and me): cheesecake, chocolate cream puffs, creme brulee with fresh berries, chocolate layer cake, and chocolate-coated strawberries.

We waddled back to our rooms.

This morning, we awoke early to make coffee in our room so we could sit outside again for an hour before we walked up to the restaurant for breakfast. We saw a large pod of dolphins heading south, but didn't see any whales. Breakfast was at The Cottage, and I re-dedicated myself to low-carbing. The Eggs Florentine hit the spot.

After a short business meeting, we had to leave. I hated to check out. But we had to go home. Maybe we'll go down there again sometime. Maybe I can convince my executive board to go there for their retreat in the fall!

Losing the Clutter

This post has only a little to do with food; but I wanted to share what's been happening in my home the past week. When I was in Texas visiting my brother, I picked up a book called Cut the Clutter and Stow the Stuff: The Q.U.I.C.K. Way to Bring Lasting Order to Household Chaos, by Lori Baird. A little leafing through showed me that this was a book that was going to need more attention. Carol told me to take it home with me to California, and she also gave me two others.

I spent the drive from Kerrville to El Paso reading those books, especially the first one. I made lists. I planned. I envisioned. And by the time I got back to California, I was ready to go. See, I'm going to retire from teaching in 4 years - less, if our district offers an early retirement incentive. And then we're selling this house and moving into a fifth-wheel or a motorhome and hitting the road as full-time rv'ers. We're going to have to get rid of a LOT of stuff, and I might as well get started now.

First, I went around the house and filled up two garbage bags with junk. Some of it was really trash, that had accumulated on tables and dressers and other places, and some of it was really junk that I knew I was never going to need.

Next, I went to my closets, and pulled out jackets, skirts, blouses, purses, belts, dresses, and jeans that are either too big (hooray!), out of fashion, or just plain not "me" any more. I filled up two large boxes, which I took to the thrift store near my office on Monday. Then I took all the torn and stained clothes, including a bunch of t-shirts that I'd held on to for sentimental reasons (even though some were way too small), and threw them away. Another two garbage bags full.

Knowing that I won't need all my rubber stamps, and seeing that there have been dozens that I bought and haven't used, and won't use, I put them up on ebay. So far I've sold 25 of them for an average of $4 apiece.

I found some other great things to put on ebay - a piece of software that I bought and never opened, some shoes that are brand new, a few upscale clothes items that I knew would sell, and have already made $300. I'll start putting the better decorative items up (crystal, Hummels, etc.) soon, and am finding things to get rid of every time I turn around.

Yesterday after breakfast I decided to tackle the refrigerator. I've neglected the fridge for years. It was really grody (old word from college meaning disgusting or gross). I threw out 5 jars of apple butter made two years ago - botulism anyone? I also tossed some salad dressings and other condiments way past their use-by dates. The actual cleaning of the refrigerator took me almost THREE hours. That's because it had been so long. Now I know exactly what's in there and where, and have promised myself to clean it more often. I should have take "before" and "after" pictures, but I forgot. One night this week I'll do the front of it - where we have probably 30 magnets, each with its own picture, note, or other piece of ephemera.

Today I cleaned up my scrapbooking area, and have started to toss things I don't need, and organize everything else. I think I'll put together some assortments of things to put on ebay. I've accumulated so much STUFF!

This is so fun. It's so liberating. And it's even a bit lucrative! A few months ago I bought a large, plastic, blue piggy bank - it has no cork, and is made of the kind of plastic frisbees are made of - so you can't get into it unless you use kitchen shears to destroy it. I've been popping all my silver in it, and now I'm sticking large bills in it. Once it's so full I can't cram anything else in it, we'll open it and buy ourselves something special for the trailer/motorhome.

Why is this food related? Well, the refrigerator is cleaned and organized, and next I'll do the pantry and cabinets. I guess I'll finally get rid of the electric skillet Don bought me for Christmas in 1980, the year before we got married. And which waffle iron do I keep - the regular one that makes 4 squares at a time or the Belgian one? Do I really need 5 large skillets? And what about the Royal Doulton mugs and saucers that we've NEVER EVER used?

What have you done to get organized lately?

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

One of my favorite breakfast restaurants is a great cafe in Yucaipa called Kopper Kettle. I have breakfast with a few friends every Friday morning, and it's also the place where our bargaining team eats every negotiations day. A few years ago, they started to make pumpkin pancakes during the fall, and they were so popular that they now are a permanent item on the menu.

Kopper Kettle's pumpkin pancakes are served with a fabulous toffee butter sauce, which the waitress tells me is made the same way you make Hollandaise - with egg yolks and butter, but then lots of sugar - brown sugar, I think. I don't know, and I don't want to know, since I can use up a day's worth of carbs in one serving.

I've decided to eat my pumpkin pancakes with sugar-free maple "syrup," and have found both Mrs. Butterworth's and Log Cabin brands to be pretty good. I've tried Carey's, and it's a little medicinal. I found a good recipe for whole wheat pancakes, and have made up a big batch so Don can have leftovers (in bags in the freezer).

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups white whole wheat pastry flour
2 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk or sour milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger. In a medium size bowl combine eggs, buttermilk, olive oil and pumpkin puree. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine well. Cook pancakes on a hot griddle.

food & drink

I'm Baaaack!

UPDATE: First of all, Don's eye is much, much better. The inflammation is all gone. The glaucoma/pressure is back to normal. He is developing a cataract, which is normal, and the doctor anticipates removing it sometime toward the end of the summer, after we return from our vacation. He still can't see very well out of it, but that should improve with time and after the cataract surgery.

My daughter has had a setback in her condition. She has, as you know, a temporary ileostomy, which should already have been closed. But the j-pouch created last October has shrunk (doctor speculates due to lack of blood flow) and there was a leak into the abdominal cavity as well. (That's what caused her infection and subsequent hospitalization back in March.) In addition, the anal opening had shrunk. So two weeks ago, the day before we left for Texas, she had surgery to dilate the anus and to try to remove some scar tissue from the j-pouch. The doctor feels that the pouch has shrunk to the point where it will be unusable and is recommending that the ileostomy be permanent. She is adamant that it NOT be. The only way that can happen is for another major surgery to create a new pouch. She is insisting on this, and we'll see how things go the next few months. It's still minutely possible that the little pouch she has will be usable.

We had a great spring break, where we left town and I didn't think about work much at all. First, we spent 5 days at the beach. Camp Pendleton, the Marine base in Oceanside, has a great RV campground right on the beach. We spent 4 lovely nights there - the 5th was a howling windstorm. The weather up until the windstorm was perfect, and Don was able to go deep sea fishing as well as fish from the breakwater. I read and did some stamping and creating cards. I listened to a lot of music, did a little shopping, and worked on de-stressing.

We came home on Wednesday, T's surgery was Thursday, and then, since she was okay, we left Friday for Texas. We drove the northern route (Interstate 40) and spent the night in Grants, New Mexico. The hotel had bedbugs, which I learned after I developed a nasty rash on the inside of my thigh. Luckily, Mom had some hydrocortisone and it's now just about gone. We stayed at Mom's house Saturday, Sunday,Monday, and Tuesday,and were able to see my younger sister as well. Mom enjoyed cooking for us, and sent us home with a huge box of books for me to read. My sister,, who has lost almost 50 pounds the last year, sent me home with a huge box of nice work and casual clothes.

On Wednesday we drove to Kerrville to see my brother, who lives in a beautiful geodesic dome house on a hilltop overlooking the city. We had a restful visit with him and his wife, and left the next morning for the long drive home.

Thursday night we had reservations at the on-base billeting/hotel at Ft. Bliss in El Paso. Normally, the billeting hotels are like regular hotels, and I'm sure the main building at Ft. Bliss is nice. But it was full, so they put us in the annex, which was a converted barracks building. AAACCCKKK. No air conditioning, a full-sized bed, thin walls, and hard-as-a-rock couch. Both of us couldn't sleep on the bed, so I slept on the couch (my choice). It stayed hot and stuffy the whole night. It was so bad that the next night's Econo Lodge in Phoenix seemed luxurious by comparison.

We arrived home around 9:30 Saturday morning (we got an early start in Phoenix), and I immediately began my new, fun project:

LOSING THE CLUTTER!

While I was in Kerrville, I picked up a book on my sister-in-law's table called Cut the Clutter and Stow the Stuff, edited by Lori Baird. I borrowed it, and then spent the drive home reading it, taking notes, and making lists. You see, Don and I plan to sell our house in about 4 years, and buy a motorhome or 5th wheel and hit the road full time. Between now and then, we have to get rid of a great deal of clutter, which I've let accumulate over the years.

On Sunday, I threw out 2 trash bags full of junk and old, useless clothes. I then listed some clothes, rubber stamps, and kitchen items on ebay - and will continue to try to sell as much as I can on ebay. So far I've sold 8 rubber stamps, 3 foodsaver canisters, an unopened package of software, and a shirt. That's about $150 I've made so far. On Monday, I delivered a huge box and 5 hanger's worth of clothes, purses and belts to the thrift shop near my office.

This is so fun! And it's getting to be so easy, now that I've made a dent in the clutter. My eyes don't pass over it any more like they used to - I'm constantly picking things up and throwing them away - asking myself - do I use this? Do I think I'll use this? Can I sell it? Can I donate it? Can I give it as a gift?

Just having more room to move around will be worth it, and by the time we're ready to hit the road, we should be down to the basic essentials.

Anyone want a chipped, but still pretty Hummel figurine? How about one that has a staff that's been broken and glued back together? They're adorable, and if they were in perfect condition, they'd be worth a lot of money. But I can't sell them since they're not perfect. So if anyone wants them, let me know.

As far as cooking goes, it's great to be back in my kitchen. I'll be writing and posting again about food soon. I've gotten to the point where I'm cooking a lot of things I've already written about, so sometimes I just don't bother to post. I only want to write about new things. Maybe I'll work on some other aspects of food blogging. We'll see.

Thanks for reading all this, and thanks for the words of support while I've been away.

food & drink

Taking a Break From Food Blogging

I just can't do it right now. There will be no Soup or Stew Thursday or any other food blogging from me for a while. My job and my family are consuming my life - you all know about my daughter's struggles with ulcerative colitis, colon removal, and her ileostomy - and now there are complications. You all know about my husband's eye injury, and now there are complications. You all know about my work as a teachers' union president - and the complications continue to grow and grow.

I have to step back and prioritize my time - and this (Cookin' with Cyndi) has to take a back seat for a while.

For more information, and great reading, about our bargaining situation, go to Yucaipa-Calimesa Teacher, our blog-by-committee. (At least I'm still blogging!)

So for now, I'm logging off. I might visit some of you now and then to say hello!

Small But Tasty Soup Roundup

I guess people are pretty busy, or they're not fixing soup - we have a small roundup tonight. That's okay!

First up is Paula of The Cookbook Junkie, who sends a Cheesy Broccoli Soup from The New Holly Clegg Trim and Terrific Cookbook. Never heard of Holly Clegg? Me neither. Paula explains, "Poor Holly Clegg. No one has heard of her. Well, one person. Supposedly she's been on a couple of the national morning news programs and she's contributed recipes to many magazines. She's written six cookbooks and has her own website. There's a press item on her site that says that WebMD named this cookbook one of the top 10 healthy cookbooks.


Next up is Ulrike of Küchenlatein, who sends in a soup I just HAVE to try: Lauchsuppe mit Leberkäs-Spiessen, or Leek Soup with Leberkäs Skewers. What makes this stand out to me is the skewers. Leberkäse is similar to bologna, but tastes much better. I buy it often at the German market near my office, and I use it two ways: in Fleishsalat, or cut in thick slices and fried (then put on a sandwich). I like how Ulrike took cubes of crusty German bread and skewered them with cubes of leberkäs, after browning them in a little oil. What a clever and attractive presentation!



Heather of Eating for One contributes Mexican Potato Soup. This is a unique take on potato soup, since it also has corn, bell peppers, cilantro, cumin, and jalapenos. Heather says she got the recipe from USA Today, where occasionally you can find some good ones.





What did I make? I made a soup I've tried before and really liked, Italian Sausage and Spinach Soup. One thing I did differently this time was add a pinch of crushed red pepper with the broth. It gave it a good taste, but wasn't enough to make it hot.

food & drink

Don't Forget Thursday Soup or Stew!

Get your posts done and let me know by 7:00 pm PACIFIC time tonight!

Email to cholmaneee at uia dot net

food & drink

A Meme for the Literary

Several different blogs I read (in the school/education area) have this meme, which I challenge my readers to do, too. I've always considered myself "well read," but this showed me I'm not as well read as I thought. I guess I enjoy the detective novels too much!

Here's what you do:

Look at the list of books below.
* (Bold) the ones you’ve read
* Italicize the ones you want to read
* Leave unchanged the ones that you aren’t interested in.
* If you are reading this, tag, you’re it!

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling) (known as Sorcerer's Stone in the US)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Thursday Soup or Stew Night #6

It looks like the roundup will be rather small tonight, but there will still be some excellent recipes here.

First, we're joined by Pamela of Posie's Place, who gives us The Best Stew Recipe. It's a Jamie Oliver recipe! I love Jamie Oliver, and this one looks great.










Next, Chris from Mele Cotte sends in Mushroom Beef Stw, made in her crockpot after she saw a link she liked on Kuchenlatein.











Speaking of Ulrike, she decided to try out her crockpot and made a hearty German Pea Soup. Notice that this has what looks like hot dogs in it. Well, I can assure you, they're not hot dogs. They're wiener, or Viennese sausages, which are often found in hearty soups like this.








From another city in Germany, Hamburg, Petra from FoodFreak sends in another great soup, Goulash Soup I remember goulash soup being one of my favorites when we ate out in Germany. It's nice to have a recipe now so I can make my own!









My contribution tonight is some Turkey-Vegetable Barley Soup. I started with a recipe for Beef Barley Soup, added mixed vegetables, and substituted ground turkey for the ground beef. This was excellent. The tomatoes and tomato sauce made it much better than we expected. I made this a couple of days ago, and as it sat in the refrigerator, the barley soaked up a lot of the broth, and it turned into a stew.

Turkey-Vegetable Barley Soup

¾ cup chopped onion
¾ cup chopped celery
¾ cup chopped bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
¾ pound ground turkey
3 cups water
1 ½ teaspoon beef bouillon granules
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
⅓ cup regular barley
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 large bay leaf
1 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
In Dutch oven or soup pot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic with the ground turkey until it loses its red color, breaking it up as it cooks.
Add all other ingredients.
Simmer for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

I won't be posting for a couple of days. We're going to Anaheim this weekend. I'm helping host a small leadership conference at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. I'll let you know how it goes when we come back!

A New Recipe from Cooking Light

The latest Cooking Light came in the mail the other day, and as I was leafing through it last night, this chicken recipe jumped out at me. I made it tonight. It was quick, simple, and really, really good. "Another keeper!" I made it in my toaster oven (because I halved the recipe), and was surprised how quickly it cooked.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs
from Cooking Light

2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
cooking spray
6 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preheat broiler. Combine first 6 ingredient in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side. (I cautiously did it for 6 each side). Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl. Remove chicken from oven; brush honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven again, turn over, and brush with remaining honey mixture. Broil another couple of minutes or until chicken is done.



food & drink

Update on the Eye

Don went to the doctor today, who said he's healing well. When you look at him head on, the pupil in his right eye is small, and the one in his left is huge. The doctor said that's the injury. They had him look at an eye chart - he could vaguely see the large E, but then when they put the second chart up, he couldn't see a thing. There's a cataract forming, which is normal, and eventually he'll have to have surgery to have it removed. He asked why he continues to have nausea, and was told that's normal, too - due to the conflicting messages his brain is getting. He asked what he could do to make the nausea stop, and the doctor said, "Quit doing things like driving yourself to the doctor!" It's just going to take some getting used to.




food & drink

Don't Forget Soup or Stew Night!

Nothing to write about tonight, since we had BLTs, so I just want to remind you to send in your posts for Thursday Soup or Stew Night #6.

food & drink

A New Comfort Food Recipe

One of my favorite bloggers, Ruth of Once Upon a Feast has started a weekly food event called Presto Pasta Nights. This is my first submission to her event!

I've told you about Martha Green before; she's a restaurant and bakery owner in Redlands who gives us a daily recipe on the local NPR station. I was scrolling through her recipes, looking for some pasta dishes, and this one caught my eye. I liked how the pasta cooked in the sauce, instead of being boiled in advance. Another thing I found especially tasty was the sweetness of the peas.

Baked Four-Cheese Pasta
4 slices bacon, chopped fine
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves, garlic minced
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
½ lb penne or ziti
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat to 450˚. Cook bacon, onion and garlic in large non-stick skillet over med-high heat until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, cream, pasta and salt; cover and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in Parmesan cheese and peas; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to 2-quart casserole dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake until cheese is melted and spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Serves 4.

ALERT ALERT ALERT ALERT

This is a long time in coming, and I should have done it MONTHS ago. You may have seen several posts last year about my helping Ruth test a few recipes for a cookbook. Remember when I wrote about Ruth's Best Chile Ever? YOU can get that top-secret recipe if you buy her cookbook - either an e-book or on CD. Just go to her blog, Once Upon a Feast, and order from there. Believe me, it's worth every penny!



food & drink

Using the Oven Again

A cold front came through yesterday, leaving us with a little more snow on the ground, and this morning it was 22 when we got up. I decided to make a meal that utilized the oven, so I made Hunter's Chicken and Caramelized Butternut Squash. The squash recipe comes from Ina Garten's show on the Food Network. This is only the second time I've had butternut squash (the first time was when I made Butternut Squash Fries in November), and this time it was even better. I changed the original recipe, and used Splenda Brown Sugar Blend instead of regular brown sugar.

Hunter's Chicken

2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon oil
6 boneless chicken breasts
1 cup sliced onion
2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoon flour
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet browning liquid (optional)
1 cup diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped parsley

In a large skillet heat together butter and oil. Cook chicken over medium heat until browned. Remove to a 12x7x2" baking dish; keep warm. In same skillet, combine onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper, mix well. Add wine, broth, Chicken Bouquet, and tomatoes, mix well. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Pour over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 350˚ for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve over hot cooked rice or orzo.

Caramelized Butternut Squash
1 medium butternut squash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed (I used 1 tablespoon Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Cut off the ends of butternut squash and discard.
3. Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise.
4. Using a spoon, remove the seeds.
5. Cut the squash into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" cubes (large and uniform is best), and place them on a baking sheet.
6. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
7. With clean hands, toss all of the ingredients together and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
8. Roast for 45 minutes to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize.
9. Turn the squash while roasting a few times with a spatula to be sure it browns evenly.
10. Adjust seasonings if needed.
11. Serve hot.



food & drink

A Taste of New Mexico

The first time I ever had Chile Colorado was in 1975 at a restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Then I didn't have it again for 10 years. The second time was at a restaurant in Crestline, California - in 1985. I wasn't that "in" to cooking yet, and therefore had no idea how to make it for myself. Then, a woman I worked with in Texas gave me a recipe, which I then experimented with until it was my own. My personal touch was to substitute 1 cup of burgundy for 1 cup of the beef broth in the original recipe. It adds a rich flavor to the dish.

Chile Colorado

1 pound sirloin, cut in 1/2" pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. chile powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (this adds "heat")
1 cup burgundy (I keep a jug of Gallo just for recipes like this)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules or one beef bouillon cube

Toss beef with salt and oil in a large skillet. Cover, and turn heat on very low. Simmer, about 20 minutes - juices will come out and then will cook out - once meat begins to sizzle it's time to start the next step. Sprinkle meat with flour and chile powders, then add burgundy, water, and bouillon. Raise heat to medium high, and cook, stirring, until mixture begins to thicken.

This is great served with flour or corn tortillas and some Spanish Rice.

While we were eating, I had dessert cooking in the oven. For a long time, Don and I have been missing dessert, though we have a stash of sugar-free pudding in the fridge. I had a craving for my mother's cherry cobbler, but decided to try it with a lot less of the sugar called for in her recipe. Success! This came out really well. Maybe next time I'll try it with ALL Splenda instead of just 3/4.

Mom's Cherry Cobbler (low-sugar version)

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
1/2 cup Splenda granular
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1 15-oz can tart pie cherries, undrained
1/2 cup Splenda granular

Preheat oven to 350˚. Pour butter into 9" or 10" square baking dish. Mix together the flour, Splenda granular, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add milk, and stir to mix. Pour over butter. DO NOT STIR. In a small bowl, combine the undrained cherries and Splenda, and pour over batter. DO NOT STIR. Bake 35 minutes.

We ate ours as it was, but it's very good with vanilla ice cream (or sugar-free frozen yogurt!)





food & drink

Hooray for Parents!

Today was a "board tour," meaning the school board made visits to several school sites. Over the past two weeks, several groups of parents have been organizing in support of the teachers. Today they picketed at four of the schools being visited. I was able to drop by and thank them, and snapped a few pictures. The first group was rather small, since it was early morning on a very cold day.

The second school had a larger turnout, and this group was joined by the parents from the first school.

I heard there was picketing at a third school, and then at lunchtime there was a pretty good-sized group at a fourth school. This group was joined by teachers who came outside with their own signs since it was their lunch period.

THANK-YOU PARENTS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!



food & drink

Soup or Stew Night #5

Update: Things are pretty much back to normal now - Don's just working on healing. He says his eye's itching, so it must be getting better. He says he can see the outline of the computer and the television, which is more than what he could see over 's a unique dish, and Toni gives great directions for fixing it.


Another soup that was meant for last week came from Sara of I Like to Cook. She sends us her Cream of Tomato Soup. While I enjoy a bowl of Campbell's now and then, this one looks 10 times better!





Next up is Chris of Mele Cotte, who sends in her Chicken Herb Vegetable Soup. This soup, full of carrots and mushrooms, along with chicken and whole wheat noodles, would be perfect on a cold winter night. It looks simple, yet oh so tasty!









I then heard from Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food, who submitted 3 Bean with Ham Soup. This one has got to be good! Glenna also has a treat for us - she introduces us to a friend and co-worker, Chris, who was convinced to post his recipes for all to see. He made a Cheezy White Chicken Chili and a "Rip Your Butt" soup. Go to Glenna's blog to get to Chris's!







Paula of The Cookbook Junkie sends in a delectable French Beef Stew. Paula says she always makes her stews a day ahead, and that the flavor is even better the second day. My husband has said this about a lot of leftovers, and I just thought he was saying it because he was hungry the second day. (He usually eats the leftovers, not me!) Now I need to give her idea a try - do some cooking like this over the weekend so dinner is ready to eat on Monday night. Thanks for the idea Paula!



An almost-overlooked submission is Rice Soup, also called Arisi Kanji, submiited by Anisha of Kovai-Samayal. Her email made it to me just fine, but I overlooked it when I was doing the roundup. So sorry Anisha! It's here now! I look forward to exploring your blog and learning some new tricks. The rice soup looks simple and tasty, one that can be served hot or cold.



My contribution for tonight is a simple carrot soup. I walked in the door after work, chopped the vegetables (which could have been done in advance), added the broth and brought it to a boil, and then went and took a shower while it simmered. A few whirrs with the beverage blender, and then the addition of some cream, and it was ready. This is a recipe I've had for years and never made. Don asked me why I hadn't made it before, and I told him I hadn't had a reason to make so many soups before. Now that I'm doing this "event," we're both having fun trying all kinds of different soups. The picture below looks like my soup is green! But it's not. It was sort of orange, but did have an odd tint to it from the green onions and celery.

Cream of Carrot Soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 stalks celery, sliced
6 green onions (with tops), sliced
1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups rich chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add vegetables and stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Then, either remove to a blender or use a beverage blender to puree the mixture. Add salt, pepper, and cream and heat. DO NOT BOIL. 3 servings.

Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement and support. And thanks to the submissions for this event. Keep 'em coming!


food & drink

Calming Down

Since we didn't get to go camping this weekend, we've had a fairly quiet couple of days. I've done a lot of reading and stamping (I make cards), and every few hours according to the schedule I've put drops in Don's eye. He's still got some residual nausea, and isn't sure whether it's from a messed up equilibrium or from the trauma of the injury. He still can't see out of it, and is impatient and worried. I keep reminding him it's only been three days. The doctor on Friday told him it could take up to six months before he'll be able to see well out of that eye.

I tried a new recipe tonight after searching recipezaar for ideas. I had seen on several blogs that there are lots of ways to make cabbage as a side dish, and this one sounded good. I have to say that I liked this one even better than macaroni and cheese! The cabbage seemed to get sweet as it cooked, and since this is low carb, that makes it even better.

Scalloped Cabbage
posted on recipezaar by CindiJ

1 head cabbage (about 10" diameter)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 ½ cups half-and-half
½ lb Velveeta cheese, cubed (yes, Velveeta!)
salt & pepper

Cut cabbage up into bite size pieces. Par-boil approximately 3-5 minutes, drain well. Place cabbage in greased 9x13 casserole. Set aside. Melt butter in large saucepan. Stir in flour, salt and pepper and allow to cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat while stirring constantly. Stir in half-and-half. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Cut up Velveeta cheese, add to sauce, and stir to melt. Pour cheese sauce over cabbage and bake covered with foil in 350º oven approximately 35 minutes till bubbly and cabbage is tender.



food & drink

When it Rains, It Pours

Sometimes bad luck comes in bunches. That's what's happening here.

At 2:00 today my husband almost lost his left eye. He was tightening some bungie cords to get ready for our camping trip (that we're not going on), and one broke - the end hit him smack dab in the middle of the eye. I got him to the ER at Redlands Community about 3, and they said he needed an eye surgeon - sent us to the Beaver Clinic in Redlands where a specialist was. When we got there, and after they put us in an examining room, he started to throw up (nerves, trauma, etc.). The doctor looked at his eye with different colored lights, and showed me a large (about 1/3 to 1/2-inch long) vertical scratch across his pupil and iris. He then showed me the blood pooling under the iris, as well as a flap of the iris that had lifted off the eyeball. He measured the pressure that was building up inside the eye, and gave him some glaucoma drops, as well as antibiotic drops and antiinflammatory drops. We went to the pharmacy to get a prescription for more drops, and he continued to throw up - all the way home. He was going into shock, the nurse said who came outside to help.

He has to sleep in his recliner tonight to remain as vertical as possible, and we go back to a different doctor tomorrow. The one today assures us that Don will not lose his eyesight, though for now he's blind in that eye.

Now if I can just get some calories in him.

Needless to say, there won't be a Soup or Stew Thursday, and anyone who sent me a submission will have it included in next week's roundup.

All Better

My daughter went home from the hospital this evening - the antibiotics and iv fluids did the trick. We still don't know whether dehydration caused her small intestine to become inflamed and infected, or whether the infection caused the dehydration. But she's got to get a lot better than this before her second surgery. She's glad to be back in her own bed.

I though I'd try a new chicken recipe:

Orange-Bacon Chicken Breasts

3 boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3 slices bacon
1 T butter
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup orange marmalade (I used the reduced-sugar version)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Line a shallow baking pan with foil; spray with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle each breast with salt and pepper. Wrap each breast with a slice of bacon and place in baking dish with bacon ends tucked under. Melt together butter, Worcestershire sauce, and marmalade in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir until combined; pour evenly over chicekn. Bake until bacon is crisp and chicken juices run clear, about 25-30 minutes. Makes 3 servings.

Reminder: Don't forget to make some soup or stew for Thursday night! It'll be Thursday Soup or Stew Night #5. I'm thinking Beef & Vegetable Barley!

food & drink