Coconut-Pear Cake

Three of the pears from this morning went into this cake - along with dates, coconut, and pecans. I tried to lighten it up a little, by using some Splenda for some of the sugar and cutting out a quarter cup of the oil. I also substituted whole wheat flour for half of the white. The original recipe was supposed to be in a bundt or tube pan, but I'm glad I did it in loaf pans since it came out a little crumbly. That's probably because of the changes I made, as well as the high-altitude baking.

But this is a wonderful, dense, cake - a little like a cross between a fruitcake and a quick bread.

Coconut-Pear Cake

1 cup sugar
¾ cup granulated Splenda
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped dates
3 cups chopped pears
1 cup chopped pecans
In a mixing bowl, cream together sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla. By hand, stir in coconut, dates, pears and pecans (batter will be thick). Spoon into a greased and floured fluted tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until cake tests done. Cool on rack until cake comes away from sides of pan; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Will also make 2 loaf pans - cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes; check for doneness with toothpick and add another 5-10 minutes as necessary.

My Introduction to Kale

I think this is the way to begin eating a new food - have it as a part of a recipe. Our basket this morning came with kale, and since I also got a volunteer's share, I came home with 2 bunches. Tomorrow we'll eat the two bunches, but I used a couple of leaves off of one of them for this dish. I was also able to incorporate the mushrooms and 2 of the zucchini from the basket as well.

Winter Vegetable Hash

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
½ lb. fresh mushrooms, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 cup chopped kale
4 sprigs fresh sage (I used 1 teaspoon of dried sage)

Place oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter and mix in potatoes, mushrooms, pepper, squash, and shallot. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender. Mix kale and sage into skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Serve and enjoy!


Don and I really liked this one. We've decided that it will go great with fish (tonight we had it with good ole hot dogs). Now I'm not afraid to try the kale in a recipe that will actually feature it. So tomorrow or Monday, I'll be making something new. Stay tuned!

Pick Up Day at the IEOPBC

Today was pick up day for the Inland Empire Organic Produce Buying Club. Since I was a volunteer, I showed up at 8:45 to our "distribution center," which is really the outside front section of the Artisan Farm Restaurant in Redlands. We needed to set up for 82 shares - so we laid out the baskets all around where we could get to them easily. Around 8:55, a guy delivered 4 cases of avocados, so we went to work putting 4 in each basket. Right after that, the truck pulled up - a guy with a small UHaul trailer. It was crammed full, and it took us about 10 minutes (9 volunteers and organizers) to get it emptied out. Our first task was to go over to where some grates were and get rid off the ice that was keeping the kale and carrots cool. Next, we started putting all the fruits and vegetables in the baskets.

The take for today - one share:

1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch kale
1 bunch dandelion greens
1 head butter lettuce
1 bunch carrots with tops
1 bunch green onions
1 4-oz. basket alfalfa sprouts
1 8-oz. basket mushrooms
4 zucchini
4 avocados
2 tomatoes
6 pears
1 3-lb. bag Fuji apples
1 1-lb. basket strawberries
4 lemons


At 10:00, Jei and Joni start checking everyone in (they've been lining up since 9:30), and taking money for the next pick up.

Here are a few of the baskets, ready for pick up now that we've filled them up.

That's me on the left, with Kathy in the center and Susan on the right. I'm really glad I wore an old shirt - this one is filthy!










All produce that doesn't get evenly distributed to the shares baskets is divided among the volunteers - a super added benefit for volunteering. The basket on the left is my share, which I paid $22 for, and the basket on the right is my volunteer share, for which I worked 2 hours. I ended up with so much food!

What shall I do with it all? Let's see - I now have two Pear Coffee Cakes in the oven (recipe in another post), I cut up and flash-froze the green onions, and we're eating the kale, mushrooms, and some of the zucchini tonight in a Winter Vegetable Hash (recipe later). I think we'll eat one of the heads of butter lettuce, too. The cilantro is currently drying, so that I can freeze it. I spread it out on paper towels, and will put it on a cookie sheet and flash freeze it. Then it will go in a ziploc bag. The flavor will diminish, but that's fine with me - I don't like fresh cilantro anyway, and will just use this in homemade salsa.

St. Patrick's Dinner from the Crock Pot

We always have corned beef around St. Patrick's Day - and this year we had it 2 days later. It's one of the easiest meals to make - put the unpeeled red potatoes in the bottom. Next is the meat, and then wedges of cabbage. Add 1 cup of water, and cook on low all day. Perfect. We eat one meal that night, and have enough leftover meat for sandwiches, as well as several days' worth of corned beef hash. The meat for the corned beef hash just goes right into the freezer.

Going Organic (Produce, that is)

I've always bemoaned the fact that I didn't have a good farmer's market anywhere near where I live, and searches on the internet showed me the closest CSA farm is in San Diego (3 hours away). On Monday, the superintendent's secretary told me about the Inland Empire Organic Produce Buying Club. Not only did I join, I'm now a volunteer! On Saturday, I'll show up at 8:45, and help distribute this week's produce. I'll go home with a basket of my own - so you can start seeing pics of the produce I take home, as well as what I make with it. I hope to find some great recipes on my blogging friends' sites to use.

A new way to use ground beef

I have about 80 blogs I follow on Google Reader, most of them cross stitch or quilting blogs. The other day, one of them (I cannot remember which one) mentioned loose meat sandwiches. Huh? I thought these were sloppy joes. Wrong! Sloppy joes have a tomato-ey sauce - these have no sauce at all. I did a little research and found several different recipes, and learned that loose meat sandwiches are common in Iowa and Missouri. With a little tweaking for my own tastes, and wanting to still stay as true to the recipes I found, I came up with this one. We will definitely be having this again!

Loose Meat Sandwiches

½ teaspoon salt
½ pound lean ground beef
½ small onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon prepared mustard
1 ½ teaspoon white vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle the bottom of a heavy medium skillet with salt, and preheat the skillet over high heat. Break the ground beef up into the skillet and add the chopped onion. Cook the meat, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you go. The meat must end up being cooked into small crumbles. When meat is browned, add mustard, vinegar, sugar, and water. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until water has cooked off, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toast the hamburger buns if that's the way you like them, and prepare them with some mustard and dill pickles. Add a good amount of the meat (this recipe will make enough for three sandwiches) and enjoy.

Sausage Breakfast Puffs

This has some my favorite flavors - Jimmy Dean sausage, eggs, cheese, onions, and mustard. I've made something this in a different form before - using an 8" round pan so it was like a casserole. I've been making a few things in my silicone muffin tins lately for two reasons: 1) each serving gets a tasty crunchy outside, and 2) I can make how ever many of them that fill up - rarely does every recipe I try come out to make exactly 12 of something. Now I have some leftovers, and I think they'll heat up just fine in the microwave at the office.

Sausage Breakfast Puffs

2 Tbsp. butter
1 sm. onion, chopped
6 slices bread
½ c. milk
2 eggs, unbeaten
8 ounces bulk pork breakfast sausage
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon mustard
1.Melt butter in skillet. Add onions and saute until golden brown.

2. Crumble bread into mixing bowl. Add milk and let stand until bread is moist. Add eggs and mix well. Add onion and salt; add meat, cheese, and mustard; mix well.

3. Pile mixture lightly into greased muffin pans. Bake in hot oven, 425 F degrees until nicely browned, about 30 minutes. Makes 12-14 puffs.

YaYa's Greek Potatoes

This recipe appeared in my inbox courtesy of Tipnut. I subscribed to Tipnut for the craft ideas, and have come to enjoy the recipes I find, too. Last week one of the posts included 20 fabulous ways to make potatoes (my most favorite food in the whole world!), and I made this one tonight. It's from Buff Chickpea, who got the recipe from her Greek best friend.


YaYa's Greek Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes, peeled & cut into large chunks
2 onions, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
2 lemons, zested & juiced
Dried parsley
Sea salt & pepper
Paprika powder


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the cut up potatoes and onions in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside while you make the lemon dressing.

In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, zest, broth, oregano, garlic, and a little salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil, in a slow steady stream. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and onions, and give everything a good toss.

Sprinkle with additional salt (for crunch), paprika (for color), and parsley (for presentation), and put into your preheated oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, give the potatoes a toss, then bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, tossing every 20 minutes or so.

January 22 Update

I've been obsessed lately with quilting, not cooking. I still cook almost every night, but we mostly have the same things I've already written about. I post often on my stitching blog, Just One More Stitch, so if you want updates about stitching and family, go there. Eventually I'll get back into blogging about cooking, but right now it's all about stitching and quilting. See ya!

It was a Cooking Light kind of day

Every once in a while I sit down with my recently-delivered Cooking Light magazines, and go through them to see what I might like to fix. I found a lot of recipes from the October and December issues (was there a November one?), and tried three of them. I'm always looking for good ways to fix fish - since A) it's good for you and B) Don often brings back fish from the ocean or Lake Mead. This recipe was simple, quick, and tasty. The fish itself was prepared as I often prepare it, but with the added touch of sprinkling it with garlic powder before it was breaded. The rémoulade was rich - I LOVED it. You have to be careful how much you use, because you could easily use too much. The recipe said it made enough for 2, but I cooked up 3 fillets and still had a little sauce left over. It reminded me of a tartar sauce, but I thought it was better.

Pan-fried Fish with Rémoulade

adapted from Cooking Light
Sauce:
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chopped capers
1 teaspoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Fish:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
2 (6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets
(I used 3 mahi mahi fillets)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I substituted garlic salt for the salt and garlic powder)
* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 2 lemon wedges
1. To prepare sauce, combine the first 6 ingredients.
2. Place flour in a shallow dish. Place panko in another shallow dish. Place egg white in another shallow dish.
3. Sprinkle fish evenly with salt and garlic powder. Working with 1 fillet at a time, dredge fish in flour, shaking off excess. Dip fish into egg white, allowing excess to drip off. Coat fish completely with panko, pressing lightly. Set aside. Repeat procedure with remaining fish, flour, egg white, and panko.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add fish to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until browned and fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with sauce and lemon wedges.

In addition to a salad, I fixed this dish with the fish:

Eastham Turnip-Potato Gratin

adapted from Cooking Light

1 ¼ pounds medium turnips (about 2, the size of baseballs), peeled and cut into (1/8-inch-thick) slices
Cooking spray
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¾ pound baking potato, peeled and cut into (1/8-inch-thick) slices
¾ cup (3 ounces) grated Gruyère cheese, divided
¾ cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1. Place turnips in saucepan; cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain; pat dry.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Arrange one third of turnips in a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with one third of salt and one third of pepper. Arrange half of potato over turnip. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons cheese evenly over potato. Arrange one third turnip over cheese; sprinkle with one third of salt and one third of pepper. Arrange remaining potato over turnip. Arrange remaining turnip over potato; sprinkle with remaining salt and remaining pepper. Pour broth over vegetables. Cover with foil, pressing foil down onto turnip slices. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
4. Preheat broiler.
5. Uncover turnips; sprinkle with the remaining 6 tablespoons cheese. Broil 8 minutes or until lightly browned.

Notes:
While the recipe calls for broiling, I just added the cheese and continued cooking another 10 minutes. I also had to drain off some liquid before I added the cheese topping.


Dessert was a dish that somehow made its way into Cooking Light, but definitely wasn't light. It was a makeover, and I suppose that since they reduced the calories somewhat from the original, it qualified to be in the magazine. But ONE SLICE (which was ONE-TWELFTH of the cake) was 52 grams of carbs. Hmmm. I think next time I'll make it (and there will be a next time), I'm going to omit the sugary topping and add the coconut to the cake batter.




Sticky Date and Coconut Cake
adapted from Cooking Light

Cake:
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons butter
Dash of salt
6.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Topping:
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons fat-free milk

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cake, combine first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes or until dates are tender.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Stir in date mixture, granulated sugar, vanilla, and egg until well combined. Pour batter into a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
4. To prepare topping, combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Pour brown sugar mixture over cake; bake at 350° for an additional 13 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife around outside edge. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Acorn Squash - a new vegetable for us

I "discovered" a new vegetable - acorn squash. We'd never had it before; I never knew how to fix it. I was shopping for groceries at the commissary, and an older couple was discussing which ones to get. I asked the woman, "How do you fix that?" She explained that it was really simple - cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, add a little brown sugar and butter, and bake.

I did a little research to refine the technique further, and this is what I came up with:

Baked Acorn Squash

1 medium acorn squash
2 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (we like ours sweet)

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray a small baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut squash in half vertically through the stem. Using a spoon, scoop out the insides and discard them. Place face down on baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes. Turn over. (You might have to move them to a dish with sides so they don't fall over.) Place a tablespoon of butter and about a tablespoon and half of brown sugar in each half. Bake another 35-40 minutes. Serves 2.

The taste is reminiscent of sweet potato, but not as sweet. This is a joy to find something new and good. I found a different way to fix it here, a nice recipe by Alanna of A Veggie Venture.

It's Been A Long Wait

In January of 2005, I put this bracelet on. It says THINK BLUE 11/04/08. I've never taken it off - and have proudly explained to anyone and everyone who asked about it what it said and meant. I told myself that eventually I could take it off for the right reason - President Barack Obama.











I told my sister this morning that I'd have a "ceremonial removal of the wristband," and would cut it into little pieces. So, there it is.







I can't wait to see how our country changes and how the world reacts to this. I really don't know what else to say - except that watching Jesse Jackson cry tears of joy said it all just now. I am so proud to be an American.

Well, Hello Again!

Yes, I know it's been a while. A month and a half! But you see, it's not that I haven't cooked, it's that I've cooked all my favorites, so there wasn't a whole lot to post about. I DID try two new recipes recently - so I decided to share them.

The first has been in my cookbook for a long time, and I just got around to trying it. I've been wanting simple, tasty, oven recipes for chicken, now that it's getting colder. I like to cook meals or main dishes in the oven to help warm the house. This one's a "keeper."

Baked Pineapple Chicken

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon rosemary, crushed
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lemon , thinly sliced


Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Combine reserved juice with garlic, cornstarch, Worcestershire, mustard, and rosemary. Arrange chicken in shallow baking pan or broiler-proof dish, skin side up. Broil until browned. Stir sauce; pour over chicken. Bake at 400˚ 30 minutes. Arrange pineapple and lemon slices around chicken. Spoon sauce from baking pan over all; continue baking 5 more minutes.

Next is a fabulously easy and yummy dessert, that must be eaten in small quantities- though you'll want to eat as many as you can, they're so good. I love pecan pie, and these are like eating pecan pie filling but with a tasty crackly crust on top.

Pecan Pie Cupcakes


1 cup chopped pecans
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
⅔ cup butter, melted
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Liberally grease muffin tins with cooking spray; set aside. (I used silicone muffin cups sprayed with Pam for Baking and they slid right out.)

Combine all ingredients and mix well; fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 13-14 regular-sized cupcakes, or about 30 miniature ones.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Orange Dipping Sauce

I heard this on the radio the other day as a way to do some shrimp - but since Don can't eat shrimp, I tried it with chicken. So quick and easy to prepare, and so good!

Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Orange Dipping Sauce

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I bet if you used chicken tenders or cut the breasts into smaller pieces, it would take an even shorter amount of time.)
1 egg white
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup pecan pieces, ground
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon mustard
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 375˚. In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Combine the panko crumbs and pecans with salt and pepper to taste in another bowl. Dip the chicken in the egg white to coat, and then in the pecan-panko mixture. Place chicken on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Orange Dipping Sauce: Combine mustard, marmalade, orange juice, and red pepper in a small bowl. Microwave 30 seconds.

Note: That's fried okra in the picture with the chicken.

Mole-Style Pork Chops, Zucchini and Carrot Ribbons

About once a week, Cooking Light sends me a recipe that I just HAVE to try. Last week the daily recipe was Mole-Style Pork Chops. I love mole - the unique chocolate flavor is something that takes a little getting used to - but it wasn't overpowering in this recipe. These chops were spicy and flavorful, and cooked just to where they were still juicy. The juice blended with the spicy coating to make a little sauce that coated each piece I cut.

Mole-Style Pork Chops
from Cooking Light

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile peppers
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
Cooking spray

Heat a grill pan over medium heat.

Combine first 6 ingredients; rub evenly over both sides of pork. Lightly coat pork with cooking spray. Place pork on grill pan; cover and grill 3 minutes on each side or until done. Let stand 3 minutes.

In keeping with my goal of having potatoes as a side dish only once a week, I decided to try this recipe sent to me by Alanna of A Veggie Venture. I bought the little julienne gadget from Pampered Chef many years ago, but haven't used it much. It was perfect for this job, and so easy to use!

Zucchini and Carrot Ribbons
from Alanna of A Veggie Venture

2 carrots, washed but peels on (or off if you prefer)
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium-size zucchini, blossom and stem ends removed
Salt & pepper

Cut the carrots into ribbons, then in half. (I didn't cut mine in half.) Heat the oil or butter in a large skillet til shimmery. Add the garlic and the carrots, stirring to coat with fat. Let cook, stirring often, while cutting the zucchini. Add the zucchini to the skillet, stirring to coat and to distribute the heat. Cook til soft (or al dente if you prefer). Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4

Great Tastes! (and healthy, too)

I love burgers. But not all burgers are created equal. In my younger days, I enjoyed Quarter Pounders and Whoppers, which is obviously one of the reasons I'm where I'm at today, weight-wise. Thanks to fellow bloggers and some good magazines, I've been trying some different burgers. Tonight's burger was a repeat from March, Turkey Burgers with Curry-Lime Mayo.






To go with it, I made some Zucchini Oven Chips. I "borrowed" the recipe from Joe of Culinary in the Country, and even used his tip of adding some cayenne to the breading. These were virtually non-fat, yet tasted just as good as the fried zucchini I love so much. We didn't need a dipping sauce with these since they were so flavorful, but I'm sure you could try some ranch dressing if you wanted.




Zucchini Oven Chips
from Joe of Culinary in the Country

¼ cup dry breadcrumbs
¼ cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese (I used Asiago)
¼ teaspoon seasoned salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2 ½ cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
*I added between 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of Cayenne
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. (Joe and I did these on a baking stone instead). Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

I've been given an award!

Teresa Cordero Cordell, who has a blog called Mexican-American Border Cooking, has bestowed on me the El Premio Arte y Pico award. Now I'm not totally sure what it's all about, but it's turned into a sort of meme, where each winner picks 5 more to give the award to. Teresa said she picked me because I'm a "woman of many talents. First, she’s a stickler for proper grammar, she loves to cook, and she loves to stitch. My cross stitching days are over (arthritis), but I still crotchet for short periods of time. So any cook who also has a passion for stitching is allright in my book." Cool!!!!!! And thanks so much for the honor, Teresa!

Now, I'm supposed to come up with 5 other bloggers to honor. I'll work on that for a day or two and come back and add it.

Home Again

We left Colorado Saturday morning, and spent Saturday night at the Richfield, Utah KOA. Sunday night we stayed at Whiskey Pete's in Primm, Nevada - it's a hotel/casino on the Nevada/California state line - cheap motel, average casino, good location for travelers who don't want to stay in Vegas, and a great steakhouse. We were home by 9 am on Monday.

Tuesday was the commissary trip to restock the pantry and refrigerator, Wednesday was Costco, and today was Trader Joe's. I'm back in business!

Cooking Resolution for Fall 2008: Limit potato side dishes to once a week. We really overdid the potatoes on our trip.

Tonight I tried an old recipe again plus a new one. The old one was Mahi Mahi with Jalapeño-Lime Butter, and in keeping with my new resolution, the new one was Tomatoes Florentine. Don really liked this (I did, too) and it was so easy that it'll be a repeat.

Tomatoes Florentine

6 medium tomatoes
salt
½ cup light cream
1 egg yolk
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach, cooked, chopped, drained (I failed to read this part and squeezed the thawed spinach dry inside paper towels without cooking it. It still turned out wonderful.)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Cut top (1/4 in.) off each tomato. Scoop out insides. Sprinkle insides with salt. Combine cream and egg yolk; add spinach and 1 T of the butter. Salt to taste. Heat, stirring, just to simmering. Fill tomatoes with the creamed spinach. Place in baking dish. Top each with 1 t melted butter. Bake at 375˚ for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Vacation Picture

Reflection on McKee Pond, near Marble, Colorado

Going on Vacation

I might not be posting for a while - we're leaving Tuesday morning for a 45-day trip to Colorado. We'll be at Redstone, on the Crystal River for a few nights, then Vega State Park on the Grand Mesa, then Turquoise Lake near Leadville, Tomichi Creek east of Gunnison, Taylor Park Reservoir, and then Lake City.

I hope to relax, cross-stitch, read, cook, and totally forget about work for 45 days. I'll take lots of pics, but they'll be posted over on my travel blog, Wanderlust. If I create any culinary masterpieces that I just HAVE to share, I'll post them here. Otherwise, I'll see you in August!