Happy Spring!

I hope you have the opportunity today to soak up a bit of sunshine, or listen to the birds, or catch a hint of color from a flower, whether it's a glorious red rose, a simple little daisy, or even a dandelion! I'm enjoying all of the above; it's a beautiful day.

I do have the obligatory chores that I must tackle today as well - a few loads of laundry, cleaning a bathroom, maybe running the vacuum. I have a couple of candles lit, some soothing music playing (Diane Arkenstone - thanks Pooh for introducing me to her!). I've spent a couple of hours in the kitchen already, which, honestly, I didn't feel like doing when I started. But it didn't take long to realize how much I've missed it the last few weeks.

I did some experimenting this week too, mostly out of necessity, but with some great results. Since starting a vegetarian diet in late January, I've made an effort to cook as many meals as I can in two batches - with meat and without - so that my husband isn't forced into going meatless if he doesn't want to. I had the makings for some really quick enchiladas for him - frozen rolled tacos topped with a can of enchilada sauce, grated cheese, and sliced olives. Easy! But I didn't have any meatless rolled tacos that I could eat. I did have corn tortillas, though, and knew I could come up with something to fill them. I had several pouches of Uncle Ben's and Seeds of Change brands ready-to-serve rice dishes in the pantry. One of them was a Santa Fe version and included black beans, corn, brown rice, red and white wheat, tomatoes, peppers, and spices. I warmed my corn tortillas in just a few drops of oil in a small skillet, put a couple spoonfuls of rice down the center of each one, and rolled them up. I used a 9" x 13" pan and filled it with half of the frozen rolled tacos, half of my rice filled rolled tacos, topped it all with enchilada sauce and sliced black olives. I used regular grated colby jack cheese on my husband's half, and vegan cheddar flavored grated cheese on my half. I was expecting them to be a little bland and not thoroughly enjoyable, but I was wrong. They were great!

Frozen meatballs are another one of my favorite time savers. I've found turkey meatballs and Veggie Patch brand meatless meatballs. Naturally, they're great in spaghetti, and the leftovers make great meatball sandwiches. Today I got out a recipe for Albondigas, a Mexican meatball soup. It calls for chicken broth, but I use vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, chopped celery and onion, and a sliced zucchini and chopped cilantro. I didn't have the zucchini or cilantro, but I did have carrots and kale. I also added a little bit of orzo. Because the kale cooks pretty quickly, I added it last. When it had wilted just a little bit, I removed half of the soup to another pan, and added turkey meatballs to one, and meatless meatballs to the other. Instead of albondigas, I made more of an Italian wedding soup. It satisfied my craving and is delish!

I'd had a whole bunch of kale in the fridge, but only used half of it in the soup. I usually chop it (after removing the stems) and cook it with a little garlic and onion. I soften the garlic and onion in just a smidgen of oil in a large skillet. I add the kale all at once, and sprinkle it with a few drops of aminos and a drizzle of vinegar, usually apple cider vinegar. Today I only had red onion, so into the pan it went. I softened it with the garlic and added the kale. I sprinkled it with a few drops of aminos, just a splash of ume vinegar and a smattering of rice vinegar. I gave it a little taste and immediately thought of the couple of pineapple spears sitting in my fridge. I chopped them up and added them to the pan. Yummy! A perfect blend of just a little salty and just a little sweet.

I've also cooked a pan of brown rice which I'll just put in a container and stick in the fridge. I can put it in a bowl with some kale and that can be either breakfast or lunch for me. Midway through the week, we'll want a quick and easy dinner. I'll get out the rice, the wok, chop up whatever veggies I have in the fridge that need to be used - broccoli, leeks, celery, green onions, carrots, bok choy - whatever I have. I'll grab the aminos or soy sauce and whatever vinegar happens to sound good at the moment, and we'll enjoy a wonderful fried rice. (I knew I should have grabbed that box of fortune cookies at the store the other day!)

I'm done in the kitchen for the day now. I'm sipping my second or third cup of tea as well as my water bottle with a couple of cucumber slices in it. I'm going to put in my last load of laundry, do a few minutes of yoga, and then have a bowl of soup. I think I might even brew a couple bags of chamomile tea, put it in a big bowl and enjoy a facial steam, perhaps followed by a nap.

Wishing you a peaceful afternoon,

Some favorite things

Some things I'm loving right now . . .

Lion Brand Jiffy Thick & Quick yarn. I only learned how to crochet in December. My daughter-in-law taught me while they were here visiting. To begin, I bought a couple cheap balls of yarn just to practice my stitches. But soon I wanted to actually make something. I found this yarn at the local Joann store, and bought it in the Adirondacks color (not the one in the picture below). I made a scarf - it was so fast because the yarn is so thick! I loved it so much (the color looked great in my living room!), I went back and bought all the yarn they had at the store. Then, while out of town in the "big city," I bought all they had at a Joann store there, and I made a small throw for watching tv or reading on the couch.

For Christmas, one of the gifts I gave my husband was a water bottle I found at Gaiam.com. (It has trout on it. A manly water bottle!) I have a couple, too, but it's difficult to clean them. Today I found a brush especially for cleaning aluminum water bottles at Target. It's made by Sigg and works great. Speaking of water bottles, Papaya has the most beautiful water bottles, tote bags, cards and envelopes ever! I have a couple of their legal pads in my shopping cart right now. I may have to go to work everyday, but there's no reason I can't use beautiful things while I'm there. And one of these gorgeous bottles may wind up in my shopping cart too.



I am a bit obsessive about order and organization. I can't believe I didn't have one already, but I just purchased a Dymo label maker. I recently reorganized my pantry. I love cooking and baking, but sometimes my urge to bake was quashed by the fact that I had to make multiple trips back and forth to the pantry to get everything I needed - the mixer, the flour and sugar and ingredients, the mixing bowls, etc. So I purchased a nice kitchen cart that I can roll in and out of the pantry to use in the kitchen. My mixer sits on top, along with a cookbook stand, my timer, etc. There is a drawer that holds my measuring spoons and cups, a few spatulas, a rolling pin, a silicone mat, a few spices that I use almost exclusively for baking, and a few other things. There is a shelf where my mixing bowls and big canisters for flour and sugar go, and storage space down below behind two doors where I keep a few baking pans, special flours, baking powder, baking soda, etc. I have Tupperware containers in a couple different sizes that stack very nicely, and all the various flours and other dry necessities are stored there. So everything needed to be labeled.

And just for fun - these brown canisters are also Tupperware. I got them when my son was a baby and he'll be 29 in March! Originally there was one more - a larger one - that cracked. But Tupperware replaced it at no cost to me, just from a different set because this set was no longer being made.

I am also loving this book. There is so much information - a lot of it new to me - and it's presented in an upbeat and entertaining way. I've already tried a couple of the recipes, and so far I can highly recommend the Cheesy, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip. It was delish hot from the oven, but was even really good cold the next day. I may do another post on this book later.

Have a beautiful weekend!

No Falling Leaves or Snow Here . . .

. . . but I do have a wonderful fall recipe to share with you.

The weekend before last, the weather here was perfect. Out on the back patio, the mornings were crisp and the evenings were perfect for relaxing on the glider or curling up in a wicker chair and watching the sunset. Since then, it's gotten toasty again. But I took advantage of the great weather and did a little cooking.

I'd been in the mood for something that smelled and tasted like fall. Something that smelled and tasted spicy and pumpkin-y. I went in search of a recipe for waffles, and hit the jackpot with the very first one I tried. The recipe says that it serves 8. Since there are just the two of us, that meant lots to go in the freezer for quick breakfasts during the week. They toast up perfectly and smell divine coming out of the toaster. They're wonderful with good old fashioned maple syrup, but also great made into a sandwich with apple butter oozing out the sides. Perfect for dropping into my tote bag to eat at work - except that everyone wants one!

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
4 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat waffle iron. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside. Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Enjoy!



P.S. If you're not in the mood for making waffles, I did find Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry cereals at Target yesterday. My son used to love them. I had to buy a box just because of the nostalgia!

The Zen of Cooking - worth the wait

Cream Soda Toffee Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting

a sweet ending to the weekend.

The Zen of Cooking Week Two - 60 minutes later

Progress . . .

The Zen of Cooking Week Two

I so enjoyed spending last Sunday in the kitchen that I'd planned on doing it again today. And I am. But I got a late start and am not quite "in the zone" today. Like, I know that butter has to sit out at room temp for a bit to soften before you bake with it. Why was mine still in the fridge until five minutes ago? And I still have two cupcakes left from last Sunday (was three until about ten minutes ago), so should I even be baking more? (Stupid question, I know!)

So for now, cupcakes are in a holding pattern. Can you guess which ones I decided to make?

The Zen of Cooking

and a recipe to share.

Among my many, many hobbies are cooking and baking.

Over the last several years, since my husband and I became empty nesters (we adapted quite quickly as a matter of fact), I find that I cook less during the week. But I still enjoy spending hours in the kitchen on the weekends. I love cookbooks; they are books after all. And I love getting new kitchen "toys" - pots and pans, knives, mixing bowls, and gadgets of all kinds. I invested in a Gel Pro mat for in front of the counter where I spend most of my time chopping and slicing and mixing. It's worth every penny. And I have a TV in kitchen.

This weekend, for example, I made:

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting - all from scratch.
Pan-seared Trout with Capers (Trout caught by Hubby in Colorado)
Fresh Lemon Rice
Citrus Roasted Asparagus
Chicken Salad (for lunches this week)
Lavender Lemon Mini Muffins
Bread and Butter Pickles

It's actually still very hot here to be spending so much time in the kitchen. But I needed it. I needed to clear my head of all the clutter and drivel from the last couple of weeks. Focusing on the weight and feel of the knife in my hand while slicing cucumbers, or really feeling the exhilaration that a whiff of freshly grated lemon zest provides really re-centered me. And then there were all those dirty dishes. They were all washed by hand. It was very soothing, if a little time consuming.

But the best part? Enjoying it all afterward. Hubby took cupcakes to work to share. I took muffins to work to share. And there were leftovers enough of the fish and the rice for at least one more dinner.

Lavender Lemon Mini Muffins
(found this recipe on the Internet somewhere)

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. lavender
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 egg
2 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 400F and spray 24 miniature muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Combine sugar, lavender and lemon zest in a blender or food processor; process until lavender is chopped. Remove 2 tbsp. to a small bowl and set aside. Combine remaining sugar mixture, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Stir together buttermilk, oil, lemon extract and egg in a small bowl; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. While still warm, brush tops with melted butter and dip in reserved sugar mixture.

Wishing you a sweet life,