Indian Summers...

...the late summers in the Northwest are usually amazing. Sunshine, warmth, the last of the longer days before things start getting dark quickly.

It's been an awesome bounty time -- fresh tomatoes growing on the deck, all kinds of herbs from my crazy successful herb garden this year (sage, rosemary, basil, dill, and chives), lots of peach smoothies, fresh peach ice cream, fresh blackberry ice cream, a tasty combo of the two, 14 quarts of peaches canned for the winter...and still to come, peach fruit leather, peaches to freeze (for scones and fresh ice cream in the winter), and the crop of blackberries is just starting to hit its stride.

My sweet sous chef, Thomas, LOVES helping outside.  He counts the berries, picks his favorites, provides a running commentary on his speculation of all the "bunny homes" in the bushes, and is my taskmaster for John Paul, who is a little more "relaxed" in his approach to berry picking. 

Go figure -- the difference in being 3 years old versus a year old. 



Yesterday, I posted on Facebook:

"Unfortunately, the Wee Ski 2.0 was fired from his blackberry picking gig when it was discovered that his consumption far outpaced his production. You could say he was caught "berry handed". And cheeked. And berry-chinned."

It was no joke -- this kid was SERIOUS in his quest for blackberries.  He started picking them off the vines, but realized that it was MUCH easier to just pick them right out of the colander we were filling.  Thomas was horrified that John Paul was cheating..."Mommy!  STOP HIM!  He's eating all the ice cream berries! STOP HIM NOW!  John Paul, you're on the wall!  STOP TOUCHING THEM!"



But he was just happy to play and run and eat and chase bunnies.  That is the life.


When he finally got cut off.   Check out that double chin.  And his sweet little currently-outtie belly button.


But it's nearly impossible not to forgive this little one, you know?!?


And another praise of the balance bike -- this was Thomas's focused face as he yelled, "See you later, Mommy!  I have to go do errands, I'll be back soon!"  He rounded that corner and headed right down the driveway. 


Methinks there might be a bike with pedals in his future for his 4th birthday in January!

In the Skitchen: Pork Chops with a Marionberry Pan Sauce

 

The "other white meat", tasty delicious pork.  I love picking up a stash of pork chops at Costco, using some and freezing the rest in individual portions so they can be pulled easily from the freezer.

This is a quick and easy recipe to give you a "delicious pork chop dinner" as reviewed by three-year-old Thomas.  The chops are browned on the stove, finished off in the oven, and the browned bits are the base of a sweet sauce that reduces to complement the savory flavor of the spices on the pork.  Browning first and oven finishing keeps them moist without drying them out. 

I love pan sauces, they are so versatile.  With this recipe, feel free to substitute any jam you'd like -- we just had marionberry on hand.  Apricot, raspberry, peach...they would all be good.  For the liquid -- I used white wine, but you could substitute apple juice, orange juice, a sweet vinegar (apple cider, strawberry, etc) or a red wine. 

 

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pork chops -- these were 6-7 oz each, about 3/4" to 1" thick
• 1 1/2 tsp seasoning (you could use a combination of sage/thyme/salt/pepper -- I used salt-free Sunny Paris from Penzeys)
• 1 TB butter
• 1/4 cup marionberry jam
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tsp butter

DIRECTIONS

• Combine the seasoning in a small bowl, and press into the pork chops on both sides. 
• Melt 1 TB butter over medium heat in a large skillet
• When the butter is melted and just starting to bubble, add the pork chops to the hot skillet to brown.
• DO NOT TOUCH THEM.  For five minutes.  Browning them means letting them sit and sizzle...don't stir, don't do anything.  
• After five minutes, flip them over and let them brown on the other side for another five minutes. Don't touch them again, even though you're going to want to poke them your spatula just so you feel useful.  RESIST THE URGE.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375°.   Spray a baking pan with Pam.
• When the five minutes are through, move the chops to the pan and finish baking in the oven.  They should bake for 5-10 minutes or until the chops reach 170° when measured at the thickest part.  
• To make the sauce, pour the wine into the hot skillet.  It will steam as the alcohol begins to burn off.
• Add the marionberry jam and let the flavors meld together for a few minutes.  
• Add 1 tsp butter to the sauce as it reduces and stir to combine.  
• Pour the sauce over the pork chops when serving.    

These are great served with mashed potatoes, steamed or roasted broccoli, or asparagus.  And while our three-year-old loved the marionberry sauce, the one-year-old was happy with ketchup to dip.  :)

In the Skitchen

An idea, for me, that's been long overdue.  You could say it's been slow cooking in my mind.  :)

It's never ceased to amaze my long-term friends on how significantly my style in the kitchen has changed over the years.  Once an avowed anti-vegetarian who wowed guests with hot pockets, takeout disguised as homemade and "soup poured over chicken" (that one's for you, Rich Brownrice), our Ski kitchen - or Skitchen, if you will - looks dramatically different than my kitchen did years ago. 

"In the Skitchen" will be a chance to open up our kitchen, share my favorite gadgets, ingredients, methods, tips and tricks...as well as highlight my favorite Wee Ski Sous Chefs as they learn about food and cooking.  Cooking should be fun and easy, or it's not something that you'll want to continue.  Now, if only I had a "dishes fairy"...



TODAY'S MINI SKITCH  |  Kids who make their own food will eat virtually anything they create.

The night before this photo, I taught Thomas how to slice strawberries with the help of the egg slicer.  He must have sliced three dozen strawberries and was still ready for more.  When I started breakfast the next morning, he wanted a strawberry green smoothie as well.

He pulled the spinach out of the container, smushed it into the VitaMix, sliced up more strawberries (not needed for the VitaMix, but who am I to stop him from his great joy?) and added a little milk and lots of ice.  We fired up the VitaMix together, and ended up with an awesome dark green smoothie which he devoured...because he made it. 

"Mommy, put it in MY cup!  I want to drink my own smoothie!  Don't take it!  It's mine!"

And well, the concept of 'sharing' wasn't included in today's skitch.  I'll save that for another day.  :)

One dough: two yummy treats

One of the easiest ways we have cut carbs (and sugar for Wee Ski 2.0) is by avoiding breads.  But, I'll tell you, when you have a craving for an easy recipe that makes two treats in one...this is it!

The basic sweet dough is used to make dinner rolls, and while those are rising, to whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls for the next morning.  It's perfect because it's one normal batch size: so you get a handful of rolls (9ish) and mini cinnamon rolls (7ish)...so they hit the spot without sending you into carb overload for a week.  :)

Here's what you need...

• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1 egg (room temp)
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup white sugar (I usually use half sugar, half splenda)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used brown sugar splenda)
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon (I used Penzey's Apple Pie spice)

You can make the dough one of two ways...in a bread machine (easiest) or by hand (still easy, and burns calories).

THE BREAD MACHINE
Layer the ingredients in the order recommended by the manufacturer: water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, white sugar, kosher salt, flour and dry yeast.  Select the dough cycle and press start.

BY HAND

Dissolve the yeast and 1 TB of sugar in warm water, let sit for 10 minutes.  Warm milk in saucepan, just until it bubbles.  Remove from heat, stir in butter and sugar and cool to lukewarm.  In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, the milk mixture and egg.  Stir in the flour a little at a time and knead on a lightly floured surface.  Cover and let rise for an hour. 

By the end of the rising (in the machine or by hand), you'll have a big lump of dough.  Divide it in half -- half for the dinner rolls and half for the cinnamon rolls.



Divide the dough into nine mounds of dough.  Take half the remaining softened butter (about an 1/8 of a cup), and mix a little of the butter with each mound.  Each mound can be rolled into a ball (Thomas's preferred method) or can be divided again into 3 mini balls of dough (my preferred method).  Place the single ball or the 3 mini balls into the ungreased muffin tin.  The single ball will create a normal roll, the 3 mini balls will create a cloverleaf roll.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for an hour.  Preheat the oven to 400°. 


While those rolls are rising, take the other half of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface.  Use the remaining 1/8 cup of butter and smooth it over the dough. Mix the brown sugar + cinnamon together and spread over the dough. 


All the way to the edge.  Then roll the dough up tightly. 


Using unwaxed dental floss or kitchen twine, cut the rolled up dough into slices about an inch or so thick. 


Neatly place the rolls side by side into a baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the morning.  In the morning, you'll preheat the oven to 400° and bake the rolls for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.  Immediately flip them over so the sugary goodness isn't wasted in the bottom of the dish.  :)


Back to the dinner rolls!

After the rising, place the muffin tin in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until golden.  Tasty delicious. 


These are the dinner rolls that Jonathan and Thomas fight over.  This conversation happened last week and I posted it to Facebook that night...it went something along these lines...

So I hand Jonathan a homemade dinner roll. He breaks it in half and reaches for the butter.
Then a tiny little hand steals the other half.
"Thomas, whose roll is that?"
"Mine." [takes a bite]
"Are you sure? Whose roll is that?"
"Un-coo Jehwy's."
"Uncle Jerry's? Uncle Jerry is eating my roll?"
"Yes." [takes another bite]

 It's the perfect amount of sweet bread goodness over two meals that satisfies.  YUM.

Tasty delicious "Ski Soup": My Basic Soup Recipe

This is one of my favorite "go to" soup recipes.  I usually call it "kitchen sink soup", because it's perfect for using whatever you have on hand. Anything and everything could go into it, all the way up to the kitchen sink.

It's perfect to simmer on the stove so you can make it mid-afternoon and let it go until dinner.

Typically, I use chicken in this soup -- best is chicken thigh meat, though you could use chicken breasts instead.  

One of my favorite Christmas gifts from Jonathan was a pot that I have coveted from Costco since I first read about it this summer: the cast iron dutch oven.  The Costco version of Le Creuset.  But several hundred dollars less.  :)

But I made it for a year in my normal saucepot, so you don't need the fancy pot.  But it is the bomb.  Just saying.

Start it up with a mirepoix of vegetables.  Usually, a mirepoix is onions, celery and carrots.  Diced up.  I added a little sweet potato to the mix as well.


Add to a pre-heated pot on the stove, with a little oil.  Never add veggies to oil in a cold pot.  They'll soak in the oil instead of sizzling and sauteing in it.  (Here's an awesome video illustrating why from Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.  And while we're at it, here's another sweet video from them showing how to properly dice an onion. You'll thank me for sending you their way.  Promise.)

Anyway, toss the veggies into the oil and saute until the veggies begin to soften.


I threw in a little garlic (always near the end of sauteing!  Not at the beginning!  If you scorch it, life is over.  Your soup's life anyway.) and sun-dried tomatoes.  But don't tell Jonathan about the sun-dried tomatoes.  That explicitly violates his "no tomatoes" rule.  He also has a "no lemons" rule.  I'm glad I didn't know that before we got married.  But I digress.

Add the minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.  But alas, this is optional.  I don't always add either.  That's the beauty of the soup.  Don't want to add it?  Don't! 


Add a few spices into the mix.  I tossed some white pepper from Penzeys.  You can use whatever you'd like.  Salt, pepper (the old standbys), rosemary, italian seasoning, whatever. 


After this point, I'd usually deglaze with some white wine.  However, I'm pregnant and I can't drink it, so I decided not to torture myself with a nearly full bottle of wine around.  No deglazing tonight.  But if there's an open bottle of wine around, I'd deglaze with half a cup to a full cup of wine.

I added the chopped chicken (what I had left over from last week's baked chicken - about two cups) and a can or two of chicken broth, using first the half-used can from the fridge.

I use Swanson's Natural Goodness Chicken Broth.  Hands down at cooking school it was agreed that it is the most homemade-tasting, while not being homemade.  And Costco has it in big quantities for a small price.  Happiness abounds.

Meet my helper.  Right now, he's rearranging all the dishes in the sink for me.  And then pouring water over them.  And then lifting each one up for me to see.  He's very helpful.  And we are clearly a pants-optional home.


Then I let the soup simmer.  For this dinner, it simmered for about an hour as I made tasty cornbread muffins and rescued the dishes from my handy helper's growing pile of water and suds.

About a half hour before serving, I popped in some lower-sodium white beans. Always drain + rinse the beans. You could toss in noodles instead if you wanted a chicken-noodle style soup (shells, rotini, elbows all work well).  You can also add spinach here as well.  I gave the last of the spinach to the chickens, so there was none for us.  But if there had been, I would have tossed that in too.


I love to serve this soup with fresh avocado and shredded cheese.


Ladled into bowls and ready to have avocado added.  YUM.  Cornbread muffins on the side. 


And a quick acknowledgement of my very favorite honey: orange blossom honey. A treat on or in baked goods, and tasty delicious especially on cornbread.  Love it.


The Wee Ski's first words as he started to eat his soup?
"NOMMY! NOMMY! NOMMY!"

He is very good for the chef's ego. 

He also likes to show you his full belly when he's done.  And then channels his inner Cornholio.  Which was promptly followed by a big yawn and starting to fall asleep at the table.  Clearly, Mommy and Papa aren't exciting enough company. 


The leftovers went into a storage container in the fridge.  Will freeze a quart today (planning ahead to the arrival of Wee Ski 2.0) and the rest we'll have for lunch.

I'm all about cooking once, eating twice or thrice, for that matter.  :)

The Wee Saga of Food Over 12 Hours

I give you dinner on Tuesday night and breakfast this morning.

I should preface all of this with Thomas's Tuesday morning.

Yesterday morning, he pulled the chair over to the fridge, opened it, climbed up, and pulled his apple juice out. Since he really gets water with an apple juice chaser (75% water/25% juice), he closed the fridge, held out his cup and juice bottle, and said simply "bubbles". "Bubbles" means water.

So I added juice and water and he was satisfied.

He came over to me at the kitchen counter and started to climb up onto the barstool. He then spilled his drink ALL OVER HIMSELF, starting at the top of his head, down his naked little back, and into his diaper.

So he got a bath. And his first deep conditioning treatment, because his curls are growing back and I'm vain like that.  But perhaps, after the combing the treatment through his hair, my description of what Sprouffskes use as conditioner wasn't specific enough.

Because this is what he did at dinner that night, with his banana yogurt.

A second deep conditioning treatment. Combed through with his fork all through his hair.  Supreme joy at how well he did in coating the top and back of his head.  He got his second bath of the day and headed to bed.


Fast forward to this morning.  He spotted the Cheezits box on top of the counter, and was thrilled that I was giving him cheezits for breakfast.  Except that I wasn't.  Because he was getting whole grain toast with goat cheese and a pear.

Evidently, this wasn't what he wanted.


Seriously?  No cheezits?
(My favorite part of this photo is his hair, sticking straight up)


Oh. So. Dramatic.  Cheezits!  Cheezits!  I don't care if there are starving children in Africa who would love my toast and goat cheese!  I want Cheezits!


Finally, he gave up. And he ate the toast, goat cheese and pear. 


With a few Cheezits crumbled on top as a garnish.

oh, cupcake

Seriously delish.

I made a stash of vanilla bean cupcakes for our open house yesterday...so tasty.  Thanks to the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site, I found a fabulous vanilla cupcake recipe.  It made 30 slightly-smaller-than-standard cupcakes, so I needed a recipe-and-a-half of this tasty buttercream for frosting. 

My favorite ingredient?

Vanilla bean paste.  

It's what gives the tiny little flecks of vanilla in both the cake and the frosting.  I love that.

My not-so-helpful little Wee SkiBaker snagged two cupcakes right off the counter.  First one?  Trail of crumbs back to the living room.  Second one?  Right out there in the open, on the kitchen floor.   Grinning between every concentrated bite.


And I broke out my trio of cake plates for display.   YUM.



I didn't try one until late Saturday afternoon.

It was worth the wait.  :)

Definitely my go-to vanilla cupcake recipe now!!

Rosemary & Garlic Focaccia

Delish.  Quick and easy  to prep in the breadmaker, but you can do it by hand if you'd like. 

I'm lazy.  Bring on the breadmaker.  :) 

It's finished in the oven to bake.

We had it tonight with sweet potato & ginger soup...the bread was so tasty that it's almost gone.  A full 9x13 pan.  SO GOOD.

Ingredients

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 TB olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic, chopped
• 1 TB fresh rosemary, chopped
• 3 c bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions

1. Place water, 2 TB olive oil, salt, garlic, 1 TB rosemary, bread flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Remove dough from bread machine when cycle is complete. Pat dough into either a 9x13 inch baking pan or 12 inch pizza pan. Use your fingers to dimple the dough every inch or so. Brush with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with remaining rosemary.
3. Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C). Cover foccacia with plastic wrap while oven preheats.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. let cool for 5 minutes before serving. 

Yesterday...

Things that did not happen yesterday.  The second edition.

It was my first full day after the whirlwind travel to Chicago and two Finian Road shoots (one in the clear, one in the traditional northwest rain) on Sunday. 

I was hoping for low key, calm, "get lots of stuff done and caught up" time...and then the crazy heat and humidity hit.  Mother Nature is playing with my mind again, and it's driving me nuts!  We were focused on getting into the "fall mood"...with 77 degrees. We are all confused.

To check off things that I wanted to get done...

• Cleaned up the kitchen from Thomas weekend armageddon.  Who knew one little kid could create such havoc?!?  But knowing he had an awesome time at the Brownrices on Thursday and Friday, and fun times with Papa on Saturday made it all worth it. 
• Made an awesome dozen of egg & broccoli quiche muffins...perfect for the busy week ahead.  Only 2 WW points each!
• Made the first giant batch of applesauce of the fall.  Honeycrisp apples on sale + Penzeys Apple Pie Spice + the VitaMix = the smoothest, tastiest applesauce ever.  Even Jonathan, a self-professed hater of applesauce, loved it.  Cannot wait to head to the Olympia Farmers Market to pick up a STASH of apples for the winter!
• Used up the rest of the spaghetti sauce from last week with a 'spaghetti casserole' -- a little like a lazy man's lasagna.  Tasty, nonetheless, and way easier.
• Started unpacking my stuff + Thomas's stuff.  So glad to be done with flying for a bit!
• Hit Mass + the Y + the store on the way home.  Fresh produce + a good workout + some chill time with the Big Guy and things felt like home again.

As for the things that "did not happen yesterday"...

• Thomas definitely did not get in trouble playing the "tickle the belly button game".  His current craze.  He did not get caught mistaking a naked woman's butt crack at the Y for a belly button.  Or maybe he did.  I don't know.  I'm still in hiding.  See you in 2011.
• Thomas would never have freed the chickens from their run with Maggie standing right by...ready to pounce.  It definitely wasn't the squeals of joy + screaming-like squawking from the chickens that I heard in the front yard that clued me in.  And I never would have had to chase the chickens down through the mud + chicken poo barefoot while sending Maggie inside to catch them and tuck them safely away into their run.  
• Thomas wouldn't have curled up to me after getting in trouble for said "free the chickens"...and I'm feeling all nice and cozy until I touch the mud on his jeans.  Oh wait, that's not mud.  WHAT IS IT WITH MY KID AND ANIMAL POO RIGHT NOW?  Everything got a nice, hot, disinfecting bath. 

Here's looking forward to a much calmer day today.  

Quick Takes: The Catching Up Edition

Seven snippets of life: too short for a full blog post, too long for Facebook.

1. One of my favorite parts about returning home is getting things back in order.
   Granted, with Thomas, sometimes that process can take longer than it used to.  But unpacking, washing clothes, putting things away, and catching up on all the stories of things that happened while I was gone make me happy.  If only the wash would fold itself...
2. Made an awesome margherita pizza last week.
   With fresh basil and orange heirloom tomatoes...even my tomato-hating husband loved it.  I loosely followed this recipe (meaning four-cheese was one-cheese).  So tasty.
3. Penzeys is coming to Seattle near Pike Place!
   Best email I received when I was gone!  Thanks, Kate, I think we need to plan an inaugural road trip together...we will probably be the only ones in tears as we walk through the doors...but it will be AWESOME.
4. Finian Road has been crazy busy, and I love it.
   Between shoots and design work, there's rarely been a down moment.  It's meant lots of getting up at 5 am before Thomas wakes, working like mad while he naps, and catching up after he goes to bed.  I have four projects that have a deadline of tomorrow -- and I can't wait to see how they turn out!  
5. Thomas starts Toddler Gym this week.
   We're balancing it with swimming in open swim once a week (probably on Wednesday mornings after Mass), and giving him a new outlet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  He has SO MUCH ENERGY ALL THE TIME that he never stops unless we give him a good outlet to let it out. 
6. This morning is the first crisp, cold, foggy morning on the farm.
   I think that means the end of my tomatoes and the start of the new season...the Wee Ski and I are going to pick the last of the blackberries on the farm and start preparing the house for the fall...I'm praying for a snowy winter and a HOT summer next year!
7. Planning to hit the Puyallup Fair next weekend...
   Any tips on going with a little one?  :)

Celebrating tomatoes

Our cooking class on Thursday night was all about tomatoes.  I love tomatoes and an awesome tomato sauce...my husband, however, does not.  My next goal?  Convert him to the tomato-loving team.  :)

Louise's garden is always beautiful -- and it's so much fun to see it full in the summer as opposed to just the spring when things are getting planted and beginning to grow.  We all lamented the terrible growing season (and I felt much better about my predominantly still-green tomatoes on my vines), because everyone else's are still green as well.  These tomatoes are the first of hers to begin turning red.

It's always a random mix of people at the classes...this class was predominantly male.  Just two other gals with me.  One group was all together as a "group bonding experience" from their work.  Other funny?  I was making tomato soup alongside one of my previous clients from Merrill and hadn't run into him since I quit the firm nearly a year ago.  Loving being able to chat all things wine and food with him!

One of the things I love about Bon Vivant's individual classes is that you're given an overview and intro to the subject in the beginning, and then it's hands-on making it yourself.  I'm beginning as an junior apprentice for the school in the fall, so I was excited to get back into the swing of things.

We had an awesome sampler of heirloom tomatoes sprinkled with kosher salt.  So tasty.



Roasted tomato crostinis.  Fresh mozzarella underneath the tomatoes.  So yummy.


Tomato bread salad.  DELICIOUS.  Never would have thought to use bread in this way.  Excited to make it at home.


And the soup I made: Pappa al Pomodoro.  Louise is serving it up for everyone. 


We also made stuffed zucchini with fresh tomato sauce, and pasta puttanesca. 

Cannot wait to go to the farmer's market and get stocked up!  Full freezer of tomato sauce, here we come!

Good Eats: Greek Seasoning

When I arrived home from Arizona, one of my favorite non-people things to find was my order from Penzey's.  The unopened box was like Christmas, but only for spice freaks like myself.

After restaurant & hotel food for several days, I couldn't wait to get back in the kitchen and get our house back in order.  First stop?  Picking up fresh veggies and fruit.  Our bins in the fridge and hanging baskets were bare, except for a lone onion with a giant green sprout.  Picked up fresh carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes (always!), Walla Walla onions, nectarines, pluots, raspberries, lemons, white corn, blueberries and peaches.

The majority of spices in the order were refills of my current faves (Italian herb, garlic, taco seasoning, shallot salt and vanilla sugar).  Two new picks?  Sweet curry and greek seasoning. 

Greek seasoning is a mix of lemon, oregano and garlic.  A few of my favorite things.  So tonight, we had greek seasoning: three ways.

Simple and easy, perfect for a hot-as-hades day.

1. Greek Chicken • Squeeze fresh lemon over chicken thighs.  Season with greek seasoning, and add feta cheese on top.  I used a Mediterranean blend of feta, and the Wee Ski had his chicken dairy-free.  35 minutes at 375°. 
2. Roasted Carrots & Broccoli • Cut broc to similar size, and slice the baby carrots in half.  Toss with extra virgin olive oil & greek seasoning.  Roast at 400° for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.
3. White corn with Greek butter •  Shuck the ears and drop into rapidly boiling water.  Boil for 7-9 minutes until tender.  For the butter, mix softened butter (NOT melted) with seasoning.  I usually leave the butter out for a few hours before adding the seasoning, and let the flavors meld for a few hours before using.  

So tasty delicious.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The best part about these cookies?  They mail well.  Which is awesome, because if they didn't mail well, the whole batch would still be on my counter...until Jonathan and I polished them off.

That said, there were just a dozen left after the trip to the post office today...and we have been savoring every single one.  The trick to the awesome raisins in these cookies?  Soak them for an hour in the egg & vanilla mixture.  Plumps them up. 

They are perfect as they are...but I may add in some white chocolate chips next time. 

And this was a Penzey's happy recipe -- I used their Mexican Vanilla (surprisingly, I can't find it on their site right now), Vietnamese Extra Fancy Cinnamon, and sprinkled a little Vanilla Sugar on the cookies as they came out of the oven for a little sparkle.  Tasty.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Pecans

THE INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped

THE DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Combine raisins, vanilla and eggs.  Let stand for one hour.
• Mix flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in a bowl.  
• Cream butter and sugars together.
• Add flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and combine well.
• Blend in egg/raisin/vanilla mixture, oats, and chopped nuts.
• Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.  (I rolled mine into balls and flattened a bit)
• Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Quick Takes: The Delish Edition

Seven snippets of life right now: relating to all things delish and homemade.

1. Loving my tomatoes that are finally turning red! 
   The Sweet 100s are above...with the first tomato fruit that I'll probably be picking off the vine tomorrow!  These plants are way more successful than last  year's.  In the last few days, though, I've been seeing a ton of tiny, itty bitty little black bugs on the leaves and stems.  Is that bad?
2. Made the best 'lighter' Chicken Parmesan EVER last night.
   This is my go-to recipe now for Chicken Parm, and it seriously does not taste low fat!  The Wee Ski loved his (albeit without the cheese), and finished two chicken tenderloins. 
3. Loving garlic scapes.
   Seriously, doesn't even surprise me that there are veggies I've never heard of.  Several years ago, my veggies consisted of corn on the cob, tomatoes (in ketchup) and potatoes (in french fries).  Made an incredible lemon pasta on Sunday with a half-dozen garlic scapes, sun-dried tomatoes and some Tsillan Cellars gewurzt. 
4. And seriously, loving cooking with wine.
   I can't believe I ever bought "cooking wine".  For the love, if you wouldn't buy it to drink, why would you use it in your food?  It's a challenge if we don't finish a bottle of wine to find a way to use it in our food.  An incredibly delish challenge, if I do say so.  That's what made the difference in my knockoff of the Cheesecake Factory's Chicken Madeira.  Buying a real bottle of madeira, not just the "cooking wine" version of it.
5. An easy risotto. 
   We've had this twice in the last week; no leftovers yet.  Risotto usually has you standing over the stove for 40 minutes working the starches out of the rice.  Not anymore!  Into the rice cooker: 1 cup arborio rice, 2 2/3 cup chicken stock (using Swanson's natural, low sodium), 1/3 cup white wine, 2 TB butter, 2 TB olive oil.  Stir it up and turn it on.  That's it.  Risotto for dummies.  Or lazy people who would rather watch Leverage instead of standing over a hot stove.  Don't be surprised though, if you are licking your bowl.  So very good.
6. Honey oat bread.
   Wee Ski approved.  No milk or eggs.  Just dense, awesome bread goodness.  Made it on Sunday just before we left for Mass.  Best scent ever is walking back in the door, a few minutes before it's done.  Nom nom nom.  Thomas gets Earth Balance (soy free) on top, we take a little butter + orange blossom honey.  Jonathan also had it in a sandwich yesterday for lunch.  Perfect sandwich bread.
7. Lemon basil salmon.
   Fabulous marinade.  Served it with the risotto above.  WAS. IN. HEAVEN.

So tell me, what are we missing out on right now?  Are you making something yummy?  Do tell!!

Going bananas over our Thurston Relay committee

This year, Al and Dave led the charge together for our event. It was a year of growth and development, and they did a fantastic job leading our Relay into the next phase. So tonight at our wrap up, there's no better way to say thanks than to sweetly say it.

With banana cupcakes.  :)

Together with their committee (among them being the awesome Dawn Gadwa and Bobbi Hudson and staff partner Janell Varga), they created a year for the teams that gave us the chance to create more birthdays through our fundraising...and more importantly, create a lifetime of memories for many.  We are so grateful. 

We will be surprising them tonight at the final Relay wrap up meeting for the teams, starting at 6 pm.  Cannot wait.

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And finally, for the specs...

• The banana cake recipe  |  Passed on from Meegan, the bestest hairstylist in the world, who also knows the best banana cake recipe in the world.  Only adjustments to the recipe?  Baked the cupcakes for 17 minutes at 325°.  Added in 1/8 tsp of fiori di sicilia, a citrus/vanilla blend.  Made them a day and a half ahead of time, so the banana flavors would continue to meld.  So tasty. 
• The cream cheese frosting  |  Piped on this afternoon.  Added the tags and placed back in the fridge to take tonight.  I did use just one and a half packages of the neufchatel cheese, instead of 2 packages of the full-fat cream cheese.
• The tags  |  Designed in Photoshop.  Used a 1 1/4" circle to match my punch, but added in a bleed of .25" around the circle.  Front tag is the Relay logo, back tag is the "we've gone bananas".  Sampled the Relay purple color on the back from the logo.  Printed these 6 tags to a 4x6 print, making 3 full tags on each print.  Punched out and adhered together with packing tape onto a round toothpick.  Printed at Costco -- can beat the price of 4 cents per tag!  :)