Days 4-8 of 2011 -Cookie Making

I know you were all getting totally worried that I was going to post each and every day ~ but never fear, I’ve never been that consistent with anything.

Day 4 I made a test batch of cookies which I have started calling Heaven Triple Chocolate Cherry Chip. I stumbled across cherry flavored chips in the grocery last week and grabbed a bag. At the time I figured I find something or another to use them with ~ and this was absolutely the right way to go.

I used a blend of unsweetened, bittersweet and semisweet chocolates – along with the cherry chips. I also added cherry syrup to the mix to help enhance the cherry flavor. These were actually so good that I ended up giving them away so I wouldn’t eat any more. I really do try to be a good girl, although often I fall a little short (about 5’1-1/2″ to be exact. Don’t forget the 1/2 inch – it’s important.)

Day 5 I took Friday off from cookie making. My foot was really bothering me and I figured giving it some extra time to rest would be a good thing. Besides, I took my kids to see Puss in Boots (I thought it was underwhelming. That’s my expert opinion.)

Day 6 I visited my local candy and bakery supply store to pick up some supplies where I may or may not have purchased some additional sprinkles and disco dust. Then I worked and worked and worked on cookie color maps for both Thanksgiving and Christmas cookies. I may or may not have drank Margaritas during this process. Margaritas with sprinkles on top.

I use these color maps to help portion out icing colors and pre-plan my roll out cookies. Cookie color maps are made by drawing (or tracing) a rough outline of the cookie cutter and sketching the design I want to use inside the cookie. Sometimes I’ll use more than one design on any given cookie cutter and I try to keep these all together on one sheet of paper. After I’ve sketched my design I make a note on the colors, then figure how much of each color I need. Which would probably be a lot easier to figure out – without the Margaritas and sprinkles.

Sometimes, after I finish the color plans I’ll figure out that I only need enough orange icing to make 6 turkey beaks. By doing this pre-planning I can avoid making a huge batch of orange icing only to waste 90%. At this point, often I’ll make the decision that the turkey beak will look fine in yellow or red – since I already am making those colors for other cookies. I mean, honestly, what color are turkey beaks anyhow?

Adding this step to my cookie making process has saved me oodles of time and I almost never have way too much icing or not enough.

photo credit: Dr Phil

Day 7 I made a big turkey dinner for my family, complete with the trimmings. No cookies were made on Sunday! I did, however, make the most amazing apple dill stuffing. I have a new go-to stuffing recipe.

Day 8 (today) I made and froze Oatmeal Butterscotch cookie dough. I love Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies. Not as much as say triple chocolate cherry chip cookies, but I really am very fond of these.

2010 Thanksgiving Cookies

Tomorrow I will actually be rolling and baking Thanksgiving cookies! I’m super excited to get to get started!

 Similar Posts:

• Bad Day Pork Chops and Roasted Apples
• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes
• I’m baaaaack. Whew, I made it! Better Biscuits
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread

Hello Intertubes! It’s nice to know that if I ever fall off the face of the earth there are actually a few people out there who would totally notice. All is well in Angie Pangie land, as hectic as ever and everyone is moderately well. I appreciate all the emails and Facebook notes asking “Is Angie’s Pangies ever coming back?” If anything, I felt loved.

So, I was noticing the other day that my spice drawer is really, really full.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who has this problem?

I thought about pruning it down and getting rid of a few that I rarely use, but you know how that goes, right? You finally dump the eye of newt that you bought on a whim and never used, only to discover the following Tuesday that the casserole you’re in the middle of making calls for 1/8 teaspoon of … you guessed it … eye of newt.

In my corner of the world, when you run out of something and need it for dinner now, it requires a trip to our local EZ Mart. This is the place that has 1/2 inch of dust on every shelf, old expiration dates on every can of spam and wrinkly green bell peppers for $2.50 each. Eye of newt six years past it expiration date is probably $40 at our corner EZ Mart. And I have to pay it since I need 1/8 teaspoon – all because I got trigger happy and tossed mine last week. So, needless to say, I’m always a little hesitant to get rid of my hard to find or rarely used items. That’s the price I pay for living in the sticks.

Plus, you know how some people love books, or troll dolls, or rocks? Or maybe office supplies – you know – cool-ish paper? For instance, my little Babs loves journals. She can sniff them out no matter if we are at Target or the EZ Mart. Guaranteed she will find and have to have this journal. No other-journal-in-the-whole-world-will-work-only-this-one-right-now. Until tomorrow – when she finds another. There are truly piles of abandoned journals all over this kid’s room. It’s as if her mission in life is to save all the dusty $18 journals at the EZ Mart. Well, anyhow, I guess I can’t really blame her since I love herbs and spices in that same way.

I got to thinking.  “Angie Pangie, if you were asked to pick your top 5 spices – and you had to get rid of all the others – what would they be?”

First, I decided that salt and pepper shouldn’t count. It isn’t fair to include those because you can’t cook American food without salt and black pepper. That’s just crazy talk. Sort of like they give you the extra letters on Wheel of Fortune because they know you’re going to pick R, S, T, L, N and E (remember when Wheel of Fortune was old school and you had to ask for those letters?) I’m going to just take them out of the equation completely.

Second, I decided no fair cheating and picking some of those great spice blends. You know … trying to sneak two or three into one. Like Italian Seasoning. Nope. That would totally count as all five – basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram and thyme.

And then I started looking through my drawer. At first I thought it would be fairly straight forward, but then I found little gems like fennel seed and chipolte powder and I realized this may be harder than it sounds. How am I to survive this fall without fresh rye bread with extra fennel seed?

After much consternation I came up with my top five must have spices:

1. Dill. Well, yeah, we all know about my love affair with tzatziki and all things Greek. Dill is definitely a distinct flavor that I never want to be without.

2. Cumin. This is one of those flavors that I sniff and my mouth starts watering.

3. Basil. ‘Nuff said.

4. Oregano – another flavor that is darn near impossible to duplicate.

5. Dry Mustard. Delicious in so many wonderful ways.

I decided that garlic powder, one of other my most frequently purchased items, could be replaced with fresh garlic. I also axed crushed red pepper from the list since if I really have to I can use black powder to spice things up.

So now it’s your turn, readers. How many dried spices and herbs do you keep on hand at any given time? Which ones can you not live without?Similar Posts:

• (Not So) Saturday Sides: Citrus Broccoli
• Saturday Sides: Sassy Cuke (Cucumber) Salad
• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal

Every year around . . . probably April Hubby and I start in.  “North Carolina sounds good, don’t you think?”  or “Yeah, Atlanta is supposed to be really nice, too.”  sometimes we even talk about “Arizona!  We could move to Arizona!  I love the desert, it’s so good for allergies.” And so on.  The thing is, in Michigan, by April the last thing you want to do is be cold.  You’re just sure you’re going to peek out the back door one frigid morning and see a polar bear, even though you KNOW it’s supposed to be almost spring . . . it’s not.  It’s. Still.  TOO.  Cold.

But we don’t move.  And every October I’m glad that I still live in the Midwest.  Because, if there is one reason why I wouldn’t leave it’s because of the autumn.  Amazing stuff, folks.  It is 100% without a doubt my favorite season.  The trees are stunning.  The weather is cooler, not cold, but crisp and refreshing.  Pumpkin farms are open and super popular here.  Every corner boasts a “corn-maze” where you can go and just get lost wandering through some farmer’s old corn stalks.  And as you walk through the corn maze you are reminded by the crunch-crunch under your feet that soon there won’t be any leaves left on the trees.

Apples and pumpkins are in season and that means fresh cider at the road side stands, fresh warm spiced applesauce at Grandma’s on Sunday, and pumpkin pie for dessert.  Quite frankly, it doesn’t get much better than that.

And so we stay.  I’m going to ask you guys to remind me I said all these wonderful things about the Midwest in January when I’m digging out of the driveway on the kid’s fifth snow day of the year, o.k.?

Since it’s cooler outside (and in the kitchen) and I’ve got fresh applebutter up in the pantry I decided I better get back to bread making.  I personally have no problem smearing applebutter all over my fingers to eat it, but not everyone around here feels the same.  After a couple of days of that the kids even start to complain.  You know, I just want to know when kids became so darned demanding – thinking they need bread for applebutter.  The nerve.  Well, anyhow.

At the end of last winter I had started perfecting the baking method I use.  In typical Angie fashion, I had taken lots of notes so that I wouldn’t forget what to do.  And, also in typical Angie fashion, I have no idea where the heck I’ve put the notes.  Nor do I remember anything about the highly technical process that I had honed and was prepared to share with you as soon as I had one extra free minute.

So.  I started over.  Thankfully, most of it came back to me once I started baking.  It’s a lot like riding a bike . . . although I did get on a bike this past summer and let me tell you – Yes, I did remember how to do it, but OUCH – I don’t remember my rear-end feeling that way the next day.  Yeah, so where was I?  Ah yes . . . bread.

Today I want to do two things.  First I want to share with you the method for cooking a fantastic rustic loaf of bread – a method you can use with great results with just about ANY loaf of bread you make. I personally do love great recipes and I think it’s really important that you all have a good source for getting those recipes (here is fine, or somewhere else if you must), but even more important you need to know HOW to make things and how to get great results.  That’s why I’m going to spend some time on this topic today.

Second, I want to give you a recipe for bread that I just can’t get enough of.  You’ll feel the same.  I just got a hunch you will, ya know?

Baking an amazing loaf of bread takes a few tools.  I use my bread machine to mix up bread dough.  That’s up to you – you can make it by hand if you’d rather, or use your mixer or food processor, whatever works for you.  This process really begins AFTER the bread dough is mixed.  So.  You’ll need a batch of bread dough.

You’ll also need:

A baker’s stone if you have one.  Use a heavy sheet pan if you do not.

Parchment paper.

On older pan with sides at least 1 inch tall, one that you don’t mind if it looks icky when you’re done.

A disposable pie plate or bread pan.  Really any smaller disposable baking dish is fine.

Start out by making the bread.  You can use this recipe (It’s reaaaaally yummy.  Hey, I’m just sayin’) or any other.

Give Me Five Bread

3/4 cup warm water (110-115F)
1 cup warm milk (100-115F)
1 egg yolk, reserve the egg white
1/4 cup butter, soft
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for the pastry board
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping:
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon water

Plus
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

I use my bread machine for the mixing part of this recipe.  I add the liquid ingredients and softened butter in the bottom of the pan, put the flour over the liquid and add the salt, sugar and yeast in opposite corners.  Use the dough cycle.

If you make your bread by hand dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Add the milk, sugar, butter, egg yolk, salt and half the flour and beat until smooth.  Stir in enough flour to make a very soft dough.  Place the dough in a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray and turn it over once to coat the dough.  Let rise one hour.

At this point the directions are the same.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured pastry board or counter.  This is a very soft and sticky dough.  Knead the bread, adding flour in only as necessary to make it possible to work with the dough.

Divide the dough in half and shape it into rounds.  Tuck the edges of the dough underneath to give it a smooth, nice appearance on top.  Flour left on top is o.k. on a rustic loaf, it makes it look cool.  We’re all about the cool at Angie’s Pangies.  Place each round on a piece of 15X15 parchment paper.

Beat the egg white and the water together and brush over the top of the rounds.  If you don’t have a pastry brush, you can just use your fingers to slather it over the top.

Mix the seeds, onions and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle half over each round.

Let the rounds rise for about 30 minutes.

While the rounds are rising you can get ready to bake.

I want you to crank your oven up to 500 degrees or so.  Just set it really hot.

Place the baking stone in the dead center of the oven.

On the bottom of the oven, place the old cake pan.  It should be way larger than the disposable pan and centered on the bottom.

Use a sharp knife and carefully poke a few small holes into the bottom of the disposable pan.

I think it’s funny that is says “Durable”

Not so durable now, are ya?

Fill a narrow container, such as a vase with about 1 1/2 cups of room temperature water.

When 30 minutes have passed, or when the bread has doubled in size, turn the oven down to 375 degrees, and open the oven door.  (BLAST OF HEAT!  WOO!)

Underneath the baking stone, on a seperate rack, place the disposable pan.

Carefully pick up one piece of parchment paper with the risen dough round and set it down on top of the baking stone.

Quickly pour the water into the disposable pan (with the holes.)  As soon as you are done pouring the water shut the oven door!  There should be sizzling and steam everywhere – that’s the point – you’re creating steam in the oven to produce a thick, brown, shiny crust.

After 20 minutes, check the bread.  If the top is golden brown, it is likely done.  If it is not quite evenly brown, you can give it up to another 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the bread from the oven by grabbing the corner of the paper and pulling the loaf onto a hot pad in the other hand (or if you have a paddle you can use that – a giant pancake turner can work well, too).  Leave the stone in the oven.

Turn the oven back up for 5 or 10 minutes, then repeat the process for the second round.

Now, if you’ve made it to the end of all of this, you may be asking.  Angie Pangie, why am I doing all of this?  Why would anyone go through all this rigamarole?

The simple answer is because it makes awesome bread.

The middle of the road answer is because bread does most of it’s rising in the first 10 minutes of baking – so by placing it on a very hot stone in a very hot oven you get a great big spring from the yeast – sort of like it’s last dying act it goes “POOF”.  The steam is, like I mentioned earlier, there to help make the crust amazing.  You can read more about yeast spring and such here (this would be the other end of the road answer).

I add the dripping disposable pan to my method because I like for some steam to be made after I close the door.  When I added all the water to the hot cake pan on the bottom the steam had been created – and was mostly gone – before I ever got the door shut.  This just slows down the process a bit more.  But, you can skip that step if you want and just add water to the hot pan on the bottom.

Now, go out, be fruitful . . . and bake bread!Similar Posts:

• I’m baaaaack. Whew, I made it! Better Biscuits
• (Not So) Saturday Sides: Citrus Broccoli
• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes
• Bad Day Pork Chops and Roasted Apples
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal

Have you ever had a day where you just work and work and work and then it’s the end of the day and you look up and say “Whew!  I did so much today!” and then you see the pile of stuff you didn’t do and you say “Crap, what did I do today?”  Yeah.  Me too.

Today was like that here.  I recently started helping hubby with his booming freelance writing business and no matter how fast or hard I worked today, I could barely make a dent in the pile.

Then, I finally looked up and thought “Right!  Gotta make dinner.”

Except, I fah-got!  I laid out pork chops this morning.  And I don’t like pork chops.  Oh Maaan.  Can you say DARN THE LUCK?!  I worked all day and now I get to make pork chops.  Wheee.

Now, it’s normal that about once a week I make something for dinner that I really don’t care for.  But, let me tell you, I’ve had a really giving week this week when it comes to making things I don’t like.

Case in point.  Yesterday, I made tater-tot casserole, one of my all time least favorites (don’t even ask me for the recipe, because I’m not sharing it, it’s gross).  Unfortunately, it is one of hubby’s all time favorite dinners.  If it weren’t for the fact that he loved it, the words tater-tot and casserole would never again cross my lips in the same sentence.

Oh yeah, and at the beginning of the week – I made (and ate) hot dogs.  Yeah.  Hot dogs, people!  So, now do you see why I wasn’t happy about those darn pork chops tonight?

But, I had to cook them. It was time to start dinner, not time to figure out dinner.  And, then.  I quickly realized, I didn’t have half the stuff I needed to make the damn pork chops.  This was not going well.  I actually started to get a little cranky.  Not that I would usually dream of being cranky after working all day, realizing I had to make and eat pork chops for dinner, and then realizing I didn’t have any garlic OR sweet potatoes in the house.  But this time, I did seem slightly, you know, maybe just a little agitated, if you will.  I actually started thinking about reservations.

But, reservations were not on the menu, and certainly not in line with my pocket book.  So, I angrily threw what I had together and tossed it in the oven.  Then, I drove to pick up my teenager who complained the whole way home about how unfair her science teacher is for making her do her homework.  I listened, smiled, nodded, and silently thanked my lucky stars I wasn’t in high school any longer, because making and eating pork chops is bad, but high school is way worse.

Perhaps my sympathetic attitude turned the tide because when I got home my luck changed.  I pulled those pork chops out of the oven and they looked really, really good.  And they smelled divine!

And I ate them.  And they were excellent.  And now, I’m going to share the bad day pork chops with you.

Part of the reason hubby and I don’t care for pork chops much is because the of texture of the meat.  It’s a tad unforgiving.  If you don’t cook it just right it’s either dry or it’s rubber.  Neither dry nor rubber textures are something we care for.  These pork chops were soft and tender.  Juicy and flavorful.  They rocked out loud.

I baked these in a 325F degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours, but you could certainly cook them at 300F for 2 hours, or 350F for 1 hour.  It’s up to you.  Slower is better.  Slower is goooood.

Well, here you go.  Thankfully, I’ve gotten into the habit of taking a few pictures as I start a new recipe – you just never know when you’re going to get lucky.  While I was making these pork chops I also took a few that had nothing to do with pork chops.  Like this one of my Aspie girl, Lilly, lining up her lite brite pieces by color instead of doing her homework (FYI – Lilly – and a lot of people with Asperger’s Syndrome – often display OCD traits.)  Lilly didn’t eat any pork chops or apples.  As a matter of fact, she pretty much just screamed through dinner about how mean we were that we put that food on her plate.  Hey, I said the day got better.  Not perfect.

Bad Day Pork Chops and Roasted Apples

1 pound of pork chops about 1/2 inch thick (we like boneless loin, but any should work fine)
3/4 Cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4-5 apples (I used a combination of Granny Smith, Washington Reds, and Gala)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 325F (or see notes above for different cook times/temps).

Rinse pork chops and pat dry.

Mix the bread crumbs and kosher salt in a dish just large enough for one pork chop to fit inside.

Dip each pork chop into the bread crumbs, then into the egg, and back into the crumbs a second time.

Lightly brown the pork chops in vegetable oil, using a heavy, oven-proof pan – like this 12″ Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet.

Meanwhile, peel and core each apple.  If you don’t have a nifty apple corer and peeler and you and/or your children like apples it is well worth the investment.  I use mine constantly.  It makes peeling and slicing apples fun and easy.  It’s safe enough for my girls to use it – and they love to do so.  It’s perfect for a recipe like this one, too.  It allows you to have evenly sliced apples – so that they cook evenly.

Place the apple pieces in a medium bowl.  Add water, vanilla and sugar and toss.

When the pork chops are browned, remove from heat and pour the apple mixture over the top.  Place the entire pan inside the preheated oven.

Bake 1 1/2 hours, or follow directions above for different cooking times.  Carefully remove from skillet and serve with apples over the pork chops.

Similar Posts:

• Margaritas, sprinkles and turkey beaks
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal
• Saturday Sides: Sassy Cuke (Cucumber) Salad
• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes

[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here Saturdays to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]

As repayment for the non-posting of a Saturday Side for too many weeks I will now give you my numero uno favorite green bean recipe.

What it’s not:

It’s not very healthy.

It’s not pork free.

It’s not super-duper fast.

It’s not incredibly simple.

What it is:

It’s knock-your-panties-off good.

It’s gorgeous.

It’s something you will make for company.

It’s something you should print multiple copies of for your friends because I promise they’ll be asking. On second thought, just write “www.angiespangies.com” down on a piece of paper. It saves time. That way, you can make some more green beans.

O.k. here’s a peek . . .

These are AMAZING! This is the perfect combination of flavors, sort of like a BLT, without the “L” and with a “GB” for green beans . . . so a “BGBT”, um, well, that doesn’t really work, does it? Well, you get the picture. Bacon, green beans, and tomatoes mix together in this slightly crunchy and delicious side to make your taste buds scream – “FEED ME SEYMOUR”.

Please don’t even try to take my word for it, just go make some. Please.

Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes

Adapted from Recipezaar

3 strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

After trimming the green beans, wash thoroughly and steam over one inch of boiling water for 5-6 minutes.  To learn the vegetable steaming processing read about steaming broccoli in the Citrus Broccoli recipe.   Steam the green beans just until the color turns bright green. If you overcook the green beans, the color with become washed out and dull, and they will become mushy.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Did you know that bacon crumbles are much easier to make if you cut the bacon before you cut it? By cutting the bacon into little pieces the bacon cooks faster and you don’t have to try and cut hot, greasy bacon. To be a real kitchen diva, use scissors to cut the bacon. Ingenious!

Look, aren’t they pretty? Ohhh, I think I just felt my cholesterol climb while looking at these little tidbits of heaven. You could use turkey bacon, I suppose. I didn’t do that.

To the bacon drippings, add green beans and saute for 10 minutes. If you prefer your green beans a little on the crunchy side, you can saute them less time. Either way, watch your green beans carefully, and use a moderate heat level, because they can scorch and that’s not tasty at all.

Add the garlic; cook 2 minutes. Don’t let it burn! Burnt garlic is bitter and also not tasty.

Stir in tomatoes, bacon, salt, and pepper. Heat through. I just want you to look at these tomatoes. Some of us, here in the United States, have been without tomatoes more than we choose to be over the last couple of weeks. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all.

Without the pictures:

Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes

3 strips bacon, cut into pieces
1 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

After trimming the green beans, wash thoroughly and steam over one inch of boiling water for 5-6 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels.

To bacon drippings, add green beans and saute for 10 minutes.

Add the garlic; cook 2 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, bacon, salt, and pepper. Heat through.Similar Posts:

• (Not So) Saturday Sides: Citrus Broccoli
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Blog Much? What’s in your spice drawer?
• Saturday Sides: Sassy Cuke (Cucumber) Salad
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal

O.k., so I have a question for you.

Do you buy, and use, these?

Hmm. Well, so did I. But, I always felt a little funny about it. I mean, it’s just oatmeal, which is cheap and easy to make. And, when I checked the ingredients there was that heinous “artificial flavors,” which could mean . . . well, anything, right?

So, I quit buying it one week and just decided to make it from scratch. No big deal. Except. Sort of a big deal. Minus the “sort of” part.

What I mean to say is this: my kids didn’t like it. And I didn’t like making it. It’s actually really convenient to, you know, rip open the bag, pour the stuff in a bowl, dump in some water, nuke it for a while, stir and eat. Instead, I was measuring this and adding that and, well, jeez, what a pain in the behind.

Plus, instant oatmeal is more of a powdered oatmeal than the stuff we buy in the big round cardboard container. Which means instant oatmeal is softer and less chewy that non-instant oatmeal. Those of us who have always eaten instant oatmeal will make the other stuff and assume it’s undercooked. People who love chewy oatmeal will tell you that instant oatmeal is “icky” and paste-like and proclaim themselves oatmeal snobs.

The problem, of course, is that my kids like oatmeal paste and since none of the nutrients are lost in any version (whole, steel cut, rolled, quick cook, and powdered/instant oats all have the same thing inside) I’m going for something that my kids will eat.

So, I went back to buying instant oatmeal. And I was happy again. Except. It kept bugging me. I was paying for the convenience and in the meantime feeding my kids “artificial I don’t know whats” and “caramel coloring.”

And then, I found this recipe. Basically, you premix the oatmeal and the (not artificial) flavorings, put it in a bag, and you know, open the bag, pour the stuff in a bowl, dump in some water, nuke it for a while, stir and eat. Brilliant! And, when I’m feeling really froggy I’ll portion it into small snack sized bags so it’s all premeasured.

How smart is that?! And, since I’m really lucky, sometimes, my completely competent teenager can even manage to, you know, open the bag, pour the stuff in a bowl, dump in some water, nuke it for a while, stir and eat . . . all by herself!

Of course, my slightly autistic ten year old, and her younger 7 year old sister have no problems making it either. I tell you this because I feel it is very important information for those of us who are stay in bed Moms to know.

To deal with the consistency issue I toss the whole batch in the food processor or blender to break it down into smaller pieces. If you like a chewier oatmeal, you can completely skip this part.

Oh, and guess what?! It tastes as good – if not better – than the stuff from the store, since it’s got all the goodies mixed in. Which means . . . my kids like it! Hooray!

Here are some pictures from a new batch together I put together for the kids – since they are now home all day, every day, oh my goodness when-does-summer-camp-start? Actually, I’m just kidding, I’m one of those weird Moms that actually looks forward to having their kids home all summer.

And this summer, we’ll be eating oatmeal by the pool . . . well, until summer camp starts anyhow. So, perhaps you should make a batch and see what you think.

Homemade “Instant” Oatmeal Mix

Adapted from Recipezaar

6 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped dried fruit, optional

In a large bowl, combine the ingredients. If you prefer a smoother, less chewy oatmeal grind the mixture in a blender or food processor until the oatmeal is cut into smaller pieces. The longer you allow the oatmeal to process, the smoother the oatmeal will be. Leaving some larger pieces will give it some texture.

Store in an airtight container, or a zippered bag in a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

I like to leave the dried fruit out of the mix and just add in the fruit by the bowl. This way I can add apples to mine, raisins for Katie, blueberries for Babs, and leave it plain for Lilly. I just add a couple pieces of dried apple, cut into small pieces.

To prepare oatmeal: Shake mix well and measure 1/2 dry oatmeal into bowl, add 2/3 cups water, and microwave for 2-3 minutes.
Or on a stove top, in a saucepan, bring water to a boil; slowly stir in 1/2 cup mix.
Cook and stir over medium heat for 1 minute.

Here we have chewy oatmeal (with apples).

And here we have smooth oatmeal, plain.

Similar Posts:

• I’m baaaaack. Whew, I made it! Better Biscuits
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Saturday Sides: Sassy Cuke (Cucumber) Salad
• Margaritas, sprinkles and turkey beaks
• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes

I know, I know. It’s been too long since I’ve had a weekday post, again. But, I finally have made it through the kids’ last two weeks of school. Any parent with a school aged-child knows what I am talking about: 4 different field trips, overdue library books to round up, cookies to bake for class parties (ohh, did you say cookies?), teacher thank-you gifts, bookbags overflowing with papers from a cleaned out desk, and bittersweet moments of watching your baby grow up. Yes, all this, times THREE children makes a blogger too busy. Thankfully, I’ve made it through all of this. And now begins. Summer. Vacation. I have no idea how I will fit in blogging this summer, but I do hope that it is easier to find the time rather than harder. I guess we will see.

Some of you may remember my very first post, where I gave up my favorite biscuit recipe. Well. I’ll be honest, I’ve been tweaking my biscuit recipe over the last couple of months because sometimes they just tasted a little “blah.” I’ve finally gotten the biscuit recipe to the point where I seriously salivate every time I say the word “biscuit”. And I want to share the new improved version. These are a little more work, but oh-so-worth it when you are in the mood for the best damn biscuit ev-ah.

This recipe comes from a hodge podge of ideas. It started with Orangette, and then I read an article about The Flying Biscuit Cafe (which I WILL visit soon), and from there I just started mish-mashing until I got what I was looking for. Let me know what you think.

Enough already, here you go.

The Better Biscuit

4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter
2 cups buttermilk (approximately)
2 tablespoons cream
1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt.

Use a pastry blender, fork, or fingers to cut in cold butter. I like to use my fingers and sort of “rub” the butter into the flour. I leave some big bits and some little bits.

Pour in buttermilk and mix just until everything is very moist. The dough should not be liquid, but it will be very wet. You can add a bit more buttermilk if necessary, or a bit less.

Generously sprinkle flour on work area and turn wet dough out. This dough is very difficult to work with, because it is so wet. (That’s what she said! HA! Sorry, I just couldn’t stand it one more minute.) Just flour your hands and the board (or counter) very well and be prepared to get messy! (That’s what she Er, uh, never mind.)

Flour hands and gently pat and press dough into a 1 inch thick circle. The goal here is to work with the dough as little as possible. This will keep them from being tough or chewy.

Use a biscuit cutter or an upside down glass to cut into rounds. You can re-work the scrap dough once to make more biscuits. Don’t work it multiple times or the dough will become overworked and chewy. Oh, and look, I bought a biscuit cutter! I’m seriously moving up in the world. I found this bad boy, along with a smaller cutter and a bigger cutter (as a set), for a dollar. I don’t feel too bad about buying a biscuit cutter (when a glass works just as well) when I only spent a dollar. Although, just 84 more dollars with the 1 dollar I spent on that biscuit cutter and I would have had enough for that hot little summer purse I’ve been eyeballing. *Sigh* Yes, well, getting back to the biscuits now.

Use a spatula to move the biscuits to a baking sheet or stone.

Now, because these aren’t nearly bad enough for our hips, arteries, or complexion; brush a small amount of cream on the top of each biscuit and sprinkle the top with sugar. This is the super yummy part.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

Without pictures:

The Better Biscuit

4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter
2 cups buttermilk (approximately)
2 tablespoons cream
1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
Use a pastry blender, fork, or fingers to cut in cold butter.
Pour in buttermilk and mix just until everything is very moist. The dough should not be liquid, but it will be very wet. You can add a bit more butter milk if necessary, or a bit less.
Generously sprinkle flour on work area and turn wet dough out. Flour hands and gently pat and press dough into a 1 inch thick circle.
Use a biscuit cutter or an upside down glass to cut into rounds. You can re-work the scrap dough once to make more biscuits.
Use a spatula to move the biscuits to a baking sheet or stone.
Brush a small amount of cream on the top of each biscuit and sprinkle the top with sugar.
Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes.Similar Posts:

• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal
• Saturday Sides: Sassy Cuke (Cucumber) Salad
• Margaritas, sprinkles and turkey beaks
• Bad Day Pork Chops and Roasted Apples

I know that it was not very nice of me to leave you all hanging on Saturday. No recipe, no explanation, no nothin’. Well. Here it is. The fact is; I was sad last week. *sigh* You know what I mean? The kind of sad where you just hear a stupid gooey song on the radio and WHAM! you’re crying. No reason, really. Just s-a-d. Well, that was Angie Pangie last week.  Usually I’m not very “girl-like”, being that I don’t typically cry about much of anything, so it was totally annoying to me.

And when I get annoyed, I often get mean. And spiteful. And I think dumb things like “I don’t like blogging anyhow, who cares if I post? Certainly not me.” Even more than dumb, that’s just untrue. And, no matter what I say, and even though I wasn’t in the mood to blog about broccoli, I still like to blog. I just didn’t have it in me last week to blog, that’s all.

My friend Holli tried to cheer me up by taking me out for a romp at the kitchen store. We walked around and goofed off and made fun of people for paying $17 for a bowl to hold garbage. Because that is just not right people.  I love my friend Holli, and I had a great time, but when I got home . . . I was still sad.

So, I didn’t post.  But, as it turns out, I’ve got the greatest hubby in the whole wide world.  He always picks up the pieces for me and prods me to muddle through the best I can when I’m feeling sad, or mean, or just not much like myself. And when all else fails, he buys me stuff to make me happy, which nearly always works. At the end of last week he bought me a car. A great big giant red car. And, honestly? I’m feeling much better now. Funny how that works, huh?

So, now that I’m feeling better and I’m hauling the produce for the Saturday Sides in a bright red shiny car I’m here to make it up to you that I was a super schmuck non-poster last weekend. Oh, and don’t ever, ever doubt that I’m an only child, o.k.? I like presents. Now that I’m older, I just like bigger, more expensive presents.

So I picked a Saturday Side (yes, I know it’s not Saturday now) that was so completely easy to make, yet astoundingly delicious, that I bet you’ll be having it two or three times a month after you try it. Hey, don’t doubt me . . . just trust me.

Citrus Broccoli
Adapted from Everyday Food

1 1/2 pounds of trimmed broccoli florets
1/2 fresh lime
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

You’ll need a steamer basket to make this broccoli.  These only cost a couple of dollars at the discount stores and are well worth the price for the tasty steamed veggies they turn out.

Place one inch of water in a large saucepan and place your steamer basket inside. 

Bring the water to a full boil, add the broccoli and cover.

Steam until tender, but not mushy – about 7 minutes.  Do not allow your broccoli to cook until it looks washed-out” or very pale.  It should be vibrant and very green.  You don’t want it to be undercooked either, so watch it closely.  You can use the sharp end of a knife to see how “soft” the broccoli has gotten.

Place broccoli in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  And for heaven’s sake, don’t skip this step!  You can cut back, if you must, on the salt, but don’t omit it.  Remember, salt is a flavor enhancer – it gives a much needed boost to the natural flavor of broccoli.  Well, if you do skip this step (and even though I said don’t, I know some of you will because you think salt is unhealthy, which is only true if you use way too much) don’t come whining to me about how this broccoli tastes yucky, and bland, and boring.  Add salt.  Problem solved.

Squeeze the lime juice over the broccoli and add some of the lime pulp, if desired.  I like to use a fork to get in there and break apart the pulp and really get the juice out.  Now.  A certain someone whose name I will not mention (Angie Pangie) thought that if half a lime was good with broccoli that a whole lime with broccoli would be better.

This is how that turned out.

Holli says “Stick to half a lime.”

Mix well, and serve hot.

Without pictures:

Citrus Broccoli
Adapted from Everyday Food

1 1/2 pounds of trimmed broccoli florets
1/2 fresh lime
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Place one inch of water in a large saucepan and place your steamer basket inside (these cost a couple of bucks at the discount stores, if you don’t have one). 

Bring the water to a full boil, add the broccoli and cover.

Steam until tender, but not mushy – about 7 minutes. 

Place broccoli in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Squeeze the lime juice over the broccoli and add some of the lime pulp, if desired.

Mix well, and serve hot.Similar Posts:

• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes
• Make it Yourself Oatmeal
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Saturday Sides: Sassy Cuke (Cucumber) Salad
• Blog Much? What’s in your spice drawer?

[Saturday Sides is a weekly feature I run to help you combat the side dish blahs. Check here every Saturday to see what’s new and different you can add to your dinner table. Or, you can subscribe here so that you never miss a Saturday Sides Recipe.]

I hit the fruit market today for my weekly fruit and vegetable shopping trip. As I was filling my cart with goodies (Rhubarb! Tiny purple tinged asparagus! Ruby colored radishes!) a nearby shopper nodded toward my cart and inquired “Throwin’ a party?” I smiled and said “Nope, just shopping for my family.” He wandered over and visually inspected my cart a little closer. “Wow, you must have a lot of kids.”

It was at that point it dawned on me how much produce my family eats. No wonder I anxiously await the opening of the city farmer’s market, my neighbor’s produce stands (they’re like lemonaide stands except with berries and pumpkins and zucchinni and corn and ohhhh, I can’t wait!), and the goods that our friends give us from their own gardens (I’ve mentioned I can’t garden, right?).  I store my extra produce for the week in a big banana box in my basement – where it’s nice and cool – because it doesn’t all fit in my two refrigerators.

And, when I checked out, I paid attention to what I spent. The bill for my produce was equal to 1/2 of my total grocery bill for the week. If I bought strictly organics (which I cannot afford and the selection here is limited anyhow) it would be more than 1/2 of my grocery bill. And then came the realization – I really need to think about working on my green thumb a little (o.k., fine, a lot).

So, I’m asking you; my readers. What should I try to grow? What has the highest likelihood of survival with my limited gardening skills? What tips would you give me? I will continue to give you recipes, and perhaps you will give me – the cook that cannot garden – gardening tips. Now, if I could just get you guys over here to help me do some weeding.  Probably not, huh?  Well, bummer.  Anyhow, onto today’s recipe.

This cucumber salad goes together fast and easy, but doesn’t come up short on flavor. It’s great for nights when you want to cookout, or if you want to make something to take to a “dish-to-pass” type event, or when you’re just in the mood for something sweetly tangy and highly crunchy.

I haven’t had good luck with these holding up in the fridge for more than 24 hours. You’ll want to make them and eat them within a few hours and leftovers aren’t great past the second day. With that in mind, you might want to consider cutting the recipe in half, although my family of 4 1/2 plowed through most of these in a single sitting.  Remember, Lilly?  My middle child who eats nothing? I count her as the half.

Also, Hubby and I are trying to trim a little from our waistlines for swimsuit season, so I used a generic version of Splenda to sweeten these and they turned out great! I made a half batch with sugar to check the difference and they were highly tasty both ways.

I was able to put these on the table in a total of 8 minutes. And I’m really, really, really slow.

Sassy Cuke Salad

Adapted from The Taste of Home

7 cups of cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups of sugar, or about 1 3/4 cups of Splenda (you can add more)
1 large white or purple onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 cup (apple) cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon celery seed

Start by peeling and slicing your cucumbers.

Add the green pepper and onion. I used a white onion, since I had one on hand, but a purple onion would be absoultely knock-your-socks-off good with this!

Add the sugar (or sweetner), salt (yes, I said 1 tablespoon, that is not a typo), and celery seed.  Celery seed is interesting.  It tastes just like a crisp fresh piece of celery, and it actually smells so good I could sprinkle it in my pillow case at night.  But, it’s not stringy like celery, which is a bonus.  Oh, and you can keep it in your spice rack – so when you’re out of celery?  Voila!  Celery seed.  Yeah, so don’t skip the celery seed, it’s the champion of this dish.

Pour the vinegar over everything and give it a good mix.

If you use real sugar, you’ll need to let this sit covered in the fridge, for about an hour, giving it another good stir every 15 minutes. This will help the sugar dissolve. If you use sweetner, you can skip this step.

Serve with a slotted spoon.Similar Posts:

• Make it Yourself Oatmeal
• (Not So) Saturday Sides: Citrus Broccoli
• Bread Making: Give Me 5 Bread
• Saturday Sides: Green Bean Saute with Tomatoes
• Blog Much? What’s in your spice drawer?