February Review

I promise that I am not going to complain about how much Life is kicking my butt these days. But it is. It's kicking me so hard, I have a broken tail bone. Or that could have been from being my usual "graceful" self and sliding down the basement steps... Moving on!

The 2012 Book Challenge is not going well. I'll see if I can turn it around in the next few months. So let's talk about February. You know. Now that March is almost half over...

I read... two books (kind of). Hold your applause.

So let's talk about March... yeah. If I read two books, I'm counting it as a good month. Seriously kids, some times success can only be measured in baby steps. The genre is Self-Help (really wishing I had kept that copy of Cloning For Dummies, right now) and the goal is 4 books in March. Who are we kidding? It's not going to happen (trying out a little reverse psychology). Anyways... here's what I'd like to read this month:

1. The Grass Dancer by Susan Power (book club)
2. Behavior Mismatch: How to Manage "Problem" Employees Whose Actions Don't Match Your Expectations by Rebecca B. Mann
3. How to Write a Book and Get It Published by Tom Evans
4. On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Wish me luck!

A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is still one of my favorite books. I read it my Senior year of high school and this book still thrills me. The characters are still funny, lovable, and yes, I still have a crush on Sydney Carton. Some parts of the book are a struggle to read - it's OLD - but those passages are few and far between. The story and dialogue make this book a great read.

Synopsis: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .” With these famous words, Charles Dickens plunges the reader into one of history’s most explosive eras—the French Revolution. From the storming of the Bastille to the relentless drop of the guillotine, Dickens vividly captures the terror and upheaval of that tumultuous period. At the center is the novel’s hero, Sydney Carton, a lazy, alcoholic attorney who, inspired by a woman, makes the supreme sacrifice on the bloodstained streets of Paris.

One of Dickens’s most exciting novels, A Tale of Two Cities is a stirring classic of love, revenge, and resurrection.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Chowder)

This recipe was given to me last fall by a friend. Over the course of the winter I have had the time to tinker with it. The first thing I learned: do NOT substitute AP flour with wheat flour. The soup never got "chowdery". The other thing that I learned is that this is a very versatile chowder, inexpensive to make and a great way to use up leftovers. I've used different veggie mixes, but a basic mix works best (California mix is my personal favorite, but the larger veggies need to be chopped before adding or you'll be eating your chowder with a fork.). Leftover roast chicken works great in this recipe - but you can use canned (I haven't yet). An addition I made on this particular day was I had two slices of bacon that needed to be used in my fridge, so I cooked them up crisp and crumbled them into the chowder. Next time, I'd add a little more... This recipe has been a great additon to stock the freezer with.

1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)
2 cups water
4 cups milk, can use fat-free [I only use 3 cups milk]
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1/2 medium chopped onion
8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms [I omit]
10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables - peas, carrots, green beans, corn [I use a full 16 oz bag]
2 cubes chicken bouillon
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
16 oz. cooked chicken breast, diced small (I use leftover roast chicken, anywhere from 1-2 cups)
salt [I omit because usually my roast chicken is already seasoned]
fresh ground pepper
pinch of thyme

Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water [I do it with 1/2 cup milk instead] with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside.

Pour [remaining] water and [remaining] milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil.

Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken bouillon, thyme, fresh pepper, and frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.

Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. [Mine usually need 10-15 minutes.]

Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add.

Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Recipe from The Captain (via email October 28, 2011)

Carrot-Ginger Wheat Bread (ABM)

Just when I think I have things figured out... The Universe proves me wrong. When I bought my bread machine (some 5 years ago) I picked up a bunch of used recipe books. All but two of them have gone by the wayside: Better Home & Gardens, and Betty Crocker. Two trusted names in my kitchen.

The BHG cookbook is occasionally disappointing as the bread taste tends to be weak, so I decided that for this recipe I would make the spice a little stronger... and of course it turned out the recipe is probably just fine. The dough did mix up a little dry so I added an additional 1 tbsp milk during one of the mixing cycles. The only change I would consider making is next time cooking the carrots slightly before using as the taste was very strong. On the plus side, this loaf had great texture and a rustic appearance. This recipe is for 1-1/2lb loaf.

1 cup finely shredded carrot
1 cup milk
2 tbsp shortening
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp grated gingerroot or 1/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp salt
1-2 tsp active dry yeast

Add ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions, adding the carrot with the milk. For my machine, the order is liquid ingredients, followed by dry with yeast added last.

I set my machine to the whole wheat setting with a light crust.

Gruyere-Rosemary Beer Bread

I made this so long ago... the picture was taken at the apartment! I also can't remember where I got the recipe(s) from to give credit back. But look at the cute little Diva hand in the picture!

I like this bread alot. ALOT. I didn't really like that the cheese alone cost $5. [I've mentioned that I'm cheap, right?] I'd like to play with this recipe a little bit to see if I could find a less expensive substitution, but I haven't gotten around to it. But then I guess it would just be cheese-rosemary bread... Also, the original recipe recommended New Belgium's Blue Paddle Pilsner-Lager, but I used regular ole Miller Lite. The next time I head into Dempsey's, I'm picking up a few of their micro-brews and giving these bread recipes another go.

3 cups self-rising flour
3 tbsp sugar
12 oz. room temperature beer [recommended New Belgium's Blue Paddle Pilsner-Lager]
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese and 1 tbsp fresh rosemary
melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan with shortening.

Stir together flour and sugar. Add the beer and stir until combined. Add cheese and rosemary, gently mixing until combined.

Spoon into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour. Remove immediately from pan and place on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. Brush the top with melted butter.

Other Variations Include:
Plain
Orange Nutmeg
Cinnamon Chocolate Chip

Found the source! Bake @350

Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls (ABM)

I have two dinner roll recipes that I like to use. This one is my favorite. The rolls always rise, they're always light and fluffy. I make them two ways: I either form them into rolls (shown here) or I grease the wells of a muffin tin, and divide each of the 12 equal dough pieces into 3 pieces, place 3 dough pieces in each well, allow to rise and bake. You'll see this method when I share my other dinner roll recipe.

3/4 cup water
1 tbsp shortening [I've used butter with great success]
1-1/4 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp bread machine yeast

Measure carefully, placing all ingredients in bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. For my machine, this is all liquids, followed by all dry with yeast last.

Select dough/manual cycle.

Grease large cookie sheet. Punch down dough; place on lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. [For the best instructions on shaping rolls, go here.] Place slightly apart on cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until double.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe from Betty Crocker's Bread Machine Cookbook 1995

New To Me Kitchen

This little story starts back in September 2010. I attended my cough-cough-unintelligible-mumbling-cough high school reunion. Back story: I used to run with three other girls in high school. These days, one cuts my hair, one is a realtor and has kids in the same daycare as me, and the third is a mortgage broker who had kids in my daycare. The mortgage broker also had a house for sale. In my hometown. A house that I had always dreamed of living in. Okay, actually, it's my third choice for living in but choice number 1 is a family home with the 4th and 5th generations currently living there and choice number 2, while it is for sale dirt cheap requires way too much work to be lived in. Which makes me sad. But choice number 3 is a lovely home. I know because after looking at it (and other houses) for almost a year, in April 2011 I made an offer on the house. On July 1st I signed the paperwork and July 2nd I moved in.

I love my house, not so excited about the My-Other-Personality-is-a-Grandma decor, but still love the house. One of my favorite rooms, obviously, is the kitchen. Not surprising that this is the first room to get a makeover. It was done in this horrendous blue and big flower wall border, and painted dark green and brown. So not my thing. I wish I had better before pictures, it really was atrocious. I stripped, primered and painted. Most of the stripping was done over the course of a week, most of the painting was done over the course of a 3-day weekend that coincided with my daughter's 4th birthday party. I did finally finish painting sometime in November. Okay, maybe it was the beginning of December, there by beating my previous "6 months to paint a kitchen" record by 4-1/2 months.

You may recognize the colors in the new kitchen, the light tan (called Dried Stem) and red (called Crimson Sky) are from the old kitchen. I added a third color, called Tahitian Treat, for a little oomph. It took me awhile to get used to it, but I really like the affect. I outfitted the kitchen with a used $50 stove and The Nightmare From Dugans Fridge. There are a few more things I'd like to do in the new kitchen, painting cabinets, new hardware and new flooring, and they'll come with time.

A few things I love about my kitchen, the stove is not by the fridge. Maybe that's weird, but I actually like having the two appliances separate from each other. I have a range hood above the stove. I have tons of cupboard space. The house came with a built-in dishwasher which quit working after about 4 uses. It's an ancient model and isn't worth fixing as I kept my portable model from the apartment. One of these days I will pull out the old dishwasher and convert the portable to a built-in. For now though, I replaced the kitchen faucet so that I can connect the working dishwasher. It's not convenient, but it works. The final thing that I love about my kitchen is the lighting. The lights are semi-enclosed over the counter top space. It wreaks a little havoc when taking night time food photos for the blog, but I absolutely adore the lighting when cooking. I will eventually figure out the lighting issue to get better pictures (or at least as better as I get) on the blog, I promise.

A few things I dislike about the kitchen... not much. I don't like that I really don't have shelving for cookbooks. Underneath my microwave I have six drawers, only two of which I actually use. I will eventually remove four of the drawers and put shelving in that area for my cookbooks. Yeah. That's about it. One thing and it's completely fixable. Two things if you count the dishwasher situation, but that's also completely fixable with a little muscle and know-how.

Memories are in the making in this kitchen. I know I'm going to be happy here for a long time.