Material Monday: New Year's Eve traditions

We started the tradition of eating fondue on New Year's Eve a number of years ago after some of my coworkers mentioned that that was something their families did. I picked up the vintage avocado fondue pot at our local thrift store. The sauce always burns because the sterno can is way too close to the bottom of the pot but it cleans up easily.

The white fondue set is for chocolate. We usually dip oranges and raspberries and cookies or pound cake.

Another tradition (which I sometimes carry out on my own) is to watch and cry over 'It's a Wonderful Life' one of the best movies of all time.

Wordless Wednesday: DEFINITELY our worst Christmas tree ever

Still netted and bare...

Rivaling the Leaning Tower of Piza

Wordless Wednesday: Fox in the green space

2008 Christmas Cookies: Molasses Crinkles

Abe sez: they're extra yummy and really cute
Molasses Crinkles (makes 5 dozen)
from Mollie Katzen's Still Life with Menu
Wet Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1/2 c blackstrap molasses
2 c sugar
2 eggs

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 t salt
2 t each: baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves (not in the original recipe)
4 c flour (I'm happy with the white whole wheat flour I've been using lately; I can't recall the brand name)
1/4 c sugar

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. Melt the butter in a glass bowl, add wet ingredients and stir until combined
3. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients (except the additional sugar), then add to the wet mixture, stirring until combined.
4. Form 1-1/2 inch balls of dough, roll them in the sugar until coated, and place on baking sheet.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes until firm to the touch. Cool and enjoy!

2008 Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Snowflakes

I first collected this recipe from a cookie exchange at work, probably 16 years ago, but I also found it here (which saved me some typing). These taste like powdered bites of brownie. I like them because butter is not required - nothing against butter, but I don't always have some on hand when the baking mood strikes.

Chocolate Crinkles (make 4-5 dozen)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate squares, melted
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

Combine sugar, oil, and melted chocolate in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until blended.

Add eggs one at a time and then and vanilla, mixing well after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add about one-fourth of dry mixture at a time to chocolate mixture, mixing after each addition.

Cover and let chill at least 3 hours. (I baked a small batch one day after chilling and then returned then dough to the front porch and then forgot it was there for 3 days. They baked up fine even after this neglect.)

Shape dough into 1-inch balls, and roll in powdered sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Wordless Wednesday: Village Earth

Material Monday: Running clothes for winter

Here is what I wore yesterday: Running shoes. Plain old ankle socks. Long underwear with little pink flowers. Cut off below the knee knit pants (yes, the flowers showed!). Long sleeved knit shirt. Another, heavier long-sleeved knit shirt over it. A heavy old black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up at the beginning. A spring-weight jacket. Headband. Gloves.

These were all default clothes partly because I don't know what else to wear, and partly because I don't have a lot of money for gear.

Perfectly adequate, however, at least for the level of cold we had yesterday morning, about 20 degrees, maybe. I did sweat, put the hood down, took off the gloves, but didn't get unbearably hot. Probably a pair of sweat pants would be suitable, or something wind/waterproof . . .

A Sensation-al Run

See: the blue, blue sky; the sun peeking above the horizon; the smile of my new friend, Blanca, running/walking in the opposite direction from me;
Hear: birds, hidden in the evergreens; the rustle of dry leaves in the grass as I run through them; dogs barking, owners whistling; air and road traffic;
Feel: the crisp, still cold; the sun's brightness; the pavement under my feet; the sweat beginning, under all those layers;
Smell: the "stinkberries" from the ginkgo trees
Taste: Didn't taste too much, and what I did was too gross to write, but just imagine that my feet weren't the only thing that were running . . .; and after the run, of course, the delicious cold of a glass of water.

Line Rider - Try it, you'll love it

Stumbled across this very fun online game.

Oven Stew

When I started this blog with Lorraine, I didn't intend for it to become a recipe blog but, for me, that's what it has turned into. I think it's because 1) Writing about food is easy for me 2) It gives a way to keep track of recipes I really like 3) I love to cook and eat simple, tasty food and 4) I imagine that someone out there reading one of my recipe posts might be saying, "That sounds good, I think I'll try that." In other words, recipe posts provide that all important connection with an audience and please don't spoil it by telling me that you don't ever ever think that when you read my recipes.

What's better than homemade beef stew? Beef stew that is finished off by baking in the oven so your husband can put it in when he gets home and all you have to do when you get home is step in and enjoy the aroma. A treat for all the senses and not too hard on the pocketbook.
Oven Stew
1 T olive oil
1 plus lbs beef stew meat
1 - 2 onions, chopped
1 lb mushrooms, washed, and chopped
2 cups, sliced and chopped carrots - medium chunks
6 small red potatoes, cut into eighths or smaller - small to medium chunks
<1 box Progresso beef broth
<1 cup red wine - didn't measure
1 bay leaf
1 t or more rosemary

Brown the meat in the oil in a very large pan. I used my 'wok pan' which has the dreaded nonstick coating but is such a handy size and shape. The meat I had this time was a little fatty, so maybe the oil wouldn't have been necessary or maybe it would be better to buy leaner beef and cut my own cubes. In any case, I like smaller cubes than the butcher does, so I cut the meat before browning it. Special kitchen shears are not necessary; I just use regular Fiskars that I wash with the dishes (or I should say, that Dan washes).

Season the meat with salt and pepper. Add the onions to brown meat and cook them until they are soft and sweet. Add the mushrooms and cook down. Add all the rest of the ingredients and mix. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and put in a large casserole with a lid. Cover and refrigerate.

Instruct your husband to preheat the oven to 350 and bake the stew in the covered casserole for 2 1/2 hours, give or take. Don't expect thick gravy like you'd get if you just opened a can of Dinty Moore. You could try thickening it - maybe by flouring the meat before browning. But I wouldn't bother.

Material Monday: Green Gourmet skillet, Super Glove & bonus frittata recipe

Every time I use traditional non stick cookware, I cringe a little, as I imagine the dreadful chemicals leaching from the pot into the food. I thought about switching to cast iron but besides the $$$ the pans are just WAY too heavy. That's why I was so happy to find this pan. What a smart idea! The coating reminds my of the enameled spatterware people use for camping but it's very slippery and seems to be really tough so it shouldn't chip as easily. Nothing and I mean nothing sticks to this pan. It's not a cheap item, but I used one of the 20% off coupons I receive on a regular basis from Bed, Bath & Beyond, which eased the pan. So far, I've only purchased the 10 inch skillet, but plan to add more to my collection as the budget permits.
Another recent 20% off purchase is the Super Glove. I guess they sell something much like it on TV and call it the Ov Glove. Please. I would have had serious qualms about purchasing something with a name that precious, but my Super Glove suits me just fine. Now I can really get a firm grip on hot heavy pans which makes baking feel much more secure. I only have one so far; another item for my 'when I have some spare cash' list which looks like it might be somewhere around July, 2014.
Here is a simple and tasty frittata recipe from Everyday Food. Perfect for two with leftovers for lunch.
Apple Cheddar Frittata
8 large eggs (recipe calls for 2 white too but I didn't add those)
4 ounces coarsely grated white cheddar
salt and pepper
1 T butter
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices. The recipe calls for Gala but I used locally grown Fireside apples. One of the best apples around and developed not too far from here. Read more about this interesting apple and my even more favoritest, the Connell Red, here.
1. Preheat oven to 450 and set rack in top third. (Note to self, move rack down one notch from the usual position so handle has room). In a medium bowl, mix the eggs and cheese and season well with salt and pepper. Add the cheese. Melt the butter over medium flame in the skillet and pour the egg mixture in. I put some toasted walnuts in with the melting butter, but they didn't add anything special.
2. While it cooks 1 to 2 minutes, quickly arrange the apple slices in a circle pattern around the middle and then in another course around the edge. Move quicker than I did so you don't overcook.
3. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until set. For me, this took way less than the 20 minutes called for in the recipe, but I left it on the top of stove too long so the longer timing might be just about right.
4. Let cool 5 minutes before slicing and enjoying.

Friday 5: Colorful Associations

Just now, I'm reading "Blindness" by Jose Saramago. In it, an entire city is afflicted by a mysterious disease in which everyone suddenly goes blind. What a gift vision is, and how grateful I am each day that the world's beauty is available to me through sight, especially colors -- as well as hearing, smell, taste and sensation!

Lecture over.

Free associations:
1. Name the first 3 things that come to mind when you think RED.
2. Ditto with YELLOW,
3. BLUE,
4. PURPLE,
5. GREEN.

Women's Perspective November Newsletter

Well, I am having a "technically challenged" day and can't figure out how to get this link in here. I am happy and pleased with the Women's Perspective e-newsletter that came out this week, and wanted to share it with any readers who aren't already on the list. However, making the link isn't working, so I hope you will type in: www.womensperspective.org and click on "Newsletters" and then on the Nov 2008 issue.

It was despis-ed, rejected: Soup Supper Chili

I spent Tuesday evening making this chili for the Youth Group Soup Supper only to have it returned to me on Thursday, untouched. I was mightily annoyed by this for reasons that aren't worth going into, but was happy to have it on hand last night when we had a houseful of hungry mouths to feed after the Dokime Five Kernels 5K.

Soup Supper Chili- makes 3 quarts
2 slices butt bacon
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 T paprika
1 T cumin
2 t oregano
1/2 t ancho chile pepper
1 1/4 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 lbs ground beef
2 4 oz cans diced mild green chiles, undrained
30 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
30 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans low sodium beef broth
1/2 - 1 7.5 oz chipotle peppers, in sauce
1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes

Saute the bacon for a minute or two in a large dutch oven; add the onion and saute until it is soft. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a separate pan. Put the browned beef in a colander and rinse with hot water to remove the fat. Add it to the onion mix along with all the remaining ingredients. After bringing the chili to a boil, reduct the heat and simmer for an hour or so.

The recipe I based this on (which didn't have the beans or tomatoes and used 3 cups of water instead of the broth) suggested adding 2 T cornmeal and 1 1/2 apple cider vinegar before boiling. That might be worth a try next time. Or, increase the ground beef to 3 lbs, add another can of broth or tomatoes and the entire can of chipotles.

Frightful Friday 5

1. How many trick or treaters came to your door this year?
2. What treats did you hand out?
3. What was your favorite 'treat' when you were a youngster?
4. Tell about your most memorable costume or Halloween event.
5. Did you dress up this year? What as or what would you dress up as if you had occasion to?

Buckeye Bean Soup & Refrigerator Rolls & Chunky Applesauce (Cake)

Bean soup mix from a friend and apples from the barber plus my standby refrigerator rolls combine to make a hearty fall meal. To make Applesauce Cake (see Everyday Food, October 2003), you first need to make applesauce. See recipe below.

Bean Soup
12 oz pkg Buckeye Bean Soup mix
1 onion
1 T olive oil
4 small carrots
1 stalk celery
4 cups chicken broth
1 lb bone in ham steak
2 cups water
-Soak the beans for 8 hours or more. Rinse several times and drain.
-Chop the onion and saute in the oil. Chop the celery, peel and chop the carrots and add to the onion. Cook until softened.
-Trim the fat from the ham and chop. Add it, plus the broth and the water and the beans to the vegetable mix. Bring to a boil, simmer for a while. Add the seasoning packet and keep cooking until the beans are soft - at least another hour or two.

Refrigerator Rolls
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 t yeast
2 T sugar
2 T olive oil
1 egg
1 t salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup white flour
-Put the warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit for 5 minutes while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
-Add sugar, oil, egg and salt to the bowl and whisk well. Add flour and mix. Use your hands to incorporate all the flour and knead a few times.
-Put the dough (it will be sticky) in a greased bowl, cover with oiled waxed paper or plastic wrap and proof in a warm place for an hour - until doubled in bulk.
-Place the dough on a floured board and form into 18 rolls. Put the rolls in a oiled 11 x 7 baking dish, cover with oiled plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. The rolls can rest in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
-Take the rolls out about 45 minutes before you want to eat them and start preheating your oven to 400. Bake for 25 minutes.
-Best eaten very warm from the oven. Adapted from Everyday Food, December 2007.

Chunky Applesauce (made in the microwave)

4 apples - peeled, cored and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1/4 cup sugar
1 T lemon juice
1/4 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
-Put the apples in a 2 quart casserole, cover and microwave on high for 10 minutes, stirring halfway through. Firmer apples may require more cooking. Mash to desired consistency. From Everyday Food, October 2007.

Material Monday: Kiss My Face Liquid Rock

While others at the conference headed to the casino or a night club or a show during our free evenings, I headed to Whole Foods Market. I found wandering the aisles looking at all the healthy and innovative and natural food and health care products to be just the refreshment I needed after the glitz of the Strip.

On my first trip there I found this wonderful deodorant to replace the stuff I had brought with me which smelled like baby powder mixed with burned cotton candy. The travel size only cost 99 cents which made it a bargain, too.

I gave up on natural deodorants years ago because they just didn't seem up to the job. But I've given Kiss My Face Fragrance Free Liquid Rock quite a workout over the past week and it hasn't failed me yet. Plus it doesn't leave skid marks on dark sweaters and is Paraben free. I'm not sure what Parabens are, but I learned from a fellow cancer survivor the other day that I should avoid them. Switching over to Liquid Rock is a good first step.

The Wow Factor

I must have said "Wow" a hundred times yesterday, starting with our first stop and accelerating from there.
Outside the park - Little Colorado River.Prickly pear everywhere.View from Dessert View. Two photos inside the Watchtower.Wow.Mule deer in the village.All wowed out.

Our Vacation in Aruba, or Aruba Myths Exposed

As we planned our vacation, we were told by everyone we talked to and every website we visited that it never rains in Aruba and that Aruba is outside of "hurricane alley". Unfortunately, we proved them wrong, as Hurricane Omar hit with 7 inches of rain, 70 mph winds, and beach-eating waves. Still, we had some opportunities for sun and fun, as you will see by clicking the link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lorraine.antieau/DaveAndLorraineSVacationInArubaOctober2008?authkey=rgfkDukOGQw#

Visiting Edmund

I skipped the last couple sessions of the conference this morning because I was so anxious to leave Las Vegas behind. It was really giving me the creeps.
I had been looking forward to driving through the desert and had a perfect day for it. The character changed as I drove east, from the gravelly barren hills and plains around Vegas to the thick stands of Ponderosa pines outside of Flagstaff. I hung out at the Hoover Dam for a little while but didn't take the tour offered. Look at the new road that they're building to bypass the actual dam.
I realized as I was driving that I hadn't seen an animal or a bird since I left the Twin Cities. And the drive didn't change that much - I counted fewer than a dozen birds as I drove and though there were plenty of bighorn sheep and elk crossing signs, none crossed my path.
But what's more important than what I didn't see is what I did see when I drove into the Travelodge in Flagstaff - Edmund's smiling face. Seems like a long time since we've seen each other. I'm going to drive him home after his shift tonight and we're going up to the Canyon tomorrow. It will be a treat to spend the day with him.