Quinoa and Vegetables...A Perfect Combo

Quinoa is such a delicious grain and so versatile, nutritionally it is considered a supergrain. Though not really a grain but a seed from a plant related to spinach it is very high in protein. It is high in potassium and riboflavin, B vitamins and trace minerals. It is native to the Andes and cultivated for more tha 5,000 years. You can cook up a huge bowl in a short period of time and them add whatever you feel like or just eat it plain with salt and pepper and maybe a drizzle of olive oil or a dab of butter...mmm mmm good!

I made it for a side dish the other day to go with buffalo burgers...delicious!!!!!

I sauteed a diced carrot, half a red pepper, and half a red onion till soft but not browned and seasoned with salt and pepper in about 2 teaspoons of olive oil. When soft I added a diced zucchini and 8-10 baby portabello mushrooms. Then I added 2 cloves of minced garlic (still using my own home grown garlic from last summer...hard to believe it has not dried out). While the veggies were cooking, I made the quinoa...be sure to always rinse it first to remove the outer bitter coating.

The quinoa is done and fluffed...

I added the cooked vegetables to the quinoa and then tossed in about 8-10 quartered cherry tomatoes. These are the most delicious tomatoes from a greenhouse grower in Maine. A bit pricey but worth every bite. These tomatoes are available at a local grocer all winter long and makes tomato eating a guilty pleasure in New England all winter long. I add them this way so they keep their fresh flavor and texture when mixed with the softer veggies.

I finish the dish with a good drizzle of olive oil and fresh chopped thyme...the heat is just enough to draw out the flavor of these things added at the end...salt and pepper to taste. Boy this is good.

This mix is good as a side dish...or chill it add a dash of a vinaigrette and serve as a salad...add some chopped cucumber and feta and you have Mediterranean flare. Use as made and top with a poached or fried egg...that is tasty as well...this goes on for this unassuming but very versatile healthy grain.

So enjoy this ancient grain...Elizabeth

WHAT HAPPENED - To the All Time Valentine Favorite Conversation Hearts?

C'mon...What possessed the New England Confectionery Company to change a Valentine's Day institution...Conversations Hearts...

Where's the candy edge ruffle??? Where is the recognized from 30 feet away cellophane bag???
What happened to the tried and true flavors??? Where are the pastel colors??? Who changed the name???

It would seem someone or ones swooped in and changed everything????? Cupid must be dizzy and disoriented...I am...

Every night after supper, my husband and I play four hands of cards...since it is the start of Valentine's week I broke out the bag of candy hearts.

First of all... I had a heck of a time just finding the bags at the store...typically you can spot the bag without a problem amongst all the bags of pink,red and foiled covered Reese's cups, Hershey Kisses, M&Ms and everything else ramped up for Valentine's...but forever Conversation Hearts have been a given...the bag always was recognizable and this made for a quick grab...not this year. The bag changed, the name changed....I figured I had the right thing when I saw the candy company's name on the backside. When I opened the bag I thought all was well...BUT where were the ruffles? The colors were all different and the flavor was in one word DISGUSTING!

This was not a good scene...my husband had to listen to me rant about the flavor, color, ruffle, bag, name..WHY IN THE WORLD DID THEY MAKE SUCH RADICAL CHANGES?????

I have a strange feeling many households are going to be in for a SHOCK this year...

Different bag and name...totally unrecognizable...The bag reads The Original Candy of Love...

I DISAGREE

The new flavors...all unpalatable...WHY WHY WHY?????


The new colors...there is also suppose to be a purple heart but not one could be found in the bag (this may have been a good thing)...

So this is where my bag of beloved Conversation Hearts ended up....in the trash...

This is a tragedy...I can only hope the New England Confectionery Company realizes this is all a big mistake and returns to the old recipe, flavors, ruffles, bag, name and whatever else they changed...

Valentine's Day is suppose to be hearts, flowers, frilly cards, the overuse of the colors red and pink, glowing candles, loving glances, but most of all...a small pastel, tasty, ruffled candy heart passed across a table, or maybe placed on a pillow or slipped into a loved ones hand or tucked in a lunch bag with a term of endearment shared by two people know as a Conversation Heart...we need them back...too many things are upside down right now...but Conversation Hearts are suppose to be a given...generations of families and loved ones have been using Conversation Hearts as a simple way to express themselves for many many years...the New England Confectionery Company needs to fix this...

Elizabeth

Panettone Bread Bread Pudding

I bought a panettone around Christmas to make french toast and never did...good thing because I found this recipe for bread pudding and WOW!!!!! Delicious - Delightful - Delectable!!!!! I changed it by adding orange favored liqueur because I wanted to make an orange flavored sauce to accompany the pudding....

Very simple to make...brush a 13x9 with butter, cut the panettone in cubes and make a custard...I flavored it with Cointreau...

Isn't this a gorgeous bread...nothing like English fruit cake!!!!!

Once the custard is poured over the bread cubes, it sits for 1/2 hour to soak...pop it into a 350 degree oven and

Voila...a puffy, gorgeous pudding


Made this stove top orange flavored sauce to pour over the pudding...

This pudding is soooooooo good....perfection in a bowl!!!!!

Elizabeth

New England Whoopie Pies...Yummy

Decided to make whoopie pies for a change...the original ones chocolate not the new breed...now there are so many variations...pumpkin, red velvet, oatmeal and the list goes on...the recipe is New England Whoopie Pies from Maine so how do you beat that! It was an easy recipe and the results were fabulous. It called for cocoa so I used natural cocoa...which did not give the deep black color we are used to seeing whoopie pies have...when I saw the batter I was disappointed and decided next time to try dutch processed cocoa which will definitely give that dark color but will also alter the flavor...worth an experiment to see what happens.

Brown sugar and shortening creamed till light and fluffy..love the Kitchen aid...no way I could beat this to come close to this texture

Dry and wet ingredients measured and ready to add alternately...remember always start with dry and end with dry...

Batter placed on baking sheet and spread to 4 inches...ready to hit the oven

Look at those little cakes baking in the new oven...go baby cakes go!!!!!

End result...light and airy cakes cooling

All filled with a light fluffy marshmallow fluff filling....so so tasty

Wrapped each cake in plastic wrap as suggest so the cakes don't stick together...of course one did not make it to the wrapping process and was shared by baker and her husband!!!!!

While the color was lighter than expected...the texture and taste was all I had hoped for...nothing like a whoopie pie to make one smack their lips and smile!!!!!

Elizabeth

New Appliances

My frig died...first the freezer then the refrigerator...thank goodness we didn't have it packed...some frozen salmon, grouper, swordfish and lots of berries cranberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)...I was able to cook the shrimp so we have very generous servings of shrimp cocktail...husband did not complain!!!!!

So we had to buy a new one...it has been a while and the world of appliances has changed...much taller and deeper. I did not want anything too fancy...after speaking with a few sales people we can to find out that many folks want their handles to match which means you have to buy a line rather than mix and match pieces and manufacturer's. Some don't care and do mix and match. Because we plan on moving within a few years we decided to match handles. Our frig had to fit into a certain space to height and width was a determining factor and really the most important.

We knew we wanted stainless so that was easy...we ended up with a Whirlpool and also decided to get a new range (old one over 20 years old) and finished out the ensemble with a new dishwasher (over 13 years old)...we already had a new over the stove combo convection/microwave oven so that was not needed.

Everything was delivered within two days and they look wonderful...now we need new counter tops, cupboard and drawer handles and floor...


The frig is great...the stove is a bit overwhelming...it has a ceramic glass top and was tricky at first. I am little put off by cleaning it and don't want anything to happen to it. The glowing burners under the glass seemed odd and a bit spooky the first time they powered up and down. The oven has no coil in the bottom as it is under the metal. There is a well to add water to as this oven has a steam clean feature which is very nice....should make cleaning up little spills alot easier. I have baked banana bread in it and they loaves actually cooked a little faster and the golden color was even...VERY NICE. So far so good. I have bought so many cleaning products, cloths, scrapers etc for the cook top...I may be over doing it but this cook top is strange and so shiny...hate for anything to happen to it.

New dishwasher is tall and boy can I pack it...flatware basket is on the door and can be moved to the pull out racks but using the door actually allows for more space on the racks.

So we have made a nice upgrade to the kitchen....have to learn some new cleaning tricks!!!!! I wish they could come up with something that polishes itself, keeps pots from boiling over and sugary spills from hitting the floor of the oven and grease from splattering on the oven walls..then all would be perfect.

Elizabeth

Cathy's Birthday Lemon Curd Cake

My sister Cathy loves lemon anything...I can remember her when we were kids sucking on lemons...that is definitely the mark of a lemon lover....so for her birthday I made her the Lemon Curd Cake from "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook"....absolutely delicious and the lemon loving Cathy gave it 5 stars so you can take that as sign you should bake this cake...because it is so rich and tart, a small sliver is all you need which means this cake can serve a crowd without a problem...


A page from the book.....

I always make lemon curd from the cookbook "Luscious Lemon Desserts" by Lori Longbotham...it is fabulous...it is very similar to the recipe in the MS Baking Handbook...if you love lemon this cookbook has some delightful lemon desserts...the lemon bars are to die for!

The butter readied for creaming....

Dry ingredients prepared....

Lemon zest, lemon juice and sour cream ready...these ingredients add the moisture and flavor the cake...


Butter and sugar creamed together...light and fluffy....

A beautiful batter....

Batter divided evenly in buttered pans lined with parchment paper buttered again and then floured...no chance these cakes were not coming out of the pans in one piece!

Beautiful golden layers baked in about 35 minutes....

After the cakes cooled...I made the Swiss Meringue frosting which lemon curd is added to for another blast of lemon flavor...the cakes are split in two and layered with lemon curd and stacked four high...a crumb layer of frosting is applied and the cake is chilled for a half hour...then the remainder of the cake is iced and chilled again for a half hour and then the cake is decorated with lemon curd dots and stripes...it has wonderful eye appeal and is soooooo goooood..


Isn't this a beauty of a cake...Cathy enjoyed it as well as everyone else...

Elizabeth

It's Back and Now I'm Back

My laptop died...it was a slow death...many trips to the computer hospital, many different treatments but to no avail it needed a new heart...so a new hard drive was inserted and now it lives!!!!! So now I am back...so much has happened in these past few months...lots of fun, good times, the holidays and snow....lots of snow!!!!!

So I backtrack a bit...to Halloween...Natalie came to make cookies from a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe and the campground had their annual Halloween Trick or Treat...lots of safe fun for kids...they run like gazelles - laughing, screaming and having fun - free from all the "bad" stuff so many of us worry about...why can't the whole world be like this for kids...I am so thankful these kids have a place created by this campground owner and maintained by the parents where they can do what kids are suppose to do...run, walk, swim, do crafts, sit and think awhile, listen to music, have potluck suppers and most important sleep soundly as they grow...

Here is Natalie making Halloween lollipop cookies....sugar cookies placed on a stick after rolling in sprinkles...black and orange of course...

The finished project individually wrapped in glassine bags and tied with ribbon...absolutely wonderful and delicious too!!!!!

Natalie prepared to go trick or treating at the campground as Dorothy...get a load of those socks and shoes...

I received a phone call with a message from Emily saying she wanted to be a blue crab for Halloween...A BLUE CRAB?! How did she ever think of that? She asked if I could help make her costume...WOW...that set me back a bit...a clown, witch, ballerina or a princess is what I would expected but a blue crab...okay with some thought and research to exactly what a blue crab looks like...Sandie (Emily's Mom, my niece) and I set out to create the costume...fabric, thread, sewing machine and sewing notions in hand I think we did a great job...

Emily the blue crab

Here is the gang just before taking off...Natalie (4 years old) as Dorothy, Olivia (1 year old) as a lobster, Emily (4 years old) as a blue crab and Randy (15 years old) as himself....

So it goes...I'll add a bit more later today...I look forward to hearing back from those I have missed...especially Alice in Maine!!!!!

Elizabeth