Making a Good White Gravy in 3 Easy Steps

Texas is known for it's white gravy, so it's imperative that a transplant like me get it right. I've made gravy using drippings. I've made it using olive oil. I've made gravy since I was a little girl, and I've never made gravy like this. The buttery flavor can not be matched in my book.


The trick to making good gravy, it turns out, is to preheat the milk and don't let your roux scorch. Julia Child taught me that. Here's her recipe from her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

This is a restaurant quality white gravy for topping mashed potatoes or a chicken fried steak. For true Texas style, add cooked ground hamburger to the gravy and serve it over drop biscuits.

White Gravy

2 Tb butter
3 Tb flour
2 cups of milk with 1/4 tsp salt heated to boiling
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat 2 cups of milk with 1/4 tsp salt in the microwave or in a saucepan until just boiling. Keep at that temperature without reaching an active boil.
2. Make the roux: in a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Blend in the flour and cook slowly, stirring until the butter and flour froth together for 2 minutes without coloring. Remove from heat. 
3. When the roux stops boiling, pour in all the hot salted milk at once. Beat vigorously with wire whisk to blend, gathering all bits of roux from the edges of the pan. Set saucepan over moderately high heat and stir with the wire whisk until the sauce comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Candy Making: Chocolate from Scratch Using Candy Molds

With all our kids' allergies, we can't eat the chocolate from the stores. Our options are to spend upwards of $5 for a candy bar, live without chocolate for Christmas, or make some ourselves. Last year we splurged on the disappointing and expensive candy bars. This year I am attempting to make chocolate candy. The recipe I arrived at after much experimentation is as follows:

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 TBS corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
sprinkle of cinnamon
dusting of powdered sugar

I simply heated the coconut oil to the melting point for about 30 seconds in the microwave and then added in all the other ingredients except the powdered sugar. I stirred the mixture until it thickened and poured it into candy molds (available at hobby and craft stores). I then froze the molds for 20 minutes in an attempt to harden the chocolate.

The resulting candy was a bit bitter, so I rolled them in powdered sugar. That made them nice and tasty. They are a dark chocolate, so you have to be prepared for a strong chocolate taste. Their texture is on the soft side, sort of like a truffle. They are good enough to outshine the expensive disappointments from last year. They are going in to this year's stockings Christmas Eve.

As you can see we're individually wrapping them in strips of foil.

Individually wrapped homemade chocolate ready for the stockings!

After all the chocolate I ingested today, I highly recommend fooling around with chocolate recipes. If you can improve upon mine, I'd really be interested in hearing from you.

Meanwhile, this is the next recipe I am going to work with. It's from Beth Asaff over at Love to Know Gourmet.

How to Make Chocolate from Scratch

By Beth Asaff

Learning how to make chocolate is an art unto itself. Gather your basic supplies and learn how to make chocolate from scratch with these simple, step-by-step instructions. Whether you decide to make truffles or chocolate molded candies, candy making is a fun pastime.

Recipe for Homemade Chocolate

Whether it's a chocolate bar or a fancy filled chocolate, the base of chocolate candy is made from cocoa powder or cocoa beans, cocoa butter, butter, and sugar. Some recipes also recommend using blocks of unsweetened baking chocolate.

Traditional Gourmet Recipe

The gourmet recipe to make milk chocolate requires some unusual ingredients. You may not be able to find these at the local supermarket, but most online and gourmet retail shops carry them. Chocolate Alchemy sells cocoa beans, roasting equipment, and other equipment needed to make pure chocolate from scratch. In general, to make chocolate from raw beans, you need to select the beans, roast them, grind them, cook them with sugar and butter, then process them for many hours before pouring, molding, and melting them again to temper the chocolate. This process can take several days, and requires special equipment to grind the nibs.

Basic Gourmet Recipe

Since most people don't have several days to devote to chocolate making, the following basic gourmet recipe shaves off several days by starting with cocoa powder. Cocoa powder substitutes for roasting, grinding, and processing raw cocoa beans.

When purchasing ingredients for this recipe, make sure you buy the very best cocoa powder you can afford. The better quality cocoa powder will yield a richer, more satisfying chocolate taste.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup water

Equipment

• Heavy saucepan
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Chocolate molds

Instructions

1. Heat the water in a medium-sized saucepan until simmering.
2. Cream the cocoa powder and butter together into a paste.
3. Add the cocoa mixture to the hot water. Bring it back to simmering, and then remove from heat and transfer the cocoa mixture to a bowl.
4. Sift the two sugars and salt together in a separate bowl to eliminate any lumps.
5. Add the sugar to the cocoa mixture and stir well to combine.
6. Add the milk slowly and stir.
7. Pour the chocolate mixture in thin layers into molds and freeze or refrigerate until firm.

The recipe doesn't produce tempered chocolate, it is a more firm truffle consistency. You can make it harder by substituting softened cocoa butter for dairy butter - that will give it a raw chocolate consistency (firmer than truffles, but softer than a candy bar).

The thinner you pour it, the harder it will become as well; thick chocolate molds will produce a fudgier consistency.

Be sure to click on the llink for variations and more instructions on the recipes.

Strawberry Banana Muffins (A Post a Day #4)

Nothing heavy or profound today, I'm simply doing my duty. I know better than to bring up a recipe without posting it first, but this time I honestly thought I'd shared it before. It's one of our breakfast items that we have irregularly because of all the sugar. It's very, very good, though probably bad for you.

Our last batch was grilled, so I'm giving the grilling baking instructions, as promised.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

4 eggs, beaten
2 cups sugar
2 cups frozen strawberries
2 mashed bananas
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash nutmeg

Prepare the coals on the grill (if using an oven, preheat to 350 degrees). Grease 3 muffin tins.

Mix dry ingredients. In an electric mixer combine eggs, sugar, strawberries, bananas, and oil. Beat on medium speed until the batter turns pinkish (about 3 minutes). Add the flour mixture and stir by hand until flour is moistened. Do not over mix.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. If you run out of batter and have leftover muffin spaces in the tin, fill the blank spots 1/2 full with water to ensure an even bake of the surrounding muffins. (If baking in oven bake 20 to 25 minutes.)

If the charcoal bricks evenly gray with no flame, arrange the coals to the outer edge of the grill. Place muffin tins in the center so that they are not directly over the coals. Bake approximately 20 minutes. Prop open or close the grill lid to regulate the temperature. You want it approximating 350 degrees. Increase or decrease time accordingly. Muffins are done if a toothpick inserted in the center of the center muffin tests dry.



P.S. I can't seem to keep these around long enough to get a decent picture.

7 Quick and Late Random Takes

--1--

When the telltale signs of immanent regurgitation briefly interrupted our bedtime bedside chat, my nine-year-old son and I resumed with a new topic.

"Hairballs," he reflected, "that's not one of His finer creations."

"No," I replied, "and I wasn't too appreciative of the cat's gift."

"Or God's!" he said giggling.

Catching his giggle, I opine in my best God voice, "'Oh, my child, this steamy hairball is for your greater good! That you may grow in holiness!'"

Mimicking me, mimicking God, he deadpans, "'And besides, it's Lent.'"

Catholic humor. You just have to love it.

--2--

Speaking of Kids

America has stopped having them. We slipped below the replacement rate and are holding at about 1.9 children per woman. There's not a peep about this out there? Really? I guess we can all go quietly off into a demographic winter.

Here's an article on it for further study...What to expect when nobody's expecting

A link to the documentary released in 2009 entitled Demographic Bomb.

--3--

Speaking of low birthrates

There are forced sterilizations all over the world. The most widely known program, which is still little known, was during the 1990s when the World Health Organization swept through Peru taking women's fertility by stealth or bribery, often without the woman's consent or full understanding. The public outcry over the lack of follow up care made a stir on the fringes of American media. The practice is continuing. I know of a woman in Zimbabwe who had a tubal ligation performed on her without her or her husband's knowledge or consent while undergoing an unrelated procedure. The evidence of it was discovered as they investigated the cause of repeated miscarriages. Women's rights, indeed.

--4--

What, me marry?

According to the stats in this article about this article, young men are giving up on the idea of marriage. Predictably, not only are women angry about that, feminists are angry about women reporting about women being angry about that.

--5--

Spring Snow

It's snowing. It's freezing. It's Spring.

--6--

It's getting cheesy!

I made my first mozzarella of the season this week. For the first time in several years we have reliable air conditioning so I shall dabble once more in aged cheeses as the season progresses. Whoot!

--7--

A recipe

My Momma's Cereal

5 cups Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 cup oil
1 cup honey
Add nuts and various dried fruits as desired, 1 cup each

Heat oil and honey in a good sized pot until warm. Add oats and extras. Stir until well mixed.

Place mixture in a greased 13x9x2" pan and bake at 275 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Pour onto waxed paper and spread to cool. Break up and store in tightly lidded container.

Serve as a cereal or a yogurt or ice cream topping.

7 Quick Takes with Muffins

1

Goodbye Pope Benedict VIX. Thank you so much for everything. We will miss your guidance and pray for you as you pray for us.

2

A clap of thunder Monday morning announced the arrival of a blizzard that dumped 19 inches of snow for an equivalent of 1.48 inches of rain. It’s not a drought buster but it’s nothing to sneeze at. In fact, it just may be enough to save a whole lot of the winter wheat crop. In addition to that much needed moisture the storm kept my husband safe at home for an unexpected three day weekend. He took advantage of the day by finishing some painting.

3

We have whitewashed horizontal planks with a green wainscot.
The wood countertop is my husband's handiwork.
The whole thing looks like it was original to the farmhouse!

No news on the goat front (she's still pregnant) but the renovation is complete on the bathroom. Due to mold issues we had to take it down to studs and sub floor, so we practically had to rebuild the entire room. We kept the tub, the sink bowl, and the cabinet. Fixtures, flooring, wall material, plumbing, and toilet were all replaced. The total came to $1,000. Not too shabby. My husband does great work, don’t you think?

4

My oldest now has braces. He’s young for it, but two orthodontists recommended it now before the bad bite had a chance to damage two adult teeth. Even with the snow we managed to make it out of the driveway Wednesday to make the appointment. The roads were icy but passable. Afterwards I called for my neighbor’s and my parents’ shopping list and got into the stores to restock the larder a day ahead of the rest of Amarillo. That same neighbor went the next day for an item she’d forgotten to mention for my town run and she waited in line forever. "That was a dumb idea!" she announced in annoyance afterwards.

5

My younger son loves to help with the laundry. He also likes to have everything picked up. Did I mention the Autism? Because that factors in to what happened to my phone the day before yesterday. I’d left my phone lying around after having just filled the washer and was off on another mommy mission (mud containment) when I heard a kerploop from the laundry room. My mom instincts blared an immediate RED ALERT. I rushed to the washer to discover a dolly, some gloves, a hat, and the dog’s ball floating in with the laundry. None of those buoyant items would kerploop, so I dug through the clothes to the bottom and discovered my phone. I tore out the battery and shoved the separate pieces into rice. After drying out in the rice it was a bit quirky yesterday but today it is absolutely fine. In other news, Simon made his way out of Time-Out just fine, too.

6

Speaking of skirting disasters I am going to begin encasing my couch cushions in a durable fabric. I’m basically making fitted pillow cases for everything to try to keep the couches stain free and looking nice-ish with as little effort as possible. Slip covers and five children do not mix. “Slip” being a verb, my slipcovers continually slip off and slip around as I continually reposition them. I’m planning on a way to replace them permanently and that plan involves sewing. The plan also involves a lot of praying and resisting the urge to teach the children new and unique combinations of swear words. Sewing is not one of my talents. I'm actually better at the cursing.

What a misspent youth!

7

Strawberry Banana Muffins
(makes 4 dozen)

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs beaten
1 cup strawberries mashed (thaw if frozen)
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas
1 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 4 muffin tins. In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients, including spices. In mixer mix eggs, fruit, and oil for two minutes on medium speed. Add dry mixture and stir until moistened. Bake for 20 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick from the center muffins tests clean.

Oat Bread Recipe

Rozanne's Oat Bread

Ingredients:

2/3 cup dry whole oats (or oatmeal)

1 cup boiling water

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp salt

Place the above ingredients into a bowl. Add boiling water and stir. Let sit until cool.

Proof:

2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cup warm water

6 cups flour

Once the oat mixture is cool to the touch, add the proofed yeast and water. Add all to the flour in a large mixing bowl. Mix or knead until dough is no longer sticky to the touch. Let rise in a greased bowl. Shape into loaves and let rise again. Bake loaves at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes.

Here is last week's bake. I doubled the recipe.

I double this recipe and get 4 large loaves. It's almost enough bread for the week. This week's bake is pictured below in the rising stage. It's a tripled batch because I needed some rolls to go with a hearty beef stew.

This week I tripled the batch in order to have four loaves and 12 rolls.
These are rising on the back of my stove.

As soon as I get two more loaf pans, I'll be tripling it regularly and baking once a week. That'll be nice once the summer heat hits.

Saturday Stuff: Nothing Like Chocolate Pie

I make this crustless and I make it with crust. The point is, I make it. Nothing makes everything better quite like chocolate.


Grandma’s Chocolate Pie
from The Homesick Texan
 

Direct Link to the Homesick Texan Recipe Here 

Filling ingredients:
4 tablespoons of cocoa or 1 1/2 squares of baking chocolate
3/4 cups of sugar
5 tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
2 egg yolks, beaten slightly
1 tablespoon of butter

Meringue ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of sugar


Method:
Mix your sugar, flour, salt, cocoa, eggs and milk (all except vanilla and butter) with a whisk.
Cook while stirring on medium until it bubbles and thickens, about five to 10 minutes. If it becomes lumpy, just beat out the lumps. (It will not get any thicker in the oven so cook until it's as thick as you want it.)

Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla and butter. Meanwhile, poke holes in your pie crust with a fork and bake it at 350 until it’s brown, about 20 minutes.

Beat your egg whites with salt and when they start to get fluffy add the sugar. Pour the chocolate custard into the baked pie shell and top with the beaten egg whites. Bake it until it the peaks on the meringue are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Grandma says: “It’s real good hot, wonderful cold and you can even eat it frozen—then it’s like a popsicle!”

Note: All that's happening in the oven is the browning of the meringue. So be sure and keep cooking the custard in the pan until it's your desired consistency. 

  

My version needs a little help(er).

Here's my crust-free version. If you want a crust, read on...

Pie Crust for the Lazy

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup of oil

3 Tbsp cold milk

In the pie pan combine flour and salt. Combine milk with oil and stir into the flour and salt. Smoosh with a fork until well mixed. Shape. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Fill with chocolate pie filling or some lesser good.

A Martin Family Tradition

We make homemade Christmas candy to fill our stockings. We also send a few pounds of the goods East and a few pounds West to our family in other states. Last year I shared our gum drop recipe on the blog. This year I give you, as my Christmas present to you, Stained Glass Candy.

It is beautiful. It is easy. It is a family favorite. It ships very, very well.

Stained Glass Candy

Equipment:
                  2  15" x 10" x 1" pan
                  heavy saucepan
                  candy thermometer

Ingredients:
                   3 3/4 cup sugar

                   1 1/2 cup corn syrup
                   1 cup water
                   2-3 drops food
                         coloring
                   1/4 tsp. flavoring
                         extract
                   Cooking spray

Instructions:
Spray 2 15x10x1 inch pans and set aside. In saucepan combine sugar, corn syrup, water and food coloring. Cook, stirring constantly over a medium heat until boiling. Cook without stirring until candy thermometer reads 300 degrees (the hard-crack stage). Remove from heat and stir in flavoring. Immediately pour into prepared pans to cool. Break into pieces. Yields about 2 pounds of candy.

Tip: If you forget to treat the pans before pouring in the syrup, don't worry. The sheet of candy will release if you heat the bottom of the pan on the stove for a minute or two. Pry it up and then hold it up while it cools, then shatter it.

Be aware: This syrup will reach 300 degrees. Take all precautions to prevent spills.

Gluten Free Dessert? Easy!

Don't panic! You can come up with a dairy free, gluten free, soy free desert for your allergy sensitive guests this Holiday Season without making a special (expensive!!) trip to the health food store. Rice Crispy Treats are good, frostable, and malleable enough to make into any shape you like, including the traditional squares.

The recipe is simple:

Rice Crispy Treats

1/4 cup oil, margarine, butter, shortening, or lard
40 large marshmallows (4 cups of the minis)
5 cups rice crispies

On low heat over the stove, stirring constantly, melt the fat and the marshmallows. Do not allow mixture to boil. When the marshmallows are completely melted, turn off the heat and stir in the rice crispies. Coat them evenly with the marshmallow mixture. Using a canola or olive oil based cooking spray (read the ingredients first), spray the mold you want to press the treats into (cupcake tins, 9 x 12 bake pan for traditional squares, bundt cake pan, etc.). Let cool. Remove from mold, frost if desired.

Glaze frosting: 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 to 3 Tbs iced water. Mix well. Spread onto treats.

If you are trying to keep away from dairy, wheat or soy be careful of the cooking sprays and the fats you use. Cooking sprays can have everything from wheat to dairy, so read carefully, and don't be afraid to call the person in question and read the ingredients list aloud so they can okay it! Some shortenings use soy. Butter has dairy. Margarine can have dairy and soy. If you need to avoid all of the above you can use another oil (olive oil would not register well on the palate while almond oil or sunflower oil would enhance the flavor) or even plain old lard. When in doubt, check with the person who has the sensitivity. They'll let you know.

Some inspiration from around the net...

Cute gluten free variation from here.

This became a ghost or Squidward. See here.

7 Quick Takes: Good News and Bad News

1

Good news: It's raining. Bad news: The dogs are mud balls. 

I'll be mopping several times this week or I'll be apologizing to anyone who happens to come by.

2

Good news: Most of the kids are feeling better. Bad news: They are still probably contagious, so I can't go to my Bible Study tonight unless I hire a babysitter. 

"Goodbye pocket money!"

3

Good news: Andy got the morning off. Bad news: It's on account of his having to go to the dentist after breaking a tooth on a walnut.

He's miserable. Poor guy.

4

The really good news: I have cookies! The bad news: I have cookies. 

Someone come eat them so I can be the same weight by Monday!

5

Chefs Beware!

Recipes are acts of creativity and chemistry. They are almost always written after the magic happened. Memories and reality sometimes don't combine well, so I usually only rely on published cookbooks and a few trusted and consistent sources on-line (The Food Network and Two Blessed) unless I do a thorough preview. Until yesterday, that is.

Yesterday I had some ingredients I wanted to go together and went to the Internet to find a recipe to work from. Nothing was on my usual sites, so I had to pick one that looked good. I noticed after I'd already mixed several ingredients that the oats mentioned in the title had never actually made it into the ingredient list--a sure sign I was dealing with a faulty recipe. Knowing I had either a potential disaster or a creative opportunity on my hands, from that point on, I made notes and made three versions of the recipe. Two of which are worth your time:

6

Oat and Butternut Squash Cookies (Wheat Free)

Whisk together these dry ingredients:
3 cups Pamela's Products Bread Mix
1/4 tsp xantham gum
1 cup whole oats
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Cream together these moist ingredients:
1 cup butter (or butter flavored shortening)
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture until smooth, then stir in the following:
1 cup whole Craisins
1 cup cooked butternut squash, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs honey
1/4 cup chopped shelled walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop the dough by heaping spoonfuls, about 3 inches apart, onto papered or greased cookie sheet.. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, turning tray halfway through, until browned evenly and until the center is slightly firm at the touch (be aware that the cookies will continue to cook during the next step). Let this cake-like cookie cool for several minutes on the tray before transferring to a cookie rack to cool.

7

Oat and Butternut Squash Coffee Cake

Whisk together these dry ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 cup uncooked whole oats
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Cream together these moist ingredients:
1 cup butter or shortening
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla


Blend the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture until smooth, then stir in the following:
1 cup whole Craisins
1 cup cooked butternut squash, cut into small pieces
2 Tbs honey
1/4 cup chopped shelled walnuts


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out dry. Let cake cool on rack in pan until completely cool. Turn onto a cake platter and glaze or dust with powdered sugar.

Glaze (optional)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs water

Add or decrease water to desired thickness. Mix until smooth and drizzle onto cooled cake.

These are both wickedly delicious! Bon appetit! (French for time to buy elastic waistband pants!)





------------------

Thanks to Jennifer Fulwiler, a fellow Texan, for hosting

7 Quick Takes Friday 

over at Conversion Diary.com

Strawberry Ricotta Pancakes

Our family is fixing to switch gears in a few weeks. My husband's work schedule is changing, so he will be home for breakfast!

I've never cared for cereal personally and I have my doubts about its nutritional value (any food you have to "enrich" is suspect), but I'd fallen into the habit of allowing the kids to eat cereal as I rushed around getting my morning chores done. Now that breakfast is going to include a man who loves family meals, it's time to get excited about breakfast foods.

No more cereal!

I am currently trying out recipes. My plan is to preview enough recipes for about two weeks worth of relatively easy and delicious options that everyone likes. I'm hoping that when it comes time to switch the routine, I will have the recipes already on "automatic," so that I can think less about cooking while dealing with the chaos that ensues with any change in family routine.

What is working out for me right now is to whip up the breakfast in the quiet between the children's bedtimes and mine, then pop it into the fridge, so that all that I need to do in the morning is the actual baking or grilling. So far so good.

I'd appreciate any tips from breakfast aficionados for making this transition smooth for us!

Meanwhile, I simply had to share this recipe. My kids were asked for input on the recipe choices after my husband and I had each picked out 10 to 15 likely options. (If you haven't guessed, food is a serious matter in our family.) My oldest son, John, on hearing a description of the recipe we were going to base our recipe upon suggested adding strawberries into the mix. I don't even like pancakes, but these were awesome! We topped ours with honey, but next time I'm going to try a homemade strawberry syrup.

I made my lemon ricotta while I waited for my coffee to brew (cutting the recipe down to 1 quart of milk and 2 to 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice), but you can purchase ricotta or make it the night before. Prepping as much as possible the night before, including mixing and refrigerating the batter, saves you from adding a hefty cleanup to the morning routine.

John's Strawberry Ricotta Pancakes

3 large eggs

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 handful frozen or fresh strawberries

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. Pour the batter onto a lightly greased, preheated griddle in 4 inch circles. Do not walk away! The bottoms will brown quickly, so keep an eye out. Flip when the bottoms are a golden brown.

For a gluten free version, I simply made a batch of Pamela's Products baking mix pancakes according to directions, substituting goat milk for the water and adding the strawberries and 2 Tbs of sugar. Be sure to make your gluten free version of a dish first if you are making both types. This will save you from having to meticulously wash your blender halfway through your prep!

Not only do I read maps, I like cars.

I'm still a girl, though. To prove it, I'm starting with a recipe...

It's been a long, rough, and emotional week. I thought I'd lighten things up with some cooking therapy. I took an Internet fast yesterday and then tore my kitchen apart making red beans and rice and this recipe from the Food Network. I substituted the flour to make it gluten free and doubled the recipe to boot, so I wound up skimming off a ton of oil. Other than that glitch, this is worth passing on. It is so good!

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped bell peppers
• 1 pound smoked sausage, such as Andouille or Kiebasa, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cups water
• 1 pound boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon Rustic Rub, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon file powder (substituted 1 used one drop of Root Beer extract)

Directions

Combine the oil and flour in a large cast-iron or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. Add the sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves. Continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the water. Stir until the roux mixture and water are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Season the chicken with the rub and add to the pot. Simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, green onions, and file powder. Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls

Rustic Rub:

• 8 tablespoons paprika
• 3 tablespoons cayenne
• 5 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 6 tablespoons salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme

Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container. 

I am saving that Rustic Rub recipe for later. It has just the right amount of kick to it. I have to admit I added parsley, a dash of cinnamon, and cilantro to it. If there wasn't a file (sassafras leaves which give off a root beer flavor) in this recipe, I'd have added a tablespoon of cocoa, too. That's just how I roll. 

Speaking of rolling, I have been daydreaming about the 2013 Dodge Dart. It's their latest compact and looks it, but once you get her to open up, she'll dazzle. Beauty on this beast truly lies within.

"She's average looking, but she has a great personality!"

Hubba hubba!

She has a programmable display, too.

That's all the time I have for drooling right now, but here's a handy dandy link to the Dodge Dart page. Although I think she's pretty, I wouldn't sneeze at her older sister either.

1972 Dodge Dart

I used to own one of these, but it was a green rust bucket that wouldn't start. When I was done with it, it was mostly fiberglass, but it still wouldn't start. I'm pretty sure this one runs better. It's prettier, that's for sure.

Rest in Peace

Mawmaw in 2008
with an expression I must have adopted from her.
These two shared their red hair (before the gray), the name Ruth, and their favorite color green.

My grandmother was on this earth for 94 years before she passed away very gently this morning. I will miss her terribly. In the last two years I have discovered something she knew already, we are a lot alike. Or were, rather. I sincerely would rather not be blogging at the moment. I hope it doesn't show.

At any rate, the usual Wifey Wednesday post will have to wait until next week. Instead, I am posting a recipe for my mother today at her request. Isn't it odd how our thoughts always turn to food in the event of deaths and births?

Texas Lasagne

1 1/2 pounds ground beef or sausage
1 onion diced
2 cups ricotta (or cottage cheese)
2 eggs
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup of salsa
7 corn tortillas cut into 1 inch strips
4 cups shredded cheese (your choice, something lovely and melty like cheddar or a Jack cheese)

Brown the meat and saute the onion in a large skillet, drain grease, and add taco seasoning, tomatoes and salsa. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile combine the eggs and ricotta in a small bowl.

Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray. Layer 1/2 the meat sauce, half the tortillas, and half the ricotta cheese mix, and half the shredded cheese. Repeat. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

I have a confession to make

I haven't made this in six years...

About 15 years ago, a Jewish family introduced me to this bread and told me how to braid it. My first attempt met with their approval and so this beautiful bread has graced my table every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas since before I was even married. Except the last six.

What happened was that six years ago I gave this bread as a Christmas gift to a person whose family refused to eat it because it was a Jewish bread, and she called to be sure I knew all about it. Understand that if my family was so odd as to reject Jewish bread on the day we were celebrating the birth of the most famous Jew of all, the person all Christians consider the Jewish Messiah, Christ Himself, I would have been silenced by the irony. Understand further that simple good manners would also have kept me mum. Also know that due to my weaknesses of character, I was equally outraged by both outrages. I don't know why bigotry did not trump rudeness in this instance, but apparently it didn't.

For six years it didn't. I did not even want to think about that phone call, so I didn't. Even to the point of not thinking about the bread. It was a forgiveness problem. If I had done the simplest examination of conscience shortly after hanging up the phone, my girls (six and under) would have memories of attempting to knead and braid this bread. They would have mastered the egg yolk painting of dough. My oldest girl, now six herself, would be ready to braid her own little loaf. They watched me, today, and they painted. This Easter, they will braid and mangle their own little loaves.

I must say that I am ready to forgive, now that I am aware that I hadn't. Challah once again graced our Christmas table. It was fun teaching my kids to get a nice spitty gutteral "chka" going. I don't feel very forgiving, but I have decided to forgive. I well know that forgiveness is more an act of the will than an emotion. My emotions may never quite catch up to me on this one, but if you ever read this and recognize yourself, you have been forgiven. We're good here.

I was almost Jewish before I was Catholic. I was also almost Mormon. If it hadn't been for God intervening, I don't know which I would have picked. Either way, traditions in all three have a soft spot in my heart and a place at my table.

This recipe and my humble awareness of my brand of silly is my gift to all of you...

Challah

Braided Bread

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups scalding milk (almost boiling)

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

2 tsp salt

1/2 cup water

5 eggs

11 cups flour

1 egg

Step 1: Combine yeast and warm water in large mixing bowl and set aside to proof.

Step 2: Scald milk, then add sugar, butter, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl. Cool to 110 degrees (Warm to touch).

Step 3: In a small bowl, beat 5 eggs. Add to cooled milk mixture. If the yeast mixture has bubbles forming, add the milk mixture to the yeast mixture. (If the yeast has not bubbled, reproof another mixture of yeast and warm water). Add 2 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Add remaining flour until a stiff dough (not sticky) forms. Knead for 10 minutes. Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning to coat the bread evenly with the grease. Cover and let rise until doubled (about 1 hour).

Step 4: Punch dough, turn, cover and let rise again until doubled (about 30 minutes).

Step 5: Punch down again and divide in half. You will make two loaves. Take each half and divide into thirds (for a total of 6 pieces). Take three parts and roll them until they are about 15 inches long. Pinch the tops and braid the rolls on a large, greased cookie sheet. Tuck then ends under the loaf when finished braiding. Repeat for the other roll. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Step 6: Lightly beat the remaining egg and brush evenly over the loaves. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Bread is done with a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

If the bread is browning too fast, lightly tent with foil while cooking.

Merry Christmas!

Goody Goody Gumdrops: Easy Christmas Candy

Sheila's over here getting eaten alive by trolls on the blogosphere. One even strayed over to bite me for saying essentially the same thing (she says it way better). I do advocate practicing accommodating hubbies on this side of the sheets first so that the shouts of delighted surprise emanating from the bedroom doesn't wake the neighbors. (Those would be your shouts, by the way. Hubbies are generally very accommodating to accommodation in the bedroom.) All of this oppressive politeness and Neanderthal niceness seems run of the mill to me, but you never know what will tick people off. Makes you have to work hard for it.

Hubby and I on a vacation in Europe

At any rate, since being sweet to your husband is this year's outrageously offensive behavior, I thought I'd be even more scandalous and advocate cooking again.

I know this cooking habit of mine is downright stereotypical of me, but I can't help myself. My husband eats. My children eat. Even I have been known to eat. My family is referred to as the "Plague of Locusts" among our friends. We descend upon a kitchen and leave dishes spinning in our wake. If I didn't cook, just imagine the effort entailed in feeding the Martin Hordes. I'd have to strap five children in their age appropriate car torture devices and appear with them in public. I'd have to comb hair, wipe faces, and even wear shoes! Anything but that! Have you seen my shoes? Cooking is my only recourse against such horrors. 

I wear them because he likes them!

It doesn't help that I'm cheap. To move Martins, we must use a vehicle. The vehicle has about 6 round trip town runs in its tank. I have to tell you that what I cook, for the most part, is better than the food we can afford once we feed this member of the Martin Family.

Most restaurant food isn't worth the gas.

So, now that I've got my daily recommended allowance of snark out of my system and have once again implied that I seriously believe that wives should at least act as if they like their husbands, I guess I should give you the candy recipe. I adapted it from a magazine that advocates, among other anti-happiness propaganda that wives should have boyfriends to practice being nice to. I guess that makes sense. Since we gals are supposed to treat our husbands authentically (i.e., rudely, impulsively, irrationally), we have to make nice somewhere or we'd lose all social skills before our divorce.

Gumdrops
 

6 tbs (8 envelopes) of unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups cold water

2 1/4 cups boiling water

6 cups sugar

Sugar to coat

extract to taste (5 drops butter extract, 3 drops mint extract is super yummy!)

food coloring as desired (try some of the neon colors)

Don't hate me because I'm sweet!

Begin boiling 2 1/4 cups of water. Coat 2 8x8 pans with cooking spray and set aside. In another pot, sprinkle gelatin evenly over cold water, avoiding clumps. Let stand for 5 minutes. Pour boiling water into gelatin and water mix. Stir until dissolved. Add sugar. Gently boil mixture for 25 minutes. Pour mixture into the 8 x 8 pans. Add extract and coloring and stir gently until uniformly colored. Chill for 4 hours or let stand overnight. Coat a knife with cooking spray (this is important) and cut gumdrops into cubes. Coat in sugar and let stand for a few hours for the sugar coating to crystallize. Store in an airtight container. Tastes great! Ships great!

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole

This was such a big hit today, I thought I'd better write it down before I forgot how it happened. Yum, nom, nom. 

Candied Sweet Potato Casserole 

Not a picture of mine. It's actually from My Italian Grandmother for a different recipe.
I chose it to show you how brown the marshmallows should be.
I think the site is worthy of a visit, a recipe, and a listen! That's Amore!

Ingredients: 

2 large cans sweet potatoes (drained) 

1 can pumpkin 

4 cups miniature marshmallows, divided 

1/2 cup butter 

1/2 sugar 2 

Tbs maple syrup 

2 Tbs pineapple (or orange) juice 

5 drops vanilla 

ground cinnamon to taste 

ground nutmeg to taste 

ground cloves to taste 

dash salt 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a deep pie dish or spray with cooking spray. 

In a large saucepan, combine butter, sugar, syrup, 2 cups marshmallows, spices (minus vanilla). Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the marshmallows disappear. Stir in pumpkin and return to simmer. 

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir in potatoes. Chop larger pieces into bite-sized chunks. Transfer to prepared pie dish. 

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cover top evenly with remaining marshmallows. 

Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are browned (10 minutes or so).

Marti's Fish Tacos

I made this for mom and dad today and it was enough of a hit that mom asked for the recipe. I decided to post it tonight since I saw in my blog stats that someone had looked up another fish recipe for dinner tonight.

This is such an easy dish, I can't imagine why I thought it was so hard to make. Thank you, Marti, for figuring this out!

Since I live in the landlocked Panhandle of Texas, I buy my fish frozen. The recipe calls for 7 cheap, thin fillets. I've tried tilapia and flounder, but any lightly flavored fish will do. Some variations I'm going to try soon are to add a dash of wine or balsamic vinegar in place of the lemon juice and to see if I can manage it with a catfish. I'll let you know how that goes!

Marti's Fish Tacos
5 to 7 frozen fillets of fish
1 onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
1 banana pepped chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice (or lime)
1 tsp fresh cilantro, shredded
1 tsp each of chili powder, paprika, oregano
salt to taste
Taco shells (fills about 12 to 15) 

Heat oil in frying pan on medium heat until the oil runs freely when pan is moved. Coat the bottom of pan with oil. Place fish across pan evenly, then add vegetables and lemon juice. Stir occasionally. When the onions begin to sweat, add the spices. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and to encourage fish to break apart. The dish is done when the fish is white and the onions are translucent.

Fill taco shells with fish and a shredded cheese like a mild cheddar or queso blanco, and fresh toppings like pico de gallo, lettuce and tomatoes, and salsa. Serves well with Spanish Rice and refried beans.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Our family loves this day! We will be making colcannon (see recipe below), along with a beef pot pie, and potato bread. The children will, of course, be making shamrocks with plenty of glitter, and rainbows. Our studies today will encompass everything from geography, the study of Ireland and Wales, to science, how a rainbow is split from white light, to the life of this saint, who endured slavery and then later came back to the place of his enslavement to set the people who enslaved him free from a religion that demanded human sacrifice as one of its tenets.

I like our Welsh-born patron saint of Ireland. He wasn't a good Christian before his capture, but adversity turned his heart to God. During his slavery, he also learned to love the common people of Ireland. These commoners were treated little better than he was in his enslavement by the druids and kings, so they were hungry for the word of God and the equality and justice offered by Christianity. Patrick was able to explain Christianity easily to the Irish by digging beneath the symbols of their nature worship to pull out the seeds of truth God planted in His creation and transform them into readily understandable symbols of Christianity. For example, they loved the shamrock, so he used it explain the mystery of the Trinity.

The Irish became powerhouses of faith for the world, sending missionaries to all parts of the world for centuries. In our modern world, we have the thousands of conversions taking place daily in Africa. I wonder, will Africa become the new wellspring of missionaries to the world?

The Celtic Cross places the Christian symbol of
Christ over the pagan symbol of the sun.

Information:

Feast Day:	March 17
Born:	between 387 and 390 at Scotland
Died:	between 461 and 464 at Saul, County Down, Ireland
Patron of:	Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, New York, Boston, Engineers, against snakes

The field of St. Patrick's labors was the most remote part of the then known world. The seed he planted in faraway Ireland, which before his time was largely pagan, bore a rich harvest: whole colonies of saints and missionaries were to rise up after him to serve the Irish Church and to carry Christianity to other lands.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpatrick.asp#ixzz1GrM0Ph1a


Colcannan Recipe


5 potatoes (steamed and peeled)
1 bunch kale (washed and chopped)
1 onion chopped
1 pat of butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp pepper (to taste)


Quarter potatoes and put them on to steam. When soft, cool and peel and then mash the potatoes. Wash kale in a sink full of cool water, swish to remove debris and dirt, then pat dry with a towel. Remove leaves from the stems (being sure not to include the thick stems which are stringy) and place them on to steam until they are wilted and soft. In a pat of butter, saute the onions in a large skillet. Add a bit of water if the onions begin to stick. Combine all ingredients in the skillet and on low heat reheat the potatoes and kale while stirring the spices, onions and kale into the potatoes. Serve warm.