Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Can't stop!


So, I'm basically in love with this recipe I found for poppy seed dressing (and yes, that's the extent of the excitement in my life). Because of it, I haven't stopped eating spinach/strawberry salad for like a week! (Also, I've served it to basically everyone who has walked through my door, which is a lot, as of late.)

I think it's a good recipe in general, but it's awesome with some champagne melon vinegar I got on clearance at SuperTarget a LONG time ago. :-) As usual, the recipe came from Allrecipes.

Poppy Seed Dressing
1/2 c. mayo or Miracle Whip (I've been using mayo)
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
2 T. vinegar
1 T. poppy seeds

Whisk all ingredients together and chill. Makes approximately 1 c. of dressing.

The only thing I've been changing is the amount of milk, because it keeps ending up really thin for me. However, as I type this, it occurs to me that maybe I could add some kind of thickener (cornstarch, flour, etc.) Have to try that...


Sunday, September 27, 2009

Funky Photos

Ok, I'm just a touch obsessed with this website, www.funkyphotos.com See below :-)










Fall in AZ


Reasons I know fall is approaching in Arizona:

(And yes, there are places in Arizona that can look like this, though I took this picture in Boston last year.)

1. Ben has vegetable seedings planted in cups, ready to go into the ground.
2. Steve is searching my cupboards for tea.
3. Just went to church retreat :-)
4. Nighttime lows are under 80 degrees!!!!!!
5. Mornings and evenings are incredible.
6. My students are no longer angels.
7. Monsoon season is gone (and the humidity), which means my skin is instantaneously dry.
8. It gets dark at 6:30.
9. We vote on the church budget. Again.
10. Darla and I start considering making pumpkin homemade ice cream.
11. The Office is on again!!
12. We can sit outside at restaurants again (withOUT misters!)
13. The Diamondbacks are not in the playoffs. Again.
14. Mexican Independence Day gets celebrated in AZ (Sept 15)
15. Ben's birthday (Sept 25)
16. We start dreaming about wearing sweaters.
17. I start pondering what to get people for Christmas.
18. My kids start obsessing about the state fair.
19. We start obsessing about seeing the Figure 8 Races at the fair :-)
20. Ben and I start taking tandem rides :-)

Monday, September 7, 2009

Pie in my face!


I don't know why, but I had a craving for some old-school Coconut Cream Pie. This is even more odd, given my distaste for making pie crust. But, I figured the pie was calling my name, and who was I to deny a pie it's one true calling (to be in my stomach)? Hence, on my (awesome!) day off today, I made
this recipe from allrecipes.com. By some stroke of luck, it turned out great (and now I want another piece of "pie in my face") so now I'm sharing the recipe with you. See what you think! [This is with the changes I made, below.]

By the way, best new trick I learned in the kitchen recently: Using a fine-mesh shaker container (which I had previously VERY occasionally been using for powdered sugar) for flour instead. Then you can use it to flour the counter or whatever without dumping a whole cup of it onto the counter and it being all clumpy, etc. And it's pretty :-) Don't know where I read this, but I've used it several times this week, including with the pie crust! :-)


Old-Fashioned Coconut Cream Pie

1 14 oz can. Coconut milk

Enough milk, half & half, or cream to make a total of 3 cups (along with coconut milk)

3 egg yolks

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 c. cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed


Combine coconut milk, other milk, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in microwaveable container. Microwave for 5-7 minutes, stirring every minute, until mixture is thickened to a pudding consistency. Then fold in 1 1/4 c. toasted coconut and vanilla. Pour coconut mixture into baked pie shell and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Spread thawed whipped topping on top and sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut.

NOTE: To toast coconut, spread on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until browned.

By the way, I was telling Darla about this pie, and she said, oh, was it the one from More With Less? I went back and looked, and realized I had made that one previously and loved it. It is made with more eggs, no crust (it "bakes it's own crust), and is baked instead of chilled. I'd forgotten how good it is, so I might have to make that one sometime soon too! :-)