Cinnamon makes everything better!

When I think of cinnamon, I think of my dad. Growing up, we never had a large enough container of cinnamon sugar to suit him. One time, mom had him stop at the food co-op to get some things, including cinnamon. He came home with a seemingly giant bag of cinnamon. (Maybe it wasn't that big, but it seemed big at the time. Mom has reminded me that I occasionally exaggerate my childhood :-).) He said that the woman who had scooped it out for him asked if it was enough, to which he said, "More!" She scooped some more in, and asked if it was enough, and he said, "More!" And so on. Or so the story goes, according to dad :-)

So anyway, in honor of dad on Father's Day, Ben's dad and a few others came over for dinner. I made a lentil curry to go over this fantastic Coconut Rice, from the classic More With Less cookbook (also home to my favorite Oatmeal Bread recipe). Hope you like it!

Coconut Rice

2 T. oil or butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
2-3 whole cloves (or 1/4 tsp. ground cloves)
2-3 cinnamon sticks
2-3 bay leaves
1/4 t. turmeric
1/4 t. salt
1 c. rice
2 c. coconut milk (1 can)Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves. Fry until onions are lightly browned. Add turmeric and salt. Fry a few seconds. Add rice and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, or until rice is cooked. If desired, whole spices may be removed before serving. Optional: add raisins, cashews or walnuts after rice is cooked.

Note: I found canned coconut milk in the Asian food section and it wasn't too expensive.

Then, in the evening on Father's Day we went rock climbing, as pictured below :-) It turns out to be a lot of fun! I'd highly recommend it! Everyone who did it, loved it, from ages 10-58. :-)

I thought this was a joke...

I thought this was a joke from SNL, but this is actually real. Jean diapers. So funny :-)

Deep-Dish Focaccia

Since school is FINALLY over (180 days have never taken so long!!), I've had lots of time to bake, especially things that take ages to make. So, this week, I decided to make a focaccia recipe I have that rises 3 times! It's so thick, but SOOO good. I haven't tried it, but it'd probably make an incredible sandwich or pizza.

I got the recipe from a pizza cookbook that I gave to my brother and sister-in-law, which I can't remember the name of, unfortunately, but the deep-pan focaccia is fantastic! Make this when you'll be around the house for a while. I should say that I "dumbed down" the ingredients for the standard home cook (read: non-pastry chef). [I'll put up pictures that I took as soon as I find the cable to connect the camera and computer!!]

Deep Pan Focaccia

6 1/3 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 to 2 c. warm water
sea salt
fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add yeast. Pour in 6 T. olive oil, then rub in the yeast until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Pour in the warm water and mix together with your hands until the dough comes together.

Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. The dough should be very soft (almost too soft to handle) but don't worry about it too much at this stage.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Uncover the dough, punch out the air and divide into 2. Shape each piece into a round ball on a lightly floured surface and roll out 2 10 inch circles and place in lightly oiled 10 inch cake, pie or pizza pans. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400.

After the second rising, dimple dough with fingers. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with rosemary and salt. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.

Spray the focaccias with water and bake for 20-25 minutes until rise and golden. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Eat on the same day or let cool, then wrap up and freeze.

To reheat: thaw, and then wrap in aluminum foil and reheat in hot oven for 5 minutes.

Push!!

Check out this commercial my awesome sister was in recently! One look at this, and you can see why she just got into the American Music and Dance Academy in New York City!

Doesn't Bacon Make Everyone Happy?

On Wednesday evening, my husband called from his afternoon meeting and explained that he was bringing home his meeting-mates for dinner and that one person would be staying overnight. Oddly enough, I am one of those strange people who enjoy cooking for others AND I don't generally care about the overall impression. This means I'm very adaptable, but meals can be hit or miss :-) Hence, my menu ended up being a little...unique, but it was workable.

I made a vegetable curry from the Everyday Food magazine (which I realized after the fact did not have any actual curry in it). This was a partially embarrassing thing since one of the guests was born and raised in India. It tasted alright, but wasn't anything special. Along with the dish masquerading as curry was homemade bread and jam, as usual (I love my freezer!) and a BLT salad that turned out to be the star of the meal! It was tasty, quick (from Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine), and tasted like the real deal :-) Enjoy this yummy summer dish. (Again, lucky for my freezer, I had a yummy Grapefruit Berry Sorbet in the freezer for dessert.)

BLT Salad

• 4 bacon strips, diced
• 4 cups spring mix salad greens
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup cubed cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup salad croutons

In a skillet or microwave, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. In a salad bowl, combine the greens, tomato and cheese. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Sprinkle with bacon and croutons. Yield: 4 servings.

Side note: The overnight guest (an older Mennonite gentleman) informed me that he could tell I grew up on the farm because I had a guest room already ready to go, I knew how to "deal with" 4-5 dozen peaches (make jam, preserve, etc.), and I was so willing to be hospitable and host him. :-) Not sure how that makes me a farm girl, but I'll take a compliment, either way :-) Thanks for setting a good example, Mom!

Peachy Keen Peaches 'n' Cream

As I may have mentioned before, when I was growing up, every summer contained a particular day of joy. It involved lots of ice cream pails, but no ice cream :-) It was strawberry-picking day, at a u-pick farm nearby. First, came the pain: getting up before 6 on a summer morning, so we could be there when the farm opened, as early in the season as possible. Then, when we were trucked out to our very own back-bending row, Mom and hungry children each took our requisite set of ice cream pails (the hefty 5 quart ones, not the cheater 4 quart-ers) and started digging through the shin-high green to discover ripe, juicy, glistening strawberries hiding underneath.

When at least 10-12 ice cream buckets were filled, we took them back to be weighed. (luckily they didn't weigh US before and after!) I was always impressed with my mom's patented method of carrying so many buckets: putting them on the handle of a hoe or rake and carrying 6-8 at a time. Then, we'd get home, and spend the rest of the day rinsing and hulling berries to make at least one strawberry pie, strawberry ice cream topping, a seemingly endless supply of strawberry jam for the year, and any other strawberry product we could think of. The following week was hence known as "The Week of the Strawberry" in which strawberries were inserted into every possible dish possible. In other words, a week of heaven :-)

Though I have looked high and low, no such strawberry-picking venue exists in Arizona, as near as I can tell. While I try to make do with making jam with store strawberries, it's not the same. However, I do have the luxury of having a u-pick peach/apricot farm about 60 miles away. It's a long drive, but it's totally worth it. The heavenly scent of peaches heavy in the air, and children running around with peach juice dripping sweetly down their chins (and mine) are a lovely setting. Therefore, every year I come home with at least 20 pounds of peaches and freeze them for smoothies, pie, and of course, jam. After some...less than ideal peach jam attempts in the past, I was thrilled to make an excellent jam this year. My next peach dish was an excellent version of peaches and cream from Allrecipes. (That's also where the photo is from.) Hopefully, you have some peaches around to try this simple, yummy dessert.

Grilled Peaches & Cream

4 peaches, halved and pitted
1 T. vegetable oil
1 c. soft cream cheese with honey and nuts (or mix plain cream cheese with 2-3 T. honey, and 1/4 c. chopped nuts)
2 T. honey

Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Brush cut side of peaches with a light coating of vegetable oil. Grill them, cut side down, for 5 minutes, or until peaches have nice grill marks. Flip peaches over and place a dollop of cream cheese in the center hole of each peach. Grill for 2-3 minutes more (cut side up) until cream cheese is warm. Serve on a plate. Drizzle honey on peaches and plate and sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.

Lovin' Luscious Lemon

The other night, when supper group was at my house, I was going to make caramel flan for Marilyn for mother's day, since I know she loves flan. So, since it had to chill overnight, I started on it the night before. The first step was to melt 1/2 cup of sugar on the stove. I followed the directions exactly, and by the time I put it in the dish, it was a block of sugar, which I then had to pick-axe out. I thought, well, I must have done something wrong and tried again.

After chipping the second brick of sugar out of the dish, I decided to bail and do something different, so I made Lemon Pudding Souffles. It turns out that they are a fantastic use of extra lemons. :-) I made the recipe exactly as stated below, except I multiplied it by 6, since I was cooking for 12 people. (However, that much made approximately 16 servings, for the record.) These are excellent straight out of the oven or cold.

Lemon Pudding Souffles
Yield: 2-3 servings

1 egg, separated
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 T. butter, melted
1 T. flour
dash of salt
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. lemon peel, grated

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg yolk until slightly thickened. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in the milk, butter, flour, and salt. Stir in lemon juice and peel.

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg white until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, stir a fourth of the egg white into lemon mixture until no white streaks remain. Fold in remaining egg white until combined.

Divide between two ungreased 6-oz ramekins or custard cups. Place in an 8 in. square baking dish; add 1 in. of hot water to the square dish.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar and garnish with mint and/or pansies. Serve immediately.