It's Scone Day!

We got an awesome Christmas gift a couple weeks ago from our awesome friends Donna and Bob.  They know how I've been entertaining myself while being stuck at home, tethered to my dialysis machine, by cooking foods, old and new, and babbling about it here.  They put together a lovely basket with sortof an English teatime theme, including a tea-time recipe book and a scone recipe book.  I have never made scones and I'm excited to try a few of these recipes, which sound delicious.

I've been thumbing through the books and I picked out a couple of recipes to try.  I'm going to give it a shot and I'll post more when I'm done.  Wish me luck!

Thanksgiving Is Here Again

The 6 weeks of the holiday season from before Thanksgiving though New Year's Eve is both wonderful and depressing for me.  It is my favorite time of year, but ever snce I moved to Colorado - and away from my family - the best part of the holiday season is mostly absent for me.  Spending time with my family and all our fabulous and silly traditions is obviously not happening out here.  A couple of times since my move I have been able to fly back to the Midwest to spend Christmas with my family.  However, I have not been with my family for Thanksgiving in a long time.  The loss is even more enhanced by the fact that my in-laws don't exactly welcome me with open arms.  The loving, warm family time the holidays are in my memory aren't an option for me out here.

Last year I hosted Thanksgiving at our house and had my husband's family over.  I made everything except the turkey and stuffing, which his father, the cook of his family, made and brought over.  It was hard work and I wore my sick little body out.  This year, even if I wanted to host Thanksgiving, there would be no way.  No matter how sick I thought I was last year, this year I am much more so.  Plus, it's been a particularly rough couple of weeks.  I have had three emergency room visits just this month, and almost ended up there yesterday (I still might).  I definitely am not hosting Thanksgiving.

Dan's parents are hosting the dinner this year.  I did tell them that I would bring something over if I had the energy.  I recently harvested lots of sage from my Aerogarden (to freeze before it went bad), and sage being such a quintessential Thanksgiving herb, I wanted to use that for my if-I-can-I-will dish.  So, I got the idea to make gnocchi, and serve it with a simple sage-butter sauce.  I figured I could make a butternut squash and potato gnocchi, and that would be festive.  Plus it coud be my main dish as obviously I won't be eating any turkey.  If I can find a couple of hours in the next few days in which I'm feeling not so sick, I can make the gnocchi and just freeze them.  That way if I'm not feeling great on turkey day I will still be able to bring the dish. 

I'm glad I can celebrate Thanksgiving with a festive meal, but I do seriously miss my family this time of year.  I am very thankful for my whole family and all their love and support.  I am also thankful for all the things that keep me going, even if I am sick: things like my dialysis machine, and my medications, and my awesome doctors.  I am well aware that 50 years ago, I wouldn't even be here.  So, despite my limitations, I can only be grateful for all that I have. 

I know this post is a bit more serious than most.  But on Thanksgiving, it's good to look around and take stock.  I am very thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving eating!

Birthday Food

It's my birthday and I am celebrating, as I celebrate most things, with food.

Technically my birthday gift from Dan was the Aerogardens.  But I also told him I wanted to go to a local farmer's market for my birthday.  I've been wanting to check out some farmer's markets for a while but it seems something (dialysis, migraine, etc) always gets in the way.  This morning we were finally able to go to the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market.  It wasn't bad.  I was suprised at how little actual produce was there.  A good portion of the booths were selling prepared foods such as empanadas and sandwiches.  However, we did find lots of good things to sample and buy. 

We picked up a jar of local clover honey.  We also found some delicious jalapeno jelly that I am anxious to try with cream cheese on toast.  A few booths had beautiful loaves of bread.  There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread, right?  We bought a lovely loaf of pumpernickel rye with which I plan on making veggie reubens.  Another booth had corn tortillas flavored with various seasonings, and we grabbed a package of the chile flavored ones.  The only produce we bought was some delicious looking California berries.  Being from Michigan, I'm still getting used to the price of berries out here, but these were definitely cheaper than at the grocery store.

The farmer's market was packed with people and many of them brought their dogs.  There was live music and several food trucks.  I want to check out some other farmer's markets and see what sorts of things they have.

This evening we had a birthday dinner at Garcia's, my favorite Tex-Mex place in the area, with my in-laws and our friends Phil and Jenn.  Now, though, I'm back home and hooked up to my dialysis machine.  It might seem strange, but this much activity in one day is just exhausting for me.  I'm going to rest so I hopefully have the energy to use my farmer's market finds in some cooking tomorrow. 

Happy Birthday to me.

Easter Brunch

Happy Easter!

Why is it that holidays become what they become?  It is interesting to me how the traditions of, for instance, stocking-stuffing at Christmas, or boxes of candy at Valentine's Day, or fireworks on the Fourth of July, get started.  Over the decades, somehow, brunch has become an Easter tradition.  It might not make a lot of sense, but there it is.

I love the idea of brunch.  Anyone who knows me knows I don't do mornings.  My husband and I are on a third-shift schedule, and that's the schedule I was on for years, long before I met him, too.  My morning is 2pm, and if I'm up at 6am, it's because I'm still up from the night before.  I don't do breakfast!  So brunch is perfect for me - breakfast that lasts well into the afternoon.  Not to mention, a gathering of all kinds of types of foods, which can be chosen to exactly my liking - which is perfect for me as a vegetarian who doesn't eat huge portions.  I can pick and choose the exact foods I like and the exact amounts.  I can have a variety of foods without feeling guilty that I won't eat 90% of it.  It's the same reason I like tapas restaurants.

Easter Brunch in particular holds a place in my heart because of happy memories of family.  My family on my mother's side had a tradition when I was young to gather on Easter Sunday at one of the holiday brunches being held in the Chicagoland suburbs (that's where we're originally from).  The whole family - and as one of seven kids, my mom's extended family was large - plus in-laws and friends - would all get together for brunch somewhere.  We were always a huge group and took over many tables at once.  I loved it.  Good times.

Dan and I have been invited to have Easter brunch with his family this morning.  It won't be the love-fest our old family Easter Brunches used to be (anybody who knows my in-law situation understands this), but I'm hoping it will be a nice time.  At the very least, I am hoping the food will be enjoyable.  Did anybody else enjoy Easter Brunch?  Any food adventures for Easter?  Tell me all about it.

Happy eating!

Kiss Me, I'm Part Irish

When I was 15, I got a button for St. Patrick's Day that said "I may not be Irish, but kiss me anyway."  I actually never got to wear it, because that year, two days before St. Patrick's Day, I checked into the hospital for a kidney transplant.  But, actually, one could kiss me for being Irish.  My heritage is actually a mix of cultures: Irish, German, Danish.  My maternal grandmother, originally a Doherty, was very proud of her Irish roots, and made sure her grandchildren were all familiar with it.

I am more used to celebrating Oktoberfest with food than I am St. Patrick's Day.  In America, St. Patrick's Day is usually about green beer and pinching people, but in Ireland, it's a legitimate holiday to celebrate a folk hero who, among other things, supposedly banished all the snakes from the island.  Regardless of the truth of the stories of St. Patrick, the holiday, for the Irish, is sortof akin to Thanksgiving in America.  It's an excuse to make a nice meal and spend time with family.  Rather than drown myself in green beer, I figured I would instead make a nice, Ireland-inspired meal.

My pseudo-Irish feast will of course be vegetarian.  I'm going to make a stew with a beer base, and sides of cabbage and cauliflower with cheese sauce.  I love cauliflower, especially with cheese sauce.  As a child, my mom would make that on a regular basis, and I didn't know until I grew up that cauliflower with cheese sauce is a very classic British and Irish dish. 

I am looking forward to my upcoming Irish feast.  Is anyone else planning any festivities for St. Pat's?  I want to hear about it!

'Tis The Season For Chocolate

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching, and chocolate advertisements and cooking shows are dominating the television.  There are many, many sweet things to be made with chocolate.  But, I've been wondering what sort of savory things could be made with chocolate.

Cocoa, which chocolate is made from, doesn't start out sweet.  It is mixed with sugar to make the usual chocolate we all know and love.  But it can make savory dishes, too.  One example is a chocolate mole.  Not all moles have chocolate, but some do.  I have also heard of meat roasts being seasoned with a combination of cocoa and coffee before roasting.

However, I don't know many other savory uses for chocolate or cocoa.  Does anybody out there know any interesting ways to use chocolate or cocoa in a savory dish?  I really want to try something like that.  I'll take any ideas.

Happy Valentine's eating!

Super Bowl Fiesta

I never, ever pay any attention to football whatsoever (I have teams I root for -- I just don't know what they are doing).  But, Super Bowl is a little different.  It's more of an excuse for a big food-grubbing party than it is a football game.  And as such, I've watched more Super Bowl games than I have non-SB football games in my lifetime.  Not counting HS football games, when I was a cheerleader (yeah, I know, rah rah).  Besides those HS games, I've only seen two live FB games... one was at U of M (yay!) and one at Michigan State (boo).  At any rate, football doesn't matter much to me.  Food, however, does.

I wouldn't even be paying any attention to Super Bowl Sunday except that my parents are coming to stay with us for a few days, and they arrive on Sunday morning.  So, since I need to make dinner anyway, I figured I'd make it a bit of a theme.  Plus, my dad will want to watch the game at least a little, and I'd actually like to see BEP perform the halftime show.  So, game party it is. 

Here's la menu:  Hot dogs and vegetarian chili - which can be eaten separately or as a chili dog - with all the fixin's, including two types cheese, onions, oyster crackers, sour cream, tabasco, etc.  With that we will have an orzo salad I'm making with grilled corn, roasted peppers, and cucumber, with a spicy, creamy dressing.  And, I'm going to make the plantain fritters I loved so much in my last post.  Yumm!  For munching all day we have a few types of chips and two types of salsa.  And, of course, beer (which is also going in the chili, btw).  So, that's the fiesta-festa.  I think it'll be good.

What is everybody else doing for SB munchies?  Anything fabulous?  Let me know!

Happy game day eating!

Christmas Traditions

Every family has their own Christmas traditions, and many involve food.  In our family, the holiday festivities always began early.  We had traditions that took place days or even weeks before the Big Day itself.  For instance, we would have a tree-decorating party, and make a big deal of it.  We'd get out all the ornaments, play Christmas music, and have a big spread of food and sparkling juice while we adorned the tree.

Another tradition was our Christmas Eve dinner, which was a much bigger deal for us than Christmas Day dinner.  We always opened our gifts to each other and from others on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas morning, just the Santa Claus gifts were opened (and our stockings).  Christmas Eve day was spent hanging out together, drinking, and eating.  We always watched White Christmas in the afternoon with some appetizers.  Then we'd have the big Christmas Eve feast, then dessert, after-dinner drinks, and present-opening.

Christmas Eve dinner was always fish or seafood in our house.  It is a tradition that had been handed down from my grandmother's family.  It is not a very common meal for Christmas; most people think of ham or turkey or something like that when they think of holiday meals  (although I have heard that fish for holidays is a tradition in some Italian homes).  For us, it was just normal.  We sometimes had fish, but occassionally we would have crab legs.  Alaskan King, of course.  I never liked fish much, but I do love crab legs.

This year we are having Christmas Eve dinner at my sister's house in Ohio, and most of the family will be there.  She told me they ordered tons of Alaskan King crab legs, and I'm excited!  I'll definitely be cheating on my vegetarian diet this Christmas Eve.  I didnt' even ask her what else we'll be having on the side, cuz really, who cares?! 

On Christmas morning, after opening Santa gifts, we would sit down to our traditional breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and lox.  It is a simple meal that requires no cooking on a day when everybody has more important things to do than be stuck in the kitchen. 

Whatever your traditions are, celebrate the season with joy, and be merry, but be safe!

Happy Holiday eating!

Festive Decor

For my final Thanksgiving-related post, I wanted to show you a few of the things I did for decor.  I rarely have a reason to really deck out the table, so I wanted to make the dinner special.  I used my nice china (which isn't anything super exotic or fancy, but still, nice) and set the table with my pretty gold and silver snowflake napkins.  I used a tablecloth instead of the matching snowflake placemats, and instead used one of the placemats as the base for a centerpiece.

The centerpiece was just the sparkly placemat with miscellaneous gourds which I had sprayed with gold glitter.  Yes, I sprayed the gourds with glitter.  It was more subtle than you might think.  And, it added a little sparkle when the flames from the candles hit the glitter.  I had several more gourds, but some of them started to get soft and rot.  Bummer.  By then, I couldn't find any more of those little gourds anywhere!  The stores were cleared out.  So my centerpiece was a little sparse, but it worked out alright.

One fun thing I was excited about, decor-wise, were these little mulitcolored leaf-shaped dishes I found.  They are super cute.  They don't really match the gold and silver color scheme I was going for, but I just couldn't resist.  I used them on an appetizer tray to hold olives and gherkins.

Creating pretty decor and table settings helps make a meal special.  Any young kid knows that it is fun to play dress-up once in a while; it's fun to do that with meals, too.

Happy eating!

Thanksgiving Leftovers

We had way too much food for Thanksgiving, and therefore way too much food leftover.  The in-laws took the turkey home, as well as a whole cheesecake and miscellaneous other things, but we still had plenty to shove into the fridge.  They don't seem like the normal holiday leftovers, though.  Olives, cheeses, spinach, and tons of ricotta (Dan bought way more than what I needed for the cheesecake) peppered in with the green beans and potatoes that you'd expect. 

Well, I have to start clearing some of that out, right?  It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta eat it.  I chopped some kalamata olives and roasted garlic that I had leftover and let it heat in some olive oil for a few minutes with black pepper, crushed red pepper, and a little salt - not too much, the olives are salty.  One small can of tomato paste then gets stirred in with just a tiny bit of water, the tiniest bit, really.  Letting the tomato paste cook for a minute on the heat brings the flavor out.  The pasta then gets tossed in, and for a thick sauce like this, I like some sort of pasta that collects the sauce - shells, or penne, or something like that.  A good cup or so of the pasta water goes in with the pasta to finish the sauce.  See?  You didn't need much water to start with, after all.

That would be a good sauce by itself, but I also threw in the rest of the leftover ricotta, and a couple of teaspoons of parmesan.  Gotta use the leftovers, right?  What a hardship.

Now that is what I call leftovers.

Happy eating!

Ice Cream Flavorama

For our Thanksgiving dessert-fest I made pumpkin cheesecake, berry sauce, and two flavors of ice cream, in my new favorite way to make a cold creamy dessert:  add alcohol.  This way, the cream won't freeze solid, and you don't have to agitate the cream as it freezes to keep it from doing so.  The alcohol does all the work for you.

This time I decided to try to stick to holiday-ish flavors.  I made one ice cream with just loads of cinnamon, and that was deeee-lish.  It went really well with the pumpkin cheesecake, or so pretty much everybody at my dinner thought, anyway. 

The second kind I tried was cranberry.  I was making homemade cranberry sauce, anyway, so I just made a tiny little second batch minus the orange juice/zest, and made it a little sweeter, and added it into the cream before freezing.  Actually I added just the juice from the cranberry sauce, mixed it very well, and then added the berries at the end and just barely stirred it, so it was pretty and swirly.  The cranberry ice cream was not as much of a hit as the cinnamon, because most of my guests said it wasn't sweet enough for them, but I liked it way better than the cinnamon.  But that's me, I have never had much of a sweet tooth, so I almost always prefer less sweet things.  The cranberry ice cream was also, I thought, really good with the berry sauce... which was just frozen mixed berries, sugar, and a bit of water, cooked down for a few minutes on the stove. 

We attempted to have fresh whipped cream, but after Dan had beaten the cream to no avail for several minutes, I checked the carton, and it wasn't whipping cream at all.  It was half and half.  Next time I send Dan out for whipping cream, I'll be specific.  Luckily my guests said that the cinnamon ice cream took the place of the whipped cream and that it was not necessary.  Nice of them, but I still love me some homemade whipped cream.  Next time.

Happy Leftover-eating, everybody!

Thanks To Give

This year I was host to Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, ever.  I went a little overboard with the preparations, I have to admit.  I made all the side dishes, and both a pumpkin cheesecake and two kinds of homemade ice cream.  Yeah, I went overboard.  Luckily I didn't have to make the turkey; this vegetarian wouldn't even know where to start with that.  So, my father-in-law made the turkey and brought it over. 

For my contribution, I made homemade cranberry sauce, green beans almandine, toast with roasted garlic, redskin potatoes with butter and herbs, and blue-cheese stuffed roasted tomatoes.  I also had an appetizer tray of cheeses, grapes, olives, etc., and before the dinner we had a salad, which I made of mixed greens, cranberries, walnuts, goat cheese, carrots, homemade croutons, and a delicious pomegranate vinaigrette.  I will have several things to talk about from our Thanksgiving dinner, so I will leave most of that for later posts.  Suffice it to say that I made way, way too much food, but it was, luckily, well-received.  Now, I am tired, and my feet need a rest. 

Happy Thanksgiving!