Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Friday night is pizza night in our house as it seems to be for a lot of families I know. We don't order in because we discovered a while back that making pizza from scratch is fun, delicious and cheap. As a one income family we are always watching our budget especially these last few months when it's been even tighter than usual but we still have pizza night. I have been working out this pizza dough recipe for a few months now and I think it's finally right. This makes enough to feed 2 preschoolers, 2 teenagers and 2 adults in other words it makes a LOT of pizza. Tonight with this recipe we made 2 small kid sized pizzas, one large pizza, a calzone and a pizza/stromboli combo thingy(?).


3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour divided
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
2 Tbsp SAF instant yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil

in the bowl of a food processor add 2 cups flour, vital wheat gluten, yeast, sugar, salt, warm water and olive oil
pulse 5-10 times then process 30 seconds - one minute until it is well mixed
cover the whole food processor with a towel and let it rise 20 minutes
pulse in the last of the flour and turn out into an oiled bowl
let it rise while you prepare the rest of your ingredients
divide dough into desired portions and bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until done to you preference

**Optional** toss in your favorite dried herbs or minced garlic during the initial mixing for an awesome crust to wow your friends


This is actually a photo from a few weeks ago because tonight the pizzas were inhaled before any pictures could be taken.

Easy Bake Troubles

So yesterday we pulled out the easy bake for some early afternoon snack making using the easy bake cheapster recipe. Mini cakes are fun on cold snowy afternoons, right? So I have this sage advice : when your own recipe clearly states use 3 tablespoons of dry cake mix ONLY USE 3 TABLESPOONS DRY CAKE MIX. Do not under any circumstances look at that little pan with a dab of batter in it and say something stupid like "Gee I think we could add in another tablespoon of mix and a splash more milk" I am here to tell you that sentence is nothing but trouble, seriously.

My children look up to me. They follow my advice. They think they can trust me. Or at least they did until yesterday, now I'm not so sure. I hope that while I'm chiseling out cake mix fused to the inside of the easy bake oven I can restore their confidence in my leadership abilities. That or they are going a whole new side of the English language. Me, I'm not putting my money on either of these choices.
And while we're on the subject of easy bake ovens, how the hell do you clean out the inside? They sure didn't discuss that in the 14 page tri-lingual owners manual. Maybe that's why they sell one little cake mix for 6 dollars and that's why parents shell out 6 bucks, for cake mix control, to keep this exact thing from happening when you have an entire cake mix at your disposal. I can't be the only one who ever did this right? RIGHT??

Smackdown Week 4, Lasagna, Lasagna, Lasagna!!!

Wow I never thought I'd be sick of lasagna but I think I am reaching my cheesy noodley saucy limit. I decided to make lasagna for this weeks smackdown after Maggie at DogHill Kitchen suggested it(check out her version of my spring roll pie while you're there). I'm glad I did, it was a real eye opener. I am also glad it's almost gone.

On Sunday I decided mid-day to make the lasagna for this weeks smackdown, thankfully I had almost everything for it in the fridge except ricotta(who keeps ricotta right?) and was able to be in and out of the store in about 3 minutes. I usually make the smackdown recipe during the week with my over eager 5 year old but seeing as dear husband was wrangling kids it was the perfect opportunity to spend time some time blissfully alone in the kitchen. Woohoo!
So I decided to compare 3 different lasagnas. 1 homemade meat and cheese combo. 1 homemade vegetarian cheese combo. 1 Stouffers meat and cheese frozen lasagna.

Basically I made a beautiful red sauce, split it between 2 sauce pans and added browned mild Italian sausage to one. To the other pot I added zucchinis, mushrooms, swiss chard (the last from my frozen garden stash), pesto(also the last of my frozen stash)and red peppers. Both pots got liberal doses of home dried herbs and a quick dash of salt. The ricotta cheese layer was ricotta blended with eggs and liberal amounts of mozzarella and a small amount of fresh grated Parmesan.

I started layering sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce, noodles, cheese in 2 different 9X13 baking dishes. Meanwhile the sad little Stouffers sat quietly on the counter silently begging for more cheese or a shot of fresh veggies. No such luck Stouffers. When the pans were full up I took pictures of them, covered them and popped them in the oven along with the Stouffers.

I baked them for an hour and I truly wish I had stopped at 45 minutes. They were a bit over done but they did have that kick ass crunchy melty cheese layer on the bottom. The Stouffers (here I made a logistical error) needed a 1/2 half more than the homemade lasagna. So the homemade ones cooled their jets while the Stouffers tried to catch up, again no such luck.

Ok taste comparison time.
#1 homemade meat and cheese-4 complete layers of meat sauce, cheese and noodles
It definitely could have used more sauce but it was the most popular of the 3 and the only one that was dug into for seconds. It gets the rating of delicious from my whole family! NICE!
#2 homemade vegetable and cheese-4 complete layers of vegetables, cheese and sauce. This was my favorite possibly because I made it especially for me with my home grown vegetables or just because it was damn good! It too could have used more sauce but that was my error and a small one at that. My kids took small taster bites but passed on full servings and that's OK because they eat so many vegetables. I don't force them to eat too many things lest they develop an aversion to all things vegetable. This gets a 2 person delicious vote and a 3 person OK vote.
#3 The Stouffers meat and cheese-2 complete layers of meat sauce, cheese (cottage) and noodles. The noodles were seriously al dente in this one and oddly enough were stacked 2 on top of each other with nothing in between. I thought this might be the reason for the toughness but when I peeled them apart even the single noodles were tough, hmmm. This one definitely had more than enough sauce and cheese but it tasted institutional and it was slightly sweet. This one got an OK vote from everybody but nobody went back for seconds which is telling in itself, don't you think? Also it's the only one still in our refrigerator.

So to sum it up homemade wins. Store bought loses. Pretty simple. In the extra time it takes to actually bake the frozen lasagna you can make a fresh one or 2. The taste is better, texture is better and money wise a 5 serving of Stouffers costs 8 bucks and for 10 bucks you can make your own 9X13 lasagna with 12 servings! In the 40 minutes of work it took in the kitchen I produced 2 great lasagnas that fed us for 3 days of lunches, snacks(15 year old boy) and 2 full dinners. I can't see ever buying a frozen lasagna again.


Here's the Stouffers silently begging for attention.
Here are the homemade heavy weights getting ready to kick some store bought ass.
This is actually not lasagna but a great picture of my 5 year old cruising on 2 wheels, his first time ever. Notice the peculiar lack of snow? Yes, this is mid-January in Alaska folks!

Bread Pudding

I really want to like bread pudding. The last time I made it (also the first) I thought it was good but it left me wanting. I'm not sure what but I aim to find out. I have another loaf of bread going stale on my counter and I am in search of a good bread pudding recipe. I don't want slimy and I don't want it too wet or too dry. I don't know what flavors I'll be using but I'm thinking no to chocolate, raisins and fruit. Hmmmm. Maybe I'll make up a cinnamon, caramel roll recipe with the candied pecans from my last attempt.

I'll leave you with this harbinger of spring, a gorgeous sunrise.

No effort too little

We, the citizens of the United States of America, have been called to honor Martin Luther King by working for the common good. “Given the crisis that we’re in and the hardships that so many people are going through, we can’t allow any idle hands, everybody’s got to be involved. Everybody’s going to have to pitch in. I think the American people are ready for that.” Said President Elect Obama on Martin Luther King day. What does that mean to us? As a nation? As a family? As one person? How do we reach out and help someone?

First I went searching for answers to these questions online and came up with some pretty great places to start:
www.volunteermatch.org/ I found 16 volunteer positions right here in podunk Alaska from mentoring high school kids to serving on the Hospice board
http://www.icouldbe.org/ Mentoring the next Generation. This is about professionals reaching out to vulnerable at risk kids.
http://www.voa.org/Default.aspx This is the nationwide Volunteers of America website and they literally have local chapters in over half of the United States. Surprise, surprise they even have a local chapter in Alaska. Hunh? Who knew?
Volunteers of America reaches out in these areas:
Children, Youth and Families
Community enhancement
Corrections
Elderly
Emergency Services
Employment and Training
Health care
Housing
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
Veterans
Help can be as simple as sitting and listening to someone tell their story or volunteering your
professional skills on weekends and everything in between.

Then I looked around my little hometown for more places my family and I could make a difference. These are some of the places our help could be used:
The local senior center
Pioneers Home
Bishops Attic volunteer-thrift store supporting many non-profits
Trash clean up-beautification is good
Letting someone in line in front of me
Collecting food for food banks
Diaper collections for women's shelters
Donate un-needed clothing to thrift store
Volunteer at the local recycling center
Be an advocate for someone/something that can't speak for itself
Reading to children

Some of those things we do already and will continue to do but we need to do something more, really step up to the plate on this one and GET OUT THERE! We'll need to find a place that will accept small, excited volunteers. Then we just need to do it.
One friend of mine was not so ready to volunteer because she and her family had done some work a few years ago and it wasn't appreciated. In fact they were insulted for their efforts. To her and anyone else who feels they have been burned or un-appreciated I have this ancient wisdom to pass along : Get knocked down 7 times get up 8.

If you are still having trouble thinking of a way and you want to do something immediately today while figuring out a long term volunteer plan check this out:

I don't know if any of you have heard of the crisis on the YK Delta.
Many villagers are facing the choice of buying heating fuel or food.
Do we feed our children and families or keep the house warm? We are
begging for help. You can see the original plea for help on adn.com
and other blogs that I have added the links at the end of this post.

I am asking y'all to pass this along to whomever you can.

We are in desperate need of help in my village.

I live in Nunam Iqua, a village that is 25 miles south of Emmonak.
Not only are we faced with the same issues as Emmonak but also our
crisis is harder because we no longer have a store here. Our trading
post collapsed several months ago, so we have no place here to get
groceries. So not only are we struggling between choosing heating
fuel or food but also we have to spend even MORE MONEY to buy gas to
travel upriver to Emmonak or Alakanuk to even get food. Which is very
expensive when you have pay $7.20 a gallon for gas. It takes at least
6 gallons of gas just to travel by snowmachine to Emmonak or Alakanuk
to even get groceries. So that takes that much more money away from
what we have to spend on heating fuel and food. We try to reduce our
heating fuel costs by using our wood stove but then are we really
saving money? because we still have to spend money on gas to go and
get wood for our wood stove. Everyone, especially Govenor Palin,
needs to realize that it's not just Emmonak residents that are
suffering! We need help in all of the YK Delta villages! OK, I
complied a list of everyone here in Nunam Iqua. I spoke to
every household here and Have a list of what is needed. I got
permission for my Youth Center to receive/distribute any donations
that come in.

So they can be mailed to:

Ann Strongheart
Nunam Iqua Program for Youth
c/o City of Nunam Iqua
101 Mudd Street
P.O. Box 26
Nunam Iqua, AK 99666

OR if you would like to send boxes directly to needy families I have
a list of families including their family size and needs and their PO
Box #'s you can email me at nunamiquayouth@... if you would
like a copy.

Here is a list of things that are desperately needed, since we have
no store here in Nunam Iqua we are really struggling to get food and
groceries here. If you would prefer to send a check you can make it
payable to: City of Nunam Iqua
and send it to the above address.

Here's the list:

Diapers Sizes 1, 3, & 6
Similac Advanced Formula Powder
Canned Evaporated Milk
Dry Powdered Milk
Powdered Eggs
Crackers ( Sailor Boy Pilot Bread unsalted tops are the most used
here)
Rice (minute rice)
Noodles
Peanut Butter
Honey
Jam
Juice
TOILET PAPER (everyone is running out)
Flour
Sugar
Coffee
Cereal
Crisco
Coffee Creamer
Pancake Mix
Tea
Canned Vegetables
Dried Fruit
Instant Soups
Ramen Noodles
Cup a noodles
Just basic pantry staples. Even salt, pepper, etc.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. We greatly
appreciate it. Again if you have any questions or what more
information please feel free to contact me at
nunamiquayouth@...

I know there have been references to scams so please feel free to
look us up online. Nunam Iqua Program for Youth. I was featured on
NAC, Native America Calling last year addressing underage drinking in
the Bush. And we are listed with the State of AK as one of their
grantees. So you can verify the mailing address and email address I
provided.

It's a great place to start and I sicced my little ones on it. This what they picked out at the store to feed hungry kids:
See the buterfingers? Everything is better with a little chocolate right? At least when you're a kid anyway.

Bean with Bacon

My kids have never tasted Campbell's soup. I quit buying soup in a can at the intersection of "dang there's a ton of crap in this little can" and "wow I can make soup that tastes better than this" and have never looked back. My all time favorite soup as a kid was bean with bacon from Campbell's. I can remember sitting in a high chair eating it and then having it for an a snack after cross country ski races. Seriously I loved that soup. So, since we don't buy soup in a can I have had to come up with a replacement that leaves out modified food starch, MSG and natural smoke flavor. I think this recipe passes the test. Actually it's better. I am submitting it for Souper Sunday over at Kahakai Kitchen you should seriously check out the soup selections Debbie posts on Sundays.


Bean with Bacon soup--6 hour version

1 pound dried white beans navy or small white
4 carrots, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 pound bacon- try to get the best bacon you can afford
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano--regular will do, Greek oregano tastes better
1 tablespoon dried chives
2 teaspoons sage
salt to taste
pepper to taste

rinse and soak beans according to the package
once soaked slowly simmer beans on medium low adding water as necessary
after 1 hour add the carrots
after 3 hours fry up the bacon when it's crisp remove from the pan and drain the drippings
add the chopped onion to the pan and cook over medium heat until soft and brown
meanwhile snip the bacon into bite sized pieces
when the onion is done cooking add it and the bacon to the pot
deglaze the skillet with a cup of water then add that to the pot as well
add the dried herbs stir well
continue cooking and adding water as necessary
I like my soup thick so I don't add a lot of water but you may add as much as you desire
at this point depending on how high your heat has been the beans may be done but will probably require at least another hour
This is when I like to add the salt some people add it early on or when the beans are done but I do like to cook the beans for a while with salt
if they are done before you are ready to eat simply keep them warm on a very low burner adding water as needed
before serving taste and add salt and pepper as needed

It's the simple things

Warmer weather has prodded our chickens into laying eggs again. I am not complaining. I am also not complaining about seed catalogs, sunsets after 5pm or turning down the thermostat. It's those simple things that make January livable.

Canned Frosting Gets the Boot Homemade VS Store Bought wk 3

Well it was an easy smackdown this week and one I have been wanting to do since I made homemade butter cream for my buche de noel at Christmas. I used a basic butter cream recipe and compared it to a can of dark chocolate frosting by Betty Crocker. Wow. Side by side there was no comparison, homemade was so much better. I put it to the test by giving to my 5 year old son who dis-likes frosting. At first he said "mmmm yum" to both then he said "wait, no, the second one was really good Mom" This was a blind taste test and he had no idea which was the homemade butter cream. (it was the second one)

Then I put it to the real test. I gave each of my pre-school kids (I teach co-op pre-school every other week in my home) a bowl with 2 tiny dabs of frosting. I told them which to taste first and they all liked the first taste. Then they tasted the second and all but the youngest declared "this one is soooo good" My traitor 3 year old son favored the store bought version but he is fickle and only loves one thing at a time.

So I say homemade won. I tasted the store bought too and compared to homemade it just really sucked. It was grainy and greasy at the same time and had this funky sour-ish taste. The only thing going for it was the ability to open it and use in about 3.5 seconds with no pre-planning other that the forethought to buy it. With homemade frosting you need to pre-soften butter and it takes about 10 minutes to throw it together after the butter is soft. A small price to pay for the quality taste and the ability to toss off casually "why, yes I made that frosting".

Chocolate Butter Cream
1/3 cup of butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3-5 Tbsp cream--I used whole milk

mix the butter, sugar and cocoa with a mixer until blended
add the milk a tablespoon at a time mixing well between additions
when it is the consistency you desire stop adding milk
store in the fridge this is not shelf stable



Hydrogenated goodness!

The start.
The sweet end!

Kale: Whipping Boy of the American Deli Case

Kale has to be the most abused vegetable I have ever encountered. I am talking physical abuse here, verbal abuse goes to spinach, hands down. Seriously have you ever eaten it? Before last summer the only time I EVER encountered it was when I looked at cheese and meats in a deli case or had it on a plate as a garnish. Or in a flower garden as flowering kale. (which is edible by the way)Truly a waste I have to say now, after the summer of kale.
In the past I had never cooked with it, except to throw some in soup which promptly turned slimy and nasty. Last summer changed everything though, I convinced my husband we should join a CSA. So we did. Then came the absolute barrage of vegetables and kale. Well after inhaling all the common vegetables I was left with kale. What to do, oh what to do. Well I finally decided I couldn't let it rot (even after 2 weeks in the fridge the damn stuff wouldn't rot so I could give it to the chickens!) and that we needed to eat it. I finally settled on roasting it. Oh my. It was the, hands down, absolutely the BEST roasted veggie I'd ever made. From that moment on kale was the first thing to be eaten out of the veggie box and the kale kept coming. All summer.
I bought some last week for the first time in a long time and then found it last night, still not rotten.(I'm telling you this stuff is indestructible!) Guiltily I tried in vain to figure out how to use it and came up with roasted kale as the vegetable dish and chicken breasts stuffed with feta and snipped kale. So, these are not recipes just more suggestions really.

For the chicken I simply mixed 1/4 c of feta, 2 tablespoons of raisins and 1/2c of finely snipped kale for the stuffing. I sliced the b/s breasts almost in half and evenly divided the filling between 4 chicken breasts and secured them with a toothpick. Then I dipped them in a beaten egg and rolled them in breading mix consisting of 1/2 cup ww flour, 1/3 cup finely grated parmesean cheese and a dash of garlic powder and salt. I baked them at 375 for 30 minutes or until cooked through and crispy.
The roasted kale was just washed, dried and tossed with 2 tsp of olive oil and cooked the last 10 minutes of the chickens cook time. Salt and pepper are optional. It's done when it is slightly browned and wilted.
My 3 year old was adamant that he needed to have kale. NOW! He happily chewed on it for most of dinner except when he was inhaling the chicken rolls.

What is this vegetable ?

Getting it together

We here at disorganized chaos have taken it upon ourselves to 'get it together'. Being an utter 'oh, I might need this someday' gal married to a 'no, you can't make me throw that away' guy has filled our poor, old farmhouse with things that 'HAVE GOT TO GET PUT SOMEWHERE, BEFORE SOMEONE HAS A CLAUSTROPHOBIA ATTACK OR TRIPS AND IS NEVER SEEN AGAIN'. So in instead of attending the Great Alaska Bear and Barley Wine tasting event, we attended the spend 300 bucks at Lowes and sit in the basement sorting crap all day event. Tomorrow will prove even more exciting as we attempt to construct the closet organizer. With 2 small boys. Ages 3 and 5. Doesn't somebody need me to be somewhere else? Please?

PS if I don't hear a peep about this weeks smackdown food I AM PICKING FROSTING!

Spring Roll Pie

So it feels like spring has sprung. Seriously, in the last 3 days we went from -25 to +45, with winds at 60-100 miles an hour. Needless to say we hardly have snow left, its more of a skating rink. Suddenly warm stews and soups don't sound so comforting and today I wanted spring, right now. I was prowling the kitchen looking for lunch fixings with no definite plan in mind cool, fresh and crunchy was all I could think of. I came up with this 'pie' using what I had on hand. I think it's a keeper. It might be even better if I plan it and have more of the right ingredients. This is less a recipe and more of an arrangement really.

Spring Roll Pie
6-8 dry spring roll wrappers
2 cups chopped lettuce-using what you have; less will do or sub in basil and fresh mint
2 chicken thighs, skinned, boned and cooked
1 carrot grated
1/2 a peeled cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced-here I would prefer romas or a good beefsteak
any fresh crunchy ingredients you desire will also work
peanut sauce dressing-recipe follows

assemble your ingredients
Fill a shallow pan with hot tap water
dip one spring roll wrapper in hot water, when it is soft lay it flat in a glass pie plate
begin layering your ingredients-each layer was different and I worked mostly towards making sure I had nothing leftover at the end
each layer did have a drizzle of dressing spread over it and then another wrapper placed on top
as you layer be aware of how much you have left to build and just get creative
the final layer is a spring roll wrapper with nothing on top

dressing
3 Tbsp chunky peanut butter
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 tsp of grated fresh ginger
1 drop of fish sauce-optional
sprinkle of red pepper flakes-optional
1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 Tbsp cold water or soy sauce -optional to make the dressing more spreadable

place all ingredients in a jar and shake well, adding water as desired

I added water to make it easier to spread, more soy sauce would work as well but it was salty enough for me already

And now the recipe

So even though the graham crackers were not 'real' grahams and not everybody loved them I am going to post the recipe. They are fun and easy to make and actually good for you, mostly. I'll get to that in a minute though. First I want to say thanks to everyone who voted: Thanks! Second for next weeks smackdown I am opening it up to you guys to suggest a food. Just leave me a comment with your idea and we'll go from there! So lets hear what you have to say.

Graham Crackers
6 Tbsp of butter, cut up
1 egg
4 Tbsp of honey

1/2 t baking soda
2 t water
3/4 t salt

2 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp of wheat germ

extra flour for dusting

in the bowl of a food processor add the first 3 ingredients; pulse to combine
dissolve the baking soda in the water then add it and the salt to the bowl; pulse again
mix the flour and wheat germ together then add to the bowl; pulse until the mixture comes together in a ball
dust your counter with flour and you rolling pin too, it is a sticky dough
roll to 1/4 thick, cut into desired shapes, transfer to baking sheet then bake for 8 minutes - 10 minutes, watch them they will burn in the blink of an eye
they are done when the edges are slightly browned
let them cool on the sheet for 2 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack

-notes- they don't come out crispy but do get crispy once they cool
they don't last long with kids around
the dough is sticky and I might add a bit more flour to the dough but then flavor may be compromised
one pan got a little too brown but my 5 year old had this wisdom "gee Mom, they are even good when they are smokey"
remember these are not store bought and are more like a flat cookie

Homemade vs Store Bought Smackdown : Round Two

So the votes were counted and the age old graham cracker won out over my beloved frosting, ranch and fried chicken. The joke was on me though because after searching high and low graham flour could not be found. Graham flour is named after it's inventor Sylvester Graham, who believed the ills of the modern diet could be solved by eating more bran...in 1829. It differs in from whole wheat flour in that the wheat kernels are separated and then ground and then mixed back together. So after reading up on it I decided that I would substitute whole wheat flour for the graham flour and add a tablespoon of wheat germ, to bulk up the flour. Without further adieu may I present---

Homemade VS Store Bought Smack Down: Round 2

Homemade---------------Store Bought

Texture : firm not crumbly ----- also firm, break easily
Value : cost was minimal --------cost also minimal

Taste : sweet like honey ------sweet with cardboard aftertaste

Shape : made fun shapes----- you get what they give you
Time spent : fun 1/2 hour ---------thrown in the cart
w/ 5 year old

All in all I would personally say that I liked them better than store bought grahams. 3 out of 5 of us thought they were good. The 3 year old took one nibble and put it back on the plate. Dear husband thought they could be better(traitor) and asked if I would be willing to tweak the recipe. I will keep searching for graham flour and try again. I also found a formula to use wheat germ, bran and white flour to make graham flour, I might try that too. They are, in the words of my 15 year old, "a cookie-ish graham cracker" said with a mouth full of cracker.

One final note though: What do graham crackers really taste like anyway? How much graham flour is in the commercial crackers? Enough to qualify it as a graham product, probably. What did the original recipe taste like? I'm sure it's nothing like what we find today in the stores. Mass produced for the masses. So while ours don't really look, taste or feel like graham crackers I infinitely prefer them because they to me, are real.

I'll be posting the recipe tomorrow. It's late and I'm tired, too much smackdown.

Where is the love for frosting??? + Adventures in the kitchen

First-
You people are killing me! I really wanted to make homemade frosting and completely slam that store bought junk but NO you just had to vote for Graham Crackers. So Grahams it is. I have been diligently researching and have come up with a conglomeration of 4 different recipes. Isn't that always how it goes?

Second-Adventures in the kitchen with dear husband. I had an appointment today, late this afternoon, which left dear husband alone in the kitchen for dinner. I did leave him with leftover tamale pie meat and beans for a quick taco-ish meal but I was not planning on being banished from the kitchen upon my arrival. Huh! So I set the the table(read played online) and made a salad(tried to horn in on his game) while he finished his fried potatoes. Fried potatoes you say? Yes, fried potatoes. How do they roll with tacos? Actually quite nicely. I added mine to my taco salad everyone else ate them plain. They were delicious and a reminder to let dear husband in to the kitchen more often.

Glazed Salmon: Summer Delight in Deep Winter

So I like to think I can find better recipes than what Prevention Magazine comes up with. Usually it's the truth but a recent edition had a beautiful Glazed Salmon recipe that was just inspiring for some reason. Now I'm not slamming Prevention it's just their idea of delicious and mine don't often mix. Maybe because I am more of a butter and whole milk kind of gal and their idea of a good time is more skim milk and groats. So back to the salmon. I think I am missing summer, a lot. In fact I know I am missing summer when I look at a salmon recipe and think 'mmmmm'.

When I was a kid growing up here we ate so much salmon I actually couldn't eat it for the first ten years of my adult life. Literally we ate salmon 2-3 times a week ALL year. (my mom would refute that statement but this is my blog and my story) So just the thought of salmon was gaggy. Now that I am, ahem, grown up(?) I do like salmon. In fact now I can think of salmon fondly. And when I saw this recipe in prevention I though double yum. I actually had to buy the magazine just so I could try out the Glazed Salmon. Let me tell you this, it did not disappoint. The only 'problem' I had was my salmon was 2 inches thick and theirs was maybe 1 inch thick. So when they cooked theirs it was done in 6 minutes while mine to 15. I just have to remember that wild caught Alaska King Salmon is bigger and buffer than skinny farm raised 'salmon' and adjust accordingly.

Glazed Salmon-from Prevention magazine with alterations

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin

4 6 ounce salmon fillets


Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat
While it's heating stir up the next 4 ingredients in a small bowl
Rinse your salmon and pat it dry
Lay it skin side down on a fresh plate
Rub the brown sugar mixture even over all 4 fillets
When the pan is hot carefully lay the salmon in it sugar side down far enough apart to turn it easily
If using small thin fillets (hopefully wild caught) cook 4-5 minutes
Turn skin side down and finish cooking 1-2 minutes until the salmon flakes easily
If using monster size fillets cook 15 minutes rub side down then turn and cook an extra 5 minutes be careful not to burn the rub I actually turned down the heat and placed a lid loosely over to help cook the salmon I removed the lid once I turned the salmon skin side down

Before-


After-

Cold Days Hot Food

Clouds finally rolled in today. It was so weird to have the sun, now so low in the horizon, not blinding us during lunch. We are so far north that mid-winter sun shines horizontally through the windows, unfortunately showing all your cleaning indiscretions, it blazes for quick moments before dipping behind the mountains and eventually setting around 4pm. Back to the clouds, clear skies in the winter mean cold, cold days and nights. We haven't seen clouds since Christmas Day. For the last 14 days we have been right at about 20-30 below zero even getting down to 35 below. The clouds were a very welcome sight and hopefully will be bringing warmer temperatures our way.
I'm guessing that cold mornings everywhere bring hot cereal for breakfast. I serve my family hot cereal, today brought a 7 grain mix, with homemade blue-barb jam. I prefer brown sugar and cold milk on my hot cereal, everyone else seems to prefer the jam. It is the quintessential perfect start to a cold, cold morning.

On to lunch. I love, love, love Ratatouille(the stew, NOT the movie) It, too, is a perfect cold day food when paired with hot polenta. You can find my recipe for Ratatouille (the stew, not the movie) here http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/2008/12/ratatouillee-stew-not-movie.html. Dinner will have to be another blog because kids are getting wild and of course it's bedtime.
My Ratatouille recipe was featured today on the wonderful blog I discovered called Kahakai Kitchen written by Debi who is lucky enough to live in Hawaii. (Lets just say Debi has a new best who's coming to visit for a couple of months heheh) Anyway she has a great thing going on over at http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/. It's called Souper Sundays and she invites anyone with a a soup, stew or chili recipe post within the last week to participate. I was lucky enough to be included and you can find all the other fabulous recipes on her blog.

A duo of roasted birds

Since deciding on the great cleanse means lots cooking and planning are in my future, I thought a nice set of roasted chickens would give me plenty of leftovers. It's always nice to peer into the 'fridge and find a pan of pre-cooked meat to base a meal on. Plus I wanted to try out this new barbeque rub I have been dreaming up. I only did the barbeque rub on one just in case it was too sweet for my dear husband. The other bird got a quick powdered ranch dressing rub down. They are roasting in the oven right now and smell fabulous. I can't decide which one to try first I guess I'll have to wait and see when they are done.

If the barbeque rub comes out ok I'll post the recipe. In the meantime I guess I'll finish banishing Christmas from my house and try to stay out of the kitchen!

There they are before heading to the oven! Notice my nicely seasoned roasting pan.


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UPDATE!
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So I roasted both birds in a 325 oven for a couple hours, meanwhile popping in some homemade french fries for a side, when the juices ran clear I pulled them out and tented them for 10 minutes. The were done, mostly, one had a bit of pink in some spots only discovered after carving was done. Oh well. Both birds came out a beautiful brown with the barbeque rub chicken a much deeper color because of the paprika. I actually opted for some of each kind right off the bat. First I tried a bite of the barbeque rubbed bird and it really was delicious, not as spicy as I was hoping but a definite good attempt. I wrote down the recipe I made up so I'm going to do more research and figure out my next additions. Next up was some of the ranch bird with was a gorgeous pale brown almost golden color, very pretty. The taste was rather unexpected, not much like ranch or maybe just a very mild version of ranch. It was definitely infused throughout the meat much, more so than the barbeque rub.
When preparing the birds I pulled up the breast skin and spread as much seasoning as I could underneath it just to get the flavors really mingling in there. Once that was done I spread a bit of olive oil on each one then added the seasoning and gave them a good rub down, then re-applied the seasonings and lightly covered any bare spots.
All in all the dinner was a hit but I'm not ready to post a recipe until a few more trials are done.

Time for the great cleansing

Well another holiday season has come and gone. It pretty much was one long feast that ended last night with our 12th night feast, a celebratory dinner marking the 3 kings arrival in Bethlehem. Before this year I always felt that once Christmas came and went I felt let down almost as if I didn't squeeze in enough fun and then all at once it was gone. So we made a commitment to keep on celebrating or try to anyway until 3 Kings day or Epiphany. How? How do you keep that magical feeling of Christmas alive and the goodwill flowing when Valentines Day goods are already marked 40% off in the store?
We decided on just one thing, to eat by candle light every night between Christmas and New Years eve. Nothing (in my never humble opinion) is as nice as dining by candle light. I think we actually ate by candle light 10 of 12 nights. I am not sure we managed to keep the spirit of Christmas but possibly did keep it's counterpart, goodwill much longer this year. And I tell you what, you'd be amazed by what your kids will eat when the candles are lit and they can't actually see the food that well.
The end all last night was a 3 Kings cake which was just puff pastry cut in a simple circle, brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar and baked. The surprise was a pecan hidden inside and whoever found it was deemed 'king of the year'. Our 5 year old son found the pecan and promptly wore the title, king of the year, right in to the ground. *sigh*
Anyway the title for the post was the great cleansing. Unfortunately it's that time of year when I quit eating so richly. Again may I say ***sigh*** I have a hate/love relationship with January. On one hand I hate giving up my cookies, candies and treats like that. On the other hand I do love fitting in my jeans a bit better and being able to bend over without panting. So bring it on January, lets have your best shot, I'm ready.

PS January? could you please quit being such a cold bitch? -35F is way to cold, even for you. And longer than a week? Give me a break!

Oh, the recipe?

Whoops forgot to post the recipe for those tasty little crackers! Well here you go:

Sort of Saltines

1 cup sifted flour (really do sift it, your crackers will be more airy)
1 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of butter cut in chunks
1/3 + 1Tbsp milk
1 tsp of kosher salt (optional)

add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of a food processor
pulse 2-3 times to stir up the ingredients
add the butter and pulse just until the flour mix resembles course crumbs
with the processor running pour the milk in and process until the dough comes together

transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and roll out to aproximately an 8X11 rectangle
sprinkle with the kosher salt and lightly role over it with rolling pin
using a pizza wheel cut the crackers into desired shapes
transfer to an ungreased baking sheet and bake 18-22 minutes until the crackers are done and lightly browned
cool completely and if you have any left store them in an airtight container but I'm guessing you wont have many left to store

Homemade vs Store Bought Smackdown : Round One

For quite a while I have been wanting to try making homemade graham crackers. Want, time and energy came together yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't have the ingredients to match, so I changed course and headed off in the direction of homemade saltines. I'm glad I did. The recipe was quick and easy and the results delicious. The best result of all was the great time I had with my son who diligently measured (where I would have tossed), pulsed the food processor(told you it was easy!) and poked holes in every single cracker (I would have done a few and called it good). Maybe even better than the good time was his absolute pride in the crackers WE made.

So without further adieu here's the smack down

Homemade saltines --- Store bought saltines
crispy --------------------crumbly
irregular ------ VS --- scarily square

delicious----------------- tasteless

made about 18-----------get about 200 for 2.59

time spent with son----- I got nothing...


Store bought saltines just got seriously spanked! Homemade wins hands down, with the only draw back being that we have to make a quadruple batch to feed the family. More good times? I can deal with that!
Wondering whats coming next week in the homemade VS store bought smack down? I'm thinking grahams which I might actually manage to get the ingredients for or frosting or chicken noodle soup. Hmmmm

Hybrid Pasta Sauce

Last summer we had fresh basil a go-go. We ate basil based salads, pizzas, pasta salads and of course pesto. I made 10 batches of pesto and froze them like little packets of summer sunshine all stacked up in my freezer. I love to harvest my garden with an eye towards mid-winter meals. I try to savor the days and imprint them on my soul to enjoy again mid-winter. This long cold snap has been really rough and today I had to bring out the big guns. Pesto blues buster people!

I really was just rooting around for lunch fixin's when I came across the pile of pesto in the freezer. Ca-ching! It was like winning a lottery as lunch fell in to place. Hot pasta with a hybrid sauce. Part red sauce and part pesto. Really just a can of good diced tomatoes, browned itlalian sausage, 1/4 of a recipe of pesto and shaved parmesean. Easy and perfect.


Hybrid Pasta Sauce

1/2 lb italian sausage, browned
1 16oz can petite diced tomatoes
1/4 of a recipe of pesto(maybe a tablespoon or 2?)
shaved parmesean
hot pasta - I used thin spaghetti because I had it on hand


mix the first 3 ingredients in a medium sauce pan over med-hi heat
gently simmer five minutes
serve over hot pasta and top with parmesan

Apple Pecan Bread Pudding

Somehow we lost a loaf of bread over Christmas day and found it tucked away on top of the fridge. After determining it was only stale and not moldy I decided to try a bread pudding. I had never made bread pudding before and had only tasted it once before at our local coffee shop Vagabond Blues. Their version was good and I intended to make mine at least that good and hopefully better.

From memory here goes:


Apple Pecan Bread Pudding oven 350

3/4 of a loaf of seriously stale bread cubed or chunked
6 eggs
3 cups milk( I used some skim ,whole and leftover heavy whipping cream)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
2 apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced ( I used fujis but would use whatever was handy)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans: divided
1/2 cup raisins


whisk the eggs and milk together
place the bread in a large bowl pour the milk and eggs over and toss to coat and then let it rest for 15 minutes
in a medium skillet over medium heat melt the butter
toss the apples with the sugar and add to the skillet
gently saute the apples until they are they are partially cooked
add 1/4 cup of the pecans and the raisins cook 2 minutes longer then remove from heat
when the bread is done soaking pour the apple mix over the bread, stir lightly -no crushing/smashing
generously grease a 9x13 and pour in the bread, milk and apple mixture and sprinkle with the remaining pecans
bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes

serve warm with cream over if you can for maximum deliciousness


If you want a nice picture for a blog then I would recommend snapping it quickly before 3 boys come sniffing

50 years of the 49th state

Today is the 50th anniversary of this nation's 49th state, Alaska. My home state. Born and bred. I won't be attending the big gala ball or any other of the celebrations though. I hadn't planned on attending but even if I had I would be seriously reconsidering it, because of this nasty cold spell.

Looking back in history I wonder what made Russia sell Alyaska for 2 cents an acre and I also wonder who first got the ball rolling towards buying Sewards Folly? Did anyone honestly believe it was mistake? Did Russia miss their eastern trapping outpost? I am sure the answers to my musings are rolling around out there in google but honestly I think I'm happier not knowing the answers and just wondering.

President Dwight Eisenhower signed the official declaration on January 3rd 1959, eleven years before my birth. 13 years after my family moved to Tok while my grandfather worked on the highway commision. 24 years after Frankin Delano Roosevelt's new deal sent colonists to the Matanuska Colony. 47 years after Alaska became a territory. 72 years after Russia let it go for 2 cents an acre.

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue -
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.

weird salad

So with my mind basically frozen I was at a loss for dinner tonight. Definitely not my style, I like the planning and completion of menus, so I suffer when this happens. Apparently after what feels like a month of indulgences in delicious meals and decadent desserts I have come to the end of that road. Time to get back to real life meals that are more healthy and plannable (is that even a word?).
So anyhoodle I cast about for a while in the kitchen and generally drew a blank on dinner until I spotted some lonely, fresh veggies in the crisper and decided on the weirdest salad ever. Since my husband is in class tonight the kids and I will be on our own for dinner and it feels right to have a salad of forgotten veggies topped with feta and leftover baking pecans. Not that he would object one bit, it's just that with him gone we don't do full blown meals. So I'm off to eat the weirdest salad ever.

30 below and freezing

That my friends is a 3:45 sunset at 30 below zero.



The new moon showing just a bit.


Pioneer Peak right out of dining room window.

While we are definitely cold, we are also blessed with absolute beauty. Each tree is frosted almost completely white and it looks like a dreamworld out there. The moose have found our little haven here and are feasting on our apple tree, currant bushes and inexplicably the mountain ash trees. I won't begrudge their mid-winter meal now but I might later when I learn the extent of their damage. I am a bit worried about the resident moose hanging around but they have learned to live with us so we'll shall have to learn to live with them.

I'm thinking moose enchiladas for dinner this weekend or maybe a tamale pie. Seems a bit cruel to eat one while watching one out the window but oh well. My brain needs to thaw out, get into gear soon and start functioning again. I sure hope it warms up soon.