What I bought at the Dallas Farmer's Market, + recipe

Farmer's Market veggies

 

OK, so I didn't go straight to the sewing machine yesterday.

Instead, I decided to use some of what I bought at the farmer's market.

I purchased,

 1 big bag of spinach $2.00

(shared about half with daughter #2)

1 bunch celery $2.00

1 basket (4) bell peppers $3.00

1 green, 2 red, 1 yellow

(gave daughter #2 1 red)

medium bag brussels sprouts $2.00

 

I made up a couple of "salads" using some of the spinach and peppers, 

for the hubby's lunch.

Sautéed the sprouts in olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice,

also for the hubby's lunch.

(Thank you daughter #1 for the fresh lemons).

 

Then I made a casserole/savory bread pudding,

that I adapted from all recipes.com

Here's the recipe if you're interested.



Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small chopped onion

½ each, chopped green, red, yellow bell peppers

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 or 3 handfuls of spinach, chopped

2 tbsp. crushed dried rosemary

1# sausage (I used hubby's homemade chicken sausage)

9 slices cubed bread

5 oz. hard cheese, shredded (I used Colby jack)

4 eggs

1 cup milk

 

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion, peppers, celery, spinach, rosemary and sausage.

(Hubby's sausage is on the lean side, if you're using purchased sausage you might want to cook it first, drain some of the fat and then add your veggies).

 

  

 

Saute until meat is cooked and veggies are tender. Take off heat.

Mix in the bread cubes.

Spoon into a lightly oiled casserole dish, mix in ½ the cheese.

In a large measuring cup, measure out your 1 cup milk, add the 4 eggs and whisk.

Pour into the casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes at 350°

Unfortunately I let mine bake at 375° for 40 minutes, (forgot my oven runs hot).

Still tasty though......

 



 

Next time I'll use homemade bread and be more mindful

of the timer:-)

 

 Till next time, happy cooking.

Bonjour



Seeking, Searching - Finding

Sorted & labeled

Well...

I've been searching for a good muffin recipe and google was not being very helpful.

I kept getting sweet muffin recipes, what I wanted was savory.

I guess it helps if you put savory in your search criteria.

 Cheese, bacon, corn, all very good

but not what I wanted either.

It finally hit me, try herb.

Better, but not great.

Then I found a plain muffin recipe at all recipes.com with suggestions on fillings.

They were mostly sweet suggestions but at least I had a place to start.

They're called Best Ever Muffins, and I have to agree.

They baked up more like a biscuit than a cupcake or muffin,

but were still moist and light.

I did five variations, two with herbs and three with sweets. All mini muffins.

1. dill & red pepper flakes

2. rosemary, onion flakes & parmesan cheese

3. poppy seeds & raspberry jalapeño jam

4. nutmeg, cinnamon & carrot cake jam

5. nutmeg, cinnamon & quartered, large gumdrops

Numbers 3,4,5 - I put a small amount of batter into the cups first,

then the jam/gumdrop, then filled with more batter. I only used a scant

 teaspoon of the jams, or at least tried to.

Here's the recipe if you're interested.

Best Ever Muffins

2 cups flour                                                                                                 1 egg
3 tsp. baking powder                                                                                1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                                                 1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar (I cut the sugar to 1/4 cup on all variations)

1. Preheat oven to 400° 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt & sugar in a large mixing bowl (add herbs if using).

Make a well in the center. Set aside.

3. In a glass measuring cup add the milk, oil & egg. Blend together.

(I added the milk first to the 1 cup measurement, then the oil till  the liquid was at 1 1/4 cups then the egg.

Saves washing so many utensils)!

4. Pour the wet into the dry & mix lightly, should be lumpy.

5. Spoon batter into oiled or paper lined muffin cups.

6. Bake for 25 minutes for regular size, 20 minutes for minis.

7. Remove pan from the oven onto a sturdy wire rack, let sit for 5 minutes, 

 then remove muffins from pan to a cooling rack.



In progress

The jams were made by my friend Loretta, (traded soap).



If you happen to be on my Christmas list....

 I guess you know what you're gettingJTJTJ

Till next time,

Make some expresso and taste test!
Bonjour

P.S. Was meeting someone at What-A-Burger

to deliver soap & saw this in the backseat of a guys car.

Giant piñata?

He was from Michigan.

WHAT???

Need Some Warmth So I'm Making Biscotti

Oh My....

It's cold in this house.
I noticed it late yesterday evening and wondered,
why isn't the heater kicking on.

I'm thinking,

maybe the hubby programmed the thermostat too low?
I checked, it was 65 degrees. It’s suppose to be 69 degrees.

Still thinking…

Ok, I’ll bypass the preset and take the chill off.
The heater does not click on at all.
Not good.
Hubby is already asleep, no help there.
So I throw another quilt on the bed,
get into some warm jammies, snuggle under
and decide to worry about it tomorrow.

Tomorrow is today.

I informed the hubby of the dilemma this morning.
His advice?
Let’s just wait and see if it gets any better this evening.
WHAT?
Like I said,

OH MY….

My advise?
Call someone today and set up an appointment for tomorrow.

Geez.
See if it gets better?
It doesn’t have the flu.

By the way, it didn’t get better.
It’s still 65 degrees and the Tech will be here in the morning.
So I turned the oven on and made some biscotti.

My first time, obviously I need more practice.
It tastes super yummy but ….
I ate too much.
Now I have a tummy ache.

Till next time,
Trust me, it won't get better!
Bonjour

No Turkey Day Just Yet!!

Well...

Our family Thanksgiving will be on Sunday at Steve's Mom's house.

SO...

I took the free day to ready for our last show of the season,

get the newest Boutique order together

and also to work on handmade Christmas gifts.

I have a lot of ideas for cookie/ brownie/ biscotti mixes in a jar,

chocolate coated pretzels, handmade candy, flavored coffee creamer etc.

Also sewing up a few things.

First up,

for the show,

mini, reversible stockings, free with a $25.00 purchase.



To be used in place of a gift bag.

Drew the template on computer paper and got into my fabric stash.

 Each stocking took about 1/4 yard of fabric per side,




In progress



finished size is 9 1/2" tall by 7 1/2" wide

 



Time to tuck one into the other.





Finished stockings.

Next up are the Christmas gifts.

Placemats & napkins.

Side 1



Other side.

Up-cycled jacket as a dish towel.



Ugly jacket, cool fabric.



Cool dish towel.



















Wire basket.

Found this cool wire mesh basket in a thrift shop.

A little spray paint made it good as new!

 I plan on putting a loaf of home made sweet bread in it.

Maybe put a cloth napkin first, then the bread, then tie with a ribbon or two?

Boutique order.

Mini soaps.

Half size bars that are encased in a cello bag.

I market these as stocking stuffers at Christmas.

In the spring they become camping/travel bars.

If you have any thoughts for handmade gift items

please share. I need more ideas!

Till next time,

Bonjour

Pattypan Squash Bread

Well...

Things have cooled off a bit here, and last night we finally got some rain.

Everything still looks fried but one can hope!

I've been wanting to bake,

anything,

cookies, bread, enchiladas, whatever!


Squash bread and jalapeno cornbread

Brendie over at Bregle Estate has been tempting me

with her baked Maori bread,

which sounds super yummy, and I'm dying to give it a try.

I've only turned my oven on once or twice since about June,

and I'm thinking, it's about time.

I can't do the Maori bread just yet (needs to ferment) but I can do a some quick breads.
I made a squash bread for our breakfast's during the week and
a jalapeno cornbread to go with our ham and beans.

So here goes.

Squash Bread

Ingredients:
Dry
2 cups flour/divided use
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon.
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground ginger or ground cloves

 Wet
1 cup canned pumpkin*
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening

Goodies
1/2 cup chopped walnuts*
1/2 cup raisins*

Directions:
 Preheat oven to 350° In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and spices.

Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and shortening.
Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till blended, then on high speed for 2 minutes.
Add remaining 1 cup flour and beat well.
Stir in nuts and raisins with a spatula.

Pour batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
(Only grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides,
lets the bread rise straight up, not out and over the edges, trust me).
Bake @ 350°  for about 1 hour.
Cool (in loaf pan) on wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool thoroughly.
Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

*I didn't have canned pumpkin, but I did have cooked, frozen patty pan squash that I thawed, drained, then pureed in the food processor. You can use any cooked squash or sweet potato.
*You can use any chopped nuts.
*I used 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup currants.
I have also done this recipe with dried, chopped apricots.

Squash bread

While I was in the freezer I spotted mixed, cooked greens.

I'm thinking,

pureed greens to replace the squash

dried rosemary, thyme, lemon balm or basil to replace the spices

diced, drained, canned pineapple or dried, diced apricots to replace the fruit

and diced ham or chicken to replace the nuts.

What do you think, Yucky or yummy?

Till next time, eat your veggies,
Bonjour

Soap, Ear Infection And Tornadoes

So....

Running out of soap.
The last two shows have been great,
but,
the soap supply is running short.
Odd.
We have been doing the soap scene for about seven years now
and the most popular scents have always been the floral.
Now?
Mostly the earthy, spicy scents with the fruity not far behind.
I was caught off guard, so now I'm scrambling to catch up.
What used to be a predominately female demographic (floral)
is now evolving into a unique mix of both the sexes.

Gotta love it.

Anyway....
I won't trouble you too much with my recurring ear infection..
BUT...
I've about had enough.
You would think,
one GP, one ENT and one emergency room visit (ruptured eardrum)
should have fixed this five or so year problem.
NOT...

I'm not kidding!
I have been told I have allergies.
I had about given up.
As a last resort I went to the local clinic and guess what?
I have a fungal infection.
Diagnosed by a PA!

The GP, the ENT and the emergency room blew me off.
I could have had a seizure, lost my hearing, even died....

This PA was appalled, O.M.G. she said.
Needless to say I'm pretty drugged up, and hopefully, on the road to recovery
without too much damage done to my hearing.

OK,

THE TORNADOES!
GEEZ...

Being that I couldn't sleep Monday night due to the storms
I took a vacation day on Tuesday.
I'm laying in the lounger on the deck reading, napping,
when I was awakened by the sound of dog nails clicking on the wooden deck around me.

Lady was circling me, trying to wake me up.
Seems there was a possible tornado about five miles away.
(We call Lady the weather dog because she knows when there's bad weather approaching).
 OK Lady, I'm awake now, what's up?
 I spent a few hours in the closet with her and Red.
The storms moved off to the east towards my mother-in- law's house in Canton, 
passing her but hitting Edam and Ben Wheeler.

Today Sunday, AM started out cloudy with signs of rain that never materialized.
I went out to pick wild blackberries and discovered several more berry patches on the property.
WooHoo, I do love free food.
Later the temps turned cold so we spent the day making soap, canning meat, berries,
 and also doing a little baking.
Also made some ham beans and cornbread.
YUM!

Believe it or not I had to get the winter quilt out of the blanket chest
cause it's cold in this house tonight!

Disclaimer
Any awry statements, typos or incorrect sentences will be blamed on the blog and not the drugs!!!

OK, there's the rain, darn. I have laundry on the line!
OH well....
Till next time.
Bonjour

P.S. For some reason the "blog" decided to bold almost everything, align things incorrectly and not

print most of my text! I swear, it's not the drugs!!! I give up. I'm going to bed!

Rosemary and Parmesan Madeleines



ROSEMARY AND PARMESIAN MADELEINES

 

Don't Panic....

I got the butter scraped up and
the oven is as good as new!

Another vacation day, can't get out, icy and freezing in north Texas.
Some baking is in order.

I saw this picture on Lorrie's blog a few weeks ago and thought
this sounds good, maybe I'll give it a try.
She didn't list a recipe so today
 I googled and found one at Williams - Sonoma along with the picture.
I don't have a madeleine pan but
I do have corn stick pans, just as good I'm thinking.

So....I'm going over the list of ingredients,
have everything except the cake flour.
What's the difference between cake flour and all purpose flour I ask myself?
Another trip to the computer.
Seems cake flour has less protein (8% or less)  and is made from the softer endosperm of the wheat.
 All purpose (10% protein) is a mix of hard and soft wheat. Bla, bla, bla.
Humm...
Is there a substitute?
More googling!
Why yes, there is.
For 1 cup of cake flour you can substitute
7/8 cup all purpose flour with 1/8 cup cornstarch.
Ok then.
Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup cake flour

3 tsp. finely minced fresh rosemary

(I am not going outside to clip rosemary, dry, smooshed is good enough.)

1 tsp. fleur de sel (very expensive salt, normal sea salt will have to do!)

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (I used lemon pepper instead.)

4 eggs

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

2 Tbs. sugar

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°

Brush two madeleine corn stick pans with 2 Tbs. of the butter, set aside.

Sift the cake flour into a bowl and gently stir in the rosemary, salt and pepper, set aside.

In your mixing bowl wisk the eggs until fluffy. Add the cream of tartar and sugar. Wisk some more.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and cheese, then fold in the remaining butter.

Spoon the batter into the buttered molds so the batter is even with the rims.

(Keep in mind, I'm using corn stick pans so there was no spooning, I had to scrape it off the spatula then spread it with a  table knife. Very thick batter!)

Bake for about 12 minutes. Immediately remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

Sounds easy enough, right?

WRONG!!!!

BUBBLING, BUTTERY MESS!!!

I'm sitting on the kitchen stool waiting, I hear sizzling, I see a flash in the oven.

What the hell heck?

Open door of oven, butter is dripping everywhere, trying to ignite the element, crap darn.

Smoke alarm goes off!!!

Quickly get the cookie sheets out and put the stick pans on top of those.

Back into the oven they go. (gotta keep that smoke contained)

Smoke alarm stops.

After about 15 minutes total I guessed they were done,

it was hard to tell with all that butter floating on top!

There was no quickly transferring to a wire rack happening,

more like wait a few till all that butter stopped bubbling.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for the oven to cool so I could scrape up the butter.

They taste ok, a little heavy, and suprisingly, buttery.

Probably would have been better if I'd used cake flour.

After more googling I found that cake flour is better able to absorb fats,

maybe I should have paid attention to the bla,bla,bla?

Steve faired better with his Confetti Corn Bread.

CORNBREAD WITH GRATED CARROTS, CHOPPED ONION AND JALAPENOS

I will try this recipe again, only next time, WITH cake flour.
Hope your day is going better than mine.

Till next time,
Bonjour