Canning 101

I've been asked a few times about canning - tools, processes, recipes, etc. I am in no way equipped to teach canning quite yet as I've done it a grand total of ONCE. =) But I'd love to guide you to a great resource. One of my favorite blogs is The Pioneer Woman. She breaks her blog into several sections, one of which is a cooking blog. I was elated when she decided to do a Canning 101 lesson. If you're interested, check it out!

Loaded Veggie Personal Pizza, Toddler-Style

Hannah loves pizza, and I make it often for dinner. But I found this cute idea for a quick lunch that I couldn't pass up. Thought I'd share as a way to load up the veggies for your little one.

Toddler-Style Veggie Pizza

1/2 English muffin (I buy the whole wheat, flax, and extra fiber ones, and they're awesome)

marinara sauce

veggies

cheese

On the pizza pictured above, I mashed a handful of black beans and spread it on the English muffin. I topped that with a little marinara sauce, shredded carrots, then some baby spinach. Top with a sprinkle of your toddler's favorite cheese. Broil for 5 minutes (or toast in your toaster oven). Really, you could just microwave it as well.

Enjoy!

Many mouths munch mouthwatering manna. Mine? Mere morsels.

Gardening. Ugh. Seems the aphids, bunnies, cardinals, blue jays, ants, roly poly's, etc. are enjoying my labor way more than we are lately. My basil and jalapenos are still flourishing. Everything else? Not so much. The cucumbers are tough and are trying desperately to resist all of the garden pests. But, as soon as one will ripen, someone other than myself helps himself. We've sprayed and sprayed with all sorts of pest control, but to no avail.
Thankfully I've used basil at least thrice weekly since it was planted, I've given tons away, and early on in the summer I picked at least 2 cucumbers daily. We once had green beans nightly, banana peppers every few days, and tons of cilantro too. Not even the pervasive zucchini has escaped unscathed. I haven't had a single one! I'm still trying, but I think it may be time to count my losses. Bummer.

Canned

A couple of Christmases ago I got all of the equipment needed to can homemade jellies, jams, sauces, etc. Unfortunately life has happened since then leaving me little time to learn a new domestic skill of the like. Friday I pulled everything out to make use of a huge container of strawberries left over from all of our recent company. I bought some rhubarb and made strawberry-rhubarb preserves. It was so rewarding that I used the afternoon to whip up some pepper jelly from the jalapenos from my garden and from my parents' garden. They both turned out well, and I will definitely be canning more in the future...just as soon as I can rid the kitchen of all of the stickiness. Canning is a huge mess!

Recipes can be found here and here.

Flower Arrangement Tip

I almost always decorate with fresh flowers for get togethers and events I have at my house. I typically buy them at Sam's Club because they're such a steal. But I was doing some last-minute shopping at Tom Thumb before our family reunion brunch, and their flowers are outrageous compared to Sam's. I found a bunch of already-prepared bouquets that were cheesy but expensive. But their alstromerias (one of my favorite flowers - they last for weeks) and sunflowers were on clearance for $3 per bouquet. I used a tip I saw on Martha Stewart years ago and made my own arrangement that I liked much better than any of the bouquets I saw...and for $6!
Grab a handful of flowers that coordinate well. Make a bouquet in your hand shaping and stuffing as you go and holding the stems firmly in place. When you've used the amount of flowers you're happy with and have them arranged where you like them, slide a clear elastic ponytail holder as high as you can up the stems to hold them in place. Cut the stems to the same length and place in your vase. The bouquet will stay exactly how you arranged it, and you won't be able to see the elastic through the glass. It works every time.

Peppers Aplenty

...unfortunately, after the aphid infestation, they're the only thing that's "aplenty" in the garden these days.

(I have no idea why Blogger won't post this as I've saved it, but I have to settle for sideways.)

Coq (f)au(x) Vin - the recipe that would make Julia Child roll over in her grave

Please, for the love of all things authentic, go here and make the original recipe that I based this off of.
Saturday morning I had the privilege of accompanying my mom, sister, and mother-in-law to the movie theater to see Julie & Julia. If you haven't seen it, GO! It was such a cute and fun movie. And it gave me a hankering to try my hand at something French. Lo and behold, The Pioneer Woman chose that time to post her Coq au Vin recipe. We had family in town for over a week and had a ton of leftover ingredients that mostly resembled the ingredients needed in this recipe. I can imagine that the real thing is mounds better than my pitiful copy, but my copy was so good it is worth posting.
So, if you feel so inspired, here's my easy pantry version:

Alicia's Coq (f)au(x) Vin

4 strips of bacon, chopped

3 chicken breasts, salt both sides

1/2 white onion, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

2 cups red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, cook bacon until the fat is rendered, but before it is crispy, in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon leaving the fat in the skillet. Brown the chicken over medium-high heat in the bacon fat. Cook on each side approximately 3 minutes or until golden brown on each side, but not cooked through. Remove the chicken, and keep warm. To the skillet, add the onion, carrot, and garlic, and cook until translucent (approx. 4 minutes). Remove veggies with a slotted spoon, and drain the remaining fat from the pan. Return the pan to the heat, and add the butter. As soon as it melts, whisk in the flour stirring until golden brown. Slowly pour in the wine whisking constantly. Simmer over medium heat until thickened slightly (approx. 4-5 minutes) stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the brown bits left from the chicken and veggies. Return the chicken to the pan with the sauce, and turn to coat.

Butter or grease a 2-quart baking dish. Spread half of the veggies and bacon in the bottom, top with the chicken, then sprinkle the rest of the veggies and bacon on top. Pour the remaining sauce over the dish. Bake, covered with foil, for 1 hour 15 minutes. Prepare to be overcome. =)

I served mine with buttered, grilled rolls. The Pioneer Woman suggests serving alongside buttered noodles, but we preferred the bread to slop up the extra sauce.

Mary Makeover Update

I just had to pop in to say that I am relaxing on the couch still in lounging-around-the-house clothes. AND I had a big pancake breakfast and delicious coffee. AND we all played for over an hour this morning together.

This is novel because I have company coming this afternoon (my sister from Washington), and I'm not frantically cleaning. I need to mop the floor in the family room, and that's it! This new plan has been awesome. I feel like I barely do any work, and yet the house is spotless. I hope you'll try it if you're looking for a plan. It certainly has made an impact around here.

Semi-homemade Croissants

We always have a stash of refrigerated tubes of croissant dough on hand. But sometimes I get tired of the plain croissants, and I love to beef them up a bit. I just roll out the dough, sprinkle on some toppings, and bake according to the directions. These are asiago cheese, parsley, and garlic.

Other ideas: cinnamon and sugar, pumpkin pie spice, fresh basil with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella, salsa and cilantro, garlic and parmesan, jam, etc. Possibilities are endless.

The salad for which I needed the candied walnuts

Strawberry Feta Salad

1 small head of red lettuce

1 bunch of spinach

1 pint strawberries

1 cup candied walnuts

1/2 red onion, sliced

1/4 lb feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

poppy seed dressing - I use this kind

Basically, just wash all the veggies, throw them in a bowl, and top with everything else. =) One of the things I do when making a salad is to salt and pepper the lettuce before adding the toppings...adds much-needed flavor.

Enjoy!