My Little Hen

Hot off the press

My friend Blake made this for her son Grayson this morning and sent it to everyone. Isn't it the best? Last night I made a nice rich chocolate sauce from Cooking Fun for G to have with her chocolate milk. Make a big old jar for your loved ones. Drizzle on ice cream, make a glass of chocolate milk after school, eat a spoonful whenever. Delight in the little joys of the holiday...you don't have to make heart cards to show your love.

Follow this link to my recipe. It's part of a Paula Deen's Real Women of Philadelphia blog spot (no chocolate milk for Paula) web interview...

Busy workday meal

I've been away so much doing other work, writing new books, keeping myself and my family moving ahead in life. I miss my blog but I have to confess I am one of the 99%. I work for a living. Now that my family is growing up a little more and I'm past the intensive childcare mode, we are breezing into teenage life and all the glories and angst that accompanies that era in a family.

I am often bone tired when I get home and can't always muster up the energy to cook a good meal. Being a believer in homemade, I don't like to buy frozen food that often. This morning, having a little extra time and all ingredients on hand, I made a standby Shepherds Pie recipe with a twist. I didn't have enough baking potatoes so I added the last lonely yam to the mix and got a delicious result. The color is also pretty. As I prepared this dish I started thinking about my grandmother, a farm girl, and her waste not want not attitude. In honor of farm women who worked so much harder than I ever will I plowed the potatoes with the fork and made tractor paths with the mashed potatoes.Creativity is a funny thing. It pops up in the most unexpected places.

Hooray, a home cooked meal will be ready for this evening.

Egg and Butter

Whenever I bake, it always begins by going to the fridge and seeing if I have these two essential ingredients, eggs and butter. With these two simple ingredients anything is possible in the kitchen. At it's simpliest a fried egg sandwich and at a more indulgent level, a sweet dessert. I don't have time to plan to bake, it just happens spontaneously.

When I pick up farm fresh eggs from Christine I spin at the possibilities.The past few weeks of record breaking heat (115 dgerees heat index!)  prevented Christine's lady hens from laying. The heat has prevented me from baking or really cooking much of anything hot for several weeks. I'm getting ansty.

The good news is we are eating simple, fresh cold meals. I've been exploring little shops with jewels of food offerings to make cold meals interesting. Fresh goat cheese, garden lettuce and tomatoes, breads from the bakery, fresh (really fresh and fantastic) sopressato from Tuscany, amazing Prosciutto rolls that are salty and buttery at the same time come from a little Tuscan shop in our neighborhood along with Mascarpone cookies rolled in pine nuts. There are advantages, small simple and lovely advantages, to heat waves and mid summer dog days. Hope you too are exploring fun simple things this summer.

 

This is how I feel some days

I'm over on Simple Kids today writing about Mother's Day reminders.

This is how my life feels some days.

This is how I wish I felt more often.

Click here for  mother's day coffee cake (which you have to try). It won't disappoint!

me! an interview on Paula Deen.com blog

It's always exciting to have someone write and ask about my books. But it was especially exciting to have Erinn Eichinger of Paula Deen.com and Kraft's Live Richly ask me if I would answer a few questions about myself and my philosophy about crafting and cooking with kids.

You can read the interview here and also check out this great foodie family website for your own interests. If you have a cream cheese recipe you could even win $25,000. 

BTW- Have you ever made my chocolate syrup for chocolate milk? It's the best. I offered it for the interview but here it is on my blog for your kids' kitchen pleasures.

I love homemade chocolate milk! Anybody else?

Good Fats

I use butter and olive oil almost exclusively in my cooking and baking. I also use butter (rather than margarine) for the baking recipes in Cooking Fun. When I read this article on Simple Bites, I was happily surprised to find I am not alone in my practice of cooking with good fats, including butter. 

The article and the comments offer an educational conversation about fats, diet and healthy bodies.

Turkey Noodle Casserole

Occasionally, I crave comfort food. Since we are on the cusp of spring and at the edge of winter around here, I felt the urge to make my family (and myself too) a big comforting hot casserole.

A native Ohioan, granddaughter to early Pennsylvanian German and English settlers and farming types, the influence of American cooking is always right beneath the surface. Yep, it never leaves. One memorable American casserole is the infamous Tuna Noodle Casserole which blesses many a table throughout the states. My mother made this dish and I alway see it at picnics and potlucks. 

The dish I made last night is a natural adaptation of its relative Tuna Noodle Casserole. I prefer freshly roasted turkey breast and a homemade white sauce to the traditional canned tuna and soup. My recipe could go either way depending on your preference for canned tuna. I also skipped the bread crumbs on top but I'm sure they would be good too. Worcestershire sauce, fresh nutmeg, and the red and yellow peppers flavor the white sauce nicely and gives it dimension.

All in all, it was blog worthy. I'm only sorry I don't have a good photo of the dish. I'm not food blog worthy yet until I can shoot food in natural light. My kitchen does not have good light. 

Turkey Noodle Casserole (My Little Hen's)

1. Roast a large turkey breast, and cut 2 cups of warm or cooled turkey into cubes. Set aside. Leftovers can be used for turkey sandwiches.

2. In a separate medium pan add 1/2 pound of wide dry egg noodles. Boil until done (not too soft), drain and set aside.

3. Finely chop 1 large organic sweet onion,1 small red and 1 small yellow pepper. Set aside.

4. In a medium pan, add 5 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Warm oil and add chopped vegetables. Saute on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until soft.

5. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of flour to the butter and vegetables and mix well. When the mixture is bubbling add 3 cups milk to flour mixture and stir until thickened.

6. Add 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce to the mixture and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, mix well.

7. Add 1 cup shredded parmesan, 1 cup shredded cheddar, and 1 heaping tablespoon of cream cheese to the sauce and stir until the cheeses have melted and are well blended. Salt and pepper to taste.

8. Add chopped turkey and stir. Pour mixture in a lightly greased casserole and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or serve warm from the stove top.

Serve as a side:

Sauteed baby spinach:

1 lb bag of baby spinach. Wash and spin or pat dry.

2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and sautee the garlic for about 1 minute, then add spinach leaves and cook until wilted. Stir occasionally.

Serve warm with Turkey Roasted Casserole.

I know it seems a little corny to ask but I am wondering if you have a favorite casserole?

chili

When its cold outside I like to make a big pot of bubbling red chili. Making chili is a good excuse to have a casual dinner or a late afternoon impromptu party with friends and family. Everyone seems to welcome the informality. I serve my chili sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese. It's also fun to bake a batch of fresh corn muffins, and serve sliced pears with a side of salad. It's a "fill the belly" kind of meal. It feels like a celebration of winter whenever I make this dish. 

We use this chili mixture but any chili powder will do. I also add an extra pinch of cumin to the mixture.

Lovely color, fun to generously sprinkle over the ingredients. 

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoon canola oil on a medium heat.  Add to the warm oil 1 large onion, finely chopped, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves,  2 stalks of chopped celery, 1 chopped green pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring well with a wooden spoon.

Add 2 lbs of ground beef or turkey, 2 cups cooked black beans to the mixture. Sprinkle the meat and vegetable mixture with 2 to 3 tablespoons of chili powder,1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Add an entire 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes and 4 to 5 cups of water. (I used broth from the black bean water but if you are using canned beans add water.)

Stir the mixture well and simmer on low heat for 2 to 3 hours until sauce is the desired thickness.

 I don't cook the chili until all the liquid is cooked off. I like it saucy. You have to watch the chili and decide which way to go after two hours on a low simmer.

Twenty minutes before serving add 1 to 2 cups of frozen or canned corn to the chili. Stir well. Serve hot in deep bowls or mugs. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on the top.

This recipe makes about 8 servings.

New Year's Card

I really have been indulging in January. Not too much blogging, not too much socializing, a little ice skating, some local skiing, cooking, cleaning, organizing, planning. I'm busy in a not particularly stressful way. I think this all due to January. The quiet month. I did make the above New Year's card using a photo I took during a walk in the snow after the big  blizzard a few weeks ago.

We keep getting mail about summer reservations, camping trips, plans to travel but I've ignored them all! 

It's still January. The new year. Sigh. I feel the creative juices flowing, new plans, new books, new classes to teach and to take.

I just can't quite get the camera moving. I was making and photographing my favorite comfort food, Potato Pancake (Cooking Fun), when the battery ran out of juice. "Oh, that's a sign to not blog for a little while longer" I thought.

But as you can see, I can't stay away. I'm hooked here...but it is a new year. New things to do... you too?

The Potato Pancake was beautiful and delicious (I'm happy to report). Here's what it started as (before the camera juice ran out- it was so promising a photo shoot) and it ended crisp, brown, and golden, sprinkled lightly with sharp shredded cheddar cheese. A January delight.

New Year, new family foods

On New Year's morning I was up with the sun. I seem to need less sleep the older I get so a good cup of coffee and a pretty sunrise suits me just fine. Morning is often one of the few times of day I can really sit alone and plan my day, dream about ideas, and wonder. Winter days are quite nice in that regard. I feel like I'm hibernating just a bit.

Since it has been snowy and cold, I've been experimenting with new foods, vegetable based stews, and one pot meals in particular. I have my standbys but I want to get more fiber and vegetables into the family diet without hearing a groan or hesitation from the recipients of my good cooking...

I made this new dish for dinner last night. It was delicious. It was healthy. It was consumed by all.  Adapted from an old copy of Everyday Foods (2007), it was a nice change of pace. The fun discovery with this recipe was dredging the chicken with flour and then watching the stew broth turn into a wonderful ginger and cinnamon flavored gravy.

Adaptations:

I used water instead of chicken broth, kept the stick of fresh ginger in the stew for a full blast of ginger flavoring, added a generous pinch of fresh cinnamon (instead of a stick). I also tried whole wheat coucous and loved the nutty flavor.

An all around crowd pleaser, at least at my family table.