A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Review: Peeled Snacks Dehydrated Fruit

 

 www.peeledsnacks.com

 

 I was asked to review a new dehydrated fruit snack called "Peeled Snacks" so at our last Knitting Party I set out two bowls of fruit.  "A", the Peeled Snacks and "B" from a bag of Sun-Maid dried fruit I usually keep on hand,  I marked neither with brand names let people snack on them throughout the evening, along with our normal appetizers and beverages. I only asked that at some point they try fruit from both bowls.

As the party broke up, I asked each of the eight people (plus Gene and myself) what they thought of each.

"Warm Hats for Wee Noggins" by Glenna Anderson Muse

 

I'm thrilled to announce--"My book is here!" Wow, that is a unique and peculiar feeling to hold a published work in your hand and see your name in print. It's both gut-tingling and humbling at the same time. 

 I only wish my Mom and Nannie had been with me to see it.  I think they both would have enjoyed seeing it and being a part of this whole project. But not to dwell on loss, thank you to EVERYONE who is a part of this project directly or by encouraging me in the mania of the last four years of baby-hat-designing!

The book should be available after September 1, 2011 anywhere Leisure Arts craft books are sold (Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Jo-Ann Fabrics, etc). If it is not in stock, please ask at their service desk for it by name/my name/publisher and I'm sure they can easily bring it into stock.

It is also available now at the Leisure Arts website and should be available eventually at Amazon.

http://www.leisurearts.com/warm-hats-for-wee-noggins.html

The publisher's description:

Keeping babies warm is so important to their health! That's why Glenna Anderson Muse designed these knit hats for babies in the hospital where she works as a respiratory therapist. So that every baby can have a cozy cap, the sweet patterns are written for three sizes of preemies and three sizes of term babies (newborn, 3-6 months, and 12 months). Each of the 19 designs uses medium weight yarn and is based on one of four basic hat styles: Basic Paper Bag Hat, Basic Jester, Basic Beanie, and Basic Cone. Seasonal looks include bunny ears, springy curls, patriotic stripes, and Halloween and Christmas characters, but the hats look just as adorable without a holiday theme. Each design is an opportunity to make gifts of love for the babies who need them!

Happy August NightShift Birthdays!

 

Happy Birthday to Mike, other Mike, Mel, and John!

Since it would be girlie to ask (old) men what their favorite flower is I asked the Mikes what their favorite Flora species is and they both said "Mushrooms".  Mel said "Daisies".

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

The cake is triple fudge with caramel buttercream filling, frosted with fudge frosting underneath the chocolate fondant.  The shrooms are fondant and the rest of the decorations are royal icing.

It's Not That Complicated: Julia Child's Croques Monsieur/Croques Madame

 

While watching the movie "It's Complicated" on cable recently I found myself salivating at Meryl Streep's character's chocolate croissants, roasted chicken dinner, and something I'd never heard of before: Croques Monsieur.  In the movie she serves it to Steve Martin's character on a business-ish date while "hilarity ensues" from Alec Baldwin's character as he window peeps on them.  The dish, that they ate with knife and fork, appeared to have been baked and looked creamy and cheesy melty.  She makes reference to having learned to make this dish while in France studying pastry and the reference is repeated by Alec's character talking about how much he misses this dish and how special it was to him.

I thought to myself "Self, you need to investigate, create, and blog this wonderful cheesy thing they're spreading Dijon mustard on and eating with a knife and fork."  As myself often listens to me, I did, and I found that, like my polenta adventure, I was pretty familiar with the dish and remembered how much I liked it:  Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwich.  That's the basic form and I've included that stripped down bare bones version as Julia Child made it.  There are gussied up versions that include baking in the oven rather than grilling in a pan, and added vegetables, eggs, and sauces, but the basic idea of the Croque Monsieur, or "Crispy Mister" is a Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich that was originally served in France in casual bistros around 1910 and has survived ever since. Why? Because it's yummy!  The key difference between a Croque and it's American cousin would be quality of ingredients.  It eschews Wonder Bread for a nice homemade loaf, Kraft American Slices for gruyere or Havarti or Swiss, and a nice ham slice. 

Crispy, hot, and cheesy, it's yummy comfort food with an exotic name.

Mexican Villa Fake-out: Home-made Burrito Enchilada-Style

 

Let's start with a HUGE Thank You to Jamie D who read my original post about our hometown Mexican Villa and sent me a taste-alike recipe from the 'net for The Villa's enchilada sauce. Like Springfield-style Cashew Chicken, The Villa is a Springfield original, it's ours, and we're wild about it!

Using Jamie's sauce I created our own Burritos Enchilada-Style last night and we loved them. In a private email Jamie had said "When the chili seasoning hits the sauce your nose will know it's The Villa."  Yup, sooooooooo true!  Not that we won't be ordering from the restaurant itself anymore but it is a nice home-style meal as well that I got a huge kick out of creating. It will be fun to make it for friends or family sometime and see if I can fake them out.

Mediterranean Pork Soup

 

I had these leftovers from the Med Pork and Orzo Pilaf:  2 cups Orzo plus about 4 oz of the pork loin left. What to do? 

 

Simple.  I diced up the pork, and added it, along with the orzo pilaf, into 2 qt saucepan  along with a 15.50 oz can of chicken stock, 1/4 cup half & half, and simmered for 20 minutes blend flavors. Then I tasted and added a bit more salt and pepper--an easy soup for two from leftovers.  I left half home for Gene's dinner and took the other half to work for my dinner.

(Just FYI, the soup was much soupier than the first photo shows.  In that I used a slotted spoon to drain off most of the broth so you could actually see what was in it. Then I garnished with a little shredded colby/jack cheese.)