A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Who Needs Jamie Oliver? The Eureka Springs Arkansas School District has had their own Food Revolution for Years

Chicken noodle soup.  Photo courtesy of Eureka Cool School Cafe
 

Much attention has been brought to school lunch programs lately through the efforts of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  His goals are admirable even if parts of the mini-series are at times too reminiscent of reality TV stunts-for-the-drama for my taste (but I also realize that there are others above Jamie controlling that part of the show's content.) His message is this: 

"I believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals, and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food. Too many people are being affected by what they eat. It's time for a national revolution. America needs to stand up for better food!"  --Jamie Oliver

War Eagle Mill: Faith Brockoff's Farmhouse Bread

Mmmm...breakfast this morning of Egg-in-the-Hole made from the bread brought home from War Eagle Mill's bread class.  Literally, what a tasty reminder of last weekend's fun with Aunti, Ann, Doug, and Faith!

For lots of photos and details of our weekend bread class at War Eagle Mill, click HERE.

Speaking of Faith, she has graciously allowed me to reprint her recipe here on the blog--Thank you so much!

Happy Birthday to Aunti: War Eagle Mill Artisan Bread Class

 

Edit:  War Eagle Mill's head baker, Faith Brockoff, has graciously allowed me to reprint her bread recipe here on the blog.  To view, click HERE. Thank you Faith!

The story of our War Eagle Mill's Artisan Bread class is one of mystery and intrigue.  At least for Aunti Susan it was.  Being on the mill's email newsletter list, a few weeks ago I saw notice of a special artisan bread class being given by their head baker, who turned out to be a lovely woman named Faith. Knowing the class was going to be hands-on and quite small, I shot off an email asking for them to reserve three places and that I would get back to them by the end of the day.  I immediately called Ann and asked "Any chance you have Friday and Saturday, April 23rd & 24th off so we can take Aunt Susan to War Eagle for a bread class?"  Sharp intake of her breath "Yes! I think...let me check...oh I hope so...YES!!!"

And with that, it was pretty much set. We didn't give Susan much of a choice, we just emailed her and told her she was being kidnapped for her birthday on those days and to be sure and pack a casual overnight bag.  Always being up for fun, her response was "Okey dokey."  Being a good little kidnappee, she asked no questions.

Chicken in Phyllo stuffed with Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper, and Mushrooms

For years, this recipe has been my standard go-to "company's a-comin'" dish because it's easy to prepare, easy prepare ahead of time, and finishes in the oven while the rest of dinner is being prepared.  It's also versatile in that the chicken and phyllo may be de rigueur but the filling can be any combination of cheese and vegetables I'm in the mood to use. 

Sydney "Look at My Cake, Aunt Gonnie!"

Sydney sent me work-in-progress pics of the cake she made today by herself via her mother's phone.  I love that she loves to cook. Both of the girls are handy in the kitchen.  Suzanne had to work last Thanksgiving but by the time she got home, Jordan had most of the holiday meal ready and she insisted on cleaning up too. 

They're my girls!

Without further chatter, may I present Sydney's yellow cake with chocolate frosting & sprinkles that she decorated for her family's Sunday dinner.  Great job, Syd, and thanks for letting me blog it!

 

Kitchen Tip: Easy Peasy Butternut Squash Cooking

I love all winter squashes with all their sweet little yellow and orange interiors to scrape out and chow down on. What I do not like is scraping and/or cooking them. The first is a pain in the caboose and the second takes too long for my instant gratification problem.  Sure, cutting them in half, scooping out the insides, oiling or buttering them, and turning them upside down on a cooking sheet and baking for 40 minutes isn't HARD but it's not quick and it's messy.

Behold your microwave.  The squash problem solver. 

This is my new method, as easy as 10 minutes and 1, 2, 3:

Springfield Restaurants: Fire & Ice

We hadn't been to Fire & Ice, located in the Oasis Hotel on North Glenstone in several months, if not a year or more.  In fact, we had not been since Wing Yee Leong left as executive chef. Having heard that Leong's  cashew and sweet/sour chicken and most of the Asian dishes had been removed with Wing Yee's departure, we were curious to see how the new menu had evolved with a little time. 

Of the five folks at our table:  Corbin and Jenn, Jenn's friend (and now ours too) Janie, and Gene and myself, not one of us was disappointed with our meal or the service.  The menu does have less Asian and more traditionally upscale steaks and pastas than before but that's not only okay, it's a lovely diverse menu still.  I would say it's almost MORE upscale and still reasonably priced for the menu;  everything we had was very well prepared and beautifully plated, including the nightly flavored souffle, strawberry on our night.  The service was also just as good as I remember.  Our server (I'm embarrassed to admit I forgot her name) was educated about the restaurant's dishes and options, and extremely attentive.  She and the restaurant manager took care of the one little problem we had early in the evening and did so quickly, with grace and humor, so that our evening got back on track without a hitch.

For photos...click below:

Happy Easter 2010!

Knitting for the NICU: Easter 2010

Love all the different colors and the easter egg ribbons I found.  They're just so fun to make!  And the little Littles look sooooooooooooooo cute in them! 

Spring Break with the Nieces: Home-made Pizza, Wii, & Sleeping Under Nannie's Love

Had the nieces: Jordan, Holli, and Sydney over for a couple of days over spring break which was great fun!  Friday night we made homemade pizza's.  Homemade, as in Sandra Lee homemade--70% store, 30% fresh--and it worked out great. We used white and honey wheat store-bought bread douigh as the base and jarred pizza sauce.  From there, everyone added their own favorite toppings in whatever quantities they wanted:  ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, Italian mixed cheeses, and Colby/Monterrey Jack mix.    The bread dough made a great crust: sturdy crsip bottom with perfect chewiness inside, and as thick or thin as we cared to roll it out.

Jordan and Holli challenged each other to Wii...allllllllllll night looooooooooong.  I think they gave it up about 3am Saturday morning before heading to bed.  Jordan ruled in bowling and tennis, I believe, and Holli ranked in baseball and boxing.  Not too bad considering she was wearing a wrist splint.