Weekend Cooking

I have a bit of an obsessive personality.  It comes out in strange ways, at strange time, with strange things.  Never has it come out in  dieting and exercising (sigh), but in things like collecting cookbooks (or skeleton keys or clocks).

See this picture?  That's the top of my kitchen book shelf.  There are 6 shelves on it and they are all full.  Most of my cookbooks are stored here, but not all of my cookbooks are.  

I love having all my cookbooks at my finger tips.
I want my friends to think ---WOW!  
But most of them think  WTH?
I want them to think--that is so cool, she has a lovely collection of cookbooks.
But most of them think--no sane person needs that many cookbooks.


We have had two of our grandchildren for a week, (I took the train with them last weekend) and today we drove  3 hours to meet their dad, who also drove over  3 hours for the trade-off.  
On the drive, I took some cookbooks with me and started to bookmark things I wanted to make.

BECAUSE, I tend to buy a cookbook, read it and put it on the shelf never to be looked at again.  Well, I look at them all the time, because I love them, but I don't always use them like I should.    I am thinking the colorful little page makers will call out to me each week as I'm making my menu.

I had 6 hours in a car and it just seemed like a good idea at the time.  I plan on going thru every cookbook and marking things I want to make.  (see?  a bit obsessive,  as I have over 200 cookbooks)
Rich  (the Handyman) says I will die before I get them all made, OR before I read all the books I want to read-- but I am hopeful  And what is life without hope?

That's what I did today.  I lead an exciting life.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs.

She says random thoughts.  See?  Right there above.  Random thoughts.  
That's what this is:  a Weekend Cooking random thought.

I am linking up to Weekend Cooking at  Beth Fish Reads.

Oh...and PS:  I found Ginger Beer here in our little town.  I've been looking for Ginger Beer for a few months now.  

I want to try a "Dark and Stormy"  (dark rum, ginger beer and lime)

just because I can.

Spicy Beet, Leek & Walnut Salad-- I Heart Cooking Clubs

Here I am--participating in "I Heart Cooking Clubs" once again.  It's been over a year, but I really wanted to  try it again, but...  (and this is the nice thing about I Hearts Cooking Clubs---no pressure at all. Thank you, thank you IHCC)    I will probably only be participating every other week.  I can't keep up with the mega food bloggers.  I wish I could, but I just can't.

So, here we are, week one and it is anything goes to welcome the new chef:  Yotam Ottolenghi.  (only new to me and to IHCC).  (Check out IHCC to learn more about him--it should be an interesting 6 months.  I bought one of his cookbooks --Jerusalem-- and it is gorgeous!  Lots of veggies and healthier meals.  I hope the Handyman can handle this.  He's pretty much  a meat and potatoes kinda guy)

My 'anything' goes is a beet salad.   I wasn't as organized as I had wanted to be so I was at the market at  7am this morning, trying to find  what I needed.  We both like beets, so I figured this was quick and easy.  To be honest, I didn't think we would like this.  I was just doing it because I really wanted to participate in IHCC from the beginning. 

But guess what?  I really did like it.  We both did.  It's just a slightly spicy dressed cold beet on arugula with some leeks and walnuts and pomegranate   seeds.   (there really were a lot of walnuts in there, hiding, I suppose, under the beats)

I followed the recipe except for a couple of things in the dressing...it called for walnut oil, but I didn't want to spend  $8.99 for   1/2 tsp walnut oil.  I just used a little extra peanut oil.
And  tamarind water.  I had to  Google it to see what it was, and then Google how to make a substitute for it.  It said to use lemon or lime juice with a couple of pinches of brown sugar.  So, that's what I did. 
I think it turned out great.

Spicy Beet, Leek and Walnut Salad

Ingredients

• 4 medium beets
• 4 medium leeks, cut into 4-inch segments
• 1/2 oz cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups arugula
• 1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely copped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon tamarind water
• 1/2 teaspoon walnut oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoon walnut oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cooking directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil and roast them in the oven to 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on their size. Once cooked, you should be able to stick a small knife through to the center easily. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel the beets, halve them and cut each half into wedges 3/8 inch thick at the base. Put in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Place the leeks in a medium pan with salted water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes, until just cooked; it's important to simmer them gently and not to overcook them, so they don't fall apart. Drain and refresh under cold water, then use a very sharp serrated knife to cut each segment into 3 smaller pieces and pat dry. Transfer to a bowl, separate from the beets, and set aside.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, mix together all the dressing ingredients (starting with walnuts through salt) and leave to one side for at least 10 minutes for all the flavors to come together.
5. Divide the walnut dressing and the cilantro equally between the beets and the leeks and toss gently. Taste both and add more salt if needed. To put the salad together, spread most of the beets on a serving platter, top with some arugula, then most of the leeks, then the remaining beets, and finish with more leeks and arugula. Sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds, if using, and serve.

Saturday Snatpshot

Just a little desert walk

3 facts:

(right around the corner--about a mile-- from my neighborhood)

(all  photos taken on the same walk)

(the desert is amazing)

I am linking up with Alyce from  At Home With Books and her Saturday Snapshot meme.

 Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken.  Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see.

A couple of books and a long train ride

Last Friday, I took the train from home to the Bay Area of California...a  10 hour train ride.  It was fun, relaxing (I could read, sleep, eat and then start all over again), and oh so beautiful going over the  Sierra Nevadas. It's scary how much snow there 'isn't' this year tho.  The west  is going thru a drought.  Water is going to be scarce this summer.

I stayed in the Bay Area for a couple of days and enjoyed Easter with my son and his family and then on Monday I boarded the train once again for my 10-hour trip home--with two 3-year olds, twins. My grandchildren.
It was just as fun an experience on the trip back---but different than the trip over. We played with play-dough, colored in coloring books, watched a movie, ate and slept.

Eli had gotten a toy digital camera in his Easter basket--he took pictures of the whole train trip.  Including passengers.  He loves it, and he loved the train ride.

They both did---for the first two hours (of a ten hour trip), they were glued to the window.  It's really a great way to travel if you are taking kids.

Over the weekend and train ride, I did get to finish 2 books that I had started.

Mudbound, by Hilary Jordan is the book I have chosen for World Book Night.

All I can say is: WOW.  I loved this book.  Although loved is a strange word to use as a description for a book that takes place in 1946 on a Mississippi Delta farm--a book that's all about the Jim Crow South, so let me just say that the story really touched my heart.  It was disturbing in many ways, but Jordan made her characters come alive, and they helped tell a riveting, unforgetable story.

So glad I chose this to give out on April 23rd/World Book Night.  I can't wait to share it.





Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage. 
I listened to this one on my iPod.

It was told in 4 different voices, one for each of the marriage partners, which I thought a good way to do the audio, since  hearing a different voice  with each chapter when different thoughts, ideas and opinions were stated, made it a bit easier for me to identify with the authors.
That is IF I could identify with their lifestyle, which I really can't,  never having lived it.  But I did feel some sense of compassion for their struggles and prejudices for living this alternative lifestyle.

 
Goodreads says this:
From a family that inspired 'Big Love's' story of Bill Henrickson and his three wives, this first-ever memoir of a polygamous family captures the extraordinary workings of a unique family dynamic, and argues for the acceptance of plural marriage as an alternative lifestyle.


I am giving it 3 stars, because I liked it very much.  Polygamy has always intrigued me (I hesitate to use that word, because my friend Kathy at Bermudaonion used it when we were talking about this book and I don't want her to think I'm being a copy cat.  But seriously, she recommended it to me because it was just that--intriguing.)  And--- if we are talking about an alternative lifestyle between consenting adults, I can 'kind of'  get that---but I cannot get (even a tad bit)  the Warren Jeffs kind of  polygamist commune fundamentalism.
This story is not that.  This story is something completely different and sheds a whole new light on polygamy, and what it is and what it isn't.

Sometimes, it did seem as if the wives talked more about what made their marriage hard, rather than what made it good, but I think they were trying to answer questions that many main stream Americans have--don't you get jealous, isn't it hard to find time alone with your spouse,  what about the children, etc.

What we forget is that their marriages are based on a spiritual principle, and that is what they are striving for,  not some crazy sex-filled foursome or whatever--it's not about that.   And if I have respect for other's beliefs then I have to have an open mind for  main-stream polygamy.  Right?  I didn't say I agreed with it, just that my mind is open...to reading the book.   And I liked it.
It was very interesting. 

That's what I have been up to.

Brunch Puffs

Easter is coming up fast, and if you do a big Easter breakfast or brunch at your house, these eggs are  the  perfect thing!

It's  not so much that these scrambled eggs inside a cream puff are any more tasty than your own scrambled eggs, but presented inside a cream puff just makes them a little bit more special.  And together, everything tastes great. 
I even want to have company for breakfast!  And that's saying something, because I like my 'alone time' in the morning, but these are worth showing off.

I found this recipe in  The "Taste of Home"  Spring's Best magazine--found at a friendly grocery store near you--and bookmarked a bunch of recipes to try.  This was the first one, so we're off to a good start.

As I said, you can very well use your own scrambled egg recipe if you want to, but add some cheese or something.  Ham, bacon, sausage?
You could really use whatever you want.

Here's what they suggest:

Brunch Puffs
Judy Gochenour, Logan UT via Taste of Home

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

In a large saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a boil.  Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms.  Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.  Beat until mixture is smooth and shiny.
I 'beat' by hand---doesn't everyone when making cream puffs?

Drop by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack.   Split puffs open and discard the tops.   Set aside.

1/2 cup green pepper (or red, or both) chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used purple)
1 T. butter
8 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped fully cooked ham
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, saute peppers and onion in butter until tender.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs, salt and pepper.  Add to skillet, stirring over medium heat until almost done.  Add ham and cheese, stir until eggs are set.
Spoon into puffs.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy your Easter!

Saturday Snapshot

BEST BOOK CLUB EVER!  It happened last night.  I think I say that every time my "Lit Wit's" get together.  But it always seems to be that way.

Last night, we had a interesting evening--we didn't discuss the book. (sigh)

Our book was/is  "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver---it's just that no one finished it (except me), so we decided to discuss 2 books next month.

Once that decision was made we ate supper (it's a dinner/book club) and opened some wine, had an after dinner cocktail, talked about what other books we were  all reading,  opened another bottle of wine, talked about what books we are excited about or have heard about, had another cocktail.

It got later and later and we were having the best time.

Then for some reason my friends....my best friends...were teasing me!  I guess when I was telling them about the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix--I used body language and made like a saguaro cactus.

Here  are some of them----making like me doing a saguaro cactus.   

It couldn't have had anything to do with the wine, could it?

(I love these people!)  (even if they were giving me a bad time)

PS  It really was the Best Book club night ever!!

I am linking to Saturday Snapshot, a meme hosted by Alyce from At Home With Books.

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Booking Thru Thursday

Today's Booking Thru Thursday question is:
Happy Spring Equinox, everyone! What book are YOU choosing to celebrate with?

I will be celebrating by finishing up "Mudbound" and starting  "The Lacuna" for book club  next Wednesday.  Although I did find out that the Spring Equinox is also  World Storytelling Day, so that's kind of exciting news. 

I don't know if Oral Storytelling is the same as Reading Aloud, but I  love to read aloud to people.  My grandchildren mostly.  They appreciate me--their grandfather does not so much.  Years ago--28 or 30, I took a community college course on Reading Aloud, and I practiced on the Handyman.  I would read aloud in the car when we were traveling (we traveled far and wide--Nevada is big state ~grins~), this was before Books on Tape were wildly popular. Anyway, one time he laughed at me.  Because I was trying out different voices for the different characters.  It was what we were supposed to do!  He just didn't get it.

I listen to  'oral' stories or books almost every day when I walk.  I have books downloaded onto my iPod.  I love it.  I have no music on my Ipod.  I listen to books on my Ipod when I have to drive anywhere also (which is really weird, because I love music, but that's a story for another time)---it syncs to my car radio.

So...
Spring Equinox
World storytelling Day
Reading Aloud
Listening to oral reading aloud while walking
segues into:

my vent about walking shoes!  Right? 
I have always been walker.  (not to be confused with AMC's the Walking Dead) Sometimes a better walker, loyal to a program and to exercise, sometimes not so much.  But I just signed up for  Wendy Bumgardner's  Aboutwalking.com,  70 days to a better me, walking program.
I've been very dedicated this past week.  It really feels great to be out there  walking again.  Mentally and Emotionally great, not to mention physically.

I had to laugh at this article (from Wendy Bumgardner) this morning on walking shoes.
These are the kinds:
Motion Control Shoes (MC)
Lightweight Performance Training Shoes for Neutral Feet

Stability Shoes
Cushioned Shoes

Racing Flats

Race Walker Shoes

Lightweight Hiking and Trail Shoes



There are a few more types, but they really get  into heavier hiking types. So, I thought I would  buy myself some new shoes, and I was thinking I might need the Cushioned Shoes, because I have bad arches, flat feet and the word chusioned?  Just sounds so comfortable. Well, when I read the descriptions this is what best fits me: (the motion control shoes) Motion control shoes are the most rigid shoes. They are designed to be inflexible because they are meant to limit overpronation. They are generally heavy, but durable. Many are built upon a straight last, and may have a dual density midsole, with the denser material on the inside of the foot to help correct for pronation. Primarily, motion control shoes are for over-pronators and heavier people. Often people with flat feet do well in these shoes. The problem with most motion control shoes is that they tend to have a thick heel which makes walking in them the same as walking uphill with every step.   TWO THINGS! often people who are heavier do well in these shoes?!!!  And people with flat feet. I admitted the flat feet!! Can't I have some dignity here? Do I have to admit that I need to lose a (more than) few pounds. (sigh) How dare they!   This is my show... a motion control shoe.  (and it looks exactly like the shoe I wore this morning)  

Happy Spring Equinox!
Happy Reading aloud or listening Aloud!
and Happy Walking!