Laurae had to make dessert yesterday for the Merry Martha’s gathering at the church and she chose a recipe from deep within her archives. This was a recipe from our neighbor of 35+ years ago, when we lived in
Here’s Karleen Griffin’s recipe for Fruit Cocktail Dessert.
Mix together…1 egg, slightly beaten and 1 #10 can of Fruit Cocktail (use only 1/4 of the juice)
Now mix together the following and then add to the eggs and fruit.
1 cup flour
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Almost last… place the mixture in a 9x13 pan, buttered.
Last, mix together ¾ cup of brown sugar and ½ cup of walnuts. Place this on top of the mixture and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 30-40 minutes. Serve with whipped cream topping.
As I was posting this recipe to the church blog, I decided to create a link to Newbury Park. And once again I was surprised to see what had become of the small community we once called home. Our first ‘home’. Apparently, once a place becomes popular or seems headed that way…we’re outta there!
I made a pretty good dinner last night. I started with a pot large enough to handle the ingredients; a quart of beef stock, a cup of baby carrots, 4 red potatoes, quartered, ½ cup of mushrooms, 5 Johnsonville Bratwurst sausages, 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1 tsp of minced ginger, 1 Tbs of Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp of Crystal red pepper sauce, 1/3 cup of chopped onions.
I began by heating the liquid ingredients, simmering them for about 15 minutes. Then I added the garlic, ginger, onions, carrots and potatoes and let them simmer for about 45 minutes. Then it was time to add the sausage (whole) and the mushrooms. Cook at low/medium for another 15-30 minutes, or until the carrots are like pasta; al dente and not limp. Serve in a shallow pasta bowl. Most excellent!
I forgot to mention that I was reading the book, Charlie Siringo’s West: An Interpretive Biography. I finished it last night; a most fascinating book! And since it dealt with cowboy history in two three streets named after him.
We had made a decision some time ago, that on those art walk evenings, we would try a new restaurant for dinner. Each time. Well, we missed a few months of the art walk and so last night it was time to try one that I had planned on visiting long before this. Priya’s is the name of the restaurant and they specialize in Northern and Southern Indian cuisine. The restaurant is located in one of those typical storefront locations that could be a restaurant this week or could be a bookstore next month. So much for ambiance. But…great food! We had never tried Indian food before and so the experience was a little unnerving; what is this and how do we eat it? It would be great if ethnic restaurants included a primer in their menu. But, with some experimenting, I figured it out and enjoyed the great tastes. It’s all about taste… and Indian food has such a rich variety of them. Little explosions in your mouth. I was little bit bummed that the Sharp’s NA beer, on the menu, wasn’t available and they had no substitute. Overall, a good experience and we will return.
1 four (4) pack of Buttermilk Biscuits
1 cup of sugar
1- ½ teaspoons of Cinnamon
1- ½ cubes of Butter
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1- ½ cups of Pecans, chopped roughly
Preheat oven to 350°
Using a 1 gallon sized Ziploc bag, add the sugar and the 1- ½ teaspoons of Cinnamon
Sprinkle a layer of chopped pecans into the Bundt pan
Using kitchen scissors, cut biscuits into quarters and place in gallon bag of mixed sugar and cinnamon. Shake to coat. Don’t add too many at a time, they will clump together and make the coating uneven.
Place cut and coated biscuits in the Bundt pan, adding pecans as you do this. Make sure your pecans are well distributed.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add sugar and remaining cinnamon. Mix well.
Pour this mixture over the biscuits.
Bake at 350° for 30 – 40 minutes.
I have been reading an interesting book and I finished it over the holiday, Open Me, by Sunshine O’Donnell. It’s her first book. The reviews you see on the
Of course I had to find out if professional mourning is really illegal or was it just a fictional piece of the authors plot. I found it difficult to believe that it could be illegal; maybe tasteless, but I couldn’t imagine it being something you would go to jail for. I Googled all the possibilities but could find no definitive answer.
And while I was on the
I finished the book, Adopted Son, the story of the relationship between
A lot is said in history classes about how the French aided
Yes, it was a quirky relationship.
But, at the end, the book gave me some surprises.
At this time you might think it’s time to send in the Marines and rescue
Finally,
It’s not until Napoleon defeats the Austrians that
The story continues on to chronicle the last days of both men. All very interesting.
Personal view;
We watched a great little movie last night. One that I would recommend. Everything is Illuminated. It’s going to take some thought on your part, as it’s not a mindless action movie. No car wrecks. No sex. Violence? Yes, but you don’t see it. You simply know it happened. There’s even comedy; a dog named Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. Some questions are never answered in the movie, but that’s OK. You know it ended as it should. Illuminated.
ps. Great music!
I must also note that the movie plays fast and loose with history and the story of Tesla. Tesla was a genius but he wasn't able to duplicate matter.I have had most of my coffee now; maybe one more cup before I call it quits for the morning. I was awake at 3 and my mind was quite active, even at that early hour and without any caffeine. I wonder what would happen if I were to stop drinking coffee? I may not need it and it would certainly save money if I gave it up. How much good would it do for my health? How about tea? Now there’s something to think about. The caffeine levels for tea are almost non-existent. But first I would have to get past the headaches that come with caffeine withdrawals.
I really do need to start thinking ‘healthy’ and losing the daily caffeine fix would be a good start. And eating better is another thing that needs to be done. We have been thinking about going back to the old days. The days of yore when lunch was dinner, or was it supper? Anyway, the bigger meal was at
Eating right is important; especially after yesterday, when we had a normal lunch and then had ice cream for dinner. Only ice cream. We were contestants in the annual Ice Cream Crank-Off at the church and I submitted two entries in my quest for the Golden Dipper (Or Scooper) award. My first entry was the winner; the Orange Marmalade Ice Cream, followed by a second place win for my Boysenberry Chocolate Ice Cream. I was on a roll. But seeing that there were only two contestants, it really wasn’t that hard. Especially as I was the only contestant using cream in my recipes. Heavy cream.
If you want to make this ice cream, use your favorite heavy cream vanilla recipe and make sure you scald the cream. Once the mix is chilled, add at least 8 ounces of
The award? I would have shown you the photo but the trophy couldn’t be found in time. Maybe later.
She writes of the South Island, a place I’ve never been but would love to visit. If only it wasn’t so darn far away! I can’t even imagine sitting in an airplane for over 8 hours… and to get to the
We watched a recommended movie last night; The Painted Veil. All in all, a very good movie. Sure, the story was predictable, but the acting was great and that made a lightweight story into a heavyweight. I particularly liked
Who is this with Naomi?
We watched Kill Bill Volume II last night. Absolutely funny! No, it was not ha-ha funny. More of a nervous kind of funny. Like, I shouldn’t be laughing at this, but I am…why? Ok, funny or not, it was entertaining in a campy sort of way. And I can’t help but wonder if there won’t be a sequel? Is 
And the last time you saw these toes? Gross!
I looked in the paper to see if Sicko was playing locally but with no success. We’re going to have to wait awhile. So we watched a Netflix movie instead; The Bridge to Terabithia. Do not watch this movie! It will make you cry…and smile. Seriously, a very good movie. And starring people you never heard of. That's always the sign of a good movie.
I used 3 jumbo eggs from TJ's the first time and that was a mistake. There was barely enough room to get the salsa casera into it.Like most Californians, I have to have tortillas in the house. I simply cannot imagine being without them. And the other day I ran across a ‘new’ tortilla from
I made some Lime Bars yesterday. I used the Lemon Bar recipe that has worked so well for me and used limes instead of lemons. (Duh!) They are good! But, if I were to do it again, I might try Key Limes. The limes I bought at the store had no juice to speak of and I had to use a ½ cup of store bought lime juice. Also, I used the zest of 3 limes and 4 drops of green food coloring. I could have used 3 drops and had a better effect.
Next up on the list of Lemon Bar innovations will be the Orange Bar; naturally. Maybe 2 drops of red food coloring and 1 drop of yellow?
We watched the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, starring
I was a little bit late with the St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. We had it last night and it was great. I did it a little different than last year, slow cooking the flat brisket for about 4 hours and the cabbage for 30 minutes. I began with a 4 pound flat with very little fat on it. I put it in the slow cooker and added enough beef broth to cover it. I also added the spice packet that came with the brisket. First I brought it to a boil and then reduced it to a simmer for the next 4 hours. As soon as the brisket was fork tender, I removed it and covered it with foil, placing it in the microwave to rest and stay warm. Now it was time for the cabbage. I quartered one head of cabbage and trimmed the hard center out of two quarters. Those I placed in the liquid remaining in the slow cooker and brought it up to a boil again. 20, or 30 minutes at the most, and it’s done. Watch the cabbage carefully and remove it if it’s starting to come apart. You want it to be slightly firm and not floating around the pot in pieces. Now you can remove the brisket from the microwave and slice it. I put the slices right down the middle of the plate and placed the cabbage quarters on each side of the slices. Looked good. You will have to trust me, I forgot to take a picture of it.
And what is it with corned beef and cabbage that makes me want to speak with an Irish accent? Is there something in that aroma that fills the kitchen?
We watched the movie, The Devil Wears Prada last night. I can tell you that I wasn’t tempted to snooze during this movie. Fascinating! Because of my personality type, INFP, I was on edge and tense for the whole movie. That was because the acting was so good; so believable, that I was drawn right into the conflicting emotions of the characters. Here is a rare case where the book was poor but the movie was great. And all due to acting skills.
In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, we watched the film, Waking Ned Devine. What a fun movie! It might be worthy of watching one more time as the Irish accents were a bit thick and sometimes difficult to understand. Not that the film suffered, no, not at all. It was understandable even when the words weren’t. Maybe I can find it on-sale somewhere?
We took the time to watch a very long movie last night; but it was worth it. Pirates of the
I must admit that the special effects are a big draw for me…even more than the acting or the story. I love CG! And I only saw one scene where the effects were less than seamless. There is a scene where a run-away water wheel is revolving its way through the jungle and suddenly the effects were obviously wrong…to my eye.
Onions and garlic, cooked and waiting.
Almost
Now we're ready
I cooked the onion and garlic (minced) in the pan with a little olive oil until the onions were soft and golden before setting them aside. Then I cooked the stew meat for about ten minutes in the same pan.
I had a 6x8 dish and I layered 1/2 of the potatoes and carrots on the bottom (carrots were sliced in half, lengthwise)
before adding the lamb and the onion/garlic mixture on top of that.
Then a final layer of potatoes and carrots before adding the 'secret' ingredient...turkey stock, 2 cups. We found these at Raley's for .99 cents each... Turkey broth is more intense than chicken broth, but hard to find. We took the last 4 cartons from the store.
Then I garnished it with the Bell peppers before putting it in a 350 oven for almost 2 hours. I covered the dish with foil for the last 30 minutes.
Spices? Yes! I added fresh ground pepper at each layer and then a liberal shake of Greek seasoning over the top.
It was quite good. Obviously you can add anything you like to a stew like this and it will still be great. I might have used less turkey stock...there was a lot of liquid left in the dish. Maybe 1-1/2 cups instead of 2. And I used red potatoes, you might like another variety. Celery would have been good.
I would have included a few more pictures...but Blogger limited me to 5.
Good looking bread!
Mix the 2 cans of tuna (drained) with the ingredients of your choice. I used 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 tbs of tomato paste, pickle relish, 2 tbs mayonaise, assorted spices - your choice. Be creative and add anything you like to this recipe. I've never made it the same way twice.
Form the mixture into patties that will fit within a tortilla bread folded in half and cook for about 5 minutes on each side. My two cans of tuna made 4 patties.
When cooked; place the tuna burger between a folded piece of tortilla bread (warmed) and add the usual condiments, onion, lettuce, tomato, etc.
The cookies assembled...
The microplane grater, what a great tool. And the beginnings of a lemon merengue pie.
And a picture of the cookies before assembling onto the platter...
Aren't those pretty?
The best idea so far is the Moroccan Lemon "cure". 
