javajanie

It's a Soup Kinda Day....

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:44:47 -0500

It's a grey day here in Southern Maryland and the chill is back in the air. I really appreciate the warm weather my wonderful mother in law sent from Florida (as she promised!), but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I'm kinda glad because I've had all the stuff to make Zuppa Toscana for a couple of days now, but I'm just not big on soup when it's warmer. Now it's cool and cloudy and I'm in the mood to get to work in the kitchen!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Everything tastes better with Nutella or Bacon....

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:03:51 -0400

But I decided to just add Nutella this time around. I added a 1/4 cup of Nutella to your basic Rice Krispie Treat recipe. It is soooo good. I highly recommend it. I'm bringing the batch I made to Nicole's this weekend. Hopefully they enjoy them as much as I enjoyed my little sample!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Mmmm, Pears

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 09:47:33 -0400

My in-laws have a pear tree in their yard. They don't pick them, but in the past some guy would come by every year and pick them. The man has passed away and there wasn't anyone to pick the pears this year.

I don't like letting things go to waste and I'm certainly not one to turn down free food, the kids and I picked a bunch and brought them home...

Mr. P's Pears

That isn't all of the pears. The kids have been taking them for school snacks. The kids have taken big bags to their teachers. They even took a bag to my neighbors.

Last night, I decided to do something with the plethora of pears left.....

I am a very messy chef

I decided to make pearsauce. You know, like applesauce, only with pears. So I peeled a bunch of the pears (I still have over half that bowl left). Then I put them in a pot and covered them with water. I added a couple of tablespoons of sugar and a little cinnamon and simmered them for about a half hour, until they were mushy.

Simmering the pears

Then I mashed 'em up really good....

The mashing of the pears

The kids were skeptical...

Skeptical

Mmmm, warm pearsauce...

The tasting of the pearsauce

Hey, that's really good!.....

Hey that was good

Everyone but Ashley liked it. They took some in their lunches today for school. Next up, pear bread!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

QotD: Kitchen Essentials

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:40:16 -0400

What are the 10 foods you must have in your refrigerator and/or your kitchen cabinet?
Submitted by Carol.

1. Milk

2. Cereal

3. Diet Pepsi

4. Green Tea

5. 99% Fat Free Popcorn

6. Some sort of chocolate

7. Peanut Butter

8. Bread

10. Totino's Pizzas in Supreme (for Steve) and Cheese (for the kids and I)

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

On The Verge

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:43:04 -0400

For the past hour, the arch of my foot feels like it is on the verge of getting a charley horse. I keep bracing myself every time it starts. Then nothing, it goes away. I almost wish I would just get the dumb thing, be done with it so I am not walking around in constant fear. Ok, oooh, there it goes again. Maybe I don't want to get one.

I made a new recipe for dinner. I was tired of the same old same old. I made tamale pie. First off, it is cheap. Secondly, I love tamales, so a dish with a tamale like crust (or bottom, because wouldn't a crust be, uh, crusty?) sounded good to me.

The kids kept coming into the kitchen trying to guess what I was making. The ground beef with taco seasoning made them all think tacos. The pot of cornmeal mush had them all confused. The box of brownies I left out when looking for the cornmeal added to the confusion along with 4 packs of my emergency mashed potatoes. They were hovering about, looking over my shoulder, peeking into the pots and pans, anything for a clue as to what I was making and whether they would actually want to eat it. I finally told them all it was a surprise and that none of us had ever had it. Then I shooed them out of the kitchen so I could finish it up.

As I took it out of the oven, they all came running. "Will you tell us now?". I told them tamale pie. They seemed relieved as I pulled it out and put it on the counter. I'm sure part of it's appeal was the cheese I had smothered the top with. It didn't call for cheese, but you can't go wrong with adding cheese to most mexican dishes, in my opinion. I cut them all a slice and served it up with sour cream. They loved it. They want to know when I am making it again.

Hmmm, considering it is cheap, easy and well liked, probably pretty soon.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Yo Quiero Taco Bell

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:52:30 -0400

The chicken and noodle stuff I have cooking in the crock pot is making the house smell like Taco Bell. Weird.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Quinoa, it's what's for dinner!

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:51:18 -0400

So I whipped up some quinoa tonight for the first time. I improvised and added chives, cilantro, garlic and a parmesan, asiago, romano cheese blend. Very yummy. It's going to with some mahi mahi that I am going to grill. Oh, and some lettuce wraps too. It's Art Show Thursday after all, and cooking is my form of art. Not sure that the kids will see it that way. I'll let them have the choice of my concoctions or ramen noodles. Plus, that will leave more of the good stuff for Steve and I.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Uninspired

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Wed, 02 May 2007 16:49:49 -0400

Earlier, my husband blogged about wasted talent and tapping into it. So easy for someone like him. He's a true artist. He really is. Just has that natural talent to draw, create, design, imagine. Me, I have a hard time putting an outfit together (which is why he does that for me too), let alone draw, sculpt or create.

Although, now that I think about it, there is one area that I love to be creative, cooking. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than creating delicious food for the people I love.

So yeah, that's my talent. It might not be as exciting as creating a work of art that might hang on the wall of a museum. But I hope that I'm good enough at cooking that my children and grandchildren will talk about the delicious foods I created for them every day.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Speaking of feeding my family strange things....

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 08:18:13 -0400

I've decided I need to find a store that sells quinoa. I read about it in Steve's latest issue of Men's Health. It sounds tasty. I love couscous. According to the article, if you like couscous, you'll probably like quinoa. So I'm off to find it today, even if it means trekking up to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in a different town. According to my local paper, our area doesn't have the demographic to support either of those stores.

In other news, Steve liked the turkey bacon. Of course, he reiterated that it isn't real bacon. But he did like it. I suppose I'm 1 and 1, so far. Turkey bacon, yea, soy crumbles, nay. We'll see how the quinoa goes over. Maybe I'll head down to the Amish Market in a local local town too. There is a Whole Foods right by there. Then I can try out the quinoa on everyone tonight along with some mahi-mahi. Oooh, and I bet they would have some of that mango I bought in Florida! I'm getting excited about my excursion now!

So, I'm challenging all you bored SAHM's out there. Go out and buy some strange food to surprise your family with! Let me know the results. Hmmm, now I wonder what those Amish folk have in the way of strange. Maybe some honeycomb tripe would go well with my quinoa......

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Survey says.....

nobody@vox.com(java janie) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 17:30:33 -0400

6 out of 7 people in my household like the turkey bacon so far! Even the pickiest of the five enthusiastically said, "This is really good!". The general consensus was that although it doesn't taste like bacon, it is tasty in it's own turkey bacon way. It kinda reminds me of when my mom used to fry bologna for us when we were kids. Yes, fried bologna, don't knock it til you've tried it. Although, you may not want to try turkey bacon now that I have likened it to fried bologna.

Now we'll have to see what Steve says later after he gets home from work. I'm not sure if he'll agree with the majority. Seriously, he doesn't even like soy crumbles for goodness sake!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend