Archive for the ‘Food and Drink’ Category

I usually keep on hand the makings for a taco salad for whenever we need a “filler” meal and I don’t want a lot of effort. I try to cook meals about twice a week that will stretch out as leftovers the rest of the week with some fruit, veggies and salad to complement the leftovers. But we all have that evening where nothing sounds good and this just fits perfectly.

As I was preparing this week’s Taco Salad I had forgotten to pick up my pre-packaged seasoning mix. So we decided to punt and find a homemade taco seasoning mix. We were not disappointed. I pulled out the seasonings and viola! We were in business. Here is the recipe that I used from Cooks.com

Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix:

1 tbsp. Chili powder

2 tsp. Onion powder

1 tsp. each of ground cumin, garlic powder, paprika, powdered oregano (I punted and just used dry leaves), and sugar

½ tsp. Salt

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Makes about 3 tablespoons of seasoning mix, which is equal in strength in a ¼ ounce package of commercial seasoning mix.

I won’t go back to commercial mix again! This is simple but one of those things if you do not have the mix in your cabinet it matters!

Website: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1649,151186-252197,00.html

Texas Dry Rub

The two key ingredients are chili powder and smoked paprika. 90% of this recipe came from Weber’s Big Book of Grilling, Jamie Purviance and Sandra S. McRae, 2001. As you can see we amended the recipe. I do not think I ever use the complete recipe.

2 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika*

2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder

1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 Tablespoon Cracked Black Pepper

2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder*

2 Teaspoons Onion Powder*

1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl then press the rub into both sides of the meat and refrigerate for one hour prior to grilling to intensify the flavorings*

* Original recipes calls for Paprika, Granulated Garlic, Granulated Onion. We did not refrigerate. We did not grill. We used our smoker on a 3 lb. Chuck roast which came out very tender after about four

hours.

Here is another recipe we used from the book for the grilling season to begin:

Flatiron Steaks with Steakhouse Sauce

Flatiron is a top blade chuck steak, quite tender and delicious. Shaped like an old-fashioned flatiron and is usually sliced thin for optimum flavor and texture. Cover the two Flatiron steaks with olive oil and salt and pepper. The grilling instruction says cook quickly over high heat but I like my done, done, done. So it took a lot longer. And the sauce was wonderful. We used it on the roast we smoked as well (see above).

Sauce

½ Cup Ketchup

1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar

2 Teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 Teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar*

½ Teaspoon Powder Onion*

½ Teaspoon Powder Garlic*

½ Teaspoon Dry Mustard

¼ Teaspoon Tabasco Sauce

*Again it called for Granulated Onion and Garlic. I was out of Red Wine Vinegar so I used Dry Sherry Vinegar. Quite tasty.

In a small saucepan whisk together the sauce ingredients with ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside until Flatiron steaks are done and drizzle over steak. Served with a Pasta Salad, Grilled Veggies and Watermelon. Enjoy.

Pumpkin is one of my favorite foods. I hate to have to wait until fall to make something with pumpkin. Usually I get a pumpkin and save it for another day. Of course, I immediately roast the seeds! My friend, Dianna, has come up with a winning recipe for pumpkin pie cake that means that no one need wait for fall to eat pumpkin. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did. I love the added bonus of serving with whipped cream (much like pumpkin pie) I recommend you give it a try! I also just drizzled the cool whipping cream over the cake and that was yummy.

 PUMPKIN PIE CAKE by Dianna Hill

6 eggs
1 ½ cup sugar
1 large can evaporated milk
1 large can pumpkin
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all together and pour into a buttered 9 x 13 inch glass pan.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

½ cup Butter
1 package of yellow cake mix
½ cup sliced almonds

While baking, combine 1 cube of butter or margarine with 1 package of yellow cake mix. Cut butter into cake mix as you would for a pie crust.

Remove pumpkin mixture from oven and lower temperature to 325 degrees.

Sprinkle cake mixture over pumpkin and top with ½ cup sliced almonds. Return to oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream.

Banana Nut Bread generally falls under the category of a Tea Bread. Tea breads began in the 17^th century to be eaten with tea for afternoon socials known as High Tea. There is a correct way to brew the tea to have with breads, scones or other delectables.

Tea Etiquette

In order for one not to spill the hot liquid onto oneself, the proper way to hold the vessel of a cup with no handle is to place one’s thumb at the six o’clock position and one’s index and middle fingers at the twelve o’clock position, while gently raising one’s pinkie up for balance.

Tea cups with a handle are held by placing one’s fingers to the front and back of the handle with one’s pinkie up again allows balance. Pinkie up does mean straight up in the air, but slightly tilted. It is not an affectation, but a graceful way to avoid spills. Never loop your fingers through the handle, nor grasp the vessel bowl with the palm of your hand.

Do not stir your tea, with your tea spoon, in sweeping circular motions. Place your tea spoon at the six o’clock position and softly fold the liquid towards the twelve o’clock position two or three times. Never leave your tea spoon in your tea cup. When not in use, place your tea spoon on the right side of the tea saucer. Never wave or hold your tea cup in the air. When not in use, place the tea cup back in the tea saucer. If you are at a buffet hold the tea saucer in your lap with your left hand and hold the tea cup in your right hand. When not in use, place the tea cup back in the tea saucer and hold in your lap.  The only time a saucer is raised together with the teacup is when one is at a standing reception.

Milk is served with tea, not cream. Cream is too heavy and masks the taste of the tea. Although some pour their milk in the cup first, it is probably better to pour the milk in the tea after it is in the cup in order to get the correct amount.

When serving lemon with tea, lemon slices are preferable, not wedges. Either provide a small fork or lemon fork for your guests, or have the tea server can neatly place a slice in the tea cup after the tea has been poured. Be sure never to add lemon with milk since the lemon’s citric acid will cause the proteins in the milk to curdle. (http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HighTeaHistory.htm)

I think when having your tea you might want to try my Banana Nut Bread recipe. Enjoy!

Banana Nut Bread

2 1/c cups all purpose flour

3 teasp. Baking powder

½ teasp. Salt

1 cup of sugar

¼ cup of butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 small ones)

I tablesp. Lemon zest (I was liberal and used about 2 tablespoons)

½ cup milk

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (I prefer walnuts)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a bread pan (9x5x3
2. In a bowl put flour, baking powder and salt mixed well
3. In med. Bowl or your Kitchen aid beat sugar, butter and egg until smooth
4. Add bananas, lemon peel and milk, blend well, add flour mixture mix until smooth then add walnuts.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan; bake about 1 hour or until knife inserted comes out clean.
6. Then serve!

Today I was watching this fascinating show on how the eyes trick the brain. How we can think we see things and what we really see is something else.

Marketing uses this asset to get us to buy. Specifically to buy food and here is an example. You see this beautiful lady on TV doing something young and wonderful. She is selling a huge mega burger from one of the major burger chains. She looks beautiful, she looks healthy and she looks successful. Not to mention the one trick on our brain is that she is not FAT!!! We are so captivated by this huge lusty burger our mind takes in that she is skinny and immediately processes that this won’t make you fat. It will. Being obese is the number legal abuse we do our body.

I was pondering this when I began to have health issues. My immune crashed. I had anemia and zero B’s in my body. All of which were nutrient related. I ate poorly. I mean like a good American I knew where to get my daily fix of junk food. Now I am battling daily health issues because I cheated my body early in life and was handed a set of genes that did not add to a positive outcome. Never mind I tried to make up for some of it but too little too late.

Junk food, hmmm? We hear that term a lot but do we really get what that is? These are foods that have little or no nutritional value. Ha! There is the word “nutritional´. That means the object we are chomping away on adds no value added bonus to keeping us going. In fact it works towards depleting our body slowly over time while we pump on the poundage and do not balance our body with nutritional food. And that dear readers is where the problem begins and over time we slowly poison our bodies becoming malnutritioned along the way. The eye tricks us again because we think malnutrition is a sub skinny person living on the African continent  in starvation. It isn’t for us in the West. And we answer the call to junk out as our immunne system responds with a heart attack, diabetes or other break down diseases we cannot figure out.

As a general rule we are risk takers. However many will not risk illegal drugs but think nothing of taking legal drugs as if somehow that makes them healthy. True we need legal drugs because the process of crashing our bodies on junk food now has us needing medical attention. But do not let your brain trick you, they are legal ONLY if a doctor prescribes them correctly and ONLY if you take them within the doctor’s recommendation. Doctors have a plethora of drugs now because we choose to take a drug rather than to control our diet. And what about smoking cigarettes or other tobacco related items? Even the smokers know this is a bad thing. But when it comes to food we are captivated by it. The taste, the looks, the sheer yumminess of it until the poundage packs on and obese related diseases take over. I mean really have you ever seen a really old person that was majorly obese? That supersized meal is a short cut to a shorter life. Big time!

Okay this is a huge rant about food right? That is because I can count on any given day hearing most of the people I know complain about not feeling good. In fact, I know only a hand full of people who do not have anything wrong with them. I mean if it isn’t obesity it is diabetes, or autoimmune issues or a heart attack. Many times these are all brought on by stuffing our gullet and not moving. Because everybody has heard by now that now that exercise is sheer drudgery. Who has time for it? If you are under 50 and have a Significant Other in your life you know you are both working and running and dealing with life and eating junk. Everyone is tired. But food is a huge culprit to the fatigue.

Okay! Okay! I know I am ranting but jeez……how can we get well and live a happier life if we keep pumping and medicating ourselves with food! So what do you think? Can we feel better or are we destined to feel crappy until we die? Can food make a difference, which is only part of the problem. We also have to deal with lack of proper rest to heal the body. Which I know is almost beyond reality. The “experts”, whoever they are, recommend 8 hours of sleep a night. WHO! Has time for that in our competitive world? Until the body crashes no one slows down to just live. So we are over fatigued running on poor nutrition and it is little wonder that we feel bad.

Sometimes a gal just needs to rant

So you have few things in the fridge you want to use up. You don’t want to lose those pork chops or the ground turkey. What about those veggies? There has got to be a way to use them up so they are not wasted. Denise Sinkora put this question out on Face book and got loads of possible ways to prepare these food items. Below is the recipe she settled on. Doesn’t this recipe sound yummy? With food prices on the rise it is important to make our food budget stretch. I think Denise came up with a winning recipe. What do you think?

.75 lbs ground Turkey
2 boneless pork Chops – trimmed of fat and cut in bites
4 – 5 cloves Garlic cut up
1/2 large white Onion chopped
2 tbsp Olive oil
1- 1 1/2 cups fresh Green beans halved
1 small bag Parsnips peeled and cut into bite size
about 8 baby gold Taters
Tons of Cumin – probably 1/8 cup
Lots (4 tbsp?) of Paprika
a dash of Hot pepper flakes
Lots (4 tbsp?) of Nutmeg
couple of cups of Water
wish I had some Shrooms (mushrooms)

I cooked the garlic and onion in the olive oil for a few, threw in the ground turkey then the chop bits, went through the spices and threw in as much of what I thought smelled like it would be interesting and unusual, the spice measurements are guesses as I really opened the top and had at it, washed and cut up the veggies, added a couple cups of water, stirred like Baba Yaga at her cauldron, cover and waited about 20 or maybe 30 minutes.  I was missing the shrooms but it was still good.  Serve with a slice of multigrain bread and butter.  YUM.  The parsnips added a sweet flavor that balanced the spice nicely.  Not bad for using up what might spoil!

If you try this or you use other ingredients let me know! I love using a recipe as “guidelines” rather than rules.