Paul and Adam having fun playing in the snow in the cul de sac!
We have had a very busy last couple of weeks! We enjoyed having a little bit of snow in our area which is a rare treat for us! We dashed outside as much as we could to play in it! Adam really got excited about the snow this year and we have even saved a very small snowball that he made in the freezer.
There are many celebrations and events coming up in February and March that I will cover in the blog as time allows. I have been having so much fun preparing for these events! I am realizing that I really love party planning. I get such a huge adrenaline rush from planning a big event and putting all of the pieces together from the food to the favors to the decorations. It is a very fun process that I really enjoy. For this reason I am considering including it in some way in my personal chef business.
Coming up with an original business idea that will work with my family and lifestyle is becoming quite a process. I am enjoying coming up with ideas and seeing how they will fit in. I am especially thankful that I have plenty of time to spend carefully executing my plan as I fit many other activities into the mix.
As soon as the major events of February and March subside I will once again focus a bit more on my business plans. In the meantime I continues to learn about myself and the skills I can use to create something truly wonderful and unique that I will enjoy sharing with others. Even though I have been very busy I have been taking moments to work on my business plans and ideas. It is important to always keep dreaming and planning for what really makes you happy and excited! This is what life is all about! Keep dreaming! Keep planning!
In the meantime, please enjoy these recipes from the meals that we have been enjoying lately:
Pennsylvania Dutch Corn & Chicken Soup
A steaming hot bowl of homemade soup!
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen corn, thawed
8 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, sliced thin
Salt and Pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 cups egg noodles
1. Combine 2 cups of the corn and 2 cups of the chicken broth and puree in a food processor until smooth. Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook onion, celery, remaining corn, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Stir in remaining corn, chicken, noodles and pureed corn mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until noodles are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper! Serve with whole grain toast or muffins- delicious!!!
Enjoy!
8 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, sliced thin
Salt and Pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 cups egg noodles
1. Combine 2 cups of the corn and 2 cups of the chicken broth and puree in a food processor until smooth. Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Cook onion, celery, remaining corn, and 1/2 teaspoon salt until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Stir in remaining corn, chicken, noodles and pureed corn mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until noodles are tender and chicken is cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper! Serve with whole grain toast or muffins- delicious!!!
Enjoy!
Pork Fried Rice:
This is a recipe from "Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients" cookbook that I modified slightly. Instead of the sliced pork sausage I used a ground breakfast sausage. I also used brown rice. It was so yummy!
A wok full of delicious fried rice!
3 cups cooked brown or white rice (it helps to make the rice the day before and store it in the refrigerator)
1/4 cup peanut oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds (I used ground cumin because I didn't have the seeds)
1 small fresh red chili, chopped (I put in a small amount of chili pepper because I didn't want it to be too spicy)
1 pound of ground breakfast sausage-plain or 1/2 cup or more diced winter cured pork (I used a Jimmy Dean natural)
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen ( I actually almost put a whole bag of frozen peas in)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1. With your hands, break the rice into grains and set aside.
2. Heat a wok or skillet and add the oil. When it is hot, add the cumin seeds or ground cumin and stir briefly.
3. Add the chili pepper or chili powder and the diced or ground pork sausage and cook, stirring, until the fat of the pork or sausage is translucent, about 30 seconds.
4. Add the peas and stir, then add the rice and seasonings. Stir and cook over high heat for 3 minutes or so- making sure the sausage is cooked through, serve.
This is a great main dish that doesn't really need any sides because you have protein, whole grains and vegetables all in one dish! This dish was fantastic!!
Cornmeal and Millet Bread:
This is another recipe from Great Breads. I like how light this bread is although it has many whole grains in it! It makes excellent toast- as James Beard would say! I enjoyed it with breakfast the other day with butter and jam on it! Yum!
A loaf fresh out of the oven!
For the sponge:
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 cups lukewarm water
3 tablespoons mild flavored honey
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
For the dough:
1/4 cup canola oil or melted unsalted butter
1 scant tablespoon salt
3/4 cup flaked or rolled oats
1 1/3 cups millet flour
1 cup whole grain cornmeal (Bob's Red Mill is a good brand)
-About 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or a combination of whole wheat and unbleached white flours
For the loaves:
- 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water for an egg wash
Make the Sponge:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and stir in the honey.
2. With a wooden spoon or a large whisk, stir in the white and whole wheat flours, one cup at a time.
3. When all of the flour has been added, stir by hand about 100 times, changing directions every once in a while and scraping down the sides.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and set in a warm place for 1 hour, until bubbly. I am lucky that I have an oven with a "proof" setting for the oven. I always use this to rise the sponge and the dough and it works so beautifully! Once the hour is up the sponge will be very bubbly!
To make the dough:
1. With a wooden spoon, fold the oil or melted butter and salt into the sponge, turning the bowl between folds. Mix in the oats, millet flour and cornmeal.
2. Begin folding in the whole wheat flour, 1 cup at a time. As soon as the dough is cohesive, scrape it out onto a floured work surface.
3. Knead the dough, adding flour as needed, for 10 minutes, or until stiff and elastic. Shape into a ball.
4. Rinse, dry and lightly oil the bowl. Place the dough in it, turning to coat it with the oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
5. After 1 hour, punch down the dough; cover again in the same manner and let rise in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes until nearly doubled in bulk.
6. Generously oil or butter 2 large loaf pans- 9x5 inches.
To make the loaves:
1. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Knead for a minute or two, then divide the dough in half to form two loaves.
2. Roll out each half into a long, rectangular shape. Then, roll it up into a cylinder.
3. Place the loaves into the loaf pans, first upside down, (seam up) then right side up, to coat with the oil or butter.
4. Brush the loaves with the egg wash. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20-40 minutes, or until the tops of the loaves curve above the sides of the pans.
5. About 30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350F, with a rack in the middle.
6. Slash the loaves 3 times across the top with a sharp knife. Bake for 50-60 minutes, brushing halfway through with the egg wash.
7. Remove from pans and cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Oatmeal Ricotta Pancake Sandwiches with Strawberries:
I love how light and delicious these oatmeal pancakes are! I decided to combine the filling for stuffed French toast with these healthy pancakes and add a splash of color with some strawberries. The pancake and ricotta filling recipes are from one of my favorite cookbooks "From Grandma's Kitchen" that I got as a gift from my dear friend Carol.
A delicious pancake sandwich!
Oatmeal Pancakes:2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
1. Mix together milk and oats in a large bowl; let stand while sifting together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a separate bowl.
2. Stir eggs into oat mixture; mix in dry ingredients and oil.
3. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls into a hot, lightly greased griddle. (I like to use my large electric skillet) Flip the pancakes over when bubbles appear around edges. Cook on each side until lightly golden. Makes 10 to 12 pancakes.
Ricotta Filling:
One 8 ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
--1 container strawberries, sliced
Mix the ricotta, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl and set aside. Once the pancakes are done you can spread a couple of spoonfuls of this mixture in between two pancakes and sprinkle strawberries on top for a fabulous breakfast treat!
Fun in the Snow:
We were fortunate to have a meeting at the Portland Zoo for an upcoming event for Adam's preschool during the time it was snowing. The zoo got a lot more snow because it is at a higher elevation. Adam really enjoyed making a lot of snowballs and throwing them around there! What fun! I also love the fact that this year he was really into wearing his winter hat which looks so cute on him!
Adam in the snow at the Portland Zoo.
Adam in his winter coat ready to go out in the cold weather!
Paul and Adam ready to go out to play in the snow.
We only got a light dusting in our area.
We only got a light dusting in our area.
Adam's Artwork From Preschool:
As a small project I have been collecting Adam's paintings and artwork from preschool and taking photos of them so that I can make cards & prints from them. Also, it is a great way to catalog his work without saving every single piece because he does a lot of paintings at school. I ended up making some thank you cards out of some of his artwork that I had printed. I also plan on using them for other projects. Here are a few examples:
As a small project I have been collecting Adam's paintings and artwork from preschool and taking photos of them so that I can make cards & prints from them. Also, it is a great way to catalog his work without saving every single piece because he does a lot of paintings at school. I ended up making some thank you cards out of some of his artwork that I had printed. I also plan on using them for other projects. Here are a few examples:
One of Adam's paintings from preschool. He described it as being a "dark cave."
I really love the use of white space and multicolored strokes on this painting.
This is a really neat black and white painting with hand prints!
Enjoy your day everyone and make the most of your time!
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