27.2.09

Road Trip

There's always something a little nostalgic about a road trip

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22.2.09

Chicken & Ginger Soup

Olive oil
3 small chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, skinned and chopped
32 oz of low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
16oz can stewed tomatoes
16oz of water
2 cloves, fresh garlic, chopped
chopped fresh cilantro

pretty simple so far, eh?

In a medium sized pot, heat Olive Oil on Medium High heat and add chicken. Add it slowly so that the pot stays hot and cook, tossing gently every two to three minutes.
Once the chicken is looking grilled, add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add a 1/4 cup of chicken or vegetable broth and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any cooked bits (to add flavor) and then add the rest of the broth. Bring to a boil and add the water and the tomatoes and let return to a boil and now reduce heat, add Cilantro and simmer.

Now you can add some thin oriental noodles or cooked rice to make this soup a little heartier and a little squeeze of lemon juice will just throw it over the top.

Enjoy!



21.2.09

Can I say Oy?


Oy to the 54 products sold this past week. If I could do this everyday, I so would. I was whistling while working today! Now how often do you hear that? These spice blends are only a few of the goodies I assembled this afternoon and wow, I love love love having a biz that is buzzing (for 1 day).

16.2.09

Letting the days go by


The weekend of February 14th is always my busiest. Not only do I have to find something beautiful, fun and creative to do for the ones (yes two) I love but this year, also celebrate the 18th birthday of my little BIG guy. The big 18. Time flies so quickly. His cute little bum at the age of 2 while waiting for the bath to fill is right there, in the forefront of my mind and now here he is, all grown up and sometimes, almost showing his bum for fashion --but barely since he knows I'll give him heck.

7.2.09

The Best Thing: Sunday

If we were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters
~Author Unknown

5.2.09

I like shinny objects

I have to admit that I have a huge collection of silver utensils. I don't need any more but no matter, if I'm out antiquing or browsing through other peoples junk at yard sales, if it's shinny, it's so mine.

This is my butter dish which I paid all of $2.00 for. It's not worth more than that but to me, it's priceless.

I took this photograph by pointing my DSLR lens with macro filters through the viewfinder of an old Argus Seventy Five camera and the result, a beautiful old fashioned photograph just like my old silver wares.

3.2.09

Home Made Cannelloni - FINALLY

My Sunday of crazy ice fishing antics led the way to one heck of a meal on Monday evening. I left work just a little bit early to continue on my quest for a perfect Pasta dish that would not only ease the lingering day after effects but to also not let go to waste a spec of food. It was so good, I thought I would share:
CANNELLONI RECIPE
1 LB. ground beef
1 LB. ground pork
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarela cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded Provolone cheese, divided
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks
1 large can of tomato sauce
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
In a sauce pot, combine tomato sauce, oregano, thyme, chili flakes and salt and pepper and heat through on medium low heat.
In a large skillet, cook beef and pork over medium heat until browned. Add onion and garlic until soft. Add 1/2 cup of the heated sauce mixture and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2/3 cup of the Mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup of Provolone cheese, the Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and the egg yolks; mix well. Cover and let flavors infuse.
Cook cannelloni according to package directions. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Drain cannelloni and rince under cold water then drain again. Fill Cannelloni with meat mixture (as best you can by either using a small spoon, a pastry bag or your fingers - whatever method you choose, it will be messy).
Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in bottom of baking dish. Place Cannelloni in dish and pour remaining sauce over top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle with remaining cheeses and bake uncovered, 15 minutes or until bubbly, let stand 5 minutes and enjoy!

2.2.09

The only thing I caught was a hangover

Pasta and a Hangover go hand in hand. Normally I would whip up my homemade Macaroni and Super Cheesy Cheese but this time, I decided to get started on Cannelloni. It was 9pm and just in from a day on a lake with about 600 other people trying to catch a fish. Having drunk more than I ate, it was just about all that I could think of. My body was craving Pasta, craving it! I fried up the meats and chopped up the onion, threw in some nutmeg then tossed the whole idea. What was I thinking? Smashed and trying to make this elaborate and time sucking dish? Before the eggs and cheese went in I stuck it in the fridge. So, this is what I ate instead. It was pre-made or almost... all I had to do was boil water and in my state, it's about all I was capable of doing and besides, the Cannelloni will only taste better with time... not too much time though!

1.2.09

Dreaming of cookies ?

When I can finally quit my day job, this is all I want to do.
Photograph cookies : )
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