April Fools!

This blog may indicate that I haven't been working on anything, but that is not the case! I will have a big finish soon, and then another! Why have I not posted about these projects? Probably because I have been working on them, ha ha.

But in honor of April Fool's Day, I had to trick my boys.

A Pin Win!

After trolling about pinterest for some ideas, I settled on meatloaf "cupcakes" with mashed potato frosting and actual cupcakes  with "mashed potato" frosting.

It didn't fool the boys, but the husband was a little freaked out, and wouldn't taste anything until the boys told him what everything was. He said it was delicious, but would not put both "cupcakes" on his plate at the same time.

I am terrible at piping frosting, and I am equally terrible at piping mashed potatoes.
13-year-old says meatcakes are great, and I should always make meatloaf this way. Nooooooo!!!!!

Linked to:
Take-A-Look Tuesday
Fluster's Creative Muster

Pinstrosity?

So, I saw this darling Valentine's Day dessert on pinterest. One of about 1000 versions, I know, for every holiday you can think of.

This one called for brownie mix, something called "chocolate bark" that the pinner found at walmart, and darling heart-shaped sprinkle-things.

So. I made brownies from scratch, that part went fine. (Why do people buy mixes? It is really no harder to throw in your own flour, sugar, and cocoa. Melting the butter is the hardest part, and the one mots likely to go wrong.)

So, chocolate bark. I have no idea what this is or looks like, but it is in the baking aisle at a Walmart somewhere. I don't shop at Walmart, for many reasons relating to Chinese imports, a woman who was fired in Wisconson almost 20 years ago, and the fact that Walmart if 6 miles from me. There are 6 count them SIX Targets closer.

So I went to Target. I was already there, actually. And drove my 10-year-old crazy looking for this "bark" thing.

Then  I went to Ralphs for "bark" and cute heart-shaped sprinkles. And completely struck out.

So I got Magic Shell and conversation hearts.

In spite of what the Magic Shell bottle says about it hardening in the refrigerator, that's not exactly true.

However, the brownie bites were a hit. Boys and husband eagerly pronounced them "delicious"!

I also have no lovely dish to display them on, just my cool bird platter from....Target :)

Not a Pin Win, but not a complete Pinstrosity.

Spiced Fig Preserves

While the boys were at tae kwon do last night, I decided to do something with the figs coming ripe on our tree. Our tree is a mystery white variety, and I find them a bit tasteless.

The birds had started on some of the ripest figs, but there were plenty left (4 pounds worth). But the fig beetles aren't out yet, so there are actual whole ripe figs (yay!).

I made up a recipe using about 4 online ones as guides. The labels came from All About Orange. I used the blank label, printed on full-page stickers on my inkjet printer, then covered in contact paper and cut out with my circle cutter.

Spiced Fig Preserve

3.75 pound washed, de-stemmed figs
4.5 cups sugar
4 cups water
3T lemon juice
1.5 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
.5 t ground cloves
.75 t vanilla extract

Chop figs, there will be about 9 cups worth. Set aside. Put water and sugar in large Dutch oven, cook until sugar dissolves. Add figs, lemon juice, spices, and extract. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a heavy simmer. Cook down for about 45 minutes, mixture will thicken, and be about 200°. Put in sterilized jars, water bath process 10 minutes.

More figs!

Linked to: Sew Darn Crafty

Glue Stamp Pads and Glue Pens?!

Clearly, I am not a scrapbooker. I had no idea there were glue stamp pads and glue ballpoints. I went to Michael's looking for some sort of each, hoping I could find something that would work.

So, yeah. There they were. So cool. And, really, this glue ballpoint is just about the neatest thing ever. It writes in blue, so you can see what you have drawn/written! You don't need to squeeze, so no extra glue drops or strings!

So, I have ideas racing around in my head. I wonder what it would do on fabric? Dare I add glitter to our vacation shadowbox, which is still in the works? What will watercolors do when painted over the dried glue?

I love these cards. I bought the stamps years and years ago for some other idea that never happened. I have a maple one too.

I hope to try some of my other ideas soon (famous last words). But first I need to write my aunt an overdue letter (which card should I use?!) and work on another whimseybox content project that I really just want to have done.

Today I cooked. Calzones (there were 12), monkeybread test (it's yummy, I'll be more effort in next time), and cauliflower/cheddar/5 egg quiche.

Chicken and Cilantro Pesto Tamale Pie

OK, maybe not a tamale pie per se. But for lack of a better term. But this is just soooo yummy.

Cilantro Pesto
1 bunch cilantro, including stems
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup rough-grate parmesan
1 garlic clove
1/4 t salt

Put the cilantro and olive oil into your food processor—it should be full of cilantro leaves and stems, but don't pack it. Blend, then add rest of ingredients and blend until it is uniform.

The bowl goes from full to not so full when the cilantro is all chopped.

Dough
I took my basic dough recipe from here. (I love allrecipes.com!)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup masa harina
4.5 t quick-acting/bread machine yeast (= 2 envelopes)
1 T sugar
1/2 t Kosher salt
3/4 c 120–130° milk
3 T canola oil
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients, add milk, oil, egg. Mix well. Spray a square casserole pan with cooking spray (I use olive oil), spread batter in the casserole.

Scrape pesto in bowl you used for the batter. Add chopped cold chicken—I use leftovers from a roast chicken. I add 1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much I have. Stir the chicken in. Then spread the pesto/chicken mix onto your dough.

Heat oven to 350°, and put pan in immediately, when the oven is till cold. Bake 30 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Serve with a salad, or black beans, or fresh pan-fried spinach and crockpotted great northern beans like I did. Or whatever!

I like butter

Especially slathered on a toasted piece of homemade whole grain bread. With a bowl of from-scratch cream of celery soup. No picture can capture the deliciousness.

*(in the speedy-announcer-at-end-of-ad voice) Bread made with 10-grain cereal mix because that's what was in the pantry. The cornmeal is not noticeable. The soup was made without the celery root (I know it adds a depth of deliciousness, but there wasn't one in the CSA box with my fabulous bunch of leafy wonderfulness known as celery, and I didn't have time to traipse around town searching for an overpriced celery root). I also left out the potato because kid #2 is allergic. He refused to eat more than 2 bites, so next time it goes in. I also put in celery seed and plain kosher salt, because I don't own celery salt. In spite of all this, both were still wonderfully delicious.

radishes

I have never liked radishes. Too spicy in a way completely different from chiles. Too...dirt-tasting. Too..crunchy in a way that isn't entirely crunchy, if you know what I mean. Yet so easy to grow!

Today's harvest--(not so) Petit Dejeuner from Renee's Garden

Last winter our CSA boxes came with plenty of radishes. I needed to do something!

So I took a little tour through The Joy of Cooking. If you read about radishes, it tells you they can be used in turnip recipes. If you read about turnips, it tells you they can be used in potato recipes.


Scalloped radishes?

Oh. My. Goodness. The spiciness is toned down to a magnificent onioniness--without onion. The dirt taste is gone, the not-quite-crunchy enough texture fully softened by parboiling and baking.

And there are four different types of dairy product! What's not to love? (Unless you are a boy, I guess, since they won't even try it.)

For tonight's potluck.

Perfect for a potluck, since two of us can finish off an entire 8" pan. And with all that dairy goodness, that isn't really necessary.

pineapple guava jam

Ingredients:
4.5 pounds peeled and sliced pineapple guavas
7 cups sugar
2 slices of beet (for color)

Yield: 7 8-oz jars, 1 12-oz jar, 1 half jar

I friend's tree has been super productive this year, so she gave me a bag. I don't really think the color of plain pineapple guava would make a very appealing jam, so I added 2 slices of beet, hoping to make it pinker. Perhaps a half slice would have been a better idea.

I am pretty sure I need a new candy thermometer. I think that trip mine took through the dishwasher has rendered it about 5° low. Between the fig jam and this... yeah. On the upside, I think I may not even need the thermometer any more, I think I can tell when the texture changes. But I don't think I trust myself!

farm CSA day

Another day with no crafting--but it was CSA day at our farm!

Added bonus: our CSA is a school fundraiser, and the farm has regular tours (strawberry, watermelon, pumpkin patch, depending on the season).

Rather than get any crafting in, we ate farm-grown organic produce. This is just a sampling, but boy those squash were yum-my.

The boys rode kid atvs, and these awesome pedal cars. T-bone was the first kid of the season (which started...yesterday) who didn't need a single push on the course. He was pleased.

We took the tractor ride to the pumpkin canyon, fed the boys giant shaved ices, and--of course--picked pumpkins! E-man picked his own outfit. He almost disappeared among the pumpkins.

A fun day. We love Tanaka Farms. And then for dinner I made cilantro pesto from this week's box.

Fingers crossed that crafting occurs mañana!

at 11:45pm last night...

These came out of the oven:

OK, not on one sheet like that.

What are those? This would be 14 dragon breads for my second grader's class. Another family baked some too. Whereas mine look more like mice with an allergy problem, theirs looked like awesome dragons. But my second grader didn't eat his, because it was crunchy when he nibbled its snout. So guess what I am doing tomorrow?! Making more Michaelmas dragon breads!

The good news? It has cooled off a bit. Leave it to me to volunteer to bake the one week of the whole year it is over 90°--only 85° in my kitchen. When the oven is off...

I won!

Really. I won a $60 credit to csn stores over on the Backyard Farming blog. Thank you thank you! Goody! I am the kind of person who can't win Yahtzee, so I am excited. And--kitchen stuff!

So. What to get.

I am leaning toward the Kitchen Aid mixer attachment set. Which is out of stock. It has the food mill (which I want!), and the sausage attachment (which Pete wants!). It has graters--which I have no idea if I would ever use.

There is an interesting rabbit run--though I am really interested in that hutch. I wonder how much it is? And how easy it would be to convert it into a chicken coop? I think they don't carry the hutch. Bummer! Though probably very pricey. We just need to find something to start building with.

A yoga balance half-ball?

A Kitchen Aid ice cream attachment?

A new camp stove?

A Wii game for the kids? (NO!)

I am a little overwhelmed by the choices.

Or should I just watch awhile and see if they get that attachment set it? I am set to receive an email when they do. I have a couple of months before it expires.

mmmmm pie

So Mr 2nd grade came home from school yesterday with:
• a letter from his teacher about all the apple-related activities going on in the classroom
• a recipe for apple pie.

Needless to say, he wanted to make the pie. ASAP. So (as you likely predicted) I made crust, peeled and sliced our selection of overripe apples--and then he came just in time to add the brown sugar and spices.

No, it's not pretty. But it sure is tasty! Surprisingly so, since I managed to use up nearly all of the apples I was planning to make apple butter with.

The best split pea soup ever

Can I say that? At 4pm I realized I had no dinner plan, so grabbed the bag of split peas I got a couple of weeks ago for just such an occasion. I wanted to clear out some veggies in preparation for  tomorrow's CSA box. This is what I did:

Surprising Split Pea Soup

1 pack chopped pancetta (from Trader Joe's)
1 large chopped sweet onion (about 2 cups)
5 ribs celery, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
--Cook these ingredients in a soup pot til softened

Then add:
1.5 cups split peas, rinsed and drained
6 cups water
fresh ground pepper to taste
kosher salt to taste

--Bring to a boil, mixing well. Turn down to a heavy simmer.

Add:
1 broiled, peeled, cored, seeded, chopped green bell pepper (I was broiling while the rest of the veggies were softening)

Stir often, keeping an eye on the peas. Once the peas were in, I cooked for about an hour. Add more water if needed (I added 2 more cups).

Add (or not!) additional salt and pepper to your taste.

Don't mention the pepper to your kids, and then watch them gobble.

This makes about 4 main course servings.

Sorry for the lack of picture--I had no idea it would be so yummy. And, really, split pea soup is not that great to look at, now is it?

Evading fig beetles, or fun with jars

I decided to try this recipe for fig preserves today. Our poor neglected fig tree is covered with fruit in various stages of decomposition, some ripe figs, and many many baby figs. These figs do not taste anything like the fresh figs I remember from a childhood neighbor's tree--but those were dark figs, these are white figs. What kind? No idea--the tree came from a neighbor several years ago, and he didn't know what it was.

Anyway, I went out to pick, and proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes evading some angry (if harmless, unless you're a fig) fig beetles. These guys are big, and loud. And we have many because we don't spray, and I am not brave enough to squash them. And they are really really pretty metallic green, which makes me not want to squash them anyway.

The enemy--enjoying a very overripe fig.

I came up with 2.3 pounds, and this recipe is incredibly easy to adjust, since it uses a 1:1 fig:sugar ratio.

So, we'll see. I got two pints and a bit left over--the leftover bit is so sugary it has solidified, I am hoping that's because I scraped the pot. I followed the recipe exactly, but think maybe should have cooked for less time with the lesser amount of fruit. I will have another 2+ pounds in a week or so, I think. Unless the mockingbirds, beetles, starlings, and wasps get them all. I should say, the cats greatly enjoy this show, they have a fabulous view from the back window.

From this...

...to this.

First CSA box of the summer

Yup, the first one. What with us going camping and taking a road trip--and managing to schedule those to leave and arrive halfway through delivery weeks, as well as my general ineptitude in meeting order dates--this is the first one!

Yum. So, to report. 10 hours after pickup: cantaloupe gone, green beans nearly gone, lettuce half gone, tomatoes half gone, 1 carrot gone. Watermelon guarded from marauding boys, who must wait for tomorrow.