From the Kitchen of Sky and I

An Easter Funny.

2010-04-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

Keeping Cilantro Fresh

2010-03-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how much I adore cilantro. I especially like when they have the 4/1.00 sales at my local grocery--I buy it every time only to look for it a few days later and find that the leaves have turned to icky black slime, which means I have to pick through it all and salvage what I can. Not fun for a busy mom.

I have been told over the years that there is a way to preserve it for up to two weeks in your fridge, only for some reason I never tried it.

I should stop here and let you know that I so enjoy cilantro....so much so that I've tried to grow it practically every year for the past 10 or so years with no luck. Enter: the winter garden. Because we had so much rain over the winter, the weeds grew like crazy. Guess what I found under all the weeds? Cilantro bunches! Yeah!

So back to the instructions on how to preserve it for two weeks. I got these instructions from the Simply Recipes artcile "How to Store Parsley, Cilantro and Other Fresh Herbs". I'm copy/pasting the instructions here for your convenience.

METHOD

1 Snip off the bottom of the stems.

2 Make sure the leaves are completely dry. Better to hold off rinsing them until you're about to use them.

3 Fill a jar or a water glass partially with water and place the stem ends of the herbs into the water in the jar.

4 If you are storing the herbs in the refrigerator, cover loosely with a plastic bag. Cilantro loves cool temperatures and should be stored in the refrigerator. Parsley can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator. According to Harold McGee, basil is ideally stored at room temperature and not in the refrigerator, because it is susceptible to damage from cold.

5 Change the water after several days if the water starts to discolor.

Fresh parsley, cilantro, basil, and other fresh herbs can last up to 2 weeks or longer when stored this way.

Enjoy and blessings on ya!

Homemade Decadence

2010-02-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Pictured here: Buckeyes

I decided that I would make a special Valentine's Day treat for Sky and Danny today. They have differing tastes, so I made two types of candy: Chocolate Truffles and Buckeyes. They are wonderful, but very rich. Danny says the Buckeyes tastes just like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

And now, for your creating/tasting/indulging pleasure, the recipes.

Easy Delicious Homemade Truffles
(not pictured - recipe courtesy of Associated Content)

Ingredients:
-1-8 oz package of Cream Cheese
-2 Cups milk chocolate chips
-2 cups confectioners sugar
-1/2 package almond bark, chocolate flavored (I melted more semi-sweet chocolate and added some powdered sugar to achieve the sweetness I wanted)

Optional:
-1 tsp. of extract( vanilla,mint,raspberry,orange,(this will determine
the overall flavor of the inside of your truffles - I didn't add any, as my kids are pretty vanilla in their tastes---ha ha--I made a pun!)

Instructions:
Beat cream cheese in medium bowl. Gradually add confectioners (cup by cup
sprinkling it in and beating) sugar until well blended. Melt chocolate chips
in microwave(30 seconds stir, 15 seconds stir, 15 seconds.....etc. till blended) and add to mixture. Beat in extract and until no streaks remain. refrigerate 1 hour.

Shape into on inch balls and freeze for 10-20 minutes. Melt chocolate bark in microwave. Take truffles and dip them then put onto cookiesheet covered with wax paper. Put in freezer for 20 minutes. Now bring to room temperature and enjoy!

Yields: 20 to 40

Buckeyes (recipe courtesy of the book, "The Twelve Blessings of Christmas" by T.J. Mills)

1 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)
1/2 package almond bark, chocolate flavor

Mix above ingredients together. Roll into 3/4 or 1 inch balls. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Melt 1/2 package of almond bark (chocolate). Dip balls into chocolate one at a time. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until hard (about an hour).

*I froze both of these and they are absolutely wonderful. Enjoy!

Home Ec Chicken

2010-02-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

Sky and I learned this recipe from her latest home ec class, which is why we call it "home ec chicken". We added the true title, so you don't have to call it that. :)

This chicken comes out absolutely perfect--crunchy and chewy--pure heaven! We fell in love with it and will be using this recipe for years to come!

We'll try to remember to add a pic next time we make it!

Enjoy!

Crispy Oven-Baked Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken pieces: legs or thighs
3/4 Cup All-Purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
Dash of pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Cooking Oil Spray

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil, then spray with cooking oil spray.
2. Mix the flour with all the herbs and seasonings in a medium sized bowl. Blend well. Set aside.
3. Rinse the chicken pieces. Place them in a separate bowl or pan.
4. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, thoroughly coating each piece. Discard any leftover flour mixture.
5. Place the chicken pieces in the prepared 9” x 13” pan so that they do not touch each other.
6. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and brush the chicken with melted butter or margarine. You may turn the pieces over with tongs if you wish, but it is not essential.
7. Return the pan to the oven and bake 15 minutes more, or until done. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of a piece of chicken. It must reach 170 degrees to be thoroughly cooked.

Variations:
• Replace half of the flour with cornmeal for an extra crunchy crust.
• Try other combinations of herbs. Rosemary, tarragon, garlic or lemon pepper can be used alone or in combination with the herbs above.
• For a spicy twist, add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the dry ingredients.

Recipe Courtesy of Future Christian Homemakers. (http://www.futurechristianhomemakers.com/)

Buttery Soft Crescent Rolls

2010-01-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

Buttery Soft Crescent Rolls (Breadmaker)

(courtesy of www.recipezaar.com, #236658)

2 hours prep, 16 rolls

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/4 cup butter, melted

Place ingredients into bread maker in order recommended by manufacturer: water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast. Reserve additional butter (1/4 cup) for later.
Select dough/knead cycle and start. This cycle should mix dough and allow it to rise for 1 hour.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with additional butter.
Cut into 16 pie shaped wedges. Roll wedges starting with wide end into crescent shapes.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet and allow to rise for an additional hour.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees F o until golden brown.

The Christening.

2010-01-17T08:20:00.000-08:00

Some people christen their new boats by smashing a bottle of champagne on it, we christened our new oven by baking a cake in it. Actually, Sky did. I haven't baked a thing in it, but I can tell that it's gonna be good when I do!

Yummm!

Dutch Oven Recipes?

2010-01-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

The other day when I was posting about the new additions to our family, I forgot to mention this baby. It's an Emerilwear Cast Iron 6-quart Dutch Oven, and I got it for my birthday. From time to time I have tried recipes that have called for a dutch oven, but I've always just substituted my regular soup pots for it....and always felt like I was violating some sort of "recipe law" in doing so.

The last time I did this, it was when Sky and I made Julia Child's Beouf Bourguignon. It turned out good, but I'm convinced it would have been better in a dutch oven, so we'll likely try it again. But what about after that? What else can we make in it?

Please share your favorite dutch oven recipes with us. Who knows? Maybe we'll feature one on our blog, and if we do, guess what? You get a prize. :)

Happy Thursday!

New additions to our family.....

2010-01-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

of appliances, that is!

First up, we've got the Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper.....

Next up, the Black & Decker Citrus Juicer

and the piece de resistance.....

(sorry--couldn't find the french accents)

the Maytag MGR7775WS. In addition to doing all the things that our old oven did--but better--it is also a convection oven, has a self-cleaning function, dons two 15000 BTU burners and has a cast iron grill over the whole top surface of the stove (the last of the two features will make it ideal for canning). It also comes with three oven racks, which, in addition to the convection feature, made Sky very very happy. The fact that I have more options for cooking now is what makes me very happy.

Stay tuned to find out how we use these lovely new additions to our family!

Cheese Carrots

2009-12-24T05:50:00.000-08:00

Our family got this recipe from a friend years ago....their family came and had Thanksgiving dinner with us, and they brought "Cheese Carrots". I had no idea what they were, but was delightfully surprised at how easy it was to make. Sylvia made hers with Cheez Whiz, but I have since switched to Velveeta, as it is easier to find, and seems to be less expensive.

Cheese Carrots

2lbs Velveeta Cheese, diced into 1" cubes
6 cans carrots

Dump 2 cans of carrots into the crockpot, liquid and all. Cover carrots with 1/3 of the cheese cubes. Open and drain two more cans of carrots and cover with 1/3 of the cheese cubes. Do that one more time (make sure to drain the last two cans of carrots), then cover the crockpot. Heat on high for as long as it takes to melt all the cheese, stirring every 15-30 minutes. Keep warm on low and enjoy!

Mom's Homemade Soup

2009-12-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, my mom taught me to make this simple, but yummy soup. I'm making it today and thought I would share. :)

Mom's Homemade Soup

1.5 lb of stew beef
4-6 medium potatoes, diced into 1" squares
4-6 carrots, sliced
half an onion, diced (optional)
1 tsp minced garlic (optional)
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
water
a little canola oil

In a large soup pan heat a little canola oil (2 tbsp if you need a measurement). Saute onions and garlic (if you are using them). Add meat, potatoes and carrots, and cook until the meat is browned, and the potatoes and carrots are about halfway cooked. Add tomato sauce and water to cover all of the meat and veggies. Bring to a boil and simmer until meat and veggies are all the way cooked. Simmer longer for more tender meat. Add a can of corn or green beans (or both!) for variety.

Enjoy!

2009-10-15T17:21:00.001-07:00

We're going to be on a break for now from cooking and blogging. Every so often I get weary of activity and need to step off for a bit from things. That time is now. We will be back when I am feeling better, but for now, I'm dealing with some physical stuff that is leaving me feeling as if my plate is too full....and if Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! Thanks for understanding everyone.

Blessings to you,

Manicotti, french bread and spongecake.

2009-10-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Sky and I made a yummy dinner. This is funny though, because when we chose this manicotti thinking it was Julia Child's manicotti recipe. Instead, after reading the small print at the bottom of the blog post, we found that it was not Julia Child's recipe, but Julia Riseman's. We just went with it.

First, we browned some onions for the sauce.

Next we added the rest of the ingredients.

Next, the filling for the manicotti shells.

Sky had an excellent idea, it worked awesome!

Ready for the oven!

Done!

We didn't scrap Julia recipes altogether though. We did her french bread and butter spongecake recipes. Here's the french bread. Not bad for our first time, but it looks a bit wonky. Tastes good though!

Fresh out of the oven spongecake.

and frosted:

The spongecake recipe was from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Mmmmmm!

Bon Appetit!

Teriyaki Sauce

2009-09-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Parsley mentioned teriyaki sauce in a comment here on Sky and I, so I thought I would share our very simple teriyaki sauce recipe with you all. We got this from my friend Linda C. about 10 years ago, and still use it. Here ya go Parsley and everyone else!

Teriyaki Sauce

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (or to taste)
1 tbsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)

Add all ingredients to a sauce pan and mix. Heat until boiling then simmer 10 minutes. (Be careful, if you leave it boiling on high, it WILL boil over and leave a sticky mess on your stove!) Makes a wonderful sauce for pouring over rice or veggies. You may also use it to add to your stir fry. I have not tried it as a marinade, but I'll bet it would work nicely this way.

Enjoy!

Cooking day!

2009-09-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sky and I have been so busy with school and other things that we didn't choose our recipes for this weekend until Friday! We have them, though, and we'll be cooking them up today. Julia's Manicotti is in the plan, but I'm not sure which dessert we have chosen yet. It's between two yummy choices, and well, it'll just have to be a suprise.

Be patient now...

Our favorite steak marinade.

2009-09-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

We are having steak for dinner tonight, so I thought I'd share our very favorite recipe with you all. :)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp salt
pepper, to taste
1 tsp celery salt

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together and pour over 1-2 lbs of steak. Pour over steak and poke holes in meat with a fork (both sides). Allow steak to marinade in the fridge for 2 hours before barbecuing.

Enjoy!

Proofing Yeast

2009-09-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Here is another practice video that I finished this morning. I should say that the yeast that I used in the video was not the freshest yeast, but you can see a difference between the two. I did this pretty much just for practice in video editing (I'm not great at it--sorry for all the "noise" in the background, I'm still learning how to edit it out), and your end result should really be much puffier than my yeast.

Confessions......and a Video for ya.

2009-09-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

Ok first the confession. I'm tired from a busy week. I have a few bucks to my name that has my gas tank's name on it. I don't have all the ingredients for anything in Julia's lovely french cookbook. Poor planning on my part? Maybe, but things don't always go as planned and it's my turn to use that excuse, thank you very much.

So. We are taking the weekend off from cooking Julia recipes. I know it seems like we JUST started, but you must understand that we only post a tiny fraction of all of the cooking we actually do--canning, processing fruits and veggies, dehydrating, home ec class, and just everyday cooking keeps us pretty busy in the kitchen.

We will do some cooking--after all, we have to eat, right? If I can muster the fortitude, I'll try to video a few little techniques that we use for whatever we are doing. We mean to start a little series called "Cookin' with Sky" in which Sky will share cooking tips and tricks with you, but I need to learn how to edit video first. In an effort to practice, I've edited a little something for your enjoyment. I'm allowing you to watch this, but please don't tell anyone I did this....LOL.

Without further adieu, Sky and I present to you "The Oreo Challenge".

.....bon appetit?

Finally! Julia's Baked Chicken and Chocolate Mousse!

2009-09-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

We're so sorry it took us so long to post this! It was a crazy weekend, so instead of doing a whole slew of photos, we decided to just video the end results and be done with it. Hope you enjoy our cheesy video!

Bon Appetit!

Busy weekend!

2009-09-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Please please forgive Sky and I for not posting our Julia dishes yet! We promise to get it done tomorrow!

We had a surprise change of plans right in the middle of our cooking day. We thought we would be going to see Sassy (my eldest and Sky's big sis) for her birthday next week, but instead, we decided to go on Saturday afternoon--RIGHT after we were through cooking, eating and cleaning up the mess.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to do a step by step blog like we did last weekend, but we have a little bit of video to show you of the finished products.

Stay tuned!

Today's the big day!

2009-09-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Cheer us on! We've added a couple of sides to our entree and dessert, so here's our menu for today:

Julia Child's Favorite Roast Chicken (Food and Wine Magazine - 1/97)
Gratin Dauphinois (Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a pinch of Garlic - Mastering the Art of French Cooking, p523)
Julia Child's Chocolate Mousse (The Way to Cook, 1989)
Julia Child's Food Processor Method French Bread (The Way to Cook)

A daunting menu, indeed, but not really if you have two people. It is my feeling that if could tackle Boeuf Bourguignon, we can tackle anything! We'll see....

Stay tuned for details!

Smooooooothies!

2009-09-12T09:46:00.000-07:00

I have no pictures this time, but I do have an AWESOME recipe!

1 Large handful of Strawberries, and/or any other fruits you like
Milk (about 1 1/2 cups I think, but maybe more)
1/2-1 banana
(optional) A few sprinkles of flax seeds.
A spoonful of honey

Mix all these together in a blender, and you'll get a GREAT smoothie!

Ta da! This weekend's recipes have been chosen: Chicken and Chocolate!

2009-09-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

It's gettin' late in the week and so I figured we'd better let y'all know what we are hoping to make this weekend. I say "hope" because it's Sassy's birthday and we may be heading down to see her for her birthday. My girl will be 20! Wow!

Anyway--back to the food. We've chosen Julia Child's Famous Roast Chicken for our entree, and her Chocolate Mousse for dessert. We'll also make homemade whipped cream, which we'll serve over the mousse.

If you join us, post a little note here and let us know! Bon Appetit!

Tarte Tatin

2009-09-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we made Tarte Tatin!

First, we mixed up the dough, in a food processor:

Then we wrapped it up in plastic wrap:

We put it in the fridge for about 2:00 hours. After which, we started cutting, peeling, and soaking the apples, and zesting and juicing the lemon:

After this, we mixed together pan melted butter, and 1/2 cup of sugar, making this mixture (uncaramelized):

After it caramelized (unfortunately we have no picture), we placed the apples fanned out from the middle of the pan, pressing on them with a potato masher every few minutes:

(Finished cooking)

After which, we did something(I think)...(I can't remember >__<) Then rolled out the dough, and covered the skillet with the dough, and filled in the spots between the pan and the apples, then making four air vent with a butter knife, like these:

After that, we baked it (in the skillet), and turned it over onto a plate...which was challenging considering the skillet was about 3-6lb....Not including the Tarte...Tatin. Haha, anyways, this is what the our lovely Tarte Tatin looked like!!

(Link for recipe at top)

Boeuf Bourguignon

2009-09-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

So, as planned, Sky and I armed ourselves on Sunday morning, ready to cook "Julia style". We scrambled around the kitchen gathering our ingredients for Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon (click words for PDF recipe file).

The recipe called for 3 cups of full-bodied young red wine. We got this Merlot for free last weekend, which was perfect timing, as we knew we would need it for this dish. Yay for free!

We chose one of our cast iron skillets for our "fireproof casserole". It was about the right size. I love cast iron, and I don't use this one much as I have another larger one that is my everyday skillet. I was really happy to get some use out of this one. Cast iron rules!

Because we were making our own beef stock/bouillon, Sky did this first, so as not to lose our momentum later when we really needed it. All she did was to unwrap 3 bouillon cubes and pour 3 cups of hot water over them. She then stirred it up well until the cubes dissolved.

This is how it looked afterward.

Once she was finished with the bouillon, she got started removing the rinds from the bacon end pieces we decided to use. We chose to use bacon end pieces because they were cheaper than buying the salt pork from our local store. It seemed the same in that the salt pork was sliced in the same way that the bacon ends were, but it was prettier. It was also about $1.75 more expensive for the same amount of bacon. We saved that $1.75 just getting the this tray of scrappy bacon ends.

Meanwhile, I added the olive oil to our skillet and got that ready for lightly browning the bacon.

As Sky was seperating the bacon rind from the rest of the bacon, she put the rinds into water for later boiling, and the bacon into our chosen skillet.

Next, we went to boiling the rinds and lightly browning the bacon.

Once that was taken care of, we removed the bacon to a casserole dish, and added in our dried stew beef...only it wasn't stew beef, it was largely diced top sirloin, because that's all I had. Next time I make it (if there is a next time), I would use stew beef. It just cookes up better in broth--so much moister, and a lot less chewy in the end.

Browning the beef. Plan on doing this for a while, and cleaning a lot of grease off your stove afterward. Bleh.

Ahh, this looks done! Perfect!

Here's the beef and the bacon, maxing and relaxing while we change our focus to the veggies.

Now it was time to add the diced carrots. If you make this, don't drain the bacon/beef fat out of the pan--you will need it for sauteing your veggies. I recall I needed to add a little more olive oil to the pan, as a lot of it was carried off by the beef.

Once the veggies looked nice and soft, we were supposed to drain off any oil, but there really wasn't much left. Next we added the bacon and the beef back to the veggies. (Sorry for the blurry pic.)

Next, we added the salt and pepper, and tossed it together for even distribution.

Next, we added the flour and tossed it all together. The flour should coat the beef lightly, and will work to thicken the sauce later.

The beef mixture went into the oven once for 4 minutes, then out of the oven for a quick toss, then back into the oven for 4 minutes.

After the second 4-minute session in the oven, we removed the pan and turned the oven down. It was originally at 450, I believe. Thankfully, Julia gave us a hundred-plus degree reprieve. It was really hot in the kitchen! (Don't mind our floury fingerprints!)

Next--the wine! We added 3 cups of the stuff! It was smelling really yummy by this time!

The wine really filled up the pan, so much so that we thought we would be able to fit the bouillon into the recipe. We remedied that by pouring off about a cup of the wine to make room. We wanted it to taste more like beef than Merlot, so that seemed to be the obvious solution for us. We didn't regret it.

Next, we added Sky's bouillon, the tomato paste, bacon rind, herbs and lots of garlic.

Can you imagine the aromas in our kitchen? We were dyyyyyyyying! Here is a parade of pics for ya.

All mixed up and ready for the oven! I have to admit, I wasn't really looking forward to eating bacon rind. It seemed really weird to add that back in, and still, I don't really know the purpose.

We covered our skillet and placed it carefullly into the oven.

The recipe calls for 2.5-3 hours, so we left it in for about 2.5 hours, then checked it.

This is what we found.....oh my stars, it was lovely!

It certainly looked edible at this point, but we weren't done yet! We were doing this "Julia style" remember? Not Kristi and Sky style....which would have been to serve it up, tear off a piece of our braided bread we made on Saturday and pork--I mean beef--out!

But alas, we needed to drain the meat mixture from the broth, thicken the broth (we used a flour/water mixture whisked in). Once the broth was thickened to our liking, we returned it to the meat mixture and folded it all together.

We served it with steamed potatoes (instead of the recommended boiled ones). If we hadn't been so excited to eat it, we would have warmed up our braided bread and topped it with real butter to round out the meal! It was delicious!

So, that was our journey into Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon--thanks for joining us! Stay tuned for Sky's blog post on the Tarte Tatin. I liked that even better than the Boeuf Bourguignon! If you try this recipe, please make sure to let us know so we can share in the joy with you!

Blessings and Bon Appetit!

Almost ready?

2009-09-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ok we've got all the stuff we need to make our Boeuf Bourguignon (I'll never get used to typing that out) and our Tarte Tatin. Just so you know, BB is sort of like a beef stew with carrots and onions and TT is sort of like an upside down apple pie. They both look really fancy in photos (not sure if ours will, but you can google some photos of these dishes) and delicious too!

I'm still not sure if we'll video the process. I'm not a video editor at all, and so I might stick with photos. The problem with photos is that there is not enough natural light in our kitchen for them to look very good. Oh well, we'll just give it a go somehow! It'll be fun whichever way, I'm sure!

Getting excited? Us too! :D

(almost) Bon Appetit!

Hi!........and Recipe Plans

2009-09-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence--we are gearing up for this weekend's "Julia recipe". Won't you join us? Here is the link for the recipes we will be trying:

Beouf Bourguignon (PDF)
Tarte Tatin

Won't you join us in trying out these classic recipes? Let us know if you do!

Teaser.

2009-08-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

'Julie and Julia' Boeuf Bourguignon @ Yahoo! Video

Stay tuned....our "Simple Cooking for the Servantless Americans" adventure starts next weekend!

*excited*

Gotta Love Yard Sales!

2009-08-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

My sweet MIL picked this up for Sky and I at a yard sale this weekend. We have never owned a Rachael Ray cookbook before, so we are interested in trying out some of her recipes--maybe she'll be one of our "adventures"!

Happy weekend!

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

2009-08-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

I found a recipe to try. As a kid, I loved cinnamon raisin bread, toasted with butter. Mmm....here's the recipe I'll try tomorrow.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread (1.5lb loaf)

1 cup + 2 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp margarine or butter

3 cups bread flour

1 Tbsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp active dry yeast

3/4 cup dark raisins

Select loaf size. Add ingredients to machine according to manufacturer's directions.

NOTE: I will likely find a recipe for white frosting to drizzle over the top for added sweetness. Stay tuned for photos soon!

Prezzie Love....

2009-08-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sky's birthday, usually wrought with cute clothes, Littlest Pet Shop figures, and video games was different this year. Oh she got all of the usual presents---everyone knows what she loves and wants to please our sweet girl---however, this year was different. Wanna know why?

WILTON CAKE DECORATING GOODNESS!

Take a look:

Look at all that loot! Oh! One more thing:

Cupcake Fun!

I can't wait to see what Sky comes up with in the future! For now, take a look at the birthday cake she made for herself. Ain't it grand? Ok, I did the piping, but she made the flattest cake she has ever made, thanks to her new cake leveler. She also dyed the frosting all by herself this pretty lavender color. Make a wish, Sky!

New Julia book, woot!

2009-08-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Visited the bookstore today. This should get Sky and I geared up and excited for our first cooking adventure!

Blessings,

Other library books on our shelves....

2009-08-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

Alright, now that I've mourned the loss of Julia's cookbook...the book that slipped through my fingers....the one that was so close and yet so far...it's time to get over it. *bucks up and holds her head high* Our library trip wasn't a total loss and so we want to share with you the books we *did* get.

First up: Bread Machine Bounty by Better Homes and Gardens....and her sister, More Bread Machine Bounty

These lovely spiral-bound books (the spirals are hidden--so cool!) are chock full of recipes--we can't wait to try some of them!

Next up: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fondues and Hot Dips by Ellen Brown

This book looks like lots of fun, and being that we've never used my fondue pot before, it's time, and the title probably fits!

And last, but not least: The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating: Volume One, A Complete Encyclopedia

A bit dated from it's counterpart, Volume 2, it still holds promise of learning many cake decorating techniques from how to use decorating tubes to make flowers and other decorations, to using fondant, to how to "weave" a basket out of frosting and more!

Today, since it's Sky's birthday, her school work is to browse through our library books and choose a simple recipe or technique from each one to try. We'll keep you posted on all of our progress, so stay tuned!

Kicks Self

2009-08-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had it made. It was all set. Then I blew it. What did I blow? Take a look:

I had it on hold at the library for Sky and I to browse through, but I showed up to the library on the 11th day instead of one of the first 10, and wouldn't you know that they only hold books that you put on hold for 10 days? *kicks self again*

We were really excited and looking forward to getting a hold of it too, since we haven't been able to find even one copy on the shelf of any bookstore since we saw Julie & Julia. Blargh. *more kicks*

*wishes for a cookbook fairy right about now*

Grandpa's Chili

2009-08-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

(This was cross-posted on my blog, and our family blog, so if you've already seen it, please forgive the repeat. I figured I'd share it here since it is a recipe, and a delicious one at that!)

My late Grandpa was big on having his chili on whatever he was eating. I don't know that I ever saw him eat anything without that special chili of his, or if I ever remember opening grandma's refrigerator and NOT seeing his special bowl of chili. Often when the kids and I would go visit with Grandma, she would make her famous (to us) tostadas and let me use Grandpa's chili on mine. Mmmm.....so good. One day I asked Grandpa to share his recipe with me, and he did. I know I wrote it down somewhere, but I can't remember where, and so today, Sky and tried to make it from memory. I don't know whether we got it right, I'm not sure we have the ingredients down perfectly as he varied them each time, but this is the basic recipe. Anyway, without further adieu, here's the recipe. If you try it, just know that it's HOT!

Grandpa's Chili

Ingredients:
10 (or 20 small) large yellow chilis, washed seeded and quartered
2 habanero chilis, washed seeded and quartered
8 ounces tomato sauce
4 ounces water
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions:
Put all items into a food processor (use the chopping blade) and chop/blend on high for about 30 seconds to a minute. Store in the refrigerator. Use on absolutely everything!

Enjoy!

And here's my welcome!

2009-08-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I'm Kristi (aka Calico Prairie around the net), and this is our cooking blog. As Sky mentioned, it was inspired by the movie Julie & Julia (LOVED IT!), but since cooking through Julia's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" has been done already, we decided to cook recipes from various of our favorite famous chefs and share our progress with you. The "plan", slated to begin the first Saturday in September with none other than Julia Child, is to take a different chef every two months (8 dinner recipes, 8 dessert recipes) and take lots of photos and hopefully even some videos of our progress, all for your enjoyment! And please feel free to follow along with us and share your progress with us---we'd LOVE to see how your dishes turn out!

For now, settle in, get to know us, and enjoy our blog posts as Sky and I gear up for our first series, "Simple Cooking for the Servantless Americans".

Bon Appetit!

Hello!

2009-08-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

I'm Sky, and I'm here to welcome!

This will be our project blog, I hope to do this every year, but who knows. LOL

Anyways, what we are doing is simple, taking recipes from different cooks (Julia Childs, Rachel Ray, etc.) and cooking them each for 2 months of the year. WE should end up with 6-12 months if we can find enough recipes, I myself am a fan of Julia Childs, I watch her show sometimes, but it's kind of hard with a broken computer (using someone else's). Me and Cali (My new nickname for her, or mom....LOL) have not fully decided (A.K.A we have no idea) who's recipes we're going to cook, and what cooks. One person we have chosen is Julia Childs. We got the inspiration from the new movie Julie & Julia (LOVED IT!!) and decided that we were going to switch it around a bit, and do something similar to what Julie Powell did.

Happy recipying (is that a word!?)!
♥Sly Sky♥