The plumcot...why not?

Another fun find during the grocery shopping trip mentioned in my previous post were plumcots. If I'm not mistaken, they were on sale. Never having had a plumcot before, I decided it was high time to ride myself of that particular ignorance. I selected three succulent looking victims, (ended up being less a dollar for all three!), and added them to the already growing number of fresh fruits and veggies in my basket at the time.

Granted, like many Americans, I tend to be slow to actually snacking on fresh fruit when I'm standing in my kitchen looking for something to munch, so it's taken me a few days to actually get around to trying these pear-green beauties. I love plums, and I've recently become a fan of fresh apricots (I grew up eating the dried ones). True to my beliefs about trying new foods, I took a massive bite of the fruit, and let the juices run down my mouth. Upon first taste, it was like biting into a ball of honey. The flesh was extremely sweet and fairly mushy. The skin had a delightful tartness that cut into the almost unbearable sweetness.

I'm not really a fan of very sweet fruit, I actually prefer tartness. When shopping for grapes, most people sample them for sweetness; I go for the ones that look hard and will likely be more sour. Tart berries are the best. I even prefer watermelon that's not very sweet (I also like it warm rather than cold). So while it would be an overstatement to say I hate the plumcot, I'll just say I'm not really a fan. To each; her own. I've still got two more, and I promise you, they won't go to waste.

Just in thyme

I love going grocery shopping early in the morning. If you've never done it; you should. It's so luxurious to go in, and feel unrushed. You actually have time to compare labels, prices, and make a more thought-out decision. I tend to feel like I have more freedom to be creative and let the food speak to me. I also find I tend to make less impulsive buys, because I can walk around slowly and really think about each purchase. Seriously gang, give early AM shopping a try.

Anywho. this morning, I heard some good things coming from the pork chops that were on sale, so I snagged a pack. It was a pretty good deal. I got 8 nice sized chops for under $5! With a find like that, you have to do something tasty to celebrate!

Garlic-Thyme Pork Chops

What you need:
1 stick of butter
pork chops
1-2 tsp garlic powder (or granules)
1-2 tsp dried thyme leaves
salt & pepper

What you do:

Melt about half of the butter in a large pan.

Season the chops with the thyme, garlic, salt & pepper.
Place chops in the hot butter. There really should be a nice layer of melted butter, maybe as much as 1/4 inch thick, but definitely enough so that it comes up the sides of the chops.

Make sure you've got the pan under a low fame. We're not trying to fry the chops, just make a little butter hot tub for them. Let everything hang out for about 5-7 minutes, depending on how thick your chops are. Turn the chops over. They should have some good browning on the first side. Allow the other side to cook another 5-7 minutes, and you're done!

You can toss some chopped or sliced onion into the pan after you remove the chops, with a bit of extra oil or butter, for a tasty topping for the chops.

Slowly cooking the chops in butter makes them SO tender and yummy! I hope you give this recipe a try. If you do, let me know how it goes!

Happy eating!

menu plan monday

This is what I've got planned for my meals this week. Being single has it's perks...there are only two different meals listed here, but they will feed me for an entire week.

Red Beans and Rice
BBQ Sloppy Joes

What's missing? Oh yeah, sweet yumminess...how about a chocolate-banana cream pie? Mmmm...

Anywho, I hope your planning tasty yumminess this week as well!

For the love of...

I recently made a promise to food. I promised I would be kind to it...give it a chance, and try not to judge it too much by it's appearance. When trying new foods, I've found diving in and taking a huge bite proves to be much more satisfying than taking a tentative nibble. It also helps avoid a premature proclamation of disdain. You really can't get the full, honest impression of something if your tongue approaches it with fear and trembling. I've trained my tongue to approach completely ready to fall in love. No hesitations or hiccups at the gateway of my taste buds. Thus far, this theory has provided me with countless treks to Yum-town. On a few occasions my tongue has found itself a bit incompatible with a few items, but that's to be expected. You can't really be a foodie if you have no discretion in your tastes. I've also found it's best not to ask what something is until after you've swallowed a good mouthful of it...possibly two. This tends to keep you honest. Think about it...how often have you tried something and liked it...until you found out what was in it? So what if that new dish you tasted is actually cow eyeballs boiled in rat dung puree? If you liked it when you tried it, then own up to it! Don't suddenly leave it hanging because you found out it doesn't run w/the cool crowd of ingredients. Alright, folks, enough of muh preachin', get out there and try something new!

Food is not the enemy

Why is it that food always seems to be one of the causalities of life? Whether it be a meal that's punctuated by tension and pent up rage; supper preparations that get side tracked by sudden pain; or a total lack of appetite because one's heart is hurting so intensely it drowns out the cries of the belly.

It's interesting how, much to my constant shock and occasional dismay, my body does at least attempt to continue to function even during the hard times. When pain, sorrow, and misery are all that I can focus on, my tummy still demands sustenance. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), my mind is kind enough to put a stop to the actual psychological desire for food, thus my tummy eventually learns to shut up. Still surprising, considering as how stomach growling means there's air going through your stomach and intestines, so unless something begins to fill them...the growling should continue. After a while, though, bile starts getting rid of some of the air. Nothing more annoying that sobbing hysterically, and having your stomach trying to compete with you, emitting it's own keeling wails of dismay.

From a rational, analytical standpoint, eating/food is supposed to be an objective sort of experience. In the strictest sense, food is only meant to keep us alive...nothing else. We humans, however, have gone and made a ripe mess of things by tying all sorts of social, economic, spiritual, and emotional meanings to food. Think about a wedding, for example, how would you feel if you attended a wedding that offered no refreshments at all...not even punch. Contrast that to how you'd feel if you attended a wedding with a sit-down meal. Would you be more or less pleased? Keep in mind the outcome of the wedding is the exact same. The man and the woman are married. Technically, isn't the reason for going to a wedding, to see two people get married? So why, then, do we somehow feel less happy about the event if we're left to fend for ourselves when it comes to having our hunger satiated?

I am, of course, not saying it's totally wrong to have certain psychological connections to food. Various smells, tastes, and the sight of some foods leads to pleasant strolls down memory lane, which is actually a good thing.

On the other hand, stress, depression and other issues, makes some people eat too much. Gaining 20 lbs because your boyfriend broke up with you, doesn't exactly make you love food. Suddenly, those 12 ding-dongs you ate, are the enemy, and end up being punished for your jacked-up emotions. Sort of like when someone says, "Do these pants make me look fat?" No; your fat makes you look fat.

I say then, we rescue food from it's impossible position in our life. Avoid eating when you're emotional and/or not hungry. At the same time, no matter how upset you are, don't go days without eating...sending your body into starvation mode. Try to eat something at least once a day. Your body still needs nutrients and energy to keep on making that broken heart of yours keep beating (no matter how much you would rather it stop). Don't reward or punish children with food. By punish, I mean, do the whole "you're not getting up from this table until you eat every bite of your food" thing. A child will eat when they are hungry (they're awesomely selfish that way. They will not let themselves starve), and likewise, they won't eat when they aren't hungry. Forcing a child to eat, because you want to prove your point is teaching them to override their body's signals of satiation. This could then lead to your precious little one being famous...as the largest human being alive. When your emotions go into a spin, do some sort of physical activity like walking, jogging, dancing or whatever.

Food is not the enemy. The enemy is the enemy.

Camping 2

Camping was tons of fun! The rain kind of followed us around for a bit, but didn't totally dampen our trip (pun intended). It was great being outdoors, and really taking/having the time to enjoy the beauty God has endowed all nature with. One of the things I enjoyed most was cooking over the open fire, and yes...I did bring my apron.

Here's what we had:

Friday
Lunch: PBJ sandwiches
Supper: Chili w/crackers

Saturday
Breakfast: Banana Pancakes
Lunch: Bean Burritos w/salsa
Supper: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Tomato-Basil Soup, Sweet potato fries

Sunday:
Breakfast: Sweet potato pancakes
Lunch: Leftovers- PB&Banana Sandwiches, tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, mashed sweet potatoes

We had TONS of fruit to snack on/for desert as well. Needless to say, we didn't starve. On the way back to home, we stopped in a neighboring town for supper. A cute, little Mexican restaurant. I had chicken enchiladas. Not bad. We got back in Sunday at close to midnight, so tired we could barely keep our eyes open.

Camping 1

So I'm pretty excited. This weekend, I'm going camping with some dear friends. What really excites me is the culinary challenge, as I have never cooked on a camping trip. I'm not exactly sure how it will turn out, but I know I'll enjoy the experience. Another frontier to be conquered! (not that I've conquered any frontiers) I'll let you know how it goes, of course. If you happen to have any menu suggestions, please post them in the comment section!!

Happy eating!

Riiiiiibs!!

The grocery store here has some pretty amazing deals from time to time. Recently, there was a sale on some lovely HUGE pork ribs. $1 a pound!! Monday, I made some super yummy, oniony, slow cooked ribs. They absolutely melted in my mouth!

What you need:

Huge, well marbled pork ribs (not baby back ribs)
1-2 pkg onion soup mix
2 tbs worshire sauce
large plastic or glass container with lid
Olive oil


What you do:

Rub the soup mix and worshire sauce into each rib. They should not be soaking wet, just damp. Allow the marinade for at least 2 hours, but preferably 6-8 or even overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. In a super hot pan, add a about 3 tbs olive oil. Place each rib in the pan, but DON'T CROWD THEM! Let each side get well seared (dark brown)...roughly 3-4 mins per side, eye ball it. You're not looking to get them totally done!!

In a large, covered baking dish, lightly coat the bottom with olive oil...maybe 4 tbs. Put the ribs in the dish, and use a bit of water (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup) to deglaze the pan. Deglazing just means, adding enough water or liquid to get the crusty stuff off the bottom of the pan...it makes a lovely sauce, since that's where all the flavor collects! Add the juice over the top of the ribs. You can add chopped veggies at this point (potatoes, carrots, celery, turnips, etc.)

Cover the dish and bake for around 30 mins. Check the ribs, to see if they're done to your liking. There should be no blood, but a touch of pink is okay. Don't overcook them...unless you like super tough meat.

Happy eating!

Humpday Hunger Happenings

Tonight was the first night in a while that I didn't have anything scheduled, so I took advantage of the free time to make a colorful, healthy(ish), yumalicious meal.

Menu:

Roasted Red Pepper/Spinach Pizza (whole wheat crust)
Garden salad tossed with bacon bits and flax seeds (Ranch Dressing, of course)
Coconut Rice pudding

The meal may sound kinda fancy, but it's actually super simple and quick to make (40 minutes or less)

Pizza:

Preheat: 450

For the Crust:

1 tbs. dry active yeast (1 packet)
1 cup warm water (not boiling!)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
2 1/2 cups flour (go half whole wheat, half all purpose if you'd like)

For some reason, people feel like good homemade pizza has to be this all-day, excessively complicated undertaking. When you use this recipe, you can actually make, from scratch, a pizza more quickly than you can cook a frozen one!

1.) Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt, and oil. Whisk until will mixed.
2.) Add flour and mix until dough pulls away from sides.
3.) Dump dough onto floured surface and knead 2-4 minutes.**
4.) Grease pan, and sprinkle the bottom lightly with cornmeal. Roll out dough until it is large enough to fit your pan. Place rolled out dough into pan.

Toppings:

About 1 cup pasta sauce
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup or so roasted red peppers, from a jar, drained and roughly chopped
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

I just use the cheapest pasta sauce I can find. Nothing fancy there, it's good and saves time. For extra kick, you can sprinkle Italian seasonings onto the crust, pre-sauce. Pour the sauce on, and spread it out. I layered the veggies and cheese, just to get everything mixed up and evenly distributed.

Bake: 10-12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is well melted. Enjoy! Notes: ** You can let the dough rise for up to 30 minutes, if you'd like. It's a good way to give yourself some time to do other things (like make a salad) since the cooking time is so short**
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coconut Rice Pudding

What you need:

2 cups Arborio rice (the kind usually used for risotto...it makes for a very creamy pudding! You can use regular rice, as well)
1- 14.5 oz can coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup or so sugar (to your taste)
1 1/2 cup milk (evaporated milk works great here)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
2 egg yolks

What you do:

1.) Warm milks, water, extracts, and sugar in medium sized sauce pan until warm but not boiling.
2.) Add rice. Cook 25-35 minutes, or until the rice is done to your liking.
3.) Put egg yolks in a small bowl, and add about 1/4 cup of the rice cooking liquid to the yolks and whisk with a fork until well incorporated.
4.) Add egg mixture to rice pan and mix well. Allow to cook 5 more minutes, pudding should be somewhat set.
5.) If you have tons of liquid still in the pan, cook a bit longer and be prepared to remove the excess and cook more rice in a smaller pot with it. (Don't add more rice to the original pot or you'll end up with some crunchy rice and some gummy rice in the same spoonful).
You can serve the pudding immediately, or you can serve it chilled. If you'd like, you can also melt some chocolate or carob into the pudding for an added layer of flavor!

Free Pancakes at IHOP

Yes, that's right, FREE pancakes at IHOP! On February 24th from 7am to 10pm, all participating IHOP restaraunts will give you a "short stack" (3) free pancakes. You will have the option to give a donation to a Children's Hosptial or whatever charity your particular IHOP is supporting, but it's only a suggestion. Let your concience be your guide on that. Here's the link with more details. Woohoo for free food!

Harvest time

So we all know I love bacon...obviously. But, shhhhh, don't tell Mr. Tocino, I'm seeing someone one the side. Pumpkin rocks my world. I had some old bread in the fridge and decided the time had come for me to experience pumpkin bread pudding. After perusing multiple recipes online, I came up with one that is a mixture of the best.

Harvest Bread Pudding

What you need:
6-7 cups cubed whole wheat bread
2 eggs
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup brown sugar
7-8 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract

What you do:

Pre heat: 350. In a large bowl toss the bread, cranberries, and walnuts together. In a medium bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients. Pour the egg mixture over the bread, and allow it all to hang out for about 10 mins, though the longer it hangs out, the tastier it will be! Grease a casserole dish or 8x8 inch baking dish. Pour the pudding in and bake 30ish minutes, or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve with Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

Cinnamon Caramel Sauce:

This is my own invention...I'm kind of infatuated with it.

The players:

1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
1/4 cup powdered milk (you could use regular milk or cream, but you need to warm it first)

The game plan:

Melt butter in small saucepan, add sugar and cinnamon. Allow the mixture to boil, then WHISK in the milk (again, if you're using regular milk or cream, warm it before adding it to the sugar mixture or it will curdle and leave lumps in your sauce). If you're using dry milk, it won't take long for the sauce get to the right consistency (4-5 mins). If you're using the regular stuff, it may take longer. You'll know what consistency you're looking for.

That's it folks! Serve the pudding warm with the sauce. Happy eating!

Sunday's roast becomes Monday's stroganoff

So I really enjoy giving leftovers a makeover (that's a mouthful). It's fun making something completely new and different from something old, and possibly mundane. I am afforded this opportunity quite often thanks to getting leftovers from catering. Today, I made beef stroganoff with some leftover roast beef.

What you need:

Leftover roast beef (however much you have)
1 can (14.5 oz or so) beef stock
1 can (10 oz or so) cream of mushroom soup
chopped mushrooms
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
cooked egg noodles

What you do:

Mix together the first 5 ingredients in a large skillet (or big pot, if you've got lots of roast). If the sauce needs to be thickened, mash 1 tbs. butter and a teaspoon or two of cornstarch together, and add it to the sauce. ***Using a fat to add the thickening agent to a sauce makes for a smoother sauce.*** Simmer for about 15 mins, and toss w/noodles.

Enjoy!

Heads down, thumbs up, lets eat 7 up

Yesterday was a friend's birthday, and of course, I felt the occasion should be marked with cake. He hinted around that his favorite cake was a 7up cake made by his grandmother. I grew up hearing about 7 up cakes, but I've never made one. I googled it, and the results were fairly consistent in that most of them had you make a basic lemon cake and add the 7up to the batter rather than milk or water. I was in a pretty big time crunch, so I thought I'd use a mix instead (I know, how horrible!). In hindsight, I think actually making the cake from scratch would have been just as time efficient as using mix.

Anywho, I had the problem of trying to figure out what sort of cake mix I wanted to use. I thought white cake wouldn't really help with the lemon-lime flavor I was going for. Yellow cake would have too much of a buttery taste. The recipes I read seemed like they'd make a yellow cake (since many called for 5 eggs), but they also called for a good amount of lemon extract. So I went with a lemon cake mix and decided to keep the balance between lemon and lime fairly close.

The players:

1 box Lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cup lemon-lime soda
2-3 tbs fresh lime juice
zest of two limes
zest of one lemon

Game plan:
Preheat oven to 350 (or 325 for dark/coated pans). Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl for 1 1/2 mins on high. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 35 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to sit in pan about 7 mins, then flip out onto cooling rack and allow to cool until it no longer feels hot.

Icing:
lime juice, confectioners sugar

Start with about a cup and a half of sugar and add about two tablespoons of juice. Keep mixing in sugar and juice until it has a good icing consistency...meaning until it can run down the sides of the cake slowly, but get firm once it cools.

I decorated the cake with zest from a lemon and a couple of limes.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Meatloaf

So I've been experimenting again. This time, meatloaf was my victim. Everyone knows you normally put finely minced onion and green bell pepper in meatloaf, but why not add more veggies? Meatloaf can actually be quite healthy with a little extra effort.

The team:

1/2-3/4 cup pureed (or finely minced) carrots.
1/3 cup pureed zucchini
1/4 cup pureed roasted red peppers
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground turkey
salt & pepper
Italian bread crumbs 1/2 cup...maybe more, enough to make everything stick together
Milk, 1/3ish of a cup
Worshire Sauce, 2 tbs at most
1/2 cup plain, all natural, yogurt
1/4 cup wheat bran
tomato sauce (small can)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix everything but the tomato sauce. Dump into slightly oiled pan (I use EVOO). Bake about 25-35 mins or until done. top with sauce and bake another 5 mins. Enjoy.

Give me some of that sweet potato love

I love, love, LOVE baked/roasted sweet potatoes! They have got to be one of the healthiest, tastiest, simplest foods around. Seriously, all you have to do to enjoy the yummy-goodness of the orange tuber, is wash the outside well with warm water. If needed, scrub the skin and remove any growths. You may also need to trim off the ends. I'm a big fan of naked roasting or baking...naked referring to the potato...not the cook (if that's your thing, though, we won't judge you). Covering a potato with foil before roasting, really isn't necessary. For a white potato, you can just stick it in the oven, but since sweet potatoes tend to ooze a sugary syrup while baking, you should at least put it on a cookie sheet or pie tin. If you're roasting your potato, add a nice drizzle of olive oil (virgin or dirty girl, doesn't matter). Crank the oven up to 400, and let it hang out for 15-20 mins, though I'd keep checking on it since the temp is so high.

I know people love to accessorize their sweet potatoes...marshmallows, pecans, brown sugar, etc., but sweet potatoes, like women, are beautiful all by themselves...no need to adorn them with anything. Seriously, you need to try eating a sweet potato plain. The flesh is creamy and rich, the skin (yes, I eat the skin) is practically sweet enough to be candy! Did I mention how healthy sweet potatoes are? They're packed with fiber, beta-carotene, Vitamins A & C, and Potassium. All that, in one tasty, low-fat package. What could be better?!

One last thing...sweet potatoes are fairly easy on the pocket, and once baked, can be stored in the freezer for about 3 months. So my challenge to you is to go out, and show sweet potatoes the love and respect they so richly deserve!

Love, peace and bacon grease, y'all!

Depression Dinning

So I've been bitten by the need to organize my eating/cooking habits. I'm guilty of occasionally (once or twice a month by myself) eating out for convenience. I'm also bad about sometimes letting things sit too long and go bad. Anywho, I've decided to start portioning and freezing food. Portioning cuts down on defrost time and, of course, helps with portion control/over eating. Not to mention it looks neater in the freezer. My goal is to have enough food stored up, so that I won't have to do any major grocery shopping for at least two months. It may sound far fetched, but from the looks of my freezer, and my ever increasing knowledge and research on freezing foods, I think it's doable. This idea come from the fact that my income tends to fluctuate (sometimes wildly), so my ability to buy groceries also tends to fluctuate. I purposefully over spent my grocery budget to stock up on things like meat and produce to take advantage some super deals. With the way the economy is, it's a good idea to plan ahead. Things will get worse before they get better.

Over the course of last night and this morning, I've made, bagged, and frozen several batches of waffles. I came across a delish new waffle recipe, and was able to use a very brown banana I had left over from making banana bread. Woohoo! It was almost like a two for one deal! The recipe I found makes extremely light and fluffy waffles...delicate and delightful. Anywho, here's the recipe:

Whole wheat waffles
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbs. sugar (I used sucanat)
1 tbs. baking powder
2 eggs (or 1 egg and 1/4 cup applesauce)
1 3/4 cup milk (you can do half milk, half water as well)
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup fruit or veggie puree (I used banana)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Mix wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add wet to dry.

NOTES: I added a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg for an extra boost to the banana flavor. YUMMY!

Here's a hint on what will be making the trek to my freezer next: Idaho.

Eat well, be well.

Venturing into the land of the frozen

In an attempt to make cooking easier and less time consuming for myself, I've decided to start freezing more things, that way they are ready to go in the future. I predict this will also save money in that I'll be able to stock up on certain seasonal items and on-sale foods, then use them over the next several months. Today, I cooked a big batch of brown rice, and froze it in 1 cup sized portions. I did quite a bit of research to make sure you can freeze rice, because I was a bit sceptical. We'll see how this goes. Tomorrow will be dedicated to Titus 2 and making veggie purees for freezing.

Stir fry heaven

Tonight I made a very yummy stir fry. I went all out (labor-wise...not really cost-wise). I got some good terryaki sauce and chicken breast was on sale $1/lb! I shaved the chicken, so it would cook faster and soak up more of the sauce during cooking. I added zucchini (also on sale, 99 cents a pound), button mushrooms, julienned red peppers, sweet snap peas, water chestnuts (FREE with the terryaki sauce), and green onions. I paired the stir fry with brown rice/Bulgar wheat. SO TASTY!

I do have one word of caution to you, dear readers, PAY ATTENTION AT CHECKOUT! I had this AMAZING coupon for Kashi cereal bars, $2 off just ONE box! They happen to be on sale at the store for $2.99/box...so with my lovely coupon, they're less than a dollar! Well, as the cashier was scanning all my coupons (I'm proud to say I had a nice little stack of them), I noticed my $2 coupon wasn't showing up on the screen...but a little 20 cent off thing had popped up. I quickly pointed this out to the cashier and asked to look over all the coupons I just gave her to make sure I was getting the proper amounts off.

Okay, maybe another word of caution, PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR RECEIPT! I was just looking at mine, to bask in the savings when I noticed I'd been over-charged for my zucchini by 53 cents. It's very easy to be mischarged for produce since it seems many cashiers know nothing about that particular department. Some of them seem to be unable to tell the different between spinach and a bag of carrots. My zucchini were rung up as cucumbers, not really a terribly hard mistake to make, but I'd even been nice enough to weigh them and print out a little price sticker. All the checker had to do was scan it like she'd done with all of the other produce. Eh well, I think I'll let this one go...for now. I'll just say this, don't be afraid to fight for the price you want (though do try to be reasonable about it). About a month ago, I got 4 apples for 40 cents before because they were accidentally marked as 33 cents/lb instead of 33 cents/each. That felt good.

Anyway, remember the prices of things, so that when you get to the checkout stand, you can make sure you're charged what you originally intended to pay. All too often things that are on sale don't ring up that way, and you can be grossly overcharged, sometimes by more than a dollar an item. Some cashiers may try to make it seem like you're really putting them out if you insist on getting the correct price for something, just ignore them. They shouldn't make you feel awkward about getting a good deal.

Happy eating

Pasta in a flash

So I had a couple of ingredients that needed to be used ASAP, and it caused me to start thinking of creative ways to use both in the same dish without too much fuss. Being that I also happened to have less than half a bag of penne, I naturally decided I'd have to create a pasta dish. The two ingredients I had were 3 cloves of garlic and an opened can of artichoke hearts, both of which only had a few days before they got on the wrong side of good. Anywho, here's what I came up with:

Garlic-Artichoke Pasta

Olive oil (about 1/2 cup, divided)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup red bell pepper, julienned or diced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 small can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 cups dry penne
1/4 cup or so, grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Put pasta on to cook with salted water. While pasta cooks, saute garlic and peppers in large (10 inch) skillet for about 3-4 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until pepper is just about tender and everything is warmed through. By this time, the pasta should be just about done. You want to pull it before it gets overcooked. Drain pasta, and put into a serving dish. Remove veggies from heat and add to pasta. Toss with cheese and remaining olive oil. Serve warm. (2-3 servings).

Sweet child of mine

I'm experimenting with different ways to sweeten things. I've grown weary of the unhealthy, mundane habit of adding white, processed sugar to everything. Thanks to a trip to Homestead Heritage back in December, I've been introduced to sucanat. This unrefined cane sugar. Its brown, grainy and has a completely different taste than it's processed white cousin. It's not quite as sweet, and has a noticeable molasses flavor. It brings a nice depth to whatever dish you're trying to sweeten without being overpowering. BE WARNED: sucanat will add color as well as flavor, so if you're trying to make a white cake or anything of the sort...use a white sweetener.

That brings me to the other sweetener that has been gracing my spice cabinet as of late...fructose. This is the sugar found in honey and fruits..."fruit sugar" as it is sometimes called. Medicinally, it is also used as an intravenous nutrient. It is far sweeter than cane sugar, so if you're going to use this in a recipe it's 2/3 cup of fructose for every 1 cup of white, granulated sugar. It has worked beautifully in all of the baked goods I've made.

Dry sweetening has it's advantages, but I've discovered the joys of using simple syrup. You make simple syrup by boiling 1 cup water with 1 1/2 cup sugar (less for fructose, obviously) until it gets slightly thick. You use this mainly to add to drinks or dry things that need moisture as well as sweetening. Certain cake recipes call for adding simple syrup to each layer for extra flavoring. Adding spices or zests can make a nice flavored syrup for sweet tea. I made vanilla flavored simple syrup using sucanat and fructose for some hot chocolate and it was to die for!

Anyway, I hope I've inspired you to go beyond the norm, and look into healthier, more natural ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Happy eating