Is it ever too hot to cook?

I live in the Midwest and we've had a hot week. Today, at supper time, it was 92 with a heat index of 108. I know places are hotter, but it is just miserable. One of my friends said he wasn't sure what he and his wife were going to come up for supper because it was too hot to cook. She had boiled eggs and made a salad and that might be supper.

I don't know about you, but when it gets so uncomfortable and I don't care about eating a lot. I normally have a very healthy appetite, so I can always tell when it's hot.

Tonight we had beef and noodles. The beef and broth were left over from a roast I had in the Crockpot earlier this week. I sliced some tomatoes, had cottage cheese, fruit and some bread I baked earlier in the week. It was more than sufficient and I'm sure glad I didn't need to heat up the oven. We do have air conditioning, but I hate to tax it even more than need be.

So, was it too hot to cook where you live?

I’m excited about trying a new bread recipe today. Besides the bread aspect, I like using my cast iron skillet.

Last week when we made a trip to the library, I checked out the book “Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies.” The author extols the wonder of cooking in cast iron and how many uses there are for the pots and pans. Although it isn’t my only source for pots and pans, I’ve had good luck using the ones I have.
There are some interesting recipes and one is for savory dill bread. I have it in a bowl rising as I type. Here’s the recipe:

Savory Dill Bread

¼ cup warm water
1 package yeast
1 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 unbeaten egg
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
¼ teaspoon soda
1 tablespoon instant oven
2 ¼ cups bread flour
Combine the yeast with ¼ cup of warm water in a bowl. Mix the cottage cheese, sugar, butter, salt, egg, dill weed, soda and instant onion into the yeast and water. Gradually add the flour, beating well after each addition. The dough will be a little sticky at this point, but it’s more manageable after the first rise. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Stir down dough. Turn the dough into a well-greased 3-inch deep cast iron skillet. Let rise until doubled in size again, about 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 40-50 minutes. The finished loaf makes a hollow sound when you thump it. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Kosher salt if you wish. Makes one round, 10 inch loaf.

Get out your skillets!

We’ve been on a Hercule Poirot kick since last Sunday’s viewing of “Murder on the Orient Express.” We’ve been to the library and checked out DVD’s of past episodes and wait with anticipation to watch tonight’s offering, “Third Girl.”

After watching nearly 10 episodes, I asked my husband what kind of tea does Poirot drink? He said, “I think you need to go to your computer and find out.”
I did a search today and although there is not a definite answer, this site had the most interesting things to add about his drinks and food:

www.odzer.com/?p=1257

It’s funny to read about this picky little guy supposedly liked and how he thought Hastings ate stuff that wasn’t good for him.
I like the special cup or glass that Poirot uses too – it just seems to make drinking it even more of an experience. I can do a regular mug for coffee, but I really prefer a china cup and saucer when it comes to tea – I think it makes it more elegant. It probably doesn’t make it taste any different, but in my mind, I like it better.

No Bugs Bunny at our house munching on a carrot and asking, “What’s up, Doc?”

But last night we had some great carrots and if my husband and our friend could have grown ears to get more, they would have!

I’ve been checking out cookbooks from the library each week and I go through them and if I find a recipe I think I’d like to try, I type it up and print it out. If it is a success, I three hole punch it and put it into my cookbook notebook. If it isn’t a success, I don’t keep it.

I changed the recipe a little bit because we prefer our carrots soft, so I cooked them longer than the recipe, but everything else is the same.

Candied Carrots
½ lb. fresh carrots
½ stick butter
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Clean carrots and cut into bite-size pieces. Steam 10 minutes or until tender. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add sugar and cinnamon. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add hot carrots, stirring well to coat.

So, do you think Bugs would approve?

Do you have a freezer? A few years ago I saved up and bought a small one. I try to find things on sale to keep it stocked. I also put flour in it when I get it on sale so it doesn’t get buggy. I often freeze extra stuff I make in it as well.

Last night I was reading “Frugal Living for Dummies” – we had made a trip to the library yesterday, one of my favorite places. Most of the entries were items that have been written about on blogs and forums and articles here at Saving Advice.

I noticed the author had the biggest section about cooking and food. Seems she has authored quite a bit on making things ahead and freezing them before including them in this book.

She wrote about making the same dish but three times the amount and eating one and freezing the other two. Or cooking ahead for the week or month and freezing it until you need it. Over and over it was repeated how she saves money by having food available for dinner time so the temptation to go out isn’t really there.

It’s not anything new to most of us. I do the weekly thing on Sundays. I often make casseroles or put stuff together for the Crockpot so when meal time comes about after work, I can either pop it in the oven or put it in the cooker that morning for a warm meal.

I went out to the freezer the other day to get a pound of hamburger. My husband looked at me and when I came in from the garage and I joked, “I went shopping.”

He laughed with me, but I did go shopping. I went to the convenience of my freezer and got what I needed. I had bought the meat on the sale and it patiently waited in the cold box until I secured it. I didn’t have to make an extra trip to the store nor did I have to eat out.

So, I would say it truly is a frugal freezer.

No, I’m not talking about the old movie with Bo Derek.

It’s what my hubby rated supper last night. He said, “On a scale of 1-10, this was a ten.” I would say he liked it!

I hate having the oven on when it is so hot, but I needed to bake some things as well and decided to fix a few things and get them out of the way. So, I roasted a chicken with potatoes and carrots. It was good and flavorful.

Roast chicken and vegetables
• 1 roasting chicken – whole (4-6 pounds)
• salt
• pepper
• rosemary sprigs
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
• 1 large onion cut in half
• 4 carrots
• 4-5 medium russet potatoes, peeled, and cut in chunks
• 3 T Olive oil
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 t butter
• ¼ c water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Take a Dutch oven, spray with non stick cooking spray.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the rosemary. Put the carrots, potatoes, onion halves, and garlic on the bottom and put the chicken on top. Mix the olive oil and lemon juice together and pour over chicken. Sprinkle the turmeric, salt and pepper on top of the chicken. Add the water to the side.

Roast the chicken for 1 hour, 15 minutes covered. Take cover off and roast for another 15 minutes so chicken browns and it is cooked through or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 15 minutes.
On top of the stove, take the Dutch oven and put over a burner on low heat. With the drippings, cornstarch, and butter, make a sauce.

Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables with the sauce.

Hopefully tonight’s supper will rate an equally high score…it might be a tough act to follow!

I’m a big fan of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, on the Food Network. I like looking at her kitchen and the fact that she never seems to get upset or irritated. In my mind I realize that her show is taped so if something goes wrong, we wouldn’t see her throwing a tantrum and having a cuss fest. I guess I like to dream a little bit and see the fancy kitchen, the big, wonderful house, the Hampton style living and her shiny hair. Granted, the last one it weird, but she has the shiniest hair for a person not in a shampoo commercial.

In one of her programs she made a mango sorbet that was then made into a bombe with two other types of ice cream and frozen, and sliced for dessert. The sorbet looked good and easy so I thought I could try it.

And I did. It was good and refreshing. My husband is a big frozen treats fan so I thought I’d make some and see what his reaction was. He was like Mikey in the old Life Cereal commercials: He liked it!

Unfortunately I had to change the recipe a bit because I did not have any orange juice. I added a teaspoon of lemon juice and 1/4 of a cup of apple juice in its place.

Here’s Ina’s recipe from the Food Network website:

Mango Sorbet:
3/4 cup sugar
5 large ripe mangoes, peeled and seeded
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Place the sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Place the mangoes in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree. You should have about 5 cups of mango. If you want a smoother sorbet, you can process the puree through a food mill fitted with a medium blade.
Combine the mango, sugar syrup, orange juice, and salt and refrigerate until cold. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's directions. (The sorbet will be soft.) Serve directly from the ice cream machine.
Yield: 1 1/2 quarts; 6 servings

Now, if I can get the recipe for shiny hair, I’d be all set!

Bet you think I’m mean after this…

In your head, you will hear this song over and over once I mention it…”It’s a small world, after all.”
OK, don’t hate me too much for this, but I did have my class go on the bookmobile one day and sing the chorus to my husband who absolute detests this song because he can’t get it out of his mind. I can be ornery!

Alright, I digress. I am amazed that I can sit in my little house in Central Illinois and communicate with people from all over.

Last year my job changed and instead of working at one school, I was at three. I’m sort of a shy person so trying to get to know people was a challenge, but I met some wonderful folks and became friendly with one gal who has some of the same interests. This summer, she told a friend of hers about my blog and he has read it and contacted me through Facebook to be a friend. We’ve been keeping in contact and writing about different things. He has a girlfriend in Brazil and they have a love of food. Since I often write about different recipes, Don, has shared some with me that he said I can post in the blog. He says this is his and his gal’s recipe for antipasto.

Antipasto Italiano
2 oz salad vinegar
6 oz extra virgin olive oil
1 small jar of capers
4 oz (half a jar) stuffed sliced salad olives
1 small box of sliced baby Portobello mushrooms
2 medium sized or one large size Eggplant
4 or 5 medium sized tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 orange or green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 medium yellow onion
1 clump of fresh parsley
Oregano
Fresh garlic (crushed) or some garlic powder (not garlic salt)
(optional) raisins, about 1/3 of a regular box
Cut eggplant, onion and peppers in rings then slice into small chunks
Put veggies into a pot (Dutch oven size)
Add mushrooms and olives
Pour the vinegar and oil into the pot and then dust with Oregano and add the garlic (what ever form you have decided to put in – to taste)
Chop the parsley leaves on a cutting board with a good veggie knife and add to the mixture.
Stir everything together, coating the mixture with the vinegar and oil.
Either put in a glass or metal baking dish, cover with foil and place in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes
or leave in the dutch oven and place on a stove burner at about ¼ heat for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
Let it cool a little and serve with pasta, bread or meat as a side dish.ipe for antipasto.

What amazes me is though this fellow I now have a sort of connection to a lady in Brazil - all because of technology. So thanks, Don, for the recipe! It is a small world, after all!

What’s old is new again.

OK, that’s a little trite, I realize, but the book I was reading, “Cheap Eating” has a copyright of 1993. I checked it out because it looked a little different. But what is funny is most of the stuff in the book is being published again in 2010. I do like the author’s style – kind of down to earth.
And, the author is realistic. Not everyone is going to do everything in the book. But these are suggestions made to help save money.

A lot of the items mentioned in the book have been on the Saving Advice forums or blogs. The nice thing is they are in one tome.

At the end of the book are recipes to help save money. Although the prices are outdated, she compares what a commercially made boxed dinner you mix with a pound of hamburger costs and what it costs to make from scratch. Plus, she talks about the fact eating homemade is far healthier since you aren’t eating lots of preservatives and fillers.

I enjoyed her writing as well. In the text, she talks about making a white sauce and says you put the dry ingredients with the water and “shake like the dickens.” Bet you don’t hear that on a gourmet cooking show! Later on in the recipes, she discusses using this white sauce or white gravy in place of some of the condensed soups we use for casseroles. I think it is worth a try, so I’m reprinting her recipe:

White Sauce (or milk gravy)
½ cup dry milk
¼ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cup cold water
2 T margarine
Melt butter in a 1 quart sauce pan. In a covered jar or shaker combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add water. Shake until all ingredients are dissolved. Stir in flour-milk mixture and cook over low heat until mixture thickens and bubbles. Keep stirring.
To make the recipe to equal 1 can of cream soup she offers these measurements:
1/3 cup dry milk
2 T flour
Dash salt
1 cup cold water
1 T margarine

Some variations include:
Chicken sauce – substitute cold chicken stock for water
Cheese sauce – add ½ cup of shredded cheese to the 1 can recipe. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until cheese is melted.

Hey, I’m all for progress, but I also feel “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

Measuring. Such a simple thing.

Last week on my trip to the library, I checked out an older book called "Eating Cheap". Last night after watching the fireworks on T.V., I was perusing some of it and one of the things the author brought up was to be sure and measure when you cook.

The author said we probably measure stuff most of the time, but how many of us have made stuff so often we just sort of dump things in. However, it was pointed out if a recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and we just put some in and actually use a teaspoon, although it probably won't affect the taste, it eventually effects the pocketbook because if you do this consistently, you'll have to buy vanilla twice as often.

This goes for other things around the house such as laundry detergent or fabric softener. A few pennies add up to dollars very quickly!

How true!

Although I have a few students who might disagree, I wasn't around on July 4th, 1776, when the signers of the Declaration of Independence started signing the document that declared our freedom. I realize they didn't all sign on the 4th, but it the day the United States has chosen to celebrate.

It's funny that on the 4th most of us equate it with fun -- cook outs, family and friends get together, good food, and fireworks. It sure wasn't a picnic when those brave souls decided to give England a piece of their mind.

I believe we are indeed fortunate to live in a country that has so many freedoms.

We are celebrating with steaks, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, 3 grape tomatoes from my husband's garden, blueberry muffins, and strawberries, blueberries and bananas...the closest I can come to red white and blue salad. Sounds like party food to me!

Be true to your foooood! OK, think of the Beach Boys’ hit, “Be true to your school!”

Yesterday I went to one of my favorite places…the library. I checked out an assortment of DVDs, magazines, and books. One of the books was a nonfiction tome entitled, “True Food”. It was published by National Geographic and came out this year.

I woke up early this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep so I decided to read instead of toss and turn. The purpose of "True Food" is to give 8 simple steps to a healthier you.
In a nutshell:
1 Eat local food
2 Eat a variety of foods
3 Aim for organic
4 Eat lower on the food chain
5 Eat fresh food
6 Eat whole foods
7 Stock your pantry
8 Green your kitchen

Most of these are pretty easy to figure out. Chapter one was try to buy food grown locally or grow your own. Chapters 2, 4, 5, 6 were very similar – eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat and processed foods. There was quite a bit of information on herbs which was good as well as vegetables and their nutritional value.

Stock your pantry was instructions on buying less processed foods like all purpose flour and more foods that are natural.

Green your kitchen had some ideas such as use kitchen towels instead of paper towels, reuse glass bottles instead of plastic, and make your own cleaning supplies instead of purchasing harmful chemicals.

It was an adequate book, but I didn’t really learn anything new. I guess I had hoped to find some new truths. Fortunately I did not purchase, but borrowed the book from our local library. I'm sure for a newbie, they would find some merit in reading it.
I guess it pays to be a cheapskate!

I did, however, see a recipe I want to try tonight: shoestring zucchini with rosemary:

1 very large zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour or unbleached all purpose
1. Cute the squash lengthwise into halves, then cut into ¼ inch slices, then cut those into 1/8 inch slices
2. Sprinkle and toss with salt in a colander and set in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. After draining, squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands
3. Heat oil in a skillet – you want the oil very hot, but not smoking
4. Toss zucchini with flour in a bowl, and then add it to the oil in batches. Cook for about 5 minutes until zucchini is just golden, then toss in a few leaves of rosemary. Cook for another minute until zucchini is golden.
5. Drain zucchini on paper towel and served immediately.

If nothing else, I am true to zucchini!

I had to do it. Almost forced. I broke down and bought some fresh green beans at the grocery. They weren't on sale even. Yikes!

You see, my husband planted green beans, but the bunny ate them to the ground. They came back and he did it again. And again. So, bunny 3, hubby 0.
However, a couple of weeks ago we bought poles and some fence wire and so far the game is bunny 3, hubby 1.

Except the beans are delayed from being chomped so many times. Almost like a Pac Man game. And it doesn’t seem like summer without fresh beans.

So, I succumbed to temptation and bought the beans. They smell good as they cook on the stove.
Maybe the score will be different: bunny 3, hubby 1 and wife 1. At least until the other green beans come up! Dumb bunny!

We just returned from 5 days in Michigan. The highlight of the trip was a stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. It was the setting of the old flick, “Somewhere in Time” if the name sounds familiar. Anyway, this is where we enjoyed the delightful 5 course meal in the main dining room where everyone had to dress up or be sent away. We were on a bus trip which insured us a reasonable rate.

Beforehand we walked around the business district of the island and there were the numerous shops. I think the type of shop that outnumbered any had to be the fudge shops. One brand had more than one store on the same street! They also gave us a free sample before we took the ferry ride from Mackinac City to the island.

The fudge was adequate, but not superior. It was almost a bit dried out yet people were raving about it. I realize things are a matter of taste, but why settle for “ok” when you can have delicious? People were lining up at these shops purchasing fudge. It was fairly hot and humid last Tuesday so I can only imagine what that fudge came back as…probably a lump, unless they ate it before we left.

That being said (typed), I am going to offer a fudge recipe that is smooth, creamy, and rich. Very rich. It needs to remain refrigerated to maintain firmness and will dry out if left uncovered, but my dear husband, after eating the freebie turned to me and said, “Yours is better.” This was my grandmother’s recipe and each holiday season she would make pounds and pounds of it to sell. If you try it, you’ll see why!

Grandma’s Fudge
4 cups of sugar
1 can of Milnot
18 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1 13 oz of marshmallow crème
1 tsp vanilla
Chopped nuts (optional)
Mix sugar, butter, and Milnot. Bring to boil; boil 5 minutes stirring constantly. Take off fire, add chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallow crème and vanilla. Stir until creamy. Pour into buttered pans. Cool. Cut into squares. Keep cool and tightly covered in pans until serving.

Just remember, this is very rich…don’t want you getting sick!

I rarely eat at fancy restaurants where you have "courses" and where the server puts your cloth napkin in your lap.

However, tonight was the night! We dressed up -- sports jacket and tie for him and a dress and hose for me. It was actually kind of fun to make this an event!

The dinner consisted of 5 courses. Five glorious courses served without the hustle and bustle of a normal restaurant visit. We had a chance to savor each and enjoy them and then anticipate the next.

Although we could have enjoyed extremely rich desserts, we chose to end our very flavorable meal with ice cream. Smoothy, creamy frosty ice cream served in a chilled metal dish! It was a perfect ending for a delightful meal.

Although I enjoyed this experience, I'm not sure I would want to eat this way every night. It was something to anticipate, and that is what made it so very special.

Not to mention the fact that 5 courses is very filling!

It’s Father’s Day and hot as blazes here in the Midwest. I’m sure if the weather stays sunny, there will be lots of cook outs this evening. The air usually is fragrant with various meats being grilled. Yum!

I’m always amazed that people love to cook over an open flame. I mean, I like to, but I like to cook period. But it’s funny that folks with fancy kitchens get excited about a grill. Of course these folks normally have an equally fancy grill, but whether it’s a little charcoal one or a mega stainless steel with propane, there’s something celebratory about having food with grill marks and that distinctive taste.

It really doesn’t matter whether it is a hot dog or hamburger or a pricey steak, we like our meat grilled and our mouth watering!

English as a language can be confusing even for those of us who have it as a first language.

For example, why do we have tuna cakes and crab cakes, but salmon patties? After all they are similar…you take some sort of seafood, chop some other things with it, bind it together with egg or mayonnaise, put in some bread crumbs, and there you have it. You then cook it and serve it.

It’s darn confusing, that’s for sure. I guess they are too flat to be a loaf and too thick to be like a pancake. But are they really a cake…I always think of a cake as something that is frosted. I guess I could put a bit of frosting on one…oh, never mind…I’m not that crazy.

That being said, I’m fixing tuna something or other tonight. I will use homemade bread crumbs, egg, a dash of mayo, some chopped celery, and bit of turmeric and sauté them in olive oil. I’m planning on making mashed potatoes with some leftover Parmesan cheese and a tomato-feta salad.

Who knows, I might really live it up and tell hubby they are…tuna patties!

We are back to everyday life after our big anniversary adventure to celebrate our 20 years together. And that’s OK.

I pulled chops out of the freezer last night to thaw in the fridge. We go to this little store in a crummy neighborhood every few weeks on Thursdays to buy meat. They cut and package it the way you want and give seniors (62+) a 10% discount. We buy what we need and put it in the freezer. We are going to have pork chops, roasted potatoes with green peppers and onions, roasted zucchini, herb biscuits, and fruit. The onions will come out of hubby’s garden. I figure if I’m going to have the oven on, I might as well make use of it.

Roasting the potatoes is fairly simple. I peel the potatoes and slice thinly. I chop the onion and the green pepper – all about the same size and add whatever spices I have handy. Today I think I’m going to add rosemary. I drizzle with olive oil and with clean hands make sure everything is covered. I roast uncovered in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes. Yum! You can do this with about any root vegetable so when I do the zucchini and onion, it will be the same way.

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. My husband would agree.

So, I better continue cooking so he’ll keep me another 20 years!

Besides cooking and eating, reading is a favorite thing to do.

I just finished a new nonfiction tome called “Lunch in Paris” by Elizabeth Bard. She talks about going to lunch with this Frenchman and their relationship and marriage and their families and friends while living in Paris. She’s a New Yorker and she adjusts to living in Paris. She isn’t a newbie to Europe, but she discusses how things are done and how she had to learn the culture to understand why.

I’m not a big traveler – I’ve never been out of the US, but I enjoy reading about different cities and how people live as told in their own words. This gal loves food and she talks about meals and foods and shopping for them. After each chapter she includes recipes. I felt like I had made a new friend. She has her own blog and the book cover encourages readers to continue the adventure at: http://elizabethbard.blogspot.com/

It was a quick and enjoyable read and for a couple of hours I lived through Ms. Bard’s eyes. After perusing many of the recipes I think I’m ready to eat!

Supper is in the Crockpot.

That’s always a good thing. I know most would say it is too hot for beef stew, but, that’s what we are having. I have a bunch of appointments today and we had stew meat and vegetables, so that’s what I fixed. I baked biscuits last night and made a fruit salad.

I always marvel at the person who came up with the idea of a Crockpot. What a wonderful invention. I know there’s a recipe booklet entitled, “Fix and forget it.” No kidding. I use my Crockpots a lot and feel they help us save money – we can buy cheaper cuts of meat and cooking all day makes them tender. Dinner is ready when you get home with not too much fuss and muss. And the newer slow cookers have the liners you can take out and put in the dishwasher – I remember having to try and clean the ones that you couldn’t do that with. I loved the cooker, but not the cleaning.

It’s nice to know supper is in the Crockpot.

I think that chefs have a secret.

I’m not talking about a secret recipe or spice. I’m talking about the good feeling one gets chopping up vegetables.The best part is I'm not a chef, but I can enjoy this little endeavor.

I discovered this year when I would come home from work feeling frustrated or disheartened, if I would take out my big “chef’s” knife and start chopping away, I would feel better. Of course the delightful aroma of the vegetables probably didn’t hurt, either. Who needs to buy expensive aroma therapy when you can find it right at your counter top? I remember a spice company would have a radio commercial and the husband at the end would say, “Why does it smell like pot roast in here?” and you could tell that was a good thing.

I could sit and try to pinpoint what made me feel better, the movement of the knife, the larger vegetable being chopped, or even the smell as they roast or are sautéed. But, why take the magic out of it?

It’s hot out there!

One of the local car dealers usually runs a commercial where the kids are sitting around a pool and say, “It’s hot, Bob!” since the car dealer’s first name is Bob. So my husband jokingly will say, “It’s hot, Bob!” when things heat up. And it was pretty warm yesterday (90 degrees) and it is supposed to be even higher today with a heat index of a 100.

Last night for supper I tried to think of things that wouldn’t require an oven. I had leftover bread I had baked earlier in the week. I knew I was going to fix scallops. So, I scoured the fridge, garden, and pantry and came up with these items for supper: grits, grape tomatoes, Feta cheese, cucumber, Romaine cheese, green onions, bread, olive oil, mustard, Balsamic vinegar, and leftover zucchini patties.

Supper was decent: we had scallops, a tomato-cucumber salad, warmed up zucchini patties, and cheesy grits. I sautéed some of the green onions in olive oil and then added them to the grits while they were cooking. When the grits were about done, I added the Romaine cheese.

I made a dressing with the olive oil, vinegar, and mustard for the tomato-cucumber salad – and chopped some green onions into it and some basil. I sautéed some of the bread in olive oil and then drained it for homemade croutons. I added Feta cheese for a garnish.

It may have been hot outside, but at least my kitchen wasn’t over heated!

Oven fried chicken is on the menu tonight. My husband really likes it.

When chicken breasts go on sale, I buy some and freeze them. The night before I wish to fix them, I soak them in milk with some Paprika and Turmeric. When it’s time to fix them, I dip them in egg and then bread crumbs and then bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees on a greased baking sheet. Part way through I turn them over. They are moist and delicious. Not to mention very easy to prepare.

I know there’s nothing like honest to goodness fried chicken, but this comes close.

Happy Eating!

One thing my husband likes about summer is I have more time to cook. And yesterday I baked a loaf of herb bread and he was a happy camper. My dear hubby has a green thumb and he graciously grows herbs for me to use.

It’s actually a recipe I use from the bread machine recipe booklet, but since the bread machine was put to rest, I just mix the ingredients in my mixer, let it rise, and then put in a loaf pan, let it rise and then bake it. The thing I like is the fact I can change it around depending on the herbs I want to use. I also changed the recipe because I don’t use sugar like it says, I use honey. Yesterday I used chopped garlic, oregano and some dill in the recipe. You can use whatever herbs you wish, but here’s the recipe:

Herb Bread
1 ½ cups water
4 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar (or honey)
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp dried herb (or 2 tsp fresh herb)
2 teaspoons of bread machine fast rising yeast

Mix together and let it rest and rise for about 2 hours (I cover with a towel) until it doubles in size. Take out of bowl and form into a loaf and put in greased bread pan and let it rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degree oven 30-40 minutes or until top is brown and if you thump the top, the bread sounds hollow.

I use more herbs than it suggests since I usually add 2 or 3, but I think you can decide what you want. I have also changed things up on the flour – sometimes I use ¼ cup of whole wheat flour or ¼ cup of oatmeal to give it a different flavor and texture.

I feel baking this bread saves money because we normally have a bread of some sort at supper and if you price a loaf like this it can cost anywhere from $3-5 around here. It certainly didn't cost that much to bake. Plus, I can put in it what we have on hand!

Happy Baking!

It was a horrendous weekend for some as tornadoes hit and destroyed property. Our sirens went off at 11 p.m. Saturday and we immediately turned on the news to see how close. Fortunately for us the tornado wasn’t near us, but northwest -- just a few miles away from us some folks lost homes and property. I see in Ohio – a couple states over, another tornado touched down and destroyed so much.

The weather report calls for lots of rain and storms tonight and tomorrow and a chance of hail. My husband is dreading the prospect of hail. We have 5 tomato plants, green beans, onions, radishes, green pepper plants, and herbs that are really taking off and we hope to enjoy the “fruits” of his labor, not to mention the many flowers he planted for curb appeal. He said hail will destroy it all. I’m sure hoping we don’t get it.

Sometimes when we think we have everything under control, the weather has to show us otherwise, doesn’t it?

Cheap. Fast. Good!

No, I’m not talking about my lifestyle for those of you who have your mind in the gutter. That is the title of a book I checked out of the library. It’s basically a cook book and it has some interesting recipes.

The author writes that making things at home can be cheap and fast if you plan a little in advance and I think the good is a given.

I’m always amazed at folks who eat out most nights. I’m not totally opposed to eating out, but I like think it is something to look forward to, not something you do because you “have to”. A friend of mine would go home and take a nap after work and then tell the spouse how tired they were and they could eat out cheaply. I imagine they did at the local fast food restaurant. I guess folks over 62 could eat off of the senior menu, but I keep thinking of the fact how limiting that has to be – fried red meat and fried potatoes…although yummy, it would get tiresome after awhile. Not to mention how bad it is for one's health.

Anyhow, this book gives 275 recipes and many shopping ideas on how to fix meals that are easy and quick and nutritious. It is a primer on basic cooking. For so many folks, I can see where that would be a good thing. Cooking isn’t a big thing with a lot of folks. One gal I know talks about what a great cook she is, but says she isn’t going to peel potatoes and will use instant. I guess it is a time saver, but maybe I’m a prude – I think instant potatoes do not have the same flavor. Besides, I like to think I’m getting a vegetable while eating my mashed or roasted potatoes.

I would recommend the book just for the ease of reading. The authors are Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross.

Having checked it out of the public library I would add “economical” to the title as well.

How many of us read instruction booklets? Willingly?

Yet, those of us who cook do…Recipes are the instructions on how to make most dishes.

I have far too many cookbooks – I don’t use half of any of the cookbooks I have. I like looking through them when I’m trying to think of a week’s menu.
I have a friend who says she “collects recipes.” I think she has hundreds of them. I’m not sure she uses many of them because from what she says, she fixes the same things over and over.

We went to the library this week and I checked out a few mysteries and two cookbooks. One was about Midwestern cooking – appropriate since I live in the Midwest, don’t ya think? It was interesting to read over the recipes. I was looking at the cover and it was illustrated and it was very pleasing to look at. I wonder if that is a regional thing – do we like to look at things that make us feel at home? If I lived on either coast would I be more comfortable looking at something else? OK, I digress.

I decided a couple of years ago I wanted to create my own working cookbook. So, if I try a recipe and I like it, I type it into a Word document and save it on a thumb drive. I print it out, three hole punch it, and put it in a notebook under the correct category. Bet that was a dead giveaway that I’m a teacher, wasn’t it? The notebook and the three hole punching especially.

It’s sort of like my own cookbook. I’m not writing the recipes, but it does keep a record of what recipes I have found successful. I guess if I were really high tech I would just keep the computer in the kitchen and print out what I needed, but I think that would be a waste…printing it out each time. Yeah, I'm frugal. Or cheap. You choose.

I’ve seen those television shows where the counter top is connected to the Internet and you can search for a recipe and it displays right on the countertop. I wonder if you can save your favorites like you can on the computer?

Whoever came up with the idea of writing down a recipe was brilliant. If one can read a recipe, he or she can then recreate the dish with the instructions.
So, I think I’ll continue reading these little instruction booklets. Who knows, I might get creative and make something that isn’t totally Midwestern and like it!

We all say we want to do it. But how badly should be the question. How badly do we want to save money?

We have some friends who mew about not having a lot of money, but they continue to eat out. I don’t mean a couple of times a week. I mean at least once a day. Sometimes they eat out twice. Some of our friends brag about saving money by doing fast food…yet they then complain about the cholesterol medicine they have to purchase. Guess they don't see the correlation.

Every so often I get on a kick and try to figure out how much a meal costs us at home. For example, last night we grilled out steaks, had loaded potatoes, fresh green beans, grilled tomatoes, herb biscuits, cottage cheese, deviled eggs, and fresh fruit salad. The steaks cost us about $8. I imagine with the rest of the ingredients, we spent less than $16 total. These were decent steaks too, not shoe leather variety. Then I think back a few months ago when we went out with some friends who had to go to a steak house and I bet we spent way over $50 for a meal. Plus, our driving to that place which wasn’t in our town so that was an added expense. What a big difference in the cost of the meals!

We don’t eat steaks very often so when we do, it’s usually for an occasion. Normally we eat lots of chicken. I cook at home quite a bit because it saves us money as well as I control what we eat. We do go out and I feel we can afford to because of the other ways I save money. But, we just don't go out to go out. It's something we savor and enjoy.

Eating a healthy diet saves money as well – I took two sick days this past year. One I was sick and the other was because I had to – they were removing the braces off my teeth and you go in the morning and then back in the afternoon. I have a lot of health issues so for me to only use two sick days is nothing short of remarkable. I do think eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, little red meat, and hardly any fried food made a difference. Dear husband walks 5 days a week and since the weather has gotten better, I’ve been walking too.

During the school year I plan our menus ahead and make lots of casseroles or use the Crockpot. Yes, I’m sure I could be doing lots of fun things over the weekend besides that, but I feel committed to making meals ahead. And to be honest, I don't mind. It's kind of a challenge to figure out what I can fix without doing the same thing over and over again. For about an hour or two, I can make 3-4 meals ahead so when I get home, can pop something in the oven and we can have supper at a decent hour.

I have tried to convince some of our friends we should take turns hosting each other for meals to save money. Or we could have a potluck. We have some friends who do that with their Bible study group and besides the good company, they all save money and get to try new things. Unfortunately our other friends don’t want to do cook at home – they would rather go out and then complain about lack of funds in their daily life.

I claim to be frugal and I am to a point. I guess the definition depends on how you look at it. I will not sacrifice good nutrition for the sake of saving money. We buy lots of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes we buy fruits out of season because we need the nutrients. I figure I save money by cooking at home to more than make up for the cost. Our suppers aren’t soup and a sandwich – my husband is old school and he wants a regular sit down dinner so we have it – a meat, a starch, a vegetable or two and some fruit and of course some bread. My herb rolls are a steal and easy to make – 1 cup flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder,(or 1 cup of self rising flour if you have it), 2/3 cup milk, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, and then whatever herbs you have on hand. I change out the recipe depending on what I have. Last night’s was dill, garlic, and oregano. I’ve also put shredded cheese and garlic together and they are very similar to the ones you can get at a popular fish restaurant. Grease a muffin tin, bake at 400 until they start to brown, and you’ve got cheap, easy rolls.

So how badly do I want to save money – in the long run I do save money by cooking at home and feeling healthier. So, I guess I’ve answered my own question. How about you?

Ah, it’s Memorial Day - the unofficial kickoff to summer. People hope to fire up their grills and cook out and eat those foods they associate with summer.

If you have been watching the television ads, many show a staple of cook outs and that is baked beans. I know the grocery store ads had a well known brand on sale. And one brand even has a special grilling brand of them.

A few years ago I ran across a recipe for wonderful baked beans. It really isn’t that much cheaper to make them if you get the others on sale, but they have a better flavor and are worth the trouble. However, if the items in this list are already in your pantry, it might be more economical. I let mine bake uncovered until the sides start to caramelize and boy, are they delicious! They really aren’t a lot of work, just take a little planning, and you have homemade baked beans.

Baked Beans

½ lb of dried navy beans – picked over and soaked overnight in water to cover and then drained
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 slice of bacon, chopped
1 cup of ketchup
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large stalk of celery, chopped
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup of yellow mustard
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Drain the beans and then put in a pan with plenty of water and cook until beans are tender, for about an hour. Drain the beans, but reserve the cooking liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350.
Heat the olive oil in a pan or large ovenproof pot or Dutch oven. When oil is hot, add the bacon, onions, and celery and pepper. When onions and celery are translucent, add the ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar and stir together. Turn off heat and add beans, stirring carefully. Add the cooking liquid until the mixture is a little bit soupy – otherwise it will dry out when you bake it. You will have to basically eye ball how much liquid you will need.

Bake in the oven proof pot or Dutch oven uncovered for almost two hours or until it starts to caramelize at the sides. If it has dried out during the baking, stir in more cooking liquid to keep it moist.

If you haven’t made your own before you might think this is hard, but other than the initial chopping and cooking the onion and celery and keeping an eye on it when it is baking, it really isn’t difficult and it is flavorful. I’m sure you could experiment with different types of mustards or even onions and if you like some heat, could add cayenne pepper instead of black pepper. Anyway you try it, you can make it your own.

Besides, wouldn't it be nice to impress your friends and family and say you made it yourself?

I certainly have more than I use. Do you? What, you query? I’m talking salt and pepper shakers.

This came to mind as I filled up the old clear glass ones that look like tall, but small mugs. They are probably a collectible. I like them because they are easy to handle, easy to fill, and easy to keep clean. I have about 4 other sets and I don’t use them. One set is really old and matches my Blue Willow dishes. I don’t like the way the salt or pepper comes out. So, they sit in the hutch. I have another set that look like little Blue Willow coffee pots. I don’t use them because they are a pain to refill and they don’t hold very much. I have yet another set I bought my mom years ago at Carson Pirie Scott that looks like crystal. I thought they were the prettiest things I had ever seen. I was too young to realize they aren’t the kind of things you set out when you are using plastic plates and plastic placemats and paper cups. Dumb me! We weren't fancy and these puppies are!

My mom and dad used to have a furniture store and then an antique shop and they bought and sold a bunch of things through the years. One of the things that was incredibly popular were salt and pepper collections. I remember ladies who had hundreds of them holed up in a China cabinet. The bobbers were kind of cool – they set in a base and you could take your finger and touch it, and they would bob up and down. I remember a lot of birds as bobbers. There were all sorts of things as salt and peppers, as they would call them. I’ve seen one that has the outline of Illinois for one and Lincoln as the other. I’m sure all states had something like that. I’ve seen plastic shakers, glass, China, metal, even cast iron shakers. I used to have one that was a Cherished teddie riding a polar bear. I used it until it was so chipped, I was ashamed to put it out. It was cute, but not really functional. Maybe collections are like that.

As much as I like to collect things, having a salt and pepper collection wasn’t anything I was really coveting. But like most collections, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Now days, I just want to add a little pepper to my eggs and I’m happy with a clear glass pepper shaker. Guess I’m not into the spice of life!