Alannah is back guest blogging her summer culinary adventure's with us:
We’ve been going through The Pioneer Womans cookbook and tried out her Chicken Pot Pie. Since I didn’t realize how long it would take for me to cut all the vegetables into tiny pieces (we had to double it which didn’t help) I was in a bit of a rush. Because of this, I didn’t let it thicken up as much as it should have. Luckily, no one would’ve known the difference.
It. Was. Delicious. : )
Round two tonight.
– Alannah
Well, not our border but you know what I mean, right? Allen wanted Mexican for his birthday dinner last week and Alannah obliged with enchiladas from the Pioneer Woman and a Coconut Pistaschio pie. Good stuff! There were no leftovers from this one. Everyone but Abbie ate, although Tess kept saying, "It's good…but spicy!"
We flip a lot of pancakes around here. There is a bit of a battle going on between Alannah and I when the griddle heats up. I think the IHOP Pancake recipe is hands down the best. She maintains the Pioneer Woman takes the (pan)cake. What say you?
IHOP Pancake recipe (from CopyKat)
1 1/4 C. Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2 1/2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/8 C. Vegetable Oil
1 Egg ( slightly beaten )
1 1/2 C. Buttermilk
No special instructions – just mix it all up. My favorite. : D They come out with a bit of a spongey texture.
Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl.
Mix together milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stirring very gently until just combined.
Melt butter and add it to the batter, stirring gently to combine.
Special instructions. Follow the link.
Very good though ours seemed to be more biscuit-y than her pictures look. Either recipe turns out much better when Alannah makes them though. She is way more attentive to the pan than I am. (which is why I should've photographed HER pancakes…)
You'd think after all these years I would learn you really can't do anything else while making pancakes. Yet, each and every time, I think I am going to beat the clock and go check mail or bring my book and a stool to the stove. Gram always said they weren't ready to flip until they were covered with bubbles all the way to the edges. Honestly though, watching bubbles form on every one of the five zillion pancakes we make per sitting is alot like watching the grass grow. <g>
I am knee deep in Christmas prep and Thanksgiving prep this week, rather in that order because of the long shipping times to and from here. Because I can never do one thing at a time, I am trying to master digital design in my spare time, some of which is coming easily and some which is very… not. Hence I am sharing digital layouts this week.
A funny – after returning home from the grocery store with the jellied cranberry, the brown and serve rolls, and the boxed stuffing mix – as per directions – I pointed out to husband that women's magazines are brimming with Thanksgiving recipes and menu ideas. This was met with sincere consternation and a very earnest, "Why?"
You don't fool with traditional holiday food around here. They want their cranberries to slip jiggling onto the plate and to fan out with the can indentations visible on the sides of those circles of gelled tang. They want marshmallows or pecans and brown sugar on the sweet potatoes thankyouverymuch. Don't even think about lemon meringue or Tollhouse cookie pie. It will be apple, pumpkin, and pecan. With Breyer's ice cream. The only permissable vegetable for the day (aside from the potatoes) is obviously green beans. Obviously <g>
So if you were looking to me for holiday inspiration, I am sure to disappoint. : ) But it won't disappoint the people under this roof who are thoroughly unimpressed with experimentation. Perhaps it is all our moving, all the regular change of scenery in our lives. Whatever it is, they hold fast to their seasonal celebrations and they must look as much as possible like they did way back once upon a time in 1970's era Wisconsin.
Alright, off and running on that note. More from our weekend wandering:
you can see below that in the middle of the woods, and off the trail proper, we stumbled upon a crucifix in the crook of an old tree. Just like that.
Thanks to a day trip to France. Devoured with gusto.
"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness."
— Jane Austen
Since summer feels ever so much like fall this year we decided on a nice apple pie for my husband's homecoming dinner Friday evening. Moira came into the kitchen as I was kneading pie crust and wanted to do the apples. Between us it was efficient work, almost meditative. Exactly what the end of this week needed.
I am a devotee of real whipped cream since discovering how easy it was to make. Sugar, cream, and strong arms to whisk. Alannah and I each took a turn at it and it set up nicely.
We used this recipe for the crust and this for the pie. (though you can see I was a bit ambitious tackling the lattice top….ah well, we tried)
Served on newly thrifted green transferware. Oh I love it when my eye catches a bit of the familiar china pattern peeking out from boxes of discards at the junk shops. A dollar here, a dollar there, and a collection grows – no longer confined to a particular color. I love them all.
We've decided to shake things up around here. There has been a good deal of crafting and cooking and thrifting happening around here lately, but not a whole lot of blogging about any of it. My bright idea was to incorporate more of the 'we' into the blog. Since Alannah is our resident foodie and she is the one finding and trying all the new recipes, it seems fitting to have her explain them. She was game for the idea so now I have a blogging sidekick, a guest blogger, a food editor if you will. : )
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Take it away dearie….
While looking for 4th of July recipes, I came across this drink idea. I knew from the moment I saw it that I had to try it. It does indeed work. Don't let the cranberry juice intimidate you, because if you get your measurements correct, it actually tastes quite good.
The only trick is that you really do NEED to have ice or the beverages will not remain separate. So I had to settle with two drinks. (German freezer size…) This truly made my day though. I sat and stared at them for a very long time. It's the little things in life. (mom again here: like Mother, like Daughter ; ))
After our commissary failed us by being out of multiple ingredients we needed, I settled with strawberry shortcakes (with frozen strawberries, because they were out of fresh ones too). But they ended up being a success.
Our sweet Moira had a birthday this week. We have actually celebrated twice since we had a bigger party on Brendan's birthday while their Dad was home. Still we cannot let the day pass without more cake, now can we? I don't think so.
It was a simple affair since we spent the afternoon at the dance studio. Alannah and I had seen a coconut covered chocolate cake on the cover of this month's Family Circle magazine and decided that would be quick work and quite pretty. She made the layers before we left and frosted when we returned home. I took pictures of it. We all know our jobs. ; D
Abigéal would like you to know it had very nice 'cannels'.
A snap of the birthday kids at the first party:
Last night we hosted a half dozen American executives, here for a housing conference. We decided upon a (mostly) German family-style menu:
Brats and Brotchen
Cream cheese and sour cream mashed potatoes
coleslaw
relish trays
a sampling of German cookies
and the hit of the evening, Alannah's Schwarzwalder Kirche-Torte (Black Forest Cake)
As is usual in this home, there were many adaptations and substitutions. She doctored up a box mix (meringue powder or extra egg whites are her trick to light yet crumb-less, sturdy layers) and cherry pie filling since we were short on time. I believe she flavored the cherry filling with almond extract. Then assembled the whole per the directions on the recipe link.
The low carb cookbook I mentioned a while back unlocked the secret to grain free baking – whey powder and xanthan gum. Equipped with those ingredients I was able to make a perfect crepe this week. It rolled up nicely with no crumbling and no gritty texture.
They also stacked well with cream cheese and berries.
Starry Sky Journal 