From Us, to You...

My Grown-up Christmas Wish

Do you remember when you were a kid and the things you had on your Christmas wish list? I recall a couple - a pair of single-blade ice skates (that G-Mama will tell you were super hard to find as I was only 3 years-old and had small feet!) and dominoes.

But this year, this year is different. Sure it's always nice to get items all dolled up in ribbon and bows, but the reality is...it's (generally) not necessary. So what are you asking for, you say? A prayer or thought.

We received a message from a family in our preschool today. A classmate of our dear CiBaby, a sweet and smiley little guy, has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He's 4. Four. All of the test results are not back yet to see what the risk level is, but regardless...this is a big deal. So my wish is for you, your friends, their friends and their friends to hold a thought and say a prayer for Will and his family, so maybe it'll be heard and answered...kind of like a petition. A prayer petition.

So if you've gotten me anything, you can return it*...I only want this one thing. I might even write a letter to Santa...it can't hurt.


*Let the economy suffer a little, it's a worthy cause.

A fresh layer

A fresh layer of snow sometimes makes the everyday more beautiful...

And sometimes it's just not necessary, as the beauty is always there...

even under all of those layers.

A local connection

As you know, I'm all about local. But this is different.

Dear friends of ours, Wibby's family, are currently in China to be united with their baby daughter. As I talked with J before they left, I kept feeling all the same feelings that I had when we went to get CiBaby. The neatest part...they are going to the same Province that CiBaby was born, as that is where there little one is from as well (CiBaby from Jingzhou, babyM from Wuxue...opposite sides of Wuhan along the Yangtze River). As I type this post, since they are 12 hours ahead of us, they are either on their way or getting ready to depart for Wuhan, in the Hubei Province. The kicker of the whole thing is that they will have our absolutely fantastic guide, Grant, with them every step of the way. He lead us through the process flawlessly, showed us the sights and talked to us about the Chinese culture. It was a fantastic experience and I only hope the R Family will have the same.

And again to think...a garage sale was the catalyst for a wonderful relationship, and now...a local connection.

Localicious

Thanks to a wonderful little Park & Rec art class for CiBaby this summer, I have 8 whole hours (spread out over 4 days, of course) a.l.o.n.e. Ahhhh heaven. So what did I do on my first day of solitude? I headed on a necessary errand...to restock my spice and seasoning shelves, which of course took me to Penzey's. I could seriously spend a good chunk of time there, but my spice cabinet and pocketbook said "stick to your list!"

With one necessary errand done and about 25 minutes to kill I swung into the Golden Fig store. Seriously, if you love food like I do, love to talk about it with other foodies and have not been there...GO! Okay, so you don't really need to be a foodie, but I'll bet that you'll start to become a very discerning consumer once you've visited this lovely little shop! Local local local...that's what it's all about. I could spend a king's ransom in that shop, but today I settled with 2 fantastic new (to me) items...Golden Fig's The Bees Knees - fresh squeezed lemon juice, water, local honey, local mint and lavender (we used sparkling water as our "mixer") and Extra Dough's Smokey Chipotle pecans (oh.my.god...HEAVEN!!!).

Another item you can find at GF, and our local farmers market, is Sunrise butternut squash fettuccini. While yes, it's light in flavor, you just need to make your toppings light as well. For this reason, and the reason that I have a bunch of produce from our garden and CSA begging to be used, I made up the following...

Summertime Pasta
8 oz Sunrise butternut squash fettuccini
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
2 cobs corn, kernels cut off
1 medium zucchini
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size of said tomato
1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
sea salt
bacon grease* and/or extra-virgin olive oil

Cook fettuccini as directed, al dente. Once cooked, drain, rinse, and toss with a little extra-virgin olive oil then set aside.

Meanwhile put 1-2 tsp bacon grease or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat and add sage. Saute 2-3 minutes. It will turn crunch. Remove sage from skillet and put into a small, heat resistant bowl. Add corn kernels to the skillet and turn up the heat to medium. Saute 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the corn is cooking, make long ribbons out of the zucchini using a veggie peeler. Toss into the pan with the corn. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and a little olive oil if needed. Cook another 2-3 minutes. Add pasta, toss with veggies and let cook a couple of minutes, basically to just heat the pasta a bit. Turn off the heat, toss in the tomatoes, sage and parmesan cheese; toss to combine. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes...then serve with more parm, if desired.

Seriously, I don't think eating can get any sweeter than local! Totally localicious!

*Yes, I save bacon grease...have I mentioned this before? It's great for flavoring and a little goes a long way.

The smell of a garden

We've had a lot of hot, steamy days with bouts of rain lately, which has made the vegetables plants grow like crazy. So today, while taking a survey of the gardens, I realized it was necessary to tie up the towering tomato plants...again. After I was done, I went inside to wash my hands and the smell came over me...tomato plants.

Funny, isn't it? A particular smell that invokes memories. Memories of summer, the garden, my childhood.

The other day, when it was particularly warm, I had just been working with the tomato plants and decided to join CiBaby in the swimming pool. I jumped in and sat down beside her. She climbed onto my lap and said, "Mama, you smell like tomato plants."

Now my list will include my daughter in the garden with me and her keen sense of observation.

Wickedly good!

Today, T-Daddy and I had a much-needed date, which took us to see Wicked. I can sum up the production in one word...FANTASTIC! The music and singing was awesome, the costumes were great and the story itself is one that really resonates with me...which is basically, don't judge a book by it's cover (sorry, bad pun, but appropriate) or mass review.

Have you ever met someone that other people have warned you about, for reasons you have no idea, but withhold judgement until you meet them? Then once you meet said person you can't put your finger on it, but know that there's something deeper than just what a lot of people see? The facade, will you. Of course, sometimes it isn't really a facade, just a really good paint job...and they truly are certifiable...you know those.

Anyway, if you have the opportunity to see the production, do, but I also highly recommend reading the book (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years)), it's a great read.

Totally Brilliant!

You know when you hear or see something that it TOTALLY brilliant and you think, "Duh! Why didn't I think of that?!" Well, I thought I would start posting some of those things here!

I was recently flipping through our latest edition of Family Fun magazine and came to the "My Great Idea" section. Wait. Back up a sec.

Several years ago, T-Daddy and I witnessed a little girl get separated from her family at the State Fair. The look of panic on the little girl's face just about broke my heart, and then the look of relief on both the mother's and daughter's faces when they found each other just about sent me over the edge. Since then I have had this fear that CiBaby will get separated from us in a large crowd and we wouldn't be able to find her quickly. Besides keeping her right next to me at all times I've just kept trying to think of ways to "mark" her so we can be rejoined quickly...address label with my cell phone number on it ("Hello, My name is Find-my-Mama-fast-or-else-I'll-be-a-basket-case-and-be-stuck-to-her-like-glue-for-at-least-2-weeks"), a leash, ball and chain so she can't run far....you know, the usual. Oh, and have I mentioned that she completely panics when she can't see/find us for one millisecond? Yeah, it's bad.

Okay, back to the brilliant idea. So flipping through Family Fun I came to THE BEST idea ever! A phone number bracelet!!! The supplies needed are elastic cording, number beads and any other bead you'd like...I'm going to use some cute Disney Princess beads we have sitting around the house.

*I am currently in the process of gathering the supplies and will post a picture when this project is completed.

What's in the Box - part 2

Our 2nd week came with a little extra fun...our box was missed. But! The great people at our CSA drove one out to us the next day. AWESOME!!!!

Box #2 contained:
a loaf of cinnamon raisin whole wheat bread (which we actually got the day before with the other deliveries)
1 head red leaf lettuce
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 bunch of carrots
3 cucumbers
1 pint blueberries
1 quart snow peas

What did we make?

On the day of the main delivery, since I didn't have a box of new veggies, but had a few left from last week, and a wonderful, fresh loaf of bread we threw together a salad and toast with honey. We used up our head of red lettuce, I quickly cooked up some chicken breasts, toasted almonds and strawberries (I forgot the green onions!) and topped it with the poppy seed dressing from Trader Joe's. It was delicious! We've even gotten CiBaby to start eating entree salads too. Yippy!

Once our box arrived he next day it was a stir-fry of zucchini, snow peas, carrots and chicken breast over rice. I don't have a recipe for you as it was one of my "a little of this and a little of that" dishes that I don't bother to keep track of.

And I will tell you now, we eat A LOT of our veggies naked, and virgin (raw), so I won't bore you with all of the deets.

What's in the Box?

This year I had starting thinking once again about participating in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), but of course started looking a little too late. On T-Daddy and my anniversary we attended a local Living Green Expo where I met a farmer who intrigued me...his philosophies, his ideas and his product (he does mainly heirloom varieties, which I LOVE!). The only draw back, he wasn't delivering to our area...yet. He was seeing if the interest was great enough for our area to start a new route, so I put my name on his list for a share and to be a drop-site.

Well, both came into being...thus this will be my attempt to document our adventure.

Box #1 contained:

1 quart sugar peas

1 quart strawberries

2 bunches radishes

1 head red lettuce

2.5 lbs new red potatoes

2 zucchini

What did we make?

Dairy-Free Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream (adapted from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks, And More, p. 124...I swear it's the best ice cream book around!)

3 heaping cups strawberries (fresh if you have them, frozen without syrup, defrosted if you don't)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups (1 pint) SO Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer
1 tsp vanilla extract

Puree the strawberries with the salt in a food processor or blender. Should yield about 2 cups of puree. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar into the eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.

Bring the coconut creamer to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot creamer into the eggs and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly (I put the bowl inside a large bowl filled with ice as I was impatient), then stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard then freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished, the ice ream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer into a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.


Potato Salad (we had a party to go to so I made a large bowl)
2.5 lbs new red potatoes, scrubbed
5 green onions, white and greens, sliced
2-4 radishes, halved and sliced thinly
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup mayo
1 mounded Tbsp Annie's Horseradish Mustard
1 Tbsp dried dill weed (you can use fresh - about 1/4 cup, but to get the flavor your salad will be really green!)
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Boil potatoes about 20 minutes, or until tender (but not falling apart). Drain and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cube the potatoes into about 1/2 inch cubes.

In a separate bowl, mix mayo, mustard, dill, salt and pepper. Add to potatoes and mix thoroughly. This should be enough dressing, but if not add a bit more mayo and doctor up the spices if necessary (I do it to taste). Add green onions, radishes and eggs; mix well and refrigerate. Best if made a couple hours ahead of serving as to marry the flavors.


And with just the beginning of zucchini season starting, I've been stocking-up on interesting zucchini recipes. This salad/side was a good one...simple and delish! Odd location for this recipe, but whatever, I don't judge!

Zucchini with Black Sesame Seed (from Cakes and Loaves: 110 Recipes You Can Make at Home, p.18...cute book with lots of great savory and sweet bread recipes )

4-5 small, firm zucchini

2 tsp black sesame seeds

olive oil

(I added a splash of sesame oil for a little extra somethin')

juice of 1 lemon (aka 2 Tbsp)

pinch of sugar

salt, pepper

Julienne the zucchini using a mandolin slicer (I used the fine julienne blade). Dry fry/toast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan. Combine the zucchini and sesame seed in a bowl. Add the oil(s) and lemon juice and mix well. Add the sugar, season with salt and pepper.

The Art of the Self-Portrait

Tonight I was finally able to go through the pictures from CiBaby's birthday and came upon some she took. Some were of the dog, the pool, me, T-Daddy, the dog (did I already mention the dog, as there were A LOT of them!) and CiBaby herself.

 

While she may need a little practice, I thought they were pretty darn cute!

"Like"

 

 

For those of you on Facebook, you are most likely very familiar with the graphic similar to the one above...the "Like" option. You are also probably familiar with the sidebar that suggests either people to friend (you know, those people you either only know because you've seen them in the street, they're a friend of one of your acquaintances or you haven't seen, nor care to see/talk to them since preschool...of course there's to occasional real one...but whose counting?) or what use to be becoming a "fan" of someone/something/somewhere.

 

Today's was the best though. Today's "Recommended Page" was...

 

Many people who like Walt Disney World like Starbucks.

 

No kidding. I can tell you exactly who those people are too. Those are parents who bring their children to Walt Disney World, go and see everything they can until they almost drop or they cannot stand their kids' whining and crying anymore, go to bed and do it all over again the next day.* Who wouldn't need/love a strong cup of coffee???! I know I did/do/will.

 

*I hold no judgement, we do the same thing! LOL

Good fortune

Tonight, after a quick dinner, CiBaby snatched up one of those unclaimed fortune cookies from a previous take-out night and excitedly awaited to hear what it said. Her fortune read:

"Today is an ideal time to water your personal garden."

Her take on the message? "Mama, that means we are suppose to teach people how to garden."

That's my girl!

Happy Birthday, CiBaby!

You are 4 years-old today. Amazing...truly amazing.

Yesterday we were talking about being a baby in someones belly and you said that you wish you had been in mine, but the truth is life would not be the same. I couldn't begin to imagine all of the differences, as there could be so very many.

The one thing that I do know is that Daddy and I are two of the most lucky people in the entire universe to have found such a wonderful girl to be our daughter. You bring us so much joy our hearts overflow daily. You are bright, inquisitive, funny, loving, imaginative, kind, beautiful, quirky and you just keep being you...because we cannot think of anything better.

We love you so very, very much honey. Happy Birthday!

Love, Mama and Daddy.

A Fish Tale

A couple of months ago, we gained a family member..."Ariel" the (male) Beta. Ariel was a get-well/you-did-great gift from Auntie and Great-Gram after  CiBaby's Dental Extravaganza. At first, CiBaby was really into Ariel, always wanting to watch him swim around...but he was soon forgotten. So as Mom, I took over the daily duty of feeding the fish.

Comfortable in his new home, Ariel would swim excitedly (T-Daddy can attest to this) around when we came anywhere near his bowl (which is actually a vase, but whatever) which is in the kitchen, so it's a lot. Anyway, last weekend we went away for a small trip, G-Mama and Bopa took care of Ariel and Jaz. I was a little nervous as no one was around to supervise the curious cat, nor was there a lid for the fish's abode. To our relief, all was well...until...

We arrived home Monday evening, Tuesday went well, until all of a sudden...CiBaby takes a HUGE interest in feeding the fish, by herself.

CiBaby: "Mama! I fed the fish!"
Me: "Aaah okay. How much did you feed it?"
No response.

I go over to the bowl and there are numerous pellets floating on the surface of the water. More than the fish needs, but not an insane amount. Making a mental note to clean the fish's bowl the next morning I go off to work for a late shift. During this time T-Daddy texts me, which I don't receive until after midnight...

T-Daddy: "The fish is dead! Probably over fed it."

What?! Now I know this is just a little fish and who knows how long they all live, but I felt terrible! Then I started to think about what did T-Daddy do with the fish? Did he explain to CiBaby about how animals die? Did he say anything at all? Did he flush the fish down the toilet? Did he leave it for me to do? What if the fish wasn't dead and he flushed it by accident???! This was all running through my head as I drove home from work.

When I got home I immediately walked over to where the bowl was to see a fish...swimming around! While it's belly did look slightly distended and his color was off, he was alive. At that point, I changed the water in the bowl (first step of detoxing the fish!), then went to bed. In the morning I finally responded to the text message that was sent to me the night before (which I didn't respond to because T-Daddy was asleep at that point), telling him how I was all worried about the fish and his text must have been some kind of joke.

Are you still with me? This is where it gets pretty good.

He immediately responds to me that the fish was actually floating last night and wouldn't even respond to taps on the glass and that he guessed it was a good thing that he didn't flush it like he was going to!

Good golly, Miss Molly! So the fish gorged itself to the point where it couldn't swim so it almost got flushed. Talk about one fin in the grave!

Moral of the story...if you think your fish is dead wait 4.5 hours to flush it.

Speaking of "Magic..."

When in the world did the word "please" become magic??? I don't know about you, but to me, "Please" and "Thank You" are key words in civilized society...a society that is sometimes forgotten and fantasy and "magic" come to call in its place. Good manners, humility and graciousness are not magic, they are essential.

What's the magic age?

So much of what we do is decided for us, like the age you can start driving (15 with a permit, 16 with a license...at least on the tundra, but not a farm), buy cigarettes, vote, join the military, drink (at least legally), and get a better insurance rate...but what about other things? Being a girl I think of wearing make-up, dating and getting your ears pierced.

When I was young I was in dance, shocker, I know. Make-up was no big deal as you got to get "dolled-up" for recitals. I don't recall ever being told that I could not date until I was X age,* but ears pierced...here's where an age came for me. I had to be 13. Why 13? I have no idea.**

Why do I bring this up? What made me start thinking about this? This morning, at 4:40 AM our soon-to-be granddaughter*** was dropped off on her mom's (C) way to work. Half asleep she hands me a bottle of stuff to clean GD's ears and said that GD had been begging for them, and C was having a weak moment, and that she knew that CiBaby couldn't have them. That snapped me awake. Not so much the part about CiBaby not being able to get them, 'cause if she wants her ear(s)**** pierced, in time, be my guest...but the age. I know culturally things are all over the map, but my question became...what is the magic age? 13? Younger? Older? It just had me thinking...What age will we choose to make the magic age?

*I know some people have that rule. Heck, CiBaby isn't going to date until she's at least 25...if I have my way.
**I'll have to ask G-Mama and Bopa, maybe they have an answer, or maybe they just thought it sounded good.
***That's a blog post for another day!
****Prosthetic ears, if we/she decides to go that route, can be pierced as well. They really are a thing of art!

Lying gets you nowhere

Even in retail.

As most of you know, I am a GAP Girl. It's just a part-time gig, but I really like it.* My favorite roll is in the fitting rooms, where you will find me most of the time. Making sure that what people are trying 1. fits correctly and 2. looks good on them. If you ask me my opinion (or sometimes you don't even have to ask me to get it) I will always be truthful.

Last night was no exception. A postpartum mom was in looking for a dress. The one she chose had a v-neck, vertical stripe and empire waist. She asked me my opinion and I told her. She looked great! Of course she was unsure as she was self conscious, she even said so. Then another customer came out and complimented her. She was convinced. I jokingly told her I wouldn't lie to a new mom...way too many hormones! And then there were the ladies and jeans. Who doesn't hate looking for new jeans? Men, maybe. I was so excited when I was able to find a pair for a woman who apparently can never find jeans to fit right, and two others that needed help sizing so they looked great. People, it's my job to make you look good!

I suppose I could lie and say something looks good when it doesn't really, but where does that get me in the end? Maybe more sales right then, possibly, but when someone realizes that something doesn't fit correctly and they hate it (or don't love it but were talked into it) they won't be repeat customers and if they do actually return why would they believe us? I know I wouldn't. And frankly, I don't want angry customers randomly coming up to me in the mall cursing me for making them look like crap.

So...if you want some real help and an honest opinion, come and find me. Who knows...I may even tell you to try another store!

*Except for picking up after the slobs who leave things all over the dressing rooms. Seriously people?!? That's just plain rude.

Could you make...?

I love those 3 words. It's a challenge, like "What can you create with minimal time and without having to buy a king's ransom at the grocery store? Huh? Huh?!?"

A friend recently threw a birthday party for her husband and requested a lettuce salad. With a quick dig through my deep freezer*, and my brain, I came up with the following salad recipe. Of course when I told her what I was making she said, "Oh, I was just thinking lettuce, tomato and cheese." Ummmm, do you know who you're asking???

8-10 cups chopped Romain, or other crunchy lettuce (I used 2 Romain hearts)
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
1 cup roasted corn
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
5 slices thick cut bacon, fried and chopped
1/2 cup candied walnuts**
Fried dandelions (recipe follows)
Walnut oil vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Layer salad in this order - dressed lettuce, roasted red pepper, roasted corn, tomatoes, and bacon. Add the walnuts and dandelions right before serving so they remain crunchy.


Make ahead and set aside:
Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Roasted French Walnut oil
2 Tbsp high quality balsamic vinegar
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp basil, chiffonade

Whisk together right before tossing with the lettuce.

Dandelion flowers
1 cup dandelion flowers, stemmed and washed well
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2+ cup beer (use a little more if you need to thin the batter a bit)
1/2 cup oil (I used corn this time)

Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and beer in a medium bowl. The batter should be like pancake batter, so if too thick add a little more beer, if too thin add in a little more cornmeal. Add in dandelion flowers and toss to coat.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan (I use my 5" cast iron frying pan as I don't like the wasted oil) over medium-high heat. Add the dandelions to the oil one-by-one, blossom side down and cook for about 3 minutes or until slightly browned. Turn over and cook the other side. Remove blossoms (I just use a fork) and place them on a paper toweling. Immediate sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with remaining blossoms.


The salad was a hit. Now I just need a name for it!

*This is where all of my harvest time labor pays off!
**If I need to put instructions on how to candy your own nuts, let me know.

Flower Power!

My little Garden Sprite and some of our many flowers

They had a field day

truly.

This last month of school there is a lot happening, among them...Field Day. I recall my own field days with fond memories. Spending the day outside, just playing. And now my girl had her first one as well...and she had a ball.

I tell ya, this kid can run...and run, and run. And she's pretty fast too! Of course, she's not all grace. After I picked her up and she had her playtime in "the pit"* But in true form of their school, all of the children got a gold medal.

One thing CiBaby did not tell me in her brief of the day was what happened after she fell. I found this out later. One of her awesome teachers, Ms. G., captured this moment for us.

This is CiBaby's buddy, J. J and CiBaby bonded at the beginning of the school year over My Little Pony, and the bond continued. They are a great match.

During the Field Day race, when CiBaby fell, J stopped running, went back to where CiBaby was and started walking with her. Later, Ms G asked J why she did that and J said, "Because. [CiBaby] is mine friend." Well, I don't know about you, but that got my eyes to well up. I feel so blessed that I found such a great school that brought my girl together with such a wonderful being, who is no doubt the product of her awesome parents.

Preschool may cost you money, but it was a priceless year in my book.

*There is adjacent lot to the school that has a huge composting leaf pile that the kids love to run around and in...and they have lovingly dubbed it "the Pit." Not a day goes by that they don't want to have a romp in the pit after school.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of you mothers out there...Have a fabulous day!

And a special "Happy" to the mothers in my life...

Mom, Grandmas...You always are/were super human to me. Thanks and I love you.

Well...why not?!

I look out my big picture window...and there they stand. Bright and glowing in the sunlight, taunting me. "Ha ha! I got into your flower beds and there's nothing you can do about it!" Until a light bulb switched on. Oh yeah? Watch me.

So today I took my trusty bowls out into the wild blue yonder and harvested...dandelions. "Huh?" you say? Well...why not?! Dandelion greens are high in Vitamins A and B, Potassium and Iron...and the flowers taste darn good when you fry them up. Of course T-Daddy said, "We're eating weeds??" and proceeded to tell CiBaby that her Mama is silly.

I fried up a little bit of bacon with a clove of minced garlic then added the dandelion greens (just the leaves, mind you) and stir-fried them up like you would any southern style greens. The flowers were dipped in a little batter and fried to a golden brown and topped with a little kosher salt. Those were gobbled up instantly.

So in the end I guess I'm not so silly after all.

Please note...if you are going to do this make sure that the dandelions you harvest are clean of all herbicides and pesticides. I picked mine out of my organic gardens which do not see any of the forementioned "cides" and are fairly protected from passing dogs.

Potato Gnocchi

For years I have been searching for a gnocchi to rival a restaurant's in the North End of Boston. Everything came up short. And tough. So when I picked a special Fine Cooking - Real Italian magazine I was delighted to see that they had not only a recipe, but also the technique of making these little pillows of happiness. I read through the recipe, tips and instructions and thought..."This is lemon squeezy!"

So tonight I whipped up a batch and I'll tell you the truth it was a little bit of heaven in a bowl...smothered in homemade sauce. Absolutely divine.

Potato Gnocchi - Fine Cooking Recipes, Techniques and Tips

Posted using ShareThis

Note: The one crucial part they left out of the recipe was the actual boiling of the gnocchi. For those who don't want to search the web and don't already intuitively know...Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling add (I had to do it in two batches) the gnocchi; gently stir so they don't stick to the bottom. The gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water when almost done. Let them cook a minute more. I removed them with a slotted spoon into the serving bowl and covered with sauce. So delicious!See More

Happy...

2010!

We rang in a very frigid new year with our good friends, the Kippsters. There was lots good, semi-clean fun...along with, of course, the annual watching of Christmas Vacation. And the kicker is that CiBaby was actually awake to ring in the new year! Yikes but yay!

After that fun night of too much to eat and drink and too little sleep, I creaked my way out of bed and into the kitchen. Our morning entailed celebrating a good friend's birthday with a New Year's Day brunch...and I had signed up to bring the cheesy potatoes. One, never have I made cheesy potatoes and two...well, there's CiBaby...who loves her cheese but her cheese doesn't love her (at least the inexpensive stuff). So I set out on a mission to make a great tasting lactose-free cheesy potatoes...sounds like an oxymoron, right? But holy crykies they were GOOD!*


CzaMama's CheeZ Potatoes for CiBaby


Thick white sauce with mushroom (recipe follows)

1 cup goat's milk yogurt

2 tsp corn starch

2 lbs frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup goat's milk butter, melted
1 1/2 cups shredded aged cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp dried onion flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
4 oz chevre, cut/broken into small chunks

In a large bowl, mix yogurt and corn starch. Slowly add warm thick white sauce, stirring constantly until incorporated. Add in thawed potatoes, melted butter, 1 cup aged cheddar cheese and onion flakes. Mix; add salt and pepper, to taste.

Put potato mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and dot with chevre. Top with remaining shredded cheddar cheese.


Bake in a 350F degrees, preheated oven for 1 hour.

Thick white sauce (bechamel) with mushrooms:
2 dried mushrooms (I used shitaki), rehydrated (reserving soaking water), squeezed of extra moisture and finely chopped
3 Tbsp goat milk butter, divided
4 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (or Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour)
1 1/2 cups hot lactose-free milk (I use 2%)
3/4 tsp salt
1/8-1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until mixture (known as a roux) is smooth and begins to bubble.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add milk all at once. Return saucepan to heat; stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. Sauce will be thickened and smooth in about 1 minute.

Add salt and pepper; cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

As if we hadn't cheered enough, the clan came over to our abode to continue our annual New Year's Day fire and hot dog roast...with a twist. This year it was so incredibly cold none of us wanted to be outside, so instead everyone roasted their dog and marshmallows by our cozy living room fireplace!

Cheers!

*I make no claim that they are healthy or low in fat/calories...just without lactose.