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.

Where did it go?

Christmas, that is. You prep and prep until utter exhaustion, and then what? Poof, it's gone! And once you notice it's months later.

This Christmas was no different...well, maybe a little different. I worked retail. (gasp. silence.) It was quite an experience. I hardly got any baking done (not that I do much to begin with), the presents got wrapped at the last minute (like usual) but the worst...I didn't get any crafting done! sigh.* But besides those minor blips, it was a HUGE success.

CiBaby was into Christmas like nobody's business!!! She sang Christmas songs all season,** she baked cookies with G-Mama, visited Santa (by her request, not mine) and dressed in the holiday spirit...okay, so she's a little confused sometimes.

She had a blast. And it was a blast to see her having so much fun. And what could add to the delights of Christmas with a 3 year-old? SNOW and lots of it on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Lots and lots of it. So much so that we had over-night guests and some that missed out.

Besides the delights on a little girl's face we found there is still kindness among strangers. What a great Christmas gift. With all of the snow wouldn't you know, our snow blower would not start...and the plows came by...twice! So T-Daddy was out there with his trusty shovel digging the driveway out on Christmas Eve when a truck drove by with a plow on the front. The driver asked if he could move that pile of snow for T-Daddy. Ummm...YES! How wonderful. And if blessing come in twos, ours did this Christmas Day. While I was busy in the kitchen getting breakfast ready a man drove by on a two-wheeler...again with a plow on the front (Huh? You'd think we live on the Tundra or something!) and said, "Hey, I'll move it for you!" He proceeded to dig out the end of our driveway and within a couple of minutes he was boogieing his way down the street...which got T-Daddy inside quicker so we could get down to business!



After a couple days of celebrating with my family we had a day's respite (oh yeah, and I worked that day) and then came the T-Daddy clan. The last time they came over for a holiday it was one of our first years in our house and very few places to sit. This year was much different. We had a fully finished basement, lots of room in the living room and a full dining room...which helped a lot when there are over 20 people. The only thing that will make it better is when the kitchen remodel is complete.

But again, where did it go? I dunno...but I need a break!

*Oh well, whatever, right? I'm always up for new experiences. It's walking on my wild side! lol
**Shhh. So what if she does it all year. It adds to the story.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a little Elfin Magic this Christmas! Go nuts!!!

Being imperfect in a "perfect" society

Yes, I have strayed from some of my deeper posts lately...but let's chalk it up to the time factor, which leads me to this thought...

How does an imperfect person make their way in a "perfect" society?

Society is so focus on perfection. The perfect house, the perfect car, a put-together look and outward appearance, and most of all...perfect children.

We all want things to be perfect, I know I do...and I don't even put myself on the Perfectionist scale, at least for most things. Who wouldn't want their house to be spotless and beautifully decorated? A nice car that turns heads (and gets good gas mileage)...come on, don't deny it. A closet full of outfits that make you feel like a million bucks? All wonderful dreams, but they are just that...dreams. But children...we expect perfection out of our children. While I could go on and on about manners, attitudes and behaviors what I'm getting at is deeper.

What is it like to have an child that is seen as "imperfect" to the world?

Long ago, I was going to post a little more information about CiBaby, but hesitated. How would people, either not knowing her at all or just getting to know her react to her...or me? Some already know that CiBaby has been diagnosed with OAV (Oculo-auriculo-vertebral) Spectrum (and possibly Hemifacial Microsomia) which can involve the eyes, ears and spine (and sometimes internal organs). What does that mean for her? Well, she is completely deaf on the left side and missing that outer ear. And that's about it.* She is beautiful, very healthy, observant, basically has sonar in her right ear** and a wit beyond her years. Most people do not even notice that she's missing an ear. But what happens when they do? CiBaby already asks me "Mama, why do I only have one ear?" "Mama, why do you have two ears?" Aaaahhhhh that's a very good question, my darling. And she's only 3-years-old.***


Then today, I happened to catch Dr. Phil...while whipping something up in the kitchen...and the discussion was on girl-bullies. Oh boy. I'll just say it...Girls are mean! I really don't understand it. Is it that our gender is so insecure that we need to lash out at one another and make others feel bad (or worse!) about themselves just to make ourselves feel better. To somehow validate ourselves and our feelings by devaluing others? I will tell it to the world...I was bullied by an older girl when I was 13. Why? I'll never know the real reason. All I know is it scared the living daylights out of me. So much so that I didn't want to go to school in fear that I would get beaten by her. I faked being sick. I tried to never walk alone in the hallways. This is when I found out who my true friends were.


Why do I bring this up? I fear this for my own daughter, who is only 3! Girls are getting meaner and meaner at younger and younger ages! It's so crazy it boggles my mind and sends me in to small panic attacks just thinking about it. But I need to keep my whits about me. How do we shelter our children from the unnecessary slashings to the soul, those cuts that scar the personality...without suffocating them in the process? Letting them learn that this wonderful world does come with some undesirable, but teachable, sides? That everything and everyone has an "imperfection," some external and some internal. Hell, we're all human. Maybe I should have titled this "Being perfect in an imperfect society."

For now this mama bear is keeping watchful eyes and listening ears. Check back in a couple of years to see how we're all fairing.


*To date we need to get another x-ray of her spine, but I'm not terribly worried.
**When the first Audiologist said "I wished she had better hearing in her right ear" we thought..."Good Lord!!! We surely don't!"
***She even noticed the fact that she only had one year around the time she was 2-years-old. It's kind of a cute story, actually.

The Santa Experience

Today was the day...the day that CiBaby decided for herself that she wanted to talk directly to the Big Man himself.

The first year CiBaby was with us, we didn't even consider bringing her to see Santa...we could barely get her to sit on relatives' laps without crying! Last year there were a couple of times that she saw Santa from afar...but that was close enough for her.

But this year was different. This morning we were talking about Santa and all of a sudden she said that she wanted to talk to him. Well...okay! So I did what any good mother would do and found out where Santa was that day, of course! And I was still able to get an appointment, that day, with the man himself.

So we hustled, and we bustled and got ourselves ready to get out the door. Thankfully there was a small line to wait in before talking with Santa. This gave CiBaby some time to fully take in the situation. She studied him. She saw what the other kids were doing. She noticed that Santa had CANDY next to him!*

Not knowing exactly what to expect from her when her turn came I stayed fairly quiet. But once the little boys were done in front of her...you would have had to have had a barricade to stop her. She was on a mission to talk with Santa. She marched right up to the little stool that sat next to his chair and sat down. She was serious. They had a discussion about being good, did lots of givin' fives and even willingly, and with a real smile, got pictures taken.

After it was over, I didn't have to pull her away, she walked away confidently and told me that she had talked with Santa. We picked our picture** and bought a frame*** and headed out for lunch. As we were looking for the perfect location to have our tidbits to eat we saw Santa having lunch. You would have thought we saw a mega star. She was giddy and Santa was so sweet. He talked with her again, gave her a piece of candy, and I swear she swooned.

Later that afternoon, I framed that picture...which was quickly confiscated and now resides on CiBaby's dresser.

It was a great day in this life.

*There's very little this kid misses.
**Not shown here...must scan for that.
***It was too dang cute to pass up.

The budding artist

Art by CiBaby...


Our Family...from left to right...Big Sister, Big Bruffah (brother), T-Daddy on the roof) Kitcat in the window, CiBaby in the door yelling to our furry buddy "to come in, Bern!" And last...me. Yep, you can't miss me and my crazy hair.


CiBaby's self portrait.

There's no doubt about it...I'm impressed!!!