Summer Afternoon...

Long sunny days ......long warm days....and I get lazier and slower....but a person has to eat! the garden is giving me potatoes, carrots, beans, radishes, beets, turnips, lots of greens...kale, lettuce and all the tops from beets and turnips too.

a fire to cook on outside is always tempting since the kitchen is hot and who wants to turn on the stove... the other day I chopped garden potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, kale, greens, beans and some organic frozen corn and peppers and boiled it for an hour with some vegetable bouillon, cayenne pepper, regular ol' pepper (don't take it for granted...it's a good thing to toss in), and some dried thyme.
After an hour of simmering, I mixed some pancake mix with a bit of milk in a bowl, and dropped tablespoons of dough in the boiling soup, and walaa! Dumplings!
I learned that from mom...drop in lumps of dough and you thicken the soup and add a side dish all at the same time. At the end of simmering your soup, drop in dumpling dough, and cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. With all that yummy goodness from the garden, we topped the late  dinner with ice cream and pie. And Screwdrivers!

Here's what I planted in late spring, so I was thrilled to pull some tasty homegrowns the other day and eat....

I had to pull out the peas, and chop back the swiss chard, the kale and the pak choi....the hot weather is not a friend to them. Everything got watered deep and also got a douse of organic fertilizer.

The tomato plants are growing tall, and so are the sunflowers and the corn. The squash has blossoms....late summer is gonna taste great.

I love being barefoot in the kitchen in summer.....and I set up a cooking area outside. It is so cool,  (weather-wise and mood wise), to set a frying pan on the barbeque to fry some oysters and serve them with a cold green salad plucked from the garden in the morning.

Here's a look at the garden in early June. The lychnis, the shasta daisies, the nasturtiums, and the tomatoes planted on teepees made from branches cut from the winter damaged black locust trees...

Late last winter I set cardboard out on the sunny part of the lawn to kill the grass so I could plant tomato plants. I covered the ground with lots of manure and compost, covered it with cardboard and  then I put lawn clippings on top of that after the first mowings of the spring. Then, I cut a hole in the cardboard, set in my tomato plants, and fashioned teepees with branches wired together at the top.

One leg is held in place with an 18" length of iron rebar to hold them in place. This method is great for lazy er, busy gardeners. The cardboard/mulch arrangement holds in water and prevents weeding!
I water every 2 weeks by putting a trickling hose near the base of each tomato plant for about 10 minutes and also fertilize the ground right at the base of the plant. As the plant grows, I gently tie it to the branch. I have lots of blossoms and sooooon I'll have tiny tomatoes........and then Big Tomatoes.........Homegrown Tomatoes!!!!

Screwdriver: Simple. in a canning jar pint glass of orange juice, organic please ...oh a simple little thing...OJ, then I squish basil or mint leaves in the OJ with my fingers (I'm lazy), then add an ice cube or 2, a splash of lemonade, then pour in a jigger or 2 of vodka....the herb oil/leaves add a bit of extra tastiness to the summer Screwdriverand sip slowly in the shade.....

The Best Way To Eat Onions in Winter

Cold, windy and wet. It's winter. And I want soup. I love this one because...it is made from what I almost always have on hand in the pantry....and French Onion soup is soooo good. Rich, brothy, buttery and satisfying...and easy!

2 -3 big onions or 4 -5 smaller onions, chopped or sliced to make about 3 -4 cups. This recipe will make about 5 servings.
4 cups of broth. I use this yummy instant broth making stuff. It's at Safeway, so easy to find.
Salt and Pepper. More pepper than salt.
2 T. butter.
A splash of red wine or white if that's all you got. Whatev'.
 Once the soup is done, sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese or float a piece of toast on top and put the Parm or a slice of Swiss on the surface of soup, once you have ladled it in to the soup bowls!
Drama.



First chop the onions.Toss the brown papery stuff....or save it to make dye. Another post in the future. Or google Onion skin dye .

Saute them in a frying pan with some oil.

Stir them so they don't get too brown....you just want them to soften and release the onion goodness.

Meanwhile make your broth ....I use 1T of yummy Better Than Bouillon broth in 4 cups of warm water.
Toss this all in a big soup pot, and then simmer on low-medium for 15 mins. Then stir in the wine, remove from the heat.

 Ladle it into bowls, and float the toast/cheese on top.
Serve and eat.

I Like it Fast and Easy

One Pan Lasagne. Really.
hey, let's eat. I do like to eat. but....I don't really like to cook. I do like to bake. This is one of my favorite recipes for One Pan Lasagne. Oh sure, you say. No wait ! This is ONE PAN. Not a big pot, and a colander, and  a baking pan...Oh no no no. One pan. Put in oven. Bake. Eat.
....back in the olde days I took great pride in my ability to get dinner on the table by 6 ish. I was so organized! with 3 kids and an ex that thought feeding the family was as easy as calling out for pizza delivery, I had to stay organized, and collect fast, easy and cheap, and oh yeah, mostly vegetarian and super-healthy recipes.
These days, I do make a good dinner, and we eat well, but .....let's just say, I love the microwave and the toaster oven.
One Pan Lasagne. Really.
Measuring cup, a spoon or 2, grated or sliced cheeses (about a pound or less, use less if you want to use some cottage or ricotta cheese, or some cream cheese), a jar of spaghetti sauce (or make a quart of your own), a bottle of tomato juice, some water, oil, a box of lasagne noodles (those long ones),  foil, an oven, and one lonely little 13" x 9" baking pan.
Here we go........ Turn the oven on to 350 degrees to pre-heat.
First, Pour into the baking pan about a Tablespoon of oil and a 1/2 Cup of water.
Start to lay down a layer of DRY lasagne noodles, pour on about 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce, and over that spread 1/3 of your cheese(s). (here's where I added that spinach)
Repeat this 2 or 3 times.
Finish up with some sprinkles of grated cheese.
Here's the big secret: Pour 1 cup of tomato juice down the sides of the pan that is now full of raw lasagne goodness. Really. See pictures below. Cover this amazing goodness with foil, 
put it in your hot 350 degree oven for a half hour, then take off the foil, and continue baking for 15 minutes more. Turn off the oven, and let the lasagne rest for 15 minutes or so, before enjoying!

So, here's what I used.....a jar of Artichoke Okie dokie spaghetti sauce, a can of spinach, some sour cream ( I forgot to buy ricotta!), some Parmesan, a chunk of cheddar, and a box of lasagne noodles.
You have my permission to add olives or whatever. Personally, I think olives are great, but they are really best when put on your fingertips while pretending you are Mickey Mouse.
That doesn't make much sense, but that's what we did as kids, before they invented video tapes.

 Here we go....layering layering layering.........

Instead of boring old tomato juice......I used V8. "I could have had a V8!"

 Now I am pouring the V8 on the sides.......Really!

Then I covered it with foil......use your imagination, and popped it in the oven and set the timer.......
And since I had the V8 juice already out........and I had extra in my measuring cup....Oh what the hell! Let's get out the vodka!!!
and make a Kitchen Bloody Mary, with Don't Forgetta the Mezzetta !
plop in a few chunks of the Mezzetta veggie goodness and Vodka !

Mezzetta Italian Mix Giardiniera vegetables......
Yes, another thing from my hometown!

 Is the lasagne cool? yes. well, then ....
Oh My Gosh !! Yum Yum Yum.......yum yum yum ....yum......
 That's it. I swear. Be sure to let it cool, and then eat it.
You can make this ahead, like in the morning.... and bake later, or bake it and save it!
I'd also like to remind you ....I did this without a staff....no stylist, no photo editor,  and just a point and shoot camera.
That's how I roll......or layer, whatev'.

Vegan Skip It Hoppin' John

Feeling nostalgic, I wanted to make something with my bag of black eyed peas. You don't grow up with Oklahoma Okies and Indians and an Idaho country girl without eating your share of Hoppin' John and lots of greens.
I don't do bacon, nor do I do meat....and all the substitutions didn't harm the stunningly delicious flavor....Yes, that's a White Russian......with dinner. A gal has got to keep up her spirits !

*****Vegan Hoppin' John*****
1 T Olive or canola oil
1C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped celery (I had to sub with chopped bok choy and cabbage)
1/2 C chopped bell pepper (I used 3 colors)
1 T minced garlic (I love my garlic mincer)
1 lb of Black Eye Peas
1 Qt stock or buillon (I used 2 vegie soup cubes and some left over kale water)
1/2 t each salt and pepper
1/2 t poultry seasoning
1/2 t liquid smoke
1/4 C maple syrup....(these last 2 ingredients were swapped out for the same measures of Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar) (be creative)


Cook the black eye peas in enough water to cover for about a half hour, in a big pot, and set aside.
Saute the onions, celery or vegetable subs, garlic and pepper in the oil, until soft and gently browned.
Add that to your big pot of cooked peas, the qt. of stock, s & p, seasonings (or the subs) and the syrup (brn sugar)
Bring to a boil, hold it there for a minute, and then simmer for about 45 mins until most of the stock has been absorbed.
Serve with hot (brown) rice and your favorite vegetables.........kale, hot potatoes, cabbage...whatev!

...the nasty snowy weather drove me batty....the only good thing about cold weather is cute sweaters!  When 7 layers of clothes didn't keep me warm enough...I turned on the stove...and baked dozens of cookies, and ate them, and then shoveled a lot of snow to work off all that cookie-fat.
I made a lot of yummy food. I stocked up the day before the snowstorm with lots of coffee, booze, baking supplies, dried beans and fresh vegetables....

right now it's sunny and warm at 50 degrees and the snow is melting....
these pics are from when it was 27 degrees and too damn much snow !! my bamboo was iced over...but he recovered when it melted..

What have I made for you lately?

wellllllllll.
gingerbread people ornaments made from burlap, with button eyes, and a hand embroidered ......Eat Me.
everyone loves that!

yes, thatyountvillegirl has a bad holiday attitude...........
this is another thing I searched around for on the interwebs to see if there were  already examples of  this design.....hand-made hand-embroidered gingerbread ornies....I saw a LOT of cute things.......

..................

tshirts...
gingerbread bunnies and cats.....awwwww!

gingerbread teddy bears...

and lots of fantastic gingerbread houses too..
YuM!

inspired by this....of course.....Alice and her eating problems.

I made this design from burlap...I like burlap.....a bit messy to work with.....
a lady....

I embroidered the words free hand.......if you want one that's custom...with a name or a date......email me......

Anyway, another iconic image, and/or ubiquitous thing...that I can warp for you

.....happy to do it!

Not humbug! more like....homebaked. real home baked.

Meanwhile, here's Thomas Keller's gingerbread cookie recipe......from EatMeDaily.http://www.eatmedaily.com/
(of course)
chow.........

Thomas Keller's Gingerbread cookies

•    3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
•    1 tablespoon baking powder
•    2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
•    ½ teaspoon salt
•    3 tablespoons ground ginger
•    1 ¼ tablespoon ground cinnamon
•    ½ teaspoon cloves
•    ½ cup +  2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
•    1 ¼ cup dark brown sugar
•    1 ¼ cup molasses
•    2 eggs
•    2 ¼ Teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing:
•    2 cups powdered sugar
•    2 egg whites
•    1 teaspoon lemon juice
•    Food coloring.
Method:
1.    Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
2.    Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3.    Add the molasses and vanilla extract and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4.    Add the eggs and mix on low speed for one minute.
5.    Add the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing just to combine after each addition.
6.    Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
7.    When the dough is thoroughly chilled, remove from the refrigerator and roll it out to ¼ of an inch.
8.    Cut into shapes using cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a non-stick liner.
9.    Bake at 325F for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie.
10.    Cool the cookies on a rack.
11.    To make the icing, sift the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg whites and lemon juice, and using the paddle attachment, start to mix on low speed then mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth.
12.    If the icing is too thick, add a few drops of water. If it is too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.
13.    Divide the icing between small bowls and color as desired.
14.    Use your imagination to decorate the cookies!