Because I love food and cooking so much, I started another blog. It’s called Kitchen Conundrum. That’s where you will find all my secret recipes and kitcheny stuff. So run right now and check it out! http://kitchenconundrum.com
Lazy Sunday French Toast
2010
One of my favorite standard recipes for leftover Challah or rich white bread is Lazy Sunday French Toast. It’s so yummy and you really should not eat it more than a few times a year because it really can’t be healthy for you.
You can get the recipe here :http://kitchenconundrum.com/?p=66
That’s my new food blog. I hope you will visit, subscribe and all that. Plus I would love it if you could fan the FB page for that blog and follow on Twitter @kitchconundrum.com.
La Mere Joie
“He hates these cans. Stay away from the cans.”
2010
I received a present from my mother-in-law. She remembers when my now 9 year old daughter was two and got her hand caught in a tin can. Her fingers were wedged between the razor sharp lid and the sides of the can. She was fine, but it took the EMT’s a few minutes to calm me down. She also remembers that I hate opening cans of tuna fish because I detest the smell and often end up bleaching my can opener. (Part of my cleaning OCD) So she bought me the new OXO, Good Grips, Smooth Edge Can Opener. It is absolutely my new favorite kitchen gadget.
The Smooth Edge Can Opener cuts the can right below the rim of the lid, taking off the entire top of the can, so there are no sharp edges. There are little lid pliers to lift the lid from the can and because the blade never touches the food or liquid inside the can there is nothing to clean up, unless of course you spill the contents of the can. You can even replace the lid to the can to keep it sealed if you need to put it into the refrigerator. You also don’t have to worry when you throw the lid into the garbage that someone is going to cut their hand on it when they go to put something in or push down the trash.
The large non slip, grip handle makes turning the opener very easy, so it’s perfect for everyone to use. And remember when your blade wouldn’t go all the way around the can leaving several spots where the lid was still adhered to the side of the can? Well with this can opener, it never happens. So say goodbye to those sharp jagged edges of tin cans and their lids. The Good Grips, Smooth Edge Can Opener will totally change the way you open tin cans. Now where’s the tomato soup?
Thanks to Steve Martin and The Jerk (1979) for the title to this post.
Two of My Fall Favorites
2009
Hi! It’s been a really busy few weeks, but I am back and will hopefully begin posting regularly again. The holidays are over and I have just finished the last thing covered in tinfoil from my fridge. I got a sunburn every time I opened the door from the glare of the lights on all that foil. I had A LOT of food left over! We did eat pretty much all of it, and I was able to freeze some too. But it is nice to have space in my fridge again.
I pretty much think I shouldn’t eat again until Thanksgiving. Maybe not even then. Unless there is pumpkin pie involved. Or pecan. And maybe stuffing.
Last time I posted, I promised some quick and easy, and very yummy recipes. There are some things I just love to eat all Fall and Winter long. Like Stew. And Soup. But sometimes a turkey breast or a roasted chicken is good too. These two sides go really well with them. And they are very Fall and Winter themed. You just feel cozy eating them. And since it’s about to snow here and it’s freezing out, I think it’s time to bake and heat up the kitchen!
Corn Pudding
2 Cans of Corn; 1 Creamed Style and 1 Regular (Drained)
¼ Cup Sugar
½ Cup (1 Stick) Margarine, melted
3 Eggs
½ Cup Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
¾ Cup Milk, (or if you are making it Kosher to go with meat, use Soy Milk or Non-Dairy Creamer)
¼ Cup Water
1 Tsp. Vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix everything. Pour into a lightly greased (Pam) 9×13 baking dish. Bake uncovered 1 ½ hours.
Cranberry Apple Pie
I use this as a side with poultry, but you can serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and it’s just as good then too!
1 Cup Quaker Oats
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Stick Margarine, softened
½ Cup Brown Sugar
Combine ingredients till crumbly. Pat ½ of this mixture into a pie plate. Reserve the other half.
3-4 Apples, skinned and diced
Dash or so of Cinnamon
1 can Whole Cranberry Sauce
Mix this together and add to the pie pan. Cover with the remaining crumb mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees around 30-40 minutes until the apples are tender.
Enjoy!
I love bread!
2009
I love bread. Especially when it is fresh. Freshly baked and warm is my favorite way to eat it. A crusty, crunchy bread with a soft center, a sweet bread, a bread with lots of grains and nuts and seeds. I don’t think there is a bread that I don’t like. Add some good cheese, a bottle of wine or some jam and a cup of tea. I do think that I could really live on just bread alone.
So as the High Holidays are here, I have been trying different recipes for Challah the past few weeks. Some were fluffy, some were cakey, some were just flat and some not quite sweet like I like them. I had everyone voting on which one they liked best. We have found one that we like and I have been changing it up a bit in an effort to improve it. I think I have it now. It was a hit this week. But it may still need a tweak or two. Please let me know what you think. It’s really an easy recipe. The total time is about 2 hours 45 minutes from start to finish but that includes 2 hours of rising time so you can get a lot of other stuff done too.
Ingredients
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 packages yeast
Mix together in a small/medium bowl and let stand while you complete the other part of the recipe. It should bubble and foam up.
In a large bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook attachment) add
7 cups of flour (I like to use 2 cups of whole wheat and 5 cups of white flour)
1 tbs salt
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola, corn etc. Not Olive!)
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks (you can freeze the whites to save for other recipes like angel food cake or omelets)
Once those are all in the bowl, go ahead and add the yeast mixture and mix thoroughly until dough forms. You can mix by hand and knead it yourself or you can let your Kitchen Aid do all the work. After it’s all together and dough like, transfer it to a well greased bowl and turn it over in the bowl to coat it with oil. Cover with a warm, damp (clean!) kitchen towel. Leave it alone for an hour or so. It should rise to double the size.
After an hour or so, punch it down in the bowl and transfer it to a lightly floured surface to shape.
I am terrible at making braided challahs. They come out looking all deformed. Maybe with some practice I could get it. But I just don’t have the time! So, I make round crown loaves. Easy! I divide the dough into two halves for two loaves. I take one of the half’s and roll it into a long rope. Hold one end while looping and winding the remaining rope around to form a spiral that is higher in the center and tuck the end under. Transfer this to a greased round cake pan with high sides.
I do the same with the second half if I want two loaves, or you can divide that up into small pieces to make rolls following the same method of shaping.
Once you have all the bread in their respective pans, you cover these and let them rise for another hour or so. When you are ready to bake, make an egg wash of 1 egg yolk (save the white for later use) mixed with 1 tsp sugar and 1 tbsp water. Brush this over the risen bread.
Bake at 350 degrees until the crust is a deep golden brown 30-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan then transfer to a rack to continue cooling. Or if you want it warm, eat right away. With butter. Or jam.
Enjoy!
