How to stock a fridge/freezer

This is a good basic list of what to keep stocked in the fridge and freezer so you can make a pantry meal with little effort.

Fridge

~Butter – salted (sweet cream), unsalted

~Buttermilk

~Cheese; cottage

~Cheese; cream

~Cheese; crumbled – feta, goat, blue

~Cheese; ricotta

~Cheese; shredded and block – cheddar, Colby, cojack, mozzarella

~Eggs

~Fruits, assorted; pre-wash, diced

~Fruits, assorted; whole

~Heavy cream

~Herbs, fresh – dill, mint, sage, basil, rosemary

~Mayo

~Milk – whole, 2%

~Pickles – whole, dill, bread and butter, relish

~Salsa

~Sour cream

~Vegetables, assorted; pre-wash, diced

~Vegetables, assorted; whole

~Yogurt, plain

Freezer

~Bread, whole loaves

~Fruits, assorted

~Meat, assorted

~Vegetables, assorted

Blueberry Streusel French Toast

So I was wondering what I could do with all the blueberries I got from the Farmer's Market and this idea got stuck in my head. Blueberry Streusel French Toast. Doesn't that just sound wonderful?

I toyed with how to make this. I baked two slices while I pan fried the other two. I preferred the pan fried version since that required more butter, but I will include the baked version as well.

I will add The Good Baby loved this. She literally gave me a hug after every bite. It was too cute for words.

Ingredients:
1 loaf day old bread - brioche or challah works best
6 extra large eggs
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 cups blueberries
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
~To Bake - Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with butter or oil. Layer bread slices in overlapping rows. Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and pour slowly over bread. Make sure bread is submerged and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In saucepan melt butter; add brown sugar and nuts to combine. Remove plastic wrap from French toast and top with streusel topping. Bake 40 minutes. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

~To Pan Fry - Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Add bread, a slice at a time and allow bread to absorb custard mixture, turning once. Meanwhile, heat several tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium low heat. Combine melted butter, brown sugar and nuts in a small bowl; set aside. Remove bread from custard and allow excess to drain. Add the bread to the pan and top with the streusel mixture. Cook for 4-6 minutes on each side until the custard mixture is set. Top with blueberry sauce.

~To make blueberry sauce: Whisk together juice and cornstarch in saucepan. Add berries, sugar, and lemon juice and zest and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil about 5 minutes or until thickened. Serve over French toast.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Happy Birthday to The Good Baby!

The Good Baby turned one over the weekend. Just now have I cleaned the house, ate all the leftovers and assembled and put away all the new toys.

It was hot as ever-loving hell Saturday. It was 92 with a heat index in the 100s. But even with the oppressive heat, I think everyone had a good time. TGB certainly did.

We had the party in the late afternoon to accommodate nap schedules so we decided to just serve chips and dip and sandwiches. We made a sandwich bar of white or wheat bread, honey baked sliced ham, mesquite sliced turkey, sliced colby and provolone cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato and pickles with a choice of mayo, mustard, Dijon and horseradish.

I forgot to take pictures since I was busy with TGB but I did capture the most important part - the cake:

100% organic vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting made by me

Safari cake for everyone else made by a wonderful local bakery



In the end, it was a great day. TGB was full of sugar and butter and wore out by the end of the day. She could barely stay awake in the bath.


Here's to many many more wonderful birthdays.

I am irrational

I am irrational when it comes to a failed dish. I feel like someone punched me in the face and I want to yell, "Why?! Why you do this to me, Martha?" I feel like I just learned there is no Santa.

This was one of those dishes. Everything seemed like it would be great. I love every single individual ingredient in the dish. I just don't know where the hell it went wrong. Maybe because you are supposed to serve this dish cold. Maybe I didn't cut the noodles up. I don't know. But in any case, this dish was a fail.

I'll give you the recipe and hopefully if you are brave enough to try it, it will work for you. I hope it does since I do irrationally hate a failed dish.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 jalapeno chile, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat if desired)
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
3/4 cup rice vinegar
4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded (from 1 whole chicken), room temperature
1 package (8.8 ounces) cellophane (bean-thread) noodles, prepared according to package instructions
1 English cucumber, cut into 3-inch sticks
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
~ In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add jalapeno, ginger, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Refrigerate until cool, at least 15 minutes (or up to 1 week).

~ Combine chicken, noodles, cucumber, and cilantro. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.

recipe by: Martha Stewart

How to stock a spice rack

I told you here how I organized my spice rack. I still love it. The only change I think I will make is moving the spices up a drawer, since you know it kills me to bend down the extra 8 inches. Other than my lazy ass, I love my spice drawer.

Now that you know how to organize your spices, you should have a list of what spices you need. I find this is a good general list. There are spices that I have that are more exotic - garam marsala, thai chillies - but those are cook specific, meaning if you don't like those flavors you shouldn't keep them stocked.

~ All-purpose seasoning

~ Allspice, ground

~ Basil

~ Bay leaf

~ Candied citrus peel – orange, lemon

~ Cayenne pepper

~ Celery flakes

~ Celery seed

~ Chili flakes

~ Chili powder

~ Chili seasoning

~ Cinnamon – ground, whole sticks

~ Clove – ground, whole

~ Coriander seed

~ Cream of tartar

~ Crystallized ginger

~ Cumin, ground

~ Dill weed

~ Fennel seed

~ Garlic powder

~ Garlic salt

~ Ginger

~ Grill seasoning

~ Herbs de Provence

~ Italian seasoning

~ Mustard, dried

~ Nutmeg – whole, ground

~ Onion flakes

~ Onion powder

~ Onion salt

~ Oregano

~ Paprika

~ Parsley

~ Pepper

~ Peppercorns, whole – black, white, green, red

~ Poultry seasoning

~ Red pepper flakes

~ Rosemary

~ Rubbed sage leaves

~ Saffron threads

~ Season salt

~ Seeds – poppy, sesame

~ Taco seasoning

~ Tarragon

~ Thyme

~ Vanilla beans

~ Vanilla extract

~ Yeast

~ Yellow mustard seed

100 Mile Dinner

There is a movement to eat local that seems to be popular these days. There are also a ton of variations of the "eat local" motto. Some practice eating things produced within 100 miles of you. Some have wider regions they consider "local". It's all about what you consider local.

I try to eat local a majority of the time. When The Good Husband and I do go out to eat we try to eat a non-chain, locally owned places. I'm not fooling myself into thinking that everything they cook there is 100% locally produced but at least my money stays close to home and the business pays taxes to the fire, police, library and schools I use.

To me that is local enough.

This was the local meal that didn't know it was. Really, I didn't think anything about it until it was on the table and I realized everything - excluding one ingredient was local. I smirked to myself and thought how easy this eating local thing is.

The 100 mile dinner - give or take a few miles - included:
Pork patties bought from a local farm
Butter crisped herb potatoes from the farmer's market
Broccoli and cheese sauce from the farmer's market and local cheese farm
Side salad of blue cheese and walnuts from the farmer's market and local cheese farm
Glass of local wine

Butter Crisped Herb Potatoes

Ingredients:
Baby Yukon Gold potatoes, washed
Salt
Butter
Oil
Herb seasoning, I use Riley's All Purpose

Directions:
~In a large pot, bring water to a full boil and add salt and potatoes. Boil until potatoes are almost fork tender. Remove from water, quarter.

~Meanwhile in a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter and add oil. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Season with herbs and toss again. Allow the potatoes to sit in skillet to get a golden crust on one side, about seven minutes. Turn once and allow the other side to crisp. Serve hot.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Trip to the Farmer's Market 5

TttFM 3 and 4 were a bust. I mainly bought baked goods and no veggies.

But this time I was ready to get some produce and I finally remembered my camera.

This was the line for strawberries. It was at least this long the entire hour I was at the market.

Heirloom tomatoes

Carrots, onions

Beets, kohlrabi

My haul

I came home with salad greens, green beans, blueberries, Yukon gold potatoes, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, broccoli, green onions and rainbow carrots. While we were at the market, The Good Baby and I shared an organic blueberry scone and an organic iced coffee.

County Fair

The Good Baby and I took a little field trip to the county fair last week. It was hot as hell. It was in the 90s but with 75% humidity so very very oppressive. Humidity is the one thing I could do without here in the Midwest.

TGB and I only stayed a few hours since it was so hot and there weren't a ton of rides she could ride on. Also, she couldn't really eat anything there that wouldn't make me feel guilty. She had fun, though and I got sunburned. Badly.

So what did we eat? TGB had a lemonade shakeup while I had a frozen mocha, mini donuts, pretzel with cheese and a corn dog.

I am excited for the state fair later this summer so this was a good trial run.

I also have to say that I love the WTF look on her face while we were waiting for the merry-go-round to start. She did like it once it took off. I think the breeze helped.