Memories in food form

 It’s been a little over a year since my dad passed and I’ve been thinking about this dish for weeks now. He didn’t cook very many things or very often but the things he made were so good and left the family with great memories. He called this Italian rice & beans, there was a pot of this on his stove every week growing up during the depression. It’s a very simple dish but tastes so good. It’s also great to make the day before grocery shopping because it’s mostly from the pantry.

Sauté a diced onion in olive oil, add a few cloves of chopped garlic, red pepper flake, salt & pepper. When it’s soft add a can of tomato paste and a small can of diced tomatoes. Stir in 2 cups of uncooked rice, 4 cups of broth or water and 2 cans drained cannelini beans. Cook covered for 20 minutes, add a big handful of fresh herbs, a few handfuls of grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil on top of your bowl.
This is pure comfort food ❤️
PS- as most Italian dishes, this feeds an army.

Roasted gazpacho

Super easy, super delicious, super healthy, super summery.
You can adjust the vegetables and quantity depending on what you have, here's what I had:

5 plum tomatoes stemmed and halved lengthwise

3 poblano peppers stemmed and halved lengthwise

1 red pepper seeded stemmed and halved

1 English cucumber seeded and rough chopped
1 red onion rough chopped
2 garlic cloves rough chopped
3 scallions sliced
a big handful of cilantro, parsley and chives chopped
1 big can diced tomatoes with juice
zest and juice of 1 lime
salt, pepper, chili powder and a splash of red wine vinegar

Set oven rack close to the broiler and place tomato and peppers skin side up on your ugliest baking sheet

keep checking every few minutes to make sure everyone is getting charred

let them cool while you prep the rest of veggies

Pulse the onion, garlic and cucumber in a food processor until they are very fine, transfer to a large bowl. Add seasoning lime and vinegar and combine. The skin will peel right off of the roasted vegetables at this point, put them in the processor whole with the can of diced tomatoes. Pulse until they are just small, not as smooth as the others. I kept some of the poblano seeds because we like spicy. Mix all together, chill and top with a dollop of sour cream and some garlic toast...
I wish I had garlic toast.

Soup for days...and days

Clearly, I love soup. It's the best part of winter! Yesterday was Pasta Fagioli, a favorite in this house. Although I am not Italian by blood, I was raised Italian which is why I tend to make a lot of Italian dishes. There are many versions of pasta Fagioli and this is mine.

1lb dried white beans 

Olive oil

2 diced onion, carrot and celery

4 cloves minced garlic

1 box beef stock

1 box chicken stock

1/2 cup red wine

1 can crushed tomatoes

2 tbs tomato paste

Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

1/2 box of ditalini pasta

Fresh parsley and basil

Grated cheese

The night before, soak beans in cold water. In the morning change the water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until beans are tender. Set aside until you are ready to make soup. 

In a soup pot, Sauté veggies and garlic in olive oil until just tender. Season with salt and peppers. Add wine, scraping any bits from the pot. Add tomatoes (I used leftover marinara I had in the fridge) paste and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer 20-30 minutes 

Add beans to the pot and simmer another 10 minutes. At this point you need to mash half of the beans. I usually use my handheld blender but I was in a hurry and just used a masher, not as effective but it's ok. 

In another pot, cook the ditalini to the stage right before "al dente". That pasta is going to soak up a lot of the stock and you don't want it too mushy. Drain and add it to the soup pot. Turn the heat down low and stir frequently for a few minutes. Add chopped herbs and garnish bowls with grated cheese, a drizzle of good olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. 

Today in the shop:

I've added 2 new items, it's getting there. Slowly. 

New England Clam Chowder

I was asked to make New England Clam Chowder for the Super Bowl party we are attending... before anyone even knew that the Patriots were in it. I'm not into football or gambling but this may be a sign. 

This chowder is traditional New England style and by no means a healthy version, but it's below zero here in CT so we need to splurge. 

Typically when I make this in the summer I use fresh thyme from the garden and buy local fresh shucked clams but today it's going to be shucked clams from wherever Stop&Shop gets them. I am thankful that I have some cheek bacon in the freezer that I bought from our local farmers market in the fall. This recipe is very rich and will feed a small crowd. 

New England Clam Chowder

4oz salt pork diced finely (or cheek bacon)

3 large onions diced

4 celery stalks diced

4tbs butter

1/2 cup flour 

4-5 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced into 1" pieces

4 bottles clam broth or 4 cups fresh clam broth 

2 cups heavy cream

2 pints shucked chopped clams

Thyme, salt and pepper

Oyster crackers on the side

In a soup pot cook pork until all fat is rendered. 

Remove from pot, add butter and sauté onion and celery until wilted, not letting them brown at all. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add flour and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, again not letting it brown. 

Add broth and cook until it thickens. Add potatoes and thyme, you may need to use a bit of water to cover them entirely

Simmer covered on medium low heat

For 30 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add clams and cream and bring to simmer again. 

Check for seasoning. The amount of salt you add depends on the salt pork and clams you use. This chowder is delicious right now but it's going to be even better tomorrow.  Happy Super Bowl!

Pot Pourri for 50 Alex...



Golf green carrot cake

Life is just plowing along. My Bumble turned 50 last week and I was completely consumed with his surprise 50th birthday party. This was no easy feat considering I had almost no money and I was having the party in our house...BIG STRESS!

It was a success, a good time was had by all. Good friends, family, food and drinks...what more do you need?



secret recipe sangria



party food



kamakaze's, wine, beer, sangria, YUM.

And because I strive on stress and deadlines, I allowed myself to be nominated costume director for Seussical at Julia's school...a play that I know zilch about! Here are part of my bird girl costumes:

We have Horton, Cat in the Hat, circus animals, jungle animals, kangaroos,monkeys, oh my. I will manage somehow. Right? I have also taken a job caring for my eldery neighbors, Rose and Mary...I thought raising kids was tough, ha ha ha ha. Did I mention that I have jury duty next month? Enough whining already. Take a look at the coolest snowman ever:

He completely freaked me out every time I drove by and I drive by times a day.Bravo to the creators, it was fantastic!

my go-to dessert

I completely forgot about the supper meeting at Gabby's school tonight and I am supposed to bring a dessert. Normally I have at least 3 box mix baking options in my pantry for the late at night "mom, I forgot to tell you I need brownies for school tomorrow" emergencies, but my pantry is bare today. Luckily I always have some apples in the fridge and can whip up my mom's apple cake.

YUM! It is super easy and always delicious.

Speaking of Gabby, here is one of her senior portraits. What a beauty my girl is.

ps- my husband (aka my bumble) declared yesterday's stuffed peppers the best he ever had.

On the menu today

It is a freezing cold day here in Connecticut and that's a perfect day to turn the oven on. I have been using my slow cooker three times a week lately...thank you Pinterest, but not today. I ran into Stop & Shop yesterday and saw that they had a big sale on red peppers and ground beef, I knew immediately what was on today's menu! 

Stuffed Peppers (with steel cut oats)
Oatmeal, in stuffed peppers? Don’t knock it until you try it! I use steel cut oats in place of bread crumb. Cut oats are very low in fat, high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals and also makes the pepper stuffing very light and moist. I may be wrong but they might even be gluten free.

1 lb ground beef- lean*
½ dry cut oats cooked according to pkg.
1 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic crushed
Fresh parsley chopped
Peppers- 3-4 large red or green, 6-7 small cubanelles
2 cups marinara sauce
¼ cup grated pecorino or parmesan
1 cup shredded mozzarella (I use reduced fat)
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef with garlic, onion, salt & pepper. Drain off fat. Mix with cooked oats, parsley and grated cheese. Cut the large peppers in half, lengthwise like boats, removing the stem. Cubanelles can be left whole after removing stems and seeds.

Fill peppers with stuffing and place in a 9x13 pan. Spoon sauce over each pepper, letting it seep in between and around the peppers. Top with shredded mozzarella and some grated cheese.

 Cover loosely with foil and bake at 375 for 35 minutes**. Remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until peppers are tender and cheese is all melty and bubbly. Adjust temp and time according to your oven, mine has a mind of it's own.
*Normally I would use extra lean ground beef and mix it raw with an egg and add it to other stuffing ingredients; however, the 80% lean is what was on sale and I just don't like how greasy it tastes when I make it that way so I have browned it prior to stuffing. This will give you a looser finished stuffing. Both ways taste great, you decide how you will like it best.
**This recipe is great for freezing and can also be cooked in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hrs using less sauce and removing the lid for the last half hour to let some of the moisture cook out.

I love a quick fix

Sometimes you just need to make something and I am all about quick little sewing projects. I am also all about coffee and fabric so it was only natural that I jumped on the coffee sleeve bandwagon! These are super easy to make. I opened up a cardboard sleeve and traced it on cardstock with a 3/4" seam allowance. From there I cut out a piece of fabric, muslin for interior, and a piece of insulated batting, pinned in a hair elastic, sewed around leaving an opening to turn rightside out, topstitch, sew on a button and DONE! I made 5 in 30 minutes total. The hardest part was making sure the fabric wasn't upside down! See, easy peasy!

fall favors

We are celebrating the upcoming wedding of one of my coworkers on Friday so I got to play at work all day yesterday. I stayed behind to man the fort while the entire office went to NYC for advertising week festivities. It was fine by me because I got to make fun stuff for the surprise "shower" we are having Friday.

I dipped small pretzel rods in white chocolate, decorated with fall sprinkles and bagged them. Then I added a fake leaf and velvet ribbon and TA DA! We have pretty fall shower favors!
Did I show you my new Oilcloth Halloween Banner?

The rest of my life is just general busyness, oilcloth and the pursuit of not being dirt poor.
How about you?

nine today!

My baby is 9. Almost double digits. Nine years ago she was born during hurricane Floyd...which was actually downgraded to a tropical storm here in CT. I kept telling the nurse to get my doctor because I was ready to push and she told me it was too soon. The nurse told ME that I was not ready to push after I had done this twice before. Then she told me I could "push a little bit". hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Yeah, that was a good one- "push a little bit".
All of a sudden she saw my face was bright red in full "push" expression... Nurse Know-it-all went crazy screaming for my doctor. He barely made it in the room and never even got both gloves on before all 6lbs of squirmy Julia shot across the room. Seriously, she nearly fell on the floor, that's how fast she came out.

Happy birthday to my sweet girl!

We made these fun cupcake pops to bring into school- courtesy of Bakerella.com
They are a bit of work but well worth it. YUM!

Finally!

I am as frugal as they get when it comes to my fabric scraps, I only throw pieces away once they are smaller than a 2" x 2" size. I sort each scrap meticulously by size with hopes of finding the perfect use for them. This usually isn't hard with cottons but oilcloth has had me stumped for a while now. I sort oilcloth scraps a little differently according to lunch bag pieces they can become. Once they are smaller than a square-pocket or handle-strip size I toss them in a box together.

(yes, this messes with my OCD nature)I walk past the box and it gives me anxiety because I can't toss it...you never know if you'll need it!
Finally, it dawned on me. I know it's not rocket science or a brilliant idea but I am so excited to use up these scraps:

Thank you tags for my lunchbag orders! As a bonus, I use up ribbon scraps as well. This is therapeutic crafting at it's best.

I am super-excited to see my sister http://debnstuff.blogspot.com/ and family today, it's been a long time. Julia and I just made this yummy edible bouquet for an appetizer:

My boss gave me the idea, so I can't take credit for it but isn't it pretty?
Grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, and basil leaves on skewers. Just stick them in a pretty vase and serve with some olive oil for drizzling...YUM!

thirteen

I have 2 teenage daughters now, Gabby turned 13 yesterday. She's so cute, we still have to bake pink cupcakes to bring to school. I'll bake her pink cupcakes for as long as I'm able, just to make her happy. We had Gabby's first emergency room visit last week. She was jumping on Fabio's trampoline at his beach house(seriously, I can't make this stuff up)and she hurt her ankle and had to be carried home by her friends. Anyway...no break but she spent a few days in an aircast and on crutches.
There is also a rumour of a boy that "likes" my Gabby.

I have TWO teenage daughters now.

Lots of busy-ness around here this past week. My shop got blown out again (yay!), softball games, sports banquet, field trips to Boston and Newport RI, yesterday's b-day and another in 2 weeks, emergency room, etc. etc.
Enjoy your weekend!
PS-
My next post is 200...maybe there will be a lunchbag giveaway...just saying

Easter Recap

Thanks for all of the nice comments about Winston. This week will be much easier at work, I think. I don't really cope with loss all that well.

We had a nice Easter here although it was much smaller group than our usual holiday dinners. I gave my mom the day off from cooking and she was actually happy and relaxed as opposed to her less than happy and relaxed self of late.

Honestly, I was so stressed out last week, the last thing I wanted to do was plan a menu, shop and cook all weekend but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. I really hate to come here and complain about how busy and stressed I am but I really thought I was going to snap.

My etsy shop is bare, I have a big order I am finishing, I had a work party to plan, another party to attend, kids birthday parties, Holy week at church, Easter dinner, plus all of the normal daily stuff. I really thought I was going to lose it. Thankfully I had this little girl around:

Not only does she like to help...she's really good at a lot of things. She made this eggplant rollatini from start to finish (I made the sauce and fried the eggplant) with a 2 minute lesson and minimal supervision. It was delish and she is still so proud of herself. My camera shy 12 year old made a pie all by herself and the teenager...well she didn't ask for any rides this weekend. David (aka my Bumble) was also an enormous help by letting me boss him atound more than I usually do.

This boy loves to hide and get into places! We were looking for him and found him in "the wine cellar" (it's actually a cold closet in the basement). How funny is he?

Science is so for girls!

A little blog brag for my middle daughter:
She won third place in the science fair!



Gabby was horrified to learn this because you see, she had a strategy... do a good enough report and board to get an A but not good enough to get an award. This means she will go on to compete with other schools and Gabby pretty much likes to go through her life blending in being un-noticed. I am very proud, of course!
Hey, while you are here, check out this chicken cutlet from tonight's dinner:

It was purely accidental that it turned out heart shaped!
I hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day.