The Hunger Games

I love cooking competitions. It all started a few years after I was married when I borrowed a friends collection of Iron Chef on VHS. I loved that show! My husband and I would  watch that poorly dubbed gem and eat junk food until late in the night. 

I'm not a huge fan of the newer versions of Iron Chef. I have watched a few episodes and even though they are fine they just don't remind me much of the original show. Iron Chef for me was all about being campy and showcasing interesting ingredients. Iron Chef America always seemed like it was just a Food Network vanity showcase.Some of the other shows I've enjoyed along the way are:  Cut Throat Kitchen, Top Chef, Chopped, and even though I don't like cake very much I love watching shows where they decorate cakes and cupcakes. The only shows that are off the table for me are all those mean spirited ones with Gordon Ramsey yelling at everyone.One of my all time favorite cooking competitions is The Great British Baking Show. So when I heard that the 2015 champion Nadiya Hussain had her own cooking show on Netflix I decided to check it out. I have to say that it didn't totally WOW me, but it has a lot of good ideas and I think that I will watch it again. Her approach is to help people save time in the kitchen by using shortcuts. Some of her ideas are really clever and with a little tweaking I think that I will be able to use some of her ideas and recipes at home. I've only watched a few episodes so the jury is still out. Some of her shortcuts are a little on the short side for me.... for example I would never use spaghetti Os in ANYTHING. Most of her recipes, however, sound pretty good. Here is the recipe I tried at home:

I didn't have any mushrooms on hand so I started out by sautéing bell peppers, onions and garlic for my omelet.

I add the eggs to the mixture.  Unlike her I didn't have any sun-dried tomato spread so I used pesto sauce on my tortilla. 

I topped the omelet with the tortilla. Flipped it. Then cooked until the tortilla was crispy and the eggs were fully set. I rolled it up and served it with a salad and marinated tofu.

What is your favorite cooking show?  

Go To Your Frappe Place!

Sadly, I can't go to my Frappe place right now.  With coffee shops closed (other than drive thru services) I have to find other ways to support my local shops. I do that by buying beans to make coffee at home. Most days I just like to brew a cup in my stove top espresso maker... or better yet have someone else brew it and bring it to me in bed. Lately, however, my daughter has been making frappes at home. It is a wonderful way to enjoy a cup of coffee even on a hot day. She likes to use caramel sauce, but you can use other flavors if you like.  Many recipes call for instant coffee, but I prefer it this way.

Here is her recipe:

1 C coffee
1 C milk
2 C ice
vanilla extract, to taste
caramel sauce, to taste
sugar, to taste
whipped cream

Blend it all together, pour it in a pint glass and top with whipped cream and a little caramel sauce.  Enjoy!

Easy Caramel Sauce:

I C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. butter
1/4 C. milk
1 t. vanilla

Bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a gentle boil and cook until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract.

Kitchen Scrap Gardening

I have been reading a lot about kitchen scrap gardening. I checked this book out on Libby (my online library app) and I was intrigued. I can say with absolute confidence that I DO NOT have a green thumb, but I was able to find a few projects that I think I might be able to do.  I'll update my progress as I go. I'm sure some things will be a flop but others will do well. In fact, my oldest daughter has already had a little success with growing some lettuce. All she did was put the base of a head of Romain in the ground and a few days later it had leaves already sprouting. She also planted some carrot tops, and while we may not really get a crop of carrots out of it, they have already started to sprout some greens. My next project is going to be to try and get some herbs going from the fresh herbs I bought at the grocery store. I don't want to go to the hardware store to buy seedlings  and the basil my daughter planted never sprouted, so I'll see how it goes trying to propagate them from cuttings. Right now I have basil, mint, cilantro and dill cuttings. I might ask around on the neighborhood Facebook page for some more cuttings.

Potatoes

                                                         

Here are the potatoes we started. I found that some of my potatoes had formed buds so my daughter cut them and we let them dry for a few days. I planted them in a recycle bin in a sunny spot and watered them. I left just a little of the sprouted part sticking out. From what I've read I just need to add dirt as the plant grows to give the potatoes room to grow. I'm not sure that we will get much out of it, but they were just going to go in the trash anyway so why not put them to good use in the yard, If nothing else they will add some organic matter to the soil. I have another recycle bin as well next time I have to go to the grocery store I might try to purchase some potting soil so I can get something else going.  Any suggestions? (leave a comment if you do)

Celery and lettuce

I also planted some lettuce and celery in pots. Many of the instructions I've read say to start them in water, but the lettuce that my daughter started in her garden worked great without propagating it in water first. We shall see what happens. I am not too worried about it. I didn't purchase anything to make this garden. All I did was reuse things that I already had lying around.

Lettuce

My daughter just put the bottom of some lettuce in the ground less than a week ago and it is already starting to grow leaves.  She planted a few carrot tops as well.  They have nice cute little plants growing out of the top.


It has been nice doing a few little projects around the garden. I have never been successful at it in the past, but with kitchen scrap gardening I know that the only thing that I'm putting into it is time... and I have a lot of that right now... so what can I lose.




So far I have planted potatoes, carrot tops, lettuce, celery, and green onions.  I plan to work on propagating herbs,  and planting some ginger and garlic.  If you have any easy ideas on things to plant that are easy and cheap then let me know in the comments.

Ding Dong Ditch

Ding Dong Ditch....Remember that game? 

It went by other names as well... but basically it was a prank where kids would approach a stranger's door, ring the bell, and then run and hide. There are a variety of names for the game (depending on where you live). It is not a particularly creative prank, but at least it is a more innocent prank than some similar ones that were popular in my day like TPing houses (although this one might be welcome in these times of shortages) or leaving a flaming bag of nastiness on the porch.  

In this time of social distancing my daughters have been feeling low. Today my younger daughter asked if she could make cookies and deliver them to some friends. So tonight we rang the bell, stepped back to a safe distance, and waved..not exactly ding dong ditch... but a new era of ding dong ditch.  Random bell ringing with a prize at the end... not the giggling excitement of hiding in the shadows...  but cookies and a glimpse of a familiar face. And sometimes a gift for the bell ringers as well.

The cookies

Ding Dong

A tip for the delivery driver

The original Toll House cookie Recipe 

INGREDIENTS

1. • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
   • 1 teaspoon baking soda
   • 1 teaspoon salt
   • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
   • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
   • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
   • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   • 2 large eggs
   • 2 cups Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
   • 1 cup chopped nuts

PREPARATION

1. 1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
   2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
   3. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

When Buffalos Fly

It has been a long time since I have written a blog entry. I am really out of practice... and I am not really sure why I decided to write my first entry in years about Buffalo wings... but here it is. I am going to try to write something daily. Typically this blog was about food and food lore, but for now I think I'm just going to write about anything that I find interesting.

I often feel bored right now, but feeling bored doesn't have to be a bad thing. Sometimes it can force you to try new things or look at something common and day to day in a new way. Maybe if I write about it I will find ways to make the best of this time and put my boredom to good use.

Buffalo Wings

I love making hot wings. They are so easy to make at home and it makes things seem a little more festive. Especially now that going out to eat is not a possibility it is nice to add a little festive into the mix. 

Buffalo wings were invented at a bar in Buffalo, New York in 1964. They weren't popular outside of New York until the mid-80s. Now it is hard to imagine a game night party without them. They are usually served with blue cheese and celery. Although here in Texas you are just as likely to see them served with Ranch.

The classic buffalo wing sauce is made with butter and chili sauce, but now that there are so many restaurants devoted entirely to hot wing there are countless possibilities. They range from the tame all the way to the 5 alarm fire variety. Here are the two I make the most. If you have a good recipe for hot wings then let me know in the comments. You can even share a link to your recipe.

Here is how I make mine:

To cook wings-

Preheat oven to 450°F. 

Arrange wings on large foil-lined pan. Bake on lowest oven rack for 30 minutes or until crispy, turning once. I usually make a lot and so I can sauce them two different ways.

Classic Sauce:

• For 2 ½ lbs chicken
• ½ c. hot sauce 
• ⅓ c. butter, melted

Mix butter and hot sauce in medium bowl; set aside. Toss wings in sauce mixture until well coated. Serve with blue cheese and celery, if desired.

Spicy Korean Sauce:For 2lbs chicken

• ¼ c. gochunjang
• ¼ c. soy
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• 2 T water
• Green onions and sesame seeds to garnish
• 
  

Combine all but garnish and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium low and cook for 3-5 minutes.Mix butter and RedHot Sauce in medium bowl; set aside.

When I made these the other night I was in the middle of planning a multiplication lesson for my third grade class. Teaching from home is not really natural for me. Without the face to face interactions it I have to dig deep to find the personal connection to it... That is what inspired me to arrange my food into arrays and use it to teach hot wing and tater tot math.


I made buffalo wings last night.  I arranged the wings in 8 rows and each row had 6 wings.  How many wings did I make? If I divided the wings equally between myself, hey husband and my two kids then how many would each person get?

Lounging in the Desert

We spent our Spring Break in Dahab on the Red Sea several years ago while living in Egypt... I never posted these photos for some reason... Just saw the archived post and thought I'd put it out there.

Shawarma

Meat being cooked on a spit to make Shawarma

Lamb Shawarma, foul (fava beans) and pickles at a Cairo fast food chain

Chicken Shawarma made at home using a store bought seasoning packet, tomatoes, and onions.

Chicken Shawarma on pita bread with cucumbers and tahina

Shawarma is a popular street food in Cairo. It is made by stacking marinated meat on a vertical spit. It is then shaved off and sauteed on a flat grill with tomatoes.  You can serve it on long rolls, round rolls, or any type of pita or flat bread. Top it with Tahina or hummus and some pickles if you like and you've got a great sandwich.

Reckless Banana bread

As the weather heats up the bananas in my kitchen have started to brown a little faster. Although it is really too warm to bake I have been unable to resist the temptation to make Banana Bread.  The girls and I free styled this recipe: Guestimative measuring, reckless use of the wrong pan size, and creative ingredient substitutions made this a fun baking experience. My measuring cup broke and since we are moving in three weeks I haven't felt like buying a new one.  I've been using a coffee mug that is more or less a cup(although I have no way to measure it) and eyeballing the half cups and such. I also don't have a loaf pan so I found a basic recipe that used a cake pan. I always thought of baking as science rather than an art and so it never interested me before. Quick bread recipes, however, are the exception to this rule. You can substitute one mashed fruit for another, use a different type of oil, add nuts or chocolate chip... and as long as the consistency is basically the same and the things like baking soda are fairly accurately measured you can usually come up with something edible in the end.

Here is what we came up with (this time) but feel free to substitute, be reckless and experiment away...

 Reckless Banana Bread

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon each of vanilla extract and almond extract
• 1 cup of mashed ripe bananas (2 large or 3 medium bananas)
• 1/2 cup full fat sour cream or yogurt (flavored is fine... just reduce the sugar by a couple of teaspoons)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) . In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Beat together in a mixer the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas.
3. Mix in half of the flour mixture, then the sour cream, then the other half of the flour mixture.
4. Spread batter evenly in a greased 10x15 baking pan. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes, or until nicely browned and the surface bounces back when you press it with your finger.

 I hope this puts a smile on your face.

Cruising the Nile on the Christina

Tonight my husband and I are leaving the kids with a sitter and going on a boat called the Christina Yacht.  You can bring a potluck or hire someone to cater and travel down the Nile while the boat staff serves you drinks and sets up a buffet. Some of the teachers at the school set up this trip for an end of the year party so we are going to dine on the Nile and visit with friends while the sun goes down. It is a little fancier than a felucca but still a relaxing way to go. I still think that I prefer the ease and economy of sailing rather than traveling by Yacht... but there is something really nice about sipping drinks and just enjoying the view.

I whipped up a pasta salad that I'm taking.

8 ounces dry pasta
2 cups broccoli florets
3 small to medium tomatoes diced
4 medium red onion, diced
2 cucumbers, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (toasted)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 garlic cloves. minced

Directions:


In large pot with boiling water, cook pasta.

Drain, rinse pasta with cold water and let drain again. Place pasta in a large salad bowl, add broccoli, next 3 ingredients and toss well.

In a small bowl or jar with lid, combine soy sauce and remaining 6 ingredients. Whisk together or cover tightly and shake vigorously. Pour mixture over pasta and toss gently.

Here a few photos from past Christina Cruises

Pat-A-Cake like an Egyptian

First they mix the dough in the machine- Yeast, water flour and salt.

Then the dough is made into small circles, coated with flour made from the wheat hull and left to rise.

The dough is left to rise.

The bread is then fed into a conveyer belt oven.

It comes out hot and fat.

The bread is then cooled briefly, put in bags and sold for 50 piastre each.

There are many things "Baladi" in Egypt: baladi music, baladi dogs, baladi dance and baladi dress... but the best is baladi bread. Baladi is a word comparable to the word folk in English. It used to describe objects that are indigenous or common in the streets and countrysides here. You can find baladi bread being sold off of date palm cooling racks (pictured above) on street corners all over Egypt. The best way to buy it however is straight from the oven like at the bakery we visited above. Mmmmmm.

Winter Break and Ginger Cookies

I never knew that Santa rode camels... but apparently here in Cairo he does!  I guess a sled would be worthless in all this sand.

Today was the last day of school before our winter break.  I made cookies for the PreK class using a recipe my daughter brought home from her cookie baking class at school. They were delicious.

3/4 C butter
1 C sugar
1/4 C. molasses
1 egg
2 C. flour
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. each cinnamon, cloves, and ginger

Mix butter and sugar together.  add Molasses.  Beat in egg.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Roll in small balls and bake on greased cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven. 

Check out the teacher's gifts I made on my Worth a Knit Blog.

Cheers,
Jenn