Today when Matt Swaim on the Sonrise Morning Show and I chatted about olives I mentioned that, during Bible times, olive trees were so prolific that they turned up in various places in the Bible. (Think of Jesus in the Agony in the Garden on the Mount of Olives).  In fact, olives were not only used as food but the oil was used in bread and other items, and olive oil drizzled on bread was as popular then as it is today.

When we were kids, Mom used olive oil in cooking and as medicine. An ear ache was quickly soothed by warm olive oil dropped gently in the ear.

So I thought this recipe for visiting cake was appropriate. Whether you need a simple cake to tote or to enjoy with family and friends around the kitchen table, this cake is for you.

In pre-Hispanic times, the Mexica commemorated the dead during their summer months around July and August; the offerings included elements of Nature, such as fire, flowers, and part of the harvest, which in those regions of Central and Southern Mexico consisted of chili (today known around the world as: chiles, chilli, capsicum, paprika, peppers, guindilla, etc.) as well as corn, beans and squash (the well-known “three sisters” crops, all native to the Americas).  Mictēcacihuātl, also known as “The Lady of the Dead”, was the female deity of the Mexica pantheon dedicated to guard the bones of the deceased in the underworld; she was said to come to the dimension of the living during this time.  With the arrival of the Catholic church not long after the Spanish conquest,  the angst provoked by these ancient rituals was placated with great success – during the native population’s conversion process – when combined…

A simple and delicious way to enjoy buttercup winter squash – roasted in the oven and topped with some fun flavor combinations.

Fall/winter squash are some of my favorite vegetables to create with as the weather starts to cool down. There’s so many ways to prepare the squash and mix it in to a variety of dishes or even eat on its own. It’s crazy that Taproot Farm’s Summer CSA officially ended last week, and the winter season begins this week! I am so excited to craft up some more recipes with new seasonal vegetables and combinations to work with. This recipe is simple, yet a few fun and flavorful additions make it something unique and special. The focus of the recipe is roasted organic buttercup winter squash from Taproot Farm, enhanced by the flavors of fennel, feta, pumpkin seeds, bee pollen, and local vanilla maple syrup from Whiskey…

https://www.asaucykitchen.com/sweet-and-sour-chicken-paleo-low-fodmap/

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1/2 cup (65 grams) arrowroot starch
• 1 large egg beaten
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or regular white sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Coconut Aminos, or gluten free soy sauce/tamari
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup (60 ml)chicken stock
• 1 red pepper cut into chunks
• 1 cup pineapple chunks
• 3 spring onions stalks, green part only for low fodmap

1. First prepare the sauce by adding the coconut sugar, vinegar, coconut aminos, chicken stock and ketchup to a medium sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low heat and leave until later.
2. Add chicken pieces and beaten egg to a large ziplock bag. Seal and shake to coat chicken. Then add the arrowroot starch to the bag, shaking again to lightly coat all the chicken pieces.
3. Add coconut oil to a…

Prep: 20 minutes, Marinate: 8 hours, Slow cook: 8 hours (low)

• 12 bone-in chicken things (skinned)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves (minced)
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (crushed), cumin, and cardamon
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 14.5 oz reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup dried apricots (quartered)
• 1 cup pitted whole dates (quartered)
• 3 Tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp saffron threads
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

1. In a small bowl whisk together oil, garlic, cinnamon, caraway seeds, cumin, cardamom, and cayenne pepper.
2. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. Add oil mixture. Press air from bag; seal. Cover and chill for 8 to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
3. Place chicken in a 4- to 5-quartslow cooker. In a medium bowl combine broth, apricots, dates, ground almonds, turmeric, salt, pepper…

BACKGROUND

A vignarola, for those who may not know, is a vegetable stew that is all about Spring, late spring.  The word ‘vigna’ means vineyard and signals the bounty that the countryside can bring to the table during that time of year.   I wrote an in-depth post about it some time ago, when it was seasonally appropriate.  It is mostaly about ripe artichokes, fresh broad beans and peas etc. (https://frascaticookingthatsamore.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/vignarola-the-pilgrimage-of-posh/).

LAST NIGHT

Last night, as I composed a dish with some ingredients that happened to be sitting in the fridge, I became ‘high’ on my own steam … the delight of ending up with a recipe that was too good not to repeat!  The creativity of it all was an incredible boon.  And so I felt just like Little Jack Horner and said “What a good girl am I” for having come up with the idea.  The idea of an…

There’s a chance, albeit a brief, fleeting chance…that OKC gets its FIRST SNOW today!

We’ll get a trace amount. It probably won’t stick to the ground.

But I AM LIVING FOR IT.

I’ve been beaming ear-to-ear since Monday. The clouds haven’t stopped blanketing the sky since then, and it’s been cold, drizzly and dreary…but THIS is my kind of weather. I’m absolutely in love with this time of year, and the snow couldn’t have come any sooner…

…because on Saturday, we Christmas.

It’s an all-day Christmas decorating extravaganza! I’m ready for the lights to be twinkling on the tree, the pine-scented candles to be burnt, and all the joy and yuletide the season brings with it. My holiday baking will begin this weekend as well, and it’s going to be hard trying to top all the Christmas goodies I made last year (cookie sticks? Sugar cookie puppy chow

Our local theater sells reusable plastic popcorn buckets twice a year. For $30 you buy a bucket and get to use if for the next five-six months. Every time you go to a movie you can get it filled and refilled while you are there. But, the best part is you don’t even need to go so a movie to use the popcorn buckets so every once in a while as a treat we will take out buckets and go to the theater just to get popcorn to bring home for a special movie night treat.

But, that also has a down side in that movie popcorn is not really good for you and it can be not as special a treat as it once was. To avoid the trap we do not get the “butter” on the popcorn every time. You order it plain and then add your own…

On Monday, I announced to my family that I would be making chicken soup for dinner – except, when I got home from work, I realized I did not have the chicken broth in the cupboard as I imagined I did while on the commuter train. And since then, I’ve been too lazy to go to the supermarket and get the one important ingredient to make the soup I’d been craving for four days now. Yes, I do know I can make my own chicken broth simply by using the water the chicken was boiled in, which I do. But store bought chicken brought adds just the right zing or heartiness my taste buds crave.

So, to the supermarket after work it is and home to make this delicious version of chicken soup:

Walked out of the house this morning at 5:30, headed to my commuter train, and I actually shivered. It was breezy and cold. Did I mention just how much I love this time of year? Well, I do. So, while on the train, I normally go over my to-do list, which of course includes dinner for the family, and considering the cold, although it will hit up to the 70’s mid-day, I know by dinner time it will dip down–just in time for a bowl of soup and toasted second day old Italian bread. This recipe is the perfect combination of ingredients and so easy to make and can be made with a crockpot as suggested.

INGREDIENTS

Today’s Menu: Ancient Grain Mini Naan Bread Pizza – Turkey Pepperoni and Turkey Sausage

 

For Breakfast this morning I toasted a Thomas Light 100% Multi Grain English Muffin and topped it with Smucker’s Sugarless Blackberry Jam. Also had the morning cup of Bigelow Decaf Green Tea. Partly cloudy and 68 degrees on this Fall Day. After Lunch spent the afternoon raking leaves! Grabbed the rake, leaf blower, and the cart out of the shed There is a ton of leaves out there! I filled up 3 Hefty yard bags. I helped a neighbor get his yard raked and then the both of us did a neighbors yard that can’t rake his. He’s an older gentlemen and his wife is in ICU with a heart condition so we got his for him. Between the 3 yards we filled up 10 Hefty yard bags. And you won’t be able to tell…

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box Devil’s Food Cake mix
• 1 package instant chocolate pudding
• 1 c. whole milk
• 3 eggs
• ¼ c. sour cream
• ¼ c. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 2 c. peanut butter chips
• Cooking spray, for Crock-Pot
• ⅓ c. melted peanut butter, for garnish
• 10 mini Reese’s cups, halved
• ¼ c. chopped Reese’s pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Whisk to combine. Add milk, eggs, sour cream, peanut butter, vanilla and salt and mix until smooth. Fold in peanut butter chips.
2. Grease the bowl of Crock-Pot with nonstick cooking spray. Add batter to Crock-Pot and smooth top with spatula. Cook on low for 3 ½ hours checking at 3 hours to make sure the edges aren’t burning. Cake can be kept on warm for up to 4 hours before serving. The finished cake should be set on the sides and still gooey in the center.
3. Drizzle with peanut butter…

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Have you ever known anyone who can do just about anything?  I DO and I am proud to say I am married to that type of person! My husband Eric is a man of many talents ❤❤ He’s VERY Handy outside of the home and inside too!

When time allows, he loves to help me in the kitchen, and I LOVE having his help! We usually work together especially when it comes to canning BUT He has a few recipes that he likes to make (Lasagna, Cinnamon Rolls and Pizza Rolls) AND who am I to stand in his way? Besides that, they are delicious!!!!

When I asked Eric about this cinnamon roll recipe – he can’t really remember how old it is – he just knows his mom used to make this when he was growing up…That was only a few days ago…🤣  As you can see…

Well I suppose ya’ll feel neglected, abandoned, or worse. I can’t say ya’ll are wrong. I’ve left ya’ll far too long. I think about all of you everyday. I can’t give you a good excuse. However, I can tell you where I’ve been. I’ve really been struggling getting back into the swing of things here. Hubby is doing fantastic, so don’t worry. I think, if I’m being honest, I’ve bit off more than I can chew, so to speak.

It started with me going back to school for this semester, despite all we’ve been going through in our personal life. It’s taking up a lot of my time, mostly because it’s SO hard this semester. I feel quiet stupid. Then I helped hubby get back into doing his volunteering with youth. I’ll say, he’s limited in what he can do, but he’s having fun, so I am ok with this…but…

Everyone loved this! We found this recipe at Cooktoria.com . The only thing I changed with the recipe is I didn’t cover with a lid. To save myself time I popped it in the oven.

One of the biggest things I’ve been working on is ME. Remember last August when I was so sick I was in the hospital and almost died? I was at my heaviest weight at this point. My hashimoto’s would cause me to pile on weight and no matter what I did I couldn’t fix it. After I got out of the hospital, I had surgery a few weeks later and started working close with my endocrinologist to prevent and optimize. When I tried on my own to lose and wasn’t I decided to see a nutritionist. It helped some. I lost maybe 8 to 10 lbs. When hubby was hurt I lost another 10 in…

I’ve been gone a while, but I think about my blog all the time. I miss it. We’re scheduled to move in a few short weeks. The downfall is…our new place isn’t ready yet. It might not be ready until early September. We have no clue. It’s really just frustrating. We’re ready to get it finished. If you could see my office right now….you’d see how serious this  moving business has gotten. We decided to go ahead and pack up what we have that we can live without. Almost the whole room is packed full.

I’ve got so much to share, but don’t want to share it all at one time. It’s possible that I may do some repeats of the recipe’s I’ve shared a few years ago. When I’m in positions like I am now (which you’ll get to hear ALL about soon!) I tend to either go towards…

What a time.  Our house isn’t ready yet,  but they are saying that it’ll be ready now in February. Honestly,  it makes me so bummed.  I miss my stuff,  but it’s all packed up.

It’s getting cold here,  so I decided to make some nice yummy soup. All the kids loved  it. They ate several bowls.

Its really not a precise recipe,  I’ll do my best to give you what I used. Next time im going to use some onion!

Approximately 4 cups broccoli

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons garlic

2 cups Heavy cream

4 oz velveeta cheese

16 oz cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in a pot. Add broccoli and chicken broth.  Make sure broccoli is covered.  Cook until broccoli is tender.  Add cream.  Melt in cheeses and add salt and pepper.

Yum!

If you haven’t been through a PhD program or don’t/didn’t have friends with whom you were friends while they went through a PhD program, you may not be familiar with the obnoxious ritual known as comps.

Comps=comprehensive exams.  For better or for worse, almost every field requires an exam or a portfolio at some point in the first few years of graduate school to assess a potential PhD candidate’s general knowledge of the field.  They may be called comps, or quals/qualifying exams.  They may be administered at the university, or given as a take home exam.  They may require several hours, or several hours over a few days, or even weeks to complete.  But they are, universally, one of the most hated milestones of graduate school.

All of that is to say that my comprehensive exams were this month, and as a result, I haven’t been posting on the blog. …

Makes about 4 dozen

INGREDIENTS

• Dough
  • ½ Cup Cream Cheese, softened
  • ½ Cup Butter, softened
  • ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
  • ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 Lge. Egg + 1 Lge. Egg Yolk
  • 2 tsp. Vanilla
  • 3 Cups all purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • ½ tsp. Baking Soda
  • 3 tsp. Baking Powder
• Filling
  • ½ Cup Butter, divided
  • 4 tsp. Cinnamon, divided
  • 1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed, divided

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, set aside. Beat together butter, cream cheese, oil, and sugars until smooth and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix just until well combined. Divide into two, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour. Roll out half of dough between lightly floured sheets of wax paper to 10 x 18 inch rectangle, keeping edges as…

A quick recipe and some changes to the plan I wrote for the week. I made some black bean bars but I was trying a new variation so I only used a half can of black beans (less waste if I decide I hate the recipe). So instead I added the other half of the can to my lunch salads for the start of the week. Again, I love how I can change plans on the fly with my ingredient-based meal planning. Here is what my lunch salad for tomorrow looks like now:

(sorry for the blurriness). It is still a chopped salad, but I added black beans with the roasted veg, and instead of the sweet toppings (raisins, etc) I switched it up for savoury dried edamame and grains. The dressing will be poured on at lunch. I prepped the salad for the day after a little differently- I…

Easy: 100 delicious dishes for every day, 256pp.
by Bill Granger
HarpersCollinsPublisher, Sydney, 2012
Cooking on page 32

Bill Granger is well-known in Australia and beyond. He regularly contributes to national magazines and newspaper, and his television series has been viewed in 30 countries worldwide. A self-taught cook, Bill focuses on recipes that use fresh, local ingredients. In addition to running restaurants in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the USA and Korea, Bill has written 10 cookbooks.

I own three of his books—made these page-32 recipes three years ago—but I checked this one out from the library.

Tandoori fish and cucumber tomato salad

Ingredients
3 tablespoons thick Greek yoghurt
3 tablespoons tandoori curry paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon grated ginger
4 white fish fillets (about 180g each), skinned
lime pickle (shop bought)
1 lime, cut into wedges

Cucumber tomato salad
1…

Ken Hom’s top 100 stir-fry recipes, 144pp.
by Ken Hom
BBC Books, London, 2004
Cooking on page 32–33

Although born in America, Ken Hom came to prominence as a chef through a Chinese cookery television series he did for the BBC in United Kingdom. The role was given to him in the early 1980s after the BBC conducted a two-year global search for just the right person.

Since then he has written 20 cookbooks, focusing on Chinese as well as other Asian cuisines.

This book features stir-fries, the most famous of all Chinese cooking techniques and probably the simplest. The introduction explains how to choose and use a wok, and other useful utensils.

Stir-fried pork with mushrooms

Ingredients
1 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) oil
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons deseeded and finely chopped red chilli peppers
225 g (8 oz) minced (ground) pork
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring…