Poached Salmon with Pinot Noir

This photo was taken with the (horrible) camera on my cell phone (I really need an iPhone or Smart Phone .) from a distant installment of Wine Spectator.

_________

I began this post back in January after I had visited a friend at the local hospital and was left with only Wine Spectator to read.  Shortly after I typed the first sentence my computer made a large popping noise and died.  About a week later it was fixed, but within days I noted there seemed to be a cognitive processing disorder with my computer.  It was the video card.  Suffice it to say, my computer was out of commission for a while.  I have since forgotten the the recipe I committed to memory and text to my brother and have upgraded to an Android.  While I am still not thrilled with the camera of my phone (or my ability to use the camera well), I love having access to Pinterest whenever I want!  It's about the important things, really! 

Since you were expecting a recipe for Poached Salmon you might wish to take a look at the one available at What's Cooking America or Food.com.

Pad Thai

I just made the best Pad Thai. I first had Thai Kitchen Pad Thai (the bottled seasoning sauce) when I visited my sister and brother-in-law in Toronto. PD made a heap of tasty Pad Thai. Over the past few years I have purchased the Box-O-Pad-Thai and cooked up a make shift Pad Thai in my kitchen. It's been edible; sometimes better than others; but never great. Until tonight!

Tonight the stars aligned and I had lots of goodies in my fridge and freezer to toss in to the pan. Tonight dinner was great.

What you need:
Box of Thai Kitchen Original Pad Thai
4-5 Shrimp
1 Large Chicken Breast
2 Eggs
4 Green Onions
Cilantro
Red Pepper (or fresh chili peppers)
Chinese Five Spice
Lime Wedges
Salt & Pepper

What you do:

1. Begin by following the instructions on the box. While you're boiling water to soak the noodles in, chop up the chicken, shell the shrimp, rinse the sprouts, chop the onion, and so on. Once the water boils, turn the heat off and dump in the noodles. Let them soak for about 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Spray a large skillet or wok with some Pam or use a bit of oil! Scramble the two eggs (yes two!)... but don't over cook. Set them aside. Toss in the chicken and sprinkle with a bit of salt, pepper, Chinese Five Spice, and saute. When the chicken is nearly done, add the shrimp.

3. Rinse the noodles in cool water and drain. Toss the noodles into the pan and add the Thai spice sauce packet, the bean sprouts, and a handful of the green onion. Stir and heat through till all liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with a lil' red pepper to taste...

4. This augmented recipe will make enough for 3 to 4 hungry folks. Dish up the goods, sprinkle a few more fresh bean sprouts to the mound of noodly goodness, add a healthy dose of Cilantro and a wedge or two of lime.

Finally, Pad Thai that tastes like Pad Thai! Yum!

Leftovers

What to do with the leftover pork roast and the package of udon my mum send me home with? Pork Udon. I was tickled that I had everything in the pantry! Including the dashi! The recipe came from the folks at Udon Recipes. Check them out and try some for yourself.

Pork Roast

I made Pork Roast for Orion and Shannon this weekend.

Pork Roast

What you Need:

4 pound pork roast
1 cup flour
Montreal Chicken Seasoning, Montreal Steak Seasoning, Garlic (because it is all I had on hand)
4 T vegetable oil
Pam

What you Do:

Heat oven to 325. Roll the roast in the flour and seasoning. Heat oil in large skillet. Drop roast in pan and sear all sides. Spray baking dish with Pam. Toss roast in pan and place in oven. Cook for 90 minutes and check internal temperature. Pull out when it hits 150 to 155 degrees. Tent with foil and let rest. Temperature will continue to rise to about 160. Yummy and moist. I impressed myself. I hope I impressed Orion and Shannon. I still need to cook up some pork for Grandpa Doug.

Rotkohl mit Apfeln

Red Cabbage with Apples

Sounds nasty, doesn't it? I think it can be. It has always been one of those things I can take or leave and usually end up leaving. Last night my friend Mittelhauser requested rotkohl with schnitzel. I try to please. After reading a handful of recipes (some without apples, some with bacon!) I decided to marry the best a two recipes and came up with the following. It was tasty and I even I enjoyed it. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

What you need:

1 medium head of red cabbage

2 tart apples

1 medium onion (I used Vidalia as they were abundant at the grocery store yesterday!)

3 tablespoons of butter

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons of sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Sharpen your favorite knife. Get to slicing and dicing. Peel and slice apples. I chose thin strips that I then cut in half. Not quite diced, not quite sliced. Chop the onion. Slice the cabbage (think coleslaw).

2. In a dutch oven or heavy stock pot (about six quarts in volume) melt the butter and saute the apples for five minutes. Add onion and saute for another five minutes. Add the cabbage, water, vinegar, and sugar. Stir. Cover.

3. Cook on medium low, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes or until cabbage is tender, but not mushy. Alternately you can toss it in a hot oven and cook it that way.

Click here for my schnitzel recipe. It is guaranteed to please! That is... I've had no complaints yet. Grandpa Doug, if you're reading this, I promise to come to Arkansas and make Schnitzel and Rotkohl for you. I'll even serve your peas in a separate dish!

Biscuits and Gravy

For about a week I have had a hankerin' for biscuits and gravy. I broke down this morning and made some. Today's efforts just might have been my best ever. Yum.

Biscuits

What you need:

1 Tube of Pilsbury's Buttermilk Grands

or

8 Pilsbury's Frozen Buttermilk Biscuits

(I really need to learn to make acceptable home-made biscuits!)

What you do:

Bake according to package instructions. Yum!

Gravy

What you need:

1/2 pound breakfast sausage

3 tablespoons flour

1 quart of milk

salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

1. Brown sausage in skillet. Depending on fat content of sausage, you may need to add a few tablespoons of butter or bacon grease before adding the flour. Sprinkle flour over sausage stirring constantly until flour and fat are smooth.

2. Slowly begin adding milk and whisking till smooth, thick, and bubbly. Continue adding milk and stirring. I find the more patient I am with gravy, the better it comes out. Letting the gravy cook for a bit also reduces the chances of getting that "uncooked" floury taste.

3. Once you have the constency you desire, salt and pepper to taste. Serve up hot, over biscuits and whatever else your heart desires (hashbrowns, yum!).

Schnitzel

I wanted spatzle, but didn't want to put forth the effort. I've been thinking about comfort food a great deal these days and wanting ulany kluski (Don't grade my Polish spelling here!). And kluski led me to spatzle. I was very pleased to discover how similar they are, but the spatzle has more teeth, a sturdier creation if you will. Wanting the spatzle made me think of schnitzel. And the schnitzel made me think of the schnitzel at The Bavarian Inn in Eureka Springs. When I was a wee lass, Tony and Jarka Bloch always made us feel so welcome and they were good friends to my parents.

While I didn't have any veal just laying around the house, I did have some lovely pork cutlets and some pent up frustrations. The pork cutlets were made thinner, tastier, and more tender by my frustrations. Fun! But I still wanted kluski. I chatted with mom this evening had a few really good ideas... Combining her ideas and some of my own, I came up with dinner. And I must say, it was a damn fine dinner.

In case my sister is reading this, I have provided the recipes below. Tree, it didn't take any time at all to toss this all together. Maybe 25 minutes. I know Grandpa Doug would love this meal. I hope I get to make it for him soon.

Schnitzel

What you need:

pork cutlets (or veal if you can stomach baby cow - yum!)
salt and pepper
flour
eggs (as many as necessary)
bread crumbs (I used panko as I only had Italian bread crumbs, silly Kat!)
oil for frying
lemon wedges

What you do:

1. Get some plastic wrap and your meat mallet. Wrap one or two of the pork cutlets (or you can use a boneless chop, you'll just have to pound a bit longer and a bit harder...) in plastic wrap (this keeps the bloody bits of meat from flying all over the kitchen and keeps your meat mallet nice and tidy) and beat the crap out of it. Well, till it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Place them on a cutting board. Salt and pepper both sides.

2. Heat your oil on a medium high burner. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and get a plate or pan ready for the schnitzel. Grab the pork (or veal) and dredge in flour. Dip in egg (2-3 beaten). Press into the breadcrumbs. Place in the hot oil.

3. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until golden. Place on paper towel covered plate or pan and keep in warm oven.

4. If you would like to go the extra step, fry an egg for each plate or serving. You may have noticed that I made one sunny side up and another fried, over easy (I'm still learning to eat things that stare back at me or jiggle.). Top the schnitzel with the fried egg, sprinkle with cracked pepper, and toss on a lemon wedge. Yum!

Kluski and Onions

What you need:

A pound of kluski (Amish made is good and available at most grocery stores...)
1/2 stick of butter
2 small onions
caraway seeds
salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Boil the water. Dump in the kluski. Cook to your preferred doneness.

2. While kluski is boiling, slice onions and saute in skillet with 1/2 stick of butter. Yum! Butter! Toss in some caraway seeds for an interesting flavor.

3. Once kluski is cooked and drained, toss with onions, butter, and caraway. Serve hot.

* Note: this is one step from lazy pierogi. Toss in some cabbage and viola... Or some rinsed kapusta (Sour kraut for my non Polish readers!).

Rice Pilaf

Oh, I wish my camera was working! I adapted the following recipe from The Joy of Cooking (2006) 75th Anniversary Edition. Adaptations included reduced liquid for use in the rice cooker and additions of spices and mushrooms. Tree, you must give this a try. I think you'll love it!

Kat's Rice Pilaf

What you need:
2-3 Tablespoons of butter
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4-6 green onions, sliced thinly
2 small bay leaves
2 cups rice (I use Jasmine)
4 ounces of angel hair pasta (I use Barilla) broken in to tiny pieces
small handful of dried mushrooms, soaked, drained, and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3.5 cups of chicken broth (4 if you plan to cook the pilaf on the stove or in the oven)

What you do:
Melt the butter in a large skillet, browning the garlic and cooking the onions until transparent, toss in the mushrooms and bay leaves.
Toss in the rice and pasta pieces and saute until golden. Dump in the rice cooker. Add 3.5 cups of chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste, close the lid, and turn it on!

The result is fabulous! Next time I might reduce the broth and use the water from the soaking mushrooms. I might also include cashews or almonds.

Crock-Pot Mishap ~ Camera Mishap

Wednesdays are days where the crock-pot is in charge of dinner. When things are running smoothly (giggle!) and things are as they should be (snort!) the week look something like this: Monday is Orion's day, Tuesday is my day, Wednesday belongs to the crock-pot, Thursday is whatever (I'm bowling and don't care what or if the boys eat!), Friday and Saturday are John's days (but not always), and Sunday it's back to me. I had rather hoped that the boys would take pity and man crock-pot Wednesday, but alas, I am still hoping. Last week's Lemon Chicken was rather tasty. And while tonight's dinner was edible, I was almost glad the camera wasn't working.

When I began experimenting with the crock-pot years ago, I seemed to have more misses than hits. But after reading several cookbooks and blogs as well as chatting with friends who know and love their crock-pots, I have found that I now have more hits than misses. And I am not quite certain how to classify tonight's dinner.

This afternoon I thought I would give Mongolian Beef a try. I visited Crock-Pot 365 and Recipe Zaar and looked at both of their Mongolian Beef Recipes. How could I go wrong with ginger, garlic, soy, wine, and chicken broth? Right? Well, to start, I dusted the meat in too much corn starch (I'll omit that entirely next time!), and secondly, I used a 3.5 quart crock-pot instead of the larger one. It smelled great. And tasted fine. But looked like something from the black lagoon. Really! (Again, grateful for not having a camera to blog my shame!)

I think I'll retry the recipe, but not any time soon. And as for the left overs, I am not certain what to do with them. But I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Now then, you may wonder about the Camera Mishap part of this post. Sunday I went out with Orion and Shannon to bike for a bit. I took the camera for the sole purpose of snapping picture of my bike and hopefully getting one of my bicycle mates to snap one of me and my baby to share with you! The camera dropped (crash!) and it's toast. We've had the camera for a decade or more (it's a Cannon Cool Pix 4.3 and it has been dropped many times before, but its number was up!). I am hoping to send it off and have it fixed. ~Sob~ I suppose I could dust off my old Cannon AE-1, but just the cost of printing gives me the willies.

Dinner's Ready...

Lemon Chicken and Chicken Fried Rice

School resumed just over two weeks ago and I have already contracted some horrid sinus funk. I honestly think it is allergy related. Last Friday I had that horrible "allergy eye" that feels like pink eye.

Feeling poorly only increases my appetite for homemade, well-balanced meals. And Stephanie over at A Year of Sow Cooking always has some very tasty suggestions. Today, I thought I would give a couple of them a try.

First, I started with the Lemon Chicken. I took four chicken breasts and hacked them into manageable chunks and dusted them in flour with salt and pepper. I browned them a bit and tossed them into my Crockpot.

Then I mixed up the sauce and dumped it on. I goofed, and added the entire container of lemonade. Ooops! Also, I used rice vinegar instead of the suggested balsamic vinegar.

Then I decided to give the Chicken Fried Rice a try. I was feeling a bit dubious about the efficacy Crockpot Fried Rice, but I was feeling adventurous... Or perhaps it was just all the antihistamines I had consumed. I trucked out all of the goodies I thought I might need: chopped onion, chopped green onion, peas, carrots, and left-over baked chicken.

I tossed in a good amount of soy sauce, a touch of sesame oil, and gave it a good stir. I made sure to leave a well where I poured in three eggs, scrambled. It was my hope to return in about an hour and give it a good solid stir, combining the cooked egg with the rice. But alas and alack! The Crockpot was on "warm" instead of "high". Again, it must have been the antihistamines. So I gave it a stir and cranked it up. Hoping that the hour I had lost wouldn't make a huge difference.


The results were not only attractive (see the first picture in the post), they were quite tasty. I am thinking fresh pineapple and a hint of red pepper would be just the ticket on the next go around. Even with the extra 1/2 of a container of lemonade John still gave the chicken a 7/10. I gave it an 8.5/10. The fried rice was another story. My left-over rice was a bit moist and I think it would have fared better if I had used three or four day old rice. With the Crockpot on "warm" for the first hour, the rice didn't heat as quickly as I had hoped. The stirring broke up my long Jasmine rice grains into short, stubby bits. But the taste was quite good. I could have used a bit more of the sesame oil and the soy sauce, but I was guessing as I was working with a lot of rice. The rice got a 4/10 for texture (my fault, I'm sure) and a 7/10 for taste.


Readers, give it a try and let me know what you think. And thank you Stephanie for the inspiration!

A Recipe for Tree

Tasty raviolis times fresh spinach and bacon-y goodness equals a very happy tummy. This is a quick and easy recipe and takes just about twenty minutes to make. While I would love to say that I used homemade raviolis, alas, I relied on the Kirkland (a Costco brand) cheese raviolis available in the freezer section. Give it a try! You can't go wrong with bacon!

Kat's Spinach and Ravioli

What you need:

Raviolis
8 - 16 ounces of Fresh Spinach
8 - 16 ounces of bacon (yum)
4 cloves of Garlic, chopped (or more if you prefer!)
1/2 of a Purple Onion, sliced in rings
Parmesan Cheese
Black & Red Pepper

What you do:

Slice the bacon and begin frying in a large skillet. Place a pot of water with salt and a dash of olive oil on the burner to boil.

When the bacon is nearly cooked, pour off the fat, and add the garlic and onion. Add the raviolis to the water.

Just before the ravis are ready to come out of the water add the spinach and stir until just heated through and wilted.

Toss spinach and bacon mixture with the raviolis. Add some Parmesan cheese and pepper to taste.

What's For Dinner?

Just about two years ago I blogged about a potato surplus. Well, this month I have found myself in a similar situation; but instead of twenty pounds, I had roughly thirty five pounds to deal with. Orion and bought a giant bag of russet potatoes when we went shopping about ten days ago. A few days later John picked up a giant bag of tiny, red, new potatoes. And when my friend Jen came to spend the weekend and brought another bag of medium sized red potatoes. That's a lot of potatoes.

Well, so far we've had boiled new potatoes, potato pancakes (one of my favorites), and mashed potatoes. Well this morning, I noticed that the russet potatoes were looking as if they were considering a one way trip to the compost pile. But I knew they'd make a good soup. One of my favorite food blogs, A Year of Slow Cooking, shared a nifty baked tater soup recipe back in June.

I started with Stephanie's Baked Potato Soup Recipe and then shortly before dinner, just after stirring in the cream cheese, John and I decided it needed a bit more of something. So we altered the Stephanie's recipe by adding the following:
*more salt and pepper
*celery salt
*a drizzle of whole milk

As pictured above, I garnished with green onion and lots of bacon (Yum!).

The recipe makes a boat load (about five quarts)! I hope it freezes nicely. Cut it in half and use a 3.5 quart crock if you don't plan to have left overs!

Yum, yum, yum!

Banana Bread

What do you do with those bananas you can't bring yourself to eat or throw out? You make Banana Bread, of course! Don't have the time or patience? Give this recipe a try.

I made this bread during the spring semester and brought it to my morning class. We had no left-overs!

Banana Bread

What you need:

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons corn syrup

3 ripe bananas

nuts or raisins to add

What you do:

Grease and flour a Crock-Pot. For this recipe I used a $3 Crock we found at the Salvation army. It is a 3.5 quart Crock-Pot with a removable insert (*See above).

Combine the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, corn syrup (if you have it), and bananas until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture. I used the Kitchen Aid mixer for this. At last, add nuts or raisins.

Dump into the Crock-Pot, cover, and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours. If yo have a larger Crock-Pot, you will need to decrease the cooking time.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Goodness

In an attempt to stay awake till 10:00 p.m. I decided to experiment in the kitchen. My students and several work-study students in the library reaped the benefits of my tasty labor.

I found them to be quite tasty and without the chocolate topping, they were just barely sweet. Give them a try and tell me what you think!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crispy Treats
What you need:
Cooking Spray
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 peanut butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup peanuts
3 cups Rice Krispie cereal
1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

What you do:
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside. Spray a large pot with cooking spray. Combine the first five ingredients in the pot. Heat over medium high heat until smooth and bubbly. Add marshmallows and vanilla and continue stirring.

Once the marshmallows have melted and the mixture is smooth you may turn the stove to low. Keeping a little heat under the pot gives you time before the stuff starts to set up! Add peanuts and cereal and stir until everything is well mixed and well coated.

Press into a greased (or buttered, if you prefer) baking dish. Cover with a single layer of chocolate chips and heat in a moderate oven for three to five minutes- just until the chips are melty. Remove from oven and use a butter knife to smooth out the chocolate chips.

Let cool and cut into squares. Enjoy.

Brother-in-Law Stew

Bean Curd Stew, affectionately known as Brother-in-Law Stew.

Last Saturday I had a culinary wild hair and started with Vietnamese Beef Pho for lunch and moved to a Korean comfort food, Bean Curd Stew, for dinner. This recipe is inspired by a tasty soup my brother-in-law made for me several years ago and again when I visited them last and is based on recipes from two books (*see below). It was so good that we ate two huge bowls each and there were no left-overs. My recipe follows.

Brother-in-Law Stew

What you need:

1 quart soup stock

3 to 4 Tablespoons of soybean paste

1 pack bean curd (tofu) diced

6 oz of thinly sliced beef1 small onion, sliced

3 green onions, sliced diagonally

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped (more if you like)

1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

And an assortment of the vegetables of your choice, sliced, e.g. zucchini, potato. I used carrot (for color), sugar snap peas (because I had them), left-over bean sprouts, cabbage, and enoki mushrooms (canned ~sob~), one rib of celery (for crunch) and napa cabbage.

What to do:

Cut up all vegetables including the onions. Slice the beef if it isn’t already sliced. Cut the tofu to match the size of the cut veggies.

Heat pan, add oil, stir fry meat and garlic. When the meat is nearly done, add the soybean paste and fry some more. Add onions and soup stock and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam. Add remaining vegetables – adding fragile ones, like mushrooms, at the very last. Simmer over a low flame for a few hours. Dish up and enjoy!

Recipe inspired by:

Chang, S. (1997). A Korean mother’s cooking notes. Seoul, Korea: Ewha University Womens [sic] Press.

Marks, C. (1993). The Korean kitchen: Classic recipes from the land of the morning calm. San Francisco. Chronicle Books.

Vietnamese Beef Pho

Saturday I decided I would experiment with one of my favorite dishes to order when I visit a Vietnamese restaurant, Beef Pho. This recipe is a combination of a couple of recipes from cookbooks* as well as my experiences dining out. I was so pleased with the turn out that I snapped a picture before I chowed down. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Vietnamese Beef Pho

What you need:

3 quarts beef soup stock

3 inch piece of ginger1 large onion, unpeeled and halved

3 whole star anise

2 inch cinnamon stick

¼ to ½ cup fish sauce (or to taste)

1/8 to ¼ cup Chinese black vinegar or Balsamic (or to taste)

1 tablespoon chili sauce

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound rib eye steak, cut super thin. I used the steak cut for bulgogi available at the Korean market

10 ounces rice noodles, soaked in a bowl of water for 30 minutes

2 cups mixed cilantro, mint, and Thai basil leaves

1 cup bean sprouts

1 carrot, shredded

½ cucumber, thinly sliced

1 lime, cut into wedges

What to do:

Toss homemade or store bought beef stock into a soup pot. Toss in the halved onion, skin on, the anise, ginger, and cinnamon. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Skim off foam. Cool and strain. Return to pot and reheat.

Shortly before you’re ready to serve, soak the noodles in luke warm water for 15 to 30 minutes. Chop the herbs, slice the lime, and clean the bean sprouts. Set them aside.

Crank up the heat under the strained stock to high. Add the fish sauce and the balsamic vinegar to your taste.

Take four large bowls. Clear bowls allow for a lovely presentation of the different colors and textures. Divide the noodles, beef from stock (if using homemade), and raw steak (sliced thinly) among the four bowls. Pour the boiling stock into each bowl and top with the herbs, sprouts, carrots, and lime wedges. Serve at once.

* Henricksson, M. (2003). Everyday Asian. N.Y.: William Morrow.

Crock-Pot Success!

Another successful Crock-Pot experiment! I only wish I hadn't been so busy in the garden and laundry room to take some pictures before and/or after! Yum!

Kat's Groovy Crock-Pot Pork Loin

What you need:
2-3 pound pork loin
salt, peeper, garlic, rosemary, whatever
celery (what ever is handy)
8 to 9 medium red potatoes
8 to 10 carrots
2 onions
1 cup of broth or bullion (any kind, really)
cornstarch

What you do:
Salt, pepper, and season loin while heating some olive oil in a skillet. Sear loin on all sides over medium high heat.
Chop all vegetables into large chunks (halves or quarters).
Layer celery, carrots, one onion, taters, the other onion, and place loin on top.
Dump about 1 cup of broth over all. Toss in two bay leaves.
Turn on low and cook for six or seven hours!
About 30 minutes before serving, remove the loin and veggies you plan to eat or serve, crank the Crock-Pot to high, and toss in some cornstarch and water. I love to leave a few healthy looking carrots, some celery, and about a half of a potato and use my Kitchen-Aid hand blender to zip it into a creamy, veggie laden, sauce.
While the sauce is bubbling away, cut up the mean, arrange the veggies and W00t! Yum!

I think the success of this particular Crock-Pot attempt can be attributed to two steps: the first, the searing of the loin and the second, placing the meat above the level of the liquid so it didn't 'boil'.

Crock-Pot 365

The crock-pot is an interesting invention. Some say it is nothing more than a giant Petri dish, just warm enough to grow your favorite bacteria. Others tout its money saving capabilities! Personally, I have always been attracted to the time saving factor associated with the original "set-it-and-forget-it!"

About a year ago I found the Rival Crock-Pot Cooking cookbook on my friend Ruth's shelf. It was published in 1975 and I have found it to be most useful. So much that I haven't returned Ruth's book! Last weekend while shopping the antique stores with my friend Shannon I found a copy for my very own! I was so excited I told Ruth she could have her copy back! That's when she told me about A Year of CrockPotting!

You can find a Year of CrockPotting at http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/. I liked this blog so much I've book marked it! I zipped Stephanie, the Crock-Pot Lady, an email asking if I could link to her blog and rave about her recipes. She was quick to respond in the affirmative. (Thank you Crock-Pot Lady: for your permission and your hard work!).

At a Year of CrockPotting you will find a diary of Crock-Pot experiences for the past year. There are breakfast recipes, veggie recipes, and dinner recipes as well as several things I never thought to use a Crock-Pot to create (Soap?). I love that Stephanie begins each post with a picture of her creation. Then she lists her recipe with the steps and provides a picture of her ingredients. Each entry ends with a "verdict." I find this most helpful as there are some creations I think I'll pass on after reading about Stephanie trying them not once, but twice!

Visit the Crock-Pot Lady and let her know what you think! It's one of the best blogs I've seen!

Lettuce Pray

I recently found a recipe in my old Betty Crocker cookbook for Crab Louis. An average salad (greens, hard boiled eggs, olives, and tomatoes) made special by adding crab and Crab Louis Dressing. The recipe also had a very 70s ring so I had to try it.

I went to Wal*Mart to pick up the necessary items: fresh salad, tomatoes, and chili sauce for the dressing recipe.

I found everything but lettuce. Well, interesting lettuce that is. I found one head of hydroponically grown Boston lettuce. I had since wilted and turned brown. I found bags and bags of mixed salad greens that were quickly turning to wine (yuck!). And I found rows and rows and rows of Iceberg. I wanted something interesting!

So I picked out the best bag of mixed greens and threw in a bag of spinach. I made it work.

The Crab Louis was quite tasty, however I must add that the dressing tasted remarkably like 1,000 Island. Interesting...

Crab Louis

What you need:

For the Salad:
4 cups lettuce (your choice)
4-5 hard boiled eggs
4 medium tomatoes
black or green olives
14 oz of crab (2 7 oz cans, fresh, or surimi)

For the Dressing:
3/4 cup Chili Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon instant minced onion
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire

What you do:
1. Mix up the dressing and place in the fridge.
2. Toss up the salad. Add whatever else is in your fridge and wants to come out! Use eggs and tomatoes to decorate the top of the salad.
3. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook: New and Revised Edition, Golden Press, New York, (c) 1979, 8th Printing 1983, p. 79

Tears for Matzo

Cravings. They come and they go. This one came several days ago and has refused to diminish. Matzo Brei. Off to the store I went where I found onion flavored Nyafat (cholesterol free, vegetable based, fake schmaltz)... but no matzo! Oh no! Where were my Egg and Onion Matzos? I cannot possibly have Matzo Brei without matzos! Am I going to have to make my own? (Gasp!) It seems that I will have to do just that as the grocery store manager said that they cannot sell them so they will no longer order them. Perhaps I can find a store in Kansas City. I want it now! Somebody out there send me a couple of boxes of matzos, please!

And it occurs to me... Passover began on Sunday. Is this why I am craving the fried matzos?