After 3 consecutive years of waiting too long before trying to sign up with a CSA and then finding all the shares sold out, this year I took no chances. There was still snow on the ground here in late March when I signed on with Rock Spring Farm for a full summer [...]]]>

After 3 consecutive years of waiting too long before trying to sign up with a CSA and then finding all the shares sold out, this year I took no chances. There was still snow on the ground here in late March when I signed on with Rock Spring Farm for a full summer vegetable share. Victory is mine!

And now our CSA share deliveries have begun. Here’s a recap of the high (and low) points of my first week’s attempt at meeting the Cooking Away My CSA challenge.

~~~~

Red Russian Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares

For breakfast-brunch-eggbake-strata-frittata aficionados — definitely includes me — who also happen to get red russian kale in their weekly CSA share, here’s a great way to use it, from the wonderful Kalyn Denny of Salt Lake City and her even more wonderful food blog Kalyn’s Kitchen :

Red Russian Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares

(Makes 6 servings, Recipe adapted from Regina Schrambling’s Collard Squares.)

1 bunch Red Russian Kale, chopped, or use any other variety of kale
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (1/2 tsp. teaspoon minced garlic)
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Tamari or other soy sauce
1 C grated cheese (I used a blend of low-fat cheese called Pizza Cheese which has mozarella, provolone, romano, and parmesan)
1/4 cup 100% whole wheat bread crumbs (optional; I’ve made this successfully without the bread crumbs)
6 eggs, beaten well
1/2 tsp. Spike Seasoning

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut off kale stems and discard, then wash kale leaves and dry well. (I used a salad spinner.) Pile kale leaves up on top of each other and cut into strips about 3/4 inch wide, then turn cutting board the other way and cut again so you have squares just under an inch square. Chop onion into pieces about 1/2 inch.

Heat olive oil in large heavy frying pan, then add onions and saute 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute about 2 more minutes, then add kale, turning over as it wilts and sauteeing about 5 minutes, or until kale is significantly wilted and softened.

Put sauteed vegetables into large bowl and add Tamari, cheese, bread crumbs, beaten eggs, and Spike seasoning. Stir gently until ingredients are well distributed. Spray pan with olive oil or nonstick spray and pour in egg mixture. (I was cooking it in my Oster Toaster Oven, and used a pan that’s 11.5 X 7.5 inches.) Bake 20-25 minutes until eggs are well set and the top is lightly browned. Serve hot. This is good with low-fat sour cream or salsa.

Oh man was this ever good. She’s right, this is great with salsa. Between me, the spouse, and the two young adult offspring, the entire pan was gone within twenty minutes. Definitely making this one again (and again).

Link: Red Russian Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares

~~~~

Next: the secret heartbreak of turnip anxiety!

Turnip Chips

These are kabu. They’re Japanese. They’re gorgeous. They are these things and many more, I’m sure, but the most salient feature about them is that they are turnips. As in: something I have never in my entire life either purchased or knowingly eaten. What the hell am I gonna do with them?

Turns out I have lots of choices. Japanese turnips aka white turnips aka kabu seem to be most often turned into pickles, but they can also be roasted, baked, mashed, fried or put in soups.

Too many choices for me, really, so instead I went with this easy- and delicious-sounding recipe for turnip chips, from CAMC-er Patricia Eddy:

Turnip Chips

Slice them thinly, toss them in olive oil, and bake for 15 minutes at
400. I particularly like them tossed with some sort of spicy rub like
smoked paprika or something spicy like habanero sea salt.

Patricia DiGiacomo Eddy of Cook Local

Note that I did say easy- sounding. How could anybody mess up something that sounds so simple? Oh my dears, I’m afraid you haven’t gotten to know me very well yet.

I dunno, I may have used too much olive oil (altho is that even possible? I mean, olive oil is such a good thing, how could there ever be too much of it?) And maybe the slices weren’t thin enough … All I know is 15 minutes at 400 degrees wasn’t nearly enough time to turn these things into anything describable as “chips”. After 15 minutes, took them out of the oven and blotted excess oil with paper towels. Put them back in for another 8 minutes; checked ‘em — still not looking at all done. 8 minutes more: now they were nicely browned and sizzling so I took them out & sprinkled them with a little sea salt and ground chipotle.
I wasn’t thrilled about the texture or the slightly radishy taste (hate radishes). The hub on the other hand thought they were delicious and didn’t mind the non-crispiness at all. Ehh.
I’m sorry Patricia. Alas, this has been my first instance (so far) of CAMC FAIL: I took your delightful sounding recipe and those beautiful white turnips and turned them into limp soggy little beige wafers. Gah.

Anyway, if we get them again I’m trying this. Onward we plunge!

~~~~

Zevia Mojito*

Cuba Libres and mojitos have long been at the top of my list of favorite drinks, but now that age, and adipose (meaning I’m just too freakin’ fat) and a couple health issues have led me to take up the carb-counting habit, I’ve been wanting to find some low carb, sugar free, and preferably artificial-sweetener free versions that are also tolerably tasty. Can it be done? This week, spearmint in my CSA box — the perfect opportunity for some experimentation.

As zero-cal carbonated beverages go, I really like the taste of Zevia, a stevia-sweetened soda that I get at Lakewinds Coop, so this week I decided to try making mojitos using Zevia Twist to take the place of both the sweetener and the club soda. Oooh. These really turned out well. My word.

Zevia Mojito
Adapted (by Tild) from this recipe

1/2 of a lime, cut in slices or wedges
8 spearmint leaves
1 jigger (1 1/2 oz) Bacardi light rum
Zevia Twist soda

Preparation:
1. Put mint, lime and a splash of Zevia Twist soda into the bottom of a highball glass. “Muddle” by mashing ingredients together. You can go out and buy a “muddler”, which typically looks like a miniature wooden baseball bat (I bought a stainless steel one at Target not too long ago) Otherwise the handle of a wooden spoon or spatula works fine.

2. Fill the glass about ¾ of the way with ice. Add the rum and top with Zevia soda. Stir and enjoy.

*UPDATE: Wow — Try a recipe made with a product you really love, write about it, and you never know — one of the founders of the company that makes that product might just show up in your comments. How cool is that?!

And that’s it for this week, kids. Tune in again next weekend and find out what I ended up making with the fennel bulbs and the freakin giant wagonload of arugula. As my scary old Swedish battle ax Grandma Tild always used to say: Oy.

But that doesn’t mean attempts to taunt librul eleetes with arugula-related “humor” will be tolerated. I mean seriously: get a brain, morans.

~~~~

*grin* Seen here.

~~~~

~

(Click on the image to see it full size)

Thought I’d take a shot at designing a logo for the fantastic group I just joined, the

Cooking Away My CSA Challenge

Greatest idea ever. And just in time! Friday afternoon I picked up our first weekly CSA box of veggies, and [...]]]>

(Click on the image to see it full size)

Thought I’d take a shot at designing a logo for the fantastic group I just joined, the

Cooking Away My CSA Challenge

Greatest idea ever. And just in time! Friday afternoon I picked up our first weekly CSA box of veggies, and now I have to figure out what I’m gonna do with it all. This week’s box contained:

Russian Red Kale

Red Oak Lettuce

Japanese turnips (our CSA farm calls them “spinruts” — that’s “turnips” spelled backwards. O the humanity.)

Asparagus

Purple radishes

Spearmint

~~~

Crimeney, where’d I put my Moosewood Cookbook?

What am I gonna do with this stuff?? Stay tuned for all the gory leafy details.

UPDATE:

Here are three different sizes of the CAMC badge, including two smaller versions in case you didn’t want to use a 940px wide image. These are all png files, which really lend themselves well to re-sizing without losing crispness or detail, but if you want smaller files you can save them as jpegs. Click on each image to see it full size.

Iddybud was one of the first blogs I ever read, way back in those long [...]]]> I’ve been over at   Blip.fm all day,  playing tunes in honor of MLK day today and the Inauguration tomorrow,  and who should I encounter there but one of my Blogmothers — the legendary Jude Nagurney Camwell, aka Iddybud.

Iddybud was one of the first blogs I ever read, way back in those long ago days lost in the mists of time…    She’s moved once or twice but is still at it;  doing the good work and playing some great music as always.

Go now and enjoy this lovely post she put up today in honor of  Dr. King.    Props to you, Jude!

Weekend Brunch Eggbake

Spray inside bottom and sides of an 11×7 glass baking dish with cooking oil spray.

Put in 1 and 1/2 cups salad croutons or toasted breadcubes. Add 1 can of cut asparagus spears, drained. Add 1 and 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack or colby-jack cheese. In a medium size [...]]]>

Weekend Brunch Eggbake

Spray inside bottom and sides of an 11×7 glass baking dish with cooking oil spray.

Put in 1 and 1/2 cups salad croutons or toasted breadcubes.
Add 1 can of cut asparagus spears, drained.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack or colby-jack cheese.
In a medium size bowl, beat 6 eggs.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups milk to the beaten eggs.
Whisk together eggs and milk.
Pour egg mixture over the croutons, asparagus and cheese.
Slice 3-4 roma tomatoes and arrange slices in a layer on top of egg mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, or until eggbake is puffed up and golden brown on top.
Serves 6 fairly hungry people.
Serves 4 fairly hungry people if 2 of them are teenaged boys.

~~~

For Scandie Girls Who Have Considered The 33 Oz Jar From Costco When The 12 Oz Jar From Rainbow Is Enuf

(May Ntozake Shange forgive me)

~~~~~

1) Make strawberry bread.

STRAWBERRY BREAD

1 cup butter 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. lemon juice or 1/4 tsp. [...]]]> Or:

For Scandie Girls Who Have Considered The 33 Oz Jar From Costco When The 12 Oz Jar From Rainbow Is Enuf

(May Ntozake Shange forgive me)

~~~~~

1) Make strawberry bread.

STRAWBERRY BREAD

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice or 1/4 tsp. lemon extract
4 eggs
1 tsp. soda, dissolved in 1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups flour
1 cup organic strrawberry spreadable fruit

Blend butter, sugar, vanilla, salt and lemon juice. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in soda mixture. Fold in flour and organic strawberry spreadable fruit.
Pour batter into 2 large or 4 small greased loaf pans. Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes or until done.

–recipe from the 1979 edition cookbook of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Beldenville, WI

~~~~~

2) Make strawberry bars.

STRAWBERRY BARS

1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. firm butter
1/4 c. milk
Powdered sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oatmeal
1 egg
2/3 c. organic strawberry spreadable fruit

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and granulated sugar; mix in oatmeal. Cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Beat egg and milk. Gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture, mixing until well blended. Spread about half of the dough in a greased, paper lined or non stick 8″ square baking pan. Spread evenly with organic strawberry spreadable fruit. Drop remaining dough evenly by spoonfuls over organic strawberry spreadable fruit. Bake at 375F degrees until well browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Cut into bars while still warm. Sift lightly with powdered sugar.

–I’ve had this recipe for years. It’s handwritten on a 3×5 index card. I dunno where it came from. Kismet!

~~~~~

3) Stir 2/3 cup organic strawberry spreadable fruit into 4 cups of plain yogurt.

~~~~~

4) Make french toast; top with organic strawberry spreadable fruit and a little powdered sugar.

~~~~~

5) Take any leftover organic strawberry spreadable fruit and put it in a disposable gladware-type container. Put the container in a plain brown paper bag. Place the bag on the front steps of the house of the neighbors who left 15 zucchini on your front steps last August. Ring doorbell. Run.

~~~~~

[UPDATE]

In the comments, my excellent friend Idyllopus makes the following excellent point:

Idyllopus Says:
March 12th, 2007 at 12:41 am
I don’t believe for one second that back in 1979 Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Beldenville, Wisconsin was promoting the joys of organic strawberry spreadable fruit.

Of course you’re right, Idy.  What I should have said right off the bat was that these recipes originally stipulated the use of strawberry jam or preserves.  Wherever that ingredient appears in the recipes I have substituted “organic strawberry spreadable fruit”.  

Sorry for the omission! 

[/UPDATE]

 

 

 

 

 

(click on the image for the full size version) 

Eeek! Full frontal fridge shot!

Welcome back to my kitchen, boys and girls. This is a picture of my refrigerator. On this New Year’s Day in the bright shining new year of 2007, once again I’m back to babble on and on about stuff [...]]]>

(click on the image for the full size version) 

Eeek! Full frontal fridge shot!

Welcome back to my kitchen, boys and girls. This is a picture of my refrigerator. On this New Year’s Day in the bright shining new year of 2007, once again I’m back to babble on and on about stuff nobody ever heard of or cared about, all accompanied by stunning indoor photographs of Chez Tild (as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I recently needed to finish off the remaining exposures on a disposable camera, so I took some pictures of my kitchen and family room. Wow; a historical document!)

So anyway, one day recently the spouse said to me : “All I want for Christmas is…”

Oh, ick. Fattigmand.
Among the 8 dozen cookies I brought home from the annual office Cookie Exchange this year were a dozen of the lethal Norwegian artery-cloggers known as fattigmand. As soon as the spouse tasted one he began begging and pleading with me to make a batch for him. He hadn’t had fattigmand in more than 30 years! His grandma used to make them! Oh please please please! It’s all I want for Christmas! Just this once willya willya willya huh huh huh?! …You get the idea.

OK, here begins the heresy: I may be Norwegian and I may live in Minnesota, but honestly, I have never had fattigmand in my entire life. My Norwegian Grandma Dallelie never made them as far as I know. My mother only made them once, and that was before I was born. I think that we as a family are just not particularly fond of food that’s deep fat fried. That’s not to say that nobody in my family on my mother’s side is overweight. On the contrary, quite a few of us are fat and always have been, but we got that way via a combination of genetics, sedentary habits and eating the standard late-20th century corn sweeteners-laden American diet, not by living entirely on hunks of white flour and refined sugar deep fried in lard.

Slightly OT: A couple of weeks ago I went in for my annual physical. As always, I had to fast for 12 hours beforehand for the fasting glucose levels blood test. When the lab results came back it was the boring same-old same-old: I’m fat (duh); I’m post-menopausal (double duh); my bad-cholesterol numbers are low (which is good); my good cholesterol numbers are high (which is also good); my fasting blood sugar numbers are rock-steady in the middle of the normal range. The only prescription I take is for mildly elevated blood pressure, and as my doc told me again this year, it wouldn’t take much in the way of additional exercise and dietary adjustment to get me to the point where I wouldn’t need that anymore.
Shorter version: I am a fat old woman, but I am a healthy fat old woman. Yay me!

Of course I can’t take all the credit for my inexplicably healthy fatness; my genes have a lot to do with that, but still I have to think it hasn’t hurt that deep fat fried foods tend to make me gag.

Which brings us back to fattigmand. I finally agreed to make a batch. This is the recipe I used:

Fattigmand

(for the Norse-illiterate: it’s pronounced “Fotty Monn”)

Means “Poor Man”. Technically these things are called Fattigmand Bakkelse or Poor Man’s Cookies.
Also known as Fattigmann, Fattigmandbakkelse, Futtiman, Fattigmanskakor and Poor Men, these are crispy delicate deep-fried cookies. A Fattigmand cutter may be used to cut these out but a knife or pastry wheel works just as well.

type: rolled
make: 4 dozen

3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon brandy or vanilla
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
vegetable oil for deep-frying
powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat eggs, whipping cream, and brandy or vanilla until blended.
Beat in sugar.
Gradually add flour, making a stiff dough.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough, 1/16″ thick.
Cut dough into 4″ x 2″ diamonds.
Cut a slit, lengthwise, in center of each diamond.
Pull one end through the slit to make a “twist” or “bow” out of the dough.
Heat oil to 375°F in a deep pan.
Fry twists about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
Drain on paper towel s.
When cool, dust with powdered sugar.

(Alright children, all together now : UFF DA!)

That’s a lotta grease. Never again. I don’t care how much begging and scraping and grovelling goes on, as god is my witness I’ll never make fattigmand again!

~

From the introduction:

Last year on October 8 an earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, hit Kashmir, the northern part [...]]]> And They Cook, Too

• A Blogger Cookbook Fundraiser for
  Doctors Without Borders
• Compiled and edited by Ginger Mayerson and Kathy Flake
• Illustrations by Carol Colin and Robin Riggs
• Cover Graphics by Tild~

From the introduction:

Last year on October 8 an earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, hit Kashmir, the northern part of Pakistan. Being a native Californian, I know that’s no small cheese. Unfortunately, by October 8, 2005, I was tapped out from Katrina giving and could not give to my favorite charity, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Les Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF). There was no doubt in my mind that MSF would be on the spot, doctoring in Kashmir, then and even now, and around the world wherever they are needed, as usual.

And so, partly out of guilt, but mostly out of admiration, the plan for this cookbook fundraiser was born. Now, I don’t cook very much and my basic culinary philosophy is “Shake it out of the box and eat it.” However, I very much admire people who make an art of cooking and even make it look fun. I also read a lot of blogs, all kinds of blogs from all over the world: political, art, culture, whatever, and I noticed many of these bloggers posting recipes. Sometimes I’d print them out and put them in my very neatly organized, but seldom consulted three-ring Recipes binder. Every now and then I’d think how nice it would be to have all those online recipes in a book format… And an idea began to take shape..

– Editor Ginger Mayerson

Back in February of this year I was honored to be asked by Ginger Mayerson to contribute to this great project.  I did the front and back cover graphics for this terrific collection of progressive bloggers’ recipes and essays which went on sale in late March.

By early July, sales of And They Cook, Too had generated nearly $400 in donations to Doctors Without Borders.

See the Table of Contents and more…

…including the list of bloggers who contributed recipes and/or their time and effort in assembling this project.

As you will see, there are some pretty big names on the list:

Body and Soul, Majikthise, Mad Kane, The News Blog/Steve Gilliard, Sadly, No!, Dohiyi Mir, Elayne Riggs, Agitprop, Pam’s House Blend, and the list goes on…

Makes a perfect Christmas gift for the progressive people on your list.   Why not treat yourself and also buy a copy for your very own?

Please support the worthwhile cause of Doctors Without Borders by buying a copy of “And They Cook, Too” today.

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

And They Cook, Too

• A Blogger Cookbook Fundraiser for
  Doctors Without Borders
• Compiled and edited by Ginger Mayerson and Kathy Flake
• Illustrations by Carol Colin and Robin Riggs
• Cover Graphics by Tild~

~

(burning my fingertips slaving over a hot krumkakke iron and what thanks do I get, huh? Huh?)

No, I’ll never be Rachel Ray, grinning maniacally out at you from every box of Triscuits on every shelf at every grocery store in the universe

(not to mention haunting the [...]]]> Or:  How I spent my weekend

(burning my fingertips slaving over a hot krumkakke iron and what thanks do I get, huh? Huh?)

No, I’ll never be Rachel Ray, grinning maniacally out at you from every box of Triscuits on every shelf at every grocery store in the universe

(not to mention haunting the Wege’s nightmares with her patented recipe for fast-acting saltpeter.)

On the other hand, I’ll probably never inspire the volume of online idolatry and loathing that Our Little Miss Ray-Ray does

(altho I recently found out that I’m a goddess to the world’s few but devoted waterbuffalo fetishists, so that’s something.)

No, what I’m getting to is that I spent several hours of this past weekend making at least 8 dozen krumkakke for the annual office Cookie Exchange.  Yep, I’m a regular trouper; a real team player.  I’m just thankful it wasn’t a Lutefisk Exchange.   Tild don’t play dat.

I invoke my namesake, my Swedish  grandma Tild often enough in this blog, but you may not be aware that — me being the tragic product of a mixed marriage –  I also had a Norwegian grandma. Her name was Betsy Dallelie, and this krumkakke recipe is hers.

Grandma Dallelie’s Krumkakke

6 eggs, room temperature
1 C. sugar
1 C. melted butter
1 tsp. whipping cream
1 C. flour
1 tsp. (rounded) ground cardamom

Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until frothy. Add the (cooled) melted butter, whipping cream and sugar; mix well.
Sift the cardamom together with the flour. Add 1/2 of the flour and cardamom mixture to the eggs and sugar mixture; stir in completely, then add the other 1/2 of the flour and cardamom; mix well.

Heat up your krumkakke iron.   Lucky me — 20 years ago my inlaws gave me a nonstick electric double krumkakke iron like this one.  Even tho it’s nonstick, I still season the griddle surfaces with a little Canola oil cooking spray while the iron’s cold.

Drop a generous teaspoonful of batter in the center of each krumkakke design on the heated iron surface and close the iron lid; cook for about 10 seconds, then open the iron and using a fork slide each krumkakke out onto a paper towel on the table next to the krumkakke iron.   Let the krumkakke cool for a few seconds, then roll into a 2″ diameter hollow tube shape (it will end up looking kinda like cannoli or manicotti).
Don’t let the krumkakke cool off too much or it will be too crisp to roll up.

Finally, I mix about 1/2 tsp cardamom into 1/2 C. powdered sugar and dust the tops of the finished krumkakke.

Makes at least 4 dozen, with plenty of  miscellaneous mistakes and discards left over for the in-house Taste Test Team, which in my case means two teenagers and one only slightly older spouse.

There.  And I didn’t say “Yum” even once.

~

(mainly because going to a grocery store even once between last Wednesday and today would have driven me to ritual seppuku)

Apparently I’m a culinary genius; they all turned out pretty good.

Brunch Egg Bake

8″ square [...]]]> Here’s three dishes I made this weekend strictly from leftovers and ingredients I had on hand

(mainly because going to a grocery store even once between last Wednesday and today would have driven me to ritual seppuku)

Apparently I’m a culinary genius; they all turned out pretty good.

Brunch Egg Bake

8″ square glass baking dish

Spray inside of baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

Then put in:

1 cup leftover salad croutons (I had Garlic and Butter, but any flavor’s probably okay)

2 1/2 cups leftover broccoli rabe, steamed/wilted (spinach or broccoli or collard greens would work too)

2 cups leftover turkey white and dark meat, cut in 1″ chunks

1 1/2 cups grated Co-Jack (Colby and Monterey Jack; but again: use whatever you’ve got ; Swiss; Cheddar, Jarlsberg, Muenster, whatever cheese you’ve got on hand that sounds good)

Then in a medium size bowl put:

5 eggs; beat with a fork or whisk

Add 1 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper

Whisk together the eggs and milk and salt and pepper; Pour the egg and milk mixture over the other ingredients in the baking dish;

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

~~~

Baked Butternut Squash and Parsnips

16 oz. (about 4 cups) uncooked butternut squash and parsnips, peeled and cut in 2″ chunks

Put the squash and parsnip chunks in an 8″ square glass baking dish

Add about a Tbsp of water in the bottom of the baking dish

Dot the vegetables with 1 Tbsp butter or margarine; more or less depending on how much you like butter; I love butter (Insert commercial here: actually I use Smart Balance, which is made with olive oil, is non-hydrogenated, has no trans-fats, has the omega-3 and omega-6 stuff that’s good for reducing cholesterol, is great for cooking and baking, and best of all: tastes good)

Sprinkle with a little coarse kosher salt or sea salt and black pepper

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes

~~~

Turkey Noodle Soup

Melt 1 tsp. butter or margarine in a large saute pan (Insert commercial here: actually I use Smart Balance, which is made with olive oil, is non-hydrogenated, has no trans-fats, has the omega-3 and omega-6 stuff that’s good for reducing cholesterol, is great for cooking and baking, and best of all: tastes good)

2 cups each, leftover carrots and celery sticks, chopped

1/3rd of a medium-sized onion, diced
Add carrots and celery and onion to the melted butter in the saute pan; braise for a minute or two to soften

Add 1 packet of Herb Ox sodium-free Chicken bouillon granules, dissolved in 1 cup hot water

Add 1 or 2 tsp. dried herbs; I used a McCormick’s blend called Herbes de Provence that contains rosemary, marjoram, thyme and savory

Add 3-4 cups of leftover turkey, light and dark meat, cut into 1″ chunks

Simmer the broth, vegetables and turkey for about 5 minutes, then put all into a large deep cooking pot or dutch oven

Add 2 8oz containers of natural (low sodium, fat free) turkey stock

Add 1 can low sodium, fat free chicken broth

Add 5 cups water

Let it simmer on low heat while you cook the noodles:

Add 12 oz of medium egg noodles cooked according to package directions, drained

Let the pot simmer on medium-low heat; Makes a great big ol’ mess o’ soup.

Yum.

Ahh. Here we go. I’ve got all the ingredients for this.

…I hope it’s good!

~~~~~

Cowboy Coffee Cake

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups [...]]]> Hmmm. What to make for breakfast/brunch when you don’t have a lot of things on hand and you don’t feel like going to the store?

Ahh. Here we go. I’ve got all the ingredients for this.

…I hope it’s good!

~~~~~

Cowboy Coffee Cake

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups brown sugar

2/3 cup shortening

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sour milk

2 eggs, beaten well

“Measure the flour, brown sugar, salt and shortening into a mixing bowl and rub or work to fine crumbs. Remove 1/2 cup of the crumbly mixture and reserve to sprinkle over the top of the cake. To the remaining crumbs add the blended baking powder, spices and soda, mixing thoroughly. Add the beaten eggs to the sour milk, then stir this into the dry mixture until it is very smooth.

“Spread the batter in 2 greased pie pans or layer cake pans and sprinkle with the reserved crumbs. An additional teaspoon of cinnamon and a few chopped nutmeats may also be sprinkled over the crumbs. Bake in a moderately hot oven (375°) for about 20 minutes. Serve hot from the pan in which it was baked.”

Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, 1935 edition

~~~~~

And while it’s baking, why don’t you stick with the cowboy theme and pass the time by watching this clip from the film “Way Out West”, circa 1940.

IMO if you can watch this and not smile even a little, I have to think y’all must be dead.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6novrbb6gc