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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. Now in 2023, I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

The Vineyard, by Barbara Delinsky. A novel with many current day issues. Husband and wife own a vineyard in Rhode Island. Husband dies. Widow soon (too soon) marries the manager, a hired employee, much to the consternation of her two grown children. Widow hires woman as personal assistant (much of the book comes from her voice) and she gets entangled into the many webs, clinging from the many decades the winery has tried to be successful. Really interesting. Lots of plot twists, but all revolving around work of the vineyard. Cute love story too. It wouldn’t be a Delinsky book without that aspect.

Consequences, Penelope Lively. I’ve always loved this author’s writing style. Have read many of her books. This one follows a rather dotted line family, the women, as they grow through worn-torn London and England. There’s poverty and both major events and minor ones that send the story’s trajectory in new directions. Riveting for me. Lively won the Booker Prize for Moon Tiger, her most famous book.

Below Zero, C.J. Box. Mystery of the first order. A Joe Pickett novel (he’s a game warden in Wyoming) with a family member thought dead is suddenly alive. Or is she? Joe’s on the hunt to find out. I don’t read these books at night – too scary. I love his books, though.

Consolations of the Forest: Alone in a Cabin on the Siberian Taiga, by Sylvain Tesson. I’m not sure what possessed me to read this book. About a late 30s guy who seems to crave solitude; he’s offered a 11×11 cabin in the cold/frozen Siberian outback, on a huge lake that freezes over in winter. Here’s a quote from the book: “A visit to my wooden crates. My supplies are dwindling. I have enough pasta left for a month and Tabasco to drench it in. I have flour, tea and oil. I’m low on coffee. As for vodka, I should make it to the end of April.” Vodka plays large in this book. Tesson (who is French, with Russian heritage) is a gifted writer, about the wilderness, the flora and fauna, about the alone-ness, the introspection. Mostly he ate pasta with Tabasco. No other sauce. Many shots of vodka every day. Drunkenness plays a serious role too – what else is there to do, you might ask? He lived there for about a year. I’d have lasted a week, no more.

The Auburn Conference by Tom Piazza. Another one, given my druthers I’m not sure I’d have picked up. For one of my book clubs. Excellent writing. 1883, upstate NY. A young professor decides to make a name for himself and puts on an event, inviting many literary luminaries of the day (Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, Herman Melville, Forrest Taylor and a romance novelist [the outlier] Lucy Comstock). Part panel discussion, part private conversations, the author weaves a tale of discord, some moderate yelling, some rascism and much ridicule of the romance novelist. Also some words of wisdom, maybe not from the authors you’d have expected. Unusual book.

As Bright as Heaven, by Susan Meissner. 1918. Philadelphia. About a young family arriving with the highest of hopes. Then the Spanish Flu hits and dashes everything. You’ll learn a whole lot about that particular virulent flu and the tragic aftermath. Really good read.

Hour of the Witch, by Chris Bohjalian. Boston, 1662. A young woman becomes the 2nd wife of a powerful man, a cruel man. She determines to leave him, something just “not done” back then. Twists and turns, she’s accused of being a witch. Story of survival, and a redeeming love too.

My Oxford Year, by Julia Whelan. At 24, a young woman is honored with a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. She’s older than most of her fellow classmates, and as an American, doesn’t fit in very well. She’s left a good job back home, but determines to try to work some for the political campaign job she’s left, and also do the work for her Oxford scholarship. She meets a professor. Oh my. Such an interesting book. I loved learning about the culture of Oxford, and there’s a fascinating romance too, somewhat a forbidden one with said professor.

Madame Pommery, by Rebecca Rosenberg. I love champagne. Have read a number of books over the years (novels) about the region (and I’ve visited there once). This is real history, though in a novelized form. Madame Pommery was widowed, and determined she would blaze a trail that was not well received (no women in the champagne business for starters). And she decides to make a different, less sweet version. She’s hated and reviled, but sticks to her guns, veering away from the then very sweet version all the winemakers were producing. Fascinating story.

The Wager, by David Grann. A true tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder back in the 1740s. Not exactly my usual genre of reading, but once I heard about the book, I decided I needed to read it. This is a novelized version of the story, based on the facts of an English shipwreck, first off Brazil, then later off Chile. Of the men, their struggle to survive (and many didn’t). Yes, there’s murder involved, and yes, there’s mutiny as well. Those who survived stood trial back in England many years later. Riveting read.

Before We Were Yours, by Lisa Wingate. 1939. A shantyboat in the backwaters of the Mississippi River. A 12-year old girl is left to care for her younger siblings when her mother is taken ill. A mystery ensues, and soon officials chase these youngsters to take them into an orphanage, one that became infamous for “selling” the children, weaving wild tales of their provenance. Dual timeline, you read about a successful young attorney who returns home to help her father, and questions come up about the family history. Fascinating read. You’ll learn about this real abominable woman, Georgia Tann, who profited by her “sales.”

The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Goff. This tells the story of a young servant girl, in the aftermath of the starvation in Jamestown, the beleaguered town that virtually disappeared because the people weren’t prepared for the harshness of survival in those days. She escapes before the demise of the town and heads west, with nothing but the clothes she’s wearing. She survives longer than you might think, and encounters a lot of interesting experiences and people. Very interesting historical read.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Woman, Lisa See. Historical fiction, from 1469, Ming Dynasty, China. Based on the true story, however, about a young woman mostly raised by her grandmother who is a well known physician. Her grandfather is a scholarly physician, her grandmother, more an herbalist, or like a pharmacist of the day. Tan eventually marries into a family and is immediately subjugated by the matriarch, who won’t allow her to practice any of her healing arts. Quite a story, and also about how she eventually does treat women (women “doctors” were only allowed to treat women) as a midwife and herbalist. You’ll learn a whole lot about the use of flowers and herbs for healing and about the four humors.

Winter Garden, by Kristen Hannah. Quite a story, taking place in Washington State with apple orchards forming a backdrop and family business. Two sisters, never much friends even when they were young, return home to help care for their ailing father. Their mother? What an enigma. She took no part in raising them, yet she lived in the home. She cooked for the family, but rarely interacted. Yet her father adored his wife, their mother. How do they bridge the gulf between each other and also with their mother. Another page turner from Kristen Hannah.

Trail of the Lost, by Andrea Lankford. Not my usual genre. This is nonfiction, about Lankford who has plenty of credentials for rescue services, and is an avid hiker herself, determines to try to find some missing people who have disappeared off the face of the earth on the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s about how rescues work, everything from the disconnect between active citizens who want to help, and seemingly the unwillingness of authorities to share information. Not exactly a positive for law enforcement in this book. Really fascinating. There are hundreds of people who have disappeared off various long hike trails in the U.S. This is about four who were hiking (separately and at different times) on the PCT.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. I’ve never been a “gamer.” Not by any standard definition, anyway. Not like people who really get into games, adventure, killers, etc. And this book isn’t a game .. . but it’s a novel (and a great story, I might add) about how these games come into being. How they’re invented, how they morph. First there were two college students, then a third person is added, and they end up creating a wildly popular game. A company is born. And it goes from there. Mostly it’s about the people, their relationships, but set amidst the work of creating and running a gaming company. Not all fun and games, pun intended.

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt. Oh gosh, what a fabulous book. It’s a novel; however, much of the story is about the intelligence of octopus. In particular this one, Marcellus, who lives in an aquarium in a fictitious town in western Washington State. More than anything the book is about relationships, not only Marcellus with a woman (of a certain age) who cleans the aquarium at night, but the various people in this small town.

Trust, by Herman Diaz. This novel is an enigma in so many ways. It’s a book, within a book, within a book. About the stock market crash back in 1929, but it’s about a man. Oh my. It’s really interesting. This book won the Pulitzer. That’s why I bought it.

Cassidy Hutchinson is a young woman (a real one) who works in politics or “government.” She’s worked for some prestigious Washington politicians, and ended up working for Trump. The book is a memoir of her short spin working at the highest levels, and obviously at the White House. She worked under Mark Meadows and suffered a lot of ridicule when she quit. Truth and lies . . . when she couldn’t live with herself and subvert the truth. Enough, gives you plenty of detail leading up to and after the January 6th uprising. She testified to Congress about what she knew. Really interesting. I almost never read books about politics because I think many (most?) of our elected politicians succumb to the lure of power and forget who they work for, us, the public.

Becoming Dr. Q, by Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, MD, is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. This is his memoir about how he went from being a penniless migrant from Mexico to one of the world’s most renowned experts in brain tumors.

The Invincible Miss Cust, by Penny Haw.  In 1868 Ireland, a woman wasn’t allowed to attend veterinary school, much less become a veterinarian. It took  years of trying (to the horror of her aristocratic family) and finally someone took her under their wing, she enrolled using a pseudonym (a name not revealing her gender). This is a true story of Aleen Isabel Cust, who did just that.

Her Heart for a Compass, by Sarah Ferguson (yes), the Duchess of York. I was pleasantly surprised as I read this book that it wasn’t the usual romantic romp – there’s more to this story than you might think. Ferguson utilizes some of her family ancestors as real characters in the book. Sweet story but with lots of twists and turns.

Someone Else’s Shoes, by Jojo Moyes.Nisha, our heroine, is a wealthy socialite. She thinks her life is perfect. At the gym someone else grabs her gym bag, so she grabs the similar one. Then she finds out her husband is leaving her and he’s locked her out of their high-rise apartment. She’s penniless. No attorney will take her on. She has nothing but this gym bag belonging to someone else (who?).

The Eleventh Man, Ivan Doig. What a story. Ben, part of a Montana college football team in the 1940s, joins the service during WWII. So do all of his eleven teammates. After suffering some injuries in pilot training he is recruited by a stealthy military propaganda machine. His job is to write articles about his teammates as they are picked off at various battle theaters around the Pacific and Europe. Ben goes there, in person, to fuel the stories. Ivan Doig is a crafty writer; I’ve read several of his books, my favorite being The Whistling Season.

Wavewalker, by Suzanne Heywood. Oh my goodness. A memoir about a very young English girl who goes off with her besotted and narcissistic parents and her brother on a years-long sailing journey supposedly following the route of James Cook. A very old, decrepit 70-foot schooner. Four people, 2 sort-of adults and 2 children. Sometimes a helper or two. A seasick mother. A dad who is driven to the extreme, whatever the damage he creates. She spent 10 years aboard.

Claire Keegan wrote Small Things Like These. It’s won a lot of awards, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Takes place in Ireland. Some profound questions come up in this novella, about complicity, about restitution. There’s a convent nearby, and attached one of those places young girls were sent if they found themselves “in the family way,” and about how the church helped, supposedly, by taking the children and placing them in homes, without consent. It’s ugly, the truth of the matter. Really good read.

Nicholas Sparks isn’t an author I read very often because his books are pretty sappy, but daughter Sara recommended this one, The Longest Ride. It begins with Ira (age 93), stuck in his car as it plunges off the edge of a road, and it’s snowing. As the hours tick by, he reminisces about his life.

The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind, by Barbara Lipska. Interesting that I’ve read two books recently about the brain (see Doctor Q above). This is a true story about a woman, a neuroscientist, who developed a metastatic melanoma in the brain.

The Price of Inheritance, by Karin Tanabe. This is a mystery, of sorts. Our heroine is an up and coming employee at Christie’s (auction house). In bringing a large collection of expensive art to auction, she makes a misstep about the provenance of a desk. She’s fired. She goes back to her roots, takes a job at a small antique store where she used to work.

The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese. Did you read Cutting for Stone, years ago, by this author? Such a good book, so I knew I’d enjoy this one, and oh, did I!. The book takes place in a little known area of southern India, and chronicles a variety of people over a few generations, who inhabit the place.

Finding Dorothy, by Elizabeth Letts. My friend Dianne recommended this book to me, and it was so special. Loved it beginning to end. It’s based on the story of 77-year old Maud Gage Baum (her husband Frank Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz).

The Bandit Queens, by Parini Shroff. It’s about a young Indian woman, Geeta, as she tries her best to make a living after her husband leaves her. Yet the community she lives in, thinks Geeta murdered him.

Attribution, by Linda Moore. We follow art historian Cate, as she struggles to succeed in her chosen field against sexist advisors. She finds what she thinks is a hidden painting.

The Measure, Nikki Erlick. Oh my goodness. This story grabbed me from about the third sentence. Everyone in the world finds a wooden box on their doorstep, or in front of their camper or tent, that contains a string. Nothing but a string. The author has a vivid imagination (I admire that) and you just will not believe the various reactions (frenzy?) from people who are short-stringers, or long-stringers.

The Book Spy by Alan Hlad. True stories, but in novel form, of a special Axis group of men and women librarians and microfilm specialists, sent to strategic locations in Europe to acquire and scour newspapers, books, technical manuals and periodicals, for information about German troop locations, weaponry and military plans of WWII. I was glued to the book beginning to end. Fascinating accounts.

A Dangerous Business, Jane Smiley. What a story. 1850s gold rush, story of two young prostitutes, finding their way in a lawless town in the Wild West. There’s a murder, or two, or three, or some of the town’s prostitutes, and the two women set out to solve the crime.

Storm Watch, by C. J. Box. I’m such a fan of his tales of Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett’s adventures catching criminals. Loved it, just like I’ve loved every one of his books.

Defiant Dreams, by Sola Mahfouz. True story about the author, born in Afghanistan in 1996. This is about her journey to acquire an education. It’s unbelievable what the Taliban does to deter and forbid women from bettering themselves.

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This is fairly light read, a novel – but interesting, about the meaning behind many flowers.

The Rome Apartment, by Kerry Fisher. Such a cute story. Maybe not an interesting read for a man. It’s about Beth, whose husband has just left her, and her daughter has just gone off to college. Beth needs a new lease on life, so she rents a room from a woman who lives in Rome.

All the Beauty in the World, a memoir by Patrick Bringley. Absolutely LOVED this book. Bringley was at loose ends and accepted a job as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. He’d been a journalist at The New Yorker magazine, but after his brother was ill and died, he needed refreshing. After his training at the museum, he moves from room to room, guarding the precious art, and learning all about the pieces and the painters or sculptors.

The Queen’s Lady, by Joanna Hickson. I love stories about Tudor England, and this one didn’t disappoint. Joan Guildford is a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth. Oh my goodness are there twists and turns.

Once in awhile I’m ready to read another Louise Penny mystery. This time it was World of Curiosities. Usually I’d write something wonderful regarding “another tome about Three Pines.” Not going to say it this time. Three Pines becomes a sinister place. Murders (many).

Over the years I’ve read many of Jodi Picoult’s books. This, her newest, or very new, is called Mad Honey. Oh, my. This book is beyond Picoult’s usual borders, but then she always writes edgy books. That’s her genre. This one is written with a co-author, a woman who is gay (I think) and also a trans-gender.

Philippa Gregory is one of my fav authors. Just finished her 3rd (and last, I think) in the Fairmile series called Dawnlands. If you scroll down below you’ll find the 2nd book in the series, Tidelands. Very interesting about English history, but about the same families from the first book in the group. Loved it, as I loved all of them.

Am currently reading Rutherfurd’s long, long book, Paris. I love these involved historical novels about a place (he’s written many about specific places in the world). It’s a saga that goes back and forth in time, following the travails of various people and families, through thick and thin. Some of it during the era of the King Louis’ (plural, should I say Louies?). Very interesting about some of the city’s history and royalty.

Although this book says A Christmas Memory, by Richard Paul Evans, it’s not just about Christmas. A young boy is the hero here, but really an older widower man who lives next door plays a pivotal part of this book.

Wish You Were Here, by Jodi Picoult. Another page-turner. I loved this book. A thirty-something woman, about to take a trip with her boyfriend, when Covid breaks out. Covid plays a major role in this book, beginning to end. She decides to go anyway as her boyfriend is a doctor and cannot leave. She ends up on a remote Galapagos island, and you go along with her – with people she meets, the life she leads, the isolation she experiences, the loneliness she feels, but the joy of nature is a sustaining aspect.

Not everyone wants to read food memoirs. When I saw Sally Schmitt had written a memoir, titled Six California Kitchens, I knew I wanted to read it. I met Sally a few times over the years when I visited Napa Valley, and bought some of her famous pickled items, chutneys, jams, etc. She was the original chef at The French Laundry, before it became truly famous by Thomas Keller.

Being a fan of Vivian Howard (from her TV show), when I saw she’d written another book, I knew I should buy it. This Will Make It Taste Good is such an unusual name for a cookbook, but once you get into the groove of the book, you’ll understand. What’s here are recipes for some “kitchen heroes” she calls them. They’re condiments. They’re food additions, they’re flavor enhancers.

As soon as it came out, I ordered Spare, by Prince Harry. I’ve always been interested in the Royal Family.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Usually I don’t seek out short stories. I might have purchased this book without realizing it was. There aren’t that many stories – each one gets you very ingrained in the characters. I love her writing, and would think each story in this book could be made into a full-fledged novel.

A Lantern in Her Hand, by Beth Streeter Aldrich. A very interesting and harrowing story of early pioneer days in the Midwest (Nebraska I think); covered wagon time up to about 80 years later as the heroine, Abbie Deal, and her husband start a family in a small town.

The Messy Lives of Book People, by Phaedra Patrick. From amazon’s page: Mother of two Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So she can’t believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her personal hero, mega-bestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and intimidating recluse.

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. I’m a fan of this author and relished reading his book about a year in his personal life, with his wife and very new, newborn twins. Doerr was given an auspicious award – a year of study in Rome, with apartment and a stipend. There are four chapters, by season.

Kristin Hannah’s Distant Shores is quite a read. Some described it as like a soap opera. Not me. Interesting character development of a couple who married young. She put her own career/wants/desires aside to raise their children. He forged ahead with his life dreams. The children grow up and move on. Then he’s offered a huge promotion across the country. She’s torn – she doesn’t want to be in New York, but nothing would get in the way of his career.

Oh, William! by Elizabeth Strout. Lucy Barton is divorced. But she’s still sort of friendly with her ex. It’s complicated. Out of the blue he asks her to go on a trip with him to discover something about his roots.

Tidelands,  by Philippa Gregory. It tells the tale of a peasant woman, Alinor (an herbalist and midwife), who lives barely above the poverty level, trying to raise two children, during the time of great turmoil in England, the rancorous civil war about Charles 1.

Read Reminders of Him, by Colleen Hoover. A page turner of a story. A young woman is convicted of a crime (young and foolish type). Once released her sole purpose is to be a part of her daughter’s life.

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty. Oh my goodness. The wicked webs we weave. How in the world did the author even come UP with this wild story, but she did, and it kept me glued. Sophie walked away from her wedding day, and always wondered if she made the wrong decision.

Very funny and poignant story, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont, by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one). Mrs. Palfrey, a woman of a certain age, moves into an old folks’ home in London. It’s a sort of hotel, but has full time elderly quirky residents.

For one of my book clubs we read Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. This book is so hard to describe. Elizabeth is a wizard at chemistry and struggles to be recognized for her intelligence and research. She meets a man at her company who is brilliant too. They make quite a pair. They have a child, then he suddenly dies. Her work isn’t taken seriously, so she leaves her employment and becomes an overnight phenom on a cooking show where she uses the chemical names for things like sodium chloride, etc. You go alongside her struggles, and her raising of her daughter. LOTS of humor, lots to discuss for a book club.

Horse. Oh my, is it a page turner. Loved it from the first page to the last. Sad when it ended. It’s a fictional creation but based on a real racehorse owned by a black man, back in the 1850s. Technically, the story is about a painting of the horse but there are many twists and turns. If you’ve ever enjoyed Brooks’ books in the past, this one won’t disappoint.

The Book of Lost Names, by Kristin Harmel (no, not Hannah). Certainly a little-known chunk of history about a woman who becomes a master forger during WWII to help get Jewish children out of France. Not easy to read, meaning the difficulty of anyone finding the means and place to DO the forgery and right under the noses of the Nazis. Really good read.

Liane Moriarty’s first novel, Three Wishes, follows the travails of adult triplets, so different, yet similar in many ways. Two are identical, the third is not. So alike, and so not. It takes you through a series of heart-wrenching events, seemingly unrelated, but ones that could bring a family to its breaking point and test the bonds of love and strength.

Recently I’ve read both of Erin French’s books, her cookbook, The Lost Kitchen, and since then her memoir, Finding Freedom. About her life growing up (difficult) about her coming of age mostly working in the family diner, flipper burgers and fries (and learning how much she liked to cook). Now she’s a very successful restaurant entrepreneur (The Lost Kitchen is also the name of her restaurant) in the minuscule town of Freedom, Maine. She’s not a classically trained chef, but she’s terrifically creative. See her TV series on Discover+ if you subscribe.

Jo Jo Moyes has a bunch of books to her credit. And she writes well, with riveting stories. Everything I’ve read of hers has been good. This book, The Girl You Left Behind, is so different, so intriguing, so controversial and a fascinating historical story. There are two timelines here, one during WWI, in France, when a relatively unknown painter (in the style of Matisse) paints a picture of his wife. The war intervenes for both the husband and the wife.

Eli Shafak’s Island of Missing Trees. This book was just a page turner. If you’ve never read anything about the conflict in Cyprus (the island) between the Turks and the Greeks, you’re in for a big history lesson here. But, the entire story centers around a fig tree. You get into the head/brain/feelings of this big fig tree which plays a very central part of the story. You’ll learn a lot about animals, insects (ants, mosquitos, butterflies) and other flora and fauna of Cyprus.

Also read Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty. Ohhh my, such a good book. I couldn’t put it down. Whatever you do, do not read the ending before you start the book. I’ve never understood people who do this. The book chronicles the day a mom just ups and disappears. The grown children come back home, in panic. The dad isn’t much help, and he becomes the prime suspect of foul play. There is no body, however.

If you’d like a mystery read, try Dete Meserve’s The Space Between. It’s just the kind of page-turner I enjoy – a wife returns to her home after being away on business for a few days, to find her husband missing and what he’s left for her is an unexplained bank deposit of a million dollars, a loaded Glock in the nightstand, and a video security system that’s been wiped clean.

Read Alyson Richman’s historical novel called The Velvet Hours. Most of the book takes place in Paris, with a young woman and her grandmother, a very wealthy (but aging) woman who led a life of a semi-courtesan. Or at least a kept woman. But this grandmother was very astute and found ways to invest her money, to grow her money, and to buy very expensive goods. Then WWII intervenes, and the granddaughter has to close up her grandmother’s apartment, leaving it much the way it had been throughout her grandmother’s life, to escape the Nazis. Years go by, and finally answers are sought and found. An intriguing book, based on the author’s experience with an apartment that had been locked up similarly for decades, also in Paris.

Susan Meissner is one of my favorite authors. This book, The Nature of Fragile Things tells a very unusual story. About a young Irish immigrant, desperate to find a way out of poverty, answers an ad for a mail order bride.

Also read Rachel Hauck’s The Writing Desk. You could call this a romance. A young professional, a writer of one successful book, has writer’s block. Then she’s asked to go to Florida to help her mother (from whom she’s mostly estranged) through chemo. She goes, hoping she can find new inspiration.

Also recently finished The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish. The book goes backwards and forwards in time, from the 1600s in London with the day-to-day lives of a group of Jews (who had to be very careful about how they worshiped) to current day as an old house is discovered to hold a treasure-trove of historical papers.

Colleen Hoover has written quite a book, It Ends with Us: A Novel, with a love story being the central theme, but again, this book is not for everyone – it can be an awakening for any reader not acquainted with domestic violence and how such injury can emerge as innocent (sort of) but then becomes something else. There is graphic detail here.

Nicolas Barreau’s novel Love Letters from Montmartre: A Novel  is very poignant, very sweet book. Seems like I’ve read several books lately about grieving; this one has a charming ending, but as anyone who has gone through a grave loss of someone dear knows, you can’t predict day to day, week to week. “Snap out of it,” people say, thinking they’re helping.

Another very quirky book, that happens to contain a lot of historical truth is The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World: A Novel by Harry N. Abrams. Set in Japan just after the tsunami 10 years ago when 18,000 people died. At a private park miles away, some very special people installed a phone booth, with a phone (that didn’t work) at the edge of the park, and the survivors of the tsunami began wending their way there to “talk” to their deceased loved ones. Very poignant story.

No question, the most quirky book I’ve read of late, a recommendation from my friend Karen, West with Giraffes: A Novel by Lynda Rutledge. Back in the 1930s a small group of giraffes were brought across the Atlantic from Africa to New York, destined for the then-growing San Diego Zoo. The story is of their journey across the United States in the care of two oh-so-different people, both with a mission.

Could hardly put down Krueger’s book, This Tender Land: A Novel. Tells the harrowing story of a young boy, Odie, (and his brother Albert) who became orphans back in the 30s. At first there is a boarding school, part of an Indian (Native American) agreement, though they are not Indian. They escape, and they are “on the run.”

Just finished Kristin Hannah’s latest book, The Four Winds: A Novel. What a story. One I’ve never read about, although I certainly have heard about the “dust bowl” years when there was a steady migration of down-and-out farmers from the Midwest, to California, for what they hoped to be the American Dream. It tells the story of one particular family, the Martinellis, the grandparents, their son, his wife, and their two children.

Also finished reading Sue Monk Kidd’s recent book, The Book of Longings: A Novel. It is a book that might challenge some Christian readers, as it tells the tale of Jesus marrying a woman named Mary. I loved the book from the first word to the last one. The book is believable to me, even though the Bible never says one way or the other that Jesus ever married. It’s been presumed he never did. But maybe he did?

Jeanine Cummins has written an eye-opener, American Dirt. A must read. Oh my goodness. I will never, ever, ever look at Mexican (and further southern) migrants, particularly those who are victims of the vicious cartels, without sympathy. It tells the story of a woman and her young son, who were lucky enough to hide when the cartel murdered every member of her family – her husband, her mother, and many others. It’s about her journey and escape to America.

Also read JoJo Moyes’ book, The Giver of Stars. Oh gosh, what a GREAT book. Alice joins the Horseback Librarians in the rural south.

Frances Liardet has written a blockbuster tale, We Must Be Brave. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Although the scene is WWII England, this book is not really about the war. It’s about the people at home, waiting it out, struggling with enough food, clothing and enough heat.

William Kent Krueger wrote Ordinary Grace. From amazon: a brilliantly moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom and the enduring grace of God. It’s a coming of age story.

A Column of Fire: A Novel by Ken Follett. It takes place in the 1500s, in England, and has everything to do with the war between the Catholics and the Protestants, that raged throughout Europe during that time, culminating in the Spanish Inquisition.

My Name Is Resolute by Nancy Turner. She’s the author of another book of some renown, These is my Words:

The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks. This is a memoir, so a true story, of a young man growing up in the Lake District of Northern England, who becomes a shepherd. Not just any-old shepherd – actually a well educated one. He knows how to weave a story.

 

Tasting Spoons

My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.

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Posted in Beef, Miscellaneous, on November 30th, 2023.

There were a couple of posts I’d forgotten about writing up. This one for sure. Herbdacious is an herb paste you prepare in bulk (well, it makes a cup or so) and  you use it judiciously in other things. The meatloaf? With Kalamata olives? How’s that for different?

You have to hand it to chefs these days – well, maybe for a long time. It’s their job to make ordinary things better; or to create some new method of cooking, or combine unusual ingredients to make an all-new flavor of something. The latter is the case here – who would have thought of using Kalamata olives in a meatloaf? Never in a million years would I have created that! I was skeptical. Yet, this meatloaf is delicious. It’s definitely savory – you know what I mean in that some meatloaves have a sweet topping, like ketchup. My old family favorite is one of those with a sweet and sour tomato-based topping. This one – although it does have a bit of honey in it, it’s still a very savory meatloaf.

Over the  years I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Kalamata olives. Early on, I was in love with them, put them in everything. But they’re fairly bitter, and as my taste buds have changed with age (is that a thing?). I do use them occasionally, but not often. My first instinct was to use a different olive, but then I’d be changing the recipe from what Vivian Howard intended, so I did use the Kalamata. Thank goodness they sell them pitted these days. And indeed, I liked them in the meatloaf.

But first, we have to talk about Herbdacious. This is another one of Vivian Howard’s flavor heroes. So what is it, you ask? It’s a thick olive oil, garlic and herb/cheese/lemon juice paste. It stores well in the frig (with a little olive oil film on top to keep it fresh) or you can freeze it. The meatloaf recipe calls for 2/3 cup of Herbdacious. The Herbdacious recipe below makes 2 cups (mostly it’s made in a blender), so you’ll have plenty leftover to use in something else (soup?, a vinaigrette? stew? see below). For ideas, Vivian suggests:

. . . mix with mayo for/on a BLT, slather on corn on the cob, drizzle over bean soup, on grilled or sauteed veggies, over a baked potato, add to guacamole or avocado toast, dot on a tomato or watermelon salad with creamy cheese, slather on bread with cheese for garlic bread, as a green base for pizza, to dress pasta or grain salads, in deviled eggs or egg salad, toss with stale bread to make croutons.

The meatloaf is mixed up like any other meatloaf although it have one unusual ingredients: Greek yogurt. This recipe makes one huge meatloaf. If I made it again, I think I would shape it into two loaves, but if you’re feeding a crowd, then go for the full 2 1/2 pound loaf. Instead of bread crumbs, Vivian calls for crushed saltine crackers. With the herbdacious in it, the mixture is a pretty unusual color – kind of green/brown.  See the photo below, kinda greenish. But the finished product doesn’t look unusual at all.

In her cookbook she included recipes to use herbdacious: a clam dish, as a marinade for leg of lamb, part of Italian meat sauce (gravy), a chicken salad, a new version of Chex Mix (Chex and Cheez-Its, nuts, saltines, bagel chips), a Caesar salad vinaigrette, a zucchini sauce for fettucine, in a citrus salad, and lastly, in mashed potatoes. I haven’t made any of those yet. I should!

If you’re willing to try a very different kind of meatloaf, I recommend this one.

What’s GOOD: the meatloaf is wonderfully moist and flavorful from the Kalamata olives and the sun-dried tomato topping. I’m not a huge fan of sun-dried tomatoes, but this topping was good; I ate it. The meatloaf would make great sandwiches afterwards, and certainly is something I’d be willing to make for guests (since it’s so unusual).

What’s NOT: this has a couple of unusual ingredients, and it makes a huge meatloaf. Am sure it could be scaled down to a 1 1/2-pound variety, however.

MEATLOAF: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

HERBDACIOUS: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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Meatloaf with Herbdacious

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It Taste Good
Servings: 12

1 tablespoon EVOO
2 large onions — finely diced
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt — divided use
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, full fat
2/3 cup Herbdacious
1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted — drained, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup saltine crackers — or bread crumbs
TOPPING:
1/2 cup tomatoes, sun-dried — drained, chopped finely
1 1/2 cups roasted red peppers — drained, chopped
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Warm a 10-inch skillet on medium heat.
3. Dice the 2 onions. Sauté the onions for 10 minutes until translucent and soft. Season the onions with 1 tsp salt and pepper.
4. Add parchment paper to a 9 X 13-inch baking pan.
5. TOPPING: Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, honey, vinegar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a blender. Blend the ingredients until smooth.
6. On a cutting board, roughly chop the Kalamata olives. Measure and then crush the saltine crackers, then set aside.
7. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, Greek Yogurt, Herbdacious, Kalamata olives, beef, crushed saltine crackers, and remaining 1 tsp salt. Gently mix the ingredients in the bowl, not too much to overwork the ingredients.
8. Spray the baking pan with the parchment paper with non-stick spray.
9. Dump the meat mixture on the parchment paper in the baking dish. Shape the meat into a rectangle block, around 3 X 3 X 12-inches. Spread the tomato mixture over the top of the meatloaf, taking care to spread it over all the sides.
10. Bake the meatloaf, on the middle rack, for 1 hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 3-5 minutes before serving.
Per Serving: 396 Calories; 37g Fat (68.1% calories from fat); 22g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 100mg Cholesterol; 1400mg Sodium; 6g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 81mg Calcium; 3mg Iron; 474mg Potassium; 231mg Phosphorus.

. . .

Herbdacious

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It Taste Good
Servings: 12

2 heads garlic — peeled (about 20 cloves)
2/3 cup EVOO
1 cup fresh basil — packed
1/4 cup fresh parsley — packed
1/4 cup fresh dill — packed – or mint, chervil or cilantro
1/4 cup green onions — roughly chopped, green parts only
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated (use a Microplane)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1. In a small saucepan, bring the garlic cloves and olive oil up to a simmer over very low heat. If it begins to sizzle and boil, pull it off the heat and allow it to cool slightly before you return it to the hot eye of the stove. The idea is to slowly poach the garlic in the oil rather than fry it. This could take as long as 20 minutes if you keep the heat extremely moderate. When the garlic is done, it will be soft and just slightly browned.
2. This garlic confit plus its oil are kitchen heroes in their own right and can be used anywhere you want mellow garlic notes. You could stop this recipe right here and save those little garlic bombs in the fridge for a month, as long as they are submerged in oil. Pureed, the cloves are especially useful as a means to thicken and add flavor to sauces.
3. But you don’t get to herbdacious by calling it quits early. Once the garlic confit is completely cool, put it and all the remaining ingredients in the most powerful blender you have and let it rip until the mixture is smooth and green. Store herbdacious in a sealed container in your fridge for up to 2 weeks or in your freezer for up to 3 months. Makes 2 cups.
Per Serving: 148 Calories; 15g Fat (87.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 407mg Sodium; trace Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 125mg Calcium; trace Iron; 33mg Potassium; 72mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous sides, Salads, on October 13th, 2023.

Another favorite of my friend Linda. This is an adult fruit salad.

Do you still have some good, summer fruit available? Maybe some strawberries, although they’re on the back end of summer fruits. Bananas, green grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon. Blueberries add a nice color to the salad. I might add some peaches or nectarines, if they were available. Even kiwi? Linda added some mandarin oranges to her salad.

Likely you have a bottle of Grand Marnier in the back of your liquor cabinet too? And you need fresh lemon juice also – and mint.

If you buy a watermelon, consider cutting it in half and making a bowl from the rind, you know, the kind where you cut the zigzag edge?

When you make this, combine the sugar, lemon juice and Grand Marnier in a big bowl or a big plastic bag, then add the fruit. Stir it around GENTLY so all of the fruit has had a kiss by that Grand Marnier. Refrigerate it for a few hours to marinate the fruits. Serve with sprigs of mint. Lovely.

What’s GOOD: the subtle Grand Marnier flavor, for sure, and just the joy of a lovely fresh fruit salad.

What’s NOT: not a thing.

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Fruit Salad with Grand Marnier

Recipe By: Adapted from Food Network
Servings: 12

6 cups fresh fruit — (watermelon, cantaloupe, green grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas)
1/2 cup sugar
5/8 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
Mint leaves — for garnish

1. If desired, hollow out a watermelon half and slice some off the bottom so it will be stable as a “bowl.” Cut a zigzag edge if you’d like to be creative.
2. In a large container add sugar, lemon juice and Grand Marnier; whisk until blended and sugar is dissolved.
3. Dice all the fruits and add to liquid and toss gently. Let stand in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Pour into watermelon bowl, if using. Garnish with mint.
Per Serving: 35 Calories; trace Fat (0.7% calories from fat); trace Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; trace Sodium; 9g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 1mg Calcium; trace Iron; 13mg Potassium; 1mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous sides, on December 16th, 2022.

Another iteration of a different kind of cranberry sauce.

A post from Carolyn. For Thanksgiving I was invited to go to a distant relative’s home, so this is what I made – this sauce plus my regular old-faithful raw cranberry relish I make every year. This new one came from Cook’s Illustrated, from 1999, my records tell me. It was very simple to make – just water, sugar, some grated fresh ginger, a dash of ground cinnamon (which you can taste in the finished sauce, although it’s elusive, but you know something, something is different about it), salt, cranberries and fresh pears. That’s it.

Preparing it ahead a day or two made it easy; all I had to do was package it up and take it on the drive and pour it out into a pretty dish when I got there. The raw relish I made didn’t last all that long after making it (probably because I used half fake sugar, so it didn’t have as much sugar/preservative to keep it from spoiling). As I write this, it’s been made for over 2 weeks, this sauce, and it’s still delicious. I’ve had it spooned over my morning yogurt, and served along with some roasted chicken I had.

What’s GOOD: easy sauce to make – very delicious. I really, really liked it. It may become a regular that I make every Thanksgiving!

What’s NOT: not a thing. Of course, we can’t make this during the summer unless we’ve frozen a bag of cranberries over the holiday time when they’re available!

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Cranberry Sauce with Pears and Fresh Ginger

Recipe By: Cook’s Illustrated from 1999
Servings: 9

3/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger — grated
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
12 ounces cranberries — picked through
2 medium pears — firm, ripe, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1. BEFORE YOU BEGIN: The cooking time in this recipe is intended for fresh berries. If you’ve got frozen cranberries, do not defrost them before use; just pick through them and add about 2 minutes to the simmering time.
2. Bring water, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and salt to boil in medium nonreactive saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Stir in cranberries and pears; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until saucy, slightly thickened, and about two-thirds of berries have popped open, about 5 minutes. Transfer to nonreactive bowl, cool to room temperature, and serve. Can be covered and refrigerated up to 7 days; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. May keep several weeks longer, although the intense flavor of it might be lessened. It was still good a month after making it.
Per Serving: 127 Calories; trace Fat (0.7% calories from fat); trace Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 67mg Sodium; 28g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 8mg Calcium; trace Iron; 80mg Potassium; 9mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Appetizers, Miscellaneous, on September 1st, 2022.

Having made this as a dip, to eat with pita chips, I had a lot of it – and it went beautifully as a sauce with the tri-tip steak we grilled. Several guests commented how complementary it was to the meat.

A post from Carolyn. There’s been a bit of cooking and entertaining going on in my house lately. Birthdays and then Taylor’s nursing graduation. I made a batch of this dip and had plenty to serve for both events. Happy coincidence. I made the grilled tri-tip for both parties (mostly different people) and this dip, although maybe not the most appetizing color, is really delicious.

The recipe has been in my arsenal for a long time – I might have made it years ago – before I started writing a blog. It’s a Phillis Carey recipe. And I’ll just say – it’s super easy to make. It’s a sour cream based dip but also contains red wine vinegar, some oil, a little brown sugar, garlic, fresh ginger, cumin and salt. The most time consuming thing about this is soaking the dried ancho chiles in boiling water for about 20-30 minutes.

Pasilla Chili Peppers in Bulk | Buy Dried Ancho Peppers There’s a picture at left of some ancho chiles (or chilies). They’re a very dark red/brown. They’re a pasilla/poblano chile that’s been dried. They have tons of flavor, but not much heat. I keep them on hand – although the food experts say if you haven’t used them in a year, buy new ones. I’ve never done that — I have dried chiles that are 5 years old and they seem fine to me. Use  your own judgment.

Anyway, once you have soaked the chiles, you mix up the ingredients in the food processor, then chill for several hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with tortilla chips, with veggie strips, crackers, or as a sauce for grilled meat (shrimp also recommended).

What’s GOOD: so easy to make. Just have dried chiles and sour cream on hand and you will likely have all the other ingredients. Great also as a sauce to grilled meat. It’s not hot – it has a little bit of heat and a lot of flavor.

What’s NOT: nothing, as long as you have the dried chiles on hand.

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Ancho Chile Dip/Sauce

Recipe By: Phillis Carey, about 2005
Servings: 6

3 whole dried ancho chiles — (remove stems and seeds after soaking)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 cloves garlic — minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Place dried chilies in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 20-30 minutes and then drain well. Remove stems and seeds. Tear the chiles into 1″ pieces.
2. Add all ingredients to a food processor and buzz until smooth. This dip will keep 4 to 5 days in refrigerator. Serving ideas: Great with sliced vegetables, with tortilla chips or as a dip for shrimp but also good used to garnish for quesadillas or taquitos. And makes a great sauce to go with steak or a grilled beef something (marinated tri-tip). Garnish bowl with one dried ancho chile, to help identify what it is.
Per Serving: 159 Calories; 15g Fat (85.2% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 19mg Cholesterol; 205mg Sodium; 4g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 39mg Calcium; trace Iron; 59mg Potassium; 28mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Miscellaneous, Vegetarian, on July 29th, 2022.

Wanting something to serve alongside some Italian sausages, this was in my to-try file. 

A post from Carolyn. My granddaughter Taylor, the one who’s about to graduate from nursing school (and move home – so I’ll be an empty nester again) asked me to fix her favorite dinner, the sheetpan sausage one I wrote up a couple of months ago. I said sure enough, I’d do that. I didn’t have asparagus this time, but did have summer squash, a sweet potato, plus a big red onion. I wanted something to go with the sausage, a sauce, or something. This one was in my file to try, so I did. Although I changed the ingredients a little bit and added Castelvetrano olives (if you don’t already know about these, you should – they’re a green ripe olive, Italian, so good). I love capers and liked that they were in this mixture too. So easy with some EVOO, balsamic, lemon juice plus a few Italian herbs.

If time permits, make this a few hours ahead – I didn’t, as it was last-minute, so I made it while the dinner roasted in the oven. The flavors will meld some if you let it rest on the counter for a bit. It’s a very easy concoction to make – and gave the sausages some good oomph. If you like spicy, add some red pepper flakes to the mixture.

All the ingredients I had on hand – I keep those Castelvetrano olives in my frig all the time, and capers, and I try to have red onion on hand. Also, Italian parsley. I still have Meyer lemons on my tree, so that was easy, and EVOO and balsamic. So easy, all of it.

What’s GOOD: went so well with the Italian sausages, but would be good with chicken, pork chops, even hamburgers. Not sure about fish, unless it was a fairly flavorful fish like swordfish. Halibut would work too. Altogether delicious sauce, and am glad I still have some leftover.

What’s NOT: only that you need to have Italian parsley – I have it on hand always, along with cilantro. Our weather is too hot here to grow it or I would!

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Italian Parsley, Caper and Olive Sauce

Recipe By: Adapted from a relish recipe found online
Serving Size: 6

1/4 cup EVOO
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup red onion — finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic — minced
3 tablespoons parsley — chopped
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons Castelvetrano olives — or other green, ripe olive
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs — dried salt and pepper to taste

1. Place all ingredients in a ceramic bowl; mix well. Allow it to sit for a few hours to meld flavors.
2. Serve with grilled beef or pork, Italian sausage, or even pasta. Will keep in the frig for several days.
Per Serving: 93 Calories; 9g Fat (86.9% calories from fat); trace Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 40mg Sodium; 2g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 9mg Calcium; trace Iron; 43mg Potassium; 7mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Fish, Grilling, Miscellaneous, on July 9th, 2022.


A post from Karen. Between late spring and early summer our farmer’s market briefly provides a delectable treat if you know how to use it. Green flower shoots of garlic, referred to as garlic ramps or garlic scapes. Farmers remove these flowers so the hard neck garlic plant can put more energy into producing larger bulbs of garlic. And instead of tossing them into the compost pile, they are much better served in our kitchens in any number of delectable ways.

I like to create a Pesto that I can then use in a number of ways. Do taste test a bit of raw Garlic Scape before you begin. They can really vary in how sharp or mellow their flavor is. You can adjust how much oil, salt and spices (Za’atar) you use accordingly. Pouring olive oil (a thin layer) over the top of the finished pesto helps to “seal” the pesto to prevent spoiling.

An example of how I used the pesto – try some Copper River king salmon filets. We slathered on some of the pesto to coat the top of the fish which was set on a cedar plank. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes, and a little additional salt and fresh ground pepper on top. My DH (Powell) did his magic with it on the BBQ and pulled it off when it was 120°. The finished salmon temp will continue to rise a few more degrees as it rests, before serving. I topped it with a few red onions I had pickled for about 20 minutes in rice wine vinegar and enjoyed this combo too.

Other uses – change up your Caprese salad with a scoop of garlic ramp pesto as a base for your dressing. Add a generous amount to your next batch of Colcannon (Irish mashed potatoes). I had three dear friends who don’t normally eat mashed potatoes go back for seconds and thirds of these! Melt a spoonful in your skillet before making scrambled eggs or sautéed veggies. Use as a base for gremolata or green Chimichurri sauce. I’d love to hear what you come up with!

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Garlic Scape Pesto

Recipe By: Created by Karen T
Servings: 8

10 ounces garlic scapes — cleaned and cut into 1″ pieces
1 cup EVOO — approximate
1/2 tablespoon Himalayan red salt, or substitute other salt
1 tablespoon za’atar — or substitute red pepper flakes, cumin, ground coriander, thyme and paprika
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
zest from one large lemon

1. Add garlic scapes and salt to a food processor or blender and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Drizzle in the olive oil and lemon juice to create a paste. Mine was pretty thick.
3. At this point, store half of the mixture in a glass jar and top it with olive oil. You could also freeze this mixture. With the remaining mixture, add spices and lemon zest and pulse to combine. Store in another glass jar and top with olive oil. Seal and store in the refrigerator.
Per Serving: 240 Calories; 27g Fat (99.2% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 389mg Sodium; trace Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 1mg Calcium; trace Iron; 6mg Potassium; trace Phosphorus.

Posted in Miscellaneous, on January 28th, 2022.

Found this on the Thermoworks website:

BAKED GOODS TEMPERATURE CHART

Baked good Pull Temperature
Chocolate chip cookies 180°F (82°C)
Rich-dough breads 180–190°F (82–88°C)
Lean-dough breads 190–210°F (88–99°C)
Quick breads, muffins, cornbread, biscuits, scones 200–205°F (93–96°C)
Cake, cupcakes, angel food cake 200–209°F (93–98°C)
Molten (lava) cake 160°F (71°C)
Pound cake 210°F (99°C)
Crème brûlée, flan, pumpkin pie 170–175°F (77–79°C)
Bread pudding, quiche, meringue pies 160°F (71°C)
Cheesecake 150°F (66°C)

Posted in Miscellaneous, on January 14th, 2022.

Another new way to use rhubarb. 

A post from Carolyn. On Saturday last, New Year’s Day, I was alone at home, content to watch the Rose Parade with the fireplace blazing, warm and cozy inside. I decided it was an appropriate day to make a nice dinner for myself. I’d had some duck in the freezer for a really long time (I’m not even going to tell you how long . . .). It was a duck half, partially cooked already, vacuum sealed. It needed about 25 minutes of heating through in a 350°F oven and it was juicy and bubbling. Originally the duck came with a packet of sauce to go with it, but I couldn’t locate it in the freezer, so I glanced at a shelf nearby (in the freezer) and spotted rhubarb that I’d chopped up and frozen some months ago. And sure enough, I had a chutney recipe in my files.

The recipe actually had you make it all in the microwave, but I decided to just do it stovetop instead. I sweated some minced yellow onion in apple juice (I used frozen concentrate diluted 1-to-1, not 1-to-3 as the package instructed), then added garlic and red pepper flakes to the mixture. The rhubarb had a little bit of sugar sprinkled over it already and was still partially frozen, but the cooking defrosted it in short order, especially since rhubarb is made up of a lot of water – the heat and steam took care of that in a jiffy. Golden raisins were added – nothing else – not even more sugar, nor salt. It was perfect. I didn’t cook it long as I didn’t want the rhubarb to disintegrate. My mother used to make rhubarb sauce and cooked it way too long – I like to see some definition in the rhubarb pieces. So it was simmered for a bare 3-5 minutes and it was done. I let it sit with the lid on it for about half an hour to blend the flavors a bit, then cooled it and refrigerated it to serve later.

The night before I’d made a vegetarian entrée (fresh Portobello mushrooms chopped up, garlic, onion, zucchini, some little dabs of cream cheese and grated Grana Padano) and had leftovers of that. So my dinner was complete with the roasted duck, the rhubarb chutney and the mushroom side dish.

What’s GOOD: loved the sweet/sour taste of the chutney. Easy to make, and I’ll use the leftovers for something with chicken, probably. It would work even on my morning yogurt, for that matter.

What’s NOT: only that you need to procure rhubarb. I try to freeze some when rhubarb is in season so I can use it at a later date.

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Rhubarb Chutney

Recipe By: Found on fareshare website
Serving Size: 6

1/3 cup onion — finely minced
1 clove garlic — minced
1 tablespoon apple juice frozen concentrate — plus 1 tablespoon water
2 cups rhubarb — chopped, frozen, defrosted
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons sugar — or less – taste it
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

NOTE: If you have just apple juice, use 1/4 cup and simmer it for about 2-3 minutes to reduce it by 1/2, to about 2 tablespoons.
1. In a medium saucepan add the apple juice concentrate and onion. Cook over low heat for about 3-4 minutes until onion has begun to soften, but the juice is still very visible.
2. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Add all the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and cook over very low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring several times. Taste the rhubarb for sugar – add in small amounts until it suits your taste. Don’t allow rhubarb to fall apart.
3. Put a lid on the pan and set aside for about 20 minutes, then cool. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving alongside poultry, duck or firm-fleshed fish.
Per Serving: 63 Calories; trace Fat (1.7% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 5mg Sodium; 12g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 44mg Calcium; trace Iron; 200mg Potassium; 17mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Beef, Miscellaneous, on April 11th, 2021.

argentinian_steak_red_chimichurri_sauce

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Listen up. You just gotta make this. I can’t praise this enough. If you like steak, this is your lucky day. The recipe was demonstrated on Milk Street, and Jim Hirsch, one of the producers, went to Argentina and his job, with the film crew, was to find out what makes Argentinian steak so special. Certainly steak is the signature dish of Argentina. They raise a LOT of beef cattle in the country. My granddaughter, Sabrina, spent 5 months in Argentina (not exactly a happy experience, I’m sorry to say, even though it was through her university college exchange program). But she told me she had steak similar to this when she was there.

Normally, in Argentina, steak is grilled outside, on a grill that has an adjustable grate level – in other words, you can lower it to be close to the coals, or way up high (more like 10-12 inches), away from the wood coals. Most restaurants make this steak with a 2-hour grilling. Can you imagine? Likely they do that to have a very precise control over the temperature.

strip_steak_seasonedOnce the Milk Street crew returned to Boston, they began trying to recreate this steak (using American/different equipment) – and the chimichurri sauce. Speaking of the sauce, you may be familiar with green chimichurri sauce (that’s all I’d ever had prior to making this). This red sauce is a strange combination of things – 1/4 cup sweet paprika, 1/4 cup red pepper flakes (yes, really), and 1/4 cup dried oregano, and lastly 3/4 cup of neutral oil. Added later, garlic and balsamic vinegar. If you’ve ever watched Chris Kimball (he’s the guy who started Cook’s Illustrated, but was ousted some years ago and started Milk Street) you know that he does not like spicy heat. Not that he’s into bland food, but heat bothers his palate. So when they were making this in the test kitchen, when he was asked to add 1/4 CUP of red pepper flakes, he said oh-no, no, I won’t be able to eat this. The chef pleaded with him to follow the recipe and he might be surprised. And indeed he was, and so was I.

At left is the photo of the beautiful New York strip steak, 2” thick, with the rub on it (having rested in the frig for 24 hours), on a rack, before it went into the oven. One of these steaks will serve at least 2 people, maybe even 3 people.

There are a few steps to making this:

1. Make a rub of black pepper, freshly grated nutmeg (lots of it) and sugar. Put it on the 2” thick steak.

2. Place the steak on a rack, open, in the refrigerator, for 24 hours.

3. Put the steak in a 250°F oven for about 45 minutes. Remove it and let it rest for 30 minutes.

4. Make the sauce.

5. Grill the steak in a searing hot pan on the stove (or do this on your outdoor grill) to caramelize the two sides, then let it rest for 10 minutes. Get the rest of the meal ready.

6. Slice the steak across the grain, in 1/4” thick slices, plate it and drizzle the sauce on the ends and offer more sauce at the table.

red_chimichurri_cookingThe sauce takes no time, really, to make, but there are steps to making it also. In a skillet you combine the oil, paprika, red chili flakes and the oregano, and cook it over very low heat (never allowing it to boil) for 5-7 minutes. Then you add the garlic, and let it cool. Once cool, you add the balsamic vinegar and salt. The photo at right is before it even cooked – so you can see the ingredients.

When Chris Kimball tasted the sauce, he first barely touched his bite of steak with the oily part of the sauce, as he was not thinking he could eat it. He was surprised, and my friend Linda and I (when we made it) were also amazed that our mouths weren’t burning up. The guesswork is that the addition of 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar somehow tempers the spicy, fiery heat of 1/4 cup of red pepper flakes.

The only thing I’ll say is that you need a meat thermometer for this recipe – I eat my steak medium-rare, and you remove the steak from the oven when it reaches 110°F (about 10-15 degrees below that magic medium-rare temp). I did that, but during the resting time, the temp went up nearly 10 degrees, and once I seared it, it went up even more. We got it out of the pan at about 128°F, which is a few degrees higher than I wanted. So watch it carefully.

What’s GOOD: I absolutely LOVE-LOVED this steak and the sauce. Definitely well enough to make it again. You do need to plan ahead 24 hours, and make sure you have a whole pod of nutmeg for each steak. You do not taste nutmeg in the rub when eating it. It’s uncanny there could be so much nutmeg on the rub and you wouldn’t taste it in the finished steak (although I was able to taste it when I ate the leftovers, cold). And the sauce – oh my goodness. So good. Very easy – make it the day ahead to save time if you’d like. It’s also uncanny there is so much red pepper in the sauce and I could eat it. I won’t say I ate copious quantities, but I certainly ate some with every bite, and went back for more.

What’s NOT: only that the steak is expensive (do buy a good one, though I did choose choice, not prime beef); however, one steak will feed 2 people, maybe 3. You do have to visit a butcher, as the steak must be 2” thick. I don’t know of any grocery store that has pre-cut 2” steaks. The nearly one pound steak cost me $29. The recipe is for feeding 4, so twice that amount. And you do need to plan ahead, as I mentioned, so the steak can sit in the frig for 24 hours.

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Grilled and Oven-Baked Argentinian Strip Steak with Red Chimichurri

Recipe By: Milk Street, Jim Hirsch
Serving Size: 5

STEAK:
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg — from two whole nutmeg pods
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 strip beef strip steaks — (about 20 ounces each) about 2″ thick, patted dry
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil — or other neutral oil
RED CHIMICHURRI SAUCE:
3/4 cup neutral oil
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup red pepper flakes
1/4 cup dried oregano — do not use fresh
2 medium garlic cloves — finely grated
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
kosher salt

NOTES: Using this much red pepper flakes seems like WAY too much. You can reduce the amount by about a tablespoon, but apparently the balsamic vinegar tempers the heat. This red chimichurri is not as well known in the U.S. as the green herb style.
1. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, the nutmeg and sugar. Measure out and reserve 2 teaspoons of the seasoning mixture, then rub the remainder onto all sides of the steaks, pressing it into the meat. Place the steaks on the prepared rack and refrigerate uncovered for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
2. Heat the oven to 250°F with a rack in the middle position.
3. Place the baking sheet with the steaks in the oven and cook until the centers reach 110°F, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for up to 30 minutes.
4. In a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until barely smoking. Place the steaks in the skillet and cook, without moving them, until well browned, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip the steaks and cook until the second sides are well browned and the centers reach 120°F (for medium-rare), 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Transfer the steaks to a large plate and let rest for 10 minutes. Alternatively, the steaks can be seared for the same time over direct heat on a very hot charcoal or gas grill with a well-oiled grate.
6. Transfer the steaks to a carving board and cut into thin slices. Place on a platter, pour on the accumulated juices and sprinkle with the reserved seasoning mixture.
7. SAUCE: In a small saucepan over low, combine oil, paprika, pepper flakes and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to bubble, 5-7 minutes. Do not allow it to come to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in garlic. Let cool to room temp.
8. In a medium bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp salt and stir until salt dissolves. Slowly whisk in the cooled oil mixture.
Per Serving: 500 Calories; 42g Fat (73.2% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 47mg Cholesterol; 59mg Sodium; 7g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 71mg Calcium; 4mg Iron; 521mg Potassium; 215mg Phosphorus.

Posted in Miscellaneous, on December 15th, 2020.

cranberry_caponata

A caponata made with cranberries, you ask? Yup. What’s in it: cranberries, apples, capers, tomato, pine nuts, raisins and Kalamata olives. I know, sounds strange, but it’s not.

For many years I’ve had the nicest fellow, Dan, who installs and fixes my computer, network, router, wi-fi issues in my house. And he knows that I write a food blog, so every once in awhile, he sends me a link to some food related video or post about food. I can count on the fact that anything he sends me will be unusual. In this instance, he sent me to a youtube video link performed by Harper and Ava, a cute young married couple who live in Maine. He’s an American, and his wife is a native Italian (Calabria), with a semi-thick accent. In this particular video, Harper challenged his wife, Ava, to make a Thanksgiving dinner, but in her own Italian style. She was a teacher (in Italy) but she’s also a very good cook. Here’s the youtube link. If you develop an interest in them, there are lots of other videos, but the best one is the one where they share how they met and how the romance managed with her being in Italy and he in California. Then, how Covid interrupted their long-distance romance.

 

This dish is one that she fixed for Harper, her rendition of an Italian-American Thanksgiving. Caponata is a savory Italian appetizer, usually containing eggplant, maybe celery, onion, capers, pine nuts, olives, red bell peppers, tomato. So Ava came up with this version, using the cranberries instead of eggplant, I guess it is. She gave it a very Italian name, so I shortened it to Cranberry Caponata. And this is to be served with the turkey. Harper said it was his favorite thing about Ava’s version of Thanksgiving.

cranberry_caponata_cookingOnion and celery are sautéed in EVOO, then you begin adding other ingredients, with the cranberries coming in last. Ava used much bigger pieces of apple than I did – maybe next time I’d do that as the apples were kind of lost in the mixture, and they’re certainly not a standard addition to caponata. Adding Kalamata olives intrigued me too (thank goodness I had some pitted ones in the refrigerator. Then there are pine nuts and raisins in there too, and the tomato paste adds a lot of good flavor. At the end you add in a little splash of balsamic vinegar. Genius!

What’s GOOD: loved the savory flavor – this is nothing like a sweet cranberry sauce. It would be great with a turkey, a roast chicken (what I did for my Thanksgiving dinner) and roast pork. Liked the texture – the pine nuts, the raisins, the olives.

What’s NOT: nothing comes to mind . . . if you’re looking for a sweet type side, this isn’t it, although you could make it so with more sugar.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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Cranberry Caponata

Recipe By: Pasta Grammar on youtube
Serving Size: 12

3 tablespoons EVOO
12 ounces fresh cranberries
2 apples — honeycrisp, cubed
2 stalks celery — chopped
1 yellow onion — halved and sliced
1 large tomato — cubed, or use canned, diced style with juice
2 tablespoons capers — diced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 1/2 tablespoons raisins — black or golden
1/2 cup Kalamata olives — pitted, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tablespoons brown sugar — or more to taste (or brown sugar substitute)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt Fresh black pepper

1. In a large sautè pan, bring a generous pour of olive oil up to medium heat on the stovetop. Add the onion and sautè for 3 minutes, then add the celery. Cover and cook for an additional 5 minutes. If the celery and onion risk burning, add a splash of warm water into the pan.
2. Add the olives, capers and pine nuts. Stir all together and cook for a further 3 minutes, covered. As before, add some water if the caponata risks burning.
3. Add the tomatoes and a splash of water. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, covered.
4. Meanwhile, dissolve the tomato paste in a 1/2 cup (120ml) of water.
5. After the tomatoes have cooked for 5 minutes, add the apples and cranberries, along with the tomato paste mixture, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cook covered, adding water as necessary, for about 10-15 minutes or until the apples have softened but not completely dissolved. Cool completely before serving along roasted poultry or pork.
Per Serving: 103 Calories; 5g Fat (41.8% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 15g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 93mg Sodium; 10g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 24mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 185mg Potassium; 28mg Phosphorus.

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