Our rains have subsided, mostly. It rained again last night, and my DH was out in it trying to keep any one place from flooding.

In the picture at left is a view of our front entrance. The rear part you see is the parking area behind our house. (We can park about 8-10 cars back there if they’re arranged like sardines.) You come down those steps to get to our front door, where I’m standing under an awning so I don’t get soaking wet. And there’s my favorite Meyer lemon tree on the left.

It’s actually a bit hard to see, but these photos were taken during a very heavy rain a few days ago, and you can see the water gushing down the steps. It’s a rapidly flowing stream of water just rolling constantly off the steps. Because the drain way up in the back of the photo couldn’t take the volume of water pouring into it, all the excess water comes flooding down the steps. The pump is working away on the left (where the hose is connected just to the left of the lowest lemon) trying to take overload water off about 60 feet to our downward hill. Fortunately, the rain slowed down before it began to fill up like a lake again.

On the right  you can see one of the drains from our gutters which is just gushing out at a VERY fast pace. There is a drain just below the spout, but it also is overloaded, so the area by our front door was beginning to fill up. Fortunately, as I mentioned, the rain slowed down and we didn’t have an overflow anywhere. The water is about 1-1 1/2 inches deep there.

And finally at left, there’s a photo just outside our front door. With the sandbags standing sentry. I know these photos don’t begin to show the severity since my camera captured a quick moment in time. A moment when you can’t even see the millions of raindrops!

We still haven’t determined exactly what we’re going to do – to fix these drain issues. Yet. We’re working on it. We are having two very large trees (one behind the Meyer lemon) removed. It’s a ficus tree, and should never have been planted in an area with area drains or sewers. Ficus have invasive roots. We’d hoped to not have to remove them, as they’re really beautiful, mature trees. But we finally decided they have to go.

This week, amidst our thundering rainstorms, I received an email from a friend, Yvette. She informed me that she’d not known about my page of Favorites on my blog. And after finding it, she made a New Year’s Resolution to, over the course of 2010, make every one of my TOP favorites – I haven’t counted them, but perhaps there are 25+ of them. She also told me that some of the links were broken on that page. And sure enough, she was right about that. In between sweeping rain into drains and keeping an eagle eye on the back door that could flood, I worked on fixing all those broken links. Gee, there were a lot of them. And in the process I added a few new sets of asterisks to the list.

When I started writing this blog I never did establish a way to give myself marks, or stars, or a grading system for my own recipes. Over the course of the nearly 3 years I’ve posted here, there are very few recipes I’d never make again. There are a few, but I was upfront about it and told you a recipe didn’t meet my expectations. And why.

But meanwhile, I do have a BUNCH of recipes that far exceed my critical taste buds. The kind that I can’t wait to make again and again. So when I had a new design done on my blog, I decided to create a favorites page (if you go to my home page you’ll see a tab at the top far right that says “Carolyn’s Fav’s”). That’s the one. When you follow through on that link you’ll find a list of about 60+ recipes that are my favorites, with some of them showing asterisks ****** at the end of the recipe title. Those are my absolute all-time favorites. Better than 5-star. Requiring lots of superlatives.

The other day I received an email from a long-time friend, Joanne, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland (her recipe for Syrian Pita Bread Salad is one of my top favorites, by the way). She was planning a big party for a group of friends and asked my advice about some of my appetizer recipes she wanted to make. I gave her some ideas from my list.  She ended up making the Coriander Lime Shrimp and the Crostini with Blue Cheese, Apples, Watercress & Honey. She emailed me after the party to tell me that those two recipes were the hit of the gathering. Warms the cockles of my heart to hear that!

So, if you’re new to my blog, or in need of some new inspiration, I’d suggest you head over to my Favorites page and find something there to try. Then let me know if YOU liked it.

A year ago: Wild & Brown Rice (not one of my stellar recipes, actually, so see, I do have some that don’t make the favorites cut)
Two years ago: Roast Pork Tenderloin with Fennel

Oh my goodness gracious. Rain. You’ve probably heard we’ve been having rain here in Southern California. It’s unbelievable. On Monday we had such a torrential rain that it overwhelmed the area drains around our house. The dozens of small 3-inch drains around the exterior of our house work fine under normal conditions. But not with the downpour that occurred. Water began pouring in a back door because our driveway (which is above the level of our home) just funneled water towards the house and the drains just couldn’t handle it. Too hard to explain, but water poured in our back hallway (underneath the door, pictured below), down into our wine cellar, and flooded into our family room about 6-8 feet. I was busily shoving pool towels everywhere I could, but it couldn’t begin to staunch the water flow. I took this picture above from inside our living room. At that moment in time this morning it wasn’t raining. We also had water seep into a downstairs bedroom (where we’ve had a problem before). We spent thousands of dollars getting a water barrier put in so it wouldn’t happen again. Uh, well, something didn’t work right because we did have more water, although nothing like it was before the repairs were done some years ago.

At right is a photo of our back hallway door (a door we never use). Those are dry towels waiting for the next onslaught. During the worst of it on Monday, I had dozens of towels by the door, which hardly made a dent in the flow. The water was up the door about 6 inches, so if I’d opened that door we’d have had a much bigger flood. Now we have a sump pump ready to operate during the next storm, expected today.

When we bought this house about 6 years ago, I can’t say that I gave much thought to rain/water/drain issues. We live in a desert environment, and although we do get rain every winter, it hardly makes a blip most of the time. We knew from the home inspection that we could have a problem, and tried to rectify the specific areas as best we could. We have our drains cleared fairly regularly (hmmm, not often enough, obviously). What we didn’t know was that an end cap on one of the gutters had come off so water from our roof was pouring down into a small flat pad just outside this door pictured. We’ll get that fixed as soon as we can. We’ve plugged the gutter end with a towel. Won’t stop the flow, but should force most of the water to flow to the other end where it might go out the drains.

Here’s a view from our front door looking west. The pool is out past the opening there. During the worst of the rain, water was coming towards the front door like a small river because our next door neighbors had a flood too, and water seeks its lowest level, so it poured over to our side. Unfortunately the ground here is not level, but tilts back toward the house. Don’t know if it’s always been that way or not. Surely that’s not what  you’d want. We’ve never had a problem with THIS before.

Rain filled up this area (and further back from where I’m standing) like a lake, and rose, and rose, to the point that it began seeping into our front door (up about 3-4 inches above the brick entranceway). The rain was so heavy we couldn’t begin to help. I stood in our doorway, in tears, knowing there was nothing at all we could do. Thank God, the rain subsided just as I was moving in more towels, pulling our Turkish rug out of harm’s way, pulling furniture out of our front hallway. Trying to find more and more towels. Trying to protect the hard wood flooring from damage.

The French drain shown at right looks so innocuous there. But debris can so easily fill it up when you have a lake covering the drain altogether.

There are people in the world, like Haiti, who are suffering terribly, and would probably welcome rain. Our problems are trivial when you compare the two.

I’ve been under the weather lately. I’m now on day 33 of an upper respiratory infection (bronchitis). Prescription meds have been used up and now my body just has to get rid of the last remnants. It’s been a hard fight, obviously, because I still have a pretty awful cough and I still don’t feel good. My Christmas stuff is still decorating the house – haven’t felt up to un-decorating it yet. This bug is just hanging onto me for dear life. My GP says I’m rid of the wheezing (fortunately) and it will just take a bit more time. I’ve never – ever – had a cough that’s been this bad. I’ve never smoked, and I haven’t ever had asthma, but the first doctor I saw in an emergency clinic two weeks ago thought I had both. Anyway, there hasn’t been a whole lot of cooking going on in my kitchen lately. We’ve been pulling out frozen stuff (mostly soups) and my DH has been making trips to local eateries for some take-out. Not fast food since neither of us like that stuff much. I’m not even up to going “out.” I’d rather stay home.

I did walk out to our patio at sunset one evening last week and this was the view:

On the left, at the horizon is Catalina Island (the dark left-to-right strips – it’s 25 miles from the coast to the islands).

There’s also a little update about the Wensleydale cheese I wrote about a week or so ago. Our local Costco (a larger Costco, a bit further away) does carry the cheese year ‘round. I also heard from one of my loyal readers, Cindee, who tells me that Wallace & Gromit adore this cheese. I didn’t know anything about Wallace  & Gromit until then – have never seen any of their movies. Will have to add them to my Netflix queue. As the story goes, the Wensleydale cheese factory was floundering some years ago until by chance the cheese made an appearance with Wallace & Gromit. Since then the cheese has been flying high, the company came out of its slump, and in England they now market the cheddar with a Wallace & Gromit package:

Isn’t that just a kick? And, I’m happy to report that my DH bought more of the cheese with this kind of packaging:

So, stay tuned. I’m not blogging daily, and won’t be until I feel better and have begun cooking again – so I’ll have something to BLOG about.

A year ago: Ground Beef Moussaka

Two years ago: Creamy Leek Soup

Lots of other bloggers do a year in review, and I thought it would be a good idea. Just in case you didn’t happen to be in the mood for some of the recipes I blogged about when you read them. But now might be different. So here are my favorite recipes I posted in ‘09:

Butterscotch Pudding – made with real Scotch in it. Heavy-duty on flavor. Not difficult to make, either.

Caesar Salad Dressing – an easy, really easy dressing made with mayo. It’s my go-to Caesar dressing now.

Garbanzo, Feta & Cilantro Salad – a wonderful summer dish, but really could be served any time of year. The flavors are just bursting within that little bowl above.

Mahogany Onions (appetizer) – the onions, cooked until they’re almost black (but not, or they’d be burned) and served on little toasts.

Bing Cherry Compote – never thought fresh cherries could taste so good – cooked, that is, into a compote that is sensational over ice cream. Has red wine in it, but the cherries aren’t cooked much so they hold their shape.

Cook’s Illustrated’s Tiramisu – I learned so much about the definitive method of making tiramisu when I watched this on America’s Test Kitchen. Best tiramisu I’ve ever had.

Savory Tomato Pie – never knew good, summer tomatoes in season could taste so good in a pie. Just the right combo of cheese. Nice crust. Wonderful stuff.

Woodford Pudding – similar (if not the same as) an English Jam Pudding. I think it was the quantity of jam that had discouraged me from making this, but I was totally bowled over with the taste. A keeper.

Bombay Cheese Ball – not like the cheese balls of yore – this one is full of flavor, with a hint of curry, and then topped with all kinds of wonderful things like shredded coconut, dried cranberries and a bunch of chutney.

Italian Sausage, Tomato and Cannellini Bean Soup – an exceedingly EASY soup to make. Can be done in less than an hour, maybe even less than 30 minutes – but it’s ever so much better if allowed to cool, chill, then reheat.

Cranberry-Pecan & Apple Salad – brilliant flavors, ideal for the holidays since it’s fresh cranberries. The chopped cranberries mixed with the apples and pecans just make a wonderful combination – kind of like the old waldorf salad, but better.

This year I was asked to bring dessert to the large family Christmas Eve celebration. And since there would be over 20 people in attendance, I needed something that served a lot of people. I found this recipe in my to-try file. I’ve had it around since 2005. But the recipe’s credentials are very blue-ribbon worthy as it won a Sunset Magazine contest that year, for the dessert category.

Roasted sweet potatoes (the orange-flesh yam type ones) are combined with typical cheesecake ingredients, but with some added fall spices, and baked in a nut crust. The original recipe, submitted by Kari Bowers of Bellevue, Washington, had a pecan and flour crumbly crust. I changed that in order to make this eat-friendly for my cousin Gary, who is wheat intolerant. If you’d prefer to make the prize-winning crust, just go to the Sunset site. This version is made with a ground pecan-cinnamon-butter crust. Very simple. In any case, my version here, is gluten-free. Generally, cheesecake is already GF, but I merely changed the crust to a nut crust.

Don’t attempt to make this if you’ve got 5 other things you’re making for a special dinner. It takes time and a whole lot of bowls and dishes. It’s not difficult to make, just time consuming. But probably no more than any cheesecake, if that’s any better explanation. It is recommended that you make this a day or two ahead. I slightly increased the recipe, since I wanted to serve more people, so mine is certainly taller than the original recipe. I also had to bake it longer too, in order to get it to the just-barely-jiggling-in-the-center done-ness.

People who submitted comments to the Sunset site talked about how good it was, but many mentioned the texture – super smooth. Like silk, one person wrote. It definitely served 20, and it definitely was fine 3 days later, even. Velvety smooth texture. We liked the nut crust, actually. The maple whipped cream was very nice, although I couldn’t really pick out the maple syrup added – I guess there were so many flavors going on in the cheesecake, I couldn’t really taste the maple in the whipped cream. We needed and wanted more whipped cream than the recipe indicated, so plan on whipping up about double the quantity. I’d make this again, with no changes to the recipe except the whipped cream topping. Delicious. Particularly lovely for Fall. Or Thanksgiving.

A year ago: Cranberry Porter Trifle (the dessert I made for last year’s Christmas Eve dinner – it was delicious too)

I won’t have any time to blog today. Actually, I’ve been sick as a dog for about 14 days or so, bronchitis, laryngitis and a very bad cough. My DH and I came down with “it” the same day. What a drag having both of us sick at the same time, and gosh does this bug ever hang on! I’m surely tired of feeling puny. Plus, there’s hardly any cooking going on in the Tasting Spoons’ kitchen, either. So here’s a little Christmas humor:

Dear Santa:

I finally figured it out. I’ve been doing really good in school and I learned about how the earth is round. I wondered how you could give gifts to the whole earth the same night. But maybe, if you start over there on the other side of the world when it’s getting dark, and then come to us when we get dark, it makes sense. I was wondering if our town could be like a rest stop for you – where we could give you things other than cookies, things like Gatorade and new ropes for the sleigh, and reindeer food so they don’t get tired. Anyway, think about it. And my teddy bear has holes, if you wouldn’t mind replacing it. . . . Terry, age 11

. . . from Dear Santa: Kids’ Letters to Ol’ St. Nick

I do wish for all of you a happy, healthy and fun-filled Christmas. And if you’re amongst the millions of Christians around the world, do remember that it’s Christ’s birth we’re celebrating.

Over the last few years I’ve stopped buying Christmas “stuff.” As much as I love it, surely at my stage in life I should have enough, right? The things I do have, I treasure. Like these little guys. They’re actually candle snuffers, but I never use them as such. I bought them in England some years ago; thought they were just too cuuuute. Love the “attitude” of the guy on the left. And she’s on the right, embarrassed because he told a dirty joke, I think. He’s saying “Whaaat?” to her questioning him. Or at least that’s what I conjure about them. The eggnog pitcher in the background is something I did buy about 2-3 years ago – it wasn’t all that expensive (probably made in China). And I never use it. It’s just part of my Christmas decor. Actually the mice aren’t strictly Christmas. There’s nothing about them that’s red. But for whatever reason, they live in my Christmas boxes and are brought out each year to decorate some nook or cranny in my house.

A year ago: Seafood Bisque
Two years ago: Rocky Road (yum, a favorite)

In my kitchen we have a large island. A REALLY huge island. It’s actually 9 feet square. In order to fit in all the appliances, a bar-stool seating area and sufficient storage, we kinda-sorta had to make the island that big. Perhaps some people who visit my kitchen think I’m crazy, but I love the large island. I do kitchen prep on two sides – the one I’m standing on here where I took the picture, and the other one just to the right (where I do more baking). Normally we have a large artificial plant (a big, wide and low white orchid) that sits just in front of that post (that holds up the 2nd floor of the house). When I’m doing food prep I can see the television off in the family room. (Dave was sitting there watching a football game, can you tell?)

But at Christmas time I use a ladder to crawl up on top of the island. I sit, cross-legged with my decorations around me and move, fiddle, and arrange whatever my current theme is. This year I decided to enhance colors in the beigy-brown and gold-streaked granite countertop. You can’t really see it but underneath all that stuff is a huge piece of gold tulle. Flecked with gold. It left jillions of random gold flecks all over the island and my slacks! Anyway, this year, from my Christmas boxes, I pulled out all the gold and white stuff, with accents of brown, to put in this display.

For many years I rewarded myself, on December 26th, with some new Christmas decor item at half price. I’ve added to it too, with little things here and there. I bought the sweeping white wooden reindeer in Colorado some years ago. He’s so stately. I found him in a clothing store, of all places, in Steamboat Springs. And he was for sale – he was part of the store’s displays, but I spotted him right off. So there’s your peek into my kitchen today.

Two years ago: Hot Buttered Rum (oh yea, good stuff, a recipe from a ski resort in Montana, I think it was . . . really, REALLY good stuff made with melted vanilla ice cream, then you add hot water – easy to make, and the concentrated mix keeps for months in the refrigerator!)

Gosh, Thanksgiving is barely past, and now it’s time to think about making Christmas goodies. Cookies, breads, a cake or two, some soups to have on hand, a casserole or two in the freezer for a big family meal (ones that will appeal to grandchildren). So, I thought I’d give you a list of the things I’m going to be making this month. Well, I must say, as I’ve compiled this list, I likely will not make every one of them. But these are the tried-and-true recipes that I turn to in December. If I positively am going to make them, you’ll read about it in the write-up about the item.

Chocolate Scones – I mean, if you’re going to indulge in scones, why not make them decadent as heck and add chocolate to them. They’re luscious.
Cranberry-Orange Scones – perfect for the holidays. You could make these on Christmas morning if you have guests to feed. Eat them all right then, and freeze any leftovers.
Panettone Bread – it was just last December that I decided to make my own, from a recipe on Baker’s Banter (the King Arthur Flour food blog). Mine had candied ginger, dried apricots, chocolate chips, walnuts and raisins in it. Made fabulous morning toast! I’ll be making it again this year.
Breakfast Eggy Muffins – very easy. These will be your complete breakfast (egg, bacon and bread) all in one fell swoop. You need soft bread to make the cup part. I’ve made these over and over, although they do have to be made just before baking. From my food blogging friend in England, Marie.
Ham & Egg Pesto Cups – another option for a breakfast in a muffin cup. Very easy as long as you have some thin-sliced ham on hand. And pesto.
Spiced Peaches – an old favorite – canned peaches done in a sweet and sour syrup. Perfect for serving alongside a sumptuous brunch.
Pineapple Upside/Down French Toast – a big casserole using King’s Hawaiian bread and canned pineapple. Very sweet. A family favorite.
Bishop’s Bread – I make these every year, without fail. This year will include several loaves, for sure. I don’t like fruitcake, so these, filled with chopped-up maraschino cherries, walnuts and chocolate chips are perfection to me. What’s there not to like about that combination?

Applesauce Spice Cake with Caramel Icing – a very nice Fall dessert that’s easy and filled with good flavor. Don’t eliminate the icing because that makes it.
Chocolate Steamed Pudding – if you like steamed puds, this one may satisfy. I’m not much for suet steamed pudding, with raisins, dates, citron, etc. So when I found this recipe about 30 years ago, it became a favorite. You can make it ahead. It’s not overly sweet. I probably enjoy it more than my family does, so I probably won’t be making it this year.
Gingerbread Pudding Cake – perfect for the holidays, or anytime in the Fall. I enjoy gingerbread, but often it’s a bit on the dry side, so this one comes with its own moistening sauce.
Pear Crisp with Vanilla Brown Butter – this was awesome when I made it earlier this year. You need a whole lot of pears, but the brown butter sauce just lifts this dessert to an all new level.
Escoffier’s Peppers for Cold Meats – this is a red pepper based condiment that also contains some onions. It’s absolutely wonderful on sandwiches, or as a side condiment to serve with some leftover cold meat, like turkey or roast beef. I made these again yesterday – to have with a big pulled pork dinner we’re doing for 18 people today. Perfect for the true Kansas City kind of barbecue.
Peppered Pecans – I make these in quantity when I do make them – they add a really nice touch in salads. Even if you don’t have time to make a big “fancy” green salad, add these to a simple salad, and it makes it special. They keep on your kitchen shelf for several weeks. Easy to make. It’s merely black pepper, not chiles in it. They’re zesty, though.
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If you need to have some casseroles or easy meals on hand for a crowd, look no further. I could have made this part of the list infinitely longer, but chose just the best for family meals.
Chili Spaghetti – like Cincinnati chili. This is a chili, just layered in a casserole with cooked pasta and ample grated Cheddar cheese. The kids will love it and adults will too.
Mister Charlie – an old favorite, a kind of Italian pasta casserole. Nothing all that fancy or different. But very tasty and you can make it ahead.
Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce – this really is a side dish, not a main. But it’s so incredibly easy (canned tomatoes, cream cheese and hot pasta added in). You could easily add some diced turkey to this and make it a meal with a big green salad. This dish is amazingly delicious.
Italian Sausage Soup with Tomatoes – a recent addition to my repertoire. I’ve made it twice in the last couple of months, it’s so gosh darned good. It should freeze fine, although none of it has lasted long enough to go in the freezer. It has some cannellini beans and a bit of orzo in it, but mostly it’s Italian sausage and canned tomatoes.
Cabbage Patch Stew – this is an old family favorite. It could all be done in advance except for adding the cabbage. It’s served over mashed potatoes. Either make those just before serving, or make them ahead with ample cream cheese (to help keep them moist and hold together) and you can reheat the potatoes in the microwave. It’s made with ground beef or ground turkey, with celery, onion, kidney beans and plenty of sliced cabbage.
Beef, Corn & Biscuit Casserole – a ground beef casserole, with some corn in it, and topped with either canned biscuits, or you can make homemade buttermilk biscuits to go on top.
Creamy Tomato Soup – this is my always go-to tomato soup recipe. It does have heavy cream in it, but it could be a complete meal with a salad on the side and a loaf of crusty bread.
Bombay Chicken – from my friend Linda; it’s especially good for a crowd. Much of it can be made ahead, then it’s just baked for an hour. All you need is a salad to go with it.
Bombay Cheese Ball – this is a new recipe I got at a recent cooking class. It’s SO SO easy, and would be a great dish for guests or a holiday party. Just buy some good chutney to keep on your pantry shelf and some shredded coconut.

Hope that’s enough to get you started cooking this month. If you try any of them, let me know what you think! I luv hearing from my readers.