2015 - If Not Now, Then When? - Part 2

Okay, I’ve come up with my list of 50 recipes for 52 weeks of the New Year. 

If during the year I come across other interesting recipes I’d like to try, I’ll switch out a few from the list and add in the others – but only if they are new to me.

So during 2015 I resolve to make new entrees, bread, salads and desserts - all from the recipes and the cookbooks that I’ve collected over many years. 

Here’s the list with items in no particular order:

1.  Gnocchi

     2.  Pierogi

     3.  Pad Thai

     4.  Boiled Dinner

     5.  Scones

     6.  Pasta with Broccoli Rabi and Almonds

     7.  Cabbage Rolls

     8.  Lemon Garlic Chicken

     9.  Pot Roast

   10.  Chicken Stew

   11.  Maple Mustard Salmon

   12.  Sweet Potato Pie

   13.  Pineapple Coconut Bars

   14.  Pulled Pork in a Crock Pot

   15.  Rhubarb Custard Pie

   16.  Turkey/Chicken Pho Soup

   17.  Spanish Bar Cake

   18.  Pineapple Angel Food Cake

   19.  Hot Reuben Dip

   20.  Tomato Basil Cheddar Soup

   21.  Parmesan Chicken With Garlic and Herbs

   22.  Won Ton Soup

   23.  Pan Seared Scallops with Canadian Bacon and Spinach

   24.  Cornmeal Blueberry Scones

   25.  Minestrone

   26.  Marion’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

   27.  Mom’s Chocolate Pudding

   28.  Chicken Cacciatore

   29.  Chicken with Pineapple

   30.  Popovers

   31.  Lemon Bread

   32.  Cranberry Orange Bread

   33.  Chess Pie

   34.  Almond Pie

   35.  Beef Tamale Pie

   36.  Chicken Tortilla Soup

   37.  Asparagus Mushroom Risotto

   38.  Roasted Spring Veggie Medley

   39.  Sweet and Sour Pork

   40.  Beef Stew with Vegetables

   41.  Mac and Cheese with Asparagus

   42.  Baked Broccoli en Casserole

   43.  Stuffed Peppers

   44.  Vegetable Beef Soup

   45.  Beer Biscuits

   46.  Million Dollar Pie

   47.  Quick Beef Casserole Dinner

   48.  Whole Wheat Biscuits

   49.  Carrots and Celery with Pecans

   50.  Chicken Piccata 

     I do hope that I'll discovers some new favorites, and maybe a few new spices and cooking techniques. Check back in late December 2015. I'll post on how well I persevered and on what I learned during this culinary adventure!

2015 - If Not Now, Then When?

While looking through a favorite cookbook, I found one of my Mom’s recipes tucked between the pages, handwritten on the back of an envelope. She had liked that recipe enough to take the time to write it out and to share it.

I thought of the many recipes she had written and shared with me, many that I had never even tried.

Then I thought of the huge stack of cookbooks I’ve collected over the years, and that little wooden box stuffed with recipes written out on index cards, and all the recipes stored on my computer, and even ones I “pinned” on Pinterest. 

Week after week, month after month,  I tend to make the same things over and over – my stand-by entrees, desserts, and salads that the family seems to like, and that I can put together quite easily.

When will I ever get to all those stored-away recipes?  There must be a real treasure trove of culinary delights filed away! If not now, then when? 

So for my “50 in 52” for 2015. I hereby resolve to venture out into new cooking and baking territory. 

Between now and New Year’s I will come up with 50 – yes 50! – tempting recipes (one per week) I have not yet tried. An hour or two a week should be all it takes to discover new dishes, new flavors, new family favorites.

And I may even take the time to write out a few of those recipes by hand... and share with my daughters.

Sunday Morning

As we were going into church this morning, a man who was with his wife told me that she has Alzheimer’s. They sat in front of us. I noted how attentive he was to her.

Then I happened to look around and became aware of the variety of people who have come together this morning. There are young single couples who are sitting close together, and also married couples – some with babies and toddlers between them. There are older retired couples here, some people who are widowed, and a few men who are divorced. There are high schoolers and college students. There are some people here without their wives or without their husbands. 

I'm thinking this is quite a cross-section of people from all walks of life who come together each Sunday. Many are strangers to us, others are acquaintances or good friends. Some of these friends we have met here. What brings us together is faith in God the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This is happening in churches across the world. This has happened and will continue to happen in generations across the centuries.

I find this quite amazing to think about... and to be grateful for being part of this family of faith.

Civil War 1861- 1865, “A Fire Never Extinguished”

Geo and I attended a two-day Vermont Humanities Conference about the Civil War. Afterwards, he asked if I could sum up what I learned in one sentence. I said, “The Civil War that happened 150 years ago still has an impact – all these years later - on our modern-day lives and on current events.” It was like a four-year earthquake that forever changed the landscape of our history.

The United States was born out of a revolution in 1776; it was born-again after the Civil War. Before the war, it was said, “the United States are…” After the war, we now say “the United States is…”

Reasons for engaging in the war were varied. People had different views about it at the time, as well as in following generations. 

One basic way of looking at it is that the southern states did not want the federal government imposing the abolition of slavery on their way of life. This would destroy their economy and the plantation system. To safeguard their way of life, they would secede. The northern states initially went to war to protect the integrity of the Union. 

The southerners fought to protect what they felt were legitimate states’ rights. Underlying it all was slavery. The Civil War became the war to emancipate the slaves. It was a long, exhausting, bloody war that formally ended when Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox.

The slaves were freed. The Union prevailed. So why does the Civil War still have a hold on us today?

Amazingly, one in three Americans can trace their ancestry back to someone from the Civil War period. There’s a sense of the Civil War being “in the family.”

The war was epic in scope of loss of life, heroism, and the conflict between good and evil. Northerners and southerners alike believed God was immanently on their side. It’s a true “story” that draws us in as we try to more clearly understand who we are and what our values are as a nation.

There was a major shift to federal authority and initiatives during the war and years following. Today there still is on-going tension regarding the extent of states’ rights vs. “Big Government.”

The United States first faced head-on the issues of slavery, race, and civil rights during this time. Following the war, Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg Address, that our nation was "conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." In the present day racial prejudice still exists. Since the emancipation of the slaves, the struggle for civil rights for all continues. 

And those were just a few of the themes that were presented about the meaning of the Civil War.

It was an outstanding conference. 

Hiking at Elmore State Park

It’s been an amazing autumn here in Vermont. It's raining today, and our mild weather will be getting colder soon. 

Today I'm thinking about the enjoyabIe hikes I've taken with Addie. The most recent one was at Elmore State Park.

We started out at the Lake Elmore beach. She was telling me that we were headed to the peak behind me. (I had my doubts.)

The trail started out easy enough.

We passed a bridge and it was tempting to take, but it was off-trail. We continued to follow the path.

I'm always looking for wild flowers and berries along the way. There were very few blackberries left.

I kept stopping to take photos. This slowed up our hike. It was so beautiful - my goal was no longer to reach the peak, but just to enjoy the walk.

I told Addie to go ahead, I'd catch up.

Then we had to make a decision- the longer way up, or the shorter.

Of course, we chose the shorter way. It was one mile less to the top.

Big mistake. We discovered the climb was getting much steeper. The longer way would have been a lot easier!

The path became narrower and covered with leaves.

The leaves were turning color and the foliage was spectacular.

Addie went on ahead to see how much further it was to the top. We were soooo close, but it was getting late in the afternoon and I was concerned about how long it would take us to go back down. Maybe if we had taken the longer, easier trail...

The peak would have to wait for another day. 

We ended up back at the beach and I took a few more photos.

Elmore State Park, we'll be back.

Growing and Harvesting Potatoes

 

\
When this...                                                                             looks like this...

It's time to harvest the potatoes.

For several years I've been using potato bags. This year I used three, - one each for red, white, and blue potatoes.

These are the blues.

This is the largest blue.

Here are the reds.

    And the whites. 








The soil from the bags is spread into a raised bed for next year's garlic crop.

The bags will be folded and stored for next year's potatoes.

The blossoms produce berries that provide potato seed. Many people use this TPS - True Potato Seed - to grow the next crop. I've always used cut potatoes. 

I saved some of the TPS. Next year I plan to compare growing potatoes from seed with those grown from cut potatoes.

And to try a few new varieties...

Update: This year, as an experiment, I am using potatoes from the grocery store that have started to sprout. I planted them very deep into the soil and I will keep covering the leaves with topsoil as they emerge. Potatoes are fun to grow.

I invite you to check out my newest blog here: Resolutions.

Thank you!

Happy Gardening!

GNOCCHI

I remember the first time I had potato gnocchi.  It was many years ago at Totero’s, an Italian restaurant in my hometown. It was served steaming hot on a platter with a fresh marinara sauce - and I loved it! Now whenever I see “gnocchi” on a menu, that’s what I’ll order.

When we went to a food festival last weekend, one of the cooking demonstrations featured gnocchi!

Geo and I were there in the first row, not only to watch how the chef made it, but to get a little “hands-on” cooking experience.

Here are the ingredients that were used in the recipe:
1 ¾ pounds large scrubbed Yukon gold potatoes
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup salt (for the boiling water)

The chef cooked the potatoes, peeled them and put them through a potato ricer. Then he spread them out to cool.

Chef Tony using the ricer

Next he formed the potatoes into a mound and added the egg beaten with salt and pepper. He kneaded it all together, gradually adding about 1 ½ cups of the flour. When it formed into dough, he rolled it out for cutting into small pieces.  (The rest of the flour was used to keep the dough from getting too sticky while he worked with it.)

Geo tried rolling out the dough. He did very well!

The next step, after cutting, was to shape the pieces and put the lines on each one.

I tried a fork, then a special paddle, to make the lines. The chief said his mother and grandmother always did it "the old-fashioned way" with a fork.  I found that using the paddle was a lot easier.

At this point the gnocchi can be frozen or cooked. To finish, they go into the boiling salted water.  When they float to the top, give them an additional minute of cooking time, and then they’re done and ready to be served with marinara or pesto sauce.

The chef prepared both kinds of sauce!

Chef Tony chopping the garlic for the marinara

The gnocchi was delicious! A little bit of Italian heaven.

I am eager to try the recipe. All I need is a new potato ricer and, yes, one of those special paddles for the characteristic lines.

Keep posted for a gnocchi update!

Day Hike With Addie

Addie has been talking about taking a nature hike. She convinced me that we should not be putting this off. So we packed our gear and drove about 25 miles to Little River State Park. She wanted to do the Dalley historic trail. 

We pulled over just before the entrance to the park and the trails. It was so very beautiful and peaceful.

There was just one boat on the water. I was wishing that I could have been out on that boat.

We parked near the entrance. Addie pointed out the trail we would take.

This trail would take us through an area that was settled by farmers in the 1800's. It is now forested, but there is evidence that people lived and worked here many years ago. The trail itself was once the main road through this area. There is one house, built in the 19th century, that is still standing.

The Goodell family lived here.

A vehicle bridge over a gully, not far from the home.

 

The trek was uphill. 


We stopped along the way for snacks and water that we brought with us.                          
This is a view from the trail.



We continued on.

There were short trails off to the side of the Dalley trail. Addie checked the map to see our progress.

I enjoyed seeing wildflowers and berries and even a butterfly along the way.

Seeing the stone walls along the trail, and even cellar holes and some rusted farm implements, it was not hard to imagine that people once lived here, farming, logging, even maple sugaring. 

We passed a few family cemetery plots. The engraving on many of the stones is still clearly legible.

Here's another view of the trail ahead of us.

This is a great park for hiking and also learning some history along the way. Having taken the loop, next time we plan to explore more of the side trails. 

Thanks to Addie for planning this day hike.

Happy hiking!