It wasn’t working. The new workout wasn’t working out for us. We gave it two weeks but read me out on this one: we don’t have sufficient weights to continue and will some day return with the hundreds of dollars worth of weights needed to perform ChaLean Extreme. This is a decent workout but does require the correct equipment. We just weren’t feeling it after the first week. Well, we kind of were and then I admitted to myself that I prefer to be drenched with sweat and shaking at the end (which apparently they were on the dvd but we were not)- something hardcore where you know you felt like you were dying a few times. I didn’t like the 5 lbs. I put on with the strength training either…even after the soreness wore off.
I was fooling myself because I have done a handful of other programs where I felt better, stronger, healthier and this wasn’t cutting it….plus it was going to “eat up” 3 months and I don’t like to waste time. We are going back to a trusted workout, one in which I know achieves results, requires 6 weeks and has an actual maintenance routine that isn’t extremely “motivationally” difficult to do (as I could see the previous one being). I also lost 20 lbs. using this program (Slim in 6 with Debbie Sieber) about 4 years ago while going to college, in my first studio apartment. In part, due also to the strict phase 1 of the South Beach diet (back in that fad) that I was doing simultaneously but I am watching my calorie-intake now and am not expecting to lose that much weight…I don’t think I have that much to lose. I’m curvy but that said, it’s not as if my genetic makeup would allow me to transform my body into something considered thin and I’m past those naive teenage days where I though that I could.
After discussing the workout issue, how about some chocolate? I see nothing wrong with this. This is no ordinary chocolate- it’s a recipe that I found while home for the holidays from my mom’s issue of Woman’s Day and involves ice cream and rich pudding cake…not really pudding as much as molten, yummy, rich cake. Last week I was craving something sweet and decided to make half of this dish. I shared with Greg, who said that it would be completely fine with him if I made this again very soon (and he doesn’t like super-rich desserts that often). The picture reminds me of mud pie, not to be confused with pants pie à la Drop Dead Fred (that includes vodka and actual mud-ask him for the recipe…it’s a movie folks.) Poor Fred caught cornflakes disease but quickly recovered. (I’m still in the movie…I’m moving to the recipe.)
Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake with Ice Cream
Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake with Ice Cream
Serves 6 (or you 6 times)
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
6 tbsp butter
1 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 large egg yolk
1 cup flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 ½ cups milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
vanilla ice cream
Preheat the oven to 350. Microwave butter and chocolate in a bowl until melted. Add the egg yolk. In another bowl, mix flour, ¾ cup sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir in ½ cup milk, vanilla and the butter mixture. Spread into an ungreased, shallow 2 qt. baking dish.
Mix the remaining ½ cup sugar, remaining 1/3 cup cocoa powder and brown sugar in another bowl and sprinkle over batter. Heat the remaining 2 cups of milk until simmering (microwave works) and slowly pour over the mixture in the baking dish (don’t stir). Bake for 40 to 50 minutes-keep an eye on this towards that time because it won’t take long to burn. The top will be a cake/brownie texture so check it with a toothpick, inserted in the center, some moist crumbs should be attached or however you want it to come out…it’s chocolate and hard to go wrong.
Spoon into bowls and add a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream on the side. Serve immediately or pudding layer will be absorbed by the cake layer….which really isn’t that heartbreaking because it’s all good.
Mud pie or the best molten, rich chocolate pudding cake?
After a decent weekend, I feel that I can face this week with a shiny, happy outlook.
Just kidding, it’s blah outside and expected to get quite chilly again and I’m not a shiny, happy kind of person. Don’t get me wrong, the weekend was still nice. Greg and I watched the 1949 movie version of the Fountainhead…which like many book to movie deals (a novel by Ayn Rand in 1943), left out quite a bit of character building and pertinent information but was still worth watching. The next rainy evening we viewed several episodes of the Adventures of Pete & Pete, one of my “old” (1993-1996) favorite Nickelodeon shows that ran for 3 seasons about two brothers both named Pete. Top that with Sriracha bloody marys, made extra hot with habanero stuffed olives on the side…but Greg was not fond of the horseradish that the recipe called for and thought that the drink tasted more like cocktail sauce than a bloody mary. The Sriracha was, as always, a hit. For anyone not in-the-know about this hot chili sauce, it’s amazing and you should grab the bottle (or several) with the rooster on the front-that is if you are a fan of hot, spicy goodness. Bon Appetit did vote it the ingredient of the year.
Congratulation goes out to the Colts! While we don’t really watch sports, nothing seemed worthwhile on the other few channels we have so we saw that game and the loss the Vikings had yesterday to the Saints. I was rooting for the Colts (I am still a Hoosier at heart but I don’t really care about football). I was not partial to either team in the second game…Favre does seem like a nice guy but Drew Brees attended Purdue, my alma mater (as did Curtis Painter of the Colts). I might be one of the few living in Minnesota that wasn’t rooting for the Vikes. Quite honestly, I find it annoying about all the noise in the state about football (ever since Favre arrived…I remember that day and the non-stop media attention…ridiculous). Although, I do have to say that I’m glad to see decent players getting noticed over the moron athletes that draw attention for cheating and criminal activity, that’s what it seems like to me anyway.
Also this weekend, we ate classic beef stew (Beef Bourguignon) from Real Simple magazine. This recipe was simple, so simple that it was rather bland and I had to adjust a few things. The recipe didn’t say how much salt to put in and required quite a bit in the end to have any flavor. (Even Greg, who thinks I make some recipes too salty-I love salt-thought this needed more.) I know that turnips are a staple in this but next time, I might swap these out for potatoes. Be sure to use a quality red wine (Syrah or Pinot Noir) because that makes a huge difference. You know the old adage: don’t use a wine in a recipe that you don’t enjoy drinking. The salt issue was helped by adding beef broth. The recipe also asked that you throw out some of the vegetables after a few hours of cooking, which I thought was dumb so I left them in. Lastly, I added more butter to the egg noodles, which ended up tasting better when tossed into the stew and not kept separate. The entire stew was delicious over mashed potatoes but then again, what isn’t? I think the adjustments made for a tasty recipe. Greg approved.
Beef Stew
Beef Stew (Beef Bourguignon)
Serves 8
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
3 tbsp flour
hefty amount of salt and pepper
5 lb. beef chuck, cut into 16 to 24 pieces (trim the fat)
2 tbsp olive oil
6 oz. tomato paste
2 stalks of celery, cut into 3-inch lengths
1 medium onion, cut into 8 pieces
750 ml bottle red wine (good quality Pinot Noir or Syrah)
½ cup beef broth (more for the days following as it will thicken)
2 bay leaves
8 to 10 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
1½ lbs. turnips or potatoes, peeled and quartered
12 to 24 oz. egg noodles
4 to 6 tbsp salted butter
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped-optional
Preheat the oven to 325 and in a bowl, toss flour, salt/pepper and beef pieces. Heat the oil in a large pot (Dutch oven) over medium and (in batches) brown the beef, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate. Add the tomato paste, celery, onion, wine, broth, bay leaves and 1½ cups of water to the pot. Return the beef to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and transfer to the oven for 2 hours.
Add the turnips (and/or potatoes) and carrots, cover and return to the oven for another 45 to 60 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. If the stew is too thin, simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, until thickened.
Twenty minutes before the stew is finished, cook the egg noodles according to the package directions and then add salt, butter and parsley. I added these directly to the stew instead of keeping them separate. I also added more salt in the end but do so to your taste of course. Remember to remove the bay leaves. This is also great over mashed potatoes or with crusty bread.
It’s pretty spectacular that my camera doesn’t have food all over it with my near daily photo session. There have been some close calls and my mind does wander into thoughts about my trusted Canon Powershot falling right into my stew, throwing sauce all over the chair, carpet, curtains, window, table, supplies and the wall. I’ve also pictured dropping the food on the carpet on its way to the picture-taking destination, which is over by the window in the living room….probably the farthest place from the kitchen that I could take pictures. But that be where the windows and light be so that be where I make the magic (pirate speak).
If it’s a cloudy day, you can tell and I am required, if I want natural light, to make the most of the fresh food and shoot it before the light disappears in late afternoon. I do not own a DSLR, I would love one but right now, I am learning what to do (maybe more what not to do) with what I have. Some food is just ridiculously stupid to photograph-curries, stews, shiny anything, bland colored dishes of noodles and rice and many other things. I don’t avoid these dishes but I certainly dread trying to capture their essence. (A little dabble of a photo enhancing program never hurts, although I use the free software Picasa and that can only do so much-if you don’t have a good shot initially, you aren’t going to magically produce a worthwhile final picture.)
If food doesn’t look good, to us visual creatures, then we won’t be interested in it nor will any number of all those tastespotting/foodgawker-type websites (unless it’s the newest fad or something….or something). Sometimes a dish looks wonderful but the flavor/texture/method/something you can’t pinpoint is terrible. I’ve found these brazen recipes more often than I care to admit. The ones I thought deserved a try, just to end up tossing it (with angry grunting noises), ordering out and adding to my complex about watching the budget. It’s just crazy to me to throw out that much cash in ingredients. I hate waste.
You’ve probably noticed I like the lucid shots. I think beauty is found in simple, rustic things. My food shots are my way of letting people know that this dish will come about in a comfortable manner (hopefully) and that you will enjoy and wind-down your day or weekend with this dish. Sometimes, it’s about popping details that make the food something exciting to experience for a special treat, occasion, or season but I never intend to overwhelm anyone. Displaying the food alone, maybe a simple piece here or there that you would naturally find at a table setting in the distance or on the side but usually, the food is the only thing of interest to me. I don’t like to try to hide poor planning/execution (among other things) with a completely “out there/whackadoo” shot or misleading words.
I’m often asked if I take my own pictures. I do. It’s kind of insulting when people ask and assume I do not. If someone else took the picture, I would be a jerk not to give them credit, for one thing. I also wonder why they don’t think I’m talented and capable of taking decent shots. Then again, it’s also a compliment (backhanded) but I’ll take it.
Overall, I don’t really mind because I don’t believe that I am doing this day in and day out for nothing. I’m amassing an arsenal of recipes, writing skills and photographs that I hope to distribute to the public one day. (If that’s what it takes to get somewhere with this passion/hobby turned dare I say, career-sign me up.) That is, if you’ll have me. Someone wanted to know if I had “representation” and I don’t. I have no idea how any of the business side goes but I would like to know.
There’s another side of me that refuses to believe I have any talent whatsoever and that I am wasting my time and yours. Then, once I let that out, begin to wonder if others think that I am stating this for sympathy, comments or compliments….I am not fishing for compliments. I’m straightforward, blunt and appreciative of criticism, almost as much as praise. I don’t think I am at a place where compliments are necessary but welcome if open and honest. To those that may have or forthright stated/thought that “my little hobby” was just that, this is what I do, this consumes me and I am happy to have found my passion and have plans. I have a “friend” that belittles everything I do (what anyone does really) and I wanted to clear up any confusion. I know he doesn’t understand the amount of planning, research and time I put into my blog but I respect his decisions about his career and am supportive of him in general.
I’m sharing my grandma’s chicken and dumplings recipe today, well it’s similar because I could never make it like she does (maybe it’s the grandmother’s love ingredient missing). The picture was taken a few days after I made them so your fresh batch shouldn’t be this thick, which is why it makes for a great gravy on top of potatoes the day you do make these.
Family dumplings recipe, a few days thicker, on top of mashed potatoes
Grandma Shaffer’s Chicken and Dumpling Noodles
*These dumpling noodles have been referred to as “pot pie” by my grandma, perhaps even my great grandma and are actually flat, rolled out, square noodles tossed into a broth mix to simmer. They don’t take long to cook and have a dough-like texture when finished. You might want to prepare this a day ahead to allow the sauce to thicken. Add some mashed potatoes and enjoy my grandma’s recipe.
Print Recipe
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
16 to 24 oz. good quality canned chicken pieces
2 bay leaves
2 tsp parsley or thyme-optional
salt/pepper
6 cups chicken broth
½ to 2/3 cup heavy cream
mashed potatoes
Dumplings
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
2/3 cup milk
Mix all the dumpling ingredients together in a large bowl. Knead the dough slightly, with flour on your hands, and roll onto a clean, floured surface. Make the “dumplings” as flat as you desire, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until the broth is boiling. I make these very flat from family tradition.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat broth, bay leaves, thyme and chicken until boiling. Lower the heat to medium/low. Get the dough out of the frig and cut into 2-inch squares and toss all of them into the pot. Allow these to simmer for 10 minutes and stir occasionally, then lower the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes. If you want a thicker sauce, add some of the mashed potatoes. This sauce will thicken after a few hours and I think this tastes best the next day. Serve with mashed potatoes. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves.
If you are attempting to be productive on something this weekend, good luck and if you plan on being extremely lazy, good luck with that as well. Have a good one!I’ve been on a roll with meals recently; I think it helped when I obtained about a dozen cookbooks while I was home for Christmas. Greg and I agreed that these meals have rocked. Also, I went to the library the other evening and picked up several more cookbooks…that’s the way to go. Free for a few weeks and I get some space back on my shelf in the end. I don’t purchase cookbooks very often but I do love them as gifts or prizes. Pretty sure that if I had more money to throw at frivolous things, I would have a collection like no other, which goes for quite a few other material goods. (Time to buy more money.)
By the way, I did sleep much better and actually woke up earlier than I thought. Some of the chores are out of the way and I already created a nice list of others. Coffee in hand, a better outlook and not writing nearly as much because frankly, I feel like it, this is how I’m rolling today.
Saturday, in town (Northfield, MN), the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation is having its 10th birthday party, basically across the street in the Grand event center. Four bands, raffles, free food and a cash bar. I’m thinking about dropping by for a bit; some of those raffle prizes sound great: 12 months of floral bouquets, 12 months of cake, dinner for 2 at the expensive Indian restaurant and one night stay at an inn (2 sec from our place and yes, the one I mentioned the other day, for any every day readers), a case of wine from the liquor store and a $500 shopping spree downtown. The NDDC, as quoted from their website, “is an organization of dedicated residents who seek to realize their vision of a vibrant and vital downtown through direct and indirect investment, collaboration and cooperation with other public and private groups, and by creating awareness of the opportunities that downtown Northfield holds for the community as a whole.” Ok, gotcha.
After my stint making sweet potato hash earlier this week and not using all the po-ta-toes (boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew), I needed to find something for the leftovers. I believe I’ve said before how I haven’t always been a fan of these tubers but I was wrong-sweet can be good- and love these spuds, especially with a tangy cilantro chutney or salsa verde.
I found a recipe for coin-like, smashed pieces of sweet potato with a variety of seasonings baked on top. (Mom, similar to the delicious recipe you have.) However, once into the recipe, I realized that something was “off” and had to change the whole thing so here you go: my spiced sweet potato bites with cilantro (coriander) chutney, optional but it goes well with the spice and hint of sweetness. These make great snacks!
Spiced Sweet Potato Bites with Cilantro Chutney
Spiced Sweet Potato Bites
Makes about 2 cups (mine did anyway)
Print Recipe
Ingredients:
4 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
3 quarts of water
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
Topping:
2 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika (or paprika of your choice)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¾ tsp garlic salt
black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice about an inch thick. Add ½ tsp salt to the water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Add the potato slices and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly soft. Remove and place on a paper towel to cool for 10 minutes.
Mix the topping ingredients and melt the butter and olive together in a separate bowl from the topping mix. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a small batch of slices into the butter and oil mix to coat and then place into the topping mix to coat. Coat both sides and set on the sheet pan. Repeat in small batches.
Roast for 25 minutes and flip the slices over for another 10. Keep an eye on these as they will burn rather easily. I like to serve the bites with cilantro (coriander) chutney-see the recipe below or buy already-prepared at the grocery store.
Cilantro (Coriander) Chutney from Gourmet
Makes 1 ½ cups
1 cup fresh cilantro (or more to your taste)
6 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 to 2 tsp finely chopped small hot green chile, such as serrano or Thai, including some seeds
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice or lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil (or canola)
Purée all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. If you prefer a thinner sauce, add more lime or lemon juice.
