chicken and ducklings

OR chicken and dumplings, as most of you may know it. It was rainy and dreary here the past few days. I felt the need for comfort food. I guess I've never made dumplings for the big kid because she had a hard time understanding we weren't eating ducklings. She was fascinated with the concept because it tasted like chicken noodle soup - without the noodles! She's as easily amused as her mother.

By the way, we do real dumplings. Not that biscuits-floating-on-top-of-soup business so many are fond of. I have an aversion to anything bread-like being left near moisture on purpose. Bread pudding? No thanks. Just 2 eggs and a 1/2 cup of flour, some salt and pepper, and dinner is served.

If I am staying authentic and have it on hand, whole allspice in with the chicken and broth is a must. Sounds weird, right? It's how granny always makes it. Yum. This is the same way granny makes her noodles, just add more flour, roll, cut and let dry. Depending on where you fall in my family, you may or may not serve the noodles, chicken, and broth over (ready for this?) mashed potatoes. Carbs galore.

another hodge podge

I decided to go with a wrap rather than a sandwich this time around. A little turkey, cheese, avocado, smidge of cream cheese, and of course, sprouts!

This nasty fellow was under my desk, in the toy room, the other day. He was crawling along, minding his own business, when he suddenly found himself in the great outdoors. A sheet of paper and nerves of steel got the job done without anybody having a breakdown.

This little beauty is my first result from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I bought the book after having an online discussion about cookbooks. I was amazed at the success I managed with so little effort. Crispy outside and chewy inside, this was a little slice of heaven. It was made only more unbelievable once dipped in olive oil, roasted garlic, salt and pepper.

falling behind

I'm in a rut and can't keep up with things. What kind of rut could I be in, you ask? The kind of rut that makes one lose one's mind. I am in the middle of contemplating homeschooling the big kid. This would mean a lot of changes (all for the better if I can give in to them) in our daily routines.

I shouldn't even be uttering the words "home school" when I've barely scratched the surface. On to other things...

We made church windows. I don't have photos of the finished craft. The piles of delicate, colorful tissue paper make me happy anyway.



I used the mandoline/mandolin/Benriner again. I sort-of kind-of followed this recipe for Yukon Gold Potato Gratin. It was good. It may have been better with a stronger cheese.



This is proof of how very different the wee one is from the big kid. The big kid never differentiated between bread and crust. The wee one is a finicky eater.

keeper - only because it's small

I finally got around to using the Benriner today. I picked up a few round-ish sweet potatoes yesterday in anticipation of the experiment. I'm not sure this dusty gadget actually felt loved, more than likely it just feels used.

I am a clutz. I used a hot pad to hold the potatoes initially. Once they were smaller pieces, I switched to the guard.


Here they are, all nice and uniform in thickness.


Ready for a little flavor addition.


The big kid sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar (maybe they did feel the love?)


I had to fight the kids off to take this picture.


They weren't all crispy. Many were chewy. Some were overdone. Usually, baking on stone helps prevent some of these issues. I'll need to dig around and find another recipe. For now, this is going back in the cupboard. Thankfully, it isn't very big. Perhaps it's more of a summer salad and slaw tool, in my kitchen.

challenge: love your kitchen gadget(s)

After some thought, I am going to pick only one item to pamper this week. We are having a garage sale this weekend and I need to resist the urge to toss a bunch of things in the pile. I've done it before. Then I ask the Baron where my M&M shaped cookie jar* went, forgetting we sacrificed it the year before.

I am going to make a point of using my mandolin. It was a much appreciated gift from a friend but I've found it cumbersome to clean. I'm a bit of a clutz, too, and washing it makes me nervous. I like having 10 fingers.

I am first going to read about my lovely Beriner mandolin. Then I'm going to hunt for recipes.

So, what are you going to dig out of your cupboards this week? Any plans for how you'll use it? Please post in your own blog and link back in the comments section. I hope we have a good turn out for this little challenge as I'd like to make it a regular thing.

*I do not, nor have I ever, owned an M&M shaped cookie jar.

little oatmeal date bites

I had three bags of dates (now I have two) that will expire this month. I got them (of course!) on sale for .99 and couldn't pass them up. They were too dry to eat out of hand. Nothing like the dates I used to buy in bulk at Down To Earth.

I went searching the WWW for recipes with dates and banans (I got a giant bunch for .39 because they were speckled.) I found this recipe for Healthy Banana Cookies. I read some of the reviews, made a few adjustments, and was very pleased. They get the wee one's approval.

I baked them on my Pampered Chef stone, in case you are wondering why my pan is so dirty.

My adjustments:

1/4 cup (measured whole) ground flax seeds

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup applesauce in place of oil

want a challenge?

There must be somebody reading this because I see some of you have opted to follow my boring blog. I am proposing a kitchen challenge unlike most others.

In doing my regular Thursday kitchen cleaning, I've come across little treasures. Poor, neglected gadgets and novelties, covered in dust, live among my beautiful Fiesta. I want to make them feel loved. I already know which THREE items I am going to liberate next week. I challenge you to find at least one, maximum of three, of your own unattended cooking do-dahs and give them life. I'd love pictures, but a simple explanation in the form of a comment will work.

I'll post a reminder on Monday, which is when I am starting the challenge (and so are YOU.) I'll take snaps of mine, sitting sad and alone, as well as in use. I'm issuing a BOLO for fondue pots, bread machines, pasta makers and the like! Please, be my friend and participate.

boring, bland banana bread

I took this recipe from AllRecipes and ruined it. In the loaf on the left, I replaced the 1 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, used whole wheat flour, and replaced the butter with applesauce. In the loaf on the right, I replace the 1 cup of sugar with a 1/2 cup of brown sugar, replace the butter with applesauce, and added 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. It baked too long. Honestly, other than the fact that it really wasn't sweet enough, it was pretty good. You could totally taste the honey in the first loaf. It was more moist, too. We topped it with a little butter and cinnamon sugar.

I found two small-ish fire ant mounds but I was, unfortunately, too late. We noticed nasty, pus-filled bumps on the wee one's wee feet yesterday. I boiled two giant pots of water tonight and made their mounds into ant soup.

I'm not going to apologize for mentioning pus and bread in the same post, so there.

bake on saturday

I'd LOVE to bake today. What shall I make? If only I weren't afraid to try bagels... I have this 7 Seed Crust blend I picked up at TJ Maxx and it would make a nice topping for everything bagels. The Wild Yeast blog is my baking wonderland. I read, and dream, of someday being able to bake more than a small, dense loaf of bread. I purchaed The Tassajara Bread Book and The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book a few months ago and realized I don't have the time to read, comprehend, and execute the information and recipes in these books, at this point in my life.

I did make today's activity baking.

Saturday - Yard

Mow lawn (we have a cute little push reel mower)
Spray weeds
Spray for bugs and check for fire ant hills

Big kid cleans out her craft cupboard

Family night (fun dinner, movie, games, relaxed bedtime)
Family meeting (based on format from Positive Discipline)

I will check the propane level in the grill and tidy the garage, as needed.

today's activity

I made today the day I explore new recipes and foods. This is one of a few recipes I added to my menu plan for next week. I miss the hot food bar at Down To Earth in Pearl City. I'll try (again) to recreate this chewy tofu dish.

Korean BBQ Tofu