Easter Menu Suggestions...Husvéti Menü Ajánlat

Today is Yesterday was... St. Patrick's Day...celebrated mostly in Ireland, but here in the United States as well...and all over the world. You don't have to be Irish to celebrate this special day, just have the love of 'green' as I do...have the 'luck of the Irish'...and mostly love of the traditional Irish food, bread...as in Soda Bread, which I also made, just not posting it today since my daughter Lora, @ Cake Duchess, made the same exact recipe and posted hers, for today.

I spend way too much time on Pinterest, and not enough time on my blog these last few months. I cannot download photos from my camera for the last couple weeks...and of course, to upload. I ordered the needed accessories to replace the old ones for my Canon Power Shot SX130, from Amazon; (cable cord, and adapter)...and if that doesn't work, then I will upgrade to a Canon Rebel camera!

 

"Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being. Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is a safe color, if you don't know what color to use anywhere use green.

Green is favored by well balanced people. Green symbolizes the master healer and the life force. It often symbolizes money. It was believed green was healing for the eyes. Egyptians wore green eyeliner. Green eye shades are still used. You should eat raw green foods for good health. Friday is the day of green. Green jade is a sacred stone of Asia." 

HAPPY(belated) ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

                                             Vegan Avocado-Tomato Toasts for #greenslove
Moving on to the next project:

I have been graciously invited once again...this year by a special Hungarian food blogger friend, from Katalin @Konyhája to participate in this Easter Menu Suggestion...Husvéti Ajánlat Játék originally initiated by Éva, from Takarékos Konyha...literally meaning, Éva's Thrifty Kitchen, in English. What a coincidence. My blog is Food and Thrift, in Hungarian...Étel és Takarékosság, very similar. 

Katalin, köszönöm szépen a kedves meghivást...Éva, köszönöm a kedves Husvéti Játékot!

This year, I will be featuring light, and Springtime suggestions...Easter is coming rather early this year, so is Passover, which always coincides with Easter...not a coincidence! For this year, I am featuring some International dishes...will be staying...have been staying away from heavy, and fatty meats, and red meats, although I do crave an occasional nice portion of steak, or homemade hamburger, grilled outdoors, with all the fixings!...never mind that, just lets concentrate on light, colorful, and tasty dishes that I have prepared in the past for spring, and summer, and stay with that!

Thanking Katalin, and Éva, and I will be paying forward the invite to 2 other food bloggers, as requested!
Köszönöm Katalin, és Köszönöm Éva...már is tovább adom a meghivót...Kriszti, az Illéskrisz Konyhája...  extending the invitation to Zsuzsa, from Zsuzsa is in the Kitchen
 Just click on the link for the original post, and recipe!

                                                              Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

                                                               Wild Mushroom Risotto

                                          Fabrizio's Easter Lamb Shanks ...served over basic risotto, but can be served over Wild Mushroom risotto, as well! ...and I also recommend a nice spring pasta dish which you can pair with fresh salmon, if you wish not to eat lamb. (this year I'm omitting heavy meats)

                           Farfalle with Salmon, and Peas...in a light cream sauce

                                         Flourless Chocolate Mousse Cake

                                                Coconut Macaroons

                                             Perfect 'brownie pan' Brownies

                                                               

Paprikás Krumpli {Paprika Potatoes}

As the saying goes..."the eyes are windows to the soul"...well, let me tell you; I've been doing a lot of 'soul searching' in the last few days, after the holidays! A lot has happened since. I finally decided to get an eye exam, knowing that I need a new prescription for my eyes, and new glasses (I wear contact lenses, as well) Have had problems with both lately, my right eye not feeling just comfortable, blurriness, and sharp pain at times.

Just from my eye exam visit this Monday, (which took 2hrs) I was directed to visit a Retinal Eye Care place the next day for my right eye. Well, that was this morning...after 3hrs of thorough test, eye drops, yellow dye that they inject into your arm to see more...I found out that I damaged, badly scratched retina...swelling, as well. I will be needing an eye surgery, which will take place next Monday and hopefully I will regain my eye sight normally. Over the last few days, I have lost 75% of my vision in the right eye.

The eye specialist asked me if I had a trauma...perhaps hitting my eye; and I suddenly realized and remember my car accident and how I got smacked in the eye from the air bag...my eyeglasses knocked off and the right side digging into my eye...two years, and I have done nothing...even at that time I didn't bother to get my injured eye checked...so now, thinking I need new glasses, this is the result.

Please, do not neglect your eyes, and do go for regular eye exams yearly, if your wear glasses especially!  I waited 2 years with an injured eye that did heal from the physical bruises, but internal eye 'trauma' such as mine, the doctor told me, could have caused blindness...and neglect sure has not helped...so please say a 'little pray' for me for a successful outcome of the Retinal Surgery to correct this problem to regain my sight back...thank you, and I don't mean to 'dump' on you with my problem; but I just wanted to share this with you!

 Nothing like making a simple comforting dish from your childhood, and serving it on a beautiful cobalt blue plate, and a special tea towel from your Hungarian grandmother that she 'needle pointed' herself...some 40+yrs ago. I am truly blessed to have this, and proudly showing it off!

Paprikás Krumpli {Paprika Potatoes}
Recipe by; Elisabeth

4 medium potatoes; of your choice
1 med. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
half link of smoked sausage, sliced...I used Polish Kielbasa
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. Hungarian sweet, or hot paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes in half, with skin on, and boil in salted water, just until it is still partially cooked. You can take the casing off from the smoked kielbasa, and slice thin.

 Saute onion, and garlic in the olive oil. till translucent, and golden. Add the paprika.

Saute onion, and garlic, and the paprika...add some chicken or vegetable broth, to keep from burning on the bottom of the pan.

 I used Progresso chicken broth, but you can use a vegetable broth as well. I used probably about 1 cup, of the 32 ozs, of the broth, and added the potatoes.

Add enough of the broth so that you can simmer the potatoes...at this time, you can add the sausage, or just stay with the potatoes, and let it get thick, and saucey.

At this time, you can add the sliced Kielbasa, and just cook for a few minutes to incorporate.

Add more broth as needed, but do not add more oil. You can always drizzle some extra oil at the end, to make it look glistening, and tasty, as well. Total cooking time is about probably 30 minutes...not counting the pre-cooking for the potatoes!

So, there you have it...the best tasting comfort potato dish, you would enjoy, as a brunch, lunch, side dish, or even for dinner with nice crusty bread, and a side salad!

Mango Jam... Sweet Mango Chutney

With all the cloudy days we've been having, I haven't been able to take a descent outdoor/indoor 'natural light' photo in all last week. Don't you agree that this is a nice outdoor 'last minute'...photo of my amazing mango jam, and sweet mango chutney?

If I want to take descent natural light photos, I have to take them at my daughter Lora's house in her lovely kitchen with plenty of natural lights or on the patio. As for my little condo, I have only one spot for photos, but I DO have GREAT lighting in my tiny kitchen, 3 different types which are very helpful for photos!

Enough of the photos...still up to our 'eyeballs' with the mangoes, as you can see in Lora's recent post as well!

Since she came back from Italy, we've been busy making all kinds of things with mangoes...but she's the one that made the majority of the jams.

See what I mean? ...natural lighting is 'everything'...same mango chutney inside, by the glass door...can't even correct the color...and the same one, in the jar.

BTW-this pretty dish is an American antique from the 1930's 'thrift find' for $2.99 that I gave to Lora. I just love the ruffled details and the 18 carat gold...if that's not an amazing treasure, than I don't know what is!

Although Lora brought back with her Italian pectin and has used the metric system measure with her little scale to weigh the fruit, the sugar, and use the pectin accordingly, I am satisfied with our 'good old' American made by KRAFT FOODS, which I'm happy to say, I also used for the Sweet Mango Chutney, which I will give you a full recipe for the 'spicy' version, but you can eliminate the spicy peppers, onion, and garlic for the sweet version that I used, because the little ones love this even as a thick jam!

Just to let you know how much I love this product, I did buy a double VALUE PACK just the other day, to use it for a GIVEAWAY gift for any one, that would be interested of using that great pectin, made in the U.S. by KRAFT FOODS!
It is a double pack, sealed in plastic, with instructions on the box, and inside with a packing slip, as well for other suggestions of uses. It is 100% natural, and no 'animal' products added. If you are interested in receiving this amazing product, which takes the place of AGAR...that is a lot more expensive...than by all means let me know, and mention what you wold like to use it for! I will use the RANDOM.org calculation, to determine the winner, by Friday @ 11:00PM Eastern Standard time.

On another serious note:
Did you know that on Aug. 1, 2012, Foodbuzz will no longer exist?...or is it joining Daily Buzz Food? As a Foodbuzz Publisher, I don't recall getting any notice in my e-mail...but I do know that for several months now, I have not been getting paid for ads into my Pay Pal account. I have close to 3,000 friends on Foodbuzz that I have been so fortunate to befriend in the nearly last two years on Foodbuzz, among them my dear friend Lizzy, Gina, Chef Dennis, and Jo...from day #1 we've been supporting one-another all this time, and I've had the pleasure of meeting them (except Lizzy)...at last year's fantastic Foodbuzz Food Festival, in San Francisco...another question?
What is happening this year with the Food Festival? I've gotten the invite, but have not responded...and now, THIS?...I am totally perplexed!

I've submitted an application to be a content contributor for DailyBuzz Food, and given you my RSS feed. Why don't I see my content yet?

Diane
posted this on Jul 23 12:16

Our system soon will push your RSS content onto appropriate channels automatically, but for the time being we're manually processing posts. They'll show up as soon as we can mark them active. Thanks for your patience!

This was just one of the questions posted re: the new Daily Buzz Food...if anyone knows more info regarding the change on Foodbuzz, please let us hear about it...I'm in the 'dark'...and have no answers other than what you may all know!

For the Mango recipe:
Follow the instructions of the Sure-Jell, or other pectin of your choice, package instructions. You can make any kind of jam easy, as long as you have a sterilized jar, and lid...make sure you refrigerate it, otherwise you would have immerse the jars with the jams in boiling water for 10 minutes, and let it cool completely. before storing it in a cool place in your cupboard. (Personally, I prefer the fridge method)

Mango Chutney
adapted from Cooking Light

2 medium ripe mangoes
peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 sweet onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 Tbsp brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of pectin
(you can use powdered instead)
dash of salt
dash of black pepper
1 garlic clove minced

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan Cook over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until thick. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat, Cool completely. If too chunky, mash with potato masher. Spoon carefully into sterilized jars with sterilized lids, and refrigerate. It will keep fresh for up to 3 weeks (if it stays that long)

For the sweet version:
Just omit the hot peppers, including the black pepper, and also the onion and garlic...otherwise, follow as in the original method. (the original version did not use pectin; but it really does make a great difference in texture and flavor, so I added it)

note: either one is great as a condiment on burgers, fish tacos, or as a side sauce, heated up and thinned out a little, or even as a jam on toast!

Kung Pao Chicken...and Cinco de Mayo!

What does a spicy Sechuan Chicken have to do with Cinco de Mayo?...absolutely nothing!

 The holiday of Cinco De Mayo, The 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually September 16. 

Kung Pao, also translated as Gong Bao Chicken, a spicy, stir fry made with chicken, peanuts, and snow peas. My version with the bone-in chicken thighs...a healthier Sechuan version baked, instead of stir fried!

Kung Pao Chicken 
adapted from; Cooking Light magazine
Dec, 2010 

2 Tbsp. dark sesame oil
1 medium chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch piece
I used 1 package-4 pieces chicken thighs, with bone-in

3/4 cup water
3 Tbsp lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced ginger
I used 1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
1 to 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large pepper)
I used 2 fresh red chile peppers thinly sliced
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
2  Tbsp chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 3 minutes or until softened. Add
garlic; saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken, saute 3 minutes until chicken begins to brown.

My method:

I baked my chicken pieces, bone-in in my toaster oven on a foil lined baked oven pan...you can bake in a conventional stove oven as well, 350 degrees F. for about 30-45 minutes. Just add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil, salt, pepper, to taste, and your favorite spices, such as paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic salt with parsley is what I added.

Combine 3/4 cup water and the next 5 ingredients on the list...up to the crushed red pepper...stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.
Add water mixture to pa; bring to a boil. Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens. Sprinkle with nuts
Yield 4 servings.
I added the peanuts with the chicken, at the last 10 minutes of baking!



Serve over Jasmine rice...cook according to directions!

Strawberry Whipped Sensation...for your Valentine!

I can't help but keep thinking about the famous quotation..."A rose is a rose, is a rose"...some of you might have heard that famous quotation, by Gertrude Stein, part of a poem in 1913. Actually there is a meaning to the quote.
"Things are the way they are!"...yes, that is so true. The sooner we realize and understand how things are, we will understand what they are!

What I like to do is to see a recipe, especially one with a photo, and do my own spin on the final result. I can tell if the recipe will actually work out or not, and in this case, I totally did a different shape, form, but kept the ingredients... just added more strawberries, and crushed Oreo cookies to the crust! Even though I didn't make this cake for a "romantic significant other"...I did have plenty of raves from my wonderful family. How could you possibly resist the fresh strawberry mousse filling over the most favorite cookie crust, topped with America's all-time favorite Cool Whip topping, and surrounded by Dove heart shaped chocolate pieces!

A rose can say I love you and want you to be mine,

A rose can say I thank you for being so very kind,

A rose can say congratulations, whatever the occasion may be,
A rose can say I miss you and wish you were here with me,
A rose can say I'm sorry if I've hurt you in any way,
A rose can say get well soon, May God bless you today,
A rose can say I wish you happiness, and the best for you each day
A rose can say farewell when someone goes away,
A rose can say hello, I'm thinking of you today,
There's just so many wonderful things that a rose can say,
A rose can say goodbye when a love one is laid to rest,

No matter what there is to say, a rose can say it best. 

~Margie Drive

Linking to:#chocolatelove blog hop, @ Mis Pensamientos
http://mizhelenscountrycottage.blogspot.com/
                   http://katherinescorner.com/

                   Be my Valentine Challenge @Very Good Recipes

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

adapted from: Family Circle magazine, March 2003

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tub 8 oz. Cool Whip Whipped Topping thawed, divided

8 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. butter melted

Line 8x4 inch loaf pan with foil. Mash 2 cups of strawberries in large bowl. Stir in condensed milk, juice and 2 cups of the Cool Whip; pour into pan.

Top with combined chopped cookies and butter; press into mixture. Cover.

Freeze at least 6 hours.To serve, invert onto plate. Remove foil. Frost with remaining Cool Whip. Top with remaining strawberries, Makes 12 servings.

My version of making this cake: I used 16 cookies, and 2 Tbsp. of melted butter, put them in the food processor, and pressed the crushed cookies into a heart shaped springform pan. I filled it with the filling, and topped it with Cool Whip.

I carefully folded my crushed up strawberries into the sweetened condensed milk

Now fold in half of the Cool Whip whipped topping.

Now, cover with aluminum foil, and freeze up to 6 hrs.

Gabby wanted to decorate the cake...instead of using sliced strawberries, she used the most amazing Dove chocolate heart shapes, and just one strawberry on the top. Extra box of strawberries came in handy, to add some halved strawberries on the side, to enjoy!

Beautiful slice of heavenly Whipped Sensation!

This is dessert devoured...before dinner:D

Your MOMENT...YOUR DOVE...saved for last...yumm!









HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
...with Love, to all my friends!

Rye Bread...and Awards

If you can believe it, this is my first rye bread that I have ever made...(I have made white, and whole wheat in a simple loaf pan, but not rye...and not free-form.)...thanks to finding rye flour at Whole Foods Market. They have everything there, that are healthy, organic, and totally good for you. I can spend hours there, when I shop, going down on each and every isle, and have a nice and healthy self-serve lunch there, as well.

The crust of this Rustic Rye Bread is so incredibly crunchy, and the flavor just blows you away! I made a long loaf and a round loaf with the recipe, it was really such a pleasure to get your hands on these loaves, and let the bread machine do the heavy kneading, but I did get help from my little grandson Luca. He volunteered to help, and both of us loved every minute of this fabulous bread making.

The recipe comes from a 1987 Fanny Farmer Cookbook, nothing fancy, no photos, just drawing illustrations.The ever famous James Beard has a great introduction about the book. Fanny Farmer...actually, that was her real name, had a cooking school in Boston, in the early 1900, and her first cookbook was published in 1896, the Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. She died in 1915, but her legacy has been carried on for over a century, and copies have been coming out, each time with new revised editions. This edition is also a revised edition, and the latest edition is a 2010 edition. Every cook in America should know about Fanny Farmer, and her contribution to the American Cuisine! Just a little history, to get you acquainted with!...Now, let's get on to the recipe!

Rye Bread
from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook

1 cup (1/4 L) milk
2 Tablespoon shortening
2 Tablespoon dark-brown sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
2 packages dry yeast
3 cups (420 g.) rye flour
3 cups (420 g.) white flour

Bring 1 cup water to a boil, mix it with the milk, shortening, sugar and salt in a large bowl, and let cool to lukewarm. Measure 1/2 cup warm water in a separate container, stir in yeast, and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. Add the dissolved yeast to the rye flour to the first mixture, and combine thoroughly. . Add enough of the white flour, so that you can handle the dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead for a minute or two, then let rest, for 10 minutes. Resume kneading for about 10 minutes, adding the remaining flour as necessary.

(I did all the previous steps, by adding everything into the bread machine container, and set the dial on to the "dough setting" to do the kneading.)

Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place, until almost double in bulk.

(Now here's the fun part, my little helper waiting, in the sidelines on his favorite stool... and ready to punch down the dough)


Punch down and shape into two loaves. Place in greased loaf pans, ( I made two free-form loaves) and let rise until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 375 F. degrees
(190 C.)

Bake bread for 45-50 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on rack.

For a free-form shaped bread, fold over each side, as in making the dough for flaky biscuits.

Priceless little "angelic" helping hands folding over both sides of the dough!

Shaping the dough into a round loaf...making sure the ends are tucked in and sealed, so bread will not open up and fall apart when baking.

Such happy memories will result from bread making with little ones. (both of us shaping, and sealing the bottom of the dough)

One rectangle, and one round loaf. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, and let it rise again, until larger (not necessarily doubled)

Now, you can rub a little more flour on top, and slash the tops lightly with a sharp knife, to give it a rustic design, and follow the direction for baking.

...and the finished result! My grandchildren ate at least 2 slices of this amazing bread, while it was still warm. My grandson was so proud of himself for helping, he even had another slice for breakfast, the following morning!

Get your kids help you in the kitchen with baking, whenever they get interested...which might be more often than you think. So much fun, so many fond memories:DDD


For points value, I did the math on my little handy WW points tracker. 3 points for 1 slice of bread.
(I ate 2 slices)

Linking to: Full Plate Thursday, @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
                Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop, @ Katherines Corner