Although I've been feeling so 'out of it' and not really in the mood for driving, grocery shopping, and...especially cooking, due to not feeling my best with the bandage on my forehead to cover and protect the 'skin cancer surgery'...and taking strong antibiotics is not my favorite thing at all. I finally had the stitches removed and now I'm on my way to healing with a slight scar about 1 1/2 inches which will fade in time. I scheduled for my next surgery appointment a month away!
When you know you have a dozen eggs in your fridge...actually, you only need 8, have onions, and some kind of fresh veggies, you could whip up a frittata in no time, at all!
I really do not need a recipe for this simple frittata, but I got inspired by Martha Stewart's Whole Living magazine...sad to say, is no longer in circulation. Again...I swapped the vegetables and omitted the jalapeno peppers which I did not have, but no worries...if you want it spicy, you can use chili pepper flakes for a spicier flavor. Recipe also calls for fresh corn kernels (you can use frozen)...I used diced potatoes, instead...otherwise, you can be creative and add veggies of your choice! Click on the link, for the recipe! SPICY ZUCCHINI FRITTATA
The next day, I still had a lot of leftovers and had a yummy cold frittata sandwich for lunch. Some people do not like cold eggs...but as for me; I love cold hard boiled eggs, or a frittata (fried-scrambled eggs) especially on simple, fresh whole wheat bread.
My poor little kitty, Mush has found a little 'me space' which I usually have it stacked with cook books and some novels, and just stared out at me feeling left out, while I am finishing my post.
Pets can pick up on your 'moods' and feelings. Poor baby has felt neglected all week long...or is she just watching the red ribbons protruding from the book?...most likely. She is such a comfort, so sweet and delicate little thing, and oh, so 'finicky'...just like most female cats are. (she still misses Prince, can't believe its been already over one year that he had to be put down...sigh!)
I really appreciate all your caring and friendship; if I neglected to comment on your blog...I will try to catch up visiting and commenting, and as for my posts; I need to step that up, as well and post at least twice a week. Take care, and Hugs to all!
Living in sunny South Florida gives us the advantage of obtaining the freshest seafood every day...available, 365 days a year. You can even buy it from fishermen coming back from the fishing boats...not cheap, but affordable and oh, so amazing and fresh!
I love shrimp, especially the pink Key West shrimp. I saw the CREOLE SHRIMP AND RICE recipe in June, 2013 issue of Cooking Light magazine and I was impressed by it, but adding the 1 cup of milk to make the Creole Sauce was not my 'cup of tea', so I adapted the recipe changing it to the 'ruby red' spicy sauce, and serving it with Jasmine rice!
I discovered this beautiful bag of little treasures...fresh San Marzano mini tomatoes...grown in Texas, so sweet, crunchy and yummy; you can eat it just like 'candy' but I used it in my sauce, along with the Red Gold tomatoes... that I still had left over from my promotion pack. No need for extra spices, although I used the same recipe as the one from Cooking Light, and added 1 can of the Chili Ready diced tomato.
We all have a way of dealing with 'stress' a different way. Most people eat for comfort...or shop for comfort...be a 'hoarder' of accumulated unnecessary things; as for me, I also shop, but I do the 'thrift shopping' and only for items that I really could use in my kitchen or around the house.
As for eating...I substitute it for 'food shopping'! My cupboards are slightly overflowing with just about every staple item needed for cooking or baking; my fridge is full with fruits, vegetables, dairy products, breads and rolls in the freezer. Food shopping brings me comfort, but it can be costly if all the perishable items are not used up in time.
I'm not the type of person to complain about my physical health...aches, and pains, or even keeping a doctor's appointment; rather cancelling and re-scheduling, instead. To get to the point, I've been neglecting my every 3 months dermatology check ups...after over a year, I finally visited the dermatologist office to check for dangerous moles or spots sprouting up. Since the last couple months I had at least half a dozen suspicious moles and spots...some cancerous, removed from my back, chest, and arm, and now I am dealing with two more that are a little more complex.
So, if you did not hear from me for over a week...posting, commenting, its not because I'm on vacation its just LIFE HAPPENS...every day is a 'challenge' of some sorts.
I had a dangerous skin cancer (Basal Carcinoma) surgically removed from the middle of my forehead this morning...three consecutive sessions...digging, scraping, carving; now its stitched up, and I'm not feeling my best, and next month I will have to have another one surgically removed.
When you don't hear from me, and I'm not blogging...or on Facebook...something's up.
I also forgot to mention that, Pinterest has been a great comfort for me for the last week, just pinning...pinning...and marveling at all the amazing and beautiful things. Also, I've been 'downsizing' and getting rid of things. I hauled more clothes, books...mostly cookbooks, and small pieces of furniture, to donate...you would think that I'm moving!
When you attempt to make a 'free form' galette, it is so much easier to make a galette, and tastier than the store bought frozen pie crust...I really, highly recommend home made. Just follow the recipe for a double crust pie crust for your galette...here, @ The Clever Carrot...such an adorable name for a food blog; but I will not be commenting (learned my lesson from previous times, when I promoted a blog)
NO response back!
As for the filling, I got the inspiration from here...@ Kitchen Sisters; but do not follow the instructions for 8 individual galettes, although the dough recipe is beautiful, and correct, but there is no way possible to make more than two galettes (they possibly meant 8 servings) The double crust recipe yields 1 large galette, or two smaller ones.
A perfect summer dessert recipe, and for the fall season as well, as long as you can get fresh peaches. We have an abundance of beautiful peaches, right from Georgia; the state that is famous for the best...ever peaches, just like our Florida is famous for the best...ever, oranges.
As you can see, when I make some kind of dessert, it doesn't last long in my little beach apartment, and so far this week, my children, and grandchildren have been here almost every day enjoying the beach. School is starting soon, and they got the best week to enjoy the last week of sunshine, which we didn't have a lot of in the last month! As soon as the galette got cool enough to cut slices, Gabby just grabbed a fork and ate half of the yummy galette, all by herself. It was just too 'awesome' to let this moment pass, so I grabbed my camera...she just cautioned me not to take a picture of her eating, right there, while it was still on top of the stove cooling!
I used 2 ripe, but firm peaches to fill my galettes and let me tell you...the crust was so full, I barely was able to fold the dough over...but the dough is so perfect each and every time, and I mix it in my large food processor, just using 'pulse' and not mixing rapidly. The dough will actually form into a ball, and then you're ready to wrap it in plastic and press down to shape it into a disk...don't forget to refrigerate for at least one hour.
This is what a chilled disk of dough looks like, all nicely wrapped in plastic wrap, and ready to roll out.
Just lift the plastic wrap off and place it over the top of the dough to roll out, right on the parchment lined baking pan. (make sure the dough is still cold, right after you took it out of the fridge)...this will ensure that you will get a great flaky crust.
A beautiful couple hours at our private beach!
Lora, checking her I-Phone...Luca collecting 'live' fishies and baby crabs and placing them in the bucket!
Can you spot the tiny baby crab in the middle?
A gorgeous Sunday on the beach...school will be starting, and I'm sure all kids got to take advantage of the last, or almost last Sunday, before school, doing some fun stuff!
Take care, and have a wonderful week ahead! Hugs, to all
Jelly Roll, or Piskóta Tekercs ...pronounced as (Pishkota Tekerch) is, and has been truly a childhood favorite of mine and for a lot of years...also, my children are quite familiar with this awesome and light delicate cake that my favorite Hungarian aunt Mariska used to make on many occasions. My son insists that it is best filled with the smooth-as-silk chocolate filling, not just any old chocolate filling but the one that is like a mousse type and tastes like milk chocolate.
I did not take too good of a photo of it...it was an extremely stormy day over this weekend, I got soaked in the rain coming out of the supermarket yesterday afternoon...of course leaving my umbrella at the house. As you know our South Florida weather is very 'tricky'. It was somewhat a sunny/partly cloudy day earlier, and all of a sudden you get this 'flash storm' hit you out of 'nowhere' that lasts about an hour and it's all over with, and the weather clears up again~
I actually have this recipe in my head from years ago...very simple method...4 eggs, 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, but I do have the classic recipe in my 1986 Good Housekeeping book. I am so thrilled that I ordered the new version of the Good Housekeeping cook book from Amazon, it finally arrived.
The best way to order books is to choose the 'used' versions, especially when it is gently used...and 'like new'. This book is a 'dream'...seriously! The new price is $35. and used...$5.19 plus $3.99 shipping charge. The outer jacket cover is still on the book and it is amazingly new...just can't see any flaws at all.
Jelly Roll adapted from the Good Housekeeping cook book 1986 edition
3/4 cup cake flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs separated (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar (I used 1 cup)
Confectioners' (icing) sugar
1- 10 to 12 ounce jar jelly, or jam of your choice
(I used seedless blackberry jam)
Grease a 15 1/2 inch x 10 1/2 inch (I used a smaller size, size doesn't have to be exact)
Line pan with waxed paper, and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix cake flour (or all-purp. flour) baking powder and salt. With electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form
(use the finger test if it adheres nicely to the finger, it's done) use 1/4 cup of sugar to add gradually while mixing. (I used 1/2 cup)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl,
with same beaters and with mixer at high speed, egg yolks, vanilla extract and 1/2 cup sugar until very thick and lemon-colored (pale)
With rubber spatula, gently fold flour mixture and beaten egg whites into egg-yolk mixture.
Spread batter evenly in pan; bake 15 minutes or until cake is golden and top springs back when lightly touched with finger.
Meanwhile, sprinkle clean cloth towel with confectioners' sugar. When cake is done, immediately invert cake onto towel.
Carefully peel waxed paper from the cake. If you like, cut off crisp edges.
Starting at a narrow end, roll cake with towel, jelly-roll fashion. Cool cake completely, seam side down, on a wire rack, about 30 minutes.
To serve, unroll cooled cake. Spread cake evenly with jelly. Starting from same narrow end, roll cake without towel. Sprinkle roll with confectioners' sugar; place seam side down, on a platter.
I would like to announce the winner for the Red Gold Tomato Giveaway, which was determined by RANDOM.ORG ...number generator.
True Random Number Generator2
Congratulations, Patty....and thanks to everyone who participated!
Red Gold has been producing premium quality tomato products since 1942, focusing on growing local in the Midwest, while it's cold in the winter, has the perfect growing season for tomatoes; perfect angle of the sun, perfect temps-and even the winter is good for tomatoes, as it breaks up the soil for tiny root systems.
Red Gold produces premium quality canned tomatoes and tomato-based products for retail, food service, private brands, and club stores. The Red Gold family of consumer brands includes Red Gold, Redpack, Tuttorosso, and Sacramento. Exceptional quality and operational excellence are the shared values that contributed to the employee-created mission statement: “To produce the freshest, best tasting tomato products in the world”.
Red Gold has graciously contacted me if I would sponsor a giveaway for their product...of course I said "yes"! I received a selection of 5 different diced tomatoes, along with recipe index cards...my most favorite choice was the Red Gold Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, and Oregano...I made delicious cheeseburgers with it and topped it off with slice Provolone cheese. Photo and recipe to follow!
The gift pack for the giveaway will include a sample of Red Pack goodies (ketchup, Red Goldw/Green Chilies, Red Gold Lime Juice & Cilantro), as well as coupons and recipes for a Spicy Tomato Burger and Caribbean Chicken Burger.
Look for the Red Gold Summertime Grillin' Party- on their Facebook page. It stated on July 24th the first day of the promotion!
As you can see, judging from the photos...the brioches have a mind of their own; leaning 'every which way'...swaying from left-to-right, right to left' ...looks like they're falling over; but don't be fooled! They are golden brown, light-as-a-feather texture, and that's what counts!
I have an amazing recipe from my 1986 version of The Good Housekeeping Cookbook which I think is the BEST of all the other 3 that I compared it with...although they are quite similar. You can make Brioches in loaf pans which is a simple solution verses the perfect mini tin pans!
I did order the Good Housekeeping Cookbook 125th edition (2010) from Amazon, for $5.19 ...a book that retails for at least $30.00. Did you know that Goodwill Industries sells books on Amazon?...well, they are the seller; the book is almost new...shipping cost is $3.99 and I will be receiving it by next week. The new book suggests you make the Brioche in a loaf pan, which is more ideal.
I used RED STAR YEAST...this time, the Quick Rise Gluten Free, and I had great results...no doubting if the yeast will rise or not!
Brioches from the New Good Housekeeping Cookbook 1986
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 packages active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter or margarine (1- 1/2 sticks)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
5 eggs
In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, yeast, and 1-1/2 cups flour. In a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat...heat butter or margarine and milk. until very warm. Butter or margarine does not need to melt.
With the mixer at low speed, beat liquid into dry ingredients, just until blended. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes. Beat in grated lemon peel, 4 eggs, and 1 cup flour to make a thick batter; continue beating 2 minutes, scraping bowl often.
Stir in 1 cup of flour to make a very soft dough, beat with spoon for 5 minutes.
Place dough in grease, large bow. Cover; let rise in a warm place until doubled about 1 hour. Stir down dough, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
About 2 hours before serving, punch down dough, turn onto lightly floured surface, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes. Grease 12 (I only had 10) brioche pans
Cut off one-sixth of dough; set aside. Cut remaining dough into 12 pieces; shape each into small balls. Make a depression in center of each small ball; place the small balls in the depression; cover, let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In cup, beat remaining egg; use to brush brioches. Bake brioches for 20 minutes or until golden and brioches test done. Remove from pans.
Serve warm, fresh from the oven, or cool on wire racks. Ideal to serve with fruit spread, or butter!
I planned to make this glorious brown-sugar crusted rich, eggy Overnight Baked French Toast for this morning, but ended up having to make it three days earlier...only having to freeze most of it along with the berries!
I was so thrilled to find this awesome recipe in the Good Housekeeping Cookbook 125th Anniversary edition, which I rented from the local library and I'm so tempted to buy this book. I do have an older copy from 1986 which also has great recipes but no photos, only drawing illustrations. I got a pleasant surprise invite from my daughter and hubby to join them for the weekend in Orlando. Lora, for her Food and Wine Conference, and Fabrizio for his cooking demonstration at the Culinary Institute...so, I was with my sweet grandchildren enjoying fun stuff at the hotel. It was raining all weekend long, even in Orlando, Florida but it's always nice to get away for the weekend!
If you visit Orlando and wish to stay at a nice hotel...about 20 minutes by car, or bus (which is FREE) to go to Disney World.... I highly recommend the Shingle Creek Hotel
Overnight Baked French Toast from: The Good Housekeeping Cookbook
12 slices firm white bread
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Arrange bread slices in four stacks in 8-inch square baking dish.
In a blender, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and blend until mixture is smooth. Slowly pour egg mixture over bread slices; press bread down to absorb egg mixture, spooning egg mixture over any uncovered bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In small bowl, stir brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup until combined. Spread evenly over each stack of bread. Bake until knife inserted 1 inch from center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
To serve, cut each stack diagonally in half. Makes 8 servings.
