FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW

Farmboy came in yesterday morning and asked for my camera.
What the heck??
He had seen our grandson's meandering footprints leading from the house to the end of the driveway where he catches the bus for school every morning, and he had to take a picture.
That boy does NOT walk a straight line!

And really...would we have it any other way?
Actually, yes.
There are some (OK, most) mornings that all I could wish for would be a little boy who isn't arguing/talking back/sassing, etc.
This past 1 1/2 years has been a tough row to hoe.
We've done all we can, and soon he will be back at his mom's.
Meanwhile, we continue to pray, and thank GOD for the public school system!

WE HAVE ANOTHER WINNER!

Oh, for the love of cookin'!
I tried a new recipe last evening, gleaned from Epicurious nearly 2 years ago.

Crisp Pork Medallions with Creamy Caper Sauce.

SO delicious!
Halfway through the meal, I thought to take a picture, so what you're seeing is what's left on my plate!
Really quite a simple recipe, perfect for a chilly (all right, bitterly cold) Tuesday supper.

For sauce:
6-8oz plain yogurt (whole milk)...I didn't have whole milk, I had non-fat...so I added a couple TBL of heavy cream, leftover from the holidays)
3 TBL mayo
2 TBL drained capers, finely chopped
1 TBL finely chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teas pepper

For pork:
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pound pork tenderloin
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used bread flour, as that's all I had)
1 teas. kosher salt
1/4 teas. pepper
2 large eggs
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs (I used Japanese Panko)
about 1 cup veg. oil for frying (I used half that)

Special equip needed: instant read thermometer (or a knife to check for doneness)

Make sauce:
Stir together all sauce ingr. in a bowl, then chill, covered, till ready to use.

Cook pork:
Put oven rack in middle position, pre-heat to 350 F

Cut pork crosswise into 1 1/4 inch thick slices (medallions, if you will!)

Whisk together flour, salt and pepper in shallow bowl.

Whick eggs with a pinch of salt in another shallow bowl.

Put bread crumbs in a third shallow bowl.

Working with one medallion at a time, dredge in flour, shake off excess, and dip in egg, letting excess drip off, then coat with crumbs, pressing to help them stick. Arrange pork in 1 layer on baking sheet.

Heat oil in large skillet on med. heat till hot but not smoking, then panfry medallions, turning over once, until golden brown, 6-8 min. total.
Transfer to a clean baking sheet and roast in oven until thermometer inserted horizontally into center of meat registers 145 to 150F, 6-7 minutes.

Serve pork with sauce and a lemon wedge.
I LOVED this sauce!

This meal didn't need much else.

The meat was so wonderful, all I added was a Caesar salad and some homemade crusty bread.
I like to make my own Caesar dressing, and came across a great recipe a couple of weeks ago.
Easy, peasy.

In food processor place:

3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
3 anchovies
1 TBL worcestershire sauce
1 TBL red wine vinegar
1 TBL Dijon mustard
5 TBL fresh grated parmigiano reggiano
1 large egg yolk
1 TBL fresh squeezed lemon juice

Process briefly, till fairly smooth.
With food processor running, slowly, slowly pour in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.
Mixture will thicken wonderfully.

This makes enough dressing for approximately 4 large Caesar salads.

Pour over chopped romaine, add croutons and some more fresh grated parmigiano reggiano.

SO DELICIOUS!
SO SIMPLE!

With the remainder of the tenderloin, I am making Sechuan Orange Pork. (actual recipe calls for chicken , but hey, I've got leftover pork!)

Perhaps the recipe will follow?

PS....THIS IS NOT A FOOD BLOG

SUNDAY SUPPER

SUNDAY SUPPER

Farmboy called me from the grocers last week to announce there was an eye-of-round roast on sale for only $1.99#. Do I want one?
Hold on, I'll check.
Enter "Google".
Eye-of-round recipes.
Yup, I want one.
He came home with a 7#er.
Cut it in half, put one chunk in the freezer.
Copied the recipe from "Allrecipes.com"
Here ya go....

FarmgirlCyn's version......

1 (3#) beef eye of round roast
8 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
2TBL kosher salt
1TBL pepper
2 teas. rosemary (I used my organic, dried, from summers potager)
2 teas. thyme (I have fresh in the window, but used dry)

Preheat oven to 525 degress (HOT!!!)

Cut tiny slits all over roast, and insert garlic slivers
Mix the seasonings and sprinkle all over roast

Place roast in a roasting pan, fat side up...tho there is not much fat (I used a 9x13) or baking dish

DO NOT COVER OR ADD WATER

Place roast in pre-heated oven. Reduce temp. to 475 F. Roast for 21 min. (7 min. per pound)

TURN OVEN OFF, AND LET THE ROAST SIT IN OVEN FOR 2 1/2 HOURS. DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR. I MEAN IT.

Remove roast from oven. Internal temp. should have reached 145 degrees.
Carve into thin slices to serve.

Now, when I followed these directions, the roast was done perfectly for us. Medium rare and very tasty. My only complaint is the roast is quite cool. I think I am going to mess with the recipe for the other half a roast, and turn the oven DOWN (not off) to maybe 180, and leave it in for maybe an hour. I will do an internal temp. check with my instant read thermometer, and gauge approximately how much longer to keep it in the oven.

If I were serving this as sandwich meat, I wouldn't care about how cool it was. But, we were having it with mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and homemade rolls...and I wanted my meat warmer. I knew if I nuked it, it would be too overdone for my liking. So, we ate it as is.
To it's credit, the recipe is great, and I think there were over 40 commenters and most of them said it was the best roast they had ever eaten.

Oh yeah, the garlic, rosemary, and thyme were my idea....it's the same combo I use at Christmas for the prime rib roast.

What's on the menu at YOUR house for Sunday supper?

Love,
Cyn

MY SWEDISH/FRENCH BLOG LISTS

You may or may not have spotted my sidebar titled "My Blog List".
But, if you have, you may have noticed that recently I have added some Swedish and French blogs, which of course, cannot be read by me.
BUT....I have found a site called "Google Language Tools" which translates their blog, albeit very crudely, into English!
Try it!
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=EN

In the "Search for" bar paste the name of the blog you wish to have translated. Make sure it is just the blog name, not anything else. For instance, my blog's name is "cindy50.blogspot.com"....so if anything appears after the .com, remove it.
Then you will ask it to search pages written in....say "Swedish"
Click "translate and search", and their blog entries will appear. Click the top one and it is usually their current post.
It has been so much fun to see what folks in other countries are doing with their decorating and gardening!
Now, mind you, I DID say it was a fairly crude translation, and sometimes makes for some real laughs.
Let me know what you think?

HOPE DEFERRED...AND A RECIPE!

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick;
but when the desire comes,
it is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

Today Farmboy and I were to make the mecca to a far distant land (1 hour north!) , to have dinner and fellowship with Ang and her family.
A quick exchange of phone calls this morning had assured each of us that the plans were still intact, despite the "lake effect" snow that had descended upon us during the night, and was to continue through the day.
Ang had mentioned there was a problem with their gas powered engine that worked the water pump, but she was quite sure hubby would have it fixed before we were to arrive.
Before too long however, came the dreaded phone call.
Hubby was going to have to run around looking for parts, and there would be no dinner/fellowship today.
Hope deferred....
It WILL happen, and we look forward to setting another date to come visit their "off'grid" farm and have some much anticipated/much needed fellowship.

Meanwhile...the cake that I had offered to bring for dessert became OUR dessert today!

I got this recipe around 1978 from an uncle's wife, who whipped it up in 5 min., had it in the oven for 45 min. and was serving it in less than an hour.

It has been a staple for me, as a quick, easy, and much loved recipe.

FRUIT COCKTAIL CAKE

Oven pre-heated to 350F
grease (Pam) 9X13 pan

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teas. baking soda
2 eggs
1 teas. salt
1 16 oz. can fruit cocktail (UN-drained) (I happened to have 2 cans mandarin oranges in the pantry yesterday, so for the 1st time ever, I messed with my original recipe) WE LOVED IT!

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl, and mix with electric mixer for 1-2 min., or until thoroughly mixed.

Pour into greased pan.

Sprinkle top with:
4-6 TBL brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Bake for 45 minutes.
Cake will look moist, but toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely.
Top individual servings with whipped topping of your choice.

MY choice would be real whipping cream, but I must confess, more often than not, it's Cool-Whip!

I think you will love it!
I KNOW Ang and the gang would have.

And Ang,
When the desire comes, it WILL be a tree of life!!!

Wonder spray!

A few months ago I did some library searches for homemade cleansers.
Ordered a few books from my local library, and found, for the most part, nothing I wanted to try.
I had already been making my own laundry soap for 3 years, and had, of course used a vinegar/water solution for mirrors and windows for quite a while.
I was looking for an all-purpose spray cleaner.
Something akin to Lysol.
I think I found it.
From "Clean House, Clean Planet" by Karen Logan....just the thing I was looking for.
Simple, few ingredients, and...best of all...
IT WORKS!

In a 16 oz. trigger spray bottle...

Mix 2 TBL. of vinegar with 1 tsp borax (20 Mule Team Borax, found in the laundry soap area of your grocers...same ingredient I use in my homemade laundry soap)

Fill the rest of the bottle with very hot water.

Shake until borax is dissolved

Add 1/4 cup of dishwashing liquid

For fragrance you may add 10 -15 drops essential oil (lavender or lemon?) I did not.

They recommend using distilled water, as the minerals in your water may inhibit cleaning.
It is IMPORTANT to dissolve the borax in the hot water so that it won't clog the nozzle. And don't mix the vinegar and soap directly together, as the soap will clump up.

IMPORTANT....FOLLOW RECIPE IN THE ORDER GIVEN, ADDING SOAP LAST!!!!!

How to use.....
Spray and wipe.
Use as you would any other all-purpose cleaner.

Let me know if you try it.

How are YOU saving $$$ in the cleanser department?

TRUE CONFESSIONS...

The bible says to "confess your sins to one another..." James 5:16, so here goes...
I am a thief.
Yes, it's true.
I won't even try to soft sell it.

I steal jokes...
Did you hear about the insomniac, dyslexic, atheist?
He lays awake all night, wondering if there is a dog.

I steal recipes.....
Rachel Ray, Ina Garten, Mimi, Kalyn, Joy,...


I steal decorating ideas.....
Joy, Country Home, Angela,.....

I steal wine recommendations...
Joy, Angela, Patricia Wells,...


And, if truth be told, I have been known to take (ok let's call a spade a spade...steal)
the last piece of cake.


Whew.
I feel SO much better now.
It is true...confession is good for the soul.
And really, these folks should be pleased I steal from them!
Isn't imitation the highest form of flattery???
Gotta run, Barefoot Contessa is comin' on soon...gotta get my pen and paper!

Am I unusual? Oh yeah!

Cyn and Farmboy, circa 1969

I've been "tagged by Dee, over at Mrs Peterson's Place to name 7 "unusual" things about me.
Truth be told, I think there are plenty more than 7, so I will show some constraint, and keep my list down.

1.Met Farmboy when I had JUST turned 16, and married him a month after I turned 18...which means we just celebrated 37 years. THAT's the unusual part!!! (Do the math...I am 55 now!)

2. I will always be "Young", as that is my last name! (I LOVE telling folks that)

3. Before getting saved in 1978, I was a REALLY bad Catholic.

4. I used to have VERY curly hair until menopause...now it is barely wavy.

5. The Christmas music starts 'round here about a week before Thanksgiving. Can't help myself. Not another note after Dec. 25 tho.

6. I have had 2 stepmothers and 2 stepfathers.

7.I used to have really bad breath until Farmboy told me to start flossing before bed. (his habit for many, many years) That was 4 New Years Eves ago, and I have NOT missed one night since. Not even if we go to bed at 2am. Not even if I have had the flu. AND....my breath has greatly improved!

Oh my! There are so many more I could list!
Now, Dee wants me to "tag" 7 others, but I can't think of anyone who has the time for this....so
if you are so inclined, join in.

ONCE YOU'VE MADE HOMEMADE STOCK...

Once you've made homemade stock...
You may never go bock.
Yes...I know my jingle doesn't really make sense, but "stock" doesn't rhyme with "back"!
But the message is clear...
Homemade stock rules!
And is SO simple to make!
I have bought "Kitchen Basics" brand of chicken stock for several years now, and always recommend it in any of my recipes that call for broth or stock. It is, by FAR, the best stock on the market.
However...and this is a huge HOWEVER....
It cost $3.29 per quart!
Now, most of my soup recipes call for a minimum of 2 quarts of stock, which brings the final cost of a simple tomato soup to almost $9.00.
Far too much, considering everything going on.
So, I went to Food Network's web site and asked for homemade chicken stock recipes, and found a couple that I liked.
I actually combined Tyler Florence's and Ina Garten's recipes, and came up with something FAR better than ANY I have ever purchased.
Here's the basic recipe I used...

10 chicken backs
3 turkey necks
3 large, yellow onions, UNpeeled and quartered
8 carrots, UNpeeled and cut in chunks
1 bunch celery with leaves, cut into chunks
3 turnips, cut into 6 pieces each (Ina used parsnips, Tyler used turnips...I like turnips, so that's what I used)
1/3 bunch parsley (I try to have fresh parsley on hand at all times...adds such a nice fresh flavor to my finished dishes)
20 springs fresh thyme (I have a pot growing on the kitchen counter...but if I didn't, I would add 2 teas. dried thyme)
2 teas. dried dill (recipe called for 20 springs fresh, but I wasn't going to spend $ on dill)
1 head garlic, UNpeeled and cut into 6 pieces
1 TBL whole, black peppercorns
kosher salt to taste (I didn't add the salt, as I prefer to add it to the soup as I am making it)

Now, here is where I combined the recipes. Tyler Florence says to roast the veggies and meat for 40 min in a 450 F oven, THEN add your water and simmer. Ina doesn't roast her veggies, she just puts it all in a stock pot and simmers away.

I roasted all the veggies, tossed with about 2-3 TBL olive oil (minus the herbs and s&p) for an hour, then added them to the chicken parts in a huge stock pot, along with about 8 quarts of water, and the peppercorns and herbs.

Simmered for about 4-5 hours, then set outside on the deck in a foot of snow, to cool down quickly.

Strained the stock using my colander, into a smaller stock pot, then set in the garage overnight. (I covered the pot, then as an extra precaution against critters, I duck-taped the lid down!)

This morning I skimmed as much of the fat off the top as I could, then poured the stock into some wonderful soup containers we purchased from our local chinese restaurant for only 25 cents a piece!

Finished product...5 and 1/2 quarts of stock, safely tucked away in my freezer for next weeks pot of my knock-off recipe for Zuppa Toscana, from the Olive Garden!

Trust me when I say, a child could make this stock, and it is delicious to boot!

Tell me...
how are YOU saving money in the kitchen these days?

Love,
Cindy

Tuesday Laundry

It's a balmy 20 degrees F,
the sun is shining,
therefore...
there is no good reason why I shouldn't at least try to line dry my sheets!
Farmboy thinks they will just freeze out there, but.....
I have hope.
And how wonderful will it be to snuggle down tonite under fresh, air-dried bedding?

Spring hopes eternal.

UPDATE: As of 4pm, sheets and pillow cases are dry!!!
WHOO HOO!

Scenes from a family gathering

Our oldest daughter,
Giselle, and her husband Jon...married less than 2 years, have moved to Montana for teaching jobs.
(Teaching jobs in Christian schools are not so much available here in West Michigan.)
Shortly before leaving in July, they announced their pregnancy.
Thankfully, we all have the wonderful Verizon family plan, and can talk anytime w/o charges.
They flew in for the Christmas break, and with a LONG layover in Minnesota (24 hours...due to severe weather), they finally arrived!

Baby is due on Feb. 26...also Farmboy's birthday!

It is SO much fun to see her pregnant, happy, and still SO in love with Jon.
He has truly become her bestest friend.

This truly was a most difficult day, as they were flying out the very next morning.
We had a wonderful family dinner and shared many laughs.
We are praying for really cheap flights (for me, Memere) to Montana after baby arrives.
Can't hardly wait to see them again!