It's a cooking with what I've got kinda' day......

On Easter day I cooked a ham - even though I was home all by myself, just because I wanted the leftovers.  So this morning it was my challenge to come up with a good yummy breakfast for my girls and I using some of that ham, and whatever else I had in the house.  I decided no shopping allowed.  Figure it out with what you've got and this is what I came up with:
Tater Tot, Ham, Cheese and Egg Casserole. 
First I layered the bottom of my greased casserole with thin slices of ham.

 Then I topped the ham with four slices of Tillamook sliced extra sharp cheddar cheese.

 Then I mixed together 4 eggs, 1/2 cup whole milk, 1/4 chopped onion and 1/4 chopped celery and added some garlic powder (about 1 tsp), 1/2 tsp salt and fresh ground pepper.  Then I poured that over the cheese and ham.

 I topped that with frozen tater tots. 

 Then I grated some fresh parmesan cheese on the tater tots.  I had the oven preheated to 350 degrees and baked the casserole for 45 minutes. 

 This is what came out of the oven.....

My oldest rated the casserole a 7 out of 10 - good enough for her to eat two huge servings!  I think we'll be using this recipe again. 

Then, my little one came in a few hours later and said, "I want pizza!".
So, once again - the challenge was - how can I make that with what I've got - so I pulled out some sourdough bread, a jar of marinara, some mozzarella and parmesan, pimentos, onions and tomatoes.  And this was lunch - She downed 2 whole slices - which is a lot for her!

Now, I'm off to finish up working on my navy beans soup and some corned bread. 

Homemade English Muffins.

A while ago I was checking out Michael Ruhlman's Blog (can you tell I check his blog out a lot?) and noticed he had a recipe for homemade english muffins.  Homemade english muffins?  These have to be good.  The store bought ones are great comfort food, all toasted up with some melted butter and honey.  Can you imagine english muffin's, fresh and warm, made that day with melted butter and honey? 

Well, yesterday I was home with a sick child and had some time on my hands - which is a rare and precious thing, so what did I do with that time?  Besides cleaning and making regular bread dough for another day, I put together the dough for english muffins.  If you click here you can get Ruhlman's recipe.  It's really quite easy.  The hardest part is planning ahead.  I put the recipe together just like he has on his blog (which only took about 15 minutes at the most)  and, instead of letting it sit for one and a half hours I put it in the fridge.  First thing I did the next morning was preheat my broiler and pull the pre-made dough out and let it rise for one hour - while I did yoga and various other chores.  I then mixed 2 tsp of baking powder into 1 tbsp of water and mixed that into the dough, sprinkled some cornmeal on a griddle and proceeded to put 1/4 cup amounts of dough onto the griddle and let them sit for 7 minutes before turning over and cooking another 7 minutes.  I didn't use any muffing rings.  I went free form, and with the results I got, I see no reason to do otherwise.  I ended up with 16 deliciously imperfect little english muffins, which my kids loved. 

We just pried them apart with a fork, stuck them under the broiler for a few minutes and slathered them in butter.  I have to say, I've never had an english muffin this good.  I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to store bought ones now - especially with these being so easy to make. 

Really?

A couple of days ago I made a quick stop into Eureka Grocery Outlet to pick up a few items.  I'm recently going through a divorce and in the process of moving to a new home, so I'm on the edge of broke and living in a constant state of chaos at the moment, so Grocery Outlet is a blessing right now.  They carry a lot of, what I call, junk, but they also have some great deals on good organic and gourmet foods and they now carry more fresh produce.  Normally I avoid too many processed food items for my family, but when half of your cooking gear is buried at the bottom of one of several unmarked boxes and you have to be in 20 different places at once, it puts a crimp on taking the time to cook well.  Consequently I have been falling off my healthy food wagon lately. 

What I really needed the other day was a quick breakfast solution.  If I was really on top of it, I would have a freezer full of frozen homemade pancakes and breakfast burritos, but that was too much to pull off while living between 4 different homes and not having access to my kitchen.  So I ran into Grocery outlet and grabbed a box of frozen waffles, a box of frozen french toast, and a box of these:

I got in line with my bounty of processed foods eager to get home, when the girl ringing me up comments on my toaster scrambles.  Mmmm.  These are good (I agree - they are pretty tasty).  Then she says, "they just seem so much healthier then the waffles or the french toast." 

What?  Really?  Did she just say that?  How could they be any healthier?  I don't get it.  Is this really how most American's think?  Just because it's not noticeably sweet, it much be healthier?  Wow!

Let's see - what are the ingredients:
Enriched flour bleached(wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, ribolfavin, folic acid), Water, Soybean Oil, Palm Oil, Ham with Natural Juices Ground and Formed (ham, salt sugar, modified potato starch, pork stock, ground mustard, dextrose, sodium tripolypohsphate, natural smoke flavor, natural flavor, sodium nitrite ascorbic acid, citric acid), Eggs, Partially Hydrogenated Soybeean and Cottenseed Oil, Corn Starch, Glycerin, Egg Yolk, Salt, Dry Yeast, Dried Whey, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Modified Corn Starch, Sodium Caseinate, Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Sodium Posphate, Mono and Diglycerides, Lactic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Nonfat Milk, Ctric Acid, Sodium Steearoyl Lactylate, Xanthan Gum, Enzyme Modified Parmesan Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt enzymes), Spice, Blue Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Guar Gum, Natural Flavor, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Potassium Sorbate and TBHZ (preservatives), Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 5, Yellow 6.

Wow!  What is half of this stuff?  When I make bread it's flour, water, salt and yeast.  That's it.  Ham is ham, cheese is cheese.  Eggs are eggs.  And what exactly is "natural flavor"?  Hmmm.  Healthier then frozen waffles huh?  I don't see how. 

Nutritional value?  For ONE of these, which does not come anywhere near filling you up - You get 11 grams of fat, 3.5 of that saturated (17% of your daily value.  Now remember, you'll probably eat 2 or 3 of these).  0.5 grams of trans fats (triple that if you eat 3) 20 mg of Cholesterol (7 % times 3) 310 mg of sodium (13% times 3) 16 grams of total carbohydrates (5% times 3) 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of protein (times 3) No vitamin A no Vitamin C no Calcium and 4% of your Iron. 

This is healthier then a frozen waffle?  Really? At least you can top a waffle with yogurt and fresh fruit and get something good from it.  What would you top this with? Ketchup?  Hot sauce maybe?  No wonder this girl looked visibly unhealthy - her skin was gray and she was slightly overweight and moved at a slugs pace.  The poor thing thinks this kind of food is healthy.  She probably lives on stuff like this.  I have to wonder when she last ate a fresh strawberry or had an apple fresh off the tree.  I feel sad for her.  I feel sad for all of the people out there who actually think like this and are completely oblivious to how good food should be.  What have we taught these people?  Not much apparently.  We need to change that.  And soon.

John's Fiery Frittata

6 eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
3.5 ounces of canned chopped jalapeno peppers, drained
8 oz low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/8 cup melted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 2 quart casserole dish

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in the jalapeno's, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese and melted butter.  Pour into the prepared dish.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven.  Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and continue baking for another 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool slightly to let set and cut into small squares.

Loleta Bakery

I woke up this morning to my husband "gone fishin' " and not a single drop or speck of coffee in the house. Ugh! I was mortified! But then! My foggy mind woke up just enough to remember we have a new bakery in town and they serve good strong fresh hot coffee starting at 7 am every morning (except Monday and Tuesday). Today is Saturday and I looked at the clock. 7:36 am. Yeah! I was stoked! Coffee! My oldest woke up right about that time and I told her, "I think I'm going to run to the bakery and get some coffee."

Her response, "Awesome! Get me one of those chocolate filled croissants please."

Well, you can't just buy a $2.00 cup of coffee on a debit card and feel okay about that can you? So down I went. I got my large cup of coffee, a ham and cheese muffin for me (OMG was it good!) and two chocolate filled croissants for the girls.

Here's the front window of our new little bakery. The sign was just painted on yesterday:
Here's the bakery right next door to the Loleta Meat Market. (The Butcher, the Baker, where's our Candlestick Maker? - apparently we have one, but he sells his wares in Ferndale - I'll settle for our cheese maker instead - Loleta Cheese Factory, just up a block from the Butcher and Baker)

Here is what I came home with, minus the croissant my oldest snapped up before I could get a picture. (And yeah, I took a bite out of the muffin on the way home.) As my daughter sat savoring every last bite of her pastry, she commented, "I wish this croissant was an everlasting croissant so I could keep coming back and eating another bite, all day long, and it would still be warm." They had just come out of the oven when I got there. They were so nice and warm, I thought she was going to cuddle with it rather than eat it. If you live in Humboldt come try out our new bakery in Loleta, or if you're traveling through Humboldt on highway 101, stop by for a cup of coffee and some sweets. They also make panini sandwiches, and I've been told they plan to make soups from local ingredients for lunches. You can find them by taking the Loleta exit and heading west. You can't miss them in the little downtown area in the gold building at 348 Main St. 707-733-1789

http://www.loletabakery.com/index.htm

Vacation Wrap Up

Okay, let's finish this vacation story up. Now comes one of the coolest segments. The Oakland segment.

We have a very dear friend (he was our best man,not just my husbands best man, but ours)who lives in Oakland. Since it's such a long drive from Monterey to our home with two kids we decided it would be nice to stop part way and visit Josh. One of the things we have in common with Josh is he loves to eat and cook. He appreciates good food and will try just about anything. He's almost as adventurous as Andrew Zimmerman, which makes going out to dinner with him fun.

I had mentioned to Josh that I'd never had dim sum and would really like to try some. So our first night in Oakland we ate at a little place called Old Place Tea House.

I can't even begin to tell you everything we ate, because we tried so many things. Some sweet some savory, all very good. And this is where we tried jelly fish salad, which was surprisingly good. The texture was like nothing I'd ever had before. Chewy and crunchy at the same time. It was mild and pleasant. The only thing I didn't try, and I'm sorry I didn't, was the chicken feet. I'd really like to say I've eaten them. The one caveat I'll put out about eating dim sum. Don't eat too much of it like we did, or you'll be spending your next day close to the bathroom. It is rich and a bit greasy, so it can cause digestive issues. The food wasn't bad, because our girls ate it too and they were fine, we just ate far too much.

The next day Josh took us to Oakland's Chinatown. This place is nothing like San Francisco's Chinatown. It's not touristy, this is just where people live and work.

We hit up all of the grocery stores and I bought all the dried ingredients I need to make Buddha's Delight, or Jai, a soup that is traditionally made by the Chinese on Chinese New Years Day. I found the recipe in my cookbook The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen by Grace Young. I'll post the recipe and how it turns out after I make it.

After quite a bit of shopping in the various markets. We decided to go eat at a place I had read about on the internet called Restaurant Peony.

Our biggest mistake here was we showed up right at the end of lunch service, and we didn't realize they close between lunch and dinner. They were very gracious and accommodating to the silly white tourists. We did get to try some of their dim sum which was excellent! Even better then what we had had the night before. But, we wanted more then dim sum, but we couldn't figure out how to order more, or even who to order from, since virtually no one spoke English and the menu's were all in Chinese. We finally found one very kind waitress who with broken English and hand gestures suggested we order the special like the Chinese family behind us was eating. We couldn't really see what it was, but said OK. This is what we were served:



Isn't that cool? I couldn't help but wonder if it was the same chicken I saw hanging in a window in one of the markets earlier. It may look creepy to you, but it was some of the best chicken I've ever eaten. Juicy and tender. The sauce was mild, salty and slightly sweet. And very difficult to eat with chopsticks. It was served with steamed rice and a side of Chinese Broccoli, which is nothing like our Western broccoli. All very simple and delicious. It all turned out very good, for showing up at the wrong time and not speaking the language. As I walked out after a very satisfying lunch I snapped one last picture.

Those tanks you see in the background are full of live fish, lobster and crab that you can order up for your dinner. I hope to come back to this place for dinner some day.

The next day we headed home. We decided to venture through San Francisco and get some breakfast. We stopped down by the wharf and ate at this little place.
Beach Street Grill



Everything was homemade, not out of cans or jars. The service was prompt and very friendly. The food was good enough to keep me going until we got home. And now home we are and back into the grind of things. It was a great trip and I can't wait to get back to Monterey and to go see Oakland's Chinatown again, what a blast! But for now, it's back to work, tending the garden, chickens and goats. Time to focus on the harvest.
Bon Appetite!

What's for breakfast?

Bacon -Wrapped Eggs with Polenta!

I love polenta, but my family pretty much despises it. So this morning when I was trying to think of something to fix myself for breakfast (everyone else had already eaten) I ran on to this recipe on Epicurious (from the April 2005 Bon Appetite Magazine). This was my chance to have some polenta and not have to worry about anyone complaining about me serving it, because it was all for me and only me. YUM!

I changed the recipe to suit me, what I had in the fridge, and garden. I think this would be a great recipe for a brunch because you can do a lot of it ahead of time, then just pop it in the oven as guests arrive. That is if you are lucky enough to have people in your life who like polenta. If you want the original recipe you can find it here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/BACON-WRAPPED-EGGS-WITH-POLENTA-231872

Here's my version:

Polenta (this can be made up to 2 days ahead and you can assemble the final dish an hour before guests arrive):

This is for eight people, I modified it for one.
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter (for one - 1/2 tablespoon)
1/4 cup minced garlic chives (for one - a couple of tablespoons)
4 cups water (for one - 1 cup)
1 teaspoon salt (for one - a pinch)
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal) (for one - 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup (packed) grated Parmesan cheese (for one - 1/8 cup)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme - from my garden (for one - 1/2 tsp)

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic chives and stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Add 4 cups water and salt; bring to boil. Gradually whisk in polenta. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick and creamy, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in cheese and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to lukewarm. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate; polenta will become firm.)

Baked Eggs:

20 thick slices bacon (for one - I used 2 slices of our bacon from the pig we butchered a few months ago.)

6 ounces medium cheddar cheese, grated (for one person I eyeballed it. I would have preferred extra sharp cheddar, but didn't have any)
6 ounces Winey Goat cheese, grated (again, I eyeballed it for one) (*refer to notes at the end of this post)

8 large eggs (obviously 1 egg for one person - fresh from our chickens)
1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic chives (a tablespoon - straight from my herb garden - yes I'm gloating.)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme (a pinch, again, straight from my garden)

Fry the bacon until beginning to brown but still pliable, about 4 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Cool slightly.

Line sides of eight 1 1/4-cup custard cups with 2 slices bacon each, forming collar. Place 1/2 slice bacon on bottom of each cup (I just used one slice to line mine, but 2 would probably have been better). Divide polenta among cups, a generous 1/3 cup each. Press polenta over bottom and up sides of bacon. Mix cheeses in bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese mixture over polenta in each cup. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Crack 1 egg into center of each cup. Sprinkle eggs with remaining cheese, garlic chives, thyme, and black pepper and a scant amount of kosher salt. Transfer cups to rimmed baking sheet. Bake until egg whites are set, about 20 minutes. Depending on your oven, this is if you like your eggs cooked hard. They were too hard for me, I like a little runny yolk and would cut the time down to 10 to 15 minutes, keep in mind all of the egg warnings, they can carry salmonella and other bacteria, so make sure your eggs are fresh and clean if you aren't going to cook them thoroughly. Let eggs stand at room temperature 5 minutes (eggs will continue to cook).

Run small sharp knife around edge of cups; tilt cups and slide bacon, polenta, and egg onto plates and serve.



This was so good! The polenta was warm, buttery and the parmesan added a wonderful pungency and saltiness to it.. The garlic chives and thyme added a mild garlicky taste and perfuminess. The bacon brought in a smoky element (everything is good with bacon!) and the egg, even though it was over cooked for me, was velvety and smooth in contrast to the grainy texture of the polenta (oh how yummy it would have been with some egg yolk to moisten the polenta a bit more!). The goat cheese gave it a slight earthy flavor and the cheddar gave it that creamy cheesiness that the child in us loves. I can only imagine how much better this would have been with a good sharp cheddar.

I think I may use this the next time I have a brunch, served with a sparkling wine and a salad of spring greens and a vinaigrette. Anyone out there who thinks this sounds good is free to steel it and modify as they please. Please share your modifications and let me know how they turned out so I can steel back. Hmmmmm the thought of blue cheese worked into this somehow seems like a potential....

*For those of you who may not be familiar with Winey Goat Cheese. I just want to let you know, it's not like the chevre you are mostly likely familiar with when it comes to goat cheese. If you want to use chevre, go for it, but it won't have the same affect at Winey Goat, which is a semi soft goat cheese that has it's rind washed and rubbed in wine during its curing. It's delicious!

Places to eat in Mendocino

I finally have some time to write a bit today. I've been wanting to list some of the great places my husband and I ate at a couple of weekends ago in Mendocino County.
Obviously from my last post you can see we had dinner at the Ledford House and found it to be a great place to eat. If I get the chance, I will definitely eat there again. The next morning we found a little restaurant in the town of Mendocino called Bayview Cafe'. It was upstairs on Main Street and has a great view of the bay, just as the name implies. The menu wasn't fancy, but the eggs florentine I had was excellent. John had eggs benedict and really enjoyed them. I never got a chance to get a bite of his food, so I'll have to take his word for it. Mendocino, being a tourist town, provided some great people watching while we ate, when it was possible to take your eyes off of the view outside. It's such a pretty little town. (if you go to Bayview Cafe' be aware that they do not take credit or debit cards. Cash or check only)

After lunch we went out to Point Cabrillo Light house and walked breakfast off. We enjoyed checking out the historical light keepers house and were surprised to see that it was possible to stay in one of the restored houses. They are in the process of restoring a third building which will probably be available for lodging in the future. After that we headed north to Fort Bragg to explore. On our way we ran on to the little town of Casper celebrating their Abalone Festival. The urge to stop dissipated as we drove through and saw the lack of parking and the masses of people. We also knew that only "judges" were allowed to eat the abalone. I really didn't feel like going to an abalone festival where I can't eat abalone. So we continued on to Fort Bragg.

John drove around scoping out all of the taqueria's in town so he'll be able to try them out next time he's in town for work. Hopefully I'll get to try a few out too. We ended up driving down to Noyo Harbor and checked out the local color. We decided to go to Silvers at the Warf and have a couple of cocktails. We ended up ordering fried calamari and oysters on the half shell. Yum! The calamari was great, but the oysters were amazing. They were so fresh, they tasted like the ocean smells on a clear breezy day on the Pacific Northwest. They didn't need a sauce, but the one provided was delicious. It was sweet, but with a heat that showed up a few seconds after swallowing the oyster. It had an Asian flavor to it, and would be great with shrimp. I definitely want to come back to Silvers for dinner. Oh, and the bartender makes a great bloody mary.

By evening John was feeling bloated and not so hot after so much rich food. We ended up eating at the Mendocino Hotel in Mendocino. We just had soup and starters, but I very much enjoyed my dinner. I had a french onion soup and John had the clam chowder. He enjoyed it, in spite of not feeling all that well. He ordered a ceasar salad, but didn't feel well enough to eat it. Next I had the Napoleon of Ahi Tuna Tartare which was chopped and mixed with a sweet sauce and served on top of crisp won ton's with cucumbers and a siracha emulsion. Nicely presented and very good. I also ordered their California Artisanal Cheese Plate. I wasn't too impressed with this. First of all no one told me what kind of cheese I was being served. I figured out that one was a Chevre, and the other some type of blue cheese. There was a hard cheese with peppercorns in it. I think it was a sheep cheese and it resembled a mild parmesan. These were served in two very large triangles, which seemed odd. There were basic water crackers, chutney, and fruit on the plate as well. I would have preferred crisp baguette with the soft cheeses. I was too full to eat much, and decided it was good enough to take back to our room for a midnight snack. What most impressed me about the Mendocino Hotel was the craftsman style decor. A very pretty place and the food and service is good enough that I would be happy to come back and try a full dinner, but I'll skip the cheese plate next time.

The next morning before heading home, we had to try one more place. We went back to Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg and found a tiny little restaurant, right on the water called Chapter and Moon. We were greeted (if you can call it that) by a grumpy looking old man, who looked like he was tired out from busting knee caps for the mob the night before. He handed us a one page menu with 3 items on it. Egg's cooked any way you like with your choice of meat, which included bacon, sausage and ham. There was also French toast, and Omelet of the day. Uncle Guido informed us that the omelet of the day was, "a sausage omelet with some other stuff in it. You know, like peppers and things." Well all righty then! He did get around to asking us if we would like coffee, which we were pleasantly surprised to be served a very strong, dark and delicious cup of joe. I assume other beverages were available because I saw customers drinking tea, orange juice and other juices. They also appeared to have a bar of some kind. Well, we went for the sausage and stuff omelet and were not disappointed. The eggs were light and fluffy. Cooked perfectly. The sausage tasted like it was home made and I liked that the omelet wasn't loaded down with a ton of cheese. There were no peppers in it, but there were carmelized onions and tomatoes. The hash browns were unusual and very good. They were more like tiny little fries, cooked to a perfect crisp and they were light and crunchy in your mouth. Other than Uncle Guido, who actually added to the charm of the place in his disturbing demeanor, the service was excellent. It turns out that the chef is locally very well known from working in several of the great restaurants in the area and decided to start her own restaurant. She bakes all of her own bread for the meals, and the sourdough toast we had with breakfast was yummy. I would loved to come back to this place and try one of the pulled pork sandwiches I saw on the lunch menu. I highly recommend this place. Especially to people who have a hard time deciding what to have for breakfast. Your options are limited, so it's easy to decide, and you can bet whatever you order is going to be good.

So there you have it. A fun and food filled weekend. And I actually managed to not gain a single pound through it all! Woo Hoo!