Simple Pleasures

I love the fact that spring blooms are starting to appear
and that tulips can be purchased for a small price.
Last week we enjoyed red.
This week pink.
I wonder what color will stand out in the bunches next week?
I think my favorite is white  . . . still kind of wintry
but clean and fresh!
One month till the first day of Spring!
But who's counting?
 

New Orleans Style

A friend and I had a Christmas gift to put to good use
when we attended a cooking class by Chef Dez.
For me it was a treat to sit on the student side of the counter!
Stress free and fun! 
But in it all, I hope I learned how to make the other side of the counter
 less stress free and fun as well.
One thing he kept repeating was,
 "If something is difficult, keep doing it and it becomes easy!"

He began the evening by mixing up a batch of biscuits -
which I could have done for him. Smile.
But it was still fun to watch. While they were in the oven,
he whipped up a Hop'n Shrimp Gumbo.
I must say that even if you do not like shrimp - this was very tasty!
 Next we watched him prepare
 Louisiana Red Beans with Rice and Cajun Chicken for our main course.
 Since I'm consciously trying to get more beans into our diet,
I plan to make the red beans and rice soon.
Deleted the pictures ... oops!

With dinner done, we had our eye on the dessert coming up.

The biscuits were out of the oven and Chef Dez began preparing the Flambeed Bananas

The anticipation of just how big that flame will be is why I will probably not try making these. . .

but I sure don't mind if someone makes them for me.
It was a great way to spend the evening with Marie . . .
another "girl" who loves to cook.
 

A Valentine's Day Story

I picked her up from school and enjoyed listening to her chatter

while she was looking through her cards from her classmates. 

 

Turning one over, she said, "Oh, it's from Andre. . .
he wants me to be his girlfriend."
"But . . . he’s not very nice” she adds.
 

"That’s good," I tell her, "because when you get a boyfriend one day,
you want him to be the nicest in the world!”
 

"Well, I already know who that is," she says.
Something tells me we've had this conversation before . . .

but I’m caught off guard once more!
 "Who is that?" I wonder out loud.
 

“Oh, it’s Isaac S. He’s so nice!”
(could she have forgotten about Owen and Neil already?)

After repeating several times how nice he is,
I asked her what it is that makes him so nice…
 

She said, “Well, when he sits beside me he says,
 Oh, am I disturbing you?”

She kind of giggled,
 her body language telling me that he did not even do anything!



And that was the answer of the moment.
Maybe not her final one, but for that moment.
 Funny girl!

Something about that
and watching her roll, shape, cut and sprinkle,
 made my Valentine's Day special!
 

More Celebrating

Valentines is being spread out over the week this year.
It began with a small package for two, dropped off at the post office.
On another day Papa took Makenna to the new Walmart for a treat while
Tehya came over for another episode of Anne of Green Gables.
We also baked a cherry tart / platz.
 

Tehya learned how to use the pastry cutter for the pastry and the crumb topping.
She liked taking handfuls of the crumbly mix, squeezing and dropping it on the cake
before it went into the oven.
 

It was still warm when the taste testing began.
The next "grand" baking date is coming over tomorrow . . .
and we will see what comes out of the oven,
when Valentines continues.
 

Happy Family Day!

 

The last family picture we took was about a year ago. As you can see . . .
it is not an easy feat to get everyone co-operating.
When the babies are being good, the big kids may not be . . .

but I love the scene.
It's family. . .
a kinship needing no special day,
but to seize the days we have been given.

Dear Lord in heaven, creator of life
and family,
You know the things that threaten
family relationships today . . .
You see the silent tears
of hearts breaking - walls built . . .
We pray that we will remember
that You, who made us,
knows how we are made, that we are but dust.
And because of this, You also know how to fix us.
Help us to turn to you as families,
to receive Your forgiveness and healing.
May the gift of family be an extension
of Your love to the world . . .
an example of grace and mercy
in daily life.
Amen

 

Make Your Own Breadcrumbs

My mom once told me that she cannot bear to throw out bread.
I know she will if it's absolutely necessary, but I think I know what she means...
and it's funny how I've been reminded of that.
I remember when we were living in Brazil, beggars coming to our gate
and asking for old bread. They did not ask for money,
they were truly hungry and had nothing.
In many countries, bread is symbolic of life.
It's the staple around which other meals are planned . . .
be it a loaf, a flatbread or a tortilla.
Our grandmothers quickly learned that stale bread has valuable use.
Did you know that French toast and bread pudding taste better, using stale bread?



I wanted to use up these frozen hot dog buns -
 a reminder of  the last outdoor wiener roast, months ago.
Not a good quality for either of the above.
 

So I decided to toast them up for breadcrumbs. I put them in the oven at 300 F on convection
( if you do not have a convection oven, just bake them up  350 F)  for 20 - 30 minutes until they are dried out and brittle - just beginning to brown on the edges.

 

I put them in my blender  

and had fine crumbs in no time.
Once the blades are covered with fine crumbs,
 it is best to remove the large pieces and pour out the fine crumbs,
to start it up again.

I keep dry breadcrumbs in the freezer.
It is one of those staples that is needed when least expected . . .
to top off  a casserole, add to meat dishes such as meatballs and meatloaf
or quickly bread some fish fillets or country fried steak.