Eat More Kale

The best thing about this salad is that you can take leftovers to work the next day.  The miracle of kale is that it doesn't wilt!  It's a mirakale!

Kale Salad Dressing (simplified from 101 Cookbooks)
1/4 C. grated parmesan, pecorino or such
1 spoonful of crushed garlic (depends on how much you want)
salt and pepper
3 T. olive oil
lemon juice from 1 lemon
crushed pepper


1.  Sprinkle salt and pepper into the crushed garlic and mash together.
2.  Add cheese and stir.
3.  Add olive oil and mix.
4.  Add lemon juice and whisk.
5.  Sprinkle in some crushed pepper.  Tada.  


Helpful tip:  I make my dressing in the salad bowl then pour the bag of kale from Trader Joes on top.  Less dishes to wash!  Mix and let it sit for 5 minutes prior to consumption.

Happiness

Lazy Saturday afternoons.

Finding out that the school printer broke and that there is no homework!  

Reaching a goal...together.

Cheeze Pleaze

The hardest part of this recipe was locating the frozen puff pastry.  At the second Trader Joes I visited, I was told that this is a seasonal product (?).  Then I tried two Targets and no luck.  I have an aversion to supermarkets - I think they jack up their prices so I usually stick to TJs and Target.  Anyhow, I ended up paying almost $6 for puff pastry dough (!).  The rest was a cinch.  Thanks to Joy the Baker.

They were gobbled up, my friends.  

Then I saw this.  Cheesy pull apart bread.  It was fabulous.  Next time, I am going to serve it with chili.  

1 round loaf of sourdough

Shredded cheese

Butter

1.  Preheat oven to 320.  Make horizontal slices, then make vertical slices, being careful not to make the cuts all the way through the loaf.

2.  Stuff it with shredded cheese.  I used pepper jack.  Then pour 1/4 stick of melted butter over the loaf.  

3.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Take foil off and broil until golden and bubbly.  

Love

She's Got the Look

Dreamy Creamy Scones

It's Colonial Day at Kelly's school and I volunteered to bake 36 scones.  Looks like it's time to test some recipe.  God bless America's Test Kitchen.  It's their job so you don't have to.  

Now, a scone is a dreamier, creamier version of the biscuit.  In order to get it right, you must use heavy cream.  A whole cup of it.  I know, that is creeping into Paula territory but it must be done.  You will thank me (and Mr. Kimball) when you take your first bite.  I promise you.

Cream Scones

2 C. flour

1 T. baking powder

3 T. sugar

1/2 t. salt

5 T. chilled, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 C. cranberries, chopped

1 C. heavy cream (do not substitute)

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

2.  Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.

3.  Add butter and using two knives or pastry blender, cut the butter into small pea sized pieces.  

4.  Add cranberries and mix.

5.  Stir in heavy cream and mix until combined.

6.  Transfer dough on a lightly floured surface.  Knead dough by hand and press out the dough.  You can cut into squares, triangles or cut them like biscuits.

7.  Place pieces on a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.

Simple Dinners and Time Savers

Raising two kids, keeping your man happy and bringing home a paycheck?  Plenty have done it.  Nothing that extraordinary yet it does feel like it's quite feat, doesn't it?  We could all use some help.  So I will come to your aid.

Penne Arrabiata (adapted from Williams Sonoma and simplified further)

1 pound of penne (use Barilla)
3 cans of Del Monte Diced Tomatoes with Basil, Garlic and Oregano (yes, brand matters)
1/4 C olive oil
1 T. minced garlic
salt
basil (buy them from trader joes - i use the entire package)


1.  Boil water for pasta (important to salt the water, in fact over salt the water - this really makes a difference).  Also cook one minute short of the time recommended.
2.  Brown garlic in olive oil.  Dump the cans into the pan and salt.  Cook for 15 minutes.
3.  When pasta is done (or one minute short of being done), dump pasta into sauce.  I use one of those spiders to fish the pasta right out of the pot into the sauce.
4.  Let it cook and meld together.
5.  Add chopped, fresh basil.
That is it!


Another quick dinner idea:
Package of smoked salmon, seaweed, rice.  Make your own sushi.  You can chop up cucumbers (but I never do).  

Another easy meal.  Three simple dinner ideas.  


Here is the time saver part.  Some of you know, I can be kind of compulsive about picking up and clearing out.  I am especially that way with my sofa and my kitchen counters.  So, this David Lebovitz post was just the thing I needed to read.  It gave me the freedom to leave my measuring cups/spoons just out there on the counter for all to see.  And nothing bad happened.


TGIF

Balance

This outfit is not only adorable but visually appealing.  It really exemplifies proportion perfection.  The stripes, the sleeves pushed up and the pant length.  I am forever searching for the perfect hem length.  Being on the short side, I've been told never to wear capris or cropped pants but I just can't resist.  And the shoes...don't get me started.

Happy Valentine's Day!

In My Head

Especially #6.

Be My Valentine!

I love Valentine's Day!  Love the pinks, the reds, the hearts, the sweets.  Love love love.


It is also an excuse to make frosted cookies.  Christmas and Valentine's Day.  My two days to sugar over load.

I use a Martha Stewart recipe and add a bit of lemon zest.  I would double the recipe.

I used to leave these cookies naked.  Sometimes, I would let the kids shake some sprinkles on them.  Nothing special.  Then, I saw a nytimes Melissa Clark video on decorating cookies. This broke down the barrier between me and frosting.  Please watch it.  And then go make your rustically beautiful cookies.  

Royal Frosting
2 T. pasteurized egg whites (as with all good things, available at Trader Joes)
1 t. lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 C. powdered sugar
food coloring


1.  Beat egg whites and lemon juice until foamy.
2.  Add powdered sugar until consistency is stiff.  Taste as you go, you don't want the frosting too sweet.
3.  Add a drop of food coloring, mix and frost away.

In Praise of Instagram

The iPhone has changed my life in many ways.  One recent (again, I am a late-comer to these things) find is Instagram.  My Canon Powershot is getting less and less playtime these days.  Instagram can magically make any eh-photo into a wow-photo!  

iPhone Before Shot 

Using Instagram Filters

Eh...

Wow!

Love!

I am not a craft-y person but there are some projects too easy and too cute to pass up.  It's not too late to make your own.  All you need is an exacto-knife.

It made Katie smile her smile...

Milestones

John turned the big 4-0!  Eek.  That means I'm not too far behind...

The Perfect Food

I have toast on a daily basis.  Usually, it's jam and butter with my morning coffee.  On the off occasion where I am eating dinner alone, I fix myself some toast and a fried egg.  I can't think of any food that doesn't go with toast.  

From the Kitchn

Colonel GP

I have a new obsession.  Biscuits!  My sister recently called me the Colonel, as in Colonel Sanders.  Now I just have to learn how to make fried chicken.  

I always thought that biscuits were in the bread family and I don't bake bread.  The yeast, the rising, the punching, the waiting - it's all too much.  Little did I know but biscuits are a cinch to make!  In the past two weeks, I have made them a dozen times.  This is the recipe I have come up with - it's mix of my sister's and Mark Bittman's.  Please try some with your favorite jam!  Can't wait for Saturday, just so I can have an excuse to make them again.

Biscuits

3 C. flour

1 1/2 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

5 T butter

1 1/2 C. buttermilk

1.  Preheat oven to 450.

2.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

3.  Slice up butter.  Butter should be refrigerator cold.  Drop them into the bowl.

4.  Take two knives and cut up butter into small pieces.  The pieces should be as big as a lima bean.  

5.  Add buttermilk and stir until combined.

6.  Place the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out to about an inch thick - don't over work the dough.  Now fold the dough in half and then another half.  Repeat this process three times.  Roll, fold, fold; roll, fold, fold; roll, fold, fold.  Roll out the dough and punch out biscuit pieces.  I also bake off the scraps - these pieces are especially good!  Use a cookie cutter and when you are punching out the round pieces, do not twist the cutter into the dough.  It is important to punch these out in a straight, quick fashion.  I am not sure why.  If any of you know, please share.

7.  Now at this point, you can brush some cream or butter onto the top of the biscuits.  I'm not fancy, so I usually skip this part. 

8.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.

And now for my gallery of biscuit photos...

Sucker for Music Numbers

Not a huge football fan but this was fun...