Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson's Blog, page 29

Mom Enters the Congregation Beth Evergreen First Annual Chicken Soup Challenge

Somehow it seems only appropriate that after this summer's Evergreen Chili Cook-off that our town would host its first Chicken Soup Challenge








And since chicken soup is Mom's culinary claim to fame, I encouraged her to enter. She agreed and spent a week reading cookbooks and then 24 hours perfecting her mother's version of Hungarian chicken noodle soup.




Here she is at Congregation Beth Evergreen, dishing out her soup.









While she waited for the results to be announced, Mom kept busy meeting new friends. By the end of the evening, she'd been invited to next Friday's Shabbot service.







She brought cookies to her new friends. She danced to sixties covers by a local live band.







And in the end, she brought home a trophy. Mom's chicken soup is a winner in our book and now in the annals of chicken soup history.

Snow Day: December 1st, 2011

Plan A: Tonight I was supposed to host an Open House at my place to benefit our local food bank. Hence the empty basket under the Christmas tree.







Since the day after Thanksgiving, I've been decorating the house.







I decorated the six different Christmas trees I found among the boxes that had been in storage for the last fifteen years.







Needless to say, I didn't need to buy a single string of lights or ornament. In fact, I still have two boxes of ornaments that haven't been unpacked.







But Mother Nature had other ideas. And this is what greeted me when I opened the front door this morning.







Yesterday, I sent out an email telling everyone that the party would be postponed for two weeks. NOAA had issued a winter weather advisory.







Before I went to bed, I joked with Mom that it would be just my luck that after I cancelled the party we wouldn't get any snow at all.







Guess I didn't have to worry about that. This is my driveway. Which the guests would have had to traverse had I not cancelled.







And here's the hill behind my house. Which the guests wouldn't have had to traverse, I just like photographing it.







And my favorite rock cropping at the top of the hill, where I'm convinced either a mountain lion or bear is watching and waiting.









And here's the snow level so far....it's still snowing. And we're expecting more snow this weekend.





I'm hoping for a white Christmas. I think we're off to a good start.

Suzanne's Mini-Muffins for Good Doggies

This morning as I was working in the kitchen, Henry and George decided to join me. The little darlings look like they're taking a nap, don't they?




Let's conduct an experiment...









I go over to the cookie jar and open it. Henry raises his head and watches to see what my next move will be. George pretends to remain asleep. At the age of seven, he's not moving without good reason.







Hoho! Mommy's holding two of her Suzanne's Mini-muffins for Good Doggies. Now I've got their attention!







Henry gets his and then quickly looks back to see if George has dropped his on the floor.











No such luck. George might be old, but where food is concerned he can always keep up with the young guns.







Coco on the other hand could really care less about this stupid competition amongst the boys. She knows she gets her mini-muffin by special delivery.







Suzanne's Mini-Muffins for Good Doggies







4 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup of crunchy peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 cup chicken stock

1 scoop pea protein powder

4 fish oil capsules - cut open and oil squeezed into batter

Optional: four slices of fried bacon and bacon fat from frying

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder







Easy directions:




1. Combine all ingredients into a dry dough




2. Press rounded balls of dough into mini-muffin tins




3. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes




4. Turn muffins onto a cookie sheet and return to cooling oven for several hours or overnight so muffins will crisp.

World's Easiest, No-Stress, No-Fuss Turkey Recipe

Every year the cooking channels and food magazines present one-hundred-and-one ways to brine, rub, roast, butterfly or fry your Thanksgiving turkey. Even an experienced cook will watch a dozen of these shows and come away with so much confusion over which method is best that cooking the bird becomes an anxiety filled event suited only to a massive intake of white wine.



So please allow me to share my secret to fool-proof turkey.



K.I.S.S.



Keep it Simple Suzanne.



Follow these simple steps and you'll have a delicious bird that everyone will love. Prep time is five minutes. Then you simply walk away and enjoy your guests until the bird is ready to come out of the oven.



Here it goes:



1. Preheat oven to 325 F



2. Into the turkey's empty cavity (don't forget to take the giblets out first) toss any of the following: an apple cut in half, an orange or lemon cut in half, a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme, salt and pepper.



3. Slide chunks of cold butter between the skin and breast meat of the bird.



4. Rub the skin of the bird with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.



5. Put the turkey in the preheated oven and roast according to the time/weight ratio suggested on the wrapper (for instance, 3.5 hours for a 14 lb bird). If breast skin becomes too dark during the roasting process, cover with foil.



That's it. No brining beforehand. No basting during. And I promise, you will enjoy a lovely, succulent bird that everyone will rave about and which will make you the toast of the day.



Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Stack a Cord of Wood

As the temperatures drop, we need more wood for our wood stove. However, when they delivered the wood they simply dropped it in the driveway and left it up to us to move it.







Our supply of firewood was running low. So we needed to get that wood stacked and ready for cold winter nights.







Coco assessed the situation and decided we'd need help to get the job done.







Although Newfoundlands are known as 'working dogs'....







George didn't get the memo.







In fact, let's note just how far George is from the pile of wood. You'd think he was afraid it would burst into flames at any moment.







We believe that senior citizens can enjoy long and healthy lives with the proper amount of daily physical activity. Let's get Mom to stack that cord of wood!







Look, Coco wants to help Grandma!







In short order Mom's got the first row of firewood stacked. Don't stop yet, there's still more wood out in the driveway!







As the morning wore on, Mom ditched her jacket. She was warmed up from that heavy lifting.

She also discovered a quicker way to get that wood from the driveway to the stack. She enlisted the help of her walker! Look how much more wood she was able to transport with each trip! Of course, typical of most young people these days she's got her phone tucked in amongst the pile of wood so that she won't miss a call.







Mission Accomplished. Mom proudly surveys the fruits of her labor...three rows of firewood neatly stacked.







Good Job, Mom!

Pork Chops with Special Dry White Wine from Simone Beck's Food and Friends

Another entry in our Cookbook Diaries. This week a second recipe from Simone Beck's memoir and cookbook, Food and Friends.





Ingredients (according to Simca):

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp vegetable oil

10 oz onions chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp white-wine vinegar

2 cups dry white wine

2 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper







6 pork chops

Bouquet garni of celery stalks, parsley, thyme

2 Tbsp. strong Dijon mustard

3 1/2 oz gherkins, thinly sliced



Special equipment:

2 heavy bottomed skillets

Parchment paper









Sautee the onions in butter and oil. Sprinkle with flour and begin to create a roux.





Add vinegar, continue stirring, then add wine, stir, add broth. Simmer uncovered until reduced.







Meanwhile, in the second oven ready skillet (I used a enamel covered cast iron model), brown the pork chops, then pour the onion-wine sauce over chops. Add bouquet garni, cover with lid and put in oven.





Cook for 20-30 minutes at 375, until pork is thoroughly cooked. When the pork comes out of the oven, stir in the mustard and finely chopped gherkins into the sauce.









Serve with broccoli - cheddar bake. The pork chops and sauce are incredibly delicious. Yum!

Henry, George, and Coco Anticipate the Beginning of Ice Fishing Season

Snow Day from a Dog's Perspective: November 3, 2011

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Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese Bake

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Being a fan of meat and carbs of any variety, I feel as if I can never get enough vegetables in my diet.




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Let's do a simple vegetarian cheese bake that I found in Classic Vegetarian Recipes, which as the name implies features easy to make, classic vegetarian dishes that are wonderfully illustrated with step by step photos.







I decided to modify the cauliflower bake into a broccoli and cauliflower  bake.







You begin by sauteing shallots in butter. Meanwhile, steam the broccoli and cauliflower.







When the shallots are tender, add flour to the melted butter mixture to create a roux. Make sure you 'cook' the butter. Then add  a cup of milk and a cup of shredded cheese (cheddar or swiss).







Put the broccoli and cauliflower into a baking dish. Pour the cheese mixture over the vegetables.







Top with a couple slices of cheese (I used swiss) and bake in a  350 F oven for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.



Next Monday I'll show you the dish I paired with this...yes, it's meat.



Enjoy!

Please Adopt a Rescue

Please








adopt







a 







rescue pet.









They'll warm the cockles of your heart forever.




Henry and George




Enjoying the Snow




October 26, 2011




Evergreen, Colorado