I love eggs benedict-- my favourite to make is with english muffins from the grove, turkey green sausage from kellers, poached eggs with a green chili Parmesan cheese sauce--- its really good.


So what is everyone having for Christmas dinner? Is your Christmas different than your Thanksgiving menu?

In my family we make a pork roast with saurkraut, baked apples, and green beans. With many other fixings-- that is the usual.

This morning, the honey made french toast (bread with walnuts and cranberry) with real maple. She had coffee and I had almond/coconut eggnog.

Tis the season!! :jester:

My honey she's making Minestrone soup-- that is as instant as I can get.

Mmm.

Stop by anytime, Sun.

Something NOT delicious :| the lazy man pierogi at the local Greek deli...yes..I know...the GREEK part shoulda clued me in that their POLISH food wouldn't be all that good. But I paid for something that I can cook better myself. And that irks me more than a lil bit....

It didn't even have saurkraut in it!!! Im appalled....

I will stick to the ones I know and love. I tried the Florida variety ONCE and never ever again....like ever. It was gross and watery. They are much bigger than the haas ones...but size isn't everything....really it isn't.

Uh oh. What was in it?

No clue...it was bland...tasted vaguely cheesy...had meat in it....blech...i think they just shredded cabbage and put it in.... :| Mines is soooo much better. I even make it into a casserole...almost like a reuben... :)

Mmmmmmmmmm... I am beginning to recover from gardening when the wind chill is down to 25 *-4 C, Urs! Am I nuts?!* because I mulled some cider.

It's funny how things which were always so exotic to me when I was growing up in the desert turn out to be so doggoned simple. I mulled it in the microwave in a covered bowl.

1 quart cider, room temperature
6 cinnamon sticks (broke them in half)
a few allspice berries
a few anise seeds
then a teabag with nutmeg, cloves, ginger--less than half a teaspoon of any of them, less than a quarter teaspoon ginger

I heated it 7 minutes on high and 10 more minutes on medium. It's about as hot as coffee... and not so exotic at all. But ohhh so good on a freezing cold day! My insides are starting to thaw. :)

Thank you! I confess, tis the old Tupperware dealer in me that thinks of these things. I used my Stack Cooker. LOVE that thing! :cheesy: I know some people keep mulled cider in a crockpot but I would have to get a third one, a smaller one... not that it's impossible, mind you! There's one on sale for $11 right now lol.... but I already have the Stack Cooker. :)

I do too-- esp. hard ciders.

:|

Wow $11? Amazing. How small?

What is a stack cooker?

The crockpot is a 1 quart.

A Stack Cooker is a microwave cooking system. The bowls are round and they stack together to let you cook a main course, a side dish and a dessert all at once. I used the large bowl and the cover (lid) for the cider.

Here's a link. http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/...r=P10049001195

That's so good to know! Bek's best friend is a vegetarian and I have been looking for a substitute for the chicken soup powder that I usually use.

O course you are nuts Catie! That's part of your charm!

It's Monday morning here, it's raining a bit, which is cooling the place down but making it all steamy as well.

I had a win yesterday! I am always looking for things Bek's best friend will eat. He's got a very limited palate and will basically only eat refined carbs and cheese - so, think macaroni cheese, welsh rarebit, pizzas with only cheese on them... sushi... that kind of thing. Kris jokes that the kid only eats things in a certain colour group - white to pale yellow. Lol.

I mashed a bit of pumpkin (fresh, we don't have tinned here), added some cream cheese, nutmeg, and some grated cheese and used it as a wonton filling. Success!

Though as I was saying to Sun before, it's probably more appropriate as a pasta filling, but anyway - he liked it, so it's a win!

I've been trying to think of ways to get more fresh vegetables into him, he doesn't eat much of anything, most of the time. Unless it's sweet things, he loves sweet things.

What a great day. I thought I would share a very cool little foodie delight. I went to a new church today to visit, it was a bit of a drive but well worth the travel. The congregation was wonderful and welcoming and the sermon was touching and inspiring... BUT, onto the food.... This congregation has a meet and greet after and they offer a "Sunday Soup" each week for a $5 donation, people were sitting down and chatting over soup... What a GREAT idea, it looks really tasty this week too... next time I get to go, I will have to take along some cash!!

Speaking of Italian food, when I was in my International Cuisine course, I drew northern Italy for my practical exam. I made Asiago Chicken, Rice with Savoy Cabbage (though I used a regular cabbage, instead, as it was all that was available), and topped the chicken with alfredo sauce.

I originally got the recipe for Rice and Savoy Cabbage from About.com, but modified it a bit for home use, so that it is less expensive to make. I have found that regular green cabbage works very well, and so does long grain rice. Originally, the recipe called for short grained rice, which is more expensive, at least in my area. This is my version of it:

1 1/4 cups Rice
1 lb Cabbage
1 Onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese ( I often substitute some Asiago cheese, for part of the Parmesan)
Salt and White Pepper to taste
1 quart Beef broth, stock, or unsalted bouillion (meat or vegetable), simmering

After you take off the outer leaves of the Cabbage, cut the cabbage into shreds.
Heat the Olive Oil and Butter in a pot and saute the chopped Onion until it is translucent golden in color. Add the cabbage and continue cooking, stirring them about, until they have wilted. Add a cup of hot broth (stock) to the pot, cover, and simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Remember to stir it occasionally.

Stir in the rice, add the rest of the stock, and check the seasoning. Simmer until the rice is fully cooked. Add the cheese in, do a final check of the seasoning, and serve.

You found my keyword "Asiago". Very nice. I bet this would make a nice risotto as well.

Does mini diva like any kind of risotto? Next thing I am going to try for Bek's friend is arancini balls... I have a butternut squash and apple risotto recipe that's really nice.

Sun--
Do you find that evil stuff in Organic Ciders?
Curious.

I'm thankful for today, I don't have class til 1300. Sleeping in rules, esp. on a Monday. I am going to make myself a small egg sammich.

Happy Eating!

The elementary school i work at gives out healthy snacks twice a day at recess. I am loving this... they are expounding the kids to unusual foods they are not likely to see at home, especially in this very low income community. So far this year some of the selections have been permissions, parsnips, Asian pears, and spinach salad... its my favorite time of the day.

I'm an ingredient snob. lol I think nothing of spending 20 bucks on a great bottle of extra virgin olive oil or balsamic vinegar. I will drive several hours to purchase a special cut of grass fed meat. I can't pass Marshalls without going inside to see what kind of goodies I can find marked down in the gourmet food section. Sometimes I can find the most amazing things and other times its a bust. I just bought a wonderful ginger & lime sauce to use as a marinade for shrimp. It was really yummy and only 3.99.

I bought a wonderful bottle of balsamic marked down to 6.99. Vinegars can be hit or miss. This was a total HIT! I will be buying this again and I will be carting my ass back to Marshalls to see if they have any more for 6.99. It's really that amazing and trust me, I'm a total snob.

http://shop.sicklesmarket.com/produc...-2-gold-medals


I just had a salad with organic baby greens, crumbled maytag blue cheese and I like to take EVOO and good balsamic mix and add just a few drops of agave to sweeten. This vinegar made it. Even though the EVOO was excellent I was savoring the vinegar.

oh yummy thank you! I'm going to try this.

There is nothing quite like a great olive oil or vinegar. It seems that each one that I try has totally different character and nuances.

When I return to NY I am going to seek out a Greek Calamata olive oil in a little Greek neighborhood in the city. A true Calamata oil is not always easy to come by. I'll let you all know what I find. One of the things that I miss this time of year are fresh ripe tomato's with good EVOO and Balsamic. A little sea salt and I am happy.

I'm allergic to the evil stuff and find going organic is a good way to go to avoid it. Since preservatives and additives that enhance flavor are not included.

I'm also allergic to sulfites, nitrates and SLS in soaps/shampoos. Which is super fun. Okay not so much but it does help me eat fresher and cook more. You'd be surprised by where you find sulfites...

bottled water:
http://www.allergysulfiteinwater.com...ebybrands.html

about the allergy in general...
http://www.beatcfsandfms.org/html/Sulfides.html

Mmmm Reuben is one of my fav sandwiches too. Someone turned me onto it recently in the past few years. I like fresh deli bread toasted then some corned beef and brisket with swiss cheese add some thousand island a bit of mustard and sauerkraut and you have yourself a delish sammich!

happy Monday everybody. Any exciting food recipes ya'll are up to this week? Any thing brewing for Xmas?

Tonight I'm making some ground beef and bean green chili burritos with diced onions and tomatoes and some shredded cheddar.

I want to make some pumpkin emapanadas and some sugar cookies for xmas!

Totally true. If I need a margarita I take my benedryl and some pepcid to help with the allergic reaction.

Again organic lemon juice is usually how I have to go if I am not juicing my own. And orange juice... sometimes I really miss it.

I will have to ask the cooks.... I am curious too. I know the snack program is funded through a grant.

On a side note, I just saw how many typos were in that post... It made me so sad... I hate posting from my phone for that reason. Auto correct is evil.