It's a "Lifestyle" thing...

I REALLY need to be working on the guest list addresses, on Excel, for our daughter's wedding, so this is the absolute last blog I can do before I get, at least, 1/2 of those entries done!  That's my goal!!  Once again, proving that what you are passionate about, you make time for...

However, as I went for my walk today, I was composing this blog, in my mind, so I had to come home & get right to it.  As I know the fragile way in which my mind works…

First off, today, when I opened my bedroom blinds, this is what I saw:

Incidentally, sorry for the grainy shot - it was early - I forgot to pull back the screen…but you get the idea.  I woke up to an inch of fresh snow, at least, on what was my previously dry vineyard! And my initial thought was…argh, I am going to have to shovel (the ever-so-steep-for-a-prairie-girl driveway) before I can head out to my Weight Watchers meeting because the shoveler-in-chief is out of town…I did one of those cheat shovels where you just clear a track for your wheels, & even at that, I failed miserably in executing the shovelled path.  I gave the driveway a full shovel when I returned!

I do believe that Weight Watchers is the best choice out there in the "diet" field for me.  For someone whose inherent nature is to cook, it is the plan for me, because as long as you stick within your points allowance for the day & week (includes optional point values,) no food is out of bounds.  You just must count it.  The meetings are, for me, another story.  I sit there distancing myself from all the talk centered around fat-free puddings, fat-free jello, Weight Watcher snack & product options, & eating all sorts of paraphernalia that I just wouldn't consider.  But, I am admittedly in a weight category I am not happy with & that said, I know 2 things to be true.  I want to be more at peace with my weight for Alexis' wedding & I am someone who has to face the scale to arrive at the # where I will achieve that peace.

But, today, the meeting chatter was focussed on celebrating victories apart from the # on the scale.  This discussion came around to how Weight Watchers is a lifestyle, not a diet.  That's everyone's new mantra isn't it?!  Us included.  And by us, I mean our family business.  We tout our storage business as a lifestyle…the Modular Lifestyle.  As the leader continued, she started talking about how those of us who struggle with our weight, turn to food to fill, not only, our hunger but our souls.  Now, she had my attention.  I wanted to get up & shout, "yes, yes, that's it!"  But the Weight Watchers lifestyle isn't what's gonna fill it.  I know I am not relationally ready to share my faith with this group of women & be heard, but I will eventually succeed & get an opportunity to share how I achieved success.  Success, for me, will not come wrapped in fat-free packaging, I am afraid, but rather in the constant repositioning of my eyes on Jesus.  That's all I'll unpack on that for today…

After only losing 1.2 lbs, (the # does matter deeply to me,) I drove off to do my errands, come home & finish my shovelling & decide that the temp was lovely enough to head out walking with the ever-ready Shaquille.  Sometimes our walk is just that - a beautiful Okanagan valley walk - but a walk.  Today, the  path was freshly blanketed in snow with gentle flakes continuing to fall as we went.  It made the air seem new; like "first breaths of life" new.  It almost had a visceral taste-quality to it, as if some primal need was being met, for me, as I breathed it in & out. Whatever was going on, I felt deeply blessed by it, & the shallow feeling of defeat I had from the small weight loss was swallowed up in the simplicity of the moment.

It probably just looks like another "Reg walk" photo to you, but was packed with meaning for me…

Since I have to leave you with a morsel of a recipe, when I got home, I made myself a delicious cup of Keo's tea & threw out the $4 latte from Starbucks that had since gone cold.  (I can't face nuked coffee…more of my issues!)

Though the ingredients may seem incredulous to you, they are easily obtained from any oriental market. My son & I used to meet at Keo's restaurant for lunch, when he was working at our storage facility, painting as summer employment.  That's when Keo's used to be on 33rd St.  I like the new place on Broadway but kinda miss the ambiance, that was uniquely theirs, at the old place…anyway, I would go on about their house tea & once got up the courage to ask for the recipe...

Keo's Tea:

Pandan Leaf
Galanga Root (a close neighbour to ginger)
Kaffir Lime Leaves
Lemon Grass

As you will note, I have provided no measurements. That is why the photo follows. That is about how much I use of each item.  You will notice the lemon grass is very finely chopped.  In Kelowna, at the Oriental Supermarket on Hwy 97, (which I love!!) you can buy bags of it already chopped & frozen like that.  I love it.  It is wonderful for soups, stir-frys, sauces…I have used regular lemon grass (just the white part) many times too.

My guess is that I used:

1 tsp of the lemon grass, chopped - or - 3 very small pieces of fresh
3 - 4 lime leaves, depending on their size
a good pinch of pandan leaf
2 - 3 small chunks of galanga root

This makes either a teapot full of the tea or a perfect serving in my little Brewt gadget pictured here.  The gadget is readily available in specialty tea shops.  We love ours…note:  this kind of tea is not good confined to a tea bag.  It tastes best when left loose.  It is in large enough pieces to stay out of your tea cup, when poured, anyway.

Ready to drink & blog.  This is my nice, new, little "Noble" Asian tea cup from David's Tea.  Perfect for Keo's tea...

Just Happens to be "Good Grain" Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling

I reeeeally like Mondays! Not because Monday means the beginning of, yet another, new week with all its unspoiled opportunities for who knows what…but because, regardless of the fact that I remain on the 100-day "no dessert" challenge, I get to make, yet another, dessert for our small group meeting!!

The choice this week was no contest.  I am intently fixed on trying to incorporate the use of some ancient grains, which I have affectionately started calling "good grains," into our everyday diet.  For this moment in time, I am trying to eat less wheat & am frustrated by the poor variety of choices, in our market places, of high quality wheat-free items.  Choices filled with tapioca starch, corn flour & high fructose corn syrup…all choices off the glycemic index charts, cheap & cardboardy.  What will continue to follow will be some of the recipes I am so excited about out of my new book, Grain Power.

Incidentally, I am watching an old episode of Parenthood, as I blog.  For any of you that watch the show with the commitment that I do, it is the episode, "Let's Be Mad Together."  As always, the family touches on much that is seemingly relevant to my life & close to my heart.  This episode, stopped my typing in its tracks, as they dealt with the forthcoming marriage of Ryan & Amber.  Ryan has had a less than fortunate past & has been grossly misunderstood my Amber's Mom.  I am, since Christmas, a new Mother-in-law-to-be.  And our daughter has fallen in love with a young man from a similar back story.  Why do we always create, in our minds, a version of how our children's lives will play out? Versions where knights ride in on white steeds in shining armour & sweep our daughters off their feet.  More often than not, they pull up in an old TransAm in a faded T-shirt & jeans "& sweep our daughters off their feet." And as long as they have love in their hearts, for our princesses, I guess the shattered version of our pseudo reality matters not.  We are, indeed, super excited & somewhat scared to death at the fact that our wedding is going to take place in July…..this July!!  Now that should have taken some of the guess-work out of what forthcoming blogs may banter on about…buckle up!

But, back to the business at hand.

Good Grain Pumpkin Roll

1/3 C Sorghum flour
1/3 C Millet flour
1/3 C Oat flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum (a natural carb stabilizer for recipes without gluten)
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 C brown sugar, light packed
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 C pumpkin puree
1/3 C walnuts, chopped (mine were, of course, freshly shelled, & picked this fall at the beautiful Gellatly Nut Farm)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a deep rimmed baking sheet (a big one, appx 17" X 11") with Pam.  Line the pan with parchment & spray the parchment as well.

In a large bowl (I used my mixmaster for this recipe) whisk the flours, cinnamon, xanthan gum, baking powder, ginger, & salt until well blended.  Pour out of bowl onto a piece of wax paper.  In the same bowl, whisk the brown sugar, eggs, egg whites, & pumpkin until blended & no lumps remain.  Add the dry ingredients back in.  This will be completely successful from your wax paper to bowl, but if you try to do from bowl to bowl, it can be a floury disaster.  The wax paper method works every time!  Mix until combined.  Spread the dough in 2/3 of the pan only.  Just eye-ball it.  It will be about 1/2" thick.  Sprinkle evenly with the walnuts.  Bake for 12 mins or until edges are turning golden.  Mine was perfect in 12 mins.  You definitely don't want to overcook it, or it will crack when you try to roll it!  Remove from oven & place on a wire rack to cool until WARM.  It will roll best when warm, but don't try it when it is still hot - it will crack!

When cake is just warm, remove from cooling rack & place a "clean" dish towel over the entire cake with about 2" hanging over one end.  (This all sounds a bit antiquated & crazy, but works perfectly!)  Place the cooling rack over top of the towel.  Flip the pan over onto the cooling rack & towel.  Take the edge of the towel hanging over the end & fold it over that end of the cake and continue gently rolling the cake loosely into a log & cool completely.  Cool at least 1 hour, could even leave overnight!

Cream Cheese Filling:  (Perfect sweetness & unique texture)

1 1/2 C 1% milk
1 tsp vanilla (white vanilla, if you have it so your filling stays beautifully white - I had to use regular - when my Mom was alive, she always made sure I had Watkins white vanilla for times such as this…I must see if Watkins still exists & get my hands on some again…)
1/2 C brown sugar, light packed
3 tbsp corn starch
1 8 oz. pkg light cream cheese, cut into smaller cubes

Whisk the milk, brown sugar, & cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly!  It will start to thicken about 1 minute after starting to bubble, so have your cheese ready!  Incorporate in the cheese, little by little & stir until melted. You will need to reduce heat.  Remove from heat & stir in your vanilla.  Fit a piece of parchment so it rests directly on top of the surface of this filling & allow it to cool completely.

Gently unroll the cake.  Spread evenly with the filling & roll back up into a log, without the tea towel now, of course.  (The filling will have gotten quite firm or even gelatinous so give it a good stir until it is creamy again) Cover with Saran & refrigerate for at least 3 hours (if you can) before serving.

Trim both ends off (they are for the cook if she isn't on the 100-day no-dessert challenge!) & cut into 8 or more servings.  I cut mine into 10 & the pieces were still very generous!  I served with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled every so slightly with cinnamon agave nectar & garnished with a plump Gellatly walnut…and the crowd went wild…well, at least, they really liked it!!

Introducing:  The wax-paper method…works every time!!

This is how my cake looked spread out in the pan.

The crazy "tea-towel" rolling method.  It worked perfectly!

I shoulda' sliced off a piece.  Then could have captioned it, "as pictured."  It really did turn out cookbook/textbook!  Make. Eat. Enjoy!!

Good Grain Thin-crust Pizza

I must say this weekend was a good weekend, maybe even a great weekend.  After going to see a movie that satisfied both husband & wife (which is easier said than done) with its perfect balance of action, suspense, romance & intelligence; said husband & wife dashed off to Shoppers to do an errand. While there, I snooped at the cookbooks & magazines…and I found this, most amazing new (or new to me) cookbook, Grain Power.  If you follow along with me, at all, you will know that I am on this quest to eat, at least some, healthier, unmodified grains in my 50ish life.  And, you may also know my insatiable "like" affair with cookbooks.  I would hate to guess the number of them in my ever-growing library or admit the nights that I lack slumber due to my cookbook reading habits…I love to read, in general, but admittedly I read cookbooks like many of you would devour novels of other kinds.  Oh, there, I feel so much better in the admission :)

Probably in light of our good "movie" experience, my husband purchased the cookbook for me. Yay!  Needless to say, I didn't try too hard to get back to sleep when I awoke for a bathroom run this Friday night.  Nor did I waste too much time Saturday morning in going about the gathering of these somewhat illusive "good grains."  I am now, quite seriously, invested in this "good grain" effort.  I/we spent the better part of Saturday & Sunday in the conquest of finding the grains to get a good start on a lot of these, delicious-looking recipes.  My first effort is the recipe that follows with my, very few, modifications.  It is not my intention to eat gluten-free, but rather to introduce myself to the plethora of grains, more modest than wheat, that do exist, out there, for our consumption.  This recipe would, however, fall into the gluten-free category.

Good Grain Thin-crust Pizza

Crust:

1/3 C Sorghum flour
1/3 C Millet flour
1/2 C light buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (don't be afraid of this word, that starts with an "x" like I was.  It is merely a natural carb that provides thickening or stabilizing to recipes that don't contain gluten)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C warm water
1 tsp liquid honey
1 1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast (I actually used Fleischmanns bread machine yeast, as was all I had on hand - worked perfectly!)
1 large egg white
2 tbsp EVOO
Potato flour, for rolling

Toppings:

1 small can pizza sauce (I used generic)
1 tbsp grape seed oil
1 1/2 C fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 C cooked X-lean ground beef, seasoned
1/2 C cooked chicken breast, seasoned
1/4 C black beans, drained
1 handful baby spinach
1/2 C part skim mozza, shredded
1/2 C reduced-fat cheddar blend, shredded
1/2 C reduced-fat feta
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped or use small leaves

In a medium bowl, whisk the sorghum flour, millet flour, buckwheat flour, xanthan gum & salt until well combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together the warm water & honey.  Sprinkle the yeast into the bowl, stir & let sit for 5 mins.  Whisk in the egg white & EVOO.

Pour the water/yeast mixture over the flour & stir until combined.  Cover and let sit for 20 mins.  Preheat oven to 400.  Place a large piece of parchment down on your counter where you are going to roll out your dough.  After the 20 mins, take dough out of bowl & gently form into a disk.  The dough will lack the elasticity of wheat dough, so be gentle with it.  Sprinkle the dough with the potato flour & generously sprinkle your rolling pin.  Keep some more close, as you will need to keep refreshing your rolling pin.  The dough wants to stick a little.  Roll out into a 12" crust on top of the parchment paper.  No need to flip the crust.  Grab opposite corners of the parchment & place the crust on your pizza pan or stone.  (Note:  Next time, I think I will cook my pie on a pizza pan using this method:  Place your pizza pan on top of the dough, slide your hand under the parchment & carefully flip the crust so that it is on your pan.  Remove parchment.)  Your crust will just not get quite as crisp if you leave it on the parchment.  Not quite as crisp, maybe, but uniquely flavoured & oh, so delicious!  (I may even make 2 smaller pizzas, next time, as we really like a thin, thin crust & feel the amount of dough would have sufficed)  Spread dough with pizza sauce & bake in preheated oven for 5 mins.

During this time, sauté your veggies on med heat in the grape seed oil.  I don't know too much about grape seed oil, but am impressed.  1 tbsp was plenty for all of those veg & no smoking…After veg are tender (appx 5 mins) add in any meat, if you are using something like pre-cooked chicken or X-lean ground beef & beans.  I had a little of both lingering in the fridge, so on they went, to please the cookbook buyer. Left to my own devices, I think veggie would have been delicioso!!

Now, remove crust from oven & top with the cooked veg & meat mixture.  Sprinkle on spinach, feta & mozza & cheddar, in that order.

Slide pizza back into the oven & bake for 8 mins.  Or, until crust is done to your desired crispness.  I set my oven to convection, by accident, & the pie was done to perfection in 8 mins.  Who knew…but, if you do the conventional way, you may find you need to broil the cheese for just a min or two after the 8 mins of baking. Remove from the oven.  My pie slid easily off the pan for slicing on a large cutting board.  You could leave on pan too.  Sprinkle generously with the fresh basil, slice & serve immediately…because you won't be able to wait!! And, as always, enjoy!!!

Prepping…

There's that "good grain" dough coming into its own…I only removed the cover a min to take this photo.

Dr. Oz would definitely approve of this colourful pan of veggie perfection!!

Looks so ooey gooey cheesy, but this is 1/2 C of the 2 shredded cheeses measured!!

Fresh out of the oven!

…and…plated…

Here's what's left after Darrell & I were thru with it.  A little pic of the cookbook, which deserves all the credit, should you want to go get yourself a copy!!

FYI:  The movie was Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Very Vegetable Soup

Well, this week, I added Weight Watchers back into my life (along with the 100 day "no dessert" challenge & the fact that I have been trying to reduce the amount of wheat products in our diet.)  "Our" refers to my husband & myself.  I would like to add, right now, that the 100-day "no dessert" challenge is no longer "our" challenge, but rather, "my" challenge as the husband has already failed miserably!!  Today is Day 16 & I am feeling some righteous pride in myself.  But, before I get too strong on the "righteous" part, I must clarify that right from the start there have been some allowable desserts on this challenge.  They are plain yogurt & chia seed coconut milk pudding.

The chia pudding recipe you say:

1 can lite coconut milk, well shaken or whisked
1 - 2 tsp vanilla
1 - 2 tbsp Agave nectar
1/4 C chia seeds (you can play around with this - this makes the consistency we like)

Mix all of the above well.  Put in a container with lid & refrigerate.  Depending on the brand of chia seeds you use, if you make it while you are prepping supper, it might be ready when you are ready for dessert.  Some brands, we find, take a little longer to thicken.  It is delicious!

I must give full credit to my friend Val for this one…thx, Val!

I have also made the jams with chia seeds.  Many recipes exist on the internet & Pinterest.  The one I used was:

1 C fruit (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 - 2 tbsp Agave nectar

I whirred everything in the food processor a little & kept in a sealed jar in the fridge - but not for long - it is delish!!  By the way, I used blueberries - yum!

Anyway, back to the business at hand…the fact that I went back to Weight Watchers. Right now, the dealio is to go onto a "Simple Start" program for 2 weeks.  Actually, it is quite great.  No refined sugars, bad fats, or crappy carbs.  This made me think of the ol' Peel A Pound Soup.  And, so as not to date myself too bad, that used to be a cabbage soup diet that everyone went on where you could have as much of this cabbage soup as you wanted, when you were hungry.  Don't get me wrong, I am no fan of fad diets or the cabbage soup diet, by any stretch, but I do love a good vegetable soup, which is what I managed to come up with.  What follows is not so much a recipe, but a guideline, of the veggies that I put in this time.  I didn't really add any flavourings spare a shake of the Tex Mex seasoning.  I do, however, switch it up quite regularly if I really get into keeping up with this soup.  Sometimes, I use a little scoop of Chipotle in Adobe & top off my bowl with a little fresh cilantro (I whir the whole can in the food processor & then keep frozen flat in a ziploc bag in freezer to bust off the little piece I want, when needed) sometimes greek seasoning & finish soup with a little fresh lemon juice & zest (then I might not make a tomato base, but more of just broth)…lotsa possibilities

Very Vegetable Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 - 2 carrots. chopped (or slice up the ones in your frozen veg bags - I don't like getting a whole baby carrot in my soup bowl)
2 stalks celery & tops, chopped
1 - 2 tbsp EVOO
salt, pepper, Tex Mex seasoning (to taste - go easy…)

Heat EVOO in a large soup pot.  Add all of the above veg chopped into a consistent size.  Cook until tender, sprinkled with seasonings

Add:

1 bag frozen mediterranean mixed veg
1 bag frozen mixed veg of your choice
1 large can stewed tomatoes
4 - 6 C chicken or veg stock (as always, I used my best loved "Better than Boullion"

<And>

To be a "real" soup, in my opinion, this is where it gets interesting.  Homemade soup is all about using up bits & dabs of things lingering away in your fridge, right?!  Oh, admit it, I'm right!  So, this time, this is what was on that list for me:

- the remainder of the Super Soup from an earlier blog post (which was a broccoli soup)
- 1 C tomato juice
- appx 1 C spiralized red beets
- 1 - 2 cups shredded cabbage (that I had in freezer from buying too large a bag of coleslaw mix)

So, in they went.  Next time, I will do the same with whatever is on the shelf staring back at me :)

I let the pot simmer away on the stove for a good hour.  Then I cooled it down & put into a large container & refridgerated to reheat a cup or two whenever I feel hungry…tonight, I'm going to add a little cooked quinoa when I have a bowl for supper.  This is to ward off the temptation to have a big bag of movie popcorn later when we go to see Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit…wish me luck!!

And now…very vegetable soup…mmmmmm

And, for an (allowable) dessert - tropical fruit & yogurt.  If you haven't tried these frozen mangoes & pineapples, you don't know what your missing.  Sweet & delicious...

Failure "is" an option...

While I was back in Saskatoon, back to what I "virtually" call "Home Sweet Home," I took in an episode of Rachael Rays, Week in a Day.

<And "virtually" speaking, I refer to our Okanagan home as "Liski Holiday Home." The side note on this would be:  that when we bought this place in Kelowna, we had no intention of living here to extent that we do.  It was simply going to take the place of the cottage we had never invested in, in Saskatchewan.  However, once we settled in and spent some time here, we found it harder & harder to leave, especially in seasons when the climate is more harsh back "home sweet home…">

This episode, "Layer it Up" featured 5 recipes, all of which I thought worthy of trial:

Potato, Cauliflower and Broccoli Casserole with Welsh Rarebit Top
Spinach Lasagna
Stacked Polenta and Mushroom Casserole
Toastacho Casserole
Turkey and Stuffing Casserole

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/rachael-rays-week-in-a-day/layer-it-up/index.html?oc=linkback

However, the one the peaked my interest most was the Toastacho Casserole, and as soon as I returned to our "Liski Holiday Home," I tried to gather the ingredients and set out to make it.  On the issue of "trying to…"  If you live somewhere in BC where you have access to the most luxurious grocery shopping experience of an Urban Fare, I hope you do not encounter a day like mine in preparation for making this recipe.  I headed out to Urban Fare in the best interest of being able to get all of the "unusual for a Canadian shopper" ingredients, in one place, for this recipe.  I knew that getting the peppers was going to be a long shot, but the sausage I did not think would be.  In a store with so many lovely department displays, it would be nice if it housed a staff that was well trained to serve in each one of those areas.  Not only did the young man, in the meat dpt, not know what Chorizo was, but he could definitely not make a good suggestion on an alternative from the selection that they did have.  I decided on Andouille sausage  (which they incidentally had spelled Andoulu on the wrapper??)  And, in the produce dpt, when I asked about the possibility of poblano or ancho chillies, that I could reconstitute, I was sent to the spice aisle to a hopeless little small jar of dried red chilies or the suggestion of red pepper flakes.  Now, I am in no way a pretentious food snob, but it would be great to be able to get a few less-than- pretentious ingredients (or knowledge thereof) in a grocery shopping environment that hails itself set apart in its vast selection of fine ingredients.  I think Urban Fare does a great job of having a vast selection of snacking options... *Rant complete & over!*

I will detail out the choices that I made, for this recipe, that I think equated out to a pretty flavourful alternative.  
Flavourful, and photo worthy, if not somewhat unsuccessful overall.  I have had very little success with corn tortillas, in general, in my food experiences - in restaurants & at home.  I find they are so often & easily tough. And are not a joy, in any way, to manage in cooking with or in eating…But, be that as it may, I gave them another whirl, with this recipe, because I thought they may be redeemed by the fact that you toast them off first. Disappointingly, not so…they were very tough & unruly to cut on the bottom layer, although fairly crisp & tasty on the top. In the end, it was my conclusion that for the work involved, it would seem simpler & more successful to use corn tortilla chips.  We did this last night & enjoyed the option thoroughly.

I still stand behind RR recipes wholeheartedly.  My experience with corn tortillas could just be my lack of knowledge about dealing with them.  I love Canada & the vast array of ingredient options that are so available to us here, but that would be my one boo-hoo…that more latin/spanish/mexican options are not easily accessible.  #iwannalearnmore

Ingredients
Casserole:
1 cup beef stock - again, I used my much-loved "Better than Boullion"
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded - instead of both of these chiles (which I could not get) I subbed appx 2 tbsp of chipotle peppers in adobe which I, incidentally, whir by the whole can in my food processor & then keep in a small Ziploc in the freezer & break off pieces the size I need for each recipe
2 poblano chiles
16 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
All natural cooking spray, for spraying tortilla strips
Salt
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 pound Mexican chorizo, casings removed - I used Andouille, seemed an ok substitute
1 pound ground beef
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or a blend of Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, Cheddar, Chihuahua, asadero or any easy melting cheeses of choice (about 12 ounces)
Avocado Cream:
1 cup sour cream
1 ripe avocado, chopped - I had some guacamole left over from the night before & this was a neat way to use up.  I simply added the sour cream & lime to loosen - was delicious!!
1 lime, juiced
Pickled jalapeno slices, for garnish
Chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce, for garnish
Chopped tomatoes, for garnish
Chopped red onions, for garnish
Directions
For the casserole: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring the beef stock to a simmer in a pot; add the ancho chiles and just enough water to cover and cook to reconstitute them. When softened, transfer to a food processor and puree.

Char the poblanos evenly over a flame or under the broiler. Cool in a covered bowl, and then peel, seed, chop and reserve.

Arrange the tortilla strips on baking sheets, spray with cooking spray and season with salt. Bake to deeply golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and brown, crumbling the meat. Add the beef and continue to brown and crumble the meat. Add in the beans, coriander, cumin, garlic, onions, poblanos and ancho puree (here I put in my adobe chilli & cup of beef stock) and cook together a few minutes to combine the flavors.

Layer half of the tortilla strips in a casserole dish and top with the chorizo and beef mixture. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal (store the remaining tortilla strips in a foil pouch until using), or bake to serve. To bake, top the room-temperature casserole with the remaining tortilla strips and the cheese and bake at 375 degrees F until bubbly and hot through, 40 to 45 minutes.  ***VERY IMPORTANT!!! If you are making recipes from an online recipe, it is always beneficial to read the comments from others.  Other readers said that 40-45 mins is way too long.  20 mins is more than adequate..AND…they are right.  My casserole was easily done in 15-20 mins.  Keep a close eye on it*** And when we made the nacho dish, in one layer, last night, they were just a very few mins under the broiler before being ready.  I had some of the meat mixture ready, in the fridge, so I just nuked it a min or two before topping the corn chips.  

For the avocado cream: Whiz up the sour cream, avocado and lime juice in a food processor.

Top the casserole with the pickled jalapenos, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and dollop the avocado cream over top (or pass at table).

Flowers you say:  A girl needs incentive to get started sometimes … :)

Those darn corn tortilla strips all ready to hit the oven…

What is that tough looking item underneath??  That is my much-loved pizza stone.  Which, I have read, is an excellent item to leave, all the while, in your oven to remove any moisture while cooking… who knew…

My Guacamole Cream…

This is exhibit A, first & somewhat-failed effort

This is Exhibit B - my proffered & tasty outcome of the second effort…proving, once again, that failure in the kitchen is not only an option - but - the mother of invention :) !!

Super Soup!

How can you tell that I really enjoy this blogging?  How can you tell that I really enjoy cooking & trying new recipes? Easy - every time, I should actually be busy at something else, I find myself taking pictures as I am trying a new recipe for lunch or supper…

Today is no exception.  Typically, I get up, have myself a bite of breakfast (while watching my taped episode of Ellen) & then head out with my four-legged walking companion, Shaquille, for our morning burst of exorcise.  Today, it somehow became noon before I had my runners strapped on & someone behind his desk (he who will not be named, but aka, the man of the house) was whining about needing a bite to eat.

Well, that was all the inspiration that I needed.  That, & the fact that I knew I had a package of fresh broccoli flowerettes in the fridge that were heading less & less towards fresh every day.  I was thinking broccoli cheddar soup, but when I began the quick cookbook study on the matter, I quickly came up with this version from Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats  If you happen to have this book, you will notice my slight digression from the original…

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2 tbsp EVOO
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, zested or minced
1 tsp thyme, ground
salt & freshly ground black pepper - I had to add a wee bit more salt upon tasting the soup, broccoli cries out for a little salt
Tabasco, a few dashes
1 bag pre-packaged broccoli flowerettes
1 quart (4 C) chicken stock - I love to make from "Better than Boullion"
1/2 C cream - I would have used milk, but was out & had coffee cream in house, so used it in a pinch
8 small handfuls cubed stale bread (I always have frozen in ziplocs in the freezer - I used to throw out a a lot of odd & sods of bread, but no longer…no one cares much for store-bought croutons around here any more!)
1/2 C grated Tex-mex cheese
sprinkle of parsley
Zest & juice of 1 lemon

Heat EVOO in large soup pot over med high heat.  Add bacon & cook until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon & drain for a min on some paper towel.  Add the onions, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper & hot sauce.  Cook, stirring often for 4-5 mins until onions are getting tender.  Add the broccoli & continue to cook til broccoli is tender. (I had a bottle of white wine - that wasn't my favourite - sitting lonely in the fridge that I poured in about 1/2 C of.  This moisture helped the broccoli along.  I would add a little stock, at this time, if I didn't have any wine open)  Once the broccoli is tender, working in 2 batches, add it to a blender with appx 1/2 C of stock & puree.  Be very careful blending hot soup.  Have a kitchen towel at the ready & hold it over top of your blender lid to catch any steamy escapees!  Do not overfill the blender whatever you do!! Add the pureed soup back to the pot & stir in remaining stock & cream. Bring up to a simmer & cook for 8 - 10 mins.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler in your oven.  Place your bread cubes on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, sprinkle over the cheese, bacon crumbles & parsley. Once your soup is nearing the 8 min mark, slide the bread cubes into the oven to become ooey-gooey, crunchy good.  Keep a close eye - this only takes a min or two!!

Right before serving, add the lemon zest & juice to soup & stir to combine.

Transfer the soup to serving bowls & top with a generous portion of the toasted cheesy bread cubes…aaaannnnd, dig in…so yum!!

*I think, next time, if I had a bit of the evil process cheese (whiz) around, I might put a spoonful in - just saying'*

This is me getting the gig ready, gathering ingredients…not shown is how I sprayed hot water from the instant tap all over the place, because it shot up inside the measuring cup & threatened to burn me…argh!!

Pictured here are some of my favourite things!!  I couldn't live without my little juicer (regardless of the bit of extra clean up it always entails) Annnnd, last but not least my newest addition - the hand dandy little zester.  The best tool ever for grating in fresh garlic & zesting citrus.  Caution:  very sharp!!

You do not need a Vita-mix blender to make soup - I mean, if one showed up wrapped in a pretty bow for me on my birthday, I wouldn't complain, but my ol' Black & Decker faithful, does the job just fine…You do need a kitchen towel for this process - be very careful!!

Note to self (& you!)  Always clean up as you go…I dishwasher EVERYTHING that I can, but sharp blades do not like the dishwasher & some lids are just cumbersome!

And drum roll please…wallah…lunch is served!! Super Soup...

Oh for the Love of Coconut, Caramel & Chocolate!!

Why is it that inspiration always comes when it is least welcome…I have a myriad of things to get done today & I have chosen also to blog this recipe.  I think it is because the least of which, on my to-do list, is not packing for a trip back to the prairies when it is +10 in my beautiful Okanagan home today & the sun is blazing across the white caps on the lake…

I have taken a break from blogging to deliver Christmas, in all its culinary & decorative grandeur to our family & friends.  It seemed, for me, a task too daunting & exhausting to do both.  You must understand that I decorate rather profusely, & just last week, got the remainder of the holiday garb put away!

Tonight, we have our small group, at our home, & I always make a dessert for after we are done our study time together.  (Just an aside on small groups, for those of you who may not know of this concept.  It is a small group of people who meet together each week to discuss & grow stronger in our Christian walk together…nothing willy-nilly at all…just real people getting together to grow in faith) And for me, it is an extension of my love of hospitality & entertaining.  Before Christmas, I did 6 weeks of pie recipes from the Rachael Ray magazine, for the group, since I read the recipes & wanted to try them all.  Now, maybe I am onto some sort of a pseudo cake theme…time will tell.

Since I knew I would have to pack today & ready myself for leaving, I baked this old stand-by chocolate cake recipe yesterday.  I then realized that my old stand-by pudding-icing recipe would require milk & I did not want to run out & get some, only to leave it behind to blither away in my fridge while I am gone.   I then had memory of this delightful little recipe I had pinned to Pinterest.  Oh my…I hope you enjoy it as much as I will not…my husband & myself have just begun the "100-day no dessert challenge" trying to ready ourselves physically for our daughter's wedding this July!! Yes, you could wish us luck!!

This a recipe from my beloved Skudesnes Lutheran Cookbook from my childhood home.

simply named…Chocolate Cake (pg. 44) for those of you who have the book…

1 C flour
1C sugar
3 tbsp cocoa (I always use a slightly more generous amount)
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla (this is my alternative - I once saw, on a cooking show, that it is a bakers secret to double the vanilla in recipes - a secret no more…I do it all the time - yum!)
1 egg
1 C buttermilk (or 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar in regular or soy milk - I learned yesterday that soy works just as well from good ol' Google cs, as I mentioned, I had my milk-shortage problem)
5 tbsp melted butter or oil

Blend sugar & oil.  Mix in egg.  Add the other ingredients alternating wet & dry. (I usually cheat & put in all dry, mix, add all wet, mix.  And I get away w/it.  You decide…Bake @ 350 for 35 mins.  Batter will appear really runny.  Never fear, it comes out moist & rich & delicious, in the end!!

http://nancycreative.com/2012/05/29/over-the-top-german-chocolate-brownies/

COCONUT PECAN FROSTING

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

In a medium saucepan, stir together the egg yolks, sugar, butter, vanilla,  and evaporated milk until well blended. Cook this mixture over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in the flaked coconut and chopped pecans, blending well. Let mixture cool for about 30 minutes, then give it a final stirring and spread evenly over the completely cooled brownies.

*I wish this was my own recipe but have to give this blogger full credit.  Yum!! The only thing I would say is that my icing seemed to thicken up, on my stove, much quicker than 15 mins.  I did, however, for this effort, let it simmer for the full 15 & the icing seems a delight - I mean for the seriously small taste I took - the cook has to taste for the fear of displeasing her guest…:) *