Saturday, December 17, 2011

Trying new things

About 5 months ago I bought some interesting spices coriander, saffron and cardamom  and I have yet to use them I'm very intimidated by them and I'm dying to try them in different recipes, now I know that cardamom can also be used in sweet recipes as well as savory. I'm afraid to waste the saffron because it is so expensive.  Any advice, recipes would be greatly appreciated!



P.S I also found these 2 products that were in my cabinet , I think I'm going to make some pasta or a sauce with the anchovies but I'm at a loss on what to do with the lychee's I' m a foodie I couldn't help but buy it.


Vanilla

About 3 years ago I was browsing threw Amazon and I saw 15 Madagascar vanilla pods for 12 dollars, the price was great and I have never seen a vanilla pod so I ordered it. I made a bunch of vanilla ice cream and was at a loss on what to do with the rest of them so I wrapped them up in paper towels and placed in a ziploc bag and stored in my baking cabinet and was forgotten about.

Fast forward 13 months I went to use them and they were dry as the desert so I put them away until I can figure
out what to do with them, I was thinking of vanilla sugar. But the day after my daughters birthday in October she came home with 2 big jugs of vodka, when I saw it I immediately thought of making vanilla extract!

I took 4 of the smallest vanilla pods broke them up into pieces and placed them into a clean canning jar and filled it up with vodka I would say about a cup and a half, tightly sealed it and put it away in the cabinet. I couldn't help but look and the vodka had already turned dark.

Two months later I have a large jar of homemade vanilla which should last me a long time, I'm very happy about the income. Now if I make vanilla sugar what exactly do I use it for?

Well you are not going to believe this!

After all that bitching and moaning about me being done helping my daughter 2 weeks yes 2 weeks after moving into her apartment she gets EVICTED!! Yes evicted!  Her and idiot friends and roommate called for a maintenance man to unclog the toilet and left their bong out in the open so the janitor reported them and gave them 24 hours to vacate the premises. I know what I said but I can't put her out on the street cold and alone and nobody around to help, and sad to say I can really use the money she gives me for rent 1 barely have 50 bucks left over after paying all of my bills, this dang lupus and arthritis prevents me from working so I depend on SSI.

After crying and yelling at her for over a hour she promised she will be out soon and I don't have to cook for her. So far so good and I also told her she cannot sleep all day and be up all night going in and out she's been keeping her word so far so good because I cannot go threw the same thing again.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Thanksgiving (Might be my last)

When I say might be my last I mean I don't enjoy cooking it because i do all the shopping , the prep, cooking and cleaning so you see why i'm not so keen into it. Next year I think i'm going to check out the Golden Corral buffet  I have heard great things about it and maybe see a movie. Now the only reason I cooked this year was because my mom was in town and she cleaned up THANKS MA!! I was very surprised how great my sweet potatoes came out because I did the lazy version.. canned I  usually bake, peel and slice them make a syrup on the stove then bake oh yeah don't forget the marshmallows! but i just added butter and brown sugar, dinner was good regardless.  After my previous post on pies I went ahead and bought frozen pie crust, I made something new sweet potato pecan pie I loved it, here's the recipe for that and a picture of that and my juicy turkey.

Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

  • 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans



  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Prepare dough for one 9 inch pie. Refrigerate until ready to bake.
  3. Blend together the butter, sweet potatoes, eggs, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, corn syrup and evaporated milk. Pour filling into crust and sprinkle with chopped pecans.
  4. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean. Set aside to cool.





Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Shepherds Pie


I live in Arizona so there aren't many snowy nights but I still like to make tummy filling body warming meals. I decided to make shepherds pie but my version, I thought I would use sliced potatoes instead of mashed it didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to, even though I sliced the potatoes really thin with my mandolin and baked it for 40 minutes the potatoes were still raw, the flavors were there but I was very disappointed. I will try it again maybe next time i will cover in foil so the potatoes will steam then uncover so they can brown.

2 lbs of ground beef
4 tsp of olive oil
1 8 0z can of diced tomatoes
2 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
2 carrots peeled and sliced
2 cups of frozen peas
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 of pepper
3 tbsp of flower
1 1/2 cups of hot water

Heat 2 tsp of the oil in a large skillet under medium high heat add onions cook until soften then add ground beef, carrots, garlic and salt and pepper until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, sprinkle flour over cook for a few minutes then add water cook until fluid is thickened. Stir in peas and pour into a large cooking dish.
 In a bowl add potato slices sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and the oil, layer evenly over meat cover with foil baked 30 minutes then raise oven to 400 degrees remove foil and bake until potatoes are brown.




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Sunday, November 13, 2011

Pies,Pies and more Pies!

GGGrrrrrrrr pie crust!!!!!!!!! I can't seem to get it right! All butter or is adding shortening better? What's the best flour to make a tender crust? If I search the internet I can get 50% of one answer and 50% of a different answer. Now I am a expert cookie and candy maker umm cakes could use a little work, now is it cheating if you use a box cake mix and put your own little spin on it? To be honest if I make my own pecan pies I buy the crust or if  I  need a lemon meringue pie I go to my good old pal Marie Calander, so for Thanksgiving I'm going to make my own pies I'm going to do my fave pecan and and a lemon meringue which terrifies me doing the meringue, now should I buy the crust and concentrate on the filling? My son wants me to make a ooey  gooey cake with chocolate chips. If I happen to get any followers before gobble gobble day any advice is welcomed.

An Introduction!

Hello all! My name is Stephanie I'm 40 something lol I was born and raised in Massachusetts but for the past 6 years I have been living in Tempe Arizona. I am currently living with Lupus and Arthritis so I never know what kind of day I am having. I love Movies ( especially scary ), swimming, cooking, baking , music, recipe contesting and trying different ethnic cuisine. Now 3 years ago I was very heavy into recipe contesting and then I let my 20 year old daughter at the time come from Boston to live with me, now in my mind I'm thinking someone to talk to and help me especially on my painful days but what end up happening was 2 years of filth, in and out all time of the night which means keeping me up all night. This put me in such a depression that my doctor had to prescribe me 2 different kinds of  anti-depressants. I also lost interest in everything I loved to do especially the recipe contesting I did it for a year and won about 5 contests and been published in 2 cookbooks and 4 magazines. After years of anger, frustration, tears on November 1st I kicked her out for good I grabbed her by the shoulders and said " Under no circumstances can you come back so you better pay your rent" well unless she is paralyzed  or has cancer. I know that sounds harsh but you don't what I have been threw from her trashing my apartment to pulling a knife on me. Well that's all behind me. This blog will be me sharing my love of food, recipes I've tried including failures and also other things including rant and raves and hopefully looking to make friends with the same interest as me.