The end of another year and the Jewish-inspired meal to go with it!

2014 is just about to close!  Can you believe it?  And what a year!  Tiana's still hanging out Down Under leaving Kent and I footloose and fancy-free!  Well, except for that nursing school thing that keeps us somewhat down for 9 months of the year!  But that's ok!  It's great!  We'll miss our sidekick, Coda, a goodly part of the naming of this blog!

Our Christmas dinner theme this year was to enjoy some of the foods enjoyed at Hanukkah.  Since we are not Jewish, I'm sure there are some rules we didn't get right, but we did enjoy our meal!  From what we read, the holiday is about oil so a lot of fried foods!  Also, it's about cheese/dairy to honor some other person's victory somewhere in battle.  Anyway, we had a Brisket in Wine Sauce, potato latkes, homemade applesauce, green salad, cucumbers in sour cream and instead of fried jelly-filled doughnuts we had fried, powdered sugar-coated Khovorst/Strusky from my "Russian" childhood! We had a good dinner that might just need a repeat!  The brisket would make a fine Sunday roast!  So, for your dinner pleasure, here's the recipe!

Brisket in Wine Sauce

2½ pound brisket

1 Tbs. paprika

½ tsp. basil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

3 medium onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled, halved

1½ c. ketchup

1½ c. dry red wine

1½ c. water

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Rinse brisket, place in roasting pan (I used a Dutch oven).

Mix paprika, basil, salt and pepper and then rub into meat.

Scatter onions and garlic over meat.

Mix ketchup, wine and water.  Pour over brisket.

Cover pan tightly (or if using a regular pan, cover and tent with foil so that the foil does not touch the meat.)

Bake for 3 hours or until a temp of 190° F is reached.

I am going to say that 3 of us ate almost all of a 3 pound brisket!  The recipe says this serves 8, but it must be 6 very picky children and 2 hungry adults!!  I did thicken some of the sauce afterwards and so even if you don't make latkes to go with it, you will have a delicious sauce to put over noodles, rice or mashed potatoes!!  You'll actually have LOTS of sauce for those side dishes! Enjoy!

Per Request Part II

Well, since I just updated and I tried more recipes, I'll update again!  I hope that begins to satisfy the blog post craving! Haha!

A few days ago I made a pork recipe in my slow-cooker that we really liked!  When I had the meat shredded, I blended the sauce and drizzled a little on the meat that I had placed on a baking sheet to put under the broiler to crisp it up just a little (like carnitas) and then served the sauce as a "salsa" on the side.  Next time I would consider adding a fresh jalapeño to spice it up a bit! Oh, and I halved the recipe for just the two of us and it was plenty!

Slow-Cooker Green Chili Pork

1 1/2 pounds poblano or Anaheim chiles (about 4 large)

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder

Salt and pepper

1 28-oz. can green enchilada sauce

4 tomatillos, husked and quartered

Flour or corn tortillas for serving, optional

Preparation

1. Place a rack 4 inches from heat source and preheat broiler to high. Place chiles in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil until skin is blackened, 6 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally. Place in a large bowl; seal with plastic wrap. Let stand until skin has softened, about 7 minutes. Peel, seed and roughly chop chiles. Use immediately or refrigerate overnight in a ziplock bag.

2. Season pork with salt and pepper. Place in a slow cooker. Add chiles, enchilada sauce and tomatillos; turn to coat.

3. Cover and cook on low until meat is fork-tender, 6 to 7 hours. Remove pork to a baking dish and shred with two forks. Tilt slow cooker and spoon off some fat. Place pork back in slow cooker, cover and rewarm on high heat. Season with salt and pepper; serve with tortillas, if desired.

Last night we had company and so I made a summer pasta salad and grilled veggies along with some homemade bread.  The bread I made with 1 c. white flour and the rest whole wheat.  I vary that recipe all the time!  For the veggies I simply sliced a large zucchini lengthwise into 4 thick slices.  I brushed them with olive oil and then used fresh ground garlic salt and pepper to season it.  I also cut red peppers into quarters and did the same thing.  We then grilled them directly on the grate and they came out SOOO tasty!  I also tried a green bean recipe that could have been grilled but my grill basket is too hole-y so I just sauteed them. That recipe is also delicious!  

Grilled Green Beans

The marinade works with broccoli and asparagus, too.

8 oz. green beans

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp Kosher salt (optional)

Fresh ground pepper to taste

grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients except cheese in a ziploc bag and allow to marinade for 10 minutes.  Grill or sauté over medium heat until crisp-tender.  Turn frequently.  Sprinkle with Parmesan just before serving.

And finally the pasta salad.  I only barely follow this recipe!  

Greek Tortellini Salad

1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini 

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 large cucumber, chopped

1 cup kalamata olives, pit removed and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the Dressing:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper, to taste

directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain the tortellini and rinse with cold water.

2. Place the tortellini in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onion, and feta cheese.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until salad is well coated. Serve immediately or place in the refrigerator.

Note-this salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

So my recipe looks something like this:

12 oz. dried tortellini - cook according to package directions and cool 

1 small red onion, diced

handful of Kalamata olives (pitted), coarsely chopped

1/2 red pepper, or so, diced

cucumber, diced - until it looks right

about maybe 15-20 grape tomatoes, chopped

fresh mozzarella balls (about 1" diameter) cut into quarters -- again, until it looks right

4 oz. of Genoa salami slices cut up

large handful of baby spinach, cut into thin strips (maybe a leaf or two of fresh basil, too!)

marinaded artichokes, cut up -- until it looks right

The dressing from the recipe above with a bit of the marinade from the artichokes for more flavor.  

The beauty of pasta salad is you can do what you want and what suits your taste!  

Per Request...

I had a request this week for a blog update so let's see what I can come up with! :-)  The 2nd quarter of nursing school is now behind me and for the first time since I was 13, I'm enjoying a summer of doing nothing but connecting with friends, cooking, baking, walking, catching up on cleaning, reading, hiking and the occasional sleep-in!  A day with no agenda is exactly what I love -- so far.  That is, of course, subject to change when the summer drags on and I have nothing to do! HA!!

Starting in April, Kent and I have been trying to get out and move a bit.  And for extra motivation my class is doing a "Biggest Loser" style competition this summer.  It's really helping to motivate me to eat healthy and keep moving.  I suppose that clinicals in Long Term Care settings had something to do with motivating me, too!  The devastation that stroke and diabetes can have is pretty profound and both are often the result of poor eating and exercise habits.  So far his weight loss efforts far outshine mine, but I'm not giving up! We've also been hiking almost every weekend.  We've found some great sites!

Tonight I made a quiche with all sorts of fresh veggies.  I had about 1/4 red pepper, 4 green onions, a handful of fresh spinach sliced thin, garlic and some finely diced ham.  Because I'm trying to cut out some calories, I used only 3 whole eggs and 2 eggs worth of substitute. It was also crustless. I added a tablespoon or so of Parmesan cheese, a bit of reduced fat Feta, reduced fat cheddar and it was perfect!  I did add some cherry tomatoes to my portion!  All of this was based on the crustless recipe found here.  Kent suggested I could have added potatoes and that had us looking for a hashbrown crusted quiche, so I will try something based on this recipe next!

So, I think that's a fairly decent catch-up for ya.  Stop by again soon and I'll see what else I've tried in the kitchen and I'll share it with you here!

Bread -- because what else is there?!

So the other night we went to...(gasp!) Denny's and I had their Create-your-own-French-Toast.  They mistakingly gave me the blueberry bread which got me to wondering how a blueberry yeast bread would be to make!  Of course, I'm sure the blueberries in that were the artificially flavored apple bits and so I decided that I would try it with the frozen Wild Blueberries from Trader Joe's.  And I wanted to put the blueberries in a Whole Wheat Walnut bread.  So, I found this recipe at mysanfranciscokitchen.com.  Of course, I couldn't leave the recipe alone so I include my altered recipe.  It is the softest, moistest, tastiest whole wheat bread I've made!  Even if I leave the blueberries out, it will be tasty!!!

2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup + 2 tbsp water
3 tbsp dark brown sugar 2 Tbs. molasses + 1 Tbs. honey
2 tbsp butter olive oil
2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour whole wheat flour (sorry, I used my local bulk flour!)
1 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp salt
¾ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup rolled oats
1 egg white
3/4 cup - 1 cup thawed wild blueberries
Instructions
Add water, sugar, and yeast to a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes (yeast should be poofy).
Add butter, salt, and 1 cup of whole wheat flour and mix with a fork or standalone mixer with hook attachment.
Chop walnuts to a coarse texture in a food processor.
Add remaining flour a little at a time, interchangeably with nut and oat mixture.
Knead by hand on a floured surface or with mixer for 10 minutes.
Place in a greased bowl and cover for 1 hour.
Punch dough down and form into a log roll out into long thin sheet (width the length of bread pan and as long and thin as possible).  Sprinkle with thawed blueberries.  Roll up and place in greased loaf pan. Brush all around with egg white and roll in oats. 
Fold ends underneath and place into a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bake for 35-45 minutes.
Turn onto wire cooling rack immediately and let cool before serving.

Good grief it's been awhile!

Well I guess that's what happens when school's in session!  So, how about a run down.

The holidays found us enjoying bacon!!  Our Christmas dinner theme was bacon this year.  It was pretty incredible and I can't remember how many pounds of bacon we ended up going through!  Everything (except our beverages) had bacon in it!  Christmas was a very low-key and different with Tiana being out of the country.  There was no one to hand out the few presents we had to distribute between us! The New Year brought huge changes for us.  Starting the 13th of January I've been on sabbatical from Starbucks.  After a minimum of 10 years of service, they allow 1 year off to do whatever -- education, travel, volunteering -- while providing benefits at the rate I was paying for them, my free pound of coffee per week and my discount.  It's been awesome to not work since I also started nursing school this January!  I cannot believe that the 1st of 6 quarters is already finished and behind me!  There were times this quarter that I really wondered what in the world I had decided to do ... and then I went to clinicals.  While I know there was SOOOO much more I could have done in clinicals, it really just inspired and encouraged me that I am on the right track!  What an incredibly powerful experience it was!

One of the things that we've talked about in class is "What is your self-care?"  Well, you all know that I love to bake!  So, I did do a lot of baking during the year.  It doesn't take but maybe an hour and so I would do that and share with my classmates!  They often begged me to please do self-care on the weekends! :-D Since being on spring break I've had some fun with baking, too!  Today I had Ivona over for her birthday and I included 3 of our friends and their kids.  I made these DELICIOUS scones and these awesome mini quiches.  I have to say, the quiche says it makes 10 muffins, but I got about 22 out of this recipe!!  I can't imagine the size of muffins those must have been! So my freezer is stocked with plenty for during the next school quarter!  Oh, and I used green chilies in mine!  So yummy!

Today is very grey and wet, so now that the house is quiet, I think a good book might be in order.  But maybe I should do a chapter of math first!

Good to see you again!