Quick Tip: Strawberry Season

Strawberries are in season all across North America, which makes this the perfect weekend to find a “u-pick” farm and gather your own delicious berries. I’d like to take a few moments of your day to share some tips I’ve learned about strawberries.

Strawberries are not technically berries! We just call them that. Strawberry image from todayifoundout.com.

Tip 1: The smaller berries have better flavor.
I don’t know if this is because the flavor is more concentrated or what the actual reason is, but all my experience tells me so. The supermarkets will stuff those little plastic clamshell boxes with giant berries, which may *look* impressive, but they taste like cotton. Not to mention all the empty space in that box, which you’re paying for!

Tip 2: Buy them as fresh as possible.
All berries have a pretty short shelf life. By buying your berries as close to the actual strawberry plant as you can, you get to take advantage of as much of that time as possible. There are farms all over the country where you can pick your own, not to mention all the farmer’s markets. I bought mine today from an Amish family who picked them just this morning. The ones at the supermarket? I have no idea where they came from or when they were picked, nor do I have any way of knowing what was done to them to make them look nice.

Tip 3: As soon as you get them home, wash them.
Now, wait, don’t just run them under the faucet. I’ve heard anecdotes of berries actually rotting faster when they’re washed in plain water. Get a bucket or large bowl and combine one part plain vinegar with 10 parts of plain water. I use a margarine tub with 1/4 cup of vinegar and 2 1/2 cups of water. Dump in your berries (in several batches or all at once) and swirl them around for a few moments. Remove them, rinse if you wish, and store. (This is also effective for other kinds of berries.)

Tip 4: Eat them!
Strawberries are DELICIOUS.

Have a great weekend everybody. 🙂

Homemade Onion Rings

You may have noticed that I am a big fan of onions. They’re an ingredient in just about every savory recipe I’ve shared here, and in fact in just about every savory recipe I make, shared or not. I love their taste, I love their texture, and I especially love their versatility. They work with just about every flavor profile and cooking method.

Every once in a while, I get a craving for FRIED onions. Specifically, onions shaped like rings and covered with crust. A lot of people would just dash out to the nearest fast “food” place and pick some up, or maybe get some premade ones from the freezer case at the supermarket. But I’m sure you know me well enough by now to know that that’s not how I roll. And I’m here to tell you that homemade onion rings are SUPER easy.

You will need:
– onions. I generally use one small-t0-medium onion.
– two forks, a medium bowl, a sharp knife and a cutting board
– a cooling rig – paper towels are fine, a rack on top of the paper towels would be better.
– batter, see below
– oil – an inch or so deep in your cast iron skillet – put it on the burner first so it can get hot while you prep the rings

Here’s your batter.
3/4 cup flour, 2/3 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp salt.
Mix these together in a bowl. Stir until smooth and unlumpy. Feel free to adjust the texture as you like. More flour will give a thicker batter, more milk will thin it (obviously). You can leave out this salt if you are concerned about sodium, but seriously this is not health food. Just leave it in – it tastes much better.

Slice the onion(s) into a big ol’ pile of rings. Separate them gently with your fingers. The center of the onion will be too small to make decent rings with; just put that part in a container and use in your next meal. If the outer layers have green veins (like the one on the left side of this photo), they won’t taste very good, so discard them.

Dip the rings into the batter and swirl them around to coat them. This particular batch has extra milk and is a little thin. Lift them with one of your forks and let the excess drip off. If your oil is ready (I think 350 degrees is the temperature, but I never actually use the thermometer for this. I actually take a drop of the batter and put it in the oil – if it immediately starts to sizzle, it’s ready), drop in the rings, one at a time.

Sorry for the fuzzy photo, lol. Make sure not to crowd your pan or add too many at one time (so that the oil temperature doesn’t fall too much). If your rings are not bubbling like mad from the second you put them into the oil, they’ll absorb the fat and be horrible and gross. Take them out if this happens, and crank the heat.
Watch the edges of the rings for the telltale color of Golden Brown and Delicious. It usually takes around a minute for each ring, but it’ll depend on the thickness of your batter and of your individual onion. Use your second fork (or a frying spider) to flip them over.

When they’re done, evacuate them to your cooling/draining rig. If your oil is hot and you don’t let them overcook, and you allow them to drain properly, your onions will retain very little oil. They’ll not be healthy, but they also won’t be balls of grease.
If you get drips of batter in the oil as you fry, try to remember to get them out, or else they’ll burn and then stick to the rings, which is why you see those black dots on these rings.
Salt them while warm (if you want) and serve. I like ketchup with mine, but just about any dipping sauce will work here. Onions are versatile, I told you. 😉

I don’t have a pretty staged food photo for you this time. I was too busy devouring my onion rings. What are you still doing reading? Go make some.

How to Make Homemade Butter

I was a voracious reader as a child (still am, at that), and was always fascinated by the prairie housewives who made their own butter and bread and cheese. (And clothes and everything else. Seriously, Caroline Ingalls was amazing.) It’s been a running theme in my life to learn how to do things “from scratch.” You will never ever see a boxed cake mix in my home. I’m working on producing a perfect sandwich bread, and frequently make artisan loaves. I’m a bit of a snob, I guess. (I do hate making pie crusts though. Despise.)

A wave of Pins about homemade butter went around a few weeks ago, reminding me that I’d never yet tried this one. I calmly pick up a pound of butter every couple of weeks, no big deal. Well, that has now changed.

All you need for this food project is heavy cream (possibly labelled as whipping cream) and a bottle or jar. I used a Nutella jar because of the wide mouth. After the actual churning, you’ll need a bowl and probably a colander and a jar for storing the buttermilk.

Please learn from my mistake – do NOT do so much at one time. You’ll want to do this with a much smaller amount. I did this again later with about a third of this volume and it came together MUCH quicker.

Shake shake shake, baby. My preschooler could do it in the early stages. She wasn’t strong enough for the whole process, but this is a great project for older kids. Also a pretty good arm workout!

After a little while, you’ll have whipped cream! You actually can add sugar (and maybe a dollop of vanilla extract) in the beginning and use this method to make a quick batch of whipped cream without dragging out your beaters. This stage was quick and easy to reach, even with this too-large volume. I can’t give you a specific time on any of these stages because it will depend on the amount of cream and the size of your jar.

Keep on shaking. Feel the burn. Its starting to get grainy now.

This is the part where you’ll regret it if you put too much cream in the jar. It will take an insanely long time to get past the grainy stage and into the part where the liquids separate from the solids. I took to hitting it against the frame of my couch – the thickened cream inside just was too much for my puny arms.

But hang in there! Soon it will do this. You’ll be shaking/banging away and suddenly hear a “flop.” The solids have finally clumped together into a blob and will now hold their shape and be a lot easier to shake through the final stage.

Shake it for a few more minutes. The butter will become more and more yellow as the buttermilk separates. I am unsure if it is possible to “overchurn” your butter, so use your instincts. This here seemed to be a good place to stop.

This is why I chose a wide-mouth jar – I knew I’d have a big blob at the end, and the big opening made it much easier to get out. You do not have to keep the buttermilk, but you should because it’s a delicious ingredient. Set a colander over a bowl and drain baby drain. I happen to have a tiny colander (aww so cute) and a salsa bowl, but you can of course use whatever you have on hand.

Plop the butter into a bowl and press it with your fingers. You’ll see more liquids come to the surface. Press and rinse, press and rinse, until there are no more liquids coming out when you press. Shouldn’t take too long.

Save the buttermilk! I started with a partial container of cream (left over from something) so I don’t know how much I started with, but I ended up with a fistful of butter and half of a molasses jar of buttermilk. (That’s my clay crafting supplies in the background, fyi.)

You’ve now got a nice clean blob of butter. You could, if you wanted to, press it into a form and refrigerate it to use later as an ingredient. I always use unsalted butter, but you could salt it if you wanted. I’m not sure how that works or what amount you’d need.

This is your final product. A beautiful, pale-yellow blob of milkfats. It’s very satisfying to spread the soft fruits of your labor onto a slice of fresh baked bread. I’m not sure that I’d want to do this all the time, for all my butter needs, especially since I bake a lot. (Although maybe with a mixer?) But for a fancy event? Heck yes. I want to experiment with adding things like herbs or garlic to the cream for fancy flavored butter. It was really easy to reach a smooth creamy whipped cream stage, and I actually have used that trick already – cream and sugar and vanilla, shake shake shake, pour on top of strawberries.

What is is that’s so impressive about “made from scratch”? I don’t know, but I know that it’s very personally satisfying to be able to make a final product, something that we all take for granted like butter or bread, all by myself, from a few basic ingredients.

Have you ever tried to make butter?

(My husband will be having surgery today so I don’t know if I’ll be around. All comments this week are entries in my Giveaway, though! Please check out that entry if you’re interested. If you don’t want to enter the giveaway, you can still leave a comment – just make a note that you don’t wish to be entered. There is also another giveaway here, in case you’re interested.)

Busy Busy Busy

I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve just been insanely busy lately. I enjoy most of the things I do, but it seems like I haven’t had any downtime in forever. I haven’t even had spare time for reading! Today I’ve got a collection of pictures to share, of some of my recent projects in progress!

This is a quick shot I took of my to-do list just before I sat down to upload pictures and write this post. The right side is tasks for my home or family – stuff like “clean the fridge” and “mail Mother’s Day cards.” The left side is personal projects or desires, mostly for Etsy or for my blogs. Yes, it’s giant. And it’s mostly not very itemized. It just says “clean,” instead of “clean living room and bathroom and bedroom and kitchen,” for example. Told ya I’m busy.

I’ve been trying new recipes, but I haven’t been photographing them. I’ve got such a backlog of recipes to blog about. So it’s a great time to try new things, so I can improve on them before I blog about them. This is last night’s dinner – Spinach, Ricotta, and Parmesan Stuffed Shells. I based them off a recipe I shared with you a few weeks ago – Spinach-Stuffed Canneloni by Happiness Stan. Delicious, although there are a few things I’m going to do differently next time. I’m really loving recipes that fold the vegetables into the main dish, because we have a tendency to forget to make the veggie until the food is done. Also, I officially love ricotta. It makes such lovely leftovers.

A new project! Care to guess? I shared the inspiration for this with you just a few days ago. It’s rock candy! I loved the jewelry idea from 1 Fine Cookie, but I decided I’d better try out just plain rock candy first. I stirred up some sugar syrup, added in a little of the flavor extracts I had on hand, and some coloring. It’s a pretty simple concept, so I don’t anticipate any problems.

Here’s a quick shot of some earrings I knocked together today. The ones on the left are for Kako. They’re a version of my Corkscrew earrings, with silver-colored copper wire and Sapphire blue freshwater pearls. They turned out a bit longer than I expected. The ones on the right are pearlescent black glass pearls, wrapped with 26-gauge wire. Quite delicate. I like them. Look for them in my shop on June 1st!

Here’s a sneak peek of another commissioned jewelry piece. My friend Ri likes cameos like my Secret Cameo earrings, but doesn’t wear earrings. So I went on the hunt for a necklace for her. I found this classic-looking pendant, and embellished it with 28 green Swarovski elements. It hangs at about the breastbone, from a double-loop of black cable chain. I’m really happy with it.

I’ve also been sewing! This is a prototype of an e-reader cover that I’m hoping to produce for my shop, but it’s giving me fits at the moment. I’m happy with the front side, but the back just isn’t cooperating. I’ve got an idea I’m going to try next time I sit down with it, so hopefully it’ll work out well.

My sewing has been successful on other fronts though. Here’s a shot of a “string backpack” I knocked together from 2 fat quarters. We have a similar one (that we found in a parking lot haha) to carry dog-related items when we take Charlie for a walk. This one is the new home for kid-related stuff when we walk to the park. I really like the two velcro’ed pockets on the front, to stash my keys and wallet.  I’m thinking about Etsying these as well. What do you think?

If you want to find out what this is, you’ll have to read about it on the Snark Art Blog!

In honor of Matt Smith’s debut as the Eleventh Doctor 2 years ago, April 3 was Fish Custard Day. (Go watch The Eleventh Hour; you’ll understand.) I got brave and tried it. It was actually pretty good!

Here’s a process shot of a set of items that should be appearing in my shop on Listing Day (the first of June). Care to take a guess?

Another process shot, of a very old and long-since-completed project. I had this lovely skirt, but it was longer than I liked, and, um, too small in the waist. So I shortened it by hacking off the top. I’m quite happy with it. I’ve got to get the courage to model it so I can put up a proper post about it.

When I joined Paperback Swap a few weeks ago, I went through my box of “get rid of” books and listed them all. Except a few. Four of the seven Chronicles of Narnia books, in pretty rough shape. I couldn’t list them, but I didn’t want to just throw them away. So I salvaged them. I cut (by hand) hundreds of circles from the pages, and glued them onto a paper lantern I already owned. It turned out AMAZING. I’ve got a ton of scraps, as well as a whole book and a half, left, so I’m thinking about other things to do with the papers. I kept a couple of the chapter illustrations, and am thinking of using my scanner to blow them up and use them as embroidery patterns. The scraps of paper might get blended up into pulp so I can make “fresh” paper – I’ve got a bookmaking project running around my head too.

PONY CUPCAKES. Our FRG had a “cupcake social” this past weekend. (I apologize to my Pinterest followers for the deluge of cupcakes that one day that I was looking for ideas.) I made these little picks from the box art (yes I saved it, why do you ask) from my daughter’s ponies. I am particularly proud of these lovelies. Definitely expect to see a post featuring these babies in better detail soon.

Last photo of the day! This is a shot from wayy back at the beginning of April, the day of the season two premiere of Game of Thrones. I prepared a fabulous Westerosi feast. Somehow, the blog never got written about it. I made a number of amazing recipes that day though, and I plan to share them – especially those lovely Dornish peppers you see on the right in the foreground. Deeeeeelicious. Fresh bread dipped in salt was also a revelation of flavor.

This isn’t even all of the amazingness that I’ve been up to! Here’s just a quick sample of the things I’ve got folders of pictures for: Homemade Butter, Cola Cake, Fried Chicken, Roasted Chicken, Lasagna, Onion Rings, Shield Weaving, and Wheat Bread. I’ve also got some great craft tutorials in the planning stages (it’s harder than you think it is to take process photos of delicate things). Oh, and I got my May Birchbox the other day – that blog will be coming soon.
Don’t forget – next week is Giveaway Week! Be sure to come back early and often for your chances to win free stuff!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mishmash photoblog. Which project are you most excited to see more of?

Chicken Marsala

We don’t often go to Olive Garden (and an Actual Italian Restaurant is directly out). It’s a bit pricey for our budget (we are sooooo cheap), and it’s not very preschooler-friendly. But every time we do go, I get the Stuffed Chicken Marsala. It’s gloriously delicious. I’d always kindof assumed that it was a difficult recipe, so I’d never tried it. But if there’s one thing that food blogging has taught me, it’s that the fancy recipes that we think are difficult are actually easier than takeout.

Chicken Marsala has a very small ingredient list, and many of them are things you already have. If I want to make this, I do need to plan ahead because I don’t generally keep mushrooms or Marsala wine in the house, but they’re both easy to obtain. I based this on the recipe in my BHG cookbook (they don’t seem to have it online) – the main difference is that I stuffed the chicken with cheese and herbs and they don’t.

Here is my ingredient list:
– chicken breasts (I used 2 big ones – in the future I’ll use smaller ones)
– 1/4 cup flour
– 1/2 tsp dried marjoram (or substitute as you like)
– 1/8 tsp each salt and pepper
– 2 cups of sliced mushrooms
– 1/4 cup sliced green onions
– shredded Italian cheese (a single kind like parmesan or a mix, as you prefer)
– 3 tbsp butter
– 1/2 cup chicken broth
– 1/2 cup Marsala wine

For equipment you will need:
– small bowl
– something to pound chicken with
– cutting board
– plastic wrap
– skillet (cast iron is, of course, recommended)

Watch carefully; this recipe is so short that you might miss it.

Step one: Mix the flour, seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.

Step two: Lay the chicken on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap, and pound it until it’s around 1/4 inch thick.

Step three: Careful now! Use a sharp knife to cut a “pocket” in each piece of chicken. Stuff this pocket with cheese and any herbs you may want (I used marjoram, to match the breading).

Step four: Dip the chicken in the flour mixture (step one) and shake off excess – they only need a light coat. Set aside.

Step five: Melt one tablespoon of butter in the skillet. Saute the mushrooms and green onions in it, over medium-high heat, until they’re softened. Remove from skillet. (I just put them back into the measuring cup.)

Step six: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and allow to melt. Add the chicken breasts (don’t crowd the pan) and allow them to brown on each side. This’ll take about 6 minutes or so.

Step seven: TURN OFF the heat. Move the skillet to a different burner. Add the mushrooms and green onions back to the pan. Make sure there are no flames about, and add the Marsala wine to the pan, followed by the chicken broth. (I actually mixed the two together in a measuring cup.)

Step eight: When the liquids have calmed down a bit, put the skillet back on the heat and bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. The liquids will thicken into a lovely sauce.

Serve! It’s really good with pasta, but I suspect it’d also go well with rice! You can put it on a plate and stage it all pretty if you want, or you can just devour it, your choice.

I was absolutely amazed at how SIMPLE this recipe really is. It took less than 30 minutes, only a few ingredients, and the hardest part was pounding it out! (Bonus for doing it on a busy weeknight: take your frustrations out on the chicken.) Seriously: this is how difficult it was to make:

That’s right: wearing a Legend of Zelda hoodie, one hand in the pocket. You can practically do it in your sleep. (That’s also how glamorous it is to be a nobody food blogger.) This is only marginally more difficult (if at all) than any of the typical “weeknight” recipes you’ve got in rotation, and definitely adds a touch of class to your Wednesday night.

Do you have any restaurant recipes that you love, but are afraid to try at home?  (Make a suggestion and maybe I’ll try it for you!) Have you ever tried a “fancy” recipe and been surprised by how easy it was?

What I’ve been up to

Good grief I’ve been so busy lately. Let’s have a look at some of the things I’ve been making and doing in my spare moments!

Let’s start with the least impressive thing. This lovely little bag. It’s 7 by 7 inches, I think. Lined with extremely thin vinyl and sealed with a narrow strip of velcro across the top. If you’ve been around a while, you may remember I actually have a whole set of these in varying sizes. Some of them, including this one, were never finished. I finished it! 😉 I’m going to finish the rest of them and list them on Etsy.

SPEAKING OF ETSY, I’m going to reopen my shop! Kako and Marian and I have made a pact to all open/re-open our shops on May first. I’ve been planning to reopen around that time frame and working on new items, so I am every happy to finally have a date set.
Would you like a preview?

The lovely wooden bowl and sushi plate are also new – I got them (and many other similar things) at our local thrift shop. The bowl contains bracelets and necklaces, including two glorious chainmaille watches. The plate is displaying the earrings – and many of which will be in my “5$ or less” category!

Remember a few weeks ago, I announced that I’d won a giveaway at Too Crewel, for an Epic Alphabet embroidery pattern kit by Sublime Stitching? This is it! The kit came with this hoop, a gorgeous pair of embroidery scissors with a leather sleeve, a few skeins of floss, an embroidery needle, and of course, the pattern. I LOVE IT. I decided to do it in stark black floss on this delicately-patterned fabric, and I really like it so far.

Here’s another, more recent, shot of the Epic Alphabet. I am incredibly proud of these two letters. 🙂 This isn’t the first embroidery I’ve ever done, but I’d still call myself a novice, and I can literally see myself improving with every letter. Embroidery is so rewarding – very “instant gratification.” It’s also excellent for those with very little free time – you can pick it up and do a stitch and then go do something else. It takes hardly any time to do one of these letters.

And now for the last photo I’m sharing today – my craft nook. This room used to be our dining room. But the table was always covered with things, and we never manage to eat in there. So we decided to convert it into a craft/hobby room. The table is now devoted to my crafting things. My storage closet is just a few feet away, and it’s super nice to have a dedicated space for my projects.

My last bit of news: although I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, I haven’t stopped cooking! I’ve been taking photos while making fabulous foods. I’ve even cropped/edited some of them! Here’s a short list of what you should expect to find cooking around here in the next few weeks:
– Chicken Marsala
– Dornish Peppers (part of my Game of Thrones menu)
– Honeyed Chicken (more GoT food)
– Lasagna
– Wheat bread
There are many more in the hopper, but these are the ones I’m most excited about!

What have you been making lately?

Cornbread

Quick breads are one of the easiest things to make. And if they’re made well, they’re impressive and delicious. They only require a few pantry-staple ingredients, and take only a few moments to throw together. If you’re from or have visited the American South, you’re definitely familiar with cornbread. If you’ve never encountered this delicious beast, I pity you.

I make this recipe following the one in my BHG cookbook. I don’t always love their recipes but this one is pretty hard to get wrong. 😉

Now, if you’re a fan of Alton Brown or are a knowledgeable baker, you’re familiar with the Muffin Method. You have a group of dry ingredients, a group of wet ingredients, and you stir them together. That’s what we’re gonna do.

Here’s your dry goods:
flour – 1 cup
cornmeal – 3/4 cup
sugar – 2 to 3 tbsp
baking powder – 2 1/2 tsp
salt – 3/4 tsp

And here’s your wet goods:
eggs – 2
milk – 1 cup
oil – 1/4 cup
You’ll also need a tablespoon of butter.

In your cast iron pan (that’s important), melt the butter. It’ll only take a few moments. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Combine your ingredients into two bowls. Mix both thoroughly.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir gently. You do not want to produce a perfectly smooth batter – it should be a bit lumpy. (This picture is NOT stirred – it does need to be stirred more than this.)

Pour the batter right into the cast iron pan. The butter on the bottom may travel up and lay around the edges – that’s okay. Slide the whole pan into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Perform a standard toothpick test to make sure it’s done. (Just poke a toothpick in near the center. It should come out dry.) If it’s not, put it back in for a few more minutes.

Cut it and lift out a wedge. The bottom of your cornbread will be a glorious golden brown and delicious color.

When you open it up, it’ll have a lovely spongelike texture. Can you see the steam rising? Does it make your mouth water? I like mine with a bit of butter, preferably next to a bowl of slow-cooked beans.

Fried Mozzarella Sticks

I love fried cheese sticks. I don’t love weird preservatives and high prices. I love to make my own yummy things. I don’t love dumping something from the freezer into the microwave. So, it’s pretty obvious that I make my own cheese sticks. I started with this recipe from Allrecipes, and it’s pretty much the same. But I have pictures! 😉

These are a great, easy introduction to frying, and nearly impossible to mess up.

You will need:
– string cheese (look for coupons for these, I scored a great deal on mine!)
– crumbs
– herbs and seasonings
– an egg and some water
– flour and cornstarch
– lots of oil
– three bowls, two forks, a pair of tongs, and a heavy frying pan

First, mix up your crumbs with the seasonings. I used dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil, and some garlic powder. (I used saltine crackers, but any kind of crumbs you have on hand would be acceptable.)
Then, beat your egg a bit with some water.
You’ll need about 2 parts flour to one part cornstarch (say, 2/3 cup and 1/3 cup) as well.
Line all these bowls up, assembly-line style. This is a pretty standard setup for frying – a series of bowls full of coating materials, ending at the hot oil.

Speaking of the hot oil, get it hot, preferably in a cast iron pan (it helps keep the temperature steady). You can use a frying thermometer for this, but usually the pan is too shallow. You’ll need the oil to be about the depth of the cheese, more or less.
I usually take a tiny drop of water on my hand and fling it (from a distance) into the oil. If it immediately sizzles and pops, you’re ready. (NO, that’s not safe, but I’m being real here.)

When the oil is hot enough, take a cheese stick and roll it in the flour mixture.

Then, dip it in the egg mixture. Let it sit there for just a moment, so that the flour soaks up some of the egg. Make sure the whole cheese stick is coated thoroughly.

Now, fish out the eggy cheese and roll it in the crumbs. Roll it and pat it (and mark it with a B if you wish) and make sure the whole cheese is covered.

Drop your cheese into the oil (use the tongs to protect your hands). It’ll only take a few seconds to cook. Since it’s just cheese, you don’t need to worry about “internal temperature” like you will with meats – just judge the doneness by the color of the crumbs and the amount of leaking cheese you can see.
Don’t crowd the pan with too many cheeses, and don’t walk away – this is a quick and dangerous process.
If the cheese doesn’t immediately begin bubbling like crazy when you put it in, take it out again and let the oil get hotter. If it just sits in the oil and isn’t furiously bubbling, it’ll absorb the oil and get gross.

When they’re done to your satisfaction, pick them up with the tongs and place them on a few layers of paper towels. The paper towels will soak up some of the remaining oil, leaving them crispy instead of soggy.

Serve them hot, with marinara sauce.
Now that you’ve mastered this process, you are ready to move on to more complicated fried items (although none of them are especially hard except for chicken – there is a *secret* to chicken).

Do you have a favorite appetizer? Are you afraid of frying? Are there any cooking methods that you’ve been afraid to try?

Grasshopper Pie

One of the biggest Nerd Holidays of the year is Pi Day. Traditionally celebrated on March 14 (at 1:52 pm), it’s a day to commemorate the intriguing infinite number pi, and also to make and eat delicious pies.

Meet my costar. She's waiting "patiently" for me to let her do something.

This year, Pi Day fell on a day that I really really didn’t feel like dealing with things. As you’ll see in the pictures, my kitchen was a MESS. And I was definitely in no mood to make a fiddly pie crust. I asked my friends for suggestions of a yummy pie that didn’t require a crust. April offered Grasshopper Pie, and I decided to go for it. I had to go to the store to get some ingredients, but it was kinda nice to get out of the house that day. I followed this recipe from The Pioneer Woman, but there are other versions out there (ones without alcohol, for example). I made a few changes – some by choice (trading the cookies) and some by accident (leaving out the creme de cacao).

To begin, you’ll need to gather these ingredients:
– Chocolate cookies – Oreos are traditional, but I used Thin Mints
– 2 tbsp butter
– container of marshmallow fluff
– 2/3 cup half-and-half
– 2 tbsp creme de menthe (you could sub some mint extract)
– 1 cup heavy cream

First, melt the butter. Put it in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap (trust me on this) with a few holes poked in it. Microwave for a few seconds (like 20).

Put the cookies and butter in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until smooth.

Pour the crumbs into your pie plate, and pat it down and up the sides.

Now put your marshmallow fluff and half-and-half in a pan and heat it until it’s all melted. Ree used a large container of fluff and I used a small one but somehow we both filled the pie? I’m not sure how that works, but okay. Maybe she uses a bigger pie plate.

While you’re tending the fluff on the stove, have your helpers fill a bowl with ice. When the hot mixture is all melted, remove from the heat and put it in the ice bath. As it cools, add the creme de menthe. If yours is clear, you’ll want to add some green food coloring. Stir and let the mixture cool.

Now break out your beater and whip that cup of heavy cream. Pour the cooled fluff mixture into the whipped cream and fold gently.

Fill your cookie crust with minty goodness. Pop that baby into the freezer. Make sure it’s flat. Ree says “at least 2 hours” but mine needed a little more than 3 before it was hardened.

Slice it and serve. It’s cool and minty and refreshing – a perfect pie for hot summer days. I’ll be making this a lot this summer, I think. The thin mints rehardened into basically one solid cookie, and it was excellent. I’ll have to hide the rest of the boxes we bought from my husband so I have them for next time. The only downside to this pie was that it took up valuable space in my freezer until we ate it all.

Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Are you ready for another entry in my “Essential Recipes” series? This one is one of my favorite meals, hands-down, with the added benefit of being quick and easy (and vegetarian!).
You can certainly just pop a can of Campbell’s in the microwave and call it a day, but let’s aim a little higher. You can make Homemade Tomato Soup with things that you probably already have in your pantry and/or fridge.

Bananas are, again, irrelevant.

Here’s what you need for the soup:

• Tomatoes, either a can of diced and two cans of sauce OR approximately 3 palm-sized tomatoes (I pictured both above)
• Tomato paste, 1/2 a can
• Broth. I used chicken here, but you can use veggie broth or water if you’re looking for vegetarian or just don’t have it
• A bit of oil
• One onion
• Two ribs of celery (more or less)
• Sugar (just a few pinches)
• Herbs as desired
• Garnishes – I like Ritz crackers and some cheese

I got these weird brown tomatoes because they were the same price as the on-the-vine ones. They were pretty good.

First, dice your onion and celery (and tomatoes if you’re using them- make sure to retain the juice that escapes onto the cutting board). Put a dab of oil in a 2-quart saucepan and let it get shimmery before you toss in the onion and celery (also known as “aromatics”).

This is after adding the broth.

When the aromatics have gotten soft and are beginning to get a nice brown color, turn down the heat and pour in a cup of broth (or water). Let that simmer a bit, letting the liquid absorb some of the flavors. Then add your tomato products, diced, paste, sauce – all of it.

Here’s a handy tip for you.

Did you notice that I called for half a can of tomato paste? Don’t let the other half go to waste. Use your can opener to cut off both ends of the can. Push half of the paste out, push-pop-style. Cut it off and into your soup. Wrap the other half and freeze it. Remove it from the can, re-wrap, and keep in the freezer for the next soup!

Here’s my fancy organic sugar, but you can use white or even brown sugar if you want.

I always add a few pinches of sugar to the soup. It cuts the acidity of the tomatoes. You can cut it out if you wish. Just let your soup simmer for a while. The tomatoes need to soften and all the flavors need to meld. While it’s simmering, get out your blender. If you’ve got a fancy immersion blender, this is the time. Otherwise, you’ll need your regular blender (and unless it’s gigantic, a bowl for holding the soup since you’ll need to work in batches.)

Wow it looks abnormally orange here for some reason.

Blend, blend, blend. Get it as smooth or as chunky if you like. You could skip the blending altogether if you really like chunks of tomato and celery. Add it all back to the pot over the lowest flame just to keep it warm. Add more broth to thin it – I usually add about another 2/3 cup. Taste it and adjust however you like. I like to put in Herbes de Provence instead of an Italian blend so that it doesn’t taste like spaghetti sauce. I never need to add salt – the celery takes care of that while adding vegetable nutrients as well.

While that’s keeping warm on that side of the stove, step over to the other side and get some grilled cheese going. I really refuse to believe that there are people who don’t know how to make this. Just in case, here’s what you need:

Pretty simple, as you can see.

• Bread of choice (softer breads work better)
• Butter or margarine (oil might also work but I’ve never tried)
• Sliced cheese, whichever kind you want.

Get out your nonstick skillet and butter your bread. Two pieces for each sandwich you plan to make. You may also want to open the cheese envelopes if you have them, for faster assembly.

You may run out of room on the counter for all the bread.

Warm the pan on a medium flame. When it’s warm, toss a slice of bread on, butter-side down. While it sizzles, put on a slice of cheese, and then another bread (butter-side up).

Look at this perfect sandwich.

Knowing when to flip is a skill you’ll have to learn. Keep your eye on the cheese – when it starts to melt is a good indication. Use your senses. You can always lift it up and check a couple times if you need to. When it’s ready, flip it carefully and let the other side toast. When it’s done, simply slide it out and make another. That’s all there is to grilled cheese!

Devour!

Stack your sandwiches (I like them cut into triangles for easy dipping). Ladle yourself a big bowl of soup and garnish it -it goes really well with Ritz and cheese (hey I never said it was a low-fat meal). Mmmm, heavenly. In fact, I want some more now. This soup could serve probably 4, maybe even 6 if it’s part of a larger meal. However, if you really love tomato soup, you’ll probably have very little left after 2 people are full. 😉

Is making soup easier or harder than you thought? Do you have a different process for making grilled cheese? Is there anything better than hot soup and hot sandwiches on a dreary winter day?