Oatmeal Cake

I had little doubt that Casey would choose this cake as his birthday cake. It is, after all, an oatmeal cake. But despite the fact that it has oatmeal in it, it has enough butter and sugar and other good things to make it a real treat and I thought you all might enjoy it too. Sharing recipes is always a nice, cushy way for me to get back on the blogging bandwagon. 

This is another winning recipe from Rebecca Hainline, a dear friend in Washington state, who just last week I was able to catch up with over tea in Portland. Enjoyed our time very much. We all enjoy her recipes very much. Thanks, Rebecca! 

Oatmeal Cake
1 c. regular oats
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 c. flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. boiling water

Preheat oven to 350. 
Mix all ingredients together. Put into greased 9x13 inch pan.

Topping:
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. coconut (I prefer the unsweetened kind)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. evaporated milk (regular milk works fine too)
2/3 c. melted butter

Mix together and spoon over batter. Bake 45 minutes. 

Serve warm or cold, with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or ice cream. If served with fresh berries, can be categorized as a breakfast food and enjoyed in the morning with your coffee before your kids are up.

pub house salmon salad with maple balsamic vinaigrette

The pub house salad at the brewery down the road is a favorite of mine and as we are now officially in the season for salads, I thought those of you who don't live in our neck-of-the-woods, and therefore can't trot on over for this yumminess, might enjoy trying it at home.

First, for the dressing. It ought to be called "Bev's Maple Balsamic Dressing" as I got the recipe off my dear friend who has let me make more than a few messes in her kitchen over the years, a friend whose name is on many recipes in my book,  who has more discriminating taste buds than I and who can cook a whole lot finer than she gives herself credit. It lasts a good while in the fridge so double it if you like to have quality salad dressings on hand.

Bev's Maple Balsamic Dressing

1/2 c. EVOO
1/4 c. good quality balsamic vinegar
3 T. pure maple syrup
2 t. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Whisk together and chill.

Note: Ever since my mother-in-law gave me a hand immersion blender I have used it to blend my salad dressings and prefer it so much to just whisking. It homogenizes the ingredients so that they will not separate out. I highly recommend immersion blenders!


Maple-Glazed Salmon

2 t. paprika
1 t. chili powder
1 t. ground ancho chile powder (just use more regular chili powder if you don't have it)
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. light brown sugar
4 salmon filets
1 t. sea salt
1 T. pure maple syrup

Combine first 5 ingredients in bowl.
Note: I like this spice mixture on salmon and on pork, so I mix up a couple of batches and store them in a little mason jar to have on hand. 

Rub both sides of salmon (if skinless) with spice mixture; then sprinkle with salt. Lightly spray with oil.
Heat grill to 400 to 450 degrees. If you have skinless salmon, lay a sheet of tinfoil on grates of grill and then place salmon on tin foil. Close grill and grill for 7 minutes. Brush with maple syrup, close grill and continue to grill until desired doneness, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to serving platter.

Pub House Salad

Fresh mixed greens, washed and chopped
Fresh green beans (or thawed from freezer)
Marinated artichoke hearts
Crumbled feta
Toasted walnuts (I like to dry roast them in a pan until they smell toasty, then sprinkle with a teaspoon or so of raw sugar and dust with sea salt. The sugar quickly melts and causes the salt to stick better.)

Place the grilled salmon on top and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

sweet potatoes for breakfast

Mmm mmm. If you are looking for a little breakfast inspiration, and you like those bright orange tubers, packed full of vitamin A and beta-carotene, read on. Here are two ideas/recipes for sweet potatoes in the morning.

Casey has a thing for breakfast burritos, so when I had the best breakfast burrito ever down at a little beach cafe outside of Charleston, without him, I kinda felt guilty. Well, last Sunday I recreated it and even improved it, with the addition of sweet potatoes. Should you care to try...


Sweet Potato Breakfast Burrito
adapted from the Lost Dog Cafe, Folly Beach, SC

4-5 sweet potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (peeled if you like)
1 red pepper, chopped
2 yellow onions, chopped
12 eggs
butter for skillet
shredded Monterey jack cheese
sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
salsa
tortillas

Toss veggies generously with EVOO. Spread in single layer on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until tender.

In the meantime, beat eggs (as many as you'll need to feed your hungry mouths) in bowl. Cook in skillet with butter and Monterey jack cheese. Add black beans at end, just to heat a bit.

Place tortilla on plate and spread with layer of sour cream or yogurt, if desired. Fill with eggs, beans, roasted veggies. Top with salsa and/or hot sauce. Roll it up, if you can, and enjoy!


Sweet Potato Hash
from a cycling magazine, many moons ago

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped veggies, season with S&P. Cook, stirring, until the potato begins to brown, ~5 minutes. reduce heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender to fork, ~10 minutes.

chicken enchiladas

This is a much lighter post than the last. We are still working through what we think God has for our family at this time regarding adoption and, perhaps, if I quit feeling lazy about thinking I might be able to string together a few coherent sentences and share what God has been teaching me through all this. He has been good. I have enjoyed the opportunity, the invitation, to know Him better.

Anyhow, I sat down to type up this recipe for a friend and thought I might as well type it up here, for ya'll. And that got me thinking, I should share more recipes here. I like cooking and I like recipe-collecting. I started my collection when I was in PA school and moving around the country, living with different families for six weeks at a time. Over the past decade I've lived in six different states and collected who knows how many recipes from the lovely ladies that welcomed me into their homes and taught me how to cook. My recipes are happy memories of those friends.

So, without further adieu, here is Rebecca Hainline's recipe for chicken enchiladas.


Chicken Enchiladas

3 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded plus extra for on top
12 tortillas
1 can green enchilada sauce or salsa verde

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray or cover bottom of dish lightly with enchilada sauce.
Combine first seven ingredients in large bowl. Place a spoonful in each tortilla and roll up. Place in baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.

summer joys~ arugula & sand boxes

I am going to resist the urge to blog about not blogging and launch back into counting the joys of summer. We are counting twenty twelves in 2012 here on Bessemer Avenue, and as I failed to share our twelve signs of spring, perhaps this next delightful dozen will find its way to completion here at my corner of cyberspace.

Our sand box is sunken into our back deck, thanks to my clever daddy, and does tend to stay damp. My boys like it best that way. They like it more than damp. They like it wet and gloriously muddy. Sand is so, so much fun to scrub out of those tight little curls!

And arugula.

Ah, arugula. I fell in love with this spicy, leafy, very-easy-to-grow green goodness this summer.

My little kitchen garden has yet to be what I envision it, but it gets a little better each year and in June I finally got around to sowing my out-of-date arugula rocket seeds left over from last spring and they did me the very gracious favor of sprouting. And producing a bountiful crop of zippy, yummy leaves.

Arugula has its origins in the Mediterranean, germinates in just 5-7 days and can be harvested 2 to 3 short weeks later. It is frost hardy and can be grown right through the winter in a cold frame or, due to its shallow roots, in a pot on a windowsill.

I failed to plant my seeds in succession but just threw the whole lot of them in the ground together, hardly expecting them to do much. Four weeks later I had more arugula than I knew what to do with and went searching the internet for arugula recipes.

This was the result:

an arugula salad with apple vinaigrette, 

arugula stuffed portabellos 

and linguine tossed with arugula pesto. 

And my boys ate it all. And liked it. The mushrooms were a little rich for me but the rest was very yummy. Here is the recipe for the salad dressing and the pesto, altered enough that I'm not going to feel bad for not remembering the website where the originals were found. {smile}

Apple Vinaigrette

1 whole apple, chopped in food processor
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. grated red onion
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. dry mustard or dijon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. olive oil

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend till smooth. Refrigerate till serving.

I tossed the dressing into the greens and then topped with feta, bacon, apples and walnuts.
The sweetness of the dressing mellows the spicy greens, making it very palatable for little ones.

Arugula Pesto

2 c. packed arugula leaves
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted
4 garlic cloves, minced before blending
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. EVOO
Blend in food processor till smooth.
Then add 1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Toss with hot pasta or freeze for later use.

dinner last night

I don't really know what this blog is now or where it is going and we are daily moving farther away from the accuracy of its name, but every time I think I'm done, don't have time for this and no one really cares anyways (other than the nanas of these little boys, of course), one of you kind souls emails or calls to tell me you enjoy this glimpse into our lives and would I please not stop.

Thank you.

I do enjoy sharing a bit of us with friends and family far flung as this is all they'll know of our boys until they make it up here to meet them. Open invitation. We love visitors.

That was my disclaimer for the following. I am going to share a recipe. Nothing Ethiopian or gourmet, just what we had for dinner last night. But the reason I am going to share it is this.

It came from our garden! Yep, it was December 5th and I needed lettuce for my salad and cilantro for a garnish so I donned my galoshes and marched out back to harvest a bunch of butter crunch lettuce and cilantro that has re-seeded itself twice now and continues to grow through this warm autumn we are loving.

Why is it so satisfying to eat something you've grown yourself?

Especially in December in Western PA. Made my day.

This is a simple recipe. From Allison Pinholster's Southern Living magazine that I was thumbing through more than a decade ago after I'd put their kids to bed and was waiting for them to return from their night out. It's good with a simple green salad and homemade vinaigrette.

Picante Black Bean Sauce & Pasta
I double this for our family

I medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
16 oz. can stewed tomatoes
8 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 c. picante sauce, or salsa
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1/4 tsp. oregano

4 c. cooked pasta

Top with: 1/3 c. monterrey jack, cheddar or pepper jack cheese
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped 


Saute onion and garlic in oil till onion is tender. Stir in black beans, undrained tomatoes, picante sauce, and spices. Bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover and cook over high heat until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Spoon over hot pasta. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. 


Makes 4 servings, 419 calories.

Vinaigrette

if you need a good one

1 tsp. finely minced garlic

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

3 T. champagne vinegar

1/2 c. good EVOO

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper