The Joy of Modern Convenience?

Do you ever ponder the why of modern conveniences?  Last night I noticed that my oven was disgustingly dirty, as in huge drips and run overs from lots of cooking caked on the bottom plate. So, after working hard all day on the yards, planting a couple of new flowers and vege items (cucumbers & parsley) cleaning the floors and picking up the house, dusting, cooking, painting the beautiful wooden plant tutors Roy made (future post will have photos), etc. I decided I would do the self-clean option on the oven and let it run in the cooler temps of the night. Then in the morning I could get up, wipe out the ashes, and bake a batch of Banana Chocolate Cupcakes before going to work so they would be ready to frost when I got home.

          So I went into the kitchen, hit the “clean” button, set it for start, turned on the exhaust fan to help with fumes, and went into the bedroom and crawled in. Roy was reading so I told him not to get alarmed if he smelled something cooking/burning, that I was cleaning the oven. I joked that if it was too dirty the smoke alarms might go off, and settled my tired aching body back on my pillows.

          Okay, so suddenly my joke became reality. The smoke alarm in the living room went off putting everyone into action mode, Guayo included.  Turned on the lights and the entire house was filled with smoke. What a mess!  Once I canceled the clean option from the stove and got it to stop, we had to open all the doors and windows, turn on fans, exhaust fan in the front bathroom, and Roy had to disable the smoke alarm (he doesn’t need a ladder/step stool to reach it…I do!). What started out as a good thing, a modern convenience for the tedium of stinky oven cleaner, tons of scrubbing, and the ruination of finger nails and hand skin, has become a complete pain. I was going to say disaster, but after having 2 kitchen fires in two different homes, I realized that was too strong a word for just a little smoke.  But so much for the “clean it while you sleep” thought.

          So this morning at 5:00 a.m. I woke up and decided to get busy before going to work. I got up and dismantled the stove. Unscrewed the bottom plate and put it and the racks into the bathtub with laundry detergent (grease cutting) and Borax and lots of HOT water. Then went out and scrubbed the bottom of the oven underneath the main bottom plate which was soaking, scrubbed the inside of the door, and scrubbed the top and all the burner racks and flame disbursement plates.  Now realize all of this was done at 5:00 a.m. as I have to work today!  Therefore, the soaking racks and bottom plate of the oven are Roy’s chore for this morning. 

          After all the oven/stove scrubbing, I got ready for work and we had to be at Bountiful Baskets pickup at 7:00 a.m.  So we picked up (yum….pineapple, bananas, plums, apricots, mushrooms, romaine, potatoes, spaghetti squash and lots of other items, plus my bonus box of blueberries!), then went to Starbucks as still too early to go to work.  Drank our drinks, talked about a book Roy and I are reading, Shantaram (thanks nephew Gregory for recommending it to us…it’s great!), and about items for the day and what’s up for the rest of the weekend, and then he took me to work.  He will return home, dispatch the veges/fruits, finish scrubbing the stove parts and reassemble all, and I will go home to an oven ready for baking those yummy Banana Chocolate Cupcakes.  They are SO moist and yummy and with Chocolate Ganache frosting a hit with everyone whom I’ve ever shared them. Check out the recipe below.

So at 11:30 I will leave work and go home and bake the cupcakes and let them cool. I have the potato salad made, pre-baked the bbq chicken and ribs so they’re ready to throw on the grill, made the Dilly Bread Rolls, so with dessert made, I’m ready to go. Oh except for cleaning the grill. Thank goodness it is not a modern self-cleaning device….just some scrubbing and it will be ready to go! 

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

CUPCAKES:

1 c. sugar

1 c. flour

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch processed makes them richer but regular works too)

¾ t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

1 large egg

½ c. mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)

½ c. warm water

¼ c. milk

¼ c. canola, coconut oil (melted), or rice bran oil

¾ t. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Line 12 regular-sized muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. (The batter is quite thin.)

Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full, and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Remove ganache from refrigerator at this time. Once cupcakes are completely cooled, dip tops into ganache letting excess drip back into pan. Sit on rack set inside of a cookie sheet to catch the drips. Put all in refrigerator to set up.

GANACHE FOR FROSTING

13 oz heavy cream

12 oz bittersweet chocolate (I use a bag of chocolate chips)

DIRECTIONS: 

Bring the cream to a light boil in a heavy saucepan taking care not to scorch it. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the chocolate chips. Continue to stir until all are melted and you have a smooth consistency. Set aside until cool…do not try to taste and it cannot be touched until it sets.  Once set, but into the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.

Herbs, Spices and Other Tasty Items

             I am having my doubts about my garden this year due to the invasion of squirrels who have voracious appetites. My beets are completely gone, the green beans are decimated, the sorrel was nibbled away to stems, and I’m just waiting to see what they will attack next. Last year they ate every bell pepper plant I put in the ground, but they are much worse this year. I’ve tried cayenne, fake owls (oh yeah, that worked…they ate the plants right under the owl’s tail feathers!!),  pungent garlic/onion/cayenne spray, etc., nothing seems to work. I have, however, just borrowed a pellet rifle fro a friend and hope to rid myself of the vermin this weekend.  Squirrel stew anyone??  J

            The upside is that they don’t seem to be interested in my herbs thank goodness.  I have thyme, oregano, lemon balm, rosemary, dill, fennel, basil, onions and garlic all growing like weeds and no one/thing seems to be interested in eating them.  This is a good thing.  I will harvest bunches on Friday night and sell them at the corner on Saturday morning, plus will be putting bunches on the dehydrators this weekend.  I keep myself well supplied with fresh herbs during the summer and dried herbs all winter long, plus share with friends and family. Son Erik and wife Debbie moved to New Mexico last year, and when we went to visit, I took them every dried herb I had in the cupboard to stock up their new home and Erik, the cook guy, was so pleased. So when I get a new batch done, will be sending some along.

            Herbs are so fabulous for adding zip and zing to dishes and they help boost flavor when you are watching the sodium/salt content in your food making dishes less bland and more palatable.  I love fresh sorrel, basil, thyme, and fennel in salads. I also enjoy going out and picking fresh herbs and bringing them in to use I recipes…fresh oregano and tomatoes put into piping hot cooked pasta and drizzled with a little olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, and parmesan is a fabulous quick, filling, easy, and budget friendly recipe and everyone loves it.

            One of the favorite recipes using herbs in our house is Dilly Bread.  It uses dill seed and cottage cheese for a unique and very pleasing taste.  It’s easy to make, I’ve never had it fail, slices nicely for sandwiches, and can be served in chunks with a stick of soft butter to go with bread and salads to round them out and make a great meal. I have not perfected a gluten free recipe yet, but am working on it and will post as soon as I get it up to standard.

            So enjoy those fresh herbs of summer, and bake up some of this fresh and tasty bread to enjoy with salads and soups of the season….really good with the Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup recipe posted a couple days ago!

DILLY BREAD

¼ c. warm water                               1 dry yeast package                        1 T. sugar

1 c. cottage cheese                          2 T chopped onion                          2 T. melted butter

1 egg                                                1 t. salt                                            2 ¼ c. flour

¼ c. wheat germ                               1 T  dill seed

1 egg   1 T. water

 Pour water into blender stirring in yeast and sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Blend 10 seconds. Add cottage cheese, onion, butter, egg & salt. Mix 10 seconds.  Combine flour, wheat germ & dill in large bowl. Pour in liquid from blender. Stir with wooden spoon until pulls from sides. Grease large bowl. Place dough on floured board and knead then put into greased bowl. Let rise until double. Grease 2 loaf pans…punch down dough and divide in half. Shape and place in pans. Let double.  Preheat oven to 350…mix egg and water and brush on loaves. Bake until brown about 35-40 minutes.

Things Are Not Always What They Look Like

    

A small indiscriminate bush in front of our porch, right?  No big deal, nothing amazing or fantastic about it. They’re everywhere. But don’t let your eyes fool you. There IS something fantastic there.  A miracle.  Actually several very small, tiny, miracles and it’s right here in our front yard. 

            There is a nest in there, lovingly and faithfully protected and cared for by a beautiful mother Tohe. Two weeks ago I found it with 4 eggs in it, and today, there are now quadruplet baby tohe birdies lying in their warm home, eyes still closed and only a bit of fuzz on their little naked bodies.  A miracle.

           

It always amazes me, the miracle of birth. Not just of birdies, but of all creatures, especially humans. How does that happen? How do 2 cells join, multiply, divide, change, and become skin, bones, hair, lungs, kidneys, hearts, brains….how do they know what to become?  I am not shocked when a child is born with some affliction. I wonder why it doesn’t happen all of the time. How do we that are blessed with perfectly formed and beautifully normal children ever get that? It is truly the miracle of birth, and should be viewed as such with each and every baby that comes to this planet.

Summer is Just Around The Corner and The Temps Are Rising

June 8, 2012

Summer is here, the temps are rising, and in Arizona it’s hot hot hot and dry dry  dry!!  The last thing you want to think about is heating up the kitchen cooking dinner.  Plus, with the sun and warm weather, weekends take on lots of activities and by the time everyone settles in at home to eat, appetites may not be as big as during the cold winter days.

My solution---a delicious bowl of cold soup with some fabulous chewy artisanal bread slices slathered with butter.  The cold soups that come to mind are Vichyssoise or Gazpacho, both delicious, but I think a bit over done.  So when I came across this recipe it sounded light, fresh, and easy…a home run in my summertime home!

Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup takes no cooking. It is a delicious “raw food” soup that is easy, refreshing and quite delicious.  The cool tang of the cucumbers and lime juice is made rich and given a certain bulk by adding the avocado, making it satisfying yet light.  Spice it up with some Tajin spice (found in Hispanic markets, or substitute a bit of cayenne) and a bit of cilantro…DELICIOUS!!

CHILLED CUCUMBER AVOCADO SOUP

4 Servings

3 large to medium cucumbers roughly chopped

(I prefer English or “hot house” cucumbers, but if you get regular cucumbers from your supermarket be sure to peel them to rid them of the bitterness from the waxed outside)

2 large avocados, peeled and cut into chunks

¼ c. fresh squeezed lime juice (about 3 large limes)

1 c. water

1-2 teaspoons salt (use one then after blending taste and add more as needed)

1 teaspoon black pepper

¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro

½ teaspoon Tajin or cayenne…or to taste

Place all ingredients in the blender and process until smooth.  Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and cayenne to your taste. 

Transfer to a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. 

Ladle into chilled bowls for individual servings and garnish with fresh chopped tomatoes and cilantro.