It has been a while...

...but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. I need to get better about bringing the camera into the kitchen; I never seem to have it around until after the souffle has fallen and the cake has been carved, as it were.

There's too much to catch up on properly, so I'm going to pretend we've experienced a leap in time, and I am therefore only responsible for the most recent cookin'. Last week being the hubby's book report on Bunnicula for his children's lit class, and today being Easter, we have recently made carrot cake cupcakes (complete with cream-cheese-frosting carrots piped on top) and hot cross buns (a Mason family tradition). I made a brisket last weekend from the recipe in this month's Martha Stewart Living, though I have no photographic proof because it smelled too good to leave intact long enough to capture on film. OK, on memory card. We have also been averaging about 2-3 loaves of homemade bread per week, but we cheat and use the machine for the dough, so all we can really take credit for is measuring ingredients and baking the loaves.

Homemade pizza and granola are still staples around here, and we've recently been making the latter with homemade maple syrup, made with the sap from the trees in our back yard. My parents taught me to tap and to sugar, and while I enjoy the process, this will likely be the last time I do it until we have a real sugar shack, as the heavy steam from this year's batch shorted out the stove controls on our electric range. Oops.

I've started seeds for a variety of veggies this year, in the happy anticipation of a large crop of free produce in the summer/fall. I'm planning to give this a go: http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.html, and will be adding to that separate plantings of peas, strawberries, shallots, onions, watermelon, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, heirloom and mini yellow tomatoes, sugar pumpkin, and cucumber. It'll be a lot more work than our small garden from last year, but I hope it will also be more rewarding.

That's it for now. Happy Easter, and I look forward to a real (read: non-summary) post soon.

Enough food to last a year...

I have no photos, because both meals were eagerly pounced upon within 10 milliseconds of the dishes hitting the table, but we made two *very* successful Thanksgiving dinners this week, and I must brag.

Thursday
Menu

• Roasted Cornish hens with apple and onion stuffing
• Mushroom and barley pie, adapted (veganized) from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Gourmet
• Homemade stuffing (or dressing, I guess, since it was cooked in its own dish), from Mom's recipe, made by Middle Brother
• Rosemary-roasted potatoes
• Mashed sweet potatoes
• Fresh rolls, made by Hubby
• Salad with raspberries, candied pecans, blue cheese, and vinaigrette, made by Friend Kris
• Fresh cranberry sauce ('cause the canned stuff's only redeeming quality is slide-off-the plate entertainment)
• Coleslaw
• Pumpkin and apple pies, made by Sister-in-Law

Attendees

• Me (I love that I get to go first)
• Hubby
• Mom
• Dad
• Middle Brother
• Sister-in-Law
• Li'l Brother
• Friend Kris

Friday
Menu

• Enough apps to cover an enormous counter, thanks to Mom-in-Law
• Hot mulled cider
• 14-lb brined and roasted turkey, recipe courtesy Alton Brown, my foodie crush
• Homemade stuffing (or dressing, I guess, since it was cooked in its own dish), from Mom's recipe with bread made by Hubby
• Mashed taters
• Mashed sweet taters
• Spinach-phyllo thingy, made by Mom from her own fantastic recipe
• Apple-cranberry crisp, from Mom's recipe
• Fresh rolls
• Green beans with toasted almonds
• Homemade cranberry sauce
• Buttered corn
• Coleslaw
• Pumpkin squares, made by Mom-in-Law
• Apple-pear-cranberry pie, made by Brother-in-Law

*Added bonus for Friday: All this cooked in a kitchen that was not my own

Attendees

• Me (again with the first!)
• Hubby
• Mom
• Dad
• Mom-in-Law
• Dad-in-Law
• Brother-in-Law
• Sister-in-Law Once Removed (is that really how it works?)
• Nephew-in-Law
• Grandpa-in-Law
• Grandpa-in-Law's GF
• Devil Cat

Hubby and I were like ticks ready to pop after all this, but oh, the wonderful smells! The joy of being in a kitchen all day again! The satisfaction of feeding people! How I adore holidays.

This is why you want to be my friend

Patrick and I just made this for Tania, since she's having us over for dinner tomorrow night. Doesn't it make you want to be my friend, too, so we would make this sort of thing for you? Hmm, doesn't it? :)

Homemade granola is heaven

I'm making a variation of Ina Garten's Fruit Crunch Sundae for breakfast this morning, and the fresh granola smells heavenly coming out of the oven. I've substituted maple syrup for honey, since this is a trial run for a batch I'm making for Mom for Mother's Day (she's vegan and can't eat honey), and having made that substitution, I also changed out the nuts from almonds to pecans so the flavors match up a bit better. Other than that, it's the same, and my, is it lovely!

Fruit Crunch Sundae, via Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa

1 cup quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecan pieces
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Vermont maple syrup
8 to 10 strawberries, small-diced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 pineapple, small-diced
2 cups plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, oil, and honey together in a large bowl until they are completely combined. Pour onto a sheet pan and bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring once.

Combine the strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple in a bowl. In 4 ice cream sundae glasses, layer first the fruit, then the yogurt, and the cooled granola alternately until you fill the glasses. Serve with a long spoon.

Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad

I made this for my nephew's First Communion BBQ, and it was a huge hit. I took the recipe straight from the Joy of Cooking; it's fantastically tasty, is great for occasions attended by people who have dietary restrictions, is remarkably easy to make, and travels well. I usually make it the night before to give the flavors a chance to meld in yummy ways.

[Yes, I know I should be posting pics of these creations; I'm working on it!]

Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad

Boil in water to cover for 1 minute:
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (cut from 3 ears of corn)
Drain and rinse under cold water. Whisk together in a small bowl:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Gradually whisk in:
5 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
1/4 cup snipped or sliced fresh basil
Toss with most of the dressing in a serving bowl:
3 cups cooked black beans (about 1 cup dried), rinsed and drained if canned
With the remaining dressing, toss the corn along with:
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup chopped red onions
Stir gently into the beans. Serve garnished with:
Fresh basil leaves

Aspirations of recreating the past

I would like to be a "lady who lunches"; I think it would be lovely to have the time and resources to have leisurely mid-day meals with good friends and excellent conversation, without worrying about what I'm neglecting by sitting there enjoying myself. However, I'd really only want to do such a thing if I could find other kindred spirits who lunch, and I fear such souls are scarce in my current environment. Being a lone lady luncher, while alliteratively satisfying, is emotionally empty and therefore unappealing to me, but I'd rather dine alone than lunch with ladies who are only so called because they are rich rather than refined.

I'm starting to think that my mother was correct when she said I was born in the wrong era. Ah, well.

Since I can't be one of the "ladies who lunch," I shall have to settle for being one of the "ladies who kick-ass in the kitchen at lunchtime." I made this pizza for lunch last Sunday, and it was awesomely tasty. I used the recipe for pizza dough in the regular old Betty Crocker cookbook, then layered on provalone, pesto, tomato sauce, pepperoni, and a mix of veggies I had roasted the day before (red, orange, and yellow bell peppers, portabello mushrooms, summer squash, zucchini, and sweet onions). I topped it all with a little shredded mozzerella, and voila! Spring-time goodness on a plate.