Recipe Posts

Cheesy Mushroom and Asparagus Tarts

April 29, 2016

It’s been wild, to say the least. I have been cooking my brains out for the last few weeks due to a new baby in the family (YAY!!!), a good friends’ hip replacement (also YAY that she is doing so well), and last but not least, my mother, otherwise known as Neeners, has been sick with the flu and related ailments and I have been trying to feed her back to health. Never fear – she is better now, but it was a trying three weeks. Neeners is 85 years old, strong as an ox, and is on the go all day. She has no sympathy for anyone who is injured or otherwise under the weather, and her usual admonishment to them is “Get up – you aren’t that sick/hurt”. Needless to say she was a horrible patient, and I’m guessing her doctor armed herself with a whip and a chair on each of Neener’s visits. Here is a small excerpt from one appointment while was on the road to recovery, but not progressing as quickly as she expected. Neeners walks into her doctors office…”PUT ME IN THE HOSPITAL!! NOW!!!” The doctor was stunned, because she was under the correct assumption that Neeners, being 85 and all, was just taking awhile to get back on her feet. So she asked, “Why do you think you need to be hospitalized?” Neeners replied “JUST LOOK AT ME!! I want you to admit me to the hospital immediately and give me an energy shot!!!” As my brother later reported, the doctor sent her home with Pepto Bismol and told her to drink some Ensure until her stomach settled down. And now she is nearly 100% recovered – but she is still driving me to drink, which is situation normal. This brings us back around to the topic at hand – here are a couple of tarts you can throw together in no time, and are just the thing for cocktail hour, or any other hour for that matter. Rich, cheesy, crisp, and satisfying. I expect to make a delivery of these to Neeners tomorrow in celebration of her return to the land of the living. One is Mushroom, the other Asparagus. Take your pick or make both – speaking from personal experience, they go down easy..

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Crispy Rice and Smores Squares

March 31, 2016

This new creation is a gooey, krispy, chocolatey, salty, sweet, and campfirey. Think Smores meets Rice Krispy Squares in a dark alley. The inspiration from this comes from my friend Rhonda, who took me to Portland for lunch one day. After a delightful lunch, she said ‘How about some coffee and dessert? I know just the place!” I will never turn down coffee, and Rhonda has excellent taste in both coffee and dessert, so off we went. She took me to a wonderful little place called Dragonfly, and while we were waiting for our coffees, she pointed out these huge puffed brown rice bars, filled with lots and lots of chocolate. We quickly devoured one and then tried to figure out the recipe. Dragonfly used brown rice syrup, which I promptly went out and bought. Unfortunately, when I started to make these I had misplaced the syrup so went back to my roots with marshmallows. Then I got in the mood for Smores. One thing led to another, and here we are.

Couldn’t be easier or quicker. Just make sure you don’t set them on fire like I did the first time I tried them out. As mentioned earlier, let’s use Brown Rice Puffs – they are a whole grain so we will feel quite proud of ourselves and very self righteous while eating them.

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Fall Vegetable Salad

February 17, 2016

It has been quite the spell of sweets and overindulgences in our household. Let’s see…Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Super Bowl, and Valentine’s Day. Feeling the need for a little equilibrium straightening? Me too. Let’s have salad. But not just any salad – we do not want to go cold turkey and have some sort of episode. Let’s make sure this baby is not only so good for us we can barely stand it, but that it tastes so good you won’t even miss your Aunt Bessie’s pumpkin pie — too much. …

Parmesan Crackers

February 16, 2016

Sometimes you just need a little something to go with that salad or bowl or soup, and saltines just won’t do the trick. Here is a quick, easy, one ingredient cracker that will become immediately addictive and that’s a promise. Amaze your friends and pat yourself on the back – this is a good one.

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Banana & Coconut Muffins

January 29, 2016

I have lived in Oregon all my life, and actually love the rain – within reason. But it is nearly February, it’s still raining, and Neeners is getting itchy to get out in the garden and plant which makes her very crabby. For the sake of both our sanities I whipped up a batch of her favorite muffins. It kept her quiet for all of 20 minutes, but I will consider that a small victory. This recipe was inspired by the Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook, but as usual I have changed it all around. Here is my version.

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Applesauce & Currant Muffins

January 29, 2016

I was lucky enough to have a grandmother who baked constantly, and being a somewhat overweight (OK….huge) child, I always enjoyed trips to her house to see what was coming out of the oven. homemade bread and rolls, shortcakes with garden berries, rhubarb cake, cornstarch pudding (sounds gross-tasted great, but like I said I was twice the size of a normal child my age so ate just about everything not tied down in those days) and the smell of cinnamon when she would bake an old fashioned applesauce spice cake. I don’t know where her recipes went, or if she even used them, but here is my attempt to replicate that old spice cake into muffins.

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Southwestern Tortilla Soup

October 23, 2015

Our northwest fall has been beautiful. In fact, it is so nice today that I hope you will join me for lunch out on the deck. We are having Southwestern Tortilla Soup. Just the thing for those days when the sun is out but the air is just a little bit crisp. One does not eat by soup alone as we all know. We’ll add some grated cheese of our choosing, as well as some home baked crispy tortilla strips. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

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Roasted Tomato Butter

October 3, 2015

I know, I know. We wait for tomato season all year, then at some point in the summer become buried alive by them and wonder if it will ever be over. We do not despise tomatoes, we are just overwhelmed. Once they are out of the garden we will crave them all winter long, so here’s a little recipe that will help you remember those tomato days of summer.

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Baked French Toast Stuffed with Roasted Pears

September 27, 2015

There’s something about that first brisk nip in the air that shouts to my appetite that fall is on the way. And when that happens I think about baking. And when that happens I think about cinnamon, fall fruits, and caramel – not necessarily in that order. Put them together and you get a Baked, Stuffed French Toast filled with Roasted Pears and topped with a Salted Caramel Sauce. (That in and of itself is quite a mouthful. I will have to put more work into the title of this recipe for fear of boring you to tears before you even read it) My friend Ann-Marie is coming to visit for a few days next week. She is a tiny little thing, but has an appetite like a lumberjack. This should do the trick. Come along with me and we’ll make a batch together. First we’ll wash up some Bartlett Pears. These guys are just ripe, but feel free to use pears that are a little under-ripe and firm if you want.

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Orzo, Kalamata Olive and Feta Cheese Salad

September 18, 2015

We have had season tickets to Oregon State University football games for as long as I can remember. We have also hosted a pre-game Tailgate celebration for the same amount of time. Dick and I provide the main course and sides, and friends chip in with contributions of what they are in the mood to cook that week. All informal. All fun. And as many football fans can attest, the best part of any game may end up being the Tailgate party that precedes it. the spirit of Tailgating, I’d like to share this Orzo Feta salad with you. It’s easy to make, travels well, and loves to be served at room temperature so no worries about keeping it cold or hot. It’s also one of those recipes you can adapt any way you choose. All it requires is a little plotting and planning ahead of time.What’s in your refrigerator? What’s left in the garden? And do not forget: This is a Tailgate. If you bring it – they will eat it. Here’s what I found lurking about in the refrigerator, pantry, and/or garden before the last game, and so it became Orzo Salad.

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