Gated Community

 Daddy-O is known for his quick wit. 

He posted this photo on Instagram yesterday for the girls to see

and labeled it "gated community."

I'd never thought of it that way. 

But it is a gated community of sorts.

Pasture gates are everywhere.

 

Cows have to be fed every day in winter, even in the worst of weather.

No staying in where it's warm and dry for a farmer.

This ice storm at least had the bonus of some beautiful views.

All photos courtesy of Daddy-O.

Recipe Revisited

 

Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from someone who wanted to book our ukulele band. We exchanged several emails as we worked out dates and times. In one of these emails, she told me she was a regular reader of this blog and said, "In fact, I'm cooking one of your recipes right now. The Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin is one of our favorites. We make it at least once a month." I think that might be my first ever fan mail.

  

Well, I make a lot of different recipes. So many that I don't always get back around to all of them. Even the ones we liked a lot. So I went to the recipe index (look at the tabs at the top of the post) and found the tenderloin recipe. Oh yeah...that WAS a good one! I had just forgotten about it. 

And then when I grocery shopped on Saturday, pork tenderloins were on sale. That did it. I knew I was making this recipe again. It was the perfect supper last night. The meat was moist and tender. The flavors were delicious, yet subtle. And it couldn't be easier.

SLOW COOKER PORK TENDERLOIN

2 pounds of pork tenderloins (the package I find at my store is about this size & holds 2 tenderloins)

1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium)

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

2-3 tablespoon maple syrup (I used 3)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon diced onion

1-1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

Put tenderloins in the crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over tenderloins. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.

Thank you, Becky, for reminding me about this one. I first posted this recipe almost two years ago. I won't wait so long to make it again!

We have watched the Boston snow this winter on TV with great fascination. That is unimaginable for us. Our winter storms are different. This is the view out our back door this morning. Sleet and freezing rain fell all over the upstate overnight. Afternoon high should be in the 40s. Might be why so many people choose to move down here.

Say Cheese

 

Quick Gruyere Puffs

Okay. So when the doctor's office has magazines full of recipes like this on laying around, are they drumming up more business? I went for lab work a few days ago and saw this recipe. I just couldn't resist. At least the blood work was done before I made these!

I wanted something a little special for our Valentine celebration. We don't go out that night. A dinner at home suits us and it's a little less crazy. We started with these cheese puffs.

I have made hundreds and hundreds of plain puffs that I stuff with chicken salad for baby and wedding showers. So this technique was not so unusual for me. This recipe was pretty easy. Just one saucepan and a baking sheet. So the clean up was quick. It doesn't make nearly as many puffs as my other recipe, so there was only the single pan to bake. It was the perfect amount--just one pan full of delicious cheese puffs.

If you have never made puff shells, just trust the recipe. Do what it says. The dough looks a little like Play-Doh when it's ready to spoon onto the baking pan. It should look like that. It's easy enough to make for guests. (Read my reheating notes at the bottom.)

MINI GRUYERE PUFFS

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur unbleached all-purpose)
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
extra grated Gruyere cheese (optional)

• Preheat over to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease it.) Set aside. 
• In a small saucepan, combine water, butter, basil, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring to melt butter.
• Add flour, all at once. stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until dough forms a ball that doesn't separate. Remove from heat. Cool for 5 minutes.
• Add eggs, one at a time, to dough in saucepan, beating with a spoon after each addition until smooth.
• Stir in shredded Gruyere cheese. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons, about 2-inches apart, on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes more, until puffed and golden brown. 
• Turn off oven. Let puffs stand in oven for 3 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with extra Gruyere cheese. (This extra cheese did not melt for me, even though I sprinkle the minute they came out of the oven.) Serve hot. 

Makes 20 puffs


These were just perfect! Now, if you have never had cheese puffs, understand that the center is supposed to be empty. It's a very light appetizer.  This recipe is almost as good as the cheese puffs I enjoyed at Bistro Niko in Atlanta. And we got to enjoy these by our very own fire. A nice start to our Valentine dinner.

The restaurant puffs were smaller. About half the size of these. This recipe said it made 20 and that is what I got, so they are the size intended.  I'm not sure I would call these "mini." But whatever the size, they are delicious.

The morning after our Valentine celebration, I heated some of the leftover puffs for breakfast. I popped them into the toaster oven, tray removed, and pushed the "toast" button. Just a couple of minutes in the little oven and they were as delicious as the freshly baked ones. Knowing that they can be reheated nicely would make them more usable for serving to guests.

Reheating in the microwave would have left them soft, but with the toaster oven I got a hot, crispy puff. I think you probably could put the entire batch of puffs on a baking sheet and back into a hot oven for just a very few minutes if you wanted to make them ahead for a party.

I plan to freeze the last two, just to see if freezing and reheating will give me a good puff. I'll let you know how it goes. Fingers crossed that works because these would be fabulous to have on hand in your freezer.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hearts are aflutter here on the farm.  We normally don't do big things to celebrate. We exchange cards and sometimes there might be chocolate. That's usually it. But this year Daddy-O surprised me with very special chocolate.

A couple of years ago when I was out visiting Mommy and the girls, we took a trip to Kansas City for spring break. We visited the zoo. It snowed. And then we bought candy. 

I had never heard of artisanal chocolates. But Mommy had done her homework and had learned about this amazing chocolate company located in Kansas City. We visited. We oogled. We oohed and ahhed. We sampled. We bought a few to take home. And I bought a small box for Jessica's birthday which fell right after our trip.

I'm so glad she didn't forget, because when Daddy-O called her for a Valentine suggestion, she knew exactly what I would like. Every individual piece is a work of art. They taste every bit as good as they look. We will look at them for most of the day and then we each will enjoy a single piece tonight. Or, at least that's the plan. It's hard to make them last! Next year, we might be back to just a card and that will be okay. This year, however, I'm going to savor every bite of this wonderful chocolate.

After getting this box of sweets this morning, I scooted to the store for ingredients for a special dinner tonight. That will be my special treat for Daddy-O. I'll share the recipe (if it turns out like I hope) next week.

  Happy Valentine's Day to each of you!

Winter Supper

 

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

This photo is my tomorrow night's supper. I borrowed the photo from daughter Jessica's blog since I haven't made mine yet. She and I both have been using this recipe for years. You can see that she added mushrooms to her mix, but I'm giving you the recipe the way I do it.

This weekend is Knit Inn 2015 in a nearby city. I'm going tomorrow afternoon for a class, then I'll head back on Saturday morning for two classes. It is a terrific weekend for seeing old friends, meeting new knitters, learning, looking, and just maybe I'll have a new finished knit or two when it's done.

Since Friday's class is over at 5:00 PM, I knew I needed a slow cooker meal, ready to eat when I get home. Friday traffic in Greenville is not like Atlanta, but it's bad enough, so I'm not sure how long it will take to get back to the farm. It is also supposed to be cold and windy tomorrow. Beef stew will be the perfect supper.

This recipe takes a little more effort than my often-used slow cooker beef stew recipe. (Sprinkle onion soup over stew beef in the slow cook and then spread a can of cream of mushroom soup over the top. Cover and cook.) But this is oh so much better. It has much more flavor. The aroma is divine. I'm happy that my class isn't until afternoon, so I'll have time in the morning to do the prep.

SLOW COOKER BEEF STEW

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 to 2 lb. beef stew meat
2 tablespoons cooking oil (or more as needed)
2 medium potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
2 or 3 carrots, peeled & cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled & cut into chunks
2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
2-1/2 cups V-8 juice

Place flour in a plastic bag. Add meat cubes and shake until meat is coated with flour. In a Dutch oven brown half of meat in 1 tablespoon of oil, turning to brown on all sides. Brown remaining meat in remaining oil. Drain off any excess oil.

In a 3-1/2 to 4 quart Crockpot, layer potatoes, carrots and onion. Add meat. Add all seasoning. Pour vegetable juice over all.

Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours (or on HIGH for 5-6 hours) until meat and vegetables are tender.  Discard bay leaf.

You can serve it in bowls or over rice. We've done it both ways.

Memories In The Mail

 

I just put a box of dresses in the mail to Mommy and the girls today. In my after-Christmas deep cleaning, I found these dresses I had made years ago for our own little girls. The blue one was for Jessica. It even has a matching slip.

 

This pink dress and fancy work bib was made for Mommy.  As I pressed and then packed them to mail, I wondered how on earth I managed to sew this much when I had little people the right age to fit into them! They both look to be about a size 4. Little Sister's size now. (Are they too fancy for today's fashion? Maybe.)

The thought did cross my mind that I might have to fly out to press these dresses and tie the bows on the bib. Jessica and I had a funny conversation a year or two ago about what our obituaries might say. She declared that mine would include the line, "She tied a fine bow." Since dresses no longer have sashes, that skill is nearly gone. But, yes, I can still tie a fine bow!

 

Another thing that is about to go by the wayside is using a cookbook to find a recipe. Like so many of you, I am more likely to do a Google search when looking for a recipe now. But this time I pulled out a cookbook. A real book. With pages. Still trying to use up random items in the pantry. (I really should make a note of the recipe I had in mind when I buy these non-standard items.) 

I had a box of German chocolate cake mix that needed to be used pronto. And I almost always have pumpkin on hand. And there were chocolate chips left from holiday baking. I found just the recipe for these ingredients. Reminds me of the chocolate pumpkin muffins I've made before, but dressed up a little.

PUMPKIN GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

1 box of German chocolate cake mix

1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I didn't use it this time)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Place cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl. Blend with electric mixer on low for 1 minute. Beat 2 minutes on medium, making sure to combine it well. Stir in chocolate chips. 

Spoon batter into greased (or use paper liners) muffin tins, filling each cup about 2/3 full. 

Bake 20-25 minutes, until they spring back when lightly pressed with your fingertip. Cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to rack to finish cooling.

Makes 24 muffins

 

Soup's On

Daddy-O worked outside all last week. New fences are being built around the pasture next to our house. Cows must be fed every day. And it was a cold and windy week. As I've stated before he is not a soup lover—unless it's really cold out. It was definitely a week for soup.

My young friend Holly gave me this recipe months ago. She is a librarian at our local library where we get together to knit weekly. Well, I lost it and had to ask her for the recipe again. I'm glad I asked. This is really good. And it's easy. Lately, seems like I'm only looking for the easy recipes. I keep cooked chicken in the freezer, so that made this a quick lunch.

The most time consuming part was slicing the spinach. Stack the leaves, then with a sharp knife, slice the stack crosswise into thin "ribbons." I did about half of an 8-oz. bag and decided that was enough.

The next time I make this, I will add an onion, a carrot and a stalk of celery to the broth when I start the recipe and let it simmer as I slice the spinach. Remove the onion, carrot and celery before you continue with the recipe. That would give a little more depth to the flavor to my boxed broth. I'm sure homemade stock would be even better, but I'm more likely to make this soup if I can use the boxed broth. I know fresh Parmesan would be better, but I didn't have any this time.

So what did Daddy-O think of this soup? When he saw it, he said he felt like he was in a fancy restaurant. He had three bowls the first day for lunch. And the next day when I was gone, he heated up soup again. He kept telling me how good it was. Thank you, Holly, for sharing this recipe.

 ITALIAN STYLE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

8 cups homemade chicken stock (I used 2 boxes of broth)
8-oz. cheese tortellini (dried or refrigerated)
1 cup of cooked chicken (I'm sure I used more)
8-oz. bag flat leaf spinach, thinly sliced (I used about half the bag)
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley (I didn't have any)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I only had the green canister in the fridge)

Place stock or broth in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook as directed on package. Use the lesser time given. Add the chicken and spinach and cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.