I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
Thank you to all those who have sent in photographs of bakes past and present that they would like to be featured in the BAKE OFF. There is still time to send in your photos.
Today, we are going to re-cap this year’s special themes and give you some clues about what you can expect in two week’s time. This year’s BAKE OFF has the theme:
The Joy Of Baking
For many 2022 has been a year of multiplying anxieties and concerns. So we are featuring three areas this year that can help us to embrace the joy of baking in a way that works for our budget and is kind to our beautiful planet. These three baking features are:
During the BAKE OFF weekend, we will be sharing some heartwarming examples and experiences from WordPress users who have some wonderful insights to share.
The BAKE OFF weekend is taking shape – and so far it is packed with everything that WordPress delights us with on a daily basis – we have poetry, we have flash fiction, we have real life experiences, we have music, and we have lots and lots and lots of baking!!!
We would love you to be a part of THE 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF. If you have any questions, please ask in the comments below or send an email. And of course…please do send in photos of any bake you would like to be included in the BAKE OFF to…
Yesterday we celebrated not one, but two birthdays. We were celebrating both Lauren, whose birthday was on Friday, and Janet, whose birthday is next week. Larry and I prepared a feast for these two very special birthday girls.
We had a wide variety of different meats, including a big bison roast, bacon wrapped chicken, corned beef burnt ends and ribs. Larry prepared most of the meats, except for the roast. I did that, and he only finished smoking it after it was mostly cooked. Then I made all the fixin’s and fun stuff to go along with the meats and I made an Italian cake as the birthday cake, for all of us to enjoy after.
Of course we had enough food for a small army, but there were only 10 of us. We have plenty of leftovers. Anyone want to come and help us out? 🙂
One of the things I just had to make were these fun little shark bites. Lauren bought me these fun shark molds when she was vacationing in Florida. They didn’t turn out quite the way we wanted them to, but we all had fun with them and they are now all gone.
Larry is preparing the chicken.
Larry was trying out his new smoker. When he “smokes” he “smokes”. He likes to use up every square inch of his smoker.
Once everything was prepared, it was time to sit down and let the feasting begin.
There was lots of food, lots of fun and lots of laughter all around the table. We all had so much fun. In between dinner and some of the fun, it was time to squeeze in the cake too.
Our new friend Rhonda had a great idea and passed around her phone. Everyone had to take a picture with the person sitting next to them. We had fun making new memories. I LOVE this idea. Rhonda, I hope you don’t mind, but I think this is going to be my new tradition too. 🙂
Zoe and Vinnie having fun.
Rhonda and Lauren
Janet and Mike
Larry (the Daddy Dog) and Vinnie
Bob and Wendy
Wendy and me
Zoe, Vinnie and Alan
It was a very fun evening. We had lots of food, lots of fun, and lots of good times. Life is definitely very good indeed. This is what life is all about. Celebrating with friends, both old and new, and enjoying the fun times making lots and lots of happy memories.
Believe it or not, I am actually almost out of all my delicious tomatoes Gift From The Garden, I will finish up the last of this batch of delicious tomatoes today by making some pico de gallo. But have no fear, I have it on very good authority that yet another batch is on the way today.
My last creation was a simple tomato salad that got used in not one, not two, but three different and delicious ways. My first creation was just a simple tomato, onion and garlic salad that is great all on its own.
I used some of the heirloom and golden sunny boy tomatoes and combined them with sliced onions. It was simply scrumptious.
Tomato Salad
6-7 tomatoes, diced medium
1/4 onion, sliced very thin
1 TBSP garlic
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1-2 TBSP fresh ground pepper
sprinkling of salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 TBSP lemon olive oil
2-3 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
3-4 TBSP white balsamic vinegar
Gently toss everything together and chill until ready to eat. The freshness of the tomatoes really shines with this simple, easy-peasy recipe. Plus it is a very pretty and colorful salad.
Recipe #2 – Steak Salad
Once again, we are really trying to use up ALL of our leftovers to leave with an empty refrigerator, since we are about to be on the go once more. This time we will be in VA for a week for our niece’s wedding.
We had some steak leftover from Roasted Strip Steak and Vegetables that needed to be used, as well as some fresh spinach, and of course, our tomato salad. I mixed them all together for yet another fresh and tasty way to enjoy this salad. Larry’s salad had some feta cheese added to make it very Mediterranean. I used all the beans and what was left of the vegetables as well, making this a heartier salad.
But believe it or not, I still had some of the tomato salad left, and it needed to be used. There was no way I was going to let these delicious tomatoes go to waste. So, I recreated it in yet another way to finish it up.
Recipe #3 – Shrimp, Tomatoes and Asparagus
My last creation with this simple salad was to cook it with some shrimp and asparagus that I served over wild rice.
Again, this was just a simple recipe that was using up my leftovers.
I just used all of the tomatoes with their juices and put it all in the skillet. I added a bit more olive oil and a bit more salt and pepper and that was it.
Once the asparagus was cooked, I added it to the shrimp and then served it all over the wild rice, with some pita bread and hummus on the side.
Play with your food. It’s OK. Don’t be afraid to be creative. As you can see, I started off with one very easy, very simple recipe, and used it three different ways. Larry has always said I have a gift for turning leftovers into even more than when I started. It’s the gift that just keeps on giving. 🙂
Have a great day and a great weekend Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
Matfoul or matfool is the Palestinian and North African version of “pasta”. Instead of being made with flour though, it is usually made with semolina (couscous) or bulgur, especially in Morocco. For the past century and a half, maftoul has been a traditional holiday or festive food in Palestine and across the Levant generally. Many families continue to make maftoul at home. You can also use the tiny pasta ” beads” known as acini de pepe.
I have a ton of different cookbooks, of all different ethnicities. I try my best to keep them as authentic as I can, but I don’t stress out if I can’t find certain ingredients. And of course, I always change things around, doing my best to keep in the same theme and vein of that culture. Usually this means I add things or make adjustments accordingly to what is available. This is how most people cook all over the world. They adjust to what is readily available in their area.
I made my own version of matfool, using couscous and I served it with a North African chicken and vegetable stew.
African foods, and especially Middle Eastern foods, are known for using a wide variety of spices. Fortunately, I always have a large array of different spices on hand, since I never really know what I am going to cook until I actually start cooking. I like to be prepared for whatever happens, especially in my kitchen. 🙂
For my version of North African stew, I added pumpkin and a variety of squash, as well as tomatoes and sliced olives, making it heartier and more of a one-pot meal. As usual, I had a recipe that was my inspiration, then I recreated it and made it my own. A lot of African countries use pumpkins and squash in their cooking, mostly the countries in the southern parts of Africa. The Africans, and particularly the Nigerians, call pumpkin ugu or ugwu, which is their version of a fluted pumpkin. I obviously did not use this type of pumpkin. I just used one of our own types of local pumpkin instead. I also used up some of the Sweet 100 tomatoes from my beautifully delicious gift of tomatoes from Janet and Bob (I am using my fabulous tomatoes in as many ways as I can). Gift From The Garden
North African Chicken and Vegetable Stew
1 TBSP allspice
1 TBSP cumin
1 TBSP coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2-3 lbs chicken, cut into think strips
1 onion, diced medium
1 zucchini, sliced
1 crookneck, sliced
1/2 delicata squash, sliced and seeded
1/2 small pumpkin, peeled and seeded, cubed
1 1/2 cups small grape or Sweet 100 tomoates
1 cup sliced olives
olive oil and lemon olive oil for cooking
6 cups chicken broth
1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
chopped parsley
In a very hot skillet, add the oil(s) and then cook the chicken slices until done. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the onions and vegetables, except for the tomatoes and olives, and the spices and seasonings and cook until the vegetables are tender.
Add the chicken back to the mix, as well as the chicken broth and the chopped parsley.
Mix together thoroughly and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and add the tomatoes and olives.
Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. When the couscous or matfool is done, serve the stew on top. I added some warmed pita bread and hummus and a glass or two of a nice, dry Verdicchio (that we made from InVintions A Lot of Wine, A Lot of Fun).
As you all know, we love to travel, but we can’t always get to travel to distant lands as much as we like. However, we can take short little trips from the comfort of our own home by cooking different kinds of foods in our kitchen. You can too. It is a fun way to taste the world, one dish at a time.
The weekend is just around the corner – phew!!! Will you have time this weekend to bake something for THE 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF? We love the team effort baking that is going on. Special mention to the Nyamake family – Jacob you make me smile!
Perhaps you don’t have time to bake something new for the BAKE OFF. As always, we are very happy to include photographs of bakes you made in the past.
THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF is a celebration of WordPress bloggers and readers – we don’t give you a list of complicated rules. All we ask is that you have fun and enjoy getting to know other bloggers.
We are just in the early days of fall, and it is already pumpkin season. That means there will be a lot of pumpkin recipes in the making. I love pumpkin, and I actually cook with it quite a bit, making many different fabulous creations. Everything nice with pumpkin spice, and even better when chocolate chips are added to the mix. I just made some pumpkin coffee cake, which would have been very good on its own, but I added chocolate chips and it was transformed from being good to being fantastic. I personally think pumpkin and chocolate are a great combination.
Pumpkin Spice and Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
The Cake
Preheat the oven to 350* F or about 180* C.
Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray,
1/2 cup or 1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1-15 oz can pureed pumpkin
1 heaping cup chocolate chips
Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.
Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, then add the eggs, mixing in between each addition. Add the vanilla. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and 1/2 of the pumpkin puree, mix, then repeat until everything is added and mixed together well. Do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Evenly spread 1/2 the batter into the prepared pan, then layer the top with the filling. Add the rest of the batter on top of the filling and carefully spread the remaining batter to cover the filling and to fill the pan.
The Filling
3 TBSP softened butter
1.2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
Mix everything together either with your hands or with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse sand. Set aside.
The Streusel
5 TBSP softened butter
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
Mix everything together either with your hands or with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse sand. Set aside.
Sprinkle the streusel topping over the batter, covering it completely, then bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the cake to col completely before cutting into slices. Then share with friends and enjoy.
You can enjoy pumpkin and all it has to offer at anytime of the year, but it just seems to really hit the spot during fall, when the there is a slight crispness to the air. Fall is my favorite time of year. I just love everything about it, including all the pumpkin spice dishes.
Make the most out of every season. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.
As you all should know by now, our 2022 Great Blogger’s Bake-Off is almost here. Not all of us are perfect bakers. In fact, even those of us “who should know better” still make plenty of mistake. We want to see those efforts too, and heart their stories.
IT HAPPENS TO US ALL
For the past three years, THE GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF has been made even more lively by the photographs sent in of bakes that did not quite go according to plan.
Although the 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF is focusing on three special themes:
BUDGET BAKING
SUSTANIBLE BAKING
SHARING THE JOY OF BAKING
….yes, we love seeing those pictures of bakes that nearly sent Yorkshire (or Texas) up in smoke.
The BAKE OFF is a weekend of fun, colour, music and lots and lots of bakes!!! The international flavour is fantastic this year and we love the low cost recipes that many of you are sending in.
There is still time. Please send a picture of a bake you would like to be featured in THE 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF to:
The lakes are pretty quiet these days, but I always have my camera with me, at the ready, just in case. The only thing of interest to me today was the Magpie. I was following him from tree to tree and across the ponds. I think he loved the attention. We were playing a little game of hide ‘n seek.
Yesterday Larry and I celebrated out 19th wedding anniversary. We celebrated at Texas de Brazil for dinner. Texas de Brazil It has been quite an adventure so far. Let’s see what the next 19 brings. I am looking forward to all the new adventures that await us. Bring them on!
Then
and now. We’re a little grayer (Larry. I still have no gray hair or just a minimal amount) and a lot heavier (me, not Larry), but we are still having fun and still as adventurous as ever, if not even more.
Life is definitely good. I love you Sweetie. I am looking forward to the next set of adventures that come our way.
When we were in Bonaire, we ate mostly seafood. Larry is most definitely a meat and potatoes kind-of guy, but he also likes a wide variety of foods, including fresh seafood whenever we are by the sea. But now that we are home, Larry wants a lot of steak. I guess he was feeling a bit deprived, although he loves good seafood too. So steak was definitely on the menu once again.
I found a new recipe I wanted to try, that was quick, easy and delicious; my favorite kinds of recipes. I love quick and easy recipes, especially when they are full of flavor. It was steak and roasted vegetables cooked all together in one pan, roasted in the oven.
Of course I enhanced the original recipe and “Jeannefied it”, though I followed the directions for the cooking time, and the steak was a little over-cooked for my tastes, but it was still very good and full of flavor.
Strip Steak and Roasted Vegetables
1-1 1/2 cups mushrooms, quartered or sliced
2 bunches or broccolini or broccoli rabe, trimmed
1-2 TBSP garlic
1/2 onion, diced medium
1 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 TBSP lemon olive oil, optional
2-3 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar, optional
1 cup grape tomatoes or other small tomatoes
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed – I used northern beans
1 1/2-2 lbs strip steak
Preheat the oven to 450* F or about 225* C.
Combine the oils and vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and pepper flakes, then toss all the vegetables except the tomatoes and the beans. You know when I add the optional part that I have used that and recommend it. 🙂 Spread the vegetables out onto a rimmed baking pan in an single layer. I used my Sweet 100 tomatoes from Janet & Bob’s garden. Gift From The Garden I am creatively using up all my delicious tomatoes. 🙂
Roast the vegetables for about 15 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking, coat the steak with the same olive oil mixture, then place in the center of the pan, pushing the vegetables to the sides, and continue to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes per side. I LOVE a good medium rare steak, but unfortunately, I cooked it for about 6 minutes per side, and it was over done. So if you like it more rare like I do, NO MORE than 5 minutes per side.
Still using the olive oil mixture, coat the tomatoes and the beans and gently toss. Remove the steaks and let set for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and beans to the vegetables and continue to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
By the time you remove the vegetables from the oven, it will be time to slice the steak into thin strips. And everything will be ready to eat and ready to enjoy.
I served it with some warmed ciabiatta and a glass or two of deliciously smooth Malbec, from of course InVINtions, to make a perfect meal. This was so good and so simple.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 