As you know, it is once again time for our Great Blogger’s Bake-Off. This year is going to be a bit different than it has been in years past. One of the themes this year will be about baking on a budget. Mel from “crushedcaramel” crushedcaramel@gmail.com had asked me to offer some advice about budget baking and cooking. Here is my response:

We all know the price of food is rising beyond belief.  I just heard that in the United States, where I live, the price of food has risen over 13.5% in the past year.  WOW!!!  That is a HUGE increase!  But we all have to eat.  There is no getting around that basic fact, so what do we do.  There are all kinds of things we can do to help get around the rising food costs.

• Make a list and buy only what you need.
• Buy the store brands rather than name brands if you can.  More so than not they are exactly the same items as the name brands, and the same quality, just at a lower price.
• Buy in bulk if you can, portion off what you need and freeze or store the rest.
• Use up those leftovers.  Waste not want not.  If you are like me, I am not a big fan of eating leftovers in the same recipe or way as the “firstovers” so I recreate and repurpose them all the time.
• Instead of going out to eat, especially for lunch, bring in your leftovers for lunch.

So this is a perfect tie-in for yet another creative way to use up my leftovers. This time I used my leftover bison I served at our big birthday bash The Birthday Party. The original way I cooked the roast was mouth watering, and we could have very easily eaten it just the way it was and been very happy with it. But where’s the fun or creativity in that? Of course I wanted to transform it into something different. So I made it into a stew and served it over wide noodles. We also finished up the rest of the jalapeno cheese bread I made for the party as well.

I also finished off most of my tomatoes from Janet and Bob’s 2nd gift of a big box of tomatoes. Gift From The Garden This time I used all of the Sunny Boy golden tomatoes and the rest of the Sweet 100’s. You can use any kind of tomatoes you like, but I wanted to use these up. They were so good! Included in my leftovers was also 1/2 a zucchini and a delicata squash, and a little red onion that I threw into the stew mixture as well.

Bison-Vegetable Stew Over Noodles

1-1 1/2 lbs of bison, cubed

1/4 onion, diced

1-1 1/4 lbs of tomatoes, diced

1-1 1/2 cups mushrooms, quartered

1 TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

2 TBSP tomato paste

1/2-3/4 cup beef broth

olive oil for cooking

1-2 TBSP either lemon juice or lemon balsamic vinegar

Get a skillet very hot and add the olive oil. Then add the vegetables, except for the tomatoes, and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are tender, stirring often.

If you are using raw meat, cook it first, then add to the vegetables. But my meat was already cooked, so I did not need to cook it again. Then add the seasonings, tomatoes and beef broth. Instead of pepper this time, I used some Montreal Steak seasoning. I actually ran out of ground black pepper and didn’t feel like crushing my peppercorns. The Montreal steak seasoning was a great substitute and gave the stew a big bold flavor, which is what you are looking for with game meat.

Mix everything together well, then add the tomato paste and stir in with the mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about about 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add a dash of either lemon juice or lemon balsamic vinegar at the end of the cooking process, just before serving. It really brings out the flavor of the tomatoes.

This is a big and bold dish and needs something hearty to go with it. This time, I served it over wide noodles, like the kind you would use for a stroganoff, but you can also serve it over mashed potatoes too and that would be very tasty as well.

As I always say, play with your food and be creative. Who knows what you’ll get, but at least you will fun in the process. 🙂

We are leaving once again early tomorrow morning, and will be gone for a week. We will be domestic this time. Our niece is getting married in Virginia, and we will be there for the wedding of course, as well as taking in a lot of the local sights and attractions. We both love history, so we are going to explore a lot of the historical sights of the area. I will not be posting anything while I am gone, but you know you will hear all about it when we get back. So in my absence, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

It is such a beautiful fall day today. We have a very pleasant temperature, the skies are so, so blue and the sun is shining brightly. We also have a lot of the beautifully colored Alpine Poppies in full bloom and on display right now too. They brighten up the day just perfectly don’t you think.

Have a bright and beautiful day no mater what you do. 🙂

We had a bison roast in our freezer, just waiting to be used for a special occasion. Our big birthday party for Janet and Lauren The Birthday Party was just such an occasion. It was a big roast, so we had to have enough people over to really appreciate it, since it was way to big to cook for just Larry and I.

We like bison a lot. It’s delicious, healthy and very lean, but I have to confess, we don’t eat it all that often. I had never cooked a bison roast before either. But now I have and it came out fantastic. 🙂

I do have a little bison/buffalo cookbook, which gave me some great advice and cooking tips on how to cook the roast, but you know me, and you know I “Jeannified” it too.

Bison Roast

3-4 lb bison roast

2 pieces of bacon, cut into pieces

1-1 1/2 TBSP garlic

big game spice rub

2-3 bay leaves

1 cup orange juice

salt & pepper to taste

1/2-3/4 cup port

Pat the bison roast dry with a paper towel, then coat both sides with all the seasonings. Slice slits into both sides of the roast, and insert both the garlic and the bacon pieces into the slits. Add the orange juice and port and let marinate for at least 4 hours before cooking, though overnight is better. Because bison is a very lean meat, the bacon adds some needed fat to the meat so the bison does not dry out and get to tough when cooking. And because it is big game, it often has a gamey taste. Using something acidic, like the orange juice, will help draw out some of the gamey taste.

When you are ready to cook the roast, preheat the oven to 275* F or abut 140*C.

Take the roast out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes or so prior to cooking and let set at room temperature.

Place the roast in the oven and let it cook nice and slow, about 25 minutes per pound. I cooked it in the same sauce I marinated it too. I cooked it for about an hour in the oven, but then I needed the oven for other things, and Larry already had the smoker going for all the other meats, so we finished cooking the roast in the smoker too. It was so juicy and tender and definitely full of flavor.

Again, because bison is very lean, it is best served rare to medium rare. For rare, you want the internal temperature to be about 130-135* F and for medium rare, you ant it about 135-140*F. If you overcook it, it will be tough and dry.

When the roast is cooked, let it set for about 5-10 minutes before slicing it, then slice it into thin strips. Serve it with your favorite side dishes and enjoy. Make sure you have a lot of people around to help you eat it too. This is definitely best when served for a gathering of friends and family.

Let your wild side out every now and then. You will definitely be glad you did. 🙂

Stay safe and say well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

TWO WEEKS TO GO…

…until THE 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF!!!

15th & 16th October 2022

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…

crushedcaramel@crushedcaramel@gmail.com

I know there are a whole bunch of very creative people out there. this is your chance to shine. Show us all your creations.

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.

Happy Birthday Lauren and Janet.

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.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Baking can be a really fun family affair too. It’s time spent together making memories and having fun.

MAKE IT A FAMILY AFFAIR

SEP 30, 2022 CARAMEL LEAVE A COMMENT

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.

Just over two weeks to go!!!

THE 2022 GREAT BLOGGERS’ BAKE OFF

15th & 16th October 2022

Send your photos in now to:

crushedcaramel@gmail.com

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:

crushedcaramel@gmail.com