Identity Crisis

Is it time for autumn or are we still enjoying summer?  Is anyone else confused?  I find it hard to know what clothes to put on in the morning.  And trying to decide what to cook is equally difficult as I always want different kinds of foods during different seasons. 
Today I really wanted some sort of comfort food, and chicken & biscuits seemed to fit the bill.  I also had recently received a butternut squash and an acorn squash that needed to be cooked.  A friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was making biscuits and gravy.  I thought maybe I should just go bum dinner off her but decided to get my act together and prepare dinner here instead—a very random, mixed-up, delicious dinner.

Menu

Mandarin Orange Salad (p.39)

Butternut Squash Soufflé (p.84)

Chicken & Biscuits (p.149)

In the morning, I put the butternut squash (and the acorn squash) in the oven to bake.  (On another note, one task I like least of all is prepping winter squash.  Cutting through the rind is hard enough, and then you have to get all the seeds out.  But the end result is worth it. . .I guess.)  Early in the afternoon I cooked some chicken to use for the main dish.  I also had some leftover roast chicken.  At 4:00 I started making the squash soufflé, with a little help.  I used brown sugar rather than white because that's what I had on hand.  Simple to mix together; simple to put into the oven.  It looked like it would be delicious. 

I then started combining ingredients for the chicken & biscuits.  Earlier in the day, I had gone to a specialty grocery store to pick up a few things.  They did not have refrigerated biscuits, and I really didn't want to drag everyone into another store, so I decided I would just make biscuits with some biscuit mix I had in my cupboard.  I mixed everything according to the recipe except for the biscuits and had the pan ready to go into the oven as soon as the soufflé came out of the oven.
 As I pulled the soufflé out, a wonderfully delectable aroma of cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg filled the kitchen.  It seemed fall had finally arrived.  Into the oven went the chicken for 15 minutes at 400^o.  I then pulled it out to put the biscuit mix on top and put it back in to bake for about 10 more minutes.  At that point, I couldn't wait any longer; I had to taste the soufflé.  I sampled a little from the corner.  Thanksgiving had arrived!  Imagine a very tasty pumpkin pie.  Yummm.
The chicken dish was finished, and I was preparing to get everything on the table.  At this point, my life turned into a comedy of errors.  I suddenly realized my meal wasn't complete.  I knew I MUST have planned some sort of green vegetable or dish.  Where was it?  And what was it going to be?  Then I remembered.  THE SALAD!! I had even gone to the store to get the mandarin oranges for it.  Thankfully, it was very easily and quickly prepared.  (I had to work quickly as I had a baby girl informing me quite loudly that she was ready for supper, and a little boy asking me every other minute, “Is it time to eat yet?”  And it was only 5:55!  We normally don't eat until later.  I think they must have smelled all the deliciousness and wanted to eat it.)

As I reached for the cutting board to chop the celery, a cooking utensil fell into the soufflé, creating a crater.  Oh well—it will still taste wonderful.  Then I reached for my container of soaked, toasted almonds, and the lid pulled off, causing the container to fall to the floor and almonds to go everywhere.  Sigh.  My son came running in to see what happened and started to pick up some almonds.  I stopped him, thinking he would step on them and create an even greater mess, to which he replied, "But Mom, I was going to help you clean up the mess."  Melt my heart.  So once we cleaned up the almonds, I began to prepare the dressing only to discover that I was out of white vinegar.   I substituted part apple cider vinegar and part rice vinegar.  It worked.  We got the dinner on the table without further incident and started in on our feast.  (And it wasn't much after 6:00 by this point.  The salad is a very good one to prepare when you are crunched for time.)  Another point of interest is that my cookbook is now broken in; there are now food stains on a couple of pages.

The salad was quite good, as was the dressing.  The balance of sweet and tangy seemed to be just right.  I think it would be better with the white vinegar, but it really was just fine as it was.  (The salad says “summer” to me.)  The soufflé was truly amazing.  I almost felt guilty eating it as a vegetable.  It was much too decadent for that—definitely my new favorite way to fix butternut squash.  The chicken & biscuits were, well, comfort food.  The texture was comfort, the warmth was comfort, and the taste was comfort.  A perfect way to chase away the rainy day blues or a chilly gray day.

I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Saturday was such a beautiful day. . .for falling asleep on the couch.  All week I had been planning to cook a cookbook dinner.  I hadn't been to the grocery store in awhile, so it was going to be a "use what I have on hand" dinner.  Because we ended up with something every evening,  Saturday was the first night all week we were home together as a family.  But after staying busy all day, the last thing I really wanted to do was cook the fish I was planning for dinner.  It really was a day for fixing chili in the morning, letting it simmer all day, and just enjoying the evening; but at 5:00 p.m., it was too late for that.   Plus, I didn't have the correct ingredients for chili or anything along those lines.  So I opened the cookbook, figured out what to make along with the fish, and started spending time in the kitchen.

Menu

Honeyed Carrots (p.74)

Dressed-Up Asparagus (p.88)

Mushroom Rice Pilaf (p.68)

Baked Tilapia (p.172)

Judging from the times listed in the cookbook, I needed to start the carrots first.  The sauce was very simple to make, and while it was melting, I sliced the carrots.  The carrots called for 4 1/2 T. of butter, and the rice pilaf, which I started next, called for 4 T.  However, I used only 3 1/2 T. for the rice because it allowed me to use the rest of the stick of butter with the carrots.  I must admit that I love to coat rice in butter and cook it.  I'm not sure why, but both the aroma and sight of it make me happy.  The rice pilaf recipe calls for uncooked long-grain rice.  I used long-grain brown rice.  More on that later.

The tilapia was next.  This recipe was incredibly simple to put together.  I poured the butter sauce (more butter! Yum!) over the fish and placed it in the pre-heated oven.  Then I started the asparagus steaming while I continued to check on the carrots and the rice.  I pulled out the asparagus, poured the dressing over it, and then put the cherry tomatoes on it.  The green and red were beautiful together.  I overcooked the asparagus—not the fault of the recipe—I let it go for closer to 10 minutes.  That ended up being good for my family as they don't necessarily care for it too crunchy. 

The carrots were ready to be served, so I dished them up.  I think maybe I should have had the temperature be a little higher; I had it on medium-low.  They were cooked, but the center was still firm.  I was expecting them to be softer (probably because I cook carrots mostly with a roast or chicken and they get very soft).  But everyone enjoyed them (even my one year old) and there were no leftovers.  

The fish was excellent; not fishy and just the right amount of salt.  The flavors blended beautifully.  

Now for the rice pilaf.  The recipe said to let the rice simmer for "15-20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender."  I was excited about it taking so little time because when I cook rice it usually takes 45-60 minutes.  20 minutes came and went, and it wasn't even close to “tender.”   I let it go for 30 minutes (we started eating since everything else was ready), and it still wasn't tender.  I went ahead and served some of it so we could at least taste it.  The flavor was quite good.   But of course, it was still pretty crunchy.  I was mystified by this until I talked it over with my mom.  She asked if I had used brown or white rice.  I told her brown—I almost always use brown—and she said that brown rice takes at least twice as long to cook as white rice.  Since I don't use white rice, that thought never entered my mind.  I also didn't realize that there was long-grain white rice.  This cooking/blogging is SUCH an educational experience for me. So, if you use long-grain white rice, it should only take 15-20 minutes.  If you want to use long-grain brown rice, plan on it simmering for at least 45 minutes.  

And now, I'm going to fall asleep on the couch.

Easy Back to School Supper

Today was our first meal using recipes only from O Taste and See, Immanuel Baptist Church’s cookbook.  In my mind, the theme was “Back to School Supper.”  Something somewhat kid-friendly and somewhat easy so that you didn’t have to be stuck in the kitchen but could listen to your child talk about his day or help with homework.  As the hurricane threw everything slightly off-kilter, though, school has already started.  Oh well.  The meal was still tasty—and it was comfort food for these rainy, gray days. 

Menu

Bruschetta (p.3)

Green Salad (p.37)

Roasted Vegetables (p.89)

Easy Cheesy Lasagna (p.121)

Grandpa’s Easy Funfetti Cookies (p.304)

I started by making up the lasagna.  I was quite curious as to how this recipe would taste because I have never made Italian lasagna without meat.   I also always use eggs in my ricotta cheese mixture.  But I followed the recipe* and had it made and ready to go in the oven.  *(I substituted 1 T. Italian seasonings for the 2 T. dried parsley because I had forgotten to buy dried parsley at the store, which happened because I had forgotten to take my list to the store.  Sigh.  I also used whole milk ricotta cheese rather than part-skim because that’s what I had.) 

Then I prepped for the bruschetta.  My mouth was watering as I did this.  The colors were so beautiful, and the basil (I used fresh) smelled AMAZING!  Basil is one of my all-time favorite aromas.  I completed the salad and the dressing, waiting, of course, to put the dressing on the salad until dinner.  Then I got to spend time with my two children as they got up from their naps. 

At 5:00 I put the lasagna into the pre-heated oven to bake and started cutting veggies for the roasted vegetable dish.  That took very little time, and once the vegetables were all mixed together, it looked like a picture in a magazine.  I also had a little help putting oil on the bread for the bruschetta.

At 5:30, the vegetables went into the oven.  Now, the veggies are supposed to cook for 30-35 min. at 400^o.  But my oven cooks hot, and I usually end up burning things if I follow the directions.  So I left it at 350^o (the temperature for the lasagna).  At 5:40ish I pulled out the lasagna and put in the bruschetta to toast for the first time.  And yes, I changed the oven to broil but left in the veggies.  I completed the bruschetta instructions, and once I pulled the finished product out, I turned the oven to just under 400^o to let the vegetables cook for another 10 minutes or so. 

 We started eating dinner before 6:00 (a rare occurrence for us) while the veggies were finishing.  We had the bruschetta and salad first.  The bruschetta was full of flavor and texture.  I know it is something that I will be asked to make again.  The salad was light and fresh (though I slightly overdressed it as I poured the dressing on it. . .oops.)  Eating all the “goodies” scattered among the lettuces was a treat.  My 3 year old didn’t really enjoy the dressing as it didn’t seem to be quite sweet enough for him.  His favorite dressing, though, is raspberry vinaigrette, which is much sweeter.

 

The lasagna, about which I was so curious, was quite tasty.   I prefer lasagna to spaghetti because of the texture, but my husband prefers spaghetti over lasagna.  (He’s not a huge ricotta cheese fan—he also really doesn’t care for undercooked lasagna noodles).  These noodles were cooked perfectly, though.  It seemed to be just the right amount of liquid.  Also, as the recipe called for one less layer than I normally put on my lasagna, it wasn’t as thick of a texture.  That scored big points with my husband.  So now I know!  The roasted vegetables were quite good and a nice change of pace from how I normally cook vegetables—something I will definitely try again.  My 3 year old was uncertain about the onion, the yellow squash, and the zucchini stating that he didn’t care for those (which is not a true statement), but he had to try one of each anyway.  Once they were eaten he said, “Mom, those are yummy!”

After supper, he and I made the cookies—which are always addictive.  So don’t make them unless you are ready to eat a lot of them or are able to give them away!  Taste and see that these recipes are good!

Welcome

Cooking through a cookbook and blogging about it. . .hmmm, sounds like a GREAT idea!  Maybe I should sell the idea; I’m sure it’s original.  Then again. . .

Even though the idea may not be original, I thought it might be fun to try to cook through the new Immanuel cookbook.  I’m going to attempt (the key word here is attempt) to do a complete meal from the cookbook once a week.  Mostly dinners—occasionally a breakfast or whatever kind of event needs to happen in order to make all the recipes.  Yes, I said ALL.  Again, please keep in mind that the key word is attempt.  This task is slightly daunting to me for a couple of reasons. 

1). The discipline of following a recipe.  When I cook, I tend to throw whatever I have together and make something out of it.  Sometimes it is successful; sometimes it isn’t.  I know that cooking (and especially baking) is a science, and the measurements, times, and temperatures are important; but who wants to measure when you can just pour or shake?  And I substitute almost every time I cook.

2.)  The discipline of journaling about the experience.  I’m not a writer.  I have tried to journal so many times in various ways on various subjects, and I rarely complete any.  Journaling about my Bible study—I  think I lasted a month.  Prayer journals—maybe a week.  Writing down cute stories and sayings of my children—not too successful there either.  I admire those who are writers and those who journal, and I have tried to become one of those types of people.  Maybe this time it will stick.

So why do this at all then?  Good question.  And my only answer is that it seemed like a good idea at the time. . .

Maybe it will introduce new people to each other.  Maybe it will encourage closer fellowship.  Or maybe we’ll all just get well fed.