Cooking Lesson: English Muffin Pizzas

This lesson was all about being comfortable in the kitchen and making the ingredients fairly uniform between pizzas.  Genevieve made these for lunch.  I wandered in and out of the kitchen, folding laundry and coaching her on the next steps.  When seconds were requested at the lunch table, she jumped right up and made a second, and then a third round (the mushrooms ran out).  I was pleased with her enthusiasm and responsibility.

I had set out the English muffins and half-a-jar of homemade pizza sauce to thaw. She used a paring knife to cut the mushrooms. She decided to slice the mozzarella instead of grate it (smart girl).  I explained the toaster oven to her.

I contributed popcorn, baby carrots, and ginger beer to the meal.  It was simple and satisfying, the lesson and the meal.  It's nice to have another worker in the kitchen.

Homemade Almond Extract

I don't know, I woke up and realized that I could put stuff in vodka and it's probably better than the extracts I buy.  I started by putting the kernels from peach pits in a 1/2 cup of vodka (I don't go through almond extract all that quickly!).  Apparently the kernels, the soft inner part of the pit from peaches and apricots, taste like almond extract.  We shall see.  The jar is tucked away for several months in my spice cupboard.  I followed these directions.

And then I talked to a coworker who makes his own vanilla extract and went straight to Ebay and ordered vanilla beans from Uganda.  Now I'm going to make vanilla extract. 

I don't know if this is cheaper, exactly, than buying vanilla extract, but I'm betting it will taste better.  I like to think I am clever with my food money, spending money where it makes a difference in taste, nutrition, and the environment.  Sometimes, all three line up, like now when the local veggies and fruits are pouring in from the careful farmers who are not certified organic, but just farm that way because it makes sense to them. And me.

A Bathroom Mirror Cleaning Trick

This tip I discovered by myself by accident one day when I was annoyed with more smudgy fingerprints on the mirrors - life with children, right?  I grabbed a damp bath towel from someone's shower and rubbed the mirror and presto!  fingerprints gone and mirror polished! 

Over the next few months, I experimented, disbelieving that it was possible to clean a mirror without chemicals and a paper towel.

I am here to tell you it's true: rub the smudges with a damp towel and use a dry corner for a final swipe/polish.  The towel trick is less successful if you've got globs of toothpaste or soap bubbles on your mirror - you might have to get out the chemicals or ignore it until the next cleaning day.

We clean the bathroom mirrors once a week with Windex and newspaper.  We have two big mirrors because it's a tiny bathroom and (here's another trick!) small rooms look more spacious with mirrors in them.

It's possible that this a common tip and I just never heard it before, although I do confess to being a tip junkie who adores Hints from Heloise and the tips sections in the back of cookbooks and such. 

What do you think?  Do you have smudgy mirrors that need this cleaning tip?

Several Cold, Creamy Treats

I made the Charlotte Russe from my 1952 Joy of Cooking (here is the Orange Charlotte)  I didn't have "maple flavoring," so I used vanilla extract, a little rum, and a sprinkle of nutmeg.  

After I assembled it, I cleverly googled "Charlotte" and realized, too late, that the traditional mold is more bowl-shaped with the ladyfingers lining the bowl.  So mine looked odd, but everyone loved it and fought over the leftovers. 

About every other day, Ben asks me wistfully if I have some Charlotte Russe in the fridge.  No, my cabbage, I am making other cold treats.

This is a delicious mash-up of several ideas with nary a recipe.

1 ripe avocado
some coconut milk (I froze the rest in ice cube size)
lemon juice (I would have used a lime if I had one)
pinch of salt
smidge of sugar
dried coconut - just a little, and I wanted it to disappear, but it stayed as nubs

I blendered this concoction and kept tasting it until I loved it.  Then I froze it as popsicles.  Rich, exotic, and totally wonderful.

Finally, here is another Jeni's recipe (and as I type, I am chilling Backyard Mint in the fridge).  Pictured here is Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Raspberry Sauce.  Sounds odd, but it's perfect. The sweet corn is cooked with the cream mixture and then strained out.  I gave the cooked corn to the children to eat and then took it back because it was so delicious.  Which reminds me, my sister-in-law saw a recipe on Pinterest for boiling corn in milky water with a stick of butter - wow.

I love summer desserts.  I'll have baked goods later, in the chilly weather.

Cooking Lesson: Cucumber Salad with Cumin

I had planned that I would slice the cucumbers for this lesson, but Genevieve used the big knife!  I stayed right next to her and alternately demonstrated, guided her hand, and watched.  She did an excellent job.

I often realize something during these cooking lessons, probably because I am taking the time to look at the kitchen through a little girl's eyes.  Valuable lessons, indeed.  What I realized this time is that I crank out three meals a day most days and I am super-efficient in the kitchen.  I enjoy what I'm doing and I enjoy my efficiency.  No hanging around thinking about how to garnish the salad or stroking the cutting board or staring at lemons before I cut them.  The thinking that I do about cooking happens while my hands are busy with a needle or dishes or clothespins or I'm trying to pay attention in church.  But a child comes to the kitchen world in wonder and amazement that slows down the entire process and add steps to the recipe.  So I can pick up some of her wonder and she can pick up some of my efficiency, don't you think?

We love this salad.  The recipe comes from Fix-it and Forget-it Vegetarian.  We ate it with rice and beans and pickled jalapenos.

Cucumber Salad with Cumin

Toast 1 tsp. cumin seed - either on a small tray in the toaster oven or in a dry skillet.  Takes only a few minutes and watch closely - you want to smell the aroma of cumin but not burn it.  Set aside.

Whisk in bottom of smallish salad bowl:
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
juice and zest of 1 lemon
the 1 tsp. toasted cumin seed
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Stripe 2 cucumbers with a zester or a paring knife - just for pretty. Halve or quarter lengthwise if you wish before slicing thinly.  Toss gently with dressing.  Serve immediately.

(Another reason to keep cumin seed on hand:  dhal.)

Sunday Dinner: Multitasking Slow Cooker (updated with recipe)

People, it is hot here and my husband is manic on the subject of no cooking heat in the house.  I use my slow cooker pretty often in the summer and I usually set it outside.  That pleases him, as does cooking outside on the new grill.

Sunday, we had a meatless meatloaf which is a lentil loaf which really needs a better name.  It sounds like we are being all 70s alternative or like we miss meat so much we are trying our best to imitate it, but that's just not the case.  At my house, this is just a delicious way to eat lentils and it just begs for traditional meatloaf sides.

The menu:
the loaf
baked potatoes
cucumber salad with basil
espresso granita with whipped cream (I used strong decaf coffee and decreased the sugar by 1 Tbsp.)


I put the oiled potatoes in the bottom of my 6-quart oval slow cooker.  I turned them on high around 7am.  Before we left for church at 9am, I turned the cooker to low and added the lentil loaf (mixed up the day before) in a 9x5 metal loaf pan, sitting directly on top of the single layer of potatoes.  Clapped the lid on. 

It worked so well!  When we got home from church, I put together a cucumber salad. Delicious, easy Sunday dinner and no cooking heat in the house - plenty of other heat, though. . .

Lentil Loaf (originally from a cookbook called The Daily Bean)

Combine and mix well:
1-2 cups tasty cheese such as cheddar with a bit of smoked cheddar if you like
2 cups cooked lentils
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. dried thyme (or triple the amount of fresh thyme)
1 cup soft breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 Tbsp. soft butter (optional)

Place in greased loaf pan and smooth top.  Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or covered in a slow cooker on low for 2-3 hours.  You can put the loaf pan in the dry slow cooker and if there are no potatoes beneath, keep it off the bottom with a metal jar lid or small trivet.

If you have to cook your lentils just for this recipe, use a scant cup with a scant 2 cups water.  Cook covered for about an hour, until water is absorbed and lentils are soft.  Or you can cook a big pot and freeze the cooked lentils in 2 cup amounts.

Serve this loaf as you would traditional meatloaf; the wheat in the breadcrumbs in combination with the legumes (lentils) is a complete protein and there is protein from the cheese and egg.  Cold slices of leftover loaf are excellent in sandwiches with ketchup and sprouts.

Handquilting in Black Perle Cotton

I really love the look.  I think other quilters would call this primitive, but I just think of it as emphasis.  I've carried these around to swimming lessons and the like for the past few weeks.

These hotpads went to the local museum gift shop.  I'm especially fond of that green 70s calico that a friend gave me - pieced it into the back of a hotpad, too.

And I saved a set for my own etsy shop - listing here.