Flashback Friday ~Family History

This week I've been doing a little family history research online and stumbled across a picture of my great great great grandmother Virginie Felicia . This had to have been taken in the 30s.



It was so exciting to find that picture out of the blue. I'm not getting anything from them in fact I'm paying them, but I have to say Ancestory.com is worth a month or two of membership if you're interested in your family history.

Felicia Virginie's granddaughter was my MaMa Nezat, also named Felicia, who was well know for quite a few things from her Kitchen. But what you could count on being available most often were her Teacake Cookies. Crispy but tender make them different than many teacake recipes which are often cakier. I had the recipe that was supposed to be hers, but I really had to do some tweaking with the flour until I got the right texture. They aren't too sweet and not exactly pretty, but they were a favorite of her kids and grand kids and probably many a visitor. She'd make huge batches then store them for later in plastic bread wrappers she'd saved for the purpose.




Vanilla Wafers ~My MaMa Nezat's Tea Cakes

¼ cup margarine
¼ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup milk
2 ¼ cup flour, and more for rolling
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture and milk to creamed mixture, alternating. Mix well. Form into a ball of dough. Add more flour as needed to make a stiff dough. Roll out very thickly on a floured surface – about ¼ inch. Cut out circles and transfer to greased cookie sheet. Cook for 12-14 mins or until starting to get brown. Remove from oven and leave on sheets to cool – this is my note and I think it’s what makes them harder on the outside like MaMa’s. These keep for a very long time and they only get better! To be authentic store in old Evangeline Maid plastic bread wrappers.

And just for the record...this isn't a flashback this is TODAY!

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Joining in for Foodie Friday and Sweet Tooth Friday. Check them out!

Also please remember to join Kathleen for her St. Patty's Day party over at Cuisine Kathleen. See my sidebar for a link!

Mosaic Monday ~ Can't Wait for Spring

Late winter is looking good here. Although we have had freezing temps at night the plants seem to be marching on to spring.

If you are looking for winter color hellebores are a great choice. They are also called Lenten Rose or Christmas Rose. I'd say Lenten is more appropriate for my location.



They come in a variety of colors


Their only drawback is that they tend to point their little heads down. But that's not all bad. It makes you stop and take notice of them and gets you squatting close to the ground to turn them upright. Exercise!


It seems that most late winter, early spring flowers are very low to the ground. Like these pretty snow drops.


And Crackpots little primroses


The crocus are really going to town now.


Even the white ones which are always the last to bloom in my yard are opening up.


I am always happy to see the primroses blooming yet again. They are perennial here and bloom several times a year.


Randy has been helping with weeding when we have a spot of sunshine. The front bed is looking nice. You can see the new leaves sprouting up a lot easier than when there are pesky weeds around!


Here's another addition to your garden you need if you want early color. These Tete a Tete daffodils are tiny, but they sure do bloom early!!!!


I was excited to see that the Camellias are getting close to blooming. Those on the side of the bush closest to the house are looking like this.


So even though spring seems to be close, the temperatures are still saying winter and I'm still craving comfort food. I made stuffed bell peppers this weekend to satisfy that!



I think stuffed bellpeppers are kind of like meatloaf. The recipe changes based on your mood and what you have on hand. For these I used

Ground Beef (about 1 lb)
chopped onion
chopped mushrooms
cooked white rice (about 2 cups)
Worcestershire sauce (1 T)
Seasoning to taste (garlic salt, onion powder, Tony Chachere's Seasoning)
Tomato paste (about 1 T)
2 eggs
Spaghetti Sauce 1/2 cup for stuffing and about 2 cups for cooking
6 bell peppers with tops sliced off and insides cleaned out and rinsed.(Cook peppers in boiling water for about 3 minutes to soften)

Mix all ingredients including the 1/2 cup of sauce. Stuff into softened peppers . Put peppers in a casserole dish. Pour rest of sauce over and around the peppers. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. You can sprinkle cheese on them but they are good without. I served with some fresh corn. No idea where the cobs came from, but there were fresh ears at the grocery store the other day, so had to buy a couple. It was good!

I'm joining in over at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday...a little late but its still Monday here!

Flashback Friday ~Butterflies and a Tropical Taco

I'm flashing back to early December when we took a trip up to Seattle to see the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. They didn't allow photos to be taken at the exhibit, but while we were at the Science Center I made a point of us visiting the great butterfly exhibit they have there. Besides the butterflies its also a great place to pretend for a few minutes that your visiting some warm tropical locale...not a bad thing to be able to pretend on a Seattle winter day!


The place smells great too. Could have been the gardenias!


There are so many of these cuties flying around.


Or resting on lily pads


The hibiscus really adds to that tropical illusion


If Harry Potter hadn't been calling I would have stayed at least a little longer watching these beauties flutter by.


So carrying on the tropical theme I recently made some really fresh & *hot* but tasty shrimp tacos. Now..I know..if you are like me when you say fish or shrimp and taco in the same sentence it just makes you kind of shudder. Somehow it just doesn't sound right.

But I have really been on a healthy eating kick lately and I've been craving lighter foods. So I decided to go outside my comfort zone a little bit and give these a try. I kicked it up with some Chipotle peppers and the whole combination really won me over to the dark taco side :-) They were super quick and I really just kind of winged it after looking at a few similar recipes.

Shrimp Tacos
Serves 1

12 medium shrimp
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning or salt/pepper to season
2 tsp olive oil or spray to coat skillet
shredded lettuce or coleslaw mix
1 small tomato, chopped
2 radishes, sliced thin
green onions, chopped
3 corn tortillas

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons light sour cream
1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
1-2 tsp lime juice
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

Prepare sauce by mixing all ingredients. Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Heat skilled with 1 tsp of oil. Heat tortillas until begin to brown just a bit on each side. Put on serving dish and layer with lettuce or cole slaw mix, tomato, radishes & green onions. Season shrimp then saute in oil with chopped chipotle until shrimp is done. Divide shrimp between the tacos. Drizzle with sauce. Enjoy!


If you have a Flashback you'd like to add put your link below and link back to me on your blog! Thanks!


I'm joining in for
Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum
Flaunt Your Flowers at Tootsie Time
Inspiration Friday At the Picket Fence
It's a Hodge Podge Friday

Hope for the Winter Weary & A Challenge

This winter has seemed long and I know its not over yet. And I know we have had it pretty easy in the Pacific Northwest compared to many other parts of the country. But still...it's seemed extra cold and rainy this year. But even as dreary as its been there are bright spots and signs of warmer times to come! This recent sunrise over Mount Rainier, which I photographed on my way to work was one of those bright spots. The sky was on fire! Angels baking cookies :-)



In between raindrops this weekend I ventured outside to see if I could find signs of life in my garden. The primroses always come through. They bloom here several times a year.



Not exactly a flower, but the viburnum is looking colorful


The little snowdrops are about to bloom!


This sedum always reminds me of a flower during winter


This euphorbia's foliage reminds me of a flower too.


The hellebores seem slow this year, but they will be open soon!


The camellia still has a ways to go


I have other mini irises that are getting close to blooming, but I couldn't resist these at the grocery store! They make me smile when I leave for work in the morning.


The heather looks extra nice right about now



And doot do do dooooo (trumpet sound) : A crocus or two have popped up and are ready to bloom! Now if that doesn't give hope to the winter weary I don't know what will!


Hopefully the sun won't be crying for much longer - I think sunshine is predicted around here this week. Nevermind the 20s at night that go along with that!


I got a little nudge this weekend from a fellow blogger (Lynn at Happier Than a Pig in Mud) to throw out the Great Cooking Magazine Challenge again to get us all out of our winter doldrums. Lynn...the challenge is on. For all of you that have stacks of cooking magazines sitting around with all of those great recipes waiting to be tried this challenge is for you too!

I've done this before but this time I'm going to handle it a little different. I am giving you one week to gather those mags and start cooking. Show up back here in one week..next Sunday, February 6th and I will have a post up for you to share your reviews of the recipes you've tried. It doesn't matter how old the magazines are. Magazine clippings you've held on to are okay too. Just try something new!



I'll give you a little inspiration. I dug WAY back in my magazine archive for this recipe for Beef Paprika. It's from the October/November 2002 issue of Taste of Home! I had a chuck roast I wasn't sure what to do with and pulled a few older mags off the shelf and came on this one. We enjoyed it over rice with some cute little broccoletti (tastes like very tender broccoli) and a green salad. Great comfort food dish!



Beef Paprika
Serves 2 - easily doubled for a larger family

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper (my addition)
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup water, divided
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Dash cayenne pepper (or my stand by Tony Chachere's seasoning)
  
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions:

• In a large saucepan, brown beef in oil on all sides. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender. Add 1/2 cup of water, ketchup, brown sugar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard and cayenne; mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours or until beef is tender. Combine flour and remaining water until smooth; gradually stir into stew. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over noodles or rice. Yield: 2 servings.

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I also tried a recipe out of the Penzey's Spices catalog. They always have great looking recipes and its hard for me to throw them out. But they have all of the same recipes online I discovered, so I threw a stack of them away this week. This Banana Blueberry cake from the Spring 2010 catalog is a winner. Its got a similar taste to banana bread, but a lighter texture and the blueberries are a nice touch. The original recipe called for an icing but I thought it was good with out it. I sprinkled some powdered sugar on for a little *something* extra.

Banana Blueberry Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

2 eggs

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 large very ripe bananas, mashed fine

1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Frosting (optional):

2 sticks butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

6 tablespoons milk, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch pan and set aside. In a roomy bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the batter and mix well. Stir in the mashed bananas. Fold in the blueberries, if using. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Frost, if desired. Now its your turn!!! I'll be making something else for the challenge too. See you back Sunday :-)

I'm joining in for Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House. Go check out all of the other great mosaics HERE.

Mosaic Monday ~Early Fall & The Gift that will Keep on Giving

It was kind of a dreary gray weekend, so I wasn't really motivated to do much more than stroll around the yard a few times. I snapped a few shots during one of those strolls. The garden flowers are winding down but there are definitely some things still blooming like this clematis that's having a second wind.



This dahlia is blooming pretty..so bright its almost neon


In the front...the aster ball as I call it is doing its thing! It is such a reliable bloomer and has such a great shape. I tie a piece of twine around it when the branches get tall so they don't flop when it rains, but it really does grow naturally round like that.


Feverfew reseeds itself throughout my garden, but its mostly a welcome reseeder. Very reliable deep into fall. This one is a double variety.


Tiny little rose Magic Carousel is reblooming too


I planted this nasturtium on a little obelisk at Randy's suggestion. Its taken all summer but it is finally climbing all over it and blooming its little heart out.


A volunteer made sure I had cosmos this year! I love these little dainty pretties.


My favorite pink hardy geranium is putting out a few blooms here and there.


The tall sedum is still looking nice


The veggie garden is winding down, so Lemon Queen perennial sunflower is moving in!


My favorite Japanese Anemone, Honorine Jobert


This persicaria Red Dragon is mostly a foliage plant, but in the fall it has cute little white flowers


I can't tell you how many times I've dug this aster up from the spot its blooming :-) Its a hardy little sucker!


And the hydrangeas are hanging in there...most fading, but with new blooms mixed in too.


Since the weather wasn't very inspiring, I spent the weekend enjoying my new Cuisinart food processor that Randy got me for our anniversary. I truly think this is one appliance I will get plenty of use from.

One feature that I love is the dough blade which makes kneading by hand unnecessary and its way quicker and quieter than kneading with my Kitchenaid (which I still love). Randy loves his Mom's cinnamon rolls and I've had mixed success duplicating her recipe, so I thought I would give another dough recipe a try, but still try to come close in flavor to hers.

I think I came pretty close because all I heard during his first cinnamon roll was MMMMM MMMMM MMMM. He is silly and doesn't like icing on his, so I did half and half. Its true though that the filling is sweet enough to enjoy it without. Brown sugar is the secret!



Suzy's Cinnamon Rolls
inspired by my mother in law's recipe, Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook and the recipe booklet that came with the Cuisinart

1/2 cup whole milk
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter cut in chunks
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

Filling:
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoons cinnamon

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons cream (or 2 tablespoons milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Microwave milk and butter until butter melts - about 1 minute. In a bowl or mixing cup combine 1 pkg yeast and warm water. I also added a teaspoon of the called for sugar to speed up the yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes..it will be bubbly. Place in food processor bowl, along with sugar and eggs. Process for a few seconds until sugar and eggs well blended. Add salt, warm milk mixture and 2 cups of flour. Process until well blended. Then add 1 1/4 flour and process to knead for about 45 seconds (WOW..thats all!) You may need to scrape the sides at some point, but the dough should pull away and clean the sides of the bowl. You will end up with a soft elastic dough. Transfer to a large lightly oiled bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or one of those shower cap thingies. Let dough rise until double in size, about 2 1/2 hours. Punch down center of dough then turn dough onto a lightly floured countertop and let rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime butter a 13x9 cake pan. In a small bowl combine brown sugar & cinnamon for the filling. Using a floured rolling pin roll dough into a 12 x 16 inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter and then sprinkle with brown sugar/cinnamon mixture, leaving a 1/2 inch border on one long side. Roll, beginning with the long side that has sugar/cinnamon to the edge. Use fingertips to seal edges. Using a serrated knife, cut dough log into 12 even rolls and arrange in prepared pan. Cover and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350° and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. For icing, whisk powdered sugar, cream and vanilla until smooth. Add more cream a little at a time if necessary to achieve a drizzling consistency. Using a spoon drizzle over slightly cooled rolls.


Besides the cinnamon rolls, I decided to make another recipe in the recipe booklet that came with the processor. It caught my eye and looked simple enough. And boy are they yummy! They are perfect on their own, but I made some sandwich cookies out of them using the blackberry curd that I have one hand. Definitely takes it up a notch!!

Hazelnut Butter Cookies


1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups (4 oz) lightly toasted hazelnuts
1/4 tsp salt
12 oz butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla ( I actually forgot this and they were just fine)

In a food processor insert the metal blade. Process flour, hazelnuts and salt using the pulse, 15-20 times until ground and combined. Remove from bowl and reserve. Process butter, powdered sugar and vanilla if using until smooth and creamy. Add flour mixture and process just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Turn out this dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into 2 equal balls, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 30 mins until stiff enough to shape into logs. Shape into logs 10 inches long. Wrap well in plastic and refrigerate til firm or freeze until ready to use. When ready to bake preheat oven to 350°. Slice 1/4 in thick and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake ofr 10-14 mins until edges begin to brown. Let cool on baking sheet for 1 minute than transfer to rack to cool.



Besides my processor fun, I also put some end of the season tomatoes to excellent use! Slow roasting them all day was painless...I used olive oil, basil, marjoram, garlic, chili flakes and salt. They cooked at 200 for 8 hours. Now to decide how to use the amazingly tasty morsels!


I'm joining in over at Big Red House for Mosaic Monday...go check out all of the other cool posts HERE and have a great Monday!