Flashback Friday ~Amish Friendship Bread Wakes up

One of my most popular posts was my Amish Friendship Bread Coming Out of my Ears post . I still get many hits a week mostly from desperate people, I would imagine, who have starter sitting on their kitchen counter, multiplying like Trebles on Star Trek. I imagine this, because I was one of them a couple of years ago. Instead of sharing with my friends who were Amish Friendship breaded out, I kept the babies and tried raising them myself . It wasn’t pretty! There were plastic bags everywhere. So after making several very tasty bread combinations including this Almond Joy variety

pancakes

and cornbread

I followed some online advice to freeze my babies. Sort of like how they did Han Solo in Empire Strikes Back.

I was really a bit skeptical that I wasn’t in fact killing my bubbly little starters mainly because my freezer is a scary deep dark place and I was afraid I would lose track of them. Those little starters were brave little troopers and hung on though.

It did in fact take me 2 years to rediscover them. Thanks in part to a gal named Darien who contacted me recently to ask if she could use my pictures & recipes on her website which promotes her new book that has an Amish Friendship Bread theme. There are a lot of variations in the recipe section on her site for those of you looking for ways to use your starter. I’m not getting anything for promoting her, but she was really a sweetheart and I like the idea of her book & website. She has a really active Facebook page as well where people have been sharing lots of variations.

So I had a renewed interest and decided to test out the theory that my babies could be awakened from their slumber. I pulled one bag out and pretended it was Day 1 in the 10 day cycle and all proceeded as it should. It was alive! I made the recipe that comes with the instructions which is a very yummy moist cinnamon one and to be different..which of course I am…I found a couple of recipes for scones and tweaked them a bit for what I had on hand. A new version is born! Date and Pecan Amish Friendship Bread Scones!

Date and Pecan Amish Friendship Bread Scones

2 cups starter (after following Day 10 instructions)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour (or more if sticky)

1/2 cup dates

1/2 cup pecans

Sift flour, salt, and soda together into a large bowl. Mix starter with oil, and stir into the sifted ingredients. Form into rounded ball and flatten to about an inch and a half then cut into 8 triangles. Bake on cookie sheet at 325° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through in the middle.

* I ate one warm, then another the next day toasted with a little cream cheese spread on. Both were very yum!

If you have a flashback of any kind that you'd like to share please add your link below.

I'm participating in these events this week:
Foodie Friday
Sweet Tooth Friday
Fat Camp Friday

Mosaic Monday ~April Blooms and a Crunchy Treat

Trying something new for Mosaic Monday

Personalize a free picture collage

The temps are saying spring, and so are the rains I guess! We are well above normal for rain this year and thats saying a lot since I live in the Pacific Northwest! But we got out and poked around the yard anyways. The ground is literally sloshy! Randy is adding dirt to the beds and freshening up a bit. The pineapple fountain needs a good scrubbing too! It's made of some kind of composite material though, not concrete so it does it does wash off much easier.


Jigs supervised...he is General Jigme the mud inspector


The Fairies are moving back in and have a lot of clean up to do themselves. Just look at those weeds! I'm sure they'll have it spic and span in no time though.


There are new signs of life all over the yard this week. Including clematis flower buds. It will be a while before they open but I was so happy to see these babies!


The pink flowering currant is always a sign to me that spring's getting underway. I seem to have lost over half of the bush, but the branches that are alive and blooming are still pretty.


The daffies and tulips that I planted very late (like late winter instead of fall) are starting to bloom. At least the daffodils are. The tulips will be a little later. So if you ever run out of time in the fall, don't fret...there's still hope!


I stopped by the nursery one day on my way home...I couldn't resist any longer. There still isn't much to choose from since we could still have frost, but I did manage to pick up a thing or two.


How could I resist this unique ranunculus. I think they are so pretty with their stripes.


The little English daisies were too cheery to leave at the nursery


I do have one tulip blooming now. It,s always my first to open


This peony was gorgeous last year, so I was happy to see it coming back so vigorously


The primroses are really pretty this year and I'm loving how naturally my new camera captures reds!


This one has multiplied a few times


And this one is sharing space with the little blue wind anemones


So it seems I have been seeing a strange and new food item popping up a lot lately on foodie blogs, shows and websites...Kale Chips. It had my curiosity piqued, so when I got Kale in my weekly veggie box I decided to give it a try. Really it couldn't be any easier. Kale with stem removed, toss with olive oil and whatever seasonings you like - I used salt and italian seasonings. Bake at 350° til crispy. Eat! Watch this video of a local gardening celebrity (Cisco) and his chef friend for how tos. Cisco is a goofy character and has a Saturday morning gardening show.




I've seen the suggestion to dip the chips in vinegar so used a roasted garlic vinegar I have. YUM!


Randy wasn't crazy about the texture so didn't eat more than the one I gave him to try. So I ate the rest. I guess there are a lot worse things I could eat than a bunch of kale!

I'm participating in Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House . There are always some beautiful photos so go check out.

Flashback Friday ~ Spaghetti Anyone?

I'm flashing back this week to a great Spaghetti and meatballs recipe............




NOT!!!!! April Fools :-) It's really cake covered in "spaghetti" icing and strawberry jam "sauce", Ferraro Rocher meatballs and pound cake "Garlic Parmesan" bread. Look HERE for my original post. Anybody else have any fun April Fools food they've done?

If you have an April Fools Flashback..or any flashback of any kind - a favorite recipe, memory or picture please join in by adding your link below, then link back to this post on your blog. I have a Flashback Friday post up most weeks, so join in when you have something to share.



I'm joining in with Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum, Sweet Tooth Fridays at Alli N Son and for the first time, Fat Camp Friday at Mangoes and Chutney.

Mosaic Monday ~A Cookbook Review

I was recently asked to review a new cookbook. Two things interested me about this new book. The fact that the author is a blogger was exciting. I love to hear about bloggers making it "big". And the subject of the book was of even bigger interest. Sandwiches! I like them a lot and Randy REALLY loves them. This is the guy that asks for ham and cheese instead of a hot dinner frequently. Or grilled cheese & tomato soup. Or tuna fish and cream of celery. Or Subway...

I have to share just how excited Randy was when this book was delivered to our door. I was at work and he called to tell me a package had arrived and he said if all of the cookbooks I ordered were as good as this one he wouldn't mind me bringing them all home. Normally my growing collection is a sore spot with him, so I couldn't imagine what book that I had ordered he was talking about(especially since I hadn't ordered any!).

Then he started reading the names of the recipes and even reciting the descriptions of some out loud and giving me a list of the ones he wanted me to make. Then the light bulb went off! It was the cookbook that I had been asked to review, The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches by Susan Russo of Food Blogga fame. Interestingly she dedicated this book "to all those hungry fellas out there who think they can't cook but can." She must have had Randy in mind :-)



The book is an encyclopedia of Sandwiches, so there are a few things you wouldn't normally expect to see in a cookbook..like peanut butter sandwiches..or ham and cheese :-) But there are also some great regional and original recipes and the descriptions & sandwich histories are inspiring.

Its a cute little chunky book with great pictures, including the jawbreaking Dagwood on the cover. I was pleased to see interpretations of some of my favorites like the Cubano, the Po Boy and my most recent fave, the Vietnamese Banh Mi.

Its alphabetically arranged, which keeps things interesting but does coincidentally put Heroes next to Hoagies! It also has a separate index of sandwiches plus an index of ingredients in the front of the book.

So since receiving this on Tuesday, I've tried three recipes..all under "C". The first was the Classic Club sandwich because Randy showed a high level of enthusiasm around this one. Unfortunately although I stopped at the grocery store on my way home I forgot one ingredient that I consider key, a tomato. But I went ahead and made it anyways. It would have been better with the tomato, but it was still great without. The club is one of those sandwiches that changes from restaurant to restaurant and home to home so I suppose that's okay.

This classic debuted at New York's Saratoga Club in 1894 according the encyclopedia. The best one I ever had was at a small diner called the Double V Cafe in my hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana. I wrote about it HERE. Here's my tomatoeless ( and fancy toothpickless) version.


And a shot of the recipe in the book


Saturday afternoon I decided to try something else. There are two chicken salad sandwiches in the book and I kind of combined them, but with a larger focus on the Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich. I planned on taking the leftovers to work tomorrow, but ended up eating them today instead. So yummy!



Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich

2 cups chicken (I used canned chicken with success)
1/4 cup julienned carrots
1 medium apple, chopped (a little more than called for because I lacked mango)
1 mango (I didn't have so omitted)
2 scallions thinly sliced
1/4 cup red onion, chopped (my addition)
1/4 cup raisins ( I subbed Craisins)
1/4 cup chopped cashews ( I subbed sliced almonds and added a little more)
1/4 cup mayo
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp curry powder (depending on how strong you like it)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 slices toasted bread or buns

Mix first 8 ingredients. In separate bowl mix remaining ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour dressing over salad & refrigerate before serving. Divide between bread or buns to make two sandwiches.

*Note: I ate it right away and it was still good :-)


Finally, for dinner Saturday night I went with a southern classic, the Chicken Fried Steak Sandwich with cream gravy. Very filling and very good! We enjoyed it.


I learned that Chicken Fried Steak is originally from Texas and was made by German immigrants as a New World version of Weiner Schnitzel.
Chicken Fried Steak

2 tenderized round steaks
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons milk or buttermilk
Several shakes of salt & pepper to taste (I added Tony Chachere's seasoning as well)
1/4 tsp paprika
4 tablespoons flour (I ended up using a little more than this)
4 Tablespoons canola oil

Cream Gravy
2 T flour
1/2 milk (I added about 1/2 c more)
Salt & pepper to taste
Hamburger buns

Trim steak of fat & tenderize if not already done. Whisk together the egg, milk, paprika, salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl or plate. heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dip meat into egg mixture, then flour, then repeat. Place in hot oil. Fry 3-4 minutes, flip then fry 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. For gravy scoop 2 Tablespoons of oil from skillet in which meat was cooked and add to a small pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, then gradually whisk in milk. Add salt and pepper. Lower heat and continue whisking until thickened. For a thinner sauce add more milk. Place steak on bun and top with gravy if desired. I put mayo and ketchup on bun and served the gravy on the side.

Overall this is a fun cookbook with a lot of appeal. I'd highly recommend! I only got through the C's with the review and I still have one more C sandwich I want to try. An English Chip Buddy. A sandwich of fries..how can you go wrong with that? Check it out when it goes on sale on April 5th at Amazon and I'm sure other fine bookstores.

I'm joining in over at Little Red House today for Mosaic Monday. Check it out HERE.

Flashback Friday ~Tulips are on the way

I'm doing a quick flash back to this photo taken in 2008 of an area north of Seattle, Skagit County that grows a ton of bulbs. It a flower photographers dream :-)



The bigger daffodils are beginning to bloom in my yard now, so the tulips shouldn't be too far behind! I'm also showing a picture today from what I was going on in my kitchen in March of 2008. I was experimenting with these neat painted cookies. Its easy to do...just ice your favorite sturdy sugar cookie with an thin icing that dries hard then then paint directly on icing with food coloring - full strength or slightly diluted. Plus now they have those food color pens that work too!



If you have a flashback of any kind that you'd like to share please add your link below!


I'm joining in at Foodie Friday and Sweet Tooth Friday today! Check them out :-)