Twice Baked

When life hands you a flopped popped Paska,

make Bread Pudding....

I just found out that I need a LOT more 

practice when making Paska.

I blame the fact that I'm trying to adopt

this delicious Easter bread into my

Swiss German Mennonite tradition....

not to mention my lack of practice.

This is what happens

when you try to get fancy and

bake it in tin soup cans.

A bit too much dough in each

can and letting it rise too much,

do ya think??
The top of one popped right off
in the oven!
The other two sort of withered
after pulling them from their cans.

Maybe it can be rescued

into a bread pudding?

After all it had a nice 

"crumb" as they say, and it 

smelled absolutely 

wonderful - just wasn't

pretty.

I decided to use a basic bread pudding recipe,

throw in some frozen raspberries 

and make it for Sunday Supper!

Basic Bread Pudding:
6 slices day-old bread (or flopped Paska) cubed
into a buttered 8 X 8 baking dish.
2 Tbsp. melted butter sprinkled on top.
Mix together and pour over top:
4 Eggs beaten with 2 Cups Milk,
3/4 Cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and
1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Add raisins, some frozen fruit or thinly sliced apples
if desired.
Push down with a fork till the bread is moistened.
Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or
until top springs back when lightly tapped.

Back to the baking of the Paska...

Thankfully I had only made a half batch.

So I had half an orange and

half a lemon that were just waiting

to be used.

Why not - so I started over, determined to

do it properly this time and use

more traditional containers.

Success,
not perfection, but much better this time!!!

To be successful at making the perfect Paska,
one needs to

follow the experienced tutorial of

Lovella from

The Mennonite Girls Can Cook cookbook

(page 132-133)
or on their amazing blog

and not try to get too fancy before you've got some experience!

It's all good!!!!!
I now have some delicious bread pudding
for supper and
some wonderful looking Easter Paska in the freezer.

Besides doing some baking and such in preparation
for Easter - I'm trying to prepare my heart too
for this most special time of year!

Till next time - what special preparations are you making for Easter this year? Is March going out like a lamb where you are?

Cooking School

Last week the Farmer and I

had the privilege of attending a local

Cooking School - Relish Cooking Studio

 for a work related

fun evening with some of his corporate colleagues.

The Italian menu included:

Insalata Caprese

Spaghetti with Zucchini

Veal Saltimbocca

Sautéed Sweet Peppers

Sicilian Cannoli

This was a "hands on" class and we all

took part in the prep and cooking of the food.

We ate heartily after each

course was prepared!

The tasty salad on a bed of
Arugula
was finished 

with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

and a drizzle of an award winning

Olive Oil - Otto EVO

The sweet tomatoes are grown in

a local green house.

Next we enjoyed the 

Pasta Course!

The spaghetti was a tasty

Basil spaghetti cooked to perfection,

topped with lightly fried

zucchini slices,

Fine Sea Salt,

grated Parmesan Cheese,

torn basil leaves, butter

and lemon wedges.

I may never use tomato sauce

on my spaghetti ever again!

It was that good.

Veal Saltimbocca was new to me

and this was the dish that 

we helped make. The veal was

pounded into thin rectangles,

topped with a slice of prosciutto,

some sage leaves, and shaved Parmesan cheese!

We then rolled each one up tightly and 

secured it with a toothpick.

The veal was sautéed in oil and butter

and the pan deglazed with Marsala Wine and

lemon juice. Oh, the wonderful flavour!

Not to be outdone was a side dish of sautéed 

peppers drizzled with sugar and cider vinegar

for an extra special taste.

The dessert was cannoli shells

stuffed with a lemony ricotta cheese

filling and dipped into chocolate

chipits - need I say more....

To top off this fantastic meal

we were served a small glass of Limoncello

which was handmade by the chefs.

This is a menu that we will be making again and again,

especially now that I have the farmer trained to pound out

the veal and roll up the Saltimbocca - in fact

we made it today for Sunday Dinner.

We substituted the Cannoli with some

left-over Pecan Pie.

Not only that, we decided to make our
own Limoncello - Ellen take note!
It will be ready sometime in
May - just in time for Summa'
I'll let you know how it turns out.

What a great idea for a Corporate Event.

Thanks go out to Jennifer and Brad
and the Relish Cooking Studio Chefs!!

Till next time ................ enjoy this first week of Springtime wherever you may be!

Soaked Note Cards

My first ever Link

to Vee's Note Card Party.

'Tis!

I'm using an Irish theme for March

reminiscing about our 2012 trip
to this beautiful Emerald Island.

These pictures were recreated/soaked
with my Waterlogue IPhone App.

Vee's March Note Card Party.......

(Be sure to click on the above link to see all the wonderful Note Cards in the Party)

Liffy River Bridge in Dublin

Beautiful Galway Bay

Slea Head Coast near Dingle

Breathtaking Cliffs of Moher

Box Top Collage with Irish Blessing from
 http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2012/02/26/irish-blessing-subway-art.html

Till next time ........ hoping everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

Pannakuakku

Pannakuakku
(I don't know how to pronounce this)

A busy Saturday ahead, 

while putting away the groceries,

the fridge needing to be reorganized and cleaned,

and no room for the beautiful bag of apples

I had just purchased at our local Martin's Apple Farm,

I made the decision to set them in the back deck room

for now!

Oops.....I should have know the temperatures

were going to dip down way below freezing once again

this Spring (did I say Spring????)

Where is Spring?

Back to the apples......I remembered what I had done on

Sunday morning and yes, they were slightly frozen.

What to do?

Then I thought of a delicious

recipe that Vee shared on her

fabulous blog called A Haven for Vee
It's the Finnish version of a Dutch Baby (I think).

I could make this and top it with

some delicious sautéed apples.....right?

It was yummy - but definitely a recipe for four

people! Next time I will half the recipe.
An addition, Vanilla Yogurt or Whipped Cream would
have made it even better.

You've got to try this.

It's wonderful to watch as it bakes and

transforms into a giant fluffy soufflé like pancake.

Well, that took care of 3 apples,
9 more to go.

Recipe for the Pannakuakku:

4 Tbsp. butter

4 eggs

1 Cup Flour

1 Cup Milk

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla and

A sprinkle of cinnamon

Melt the butter in a 8 X 11 baking pan. Mix together the eggs,

flour, milk, salt and vanilla and pour onto the melted butter.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 450F for 20 minutes.

Make sure to visit Vee's blog
and read her comical description of this recipe ......

Till next time ........... be mindful of where to store your apples this time of year!

Pot 'o Gold

Yukon Gold spuds it tis!!

St. Patty's Day is just a few days away,

thus a "crock" of golden leek and potato soup!

We love this soup.

It's easy to make - no real recipe but

this is how I make it.....

Leek and Potato Soup

2-3 leeks - trimmed and cleaned thoroughly.  Leeks are grown in sandy soil and need to be washed well. Just use the white and pale green parts. Chop them quite fine.

6 or soYukon Gold potatoes - chopped

2 carrots - chopped

1/2 sweet onion - chopped

2 stalks carrots - chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. thyme

4 Cups chicken stock

3 Tbsp. butter

1 Cup cubed cooked ham (optional)

Parsley for garnish

Melt butter in a large pot. Add the leeks, onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt, pepper and thyme and sweat the veggies till softened. Pour in the chicken broth and add the chopped potatoes. Simmer till the potatoes and vegetables are soft and tender. Taste test for seasoning. Put some of the soup into the blender or use a hand blender to blend the soup slightly - leaving some chunks of potatoes and vegetables. Add in the cubed ham if using. Garnish with parsley and enjoy with some fresh baked bread or biscuits!

Now I should head off to bake me some

Irish Soda Bread....

to go with that soup!

Top 'o the Mornin' to ya!

Have a fabulous St. Patrick's Day Weekend

Pure Gold Memories of Ireland 2011
that have been transformed with my Waterlogue app!

Till next time - eat something green and/or Irish this weekend if you can ....

What I learned on Google - Oven Bacon

I have a glass top stove

and I've never liked it!!!

That's another story.

The worst part is that it is shiny black

and every speck or fingerprint shows.....

Having said that,

I don't make bacon very often

mostly because it's so messy.

So I googled how to make bacon without the mess

and, as Jeff Hutchison on Canada A.M. says,

"this is what I learned on the Internet today"

I'm calling it WILOG

(What I Learned on Google)

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/breakfastcookery/ht/bacon.htm

Place the uncooked bacon

on a foil lined pan and 

set it into a cold oven.

Turn the oven to 400F,

set the timer for 17 minutes and

go ahead preparing the rest of 

breakfast!

(it may take a few minutes longer depending

on the thickness of the bacon slices)

Voila - it stayed flat and oh so

fragrant and delicious!

No splatter to clean up

and the stove top was

free to fry the eggs etc.

I realize that this isn't Rocket Science
and that you probably already knew how to do this
but for me it was WILOG today...

Now the trick is to learn

not to eat too much on a Saturday morning!

Thanks - Google!

Till next time ........ do you have a glass top stove and do you like/dislike it???

Feeling So Sew

I love to piece quilts

when I have time,

or when I take a class!

Needless to say - I don't get too many done.

As of now I have at least four tops sewn

but, alas, have not attempted the quilting part.

I do have my Mom's quilt stands that were

made for her by my Grandpa Gerber

so there really isn't an excuse - sigh!

On Saturday I dusted off my sewing machine,
and went to a quilt piecing class.

The pattern is called "Magic Tiles".

There were four of us "students" in the class

and each one had chosen the most interesting

fabric combinations...

One was a Grandmother who's Grandson

picked out the striking blue and green combinations for
his quilt to be,

a young mom who chose
the beautiful batik fabrics
to make a charming quilt
for her daughters "big girl bed",

and a young woman who was making an

ambitious queen size black, red, and white quilt.

We got all the pieces cut and were able

to get one block finished before it was time

to wrap it up.

What fun ...... a whole day of creating!

Today I stayed home from work with one of the worst

head colds I've had in years - so out came the quilt blocks,

the kleenex box, the hot tea,

and it all seemed to go quite well - could be because

of the drugs I'm on!?

Just the borders to go and then

it's ready to quilt.......

Now if I could just kick this fever, runny nose, and cough.....

A warm quilt to wrap up in would sure feel good.

Till next time ......... what are you creating these cold wintery days?

German Pancakes

Shrove Tuesday
(the last day before Lent begins)
is just around the corner

and I've been craving pancakes!!!

Years ago I purchased a crepe pan while

vacationing in Quebec City 

but had never actually used it.

So I thought I'd pull it out

and make these

easy peasy German Pancakes,

a recipe I received from

a dear lady in Manitoba!
Wish I could remember her name.

Our daughter was in the

Ontario Mennonite Children's Choir
at the time (20 some years ago)

and I was privileged to tag along

as a chaperone

on their trip to the Winnipeg area!

We had such fun and stayed with

such lovely folks who graciously hosted

the choir members.

We were so delighted to be served

these delicious treats for breakfast

one morning and I was gifted the recipe:

German Pancakes

These were served with strawberries and whipped cream and so delicious!!!!!  Typically these were made for supper and sometimes filled with meats and cheese.

1 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
2 Cups milk
Whip with a whisk.  This is a double recipe and you must use lots of real butter for each pancake you make! J. That's what our hostess told me.....and she was right! Butter always makes it better.
Flip pancake with two forks (I couldn't get the hang of this so I used a good old spatula) when it looks crispy and bubbly on the edges. Then let it cook on the other side just a wee bit longer. Roll the crepes and serve with syrup or dip into lemon juice and then cinnamon sugar.
Another way to enjoy them is rolled up with cottage cheese and fruit or whatever you like.

My favourite way to eat these is simply with lemon juice and a sprinkle of icing sugar.

Do you eat pancakes, crepes, etc. for

Shrove Tuesday?

What are your favourite pancakes?

Till next time ....... keeping the crepe pan on top of the frying pans pile for now!

Savoury Kringle Bread

It's cold outside,

a warm soup kind of day,

 the Olympic Game is on

between Finland and U.S.A.,

the sun is shining - showing all the dirty windows,

the farmer has a nice fire going in the woodstove,

and I have a hankering for baking

some savoury bread!

Have you ever made Kringle bread?

It's an Estonian Bread - fairly easy to master

and looks so pretty.

The most popular versions of

this bread 

are the ones with sweet fillings

but because I'd like to serve this with

soup today - I've decided to make it savoury.

Pesto, Sundried Tomato, Goat Cheese Kringle Bread

Dough:

2 Cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 Cup lukewarm milk

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Envelope (2 1/4 tsp.) dry yeast

1/8 Cup melted butter

1 egg yolk

Mix warm milk and sugar. Sprinkle on the yeast and let stand for 5 min. Add egg yolk, melted butter, flour and salt. Mix and knead till smooth. Let rise till double in bulk - approx. 1 hr.

Preheat the oven to 400F

Filling:

4 tsp. Pesto

3 Tbsp. chopped Sundried Tomato

1/2 clove garlic - crushed

4-5 Tbsp. soft Goat cheese

*or any combination you choose (see below for some options).

Punch down the dough and roll out into a rectangle. Spread with Pesto, sprinkle with tomato, garlic and cheese.

Roll tightly into a cylinder, starting from the long side. Using a sharp knife, spit the cylinder in half lengthwise, leaving the one end attached. 

Twist the two halves together, keeping the open cut layers exposed.

Form into a circle, weaving ends together. Pinch to seal and place in a greased pie plate or on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil halfway to prevent excessive browning.

*Optional Fillings:

1/4 Cup softened butter

2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 garlic clove - minced

3 Tbsp. flaxmeal/ground flaxseed

Sweet Filling Option:

1/4 Cup softened butter

4-5 Tbsp. sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. ground almonds

(I'd like to try this combo sometime!)

Till next time ............ are you watching the Olympics?  Tomorrow is the big game for Canada!!!

Waterblogging

This is my first ever "link" up

blog post.

Rhondi from Rose Colored Glasses

created a "Waterlogue Wednesday"

Party and I've been invited!!!

I noticed Rhondi's beautiful watercolor

"paintings" on one of her recent posts
"The Secret of my Success in Watercolor Painting"

and was so intrigued by

her secret method.

Once I figured out how to download the iPhone App

(with Rhondi's help) I started "painting" to

my heart's content ....

Welcome to my first ever 'waterblog' exhibit:

Elegant Ajijic Cactus

Valentine Breakfast Flowers

Mexican Coffee Break

Brown-eyed girls

Memories of Lake Chapala

This honestly makes me want
to take some real watercolour painting classes!!!!

Be sure to head over to Rhondi's blog

and leave a comment....

Linking is fun!!!!!

A Taste of Mexico

La comida Mexicana es delisiosa!

We enjoyed some wonderful meals

with awesome Amigos

while on our recent holiday 

to Lake Chapala, Mexico.

Osso Bucco 

(Veal Shank) was a great choice.

The Molcajeti

(a sizzling veggie and cheese dish)

was also a

delicious treat!

There were always 

delicious fresh salad choices

and this was my salmon stuffed

pasta meal - yum!

Margo cooked up some of the most wonderful
homemade fare,
like fresh shrimp, tacos,
beef fajitas, bananas Foster,
yummy homemade soups and salads,
just to mention a few.
Her meals were tasty and healthy.
I can't believe I didn't get any photos of them
(guess we were just too fixated on eating up the deliciousness).

Appies for a light luncheon with neighbours.

Barry and Margo's friends

invited us in for some delicious home cooked meals.

We enjoyed an authentic Italian Meal,

prepared by Connie and Wayne 

complete with amazing homemade meat balls

and tomato sauce for the pasta - oh my!
Not to mention the anchovy appetizers and Wayne's
peanut butter brownies!
They were such great hosts and made us feel so welcome!

Henry and Barb (neighbouring snowbirds)
 served us a lovely chicken dinner

with Barb's famous homemade Polish Dill pickles and

yummy beet salad.
We had so much fun, eating, playing cards, and
getting to know each other.

We were SO impressed with the sense of community

in this small Mexican town which is a Winter home 

for so many Canadians - they enjoy getting together,

sharing meals, meeting each other, and becoming 

friends for life!

A recent murder there was a rare
and unfortunate tragedy
This apparently was not a random act
and could have happened anywhere in today's crazy world!

Barbecued Chicken Stand featuring delicious roasted onions and chili peppers too - we did a take-home meal - so good!

This weekend we invited some friends in,

stoked the fire to heat up the room,

put a Mexican blanket on the table,

blended up some margaritas,

and enjoyed a Mexican Fiesta of sorts.

For a few hours, we forgot

about the below freezing temperatures

outside and basked in the memories

of a warm vacation!

Our menu included:

Guacamole - of course

Salsa and Tacos

Chicken Fajitas with all the fixings

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Lettuce Salad with Avacado and Lime dressing

Papaya and Grapes

and lots of conversation and fellowship

These were on the dessert table too ....

Coconut Macaroons - super easy!
3-4 large egg whites
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
5 Cups sweetened shredded coconut
Whip the egg whites with the sugar, vanilla and salt till glossy and foamy.
Stir in the shredded coconut and mix well.
Drop batter in 2 Tbsp. mounds onto parchment lined cookie sheets approx. 1 inch apart - I used my ice cream scoop.
Bake at 325F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool completely and store for up to 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
Can be dipped or drizzled with chocolate if desired.

We had a great evening!

Thanks for coming, Wally and Carolyn,

and braving the cold for a "taste of Mexico" with us!

Beautiful Lake Chapala

Till next time ............ stay cozy and start dreaming of Spring - positive thoughts, positive thoughts!!

HAPPY FAMILY DAY IN ONTARIO TODAY!!!