February 16, 2024

W30: Balsamic Beef Roast and Root Veggies

Posted by teaandscones under Beef/Veal, Carrots, Potatoes, Slow-Cooker, Whole 30, Whole 30 Fast and Easy
1 Comment 

Kayte and I are on W30 again. And cooking from the two cookbooks that we share. The recipe I chose – Balsamic Beef – is from Hartwig’s Fast and Easy. it is a slow cooker recipe and easy to put together. But since I have an instant pot it is even easier. Since I can brown in the pot I only used it instead of two pots. Caramelizing the beef was easy. I browned the potatoes, (I left out the parsnips) onions, and garlic with the beef and then added in the rest of the ingredients to the pot – Balsamic vinegar and Italian seasoning.

I am not a big fan of Balsamic vinegar but it worked with his recipe. It added a deeper quality of flavor. The stew was even better a couple of days later after the flavors had had a chance to blend more.

If you want to try this stew I found it HERE

It’s on Kayte’s list to make. I’ll post her link. Meanwhile, she had the Chinese Chicken and Bok Coy soup which is on my list for next week.

 

February 7, 2024

Whole 30 Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Posted by teaandscones under Bacon, chicken, mushrooms, Soup, Sweet Potato, Whole 30, Whole 30 Fast and Easy
[2] Comments 

I have been back on W30 for a month. I needed to change my diet after the holidays so Kayte and I decided to go back on the program. If you aren’t familiar with the W30 it is a paleo style eating style that ‘outlaws’ grains (bread, pasta, rice, etc), sugar, dairy (milk, butter, yogurt, cream etc.), legumes (peas, beans, peanuts, chickpeas, etc) in favor of leafy veggies, meat, chicken ghee, etc. It is not hard, as Melissa Hartwig (the ‘inventor’) says but it is a big change if you are used to cheese, yogurt, humus, sandwiches, etc. And I was. 

After a month I was feeling better. My restless legs were under control. And I was sleeping better.

So I have decided to keep going with the style even if I’m not 100%. To that end Kayte and I are trying out some new recipes. LIke this Chicken and Mushroom Soup for Hartwig’s W30 Fast and Easy. (p 189)

Simple ingredients: chicken, sweet potato, ‘shrooms, compliant bacon, onion, garlic, and chicken broth. Seasoned with thyme, red pepper flakes and salt only. I think it needed more salt and maybe a little something else I cannot put my finger on. Maybe more garlic. It lacked ‘umph’!

But it was good. It will be my lunch for this week. 

Kayte made the Chinese Chicken and Bok Choy soup from Hartwig’s The W30 Cookbook. (p 122) which is a NomNom Paleo recipe. Next time we cook ‘together’ (she is in Indiana and I’m in Louisiana) we will switch soups.

 

January 9, 2024

TWD: Chunky Lemon Cornmeal Cake

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[5] Comments 

My husband loves lemon cake. Lemon pie. Unfortunately for him I don’t bake as much as I used to. Which is good for me because I don’t have any willpower when it comes to baked goods. I stared baking with TWD in 2009. We baked every week and I gained 20 pounds. I don’t want to be there again so unless I know it is something my husband will eat or I have an outlet for the outcome I don’t bake.

I knew he would eat this cake so I baked it for him. 

This cake went together very quickly – once you had zested and chopped up the lemon. THAT took time but according to the taster in the house it was worth it. I did try one tiny bite just to taste. (No sugar or grain for Whole 30.) I was lemony!

The TWD bakers had two choices this week – Chunky Lemon Cornmeal Cake or Spinach-Mozzarella Pie with Parm Crumble. Check out how they liked them.

 

November 14, 2023

TWD: Pecan-Cranberry Loaf

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[5] Comments 

What could be better than pecans and cranberries in an orange flavored cake? And it is the perfect season for it. This was so easy to put together, as usual with most of Dorie’s recipes. Eggs, flour, etc. And coriander for a little kick.

I tried a small slice and froze the rest for church treat Sunday.

It is pretty tasty. I slight favor of orange. A kick with the coriander. The crunch of the pecans. The sweetness of the dried cranberries. (Which is all I had at the time.)

I would definitely make it again.

You can find more cake at Tuesday’s with Dorie.

 

November 10, 2023

Cook the Books: Herb Butter Chicken

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[7] Comments 

We eat a lot of chicken. A LOT!! And I am always looking for new ways to cook it. Roasting a chicken is easy. Season it. Throw it in a pot. Toss it into the oven. Easy. The hard part is getting the season just right. Unless you can get the seasoning to soak into to meat you end up with tasteless meat. Dorie schmushes herb butter under the skin and massages it into the meat, This does help with the flavor. So does filling cavity with herbs and lemon. But there is one more thing you must think about – the chicken it self. I did not. I did not buy a ‘good’ chicken so my dish was not very tasteful.

I did put the bread under the chicken and it was very tasty. I also added a few small potatoes around the chicken and they soaked up lots of flavor.
When I make this again i will use a better chicken.

More? Visit Cook the Books Friday to see how other cooks liked this chicken.

 

October 10, 2023

ED: Last-of-the-Bunch Banana Bundt

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[3] Comments 

I have decided to go back and bake/cook some of the recipes I missed in Cook the Books Friday. They have been baking and cooking from Dorie Greenspan’s Everyday Dorie for several years. I’ve missed some, baked some, cooked some. I won’t do every recipe but a few here and there.

For this ‘rewind’ I made the banana bundt. And I have to say it is one of the best cakes/bundts I have every made. There is so much flavor in this bundt. The coconut comes through even though there isn’t a lot in the cake. I used frozen bananas and they were full of flavor.

The recipe called for chocolate. I had some but only some hazelnut flavored. So I used that but left out the nutmeg because I wasn’t sure how well the two flavors would blend together.

The recipe is on page 251 of Dorie’s Everyday Dorie. And since it has been a while since this was baked (May 2020) by the group you can also find the recipe HERE.

You really need to make this cake. Find out how the other bakers liked it HERE.

 

October 10, 2023

TWD: The Everything Cake

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[6] Comments 

Today is Tuesday. That means Tuesdays with Dorie is celebrated today. And we celebrated with The Everything Cake. Why Everything cake? Because, as Dorie said, you can flavor it with anything and it will be welcome. I decided to use oranges with mine.

It was a good choice. There is nothing fresher than the taste of citrus. And this was no different. It was moist. It was a little chewy (as Dorie mentioned). And it was quite tasty. I had a tiny slice and B ate the rest.

I chose NOT to sprinkle with powdered sugar but just leave it plain and let the flavors shine through. It would also have been good with some citrus flavored whipped cream or a little ice cream.

Want more? Visit The Doristas at Tuesdays with Dorie to see what variations they made.

 

October 6, 2023

Flounder (Catfish) Meunier

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[4] Comments 

This week the recipe for Cook the Book Fridays is Flounder Meuniere with Onion-Walnut Relish. And it was quite tasty.

I did make a couple of changes simply because I couldn’t find an ingredient or two. First of all I used a nice catfish fillet instead of the flounder. Flounder just isn’t available in my little town but we have a catfish pond and always have some fillets in the freezer. Catfish has a mild flavor so I knew it would work with this dish. The other change was with the onions. I am not a fan of raw onions so I sauteed the onions before adding in the roasted walnuts pecans and fresh bread crumbs. It added a much fuller flavor to the complete dish.

I honestly didn’t know if I would like this or not. Not to worry – it was delicious.

The recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s Everyday Dorie. (page 188)

Visit Cook the Books Friday for more fish from some GREAT cooks!

 

September 29, 2023

Tuesdays with Dorie: Szarlotka.

Posted by teaandscones under Uncategorized
[5] Comments 

It has been a long hot summer And I have done very very little baking. I just did not want to heat up my kitchen when we had 20+ days of 100 ° + temperatures. It has cooled off a little and Kate has convinced me I need to start baking again and bogging. So this week I made the Szarlotka from Dorie’s Baking with Dorie. What is a Szarlotka you ask. It is a polish apple pie. Made in a Springform pan it is very deep and very full of apple slices. The crust is not your typical pie crust. It is similar to a graham cracker crust but with flour. A little crumbly. A little flakey. A lot tasty. The apples are tossed in brown sugar and flour. The recipe called for raisins but we are not fans so I used dried cranberries instead.

This is a HUGE pie but it didn’t last long. Delicious with vanilla ice cream. Even better with sea salt caramel ice cream.

You should make this! Find the recipe in Baking with Dorie. (PG 254).

Lots of wonderful bakers from Tuesdays with Dorie made this. You should check them out.

After church this was all that was left. The Man was sad.

I have missed blogging.

 

November 11, 2022

CYBF: Clam Chowder

Posted by teaandscones under clams, Cook the Books Friday, Dorie Greenspan, Everyday Dorie, Seafood, Soup
[5] Comments 

It has been unseasonably warm (80s) here. Even for the deep south. So soup has not been on my mind. But it’s cooling off now, finally, again, and Dorie’s Clam Chowder seemed to be a good idea. I have never made, and have not had in years, Clam Chowder but I remember having some in Maine as a teenager and loving it.

Dorie’s version is a little bit New England version and a little it Thai with the addition of lemongrass, jalapeno, ginger and kaffir lime leaf. While I would have loved the Thai version I know The Man would not so I went with the traditional version.

The clam chowder was very good. I didn’t quite enough salt. Next time While I didn’t have any oyster crackers regular saltines were fine. With cornbread.

The recipe Clam Chowder my Way is from Dorie Greenspan’s Everyday Dorie: The way I cook. (pg 69)

More Clam Chowder is on the Cook the Books Friday webpage.

Care to join in? Purchase Dorie’s book. Cook/bake and add your link to the webpage. Easy Peasy!

 

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