Grandma's Comfort Food

My paternal grandma, Edna Call Johnson, was a wonderful woman. The last of 10 children, she was born and raised on an Idaho farm. She told me once about how she helped her mom prepare food for the farm hands--how the table would be laden with food when they'd come in for their mid-day meal. She grew to be a great cook under her mother's tutelage, and I loved every meal she made for me.

As time has passed, my taste for foods and recipes has become a bit more modern-- less butter, more olive oil, less meat, more vegetables, fresh herbs instead of dried; but I still find Grandma's recipes irresistible. They are my ultimate comfort foods. Many of them became some of my mother's favorites as well, and we ate them often, even though we only traveled to visit Grandma once a year. Some are required fare at Johnson Thanksgiving dinner-- I don't think that any one of my siblings could consider it a true Thanksgiving without Grandma's recipe for citrus cranberry relish and sage stuffing on the table.

When we would arrive in Idaho Falls for a visit, she would always have a batch of chocolate chip cookies, a boiled raisin cake, and a pot of rice pudding ready for us. After I was married and living in Salt Lake City, Jared and I would travel up to see her every three months or so. I didn't matter that she was nearly 90 at that point-- she still had something freshly made when we arrived, and whatever she hadn't had the energy to do I would help her make after we got there. One visit we laughed ourselves silly because she had accidentally used wheat berries instead of rice in the rice pudding. Just for the record, I don't recommend the substitution.

Besides some wonderful comfort food recipes, Grandma taught me many valuable lessons. The one that stands out to me after telling that last story is that Grandma knew how to laugh and have fun, even when she was laughing at her own mistakes.

I was blessed to have her in my life until she passed away three and a half years ago at the age of 97. She had waited nearly 30 years to be reunited with her sweetheart and I couldn't mourn her passing much because I knew that she was happier there with him and with my dad. But every time I pull out one of Grandma's recipes I blink back a tear because my impulse is to grab the phone, call her, and laugh and talk while I cook.

I've decided to post my favorites of Grandma's recipes in the coming months. I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I have and make your own family memories with them. Food can be so powerful that way.

Today I made Grandma's rice pudding. And it is so good. But I didn't say it was healthy. Comfort food rarely is.

Edna's Rice Pudding

• 1 cup white rice (I use sushi rice)
• 2 cups water
• 2 quarts milk (it's best if you use something other than skim, but use what you have)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 well-beaten eggs
• 1 T. vanilla
  

Place the rice and water in a large stockpot and simmer for 7 minutes. Add the milk and butter and stir to get the rice off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer again and let simmer for one hour with the lid askew. WARNING: I have NEVER made this without it boiling over. Watch the pot carefully to attempt to avoid this, and once it is simmering, turn it way down so that your rice doesn't burn.

After one hour, remove from heat. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Make sure that the eggs are beaten until they are frothy and light yellow-- I use a whisk but you could use beaters for this. Stir it in slowly so as not to scramble the eggs. (Optional: temper the eggs by slowing stirring in one cup of the pudding mixture to the eggs first, then adding them all back into the large pot.)

Serve warm or chilled with a dash of nutmeg. Makes about 8 servings.

Baking Bread

The weather this morning is cool and overcast--perfect for baking bread. I broke down last week and got a few loaves at the Orowheat outlet because it was too hot to bake in the middle of the day and my third trimester has left me too tired in the early morning or late night to contemplate such projects. But none of the inhabitants of this house feel the love with store-bought wheat bread, and it's time to get baking.

Once I get the bread raising, we'll be finishing up our Ancient India chapter. I'm pleased to report that yesterday I finished off Henry's first grade math curriculum, taught one of Kimball's last math lessons, and got a new closet organizer in the new baby's side of the closet. I also found a great deal on pink tulle online for the bed skirts in the girls' room (I'm copying a Pottery Barn Kids design); so I didn't have to leave the house! So I'm making progress on that list.

I posted this recipe a year or so ago, but it stands repeating. By the way, if you don't grind your own WW flour, Trader Joe's is now carrying their own brand of white whole wheat flour for $2.99/ 5lb. bag. A great find at a great price!

Mom's Whole Wheat Bread

• 3 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• scant Tablespoon coarse kosher salt or 1/2 t. fine salt
  
• 6 cups whole wheat flour (I like white wheat flour best, from whole white wheat)

Mix ingredients in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, proof the yeast:

• 3/4 cup very warm water
• 3 Tablespoons yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

When yeast is proofed, add to bread mixture along with:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups white, all-purpose flour

Mix on low or medium to incorporate, then on high for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Turn out into bowl sprayed with cooking spray and allow to rise in a warm place for 25 minutes. Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and separate into four loaves. Shape loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Allow to rise for 25 minutes more.

Bake in 350 oven for 25-30 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and from pans immediately. Rub or brush tops of the loaves with butter. Allow to cool on wire cooling rack. Freeze what you're not going to use today or tomorrow.

Variations: Substitute 1/4 cup of the oil with an equal amount of applesauce. Substitute 1/2 cup flour with equal amount ground flax seed, toasted wheat germ, or leftover oatmeal. Add 1/2 cup sunflower seeds with final 4 cups of flour (my kids don't love this version). Any other variations that my readers can suggest?

Blueberry Muffin Love

I am not a fan of the blueberry. I know it's really good for you and as Kimball observed, can stop time in its tracks, but I just don't love it in my salads or cereal or by the handful. But put a fresh blueberry into a muffin and I'm all in. Monday morning we were having a lazy morning and the kids weren't clamoring for breakfast at 7:00 am, so I pulled some berries out of the fridge and cracked open my Williams-Sonoma Muffins and Quick Breads cookbook. This is a great go-to recipe for blueberry muffins. One batch makes about 16 average sized muffins or 12 muffins with very tall muffin tops, which is my preference.

Blueberry Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup milk (use whole if you have it)
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray standard muffin tins.

In a medium bowl stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In another medium bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, and eggs until smooth. Add liquid to the dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Add the blueberries and stir just until evenly incorporated. Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Eat the moment they won't burn your tongue, with or without butter.

Sweet Things

Would someone in my town PLEASE open a bakery like this one? I discovered it via Nienie's blog and am drooling with envy (and just because everything looks so amazing). Every town needs a great bakery, and I love the look of this one. If my sister and I lived in an alternate universe (in which we weren't married and raising kids) I can see the two of us doing something like this. But having worked in a bakery for years, I know how much work and time it requires to own one, and thus I would not consider such an endeavor as there are other high priorities in my life who might suffer from neglect. These little people would miss me, and I'd miss them. But oh, can't someone else live this little dream for me? I promise to drop in for a cupcake on a weekly basis, even when I'm trying to drop baby pounds!

In other sweet thoughts, is there anything more inviting in spring than strawberry shortcake? I seriously doubt it; (although anything with lemon curd might come in at a close second). I was taking dinner to some friends the other night--the perfect excuse to make a real dessert in the middle of the week--and as I drove past our roadside strawberry stand, I knew what it had to be. Get your berries at the grocery store if you must, but if you can manage to get them on the same day they were picked, this dish will be elevated from delicious to divine.

Here's my favorite recipe (at the moment) for the cake part of this baby. It's a pound cake with a cake mix as the base, so it whips up quickly and perfectly every time. You can put it in mini-bundts like I did, in one big bundt, or even in a couple of 8 inch layers. It calls for sherry (the alcohol cooks out); as we don't drink and I don't really like to keep liquor in the house, even for cooking, I buy cooking sherry in the vinegar section of the supermarket. That way I don't have to worry about a babysitter trying her first alcohol while she's here:). You could probably also use white wine if you have that around instead (which I don't), and if you want a non-alcoholic substitution, you might try orange juice. It would change the flavor, but I'm sure the outcome would be delicious.

Sherry Pound Cake

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup sherry (or substitute)
• 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Butter and flour your pan, or use Pam with Flour to spray them well. Mix all the ingredients well and bake in a 350 oven. How long depends on what kind of pan you use-- a full-sized bundt will take about 50-60 minutes; the minis will take more like 25-30. Let it cool on a rack. In the meantime, slice up those berries and put just a touch of sugar on them and a little lemon zest if you so desire. Put them in the fridge to get soft and juicy. If you take the time to whip the cream yourself, you won't be sorry, but if you must you can buy the can--just don't use "whipped topping", please. That's not real food, you know!

Now, go track down these ingredients and enjoy some with the people you love most. And please think about opening that bakery soon.

Of Love and Romance

Just a quick post to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day.

This month I have been loving the blog 31 Dates in 31 Days. I have been meaning to post about it so that you could follow Tamara's adventures with me, but haven't ever gotten around to it. And then yesterday Good Morning America beat me to the punch and featured her in the 8 o'clock hour.

Here's the deal with her blog: she just turned 31 and is single in NYC. She decided to take on a challenge to go out with 30 different guys, 30 days in a row, and then to take out one of them on a second date on Valentine's Day (the 31st date.) The dates are completely wholesome--in fact, one of the rules is that there is no alcohol consumed. You might just be able to guess her religious affiliation, even though she isn't broadcasting it. What's really fun is that she blogs about each date and you can see that she is looking for the good in each man--giving each one the chance to be her One and Only. She never tears down the guy or complains about it being the worst date she's ever been on--and I think, because of her attitude, she is going to have a hard time choosing one for a second date. She is finding that there are lots of great guys out there, lots of men whom she could click with. I have a favorite, myself. Read about her dates and leave me a comment if you think you can guess whom I like best.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a yummy treat-for-two. If the state of the economy has made you turn to more date-night-at-home weekends (as it has us), try out this delicious dessert that is worthy of any restaurant. In fact, it's copied from a popular restaurant dessert. My SIL, Myrissa, gave us some personal-sized cast iron skillets for Christmas so that we could make our own Pizookies at home.

I made ours with a fabulous oatmeal chocolate chip recipe that I found here. The only change I made to the recipe is that I reversed the chocolates, using chopped bittersweet and milk chocolate chips. The cookies were heavenly, but were even better baked in our cast-iron skillet and served hot with vanilla ice cream. Jared & I split one and it was almost too much. Almost.

It's Turkey Time!

Are you ready for this week? Thanksgiving for a foodie means that I usually spend most of the week preparing for the big day. This year, my sister and mom are in town, so we'll be working together, which makes it much more fun and less work.

My favorite day of our preparation is Wednesday--Pie day. My mother-in-law makes her delectable pumpkin pies and then we Johnson women go to town on the others. The photo to the right is the fruits of our labors last year: an apple, french apple, apple-berry sour cream, toasted pecan, pumpkin cream cheese, and lemon and toasted coconut meringue. My Johnson family (the family I was raised in) are also HUGE boysenberry pie fans. We almost always buy ours at Marie Callendars, but the past couple of years I have been less-than-impressed with the quality. This year, I have bought the berries and we'll be making a couple of berry pies, all the apples that we did last year, and a banana cream. Although the pecan pie is delicious, it is so rich that you can't try several kinds, which means that it gets neglected, so I'll wait and make it at Christmas or next year.

The Johnsons are also traditionalists when it comes to the Thanksgiving meal (as are my in-laws,) so we don't fiddle much with the recipes, except to perhaps add a new side dish here and there or toss in an extra pie. But there absolutely must be a roasted turkey (and most years Jared also deep fries a turkey--mostly so he can have a good excuse to fry everything in the house the next day when they're watching football.) Alli is doing the turkey this year, so Thanksgiving morning will feel downright leisurely around here. We also make a traditional onion-celery-sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, candied yams, a raspberry jello-sour cream salad, and these rolls:
One of the crowning dishes is the citrus-cranberry relish. Sure, it's just a side dish and you generally only eat 1/4 cup or so, but it is so beautiful on the plate, and the sweet and tart of it pairs so well with the turkey. There is nothing better than a leftover turkey sandwich on homemade whole wheat bread with cranberry relish smeared all over it. Yum.


What dish or dishes can you not go without on Thanksgiving?

If you are interested in trying a new recipe at your Thanksgiving table this year, this is a great one. And it can be made on Tuesday or Wednesday, which is always nice. Bon Appetit!

Johnson's Cranberry Relish

• 1 bag fresh cranberries
• 2 red apples
• 2 large oranges
• 1 lemon
• 1-1 1/2 cups sugar
  

Core apples. Zest the citrus and reserve zest for later. Peel oranges and lemon, removing as much of the white pith as possible. Grind cranberries and other fruit together, using an old fashioned CLEAN meat grinder. Or use your food processor, but keep it chunky, not pureed. Add sugar to taste (my mom likes it tart, but my in-laws prefer it sweet). Add citrus zest. Best if made a couple of days ahead, which you want anyway when you’re making Thanksgiving dinner!

Friday Favorites

My dear friend Heidi, has been posting these on her family blog the past few weeks and I decided to steal the idea. I'm always interested in a post idea that is quick!

Please keep in mind that I have a terrible time picking a single favorite of anything. I am both too fickle and too indecisive to stick to one favorite ice cream flavor, song, book, or color. This means that I should be able to post lots of these Friday favorites over the weeks or months to come, because my favorites are vast and somewhat changing.

Anyhow, without further ado, here are a few of my favorites today:

Ice Cream? I don't want it this week unless it is vanilla bean, paired with my current favorite fruit in a pie, cider, turnover, crisp:


Favorite thing to curl up with this weekend (since my other favorite thing to curl up with will be in Tahoe):


As my eyebrows are ridiculously blond, this is my favorite item in my make-up bag (LM brow definer):


Favorite photo I've recently snapped (Isaac on his first birthday, eating a cupcake his aunt Michal made for him):

Favorite blog post I read this week: Suldog's Where I'm From. Read it and be touched and inspired to compose your own. Well done, Suldog!

Favorite thing I made this week: Whole Wheat Banana Bread. I really really adore this recipe and hadn't made it for a while. It is so very yummy. Here's the 4 loaf version (since I have a new/old mixer now). You can cut it in half for two loaves, but I recommend making the larger batch and freezing or giving away what you don't scarf down immediately.

• 5 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups sugar
• 4 cups smashed ripe bananas (about 6-8)
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans, optional (I left them out because I wanted my kids to eat it this time. When I don't want to share with them, I always opt for the pecans.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 Celsius). Spray 4 loaf pans liberally.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Stir and toss together, then set aside.

In your stand mixer (you can also use a hand mixer), combine the butter and sugar and beat well. Beat in the banana, then the eggs. The mixture will look curdled. Stir in the nuts, if using. Add the dry ingredients and mix lightly in mixer or stir in just till blended.

Spread evenly into loaf pans. Bake for about 55 minutes, until a skewer or toothpick comes out clean. Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pans. Try not to eat the entire loaf in one sitting.

What are your favorites this week?

Grilled Pita Bread

The summer that I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Jerusalem, I discovered a new love: fresh pita bread. This was not the kind you buy at Safeway, which is dry, thin, and usually feels like diet food. This was freshly baked, fluffy, and divine. Any time we walked into the old city from our campus on Mount Scopus (just across the Kidron Valley from the old city), we'd be sure to buy a stack of fresh pita. It was delicious on its own, swiped through a dish of hummus, stuffed with falafel, roasted lamb, or fresh nectarines and honey. We were always ecstatic when dinner at the Center included pita and greedily took as much as we could. (It's a good thing we did so much walking there.)

I recently stumbled across a recipe I had for making pita bread. I have not really enjoyed American pita in the 14 years since I experienced the real thing. I vaguely remembered making it once, and promptly decided that it was time to try it again. I already had Tandoori Chicken on my menu for last night and even though it meant a little Indian-Middle Eastern fusion (which doesn't bother me in the least), it sounded like the perfect night for pita.

This recipe calls for baking it in the oven, but with my newly acquired skills for pizza grilling (thanks, Prudy, for taking away my fear and helping me find another food I adore), I knew I could grill these babies up in a snap with fluffy, just-like-the-old-city results. I think they are much better this way, so don't use the oven unless there is a monsoon outside.

Pita Bread

• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 T. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 4 tsp. yeast
• 1 1/2 cup ROOM TEMP. water.
• 2 T. melted butter

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a stand mixer. Add water and melted butter and knead with dough hook for 10 minutes. Put in a lubed up bowl and allow to raise for an hour to an hour and a half.

On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 8 equal portions. Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. Roll out into disks that will be between 6 and 8" in diameter. Get your grill ready (scrape it clean and spray it before you fire it up.) Heat it to 400 or 450 degrees. Gently lift as many disks as will comfortably fit (I did four at a time) onto the grill. Put the lid down and wait about 2 minutes. Check to see if they are light to medium brown with grill marks. If they are, flip them over with some tongs. If not, let them cook a bit longer. Put the lid back down and allow them to brown on both sides. Remove from grill and put on your next batch.

Or, if you absolutely must use the oven, get you baking stone or cookie sheet hot in a 450 oven. Spray the stone down with water, then put the disks on it and bake them for about 3 1/2 minutes each.

Last Days of Summer

I'm feeling torn in two directions this week. Or more than two. Part of me wants to play, visit with friends, and take the kids to do fun summer things because school is starting next week. The other part of me wants to lock the kids in the backyard, have everyone live on cold cereal and go without clean laundry while I whip my house into shape and get my lesson plans done through Christmas. This is because I feel like life is going to change next week. It's a lot like the way I feel when I'm about to have a baby--I'm in a frenzy to get everything ready and wish that I could just have one more week, no two more weeks until everything changes and I don't have any time for myself.

The rational side of me can remember that when school starts we will continue to have fun, I will still have time to read, see friends (not often enough), blog, and clean the house--I will just have to be a lot more organized to accomplish this than I have been during the past six weeks when we have mostly stopped doing schoolwork and just lazed around without a routine. (Could this possibly be the reason that my boys are at each other's throats?:)

Anyway, the boys asked me on Tuesday if they could have a "club" party this week. A couple of weeks ago I encouraged them to go outside and play (my usual schtick when I'm trying to get housework done and they are no longer being helpful) and suggested that they turn the "playhouse" that they never use into a "clubhouse." A new club was born which keeps them very busy. When I pay close attention, it does bother me a little bit that it resembles a communist nation with Kimball as the dictator (they say pledges about obey the president and keep lots of secrets), but I try to push that to the back of my mind because they are so happy out there and I have a few minutes to myself to clean blog.

I said yes to a club party, but limited the invitations to one family, since I wanted this to be small scale (translate: practically free and not stressful). They delightedly got busy making invitations for their friends Hayden and Brycen, planning party games and decorations, and telling me all of the food they wanted at the party. (They suggested a fondant cake shaped like a clubhouse-- they have obviously spent too much time around their talented aunt. We compromised on zebra brownies--recipe below-- which take 15 minutes for me to make and included only ingredients I had on hand.) They also served pretzels, grapes, hot dogs, and pink lemonade.

They scurried around this morning when I reminded them that a house needs to be clean when you're going to host a party. They got their bedrooms cleaned in record time and then got busy with crepe paper streamers outside. Here's how it looked when they were finished:


Lucky for me, Mandy (the guest's mom) came along, so we got to chat and catch up while the party kids played trampoline soccer (I'm very safety conscious like that), sidewalk chalk tic-tac-toe, and rode their bikes out in the cul-de-sac.

When the "party" ended, my little hosts were hot and tired and ready for some down time--but before we turned on Annie to relax they learned an important lesson about hosting parties: cleaning up.

If you are in need of some last days of summer treat (or a first days of the school year treat) and are willing to crank up the oven in spite of the heat, try out this recipe for "Zebra Brownies." My boys loved the name, but I love the taste. (Sorry that there's no picture. Mandy and I were so busy chatting that I forgot to take photos. Make them yourself to see what they look like!:)

Zebra Brownies

• Your favorite brownie recipe or your favorite boxed mix
• 8 oz. marscapone, cream cheese, or reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature (but know that the marscapone is the most heavenly of the three.)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup granulated poison sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Make the brownies according to the directions in the recipe or on the box. Pour the mixture into the greased pan. If you want, wash out the bowl. Or just scrape the brownie batter out fairly well and use the bowl again. They are all going to be together in a few minutes anyway.

Mix the marscapone, egg, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy. Spoon large dollops onto the top of the brownie batter. Using a butter knife, swirl the chocolate and cream cheese until it is lovely and stripy or swirly as desired. Bake in 325 oven until a toothpick comes out clean (time depends on your brownie recipe.) Cool completely, then refrigerate for best flavor.

Gingered Mango-Peach Ice Cream

I've spent the past two days with my two amazing sisters-in-law and their kids. (We had a weekend that included daddies as well, but now we're on our own.) My kids have been soaking in cousin time and have been enjoying themselves immensely in spite of being sleep deprived and somewhat prone to sudden shrieks or fits of tears.

When I get a chance to upload some photos, I'll have to tell you all about our adventures with dinosaurs, assorted parks, and scoping out architectural styles in the new community where Lindsee lives.

In the meantime, have a go at a homemade ice cream that we enjoyed tonight. I found a recipe online for mango ice cream, then added a few elements to come up with something we all loved. Here's the recipe as we made it:

Gingered Mango-Peach Ice Cream

• 3 cups very ripe mango, peeled and diced
• 1 cup very ripe peach, peeled and diced
• 2 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups milk (we used lowfat)
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 cup granulated sugar (this is not a repeat)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  
• 1/4 cup diced candied or crystallized ginger, OR 1/8 tsp. powdered ginger

Dice fruits and put in a non-metallic bowl. Add lime juice and 1/2 cup sugar. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Whisk together egg yolks and 1 cup sugar. In a 2 quart sauce pan, heat the milk to scalding. Pour into egg yolk mixture slowly, while whisking. Return to sauce pan and heat about three minutes more, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of the spoon. Do not boil. Strain (if you aren't lazy like I am) and allow to cool to room temp in a bowl.

Add the fruit mixture and the cream to the custard. Add the spices and chill for 2 hours. Churn in an ice cream maker. Try not to eat the entire 1 1/2 quarts all by yourself.

Second Chances and a Recipe

In light of the fact that I have been too busy with mothering lately to blog as much as I would like, I am going to extend the date for submissions to Relishing Motherhood's writing contest. The contest will go through Wednesday, July 16th, and the winner will be announced no later than the following Monday.

I am sure that the reason that only a couple of you have entered is because you have been so swamped with important summertime activities like swimming, vacationing, organizing your house, and reading a book while your kids rot in front of the TV for a few hours. It couldn't possibly be that my readers haven't had any ah-ha moments in motherhood, nor that they aren't clamoring for a copy of my cookbook! I'm sure that it has to be something else. In fact, I am going to sweeten the deal a little (assuming that anyone is interested in this giveaway.) I will send a CD copy of this cookbook to everyone who submits an entry! That means that if you win you get all the glory and accolades, but even if you don't, you'll get a prize for participation. Because let's face it--what I really want is for people to share things that they've learned about motherhood. That way we can learn from each other. (If you don't have a blog, or if your blog is dedicated to something specific like cooking, all things organic, or underwater basket weaving, feel free to submit your essay to me via email--sleepymumATgmailDOTcom-- and I will post it on my own blog for the readers to enjoy.)

Okay, hopefully that is enough of a pep talk. Maybe I just need to accept defeat and move on--but I'm too stubborn to do so at this point.


I thought I'd take a minute to share a recipe with you. One of my favorite things since childhood has been homemade wheat bread. My mom made it for us while we were growing up. I have made it sporadically throughout my mothering years, and have made it twice a week for the past six months (I haven't had to buy any sandwich bread, which has been so great.) I have been playing with the recipe a bit lately to fill it up with healthy things, since my kids will eat bread like there's no tomorrow. So, here's the recipe and I'll include a few options at the bottom.

Rhonda's Whole Wheat Bread

• 3 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• scant Tablespoon kosher salt
• 6 cups whole wheat flour (I like white wheat flour best, from whole white wheat)

Mix ingredients in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, proof the yeast:

• 3/4 cup very warm water
• 3 Tablespoons yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

When yeast is proofed, add to bread mixture along with:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups white, all-purpose flour

Mix on low or medium to incorporate, then on high for 10 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Turn out into bowl sprayed with cooking spray and allow to rise in a warm place for 25 minutes. Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and separate into four loaves. Shape loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Allow to rise for 25 minutes more.

Bake in 350 oven for 25-30 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and from pans immediately. Rub or brush tops of the loaves with butter. Allow to cool on wire cooling rack.

Variations: Substitute 1/4 cup of the oil with an equal amount of applesauce. Substitute 1/2 cup flour with equal amount ground flax seed (my current favorite), toasted wheat germ, or leftover oatmeal. Add 1/2 cup sunflower seeds with final 4 cups of flour (my kids don't love this version).

This bread is perfect for toast, sandwiches, or just with some butter on it. I generally freeze the loaves that I won't use immediately and then defrost them at room temp one at a time as needed. Since it is summer, I generally start this as soon as I wake up in the morning or after I've put the kids to bed, since I don't like to have the oven on in the middle of the day. It takes about 2 hours from start to finish.

Now, go write your entry for the contest!:)

What's Cooking

Here's what is my in my oven right now. Perhaps the last cookies of the season, at least made during daylight hours, as the temperature is rising in these parts. (Sigh.) Not that we need more sweets around here, after the oh-so-amazing strawberry-lemon curd-almond pound cake trifle that hubby made yesterday. But that was so yesterday, and today we need "refreshments" for our Family Home Evening. Plus, this is Teacher Appreciation Week in public school, and that means that we need to send some cookies to Henry's kindergarten teacher. It sounded like a good enough excuse to try out this new recipe. I found it pulled out of a Martha Stewart magazine when I was visiting my mom. Here's the rundown:

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 1 cup (poisonous) white flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (to make you feel better about these cookies)
• 1 t. coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 3/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. (lethal)white sugar
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. ripe mashed banana (see how healthy these are?)
• 1 cup rolled oats (not steel cut, but still approved by your doctor)
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped coarsely (think of all the antioxidants)
  
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (Omega-3s, people!)
  

You know the drill. Mix the dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugars, then add egg, vanilla, and mashed banana. Incorporate dry ingredients, then stir in oats, chocolate, and walnuts.
The recipe calls for baking in a 375 oven for 12-13 minutes, but this was too much in my oven. I recommend a 350 oven for about 12 minutes.
Now go make these almost healthy cookies and have a Family Home Evening tonight, even if you never have before. Your kids will love it and you'll be glad you did. After all, if there is chocolate involved . . .

Let Me Love You With Food

Here's a quick recipe post, at Ice Cream's request. These are absolutely delicious and melt in your mouth. They are essentially a lemon bar with raspberries added, but having a good recipe that gets the shortbread and the custardy filling right is essential. Just don't blame me if you are up a pound or two after eating these hand over fist (Ice Cream, I'm sure that your doctor would approve, since she's soooo nice.)

After tasting these this weekend, Jared's assistant, Alex, suggested that I leave Jared and she and I run away together! I thought it might be easier to share the recipe.

Deluxe Raspberry Lemon Bars

• 1 cup butter
• ½ c. sifted powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ½ cups raspberries
• 4 beaten eggs
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel (I like twice that much. I love zest!)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice (use freshly squeezed unless you are desperate. It will only take one or two large lemons, and it's worth it.)
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• sifted powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. In large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Beat in the 2 c. flour until crumbly. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13x2 inch pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, beat together eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Combine the flour and baking powder and stir into the egg mixture, along with the shredded lemon peel. When crust has baked, sprinkle raspberries over the crust, then pour filling over the top. Arrange berries with a spoon, if needed, to spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes more, until set.

Sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar.

(For big events, I double the recipe and make it in a large jelly roll pan.)

Catching You Up

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, and I haven't had as much time as I'd like to post on my blog or to visit everyone else's blogs. Here is a glimpse at what I've been doing instead of blogging.

The kids and I spent a day researching plants, compost, etc, and mapped out a garden. We have about half of it planted now--tomatoes, bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, leeks, and various herbs. We hope to get the rest of our plants and seeds this next week and get it finished. They have really enjoyed the daily ritual of taking out the bowl of peelings to the compost pile and watering the little plants.

I've been learning (or trying to learn) how to do little girl hair. To be honest, Jared is the better hairdresser around here, but he's not usually around during the week when it's time to do hair. These piggy tails are her first--the boys said she looks just like a bug with antennae!


I also gave Bronwen her first pedicure. Ok, so really it was just her first polish, since I didn't do anything else. She was fascinated and kept wanting to grab the nail polish. And I picked such a pale pink that you can't even tell in the picture. I'm not ready to put lipstick red on her toes yet, even if it is on mine!

We saw Henry receive a Good Citizen Award in kindergarten for the middle trimester. He was very proud, and so were we. In kindergarten this year Henry has been developing his social and leadership skills, and is coming out of his shell. Here he is with his principal.



Henry also recently completed 19 laps at his school Jog-a-thon. The activity has been so popular with our family in the years that my kids have attended public school that I'm thinking about hosting our own next year at Tiger Academy.

I created this cake for Jared's birthday, which turned out to be too rich. I didn't think that was possible--I've never had anything chocolaty before that was too rich. I did four layers of chocolate-chocolate chip pound cake with two layers of whipped ganache filling and one layer of chocolate mousse filling, chocolate ganache frosting, and toffee pieces all around. So either I've finally proved my theory wrong about there being no such thing as too much chocolate, or I've turned a big corner when it comes to food. I was actually sick to my stomach for 36 hours after I at a piece of this--and I didn't even eat the whole piece. After we celebrated with our family, I took the rest of the cake and gave it away.

I've been reading (and enjoying) this book. Sadly, it has taken me a few weeks to finish, since I have had so many other things going on. A good read.

While folding laundry the other night, I caught a bit of "I Can Make You Thin" on TLC. It plays a lot like an infomercial, but I tried out a couple of the techniques and they seem to work. So if you can tolerate the feeling that you are being sold something, you might want to check it out. I'm sure he's doing the show to sell his books, but it's not actually an infomercial. I watched the episode on cravings and found it to be very effective in giving me control over chocolate. Perhaps it has something to do with why Jared's birthday cake made me sick?

Today was Patient Appreciation Day in Jared's office. We do this event twice yearly; existing patients are treated to a free adjustment and 10 minute massage, new patients get an exam and x-ray for free. I do a food spread to keep everyone happy while they are waiting their turn. This time I decided to not go overboard--I generally have ridiculous amounts of leftovers. We ordered sandwiches from Costco, had a veggie platter, lots of fresh fruit, and some homemade desserts. I was so proud of myself for not overdoing it. Then we had our best turnout ever and I had to send someone to Costco at noon for more sandwiches! Still, that is good.

I made Lemon Raspberry Bars,

Mint Brownies,
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies (which you must try if you haven't yet),

and a new twist on my CCP Cookies, with some added 1 c. coconut, 2 c. oatmeal (I reduced the flour by 1 1/2 cups), and 1 c. semi-sweet chips (I reduced the milk chips to 2 cups). Amazingly, although I made all that food this week, I did very little picking at it as I baked. And I was down 2.4 lbs at my Wednesday weigh-in! Yeah! Here's hoping that will be true next week, too.

I do not have a picture of the mountains of laundry that I have done in the past couple of weeks with the stomach flu running rampant through our house yet again (this has not been a good year for that,) and my decision to stop buying pull-ups for some bedwetters in the house. Enough said on that subject. If you are a mother, you feel my pain!

Quick Recipe

We are back in town now. I had a very busy day, but a good homeschooling day, which feels like a big accomplishment when I was also trying to do laundry, get some food in the house (we all shared one orange this morning with our toast at breakfast--pathetic!), and get Kimball to his RDI therapy this afternoon. Anyway, I haven't had much time for blogging, but I thought I'd post a recipe that I tried out with my saffron. It was sooo good. Neves also sent me a recipe for saffron ice cream, which was her favorite way to have the exotic spice while in Morocco. I'll try that one out one of these days and get back to you all with it.
This recipe comes from a Weight Watchers cookbook, Ultimate Flex & Core.

Tandoori Chicken Thighs
serves 4

• 1/2 c. plain fat free yogurt
• 1 T. paprika
• 1 T. minced ginger (fresh)
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

This one is easy, folks! Combine the yogurt, paprika, ginger, garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, and saffron in a large ziploc bag. Add the chicken and refrigerate all day or over night if possible.
Preheat oven to 450. Place chicken on roasting rack over baking sheet. (Spray the roasting rack with spray and put a piece of foil down under it if you don't love scrubbing burned baking sheets!) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken until cooked through, about 25 minutes.

I served this with couscous (which I make with chicken broth, sauteed onion, and 1 tsp. olive oil), stir fried zucchini, and fresh fruit. Oh, and some tandoori bread that I got at Trader Joe's. It was very good, but I somehow forgot to check the nutritional info before purchasing. I had to rip it in half to keep it to 2 points per piece of bread. The chicken is 4 points (depending on how big the thighs are, I suppose.)

It tasted heavenly. Sorry that I don't have a photo to share. Just trust me on this one. Go make it!

100th Post!!

I'm so excited to write my 100th post. Since it has taken me FOREVER to get this post done, I have lots to say. But most of it, I will save for another day, another post. I've been planning on taking you on a walk down memory lane with me for this special post, plus sharing a previously unpublished recipe that you will want to have.

Just in case you don't make it to the end of this very long post, I'm going to make a request of my readers. Just this once, this one time, if you read my post, please leave me a comment! I think it would be so fun to see who is out there reading it, and I know that the majority of people reading this do not comment. You are free to comment under "anonymous" and then write your name in the message section so I know who you are. Pretty please? For me?

In reading other's blogs, I have realized that for the milestone of a 100th post, many bloggers choose a special topic, hold a contest, award prizes, and otherwise celebrate. I thought that I would tell you about a place that was a part of my life in my teenage years, a place where I had my first real job (if you don't count the tele-marketing research job I had briefly when I was 15,) where I made many friends, further developed my discriminating food palate, and picked up a few foodie tips. (The recipe at the end will be the special prize, to all who are willing to try it. You won't be sorry.)

Mason's Community Bakery was already a well known establishment in Uptown Whittier before I went there seeking employment. Before my job there, I knew it as the place my mom got full sheets of orange rolls when family was in town, and the bakery that made the 100 foot long cake for Whittier's centennial celebration. My mom suggested that I look there for a job, since I wanted somewhere that wouldn't require me to work on Sundays and that was the day they were closed. I applied and started working there just before the end of my junior year of high school (spring of 1990, if you must know how old I am). I quickly felt at home with the staff there and soon my best friend, Stephanie, was working there as well. Aren't we cute in our aprons and white collared shirts?
(The staff all referred to the color of our aprons and the decor in the bakery as "Mason Mauve." I still call it that when I run across it!) I worked there throughout my senior year, and then full time the next two summers. Many of the Christmases while I was a college student I would come home in time to work during their crazy holiday rush that came the week before Christmas and I would earn a little holiday cash.

Here's a photo that Mrs. Mason sent me of my family singing in 1990. It's blurry, but since it captured my family doing something we often did, I had to include it. Not sure why we are singing in the bakery (maybe caroling at the Uptown Whittier Christmas Cantata?) It was my dad's dream that we be like the Von Trapps and from my very early childhood we performed together in friends' homes, at church, and other spots (apparently at the bakery!)

My wedding cake came from Mason's Bakery. Their traditional wedding cakes were not only beautiful, but tasted amazing. The flavors weren't the gourmet ones that are popular at the moment--they were all tried and true classics--but once you tasted the cake, you wished you'd taken a bigger piece. Brides came from all over Southern California to get their wedding cake from Mason's Bakery. One summer after I was in college, my younger brother, Martin, was their wedding cake delivery boy. I still cringe to think of how dangerous that was, since Martin is at least as accident prone as I am! Here he is with a cake ready for delivery:
Other favorite memories of my Mason's days include singing to the music in the back (on a good day, it was tuned to a station that sang hits of the 70s, 80s, and 90s,) eating lunch on the flour sacks, cracking jokes with Baker Bob and teasing Walter, the German baker (who many of the staff thought was a grump, but Steph and I knew how to make him smile and share a hot cookie!), watching Lupe split and fill cakes and Sue work the butter into the Danish, watching Mr. Mason decorate wedding cakes, and trying to see who could make Helen smile first. Helen had been with the Mason's for something like 30 years and she pretended to be scary and mean but she was actually sweet and soft and positively wonderful.

A bit of official history: Mason's was owned and operated by Walt and Barbara Mason. It had been in Mrs. Mason's family since 1946, when her father bought Community Bakery in East Los Angeles. In 1954, Walt & Barbara got married and Walt, just home from the Korean War, decided to work for his father in law while he figured out what he wanted to do in terms of college, etc. He found that he was good at it, and in 1965, Walt and Barbara bought the bakery from her parents. In 1985, they sold Community Bakery and opened Mason's Community Bakery in Uptown Whittier, closer to their home. Here is a photo that hung in both bakeries, of their oldest daughter, Teri, on her second birthday.Mason's Bakery was well known for many of their specialties: their chocolate eclairs were incomparable. I've never had anything like them. The custard was absolutely divine. Their traditional stollen was only made at Christmas and people came from all over to get it. Their breakfast danish was sooo good (although watching how much butter got worked into the dough each night was enough to keep will power strong--sometimes!) We also loved their white bread and cheese bread, which somehow tasted more like cake than bread. My favorite (and my family's) cookie out of the entire cookie case was the Dutch Girl. My dad called them Angel Tongues--I don't know why, but that's what they were known as around our house for years.
The Mason's and I have kept in touch over the years, writing letters to one another and often seeing one another when I'm in Whittier for a visit. Here's a photo of Mrs. Mason with Bronwen in May of 2007. I can't find a single picture of Mr. Mason, unfortunately. I'll have to get one. A few years ago, after they had sold the bakery in 2000 and moved into that glorious era known as retirement, they shared the Dutch Girl recipe with me. The bakery, under new ownership struggled, perhaps because others were not willing to sacrifice profit in order to use the highest quality ingredients, or perhaps because they were not willing to put the amazing amount of time required into the business. In any case, it is a loss for the community. I wish I could bop in for an eclair and a visit with the Mason's when I'm in Whittier. Instead, I do often get to visit with them in their home (which is nice) but without the eclairs. Bummer!

I recently asked the Mason's what they missed most about the bakery. Mrs. Mason named many of my favorite foods from there--the pecan rings, orange rolls, individual danish, and eclairs. Mr. Mason said he misses the plain butterhorn danish, but gets a hankering for orange rolls now and again. (Incidentally, the Mason's are very healthy eaters and as much as they miss these things, I am sure that they rarely indulged in them.)

Mrs. Mason also said she misses the people, both employees and patrons. She does not miss the financial pressures, the turnover of employees, or the health department visits!:) Mr. Mason does not miss any part of it!:) He enjoyed making it a success, but it so glad to have time now to do things he loves more, like golfing, playing music, making a guitar, and working in their beautiful garden that he wouldn't dream of going back! They frequently travel to visit their children and grandchildren and old friends.

Anyhow, the closing of the bakery is to the good fortune of my readers, because now I can share the Dutch Girl Recipe with you. It is somewhat labor intensive, but is well worth the work. The delicate pastry cookies are so light and heavenly (I guess that's why my dad dubbed them Angel Tongues.)

Mason's Bakery Dutch Girls

Ingredients (in two stages)

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 T. butter
• 1 egg
• 3 1/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 T. rapid rise yeast

The first step of these cookies is to make a roll dough from the above ingredients. in your mixer, combine 3/4 cup flour, the sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt. Heat milk, water, and butter in the microwave until very warm (around 120-130 degrees.) Add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed, scraping sides of the bowl. Add the egg and mix in, then add remaining flour and mix until well combined. Weigh out 1 1/2 lbs of the roll dough and set aside for the cookies. Use the rest to make a couple of rolls!
Next, Combine the following ingredients in a mixer bowl:

• 3/4 lb. flour (about 2 cups)
• 1 lb. butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 lb margerine (I use butter, since I never buy the M word, and it works fine)
• 1/4 oz salt (about 3/4 tsp.)

Once well mixed, tear off chunks of roll dough and add to the bowl with the dough hook going, mixing lightly after each addition. Once all the dough is incorporated into the butter mixture, form long, thin logs, about 1" in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for easy handling.
Once the dough is firm enough to not be tacky, remove the logs from the fridge one at a time. Put sugar down on your work surface instead of flour. Cut the logs into balls about 1" or so and shape them into little fat sausages.Now put a generous amount of sugar on your work surface and roll them out two or three at a time into long, thin pieces (about 6" x 1.5"), turning frequently in the sugar. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 360 degrees for about 12 minutes. (I like them best when they are just a little bit brown on the edges, when the sugar has really carmelized.)
With the rolls of dough we made, each one made about 20 cookies. I froze several rolls to bake on another day, since these are irresistible, and one batch makes about 200 cookies, which is more than I want in my house at any given time. The day we made these, I took a big plate to an open house and asked the babysitter to finish them off while we were gone! Self preservation--these cookies are heavenly!

Whew. That has got to be my longest post ever. But I couldn' t leave anything out. I probably lost most of you long ago, but if not, don't forget to leave a comment as a special 100th post gift to me! (Yes, it is all about me after all!)