Jalapenos coming out my ears!

Suffice it to say that one jalapeno plant always gives me far more of those little green gems than I ever need in a summer.  I offer them to everyone but no one ever takes more than one for a batch of salsa. My unsuspecting neighbor asked for one today but received five or six.  She is going to a family reunion this weekend by Lake Superior so they need to keep warm in the unusually chilly August we are experiencing.  I have made several different versions of jalapeno poppers over the years but feeling a bit lazy I decided to make a popper dip instead.  In my opinion, this dip is not as good as real poppers and it doesn't use nearly enough of my peppers!  It is very good if you are looking for a much easier alternative.  My peppers are not nearly as hot as I have had in past years when gloves were an absolute requirement and choking and coughing from the fumes nearly doubled me over on the kitchen floor!  That being said, the only change I would make to the recipe would be to add more seeds since we expected a little more fire in the mouth with our popper dip.

Jalapeno Popper Dip


2-8 ounce packages cream cheese(reduced fat is what I used)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 large chopped jalapeno peppers(seeds to suit your fire level)
***I threw in 1/2 chopped Anaheim pepper since I had one to use***
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese(or cheddar, co-jack)


1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter, melted

6 slices cooked and crumbled bacon(optional)

 

 

 

 

Place first 5 ingredients in food processor and process until combined.  Place this mixture in slightly greased 2 quart baking dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 Another time saving and easy clean-up trick is to make your bacon in the oven.  Foil line a cookie sheet and place bacon in a cold oven, heat to 375 degrees and bake for around 15-17 minutes.  Why make it any other way, really?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Combine crumbs, cheese and butter until well blended and spread evenly on top of cheese layer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned, remove from oven and toss bacon on top if you are using it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve with tortilla chips, baguette slices or crackers.  It is equally good the next day when it is cold.

 

 

 

Put the Lime in the Coconut Granola

On one of our recent regular Saturday morning walks to downtown we decided to go into a few stores that we don't normally go in but I often comment that we should.    I think the Galena Garlic Company has been in town for three years so it was about time I darkened their door.  We received a nice tour of the store and taste tested a few oils, vinegars and seasonings but didn't buy anything since my plan did not include carrying bottles of oil for two miles back home.  We did return later in the day and after I was offered a taste of the coconut balsamic oil and the lime olive oil mixed together I decided it tasted like summer and I needed to get it.  I made a good basic oil and vinegar salad dressing for a lettuce and avocado tossed salad that night but wondered what else I could do with it.  I needed a granola jar refill but didn't really think there would be a recipe using the oil and vinegar!  I was pretty surprised that there was a recipe and I was even more surprised I even thought of looking for one. The same basic recipe showed up on a variety of olive oil websites which makes me wonder, are all these oils exactly the same and sold under different names?  Probably. This is a great granola recipe if you are looking for one without refined sugar.  I really liked this recipe so next time I am trying it with raspberry balsamic vinegar and walnut oil. Granola really is my addiction...

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries, cherries or blueberries(I think dried tropical fruit would be good in this recipe)
• 1 cup sliced almonds(I think cashews would be good)
• 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut(I used sweetened :)
• 1/2 cup  Lime Olive Oil
• 2/3 cup Coconut White Balsamic, gently reduced by half and cooled or 1/3 cup honey
• How to reduce balsamic vinegar

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil and balsamic reduction or honey until thoroughly combined.  In a large bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients except the cranberries.  Pour the olive oil balsamic mixture over the oats and mix very well until all the oats and dry ingredients are completely coated with the mixture.  Spread the granola out on to a baking sheet covered in parchment and bake for approximately 1 hour until golden brown and fragrant, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool completely and then mix in the dried cranberries.  Store in a sealed container for up to one month.

Adapted from Oliana Oil recipe for Cranberry, Coconut, Cashew Granola with Lime Oil and Coconut

Beth's Best Granola

A friend has been requesting my tried and true granola recipe for about three months so I am finally getting around to fulfilling her request.  She has been using my Beth's Burnt Granola recipe with success and she says she has given a lot of it away to other people.  She is a wonderful homemade baked goods gift giver!  I was the recipient of her wonderful homemade biscotti and breads lovingly given as 'Front Door Deliveries' for many months during my recovery process last year.  If my memory serves me correctly I told her after one such delivery that I was pretty sure I loved her biscotti more than the Good Husband!  I need to tackle making biscotti again.  I made it once but it was not as good as hers.  Back to granola...  The burned granola recipe is actually good as long as you check on it while it is baking in the oven!  I was just mad I burned it so have not used it again. Using the following recipe all the time doesn't really get boring because I always change up the kind of nuts and fruit.  The batch shown has the mixed blueberries and cherries.  You can use golden raisins, dried cranberries, dates, or tropical fruits.  I tend to sprinkle in chia seeds and wheat bran because I always have it on hand.  I use almonds, walnuts, pecans and occasionally sunflower seeds.  I often forget the cinnamon but I think the Good Husband likes it better when I remember it.  I usually eat granola for breakfast but I think I might make this sometime with cashews and chocolate chips for a snacking granola.  That one wouldn't even last the whole week.

 

Next granola posting is a little different from the ordinary but I loved it......stay tuned!  "Put the lime in the coconut..."  

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup rough chopped walnuts 
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon(optional)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Combine the oats, nuts, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 parchment covered cookie sheets with rims. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve a nice toasty color.
Remove from oven and transfer back into your large bowl. Add raisins and mix.

Mine never lasts for more than a week but I think it would stay fresh for longer than that.

Growing Snowballs

The only thing growing in my yard at this time of year is a snowball!

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I would spread a little spring fever with these beautiful dahlia photos.

 

 

 

 

 

These were flourishing in the chill October air on a recent trip to Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

We jumped on a Big Pink Hop on Hop off Bus in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  A portion of the proceeds from these tours is donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.  As they say in their brochure, "never enough PINK until there is a cure"!  I would have to agree.

 

 

 

 

 

We jumped off at the Halifax Public Gardens on Spring Garden Road not knowing quite what to expect.

 

 

 

 

 

Just seeing the beds of dahlias exceeded my expectations! There is so much more to the garden that I will be sure to revisit it on this blog on another day.  It was truly a surprise to see such a lovely city garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

The flowers were still dripping with raindrops from a morning rain shower which made them twinkle in the clearing morning sky.

 

 

 

 

 

I cannot profess to be very knowledgeable about dahlias so I could only marvel at their beauty, their size (some of them the size of a dinner plate) and their diversity of color and shape.  I vowed then that I need to learn a little more about them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since spring doesn't seem to be coming to my yard soon enough I hope you enjoyed a vision of what is to come....at least in Halifax!

A Sister's Love

"Bless you, my darling, and remember you are always in the heart - oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape - of your sister."  ~Katherine Mansfield

It seems fitting that I get to see my sisters this weekend, however, it may just be one if the other sees the arrival of a new grandbaby.  A year ago they were the ones coming to see me.....to feed me, to clean for me, to cheer me, to knit for me, to be sisters.   I couldn't help but think of them when I was putting my winter decorations away and pulling out the birds, nests and eggs that I decorate with as spring approaches.  My sisters did that for me last year as I was dealing with my first round of chemo and another painful procedure.  You can ask your sisters to do things that your mom would do for you.  You can let your sisters clean your bathroom, wash your floors, change your sheets and leave three batches of bars in your freezer. They are like having a mom when you no longer have one. Even though they are the two busiest people I know and they could have been using the precious time at their own homes, it was such a joy and relief to have them here.  I would do it for them, I would do anything for them if it was needed.  Taking them for granted is something I have to stop doing...I do not see them enough, I do not call them enough, and I definitely don't let them know I love them enough.

My sisters, including one that lives far away on the east coast, cheered me up and held me up all through my difficult days.  Cards, messages, calls, and flowers arrived.   I got everything from bright pink knit slippers in the beginning to pink wine to celebrate when "the end" arrived.  There was a new little white stuffed Scotty dog.  It was an adult version of a larger one I still have that saw me through a tough childhood hospitalization for spinal meningitis.  These are the things that a sister remembers and knows will help you again and make you smile.  One sister knit a hat for when I lost my hair and another sent me a great brimmed hat for the sun.  I know it wasn't 'the things' that mattered but the love I felt when I received them.  I felt so much love and I knew they in turn felt my pain.  I didn't want them to feel it but I know that is how a sister is.  We sometimes forget in good times to stay connected but we certainly know how to pull together in the tough ones.  The anticipation of seeing a sister is not unlike the joy of anticipating Spring.  It brings the same kind of warmth of light and life to my heart. 

"Sisters are different flowers from the same garden." ~author unknown

 

This Spring, during tulip time, take a stroll through the gardens at Cantigny Park.....take your sisters.