Ah, something logical I can post here. Yay!

The latest Carnival of the Recipes is up at Myopic Zeal.

In other carnivals, there is also Carnival of the Capitalists, with a nifty collegiate theme at The Entrepreneurial Mind, the first ever Carnival of Marketing at Okdork.com, and Carnival of Computing at Business & Technology Reinvention.

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How could I forget? This week's Soup themed CotR is available at PajamaPundits for your happy perusal!

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Next Thursday is my birthday, so I'm going to post the recipe for my very favorite birthday cake. I love Red Velvet Cake, especially with Cream Cheese Frosting, but for some reason it's just not chocolatey to me. Which is good, as I am merely a chocolate "tolerator"...

This particular recipe is super moist and rich and fattening and perfect for a birthday party. I love it! Also the frosting recipe is super light, made with cream cheese and whipped cream.

Red Velvet Cake

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 ounce red food coloring (minimum)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour three round 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
2 In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter with sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add food coloring to mixture.
3 Mix cocoa with flour and add mixture to large bowl alternately with buttermilk, add vanilla and salt.
4 Mix baking soda with vinegar, and gently stir into mixture. Be careful not to over mix.
5 Divide batter into three prepared 8 or 9 inch round pans. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Check for doneness with a clean toothpick inserted in the center of each cake and allow to cool. If you use a different type of pan, timing may be much longer.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature is best)
1 cup confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (make it a heavy teaspoon)
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1 In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2 In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 02:07 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Two tasty eyeball recipes for this weekend's Hallowe'en parties: one sweet, one savory.

Eerie Eyeballs

Yields approximately 9 dozen bite-sized eyeballs

3 oz lemon gelatin (can be sugar-free)
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup pineapple juice
8 oz cream cheese (can be lowfat/Neufchatel)
1 cup mayonnaise (can be fat-free)

Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup water in double boiler, add marshmallows and stir to melt. Remove from heat. Add pineapple juice and cream cheese. Beat until well blended. Cool slightly. Fold in mayo. If you have a truffle candy mold or round ice cube trays, pour the mixture in the molds and leave to set in the fridge. Otherwise pour into a deep ceramic dish and chill until thickened or firm enough for scooping into eyeballs. Using a melonballer, scoop full balls of the mixture and set aside for decoration. To decorate, use liquid food coloring and an old detail paintbrush and get creative. You will need black food coloring for the pupils. Also, if you are in a hurry, instead of painting the colored irises, you can carefully dip the ball in a small pool of food coloring to approximate the iris, but still paint on the pupils. Alternatively, you can use a drop of melted chocolate or black gel frosting for the pupils.

Devil's Eyes
Yields two eyes for each egg you boil.

hardboiled eggs
mustard (can be dijon or other flavored mustards if you like)
mayonnaise
green food coloring
sliced black olives
paprika

To hardboil the eggs, put the eggs in a large saucepan, and fill with water until the eggs are fully covered. Put the full pan on the stove and bring to a boil over meduim heat. As soon as it reaches a rolling boil, remove from heat, still covered, and let stand covered for 20 minutes. As soon as the 20 minutes is up, run cool water over the eggs so they stop cooking. Once cool, refrigerate until ready to use.

Peel the hardboiled eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Gently pop out the yolks into a separate bowl. Once all the yolks are in the same bowl, add some mustard and a little mayonnaise to taste just so the mixture sticks together when mixed. Add food coloring 1-2 drops at a time, mixing in until you've reached the color you want. Blend with a fork, then scoop the yolk mixture back in the hollows of the egg halves. Sprinkle each half with paprika (gives a bloody appearance) and lay one olive slice in the middle or each half as a pupil. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Happy Hallowe'en!

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Hallowe'en is just a week from next Monday, so it's high time to be thinking about all of those yummy treats.

One of my favorite fall recipes is Pumpkin cake, and this recipe makes a bundt cake, perfect for turning into a Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Cake

1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease
one 10 inch bundt or tube pan.
2 Cream oil, beaten eggs, pumpkin and vanilla together.
3 Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, ground nutmeg,
ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt
together. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix
until just combined. If desired, stir in some chopped nuts.
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
4 Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or
until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a
plate and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

To make this cake a "real" pumpkin, skip the confectioners sugar and instead frost with an orange-colored frosting. Shape a stem out of green tinted marzipan or frost a small cupcake green. Or you can shape a stem from twisted green construction paper, just make sure no one eats it! To make the plain pumpkin cake into a jack-o-lantern, use triangle-shaped candies for the eyes, nose, and mouth; attach them to the cake with a little extra frosting. To make an extra large pumpkin cake, bake two Bundt cakes and attach the flat sides together, then frost to resemble a pumpkin!

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This was my very first submission to the Carnival of the Recipes, and in honor of this week's all-pork-all-the-time theme, I thought it was worth rerunning, as it is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE piggy recipe:

"Blasphemous" NC Barbecue (a.k.a. Crock-Pot Piggy)

Time: 8 hours + overnight, largely unattended

Rub:
4 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons ground coriander (or any coriander-containing premade rub that doesn't have a lot of salt)
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
½ tablespoon Cinnamon
½ tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
(makes close to enough for 2 roasts, store in a Ziploc sandwich baggie)

1 pork butt roast, 5 to 6 pounds

1 ½ cups apple cider (unfiltered)

1 small lemon, juiced ( ½ -3/4 cup of juice)

Barbecue sauce (sometimes called Dip):
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (may substitute cayenne, but as written is damn near close to BullockÂ’s sauce)
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Whisk ingredients together in a bowl. Drizzle into meat.
Covered, leftover sauce will keep about 2 months.
Yield: About 2 cups.

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients together in bowl, using a fork to break down hunks of brown sugar. Put Boston butt roast in crock pot, apply spice rub to pork butt with your hands, covering meat entirely one side at a time, turning roast until entirely coated, wiping any spilled rub up from the bottom of the pot and using it to coat subsequent sides of the roast. Roast should end up fat side UP.

2. Add Cider and Lemon Juice to crock pot, being careful not to wash spice rub off of the top of the roast.

3. Cover with lid and cook on high 4 hours. Turn meat. Cook 4 more hours. Turn meat again (if possible) and turn power to low. Leave crockpot on over night.

4. Let cook on low 10-12 hours (including overnight) (meat is done by this time, but the longer it sits, the more fat is melted (improves texture)). Turn off crock pot, and let meat sit, covered, about 45 minutes because otherwise it is TOO HOT to handle.

5. Pour meat and liquid into a LARGE bowl with a colander to separate meat from juice. Be sure to remove the bone(s) at this time.

6. Dump meat and fat bits from colander into another LARGE bowl. “Pull” the meat (shred between 2 large forks) until in bite size shreds.

7. Make up barbecue sauce. Mix in with meat, serve or let stand in refrigerator. Tastes even better later !

Yield: 10 to 12 servings, if youÂ’re lucky.

Originally posted here.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 06:20 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 Now - That's what I call good eating. I have deep respect for Eastern NorthCarolinian Pulled Pork. Nothing but melt in your mouth goodness. We both use the same principle of slow cooking, yielding the same tender effect. However we rely on less sauce, and more of the natural flavor of the meat itself. Just a different take on the same noble beast. Don't know if you have seen the pixs that I posted over at SWWBO, they are of a traditional whole-hog spit roasting. The Pernil recipe, yields basically the same thing except that it is cut down to fit inside any standard sized Range Oven. Good Eatin'!!!

Posted by: Boquisucio at October 16, 2005 10:06 AM (XB+F7)

2 Definitely going into my little box of favorite recipes!! Thank you!

Posted by: Christina at October 16, 2005 01:19 PM (zJsUT)

3 Mmmm-mmm. Gad, that sounds good. I'm gonna have to try this SOON. I gots me a craving, now.

Posted by: Margi at October 16, 2005 10:58 PM (nwEQH)

4 Great recipe -- we made this with a 7 Lb shoulder roast (the smallest we could find) and pigged out (ahem)on several meals of this. So, what do you with the leftovers?! I'm pondering pulled pork and apple tortilla wrap sandwiches, but am desperate for suggestions.

Posted by: cookie at October 26, 2005 04:03 PM (K2IvG)

5 Excellent, excellent recipe...i'm sure the rub will come in handy for other stuff as well! I got a 2lb butt just in case it didn't turn out...oh me of little faith!!!

Posted by: Michael Jackson at December 05, 2005 02:54 PM (H4+04)

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As a non-chocoholic, I love nougatty and vanilla-y candies, and one of my all time favorites is Divinity. Usually you make it for Christmas or in the winter, but you can make it any time of year (although it doesn't come out as well on rainy or humid days) and someone always makes it for my parents' church Bazaar, and as Bazaar time is coming around again soon, I thought I'd share a recipe for this yummy treat.

This particular recipe comes from Paula Deen and makes a harder candy, but they're all about the same.

Mama's Divinity
4 cups sugar
1 cup white corn syrup
3/4 cup cold water
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Stir only until sugar has dissolved. Do not stir after this point. Cook syrup mixture until it reaches 250 degrees F on a candy thermometer, bringing it to a hard ball stage.

While the syrup is cooking, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Once the sugar mixture reaches 250 degrees F, carefully pour a slow steady stream of syrup into the stiffly beaten egg whites, beating constantly at high speed. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until mixture holds its shape, approximately 5 minutes. Stir in pecans or walnuts.

Using 2 spoons, drop the divinity onto waxed paper, using 1 spoon to push the candy off the other. This may take a little practice because the technique is to twirl the pushing spoon, making the candy look like the top of a soft serve ice cream. If the candy becomes too stiff, add a few drops of hot water. You will need to work fast when making this type of candy. After you spoon the cooked sugar and nuts onto the waxed paper, you're done. Cool the candies on racks completely. You can store them in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Alternatively, you can pour this into a foil lined pan that has been Pam sprayed then cut into squares if you are not comfortable spooning it out. This is the way I like it. You can also add food coloring to the mix if you want to make it pretty.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 05:50 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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This is a simple, yummy curry that you can make with just ingredients that most of us keep in the kitchen. A flavorful, healthful change of pace. As written, it's mild enough that most kids will eat it. Of course you can use margarine, lo-fat or skim milk, and lo-fat, lo-salt chicken broth to make this better for you! This recipe increases and decreases easily. More variations found below the directions. Originally found here.

3 tablespoons butter
2 small onion, chopped
2 apples - peeled, cored and
finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon curry powder
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup hot chicken broth
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Saute apple and onion in butter or margarine until
tender. Add curry powder and saute 1 minute more. Add flour
and continue to cook 1 minute longer. Add stock or broth
and milk; stir well.
3 Salt and pepper chicken breasts to taste and lay in a
single layer in a 9x13 inch (or larger) baking dish. Pour
sauce mixture over chicken breasts and bake in preheated
oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until chicken is done.

Serves 4-8 depending on the size of the chicken pieces and who you're feeding. Serve over basmati rice or bulgur (my favorite) or with naan bread (yum!)

Other variations: Use half and half, coconut milk, or yogurt instead of milk, depending on your taste and what's in your pantry. Also, if you're a heavy curry fan, you'll probably want to add more and/or some garam masala to your taste. Also good over turkey breast or pork tenderloin.

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So DH asked for stuffed peppers the other night. Which was weird. I personally believe less is more when it comes to bell peppers, but hey, whatever, it was his first day at work.

So I went looking around the internet and here's what I came up with:
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked white rice
3 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 - 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 jar your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce (~27 oz)
2 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese
________________________________________
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Place green bell peppers in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove peppers from the water and set aside in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown the ground beef; drain. Return to heat and mix in onion, cooked rice, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour in tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Spoon the meat mixture onto each half of the green peppers. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until mixture begins to turn golden brown.
6. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top of each stuffed pepper. Return to the oven and bake until cheese is lightly browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

There will be PLENTY of the meat mixture unless you chose the world's largest peppers to stuff, so feel free to fill them up to the brim

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1 Nah. Easiest ever is to stuff them with corned beef hash and top with cheddar. However, this version looks a bit healthier.

Posted by: B. Durbin at September 12, 2005 07:12 PM (XDml5)

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I have been thinking of my trip to New Orleans. It was for a conference, but I also spent my birthday there during the trip, and I can't help but think of the afternoon of my birthday, and the 45 minutes my friend Heather and I spent at the Cafe du Monde, eating beignets and drinking Iced coffee, talking and laughing and having a wonderful time. It was one of the best times I've ever had on my birthday.

In honor of that day, straight from the Cafe du Monde, Beignets:

1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (shortening, not oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
4 to 4 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
vegetable oil for deep frying (at CdM they use Louisiana Cottonseed Oil)
confectioners' (10X, powdered) sugar (lots and lots and lots!!!!)

Pour the lukewarm water in a shallow bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Allow the yeast to rest for 3 minutes, then mix well. Set in a warm, draft-free location (ie: an unlighted oven) for 10 minutes or until the yeast bubbles up and the mixture has almost doubled in bulk.

Meanwhile, combine the granulated sugar, shortening and salt in a deep mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed and the beignet mixture has cooled to lukewarm. Add the heavy cream, the yeast mixture and the egg. Add 2 cups of flour, and when it's completely incorporated, beat in up to 2 1/2 cupsmore flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Add only enough flour to make the beignets dough smooth and not sticky. When the beignets dough becomes too stiff to stir with the spoon, work in the flour with your fingers.

Pour vegetable oil into a deep fryer to a depth of 2 or 3 inches and heat the oil until it reaches a temperature of 360 degrees f. If your deep fryer doesn't have a thermostat, check the temperature with a deep-frying thermometer.

Gather the beignets dough into a ball, put it on a lightly-floured surface and pat into a rectangle about 1" thick. Dust a little flour on both sides of the beignets dough and roll it out, lifting and turning after each pass, until the rectangle is about 1/4" thick and about 25" long by 10" wide. If your beignets dough sticks to the surface, lift it with a metal spatula and sprinkle more flour under it.

With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 10 square beignets and deep fry, 2 at a time, immediately by dropping them into the hot oil and turning them over with a slotted spoon the moment they rise to the surface. Continue frying, turning the beignets often. until the beignets are crisp and golden on all sides, about 3 to 5 minutes. When they are done, transfer the beignets to brown paper or paper towels to drain. Immediately sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar and serve while still warm. Use the picture (above) as a guide for how much confectioner's sugar to use!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:07 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Welcome to this year's Back-to-School Carnival of the Recipes! A great menu of recipes for kids of all ages!**

** this in no way implies that kids of any particular age will enjoy any particular recipe...

Preschool (Breakfast):
Easy Pain Perdu French Toast from Rob at Easy Eats

Elementary School (sides and sauces):
Kindergarten: Happy Cilantro Sour Cream from Jami Leigh

1st Grade: Yummy Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette from Heather at Angelweave

2nd Grade: The Best Homemade Fat-Free Caesar Dressing from Shawn of Everything and Nothing

3rd Grade: Spice Mixes from Dave at The Glittering Eye

4th Grade: Salsa the first of two recipes from David of third world county

5th Grade: Fresh Peach Salsa from Marsha of A Weight Lifted

6th Grade: Freezer Coleslaw from Michele of Meanderings

Middle School (Can be either a side or an entree):

7th Grade: Fried Tofu with Spicy Sauce from Romeocat at CatHouse Chat

8th Grade: Hummus from Army Wife, Toddler Mom

High School (Entrees):

9th Grade, Spicy Foods 101:
First up, a holdover from last week, a second recipe from Shawn of Everything and Nothing, Jambalaya Grits

Next, Chicken in Peanut Curry Sauce from Aussie Wife Amanda

Also, Mapo Tofu Done Right from Kevin at Technogypsy

10th grade: Eggs and Cheese
First, Spicy Egg Sandwich from VA Republic Man at Flaming Duck

Next, Quiche from Taleena at Sun Comprehending Glass

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Rolls (for the Microwave, an easy 'A' recipe!) from Owlish of Owlish Mutterings

and finally, for all you cheeseheads who hate that Lasagna involves tomato sauce (duh, it spoils the cheese) Mike of Meeting Ozarkland presents his recipe for White Lasagna

11th Grade: Tomatoes and more Tomatoes
Just two dishes, what a slacker year.....

First, Stuffed Tomatoes from Kevin of Seriously Good, just like Mom used to make!

Next, Miss O'Hara presents Spaghetti Squash with Romas, Sundried Tomato Pesto, and Pine Nuts.

Senior Year: Fish and and Not Fish

First up, Pecan-Crusted Snapper from Allan of Allan Thinks

Next, Perche de Cresson (Perch with Watercress), the first of two submissions from Mensa Barbie

Finally, Couscous meal, a yummy combo of couscous and meat from B Durbin at Booklore.

Did you graduate?? You did? Good. You can have dessert, assuming you get that far.....

But first College, and what would college be without booze? Here are three great recipes GUARANTEED to put you in that festive party mood:

Hurricanes (how time-appropriate!) from Daisy Mae at Dubious Wonder

Making The Perfect Martini from triticale

and last but not least, Death By Chocolate from Two Dogs of Mean Ol' Meany. Definitely one of MY favorites from college!

And finally, Graduate School: Dessert.
Hey, I just finished Grad School, and let me tell you, this is the only way it will EVER be sweet.....

First up, Lemon Cheese Bars from Donna B of Pajama Pundits. So bad yet sooo good.

Next, Easy Maple Cake from Cafe Oregano

For those of you with lots of fruit coming in, Punctilious of Blog O'Ram has a plan to make small batches of preserves. Yum!

The second recipe from third world county: Ice Cream Sandwiches made with Javascript cookies. Appropriately enough, just scroll down....

Aeryk of Geek Can Cook brings you the Perfect Creme Brulee.

From Tinker at The Secret Life of Shoes comes (what else??) Shoe Fly Pie

A second recipe from Mensa Barbie, Raspberry Pomme, which looks to be a yummy fruit tart flavored with Grand Marnier

Cookies from Jay Solo of Accidental Verbosity: Cereal Flake Cakes

From Physics Geek, Pumpkin Pie with Cheese Crust

and finally, not the icing on the cake, but certainly the sauce on the ice cream, Best Ever Hot Fudge from Elisson at Blog d'Elisson

LATE FOR SCHOOL: Laurence Simon has a list of all of his recipes posted here.

That's the lot. You all get your honorary PhD in Yumminess! Thanks to all the authors for submitting recipes and of course, to Beth for keeping the Carnival of the Recipes going!

If you're new to my little corner of the blogosphere, stick around, read a bit, and if you like what you see, drop in again!

UPDATE: Haloscan is giving me hell for too many trackbacks, so if you didn't get one, please hang on, and I'll get to them tomorrow when it will let me try again...

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Carnival of the Recipes will be HERE tomorrow, so get those recipes in!

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It's going to be 106 (that's Fahrenheit, folks) today in Fresno, so I thought I'd post a great cool-down recipe. I love Pina Coladas, and this is a great Pina Colada punch recipe for those summertime get-togethers, backyard barbecues, etc. It can be scaled down to make just a pitcher or you can make the whole enchilada for a big group.

Pina Colada Punch

Prep Time: approx. 20 Minutes. Makes 30 servings. Originally from allrecipes.com

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple (or chopped fresh if you've got it)
1 (8 ounce) can coconut cream
1 (46 fluid ounce) can pineapple juice
2 cups light rum (can be omitted, just add more juice/soda to make volume)
1 (2 liter) bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

Directions
1 In a large plastic container, combine ice cream, crushed pineapple, coconut cream, pineapple juice and rum. Mix well and slowly stir in the lemon-lime soda. Freeze for 4 hours or until slushy. If you don't have a lot of time, mix all ingredients and blend until slushy in small batches in the blender. Freeze until serving.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 03:15 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Mmmmmmmm. I'm waiting for Jay to make some goofy comment about me missing Fresno. It's got to be coming any time now, lol. Did I say mmmmmmmmm? That sounds so incredibly yummy. :-)

Posted by: Deb at July 14, 2005 08:03 PM (f01cJ)

2 Oops, sorry to disappoint... Besides, it's not Fresno she misses. It's the roads.

Posted by: Jay at July 14, 2005 10:33 PM (f01cJ)

3 I can't see why she would miss the roads. Fresno drivers are about the worst in the country.

Posted by: Ben at July 15, 2005 12:39 AM (NIpoo)

4 Because the majority of them have more than 2 lanes. And there are left turn lanes. And they're laid out in a sensible manner. And Fresno drivers have absolutely nothing on the morons around here. Trust me on this one.

Posted by: Deb at July 15, 2005 01:08 AM (f01cJ)

5 Man, my mum told me it was 115 in St. George yesterday! I think she needs this recipe But she's taking the heat well, which surprises me.

Posted by: Ith at July 15, 2005 03:37 PM (WbPn3)

6 Oh girl...it's just beastly hot! Thanks for the recipe!

Posted by: Pam at July 15, 2005 04:25 PM (moow0)

7 Sounds yummy!

Posted by: Sissy at July 17, 2005 01:04 PM (uXS+O)

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This week's Carnival of the Recipes is up, hosted by Dana of Note-It Posts.

Everything looks so wonderful. Go check it out!

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This week's Carnival of the Recipes is up!

Thanks to the lovely Michele of Meanderings for hosting! Everything looks soooo yummy!

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Mom's sitting here next to me, so I don't have to call her to post the recipe.

I personally hate peas, but everyone who likes peas can't get enough of this salad, and I'll pick through the peas to get to the other stuff.

Don't give me any crap. I'll eat most other veggies. Just not Peas.

CaltechMom's Summer Pea Salad

1 package petite frozen peas
1 large package cheese tortellini
3 stalks celery, chopped
1-1.5 cup cubed jack cheese
1/2 sweet or red onion, sliced
1/2 cup cashews
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Ranch Dressing

1. Thaw and drain peas.
2. Cook cheese tortellini according to package directions, drain and cool.
3. Combine peas, tortellini, celery, onion, and cheese in a large salad bowl
4. Add ranch dressing to your taste, toss to mix
5. Chill until ready to serve
6. Top with cashews and crumbled bacon before serving

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This week's Carnival of the Recipes is up at the home of fellow MuNuvian Jordana of Curmudgeonry. Lots of great recipes from all across the spectrum this week, and some I definitely want to try!

Go here for all the yummy-ness!

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Alright, I suppose they should have been "sepratists" or "jedi" or "clones" but most normal people don't include those words in their recipe titles, so we're going OT.

Two recipes this week:

First, from Emporer Palpatine:

Imperial Pork Salad
Makes 4 servings.

1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
1/2 pound lean pork, cut in
bite-size pieces
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup California raisins
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 fresh ripe plums, divided
4 cups shredded lettuce
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
Sliced green onion; for garnish

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet. Add pork and garlic.
Saute over high heat 1 minute or until pork is no longer pink. Add raisins and stir in remaining oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Cube 1 plum and combine with lettuce and cilantro in shallow serving bowl. Spoon pork mixture on top.
Quarter remaining plums and arrange along side. Sprinkle onion slices overall.

And from the Alliance:

Rebel Angels
Makes 4 servings.

1 pound bacon
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons paprika
1 pound large shrimp - peeled
and deveined

Directions:

1 Cut bacon strips into thirds. In a large saucepan fry
bacon 5 minutes, they should remain somewhat limp (bacon is
not yet fully cooked).
2 Combine onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil,
thyme, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and
paprika in a medium sized bowl. (To regulate the spiciness of
this dish use the white pepper and cayenne pepper to
taste). Coat shrimp with the spices.
3 Wrap bacon around shrimp, secure with toothpicks.
4 Fry shrimp in saucepan over medium heat until bacon is
crisp and shrimp are pink. Serve hot.

Posted by: caltechgirl at 10:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The lovely and talented Boudicca of Boudicca's Voice is the host of this week's Carnival of the Recipes. Lots of yummy things this week, and especially a number of really yummy looking recipes that won't break that swimsuit diet!

Drop by and check it out!

Posted by: caltechgirl at 07:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It's getting to be summer, and aside from my baby blueberry bush, the one thing I must have in the garden is basil. Our favorite thing to do with fresh basil is make a quick salad of tomatoes, Mozzarella cheese, and Basil.

It's pretty simple, not even a formal recipe and you can scale it up or down to feed as many or as few people as you like.

1. Equal parts tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
- We like chopped roma tomatoes or whole cherry or grape tomatoes
- I usually use fresh mozzarella balls in brine (from costco!), chop to approx. the size of the tomato pieces. Cubed manchego or gouda is also a good treat if you're in the mood for a different cheese.

2. Several sprigs of fresh basil, chopped
-again, to your taste. We like a lot of basil

3. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1.5 Tbsp/cup of tomatoes or so
-get a lightly flavored oil so it doesn't overpower the fresh ingredients

4. Balsamic Vinegar, 2 Tbsp/cup of tomatoes
-we use a Pomegranate flavored BV, but a good strong standard balsamic or another fruit flavor works well, too.

That's it.

Chop tomatoes and cheese to bite size pieces if necessary. Chop up basil leaves, removing stem pieces since they're not as nice to eat. Toss with oil and BV. Refrigerate before serving if desired or serve immediately.

If I have some on hand, I like to toss in a few small crostini just before serving for some crunch.

This is on the menu nearly every day in the summer, especially if the deer have avoided the tomato plants, and I have to fight my husband to even get any

Posted by: caltechgirl at 09:48 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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