Author: SaraTaft

Make The Ordinary Come Alive

”  Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.  Such striving may seem admirable, but it is a way of foolishness.  Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life.  Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears.  Show them how to cry when pets and people die.  Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand.  And make the ordinary come alive for them.  The extraordinary will take care of itself.  

I came across this quote, these thoughts for living, at a time in my life when I needed this message in a mammoth way.   I do not know who the author is.   I am I hope, a purveyor of the message it holds.  And if, in this ordinary world in which we live, you might benefit from the message too, then my sharing is doing what I hope it will do.  Throughout this post I have placed photos of our seven grandchildren.  Bill and I hope that throughout their lives, as we did with their fathers, we can help to guide them through ordinary lives.

I recently attended the funeral of a 70 year old man who lost his valiant battle with brain cancer.  His granddaughter, his only grandchild, at 17 tender years of age, gave a eulogy for him that spoke volumes of the ways in which he had led her through “the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life“.   Catching frogs, going for ice cream, tag sales and flea markets, going out for breakfast.  He was there for her school activities, for her field hockey games and practices.  She gave us a few highlights of how very much he meant to her and why.  I know her list of memories is long, full of enduring love, and splendidly ordinary.

Through the ache of insatiable loss, she painted a picture of her grandfather that was so wonderfully ordinary, it was extraordinary.  Extraordinary in that,  her heart is overflowing with memories of her grandfather who,  “made the ordinary come alive ” in such a way;  those memories will remain with her throughout her life.  Even through his illness, his raging battle with the demon of disease;  he continued to guide her through the “wonder and marvel of an ordinary life“.   What a gift.

In fact, this man’s entire family talked about and shared, his love of life.  The love of family, the love of giving, the love of living and sharing the ordinary.

At this same funeral,  in a most un-ordinary, cruel twist of life, was this 70 year old man’s, 93 year old father.  It felt horribly wrong to me, that this father should be burying his son.  So out of the ordinary, so misplaced, so erroneous…parents should not have to bury their children.  My heart ached for this man, in ways that only a heart that has done just so, can.

In 1987 a little girl was born.  In 1990, a tragic accident took her from this world and from us;  life has never been the same.  She was three and a half years old, my husbands daughter.  The sweet little girl in our blended family… with her older brother, and my two older boys.

Grief took hold and never let go.  Like a broken bone, healed, yet still crooked and painful at times, it left a lifelong limp with an intransigent ache. Yet, we needed to continue our ordinary lives and find ways through the darkness of our loss, to ensure our boys lives, and ours;  remained full of the colors and patterns in the kaleidoscope of life.   The effervescent, panoramic joys of ordinary experiences, which meant the flat, colorless, inevitable disappointments too.  Ordinary life.

A sweet friend of mine is raging war with breast cancer.  This narcissistic beast, cancer,  continues to rear its heartless head in true selfish fashion.  Yet, my friend continues to smile at every opportunity.  She bravely relies on ordinary life to help her, and her family, navigate this crooked path.  So much extraordinary power. Power filled with GRACE.

I know this positive, strong friend has been through the wringer with treatments, and she is weary.  Counting down the last days of treatments, she has been hit with schedule changes and her discouragement is palpable.  Her fierceness won’t allow her disappointment to last long and I know it will bring her securely back to the realm of ordinary life.

She and her husband have raised three extraordinary young adults.  Through ordinary life.

Throughout my life I have been told, I am always “so cheerful”, “so positive”, “so smiley”.   Well, I have a confession to make.  That is not always so.  YES.  I have a LOT of splendid, very blessed, happily ordinary days.  And…I have some very dark days.  Days of moments that are saturated with sadness.   Days when I doubt and question everything that exists …days that require me to process yet again,  the very things in life I do NOT want to be forced to process.  Days when the motions of ordinary life seem so heavy I cannot possibly bear them and my bones bend beneath the sorrow from what is lost that I will never be able to touch again.

And then, an ordinary moment descends, and I am reminded of the vital necessity of persevering through the darkness and into the light of day. The most poignant, the most insistent message, this ordinary moment has to bestow;  is one that has the power to propel the ordinary into the extraordinary.  And, I count myself among the blessed to be able to recognize the extraordinary as it comes.  To grasp it and never let go.  To let it guide me through the most ordinary of days.

To trust that, “the extraordinary will take care of itself”.  Life is splendidly extraordinary indeed.              Many Blessings…

The nor’easter that howled through here, borne on the wicked wind yesterday, gifted me a snow day to experiment with this tomato bisque.   With no intention of venturing out, I got busy in my kitchen first thing in the morning. After simmering all day on the back simmer burner of my gas range, it is a definite keeper.

Tomato bisque, thick, creamy and perfect for dipping a grilled cheese sandwich in; has been on my mind since our 5 year old grandson Evan was here on Presidents day.  After building snowmen outside on that delightful day off, I thought, how nice it would be to head back into the house, after playing out in the snow; for a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and creamy, thick tomato soup.

Alas, tho our lunch that day was good, my thoughts that snowy afternoon, induced a craving for the lunch I so thoroughly looked forward to as a youngster.  Cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.   After playing out in the snow all morning,  usually on the heels of a big winter storm that gave us a no school day, that lunch, for me, topped all other lunches.

Now, I know my mother opened a can of Campbell’s soup, but to my young, inexperienced appetite, that was such a treat.  Like Spaghetti O’s and Captain Crunch cereal.  Rare, longed for treats that we didn’t often get but when we did, the sun got brighter and the birds sang louder.

Maybe it was the day off from school.  Might have been the magnificent mounds and drifts of snow, broken by boot prints and sled runners.  Maybe it was the warm soup and melted cheese oozing out between two crisp, golden bread slices.  Maybe it was the wet mittens drying on the cast iron radiators, sending off steam and the scent of the wool yarn my grandmother used to knit them.  Perhaps it was the tingling in my frozen fingers and feet as they thawed in the tantalizing, smell infused, warmth in the kitchen.  It might have been my hungry stomach, growling with anticipation of the lunch that was almost ready.  The magic spell that soup and sandwich combo cast, to this day,  maintains its euphoric hold over me.  I believe it was made of love, goodness and the thrill of childhood.  All of that and more makes the sway of that spell  irresistible still…

These two recipes are so simple.  I dare say, simpler than opening a can of soup and a loaf of bread.  But then, I’m partial to homemade now that I’ve developed a more adult appreciation of fine, wholesome, eating.

Since this bisque has no milk or cream in it, it will freeze well.  This recipe makes approximately  2 quarts.

The skillet bread is a yeast bread recipe I found but adjusted to my liking.  I enjoy experimenting with different flour combo’s and this particular mix is perfect.

Tomato Bisque

1  28 oz.can of Muir Glen (or other organic, or not…your call) crushed tomatoes, plain or with basil added.

2 cups of chicken stock (I make my own… simple recipe coming soon)

2 cups of water

4 medium peeled and diced russet potatoes (I dice the potatoes fairly small…1/2 inch cubes)

1 large sweet onion, finely diced

1 small shallot finely diced

several cloves of roasted garlic (roughly half a bulb)

freshly ground salt and pepper

dried thyme

2 TB each,  butter and extra virgin olive oil

I use only enameled cast iron dutch ovens for simmering or stewing acidic soups and sauces.  Cast iron, well seasoned, works fine as long as the soup or sauce is not stored in it.

Into a 4 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven or stock pot, place the butter and extra virgin olive oil.  Over medium heat, melt the butter and immediately add the diced onion and shallot.  Saute`, stirring often, until the onion is transparent.  Add half of the chicken stock and simmer for another few minutes.

Now, add the diced potatoes and the rest of the chicken stock.  Simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat.   Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes, roasted garlic, and 2 cups of water.  Add salt and pepper (to taste) and about a 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme (or more if you like, but go easy…it is a potent herb).

Let the entire blend simmer over low heat (the simmer burner if you have one), with the pot cover slightly askew, for 3 or 4 hours or until the potatoes are soft.   Stir occasionally.

Once the potatoes are soft turn the heat off under the burner.  Let the mixture cool a bit so that it can be blended safely.  Blending hot liquids can be tricky and hazardous so use caution.  I typically let the blend cool completely and refrigerate it overnight, blending it the following day.  If you want the bisque for dinner tonight tho, that calls for caution when blending right away.  Do small batches with the lid of the blender slightly off.  This lets out steam and helps to avoid volcanic eruptions.

Once cool enough to blend safely, blend the mixture in small batches, adding more water to make the mixture thick enough to be creamy.  I usually find I add about 2 TB of water to each 2 cups I am blending.

Once done blending, return to the pot and simmer again to heat and serve. Sometimes I add home made Parmesan croutons.  Unless of course I am making grilled cheese sandwiches on this splendid, hearty homemade artisan skillet bread!

Artisan Skillet Bread

Makes one 10 ” round loaf.

2 cups of all purpose flour

2 cups of bread flour

1/4 cup of rye flour

2 TB spelt flour

2 teas sea salt

2 cups of warm water

1 package of active dry yeast (or approximately 2 1/2 teas.)

dried thyme and rosemary

olive oil

To a large mixing bowl add:  all the flours, salt and yeast.  Whisk until thoroughly mixed.  Add  2 cups of warm water and incorporate with a wooden spoon or spatula until all the dry ingredients are blended together. Form the dough into a rough ball in the bowl, cover loosely and let rise in a warm spot for an hour or an hour and a half.  Once the dough has doubled, coat a 10 inch skillet or 3 qt dutch oven with a drizzle of olive oil.  Use clean fingers to evenly coat the surface.

Using a spatula, drop the bread dough onto a well floured surface that has also been sprinkled with dried thyme and rosemary.  With well floured hands, form the dough into a ball, rolling it so that the flour, thyme and rosemary are evenly coated around the dough (do not knead or punch down the dough), then place the dough ball into the skillet or dutch oven. Cover loosely with a towel and let the dough rise another 30 minutes.  Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Once the dough has risen for 30 minutes and the oven is ready, place it in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until it is nicely browned.  Remove from the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes before carefully removing from the skillet or dutch oven.  Cool completely before slicing.

Resist if you can, the urge to slice the bread at once and smother it with warm butter.  Or…to dip large broken off chunks into the simmering tomato bisque.  Once you start…you won’t be able to stop.  Then what will you have for lunch or dinner?!?

There are storm clouds looming in the southern sky presently, and tho the temperature is warm enough for the snow from yesterdays storm to be melting, there is still enough to make a snowman (or two or three).  Perfect snow for rolling into mammoth snowmen.  Good appetite stimulating fun in the snow.  On second thought…the sun is sinking on the horizon, soup and bread are ready…dinner tonight is gonna be scrumptious. I’ll enjoy it with the warmth of joy filled memories…

Many Blessings...

The deep winter months of February and March are a challenge for me.  I crave sunlight,  walks with the dogs in our woods, digging my hands into the rich brown earth in my gardens, through which, life springs.  Sleeping with the windows open, the fresh woodland air gliding into the house on the night calls of tree frogs, owls on the wing, and the sounds of critters, creeping close to the house under the cover of darkness.  The wake up songs  of birds, the ethereal Wood Thrush in particular.  The thrill of discovering new blossoms in my gardens, reaching toward the sun.

February and March possess a plethora of emotions for and in me; and as time goes by it seems the challenge to navigate these two mountainous months of the year becomes,  almost insurmountable.  The jagged edges of grief from loss during this time, are smoothed by the joys of celebrating birthdays and new beginnings.  Life, if we let it, has a way of stitching the unraveled threads in the quilts of our lives together and holding the patches, colorful, dull, rough, smooth, patterned and plain; secure in the fabric of our lives.

I say almost insurmountable, because I trust in the power of hope.  In the power of faith, in the goodness and the GRACE  in and of this world.  I trust the belief I have in my soul that despite the darkest angst, the fathomless void of grief, the debilitating ache of loss; there is a GRACE in this world that carries us moment by moment, cradled in the power of hope.  Toward joy and healing and acceptance.  Where would we be if this GRACE did not exist?

This particular week marks a loss for me (personally) that I am still trying to understand.  To unwillingly accept the reality of this loss, knowing I will never have some answers.  As I work through this reluctant acceptance, I grasp the insight in my heart that I will be guided by GRACE, and without fail, I am shown the hope I need to keep believing, healing and accepting.

This year, this morning, on this dreary, rain filled February day; a single yellow flower, on a plant that has never blossomed before,  blessed me with the power of unwavering GRACE once again; and for the moments of today…that is enough.  I have learned that if I keep my heart and my eyes open to it, GRACE carries us, always.

Hope, in a single yellow flower…   MANY BLESSINGS…*

* I have no words that could possibly begin to express my sadness for the most recent events in our country that have brought such inconsolable grief, anger and unanswerable questions.

I can only, and do,  express my own personal prayer that the GRACE of this world will carry us all, through the worst of times, forward into healing and acceptance, and to lives that continue to hope, to strive together; for a world filled with love and respect,  saturated with human compassion.

Oxford provides several words of definition for memory.  “Recollection, reminiscence, remembrance, thought.  Things remembered, things recalled.” Yet words, descriptive as they are, do not begin to compare to the feelings that flow through our souls through meaningful memories.

It’s safe to say that most memories are induced by triggers that occur during our moment by moment lives.  Something we see, hear, touch, smell, taste; our senses stroll hand in hand with our memories.  They work concurrently to create moments we remember.  Recollections that form who we are, how we think, how we feel,  and how we love.

Many of us can travel back through our memory archives and draw forth moments remembered from early in our lives, right through to the present time.

I have vivid recollections of my mothers father, Hubert.  He was a tall man, lean from years of hard work, his handsome head still covered with grey/white hair, like silk.  He kept bees on the farm in Lakeside CT, and would come by our house in Goshen regularly, with his older brother Jim; and my mother would give them both haircuts.

He had work worn hands, calloused and rough, creased by time.  Long fingers, long arms, long legs.  I would stand at the kitchen window and watch him and Uncle Jim carefully make their way down the back stone steps, through the woodshed and into the house.  Grandpa, carrying that jar of honey.  Uncle Jim, with his hat in his hands.

I would sit on my grandfathers lap, while my mother cut his hair, and he would spoon honey out of the jar he had brought for us; and drizzle it into my waiting mouth.  Like a little bird, in the nest of my grandfathers lap, I sat, watching his silken hair fall to the floor as my mother cut it, listening to the familial chat of my mother, her father and his brother.  I was 4 years old.

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote:  “The heart, like the mind, has a memory.  And in it are kept the most precious keepsakes.”

At 4 years old, my heart and mind were cultivating and harvesting the most precious keepsakes.  My grandfather left this world that very same year.  I am forever grateful for living color memories I have of him.

That family farm, in Lakeside, was fertile ground for a lot of recollections of fun times.  My mother, my sisters and I would get together with my aunts (her sisters) and my cousins; and take picnics to the old pastures.   No longer stomping grounds for cows, the narrow, packed dirt paths,  still mapped out their travels over the long years they trod there.

After climbing through the barbed wire fence, taking turns holding the wire apart for each other, we would spread old blankets between rocks and burdock; and indulge in a picnic of sandwiches, homemade cookies and thermoses of ice cold milk.  After our picnic lunch, the berry buckets would come out of the cars and off we would go, back through the barbed wire fence, into the adjacent hay field; where at the far end, in late spring, wild strawberries, ripe for picking, hid in the thick grass.

We cousins would pick a few berries, eat a few, pick a few more and then, with sticky, strawberry stained fingers, wander off into the field to explore.  I remember hearing the voices of my mother and her sisters, close by, but on the periphery of my attention.  They spoke softly, laughed often, and occasionally would stand and scan the field for us, making sure we were all accounted for.  I can still smell the strawberries, feel the waves of cool, green as green, knee high grass, sweep over my legs as I ran, hear the robins singing and the crows cawing.

Those picnics, followed by berry picking… currants, wild blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries; were a vital part of my childhood and are so vibrant and alive in my memory, they could have happened yesterday.

Faithfully, at Christmas each year, homemade jams and jellies were exchanged at our family holiday gathering.  For a few precious moments, in the cold of the winter season, those spring and summer days in the old pasture and hay field came alive in our memories.  Keepsakes of the heart and mind.

Those jams and jellies, that golden sticky honey, went so well with the baking powder biscuits my mother often made.  Occasionally, she would make buttermilk biscuits.  Either one, to this day, can’t be beat; particularly if generously spread with honey and or butter and jelly or jam.  Of course, as you might have already guessed; in my opinion, homemade jellies and jams can’t be beat.

I personally prefer buttermilk biscuits.  There is something about the inner moist consistency and the buttery, browned outside.  Once the biscuits are cool enough to handle, and spread with butter and jam, they are irresistible.

Hugelhaus Buttermilk Biscuits

2 3/4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 cup spelt flour

1 TB plus 1 teas. baking powder

1 teas. cream of tartar

1 teas. baking soda

1/4 teas. salt

1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk

1/2 cup of cold butter diced into small chunks

4 TB melted butter

Pre heat your oven to 425 degrees

This recipe makes 12 to 20 delicious biscuits, depending on the size of your biscuit cutter.

To a large mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients.  On low speed, mix the dry ingredients together till blended.  Add the cold diced butter and mix until the butter is blended into the dry ingredients so it begins to clump into tiny pea sized bits.  With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the cold buttermilk.  Mix together just until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated with the buttermilk.  The dough will be VERY sticky.

With a spatula, scoop all the biscuit dough onto a well floured surface.  With heavily flour dusted hands, form and pat the dough into roughly an inch and a half thick round.  You will need a lot of dusting flour for this.  That’s okay.

Once you have formed a round of dough, with a biscuit cutter, dipped in flour as needed, cut out the biscuits and place them on a parchment lined cookie pan.  Repeat forming and cutting until you have used up all the dough.

With a pastry brush, generously brush the tops of each biscuit with the melted butter.  Don’t be shy with the butter…use it all up.

Pop that cookie pan of butter drenched biscuits in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes…or until the outside of the biscuits is a beautiful, medium golden brown.  I have a gas convection oven and it takes approximately 20 to 25 minutes for the biscuits to bake…depending on how big I make them.

So, for my friend EJ, here is my buttermilk biscuit recipe.  And, you can smother them in honey and blackberry preserves to your hearts content.  oxo

I will smother mine in butter and Peach Paradise Jam…recipe to come once peach picking season arrives.

Many Blessings…

This is the time of year when comfort food gets its all out heyday.  So many luscious foods to make and enjoy that leave us in a state of well stuffed delirium.

A major caveat of cold outdoor temperatures, deep snow and hazardous ice; is the insatiable desire to be indoors, where the  warm, cozy factor is high and the food factor is, off the charts, overstuffed, culinary comfort. Like the sofa we sink into, with an enormous plate of homemade mac and cheese,  we surround ourselves with warm, well stuffed cushions and round, well stuffed bellies.  Before we know it, we become gormandized.

Now, fried foods are, undeniably, exquisite examples of comfort food. French fries being right up there in the top 10, so to speak.  Who can resist a heap of hot, crisp, french fries?

I remember the first time I had curly fries.  Pin curls of potato, deep fried to golden, crisp, perfection, seasoned with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of finely grated fresh Parmesan.  The dash of finely chopped fresh parsley dusting them;  gave them an air of being not entirely unhealthy.  It was an all out, fried food overdose.  I cringe at what the calorie and cholesterol count must have been !

Fortunately, my resistance to comfort food has gained strength over the years.  But, it will probably never be strong enough to stand up to the siren call of french fries.  Alas, we all have our culinary weakness(es).

One of the best purchases I ever made for my kitchen, was a Spiralizer.  I use it often, year round, to create many fun meals with spiraled veggies.  Zucchini is my favorite squash to spiral, into long, curly “noodles”. Carrots, beets, butternut squash, and POTATOES!  Curly potato fries…oven baked…drizzled with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil.  Salt and pepper is all you need and trust me, these will satisfy that comfort food craving with each delicious bite.  If you need an extra dash of comfort, by all means, dust them with finely grated Parm. Splurge, celebrate, enjoy.   Life is for living…

If you don’t have a Spiralizer, I highly recommend getting one.  If for no other reason than to make these oven baked fries.  There are different brands available and they are not too expensive.

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.                   Serves 4 people as a side:

Spiral, with the large hole attachment, one large sweet potato and one large russet potato, washed, unpeeled.

Put the spiraled potatoes into a large mixing bowl and drizzle with 2 TB of extra virgin olive oil or 2 TB of avocado oil.

Give a few good fresh grinds of sea salt and pepper over the mix. Occasionally I add a few dashes of Old Bay Seasoning.  Dash them up with your own mix of seasonings.  Anything goes.

With your hands, mix the oil, salt and pepper, and any other seasoning, throughout the potatoes until they are evenly coated.

Place the spiraled, seasoned, and oiled potatoes on a large baking sheet, single layer, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and stir or flip the fries with a spatula.   Remove any that are already crisp and brown.  You may find these around the outer edges of the pan.  Set them to one side on your stove top or counter. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.

Keep an eye on the fries during this last bit of baking.  You don’t want them to burn.  You may need more baking time, or less, depending on your oven. Take them out and stir or flip again if necessary.  Once all the fries are baked to an even, golden brown crispness, put the ones you have reserved on the counter back into the pan.  Put them all back in the oven for about 3 or 4 minutes to ensure they are all hot.  If you wish to dust them with Parmesan, do so now.  The cheese will melt just enough to stick to the fries.

Remove from the oven and enjoy with your meal or alone as a scrumptious, soul warming splurge.  If you are a ketchup with fries kinda person, go ahead and indulge.  Make these please your palate to the fullest.

A sprinkle of finely chopped fresh parsley works too !!!

Many Blessings…

Sleeping in on this cold, blustery, mid January Saturday morning;  such a comfortable and relaxing way to begin this weekend.  Sitting by the windows watching the birds visit the feeders, sipping a cup of good strong coffee.  YES!  Add to that warm and relaxing atmosphere, a bowl of Chai bread pudding drizzled with cream.  Umami at its finest in every sense.

The January sun is rising, bringing light to the sentinel, winter bare trees, in our forest.  Resting here, inside the warm house, the sun feels deliciously warm.  Outside, once again, the wind is howling and the temperature is below 20 degrees.  Bone chilling weather like this makes a cup of hot coffee or tea, or toddy…irresistible.

I am not a tea drinker as a rule.  Occasionally though, I really enjoy a cup of Chai tea.  With light cream.  There are quite a few brands of Chai tea on the market.  Trader Joe’s makes a nice blend.  Rooibos Chai , from Harney & Sons, is decaffeinated and is my personal favorite.

Individual pouches of Chai tea blend are perfect for steeping in a mug and warming up after an afternoon winter walk in the woods.   Or, as was the case yesterday, while sitting inside watching the rain pour from the heavens above.  And yet…I didn’t make tea with the pouch I drew from the package.

I had just begun to get the ingredients out for bread pudding and thought…why not make Chai bread pudding?  By steeping the Chai tea pouch in the hot almond milk and light cream blend I use.  Certainly, to my creative mind, an experiment worth trying.  I’m so glad I did.

The house became deliciously infused with the smell of Chai spices; and grew warm from the oven as the pudding baked.  A mixture of bread, milk, eggs, spices and warmth…a mouthwatering masterpiece of simple ingredients to warm the soul.  Humble bread pudding, wielding so much scented power.

My recipe is really quite simple.  And, for bread pudding enthusiasts, this particular experiment turned out to be a keeper.  The only ingredient I didn’t add, and will next time, is butter.  I like a bit of buttery taste in bread pudding.

Chai Bread Pudding

2 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup of light cream

Pour the milk and cream into a microwavable glass measuring cup and microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes, adjusting the time by 30 second increments, until the blend is scalded.  If you are not a fan of using a microwave, measure the almond milk and cream together and pour into a sauce pan and heat on medium heat until the blend begins to scald.  Be sure to watch closely so it doesn’t burn.  When scalded, remove from heat.  Which ever  way you do this, be very careful…it gets hot!

Place one Chai tea bag ( brand of your choice…caffeinated or not) into the hot almond milk and cream blend, and let it steep for at least 5 minutes.  Dip the bag a few times to really get the Chai spices moving and blending.  Set aside and let the blend cool.

While the tea/almond milk/cream blend is steeping and cooling, prepare the other ingredients and set your oven to 350 degrees.

Into a large ceramic baking dish (round or oblong) put:

2 cups of bread, broken into small chunks, using your fingers to do so.

I use my homemade sourdough or white/wheat bread.  Do NOT use rye or pumpernickel or other strong tasting bread.  This is also a good way to use up slightly stale or leftover bread crusts.

1/2 cup of unpacked light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Still using your fingers, mix the dry ingredients well and set aside.

To a mixing bowl, add 8 eggs.  Whisk the eggs together until well beaten.  Set aside.

Remove the tea bag from the cooled almond milk/cream blend.

Add 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract to the cooled almond milk/cream and tea blend.  Whisk in gently.  Pour evenly over the bread and dry ingredient mixture in the baking dish.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Then, using a spatula, pour the eggs into the baking dish and mix them into all the other ingredients until well blended.

Place a small, shallow, ovenproof saucepan, half filled with hot water in the oven on the bottom rack.  Place the baking dish of Chai bread pudding on the rack above and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until the center is just beginning to firm up.

When done, remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.  Serve warm with ice cream, or my favorite way, with a drizzle of light cream.

Store any leftover in the refrigerator.  It heats up nicely in the microwave and makes an excellent breakfast treat!  There is more than a hint (but not overpowering) of Chai spice and I do believe, you will want more than one serving !!!  Enjoy every warm, spiced, spoonful.

Many Blessings…

The past two weeks, the cold air that has gripped much of our country, has been brutal.  And that one word description is an understatement. Temperatures in the single digit’s during daylight hours are hazardous to any living being; add howling, relentless wind and darkness and the temperatures plummet well below zero…deadly.   I often wonder, as I sit in my blessedly warm house looking out insulated windows; how does any wild being in the world outside my house, survive this?  I know many don’t.  Survival of the fittest; such is nature.

One of the ways I keep my spirits up and my soul warm during this unforgiving winter weather; is to get my oven going and do some roasting. As the trees bend and groan to the wind outside; butternut squash, russet potatoes, onions, garlic and other root vegetables; yield to the sharp blade of my chefs knife, as I slice and dice them for roasting inside.  The house warms from the 375 degree oven temperature and the smell of roasting vegetables and garlic imbues the house with a fragrance no scented candle can compete with.

Out comes my biggest roasting pan and I combine an unmeasured amount of diced vegetables with a bit of butter, extra virgin olive oil, a splash of white wine, salt and pepper.  Nothing else…at the moment.  After this combination of delectable veggies has been roasted, I can add various herbs, spices and extra ingredients; to create different dishes.  Depending on how much I roast (usually at least 8 cups combined), I have quite a bit to work with.  Some I use right away, some waits in the fridge for a day or two to be used later in the week; and some goes in the freezer as back up for another meal.

Of course, there is no reason why this roasted goodness cannot be served all by itself as a side dish.  It’s difficult to resist just as it is.

Quite simply…while my oven heats to 375 degrees, I start peeling and dicing.  I peel, seed and dice into 1/2 to 1 ” chunks, one butternut squash…small, medium, large…any amount works.  Then, I peel and dice a few russet potatoes. Three or four large ones, half a dozen medium ones…again… any amount works.  I add one large sweet onion, peeled and diced and a large shallot, peeled and sliced.  Five or six cloves of peeled, chopped garlic finish the mix this time around.  Sometimes I add leeks or sweet potato.  Carrots and parsnips have a unique flavor all their own and I don’t, as a rule, mix them with butternut or sweet potato.  I take advantage of the oven being on and separately roast 2 heads of garlic at the same time.

I pull out my largest roasting pan and drizzle about 3 TB of extra virgin olive oil on the bottom.  Then, I add all the diced vegetables to the pan.  I slice two or three TB of butter and drop them on top of the vegetables.  I drizzle on a bit more evoo and give the salt and pepper grinders a few turns over the top of the mixture.  I add about a 1/4 cup of white wine if I have some open, and a 1/4 cup of water.  If I don’t have white wine open, I add 1/2 cup of water.  With clean hands, I mix everything in the pan together until the salt and pepper has been distributed throughout.

Then I put the pan in the oven and let the roasting begin.  I set the timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off I stir the mix well and give it another 30 minutes.  After an hour of roasting, I give it all another stir and check for tenderness in the butternut and potatoes.  Depending on how tender they are (or not) I give the mix more time in the oven (15 minute increments), and make sure to add more water if the mixture appears to be drying out.

If I am roasting garlic at the same time, I take it out of the oven after an hour.

Once the squash and potatoes are fork tender; take the pan out of the oven. Let the roasted vegetable mixture cool in the pan for at least a half hour before you try to do anything with it.  Once cooled, separate the mixture into two, three or four containers depending on how much you have roasted.  I usually get a good 8 cups of roasted vegetables, so I separate the mixture into three somewhat even amounts.  Store as you wish, what you are not using right away.

From here, I typically use the first bit in a recipe I have, (I think), gotten just right.  Roasted butternut, russet and garlic quinoa* cakes.  I made these last night for dinner and they were perfectly crisp on the outside, soft and full of delicious, nutty/garlicky/spud flavor on the inside.  So…here is the recipe.  Its simple, wholesome, full of nutrition and protein, and I bet you can’t eat just one.

Add to a large mixing bowl, one portion of the roasted butternut, russet, onion and garlic mixture you have set aside (roughly 2 cups).  No exact measurements here…

With a pastry blender, blend the mixture until it is smashed.

Add:

2 cups of prepared quinoa

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup of ricotta cheese

2 or 3 cloves of roasted garlic

1/2 cup plain panko

1 teas dried basil and 1/2 teas dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together until well blended.

Then, add roughly one cup of 6 cheese Italian blend (I use Sargento) and mix until the cheese is just blended.

Into a plastic bag put:

2 TB of flour

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup plain panko

Shake the mixture until well blended.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Into an enamel coated or well seasoned cast iron pan pour 3 or 4 TB of extra virgin olive oil.  Dipping your fingers into the oil in the pan to coat your (clean) hands, take a tennis ball sized portion of the roasted veggie mixture and form it into a ball.  Place the ball into the bag with the flour/panko/Parmesan cheese mixture and coat it evenly.  Then, place the ball in the cast iron pan and press down slightly to form a patty.  Repeat this until all of the veggie/quinoa mix has been used up.

Drizzle the tops of the patties with more extra virgin olive oil and bake them  in a 375 degree oven for at least 45 minutes.  I usually bake them for an hour, until they are crispy and light brown on top.  They will be quite crisp and brown on the bottom.  Which, in my opinion, makes them absolutely scrumptious.

Be sure to scrape the extra brown crispy bits off the bottom of the cast iron pan when you serve these.  Those bits add so much to the flavor.

I made a turkey, spinach and feta meatloaf to go with these…(recipe soon). Some fresh asparagus (from a warm climate far away) rounded out the meal.  We went away from the table with satiated bellies filled with roasted winter squash goodness…

Many Blessings…

*Our good friend and neighbor, Alan Spiffy, is not a quinoa fan.  I keep hoping, after a fashion, he may come to like it as much as we do!!!  After all, it’s hidden well in these patties !!!

January 1, 2018.  Happy New Year.  And a bitter cold one it is.  Barely 2 degrees here, in the house, on a hill, in the woods.  Despite the sun burning low in the January sky, the house needed some extra warmth to begin this new year.

What better way than scones, baking in a 400 degree oven.  Flaky, buttery, apricot and walnut scones. Warm out of the oven, with even more butter, and a cup of Chai tea; these are scrumptious.

I have, as always, adjusted various recipes over the years and this one is no exception.  I hope you enjoy these scones as much as we do.

Hugelhaus Apricot Walnut Scones

Makes roughly 24 muffin sized scones.

3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons finely ground sea salt

1  1/2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 TB plus 2 teaspoons  baking powder

2 TB granulated sugar

1 TB light brown sugar

3/4 pound (3 sticks) cold, cubed unsalted butter

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs beaten

1 cup of half and half

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup diced (small) dried apricots  (If you have sulfate allergies, the un-sulfured ones work just as well).

Note:  I alternate the apricots and walnuts with diced candied ginger (reduced to 1/4 cup) and pecans.  Change up the spices with different fruits and nuts and come up with a version of your own.  Dark chocolate chips are a hit too!!!

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In a large mixing bowl whisk the flours, sugars, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt until blended.  Add the cubed butter and mix until the butter breaks into pea sized chunks.

Add the apricot pieces and the chopped walnuts.  Blend until evenly mixed.

Whisk the eggs, vanilla and half and half together.  Gradually add to the flour and fruit/nut mixture.  Do not over mix.  Blend all ingredients together until just blended.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface.  Roll the dough into two logs, roughly the circumference of a muffin cup.  Grease two regular sized muffin tins and slice each dough log into 12 even slices.  Put each slice into a muffin cup.

Whisk an egg with a TB of half and half and a teaspoon of brown sugar.  With a pastry brush, brush the top of each scone  until lightly coated with the egg glaze.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 22 minutes.  Do not over bake.

Remove from the oven and cool in the muffin pans for 10 minutes.

Remove from the muffin tins and enjoy warm, with extra butter or not; coffee, tea, or a glass of milk.  Better yet…sit by the windows as you partake and watch the birds at the feeders as the shadows lengthen and the sun slides down behind the trees.  Enjoy the first new day of the new year with…

many blessings...*

*Thank you to my grandchildren, Bridget and Hudson; for the gift of Cordon Bleu blog props (top photo)…they will be well used with much delight as I think on the givers.  oxoxoxox

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Out with the past, make way for the future;  welcome the year two thousand eighteen.

Christmas 2017 arrived exactly on time, as it does each year; after a month or more of preparation.  The Thanksgiving feast barely over and the last drop of turkey soup gone; Christmas preparations began overnight.

Wreaths, Christmas trees, bells, ribbons and wrapping paper.  Holiday shopping, shipping, singing and baking.  Radio stations played endless Christmas music between ads for gadgets, gizmos and whatsits; to put on wish lists to Santa. The Grinch,  Rudolph and Ebeneezer Scrooge appeared on television along with countless other Christmas shows.

For many, holiday parties, carol strolls,  and Christmas pageants at schools across the country; were squeezed into the month of December .  Cards, cookies and Great Aunt Eunid’s 25 pound fruitcake arrived in the mail. The stockings were hung, gifts wrapped at the last frenzied minute; and waistlines increased as we ate our way through Christmas.

All of this and more, goes into the celebrating of Christmas.  Yet in the 48 hours of Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we are enveloped in the splendid spirit of Christmas as it, at long last, descends.  Its splendor magnifies.  It increases moment by moment once we stop the madness of preparation and let the Grace of the season in.

Religious services of many faiths and beliefs, bring us to our knees as one, with the meaning of the season.  For these brief moments in time;  we are brought to complete and grateful awareness of our many blessings.  Love of our fellow man and faith in all that is good reverberates with the peal of bells from towers and steeples across our world .  Like Snoopy and the Red Baron, we call a truce to our prejudice and judgement of our fellow man and celebrate life together as a whole.  As a unified people breathing together under the same sky;  offering greetings with kindness.

The humbling gift of giving to those who have little or nothing, rather than receiving, for those of us who have so much.  We become grounded together, by the lighting of candles and the spirit of Christmas.

Why then, for far too many of us, does this end once the decorations are put away?  As tho we pack that unified spirit away with the paper, ribbons and bows.  It waits all year long to be brought out again into the light of day; a seasonal joy that yearns to be freely shared year round.  Season to season.

As the candles burn into the new year, we, humanity as one, must, in order to keep all that is good from waning; continue to give.  The gift of kindness is a magnificent starting place.  Kindness is virtually free for the giver.  But priceless to the receiver.  A smile costs as little as the turning up of the corners of our mouths.  Continue it through the eyes and we give a gift that has the power to authentically change a life.  Given daily, a smile has the power and potential of a grace so ethereal, it can change the world.

Our world needs changing.  Humanity needs kindness now more than ever.  If nothing else on your list of resolutions can endure through the month of January; make kindness be the one that does.  From January to January, year to blessed year, make kindness the resolution that resolves to change the world, one smile at a time.

Two quotes I came across recently sum it up perfectly.  Not just for some, but for all.

“Three things in life are important.  The first is to be KIND.  The second is to be KIND.  The third is to be KIND.”  

Henry James

“KINDNESS is a language the blind can see and the deaf can hear.”

 Mark Twain

Happy New Year to you all.  Thank you for your following.  All of you are part of my Many Blessings…