English morning and afternoon tea ritual

 It's done every day, twice a day..........I am so glad I grew up with this ritual of taking the time to sit and enjoy a good conversation and relax a bit, before going back to work. May not be quite so fancy as these pictures depict, but its still practiced, none the less.  You don't have to be having any guests. I often see my parents, aunts and uncles doing this ritual daily, no matter what the occasion.
Since I live in the USA, its more of a ladies get together, special event........but I love that its just a daily thing for so many of British decent.

You always serve your guests a pretty table with a variety of choices.  My grandma and mother        would keep a tin filled with shortbread, ginger nuts or fruit cake handy, for just such an occasion.
But to rock my Dad's world, there would have to be scones involved.

 That's the proportion of jam to butter ratio that I remember.  And the tea always has milk/cream.

                                                                   Current Scones

                                                            Maple Date Pecan Scones

                                                             Cranberry orange scones

                                        
                                       Raisin scones with whipped cream and raspberry jam


So the scone recipes are endless.  Too many to mention here. 

Again the basic scone recipe is:

2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp butter
3/4 c milk

Variations:
1/2 c Dates chopped, 1/2 c pecans, 1 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 c Raisins, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp brown sugar

3/4 c Currents, 1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 c Cranberries, 1 Tbsp orange zest, 1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 475 oF
Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is just course granules.
Add your other special ingredients and coat with the flour mixture.
Make a well in the center and add the milk.
Toss lightly until just moistened and combined.
Fold very gently onto a floured surface and press down slightly...do not knead.
Cut into wedges, squares or circles.  Or just spoon from the bowl and drop on a
parchment paper covered baking sheet or just a lightly floured baking  sheet.
You can give the top an egg white wash or melted butter wash and add granulated sugar sprinkles.
Do whatever you like to make it the style you desire.  Be creative.
Of course you can also use fresh fruit like chopped apples, blueberries and strawberries in the mix
as well. 
Bake for 10 mins and serve immediately.  To check for doneness, just press the top lightly and they should bounce back.  If you can smush it down, it needs to cook longer.
The outside will be very crunchy and the inside very soft.
Serve with butter, and jam. and for special occasions whipped cream.
If you aren't going to serve them right away, then store them in the freezer.  They don't keep fresh for very long.  You don't want them to go hard.

Try Lemon Curd too.  That's always a special treat.

And yes, even cucumber or watercress sandwiches. 

Chinene food from the back door of the restaurant....

Stir Fry

One of my favorite memories in the late 1950's and early 1960's is of eating 'take out' or 'take away' as they called it then.  My Dad and Mom would drive us into the city of Auckland on a Friday night.  We would go to the back door of a Chinese restaurant and get the food served into our own pots and pans that we'd brought from home.

 Then we'd drive up Mt. Eden, which looked over the city, and eat the meal on our own plates from the back of the car.

In those days 'take out' was a pretty new thing.  But for us picnicking was a way of life.  We would eat from the car or outside with a blanket at every opportunity.

Mt Eden is an extinct volcano, so it has a nice crater for a kid to roll down into then climb back out.  That was always a high light of our outdoor adventures.

As long as there was a pretty view, we were there. It rained an awful lot, so whenever the weather was good, we were always heading outside.

Since then, I've lived in Asia and learned to make that distinctly delicous style of food for myself. 
Here's something I would make about once a week for my children when they were growing up. I would say  this is my signature dish.

Stir Fry

1 onion, sliced thinly
1 carrot, sliced diagonally
1 handful of broccoli, sliced  long ways
1/2 red, yellow or orange bell pepper sliced, veins and seeds removed
 1/2 c pea pods, whole
1/2 c mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp Yoshida's Gourmet sauce (or your favorite stir fry sauce)
1 c chicken, cooked or raw, cubed

Heat the wok with the oil until really hot then add the onions and carrots and stir well, (tossing is more the technique) for about 1 min.
Add the broccoli, garlic, peppers and mushrooms and stir well.
Add a little water to the pan if it looks like its getting too dry, but not enough to boil anything.
Once the colors of the vegetables become very bright, they are done.  You don't want to cook them too long, until the color turns dull again.  They should be crisp tender.
 Cook the pea pods very quickly at the end. with the  pre cooked chicken and add the sauce. 
If your chicken was raw, cook this first in the wok with oil, until it is no longer pink then remove to a plate.  Do not over cook the chicken as it will become rubbery. 

You can omit or add any vegetables you like. This recipe is a bit heavy on the vegetables.  Three of them is usually fine.  Just choose something, green, red or orange. And always have onions.
The key thing is to have everything ready and handy, because everything gets cooked so fast, right before you serve it. 
Serve over steamed rice.  I prefer Jasmine brown rice.

In my previous blog I told a funny story about a cooking fiasco that took place on Great Barrier Island.  Hope you read that too.

A funny thing happend when I won a fishing competition........

A funny thing happened to me once when I won a fishing competition with my Dad on Great Barrier Island, off the coast of New Zealand in the 1960's.  We were spending the summer on this wonderful island, in the South Pacific, living off the land, enjoying the company of may friends at a place called Orama.  It was run as a Christian Retreat Center and every summer we camped there and enjoyed the ocean and farm life.  We had to take a small ferry boat or tiny airplane to get there....what fantastic experiences.........watching cows being milked, sheep sheared etc.  

But back to the fishing story............My Dad who worked for a large Toy Company for a living.....was a passionate fisherman.  The camp had organized a fishing competition for the day........my brother John had chosen to go spear fishing with snorkel, fins and goggles.  Dad and I had a small dingy that we rowed out into the bay.  Somehow we managed to put down anchor near a tiny island and began to fish.  Well, little did we know that this was the sweet spot of all time.   Dad couldn't bait the hooks fast enough, while I reeled them in one by one.  Before long we had more than our little boat could handle and we quit long before the fish were done biting.  We won for having the most fish.  And my brother won for the most unusual catch..........he caught a sting ray.

The next day while volunteering in the kitchen, it was my job to assemble a cold steamed fish salad with some of the bounty.  I was instructed to layer the freshly cooked fish with raw onions and cloves.  Having never worked with cloves before, I was liberally throwing them into the salad.  I think I was abut 11 years old at the time..........very confident and not into asking for advice.  So the next day when the layered fish salad was served, people were biting down on  mouthfuls of cloves and spitting them out left and right.  I don't know who invented that recipe, but I'm sure it was never repeated.

I however have a great love of fresh fish.  We had a neighbor who lived down the street from us in New Zealand who was a professional fisherman.  Many mornings he would drop by real early with a couple of fresh snapper or flounder wrapped in newspaper. My mother would simmer the fish in butter and cream and serve it for breakfast with a little parsley garnish.  Or we would buy smoked fish, and she would serve that in a cream sauce over rice.  But, I think my all time favorite was freshly caught rainbow trout that either my Dad or brother had caught, simply using a fly and rod,  wading out in the river or lake. 

Today, my husband and I had Mahi Mahi BBQ'd with a fresh cilantro dressing.  That was pretty amazing too.  I'll share the recipe for the sauce with you here.

Thai Cilantro Sauce 

In a blender place:
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 c cilantro leaves (fresh coriander)
2 Tbsp  Asian fish sauce ( or 1 Tbsp soy sauce)
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 c fresh orange, lemon or lime juice
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp sugar

Blend until smooth.
 Reserve half for marinading the fish and half for serving over the cooked fish later.
Place the fish in a zip lock bag with half the sauce for about 15 mins in the fridge.
Meanwhile heat up the grill and cook the fish until done.  Depends on the thickness of the fish.
Serve with liberal amounts of the reserved sauce.

This is also a great sauce for chicken or pork.  I made it with chicken just a few days ago.
The secret to keeping cilantro fresh in your refrigerator is to trim the stems a little when you get it home, and place into a couple inches of fresh water in a cup, with a  loose plastic bag over the top.  You will have fresh cilantro for up to two or more weeks this way. 

I love getting your feedback. 

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

 Its blueberry and lemon season.  My lemon tree is full of beautiful fruit as well as my orange tree. ( I will have to get inspired for orange recipes also).  Blueberries are available now in the stores.  These two flavors go together perfectly, so I looked on Pinterest for a recipe to try.  I found one that was an adaption of Ina Garten's, and then I had to do some more adapting of my own.  So here it is.  Can I also say that my husband John has eaten half of it already.  So, I'd say it was a major hit.

 I'm working on learning to take better pictures and do some food styling.  I've been reading other peoples blogs and getting some education along the way.

Blueberry-Lemon Loaf
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour (or whole wheat) +1 Tbsp
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c 0% plain Greek yogurt
1 c sugar (or 3/4 c honey)
3 large eggs (you can substitute 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed and 1 Tbsp water, per egg)
2 tsp grated lemon zest (approx. 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c oil  (or apple sauce)
1 1/2 c blueberries
 (I am listing some healthy alternatives to the sugar, white flour, oil and eggs..... if your diet requires it)

Preheat oven to 350 oF
Grease and flour a loaf pan
mix wet ingredients first then add the dry
In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries very gently with the 1 Tbsp of reserved flour. 
Then gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Place mixture into loaf pan and bake for 50 - 55 mins. 
Test with a tooth pick, if it comes out clean.
Cool in pan on a rack. 

Soaking Syrup
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
1/3 c sugar

Heat the syrup ingredients in a microwaveable cup for 45 seconds and stir.
While the loaf is cooling, poke holes all over the surface with a toothpick or something larger.
Pour the soaking syrup all over the loaf.  It will absorb completely.
Once the loaf is cooled, remove from pan to a plate, and serve.

 Let me know how  you like it. 

Mothers Day is coming. I can't wait to have Crepes with either Fried bananas and Maple syrup or with Lemon and powdered sugar

 Crepes are always my choice for a special breakfast.  Justin (my son) would opt for eggs Benedict or home made cinnamon rolls.  Or Jenny (my daughter) would opt for Belgian waffles .  My husband also makes some amazing biscuits and gravy (southern style with sausage).  But for me, these thin pancakes represent my childhood delight.  Bring on the fried bananas ......and I'm a happy camper. I was first introduced to this recipe by one of my Uncles in New Zealand.  And have also had it prepared this way in Argentina.  I think its a relative of Bananas Foster.  My mother used to make really thin pancakes and serve them with fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.  Both ways are 'heaven' to me.  I'm hoping to have this for my breakfast for Mothers Day soon. 

Crepes Recipe
2 Tbsp melted butter
3/4 c flour
1 c milk
2 eggs
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
generous pinch of salt

Mix all together in a blender and set aside in the fridge, covered for 30 mins so the gluten can relax.

 Meanwhile slice up some bananas, either length wise or in disks.

 In a small pan melt some butter and begin by pouring about 1/3 cup  of batter into the pan and swish around until the pan is coated.  Let cook for about 30 seconds until it no longer looks wet.  Then flip it to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds.  Invert the pan over a plate, to remove the crepe.
Put a little more butter in the pan and melt it around and repeat the process pouring in a little of the batter and make crepes until you run out of batter.

You can serve it with lemon juice and powdered sugar.  That's classic.

Or have it with fried bananas and maple syrup.  Im not sure which is my favorite.  I love it both ways.

 Heat another frying pan with more melted butter and add the bananas.  Cook gently until caramelised.

 I've cut my banana both ways.  Its up to you.

Place the banana inside the crepe in a line.  Then roll up the crepe.
Top with Maple syrup.

Let me know if you like it this way.  I know that nutella filled crepes is another favorite.

Easy, healthy pasta for a week night quick dinner.

Are you looking for a quick nutritious dinner in a hurry?
You'll need a jar of marinara sauce or your favorite pasta sauce.  Frozen meat balls or any meat you have.. Any type of dry whole grain pasta. Any vegetables you have on hand in your fridge.  Some cheese and off you go.

I chopped up 1 onion, 1 red bell pepper and some mushrooms. 

 Saute them in a large skillet in some olive oil,  until tender.

 Toss in a bag of baby spinach or any green vegetable, like broccoli or zucchini.  I just wilted the spinach very quickly.

 Add the jar of marinara sauce

 Meanwhile I had boiled a large pot of water and cooked the pasta for 10 mins. And drained.

These are my home made, pre cooked, meat balls that I had in the freezer to spare.  They were thawed in the microwave.

 Mix it all together in a baking dish. Heat the oven to 350 oF.

 Top with cheese.  I had freshly grated parmigiana, but mozzarella would be great also.

Bake for about 15 - 30 mins until heated through and cheese melts.  And serve.
If you don't want to melt the cheese, and the meat balls are already hot, then you can serve immediately and skip the time in the oven.  Should be plenty for 4 - 6 people. 

You could make this with ground beef, sausage, or any left over cooked chicken.
The variations are endless.  The idea is to look into your fridge and just use what you have.

Blogging from Mexico this time

HAM AND BEANS

I'm enjoying myself this week.  (Someone else is cooking for me).  I'm teaching in Bible School in Rosarito Mexico.  So I'm expecting lots of beans to eat and plenty of rice and tortillas too.

Before I left my home in California I cooked up a pot of Ham and Beans for my husband.  This is a recipe his Mom made for him, all throughout his childhood in Illinois..  We had bought a ham on sale right before Easter. I had carved most of it up and frozen it for a later date.  But here's what we did with the ham bone, which still had lots of meat on it.  I soaked 2 cups of great northern beans overnight in 6 cups of water.  Drained the  water in the morning and added 6 new cups of water.  Added the ham bone, a couple of bay leaves, one onion and simmered it all for an hour and a half.  And there you have it.  It didn't need any extra salt.  Oh so yummy comfort food.  I think I'm in that  kind of mood with the weird rainy weather we've had.

Chicken and Dumplings for a rainy day

Chicken and Dumplings is probably one of those comfort foods that remind you of your grandmother.  John (my husband) grew up in the Midwest USA and his Mom used to make a version of this for him.  My recipe is quite different to hers, in that my dumplings are light and fluffy and hers were more like a rolled noodle.  Also, I include lots of vegetables like you'd find in a chicken pot pie.

Today, is a rainy day complete with thunder and lightening......that's pretty rare for Los Angeles, so it inspired me to cook up some yummy comfort food for my husband. 

 Here's the view from my office window.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
1 whole chicken
1 onion for the stock and 1 onion for the soup
8 cloves of garlic for the stock
2 carrots for the stock
and 2 carrots for the soup
bunch of celery tops for the stock, and 2 celery stalks for the  soup
1/2 bag of frozen peas for the soup
1/4 c parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
6 - 8 c water

Start by boiling the chicken, carrots, onion, carrot, celery tops, garlic and water, for the stock. Reduce temperature to simmer  once the liquid starts to boil, add salt and pepper and cook for one hour.
Turn off the heat and remove the chicken to a large plate to cool.  Then once you can handle touching the chicken, remove and discard the skin and bones.
I used an immersion blender to puree the cooked vegetables and combine them with the stock.

 Now to the pot add the additional two carrots, two celery stalks, one onion chopped and bring back up to a simmer for about 10 mins. 

 The chicken should be ready to add back in.

Along with the frozen peas and parsley

 Bring back up to a simmer

Now prepare the dumplings:
1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1 egg
2 Tbsp oil
1/4 c chopped parsley
Mix all together in a bowl until just moistened. It will look very wet. Drop by spoon fulls into simmering stew and cover for 10 mins.  (Don't remove the lid)  Make sure the temperature is on low, and it won't burn.

This made enough for about 4 - 6 people.