Blast from the Past: Roasted Cauliflower, Bean, and Feta Salad

*From the pre-Fancy Camera Archives

 Maybe my enthusiasm had something to do with the combined facts that I love roasted anything (even Roasted Kangaroo, which I've never had the chance to chew), and that I would marry feta cheese if I weren't already happily attached to John, but I thought this was extremely delicious.  John tried it but didn't care for it, so proceed at your own risk.  I think I adapted a recipe that Deb of Smitten Kitchen had adapted from a Bon Appetit magazine, though, so there's not too much of a risk here.

- 1/3 cup plus 3 tbsp. olive oil (I used less)

- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary (or ground, to taste, if it's winter)

- 2 tbsp. lemon juice

- 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

- 1 and 1/2 tsp. salt (I used 1 tsp. )

- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

- 3 cups cauliflower florets

- a 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

- 1 tbsp. fresh chives (or 3-4 tbsp. chopped onion, if it's winter)

- about 1 tbsp. fresh, chopped parsley (Italian flat-leaf, or about 1 tsp. dried parsley, if it's winter)

- 1/2 cup feta cheese (always feel free to increase the amount of feta cheese in any recipe you come across!)

- 1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (I omitted this because we didn't have any, but just toast regular walnuts on a cookie sheet in a 350- degree oven for about eight minutes until golden-brown and fragrant, stirring or shaking a few times)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss cauliflower florets with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast until edges are dark and caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once or twice.

While cauliflower is roasting, combine remaining 1/3 cup (or less) olive oil and rosemary in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Cool.

Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in small bowl. Combine roasted cauliflower, beans, chives, parsley, walnuts, and rosemary oil in medium bowl; toss. Mix in cheese. Add lemon juice mixture and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper.

Healthy Muffins #1 (Banana-Chocolate-Peanut Butter Muffins)

Mmm.  These were also good.  I totally threw the recipe together, so I'm glad they turned out.

 

Grease one and a half to two 12-cup muffin tins ('cause I don't remember how many muffins this made, but I usually try to make about 24) and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

- 3 cups freshly ground whole wheat (obviously, you can use store-bought, and your muffins will be finer than these, because my grinder only grinds flour coarsely)

 - 1 and 1/2 tbsp. baking powder

-  1 tsp. baking soda

- 1/3 cup baking cocoa

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 2/3 cup sugar (or less, or substitute honey...whatever you want...they're muffins, remember!)

- 3 eggs, beaten

- 2/3 cup whole milk

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1/2 cup peanut butter, softened for a bit in the microwave or on a stovetop

- 1 mashed, very ripe banana

1.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the center.

2.  In another bowl, combine beaten eggs, milk, and vanilla.  After combining peanut butter and banana, add to the egg mixture and mix well.  Dump the egg mixture all at once into the dry ingredients and mix only until moistened.  (Batter will be lumpy.)

3.  Fill muffin tins as you usually do and bake in a 350-degree oven until done.  (Again, I don't remember how long I baked them!  Some help I am, huh.)

A Cheater's Salted Caramel Sauce

I cheated, and I am not ashamed.  I made two batches of this easy caramel-- two, because I thought I'd ruined the first batch.  It turned out that we all preferred the ruined one on the left, though, to the pristine one on the right, so I'll tell you what to do for both.

Use this to top cheesecake, ice cream, desserts, or your tongue.

 

Cheater's Caramel Sauce

-1/2 cup butter

-1/2 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk

- coarse sea salt, to taste

Melt butter and sugar together in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves into the butter.  Add the sweetened condensed milk and raise the temperature gradually until it starts to simmer, stirring constantly.  Cook and stir the mixture for about 20 minutes until the color changes to a rich golden brown.  Add salt, to taste, and stir.  (This means that you'll have to actually taste the stuff, probably more than once, and, if you're me, several more times to be safe.)

*Important note: To make the caramel on the left, with delicious, crunchy bits of toffee goodness in it, stir the butter/sugar mixture over medium heat until the color begins to deepen slightly, and then add the condensed milk. Stir in condensed milk and continue stirring over medium-low heat until the butter/sugar mixture turns to crunchy toffee but before it turns to bitter black bits.  (How's that for technical advice?)

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Sauce: A Non-recipe

 


I don't remember how I made this, but I'm pretty sure I just took a standard vanilla cheesecake base, kind of like this one, only with a cinnamon graham cracker crust, and then scraped into the batter the paste of several vanilla beans that had been soaking in some homemade vanilla extract.

Then I topped it off with some Cheater's Salted Caramel Sauce.  You can, too!  (Better yet, now that I have a temporary supply of fresh cream, make this!)

Blast from the Past: Venison or Beef Jerky

This recipe of sorts is what I created way back in Depew, when we only had TWO children.  Lands alive, I had no idea what wonders the next 8 years would bring...







Beef or venison jerky is so easy to make, and a thousand times cheaper than the Jack Link jerky you buy in those tiny bags at the Dandy Mart gas station.  (Wait, you don't buy those?  Never mind.)  I've never owned a dehydrator, so don't think you need one, although it will make the process even easier.

For those without a dehydrator (fellow sad saps), here's what you do:

Take a couple of pounds of venison or beef, freeze it until slightly but not fully frozen, about an hour, and then slice it as thinly as you can with the grain.

Take those slices of raw meat and marinate them in the fridge for a couple of days in the following concoction:

-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
-4 tbsp. brown sugar
-1 and 1/2 tsp. onion powder
-1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-2 tsp. salt
-crushed red pepper flakes, as many or as few as you'd like
-a glug of hot sauce, if desired
-a glug of liquid smoke

Preheat your oven to 150 to 200 degrees, hang the beef slices from the oven racks using toothpick skewers or place them in a single layer on cooling racks placed on top of cookie sheets.  Dehydrate all day long, about 4- 8 hours, checking and turning occasionally, until the meat has reached your desired jerky consistency.

Store in an airtight container and try not to eat all of it the first night ('cause that kind of stinks the next day when you want some jerky).

Cinnamon-Pear Breakfast Crumble

I threw this together one winter and haven't stopped making it since.  As long as I'm able to can pears in the fall, we'll eat this in the winter!  It's easy to throw together with a sleep-fogged brain first thing in the morning and hot enough to warm your bones.

-1 quart pear halves, arranged rounded-side up in a 8x8 square dish, with some of the juice

-sprinkle with 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together:
 4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup real maple syrup
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
and another
1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Spoon over the pears and  bake in a 350-degree oven until heated through and oatmeal mixture is crisp and golden brown on top.

Best eaten warm with a cup of hot tea while watching the snow fall out the kitchen window.

Blast from the Past: Chocolate Toffee Bars

 


I usually make these at Christmas.  They've a rich, buttery cookie crust, toffee-flavored, chewy and soft, topped with chocolate.  What's not to like?  I dare you to find something.

This cookie uses the same make-ahead base as these almond butter sticks, so it's handy to make a full batch of the mix to have on hand.  If you just want to make one kind of cookie, though, here are the odd amounts.

Make-Ahead Cookie Mix (cut into fourths for the purpose of this recipe)
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 and 1/2 cups flour
In very large bowl, combine butter, salt, and baking powder and blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. Add flour to butter mixture; blend until fine crumbs form, scraping bowl often. Store tightly covered in refrigerator for up to four weeks, if desired.

-2 cups mix (LOOK! You just made exactly 2 cups!)
-1 cup brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 egg

- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of a 15" x 10" or 13" x 9" pan.  In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients and blend until smooth.  Spread dough evenly in greased pan and bake 15 x 10- inch pan for 12 -18 minutes and 13 x 9- inch pan for 17 - 24 minutes until the top springs back lightly when touched.  Immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips and let stand 2-3 minutes until they begin to melt.  Spread over the top evenly and sprinkle with nuts, if desired.  

Three Layer German Chocolate Cake

This was a contest-winning entry from Taste of Home magazine that I found on the good ol' internet, and it was the most impressive German chocolate cake yet.  The changes I made are noted in bold.
 One last change I would make in the future is to make 1 and 1/2 times the coconut frosting, 'cause that's my favorite part.

German Chocolate Cake Recipe

30   60 Ingredients

• 4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups cake flour  (I used regular flour but removed one tablespoon from each cup of flour the recipe called for)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (I used sham buttermilk; whole milk plus one tablespoon white vinegar to make one cup; let sit for five minutes
• FROSTING:
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 cups evaporated milk
• 3/4 cup butter
• 5 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 cups flaked coconut (I added more, to taste, because I like to taste, and I toasted it first in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes until golden and toasty)
• 1-1/2 cups chopped pecans (I added more, to taste, and I toasted the pecans on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven first, for about five minutes, which made their flavor tremendous)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ICING:
• 1 teaspoon shortening
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate (Skip this icing!  Instead, I made some ganache with heavy cream and chocolate chips.  Melt about a cup of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup heavy cream and spread it when it cools to spreading consistency.)

Directions

• Line three greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper and set aside. In small saucepan, melt chocolate with water over low heat; cool.
• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
• In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into creamed mixture; fold in remaining whites.
• Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For frosting, in a small saucepan, heat sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Cool until thick enough to spread. Spread a third of the frosting over each cake layer and stack the layers.
• In a microwave, melt chocolate and heavy cream for ganache; stir until smooth; let cool, and spread on cake.

Garlic Rosemary Dipping Sauce: A Non-recipe

Here's your non-recipe:

Take olive oil, about a cup.

Pour it into a pan and add loads of chopped garlic, chopped, fresh rosemary, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, and any other spices you feel compelled to add.  Heat over low-medium heat until the garlic is soft, oil is hot, and spices are infused.

NOW, here's the important part.  Take a giant loaf of crusty bread, tear off hunks of it with your fingers, and dip them into the still-warm oil.  Tear, dip, eat; tear, dip, eat; tear, dip, eat; and repeat until the bread is gone, the dipping oil is consumed, or you feel sick, whichever comes first.

Day-after-Thanksgiving Pancakes

 

We LOVE these pancakes, all caps required.  If you've never made Candy Squash before, you should.  Do that first.  Then, the day after Thanksgiving, when you still have half a pan leftover, do this.

Mix together

1 and 1/2 cups milk

1 and 1/2 cups leftover candy squash

2 eggs, beaten

3 tbsp. oil

In another bowl, mix together

2 cups flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir just until combined to make a lumpy pancake batter.  Cook in a pan or griddle as you do regular pancakes.  Then eat.  Admire their fluffiness, their moistness, and their overall deliciousness.  Plan to make twice as much candy squash next year.

(When I haven't had leftover candy squash, I've substituted pureed summer pumpkin or butternut squash, to which I add sugar, spices, evaporated milk, and a bit of egg.  Still works!)

A non-recipe: Roasted Butternut, Kale, and Balsamic pasta

Sorry for the gross picture.  It was dark outside, but there was no way I was going to save the last helping of this for daylight the next morning.  I made this one night in lieu of the garlic-butter-butternut pasta I am in love with (which is essentially roasted butternut, caramelized onion, and a slew of garlic, all swimming in a cup of butter and olive oil).  This was a yummy, healthy alternative that I made several times over the winter.


-1 large butternut squash, cubed, roasted with 1 and 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

-1 large onion, diced and then caramelized in 1 tbsp. olive oil
-1/2 head garlic (about 2 tbsp. minced?)

-2 cups kale, chopped and ribs removed

-3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
-2 tbsp. brown sugar (use less or add more vinegar, according to your tastes)
-1/2 cup water into caramelized onions to cook the kale in

- 1 box thin whole wheat spaghetti, cooked to your liking

1.  Preheat oven to about 400 degrees and roast the butternut squash until soft and slightly blackened.

2.  While the squash is roasting, caramelize the onion in the olive oil, then add the freshly minced garlic and cook over low-medium heat for a minute or two.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and vinegar.

3. When onions/garlic are finished, add to the pan
- 1/2 cup water
- the 2 cups kale
- the vinegar/sugar mixture
along with salt (1/2 to 1 tsp.) and pepper (1/4- 1/2 tsp.), to taste.

4.  Cook until kale is heated through and slightly limp (but not soggy!) and serve over warm pasta...with butter, if desired.

For Benjamin Boyd: White Bean Chicken Chili with Cilantro

I have no picture of this yet, but since you wanted it, here it is!

The first time I made white bean chicken chili was for a ladies get-together here on the hill.  I made two enormous crockpots, but in the rush of cleaning and baking and preparing, I didn't even taste it before people spooned it into their bowls.   When I finally sat down with a bowl and commented on how bland it was, a guest politely suggested I add more salt and top it with cheese.  You see, in my rush, I had forgotten to add any salt.  Everyone had already finished most of their bowls, and I felt like a complete idiot.

Never again, folks.

The second time I took it for a meal with friends, I wrote down what I threw in, I tasted it before leaving, and, by golly, I added salt.


Here you are, Boyd.

White Bean Chicken Chili with Cilantro

- 4 cups dried Great Northern beans, cooked until soft and drained

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, boiled until done and then shredded with a fork

- bean broth and chicken broth (or water from boiling the chicken breasts + bouillon) for the soup base
 - 4 tbsp. butter and a bit of extra virgin olive oil
-2 medium onions
- about 8 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced
- around 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups whole milk
 - 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

- 1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 - 2 tsp. salt
- 1 - 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- a dash of chili powder
- ground cayenne, to taste
- about 4 cups corn (I used stuff frozen from last summer)


*additional grated cheese and chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired.

1.  I usually use a mixture of chicken broth (or chicken cooking water + bouillon) plus some bean cooking water as my soup base, and then add the beans and shredded chicken.

2. Next, saute onion in the butter and olive oil until soft; add minced garlic and cook for another minute.

3.  Stir in flour and cook for about 30 seconds to start your bechamel.  Add the milk and whisk until all flour lumps are dissolved (onion and garlic lumps will still be there!).  Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly, and then add the grated cheese.  Stir until melted.

4.  Add bechamel (cheese sauce) to the bean and soup base and add spices.  Add corn and heat through.  Taste and adjust spices, as desired.  DON'T FORGET THE SALT.

Blast from the Past: Mopsy's Peaches and Cream Pie

 


With its cream-cheese based crust, this is technically more a cheesecake dessert than a pie, but it's a Thanksgiving staple 'round these parts.  I don't remember and can't imagine a Thanksgiving Day without at least a small sliver of this most favorite of holiday sweets.

Grease bottom and sides of 9 or 10-inch pie plate and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
Crust:
 -3/4 cup flour
-1 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. salt
-3 and 1/4 oz. package of vanilla cook and serve pudding mix (not instant)
-3 tbsp. butter, softened
-1 egg
-1/2 cup milk
Combine in large bowl and beat for 2 minutes at med. speed before pouring into prepared plate.

 Peach Filling:
 -one 15 - 20 oz. can peaches, well-drained, reserve juice  (I always use one quart of home-canned peaches, but then you have to slice them yourself. Bummer.)
Place sliced peaches in a single layer over the  batter.

Topping: 

 -8 oz. softened cream cheese
-1/2 cup sugar
-3 tbsp. reserved peach juice
Mix well for 2 minutes at medium speed and then spoon over batter to within one inch of the edge.

Combine 1 tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and sprinkle over the topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until crust is golden and filling appears soft.  Store leftovers, if there are any, in the refrigerator. 

Blast from the Past: Cranberry Waldorf Salad

This is my standard cranberry dressing for Christmas.  Mrs. Winnie Finbar shared it with me when we lived in Depew, and I remember her as a most excellent cook.  (Remember these spiced nuts?)  Be confident that if Mrs. Finbar made it, it's worth making.

Cranberry Waldorf Salad

- 1 can whole cranberry sauce

- 1 package raspberry jello (Red 40.  I know, I KNOW.)

- 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup boiling water

- very finely chopped celery, 1 stalk or less

- 1/2 red apple, unpeeled and finely chopped (I always add more)

- chopped walnuts (toast them first if you'd like!)

-  I also usually add some orange zest.

Dissove Red 40 jello in boiling water.  Mash cranberries with a fork and add to jello.  Refrigerate for twenty minutes.  Add chopped apple, celery, and walnuts and refrigerate.

*To give credit where credit is due, Winnie included this note at the bottom:  "Recipe came on the Food TV on a program last Christmas time on a show about Cranberry Inn in Cranberry, NJ." 

Here's an Idea: Chocolate Truffle Basket

These truffles from a Martha Stewart cookbook have been my standby since Millie was a baby.  We go waaaay back.   

A few years ago, I celebrated May Day by giving a friend from church this basket, made of chocolate, and filled with truffles.  

 

I rolled some of the truffles in yellow sprinkles and cut out flower petals from white card stock in order to make the daisies.  I know.  It's so cute, it's sickening.

 

Good news!  To make your very own truffle basket, you only need a bit of waxed paper, some ribbon, a knife, and chocolate chips!  

This is how I do it: 

Cut a circle of the desired size out of wax paper.  Melt a bag of chocolate chips and a couple of tablespoons of butter the microwave, in 30-second increments.  Stir frequently to avoid scorching.  (To be safe, use a double boiler or a bowl set on top of a pot of water on the stovetop.)  Stir until smooth, and spoon equal amounts of chocolate over each paper circle, using a teaspoon to spread close to the edges to make chocolate rounds with scalloped edges.  (Make sure you spread the chocolate thick enough to ensure easy paper/chocolate separation.) Carefully lift each covered paper round and drape it over an upturned glass, curving the edges to create a frilled effect. Let the chocolate set completely, then carefully lift off the chocolate shape and peel away the paper. With your sharp knife, poke a couple of holes through the chocolate and thread a ribbon through.  Voila!  You  just made a basket for truffle daisies!

*This is also the process I've used for making cake decorations (here and here) and chocolate dessert cups.

Blast from the Past: Photo Dump

It's been four years since I took these photos with a non-Fancy Camera. I don't have the desire or energy to find the recipes, so use them as visual inspiration, instead!


Dill, Ham, and Zucchini Soup (from Rachel Ray, but not pureed):

Summer Squash Pasta with Tomato, Basil, Garlic, and Some Kind of Mysterious Cheese:

 


Zucchini Quiche: delicious and cheesy as all get-out but with a weird yellow cast because I took the picture after dark

 



Re-fried beans: oooh, these were good!  Savory and delicious

 



Tortillas: Easy enough to find a million recipes for these on the internets.  Take your pick!

 

Super-Simple and Delicious Fresh Salsa: As I recall, this was simply chopped garden tomatoes, onions, fresh garlic, fresh cilantro, salt, and bright lime juice.

 

Put 'em all together and whaddya get?  Another day older and deeper in debt?  No!  You get a delicious burrito, folks.

Corn on the cob brushed with Cumin-Lime-Cilantro butter.  This was good, too.

 



Chicken-topped salad with seared corn and Southwest Dressing:






Butternut Squash Curry:



 



Spiced Applesauce Muffins (made up the recipe and can't find it anywhere...oops):



 



Chocolate Chip Muffins (made with homemade yogurt and banana instead of oil).  I wish I hadn't lost my notes for these!

 

 


Mini Zucchini Quiches (this one is actually moving into Fancy Camera territory, so I must have made it within the last three years):







Cinnamon-sugar Pull-apart Bread (Joy the Baker's recipe):

 

Maple-glazed whole wheat scones:

Millie's Mystery Muffins

Four years ago, when she was a new seven-year old, Millie took these pictures of muffins she had just made.  Sigh.

 

 

I took the following two pictures four years ago because I thought her "mystery ingredients" were gross and funny.

 

Instead of jam or chocolate chips or berries, which would have been my go-to ingredients, she added as many autumn sprinkles as she could, an entire bag of stale butterscotch chips, and a bunch of  lemon extract.  Mmmmm.  How mysterious!

Blueberry Cream French Toast

 

All apologies for the ugly picture.  I had one of the girls hold a napkin behind this just before we gobbled it for Millie's birthday breakfast.  Don't let it dissuade you from this exceptional breakfast!  Also, unless your free-roaming chickens also provide you with shockingly yellow yolks, the bread won't be tinged this brightly.

I've made this several times for special occasion breakfasts, and the fact that it's assembled the night before makes for smooth sailing the next morning.  (Shhh.  Don't tell anyone, but for Millie's birthday breakfast, I assembled it right before baking and just smushed the bread into the egg batter to soak it thoroughly.  It worked just dandy.)

If my approval isn't enough, and you still need some convincing (or a kick in the pants), this recipe was the Grand Prize winner in Taste of Home's "Very Berry" contest of 1996.  Thanks to you, Patricia Walls of Aurora, Minnesota, we have a winner!

Ingredients:
-12 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed (I use rustic bread and don't remove the crusts because I like the texture, plus I'm lazy.  Also, I'm a rebel)
- 2 packages cream cheese (I often use less.  1 - 1 and 1/2 packages.)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I've only ever used frozen leftover from summer picking.)
-12 eggs
-2 cups milk
-1/3 cup pure maple syrup

Sauce: I usually double this, because the following amounts only make 1 and 3/4 cups, and we like blueberry sauce used liberally.
-1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I use frozen.)
- 1 tablespoon butter

Cut (or tear) the bread into one-inch cubes.  Place half in a greased 13 X 9 inch baking dish.  Cut cream cheese into one-inch cubes* and place over bread.  Top with blueberries and remaining bread cubes.  In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Add milk and syrup; mix well.  Pour over bread mixture.  Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Cover; bake4 at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes longer or until center is set.

For sauce, in a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water until smooth.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 3 minutes.  Stir in blueberries; reduce heat.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until berries have burst.  Stir in butter until melted.  Serve over the French toast.

NOTES:
I don't like the cubes of plain cream cheese in the French toast.  It seems like too  much straight cream cheese (though I don't have a problem eating cream cheese plain, otherwise; go figure).  I usually cut the amount of cream cheese and add some sugar and vanilla extract, mixing until smooth.  Then I drop it by dollops onto the bottom bread layer.

UPDATE: 8/22/20 for Mildred's 18th birthday breakfast.
This is what I do now. It's easier and yummier.

First Layer:
1 and 1/2 loaves unsliced French or Italian bread, torn or cut into 1-inch pieces
18 eggs
3 cups milk
about 4-5 tablespoons butter, melted
generous splash of vanilla

Place the bread in a giant, greased pan (equivalent to 1.5- 2 13x9 pans).
Mix the eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla thoroughly and pour over the bread. Smush down/stir slightly to ensure all bread is soaked evenly.

Second Layer:
4 cups frozen blueberries, sprinkled evenly over bread mixture

Third Layer:
1 and 1/2 or 2 blocks cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
about 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar
generous splash vanilla
ground cinnamon

Blend thoroughly and spread evenly over the blueberries.
Sprinkle well with ground cinnamon.

Fourth Layer:
Take remaining 1/2 loaf of bread and cut into one-inch pieces. Mix 6 eggs, 1 cup milk, and a small splash of vanilla together and mix with the bread until bread is moistened. Sprinkle bread cubes evenly over the top.

Put in refrigerator to bake later or bake immediately. If baking later, let it sit on the counter for 1/2 hour before baking. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and then uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until top is lightly golden and inside is cooked. The casserole should be fully cooked yet not dry.

This is so good and decadent alone that we don't use maple syrup or blueberry sauce on it.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Candies

Two years ago, I made these for a dear woman at my church.  She loves chocolate covered cherries, and I love her, so I figured it was worth a shot.  Because they entail wrapping homemade fondant around a damp cherry, they're not as easy* as, say, peppermint patties, but oh, are they goooood.  Someone Else may also love chocolate covered cherries, but I'm not saying who.  Someone Else may have nibbled 6 or so for quality control.  Again, I'm not saying who.  (Chocolate stains? By my mouth?  Naw.)

These rich candies are awfully good, but I didn't let the ones that Someone Else ate ripen for the full 2 weeks before Someone Else gobbled them, so I can only tell you that if you eat them the next day or any of the 2 days following their making, the fondant will still be thick and gooey instead of fully liquid.  Obviously, that didn't keep me Someone Else from eating a half dozen of them.

I doubled the recipe, so halve what lies below for a single batch.

Fondant:
-4 and 1/2 to 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
-1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon reserved maraschino cherry juice
- a pinch of salt

Cherries:
2 jars of maraschino cherries, drained, reserving 1 tbsp. of juice (I didn't use the full two jars, perhaps because I ended up coating them fairly thickly with the fondant.)

Coating:
-24-36 semisweet chocolate chips (depending on how thickly you coat the candies)
- 1 tbsp. butter or shortening

1. Cream butter, add a few cups of powdered sugar and mix until smooth, add sweetened condensed milk, extracts, and salt, and then add remaining powdered sugar gradually until combined. Mix until smooth and then put in the refrigerator until firm.

2. Freeze the cherries in a single layer on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet for one hour.  (Drain the cherries as thoroughly as possible first.)

3.  Scoop 1-2 tsp. fondant, flatten in your palms, and wrap around each cherry, enclosing each completely.  Freeze these covered cherries on wax-paper lined cookie sheet for an additional hour (or longer) until easy to handle.

4.  In a double boiler or bowl set over a pot of simmering water, combine the chocolate chips and butter/shortening, stirring until smooth and melted.  Dip the cherries one at a time in the chocolate, coating completely, and then place on wax-paper lined sheets to harden. 

5.  Eat immediately for soft fondant in the middle; let ripen for 1 -2 weeks for liquid centers. 

*If you've never coated candies in chocolate before, I'd recommend practicing on a candy that's simple to dip first, such as the peppermint patties.  That way, you'll get the hang of it and have peppermint patties to eat, to boot.

The Most Heavenly Vegetarian Sandwich for Meat Lovers: A Non-recipe

Two summers ago, John ate lunch with a work fellow, and he had a memorable vegetarian sandwich. Since he saved a few bites for me (lovely man), I also had a memorable vegetarian sandwich. Now, let it be known that I love meat even though we don't eat it regularly, but this sandwich was tops. Tops! That same summer, I attempted to recreate it with vegetables from our garden, and, not to toot my own horn, I made a pretty mean sandwich. By "pretty mean," I mean "pretty darn near perfect."

(Toot.)

To begin, here's an ingredient list:
Oh, wait.  It was TWO SUMMERS AGO.  I don't remember the exact amounts, so you're on your own here.  Do you like how I absolve myself of any liability if your sandwich doesn't turn out pretty darn near perfect?

-two red peppers, roasted, with seeds, ribs, and skin removed, then cut into strips
-one average-sized eggplant, sliced into 1/4- 1/3-inch slices (next time I'll also peel the thing)
-one enormous onion, sliced into thin rings (I used yellow, but I wish I'd grown a gourmet red)
-fresh garlic, many cloves, minced
-fresh basil, cut chiffonade
-balsamic vinegar
-salt
-pepper
-a bit of sugar
-extra virgin olive oil
-free WILD MUSHROOMS! (...or any kind of mushroom, or mushrooms you have to pay for, or omit the mushrooms entirely. You decide.)
-crusty, dense bread given to you by your mother (It could be either purchased or baked bread, I suppose, but I can't guarantee the results if it's not bread given to you by your mother.)


First, roast your peppers. Google instructions if you've not done it before. I'm too slothful to show you anything but the final product.

Toss eggplant slices in a bowl with balsamic vinegar, basil, minced garlic,

Stir in the roasted red peppers.

Go into the woods and search for wild mushrooms OR grab your free jar!  (Or buy one, but, again, I can't guarantee the results.)  Dump as many drained mushrooms as you like into the bowl and stir together to coat.  Season it all with salt, pepper, and sugar, to taste, and then spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake in a hot oven (400 degrees?) until eggplant is soft and the rest is hot and steaming.

While the eggplant is baking, take your sliced onion, throw it in a frying pan with a couple of teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil, and cook until onions are caramelized, adding salt and stirring as needed.

When onions are finished, toss with the eggplant mixture in a big bowl, lightly toast your crusty bread, and top with a hearty mountain of the eggplant mixture.

Top with a second slice of bread if you want, and then act like Dagwood.
Watch out.  It may be messy.