Category: (it's all about the) food

The best birthday cake ever

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, italian
Italian Rum Cake with peaches and strawberries with whipped cream frosting
The best birthday cake ever!

So, why am I still talking about (and eating!) birthday cake in July when my birthday was in May? Because my brother and I are Irish (and Italian!) twins, born just 13 months apart…and where there are birthdays, there must be cake!

Besides having our birthdays at the end of warm weather months, another thing we have in common is this: we both LOVE Italian Rum Cake, especially if it’s made by La Cascia’s Bakery in Burlington, MA. Alas, our respective family members do not. We therefore typically do not indulge ourselves with our favorite cake on our birthdays in the interest of the family as a whole. It’s not that much fun eating your birthday cake while the rest of the family (who really wanted ice cream cake/chocolate cake with vanilla frosting/yellow cake with chocolate frosting/chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting like his girlfriend’s mother used to make 25 years ago…) looks on, having no cake at all. Or worse, having a bite of your beloved Italian Rum Cake and barely making it to the kitchen barrel in time to spit it out, saying, “Eeeeeewwwwww! This cake is gross!”

The upside of this though is that we get to have our favorite birthday cake for breakfast every day until it’s gone. 🙂

If you are in the neighborhood and just stop by LaCascia’s for an Italian Rum Cake, they will usually have a few made up ahead of time, one of which you could take home. These have strawberries in the filling of pastry cream and chocolate pastry cream, frosted with buttercream; slivered almonds are arranged around the outside of it. This cake is very, very good.

If you have time to plan and order ahead, however, you can have your cake made the way you want it; you can have the birthday cake of (my brother’s and) my youth. The way we wanted it was with peaches and strawberries in the filling, and whipped cream frosting, hold the almonds. Not that we don’t like almonds, but our dad never wanted nuts on anything since he had a great deal of trouble eating them. This cake is amazingly excellent.

Enjoy!

Garden update

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, gardening, health

The garden is looking so great so far this year (excuse me while I knock on wood). Again, I congratulate my self on holding back a few blueberries and strawberries long enough to take a picture before devouring them all!

blueberries and strawberries from the garden early june

In addition to these, the blackberries and raspberries are looking great, and should be able to harvest some of those soon.

The cherry tree has plenty of cherries, but most are way up high and, since this tree is now about 12 feet tall, the birds are reaping the harvest for themselves (not motivated to put up a ladder yet to gather those). Also, due to dealing with the pests that were trying to destroy the tree, we are concerned about sudden death following consumption of said cherries…better to wait for next year (so far, there have not been any avian corpses unexpectedly falling from the sky, thankfully).

The tomato plants all look well, and one of the 11 even has 3 tomatoes on it already! I’m guessing it’s the early girl; the stake with the name of the tomato  got buried during planting and I haven’t yet found it.

One of the eggplant seedlings had aphids and some other unpleasant looking bug on it, but my husband found them early and immediately sprayed it with the insecticide soap, and it looks okay now. Keeping my fingers crossed for this one. The other 2 eggplants seem unaffected.

The zucchini and yellow squash plants all have teeny tiny squashes growing. The bell peppers, beets, potatoes, pumpkins all look good. The melons look iffy, as they have for the past 2 years that we have (unsuccessfully) tried to grow them.

The herbs are all doing well.  The basil we planted from seed is sprouting, and the large leaf Italian Basil plants are still alive, green (not yellow, not black) and look healthy. Last year’s pineapple sage may even have reseeded; will be keeping an eye on the 2 little seedlings nearby.

We are still harvesting last years lettuce, and this year’s crop is growing very well.

How are your gardens doing? What are you growing this year?

Date night

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, fitness, no fear

After 19 years of marriage plus 2 more of courtship, I’ve learned something new about my husband: he’s ambidextrous.

How did I learn this? I stepped out of my comfort zone for an hour. Way out, actually. My idea of a night out is dinner, maybe a drive to or walk on the beach, ice cream, maybe a movie. So, when my husband mentioned that he used to like to shoot pool and did I know that there were two pool halls not far from where we live, a little warning bell went off…I mean, sure; I’d seen pool tables. We even had one when I was growing up. You know, in the dining room. Under the plywood. It majored as our dining room table. Oh oh, I thought.

Well, in the spirit of  “do the thing you think you cannot do” (a la Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote) I decided that I “must” do it. So I kept my reservations to myself…well mostly. I did ask my husband this: “What if we get there and I decide that I don’t want to go in?” to which he (graciously, and smartly) replied, “Then we won’t go in!”.

Which was exactly what happened at the first place we visited. I looked around at the building exterior, and with quip about it’s bad feng shui, declined to enter. Bill said, “No problem!” …and so on to the next stop.

Old Port Billiards on Fore Street was the next stop. I was not put off by the exterior this time, so in we went. There was a woman tending the bar and six pool tables.  I glanced at the menu and noticed right away that they had brownie sundaes, so then I knew everything would be okay (see? even when on an outing to play pool, it’s really all about the food! 🙂 )

No one was renting a table yet, so we were the first, but within an hour, all but one table was rented by two others by couples like us, and 2 others by groups of (male) friends.

We played for an hour and had a great time. And I found out that after 21 years, it’s not too late for me to try new things (and that I don’t know everything about my husband!).

Late Summer Wish List

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, tweens

Now that summer is underway, I realized that I forgot some of our “must do” activities, not to mention several

that usually make the list but don’t get done (after all, summer is only a few short weeks and getting shorter every year, with kids having to go back to school sometimes in August (what is UP with that, anyway??).

Portland Head Light

So, here are a few more activities to squeeze in if you have time:

  1. Acton Fair runs August 26 through August 29  (consider it a warm up for the larger Fryeburg Fair coming in October). It’s not too large, so you can go in the morning before it gets too hot and the children (and possibly you) get too whiny. Depending you where you live, there are many other fairs over the next several months; find a schedule here: http://www.mainefairs.org/fair_dates.htm
  2. Perkins Cove and Ogunquit Village. There are lots of shops and restaurants in both places; park the car in the middle of both (sorry; most likely you will have to pony up some cash to park, but it’s worth it if you are spending the better part of the day, which you will definitely want to once you arrive) and explore. Once nice thing about Ogunquit, especially with kids in tow, is that there are public restrooms that are (usually) clean and easy to find.
  3. York Beach is another great place to go for a day at the beach. Short Sands Beach is great, again, because if you have kids, you can part once then spend the day. Beach, playground, bathrooms, restaurants, shops (many of which sell excellent fudge!).
  4. Downeast Duck Adventures is on my list every year (like the South Berwick Strawberry Festival) but I never get there.  In the spirit of  ‘write it down, make it  happen’…I’m writing it down. Here’s hoping.
  5. Wells Harbor Concerts run every Saturday night rain (held at the Wells Junior High School) or shine (held at the Wells Harbor Park) and are FREE. Enough of the concerts are both child and adult friendly to make it work for families (hint: bring the BUG SPRAY).
  6. The Wells ChiliFest is an annual event that will be held this year on Saturday, August 28 at the Wells Junior High School. This is a bonus because if it rains (like last year) you can still go and have a good time (hint: bring bottled water, or something to drink; sampling chili works up a thirst).
  7. Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth makes a great day trip; there are walking trails, picnic areas, and beautiful beach roses! Stop at JulChris Cookies for an amazing mid-afternoon treat on your way home.
Beach roses!

So that’s my late summer addendum. Hope you try something from this or the prior list.  Have any of you made up any lists of your own for this summer?

Spring!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, raising chickens

Gold Laced Wyandotte Bantam, 4 months old

So, there are still a few days left of spring, the time when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to… chicks! You know, the kind that come from hens (we’re talking flock expansion here).

We have been anxiously awaiting the call from Longhorn since last week’s false alarm, when the anticipated arrival date (June 11th) came and went with no new babies! The due date was revised; the new date set was June 16th.

The new date came, and this time the chicks have indeed arrived! We got the call at 9:04AM. My husband headed over with his wish list of preferred types of chicks to add to our flock.

Decisions have been made after much research online, in books, in conversation with other people (who either currently raise chickens or did at one time)…now he will try to match up our list with what they actually are offering. Room is always left to add an interesting surprise or two; following your gut instinct is important in chick-choosing.

Today the gut points to a Bantam chick that my husband describes as “interesting”. Bantams are roughly half (or less) the size of “regular” sized chickens, which can be a boon for you if you are raising chickens in a small space. Of course, their eggs are smaller (and cuter!) too, but hey, sometimes you only need a little egg for your cooking project (like when you are breading cutlets, or making an egg wash for a pie or stromboli). It can be a bigger risk  that you may end up with a boy instead of girl when you choose a bantam, but some of the Bantams are just so “interesting” that it’s a chance you willingly take. Well, we take the chance more often than not.

The new chicks are now happily ensconced in their own little coop, where they will stay until they are ready for assimilation into the main coop.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Strawberries!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, gardening, health, shopping, tweens

Okay, the strawberries are here and Life Is Good! I have been lucky this year; I’ve been able to keep ahead of the varmints, birds, and creeping mold and get to most of my strawberries before the enemies did. We have 4 or more varieties, ranging from tiny, almost pin-head sized alpine strawberries to large, sweet…perfect strawberries.  

The first strawberries!

 

I managed to hold a few back for a picture before consuming them.  I even found a ripe blueberry in the strawberry patch. (Sorry, eaten!).  

My daughter wants to dip some in chocolate and I can’t blame her; the only thing with the potential to rival a fresh strawberry right from the garden is one that has been dipped in (preferably) dark chocolate.  

One problem though: how to keep from eating them long enough to dip in chocolate? Methinks that a trip to the farm stand for additional strawberries for dipping will be required. We’re in luck, because the Wells Rotary Strawberry Festival is this Saturday at Spiller Farm in Wells, ME.  

There will not only be strawberries there (and if memory serves, the homemade strawberry shortcake available for purchase was quite a hit with my daughter at last year’s festival) but also the grill will be fired up for the usual suspects (hot dogs, hamburgers). There will also be activities for your kids.  

The festival runs from 10am-4pm.  It’s a nice way to spend a Saturday. I’ll be there with my daughter buying (and eating!) strawberries.

Spelt Right Bagels at Hannaford

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, family, health, italian, tweens
Spelt Right Sesame Seed Bagel

I was shopping at the new Hannaford’s in Kennebunk (at the site of the old Stop’n Shop). There were several of those tables set up throughout the store where a person is handing out samples of food items that are sold there, along with a coupon to further entice you to buy.

I am a fan of “try before you buy” and routinely stop to try what they are offering. On this day a woman at one of the tables looked familiar. Turns out, she was. I had seen her before, but in print and online; this was the first time in person. It was Beth George, the founder of the Spelt Right Baking, which is located nearby in Yarmouth, Maine.

Well, Beth was very generous with samples of her bagels. My 11 year old daughter and I were lucky enough to try the whole grain, the sesame seed, and the multigrain. She cut us a good-sized piece of each (read: 2-3 good-sized bites) and generously spread them with cream cheese. All three types were delicious, with or without the cream cheese. Beth was also very gracious to my daughter (don’t you just love it when people are nice to your kids?).

My daughter, who just that morning would not eat the Italian Bread I had baked because it had “seeds” on it, was enthusiastically munching down Beth’s sesame seed bagel, declaring it “delicious!” and asking for another piece!

Have any of you ever tried the Spelt Right Baking bagels? Please, if you have not, do! They are excellent. You’ll find them in the freezer aisle. Beth also has a pizza dough that you can find (along with the bagels) at Whole Foods, and she runs an online store as well, that includes breads in addition to the bagels and pizza dough.

You can read about Beth’s story on her website, www.speltrightbaking.com. You can follow her blog (where she posts daily!), The Lunchbox Chronicles.

Homemade egg rolls

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, gardening, recipes, shopping, tweens
Rolling up the egg rolls

 

Our friends, the Douangsovaths, came over to our house to teach us how to make egg rolls. 

After they arrived, we took a quick shopping trip for necessary ingredients. Lettuce I had growing in  my garden, a tomato was on the counter that i picked up at the farmers market earlier that week…but bean threads? Not one of my pantry staples. 

Here’s the shopping list: 

  1. Green Cabbage (not Napa)
  2. The largest bag of carrots that I’ve ever seen
  3. Bean threads (in the asian food aisle)
  4. Egg Roll Wrappers (they brought these; I’m actually not sure where they came from)
  5. Whatever meat you want to use; we used ground chicken and ground pork (for convenience sake!). We also bought some small shrimp (and cut them up even smaller).
  6. Magic spice mix: mixed salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I guessed for the proportions. You mix them all together until it “tastes right”. Ahem.
  7. Canola oil for frying. Get a big one.
  8. One beaten egg; this becomes the glue that keeps your egg roll closed.
  9. A LARGE jar of duck sauce.

For equipment, you need a food processor, a fry daddy (which they brought with them). Kitchen tongs. 

Then, you just mix all the ingredients together in roughly equal parts. Then you use about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it up in the wrapper as tightly (and as thinly) as you can. 

Then fry for 6-7 minutes until golden brown, drain on a rack. We made about a hundred and fifty rolls. Here’s the thing: you will not remember how many you’ve eaten if you just start cutting them up and eating them as you are making them, as we did.  I’m warning you about the egg roll fugue state that will ensue if you do this! Decide how many you will eat, put them on a plate, and then stop! (okay, you have been warned). 

The lettuce was used (and full disclosure: they bought some not knowing we had it growing in the garden already!) to wrap up the egg roll after it was fried; that’s how one of our friends eats them (he also put  a pile of a shredded carrot recipe he had made on it too). I tried it this way and it was excellent. Sort of helps you forget you are eating deep fried food when you disguise it by placing vegetables all around it. 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Spring thaw!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, health, raising chickens

This is a great time for a “see what’s in  your freezer” week. Start now. It’s the kind of thing you may never get to if you don’t, or if you think about it too much.

  • Sunday: breads, english muffins, bagels….all those packages of  “there’s-only-one -or-two-left-but-it’s-close-to -the-expiration-date-so-i’ll-stick ’em-in-the-freezer-before-they-go-bad”‘s. Find them all. Be ruthless. Either make some french toast, bread pudding, or feed it to the chickens (or fill in the blank with your housepet/garbage disposal of choice). Here’s what I found: 3 half loaves of bread, 2 cranberry thomas’ english muffins, 2 whole wheat english muffins, half a loaf of pumpkin whole wheat bread…half of above were freezer burned (read: tastes gross).
  • Monday: frozen bagged vegetables. Mixed green and red bell pepper strips (became Chicken Stir Fry). Broccoli,  2 packages (one of which became Chicken, Broccoli, and Rotini). Peas. Corn. Also used package of frozen chicken leftover from a rotisserie chicken for the chicken, broccoli, and rotini recipe, and pasta from the pantry! nothing to buy.
  • Tuesday: chili
  • Wednesday: homemade Italian Sausage, Potato, and White Bean Soup.
  • Thursday: homemade chicken and rice soup. became my supper for work that night.
  • Friday: all sorts of frozen berries, frozen bananas, ice cream…made some smoothies
  • Saturday: Some small, unidentified chunks of frozen meat (maybe beef or port); will get thrown into the spaghetti sauce to make a big “sunday gravy”

This is just one week of discoveries. I have much more space in my freezer now, and am resisting the urge to fill it back up. Shopping at local farm stands for perishables rather than the supermarket is helping.

How do you keep the clutter down in your freezer/fridge/pantry?

eggs!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, raising chickens
our multicolored eggs

speaking of egg color driving our hen choices every year (see prior post ), here is a sampling of some of what our flock puts forth every day.  the blue and green eggs come from ameraucana chickens. marans, barnvelders,  and welsummers lay the chocolate brown eggs. . . and the white leghorn hens lay large, perfect, white, hard-shelled eggs.

when we collect the eggs, we never really know for sure what we will get from day-to-day. some hens lay quite frequently, some not so much. we also never know for sure where we will find them. although they have beautifully outfitted nest boxes, some hens just take a liking to a particular spot and will lay their eggs there, nest box or not. then it’s a challenge to avoid “walking on eggshells” when we go to throw them some treats or collect the days eggs.

one likes to lay her eggs on the ground to the right of the stairs that lead out to the run. another deposits hers out in the run.  if we find an egg in the same spot a few times, my husband will place a nest box there for that hen, although there is no guarantee that she will take advantage of it.

the eggs also vary in size; sometimes (when hens are first starting to lay) the egg is as small as a marble! sometimes they are as large as a tennis ball, and we have found eggs of every size in between.  shape varies from perfectly round to oval to oblong. sometimes they are asymmetrical. they are never boring.