Lavender Sachets

My mother loves to pick up lavender sachets for our dresser drawers at the local farmer's market. She loves to smell of fresh, clean clothing and in order to prevent a stale smell in our clothing and linens she scatters lavender sachets throughout the house. If you have access to lavender plants, you should consider making your own sachets. Dried lavender is quite easy to make or buy as well.

LAVENDER SACHETS

Mix 1/2 oz. of dried powdered lavender flowers with 1/2 teaspoon of powdered cloves. Sew them up tightly in a little cloth pillow and leave the pillow in a bureau drawer to perfume the clothes. Carla Emery calls this project, "an old-time elegance." 

Kidney Bean Chili

This post for kidney bean chili will go well with my earlier post about homemade cornbread. I love vegetarian chili, especially topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. This is an easy meal that can be thrown together with very little prep time and left on the stove all day to cook.

KIDNEY BEAN CHILI

Soak 2 cups dried kidney beans overnight (or use canned kidney beans). The next day, pour off water. Simmer beans with 2 onions and 2 peppers (both chopped), 6 crushed garlic cloves, 1 pound skinned, chopped tomatoes, 2 cups tomato sauce, and 2-4 cups water, depending on how soupy you like it. Seasonings could be 1 tablespoon each of chili powder and soy sauce (tamari). Optional ingredients are 1/2 pound slices mushrooms or 1-cup corn kernels (add those just a few minutes before serving). Simmer all for about 2 hours before serving. 

Hummus Dip

When I get home from work, my favorite go-to snack is a generous helping of hummus and pretzel twists. Hummus is a protein-rich food that tastes great on a multitude of dishes, including sandwiches, salads, and as a dip for vegetables and crackers. While store bought hummus tastes great, you just can't beat this homemade version!

HUMMUS

Puree 2 cups precooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas) together with 1 garlic clove. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup lemon juice. If it seems too thick, thin by adding a little water. Chill before serving. Stir in or sprinkle on top chopped parsley for extra flavor. 

Cracker Jack Popcorn!

Popcorn is a delicious treat whether it is plain or seasoned. When I am in the mood for a sweet snack I usually head straight for chocolate chip cookies or a brownie. However, this recipe for cracker jacks would be the perfect combination of sweet and salty to satisfy my craving!

CRACKER JACKS

Start with 8 or 9 cups of popcorn. Put into a dishpan with enough room to move it around easily. In a separate pan, combine 2 cups of packed brown sugar, 1 stick of butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3/4 cup white syrup (like corn syrup) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Cook together at a full rolling boil for 5 minutes. If it spins a thread, it is ready. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. (Hold pan over dishpan of corn before adding soda so that if it runs over, it will fall on the corn.) Stir a moment. Pour over popped corn. Stir until all is coated well. Put in a roaster in 200-degree oven for 1 hour. Stir occasionally so it will not become one mass. Store in a covered container.  

Homemade Food Coloring

Food coloring has always been a bit of a mystery to me. What ingredients really go into making food coloring? Surely Yellow No. 5 cannot be found growing in nature. To avoid the unknowns of store bought food coloring, The Encyclopedia of Country Living lists herbs and food products you can use to make your own colorings.

Black: barberry leaves

Blue: blueberries

Brown: nut hulls (walnuts are best), tea, coffee, rose hips, tobacco, hickory chips

Green: beet tops, sunflower seeds, birch leaves, Spanish onion skins (outer leaves only), elderberry leaves, spinach, cabbage, rhubarb leaves

Orange: orange juice

Pink: cherries, beat and sassafras roots

Purple: blackberries, cherries, huckleberries, cranberries, raspberries, grapes, purple cabbage

Red: red onion skins, bloodroot, fresh beet juice, madder root, and logwood

Yellow: the stem, leaves, and flowers of apple bark, barberry stems and roots, cinnamon, curry, ginger, the stems, leaves, and flowers of goldenrod, hickory bark, mustard, paprika, pear leaves, saffron, tangle wood stems, turmeric

If you lack the time, ingredients, or patience to create your own homemade food coloring and have a small selection of store bought food colorings at home, use this chart to create new colors with what you have on hand.

COLOR BLENDING CHART:

2 drops yellow, 1 drop green, and 1 drop red= blue

1 drop red, 2 drops green, and 1 drop blue= gray

2 drops blue, 1 drop green= dark green

3 drops yellow, 1 drop blue= light green

12 drops yellow, 1 drop green= olive

2 drops red, 1 drop blue= orchid

3 drops red, 1 drop yellow= orange

3 drops red, 4 drops yellow, and 1 drop green= tangerine 

Homemade Corn Bread

It may be June, but it feels like fall. This weather is perfect for a dinner of vegetarian (or meat) chili and homemade cornbread. This classic meal is warm, filling, and quite tasty. One reader of The Encyclopedia of Country Living states that she "didn't add the melted butter [to the batter] and they were really good anyway." If you are looking to cut calories, feel free to skip on the butter, but not on taste!

CORN/WHEAT BREAD:

Combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup home-ground (or whole) wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 tablespoon baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, stir together 1 egg, 1/2 cup honey, and 1-cup milk. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and stir together. Add 2 tablespoons of melted butter (or lard). Stir a moment more, but don't over stir, because you don't want to stir your bubble out. Pour into a greased 8-inch square-baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. 

Basil

Basil is one of my favorite herbs to use while cooking. My family is originally from Sicily, and we love to make a variety of Italian dishes and desserts. I recently adopted a basil plant for my kitchen. It has settled nicely into its pot on my counter and the aroma makes me crave Italian food on a daily basis.

This past weekend I made gnocchi from scratch for the first time. It was a laborious process because of the multiple steps, but it was worth the effort! I combined it with a spicy tomato sauce, however next time I set out to make my own pasta I would love to use this pesto recipe instead.

PESTO:
In your blender, mix 4 cloves of garlic, 2 cups freshly picked basil, 1/4 cup nuts (pine nuts or walnuts), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/4 cup olive oil. As you blend, gradually add another 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pour into a bowl. Stir in 3 oz. just-grated Parmesan or other firm cheese.

Use pesto right away. If you must keep it, store in an airtight container (air exposure makes pesto turn brown). To freeze pesto, omit cheese, adding only when thawed and ready to serve.

Caramel Candy Recipe

I have not had much luck in making candy, most likely because I do not own a candy thermometer. I have tried to make caramel multiple times with only a few successes. Caramel needs to be made with a watchful eye and an overwhelming amount of patience. If you blink, it could turn from the perfect caramel sauce to an overcooked, burnt mess. Carla Emery states that you should melt the sugar but "don't scorch [it]!" This recipe is much more simple than any other recipe I have used because it includes only two ingredients and the entire process involves only 2 steps. The next time I make caramel I should be aware that I do not need to own a candy thermometer to know when the caramel is done cooking. I need to train my eyes to recognize when the color of the sauce transitions from light to dark brown. This sauce will last indefinitely and can be used to color or flavor a recipe.

CARAMEL RECIPE:

1. Put sugar into a pan and melt it slowly. (The amount of sugar depends on how much caramel sauce you would like to make. I would suggest starting with 1-2 cups.)

2. Cook until the color is dark brown.

3. Add as much boiling water as the amount of sugar you started out with. (This would be either 1-2 cups if you follow the directions above.)

4. Slowly continue cooking until you have thick syrup.

5. Pour into a jar and put a lid on it.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Recently, I have been interested in making my own ingredients instead of buying processed ingredients at the store. When I came across this recipe for homemade vanilla extract in The Encyclopedia of Country Living I was very excited. Carla Emery lists three different recipes for vanilla extract- two that include alcohol and one that does not include alcohol. I am not sure which one would taste better, especially since you would not be able to taste the alcohol flavor in the final product, however it seems that the non-alcoholic recipe can be used immediately, while the alcoholic versions need to sit between 1-2 months before they can be used.

OLD-TIME VANILLA EXTRACT:

Use 4 oz. vanilla beans, 16 oz. edible alcohol, and 16 oz. water. Slice the beans and cut into fine pieces with a sharp knife. Thoroughly powder them in a mortar with 1-2 oz. granulated sugar. Put the powder into the alcohol and water mixture. If you don't have pure alcohol and are substituting a strong whisky blend or brandy, use correspondingly less water. Let the vanilla soak in the liquid for 4 weeks. Strain. The liquid is your extract.

EASY VANILLA EXTRACT:

 Use 1 quart of any good 80-proof brandy and two split vanilla beans. Soak them in a corked jar for two months before using.

NON-ALCOHOLIC VANILLA EXTRACT:

Cut up one vanilla bean into small pieces, place in a bowl. Pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over them; cover bowl and allow mixture to steep overnight. Blend mixture. Strain and return juice to the blender. Add 1/2 teaspoon of liquid lecithin, 1-tablespoon honey, and 1-tablespoon vegetable oil. Blend; pour into a bottle, cap and refrigerate. Before using, shake well. 

Baking with Honey

As a baker, I am always looking for ways to keep cakes, cupcakes and cookies moist. Not many people are fond of hard or dry pastries. Carla Emery received this tip from Marilyn Gordon and her husband, who raise and sell honey:

"To substitute honey for sugar in a baking recipes use 3/4 cup honey for 1 cup sugar and reduce liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup - like in cakes. If liquid isn't called for in your recipe, add 4 tablespoons of additional flour for each 3/4 cup of honey used in cookies. Bake at a temperature of 25 degrees lower than called for, as baked goods with honey will brown faster. Cakes, cookies, and breads will be moist and stay fresh longer because of the honey's moistness."

Carla also states: "Honey is acidic. If there is as much as 1 cup of honey in the recipe, you can add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (per 1 cup honey) and get a leavening action as well as neutralize the acidic quality."

With this tip it will be fun to try new recipes, such as these honey fudge brownies.

HONEY FUDGE BROWNIES

In a saucepan over low heat, melt together 1/2 cup butter, 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix well. Remove from heat. Blend in 1 cup of honey, 1/2 cup un-sifted flour, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Add 2 well-beaten eggs. Beat the mixture well. Pour into a thoroughly greased 9-inch square pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes (or until done in the center). Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before marking into 16 squares.  

No-Fry Doughnuts

Rainy, dreary Seattle days always have me craving a warm breakfast of coffee and doughnuts. I would prefer not to venture out into the horrible weather on these days, so an easy, at-home recipe for doughnuts is the perfect remedy. Carla Emery received a fantastic recipe from a fan for no fry doughnuts. This recipe may be slightly healthier than regular doughnuts because of the lack of frying oil. However, depending on the amount of butter, sugar, and cinnamon you garnish the doughnut with, maybe not. If you do not have a doughnut cutter laying around your kitchen, you can use a large round cookie cutter and a small round cookie cutter to create the doughnut shape and hole in the middle.

NO-FRY DOUGHNUTS

Just as if you were making bread, combine 2 packages of yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, 1/2 cup scalded lukewarm milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup shortening, 1 tablespoon nutmeg, 4.5 cups of flour, and 1.2 teaspoon cinnamon. Knead, cover, and let rise for 50-60 minutes. Turn onto a floured board and roll with a rolling pin until dough is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a doughnut cutter and carefully life with a spatula onto a greased cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Brush with more butter. Dust with cinnamon and sugar. 

Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes were always my favorite part of big holiday breakfasts. We usually used frozen, store-bought pancakes but I still thought they tasted amazing. This homemade version is much more fresh and flavorful than the freezer burnt kind I loved as a kid. These can be eaten for any meal of the day but they taste best with a generous helping of applesauce (especially cinnamon applesauce) and sour cream.

POTATO PANCAKES

Grate 4 medium-sized peeled potatoes and 1 large onion on your smallest-sized grater. (Do not blend in blender.) Add 4 egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Whip whites of the 4 eggs and add them. In a skillet with a lid, fry till brown on each side, turning only once.

For a vegan version of this recipe,

VEGAN POTATO PANCAKES

Grate 1.5 pounds of potatoes and 2 small onions. Combine with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, some parsley, and 2 tablespoons of tamari. Form mixture into patties and bake on a griddle or in a medium oven until crisp.   

BBQ Seasonings

Even though the weather may not reflect the season, summer is almost here! The next few months will be jam packed with barbecues and picnics. No barbecue is complete without hamburgers or hot dogs. I am a fan of veggie burgers and veggie dogs layered with delicious homemade condiments.



BARBECUE SAUCE
1. Combine 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2-cup vinegar, 1/2-cup water, 1-teaspoon salt, 1 small chopped onion, 1/8-teaspoon chili powder, 1/4-teaspoon Tabasco sauce, 1/2-teaspoon mustard, and 1 can of tomato sauce.  
2. Mix well.

DIJON MUSTARD

1. Combine 1 large chopped onion, 3 minced cloves of garlic, and 2-cup dry white wine in a non-aluminum pan.
2. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Then let steep for 15 minutes.
4. Strain and discard solids.
5. To your flavored liquid, now add 4 oz. dry mustard, 1/4-cup honey, 1-tablespoon plain-flavored cooking oil, and salt to taste.
6. Simmer again, stirring constantly, while you evaporate it until it's thick enough to spread.

KETCHUP

Combine equal parts of water, strong Japanese soy sauce, and molasses. Add fresh or ground ginger, coriander, and pepper. Mix well.

PEPPER RELISH

1. You'll need 3 quarts of chopped cucumbers, 3 cups of chopped sweet green peppers, 3 cups of chopped sweet red peppers, 1 cup chopped onion, 3/4 of cup canning or pickling salt, 4 cups ice, 8 cups water, 2 cups sugar, 4 teaspoons each of mustard seed, turmeric, whole allspice, and whole cloves, and 6 cups white vinegar (5%).
2. Add cucumbers, peppers, onions, salt, and ice to water.
3. Let stand for 4 hours.
4. Drain.
5. Re-cover vegetables with fresh ice water for another hour.
6. Add spices to sugar and vinegar.
7. Heat to boiling and pour mixture over vegetables.
8. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
9. Heat mixture to boiling and fill hot half-pint or pint jars leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
10. Adjust lids and use conventional boiling-water processing.

Apple Fruit Leather

Fruit leather is a fantastic snack for when you are on the go. I am a fan of store bought fruit leather, but depending on the brand, sugar seems to be the main ingredient. In this recipe, Carla Emery uses cinnamon or coconut to sweeten the apple puree if it tastes too bland, instead of sugar. I love to make my own snacks (as you can tell from earlier posts) and I think that this recipe is easy if you have the time and patience.

APPLE LEATHER:

Start by peeling, coring, sectioning, and grinding the apples in your grinder. Be sure to catch the juice that runs out. Add 2.5 cups of cider or apple juice per gallon of ground apple, and then cook the whole mixture over low heat. When it is boiling and has cleared some, sweeten it if needed. You can add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon or 1/2 cup of coconut per 2 cups of apple puree. Then spread the mixture out on baking sheets to dry.

You can dry fruit leather in the sun or in your oven. Carla Emery finds that drying in the sun is the best for taste, but it can be time consuming. If you don't have an infinite amount of time, set your oven between 130 - 140 degrees. It could take up to 6 hours to completely dry the leather. When the topside of the fruit is dry, pull the fruit off the sheet. Flip the pieces of leather over and dry on the bottom side for an equal amount of time.  Drying in the sun can take up to 8 hours. 

Homemade Cheese Crackers

Homemade cheese crackers taste a million times better than anything you can buy at the supermarket. Trust me. This recipe for cheese crackers is very simple and can easily be made with ingredients you already have in your pantry. I used a pastry cutter to create the scalloped edge of the cracker, however you can also use a cookie cutter or free hand the crackers with a knife. I prefer extra sharp cheddar cheese because of its strong taste and salty flavor.

Cheese Crackers

From Carla: This is a flaky (like piecrust), tasty cracker. Use any yellow cheese. You can grate a soft cheese on the big holes of the grater and then use your fingers to work it into the flour and margarine, as you would make a piecrust.

1. Grate a hard cheese as fine as possible.

2. Rub 3 tablespoons of margarine into 3/4 cup of flour.

3. Work in 1/2 cup of grated cheese (measured after grating) and a dash of salt.

4. Blend 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of cold water and add.

5. Work it into soft dough.

6. Roll out very thing and cut into rounds or whatever shapes you prefer.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cracker dough).

Chocolate Frosting Recipe

A few years ago I began to teach myself how to bake. I was inspired by the rising popularity of cupcakes and boutique bakeries in Seattle, such as Trophy Cupcakes and Cupcake Royale. I prefer to bake from scratch using an array of cookbooks and recipes from the web. I have found that I no longer like to use boxed cake mixes or store bought frostings. They tend to be very sugary, which can overpower the taste of a great cake.

When I make frosting, the texture needs to form peaks on its own yet remain soft enough to flow smoothly through a pastry bag. I am always looking for a frosting recipe that does not use an excessive amount of confectioner's sugar or butter. I tend to make butter-cream frosting more than any other type of frosting. However, this recipe for "Quick, Creamy Chocolate Frosting" from Carla Emery's The Encyclopedia of Country Livinglooks too tempting not to try.

Whipping cream is a very flexible ingredient. The longer you whip or whisk the whipping cream, the thicker and denser it becomes. This recipe includes only two ingredients: fresh whipping cream and cocoa powder. If you can avoid butter in your frosting, I suggest you do so. In my experience, frostings with a butter base do not have as long a shelf life as other frostings. They typically have a lifespan of 2-3 days depending on the room temperature before the butter begins to separate from the rest of the ingredients. They may continue to taste amazing, but the overall aesthetic of the cupcake is ruined.

Quick, Creamy Chocolate Frosting:

1. Whip 1 cup of cream.

2. Gently stir in 1/4 cup of cocoa powder or chocolate milk drink power. 

Banana Bread Recipe

With summer just around the corner, I am more interested in baking with fruit than with chocolate. Bananas are not technically a summer season fruit, but they do work well in cakes and breads. One of my favorite breakfast treats is banana bread with walnuts. In The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla explains that bananas are best used when ripe. Bananas are usually picked when they are green, giving them ample time to transition to a bright yellow color once they reach the market. I have found that using over-ripe bananas with brown skin when baking creates a softer cake and a stronger banana flavor.

Banana Bread Recipe:
1. Cream 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup honey in a bowl.
2. Stir in 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1-teaspoon vanilla.
3. Sift 1-teaspoon baking soda with 2 cups flour.
4. Add to creamed mix.
5. Add 3 mashed bananas and 1/2 cup chopped nuts (preferably walnuts or pecans)
6. Pour into greased loaf pan.
7. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, or until done.

If you simply cannot bear to part with chocolate in your pastries, add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini or regular size) to the batter. This will add a hint of chocolate but not overpower the banana.

Homemade Salsa Recipe

I am a huge fan of spicy flavors. I believe that any dish can be made better with a dash or two or five of hot sauce. When it comes to Mexican food, adding homemade salsa to a cheese quesadilla or taco completes the meal. I prefer to use jalapeno peppers in my salsa because they are not too high or low on the Scoville Heat Scale. In the Encyclopedia of Country Living, Carla Emery describes jalapeno peppers as “very hot” with a Scoville rating of 3,500 to 4,000. They have a much sharper taste than a mild pepper. In comparison, the hottest of the hot peppers such as Cayenne, Serrano, Tabasco, and Habanero have Scoville ratings upwards of 20,000. The hottest pepper of all, the Tepin pepper, has a Scoville rating of 160,000-600,000! Just the thought of eating one of these peppers makes my eyes water and my tongue burn. I would need a gallon of milk to quell the intense burning from these peppers!

Carla Emery has a fantastic recipe for homemade salsa for those interested in trying a spicy yet tame jalapeno pepper salsa with their next Mexican meal. For the more adventurous cook, try her recipe for spicy salsa made with hot red chilies.   

Spicy Homemade Salsa:

1. Chop 3 fresh jalapeno or Serrano chilies, 4 ripe big tomatoes, 1 globe (or 6 green) onion, 2 garlic cloves, and 1/4-cup fresh parsley (or cilantro) leaves.

2. Mix together.

3. Stir in 1/2-teaspoon salt.

4. Enjoy!

Even Spicier Homemade Salsa:

1. Combine 4 fresh (split and seeded) red chilies, 2 cups boiling hot vinegar, and 2 peeled garlic cloves.

2. Cover and let steep 2 days.

3. Add 1 cup chopped tomatoes and blend thoroughly.

4. Add 2 dried chilies.

5. Cook half hour in double boiler.

6. Strain out solids.

7. Store in refrigerator.  

How to Pinch a Penny

In today's world where food, movies, and countless other purchases are just a click away, it's hard not to spend money on items that you don't necessarily need. I personally fall prey to websites that allow you to "click-and-pay" all in one swift tap of your finger on the screen. Do I need the two-bowl Le Creuset set in a beautiful deep, inky blue? No, probably not but "Click!" and it's on its way to my home in only a matter of days. 

With a wedding on the way and a need to save for ribbons, cake, shoes, and numerous other marital accoutrements, I find Carla's advice on "How to Pinch a Penny" particularly useful. She wisely suggests the following:

Don't buy anything new if you can help it. Write what you need on a list, and then watch and wait. You probably don't need it all anyway. Never buy on impulse. Buy only what's on your list. If you see something you like, go home and think about it. If it was really that good, you can put it on next month's list. Attend auctions and yard sales; go to secondhand stores. If you can't find a bargain, wait.

Spring Cleaning with Homemade Cleansers

Spring has sprung and we all know what that means. It's time to scrub those floors, wash those windows, and partake in the annual ritual known as Spring Cleaning.

As a type-A, hyper-organized person, I find this process cathartic and love seeing the finished product of a home rid of dust, grime, and old clothes. What I don't love is the cost and harsh smell of many of today's cleaning solutions.

Happily, Carla's readers come to the rescue with various homemade cleaner tips that will keep your wallet full and your house smelling like springtime daisies, not chemical cleansers.

Here are a few of my favorites that will give you great Spring Cleaning success:

• To clean painted walls Lynn Woodworth writes: "I use a mixture of 1⁄4 c. turpentine, 1⁄2 c. milk, and 2 T. liquid soap, dissolved in 2 qts. hot water. It gives a nice finish to flat or semi-gloss paint."

• To clean the refrigerator use a weak solution of baking soda.

• To polish rust from copper or silver use a paste of water and wood ashes. Or use half a lemon sprinkled with salt to clean copper...Repeat until you win. Carefully dry afterwards to prevent more rusting.

Eat Those Veggies!

Peaches. Raspberries. Pears. Name any kind of fruit (except maybe tomatoes) and my mouth will water. As a child, my love of fruit even compelled me to hide the juiciest, ripest pieces from my family, ensuring that they would be all mine later and solidifying my reputation as the "Fruit Bat."

My fruit hoarding tendencies might signal a problem, but an even greater difficulty lies in my absolute disinterest in fruit's counterpart, vegetables. If you mention broccoli, cauliflower, or spinach, you won't even get me to turn my head. The most you'll illicit is a slow, drawn out yawn. This doesn't bode well for my body that needs the vitamins hidden within the bright red, green, and orange exteriors of vegetables.

Since I can't possibly be the only vegetable-averse eater around, many of you will be pleased to know that Carla Emery has a bounty of delicious vegetable recipes in her book. The one I found to be the most alluring (who doesn't love lasagna?)is below and will soon have you eating your veggies too.

Spinach Lasagne Make a batch of marinara (tomato sauce) and a batch of white sauce. Steam 1 lb. spinach until barely tender. Then chop it coarsely and combine with the white sauce. Also steam 3 large sliced zucchini. Now, into a 9 12-inch baking dish, spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce, a layer of uncooked wide noodles, one-third of the tomato sauce, a layer of half the zucchini slices, and half the spinach mixture. Then repeat noodle layer, tomato sauce layer, rest of zucchini, and rest of spinach. Finally, top with a last layer of noodles and the remaining one-third of tomato sauce. Bake at 350˚F covered for a half hour and uncovered for another half hour. Let stand before serving. From Ruth of Bonaire.

Thinking of Raising Chickens This Year? Take This Advice From Carla Emery

Early last summer, my uncle started a new project: raising chickens. Against the idyllic backdrop of his Maine farmhouse and with his childhood farming experience in mind, the endeavor of this now suburbanite man and his family seems less out of the ordinary, but it was none-the-less an exciting learning experience for all involved.

That July as I gazed down at the 100 plus yellow, brown, and red chicks rustling about and pig-piling their fluffy selves into cotton-ball-like nests, the furthest thing from my mind was the reality of where their final resting place would be. However, accepting that your chicks are destined to land on your dinner plate, providing you with many a delicious meal throughout the year, is a crucial part of poultry planning prep. Just how many chicks will you need? What chickens are best for broiling? And can you save on bargain breeds?

If you're starting out by buying chicks (my uncle mail-ordered his) here are some helpful tips from Carla Emery on how many and which types to buy for your family.

Chicks for Meat How many days a year do you want to eat chicken? Once a week? Order 50 quick-growing birds to be raised and processed for the freezer as soon as they reach the target weight. Twice a week? Make that 100 of them. Or, if you're not used to thinking of it by the bird or have a small family, 15 chickens per year per member of your family is a conservative estimate. Remember to include the cockerels from your laying stock (if you're getting straight run) in your count. Lane Morgan ... : "A 10-12-week-old Cornish cross is big. Our family of 4 gets at least 2 meals out of it, which affects menu planning and butchering quotas."

If your interest is to get birds for roasting and frying, the broiler breeds are a shortcut to that end. Or try a straight run of a heavy breed. You may get offered a great bargain in cockerels (generally Leghorns). Don't jump at it unless you have lots of virtually free food to give them.

It might be called something like "Super Bargains" or "Assorted Surplus." It takes so many more pounds of feed to grow a Leghorn to eating size than it does a broiler breed that the money you save on Leghorn cockerels at the outset is more than offset by the extra feeding expense. Such lightbreed cockerels, if not bought by the uninformed, will end up in dog food or livestock food or ground up for fertilizer.

Carla's Guide to Seed Packet Lingo

It's the time of year to start thinking about what seeds to plant for your spring and summer gardens. Seed packets of everything from sunflowers to squash are covered in instructional lingo for planting that can leave the novice gardener wondering what on earth, or rather where on earth, to plant their produce.

Luckily, Carla Emery is here to help. In the Encyclopedia of Country Living, she lists common seed packet and catalog phrases that will help your plants flourish. With her helpful explanations, you will have a bounty of flowers, fruits, and vegetables to share with your friends.

Common Seed Packet/Catalog Phrases

Certified seed: Seed that, like a registered animal, has a predictable heredity. You can save your own seed from a certified parent or any nonhybrid variety.

Days-to-maturity: A figure that represents the average number of days from planting to first harvest. It’s usually given as a number in parentheses, usually between 28 and 140. Order plants that have a days-to-maturity number that is at least a few less than your usual frost-free period.

Grows in shade: Grows in filtered sunlight, like what comes through tree branches — not absolute shade.

Likes full sun: Won’t grow well in an area where there’s shade even part of the day.

Perennial: A plant that will live for years (for example, asparagus, artichokes, and rhubarb).

Resistant: Able to naturally withstand insect or disease attack better than a nonresistant plant.

Self-seeder: A plant that may become a weedy pest.

Tolerant: Able to put up with a certain amount of disease or pest damage. A “tolerant” plant isn’t as hardy as a “resistant” one. The catalog will indicate what diseases the plant is tolerant of or resistant to by initial. For example, the Beefmaster tomato resists “VFN”: verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and nematodes.

Treated seed: Seed that contains a deadly chemical to prevent soil fungi diseases. Do not eat treated seed or feed it to animals. Treated seed might be yellow, pink, or white. Treating the seed prevents diseases called “damping off” and “soil rot.” These are most likely to strike in cool, wet soil early in the spring, but organic seed houses and growers get along without them.

Zone: Find out which USDA zone (1–10) you live in. The catalog often tells you what zone a variety is best suited for, and that’s important information.

A Taste of the Big Easy

Joyous, decadent, and outrageously fun are just a few words that describe one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. On our cross-country road trip last year, my dad scheduled a stop in what is also one of his most beloved spots in the South. With a decidedly French flavor, a Starbucks-grade prevalence of oyster bars, and the soulful sound of jazz music floating down the streets, I was in heaven.

For me, what truly distinguishes New Orleans is its food. From my first experience with grits at Brennan's to the Creole-inspired dishes at the Court of Two Sisters, my dad took me on a culinary adventure that I'll never forget. A stop on this journey was Café du Monde. Living up to its name, the café mills with visitors from all over the world who have come for its famous coffee and beignets. Resembling powdery, white pillows, beignets dusted with sugar and dunked in the café's special blend of chicory coffee are not to be missed when visiting New Orleans. It's hard to tell who is the favorite in this partnership: the sweet beignets or the rich, satisfying coffee.

To savor the taste of New Orleans at home, brew a pot of Carla Emery's chicory coffee and dip in your favorite pastry for an afternoon, or in true Big Easy fashion, midnight snack.

Chicory Coffee To brew chicory coffee, first boil a pot of water. Then drop in a spoonful of ground chicory, stir, let steep a few minutes, and there you are. Chicory is stronger than coffee, so use less. Serve plain or with honey and cream. You can make more chicory coffee out of the same grounds.

For dipping:

Honey-Applesauce Cookies Cream together 11⁄2 c. honey and 1 c. shortening. Add 2 beaten eggs and beat mixture until smooth. Add 2 t. soda to 2 c. applesauce. Sift in 2 t. cinnamon, 1 t. nutmeg, 1 t. salt, and 31⁄2 c. flour. Stir in 2 c. quick-cooking oats (or rolled wheat), 2 c. raisins, and 1 c. walnuts. Drop on cookie sheet with a spoon. Bake at 325˚F for 10 minutes.

Save Your Leftovers For These Delicious Recipes

If you're anything like my fiancé and me, grocery shopping for two can pose a problem. Certain items, like soy milk, oatmeal, and the ever-tempting potato chips that we probably shouldn't buy, are eaten up right away. Other foods like bread and lunch meat, and even my favorite fruit, bananas, fall by the wayside, going bad before our two person eating brigade can finish them.

While there's not much you can do with leftover lunch meat, there are ways to salvage foods that are on the cusp of going bad. For stale bread and mushy, overripe bananas, the possibilities are endless! Carla Emery offers several recipes to rescue your bananas and bread before they spoil. The two creations below sound particularly delectable. Enjoy!

Banana Bread Cream 1⁄2 c. butter and 3⁄4 c. honey in a bowl. Stir in 2 eggs, 1⁄2 t. salt, and 1 t. vanilla. Sift 1 t. soda with 2 c. flour. Add to creamed mix. Add 3 mashed bananas and 1⁄2 c. chopped nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 300˚F for 1 hour, or until done.

Bread Pudding Soak 1 1⁄2 c. chunked, dried bread in 2c. milk (if your bread is fresh, toast it in the oven before making this). Add 1 T. sugar, 1 T. melted butter, 2 lightly beaten eggs, and 1 t. vanilla. Put into a buttered ovenproof dish. Set dish in a pan of hot water. Bake at 325˚F about 30 minutes. Test by inserting knife. If the knife comes out clean, your pudding is done.

Serve hot or cold with rich cream, berries, or a pudding sauce.

Bringing the Tropics Home: Recipes for a Fiesta-Inspired Gathering

In the midst of winter, the constant chill and wet weather can put even the most upbeat person in a dismal mood. Instead of stretching your budget to jet away to a warmer locale, why not bring the tropics home? Host a Hawaiian or Mexican themed gathering for your friends and they will all thank you for their temporary get-away.

With the availability of out-of-season fruits and vegetables in grocery stores, you can celebrate summer any time of year, making a fiesta-themed event easy. Plus, you can use these recipes when your own harvest of warm weather fruits comes around. Favorites that will make it onto my party's shopping list include: fresh papaya, mango, and pineapple to flavor fruit drinks; ripe avocados for guacamole; and peppers for a spicy salsa. Here are Carla's recipes for festive tropical fruit salad, guacamole, and salsa. If you don't have loquats for the fruit salad, substitute your favorite tropical fruit.

Tropical Fruit Cup Mix 1⁄2 c. sugar and 1 c. water, boil 5 minutes, chill, and add 1⁄4 c. lemon juice. Gently mix 3 peeled, sliced kiwi fruits; 3 peeled, sectioned sweet citrus fruits; and 3 c. fresh, sliced loquats (or 1 c. canned). Pour syrup over fruit. Chill and serve. Fancy: Add some sliced ginger root to syrup before boiling. Remove the ginger before adding fruit.

Guacamole Peel, remove pit, and mash 4 avocados. Thoroughly mix in 1 chopped tomato, 1⁄2 t. garlic powder, 1 T. lime juice, plus hot sauce to taste if you're so inclined (I prefer it without). This is great in almost any sandwich combination or with chips, in a salad, or as a side dish (without the hot sauce). It can be frozen.

Homemade Salsa Chop 3 fresh jalapeno or Serrano chilies, 4 ripe big tomatoes, 1 globe (or 6 green) onion, 2 garlic cloves, and 1⁄4 c. fresh parsley (or cilantro) leaves. Mix together. Stir in 1⁄2 t. salt.

Calling All Dog Parents: Homemade Treats to Please Your Pup

Two years ago, I found the second love of my life. He is blonde, likes long walks, and has ears so big that they sweep the floor. His name is Mogley and he is the English Cocker Spaniel that my fiancé and I rescued from the pound. My, or rather "our," dog has taken over our lives in the best way possible.

At first, we were going to be strict dog parents. No sitting on the couch and don't even think about getting on the bed. Little by little, these rules disappeared. Moges, as we call him, now sleeps on the bed and has become a constant companion in nearly every aspect of our days.

With this overwhelming love in mind, imagine how worried and guilty we felt when we learned that he was allergic to the food that we were giving him. Itching all the time, Moges' handsome blonde coat wasn't what it should be and he certainly wasn't living as comfortably as he deserved. Instantly, we started scrutinizing the ingredients in what we were feeding him and transitioned him to an all-natural dog food with extra skin and hair vitamins to help him recover from his bout of allergies.

For convenience, we buy our dog's food at the store and try to seek out the most natural brands of dog food and treats. If you really want to know what's going into your dog's food, Carla Emery has a dog biscuit recipe to try. Of course biscuits can't substitute the regular kibble that you feed your pet, but these make a nice treat to give to the canine in your family.

Dog Biscuits You can use the excess broth from any old hen recipe to make this, or you could cook the chicken specially to get broth, use the meat in another recipe, and use the broth for dog biscuits. (Actually you can make this recipe with other types of meat broth, too.) This recipe will yield 60 medium-sized dog biscuits which your pet will consider a great treat. Mix together 31⁄2 c. unbleached flour, 2 c. whole wheat flour, 1 c. rye flour, 2 c. cracked wheat, 1 c. cornmeal, and 1⁄2 c. skim milk powder. On the side, dissolve 1 T. (or 1 pkg.) yeast in 31⁄2 c. lukewarm chicken broth. The richer this broth is, the more your dog will like the biscuits. Let yeast-broth mixture sit 10 minutes, then stir in the flour mixture. Roll resulting dough out 1⁄2 inch thick. Cut dog biscuit shapes from dough. Brush biscuits with egg wash. Bake on greased cookie sheets at 300˚F for 45 minutes. Then turn oven off and leave biscuits in there overnight to finish hardening.

A Special Valentine's Day Feast

With Valentine's Day coming up next week, you may be fretting over what to get that special someone in your life. If you're like me, you want your gift to be unique and you need to find a way to do it without breaking the bank. Flipping through the pages of Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living, I found numerous inexpensive ideas for handcrafted gifts to give to anyone from your husband or wife to your next-door neighbor. What caught my eye time and time again were the recipes for sauces, vegetable dishes, and, let's be honest, every other food in her 900 plus page book.

Knowing that my fiancé loves a home-cooked meal, I decided to treat him to a Valentine's Day feast complete with appetizers, a tasty cheese plate, and his favorite Spanish wine. The star of this spread will be pasta made from scratch. After hearing about their delicious eggy flavor from friends, homemade noodles are a dish that I've always wanted to try and why not surprise my beau with something out of the ordinary?

Carla provides several pasta recipes, but these are the two that I'm most likely to attempt. She suggests rolling the dough without kneading and advises that once cut, the pasta can be put directly into a pot of boiling water or dried and frozen for up to a year and half.

With a dash of olive oil and some Parmesan, I'm hoping this pasta dinner will become my new family's February 14th tradition. See the recipes below to try making pasta on your own or peruse the pages of Carla's book for more gift inspiration.

Basic Noodles This makes more than enough to thoroughly noodle up a stew: 2 eggs, a pinch of salt, and all the flour the eggs can absorb.

Green Noodles Cook a small batch of your garden spinach or other greens. Drain and put through a sieve. Drain again. Combine 3 eggs, 1⁄2 c. of the spinach, 2 t. butter, and enough flour to make the dough.

Do-It-Yourself Cosmetics

Who doesn't love the bubbly, cleansing effect of shampoo? The ingredient that produces this satisfying sensation, sodium lauryl sulfate, may seem like a harmless addition to cosmetic products. However, it is rumored to be a carcinogen and many consumers have taken steps to avoid using shampoos, toothpaste and other products that contain it. Whether or not the concern over the ingredient's long-term life threatening effects is valid, why not go the natural route and make your own cosmetics?

On a recent trip to the grocery store, my sister and I discussed doing just that. While wandering the aisles, we considered whipping up our own concoction of hair cleansers, toothpaste, and cleaning solutions. Not knowing where to begin or which recipes would be most effective, we found ourselves perusing the organic section for a chemical-free solution to our worries.

Avoid potentially cancer-causing ingredients and save some cash too with Carla Emery's easy recipes for homemade cosmetics. She answers the call for consumers who are looking for an inexpensive, safe alternative to store-bought toiletries. Mix them up yourself or make a spa day out of it with your sister and friends.

Chamomile Shampoo

Barb Ingram, Santa, ID, says she uses this formula: Put 1 T. soap flakes, 1 t. borax, and 1 oz. powdered chamomile flowers into a basin. Add 1⁄2 pint hot water. Heat until thick lather is formed. Wet hair with warm water, massage, rinse, and wash again.

Homemade Toothpaste

Create a mixture of 4 t. baking soda, 1 t. salt, 1 t. mint flavoring, and just enough water to get a toothpasty texture (about 1⁄2-1 t.). Keep any moist homemade toothpaste in a covered container so it won't dry out.

Oatmeal Mask

Mix together 2⁄3 c. oatmeal and enough honey to make a pasty consistency. Optionally, add 2 t. rose water.

Baking Bread from Scratch

Some daughters bond with their dads through soccer, football or any number of other sports. Cheering for our teams during the NFL playoffs with my dad certainly brought us closer, but it's the activity that we did while watching these games that is one of my fondest childhood memories.

In addition to making the usual hot dogs and hamburgers for these events, my dad, sister, and I would bake homemade bread while watching the games. For us, the smell of freshly baked bread sprinkled with salt, the taste of the deliciously crunchy crust, and the feel of the soft interior was a perfect accompaniment to our football parties. Happily, my dad didn't limit his bread to Superbowl Sundays and we were treated to it year-round.

Here is a simple bread recipe from Carla Emery to inspire you to try it on your own. I especially enjoy her suggestion to add extra ingredients like onion or cheese to this versatile recipe.

Virginia's White Bread Mix 21⁄2 c. liquid, 3 T. sugar, 1 T. salt, and 2 T. shortening. Dissolve 2 envelopes (or 2 T.) yeast in 1⁄4 c. lukewarm water and add to other ingredients. Mix in with spoon, then by hand, 7 to 71⁄4 c. flour. Turn dough out on floured board and let rest about 10 minutes. Knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Grease bread dough and put in a large bowl or pan. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place out of drafts until doubled in bulk.

You can test this by jabbing 2 fingers into the dough. If this causes the dough to slowly collapse, it is ready to punch down. Punch and fold it into a firm ball and let rise again until almost doubled in bulk. Divide into 2 pieces. Let dough rest on floured table 10 minutes. Shape into loaves. Put in pans. Grease. Let rise to just above top of loaf pans. Bake at 425˚F for 25 to 30 minutes. Turn out on racks to cool. This dough may be used for sweet rolls, buns, cinnamon loaves, and cheese or onion loaves by adding the appropriate extra ingredients when shaping the bread.

GOODBYE BOB BLOG

I've decided to call a halt to this blog. It was first created almost six years ago at the prompting of my publisher, who regarded it as a marketing tool. I'm glad it grew, and has continued to grow, into something more  -  not least an often provocative discussion forum  -  but I want to stop before it becomes a treadmill.

I shall continue to monitor and publish comments that come in for another ten days or so from today, but after that the blog will become, frozen in cyberspace, a record of what's been contributed and published  -  be me and by you.

I thank every person -  and there have been many thousands  -  who has read the blog down the years, and I thank most gratefully all those who have participated in it more actively. Except the rude people, of course.

That said, I've created a new blog, OUTTAKES. This can be accessed either here or from the drop-down menu cunningly titled 'Blogs' at www.michaelgray.net. I hope some readers might come with me.

News of what I'm doing will also continue to be posted on my website and I can always be contacted directly by e-mail at michael@michaelgray.net . Meanwhile thank you again.

DYLAN DISCUSSION WEEKENDS - AN UPDATE

I'm pleased to say that one of the three Bob Dylan Discussion Weekends coming up here at our home in May-June is now fully booked. No more places are available for May 11-13.

Places can still be booked for Friday May 4 to Sunday May 6, and for Friday June 15 to Sunday June 17.

More details here.

BOB PAYS TRIBUTE TO SCORSESE - AND McTELL

Great to see him so upfront, without the hat, without the keyboards and without any faltering over the words.

ALLEN GINSBERG'S FARM

It would be hard to take much of an interest in Bob Dylan's work, let alone the poetry of the 20th Century, without taking an interest in Allen Ginsberg  -  and having devoured his Collected Poems, his terrific exchange of letters with his father, and Barry Miles' fine biography, I'm pleased to learn from author Gordon Ball that his book East Hill Farm: Seasons with Allen Ginsberg has at last been published  -  in US hardback (Counterpoint, though their stated publication date is still given on amazon.com as 1 May 2012) and in a Kindle edition.

One of the reader reviews says this: "A fascinating and disturbing time in U.S. history is echoed in Gordon Ball's riveting memoir of a period in Allen Ginsberg's life that was pivotal in Ginsberg's move to a truly serious Buddhist practice. The Cherry Valley farm commune of upstate New York is breezed over even in Ginsberg's own poetry. But here, Ball's training as a filmmaker gives us a slowed down gander at the often hilarious interactions of visitors Gregory Corso, Herbert Huncke, Ray Bremser, Charles Plymell and Andy Clausen with Allen and longtime companion Peter Orlovsky. At the same time, Ginsberg's voluminous correspondence and exhaustive traveling, as well as Ball's own adventures with Harry Smith, Bob Dylan and John Giorno in NYC, serve up a truly satisfying feast of well-documented detail. A book I didn't want to end."

I look forward to starting it.

Gordon Ball is the man who proposes Bob Dylan for the Nobel Prize for Literature every year. There is an entry on him in my Bob Dylan Encyclopedia.

NEW SERIES OF DYLAN DISCUSSION WEEKENDS IN FRANCE

We have just clinched dates for a new series of Dylan Discussion Weekends here in southwest France. There are three weekends on offer  -  two in early May and and one in mid-June, and details have just been posted here on my website. We hope to see you then!

mySanta surprise visit to my world this moment

It is fun time guys.. Santa is on the way to meet you for the surprise gift! Yes, the wonderful start of the festival season will be ended only when our favourite Santa's message and the surprise gifts. I am very much eager to see him and to get the message this time.



So visit the website icoughtsanta.com and enjoy your fun time with Santa.

OCCASIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS: A CAFE IN JAISALMER, INDIA

 

photo © Magdalena Gray, 2012

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

Brenda Lee reaches for Elvis; details unknown

Hi there pop-pickers (as Alan Fluff Freeman used to say). Happy New Year to all.

I'm back from an unusually long Christmas break  -  first one in England since moving to France almost four years ago  -  and have very little Dylanalia to report. With an extravagant number of people helping decorate the tree this year, at a secret location on the south coast, we were forced to foreshorten the traditional music-while-we-work playing of our trusty Xmas records: those by Phil Spector's acts and Elvis Presley, and those on an extraordinary home-made selection compiled and given to us some years ago by Scarborough's Dr. Rock (Charles White, author of Little Richard's remarkable biography) mainly by people like Otis Redding (he actually sings 'White Christmas', and without a hint of irony or guile) but which quite rightly starts with the pubescent Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree'.

For the last couple of years, naturally, our playlist has been augmented by Bob's Christmas in the Heart, but this time it fell victim, in its entirety, to the foreshortening process, and so we first found ourselves playing it in the car while driving around England on about the eighth day of Christmas. I must say the car speakers do it no favours, but it was removed prematurely when another family member, who was in the back seat and shall remain nameless, declared of 'Hark The Herald Angels Sing': "This is dreadful! It sounds like an old drunk in a pub."