Hope you celebrated your own Mardi Gras!
Happy Belated St. Patricks Day!
Today is the first official day of spring! And near 80 degrees in Western Pennsylvania!
I've had this terrible interruption to my days lately called Work. It's been preventing me from blogging.
Only 16 days until the Pirates first home game for the season! Let's Go Bucs!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Mimi's Spice Muffins
Know what I miss most about living in Arizona? Not the year-round warm weather. Not the Dodge Theatre, the Diamondbacks, or Firebird Raceway. Not the pretty cacti, desert landscape or an invigorating hike up Camelback mountain. Not even the indoor Swap Mart or Glendale's Catlin Court (although it runs a very close second.)
I miss Mimi's Cafe. Corny, I realize. But here in PA, the closest one is in Ohio, and I ain't going to Columbus for anything.
Mimi's, like so much else, holds a certain sentimental value. Mimi's reminds me of late dinners with my friend Kevin after an evening of theatre. Mimi's was the typical lunch spot for my pal Remy and I during a busy work day. I insisted that Todd go with me once, and he hated it. Too "fru-fru", he says.
I took my Dad and Nancy there after a morning hike during their first visit. My Dad swears his lettuce attacked his face. I don't think he was too impressed, either.
Maybe I like Mimi's because it's as close to an authentic French Bistro as we'll ever find stateside. Maybe I like Mimi's for the atmosphere and comfortable surroundings, especially sitting on the outdoor patio. I think I really like Mimi's because the food was always great, my favorite being their chopped Cobb salad.
I know, a Cobb salad. What's so great about that? Chopped up veggies, bacon, egg and bleu cheese. No magic there, I suppose.
My husband brought home some avocados the other day, and they gave me some serious Mimi's Cobb salad cravings. I was trying to remember exactly what was in theirs (as you know, each chef has their own additions). I decided to look up Mimi's online, and see if their menu had a breakdown of ingredients. It did.
But they also had recipes for some of Mimi's specialties. I remember their muffins with a certain fondness. They have a recipe on their website, but to save you the trouble of going there to look it up- here it is!
1/2 cup butter3 eggs
2 & 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
Nut Topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.
Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.
Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter and the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.
Make nut topping; Mix all ingredients in a separate small bowl.
Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Norm's Shrimp Ceviche
Many years ago I knew a guy named Norm. Norm was a tall, lanky white man in his mid-50's with bowed legs, silver hair, and a handlebar mustache. He wore heavy duster coats and cowboy hats all the time, even in Phoenix's 100 degree heat.
Norm was a boyfriend of a friend of ours. He was hilarious. He went to a college bar with us once to hear a death metal band, and was totally moshing on the dance floor in his coat, hat, and silver-tipped boots. The college kids loved him.
When Norm wasn't moshing or helping his irresponsible daughter move for the 1, 546th time (that's another story for another day) he was making Shrimp Ceviche. And for that I will always be thankful.
Recently I've been thinking about Norm. Sometimes you will cross paths with a person, and then you'll never see them or hear from them again. I wonder what ever happened to good old Norm. I wonder if he's still living in Phoenix, or if his daughter ever stopped moving around so much. Maybe he's on Facebook. I'll never know. But Norm- thank you for the good times. Thank you for loaning me that George Strait CD. (I never did return it.) And thanks for the Ceviche.
2 lbs. small, cooked shrimp* (tails off)
1 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced (add more if you like the heat!)
1 English cucumber, peeled and diced
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few sprigs for garnish
2 lemons or limes, juiced
1/2 to 2/3 cup Clamato juice
hot sauce, dash or so
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 to 2 Roma tomatoes, small dice (optional, Norm didn't always add tomatoes)
chopped scallion, for garnish (optional)
*You can use fresh shrimp for this recipe, simply do a quick boil in salted water until the shrimp are white. You can add a little lemon juice to the water. Allow shrimp to cool completely before mixing the Ceviche.
In a large mixing bowl, combine shrimp, onion, jalapeno, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes (if using) and cilantro. Add hot sauce, lemon/lime juice and Clamato juice. Gently toss to avoid smashing the avocados. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator 20-30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and scallions. Serve cold with tortilla chips. Norm was particularly fond of the Tostitos scoops with this Ceviche.
Norm was a boyfriend of a friend of ours. He was hilarious. He went to a college bar with us once to hear a death metal band, and was totally moshing on the dance floor in his coat, hat, and silver-tipped boots. The college kids loved him.
When Norm wasn't moshing or helping his irresponsible daughter move for the 1, 546th time (that's another story for another day) he was making Shrimp Ceviche. And for that I will always be thankful.
Recently I've been thinking about Norm. Sometimes you will cross paths with a person, and then you'll never see them or hear from them again. I wonder what ever happened to good old Norm. I wonder if he's still living in Phoenix, or if his daughter ever stopped moving around so much. Maybe he's on Facebook. I'll never know. But Norm- thank you for the good times. Thank you for loaning me that George Strait CD. (I never did return it.) And thanks for the Ceviche.
2 lbs. small, cooked shrimp* (tails off)
1 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced (add more if you like the heat!)
1 English cucumber, peeled and diced
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few sprigs for garnish
2 lemons or limes, juiced
1/2 to 2/3 cup Clamato juice
hot sauce, dash or so
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
1 to 2 Roma tomatoes, small dice (optional, Norm didn't always add tomatoes)
chopped scallion, for garnish (optional)
*You can use fresh shrimp for this recipe, simply do a quick boil in salted water until the shrimp are white. You can add a little lemon juice to the water. Allow shrimp to cool completely before mixing the Ceviche.
In a large mixing bowl, combine shrimp, onion, jalapeno, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes (if using) and cilantro. Add hot sauce, lemon/lime juice and Clamato juice. Gently toss to avoid smashing the avocados. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to chill in the refrigerator 20-30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and scallions. Serve cold with tortilla chips. Norm was particularly fond of the Tostitos scoops with this Ceviche.
Vintage Valentine Greetings!
Remember when Valentine's Day cards had personality? (Back before Spongebob took over the Valentine universe?)
It was depressing, sitting at the kitchen table last evening helping him address these silly little, well, I guess you can call them cards. I wanted to rush out and by some cute little pink and red doilies and glitter and stickers and have him make his own. But he would have suddenly had a sore throat when he woke up this morning and begged me to let him stay home. I mean, really- who takes the time to actually make their own cards nowadays?
Reminisce with me for a minute- I'm about to get all Dick and Jane. And if you have a colored printer, click on the images and print these REAL Valentine's Day cards off on some card stock and glue them to heart-shaped paper doilies, and pass them on for some nostalgic Valentine's Day fun!
My 2nd-grade son picked out the most incredibly ugly, non-Valentine-y cards imaginable to pass out to his class today. They don't even come with envelopes anymore. His were Extreme Sports Valentine's Day Cards. They have pictures of skateboards and motorcycles and jet skis. They say dumb things like "You've got MAD skills, Valentine!" and "Dude, you are AWESOME".
It was depressing, sitting at the kitchen table last evening helping him address these silly little, well, I guess you can call them cards. I wanted to rush out and by some cute little pink and red doilies and glitter and stickers and have him make his own. But he would have suddenly had a sore throat when he woke up this morning and begged me to let him stay home. I mean, really- who takes the time to actually make their own cards nowadays?
Reminisce with me for a minute- I'm about to get all Dick and Jane. And if you have a colored printer, click on the images and print these REAL Valentine's Day cards off on some card stock and glue them to heart-shaped paper doilies, and pass them on for some nostalgic Valentine's Day fun!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Why, Oh Why?
Common sense is no longer relevant, I suppose.
Take, for instance- the man wielding a "will work for food" sign I passed on my way into work this morning. While that in itself isn't any longer an act looked upon with raised eyebrows (I mean, going into a business, saying "hi, are you hiring?" after all does seem so unreasonable when one can simply hold a sign looking for handouts and sympathy...) Apparently now it is required for such sign-wielding persons to don an orange safety vest. A vest worn like those who actually have a job, because they went into a business and said "hi, are you hiring?".
(Who pays for these vests distributed to the sign-wielders?)
God forbid one of these poor sign-wielding people accidentally get hit by a car because we couldn't see them clearly on that street corner.
And Braille, on a drive through ATM- excuse my French, but WTF??
Take, for instance- the man wielding a "will work for food" sign I passed on my way into work this morning. While that in itself isn't any longer an act looked upon with raised eyebrows (I mean, going into a business, saying "hi, are you hiring?" after all does seem so unreasonable when one can simply hold a sign looking for handouts and sympathy...) Apparently now it is required for such sign-wielding persons to don an orange safety vest. A vest worn like those who actually have a job, because they went into a business and said "hi, are you hiring?".
(Who pays for these vests distributed to the sign-wielders?)
God forbid one of these poor sign-wielding people accidentally get hit by a car because we couldn't see them clearly on that street corner.
And Braille, on a drive through ATM- excuse my French, but WTF??
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Shameless Plug For My New Favorite Show
I'm behind the times, seriously. Thank goodness for Comcast's On Demand. I mean, we're already halfway through season two. I have some catching up to do!
This anti-TV watcher has fallen in LOVE with the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. It's my guilty pleasure, late at night long after the boy has been put to bed. Who knew Steve Buscemi could be so sexy?
UPDATE! 1/30/2012
The season finale made me mad. But I'll still watch next season.
This anti-TV watcher has fallen in LOVE with the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. It's my guilty pleasure, late at night long after the boy has been put to bed. Who knew Steve Buscemi could be so sexy?
UPDATE! 1/30/2012
The season finale made me mad. But I'll still watch next season.
An Ode To Onions
Lately I've been finding onions to be quite "a-peeling". (oh, ha ha) But not big Spanish or sweet Vidalias. No, I'm all a flutter about cute, little Pearls.
The new found love started with my first attempt at making Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. Which, is surprisingly not in any way that difficult, even for someone who's no culinary master. Present company included.
The original recipe of Boeuf Bourguignon calls for the accompaniment for Braised Onions. They are so tasty, I prefer to just make them to serve along side a grilled steak, or even Sunday's roasted chicken. Thank you, Julia. Naturally, I'll include my own notes along the way, but Julia's recipe is so on-point there's really no need for my tweaking. Bon Appetit! (In my best shrill Julia voice.)
BRAISED ONIONS, a La Julia Child
The new found love started with my first attempt at making Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon. Which, is surprisingly not in any way that difficult, even for someone who's no culinary master. Present company included.
The original recipe of Boeuf Bourguignon calls for the accompaniment for Braised Onions. They are so tasty, I prefer to just make them to serve along side a grilled steak, or even Sunday's roasted chicken. Thank you, Julia. Naturally, I'll include my own notes along the way, but Julia's recipe is so on-point there's really no need for my tweaking. Bon Appetit! (In my best shrill Julia voice.)
BRAISED ONIONS, a La Julia Child
Do Note: The blanching and peeling process can be tedious, but the results are worth the work. I don't mind throwing a bag of frozen Pearls in a crock-pot roast or soup, however since these are the main ingredient in this dish, I recommend using fresh. Also, Julia of course used her own homemade beef stock. I used the boxed stock and they were still delicious, but I imagine a homemade stock would have made them a little richer.
1 lb. white Pearl onions, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup beef stock (strained of fat, if using homemade)
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 fresh bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 sprigs parsley
Blanch onions in boiling water for about 30 seconds, remove to an ice bath until they are cool enough to handle peeling. The skins should come off with ease.
Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet, add the onions. Saute over medium heat for about ten minutes, rolling onions as they cook to have them brown evenly without breaking apart.
Pour in the stock and herbs, cover. Simmer over low heat for about 30 to 40 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender, but still retaining their shape. The liquid should be mostly evaporated.
Remove the herbs, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
* * * * * * * *
CREAMED ONIONS a La Miss Toni
Another fabulous Pearl onion side dish is creamed onions. This style of onion dish seems to go exceptionally well in the winter months, along side perhaps a meatloaf.
1 lb. Pearl onions
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2 fresh bay leaves
2 tablespoons chopped, flat-leaf parsley
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup chicken stock
Blanch onions, as described in previous recipe.
Place onions in a 3-quart saucepan on medium-low heat. Add cream, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove lid and add stock. Season again, allow to cook down for 5 minutes to lighten the cream sauce. Remove garlic clove before serving.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Finding Meaning In Monotony
Oh no. Here it comes again. That dubious season when I get itchy. Not the kind of itchy that requires Gold Bond, but kind of itchy that is warning me of complacency.
I have a huge problem with feelings of ineffectiveness. I'm one of those who think that life should have some grand meaning. That I'm put on this earth to matter, and that I shouldn't let one day go by without leaving an impression of some kind.
I dread blandness. In anything- food, books, decorating, life... you get the idea. Unfortunately there are times where the well seems to have run dry and there is only stillness. Stillness is what makes me itchy.
Women my age are at a crossroads. We've reached a point where if we haven't picked a destination by now, time could be running out. I worry that my time might be getting too short to seriously be able to do certain things I've always dreamed of doing. Why do we have to feel as if our life has to have some grand meaning, I ask you? Maybe not everyone does, but I certainly do and it can cause me to loose sleep. I refuse to accept that my life is just this existence with no purpose.
I am mortified by the sting of monotony. Not that I'm discontent. If anything, I'm quite comfortable with the life I'm living now. It just in need of some sort of shake-up. A change, or a goal. But not a reprieve.
I try to remind myself that "It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been". I love this quote by George Eliot, and I especially love the print I have from Mary Englebreit. I keep it framed and hanging in my bedroom so that I can draw inspiration from it daily. It's encouraging, and a way to remember that I can still do anything I decide I want to.
As I settle into my mid-thirties, I begin to understand the expression "Youth is Wasted on the Young." It couldn't be more true! When I was younger, I took so much for granted. (Skin elasticity, for starters) But also, I possessed a certain naivety. I just assumed everything I always wanted would come to pass.
Well, I still don't own a Victorian Bed and Breakfast. I can check so many things off my list, but still. There are others that I can see within reach. Can't call it "finding myself", I'm not necessarily lost.
Oh, I don't know. I suppose I'm just bored. And I'm searching, as always. Looking for the next new thing.
I have a huge problem with feelings of ineffectiveness. I'm one of those who think that life should have some grand meaning. That I'm put on this earth to matter, and that I shouldn't let one day go by without leaving an impression of some kind.
I dread blandness. In anything- food, books, decorating, life... you get the idea. Unfortunately there are times where the well seems to have run dry and there is only stillness. Stillness is what makes me itchy.
Women my age are at a crossroads. We've reached a point where if we haven't picked a destination by now, time could be running out. I worry that my time might be getting too short to seriously be able to do certain things I've always dreamed of doing. Why do we have to feel as if our life has to have some grand meaning, I ask you? Maybe not everyone does, but I certainly do and it can cause me to loose sleep. I refuse to accept that my life is just this existence with no purpose.
I am mortified by the sting of monotony. Not that I'm discontent. If anything, I'm quite comfortable with the life I'm living now. It just in need of some sort of shake-up. A change, or a goal. But not a reprieve.
As I settle into my mid-thirties, I begin to understand the expression "Youth is Wasted on the Young." It couldn't be more true! When I was younger, I took so much for granted. (Skin elasticity, for starters) But also, I possessed a certain naivety. I just assumed everything I always wanted would come to pass.
Well, I still don't own a Victorian Bed and Breakfast. I can check so many things off my list, but still. There are others that I can see within reach. Can't call it "finding myself", I'm not necessarily lost.
Oh, I don't know. I suppose I'm just bored. And I'm searching, as always. Looking for the next new thing.
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