Cooking Class

Many of you know that I teach a Middle School Cooking Class here at CCA.  I have been doing this for about four years now, and I love it.  This year I have been blessed with students who value the things I am teaching and who want to learn.  They are to have around and to teach.  I am so lucky.

Cooking class is far more than just cooking; it teaches kids life lessons.  And being a middle school aged kid is hard. They are trying to find an identity and figuring out where they fit in. In cooking class it is a level playing field.  Many of the limiting aspects of their lives outside the kitchen vanish. Each student has the ability to shine;  they interact with peers who are all in the same boat.  A couple of my students are familiar with cooking.  They have been in the kitchen with a parent and understand some of the basics.  They get to be the first team leaders at first, share their knowledge, then step back and let another student be a team leader.  Often the boys and girls have to work on the same team.  This really challenges them.  Sometimes I will let them have friends and many times I switch them all around.  They figure out social standings, cooperation, and the over-used term of team building.  Then each student goes home, and shows their parents and siblings what they have learned.....it really is the only class that they can demonstrate for their family.

We start off the unit with knife skills.  They learn to chop onions.  Lots of onions.  And they cry.  With tears running down theirs faces they realize that tears are just that; tears.  They wipe their eyes, finish dicing onions and rinse their faces.  It is a hoot!  But they learn how to chop onions which means,with that skill alone, they can cook a meal for themselves!  Chop a few onions, carrots and celery and you have a base for several dishes....stew, soup, roast, brisket, pork loin and so much more.

My main goal in teaching this class is teaching kids to cook for themselves and not to rely on fast food as they get older and go to college.  That cooking a meal will mean saving money, but it will also mean being healthy.  Sometimes you can eat out cheaper, but the cost to your health is not worth it.  We talk about how the cost will not rear it's head until they hit their 30's.  But doing things correct now will allow them to age with grace and great dignity.

We talk about childhood, and teenage obesity....we talk about how it has to be avoided with this current generation.  We discuss how the commercials they see on TV that are geared for them and fast food well, that those commercials do not have their best interest at heart.  They have their own bottom line agenda.  And Taco Bell will make money at the cost of teenage boys being overweight and they won't raise an eyebrow over it.

Then, there is the entire social world of cooking.  My own children are 18, 20, and 22.  I not only encourage them to cook for themselves but for their friends. Instead of ordering pizza I will cook for their friends and have my children help.  I want to teach them that it is such a treat for their friends to have a home cooked meal instead of another cheese pizza.

Here are two more dishes we did in cooking class.  The students gobbled it up!  Then I went home and made it for my family and it was a hit there as well.

Loaded Carbonara – serves 4- From Cooks Country

Browning the chicken in the bacon fat builds a strong backbone of flavor for this dish.

4        boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ lb)

          Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

6        slices of bacon, chopped

3        large eggs

1 ½ c grated parmesan cheese

3        cloves of garlic, minced

½  c   chicken stock

1         lb of pasta

2    c   of frozen peas, thawed

1.  Bring 4 qts. of water to boil in large pot.  Pat chicken dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper.  Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.  Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate.  Remove 2 T. fat.

2.  Cook chicken in 1 tablespoon fat in now-empty skillet until well browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.  Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil.  Let rest 5 minutes, then slice thin crosswise and reserve.

3.  Whisk eggs and cheese in medium bowl.  Heat remaining fat in now-empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add garlic and 1 teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in chicken stock and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Slowly whisk chicken stock mixture into egg mixture.

4.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes.  Reserve ½ c of cooking water.  Place peas in colander, drain pasta through the same colander.  The hot water will thaw the peas.  Transfer the peas and pasta back to the pot and add the chicken, egg-chicken stock mixture and bacon.  Stir; use the reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the mixture up.  Serve with additional parmesan cheese. 

Chipotle-Grilled Pork Tacos Serves 4

Halving the tenderloins lengthwise creates more surface area for the wet rub to develop into a flavorful crust.  Serve these tacos with shredded cheese and lime wedges, if desired.

¼  cup mayonnaise

1  (8-ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained and chopped, ¼ cup      juice reserved.

3       T. minced fresh cilantro

3  garlic cloves, minced

 1 ½   T. minced canned chipotle chilies in adobo

1 (8-ounce) bag coleslaw mix

3 scallions, sliced thin

Salt

2 pork tenderloins (1 ½-2 pounds total), sliced in half lengthwise

12 corn tortillas

1.     Whisk mayonnaise, pineapple juice, cilantro, garlic, and chipotle in large bowl; reserve ¼ c mayo mixture, set aside.  Add pineapple chunks, coleslaw mix, scallions, and ½ t. salt to bowl with remaining mayo mixture and toss to combine.

2.     Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt.  Rub with reserved mayo mixture.  Heat a large skillet with a couple of T. of vegetable oil.  Brown the meat on all sides about 6-8 minutes.  Remove from heat, tent and allow to rest.

3.     Meanwhile-grill the corn tortillas over an open flame on a gas stove or in a dry skillet till slightly blistered.

4.     Slice pork thin, arrange on tortillas, and top with coleslaw.  Enjoy. 

My Husband and "Dangerous Grounds"

Dangerous Grounds

My darling wife has one habit that just absolutely drives me crazy – and not in a good way.  I hate to admit to it because to the uninitiated my peevishness would seem silly and trite.  So, for a long time I haven’t said anything about it.  But the day has finally come; I can’t be silent any more. Simply put, my wife is a coffee fiend.

I myself don’t drink coffee.  Now, I personally have nothing against those roasted beans from the Rubiaceae family that have been dried, ground, expertly blended and then resuscitated with some steaming hot water.  To me, the smell of coffee is one of the supreme aromas in the world – especially on a cold morning in the mountains, just as the sun is about to rise.  But I have never developed a taste for the stuff. 

Its not like I haven’t tried.  I have attempted to develop a taste for coffee several different times in a variety of ways: this blend and that, with and without cream, with and without sugar.  All of my stabs were without success.  My attempts were out of a desire to display my love for my wife.  She is such a coffee aficionado that she would love for us to be able to share a carafe on the back porch as we watch the sunrise.  But, alas, I simply don’t like coffee.  And, as it turns out, it is for the best.

At first, I thought that my wife’s addiction to coffee was just one of those innocent vices that all of us have in one form or another.  But then I began to realize that there is a larger aspect involved.  It is part of an alien plot to subjugate the human race.

Now, I know what you are thinking; I have taken a simple activity of my wife’s and turned it, somehow, into some sort of conspiracy theory.  But, I have proof.  And once I have laid out my case you will realize that you have seen the same things that I have seen – and hopefully you will join with me in the fight to eradicate this symptom of an evil empire.

The first event that aroused my suspicions occurred a couple of years ago.  Early one Saturday morning as I was wandering through the house I did a double take as I glanced into the kitchen.  In the semi-light of dawn I saw a gnarled, gnome-like creature huddled over the kitchen counter.  Not being personally acquainted with any gnomes, I grasped that I had an intruder on my hands and quickly decided that action had to be taken.  With my heart in my throat and my nerves on a sharp edge, I quietly eased my way to the hallway closet and grabbed a baseball bat.  I then tiptoed to the kitchen, turned on the light and raised the bat, prepared to vanquish the intruder. 

The figure in the kitchen turned slowly around – and I suddenly found myself standing face-to-face with my lovely wife. 

“Good morning, Honey” she said as she gave me a little peck on the cheek.  She raised her cup and cheerfully asked, “Do you want some coffee?” 

Bewildered, I backed up a bit, rested the business end of the bat on the floor and nervously wiped the perspiration from my upper lip.  “Uh, no  - but thank you anyway”, I responded in my manliest falsetto.

“Are you sure?  You seem so uptight.  A good cup of coffee will calm you down.”

“You know I don’t touch the stuff.  Besides, I’ve got some work to do” I countered, and beat a hasty retreat.

Over the next couple of days I reflected over my kitchen encounter and tried to make sense of what I had seen.  Was it merely the result of an overly developed imagination working overtime or, frighteningly, were there sinister forces at work?

The answer came a few days later as I drove to work.  Have you ever noticed that you can see the same thing day after day and then realize that you are really seeing that thing for the first time?  That’s what happened to me.

I was waiting for the light to change.  At that corner is one of those coffee joints that bestows long names on their products and then charges by the letter.  The line of cars, as usual, snaked around the building and almost out into the street.  As I sat there, I felt my blood turn to ice as I noticed the drivers waiting in the drive thru.  They were huddled figures that looked almost inhuman.  They clutched steering wheels with gnarled hands with long almost claw-like fingernails.  They all had bloodshot, sunken eyes, protruding foreheads and wrinkled skin.  And most of all, they had expressions reminiscent of Boris Karloff.

A horn blared from behind.  I pulled through the intersection and as I passed the far side of the coffee shop, I looked to see what was coming out of the drive thru.  My suspicions were confirmed as I saw the drivers coming out; they looked, well, normal – almost human;  sipping on their cups of coffee with bright, cheerful expressions.  I made the final two miles to work in record time and hurried down to the kitchen.  I had to tell someone about my discovery.

The only person in the kitchen was my coworker, Dan (the names have been changed to protect the transmuted).  He was busy tending to the coffee machine. 

“Hey Dan”, I started.  “Boy have I got something to tell you.  Heh-heh, I just noticed that you need to get those nails of yours trimmed.  And you might want to see your doctor about those blood-shot eyes.  By the way, you sure do a great Bela Lugosi imitation!” 

As I was trying to extricate myself from the kitchen, three creatures walked or, rather, shuffled into the room and past me in a stupefied manner.  Their bloodshot eyes fixed on the brown life force that streamed from the machine and into the pot.  They huddled together, rocking back and forth making hissing sounds reminiscent of the Sleestak in Land of the Lost.  When the brew was complete, they and Dan filled their cups and began to drink.  When they turned around, I was amazed to see three of my female co-workers.  “Good morning!” they exclaimed cheerfully.  Want some coffee?”

As you have no doubt deduced by now, coffee drinkers are in fact aliens that have taken human form.  In order to maintain their masquerade as humans, they have to drink…well, coffee.  And apparently some of them have to drink vast quantities to maintain their facade.  They took their extraterrestrial form by drinking coffee in the first place; kind of like the pod people in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (only in that story they got “taken” by falling asleep).  And to make matters worse, the aliens are out to convert the rest of us.  Notice how they will almost always ask you if you want a cup?

Since my discovery, I have been very conciliatory towards my wife when it comes to satisfying her daily fix.  I have been known to run up to the nearest fast food outlet on a Saturday morning to get her a cup.  On Sunday mornings, we stop on the way to church to go through the drive thru to get the gourmet variety.  And, I don’t mind.  It’s the only way to keep the monster in the cage.

Hijacked Post

Sous-chef....

..... and how I need one!  I have been cooking and then cleaning, then cooking again and I am exhausted from it all.  There is never enough counter space.  I make a dish and then have to stop and clean in order to have more space for the next dish. How did I make Thanksgiving dinner?  Oh yeah. I didn't; my mom and I did.

My mom is known in our family as the cleaning tornado.  She cleans all the time.  Any mess she comes upon is vanquished in seconds.  We were always amazed as kids at how we had a clean home and so many of our friends did not.  I remember one friend, I went over to her house and was astounded...every horizontal surface was piled high with whatever!  There was not one surface that was not 2 feet high with clothes, bags, mail or whatever.  And the kitchen was unbelievable.  A week's worth of dishes lay every where; sink, counters, even hidden in the oven!  This was not the only friend who had a dirty house.  It was common.  My mom was the unusual one.  Keeping a



house neat and clean was what she grew up with and was taught by her grandmother.  That gene skipped a generation.......





I try, but I am not up to the caliber my mom is.  But when she comes up and we cook a meal, we are a good team.  She keeps me focused and cleans up

As I bare my soul to all......a dirty kitchen.

PS.  This did get cleaned up....with help.

Keeping Warm

Well, winter has finally descended upon us and that means cold days and frigid nights.  Since we have barn animals that means even more to us since we have to give our livestock enough food to keep them warm.  Good old straw plays a huge role in this as well.

Kent goes out at night and finds that one chicken who was not smart enough to get back to the coop before dark (chickens can't see in the dark and so they don't move at all which makes them easy pickings for a coyote).  He scoops up said chicken, tucks her under his arm, and returns her to the coop, even going so far as to place her on the roost under the heat lamp.  Yes, our chickens have heat lamps; having their combs get frostbit is heart breaking.

Keeping ourselves warm means wearing layers.  We always have on a sweater or hoodie in the house.  And I always feel warmer when I knit, so I always have a queue of projects to work on.

I also believe that making hearty comfort food keeps you warm.  Soups definitely fit the bill as do thick rich pasta dishes.  But this week we had a set-back; my oven went out!  The stove top works but the igniter on the oven went out.  How to cook and keep warm???

Well, since the stove top works it is soups to the rescue....I am trying out a new one Saturday night. We have some friends coming over so they get to be Guinea pigs. And my husband is always on stand-by as the tester.  So, I am making Corn Chowder with Bacon and Sweet Potatoes.  I found the start of this recipe in this over sized cook book that I got I don't even know how far back;  I know it was before we moved (4 yrs. ago).  This is just one of a set.  They are heavy and huge and very hard to manipulate. That is a sixteen ounce cup in front of it in the picture, just to give you an idea of the size.

So I was looking through this book a couple of weeks ago and I found this soup! I did make one change in that I am leaving out the chicken, adding in bacon and a bit more cheese.  So this is my attempt at a new soup for a new year.

 
My Corn, Bacon and Sweet Potato Soup
The original recipe was a first place winner and she had a nifty trick to really make it wonderful.  

3 C. of whole milk
1 c yellow corn muffin mix (Jiffy)
2 T. butter
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. dried oregano
2 qts of chicken broth
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed in 1/2 inch pieces
1 c shredded cheese, plus a cup to be served with the soup
3 c of frozen corn
1/2 c flat leaf parsley, chopped fine
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 lb of thick cut bacon

Mix the milk and corn muffin mix up and set aside for now.
Melt the butter and cook the onion till tender, about 5-8 minutes.  Add the garlic, cumin and oregano, saute for a 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth and the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil then turn heat down to low and let this simmer till the potatoes are fork tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the milk mixture and simmer another 10 minutes.  Add the corn and cheese and simmer till the cheese is melted.

While the soup is cooking, dice up the bacon and pan fry till crisp.  Drain and then just before the soup is ready to serve, toss the bacon on top.  Serve the soup with additional cheese to sprinkle on top, sour cream would also be good on this.

Variation- you could add a white potato to the soup as well.  For a twist on this, chop up a jalapeno and saute with the onions.  Add more heat with red pepper flakes.  And no, I cannot let a recipe alone....well not all the time.

Christmas Day...

'Tis the day...the day many wait for all year along.  I would be in that group.  I plan for this day starting way back in January.  I start thinking about what to serve, to buy and to do.  I want to create those memories that are reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell picture.  I fall short, a lot, but I figure that falling short is better that not aiming at all; and most of our Christmases have happy, warm memories.  We have had great ones and good ones; never a bad one.  I have tried to make them meaningful for our kids as well as for my husband and myself.  The number one aim has been family time.  That was far easier when our children were youngsters.  Now they are adult children still living at home and the rules are changing.  Finding the balance between independence and wanting to be at home gets a little tricky.  It helps that nothing is open on Christmas, for which I am thankful.

We have brought the intensity of Christmas down over the years.  We now do a secret Santa; we all draw names and buy something for that person only.  Secret Santa also adds an element of sneakiness, hush-hush, and subterfuge.  Kent always tries to guess who-has-who, as does Ethan.  I am just glad that I can pull it off and not spill it to someone, like where I had been shopping, or why was I at Backwoods?  We put a monetary limit on gifts, and hand out lists with at least three items.  All the items have to be reasonable, so no 2014 Mustangs allowed, even if it looks cute on the list.  We stress that the gift need to be well thought out; no gift cards.  Sometimes this can be a struggle.

This year I drew my 20 year old daughter, Emily, who had just bought a bunch of stuff from William Sonoma, where she got a 40% discount.  So I have a new candy apple red Kitchenaid mixer on my counter (looks so pretty and I am so jealous) and several other items.  To top it off, she had no idea of what she might want or like and so was no help.  I was way out of my league... My other daughter, Clare, and I were out shopping on Christmas Eve and I had very little time to make this happen and somehow I wasn't to let Clare in on it.  Obviously, that was not going to work.  So I did what any savvy smart mom would do - I spilled to Clare and asked for her help.  It worked.
We found Emily a gorgeous soft brown knit dress, and she liked it!  Score!!!!!

Now, that is how we roll at our house.  Kent had figured out that Clare had me, (also Clare and I were so tired and she still had her secret Santa to buy for, which was me so I picked out my gifts, she wrapped them and I over acted surprised, we had a blast).  So we unwrapped gifts, made Swedish pancakes, bacon and hot apple cider.  We watched a movie after breakfast (which was around 11:00) and then took naps, yea!  And then we knitted, watched more movies and just hung out.

Christmas dinner is in the oven, Brown sugar crusted ham, cheesy potatoes, and a spinach salad with mixed berries. 

It was a very good day.

The Stove...

I measure how clean my kitchen is by how clean is the stove top.  I can get all the counters clean, the sink scrubbed till shiny, dishwasher empty....then there is the stove.  It is covered in splattered, cooked on messes.  I find bits of hard macaroni from the kids making the blue box.  There are crumbs, splashes and muck on every piece.  So everything has to come off, burner grates (I have a gas stove), burner covers and there it is ready to be soaped, scrubbed and wiped clean.

Only it doesn't go that easy....there are pieces of junk that have become one with the stove, crumbs that move out of the way of the dish clothe, spots that my green scrubby sponge won't lift.  I spray cleaner on it and let it sit for 5 minutes while I work on the covers and grates.  I hate cleaning the grates by hand, I rather place them in the dishwasher, but I need to cook again soon.  I try to do it at night, but my brain is off so it doesn't  even register that I need to get them in the dishwasher before I run it.

So back to the stove top; someone has left the front door open and beautiful sun shine is now lighting up my stove, showing every layer of grease on the stove and on the knobs, under the knobs, next to the knobs and then I see it.  The entire front of the stove, the glass window to the oven, is covered in drips and chunks of who knows what.  It looks like I have not touched it in months, yet I know I did it last week!

So now the knobs, face plate and entire front of the stove get sprayed....and it needs to sit for a bit.  I hate trying to clean the knobs, there is no easy flat surface to scrub, so using the green scrubby sponge and a dishcloth I try to get them clean.  Of course I leave a burger knob turned on slightly, it smells like something died and starting rotting in fast action.  Whew, then I remember, O boy check the knobs make sure they are all off and stay off as I scrub them.  No luck the sun is still hitting them and they still look grimy.
 
Bring on the toothbrush.....hold the knob, scrub the knob with the tooth brush, work it behind the knob and clean, clean, and clean.  Finally the sun  moves on and my stove is clean....no more sun showing the grime and it looks good, especially since I can no longer see the stuck on stuff.

A clean stove means no cooking that night, I need at least one evening knowing that it is clean and will stay clean for just a bit of time.

Then tomorrow I will cook again, and try to wipe it down so that it will stay clean until my kids decide they need food.  The concept of cleaning has not arrived yet in their minds, it will come, it did for me!.

The Season

We are only a couple of weeks from Christmas. I am sitting in front of my decorated tree, watching the Texas Tenors sing their adorable heads off.  Very Christmas spirit type of stuff...love this.

I wish I could put into words what listening to this type of music does to my insides...it is like my soul sings along with them. Heaven knows my voice can't.  But this type of music does resonate somewhere deep inside of me and gives me such depth of feeling but such peace all at the same time.  From the incrediable voices to the strings being played with such talent, the thrill of the sound brings tears to my eyes because of it's beauty.  I would be a puddle on the floor if I allowed myself.

I think this is one of the reasons I love this time of the year.  I love being able to enjoy the sense of goodwill that everyone is demonstrating.  I am full of the season.  My family not so much.  I am coming to the conslusion I may have to enjoy the season a bit on my own.  I can only create events that show the season.  They have to decide if they are going to embrace it.  On some level that makes me sad...I remember how excited they would get with Christmas around the corner.  Those of you who have young ones, please take the time to enjoy it with them.  It really is such a pocket of time that is here then gone forever.

There are so many things I would do differently...I was way too stressed about my kids bothering others, keeping the house clean, trying to keep messes from happening.  I really did not understand that my kids just wanted me!  Not the newest toy (that didn't hurt), not the next TV program.  They wanted their daddy and mommy; and that is why God gave us grandchildren.

But I can still make a hit with a meal.  And I did that the other night with homemade pasta and a chicken with Dijon mustard cream sauce that was dynamite.

I saw this pasta on America's Test Kitchen (click and view the video) and have been making it over and over.  We did this in our Middle school cooking class.  The kids loved it and some took balls of it home to roll out for dinner that night!
2 c of flour, 2 T. olive oil, 2 whole eggs, 6 egg yolks.  Mix is a food processor till it makes a sticky ball.  Remove the ball and using as little flour as possible
 roll it out into a log, about 6-8 inches log.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours (ours went about 6 and longer and it was fine).  Cut into 6 equal portions, cover the 5 not in use.  Pat into a 3 inch rectangle, then dusting your board with flour roll out.  Start in the middle and roll up, then the middle and roll down.  Flip and turn and do this over and over till the dough is very thin.  Lay on a towel, repeat with the rest.  Once they are all done, let the sheets dry for 15 minutes.
Fold the sheets of dough onto itself, making them about 2-3 inches deep.  Slice the dough into strips.  Unfold them, toss them with a little flour and you are ready to cook.  Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook your pasta for about three minutes.  Drain and enjoy.  It really is that easy.


I made my Winter Night Chicken with the home made pasta!

Winter Night Chicken-a nod to Kathleen Flinn and the amazing recipe I learned from her book, “The Kitchen Counter Cooking School”.

2 lbs of bone in, skin on chicken thighs & olive oil plus butter; kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper; 8 oz of cremini mushrooms, sliced; 2 springs of fresh rosemary and several of fresh thyme (purchase the poultry bundle and you will have several different ones); 3 T. Dijon mustard; 1 1/2 c heavy cream; 

In a heavy oven proof skillet (cast iron) heat about 4 T. olive oil and 2 T.

butter.  Once it is hot, lay the thighs skin side down to brown.  Walk away...let them brown.  About 6 minutes later turn the meat over, add the mushrooms, lay the springs of herbs on top, 1/2 t each salt and pepper, place in a 400 degree oven for another 20 minutes.  This will finish the meat cooking. 

Bring the skillet back to the stove top, over medium heat, remove the dead springs of herbs.  Mix the cream with the Dijon mustard, pour over the meat and let it come to a bubble. 

Meanwhile bring a lb of fettuccini to boil, cook till al dente.

Serve the chicken and sauce over the pasta.  As usual good crusty bread goes well with this dish. 

This is my tree that my dear friend Jackie helped me do.  My family has been gone working, working and more working, so with her help I got a lot of decorating done.