A Red Winged Blackbird, sitting in the chokecherry tree out in the shade garden
He sounds like this: go here
Have a happy spring day!
A welcome spring sight
Posted in photos, Seasons
9 Comments
Lemon Bar Tarts
I like lemon all year long, but in the spring, I really crave it. And since I don’t bake in the summer, I have to do all I can now, before the weather gets too warm.
These little tarts are adapted from a favorite of mine – Lemon Bars. But there is just one problem with Lemon Bars, and that is there isn’t enough of the crispy/chewy outer rows to satisfy me. So, why not make them so they all have that heavenly yumminess? Excuse me – just looking at these photos is killing me. I am trying to lose a little weight, so I can fit in a bathing suit through the door this summer. I have to have something lemon so I don’t dive into the cookie jar thisveryminute. Lemon yogurt – that should do the trick.
Thanks for your patience – I feel much better now.
Anyway, I decided that by using my mini-muffin pan, I could achieve that which I sought. A nice buttery, crunchy crust, some nice tart lemon curd gooeyness, all surrounded by a deliciously caramelized chewy outside. [quick! more yogurt!]
To start, remove the zest from a lemon. You are going to need 1 tablespoon for this recipe. You can dry or freeze the rest – I never waste lemon zest. Then cut the lemon in quarters and squeeze to extract the juice – I do this as the picture shows, into a strainer over a bowl, to catch the seeds. You will need at least an additional half of a lemon at least – you want 1/3 cup of juice. Set the juice and zest aside for now.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup confectionery sugar
Add
1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut
1 cup all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
and blend until completely incorporated.
Knead briefly and shape dough into a circle. Cut into 24 equal pieces. I cut the circle into 3 pieces, then halve each piece, then halve each of those, then halve each of those. That will make 24. I hope – my math ain’t so good.
Roll each piece into a ball and place each one in a well greased min-muffin. Let me just take a moment to say that well-greased cannot be too strongly emphasized. Right up to the tippy top of each little muffinspace. Otherwise, you will prying them out of the tin with an ice pick, knife, snow shovel and a chain saw, praying the whole time that enough of them come out nicely so that you can get some good photos. At least, I have heard this can happen. Use the bottom of a pill bottle or some similarly shaped item to squish the dough into tart-shellish shapes. [you did grease that pan really well, right?]
Bake these for about 10 minutes at 350º
In the meantime, beat together, for about 2 minutes
3 large eggs
1 & 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon garted lemon zest
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon salt
At the end of 10 minute, the crusts should look like this
Carefully ladle in the lemon mixture just to the top of each muffinspace. [it’s a new word I just made up. what else would call those?] and return to the oven for another 15 minutes, until they are nicely set and the edges are browned. [You are probably going to have a little filling left over – butter a ramekin, fill with the leftovers and bake alongside the tarts. Consume at your leisure with lots of whipped cream. Or make Larry do that, since you are watching what you eat. Watch a couple bites make their way to you. Yum.] 
Cool for about 15 minutes and carefully removed from the pan. You will probably need to run a thin-bladed knife around the top edge, but you can leave the chain saw in the garage, because you greased the pan really well, right? Sprinkle tops with confectionery sugar when completely cool.
Yup – just as I suspected. The darned things are irresistable.
Soap Does Grow on Trees! [and a giveaway too]
Remember back in February, I first mentioned Soap Nuts here? I ran across a mention of them on a message board and was intrigued by the idea that this might be truly natural version of laundry soap.
I was thrilled with how they worked. I had purchased the 5 load trial size, so I immediately went back and bought the bigger one. I also looked around the Maggie’s Pureland website and was happy to see that they have an affiliate program, so I can sendpeople there to buy Soap Nuts and I make a little money from the sale. I emailed them to get more info on the product and heard back the next day from one of the co-owners, Dariel. We had a wonderful conversation about how he and his business partner Maggie came to sell this unique product. She had run across them in Europe and upon returning to the States, realized there weren’t many sources here, so she invited Dariel to join her in starting the company, Maggie’s Pureland.
He also got a huge kick out of the fact that when I first tried soap nuts, I did Larry’s laundry before my own. The reason for that was two-fold. Of course I didn’t want to risk my clothes on this crazy idea. The more important reason though is that Larry’s clothes get really dirty. If you hang around here at all, you already know he is a carpenter. That can be a dirty business. In the evenings and on weekends, he occupies himself with fixing broken machinery, cutting firewood, working in the garden and other pursuits that all seem to leave his clothing in a terrible state. The man is a dirt magnet, trust me. So, if I was going to get a good test of how well Soap Nuts work, Larry’s clothes were the way to go.
Obviously, I was pleased with the result. And 4 more loads later, using the same 5 nuts, I was still pleased. The clothes are all clean. Very very clean. They smell …. well, clean. Just clean. No perfumey smell, no unpleasant chemical odor that “unscented” products seem to have. Clean. And they are soft, even though I didn’t use fabric softener. I can’t stand static filled, rough clothes – I always use fabric softener. I don’t need it any more though, because the Soap Nuts take care of that too.
In the course of our conversation, Dariel offered to send me a sample of their liquid soap as well. I didn’t think it would matter to me if I used the nuts or the liquid, but I was wrong about that. The liquid has a nice tea-tree/lavender scent, though that doesn’t really last on the clothes, which still just smell clean. The liquid works just as well as the nuts and is a bit more convenient, particularly if you are only doing a load or two. So, though I have both kinds, I do seem to use the liquid more.
Now we come to price. It is impossible for me to say if you are going to save money, because that is going to depend on what you are using now. If you use a top premium brand like Tide, and buy it in smaller sizes at a supermarket, then Soap Nuts will definitely cost you less. If you are using super cheap off brands and you purchase in bulk at a warehouse store, then this is going to be more expensive than that. Personally, I used a mid-priced brand, bought in a large size at Sam’s Club and this is just about the same price.
For me though, price is not the only consideration. I am not a freak about being “green” in everything I do, but I try not to tax the earth too terribly much, and this is definitely a step in that direction. No processing of chemicals is involved in the making of Soap Nuts. You aren’t dumping chemicals in the waste water system either. [I put the used nuts in our compost] And you aren’t dressing yourself or your kids in clothing that has chemical residue left on it.
Finally – Dariel generously offered to sponsor a giveaway for one of you. Leave a comment between now and Friday at 12 noon Eastern time to be entered to receive your choice of a either a 10 ounce box of the nuts [50 to 80 loads] or a 32 ounce bottle of the liquid [64 loads]. In your comment, tell us: what kind of laundry soap do you use right now? Simple huh? Entires limited to US addresses only, 1 per person and the winner will be chosen by random draw.
And, I hope if you decide to buy some to try, you will use my affiliate link which will be residing in my side bar from now on. The link is right here to the left too – go check out their website and don’t forget to enter to win some of this amazing product by leaving a comment.
Posted in giveaways
22 Comments
Lentil Sausage Soup
This is not the first Lentil Soup recipe I have blogged. Nope – I am a lentil addict, so one soup is not enough for me. Back in January, I blogged this lentil soup. And while lentils do have a nice, even distinctive flavor, it is a background flavor and you end up with very different tasting soups, depending on what else you add. This soup gets its unique flavors from kale and sausage, a combination you find often in Italian cooking, and one that is paired for a very good reason – they are delicious together. I used some smoked bratwurst, but any sausage, from keilbasi to a spicy Italian sausage will be good. And if you haven’t cooked with kale before, just make sure you choose leaves that are bright green, with no yellow. You will need to rinse it, just to be sure there is no grit, but unlike some other green, kale is clean already, and it is easy to wash. 
Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a 5 quart soup pot or dutch oven.
Peel a large onion and cut in a medium dice.
Cut 2 large ribs of celery in a large dice.
Peel 3 large carrots, cut in half lenghtwise and then cut in slices
2 teaspoons kosher salt
8-10 grinds pepper [1/2 teaspoon, ground]
Add to pot and stir to combine – keep heat at medium
Slice the sausage into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick. If using keilbasi, cut in half lengthwise before slicing. For a completely raw sausage, like Italian, I would brown the links before adding the veggies to the pot, and then slice it, or just remove from the casings and cook with the veg. In any case, add the sausage to the pot, and stir.
Remove the ribs from the kale, by sliding a sharp knife alongside and then chop the kale roughly, just making sure that you don’t leave any long ribbons. If you don’t have kale, you can use spinach, either fresh or frozen. Add to the pot and stir. Allow to saute for about 5 minutes.
Then add
2 cups rinsed and picked over lentils
3 or 4 big cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups chicken stock or broth.
Stir all of that together well and add some seasonings. I used the following, but you can adjust it however you like
2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 bay leaves
Mix together and taste to see if it needs salt
Simmer for about an hour or so, until the lentils are soft. I actually like to make this so it has time to sit off the heat for a couple hours, because the flavors will deepen on standing. If you are pushed for time, it is really good right away. Like many soups, it will be even better if you refrigerate it overnight and heat up again right before serving, but I don’t usually manage to think that far ahead.
I like to serve it with crusty wheat bread or corn bread .
It’s earthy and satisfying and you might want to make a double batch, because it’s going to go fast!
I grew up in “America’s Coolest Small Town”
Seriously – it’s official! If you follow me on Twitter, you might remember me mentioning that my hometown – Owego NY, was one the towns chosen by Budget Travel as one of the coolest small towns in America and last week, it was announced as the winner! CBS has a video on their site of the announcement and the Binghamton Press and the Owego Pennysaver both have stories about the win. In the CBS video, you will here mention made of the old jailhouse that has been turned into a restaurant, project that was conceived and brought to life by one of Larry’s cousins. He doesn’t own it anymore, but they haven’t changed the great job he did of repurposing a building a lot of people thought would never be used again.
I don’t live in Owego anymore, but I am not far away and I still go there pretty frequently for groceries, or when I run out of birdseed or peat moss. It was a great place to grow up and remains a pretty little town of old buildings that have been preserved or restored.
Last week, I had to go there for errands, so I took my camera along. I didn’t have time to walk around town, so I decided to go for the big picture instead. I drove up to “Cemetery Hill” [actually known as Evergreen Cemetery], a favorite hangout spot of mine since childhood. I know I am not alone in my fondness for cemeteries, but some people do find it odd that I enjoy them so much. 
This one is particularly wonderful, in that it has twisting roads climbing the side of a pretty steep hill, with the cemetery wrapping around it. They didn’t level it off or change the natural formation of the hill very much, but just situated graves where they would fit. 
I hadn’t been there in some time, so I was glad to see that it wasn’t an old memory that didn’t stand up well on reexamination – it is still just as wonderful as I remembered. You can see glimpses of the town through the trees.
At the topmost spot, is the monument to a young Indian woman, who was killed in a train wreck. There is an interesting page, explaining how she came to be buried in Owego here .
From there, you can see the whole town:
And in this photo, the arrow indicates a particularly historic spot.
In that building is the bar where on a fateful night, many long years ago, Larry and I met. The town has erected a small, tasteful marker out in front, to commemorate this auspicious event.*
It was a great place to grow up and I still love it. All of this has made me curious, though. So, in the comments, leave us a little blurb about where you grew up and how far away from that place do you live now?
*you know I’m kidding, right?
Posted in me, photos
21 Comments
