feliz cumpleanos ... almost ...

I love birthdays. You have no idea. Mine is only 42 days away, but that's beside the point. rhymeswithsmile has a birthday coming up soon - the big 1! - and I want to do something to commemorate it. I'm looking for your ideas. Should I give something away? Should I do a special feature? Should I get my two faithful readers to do something with me? Just looking for suggestions.

the granola lady

Granola Makes 12 cups Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine: 6 c. oats (I prefer old-fashioned but quick-cooking oats are fine too) 3 c. cheerios (or any other cereal) 3 c. corn flakes (again, any other cereal works) Optional: slivered almonds, shredded coconut, other tasty things like toasted wheat germ or Golden Grahams cereal In a saucepan, heat until boiling: 1/2 c. water 1/2 c. oil 1/2 c. honey (substitute same amount of white or brown sugar or molasses if that's what you've got) Pour the liquid mixture into the oat mixture and stir until everything is moistened. If you feel like it's not moistened enough, make more liquid mixture by heating equal parts water, oil, and honey and stirring that in. Put the mixture into two 9"x13" cake pans (or one large roasting pan if you've got it) and spread evenly. Some people say use cookie sheets - I find that I tend to accidentally throw stuff out of the pan if the sides aren't high enough, and I find that cake pans or a roasting pan work better for me. However, if you're more precise and can handle well-manicured stirring, by all means use the cookie sheet. Put pans in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Add raisins or other dried fruit if desired. Store in airtight bag (or back in the oats container). By now you've probably figured out that all of my recipes are more "madness" than "method." I don't even measure for this one anymore, except for the wet ingredients (and even then, the only reason I measure is to make sure I have equal parts of everything). I have used all oats before, thrown in some cinnamon and cloves, and crumbled up stale cookies in with the oats (no waste, right? Makes for an amazing batch though ...). Granola is AWESOME for that reason - just moisten everything, bake it at a low temperature for an hour or more, and stir periodically, and the result is a tasty breakfast, snack, or ice-cream topping, depending on when and how you decide to consume it. And the best part? People who stay overnight ask for granola for breakfast. Yes. It's happened twice now. I guess of all the things cooks get known for - corn casserole, biscuits, or pot roast - granola is fitting for me. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but I'll take it.

dry spell

I did it!

I dried tomatoes, peppers, and apples.

The apples are particularly amazing. And it was so easy ... I've become a fan of the kitchen-appliances-that-do-ALL-the-work-for-you. One blissful evening, I had the bread machine clonking, the dehydrator whirring, and the crock pot bubbling all at once ... it was a good night. I have, however, fallen down on my job of actually cooking. With a husband that's been in class three nights a week until at least 9:00, three weekends in a row of travel, and friends to hang out with, we've been living on favorite standbys like burritos, homemade rhymeswithsmile nachos (my husband's specialty!), quesadillas, homemade pizza, and crock pot soups. So, no real adventurous cooking to speak of. But I do have a few things on the horizon, including roasted Delicata squash, granola, and a cake that has mashed potatoes in it. It's coming, I promise.

new reads

I've started (re)reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, which is one of the most revolutionary things I've ever put in my brain (not quite competing with the gospels, Romans 8 and the idea of grace, but still mind-boggling). I read this for the first time last fall, and am rereading it for my book club (!) that will meet the first Monday in November.

Some things I love about this book:

- Pollan urges readers to embrace FOOD, and be hesitant about manufactured food-like substances blasted with invisible nutrients. Adios, Doritos (I will miss you!) ... Butter, potatos, cream - hurrah!

- At the end of the book (and here I'm giving it away), Pollan gives some guidelines about how to shop for and eat food. My favorite is this: "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food" (p 144). Think about it. Sorry, kiddos, but the gogurt has to go. It wasn't around when Great-Grandmother Dillingham was on the planet.

- Finally, Pollan has an easy-to-read style that is just ... easy to read. It doesn't read like a nutritionist textbook. If anything, it's the anti-nutritionist non-textbook. I like his style. I don't know how else to describe it. You should read it for yourself.

Book #2, in the list of Books That I Checked Out From The Library But Still Haven't Opened:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It is in my possession. And highly recommended by numerous friends (I confess that I have actually recommended it as recently as this weekend to friends, even though I've not yet read it). I'm excited about it though, as it is about Kingsolver's move to a farm in southwest Virginia (!) where she and her family vow to only live on what they can grow or buy locally (as in eggs, meat, and cheese) for one year. Can't wait to read that one in connection with In Defense of Food.

lbd

Mother's Biscuits

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. baking powder

Butter (glorious butter!): probably 6 tablespoons + extra for topping

1/4 to 1/3 c. milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in butter until thoroughly mixed. (I like to use my fingers at this stage, instead of a fork, because then I can flatten and press the butter into the flour mixture instead of chopping it in.)

Add milk, starting with just 1/4 c. and increasing by tablespoons to get the right consistency. You should get a biscuit dough that is somewhat stiff, can round up rather nicely on a spoon, but is not so dry as to still have flour left in the bowl.

Sprinkle flour on a counter and turn out the dough. Pat into a circle-ish form, about 1 inch thick. Cut little bits of butter and spread them on the dough (easier said than done, unless the butter is at room temperature). Don't worry if you have butter globs. It'll melt eventuallly.

Fold the dough over onto itself. Pat out again. Butter it again. Fold over one more time, pat out again to about the same thickness (1 inch or so) and cut biscuits (I do not have a biscuit cutter so I use a handy juice glass. A small tin can could work too. I should just go get the biscuit cutter, I know ... it'd make things so easy!)

Place biscuits on a cookie sheet* (or pie pan, or whatever), butter each one (AGAIN!) and bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes.

*I like my biscuits like I like my friends - cuddly and all up in each others' business - I place the middle one, then all the ones around it touching that middle one, then gather up the scraps left over on the counter to make one or two more funky biscuits for the outskirts. I'm biased to placing biscuits this way, but of course if you wanted to separate your biscuits you can place them in nice rows on a cookie sheet and get an equally tasty result.

Do you remember when I went on and on about finding the perfect black dress for all my summer occasions?

Well. You know that I found it. It was perfect. simple. black. awesome. comfortable. and Cindi's.

Summer may be over.

But I am so not over that dress.

A good lbd (little black dress) is hard to come by.

So some friends and I did a little bit of sharing ...

I wore it to one dinner and two weddings: me and Dixie

It got worn to three OTHER weddings by Mary, Andrea, and Cindi.

Mary and the red shoes

Andrea and Tim

Cindi and Kurt

lbd. little black dress.

it will make more appearances, I promise.

Chocolate for Rachel

Frances Jones Cocoa Cake 2 c. sugar 1/2 c. shortening 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 2/3 c. cocoa 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. buttermilk (make your own: put 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice in the 1/2 c. measure, then add milk up to the top. Let it sit for a minute or two - the acid sours the milk and it starts to curdle a little bit) 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 c. flour 1 c. hot water Mix sugar, shortening, and salt. Add unbeaten eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add cocoa and vanilla and stir. Add baking soda to buttermilk*. Add flour alternately with buttermilk mixture to the sugar/shortening mixture. Add hot water and stir. Pour into greased pan (I've used a 9x13pan, a Bundt pan, and 2 8-inch round cake pans. It's your call). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. *Remember elementary school science project volcanoes? If you make your own buttermilk as I suggested above with vinegar in milk, I ... um ... advise you to transfer the 1/2 c. of milk to a larger measuring cup before adding baking soda, or you'll have a mini-Mt. Vesuvius on your counter. Not that this has EVER happened to me. This is my "fall-back-perfect-every-time" chocolate cake recipe. It's moist and fluffy. And delicious. And easy! And chocolatey. It's one of those cakes where you eat a piece and don't feel weighted down by all that you just ate - it's that amazing. I wanted to post it for my friend Rachel, who is living and teaching with her husband in Guatemala, where access to certain ingredients can be tricky sometimes. Aah, jungle living! Viva el 3rd world! If anyone knows of any resources for her ... like, let's say you know a good cookbook that doesn't use many pre-packaged ingredients, or a website she might like to look at, leave it in the comments and she'll see it. This recipe came to me from a mission guesthouse in Ogbomoso, Nigeria, called Frances Jones Memorial House. The cooks there used to turn out the most amazing desserts (well, entire meals, really) and this one was always a favorite. And since today is Nigeria's 49th Independence Day, it's only fitting that this recipe is from there. Happy chocolate, Rachel!

Intimidation

A blog is about putting oneself out into the world, right? Being honest and open. So, I have a confession. Prepare yourself. I have a condition that is scientifically classified as carnivorium grandiosium trepidatia, or CGT for short. It's not hereditary, so I'm not sure how I got it, but I began to notice it springing up about 3 1/2 years ago (oddly enough, coinciding with getting married and being on a budget). It is sometimes vicious, leaving me stranded in the back of the grocery store, clutching my food dollars and wishing I could make a quiet escape without anyone noticing. Horrifying, really.

So, I was visiting my counselor the other day (I know a really good one, by the way - let me know if you need a recommendation) and I saw this pamphlet that caught my eye:

Meat & Greet:

How to Avoid Being Intimidated

When Large Cuts of Meat Come to Dinner

Published by the International Consortium of Members Engaged in the Advancement of Tender Sustenance (ICMEATS)

I was startled - there's hope for people like me! I don't have to live with CGT forever! I, too, can face my fear of large cuts of meat and prepare them, boldly facing even the largest roast with a dry-rub and the glint of a sharp carving knife.

So, I, having faced my fear and gained some ground over this hobbling condition of carnivorium grandiosium trepidatia, am now ready to share with you some of the things I've learned about dealing with large cuts of meat. You know which ones I'm talking about: the Pot Roasts and the Whole Chickens and the Boneless Pork Shoulders in Heavy-Duty Shrink Wrap (how do they do that, anyway?).

Today, I would like to share some insights into the Whole Chicken, Crock-Pot method:

- Of primary importance is reremoving (yes, re-removing) the innards that were so perfectly removed and packaged and placed BACK into the chicken cavity for you to purchase. Seriously, do they REALLY think that I want a liver pouch? OK. So, just remove it. Throw it away. And take out the trash.

- Next, rinse the Whole Chicken under running water, and pat dry with paper towels. Throw THOSE away too, and take out the trash again. Remember, you're preparing a DRY rub, so make sure your chicken is satisfactorily dry.

- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. You're going to want the oil to be really hot - almost smoking - when you're ready to put your Whole Chicken in.

- Set the Whole Chicken aside on a plate or dish, and prepare your dry rub. Here are a few suggestions:

1. 1 Tbsp salt + 1 Tbsp pepper

2. a Cajun Dry Rub found here

3. pre-packaged spice and herb mixtures like Mrs. Dash Steak Seasoning or Cavender's All-Purpose Greek Seasoning (both are personal favorites)

4. 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and 1 tsp. onion powder (a little fajita-y dry rub for you there)

- Combine the dry rub in a small dish or jar, mixing well.

- Sprinkle liberally on ALL parts of the Whole Chicken and rub in. It's called a dry rub, people, so just do it. If you have any leftovers, just keep it until next time.

- When oil is hot (it should sizzle like crazy if you sprinkle a few drops of water in there), carefully place Whole Chicken in the pan, and if you're like me, grab the lid as a shield for the splattering. I usually use my kitchen tongs for moving the Whole Chicken around - you want to make sure you've got a good grip on the chicken, otherwise it might fall into the oil suddenly, splatter, and burn you.

- Leave it for 5-8 minutes or until the side that's down has turned a crispy brown color. Turn the Whole Chicken over, and leave it for another 5-8 minutes. At this point, you face a choice: you can turn the Whole Chicken on one end and brown that (hot buns!), on one side and then the other, or remove the chicken. It's completely up to you. The point is to sear the outside of the chicken to lock in the moisture when you're cooking it.

- Remove Whole Chicken from the pan and place it in the crock pot.

- Add about 1/4 cup of liquid to the pan that you just seared the Whole Chicken in - it could be water, broth, or cooking wine - I'd suggest you avoid milk and orange juice, but if you do go down that road please let me know what happens. Reduce heat and stir to loosen the stuff on the bottom of the pan - it should simmer for just a minute or two. Pour this over the Whole Chicken in the crock pot.

- Cook in the crock pot for 8-10 hours on Low or 4-5 hours on High.

- At this point, the chicken is going to be so fall-of-the-bone that you can't really serve up a leg, thigh, or breast to fulfill the usual expectation. But you do have a number of possibilities, including de-boning the meat and using it for chicken salad, on pizza, or in pasta dishes. Or you could just pull meat out of the crock pot and eat it with mashed potatoes and green beans. It's your call.

I hope that this has been helpful in some way, especially for those closet sufferers of carnivorium grandiosium trepidatia. There is hope! Just reach out and find it here!