Popcorn Musings

Lately I have been thinking about popcorn. Probably because it is our late night choice snack as it is low-calorie and high fiber. I like mine with a glass of skim milk, spiked with some Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Syrup. Mmmmm!

We usually have the microwave but I have been thinking that:
1. it is expensive
2. that it can't taste as good as the real stuff cooked in a little healthy oil with some kosher salt

I posted an article under my Reader from Frank Bruni at the NYT all about popcorn. Interesting that most of the "foodies" out there consider microwave popcorn an abomination. I won't go that far, but I think I am going to try a trusty saucepan and some oil. I was looking at an electric popper, but the reviews weren't good and no sense buying another gadget to clutter the house.

I had an air-popper, but seriously, you need a tiny bit of fat to carry flavor and air-popped corn tastes like cardboard.

Add this to my list of things to buy this week:
Bag of popcorn
20 oz. pint glasses
Hand towels to have friend monogram
Mrs. Meyers Lavender Cleaning Concentrate
Mirror at Michaels (always tear out the 40% off coupon that comes with the junk mail)

Vinegar Testimonial

Here are some comments from my friend about vinegar!

Anyway, I LOVE cleaning with white vinegar. My mom introduced me to it when she came and cleaned when I was on bedrest. Her cleaning lady introduced her to it. She said her 90 yr. old aunt swears by it. I have a spray bottle 1/3 full of vinegar and the rest water. I use it for tons of stuff and it works so well.

I used to swiffer my wood floors and it left an ugly film - but I loved the convenience of it. Now I use vinegar water in my spray bottle and it my floors look great - so shiny and clean - and it is still just as convenient. The vinegar really cuts through dirt and grime and food. I also could never get the hard water buildup off my water thing in the refrigerator - I tried everything. I let the vinegar soak on it a little while and it came right off. Also use it to clean stove top with hard to remove food buildup. I keep finding more and more uses for it - it is super cheap, doesn't smell chemically, I always have it on hand, and does a better job than most of the other cleaners I have used. I do still keep a good disinfectant on hand though for chicken juice, toilets, etc though.

Anyway, as you can see I am very passionate about vinegar ;) If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it!

Note from me: You can buy the super huge 1.32 gallon (5 litres) Heinz white vinegar from Costco for around $4. Buy that and the huge bag of baking soda and you are set for lots of cleaning fun!

Here are 27 more tips for uses for vinegar:
http://www.frugalfun.com/vinegar.html

Labels

I have figured out how to put labels on everything, so if you are looking for recipes, go to the bottom of the blog and click on the "recipes" label. It will bring up all the posts with recipes. Pretty cool!

Top 10 tips

I am somewhat of a Crunchy Conservative (thought that term was a hoot). What I really am is a gal who likes to save money (so I can buy more lip gloss!). Cleaning products are expensive, and I really like the idea of using non-toxic cleaners that save money, as they are cheap to make.

I found this site the other day, click on the heading "Top 10 Tips" as it is a link. I haven't tried these yet, but thought they were interesting. If you do, let us know how they work.

Top 10 Tips
1. Windows, Mirrors: Spray with mixture of 1/4 c. white vinegar, one quart water & a drop of dish soap.

2. Countertops, porcelain: Scrub with paste of baking soda, water, drop of liquid soap. Disinfect with hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine bleach.

3. Oven: Coat with paste of baking soda, washing soda, water, white vinegar. Leave overnight; wipe out with rags.

4. Floors: Mop with 1/2 c. white vinegar and 1/8 c. liquid soap in 2 gallons hot water.

5. Rags, known as “chiffons” to the French, are Riches: Pick up dust with damp rags; wrap an old t-shirt around a push broom to damp dust/mop. Wash and reuse rags–they just get better!

6. Clean and polish wood with a mix of vegetable oil, essential oil of lemon, thyme, eucalyptus or your fave, and beeswax.

7. Toilet: Scrub with baking soda; wipe seat with white vinegar

8. Laundry: presoak stained cloth in 1/4 c. lemon juice, washing soda or borax in gallon of water.

9. Add 1/4 c. baking soda or white vinegar to wash cycle to soften fabric

10. Choose fragrance-free laundry soaps to prevent asthmatic and allergic reactions and skin/eye irritation.

http://www.servegodsavetheplanet.org/

I haven't really checked out his site, but I thought this was an interesting Christian perspective on personal stewardship. I don't buy into the current panic mode, but I do think as believers, we are called to be the best stewards of what God had given us and being mindless consumers is not the way in my opinion. Especially when we can save money with alternatives. I don't know that I could do what this doctor did, but their electricity bill is something crazy like $20 a month!

This is the article I read about him that really got me thinking:
http://www.guidepostsmag.com/WEEKLY_FEATURE.ASP?DATE=12/25/2006

While I don't think I could do everything he did, I can make small changes and save money in the process.

Tapenade

We are back from Canada, where the weather was a balmy 17 degrees a couple of days. It made the days when it was 30 degrees seem warm!

On the plane, I read again some of my Peter Mayle books, Toujours Provence and French Lessons. I have four of them, but need to get the rest. It is armchair gourmet reading at it's best.
http://french.about.com/cs/culture/tp/petermayle.htm

In one of the books, a Frenchwoman remarks that if you eat tapenade every day, you will be healthy, so of course that got me craving tapenade. Salty heaven! Since we have olives in the fridge (kalamata, not nicoise, but it should be OK). I bought some capers and anchovy paste and that might work.

This was interesting from Wikipedia:
"Its name comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapéno". Who knew?

Here is the first recipe I will try from www.homecooking.about.com

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 Tbsp rinsed, drained capers
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp anchovy paste (the original recipe said optional, but how can you have tapenade without anchovies? Like having Caesar salad without anchovy paste in the dressing, the salty tang will not be there)
Fresh cracked black pepper

PREPARATION:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Mix well. Refrigerate and use within two weeks. Use as a spread or as a condiment. Yield: about 1 cup

Inspiration hits

I haven't been feeling very inspired lately, hence the lack of posts. I guess if I knew I had a million readers, I would post more often. :-) You can always post comments to let me know you like what I write. hint, hint

OK - I am always on the computer, so I thought to myself "Self, why don't you post funny or interesting things that you read?"

This is a girl after my own heart and she had some really good ideas. I guess she was on Rachael Ray's show, but I don't watch it, so I don't know. I was reading a review of her new book Spinster Sisters and saw this link to a video she had done.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-145064158046710576&q=stacey+ballis&hl=en

Funny food lover quandries

OK - when you like food, you come up against some funny issues. For instance, we think we might be pregnant, but not sure. However, I am trying to eat as if I am. Since the meat eater is not here right now, I have been indulging myself in all sorts of things that satisfy me, but leave him hungry (personally, I think it is all in his mind :-))

I have been eating a spring mix salad, to which I add extra arugula (there is never enough in these mixes), goat cheese, artichokes (in the big jar, rinse so they are not so oily), oil-cured olives, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and some lemon juice. I do admit to one travesty, if I don't have fresh lemons, I will use the Realemon concentrate. However, we are looking at planting a Meyer lemon tree in the back yard, so that might solve my problem!

In addition, I made hummus the other day, so put some in a bowl, roasted some red peppers* (dressed them with a little EVO, salt and pepper), added those and added a few kalamata olives to round it out. Served it with a pita for dipping. Seriously, my last 3 meals have consisted of this medley. It is delicious!

Well, as I was making my salad, I started to wonder about the goat cheese, so go to Google it. No soft cheeses! What!! However, as my very wise hubby pointed out, in the US we can only eat cheese or import cheese that is made from pasteurized milk. Whew! So both cheeses in the fridge are made of pasteurized goat and sheep's milk.

Then I wondered about the tahini used in my hummus?? Raw sesame seeds ground up?? Googled again and found a vegan site that listed tahini as a good protein source for pregnant women. OK!

I actually have some vegan recipes that I am going to try one day. Spicy peanut stew and butternut squash rice paper rolls. They sound yummy and healthy which means the meat eater can eat all he wants! My husband didn't quite realize that I could easily be a vegetarian when he married me. Not a true vegan only because I love dairy and eggs. Soy cheese is just not the same as real cheese, even though I realize the benefits.

*if you need to know how to roast peppers, this is how the blog began.
http://i-love-costco.blogspot.com/2006/09/h-ere-is-how-to-roast-peppers-and-one.html

Homemade Granola

I love Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen and use it often. She has such great commonsense wisdom and it is funny to boot! I linked her website as she has good recipes. Buy her book if you want a good healthy cookbook! She has a new one that looks great too!

(if you click on the title Homemade Granola, it will take you to her website, she has recipes there too)

I use her crisp recipe all the time (but I don't use rhubarb, I use frozen mixed berries). If you eat a good healthy cereal for breakfast, pour the extra that is always left over into some oatmeal and keep on hand for crisp toppings. Even if you don't eat healthy cereals, the leftover sugar can flavor a crisp. I always use less sugar than the recipe call for.

We had lots of oatmeal, so I made granola today from her cookbook. As always, items in red you can buy at Costco.

1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (I like it clumpier)
1/2 cup water
4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt
8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups chopped pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds (I chop whole almonds and use all 3)*
Dried fruit (Craisins)

Preheat oven to 275. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. No smaller-it could boil over. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave; add vanilla extract and salt. Stir to combine until salt dissolves. Place oats and nuts in a bowl and pour brown sugar syrup over them. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread mixture on cookie sheets and bake 45-60 minutes, or until golden and crunchy. When mixture comes out of oven, it is still pliable. Mix in dried fruit at this time. When granola is completely cooled, store in an airtight container.

Notes: Make sure to clump the granola with your hands before putting in the oven (I forgot to last time). I have read other recipes where replacing some brown sugar with honey can help make it clumpy. Either way, this makes a lot of granola, and it is good and healthy. This next time, I think I am replacing one cup of oats with one cup of Fiber One. That will add 28 grams of fiber to the granola.

* We keep the bags of raw pecans, raw almonds and raw walnuts from Kirkland Signature in the bottom of our fridge. I posted a fridge picture on my first blog!
http://i-love-costco.blogspot.com/2006/09/welcome-to-my-first-blog_15.html

My new favorite item

I have always liked the Burts Bees lip shimmer (my favorites are Nutmeg and Rhubarb). I have a thing for all things lip gloss (up to 18 so far), but I like that these are in stick form. It is much easier to stick in my pocket versus a liquid.

Costco had a set of Burts products for $19.99, that included 2 Lip shimmers (Champagne & Rhubard), one Lip Balm, Peppermint Shower Soap, Coconut Foot Creme, Hand salve and Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme. The cuticle creme smells divine, but the best of the bunch has to be the Coconut Foot Creme. It smells absolutely amazing, seriously, I have to resist the temptation to eat it. I love the smell of coconut (makes me think of summer) and this smells so delicious that I love to use it at night.

You can buy the foot creme by itself at SuperTarget. In fact, they had a really nice selection of products. I see online at Burt's however, they have a set of 4 Lip Shimmers for $10. Hmm, much cheaper than $3.99 each at some stores, but I need to see what colors they offer. Now you can see why I have such an addiction to lip gloss, it is cheap and fun!

Chicken stock update

OK - I need to put the homemade granola post on hold for right now and will post later this week.

Here is an update to the chicken stock recipe. I wanted a stronger broth, as freezing in bags was good, but then getting them out and thawing was kind of a pain. I wanted a thick, gelatinous broth that I could freeze in ice cube trays.

I bought one of the savory roasted chicken from Costco. They are huge and such a bargain!! Once the meat was off, I put the carcass (rip/cut it apart to get it into smaller pieces) in the crockpot. Making it smaller will allow all of the marrow in the bones to release, which will make it richer and provide gelatin. Then make sure you cook it all day! I started at about 8 in the morning and around 8 at night, I turned the crockpot off and strained it through a yogurt cheese maker sieve. You can use cheesecloth or a chinoise, but I didn't have either. As long as you have something with a fine mesh to strain all the impurities.

If you don't know what a chinoise is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinoise_(utensil)

So after sitting overnight, it is rich, dark and wiggly!! I am excited as the last batch didn't cook long enough to get to that point. I did use some of the other stock last night to make tortilla soup and threw in the rest of the roast chicken. It was good.

A picture is worth a thousand words, indeed!

OK - if looking at this site doesn't make you hungry, I don't know what will! YUM!!

http://joakitchen.blogspot.com/

2 posts in one day!

Aren't you all lucky? You should look at my shared reading and read about Zaatar.

We had a Lebanese restaurant here that closed (he was supposed to be moving), but their mezza and other food was amazing! Mezza was 18 small dishes which changed every night. It was supposed to be an appetizer, but we ate it as dinner! Usually had hummus, tabbouli, falafel, feta, olives, great veggie dishes and ususally two small round baked pitas with zaatar! I loved it and would ask him for it when it didn't come. Our friends joked that we drove farther for food than anyone else they knew.

Someone in their comments on Zucchini and Chocolate mentions Penzey's. One of these days, I am making a trip down to the Galleria in search of this spice mecca. We got some of their spices for our wedding, but I am excited to go down to their store and wander. It is a miracle that Dallas actually got one, as we are the capital of chain restaurants in the US. Don't get me started about that issue!

Bath Salts almost perfected

OK, here is my recipe. I used the 6 lb. bag of epsom salts from Costco (around $3), so I had to increase my recipe below to adjust. I ended up using 40 drops lavender oil and 15 drops rosemary oil for 5 lbs. of salt (I had used some from the bag before). Even with all that, I still have tons left in my essential oil bottles - about $15 for the oils.

I was going to omit sea salt, but then found it at Sprouts (health food store) in the bulk section for $.29 lb. It was so cheap that I bought a couple of pounds.

1 cup epsom salt
1/4 cup sea salt
3 Tbsp baking soda (12 lb. bag $4)
2-3 drops essential oil

It smells heavenly in the bag, I think if you use a quarter cup per bath, it should be fine. The fragrance is not as strong, but is still nice and relaxing. I may tweak it some more and grind up oatmeal to add in as it softens skin. Glycerin is supposed to be good, but I don't have any of that.

My next batch perhaps will be scented with rose oil! I love the smell of roses. Lately, I have been wearing Stella (by Stella McCartney) fragrance. It is roses and amber and I think smells heavenly. http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P50714&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=5689
She has a fragrance called Rose Absolute, but I don't smell the rose as much as I smell amber. I need to wear it and see how it dries down as I think Stella fades quickly.

I am also toying with Rose Essentielle from Bvlgari. It may be too sweet, but once again, wearing should tell. I have been searching for a signature fragrance for a while, one that had longevity and that I can wear for years.
http://www.sephora.com/browse/brand_hierarchy.jhtml?brandId=3595&contentId=C15139

Best use for $1

If I only had $1 to my name, I would use it to buy a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (OK, I would have to have $1.08 to my name, if we were being exact).

I hate our shower, especially the fiberglass floor with raised dots. Even after scrubbing with a brush and Soft Scrub with Bleach, it still looks dirty! I had given up on a sparkling shower, until my sister-in-law raved about this item, and I saw in Real Simple where a staffer said she couldn't live without them.

It worked wonders! Of course, I used the whole eraser on just my shower, but it was fantastic!We have the Scrubbing Bubbles shower sprayer, but I am thinking that it is just hype and a way to get you to use tons of their product. Using it 10 days in a row and every day after seems to me to be a marketing ploy. Not completely sold on this item. However, if Costco ever carries a bulk pack of the Magic Eraser, I am buying them in bulk!

Pot Roast with Dill

I thought this was an odd combination, but I bought chuck roast at Costco, as it is less expensive than flank steak and perfect for the crockpot.

This was really good! I didn't have yogurt, so I used some Laughing Cow cheese (2 wedges), flour and milk to make the sauce. You can also use this sauce (see below) from Kraft Foods website (I have a link) that calls for 4 oz. of Neufchatel (light cream cheese). I make it when I need a cream sauce.

** Place Neufchatel cheese, flour and broth in skillet. Cook and stir with wire whisk until boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 min., stirring frequently.

Definitely a keeper of a recipe and super easy to make.

Chicken stock

OK - I was reading an article that said Paula Wolfert loved to use her crockpot for making confits, etc. I thought perhaps that would be the best way to make chicken stock as it could cook for a really long time at a low heat and not raise my gas bill astronomically!

Here is what I did.
One carcass from a roasted chicken (I have heard for more flavor, buy raw chicken wings and throw them in)
Quartered onion, with skin on (it gives nice color to the stock)
Celery, roughly chopped
Carrot, roughly chopped (I threw in a handful of baby carrots)
10 black peppercorns
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 bay leaf
Salt
Dried parsley or fresh

1. Preheat the crock-pot on high.
2. Try breaking up the bones as small as possible, place with all the other ingredients in the crock-pot.
3. Cover with as much boiling water your crock-pot can take.
4. Switch to LOW and cook for 12 or up to 24 hours.
5. Strain, cool, skim of the fat, use the stock or freeze.

After a couple of hours, it smells amazing, but it takes time to get to that point.

Carpet Deoderizer

If you buy the big 12lb bag of baking soda at Costco, try this recipe.

For general deodorizing, sprinkle baking soda on carpet, as needed, before going to bed and let it set overnight. Vacuum the next day.

Carpet deodorizer recipe:
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
15 drops of your favorite essential oil fragrance

Banana Bread Pudding

I said I would post this and never did!

Banana Bread Pudding
Takes approx. 1 1/2 hours to make.
Oven temperature: 325 degrees

1 loaf stale (day-old) French bread, cubed, with crust left on
4 cups milk (whole or 2%) - I used skim
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup raisins (I used Craisins)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup roasted pecans
2 Tbsp. rum (optional)

Soak the raisins in 2 Tbsp. rum for 20 minutes.

Put cubed bread in a large bowl with 2 cups milk, let stand for 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 325. Toast pecans in skillet, or put on a small plate in microwave for 1 minute.

In a blender or food processor, blend the eggs, 2 cups milk, sugar, bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla until smooth. Pour this mixture over the French bread pieces. Fold in the raisins and the pecans and let the mixture set for 20 minutes.

Pour evenly into 9 x 13 dish. Place uncovered in center of oven, bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until edges are golden and and toothpick inserted in center comes out nearly clean (same test as for cakes).

Remove from oven, cool to room temperature. Serve with rum sauce and whipped cream (optional).

Rum Sauce:
Makes about 1 cup

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup whipping cream (I used half and half)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
Pinch of salt3 tablespoons dark rum

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cream, sugar and salt. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in rum. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low heat, stirring constantly.)

This was fabulous and everyone raved about it!! Easy and impressive!!

Busy, busy, busy

Boy, I have been busy. And lazy, as I haven't posted since after Thanksgiving. Oh well, today I am using the leftover chicken bones from a roasted chicken we had last night to make chicken stock. I didn't quite have everything for a mirepoix (the trinity of onions, celery and carrots), so I peeled some garlic cloves, threw in some baby carrots and seasoned the bones with onion powder. Cut some thyme from the garden, added some peppercorns and salt and covered it all with cold water. I should have about 4 quarts of broth when done. I used Alton Brown's recipe from FoodTV as my guide. http://tinyurl.com/dm2jt. The house smells wonderful!!

I am at my best when I can throw things together with abandon! I read in an article once that Ina Garten said she was an "assembler". That is me! I know what flavors work together, then I just mix and match. I did that with a bread pudding the other night and it was great! If I have to follow a recipe to a T, then I am not so good. I think that is why I don't bake. All of those precise measurements.

I will post the bread pudding recipe. It was so good and you could probably use the basic recipe to make both savory and sweet bread puddings.

Holiday budgeting

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I took last week off to relax.

I found this today online, and thought it was helpful.
http://www.realsimple.com//realsimple/web/pdf/1204/giftbudget.pdf

However, I think the guidelines for the holiday budget are kind of wacky! 1.5 % of pretax income? We never spend that kind of money and don't expect anyone to spend that on us!

Never forget that the retailers try very hard to make you feel or want to consume, it is in their best interest if you give big ticket items. Not necessarily your best interest.

The best thing we did in our family is to decide to give small presents. It took so much pressure off as we are limited to $10 a person for the cousins, their spouses, & my siblings and their spouses. That means that 7 gifts are small and fun. Same goes for parents, etc. While not $10 gifts, we have been getting smaller gifts for them.

It just makes for a more enjoyable holiday when not stressed about how much is enough. I had gotten to a point where I dreaded buying for Christmas and this has really helped. Take the extra money you would spend, and give it to the less fortunate. To me, that is the best way to celebrate Christ's birth, and the way that will bring joy this season.