church – Peaceful Reader

Time passing…

Groovy Girl was confirmed yesterday. It was a beautiful service with lots of emotional moments. Six confirmands-all girls-have had a year of classes filled with interesting discussion. A few girls-including G.G. were able to take a trip to Nicaragua to deliver shoe boxes filled with school supplies to children. They’ve had overnights, a ski trip and a June mission trip to W. Va still to come. Most of the girls have grown up together in the church.

It is still difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that my baby is 13, confirmed, will soon take driver’s ed, and will be in 9th grade. Crazy. Seriously. She was a miracle baby, born early, but oh, so healthy and rambunctious. Effervescent as her youth director described her.

To celebrate her and her best pal, Katy, I hosted a brunch for family friends including our minister and his wife. Impressively ALL my dishes turned out amazing. This does not usually happen for me. I have best intentions but things fail, fall, or just don’t work. This all worked and they were new recipes so if I can do it; you too could make these brunch happy recipes. Groovy Girl loves breakfast food so brunch was the perfect choice even though it was 1:30 in the afternoon.

{laughing spatula}

I picked two dishes and two side dishes. This Mexican Breakfast casserole from Laughing Spatula was a perfect main dish and we had toppings galore with sour cream, cilantro, diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, hot peppers, and homemade salsa. I followed this recipe closely except I added a layer of frozen spinach (almost thawed) to the bottom of the pan. Groovy Girl always orders omelets with spinach so I figured this was a good twist.

I knew I wanted my second dish to be sweet and I browsed through many recipes on line and in my own cookbook cupboard. Many with apples seemed too Fall-ish and G.G. is not the biggest fruit lover. Watermelon is her favorite and that does not pair well in any baked dish that I know of. She does love bread though and I happened to find just what I was looking for in “Not Your Mother’s Casseroles” by Faith Durand. I’ve used many recipes from this book but never made this particular one. I really wanted my daughter to swoon with joy with my brunch choices and this one did it.

Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Bake

9 x 13 pan
Bake time: 50 minutes

One 12 – to 16 – loaf good quality white bread (Italian or French) with crusts removed, cut in half lengthwise and then into thin slices. {I skipped all this, left the crust on my fat French bread and sliced it into medium slices. I wanted it to be hearty}

For the custard:

5 large {farm fresh} eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
2 T. sugar
1 {big} tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

For the cinnamon cheese filling:

8 ozs cream cheese, softened
2 T. unsalted butter, softened
1 large {farm fresh} egg
1 T. cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

More cinnamon for sprinkling.

Preheat the oven to 325*. Lightly grease the baking dish with butter or spray.

Layer half the bread in the baking dish, overlapping and wedging them in tightly so they are in an almost solid layer.

To make the custard, whisk the eggs until fully beaten, then whisk in the milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Pour half of this custard over the bread in the baking dish, letting it settle in and soak the bread thoroughly. Set aside the rest of the custard.

To make the cream cheese filling, in the bowl of a standing mixer or with a handheld, beat the softened cream cheese with the butter, egg, cinnamon, and sugar. Beat until very soft and whipped. Spread over the first layer in the baking dish. Layer the rest of the bread on top {making a sandwich} and then pour the rest of the custard on top. (At this point the casserole can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. {Think Christmas morning}

Sprinkle with extra cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, for about 50 minutes, or until it is firmly set. Cool for 15 minutes, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.

I skipped the powdered sugar-it didn’t need that extra sweetness. I did generously douse it with cinnamon though. Also a few years ago I downsized my kitchen and I only have one 13 X 9 -in pan so I made this breakfast bake in my slow cooker. Perfect! It worked so well I would do it this way again. I made the cream cheese filling on Saturday night (after I’d made the Mexican egg dish and it was resting in the refrigerator” and then I layered the bread, custard, and filling into the slow cooker and let it soak for about an hour. We turned it on low before we left for church and it was piping hot when I returned two hours later.

We also had a strawberry spring greens salad and grits slow cooked with gouda right before guests were to arrive and strawberries mixed with a sprinkle of sugar just like my grandmother served in the springtime when she said the berries were still a little tart. My son loves them just that way. My friend brought a dish or squared watermelon and we had glasses of mimosas to clink. It was lovely and I have not one photograph of the table. Happy guests though and a happy ~~girl~~ / young lady. Peace be with you.

Enjoy.

Weekend Cooking; Carrots

[source]

I made this dish, going for something healthy, for a church potluck. I wanted something different as our potlucks are known for their incredible outlay of food; a ridiculous amount of food {not all of it healthy]. While writing last weekend’s post I spent a large amount of time slowly browsing through The Grit Cookbook. The recipe introduction says “This is one of those dishes that is greater than the sum of its parts. Such gigantic flavor from so few ingredients! But look closely-one of them is Grit Vinaigrette. That it explains it all!” I’d thought I’d cut corners and just use a Newman’s Own vinaigrette from my own fridge. Until I read that sentence a few times.

Perfect description for this amazing carrot yumminess. Give it a try. Really. It is so delicious.

Pecan Pesto Carrot Salad (28)

1 small fistful of fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup chopped pecans

3 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 1/2 tsp sugar

Extra-virgin olive oil

5 cups finely shredded carrots

1/4 cup Grit Vinaigrette

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp salt

Combine basil, pecans, cheese, and sugar in a food processor. Slowly add enough olive oil to make a pesto and blend until smooth. Combine pesto with remaining ingredients, stir together well. Cover and refrigerate. Serve well chilled or over salad greens.

Grit Vinaigrette (12)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 T red wine vinegar

2 T balsamic vinegar

6 T finely minced red onion

2 small garlic cloves, chopped

1 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Large pinch fresh parsley

Larch pinch fresh basil

Large pinch fresh or dried oregano

Large pinch fresh or dried thyme

1 cup soybean oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in a blender or food processor and mix well. Continue blending while adding oil in a slow, steady stream until smooth and thick. Use immediately or store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Yields 2 cups

I didn’t have soybean oil so I used olive oil. The recipe serves six, I doubled it and the bowl was empty. I will definitely make this again. It would also be perfect for a picnic or as part of a fantastic veggie sandwich.

This post is my contribution to Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Click her link to find many other food related posts including her review of a teen vegetarian cookbook,

Now I’m off to the public library’s annual book sale where I’m going to stuff a bag full of books.

Weekend Cooking; The Geranium Farm Cookbook

by Barbara Cawthorne Crafton & 10,000 Geranium Farmers

(2006) 136 pages

At our church Christmas Bazaar we have a beautiful book table with used books from our members. It is a wonderful way to share and recycle the books we have read all year. We are a well-read and well-fed congregation as recipe books take up an entire table.

This year a had this one in my stack and my intention was to give it to my mother as she is a true cookbook collector. I read through it one night though and fell in love with the uncomplicated recipes. I love to read through the vignettes interspersed throughout the book as well. I loved this quote from one

Baking Friday Afternoon

I could hardly believe my ears: Rosie requested that we bake a pie on Friday afternoon. Always say yes when your teenager wants to do something with you-anything this side of legality. It could be years before it happens again. (48) ~ Barbara Cawthorne Crafton

Words of wisdom there!

I’ve made these two recipes from this book so far-both excellent.

Curried Olive Spread

1 block of cream cheese, light or otherwise
1 cup pitted, chopped green salad olives (more or less to taste and you can use exotic olives if you prefer)
1 T. curry (more or less to taste)

Cube the cream cheese, then put cheese and olives in a food processor. Blend until mixture is slightly lumpy. Stir in curry. Can be served immediately, but sitting in the fridge for an hour or so allows the flavors to blend. Serve with crackers, celery sticks, or toasted bread squares.

My grandmother gave me this recipe when I entered the working world. She told me there would be many occasions where I would be expected to bring an appetizer to a dinner, and this one was quick, easy, and tasted delicious. After all, she mused, working women were busy and didn’t have all day to create fabulous food...(108) ~ The Rev. Laurie Brock, Mobile, Alabama

Can’t resist grandmother advice either! I served this dip with a loaf of my fresh homemade bread. The dip made enough for leftovers and I’ve been eating that as a snack with gluten-free crackers all week.

Corn Spoon Bread

1 cup (organic) milk
1 T. (unsalted) butter
1 cup cornmeal
1 can creamed corn
2 eggs, separated
1 T. (sea) salt
1 T (freshly ground) black pepper

Scald the milk in a saucepan. Melt the butter into the milk. Add the cornmeal and cook until thick. Stir in the creamed corn. Beat the egg yolks with the salt and pepper. Stir the yolks into the corn mixture. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the corn mixture. pour into a well-greased quart baking dish. Bake at 350* for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden skewer inserted int eh middle comes out clean. Serves 6-8
This is a favorite recipe of mine from my Indiana childhood. ~The Rev. Gerald W. Keucher, New York, NY (123)

I have a thing about creamed corn-a childhood food memory-so this appealed to me on that level. I made it for a church potluck and by the time I made it through the line it was gone, bowl scraped clean just as it should be at a potluck.

Link for Geranium Farm. This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Drop over and see what she is dishing about and many other food-related posts.

In other family news our new refrigerator has been ordered but is back-ordered. My hope is that it arrives somewhere in the vicinity of the first two weeks of Feb. Back order seems to happen with all appliance purchases now.
I’m reading Claire Marvel by John Burnham Schwartz – beautifully written, taking many post-it’s to mark my favorites.
I watched Burlesque last night and loved it-don’t know why it took me a year. Cher and Christina Aguilera were wonderful. I watched Eat, Pray, Love also yesterday and while it dragged in spots was uplifting to me. Made me savor my own loves. So decadent to watch two movies in one day-it was a “free” day in a way.

Happy Mother's Day

Found this while blog surfing…Kyran Pittman’s Mother’s Day video-the message is perfect.

My Mother’s Day started with breakfast in bed made by Groovy Girl. She had a banana, a piece of toast from homemade bread, a glass of real grape juice and a package of good chocolates (oh, yes!) on a tray. After we snuggled and ate together we got dolled up for church. At church we celebrated Teenage Boy’s (and 6 other youth’s) confirmation. He made it through both his readings and the passage he had to have memorized. He did great and the whole ceremony was very personal.

Afterwards we had a Mexican lunch in a local park. It was wonderful to have the sun shining so brightly. The wind was whipping but the sun was warm. We also stopped by a garden shop to pick up some plants for our huge pots at the front of the house. Spring is really here!

The best part of the day happened while my husband and I were ripping out carpet (a huge undertaking for Spring), when Teenage Boy and Groovy Girl walked to his school to play basketball, leaving us a little quiet time to work and talk on our own. Our kids are always around (a positive and a negative) and I miss that intimate time of conversing with him and we made good use of the time. We (even) got a huge strip of carpet pulled up from the front entrance through the living room. When the kids got home we shared some chocolate cake I made yesterday for Teenage Boy’s big day.

I hope everyone’s day was peaceful and relaxing.

Seriously Selling Books

(My organic, buy-local hero, Alice Waters)

One of my dear friends is the brains behind our (now 2nd) annual Christmas Bazaar. Last year she made me make chocolate covered pretzel sticks and cookies. This year she asked if I would be in charge of a used book sale as part of the bazaar. Well, that is right up my alley so it took about two seconds to say yes.

So here I’ve been for the last three hours, selling books at rock-bottom prices. We are a church filled with readers so the book selection is stellar-really! I have a stack right next to me of excellent titles I just couldn’t pass up. Two are cookbooks: Chez Panisse Desserts by Lindsey Remolif Shere with a preface by Alice Waters and illustrated by Wayne Thiebaud. I’m buying it because I trust Ms Waters so much but also because it has recipes like Nutmeg Geranium Ice Cream, Langues De Chat and an entire chapter on just chocolate.
The other cookbook is a spiral-bound book called Screen Cuisine with a really silly illustration on the front. I couldn’t find an image of it and I don’t have a fancy phone to snap a picture to share. I happened to browse through it and discovered it was published by the National Film Society. The list of recipes arefrom a cornucopia of famous people such as Rosemary Clooney’s Viennese Goulash, Newman’s Own Marinated Steak, Carol Burnett’s Fresh Peach Souffle and Dean Martin’s “Dean’s Chix Dish.” Wow-this is a classic. After each recipe is their “signature.” I have to buy it just for the amusement. Only at a church bazaar could you find two such amazing recipe books. My husband, of course, rolled his eyes at the amount of books I brought home! You can’t beat 50 cents a book.

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking. She reviewed The Wine Trials; 2011-a fantastic book about blind taste testing a variety of wines and their rankings. I know it is a useful book because I have the first edition-2008. My thoughtful husband gave it to me as a birthday and I still use it. A gift that keeps on giving! Even though I haven’t tried all the wines in my version I’d love to take a look at this newer version. Thanks Beth Fish for a great reveiw!