Day 115 - Barbecued Spare Ribs & a Purpose

I'm having bittersweet day today.   The baby boy is having his 8th grade promotion ceremony tonight.

I know, he's 14 years old, but he'll ALWAYS be a baby to me!

It reminds me of the book, 'I'll Love You Forever', by Robert Munsch.  I absolutely adore that book!
 I've often said to my son that when he's a grown man I still want him to sit in my lap - even though I know he'll probably crush me.

And it's not even like he's graduating high school and going off to college at the end of the summer, it's only 8th grade!

But still it saddens me because I know with our oldest, her four years of high school FLEW so much faster than I ever thought they would.
Our middle child, our daughter, is now an official high school senior and I have no idea when that happened.
I think what really gets me is that my work here is almost done. 
I know I still have A LOT left to do, and I'll never stop being a mother, but I'll miss the dependency; my oldest standing at the door when she hears me pull into the garage, doing their laundry, proofreading reports, making their lunches, shuttling them to practices and games.
They're not going to NEED me as much and that hurts.
I know my purpose in raising these little people was so that they could be responsible, self-sufficient, competent, caring, compassionate, loving, etc., etc. adults., and I'm so happy that we're almost there.
I couldn't be more proud of those three kids and I love them far more than I ever imagined I would.

(I have SO many thoughts going through my head right now about how I want to write the rest of this, but it isn't coming to fruition, so I'll end it here to prevent excess sappiness and unintelligible grammar.
I also think the hormones may be playing a supporting role in this as well.)

It's a question of purpose, my purpose, after the kids have left the nest.
I think I'm afraid that when this purpose ends, I won't be able to define the next one or who I'm supposed to be.
WHAT DO I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?
I still haven't figured that out and don't know if I ever will, but until then,
I am a MOMMY.  The hardest and by far the most rewarding thing I could ever possibly do.
And with every ounce of my being, I am going to continue to be the best mommy to those three kids I can possible be.
Because they need me.
In some ways, they will always need me.
And I love that.
Because that's why I'm here.

How do barbecued spare ribs with some Southern Potato Salad from The Food Network and some corn on the cob for dinner sound?  Oh, and some fresh tomatoes from the garden.
Mmmmhhhmmmmm....that's what I thought.

This comes from my New Doubleday Cookbook, p. 251; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-385-19577-X.

Favorite Barbecued Spareribs - 6 servings

5 lbs. spareribs

Sauce
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup chili sauce
½ cup ketchup
2 teaspoons prepared mild yellow mustard
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Line a cookie sheet with heavy duty foil and spray with cooking spray.
Place ribs on sheet and bake, uncovered, for 3/4 of an hour.

Drain off all drippings.
Mix sauce ingredients in a blender and pour over ribs.

Bake uncovered for 1¼ - 1½ hours longer, turning and basting every 20 minutes until tender and richly browned..
(Note:  For even better flavor, marinate the ribs in the sauce in turned-off oven 3-4 hours after first 3/4 hour of baking and drain off drippings; then bake for 1½ hours longer as directed.)
I doubled the batch, for what reason, I have no idea, but I'm glad I did because now we have leftovers for tomorrow.

I absolutely LOVE going to restaurants and gettin' me a real good slab of ribs with lots o' barbecue sauce!
These were as good and even better than some I've eaten in those establishments. 
My husband was thrilled, too!
I was pleasantly surprised at how these turned out.  The meat was very tender, but not quite at the point of falling off the bone in some spots and the sauce.
The SAUCE!
You know how sometimes when you're eating something barbecued and you get that sauce that sticks to the front of your teeth that you can't quite get off?
It was that good and sticky.
It was all-over-the-fingers-good, too.  EVERYBODY needed a paper towel.

Everything I bake is rated on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being you shouldn't go to your grave without at least giving this a try.  These lip smacking ribs earn 4 rolling pins!

Yee Ha!
Happy baking, y'all!

Day 112 - Chicken Noodle Casserole

What a wonderful weekend!
I say that because I was finally able to be productive and get some housework done!
Ok, I was really only able to do laundry, but the mounds just kept growing during the week because I hadn't had any energy to do much of anything.
Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to get through the day without taking a nap.
I've done that every day this week!
Being sick stinks!
Everyone, stay HEALTHY!!

This is adapted from my New Doubleday Cookbook.

Chicken Noodle Casserole - serves 4

¼ cup butter
¼ cup sifted flour
½ teaspoon McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated pepper
2 cups bite-size pieces cooked chicken
8 oz. thin noodles, cooked according to package directions until al dente, and drained

Topping

3 potato hamburger buns sliced into small cubes and tossed with 3 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat and blend in flour and poultry seasoning.

Slowly stir in broth and milk, add salt and pepper, and heat, stirring until mixture thickens.

Off heat, mix in all remaining ingredients except topping.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Oh. My. Goodness!
Yes, this is one of those recipes that IS a keeper!!
The whole family absolutely loved this dish tonight, and unanimously decided that it earned 4 rolling pins! 
I rate everything that I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best of the best.
The sauce was so delicious and I think it was largely in part due to the fact that I used the Montreal Chicken seasoning.  That seasoning is great when we grill chicken, so I knew it would give this dish that extra boost I was looking for.  Also, instead of using the 1 teaspoon of granules I used 2 for even additional flavor.
This was SO yummy!!!!!
The only thing I think I'd change, is to double the amount of sauce.  The noodles weren't dry, I just like things really saucy.
Saucy.  I like that.
I'm so glad this was better than those Nutella sour cream cookies I made yesterday.
What a relief!
Happy baking!

Day 108 - Three Berry Cobbler

Thank you all for your patience and your continuous reading while I've taken this short hiatus.
I was feeling well enough today to bake although I am still not over my illness. 
This recipe was simple to make, but because of my energy level and inability to focus at times it took me a couple of hours to complete it.
I'm sure it won't take you as long.

Adapted from Fannie Farmer Cookbook Thirteenth Edition

Three Berry Cobbler

1 pint of strawberries
1 pint of blueberries
12 oz. blackberries
12 tablespoons butter, melted
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup milk
1 egg
1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Pour 4 tablespoons of the melted butter into an 8 X 8"-inch baking dish.  Spread evenly in dish.
In a small bowl, mix together ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup of the sugar.
Combine all berries into a large bowl.  Pour sugar/salt mixture over berries and fold in gently with a wooden spoon. 

Place berries in baking dish and set aside.
Pour remaining 8 tablespoons melted butter into a bowl, add the milk and egg, and beat well.
Mix the flour, baking powder, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl.
Stir the egg/milk/butter mixture into flour mixture and beat together until smooth.

Place 9 dollops of batter onto berries.

Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into dough comes out clean.  If browning too quickly, cover with foil.

The cobbler was delicious and on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best, this earned 4 rolling pins!  It was even that much better with the vanilla bean ice cream on it, too.
And yes, I had a little bit of an appetite to eat it.  And I could even taste it, too which was a plus!

I had gone to bed early, and I mean like 7:00 pm early hoping to call it a night, but I tossed and turned for at least an hour or more and couldn't fall asleep.  So, I sat on my husband's side of the bed and was on his laptop when I noticed something very near my foot move on the floor.

Fortunately, he's a bigger one and less dangerous than his smaller counterparts.  He was in a plastic cup when this picture was taken 

I was going to put this at the top of the post, but didn't want to freak anybody out. 
It's been a couple of years since we've had a scorpion in the house and usually I'm not too freaked out by them and can dispose of them without having to call my husband for assistance.  Last night was different though.  I didn't need my husband, I just freaked out knowing that I had walked back and forth over that same are not a couple of minutes beforehand to go into the bathroom.
I'm just so glad that I saw it before anyone stepped on it, and not to mention the dog who wanders the whole house.
I'd love to know where it came from and if it has any brothers or sisters we need to be on the lookout for.  Did he come in from a vent in the ceiling or somewhere at ground level.  I'll never know, but I did have trouble walking around the house afterwards and going to sleep.
We didn't have scorpions in Rhode Island.  I can't say that I'm happy to see them here in the desert.
~ Happy baking everyone! ~

Day 102 - Chicken Divan

Remember, you still have time to enter the giveaway on the 100th day!  Read the rules and leave your comments and YOU could be the lucky winner!!

*The contest is now over and a winner has been determined.*

I have to be honest, I LOVE my life!
I had coffee this morning which turned into lunch with a good friend today and we had some amazing laughs and conversation.  Thank you, Laura!
I've been reconnecting with some old friends lately and I must say that it's wonderful.
It's also comforting to know that when you need someone in times of stress or crisis that someone will be there.
I've always preferred to be there for others.  It's so much easier for me to "pay it forward" as opposed to asking accepting the support or help once it's needed.
But that's what life's about isn't it?  Love thy neighbors as you would love thyself.
Besides, it's ALWAYS good to reconnect with your girlfriends and have a good laugh because that's the best medicine.  And boy, does it feel good when my cheeks hurt!

Tonight's dinner is sponsored by (no, not sponsored, just wanted to sound like a voice-over for a commercial) or rather adapted from The New Doubleday Cookbook; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Random House; ISBN 0-385-19577-X.

Chicken Divan - serves 4

¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup sifted flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
¾ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 head broccoli (about 1½ pounds) trimmed and chopped
3 cooked chicken breasts ( about 1- 1½ pounds), cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded Cheddar/ Monterey Jack Cheese
½ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Melt butter in a saucepan over moderate heat, blend in flour, slowly add broth and milk, and heat stirring until thickened; mix in salt, pepper, ¼ cup cheese, and the sherry.

Arrange broccoli in a single layer in a buttered 8 X 8-inch baking dish and top with chopped chicken.  Spread shredded cheddar/jack cheese evenly over chicken.

Beat cream until soft peaks form and fold into sauce.

Pour evenly over chicken.

Bake, uncovered about ½ hour until bubbly.
Broil quickly to brown and serve.

We really liked this dish - I must say, it's a keeper  I rate all of my dishes on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the absolute best and this one earned 4 rolling pins The sauce was delicious and with the extra shredded cheese I added, it had a lot of flavor.  i always think it's great to have a vegetable in a casserole especially if there are children involved.
Happy Baking!

Day 97 - Manicottis with Strawberry Spinach Salad

Two family recipes today.  The manicotti comes from my mom and the salad is from my sister-in-law, Karin.
Mom made these manicottis a lot.  I remember whenever she'd make the crepes for them she would always save me some and I'd eat them with maple syrup. 
Oh, they were so yummy! 
I miss mom's cooking.
Ok, I didn't meant that - need to clarify. 
She was an ok cook.  What I miss is her taking extra special care of me and her just cooking for me.
And Mother's Day is Sunday...

Ok, we're good.

Manicotti

French Pancakes aka Crepes - makes 12, can be frozen
(I actually ended up making 14, but I ate 2)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Put ingredients into a bowl or blender.  Stir until smooth.  Cover and let stand at least ½ hour.

Batter should be thin.

Here's a video on how to make a crepe!  I wanted to take pictures of the process, but it's REALLY not easy, taking the pictures, pouring the batter and swirling it around in the pan. 
I needed two extra hands.  They explain it well, anyway, and the pan action starts at about 1:10.

         This so wasn't the recipe I had intended to make today.  Did a lot of running around the state today and one of those places to which I ran was Gluten-Free Creations Bakery.  The place was a little hole-in-the-wall with no windows, tucked away behind a Midas shop.  No wonder the sign on the building says,

"You found us!". 

I walked into the shop (a little nerve-wracking because with no windows, I don't know what I'm walking into, but took a deep breath and turned the door knob) and everything is like right there.  I'm a little claustrophobic from being stuck in an elevator in high school, and that immediate feeling came back.  There was room to move around, it wasn't that bad, it just wasn't your regular open, airy-type shop.  They have so many baked goods available, and premixed flours which is wonderful for people who do a lot of baking (ahem!).  I didn't purchase it, but I did buy some cinnamon raisin bagels which were really, really good!  They reminded me of the Raisin-Cinnamon Mochi I used to buy when the kids were little at Bread & Circus (Whole Foods).  I'd cut it up into squares, pop those babies in the toaster oven and then put cream cheese in the middle.  Oh my gosh, they were so good!  Hmmmm...I think I'm gonna have to make a trip to Whole Foods to pick some of that stuff up - now I've got a craving.
     Today I also bought my daughter a brownie (which was delicious and tasted like the real thing!), and some pizza crusts which were really, really good, too!  Those crusts have been purchased by many pizza places in the area, so that they can offer gluten-free pizzas.  I have to say that I was very impressed with all of the items.  Who says gluten-free food can't taste great?  I would definitely recommend them.  I know they ship as well and have a frequent-buyer program, so check them out!
     As I said, I hadn't intended to make this Pound Cake today.  It was 8 o'clock this evening and I just sat down to eat dinner (everyone had already been fed and was doing their own thing) and realized it was going to take too long for what I had planned, so that will be baked tomorrow.  No, I'm not telling you what it is.

 I also had an accident in the kitchen (surprise, surprise), knocked the container of flour to the floor scattering its' contents.  Fortunately, there wasn't much left.  I wasn't even using flour in today's recipe!  I had it out though because I had just rolled out some pizza dough.  Oh, well.
     This recipe is from The Gluten-Free Kitchen, p. 143; author, Roben Ryberg; publisher, Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-7615-2272-7.

     Chocolate Pound Cake

     ½ cup softened butter
     1 cup sugar
     2 eggs
     1½ teaspoons vanilla flavoring
     ½ cup cornstarch
     ½ cup potato starch
     ½ cup cocoa
     2½ teaspoons baking powder
     3/4 teaspoons salt
     1 1/8 teaspoons guar gum (I substituted xanthan gum)
     3/4 cup milk

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.
     In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. 
     Add eggs and vanilla flavoring.  Mix well.
     Add all remaining ingredients except milk.  Mix well, being sure to remove all lumps.
     Slowly mix in milk.

     Pour batter into a greased 9 X 4 loaf pan. 

     Bake 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle of loaf tests clean.
     Allow cake to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes.

     My daughter really loved this cake.  I have a rating system of 1-4 and 4 is the absolute best.  She decided that this Chocolate Pound Cake earned 4 rolling pins, and she's picky!
     Happy baking!

Day 64 - Pignoli Cookies

     As I write this, my son is talking to himself in the shower.  He doesn't sing, he talks.  He's having this whole conversation with himself tonight because his undefeated baseball team lost to a team that was 3-3.  He didn't hit so well, but he played ok defensively.  They had been losing 7-1 and then came back to go ahead 8-7.  The other team had the last ups because we were playing at their field.  In the bottom of the last inning, combined with pent up frustration, he was involved in a collision at second when he was catching the ball and was slightly injured.  It's one of those things where he was legitimately hurt, but I think the frustration of the team not playing well and his not hitting increased the pain all the more.  Know what I mean?
     So, he does this.  He talks to himself, works it all out in his head and is then ok.  I really do love to listen to him.  He'll do it when he's in bed, too, and then is beyond embarrassed if he sees my shadow in the hall.  I can't help it.  I'm his mother, and I know my enjoying moments like these are limited.  So, I'm going to listen.   
     When we were living in Rhode Island, our friends, Mary and Eddy, would travel back to New York where they were originally from and bring back Italian goodies.  One time they came back with a PINK BOX!  Remember how I not only LOVE those pink boxes, but especially the things that are inside them?  Inside this box were some Pignoli cookies.  It was definitely one of my Oh My Goodness moments.  They were SO completely delicious - chewy on the outside and so soft and tender on the inside.  And then they melted in my mouth.  They were oh so good that I would ask, or rather beg Mary to bring some back whenever they went to New York.  They were one of those creations that was so good I was afraid to make it because I really and truly believed I wouldn't be able to duplicate it.  Yes, I was intimidated by a cookie.  Over 12 years I've put it off.  Today, I baked a cookie so close that I think even I could put it into a pink box!  So darned exciting!
   We can thank Martha Stewart for this one.  I found it in her Baking Handbook, p.93; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-307-23672-2.

     Pignoli Cookies
    
     7 ounces almond paste
     ½ cup granulated sugar
     ½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
     2 large egg whites
     ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
     3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
     1/8 teaspoon salt
     3/4 cup pine nuts

     Preheat oven to 350ºF, with racks in the center and lower third.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
     In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat almond paste and both sugars on medium speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 2 minutes.

Add egg whites and vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until a smooth paste forms, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add flour and salt; beat until combined, about 1 minute.  Dough will be very soft and tacky.

     Place pine nuts in a small bowl.  Scoop out a tablespoon of dough; using dampened fingers, drop dough into pine nuts, coating one side.  Transfer rounds, coated side up, to prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Fill in any bare spots on rounds with remaining pine nuts.

     Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies and pine nuts have turned golden brown, 13 to 15 minutes.  Transfer cookies on parchment to a wire rack to cool completely.  Using an offset spatula, carefully loosen from parchment paper.  Using a fine sieve, dust cookies with confectioners' sugar.  Cookies can be kept, stacked between layers of waxed or parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

     Yes, I forgot to dust with confectioners' sugar.  But they Didn't. Even. Need. It.  They were just so yummy delicious.  Yes, they were Oh. My. Goodness.   My husband was amazed at how good they were.  He says, to date, that they are the best thing I have made. 

I asked, "better then the créme brulée?". 

He thought and then replied, "yeah, even better than the créme brulée".

Now that's saying something 'cause he even said that was pretty darned good.  (I think I may be spoiling him.)

     Instead of dropping them into the pine nuts by tablespoonfuls (I also used a knife to scrape it out), next time I'll probably use a teaspoon and lessen the baking time.  I just think the final cookie was too big.  Also, the dough was so sticky that instead of taking them out of the pine nuts with my fingers, I used a larger table spoon.  Granted I grabbed a few extra pine nuts in the process, but they were transferring to the parchment a lot easier and they were more rounded as opposed to mishapen.  Then I just removed the extra pine nuts by hand.  Personally I would prefer to have two cookies to every larger one that I made.  In the end, I made about 23 and it says you'll finish with about 18.

     My rating system is based on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the absolute best.  I'm pretty sure you already know what the rating is on these:  4 rolling pins!  Yes, they were that good.  I would highly recommend that you put your Italian apron on and make these puppies.  I'm sure you won't regret it.

     Happy baking!