Friday Food Entry #3 Lemonade Cookies

Gee, It's Friday already and I chose a light but yummy dessert cookie to share. I am going to the Oregon coast and these are my take along surprise treat....
The recipe is one from Cat Cora's "Cooking from the Hip." For anyone not knowing who she is, she is the only female Iron Chef champion on Food Network and the executive chef of Bon Apetite. I really love her recipes and am happy to have this cookbook.

These cookies were fun to make "Like a magic trick, from lemonade make lemon cookies"

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Makes about 4 dozen

Lemonade Cookies

1 - 6 oz can of frozen lemonade concentrate ( fill a bowl with warm water & plop the unopen can in it to thaw while you prepare the dough.)

1/2 lb ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar plus extra to sprinkle over the cookies

2 teas. finely grated lemon zest (optional)

2 large eggs

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teas. baking powder

1/8 teas. salt

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar with a mixer. Add the lemon zest if desired. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one. Continue beating until mixture is light & creamy 4-5 minutes. set aside. In a seperate bowl wisk the flour, soda and salt.

Measure out 1/2 cup of the thawed lemonade & set rest aside. Add one third of the flour mixture to the creamed butter & sugar . Stir, then add about 1/3 of the 1/2 cup lemonade. Continue adding the flour and lemonade alternately, stirring after each addition, until the mixture shows no streaks of flour. Beat on low speed with the mixer just until all ingredients are combined.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the cookies , checking them after 8 minutes. When the edges are just starting to brown, remove them from the oven (the centers will still look soft) Using a pastry brush, immediately brush the tops of the cookies very lightly with the remaining lemonade concentrate, then sprinkle with sugar. Transfer to a a rack and cool completely.

The dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for several days. Straight from the refrigerator they should bake for about 12 minutes. Aren't they pretty?

Bon Apetite

Lincoln City, Oregon here we come...

Its waiting for us.. We are headed to Lincoln City Oregon on Thursday. I am ready to leave my footprints in the sand. Check out a few Lighthouses and much much more....Clay & I will meet my sister Karen & her husband Wayne for a couple days of family fun. I will be posting pictures of our mini-holiday when I return, and you can still view my Friday Food Entry post on Friday as Promised, (It sure is nice that Blogger allows us to pre schedule ) The weather is to be typical for this time of the year... 68 during the day. I don't think rain will bother us if it does fall a bit... More to come.... I must make sure to carry extra batteries for the camera...I wonder if Clamming season is open?

Fish On! What fun

Saturday, we had the greatest day fishing out of our boat on Fish Lake here in Oregon. Only 40 miles from our house to the lake. The Biggest ones (I caught 2 of them and 4 others...Clay caught 3 ) the largest were just under 14 inches and smallest two were 10 1/2 inches. I know I shouldn't toot my own horn but I am.. We figure we are really good at fishing or the fish were really hungry. A beautiful day by all accounts. Warm enough for me to get sunburned and Buster to retrieve sticks from the lake & swim back to shore. I cleaned the fish once we got home & now they are in the freezer for a big fish fry......Company is coming... what a treat. I may have to use them in a Friday Food Entry.... Can't wait to go again.. Fishing is always more fun when you catch one..don't you think?only next time I will put on extra sunscreen...

#2 Friday Food: Lemon Saltimbocca

What is Saltimbocca? Besides being Simply Delicious. Taken from (WizeGeek).

In Italian, saltimbocca means “to jump in the mouth,” which is supposed to be a reference to the fact that the dish is so good that it literally jumps into the diner's mouth. It is made by wrapping the meat of choice in thinly wrapped prosciutto, adding some sage leaves, and then marinating the meat in a mixture which varies, depending on the nation where the dish is being prepared. Then, the saltimbocca is sauteed, and served with its own drippings; capers may be added as well, in some regions.
As a general rule, the meat is pounded, to make it extremely tender. Pounding also softens the meat, allowing it to absorb more of the marinade and more of the drippings during the cooking process. As you might imagine, saltimbocca is not by any means low in fat, and the fats are part of what make the dish so rich and flavorful.


Lemon Saltimbocca (serves 4)

4 skinless chicken breast
4 sliced prosciutto
4 slices lemon
1 Tbls Flour
1 1/2 Tbls Olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
2 Tbls unsalted butter
1 Tbls chopped parsley

Season the chicken with salt & pepper, use a rolling pin pound the chicken breasts to flatten slightly. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each breast. Top with a slice of lemon, secure with a toothpick. Sprinkle chicken with flour to lightly coat.
Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat.
Add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through. Remove & Place chicken on a plate. Add wine to the skillet and simmer over high heat until reduced by half. Add butter and parsley and stir until butter is melted. Drizzle sauce over chicken. Remove toothpicks and serve with vegetable or salad leaves, if desired. I steamed yellow wax beans from the garden.
Bon Apetite!

Diary of my long short day

Exhaling! ahhhhhhhhhhh

Ever had one of those days when you start something late and it takes all day to accomplish? After getting a late morning start this morning (8:00) Yes I slept in... drank my morning coffee and looked over the list of things I hoped to accomplish today... Checking them off as I completed them. Wondering do you do this? Well any ways, I managed to jump right into my domestic goddess apron, Yes I changed from my pajamas to shorts & top first, it was kinda hot today. Brushed my teeth and went to collect eggs (6 today.) Fed the girls & the quail, and returned to read my email... Of course it was on the list.

Then I put a load, no two loads of laundry in to wash & hung to dry. I love to hang my clothes.

Back to the list.... sat for 15 minutes and drank a iced coffee while thumbing through recipes for the calimari I plan to cook tonight, and eggplant... Pickled the beets I cooked yesterday, boy the house smells nice.... then decided to rearrange my cookbooks, since a new one came today Thank you Mr UPS, and Amazon used books..."Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home". Quickly thumbed through it marking a couple pages.... continued checking off the list, discarded old spices and rearranged them in my cupboard moving into the pantry re arranged all my canned goods on the shelves when I realized its nearly 4Pm and its hot inside & outside, turned on A/C and fan.. Checking if I smell as bad as I think I do or if its the combination of cumin and garlic powder spilled in the drawer... My goodness how did I get on that subject?... I hurried outside took all the laundry off the line & folded it as I did... hauled the huge over flowing basket of Fresh air scented clothes & towels in and put them away... and now my followers I am sitting with my list almost all checked off... gotta get the dinner started and realized I didnt eat breakfast or lunch.. I only had a few bits of cheese & a few bites of summer sausage. ( took them off Clays lunch plate.. am I running on fumes from dinner last night? It has a long busy short day and I still have 6 hours before my bedtime... do I have time to shower? I think that would be a good idea... It's kinda hot & smelly here....and shoot maybe I will put on my jammies early they are sunshine fresh.... and have a glass of chilled wine, and a snack before dinner..... yes, thats what I am thinking.....

Summer is ending.

There is a definate sign of fall coming. The weather is cool in the mornings and the midgies are here.. pesky bugs that arrive this time of the year. They are only here a month and then gone but at night fall, I cannot leave my windows open as they love to squeeze through even the smallest screens....
This morning as I drank my coffee, I saw from my kitchen window a visiting doe that wandered by in search of breakfast. The fields around our house are turning golden brown & she blends in quite well with the dry grasses, Soon it will be hunting season and she will be hiding in the taller grasses. I really do not like the idea of hunting season, although I know all the reasons it exists. Fortunately, this doe if she stays around these parts will be relatively safe. I have seen her sisters with their babies gleaning from the fields as well.

As the early morning hours passed, I went out to the garden and picked a few things ready myself. I do love this time of the year when the garden produces its fruit & veggies. I get anxious to can & freeze the bountiful supply. My 10 chickens are also contributing to the feasts, laying 5 -6 eggs a day now. My days will be filling as the harvest time approaches quickly but first we will take a short road trip to the Oregon coast in a couple weeks.. and I do hope my tomatoes will be ripening by the time we return ... I have no more salsa and that is first on my list to do along with my dilly beans. Yes, Summer is fading and Fall is not far away. Time to bring out those sweet vanilla & spice candles too I am thinking...

Shelter in the Corn...

This morning when we managed to get out to the garden bundled in my sweatshirt and warm pants, socks & shoes.* it was mighty cold for us here in Klamath Falls ..... only 43 degrees and windy.* The sun had just cleared the mountain as it has been doing by 7:30a each morning.. I have hurt my back and slowly managed to work my way to the back door to go to the chicken coop. As I counted my "girls" all 10 were in sight... and also to my surprise were about 40 quail in my garden gleening anything the chickens had scared their way. I managed to get this picture of a few that didn't see me approach. Look close they are sheltered under my corn rows. I have noticed a bit more activity throughout the day as frogs and many different birds have found shelter here... also to my surprise and I am as greatful as the birds that My garden has flourished nicely having ammended it with topsoil & manure this spring. I have corn & squash, yellow wax beans *galore * beets and potatoes. I managed to pick a few of those beans for dinner carefully squatting instead of bending as instructed by my masage therapist.. Again today I had an appointment with her and tonight I must say Hurt worse than I did when I went there this morning. But that was to be expected after the work over she gave me.. So its back into the hot tub to soak, I think I shall have a glass of wine..*medicinal purpose* and hopefully tomorrow will be feeling better.. at least the birds will be happy... because I threw some extra treats their way into the shelter of the corn. There is a frost warning...can you believe that? And its going to be upper 80's next week... I do hope my back is better so I can get out and enjoy the warmth for a bit longer....Clay wants to go boating...

#1 Food Friday Shrimp & Scallops with Sweet Peppers

As promised My first entry in the Friday Food Chapter.

Living in the Pacific Northwest again I am aware of fresh seafood which my husband & I both love. Sweet Bay Scallops and Shrimp are probably our favorite tied with Dungeness Crab. The recipe I created is a blend of one I found in a Northwest cookbook (creator
unknown) and adusted to my my liking and it is printed below. The
cooking time was under 30 minuites. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Please feel free to leave your review in my comment space.













Recipe:

Northwest Scallops & Shrimp with Sweet Peppers.

1 lemon
12 oz spaghetti

1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 good olive oil
1 each-small green, red & yellow sweet peppers
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1-pound large raw shrimp, peeled & devained
3/4 lb petite bay scallops
1 can chicken broth
3/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup fresh grate dparmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

With zester, cut the peel from lemon and slice into fine shreds
Reserve zest & juice
Cook spaghetti in water for about 9 minutes until al dente
Drain, rinse and drain again
Heat butter & olive oil in a 12 inch skillet on med-high heat
Add all sweet peppers, garlic & hot pepper flakes
Cook stirring about 1 minute. Remove peppers and add scallops, shrimp and lemon zest and shreds to the empty skillet.
Stir for 2 minutes, add chicken broth cover and leave for about 5 minutes until shrimps have cooked, they will turn pink and the scallops will be opaque. Be careful not to over cook the seafood.
Return Pasta to the pan you cooked it in and top with the scallops, shrimp and peppers and lemon threads.
Toss with cilantro and salt & pepper to taste.
Turn heat to low to heat intil hot.
Serve immediately topping each serving with parmesan cheese.
Bon Apetite!
I pared this dish with a Barefoot Pinot Grigio.

Fired up the grill....

Yes, I know I said I was going to Blog about Food on Friday's but what's a farm girl to do when her husband plops a package of frozen hamburger on the counter shortly after breakfast & states he would like a" juicy" burger for dinner? While the meat thawed I spent part of my morning looking through cookbooks for something "special" to do with this request. Coming to the conclusion that all he wants is a nothing special burger except it must be "juicy"I marked a few pages for future reference, in various cookbooks and returned them to the shelf. With, no recipe required I stared at the thawed raw ground mass of beef, pondered over simple spices, sprinkled it with a mesquite pepper, reached in my spice cupboard for "Emerils' Essence" which I had prepared a month ago from his recipe given on the Food Network. I love the stuff, & sprinkled heavily I must admit. I formed two rather large 1/2 lb patties and as an after thought gingerly dusted each with garlic powder, covered these with a sheet of saran wrap & waited for the "hubby chef" to fire up the grill... the first challenge I could see (because I hate huge burgers that you cannot get your mouth around and thought I had really screwed up in building of the designer juicy burger).. knowing full well the "Juicy" part would be dripping down the front of my shirt, but to my surprise the fresh and soft Kaiser rolls I purchased for deli sandwiches was the perfect touch. I laced my burger with tomatoe, lettuce, sliced dill pickles, and the chef had toasted the "bun with the cheddar cheese to perfection. The only condiment needed was a spread of mayonaise, and ketchup. I was truely amazed at the creation, it was indeed juicy and squished down (when patted) to a perfect size to put in my pie hole.. Yummy! So my dear readers, I do plan on a bit more creative palate pleasers come Friday, but this burger was darn good and the bun was very light and flakey. Bon Apetite!

Good Movie

Ok so I am no Julia Childs or Julie Powers but at my daughters suggestion Clay & I went to see the movie late this afternoon. We found it very entertaining and I could relate to Julie on several occasions trying new recipes. I would never take on a J & J project but would like to start a Friday Blog about Recipes I find challenging. I do love to cook and Would find it very worth my while to try a few new recipes.. Clay of course will be my official taster... So starting this Friday My Blog shall consist of a recipe I find. I have many cook books to choose from so as it has been said many times "Bon Apetite!"

Sure is Quiet....

This was a quiet 2 minutes, Second picture is of the boys climbing on the dirt mound, just before getting in the car to head home.. and then buckled up for the ride home. Pj is armed with a gallon of ice tea and cheese sticks, first stop will be the corner grocery for more road snacks and a few "potty stops" a very long 7 hours with two active kids in the car... A good thing she is young and has patience and a Good working CD player in the car. We loved seeing them and we will miss them. ... Really.. Yes we will.

Entertaining the boys

They arrived and we had a few surprises for them. One being they got to paint the family picnic table. Quite a project and it turned out pretty darn good. Mom (Pj ) & I stand watching the young artists at work. Peyton 8 and Mason 6 added their signatures to the finished work. Tomorrow we go to the fair, ( the poor chickens & Buster need a few hours of peace & quiet,) Mason wanted to know if he could "watch the chickens lay their eggs" Of course we said sure....thinking that will keep him in one place for awhile...... But he couldnt wait in the coop for more than 5 minutes, quickly he joined his brother to racing each other in the driveway on their scooters. Grandpa Clay will accompany us tomorrow for sure, since it was his idea.... These kids take a lot of energy, and this grandma is trying hard to keep up.....More pictures to follow....

Magic in many forms.

Like magic, Mother nature has had her hand in making the morning cool temperatures of 58 degrees to 100 degrees as it is right now on my porch. I find it quite comfortable however sitting inside with the air conditioner humming away. Today is August 1st. Summer is here until maybe mid September.

I just got word that the Denver Post has an article about my son in it today. That is really "hot" News. http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_12969078 That is my magician son performing today.

I promised to blog what's going on and right now that is it. I was off my feet all week with awful back pain. But, after Ice treatments ( including those in a glass with vodka & tonic) I am much better today. I must also give some credit to the help of my massage therapist as she magically had her hands on a few tricks to relieve my sore muscles this morning. Next week, We have company coming and I have lots of things to do to get our home ready for my daughter Pj and her two youngest grandsons . I must feel well enough to work some of my own "grandma magic" with entertaining them. I will be posting pictures of their visit for sure. Right now though, a tall glass of that magical " Ice tonic" would taste good, and I can't help but wonder

if my wonderful husband will make dinner magically appear?