Making butter. No churning required.

I'm a notorious sale shopper. I learned it from my mom and it is one of my greatest talents. I recently bought whipping cream on sale with the intentions of yummy deliciousness...but it didn't happen...SO to use the cream without wasting a drop, I made butter! A 2 cup container will yield about 1 cup butter and 1 cup buttermilk. And it's SO simple.

Let cream come to room temperature and chill your metal mixing bowl. Then put the whisking attachment on your mixer and let it do its thing! Just let it go. You may want to cover so you don't splash. Then just watch it as the magic happens! It will turn to frothy gorgeous cream, then it will start to curdle and separate. At this point I switch to my paddle beater and continue to mix on medium. It will start to splash as the butter separates from the buttermilk but if that's the worst that happens, who cares?! Pour off the milk (KEEP IT!!!!) And now rinse your butter. Yes...rinse. add ice cold water to the bowl and mix again. Slowly. Let it mix a bit, and pour off. Do that till the water runs clear and you have no more buttermilk on the butter as it will speed spoilage.
Make sure you get as much water out of your butter after your last rinse, by smushing it with a rubber spatula and pouring off the water that comes out. That's it!!! Enjoy your butter!

an eye opening moment

when you get called something long enough, you begin to believe it. well, this holds true today. i have been asked more and more lately if i'm nuts...crazy...a FREAK. not just by strangers who hear about the way that i live, but by family and friends. my husband and i choose to live very modestly, and old fashioned. very 50's inspired. it's something we enjoy and something we feel is important for our children. we eat home made food. we preserve food in summer to eat during winter. we fix things that are broken...we don't buy new. I sew clothing. we have never been on an airplane...ever. we love spending time together at home. we hike...we don't buy gym memberships. we don't buy things we can't afford...you get the point. but seriously...with all this taken into consideration, WE are the crazy ones? really?!! wow...i feel bad for "normal people".
here we are, teaching our children and ourselves to live a simpler life, all the while, being bombarded with "you need stuff to be happy" commercials and the "keeping up with the Jones'" mentality. it's a daily battle, and it's really hard some days to agree with myself on keeping up this lifestyle, but i know in the end it's what we want. it teaches our children to earn things by saving and hard work. it teaches them pride in what they have, because they have done so much to earn it. this lifestyle allows me to be a work at home mom, and stay home with my kids, and raise them myself. it's what we want, and i am starting to think that waving this freak flag is a badge of honour. something I'VE earned through the struggles and choices we have endured.
so, if you, like me, are tired of the "stuff makes you a better person" and if the busy busy busy lifestyle drives you crazy, come along...wave your freak flag along with me and my family. you'll be glad you did!!

I'm BAAAAACK!!!

i've been gone too long. having a baby, mixed with running a home based OOAK toy business during christmas meant i didn't have time to blog...but, new year, new focus. glad to be back in the kitchen.

I just recently found a recipe for an amazing Chai Concentrate. you can find the recipe HERE.

Now, I enjoyed this thoroughly in my tea. it makes a beautiful cup of warm, spicy chai tea, without paying a premium for the really nice, name brand tea bags. but, where i come in for this recipe, is here...this morning (and most mornings) i make myself a nice big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. but i never do the pre-packaged, pre-flavoured crap they sell in a box. no thanks. i buy myself a big bag of quick oats, dump a nice 2/3 cup in a bowl, boil my water, add whatever flavouring i want that day (brown sugar, maple syrup, apple cinnamon jelly, apples, raisins, etc.) and ta DA!! breakfast. but this morning, i had (as my son says) a LIGHTBULB moment...add the chai concentrate to your oatmeal, and make chai oatmeal. WOW. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. i can't tell you how delicious this is. i added raisins, and a heaping spoon of the chai concentrate, and added my boiling water. it is so good, you will wonder how you ever ate the pre-packaged crap.

try it out, let me know what you think.

Blueberry Oat Cookie Bliss!!

Ok, so here's the dealio. My name is Cherie, and I'm a grocery shopping addict. I know...sounds nuts, but I would rather grocery shop than shop for anything else in the world. I love thinking about all the wonderful yummy creations I'm going to make, and planning my family's meals just about puts me over the moon! Laugh all you will, but at least it's constructive. :p

Another blessing/curse of the grocery shopping addict is that I go crazy when there is a good deal on. If there is a sale, watch out, because I will be all over it! lately, i have been able to find blueberries, strawberries and raspberries for fabulous prices, so, like any good shopaholic, i buy too many. well, not too many strawberries and raspberries...my kids eat those like candy, and they never last long...but blueberries. I have all the intent to make wonderful desserts, smoothies, pie, you name it, but being as busy as i am, i don't ever quite get there....between laundry, and work, and kids and pregnancy and doc appointments...cooking has been last on the list.


HOWEVER...when I have a lot of stuff in the fridge that will go bad if i don't use it, i head to my handy dandy computer, go to my favourite site allrecipes.com, and put in the ingredient of choice. aka, blueberries. well, lo and behold, here came a lovely recipe and one i HAD to try. i skipped by all the muffins and pies and drinks...cookies make my world happy. and even better, if they are THIS good...oh, darlin, watch out!!

BLUEBERRY OAT COOKIES

1/2 cup butter/margarine, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups quick oats

1 cup All Purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

• Cream butter and sugar together

• Beat in egg and vanilla

• Combine all dry ingredients

• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients

• Combine well

• Mix in blueberries by hand!!

• Drop by rounded tablespoon full on to greased cookie sheet

• Bake at 350 for 12 - 14 minutes, or till lightly browned on edges

• let cool 10 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack

YUM!

So, needless to say, I can't wait to try this recipe again, except with different fruit. Strawberries being #1 on that list! so good, so easy, basic recipe, but so yummy!!

I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

Cheers!!

"Clean out the pantry and fridge" Soup

So, last minute meals...you wouldn't think soup would be on the menu...but, it's 4:30, and David has just asked me what is for dinner....

oh...


so, here's the deal. I have some frozen pizzas in the chest freezer that i love for days like this. Days where the work and kids get the better of your time, and dinner falls by the wayside. I forget to take some sort of meat out of the freezer, and i find myself, last minute, either scrambling to the grocery store to pick something up, or scrambling eggs for a breakfast dinner.

today, the frozen pizzas will do...but it's not nearly healthy enough, and i think i could do better for myself and my family, so, lets peek in the fridge.

Oh...all those veggies i bought on saturday, with the good intentions of healthy meals, are still sitting there, all cut up (because i have a strict rule of cutting up veggies before they get put away, so they are easier to use when you want them) and waiting to be made into something delicious.

so, here is what i did. I took the following ingredients, and put them all into a big pan...they are simmering as we speak, and should be ready for dinner at 5:45/6:00pm

INGREDIENTS

4 cups beef stock

6 cups water

1-2 tbsp chicken boullion powder

1 cup dry pearl barley

3/4 cup cooked frozen navy beans

1 can niblets corn

1 can cut green beans

1/2 can whole tomatoes (chopped) WITH juice

1 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/4 head cabbage, chopped

1/2 turnip, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper to taste

few shakes of worcestershire sauce

few shakes of tobasco sauce

let all this come to a boil in your pot, stirring regularly. 

once it is boiling, turn down to simmer and let cook for about 1.5 hours, till everything is nicely cooked through, and the flavours are all melded together.

here is a pic...it's from my ipod, so i apologize for the grainy look. i'll post a better one once the soup is complete, and i have a verdict for you as far as edibility of this soup is concerned (lol)...but soup is one of those things...can you really go wrong?!

Whats for dinner?

so, tonight i'm going very traditional (well...traditional for us) a good old meat and potatoes meal. Boiled potatoes, to be served later with sour cream, butter and chives, chicken legs, sprinkled with Club House Barbecue Chicken seasoning (can't live without this stuff) and panko bread crumbs, and the baked in the oven at 375 for around 35-40 minutes, till done, and on the side, we are having roasted asparagus, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and 2 small cloves of minced garlic.

sounds good to me. yum yum.

whats on the radio you ask? CeLo's F(orget) you. love this song...both versions. lol!! gets me dancing every time!!

cheers all. happy eating!

Gluten Freen Thai Night at our house!!

So, one of my lovely pals is celiac. (for those of you who don't know, that means she can't have any gluten...i know...poor girl!!) And whenever she comes over for dinner, I try extra hard to make something that she doesn't have to pick through to eat, so this evening I decided to make Thai food. Pretty much Gluten free as is...so we were good to go with only some minor alterations.

I made 2 recipes. The first is a Gluten Free Vegetarian Spring Roll with a Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce. the only thing I have to say about this recipe is Y.U.M!!!! make it!! ok, maybe that constitutes 2 things but whatever...just do it. these are amazing!! the prep work takes a bit, but in the long run they are pretty easy to make, and only require a few "specialty" ingredients. you can click HERE to see the original recipe on the website, but i will post it here as well.

Ingredients

1¼	oz. dry rice vermicelli (thai rice noodles), or enough to yield about 1 cup cooked
1¼	cups shredded carrot
1¼	cups shredded cabbage
2	scallions (white and green parts) sliced very thin
15	fresh basil leaves, chopped
15	fresh mint leaves, chopped
2	tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
¼	cup peanuts, crushed
1	tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1	tablespoon gluten free soy sauce (Tamari)
½	tablespoon fresh lime juice
1	teaspoon toasted (dark) sesame seed oil
15	(8-inch) round gluten free spring roll wrappers (made from tapioca or rice; the Asian section of your market)
	Thai Style Peanut Sauce ingredients:
½	cup warm water
½	tablespoon sugar
½	cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1½	tablespoons gluten free soy sauce (Tamari)
1	tablespoon coconut milk
1	tablespoon fresh lime juice
1	teaspoon Chinese chili paste (use spicy or sweet chili paste depending on your taste preference)
1	large clove garlic, finely chopped

Preparation

Step 1	Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Remove from heat and stir in the rice noodles. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until soft and opaque. Drain and rinse under cold water for 30 seconds; drain again. Cut into 1-inch lengths and transfer to a large bowl.
Step 2	Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the rice papers and sauce, to the noodles and mix well.
Step 3	Prepare a bowl of warm water large enough to dip the rice papers. Working with one at a time, dip the rice paper in the warm water until it begins to soften, 8-10 seconds. Transfer to a flat work surface. Working quickly, put about 1/4 cup filling on each wrapper. Fold the bottom of the wrapper up over the filling, and then fold each side toward the center.  Roll from the bottom to the top of each roll, as tightly as you can without ripping the wrapper. Wrap in plastic to keep from drying out. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Serve at room temperature, with Peanut Dipping sauce. Alternatively, refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, or overnight, and serve chilled or return to room temperature.
	To prepare Peanut Dipping Sauce:
	In a small bowl, combine the warm water and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients, whisking until smooth and well blended. Serve at room temperature.  _________________ the next recipe i made was Thai Chicken Satay with the same peanut dipping sauce from above. the recipe was from (surprise, surprise) allrecipes.com.  you can find the recipe HERE. my recipes were made exactly as listed, except for a few items. whenever it called for soy sauce, or tamari, i just added some salt. i added a bit of extra dark sesame oil in the spring rolls and the peanut sauce, and i did not use any cilantro, because i don't care for the flavour. I marinated the chicken pieces for about 2 hours, and they tasted wonderful. i didn't grill my chicken on skewers...i just sauteed it in a pan. i also used a bit of the thick coconut cream from the top of the can, with some sesame oil in my pan before i sauteed my chicken pieces. it added an extra bit of flavour to the chicken and was lovely.  so, next time you have a hankering for thai food, but the bank won't allow the take out bill, try your hand at making it yourself!! it's totally worth it, and amazingly delicious!! cheers!