Change is coming!

It is true.  Change is coming to our lovely little home.  I am not teaching right now.  I am at home trying my best to recover from a series of seizures.  It has been a road filled with doctors, medication, disappointments, decisions, and even a little hope.  Hope is what brought me back to this blog. So I decided to document what I have chosen to do as I try to heal my mind and my heart. My husband and I have decided to grow one year worth of food for our family.

So now I am faced with this...

The garden is barren right now, but there is work afoot!  In moments where I am feeling well and rested I am outside doing what I can to grow our food supply.  Today I walked out and discovered that many seeds have sprouted in the beds in spite of our recent snow.

The French radishes are coming out below the blueberry bushes.

The Swiss chard has returned and is coming up in every part of the garden.

There is so much that is coming up and giving us hope through the spring. Fennel and artichokes made their appearance last week.

These made the first appearance and brought a smile to our faces. Chives!  They are now all over the garden.  

The chives were spread with a little help...

The fruit trees have even gotten in on the action a cold spring in the PNW provides!

This year I plan on documenting our journey and the recipes that we derive from the bounty.   Our goal is to grow enough food for a family of 3 for 1 year.  It is a HUGE task and one that we are not taking on lightly.   We are even trying seeding for the first time in a small greenhouse.

As I walked through the garden today my heart filled with anticipation and joy.  It has been a long time since I have felt that. It has been a long time since my heart has felt much of anything other than fear. Today I spent time wandering, taking pictures, and praying.  It has helped, even if only a little.

Please bookmark this page and follow our journey! 

Auntie Cheena

It's been a while...so tomato soup it is!

It has been a very long time since I have posted.  There are reasons why, but many of them are personal and even heart-breaking. Today I am back to warm your heart and the heart of my home with this...

Home.  It is not a word I thought I would ever use, but here I sit at our dining room table that is covered in a beautiful table cloth, technology, and a notebook to track the garden progress this year.

In our home we do what we can to have a homemade life. Our kitchen is always full of stories, cooking, and a mountain of dishes. Today I am bringing you a homemade tomato soup. We store everything in our home in jars.

They make the best storage vessels and you can see the beauty of what you created.  It is also the way I remember the women in my life who shaped me into who I am today.  Both my husband's grandmother, whom we refer to as MorMor, and my own, whom we call Buela, had shelves filled with these jars.

Recently my Buela passed away and because she is heavy on my heart, I decided to make soup.  It was often served to us by her roughly strewn hands in her home. Today we will serve it with this...

I would love to say this idea was original, but the truth is I had a delicious cup of soup at a local coffeeshop in Duvall, WA. Skip going to the city website and go straight to the police blotter. BTW, the giraffe is supposed to be there. Laugh at this little town via technology.


Now back to the soup!  We preserve our own tomatoes, but canned will work in this recipe. 

Here is what you will need to make this soup:
2 carrots diced
4 stalks of celery diced
1 yellow onion diced
3 cloves of garlic crushed to release their natural oils
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 large sprig of Basil with leaves removed
2 cans San Marzano tomatoes
1 can crushed tomatoes
4 cups of hot water
2 TBsp of vegetable Better Than Bouillon paste
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 TBsp unsalted butter

You will also need:
a crockpot
an immersion blender

This is simple because once all of the vegetables are chopped you will place them into a crockpot with the tomatoes.  Dissolve the bouillon in the hot water and then add it to the crockpot. Add the seasonings and stir.  Put the crockpot on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.  Then it is time to use the blender to puree the soup. Close the lid and let it simmer for another 30 minutes, but taste to see if you need more salt or want to add pepper.  Then ladle away... 

Once they are cool add the lids and put them in the fridge for lunch during the week.  Take a slice of homemade bread.  Relax and eat this hearty meal and think of your own Abuela. 

Goodbye Abuela.  I love you to the moon!!
Athena

You need a good chocolate cake recipe....

Here is what the hand written recipe looks like when I pull it from my antiquated recipe box...

The box belonged to my husband's grandmother.  We called her Mor Mor.  She loved me.  I loved her.  She was just what I needed in my life.  She taught me to cook in her antiquated Pyrex....

She taught me how to bake this cake.  It has no eggs , milk or butter.  It is divine.  I promise.

Now I need to tell you something and I do not want you to freak out...especially if you are a baker.  You are going to mix everything in the same bowl...all at once.  Breathe deep.

3 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups of sugar
6 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of fresh baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of this lovely concoction...

Ground espresso is a baking savior.

Then come the wet ingredients, but I should tell you they are a little different.  They include...

distilled white vinegar.  

Mor Mor said she could find it through the war.  Not eggs or butter, but vinegar.

1/2 cup safflower oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of filtered water
2 Tablespoons of distilled white vinegar

Look at the bubble once you add the vinegar....

Now I stir this by hand with a wire whisk...

Why do I do that?  Because Mor Mor did it.  Please feel free to use your stand mixer and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Now onto another confession.  I am baking the cake in this....

It is a 9" x 13" baking pan that I am taking in to work.  I would normally use a pyrex pan, but I also need to take it and leave it. Spray the pan evenly with a non-stick baking spray and then pour the batter evenly into the pan.

Many of you may think this is a baking no-no, but to make up for the lack of heat distribution I do this....

While the oven is preheating to 350 degrees, I add a baking stone to the oven and bake the cake on top of it.  Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let it cool before you pour over the ganache.

Now onto the ganache....

I am not Ina Garten or Martha Stewart.  I am a full time teacher and have some short cuts.  So to get this ganache, I start by heating 1 cup of half and half in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.  My microwave is pretty strong.  So make sure your half and half is nice and warm.  Then I pour a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in and begin to whisk.

Once the mixture is smooth and makes ribbons when you lift the whisk, you can pour it over your cooled cake.

Spread the ganache evenly using on off-set spatula.  Then let the ganache set for a few hours before you slice into the cake.

I smell it and I think of her kitchen, her way of teaching, and I think of how I wish she was here.  For now we have cake and that will have to be enough.

I hope you enjoy this cake that we call Pantry Cake or Emergency Chocolate cake!

Post a comment below once you have tried it to tell me how it turned out!

From the teacher, 

Athena

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

That's right.  I know you sang that line in your head.  Do not deny it!  Well, we are heading into the holiday season and for my family this means a party at my brother's house.  This is my brother.....

Next to him is his lovely wife.  Once, my brother put on a Snow White wig to entertain my niece and I swear it was me with a goatee!

Now my brother loves many of the holiday dishes I make every year.  The first is my stuffing recipe...

I think it's a beauty.

Today I am going to focus on this stuffing recipe (technically this is dressing).  This one is simple and everyone needs a good, basic stuffing recipe for their holiday table.

Begin with a loaf of good french bread.

Cube it, place it on a baking sheet, and then place into a 300 degree oven until completely dried out.  This should take about an hour.

Then we start on the mix-ins  Start by chopping an onion into a small dice....

Then chop two carrots and three ribs of celery into a small dice...

Then chop one Granny Smith apple and one Braeburn apple into a small dice....

As you chop just place it all into a bowl.....

I know some people cook it all separate and one at a time, but who the heck has time for that?!!!!!!  Now preheat a skillet on medium high heat and melt about 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil....

We always use cast iron and the results are beautiful.  This one is even large enough for you to bake the dressing (aka stuffing) right in it.  However, we are heading to a dinner party so corningware it is!!

Butter it!!!  You do not want the stuffing to stick!

Now back to this....

Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the carrots have softened a bit.  They are chopped into a small size so it should only take about 10 minutes total.

As you can see, it reduces in volume....

Then pour it over your bread cubes that should be in a VERY large bowl....

RESIST THE URGE TO STIR IT!!! (Kevin!  STOP TRYING TO STIR IT!!!)

Now onto the sausage...

Remove it from the casing and crumble it slightly.

Place it in a pan and brown it.

Pour the sausage into the same bowl as the vegetable and bread cubes.

Now pour over 1/3 of a 32 ounce box of chicken or vegetable stock or turkey stock...

Add 1/3 of a cup of dried cranberries that have been reconstituted in hot water.

Stir it up and pour another 1/3 cup of stock...

Now place it into your buttered baking dish.....

Spread it into an even layer and add thin pats of butter over the top to brown the top of the stuffing.

Put it in a 350 degree oven for one hour...

Once an hour has passed you will have a delicious stuffing to enjoy!

Now, you can change this stuffing in SO MANY ways.  You can add nuts or dried fruit (make sure you reconstitute is in hot water).  You could add a layer of parmesan cheese on the top.  Happy Cooking!!!