What's On My Nightstand

Like most readers, I have a stack of books waiting to be read. The dilemma is what to read next.

Often I'll find that although I have this stack of books instead I buy a book I've just heard about. Which is what happened today.

Last night I met Hugh Hewitt at the Center for Arizona Policy dinner. During his speech he mentioned a book that he was thoroughly enjoying, American Lion by Jon Meacham. So I bought it today and plan to take it with me when I head to DC next week.

Meanwhile, the following books are on my nightstand waiting to be read (a few I'm already reading):

Hot, Flat, and Crowded - Thoma Friedman

The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs

Baking from My Home to Yours - Dorie Greenspan

The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ - Holzapfel and Wayment

The 5000 Year Leap

My friend Jill loaned me the audio version of The 5,000 Year Leap by Cleon Skousen. Mr. Skousen identifies 28 principles used in the establishing of America. He quotes from all the original founders and reminds us of the basic principles our country was founded upon. It is also a good reminder of our Constitution.

After reading John Adams, 1776, and Benjamin Franklin, this book continues my ongoing effort to refresh my knowledge of American history. These books remind my why American History class was one of my favorite high school classes (taught by the tough Dr. Shapiro).

It is an exciting period to read about. Creating and organizing this great country was serious business and we know each of the participants paid a price. I am happy to know that leaders such as John Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, knew they had a large role to play but each really wanted to be home tending to their farms. They sacrificed time with their families to do their duty.

Each of these gentleman are quoted at various times acknowledging the hand of God throughout the process of crafting language. This is back in the day when leaders openly acknowledged His hand in all things. No one decried this.

The only downside of listening to this book on tape is the narrator--he has the most boring voice. It would be deadly to listen to his voice if I were driving at night. It's a good thing the subject is so good.

Thai Cucumber Salad

Last weekend in my produce basket I found two hot house cucumbers. I normally don't buy cucumbers--I think they are just ok. Except that I do love the cold little cucumber salad that is served with chicken satay at Thai restaurants.

I combined two recipes that I found on the Internet and tweaked it a bit to make this salad. My sister, Tammy, really liked it as did friends Sean and Jana who are connoisseurs of Thai cuisine given that Sean served his church mission in Thailand and Jana served hers in the Philippines (which I know has nothing to do with Thai food but she does shop at Lee Lee Asian Market in Chandler).

Thai Cucumber Salad

T rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

6-7 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons water

1 cucumber seeded and sliced

1 shallot, sliced

1 red spur chili (I used a red jalapeno)

Mix vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. After sugar has disolved, pour over cucumbers, shallots, and chili. Serve cold.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This is my favorite pumpkin muffin. Up until this recipe, I had never tasted the combination of pumpkin and chocolate so I wasn't sure how it would taste. But it sounded so good that I went ahead and baked a batch. Love them!

I think muffins are so pretty anyway and these are extra pretty with the color of pumpkin, the dark chocolate chips, and the sliced almonds that peek out the tops and sides. The combination of these rich flavors make it the perfect muffin for November.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite little cookbooks by Elizabeth Alston.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
12 Regular or 48 miniature muffins (make one or two days ahead for best flavor.)
1/2 c (1 1/4 ounces) sliced,unblanched Almonds - toasted
1 2/3 c All-purpose flour
1 c Granulated sugar
1 tb Pumpkin pie spice
1 ts baking soda
1/4 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
2 lg Eggs
1 c Plain pumpkin (half of a1 lb Can)
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, melted
1 c (6 ounces) chocolate chips
Heat oven to 350 F.
Grease muffin cups, or use foil or paper baking cups.
Thoroughly mix flour, sugar, pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Break eggs into another bowl. Add pumpkin and butter, and whisk until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and almonds. Pour over dry ingredients and fold in with a rubber spatula just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Scoop batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and springy to the touch in the center. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Wrap in a plastic bag and keep for 1 or 2 days. Reheat before serving.

Collard Greens!?

Here is another reason why I love belonging to the Bountiful Baskets Co-op: it forces me to find recipes with ingredients I wouldn't normally purchase--like collard greens. I remember my mom making collard greens once when I was a kid. She was from Texas and so fried them with butter--yuck!

So this past Saturday guess what was in my basket? Collard greens. I knew my sister Lori wouldn't want them so I said I would keep them and try to find a good recipe. Love the Internet! I just used GoodSearch dutifully entering Southwest Shakespeare as the designated charity (see Leslie for further information) and found this recipe from Epicurious. It was really good. And believe me, it is not easy to find a healthy recipe using collard greens. Because it is such a southern food it is usually fried or sauteed in butter--lots of butter.

The original recipe called for ham but I made it with some pork my friend Jana bottled for me. And I added 3 cloves of garlic instead of 1 clove and added an extra cup of chicken broth. I would definitely make this again.

Ham and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Collard Greens
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove (I used 3 cloves)
a 4-ounce piece cooked ham
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound collard greens
1 cup chicken broth (8 fluid ounces) (I used a whole 15 oz. can)
3 cups water (I used 2 cups of water)
a 16-ounce can black-eyed peas (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Chop onion and garlic and cut ham into 1/4-inch dice. In a 3-quart saucepan cook onion, garlic, and ham in oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is pale golden.
While onion mixture is cooking, discard stems and center ribs from collards and finely chop leaves. Add collards, broth, and water to onion mixture and simmer until collards are tender, about 20 minutes.
Rinse and drain black-eyed peas. In a bowl mash half of peas with a fork. Stir mashed and whole peas into soup and simmer 5 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper and stir in vinegar.

Christopher Halloran Photography

A couple of weekends ago my sister, Tammy, and our niece, Ellie, went to downtown Mesa for Blissfest and the MACFest. Our friend, Chris Halloran, is participating in MACFest displaying his gorgeous photography. In fact, his work is so gorgeous that he received a first place blue ribbon for his work.

So now that he is an award-winning photographer, I just had to buy his work to hang in my home. In fact, we all three bought pieces. I purchased the top photograph above--St. Francis of Assisi. Tammy has always loved the neon motel sign of the diver and so that is now hanging in our home and Ellie loved the Calla Lily.

MACFest is going on every Saturday through May from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. You can find Chris' exhibit on the southwest corner of Center and Main.

Wild Rice Chicken Artichoke Soup

Last night was a very fun Halloween. Lots of friends and neighbors and some really darling costumes and scary costumes.

Since we were about to eat lots of sugary snacks I prepared a really good soup that was a perfect dinner for Halloween night. This recipe is adapted from my friend Eileen's recipe.

Wild Rice Chicken Artichoke Soup

1 lg. onion chopped

3 lg. carrots chopped

2 celery ribs chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 stick of butter or 1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup all purpose flour

8 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked wild rice

1 cup cubed or shredded cooked chicken

1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

1 can fat-free or lowfat evaporated milk
1 jar of marinated artichokes, drained

1/4 cup snipped chives

In a large pot saute the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in butter or oil until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add broth. Stir in the cooked rice, chicken, artichokes, add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk; cook 3-5 minutes longer. Add chives.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!

FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT HALLOWEEN:

Pumpkin anything
Decorated houses
Creative costumes
Trick or Treaters
Dracula
Witches
Princesses
Scary movies
Candy
Sugar buzz
Sugar crash
Babies in pumpkin costumes
Front yard friends

Fall Gardening

Two weeks ago I planted seeds in my garden. This is after solarizing it for eight weeks and adding four cups of Worm Gold in each garden as instructed by my friend Jill Green of Sweet Life Gardens.

We planted spinach, beets, snap peas, carrots, radishes, green onions, lettuce, and napa cabbage. And now they are all sprouting! It is a beautiful sight. I have never planted from seed--last season all plantings were transplants. It is very exciting to plant a seed the size of a grain of sand and two weeks later see tiny green healthy leaves.

Yesterday afternoon my gardens received a little gift. Darcey brought her daughter, Emma, and Emma's friend Megan, to deliver squirmy little worms to the garden. Both 7-year olds happily tossed worms into my two vegetable gardens and Tammy's flower garden. Hopefully the worms are doing their thing making the soil and plants even healthier.

We'll see how our second season of gardening turns out.....

Turkey Chili

It's that gorgeous time of year--Autumn, the leaves are changing, the mornings are crisp, the evenings cold...wait, no they're not. It's still ridiculously hot and October is almost over! But, my niece, Ellie, has been asking me to make her favorite chili so no matter that we are still running the a/c I made a batch this morning.

I also decided to use some of my dry pinto beans. I have not had great luck in the past soaking and cooking the beans--they've always turned out hard. But this time the beans turned out great. I soaked the beans for 10 hours and then cooked them in the slow cooker for 10 hours on low. Then I added them to the chili. Perfect.

This chili, by the way is very healthy. And if you are familiar with Weight Watchers a cup is only 2 points. Which if you don't know is a screaming deal!

TURKEY CHILI

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 onion chopped
3-4 cloves chopped garlic
1 ½ cups chopped celery

1 red pepper chopped

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 small can chopped green chilies or jalapenos
1 15 oz. can chopped or stewed tomatoes
4 16 oz. cans of beans
1 package taco seasoning
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
2 teaspoons cumin
1 6 oz. bag frozen white corn
½ cup water or more depending on your preference

Brown turkey, adding onions, garlic, red pepper, and celery about halfway through. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for a bit.

Beautiful Produce

I know I have mentioned the Bountiful Baskets coop before but I wanted you to see just how much produce you receive for $15. This picture was taken after I had removed 4 roma tomatoes, 3 ears of corn, a red onion, and an apple. Our basket consisted of the following: 1 romaine lettuce, 3 zuchinni, 10 red potatoes, 10 roma tomatoes, 2 red onions, 6 ears of corn, 1 cantaloupe, 5 apples, 7 pears, a bag of grapes, 8 bananas, and a box of strawberries. For more information go to http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/.

Chicken Bow Tie Pasta w/Bruschetta

Tonight we had a birthday dinner for my sister, Lori. Since we just received a gorgeous bunch of vegetables and fruit from Bountiful Baskets http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ this weekend I needed to incorporate some of those veggies in our dinner.

My friend Leslie gave me the recipes for the pasta dish and the bruschetta that I made. And both were delicious!

The bruschetta is so easy and pretty (but not easy to photograph so there is no pic). I had some great french bread in the freezer (also from Bountiful Baskets) and did the following with it:

Bruschetta

Slice any type of hearty bread--rub with garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil, toast.

In a bowl mix the following:

Chopped tomatoes (I had 4 Roma and they were great)

Chopped red onion (about 1/4 of a large red onion)

Basil

Olive oil (I used garlic-infused) - just drizzled a bit

Chopped garlic - 2 cloves

Red Wine Vinegar - a couple of splashes

Salt and pepper

Spoon the tomato mixture on top of the sliced toasted bread--yum yum!

Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

3 Boneless, skinles chicken breasts

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 T ginger - chopped

2 cloves garlic - chopped

2 ears of corn - roasted

2 red peppers - roasted

1 lb. Farfalle pasta

3 T fresh basil or 1 T dried basil

Vinaigrette: 3 T balsamic vinegar and 1/2 cup olive oil

Marinade: Place soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small sauce pan and bring to boil. Set aside for 30 min. Pour marinade over chicken breasts, cover and refrigerate for at least four hours. Season with pepper and grill or saute. Remove chicken and let sit for 10 minutes then slice crosswise into strips.

Corn: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the silk from the corn and all but one layer of the husk; dip corn into water to moisten. Cover with layer of husk, place on baking sheet, and roast for 45 minutes. Scrape kernels from the corn and set aside.

Red peppers: Rub peppers with olive oil. Place on baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and place in closed brown paper bag until cool. Peel the blistered skin and remove seeds. Slice peppers into strips. Set aside.

Vinaigrette: Wisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pasta: Cook pasta according to directions

Toss chicken, corn, peppers and vinaigrette with the pasta.