Hi Eaters,
Today I felt the urge to bake and cook - anything and everything...I wish I had taken pictures, but I was just in a zone - so I made my own sourdough garlic/Italian herbed croutons, a beautiful lime/cilantro/pepperjack pork quesadilla, home made tomato sauce (everything from one garden or another of me and people I know), and I just finished a triple batch of Blueberry Cream Muffins...I haven't been creative in the kitchen for a few days, so I have been having a blast!!!
Mangia!
Mel
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Crying Fowl!
Chicken it is tonight folks...now what to do with it...I have a little Laughing Cow cheese that might make a good stuffing with some herbs from my garden...maybe a little garlic sauce to go over it...hmmmm....we shall see...I did purchase a bottle of my most favorite wine - Bertagna's Son-Kissed Vineyards Barbera...simply, heaven in a bottle...
Mangia!
Mel
Mangia!
Mel
Back from vacations and raring to go!
Hi All!
I am ready to get back in the thick of it and start cooking again. It has been a VERY busy past couple of weeks - camping, Harry Potter, yada, yada, yada...
I am trying to think of what I am cooking for dinner tonight....something with chicken...my husband, Mike, wants me to use up some of our venison in the freezer, as the next hunting season is just around the corner...so we will see. I will revisit this blog when I have decided. Last night we feasted off of our grill, as it was so darn hot here in Chico. We grilled the fish we caught on our camping trip, organic zucchini from my garden, and topped it all off with sauteed garlic in olive oil, the garlic being from my father-in-law's garden in the Bay Area. Fresh, and yummy!
Ciao for no...Mangia!
Mel
I am ready to get back in the thick of it and start cooking again. It has been a VERY busy past couple of weeks - camping, Harry Potter, yada, yada, yada...
I am trying to think of what I am cooking for dinner tonight....something with chicken...my husband, Mike, wants me to use up some of our venison in the freezer, as the next hunting season is just around the corner...so we will see. I will revisit this blog when I have decided. Last night we feasted off of our grill, as it was so darn hot here in Chico. We grilled the fish we caught on our camping trip, organic zucchini from my garden, and topped it all off with sauteed garlic in olive oil, the garlic being from my father-in-law's garden in the Bay Area. Fresh, and yummy!
Ciao for no...Mangia!
Mel
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Day 2 of Nobody Reading This Blog
...You know...that's okay...I said I am doing it for myself, right?
So, here I am...
This afternoon I made one of my most favorite dishes - lasagna. I mean, why wouldn't I like lasagna? I gain ten pounds just looking at the saucy, cheesy, tangy creation from "God on vacation in Italy".
Depending on the size of the lasagna, the bigger the better (that's what she said), I sometimes use fresh tomatoes, and sometimes use canned tomato sauce. Today, since me, the husband and our kidlets were out on the boat all day at Lake Oroville fishing for tonight's dinner (which is obviously why I am cooking lasagna, as we caught zippo) I used a can of tomato sauce. To make it "my own" I added the following:
Fresh chopped galric from the garlic- four or five cloves
Half of a refrigerated red onion - chopped (if you refrigerate the onion, it won't make you cry!)
Olive oil
Ground Turkey
Mushrooms
Dry Chardonnay
One heaping handful each of fresh herbs from my garden: basil, oregano, rosemary, flat leaf parsley (you wouldn't believe the smells coming outta this bouquet)
Then I sauteed the onions and garlic in the olive oil, added mushrooms, added turkey, added wine and sauce and herbs...simmered and then had my sauce for the lasagna layers.
I also added some fresh Mediterranean sea salt, pepper, a little sugar, and a tablespoon of Ghirardelli chocolate powder - THE secret ingredient people!!!
Then the layers - mix the fresh ricotta (I love me some Trader Joe's brand) with one egg and salt and pepper - fresh cracked makes for happy lasagna. Also, good melting quality mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. If you buy the cheapest brands of these two cheeses, they will not melt fluidly, but have a rubbery plastic looking texture. I do not buy the most expensive (after all I do work in the education field), but I do not buy the cheapest either. Trader Joe's always has affordable, decent quality items! Thank you Mr. Joe!!
I layer like this:
Sauce to cover the bottom
Noodles
Ricotta mixture
Cheeses
Sauce to cover
Noodles
Ricotta Mixture
Cheeses
Sauce To Cover
***I do not boil my noodles beforehand...if your sauce is "wet" enough, it will cook the noodles anyway.***
Let is rest for 20-30 minutes
Then bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees. Check in at 45 minutes and if your top is bubbling and browning, then it will be ready.
Let it rest for 20 minutes, loosely covered with foil.
Okay! Gotta scoot to an hour of Holy Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament...if you are ever invited to participate, don't hesitate...do it! It will change your life!
Enjoy! Mangia!
Mel
So, here I am...
This afternoon I made one of my most favorite dishes - lasagna. I mean, why wouldn't I like lasagna? I gain ten pounds just looking at the saucy, cheesy, tangy creation from "God on vacation in Italy".
Depending on the size of the lasagna, the bigger the better (that's what she said), I sometimes use fresh tomatoes, and sometimes use canned tomato sauce. Today, since me, the husband and our kidlets were out on the boat all day at Lake Oroville fishing for tonight's dinner (which is obviously why I am cooking lasagna, as we caught zippo) I used a can of tomato sauce. To make it "my own" I added the following:
Fresh chopped galric from the garlic- four or five cloves
Half of a refrigerated red onion - chopped (if you refrigerate the onion, it won't make you cry!)
Olive oil
Ground Turkey
Mushrooms
Dry Chardonnay
One heaping handful each of fresh herbs from my garden: basil, oregano, rosemary, flat leaf parsley (you wouldn't believe the smells coming outta this bouquet)
Then I sauteed the onions and garlic in the olive oil, added mushrooms, added turkey, added wine and sauce and herbs...simmered and then had my sauce for the lasagna layers.
I also added some fresh Mediterranean sea salt, pepper, a little sugar, and a tablespoon of Ghirardelli chocolate powder - THE secret ingredient people!!!
Then the layers - mix the fresh ricotta (I love me some Trader Joe's brand) with one egg and salt and pepper - fresh cracked makes for happy lasagna. Also, good melting quality mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. If you buy the cheapest brands of these two cheeses, they will not melt fluidly, but have a rubbery plastic looking texture. I do not buy the most expensive (after all I do work in the education field), but I do not buy the cheapest either. Trader Joe's always has affordable, decent quality items! Thank you Mr. Joe!!
I layer like this:
Sauce to cover the bottom
Noodles
Ricotta mixture
Cheeses
Sauce to cover
Noodles
Ricotta Mixture
Cheeses
Sauce To Cover
***I do not boil my noodles beforehand...if your sauce is "wet" enough, it will cook the noodles anyway.***
Let is rest for 20-30 minutes
Then bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 375 degrees. Check in at 45 minutes and if your top is bubbling and browning, then it will be ready.
Let it rest for 20 minutes, loosely covered with foil.
Okay! Gotta scoot to an hour of Holy Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament...if you are ever invited to participate, don't hesitate...do it! It will change your life!
Enjoy! Mangia!
Mel
Monday, July 11, 2011
Holy Cannoli!
Hello? Anyone?
Dear Lord in heaven, what am I doing here?
The first post...I don't even know what to do next!
I think I finally have mustered up the courage to do something for ME, something I have been wanting to do for years. I suspect my launching pad may stem from a healthy dose of liquid courage in the form of ice cold Symphony Obsession wine by Ironstone Vineyards (the summer BOMB people, and at $6-$9 a bottle, a veritable bargain!!). Truth be told, I am on summer break from school...and I am B-O-R-E-D!!! So a crazy inspiration, love of food, love of writing, an "I know I have a problem" addiction to the internet, and finally a suspension of my Facebook privileges from my awesome if not eternally frazzled-at-me husband, Mike, has taken hold of me !.
So, here it is:
I LOVE FOOD. I love it. I have dreams about it. I think about it all day. I savor every bite of something I am eating. I also have had a dream - I have always wanted to own my own business, specifically, a small cafe, or restaurant, but have had neither the start-up cashola nor the self-confidence to give it a go...so this seems a much safer, cheaper, and less conspicuous way to talk and post pictures of food that I love, because, I LOVE FOOD. (I borrow the statement from my Uncle Rick Ameil, who is a successful restaurateur, and host of a local television cooking show - http://i-love-cooking.tv).
First I had to dream up a blog name - almost instantly I was seized by an idea to name it Holy Cannoli. Firstly, cannoli is amazing, no reason to expand on why, it just is. Secondly I am Catholic, so maybe by having my blog name begin with "Holy", I can have the entire site blessed by our priest, and earn kudos points with St. Peter at The Pearly Gates, thereby shaving a few years off of Purgatory! Lastly, I have Italian ancestry, so hey! Here, it is, Holy Cannoli...pages full of recipes, pictures of what I am serving for a meal, questions to other food lovers about how to create something, cries for help from other people who love food, coffee talk about mundane things, venting, screaming, kicking, laughing, loving, and crying. I do not care if I never have a singe person reads what dwells in these blog pages, because I am doing it for me. I LOVE FOOD! Mangia!
I love food so what am I cooking tonight???? Trader Joe's Microwave ready orange Chicken, and fried rice baby!
Dear Lord in heaven, what am I doing here?
The first post...I don't even know what to do next!
I think I finally have mustered up the courage to do something for ME, something I have been wanting to do for years. I suspect my launching pad may stem from a healthy dose of liquid courage in the form of ice cold Symphony Obsession wine by Ironstone Vineyards (the summer BOMB people, and at $6-$9 a bottle, a veritable bargain!!). Truth be told, I am on summer break from school...and I am B-O-R-E-D!!! So a crazy inspiration, love of food, love of writing, an "I know I have a problem" addiction to the internet, and finally a suspension of my Facebook privileges from my awesome if not eternally frazzled-at-me husband, Mike, has taken hold of me !.
So, here it is:
I LOVE FOOD. I love it. I have dreams about it. I think about it all day. I savor every bite of something I am eating. I also have had a dream - I have always wanted to own my own business, specifically, a small cafe, or restaurant, but have had neither the start-up cashola nor the self-confidence to give it a go...so this seems a much safer, cheaper, and less conspicuous way to talk and post pictures of food that I love, because, I LOVE FOOD. (I borrow the statement from my Uncle Rick Ameil, who is a successful restaurateur, and host of a local television cooking show - http://i-love-cooking.tv).
First I had to dream up a blog name - almost instantly I was seized by an idea to name it Holy Cannoli. Firstly, cannoli is amazing, no reason to expand on why, it just is. Secondly I am Catholic, so maybe by having my blog name begin with "Holy", I can have the entire site blessed by our priest, and earn kudos points with St. Peter at The Pearly Gates, thereby shaving a few years off of Purgatory! Lastly, I have Italian ancestry, so hey! Here, it is, Holy Cannoli...pages full of recipes, pictures of what I am serving for a meal, questions to other food lovers about how to create something, cries for help from other people who love food, coffee talk about mundane things, venting, screaming, kicking, laughing, loving, and crying. I do not care if I never have a singe person reads what dwells in these blog pages, because I am doing it for me. I LOVE FOOD! Mangia!
I love food so what am I cooking tonight???? Trader Joe's Microwave ready orange Chicken, and fried rice baby!
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| This is my Halloween creation from last year - the 2010 Giant's World Series Trophy |
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