Nothing against a good party, unless you seriously want to watch the game. My husband played football in high school and has been a fan ever since. Football in our house is serious business. We have religiously followed the various teams during the season. Tomorrow’s game will determine which team is the best. We don’t mind being social before and after the game. Just don’t talk about anything except football while the game is being played. (Gossip about the players is permitted.)

Serious football fans at our house are serious about their football food too. I usually prepare a crock-pot full of something that can take care of itself, like chili. Tomorrow’s food will be a combination of the tried and true and a fairly new favorite (Crab Dip). In case you are still looking for an idea for tomorrow, let me tell you what I’m planning.

For half-time:

• Chili with crackers and/or Fritos (An extremely delicious recipe given to me by fellow blogger Alex @ the Children’s War. Alex has the recipe on her Weekend Cooking post today as well. It’s here.)

Snacks during the game:

• French onion dip (from the store) with carrot and celery sticks, radishes, cucumbers
• Crab dip with cucumbers
• Margot’s Shrimp Dip spread on crackers

Most of the others coming over tomorrow will also bring more food, so we’ll not go hungry. I usually set out a bowl of fruit, a bowl of Peanut M & Ms as well and popcorn.

I’ve already featured most of these dishes in the past, so you can click on the title if you’re interested in a recipe. There’s one more favorite snack food that I should mention. I hadn’t planned to make it tomorrow, but I’ll bet lots of other folks will be. It’s my Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels. I gave this recipe on a post last February and it’s become the number one post on my blog. Imagine that!! They are pretty good. Maybe I need to re-think this.  ‎

No matter which team you’re cheering for tomorrow, I hope you have fun and that your food is delicious. If you watch with serious football nuts, try not to talk about anything but football during the game.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

“Seven percent of Americans say they never cook; 30 percent say

they cook three or four times a week.”

I found those statistics hard to believe, so I asked you to tell me your experience with cooking at home. I honestly thought the results of my survey would be skewed in favor of more home food preparation. After all, I was asking this question during the Weekend Cooking post. Weekend Cooking’s bloggers and readers are “foodies.” I thought they would show higher numbers for cooking at home. Here are the results:

Good news: 76% of survey participants eat the majority of their meals at home. That’s 35 people who rely on outside food places for 5 or less meals each week. According to Mark Bittman (and others), these folks are healthier. He believed that, once a person focuses on food at home, they begin to see food in a different way. We begin to see the raw ingredients in light of what they can become. The creative process encourages the home chef to try even  more creative endeavors. In the process, everyone eats healthier.

There are still some of us who see food preparation as a job. I totally understand. I do remember those times, after working all day, when the last thing I wanted to do was face a stove and then all those dirty dishes and bowls and pans. Take-out, fast-food, or restaurants were attractive alternatives. I knew I wasn’t eating healthy, but I was caught in a cycle where other things than food had a higher priority. I’m sure we’ve all been there.

What’s the solution? Mark Bittman has an idea:

“Cooking has to become hip. It has to become

just as much fun, just as prestiious, just as much a part

of the culture as watching others cook.” 

I think he’s on to something there, but I think it’s also something more. Preparing healthy food needs to be fun or hip for everyone. I know many men today are spending more time in the kitchen. That’s a good thing, but I still don’t see many at the grocery store.

Who does the meal planning for the week? I’m suggesting the whole family become involved. I know children can be included in both meal planning and preparation. A good trend is the number of schools whose curriculum includes gardening – the growing of vegetables. I’d love to see that trend extend to more home gardening by children. Even a pot of chives or other herbs would be a good start.

Perhaps those of us who participate in Weekend Cooking can help the 24% of survey participants who prepare few meals at home. Do you have a tip or two for those days when you have very little energy for cooking? Any ideas for quick meals children can help prepare? I’ve given this some thought too. You’re going to see more posts in the weeks ahead that will contain easy, healthy food ideas. I encourage my fellow Weekend Cooking participants to join in.

I played around with some ingredients I had on hand and came up with a new-to-me soup. Fortunately, this one turned out good so I’m willing to share it. This recipe is going to be very casual, just the way I made it.

1. In my large pot (2 quarts) I heated about a tablespoon of olive oil on medium high heat.
2. I added two cups of chopped leeks and two cloves of minced garlic.
3. I stirred and cooked that for about five minutes until the leeks became soft.
4. Then I added a large box (32 oz.) of chicken stock. I turned down the heat to medium low. (This would have been better if I’d had some homemade chicken or vegetable stock, but I didn’t have any. I’ve got to get to it. After all, it’s soup season.)
5. Then I added two cut-up potatoes and stirred everything. I covered the pot and cooked about ten minutes.
6. Next, I opened a can of artichoke hearts. Artichokes? Well, why not give it a try. I drained them and cut off the stem. I chopped them fine, and added them to the soup. I covered the pan again and cooked it for another ten or fifteen minutes.
7. As to seasonings, I only added about a half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. My husband added a bit more salt and pepper, but for me, that was enough.

Result: Not over the top Wow, but quite delicious. It was just right with a grilled cheese sandwich. I’d love to see what else can be done with this combination. Besides being delicious, it was a one-pot dish and easy. I just did a little chopping and stirring. All in less than an hour. Not bad for a cold winter day.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

According to Mr. Bittman, Americans don’t bother to cook anymore. He said, “Seven percent of Americans say they never cook; 30 percent say they cook three or four times a week.” He said most Americans “rely on anything but cooking to put breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the table.”

I’m having a hard time believing those statistics. I’m not saying Mr. Bittman is wrong. He is a reliable source, a member of the New York Times staff. (I’ve read his column for many years, here.) It’s just that most people I know cook at home. Is my impression wrong? It could be that I only know home cooks, but still – one-third of Americans only cook three or four times a week???

I’ve decided to conduct my own informal survey. I’m asking all of you to participate. Here’s what I want to know:

How often do you cook at home?

It only requires a little simple math. I’m asking you to concerned on the three main meals a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Don’t count snacks, unless a snack is your meal, such as popcorn (see last week’s post). For one week, that’s 21 meals. Think back to a recent, typical week. Deduct from 21 meals all the times you didn’t cook.

Example:

21 total meals possible

 -1  dinner out on Saturday night

 -1  ordered pizza

 -1  brought home take-out food

 -5  bought lunch while at work

 13  total meals cooked at home

The survey is located in the right side bar. (See the black and white place setting.)  I’ll let you know the results and more about Mark Bittman’s latest book on Saturday, January 28th. The survey will end January 27th.

One clarification: If you eat a home-cooked meal at a friend’s or family member’s home, that counts as a home-cooked meal.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

Photo credit: Food Clip Art

We prefer either the fresh in-the-pan cooked popcorn or selected microwave brands. Lately, I’ve started seeing popcorn packaged in different flavors. I don’t mean kettle corn and caramel corn. They’ve been on the shelves for quite a while.

What I’m referring to are the bags of barbeque, cinnamon, and nacho-cheese popcorn. Have you noticed them? There was even one with raspberry infused chocolate drizzled over it. Now that was really good, but it didn’t taste like “real” popcorn.

I asked my kids to share their favorite ways to make popcorn. Here are their answers:

From Christopher:

“I don’t like any of the store bought toppings, too much sugar or too many weird colors. I like it home popped, in oil or butter, often with turmeric or curry powder (mostly turmeric) added when I’m adding the popcorn to the hot oil (gives it a yellow tint and nutty flavor, and is a great way to work in some anti-inflammatory spices). Once it’s popped, we drizzle with flax oil, which is better tasting than butter, and salt. For me, I like to add powdered spirulina, but Genevieve doesn’t like that, and it usually freaks everyone out. But it tastes good, and is so good for you! Powdered yeast is also excellent. OK, just my thoughts on the family staple.”

From Candice:

Lou says, “I could live on popcorn. Don’t ever take it away.”

“Lou and I love air-popped with canola spray, cayenne, salt and brewer’s yeast. Oil-popped is better tasting but i feel (psychologically) better about eating air-popped. Q has cycled through a few phases with popcorn. She used to like it “spicy, mom’s way” (described above), then just butter & salt, then butter & salt & M&M’s sprinkled in. Now microwave kettle corn is her #1 choice. Mark likes popcorn sometimes, microwaved (butter or kettle), some handfuls of mine. but he got kind of burnt out because he worked at a movie theater when he was just out of high school, or so, and ate too much (not sure how that is possible!). When i lived in Santa Fe with Christopher, we used to cook the cayenne in with the oil, which made for burning eyes and uncontrollable coughing fits, but it was sooooo good and spicy, i would keep making it that way… I think the chili’s in SF were especially good and there was that inability to stop eating it even though it burned your mouth.”

From Cerrin:

“I’m still a popcorn purist. For me it has to be fresh kernals, cooked in oil, in a pan devoted only to popcorn. A little salt and occasionally a little butter. For me that’s the perfect popcorn. I never buy that microwave stuff. Too icky.”

So, we’re a diverse family, but we’re united in our love of popcorn. I like the creative ways my kids and other folks have taken a basically healthy and inexpensive (if you stick to buying the original kernals) snack and made it their own. By the  way, my favorite popcorn? I love Orville Redenbacker’s Tender White. It’s very much like the white kernels from my childhood.

Now it’s your turn to tell me about your taste in popcorn. Love it? Never touch the stuff except at the movies? Perhaps you have a special way to cook it. Please share. I hope you’ll feel free to try our methods as well.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

Christmas dinner is perhaps the one meal of the year where even the most relaxed cook feels the pressure of perfection – and, although few menus can be more familiar, it’s probably the one we all feel the least confident about. The context, of course, can be stressful – small children high on pilfered tree decorations, squabbling relatives proffering hindering help – but, rest assured, the cooking really shouldn’t be. Remember, a  turkey is nothing but an outsized chicken . . .

Thus begins food writer Felicity Cloake’s new (December 2011) combination essay/cookbook. It might be subtitled 15 Essential Recipes but it’s so much more than that. It’s charmingly chatty, as if I were having a one-way dialogue with the author. (She is the one talking and I am the one with raised eyebrows and other facial expressions.)

Ms. Cloake tested a variety of recipes from some of the greatest British food writers (Nigella Lawson, Simon Hopkinson, Delia Smith and Mrs Beeton). She compared the recipes and decided to pick the best ones or the best parts. She tells us how and why she decided on her particular favorites for her Christmas menu.

Her menu is indeed a glorious listing for the ultimate Christmas feast. She begins with mulled wine and then blinis, stilton souffle and prawn cocktail. The main course features turkey and gravy with sage and onion stuffing. Side dishes include pigs-in-blankets, cranberry and bread sauces, roast potatoes, brussels sprouts, and nut roast. For dessert there is a trifle, mince pies and brandy butter.

The menu sounds like something out of a Dickens novel, doesn’t it? I think that’s what made it so delightful for me. It’s not what we serve for Christmas dinner, but yet, it was so much fun to read about someone else’s dinner.

Ms. Cloake’s style of writing is also quite pleasing and, well, just plain fun to read. Here’s a sample from her chapter on Nut Roast:

Pity the poor nut roast. The very name has become a byword for the privations of a vegetarian diet – the unfortunate diner may as well don a hair shirt and a napkin woven from barbed wire before tucking in.

Isn’t that fun? The  whole short novel is just like that. She goes on to say how she tried varios recipes until she found exactly the best one. She of course, serves nut roast at her Christmas dinner. Felicity Cloake is a columnist for the UK’s Guardian and Perfect Christmas Day was based on those columns.

This menu for Felicity Cloake’s perfect dinner made me stop and think about what I consider the perfect Christmas dinner. I don’t have a standard menu for Christmas. Thanksgiving yes, but not for Christmas. In the past we’ve had ham or a standing rib roast with various side dishes. We’re with my daughter’s family this year and I’m hearing about ham. Let me turn it around and ask you the question:

What is it that makes the perfect Christmas dinner at your house?

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking and the Christmas Spirit Challenge.

Now that’s the semi-historic and semi-official reason for Thanksgiving Day. It’s really a harvest festival, a time to look at what’s been harvested this year, eat from the bounty, and share with others. That may be true for about 1% of the population, but for the rest of us, our Thanksgiving feast comes from the grocery store. And, we spend days planning, cooking, baking, and all day eating.

Tradition encourages us to eat foods similar to the original meal eaten by the Pilgrims. So, that means that most meals will at least include a turkey, some cranberries, potatoes and something made with pumpkin. When you’re several hundred years away from the original meal, tradition tends to get modified.

I’ve been thinking about Thanksgiving in the good old days. Back in the 1980s and 90s, my sister-in-law and I took turns every year hosting the family dinner. There might be a few variations from year to year, but below is what we usually served.

Turkey

(Preferably Butterball.

We were thrilled when they developed the red plastic thermometer

that popped up when the turkey was done.)

Stuffing

(inside the bird) (For years I used my homemade white bread and cornbread mixture with spices, celery, onions, and apples. Then I discovered Stove Top. I hid the boxes in the trash so no one would know the truth.)

Mashed Potatoes and gravy

Candied Sweet Potatoes

(with mini-marshmallows on the top)

Green Bean Casserole

(recipe on the can of French’s onions.)

Corn Souffle

(I shared the recipe last year here.)

Relish Tray

(carrots sticks and stuffed celery plus pickles and olives

Cranberry Relish

(my sister-in-law made the best with oranges and nuts in it.)

Jello Salad

(Usually the latest recipe created by the Jello people.)

Rolls with honey butter

Pies: pumpkin, pecan. apple, and chocolate cream

I’ll bet you gained five pounds reading that list. Thankfully, as I said before, traditions change over the years. This year the turkey will be a local, organic, free-range bird, with no handy little built-in plastic thermometer. No stuffing – we are watching our carbs. No mashed potatoes – we’re watching our carbs. The green beans will be fresh – no canned cream of anything soup on them. Sweet potatoes or yams will be roasted with other fresh root vegetables. Also a good salad made with fresh-from-the-garden greens. And, cranberry relish – Genevieve’s mom makes it great with oranges and nuts. (Thank God somethings stay the same.)

For dessert there will still be pumpkin pie. This one will be made from scratch using local pumpkin, roasted and mashed. I know it will be delicious, but I’m feeling a little nostalgic for the good old days of pumpkin pie. That would be the one with a Pillsbury pie crust, a can of Libby’s pumpkin, and a can of Carnation’s evaporated milk. (The recipe is on the pumpkin can.) Best of all is when you top the pie with that squiggly can of whipped topping. Mmmm. Perfect.

Whatever your traditions or whatever you serve at your Thanksgiving Day feast, I hope it’s accompanied with lots of laughter and love – two of life’s gifts we can also be thankful for.

I’m linking this post to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Genevieve in turn brought me some of that applesauce. It is so good that I wanted to make something memorable with part of it. The first thing I thought of was a cake, just a small cake with perhaps dried fruits and nuts in it. I wanted something moist that would do well with just a little ice cream on the top.

I found what I wanted in my trusty More With Less Cookbook. I’ve had this book since 1976 when it was the hottest book at the Presbyterian Women’s International Conference. I have to hold it together with a rubber band, but it gives me dependable recipes every time.

I’ve made this cake several times and there are two things to say about it: It’s a subtle spice cake and it’s not very sweet. I’m listing the recipe below exactly as I made it. If you prefer a sweeter cake, I’d recommend using sweetened applesauce and/or a bit more sugar.

Old Fashioned Applesauce-Nut Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour an 8 x 12″ pan

2. Measure and mix together:

• 2 cups flour (I used 1/3 cup of whole wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

3. In a separate bowl, mix together until creamy:

• 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
• 1 cup brown sugar

4. Add one at a time and mix well:

• 3 eggs

5. Measure out 1 and 1/4 cup of applesauce and begin adding to the butter mixture alternately with the dry ingredients. Beat well.

6. Measure these ingredients and fold into the batter:

• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into small chunks (measured about 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup raisens (I used golden but regular will work)
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped fine
• UPDATE: 1 cup  chopped walnuts

7. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until done. (Cake pulls away from the edges and a toothpick in the center is clean.) Cool on a rack. If you wish, you could sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar or frost with a butter cream frosting.

I like a cake like this – one that has some “chew” to it with the dates, raisins, and walnuts. The applesauce had that pure apple flavor plus it did a great job of keeping the cake moist. I wish you were close to me so I could share a piece with you. It deserves to be given away since it started with a gift of apples and then another gift of applesauce. Giving always keeps on going.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

You may recall that after reading TomatoLand by Barry Estabrook (my review is HERE), I vowed that I would not eat another tomato unless I knew exactly where it came from. I’ve kept that promise. Of course, it’s not hard to keep that one when I can walk outside and pick fresh tomatoes.

The tomatoes here didn’t start ripening until mid-August so I had no tomatoes for about three months. Since then, I’ve been able to indulge myself. During my three-month hiatus from tomatoes I thought a lot about how I would eat them once they were ready. I compiled a list of my favorite ways to eat tomatoes. Here are my top five:

# 5: On top of pizza – either in a sauce or in slices

# 4: In a salad – perfect with crispy greens and crunchy cukes

# 3: BOLTs – these are the traditional sandwiches of bacon-lettuce-tomato plus onion

# 2: In chili – they’re the sweet compliment to beans and meats

# 1: Standing in the garden, right after it’s been picked and eaten with the juices running down my arm

Tomatoes are so much better fresh but there is coming a time when I won’t have those fresh ones. Then I’ll be back to eating the canned and dried varieties. But first I’m committed to knowing where they came from and to ensure they came from a place where the tomato workers are not exploited. My other option is to go without tomatoes at all. I’m okay with that.

What about you – what are your favorite ways to eat tomatoes?

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

After that blog post I learned that Darien Gee wrote a book titled Amish Friendship Bread: A Novel. She saw my blog post, and I think she decided that I needed to witness the positive side of this combination friendship builder and yummy treat. She sent me a copy of her new novel. I’m glad she did.

Amish Friendship Bread is a heartwarming novel about how friendship bread can be the catalyst for new friendships and a good way to practice genuine gifting.

The characters in the story are well drawn and there were several I was very sympathetic to. This is Ms. Gee’s first novel but you’d never know it. It’s written very well.

The last section of the book is full of recipes. There is first of all the recipe for making the starter from scratch. There’s also the directions on how to handle it the first ten days. There’s a good variety of ways to bake the bread too. This means you don’t have to wait for someone to give you a gift of starter.

But wait, it gets even better. The author has developed a website devoted to the Amish Friendship Bread Kitchen. At the website there’s a wonderful community of the book and bread’s fans, loads of ways to make the bread and, my favorite, a variety of ways to make the starter. There’s a recipe for gluten-free starter. sugar-free starter, and so forth. There’s also a Frequently Asked Question section. To visit the website, click the picture above.

I’m giving Amish Friendship Bread another chance. I’m developing a list of people I think would enjoy a loaf of my bread. What about you? What’s your experience with friendship bread?

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.