Here is the best one yet:
Fig, rosemary and goat cheese spread on Market bread.
Slice the tomato-basil bread from the market thinly and toast. Mix mashed figs with chopped rosemary and goat cheese. Spread on the toast and broil for a few.
Lovely.
The fig chutney turned out great by the way! Very nice with chopped fresh ginger. I have a small container in the fridge and several small freezer baggies for a time when figs are not taking over.
Fig bread, on the other hand, not so good. Pudding again...
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Going Figgy
I have given away almost as many figs as my friends can stand, and still count them among my friends, so I'm thinkin' of ways to save figs for the future...
Ideas:
Dry them. My state of the art oven has a drying feature and they will be ready in a day or two. Oven isn't really state of the art, but I'm trying to keep the oven on my good side.
Fig bread. But not too much, and follow the recipe closely. Sometimes I play just a bit too much and it turns out more like pudding. Maybe some muffins, too.
Fig Chutney. This sounds really good to me. I'm not much of a canner, but I'm a-thinking I can get some of those little freezer bags and freeze up a few batches.
We will see what happens.
Figs for the Future. Has a certain ring.
Ideas:
Dry them. My state of the art oven has a drying feature and they will be ready in a day or two. Oven isn't really state of the art, but I'm trying to keep the oven on my good side.
Fig bread. But not too much, and follow the recipe closely. Sometimes I play just a bit too much and it turns out more like pudding. Maybe some muffins, too.
Fig Chutney. This sounds really good to me. I'm not much of a canner, but I'm a-thinking I can get some of those little freezer bags and freeze up a few batches.
We will see what happens.
Figs for the Future. Has a certain ring.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Squash Soup
I read lots of soup recipes and have a couple of twists to make your soup life easier.
Firstly, use what ever sort of squash you can find at the market. I don't even know the names of all of the squash I used this time. There is a turban squash, something that looks like an acorn squash, but with a white flesh, zucchini, and some sort of yellow squash that looks like butternut, but with a different shape.
Secondly, cut the big seeded squash in half, take out the seeds and rub the inside with olive oil. Put these cut side down in a roasting pan. Add the quartered onions, garlic cloves, carrots, zucchini, celery ribs including the leaves and drizzle a bit of olive oil over the whole. Roast in a hot oven until the big squash is tender and the rest of the veggies are getting a nice brown color around the edges.
I used a frozen container of chicken stock with all of the fat skimmed off. You don't have to do this in advance. The fat will be frozen on top and you can just scrape it off. Easy.
Dump all of the roasted veggies except the big squash on top of the frozen lump of stock. Before you dump in the big squash, cut off the stem ends, but you don't have to peel the squash. This is a real time and energy saver.
With a slotted spoon take out all of the veggies (putting them on the frozen stock cooled the veggies quickly and melted the stock at the same time!) and put them in the blender. Blend until very smooth. Stringy squash will not be stringy; skins will not be a problem but will add some color and fiber.
It will be so smooth that added cream will not be necessary. Salt and pepper are really the only things necessary to spice it up, but if you have some other things you make want to play. Some recipes call for cinnamon and brown sugar. I think a bit of hot sauce would be nice, but then I do live in Louisiana and we do hot sauce with ice cream. It depends on what you like.
Many recipes call for a spoonful of sour cream on top, but what about plain yogurt instead?
Firstly, use what ever sort of squash you can find at the market. I don't even know the names of all of the squash I used this time. There is a turban squash, something that looks like an acorn squash, but with a white flesh, zucchini, and some sort of yellow squash that looks like butternut, but with a different shape.
Secondly, cut the big seeded squash in half, take out the seeds and rub the inside with olive oil. Put these cut side down in a roasting pan. Add the quartered onions, garlic cloves, carrots, zucchini, celery ribs including the leaves and drizzle a bit of olive oil over the whole. Roast in a hot oven until the big squash is tender and the rest of the veggies are getting a nice brown color around the edges.
I used a frozen container of chicken stock with all of the fat skimmed off. You don't have to do this in advance. The fat will be frozen on top and you can just scrape it off. Easy.
Dump all of the roasted veggies except the big squash on top of the frozen lump of stock. Before you dump in the big squash, cut off the stem ends, but you don't have to peel the squash. This is a real time and energy saver.
With a slotted spoon take out all of the veggies (putting them on the frozen stock cooled the veggies quickly and melted the stock at the same time!) and put them in the blender. Blend until very smooth. Stringy squash will not be stringy; skins will not be a problem but will add some color and fiber.
It will be so smooth that added cream will not be necessary. Salt and pepper are really the only things necessary to spice it up, but if you have some other things you make want to play. Some recipes call for cinnamon and brown sugar. I think a bit of hot sauce would be nice, but then I do live in Louisiana and we do hot sauce with ice cream. It depends on what you like.
Many recipes call for a spoonful of sour cream on top, but what about plain yogurt instead?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Self Portrait
Out on a limb with no hope of rescue with this one...
So... had a request for a picture of me. Well, I sort of thought that my photo as a come on was quite enough, but , for those of you who just want more, here you are. I felt really bad today at school, but one sweet little bug brought me azaleas and I pinned them into my hair. So when I got home and things went steadily down-hill, it was the flowers that brought me back to fun.
I'm really putting myself out there with this, as I don't do this sort of thing. Ever. So I need someone to make a comment. Tell me to lay off the paint. Tell me to pile on the paint. I don't care.
So... had a request for a picture of me. Well, I sort of thought that my photo as a come on was quite enough, but , for those of you who just want more, here you are. I felt really bad today at school, but one sweet little bug brought me azaleas and I pinned them into my hair. So when I got home and things went steadily down-hill, it was the flowers that brought me back to fun.
I'm really putting myself out there with this, as I don't do this sort of thing. Ever. So I need someone to make a comment. Tell me to lay off the paint. Tell me to pile on the paint. I don't care.
"Nearly Natural"
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Full Moon (almost) and a Poem
This morning when I left home to make sure my classroom was ready for a sub (I have a lovely case of the flu, but I'm not complainin' just 'splainin') I saw the moon just peeking through. Since I knew there would be a total eclipse and that we would probably miss it, I couldn't resist a little shot.
If you are inside because of the weather, like me, during the last total eclipse for two years, maybe you would like to listen to a poem instead. It is from a CD that local poets recorded about four years ago. And, yes, that is Edward playing in the background.
http://nwlaartgallery.com/Literary%20CD/NadineACharityTrack09.mp3
Sunday, February 17, 2008
February Garden
The daffodils are just coming into their own.
The forsythias that started to bloom in December are still at it. Amazing!
After two days of rain, the plants are happy. Spring is about to arrive full force.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Kate Turns Seven!
Kate is seven and opted for a weekend in Dallas instead of a party. Smart girl!
Everyone is ready to go.
Daddy is soooooo happy.
Uncle Edward showed up just in time to give Kate a big birthday kiss.
February fifteenth and the Japanese Magnolias are in full bloom.Camille is my kind of girl...all dressed up to go to Dallas and ready to climb a tree for a photo op.
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