where the magic happens: 3/28/10

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Some of My Favorite Things

I have been compiling a list of some of my favorite things and a few things that are on my wish list. I thought that I would share them with you. There might be things that you will enjoy!

I love the King Arthur Flour website. They have a wide variety of products that you can buy online. They also have a lot of great recipes available from their website. If you have any questions about their products, you can contact them online. Their products are of top quality and they guarantee your satisfaction. If you haven't seen their site, you should check it out. This is my favorite Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. I will share some recipes from it in the future.

I'm also partial to Bob's Red Mill having lived near their main store a good portion of my life in Portland, Oregon. Their products are top quality and I have always been very happy with every thing of theirs that I have bought. When we visit Portland, there isn't always time to head over to their store, so I am glad that I can also buy their products online. Their main store in Milwaukie, Oregon is filled with a huge array of food and kitchen products. You will often see Bob walking around, with his signature hat and beard, visiting with the customers. We enjoyed a great breakfast in their restaurant with my parents on one of our last visits.

The Rogue Creamery has been making handmade gourmet cheeses since 1935.

When we travel by car from LA to Portland, we always try to time it so that we can take a trip into Central Point to buy some of their cheese. We usually bring an ice chest with us so that we can load up and take it back home with us. We really love their blue cheeses, especially their Caveman Blue. Their Smokey Blue is outstanding and it is my favorite. The Oregonzola is also amazing! If you are a blue cheese lover, you should check it out, or at least find a store in your area that carries it. There is a Bristol Farms in "The Valley" that carries their Oregon Blue, and we have made that 100 mile round trip to get it. You should check it out!

If you like to put together gifts with home baked goodies, you might be interested in Waxed Tissue and Boxes for wrapping and presenting your food. The paper is waxed, and holds up better than regular tissue paper and looks nice too!

I thought these Flavored Sugars looked very interesting. It would be a great way to add a touch of unexpected flavor to a baked good, like a scone or a muffin. I haven't tried them yet but I look forward to in the near future.

This is a totally random item, but we spent over five years looking for something like this and we were so happy when we finally found Instant Screen Doors. Every room in our house has double french doors that open outward, which makes it impossible to find a screen door that will work. We love having the doors open most of the year so that we can enjoy the fresh air and also so that our dogs can go in and out at will. The main problem was that the flys wanted to come inside!! Not a good plan. When we found this screen that hangs from the inside on a rod, it changed our life. No more swatting flies! We were able to enjoy it all summer long last year and it was such a great purchase. In case you have been looking for something like this also, you should check them out. The first one they sent us got bent during shipping and they replaced it immediately. They really stand behind their product!

Last but not least, here is some information about Emergency Food Kits, in case you find yourself with no power and no food. Of course, living in SoCal, we hear about being prepared for the "big one" on a regular basis, but all of the west coast is earthquake prone. Mountain House has kits that will carry you through from 72 hours to 7 days. We are told it takes groups like the Red Cross or other relief organizations, seven days to bring water and food in the case of a catastrophic event. They also say that you need three gallons of water per person per day. We have the water, but this is on my "to do" list.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Chicken, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

Our weekends are usually very busy, so we like to keep our meals very simple. We especially like "cook once and eat twice" meals on the weekend. I try to keep foods that make it easy to put a meal together without a lot of cooking. It had been a while since we had pizza, so we put one together for dinner the other night. This pizza takes a little time, but it is worth the effort!

The first step is caramelizing the onions. There are many versions on how to make them, but my version is very easy, if you have an extra hour.

This is my version:
Slice two onions in half and cut them in slices. Next, put two tablespoon (approx.) of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter into a dutch oven. When the oil and is heated and the butter is melted, add the onions. Stir to coat all of the onions with the oil/butter mixture.

Turn the burner down as low as it will go and cover dutch oven with a lid. Set the timer for 15 minutes and leave them alone. When the timer goes off, remove the lid and give them a good stir. Every 15 minutes repeat this process, about one hour.

Now, turn up the flame just a touch, and continue cooking the onions with the lid off. Every 5-10 minutes, give them a stir to remove the brownness that is coating the bottom of the pan. If it is too brown, turn the flame down. Continue doing this until the onions are a nice caramel color, but not burnt, about 20 minutes. Set aside until needed.

We used pizza dough from Trader Joe's, which is really good and so easy to use. Just let it sit out on the counter for about 20 minutes and it is ready to roll out. We don't actually "roll" it, we just stretch it out until the crust is evenly distributed around the pan. Easy!

Next, we put about 1/2-3/4 cup of Trader Joe's Alfredo Pasta Sauce on top of the crust.

Next, we put a little mozzarella cheese on top of sauce.

Next, we added cooked and cubed chicken breast. We cooked our but you can use any chicken.

Next, we topped with Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio, which is a combination of grated parmesan, asiago, fontina and provolone cheese. We then laid the caramelized onions all around that and it was ready for the oven.

Put it in a 450 degree oven. We baked it until the crust was crispy and brown and the cheese was melted, about 15-20 minutes.

We removed the pizza from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes. We cut two slices and topped them with a couple dollops of goat cheese. Wow, it is good. All you need is a nice crunchy salad and dinner is ready!

And yes, we had lots of leftovers, but it is great reheated for dinner the following night. It also freezes very well if you freeze the pieces individually. When frozen, wrap each piece separately and put into a freezer bag.

Monday, March 29, 2010

UPDATE: Molly the Owl

There have been many changes in the owl box in the past week. The first owlet, Max, was born a week ago today, and today, the fourth owlet was born. There is still one egg that is expected to hatch within the next 2-3 days. They are all doing very well and it is so interesting to see Molly at work. It warms your heart to see how mother nature takes over, and turns a young owl into a nurturing first-time mom.

The owlets usually stay in the box between 50-70 days. They are growing very fast and getting stronger every day, and there is non-stop activity going on with the four owlets. You can check out Molly and the owlets here.