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Toasting oats is a great way to warm your house on a chilly fall day. It fills your home with a nutty fragrance. It has just a bit of a crunch. It's a perfect topper for your yogurt snack. Toasted oats are also good in many home-prepared goods: Your no-bake cookies, granola bars and granola are just a few suggestions. Ingredients Old fashioned oats, 1 1/2 cups Parchment paper (optional) Preparation Cut and or fold parchment paper to cover the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet. Pour in the oats....
It appears to be a year of abundance for apples of many varieties. This recipe uses a large slow cooker and a food mill. The apples cook down in the slow cooker. This is a convenience but must be timed to your schedule. The food mill removes the skin and seeds. One year I made this and the food mill was grinding up the seeds. Most food mills come with different blades. So I adjusted the blade size. If you leave the skins on, the applesauce becomes dark. We love applesauce, served cold, as a...
A condiment I learned about while traveling in the south. Available in many restaurants, as a condiment on the tables of diners. Then, returning home, I found a similar brand in grocery stores. I began looking for hot peppers at area farm-stands. At one, a box of tiny hot peppers was $20. I couldn't understand the Spanish descriptions, except they were hot. Back at home, I had recently emptied some red wine vinegar bottles. This year I went shopping for food safe bottles. Washed them. Then...
Thankful for generous friends. Sheila Klein offers pears each year, from her trees. The pears are picked and sorted into varieties. We bring boxes and take our selections home. I keep orca pears cool until they ripen, in yellow tones. Using them while they are firm, before they soften. I started this recipe with 18 medium pears, cut in half and filled an 8 quart slow cooker. The end result was two pints of pear sauce. Pear sauce is like applesauce. Ingredients Orca pears, 18 medium Cinnamon...
Salmon steaks, ideally, are from a firm fish. There's a wild taste because it's baked with the bones in and the skin is on. I tried a cajun Louisiana fish fry mix. Baking on parchment paper makes clean-up easy. Ingredients Salmon steaks, 1 per serving Fish fry mix, 1 cup Butter, 5 tbsp Parchment paper, to fit the baking sheet Preparation Pat the salmon dry. Sprinkle on the fish fry mix, coating both sides, patting into the salmon. Set the coated salmon steaks onto the parchment lined baking...
The highlight of my summer cooking has been preparing zucchini lasagna. This recipe will feed four. I selected a uniform shaped zucchini, medium size. Plus I ventured to try my hand at using a mandolin again. This time with careful success. I prepped the zucchini first and for the center cut with seeds and pith, I cut that out. You could choose to peel the skin, but if you cut the zucchini 1/8 inch wide, the skin is not cumbersome to eat. Ricotta, as it is plain, is rather like eating clay. But...
Fresh vegetables are the main ingredients to this recipe. I chopped them fairly small and uniform in size. The beef selections are stew meat, steak tips, cut-up steak or roast. Browning the beef adds to the overall flavor. When selecting a beef broth, take care to shop for a low sodium brand. Nothing spoils the taste of a soup, as being too salty. The fava beans are optional. I grow and pre-cook them to add to recipes. When I select vegetables, I think of color, texture and nutrients. I...
I was recently gifted pesto on two occasions. One from Jane Stephens, who lives in town and one from Ann Maroney, who works in town. The balsamic vinegar is a bit overpowering in flavor and color. After seeing and tasting the results, I may use less balsamic vinegar next time. To expedite the preparation, I added the cherry tomatoes in whole and after they cooked two minutes, I used a potato masher to burst out their flavor. If you like the visual effect of cut cherry tomatoes, you will cut...
Of the jams and jellies I make and can at home, jalapeño jelly is the most requested. Even the years I do not make it, someone will ask for it. This year I bought jalapeños from La Conner Gardens farm stand and from Klesick's, of Stanwood. A few years back I invested in a battery operated kitchen scale. Measuring ingredients is one of the things I enjoy while cooking. Piling fresh jalapeños on top of the scale was just a small challenge but accomplished. I had the 12 ounces of jalapeños for thi...
Zucchini is one of those summer perpetual vegetables. It grows in abundance and if you do not garden, friends will often give away their excess. Or you can still buy them at a good price from the local farm stands. This recipe makes two loaves. This recipe uses medium size zucchini, before the center is full of large seeds. I particularly enjoy the clove flavor. Ingredients: 3 cups shredded zucchini (3 medium) 1 2/3 cups sugar 2/3 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla 4 large eggs 3 cups flour 2 tsp...
This could be served as a spicy condiment with rice and your choice of meat. I eat this as a snack, to carry me over while our dinner meal is prepared. When I began preparing Korean dishes, I started keeping a hot pepper paste. A small tub lasts for months in the refrigerator; so, I learned to shop around for the best price and longest date of expiration. This recipe uses half-tablespoons for several of the ingredients. I measure the dry ingredients first, then the liquid ones; and last, the...
Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream. When the fresh berry season arrives in Skagit County, we enjoy this cake often. The vanilla flavor and crunchy edges offers so much more than what we might buy in a grocery store. Quick to assemble, using basic ingredients and it’s quick to bake. I bake it in a round 8-inch cake pan. The center rose into a rounded dome. What we don’t eat within three days, we store the rest in the refrigerator, air tight, to keep that fresh flavor. Ingredients 1 cup...
Select your steak. I chose a one pound two ounce grass-fed strip loin steak. To grill, I used an electric grill, two sided, from Pampered Chef. To oil the grill, I used a pastry brush and Safflower oil. The bottom grill oiled a bit more than the top grill. I also used a temperature probe. As we both like our steak well done, an internal temperature of 210 F was just right. I took the steak out of the freezer early in the morning, so it would have plenty of time to sit at room temperature....
This is a layered cake with berries on the bottom and cake batter on top. Fresh picked raspberries, everbearing strawberries and wild strawberries. The wild strawberries we were gifted from a friend on Lopez Island. For this recipe, I cut up each berry. You can use an 8 x 8 inch cake pan. I use a 2 quart Pyrex baking dish, 9 inches by 7 inches. This recipe is divided by ingredients for the berry layer and ingredients for the cake layer. Ingredients Berry layer ingredients Butter, 4 tbsp Sugar,...
This is a water bath canning recipe for half-pint jars. I use the Instant Pot to prepare the tomatoes. I also use a hand-cranked food mill to finish processing the tomatoes. 20 medium tomatoes created 6 cups of tomato sauce. This recipe made 13 half-pints. It also took me several hours to make this, as I chose to chop the garlic, onion, cilantro, jalapenos by hand. Each step of this recipe takes time and patience. Everything is prepped the same day, to ensure the freshest of ingredients....
It’s rhubarb season. I let mine grow until there is a special occasion. Then I bake a dessert to enjoy with family. On this occasion, it was the dinner party to celebrate the graduation of our grandson Finnegan Ellsworth from La Conner High School. Finn came into our lives when our daughter, Katherine, married his father, Camas Logue, in 2019. They moved as a family, with younger Oliver Currin Logue, to La Conner and settled in town. We share numerous family meals together. They loved this r...
Our herbs and flowers are flourishing in our garden! It’s quite lovely. You can pick to your taste. Fresh is always best! Most of our raised beds are a few feet off the ground. So despite the heavy rains, our garden has not been underwater. I used select herbs and flowers, including flower petals to supplement a small head of organic iceberg lettuce and half a cucumber. You can choose to buy your favorite herbs. Ingredients Iceberg lettuce, one small head Cucumber, ½ sliced Horseradish l...
Blueberries! We love blueberries! We live in an area where acres and acres of blueberries are grown. We eat gallons of blueberries each year. I freeze blueberries and gift them to family. Ingredients Plain yogurt, 1 cup Blueberries, 1cup Honey, 2 tablespoons Preparation There are many ways to mix these ingredients. I placed them all in a deep bowl and used an immersion blender. The results were chunky bits of blueberries. This recipe can be eaten right away. When refrigerated, the blueberry flavor is more powerful the next d...
A flat iron steak is perfect for this recipe. After marinating the steak four hours, I used an indoor electric grill. While it was grilling, I prepped fresh veggies. I used a double sided grill from Pampered Chef. For the marinade, there are ingredient choices. You can substitute 4 regular garlic for the 2 elephant garlic. The choice of soy sauce is what your diet dictates. For hot chili paste, I used a chili garlic sauce. The vegetables can vary by what’s in season and what you have on hand. T...
A Sunday evening meal that includes salmon is always enjoyable. I recently paired it with steamed brown rice and asparagus cooked in olive oil with fresh garlic. Kevin’s favorite part is the tail. After it is cooked, I cut it into serving size portions, with one lemon slice on each serving. We save one piece to crumble up for our Miniature Australian Shepherd, Chili. She loves salmon. Ingredients Salmon, one side Olive oil, 2 tsp Butter, 1 tbsp Lemon, ½ sliced thin Seasoning of choice Tin...
We regularly drink lemon water. This method was a game changer for us. As for preparation, it’s as simple as it gets. The result, with some added honey is so soothing. Lemons come in different sizes. I look for the largest lemons to have on hand. Ingredients Water, 1 quart Lemon, 1 large Honey, 1 tsp per cup Preparation Bring water to a boil. Cut a fresh lemon into 6ths and squeeze into a tea pot. Then add the squeezed lemon into the tea pot. Pour boiling water over the cut lemon. Place the l...
This recipe is much simpler than the recipe I wrote for this column in July 2016. I believe it’s quicker. You use live spot prawns. Keep them on ice until ready to cook. I cooked up two pounds of fresh live spot prawns and used two large cooking pots. One chopped lemon in each pot. I used long kitchen tongs to place them in the boiling water. Then a strainer to remove them. Save the ice they arrived in to quickly cool them after they are cooked. We enjoyed them for our dinner and shared with ano...
These are the ingredients I always keep on hand: milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and frozen berries. Mix them all up and we have a wonderful snack and something to enjoy with the morning coffee. For this recipe you can use an unsalted butter because this recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of salt. I use an old fashioned hand sifter, but you can use a large wire strainer, with a small weave. Ingredients Sugar, 1 cup Butter, 4 tbsp Milk, 1 cup Flour, 2 cups Baking powder, 4 tbsp Salt, 1 tsp...
This is a recipe I learned to prepare only after I married Kevin. It was served at a tribe’s community dinner. I resolved to cook it for us, at home. The last time I prepared this meal was eight years ago. Somehow this combination of ingredients, layered in this fashion is the best! It uses less than a bag of tater tots. I used a round, deep casserole dish. You could use a 9” x 11” dish. Baking time would be the same. The cheese, soup and Worcestershire sauce add saltiness. Ingredients Groun...
This is a recipe for the air fryer. Two tips I have learned about cooking with an air fryer is to use tin foil and parchment paper. I have a basket-type air fryer. I turn the basket upside down and lay tin foil over the bottom and cut around the edges. That goes under the basket, to catch greasy drips. I purchased parchment paper specifically for a basket air fryer. It is perforated with small holes which allows the hot air to move about. The parchment paper goes inside the basket. This makes...
