Rum Balls

As with many other people who like to cook and bake, this time of year revolves around the kitchen.  I can't think of a better way to spend a day than with family members, listening to Christmas music and making a treat.  The other day I made an old family recipe, rum balls.  They used to be bourbon balls, but I don't like bourbon so I switched my alcohol to my liking.  The recipe is simple enough to make on a weekday after school, especially if you have help.  The problem is waiting to eat them.  They really are best if you wait a week before eating them.

The ingredients are simple enough: 1 box vanilla wafers, 1 T cocoa powder, 3 1/2 T corn syrup, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup walnuts or pecans and 1/2 cup rum.  This can easily be doubled. 

After I pulverized the wafers and nuts in a food processor, I combined the wafers, nuts, cocoa and powdered sugar in a large bowl and mixed together. 

This is what the mixture looks like after I added 1 cup rum and 3 1/2 T corn syrup.  It's not very pretty, but it will taste so good.

Shape into small balls, about 1 1/2" in diameter and roll in granulated sugar.  Let the rum balls sit out for about 1 hour so they can set before putting them in a cookie tin.

Remember a week is usually good enough before eating, however they age very well.  

Bon appétit and as always with love from the Midwest, 

Beth 

Thanksgiving Eating and More

Going back to  work today was difficult; I won't lie.  Primarily because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holiday.  It is almost better than Christmas, because I don't have to worry about presents.  I love a holiday that revolves around cooking.  However I always start my Thanksgiving with our cities 5 mile turkey trot and this year my daughter Sophie decided to join us.  Of course afterwards we always stop for coffee.  I've got to have my latte.  

We serve dinner around 6:30 so I have plenty of time to make dinner, grill the turkey and do any finishing touches.  Most of this menu I made ahead on Wednesday and earlier.  So yes I did make 3 desserts for 7 people and we ate everything over the weekend.

The table is all set for the meal.  I like to use my real silver and good china; it is Thanksgiving after all.  This year we served Beaujolais Nouveau and Chateau Ste. Michelle with dinner. 

Saturday I went to my indoor farmers' market and picked up some quail eggs.  My husband thought they'd be super cute on top of a steak for lunch.  They are so buttery and fragile.  

Of course what would the end of Thanksgiving be without making the start of the Christmas goodies? White chocolate covered pretzels are a family favorite.

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with many things for which you are thankful.  

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Muffins for Madeleine

In the past I wouldn't have given a recipe for gluten free bread a second look.  Now that I have a daughter who needs to be gluten free, if I see something that might be good I give it a try.  I love the magazine Eating Well.  If you haven't looked through it's pages I highly recommend.  A couple of weeks ago I came across this recipe for pumpkin oat muffins.    They are quick and easy to make and can be made gluten free who needs to be completely gluten free.  The recipe calls for making oat flour in the blender.  That is super easy even without a Vitamix.  Please note that not all oats are free of wheat contaminants and need to say gluten free. 

Starting a month or so ago I found a local source for free range chicken eggs!  I pick them up weekly and if I'm lucky they are still warm.  They haven't been washed, so I just store them on my baker's table in my dining room.  They are delicious.

The recipe calls for either cranberries or chocolate chips.  In my mind there is no question.  I didn't have minis so I just chopped up some regular sized chips.  

The final product.  I made regular sized muffins and it only made 9.  I did cook them for a full 20 minutes even in my convection oven.  They stayed good for 5 days until there were no more.

I sent down a second batch to my daughter, and she loved them.  They didn't last long between her and her roommate.  

Bon Appétit!

and as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

A Perfect Fall Day

I really do love fall.  Yes sometimes the weather can be awful: rain, sleet, snow, yes snow.  However some days are just perfect.  Yesterday was one of them.  It was a real delight to be outside.  No wind, upper 40-50 degrees and the some the trees still have color on them.  The garden is mostly put to bed, and even though that means I'll have to buy my produce from the supermarket soon, I know next year I'll  be back out there and at at the farmers' market.

I spent most of my day raking leaves.  Actually, other than a sore shoulder I really like this activity. I even mowed  the lawn for one last time for good measure.  Except for two small trees, the yard is ready for its winter sleep.  

Also what a better way to finish up a great fall day than by making something with squash or pumpkin.  I have several butternut squash from the farmers' market in my basement and I thought it was time to make soup.  Today it was roasted squash and carrot soup. The recipe makes a lot so I had some for lunch, saved some for the school week and froze some for another two lunches. 

As I said a perfect fall day.  

Enjoy the soup:

2 butternut squash - halved and seeds scooped out.

1 pound peeled and large cut carrots

1 large onion chopped in large slices.

Roast all veggies on sheet pans. 375 degrees for about 30-50 minutes depending on your oven.  I put the squash flesh side down on  their own lightly greased sheet. The squash took about 45 minutes total in a convection oven. About ten minutes later I mixed the carrots and onions with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper and roasted them for about 30 minutes.  When everything was soft and maybe slightly chard I put it in my Vitamix for with 5 1/2 cups chicken broth.  I had to do this in 2 batches and stir everything together in a large bowl at the end. Correct for seasonings. 

I added chia seeds and swirl of olive oil to the finished soup. 

Bon Appétit. 

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth  

Chicken Tagine with Olives and Lemons

Thankfully my daughter went through my recipe binder recently and found this recipe from Bon Appétit.  This chicken tagine is really quite simple if you have all of the ingredients on hand.  I just mix everything in the food processor, marinade the chicken for 2 hours or up to 1 day in a large plastic bag.   To cook I use a clay pot, but any oven proof pot with a cover will do.  Also if you need a prep ahead dinner party dish this is it. 

The recipe is as follows: 

2 Tbl minced garlic

3/4 c chopped cilantro

3/4 c chopped parsley

2 cups chopped onions

2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 c lemon juice

1/2 c olive oil

2 Tbs paprika

2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp saffron threads

1 whole chicken - about 4 pounds

3/4 cup chopped black olives

2 small lemons thinly sliced

1 1/2 c water

Bring first 13 ingredients together, as I said in a food processor it's super quick.  Pour into a bowl or gallon plastic bag and add chicken.  Marinate for at least 2 hours.  Refrigerate until ready to cook. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Add chicken and marinade to oven proof dish along with the water, olives and the lemons.  Cover and cook for about 1 hour, until the chicken is cooked through.  Transfer to a platter and serve with sauce, couscous and a dark green.  

Serve with a white wine or beer.

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Sunday Dinner - BBQ Pork on the BGE

I realized I haven't done a Sunday dinner post. Please sit down as a family at least once a week, it is really so important to connect with one another, no phones, just face to face conversation.  We never know what topic will come up in our conversations.  Sometimes it is something simple other times its weighty political topics.  Both are great. Dinner doesn't have to be a big affair when you sit down, but I do love to cook so on the weekends I put some more time into my meal. This Sunday it meant all day. 

I started by pulling my pork out of the fridge around 8 am so it could come to more than fridge temperature.  After that I started to get the grill going.  While the grill and meat were warming up my son and I ate our breakfast.

After the BGE started to warm up I added our apple wood.  My husband and I found these huge chunks at the Green Bay farmers' market.  I wish I remembered the vendor, because they were great.  I let the grill come to about 200 degrees.  The idea is low and slow.  

Once I put the pork on the grill it was time to make the mop sauce.  This is a combination of 1/4 c brown sugar, 2 c cider vinegar and about 1 tsp each red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper.  More if you like it really spicy.  Bring the sauce to a boil so the sugar can dissolve.  Separate the sauce 1/3 in a cup for basting and 2/3 in a bowl for use later on.  About every hour baste the pork.  Also its really important to make sure the Egg stays at 200 degrees or so and doesn't spike higher. 

About 9 hours later we pulled off the pork.  It's always a beautiful sight.  

We sliced and cubed it and tossed it in a large bowl with the remaining mop sauce that I put aside earlier on. 

We served the pork with homemade biscuits, the last of the year's corn on the cob from the market, green salad and applesauce I made earlier on that day.

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

A day in the Life

Well I've been seeing a bunch of blog posts about peoples days or what they ate so I thought I'd post my own.  I'm not always the best about taking pictures about everything, but I set that as my goal for today.  However there are somethings that really don't need a picture - such as dirty laundry. 

I usually get up around 5:20 during the week and exercise.  It's either a run or yoga in my basement.  I love to run outside as long as I can, but once the ice and snow hit I'm on my treadmill.  Today's run was 3 miles in slightly misty conditions.  I always run with my reflective gear and blinking lights.  When I come home I do a few core exercises and or some push-ups.

After my work out, I shower and come down for my much needed breakfast, but first I pour my coffee.  I have a coffee maker that is on a timer so its ready when I am.

 I usually have a plan for the week of what I'm eating for breakfast.  This weekend I made sourdough bread.  So of course I had avocado toast, local tomatoes and olive oil.  This is one of my favorites.

After that I get ready to go to school.  For lunch I brought my kale salad.  I picked up locally smoked salmon and tuna at the market this week so I put that on the salad along with plums, pepitas and dried unsweetened cherries. 

I thought I'd include a picture after school of what I wore.  I love neutral clothes, because I can just mix and match depending on my mood.

  

When I come home I usually do some school work, laundry and clean up the kitchen.  I also go for a walk with my husband and or our dog, Magic.  Today it was just 1 mile with Magic.

Perhaps after a walk I read, knit, bullet journal or maybe even do a little more schoolwork if need be.  But soon it's time for wine.  We're currently drinking Chateau Ste. Michelle chardonnay.  I always like a glass while I prepare dinner.  

We usually sit down for dinner around 7:30. Tonight's dinner was sautéd spicy shrimp, basmati rice and swiss chard.  Of course I had another glass of wine.

After dinner my husband and I usually watch something on TV together or read while the kids finish up any homework or if we're lucky hang out with us.  I'm usually off to bed around 9:30-9:45, to be ready for the next day.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth