Mea Culpa

Oops!  I just realized I left my readers hanging in my last post.  Chalk it up to getting ready for Easter and catching up with some household chores.

Anyway, let me reveal the new toy that arrived in my kitchen two weeks ago:

It's called an Instant Pot and it's an electric pressure cooker--and so much more!  Here's a close-up of it's touch panel:

In addition to pressure cooking, it is also a rice cooker, a slow cooker, and has specialized setting for grains, soups, and beans.  I used it for the first time on Easter to cook rice for my dad.  Dad has had to go on a total no-salt diet and so I fixed him a chicken dish with plum sauce and thought rice would go well with it.  Cooking rice can be hazardous in a busy kitchen (boil over, anyone?), but it cooked perfectly with no attention once I put on the top and pressed the rice button, and waited patiently when done until I scooped it out.  Yay!!

Last week I did some pork chops that were thick and tough (I'd used a few from the pack previously), and they were fork tender when done.  I also used it for split pea soup with ham left from Easter. Dan was at a meeting across town and I wasn't sure when he'd call me to pick him up (I'd dropped him off that morning to save the hassle of trying to find an all-day parking place).  By using this new toy,  I didn't have to worry about leaving while in process! There's even a saute button so you can brown meats and/or veggies before beginning the pressure cooking process.  I still love my stovetop pressure cooker, but this one is truly a set it and forget it pot.

Oh, here's a picture of the insert--it's like a big stainless steel bowl and washes like a dream:

Cuisinart also makes an electric pressure cooker, but its insert is non-stick which requires some care. I found my new toy at Amazon and I see it's still at a great price.  (I get nothing for this link--I'm putting it up in case anyone is interested.)  I'm all for anything that makes cooking more fun and/or easier!!  

Love,

The Gadget Girl  ♥

End of March

It's a very stormy day here at the resort.  March is definitely going out like a lion instead of a lamb. It's cold, very windy, and the sky is dark.  I can hear the wind whistling down the fireplace chimney. Glad I'm in where it's warm and cozy.  

Every year Dan gets me the Mary Engelbreit page a day calendar as part of my Christmas presents.  I love reading each day's new page and looking at the illustration.  Today's picture was an artist before a blank canvas and the words, "Your imagination is your preview to life's coming attractions," and were attributed to Albert Einstein.  I like it!  I need to ponder this little pearl of wisdom.  

Meanwhile, Buddy the Cat has made a big decision.  For years he loved Dan's fabric covered recliner and spent many hours in it.  Last fall we finally were forced to replace it and ended up with a leather recliner.  Buddy did not like it!  You could feel his outrage:  where was the cozy warmth of his beloved fabric?  He wouldn't even get on Dan's lap when he was sitting there.  But this morning around ten, he astounded us by gingerly jumping up, circling around, laying down and curling up in it, where he still is at 12:40.  I guess he decided he'd been stubborn long enough.

In further news, a fun new toy for my kitchen arrived this morning.  I'm anxious to give it a try as soon as I read the instructions and come up with a plan. Intrigued?  My thinking is that as long as cooking is a part of my day the tools used might as well be fun and/or beneficial.  Stay tuned!  ♥

Dayna Update

I have wondered if my readers have wondered how Dayna is doing since I posted a month or so ago, so I decided to do a little update.

When I last wrote about her, she was Seattle where she saw a number of specialists and then took time (due to a number of different treatment options to consider) to decide on her course of action. She came back here over a long weekend to pack up and stock up on love and prayers, and is now back in Seattle where she had her first chemo yesterday.  She has named her tumor Cleatus, and part of her action plan is a strict diet because this type of tumor feeds on certain fats.  She had a port inserted and that enables her to have infusions of vitamins as well as the chemo.  

Already there is good news:  an MRI last week showed that there was minimal growth in the tumor since her surgery, and this is amazing because it is such a fast growing type.  Dayna's, shall we say motto, is Pray. Believe. Fight! and I thought you might enjoy reading part of an update she sent over the weekend:

"Spiritually, I am doing pretty well. I always appreciate prayers, and especially prayers for my healing, specifically. I encourage you to keep praying!

The biggest lesson I have learned from the past six weeks: we are all terminal. We all have an expiration date on our bodies. A few times lately, people I know have come up to me with teary eyes to give me an embrace. An important thing to remember, sweet friends of mine, is that I feel blessed. I appreciate the empathy so deeply, but I feel blessed to have the time that is given to me, regardless of whether God chooses to heal me or not. I don't sit around feeling sad or sorry for myself… life is waiting! I have things to do, appointments to attend, people to see, air to breathe.

Yes, this is 'rocking our world,' so to speak. It is throwing my family and friends and me for a loop. Not one of us expected this, or saw it coming. We have all, in my corner of friends and family, chosen to embrace the trials, as it develops our perseverance (James 1), knowing that perseverance will have its result, that we may be lacking in nothing. We have chosen to love nonetheless, to live nonetheless, knowing that our attitudes and mentality DO make differences."

In addition to her motto, they have come up with this little visual:

And here is a picture of Dayna with her sweet little sprite, Madeleine.

♥

Cozy Days, Part Ten?

I'm certain I've used the title Cozy Days numerous times before, but I'm too lazy to go back and count.  So, we'll just say this is the tenth time.  

It's spring break here, and even though I don't teach any more, I'm still tuned in to the school schedule. And per usual, it's rather rainy and dreary, but that just makes for cozy days, which I love. And cozy days bring me to the kitchen.  And cookbooks.  

King Arthur Flour Company has published a new magazine this spring called Sift and I finally decided to order it.  I've enjoyed slowly reading through it.  I may never make any of the recipes, but it has inspired me and that's a good thing.  After several evenings of poring over it, I checked my cookbook cupboard for similar reading and pulled out A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman.  It's full of information and tempting recipes, and the photographs are absolutely gorgeous.  

I noticed that the Goldman book has a line of type on the bottom of the cover and the middle words are "Bake to Nourish."  I'm sure she meant nourish as in feed, but somehow baking nourishes my soul.  Mucking about in the kitchen, covered in flour, is a soul satisfying time for me.  I'm reminded of Brother Lawrence's (a seventeenth century monk) words:  "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen. . . I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees. . ."   ♥

Round Two, and More Gadgets!

Made another Pain d'Epi and my shape is getting better!

And it was just as delicious as the first try.  Crunch, crunch, mmm, mmm...

Meanwhile, in the knitting department, I finally broke down and bought a yarn swift.  Say what?!  A yarn swift.  

Several years ago now, I bought some expensive, beautiful hand-dyed yarn to use in knitting socks.  I bought three colors and used two right away.  Trouble was, they were hanks, not prewound skeins that are easy to use.  These are looped in a large circle and have to be wound to be usable.  I did the first one by myself, draping the circle over my knees and rolling, rolling, rolling.  It took forever, compounded by the fact that I apparently started with the wrong end and had to do some serious detangling throughout the process.  When it came time to use the second hank, I conned Dan into holding the yarn over his outstretched hands as I wound.  It also took forever and poor Dan's arms almost fell off in the process. 

Needless to say, the third hank became buried at the bottom of my yarn basket.  I finally purchased a yarn winder last year, but to be effective, a yarn swift is also needed.  I found a simple pattern for one and asked Dan to make me one, but with all his other work, it got buried just like the yarn.  Last week, spurred by a sale email from JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts, I took the plunge and ordered one.  It came yesterday afternoon and I, surprisingly, put it to work soon after.  (I was afraid if I waited, it would turn into a buffalo.)  Once again I was thankful for the internet because not a speck of instruction came with my new toy.  Cue YouTube.  

So, here is my yarn winding in process.  The swift is the wooden umbrella-like contraption on the left.  

The swift spins as the yarn is wound on the ball winder. Everything worked as advertised and in short order, my yarn was wound into a ball that pulls easily from the center.  No arms were worn out in the process.  ♥

Not Perfectly Shaped, But Delicious!

And what could I possibly be referring to?  Bread.  I believe I confessed long ago that when it comes to the kitchen, I am way more a baker than I am a cook.  I even wrote a whole post about my cookie baking.  But I also love making bread.  (Interestingly, however, I'm not much of a cake baker. Hmmm...)  

I have written about using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day master recipe to create crusty loaves of bread to accompany soups and pasta dishes.  I hadn't made a batch in a while and on Thursday night, I decided to whip one up. Literally, as I used my Danish dough whisk to mix it, just as authors Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg do. 

Later that evening, I went to the Artisan Bread site and discovered they had recently done a class for Craftsy. Checking it out, I decided to go for it.  The book is great (I have the original version), but I had stalled out with shapes, just making a round loaf each time.  It was time to branch out!  As soon as I bought the class, I was able to view it.  There I sat, in my La-z-Boy loveseat with my feet up, headphones on, watching and learning. Sometimes the internet is just too amazing.

We usually have a date night on Fridays, so it was yesterday before I decided to take the plunge and try a new shape for a loaf to accompany our leftover Pasta E Fagioli soup.  I confess I almost chickened out but then I decided no matter how it turned out, looks-wise, it would still taste great.  And so I began.

I chose the Pain d'Epi, or wheat stalk because it looks so pretty.  I didn't get mine thin enough, but you get the idea.  (And I think I need a new, long bread basket!)

We broke off the chunks and I'm telling you, the bread was so crusty and crunchy on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside!  I've never made a better loaf! Zoe Francois mentions in the book that it's delicious with jam, so after eating a piece with my soup, I ate another with jam for dessert. Oh.My.Goodness.  

Bread making is SO MUCH FUN!  ♥

Ahh, Soup, How I Love You!

Lest you think this is an ode to Campbells, let me assure you that it is not.  It's an ode to homemade soup.  In this case, a little number I concocted using dried beans.  

Is it not gorgeous?  At four o'clock this afternoon, my bag of navy beans was still sealed.  (Have I mentioned lately how much I love my pressure cooker?  Well, I do!) My recipe starts out with some basics from Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass, and then is customized by moi.  I have appropriated her name for it though:  Pasta E Fagioli. And I have to tell you, as we were eating it tonight, I heard myself say, "It has such depth of flavor." And, "The flavor lingers in the mouth." And then I said, "I don't think I've ever said those phrases before! Hmmm..."  After more than forty-three years of being the head cook, most things I make don't knock my socks off anymore, but this little number will be repeated!  ♥