BAREFOOT BLOGGERS - Sundried Tomato Pasta

Cat of Delta Whiskey has chosen Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes from Ina Garten's collection. Check out Cat's blog to get the recipe.

Nothing holds me back from making a good pasta dish so I couldn't wait to try this one of Ina's. So on the way home from work I stopped at my favorite local grocer's, trusty ingredient list in hand, and as I approached the store there were four police cars lined up in front. I hesitated just for a moment as to whether or not I should go in, but pasta was calling me so in I went. Nothing seemed awry in the store so I went about my shopping. At the checkout, I asked the clerk why the cops were out there hovering. She whispered and said the lady had left her children in the car to pop into the pharmacy and the kids started screaming so the police came. I told her I had been known to do that myself when my kids were little and sick. She rolled her eyes as if to say she had done the same thing. When I left, all I could think was here were four cop cars lined up and we have real criminals out there they could be going after instead of coming after this poor mom. I mean one policeman okay, but FOUR? Geez.

The pasta dish was quite easy to prepare and we loved it. It was very flavorful. I thought I had plenty of fresh parmesan, but low and behold I was lacking in that area because the yankee did not tell me we were almost out. He eats that stuff like I eat chocolate.

Great recipe, but try it for yourself!

TWD - Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies

Lisa of Surviving Oz chose Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies.

First, check out photo. Here's a tip for all of you although I am quite sure you know this already. Never try to cut brownies while they are still warm. I was in a hurry tonight and that is exactly what i did. And I know better!

I usually love all brownies. While I also love Katherine Hepburn, I have decided after making these brownies, I think her talents were better on the big screen. These seemed too rich in butter and for some reason, came out heavy. I left out the coffee powder because I did not have any. I must have done something wrong. They were just too gooey inside. As much as I love brownies, I was a complete failure on baking these. Sorry Ms. Hepburn!

I am anxious to see what all the other TWDrs thought of these brownies and how theirs turned out. Check out Lisa's blog listed above for the recipe if you want to try them yourself.

I leave you with one of my favorite Hepburn quotes:

"Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I've had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got to not forget to laugh. "

CEiMB - Breakfast Cookies

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO ALL OF YOU!

One of my favorite bloggers, Natalie of Whats for Supper chose this week's Ellie Kreiger challenge - Breakfast Cookies. When I told the yankee what I was preparing in the kitchen, his words were "what ARE breakfast cookies and who comes up with these crazy names for recipes?" I laughed to myself when I had earlier asked him to pick up strained carrots from the baby food section and he never even asked what they were for.

That comment from him reminded me of a joke. No offense to blondes out there, but blond jokes really can be funny.

One day a blond walked into a cookie shop to see a small tray full of cookies. The sign said 'free sample' so she took one. The next day the blond was sick and could barely move. She swore revenge upon the cookie shop. She marched back to the cookie shop and burst into the cookie shop and slammed her foot. "Your cookies made me sick!" she screamed, pointing to the 'free sample' tray. "Oh, what are we going to do about that?" said the store clerk, as he bit his lip. "I want my money back!" screamed the blond.

ok. . that was lame.

Well these cookies will NOT make you sick. They are fabulous. I am not sure they will last until breakfast because we are eating them tonight!

I did make some major substitutions to Ellie's recipe. They weren't intentional substitutions, however. I just did not have some of the ingredients on hand so I used what I had. I did not have any brown sugar so I just used white. They are probably even better with brown sugar, but the yankee said he didn't think they could BE any better. I didn't have any rolled oats, so I used instant oatmeal, which had a little brown sugar in it! Yea. I didn't have any walnuts so I used pecans. I didn't have any bran flakes so I used vanilla granola. Even with all these substitutions, they were great. I can't wait to eat more of them tomorrow! I'm trying to pace myself you see.

Thanks Natalie for a great pick this week!

Recipe
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup (1 small jar) strained carrot baby food
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup bran cereal flakes
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted in a dry skillet for 2 minutes, until fragrant and chopped
Directions
Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add egg, carrot puree and vanilla and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add oats, flakes, raisins and walnuts and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky and less cohesive than traditional cookie dough. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using between 3 to 4 tablespoons of batter, form a ball and place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving about 3 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies until about 1/4-inch thick. Bake for 12 minutes, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

No TWD this week!

I apologize. . . . I did not make the Party Cake this week. I hope to be back next week with the next selection, but I have struggled lately with just being overwhelmed and not having enough hours in the day.

Please check out Tuesdays with Dorie and see what the other great bakers came up with this week. I know that cake was probably fabulous!

Take care of yourselves this week!

CEiMB - Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham or. .new version without shrimp!

This week was hosted by Anonymous New York. Check out his/her blog. You will definitely find it interesting.

First, I have always hated cajun food and when I saw jambalaya I cringed. However, in the last year I tasted some fabulous jambalaya that my friend and neighbor Amanda made, so I was anxious to try this one to see how it measured up. You would have to be older to remember the Hank Williams' song with these lyrics, but my daddy sang it to me when I was a child.

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and file' gumbo

'Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio

Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o

Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou!

Of course some drama comes with. I love shrimp, or rather I used to. About eight years ago I became severely allergic to shellfish. So I knew I would have to substitute something for the shrimp. My friend at work, Jennifer, had already made her jambalaya and we chatted about it on Monday. In my head, I guess I thought if I were substituting sausage for the shrimp, surely everyone else was substituting as well. So when Jennifer asked me if I would like to taste hers, I didn't hesitate and jumped right in with my spoon and took a bite. The our conversation went like this.

I said, "So you used the andouille sausage in yours?"

"Yes," she said.

"And did you tell me you did put the ham in it?"

"No, just the shrimp."

"Shrimp? You put shrimp in it?"

"yeah, why?"

"I'm deathly allergic to shrimp. Okay I'm gonna run to the bathroom and rinse my mouth out but if I tell you, call 911. I won't be joking."

So I rinsed and gargled and went back to my desk and drank a glass of tea and water and proceeded to eat my lunch thinking maybe I could just dilute the shrimp somehow if I put enough food and water in there with it. I did get a little dizzy feeling, and my face was a bit itchy and red, and my quad-mate said I was really pale. Then I decided maybe some benadryl wouldn't hurt and it actually helped and I was fine.

The yankee is always ordering shrimp at restaurants and our joke is that he asks if I would like to put the shrimp to my lips to see if they will plump. (The doctor suggested I do this when I had a bad reaction years ago). I always laugh and say, no I think I'll pass. And no kisses for him until he flosses, brushes and gargles! Aren't food allergies bummers?

I had one worried friend all afternoon. Jennifer was so sweet. She checked on me several times. And the next day she brought me a treat. A tube of tomato paste! Isn't technology wonderful these days. You can just squirt what you need and put the rest in the refrigerator.

Speaking of refrigerators, my new freezer on the bottom stainless steel beauty is making the loudest popping noises about every hour or so. We called the technician and he said there wasn't anything wrong. Now we have called GE and they are sending another technician out to check it.

Back to the jambalaya, I used andouille sausage and ham. We loved it. Try it!!

Recipe:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 ounces diced, smoked ham
2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
Hot pepper sauce

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and saute until they begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Mix in the next 11 ingredients, salt through the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until rice is done and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, for 5 minutes more, or until shrimp is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve with hot pepper sauce.

TWD - Parisian Apple Tartlet or "Could I have Two of Those Please"

Jessica of My Baking Heart picked Parisian Apple Tartlet for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie baking adventure. Check out Jessica's blog and get the recipe there.

I have to say, this was one of the easiest, best tasting recipes I have made so far from Dorie's book. Maybe I was just in the mood for a fruit dessert. I could have eaten four of these! Thank you Jessica for a great pick this week! If they serve these on the streets of Paris, I am definitely getting a plane ticket today and fly over there!

My only problem was I felt that I might have made the pastry a little too thin or it might have still been a bit too frozen because it did not rise as much as I had expected it to around the apple. I'm definitely going to be making these again and soon!

We just got back from Connecticut where we witnessed my stepdaughter's high school graduation from Miss Porter's School in Farmington. All the girls looked so cute in their white dresses.

Laura is the cute redhead on the right with the bubble dress!

After the ceremony was over, they went on their daisy walk and then jumped in the fountain and smoked a cigar. It was tradition! The weather did not cooperate that day. Cool and raining. The yankee and I did not have umbrellas and I was wearing a silk dress. Not good planning at all, right? Below are two of Laura's three dogs. Meet Aladdin and Kelly.

The day after graduation was glorious and we drove down to Mystic where they made Mystic Pizza movie. It was very pretty down there. I'm leaving you today with a few photos to enjoy of my trip!

CEiMB - White Gazpacho with Grapes and Almonds

White Gazpacho with Grapes and Toasted Almonds was hosted this week by Lauren of I'll Eat You. Lauren is a very creative blogger. Check out the recipe on her blogsite if you are interested.

I have just about decided that I am not the "healthy" food type of person. Don't get me wrong, I want to eat healthy. But I am really having withdrawal pains this week, missing stuff like fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn on the cob slathered in melted butter, cornbread with cheese and jalapenos, home-made ice cream, and fried pies. Maybe some potato salad on the side. Or a nice blueberry cobbler with a bit of whipped cream on top.

Instead, I made White Gazpacho with Grapes and Almonds. I didn't have any white grapes so I used red. I didn't bother to toast the almonds because I knew I was not going to like this dish. I love cucumbers and I would rather have had my cucumbers sliced with salt on them, or mayonnaise and pepper is always good, a little vinegar maybe. But not in gazpacho. The important thing to me is that I tried the gazpacho. I can honestly say this will not be a recipe I make again. I'm curious to hear how everyone else liked it.

I'll be in Connecticut on vacation when this gets posted so I apologize that I will not be around to leave comments on your wonderful posts. But when I get back on Sunday I promise to read them all! Have a great weekend!