This is where I will keep interesting little tidbits which are NOT bead related. Yes, I DO think of more than beads!
August 3 – Here’s a couple new recipes. The first one is REALLY good, if you can wait for it to freeze, before eating…
Frozen Sugar Free Fudge
Mix together:
2 mashed bananas
1/4 c peanut butter
2 pkg Swiss Miss Diet Hot Chocolate mix (the kind w/ 25 cal per package)
When well blended, smooth into a small, shallow container and cover. Put in freezer for a short while. cut into 1.5″ squares and return to freezer until cold. Keep uneaten fudge in freezer.
Vegetarian Hot Wings w/ Chicken of the Wood Mushrooms
(see picture) *, * *
By Donna Harvey
½ cup peanut butter (warmed in microwave)
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup barbecue sauce (I used Country Bob’s)
2 TBSP Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce (in Mexican foods aisle) (more or less – to taste)
½ tsp Penzey’s Shallot Sauce (maybe ¼ cup fresh onion…)
1 tsp Penzey’s garlic powder (maybe 2 cloves?)
¼ tsp Penzey’s Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ tsp Penzey’s Balti Seasoning
½ tsp Penzey’s Aleppo Pepper (optional)
1 lb cleaned Chicken of the Wood mushroom, torn in 2” pieces.* ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (optional) Set oven to 325°. Mix together the first 8 ingredients, in a blender. Empty into a large bowl and stir in mushroom pieces, stirring to moisten all. Allow to sit, for 15 to 20 minutes, so the mushroom absorbs some of the flavor. Pour entire mixture into a large casserole. Sprinkle with cheese (optional) Cook for approximately 30 minutes, until mushrooms are soft. • Measurements are approximate – I don’t measure. ** We have also made this with tenderloin and chicken pieces.
Chicken of the Wood Chips- For a REALLY easy, GOOD snack, saute the torn up chicken in a small amount of olive oil, for 10 minutes or so. You want them to be kind of a dry crisp texture. Sprinkle with shallot salt. DO NOT eat too many! These are addictive, but they may make you intestines rather uncomfortable, because there is A LOT of fiber!
August 1 – We’ve been out of town, for about a week. We were in North Carolina, visiting a dear friend who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer. You want to talk about a silent killer?!? There is not standard battery of tests that will find this cancer – most women don’t even know they have it until it’s too late to do more that simply extend their “good” days a few months! (And send lots of prayers/energy/thoughts, etc.)
While we were there, we had an opportunity to eat out, several times (go figure…) I thought I’d share a few highlights (and lo-lights.)
– On Wednesday night, after visiting with R and her wonderful family, we went to Applebee’s, with some old friends. I usually stay with what’s safe – a burger and fries…. This evening, however, I was feeling somewhat adventurous and I chose the CRISPY ORANGE CHICKEN. Very good. I would recommend it to anyone who likes chicken. Breaded chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, red peppers, and carrots, with a sweet orange sauce, over rice pilaf. Yum! And spending time with old friends… nothing can be better.
– Friday for lunch, we ate at the Olde Hickory Tap Room, once again with old friends. The restaurant was pleasant. The food was really good. When I sat down, I was nervous about the chair, which seemed a little rickety. Sure enough, it broke on me. Since I’ve been through hip surgery, twice in the past 2 years, this was a “recipe for unpleasantness” (to quote Cpt. Malcolm Reynolds),,, But a controlled fall and much embarrassment ensued and I discovered that I CAN get up off the floor on my own! … But it was the food I wanted to talk about. I ordered a 6″ pizza with pesto, roasted chicken breast, and Gruyere cheese. It was fantastic! The crust had a terrific taste, the pesto was perfect, and the combination ROCKED! The deserts were great. I had some CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD PUDDING which was really good and rich (and which I left a lot of for someone else…) Once again, the company of good friends made this a really enjoyable meal.
– Saturday, on the way home, we went up the Blue Ridge Parkway for a short distance. Pat found many wonderful mushrooms and took some great pictures. I DROVE for the first time in over a year (reference – broken hip surgeries…)! We stopped at the Pisgah Inn for a bite. It was POURING rain, but the restaurant was a wonderful as ever – we used to stop here while camping in the area, when we lived in Charlotte. Pat ordered their FRENCH SILK. I am SO happy we have a picture of this beautiful desert. Not only was it BEAUTIFUL, it was incredibly rich and good. If you’re ever on the Parkway, this is a place to stop.
– Finally, the “lo-light” of the trip – there is a BBQ restaurant, near Clarksville, TN. The BBQ is pretty good. I had a baked potato which was HUGE (a good thing, as it turned out…) and very well cooked. Pat ordered the standard sides – vinegar based cole slaw and potato salad. When the plates arrived, the cole slaw and potato salad were served in small plastic containers – less than 2 TBSP each. We were assured that they were the standard sized sides. Pat didn’t even try them. He said, “What if I LIKE them?” He ate half of my baked potato, instead. We were flabbergasted at the size of these items. Not sure what their thinking was….
So, we’re back home again. Thank you all for the wonderful visit. R – we are praying for you and keeping you close in our hearts. And, if you ever get to Pisgah Inn, TRY the FRENCH SILK. If you like chocolate, you won’t regret it….
July 19 –
There ARE things I like to do, besides beads. One of them is cooking. So you will, occasionally, see something about cooking on my blog. Here’s installment one – about something really yummy that my sweety, Pat, cooked up.
CHICKEN KARMA (Chicken Korma Reincarnated)
Based on: Harjit Bhatti’s Chicken Korma
Marinade:
8 oz chicken broth
6oz Vanilla Yogurt
2 tsp Sweet Curry
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Penzey’s Tandoori Seasoning
½ tsp chili powder
½ pkg Crystal Light Citrus Flavored Drink Mix
¼ tsp Penzey’s Smoked Spanish Paprika
3 cups chopped sulfur shelf (Chicken of the Wood) Mushroom
2 TBSP vegetable Oil
½ large onion
1 large tomato, chopped (or 14 oz canned tomato)
2 bay leaves
If mushroom is somewhat dry, soak in chicken broth (or other liquid, if you’re vegetarian) for half an hour or so. Drain most of the broth off, before adding mushrooms to the marinade.
Mix marinade. Add sulfur shelf mushrooms, coat, cover, and let stand at room temp for ½ hour (we put it in refrigerator overnight.)
Warm oil in skillet or wok. Cook onion until brown. Add tomato and bay leaves. Cook 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and marinade, mix well. Cover ans simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked. Remove bay leaves. Serve over hot rice.
Now, let me tell you why this is “reincarnated”. ..
First of all, Pat is calling 2010 “The Year of the Chicken”. (For those of you who don’t know, Pat goes mushroom hunting about 10 months out of the year – and, when he’s not hunting, he’s planning hunting trips. A Chicken of the Wood is a beautiful shelf mushroom, which has the texture, look, and taste of chicken breast meat)
A “Chicken” in it’s preferred environment.
The “chicken” we used for this Korma was about a week out of the woods, so it was just a little dry – hence the soaking in chicken broth. Pat had wanted to make this Korma all week, but we hadn’t looked at the recipe. Thus, when he started making the marinade, we were short some ingredients, primarily plain yogurt and lemon juice, necessitating the vanilla yogurt and the citrus drink mix….
Finished Korma.
The end product was really quite good (which is why I’m writing about it.) It was quite mild (the original was pretty warm…) and sweeter than the original. But the ginger and garlic and curry came into their own and the mushroom was as moist and flavorful as you could wish for.
So, a reminder… a recipe can be just a “jumping off place” – use the original as a place to begin and let your imagination take wings. (Alright- time to stop mixing my metaphors…)
Looks yummy. I’ll bet the vanilla added a note of interest to the sweet spices.
I’ve never had Chicken of the wood mushrooms before. Will have to try them sometime.
They are really terrific, as long as you get them fresh. As they get older, they get woody and/or fly-blown (ick)
Time to check out my Chicken spot. Maybe I can do that today. Love the new picture I found when I got home from my trip. Hope to get it framed and hung soon. I have spent the past hour looking at your blog. Very good.
I’m so glad you checked it out. Hope you’ll come back. Love you!