What's in a name?

Columbia Creations came about when I was probably 9 or 10 years old. At least, the intrigue began then, even if I had no idea how the information mattered to me.

Two words columbia/colombia.

On Saturdays, my family would load up and go to the local Red Barn Restaurant for lunch or maybe Burger Chef. Then we made our weekly stock up on groceries at a store called Miracle Mart. Now, on our way we would always pass a sign that I found to be beautiful. For years, I couldn't read the words. I never thought to ask someone in the car to tell me what words were on the sign. Just a pretty font I guess.

Around the same time, an older cousin of mine became a student in the foreign exchange program. She was the older cousin that you always wanted to impress. Just as luck would have it, our Social Studies class in my little elementary school, began studying this foreign world. My world did not expose me to different cultures. I read about the food of that land and customs with great excitement because, my cousin was there.

In those impressionable years, I also had an aunt who grew strawberries. A huge patch of "pick your own" berries. How could a young girl help but enjoy visiting a place like that?

So, the three scenarios that I just laid out before you, have one word in common. Different spellings but, to a kid...well they sound the same.

• Saturday grocery shopping/family lunch we drove past a Columbia Gas sign
• My respected cousin was living in Bogota Colombia (such exotic sounding words to a kid living in podunk during the 70's.)
• The delicious strawberries grew at my Aunt's house on Columbia Road.

Oh yeah, and then there was that Juan Valdez fella with his Colombian coffee beans. A commercial that aired every morning around Captain Kangaroo time.

Anyhow, two spellings one word.

I garden and post quite a bit about growing stuff. I chose the spelling columbia so as to not confuse people. No "cash crop" growing here.

Gardening and food played a role in each of these childhood situations. And with each situation there was the word columbia/colombia involved.

I'm thankful for the naivety I had as a child. I still try to carry a little bit of it with me today. I am not competitive at all and don't try to out garden, out cook, or out write another person's blog. I just cruise along at my own speed popping in from time to time to keep you updated on my world of Columbia Creations.

Cream Puff Pastry

Pate a` Chou

 or

 Cream Puff Pastry 

1/2 cup butter

1 cup water

1 cup sifted flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Lightly grease bake sheets
• Sift together flour and salt, set aside.
• Put the butter and water in a medium saucepan. Bring this to a boil.
• Turn heat to low, and add the flour mixture all at one time.
• Stir the mixture until a ball forms in the middle of the pan.
• Remove from heat.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well with a mixer after each addition.
• Shape dough free hand or use a pastry bag
• Bake until golden brown and there are no signs of moisture
• Stick each end with a sharp knife to let the steam escape
• Turn off the oven
• Leave pastries in the oven to dry out inside.

10 minutes for smaller shapes

15 to 20 minutes for larger shapes

The chocolate buttercream on top was the highlight for me. I made a custard filling, and a whipped cream filling.

 I think this particular recipe would be better with a savory filling. Next time around I plan to use either a crab based filling or maybe chicken salad. I am on the search for a sweeter version of this recipe.

All in all this is a fun recipe and holds tons of possibilities.

Recipe originally came from The Fine Art Of Baking by Paula Peck.

On a totally different note, this neck of the woods (aka Columbia Creations) is covered in ice. I have been saving my reading of the Lee Bros cookbook, waiting until I could curl up and take it all in. Tonight might work. It took an ice storm to slow my world down long enough to indulge in carefree reading. What the hell!

Why the name Columbia Creations you asked??

It all goes back to my childhood. Learning to read, and family influences.

 More on that another time. The Lee Bros. and I have a date tonight!



Warm Spinach Salad



Warm Spinach Salad

I drew inspiration once again from Wolfgang Puck's cookbook How To Eat. This salad isn't out of this world. Could the omission of goat cheese have made all of the difference? Goat cheese isn't something that my home kitchen readily has on hand. So, I substituted brick cheese. The basic idea of the recipe goes something like this. My adaptation.


Fry bacon
(hey fry the whole pound, bag it, put it in the fridge for your next recipe)
Remove almost all of the bacon fat from the frying pan. To which you will add onion slices. Cook the onion until caramalized, add garlic, sundried tomatoes, balsamic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Using the vinegar to deglaze the pan before the addition of the oil. Cook just to heat.

Pile the spinach on your serving platter. Sprinkle with cheese crumbles and bacon. Remove the onions from the pan and place ever so pretty on the salad. Drizzle the warm dressing over the platter of salad.

Also, I took Chef Puck up on his suggestion to add hard boiled eggs.
Maybe I am just disgruntled because my home kitchen did not reveal a masterpiece of Chef Puck's French Bread recipe.

This recipe was just okay.

What I consider to be highlights of the cookbook are

Great photography ( the work of Ron Manville)
Nice suggestions on each page entitled Wolfgang's Easy Tips
Quick, easy, thumb through reading
I will say this though, for a regular retail price of $34.99, I did not find anything outstanding. I only paid $6.99 so I guess I got my monies worth.

The book will sit on my shelf, and eventually another recipe will be tried. For now, Nigella awaits.

Sedum

In a warm crevice grows a succulent Sedum Tetractinum. The herb bed closest to the house is surrounded by lovely old sandstone, to which this sedum thrives. The combination of the rock and the plant life makes this corner of my world happier. 



Early Spring

Midsummer

Chicken with Red Onion Marmalade Pan Sauce

Bacon fat. Two wonderful words. One marvelous ingredient.
The headliner at dinner this evening was the protein.

 Chicken with Red Onion Marmalade Pan Sauce

August of 2010 our garden provided a nice supply of red onions. I love to experiment with methods of preserving the garden treasures. This experimental approach lead me to the Red Onion Marmalade. The marmalade in itself was a stunning product. Add a smidge of bacon fat, and a nice juicy chicken breast and you have one comforting January meal. 

Click here for the Red Onion Marmalade Recipe.

For the sake of display, I removed the marmalade from the jar,  placed it into a zipper bag, and snapped a photograph. I think this is such a unique delicious treat.

A Club aluminum frying pan rocks. Although you can not see the color, this particular fry pan is turquoise and I love how it cooks.

Dab of bacon fat!

Fry the Chickey Dee.

Remove the Chickey Dee.

Simply stir in the Red Onion Marmalade to the hot pan and loosen all of those delicious bits! Cook for a few seconds and you have made one heck of a good sauce.

Bubbly goodness!

This pan sauce was all I had hoped it would be.

So go ahead, buy some red onions and can up some Red Onion Marmalade.

I plan to find a few more uses for this scarlet gem.

The future of farming.

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."  Thomas Jefferson

Over the holidays, it seemed to me as if there were an unusually large number of food recalls. In an effort to reduce the recalls the government has a plan. My ears have heard stories of tougher regulations to be placed on farmers.  Regulations that are set forth by government agencies.

Sometimes it takes me awhile to wrap my brain around current events and form  an opinion.

On this subject matter, I am more concerned about government sticking it's nose deeper into my world, than I am the possibility of getting bad food.

(now watch me end up with some crazy food born illness just cause I had to go and open my mouth)

I trust my local farmers markets. Our vegetables, and some fruits, are grown right here, outside our back door. The local markets, who grow right outside their back doors, offer a nice alternative to anyone who doesn't garden. This works fine. Do I want some agency strolling in and messing with it? No, I do not.

Please people, Shop Locally, Buy your goods from the small independent market places.
Now, here in Northeast Ohio, we do not have pineapple farmers. For this, I trust the market.
I would still rather take my chances with the food, than allowing some huge government document micro manage everything.

What has sparked this rant? Time spent in Williamsburg,Va. ignited me. It took me to a place of patriotism. Listening to Thomas Jefferson speak ( as portrayed by Bill Barker) made me thankful for these noble farmers of the past. This in turn, renews my passion to support the small, local people and their rights to farm.

Bill Barker and his tremendous gift of portraying Thomas Jefferson inspired me!
This inspiration is not one of politics neccessarily. I am inspired to protect our food sources and appreciate the farmer who lives next door.

Oh, how great it would be if you could be inspired as well! Too bad I don't have video of Bill Barkers performance to post for you.

My photo of Bill Barker as President Thomas Jefferson.

Just go out tomorrow and buy some fresh produce from a local farmer and my job here will be done!!

Baked Eggs

Baked eggs, bacon, and conserves sounded like the perfect dinner to me. Mister is, a bright eyed and bushy tail type of fella, in the morning. I'm a.... get out of my way and let me drink my coffee type of gal. On occasion, I will cook a nice breakfast, at breakfast time. Brunch is cool. Breakfast for dinner is even better.

 I removed the toast cup and egg from the ramekin. Or, serve them right in the ramekin, that's your call.

Easy.

Ordinary Baked Eggs

preheat oven to 350 derees

One slice of bread (I used whole wheat)

Roll the bread thin with a rolling pin

and butter one side

Place the slice of bread in the ramekin, butter side out.

Bake for 5 minutes and remove from oven to add remaining ingredients.

Drop a dab of butter into the newly formed toast cup, and break one egg into the toast cup. Season well with salt and pepper. Top with cheese of your choice and bake until desired doneness.

I like hard cooked, so mine baked for about 15 minutes. Experiment with the time until you have your idea of a perfectly cooked egg.

It seems to me that this dish will be played around with.

Mister likes hot sauce on eggs.

Umm. a little pesto drizzled over.

For tonight, I hauled out the Fruit and Walnut Conserve that were canned

 last August.

Marvelous!!
L.O.V.E. this combo of sweet fruits and nuts. The orange portions with the peel  intact, is out of this world. Mister found it to be a bit much for him, he does however have a taste for basic flavor components.

My taste buds relished the salty bacon, peppery eggs, and sweet, sticky fruits. A little dab of each all scooped up into one delicious bite. Bite after bite that is!

The jar is still half full of conserves, maybe a nice topping for pork chops. One day when we have dinner food for dinner.

  

Presidential Gardens

Tucked away, two centuries ago, I discovered more than a history lesson. There I found the title and subject of this post.


In 2010, I photographed garden sites belonging to 3 U.S. Presidents.
Spring of that year, shortly after Cherry Blossom season, I took these photographs. The Obama garden has an active bee hive which, makes me wonder if I could ever be brave enough to handle bees for the benefit of my garden. My guess is, no.
My camera is nothing spectacular. I do not claim to be a grand photographer. The thrill for me is more than just the photograph, the recording of history in my own vision is far more satisfying.

Oh, I long to stroll out among my garden and have it so mature and eloquently plotted. The Mount Vernon gardens of George Washington just have a way of stopping a person in their tracks and insisting they take notice.

Thomas Jefferson, the architect, gardener, reader, and writer is a fascinating person. The day I visited his garden at Monticello, the crops were humble, simple, and just thawing after a deep snow of December. I took photographs wearing heals, slipping through the mud and wishing I had the day to stay there for hours. What was I thinking in my shoe choice that day? Never-the-less this is what my eye saw that day.

My own garden in 2010 rewarded me the most with sweet potatoes, strawberries, purple carrots.
Curious, what will our 2011 garden reincarnate into?

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have used the same Toll House Cookie recipe forever. Until now, with the discovery of this recipe. Make this recipe in double batches, or as I did last time, triple the recipe and freeze cookie dough balls. The result was fabulous and anytime we wanted a few cookies, a trip to the freezer to load-up the cookie sheet was all I needed to do. 

This truly is the perfect

Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions.  Preheat oven 325°.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.  With electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined.  Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add dry ingredients and beat at low-speed just until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

 Drop dough by approximately 1/4 cup size balls onto cookie sheets, spacing 3" apart. Bake, reversing the position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 11-14 minutes).  Do not overbake.
 Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking. 
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

credit for this recipe goes out to http://www.annies-eats.com/
with the exception of a few wordage changes.

September 11th

Initially, when the events of September 11th 2001 unfolded, I found myself glued to the television. Almost as if watching some surreal bizarre thing like the O.J. Simpson trial. I wouldn't really call it being entertained, because that would lump me into the same pile with all of the media circus that I grew to resent after the tragedy of that day. It was more like, confused and left in utter despair of what was becoming of our nation.

I quickly chose not to listen, watch, or engage in conversation about "the events" of that day. It seemed cheap and sleezy to watch the hype unfold. Ohhh boy...I'm certain to get some flack about this following paragraph.

From September 11th to the subject of Christianity, everything has to become commercialized. I call it the "Ronald McDonald" mentality. If my loved one died on September 11th or if I were Jesus, I am pretty sure it would piss me off to see the merchandising cashing in on my tragedy! 

As the days unfolded, within weeks of the tragedy. I gave birth to my 4th child. I chose to celebrate life. In the years to follow, every September 11th I have refused to slide into the horror. As my last child is about to turn 9 years old, I thought maybe it was time to examine that day a little closer and make sense of it somehow.

It's big business!! Maybe it is easier for our country to purchase the tacky merchandise, buy into the corny songs written, and buy the bumper stickers, than it is to simply mourn and accept.

I mean it's sort of like how we will feed our kids cheeseburgers sold by some creepy looking clown (even though we know it's unhealthy) just because of the iconic nature of it.

Do we have to reduce everything down to an icon?