Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

Life with three kids gets interesting.    Someone, probably someone with the same last name, left the freezer open a little bit ... enough that the ice bucket had chilled water and most of the food thawed.     Including a whole quart of New Jersey blueberries frozen for a winter pie.   I also had three ready-for-baking overripe bananas.  So I decided the only course of action (besides tossing thawed meat and cleaning the freezer) was to make muffins - a LOT of muffins: Melt (or better yet brown !) a two sticks of butter.    Stir in three mushed overripe bananas.  Cool a little bit then stir in 1 1/2 cups of milk and a cup of sour cream, then 5 eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla and if you have it on hand a dash of orange oil .     Then add one cup of brown sugar and one cup of white sugar.  In a separate bowl measure 7 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 Tablespoons of Baking powder (YES TABLES...

We took an interesting documentary DVD out from the library this week - "Food Stamped" - it was written / directed / edited by a couple named Shira and Yoav Potash.    Shira Potash is a nutritionist, employed directly or indirectly by the food stamp program to teach kids in the public schools about healthy nutrition.     In the documentary this young couple sets out to live for a week, in terms of groceries, on the $50 which is a higher-than-average allotment for a two adult household.    She did this following the example of a few congressmen and congresswomen who also followed the same challenge for a week. Points on which I agree with Mrs. Potash's theories: 1)  We have an obesity problem AND a malnutrition problem in this country, especially among the poor. 2) Access to healthy food is difficult for the poorest citizens of our country, especially those without cars in urban environments wi...

A quick dessert from ingredients on hand - and a VERY flexible recipe to boot. Any combination of berries (actually almost any soft fruit) will mix well. Just adjust the sugar added to the tartness of the fruit. Berries, from your freezer. I used blueberries: Cranberries, and some mixed berries - about 8 cups in total: I added about a cup and a half of sugar (less if it hadn't included all those tart cranberries) and a splash of vanilla: Meanwhile in another part of the kitchen: Butter was melted: Leftover, stale storebought cookies were tried and sentenced to execution by spatula: Then mixed with about three cups of oats and the butter. (I didn't sweeten because of the cookies. If you're using all oats, add a bit of brown sugar) Pour the berries into a 13 x 9 pan, followed by the topping. Bake at 375, 35-45 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

5 large granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chunked 1/2 pound baby carrots (or 1/2 pound regular carrots, peeled and chunked) 3 Tablespoons butter nutmeg allspice ginger salt Put the carrots in the microwave for about four minutes to speed up the whole process. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the apples, stirring frequently. Add the now softer carrots. sprinkle with salt (1/2 teaspoon?). Grate some fresh nutmeg over the mixture. Sprinkle on some ground allspice and ginger (1/2 teaspoon of each, perhaps). stir, taste, and add more salt if necessary. (Remember - raw produce has no salt to start, and food tastes funny without salt). You don't need to add any sugar - this doesn't end up being a sweet dish, but cooking the carrots and apples highlights their natural sweetness. This was a WONDERFUL sidekick to grilled pork chops with bbq sauce! I will post a picture once I find the little USB connector cable ... moving is such fun.

I love to cook breakfast food. Even more I love to eat breakfast food. But given that I work a regular 8-5 type job, weekday breakfasts tend to be a high-fiber english muffin or something equally mundane. But every once in a while I have a Saturday morning free (or get up early enough on Sunday) to cook something a bit more rewarding: 1-2 slices of quality bread per person (by quality I simply mean something that will not fall apart easily. Mine was honey whole wheat pulled from the freezer, and was from a bakery call Great Harvest Bread . Day old French bread or many regular grocery store breads would also work) 1 egg per person milk or cream nutmeg vanilla Carmelized Bananas : 1 banana per person butter brown sugar nuts (I used pecans) bacon For the french toast: Heat skillet to medium-high. Add butter or oil to pan. Beat eggs and milk, plus some nutmeg (preferably freshly ground) and some vanilla extract. Dip the bread in the egg mixture and place on skillet. When lightly browned on...

We're having a heat wave here in Philly. Sometimes a big meal just is NOT what you want when it is hot, especially if you are also packing and moving boxes, as we are this weekend. So this is just a little public service announcement, in case you too tend to forget about the wonder of fruit smoothies. Things I add (not all at the same time!) - strawberries - frozen strawberries - blueberries - frozen blueberries - banana - frozen banana - watermelon - canteloupe - honeydew - peaches - cherries other additions: - orange juice - plain yogurt or greek yogurt - vanilla yogurt - soy protein powder (not if I'm serving it the Southerner - it doesn't agree with him) - vanilla ice cream - ice my favorite combos to throw in the blender: Watermelon, blueberry, vanilla extract and soy protein powder for breakfast strawberry, a few ice cubes, vanilla ice cream (obviously this is a dessert) milk, banana Today's selection: two bananas, chopped and frozen for a few hours: about a cup ...

Yesterday I bought ten pounds of blueberries. WHY, you might ask would anyone want ten pounds of blueberries? Well because blueberries are the freshest and most economical in Pennsylvania in late June and early July. So I washed the berries, picked out the stems and the few little green ones (NO ONE wants to eat that bitter bite), and put them in three cup containers in my freezer. Once I filled all my little containers I still had about a cup and a half of berries left - breakfast!! A wonderful start to a Monday morning for the resident Southerner and I - just in a bowl with cantelope and raspberries. All winter I'll be able to make blueberry crisps (place blueberries in a casserole dish, cover with a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar and old fashioned oats. bake until hot and bubbly. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream); baked blueberry oatmeal, blueberry pancakes (or better yet REGULAR pancakes, layered with plain yogurt, with a lightly sweetened blueberry topping); and of...