A Birthday Celebration

YOU AND I

Only one I in the whole wide world

And millions and millions of you,

But every you is an I to itself

And I am a you to you, too!

But if I am a you and you are an I

And the opposite also is true,

It makes us both the same somehow

Yet splits us each in two.

It's more and more mysterious,

The more I think it through:

Every you everywhere in the world is an I;

Every I in the world is a you!

posted September 2002
from My Song is beautiful
Mary Ann Hoberman

Mary Ann Hoberman

August 12, 1930

Mary Ann is a poet and an author of over 40 books for children. In 2008 she was named The Children's Poet Laureate. She is a master of meter and rhyme. Her poetry speaks of the subject of a young child's world and fancy.  Ms. Hoberman's first novel for middle grade readers Strawberry Hill was published in 2009. One hundred of her favorite poems are collected in the book The Llama Who Had No Pajamas.

Follow this link to Amazon to a more complete list of her book titles
 http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Ann-Hoberman/e/B000AQ3X6M

Happy Birthday !

In honor of Ms. Hoberman's birthday I thought you would enjoy adding another easy summer salad recipe to your collection.

Tomato Caprese Salad

Cook's notes: Insalata Caprese is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania (Capri). It is traditionally made with vine ripe tomatoes, fresh mozzarella slices, basil and seasoned with salt and a little olive oil. The following recipe comes from a friend with a little different take on the traditional recipe.

Ingredients:

• tomato slices
• mozzarella or provolone cheese
• spinach leaves
• prepared vidala onion and poppyseed dressing
• grated Parmesan cheese  
• optional red onion slices

Directions:

• starting at one end of serving plate alternate pieces of torn spinach leaves, 1/2 cheese slice and tomato (large slice cut in half or use a small slice)
• grate Parmesan cheese over entire plate and drizzle with dressing 

Serving Suggestion: Individual salad plates can be made following same procedure as shown in the picture alternating spinach leaves, cheese and tomato

Grapeseed Oil

Grapes are known for their nutritive properties. They are a healthy item and are also a great addition to many recipes. But I was recently enlightened about their medicinal and cosmetic uses with a recent gift of grape seed oil.

Grape seed oil has a sweet and nutty flavor. It is a light and colorless oil extracted from the seeds of different grape varieties. Italy is the main producer of grape seed oil. The oil has diverse uses ranging from cooking, cosmetics and in controlling several diseases. This is one mighty bottle :)

Since it is a type of vegetable oil it can be used in making salad dressings, marinades, sauces, baking and frying. Grape seed oil has a moderately high smoke point 216 c and is suited for high temperature cooking. 

After reading more about grape seed usage I found that the oil for cooking (such as bottle pictured) is different than oil used for cosmetic and medicinal uses . Now that was a huge disappointment to read because I figured I'd just slather it on my skin and it would be a great anti-aging product!! Especially when I read the part it has rejuvenating and regenerating qualities.

The medicinal list of usage was simply dazzling and a real eye opener for me. The oil extracts  can improve vision, blood circulation, flexibility of joints, lowering cholesterol, it is rich in vitamins, used in treatment of some cancers and certain diseases and reduce symptoms associated with allergies and asthma.

In the the cosmetic industry it is important for its emollient properties. It can be used in hair care products, creams and lotions,shaving products and for sunburn repairs.

Well the list just goes on and on and to think until last week I had never heard of grape seed oil. Which leads me to the recipe cards in photo. My friend who generously gave me the gift included some of her favorite dressing recipes using grape seed oil. So I made a salad and drizzled on yummy citrus dressing. Just eating it made me feel healthy after reading all the benefits of cooking and using grape seed oil.:) 

   Blueberry and Cantaloupe Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• torn spinach leaves 
• cantaloupe cubes
• cucumber slices
• blueberries
• toasted almonds
• red onion slices
• chopped fresh basil

Dressing Ingredients:

in a blender add the following and mix well

season with salt and pepper

• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. grated lime zest
• 1 tsp. grated orange zest
• 1TB. minced shallots
• 1 TB. honey
• 1/2 cup grape seed oil

The World According to Bella

Home Alone #3  August 2012

I have never seen the movies Home Alone 1 and 2 but here is my take on 3
This week the unthinkable happened. I was left home alone, unsupervised and   left out side for almost 5 hours. Yep, you read that correctly. My heart still races thinking about being left behind. Mr.C thinks it was my own fault all this happened. He says I was disobedient. Mrs. S was some 180 miles away and could not come to my rescue. Did he not think what could happen leaving me by myself? A bear could attack, bolts of lightning, thunder, rain, bats, hunger pains, scary noises, darkness and lots of loneliness. Where did he need to go? I miss Mrs. S. She would have never allowed this to happen had she been home. 
Here's how all this misery started. I got a real early dinner and went back outside to play. When Mr. C called me to come in I thought it was a game and ran around the house. The more times he called me I just went farther into the woods. I like being outside. Why would I go in. I did not need an AC fix that day and already had my dinner. After awhile I guess Mr. C got tired of calling and waiting and he just left. Imagine that he had somewhere to go that important he couldn't wait around for me to come back!!! Maybe I was a bit naughty not coming when called but really not so bad you would leave me outside all alone for so long. 
After awhile when I got tired of playing and went to the door looking for Mr. C. I barked to be let in. I scratched at the door. Nothing. I went to another door. I barked to be let in. I scratched the door. Nothing. Then I started to worry. No one was around. The car was not in the driveway. It was quiet and it was then I realized I was home alone. 
I was scared and not having one bit of fun. I laid on my rug on the porch and waited patiently. It started to get dark and dark and then really dark. There were no lights. Time seemed to go so slow. Finally I saw some headlights in the driveway. I had been saved. Lucky me, Mr. C returned. I was so relived and happy to see him. I was worried I'd spend the night outside all alone. I was not forgotten! Maybe next time Mr. C calls my name I should not run away and come. I do not want this ever to happen again being left home alone.     
Love, Bella  

Lemon Cake Bites

"Life is filled with so many exciting twists and turns. Hop
off the straight and narrow whenever you can and take the
winding paths. Experience the exhilaration of the view from
the edge. Because the moments spent there, that take your
breath away, are what make you feel truly alive."
 Stacey Charter 

Lemon Cake Bites

recipe adapted from www.cuisineathome.com June 2005

Love lemon, coconut and need an easy dessert recipe? Then this may be just one you can use. I have a short version and long version.

Short version-makes 4

Ingredients:

• prepackaged sponge cakes
• 1 jar of lemon curd (near the jellies in grocery store)
• raspberries
• toasted coconut
• 1 pint whip cream
• lemon zest

Directions:

• toast coconut
• 1 cup heavy cream whipped to soft peaks
• beat in 1/2 cup lemon curd 
• on the sponge cake place whip cream mixture  
• grate lemon zest over cream mixture 
• place one raspberry in center of cream mixture
• sprinkle with toasted coconut

Long version which is a homemade cake

Cook's note: The following almond pound cake recipe below was posted in July. I found the consistency is more like a sponge cake than a pound cake. The batter worked well for lemon cake bites recipe.
This photo shows the cake batter as it was just put into the oven.

• make the cake mixture as directed below
• place  one large sheet of parchment paper over a jelly roll pan
• grease with Pam the parchment paper
• pour batter mixture over parchment paper
• bake @ 350 check at 20-30 minutes or bake till center is cooked
• remove from oven and cool 5 minutes
• invert the whole cake onto another cookie sheet and remove parchment paper
• cool 30 minutes
• with a small juice glass cut out cake circles unless you happen to have a round biscuit cookie cutter
• complete the recipe following the short version directions for whip cream mixture, adding coconut and raspberry

Almond Pound Cake with Limoncello

Cook's notes: The original recipe called for a whole can of almond paste which was way too much in flavor for the ingredients listed below.  Almond paste can be pricey so by using 1/2 can and putting rest in ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator there is enough to use for another time. It is a good addition to almond bread. 

Adding  flour to almond paste in Cuisinart helps keep the almond paste from sticking to blades.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup olive oil (extra light)
• 5 TB. butter at room temperature
• 1/2 can almond paste+ 1 TB. flour
• 4TB. lemon zest
• 4 large eggs 
• 1/3 cup limoncello or 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325and grease a 9 inch springform pan
• In a Cuisinart crumble 1/2 can almond paste and 1 TB. flour
• In a mixing bowl beat sugar, oil, and butter till fluffy-then add in eggs one at a time
• Beat in zest and crumbled almond paste
• In a small bowl add flour, salt, and baking powder
• Stir flour mixture into egg mixture to blend
• Check cake at 40 minutes to see if toothpick comes out of center clean
• Place cake on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes
• Poke multiple holes in cake using  long wooden skewer
• In small bowl whisk together limoncello or lemon juice and powdered sugar
• Carefully spoon lemon mixture over cake to soak into holes-there will be extra juice left 
• Cool completely 

Black Skillet Magic

Who would have guessed that there exists a song  called Falling Inside The Black by Skillet :) If you want to hear the video of this Christian rock band their video is on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnHpeF1RPgI
As I was looking on the Internet on how to "season" my recent black cast iron skillet I came across this song.
Remember the heavy black skillet your grandma may have used to fry chicken with or bake a fruit cobbler in? These pans are making a resurgence in popularity even though cast iron pans have been around for some 2,500 years. They became popular in the US during the 18th century. By the time the 60's and 70's rolled around they lost their popularity due to introduction of Teflon coated and non-stick cookware into the sales market.
Since the pan I purchased is old and rather battered looking (came from an antique store) I needed to season it. On the Internet I did find a variety of opinions on how to go about this process. Also found out that it is not recommended if you have a glass top stove to cook with a cast iron skillet. So to be on the safe side I will stick to recipes that require oven baking. My stove is new.
So for my first attempt using this skillet a Peach Upside Down Cake seemed like a safe, easy choice. The best part of this recipe is when it was done I flipped the cake over on a plate and like magic it came out in a whole piece just the recipe picture:) Second best part it tasted great.

   Peach Upside Down Cake

adapted from a Southern Living recipe from myrecipes.com

Cook's notes: To remove skins easily from peaches place them in boiling water for 50 seconds-drain into  a colander with ice cubes-use fingers to peel off skin 

Make sure skillet is seasoned well in advance (use 2 TB. vegetable oil with paper towel and work oil into pan and on sides) bake in oven 1 hour @ 350

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cake flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup sugar (divided) 
• 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/4 cup butter (used in brown sugar sauce)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 peaches peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 TB. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• sliced almonds

Directions:

• In a small bowl place flour, baking powder, baking soda-whisk together and set aside
• Cube peaches place in a colander and sprinkle with 2 TB. peach schnapps-set aside
• In a mixing bowl add 1/4 cup margarine and 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla
• Beat until creamy and add eggs in one at a time beat until well combined
• Add in sour cream and beat only till mixed in  
• Add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture and beat until all combined-avoid over beating
• In a saucepan cook 1/2 cup sugar at a medium heat till sugar is melted and turn dark amber in color-quickly stir in 1/4 cup butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar-blend till smooth (may need to turn heat down)
• Place brown sugar mixture in bottom of skillet make sure it is evenly distributed
• Place peaches on top 
• Place cake batter on top of peaches and spread evenly-sprinkle with almonds
• Bake 35-40 minutes-use a long wooden skewer to check cake 
• Set skillet on wire rack to cool for 15 minutes-loosen edges with a knife
• Invert onto a plate

Serving suggestion-add ice cream or whip cream

Bon Appetit!

  

The World According to Bella

Here I am enjoying the good life on Padre Island beach in Texas. No, I have not left the lake in Minnesota yet but I am still dreaming about my last winter beach get away to Texas. Oh,how I miss all those cool sea breezes and the seafood buffet on the beach. Follow this link to read my third article for WWN in Rockport,Texas called Heat Wave  

http://www.wwnrockport.com/search/label/Stories%20and%20Memories#.UB3Puk2PXVQ

Follow Up

Wednesday I posted a blog that featured an article from the Star Tribune about Minnesota poet Todd Boss. He had crossed the 35W bridge 20 minutes before it collapsed. This experience inspired him to start a series of 35 poems, each 35 lines long as a commemoration for the fifth anniversary of the bridge collapse. The title of his poems were called Fragments for the 35 W Bridge. At the end of the article the Star Tribune invited readers to write their own fragments about the 35 W bridge. Eight poems were published in the early Sunday paper edition of the Star Tribune August 5, 2012. 
The poem submissions were impressive. Audrey Kletscher Helbling's poem caught my attention since I follow her blog. In fact there is a link at header of my blog titled:
mnprairieroots.wordpress.com to it.
This is her poem


Quotes From a Survivor 
He could not conquer the bridge.
But he would climb above the pain and uncertainty.
Garrett's words still stick with me:
"It's the top of the mountain that puts us closest to heaven."
by Audrey Kletscher Helbling, Faribault, MN


go to her linkhttp://mnprairieroots.wordpress.com/
to read her recent posting about Garrett Ebling, a survivor of the 35 W bridge collapse, who was the  inspiration for her published poem.


Body of Water
An egret flies
across the river
with a fluid,
rhythmic
sweep of wings.


it's something
much less
than comfort-
a mere
feather-weight
of easing-


to see
one creature
lovely
and unassailable,
passing easily
over water.
by Kirsten Dierking, Arden Hills, MN 

____________________________________________

Blackberry Bourbon Sauced Salmon Fillets

Cook's notes: This is a healthy dinner or lunch served with fresh fruit or a salad.

Cabin cooking can present its challenges when I want to try a recipe and do not have all the ingredients on hand. Closest small grocery store 9 miles away. So I had to skip putting actual blackberries in the sauce and work with what I had on hand.

This is enough sauce for one large salmon fillet for 2 people. Double if serving more than 2  

Ingredients:

• 2 TB. brown sugar
• 2-3 TB. bourbon
• 2 TB. low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. dried ginger
• 1 large heaping TB. Blackberry Preserves
• 1 TB. fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp garlic (from a jar)
• 1/2  pint blackberries
• salmon fillet
• freshly ground pepper

Directions:

• Grill salmon on foil adding on top of fillets:3 lemon slices, 1 TB. parsley flakes, fresh basil, and a few onion slices

• While salmon is cooking on the stove in a small saucepan (low heat) add rest of ingredients whisk, and bring to a slow boil, stirring often
• Remove from heat when starts to boil
• Add blackberries in at end

Serving:

Place cooked salmon fillets on a plate and drizzle with  Blackberry Sauce over top