Strawberry Jam

Every year when I was young, there was one day when I would come home from school and find my mom and grandma in our kitchen canning. I remember tomatoes mostly and a big mess! The one thing I don't ever remember is being asked to stay in the kitchen and watch. So that is probably why the thought of canning food for later use is completely overwhelming to me!

Instead, I make recipes like this one, but only make enough for us to eat across a week or two. Plus, this recipe only takes about 30 minutes instead of all day.

Strawberry Jam

4 cups mashed strawberries (about 3 pounds whole)

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Mash the strawberries in a food processor in small batches so that everything gets pureed. In a large sauce pan (I use a stock pot - it boils up much larger than you'd expect) mix the pureed strawberries, sugar and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture up to 220 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring often. Transfer mixture to a jar and store in the refrigerator.

Kay: It is really good. It is better than the store bought kind. I wish the strawberries we got this year didn't have so many rotten ones so that we could make more.

Mom (Dana): You'd think we'd get tired of it but since we only get it once a year, we enjoy every last drop!

Vegetable Pita with Pesto Hummus

Kay has been on summer break for a week now and we are starting to settle into the new schedule. Last week she went to a gymnastics camp each evening so that was a little hectic but she had a lot of fun. It was shocking how much she learned in just one week.

In the middle of our busy week, Kay had her palate spreader removed (she can now talk normal again) and her braces went on. So for a couple days she was back on a smooshy food diet. She is still having some pain but has done a pretty good job of dealing with it.

This sandwich is based on a recipe from a cooking magazine. I changed it quite a bit though based on what we like and what we had in the fridge. Kay had to disassemble hers in order to eat it but she said "This is actually pretty good". Shocking!

Vegetable Pita with Pesto Hummus

For spread:

2 garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups fresh basil

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup prepared hummus

In a small food processor, chop the garlic and basil. Add the oil and blend. Add the hummus and blend until smooth.

Pita filling:

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup chopped cucumbers

1 cup orange bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl.

To assemble:

Warm a pita in the oven for a couple minutes. Spread the inside with the spread. Fill with the salad. Eat.

Kay: I didn't think I would like this but it was really good. I went back for seconds.

Mom (Dana): This time I used a store bought hummus. I have a recipe for a really good hummus but I think the store bought blends a little better with the pesto for this recipe.

Meme

Javagirlkt has tagged us to do a meme and since it is hot, humid and the first day of summer break, this is about all we have the energy for! We'll both answer the questions.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Kay - I was 1 year old so I was probably sitting on the floor watching Barney!

Dana - I had a one year old and working full time so I was ripping my hair out! Actually I was working as an auditor with a different business than where I am now. Wait - I just remembered. I was completely fed up with that job and searching for a new one which I found in August. So I was just on the verge of my career taking off although at this point I had no idea! That's kind of exciting to think of now! We had also been in our house for about a year (yes, we had several life changing events all at the same time!) so we were starting what was to become the neverending renovations!

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
Kay - Watch tv, play on computer, play outside if it doesn't rain, go shopping, listen to music

Dana - Looking at Kay's list makes me wish adults got summer vacation too! I am shopping (obviously since Kay doesn't drive!), doing laundry, planting herbs, reading, and hopefully just sitting around!

Five snacks you enjoy?
Kay - Ice cream, oreos, nutella and peanut butter sandwiches, popcorn, biscotti.

Dana - dark chocolate, tofutti cuties, guacamole, salsa, cucumbers.

Five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
Kay - Buy a Wii and all games, get more pets, buy a big house, buy a water park, buy a limo.

Dana - Finish all our home improvement projects, go to the grocery store without a budget, go to Europe, seriously - I don't know! I'm way to practical for this question!!

Places you have lived:
Kay - In this house!

Dana - In two houses and one apartment all in this same town and then 2 dorms and one apartment in Bloomington, IN while at college. (I think I'm becoming more boring by the second!)

Jobs you have had:
Kay - feeding the cats, sorting laundry, watering plants, cleaning my bathroom and bedroom, mopping the kitchen.

Dana - Babysitting, selling knives, working at a bookstore, pharmacy tech, collections administrator, investment consulting assistant, and then all the levels from staff auditor on up to the top of the audit department.

Future jobs.....
Kay - Architect, interior designer, veterinarian, or a teacher.

Dana - Hopefully still auditing. I love it so much that I just hope the economy allows me to keep doing it. Please please please let my current company not get bought out!!!

To reverse this question, I'll post what I thought I wanted to do when I grew up: store lady (I thought cash registers were really cool!), lawyer, architect, accountant. I actually decided on accounting when I was 14 because like I've said over and over, I'm really boring!!

Now to tag people:

Ms Mac
Holler at Tinned Tomatoes
Melinda at Anything Said
Randy at Possum World
And Bill just to make him post on the blog he made us set up for him!!

Pot Stickers

Lately I have stumbled across several cooking shows that are vegetarian or vegan. It is so nice to be able to watch a show and not have to think about how recipes can be changed to exclude the meat! It's a luxury I've never enjoyed before. And to completely turn everything on its head, for once, the meat eaters can take this recipe and substitute to their tastes!

Kay's favorite item at our friend's Thai food restaurant is chicken pot stickers. She always gets a special "Kay-sized" order when she goes there. Even though this recipe calls for sausage, I thought it was worth a try. I couldn't help asking if these were as good as the others and she actually said they were better! What a compliment!!

If you are like me, the mention of folding individual items into special shapes sends you looking for something else to make. But I promise, these are not hard and it goes really fast. Kay was able to fold them herself so if you have kids hanging around, put them to work and it won't take you any time at all!

Pot Stickers

(from Delicious TV)

For the filling, crumble 6-8 thawed vegetarian breakfast sausage patties into a bowl (it must be the patties, not the links). Add 2-4 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 chopped green onions and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Mix it all together with your hands.

Place a very small amount of the mixture on a wonton skin. Dip your finger in water and moisten the edges of the wonton. Fold the wonton over diagonally, forming a triangle. Then fold the bottom two corners in to the middle so that it looks like an envelope with the flap up. (Does that make sense? That's the best way I can think of to describe it!)

Place 1 inch of peanut oil in a skillet and fry the pot stickers until they are brown on both sides (2-3 minutes). Remove from pan and place on paper towels or a paper grocery bag to drain.

Dipping sauce:

Whisk the following:

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons white rice vinegar

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons green onion, chopped or cilantro

Kay: These were really really good. I liked them a lot. The pot stickers at 5 Star are my absolute favorite thing but these were even better!!

Mom (Dana): I try to stay away from fried foods since they really don't sit well with me but these were worth the splurge. I just had to make sure not to eat the whole batch in one sitting!

New York Goodwich

This is one of the first vegetarian recipes that my mom found back when I first announced that I was becoming a vegetarian. It was a huge success from the beginning. My recipe says that it came out of Fit for Life, which I'm assuming is this book. The year is right and the cover looks vaguely familiar.

I always forget to make this for some reason probably because it takes more prep time than our other wraps. This time I found that if I took the time to get all the ingredients ready in advance, we could throw these together in just a few minutes during the next few days. That makes them perfect for soccer season when we are eating at crazy times and always rushing to get out the door.

I'm going to list the recipe as I have it written but I have to admit, I don't measure out my vegetables. I make whatever I have on hand and then we each put whatever proportion of ingredients looks good into each wrap. That means I go really heavy on the barbecued onions whereas Kay goes for extra pickles!

New York Goodwich

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped

carrot, red cabbage, zucchini, grated

1 tablespoon barbecue sauce

1/2 cup onion

mayonnaise

chopped lettuce

tortilla

dill pickle, thinly sliced

Steam the broccoli and cauliflower for 5-7 minutes

Combine the carrot, cabbage and zucchini in a bowl.

Saute the onion in oil until limp. Add the barbecue sauce.

To assemble the sandwich: Heat the tortilla in the microwave for 20 seconds to soften it. Spread with mayonnaise. Add broccoli, cauliflower and carrot mixture. Next add the onions and about 3 slices of pickle. Top with lettuce. Roll like a burrito (tucking in the ends) and cut in half.

Note: It is less messy if you roll it up into a piece of plastic wrap.

Kay: I thought these looked really strange so I asked my mom what was in them. She would only tell me one ingredient every time I took a bite. I ended up eating almost the whole thing before she was done. It tasted ok but I like a lot of other things better.

Mom (Dana): Yum!!

Snickerdoodle Cake by Kay

This is my dad's favorite cake. The night before he was looking for a snack but we didn't have anything. Everyday, he left at 7:30AM to go to work and on some days wouldn't come home until 9:00PM. He's really tried from work so I thought that I would made something special just for him. He really likes Snickerdoodle Cookies. I got the recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. She makes cakes that are easy to deal with by putting cake mixes in them..

Snickerdoodle Cake

1 package plain white cake mix

1 cup milk (we used vanilla soy)

8 tablespoons butter, melted

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9 inch round cake pans and dust them with flour.

Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer for one minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed.

Divide the batter between the pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

Bake the cakes until they are golden brown, about 27-29 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack. Allow them to cool completely, about 30 minutes more.

Frosting

8 tablespoons butter at room temperature

3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

3-4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the remaining ingredients. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Blend in additional milk if the frosting seems too thick.

Mom (Dana): Personally, I love chocolate anything but Bill is the real cake lover in this family and this is his absolute favorite. I'm not sure what he did to deserve it though!

Mint Chocolate Cake

Our weather has been super fantastic this week. If only our whole summer could be like this. It is unbelievable to me as I sit here with every window in the house wide open that this weekend it is going to turn cold again and they are actually calling for snow flurries Sunday night. Yes, snow. It has been in the 70's all week. Luckily we know enough about our weather to know you have to enjoy the nice weather while it is here because it never lasts very long. Therefore instead of cooking, we've done more walking.

Last night we decided it was time to bake something. Kay went through all my cookbooks and came up with this cake recipe from here. It tastes just like a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie! The book listed a glaze but the cake is so moist, we ate it plain.

Mint Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray a bundt pan.

Sift together the following:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar

Stir together the following:
1 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon peppermint extract

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Pour into the bundt pan and bake 50-60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

Kay: This cake was really good. Before it even came out of the oven you could really smell the mint. It was also very easy to make but it took a long time to cook.

Mom (Dana): This may look like just a regular chocolate cake but it isn't. You've got to try it!