I was thinking today that school is going to start soon, so it is time to start making quicker dishes, eat dinner earlier, and get Spane to sleep earlier. That way, going back to school will not be such a big adjustment.
Our dinner tonight reflected a holiday dinner, but was much simpler, and not any where near as much food. Having a ham steak lets you get a nice thick slice of ham, with the bone if you like the marrow like I do, without having to buy the whole ham.
Did you know that the long, red skinned, orange fleshed vegetables Americans call yams are in fact sweet potatoes? They are. I like the orange sweet potatoes a little bit more than I like white sweet potatoes. They have more sugar and are moister than their whiter cousins. Even though American grocers label them incorrectly, they are not even distantly related to yams.
When I was a little girl, my mother would get sweet peas in their shells, and we would sit and shell them. The peas never made it to the stove, though, we ate them as we shelled them. I have yet been able to find big fat sweet peas like those, but I did find some with smaller peas, whose shells were still soft enough to eat, and I used those.
I also had some lovely peaches in the refrigerator, ice cream and a new jar of rose preserves. I made Peaches Raleigh for dessert.
I love mushrooms, and lately, I have been finding nice big ones at the local corner store. I picked up six of them and decided to wait and have them stuffed for our meatless Friday meal.
The Nesco is the perfect appliance to cook them, as they do not dry out, and can steam in wine. Clean up is a snap, and your kitchen does not heat up.
Make these rice balls with leftover Risotto, and serve as an appetizer or a light lunch with a tossed salad. They are easy to make, and everyone will love them.
The flip flops, Bow, matching barrettes, and bracelets
A Girly Birthday
Spane and Noelle are very good friends, and play together a lot. Her mother, Amber, and I sat down a few weeks ago and started making plans for the party. Amber is going to make a waterfall scene cake, and I told her I would make some pixies for it. I will be posting that when I make themmade the Pixie wings, as the party is not for another 10 2 days, and now, I have made the pixies out of marzipan. But, we went to Michaels and got some great gifts to make for Noelle. You can view the album of pictures we took to see the completed projects.
Risotto with saffron and mushrooms is a real treat. The rice used is Arborio, from Italy, although most supermarkets carry it these days. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world – but fear not. You can usually find very small amounts of saffron in markets like Trader Joe’s. Luckily you don’t need much.
These Fennel Pork Chops will remind you of Italian sausage. They have a lovely wine sauce and go beautifully with risotto. Enjoy them with a nice glass of Shiraz and an antipasto salad to start.
Risotto with saffron and mushrooms is a real treat. The rice used is Arborio, from Italy, although most supermarkets carry it these days. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world – but fear not. You can usually find very small amounts of saffron in markets like Trader Joe’s. Luckily you don’t need much.
