A Philly Moment

I know many of you have joined the race to be part of the Real Women of Philadelphia contest.  Good luck to each and all who have entered.
I'm kicking around over there on the community, but I can not enter. (If you wish to friend me on there, poke me in the tummy, or just share some links you can locate me under the name Domestic Damned)

So I thought I would share my favourite Philly cream cheese cheat.  Yes, I call it a cheat.   Why, because it's a too simple recipe for cucumber sandwiches.  

 I used Italian bread, and the Philadelphia Herb and Garlic cream cheese, sliced cucumbers. 
Honestly, it's the easiest thing to create.  Simple, fast, and a perfect for when you get company last minute. 

I'm sure some of you are more skilled at making things look pretty compared to me.  But if you like cucumber tea sandwiches, you have to try it.

Sidenote,   I just got my hands on a copy of As Always, Julia The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto Food Friendship and the Making of a Masterpiece  by Joan Reardon

You know the book that was inspired by all the letters in the movie Julie/Julia.

Though, I have no idea when I will have the chance to read it.  I might try sneaking in bits and pieces between the books I do for review.

That's a Quiche?

Few days ago, I bumped into my sister's friend as I was going to the grocery. We started talking as we both went around the place getting our items.  This caused me to not pay attention to what I was picking up and I bought the wrong pie shell.  I picked up one with lard and not vegetable oil.
Never noticed what I had done till it was too late. 
Teach me to shop by myself won't it. 

So yesterday, I was thinking, if I replaced the pie crust with a breadcrumb base would it still be considered a Quiche?  I thought about this for a few hours, wondering if it would just be a casserole then, and decided I was going to try making a Quiche but with just a bread bottom.  Not even as crumbs but just cubed bread, almost like a baked bread pudding. 

It was tasty, looked like a Quiche, but can it still be classed as one?

Homemade nacho chips

Originally posted on my main blog Domestic and Damned on Oct 6th 2010

I very happily found a few episodes of Iron Chef American on youtube the other day.  One of the things that they did (it was Cat Cora who made it on Battle Cheddar)  was a homemade cracker using wonton wraps, chocolate and cumin.   She served it with a cheddar for a simple cheese and crackers.

It seemed perfectly easy.  You know what, it sort of was.   Only I had bought eggroll wraps instead of wonton ones thinking there wasn't a massive difference, and lacking a pastry/bbq brush, I simply used a knife to drip the melted chocolate on. and well anyone who's ever used cumin knows it smells like BO.  So stinky bitter crackers that tasted less bitter with large slices of old cheddar.
So here's me thinking,  let's replace the cumin with cinnamon for a sweet instead of savory flavour. Only I still did not have a pastry/bbq brush and had to remelt the chocolate as it hardened slightly.  It still came out bitter.  Mom actually tried the cinnamon ones.
I had sliced all the eggroll wraps already, so I just stuck the next handful in the oven without anything on them.  They turned out much better.

Mom agreed they needed something.  The rest of the package I took to mom's, found her pastry/bbq brush and added oil and salt and pepper.
Lovely!  Just lovely!

 Ingredients : 1 package eggroll wraps, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, pinch each salt and pepper 


Cut wraps in half,
Line ungreased cookie sheet with the wraps,
Brush oil over each,
Sprinkle salt and pepper over tray,
Bake at 350degrees for roughly 7minutes depending on your oven.

I plan on buying a package of wonton wraps today and trying them to see if there is a difference in taste or cooking time.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake

1 can pumpkin
2 cups oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/3 cup water

Mix well. Put into greased or oiled cake pan and cook for 1 hour on 300, depending on your oven.

Grandma Perry's Banana Bread

1 and 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 bananas mashed

Bake for 50 minutes at 350

Episode #4 of My Newfie Kitchen

While my oven is still broken, I went to mom's and we made bread. First try, and here is the comedy routine that it turned out to be.



That's what makes life what it is; food, laughter and bad camera work.

My Oven is still dead

My oven died on Saturday night. It is now Wednesday morning. My oven still has not been fixed, and the landlord says it will be tomorrow still.

So I'm packing up a large tote bag of stuff, and heading to my mom's today to make bread.
It is a very long boring process, but one I remember fondly from when Grandma Perry used to make it. Every week she would spend Saturdays baking fresh bread for the week. From scratch, the old fashioned way, as she never owned a bread maker.
That's today's plan.

Mock Seal Flipper Pie-sort of

I have been saying for two months one goal was to take a seal flipper pie recipe and make a vegetarian version.

Well today I did... sort of.

I didn't realize it was so hard to find. After no luck for either me or mom hunting through the cook books, I ended up having to go online for a copy of the recipe.
So, off to the grocery I went for ingredients. And after 2 hours... it didn't really turn out. Well, not true, it turned out...dry.
It tasted alright, as I used the Mexican flavoured Yves Ground Round (soy meat replacement)
I did not get a photo however as I made it at mom's and forgot my camera at home.

Original Seal Flipper Pie

3 seal flippers
salt pork
3 potatoes
2 carrots
3 parsnip
1/2 turnip
salt
pepper
1 onion
1 cup beef stock

Pastry topping

Remove all the fat from the flippers, reduce salt pork, fry flippers in the salt pork,
In casserole dish add stock, flipper meat, vegetables, salt and pepper cook for 2 hours at 375
add pastry topping and cook uncovered for another half hour.

Well, since I was doing a veggie version, I forgot to replace the stock. So it ended up really dry.

Mock Seal Flipper Pie

1 large carrot
1 large onion
2 large potatoes
2 parsnip
1/2 turnip
1 package Mexican Yves Ground Round
4 sheets Philo Dough

Chop turnip and carrots, boil for twenty minutes. Drain. Chop onion, add mix well. Chop potatoes and parsnip boil for twenty five minutes. Drain. Add to bowl, mix well. Add Yves Ground Round, mix well.
Layer 2 of the Philo Dough on the bottom of dish, add the mixture then layer the other 2 sheets of Philo Dough. Cook for 15 minutes on 375.

Now, as I said, it tasted okay, just abit on the dry side. I know, I had forgotten that the meat replacement does not have any fat in it at all.
I am considering this a first try. I plan on trying to make a mock seal flipper pie again soon. Next time, I will remember to add some vegetable stock and switch out the philo dough for a doughboy mix.

Tea Buns

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 sugar
1 teaspoon baking power
2 cups water

form into paddies and bake at 350 c for 20 minutes.
Should make 12 buns

Blueberry Pudding with Brown Sugar Sauce

I went to Mom's today to watch wrestling and she made Blueberry Pudding with sauce.

You need what is called a "pudding bag" for this. You can order them online from Downhome website or you can just get a clean WHITE cloth about the size of a half pillowcase and tie it with white string.

Pudding

*4 slices of bread soaked in 1/4 cup hot water
*1 cup flour
* 1-1/2 cup blueberries fresh
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoon butter
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon allspice
* 4 tablespoon sugar

Mix all together, place in tightly tied pudding bag, boil for 1 and a 1/2 hours



Photos by Kimberly Hulst copyright hcvp'09



















NOTE: IF YOU ARE USING A PLAIN CLOTH IT MUST BE WHITE OR ELSE THE DYES WILL SEEP.

Brown Sugar Sauce

* 2 tablespoon butter melted
* 2 tablespoon flour
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Melt butter in a sauce pan and add the rest, stirring constantly till thick, serve hot over pudding