Owner: Kate in the Kitchen URL:http://cooknkate.wordpress.com Join Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:05:43 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Food and wine explorations, delicious ramblings and the evocative fare of a passionate cook. Recipe makeovers, cooking from the heart, for my family and for my health. Wine explorations and food talk and everyday fare. Site statistics:Click here
WCB- Spring Ahead? 2007-03-10 15:03:20
Here it is, a lovely Saturday morning (but WAY earlier than I want to be awake) and Bustopher and I are having the following conversation.
K- “Tomorrow, you need to leave us be and let us sleep until well after 8:00am. Closer to 9:00am would be better”
B-”Whatever. Did you not hear our water fountain hissing this morning? That’s your fault for not filling it last night. Where’s my photo for Weekend Cat Blogging?”
(Bustopher tries madly to get control of the computer)
K-”I thought we’d post that really cute one of you and Harmon snuggling on the couch.”
(Kate pushes him aside, threatens to restrict his peanut butter treats if he doesn’t stop)
B-”Are you nuts? You must have TONS more pictures cuter than that of me. You’re always holding that darn shiny flashing thing in my face .”
K-”No, this one is darling. Everyone will love it.”
B-”Man, I hate that word, unless it’s used to describe Read more:Spring
What a difference a week makes 2007-03-13 15:55:13 Here’s what we saw on March 3rd.
And little more than a week later…….
Gotta love March in Minnesota, huh??
Read more:difference
, makes
Breakfast in Hell 2007-03-14 14:29:26 Well, let me clarify before you stop reading this post, aghast at such language; I had breakfast at Hells Kitchen this past weekend. Ya gotta love a place that tells you up front what is expected of you.
This restaurant, located in downtown Minneapolis, is a big hot spot for breakfast and lunch, and famous for pajama-wearing wait staff on the weekends. If you wear your pajamas, they give you a free caramel roll. Make sure those jammies are loose; the caramel rolls are as big as a platter. The ravens are a big theme, in the back room is a large bare tree that is covered with ravens of all sizes; the bringer of death. The owners are charismatic, loud and obnoxious but so undoubtedly talented. One of the owners was seated near us with an older gentleman this past weekend, perhaps his father, and the man had a laugh that could shatter a plate glass window. He’s an enormous giant of a man too, a big ol’ lunkhead, as my sister called him, much to my hysterical delight.
And the f Read more:Breakfast
Too funny….. 2007-03-14 00:59:04 On my blog stats in the search terms:
“cat big cheeks”
Did they mean this??? He certainly qualifies.
Could you just squeeze those chubby cheeks endlessly??
Read more:hellip
Grown up food 2007-03-16 01:18:51
That’s right, uh huh….it’s FISH! And around this house, it’s grown up food, the kind of food we eat when G-man hits the road on Thursday nights to take in dinner and a movie with Grandma. When I kick him out the door say goodbye to him, it’s time for some food that WE want!
That’s tilapia, cornmeal crusted and sauteed over pretty high heat to get that nice crust. I toss coarse cornmeal with some flour, herbs, seasonings, salt and pepper and then spray the fillets with cooking spray to help adhere it. When the pan is nice and hot (like when a drizzle of the cornmeal mixture sizzles as it hits the pan) I place the fillets in with the fat side to the center of the pan. They cook more evenly in that position. I tend not to turn the fish too much because the thin edges break too quickly, and then it looks like fish stir fry and that’s not appetizing at all.
The veggies are zucchini and yellow squash, with a tomato and some capers. They were saute Read more:Grown
WCB- Bustopher: Scorekeeper, Exterminator 2007-03-17 16:56:01
During a card game of Five Crowns, Bustopher was given the job of scorekeeper. He wasn’t all that good at it, as his preference was to play with the pencil instead of writing down our scores.
And a new season of Bustopher’s Extermination Service has begun. We’re about to send out a flyer to the neighbors alerting them of the reason that tuxedo cat prowls under their decks, in their bushes and around the retaining walls. He is the self appointed Exterminator in the neighborhood. Last year’s toll was 37 meeses, 2 bunnies, 3 birds, 4 jumpy things (grasshoppers, katydids etc) and 3 flying things (moths,junebugs etc). The totals are tallied on a sheet that is stuck to the fridge, and yesterday was the first casualty. Mind you, the bunnies and birds are not my favorite thing that he brings home, and I know that prowling cats can be considered a nuisance, but this cat was a stray for god knows how long, and he hunted to survive so it’s hard to quell that instinc
The comeback of Taco Pie 2007-03-17 15:48:50
Long ago, in the dating days far, far away, I had dinner at a (ahem…) boyfriends house and his Mom made Taco Pie. Another name might be Floating Tacos. Make a pile of Fritos, broken tortilla chips or whatever suits you, and pile on the meat, cheese and fixin’s. Scoop it up with a spoon, sigh contentedly and pat your belly. Yum. Little kids like it because it’s fun to eat, and for the grownups, it’s easy to make.
I found the original recipe for this dish somewhere on the web, but I gave it such an Extreme Recipe Makeover that it no longer resembled it’s original. My apologies that I can’t credit whomever it came from, as I certainly would.
Spicy Chicken and Peppers
1# boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 Poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. frozen corn kernels
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp. groun Read more:comeback
Spaghetti Florentina 2007-03-19 03:16:28
A pasta dish called ‘Florentine’ commonly has spinach in it. What most people might not really know, (and this is a little known culinary fact so listen up) is that when you call it ‘Florentina’, with an ‘A’ on the end, it means a dish that has ’spinach and whatever the hell else is in your fridge that needs to be used up’.
Really. No….really. (all right, so I made it up, but work with me, ok?)
Yesterday I made a batch of hamburgers, and as I often do with burger meat, I toss in a wide variety of items to flavor it. This particular batch was buoyed with wheatberries, breadcrumbs, crushed almonds, shredded zucchini and various herbs and spices. I then cook off half of the mix into burgers, the rest went into the fridge. The burgers were fabulous. We ate ‘em with Sweet Potato Fries. G. never noticed the zucchini.
Then today the remainder became a meat base for my Florentina, cooked golden brown with sauteed sha Read more:Spaghetti
Less thought, more cooking I say 2007-03-21 01:30:26 Let’s start with rice pilaf, shall we??
My time lately has been occupied with making some freezer meals for my cousin and his family who are in a stressful stage of life right now. I love being able to help them out; they are family, after all, and what kind of person would I be if I didn’t answer their call for help? It just leaves me feeling less motivated to make my own meals after cooking
for several hours, so I have been resorting to old familiars, easy items and simple dishes. I hope by tomorrow to have them all squared away and then be able to get back to creating flashy, spot-on suppers for my guys and me.
But tonight I seemed to crave rice pilaf. I had some odds and ends of vegetables hanging out in the fridge, including two poblano peppers which always prompt me to make my most favorite Poblano Rice. I’ve talked about it so much on here that y’all are probably pretty tired of me shouting its merits, but I will just stick my fingers in my ears and move Read more:thought
WCB-Let’s Play Camouflage! 2007-03-24 14:48:14
Quick….if both cats shut their eyes, which one do you think would disappear into the background????
Join lovely Luna at CatSynth for this weekend’s Cat Blogging fun. Ahhh…..music and cats, two of life’s greatest joys.
Read more:Camouflage
I need a warning sign of some sort 2007-03-23 14:10:36 *Warning* Baking Ahead. Calorie count potentially high. *Warning*
Once in a while, in our area, we get air alert warning
s telling us of the high level of pollutants in the air and how it’s hazardous for those with respiratory diseases. Griffin has asthma that is well controlled, thank God and these alerts only make me a little more diligent about his every cough. But today, it’s not an air alert that I need to be aware of, it’s a Baking Alert.
I’m baking goodies this weekend. Lots of goodies. So a warning sign is a must.
I don’t do much baking even though I love to bake everything under the sun. My home has three people in it who have little to no self control when it comes to sweets, and the only way to keep the temptation down is to not have it there in the first place. It works for us, but makes me nuts when I log onto other folks’ blogs that show all these delectable treats, scratch made ice cream and ooey gooey cakes. Much as I
Such a slacker….. 2007-03-26 02:26:04 After a month’s hiatus from anything involving the Food and Wine 100, I did finally post something on the other web site.
Check it out HERE.
Read more:hellip
Miracle in a Bowl 2007-03-27 18:54:16
…..also known as Soup for the Soul, or if you need everything to be technical, Pesto Vegetable Soup
Think about the merits of a good bowl of soup, and what it can do to restore and rejuvenate. We eat chicken soup when we are sick; we eat comforting creamy soups to ward off the chill that rain and snow can bring, and we dip into chilled soups to beat the heat of a stifling summer day. We blend them, puree them, thicken them, thin them and build them a thousand different ways. When we need comfort, a friend or simply something to bring us around to reality, soup often comes to mind. It takes little else than a good crust of bread, or maybe a small salad to turn a humble bowl of soup into a satisfying and soulful meal. Just saying the word “Soup” brings comforting thoughts to my mind.
My reality has been off lately; nothing serious, I just haven’t been on top of the cooking game, hence the lack of intelligent and “Mmmmmm” producing posts as of late. T
An Event for Life 2007-03-29 15:53:18 April is Cancer Control Month, a designation that was put in place to raise awareness of the fight against cancer. Chris at Mele Cotte is hosting an event to bring together a collection of healthy recipes to encourage the practise of a healthier lifestyle. I submitted my Miracle in a Bowl to the event.
From Chris’ site:
Cancer survival rates are increasing, with approximately 10 million survivors in the United States. New understanding of diseases, better diagnostic tools, and
innovative treatments help provide hope and healing to those who have been diagnosed with cancer. Across our country, cancer patients are living longer and fuller lives…Despite these advances, cancer is still the second leading cause of death in our country.
Up until this past year, cancer has not been something that has touched my life, but a good friend of mine has been battling ovarian cancer since last summer and I have been on the front lines watching her fight and cheering her on in any way I
Pork and Vegetables in Peanut Sauce 2007-03-29 02:05:15
I love peanut sauce; love it madly, truly, deeply. There is precious little available on the market that rivals what you can make from scratch and it’s goofy easy to put together with the right ingredients on hand. Most recipes I have seen are long, but not complicated. Measure, mix and use. Simplicity that will illicit numerous compliments…..who doesn’t want that? We cook so others can go “Ahhhhhhh”.
The hardest part about this recipe is the prep. Once you have chopped and trimmed your pork and vegetables, this comes together really quickly. The pork cooks up more tender if you slice it across the grain, and will cook quicker the thinner it is. You could cut it into a dice or a chunk too; adjust your cooking time accordingly. For an ultra tender pork, try the Velveting method: stir together one tablespoon each of AP flour and cornstarch with two tablespoons of your oil of choice- sesame, peanut or canola- to make a thin paste. Pour this over your preppe Read more:Vegetables
, Peanut
Stinkin’ up the Web 2007-03-30 15:08:17 As bloggers, we all joke about trying to ‘taste’ a delicious looking food picture right on the computer screen, but the current issue of Network Computing points out that the ability to smell your way through the ‘net might not be that far off.
From March 19, 2007 Buzz Bites section, Andrew Conry-Murray writes:
Here’s a prediction we hope never comes true: the olfactory Internet
The BBC reports technology experts in South Korea are forecasting that by 2015, fragrance cartridges attached to computers will be able to create scents based on information sent over the Internet.
The ability to generate odors with the press of a key would revolutionize Internet advertising–new-car smells and the scent of roasting coffee beans would surely be as ubiquitous as pop-ups. But given the Web’s endless fascination with underdressed pop singers and celebrity corpses, this is one genie we’d rather keep in the bottle.
I, for one, agree with Andrew. If I want
Eating Spring 2007-03-31 15:37:13 Spring has arrived and the promise of new vegetables is on the minds and palates of food lovers everywhere. For those of us in the Midwest, who can’t benefit from year-round gardening, the early crops that can go in the ground now are watched and nurtured with near obsessive attention as thoughts of fresh greens, asparagus, peas and other culinary delights churn around in our winter weary heads. No more turnips! Down with squashes! Begone the always delightful sweet potato! I love thee, yes, but I miss my salads!
One food item that I never claimed undying affinity for was green peas. Something about them revolted me; maybe it was the really odd “pop” that they made in your mouth, but quite possibly it was the horrid overcooking of them that turned them tasteless, mushy and the color of worn out army fatigues that made me nearly gag. As a kid, I wouldn’t touch them. I think that a lot of our food dislikes tend to come from eating something that has been improperl Read more:Spring
WCB-Snuggling time and Bunny Ears 2007-03-31 15:07:39
Poor Bustopher…..it was Mike’s idea for me to give him bunny ears! Honest! He just wanted to be near Mama!
And Harmon curled his large frame into the snuggest spot against my leg after trying in vain to climb somewhere on my lap, which didn’t exist due to the confines of the chair and the computer. The very sad look he gave me as he realized there was no spot for him in my lap was wrenching. He offers me snuggles and I don’t accomodate- he was crushed.
I tell ya, this is the finest way to spend a foggy Saturday morning. Please ignore my mussed up hair and the huge smirk on my face. I honestly don’t always look like that!
For more cat shots and blogging, head on over to The Hidden Paw for this weekends festivities. Boots and Tess are often up to something, as cats are prone to do!
Read more:Bunny
Windchill in April and a meme 2007-04-04 14:45:06 Yup. Snow. *sigh*
But only a little; not like April
27, 1983 when I was a freshman in college and we had over 20″. This is a dusting, but the temps are in the teens. Baayyyybeee….it’s cold out! And hey! The Baseball season started! Something about this whole scenario is not making a lot of sense. Spring, Baseball and Snow. But that’s April in Minnesota.
On a lighter note, the lovely Kate (what a GREAT name!) from A Byootaful Life, with the lilting Aussie tongue has tagged me for a meme: 5 Reasons Why I Blog. Only 5, huh? Sheesh….. yer killin’ me here.
5 Reasons Why I Blog:
1. Virtual Sharing. I love to share food with people, I think that is one of the greatest gifts of being a talented cook. There are only three of us in our house, and believe me, they love my cooking, but by putting it out there for the world to see I can share it with an infinite number of people. There is something deeply satisfying about getting an email from someone halfway a
WCB Smackdown 2007-04-07 14:51:07 Poor Bustopher has had a rough week. It’s been unseasonably cold with lots of bright sunshine and that never ceases to confuse the fur outta him. He thinks its perfect outside until the door opens and a blast of chilly air hits his whiskers, causing him to look at us as if it’s somehow our fault. And then he doesn’t get enough time outside to roam the neighborhood searching for mice so he gets cranky and restless and wants to beat things up.
Harmon, however, won’t stand for being subjected to Bustopher’s willy-nilly ways. And given that he has bulk on his side, he puts Bustopher in his place right quick.
And when it’s over, I get something like this……
Can you just HEAR the complaining in this photo??
“What??? Like YOU don’t want to do that to him sometimes??”
Ah….ahem….um….well, maybe.
Join Sher, Upsie and Sundance at What Did You Eat? this weekend for all Cat Blogging events. Sundance is learni Read more:Smackdown
Too adorable not to share 2007-04-09 16:58:20 This is my niece, Isabella- fondly known as Bella among our family. She is a huge Carebears fan and arguably (although I could be totally biased) THE most adorable little thing.
Oh yeah….She is the one on the right!
Current Wine News 2007-04-09 16:46:21 I realize that I haven’t blogged much lately at all about the wines I have been drinking. Please don’t conclude that it means I haven’t been researching! I have, and I have been enjoying it immensely. I am forever amazed at what can happen when the cork pops off of a fresh bottle and the scents rise to meet my nose. It’s like a palette of tastes begin scurrying through my brain; pictures conjured up from the scent of the bottles’ yeasty grape goodness- spices, fruits, flowers, smoke, wood, rain, toast etc. etc. I have been offering whiffs to Griffin to get him to understand a little about what good wine should smell like, and one night as I waved a glass under his nose, I asked him to tell me what he smelled. After careful consideration he blurted out “It smells like grapes. Am I right?” Then, in a fit of understanding only befitting a 13 year old, he collapsed on the counter in hysterics. He WAS right after all!
A week ago I attended a wine pa Read more:Current
More wine-ing….. 2007-04-11 01:19:20 My first post on the Well Fed site, Wine Sediments is now up. I will be writing two posts per month and contributing to their Great Grape Day event, which occurs on the last Tuesday of every month.
Skip on over and see what it’s all about! This site is a great resource for wine news, wine region updates and whatever else the world of wine can squeeze out.
Read more:hellip
Cooking for a Cure 2007-04-11 01:13:24
The Cooking to Combat Cancer Round Up is posted over at Mele Cotte. There are tons of wonderful looking recipes and some poignant stories of how cancer has affected us all. Please go and see it.
Stir Fry Chicken with Bok Choy 2007-04-13 04:15:24
I love stir fries….I could eat them all the time. Trouble with them is that they often don’t photograph well, coming out resembling something other than their true nature and not often wholly appetizing. Yet I persevere.
This simple recipe from the current Food and Wine magazine was twisted up with my own fingerprint as is my norm with any recipe I come across. What recipe out there couldn’t benefit from some personal fingerprint twisting? Delicious as it likely was all on its own, I look at it and think “Oooh, bok choy…how about some napa too? What? No carrot? Where’s the beta carotene? Would a pepper be good in here? No, not really. The sauce is not enough….must double the sauce and let’s serve it on noodles, yeah! Noodles!” And so on an’ so forth, etc. etc. until I become kind of a kitchen Dr. Frahnkenshteen (”It’s not Frankenstein….it’s Frahnkenshteen!!”) kinda bug eyed, waving my h Read more:Chicken
, Stir Fry
WCB-When relaxing turns bad for the cat 2007-04-14 16:50:08 Some mornings after I get up, Harmon just needs a snuggle. If I am on the computer and not paying him enough attention, I get little desperate paw taps on my leg until I turn every thought and focus on him. Lately I have been simply pulling him into my lap to snuggle, and he loves it; especially when he gets a really great chin rub out of me.
But then, I get mischevious, because who can do anything with 18 pounds of thick heavy fur on their lap? I mean the cute factor alone is highly distracting, the heavy purring is too relaxing
to allow me to think, and the distance that it requires me to put between my keyboard and my hands is too great to work with, so instead of pushing him off my lap and seeing the way over-played hurt look he would use, I start doing pesky and irritating stuff like this:
Eventually, he realizes he’s had enough of me flipping over his ears, tickling the fur inside and giggling away at him, and he gets down on his own. I get to go back to my stuff, and he Read more:turns
Off the grid…..for a while 2007-04-16 16:50:00 I will be MIA for probably a week or so as I recover from another surgery. For the two or three of you who have been hanging since last summer when I started this blog, you may recall I underwent surgery in August for a chronic health problem. So here we go again, only this one will be a minor (hopefully) outpatient procedure. I just will feel like junk afterwards with no appetite for a week or so, but (crossing my fingers) once I recover, my physical health will improve. So instead of cooking and blogging, I will be doing this:
Wish me luck.
Read more:hellip
Grill Fever gets me back on my feet 2007-04-22 02:31:10
It’s been a gorgeous summer-y like day, the temps are warm and the air punctuated with Saturday sounds- cars, kids, motorcycles and laughter. I really wanted to grill something wonderful, and eat something delicious. My appetite has been pretty good the past few days. The surgery was uneventful and had no surprises (other than a bruised throat from the breathing tube) and thank you everyone for the kind thoughts and well wishes, it was really, really nice to read!! I am still somewhat sore and my energy isn’t completely back to what it could be but it gets better every day. I am eager to get back into cooking, recipes and blogging .
So….grill fever hit me today, and hit me good. We had salmon in the freezer; perfect for the grill along with a great salad and rice pilaf. I grilled off a crusty baguette and made Griffin (officially now a teenager!!) some veggie burgers in lieu of eating the dreaded fish. Too bad he isn’t a cat- we could eat fish all the time an Read more:Grill
, Fever
Worthy Wine Notes 2007-04-27 21:21:42 I came across a website this morning called The Wine Century Club. I first thought it was a club for wine lovers over 100, I mean there should be a lot of them what with wine being touted as such a cure-all for what ails you, but in fact, it’s a club that promotes the consumption of “the uncommon varietal” and gives a wine lover a list of 100 varietals to drink their way through. Tell me, can you name 100 wine grape varietals? We all know about the six noble grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling; and most people can recognize some of the lesser varietals such as Barbera, Nero d’Avola, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Gris and dozen or more others. Fact is, there are something like 4000 grape varietals in the world. Thank goodness there isn’t a club for that.
I decided to see how many of the 100 grapes I have actually tasted, and going through my notes from my wine class I was able to check off 60 names. SIXTY. That was Read more:Worthy
, Notes
When you’re on the mend….. 2007-04-24 17:52:08 my hopes would be that you have someone who is incredibly thoughtful taking care of you. I might be willing to loan out one incredible husband, but I would want him back.
Last Wednesday, a day after my surgery, with me pretty immobile and inert on the sofa, Mike headed out to drop Griffin off at his youth group meeting with a short request list of items from me to bring home from the store. If you have ever had general anesthesia, you know that getting the appetite back on track (not to mention the inner workings) can be a challenge. And recovering from stomach surgery, even when it is done minimally invasive like mine was, means certain food items need to go by the wayside- namely spicy foods and anything acidic. Ok, that is like my entire fridge right there! Well, sometimes anyway. But after surgery, soft is the word. Boring is the euphemism. I hate surgery in many ways, but the chafing on my food tendencies is the worst.
Mike walked in the door later that evening with two bags of gr Read more:hellip
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