Reconnaissant

I'm grateful for my wonder life. I have an exceptional husband and an incredible family. Life is good.

It is Officially Winter

Winter finally came. And, it brought a cold, just for me. Now I have a pile of Ricola wrappers and tissues on my floor right next to the humidifier. This experience is making me grateful I do not have allergies.

Recipe of the Week: Fresh Rhubarb Pie

I just realized, I should have put up a Thanksgiving recipe. So in honor of the holiday I'm going to add another Recipe of the Week. This recipe is one of Matt's favorite and is from The Pushing Daisies secret recipes from the Pie Hole, with some commentary.

Fresh Rhubarb Pie

4 cups chopped rhubarb

1 1/3 cup white sugar

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter

(I like to use 2 cups rhubarb and 2 cups fresh strawberries instead of the 4 cups rhubarb)

Preheat oven to 450°

Combine sugar and flour. Sprinkle 1/4 of it over pastry in pie plate. Heap rhubarb (and strawberries) over this mixture. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and flour. Dot with small pieces of butter. Cover with top crust.

Place pie on lowest rack in oven. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°, and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm or cold. (I vote warm)

For the Crust:

(Only makes one crust, needs to be doubled for a covered pie)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening, chilled

3 tablespoons ice water

Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the cold shortening (I like using unsalted butter, terrible for you, but it tastes amazing) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together

Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling. (I never let it chill, I just make a pie with it and it usually turns out fine)

Roll out Dough, and put in a pie plate. (If making a covered pie, split in half then roll it out to make the top and bottom crusts)

Most Recent Read: Anahita's Woven Riddle

http://www.spongobongo.com/Oriental_Rugs/Persian_Rugs/images/Kashan_Rugs_Kashan_Carpet_from_RugMan.jpg

I just finished a book called "Anahita's Woven Riddle" by Meghan Nuttall Sayres. It was about an Iranian carpet weaver. I loved how it conveyed so much of the Iranian/Persian Nomadic culture. It reminded me of when my my mother and I visited Israel and Egypt. It was an incredible experience. When we were in Jerusalem, I remember hearing the the adhān being called in the morning , signaling the time for prayer. It is interesting to see all of the different people who visit Jerusalem. It is fascinating to me that Christians, Jews, and Muslims all consider it a holy place. I noticed, even though these individuals live in a desert where nearly everywhere you look is covered in brown sand, they find ways to add color. For example, the multiple shades of blue found inside and outside of mosques. The golden top to the Dome of the Rock. And the vibrant colors in the rugs they weave.

Recipe of the Week: Jessica's Cheesy Enchiladas

I created this recipe myself as I was trying to clean out my fridge. It turned out to be AMAZING. So, here it is:

Preheat the oven to 350°

1/2 Cup Salsa (La Victoria Cilantro)

1 Packet Taco Seasoning (McCormick)

Dash of Chili Pepper

1 Diced Tomato

1/8 Cup finely chopped Onion

3 Grilled Chicken Tenders, Diced

Spritz of Lime Juice

Add the appropriate amount of water for the taco seasoning to a sauce pan. Add all the other ingredients and simmer until it thickens.

3/4 Cup Ricotta Cheese

2 Cups Marble Cheddar

Dash 0f Parsley

Dash of Freshly Ground Pepper

Dash of Parmesan Cheese

In a separate bowl combine the cheeses, parsley and pepper. Mix throughly.

Put 1/4 cup of the taco and 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture into a tortilla. Roll it up and put it in about a 8 x 8 pan. Continue to add the mixtures to three more tortillas and roll them up and put them next to the first. Cover the tortillas with any remaining mixture or just add some marble cheddar to the top. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese and sauce starts bubbling and the enchiladas are heated throughout.

Hot Chocolate

I am addicted to hot chocolate. I have been trying to figure out why. Is it because I am often cold, and hot chocolate warms me up? Is it because it reminds me of sitting on a heater vent at my parents home while watching through a window as big snowflakes float from the sky? Maybe it's like in "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" when they are falling in the glass elevator through random candy explosions. Charlie says "Candy doesn't have to have a point. That's why it's candy."

Recipe of the Week: Backofenschlufer

This recipe comes from my German Great-Grandmother, Ruth. She was amazing.  Apparently it means "bake-oven slide" or something.  It is the recipe for puffy oven pancakes.

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

6 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 450°, melt 4 tsp margarine in a 9 x 13 pan and then coat the bottom of the pan with the melted margarine. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and then pour them into the pan. Bake for 17 minutes. Try not to open the oven when it is baking, or it could collapse. Usually it puffs up nicely, but sometimes it will stay flat. I'm still trying to figure out what makes the difference in puffyness, and I will let you know if I find out.

Recipe of the Week: Fall Pumpkin Soup

http://www.applepiepatispate.com/soups-and-stews/whole-pumpkin-baked-cream-cheese/

Recipe from finecooking.com, with some commentary.

I made this soup for Matt for his Birthday. I think we also had sparkling apple-cranberry juice, however even if we didn't it would go really well with the soup.

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

6 cups 1-inch-diced peeled, seeded sugar pumpkins

2 medium cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine (or white grape juice)

8 medium fresh sage leaves (optional)

4 to 6 cups lower-salt chicken broth

2 1/4 cup packed grated Gruyere cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 slices rustic bread (Artisan bread works well)

Gruyere cheese is expensive (it's swiss), but it is the best cheese I have every tasted. You need to try it at least once.

The Recipe says to boil the pumpkin, but I like to slice it up and bake it in the oven on a pan with about a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom until it is tender. (When it has cooled a little you can just scoop it off of the rind.)

Also, if you want, save the pumpkin seeds, bake them in the oven with a little salt and oil until they are golden brown and then use them to garnish the soup.

Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 4-to 5-quart pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and garlic and cook, stirring 1 minute more. Add the wine (or grape juice) and the sage leaves (I don't add the sage) and cook, stirring, until the wine evaporates, about 5 minutes. Stir in 4 cups of broth, cover, and simmer, adjusting the heat as needed, until the pumpkin is very tender, about 25 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup of the Gruyere and using a handheld or standard blender, puree the soup (in batches if necessary). Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Return to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly and adding more broth as necessary to achieve a thin soup with the consistency of heavy cream. (The soup can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat to serve)

Slice the bread so that each piece is about 1/2 inch thick. Position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler on high. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet. Toast under the broiler, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Sprinkle the bread with the remaining 2 cups cheese and then minced sage (once again, I don't add sage) and season with pepper. Broil until the cheese melts and is bubbly, about 2 minutes. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and serve with the bread.

Enjoy!

Canyon Walks

Winston

This is Winston our Beta Fish.

Washington

Rain

I love the sound of rain out of an open window. I've noticed overcast days have a way of making colors look more vibrant, more real. Especially in the Fall. Well early winter, it is November.

Crucibles

So I've been practicing typing as of lately. You can play "spacebar invaders" only so many times. So I thought I would write a note.

I titled this “Crucibles” because I have been thinking about crucibles lately. I use them at work to do loss on ignition tests. I think it is fascinating I can open the incinerator door when it is literally 800 degrees inside, and the side and bottom of the box will be glowing red hot, but the crucible inside remains untouched.

I remember in high school when we had to read "The Crucible” for English. I did not understand how symbolic this title was until I saw for myself what crucibles could withstand. Crucibles are supposed to remain unchanged even when subjected to extremely harsh conditions. Even though throughout the story it seems as if the characters do change, in the end we fundamentally see who the characters are. That is the crucible. We see what part of the individual remained after the intense fire and heat. Extremely difficult situations have a way of stripping back the layers of an individual’s personality until all that remains is what that person truly believes, what they are made of. What are you made of?

The trials we go though in this life are like incinerators. Each trial is not the same, and we all must pass though multiple fires. But it is important that we do pass though these difficult times. They show us who we fundamentally are. Anyone can steer a ship in a calm sea, but the true captain can battle the storm. Sometimes when you are going though an especially difficult time it is hard to see the reasons. But as we go though those fires we are cleansed and purified.

I have learned so much about myself in fires I have passed through. I know I will pass through many more, and while I do not look forward to difficult times, I am grateful for the opportunity they give me evaluate where I am. They help me see what need to do to get to where I want to be.