Our project this month was chosen by Sara at Sassy Suppers and was in Oct Living – Orecchiette. I remember when the magazine came I paged past this and thought “yeah, right.” Then it was chosen as our project. And, as I posted last week, I learned I am gluten intolerant. I almost didn’t make it, but I decided that I really have to be brave when it comes to gluten-free substitutions, so I went for it. The recipe is really basic. It uses semolina flour, all purpose flour, salt and water. I thought long and hard about this and poked around on the internet to see how to make GF pasta at home. So I ended up substituting Bob’s Red Mill GF flour for the semolina. It’s a really yellow flour and has things like chickpea flour in it. I used Cup4Cup GF flour for the AP flour and I added an egg to the recipe to hold it all together (and reduced the water to compensate). It worked!

I made half a batch and had no problems working with the dough at all. I made this on a Sunday morning. I was so sure it would be a disaster, I didn’t save the pasta for dinner and had about half of it myself for lunch. I made a simple preparation to dress it: I cooked one piece of chopped bacon. I removed the cooked bacon and added one chopped scallion, salt and pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 cup peas to it. I had some leftover cooked winter squash, so I scooped out a couple of tablespoons of that and mixed it in. I tossed it with the pasta and added Parmesan cheese. It was really, really, really good!

I have made fresh pasta myself only once (see Pici of You Know Whatti) and it was a total disaster. This was easy and I can actually see making it again in the future!

December’s project was chosen by Pru and is Golden Pear Cream Puffs.

Our project this month was chosen by Sara at Sassy Suppers and was in Oct Living – Orecchiette. I remember when the magazine came I paged past this and thought “yeah, right.” Then it was chosen as our project. And, as I posted last week, I learned I am gluten intolerant. I almost didn’t make … Read more

Martha Mondays is back and we’ve retooled it a bit. We’ll now be making a recipe the first Monday of each month and it will be a somewhat challenging or interesting recipe. We welcome new members, so if you would like to participate let me know.

This month’s recipe is Caramel Chocolate Cake, chosen by Megan’s Cookin’.

You make this on a jelly roll pan, then cut it in half and layer it with the buttercream frosting. I found it a bit hard to maneuver around. The cake was too big for any platter I had and it wanted to break when I lifted it. I ended up using a cutting board to transfer it and to serve it.

I also had some trouble with the frosting. Mine was pretty runny. I should have refrigerated it before I tried to assemble it. I eventually got it together and we enjoyed this cake very much! The cake is moist and delicious. The frosting has WAY too much butter in it (a whole pound) and I thought it was a bit light on the caramel flavor, but it was still good. I did not make little spiderwebs on the top like you are supposed to: cake decorating is just not my thing.  I liked this cake a lot though and would probably make it again with a different icing, and in a different pan.

Martha Mondays is back and we’ve retooled it a bit. We’ll now be making a recipe the first Monday of each month and it will be a somewhat challenging or interesting recipe. We welcome new members, so if you would like to participate let me know. This month’s recipe is Caramel Chocolate Cake, chosen by … Read more

Usually I like to have my Martha Mondays post up in the morning, but I didn’t get to make this until just now. Greek Chicken Cutlets was chosen by Tiny Skillet. Greek food is always a winner in this house.

I liked this – especially how easy it was. I served mine over orzo, which was good. I don’t cook with mint often. But I did plant some in the herb garden this year, so I was happy to have an excuse to use it. I like no-cook tomato sauces like this in the summer. I made the chicken on the grill which made it even easier to put together. A great weeknight dinner.

Usually I like to have my Martha Mondays post up in the morning, but I didn’t get to make this until just now. Greek Chicken Cutlets was chosen by Tiny Skillet. Greek food is always a winner in this house. I liked this – especially how easy it was. I served mine over orzo, which … Read more

Pru at Perfecting Pru chose this week’s recipe, cabinets. I had never heard of these before! They are essentially a milkshake on top of a sweetened, cooked fruit puree.syrup. Martha says they are from Rhode Island. I visited Rhode Island only once, when I was looking at Brown University (it’s probably where I would have gone had I not met my husband and decided to stay local to be with him). I didn’t have a cabinet when there. About the only thing I remember about Providence was my mom complaining that there was no place nice to stay or eat when we were there, which she found hard to believe with such a prestigious university in town.

I was intrigued at the idea of this drink I had never heard of and did some Googling. From what I read, Martha’s recipe is not really a cabinet at all. A Rhode Island cabinet is actually called a coffee cabinet. They make a drink called “coffee milk,” which is milk with coffee syrup. When you add ice cream to this to make it a milkshake, it’s a coffee cabinet. Fascinating. Now I will have to go to RI to sample one!

Anyway, I’m always excited to try something new and this was definitely new! I made the raspberry/strawberry/cherry fruit mix. I really don’t like raspberry seeds though. I am unsure how you are supposed to eat this. Spoon? Straw? Both? Some of the fruit was too big to make it up the straw. I liked it best when I mixed the fruit in completely because then it tasted like a smoothie and it wasn’t so tart (the fruit on its own just tart compared with the sweetness of the milkshake).

This was really pretty when put together and is a fun way to make a milkshake something classier or more grown up!

Pru at Perfecting Pru chose this week’s recipe, cabinets. I had never heard of these before! They are essentially a milkshake on top of a sweetened, cooked fruit puree.syrup. Martha says they are from Rhode Island. I visited Rhode Island only once, when I was looking at Brown University (it’s probably where I would have … Read more

Thanks to Sassy Suppers for choosing bruschetta for today’s project. I cheated and used pita bread for this. I have to say I am not much of a fan of bruschetta because I always feel like it needs something else – cheese, or some other vegetables or just something. It was good, but in general I just don’t find it too exciting. I would rather slice the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and eat with some fresh mozzarella than this way I think.

This photo is a total cheat by the way. I completely forgot to take the pic, then when I remembered the grill was off so I just recreated it on an ungrilled piece.

Thanks to Sassy Suppers for choosing bruschetta for today’s project. I cheated and used pita bread for this. I have to say I am not much of a fan of bruschetta because I always feel like it needs something else – cheese, or some other vegetables or just something. It was good, but in general … Read more

Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ chose today’s project, Coconut Balls. These look a lot like Mexican wedding cakes (or what my family calls Russian teacakes). In full disclosure, I used gluten-free flour in mine, which explains why they didn’t hold their shape well at all. I thought they were really good though – so delicate and soft. The coconut was good in them. This is a nice alternative to Mexican wedding cakes. I’ll bet they would be good with some nuts added – maybe finely chopped macadamias.

Megan at Megan’s Cookin’ chose today’s project, Coconut Balls. These look a lot like Mexican wedding cakes (or what my family calls Russian teacakes). In full disclosure, I used gluten-free flour in mine, which explains why they didn’t hold their shape well at all. I thought they were really good though – so delicate and … Read more

I chose today’s project, strawberry lemonade.  (Recipe here). I make my own lemonade a couple of times a year and I use a juicer and I make simple syrup for it. I was interested in trying this method since it involves just mashing up the lemons and berries and then straining them. I didn’t think it was as flavorful as regular lemonade. I did enjoy the strawberry color and flavor though. I thought it ended up kind of watery, unfortunately. What did everyone else think?

I chose today’s project, strawberry lemonade.  (Recipe here). I make my own lemonade a couple of times a year and I use a juicer and I make simple syrup for it. I was interested in trying this method since it involves just mashing up the lemons and berries and then straining them. I didn’t think … Read more

Thanks to Ana at Sweet Almond Tree for this pick, Rosemary Bread. This was easy to make and I liked the taste of the fresh rosemary in it. And it was a nice bonus to get two loaves, so I could freeze one for later. Very tasty and fun to make. Although I got frustrated with the dough hook – it was making so much noise, I finally pulled the dough out and kneaded it by hand it at the end.

Thanks to Ana at Sweet Almond Tree for this pick, Rosemary Bread. This was easy to make and I liked the taste of the fresh rosemary in it. And it was a nice bonus to get two loaves, so I could freeze one for later. Very tasty and fun to make. Although I got frustrated … Read more

Today’s project was crepes, chosen by Tiny Skillet. I first made crepes when I was about 8. My mom had an electric crepe maker. It was an inverted pan that you would dip into a special bowl that came with it then flip it over and let it cook, sitting on the counter. The batter would stick to the concave pan and you would use a special spatula to loosen it and then flip it. I remember loving dipping that pan into the batter.

When we went to Montreal when our kids were young, we ended up eating at a crepe restaurant twice in the same weekend because there was something there every picky eater could enjoy. My last experience with crepes was last summer in Colorado Springs. We ate lunch at a creperie that made all organic buckwheat crepes. The place had won all sorts of local “best of” awards, but we did not enjoy it at all. Their crepes were just too heavy.

So, I was happy to try making my own, something I don’t think I have done since I was a kid. I have the perfect pan for this – a Green pan that didn’t even need any butter (although I used a little) and even my first crepe turned out perfectly, which is never the case. I made the buckwheat version in the recipe and made up a chicken, carrot, spinach and cheese filling (it wasn’t perfect, so I’m not including my recipe for that). The crepes themselves were nice though and I had fun making them!

Today’s project was crepes, chosen by Tiny Skillet. I first made crepes when I was about 8. My mom had an electric crepe maker. It was an inverted pan that you would dip into a special bowl that came with it then flip it over and let it cook, sitting on the counter. The batter … Read more

Perfecting Pru chose Hot Cross Buns with Dried Cherries for this week. I’ve made hot cross buns once before, a Martha recipe, but I liked that this recipe had dried cherries since I don’t like raisins. The recipe actually has half cherries and half raisins. I thought that this did not rise quite as much as I would have liked it to, but other than it turned out well. I cheated and did not use a pastry bag for the frosting, thus the messy look. We all shared one here and enjoyed it, then I sent the rest away since we also had cake to eat from Teen Martha’s birthday (she turned 20 so from now on, we’ll be referring to her as College Martha). We’re taking a break for the next two Mondays and will get going again with a new project after that.

 

Perfecting Pru chose Hot Cross Buns with Dried Cherries for this week. I’ve made hot cross buns once before, a Martha recipe, but I liked that this recipe had dried cherries since I don’t like raisins. The recipe actually has half cherries and half raisins. I thought that this did not rise quite as much … Read more

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