Bless Her Heart

Wordless Wednesday: Omigosh, Y'all...Ebelskivers

Music for your Monday: Washed Out

 

Wordless Wednesday: Night at the Ballpark

Music for your Monday: Grimes

 

 

Spicy Skillet Roasted Cauliflower

Spicy Skillet Roasted Cauliflower 

 Warning: This makes for some spicy cauliflower.  You can certainly alter the amount of red chiles and Sriracha to match your personal taste.  

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

 

Ingredients:

6 cups Cauliflower Florets (1"- 1 1/2" in size)

2 tbs minced garlic

3 tbs olive oil

2 tbs lemon juice

1/2 tsp Sriracha

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper to taste

3 tbs crumbled cotija cheese or grated parmesan

 

Coat the bottom of a large cast iron skillet or baking dish with a bit of the olive oil.  

In a small bowl, whisk together the remainder of the olive oil, lemon juice, and Sriracha. Toss the cauliflower florets with this sauce and then arrange them in a single layer in the skillet.  Sprinkle with the crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper.  

Place the skillet on the top rack of the very hot oven.  Bake for 15 -20 minutes, removing from the oven and turning cauliflower every 5 minutes or so to roast evenly. 

When the cauliflower is nicely browned and cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheese.  Serve warm.

Mrs. Medford's Ginger Creams

Last month we ran away to the beach with one of my besties and her family for a weekend. While the kids were playing cards she whipped out a bag of cookies that her mother had made for them. They were dark and gingery, but light and spongy rather than a typical crunchy Ginger Snap.  Over the course of the next twenty minutes, we devoured them...leaving the kids to pinch the crumbs and fallen icing from the bottom of the bag.  These cookies have haunted me since our little trip away.  I'm a total sucker for a good cookie, but ginger cookies especially. So, I crossed my fingers and called up Jenny to ask her if she thought that her mother might share the recipe.  Not only did her mama oblige, but emailed the recipe within the hour. I know lots of folks who for whatever reason don't share their recipes, so I'm always grateful when people do decide to pass them on. Mrs. Medford not only makes a damn fine cookie, but gives in other ways as well.  She is an accomplished gardener and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. She contributes to their Mr. Smarty Plants column, appearing as a guest on the Wild Flower Hour on KLBJ Radio as well as on Central Texas Gardener on KLRU TV. I love that she shares her knowledge so generously...and lucky for us, she's shared her Ginger Cream Cookie Recipe. The world is a better place now that more people can make these cookies. :)

Mrs. Medford's Ginger Creams

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

 

Ginger Cream Cookies

Wet Ingredients:

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup water

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp ground ginger powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix the shortening and sugar until creamy, then add the egg and mix.  On medium speed, mix in the molasses.  Mix until smooth.  Add water and mix.

In a medium bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.

Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

Drop by teaspoon, a full 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I used a parchment lining). Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove immediately from baking sheet and allow to cool completely before frosting.  Frost with Vanilla Butter Frosting (recipe below)

Vanilla Butter Frosting

3 tbsp soft margarine 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp milk

In a medium bowl, adding one ingredient at a time, mix with a small whisk until smooth. 

Book Giveaway Winner

We have a winner! One copy of Make Stuff Together, hot off the presses for your enjoyment!  Our winner is: 

Lucky Number 11!

Ullis, Please shoot me an email at [email protected] with your contact information so I can send you your book. Congratulations!

Music for your Monday: Matt the Electrician

Matt the Electrician has a new album out, and if you haven't already heard, Accidental Thief is pretty freaking phenomenal.  We picked our copy up back in June and it's been a constant in our Summer music rotation ever since.  For instance, we were listening to this song on our trek to the beach and The Girl proclaimed it a 'perfectly appropriate' song for our trip.

All I Know from Matt the Electrician on Vimeo.

 Here's another favorite:

Matt The Electrician: A Key Session from The Sessions on Vimeo.

I can't find a recording of "I Will Do the Breathing" to share with you, but it's hands down my favorite song on this album, and I know many people who can't listen to it all the way through without tearing up.  It's a powerful song to say the least.

If you're local, I know they have it at Waterloo, if you're not I know you can get it on iTunes and at CDbaby.com.  

Don't forget to check out the beautiful album artwork by Kathie Sever, talented artist, wife to Matt and friend to many...who miss her terribly while she's adventuring in other parts of the country.  

I know Matt's touring right now, so check the schedule and see if he's near you...you won't be disappointed. 

Millet Muffins with Apple and Sliced Almonds

The one thing about having the kids home during summer break is feeling like they are looking for snack food constantly. My suggestions of "grab an apple" or "how about some nuts?" seem to only get me an eyeroll and a sigh. I realize that they are probably just bored, and are looking for a quick fix of chips or crackers so that they can return to their predictable summer ennui, but I'm feeling like we can't just go all day, every day eating packaged pantry food for snacks. This afternoon I decided that rather than have the constant "I don't feel like eating that" dialogue surrounding my suggestions, I would make muffins.  I know that everyone around here will eat muffins, and I know that I can add all sorts of ingredients so that I feel good about what they're eating. This recipe is amended from the Millet Muffins Recipe in Super Natural Every Day, the latest (superb) cookbook by Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks.  The recipe can also be found in a recipe sampler she published online here. I love the light crunchiness of the millet and the addition of sliced almonds allows me slip in a little extra protein. The amendments to Heidi Swanson's recipe yield about 6 additional muffins, so you'll need an additional pan or to bake in batches.

Millet Muffins with Apple and Sliced Almonds

Amended from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Pregrease muffin tins if not using muffin liners.

Makes 18 muffins

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/3 cup millet

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup greek yogurt

2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

1/2 cup melted butter, cooled

2/3 cup honey

zest of one lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup apple, peeled and diced

1/3 cup sliced almonds

 

In a large bowl, whisk the flours, millet, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, mix together the greek yogurt, eggs, melted butter, honey, lemon zest and lemon juice until thoroughly combined and smooth.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated. 

Gently fold the sliced almonds and diced apples into the batter.

Scoop the batter into the muffin tin, 1/4 cup at a time.  I use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop and the batter is just thick enough that it works great.

Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan/s about halfway through for even baking. Bake until the tops of the muffins are golden and starting to split a bit. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about five minutes in the pan. Turn out the muffins to finish cooling on a wire cooling rack. They are delicious eaten warm with (or without) butter and jam.