Archive for February, 2009

Time to Feed the Blog

Posted by Candace on Thursday, February 26th, 2009

I’ve been slacking on my blog.  This is probably the longest I’ve gone without blogging.   I’ve just been too darn busy lately and the first thing that gets pushed to the back burner is my blog. I work about 45-50 hours a week as an Insurance Agent (exciting… I know!) and then part time with my hubby for our business, Maloman Photographers. That leaves little time for the blog.  Also, I refuse to blog anything I personally wouldn’t want to see… which is 99% of the quick dinners I make.  Who wants to see grilled chicken teriyaki for the 15th time, or even worse… sandwiches again??  :P

So to get back into the swing of things, I made these cookies mainly to feed the blog.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Italian cookies made with cornmeal, so this was for me AND the blog.  Stephan doesn’t care for cornmeal cookies, but he still eats them.  They are not overly sweet, but have a fantastic clean buttery flavor and a lovely crunch.  Perfect paired with a cup of coffee.  I used dried cranberries instead of the raisins called for in the recipe.  Great choice, not just for flavor, but gorgeous red color.

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February 26th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Bakery, Sweet Tooth / 13 Critiques

Warms Your Bones

Posted by Candace on Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Its cold down here.  Well, if you live in Minnesota, its not cold.  But… if you’re a Floridian, you have probably dusted off your boots, and pulled out your snowsuit, gloves and ear muffs.  Right now, I think it’s the coldest it has gotten  since I moved here in 2001.  It got down to 34 degrees last night… brrrr!  Thanks to the weather forecast, I was prepared and started my matzo ball soup a few days ago.  So now that I’m armed with a huge pot of Matzo Ball soup… Bring on the cold weather!

Matzo ball is one of my favorite soups, and I seek out Jewish Delis for that reason.  However, many of the delis that serve matzo ball soup clearly make their soup with a soup base or prepared stock.  You can tell by the flavor and color.  If it is very yellow in color, you can be sure there is something else in it other than chicken.  I made my soup from scratch… chicken, veggies and water.  No base, no stock.. no chemicals.  It might have been the best Matzo Ball Soup I’ve ever eaten… if I must say so myself!  I used the same recipe I use for chicken noodle soup and cooked the matzo balls separately.  I prefer to make the stock the day before and refrigerate overnight to remove the fat.  You’d be surprised how much fat comes from a chicken!
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February 5th, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Dinner, Soup / 15 Critiques

Grilled Pear Salad

Posted by Candace on Monday, February 2nd, 2009

As with most of you out there, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to eat healthy and lose a pound or two (or three, or four…etc.)  Since I’m not a big fan of exercise, I choose to watch what I eat instead. I can get Stephan to eat salad, but he prefers a piece of steak on top of a few lettuce leaves.  That’s my idea of a yummy salad, but not necessarily a healthy one!  To increase the yummy factor and decrease the fat factor, this salad is packed with flavor from grilled pears, blue cheese and candied pecans.  Grilling pears brings out the sweetness and caramelizes the outside.  What’s not to like?
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February 2nd, 2009 by Candace / Filed under Salad, Vegetarian / 16 Critiques