Beachy Keen

Need to add a little touch of the beach to your summer decor?

Try a reproduction vintage sign.

Vintage Kitchen Stool

I found this vintage kitchen stool at a garage sale a few years ago. The price tag.... $1.00

You can find new versions of these stools in different colors. I've seen them at Target, Williams-Sonoma and even Walmart.

George Nelson Clock

This original George Nelson clock is one of my very favorite thrift shop finds. I found it several years ago in a South Florida thrift shop for only $3.00. It works perfectly and fits into this house as well as it did in our Mod Florida Villa.

Farmers Market Mansfield Ohio

I'm not sure who did the artwork on this poster but they did a terrific job.

The farmer's market started today and it was great. Not a ton of produce yet but it's still early days. If you're in the area be sure to check it out.

Coffee Talk

I haven't been a very good blogger lately but things have been a little "off" in our food world. I have to admit we've been eating out more than ever due to new work schedules and general lack of planning. My husband is now working two jobs and is gone all day and into the evening. I am working nights so am gone from 3:00 to midnight. The meals we have prepared at home have been simple or straight from Trader Joe's/Whole Foods. Nothing to really blog about. We just need a little transition time and it will work itself out. I have to say that I am totally sick of eating out and our food is much better and less expensive.

We still don't have the garden planted with the exception of lettuce. If the weather has been good, I haven't had time and vice versa. I started working on it yesterday and I'm determined to have it end by Monday. The raspberry shrubs are doing terrific and it was money well spent as this is the third year for them and we only spent $12 on the plants.

Today is the first day of the downtown farmers market so I will ride the bike down in a little while and see what I can find. It's so early in the season that I'm guessing it's going to be a lot of rhubarb and lettuce but that's ok. I want to support the market. Also the library is having it's monthly book sale so I want to check it out. Should be a great day.

Morels - Part Two

After they soaked in a lightly salted water overnight, I drained and carefully rinsed them. I then placed them on a linen towel to dry.

I have found the best way to bring out the flavor is to lightly flower them. Be careful. They are delicate.

After flouring, they were placed in a pan with a butter/olive oil combo. The amount if crispness depends on your personal taste.

The finished product.

They just melt in your mouth. You get the earthy flavor of the mushroom brought out by the flour and butter. There is nothing like it. I know people have come up with all these fancy recipes for morels but I want to really taste the mushroom. We only get them for a couple of weeks a year so I prefer to enjoy them on their own.

Morels - Fresh From The Woods

Dad just dropped these off on his way home from the woods. Yum!!! They have now been cleaned and are soaking salt water to get all the critters out. Tomorrow, Mike and I will have a feast. This is the best treat of the year. Stay tuned....

No Knead Dutch Oven Bread

A couple of months ago, Mike and I got this recipe from Mother Earth News Magazine and decided to give it a try. We have since made several loaves and this is a fool-proof recipe. It has come out the same every time. Now we just need to purchase another dutch oven in order to make several at once.

No Knead, Dutch Oven Bread

1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting. You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.

1 1/2 tsp saltCornmeal or wheat bran for dusting

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Reuben Casserole

Last night, I was looking through an old church cookbook for some practical and easy recipes. Church cookbooks are a great way to find new recipes to try. One benefit of these fundraiser type cookbooks is that you know somebody has made the recipe and liked it.

This one caught my eye and since we were headed to the grocery, I decided to pick up the
ingredients and make it as soon as we got home. It was awesome, if you love a Reuben sandwich.

Reuben Casserole

16 oz. sauerkraut, drained
1/4 C. chopped onion
1/4 C. parsley
1 t. caraway seed, we skipped the seeds because our bread was seeded.
1/4 C. melted butter
2 C. shredded swiss cheese
2/3 C. thousand island dressing
1/2 lb. sliced, cooked corned beef (we bought Boars Head from the deli)
3 slices rye bread, cut in cubes

Drain kraut, then combine kraut, onion, parsley and caraway seed in bowl. Mix well. Layer kraut mixture in bottom of 8 inch square baking dish. Top with 1 cup cheese, 1/3 cup dressing. Cover with corned beef. Top with remaining cheese and dressing. Toss bread cubes with 1/4 cup melted butter and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

This recipe came from Ladies Of The Church, Favorite recipes of The Ladies of the First Congregational Church, Mansfield, Ohio. 1984. The recipe was submitted by Missy Bell.

Leek, Celery and Mushroom Pizza

As many of you know, we grow most of our own veggies. This year, we've had a great crop of leeks. Leeks are a wonderful, mild type of onion that will remain long after all of your other crops have all been eaten, canned or frozen.
You must wash leeks carefully because they do tend to collect a lot of dirt in them. I usually cut of the root and the part of the green that I'm going to discard. (of course they go into the compost pile) Cut the leek lengthwise to open it up and rinse all of the dirt from inside. You can then cut them into whatever size you need.

To make this pizza, we mixed the dough for the crust and as it was rising, we sauted the leeks, celery and mushrooms in butter until they were tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the dough has risen, press into an oiled or non-stick pan. Brush a coating of extra-virgin olive oil on the dough and top with your sauted veggies. We then topped with some all-natural mozzerella and sprinkled with italian seasoning. Bake in a 450 degree oven until cheese is melted and crust
begins to brown.

Pizza Crust

1pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 t. sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
about 3 1/4 cups of flour
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the water. Combine 2 3/4 cups flour and the salt. Stir yeast mixture and oil into the flour until a dough forms. On a lightly floured work surface, knead about 10 minutes, working in up to 1/2 cup more flour until the dough is still soft but no longer sticky. Put in an oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Notes: If you want to skip all of the work, use a rapid rise yeast and mix the dough in a mixer using the dough hook. No kneading required. Also we have made it, using the rapid rise yeast, and didn't even allow it to rise and it came out fine. It puffed up in the oven. I have made a pizza from mixing to table in twenty minutes using this method.

Not So Deep Fried Mushrooms

While perusing the produce department of our local Kroger, we noticed that they had marked down the price of organic white mushrooms. With no hesitation, we purchased two packages .

We had planned to watch a movie together so I thought that we might make some snacks to pick at during the show. An idea was forming... we could bread them exactly like we did the zucchini to make the zucchini fries. (see earlier post). The method worked !!! Sweet success!!

They were terrific. Now we know that this method will work for just about anything. Deep fried taste and texture without the mess and the fat. Mike mixed some super horseradish cocktail sauce and we were in business. Can't wait to try this out on other veggies as well as chicken and fish.