Spring, where are you?

Think spring! I had to post this picture of my Mom growing her incredible eggplant. No matter what she grew it was wonderful and the plants looked the healthiest one can imagine. She used to make her own compost for her wonderful garden!

I will not fight with the deer this year, but will plant what they don't like. Our yards are not only home to many deer, but a few were born in the yard -- triplets!

I will plant arugula, kale, herbs, etc., but unfortunately no tomatoes or squash unless I can figure out where to hide them. I have already purchased Irish Spring soap and have other deer repellants, but to make it to our dinner table it will have to be something the deer don't like to eat!

A picture of my Mom in 1938, when she was 21 years old is on the cover of my book, Walk Forward,
on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Forward-ebook/dp/B009H6Y7AC in paperback and in Kindle format. One need not own a Kindle as the Ebook can be read in the Amazon cloud), book's trailer is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp7uQap6p2M

Perch and Fresh Asparagus, My Favorites!

My favorite fish is Ocean Perch, which is on sale this time of year, along with fresh asparagus!

I wash the perch, dip in flour, spray a pan with cooking spray and add a bit of oil to barely coat the pan and "fry" the perch, skin side up -- I hope I have this correct -- that the skin side is up when first cooking the perch,k as if the wrong side is down, the pieces curl and are nearly impossible to cook evenly! If I forget which end is to be up, I cook one piece in the pan to double check! I like to get a brown coating on one side before turning the delicate fish. Just before placing the fish in the pan, I rub dried dill between my palms and sprinkle it on the coated fish. I add dill to the flour coating too. The reason I use flour for perch rather than corn meal or some other coating, is that I want a very delicate covering of the lovely perch. I love to see the petals of the fish, but always watch out for those tiny bones which usually find themselves on my husband's pieces of perch!

Perch is probably my favorite fish as living near Lake Erie, we ate it much as children, however, my mother would fry it to perfection. Frying is no longer a cooking option for us, but spraying the pan and adding a bit of oil to coat, gives us the illusion of fried perch, my very favorite fish. Add a Yukon gold potato  plain, without anything on it, allows us to justify the bit of fat in the fish, and the yellow color of the potato makes it look like it is full of yummy butter (not in our normal meal plan, but allowed at weddings and special occasions). I try to cook the asparagus until just barely tender as my husband dislikes what he calls "al dente" vegetables -- he likes his vegetables as if they came out of a can or are cooked to the state of mushiness! I much prefer a bit of a bite and the beautiful color of a slightly "al dente" vegetable, but love to eat them raw too!

The first time I had raw asparagus in a mixed salad was at the home of a friend's mother. My friend's mother lives in Maineville, Ohio, and would grow her asparagus and serve it freshly picked in a salad, literally having the "just picked goodness" of a homegrown vegetable.

I am thinking much of my friend's Mom and hope she is feeling better after some courageous surgery! Were the weather better, we would be visiting my friend's mother and enjoying the visit with her in her most incredible garden!

I don't usually garnish our plates with strawberries, but aromatic ones are on sale this week and having spent the weekend in Chicago at a fabulous wedding has influenced my simple meals for our homecoming!The perch is sitting on a bed of fresh arugula which I can not wait to grow again in my garden. My Mom planted arugula every year and baby arugula reminds me of a lunch my youngest sister and I had with my graduate school adviser, a friend for over 45 years, who took us for a beautiful lunch at The Tavern on the Green in Central Park (sadly, The Tavern is now closed), where we had baby arugula salads!

More Comfort Food

My sister who lives in Austin, Texas, sent me a "care" package with stone ground grits. The best grits I ever had in my entire life was at the Monument Cafe in Georgetown, Texas. Not only is this a wonderful place to eat, they are so helpful as to how to prepare their foods. No secret recipes here and knowing how to make the foods oftentimes increases visits to the restaurant as one does not always want to cook. Believe me, I will not visit Georgetown, Texas, without stopping in at the Monument Cafe!

My sister purchased the grits at the market adjacent to the Monument Cafe and the Cafe's cook most kindly shared how they cook them. They boil them in water until tender. Since I do not want to watch over a pot of boiling grits, and with my luck I will burn the pot, I decided to cook them in my slow cooker:

See how creamy the grits are getting with water as their only solvent? I set the slow cooker on high, used 1 cup grits to 3 cups of water, and stir about every hour.

We will eat the grits tonight, not tomorrow morning for breakfast, thus, the high setting on the slow cooker.

The grits will accompany salmon burgers and stir fried vegetables, we love them when the onions get a bit caramelized, yummy! Wish I could send this dinner from Cleveland to my Texas family!

Roasted Cauliflower - Comfort Food and Sweet Treat

My sister who lives in Austin, Texas, asked me how I prepare roasted cauliflower. On busy days like today, I want to put everything for dinner into the oven. In fact, I talked to my sister while preparing dinner tonight, cooking it, eating it and I need only throw the parchment paper on the cookie sheet away -- few pots or dishes to clean.

As a treat, we have literally eaten roasted cauliflower as if we were eating potato chips! Easier to make than kale chips, which only take ten minutes in the oven but can get overcooked very easily, no one can over or under cook roasted cauliflower! Under cooked it remains crunchy, but we prefer the tendency to overcook and enjoy the caramelized goodness and softness of this wonderful vegetable, which I purchase when on sale at our local market. It is one of the few vegetables in our part of the country in the winter that says USA!

One of our favorite winter vegetables is this roasted treat. My husband and I can eat almost an entire head for our side dish for dinner or as a fun evening snack. It has a beautiful color, roasting brings out the sweetness, notice the dark sweet spots on this delicious vegetable!

Kids love finger foods, don't we all! We eat it completely plain, but one can spray the head with cooking spray and put on preferred spices, serve with ketchup, or just plain per its natural sweetness
and caramel color and flavor.

Notice the green leaves, don't throw them out as they become tender on roasting and have nutritional value. I only cut off the first, outermost leaves and slice up the entire head into thin long pieces. Some of the long pieces break up on their own and others break up after baking in the oven.

I usually roast the sliced up head of cauliflower on a 9" x 12" cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, which I buy in bulk from COSTCO! I set the temperature to 425 F or the temperature needed for the rest of my dinner baking in the oven. I put it on the bottom baking rack in my oven as other items are baking on the racks above!

Enjoy this sweet, warm, and comforting treat, especially wonderful in our cold and very long Cleveland, Ohio winters!

Beautiful Happy Birthday Flowers to Adorn the Monster Cake

If you have baked a "monster" cake for your birthday, don't judge the cake by its external looks!

Just as we don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge your monster cake until you have taken a bite!

The "monster" cake is delicious. I will include the recipe in another post, but look at the flowers which appeared at my front door this morning in Cleveland (which seems to be like living in the North Pole this winter)!

The colors of the roses include my mother's favorite, the peach colored ones, which remind me of "tea roses." The roses are beautiful and decorate the table. I had the table adorned by my mother's life-like daffodils, in a vase I had once made for her covered with her favorite flowers, Margarites.

No wonder my dear Mom named one of her daughters, Margaret Ann, after her favorite flower and her most beloved Aunt Margaret.

The cake looks and tastes better surrounded by the flowers Margaret Ann sent to my house this morning; flowers appeared with a knock on my front door, after I cut a slice of the cake and was on the phone ordering medication. My husband has a regular dentist appointment today! Does everyone go to their dentist on their spouse's birthday? If the roads are clear (heard there was black ice out this morning) we will make it to his appointment -- if he can not eat pumpkin bread or cake per dental work, at least he can enjoy Margaret Ann's flowers!

Below is a slice of the wonderful cake, it is not too sweet. I like cakes made in the German tradition, and this marble cake tastes like a German one, hardly sweet, but has a wonderful texture, but I think I will put a bit more sugar in it the next time I make it. If my Mom were here to share this birthday with me, and how I wish she were here, we would be whipping up homemade whipping cream to add to this wonderful cake -- I might add a few fresh strawberries in her memory.

Mommy, can you see the cake and smell the roses? I know you can wherever you might be!

The pumpkin bread looks better with the flowers too, it makes the raisins look wonderful!

Love to Mommy from your daughters, grandchildren and great-granddaughter! I know you had the hardest time giving birth to me, and I know I owe you my life!