Compassion, Gratitude & Home made Pies!

“It is lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves, then there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others.” ~ Anonymous Today is Thanksgiving day, 2012, USA. Here are a couple of photos from earlier. The first is of my simple yet sweet dinner table before all the food and family filled things in and then there's me taking the Turkey out of the oven (ta-dah!)  I cooked it in a bag and seasoned it with celery salt, sage and thyme. It came out pretty tasty and tender--along with the homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans and macaroni & cheese. Not to mention the fresh baked bread. And that was just the meal. I served appetizers and dessert too. For dessert I baked an apple, pumpkin and chocolate cream pie. I may not have to eat until next Thanksgiving. Each year on Thanksgiving my kids and I partake in two traditions. I started them years ago when my oldest was still in Pre-school. I have a number of traditions I've begun with my kids for different reasons. My thinking is that by having their own traditions it gives them a sense of comfort and safety no matter what else is going on in their lives. For Thanksgiving, the first is simple enough, I buy a balloon and fill it with helium. We each write  things we want to let go of before we enter the Christmas Holiday Season and things we are grateful for on little post it notes, attach them to the balloon and then go out into the yard together to let it go and watch it as it floats away and carries our wishes with it. It's always a unique experience. Today it seemed we could spot the yellow happy face with pilgrim hat balloon floating away for miles. I could see it above a big puffy cloud then it would disappear and then one of us would spot it again until it was too far out of sight. Our second Thanksgiving tradition takes a little more preparation. We look for a way to help some one or even a small group of people. I make a point to find someone in need beyond the traditional ways like the local food pantry. Because I find this way leaves a more lasting impression on my kids and helps them to deepen their compassion for those less fortunate then them. That first year we were living in Dallas and we made over 30 turkey brown bag lunches and passed them out ourselves to people milling about outside the Homeless Shelter. The first year we moved to Cape Cod we purchased gift cards and on our way to a Family get together in Worcester we passed them out outside the homeless shelter there. One year it was hats and mittens. What started this last tradition comes from something deeply personal to me. When I was young I didn't see my Father from when I was five until about nineteen. There were a number of years that I felt confused. At one point, I realized he was staying in a homeless shelter for a period of time. He passed away six years ago. Seeing someone so close to me suffer like that has showed me that not everyone who is less fortunate is lazy or doesn't care.  Sometimes, people really do need the kindness and caring from people around them that have a little something extra to give. And that we can never really know just how much a simple act of random kindness can do to make the life of someone else better. My hope is that when my children are grown they will remember the importance of having compassion for  themselves first and then finding ways to share it with others.

Lemon Cake, Quiche & Calm after the Storm

Remember, the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and their stability.

                                                                      Ho Chi Minh

        I'm in awe of the energy that comes in with a big storm. On Cape we were OK. The storm caused minor inconveniences nothing like the unfortunate tragedies people in CT, NY, NJ and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast are facing. It's easy to feel helpless when watching the devastation and not know how to help in ways that are meaningful. Yet, I do believe we must try to help if even in small ways whenever we can.
      In my classes this week, I asked my students to talk and write about their experiences. We had good conversations and there was lots of passion in their stories.

    There's a unique calm that arrives after a storm. I took the photograph above on Wednesday. I felt I had to visit the waters edge and get a sense of the calm for myself. I knew sensing what remained after the storm would work it's way into my heart and offer me comfort. When I feel upset or disappointed at something happening in my life I know I have to wait out the storm until inner calm returns. Like when a storm hits, there's things that happen in our lives there's not much we can do about. 

I'm baking a Lemon Cake and Quiche for a friend whose coming for lunch on Monday. She's about to submit her Thesis for earning her Master's degree and she's asked me to look it over and offer feedback. It makes me happy to help. I feel useful. And it's a great opportunity to deepen a new friendship that's developing.

Both my recipes for Linda's Lemon Cake and Spinach Feta Quiche are included in "Meet Me in My Cape Cod Kitchen".

 

Recipe for Baked Brie with Mango Chutney, Apple Cake & Gift Making Party!

         One thing I love about the holidays is all the food. I'm currently working on an article for a local magazine supplement about ideas for Holiday Foods as gift. When you find something unique it becomes a good way to gift neighbors, teachers and other friends.
       If you don't feel like doing the work alone you can invite a friend or two over to help. And turn it into a party. I've done it in Holidays past with making Limoncello, Cake Balls and Cookie decorating.
    And there are a number of recipes I only pull out between the first of November and New Year's like Baked Brie. I might be on the early side this year because I already made it for a friend get together last week.
      For my birthday an old friend from Texas sent me a yummy recipe for Apple Cake that she thought I'd like to try along with a sweet card. It's a bundt cake and if you know anything about me, I'm a big fan of the bundt. So I bought a big bag of fresh apples and I'm going to bake it over the weekend.
  As for the recipe for Baked Brie with Mango Chutney, it's delicious and super easy. Give it a try. Simply take a brie wheel and spread mango chutney and chopped pecans on top of the wheel, wrap it in a sheet of puff pastry. Place it on a cookie sheet or in a pie plate then bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes and serve with your favorite crackers or small bits of bread.
    

coyotes, writing & turning on my oven

 It seems like just over night the warm air is gone and the autumn leaves are not only turning colors they're already falling too. In the summer I bike. I ride every morning a ten mile ride and stop at the water. I sit and write for a while then return home. In the Fall I walk more.

As soon as Sophia gets picked up by the bus for school (and it's not a day I'm dashing off to teaching)  I walk around my neighborhood. My neighbors stop and ask me to walk throughout the Autumn months too. There's no humidity and the structured schedule allows for afternoon walks more often.

The other morning I was on a walk and a coyote crossed my path. He didn't bother me. Which I was glad he had better things to do than lunge at me. Yet there was something about his presence on my path that reminded me how the seasons are in a process of deep transformation.

And the cooler weather gets me in my kitchen more. I'll get up early in the morning and bake until noon-dreamy island and celebration cookies and seven layer squares. I'll store them in my freezer (the way the animals are preparing for the colder weather too) for my kids school lunches.

I realized recently with all of us back at work and a new school year that I haven't had much time for catch ups with friends lately. So I'm planning to host a get together next weekend. I'm going to bake tarts: a bacon and Gouda and my favorite a cheddar and pimento cheese. Autumn's a good time to get together with friends.

Autumn, Apples and Baking Pies!

 ~"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower." Albert Camus

Autumn on Cape Cod is wonderful. The air is crisp in the morning. The cooler weather invites a coziness that I've missed throughout the summer. Outdoors long walks with a sweater, morning frost and the falling then raking of leaves offer a soothing texture to my neighborhood. Indoors the smell of apple cider and the peeling of apples for baking sweet treats offers comfort.

At my house our favorite go-to Autumn recipes once the apple trees invite us to pick their bounty include Steele Family Apple Crisp, Apple Pie and Cranberry-Apple Pie.

Every Autumn I look forward to taking the short drive North over the Bourne bridge to Acushnet to go apple picking with my kids. The hay ride over the pumpkin patch and the filling of our baskets with apples is something I always treasure. When we arrive home we often watch football, throw some Chili in the Crock-Pot and bake an Apple Crisp.

Each year some things will change. Yet some things remain constant like a simple afternoon to share good food in the crisp Autumn air.

Family Dinners

Did you happen to see my recent article in the Upper Cape Enterprise Magazine in the Family Supplement that came out last Friday?

 

I wrote a piece on the topic of "Family Dinners" . I talked about things like getting picky eaters to eat, getting kids to eat healthy and ideas for getting dinner on the table easier.

 

I shared a recipe for Linda's Sour Cream & Chicken Enchilada's, a favorite at our house and I wanted to share a photo of the enchilada's we made for dinner last week.

 

If you're in town and get a chance, check it out.

Holding on to Summer

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." ~ John Lubbock

      This past week I certainly could have skipped spending two days at Wood Neck beach and the next at Menahaunt but like Lubbock suggests it was 'by no means a waste of time".
My teaching semester is about to get underway, I have an article coming out soon and my kids are busy with back to school preparations and sports practice. So there was plenty to do.
 Yet the way I see it -- all too soon my children will be at school all day and I will be teaching then rushing from one activity to the next.
So for now we did what made the most sense: we called a friend, grabbed our suits and headed down to the beach.
Surprisingly I didn't turn my oven on all week (this might just be a first) yet we did use the grill to make burgers and dogs (a summer favorite).
The photograph above is from a sunset walk I took earlier this week with my girls down to South Cape Beach.

Falmouth Road Race & Super Yummy Lunch with Old Friend!

Last Sunday was the 40th Annual Falmouth Road Race. It's always an extra busy weekend with tons of people in from out of town. My oldest daughter is an avid runner and runs on the Falmouth High School Track Team and Cross Country Team.

She ran her first Falmouth Road Race this year and it was so much fun to be there for her and cheer her on from the sidelines. She did awesome! And I know I'm just a proud mama, but she really does have a knack for running and she loves it.

She ran nine minute miles and she said the last two miles were a killer. It's that last steep hill as you approach the finish line that seems to challenge the runners most. The cool thing is you run along the water that overlooks Martha's Vineyard so the views are gorgeous.

Later that afternoon I had plans to meet a good friend of mine. Both of our lives are so busy so we don't always have a chance to get together as much as we'd like. But when we do it's always such a fun time.

 I had lunch ready for us back at my house before we headed out for the day. We decided to take a drive down Cape out to Province town. We wanted to walk the rock jetty, maybe ride our bikes out to race point and then do some people watching and shopping along Main Street.

 I made a big fresh leafy green Salad, and I put together a special thin crust pizza topped with fresh tomatoes, roasted fresh sweet corn and black beans tossed in a bit of light olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette then topped with fresh Mozzarella and Parmesan. I served black raspberry ice cream with whipped cream and a cranberry biscotti on the side for dessert.

Recipe for Linda's Black Bean & Roasted Corn Thin Crust Pizza

Take a thin crust and place onto a pizza stone
In a small bowl toss 1/4 cup fresh diced tomatoes, freshly cut corn off a single cob, 1/4 cup black beans, Tbsp. light olive oil, Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste
Spread onto the crust
Top with 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan and 1 cup freshly grated mozzarella
Bake in 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes until crust browns and cheese melts.

Summer Dinner Party, Awesome (and Easy) Appetizer & Old Family Recipes!

I hosted a dinner party for ten on my back porch last night. It turned out really sweet. My guests said all the food was amazing and we sat around and chatted well into the night. Family I had not seen in many years came down and it was nice to catch up.

Earlier in the day I was a little worried about the weather--there were thunderstorms predicted, but it turned out to be a perfect night for eating out and grilling on the deck. Shown is a super easy appetizer that I make often because people love it so much. It's a simple recipe using hummus and feta cheese. The other dish is our favorite Summer Salad. We ate Strawberry Shortcake and Ice Cream Pies for dessert.

In case you're hosting a dinner party of your own soon here's my super easy recipe for a tasty appetizer.

Hummus & Vegetable Dip

Take a  container of your favorite hummus (I used a spicy version)

Sprinkle a half cup of crumbled feta on top

Slice and chop fine your favorite fresh summer vegetables ( I used finely sliced cucumber, red onions, diced fresh tomatoes and chopped yellow pepper) -Sprinkle the cut vegetables on top of the feta and hummus. Serve with your favorite cracker. I love the Simply Naked plain Baked Pita Chips.

As for the old family recipes, my guests mentioned they still have a lot of my grandmother's recipes (my dad's mother) written down and they are going to share them with me the next time we get together. I can't wait to try some of them. She was a woman who raised ten children. I can only imagine how much cooking and baking she must have done over the years.

Falmouth Heights on Dwellable

Happiness & Breakfast!

  "All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."
                                                    ~John Gunther

    Best day to make a big breakfast is on sunday, when everyone's around and feeling a little lazy. I woke up this morning thinking about my favorite version of pancakes because there's lots of fresh ripe raspberries ready to be eaten in my fridge.
The photo here is from a picture of when Cape Cod Magazine came to my house to photograph a number of my recipes for publication.
Later that day, my kids enjoyed eating all the food I made for the photo shoot.
I'm going to leave you with my recipe for Pancakes with Slivered Almonds, Raspberries and Fresh Whipped Cream in case you're looking for something to do with all your ripe fresh fruit.

Pancakes with Slivered Almonds, Raspberries and Fresh Whipped Cream

Servings: Refer to Batter Recipe

Begin with your favorite pancake batter. We like buttermilk pancakes. Warm a large flat griddle pan with oil. Drop medium size rounds of batter evenly and grill evenly on both sides.

Prepare fresh ripe raspberries by cleaning and drying gently, gather a large handful of slivered almonds and cream (take heavy cream and a tsp. of vanilla and mix on medium in blender until light and fluffy.)
 Take three pancakes and place in the center of a plate and top with some of the raspberries, almonds and cream.
 Serve warm with  maple syrup. (And try grade A maple syrup it's a little more expensive, but definitely worth it in taste.)

Enjoy and while here you're invited to purchase an e-book version of my recipe book. Happy Baking!