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Raisin Bars

from: Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday

Ingredients
11 lemons, preferably organic
1 liter 160-proof vodka or grain alcohol
3 C sugar
3 C boiling water

Directions
Peel strips of zest from lemons using vegetable peeler; reserve remainder of lemons for another use. Put the zest and vodka into an airtight container and let stand at room temperature at least 2 days and up to 1 week.

Stir together sugar and hot water until completely dissolved; let cool completely. Stir sugar mixture into vodka mixture; refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.

Pour liquid through a large sieve and funnel into airtight bottles. Discard zest. Limoncello can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

from: Jess

Ingredients
2 packages vanilla flavored almond bark
rice krispies
starlight mints or candy canes

Directions
Stick the candycanes or mints in a plastic bag and use a hammer or a shoe or your meat tenderizer to mash 'em up. don't get them too fine. You want some color!

Smush up or chop the almond bark. Put it in a sauce pan and melt it over low heat. It isn't like normal chocolate … no need to use a double broiler. But do watch it.

Once it's all melted, stir in some rice krispies. Not so many that the almond bark doesn't cover it, but enough so that they permeate.

Pour this mixture onto a rimmed cookie sheet and spread it around until you have an evenish layer. Sprinkle the candy pieces all over the top and push them gently in with the back of a spatual or something else flat.

Then cover the whole thing up with foil and set it somewhere cold (like your patio in the winter, say) and let it sit for a while. It will get all waxy when it is properly set. Make sure it is really set and then break it apart.

from: Jess

Ingredients
2 packages vanilla flavored almond bark
rice krispies
oreos (like 12 or s)

Directions
Stick half the oreos in a plastic bag and use a hammer or a shoe or your meat tenderizer to mash 'em up. Don't get them too fine. The chunks look pretty on top.

Take the other half and pulverize them in a blender or food processor.

Smush up or chop the almond bark. Put it in a sauce pan and melt it over low heat. It isn't like normal chocolate … no need to use a double broiler. But do watch it.

Once it's all melted, stir in the pulverized oreos and then some rice krispies. Not so many that the almond bark doesn't cover it, but enough so that they permeate.

Pour this mixture onto a rimmed cookie sheet and spread it around until you have an evenish layer. Sprinkle the smashed oreos all over the top and push them gently in with the back of a spatula or something else flat.

Then cover the whole thing up with foil and set it somewhere cold (like your patio in the winter, say) and let it sit for a while. It will get all waxy when it is properly set. Make sure it is really set and then break it apart.

from: Recipe Zaar

Ingredients
1 lb dried red beans (after extensive research I have discovered that kidney beans are the same thing)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth
2 C water
1 lb smoked ham or smoked turkey ham or sausage (cooked) cut into 1-inch pieces
1 t salt
1/2 t hot pepper sauce
3-4 C cooked rice

Directions
Soak beans in your crockpot over night; drain, rinse. Combine all ingredients except rice in crockpot and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Serve over hot rice.

Nutritional Info (1/6 recpe(
Calories 336; Fat 10.8 g; sat fat 3.1 g; cholesterol 53 mg; sodium 2785 mg; postassium 579 mg; carbs 34.1g

from: Jesser

Ingredients
2 packages creamed spinach (Green Giant is my preferred brand)
4-8 oz feta cheese (depending on how much you like it)
16 sheets Filo/phyllo dough
3-4 T butter

Directions
Cook the creamed spinach according to the directions on the package.

Heat oven to 350. Grease the a cookie sheet with your choice of cooking spray or butter. Lay two sheets of Filo on the sheet (on top of one another) and brush the top one with butter. Repeat three more times so you have a total of eight sheets laid down.

Spread the spinach evenly over the sheets and sprinkle the desired amount of feta on top.

Top this with 8 more sheets of Filo done in the same manner as the ones on bottom.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until the filo dough is puffy and slightly browned.

from: Paula Kafer

Ingredients
1 C raisins
1 C water
1 C sugar
1 egg 1 C oleo
2 C flour
1 t cinnamon
1 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t ginger
1 t baking soda
1/6 C butter
1 C powdered sugar
1t vanilla
1-2 T water

Directions
Bring water, raisins, sugar to a boil. Add oleo, let boil5 min. Let cool. Add flour through baking soda. Stir well. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

While it's baking, melt the butter and combine it with the powered sugar and vanilla. Add just enough water so it's the proper consistency for a glaze. Drizzle the warm bars with the frosting and allow to cool. Cut into squares to serve.

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Spinach & Feta Streudel

from: Jesser

Ingredients
2 packages creamed spinach (Green Giant is my preferred brand)
4-8 oz feta cheese (depending on how much you like it)
16 sheets Filo/phyllo dough
3-4 T butter

Directions
Cook the creamed spinach according to the directions on the package.

Heat oven to 350. Grease the a cookie sheet with your choice of cooking spray or butter. Lay two sheets of Filo on the sheet (on top of one another) and brush the top one with butter. Repeat three more times so you have a total of eight sheets laid down.

Spread the spinach evenly over the sheets and sprinkle the desired amount of feta on top.

Top this with 8 more sheets of Filo done in the same manner as the ones on bottom.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until the filo dough is puffy and slightly browned.

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Update Part 4

New Year's is always a nice holiday I think … sort of a less stressful event to cap the season off. Anyhow, we spent New Year's Eve at my parents' annual party … it's always a very good time.

Loki however finds one paticular part less than enjoyable. That would be the fireworks display that my dad puts on. My sister on one side of him and me on the other both of us holding his ears closed and snuggling him was hardly enough to keep him for running to Kansas. Ah well … the rest of us enjoyed them.

On New Year's Day, we took my grandma out for her birthday. We went to The Huckleberry to have high tea. It was a really nice meal complete with great tea, cucumber sandwiches and tasty pastries.

Well there now. I think we might actually be up to date.

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Update Part 2


Well while all the other folks in the city were apparently raiding the grocery store shelves (see previous post), we were heading to Wolf Camera to buy ourselves a belated Christmas present. We don't really buy and wrap up gifts for one another but we kinda just get a few things we're really longing for throughout the year. In this case, it was a paticular lens for our camera. I don't know the specs, but I wanted it to take some nice artistic shots and Matt said it would do just that, so we bought it. You can see a couple of examples above. I'm kinda still learning, but I really love it!

Anyhoo, when we got done at Wolf, we dropped by the grocery store to pick up some provisions. Frozen shrimp they had a plenty, but whipping cream? Fresh salad greens? Not so much. Who knows why. Maybe everyone fancies a nice bowl of lettuce and cream when they're snowed in. Anyhoo, I did eventually find some cream, but marscapone was nowhere to be found (couldn't quite make it to Whole Foods), so when I made the Peach Cupcakes with Marscapone Frosting, I'm not sure they were quite authentic. But they were tasty. I also made up a few old favorites: Baked Shrimp Scampi and Mandarin Salad.

Why all this cooking a few days after Christmas? Well as a treat for some very helpful helpers …. more on that tomorrow!

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Update Part 1


Hi all! Hope your 2007 is off to a brilliant start. And for the record, I apologize for being such a bad blogger. We've been insanely busy. So I will have to give you the updates in parts … you'd be reading for days anyhow!!

Leseee here. When we last left our heroes (hehe) they were bracing for BA snowstorm #2. Luckily for our heroes, this snowstorm was greatly blown out of proportion and we received around 10 inches of snow. Not a huge deal, considering.

Loki was once again up to his eyeballs in snow and greatly enjoyed every flake of the new accumulation. Thanks to our trusty SUV (sorry environment) we were able to continue with our normal lives in fine style. Except that some folks panicked and cleared out the grocery store causing me to have culinary complications related to missing ingredients. More on that later …

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Home Sweet Home

I'm at home today instead of work. Originally, I was going to take off just one day (tomorrow) before the end of the year and carry two over, but I find myself with a bit of a cold and feeling a little out of control of life, so I've chosen to take off two and just carry one over. Fascinating stuff, no?

We've been so busy with Christmas that the house has been totally neglected and I think we're both wanting to give it some TLC … and we're both starting to get that nesting bug (possibly … do men get this too??) and are now looking at the calendar and going “HOLY COW! 9 weeks!??!” So yea, I'm at home today.

PS. The garbage men are going to hate us today. We accidently missed trash day 2 wks ago (a failure to communicate) and then last week (a blizzard) and we have Christmas trash to toss to the curb (doesn't everyone?) and we've been cleaning out the basement (because that's what sane people do after Christmas) so they will be hauling approximately 30 sq ft of garbage. I should stand out back by the cans with cookies for them. Really.

PPS. We're supposed to get MORE snow today. Like 10-18 inches. Even Matt is not thrilled.

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Red Beans & Rice (crockpot)

from: Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday

Ingredients
11 lemons, preferably organic
1 liter 160-proof vodka or grain alcohol
3 C sugar
3 C boiling water

Directions
Peel strips of zest from lemons using vegetable peeler; reserve remainder of lemons for another use. Put the zest and vodka into an airtight container and let stand at room temperature at least 2 days and up to 1 week.

Stir together sugar and hot water until completely dissolved; let cool completely. Stir sugar mixture into vodka mixture; refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.

Pour liquid through a large sieve and funnel into airtight bottles. Discard zest. Limoncello can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.

from: Jess

Ingredients
2 packages vanilla flavored almond bark
rice krispies
starlight mints or candy canes

Directions
Stick the candycanes or mints in a plastic bag and use a hammer or a shoe or your meat tenderizer to mash 'em up. don't get them too fine. You want some color!

Smush up or chop the almond bark. Put it in a sauce pan and melt it over low heat. It isn't like normal chocolate … no need to use a double broiler. But do watch it.

Once it's all melted, stir in some rice krispies. Not so many that the almond bark doesn't cover it, but enough so that they permeate.

Pour this mixture onto a rimmed cookie sheet and spread it around until you have an evenish layer. Sprinkle the candy pieces all over the top and push them gently in with the back of a spatual or something else flat.

Then cover the whole thing up with foil and set it somewhere cold (like your patio in the winter, say) and let it sit for a while. It will get all waxy when it is properly set. Make sure it is really set and then break it apart.

from: Jess

Ingredients
2 packages vanilla flavored almond bark
rice krispies
oreos (like 12 or s)

Directions
Stick half the oreos in a plastic bag and use a hammer or a shoe or your meat tenderizer to mash 'em up. Don't get them too fine. The chunks look pretty on top.

Take the other half and pulverize them in a blender or food processor.

Smush up or chop the almond bark. Put it in a sauce pan and melt it over low heat. It isn't like normal chocolate … no need to use a double broiler. But do watch it.

Once it's all melted, stir in the pulverized oreos and then some rice krispies. Not so many that the almond bark doesn't cover it, but enough so that they permeate.

Pour this mixture onto a rimmed cookie sheet and spread it around until you have an evenish layer. Sprinkle the smashed oreos all over the top and push them gently in with the back of a spatula or something else flat.

Then cover the whole thing up with foil and set it somewhere cold (like your patio in the winter, say) and let it sit for a while. It will get all waxy when it is properly set. Make sure it is really set and then break it apart.

from: Recipe Zaar

Ingredients
1 lb dried red beans (after extensive research I have discovered that kidney beans are the same thing)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth
2 C water
1 lb smoked ham or smoked turkey ham or sausage (cooked) cut into 1-inch pieces
1 t salt
1/2 t hot pepper sauce
3-4 C cooked rice

Directions
Soak beans in your crockpot over night; drain, rinse. Combine all ingredients except rice in crockpot and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Serve over hot rice.

Nutritional Info (1/6 recpe(
Calories 336; Fat 10.8 g; sat fat 3.1 g; cholesterol 53 mg; sodium 2785 mg; postassium 579 mg; carbs 34.1g

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Christmas Wrap-Up

Hope everyone had as nice a Christmas as we did! As you might imagine, the last couple of days leading up to the big event were pretty crazy, especially around shopping malls. Matt and I avoided them as much as possible and faired pretty well.

As is tradition, we spent Christmas Eve with my parents, wrapping gifts, baking cookies and eating tamales and guacamole and getting punchy as the night wears on. We were quite surprised, however, to find that at 10 PM we had all gifts wrapped. So we watched some of A Christmas Story and headed to bed.

As usual, we all spoiled each other and Matt and I received many lovely gifts. Little one received her fair share of gifts as well and suffice to say she'll be a well-dressed baby. But of course the best part was getting to be together with family … and sharing good laughs.

And we received the best gift of all on Friday. We had our visit with the perinatologist and it looks like it was our last. He cleared us for landing, so to speak. Little one is head down and measuring in at 3.1 lbs (approx 50th percentile) with good amniotic fluid. Yay!