Rantings & Ravings

Once again Laura outdid herself…

Awesome

We celebrated National Herb and Spice Day with Shakshouka for lunch, using a NY Times Cooking recipe a friend had shared back in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. In addition to the cumin, paprika, cayenne, and pepper called for, I went a little nuts and added turmeric, pasilla and chipotle powders, coriander, garam masala, and even a little cloves. We didn’t have cilantro, so I picked some fresh chives from the vintage 2020 plant that keeps coming back. Oddly enough we had Feta in the fridge and I didn’t think to add it - go figure. It was tasty and very satisfying!

Shakshouka - NY Times

Today is National Lima Bean Respect Day, so we tried out a new variety (Christmas Lima Beans from Ranch Gordo) and fired up the Instant Pot. The beans are a lovely burgundy red on cream color when dry, and I was pleased they they kept their mottled colors when cooked (some beans’ colors fade completely when cooked). These big beauties are about the size of a quarter. Laura has been snacking on them and will enjoy them in a salad - Even Paul had one to celebrate the day.

We enjoyed a late breakfast of blueberry pancakes topped with real maple syrup. They were made using a Pioneer Woman recipe but we didn’t have buttermilk or even milk, so Laura used half-and-half. The pancakes were extra decadent and delicious!

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a38831881/blueberry-pancakes-recipe/

It’s always nice to celebrate a day that involves chocolate cake! This year we tried out a couple new recipes from one of Laura’s favorite baking sites (Sally’s Baking Addiction) and had Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting. The cake is nice and moist, and you’d never guess there’s a vegetable hiding in there. The zucchini is from the garden, and even after cutting about 4″ off that monster there’s still plenty of zuke for us to enjoy in other dishes.

Here are the recipes (cut the recipe in half for a single layer 8″ or 9″ cake):

Cake: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/chocolate-zucchini-cake/

Frosting: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/chocolate-cream-cheese-frosting/

Laura used some apples we had in the fridge and made us Apple Pie to celebrate the day. We had it warm with Häagen-Dazs Vanilla ice cream.

It was also National Rhubarb Pie Day but let’s not get Crazy?

Right in front of The Old Town Patio……

While the original movie from 1977 was originally titled simply “Star Wars”, it was later amended to be known as Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope. As a result, the order in which the films were released is not the order in which the events depicted in the galaxy far, far away happen. Watching the movies in episodic order lines the films up chronologically and, as it happens, is series creator George Lucas’s preferred watching order. And who are we to argue with the man who created Jedi, The Force, and Luke Skywalker?

Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace
Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney Plus series)
Andor (Disney Plus series)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars: Episode 4 – A New Hope
Star Wars: Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Episode 6 – Return of the Jedi
The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 (Disney Plus series)
The Book of Boba Fett (Disney Plus series)
Star Wars: Episode 7 – The Force Awakens
Star Wars: Episode 8 – The Last Jedi
Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker

Pros: Arguably the simplest and most straight forward way to watch the movies. There are no flashbacks and nothing to confuse the uninitiated. Plus, with the spin-offs included, you get that seamless transition from Rogue One into A New Hope, and the Disney Plus series makes a whole lot more sense here.

Cons: You start with the prequels, which are almost universally seen as the worst Star Wars movies. The Phantom Menace, which includes a lot of Jar Jar Binks, could put some viewers off watching the rest of the series. Watching the prequels first also dates the later movies, as the CGI can contrast with the practical effects of the original trilogy.

star-wars-movies-order-first-chronological/

I REALLY need this!

Laura carpooled with Eliza and her family to the LA Dodgers Stitch and Pitch event sponsored by the Yarnover Truck (one of their last events as they’re going out of business) and The Altered Stitch. They took their knitting and crocheting and enjoyed being out, seeing friends old and new, stitching, watching the Dodgers beat the Mariners 2-1, and the classic Yarnover Truck Bingo game. Of course there were plenty of snacks to enjoy - Dodger Dogs, nachos (out of Dodgers helmets of course), and cotton candy were among the many. After the game they stuck around to watch and try to photograph the fireworks. Laura was inspired to memorialize the event on the Tunisian CAL square that she worked on at the game by incorporating Dodgers and Mariners colors, the game score, and a baseball diamond. It was a fun evening all around!

The garden has been busy - today’s harvest includes sugar snap peas and radishes (which we had for lunch), and tomatoes of both standard and cherry size. Lots of peppers were ripe too, yielding bell, sweet, and hot peppers.

They’re not ready yet, but the cucumbers are coming along nicely too. It’ll only be a few of days before these are ready.

After we were given cucumber from a friend’s garden (thanks Eric!) a couple seasons back, Laura was inspired to try growing cucumber this year. It’s amazing how fast they grow once the fruit sets up. This beauty harvested in at 11” and just over a pound. Some of our tomatoes are starting to come in too, so we know what tonight’s salad course will be!

We celebrated National Gingerbread Day by trying out a new recipe from the Sally’s Baking Addiction website (one of Laura’s favorite baking sites) - Gingerbread Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. Yum!

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/moist-gingerbread-spice-snack-cake/

After a two year hiatus because of Covid-19, the El Segundo Hometown Fair was held again, complete with the bake-off competition! Laura had the recipe for Everything Bagel Pull-Apart Bread saved (she had planned to enter this in the canceled 2020 contest), and found a Strawberry Cake recipe on one of her favorite baking websites. The cake recipe uses only real strawberries for great flavor: strawberries are puréed and reduced stovetop before going in the cake, and the frosting uses powdered freeze-dried strawberries for an intense real strawberry flavor. The judges must have enjoyed both, as they awarded her First Place for the Strawberry Cake, and the Everything Bagel Pull-Apart Bread won the Overall Sweepstakes Prize! After the contest we headed out to watch the Kentucky Derby and share bake-off goodies with friends. Here are the recipes:

Everything Bagel Pull-Apart Bread
https://joeats.net/home/everythingbagelpullapartbread/

Strawberry Cake
(With the Strawberry Frosting below)
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/strawberry-cake/

Strawberry Frosting
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/strawberry-frosting/

Strawberry Cupcakes
(we didn’t try this frosting)
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/white-chocolate-strawberry-cupcakes/

Happy Easter!

After a deviled eggs appetizer, we enjoyed pork tenderloin roasted with herbs de Provence, carrots with cardamom and honey, zucchini, and baked potato for our Easter meal. The tenderloin is a super simple Pioneer Woman recipe, and the meat came out tender and juicy.

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a10336/herb-roasted-pork-tenderloin-with-preserves/

Spring has Sprung here……..

We celebrated National Pancake Day in style with both pancake syrup and real maple syrup. The recipe is one posted by Circle All Access, who is the group that airs live Saturday evening performances from the Grand Ole Opry - we’ve been enjoying those shows all during the Covid timeframe. The recipe makes nice fluffy pancakes, here it is:

https://www.circleallaccess.com/recipes/grandmas-country-pancakes/

Our word game Cody Cross alerted us that Feb 27 is National Kahlua Day. Luckily, we had some in the cabinet, and celebrated with Kahlua in coffee topped with whipped cream. Homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies on the side was a bonus.

It’s National Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. We’re celebrating!
Laura actually went out to Village liquor store just to buy ice cream for the holiday.

The scoop is from Laura’s grandparents’ country store that they had when (and before) her dad was a little kid (1920s and on).
We had a deluxe assortment: Vanilla, Strawberry, Coffee, and Rum Raisin - all topped off with whipped cream and a cherry.
What a great way to start the day!

We used vintage bowls for our ice cream too. These are from the set that Laura grew up with in the 1970s - gotta love that avocado green