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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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……

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 […]

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 […]

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/

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 […]

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 […]

We celebrated National Chocolate Cake Day by trying out a new recipe (thanks Rebecca!) for chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream - very chocolate-y and delicious. We used Shawna’s Mom’s cake stand (thanks Shawna!) for it - this is the first time it’s had an actual cake in it!

Recipe Here

Skippy Natural on a Ritz with homemade pomegranate jelly. Yum!

We celebrated National Pie Day with Shepherd’s Pie for lunch while watching the Rams defeat the Buccaneers in a NFL playoff game (what a game!)

Laura made peanut butter cookies for us to enjoy, using her Aunt Shirley’s recipe from the “Swedes in the Kitchen” family cookbook that her cousin Heather put together several years ago.
The cookies are delicious and have a very delicate crunch. As you can see, this is a well-used cookbook - we also use Aunt Shirley’s […]

We enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and then enjoyed leftovers for a full week. The 14 lb turkey barely fit in the oven! Besides the turkey we had the classic green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and homemade cranberry sauce and rolls. The gravy was made in true family tradition while enjoying […]

It’s International Champagne Day as well as National Chocolate Day. We’re celebrating!
(These chocolates are SOooo good thank you Helen)