On A Cooking Spree

I have this habit when it comes to cooking.   If I don't have exactly everything the recipe calls for, I just 'make do.'    Which might at times, tend to drive Ken crazy.  His favorite solution is "I'll run to the store for you right now and pick it up".   I never want him to go just for one silly little item.   I always answer, "no, I can use what I have here."     Consequently, my cooking does not  always turn out like I hoped.

So I decided to make this wonderful Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Frosting that was on Sommer's Blog.   And I decided that this time I would follow the recipe completely. The only alteration was I did not add the nuts on top.   And when I went to frost my 3-layer masterpiece.....there was so much frosting left that I had to use  gobs on top and finished up by covering the sides as well.    I'll have to show you what it was suppose to look like.

You would never know it was the same recipe would you!

A Spicy Perspective.Com



And then the weather turned chilly which made me know it was time for that wonderful Chili Recipe so this time I allowed Ken to go shop for every single thing the recipe called for.   Yummmmm.  I love the sausage in the chili.




Sommer's Chili

 


Milk 'n Crackers with a bowl of Chili



That cake was soooo big that I had to pack it up for the freezer.  But for sure, Ken and I are enjoying a slice every so often, waiting for an opportunity to share it with friends. 



At What Point Does The Mother Daughter Relation Flip Flop?

It may have happened today, but it simply can not continue!    My younger daughter, Sommer turned 35 this week and I don't become 73 till October.   She is half my age  and today she laughs and says I HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RECIPE.  Come on, I never totally follow recipes when I don't have the ingredients.

It goes like this:   Back in  June we went to visit the Collier family and we spent a week at Sunset Beach, North Carolina where Dan was working.  One evening we went to eat at the Sugar Shack, a Jamaican eatery.


The Sugar Shack at Sunset Beach North Carolina

 Well after we had ordered, the waitress brought out this most divine appetizer and she called it Jamaican Johnny Cake.  It was not the traditional island fried cakes, it was like a glorified cornmeal cake with wonderful spices in it.  It was warm, dense and moist. 

Sommer being the cook extraordinaire and taste bud professional, was determined she would figure out how to make it.    So a few days ago,she posted on A Spicy Perspective her rendition of what we had eaten in Sunset Beach. 

At work on A Spicy Perspective

http://aspicyperspective.com/2011/07/jamaican-johnny-cakes.html#more-5362

Waiting for a Table to Eat Jamaican Cooking

This morning on a whim, I decided to whip up the delectable tasty treat for myself.  Upon pulling out the list of ingredients, I discovered I was out of cake flour, out of unsalted butter, white sugar and there was no buttermilk.  And honestly, I've never ever bought vanilla bean paste before.    That did not bother me, I often switch out ingredients.   So I used regular flour, Crisco, brown sugar and Keefer with "Premier Vainilla" Hecho En Mexico.  Sounded fine to me.


The batter looked light and fluffy.   I thought my ground coves might have been very old.  (I don't use cloves very often as I have an aversion to the smell of cloves due to dental abuse when I was a small child.)
I poured the batter into two baking pans and baked at 350 degrees as instructed.  As soon as my Johnny Cake was cooled enough to cut, I eagerly sliced a piece and sat back to enjoy.     The Johnny Cake had the nice dense, moist consistency, it was OK......well, it was good, but not amazing like that at The Sugar Shack.   So I send Sommer a message on Facebook telling her about my experience.
SHE LAUGHS AT ME!  (I need to come back and add, Sommer's laugh was very respectful.)  And sh promptly reminds me that I need to use cake flour, real butter, sugar and full fat buttermilk.      OK, I accept it,  she is the baking queen of the Carolinas and her Jamaican Johnny Cake was amazing beyond words.    And my little 'lower-fat rendition'  was ordinary but OK.    I'm going to freeze most of it for special occasions and forget how amazing it is suppose to be.      No, I'm still the Mama and she is still the daughter -- she just has passed me by in the kitchen and I have no problem with that.  I'll eat my soups and my easily made salads and let her soar to the stars through A Spicy Perspective.  And when I am old and feeble, she can cook anything she wants for me exactly the way she wants to.    Wait a minute, what am I saying .... she can do that already.

And is it fair to eat real butter and full fat buttermilk and look like this?

Oh, perhaps it is because Sommer is diligent working out!

A Cooking Day

My job for this morning was cancelled so I decided to take advantage and do some 'stay at home wife' cooking. With the children all gone, I don't cook nearly as often.  So of course, I wanted to use Sommer's new Blog.   However, I had also wanted to make Laura's Oat Nutty pancakes for a while and decided to make them for breakfast.   Usually, Ken and I drink a protein shake for breakfast but today was a special 'good duty wife' day.
The pancakes were probably the best I have ever tasted. I could have eaten them straight from the pan without any butter or maple syrup.

Next, I had the ingredients for Sommer's mini meatloaf and mashed cauliflower so that was to be our late lunch.  My next interpreting job was not until 3:30 pm.  So I set off to make lunch and extra freeze ahead for later mini-meatloafs.   Here is the proof, I actually still cook once in a while. 
There is always something that I seem to alter when I cook.   First of all, I missed the step of putting all the veggies in the food processer to the consistency of applesauce.  Did not see it until they were already mixed.   Then I did not have the chili sauce, so substituted catsup.  It was fine, and smelled wonderful baking in the oven. 
Ken could not guess what the mashed cauliflower was (guessed turnips) but he loved it.   I've made it before just because it has far less calories.
  
So here you have it, a Nana Cooking day and having fun learning from the younger generation.  The next time, I'm going to do the cheese grits and the 'dead' banana bread.
As a side thought, today for some reason seems to be a potential teary-eyed day.  First Ken was reading to me an e-mail story about a friend named Jim who as age and time went by "I" kept putting off getting in touch with, until it was too late and "I" got the notice that Jim died.  He choked up reading it to me.
Then I was reading Laura's blog about her trip to India.  I was identifying with Sommer's trips to India I guess, but I did not know you could cry reading a food blog.  You will have to check it out.  I'll post the link for the items I made on this cooking day as well as Indian Curry. 
http://darkredcrema.com/2010/03/julie-sahnis-gosht-kari-meat-curry-an-indian-summer/
http://aspicyperspective.blogspot.com/2010/02/dinners-beauty-treatment.html
http://darkredcrema.com/2010/02/whole-grain-oat-nut-pancakes/
And dear friends and family, if you have not been checking out A Spicy Perspective, you must read it and try the recipies.  They are mostly easy enough for anyone to prepare and the reading is great.  We have another budding writer/producer stimming from the Papa Montgomery blood-line.   Sign up as a followerer and you will get the links each time she post something new.  Again, it is the http://aspicyperspective.blogspot.com/