Panettone French Toast

Since I've been in a new relationship this year, I've gone out to breakfast more in the past year than probably all the previous years put together.  One of my favorite things to order is french toast.  I've become particularly obsessed with french toast made with unusual types of bread.  I've had french toast made with banana bread, blueberry muffins, zucchini bread and cinnamon rolls.  In honor of the Christmas season, I decided to make my own french toast using Italian panettone.

Panettone is a sweet bread that's usually around at Christmas time.  There are lots of different variations, but they usually include some sort of candied citrus peel and raisins.  

For my french toast I used the whole panettone and that made enough for 4-6 people.

Slice the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices.  Then prepare the french toast batter.  You can use your favorite or I used 6 eggs, about 3/4 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla and a heavy pinch of salt.

Butter or grease a griddle and cook the slices until golden brown on the outside.  I like to pull my french toast slices off the heat before they are fully set and keep them warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.  Since the batter is basically a custard it will continue to set up even after it is removed from the pan.  

Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup or like my family does it with lots of butter and white sugar.

Its the little things in life

Okay, so this post has absolutely nothing to do with gardening, but I just had to share.  This is life changing people!

See this storage bin?

 Well it isn't just a regular storage bin...

Its a cat box!

The best cat box in the world in fact.  I got this idea from a friend of mine at work who got it from her friend.  And now I'm sharing it with you.  So its kind of like Pay it Forward, but for cat litter.  

The reason this litter box is so awesome if that it keeps the litter (and the smell) much more contained than a regular cat box.  The cats jump in through the hole in the top and all the excess litter collects in the lid where you can just brush it back in.  

And its super easy to make.  Just buy a regular storage bin and cut a hole in the lid.  I used a utility knife.  Make sure the bin is deep enough for the height of your cat plus a few inches of litter.  I splurged and bought a slightly nicer bin with the locking handles just to be extra secure.

I've seen fancy cat boxes like this online for $100 or more, but mine just cost $13.99!

And yes, the cats really do go in the hole to use the box.  When I told my family and boyfriend about this idea they were extremely skeptical and might have teased me far more than was warranted.  But I persevered and now I'm sure they will all be jealous of the awesomeness.  

Blender Soup

Last Christmas I received the Cuisinart Blend and Cook blender, but I had yet to make soup in it.  Last night I was in a soup mood so I decided to finally try it out.  I couldn't find the recipe booklet so I improvised with what I had on hand.  And voila...Spicy Tomato Soup!

Spicy Tomato Soup
This is a very tomato-y tasting soup.  It would be awesome with garden tomatoes, but all I had was canned. Still tasted great though.

Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil, a clove of garlic and about half a chopped onion to the blender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Turn the heat to medium and cook for 15 min or until the veggies are soft.

I have a terrible problem with crying when I chop onions.  Nothing I have ever tried to make it easier has worked so a couple years ago I gave up completely and started buying pre-chopped frozen onions.  So much easier!  You can put them in without thawing but be prepared for clouds of fog to start pouring out of your blender.

 After the onions and garlic have cooked, add one 28 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes.  

Then add 1-2 tablespoons of chilpotle sauce.  This is what I always buy when a recipe calls for chilpotle in adobo.  I like that it is all smooth and I don't have to fish out and chop slimy, saucy hot peppers.  

Cook on medium for 30 min or until hot.  Use the stir button occasionally.

Once the soup is hot all the way through, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream.  Then cover the lid and blend the soup until it is the consistency you like.  I like it completely smooth.

This recipe makes about a quart of soup.  I'm going to freeze half for later.  I love a nice grilled cheese sandwich and bowl of tomato soup on the first day it snows.  Yum!

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup

I honestly don’t know what we all did before we could get recipes on the internet.  Don’t get me wrong, I love cookbooks and I own a ton of them but it’s so great to be able to find thousands of recipes online whenever I want them.  This Thanksgiving I was looking around for some interesting dessert recipes to try.  My sister doesn't like pie so I always try to make something that she will eat.  And I also wanted to try something new.  So here are the recipes I tried and how they turned out for me.

Cranberry Crumble Bars

http://www.marthastewart.com/938889/cranberry-crumble-bars

I loved this recipe!  The bars were super easy to make.  I used the canned cranberry sauce and they came together really quickly.  I didn't read the pan preparation instructions very carefully so I didn't notice the whole bit about using butter and parchment paper until after the bars were already in the oven. I just gave the pan a quick spray with PAM.  Whoops!  They still came out perfectly though so I think there is enough butter in the dough to help them not stick.

Pumpkin Tiramisu

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/pumpkin-tiramisu/

This recipe was not as much of a success.  I loved the idea of it because I’m a huge fan of pumpkin and my family all loves tiramisu.  But it just didn't work as well as I’d have liked it to.  First, I found it impossible to find lady fingers anywhere.  I did a quick search online for substitutions and read that I could use pound cake instead.  Then while I was making it, I was really worried about it tasting good.  I tasted each layer as I made it and wasn't loving how it all tasted.  I put it together anyway and hoped that an overnight stay in the fridge would help everything come together.  And it did mostly.  The layers tasted much better together than separately, but I still thought the balance was off.  In my opinion it needed much more cake and much less filling.  So next time I make it I’ll play around with the ratios.  Also, I thought 1 tsp of cinnamon was way too much. And I love cinnamon.  I’ll cut it in half next time.

Turkey Day

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and like most people when I think of Thanksgiving I think of food.  In the past few years I have developed a borderline insane obsession with making Thanksgiving dinner.  While many people try to stick others with the responsibility (“We can’t host this year, our kitchen is infested with mutated rabid flying squirrels.  Too bad!  Maybe next year…”) I dream of the day when I get to tackle the big meal all by myself.  I know…I told you it was insane!  Because I've always been single and living in a tiny apartment I've never had the opportunity to host.  So I channel my culinary frustration into compulsively watching Thanksgiving specials on the Food Network.

Which brings me to my main topic of concern…food network hosts.  Why are food network hosts so polarizing?  It seems like for everyone who loves Rachel Ray and thinks she’s revolutionized dinner prep there are an equal number of people who think she is a shrill harpy who seriously needs to take a chill pill.   Personally, I can’t stand the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.  I know she has a huge following on her blog, but for some reason I never connected with her.  And then I read her autobiography and learned that she ran over her own dog and then still went on a date with her boyfriend.  Nope, no can do.  Or what about Paula Deen?  My mom absolutely can’t stand her and gets annoyed whenever her show comes on.  She even can’t stand people who remind her of Paula Deen.  But there are tons of people who adore Paula and can’t get enough of her homespun country cooking.

I could take or leave Paula myself, but weirdly I’ve developed a fascination with her two sons, Bobby and Jaime.  Not like I think they are cute or I want to date them or anything.  I save my chef crushes for Alton Brown.  What?  He’s really smart!  Instead I’ve dreamed up an elaborate fantasy where the brothers are constantly competing for Paula’s love and approval.  I have all sorts of evidence that Jaime is the favorite son.  Like for example, he’s the one who stayed in Savannah with his wife and adorable children while younger son Bobby left home for the big apple.  And Paula probably doesn’t like apples unless they are in pie form.  Also, both Jaime and Bobby had cooking shows that debuted around the same time.  While Bobby’s healthy cooking show airs on the lesser known and watched Cooking Channel, Jaime’s family cooking show plays on the Food Network.  Interesting, no?  Although now that Paula has announced that she has diabetes Bobby might gain some ground.

I indulged my conspiracy theories last week while watching the Deen brothers Thanksgiving special.  The show was actually a charming program about the brothers making Thanksgiving dinner for their mom, but I envisioned it as a cage match between Bobby and Jaime.  A food fight to the death where each son attempted to win his mother’s love through strategically implemented calories.  For the record, I’m Team Bobby.

So hopefully your Thanksgiving finds you surrounded by good food, friends and family.  I know mine will.  But as the rest of the family is settling down to watch football or parades, I’ll be sneaking off to watch Food Network and dreaming of all the elaborate recipes I can make in my imagination.  And dreaming of Alton Brown…obviously!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Massacre

I love scary stuff.  That might seem a bit incongruous with all the other things I'm into like baking, gardening and other various domestic activities, but I've always loved horror in all forms.  Lately I've been really into playing the video game Dead Island.  I can happily hack and slash at zombies for hours while my boyfriend looks on with an expression that is equal parts amused and appalled. 

So while I enjoy seeing a pixilated zombie get hacked to bits, I do not enjoy it when the carnage comes to my garden.  My pumpkins that I have displayed on my balcony in a charming (if I do say so myself) Fall arrangement have been visited by a scourge.  Not of the undead hordes,  but of demented flocks of birds.  While I sleep, these baleful creatures peck, peck, peck away at my pumpkins leaving them riddled with holes and missing chunks.

I have to admit that while the gardener part of me is angry at the destruction of my pumpkins by the same fiends who ate all my strawberries earlier in the summer, the horror fan in me is strangely fascinated by the gore of it all.  Doesn't that look just like a puddle of blood pooling underneath the mutilated pumpkin on the right?  And is the one on the left with the big drip coming out of it's wound...crying?  No?  Just me?  Okay, maybe its time to lay off the Dead Island.

Happy Halloween!

Have a safe and happy Halloween everyone!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

Now that it is officially Fall, I'm in full on "pumpkin flavored things" mode.  I love seasonal things and since Fall is my favorite anyway I'm all pumpkin, all the time.  I recently used some of the pumpkin puree I made with the pumpkins from the garden and baked these pumpkin oatmeal bars.  They were really good on their own and I suspect they would be even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch ginger
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (homemade or canned)
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x9 baking dish.

Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

These are rolled oats because I like the texture, but quick cooking oats would be fine too.

In another bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.

I used dark brown sugar here because I like the flavor more, but light brown sugar works equally well if you prefer  it.

Add in egg, pumpkin and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches and mix until just combined.  

Stir in butterscotch chips.  If butterscotch chips aren't your thing, use about a cup of whatever you like.  Raisins, nuts, dried cranberries or chocolate chips would all be good here.

Spoon into baking dish and bake about 30 min until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and cut into bars.

Making pumpkin puree

When I decided to grow pumpkins this year I knew I wanted to try growing sugar pumpkins since they are excellent for making pies.  Fortunately, they did very well and I ended up with lots.

I researched different ways to make the puree and found tons of different ideas and tips.  I decided to go with roasting.  Mostly because it seemed easiest, but also because I thought roasting the pumpkin would give it extra flavor that just steaming would not.

Here is what I did:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Remove stem if still attached and cut pumpkin in half.
3. Scoop out seeds.
4. Place pumpkin cut side down on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil.  Make sure to use a baking sheet with a rim on it.  The roasting process generates some liquid and you don't want to make a huge mess in your oven.
5. Roast for about an hour.  The skins should look slightly darkened and papery and the flesh should be soft.
6. Cool until you are able to handle and scoop flesh into a food processor.
7. Process until smooth.

I used 2 pumpkins and ended up with about 4 cups of puree.  I'm freezing some of mine until next month when I make pumpkin pies.  I love these freezer containers from Ball.  They come in a bunch of different sizes and are really sturdy.

More gardens

I've been busy visiting gardens in my own backyard lately and I wanted to share some of the pictures.  I've lived near some of these places for years and have never gone before.  Hopefully this will inspire you to check out parks and gardens near where you live.

First up is Cantigny Park in Wheaton Illinois.  This place is really amazing.  It has huge gardens, a golf course and two museums.

One of the museums is military history so there are tanks from all eras lined up outside.  I thought this one was particularly cool.

The McCormick Museum

The Idea Garden

Dragon topiary in the Idea Garden

Boots used as planters.  I am so stealing this idea!

The Idea Garden again...can you tell it was my favorite?

Plants planted in a tic-tac-toe shape.  So clever!

Another idea I'm stealing for next year.  Its a 'Pesto Container'.  It has garlic, basil, parsley and oregano all planted in one planter.  What a great way to use space.

The Rose Garden

I also took a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden a couple weeks ago.  There is so much to see here and I only saw a small portion.  I'll be going back for sure!

There were helpful signs like this everywhere

Butternut squash growing on trellis.  Same idea that I picked up (and promptly forgot about) on the Rick Bayless garden tour.  I am definitely doing this next year.

We happened to be there on a day that The Food Network Magazine sponsored the cooking demo.  So we all got this free tote bag full of coupons and samples.  Score!  We also learned how to make gnocchi which I plan on doing sometime this Fall.

Growing Pumpkins

I don't know about you, but it always frustrates me to see all these seasonal magazines showing gorgeous pictures of unusual types of pumpkins and then suggesting that you "pick them up at your local produce stand".  What?  Where are these people shopping?  I've never seen more than the regular jack-o-lantern pumpkins and pie pumpkins at my grocery store or pumpkin patch.  In particular I've been coveting the all white Lumina pumpkin for years now, but I've never seen it anywhere around here.

So I grew my own!

Exactly one white pumpkin grew, but I was still excited that it worked at all.  I put it front and center in my display so all the other pumpkins could be jealous of it.

What didn't work so well were the Cinderella pumpkins I planted.  They were supposed to be deep orange and slightly flattened looking and resemble the pumpkin coach from Cinderella.

Not so much...

It still looks pretty cool though if you didn't know what it is supposed to look like and it adds a nice splash of yellow to my balcony.

So if there is a particular type of pumpkin or squash that you see in a magazine and want to get your hands on, don't wait for your "local produce stand" to start carrying it.  Try growing it yourself!

I bought all my seeds on amazon for less than $3 a packet so this was a very affordable experiment.

Pumpkins!

I picked up a whole basket full of pumpkins from the garden at my sister's last night.  I'll post recipes soon.  So happy it's Fall!

Its not called Big Sky Country for nothing

Seriously, look how gorgeous this is!

Before heading down to Yellowstone I spent a day in Bozeman Montana and visited the Museum of the Rockies.  I had primarily wanted to go because it had a huge collection of dinosaurs and I'm a huge dino geek.  When I got there though I was interested to see a homestead site complete with garden!

Poppies!  I'm not even remotely a country girl but this makes me want to build a split-rail fence and grow a whole field of wild flowers.

Here is a better view of the vegetable garden.  They clearly take really good care of it.  I didn't see one weed.  And the straw paths were pristine even with all the museum visitors tromping through all day.  I spent quite a while just walking through the garden which prompted my boyfriend to remark "I spend a lot more time in gardens since meeting you".  Guilty!

I love how mad these chickens look.  Like "Back off lady.  We can't be bothered with you and your silly camera".

32 days to go...

...until Fall!

Fall is easily my favorite season and by this time of year I'm more than ready for it.  Already its getting a little cool and breezy in the evenings and soon it will be time for pumpkins and mums.  I've already seen mums for sale at the grocery store and I've been so tempted, but so far I've held out.  Its still too hot I think for them to do well on my balcony and after a summer full of overheated plants I don't want to chance it.

I've also got pumpkins to look forward to.  I've got a small pumpkin patch growing at my sister's house and so far they are doing well.  Hopefully in a couple months they will be ready for carving and baking.  

I don't have these kinds of problems

I recently got back from my trip to Yellowstone National Park and it was absolutely amazing.  I had no idea that the park would be so beautiful.  I took over 600 pictures (all with my iPhone camera...love that thing!)  so I'm currently in the process of going through them all.  

Here are a couple to start with...

At first when I saw this planter, I thought "Oh cute, they made a little covered wagon". 

But then I saw that all the flowers had these wire covers on them.  Are they in flower jail?  It all became clear when I turned a corner and saw this herd of Elk!

This is definitely not a problem that I have on my balcony!

Other Garden Pictures

Sorry posting has been very light this month.  Its a combo of being busy with other things and my garden wilting and generally looking sickly as a result of the incredibly hot, dry summer we have been having in Illinois.  I'm off on vacation to Yellowstone tomorrow, but will be back to cooking and crafting once I get home.  In the meantime, enjoy some pictures of other people's gardens.


Starved Rock State Park
I went to Starved Rock a couple weeks ago and stumbled across this little garden.  I think it is probably used as a kitchen garden since it was right next to the restaurant.  I like the cute little signs identifying the plants.

Hyatt Lodge
I recently attended a wedding at the Hyatt Lodge on the McDonald's Campus in Oakbrook Illinois.  Yes, THAT McDonald's...the property in Oakbrook is home to Hamburger University where McDonald's management is trained.  It might seem like a weird place for a wedding, but the property was really beautiful and I couldn't resist taking pictures of the flowers in the outdoor courtyard area.