Last week Rob and I ventured out for supper one evening to the Pita House, which is one of our favorite places to eat. We both had the lentils and a Greek-style salad and then did a bit of shopping in the Middle Eastern grocery part of the restaurant. I think I have mentioned before that I like to get some of my spices there and I always get some kalamata olives and some of their domestic feta. They also carry a good selection of dried beans and seeds such as poppy seed and sesame seed. Another thing I purchased was a small container of their fresh hummus, which is delicious. When we got to the check out counter I discovered that we had purchased enough to qualify for a free package of pita bread.

I did a little research and decided to make pita chips to serve with the fresh hummus. They were very easy to make and they stayed nice and crisp in a Tupperware container for several days after I made them. Here are the directions:

Pita Chips

Pita bread
Vegetable oil

Seasonings of your choice (I used Goya Adobo all purpose seasoning from the Hispanic section of the grocery store. You could use seasoned salt, garlic powder, cumin, or a blend of your own.)

Cut the pitas in half and then separate the halves into single layers. Cut the individual layers into quarters (you can stack the layers if you would like.) Place the pieces on a baking sheet and brush them with oil. Sprinkle them with the seasonings. Bake at 400 degrees for about 5 mins. or until they are slightly browned and crisp. Watch carefully so they do not burn. Let cool and serve with the dip of your choice.

Enjoy your tasty snack!

Becka

Becka

More recently I have become rather fond of the longer, thinner oriental eggplants. The dark eggplant is one from our garden and the cute little striped ones are some that our neighbor grew in a pot on her deck.

We were served eggplant in China that was really quite tasty and I have discovered a way to prepare it here at home that is similar to what we had there. The secret ingredient is: Hoisin Sauce:

Rather than slicing the eggplant you cut it into small wedge-shaped pieces by turning the eggplant a quarter turn with each cut.

Next you saute it in a bit of oil until it is tender. Then stir in a bit of the Hoisin Sauce and if you like it spicy you could add some red pepper or something else to give it a little kick.

If you have ever watched the film Ratatouille you may remember the signature dish that won the little rat respect as a chef. This is a link to a delicious recipe using eggplant. It is one of our summer favorites. (If you are interested in this recipe and can't get to this link please email me and I will give you details.)

Do any of you have any favorite recipes for eggplant?

Becka

About the only new recipe I have tried recently is this delicious Spinach Orzo Salad. I used some orzo I purchased locally at the Pita House. It's a little larger than most orzo and it didn't have cooking directions in English on the package so I had to guess on the cooking times. My orzo was a little al dente, but we enjoyed it anyway.

I found this recipe over at Tammy's recipe blog. She has many delicious recipes on her blog and if you enjoy cooking you will want to check it out.

Another salad recipe from her blog that we have tried a couple weeks ago is the salad like they serve at Olive Garden. The dressing was good, but next time I plan to substitute lemon juice for the vinegar. We thought it was a bit strong with the amount of vinegar in the recipe. It was amusing to me that DD Megan also tried this salad and posted about it on her blog! I guess we are both fond of Olive Garden salad and Tammy's Recipes.

So, if you are looking for a new salad for dinner one of these hot August nights I would recommend that you check out some of Tammy's recipes.

Becka

Here's a picture of today's recipe:

A friend at work gave me this recipe for Tiramisu. I'm sure this is not an authentic Italian version, but it's pretty quick and easy to make and we find it quite tasty. You can start with a bought pound cake or bake your own.

Tiramisu

slices of pound cake (enough to line a 9" x 13" glass dish)
3/4 cup coffee, cooled
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup (Hershey's is good)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small carton whipped topping
Toffee bits for garnish

Arrange cake slices on bottom of a 9" x 13" glass dish. (Use a fairly deep dish.) Drizzle coffee over cake.
Beat sugar, cream cheese, and chocolate until smooth. blend in whipped topping. Spread on top of cake. Chill several hours before serving. Top with toffee bits to garnish. Note: You can easily substitute low sugar, low fat products for the regular ones in this recipe.

Becka

Since I was banished from the kitchen for a couple of weeks this summer while the renovations were going on I was able to work on another baby quilt from the book in this post. I highly recommend this author's books. The designs are simple and the directions are very clear.

I was able to make this little quilt for a baby girl who is expected to arrive in the home of some friends from church in just a few weeks.

I'm still not comfortable with free-motion quilting so I ended up stitching in the ditch for the quilting. It was a lot of fun working with the "girly" colors and this design went together quickly.

Have any of you been working on sewing projects recently?

Becka

Becka

In France we were once served a cream soup made from cooked radish leaves that was actually quite tasty. I had never thought to cook radish leaves, but I learned that French women are quite adept at turning vegetable trimmings and pieces that are a bit wilted into nutritious and filling pureed soups.

I once read a Mrs. Pigglewiggle story in which a little girl would not take a bath. Mrs. Pigglewiggle advised the mother to plant radish seeds (which grow quickly) on her daughter. When they sprouted this encouraged her to bathe.

Anyway, here is a delicious sandwich filling that contains radishes, among other things. It may sound like an unusual combination, but, as my DH would say, it really is. My friend Joyce first served us these sandwiches when DD, Megan had her first interview in the school she taught at in Michigan. This is a good way to perk up your tuna salad.

Tuna Cottage Cheese Sandwiches

1 cup cottage cheese
1 can tuna, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onion
6 sliced radishes
1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds
4 English muffins, split and toasted

Combine the cottage cheese, tuna, mayonnaise, celery, green onion, radishes, and almonds. Spread on English muffins.

Becka

Sometimes in the summer you want a nice cool dessert that doesn't involve baking. This dessert fills the bill and you can also make it with very little sugar if you desire. I know some of my readers are diabetic or pre-diabetic and one dear reader has gestational diabetes. This dessert might be one that will fit into your diet plan.

Angel Food Dessert

1/2 of a prepared angel food cake
1 3 oz. package sugar free raspberry gelatin
1 cup boiling water
10 oz. frozen raspberries (reserve a few for garnishing)
8 oz. low-fat raspberry yogurt

Tear the cake into small pieces about 3/4 inch in size. Set aside. Pour boiling water on the gelatin and stir to dissolve. Add the frozen berries and stir. Sometimes this will be enough to thicken the gelatin, if not, refrigerate for a few minutes until the gelatin is slightly thickened--about the consistency of an egg white.
Place half of the cake cubes in a large bowl. Top with half of the yogurt, and then half of the gelatin mixture. Repeat the layers and then chill at least two hours before serving. Garnish with whipped topping and reserved berries.

Variations: You can also make this with strawberries, strawberry gelatin, and strawberry yogurt or peaches, etc. You could substitute vanilla or lemon yogurt or pudding or whipped topping.

Becka

Here are the before and after pictures:

Old Sink (rather shallow stainless steel):

New Sink (deeper, almond-colored Kohler smart divide porcelain) :

Old Counter (beige laminate):

New Counter (granite patterned laminate):

We had first seen this counter top material earlier this summer when we were up in Ohio visiting DSIL and DBIL, Deb and Dan in Ohio. They are re-doing their kitchen and had chosen this exact same material. We really liked it and decided to put it in our kitchen if it was available down here.

This was the first time I have ever chosen a new sink or new counter tops. I had seen a smart divide sink when we visited our friends Cathy and David in North Carolina. I debated whether to get a two compartment sink or one large one and this option (the smart divide has a lower center partition) seemed like the best of both options.

We still have a bit of touch-up work to finish up and a few things to put away, but hopefully we are finished with big projects for the summer. We are thankful that the Lord provided this opportunity to redo the kitchen and look forward to using it for many years to come.

Becka

I recently had a birthday and I received two of these non-stick Madeleine pans from DH. I tried them out for the first time this week and made these lemony Madeleines. I have eaten Madeleines before, but I had never attempted to make them. I discovered that most of the recipes are basically sponge cake recipes that you bake in these special shell-shaped pans to produce tender, cake like cookies. I think they would be nice as refreshments for a shower or tea.

I work in an office with two other ladies. We often discuss books that we are reading or authors that we have enjoyed. This summer all three of us have been enjoying books by Alexander McCall Smith, a Scottish author who has written a delightful series of books about The Number One Ladies Detective Agency. The stories take place in Botswana, South Africa. They do not contain a lot of violence or bad language — the stories are primarily about relationships between people and you can learn a lot about the customs and life in Botswana. I have found the stories to be quite charming.

One thing that the ladies in the Number One Ladies Detective Agency do quite often is to drink Bush Tea.They also treat themselves to donuts on Fridays. I found some Kalahari Bush Tea at a local grocery store (Ingles) and on Friday we had a little tea party at work with the Bush Tea and Madeleines. The tea is a herbal tea and we tried a variety that was lemony. It went quite well with the lemon-flavored Madeleines. It was a fun way to end the week.

Becka

Salmon Patties

1 16 oz. can salmon
1 egg
1/3 cup finely minced onion
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
2-3 Tbsps. cooking oil

Drain the salmon and place in a bowl. Add the egg, onion, flour, and baking powder and mix lightly. Form into small balls. You can get 8-10 from this amount. Place the balls on a plate or tray (line with waxed paper) and let stand for about 15 mins. This helps them to firm up a bit. When ready to fry the patties, heat the oil in a skillet and then gently place each ball in and press down with your fingers to form a patty. This method helps to prevent them from breaking. Brown for about 3-4 mins. and then turn with a spatula to brown the other side. Drain on paper towels and serve.

Since I had just the small 5 oz. can, I halved all the ingredients. (To halve an egg: break into a cup, stir with a fork, and then use just half.) This amount was perfect for two people. You can also make these with a can of tuna if desired.

I had mentioned in the comments section of my last post about an accident a former Home Economics student of mine had where she broke a cast iron skillet. I was actually rather stunned because I thought those things were indestructible. Our class was meeting in a basement kitchen which had a concrete sub floor. When she dropped the skillet it broke right in two. Children and students have a way of doing things you never thought possible!

Becka

Here is the old, dingy, stained white vinyl floor:

Here is our friend Bill installing the new tile:

Here is the finished look:

We are very thankful for the opportunity to replace the old vinyl linoleum and are very happy with the new look.

Becka

Since I was pretty much banned from the kitchen for about a week I started work on a sewing project--another baby quilt. I'll post pictures of that soon as well. This one is girly and I've been having fun working on it.

In the meantime here's a cool and easy summer pie recipe:

Symphony Pie

1 King size Symphony Candy Bar (4.5 oz.) milk chocolate or toffee flavored
1/4 cup water
8 oz. tub Whipped Topping
a prepared graham cracker crust

Break up the candy bar into a large microwavable bowl. Add the water and heat for 45 seconds. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Set aside briefly to cool. Stir in about 1/3 of the whipped topping to cool the chocolate and then fold in the remainder. Pour into the crust and freeze for at least three hours. Garnish with additional whipped topping, chocolate syrup, chocolate or toffee chips.

I have also made this using 1 cup chocolate chips and omitting the water when I did not have a Symphony bar.

Becka

Here's one of the recipes I made up and stuck in the freezer:

Pizza Sub Rolls

6 sub rolls
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 jar pizza sauce
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef in a skillet. Drain off accumulated fat and then add green peppers and onion and cook until tender. Add pizza sauce and Italian seasoning. Let cool a bit and then stir in about half of the cheese. Spoon into the sub buns and then top with additional cheese. Wrap each one individually.

I wrapped each one in foil since I will be heating them in a toaster oven in our temporary kitchen in the bathroom. Heat in the oven for about 10-15 mins. If you want to heat them in the microwave wrap them in plastic wrap and microwave for about a minute.

Stay tuned for before and after pictures of our new kitchen floor!

Becka

This Peanut Butter Pie is a specialty from my friend Linda.You know you have a true friend when she invites your family over for dinner right before a major kitchen remodel! This pie is delicious and I hope you will keep it in mind the next time you need a cool dessert that can be made up ahead of time.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

Crust:
1 sleeve graham crackers, broken
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup melted margarine or butter
Combine crackers, sugar, and cocoa in food processor and whirl to make crumbs. Add the melted margarine and whirl again until the crumbs look like wet sand. Press into a 10" pie plate.

Peanut Butter Filling:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
2 cups powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip
8 oz. cream cheese
Soften cream cheese and then cream together with the peanut butter. Add the powdered sugar and milk alternately and beat until smooth. Fold in the Cool Whip. Pour into the crust and freeze. This looks pretty garnished with chocolate syrup.

This chocolate crust could be used for a number of desserts:

Enjoy on a hot summer day!

Becka

I'm not sure what the name actually is, but I will call them:

Ranch Pretzels

1 pound pretzel twists
1 packet dry ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 cup Orville Redenbacher buttery flavor popcorn oil

Place pretzels in a large bowl. Sprinkle on the dry salad dressing mix. Pour on the popcorn oil and stir to coat. Stir periodically until all the oil is absorbed the the pretzels look sort of dusty. Try to pace your eating!

Here is a picture of the buttery popcorn oil:

Becka

One of my favorite activities while staying in a hotel is watching programs on the food network. The night we were watching in the hotel we happened to catch a program — Drive-Ins, Diners, and Dives — featuring various restaurants and their specialties. They mentioned a place in Knoxville, Tennessee called the Pizza Palace. Since we would be traveling through Knoxville the next day we decided to stop and try it out. We were not disappointed!

The Pizza Palace is not a fancy place, but the food was very tasty. We actually stopped again on our way to take Megan and Drew to Cincinnati this past weekend and then again on our way home. Here are a few pictures in case you would like to try it sometime when you are in Knoxville:

Here's a picture of the restaurant:

Here is Jerry tossing pizza dough:

Here are the onion rings prepared by Chef Monroe :

The spaghetti is one of their specialties.

This pizza was delicious.

Our waitresses, Vanessa and Pat were exceptionally friendly and helpful. It was a fun little adventure and we plan to go back in the future when we pass through the area. It's right down the street from the Knoxville Zoo. I would encourage you to give it a try and then let me know how you like it.

Becka

While we were in Michigan we spent a day in Toledo, Ohio, and went to the zoo, ate supper at Tony Packo's and went to a Toledo Mud Hen game. Here are some pictures from our adventures that day:

The zoo has several polar bears, including this adorable 5 month old:

When we walked up to the gorilla enclosure this fellow ran up to the glass and banged on it giving us all quite a scare.

Drew really enjoyed petting and brushing the goats.

We ate supper at Tony Packos. We had heard about this restaurant for many years, but this was our first visit. We enjoyed it very much.

The restaurant was right across the street from the Toledo Mud Hen ball field:

Here are Meg, Jim, and Drew at the game:

Here we are at the game:

And, finally, here is Drew meeting the Mud Hen Mascot, Mudonna:

Becka