Blueberry Morning

Blueberries are in season now and there are many grown in Texas.  Some from Kerrville the other day were the best blueberries I have ever tasted.  Perfectly sweet with a great skin... one could pop them into the mouth like candy.  This day I changed up my usual recipe for Blueberry Muffins and made the batter more cake like.  The result was moist and rich.  Served them up with tea on some old porcelain dishes from Japan, some monogrammed teaspoons and used old handkerchiefs as napkins.

Unique and Delicious

Here is a recipe for "fried" (baked) yam or sweet potato wedges.  Think they're not delicious?  Think again and give them a try.  

Here are the few ingredients you will need:  For every two people, a large yam or sweet potato. Some salt and pepper, a little oil and some paprika. 

Start by washing the yam/sweet potato.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Dry the potato with a paper towel and poke it with a fork about 4 times.  Place on a paper towel and microwave until tender or near tender (about 3-5 minutes, depending on your microwave and the size of the yam/sweet potato.)  While the potato is cooking in the microwave, into a large bowl place two teaspoons of oil (I recommend Extra Virgin Olive Oil), one-half teaspoon of good paprika, about one-fourth teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of  black pepper.  Mix together.  Remove carefully the hot potato from the microwave and allow it to rest on a cutting board for at least 5-10 minutes.  Using a sharp knife, cut the potato in half lengthwise.  Then cut it again in half through the middle.  Now, cut "fries" to your desired thickness.  Lightly toss all in the large bowl with the paprika mixture and gently shake and toss until all the potato wedges are coated.  Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam or similar product, spreading them out so they do not touch.  Bake in the oven for about fifteen minutes, checking on them frequently toward the end.   If desired, you can turn the potato fries about half-way through the baking process but I never find it necessary.

Enjoy these unique and delicious fries.  Alert!  One potato may not be enough for two people - these fries are so good, you might need to use one potato for each person!  If necessary, add more salt and pepper to taste.

Homemade Pizza for Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day Weekend, I made my homemade pizza - a recipe that I have perfected over the years.

First, I start with homemade pizza dough, spread it out in a pan that has been coated with Crisco and then corn meal.  Then I sprinkle the dough with powdered garlic, along the edges, then Parmesan cheese all over and lastly, I use the Italian Seasonings grinder and lay down a nice layer of Italian Seasonings.

 Next, I add cooked and seasoned very lean ground turkey (99% fat-free) and on top of that, sliced big, beefy tomatoes.  I sprinkle basil and oregano over all, and add a little salt and pepper.  Then just a little crushed, dried parsley on top of all the tomatoes.

 Then a layer of onions and fresh, sliced mushrooms.

 Now a layer of chopped green pepper.

A layer of chopped or sliced black olives over all is the last ingredient before the cheese.  All is topped off with finely shredded mozzarella cheese.  Then popped into the oven at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.  Keep an eye on it for the last ten minutes.

ENJOY!!

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Tasty Lunch At the Museum

 My two dear friends and I had a wonderful lunch at the museum in Phoenix.  Pictured at left, a bowl of spicy tortilla soup and a delicious chicken salad and sliced apple sandwich on cranberry and walnut bread.  Very yummy.  I had tried my hand at making cranberry walnut bread without much success.  Just doesn't taste the same.

Here is the dining room of the aptly named The Cafe.  ...Intimate and just perfect for a day out with friends.

More Photos of Our Culinary Delights in Mexico

A Tribute to "Anyone Can Bake"

"To one person it is given to take brushes and colors and so combine them that there is produced a work of art.  To another is given the ability to set down the melody lying in his imagination so that when it is played there comes forth music which is called a masterpiece.    Just as paints and oils and musical notes are all about us, there are, at every hand, wide varieties of food products which one may fashion into dishes which, too, are works of art."  And thus begins the Forward in one of my favorite cookbooks.

The cookbook, Anyone Can Bake, published in 1927, once belonged to my maternal grandmother.  At some point it got passed along to my mother and later to me.  It is a charming book, full of wonderful advice and great recipes, excellent photographs and even colored drawings of cakes and pies and biscuits and such.  It was compiled and published by the Educational Department of the Royal Baking Powder Company in New York. 

The cookbook even includes advice about setting an elegant table and menus to serve.  After 84 years, the cover has fallen off and the pages are crumbling at the edges, yet I still refer to it for certain recipes, turning the pages with great care.  Pages 6 and 7 illustrate how to set a table with variations for individual taste.  Imagine a cookbook today advising to set the table with a damask cloth, with at least a 12 inch overhang, and silverware to be set at exactly one inch from the edge of the table.

As a tribute to this charming cookbook, I have set a table to mimic those in the photographs.  Enjoy.