Time To Simplify….

I’ve been here four years, and it’s time to move on. Please join me over at Paper&Clouds, where I’ll be writing about everything from fabric and sewing to crafting and cooking to design and dreaming. I can’t wait.

The Spice Solution

Four metallic strips, that hold five tins each. Plenty of space. On the side of the fridge. Cooking is fun again.

Corn and Cod (well, Flounder) Chowder

Our grocery store was out of Cod. In fact, it was out of almost all frozen fish. So, we were stuck with Flounder. I wasn’t too concerned since it was for a chowder, and it seemed to turn out just fine. The recipe for this delightful Corn and (fish) Chowder from Food and Wine was pretty easy, a bit of chopping, a bit of substitutions (half and half for cream, leek for celery) but it was really good. And I’m looking forward to leftovers.

And did you know that last Saturday was National Soup Sway Day? Neither did I. But any of you local readers up for a swap? I am….

Quick: Thai Coconut Chicken

More chicken, this time marinated in a Thai Coconut Sauce. This one was good. Really good. Even better with some simple sauteed peppers. Too bad we learned daughter has a mild allergy to fresh peppers. Off to Walgreens for Benadryl I go…

Quick: Chicken with Cherry Tomato Sauce

The January issue of Cooking Light is full of great recipes for Chicken Breasts. Which is good, because it’s a staple aroudn here. We made this one with a side of rice and sugar snap peas with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Not too bad….

Wondrous Dim Sum

shrimp dumpling and shark fin dumpling

We met a few (six) friends for Dim Sum this past Sunday. It was so much fun. And the Bloody Mary wasn’t too bad either!

pork dumpling and calamari ceviche

wasabi bloody mary

shrimp something, pork bun and fried spring rolls

Spicy Solution

I figured it out! Finally, a solution to my spice storage issue.  I was surfing along when I found this. I’ve considered the magnetic jars, and even have a few right now for decoration, but didn’t want to clutter up my wall with a lot of them. But inside the cupboard? Genius! So, I found these at Bed, Bath and Beyond and I’m sure two, maybe three, will fit in the cupboard.  So, now, I ask you, which spices do you use the most often? I’m planning to have room for 12. Which 12 spices should they be?

Quick Shrimp Curry

Sauteed Onions, a can of Lite Coconut Milk, a scoop of red curry paste, a splash of fish sauce, a dash of salt and a pound of shrimp. Yum.

Perfect

Salted Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ice Cream from Lucia’s.

Cooky Book

It’s already December 14 and I haven’t even started my holiday baking. Augh! I’m so behind. Meanwhile, I thought I’d procrastinate even longer by showing you this great book that belonged to my Great Aunt. Every year she baked a traditional holiday cookie called BerlinerKranser.

Now that I have her Cooky Book I feel obligation and honored to bake a batch to share with the family. I’ll post a photo just as soon as I can get ’em done!