Baba's Rancher's Cookies

 

 

 

Rancher’s Cookies

1 cup Golden Crisco shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

½ tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. salt

2 cups Oatmeal

1 cup shredded or flaked Coconut

1 cup Rice Krispies

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream shortening, sugars and eggs.  Add flour, B.Powder, B. Soda, and salt, blend, add rolled oats, blend and then add coconut and krispies. Dough will be nice and soft. Form small walnut shaped balls and press down with fork on lightly greased baking pans. Bake 10-12 minutes. I use light, silver coloured baking pans…old fashioned ones….because I find the newer ones burn too quick. Depending on how large your cookies are…you can easily get 5-6 dozen.

Really good cookies with Hot Chocolate or Tea.... 

Baba's Blintze's with Raspberries

     Blintzes:

        4 large beaten eggs

        1/2 cup water

        1/2 cup milk

        1/2 teaspoon salt

        1 cup all-purpose flour

        Filling:

         1 pound ricotta

         1 tablespoon melted butter

      1 large egg yolk

      2 teaspoons vanilla

      1/4 cup sugar or more or less  to taste

Preparation:

1.    To make the blintzes, beat together all the blintz ingredients and let the batter rest for at least a half hour. Heat a small crepe pan and add a pat of butter. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into the pan and swirl it around….burner set on 5.  Don't let it brown. Flip and cook the other side for a few seconds. Then turn blintz out onto a towel. Repeat with  remaining batter and pats of butter. I used ¼ cup and got 10 crepes with a bit of filling left over,  and  found the crepes too thick and had filling left over.  Next time I would use 1/8 of a cup of batter( maybe a smidge more) and make about 20 blintzes.

 

2.    To make the filling, mix together all the filling ingredients in a large bowl.

 

 

 

3.    To assemble, place 1 blintz on a work surface and place 1 tablespoon on top. Fold envelope style and roll up. Continue with remaining blintzes and filling.

 

 

 

 

 

 Can be frozen at this point if you like and just reheated in frypan frozen when desired.

4.    Fry filled blintzes in butter until golden brown. Serve with whipped cream and / or fruit or sour cream.

Or…

 

turn oven to 350 degrees.....arrange crepes in 9 by 13 pan…dot with 2-3 Tbsp. butter…cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes……take off foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until browned.  This way the egg cooks right through the crepe.

 

 

 

 

 

Most beautiful Boyz

Moonstruck eggs and toast

So I wake up and have this craving for toast and eggs. My coffee is brewing and as I make way into the kitchen to start breakfast I remember that I have no toaster. My fairly new Black and Decker Stainless steel toaster has seen the last of it's two years. So much for technology, Black and Decker and all this "Made in China" crap.  So what do you do?  You improvise.

Butter 2 slices bread on each side and use your multifunctional Tomato Paste can to cut out two rounds.  No high powered tools here.

 

 

Save rounds as you will be frying these too.

 

Place in medium heated fry pan and break an egg into each hole.

 

Just keep checking on the underneath of toast for browness and then flip with ready. By the time toast is grilled brown and you flip and get the other side brown you will have an all white cooked  over easy egg.  If you want it harder..smash down with spatula and leave and flip a bit longer. The toast is buttered so it will stay moist. The rounds become dippers.

Voila....no toaster but have eggs n' toast with my coffee

 

Aselin Debison - The Gift

Video 18 with Lukee

Best, best Christmas presents

 

This is one of my nicest Christmas presents from a 75 year old client....does she have class or what?

 

 

Cutest hair....lost glamour

 

 

Cute nails

 

Karpatka Polish Mountain Cake

 

 

On a dreary day when there is no sunshine and it is snowing what do you do? You make a cake, a dessert or some soup. So I always try to draw some cooking creativity from Polish cusine. When I was in Poland and Ukraine I loved this cake. They have many versions of these custard filled pastries, unlike our dessert shops here. The thing that is more common there is that you will have this in someone's home versus a pastry shop. This is a peasant cake resembling the Carpathian mountains covered in snow. It has a puff pastry crust and delicious custard filling.  The puff pastry rising like a mountain range in the oven.  Absolutely gorgeous! No storebought pastry will tase as good as when you make this yourself. Easy recipe with normal ingredients. No running to the store to buy some 10 dollar bottle of something of which you only need a pinch. Unless of course you want an expensive bottle of red wine to wash it down....then run to the liqour store. Absolutely scrumptious looking and tastes as good as it looks. . Double yummo! Smaczny! Smaczny!

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1 Tsp. baking Powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter

5 eggs

4 cups milk

1 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

2 Tsp. vanilla

5 Tbsp. cornstarch + 5 Tbsp. flour

1 cup butter at room temperature

Icing Sugar

 

Bring 1 cup water and butter to boil. Add flour, BPowder and salt stiring quickly on low heat. Remove from pan and mix 1 minute until dough easily comes off walls of pot.

 

 

 

Set aside and cool.  Transfer to  a mixing bowl with whisk and one by one add one egg until smooth like butter.  Grease two 9 by 13 pans and lightly dust with flour. Patiently spread 1/2 mixture into each  pan until base of pan is covered.

 

Pop into a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 minures.  I used the top rack in my oven.

 

It comes out looking like the mountains.
Gorgeous!

 

While crust cooks, in a bowl whisk together 1 cup milk, vanilla, yolks and cornstarch and flour until smooth.

 

 

In a saucepan put the remaining 3 cups milk on medium until sides of milk get tiny bubbles..do not boil.  Add the sugar stirring quickly until well combined and melted. Slowly add the flour-egg mixture whisking consistently on low-medium heat until everything starts to thicken like a pudding.  Remove from heat and pour into a bowl and cover with saran so it doesn't form a layer of skin on top of filling.  Let cool. In a mixing bowl mix 1 cup butter and slowly add cooled custard to butter until well combined.

Remove one crust from pan and set on a wire rack.

 

 

 

  Line the  empty  pan with overlapping parchment paper.  Set crust back in pan. This is for easy removal later.  Spoon filling over crust in pan and cover with remaing crust pressing down gently.  I actually had to slice a bit of my high mountain top off before it spooned on the fillling. Cool in fridge for 2 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

Monster Meatballs and Chuckwagon Soup

 

Make a pot of Veggie Soup.

I used carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onions and celery.  Depending on how many veggies you use....add water to cover.  I like lots of veggies. Add 2 Tbsp. Veggie stock and simmer about 15 minutes. Then add 1 can diced tomatoes...simmer until veggies are soft . Season with salt and pepper. While soup is cookin',  I boil up some Wagonwheels and Alphabets pasta  in another pot.  I like to add these last with some fresh broccoli just to steam.  I make my meatballs in advance, freeze them,  and just pop them in the soup at the last minute to heat thoroughly.  Make buttered toast with Parmesan cheese sprinkled and a little bit of garlic salt and stick in oven to keep warm.Yummy on a cold day.

Warcoczy

Braids can be fun...woulda been nicer if I woulda  had a comb or a brush.

 

 

 

Even boys can wear braids

Braids can be fun for cousins after a day playing in the leaves.....

Cabbage, Potato and Mushroom Soup

 

 

 

 

Cabbage, Potato and Mushroom Soup

1/3 head of cabbage cut in chunks( I used a bit more)

2 potatoes cut in chunks

4-5 carrots chunked

1/3 cup raw long grain rice

1  onion

2 litres water or more to cover veggies..I used more

I tbsp. chicken powder broth( I used 2 for the amount of water I had)

1 can Wild Mushroom soup

Bring all  veggies with ½ an  onion to a boil and simmer till veggies are cooked.

Sauté  the other ½ onion in 3 Tbsp. butter until carmelized.  Add onions to pot.  Add 2 Tbsp. flour to hot fry pan and fry till golden brown...add to pot.  Throw in a can of wild mushroom soup  and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Enjoy.

I added slivers of Black forest ham to mine with a sprinkle of dill.

 

Then top it off with a piece of Polish Apple cake

 

 

 

 

Cajun Chicken, Shrimp Pasta, made with a Cajun cream sauce.

Ingredients

·         3 Tbsp. olive oil

·         2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin

·         1 package cooked frozen shrimp

·         2 1/2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning, divided

·         3 small bell peppers, cored and thinly sliced (I used a red, orange and yellow bell pepper)

·         3 roma tomatoes, diced

·         1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 Tbsp. butter

·         1 Tbsp. flour

·         11/2 cup chicken stock

·         1/2 cup heavy cream (or you can reduce to 1/4 cup)

·         12 oz. dried penne pasta

·         sliced or grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

·         thinly sliced green onions, for garnish

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced chicken breasts and sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of the Cajun seasoning. Give them a quick stir to combine. Then saute for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and is no longer pink. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside in a large bowl.

Place frozen shrimp in a bowl of water and let sit until chicken is cooked to thaw a bit. When chicken is removed from fry pan, add a little oil and stir fry shrimp until hot…sprinkle a bit of Cajun spice over shrimp while frying….then remove from pan and put in bowl with chicken.

Into fry pan add an additional 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add the bell peppers, tomatoes and onion. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add garlic. Continue sauteing for an additional 3-5 minutes until the edges of the veggies begin to brown just slightly. Transfer the veggies with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the chicken and set aside.

(I recommend adding the pasta to the boiling water at this point.)

Add the tablespoon of butter to the skillet, and once it is nearly melted, sprinkle the flour over it. Stir together to make a roux, and then cook for an additional minute, stirring occasionally. Add the  chicken broth and stir immediately to combine it with the roux, being sure to also scrape the brown bits on the bottom of the pan to grab that extra flavor.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for 5 minutes to reduce. Add the cream, pinch of cayenne, and remaining 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning, and stir until combined. Season with additional salt and pepper if need be.

Add your cooked pasta, chicken and veggies to the sauce and stir until evenly combined. Serve the pasta garnished with Parmesan and sliced green onions.

Big recipe ….would probably feed 6 with a nice salad, garlic toast and a bottle of wine.

 Yummo!

My Mean Eagle

My first sketch in a long time

My Litte Paree

Pickled Yellow beans and Carrots

1 bag beans( about 4-5 quarts)

3 bunches  baby carrots

4 quarts water

1 quart vinegar

3/4 cup pickling salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. turmeric

garlic cloves

baby dill
1/4 tsp. pickling spice

Scrub beans and cut ends off. Clean or scrape carrots and ends.  I scraped mine even tho' they were baby carrots. In each jar put 1 clove garlic and a small sprig of baby dill and 1/4 tsp. pickling spice. Boil water, vinegar, sugar, and salt about 3 minutes.  Have your lids boiling for 2 minutes.  I made 7 pints, 4 3/4 pints and still had brine left over for maybe 2 jars, but ran out of veggies. The turmeric just gives the veggies a brighter colour throughout the winter.  Sometimes if I want a hotter taste I add one small dried chili pepper per jar.  This is better with green beans if you want them spicier for Caesar stir sticks, but I prefer no chili pepper.

Alexandra Edelberg быстрая причёска 1.wmv

In the Midst of Life

This poem was written by the Polish poet, Tadeusz Ròzewicz, after the war ended. He was 24.
Even tho' written after the war it can be inspirational to anyone changing a perspective in life.

In the Midst of Life
by Tadeusz Rozewicz

After the end of the world
after death
I found myself in the midst of life
creating myself
building life
people, animals, landscapes

this is a table I said,
this is a table,
there is bread and a knife on the table,
knife serves to cut bread,
people are nourished by bread

man must be loved
I learnt by night by day
what must one love
I would reply man

this is a window I said,
this is a window,
there is a garden beyond the window
I see an apple-tree in the garden
the apple-tree blossoms
the blossom falls
fruit is formed
ripens

my father picks the apple
the man who picks the apple
is my father

I sat on the threshold
that old woman who
leads a goat on a string
is needed more
is worth more
that seven wonders of the world
anyone who thinks or feels
she is not needed
is a mass murderer

this is a man
this is a tree, this is bread
people eat to live
I kept saying to myself
human life is important
human life has great importance

the value of life
is greater than the value of all things
which man has created
man is a great treasure
I repeated stubbornly

this is water I said
I stroked the waves with my hand
and talked to the river
water I would say
nice water
this is me

man talked to water
talked to the moon
to the flowers and to rain
talked to the earth
to the birds
to the sky

the sky was silent
the earth was silent
and if a voice was heard
flowing
from earth water and sky
it was a voice of another man

Ти ж мене підманула...

Banana Raspberry Muffins

Banana Raspberry Muffins

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
2 medium ripe bananas mashed
1 egg
 1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup frozen raspberries

Greased Muffin tins.  Mix egg, sugar, oil, banannas and vanilla, sour cream.  Add dry ingredients. I substituted sour cream for milk....my batter was a little dry so I added just a smidge of milk to loosen it up.  Add frozen raspberries and bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.
Could add chocolate chips if you need a blast of chocolate.

Raspberries were fresh yesterday at Safeway and on sale,  and I froze them for these muffins as I find frozen ones don't break up as fast in the batter and the batter stays white instead of pink.