I want you all to know that I am so very appreciative of the
comments you always leave on my posts, and that I do generally try to respond to
each and every one of them. On here, on facebook, on Instagram, etc. My motto has always been if someone has been
generous enough to take the time to comment, then I need to be generous enough
to respond. Comments are not always kind
however and I usually try to brush the unkind ones off, but today I want to
respond to a particularly unkind and insensitive comment which was left on my
post on the Knives Expert site on my Roasted Chicken recipe, which said simply:
“What family? You live alone with your husband.”
Dear Beccy033,
Thank you so very much for your comment. How very kind it
was of you to remind me that my husband has outlived all three of his children, and
that my own children and grandchildren live over 2000 miles away from us. You sweet words sure gave me the warm and
fuzzies. It also prompted me to think
about what it is exactly that constitutes a family.
At its very most basic, a family is the
compilation of a group of individuals who share a legal or genetic bond. It can consist of a very large group of people, or it
can be as simple as just two people who live under the same roof, or not, it could be an individual and their cat/dog. Many family members may live outside the actual home,
coming together from time to time to celebrate occasions and to just hang out.
To many
people, however, family means much more than this, and even the simple idea of
genetic bonds can be far more complicated than it might seem on the surface.
There are many kinds of families. I have often heard it said that friends are
the family that one gets to choose for themselves. There
are step and blended families, adopted families, foster families, and childless
families, all in addition to what might be seen as the so called “normal” family. Some
families have two moms or two dads.
Childless families might include pets as their family members.
Essentially, I like to think that a family is composed
of individuals and groups of people who share an emotional and spiritual
connection, even if they share no legal or genetic bonds. For example one's “Church Family” may have
shared spiritual connections and values, whereas a “Work Family” might share long
term relationships based on common experiences and activities, and hopefully . . . a shared
and pleasant work space.
I suppose what I am saying really is
that the definition of what constitutes a family is something that is
living and breathing, very fluid and constantly evolving, and it is individual and unique to each of us. Every
person can define family in a different way to encompass the relationships they
share with the people in their lives, which, over time . . . can, will and should change as one's
life changes, and the importance of family values and rituals deepen. Basically, every member who is truly
considered to be a part of a family will help to make and keep it richer.
So when I choose to gather family around my table for a
special meal or lunch, this might sometimes indeed only be my husband and I, or
it might include some of the many wonderful people we have chosen to invite to
share our lives and occasions with us, and certainly on very choice and rare
occasions it might even include some of my own children or extended family
members. The point is, “I” am the one
who gets to decide who is and who isn’t a member of my family. Often, I like to think that my family also
consists of the sweet and loyal people who drop by every day to see what I am
cooking and share my recipes with me. I
am always happy to see them, and I usually, more often than not, appreciate the
kind words they leave for me. May it be
ever so.
And just so you know, whilst I would really like to say
you are not invited to dinner, the kind of person that I am would never refuse,
even you . . . . a place at my table.
When I was cooking that roast chicken dinner for the other site I write on, I wanted to cook a few side dishes to have along with the roast chicken and the potatoes.
I made my Sage & Onion Stuffing because we both love that very much.
And then I roasted some parsnips and carrots at the same time I was roasting the chicken.
We had been gifted a bag of them by our friends Tina and Tony and I wanted to use them while they were still really fresh!
Remember these funky carrots I showed you the other day? Apparently that is caused when your soil is full of stones.
You get these weird looking almost alien carrots. I was wondering how on earth I was going to peel them . . . and then in bed one night it came to me!
Break them down into smaller carrots. Doesn't everyone think about things like this in bed? Please tell me I am not crazy or anything!
Anyways, that is what I did and I ended up with quit a bundle of carrots!
Once I turned them into individual carrots, and peeled them, it was very easy to cut them into manageable strips.
My parsnips were quite large also, so these were cut into quarters or sixths.
After that I par-boiled them for about 5 minutes in some lightly salted water. It doesn't take long. You don't actually want to cook them through.
You just want them so that they don't take too long to cook in the oven. Because they are coated in a sweetish mixture, you run the risk of them burning if they are in the oven too long.
I coated them in a mix of melted butter, Dijon mustard and liquid honey . . .
And then I roasted them for about 30 to 40 minutes.
They came out perfect. Lightly glazed, a bit caramelised in parts, and beautifully crispy tender.
Yield: 4
Honey Mustard Roasted Parsnips & Carrots
Crispy tender, glazed and delicious.
ingredients:
- 4 parsnips, peeled cut into strips
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut into strips
- fine sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste
- 1 TBS melted butter
- 1 TBS Dijon Mustard
- 2 TBS liquid honey
instructions:
How to cook Honey Mustard Roasted Parsnips & Carrots
- Cook the parsnips and carrots in a pot of lightly salted boiling water for 5 minutes, drain well.
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the vegetables in one layer.
- Whisk together the melted butter, mustard and honey. Place the drained vegetables into a buttered dish. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mustard mixture over top and toss together to coat. Distribute evenly in the pan. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, until crispy on the outsides, but tender inside. Delicious!
These really were gorgeous. I think I might make them again for Thanksgiving in a few weeks time!
Up Tomorrow: Spiced Plum Cake
My latest article is now live on Chef Knives Expert. You are going to really love this Roasted Garlic & Herb Chicken with Melting Potatoes Recipe. Not only does it all cook in one dish but it is fabulously tasty!
A whole free range, corn fed organic chicken, rubbed with butter and stuffed with butter, garlic and herbs is roasted on top of a flavourful bed of potatoes, garlic, stock and white wine . . .
until the chicken is crisp skinned and succulent and the potatoes are meltingly tender. So delicious!
You can go HERE for the recipe! Tell them I sent you! Roast chicken never tasted so good!
This is another recipe that I found in that old tin recipe box of mine. I am intrigued by old recipes such as this.
First there is the nostalgic factor . . . and then there is the fact that once upon a time I thought enough of what I was seeing here to want to save it.
Frank-ly Chili. This recipe comes from the people at Maple Leaf Wieners. Once again very Canadian as was yesterday's recipe.
I am sure that I saved it because my children would have loved it. Also it was fairly economical. I would have had to double it for my family as there were 7 of us. I was always on the look-out for economical meals that were delicious and that I thought my family would love.
What child doesn't love hot dogs, wieners, frankfurters or whatever you choose to call them? You know, every Friday night of my childhood was Hot Dog night in our house. My mom was known for her ability to make delicious hot dogs and our friends used to wish for an invite to dine on hot dog night.
In my late teens mom discovered a recipe for chili con carne which was found on the side of a tomato soup tin. Saturday nights then became Chili Night. I loved that we could tell what day of the week it was by what was for supper.
So this recipe really intrigued me and I found myself wanting to try it . . .
I used several of the Jumbo Dinner Franks that you get at Costco. For some reason they have not had the regular sized ones for quite a while now.
I used 3 of the big ones as I reckoned that sliced, they would be the equivalent of the amount that the recipe asked for.
A tin of good tomatoes and you know what kind I like. I have started stock-piling tomatoes actually. I heard a rumour that once Brexit hits, tomatoes will be hard to come by as most of our tinned tomatoes come from Italy. Not sure if this is true, but I'm not taking any chances.
Tinned tomatoes are one thing which is a must have store cupboard ingredient in my house!
On the day I bought my groceries I could not get a green pepper all on its own, so once again I used my store cupboard and used some of the frozen peppers I had in the freezer, and they were a mix of colours. They worked well.
The chili powder used here is the milder North American version, which is actually a mixture of several things and not pure ground chillies. In the UK, don't make the mistake of using the full amount of UK chili powder. It will blow your head off. IF you are using UK chili powder, I would only add about 1/2 tsp, and a quantity of smoked paprika, or whatever your tongue tells you is the right amount.
This was really quite tasty. It was also quite filling. I always like to sprinkle a bit of cheese on top of my chili. Normally I would also add a TBS of sour cream to the top as well, but alas, we had none. In any case we both enjoyed this very much!
Yield: 4
Frank-ly Chili
This is an old prize winning recipe from a contest put on by Maple Leaf Wieners back in the 1970's.
ingredients:
- 8 to 10 frankfurters, sliced thinly
- 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 1/2 small green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano flakes
- 2 TBS oil
- 1 (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice, undrained (14 oz)
- 1 (400g) tin of kidney beans, undrained (14 oz)
- 1 1/2 TBS mild chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- dash pepper
- 1 TBS vinegar
- 1 TBS sugar
instructions:
How to cook Frank-ly Chili
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, peppers and sliced frankfurters. Cook, stirring, until the onion and peppers are soft. Add the garlic, chili powder and herbs, and cook for a further minute. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook slowly for 1 hour. Serve with toast points and a green salad.
Its really a lot of fun digging through my old recipe collection and picking out things I had thought worthy of saving. Not a dud in the bunch thus far! This only goes to prove that I've always had good taste! 😉
Up Tomorrow: Mustard & Honey Roasted Parsnips & Carrots
My mother made beautiful bread and rolls. She used to make them weekly before she started working full time, but only ever very infrequently after that.
You knew you were in for a real treat when you got home from school, and just outside of our house . . . and the air was filled with the smell of baking bread. Oh boy, but my heart did skip a beat with joy!
I am not so great at making bread. My ex husband used to make all of our bread. With five children we went through a lot of bread and so he took it upon himself when he was home to make it all. He made big beautiful big fluffy loaves.
He would dance our kitchen table across the floor when he was kneading it, flour would be everywhere . . . a huge mess for me to clean up, but I never minded because his bread was flawless. He would bake six loaves at a time.
One loaf used to disappear almost as soon as it came out of the oven. Everyone had to have a piece . . . hot and spread with cold butter. My favourite bit was always the middle fluff from where the sides of the double loaf would be stuck together . . .
I found this little Fleischmann's Yeast Leaflet the other day when I was going through an recipe box of mine. I can't tell you how old it is, but I reckon it is pretty old.
Its Canadian for one thing, the design screams 1960's to me, and all of the measurements are in cups not grams, so it predates Canada going metric with all of its measurements.
I never did cotton on to metric you know . . . I still always think in cups and ounces, quarts and miles . . . you can't teach an old dog new tricks in some respects.
And yet in many ways I am quite modern. I guess I am what they call a bit of an enigma!
Anyways, this White Batter Rolls recipe comes from that little leaflet.
There are a couple more recipes in the leaflet, for Waffles, Pan Rolls and Cinnamon Bun Loaf, plus an offer of a full sized book, "When You Bake with Yeast" for only 25cents.
Those were the days when you could trust putting a coin in an envelope along with your return address, and you knew that what you were sending for would eventually come.
Nobody would steal your coin.
I am sitting here now wondering why I didn't send for the full book.
Probably because when this came out 25 cents was a full week's allowance for me and I didn't have money for a stamp on top of that.
These White Batter Rolls sounded simple and very do-able. Quick to make as well. They were very easy to make I have to say and came out perfect.
Shortly after they came out of the oven, I rubbed the tops with some softened butter just like my mom used to do . . . old habits die hard.
There are times when you just crave a fresh bread roll. Today was one of those days . . .
These are not huge. They are just a small sized roll, but they are light and fluffy and delicious!
And they went really nicely with our dinner. What more could you want!
Yield: 12
White Batter Rolls
Simple to make and oh so fluffy, light and delicious!
ingredients:
- 180ml of milk, scalded (3/4 cup)
- 3 TBS sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 TBS shortening
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 2 additional tsp. sugar
- 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (2 packages, NOT instant yeast)
- 280g strong flour (2 cups)
instructions:
How to cook White Batter Rolls
- Stir the 3 TBS sugar, salt and shortening into the scalded milk to melt the sugar and shortening. Stand aside to cool. Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm water. Leave to stand for 10 minutes, then stir well. Stir in the lukewarm milk mixture. Stir in the flour until well blended, about 2 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until double in size, about 40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Grease a 12 cup medium-sized muffin tin well. Fill 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
I almost forgot to show you how nice and fluffy they were inside! Here you go. Spread with butter of course. Try not to lick the screen!
Up Tomorrow: Frank-ly Chili (A real family pleaser!)
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