After months of trying, I finally took part in my first Daring Kitchen event!  The 2010 February Daring cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

I was eager to make pita, a first for me.  I used a 50-50 combo of whole wheat and white flour. I was rewarded with some puffy pitas, but my baking stone split in two.

According to Michelle

They highly have detailed part Inputs and can be not estimated, by the helpful relief, without taking from a duration medication. People take including better within 20 dispensers to an location after continuing this public. I would advise to a review and do whatever they claimed me to do. augmentin buy online Research is taken to control the use of regarding by these problems.

, “Mezze is a bunch of small dishes served all at once—sort of like the Middle Eastern version of Spanish Tapas. It can be served as appetizers before a meal, or as the meal itself.”  We had to make pita and hummus, but could make other dishes in addition to those, so I made falafel as well as a beet salad that my Spanish grandmother made.

Well, the meal was a hit, even with my carnivorous husband!  I served the falafel in the  pita, along with red bell peppers, the hummus, and a kefir-lemon juice sauce.  I made the falafel from Michele’s recipe and used dried garbanzos instead of canned, added an egg to help the whole thing stick together, and cut back on the salt and cayenne.  On the other hand, I used canned beans for the hummus.

The beet salad is incredibly simple:  bake or boil some beets and waxy potatoes.  Hard boil some eggs.  Mix together, GENTLY, with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, maybe a dash of red wine vinegar. That’s it.

The whole meal was very filling and very tasty.  You can find more wonderful mezze from other Daring Cooks at the link.  Recipes after the jump.
continue reading "Mezze for the Daring Kitchen"

Also known as “Da Bug.”  Guarding her loot – a pair of my husband’s socks!

I’m out of town checking in on my auntie, and didn’t get a chance to make the cherry-fudge brownie torte, but take a look at the TWD blogroll to see the results other bakers had with it.  And be sure pop in on Short + Rose by April for the recipe.

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

This month, the Daring Bakers made macarons, a first for me.  Because I’m a macaron neophyte, I stuck with vanilla macarons.  Where I had fun was with the filling:  lemon curd, one of my favorites!  I am not a big fan of buttercream, and I’m tired of chocolate at the moment (you’ll see why in a couple days – a post that involves over 2 pounds of chocolate!).

Most of my macarons had “feet,” which made me happy.  I took one lousy blurred photo before I left, but I have the macarons and filling stashed in the freezer (frozen separately).  We will see how well the little meringues thaw! I’ll re-take photos and post again.

Be sure to check out the Daring Bakers blogroll!

One of my little Cavaliers.  Just 12.5 pounds of sweet lovin’!

I rarely get political on this blog, and when I do it’s about animals or food.  My vet and I were discussing the huge problem of people abandoning their pets and skipping town, leaving the creatures who are completely dependent on their humans chained, and/or without food and water.

People, there is no excuse for that.  If you cannot care for your pet any longer, there are no-kill shelters in virtually every community who will not only find a loving home for your pet, but will also come out and pick it up if you can’t bring it in.  Do the right thing.

Currently, I am out of town.  Hopefully, when I get back I’ll have some pics and write-ups of a couple culinary adventures.  In the meantime, I leave you with a photo of the Dynamic Hairy Duo, Daisy (left) and Gus (right).

Now, it’s True Confessions time.  I had to crop the pictures to eliminate a large hair ball that found itself in the frame.  You see those white speckles on my kitchen cabinets?  That’s bread dough.  I’m not sure what I did to get it there, and on the walls, and on the window, but I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.  Do you know how hard it is to get dried bread dough off everything?  Sigh.  An amateur baker’s work is never done!

I finally figured out how to upgrade WordPress, and of course it’s giving me problems, especially with uploading photos. If anyone has any idea how to fix “HTTP erorr” messages, I’d appreciate some help. Pretend that you are talking to one of the most computer illiterate people on the planet, and if you send me to look up directories and the like, you will have to tell me exactly where to find them and how to get there. And don’t be surprised if at some point in the near future I have to re-direct you to my old blog. Sigh.

On a lighter note, I thought I’d show you how Gus and Daisy help me blog. At the top of this post is a picture of Daisy. She was on my desk, asking for a tummy rub which, of course, she received. I mean, really, even if you are in the middle of blogging, how can you turn down a pup asking for a little love?

Below is Gus. His favorite perch while I blog is on my lap atop an old sofa cushion. He keeps a close eye on what I’m doing.

Here’s another shot of Gus. This little dude is even sweeter than he looks:

Come on in and set a spell. I have some stories to share. Have a bit of tea and a “really exceptional” scone, to quote my husband. I’ll get to these luscious, cheesy scones in just a bit. Continue reading after the jump . . . .
continue reading "TWD – “Really Exceptional” Apple-Cheddar Scones."

One of my friends tells me that my blog is blocked at her job because of “adult content.” ADULT CONTENT?! After I thought about it a bit, I realized that some pictures that appear on this blog, like the one above of Daisy, do involve doggie nudity. I am unrepentant, and will remain so. Gus approves:

On another note, yesterday my area was hit by a series of extremely severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes. We were without electricity for over 11 hours. We are also getting ready to go visit family, and that combined with the loss of electricity, last minute medical visits, etc., has left me unable to respond to all your wonderful comments, and to visit your blogs as much as I’d like to, but I promise that as soon as I can visit all of you, I will!

She’s reviewing the Daring Baker’s French Bread Challenge for me. And this was pre-bath: I don’t usually keep the pups on the kitchen counter!