Chanterelle

You know how much I love mushrooms. Sometimes I am lucky and can find them in the woods around the Palouse. Usually I find a handful so I just fry them in a little olive oil and salt then eat them up right away.

Some of the best recipes are the simplest. Some of the best moments in life are simple. Bon Appetit!

Canned Garlic Peppers

During the summer at the farmer's market there are some amazing peppers. The variety is wonderful. Spicy, mild, sweet and OR KILLER! I bought several pounds of red peppers to make my grandmother's canned garlic peppers.



My Dad loves to make a sandwiches with these and always seemed ecstatic whenever Grandma would send a jar in the mail. He would take bread, a little mayo or Miracle Whip, red onion and flatten out a pepper. That's it! Very simple and very good!

Cut peppers into half or fourths. In olive oil fry the pieces and flatten until tender. This is going to take some time especially if you have several pounds. You know? I recommend doing maybe 5-6 peppers to fit into a half quart jar. After you fried the peppers set them aside. Take as much garlic as you want and slice the cloves into thin pieces.



Now stuff the jar with a layer of peppers. Flattening peppers then layer garlic. Repeat the layering until the jar is stuffed. Push down the peppers and get rid of the air bubbles. Leave about 1/2 inch space at the top. Sprinkle a little sugar on top then pour apple cider vinegar into the jar until 1/4 inch at top. Screw on the lid.



I like to shake the jar to get the sugar dissolved and the vinegar spread down through the peppers.

Keep the jar in the fridge and within 2 weeks you can enjoy them!

Mimic Cream Thank You God!

It has been years since I have had the pleasure of eating a creamy soup or pasta dish. There have been whole baking recipes I would skip because of the ingredient evaporated milk or cream. But not anymore! Hello Mimic Cream! A chef came up with this cashew nut based 'cream' when her husband developed a milk allergy in adulthood. She couldn't stand that he had to go without Alfredo so she developed this. There are two versions on the market. Original and sugar. I recommend buying the original because you can always add sugar to the cream to make it like evaporated milk.

I did a pasta recipe. It wasn't my best but I was so excited to eat this!



This was made by sauteing garlic and onions with some mushrooms and salt. Then I added olive oil and about 1 cup of Mimic Cream.


I had a fantastic potato and corn chowder with Mimic Cream! Also a very healthy and delicious kale and sausage soup. Here is the recipe for that.

Kale and sausage soup:

1 small bunch kale
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach thawed
1 small onion chopped
1-2 tbl. chopped garlic
1-2 sausage links or ground pork sausage. Anytime really.
2-3 potatoes cubed
Chicken bouillon

In the soup pot add oil and saute the onions and potatoes until about soft. Then add the garlic. Try not to add garlic too early or you will get a burned flavor. Then add sausage and cook until about done. Remember you will be adding water and cooking it longer so the meat will be done. Add chicken bouillon and rest of the veggies and bring to a gentle boil until done.

At the last minute add about 1/2 Cup Mimic Cream or more if you want it thicker.

Now my fella says Mimic Cream gives him gas. I haven't had this problem. But you may notice this. If so I recommend buying charcoal pills. These help to reduce gas and can help cleanse the digestive system. I highly recommend them. I also recommend them if you know you ate something that was bad for you. If I eat out I'll come home and pop some charcoal pills, enzymes and drink 1/2 cup lemon juice.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

Pumpkin is very good for you! An incredible source of fiber and vitamins. I have some friends that feed their dog a little pumpkin puree in their food to add fiber. Not sure about you but adding this veggie into the diet may seem difficult and daunting. But canned pumpkin is super if you can't roast your own pumpkin and freeze the chunks.

This recipe is originally from Country Living but I have adapted it to be Sueann Friendly. You will LOVE these! I made them for a friend's babyshower and they were a hit.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup cocoa
2 tea. Baking Powder
1 tea. Baking Soda
1/2 tea. salt
1/2 cup rice milk
1 cup canned pumpkin or puree
2 tea. vanilla
3/4 cup palm shortening
1 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk

Directions:
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

In a separate bowl mix rice milk, pumpkin puree and vanilla together

In another bowl beat the shortening until soft. Then add sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and yolk one at a time.

Now add all ingredients alternating between dry and wet ingredients but try not to over beat the batter.

Bake: 350 degree. Cupcakes cook quick. I say about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them to prevent over baking. Dry cupcakes are gross!

Now for the super yummy frosting!

1 cup palm shortening beaten until soft. Add LOTS of powdered sugar. I would say nearly 5 cups. Add 1 tea. of water until the frosting is the right consistency. Add 1 teas. vanilla extract OR artificial butter extract. I am 90% sure butter extract is total chemical and resembles nothing in the natural world but I sure do love the fake buttery taste!

Now add 2 teas. allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon until the frosting tastes the way you like. I prefer a lot more fresh nutmeg. Martha Stewart is right, fresh nutmeg is amazing!

Quotes

Dad: "I was waiting for my daughter to call me since it was Father's Day."
Me: (feeling really guilty) "I'm sorry Dad. How was your weekend?"
Dad: "Sad because I was waiting for my daughter to call me since it was Father's Day."

"You have to believe that you are the best thing since since sliced bread, but know you're not."

M: "I like the American work ethic. Americans put 100% into what they are doing. They love their job, they bruise their bodies for sport, they embrace something 100%. But going to Europe would be best for us."


R: "There is a price we pay for independence. If we were in France there is no way 2 women would be changing a flat. But in America, several men will go by without even a second glance."

Me: "I think we have trained our men well to not open doors."

M: "Yes. That is sad. But in France, you have the macho mentality. So you sacrifice too."


Monika: (clearing her plate of BBQ chicken) "Hey Sueann! Should I (points to my backyard chickens) feed them this?"
Me: "Sure! They'll eat anything....... ....... WAIT! NO! No! Don't feed the chickens chickens! Oh god, that's bad!"

R: "Was I the last to know this was going on?"
Me: "Yes. I'm sorry R."
R: "I'm an idiot."
Me: "No. You're a dude."
R: "You know? You're the third woman to say that to me."

P: (email) "I just wanted you to know, one of the piglets drowned this morning. But our pig is just fine. Guess M didn't realize you feed and water 'em in a trough, not a pickle bucket so the poor thing fell in and drowned. Guess it was good we named our pig Lucky."

Me: (at an estate sale) "You made it!"
C: "Yeah, wow. You got a lot of stuff. Did you get that Gucci bag too. (laughs)"
Me: "Yeah."
C: (serious) "OMG. No. Really?"
Me: "No."
C: "Shit, I almost thought you did."

Trin: "Going for a walk huh?"
Me: (double time march with Belle) "Yeah, more like job."
Trin: "Didn't go rollerblading with her huh?"
Me: "You can tell? Yup. She's full of energy."

Ben: (Pointing out that the on-coming car has one broken headlight) "Broken headlight! BEER! Did you play that?"
Me: "Where I grew up we couldn't drink while driving."
Ben: "We didn't always drink. It's that you owe me a beer."
Me: "Where I grew up we would say, 'You owe me a coke.' "
Ben: "Not, 'You owe me a bible?' "

D: "I think this is the first time I haven't been drunk with Harlow. (Looking at B scaling a rock cliff, doing a handstand, hugging everyone) ... Wow."

Darcy: "Uh. B had more beer."
Me: "Hmmm."
Darcy: "You sound just like your mom."
Me: "You've never met or heard her before."
Darcy: "I have a lot of Korean friends and 'Hmmm' is a common sound."

Dave: (To his youngest girl) "It's ok honey, you didn't mean to burn your sister's face."

Jen: (To her eldest daughter) "Under NO circumstances are you to EVER touch the drums!"

C: "She doesn't like the word pussy willow."
K: "It just...I can't say it."
C: "Or the word moist."
K: (shivers) 'Ug! and the word...panties. god I hate those words!"
Me: "So you'll never say, 'My panties are moist around my pussy?"
K: "AHHH!!! STOP! (covers her ears) Disgusting."

Me: (in the back of a pickup getting a ride up a hill to the reception) "This truck ride is really working out my keigal muscles."
Darcy: "Oh god we sound like old ladies!"

Random:

"It's not what you gather that matters, but what we scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived."

"I'm not fat compared to you."

"You're baby is so skinny. I mean, most babies are fat and yours is so thin. Not that that is a bad thing..or that..fat..."

E: "Honey. There's smoke. Is something burning?"
M: "Just the food."
E: "OK. I'll just kneel down to breathe. When's dinner?"

Quotes

I used to have a MySpace site and would blog the best quotes I heard that week. I've decided to continue that here on Sueann Friendly. Enjoy!

Friend: "What kind of dog is Belle?"
Ben: "Awesome."

Kabir: "You are tangled up in others and have forgotten what your heart once knew."

Kid: "His name is Extra."
Me: "Is that for extra pounds?" (referring to an enormous dachshund)

N: "The baby can come at anytime so I have my baby bag with me everywhere I go."
Ben: "Is that to catch the baby?"

D: "Honey. Your undies are showing."
J: "Oh. Thanks. Geez, the one time I wear underwear too."

Kids: "Do you know any jokes?"
Me: "Yes, but they are highly inappropriate for your age."
Kids to each other: "Then we better not tell her ours."

Jake S: "Geez Sueann. Why don't you just beat him up? At least those scars will heal."

Me to Mom's email: "Here are some links to the wedding dresses I like!"
Mom's reply: "Ugh."

Me: "How was your visit to Italy Mom?"
Mom on Skype: "Uhm. Itsu nice. I tink Mommy made to libbu Italy. I mean, Alpsoo so beautiful! But nuting open after noon. Mommy inconvienientsu. Eberybody closu Sunday too. I mean, golly how they get tings done? They are slow. I tell you. Different life here."
Me: "So the shopping is done before noon?"
Mom: "Yeah. Mommy not up by then."

Meatballs and Nuts

You can make an even funnier name for this dish by changing and adding the words meat, ball and nuts. I leave that up to you!

I was at an event in Wenatchee and the caterers had these fabulous meatballs! Ravenous Catering had it going on! When I got home I tried to figure out the recipe and came up with this. I know it is not the same, but the idea is there. Walnuts, raisins and black beans are used. How cool is that? Oh and it is a little spicy!

1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
1 tbl. granulated garlic
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
big squirt of ketchup (1/4 cup?)
1 tbl. paprika

Mix all above together and shape into balls. Fry 'em and set aside.

The Sauce:

1 can black beans
1 green pepper chopped
1 medium onion chopped
half a bottle of Thai sweet and sour sauce. The more Thai writing on the bottle the better!
another big squirt of ketchup
1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Add the onions and pepper into a pot and fry up till they sweat. You'll need a little oil of coarse, but you knew that. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes the smoosh the beans with a potato masher in the pot. Add sauce to the meatballs and enjoy!

I suggest browning the balls and putting them in a crock pot with the sauce for a couple of hours. The smell will drive 'em crazy!

Eat with pasta or rice or use as appetizer.

Jalapeno Potato Casserole

A Sueann Friendly Original! I came up with this dish when I used to help with the Feral Cat spay and neuter clinic. I would bring this to help feed the veterinarians and student interns. It was a hit then and still is for those who like it spicy!

4 large russets or equivalent other type potato. I am a fan of the reds and yellows. Thin slice. I use the food processor.
1 large onion chopped
2-4 jalapenos with seeds if you dare!
1 1/2 cup Canola Mayo - Best Foods makes a good one and its usually at Safeway
1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in a little water
1 tbl. granulated garlic or 4-5 cloves crushed garlic
pepper and bread crumbs for the top

Directions: For quick cooking microwave the sliced potatoes!
In a food processor add jalapenos, half onions, bouillon water, garlic, and mayo. Pulse till liquefied. Pour over potatoes and other half of chopped onions. I like to make sure the liquid covers most of the potatoes. Add bread crumbs on top, spritz with some oil and bake 350 degree oven: 15-25 minutes if you microwaved potatoes, 35-40 if raw.

Perogies on Steriodies

Perogies at the top, served with steamed broccoli, beats and...uh...some white thing...cauliflower?



Perogies are a favorite of my favorite person. He grew up eating them with butter and cheese sauce. So what to do to make these Polish dough balls Sueann Friendly? Well, the dough itself is a simple mix of flour and rice. It is the filling and the sauce you change. I decided to up the health factor of he perogies and incorporate some extra morel mushrooms I just happen to have.

I decreased the amount of flour and replaced it with ground flax seeds. The filling is mashed potato, salt, fried up morels, onions and garlic. The dough is WAY soft and sticky if you add flax but don't let this stop you. The health benefits of flax is worth it!

For the sauce, I use Pregu because it is a Sueann Friendly off the shelf sauce. Spaghetti sauce is great for dipping perogies in if you can't do cheese!

Perogies original recipe:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup cold water

Mix into dough for a few minutes. I have a perogie maker, if you do not roll out dough and use a glass to cut rounds. Add a little bit of the filling and close. This is similar to making small egg rolls.

Filling:
4 medium potatoes mashed
salt to taste
bacon, mushrooms, onions, or whatever you think will be good. I recommend sausage and sauerkraut!!! Yum!

Now you boil these until the dough is cooked. I say about 3-5 minutes. Any longer and the dough starts to fall apart. Serve hot. The next morning you can fry them up in oil! And as we know, everything is better fried! :)

Quotes!

L: "What kind of dog is Belle?"
Ben: "Awesome."


Ben: (Looking at two drops of liquid on the gravel) "Is that from your nose? No. Your clutch fluid is leaking."


Me: (kissing Ben goodbye 4am) "Love you. See you later."
Ben: "Have a good day. Don't poop your pants."


K: "So my kid says to my friend, 'Mommy is going dumpster diving with Sueann.' And I was like...oh my god. They hear EVERYTHING!"


Mom: "Go ahead. You are grown up now. You can do on your own. See. We told you to do it when we there!"
Me: "Mm Hm."
Mom: "You can do it without us. You grown up."
Me: "It's not about being an adult Mom. It's that we wanted you there for the wedding to celebrate with us. It's not about being grown up."
Mom: "I send you money."
Me: "....ok."

Coming Soon! Why I Gained Weight! Because He Cooks Too!

Of coarse, I can't blame my size 10 (ahem...12) jeans on my personal chef, but it is a nice excuse. I am back on and so are the recipes.

And guess what? I have found some great alternatives to milk and soy!

More to come....

Rib Off

I lost.

Empanadas

I'm back and eating! Last post was in October and that was a blur. November, December, and January...boy I got some blogging up to do! I have been taking pictures of my food conquests so I'm ready to share now!

First, let me say that lard piecrust is very versatile. Not only can it be a dessert, but also a salty fried thing! I took my piecrust, added a little less water to create these sueann friendly empanadas. Normal empanadas have cheese in the filling.

Use your standard piecrust recipe but instead of 2 cups flour use half corn meal and flour.

Filling:
1lb. turkey or beef, fried with lots of salt and garlic granules
Chopped onion - fried with meat
2-8 hot peppers - habenero will kick your ass so try a mild pepper, especially if you are a white person.
maybe throw in some left overs that will blend well. I think I threw in some chickpea salad ... everything tastes great fried huh?!

Roll out a large pinch of dough, about two golf balls. Flatten but not so thin it breaks the crust. Fill and fold over then squish ends tightly. You may need some water or egg to seal the closure. It is very important to seal or it will come apart in the frying process. I sort of braided the ends together.

Deep-fry until golden brown - I say about 1 minute each side 350-degree oil. If this is SueannFriendly use corn, safflower, canola, or peanut oil.

I tried these in lard and it made my tummy hurt. Lard in the dough AND in the oil was too much. It also tasted meaty and oil heavy.

cake

Sueann Friendly Chocolate Cake:
Throw all ingredients into a bowl and mix it.

2 C flour
2 C sugar ( use 1 C white sugar 1 C splenda)
3/4 C cocoa
2 tea baking soda
1 tea baking powder
1/2 canola oil ( safflower or olive is ok)
1 C Almond milk ( or Oat Milk, if desperate water with 2 tb. canola mayo...or just water)
2 eggs
1 tea. vanilla (real vanilla extract is awesome! I recommend spending the $ for it!)
pinch salt
1 C Hot Coffee (added last!)

Bake 350 for 15-20 minutes...this cakes bakes fast to me so watch it. It is best when pulled out a little early.

I haven't figured out the frosting yet. I once made frosting out of lard and lots of powdered sugar. My system was s-l-o-w--e-d by the vast amount of lard. I felt heavy, slow and sick. So don't do what I did. I have tampered with just cocoa powder, powdered sugar and water...that is ok. But to get some health into my body I've used fruits.

Tomato Tart

I was reading an old Martha Stewart and came across a recipe for tomato tart. Martha's recipe was full of great tips...and like her magazine, full of things I did not have readily available to me. Not only that, but her recipes are rarely Sueann Friendly. So I take it upon myself to take her ideas and make them my own. Take Tomato Tarts! I do not have all those great heirloom variety tomatoes, or an enormous tart pan the size of a bike wheel. But I do have a cute tart pan and some garden tomatoes! So here we go ladies and gents, a Sueann Friendly Tomato Tart!

Recipe: Pie crust (sueann friendly recipe coming soon!)
Two medium tomatoes sliced evenly.
Chopped up basil, pinch salt and pepper
Put this all together! BUT to make it even better, add cheese to the botom of the crust BEFORE you put tomatoes in it. This will keep the crust grom getting soggy. For a sueann frienndly version, use oven roasted garlic cloves and mash this into the bottom of the crust.

Bake 355 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Fish Balls and Thai Salad

I have been on a Thai food kick lately. I also wanted to add more Omega Fattys into my diet so here we have a marriage of the two! Fish Balls and Thai Salad! The Balls can be deep fried, or fried in a pan in a patty.
Recipe: Fish Balls
Canned fish - salmon or mackerel debone if you can.
couple pinches of salt and pepper
2 tsp. of Cumin, coriander, granulated garlic (or one clove fresh)
1 egg
1/2 cup flour

Mash it all together then drop by the spoonful or make into patties and fry!

Recipe: Thai Salad
1 cucumber
2 Serano chilies diced
half an onion
Chopped up cilantro
Add other salad veggies that you want - ones that are crisp though. No tomatoes.
Dressing: 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 Tb. sugar

Add it all together and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Impress Dates with These Dates!

Our favorite appetizer to bring to parties now are these pecan stuffed dates wrapped with bacon! I would like to take full credit for the recipe but I got it off of Paula Deen Cooking from the Food Network. These are so delicious! It is like breakfast in your mouth! But...so much more because of the full bodied flavor of the date and pecan. The sweetness of the date is a perfect companion to the salty bacon - the pecan adds good texture. I have baked these in the oven several ways. You can bake at 375 and turn them over until the bacon crisps. I have turned up the heat to 500 and found the cooking time is half but the likelihood of black bacon bits is high. I have also grilled them in an aluminum disposable pan. That really helps with the grease and cleanup but you have to baby sit the grill. But with a beer, or very sueann friendly Mike's Hard Apple, that is not a problem! By the way... Aren't the men suppose to be the grill masters? I guess I got a liberated grill master because I do the grilling.

OH! One time we wanted to eat these appetizers for dinner - just make a nice salad and these...nice "light" meal! But I was out of bacon! So I free bird it and took out some pork, smashed it thin and spread pureed dates and pecans on it. I wrapped the pork, toothpicked them and baked at 350 for 15-20 minutes. FABULOUS! I do recommend adding a little salt to make up for the bacon effect but otherwise bon apatite!

Pecan Stuffed Dates Wrapped with Bacon

Get whole pitted dates, stuff it with a pecan. Set aside. Take all the bacon out of the package and cut into thirds. This should be enough to stretch around the date. You can use tooth picks to fasten but usually the bacon sticks to itself. Put on baking sheet fold side down to keep bacon from unraveling.

CHERRIES!

So...sick of...eating cherries. I tried this BBQ Cherry sauce recipe. It was gross. I tried making Cherry juice. It was OK. So I got frustrated and pitted all my cherries. All 20 lbs. of them and froze them. I'll think what to do with them later. Oh, I know. You can eat them fresh right? I did, for two weeks. Let's say, I was very regular and on toilet duty.

I AM PUMPED!

My husband wanted something chocolate one night. He was half joking that I should whip something up. Well, it was a good thing I had energy because I "discovered" Sueann Friendly Chocolate Fudge ice cream! OHMYGOD it is the best chocolate ice cream I have had.. I mean... if it had real brownie chunks in it then it would be the absolute fave! The recipe is very simple!
Beat 4 egg whites into stiff peaks - Then in another bowl add 5 Tbl. hot water, one cup cocoa powder, 1 cup sugar and 4 egg yolks - mix well. Then fold in the egg whites - freeze or add into your ice cream maker. YOU WILL LOVE THIS! 100% milk and soy free!
If yours comes out too watery I suggest adding 1 Teas. of xanthan gum or guar gum!

Mayo

I didn't like any of these recipes. Well... it just didn't work out for me and I prefer the Best Foods Canola Mayo. It has a wonderful, full flavor. My Mayo was very light - a little lemony. I used Emeril's recipe which was the best of the two so here it is:
1 egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a food processor or blender, blend the egg and lemon juice for 10 seconds.
With the processor running, slowly pour in the oil through the feed tube. Mixture should thicken. Add the pepper and salt and pulse once or twice to blend.
Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. Best if used within 24 hours.

On the subject of mayo - it is amazing how soy oil is the most brands. Start looking at the ingredients of your favorite foods and you will realize how much soy you are eating!