May 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008, by Leigh Anne
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This week’s Friday Favorite is by popular request. This is my mother’s recipe and I have actually never made it - only eaten it!
I attended a luncheon yesterday hosted by my friend Daurie who recently built and moved into her beautiful new home. She treated a group of us to a delicious lunch at her new home. She served my mother’s Pasta e Fagioli. The request at lunch was for me to “put in on the blog”.
I told them I couldn’t because I didn’t have my camera and needed to take a picture of it - my ever ready, camera toting friend Jeanette had her camera and happily took a photo for me. I had already eaten my soup so I borrowed someone’s bowl - took it right off the table from them - and took a quick photo!
Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian soup and actually means “pasta and beans”. It is traditionally made with a white or cannellini bean but I think Daurie used a red bean. She also tweaked the recipe slightly by adding 1 cup of grated carrot instead of chopped and a 16 oz. can of marinara sauce to make it a little thicker. She also found this totally darling teeny, tiny bowtie pasta!
We have been having some cool, rainy days here in Portland so a bowl of homemade soup really hit the spot yesterday! Thanks Daurie!
Pasta e Fagioli
Mary Anne Best (my mom)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 1/2 cups (1 can) chopped whole tomatoes, with juices
3 cups low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 can northern white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup tiny pasta (ditalini)
1/2 pound browned ground beef (optional)
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley (optional)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Daurie served cheddar)
In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in onion and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic, celery and carrots and cook for 3 minutes. Add basil and oregano and toss to coat. Stir in tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. If necessary add an additional cup of stock or water and stir in beans, meat and tiny pasta. Simmer for 6-8 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir in parsley and serve hot with grated parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Popularity: 23% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008, by Leigh Anne
The last few months I have been on the hunt for the perfect sugar cookie. The perfect sugar cookie would be one that did not need to be rolled out or refrigerated, would have an almond flavor and a yummy almond frosting on top.
You see, I found the perfect sugar cookie at a small little deli in Kalama, Washington. Kalama is about an hour north of Portland, too far away to visit on a regular basis to satisfy my sugar cookie cravings! I love their almond sugar cookies - and I wanted to find a way to create them at home.
I tried numerous recipes - some close but not quite right. I shared my quest with my blogger friend Melanie at My Kitchen Cafe. Melanie sent me several almond sugar cookie recipes and I tried them all and guess what?! One of them was a winner! Another food blogger had shared it with Melanie and then she shared it with me and now I’m sharing it with you! Thank you Melanie.
So today’s recipe is for what I think is the perfect sugar cookie! They don’t need to be refrigerated or rolled out - they have a lovely almond flavor and a yummy almond frosting. They are slightly crisp around the edges and soft in the middle. They are even better the second day!
Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix butter, sugar and extract in a large bowl. Beat until cream, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Beat 1 to 2 more minutes. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a buttered glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 400 for 7-9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute. Move to a wire rack. Stir together glaze ingredients with a wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze and sliced almonds (optional)
Glaze: 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp. almond extract, 4-5 tsp. milk (I used whipping cream)
Popularity: 38% [?]
Categories: Cookie Jar, Nourish, Recipes
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Fourteen years ago we built the house that we currently live in. We moved from our small, one bathroom bungalow in the city to our 5 bedroom home in the suburbs. With the birth of our fourth child - we had definitely outgrown that house!
Not only did we buy a lot more house - we bought a lot more yard. We went from a small city lot to a 17,000 square foot yard - or rather 17,000 square feet of clay dirt. That’s all there was - dirt - there was not one tree, flower, bush or stick!
As I mentioned yesterday, the extent of my gardening experience was 3 pots of geraniums on my front porch. So what were we going to do with 17,000 square feet of dirt?? I decided that I wanted a garden, I wanted a garden like the ones you see in magazines. The only problem was I knew nothing about gardening or where to even start.
I was in the same situation 17 years ago when I started my homebased business - I knew nothing about running a business or sales. I had never sold anything before. Let’s face it I had a degree in Clothing and Textiles - I had spent four years in college learning how to construct a blazer - not selling anything!
But I had a desire - I had a desire to have a beautiful garden and I also had a desire to have a successful, income producing business. That is the first step in achieving anything - desire.
Step One: Start with a Desire
Step Two: Develop a Plan! Start small and start now. Don’t allow your fears, lack of knowledge or information keep you from moving forward. My first step in creating the beautiful garden I wanted was to take a class on landscape design from the local community education program. There I learned that I needed a plan. I knew I couldn’t tackle all 17,000 square feet at once. I learned that the first thing I needed to do was amend my soil - we brought in truck loads of good dirt. I then decided to focus on one area of the yard a time.
Have a plan for your goal or desire. Start small and start now! Don’t allow fear to hold you back, be willing to take the first steps.
The beginning of our plan - good dirt and an irrigation system.
Step Three: Get resources, books, tapes, advice from the experts - I consider these things to be “Shortcuts to Success”. Get on the Internet and ‘google’ your area of focus. Go to Amazon.com or the public library and check out books. I spent a lot of time reading gardening magazines and books I had checked out from the library in addition to the information I learned at the class I was taking. I would also go for walks and look at yards, look for plants/flowers I liked. I would even go up to people’s doors to ask them names of ones I didn’t know. I spent a lot of time wandering around nurseries, asking questions and making lists of flowers and plants I liked and taking pictures of plants.
Step Four: Find a Mentor. One day when I was at a nursery purchasing some plants, the cashier mentioned that I was buying plants similar to ones a garden designer, who had just been in, was also purchasing. I asked what their name was and the cashier gave me the garden designer’s card. I went home and immediately called her. She invited me to come visit her garden - and could I come right now? I was expecting dinner guests within an hour but didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity so I quickly explained to my husband what he needed to do to finish up dinner and I headed out to tour her garden. I was in love! Her garden was amazing (it’s been featured in many national gardening magazines, Fred Meyer commercials etc.) and I wanted a garden just like hers!! I took Jim back a few days later and he was in love too.
We hired Margaret to help us with our plan. She helped us define our space and pick plants that were appropriate to the areas. She taught us as we went along and we learned so much from her.
Jim and Margaret looking over the plan
Find a mentor, an expert in the field, someone who has done what you want to do and is willing to teach you. I have used this step many times. When I’ve wanted to get more organized I’ve asked a friend who is incredibly organized to come over and help me. Find someone who models the trait you want to possess.
Step Five: Set aside time for growth daily. Gardens take time. We couldn’t turn our large piece of dirt into a beautiful garden over night. It is an ongoing process and still is today. Building a successful business takes time. It takes consistent effort and focus. Using time techniques such as Fifteen Minute Focus and Power Hour have helped me in my garden and in my business. I use the Fifteen Minute Focus to keep the garden weeded!
So here are some pictures of what my garden looks like today - the next picture was taken from the same window that the first picture above was …quite a change!
Our woodland path.
Next week I’ll share with you a few more gardening lessons I learned along the way that also apply to achieving our goals and dreams.
Happy Gardening!
Popularity: 26% [?]
Categories: Goals, Home Based Business, Inspire
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Monday, May 26, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I hope you are all enjoying your holiday weekend. We are spending some time in the garden.
Today I thought I’d share with you what’s blooming in the Wilkes’ family garden. Tomorrow I’ll share with you my how I went from being a “pot of geraniums on the porch” kind of non-gardener to a having a garden that has been featured in the newspaper and in magazines!
But for right now - enjoy a peek into my garden.
A yellow ‘Happy Returns’ daylilly and one of my favorite hardy geraniums ‘Johnson’s Blue’. I love hardy geraniums and have quite a collection of different varieties. I love them because they bloom and bloom and bloom!
Here’s another variety of hardy geraniums - Psilostemon
Isn’t this Princess Victoria Louise Poppy gorgeous in combination with the ‘Johnson’s Blue’ and ‘Wargrave Pink’ hardy geranium?
Our 37 rose bushes are just beginning to flower and the peonies are ready to burst.
I love how the rain drops form on the leaves of the Alchemilla Mollis ‘Lady’s Mantle’ and the combination of it with the Centhranthus Ruber ‘Red Valerian’
Here is a Tiarella ‘Crow’s Feather’, a Heuchera “Purple Petticoat” and a variegated hosta.
A variegated variety of columbine.
A “Lime Rickey” heuchera in combination with a variegated hosta.
A purple Japanese Iris collects raindrops
Happy Gardening
Popularity: 15% [?]
Categories: Inspire
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Friday, May 23, 2008, by Leigh Anne
This week was Senior Quilt Night at church. It is an evening where all the girl’s graduating from high school are honored and the women from church and young woman come together to tie quilts for each of the graduating girls. I was in charge of the dinner for the evening - yes, that is the second large group meal I have been in charge of this week - will someone please slap me!!!
Here is a cute picture of Cali and I wrapped up in her soft, fuzzy green quilt we made using ‘Minky’ fabric.
We served the yummy Penne Rustica, another Friday Favorite, along with roasted garlic bread and a spinach/strawberry salad. We served a fun, easy summer time dessert. The couple of warm days we enjoyed earlier in the week got me in the mood for summer so I decided to make Lemonade Pie.
It doesn’t get much easier than Lemonade Pie - it only has three ingredients.
Can of frozen lemonade (I used pink)
A graham cracker crust (since we were making 7 of these pies we used store bought)
1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream (I used Breyer’s)
My wonderful, helpful mother came over and put all the pies together for me. Just put the somewhat, softened ice cream along with the can of frozen lemonade (no water added) into the Kitchen Aid and blend it up. Pour into graham cracker crust and refreeze. I like to add the whole can of lemonade but if you want it a bit “less lemony” just don’t add as much lemonade.
Enjoy a taste of summer!
Popularity: 22% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, May 21, 2008, by Leigh Anne
“Feeding the people we love”
Today’s recipe is a definite crowd pleaser - I know that because I have fixed this salad for a total of about 600 people!! Most recently, I fixed this salad for a luncheon I did for the American Mother’s State Convention this past Saturday. I have also served it to a church group of 450 woman! Yes - that is 450 people all at one time. Each time I fix it I have numerous requests for the recipe.
Last week a sweet friend emailed me about a salad someone had brought to her daughter’s book club that was delicious - she sent me the recipe and it was this recipe! The gal that brought it had been at the church dinner I served it at. So this one is a definite keeper!
I originally got the recipe from my husband’s cousin when she brought it to my in-law’s 80th birthday party (their birthdays are 5 days apart!) Thank you Kelly!
I love this salad because it is a complete meal - it has spinach, chicken and pasta. It is also fairly inexpensive so you can feed a crowd on a budget! It is an easy one to stretch if you need to - just add more spinach. it also looks pretty on the plate because of the different colors - the oranges, craisinets. It also has great texture - the crunch of the water chestnuts, peanuts and sesame seeds and the addition of pasta and chicken just make it the perfect full meal salad.
So if you ever have to fix dinner for 450 women you now have the perfect recipe - it’s great for just your family dinner too!
16 oz. bow tie pasta, cooked al dente
Dressing:1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup Yoshida’s gourmet sauce
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Salad consists of:
20 oz. bag of spinach
1 6 oz. bag craisins
3 cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup parsley chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
6 oz. peanuts
2 cups chicken, cut into pieces.
Blend dressing in blender. Mix dressing and pasta and marinade for 2 hours (in a ziploc bag). Combine rest and add pasta and dressing and toss
Popularity: 32% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Monday, May 19, 2008, by Leigh Anne
“The take care of yourself stuff”
If you were to survey a group of homebased business owners and ask them to tell you their number one reason for having a homebased business I bet 9 out of 10 of them would answer FREEDOM! I know it’s mine. I don’t mean the freedom WHETHER to work or not (if you want to make money - you’ve got to work) but the freedom to choose WHEN to work!
That choice is why I started my homebased business 17 years ago. I have the freedom to work around my families schedules and other priorities in my life. It also gives me the freedom to take a Free Day once in a while.
According to an article I read from the Kauffman Foundation, a Free Day is a 24 hour period where the entrepreneur does not engage in any business related thinking, communication or actions. They also stated that the best Free Days are planned in advanced. The Free Day concept can also be used by people who don’t have a homebased business but just need a break from the stress and busyness of everyday life!
I decided to take a Free Day this past Friday. On Wednesday, I received an email from a friend who was organizing a hike in the Columbia Gorge, about an hour from my home. I had a work day scheduled as well as a dental appointment. But Friday promised to be a beautiful day, one of our first in a long time, and the wildflowers are in full bloom - what to do?
I got on the phone and rescheduled my dental appointment and worked twice as hard on Thursday to accomplish all the things I had scheduled for Friday and I took a Free Day on Friday!
I enjoyed a beautiful day in the Gorge with a wonderful group of woman. The view from Coyote Ridge was amazing and the flowers were beautiful.
I was a little worried about keeping with this group of woman, many of which are experienced hikers, but I did it! I will admit there was some huffing and puffing along the way but I enjoyed a wonderful Free Day. And look at how many steps I took!!
I was feeling pretty good about myself and my ability to keep up with the group until I woke up Saturday morning and I could barely move!! Advil was certainly my friend this weekend!!
So my recommendation - schedule a Free Day soon - a 24 hour break from any business thinking, communication or action or a break from life! Protect those days - don’t allow pressure, guilt or other people to get in your way. Taking a break from business and the pressures of day to day life can make a huge difference in your mental outlook and energy level (unless you’ve walked 20,000 steps!) It is a time to rejuvenate yourself physically, mentally and spiritually.
Have you ever taken a Free Day - what did you do?
Plan a Free Day now - let me know what you are going to do!
Popularity: 15% [?]
Categories: Renew
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Friday, May 16, 2008, by Leigh Anne
‘Feeding the people we love“
This version of Sweet and Sour Chicken has definitely become a family favorite. I found it over at Stephanie’s Kitchen and we have made it twice in the last month. I am not a big fan of the heavily breaded Sweet and Sour you usually get at Chinese places but this version is light and yummy! The chicken is just dredged in flour and then cooked in olive oil until browned. It is just the right amount of sweetness too.
It is great for a weeknight dinner because it is quick and easy to prepare. This time I forgot to add the red pepper (it was sitting, waiting, in the refrigerator) which makes the dish much prettier so just imagine some pretty red pepper slices in amongst the chicken and pineapple. Serve with rice and a nice green salad and you’ve got a great family night dinner! Enjoy!
Sweet and Sour Chicken
serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
6 tablespoons flour seasoned with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits (reserve juice)
1/2 cup pineapple juice (use reserved juice)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup onion, sliced
Coat chicken in flour and fry in olive oil until browned. Drain and set aside. In same skillet, combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, brown sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice, chicken broth and soy sauce. Cook and stir until boiling. Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken, peppers, onions, and pineapple. Cook until heated through. Serve over rice. Enjoy!
Popularity: 25% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008, by Leigh Anne
“Feeding the people we love”
When Jim asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day dinner I tried to keep the menu as easy as possible since his culinary skills are limited to breakfast and what he can throw on the grill. I told him I would be in charge of dessert. I had been planning for weeks to make my ALL TIME favorite dessert - Boccone Dolce or “Sweet Mouthful” in Italian.
A local restaurant, Papa Haydens, that is famous for their desserts, serves this amazing dessert. I order it EVERY time I go there despite the dozens of choices on the menu. Not wanting to wait until we went to the restaurant to enjoy Boccone Dolce I googled the recipe and found this great version.
Boccone Dolce is a combination of melt in your mouth meringue, strawberries, whip cream and chocolate - YUM! Don’t let the picture of the dessert or the mention of meringue scare you away. It is actually very easy to make!
The first step is making the meringue layer. This meringue is not like the soft meringue that is on lemon meringue pie - this meringue is crisp and dry and melts in your mouth when you bite into it! Be sure and use egg whites at room temperature and a clean bowl in order to get your egg whites to whip properly. Also make sure none of the egg yolk gets in with the whites.
You can use any berries that are in season - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (remember I live in berry heaven!) and if no berries are in season you can also use bananas. (except if you are me and you have texture issues and don’t eat bananas!) For Mother’s Day I used a combination of strawberries and raspberries.
Here are my meringue shells -
Meringue Layers:
4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup superfine sugar (I was out of superfine and used regular)
Preheat oven to 225 degrees. In mixer, beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until meringue is stiff and glossy.
Line baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Trace three, eight inch circles on paper (I used a plate)
With a rubber spatula, spread meringue evenly and equally over top of the circles. bake approximately 2 hours or until meringue becomes bisque colored. NOTE: The low temperature will prevent them from browning too quickly. Then turn off oven, open oven door and let meringues “rest” in oven another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully peel off parchment or waxed paper. Put cake on racks to dry until thoroughly cool.
Once cooled, meringues may be wrapped in saran and frozen or just store in an airtight container if using within the next 24 hours. NOTE: I wrap each meringue in several saran layers, then stack (gently!) in a large plastic container for freezing. Remove from freezer at least an hour before assembling.
Next comes the fun part - assembling it!
6 ounces of semisweet chocolate pieces
3 Tbsp. water
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 pints berries, sliced
Chocolate curls (for garnish) I just shaved some chocolate over the top
Melt chocolate pieces over hot water. When perfectly smooth, remove from heat and cool (but don’t let it harden)
In a large bowl, whip the cream until stiff; gradually add powdered sugar and then vanilla extract.
Slice berries.
To assemble, place a meringue layer on a serving plate, rounded side down. Spread a very thin coating of chocolate over it. NOTE: Go easy on chocolate, too much will make it impossible to cut cake! I used a pastry brush to spread the chocolate.
Top chocolate with a layer (about 3/4 inch thick) of whipped cream. Top cream with a layer of sliced berries. Place a second layer of meringue on top of this, and repeat filling. Top with final meringue, rounded side up, and frost sides and top smoothly with remaining whipped cream.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with several whole strawberries and chocolate curls.
This dessert is not the easiest to cut - I find using a serrated bread knife works well and use a sawing like motion. It definitely looks prettier before you cut it - I can’t seem to cut it as neat and tighty as the restaurant does
Enjoy!
Popularity: 24% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Monday, May 12, 2008, by Leigh Anne
“The take care of yourself stuff”
The nice weather is on it’s way to the Northwest - finally! In fact, I think we are going to bypass Spring all together and go directly into Summer with temperatures of 85-90 in the forecast for later this week. There is nothing like a sunny day and soaking in a little Vitamin D to help you feel renewed and alive again after a long, cold and wet winter!
The gardening bug has finally bit - much later than usual this year. The fact that my garden has been under water most of the winter may be part of the reason. I usually have my containers planted by Mother’s Day and dozens of plants lining the patio waiting to be planted, but it didn’t happen this year - maybe by next weekend but I did get my small herb garden in this weekend.
If gardening isn’t your thing or you don’t have much space to garden you might want to give an herb garden a try. You only need a small piece of dirt or even a large container will work! Herbs like 5-6 hours of sunshine a day and a dryer environment (which makes containers a great place to grow herbs).
Some people grow herbs for medicinal purposes, ointments or potpourri. I grow them for cooking. I love having fresh herbs just outside my back door so I can add them to things such as roasted potatoes or vegetables, herbed butters for corn on the cob, salad dressings and marinades for meat.
My favorite herbs to grow are rosemary (this will winter over year to year), chives, marjoram, thyme, oregano, parsley, flat leaf Italian parsley, cilantro and lots of basil. In the Northwest the slugs love basil so you need to keep slug bait nearby.
So if you are new to gardening or don’t have much of a green thumb give an herb garden a try - just get a container, some potting soil and a few herbs starts from your local nursery (even Fred Meyer has them), find a sunny location and you are ready to go. Next time you are cooking something that calls for rosemary, oregano or thyme just grab your scissors and clip some fresh herbs from your own garden!
Happy Gardening!
Popularity: 15% [?]
Categories: Renew
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