I Has a Sister Blog, well a niece really :P

Today is a wonderful day, I just helped my niece set up a blog, called Life Lessons from my aunt, you can find it here. I shall enjoy helping her expand her blog, and imparting my life lessons on her, as well as cooking with her. (maybe this will help me post more as well :P).

The Omnivore’s Hundred

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. 

4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.

So, here I present…

The No Cows Allowed Omnivore’s Hundred

Venison (yum! i come from a hunting family, just never killed it myself)

Nettle tea

Huevos rancheros (no, but it sounds good)

Steak tartare (i like my steak medium rare thank you)

Crocodile 

Black pudding (um... no)

Cheese fondue (yum, it just sucks that i'm lactose intolerant)

Carp

Borscht 

Baba ghanoush 

Calamari (no, and not sure if i will)

Pho 

PB&J sandwich (a definite given, I grew up in a semi-poor household and still kinda live in one)

Aloo gobi

Hot dog from a street cart (this one's kind of hard when I live in a small town :) )

Epoisses 

Black truffle 

Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 

Steamed pork buns (no, but I wish)

Pistachio ice cream (no, again, I hate the fact that I am lactose intolerant)

Heirloom tomatoes (no, but we get fresh tomatoes by the bushel every summer, and my grandmother grows a form of green beans that are practically heirloom)

Fresh wild berries (we have a wild black raspberry bush at my mother's house and we usually manage to snag a few)

Foie gras (nooo, no thanks)

Rice and beans (a basic staple in a semi-poor household)

Brawn, or head cheese (ug, I get sick just hearing my dad's stories about that)

Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (nope, not too big on hot stuff

Dulce de leche (yum!)

Oysters (no)

Baklava (oh my god yes)

Bagna cauda

Wasabi peas 

Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (no, but i've had potato soup in a sourdough bread bowl)

Salted lassi 

Sauerkraut (not a big fan,it stinks)

Root beer float (childhood treat, but of course i can't eat them anymore)

Cognac with a fat cigar (no neither, and cigars stink)

Clotted cream tea (nope)

Vodka jelly/Jell-O (yummy jello shots!)

Gumbo (only the Zatarans kind which is probably nothing like the real thing)

Oxtail 

Curried goat

Whole insects 

Phaal

Goat’s milk 

Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (i can't drink whiskey, I prefer vodka or goldschlager)

Fugu (nope)

Chicken tikka masala

Eel 

Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (I prefer to not eat doughnuts if i can help it)

Sea urchin 

Prickly pear

Umeboshi 

Abalone

Paneer

McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (yes, but I'm not a big fan of them)

Spaetzle 

Dirty gin martini

Beer above 8% ABV (beer is nasty, I like harder alcohol)

Poutine 

Carob chips 

S’mores (DUH, yes I was a girl scout for 7 years, but that's kinda redundant, I ate them for years before that)

Sweetbreads 

Kaolin 

Currywurst 

Durian 

Frogs’ legs (love frogs' legs, my mamaw makes a mean frogs' legs dinner)

Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (All but the beignets, and the only churros I've had are taco bell's and the elephant ears and funnel cakes are standard fair food)

Haggis (just the thought of eating sheeps stomach is gross, though i may disgrace my scottish heritage)

Fried plantain (yes and I made it myself)

Chitterlings, or andouillette 

Gazpacho

Caviar and blini (no fish eggs for me)

Louche absinthe

Gjetost, or brunost 

Roadkill (not knowingly…) (no)

Baijiu

Hostess Fruit Pie (again, childhood staple, my favorite was always the chocolate pudding pies though)

Snail

Lapsang souchong

Bellini 

Tom yum 

Eggs Benedict

Pocky (YUM!)

Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant 

Kobe beef (I wish)

Hare (no but I've heard its good)

Goulash

Flowers 

Horse (no, no, no, no!)

Criollo chocolate

Spam (do not want to try)

Soft shell crab 

Rose harissa

Catfish (very good battered and fried)

Mole poblano

Bagel and lox (yes without the lox, not a staple around here)

Lobster Thermidor

Polenta (no, but sounds a little too similar to grits, which I don't like so I'm reluctant)

Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (nope, the only coffee I drink is at home)

Snake

I have a very low score, as you can see, but that is only because a lot of the foods are regional or are gourmet, both of which are hard to access when you have no money.... so... yeah. my score: 22

This is mine, be sure to do yours and post a link or your score in the comments if its better than mine. thanks to maki of Just Hungry for the idea that she got from here.

Granola, Parfaits, and RSV

My son and I were sick the past week or two, he with combined strep and RSV (thank you relatives who won't take their kid to the doctor! Not only was he sick because of it, but my nephew was too, he isn't even 6 months and has enough problems, he was in the NICU for the first three months of life, and has to rely on a colostomy bag to relieve himself, and he eats through a feeding tube, he did not need RSV. Then again neither did the little boy who had it for THREE months who gave it to everybody), and I had an attack of my bronchitis that was so bad it was a step away from full-blown bacterial pneumonia. Thankfully, we are both better, although both still congested and wheezy, I am at least back down to regular old bronchitis, and on strict orders to drink more and daily use of an inhaler or nebulizer. But while we were sick and on antibiotics, we needed something besides applesauce and jello to eat. Enter yogurt, packed with calcium and protein as well as being nice and cool on a sore throat. The only problem, our hometown has had a large outbreak of RSV and there was no vanilla yogurt, only plain. My solution, however was to add honey as a sweetener, and to eat it with this amazing recipe  found on allrecipes.com, thank you to Pam Anderson for posting it on the site. http://allrecipes.com/howto/great-granola/detail.aspx?e11=granola+clusters&e8=Quick+Search&event10=1&event8=1&prop24=SR_Showcase&e7=Home+Page  the only changes I made was in the flavoring, I used a teaspoon and a half of vanilla and a teaspoon of cinnamon for a doubled recipe and put in chopped pecans, sliced almonds and chocolate chips.

I used this amazing granola, which smelled like cinnamon french toast, to make a delicious parfait with yogurt and honey. and I have now decided that my parfait glass will become my new breakfast bowl for cereal,  because it holds roughly 1 cup of cereal and a half cup of milk, which is a standard serving.

Our Lunch: Ham "Noodles" and Tri-Color Rotini

My son and I were recently looking for something to eat for lunch, but there wasn't that much in the house to eat (it was before a shopping day). So I took some of the things i had on hand and made something off the top of my head that actually turned out pretty good.

 I took some tri-color rotini that happened to be in the cabinets, and cooked it on the stove, adding a whole chopped carrot, cut into very small pieces, to the mix right after the noodles came back up to a boil.

Then, when the noodles and carrots were almost done, I took two pieces of ham and rolled them up and used kitchen shears to cut them into long, thin, noodle-like strips.

I added them to the noodle mix and continued to cook until the noodles were done and the carrots were soft.

I drained out the water, added margarine, and Aunt Jane's Mixed-Up Salt and stirred until the margarine melted.

I then took out a small portion for my son, and added a few handfuls of baby spinach to the mix.

I tried covering the pot with a lid to let it steam the spinach, but when that didn't work I put it in a bowl and microwaved it, covered, for 30 seconds.

Then I added chopped olives and gave it a good stir. It turned out really good and my son loved it, although I had to tell him that the ham was noodles before he would eat it, lol.

Results for bread number one

Sorry all, I've been pretty busy with a sick child and wasn't able to post the results for the first attempt at cinnamon bread.

The results: a total flop.

The bread looked great on the outside, and smelled great too; but once I cut into the center, I noticed that the very middle was gooey and undercooked. It was a mistake on my part, it needed an extra five minutes or so to cook the center because of the filling.it tasted great, and no one had any complaints, but the gooey center was kind of unappealing for me, and it didn't keep for as long as my bread usually does.

The total results: it tasted great, but a different recipe would be better suited for this type of bread.

Overall: 7 out of 10

The Amazing Raisin Bread Challenge

I recently bought a box of golden rasins on a whim; they are my favorite type of raisin, but I don't really eat rasins a lot. So I was wondering what I could do with them (while eating some of course) and inspiration struck. Raisin bread. I searched Stumbleupon and came up with several recipes, all of which looked great. But the problem was that I couldn't pick which one to use first.

Enter the "Amaising Raisin Bread Challenge." I will be posting each recipe every week; and then I will make a loaf of the bread and post step-by-step photos along with the results to show how well the particular recipe worked for me. I will then do a taste test among my family and record their reactions on taste, texture, smell, and overall appearance. I will then post the results and, at the end of the challenge, the winners. you can do your own challenge and pick your own winner, or just try out the winning recipe.

My first recipe will be my all time favorite bread recipe (the one I make for just bread) and I will add the cinnamon sugar and raisins to it to make it into a raisin bread. This is, by far, the simplest bread recipe you could make, I found it in a children's cookbook, and a good place to start out.

Alright folks, here's the recipe, so let's get to work!

Bread

3 1/2 cup flour
1 package yeast
1 1/2 Tb butter or margarine
1 Tb brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup water

Cinnamon Raisin Filling
1 Tb melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup raisins

Mix flour, yeast, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add the water and mix together to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic and then let rise for 40 minutes or until doubled in size. press the dough out into a rectangle and moisten with melted butter, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar (mixed together) onto the dough and then spread the raisins onto the dough. roll the dough up, starting at a short end, and then tuck the ends under, pressing the edges to seal. Place into a loaf pan or onto a baking sheet or cooking stone and let rise again, until doubled. bake at 425 F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when knocked. You can eat the bread however you like; for toast, with butter, or just plain.

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here are the pics for almost all my recipes up to date.