Olga's Mexican Desserts

This past Sunday I hosted an open house to give my friend Olga an opportunity to showcase her amazing repetoire of Mexican desserts. I have traveled extensively through Mexico and eaten a lot of Mexican desserts and hers are the finest I've ever had.

I've already placed an order for the tres leches cake for my son's birthday party in May (we'll probably forgo the pink frosting, but I can't say he minded it - he helped himself to two slices!) and I'm trying to plan some other occasion as soon as possible as an excuse to enjoy her perfect flan.

Below are just a few of her offerings and she will soon post a price list. If you'd like to have your own sublime experience and order something from her, just let me know.

The table wouldn't even hold all the desserts she made!

This cake was amazing - I had never had it before. She calls it a "cake flan" - there is chocolate cake on the bottom, a thick, rich chocolate flan and a carmel topping. This was the favorite of my friend's almost-fourteen-year old daughter and will be featured at her birthday party.

This is a peach and strawberry cheesecake - but it's lighter than our cheesecakes. Much lighter. My husband said it was more like a mousse and I think he's right.

Ah, and the tres leches cake. That means "3 milks" - evaporated, condensed and cream - and I've never met a citizen of the northern united states (Mexico and Canada have united states of america, too, you know) who have ever tried this cake and not been astounded by it. It is unlike any cake you get commercially in our 50 states - the moistness is astounding - and you simply must try it if you never have!

She made two flans. This was the mocha.

And this is the chocolate. I had never seen flan prepared in a cake shape and marveled that she could get the cake pans in a water bath. The flan had a lovely creamy, silky texture and was just perfect. (I have been known to make a seriously good flan myself, and these were better.)

And, finally, the Pina Colada cheesecake, that almost didn't fit on our table - coconut, pineapple and a texture that, again, was more like a mousse than our traditionally heavy cheesecakes. Again, you have to try them!

What's Cooking 3.30-4.5

It's freezer week at our home! I mentioned in my Friday post that our freezer is packed with meals I've made over the last month and now it is time to enjoy them. I must say it was very nice to make very quick trips to two stores because I was running short on time this morning. I decided to forgo a trip to Amazing Savings for our pricey whole foods store because it would also help save time and I knew it wouldn't break the budget to buy all our produce (local and/or organic) and dairy (organic milk and sour cream) there.

I spent $32.96 in total this week - $30.86 at Earth Fare and $2.10 at Aldi for 2 jars of spaghetti sauce. I would not have gone to Aldi at all, but it's right by my bank, where I had to go anyway, and the sauce is quite good and a very good value.

My grand total for food this month was $239.73 - $80 under my goal of $320 a month - and that is after I decided to go back to all organic and local produce. I feel so confident about my ability to get in under budget that I plan to buy all organic and local - for everything - next month, taking up Crunchy Chicken's challenge to buy sustainable on a budget. More on that next week!

Here's what we're eating this week:

Monday:
Curried Split Peas
Brown Rice

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Tuesday:Leftovers

Wednesday:

Slow Cooker Spinach Lasagna (from freezer)
Green Salad

Thursday:
Tunisian Vegetables (from freezer, but see recipe below)
Whole Wheat Couscous

Friday:
Pizza with homemade crust and sauce
Soy Sausage and Roasted Peppers and Onions
Spinach Salad

Saturday:
Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie (from freezer)
Spinach Salad

Sunday:
Roasted Pumpkin Soup (from freezer)
Homemade Whole Wheat Rolls

Once again, from the fantastic Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, a lovely stew that makes an ideal quick meal that is flavorful, healthful and economical!

Tunisian Vegetable Stew
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage
dash of salt
1 large green pepper, cut into thin strips
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
3 cups undrained canned tomatoes, chopped (28-ounce can)
1 1/2 cups drained cooked chick peas (16-ounce can)
1/3 cup currants or raisins
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
Grated Feta Cheese
Toasted slivered almonds (optional)

In a large skillet, saute the onions in the olive oil for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cabbage, sprinkle with salt, and continue to saute for at least 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper and spices to the skillet and saute for another minute or so. Stir in the tomatoes, chick peas, and currants or raisins, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Top with feta, and toasted almonds if you like. Serve on couscous or another grain of your choice.

In the Swing

My parents wanted to buy my son an outdoor play set for his fourth birthday. We knew friends had acquired a nice one at Lowe's (a big box hardware store) and a few weeks ago we went to price one. The simplest "kit" (with a couple of swings, a tower thing and a slide) cost $1500 - and that's unassembled. To have it assembled by the good folks at Lowe's would cost over $2100. I saw those prices and walked promptly out of the store.

I thought we would happily make do with our neighborhood playground, but then I realized that we had quite a few neighbors who had play sets and children who had grown up and perhaps no longer fancied so much time on the swings.

I called the neighbor with whom I am closest and asked if we could buy their play set. She immediately said they would love it if we just *take it* because it had been years since their children used it and they would like to plant some fruit trees in its place.

She refused payment but I managed to talk her into a gift card for our local whole foods grocery store as a token of our gratitude. And another friend broke down the set and put it up in our backyard for a very reasonable sum.

So instead of paying a small fortune to the big box store who cuts down trees in China for their play sets, we were able to give an 8-year-old play set a new life with a very grateful child *and* support our local economy with my parents' gift.

We have played on that set every day over the last week and we've already hosted lots of other children to share the wonderful gift. Below are pictures of G (aka Spiderman) and two of his favorite playmates - of whom he commonly asks, "Are they my sisters or my girlfriends?" I suppose we still have plenty of time to figure that out.

This week I'm rejoicing in the simple pleasures of a swing set.

Food Waste for the Week

No waste again this week. I'm definitely getting the hang of the challenge of preventing food waste and so is my husband. Today is the day when the least appetizing of our leftovers remain to be eaten and my wonderful husband, again, managed to eat the very-least appetizing before I got home for lunch. He said he had to use a lot of fresh Parmesan to make them palatable and I appreciate his willingness and his resourcefulness.

I might decide to build in two leftovers nights - one at the beginning of the week (Tuesday) and one at the end (Saturday) because we still have a surplus even when we eat leftovers every day for lunch. Our freezer is now full of leftovers - from weeks ago - and I will plan to defrost them for some evening meals next week.

I also have an elderly neighbor who I occasionally give a portion of our meals and I will ask her if she'd like to be a regular recipient and that would also be a viable solution to the overflow.

Overall, I remain very pleased with this challenge.

Creating an Edible Front Yard

I stumbled onto a new favorite blog, The Food Renegade, and in the interest of joining Kristen M's Friday blog carnival I am inspired to write a little more about how we created our edible front yard.

When we moved into our home 11 years ago the front yard was lush with grass. It looked fine, but I quickly came to resent it because the act of mowing the steep hills was more than a little life threatening.

Here's a picture of it from back in the day:



Our back yard is tree-filled and shady and I dreamed for years of transforming the front into an edible garden but felt overwhelmed by the time, cost and energy that such a project would entail. Finally, in the spring of 2007, we had an economic windfall and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it: hire folks to help me plan and create an edible garden.

Fortunately, my child's labor was free but I paid almost $1500 for other labor and materials.




The raised bed is essential because the soil was in very poor condition and required quite a bit of amendment to support the 8 blueberry bushes and strawberry plants. Those plants, along with the other herbs I planted - rosemary, lavender, sage, thyme and marjoram - are now thriving.

Here is a picture of what the garden looks like today:

You can click on the picture for a larger view: off to the left is a large rosemary plant and the rest of the plants in front of the raised bed are mostly flowering plants. The bottom row has the blueberry bushes and strawberry plants.

Here is a close-up picture of a blueberry bush with sweet little buds:



And here is a close-up of the raised bed garden.


This is what it looked like last year in early summer:




We get loads of tomatoes and cucumbers by training them up the trellises. And we get glorious greens from the rest of the available plot:


Here my son proudly displayed a lovely cucumber before it was unceremoniously plucked off the vine and crunched in his mouth.

We have enjoyed our garden so much. It is definitely worth every bit of effort: I love to look at it year round and the benefits are too many to count. To me the greatest benefit is that my son knows where real food comes from.

What's Cooking 3.23-3.29

It was a great shopping day - I bought only local or organic produce and came way under my *dream* budget of $80! I spent $31.31 at Amazing Savings on the produce and $25.94 at Aldi, for a grand total of $58.38. I had to plan our menus carefully to use up lentils, brown rice, and other grains we already have in the pantry and that helped keep the cost low. Knowing that we are eating well and cheaply based on choices that rely on sustainable farming practices is just fantastic.

Here's what we're eating this week:

Monday:
Kusherie (Egyptian Lentils)
Green Salad

Tuesday:
Leftovers

Wednesday:
Fusilli, Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Beans (recipe below)
Green Salad

Thursday:
Potato Leek Soup with Pesto (using pesto stored in my freezer from my garden last summer)
Homemade Whole Wheat Rolls

Friday:
Pizza with homemade sauce and dough
Roasted Onions and Peppers
Spinach Salad

Saturday:
Sweet Potato Quesadillas (recipe provided last week, but we didn't have them because my parents surprised us with a visit and treated us to dinner)
Steamed Broccoli


Sunday:
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Stew
Couscous
Spinach Salad

Fusilli with Swiss Chard and Garbanzo Beans (and optional bacon)
I have some bacon in the fridge so I will cook a few slices to flavor the dish, but I don't miss the flavor if it's not on hand.

Total time: 25 minutes
Serves 4

12 oz. whole wheat fusilli or rotini pasta
1 bunch Swiss Chard (1 lb.), tough ends trimmed
1 slice bacon, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips (or 2 Tbsp. of olive oil if not using bacon)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed (I usually add more)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cups of cooked garbanzo beans/chick peas (I prepare mine from dried or use 1 15 oz. can)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Grated Parmesan cheese if using bacon (optional, but very tasty)
Crumbled Feta cheese if not using bacon (again, optional but very tasty)

1. Heat large covered pot of water to boiling on high. Add salt and pasta and cook as label directs.
2. Meanwhile, cut ribs and stems from Swiss chard leaves. Cut ribs and stems into 1-inch pieces; cut leaves into 2-inch pieces. Rinse Swiss chard in large bowl of cold water;swish to remove any dirt. Transfer chard to colander. Do not spin dry.
3. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook bacon on medium-high until browned, stirring occasionally. With slotted spoon, transfer bacon to tea towel to drain. Reduce heat to medium. To bacon fat in skillet (or a couple of tablespoons of olive oil) add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 30 seconds stirring constantly. Add Swiss chard, beans, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until chard begins to wilt. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes longer or until stems are tender-crisp.
4. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot. Stir in Swiss chard mixture and lemon juice until combined. If mixture seems dry, add reserved cooking water. Top with optional Parmesan or Feta cheese.

Recipe adapted from Good Housekeeping magazine.

Girls' Night

I've mentioned before how dear my girlfriends are to me and I treasure our time together. Before my son was born I hosted regular girls' nights at my home. Since his arrival, time with my friends is at such a premium that I've chosen to gather them regardless of how their chromosomes align.

Last night was supposed to be a co-ed affair, but then one of the xy's couldn't make it and my husband, realizing he was going to be in the minority, graciously accepted an invitation to my parents' home. My boys were treated like kings and my girlfriends and I got to be queens.

Here we are holding court.


Of course, it wouldn't be an evening with my girls if things didn't get a little silly.




And then, to my great delight, we got a little jiggy with it.






We had so much fun we're already planning our next two nights out: to a karoke bar (one of our friends is like a human juke box and I'm anxious to see her in a more fitting milieu) and Pigeon Forge. I've never been to Dollywood but one of my friends says that once you go you will feel unbelievably skinny and attractive.

This week, once again, I'm rejoicing in my girlfriends.