Happy Tuesday morning!
Yesterday was "Family Day", a government sponsored holiday with no real purpose behind it. It meant I got the day off to spend with my family, to sit and watch the Olympics, to do some cleaning, some cooking and some baking.
I liked it!
It also meant all the stores were closed, so I had to do my shopping on Sunday. I spent alot of money on groceries this weekend, but did not buy anything that I did not already have in my freezer, so my freezer challenge is still on.
Here we go, my menu plan for the week, being submitted to Menu Plan Monday:
Sunday: Nachos, picnic style (while we watched the Olympics together)
Monday: Pasta with meat ragu
Tuesday: Pork tenderloin with Hawaiian sauce and rice
Wednesday: Homemade pizza
Thursday: Meatballs with mashed potatoes
Friday: Out for dinner with my other Mom, who comes to curl nearby at this time every year and we go see her.
Menu Plan Monday: Family Day = Delayed Menu Plan Day
Happy Valentine's Day
I woke up to find this on my car earlier this week, left for me by my hubby. What a lovely way to start the day.
Valentine's Day is a commercial holiday more than a romantic holiday. Buy, buy, buy, buy.....
Thanks but no thanks. I don't want over priced flowers that will wilt in only a few days. I don't like or wear jewelery, and between my two children, we have enough stuffed animals in this house already.
My hubby did not get a fancy valentine's gift his morning - I made him breakfast instead. And this afternoon we will spend some time together making dinner (instead of my banishing him from the kitchen while I cook). I'll probably make something fun and filled with calories for dessert as well. Then we will spend some time together, with our children. I believe the plan involves playing Beatles Rock Band.
This week my children's school held a bake sale, with the proceeds going to Make a Wish. My boys brought in this fudge, cut out into heart shapes with a cookie cutter. My oldest tells me it was one of the first things to sell out, and that his silly brother bought a piece as one of his choices, despite the pieces at home in the fridge.
Ridiculously easy to make, perfect for making late at night when you get a last minute request to submit something for the bake sale the next day.
Valentine's Day Fudge
3 cups chocolate, chopped up (I used milk chocolate for this, but you can use semi-sweet as well)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or use mint or raspberry or orange extract instead)
Any add in's you'd like, such as white chocolate chunks, nuts, marshmallows....
Line a 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper.
In a heavy pot, over low heat, melt the chocolate, condensed milk and salt, stirring constantly.
When everything is melted together, and smooth, remove from heat and add in the vanilla, plus any additions you want to make.
Spread into prepared pan, smoothing the top as best you can.
Chill for at least two hours.
Turn out fudge and parchment paper onto a cutting board. Peel away the paper and cut into desired shapes using a knife or cookie cutters.
Leftovers should be kept in the fridge (but really, who are we kidding about leftovers?)
Menu Plan Monday: How I did on the pantry challenge
I know this isn't the Menu Plan Monday banner (I put that below this time). I just wanted to put something different up, just because, and just for fun. This is my oldest son, being silly this past summer.
True story, rather funny, to tell about him and this past week's menu plan: Last week I planned that the boys were going to have club sandwiches using the left over turkey for dinner on Tuesday. I was going to be out here, enjoying myself, but expected to be able to have a sandwich when I got home, if I wanted one. Knowing we had all the ingredients on hand, I decided I wanted a BLT for breakfast the next morning and was going to gather them all together to make my morning a little less hectic the next day. No bacon to be found in the fridge. None in the freezer. Could they have eaten an entire pound of bacon in one night? Seemed unlikely. Hubby said no, there should be some in the fridge, our oldest had put it in a tupperware container. Checked again, fridge no, freezer no, just in case, pantry no. No bacon.
The next morning I ask him. He checks the fridge. He knows he put it in a container, but where did he put it? Checks the freezer. Next thing you know, there are three of rummaging through the fridge and freezer, where did he put this bacon!
Lightbulb goes off above my head - I checked the tupperware cupboard and voila! Bacon!
No, I did not have a BLT for breakfast that morning. Not with bacon that had been out all night.
So the pantry challenge.... It went pretty well. We had a few hiccups this week, the first being diner on Monday, the beef and broccoli stir fry I made. While the stir fry part was fine, for some reason the rice tasted odd to everyone at the table, and had a subtle, but again odd, texture to it. We ended up not finishing out meal that night and had an "emergency" chip run. But even with the chips added in, I still finished the two weeks with $2 left in my $100 budget.
My second little "bump in the road" didn't happen until Friday, when we did end up having take out for dinner, but it had less to do with the pantry challenge and more to do with my having worked a 12 hour the day before (open to close), followed by opening the next morning, and I was exhausted. This isn't likely to happen again, it was unusual circumstances, but it made me realize I am not as resilient as I used to be.
This week I've decided to continue with the freezer challenge, but had to restock several items in my pantry. I'd run out of canned tomatoes, which are a staple, and my stock of cereal, a very in demand item in this house, was completely depleted. The boys, big and small, could still find something for breakfast with what we had left, but I'm much pickier when it comes to cereal and we had not had anything I considered edible for the entire two weeks. Breakfast has been a bit rough on me, no cereal and no BLT's.
On to the menu!
Sunday: Turkey soup with biscuits (I took pictures and hope to post about this later this week.)
Monday: Chicken Korma with rice. Carry over from last week.
Tuesday: Sheppard's Pie.
Wednesday: Grilled steak with Caesar salad.
Thursday: Lasagna, from the freezer.
Friday: It's birthday time around here today, combination of my oldest son and my mother-in-law, as well as my father-in-law from the day before, so we will be out celebrating with them.
Ottawa Food Bloggers, Urban Element and the Chicken Farmers of Canada
Any where else, other than a gathering of food bloggers, this would seem odd. But when a bunch of food bloggers congregated together at the Urban Element on Tuesday, February 2nd, this was the norm. Amazingly, the staff didn't even bat an eye when asked to "pose" with the various hors-d'oeuvres!
We were all there at the invitation of Chicken Farmers of Canada, for a social gathering of Ottawa Food bloggers, with appetizers, cocktails, a cooking demonstration and to hear Ron Eade give a talk on sodium and writing about food.
Ron didn't spend his entire evening talking about salt, but touched on alot of little things about food writing: the time it takes not only to write a blog, but to read and comment on others, the passion that comes through in some blogs, picture size, links and recipes. And one I've been guilty of lately - frequency of blogging. (I owe my blog a big apology for the neglect it's seen over the last few months.)
Pulled pork with smoked tomato jam
Mini chicken pot pies
Sundried tomato strata with C'est Bon goat cheese
Chicken dumplings with peanut sauce
Caramelized onion tarts and pear tarts with Bleu Bénédictine
The highlight of the evening, for me, was getting an opportunity to meet some local food bloggers. I admit, I had not known about all of them, or that there were quite so many in Ottawa, but it was a pleasure to be included in their company. Some, like Shari of Whisk: A Food Blog, I had been reading for ages and had exchanged emails with. While others, like Don of foodPrints, Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food, Eva of Eva's Food World and Pearl of Eaten Up, I hope to make part of my regular reading and meet again at future events (which means I better stop neglecting my blog!)
Big thanks to Ryan of Fat Canary Communications for inviting me, to the Chicken Farmers of Canada for hosting this little party, and to the staff at the Urban Element.
Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman: It's a Wild Card
This week Debby called it a Wild Card, and Muneeba was absent, but probably enjoying her new baby and very short on sleep. Very good reason to be absent.
Since we could make anything we wanted from Ree's book or website, and Debby mentioned Muneeba having a baby, I was thinking back to when my boys were babies.
I used to make them alot of pancakes, something they still love to eat.
Recently we ran across a video clip of my oldest son, as a baby, sitting in his high chair, eating. Hands on, messy as can be, shoving his food into his little mouth.
And singing as he ate. "Mmmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmmmm......"
He's outgrown that habit, but still loves to eat pancakes. Breakfast is his favorite meal of the day. So last weekend I made them a double batch of these, Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes, found on page 76-77 of The Pioneer Woman Cooks.
He went back for thirds of these pancakes. His brother went back for seconds.
I admit, they didn't really "do it" for me - they start out so light and fluffy, but as they cool, they seem to collapse slightly. And I've noticed, over years of making pancakes, that the person making the pancakes never gets to eat them when they are at their best, fresh, hot and fluffy.
Hey Ree! Can I come visit the Lodge and have you make these for me please? I bet they taste even better coming from your griddle.
Omnivores Ottawa Supper Club: Liang's Village
BC and I were able to sneak away from our children and spouses for a night out last week, midweek. What else would we do but go eat?
Alright, we planned to abandon them and go try some funky and fun sounding Chinese food, the January choice of Ron Eade, Food Editor of the Ottawa Citizen, and his partner in crime, Mike McCracken, at Liang's Village, a family run business in the St. Laurent are (if you live in Ottawa and want to try it for yourself.)
If you are interested, here is Ron's take on our evening out.
Please excuse some of my pictures - I decided to try using my son's little point and shoot camera instead of my own camera. His has a food setting. Which uses no flash, great, but I had no tripod, the table wobbled, the lazy susan spun alot, and apparently I can't hold still for 1/30th of a second.
This is one of my new favorite things to eat. I could eat it for breakfast.
Except I don't recall any bok choy or bean sprouts. Oh well, there were mushrooms instead.
See that squiggle of squid in the middle - I ate that piece. And the rice with the liquid from the Szechuan fish was a great combination.
The ball, a piece of banana, surrounded by the dough and deep fried, was coated in the toffee and then dunked in the ice water, at the table, before being served to us.
It was a lovely night out, meeting some like minded foodies. I thoroughly enjoyed trying new things, exploring dishes I'd never had before, and am so glad I went.
Imagine, Chinese food without a fortune cookie in sight.
Many thanks to Ron and Mike for a lovely choice, and for Liang's Village, for all their work.
Menu Plan Monday: The pantry/freezer challenge continues
Last week went really well for us. I had to make a stop at the store about Tuesday for milk and bread, and that was it. I had taken out $100 in cash for groceries and spent less than $7 of it.
My week usually runs Thursday to Thursday, for budgeting purposes. So when I got to Wednesday night and still had most of the $100 I'd budgeted, I decided to push this a bit further - let's see if I can go until this Thursday and stay within that $100. Considering I normally spend alot more than this on groceries, it could prove to be quite the challenge for me.
Thursday night I spent a little under $10 buying some fruit, as we had run out of everything but frozen blueberries and jarred apple sauce. Those items will get eaten, one way or another, but needed help.
Besides, frozen blueberries tend to leak in lunch boxes, no matter that container I put them into.
Sunday my little guy and I hit the bakery for some bread and then the grocery store for produce for the week. We came back with a fair amount of fruit for lunches, apples, oranges, bananas and grapes (very good sale price, the only time I buy grapes, some veggies, and $13 or so left in my original $100.
If I can go until Thursday without having to do more than pick up milk (I'll have to do that by Tuesday, I suspect,) I will be pretty happy.
So here is my menu plan for the week, which I am submitting to Menu Plan Monday:
Sunday: Turkey dinner with the fixins': mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots and gravy. With a "fancy" dessert of angel food cake, lemon curd and whipped cream, all made from items I had on hand.
Monday: Beef, pepper and broccoli stir fry with rice. Beef from the freezer, pepper and broccoli from the fridge, not bought this weekend, rice from the pantry.
Tuesday: Club sandwiches with turkey soup. Left over turkey put to good use.
Wednesday: Steak and baked potatoes. Maybe salad too.
Thursday: Chicken Korma with rice. Chicken from freezer, Korma sauce from pantry, rice from pantry.
Friday: If we've made it this far, that's great! We aren't going to go out to celebrate or anything, but I think I will leave tonight unplanned and just make whatever when I get home.
Conversations from my kitchen
Me: "You didn't eat all your Asian Pear for lunch today, how come?"
7 year old: "Well I couldn't eat my Asian Pear because it was Jicama, not Asian Pear."
Me: "No, I cut it, it's Asian Pear. The Jicama is still in the cupboard, see?"
Him: "Oh.... Asian Pear, I love Asian Pear!"..... as he inhales his pear.
Later on...
Him: "Mom, you know, you and I really like Asian foods. That's good. No one else in our family likes Asian foods as much as we do."
Think I'm raising a little Foodie?
Menu Plan Monday: Pantry Challenge
Frugal bloggers around the world have been talking alot the last few weeks about a great challenge, the Eat From the Pantry Challenge, which challenges you to use what you have an avoid repeated trips to the grocery store. While it sounded like a great idea, I didn't pay much attention to it until last week. 
Last week, when we had a friend over for dinner and she could not find any room in my freezer to put something temporarily.
Last week, when I went way, way, way over budget on groceries, taking advantage of a few sale items at Farm Boy and making a trip down to the US for some items I can't get here.
My having a job and an income has allowed me some leeway in my budget, but that money would be so much better spent paying off some bills, or going into savings, than making sure I have six packages of sausage in my freezer!
So this week I am making my own pantry challenge and dragging my family along with me. I set myself a rule or two: No trips to the store for anymore more than milk and/or bread. No picking up dinner. And cash only for what little I do buy.
I did give myself a bit of relaxation with a few items I needed, such as garbage bags, toilet paper and kleenex. As in things we don't eat.
And the pantry/freezer challenge began Saturday night:
Saturday: Chicken finger and tortilla wraps with soup - frozen chicken fingers, wrapped up in flour tortillas with left over salad mix, shredded cheese and ranch dressing, soup from the pantry.
Sunday: Prime rib roast with roasted cauliflower. Roast from the freezer (a good deal in December, I bought a couple), cauliflower from the fridge.
Monday: Stew with mashed potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Beef from the freezer, part of my cow from November, with the last of my pantry potatoes.
Tuesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce. Canned tomatoes and pasta from the pantry, either ground beef or sausage meat (or both) from the freezer.
Wednesday: I'm out tonight so the boys are on their own, hot dogs and fries, both from the freezer, including the buns.
Thursday: Stuffed chicken breast (freezer) with sauted veggies (freezer).
Friday: Lemon shrimp pasta. Lemon from my counter, shrimp from the freezer, pasta from the pantry.
While it isn't likely that next week's plan will involve not a single grocery trip, as I will need fresh fruit by then, I'll likely continue the freezer part. I've got an idea where I can get some good pork, but only when I take out a turkey and some other items from the freezer first.
For now, this is my submission to this week's Menu Plan Monday, hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.
Why I love the "I Hearts Cooking Clubs", but not Nigella
I was a regular contributor to Tyler Florence Fridays. Loved cooking with Tyler, loved the interaction of TFF and the ladies hosting. And I was unhappy that TFF was going to be ending, sad that I would not have the extra incentive to find the time to cook outside my list of regular dishes and get back to my blog.
When the "I Hearts (I can't find the symbol for a heart) Cooking Clubs" came up, this should have been my cue to jump right in with a new chef and have some fun. I wanted to, I really, really wanted to.
But the chef of choice was Nigella Lawson, and I have problems with that.
Nothing personal against Nigella. She is a beautiful woman who is entertaining to watch. Some of her recipes look stunning, some scream out to me to be tried.
But I have never had any luck whatsoever with her recipes. None at all.
Take this one, my choice for this week's theme of "Potluck":
This is supposed to be Easy Sticky-Toffee Dessert, found on page 216 of Nigella Bites.
Looks disgusting, doesn't it?
And it is the best of the two I made.
This was my second try at this recipe, in 12 hours. I made it last night, after dinner, and realized I'd made two mistakes with it almost immediately. First, I miss-measured my flour slightly, but not by a huge amount, and second, my pan, which had the right capacity, was not a good shape for this.
Still, I persevered and put it in the oven. Forty five minutes later, I had slightly bubbling water in a baking dish with something sludgy underneath, but no "springy and spongy" dessert. Thirty minutes later, the same.
I tried again this morning, more careful with my flour, different pan to give it more surface area for the boiling water to seep through the batter and make a sauce.
After more than 1 hour in the oven, I took it out and used a spoon to try and let some of the water get under the "cake", and then let it sit on the counter to meld together some.
Spooning it up looked like this:
Not very appetizing looking, and frankly, boring to eat. No toffee flavor at all, despite all the
sugar.
I may try something else from Nigella again, something savory where if the conversions are off, it won't destroy the recipe and create something awful.
For now, this is my contribution for the potluck party at I Hearts Cooking Club.
Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman: Veggies a cowboy eat
In this round of Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman, Muneeba and Debbie chose the very general theme of salads and vegetables.
Did you know cowboys ate veggies other than corn on the cobb from the bbq? And salads? Do cowboys really eat salads?
It's been awhile since I lived in Alberta and spent alot of time on a farm, with horses, cows, chickens and turkeys. And, yes, cowboys and cowgirls.
I was neither a cowboy or a cowgirl back then, though I was a tomboy, and from what I recall, those cowfolks ate just about everything, including salad.
Despite knowing this, I went vegetable and made PW's Pico de Gallo, along with her Guacamole, found on paes 16 -17, and pages 20-21.
Ree does a fine job of detailing this very simple recipes, so I'll follow her cues:
About equal amounts of tomato, onion and cilantro.
Enough jalapeno for flavor for the hubby and I, not so much that the kids run from the room screaming in pain. 
Just imagine I took a picture of my seasoning this bowl with salt and squeezing lime juice on it. Then testing it with a tortilla chip, a black corn one. Tasty!
Ignore the funky shape of my corn tortillas - I don't own a tortilla press and this was the best I could do with my rolling pin and my 7 year old helping me.
My pico de gallo, along with the guacamole, made with the pico de gallo, sat on top of a rib eye steak I had seasoned with cumin and chili powder, before grilling to medium rare, thinly slicing and mounding on top of a Monterey Jack laced tortilla. Yummy!
Poor hubby, though. He had to work late, and homemade corn tortillas do not sit well, so they weren't so yummy by the time he got home. Fortunately I had some flour tortillas in the freezer, so he got yummy for his lunch the next day, except for the guacamole.
I ate it with tortilla chips for my lunch instead.
Menu Plan Monday: I have time off this week
My usual Monday to Friday schedule has been changed slightly this week, due to various appointments, so I will actually have some time to do some baking and cooking during the week. While my freezer in no way will accept my premaking and freezing a few items, not without exploding, my family can benefit from my spending some time in the kitchen.
Because today, Monday, is one of the days I am going to have off, my husband is off the hook for making dinner tonight. He's going to work late instead.
So here is this week's submission to Menu Plan Monday:
Sunday: Braised Beef Ribs with mashed potatoes and sauted carrots. (Sorry, no recipe as my 7 year old and I just threw some stuff together after dredging the ribs in seasoned flour, browning them and then throwing them in a pot. We put a can of diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh thyme and fresh bay leaf with the ribs and baked them for over 1 1/2 hours.)
Monday: Steak fajitas with corn tortillas and homemade salsa.
Tuesday: Pasta with sausage and tomato sauce.
Wednesday: Turkey stuffing burgers (I didn't get to this last week, so am trying for this week.)
Thursday: Pork chops with stuffed baked potatoes.
Friday: Whatever night.
Have a good week!
Menu Plan Monday: Is it summer yet?
Last week was a complete bust for me. The nasty cold/flu I had before New Years just would not go away and I ended up missing more work, being home sick. Even now, days later, I'm still coughing and feeling it in my chest. I am so ready for the cold weather to be over, taking with it all the winter weather illnesses that go with it.
Last week was our first week trying menu planning with my husband cooking during the week. We learned a few things from it: he isn't that comfortable in the kitchen anymore, and he has said he can't think of meal preparation and planning in advance. This wasn't an issue when he was only responsible for one meal a week and that meal was on Saturday, but since he is now making meals during the week, right after work, some planning and preparation is necessary.
We've reached a compromise on it for now - I will continue to plan the meals and get what's needed for him, so the planning part is done, and until he is more comfortable in the kitchen, I will also provide him with instructions. Yes, this does still involve work on my part, but alot less, and it will still keep both our stress levels down.
Let's see how things go this week!
Sunday: Pork roast with apple and fennel salad, green and yellow beans.
Monday: MYO pizza. I've bought premade crusts and toppings, they will make their own pizza to taste.
Tuesday: Penne with tomatoes, garlic and chili.
Wednesday: Lemon and garlic marinaded chicken breast with leeks and broccoli.
Thursday: Grilled cheese and soup.
Friday: Turkey stuffing burgers. Recipe to come later.
As usual, things are subject to change based on circumstances, including the whether: whether or not I feel like making and/or eating that particular item that day....
Do you have you own menu plan for Menu Plan Monday?
Foodie Fans of The Pioneer Woman: Cowgirl Food that everyone will love
I have to admit - I was a fan of The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, long before she came out with a cookbook, so I was thrilled when my copy of the book showed up in the mail. I ignored my family and ran off with my new book, curled up in my bed and spend the rest of the night reading.
Some cookbooks are more fun to read than others. This one was too short for me. Or I read it too fast.
Either way, just about everything in it looked great to me (except the Sangria, I just don't get Sangria.)
I wasn't especially surprised when a blogging group came out celebrating this book and PW Ree. How can you not? Between the food and the "easy on the eyes" cowboy photo's, this book was bound to have fans everywhere!
I'm just a little late in getting into joining this lovely group, Foodie Fans of The Pioneer Woman, established by Muneeba, of An Edible Symphony, and Debbie, of A Feast for the Eyes, who have decided that this round up's theme is Cowgirl Food.
If you have your own copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks, you know there is a section called Cowgirl Food, pages 194-209, where Ree provides recipes for things that Cowgirls love and Cowboys pretend not to love.
I chose to make creme brulee, a "low fat, no calorie" treat for my hubby, in belated celebration of his birthday (I was sick on his birthday and he was out at tkd with our boys.)
My only problem with this dessert was the little torch I have to brulee with - it was a thoughtful gift from my grandfather and hurt my hands trying to keep it on long enough to brulee the tops of these little babies.
Actually, I had another problem - eating more than two of these (my ramekins were much smaller than Ree's, I got 14 out of the recipe, just a few more than she did,) is overwhelming, but they are so good you want to eat more!
I'm hoping to be able to join in with this group on a regular basis, assuming I can remember to take pictures of the recipes I have made from this book.
Thanks Debbie and Muneeba for taking on the job of hosting and giving me an excuse to get the camera out again!
Menu Plan Monday: "Oh the weather outside is frightful....."
Do you think I'm doing a little wishful thinking with my choice of badge for this week's Menu Plan Monday? Well, I am. With the snow continuing to pile up around me, I can't wait for nicer weather. And it's only January. (Oh boy, am I in for a let down!)
To answer some questions from my lovely winter pictures, yes, BC, that is indeed the bbq I set fire to this summer, that has still not been repaired (if it can be) or removed or replaced. So, no, I don't have a cover for the bbq, as the bbq is essentially dead. Bbq's that have had a fire extinguisher taken to them are not generally good for cooking food on.
It does, however, look quite pretty all covered in snow. Snow, now, not ice. Lots and lots of snow. I mean lots.
So no salads or cool weather eating for this family this week, not with winter fully surrounding us!
We are making a slight change to how we do dinner, with me working until 6pm every night, and the hubby taking over the after school activities. I've always made dinner during the weekdays, asking only that hubby be responsible for dinner on Saturdays. Well these days Saturdays is one of the few days I get to cook, so instead he is going to make dinner on Monday and Tuesday, I'm going to start dinner for Thursday that he will finish off before he takes the kids to music, and I will be responsible for the rest of the week.
This may not end up working out for us, and will make a change to how I menu plan, but for now, this is what we are going to try.
Sunday: Pork loin chops in honey garlic sauce with rice and sauted carrots and bok choy. Sauce needed more honey.
Monday: Roast beef. Not sure what else he's making, but I know he's making roast.
Tuesday: Hamburgers, homemade.
Wednesday: It is the hubby's birthday, but we are going to wait until the weekend to celebrate, so tonight I will surprise him with something.
Thursday: Crock pot chicken.
Friday: Shortbread waffles with fruit. Just cause they are tasty and fun and I suspect by Friday I will need it.
Happy Birthday Mom
My mother's birthday is within days of Christmas. Not the best time of the year to have a birthday, being so close to a holiday.
For years my Grandparents made sure my mother always had a good birthday, and that she always received at least one gift, along with having a special dinner.
This year, however, they aren't well, and I knew that if I didn't do something, my mother would not get her traditional dinner of Hawaiian spare ribs and rice. 
Now it isn't my fault my mother chose to have prime rib instead of spare ribs. Can you blame her?
I did, however, make her the cake she has had for years: an angel food cake, layered, with a lightened custard, served with strawberries.
I've watched my grandmother make this cake for years, so I knew what to do, but still made a few modifications. My grandmother always bought the angel food cake, I made mine from scratch. My grandmother used Birds Eye Custard powder, lightened up with whipped heavy cream, I made a pastry cream, with lots of vanilla bean seeds in it, lightened up with whipped heavy cream.
My mother would have been happy if I'd have just given her the cream and a spoon.
It isn't fancy. Actually, when put together, it isn't even pretty. But it sure tastes good.
We had to cut our visit to my mother short (I'm sick as can be, still, and really not looking forward to trying to work tomorrow,) but at least we were there long enough to carry on some of the birthday tradition.
Custard Cake
1 angel food cake (store bought is fine, if you don't want to make your own), cut into three layers
1 recipe for custard, below, cooled
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp sugar
Sliced fruit of your choice (my family has always used frozen strawberries, defrosted with a touch of sugar, as well as canned, sliced peaches in light syrup, though I admit I skipped that this year.)
Whip the heavy cream with the sugar and vanilla until it is light and fluffy, being careful not to over whip. Fold the cream into the custard, until well mixed.
Place the bottom layer of cake on a large platter, one that will contain the custard that will fall off the sides of the cake. Spoon 1/4 of the custard on top of the cake, spreading slightly. Repeat with the next two layers. Use the last 1/4 of the custard to try and "ice" the sides of the cake.
If there is any left over, place it in the middle hole of the angel food cake.
Or use your fingers to lick the bowl clean.
To serve, put a slice of cake on a plate or in a bowl, and top with your choice of fruit.
"Custard"
(I know, it's pastry cream, but my grandmother calls it her custard for her banana cream pies, and who am I to argue with her about it?)
1/4 cup corn starch
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk, scalded
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla (or the seeds of one vanilla bean)
Mix corn starch, sugar and salt together in a medium pot. Gradually add milk. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until all the sugar and cornstarch has been dissolved and the milk is hot.
Add a ladle full of hot milk into the eggs, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. Whisk the egg mixture back into the hot milk in the pot. Continue to cook for approximately 5 minutes, still stirring, until the mixture is thick and smooth.
Remove from the heat and add in the butter and the vanilla, whisking well to incorporate.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
To use for banana cream pie, pour into a pre baked pie shell that has been lined with slices of banana, then top with slightly sweetened whipped cream.
