And that's how it was in the 1940's

Laura Rebecca has always been able to come up with some great fun challenges.
LR's Retro Recipe Challenge has been very educational and a trip down memory lane.

The 1940s were all about rationing, protein stretching, substitutions, and making do with less. Home cooks made sugarless cookies and meatless meals. Cookbooks, magazines, government pamphlets, and food company brochures were full of creative ideas for stretching food supplies. Why the shortage? Food was needed to feed soldiers fighting World War II. Farmers and food manufacturers were tapped to supply growing military needs, thus creating a shortage of foods available for domestic civilian consumers.
Rationing was introduced in the United States by the Office of Price Administration in 1942 as a way to equitably distribute diminishing food supplies. The American government encouraged homeowners to create Victory Gardens, small plots of fruits and vegetables to supplement personal and community food supplies. Nutrition information was also widely disseminated to help home cooks create balanced meals for their families. The National School Lunch Act was passed in 1945, extending Roosevelt's New Deal WPA commitment to feeding America's hungry children. After the war, many new products were introduced to the American public. These "convenience foods" (dehydrated juice, instant coffee, cake mixes, etc.) were the result of military research. Not all of these were embraced enthusiastically, as traditional homemakers preferred to cook "the old fashioned" way once rationed ingredients were readily available.

During WWII, approx. 1942-1945, butter, fats, sugar and meat were rationed. I have read you were only allowed to buy 1 pound of meat per person, per week. Recipes for cakes and other 'goodies' using honey and sugar substitutes were popular. It was very common for even city dwellers to have patriotic "Victory Gardens" where they raised their own vegetables, including beans and tomatoes. This reduced the number of people who had to be employed in agriculture, so they could produce weapons or fight the war.

the above information was taken off the internet when 1940 recipes were googled.

My food of choice for Retro Recipe Challenge would be tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Now back in the 40's it wouldn't have been a cream of tomato and probably not an abundance of cheese that the photo depicts, remember they were all in the ration mode at the time. The soup was probably Campbell's with a can of water added, eeek! And the grilled cheese was probably made with white bread, two eeeks!! But in those days it was made with love just like today. And if we were really good we probably got a pickle to accompany our sandwich.

cue balls arrive in florida

Sister moon wrote about these a few blogs ago
http://pbetouffee.blogspot.com/2006/09/rack-em-up-cue-balls-on-grill.html

After much prodding, my little farmers market guy finally was able to secure some cueball zucchini. Green and yellow zucchini on the indoor grill cause the outdoor grill was getting rained on. The green round guys are more dense and less watery, creating a sweeter flavor in my opinion.

Anyway brushed them with olive oil, crushed garlic, lots of fresh ground pepper. Prior to brushing them with the herbs I squeeze some lime juice on them. Finished them off with a sprinkle of kosher salt and some cilantro. Great side dish.

basil coming out my @$#

so the crop share featured an abundant amount of basil this week (three huge bunches). check it out...



other than the temporary home decoration use, what am i going to do with all of this freakin' basil? we're getting a little sick of pesto and i made basil oil last week. i'm running out of ideas. help a sister out, people.

p.s. kalyn, you don't need to answer! i've already got one bunch set aside for your brilliant freezing technique. :)

Chilly weather is finally here

About August I didn't think I'd be saying this but it's time to cook chili! Damn us Californios had us some hot weather this summer, not unlike the rest of the country. So now all the ugly electric bills are behind us let's get cookin' some tummy-warmin', not to mention soul burnin' chili.

I have this burning question, how do you make chili? From a recipe or just start throwing chili-like ingredients in a pot and hope for the best? This isn't really a challenge just something informal from our readers. Add a comment, long or short or send an e-mail and share your chili favorites or your own secrets.

My chili? I slow cook some beef shanks or ribs or any other bony beefy thing with some dried and fresh chilies and garlic and onions and tomatoes. Somehow in the end it becomes chili good enough to eat. I'm always a bit amazed it comes together.

Vanished!!!

I made four yes FOUR dozen chocolate chip cookies and this is what I have left!

We had a real estate open house today. When I saw La Vida Dulce's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I thought that could be the cookie that sells this place.

this is the plate I found when we returned home, holy cow all had vanished, three little cookies remained.

Have yet to hear from our realtor.

Next open house if required, will the the famous "scutterbotch" cookies...stay tuna'd

Here's a crock

This crock, my now cookie jar, was my grandmother, Emily Prucilla's and it served her well for decades. I inherited it when my mom passed away because it was always my favorite. I nearly had a breakdown when I dropped the lid and it broke in two pieces but darling husband, to the rescue, patched it up.

I try to keep it full of cookies, these are Alton Browns chocolate chip (just for you, Jeff) but what I really want to make is a recipe of Grandma's that I recently rediscovered. She called them "scutterbotch" and each generation loved them. Along with the recipe was the following letter my mom sent to her family and friends after her mother's passing in 1991.

The time is fall of 1931. The people knew by then that the country was in serious trouble. Unemployment, failed banks, and closed factories plagued he towns and cities but in Monroeville, Indiana a small farming community close to the Ohio border, poor farmers were still poor farmers. My father, an engineer, moved his family to a farm to soften the blow of the depression. I was nine, my sisters Mary Alice and Marcella were seven and five. Our little brother Tom was two; Joseph was yet to be born.

As was typical of the day the big white farm house had a large kitchen with a wood burning cook stove. Here mother Emily would bake the most wonderful butterscotch cookies. At night she would mix up a batch and then early in the morning she would bake them. The smell of those cookies would walk us girls up and on those mornings we would waste no time getting ready. The smell always meant there would be cookies for breakfast and some in our lunch.

As time went by we sold the farm and moved to the city. Our brother Joseph was born and six weeks later, Daddy Tom died. He left Emily to raise the five children alone. Times were hard. Emily had to work to support her family but she always found time to make us a batch of butterscotch cookies. Mother died May 13, 1991. At that time I had two dozen cookies in the freezer. I had made them under her directions some weeks before her passing.

This morning, as I write you this letter, I am having butterscotch cookies with my coffee; the smell of cookies still lingers on.

Love, Lorna

Butterscotch Cookies
1 cup oleo,* that's shortening for you young uns.
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup chopped nuts

*you could use butter and they would be delicious; they just wouldn't taste like Grandma's.

Mix sugar, eggs, and oleo. Add flour salt and soda; mix well. Add nuts. Divide into two rolls and wrap in wax paper (plastic wrap is fine). Chill overnight. Cut 1/4 inch and bake 8-10 minutes at 375 until lightly browned. Do not overbake.

Note: Her rolls were never round they were flat on the sides producing an oblong cookie but I always made them that way, too.

No more calls, we have a winner

We've posted a few references to an L.A. landmark, Olvera Street and our favorite taquito stand, Cielito Lindo. See posts one and two. I was real surprised to get a few request for the sauce recipe. I've tried many times to replicate and finally gave up, jeeze, it's only about forty miles to LA.

The request saying they'd take anything close so I thought I'd give it one more try. I mean I do fancy myself a pretty good cook and I've eaten enough of their guacamole--I should be able to get closer. I'd even seen a recipe in a cook book, god only knows where, that says cook the sauce to change the raw taste.

This is not your typical guacamole, it is thin and strained of any seeds. You really don't even taste the avocado there is so little.

Taquito sauce

1 can of Herdez Salsa Verde, or something that has tomatillos, onions, serrano peppers, salt, and cilantro.
1/2 ripe avocado
about 1/2 cup cilantro, packed
one serrano pepper, no seeds

Blend this in a food processor until smooth. Add salt to taste or extra serrano peppers if you like it hotter. Strain out all the seed.

Now here's the odd part, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about five minutes. Don't boil, just simmer, this isn't a reduction. Thin with a bit of water or chicken broth. This is a real thin sauce. Maybe as thin as tomato juice. Cool and refrigerate.


So I made this a few days ago and damn, if I didn't come closer than I'd even hoped. It is lacking something I can't put my finger on, maybe thinning with chicken broth would be it. If you make it and you've eaten at Cielito Lindo's you tell me. For now, I think I'm satisfied.

another breakfast for dinner

Fellow blogger at Mixed Salad Annie brought up an interesting question what is your favorite breakfast for dinner?I mentioned in the comments that her choice happened to be my second choice.

My first choice would be Migas……………

Our Dad made, what he called, tortilla and eggs. The first time I had them I fell in love with them. But for some reason husband is not fond of this dish, so I fix them for myself when I know he is not gonna be home for dinner.I have never used a recipe but I did find several on line. Migas (pronounced MEE gas) is eggs, bits of corn tortilla, and a host of savory ingredients, from black beans, chorizo and cheese to salsa, avocado and chiles. The word, migas, in fact, is derived from the Spanish word for crumbs.


Migas with Fresh Tortillas
4 large eggs
a few tablespoons salsa (your favorite, it can be the chunky variety)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil3
6-inch corn tortillas, cut in to strips
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
2 tablespoons chopped green chiles (I use the canned)
1/2 cup chopped avocado, sprinkled with a little lime juice
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
2/3 cup grated Monterrey jack cheese
sour cream
In a small bowl, lightly beat together the eggs and set aside.Warm the butter and oil in a heavy skillet. Add the chopped onion and sauté until it is transparent. Add the tortilla strips and sauté until just a bit crisp Stir in the chopped green chiles and the salsa.Pour the eggs into the skillet, and "scramble" until eggs are done. Remove the skillet from heat, and sprinkle the chopped avocado, cilantro and cheese into the eggs, again stirring well.Serve at once with warm flour tortillas like you would eat toast. Garnish with additional salsa and sour cream

Note: This recipe makes two servings, but it can easily be doubled or tripled or more for a larger crowd. Migas are a terrific brunch dish. Chop the onion, green chiles, tomato, avocado and cilantro before you start the migas so they'll be ready when you need them.

In addition to the ingredients called for in this recipe, some additional possibilities for enhancing your migas are:
crisply cooked and crumbled bacon · Salsa verde· chopped ham · crumbled chorizo (browned before you add the eggs) · cooked, shredded chicken or turkey · grated or diced potato (sautéed until tender before adding the eggs) · poblano chiles · green Bell pepper · green onion · crushed red pepper flakes

parsi dhansak

i am a big fan of indian food, but it's never been really accessible for me in terms of cooking at home. trader joes has a few jarred sauces that aren't too bad, but not exactly authentic. i've purchased a few cookbooks in the past, but never really been able to produce anything that was quite authentic. unfortunately, i just don't have access to an indian grandmother. i really love dal (lentils) and i've tried to cook them before, but i've never been able to get that indian restaurant consistency to my end product. i almost gave up...

enter, the internet. i've been lurking on some very cool indian cooking blogs for some time now, religiously delicio.us-ing recipes. some of my favorite sites are saffron trail and sailu's food. i came across a great recipe the other day on saffron trail, for parsi dhansak, which uses pumpkin and dal. i was very excited to try this, because i received some pumpkin (well, kabocha squash) in my crop share the other day and wasn't quite sure what i was going to do with it. you can check out the recipe here.

simply put, this dish was just plain rad. it had the right consistency and the right flavor. it actually seemed like something i would get at a restaurant. my bunky really liked it, too, and actually ate a vegetarian meal without asking why he was being served just a side dish. i have to thank nandita at saffron trail for sharing this recipe and helping me along the road to learning how to make home cooked indian food. now that i have my feet wet, i'm really looking forward to trying out some more recipes.

even better, this dish is good and good for you: there's only about two tablespoons of oil in the whole thing; lentils are a great source of vegetarian protein; and pumpkins are rich in vitamin c, beta carotene and fiber. in fact, pumpkins are an anti-oxidant rich food, which makes this a perfect entry for sweetnicks' arf/5-a-day tuesday!

A nip in the air............

Everywhere you go there is mention of fall. Wish someone would tell the “weather gods” that are in charge of Florida.
All the magazines have a fall cover from food to decorating.So the temperature dropped four degrees, I made soup…………..I look for any excuse to make soup, especially the creamed variety.
Our mom was a terrific soup maker. I remember she was the first to introduce me to creamed asparagus soup as well as creamed broccoli soup. One of my husband’s favorite cream soups is roasted red pepper and tomato.This recipe is one that I concocted from an assortment of recipes. You know take a bit of this recipe and add it to that recipe……tada there now it’s our own. We all do it!

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
2 large red peppers*
2 cans of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes (14 oz.)
3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
1/4 - 1/2 cup cream
1 tbls olive oil
1 medium onion about ½ cup
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
salt and pepper to taste1.

Roast peppers in a 400F oven until skin is blackened. Let rest in a sealed paper or plastic bag for about 15 minutes, then peel off the skin, seed, remove membrane and chop into chunks.
2. Briefly sautee (5 minutes) in olive oil onions and garlic in a medium pot. Add tomatoes (with juice) and chopped peppers and cook on high to reach a boil then reduce to simmer for 15 minutes, or until tender.
3. Add stock and spices. Feel free to add some red pepper flakes or chipotle powder for spicy kick. Add cream and bring to a boil, then slow simmer for 15 minutes. I use an immersion type/boat motor blender to puree the soup to a desired consistency.
4. For a finishing touch, when plating, add a dollop of sour cream and some chopped cilantro. Or croutons spread with a pesto. I also like a splash of sherry at the very end. This version I put a thin slice of asiago cheese and popped it under the broiler till cheese melted

*you could use the jar variety of red peppers but remember to get the roasted red peppers packed in water not vinegar.

Lesson learned………….as jeff would say!! If you use a regular blender cool the contents down somewhat prior to pureeing and leave the lid ajar a tad cause if not you’ll have a mess.

Do you have a favorite cream soup?

Bullet-proof mac 'n cheese

A while ago I was poking about in Soul Kitchen's archive and found a recipe for Mac and Cheese. It got tucked into my del.iciou.us and forgotten. It was clean-out-the-refrigerator mode before our vacation and a bunch of shredded cheddar made me think of the recipe. Boy, was I glad I did. Sylvie will have to tell us where it came from, it's title is "Bertha's Macaroni and Cheese."

Easy to throw together while you're doing other things and pop in the oven. I only made half the recipe and it still came out perfect. Mine was a nice sharp cheddar and I added half and half, remember, I was cleaning the fridge. We ate it for dinner, then lunch and I had one little square left so it was wrapped in foil, marked and thrown in the freezer. I know, I can't bare to throw away good food.

Why do I call it bullet proof? One night after vacation, and the leftover had been in the freezer three weeks, I needed a supper just for me. Hmmm. Removed the foil, wrapped it in plastic and popped it in the microwave for a few minutes. When I heard it sizzle it was ready. It was still as tasty as the first night I made it.

Couldn't kill it if you tried.

Hats off to Johnnies

Christine, one of our foodie friends on La Vida Dulce has a post on The Hat and even though I think it's one of the better fast food "joints" in Southern California I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Johnnies Pastrami. You see, Doodles and I, and then lil Bird, grew up eating there. They are truely a mid-century classic complete with neon and and a working juke box at your table.

Not living close I get my pastrami fix from The Hat, there's one in Simi, but just the thought of Johnnies, that greasy joint, makes my arteries quiver, hmmmmm, onion rings. Philly might have their cheese steaks but The Hat and Johnnies have the market on pastrami.

After you order, from some of the oldest waitresses I've ever seen, they bring you this wonderful bowl of cold kosher pickles. Eating three or four is a must, then a rootbeer, pastrami, and onion rings. I don't know what is better. Well maybe Tito's around the corner but that's for another post.

Johnnie's Pastrami
4047 Sepulveda Blvd (cross street: Washington Place)
Culver City, California 90230

Two weeks: too long to be without a stove

I'm back and I missed this blog because I didn't even have access to a computer to see what everyone was up to. We ate our way through Philly, New Jersey and right up down to DC so I have some stories to tell.

What was the best? Pepperoni Bread in New Jersey. Seems like it's been a staple there for years and I've got to come up with a recipe. Second was a cheese steak. Amazing when done right and since we stayed with two Philly born cousins they treated us to the authentic. Third was the Philly soft pretzel and I have to say, they were different than all others I've tasted. I think the common denominator for these treats was the bread, it must be the water.

So any Philly cooks out there, send me a recipe for Pepperoni Bread and I'll give it a try with my west coast water.

For Sale..........Oatmeal cookies

Some of you know that Mr & Mrs Doodles have our home for sale. The real estate market in our area is quite dismal. So one needs to resort to severe tactics.

"little bird" reminded me of LauraRebecca's recommendation on selling her home, BAKE COOKIES!!! And that I did. The house didn't sell, BUT we did have some inquiries.

I posted some info on my personal site if you are wanting to know more click here.........http://tombstonetumbleweed.blogspot.com/2006/09/it-was-cookies.html



The cookie recipe is straight off the Quaker Oats box......but the vanilla was a wonderful vanilla paste that sister moon and I got on our recent trip to Surfas.

I am going to be away from the computer for a couple of days. Hopefully we will hear from sister Moon soon as she returns from her vacation.....................stay tuna'd!

Saturday lunch.........

To prepare for a Real Estate Open House both husband and I were working around the house all day Saturday. Husband took the outside and I worked inside spiffing up the place.

I knew we were going to be busy doing our chores so I planned ahead, for once. I had been to my local Pannera Bread store and they had some tasty looking fccacia breads in the case. Picked up a couple of those as they are small nine inch size. Having just been to the farmer's food stand and got what looked to be the last of the good summer tomatoes, all I could think of was a gorgonzola, tomato foccacia bread treat.

The bread already had the basil baked in sooooo I loaded up the gorgonzola on top of the fresh tomatoes which include several turns of the pepper mill, popped it in a 475 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Lunch is served!

Now I am off to bake some oatmeal cookies for our Open House.........wish me luck and stay tuna'd!!!

shrimp.......that's it...........shrimp!!!

What to cook for dinner……..like many others ya just get in a slump…..kinda like my Dodgers!
But I digress.

I happened to walk by the fish market the other day and saw that they had some wonderful fresh Key West shrimp. That is such a treat because it means the waters are cooling down. Shrimp not good in warm water, sorta like me in warm weather.

I came up with this............easy and quite tasty!


Shrimp and Rice
1 can 14 oz. Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes
½ pound large shrimp shell and tail removed
2 bell peppers – one red, one green
1 small onion chopped
2 whole cloves garlic
handful of green peas frozen are OK
¼ cup shredded carrots
red pepper flakes
fresh chopped basil
white wine OR
chicken broth
splash or worstershire sauce
Rice – your choice

I like to roast the vegetables then add them to the sauce. They add a lot of flavor. So I seed and coarse chop both peppers, coarse chop onion, peel garlic and leave whole. Spread this on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, just keep an eye on them to not burn but charred is good.
While veggies are roasting put the can of tomatoes in a heavy skillet, juice and all to heat thru and reduce down some. You can also be cooking the rice of your choice. I chose a white sticky rice which is my husbands favorite rice. But this would go well with brown or a wild rice mixture as well. Once the veggies are roasted mix them in the pan with the tomatoes that have been reducing. Now is the time to check for extra liquid I used a dry white wine, but a chicken broth could also be used. The garlic that roasted along with the veggies is now soft so run a knife thru the garlic and add to the mixture. Add the shrimp, peas, carrots, worstershire sauce, a few red peppers flakes and simmer on low heat till shrimp has turned pink.

ps.......sister moon wouldn't be partaking in this dish as she is deathly allergic to seafood. Look for her upcoming posts on her trip. I can just feel them eating at some pretty special spots. Cannot wait to hear all about it.
.

It's way too early to think about.............

Holiday gift giving but a friend of mine, who is very organized, sent me this recipe a few days ago. In her note she said that she was going to make them for Christmas gifts and if I wanted more jar recipe mixes she had them.

Holy cow I couldn't get past the word Christmas.

I must tell you I have not made this recipe - but it does sound good. So I'm gonna pass this recipe treat along to y'all...........and ask the question Do you make food items for holiday gift giving?


Tangy Lemonade Bars Mix

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup dried cranberries
1 T. grated lemon peel
3/4 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt

1. Layer ingredients attractively in any order into 1-quart food storage jar
with tight-fitting lid. Pack ingredients down slightly before adding another
layer.

2. Cover top of jar with fabric; attach gift tag with raffia or ribbon. Makes
one 1-quart jar.

On tag:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup thawed frozen lemonade concentrate
1 egg
1 jar Tangy Lemonade Bars Mix
1. Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease 13 x 9 - inch baking pan.
2. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in lemonade concentrate and
egg until blended. (Mixture may appear curdled.)
Add bar cookie mix to butter mixture; stir until well blended.
3. Press dough evenly in prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 2 1/2 dozen bars

mexican bloody mary

so, i'm driving home and thinking about all the stuff i need to get done tonite. hubby's working late, so i've got some time to myself. by the time i get to the front door, i've got a plan: feed myself; feed the dogs; pay some bills; ride the exercise bike; catch up on some work; hit the sack. so, i walk into the kitchen, open the fridge and see that i have both tecate beer and bloody mary mix. i've been meaning to try something with those two ingredients. so, some beer, some bloody mary mix, a couple of dashes of hot sauce, a splash of worcestershire, some horseradish and a shot of lemon juice soon found themselves being mixed in a chilled glass mug by a celery swizzle stick. it looked a little like somethin' this...



wow, did that taste good going down. can you guess what else i got to on my list? here's a hint...the dogs are hungry.

p.s., this is why i don't have kids.

company for brunch

I don't often make a brunch mid week but our friends werestopping by on their way back home to Ft Lauderdale. A brunch meal seemed like the perfect plan. They had been to the Panhandle of Florida to visit a new grandbaby. And yes they brought photos, as they are quite proud of the newest addition to the family.
When I spoke to friends last week I told them I would plan lunch so we could just sit and chat at home and not be rushed in a restaurant. They were only able to spend a few hours so we wanted to yak to share some gossip and of course eat.

I prepared a "go to frittata "that I have made several times in the past and so very easy. I had some leftover spinach from the previous nites dinner as well as some carmelized onions. Hoping for a red pepper in the refrigerator and there ya have the makings for an easy fritata. To accompany the mini frittatas I cooked up some hash browns, toasted some bagels, and sliced up what is probably the last cantaloupe of the season. Oh yes the adult iced cappucinno......recipe to follow.

Food and friends - what more could you ask for.


Adult Cappuccino
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
a little crushed ice - but not enough to dillute coffee
2 cups freshly brewed espresso, chilled
6 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
Stir the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Cool the sugar syrup completely.

I made this the nite before and added the amaretto and a dollop of whipped cream just prior to serving. Crumble a piece of amaretto cookie on top of the whipped cream.

Mini Frittata's
8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sauted spinach fresh or frozen chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper sauted
1/4 carmelized onions
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Litely oil your muffin tins (I use the 3" tin)
Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in the spinach,peppers, onions, cheese, and parsley. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the tins. I timed it to be about 18-20 minutes using this size of muffin tin. Use smaller tins and the cooking time would shorten. They will puff over the edge a bit.
Ham and asparagus is another good combo for this fritatta.

Let me know what combination of flavors and ingredients you use. It's that kind of a dish.

A Mediterranean visit with a treat

When planning my trip to visit sister moon, I made a couple of requests, we have already posted a couple of them. But one of the biggies was a trip to the newly re-opened after major re-do of the Getty Villa, located on a Malibu California cliff over looking the Pacific Ocean. You must make a reservation to go to the Villa, so if you find this museum in your plans, check out the web site and plan ahead. Believe me it is worth the trip.Now I know this is a food blog and yep the Villa has a lovely Café. Wonderful food with indoor or outdoor seating. Sit outdoors if you can because you may think you are sitting on a terrace in the Mediterranean. Sister moon and I were quite good about eating; we shared a small pizza, thin crust which was of the cheese variety. And I should explain why we did this – they have some drop dead divine gorgeous desserts. Ah yes a method to our madness so to speak. We decided, after much back and forth jabbering, on the Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta. Good God Almighty!!! look at it.......... what is not to drool over.

So when we came home sister was on the computer and found a panna cotta recipe that she thought was good. But sister moon just left to go on vacation with husband. Maybe it is on her delicious. I shall go look. BUT if anyone has a meyer lemon panna cotta recipe that has been tried please let me know. So stay tuna'd I'm on the hunt!

Also in the above photo adorning the plate is a rasberry coulis.

Orzo, the building block of lunch

This lunch salad was built as a group project, Doodles and Mooncrazy. I, sister moon, stood at the refrigerator and tossed things out to Doodles to chop and slice. Amazing what you can create. I, Doodles, love this salad because it is just easy and refreshing and so very versatile. Don't turn your nose up at this bottled dressing cause it is low in calorie but loaded with flavor. That Paul Newman is just a special kinda guy.
The chicken was Costco's cooked roaster and the apples, Grannie Smith. The farmer's market asparagus was blanched and it stayed nice and crisp even as a leftover. Chopped pecans, cilantro, sliced green onion, and canned garbonzo beans rounded out this orzo salad. Topped with Newman's Own Sesame Ginger dressing it was a full meal.

We dressed the salads individually as two helpings were heading to the Hollywood bowl the next night that kept everything fresh and crunchy. And it travels well too!

Try this dressing for marinating chicken or pork … and while your at it check out Mr. Newman's web site for some recipe ideas.

tag I'm it ..........???

My dear sweet sister Moon has edited this post because I am having COMPUTER PROBLEMS!!! pray for me cause I'm gonna kill somebody!!!!!!!!!

Five Foods You Should Eat Before You Die!

I Doodles was recently tagged by annie from http://constructivesalad.blogspot.com to participate in the Foodbloggers Guide to the Globe started by Melissa at The Traveler's Lunchbox

Because I love to travel – let’s do this on a virtual travel odyssey

1. Now I know that everyone cannot eat seafood, sister moon happens to be one that I know of, but I love most every kind of seafood out there. So let’s go to San Francisco and find some CIOPPINO. One of my favorite meals because it is nothing fancy, Cioppino is a fish stew that has some very tasty ingredients and usually accompanied by some sourdough bread great for soaking up some of that sauce. Think I’ll go to Scoma’s, a restaurant that I first ate cioppino. At that very moment I fell in love with the dish and the city.

2.Let’s toddle on over to Italy cause it’s where I would love to be. I’ll pick anywhere preferably the countryside, but Milan and Rome hold a special place in my heart. May I should drag Michael Chiarello and/or Giada De Larentis along for the trip. What tour guides they would be! And fun too! I also am going to choose a WHITE PIZZA. I am quite fond of the rustic style that is cooked on a grill. Not that perfectly round American version, not that it is bad mind you, but this is a pizza you should really try. Like I said I like the white version but hey it’s your pizza put on it what ever you dare. Thanks sister moon for making me this delightful dish and sending me home with the recipe. How bout a crispy pinot gris to go with the pizza and some poached pears drizzled with lavender honey. Oh my god I am there can you tell!!!

3. So Munich is not all that far from Italy - let's go have a beer or three. I am a beer snob and am not that fond of American beers.....but some of the European beers are very much to my liking as are some Mexican beers but we may tackle that later. Back to Munich for the moment. I know the Beer Gardens are mostly for the tourists but they are fun - the music is loud - the waitstaff are amazing and the beer is damn tasty. Have a German sausage slathered in German mustard while you enjoy the beer and the fun music.

4. Canada , Toronto to be precise, has some of the very best Chinese food this side of China. The very tastiest potstickers I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I have not been to China and probably never will but I have been to Toronto a lot and it seems we gravitate toward the Chinese sections of town everytime.

5. Now I am very torn between Mexico and Maine. This is very difficult because I love lobster and eating lobster in Maine would be my choice. At one of those beat up losbter shacks on a pier when the lobsters just come in the the wife of one of the fisherman boils up a bunch while you wait..don't forget the melted butter. But Mexican food of any kind eaten in a little spot called Topolabumpo, perched on the side of the road on a cliff overlooking the gorgeous Pacific Ocean. Now that is where I wanna be.

Hope you enjoyed my trip.............I did fer sure.............thanks for joining me.

A little bit of heaven in LA

Another of Doodles "must-haves" was a trip to Cielito Lindo, a taquito joint in Olivera Street which is about as downtown as you can get in LA. If you ever get to LA it should be a must. Click the link for an earlier post.


So we're there and had to browse the touristy shops a bit and found a few trinkets for Little Bird, how we wished she could have joined us, and had to buy some Jamoncillo, one of my favorite Mexican candy. I'm looking for a recipe if anyone has it. It's a milk fudge and it should be simple. That only left eating lunch at Cielito Lindo's.

Lunch is pretty simple, three taquitos, guacamole and beans. Their guacamole is different, more of a green chile tomantillo sauce with some kick. It's thin and powerful. For years I tried to copy the recipe then gave up. Why would I want to ruin the experience? We've been going there for the taquitos con guacamole since 1957, and I think they'll be here for another fifty years. It is reassuring that it hasn't changed a bit, nothing. Well, about twenty years ago they did get radical and offer tamales, they are good as well but way too filling. I'd rather eat the taquitos.

Rack 'em up: cue balls on the grill

Here's another Doodles/Mooncrazy dinner. We found these lovely "orby" zucchini at the Farmer's Market and since we love all things grilled that's where they ended up. They seem to be a bit meatier than the long variety and maybe sweeter, can't decide. I do know they are easier to prep. I cut them in four slices which are nice shape for the grill, easy to turn and cook evenly.

The other zucchini is a "white" squash and couldn't tell the difference with that one. They are a little "squattier" than regular. The Cue balls come in green and yellow and are quite attractive on the plate.


The others in the cast?

A nice pork loin, brined for about five hours and grilled. We also had grilled onions and roasted green beans. A nice crisp Luna Pinot Griggio.

Check out some other "fresh" ideas at Festa al fresco.

Just in case you thought we were slackin'

We've been busy. Restaurants, emergency room, you know, vacation stuff but in between Doodles and myself have actually done some cooking. One item on her list of must-haves was fried chicken so I fired up the iron skillet (which is what our Grandmother, Emily Prucilla called a frying pan) and got busy with a chicken. Here's a recipe from a past post. Fried Chicken.


The liver didn't look good so I didn't fry it but the gizzard, upper left corner, was for the guest of honor. Frying chicken is a messy deal and I should have picked up some extra livers and gizzards because, to me, they're the best part.

No complaints from the family.

Fill'er up, ma'am?

Doodles and Mooncrazy are back, well sort of. We've been doing a bit of resteraunt review and a whole lot of eating.

A review for Ford's Filling Station in Culver City caught my attention in a recent issue of Sunset Magazine. I knew I'd seen that name and then remembered it was just west of Surfas in Culver City. I made a mental note to include that in our food explorations while sister Doodles was in town. Last night we were in LA and looking for dinner and we were not disappointed.

A small menu but everything sounded so tasty it was hard to decide. Doodles chose the Flat Iron Steak with spinach souffle and I settled with a Porterhouse Pork Steak and mashed potatoes. These were both fantastic choices. The steak was so tender it literally melted in your mouth and the pork, though not as tender, had such a wonderful rich flavor. I tried to eat it all, we both did the there was quite a generous portion of meat on both so of course some came home.

Desert? Of course. We tried the rhubarb crisp with vanilla cream. Quite tasty. The service is good with the manager coming by more than once to check up on us. Nate, what a nice guy and I hope he finds his Utili-kilt soon.

They don't have a website but there's loads of parking around the corner in a two-story structure with two free hours. And although we got there early, before 6:30, should make reservations. Near 7:00 it was filled and this was a Wednesday night.

9531 Culver Blvd. Culver City, CA 877-243-0925

Now we've done quite a bit of tasting so far and will have some posts on that but we both need to get back to cooking. Funny how you crave a little stove time on vacation.

Stay tuna'd

peach lush v 1.0

the lack of posts recently is due to the fact that the three of us were all in one place this weekend and actually doing things instead of sitting in front of the computer. on sunday, we had this dessert that was called "peach lush" at this restaurant on el paseo whose name escapes me. all i can say is...yum. it was a lighter version of a cheescake, with a pecan shortbread crust and topped with fresh peaches, as the name would imply. i have not been able to stop thinking about it, so i attempted to recreate it.



after tasting the finished product, it's good but not quite right. here's what i came up with for version 1.0:

crust:

16 pecan sandies cookies, crushed
4 tbsp. melted butter

mix together and press into a small (7") springform pan and bake at 350 about 10 - 12 minutes. cool.

filling:

8 oz cream cheese
4 oz milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c heavy cream

beat cream cheese, milk, vanilla, powdered sugar until smooth. keep beating until some air gets incorporated and the mixture gets thick. in another bowl (alton brown would tell you to chill a metal bowl for this), beat the cream until stiff peaks form. mix 1/3 of the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture to lighten it. then fold in the remaining two thirds of the whipped cream in two batches (those are definitely a.b. instructions). fill the cooled crust with this mixture and chill thoroughly.

topping:

1 c water
1 c sugar
2 peaches

make a simple syrup from the water and sugar. peel peaches and remove the seeds. cut into thin slices. just when simple syrup comes to a good simmer, remove from heat and add peach slices. poach peaches in syrup for about two minutes then remove to a plate and drain off any excess syrup. chill peaches, then arrange on top of the "pie."



thoughts for next time: the crust and the toppings were pretty close. the filling was a little too mousse-y, though. the original was really firm and rich. i don't know if that was because there was more cream cheese or if it was just chilled longer. (as mooncrazy could tell you, i'm not the world's most patient individual, so if you guessed that i didn't let it chill that long, you'd be right.) i might also try beating the cream cheese and the heavy cream together or maybe add a little gelatin in the cream cheese mixture.

mutley

here's a cute snap of my maltese, multy, being all happy:



he's my favorite!

attention foodie dog-o-philes: check out other food hounds at sweetnicks' weekend dog blogging.

Please be advised.................

that my dear sister moon is somewhat indisposed due to a slight injury to a couple of digits. Sweet niece little bird is busy, busy, busy at work. And I am trying my damndest to get ready for a trip that takes me to visit these two fine folk among others.

So things might be a tad bit slow on PBE till we can re-group and get it together........stay tuna'd

afternoon delight..........

My sweet husband mentioned that we hadn't had an "us day" in awhile and since I am going away let's do something on Wednesday. I know that gas is at a premium but we got in his truck and just started to wander. Found our way to an unknown restaurant on the water, actually an inlet off the Gulf of Mexico. Unusually bright sun shiney day and not that humid. Restaurant looked quite nice, nothing fancy but at two in the afternoon the parking lot was crowded - good sign I say.


The menu was fairly normal with a couple of exceptions. I ordered a lobster and crabmeat salad on a croissant. It came with a lovely side salad of mixed greens and a tasty dressing of a lime and honey mixture. I took a picture..........I thought the waiter was gonna explode. He was immediately by my side asking "is everything all right"? I confirm that it was and explain briefly about PBE give him a card with the web site address so he knows I am not a mystery diner.


Jason the waiter wanders off and out comes the chef - Chef Sheryl to bring us a dessert - LOL The dessert was Lime basil sherbert - have heard about this sherbert as I think a fellow food blogger made this recently but I cannot remember who. We got to talking and tasting and I forgot to take a picture of the dessert but I took a photo that was on their menu.........so a tad distorted - sorry.
The dessert was a lot better than this photo


Lime Basil Sorbet

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Key Lime juice
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup sugar
10 - 12 whole basil leaves coarsley chopped

Preparation
Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. When cool, pour simple syrup and lime juice in a blender and add basil. Blend well. Pour into shallow pan and freeze until firm. Remove from freezer when firm and put back into blender. Blend well a second time and re-freeze. When firm serve and enjoy!!!




A good day was enjoyed by us both for sure. Oh in case you are wondering the restaurant "Rumrunners Marina Grille" doesn't have a web site.........can ya imagine!!!
But a really pretty view out our window

T'is the season to be cheesy

This must be pizza season because Mixed Salad Annie made one as well. I was itching to try Pizza on the grill from America's Test Kitchen because it is still too hot to bake in the oven-- although I did make a batch of oatmeal cookies but that's another post.

Don't be put off by the seemingly long process, it's quite easy. What makes their dough better than buying it pre-made? They add oil to the dough so it doesn't stick to the grill and it doesn't. It cooks quickly and doesn't stick. I was amazed because I'd tried some Trader Joe's dough and wasn't happy with the performance.

The other trick is roll them out small, no bigger than 10 inches that way you can get them on the hot grill in one piece. See how nice and round mine look. Well look at the next photo. Something happens to change that nice round pie into a shape not unlike the continent of Africa.


This could also use two people because they really cook quickly. They only used cheese and tomato because the crust is thin and fragile. Next time I'm going to try some other pre-cooked toppings. A few mushrooms or olives wouldn't break this crust.

Cheese. They said Fontina was less watery which keeps the crust "snappy." I'd try mozzarella next time. I was looking for that nice salty taste.


Don't forget to poke the wee bubbles or when you turn it over they'll burn. You'll see in the last photo what I'm talking about.



This was fun to try and I will make this again, soon. I'm thinking appetizers for a party would be great.

my favorite lazy weekend brunch

we love us some caprese salad in this house. obviously, we modify it a bit with the bread and the salami, but the concept is the same. it's our favorite lazy weekend brunch. it's such an easy thing to prepare, yet it looks great and tastes even better.



this batch was made with fresh heirloom tomatoes and basil from our cropshare. let me tell you, this is what tomatoes are supposed to taste like.



hope everyone had a great weekend!

A belated but special wish

To our friend Sylvie ...............

Sylvie we hope you had a very

special birthday week-end.

from the PBE women

kimchi

so, i really love pickles and i really love spicy things, so, i pretty much think kimchi is the perfect food. my good friend mina told me once that i eat more kimchi than any girl she's ever seen. i like to think that was a complement! anyway, i buy it in jars at the asian markets, but it's expensive (about $2.99 for less than a pint) and it goes pretty fast. i've kind of always wanted to try making it at home, but i was a little intimidated. i was afraid that i'd basically be making homemade, spicy botulism. so, imagine my glee when i ran across kitchen wench's kimchi how-to on her blog. it was a family recipe (read: authentic) and the process was so well explained, it actually looked do-able! i couldn't wait to give it a try. so, off i went to k-town and the han kook market where i tried to find the smallest sack of chili powder they sold (i still have enough for three more batches) and all of the other ingredients (plus about 50 bucks of other korean favorites like laver seaweed, green tea noodles, pickled radish, bulgogi marinade and my favorite korean soda, milkis).

i followed kitchen wench's instructions to the letter; i wasn't leaving anything to chance. the only thing i did differently was to slice up the cabbage before i added the chili mixture at the end, as i didn't want to have to slice up messy giant kimchi leaves later. this is definitely a process, with a lot of waiting while things wilt, ferment, etc., but it's worth it. here's the kimchi jar after fermentation and a few days in the fridge...



and here's the final product:



it tastes soooo yummy! thanks, kitchen wench and kitchen wench's mom for sharing your recipe for kimchi lovin' pae-gin around the world to try. i will never run out of kimchi again!

If you still need another salad

We have a dear friend Dorothy Watanabe and this is her recipe. It couldn't be easier but sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the best. If it's hot I use a market variety roasted chicken, Costco being the best in my opinion, but you can use leftovers of poached. Lea at Copperpots has a good poaching method.

Chinese Chicken Salad
1 chicken cooked and deboned; chopped into bite size pieces
1 large head of iceberg lettuce; shredded
1 can of sliced waterchestnuts; drained and rinsed
2 bunches green onions; chopped
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Dressing
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup oil (part sesame oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons, or more to taste, of ground pepper
Shake and refrigerate

Mix all the ingredients together and pour over dressing to your liking.
Toss and serve immediately.

a tasty rib eye

Sometimes ya just get the urge to chew on a big piece a beef….a good steak! Well we did that the other nite. I even BBQ’d between thunderstorms and believe you me that is a trick I have a stainless steel cooker. But that steak was just tempting me.

Nice juicy rib eye…………..but I thought not the usual sauce as in A-1 or HP, lets try something different. I was re-organizing my recipes the other day and going thru some magazines for keeper recipes. Just needed to lighten the load a bit. Well I came across this keeper from January Bon Appetit.

To make Wasabi-Garlic Cream, combine in saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 cup, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
Whisk in and cook 1 minute:
1 - 3 tablespoons prepared wasabi I get the wasabi in a tube at the Asian market
Remove sauce from heat.
Season to taste with salt if necessary

Completed the meal with oven-roasted veggies, peppers, zucchini, onion and some fingerling potatoes. But no oven was turned on for this meal, I did it all on the grill. And the skies opened up and poured upon turning off the grill…………perfect timing wouldn’t ya say.

Sauce is quite versatile - so use your imagination.

What’s your favorite cut of beef to grill and do you sauce it or eat it plain like the husband?

Diabetics; turn away now

After I made the marshmallows I felt the need to share them so I invited our friends Donatello and Blondie over for dinner. It was a casual outside dinner of stacked green chili and chicken enchiladas with black beans and a lovely green salad that Blondie brought.

I chose a bottle of sauvignon blanc and dropped a few fresh peaches in each glass. It didn't have the result I was looking for but what the hell, we drank it anyway.

After dinner darling husband set the fire pit ablaze and Donatello quickly made roasting sticks from a few hangers. We toasted the marshmallows and made S'mores. Ah, childhood memories. Calibut milk chocolate, graham crackers and lovely-gooey-melty-toasted marshmallows made for quite a dessert. More like a diabetic coma waiting to happen but fun.

Dontallo made a modification to the skewers to keep them from sliding off and because the S'mores were way too sweet, we ended up just toasting the rest.

Marshmallows and money: they don't grow on trees

I do like to try other food blog's recipes and this is my attempt at a good one I found on Baking Sheets. Nic's got quite the nice site. Seems she got it from someplace else but I'm not keeping track these days, way too hot. This recipe took a minimal amount of stovetop cooking and it looked fun. Everyone I've told has the same reply, "who makes marshmallows?" Well, someone has to, they don't grow on trees you see, so I gave it a try.

Was it fun?

If fun means getting completely sticky this was a ball. First don't forget to oil EVERYTHING! You might even throw a coat on the floor while you're at it. I had that goo everywhere. It's super easy albeit a bit time consuming getting all the cutting done.

They are wonderfully soft and not as sweet as the market tree-grown varieties. Next time I think I could get more creative with the outside coating, powdered sugar/cornstarch mixture but we has a great time making s'mores with them that night. I even took a dozen as a "get well."

I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours #3

This month, the theme is your tried-and-true recipes.
Cate at Sweetnicks is sponsoring this monthly event.
Check her out for this months roundup. Thanks Cate.

What a mess I have in the recipe keeping system and I am convinced I will continue to have.The mess is organzed to some degree that I am able to locate a recipe………..you might not be able to but I can.

I posted a blog http://pbetouffee.blogspot.com/2006/07/recipe-management-software-program.html a couple weeks ago regarding this very subjuct. How do you organize your recipes and in what format? Well my dear niece, malteses parakeet, aka “little bird”, told me about del.icio.us.

{quote} i snagged a cool online cookbook idea from our blogger friend sylvie at soul fusion kitchen. she got the idea from elise at simply recipes. the instructions are here. it's really simple. {quote}

And she was dead on right - it is way simple. But then only as good as long as the site stays up and running. Hey I’m will to take that chance. But I must admit I have printed off many of the recently saved recipes to del.icio.us just as a precautionary measure.

You know you always think that you are the only one in the
world that has a mess such as this. I'm sure I'm not alone.
Hopefully from this event something can help me to be
more organzed. I am quite anxious to see what other folks
have done in the recipe management department.
so..........stay tuna'd

caramel ice cream

so, this recipe that i found in gourmet magazine is the whole reason i bought the ice cream maker in the first place. the recipe is called grandpa roy's caramel ice cream and it was in the letters section in the july 2006 issue of gourmet. so, here goes:

1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
6 large egg yolks
2 tbsp light corn syrup

cook sugar and salt in a dry 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. continue to cook, stirring occasionaly, until suger is melted into a deep golden caramel, about 10 to 12 minutes.


The caramel and heavy cream mixture. Photo by Avgvstvs.

carefully pour in cream (this will bubble up faster and farther than you think and create loads of steam) and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally until caramel is dissolved. whisk in milk and return to just a boil, then remove from heat.


Adding the milk. Photo by Avgvstvs.

whisk together yolks and corn syrup in a large bowl until smooth, then add half of hot caramel cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined well. then add yolk mixture in a slow stream to remaining caramel cream in the pot. cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thickened and about 170-75 degrees (coats back of spoon, about three minutes).


Stirring the custard. Photo by Avgvstvs.

pour caramel custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice, salt and cold water. cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. then cover and refrigerate until cold, at least an hour or two.

finally, freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze to harden, at least four hours.

this recipe makes about 1 1/2 pints. serve the finished product alone sprinkled with sea salt (try it, it's really amazing) or with your favorite dessert. as you can see, i made a free form apple pie...


Dig in! Photo by Avgvstvs.

A lettuce wrap that husband will eat........

**I adapted a recipe that I found on my local grocery store web site Publix and Lea at Copperpots posted a lettuce wrap recently.

First let me say that husband is a great eater and will eat just about anything I place in front of the dear boy. He just happens to have a couple of limitations. I know I do as well as most of the people in this world. I digress….Knowing that the husband is not fond of the idea of stuffing food in a piece of lettuce and wrapping it up and eating it, go figure, I decided to do lettuce cups. Husband loves salads and pretty much all varieties.

Remembering that Copperpots made a tasty sounding lettuce wrap and Publix had a similar version but in boston lettuce cups. I had that AHA!!! moment.To say he loved it was putting it mildly. I won another round there folks. See this is what makes cooking fun and challenging. It’s not just getting the ingredients right and the preparation, it’s the pleasing factor. We as humans want to please another human soul by preparing a food item and hope to hell they like it.
Oh yeah it’s great for the ego!

So I took Copperpots recipe that follows

INGREDIENTS
1/2 rice your choice I used sushi rice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound ground turkey I used ground chicken
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
a couple of handfuls of cashews, rough chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
salt to taste if necessary
2 heads Boston lettuce, leaves separated
1/2 cup chopped chives I used green onions
1 large carrot, shredded

METHOD
1. Cook your choice of rice according to package directions.2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in the cooked rice, bell pepper, cashews, broth, hoisin sauce, five-spice powder and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute.3. To serve, spoon portions of the chicken mixture onto lettuce leaves, top with a few green onions sliced at a diagonal for pretty, shredded carrots and some chow mein noodlesand a splash of tamarin sauce low sodium version.

I served a nice fresh fruit salad for a side dish and voila – happy eaters.
As Copperpots said “Yum!!!”

**adapted = my version of a couple of recipes I have found to be usable then melded them together.

Castro couldn't get better food

Weekly Dish is collecting a list of favorite summer drinks so stagger on over and see how she cools off.

I'm a fan of the sangria at the Cuban restaurant Versailles in Culver City so went looking for a recipe and Little bird came up with this one. It's been so hot and while cleaning out a drawer I found this recipe and doesn't a nice fruity sangria sounded refreshing? YES!

This great Cuban joint is quite the establishment in LA and I read a review that said, Versaille is Jerry's Deli with a twist of lime. You'd have to be a local to get that one. If you live in LA and you've not been to one of their four establishments, what the hell are you waiting for?

Enjoy a bit of Cuba and don't throw out the fruit, it's the best part. I add different fruit depending on the season. I've got some very ripe apricots that will be taking a dip today. I've also been known to add a splash of club soda. This is enough for a party of drinkers or if it's really hot … well, it does keep for a day or two.

3/4 cup simple syrup
2 bottles red wine
3/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
3/4 cup orange juice
2 peaches, sliced
2 lemons, sliced

Blend and refridgerate 2 hours or two days. I put a little ice in mine because I like it cold.