Who Moved My Cheese?

Thank goodness I'm not lactose intolerant. And thank goodness cheese is one of my favorite food groups! Today I hosted 2 tasting sessions focused on soft French cheeses. It was a great way to try a slew of various cheeses without having to buy them all.

In hosting a cheese tasting session, friends came over with a cheese to share... specifically soft French cheeses. As the hostess, I provided a nice variety of accompaniments such as wine, crackers, artisnal bread, cured meats, & fruit for the tasting. To encourage learning about the cheeses and how to taste cheeses, I also provided everyone with a "Cheese Passport" - a small journal of sorts where folks can write notes of each cheese they tried at the event. It even included a lot of basic cheese information about purchasing, storing and serving cheese... even wine pairings!

I started my cheese tastings with a short talk on cheeses and how they are made. In many ways, cheese making is similar to wine making. Just as grapes make wine, it's milk that makes cheese... and similar factors like the terroir, source, aging and storing all provide cheese very unique characteristics. But rather than bore my friends (and you) about cheese science, I had everyone break into small groups to try the various cheeses each person brought. Here are some pictures of the tastings:

My accompaniments for the tasting included:
strawberries, apples, Bosc pears, red & green grapes, honey, kalamata olives, walnuts, dried apricots, dried bing cherries, french baguette slices, 4 types of crackers (whole wheat, vegetable, cracked pepper and water crackers), sopressata salame and a black pepper salame. For wines, we had a variety of whites - Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chadonnay, Pinot Grigio and Viognier...

And here are the various cheeses that came to the party,

although there are still others I didn't get a chance to take a picture of:...

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Conor Has Fun At The Saint John River

autism

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Stuffed Green Pepper's Our Way

Stuffed Green Pepper's Our Way

I have a lot of zucchini...I mean a whole lot of zucchini...I went to the Farmer's Market today at Cape Harbor. The same one that I went to last week and got a ton of peppers. This week he sold me a ton of zucchini. This is just too good to pass up. A whole case of the things, organic no less for $15!!! I guess we'll be eating a lot of zucchini in the next couple of weeks!

See...Lots and lots of zucchini!!!

Last nights dinner was pretty great. We held a bunch of the green peppers back from last weekend and decided that we would stuff them one night during the week. Well you all know how that goes. Time just gets away from you and before you know it the week is done and you still have the green peppers that need to be stuffed and eaten. By now you all know that one of my children is a true tomato hater. This is the only pass that either of them get. She has to eat everything else...try stuffing a pepper without using tomatoes!!! This what I came up with...

Stuffed Green Peppers Our Way

4 green peppers, halved lengthwise with seeds removed
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (we used Romano and Garlic)
1/2 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic (use more or less depending on your taste), chopped
2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups of cooked bulgar
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (12 oz) pkg of Queso Fresco (crumbling cheese not frying), crumbled
2 chopped tomatoes, seeds removed

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Brown sausage and add garlic and onion and cook until tender. Mix in the seasonings. When well mixed add the can of beans and the cooked bulgar. Add the tomato last and cook until heated through.
• Place prepared peppers on a foil lined baking sheet and fill with about 1 Tbsp of the cheese. Top with enough of the bulgar mixture to fill the pepper. Top with more cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes. Brown the cheese under the broiler.
• Serve with a side of fresh pico de gallo
  

This was lunch yesterday! I make the BEST pico de gallo!!!

We removed enough of the stuffing mixture for one pepper before adding the tomato for my daughter to eat. This was a nice, quick, fresh tasting meal. The reason I used the bulgar was because it was faster cooking (about 15 minutes) than brown rice and more neutral flavored.

Now what to do with all of those zucchini??? Looks like zucchini fritters for tonight!!!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Autism Treatment and Autism Advocacy in Canada: God Bless America!

Canada shares a border with the United States of America and we can not escape the influence of our giant neighbor and our American cousins. We absorb American news and popular culture every time we turn on our televisions. From American Idol to CSI Miami we get it all, every day. American political decisions, from war in Iraq to border crossing security changes, can have a dramatic impact on Canadians and we often follow their politics closely. Why is Hillary staying in? Does John McCain have the support of the Republican base? For Canada's autistic children, and their families who seek effective autism treatment for them, the United States and credible America autism authorities, have also had a huge influence. They have filled a vacuum by providing credible, well researched knowledge and information about the effectiveness of autism treatments.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Maine Autism Task Force, the Office of the US Surgeon General, and state authorities in New York and California, have all played critically important roles in educating Canadian parents about the scientific, evidentiary basis in support of the efficacy of autism treatments particularly ABA. The input of these US authorities has helped many Canadian parents and autism advocates counter the often lacking and misleading information provided to them by Canadian bureaucrats and the anti-ABA biases of some influential members of the Montreal scientific community.

With such credible sources providing reliable, substantiated, information parents and autism advocates in Canada have had the tools we needed to help educate public decision makers and to obtain evidence based, effective ABA intervention for our autistic children. A great deal remains to be done to provide effective help for autistic children, in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, in every province and territory in Canada, but we do have the tools to help us, courtesy of our American neighbors. With the guidance they have provided, and with our own will and determination, we can succeed in our struggle to help our autistic children.

YES WE CAN!

autism

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Ουνα φάτσα, ούνα ράτσα.

Ασκήσεις ανθρώπινης συμπεριφοράς

Ο ζωγραφικός πίνακας είναι η Απέλλα του Μποντιτσέλι και η φωτογραφία του Κώστα Ζυρίνη.

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Chocolaty Banana Cookies

They do look like muffin tops don't they?

Do you ever have those days when you just really don't know what to do with yourself? Tons of energy to be worked off or is it just nervous energy seeking an outlet. Nothing really going on but still just at odds with yourself. Maybe it's coming down from such a wonderfully, exciting day yesterday or too much coffee at Starbuck's this morning??? I really can't put my finger on it...my cleaner's are here today so I am sort of sequestered to my office with the 2 dogs. Could that be it? I went to Barnes & Noble and wandered around there for a while. Nothing really caught my eye there either. Very weird feeling this is! Oh well as soon as my house is cleaned I plan on starting dinner maybe that will fix the restlessness!

Yesterday I wanted to make a nice little treat for the girls and I had seen a picture on Tastespotting that I really wanted to try and seeing as I always have banana close to rotting or in the freezer, it is really one of my favorite things to bake with. It was Banana Bread Muffin Top Cookies on The Hungry House Wife's Blog. Now of course I didn't follow the recipe perfectly because I wanted something a bit chocolaty and also a bit nutty.

Here is the recipe as written and the changes that I have made to it are in italics. The kids loved these and they were really good. Sort of a cake like texture but full of banana flavor. Next time I think I would add more cocoa powder or maybe just chocolate chips (oh...I like that one!!!). But they were very easy and almost fun to make...yep I love to bake!

Want a bite?

Chocolate Banana Bread Muffin Top Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 banana, peeled and mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I think pecans would have been better but I had none!)
Powdered Sugar if desired

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

• Line baking sheets with parchment paper

• In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract, and banana. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon; blend thoroughly into the butter mixture to make batter. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets.

• Bake 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature on cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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Jamie Oliver's chicken thighs and a huge brag about my daughter!

My oldest daughter on TV during her schools morning news show!

First I want to start with my big Mommy moment. My oldest daughter is very bright. The reason that I moved her from private school to public school is that the public schools have more resources available to them to handle a child that is so bright. Yeah...I know we all think that our kids are brilliant but now I have some proof.

The school that they attend does an Accelerated Reading Program which basically means that the books they read have grade and point values attached to them. They are tested on comprehension for all of the books that they finish and are given a point value up to about 6 points (I think). The average amount of points is 3 or 4.

Well in the 4 weeks that my oldest daughter has been there she has accumulated a total of 62 points and has reach STAR Reader Certification after being certified in 5 other Reader groups. This is unprecedented at the school. Needless to say we are very proud of her. The school acknowledges major accomplishments like this on their school produced morning news program. Once again I forgot my camera and took this with my iPhone but you get the point!!!

Now for dinner last night. My sister had made one of Jamie Oliver's recipe and she was dying for me to try it. I made it last night and it was very good. I did make a couple of substitutions because I never have everything just right for a recipe unless I am baking. My changes are in italics beside the real thing. I also added garlic powder and fresh garlic for a bit more flavor.


Would I make this again?: It was delicious and I really loved it. During the week though I only have a limited amount of time to make dinner between homework X 2, cleaning up dog crap, answering incessant and inane questions, and just generally living so I think this used too many pots and steps for a week night meal. Great though for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday when things are not so hectic.


Crispy and sticky chicken thighs with squashed new potatoes and tomatoes by Jamie Oliver's Jamie at home "Cook your way to the good life"

1 3/4 lb new potatoes, scrubbed (white potatoes, I picked out the smallest ones in the bag)
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper and garlic powder
12 boned chicken thighs, skin on, preferably free-range or organic (I only had 7 skinless thighs)
olive oil
splash of red wine
1 1/4 lb cherry tomatoes, different shapes and colors if you can find them (frozen,skinned tomatoes quartered)
7 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
a bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked (some fresh some dried)
extra virgin olive oil
red wine vinegar

• Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of salted boiling water and boil until cooked.

• While the potatoes are cooking, preheat your oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Cut each chicken thigh into three strips and place in a bowl. Rub the meat all over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder, then toss. Heat a large frying pan, big enough to hold all the chicken pieces snugly in one layer, and put the chicken into the pan, skin side down. If you don't have a pan that's big enough, feel free to cook the chicken in two batches. Toss and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes or so, until almost cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon to an oven proof pan of dish. I deglazed the pan with red wine and poured it over the cooked chicken.
  

• Prick the tomatoes with a sharp knife. Place them in a bowl cover with boiling water and leave for a minute of so. Drain and when cool enough to handle, pinch off their skins. You don't have to, but by doing this they will become lovely and sweet when cooked and their intense flavor will infuse the potatoes. By now the potatoes will be cooked. Drain them in a colander, then lightly crush them by pushing down on them with your thumb.

• Bash up most of the oregano leaves with a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar, or a flavor shaker if you have one. Add 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a good splash of red wine vinegar and some pepper and give everything another bash. Add to the chicken with the potatoes, the tomatoes and the rest of the oregano leaves. Add the garlic cloves. Toss everything together carefully. Spread out in a single layer in an appropriately sized roasting tray, and bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven until golden.

Lovely served with a rocket salad dressed with some lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil and a nice glass of white wine. We served it with a tossed salad and s a bottle of Pinot Grigio!This recipe came from Jamie at home "Cook your way to the good life"

This was my sister's version fresh from the oven!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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