Water Signs

WHAT A GIRL EATS CAN NOW BE FOUND AT....http://whatagirleats.com/

I am Cancer, the Crab, water sign. Sometimes I feel...

I am Ocean

Ruled by the moon

Ebb and flow

Sometimes wild, sometimes calm.

But sometimes I wish I were a...

Sailboat

Safe in the open sea...away from the crashing, chaotic shore.

Teak hulled, brass fitted sailboat.

Quiet at night, waves splashing  against my sides, lulling me to sleep, 'til dawn comes and I can unfurl my sails again and chart a new course.

Ketch me if you can.

or maybe I am...

Sea Glass

What I am now, is not what I was.

Rough edges worn smooth.

No longer transparent...Opaque.

Ahh, but I could be a... 

Shell

Twisting, spiraling, maze-y shell.

Hold me up to your ear and I will whisper

A siren's song.

Or maybe I am just...

Sand

In between your toes...

Under your skin...

Tickling your nose?

Crab is my absolute favorite seafood. Feed me a plate full of Alaskan King Crab legs and I am putty. Is there anything more romantic? You cannot rush a crab leg dinner...each appendage must be cracked and the meat pulled out with a tiny two-pronged fork. What's left in the little leg?...well, there's only one way to get out that last bit of meat. Did I mention butter? Drawn butter? Dribbling down your chin. Phew! Now what a disappointment this will be! Crab Cakes?  Crab Cakes aren't really romantic, but they are a tasty, reasonably healthy version, of the kid friendly "fish stick".  I started with Paula Deen's recipe, and added more veggies, switched the "dusting of flour" for panko bread crumbs to make them more crispy and made a Lemon-Tarragon Mayonnaise to go with them. Easy enough for a week-night meal. Use your best tool, your hands to carefully mix all the ingredients together!

Crab Cakes with Lemon-Tarragon Mayonnaise

1 lb. crab meat, picked free of shells ( you can buy this in a can in your grocery store chiller with the fresh seafood)

1/3 cup crushed Ritz crackers about 8...I counted and measured for you.

3 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup mayonnnaise

1 egg

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 lemon juiced

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

Dash cayenne pepper

2/3 cup Panko bread crumbs or flour for dusting

Peanut oil for frying

1. Gently mix everything together, except the bread crumbs or flour, with your hands.
2. Form into patties, (about 1/3 cup mixture per patty)
3. Coat in Panko bread crumbs or dust with flour.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet, about 1/4" to 1/2" oil until shimmering.
5. Fry crab cakes in batches, 3-4 at a time, cooking about 4 minutes per side.

Lemon-Tarragon Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayonnaise( I should be making this from scratch, but I know if I did, I'd lose you...or you'd laugh at me...so I use Best Foods Olive Oil mayo)

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives

Juice of 1/2 lemon...(hey...use the other half now!)

Salt to taste

Whisk all ingredients together. Chill until ready to use.

Blintz Souffle

A couple of my friends have been requesting more breakfast/brunch dishes. This Blintz Souffle is easy. You can assemble it the night before and pop it in the oven before company comes. Serve some mimosas, ham and some fresh fruit and you've a simple brunch that allows you to step out of the kitchen and actually enjoy your own party! This recipe comes from Marlene Sorosky's Year-Round Holiday Cookbook via my mom, who has been making this recipe for at least 20 years. This Blintz Souffle is light and airy...not to sweet, which is why I like it. The blueberry sryup is not mandatory, you can serve it with assorted jams, or make a different berry sauce.

Blintz Souffle

1/4 lb butter, softened

1/3  cup sugar

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup flour

2  teaspoons baking powder

Blintz Filling

8 ounce package cream cheese, cut up

1 pint small curd cottage cheese

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350* F. Butter a 13" x 9" baking dish; set aside. In a blender or food processor, mix butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, orange juice, flour and baking powder until blended. Pour half the batter into prepared baking dish. Prepare blintz filling. Drop filling by heaping spoonfuls over batter in baking dish. With a knife, spread filling evenly; it will mix slightly with batter. Pour remaining batter over filling. Unbaked souffle may be covered and refrigerated several hours or overnight until ready to use.

Before baking, bring souffle to room temperature. Bake uncovered 50 to 60 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately with sour cream and Blueberry Syrup or assorted jams.  The recipe says it serves 8, but I think it can serve 12 as part of a breakfast buffet or brunch.

Blueberry Syrup (this is a less sweet version of her recipe)

1 16 oz. package of frozen blueberries, defrosted

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

dash salt

In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Over medium heat, bring to boil. Mix cornstarch with water. Add to blueberry mixture and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Lemon Bar Amy

Meyer Lemon Bar

Ok...so before you read any further, I just want to let you know I've added a "subscribe by email" widget to What A Girl Eats.com. So if you click on this link, you should be able to scroll to the right and find the email box. I hope it works, I installed it myself!
This recipe comes to me from my friend Amy. She's been making these Lemon bars for our summertime concerts in the park for a long time. As long as we've know her, the girls have been calling Amy, "Lemon Bar Amy", because of her delicious Lemon Bars.

Meyer lemons

When Spencer and I moved into our first house in Pasadena, 18 years ago, we had several fruit trees, including this odd lemon-orange kind of tree. I had really wanted a grocery store lemon tree with firm skin for zesting. I soon found out what we had was a Meyer lemon tree, instead of the  Eureka, "grocery store", lemon tree. A few years ago, the Meyer lemon craze took off and people were paying ridiculous amounts of money for a single lemon back East. I got so used to the super juicy, sweet Meyer, that when we moved to this house 11 years ago I had to plant one, even though we had a huge Eureka.

Eureka lemons

The difference between the two is easy to discern. A Meyer has thinner skin that is a deep yellow that almost looks like an anemic orange. It's juice is sweeter and yields more juice. A Eureka is more common, easier to zest, with thicker skin. It's more tart and yields less juice. I think it's also much prettier!

Eureka lemons on the left, Meyer on the right

I'm not sure why lemons are associated with summertime, because most citrus is in season during the winter. I just leave the lemons on the trees and just pick as needed. Since the Meyer tree is younger, it's not as prolific as the more mature Eureka, so when it's Meyer season, I try to take advantage of them!

Eureka Lemon Bars

I decided to make two batches of Lemon Bars using Amy's recipe, one with the sweeter Meyer juice and one using Eureka juice...just because I could!

Amy's Lemon Bars

1 cup flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter

Cream butter and sugar together. Pat into a 8"X 8" pan. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes or until barely golden.

Blend:

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

juice of one medium lemon

Pour onto baked crust and return to oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes at 350*, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. To double batch, bake in a 13"X 9" pan

Kicking Off 2012 With What A Girl Eats.Com!

I decided I had to become a .com. I've been blogging for 7 months, but it was starting to get confusing for me to tell people that they could find me at;  C-Y-N-S-K-I-S  DOT Blogspot.com. (Cyn is my nickname) Blogspot/Google also made it very difficult for any but the heartiest and most dedicated to comment...and I do appreciate those of you who did comment! So come on in, have a look around. The paint is still wet, I'm rearranging the furniture, but you're welcome to hang out while I figure out my way around wordpress. To my old neighbors at blogspot, yep, we're not next door neighbors anymore, you'll have to get in the car to come and visit, but I've transferred all of you over in my address book!

So what better way to kick of 2012 than to launch, whatagirleats.com on January 1st!? I've even planned a parade to celebrate the event, but due to scheduling conflicts, the city of Pasadena is holding the parade tomorrow.

To kick off the new website, I am holding another contest. To be eligible, you either need to LIKE my What A Girl Eats page on Facebook and leave a comment on my WAGE's Facebook page or leave a comment on the actual post.

This contest will feature the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I've talked about the book in a couple of posts. I make homemade pizza on a regular basis. I also make Cinnamon Buns and Sticky Buns. The book will show you how. I leave the dough in the fridge for up to two weeks and from it I can bake bread and make pizza. Rebecca D. has asked me for more quick and easy recipes. Last night I made pizza in 45 minutes. What's more kid friendly than pizza? In addition to the book, you will get: pizza dough flavor and pizza seasoning. (These images are from King Arthur Flour Company) The value of this prize is $32. Since January 1st is a busy day, I'm letting the contest run until January 6th. 

Pizza dough flavor

Pizza seasoning

                       

So the big "catch" for the new website is how it will affect my email followers. Since I never knew who you all were, unless you told me, I have no way of making sure you get me, (if you still want me!) So there are a couple of buttons in which you can subscribe to WAGE's. See those buttons there...under "Subscribe"? That first one is an RSS feed. Click on the orange button and on the right-hand side of your computer it should ask you if you want to subscribe by mail or add as a bookmark. Techies, I'm doing this step-by-step for my mom's friends, so bear with me!

I've still got bugs to work out, links to transfer and other housekeeping issues, so if you find something you don't like or understand, chances are I won't either, but I'll figure it out! Just let me know! Thank you!

Rose Parade In Pasadena

Spinach and Mushroom Casserole

There is no lull between Christmas and New Year’s here in Pasadena. Just after we finish unwrapping presents, the city starts gearing up for the big day…January 1st*, when we roll out the asphalt and turf for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl. Because we live spitting distance to the end of the parade route, we usually have friends and/or family staying at the house New Year’s Eve. Fortunately for us, our friend and electrician, Paul, marks out the same spot on the route beginning sometime after Halloween. He does this to thank his loyal customers. (Sadly, we seem to purchase old houses with lots of electrical problems!) He spends the night a couple days before the big day…making our job as viewers so easy. We walk down about an hour before the parade starts, (or ends in our case) and sit right at the curb. BUT, if you come and stay with us, and you’re a dad, chances are you might have to spend the night on the route with the kids.

In exchange for the luxury of sleeping in my own warm bed, I forego anything more than a sip or two of champagne at midnight to get up very early on New Year’s Day, zip down in the car and pick up the excited kids and bleary eyed dads. I have hot coffee and a hearty breakfast waiting. After a hot shower and a bite to eat, we take the 15 minute walk back to the route to view the parade. This year, our neighbor and Emma’s school mate, Drew Washington, is the Rose Queen, which makes it extra special for us!

I’ve been making this Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Casserole for a really long time. I used to make stratas, but found that everybody was a little tired of eating super heavy food, after the holidays so I looked for a recipe that did not contain bread. Especially because I like to serve either Pecan Sticky Buns or Cinnamon Rolls.. Oranges from our over-flowing tree rounds out the meal.

Spinach And Cheese Casserole

1 lb. fresh spinach

1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced

2 green onions, sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 eggs, beaten

1 cube of butter, melted

16 oz. cottage cheese

6 tablespoons flour

1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1. Pre-heat oven to 350* F. Grease a 13″ X 9″ baking dish.
2.  Saute mushrooms, onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until soft.
3. Add spinach and saute until wilted, a couple of minutes. Let cool and chop more finely if desired.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, flour, butter, cottage cheese,  cheddar cheese and salt and pepper. Add spinach and mushroom mixture.
5. Mix well and turn into baking dish.
6. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is done.

Serves 8-10 

Celebrate!

My  breakfast plate.

One of our family traditions for special occasions is smoked salmon and bagels for breakfast. In our house you get this breakfast for your birthday. We also have it for Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas morning. The way the birthdays are spread throughout the year, this means we eat it every couple of months. This was my breakfast plate on Christmas morning.

Breakfast in the kitchen on Christmas morning.

I'm giving myself  a posting break, so I have no recipe for you today. Just smoked salmon, bagels, cream cheese, capers, sliced tomatoes and sliced purple onion. Simple, elegant...celebrate!

Simple, elegant...Celebrate!

I Still Hear The Bell

There is a lot of pressure that comes with being a kindergarten teacher. I am an oracle, the all knowing, to a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds. I feel the tug of fiction versus non-fiction most keenly right around Christmas time. Every book I read to them, is first prefaced with the question, "Is this a fiction or a non-fiction book?"
I stop asking the question two weeks before Christmas, especially when I read, "The Polar Express". I am often asked, "Is Santa real?". This most usually comes from a child who has older siblings. A sweet face, looking up at you, knowing that your word is the final word...fiction? Non-fiction? Fortunately for me, I do not have to lie. Yes, Santa is real. I saw him, once.
It was Christmas Eve, 1996. Emma was nearly 2. It was a rare time when Grandpa Woodman requested all his off-spring and their off-spring to come for Christmas Eve and everybody made it. My two sisters-in-law and their families came down from Napa and Paso Robles and we all met at Grandpa's. My four nieces and nephews, all married now, and with lots of babies and babies-on-the-way, were in their early teens. "Little Spencer", now a first lieutenant in the Army, was about 9 or 10. 
It was a cold, crisp, moonlit night. The clouds were wispy and thin, were spread like fingers across the moon and when I looked up, I saw Santa's sleigh and his reindeer. We all stopped and stared, even the adults. It was Santa's sleigh! We stood there for a long time and I remember soaking in that sight, knowing that the clouds, in precisely that formation, on a full-moon night, with 5 children would never happen again.
I don't have a problem with the Santa Claus-ness of Christmas. For me, it doesn't conflict with Jesus and what he represents. I think if Jesus and Santa were hanging out together, they'd both be on the same page. Love, peace, caring, Faith. Above all, Faith. Because you don't have to see something to believe. But when you do see it...you've got to believe it!

Sugar cookies...I use a mold to make personal messages.

I received gifts from Santa until I was about 26, with my dad's scrawl on the gift tags. "Dad!", my brother, Bill and I would say, "you know we're both, like, in our 20's right?" "Yep", he'd reply, "They are from Santa. I think the girl that is still in me, is in a big part, from my dad, who never stopped believing either.

I do not ever remember receiving the, "Come On Smile, Big John", toy...my parent's probably thought it wise not to purchase this gift...I wonder what possessed me to request EXACTLY 3ft. 7" skis? What would have happened if I'd gotten 3 ft. 6" skis or, worse yet, 3ft. 8" skis?

We'll be putting out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer again this year, Sophie still hears the bell...and so do I. If you don't have a cookie press, 

put out any kind of cookie for Santa, he won't mind! Click here to track Santa's trip. 

Spritz cookies and  Italian Wedding cookies

Spritz cookies, (cookie press) remind me of my Aunt "Sass", (Nancy). She wasn't really a cook, nor was she a baker, but every Christmas she loved to make spritz cookies. You need a cookie press, but after making dozens of Christmas trees, my hands got tired and I rolled the rest of the dough out into snowflakes. I also used it for the "message cookie". 
Basic Sugar Cookies (this recipe is from Martha Stewart) I used it for the trees, snowflakes and message cookies.
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract, (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt; mix on medium speed until combined. With mixer on low  speed, add flour in 2 batches, mixing just until incorporated.
2. Fill cookie press with dough and pipe onto a cookie sheet. Or roll out to about 1/4" thick and use cookie cutters
3. Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Italian Wedding Cookies (From Rocco DeSpirito)
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1 1/2 cups finely ground blanched almonds
5 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 325*F.  Cream butter in  bowl. Gradually add confectioners sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Add almonds and vanilla. Blend in flour gradually and mix well. Shape into crescents using about 1 tsp. dough for each cookie, (his directions...I think that's too small!). Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 15-20 minutes. Do not brown. Cool sightly, then roll in the extra confectioner's sugar.