Showing posts with label Thursday what's-for-supper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thursday what's-for-supper. Show all posts

Thursday, October 21, 2021

October (and a foodie finish!)

 Blushing hydrangea where autumn frosts flirt...


Shiny red apple for dinner dessert...



Blushing hydrangea where autumn frosts flirt
Shiny red apple for dinner dessert
Sassy wind sashaying through grand ballrooms
Scattered with tatters from lofty-tree looms
Landscapes, rain-glossy run slightly awry
With watercolors unfurled from the sky

Summer’s orange embers twixt plowed furrows glow
Warming our spirits on hearths primed for snow
One day soft kitten-like purrs kiss our cheeks
The next day mittens where b-r-r-risker breeze tweaks
Bronze burnished ambience startled with white
Maple-tree halos soft-doffed overnight

Hunger is teased and appeased thoroughly
Fresh from the oven or garden or tree
Gathered with humble and thankful hurrah
For autumn’s opulent cornucopia
Cooks in a quandary of pure delight
At endless options for dinner tonight

Cattails like sentry in russet wool coats
Puddles like miniature lakes full of boats
Wishes like milkweed-silk bursting from seams
Flashes of silver on backdrop of dreams
South-facing backyards like sudden sun-spas
Woodlands like grandstands of fading applause

October blazes with glory of fall
Capturing gazes where vistas enthrall
Making hearts ever so happy and sad
World full of wonder driving poets mad
Reasoning ruffled by fading veneers
Leaf-song turned into a trickle of tears

October offers a bount’ous buffet
So much to sample from its ample tray
So much to savour with eyes-ears-nose-mouth
Flavors and colors, east, west, north and south
October shimmers and glimmers until
Each candle is snuffed on Autumn's windowsill

© Janet Martin

Cooks in a quandary of pure delight
At endless options for dinner tonight...
I love this kind of quandary!😊 

I was torn between homemade pizza to use some of the last
of fresh garden peppers, onions etc.
I am also craving cabbage rolls
and squash apple bake, but as I rooted through the fridge
to make sure there wasn't some forgotten vittles, sure enough,
I found some pulled pork which needed to be used
so I made a
Pulled Pork Calzone.
The dough was a wad I had frozen from a previous pizza dough batch 
so ended up being not quite as puffy as fresh dough would be.
Spread dough on baking stone or pan
Layer filling down the center;
pulled pork, chopped onion, peppers, parsley and shredded mozz. cheese.

bring ends together in the middle and pinch
then flip over so seam is on the bottom 
Score top if desired


Bake at 375 or 400 for approx. 30 min.
Let cool slightly and serve.


Perfect with a side of coleslaw!😋
This coleslaw consisted of chopped green cabbage, red onion,
chopped green peppers, toasted flax and sunflower seeds with soy dressing
Soy Dressing
shake soy sauce, your choice of vinegar, (white, apple-cider, balsamic etc.)
black pepper, desired amount of sweetness
in honey or white sugar, after well blended add oil. 
Shake, shake, shake, pour YUM!
all amounts eye-balled😐


Dessert if needed will be an apple!
no room right now😛




Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Of Endless Possibilities (finally, a foodie post)

People are like cooking ingredients; 
Capable of so much more when put together! 

Like today's lunch salad...
each ingredient is okay on its own 



but outstanding when mixed!
(Today's version. this style of salad is fantastically versatile!)
A few handfuls of chopped cauliflower, 
Approximately 1 cup chopped cucumber,
chopped red onion (to taste) 1/2 can chick peas, 1/2 cup black beans,
1 large carrot, shredded, crumbled feta cheese
Dressing; put in blender
 Juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp. sugar or honey
pinch of pepper flakes
dash of dill
smidgeon of salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup oil
blend approx. 1 min.
optional ingred. handfuls of chopped kale or spinach, avocado, red peppers, broccoli, celery, etc.

Blending the ingredients of the recipe below, published in the latest Rural Route
(tweaked a bit so I can share the recipe and because I don't like using margarine in cooking)
is a delicious break-the-muffin-blahs. a little different too, blending the whole orange!



 For Christmas I received a recipe book; on my wish list for a while!

The recipe below has quickly become a favorite!

Seriously yummy!

Unfortunately, midst the excitement of eating
I always forget to take a picture of the finished product... here it is not quite all gone!
the first one (no pic)had the cherry tomatoes...definitely a nice finishing touch if you have them!

Together we can do far more than each of us alone 
Imagine, flour without butter trying to be Scone 
Imagine if an egg were only scrambled, boiled or fried 
Or if measure-and-stir was Cook’s simple pleasure, denied 

Imagine if a wooden spoon could never mix and beat 
No pinch ‘o this and-bit-‘o-that to make it salty, sweet 
No culinary prizes, nothing to whip, froth or fold 
No new supper-surprises from ingredients age-old 

No simmer, sauté, season, sift or mince, chop, slice and dice 
No making something special for somebody very nice 
No chill, bake, broil, nothing pinched, dashed or smidgen-ed into bowls 
No pudding, pie, soup, cookies, cakes, chowders or casseroles 

Imagine if we couldn’t toss a medley in a bowl 
To make something that satisfies the stomach, heart and soul 
Imagine if we never had discovered shredded cheese !!!
Imagine life, without love's endless possibilities😋😊 



© Janet Martin


Last night's supper included a never-gets-old-version
of roasted Veggies,
cube veggies and toss with seasonings
Last night I kept it simple
Salt and pepper, garlic powder and thyme
drizzle of olive oil. 

spread on baking sheet. Bake at 375-400
Baking time depends on amount and veggie kinds...from 40-60 minutes.
I always do a huge batch so leftovers can be used for lunches etc.





Friday, October 2, 2020

Cook's Creed



Fall; a cook's paradise...
Fresh from the garden everything
is as good as it gets!





As much, dear cook, as we are able
We should put dinner on the table
And if we have the means to make it good
Then by those means, dear cook, i think we should

Janet Martin

Friday, March 20, 2020

On Finding Happiness (and keeping it)


 Here's to Finding Happiness, wherever we are!
This verse takes on special significance right now;

Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD
Prov.16:20

Hopefully we are all doing our best part to heed the instructions we are given;
whether for physical health and safety due to Corona V. or
for our spiritual well-being due
to mortal bodies being instilled with Immortal Soul!

 It was a simple chili and salad supper;
simply browned 2lbs. beef, added precooked beans from the freezer (black, navy and kidney) 
and 1 large jar of homemade canned marinara sauce.



Happiness is not something we can force by sheer command
The secret to its blessing we must always find firsthand
A balance of surrender, strength, blindness and open gaze
Gathered into a heart of humble thankfulness and praise

Happiness can’t be purchased (though sometimes we think it can)
So we stretch our purse-strings to accommodate the plan
Alas; the glass that gleamed with dreamy Brigadoon-spheres breaks
And spills what turns to wisdom as we learn through our mistakes

The irony of happiness keeps us in constant awe
Where greed and discontentment complicate its simple law
Where need opens a doorway to a world of sweet surprise
As we discover undercover blessings in disguise

Happiness is no fancy feast or ‘gorge-yourself’ buffet
The greatest to the least can find its kind hip-hip-hooray
As we become more thankful then less reluctant to give
Happiness by the heart-full spills into the life we live

© Janet Martin




Friday, February 28, 2020

The Onions Are Sprouting!




The onions are sprouting
Thus hope usurps doubting
Where we feared perhaps spring would lose her fair way
Where landscapes are pillowed
With white-capes soft billowed
Like waves made of marshmallow crème and star-fray

High-ho merry maiden
With pots and pans laden
With fresh-chopped ingredients ready for soup
Soon fresh garden salad
Will tickle the palate
Soon all this white mayhem will melt underfoot

Then sing without sorrow
In some soon tomorrow
The field’s frozen furrow will turn like a page
The seed in the packet
Will spill from its jacket
The bloom in the bud will break free of its cage

The onions are sprouting
This humble gourd shouting
From dark cellar corners of bright sunny hours
Then grin at this hinter
Teasing Old Man Winter
With tender green tendrils; the prelude to flowers

© Janet Martin

Thursday-what's-for-Supper was loosely based on this recipe...
(I added black beans, fresh veggies, soy sauce and omitted one can of soup) 



 Last night's supper left-overs are perfect for today's savoury snow-day soup!

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Charcuterie of Poetry...

Regular routines have been derailed a bit the past few days/weeks.
I didn't forget about Thurs. what's-for supper etc.
In fact, this poem (if I remember correctly)was started for that purpose.
but my family prefers if I must choose between the two, that I choose cooking, not writing.
Because you can't (literally) eat a poem!
 and because I was really looking forward to sharing the Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe
(from my friend's daughter's Cooking Through Generations blog)
here is the supper from last  Thursday's never-completed post...


But, because supper will never be enough to satisfy certain hungers
Here's to flavours not found in your cookbook!


I’ve tasted through the tracery of ink pressed into poetry
The glory of the written word like salt-spray from a surging sea
The ambiance of bygone days like echo-extract, bittersweet
The timbre of farewell poured from a flask to rain-strummed lane and street

There is a sense of ease about a breeze that bears spring’s heady hope
Of April sunshine like warm honey drizzled on a sunny slope
Sometimes the wind is seasoned with the wistfulness for what is not
Or pungent with aromas rousing awareness for what we’ve got

I’ve tasted summer in the middle of frigid February
Darling, this is the glorious gift of ink arranged in poetry
Ah, can’t you catch a hint of wild mint wafting from brook-banks below
Or muted essence of moments falling in apple-blossom snow

Labyrinthine of ink- cuisine is not a fast-food gulp-and-burp
Charcuterie of poetry is to savour like fine dessert
Aw, let’s not hurry so although there is always too much to do
Let’s linger longer; taste the lyrics of love's precious me-and-you

The bard has left for taste and touch (in books and such) a grand buffet
But weaves in it the sense of never enough hours in a day
To spell the whole of heart and soul leaves poets always on the verge
Of verse, to try to snare some remnants of life’s wonder-flavoured splurge

© Janet Martin


 click link for...
 Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe
 (from my friend's daughter's Cooking Through Generations blog)

I didn't have drumsticks so I cut up a small chicken , mixed seasonings,
rubbed it on and baked
Easy, quick,
nutritious and delicious!
My favorite kind of cooking!


Friday, January 31, 2020

The Glad Truth (of what Time cannot change)


 Because it promised to be a lively one...


 ...into the crock-pot early this morning went one thawed beef blade roast along with
potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, onion , salt, pepper 
and a handful of fresh from-the-freezer chopped parsley (flakes work as well)
Seal crock-pot with foil, put on lid and turn on low all day!
Nothing makes Victoria, the family smile like beef browned potatoes!


So simple. So good on a cold winter night!
One of those delicious delights that time cannot change!

Dawning upon us like love’s madrigal
Hails the glad truth of what time cannot change
Darling, the things that matter most of all
The Chieftain of progress can never estrange
In spite of all it seems to rearrange

It cannot alter the thrill of hello
When face to face, long-missed loved ones we meet
It cannot tarnish the garnish of snow
Soft on the rooftop and woodland and street
Spilling a canvas we scribble with feet

Time leaps with joy in ahoy blush and gold
As we set sail on a sea of new morn
Nature’s surprises will never grow old
Each bloom as fresh as the first ever born
Bestowing beauty to worlds weary-worn

 Modern-day mayhem’s most impressive boasts
Cannot claim credit for sunset or rise
The Hand that grants what accomplishment toasts
Is not affected by time’s age and size
No matter how swift the season-clock flies

Thus, the best things in life will remain so
 Leisurely picnics and much work to do
Teachers to learn from the tots in their tow
Hilltops to offer, if scaled, quite a view
Heaven-glimpse in four words, ‘I love you too’

Laughter that lilts like a gilt butterfly
Butter to better the best have-a-taste
Chatter of children as pure as the sky
Pleasure when we find the keys we misplaced
Twilight on velvet blue, quarter-moon graced

Thank God for puppy with mischievous lad
Sunshine that cannot be stoppered and sold
Beautiful baby and proud mom and dad
Humbled and whelmed by the charge in their hold
Thank God for wonder that never grows old

Wonder to startle the most wizened sage
Music to sweeten sometimes-sour notes
Too many poems to tender to page
River that rushes with autumn’s leaf-boats
Farewells that leave aching lumps in our throats

Supper that spells happiness in a dish
God, rich in mercy whatever our lot
Darling, the things that most satisfy wish
Time cannot altar one tittle or jot
No matter how many years it has caught

© Janet Martin

 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Heb.13:8