Skip to main content

Three Ways to Get Ready for Summer!

In the words of Alice Cooper....school's out for summer.

For my kids, that is.  Not for me.  I start a new term tomorrow, and most of my classes will be bakery-oriented.  I hope to learn a lot, but I expect to be outstripped by my more creative classmates.  I'm not one for elaborate cake decorating, mind.

And with relatively young children in the house, the beginning of summer always involves a look-over of the kids' summer wardrobes...and of especial interest this year, our 12-year-old daughter's.

This morning, I discarded three pairs of Peanut's shorts, because when she put them on and let her arms hang at the sides, her fingertips went past the hem.  Surprisingly, she didn't raise much fuss...probably because I let her keep two other pairs for "around the house" and "bedtime".  That puts me at +5 ranks in Parenting, useful for the next time I need to do a Teenage Diplomacy check(to all those non-D&Ders who don't get the reference, no apologies).

And now, onto food.

I spent much of my summer break playing with recipes for work.  While I'm still looking to perfect my beef skewer marinade and my spinach steak roulade, I'll share with you two "little things" that I am particularly proud of this week.

The winery is ordering Stonewall Kitchen's Spicy Parmesan Corn Sprinkle (or some other similar name), but it hasn't come yet.  After looking at the ingredient list online (cheese culture or Maltodextrin, anyone?), I thought I'd try putting my own Sweet Corn Seasoning together.

2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Two dashes of cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Sprinkle liberally on grilled or steamed corn.
My family and myself REALLY enjoyed this addition to our buttered corn on the cob.  Not a reliable sample group by any means, I know, but a place to start.  My oldest son thought it "covered" the corn taste a little bit, but to me, that means sprinkle less.  I will definitely be trying it again, with corn, or on other vegetables.

This next recipe is a dry rub that I adapted from one at macheesmo.com.


Smoky Spice Rub for Beef
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. black pepper

Mix all spices together and store in air-tight, waterproof plastic container or Ziploc bag.  Sprinkle liberally and rub into beef before cooking.  Makes a scant 1/4 cup.

It's not too grand, I know, but the fact is, I did the tweaking and testing and tweaking and trying.  Finally putting some o'dat intuition to work.  I really liked the smoke of the paprika, but I would definitely recommend rubbing it into the meat before cooking it...then it would be more noticeable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(She) Blinded Me With...Citrus

Excuse my attempt at tying today's blog entry with an iconic Thomas Dolby song.  What a terrible pun-ishment. Har har har. So, we're on the backside of Winter Vacation/Christmas Break/Holiday Hiatus here.  The kids return to school tomorrow, the freshman and I start back to our respective colleges next Monday. The clock is ticking and suddenly, I am whipped into frenzy to Get Work Done.  I suspect this phenomenon happens to many, many educators who try to avoid that panic-stricken night before they go back to work. And believe me when I say, I had the deepest, most earnest of intentions to write lesson plans, write quizzes, and generally prepare for the restart of my classes next week.  Like, really. And then...I was distracted by...citrus.  This happened. Okay, so....the lemons on the far right are no big deal.  They're available year-round.  But Meyer lemons...MEYER...I only find around here in the winter.  I first read about them i...
Post a Comment
Read more

In Which I Suspect I Have Latent Tendencies...Much Like The Hulk, Or Similar

I find in most normally functioning families, the members have a distinguishing role or legacy or skill of some kind. Like, he's the smart one.  Or, he's the religious one.  Or...she's the glue that helps the fam together.  Or, she's the savvy one, so she's the Power of Attorney. In my family, that system went something like this: My dad was The Dad.  Cantankerous, crotchety, and especially tight with daughters' curfew times.  Also, not a fan of driving in Big Cities. My mom was the long-suffering, patient, reserved one. My brother was the baby, the one who got away with murder, the namesake, and also, Frosty Hoarder. Me?  My legacy?  The Ruiner of Remote Controls.  No lie.  Although I've repressed the memories, my parents claim I destroyed at least two remotes in my tenure as Child Under The Roof.  Remote #1: milk spillage; Remote #2: applesauce spillage. So, now you see why my younger brother was the favorite. Anyway, t...
1 comment
Read more

Spaghetti Cake

Yes. You read that right.  Keep reading, friends, it's about to get good. Photo by Brent Nelson...who doesn't quite know about shadows and things in photography. Photo by your trusty author, who doesn't quite know about taking knockout food pictures. So, the caboose (Elliot) was in charge of meals this weekend...as part of his requirement for one of his Boy Scout badges.  Even though we'd be eating meals easy for a 12-year-old to put together (usually not healthy), I was totally ready to hand over the reins for the weekend. Saturday night's dinner was supposed to be simple.  Spaghetti.  But then, I remembered I had Justin's Chapple's Mad Tips article for Pasta Bundt Loaf .  I handed that over to the Boy Scout...and things just got awesome. The ingredients here seem to be a cross between those of a lasagna and an alfredo.  One pound of spaghetti noodles is cooked, and to which a bunch of cheese, milk, eggs, and seasonings are added.  All...
Post a Comment
Read more