EdlyEats

Piña Colada

2026-06-10T20:13:27.425-07:00

Folks-

Today is my daughter's birthday, and I knew it would be hot, so I decided to make something cold that I could serve in a coconut.

I mean, why not?

The obvious thing was the Piña Colada.

This is a two-stage recipe, cobbled together from multiple other recipes. You have to make a bartender's Coconut Cream first, and you may have some leftover unless you multiply the Piña Colada recipe a fair amount.

Here are the two recipes!

Coconut Cream Ingredients:

1 400ml can of Coconut Milk

375g Granulated Sugar

Pour the contents of the can of Coconut Milk into a small saucepan, whisk in the sugar, and stir continuously over a low heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is a uniform translucent whitish liquid. It probably will happen soon after the temperature rises above room temp. Don't even let it reach a simmer. Seriously.

Piña Colada Ingredients:

1 cup frozen pineapple chunks

3/4 cups Coconut Cream

Juice of 1 lime

2 cups ice

1/4 cup white rum (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until ice is broken up, then blend at high speed until you have a nice blend. Serves 2.

Quick Breadsticks (work in progress)

2026-06-07T19:57:34.406-07:00

Folks-

I needed a quick recipe for a side dish with the pasta I was making, and the Google AI auto completed a link to a homemade soft breadstick recipe at a recipe site that I thought I should try.

Of course I modified it.

I recommend brushing my garlic butter on them as they come out of the oven (melt it first) for the best flavor.

Here's my version of a light, fluffy, quick (less than an hour) breadstick recipe!

Ingredients:

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) Active Dry or Rapid Rise Yeast

2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar or Honey

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-120 degrees F)

3/4 Teaspoon Salt

3 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour (approx, roughly 3-4 cups)

2 Teaspoons Powdered Garlic (optional)

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning (optional)

3 Tablespoons melted butter or Garlic Butter or olive oil

If you're using active dry yeast, add the sugar or honey to the warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit about 5 minutes until it foams. If you're using Rapid Rise or Instant yeast, skip proofing the yeast. In a bowl (I recommend a stand mixer with a dough hook here) pour in the proofed yeast or water and sugar, add 2 cups of the flour, salt, and optional seasonings and mix on low. Add a tablespoon of the melted butter or olive oil. Add flour a heaping tablespoon at a time until you have a slightly sticky dough and knead for about 5 minutes. Start preheating the oven at 375-400 degrees F. Put a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of a baking sheet or grease the sheet. This recipe makes about a dozen Breadsticks, so weigh the dough and use that calculator your teacher told you wouldn't be available to figure out how much each should weigh (probably 68-75 grams each) and roll each into a snek of about 8-10" and space them on the baking sheet about 1/4" apart (almost touching.) Allow them to rise for about 15-30 minutes (long enough to start making pasta and homemade sauce), then bake for about 12-15 minutes or until light brown. Brush them with the melted butter/garlic butter as soon as they're out of the oven. Allow to cool a bit, but serve while warm.

Speculoos (Work in Progress)

2026-04-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I've been looking for a good recipe for the Dutch spice cookie known variously as Speculoos, Speculaas, or even Biscoff.

I didn't find it, but I found one I could start working on over at AllRecipes.

The problems with the AllRecipes recipe is that it's just not spice forward enough, and it honestly needs a touch of salt.

So here's my latest version of the recipe for Speculoos.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

3 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp cardamom

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and sugar until light brown. Mix in egg, salt, baking powder, and spices. Mix in flour half a cup at a time until a stiff dough forms. Press dough into cookie molds or roll out to 1/8" and cut out using cookie cutters or a pizza cutter or similar roller. Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet until firm but not hard (about 10 minutes). Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.

Note: I can't help thinking a tablespoon of molasses would be a good addition, added in with the egg.

Steak pie

2026-01-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

Folks-

After our trip to Europe a few weeks back, I decided to make something good for a winter evening that's more inspired by the food we had there. Tonight I fixed a Steak Pie and School Cake with Custard for dessert. I'm not ready to post the recipe for the School Cake with Custard yet... that's going to take work (it's basically a wide, flat pound cake with a frosting made of powdered sugar and water and covered in sprinkles. That's...kinda not impressive). The Steak Pie though was a hit.

I started with a recipe from Taming Twins (which crashed my Kindle, thank you) and - you guessed it - modified it.

Here's my non-crashy version of a Steak Pie recipe!

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs beef stew meat

1-2 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup flour

4 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

3-4 celery sticks cut into smaller chunks (but still chunks, not thin slices)

1 large onion chopped into large chunks (are you seeing a pattern here?)

2 1/2 cups beef stock or broth

2 tbsp Worstershire Sauce

2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup

Salt and pepper to taste

A pie crust rolled flat or puff pastry

In an electric pressure cooker, sauteed the stew meat in the vegetable oil until nicely seared. Stir the flour into the meat drippings and use some of the beef stock to degraze the pot. Add in the vegetables and the other ingredients and make sure they are evenly distributed in the bottom of the pot. Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high for 20 minutes. Allow to depressurize naturally and cool to warm, not hot. Prepare the crust in a 9x13 casserole dish or two 9" deep dish pie pans, then fill with the beef stew, top with another crust, then bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Notes: If you don't have a pressure cooker you can make the filling in a slow cooker taking at least 2 hours to cook on high, or on a stovetop simmering slowly for a similar time. The pressure cooker just takes a lot less time, and happens to be the method I used. If I made it without the pressure cooker, I probably would add a bay leaf and maybe a few other savory herbs. I don't think a pressure cooker would allow the flavor of the herbs to properly integrate into the stew/filling. For the beef stock, it's okay to use cheap Boullion cubes or Better Than Bouillon. You don't have to use a boxed stock or make your own. I used Better Than Boullion the first time and it was just fine.

Au Jus (Gesundheit!)

2025-12-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

Folks-

This year for Christmas I fixed an eye of round roast in the oven (two, actually.) I really didn't go as fancy as last year, mostly because we only had one guest over.

But I did have lots of leftovers. And, honestly, I love a good French Dipped sandwich. I figured I probably had the ingredients for the Au Jus dipping sauce, and I was right! I found a version of this recipe over at This Gal Cooks, and modified it for my uses.

I fixed the sandwiches using my same day sourdough foccacia, the roast, and sliced Swiss cheese that Aaron used a torch to melt. They were very good this way!

Here's my version of Au Jus:

Ingredients:

Up to 1/2 cup beef drippings (optional)

1/4 cup red wine (optional, for deglazing the roast pan)

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups beef stock or broth (I used Better Than Boullion and water)

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and caramelize the onions. If using beef drippings, heat the pan over low heat and use the red wine and maybe a splash of the broth to deglaze, scraping up the dark bits while the onions are cooking. Add the minced garlic and drippings to the onions. Pour in the beef stock or broth and bring to a low simmer. Add the pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Taste and add salt to your preference.

You can strain it if you want before serving, but I don't.

Authentic Italian Fettuccine Alfredo

2025-10-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

Folks-

Every time I decide to look into how to make an authentic sauce that I'm sure is going to be difficult or involve lots of ingredients it seems like I find out it's easy and I have everything on hand.

I was sure Alfredo was going to involve careful simmering of milk products, stirring the pot constantly to make sure it doesn't burn when I turn my back, and working my tail off to fix it.

As it was with my Enchilada Sauce and Tomato-based Pasta Sauce, I was very wrong.

Unless you want to make a creamy American-style Alfredo that isn't an actual Alfredo. But honestly...why would you do that?

I looked it up after a Reddit session where people were complaining about American taste buds making restaurants all taste the same, saw a complaint thread about creamy vs authentic Alfredo and decided to investigate. This recipe is the result.

Like my tomato based sauce, this lends itself to vibe-cooking. If you think adding something will make it good, do it.

Here's my base Authentic Italian Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 lb dry (usually 1 box) or 1 1/2 lb fresh fettuccine

3/4 cup plus 1/4 cup grated real Parmesan cheese (not the dry stuff in shakers)

1/2 cup butter, cubed (1 stick, ideally European butter)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (ideally Italian parsley)

1-2 teaspoons coarsely ground or cracked fresh black or rainbow pepper to taste

1/2 cup of the pasta water

Grind the pepper and chop the parsley and set aside. Cube the butter and place in the bottom of a large bowl with 3/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and pepper. Boil the pasta per the package directions (unless using homemade, then boil for 1-3 minutes). Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, cover the cheese and butter in the bowl with the drained pasta, pour the 1/2 cup pasta water on it, then mix gently, tossing as the cheese starts to melt.

Use the last 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and parsley to dress the pasta, either in the bowl, or directly on the plate, however it's served.

Yes, it really is that simple. Yay!

Jägerschnitzel and Hasselback Potatoes

2025-09-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I've been meaning to add this to my blog for a while. It's really one recipe and a couple of instructions.

So, what is Jägerschnitzel? Imagine country-fried pork chops smothered in mushroom gravy and you're pretty darn close. It's a German or Austrian dish that just happens to be freaking delicious. I don't remember where I first heard about it, but I found my base recipe at Quick German Recipes, and then modified it. The full recipe here is just for the Jäger Sosse or mushroom gravy, and the added instructions are for the schnitzel and Hasselback Potatoes.

You may notice there's no sausage in this recipe. If you're from the U.S., like me, that might be a surprise, but yeah, schnitzel is basically any kind of fellet breaded and fried. Der Wienerschnitzel is a hot dog chain in the U.S., and an actual Wiener Schnitzel is a veal fillet that's been breaded and fried.

Yeah.

So, what are Hasselback Potatoes? They're fancy baked potatoes. Here's the method:

Take your clean potatoes and slice a flat spot on the bottom of each. One at a time place the potatoes between two chopsticks and using a sharp knife start at one end and make thin slices in each potato, about 2-4mm wide, across the potato. The chopsticks should prevent you from cutting all the way through. Fan your accordioned potato out and wash off the starch. Once all of the potatoes are cut up this way, cover them in olive oil or butter, getting it in between the slices. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour. In the last 10 minutes of baking or so you can place cheese between the slices, or cover them in bread crumbs, or top with Parmesan cheese. Yum!

So, get your fillets ready, then start baking the potatoes before making the Schnitzel.

I recommend getting all of the ingredients for everything set up before continuing.

For the Schnitzel, you'll need at least four cutlets, these can be boneless pork chops, boneless chicken breasts and/or thighs, veal, beef, whatever strikes your fancy. If it's more than a quarter inch thick, pound it evenly until it's at or under that point. Dredge in flour, dip in scrambled egg, then press into bread crumbs and start frying them. Keep the finished ones warm on a rack in the oven at it's lowest setting until ready to serve. (I'm lucky enough that our house came with two ovens.)

At the same time, start making the Jäger Sosse.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

3 strips bacon, diced

1 onion, diced

1 lb sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar or red wine

2 cups beef broth or stock

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons corn starch in 2 tablespoons water (if needed to thicken)

1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

In a skillet over medium high heat, cook the onions and bacon in the butter until the onions are translucent and the bacon fat has rendered. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Use the balsamic vinegar or red wine to deglaze (optional). Stir in the tomato paste, broth, and seasonings, bring to a boil, reduce temperature and allow to simmer for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. If gravy is too thin at this point, add enough of the cornstarch mix to thicken to desired consistency. Stir in parsley and sour cream. Serve hot over schnitzel.

Note: I added some fresh thyme and chopped fresh basil with the parsley tonight, and it was quite good.

Easy Apple Butter

2025-09-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Folks-

It's apple season again, and after posting my version of the Apple Fritter recipe, I figured I should post this Apple Butter recipe I found from Life as a Strawberry. What makes this recipe different is that it's fairly quick, easy, and uses maple syrup as a sweetener instead of brown sugar, meaning that if you're like me and always have real maple syrup in the fridge, you're probably ready to make this with what you already have once you have the apples.

In case you're wondering, I often post these modified recipes here both to record my changes, as well as avoid just how bad and slow the originating websites are. Both this site and Preppy Kitchen from my last recipe have that issue, so I'm sorry to both of those sites if they're not getting as much advertising revenue, but they keep crashing my tablet as I'm cooking. Blogger doesn't.

So here is my variation of Easy Apple Butter!

Ingredients:

About 3lbs apples, cored, peeled, and diced (about 5 medium apples)

1/4 tsp kosher salt

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp apple juice or cider

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Stir all ingredients together in a medium pot, cover, and simmer over a low heat for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally until apples have softened and reduced. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes, then blend using an immersion blender or stand blender until smooth. If too thin afterwards, return to a low heat and allow to reduce further, stirring often.

Apple Fritters

2025-09-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Folks-

It's Fall. (Or Autumn. You do you.) That means it's apple season, which means it's time for our annual trek to Gizdich Ranch to pick too many apples, enjoy apple cider slushies, have a slice of Gizdich pie (they come in so many flavors!) bring home some unfiltered apple cider, then stop at the Freedom Meat Locker for lunch and some delicious meat for the barbecue. (It's located in Freedom, CA. It's name is not a political statement.)

We make this trek maybe a couple of times a year, once for berries, once for apples. But every time we do, we come home with way too much fresh fruit. I have to do something with it, so I usually end up making jams and desserts. So far this week I've made apple dumplings, cranberry apple sauce, apple butter, dried apples, and apple fritters.

For the fritters I made for breakfast I needed a simple recipe. I found one at Preppy Kitchen and then modified it (surprise!) using the experience I got from making the Apple Butter and Apple Dumplings. I'll try to post those recipes later today, if I have the time.

In the meantime, here's my version of Apple Fritters!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice (can add nutmeg and/or cardamom here as well)

3/4 cup milk

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or 3 tablespoons sugar added to dry ingredients)

2 large apples, finely diced or shredded

Fresh lemon juice (to keep diced apples from browning).

Vegetable oil for frying

Bring about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a frying pan to 350 degrees F. Whisk together dry ingredients. Fold in wet ingredients, and then fold in diced apples. Use a large spoon or scoop to portion the batter out (about 1/4 cup) into the hot oil, and deep fry about 2 minutes on the first side, flip, then fry another minute on the back. Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove hot fritters from the oil, and let them cool on a wire rack over parchment paper or paper towels for a few minutes. Glaze or coat in cinnamon sugar.

Note: So...uh...Zhenie ate most of them. Yeah. Turns out these are her favorite donuts now. I'm quite surprised. She doesn't usually go for sweets. Like, ever. By her instructions I'm to try this with bananas next time. I will probably also make them with peaches.

Baked Oatmeal

2025-08-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I first made baked oatmeal over ten years ago, using a standard recipe from Allrecipes. It's a great morning breakfast cake or cereal if you're gluten free. I have found the recipe adapts very well to being lactose free as well. Both came in handy when I brought it to work for everyone to enjoy, as I have coworkers who are allergic to both lactose and gluten (no, really allergic, as in tested and everything, not "gluten adverse".)

Some people take a hunk of this, crumble it in a bowl, add milk and eat it like a cereal. I don't. I eat it like a crumbly cake because if I want a cereal made of oats I just skip a few steps and make oatmeal.

But you still have the option there if you want it.

The Allrecipes version of the recipe calls for dried cranberries, but I usually make it with blueberries, and peaches and strawberries have also come out quite good. I suspect I may make it with strawberries and banana chunks eventually just to try it.

Here's the Allrecipes Baked Oatmeal recipe with my notes.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats (or old fashion oatmeal, or quick oats)

1 cup brown sugar or to taste

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (can add 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, cardamom, and/or allspice)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 large eggs (I have not tested a vegan substitute at this time)

1 cup milk (oat, almond, or soy milk also work, but I prefer oat milk for this)

1/2 cup melted butter (vegan butter or margarine both work)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

3/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins, or currants, or 1 cup whole fresh or frozen blueberries, or raspberries, or sliced strawberries, or diced peaches, or diced mango, just try something. But if using fresh fruit, reduce milk to 3/4 cup.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Gather all ingredients. Mix together dry ingredients (except fruit). Beat in eggs and stir in wet ingredients and fruit. Spread evenly in a 9x13" baking pan and bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls

2025-07-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I was just going through my old recipes, and noticed in my recipe for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls, I mentioned that I also make Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls, and that I would post the recipe later.

Well, more than 10 years later, here it is.

A pie crust cinnamon roll is more like a coffee cake. I often make one along with a fruit pie out of the leftover pie crust dough for breakfast the next day. Unlike bread-dough cinnamon rolls, you don't slice this until after you've baked it. You also don't frost these. That would be gilding a lilly. They're pretty rich and filling on their own, so you don't want to add anything on them. Just slice the finished cinnamon roll into little cookies and serve with coffee!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 Tbsp ground Cinnamon

1/4 to 1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 of a pie crust recipe like my mom's Foolproof Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Wisk together the sugar and cinnamon. Roll out the pie crust to about 4-6mm thickness (a bit less than 1/4"). Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the pie crust all the way to the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter, trying to get it no more than 1mm thick. You don't want dry piles of cinnamon sugar. It should all be in contact with the butter all the way to the edge. Roll the pie crust up into a roll and lightly pinch the ends closed. Place in a baking dish/pie tin/casserole dish/jellyroll pan (something with sides) and bake at 350 F for about 20-40 minutes just until it's starting to turn a bit golden, or until the pie you're baking it with is done. This should be finished roughly at the same time as any pie you're making it with, and they make great "oven buddies."

Allow to cool until it's just warm to the touch or even room temperature before slicing. Slice into 1-2 cm disks, like cookies, and serve with coffee or tea.

Note: Do not slice before baking. The cinnamon sugar and butter will run out while it's baking and burn on the pan.

Honey Hibiscus Gelatin

2025-05-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Folks-

This is something I cobbled together on a lark a couple of nights ago that turned out pretty good. Think of it as that Jello flavor you never had in your youth. It's super simple, but I was afraid I might forget it if I didn't write it down.

I may try to make hibiscus Knox Blocks or gumdrops next.

Here it is!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp unflavored gelatin powder or 2 packets Knox unflavored gelatin

4 cups Hibiscus (sometimes called Jamaica) tea, divided

1/2 cup honey, or 1/3 cup white granulated sugar

1/8 Tsp or less "lite" salt, optional (see notes)

In a small bowl, pour 1/2 cup cool hibiscus tea, and sprinkle the gelatin powder over it to bloom. While the gelatin sits, in a large bowl, add the honey and "lite" salt. Heat up or make the rest of the tea to just below boiling. Pour the hot tea into the large bowl and stir together. Add the gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Pour into dessert cups and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or until set.

Notes: I make hibiscus tea (hot and iced) from bulk hibiscus flowers I buy at Smart and Final. You can often find them with other Mexican goods (cinnamon sticks, brown sugar cones, dry corn husks and dry peppers) in the produce section of the store. Just rinse the amount of flowers you want to use under cold water, place it in some kind of tea infuser, and experiment with it. I never use the last centimeter in the bottom of the teapot because of the sediment it holds.

Morton's "Lite" Salt is a 50/50 blend of potassium chloride and sodium chloride (regular table salt) meant for people trying to keep their sodium levels in check. I find a little bit added to cold drinks like iced tea or Kool Aid type drinks reduces the amount of sugar I want to add while improving the flavor profile. I don't like it much for anything else, but I find it indispensable for cold drinks. One container has lasted me 15 years of this use case, and I still have a lot left. Just get a small container and try it.

Ed's Baked Chili (Work in Progress)

2025-04-12T14:41:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I was struck with the idea of making a fairly different chili at work a few days ago, so I started with my dad's chili recipe, and just went to town with it. I know my dad will look at this and say "It's too complicated," and I don't care.

What makes it especially different is instead of simmering on the stovetop for hours, I decided to bake it in a Dutch Oven for even longer than his recipe. In addition, this one is more of a stew, with beef chunks and stewed vegetables.

This is very much a work in progress, but I didn't want to lose my place, so here's the current status.

Ingredients:

1 lb dry pinto or black beans

1 bay leaf

1 lb stew meat, or chopped up chuck roast or similar, fat left on

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 fresh Jalapeno pepper

2 fresh chili peppers

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

3 cloves garlic, crushed, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 strips bacon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons Chili powder

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 15 oz cans tomato sauce

Up to 8 cups water

1 cup diced yellow squash

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup frozen corn

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

The night before: rinse and clean the beans, picking out any pebbles, then soak them for an hour with at least 2 inches of water covering them. Drain the beans, rinse them, then soak them overnight with at least an inch of water covered them.

The next day: drain and rinse the beans again, and soak them again for at least an hour. After the final soaking, drain and rinse the beans, then put them in a big pot covered with at least an inch of water, throw in the bay leaf, and bring them to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and stir them every 15 minutes while doing all of the prep work for the rest of the recipe.

Set the broiler to 450-500 degrees and set the rack to the top position. Place the Chili peppers and jalapeno on a baking sheet and roast them just until black blisters from, about 5 minutes. Move the rack down low in the oven and reduce the temperature to 350 degrees in a baking mode to preheat the oven.

While the peppers are cooling, pat the stew meat dry and season it with the salt and pepper, then set aside. Chop the onion and crush the garlic and set aside. Measure out the seasonings and set aside. Chop the carrots and set aside. Chop the other vegetables and set aside. Chop the parsley and cilantro and set aside. Chop the peppers and set aside (remove seeds for a milder chili.)

Bring out the Dutch Oven, set it over a medium heat, and heat the vegetable oil. Just before it smokes, stir-fry the carrots until they just start to get a bit tender, then add the onion and stir-fry until it starts to turn glassy, and add the garlic until it becomes fragrant. Remove the stur-fried vegetables and set aside. Bring the heat under the Dutch oven to high, then when it just hits the smoke point, fry the bacon until crispy and the fat renders. Remove from the pot and immediately add the stew meat and brown it.

By this time, drain the beans but save about 2 cups of the water.

Stir the seasonings into the stew meat, and add the reserved water from the beans, stirring to form a roux. Add the beans, two cans of tomato sauce, stir-fried vegetables, crumbled bacon, and just enough water to make it a little bit soupy. Cover the pot, and move it to the oven.

Check it at least every hour. At the 2 hour point, add the remaining vegetables and peppers, and return to the oven, baking for another hour before removing the cover of the Dutch Oven, and baking for another hour uncovered. Stir in half the fresh herbs and bake for another 30 minutes before removing from the oven.

Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, and the remaining fresh herbs.

Butter Pound Cake

2025-02-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Folks-

I saw both strawberries and pound cake in Costco today, and thought the combination sounded good, but I wasn't willing to pay $7 for strawberries and $8 for a pound cake when I was pretty sure I had the ingredients at home. I looked up a recipe on Allrecipes, and tried the suggestion in the comments to make it moister. Here's my version.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp milk

4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt until fluffy.

Scrape down and mix in flour and baking powder.

Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down between each, adding the milk with the second egg.

Scrape batter into the loaf pan, roughly level it, and bake for 1 HR to 1 HR 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool in the pan for five minutes, then lift it out using the parchment paper and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Good topped with strawberries.

Notes: I may reduce the sugar and vanilla next time, or replace vanilla with rose water.

Apple Dumplings

2024-12-29T16:24:00.000-08:00

Folks-

This year when we made our annual pilgrimage to Gizdich Ranch for the apple harvest, we discovered they now have apple dumplings in the pie shop. We got one for Aaron, and after trying a bite, we decided to try making them.

I found a recipe over at Allrecipes, and adapted it for our use.

This recipe requires a pie crust, and I recommend my mom's Fool Proof Pie Crust for it.

Here's my version of Apple Dumplings!

Ingredients:

1 14oz pie crust recipe or store bought, rolled out and cut into 6-8 equal squares

3-4 baking apples, Granny Smith or similar, peeled, cored, and cut in half

8 tablespoons (1/2 cup, or 1 stick) softened butter, divided

3/4 cup brown sugar (any darkness, your choice, or mix together 2/3 cup sugar and 1-2 tablespoons honey or maple sugar)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

3 cups water (2 cups unfiltered apple juice and 1 cup water tested well)

2 cups white sugar (reduce to 1 to 1 1/4 cup if using apple juice)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees and butter a large baking pan or casserole dish.

Mix together 6 tbsp of the butter, brown sugar, and spices. Divide the mixture into 6-8 equal amounts and stuff it into the apple halves where the core was. Place a stuffed apple half into a square of pie crust core down, dust the apple with cinnamon, gather the corners of the pie crust and stretch over the apple and pinch them together to seal. Place the encrusted apples into the buttered baking dish.

Combine the water and apple juice (if using), sugar, and last two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and heat while stirring until the mixture begins to boil, then reduce the temperature to low and continue to stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.

Carefully pour the syrup over the dumplings. Place the baking dish into the oven and bake until the dumplings are golden brown on top, about 45-65 minutes.

Watermelon Sorbet

2024-12-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, I lived just a little way down the street from a candy store named Buckheart's Candies. They also had an ice cream counter there, and honestly, I remember that better than the candy.

Specifically, I remember one called Watermelon Ice. It was obviously made from real watermelon, because they left the seeds in it. I've never found it anywhere else, and Buckheart's went out of business decades ago. I miss spitting out those seeds!

Last summer I decided to look for a recipe, and this one is pretty close. You do need some kind of ice cream maker to properly make it, but that's the only extra equipment you'll need.

Here's the recipe!

Recipe source: food.com

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cups diced watermelon, seeds removed

Heat water, sugar, and lemon juice together, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, then chill. Puree the watermelon and stir it into the chilled syrup. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and run it according to the directions for your model. Enjoy it soft-serve directly from the freezer, or pack it into an air-tight container and freeze it until it is scoopable.

Refrigerator pickles

2024-12-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a few months since I've made these, but Thia loves them. These are an easy dill pickle suitable for the modern age. Instead of canning them, you store them in the refrigerator, which means you're not making them in large batches. I have successfully made these with large cucumbers sliced into wedges and with whole cocktail cucumbers, and it works equally well either way.

You can use a pickling spice mix instead of the listed herbs and spices, but you'll end up with something just like what you would buy in the store. I recommend the listed herbs and spices as the best option.

Recipe source: Once Upon a Chef.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar

3 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp white sugar

2 cups cold water

1 3/4 to 2 lbs cucumbers prepped (stems cut off, cut into wedges if wanted)

2 tbsp coriander seeds

6 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

16 sprigs fresh dill weed

Combine the vinegar, salt, and sugar in a small, nonreactive saucepan, and heat while whisking until salt and sugar are both dissolved. Take off heat and add cold water, then refrigerate until needed. Divide the remaining ingredients between two clean quart jars (or one two quart jar) and cover with the brine. Fill to the top with cold water if needed, then close the jars and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours to one month.

Easy Peach and Mango Cobbler

2024-12-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

Folks-

I wanted to try to sneak in at least one more recipe before the end of the year, and after my Peach and Mango Cobbler got the most comments at our Christmas dinner (how do you top grilled Emu steaks and grilled whole Lobster? Cobbler, I guess) the recipe to post was obvious.

Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 15 oz can sliced or diced peaches in syrup

1 15 oz can diced mangoes in syrup

1/3 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and place the butter in a deep 2 quart baking dish in the oven to melt. Mix together the dry ingredients. Add the milk to the dry ingredients and mix until a batter forms. Once the butter is melted, remove the baking dish from the oven and pour the batter evenly over the butter. Spoon the mangoes, peaches, and most of the syrup evenly over the batter, then bake for 35-45 minutes.

SMBC Comic outta nowhere

2024-09-10T08:30:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I've never once posted a picture of anything here, but I have ranted about other recipe sites and their tendencies of posting pages of unnecessary information before the recipe to...I dunno...make room for more ads, or maybe increase their search engine ranking, so this comic panel from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal just spoke to me.

Here it is:

Beginner's Sourdough Bread

2024-09-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I've been using this recipe for a standard sourdough boule since I started experimenting with sourdough starter. It is really easy, even if it takes roughly 20 hours from start to finish.

Since I'm not modifying this recipe, just including some notes in it, I normally would stick to the original recipe on Farmhouse on Boone, but, darn it!, that website has so many ads and active videos and other doodads that it becomes non-responsive on my tablet and forces a reload when I'm working on the recipe, which is not at all convenient. So I'm parking it here with my notes.

Please notice that I'm only using metric measurements for this recipe. Sourdough anything really benefits from using metric. If you want the volume imperial measurements, go to the original recipe.

Here it is!

Ingredients:

475 grams all purpose flour

100 grams active and bubbly sourdough starter

325 grams water

10 grams salt

Process:

Night day 1: Feed a sourdough starter right before bed and leave it in a warm place overnight. I often take 100 g of discard and feed it 50 g each of flour and water before placing it in a warm cabinet, and feeding the mother starter the same amount before returning it to the refrigerator. That gives me some extra to make Foccacia the next day for dinner.

Morning day 2: By about 9:00 am, using a wooden spoon or your hands mix together all ingredients just until moistened, and allow to sit covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate.

Stretch and fold: Wet your fingers and grab the dough by the back, stretch it up as much as you can without breaking it, and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat 3 more times to complete one round. Recover it with the plastic wrap, let it sit in a warm space for 30 minutes, then repeat the stretch/fold/rest sequence two more times.

Bulk ferment/rise: Cover with a damp tea towel, a lid (loosely!), or plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size. This may take 4-12 hours depending on temperatures and overall activity of your sourdough starter.

Shape: Lightly flour a surface (I like to cover a counter with parchment paper first) then fold the dough over itself and roll it like a cinnamon roll. If you're making sourdough bowls, this is the time to divide the dough into thirds. Form into a boule ball by rotating the dough on the surface between your hands, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes uncovered. This prevents it from sticking to the tea towel later. Turn it over and shape by grabbing two opposite sides and pinching them together, then turn it 90 degrees and repeat once. This gives it a better spring. Place in a bowl or benneton lined with a lightly floured tea towel, seam side up, cover with plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag, and put in the refrigerator overnight.

Bake day 3: When you're ready to bake the bread, preheat the oven and Dutch oven at 500 degrees for one hour. Remove the dough from the fridge just before you want to put it in the oven. Place on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, and using a sharp knife or lame, cut the expansion score(s). Place the hot Dutch oven on a heat resistant surface (I use a burner top) take the top off, and holding the corners of the parchment, lower the dough into the oven. Cover it and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the lid of the Dutch oven, reduce the temperature to 475, and bake another 20 minutes until golden.

Notes: 1. To make sourdough bread bowls for chowders, chili, or stews, this recipe makes about 3 smaller boules of about 290 grams each before baking. I recommend using a cookie sheet and aluminum chafing dish to cover the loaves. Make sure to drizzle a fair amount of water on the parchment paper using this method, and you'll have to reduce the baking time to about 15/20 minutes, possibly less.

2. Do not grease the bowl to skip using a tea towel when you put the dough in the refrigerator. You can just flour the bowl instead, but if you grease, butter, or spray the bowl the crust will be softer and you won't get the clear expansion score.

Super Quick and Easy Tomato Based Pasta Sauce

2024-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Folks-

This is a very versatile base recipe. I've been using it for maybe 18 months now, and I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice. I don't remember exactly where I learned it, but I think it was a YouTube video. I'll include things I've tried that worked well in notes at the end, but believe me, it's super easy and versatile, and it's quick enough that you can start it when you set the water for the pasta on the stovetop to boil!

Here it is!

Base ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

About 1/3 of a medium onion, diced finely

2-5 cloves of garlic, minced

A dash of a good salt

10-18 oz small fresh tomatoes, like grape, cherry, or constellation

A ladle or two of your pasta water

Heat the olive oil in the bottom of a pan and sautee the diced onion with the salt just until it starts to turn glassy, then stir in the minced garlic and tomatoes. Cover and allow the tomatoes to steam until the skins just start to wrinkle a bit in spots, then mash them thoroughly with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Allow to simmer uncovered and stirring frequently until a rubber spatula pushed through it leaves a trail to the bottom of the pan, then add pasta water and continue to simmer until you again get a trail from your spatula. Turn off the heat and serve!

Additions that have worked: Tonight it was 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 cup chopped Italian Parsley. I added everything except the Parsley right after mashing the tomatoes, and I added half of the parsley right about the same time I added the pasta water, then the rest I put on top of the sauce in the serving bowl. In the past I've used zucchini slices, best added after the tomatoes have been mashed, carrot slivers added with the onions, diced celery, diced yellow squash, and other fresh veggies. I've also successfully used Creole Seasoning, crushed red peppers, Herbs de Province, garden fresh Thyme, Basil, Sage, and Lavender, and other seasonings. I suspect a good barbecue seasoning might work in certain cases.

8-2-2026: Garden fresh tomatoes are best in this recipe, but if you don't have those, you can throw in a tablespoon of brown sugar to offset the acid from the tomatoes. Don't limit yourself to one kind of basalmic vinegar. Any kind will do. White, red, pink, raspberry pineapple, have all tested well.

6-14-2025: Tonight I added fresh diced asparagus after mashing the tomatoes, and only added french herbs de province and balsamic vinegar, covered the sauce and used it to steam the asparagus. After the asparagus was al-dente, I uncovered it and allowed to thicken as usual. This worked better than the zucchini or yellow squash.

Things that didn't: I don't recommend adding meat directly to this recipe. It just doesn't work for some reason. Meats tend to soak up the liquid and dominate the flavor in a negative way. I've tried crumbled hamburger, crumbled sausage, shredded chicken, and meatballs. If you want meat on your pasta, keep it separate until serving, then place it on top of the pasta and sauce on the plate. Same for cheeses.

Note: (8-2-26) If you want a sauce that is more like what you're used to from a jar or American restaurant, start with a bigger tomato like a Roma or San Marzano, or large salad tomatoes. Before everything else,cut a little cross just barely into the skin at the point opposite the stem, blanch in boiling water for about 15-20 seconds and plunge them into an ice bath. Peel them, cut them into cherry-tomato sized chunks, and continue with the recipe. Instead of hitting them with a potato masher, use an immersion blender to puree them, and continue with the recipe.

Same-day Sourdough Foccacia

2024-08-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I've been planning to make an overnight sourdough Foccacia recently, but haven't had the time to spare. Today I adapted a regular Foccacia recipe from Allrecipes to include sourdough starter discard to add flavor, and the family loved it!

I decorated the top using fresh Italian Parsley, Kalamata Olive slices, sliced grape tomatoes, and sliced garlic cloves to make flowers and a sprig of garlic wheat in the middle, which got a lot of attention from the family. I used the Parsley stems as the stems of the flowers, and chopped the unused leaves to make grass for them to root in.

The original recipe called for Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese to cover it. I chose Parmesan and Romano for the lower half, and sprinkled Nutritional Yeast on the upper half so my lactose intolerant middle child could enjoy it, and she really did (especially the garlic wheat sprig)!

Here's my variation of the Allrecipes Foccacia recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour (304g)

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dry oregano leaves

1 tsp dry thyme

1/2 tsp dry basil

A pinch black pepper

3/4 cup water

3 tbsp olive oil

100 grams sourdough starter discard

Cheeses to cover if wanted, or nutritional yeast

Tomatoes/sliced garlic/Kalamata Olive slices/fresh parsley for decorating

Combine dry ingredients. Add water, olive oil, and sourdough starter discard, then mix until dough comes together. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Turn into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel to rise in a warm room until doubled, 20 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit. Turn the dough onto a greased cooking sheet and press the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Brush top with olive oil, then cover with cheese or nutritional yeast, then decorate. Bake for 12-20 minutes until the edges are just showing color.

Note: You can make this without the sourdough starter discard by using 2 3/4 cup flour and 1 cup water instead. No other changes are necessary to the recipe.

Ed's Overnight Sourdough Waffles or Pancakes

2024-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

Folks-

Waffle is kind of a fun word, isn't it? Waffle.

In any case, I've been looking for a good, crisp, tasty waffle recipe for years without success. They always come out limp from my highly-rated Belgian waffle iron. So I finally started to look up what made a waffle crisp, which appears to be vegetable oil in the batter, eggs, and baking soda. Then, after working with the Sourdough Crumpet recipe, I decided it was time to make my own waffle recipe from the beginning. Waffle,

This is not a waffle recipe I waffled together from someone else's waffle recipe; I waffled this one together on my own. Waffle!

The cool thing is this recipe was rather easily adapted to pancakes. I'll include the modifications in the notes.

Waffle.

Ingredients:

100g Sourdough Starter Discard

310g All-purpose flour

250g water

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

The night before mix together sourdough starter discard, flour, and water and set on the counter loosely covered to ferment 8-12 hours until active and bubbly. Do not over mix. Batter should be lumpy. The next morning start heating the waffle iron, then mix together the remaining dry ingredients, and beat the eggs. Add the oil to the eggs and give a quick whisk. Fold the egg mixture and dry ingredients into the sourdough leavening and allow to sit for a couple of minutes for the baking powder and baking soda to activate. Bake in your waffle iron per manufacturer directions.

Notes: You can serve these immediately from the waffle iron, or if you want to have a sit-down breakfast with everyone at once, heat the oven to about 200-300 degrees, turn it off, and then place the finished waffles directly on the oven rack or a cooling rack placed in the oven. Do not stack them on top of each other or they become soggy.

To convert this to a pancake recipe, use 2 eggs instead of 3, 2 tbsp of sugar instead of 3, and 3 tbsp of melted butter (cooled to just liquid) instead of 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Everything else is the same.

Waffle.

Sourdough Crumpets

2024-06-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Folks-

I got on the sourdough train later than a lot of other people, but I'm starting to catch up!

Today I decided to make sourdough crumpets because the recipes I found online were ridiculously easy compared to, say, a sourdough boule or something similar.

Personally, I decided to split my starter this morning to make sure I had enough to make crumpets for everyone, since the original recipe made something like 4. This recipe makes about 12 of you're using 3 inch rings, 10 if you're using 4 inch rings.

It goes without saying that you need a sourdough starter to make this. If you don't already have one, and don't have access to someone else's, it takes about 2-3 weeks to get one going.

Here's my variation on the King Arthur Flour Sourdough Crumpets!

Ingredients:

100g sourdough starter discard

175g all purpose flour

165g water

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

A scant teaspoon baking soda (between 3/4 and 1 teaspoon)

Melted butter (2-4 tablespoon)

The night before mix the sourdough starter with the flour and water and leave in a warm place to ferment loosely covered for 8-12 hours. The next day heat a griddle to about 300 degrees F. Mix all ingredients to a smooth dough. It should start to bubble and become billowy. Lightly oil the surface of the griddle, lightly butter the inside of the crumpet rings, and arrange them on the griddle. Divide the batter evenly among the crumpet rings (a scant 1/4 cup or a scant ice cream scoop for 3" rings, a heaping 1/4 cup or heaping ice cream scoop for 4" rings.) Allow crumpets to bake on the top of the griddle until the bubbles are set and the tops are no longer glossy (about 5 minutes), then carefully flip them and remove the crumpet rings and continue to cook for another 3 minutes until golden. Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for about a week, toasting as wanted. Makes 12-15 3" crumpets.

Note: [7/4/26] If you want extra sour crumpets, I recommend starting two days before using this method: On the first day (about 30-40 hrs before cooking), add 125g of the flour and 125g of the water to the discard. On the night before (8-12 hours before cooking) add the last 50g of flour and 40g of water to the starter. This makes for a much stronger flavored ferment. Also, I bolded the temperature above because I tend to forget to adjust the temperature down after cooking other foods on my griddle.

Updated 7/4/26 (coincidentally. I just happened to make them today with a longer ferment and adjusted amounts.)

Dad's Garlic Bread Seasoning

2024-05-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

Folks-

This is an easy one, but I don't want to lose it, and I especially want to save it for the kids. Just mix these together and sprinkle on buttered French or sourdough bread and heat it up to make a good garlic bread. You can also make top notch croutons by cutting slightly stale bread into chunks, brushing them with olive oil or melted butter and then toasting them.

Just go to town with it!

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper.