This is how the Polish do it...

We made Easter kielbasa following the traditional recipe from last Christmas. Here is my pictorial documentation of the event:

Day 1

Go to the West Side Market and pick up 25lbs pork butt and 5lbs veal.



















Grind meat.




























all done!
















Add garlic, pepper and water. Knead for 25 minutes.














Refrigerate meat over night.

Day 2

Stuff meat into casings.



























Package, label & freeze.

Most Bookish

After making 2 cakes, 7 cups of red buttercream icing, 3 batches of royal icing, 3 hand-cut stencils & a lot of adrenaline....this was my entry for the Edible Book Festival. It was held on April 1st at Loganberry Books.

I won "Most Bookish"!

SP7 revealed!

Diane from Knitting Zeal was my Secret Pal! She sent really great packages and such sweet notes! Below is my final package with fuzzy pink mohair and The Little Box of Scarves - it's a box full of scarf patterns, each on its own card. Thank you Diane!!!

If you're interested...sign-ups have begun for SP8.

















*my SP7 finally received the last package I sent her. Her name is Adrienne and lives in Wolverhampton, England. Over the past 3 months I enjoyed reading her blogs and learning more about her - I found her to be very sweet and funny and thoughtful. I think that we have a lot of the same interestes and could be good friends - if we ever met!

Lots of cooking!

Last night I started working on my Edible Book entry - made 7 cups of red buttercream frosting. This weekend we're going to make some kielbasa for Easter dinner and don't forget that next Wednesday is the Chili Cook-Off Benefit!

I'm also starting to think about growing things .

Southern Sweets

Last week I got a recipe swap package from Jen in North Carolina - she sent a really great book of recipes (that I can't wait to try) and some cranberry and chocolate chip biscotti...Delicious!













Then yesterday I received my first Candy Swappers package in the mail from Lisa in Atlanta. She sent a overflowing box full of hot chocolate, Dolce Bits, Sweet Georgia Brownies, chocolate, Cadbury eggs, praline pecans and Peach Buds.

Gingerbread People

I was doing some Edible Book research and came across The Cookie Sutra : An Ancient Treatise: that Love Shall Never Grow Stale. Nor Crumble. Good thing this is a family affair!

Exhausted

It's been a long day. After work I am heading directly over to the Film Fest to volunteer from 6-10pm (dinner break) then seeing the midnight showing of F*CK with husband and friends.

Is it bad that I already feel like I need nap?

Buds

Jeanne has been posting about her signs of spring.
I can't resist to show what's in my front yard.



























On a much sadder note, I don't think that my orchid is going to bloom. See how the one bud has turned a funny pink color and looks like it is dying???

What's going on?

I have been very busy this past weekend volunteering and watching movies at the Film Fest. I think I've seen 6 movies so far...only 5 more days to go.

I've started trying to perfect my vegetarian chili recipe for the Cleveland.com Food Forum's Chili Cook-Off Benefit for the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland. I am very nervous about the event! I have never entered a food contest before...well, one time I entered a pie contest and it didn't go so good. Please come down, support a good cause and have some chili at the Great Lakes Brewery on April 5th!

Oh, my Secret Pal sent me a great St. Patrick's Day package!!! Thanks SP7, I can't wait to find out who you are!!!

looking forward to Friday

What is going to make my Friday grrreat:

• Cleveland International Film Fest is starting
• St. Patrick's Day - don't forget that the parade route is different this year
• The Bishop giving dispensation so I can eat corned beef & cabbage without feeling guilty
• Honey Hut opens for the season - have a scoop of Pistachio!

Linguine & Red Clam Sauce

I saw Martha Stewart making this recipe on t.v. a few years ago. Since then I've made it a numerous times - it's one of those dishes that's pretty easy and at the same time impresses guests. This is how I do it:

Linguine & Red Clam Sauce

1 lb dried linguine
2 Tbs olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 (6 oz) cans chopped or minced clams, 2 with their juice
1/4 c. white or red wine
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
3/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes (or more, to your taste)
salt & pepper
1 Tbs butter

Directions:
In a skillet (with a lid) large enough to hold the pasta later on, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and slowly cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add everything else - clams, wine, tomatoes, red pepper flakes and S&P, to taste, keeping in mind that the clams and their juice are salty. Stir, reduce the heat to a simmer, and simmer till thickened, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Cook pasta & drain while sauce is simmering. Add drained pasta & butter to the sauce and mix well in skillet. Cover and cook 1 minute.

When I'm out walkin' I strut my stuff

I met my friend at Pickwick & Frolic last night, where we had the worst waiter ever, only 2 drinks (we were thirsty - one reason why he was deemed a "worst"), crispy hand cut fries and medium done burgers. We didn't feel like ordering very much food before going to a concert and had planned on going to the martini bar for some appetizers but they were closed. Why?

The third girl in our group showed up and we walked over to the House of Blues to see the Violent Femmes 25th Anniversary show. When I bought our tickets the only ones available were in the upstairs - and they were not all together. So like everyone else, we sat in seats that technically were not all ours. The 2 seats that were together were all the way on the end of a row - so that you could not see ANYTHING.

Anyways...not quite sure what I was thinking but while I was sitting in someone else's seat I decided to be a rebel and snap a picture. I totally got busted and yelled at like a high schooler. But I wasn't sent back to my seat! Hahaha.















The Violent Femmes are old dudes but are so weird and cool that they completely mesmorized for the entire show. What entertainers! I didn't know anything about them before the show except that I like to dance around to Blister in the Sun at social gatherings - mainly weddings and on New Year's Eve.

Gordon Gano (the lead singer) looked like someone you would not want sitting next to you on an airplane. He wore this big red t-shirt and I think either a pair of sweat or fast pants. Too far away to tell, but gross either way. My friend told me he "used to be the cute one!?!"

Brian Ritchie played all kinds of different instruments including something that looked like a stick, a xylophone, shakuhachi and conch shell!

My personal favorite was the drummer Victor De Lorenzo - he was so cute dancing around, banging on stuff.

twelve22.org

My order from twelve22.org came today. Anna Torborg's site is beautiful and the print is adorable...makes me think of spring!

Pita with Black Bean Salad

My work is participating in Meatless Mondays - "a national health campaign to help Americans prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer - four of the leading causes of death in America." The problem is we're only "offically" doing it for 4 weeks. Personally I think we should do it ALL year.

Week 1 - A very easy and quick recipe to make during the week - don't be shy with the spices.

Pita with Black Bean Salad

1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked black beans (or canned black beans)
1 tomato diced
1 cup romaine lettuce, shredded
½ cup green onion
garlic powder to taste (for more flavor, roast whole garlic gloves and mince)
ground cumin to taste
3 TBSP reduced fat Italian dressing
whole wheat wraps

Mix all ingredients except bread. Marinate
for 1-2 hours. Fill wraps. Serve immediately.

Aphrodite Cakes

I found this recipe on Barbara Fisher's blog Tigers & Strawberries last summer and have kept trying to find an occasion to make them - her writing is very persuasive. Friday they were my contribution at a friend's party.

For some reason her site was down this morning so I am posting the recipe below. I followed the directions exactly and 1 batch of dough made exactly 6 dozen cookies. 1 batch of icing was way too much for me, it probably was enough to ice 2 batches of cookies. It contains a very secret ingredient...sshhh.

Aphrodite Cakes

Cookie Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. flour, sifted
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Icing Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter
4 ounces light cream cheese
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
2 tsp. rosewater (or to taste)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla and beat well.

Sift together flour and remaining ingredients and gradually add sugar to mixture, beating until well combined.

Roll into 1" balls and flatten slightly onto and ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 minutes (I baked 12 minutes): Do not brown.

Allow to cool a minute on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make icing, blend together butter and cream cheese, then blend in the powdered sugar. Add rosewater and enough cream to bring it to a spreadable consistency.

Add food coloring to tint it pale pink (I used 1 drop of red), and pipe rosettes onto the cooled cookies.

What's left out of 6 dozen on Monday morning:

Edible Books...yummy

I went to a really beautiful used bookstore called Loganberry Books (all the way on the East Side) for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The Northern Ohio Bibliophilic Society hosted a great lecture on the history of Pop-Up Books. I sometimes can't believe how many places there are that I've never been to in Cleveland!

Loganberry has a lot of events coming up, including the Edible Books Festival contest on April 1st. If you don't want to enter you can still come---for a $2 donation you can cast a vote and help eat the edible books. Categories are: Most Appetizing, Most Bookish & Most Creative.

Also, here's the link to the International Edible Book Festival.

Orchid

This is an orchid I bought from the Holden Arboretum's 2005 Orchid Show - which is more of a sale than a show but whatever. It had blossoms on it when I bought it and they eventually fell off. It lost a leaf and then grew a brand new one. I've had it over a year now and these are the first buds to appear...the anticipation of them opening is crazy! This is a very slow moving plant. I better not kill it.

past weekend

This past weekend we were pretty busy...

Friday - We went to Dot Schnider's show at 1300 Gallery - there were sooo many people there! Ate dinner at Minh-Anh where the food was very good, but the service was very bad. Our waitress, Ms. Cranky, should have done all of us a favor and took the night off. I had shrimp szechuan with asparagus, red peppers, mushrooms and pineapple - all of my favorite things! Afterwards we stopped for some drinks at Hoopples - if you've never been there, you should try it. The wall behind the bar is a huge window. It's just about the greatest view of Cleveland you can see. Warning - cash only.

Saturday - I worked all day, like every Saturday :( My husband brought me Nate's for lunch :) I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before, but Nate's is our FAVORITE restaurant. Either we go there or get take-out every Saturday. Then we cleaned the house and moved some furniture around. When we got tired and decided to visit our friend who bartends at the Grafton Street Pub in Lakewood. Grafton was a stop on a bar crawl that night. It was like locusts - they came, they drank, they left.

Sunday - We felt like going for a drive. Jumped in the car and headed to IKEA where we bought shoe racks so I don't have to store all my shoes in a big laundry basket anymore. Exciting! We stopped and visited my in-laws on the way home, scored dinner and watched some Ice Dancing.

Since I am obviously giddy with my new camera here's a picture of some Sausage Shoppe hot italian sausage (delicious!) with home made tomato sauce. Enjoy!

My Cheese Sandwich...

with ham.

BBM4 - Singapore Package!

I was very lucky to have the lovely ST, a "born and bred typical Singaporean who loves a spicy chilli crab", to be my BBM4 partner! Thank you so much ST for putting together such a great package. I really enjoyed opening and trying all the goodies! And thanks to the Food Ninja for hosting a really spectacular round of BBM!

I received a Chinese New Year themed package that included a note explaining some New Year celebrations and traditions, a CD of traditional Chinese music with a modern twist, a package of gift envelopes, mango dessert mix (I think it's like pudding), pepper salt prawn spices














pineapple tarts her aunt made














& super cute mandarin orange jelly candies!

truffles

How can something so delicious make your tummy feel so bad?
I've only eaten 2 today...but it's still early.

My SP7 Valentine

My very generous Secret Pal sent me a HUGE Valentine's package that I got yesterday...yippee! She sent a handmade card, candy, candle, stitch markers, soaps, note cards, a pink dishcloth and much more...thank you SP7 so much!















I started working on a pair of Voodoo wrist warmers from Knitty. This is the first time I've used double pointed needles - a little confusing but fun.

Lamb Stew

We stayed in on Friday - very odd, but very nice. I finally was able to make Tina's West Side Market Stew. It took about 3 hours and was worth every minute. I pretty much followed Tina's recipe exactly, even including some optional rutabaga & parsnip (1 of each). How rooty! But couldn't restrain myself from adding an extra pint of Guiness and some fresh rosemary.

Prosperity Social Club

Over the past few months my friends and I have visited Prosperity Social Club numerous times and it has become my new favorite place to go drink. The service is great. On one visit a patron asked if they sold Camel lights. Bonnie the owner said no, but that she had to go get cigarettes for the bar anyways and would pick up a pack for him when she ran across the street. That's how you get return customers. Also, the women's bathroom is always clean - even after midnight on the weekends. This is very important to me. It makes me very happy!

They have a small menu and I have been pleased with everything ordered. The cheesy artichoke dip is served with pitas - one visit white pita and on another wheat. Last night we had mussels and fried oysters off the special $5 menu. I was weary of fried oysters (I like them on the half shell) but the bartender assured me that they're good. We took his advice and ordered them - you can also get them in a po'boy sandwich. They were pretty good - the oysters were not chewy or tough. The sauce that they served on the side was spicy and sweet and the breading wasn't greasy at all. Unfortunately, the first oyster I popped in my mouth had a bit of shell still stuck to it. I chewed very carefully from then on. The 1 pound of muscles came out hot and were decent sized - served with with nice soft rolls to soak up the wine broth.

They also have entertainment---stocked jukebox and bowling machine!

Pierogi Partner

Last night, after the Flying Chicken show, we headed over the the Beachland Ballroom for some music and drinks (and very tasty old bay fries). I was enthusiastically telling my friend Hillary about my future pierogi taste testing adventures and she informs me that she's never had a pierogi! Now, she isn't originally from Cleveland but she did go to grad school in....Pittsburgh! I didn't think such a thing was possible. She didn't even know what kind of fillings there are. She offered to accompany on some tasting nights - I wonder if I can drag her to all ten places and do a "side-by-side" review. I just hope she likes them or that wouldn't really work for the other 9 places. hmph.

Best pierogi?

Due to the Superbowl, there are many bloggers writing about the Steelers & tailgate food. I am not really into football but have enjoyed reading about Pittsburgh eating pierogis (entries #1 & #2) on Slashfood! Although, I am convinced that pierogi are more popular in Cleveland than Pittsburgh---the AOL City Guide : Cleveland has a Best Pierogi category, Pittsburg's does not. Last year the city's best pierogi award went to the Pierogi Palace.

I'm not sure when the competors of this highly prized award were officially announced but...(drum roll) The 2006 nominees are:

Babushka's Kitchen
John Christie's Tavern
Linden Tavern
Moosehead Saloon
Pierogi Palace
Sokolowski's University Inn
Stan's Northfield Bakery
Tick Tock Tavern

This year I have decided to try all nominees, so that I can cast an honest vote for where I believe you can get the Best Pierogi in Cleveland. Anyone craving carbs?

When Chickens Fly

My friend is having an opening tonight...

When Chickens Fly Becky Bristol's one-woman show features exploding fantasy-laced panoramas populated with animals and people surrounded by twisted roads, architecture and fauna. Bristol creates a storyboard painted in bright colors and exaggerated forms that force the viewer to question the subject matter, oneself, and what one sees. The show kicks off with a wine and cheese reception on Fri 2/3 from 6-9PM and runs through 2/25. Arts Collinwood Gallery, 15605 Waterloo Road. - from coolcleveland.com

Michael Ruhlman Article

"Michael Ruhlman leans back in a chair in his Cleveland Heights kitchen, a Marlboro Light in one hand and a glass of Laphroaig in the other. For once, the lanky 43-year-old author and chef seems at ease. He's just wooed a first-time visitor with an indulgent homemade meal, and he is obviously relishing the break from his omnipresent deadlines to talk about food and drink for a while." --- Article about Michael Ruhlman in the Cleveland Scene.

smell the coffee?

I never seem to have the time to make coffee in the morning. If I do, I either can't find my travel mug or end up leaving it filled sitting on the kitchen table. I've decided to give up brewing at home and stop most every day for coffee even though it makes me late to work at...

Civilization in Tremont- Love the ladies (and cute guy) that work there. Love the raspberry cheese croissant. Do not love that their large isn't the gigantic American "LARGE" coffee that I think I need to get through the first 4 hours of a work day. Love that if I can find my travel mug, they'll fill it for only a buck.

or

Cafe Ah-Roma, across from CSU on Euclid - Everyone there is soooo happy - to the point where it is borderline annoying. "Good Morning! How are you today? Can I get you some coffee? How about some breakfast?". Wow dudes, it's a bit early for me but I love the cute CSU guys that kinda look like Jack White and are super cheery. I wonder if they go through a lot of employee training--- Smile. Make eye contact. Smile some more! Love the BIG coffees and the Ah-Roma bagel sandwich with swiss cheese and ham. They also have really great sandwiches and salads for lunch - try the chicken salad.



If I'm really late I go to the "coffee cart" at work (after I make an appearance at my desk). Barista Bernard infuriates me with his constant banter plus his lack of consistency and speediness. After each visit I swear I will NEVER go back!

I went this morning. And waited 10 minutes for a cup of coffee out of a thermos.

Double-Zero

I happened to stuble upon Banana Republic this morning and noticed that their dresses are "Now Available in Size Double-Zero." What? Is that a real size? I was hoping that was a typo or something and what they really meant was "Now Available in Size Double-D".

Birthday Booty!

My birthday was last Sunday (1/22) and my dear family and friends graciously gave me some pretty cool stuff:

An Amazon gift certificate (already spent on The Art of Eating, Superfoods HealthStyle, David Lebovitz's Room for Dessert & The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups) - I should have lots of new recipes to try out!

Some very relaxing Lush and Aveda products.

A gift certificate to get my hair done at Salon Sedona.

One pair of pretty blue glass earrings from Prosperity Studio, located on E. 40th St. in exotic Cleveland, OH.

From my Secret Pal a skein of white wool yarn with kool aid so that I can dye it and a new scarf pattern! Plus truffles! Yum :)

And from my dear husband (insert drum roll here)...
A DIGITAL CAMERA!!!

Why am I not posting millions of digital photographs right now? Well, he didn't know which camera I wanted so he just picked one off the shelf, so I had something to open. His intention being that I can return it and get the one I want. Isn't that sweet? He's a smart guy.

Thanks to everyone for the lovely gifts!

Chicken Tostadas

I made a version of this Martha Stewart recipe for Tostadas Salsa Verde last night. More like I followed the concept of the recipe and used what I had in the cupboard. No cilantro, substituted cheddar cheese for pepper jack and I added some avacado on top. I really missed the salsa verde - that's what peaked my tastebuds in the first place!



Hi Secret Pal 7!!! She sent me a picture postcard from Philadelphia - she took the picture from her friend's rooftop deck. I think it looks quite serene.

Meet the Bloggers Fundraiser

from Brewed Fresh Daily:

"In an effort to raise money to pay for interview transcripts, Northeast Ohio bloggers have organized a fundraiser for Meet The Bloggers, to take place Thursday night, January 26, 2006, from 5.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. at the Pearl of the Orient restaurant, located in Beachcliff Market Square, 19300 Detroit Road, Rocky River, OH.

Please distribute this information widely. We’ve got 4 or 5 outstanding transcripts and at least that many interviews scheduled already.

A tremendous thanks to Scott Bakalar for donating his time and arranging this opportunity for us. "

More sausage

Gloria Ferris posts about The Sausage Shoppe where you can get nitrate, msg, and preservative free, you guessed it, sausage!

I finally went shopping

Yesterday I went shopping and bought tons of groceries, toiletries and household supplies. I feel like a real person again - minus a substantial amount of money. I've also started going to Jazzercize classes. It's not very cool, but at least I am doing something physical.

Last night I cooked! Nothing too extravagant - Tuna Noodle Casserole. I used:

1 bag No Yolk noodles
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 8oz package of fresh mushrooms - sliced and sauted
1 can of peas
2 cans of tuna
sprinkling of cheddar cheese and bread crumbs on the top

What kind of interesting stuff do you put in your tuna casserole???

News...

Food: Not yet fully unpacked or ready to start cooking again. Tonight we had Barilla, for like the 12th time since we moved. bleh.

Music: The Black Keys are playing at the Agora (presented by the Beachland Ballroom) on Feb. 25th. I bought my tickets yesterday and hope you get yours soon. They are truly awesome.

Movies: Went to see Brokeback Mountain (wow!) and The Family Stone (crap).

Knitting: Currently working on the Windy City Scarf from Stitch 'N Bitch.


Swaps: I've received 2 swap packages recently. A snack swap package filled with popcorn, cookies and candy from the crafty Mary of San Diego and a thrift store package from Abby in Irving, TX. A Conway Twitty record bowl, belt buckle, necklace and cowgirl purse. Thanks for swapping!

The official Secret Pal 7 Questionnaire

I signed up for Secret Pal 7...here are my questionnaire answers for my Secret Pal.
Hi there - whoever you are!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? I would like to be a yarn snob!

2. Do you spin? Crochet? Neither

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Been meaning to make a case but right now they're in a tall glass vase.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? About 1 year - beginner.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Amazon

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Nothing too flowery or sweet.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Verrrry sweet. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, licorice, mint, not into hard candies that much.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Paper crafts, printing, cooking, sewing

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like all kinds of music and LOVE my ipod!

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I am a blue, gray, black (darks) kind of person when it comes to clothing but like to get a little more interesting with my accessories.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married and have 4 shubunkin goldfish

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves but oddly enought don't have any gloves, mittens, hats or ponchos - and I live in OHIO!!!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I really don't have a favorite yet. I have mostly used all natural fibers though.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I don't like those very furry "fun" yarns.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Scarves, scarves and scarves. That's the only thing I've ever made!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Well, scarves I guess!

17. What are you knitting right now? The Stitch 'N Bitch Windy City Scarf

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes!!!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I like both

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? bamboo

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? no

22. How did you learn to knit? Reading Stitch 'N Bitch and other books

23. How old is your oldest UFO? I've pretty much finished every knitting project I've started - so far!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

25. What is your favorite holiday? My birthday, St. Patrick's Day and Halloween. And any holiday that gets me out of work!

26. Is there anything that you collect? cookbooks, earrings

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? none

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? not that i can think of

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'd like to learn how to knit socks

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Not sure but I wear a 9 1/2 size shoe.

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 1/22

Hello 2006!

These past few weeks seem to have flown by and I feel so out of the blog loop. Work is starting back up this week (I'm doing a presentation on Monday about blogs!) and we are getting our cable hooked up on Saturday....I will finally be online again.

We moved December 23rd and we're still unpacking. Over winter break I was able to spend a lot of time with my family - some visiting from Colorado. It's been lots of fun. The apartment and cleaning can wait. Lots of eating and shopping and knitting. Not so much cooking. I really can't make much more than cereal in my kitchen right now.

A recent food highlight was New Year's Eve dinner at Parker's. Unfortunately, my husband had the flu but insisted that we still go. The poor guy wasn't able to finish any course and left with a full beer and glass of wine sitting infront of him. He was REALLY ill :(

Merry Christmas and Happy Moving!

I'm packing right now. The movers are coming on Friday. Saturday is Christmas Eve...Sunday Christmas. I am REALLY busy and overwhelmed. I went to the grocery store last night and bought tater tots, a frozen pizza and sandwich stuff l so I won't have to cook anything or leave the house at all this week. Now, I ran out of packing tape and have to do the exact thing I tried to avoid at all costs---mingle with the Christmas shoppers for something non-Christmas! Tape, not the kind to wrap presents but the kind to close moving boxes. Ugh.

It's quite depressing. No baking cookies or Christmas tree or decorations. Lucky me, I get to look at every single thing we own and put it in a box, again, and have my hands get covered in newspaper ink. But the weekend should be nice spending time with my family and pretending that the move wasn't that big of a deal. No, really we don't need any help. We can take care of it ourselves.

I did make a batch of Swedish toffee in the microwave last night. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a few more batches tonight or tomorrow to give out over the weekend.

Cabbage & Noodles

The Atomic Librarian's recipe for cabbage & noodles.
I love Mueller's Hearty Extra Wide Egg Noodles!

Holiday Eating Tips

from Just My Cup of Tea...

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention.

Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Sushi Rock

Wednesday is 1/2 price sushi at the downtown Sushi Rock on W. 6th St.

My husband, a friend and I went last night. If you're thinking about going on a Wednesday, you MUST make a reservation. We didn't the first time we went, but luckily were able to squeeze ourselves in at the sushi bar. It's very busy, hip, loud and crowded. The ambiance isn't my favorite, but I managed to get through it.

Our waiter explained a few things to us:
1. You have a 2 hour time limit on your table
2. You can only order once
3. You can not order sushi to-go
4. It takes a while for the sushi to come out so be patient

Feel the pressure?

I insisted we order the calamari appetizer because I was starving and knew it would be a while before our sushi came out. It was breaded and fried, then tossed with a sweet & spicy sauce. The sauce was good but made the breading soggy. Next time I would pass on the appetizer and just be more patient. We ordered big bottles of Sapporo and they tasted great while we waited!

Our reservation was at 6pm and the slab-of-sushi came out at about 7pm. I have to say that people were not shy with their ordering. I didn't think the wait was too bad. We ordered a ton and totally stuffed ourselves. It was real good, lets see if I can remember everything we got...

nigiri - salmon, yellow tail, eel, mackerel, tamago & scallop
rolls - spicy tuna, spicy california, alaska, shrimp california

After gorging ourselves (quickly - we only had 1 hour left to eat) the waiter came with our checks. Yes, you actually get 2. My husband asked why and the waiter explained that the 1st check was the regular amount and the 2nd was the real check that included the 1/2 price specials. He said "that's so people from Parma can figure out how much to tip. Ha, ha."

What?

This guy was pretty attentive and mildly funny throughout the night but the more I think about this situation today, the more I am annoyed. My husband said to him: "Really? I'm from Parma." Even though he's not. Waiter: "Oh really? I'm from there too!" and added something about hanging out at Parmatown when he was a kid. Way to cover yourself dude. And are 2 checks the best way to handle the specials? Couldn't you have one check that deducts the discount at the bottom?

Well, the evening was great fun and the sushi was delicious. Does it taste even better because it's 1/2 price? Probably...I'm sure I will be back again.

Kielbasa 2005

Grind pork and veal together. Add spices and knead together for 25 minutes. Gradually add water to mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Stuff sausage in rinsed casings the next day.

Roast sausage, covered with foil, in a 350 degree oven for about 30 - 40 minutes, removing foil during last 10 minutes.

2005 batches:

"Traditional"
20 lbs pork butt
4 lbs cubed veal
5 Tbs. salt
3 Tbs. pepper
6 cloves garlic
2 coffee mugs of water

"Red"
10 lbs pork
1 lb. veal
2 1/5 Tbs salt
3 Tbs pepper
5 cloves garlic
2 Tbs. marjoram
2 Tbs. savory
1 tsp. allspice
4 Tbs. paprika
1 coffee mug of water

"Dill"
10 lbs pork
1 lb. veal
2 1/5 Tbs salt
3 Tbs pepper
5 cloves garlic
1 Tbs marjoram
1 Tbs dill
1 1/2 tsp caraway seed (crushed)
1 coffee mug of water

grinding meat

It's that time of year again...time to make the kielbasa!

Last night my husband and I went to his parents' house where he ground 4o lbs of pork and 6 lbs of veal - with a hand crank meat grinder. Then we kneaded each batch of meat for 25 minutes on the kitchen counter.

The packet of kielbasa recipes has grown a lot. We write down what we use each year, but never seem to be able to repeat a recipe. Always tweaking or changing things. Every year we go through these same questions, like a million times:

How much salt did we use last year?
Did mom's recipe really only call for 3 tsp. of pepper?
Do you think it needs more garlic?
Did you think it was too salty last year?
Do we have any more garlic?
Do you think it needs more salt?
Do you think it needs more pepper?
How much salt did I add?

We're stuffing the sausage tonight. I'll post the 2005 recipes tomorrow.

to be french

I'm embarrassed. Tonight I'm heading over to the Strongsville branch of Cuyahoga Public Library to hear Mireille Guiliano talk about her book "French Women Don't Get Fat". After hearing her a bunch of times on radio and t.v. talk shows, I broke down and bought the book. I was won over by marketing and the thought of being thin and drinking champagne every day. I am a fool! Sales must be dropping for her to be doing a public library tour. Do you think she has some books to unload?

Anyways, here's the thing....the book is a load of fad diet crap (like eating bowls and bowls and cups of leek broth for days!) and I kinda feel like I'm supporting this sort of fad diet crap by going to the author reading. I don't want to fall for fad diet crap, but I obviously did because I paid money for the book. I'm sure it won't be the last time either. My friend, who borrowed my book, actually made the broth and ate it. She is WAY worse than me!

What I am saying is that I enjoy author readings and I really want to have the French Lady sign my book. And I really do love the idea of being thin and drinking champagne every day. Ok? So, I am going to Strongsville with my friend who just might bring thermoses full of leek broth for us to "snack" on! I am so from the Midwest sometimes.

Cleveland rocks

Here's a great letter from a proud Clevelander posted at CoolCleveland.com

La Tortilla Feliz

Saturday night my husband and I went to La Tortilla Feliz in Treamont for the first time. I can't really say why we haven't been there before. In the summer, everyone sitting outside at the little tables look like they're enjoying themselves. It's very inviting. I've heard good reviews from friends, but I've also heard it was really hit or miss.

For a Saturday night, the place was empty. We got there around 8:30pm and there were only 2 other tables of guests in the non-smoking side. When we left at 10pm we were the only ones left! They seated at a nice table against the front window - plants lined the window sill. There were little fake birds nestled between the leaves. A wine bottle with a drip candle was placed on each table. The whole restaurant had a nice, warm ambiance to it.

After ordering the beer special and picking up the menus we quickly realized that we were at one of those places where we have no clue what anything on the menu is. I love it when this happens! They do have nice descriptions of each dish and list all the ingredients, but still it was NEW to us!

On to the food...

We ordered the "you pick 3" appetizer plate. We picked:
1. Arepa de Reina Peplada (Venezuelan tortillas with an avocado & potato filling) I liked this filling a lot, it was really creamy and rich.
2. Chuchito de Pollo (corn flour dumplings, filled with chicken & special spices; steamed in cornhusks) OK
3. Ceviche de Tilapia (fresh tomato, onions, cilantro & tilapia in a lime juice marinade; with chips) *favorite*

My dinner:
Cochinita Costal (chunks of tender pork from the coastal Comals of Central America, bordered by a blue mound of singular cocoa milk rice with black bean accents, accompanied
by slabs of plantain) Pork was very tender and moist. They came in a fresh, chunky fresh tomato sauce. Rice sounded very exotic and was presented in an interesting cone shape on the plate, but was not very blue or cocoa-ish?. Pretty bland. The plantains were good.

His dinner:
Bife Borracho (pan seared beef in a drunken sauce of South American beer, tomatoes and onions. Served with saffron rice and broccoli.) He said that the sauce was really rich and liked it but thought I wouldn't because of all the onions. After eating the beef, my husband mixed the rest of the plate all together, coating the rice with the sauce and devoured every last grain.

Dessert:
A tiny chocolate cake with whipped cream on top. The waitress was a doll (and most likely bored at this point of the evening) and tried to make a smiley face on the little thing. This cake was about the size in circumference of a cupcake, but only a weee inch or so high. It was real dense and dark and moist. Not sweet, here's where my cocoa was hiding! But next time we each need to get our own cake.

Secret Cookbook Santa

Much more fun than my work gift exchange!

Sign up directions can be found at the Amateur Gormet - hosting is the famous Gourmet Survivor winner Jason Sholar. Happy Holidays!

Craft Swap & BBM4 sign-ups

Ok, seems like I haven't written in forever. Let's see...

I received my package from the purplepinkandorange November Craft Swap! My partner Kpoene' has her own clothing shop called Mignonette. She sent me the coolest t-shirt that is a very pretty pink color with flower petals sewn in (I stole the picture from her website). It reminds Kpoene' and me of cotton candy. Yummy :) Her site and clothes are cool - check them out and buy a Christmas gift for someone you love!



The sign-ups for BBM4 have already begun! This time it's hosted by the FoodNinja (that's really a kick ass name!) of our northern neighbor Canada. He's chosen to give it a musical theme. I am excited because really enjoy making people listen to what I want to hear. The jukebox has eaten many of my hard earned dollars, just so I could have a little power trip at the bar. BTW, what's up with the 2 songs for $1? Sometimes ONE depending on how popular/unpopular it is. What happened to 3/$1?

And for dinner tonight....Mashed potatos, brussel sprouts and the kielbasa we made last December. How long can you freeze sausage? Well, it is the last ring from 2004 and it will be history shortly. We make it every December- from SCRATCH! It's gross and smelly but lots of fun and a holiday tradition. I will make sure to post pictures this year.

BBM3 package from Malaysia

My BBM3 package came from the lovely Twink---all the way from Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA!!! How exciting is that? International mail, shipped to me (who barely leaves Ohio)! I love, love, love it! Thanks soooo much Twink for a great package!!!!

So, I am obviously excited to tell you what all was in my box of goodies. Of course I am not including a picture because I am the ONLY person on this earth with a blog and no digital camera...so lets just move on to the treats and borrowed images.

Twink included a really nice note telling me that she was just about to celebrate Hari Raya. She wrote that since she lives in a very mulit-cultural society most people are able to enjoy all different kinds of holidays.

A bunch of newspaper clippings with recipes and tons of cool info and pictures.

Boh Tea - lychee & rose flavored - from a local tea plantation.

A bag of murukku, which she described as a snack in India, kinda like we eat pretzels. It is made out of spicy dough that's deep fried. Maybe more like a cheeto? I'm saving these to share with my friend who visited South India on a college trip.

Kinder Bueno Chocolate
The first thing I ate...


Brahim's Kuah Masak Merah - Spicy Tomato Sauce
Quick curry dinner


Mildura Layer Cake with Cashewnut
I'm taking this to Thanksgiving!

Salmon Patties

I try to have a few cans of salmon and tuna on hand at all times. That way when we have "nothing" to eat, there could be tuna sandwiches or salmon patties in our dining future. I loosely followed a recipe from allrecipes.com This is my interpretation:

Salmon Patties

2 6oz cans of skinless & boneless salmon (I used Trader Joe's)
2 eggs, beaten
12 saltines (give or take a few)
some onion powder
squirt of Gulden's mustard (I didn't have any mustard powder)
some chopped fresh parsely
olive oil

1. Drain salmon and flake the meat into a bowl.
2. Add eggs, saltines, onion powder, mustard and parsely. Mix well to combine. Add additional crackers if too wet.
3. Form salmon mixture into 6 patties.
4. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook patties until brown and then carefully flip over and brown on other side.

Serve hot with tatar sauce for dipping

Johnny & Harry

My husband HATES to go to the movies. He has various issues with it. Over the past 9 years together, I think we've seen a total of about 5 movies in a theater. So when we do go, it's a big deal. For example, he was supposed to take me to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on our 1st wedding anniversary but they were sold out!



This past Saturday we saw Walk the Line. He likes Cash and said he'd be my date. I thought it was a very good movie. Although, I agree with the Free Times review that Ray was better.

I also went with a group of friends on Sunday to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. My friend Jen wore the HP scarf I knitted her. No picture because I had to run it to her house the minute it was finished, but everyone knows what it looks like anyways!

Halite

Friday night we went to Halite for dinner. I had never been there before, but visited the other 2 "cool places to eat" Lava Lounge (frequently) and Fat Cats before. The only thing I really still order from Lava is the calamari. It seems that the food hasn't been that great since they did their last menu change. We were big fans of the old rib-eye sandwich and miss it!

Anyways, Halite was awesome! The decision to go there was made last minute so we didn't have a reservation. The bar was our only seating option, there were lots of lingering diners that were not moving anytime soon. I had a glass of wine, my friend a cosmo and husband chivas on the rocks (he was trying to act grown-up). The barmaid brought us bread and olive tapenade to munch on while we waited. Everything on the menu looked good, of course we had a hard time making a decision. My friend ordered the porkchop special and my husband had the walley special. They both enjoyed the dinners and totally CLEANED their plates off. I decided on the fettucini con frutti di mare - it included little neck clams, salmon, muscles, calamari and shrimp. I have never had calamari that was sooo tender. It was almost the same texture as the fettucini! We were very pleased with Halite and we will be back, with a reservation.

Lamb Stew

I totally agree with Tina about the West Side Market being one of the greatest things about living in Cleveland. She graciously posted her recipe for West Side Market Stew (make sure to check out the picture slideshow!) and I am going to make it today!

Baltimore Misadventures - Sunday, Day 3

On our last day we had only one destination - The American Dime Museum. Of course we had to walk a bit to get there and arrived before they opened. We ended up sitting in Baltimore's Penn Station to waste some time because there was no place to get a coffe or anything. BTW, nothing in Baltimore opens before 11am, they didn't open till noon. This station is actually where you would take a train to D.C. or other destinations. The museum was funny. The owner gave us his little introduction to the museum and a history of dime shows. I think he lived upstairs. I wonder if this guy just decided to open a musuem so he could show off his weird stuff. I put my gum on the amazing growing gum lady. Gross but damn funny. The FUNNIEST thing that I heard on our entire trip was from a dad who had brought his son and daughter thru the museum while we were there. The kids were probably about 8-10 years old.

Son: Dad, what is that?

Dad: Well (some hesitation) that's supposed to be President Lincoln's doody.
Me: HA, HA, HA, HA! LAUGHING OUT LOUD!
Kids & Dad: LAUGHING OUT LOUD TOO!

After all that museum fun, we were starving. We walked back to Penn Station and saw that the train we needed to get on was leaving. We hopped on without getting our tickets and took the train to the harbor to get some lunch. Well of course we got busted for NOT having a ticket. The conductor was really mean and we couldn't wait to get off that train. We ate at a REALLY touristy place called Tir Na Nog Irish Bar and Grill . Being a little tired of doing stuff "off the beaten track" we liked the idea of sitting out on their patio and enjoying the sun, while have a beer of course! I actually got a club and colcannon (instead of fries) which was quite tasty! They were REAL mashed potatoes, creamy and just a bit lumpy. I could go for some right now!

Our last adventure was to walk to the only part of Baltimore we had not seen yet - Federal Hill. It was Sunday afternoon and there was nothing going on. We had a beer at some empty bar. Tricia wanted to have another but I said no because it was getting late. Back on the train (with tickets) to our dumpy hotel, pick up our luggage, back on the train towards the airport. Wow. We didn't leave enough time for the trip to the airport. I was very nervous. The boarding time was 5:40pm. We got to the gate at 5:45pm. But, no worries! Our plane was late!

To wrap up the trip: I had a good time hanging out with my friend. Totally wished we would have had a car and some other destinations planned. The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire weekend and we really enjoyed it! Would I go back? No. Would I suggest other people to visit? I doubt it.

Baltimore Misadventures - Saturday, Day 2

Saturday - Due to problems with train transfers we took a cab to the area known as Hampden Village. One of the, well, maybe the only reason I suggested vacationing in Baltimore was to go to Atomic Books. Let's just say I have a "thing" for John Waters and he has his fan mail sent there. Lots of zines and comic books. I could have spent all day browsing. My other favorite store was Ma Petite Shop - all they sold were chocolates and shoes!!! Very yummy! Oh, I also bought myself a pair of sparrow earrings from the CUTEST store called Oh! Said Rose.

I researched for our trip extensively. I tried to find cool places to visit and good places to eat. Well, numerous resources said if you wanted to eat a crab cake, it should come from Faidley's found at the Lexington Market. This is where the "misadventures" begin. As I mentioned before, we needed a car. To be honest, the area around the market was pretty scary. I just want to say that the crab cake was absolutely the best I have ever eaten and was worth the trip but at the same time I didn't feel safe walking around. I am usually not worried about things like that but I was in an unfamiliar setting. Also in their market area they sold oysters on the half shell. These were the biggest oysters I have ever seen or eaten! I made Tricia try one and she gagged on it. Damn it, she wasted a really good oyster!

After lunch we pretty much ran back to our hotel and took a little rest, changed clothes and got ready for the evening. Our first stop was a 100th Anniversary Greek Festival. Not so much fun. We left and stopped for a drink at a local dive bar to rethink our plans. We had play tickets and needed to kill 3 hours. Things started to get boring. Conversation slowed down. We were starting to get tired and cranky. The tv was all consuming. Should we leave this area and try to find someplace better to hang out? Should we hop on a train and go to D.C.? Eating Indian food killed our 3 hours. After dinner we attended a play at the Theatre Project, checked out Brewer's Art and ended up finishing the evening off with potato skins at a gay bar.

Baltimore Misadventures - Friday, Day 1

My friend Tricia and I went on a little weekend vacation to Baltimore last Friday. We got home on Sunday but I couldn't post because I was still recovering from the trip. What a trip it was. We knew there was a light rail in Baltimore so thought that we wouldn't need a car. That was probably the worst decision we made. Baltimore, like Cleveland, is not a walking city. The train only ran on one north/south track. Everything we wanted to see was east or west of the track. Most places were in walking distance but we spent A LOT of time walking and riding the train. Time that we could have used see more stuff. I wish we would have had a car. We wanted to leave a few places but were afraid that we'd spend so much time getting to another place - and that it might not be any better than where we were when we got there. Make sense? Well, here's the run down of what we did.

Friday - Safely arrived, took the train from the airport to our hotel and missed our stop. Walked to the Mount Vernon Hotel. Now, this hotel got mixed reviews online. We thought that since it was a hospitality management school's hotel, we would be supporting the school and that it could be interesting. Well, the place was a dump. There was no air conditioning. We had to have someone come and prop open the window (that had no screen) so that we could breath. There was no fan in the bathroom so the ceiling was moldy! The continental breakfast options were white toast, english muffins, brown bananas and cereal. The train stop was only a few blocks away but it was blocks of abandoned buidings. The Art Museum was only a few blocks away too, but in the opposite direction.

After putting our bags in the room we went to the harbor area and walked over to the American Visionary Art Museum. We were very hungry by then and first ate lunch at the Joy America Cafe. I had a beef fig quesadilla with a side of soggy fries and a Red Stripe - the Red Stripe was the best part. The museum had a very interesting exhibit about race, class and gender and beautiful mirror mosaics everywhere. Lots of inspiration! We bought some souveniers from the museum shop. One noticable thing was their lack of artists' merch. Although I was hoping to get a Ku Shu Lan (Chinese paper crafter) poster, I was like....duh, this woman cut up paper to decorate the mud walls in her Western China cave home. Um, maybe that's not something that should be reproduced for a tourist to hang up in her downstairs apartment in Northeast Ohio. Anyways, their sculpture buiding was kick ass and included a braball.

After the museum we took a Water Taxi to Fells Point for dinner and drinks. First we stopped at an Irish place called Kooper's Tavern. We then ate a dozen steamed crabs with mallets at Obrycki's and spent the rest of the evening at the Full Moon Saloon listening to bands, including one called Cowboy Amnesia.

Quinoa Salad

I checked out The Real Food Revival from the library a long, long time ago. It's way over due but I wanted to make this recipe before I returned it. Why didn't I just write it down or make a photo copy? I have no answer for that question.

I only got one bite of the salad so I can't really give a good review. I made it yesterday afternoon so that my husband would have something to eat when he got home from work. I had to work until 10pm and there was nothing left for me when I got home...geeze, thanks a lot! He seemed perplexed by the quinoa, although it didn't stop him from eating it all. I told him it was a grain and good for him and to just be quiet. Further investigation today, led me to the fact that it IS NOT REALLY a grain but "the seed of a leafy plant that's distantly related to spinach." Huh. I'm glad I found out the truth!

I used a little less salt and olive oil and cooked the onions with the peppers.

Quinoa Salad

1 1/4 C. quinoa, washed and drained at least 4 times, until the water runs clear
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 red peppers, cored, seeded, and julienned
1 jalepeno chile, seeded and julienned
juice from 1 lime
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro
1 small red onion, finely diced

Toast the quinoa in a medium saucepan over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Add 2 cups boiling water and the salt, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the red peppers and jalapeno and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Ina large bowl, whisk together the reaming Tbs. oil, the lime juice, cumin, and garlic powder. Stir int eh peppers, cilantro, onion, and quinoa. Serve cold or at room temperature.

I think people DO notice!

Your Hair Should Be Orange

Expressive, deep, and one of a kind. You pull off "weird" well - hardly anyone notices.

What's" Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Kolachki, Kolacky, Kolachy, Kolace, Kolachi, Kolache, Kolachke

I am not sure which is the correct spelling but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about here - lovely, little Christmas cookies with tasty fillings. I used to make these with my grandma when I was little. She was a good Polish grandma...big and fun and generous and loud and kind. I do miss her a lot.

I made these last night for my BBM3 partner! I filled some with the Raspberry Jam I made in September and some with apricot or nut filling from the store! I cheated not having the time or energy to make all the fillings from scratch. Grandma never did either!

I had a few problems with my cookies "opening up" in the oven. They unfolded themselves. I believe the problem was that they were too small. One recipe I found used egg whites to glue the flaps together. I don't think this is necessary, but an option if you need it. Also, don't forget that the cookies are IN THE OVEN! While innocently checking my email, I did just that. One batch in the trash.

My grandma's original recipe used margerine!!! I followed these instructions:

Kolachki (about 2-3 dozen)

1/2 C. butter
3 oz cream cheese
1 C. flour
jam or preserves for filling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Allow cream cheese and butter to soften to room temperature Mix till well until fluffy.
2. Add Flour a little at a time and mix in till well blended.
3. Make dough into a ball, you can chill it in the fridge for easier rolling.
4. Roll dough out into a square shape 1/8 inch thick on board sprinkled with flour or confectioners sugar or a combination.
5. Cut the dough into 2 inch squares and place about ½ tsp of filling in the middle; draw up sides of dough around filling & pinch FIRMLY to seal.
6. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.
7. Cool for a couple of minutes then place on wire rack to cool.

Cabbage and Potato Gratin with Mustard Bread Crumbs

I love the idea of using an entire head of cabbage in a dish. Something that's more creative than boiled/steamed cabbage and something other than Cha Cha Chicken Salad. I think I'm going to start a cabbage trend this winter - Holly brings a new cabbage dish to every family event! They're going to love me...heh, heh.

Luisa kindly posted about Cabbage and Potato Gratin with Mustard Bread Crumbs on The Wednesday Chef. This is the recipe I used for for Halloween dinner! Turned out real well too!