Brioche

Last year, on Christmas Day, I decided to attempt "Brioche".

Brioche is not just bread, mind you, but the delicate pastry fit for Marie Antoinette and her royal brood.

Marie Antoinette did not say "Let them eat cake!" when questioned about the starving French peasants, but rather, she said "Let them eat Brioche!"

I knew I would have to try it...

Brioche can be made in a bread machine.
Brioche can be made with a stand mixer.
But if you want to make genuine Brioche, you mix it by hand.

And since it was Christmas evening, and I was making it for the next day,
I mixed Brioche in my Mom's kitchen. For a very, very, very long time.

The photographic record is missing.

But alas, the next day, after a sequence of "rises" and "pat downs", my Brioche dough
was ready to bake.

1. Divide into 12

2. Divide into 3's

3. Rise for the millionth time

4. They just ooze with buttery goodness



5. Golden brown deliciousness

6. Crisp edges with a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth interior

7. And because we had a blizzard, I had to eat them all by myself.

For this yummy Bon Appetit Recipe, visit Brioche Rolls

Apple Crunch?

Well, my version isn't that crunnnnchhhyy.

Peel & dice Apples
Sprinkle with cinnamon, oatmeal and sugar
Microwave 1minute and 20seconds

Voila! Breakfast is served...

Thanks to my friend Sharon for the inspiration.

Keys-Style Citrus Chicken

Keys-Style Citrus Chicken

After 4 years of experimenting with chicken recipes (my least favorite to make), today I finally hit upon the most AWESOME dish!

Check out a Caribbean flavored tune.......or Beach Boys if that's more your speed.



The 'Wave Watching song reminds me of our honeymoon, so relaxing. We have a CD titled 'Peter Island' after the private island where we stayed, and the music is by the steel drum/reggae band that played on the sand every evening. We still listen to it anytime we need to relax...chillax.

Fruit-infused meats are all the rage in the Caribbean, so enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless Chicken breast
Salt & Black Pepper
3-4 cloves of Garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Butter
1 tspn Lime peel
2 Tbsp Lime juice
1/4 tspn ground Ginger
1/8 tspn crushed Red Pepper
2 Oranges

Directions:

1) Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper.

2) In a large skillet, cook chicken with garlic and butter on medium heat for about 12 minutes, or until done. {I turned the chicken once.}

3) Meanwhile, combine lime peel, lime juice, ginger and red pepper; set aside.

4) Peel oranges, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into crosswise slices. {Make sure there are no seeds!}

5) Add an reserved orange juice and the lime juice-mixture to the skillet, then place orange slices on top of chicken. Cook for 2 minutes more.

Serve with:
Rice with chopped Spinach
I made Basmati rice according to package directions, and added 1 cup chopped, fresh spinach at the end.

Steamed Asparagus and Red Pepper Strips
After trimming the woody portion of the Asparagus, I placed it in a microwave safe dish, along with Sweet Red Pepper, sliced into strips. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving a corner flap open for steam. Microwave for 5 minutes.

I really like looking at "cut" green stuff :

Instead of throwing this stuff in the trash, we have started composting!
Seems like such a waste....

This is the BEST chicken that I have ever made!!! Disregard every other chicken recipe that I have posted... Ok, well, maybe you shouldn't go that far, but definitely try this one first!

That lone piece of rice stuck to the red pepper ruins this pic.
Rice with a mind of it's own. My kind of rice.

Gardening: Spring 2011: Part I

I took my camera outside last week:

1. I think the Lavender has survived my poor care.

2. The strawberries that never grew, but never died!

3. Is it weird that I have two Sage plants, but never use sage in my cooking?

4. Nepeta Walker's Low

5. My favorite little Purple Globe's are coming back!

6. Boltonia Snowbank, clouds of tiny white flowers in the summer....



 

7.  Sedum Autumn Joy, one of my favorites

8. More Purple Globe Allium

9. Blooms on the Clematis Niobe, the "queen of my garden."



10.  Blooms on the rosebushes...

11.  A rare species of 'Andreas Thatcheus Yardeth'

12.  My first official addition to the compost pile. Orange peel.

13. Later...

I have a long way to go......

Life's Greatest Game

Blue: Me, Yellow: The Sis
Yes, I know I'm driving from the backseat.

The Sis

Aww, aren't we cute?

She crashed into me.

We ended the game by putting our cars on the spinner and spinning it to see how
far they would fly.

Mini Strawberry Pie

Last week at the grocery store, I discovered super cute "mini" pie crusts.
Normally, these pie crusts are made out of the Phyllo or pastry crusts, instead of
normal pie crust. (What is normal pie crust anyway?)

Blame it on the sunshine and daffodils, but I was really craving strawberry pie.

I used a fork to make a pretty design...

I used my Mom's Strawberry Pie recipe.

Yum!

A Broken Heart for Japan

I have been a little bit in shock since the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear explosions that began a little over a week ago in Japan.

It is impossible for us in the United States to even comprehend the magnitude of pain that the Japanese people are experiencing right now. I really can't think of anything that compares....

When I think about all of the "to do" over Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding of New Orleans (and other cities), I just can't even really compare it. Everyone along the southern coasts knew for days, if not weeks about the hurricane. Yes, it is horrible that they lost their homes and most of their belongings, but they still have their lives?

9/11 comes a little closer in comparison, but still, the long-term effect of the tsunami will far outweigh the effects of 9/11. Many people lost their loved ones during the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, but they still had homes and memories to return to.

Many of the Japanese people along the north eastern shores not only lost their families, but don't even have homes to return to. No picture albums to flip through, no birthday home videos to watch, no special keepsakes to hold.

And then a woman in California was crying on national news because her boat was being destroyed by the "6 foot" waves.

Really? Your boat?

...


I really have no words to say how devastated I feel inside for the Japanese people. Almost every night I have lain awake wishing that I could jump on a plane and fly to Japan, and try to help.

Honestly, I would probably be more trouble than help, since I don't speak the language, but I want to help so badly. Donating money seems so short compared to the reality of the need at this time.

...

I need to go cry someplace....

Spring is here!

This week has marked the end of the cold monotony of winter in Tennessee.

I can't imagine living up north where the winter is longer than the summer, I absolutely love the warm days!

When I was little, I remember loving the cold, snowy days, but I am over it!

Today we grilled for the first time in 2011!

It was so nice! Steaks and potatoes, you can't get any more "summer" than that!

Yes, I know he's hot.
Check out our neighbor's handy roofing job in the background.

The bouquet of parsley doesn't seem like such a neat idea upon second thought.