What's Cooking? - Coconut Sorbet

Coconut Sorbet
from The Millennium Cookbook

We had guests over last night for dessert. We served this Coconut Sorbet with chocolate wafer cookies imported from Germany. One of our guests said he doesn't really care for coconut, but he liked this sorbet anyway. I pureed the frozen mixture just before serving for a smoother presentation.

Makes 2 cups.

1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
6 tablespoons fructose I used regular sugar
Pinch sea salt
1/4 scraped vanilla bean or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

To make it granita-style, pour the mixture into a large shallow baking dish and place it in the freezer. Stir this mixture every hour for 4 to 6 hours, or until frozen. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 4 days. After 4 days, the sorbet may become icy; when this happens, the sorbet can be melted and refrozen.

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What's Cooking? - Tamale Torte with Black Bean Chili and Red Chile Sauce

Tamale Torte with Black Bean Chili and Red Chile Sauce

from The Millennium Cookbook
We ate at the Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco and thought it was amazing. Kenny read somewhere that it is the best vegetarian restaurant in North America. It was refreshing to go to a restaurant where we could eat anything on the menu. We left ourselves in the chef's hands and ordered the Chef's Tasting Menu. The server assured us that we could still have the tasting menu even if we didn't want any mushrooms. I was so impressed with my experience there that I ordered both of Eric Tucker's cookbooks. This is the first recipe I have made from one of his cookbooks. Of course it took an eternity. If you wanted to simplify things you could use a prepared salsa or enchilada sauce instead of the red chile sauce, and sour cream instead of the cilantro-tofu cream. But, if you're up to fixing a special meal, you can make the whole thing. It took me about 2 1/2 hours, but that wasn't all hands on time.

BLACK BEAN CHILI
2 red onions, cut into 1/2 inch dice I of course pureed the onions in the food processor
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon mild chile powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
4 cups cooked black beans
1 cup tomato puree or mild tomato sauce
1 tablespoon molasses (optional)
1 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sea salt

RED CHILE SAUCE2 ancho chiles I used dried ones because that's all I could find
2 guajillo or ancho chiles I had to use ancho chiles
8 cloves garlic
24 ounces canned pureed tomatoes
2 cups water
2 tablespoons Sucanat or unrefined sugar I had to use regular white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt

MASA BATTER4 cups masa harina
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt I would use a little more next time
4 cups (32 ounces) soy milk
Kernals cut from 2 ears fresh corn

Cilantro-Tofu Cream (recipe follows)

To make the chile: In a large skillet with a cover, saute the onions and garlic in the stock over medium-high heat until the liquid evaporates. Add the cumin, chile powder, oregano, and bay leaves. Stir well to toast the spices for 1 minute before adding the beans, tomato puree, and stock. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and set aside.
To make the sauce: In a dry medium saucepan, toast the chiles over high heat, turning them, until they darken, about 3 to 5 minutes. I ended up scorching my pan, so next time I'll use a cast iron skillet. Remove from the pan and let cool to the touch. Remove the stem and seeds of the chiles. Toast the garlic cloves in the same manner until half of each clove is blackened. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Combine the chiles, garlic, pureed tomatoes, water Sucanat, cumin, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat and let cool. In a blender, blend the sauce in batches until fairly smooth. Set aside.

To make the batter: In a large bowl, combine the masa, baking powder, and salt. Gradually whisk in the soy milk. Fold in the corn kernels.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 11x9 inch baking dish. Spread half the masa batter on the bottom. Top with the black beans, followed by the remaining masa batter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes, until crisp. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Slice into 8 portions. Serve each portion with 4 ounces chili sauce and a dollop of Cilantro-Tofu Cream.
Cilantro-Tofu Cream

1 bunch cilantro, stemmed
12.3 ounces low-fat silken tofu
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup water

In a blender, combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

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Sophia Update - Mama's Little Helper

Every week on Monday we do our Weekly Home Blessing. Sophie has started to help with the dusting. Now I just need her to not be scared of the vacuum cleaner!

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Sewing Room - Celtic Knot Quilt

This wholecloth quilt was an exercise in hand quilting. I took the class at the Gussy Goose in Germany and finished the hand quilting while we were living in our apartment in Barstow. I didn't put the binding on though because there was binding fabric included in the kit and the rest of the kit was packed away. In an effort to finish up UFOs (Unfinished Objects), I finally got the binding on this week.

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What's Cooking? - Garlic-Herb Potato Nests

Garlic-Herb Potato Nests
from Taste of Home Magazine

I've served this appetizer to two different groups, each time to rave reviews.

2 cups grated peeled potatoes, drained and squeezed dry
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup garlic-herb cheese spread
Fresh dill sprigs

In a bowl, combine the potatoes, egg white, salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoonful in each of 24 greased miniature muffin cups, lining the bottom and sides of cups. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Shape 1/2 teaspoonfuls of cheese into ovals; place in potato nests. Garnish with dill. Serve at room temperature.

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Sewing Room = Paper Pieced Christmas Trees

Mollie, one of our guild members offered this advanced paper-piecing quilt as a class in November. I wanted to get it done in time for Christmas, but didn't finish until January 13. I used all batik fabric for the top and used metallic thread for the quilting.

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Sophia Update - Playgroup

We went to the Tuesday Morning Playgroup today. Sophie climbed the slide and went down all by herself. It was a slide for bigger kids so I had to show her where to put her feet at first. After she knew what to do, she climbed it over and over. After the first time down she did want to hold my hand on the way down. She went a little fast the first time. She became very possessive of the slide. If somebody was taking too long she would push or pull them down. They were bigger kids so I wasn't terribly worried, but I had to get after her several times because she needed to know that's not nice behavior.

Our backyard isn't a big enough world for her anymore. She wants to go out the front door. She takes us by the hand and leads us to the door. She gets very upset if we don't go out. Maybe we'll walk to the mailbox now so she can get her fix and leave us alone for the rest of the evening. That will distract her from her snacks too. We're trying to not give her any snacks for one hour before meals. Her favorite snack lately is dried fruit.

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Sophia Update-Hugs

Sophie's friend Tommy came over for a little while today. Tommy just turned one so he's several months younger. They were playing on the floor together and Sophie gave him a hug. Sophie's not really a huggy kind of girl so I was surprised and thought it was very sweet. She's been hugging her baby doll and her teddy bears. Maybe she recognizes Tommy as a younger baby that should be hugged.

Kenny doesn't believe me, but Sophie came up to me while I was typing on the computer today and said "Mama juice." Maybe she's starting to talk after all!

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Sophia Update - Thomas' Birthday

Sophie went to a friend's first birthday party yesterday. She got to ride on Thomas the train. She was scared when I first tried to put her on it. Tommy's grandpa was walking around with the train and I think Sophie was scared of him. When Kenny, Sophie, and I went out a little later Sophie was more than happy to ride around with Kenny at the controls.

She seemed to say a couple of new things yesterday...thank you and juice. Oh, and when she saw the train she said choo choo, which really surprised me. That is what her cousin says for train and she hasn't seen her cousin or a train in several weeks. I guess she's really filing things away. She can now sign more, thank you, and help. Guess it's time to pick a new word. Maybe please. Get all of the social graces taken care of.

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Sophia Update - One, Two, Three

Sophie and I went to storytime at the library today. After we listened to stories and sang songs, we stayed for craft time. Sophie can scribble a little now, so I thought maybe we could start participating in the craft. After scribbling a little she became more interested in handing crayons to the librarian. As they were playing with the crayons, she said one, two, three, and the librarian counted back to her. So I'm not crazy. She does count. She learned it at Grammy and Grandpa's house. I'm a little bit concerned that numbers are some of her very first words!

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Sewing Room - Hemming Jeans

I'm so excited! I successfully hemmed a pair of jeans today, keeping the original hem. I found the directions at the Fig & Plum website. This skill will make a huge difference in my shopping ability!

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What's Cooking? - Zucchini Pie

Zucchini Pie
from Real Simple Magazine

2011 Update - I like to try new recipes.  There are so many possibilities out there that typically I don't like to commit to just a few favorites.  Even so, five years after making this for MOPS the first time, this recipe has become a breakfast favorite when I'm asked to bring something to a morning event.  It goes together quickly and bakes while I shower and get ready for my day.   I was sitting across from a lady at PWOC today and she said, "Mmm, this is really good!"  I said, "thanks, I made it!"


I made this to take to MOPS this morning. It was gone before I could take a slice. All I got was a small bite left in the dish and reassurance from other people that it was good. I like to take something savory when I have to contribute a brunch dish because everything else usually has meat or is sweet.

3 cups grated zucchini
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated provolone cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan. Spoon the zucchini mixture into a 10-inch round glass pie plate or metal pie pan that has been coated with vegetable cooking spray. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with the reserved Parmesan. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

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Sophia Update - The Return of Pony

This is a picture from April 2005 when Sophie had just started sleeping in her own bed. She would suck her fingers and hug pony to go to sleep. She started sleeping with pony while she was still sleeping with me. I needed something for her to hug so she wouldn't play with my face while I was trying to sleep. Now, nine months later, pony is Sophie's cue to go to sleep. Finally, I can lay her down, give her pony, and she rolls over on her side and sucks her fingers and goes to sleep. (She only sucks her fingers now when she has her pony so I don't have to worry about any embarrassing situations when she goes to school. Her teeth have discouraged her from sucking her fingers any other time. )

Anyway, the day finally came that I forgot pony at Grammy and Grandpa's house. I had already driven two hours when I realized I forgot him. Grammy offered to meet us halfway if I wanted to drive back. I didn't. It's a long enough drive home I didn't want to extend it. I told her to mail pony. She discovered it would cost $65 to overnight pony to us, so she did 2nd day instead, but with the weekend, we didn't have pony for four nights. Sophie wasn't happy with Buffles or Bunny as a substitute. The first night I put Buffles in the crook of her arm and she started to roll over like she always does. She stopped mid roll and held Buffles out in front of her and looked confused. She stood up in her crib and cried. Poor Sophie. I felt so bad. She had to cry for a few minutes each time she was supposed to go to sleep. Finally pony arrived. I laid her down with pony and she stood up in the crib and cried. I was very worried that I had ruined a good thing. I tried again telling her to be happy, pony was back. And she tucked pony in the crook of her left arm, rolled over, got her right fingers, and went to sleep.

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Sophia Update - Sophie Turns 15 Months Old

Sophie turned 15 months old on January 1st. I returned from an anniversary trip to San Francisco on that day. Sophie stayed with Grammy and Grandpa for a weekend while I was away. She did really well. Grammy says I'm fortunate to have a baby that goes to sleep so easily. I tell her I earned it. I fought with her for a year to go to sleep. It was this anniversary trip that was my deadline to have Sophie "sleep-trained." It would have been too much of a burden to leave a baby that required an hour or more of coaxing each time she was to go to sleep. We still have trouble occasionally if she's sick, or if she gets woken up by noise in the house, but for the most part she rolls on her side, sucks her fingers of one hand and grabs pony with her other hand, and closes her eyes. What a relief!

She learned some things while I was gone. She got a rocking chair for Christmas and every time she rocked Grammy would say rock-rock in a sing song voice. Sophie says uh-uh in the same sing song voice when she rocks and when we tell her to rock her baby doll. Now that she knows what rock-rock is she can ride Chloe the Cow (her plush rocking toy) without any help. She also learned counting from Grammy and Grandpa. She was eating some peas the night I got back and she took one aside and said one, took another aside and said two. Maybe it was a fluke because she hasn't done it since, but Grammy, Grandpa, and I all raised our eyebrows in surprise when she did it. I have witnesses!

She continues to be a climber. Her new thing toward the end of our visit was to stand on the arm of the couch, stand up straight and clap, and jump onto the seat of the couch. It scared me the first couple of times, but when I realized she wasn't going to fall backwards off the edge, I relaxed a little. I guess I'm used to her. Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle Tony spent most of our visit jumping at Sophie in alarm, worried that she was going to hurt herself. Luckily she hasn't had any major injuries. We did have to trim her bangs to cover a bruise on her forehead that she got just before we left to have a family picture taken. She was running in the driveway and took a spill. I better prepare myself. I think she's going to be a stunt double

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Christmas 2005

We were fortunate to spend Christmas with family this year. Sophie and I drove to my parents' house in Northern California early Christmas week and Kenny joined us several days later. My sister and her family were also there so Sophie got to spend some time with her cousin Ashlyn who is four months older. After the girls learned how to play together they had a good time. It was fun to hear them squeal with laughter as they chased each other down the hallway. Their personalities are really shining through. Ashlyn is a lover and Sophie is a fighter. Ashyln likes to give hugs and kisses and be picked up by anyone. Sophie wants to be left alone to do her climbing. If Ashlyn got near the child-size rocking chair Sophie would yell until she moved.
Last year, Sophie was too young to pay much attention to Christmas. She slept in Grammy's lap while we opened presents. This year she was sick and didn't enjoy it much. She slept though Christmas dinner. We saved presents until she woke up, but even then she was a bit grumpy. Maybe next year she'll thoroughly enjoy the Christmas experience.

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Anniversary Trip - San Francisco

At 15-months-old Sophie is old enough to leave with Grammy and Grandpa, so Kenny and I escaped to San Franciso for our 5-year anniversary.

We spent New Year's Day in San Francisco last year so we knew it was nuts driving in the city, not to mention expensive to park. This time we met outside the city and took BART in.

We met at Stanford's Restaurant and Bar in Walnut Creek for lunch. I was pleased to find that they offered a vegetarian bean soup, so I had soup and a salad with warm bread. Kenny ordered the Southwest Vegetable Wrap from the vegetarian section of the menu. Stanford's was located with a shopping center so we were surprised to note that they only have one California restaurant. They also have one restaurant in Washingtion. Otherwise they're located in Oregon. We had a pleasant experience. There were a nice number of vegetarian choices and our bill was surprisingly reasonable.

From Stanford's, we drove to a BART station where we left the cars in a covered parking garage. Traveling on trains isn't something I'm used to in the USA, so I felt like we were back in Europe, setting off on one of our adventures there. We left the cars in kind of a suburban type of area. The shopping center was close by, and there were some large office buildings. Everyone was gearing up for the holiday so the shopping center was crazy, but the areas around the office buildings didn't seem very bustling. Getting off BART at Powell Street in San Francisco was a shock. We rode the escalator up and the street was madness. There was a street performer with loud music who commanded a large audience. We had to press our way through the crowd to get in the clear to go on our way. We stayed at the Prescott Hotel, which was only several blocks away from the BART station. A begger shouted that we didn't have to walk all the way from the airport. Kenny said he wanted to give me a high class trip but he wasn't ready to submit to getting a cab. In San Francisco it's probably faster to walk the few blocks anyway. I asked Kenny if we would still be schlepping our luggage several blocks to our hotel when we've been married for 50 years. He didn't think so.

The only reason we could stay at the Prescott is because they offer a military discount. Otherwise it would have been out of our price range. The Prescott is a boutique hotel in the Kimpton Hotel chain. Each hotel has a different theme. The theme of the Prescott is "Your Private Retreat." And yes, it was a private retreat. There were bathrobes and Aveda products in the bathroom. In the evening the radio was turned on and dark chocolates were put on our pillows. There were yoga baskets available if we wanted them. A merino wool blanket that was thin but surprising warm was on the foot of the bed for naps. They had a European style down comforter rather than the foul bedspread traditionally found in American hotels. The best part about the Prescott was it's location. We were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go as long as I was wearing reasonable shoes.

While we were unpacking I found out that Kenny was planning on wearing his beat up brown shoes with charcoal pants and a burgundy sweater for our New Year's Eve cruise. I thought it was a mistake to begin with to not wear a suit or at least a jacket, but there was no compromise on the brown shoes. So, our first stop was the shoe department at Nordstrom's half yearly sale for men so Kenny could pick up some black shoes.

We went back to the hotel to drop off our purchase and our coats. It was drizzling a bit but it wasn't terribly cold and we were sweating in our coats. Then we walked to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Thursday nights are half price and we didn't have anything in particular planned for the evening, so we took advantage of the discount. The museum collection included artists that one might expect...Picasso, Matisse, Dali. There were also pieces by Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keeffe which are perhaps better known in the United States. The traditional modern work was expected and fine. There were some other exhibits that were disturbing. There was a series of photographs that depict clear cutting of forests. Another exhibit had very disturbing sculptures...one was of a beaten body, crawling, with a trail of feces extending for many feet behind. Another was of a woman standing with a fetus dangling between her legs. Unpleasant to say the least. I guess some people want to be moved by art and we've become so hardened that we have to be truly shocked to be moved. Unpleasant.

We walked across the stree to the Metreon, a Sony Entertainment center. There were things to do, places to shop, and places to eat, all in one building. We decided to eat at the Firewood Cafe. I wasn't that hungry so we shared an enormous salad and a pizza margherita. I was impressed with their salads because you could add three toppings to their garden salad. I chose garbanzo beans, toasted pine nuts, and pears. Kenny was pleased with the pizza, though I picked off some of the abundant fresh basil.

Since our dinner was pretty light we had room for dessert at Postrio, Wolfgang Puck's restaurant that is attached to our hotel. We didn't need reservations to eat dessert in the upstairs bar area. Kenny had sweet potato cheesecake and I had mint chocolate cake. The portions were small but amazingly rich. We couldn't have eaten another bite.

The next morning, the morning of our anniversary, we had breakfast at a nearby diner. It advertised that it had the best breakfast in San Francisco. We doubted that, but they were very busy so we decided they couldn't be that bad. We had our standard breakfast of two eggs scrambled well, hash browns, and toast.

Then we set off on a walk. We headed toward Chinatown, the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. We had heard a recommendation to eat anywhere that didn't have an English menu. We had just eaten weren't so brave anyway, so we just walked and looked in windows. We didn't venture very far in because it was raining and it was hard to walk on the crowded sidewalks with an umbrella. It was amusing though to keep an eye out for the Prescott umbrellas that were provided in their rooms. We weren't the only people carrying one that day.

After we left Chinatown we started looking for a place to have lunch. Kenny had a nice sandwich shop in mind and it took us awhile to find one. Finally we found one that had interesting selections like the grilled tofu sandwich that I chose. It was served with homestyle potatoes and a nice salad.

We finished up just it time to drop our umbrella off at the hotel and head to the Curran Theatre.

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