Simplest Ginger Beef Stir Fry…..

I’ve decided that this is my absolute favorite stir fry.  I normally make a sauce that consists of cornstarch for thickening, chicken broth and other flavorings.  What I love about this is that there is no thick sauce covering up the flavors of the meat and the vegetables.   You could easily make this with boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, shrimp, or tofu and veggies. Use any vegetables you like.  Just remember to stir fry the ones that take longer first and add the rest accordingly

Light soy sauce and hot chili oil are the stars of this dish.  The hot chili oil has a delicious garlic flavor as well as some heat.  Of course, there’s ginger and garlic which are essentials in a good stir fry.  Have all ingredients ready to go before heating the pan.  Have the rice going as well.

Simplest Ginger Beef Stir Fry

For the marinade:

1 lb. lean sirloin, trimmed of any excess fat and thinly sliced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 teaspoons or 2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons light soy sauce

For the stir fry:

1 1/2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 cups snap or snow pea pods, cleaned and strings removed
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into long thin strips
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot chili oil, stir it well before measuring out

4 cups steamed rice

1)  Trim and slice the beef and place into a small mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the cornstarch over the beef.  Mix well with your hands to coat.  Add the rest of the marinade ingredients and mix well.  Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2)  Prepare the peas, onion and ginger.
3)  Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Once the pan is very hot, add the 1 1/2 tablespoons of canola/vegetable oil.  Add the ginger and onions.  Stir fry until the onions/ginger get nicely brown.  Remove them from the pan and put into a small bowl.  Add the beef, being sure not to crowd in the pan.  Try not to stir until you’re sure the beef is brown.  Add the onions back to the pan, the pea pods, soy sauce and chili oil.  Cook another 2 minutes or until the peas are bright green.  Serve over steamed rice.   So good!

*Longest cooking veggies to lowest.  Add them to the pan in this order.

Carrots
Mushrooms
Bell peppers
Onions
Broccoli
Pea pods
Green onions
Bean sprouts
Baby corn
Water chestnuts
Bamboo shoots

**White steamed rice tip.  Rinse the rice thoroughly in a mesh colander under cool water.  This will remove much of the starch that can make rice gummy.  Add water to the pan 2 parts water to 1 part rice, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and allow the lid to be slightly ajar.  Cook for 17 minutes.

Enjoy!

Angie

Rustic Desserts for Skrine Chops, Forest Park, Illinois…..

I had the privilege of touring the renovated Skrine Chops in Forest Park yesterday.  The restaurant suffered an unfortunate fire September of 2011 and they’re gearing up to re-open very soon.

I have never seen such rustic beauty in my life.  In addition to owner Steve Skrine’s amazing grilled meats and famous blue cheese potato salad, he is a very talented woodworker.  He collects wood from old barns and crafts them into unbelievable decor for his restaurant.  You MUST SEE!  I will keep you posted as to when he will officially be open for business.

I will be working with Steve and his lovely wife Mary Rita to come up with an amazing dessert menu.  Knowing that the over all theme is a more rustic feel, here are a few things I came up with.

Steve loves pecans, so I thought a free form pecan tart with whole wheat crust might be nice.  I think it best served warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Does this look like a bar cookie or what??  Oatmeal cookie dough loaded with crunchy & salty pretzels with pecans and chocolate chips.

I’m really not the “food fad” type, but salted caramel anything is delicious!  No nuts in this one, just caramel chunks and sea salt on the top.  YUM!

Lastly, another oatmeal chunky cookie loaded with pecans and caramel pieces.  Pecans and caramel have always been a favorite of mine.

Other desserts not pictured include my signature chocolate chip cookie and key lime tart.  As always, my desserts are made with 100% real ingredients.  No funky preservatives or trans fats (shortening).

I will be providing “tastes” to all customers when they’re ready to open.

So exciting!

Have a great day~

Angie

 

My Hummingbirds, Up Close!

I am about 18″ away from the feeder.  I’m in the hibiscus bush and I look like a crazy person.  This was a tricky angle as the opposite side of the feeder is most accessible to them.   She decided to give me a show.

I have a “sports continuous” button on my camera.  I can just push it down and hold and it’ll take a picture a second, or there about.

She is very curious about me and she’s looking at me and buzzing about.  I can actually hear her wings “buzzing.”  I love her.
They are so fascinating and beautiful.  This week I added another feeder, I now have 3.

She’s had enough of me, she’s off.

Do what you can for our precious birds.  You can see in the background that I have a bird feeder.  I feed them year around.  To the right of the feeder I have a bird bath that I fill with clean water most everyday.  With their natural habitats disappearing, they need our help more than ever.

Happy bird watching!

Angie

This Week’s Menu And Cooking Plan….

Good morning-

Gearing up for work this week only I will be working alone this morning.  My son Chris is on a service project trip for the week in Clarksville, MS, and Nancy, my side-kick has a doctor appointment.

I’m used to working alone, I’ll be fine.  It’s all about being organized and a succession of tasks to optimize productivity.  I love thinking through this process.  Today is a huge prep day as tomorrow I deliver.  Loads of cooking will take place tomorrow morning.

To be green, I really try to do all oven roasting and baking in the same time block.  This will also cut down on the intense heat in the kitchen.

The other very important thing I have to think about is optimal freshness for my clients.  I always make fish the day it’s delivered and any baking is done the day of delivery as well.

Here’s my menu plan for this week:

Chicken Tetrazzini
Caesar salad with homemade ciabatta croutons

Crunchy panko fish fillets with mild seasoning,  homemade low-fat tartar sauce
Roasted red potatoes with garlic
Shredded slaw with tangy mustard seed dressing

Spicy orange beef with broccoli
Brown rice

Extras:

Roasted cauliflower and broccoli
Mixed bean salad with fresh herbs from my garden

Banana walnut chocolate chip muffins

Time to get around!

Have a good day-

Angie

We Miss Mary…..

Hello everyone-

As I sit on my deck on this beautiful summer day,  I’ve got a lump in my throat, it’s hard to swallow.  You know what I mean.  When you are about to let the flood gates open for a good cry.  This day, you see, is very much like any other day when Mary was here, right next door.  I would hear the squeak of her back door and we’d talk over the fence for a minute, then decide to either sit on her patio or on our deck to enjoy conversation and an afternoon cocktail.  Kathy, my other good friend on the opposite side of Mary, would join in too.  We were three peas in a pod.

Since Mary’s passing, I’ve desperately wanted to write about her, but couldn’t find the words.  Or, most likely, it was too soon to write about it.  She passed away October 29th, 2011.  Today is the day I write about my friend.

I think about her daily, but I especially thought of her while writing my last post.  Food Talk.  I spoke of foods and memories of our favorites and precious traditions we hold onto from the past.  This photograph is of Mary’s 71st birthday, the last one we’d share with our dear friend.  It was a tradition to have Mary over for dinner for her favorite meal of mine, Panko and Herb Encrusted Tilapia.  I served it religiously with red skinned mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach.  There was birthday cake too, of course…..

Mary spoke of the birthday cakes her “Ma” made for each sibling.  The type of cake never changed, they would have their favorite every year, religiously.  I don’t remember when I started making Mary’s favorite, but I do remember the last two very vividly.  I made dinner and cake for her 70th birthday hoping that she would be around for her 71st.  On her 71st birthday I was quite sure this would be the last I would spend with my friend.

Mary was not terribly fond of desserts or sweets so when she described her traditional birthday cake growing up with a look of total delight on her face, it was a done deal.  I had to make it.  It was a basic angel food cake with pink icing and big ripe strawberries.  Simple and sweet.  To this day, whenever I see an angel food cake, I think of Mary.

I feel truly blessed to have had such a wonderful and true friend.  She was like a second mother to me.  She was one of the most trusted friends I’ve ever had.  I miss her so much.  My whole family feels a tremendous loss.  Jack, Chris and Ryan grew up with Mary next door, she was like a grandma to them.

Make your kid’s or your friend’s favorites when you can.  It’ll make you both feel wonderful, you’ll be so happy you did.

Have a nice weekend.

Angie

Food Talk…..

Hello everyone-

I think what I love most about what I do is menu planning.  I scour magazines for new ideas and on occasion I watch Food Network.  I especially love learning new tips or ideas from other great cooks.  Love “food talk!”  Often times I will strike up conversation with people in the check out line about how they’re going to prepare items in their cart.  People love talking about their specialties and they share their best tips freely.

Recently I had a conversation with one of my clients who is 84 years young.  We spoke of fall apart pot roast, mashed potatoes and cooked carrots…OMG, totally a favorite of mine since I was a little girl.  Clearly the conversation struck a chord with her, she had the sweetest expression on her face when she spoke of it being a favorite meal that her mother used to make.  I am SO going to put that on my menu in the very near future.  I love creating meals that take people back.  Sort of nourishing the body and soul.  I can’t explain why I get so much satisfaction out of that, but I truly love it.

Since it’s been so hot this July I took soups off my menu until fall.   I had a hankering for soup today.  I love it because it’s the simplest lunch that requires no thinking or assembly.  Simply warm it up and you’ve got all kinds of veggie and broth goodness in one bowl.  I love that there are no rules, whatever you want to throw in, it’s up to you.  I throw little bits of leftover vegetables, rice or pasta.  I think anything you throw into homemade chicken stock can’t help but be delicious.

I think I’m going to have to make myself soup in the next couple of days.  Maybe chicken vegetable noodle.  Recently I de-boned many chicken breasts so I’ve got plenty of soup bones for stock.  Since moving my business into my kitchen rental I haven’t made my usual Sunday chicken stock.  I put it on the stove in the morning after church and let it go all day.  The house smells amazing and at the end I’ve got a rich and lovely stock.  Yup, that’s what I’m going to do this weekend.

Let’s “talk food” again soon.  Thanks for reading:-)

Angie

Nature’s Beauty…..

Good evening-

We thoroughly enjoyed our Michigan vacation!  Lazy mornings and hot afternoons spent on the beach of beautiful lake Michigan.

I went for a walk and picked all of these lovely flowers along the side of the road.  Aren’t they beautiful?  I remember picking wild flower bouquets for my Grandma Henderson.  She graciously accepted my gift even though she had major pollen allergies.  She was so cute!

I think it’s interesting that we (myself included) plant all non indigenous plants and try like crazy to keep them alive during extreme mid-western weather conditions.  Plants native to our area do not suffer nearly as much as the nonindigenous ones.  Even though most would consider what I picked weeds, they flourish in drought conditions and are so pretty and sweet.  Other plants that thrive in the heat are blueberry bushes.

Summer vacation would not be complete without a morning spent blueberry picking.  We ended up with about 20 pounds.   I went through them tonight and put them in the freezer.  I plan on using them to make blueberry pie, blueberry jam and tomorrow morning, blueberry streusel muffins.  Additionally, I think I’ll treat my clients to a green salad with blueberry balsamic vinaigrette, yowza!  This dressing is fantastic with toasted walnuts and blue cheese.  Do try!

I will be going to sleep tonight with blueberries dancing in my head!  Have a lovely night~

Angie

 

Oatmeal Raisin Sandwich Cookies…..

Wow, posting three days in a row!  Feeling a little more settled and not so frazzled these days.

I’m finishing up a cookie order for a sweet table for a dear friend’s wedding.  I made all of her favorites.  Oatmeal Raisin Sandwich Cookies(pictured),  Snickerdoodles, Raspberry Bars, Chocolate Chip with M & Ms the colors of her wedding, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars, and Iced Sugar Cookie Hearts, with icing the color of her wedding, of course!

This cookie tastes as delicious as it looks.  I use the smallest cookie scoop so that the cookies are uniform and don’t come out too large.  Simply make my Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and the filling below.  Add any ingredients to the cookies you like.  They’d be delicious with walnuts and craisins or pecans, mini chocolate chips and raisins.

The cookie recipe makes about 3 dozen large cookies.  If using a small scoop, the recipe should yield about 5 dozen cookies or 2 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies.

It is very rare that I use shortening or margarine in a recipe.  It is needed to create the fluffy texture and will hold up nicely in the heat.

Fluffy Cookie Filling

1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup softened margarine
2 tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons milk

In a stand mixer, beat the butter, margarine and shortening until well blended.  Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk one tablespoon at a time while the  mixer is on low.  You may have to adjust the liquid depending on the humidity.    It should be spreadable and fluffy.

Enjoy!!

Have a great weekend:-)

Angie

 

This Week’s Offerings…..

Hello Everyone-

I thought I would share this week’s menu with you..  I’m ordering much of my food from a wonderful distributor by the name of Get Fresh.  So nice to have beautiful and amazingly fresh produce, dairy and chicken delivered to your door!  I have access to many items I can only find at the farmer’s market like patty pan squash, frisee, wild baby arugula and many varieties of fresh mushrooms just to name a few.

That being said I went for the one pound box of fresh basil, a case of sweet grape tomatoes, and a 1 kilo package (about 2.20 lbs.) of goat cheese….I’m in heaven!  I also ordered fresh parsley, and a case of zucchini.  YUM!

Here’s the menu:

Fresh roasted grape tomatoes, basil and goat cheese tart
Mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette

Mediterranean chicken breasts with olives, tomatoes and white wine
Brown rice pilaf
Sautéed zucchini with garlic with feta

Turkey burritos, (great recipe for “cook once, eat twice!) seasoned ground turkey with refried beans, light tomato rice and cheese
Garden salad with cilantro and avocado dressing

Egg salad made with greek non fat yogurt and light mayo, crunchy celery, parsley and a little onion. So good!
Crunchy vegetable medley, garbanzo beans, kale, dill, cucumber, zucchini with light vinaigrette

Raspberry bars

Have a wonderful day!

Angie

My Commercial Kitchen!

Good morning!

I’ve been very busy getting everything in order in my new kitchen.   Initially I thought everything would be so much easier.  It has taken a little getting used to.  Interestingly, I have two people helping me, which I thought would make everything a breeze.  When you’re used to doing EVERYTHING yourself, it can be a bit tricky.  After a few weeks of cooking under my belt, I’m feeling more and more efficient.  Yesterday we rocked out three entrees for 30+ people  in about 5 hours.  Awesome!

This was our very first day in the kitchen.  We were cooking/prepping for a graduation party.  My son Chris helps me with a lot of vegetable prep, he’s very good!  Must introduce the 20 quart Hobart mixer to Chris’s left….HEAVEN!  I can mix multiple batches of cookies with ease.  To his far right there is this amazing dishwasher.   Then to the far left in the very background there is a double convection oven.  So in the time it would take me to bake let’s say 6 pies at my house, I can bake 32 pies.

This is Nancy.  She’s a trained chef and she helps me with absolutely everything!  She is a delightful person and work companion.  I feel so blessed to have her with me.  We met at Ryan’s elementary school and had many chats about food/recipes while I was dropping or picking Ryan up from school.  Nancy was there to pick up her niece Maya and nephew Ralphie. In case you’re wondering, she’s assembling and individually wrapping about 200 ham/swiss/Dijon & mayonnaise sandwiches.

Here I am.  Finally. My dream of working out of a commercial kitchen has come to fruition.  Thinking hurry up and take the picture, I’ve got lots to do but have no idea where to start!!  I’ve got some twirling to do!

I am hugely interested in growing my baking business.  I have already met with a local restaurant and we’re working on a dessert menu.  SO FUN!

So you see, blogging has taken a back seat for a bit.  I want to share much of what I’m doing in the kitchen and will definitely get to that as soon as I’m able.

Have a blessed day!

Angie