Thai Curry

Missy Tippens

This is a late post! How are the days slipping by so quickly? I missed posting at my regular time. I'm sorry!

So today I'm quickly sharing a new sauce I discovered. I love Thai food, love curry. And this packet made a quick and easy meal the other night.

I had made a chicken stir fry and used some powdered curry in it. But I had wanted to make something with more sauce but had forgotten to buy coconut milk. Then when I served the leftovers, I remembered this sauce in the pantry. It really made the leftovers creamy and yummy!

So if you like a quick curry, look for this type sauce packet to keep on hand. And for those of you who've mentioned never having curry before, this would be a great way to try it. This particular one was very mild. Some are spicier, so be sure to buy what works for you.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

www.missytippens.com

New Italian Bread Crumbs

I love making fresh bread crumbs. I saw Julia Child years (and years and years) ago, talking about bread crumbs and how easy it is to make them and what a necessity they are... so when I have aging bread crusts, loaves, etc. I use my Cuisinart (with the death blade!!!) to turn them into crumbs and then I throw them into a gallon size freezer bag and into the freezer. That way I have fresh crumbs ready to use, any time! And I just add to the bag as I make crumbs...

It's a great waste not, want not strategy.

Now for this group of crumbs, I used a whole loaf of Italian bread...

Which was about 5 cups of crumbs.  Plus a little more, so I put 5-6 cups in the recipe...
And the spices/herbs were leaning away from Italy and toward Toronto, but it worked so well!

Italian Bread Crumbs

5-6 cups fresh bread crumbs
3 Tablespoons Montreal Chicken Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Parsley flakes
1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 Tablespoon salt (can be adjusted for us salt lovers)
1 1/2 Tablespoons pepper (we use the slightly larger table grind)
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Mix together...

Then toss into a bag and freeze what you don't use.

I use this now for pan-fried chicken breasts. It's amazing, and the entire family loves it.

Bread crumbs seem like a simple thing, but great bread crumbs are the basis for a great recipe.

And I took pictures of all of this, and then in a flash of brilliance (when my camera noted it was getting full) I thought... Oh, I've uploaded all my pics, I'll just clear it.

So I did.

And of course I'd just taken 5 pics of bread crumbs, but I'm clever so I RE-ENACTED the recipe, LOL!

Yes.

Just for youse!

I was so excited at how well these turned out... and I hope you love them, too!  Here are some boneless chicken breasts (butterflied and pounded slightly) dredged in beaten egg and the crumbs...

And they were amazingly delicious!!!

We're hearing and seeing signs of spring. Birds, singing, coming back to forage for nesting materials... and peepers chorusing ALL NIGHT LONG!!! Some folks say this would drive them crazy, but I love the sound of the spring peepers and I can't imagine living in a spot where you wouldn't hear this welcoming chorus...

So between the peepers and the birds and one very unexpected rooster, the silent nights of winter have gone!

We are alive and awash in spring! No flowers yet, but buds are poking up through... so, soon. Soon we'll be smiling at daffodils and crocus and jonquils and iris and all of our happy little bright-topped buddies. And I cannot wait!

Dirt under my fingernails... moving wood chips.... digging holes. And this year setting fenceposts so we can move the chicken coops...

With spring comes work, but it's joyous work in the north, and I cannot wait to get started...

But first:

We've got "Back in the Saddle" on sale in mass market paperback across the country.

This pic was taken by Dana Lynn in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Thank you, Dana! And thank you Walmart and Waterbrook Press!

Walmart, Kroger, Tops, Wegmans, Piggly Wiggly (I think!) and anyplace they sell/stock Love Inspired books, you should find "Back in the Saddle"... so if you see it, take a picture and post it to facebook or Twitter... and TAG ME IN THE PIC SO I SEE IT!!!!... and I will enter you in the drawing for a signed copy of "Peace in the Valley" releasing in one month!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

That's it, easy peasy: Take a pic of a Ruthy cowboy book on a store shelf (It is OKAY to buy it, but not required!!!) and share it on social media...

Wishing you all the best as we continue the last few weeks of our Lenten journey here... a journey of contemplation and prayer and thanksgiving!

Award-winning inspirational author Ruthy Logan Herne is living her dream of writing beautiful, thought-provoking stories of faith, hope, love... and romance. Because she loves romance! Become her friend on Facebook, follow her on Twitter (@RuthLoganHerne) or stop by her website ruthloganherne.com

She'd love to see you, and loves to chat with readers!

Comforting Carrot & Garlic Soup with Guest Chef Michelle Karl

 I am so happy to welcome back my friend and fellow Love Inspired Suspense author, Michelle Karl. You may remember Michelle from her previous fabulous recipe for Chia Pudding.

 This time, Michelle has a recipe for a delicious carrot and garlic soup. Just the thing for these lingering cold days.

I also want to tell you about Michelle's terrific new release - OUTSIDE THE LAW. I devoured it. My only regret about this post is that it is for something healthy like soup, and not the absolutely delicious baked goods that her heroine,Yasmine, creates in her bakery!

At the risk of being corny, a baker, a rookie FBI agent, some romance and some really scary bad guys, together whip up an awesome read!

 Welcome, Michelle.

 Comforting Carrot & Garlic Soup

Everyone is busy. You’re busy, I’m busy, we’re all running around flailing and wondering when things will stop getting so busy, but sometimes it’s hard to see an end in sight. And I don’t know about you, but when I hit a busy season, one of the first things to get shoved aside is meal prep and healthy eating.

Making healthy food takes so much time, not to mention needing to go out and shop for ingredients, too. Maybe you’re better at preparation than I am, but I don’t tend to keep a lot in my fridge because I hate food waste, so I try to only buy what I need to prepare meals. But if I’m not preparing meals, I have nothing in the fridge, and… well, it becomes a vicious cycle.

Enter: the soup I’m sharing today.

It’s fast, it’s incredibly cheap, it’s ridiculously flavorful, it takes only a few ingredients, and—this is my favorite part—the main ingredients are the kinds of items that we all tend to have in our fridge and pantry, even when there’s “nothing” there, because they last so very, very long.

Do you have a bag of carrots? A bulb of garlic? Then you’re all set! I’ve made this recipe with fresh carrots and with carrots that have been sitting in my fridge for 6 months and were trying to take root inside the bag (uh, it’s possible I may also have a “cleaning out my fridge” problem…). It tasted great both ways!

Notably, it’s not my recipe, but comes from a blog called A Teaspoon of Turmeric (https://www.arvindas.com/arvindas-blog/2013/9/29/soups-on-carrot-garlic-curried-soup ), which is run by a mother and daughter team who own the company Arvinda’s, which sells spice blends. That said, the version of this recipe up on their blog right now is a little different from their original one (which I use), so I feel comfortable replicating it here!

Carrot & Garlic Soup

It’s also worth noting that, depending on how much time you have, you could make this soup in two stages. If you’re short on time in the morning, or have extra time in the evening to prep and cook the carrots, do that. It will make for a quick “fresh” meal when you’re ready to eat.

And if you’re making this for more than a few people—double it! Or triple it! It will also depend on the size of your carrots.

Ingredients:

4-5 large carrots, peeled, washed and cut into small pieces (size needed will depend on your blender strength & how much cooking time you have!)

4 cups water

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped (or more)

1.5 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

1 tbsp. parsley flakes (or fresh parsley)

Instructions:

1. Place carrots, salt, and water in a large pot. Cook until carrots are fork-tender. Allow to cool slightly (this is for your own safety before step 2!).
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Using either a hand blender or a high-speed blender, blend up the carrots. I prefer mine with texture, so I only pulse it a few times in the blender.
   
   
   
   
   
3. In another pot (or the same one, if you’ve blended the carrots up in a blender), gently heat your olive oil. Add chopped garlic and saute until fragrant.
4. Add turmeric to garlic and stir frequently, allowing spice to cook for about a minute.
5. 
   Add carrot mixture to garlic and turmeric. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Stir in parsley flakes and serve hot! (Or ladle into bowls & garnish with fresh parsley.)

I love that this recipe is so simple that it can be easily done in stages, and that it’s not difficult to double, triple, or—yes, I’ve done this for a church potluck—quadruple! And for such a sparse ingredient list, the amount of flavor here is incredible. I’ve had folks ask what’s in it, and watched their eyes nearly bug out when I answered, “really, it’s just carrots and garlic, and a bit of turmeric!”

Also, if you’ve not worked with turmeric before, this is an excellent way to ease into it. Unlike many herbs and spices, the health benefits of turmeric have been widely studied for decades and peer reviewed by scientists and health professionals. And in this recipe, it’s so subtle that you won’t even taste it. I promise! (Well, unless you’re a supertaster (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster) , in which case I can’t promise anything…)

Thanks for having me here today! And I hope you get a moment to, well, slow down and enjoy this dish.

Bio 

Michelle Karl is an unabashed bibliophile and romantic suspense author. She lives in Canada with her husband and several critters, including a co-dependent cat and an opinionated parrot. When she’s not reading and consuming copious amounts of coffee, she writes the stories she’d like to find in her ‘to be read’ pile. She also loves animals, world music and eating the last piece of cheesecake. Visit her at www.michellekarl.com and on Twitter @_michellekarl_.

Book

OUTSIDE THE LAW

When her apartment is besieged by masked gunmen, Yasmine Browder's convinced it's tied to her investigation into her brother's "accidental" death three weeks ago. Narrowly escaping, she flags down the car of a passerby she thought she'd never see again—her childhood crush. Unlike the local police, newly minted FBI agent Noel Black doesn't believe the attack is a coincidence, especially when the attempts on her life don't stop. Yasmine's onto the truth about her brother, and someone powerful wants her dead. With nobody to trust and just days out of training, Noel must find a way to keep her alive…because now that he's found Yasmine, he refuses to lose her again.

German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Yes, the title of this post pretty much says it all. This recipe combines two all-time favorites into one decadent dessert filled with three of my favorite things--chocolate, coconut and pecans.

The only thing wrong with this recipe is that it takes a little time to prepare, so plan ahead. However, I promise, it will be worth the wait.

Here's what you'll need for this over-the-top gooey treat.

• 3 cups pecan halves
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup cold butter cut into cubes
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

While you're waiting, spread the pecans in a single layer on a large baking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through, until toasted and fragrant. If you're like me, you might to toast a few extra for sampling. I love pecans period, but toasted pecans are even better. Toasting nuts enhances their flavor, making them even harder to resist. Just be sure to keep a close eye on them as they can quickly cross that line from toasted to burned and no one likes burned pecans.

Set your toasted pecans aside and line the bottom and sides of a 13x9 baking pan with foil. Lightly grease the foil and set aside.

Place flour, powdered sugar, butter and cocoa in the bowl of a food processor or large bowl.

If using a food processor, pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a bowl, simply cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you achieve the same result.

Then press the mixture into your foil-lined pan, bringing it up the sides of the pan 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Then as soon as you remove it from the oven, sprinkle your chocolate chips over the hot crust.

Set on wire rack to cool completely. Roughly 30-40 minutes. So pour yourself another cup of tea or coffee and take a little break. You deserve it.

Okay, now on to our gooey filling.

To a large bowl, add your brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter and eggs.

Whisk together until smooth.

Then add your coconut and toasted pecans.

Stir to combine.

And spoon into your cooled crust.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until top is golden and filling is set.

Cool completely and chill at least 1 hour.
When ready to serve, lift bars from pan using the foil sides as handles.
Cut into bars and serve.

Okay, this isn't the best picture. And why I didn't take a photo of the entire platter of bars I took to our middle daughter's baby shower, I'll never know. But they were a hit.

I also held out a few at home and they were even better the next morning. Yes, I said morning. Traditional breakfast appetizer, you know. ;-)  However, it had me thinking that the next time I make these, I just might make them a day ahead and keep them in the fridge overnight. You know, let all the flavors meld together.

Well, the clock is ticking here at the Obi house. Our home is set to hit the market this Saturday. That is, providing all of the last minute details come together. Like bumping the window cleaner from Wednesday to Thursday because the weatherman says there will be widespread storms on Wednesday. There's also staging, not to mention cleaning every little nook and cranny. Funny how we get used to living with things a certain way, but when faced with someone else's scrutiny, our perspective changes. In writing terms, we've done the revisions, now it's time for editing.

So until next week...

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and kids. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

Baked Steak to Fight the Winter Doldrums

If you've been hanging around the Cafe for the last week or so, I think you've noticed that all of us have been suffering from some aspect of the late winter doldrums. From East to West, from North to South, we're getting over colds, dealing with more and more snow, or ice, or just the winter blahs.

But I think we're over the hurdle - dirty snow banks notwithstanding.

Because SPRING has finally come to the Black Hills.

So we're kicking sickness and doldrums to the curb, opening up the windows, and letting the fresh air in.

We drove up into the Hills on Saturday, to what some people consider the Jewel of the Hills: Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park. If the granite walls look familiar, you might recognize this area as part of the scenery in the movie, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," with Nicolas Cage.

Whether there really is treasure in those Hills or not (I think not), it's a beautiful place.

Even the geese think so! And look who else we spied! The Western Bluebirds are back from their winter in the south!

We found two of the beauties searching for food on the ice. Now we know it's truly Spring!

To celebrate the end of winter/beginning of spring/end of the crud that's had me down the past couple weeks, I decided to hunt up a new comfort food recipe.

There's really nothing more comforting than a retro, throw-back to the 20th century, meat and potatoes meal.

Baked Steak

serves two 
ingredients:

two steaks - round steak works best, I had rib-eye on hand

1/4 cup flour

salt & pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons oil (I used one Tablespoon each of coconut oil and butter)

2-3 cups beef stock

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 small onion, sliced

Preheat your oven to 375°.

In a Dutch Oven, or other large pan that will go into your oven, heat the oil.

Mix the flour, salt and pepper together and dredge the steaks in it. Place the steaks in the pan in the hot oil and brown both sides.

Remove the steaks, and pour in part of the beef broth and bring to a boil. Scrape the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan as the broth is heating and mix them in. 

Add the Worcestershire sauce, more broth, and half of the sliced onions.

Layer the browned steaks on top of the onions, add the rest of the sliced onions, and the rest of the broth.

Cover and bake at 375° for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Cook some potatoes in your favorite way - I quartered and boiled some red potatoes and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and butter.

Serve with a big salad, and maybe some homemade bread, if you have any. 

It was a delicious meal for a cold and rainy early spring evening. 

What is your favorite way to push through the winter doldrums?

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Banana Rum Shuttles

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here and this is a repeat post. This cold has really kicked me to the curb. Everything has been on hold for a few weeks but I finally gave in and now I've got some powerful antibiotics on board. Here's to recovering quickly and SPEEDBO! 

So, this is a repeat of something  I first learned how to cook a few weeks before my 15th birthday (just a baby!) in France. La voila, Banana Rum Shuttles! Of course, over there they called them "tartes bananes" and they didn't have the little arrow-head end that looks like a loom shuttle. But the recipe I found that was the closest was this "shuttle" version and I thought it was really pretty so... I guess my tartes bananes sont "shuttles" now!

 So, you'll need:
3 bananas
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbs rum (or more, depending on what kind of day you've had)
puff pastry, frozen or home made (I've tried to make it many times... I just can't. So, I resolved to stop wasting time on the impossible and buy the frozen stuff.)
1 egg white for glaze

 Cut the bananas length-wise. No reason for this except it's easier to dip them in the rum.

 You can't see the rum, but it's there. Really.

 Mix the sugar, cloves, cinnamon. Roll the rum bananas in the sugar. Lick fingers after ever piece.

 You should end up with bananas coated with sugar and spices and rum. Taste test a few to make sure everything is going well at this point.

 Defrosted pastry. Looks bad. Will taste good.

 Put the banana mix on the puff pastry. Sample a few more pieces that fall off the side. Lick fingers again.

 Seal the sides with the fork, cut the ends at an angle and seal.

 Slice the top for vents. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take them out, brsh with egg whites, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
                                      

 I served these on plates I picked up in Poland when I attended the Warsaw School of Economics after I graduated from college. It was a little odd to serve something from my years in France on plates I bought ten years later during a sojourn in a completely different country. Then my five year old picked one up and proclaimed it "delicioso" and just like his abuelita's empanadas.  I had to smile at the intersection (collision?) of all these cultures in a small Oregon town.

Wishing you joy in the journey, wherever you are and wherever you're going! Until next time!