Favorite Friday! Veggie Side Dishes

Missy, here. One of my recent favorite side dishes is sauteed broccoli! And I've discovered a really easy, quick way to make it from fresh instead of frozen (my normal method). I thought I'd share!

This is the empty bag I had to dig out of the trash because I forgot to photo it!

The trick is to start with fresh broccoli in microwave-in-the-bag packaging! I buy the small bag. I stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes (to fully cook, it says to cook on high for 3-4 minutes). So I'm just partially cooking.

Meanwhile, heat a little olive oil in a skillet and add some chopped garlic. When the broccoli finishes the 2 minutes in the microwave, open the package and dump it in the skillet.

Sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook until done to your taste. But don't cook it to death! It's great to leave crisp-tender. (is that a real word??) :)

This makes broccoli the most gorgeous bright green color! And very tasty.

So, what's your favorite veggie side dish? (And don't tell me potatoes! Give me one that's not so starchy.) :)

Low-Cost Fancy!!!

My niece was  here a few weeks ago and we got out the punch set. The punch set ties into my Seekerville post today, because it cost $2.97 from Eckerd's or Rite Aid or some such a VERY LONG TIME AGO!!!! It was a Christmas present from Dave's sister Beverly and I've used it multiple times, every year, for every purpose known to man...

And it survived all these years. See the gold "carnival" glass look?

Haley calls it 'fancy'.  And she sighed and said "Aunt Ruth has such nice things..." with a hint of longing in her voice.

I was no way, no how about to correct her, LOL!

And my grandkids LOVE THESE CUPS.  They sparkle. They reflect the light. The punch shimmers inside!!!!!

:)

I love simple things that stand the test of time, so do you have any cool things you bring out for special occasions? They don't have to be pricey, just something that makes a memory?

Here's a pic of the cupcakes my daughter-in-law Lacey made for Easter:

Simple. Making memories. Not necessarily spending more money.

Jon made fancy Jello, like my mother-in-law used to make for my kids... And Emma LOVED IT!!!

 Layered Jello, sparkling in glassware. That's pretty fancy-schmancy in six-year-old world!

So what fun things do you like to do to make things special?  Share them with us... Over really good coffee and tea, of course!

Coffee Chat!

Missy, here. Doesn't it just seem like yesterday when I was asking our chat question? Time sure is flying.

I've had a crazy busy couple of weeks. One thing I did recently was finally join the Friends of the Library. Today we sorted books to be sold at the annual fundraiser book sale. I'm talking hundreds (maybe thousands) or books donated! Pretty amazing.

So today's questions for us to chat about: What's your favorite thing about the library? Your favorite branch or person, your favorite spot in the library, your favorite memory of the library...

Please share!

Confessions of a Mad Tea Junkie

Hello. My name is Mindy, and I am a tea junkie.

It all started a few years ago, on a cruise, when I sampled some passion fruit and jasmine white tea. From there, I branched out to Earl and Lady Grey, black tea, green tea.... Then my SIL started push--er, distributing the good stuff.

Now, I buy my tea by the half-kilo. Currently, I have at least four different varieties on hand.

In the beginning, I had the simple ball tea strainer. Then I moved up to what I call my tea gnome. I love it's fine mesh and the fact that I don't have any leaves drifting through my tea. But that wasn't enough. I have to have my tea even when I travel. That's what the mesh spoon is for.

Sometimes, when I feel like living on the wild side, I use my three-piece tea cup. Its holes are large, so I always have tea leaves in my drink. But it's fun to change things up once in a while.

And then, there's my tea tin. This is how I travel with my tea. So far, I haven't been stopped.

Just look at this Cream Earl Green. So beautiful. And so good for you.

 Loads of antioxidants.



What's your beverage of choice? Your splurge? The one you've just gotta have? And how far will you go to make sure you have it?

Stir-fried Rice

Missy, here. I hope you all had a beautiful Easter!!

I'm going to share a quick, simple, throw-in-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type recipe. Or maybe I should call it a clean-out-the-panty recipe. Or even a wing-it recipe!

I was in a pinch one night (what's new??) and decided to throw together stir-fried rice. I thought back to how my grad school roommate had taught me to make it, but I didn't  have one of the main ingredients I needed. She always used Chinese sausage, and I haven't looked for it anywhere locally (now the search is on my to-do list). I also couldn't even remember what all she had me put in the fried rice, so I decided to wing it.

As I went digging in the fridge, I remembered I had a package of summer sausage! And it was a pretty close likeness to the Chinese sausage. So, here's my kitchen sink fried rice...

Cook rice as directed.
Chop sausage into small cubes.
Chop onions and garlic and cook in small amount of oil until onions are translucent (don't burn the garlic!).
Add the sausage to the pan to heat and render some of the fat.
Add in shredded carrots (not shown in ingredient photo) and any other veggies you may like (I wanted frozen peas but didn't have any).

I also tossed in some pre-cooked chicken.
Stir in the cooked rice.
Add sauces as desired. I used a good bit of soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil, and a dash of rice wine vinegar. Heat and serve!

Okay, so this is the leftovers! I forgot to photograph it before the family dug in. :) But I can tell you they really enjoyed it!

Simply Saturday Fish Fry!

Duh.

I forgot it was Saturday.

Because I had off yesterday.

And we did our Good Friday fish fry dinner.

Prepared by moi.

BUT...

I wasn't thinking about today being Saturday. I was thinking about Easter.

Planning.

Cleaning (oh my stars.... lament... lament...)

Painting. Maybe.

And getting music ready for tonight's vigil Mass...

For Holy Saturday.

OH MY STARS!!!! IT'S SATURDAY AND I'M MANNING THE CAFE!!!

So I'm going to show you fish fry, Rochester style, delicious!

Here is fresh haddock:

Now haddock is a North Atlantic white fish. It's not available everywhere.

More's the pity.

And we always, always, always always breaded the haddock using flour, then beaten egg, thinned with 1/3 as much water, and then dredged in fresh bread crumbs.

(I use my Cuisinart to make bread crumbs whenever I've got bread on the verge of being wasted. Old rolls... Heels.... crusts.... bagels (not sweet or seasoned).

And then I pop it into a gallon freezer bag and I always have fresh bread crumbs on hand.

Julia Child taught me about using fresh bread crumbs years ago.

Possibly decades.

Make that absolutely decades.

How did I get so old, so quickly????

Anyway, we tried beer batter last night:

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups flour

12 ounces beer

2 tsp. salt

Mix together. Dip fish into batter. Drop into deep fat fryer. Cook until dark gold.

OH. MY. STARS.

This was restaurant quality deliciousness. 

My one regret???

WHY DIDN'T I REALIZE HOW EASY BEER BATTER WAS BEFORE?

Duh.

I did discover two things. That if you drop the fish (using tongs) into the oil with a basket in place, the batter cooks into the grooves of the basket.

So I removed the baskets from the fish fryer.

I use the big Presto fryer for the fish.

And a smaller one for the french fries. But not much smaller.

And I kept the basket in the one for the French Fry fryer.

And the coleslaw?

Freshly made. Very old world Brit Fish-n-chips.

I think they may possibly have Western NY fish fries in heaven.

I am not absolutely certain of that last fact.

Bless you all and may God our father in heaven and on Earth grant you peace and health this blessed Easter Resurrection Sunday....

A holy day indeed!

Favorite Friday!

Missy, here. And it's Favorite Friday! Today, I'm laying myself bare and admitting my newest favorite...

 FOOD ADDICTION

(imagine that spoken with reverb)

So, after years of ignoring it, I find myself with terrible cravings for frozen yogurt! And I blame it on all the fun places you can find now where you can pile the flavors in your bowl, then pay by weight.

And I tell you, my bowl ends up very expensive! LOL

I've discovered Polarberry (this one still has the yogurt behind the counter, it's not a weigh and pay place. I believe it's only a local, family owned shop) and FroYoLo. But closest to my house is Menchies (the one I'd heard the most about before I tried it).

My favorite flavors so far: 

at FroYoLo--red velvet cake

at Polarberry-- peanut butter

at Menchies-- dulce de leche and maple nut.

I included links so you can see if there's one near you. They have some that are low carb/sugar and non-dairy. Lots of options. But I suggest you try your best not to get addicted like I am! :)

Have y'all had any recently? What's your newest guilty food addiction?