Italian Fries

I love these Italian Fries.....but then anything in The Mad Hungry Cookbook I love. It's now like my fave cookbook. When Lucinda Scala Quinn cooks she makes her recipes easy and simple and very delicious. I've always enjoyed her cooking throughout the years. When I saw these fries I knew I had to make them and they have since become a favourite in my family. They taste even more crispier as I leave them in longer because my husband loves crispy and over done (don't ask why). These could compare almost to 'fried'. I also did a combo of parmesan and romano......but on occassion have just used parmesan and they were just as great........love the addition of fresh parsley......my garden is bursting with parsley, till the chipmunks don't get at them. I always find that parsley adds a summery and fresh flavour and look to any dish.

We make these along with some homemade hamburgers and grilled brats or any kind of grilled summer treats on the bbq........yummmm!

 Cut and ready to be baked.

Italian Fries

(recipe from Mad Hungry, byLucinda Scala Quinn )

Ingredients:

6 -7 Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/3-inch-thick French fry-style strips (see potato prep in #2 below)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs

2 cups freshly grated Romano cheese (I used 1/2 cup of Parmesan and 1 1/2 cup of Romano)

1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter, cut into cubes

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Potato Prep: For a French-fry cut, peel the potatoes and slice lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Stack the slices on top of one another, a few at a time, and slice lengthwise into 1/3-inch-thick strips. Peeled and sliced potatoes can turn brown pretty quickly. To avoid this, try floating the peeled, cut pieces in cold, salted water. Let soak for a couple minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes and pat dry with paper towels. Spread 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread out the potatoes. Overlapping is fine.

4. Sprinkle the dried herbs evenly over the potatoes. Liberally spread the cheese and parsley on top. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the cheese. Scatter the cubed butter around the pans.

5. Bake until the potatoes are golden brown, rotating the pans after 30 minutes, for 45 to 50 minutes total. Use a spatula to lift off the potatoes with all the crusty cheese adhered to them. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.


Notes; I left my fries longer in the oven only because my husband loves overly roasted and more crispy fries.


Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!!!!!!

Strawberry Pie



This is strawberry season and it is one of my favourite fruits. When I was growing up my Mom and Aunt would make lots of strawberry jams and strawberry syrups. I remember that strawberry syrup dripping over ice cream, cheese blintzes, waffles only to name a few.
We use to go to the strawberry farms and pick them ourselves as kids....which was quite back breaking. I think that I popped more into my mouth then into my basket. We would all pile into the car and go out of the city to a strawberry farm......which basically all they grew was strawberries.
Sometimes we would over pick and then ended up handing out our baskets full of strawberries to neighbours and friends.......



 This is a recipe that I got off one of the Foodie Boards that I'm on and ever since I tried this recipe I've been making it quite often.....it is very good and so fresh tasting. 

Strawberry Pie

CRUST INGREDIENTS

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Blend ingredients with fork until well incorporated. Press evenly into 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool.

PIE GLAZE:

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup water

2 cups mashed strawberries (pastry blender or potato masher works well for mashing - see *Note below)

1/2 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Enough halved strawberries to place about 2 layers in pie crust (no more since you need room for the glaze).

Optional: Whole berries and mint sprigs for garnish, fresh whipped cream



DIRECTIONS




Combine sugar, corn starch and salt in a saucepan. Stir in water and mix well. Cook over low heat briefly just until sugar dissolves. Add mashed strawberries. Cook over medium-low heat (stirring often) until mixture comes to a low boil, thickens, and "clears." Boil for another minute or two, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, if using. Let mixture cool completely to room temp, stirring occasionally.




Place halved berries in baked pie shell as evenly as possible. Pour glaze over berries and chill for at least 4 hours. Before serving, cover pie with whipped cream or serve dollops on slices. Garnish with whole berries and mint sprigs.




*Note: Depending on how you prefer the glaze, the strawberries can be mashed until still somewhat chunky or more pureed.


Today I'm linking to
DesignsbyGollum

www.sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com

litandlaundry.blogspot.com

http://www.foodtripfriday.net/
Tasty Tuesday

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

Turkish Blue Eye.

"TURKISH BLUE EVIL EYE"

A nazar, lucky eye or evil eye stone (in Turkish it is called a nazar boncuğu) is an amulet that is meant to protect against the evil eye ("evil eye", from nazar and "amulet" from boncuğu). It is most common in Turkey.

In Turkey it is in every  home, on jewellery, including for babies, on vehicles, doors, horses and even cell phones. The evil eye comes in different shapes and sizes. When I visit Turkey I've never seen a home without one.......also it is the most bought and taken home souvenir for tourists. I have a vast collection at home.....myself.  


This picture I'm showing today is from the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)  in Toronto. It is my favourite Fair and I've every year since I was a kid.......they have this big shopping center in this building where you can purchase 'stuff' from around the world....this happened to be in the Turkish booth. I'm excited because the CNE is opening up in August this summer.

 
 

Thanks for stopping by.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

The other day my husband brought home a few pints of blueberries....said they were a good buy at the supermarket. Well....my daughter doesn't like them and either does my husband. I already had eaten almost 2 pints........didn't want to waste them so I made some sauce to go with a cheesecake that I had baked.

Now my husband and daughter pour that blueberry syrup over the cheesecake and it is almost gone...won't eat fresh but love the sauce.

My favourite is this sauce over cheese blintzes...yummmm, or even over some pound cake or ice cream.

Fresh Blueberry Sauce

By Diana Rattray , About.com Guide

•2 cups fresh blueberries

•1/3 cup sugar

•1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

•1/4 teaspoon salt

•1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Wash and crush blueberries; add sugar, lemon juice and salt.

Mix well. In a small saucepan, bring blueberry mixture to a boil; boil 1 minute.

Add vanilla.......... Chill.



Serve over puddings, cake, or ice cream.
 
*****I added a pinch of cinnamon and a teaspoon of corn syrup, made it even more rich tasting.



Tube Beef or Not To Beef

Tube Beef or Not Tube Beef

This is one of my favourite beef stew recipes...........it is not your typical traditional beef stew like your Mother or Grandmother use to make. If I want to shed a few pounds....I know I blah, blah, blah.......I dig out my low calorie recipes and start whipping them up. This is one of them.
This has a sort of sweet and sour taste and while it is roasting the aroma is amazing.
.........it come from a cook book called "The Looney Spoons" by the Podleski sisters Janet and Greta. They are two sisters who come from Canada and have three cookbooks out on the best seller lists and their own TV show......which is comical in a way to watch, very entertaining. What I love about their recipes is that they cut down calories and substitute items.
I know the picture doesn't do it justice and looks like a bunch of mush....but it is very yummy. :-)))

Tube Beef or Not To Beef
Source; From Looneyspoons by The Podleski Sisters.
Serves 6.

1 1/4 pounds beef stew meat



28 ounces canned tomatoes -- cut up


6 ounces tomato paste


3 cups sliced mushrooms


1 cup chopped onions


2 tablespoons soy sauce, low sodium


2 tablespoons brown sugar


2 tablespoons white vinegar


2 teaspoons low sodium beef bouillon powder


2 cloves garlic -- minced


1 teaspoon dry mustard


1 teaspoon dried oregano


1/2 teaspoon pepper


1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes


10 ounces pasta......any choice (I use penne, rigatoni or spaghetti)

 Preheat oven to 350



Trim all visible fat from beef. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Arrange beef in a small roaster or a large casserole dish.


Combine remaining ingredients, except rigatoni, in a large bowl. Mix well and pour over beef.

Cover and bake 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours, until beef is very tender.

Stir halfway through cooking time.


During last 15 minutes of cooking time, prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Serve hot beef and sauce over pasta


Per Serving:
422 Calories; 9g Fat (20.2% calories fromfat); 30g Protein; 55g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 52mg Cholesterol; 692mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 3 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 0

Thanks for stopping by!!!!

Today I'm linking to: FOODIE FRIDAY at designsbygollum.blogspot.com

Crabapple Trees

 I have a few 'crabapple' trees in my backyard.........they are roughly almost 50 years old.

Every spring we get to enjoy a few days of these gorgoeus breath-taking pink spring flowers. In the summer pretty leaves with the crabapples.

But........in the fall it is very messy and bushels and bushels of crabapples we have to pick up off the ground. Mostly we enjoy it as it is like a buffet for the lil' critters that live in our yard. Every bird that is indigenous to our area flies over for a nibble.......we even have seen a few hawks around also. The squirrels well.... they are very busy there all year round. Most of all the resident Raccoon has all his meals around the crabapple tree daily.........I've also seen "Alvin' the Chipmink running around there but not sure if he or she  munches on them. So I hope you enjoy my photo's of my crabapple trees in my backyard.

I'm linking to

www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com

for Outdoor Wednesday.
and
http://www.thegypsyscorner.com/
for Three or More

Thanks for stopping by.

Turkey, Cesme, Blue Monday

This is the town of Cesme in Turkey......which means fountain in the Ottoman days because of the many fountains around the city. It is a very popular summer resort area and gets quite populated during the summer season.

 Blue waters.......

 Blue skies....and waters.

 This part of the town is like a small fishing village. Every morning the fisherman bring in their catches of the day and sell them off. Mostly this town has a lot of restaurants and that's from where most buyers are from.
During the summer season this town has thousands of tourists because it has great beaches and lots of great hotel resorts......fabulous daily bazaars, lots of old ruins, great restaurants and night life and antiquities to visit.

Today I'm linking to "BLUE MONDAY".

Thank you for visiting.

Church Icon

Today I'm linking to "BLUE MONDAY"

BLUE Church ICON

Since this is Easter Monday I thought I would post this painting of The Virgin Mary.........it's in a Ukrainian Orthodox church that I went to for Easter. I've always loved this turquoise blue background.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy your day and be sure to visit the other participants at Smiling Sally.

Happy Easter

"HAPPY EASTER"

He is not here,

for

He has risen.

Matthew 28:6

Happy Easter to All my Friends!

Easter Eggs

Wishing eveyone a very "HAPPY EASTER"

Here I am all set up ready to colour my 6 dozen eggs..........yes 6 dozen. Seems like a lot but I hand them out to family members.........and then we have them for Easter dinner. We also take an Easter basket to church with eggs, ham, butter, salt, horseradish, Paska (Easter Bread)....to be blessed.........every year a few hundred people show up all with their baskets. Then on Easter Sunday morning the family gathers together for breakfast and we eat the contents of the basket. One of my sister in laws is Polish and she also does the same tradition.....so we all come together. After we have the big easter dinner with the works.
One day at this time of year I would like to visit the Ukraine which I've never been to. To see how Easter is celebrated there.........but being 3rd generation Canadian we still keep some traditions.




"EASTER EGGS"

Every Easter since I can remember I have coloured Easter eggs...........I'm of a Ukrainian background and it is very important tradition to colour eggs.

This tradition is very old and its beginnings reach back to antiquity. During ancient times people developed all sorts of myths which the egg perceived as the source of life.......like the universe and the sun.

All though many similar myths are found in many cultures of the world......Ukrainians today are one of the few groups of people who still strongly adhere to many of the ancient traditions associated with the Easter Egg.

Coloured and drying...then put out nicely.

These are hard boiled eggs with a sleeve that adheres when put into boiling water.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ukrainian Easter Eggs

Today I'm linking to "BLUE MONDAYS".

I have to show this "BLUE" picture first.......my Sister-in-law sent this. It's in Bodrum, Turkey. I just look at the photo and dream and dream, wishing I could be there......with the warm temperatures. I think with this wintery, snowy, cold and damp weather I'm ready for some warm temperatures. But then I do like living in a country with 4 seasons.

Ukrainan Easter Egg Collection

Since Easter is around the corner I thought I would post my Ukrainian Easter Eggs with the gorgeous BLUE background..........this Easter Egg display is dear to me because it was from my Dad who passed away 5 years ago.

When I was a younger kid I liked to play with the Easter egg collection and probably I broke more then one, so when my Dad saw this he bought it for me. I now have it hanging in my den as a reminder of my Dad.

I never did learn how to make these eggs........well I did go for a few classes but never continued. I guess other things were just in the way. Now if I go to a church bazaar I just pick up one or two to add to my collection during the spring. They are a very labour intense job to decorate and take up a lot of time.

Thank you for stopping by.