Tags
cooking, cruise, gardening, Holiday, Julie Lary, rajalary, Rich Lary, scribbles writing, snow, vacation
JANUARY Wanting to simplify our lives, we started 2020 off on a good note. After the tenant gave her notice, …
24 Wednesday Nov 2021
Posted Coupeville, Family, Gardening, Holiday
inTags
cooking, cruise, gardening, Holiday, Julie Lary, rajalary, Rich Lary, scribbles writing, snow, vacation
JANUARY Wanting to simplify our lives, we started 2020 off on a good note. After the tenant gave her notice, …
20 Sunday Jun 2021
Posted Family, Motorcycle accident
inTags
Christmas, cooking, grandchildren, Julie Lary, Motorcycle injury, rajalary, Richard Lary, scribbles writing
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Continuation of Reality Bites Biding time until I was cleared to walk or more correctly, start to put weight on …
04 Tuesday May 2021
Posted Food and drink
inThis is the second week of a challenge at work focused on reducing food waste. Everyday, we document the food …
20 Sunday Sep 2020
Posted Food and drink
inHere’s how I made my grandmother’s beloved sweet and sour meatballs… then gobbled them up with crushed matzah
19 Saturday Sep 2020
Posted Food and drink
inDetermined to regain my challah making skills I managed to read the recipe and realized I’ve been neglecting to knead it for the sufficient time. Here’s the recipe.
06 Sunday Sep 2020
Posted Food and drink
inDesperate to use up our massive crop of zucchini, I’ve been experimenting with various recipes. I’ve made “Zucchini Reduction Chili” twice.
06 Friday Mar 2020
Posted Food and drink, Gardening, Hobbies, Home Improvement
inTags
Cecile Brunner, cooking, gardening, Julie Lary, Northwest Flower and Garden Festival, rajalary, Rich Lary, scribbles writing
This gallery contains 28 photos.
Celebrated leap year at Northwest Flower and Garden Festival and delighted with Cecile Brunner’s new home.
06 Thursday Aug 2015
Posted Food and drink
inTags
bread, Brown Bear Baking, cooking, everything bagel seasoning, Julie Lary, rajalary, scribbles writing
A couple years ago, Rich and I had a two-day staycation on Orcas Island. Having taken the first ferry to the island, we were hungry when we arrived, but didn’t want a sit-down breakfast. Instead, we wandered into Brown Bear Baking in Eastsound, and purchased a kalamata olive and rosemary bread. Tearing off chunks in-between sips of coffee, we discussed purchasing whether we should purchase one of their delectable pastries or another bread. In the end, we opted for an apricot and fig bread, which I used the following week for open-faced sandwiches with poached eggs on top, along with tomatoes, kale, and other goodies.
What makes Brown Bear Baking’s breads so amazing are their round shape with a chewy crust, and soft, tangy inside. I asked the bakers how they make their breads, and they shared the dough is proofed in baskets, and then baked in heavy cast-iron pots with lids.
Months later, when wandering through the Bellevue Goodwill, I spotted a large ceramic pot with a lid. The only problem was it had several small holes in the bottom for use as a berry strainer. Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist buying it.
The first bread I made in the pot was ghastly. I used parchment paper to cover the holes on the bottom, and the light coating of olive oil I rubbed on the loaf, dripped through the holes, and smoked when it hit the heating element in the oven. The smoke made the bread taste terrible.
My second attempt was marginally better, but the crust was soft, and the inside of the bread wasn’t overly tasty.
Disgusted, I placed the pot in the living room as an art piece. This week, however, I did research on cooking bread in a ceramic or iron (dutch oven) pot. I found a simple recipe and gave it a try, placing a small piece of foil inside my pot to cover the holes, and a length of foil beneath the pot, just in case any oil drizzled out.
The result was nothing less than “wow!” Below is the recipe for what I’m calling my victory or “I finally figured it out” bread! I made some revisions to the recipe, using one-third whole wheat flour, and adding McCormick Everything Bagel Seasoning from Costco.
Victory Bread
Mix and knead until smooth
Shape into a round mound, and place on a well-floured counter or marble slab. Dust with flour then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 8 to 18 hours.
Punch down, knead lightly, and then form into a mound. Let rest for 30 minutes.
Place ceramic pot and lid into a cold oven. Heat to 450°. Remove pot and carefully lift up dough with floured hands and place in pot. Drizzle oil over the top, and sprinkle on additional everything bagel seasoning. Cover the pot, and bake in oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid, and bake for another 15 minutes until brown.
Turn out onto a rack and enjoy!
06 Monday Jul 2015
Posted Food and drink, Rose's Writings
inTags
I suspect my grandmother, Rose Ridnor, didn’t have a recipe book to flip through for ideas on what to fix for dinner. She therefore had lists on index cards, such as this one for meats, which provided ideas. Because my grandparents grew up in the tenements in New York, they were always very frugal, eating little meat, and supplementing main courses with bread, potatoes, pasta, kasha, and other grains.
For the most part, my grandparent’s subsisted on lower quality cuts of meat, cooked for hours, and subsequently labeled “pot roast.” My grandmother would always add potatoes and carrots an hour or so before the roast was done to make a more substantial meal.
My also routinely roasting or boiling chicken. The broth from the latter was turned into chicken soup with carrots, celery, onions, homemade noodles, and kneidlach (soft matzos balls).
For special occasions, my grandmother made tiny sweet and sour meatballs, which were eaten with crushed matzos. The sauce was made from ketchup, brown sugar, and white vinegar.
I don’t recall her ever making lamb, veal, steak, or fresh fish. Maybe my grandfather didn’t like fish so it was disguised as gefilte fish, lox, herring, kippers, and canned and smoked salmon. Below is her recipe for scalloped salmon, which was showcases how a can of salmon can ended up serving several people, possible for multiple meals.
Beef
Steak
Ground
Lamb
Veal
Chicken
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted Rose's Writings
inMy grandmother was a list-maker so it was no surprise when I found a stack of index cards among her papers, containing lists of how much to tip someone (bellboys 25-50₵ per bags), painting and household advice, uses for vinegar, and what to make for meals. Below is what she wrote down for appetizers, followed by her recipe for deviled eggs.
Fish: Preserved
Fish: Fresh
Meat
Other