Kitchen whimsy.

Earlier this week I made lamb shoulders with honey-glazed carrots and whole wheat breadsticks for dinner. Sounds like a weird combo, I couldn’t figure out where the couscous was. 

Didn’t marinate the lamb this time and was honestly not sure where I was going to go with it. First diced and sauteed some garlic then added the lamb to the pan. Put some balsamic vinegar and fresh lemon juice on the lamb, then I wondered what it would taste like with some honey. I googled that and found a recipe for lamb in a honey-hard cider sauce. So I tossed in some honey and hard cider, took the lamb off when it was cooked, and let the sauce simmer. I actually really liked it. Maybe next time I’ll just do the lamb two-ways so we can get the most flavor out of the ingredients. By the end, the honey sauce overpowered the balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, though I’m sure the latter would have tasted fine as well.

Used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Old-Fashioned-Pancakes/Detail.aspx and added some vanilla extract.

The other day I made whole wheat pizza for dinner. Had just the littlest bit of fresh mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce left. In the past I’ve used the shredded mozzarella that’s more dry, but fresh is a lot better.

I still haven’t figured out how to roll out pizza dough the right way. I use some flour to stop the dough from sticking to my hands and mostly just pound it with my knuckles to smooth out the folds and then I use my knuckles to stretch out the center a bit and then I put the dough on a greased pan and smooth out the dough until most of the pan is covered. Then I rub some olive oil on it because I never know where my food brushes are. Then the sauce goes on followed by bits of cheese. Sometimes I sprinkle on a little minced garlic but I was feeling lazy. Didn’t add any fresh herbs from the windowsill garden either. Because we have a super-sensitive smoke detector, the highest I’ll bake the pizza at is 400 degrees. So there you have it, your basic pizza.

handmadepride:

Click here for more DIYs.

Chocolate-covered pretzels, marshmallows, and strawberries with sprinkles. Had a “photo shoot” last night for items I want to put up on my Etsy shop. 

Blueberry muffins and matcha cookies I made for Dad. Will put up the recipe for the latter shortly. 

Christmas special: Ribs and herbed potatoes

It’s probably going to take me another few days to finish covering all the things I cooked for Christmas, which isn’t bad timing considering the Epiphany is tomorrow. 

Ribs:

Ingredients
1 rack of pork ribs
brown sugar
chili powder
paprika
garlic powder

1. Mix the seasoning in a small bowl. 
2. Use hands to cover the ribs. When the seasoning  gets onto the ribs it gets moist and becomes a sort of paste. I’ve read in other recipes to cut off the membrane on the ribs which I don’t do, but that might suit some people. 
3. Put the ribs in a freezer bag and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors meld. 
4. When ready to cook, bake on a baking sheet lined with greased foil at about 275 degrees for an hour to 45 minutes or until cooked to your liking. I’m not a big fan of charred ribs so I prefer the meat on my ribs to be slightly pink.  

Easy herbed potatoes:

Since I was in a bit of a time crunch, I baked potatoes in the simplest way I could think of.

Ingredients
A small bag’s worth of baby potatoes. The proper name of it escapes me…
Italian seasoning
A few tablespoons of butter
Olive oil 

Salt, to taste

1. Throw the potatoes in a shallow baking pan so they don’t roll off. Use a knife to leave slivers of butter on the potatoes. Sprinkle the potatoes evenly with some salt.Cook at 375 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until tender (a fork or toothpick is able to pierce a potato)
2. Take the potatoes out of the oven. Cut the potatoes into slices. Drizzle with some olive oil and Italian seasoning (rosemary, parsley, oregano, basil). 

Up next: Recipe for leg of lamb

Vegetable Stock

While vegetable stock isn’t all that expensive to buy, it’s easy to make it for no additional cost using leftover vegetables and the parts that you don’t eat (like peels and stems). Since we hosted Christmas this year, there were a good amount of extra vegetables to throw in the pot. A good rule of thumb is to try to use crisp vegetables like lettuce, carrots, and bell peppers, though I did throw in some leftover cherry tomatoes as well.

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Cherry tomatoes
Rosemary
Carrots
Garlic peels
Bell pepper parts (you know, the parts that get tossed in the trash)

What you do-
Put water and ingredients into a pot. Bring to a quick boil and simmer for an hour. Pour through a strainer into a container, seal, and store in fridge or freezer. Something I’ve done in the past is put stock in ice cube trays. This method is good to use for smaller dishes.