Tag Archives: family
Breakfast in Bed: Hush Puppies
Post by Alison Hein.
Nearly 20 years ago, I took a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. I was quite taken by the stately, historic homes, tucked sideways to the street and blanketed by lush, secret gardens. The marketplace was a plethora of sights, scents and sounds – local artisans weaving sweet grass baskets, aromas of intricate spice blends, and faint lingering chords of street musicians. But most of all, I was entranced by the deep-fried mini-cornmeal cakes playfully called hush puppies. And at every restaurant we visited, I was rewarded with a steaming basket of these little babies before even seeing a menu.
Last month, I returned to Charleston, and was disappointed with the evident lack of hush puppies. When I inquired where they had gone, I was reminded that Charleston is now THE food destination in the US, and weren’t hush puppies just a tad passé?
Upon returning home, I decided to make my house THE food destination for breakfast in bed, starting with a basketful of hot, crisped hush puppies and a side of homemade honey butter. Yumm.
Hush Puppies
Oil for frying (4 to 6 cups)
2 cups corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 large egg
Equipment
Deep-fry or candy thermometer
Preparation
Pour oil at least 2 inches deep into a small, heavy pan. Heat over medium heat to approximately 360°.
In a large bowl, combine corn meal, baking powder, sugar and salt, stirring to mix. Add milk, cider vinegar and egg and mix well. Batter should be slightly thicker than pancake batter.
Use a teaspoon to measure batter. Carefully drop a teaspoon of batter into the hot oil for each hush puppy. Dip spoon into clean water after each hush puppy. This helps the batter to drop off the spoon easily. Cook about eight to ten hush puppies at a time, allowing oil to retain its temperature.
Fry the hush puppies until they have reached a deep golden brown color, about 2 to 3 minutes. They tend to flip over on their own, but give them a little push with a spoon if they don’t so they cook evenly. Remove hush puppies from pan and drain on paper towels. Serve hot with honey butter.
Honey Butter
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons honey
Preparation
Add softened butter to small bowl. Stir in honey and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
NOTE: Monitor oil with candy thermometer to maintain stable temperature.
Makes about 4 dozen.
Movies in Bed: Oz the Great and Powerful
Post by Mark T. Locker.
So, this isn’t out on DVD or streaming yet, but according to the Internet, it will be on June 11, so just consider this something to plan ahead for. IN TEN DAYS’ TIME…get out the pillows, pull the cushions off the couch and bust out the spare sheets. It’s time to build a fort, watch a movie, and fall asleep right there on the floor!
We went and saw Oz the Great and Powerful at one of those second-run pizza and beer theaters that are so prevalent here in Portland. I was at best not terribly interested in the movie and went for the sake of my kid. But I gotta tell you, this is actually a pretty good, entertaining movie! Now, I don’t know if this has any relation to any of the L. Frank Baum books or is entirely unique, but it fits so perfectly into the back story of the Wizard of Oz. How did Oz get there? How did an admitted charlatan attain Wizard status? Although bits of it are kind of intense, and some parts are scary, I think Felix is more frightened be the mean trees in the original than the flying baboons in this installation. Me too.
The main criticisms I’ve heard are ones that try to compare it to The Wizard of Oz. It will never be a classic in that sense, but for a Disney movie with appeal to both kids and adults, you could definitely do worse. A fun way to spend a lazy evening together.
Breakfast in Bed: Irish Wheaten Bread
Post by Alison Hein.
Irish wheaten bread, or brown bread, is one of the most simple and satisfying loaves you can make. And eat, of course. As a soda bread that requires no yeast (thus no messy kneading or lengthy rising time), this recipe takes little more than the 45 minutes required for baking.
Wheaten bread is one component of the large and complicated traditional Irish breakfast, which also may include bacon, sausage, eggs, black pudding, toast, fried tomato, sautéed mushrooms and baked beans! Maybe we’ll try that someday, but I prefer my wheaten bread all on its own. A thick slice of pure, earthy bread, lightly toasted and smeared with Irish butter, is enough breakfast for me.
The outer crust becomes thick and crusty in the hot oven, leaving the wheaten bread’s innards soft and tender – a lovely contrast and perfect first bite. With so few ingredients, the hearty wheat flavor shines through. Use stoneground organic wheat flour if you can find it. Then, try it out on your fussiest eaters. You may be surprised at how much they enjoy this simple, satisfying non-traditional Irish breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup unbleached white flour
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1½ cups milk (or use buttermilk instead of the milk and vinegar)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°. Pour whole wheat flour into a large bowl. Sift in unbleached white flour, salt and baking soda and stir to mix. Pour milk and vinegar into flour mixture and stir to make a soft dough. Mix just enough so that dough holds together – overmixing will cause the bread to become tough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board. Shape dough into one large mounded round and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cut a thin cross in the top of the loaf, just enough so the loaf opens a little on top while baking.
Place wheaten loaf in oven and bake for about 45 minutes. When done, the bread will have a hollow sound when lightly tapped. Remove bread from oven and cool, wrapped in a light tea towel, for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
Makes 1 loaf of bread.
Breakfast in Bed: Brown Sugar Scones
Post by Alison Hein.
Last Friday I was at my sister’s house, waiting for a washer and dryer delivery. You know the drill, right? An automated message the night before provides a 4-hour delivery window. You completely rearrange your next-day schedule, report for duty at the appropriate time, then twiddle your thumbs for three to four hours. Finally, your truck arrives.
I’m wise to this schtick, so I scouted for something to occupy my wait time. I poked around in Janet’s cabinets, shelves, and refrigerator. In search of?: a project with simple ingredients and a short, hot bake time. My quick inventory yielded the perfect answer – scones!
After searching for cinnamon for 20 minutes, I decided not to use any. Instead, I upped the amount of dark brown sugar to infuse the scones with a deep, caramel sweetness. I like to pre-score my scones before baking, to make them easy to separate without crumbling. A sugar and egg wash crisps the tops, and leaves behind a textured, crystallized taste with each bite.
18 minutes later, I took the bubbling hot scones from the oven, smeared them with lightly salted butter, and with the last of my cooling coffee, I indulged. Still only one hour into my wait time…
Don’t worry, Jan. I only ate one scone. Plenty left for you and your family to have a sleepy Saturday morning and a sugary breakfast in bed.
Ingredients
2¼ cups flour
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (one half stick) cold butter
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 eggs
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°. In large bowl, mix together flour, 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into small pieces and cut into dry ingredients.
Combine milk, vinegar and one egg in separate small bowl. Mix well, then add all at once to dry ingredients, stirring until just mixed in.
Turn batter out onto lightly floured board. Divide into eight equal pieces and shape into balls. Press each ball into a flat round, and place scones on lightly greased cookie sheet. Cut crosses in the top of each scone, but do not cut all the way through.
Lightly beat remaining egg, and brush on top of scones. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar. Place in oven and bake for about 18 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm with butter.
Makes 8 scones.
Bedroom Design: Decorating a sick room
Post by Stephanie Noble.
One of the best parts of being a toddler’s parent is that something new happens every day. Most days those new things are positive: discovering fire engines, going new places, and meeting new people.
Until one day the new things are dialing 911, riding in an ambulance to the hospital and meeting ER pediatric staff. Then there is nothing but fear of what –ifs, lack of sleep worries and watching for glimpses of normal.
Sometimes, the most important part of decorating a room is making sure it’s a good place to be sick and recover. Aesthetics are pushed out the door by necessity and comfort.
Here are four things to have around to make a sick room comfy cozy.
I recommend the menthol ones. Not only do they do a great job of cleaning up a snotty nose, but they smell awesome and do a great job opening up the sinuses. And after catching my son sucking on clean wipes and saying, “Tasty,” I’m glad they are alcohol free. (And yes, they are pretty minty tasting.)
A blankie, not just a random blanket from the linen closet, but the blanket that brings the patient the most comfort. My mom made quilts for my siblings and me one Christmas. Mine is a tattered yellow mess with batting hanging out of it. But it’s the one I pull out when I’m sick and want to wrap up in something soft and warm. My brother does the same thing and says it’s like being “wrapped up in your Mama’s love.”
Comfort movies. I watch the BBC Pride and Prejudice when I’m sick, the familiar words and beautiful scenery lulls me to sleep. I’ve seen it so many times that I don’t feel badly when I fall asleep and miss and entire disc. I can wake up and pick up from wherever the story is in progress. For my son, that movie is Cars. My husband and I are no completely prepared to enter any Car’s related trivia contest. We even looked up what the Ferrari says in Italian to Guido. Losing oneself in another world temporarily can take one’s mind off feeling miserable.
Comfort food. I have made stacks of pancakes in the past week because it’s the only thing that my son would eat. I found out a friend’s choice is mashed potatoes with cheese. Another friend’s is homemade biscuits with butter and honey. My husband’s comfort food is Indian food, as spicy as he can get it. Whatever it is that appeals to your taste buds is better than not eating and getting sicker.
Thankfully, our home is now in the recovery stage. I’ve noticed that there are dishes to be done, laundry to fold, flowers to plant and some airing out to do.
Cars has been replaced by Curious George and Fireman Sam. Ham and cheese omelets were dinner last night. And the blankie has been washed.
Most importantly, our son was laughing, dancing and a bit bossy this morning. Things are getting back to normal.
