Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Pumpkin Pie

 It is getting much colder here and although I hate winter I love making the warm, comforting foods that come with the chilly weather.  Thanksgiving is almost here and that means pumpkin pie season.  For years I made the Libby's recipe but I have switched over to the E.D. Smith version (right from the back of the pure pumpkin label) and I think I'm sticking with it.  You can watch my video below to see how easy it is to make your own pumpkin pie and blow any store-bought version out of the water!

e.d. Smith's Traditional Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs

398 ml of pure pumpkin

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 evaporated milk

1- 9" unbaked pie shell

Chocolate Mousse

 This is a very elegant and rich dessert and is just about the easiest thing to make.  My mother made this for every dinner party she held way back in the 70s and I loved getting to steal one off the table - maybe it was the rum in it that had me wanting more!  She even served it in these same little ramekins back then and when she gave them to me one year for Christmas it was the best present I got (I'm very sentimental!)...So the tradition continues.

This mousse contains alcohol and should not be given to children.  It also contains raw eggs so please read the warning below.  I assume no responsibility for this recipe or any illness that may result.

WARNING: Note that the following recipe contains raw egg whites.  It is recommended to avoid eating raw eggs and foods containing raw eggs.  While the chances are reportedly low, it is possible that eggs may contain salmonella.  People who are particularly vulnerable to infection (the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and people whose immune systems are deficient or who are already weakend by serious illness) should not eat raw eggs.  Please decide if you are willing to take the risk and know that I don't recommend or endorse eating raw eggs!

Chocolate Mousse

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (you can use chocolate chips)

5 Tbsp boiling water

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites, beaten

3 Tbsp rum

 

Put chocolate chips in a blender and blend for 6 seconds.  Scrape down sides and add boiling water.  Blend again.  Add yolks and rum. Blend. Fold chocolate mixture into stiffly beaten egg whites (in another bowl).  Put into ramekins and chill until set.  Serve with whipped cream.

And the WINNER is....

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 17

The winner of the blog candy is #17...posted by Janel!

"Love your recipes. I appreciate that you use seasonal ingredients which make the recipes economical and taste so fresh. I also really like your kitchen and your organizing tips which are very inspiring to me. You're like the Martha Stewart from Canada."

Posted by: Janel | September 27, 2009 at 07:32 PM

Congratulations Janel, and thank you for your comment and playing along.  Please e-mail me your contact information and I will mail out your blog candy.  Thanks to everyone who entered and I hope you will continue to visit.  I appreciate every comment!!!  Here's a photo of what Janel won:

  - A set of Martha Stewart eyelet stationery in the most beautiful robin's egg blue, some Martha Stewart decorative tape (I thought the grey would look so pretty with the blue cards.  It's very lovely ribbon that is self-adhesive!!  Ribbon is such a pain to glue down, I think). AND a cute studio g clear stamp set "happy everything", which I thought was a cute size and versatile.  I hope you like your goodies, Janel.  Now that I re-read your comment it's pretty funny that I had picked out Martha Stewart supplies for the prize! Ha! ha!  Happy Monday everyone!

 

Quick Chicken Curry

 Here is a super short video showing you how I make Quick Chicken Curry at home using curry paste.  I have been making this for years for my husband and myself but always made some plain chicken for the kids...(this is about the only situation that I do this.  I do not believe in special orders for children - they eat what we eat - and I refuse to make more than one meal, but the curry is pretty spicy for the little ones.  They still ate the rice, peas, etc.)  Well, finally my three have asked to have the curry instead.  Children need to be encouraged to enjoy a wide variety of food and it usually takes several exposures to a new food before young children will try something.  Never give up!  I can't believe that my son, who picks onions out of salad, and herbs off of chicken, will eat this curry!  Hoooray!

We always play music with our family meals and for curry night this cd you hear a snipit of, Sur Sudha, is queued up on the cd player.  It's funny because my kids will associate particular meals with certain music: they hear Vivaldi's Four Seasons and pasta comes to mind, Bert Kaempfert = waffles, Ggypsy Kings - Mexican night, etc.  So they'll be in music class and hear a piece of music and start drooling like Pavlov's dogs!  It's just something we've always done and they have come to appreciate it!  Making a themed dinner is just fun and makes kids appreciate different culinary tastes and cultures.

     Quick Curry
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp oil
224 grams cubed chicken
60 grams curry paste
100 grams canned tomatoes
200 ml water

Steak Knives

 We actually don't have steak very often but when we do I like to pull out the "steakhouse style" knives.  These are heavy-weight, wood-handled bad boys that just go through anything like butter.  I have a set of cheapie, everyday steak knives

too but there is just no comparison with the real deal.  I think it's worth investing in good quality things that will last a long time - if you take care of them.  Remember to avoid putting wood-handled utensils in the dishwasher - the high drying heat will lead to eventual cracks in the wood.

I think I could have used the steak knives on my Caprial recipe yesterday.  The good news was that I picked up some of the most delicious blue plums I have ever tasted.

I'm not really even one for plums but these were just gorgeous - ripe, juicy, and sweet without being mealy or mushy.  I used half the pack to make a Plum Spice Cake.  It turned out beautifully, smelled amazing in the oven (like she said it would) but I had my doubts right from the beginning.  The batter was more like a dough and the directions said to pour the batter over the cut plums.  Well,

there was no pouring this batter!  It consisted of flour, sugar, oil, and eggs and it seemed like something was missing...milk? water?  I spread it as well as I could and the tester came out clean after the baking time but I was so disappointed when I cut it to see a dense, uncooked cake in the centre that looked just like the batter I'd put there an hour before!  My DH is a trooper and ate it anyway, covered in some whipped cream.  (It must have sat like a brick in his stomach!)  The edge and top were actually delicious, nice and spicy - and cooked!  So, yes, I have disasters in the kitchen too!

Happy Sunday - off to a baseball game with the family.  Don't forget to enter my blog candy draw here.

Still Time to Enter!

There are still 2 days remaining before I draw for the blog candy give away.  You simply have to leave a comment (click on this post to enter).  The response to my contest has been underwhelming despite lots of hits on the blog so your odds of winning are pretty good!  Good luck! 

After School Snacks

 I usually try to have a snack ready for the kids after school and even though they are all in high school now they still appreciate like food sitting on the island ready for them and their ravenous appetites.  My goal is to sneak some healthy food into them and I find that if I prepare a veggie tray with homemade dip (or bottled Ranch dressing in a pinch) they will devour it all - even broccoli.  Last week I cut up a bunch of fruit, including no pesticide pears from our tree, and made a fruit dip from a bit of whipped cream, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and strawberry yogurt.  They loved it!  When they fill up on these healthy snacks there's less room for the junk and if they don't have to do any work to feed themselves there is little to complain about.  Good nutrition is so critical in my belief that the effort it takes to feed the family healthy whole foods is totally worth it.

Thanksgiving Card

  I really like the way this card turned out.  I stamped the image from the Thoroughly Thankful stamp set from Stampin' Up and then coloured it with my Copics.  One more week until my Copics class, I can't wait!  I know there is more I could be doing with these amazing markers in terms of shading but at least I am using them now.  The greeting is stamped with white Craft ink and then embossed with white embossing powder - really stands out on the Chocolate Chip card stock.

I can't believe that our Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  It will be a nice chance to visit with family before my mother has hip surgery and we become a bit "house-bound"...I'm thankful that she will soon be relieved of her pain and hopeful for a speedy recovery!

Thank you!

 Thank you to those of you who have left a comment on my blog candy post.  I am drawing for the winner on Monday so there is still time to click on the link and leave a comment to be entered to WIN!  So far your odds are really good so why not give it a go???

I made today's card for my lovely Stampin' Up demonstrator.  I cut it using the Wild Card cartridge and the Cricut.  It's called the Swoop card and I cut it at Fit to Page for an 8.5x11 piece of card stock.  I also cut the liner for both the card and envelope, plus the frame and word (Thanks), which I glittered up with Dazzling Diamonds.  It turned out really cute I think.  There is a great series of videos over at Creations with Christina showing you how to cut many of the Wild Card cards.  She is so much fun and makes it all look easy!  

Egg & Soldiers

 I don't know if people have egg cups in their cupboards any more but egg and soldiers was something I was brought up having for breakfast almost every weekend.  Everyone in the family had their own egg cup, a tradition that we have carried over to our kids.  When they were toddlers, they each received for Easter a Marks & Spencer chocolate egg nested in an adorable egg cup - a little teddy bear, a bee, or even a personalized one like mine!  And ever since we simply add a soft-boiled egg and sliced toast soldiers for dipping and we enjoy a fun - and protein-filled - breakfast.  Our kids still like smashing the left-over egg shell - helps break it down in the compost!