We've been getting much needed rain yesterday and today, but the rain made my job just a little more difficult yesterday.  I had visions of it taking hours to get to my client's house since the rain was really coming down when I left Publix.  I was surprised that traffic wasn't bad. 

Yes, I had some moments on 285 near 75 where I almost could not see and listening to the radio was aware of the tornado warnings for the area.  I could see the possibility, there was a lot of wind and sheets of rain.  I made it through and when I got to my client's I didn't even need the rain poncho I keep in the car. 

I  greeted the dogs, unloaded the car and started cooking.  My potatoes were in the oven for Twice Baked Potatoes and I was just ready to put the chocolate cake in the oven and the power went out.  No rain, no wind, no power.  This wasn't good since the stove is electric too.

Luckily I had brought balls for the dogs and also luckily the dogs liked the balls, so Charlie Brown, Becky Sue and I played for a while.  My clients came upstairs and we relaxed, chatted, played with the dogs.  My client got me some knitting magazines to read once the dogs got tired.  The lights were out for about 40 minutes or so, and once they came on I preheated the ovens again and got moving.  My day wasn't too much longer.

Today I cooked for the second time for John and Dawn.  Their friend Lorraine had given me as a gift since John had been in a serious motorcycle accident.  I didn't get to see John today because he's doing much better and was at work.  I missed him, but it's good that he could go to work finally.  I did get to chat to Dawn this afternoon since she had a light day at work. 

This is just the best job.  Dawn and I learned more about each other and I really like them more than I did the first time we met.  I'm pretty tired though since Lorraine wanted to be sure her friends had food so I made 8 portions of 10 recipes.  Lots of food! 

I made many, many enchiladas - two kinds, pizza dough for personal pizzas, rice, black beans, tilapia and flounder.  A good day  overall.  I need to go check on laundry.  If I don't keep moving I could fall asleep!

I had fun today with the 6 to 9 year olds in a cooking class.  We were full with 12 kids and the menu was Satisfying Snacks.  The kids were great as usual, lots of hand washing, chopping, mixing and rolling.  We started at 10:30, had a break in the middle for a rest and juice and were ready to eat the snacks at 1.  This was a quick group of student chefs!

The menu consisted of Sausage Rolls, Baked Honey Shrimp and Apples with Butterscotch Dip.  Everything was delicious. 

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As you can see we had fun both cooking and eating.  The apples and dip would be a perfect after school snack.  We started to mix with a wooden spoon, but then used a hand mixer to get the dip nice and smooth.  It was also fun to use the hand mixer and learn to turn it on only when in the bowl with the dip and to start out slowly. 

Butterscotch Dip with Apple Wedges

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butterscotch ice cream topping
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 apples

1. Combine all ingredients except apples until smooth.  Chill.
2. Cut apples into wedges and serve with dip. 

I had a cup of tea and a cookie when I got home and I'm now finishing up a book that I'm enjoying.  I have planned chicken soup for dinner since it's stormy looking and windy here.  Maybe I'll get a little knitting in too.

This has been a fairly quiet week.  I had a great time cooking with Amy on Monday as we practiced some kitchen basics - knife skills, saute, roasting.  I left the house with a buffet set on the kitchen island and a happy hungry family ready to try the fruits of labor.  She's ready now for her trip to Taiwan and her dorm mom duties once there.

School has started almost everywhere in Georgia but there are still a few schools yet to start.  Everyone is not back to a normal schedule yet, so I am not at a normal schedule either.  Tuesday was my errand day.  I planned my route and went to the bank, the eye glass place, the library and the grocery store.  No back tracking and no sole trips.  I have new glasses, a classic style and I like them.

Yesterday was basic cleaning and some baking.  I of course had not planned to bake so I needed to find a recipe with ingredients that I had.  I went to the Very Best Baking site and found these very tasty cookies:

Chocolate Cinnamon Nut Bars

• Cookie Layer
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (I used pecans)
• Chocolate Layer
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup powdered sugar

1. For Cookie Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat flour, 3/4 cup butter, granulated sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in large mixer bowl until crumbly.  Stir in nuts.  Press into bottom of ungreased 13x9 baking pan.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until firm.
3. For Chocolate Layer: Melt chips and 1/4 cup butter in medium, heavy duty saucepan over lowest possible heat, stir until smooth.  Remove from heat, stir in brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.  Pour over hot crust.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until center is set.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting with a Jazzercise friend and her daughter to plan a birthday cooking party.  The daughter was 10 years old yesterday and will be inviting 7 of her friends  to her house for a cooking party.  The girls will participate in making a festive dinner and then will enjoy it in the dining room with china and good glassware.  Yesterday we discussed the menu, the timing and are all ready for the party in a week or so.  This will be so much fun!

Today is kind of a boring day.  I didn't have any real plans, but I am trapped here waiting for the delivery and installation of the new dishwasher.  Like I said no real plans, but now I am forced to be home and wait.  No more baking today though!  On the bright side, if the installers are nice, I can offer them cookies which will be good for us - fewer cookies and good for them - tasty cookies.

This weekend was pretty quiet.  I had a class on Saturday at the library but we rescheduled it hoping for better attendance.  The date was probably a poor choice since Saturday was the end of the first week of school in Fulton County. 

My husband had volunteered to make some stands for an upcoming church production since he thought I would be gone.  Not a problem, I can always find ways to entertain myself!  He said he had one helper coming over and they'd just grab lunch at Chick Fil A.  I like Chick Fil A, but the more I thought about it the more wrong it seemed.  I told him that I'd make lunch. 

I started with another peach cobbler since they are quick and I'm getting pretty good at them.  I made one Friday to take to my hair salon.  I used a few more peaches than called for and this is pretty good.  Especially warm. I had it without ice cream or whipped cream. 

Peach Cobbler from Paula Deen

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
3. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
4. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
5. To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Once I had the cobbler baking I went to the office to do a little work for a cooking class I have today.  A woman contacted me because she wanted to learn some kitchen basics. We will be working on some basic knife skills, some pan sauteeing, some roasting of meat and vegetables.  We'll be doing this at her home and it should be fun.

While I was working upstairs I heard someone come, the helper I assumed.  My husband came up and said that he had 3 helpers, not 1 and did I want them to go get lunch.  I replied that we were fine with more people.

I had planned a recipe from Giada for lunch using the grape tomatoes and basil from the garden.  We would also have some watermelon for a salad and the cobbler.  I used rotini pasta with this recipe.

Spaghettini with Checca Sauce from Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Italian

8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta
4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree).
3. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.

The helpers were very happy with the lunch and I heard they taunted the one that left before lunch with words of "warm peach cobbler" .

Sunday we had reservations to go out to dinner at Restaurant Eugene. It was excellent.  I had a roasted pepper soup with blue crab, halibut with tomatoes, eggplant and polenta and a smoked, baked chocolate mousse for dessert.  I need to make the soup!  My husband had a wedge salad with blue cheese, sturgeon with risotto and a brownie with toasted coconut ice cream.  We will go back again, we had a wonderful, relaxing meal.  

I've had a request from my husband's friend and reader of the blog to help him freeze for later.  He says they are eating out too often and spending too much money but they are also spending too much time with dinners at home.  He wants to be able to cook a few things on Saturday, package, freeze and have meals ready to go.

I still believe that menu planning is key to cutting time and money spent on dinners.  If you have a plan and know when you need quick meals and when you can spend a little more time cooking, then you actually have a chance of making dinner at home.

I have a pretty well stocked freezer since I cook large batches of things regularly.  Some of the things I make in large quantities when I have time are spaghetti sauce, chicken soup, chili, shredded beef, meatballs.  When I have no time and have not thought of a menu plan, I can always pull out soup or spaghetti.

If you need to start building your freezer pantry, I can give you a few ideas.  First, if you are going to cook on Saturday or Sunday, make sure to shop for all ingredients the day before you cook.  You'll spend too much time getting ready if you go to the store and then try and cook.  It probably won't happen and it won't be fun.  Don't try to shop and cook in the same day. 

I like to start with a clean sink, cleaned off counters and an empty dishwasher when I am at home.  I might start with a batch of Chicken Soup that once simmering doesn't need my attention for a while.  I've used this recipe often and it makes a good amount.

Chicken Noodle Soup from Cooking Light 1993

• 13 cups water
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 pounds chicken pieces, on bone, skinned
• 3 medium carrots, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, halved
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 2 stalks celery, each quartered
• 2 cups carrot, sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups fine egg noodles, uncooked 
 

It's Wednesday and this has been designated by me as peach day.  I have a table full of peaches and need to deal with them today.  I have everything I need to get them ready for the freezer.  I made two pies on Monday and have those safely in the freezer, now I just want to do fresh peach halves.  This will begin after Jazzercise this morning since I didn't go last night.

Last night I attended a meeting of the Culinary History group that I've become involved with.  Last night's plan was to discuss a book we've been reading and enjoying Food in History by Reay Tannahill.  It's an older book, sometimes difficult to find but interesting to read.  I'm only about half done, I'm starting now with The New World.  In addition to the book, we had a field trip. 

Our meeting took place at the home of Jeff Varasano who is passionate about pizza.  This is the part that I can tell you to not try at home.  He has altered his home oven so he can bake pizza in the self cleaning phase where the temperatures are 800 degrees.  The pizza is great and I will have more at his restaurant which he hopes to have open before Thanksgiving.  I will not be altering my oven, too much potential for disaster.  It was a fun and tasty evening though and I will be keeping track of when the restaurant opens. 

I need to get ready for Jazzercise now.  School has started so traffic has started and that means a longer commute of my 3 miles to Jazzercise.  I could walk there but then I'd still need to get home after and that's too much exercise for peach day! 

I also need to check out recipes for peach freezer jam in case I have too many peaches for just fresh peach halves.  I made the okra and tomatoes and this recipe is great.  I found it on the Food Network site, it's a Paula Deen recipe.  I served it as a main dish, like a stew.  Fantastic.  I used applewood smoked bacon that I bought at the DeKalb Farmer's Market. 

The Lady and Sons Okra and Tomatoes

4 slices bacon, diced into small pieces
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chicken base
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups fresh okra, cut into 1-inch pieces (may use frozen, if fresh not available)
Fresh ground black pepper

Cook bacon slightly. Saute onion and garlic with bacon until tender. Add tomatoes, chicken base, sugar and pepper. Stir well and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed. Meanwhile wash okra and remove fuzz if using fresh and cut into pieces. Add the okra and simmer until okra is done, about 20 more minutes (less if using frozen okra.)

As you know, if you've been reading, I try and fly with the FlyLady and Saturday is supposed to be family fun day.  I was not scheduled to teach any classes yesterday so we planned some fun. 

I have been enjoying the summer fruits so decided I needed some peaches for the freezer too and they seemed to be located near Macon.  We decided to take the drive, less than 2 hours, and see what we could find.  We started at the Macon Farmers Market and found lots of beautiful fruits and vegetables.

I was pretty restrained.  We bought a lot of peaches and I will deal with them on Wednesday.  I'm thinking freezer but may try and make some pies for the freezer too.  We also had to have - okra, yellow squash, a small watermelon, sweet banana peppers.  I knew I could make a menu for the week using what we bought.

We found a great yarn store and now I have yarn for 2 more projects.  The store had beautiful yarn, lots of it and most of it natural fibers. 

After the farmer's market we went to the visitor center and spoke with a very nice woman.  We looked at all the possible things to do and decided to tour Hay House.  The house was built in 1860 and is beautiful.  Very, very high ceilings, pretty wood, and a very nice tour guide.  We spent about an hour here and really enjoyed the tour.  My only disappointment was that the kitchen was not on the tour, they are in the process of renovation.  We may need to go back.

After the tour we decided we were hungry so we stopped for some barbecue at the same place I had been to when I worked in Macon a short time ago.  We went to the Pig in a Pit for pulled pork, fried okra and my husband had roasted corn.  Perfect. We then headed home.

Once home I used the internet to find some recipes for my haul from the farmer's market.  This is the menu for this week:

• Sunday: Stewed Okra and Tomatoes with Cornbread and Peach Cobbler
• Monday: Baked Gnocchi and Sliced Tomatoes
• Tuesday: whatever, probably leftover gnocchi
• Wednesday: whatever again, husband has a meeting
• Thursday: Stuffed Banana Peppers, Yellow Squash in Brown Butter and Foccacia
• Friday: unsure but we have hummus, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and I'm thinking appetizer night

Right now I have 2 cobblers in the oven because we'll have one and I have a Loving Meal to take for someone and I think they'll like peach cobbler.  I hope so since I don't know them.  I also made Baked Macaroni, Ham and Cheese.

I'm going to relax some now while the cobbler bakes and then call the woman to see what time is good to deliver her meal.  I need to spend time with the cat since she didn't get to have family fun in Macon yesterday and is seeming a little clingy.  I think my load of towels is dry so maybe she'll fold with me.  She loves to help with warm laundry!

I've mentioned before that I have a really great life with lots of variety.  This week is no exception! 

On Tuesday I attended a cookie class about decorating cookies with fondant.  They looked cute and maybe more realistic than doing a lot of cakes with fondant.  The class was held at the Viking store on Peachtree and was almost full with 11 people.  There was plenty of room for us to work and lots of things for us to play, work, with.  I decorated 6 cookies and although I need more practice, I had fun.  Here are some of my cookies, the teacher and the classroom.

One day or two days, I have to bake some cookies one day and then spend the next day decorating them.  It could be a while for that.  Maybe for Christmas.

On Wednesday I had a client and this made me feel like summer is coming to an end!  Since I have a personal chef service I work with my customers on scheduling to their needs.  This customer is always busy but more so in the summer and they travel more in the summer with school out.  I cooked for her in May and then yesterday, we take the summer off because they are not home much.  I've been cooking for her about 4 years and this works well for both of us. 

I am actually cooking for us this week and trying some new recipes and so far, so good.  Last night we had Roman-Style Fettuccine with Chicken from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis.  Very good and good for leftovers tonight.

Roman-Style Fettuccine with Chicken

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
• 3 ounces prosciutto, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh fettuccine
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken until brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the bell peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, wine, thyme and oregano.  Using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.  Return the chicken to the pan, add the broth and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat , cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high ehat.  Add the fresh pasta, stir and cook until tender, about 1 minute.  Drain.
4. Remove the chicken and let it cool slightly on a cutting board.  Using a fork and knife, gently shred the chicken.  return the chicken to the pan.  Stir in the capers and parsley.
5.  To serve, spoon the pasta into serving dishes and top with the chicken and sauce.

I made a couple changes.  I shredded the chicken before I returned it to the pan in step 2.  I thought that would be easier.  Also I used dry pasta and 1 pound.  I originally had this on the menu for Friday and was making pasta, but was hungry for this yesterday and knew pasta making would be crazy. 

Today I am once again going to a DeKalb County library and cooking with teens.  It was so much fun Saturday, I should have fun again.  I love having different things to do everyday. 

Yesterday was a pretty quiet day.  We went to church, went out for breakfast, got groceries, I made a pie when we got home, we went shopping for a new ceiling fan, light fixture and comforter.  We only got the light fixture.  I'm not much for shopping anymore and can only go for a limited time. 

Once we got home I put on some potatoes for potato salad, they needed to chill.  We had steaks on the grill, potato salad, broccoli and a little later, fresh raspberry pie.  Excellent. 

Of course I only enjoy potato salad without the dreaded mayonnaise and this one was good. 

Fingerling Potato Salad with Gremolata Dressing from Cooking Light Magazine July 2008

Ingredients

1/2 pound white fingerling potatoes
1/2 pound red fingerling potatoes
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 garlic clove, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon capers, drained

Preparation

1. Steam potatoes, covered, 12 minutes or until tender. Cover and chill.
2. Combine juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; slowly add oil, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in rind and garlic; let stand 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and capers.
3. Cut potatoes into quarters; add potatoes to juice mixture, tossing to coat.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

I was contacted several months ago by Myguail of the DeKalb Public Library to see if I could do some cooking classes for teens.  I said sure, we came up with a menu, he came up with a grant and we were set.  Today was the first class.

I woke this morning about 5 which is ridiculously early, but I fell asleep early last night.  Since I was up I went ahead and did bird maintenance - refilling hummingbird feeders and bird baths, cat maintenance - food and water and made my menu for next week.  I had everyone in and around our house fed or ready for shopping.

I then went to Jazzercise, came home, had a bowl of cereal and left for the library.  There were 20 teens registered for Healthy Cooking for Teens so that was exciting.  I had a lot of equipment and supplies to tote and organize because this was a library after all, not a kitchen.   I am pretty organized though.

I got to the library about 10:45 and got set up.  I had lots of room and a very nice librarian Nancy to help.  The teens started arriving about 11:30, they were excited, that was good and we chatted some.  The program started at noon and after introductions we started cooking.  I very much needed the assistance of the teens and happily they were all ready to pitch in.  I started water boiling and burgers cooking.  They made sauce, got pitas ready, got the zucchini pasta salad ready and made smoothies.  We worked well as a team!  We were ready to eat at 12:45.  Perfect timing. 

The good cooking smells went through the library and I think there were some patrons and staff that were not teens that were ready to eat, but we had plenty and everyone enjoyed lunch.

I'm having burgers myself for dinner.  A quick easy meal for after library cooking.