PolitiCook.net

Easy Salads for a Lazy Day

I can’t remember where I got this bell pepper salad from, but it is delicious and easy to make. A few hours in the fridge helps the flavors to meld. OMG! The lemon cucumber salad is wonderful! Ever had a lemon cucumber? They are really refreshing and, well, lemoney! Read more »

Cassoulet a la Crockpot

This recipe can be a one day marathon or a two day 10K. Your choice. I like the fact I can mellow flavors over a couple of days. I made this last weekend and we are still eating it and some is in 3 cup containers in the freezer for later this winter.

Makes about 5 quarts of cassoulet Read more »

Today’s canning

This recipe was a process! I had some cukes left over from the dills and B&B’s I made. Went to the Bell Book of Canning and found a recipe for Cucumber Relish. I had all the ingredients but it was spread out over two days! EEK! Next time, I’ll make the recipe my own. Read more »

What I’ve been doing today

Makin’ stuff…

And

For Your Pleasure: Chocolate Delight!

TEXAS FRIENDSHIP CAKE

I got these neato Pyrex dishes WITH LIDS recently. A 9X13 and an 8X8. Since I take alot of dishes here and there and also make dishes from scratch, it just seemed really nice to get a dish WITH A LID I could just pop on and not have to depend on plastic or foil. This cake takes about 50 minutes start to finish. It makes a great cake to take to a BBQ or potluck dinner or to give to a neighbor just because. Seeking out Mexican vanilla is so worth it. I got an 8 oz bottle for $1.70! It it more flavorful and richer than any store or speciality brand I’ve used before. This recipe is from Central Market in Austin, Texas based on millions of Texas women’s recipes who brought this to countless picnics and parties. Enjoy! Read more »

Hope for the future - planting for a “second season”

  Here in Texas, at least in Dallas, there is a dead zone in the year, a time of year when it is too hot and too dry for just about any but the hardiest native plants to grow or produce.  But, with the first hint of fall, the morning glories that grow like weeds in the alleys start to bloom, and I know it’s time for that wonderful time of year, the Second Season!

  Follw me below the fold, and let me tell you more about the second season. Read more »

Saturday Food Preservation

This week there’s been very little to discuss. I still have half a bushel of Silver Queen corn to steam and put up. I’m planning to make mayonnaise later today after I go to the store for eggs. (I have dried whole eggs but need egg yolks.) After that, I may make some cole slaw or potato salad.

Back to the paying kind of work now. What’s happening in your kitchen?

A really neat tomato paste

Well, I found a great way to make my own tomato paste and save it for future use. I just took a 28oz can of plum tomatos with juice and put it in a sauce pan over very low heat and smushed the tomatoes with a potato masher and cooked low until it looked like tomato paste. Read more »

Chicken pot pie soup a la Kate

I love chicken pot pie. Comfort food nonpareil. Unfortunately, it no longer loves me. Between the wheat in the crust and gravy and the high-glycemic potatoes and English peas, I might as well just have a plateful of sugar topped with battery acid.

So I started thinking about ways to get that great comforting taste without the bad stuff.

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“Boursin” cheese spread

This was posted on an email list I belong to. No attribution, or I would link back to the original.

I’ve never bought Boursin cheese, but the ingredients to this one looked tasty and I had them all. Yesterday I put it together, put it in the fridge overnight, and just taste-tested. YUM!

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