Countdown to Key West

Just one of the many reasons we love Key West.

So, I’m finally getting around to using my birthday present from MJOL. A yogurt maker!
Heating the milk to 180 degrees, letting it cool to 110, then adding homemade blackberry jam, and a container of Greek yogurt. Placing the cute little jars in the base, setting the timer for 10 hours and waiting, and waiting and waiting…:) We’ll see how it goes (and tastes) by tomorrow.

Ping!

I’ve been totally obsessed with canning the last few weeks. Trips to Huber’s for strawberries, peaches and blackberries. Then Kroger had cherries on sale for $1.99/lb and next plums .99/lb, how could I resist? Spiced strawberry, cherry, blackberry, peach and plum jam, then waiting to hear that satisfying “ping” when the jar seals. Worrying that the last one still hadn’t spoken to me, until finally “pop” and they all were done. Looking forward to a winter full of the harvest.

Spice Pickled Strawberries

Memorial Day weekend, we took a road trip over to Huber’s Orchard and Winery to pick some strawberries. Our friend Jay went along. We had lunch at the restaurant where I had my favorite, chicken livers. When we finished eating it was already way hot, so we decided to purchase, rather than pick. J With 2lbs of strawberries tucked away in the back of the car, home we went. The hardest part of the day was keeping MJOL and Jay out of the berries on the way home! I wanted to try something new with my red jewels, so I settled on spiced pickled strawberries, canned with sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. I thought they turned out great. I suspect MJOL thought it was a waste of a good berry.

Pimento Cheese Sandwich

I’ve always been a fan of a good sandwich. Piled high with meats and cheeses or grilled panini style with just cheese and a sliced tomato. Then of course, there’s the bread. So, when our esteemed mentor, Michelle, challenged us this month to create a sandwich, I was in a daze at all the possibilities. Then, there, on the Cooking Channel, was a new show I was watching called Not My Mama’s Meals with Bobby Deen. He was lightning up a pimento cheese recipe. I like pimento cheese and thought that I would try that.

Then, tragedy struck, of course I’m exaggerating, but MJOL developed a very large kidney stone that had to be removed by surgery through his back. Ouch. I’d never even heard of them doing that, but then again, I’d never heard of a one inch around kidney stone either. But finally after a one week hospital stay and a hefty amount of pain medication, all is on the mend. Now, back to the pimento cheese.

Instead of mayo, this recipe substituted non fat Greek yogurt. I love Greek yogurt, so it was a go. Diced up red and yellow pepper and jalapeno, chopped chives, shredded cheddar and low fat mozzarella, salt and pepper. Pretty easy. And it tastes great. Not your traditional pimento cheese, but it has a very nice flavor with a good bit of crunch. A great change of texture from the regular. Find the recipe here.

Isn’t the universe funny, as I’m typing this entry, I’m watching the Cooking Channel, (of course, I’m obsessed) and what should Kelsey’sEssentials be about…sandwiches!

Until our next baking adventure.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all our family and friends, our hope is that it is healthy and all your dreams come true.
We spent a quiet New Year’s Eve at home, very nice actually. Not by choice as it seems MJOL is passing kidney stones and somewhat cranky about it. :)
We got around to exchanging Christmas gifts. Our main gift is Key West, but a small little present is always welcome. I got MJOL a book, by a local author, about bees and the economy and he got me..well look at the picture. I made yeast rolls, very tasty, and we watched True Blood until it was time for the ball to drop. Gotta love CNN with Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper. They always cut away to the party in Key West…sigh.

Thanks to Cathy at Bread Experience for the yeast roll recipe.