Chicken & Rice with Carrots

I made chicken & rice with peas yesterday and added sliced organic carrots for tonight's dinner. I love having leftovers that I can improve with added ingredients the second time around. The stoneware dish with handle has a "chimney" top and I have three of them. They are the best for microwave cooking or heating leftovers. I cooked the carrots alone for a minute or two before adding the chicken/rice to reheat on top. So good. The brown and white transferware plate is one of my favorites. I don't often photograph my food but I'm glad I decided to snap this one. xo

UPDATE: If you ever see one of these in a charity or thrift shop, RUN and grab it. As I mentioned, I have three of these and use them every day in my microwave. They were originally "As Seen on TV" as the Stone Wave Microwave Cooker at $10.00 each. Now I see them on eBay for $39.00. The handle is hollow and they are honestly just wonderful for heating up leftovers or cooking some things (like carrots) quickly. I found the original link selling them for $7.94 each HERE. I'm tempted to order more but will resist. Three is the perfect number for me. They clean like a breeze too. Let me know if you get one or more. I have never had good luck backing a potato in one. They are perfect for my chicken & rice dish. xo

First You Chop an Onion

This system never fails me. I made the most delicious pot of soup yesterday. I always roughly chop a big onion and see where it takes me. Then I chopped two stalks of celery, half a red bell pepper, peeled and diced a sweet potato, and sautéed these items in avocado oil in my heavy soup pot.  While that was going on, I dumped a large can of whole peeled tomatoes in juice into a mixing bowl. I roughly chopped the tomatoes into chunks using kitchen shears. Yes, I actually picked up each whole tomato and cut it into chunks with scissors! I had been stirring the veggies too. When I finished the tomatoes, I added them to the pot plus a can or two of water. When that came to a boil. I added 1/2 a bag of frozen cut okra. I love okra in vegetable soup but I don't always have it on hand. The last batch I made didn't have it and it was good too. I added two bouillon cubes and a generous amount of Worcester Sauce and sprinkled a lot of Goya All Purpose Seasoning on top. I filled with water almost to the top and brought it up to a boil. Then I put a lid on top and simmered it for a while until the sweet potatoes were done. I sat down with a big bowl and went back for seconds for my dinner last night. I will have it for lunch today and dinner too. You can use any vegetables you want. And keep adding more when the volume goes down after a few meals. I might add a big white potato cut into chunks tomorrow. I have frozen peas and frozen corn I could add also but for now I love the current mix of veggies I used yesterday. Are you a soup lover too. I usually have to add a little salt to each bowl to get it seasoned perfectly for my taste. 

I heated it up this morning.

I got this small Le Creuset Dutch Oven at a garage sale long ago for almost no money. It was missing its lid and needed a good scrubbing. I thought I had a glass lid at home that might fit and I did! This is my GO TO soup pot.

Now I can't wait until lunch!

I shouldn't have heated it up so early.

The house smells delicious.

xo

Parmesan Crisps Decorated for Christmas

Aren't these savory crispy cheese shortbreads beautiful?

My friend Stacey made them and dropped them off on Christmas Eve along with many more delicious dishes. See the first batch she made and posted on Instagram below. 

These are photographed right out of the oven in her kitchen. Read more about the changes she wanted to make with the next batch on her @staceysnacks Instagram post HERE.

Have a great Sunday! xo

Vegetables and My Cookbooks

One of my girlfriends dropped off some veggies from her garden this week. She didn't know what the two large things were. I think the one on the left is a fat zucchini and I won't know what the green item on the right is until I cut it open. It's probably a squash of some sort. Last night, I sautéed a normal zucchini with an onion and one large tomato and had a delicious ratatouille for one. I used my iron skillet and some avocado oil. I might have the same thing tonight because it was quick and healthy. xo

Joan Didion's Kitchen

Vogue Magazine 1972

I never would have pictured this kitchen belonging to Joan Didion. It appears she's a real cook and this surprises me because she is so very thin  and I just never imagined her cooking. I love the wire baskets, the herb pots holding up the cookbooks, and her recipe cards in a real box!❤️

UPDATE: Thanks to PAM here is the article she posted in the comments. The 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time and Joan Didion is near the top of the list. Who knew? Thanks, Pam❤️

COOKBOOKS ON MY COUNTER

This is the only way I can figure out to share my thoughts using my favorite font. My friend @staceysnacks, the food blogger/antique collector, gave me a wonderful new vegetable cookbook and an antique French wooden bookmark with beautiful calligraphy in addition to a few other things for Christmas. xo

Soaking My Black-eyed Peas for New Year's Day

I am soaking my black-eyed peas for a traditional New Year's Day meal with collard greens and cornbread. It looks like it will be enough for an army, doesn't it? This is a pyrex 8-cup measure and just one bag of beans. Looks like plenty will go in the freezer and that's a good thing. Enjoy your New Year's Eve. xo

A Real Cook's Kitchen

This is a real cook's kitchen for sure. The stove is the most important thing and then the pots and pans, mostly copper. I think the worktable to the left of the range is fabulous and love that it's an antique and not a custom built-in cabinet. There is an old chopping block to the right and a step stool to reach the hanging pots. Love it all. via

Baby Chef on Instagram

I know how I am spending Memorial Day! Watching @kobe_yn cook on Instagram.

Click HERE to watch the video for the 3rd photo

Click HERE to watch him make S'mores in 1st photo

Click HERE to watch him make his daily smoothie in center photo.

You will have to go to Instagram to watch all of his delightful posts. The photo above is just a screenshot. This adorable one-year-old can't even talk but he's quite good in the kitchen. He even cooks on the stove with his mom helping without being seen. My face is hurting from smiling so much. Kobe is great fun to watch. Enjoy! You're welcome.

Olive Oil Biscuits: Delicious Recipe

UPDATE: I sent the recipe to a friend in New England and she made them right away and sent me this photo. She just started baking and has only one square pan, so this recipe was perfect for her. She and her husband ate them right away with butter and jam. She thought they would have been better if they had been made with butter and she will use Smart Balance fake butter that is made with olive oil next time. xo

Mine didn't look like this but were tan in color because I used whole wheat flour. I don't have any white flour 😢 

This recipe is definitely a keeper. It makes only 6 biscuits and that's a good thing since leftover biscuits are never as good as those right out of the oven. They are very quick and easy to put together and you probably already have all the ingredients on hand. (You could double the ingredients if you dare having a dozen biscuits in the house.)

Simple Olive Oil Drop Biscuits

Recipe by Taste As You Go 

Delicious drop biscuits that are simple to make and don't require an ounce of butter.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes
Total time: 15-17 minutes
Yield: 6 biscuits

INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 450°F.

In a large bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until well-combined. Pour in the olive oil and milk and stir until just moistened. (I mixed the milk and olive oil together before adding to dry ingredients.)

Drop batter onto a baking sheet lined with Silpat or parchment paper (or do what you've always done when baking biscuits). Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges.

Serve warm.

I put butter inside when they were hot and they are so very tender and delicious. Really good and I grew up on Southern Biscuits so I know what a biscuit is. I was dubious about the whole wheat flour but it was fine. Would use it again, if I had any!!! I am going to a local bakery to see if they will sell me any flour and if they won't, I will try a pizza place. Wish me luck.

I added the sugar because I always bake according to the recipe the first time. They were not sweet at all. Next time I will probably leave it out. Or maybe I will add a little more and sprinkle sugar on top and then they will be like scones to have with a cup of tea. You could add raisins too.

Enjoy. xo

Red Geranium Thru A Window

I took this geranium photo this afternoon after I worked in my front yard for hours tidying up the weeds and dead grass and leaves along my brick wall. The violets have just started and I wanted to give them room to spread. It was a good way to work off the sourdough pancakes I made this morning. I have gone back to the early 1970s with my cooking from scratch. I prepared my first batch of sourdough starter on Monday and prepared my overnight sponge for the pancakes last night They were delicious and I can heat up the extras in my toaster. 

This as the sky at 7am on Monday morning. My mother always called it a buttermilk sky. I posted it on Instagram and a couple of people said Cogey Carmichael had a song by that name that was popular in the late 1930s and 1940s. We always had buttermilk in my house when I was growing up and I always thought this sky got its name from the way buttermilk dries on the inside of the glass when you don't rinse it out right away.

I took this photo on Monday with the geranium inside my living room and me outside on the balcony with a reflection of the buttermilk sky in the background.

I hope you are all doing well with staying inside during this time of quarantine. So far, I know only one person who had Covid-19 and she has recovered, but it did linger for quite a long time. I am thankful we are going into warmer weather rather than winter. We are all learning new things. One neighbor who has mastered grocery delivery says she will never go grocery shopping again in person after this is over; she loves online ordering and having them delivered to her door. Another neighbor (across the street from me) has been doing it for 10 years and she's teaching all of us her techniques. Neighbors helping neighbors is a good thing. xo

Quinoa Muffins Recipe

This recipe for quinoa muffins uses leftover dried quinoa (you know that last bit in the box you have that just sits in your pantry for months…), fresh herbs and fruit (this one used plums, but any fruit would work like peaches, blueberries or strawberries). The link is not responding but luckily I included the ingredients. The rest is up to you. xo

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup raw quinoa
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups yogurt
½ cup olive oil
½ cup honey
¼ cup basil, or another fresh herb (we used mint!)
1 plum or other fresh fruit

Battenberg Cake YUM

I have never heard of a Battenberg Cake, have you?

I think the green icing is marzipan. Double YUM.

I have seen photos of this cake with each square being a different color or two colors arranged in a checkerboard pattern. Plain white cake is fine with me.

Kitchen with a Red AGA Range

This bright red AGA range is beautiful next to the gray custom cabinetry. I so wish I could see the rest of this kitchen! via

Blueberry Pancakes on the Wood Stove

Blueberry pancakes cooked on a blue wood stove. Yum. I am sure they taste extra delicious cooked this way. I have bright sun and a high today of 43° but it feels warmer because of the sunshine. I understand the deep south is having a heatwave. Mother Nature always likes to tease us in February! xo, Rosemary @ Content in a Cottage

Happy Thanksgiving to Each of You

I made this long ago from a crest in my Royal Book of Crests and I post it every year.

Perfect cookies for Thanksgiving.

See more of my old Thanksgiving posts here.

Cooking Corn on the Cob in Microwave

Step One: Shuck and desilk your corn.

Step Two: Tear off a length of wax paper longer than your ear of corn so you can roll up the ear and twist the ends. I guess I will eat this ear for lunch after I microwave it for 4 minutes or so. 

Last night I ate 2 ears and cooked them for 6 minutes. I have a small, countertop microwave. For me this is the only way to cook corn. Boiling pots of water in the summer is something I avoid at all cost.

I had a corn stand for three years at my previous house, High Meadow Farm in New Vernon NJ. I had a farm assessment and the first year I planted corn in my big front field, it was fabulous. The second year, the deer discovered it and it was only so-so. The third year was my last year. Even though I planted a lot of Indian Corn around the perimeter to try and fool the deer, it just wasn't worth the work.

I sold herb vinegar too. I had printed notes for customers to cook their corn in the microwave and always got little notes back, along with the money in my honor-system cigar box, saying they were thrilled with the results.

Let me know if you do this and how it worked for you. You might have to experiment with the cooking times.

Support Farmers

Buy local, eat local, and support your local farmers by way of their farm stands, their store near the farm, or local farmers markets. via 

I had fresh tricolor corn tonight and it was delicious. I cook mine in the microwave. I wrapped two ears (that had been shucked and silks removed) in waxed paper and microwaved for 6 minutes. It was perfect. I have a small countertop microwave, not a huge one. I started out with 4 minutes and that didn't seem enough. After 2 more minutes, it smelled right and it was. The ears were pretty big. Try it, you'll like it!!!

My Set of Antique Copper Pots with Monogram

I discovered this matched, graduated set of old copper pots at an outdoor antiques show years ago. Each one has this monogram on the front opposite the handle. Somebody was really proud of them and so am I because they look wonderful on the top shelf of my pantry. The large dovetails are beautiful too. The bottom of the biggest one is marked on the bottom with an incised E. I don't know what that signifies but it's probably a maker's mark. I didn't look on the bottom of the others. They fit inside each other nicely in a nest for easy storage. I like them lined up better. At my former house, they were displayed on a standing pot rack. The insides need to be re-tinned so I don't use them. Plus they are really heavy! I have posted this photo on my blog in the past but in view of questions about them, I decided to post it again. This set must have belonged to a gentleman cook with the initials B.M. Jr. 

I shall enjoy this rainy Sunday. All of the snow has melted so I will be seeing more snowdrops soon and maybe some blossoms too. xo

Garden Desserts

These edible garden desserts are so charming, aren't they? The sand on the bottom layer must be crushed shortbread or other white cookies, chocolate pudding for the middle, topped by crushed chocolate cookies. I spy Oreo cookies in the background. How fun! The mint sprouts with the garden markers complete the gardening theme with potting shed items scattered around.