Doh!

As I was sitting here this evening eating my dinner, I seriously stopped chewing and realized it hadn't even dawned on me to document my dinner. I made a promise to myself that I would make this silly blog a reality, especially after a dropped some major money on my new camera. (Canon Rebel XSI, it rocks. I LOVE it!!!)

My dinner tonight is exactly why I am doing this; it was from leftover rice and frozen veggies. A homemade dinner doesn't get easier than this! Plus, it was warm and cozy now that the temperature is quickly dropping here in the mountains. In fact, it is so chilly my heat just turned on!

Back to dinner, I made curry a few nights ago and had some leftover rice in the fridge. I am notorious for letting leftovers morph into moldy, living beings and have really tried to make an effort not to waste food. Plus my family is coming later this week, and I don't want to horrify them with my science experiments. This dinner literally took me five minutes to make. Saute frozen veggies, stir in rice, scramble an egg, add soy sauce and sriracha, VOILA! Dinner. I told you I would post everything. Even my ghetto dinners served in Ikea tupperware. By the way, I woofed this down while watching Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? on my computer. Jeff Foxworthy, if you are reading, please come to my house so I can serve you dinner in Ikea tupperware. I know you would appreciate it as much as I do.

Mountain food; good for the heart and soul

This past weekend, I was fortunate to join my entire family for a weekend getaway in Island Park, ID. My parents have wonderful friends who have a lovely cabin and were gracious us to let us stay there (move in and take over) for a few days. This was a long overdue get together with promises of giant fish, great food and many laughs. My family did not disappoint.

It wouldn't be a proper Hodges/Powell gathering without an overabundance of food and adult beverages. We began the weekend with a recipe that has become a family favorite, the following pancake recipe. What is so wonderful about this dish is you can use whatever fruit you have on hand or are craving. I have used pears, apples, blueberries, peaches and any combination of the aforementioned fruit. I used blueberries and nectarines this time. The only catch is you need an oven safe pan (one the doesn't have any plastic handles). My dad loved this pancake so much the first time I made it for him, he promptly purchased his own. You will too; if you don't have an oven safe pan--get one! You won't regret it.

We also made ham and egg cups, which are so easy to make and delicious, but they are so elegant. Want to impress your in-laws, make a romantic breakfast in bed, or, just hungry and single like me? Make these! You will love them. All you need is a muffin tin. You can add whatever combination of cheeses, meat, herbs that you have on hand.

In addition to this wonderful breakfast, we had an Asian feast of turkey lettuce wraps, chicken satay and veggie spring rolls, along with a variety of yummy sauces. I'll be posting these soon for your enjoyment! The weekend wouldn't have been complete without a steak dinner, but as I type I feel guilty for the amount of wonderful food we had so I am going to stop. We ate and drank and played balderdash until we were all red in the face. We also caught giant fish, or I should say, my sister Julia, caught a MONSTER cutthroat! I caught only an average-sized cutthroat.

Ham Cups
You will adjust the ingredients depending on the number of people you are feeding.

4 slices ham (from the deli--you don't want them to be too thin)
4 eggs
5 mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1 shallot, diced
2 tbs sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tbs thyme, minced (or any herb you like)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (whatever you like, parmesan, cheddar, gouda)
1 tbs olive oil or butter or both
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with the ham slices. Be careful not to rip the slice, as it will be the 'cup' for you egg. Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil or butter. (If you add the butter and olive oil you can turn the heat up higher without the concern of your butter burning). Add the shallots to the pan and saute until transparent, then add the mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are browned, season with salt and pepper and stir in the sour cream and thyme. Spoon the mushroom mixture into the bottom of the ham. Carefully crack an egg into the ham cup. Sprinkle with cheese, salt and pepper. Bake 10-15 minutes or until the egg is to your desired consistency. Garnish with thyme. Carefully lift the cup out of the tin and serve. This would be lovely with some crusty toast, sliced tomatoes or fruit. Enjoy!

Baked Fruit Pancake

1/2 stick butter (2 tbs melted)

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup flour

4 eggs

3 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

3 nectarines, sliced

1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the 2 tbs butter, set aside. Heat an oven-save pan over medium heat with remaining butter. Add the fruit and cinnamon. Meanwhile, in a blender or large bowl (depending if you want to use your elbow grease to wash your blender or whisk your batter) add the dry ingredients: flour, salt and sugar and mix then add the eggs, vanilla, milk and melted butter. Whisk or blend until frothy. Pour batter over fruit and put in oven. Bake 15 minutes or until puffy. Serve with maple syrup.

Is this thing on?

Welcome to my kitchen and my new site. This endeavor is twofold: as a platform for me to share my passion of cooking and food with my family and friends, and as a method for me to record my own recipes. I am notorious for making a dish once, and then not remembering how I prepared it. It is incredibly frustrating.

My plan is to document my daily meals on this site--the good, the bad and the inedible. I have an aversion to processed food; I try to use fresh, homemade ingredients whenever I can. You'll find my food healthy, fresh, and most importantly, adaptable. I am not a professional chef, nor do I pretend to be. I am, however, in love with cooking and eating real food.

My kitchen is my respite. It is both meditative and exhilarating. I have been fascinated by cooking since I was a young girl, rushing home to watch Great Chefs of America on the Discovery Channel. Most of the credit is due to the 'culinarians' in my life, specifically my mom and Grandma Joyce, who have instilled in me their love of family, and how food is a vehicle for that expression.

I feel lucky to have the resources and will to attempt to join this very creative and witty culinary community, as I watch with delirious envy at some of the beautifully executed sites online today. I hope you'll find this site unpretentious and approachable. My eyes, ears and mouth are open to any suggestions you have. Feel free to email me, hailskitchen@gmail.com.

As my dad always says, I hope this site leaves you "fat and happy."

Cheers!
xoH