My son’s favorite childhood book was “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and we would read it nearly every night. The book should have come with a warning, cuz all those pancakes and syrup falling from the sky made me hungry…hence, once the lights were out in his room, I had the urge for some late night snacking in the kitchen!
Even as a grown up, he humored me and we went to see the film version together when it came out in the theaters. As I matured I have become more enamored with the meatballs in the story. And though most people like to eat theirs the traditional way, with spaghetti and tomato sauce, I like to take the rebel road (surprise surprise). I like to have it with a different sort of flavor combo. Maybe that is why I am such a fan of Sabrina Gayhour’s Lamb Lollipops (just a cute name for the most incredible meatballs ever). Fresh herbs and spices, dried fruit and a lovely yogurt dressing topped with little Nigella seeds which look like black sesame seeds! OMG
I first introduced you to Sabrina when she was one of our Foodie Fieldtrip Fridays. Then again when she was chosen as one of our Woman Crush Wednesdays. Finally we met up with her again when we did a Foodie Fieldtrip Friday to the BBC Good Food Show. You may be thinking, hmmm is Yankee Doodle Paddy stalking her? No, but I just might be stalking her Lamb Lollipops/Meatballs! And tonight my friends, Hubby and I went to her pop up restaurant and feasted on her incredible food and those tasty meatballs!
Since I already gave you her recipe before, I thought I would share with you one of my many meatball recipes. This one is great to do this time of year when you can get fresh or frozen cranberries. It is a super easy recipe and adults and kids love them… and they can be made gluten free as well. It can be served with rice pilaf or mash potatoes. I made it here with a parsnip mashed potato combo. If you like tons of sauce you could always double that part of the recipe.
Herbed Turkey Meatballs
Serves 4
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 lb. ground turkey
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (you can use gluten free)
1 egg
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (if you can’t find fresh oregano you can use dried, just reduce amount to only 1 Tbsp and add a bit of fresh parsley to liven up the color. Parsley is usually easy to get all year)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
¼ cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C/Gas 4.
Cook the onions and the celery in the butter over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Spoon into a bowl and let cool.
Add the turkey, bread crumbs, egg, oregano, salt and pepper to the cooled onion mixture and mix gently but thoroughly with you hands. Shape the mixture into meatballs and arrange on a prepared baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes
Meanwhile, combine the orange juice, cranberries and sugar in the pan and cook over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until the juice comes to a boil and the cranberries begin to pop, about 2-3 minutes.
Divide the meatballs among the dinner plates and spoon the cranberry sauce over the top of them. Serve immediately with some mashed potato and sautéed green beans.
Ireland and the U.K. have been hammered these last few days with a storm called Clodagh. I love that Irish name and had a roommate with that name when we were both attending Ballymaloe Cookery School. I even wrote a post about her on my then blog. It was about a lesson in goodness. Well, this storm Clodagh hasn’t been so good! Cold, wet and windy! It is funny how the storms are getting names over here on this side of the world now too. It only changed over to that recently. This Guardian article from September even asked citizens to help name the storms.
I haven’t been feeling so hot lately (under the weather to be more apropos), and certainly on a stormy day, you kinda want to just stay inside where it is warm and dry. Unless there are some meatballs raining down. Oh, I’m all over that! And I’m so glad I ventured out to Sabrina’s pop up to get my weekly fill! Besides her amazing food of course, I got to see her gorg face!
Have you ever heard of an Energy Vampire? I heard that term years ago and it still strikes me at how visceral and descriptive it sounds. Basically, they are people or things that literally suck the life out of you with their negativity. Who signs up for that kind of torture? You know what? You can opt out folks. Delete! Boom! Done! And your health will thank you for it. Here is an interesting article that lays it out for you. Downer Debbies and Nasty News Neds are bad for your brain folks! There is enough stress inherent in life, so why choose to bathe in the the rest of it that is disposable anyway? I mean, people spend loads of money and time on anit-stress measures such as yoga, massage, and detox treatments. Then they allow toxicity to permeate their lives by reading Facebook posts by people they hate!
In the short time I have been on social media I’ve seen it with my own eyes. A tiny accidental peek. But I look away. Why should I read the vitriol spewed forth by some meanies out there who tear apart other people, restaurants, or even other sports teams? So in light of that I will be sharing an upbeat and happy list of some of my favorite things. It won’t be about the latest beauty secrets, on trend clothes, or tchotchkes for your Christmas stocking stuffers. Sorry, but I’ve already warned you I am not a shopper. But I love to eat and I love to travel and have been blessed to do both in some pretty incredible places.
In America, only half the population even have a passport. So this will be the first in an ongoing series of posts. It is designed to help those of you without the travel bug, but still have a curious mind, to read about some special locales. If you’re a mommy of little babies and can’t travel at the moment, but want a little info to help plan a future get away spot, here goes. Or if you just need a little reminder of some places you should go back to and re-live, this is the ticket, cuz sometimes there are deserving recipients..such as these!
I suppose I should start my ‘best of’ short list with America, since it is my birth home. And though I was born in Chicago and indeed lived in New York for a few years, I spent most of my life in the Los Angeles area. I have no desire to move back there at the moment. However, who knows what the future holds. But there are some things about it I miss. This is a positive post, so I won’t go into the negatives of L.A. Sorry, but WestCoast/SoCal haters, you can look elsewhere. But L.A. really does have some unique and cool things about it that you can’t see/do anywhere else. Not to mention the fact that you are within a couple of hours drive to the desert of Palm Springs, the mountains of Big Bear, and the ocean in Malibu.
When I think of L.A. I get sentimental. It is where my kids were born, though neither of them live there anymore. It is where my Hubby/best friend/soulmate and I got married, though we don’t live there anymore either. I still have family and dear friends living there though and I do miss them. L.A. is quite eclectic, and it has some incredible sun, margaritas and food! So I will share first hand some places I have been and I would recommend. I am not sponsored or paid to say any of this. But I do feel passionately about them. While I could write a weeklong ode to LaLa Land, I am just going to list my top three places to stay, to eat and to do. I know some of you might have considered going to visit California, but only to San Francisco. While I love it there too, and will definitely do a post about that, I really must urge you to take a trip to L.A. Even if just for a couple of days. You won’t regret it!
Places to stay:
Pricey: Bel-Air Hotel is one among many choices for luxury accommodations, but in my opinion it is the best. It is beautiful, classy and quiet. You feel a sensory stimulation when you walk onto the lushly landscaped property. The hotel isn’t a sterile building with an elevator, but a series of bungalows so you feel like you have your own little cozy oasis. There are ponds and bridges and swans and it isn’t any wonder many Hollywood types have had their weddings on the grounds. Totally romantic! The bar is in a class all on it’s own and I spent many a night there listening to jazz piano, though it was long before I ever drank alcohol myself. But it has such an old world feeling to it you are simply transported all together into another realm. You don’t need liquid assistance to get you there. But if you do, I’ve heard they have an amazing wine and cocktail list. I have a special place in my heart for this hotel and not the least of it is the fact that my daughter used to have her piano recitals here. I know right, pretty posh?! Then again, her piano teacher also taught Paris and Nicky Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Kidada and Rashida Jones just to mention a few. So those recitals were choc a block with celebs! But that’s L.A. for you!
Mid: The Inn at Playa Del Rey has become my home away from home when I go back to L.A. Sure I have tons of places to stay, and I do love to spend the night at friends’ houses too. It’s those early morning chats over coffee while still in our PJs that are priceless . But this little gem not far from the airport is a nice, clean, convenient place to regroup after a long journey. It is part of a group of top notch B&Bs and Inns, of which I have stayed at them all. There are freshly baked chocolate chip cookies upon arrival and the delicious breakfast and an afternoon wine and cheese reception (both included in the price) to make you feel so at home. The decor is very beach-y and you have a beautiful view across the protected Ballona Wetlands to Marina del Rey. Great selfie ops of the gorgeous sailboats docked in the distance.
Affordable: Air b &b is a great option here as it seems that finding an inexpensive hotel in L.A. might land you in a sketchy neighborhood. But since we had a great experience with Air b&b last year when my Hubby rented a house from them when we went to Austin, Texas, I can totally recommend it. Though I haven’t used it for accommodations in L.A. I know some people that have with great results.
Places to eat:
The Ivy: My all time favorite salad in the world (and I know a thing or two about salads) is the grilled vegetable salad at The Ivy. The salad comes with grilled chicken or shrimp if you need some protein. And with the squaw bread on the side you are good to go! So delish and I am never disappointed. They have two locations. The one on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills is where to go if you want to see some celebrities. The one in Santa Monica is great since you can see the Pacific Ocean if you sit outside on the patio.
Anything Mexican: Unless you are going to Mexico itself, L.A. has the best Mexican food in the world. And it is very authentic and pretty affordable at most places. They are easy to find, as L. A. has one of the highest Mexican immigrant populations in America. Multiple Mexican restaurants are sometimes located on the same street! Border Grill is across from Mercado. Both top notch establishments. My favorite is a dive called Hacienda Del Rey. It has a sentimental appeal. It is cheap and cheerful and on Sunday nights they even have live mariachi music. I love a nice basket of chips with salsa and guacamole and the supply there is endless. I could have that for dinner with a blended (no salt) margarita and I’d be good to go. But I usually order chicken fajitas and split it with my Hubby. It’s so cool to see the ladies make the fresh tortillas by hand while you wait.
In-n-Out Burgers: A California institution. Though apparently, they now have one in Las Vegas so I heard. But they were born just East of L.A. so when in Rome as they say! How convenient that they also have a location next to the L.A. airport, so you can go to the drive thru just after you clear immigration! I really don’t eat much beef, and especially burgers and fries. But there’s nothing like a double double with grilled onions. And if you are gluten free you can even get it “protein style” without the bun just wrapped in extra lettuce. And the fries (or chips as they are called over on this side of the world) are made from hand peeled potatoes. Worth every calorie!
Things to do:
Disneyland: Yep, you gotta go. It is the original. I don’t care if you’ve been to Euro Disney or Disney World. It just isn’t the same. And no you don’t have to have a kid to go. You can be a kid again yourself going on the rides and experiencing the Main Street Parade. It is expensive, yes, and the food isn’t great there. You are doing if for one thing only and that is for the memory of the amazing vision of Walt Disney.
Hollywood Walk of Fame/Mann Grauman Chinese Theater: The good news is that you will not spend any money here, unless you pay the guy dressed as Charlie Chaplin to have your photo taken with him. This is a must see, and whenever I had visitors in town I took them to see the Stars along the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and the celebrity handprints in cement at Mann’s Chinese Theater. The movie business is what it is today because of the ingenuity and creativity that came out of Hollywood’s Golden Era. And this is the mecca of it all. You can even look up at the Hollywood Sign there on the hillside and think, wow, I’m finally seeing it in person! I have a deep attachment to the Stars on the Walk of Fame as my daughter’s Godmother has one (Janet Lennon with the Lennon Sisters) and so does my dear friend (Quincy Jones).
Santa Monica/Venice Beach: The upshot is, you have to see the Pacific Ocean. Sure people will say you should go to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and they are right, but I’m not the shopper. So if you must, then do a drive by on your way from Hollywood to Santa Monica. The best thing to do is to take a walk on the Santa Monica Pier, and soak up the sights. Then rent a bike and cruise along the bike path down to Venice Beach to see the muscle bound body builders and rollerbladers. Great people watching!
I hope this has given you a little taste of the fun you might have in my former home Los Angeles. The only thing I would say is you will defo need a car. Unlike where we live now in London, which has amazing public transport, you need your own set of wheels in L.A. And if you love the sun, get a convertible. That way you’ll be able to ditch the fake tan, cuz it is always hot and sunny in L.A!
Lovin in the Sun in L.A.,
YDP
P.S. Okay, so the “long story short” totally does not apply here as I realize I’ve gone way long! Yikes! But well worth sharing some of these gems and it makes me want to go back again soon cuz it has been a while! I’d be delighted to give you a tour if you need a guide:) And make sure to watch this classic Randy Newman video “I Love L.A.” to get in the mood ( or else just to laugh at the 80’s hair styles).
I’m a rebel. I always have been and I always will be. It’s the Irish in me, so they say. As most teens I was rebellious, but in a strange sort of way. My mom and her clan were bell bottom hippies, so I was a plaid preppy. They were hanging out with bongs, I was hanging with my Bible. Some of her friends were on the most wanted list, I was on the Dean’s list. Yet, I was still obedient.
So today, while the rest of the world is celebrating Black Friday, I will be obedient and recognize the day, but still be a bit rebellious too. Practically every blogger is posting tips on the perfect products that can be found at which super sales And the news media thrives on showing police in riot gear while shoppers duke it out for the latest Dyson Mini Vac. Me? Well, I’m not out in a mall or online shopping, but I am online posting the most incredible salad recipe ever. And just cuz I gotta be different, I made it with cauliflower, hence, the White Friday. None of those iceberg or rocket salads, which is about what you can find this time of year!
Cauliflower is finally seeing a blossoming (pun intended) in superfood popularity after being previously bypassed in the produce aisle. Sure people would cook it if there was nothing else, but of course they would then have to douse it with cheese sauce to make it palatable. I even have a friend who once said that she thought cauliflower was a pointless food. Okay, that hurts. But who in their right mind woke and said, “I’m craving me some cauliflower?”. That, my friends, will be you once you taste this quick and easy, healthy and pleasing salad made with our star, none other than the CAULIFLOWER! It’s the other white veg.
This recipe is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, great brain food. I think its shape even resembles a brain! It is gluten free and can be made dairy free if you eliminate the cheese in the recipe. It is also super adaptable. So if you don’t care for tarragon, substitute fresh parsley or even mint. Also you can jazz it up, like I have here by adding pomegranate seeds, or some dried cranberries if you want to get all festive. It makes it super colorful. If you prefer hazelnuts to almonds, then have at it! And if you are all paleo you can add some chicken or tuna while you dosey doe!
This Yankee Doodle Paddy got the recipe from a German friend of mine when I was living in Dublin! Now I am sharing it with you from London. Talk about Global Gourmet! The trick to it all is making sure you grate the cauliflower. If you have a food processor with a grater attachment like I do, then fab. Otherwise you will have to use one of the old standby box graters.
Fake Cous Cous Salad (aka White Friday Cauliflower Salad)
Serves 4
500 g Fresh Cauliflower, cleaned and divided into florets (basically, 1 head)
6 sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves only, chopped
1 large handful of watercress, roughly chopped (if you can’t find watercress, you can omit or substitute with spinach or another leafy green)
100 g almonds, roasted and roughly chopped
100 g parmesan cheese, grated
Juice and zest of a ½ lemon
100 ml olive oil
2 Tbsp shallot, minced
salt and pepper
Chop up the cauliflower in a food processor (or use a grater) to look like crumbs. Transfer into a bowl.
Add to the cauliflower the next 7 ingredients and toss. Season with salt and pepper (and a pinch of sugar only if needed to sweeten..unless you are sugar free ). Serve!
How simple is that? After all the cooking my American friends had to do yesterday, this is a nice break. Plus this recipe is oven free! Yipee! This is great too if you just aren’t big on Thanksgiving leftovers (and if that is the case, I’ll be right over to foil up a doggie bag). Or maybe you over indulged so much on turkey you need something that won’t weigh you down. That will give you ample space to carry out that giant flat screen tv from the big sale over at Walmart this Black Friday!!
Love and TGIWF,
YDP
P.S. Just to mention that most salads need to be eaten soon after they are made as they go soggy. This recipe is so handy because it is still nice and crunchy the next day, so you’ll have a healthy food choice for your lunch box. That’s assuming you don’t eat it all before you get to that juncture like we did!
It’s finally here! Yipeee! My all-time favorite day! I’m so so excited! The only thing that would make it more perfect is if all our family were together. However, at the moment we are living all over the globe. Thank God I was able to be with my son and daughter last week when we all met up in Tennessee. My son who is a captain in the Army had his Change of Command Ceremony. My youngest grandbaby traveled like a pro with her mommy, but my four year old granddaughter stayed home in Washington with my son in law. But our group included my daughter in law, my aunt and uncle, as well as my younger brother and his new wife, all of whom traveled from California. It was like a mini (because some loved ones were missing like my Hubby) pre Thanksgiving and even though we didn’t have turkey, we enjoyed feasting on other delicious food and creating special memories. Like our memories from last year when we all met up in Austin, Texas for Thanksgiving and a belated celebration of my birthday. Besides doing our own cooking in a house my Hubby rented for us, we did the most amazing food tour of the city.
As I have shared here and here the important thing about Thanksgiving is in fact that we have a legitimate day, a set aside opportunity to count our blessings. If you’ve been following along on this blog you know that I live with an “attitude of gratitude” and I don’t need a day on a calendar to tell me to do so. But it is great to know we’ve got a whole country simultaneously giving thanks! Americans don’t have many National Holidays. And with such diversity, not everyone shares all the different holidays on the calendar. But Thanksgiving is different because it isn’t about religion or ethnicity. It is really about focusing on what is important, breaking bread with family and friends with appreciation!
Some bloggers have written wonderful posts about what they are thankful for this year. I have put together my own list of what I am grateful for in my life. It is in the form of a quasi mnemonic device. These are 5 things I think are incredibly important. They are easy to remember because like the five fingers on our hand, each one on its own isn’t as useful as all of them together. As well, I’ve included a totally fun visual to help you remember. Maybe some of you even made these Turkey Hands when you were younger.
Each finger represents one area of thankfulness and all of them start with the letter F…..so with five F’s you won’t Forget! I’ll go one by one starting with the thumb.
FAITH: What separates a human from other animals is our thumb. More specifically our opposable thumb. Anyone who saw Meet the Parentswould remember the famous cat scene. Humans are even more unique than other animals that have thumbs in that our opposable thumb is longer, compared to finger length. This long thumb and its ability to easily touch the other fingers allow humans to firmly grasp and manipulate objects of many different shapes. But what is even more rare about us is our Faith. The only living being that worships God and joins organized religion. In fact even a lack of faith, if we so choose (because we have free will) shows our difference. And for me I am so utterly grateful for my faith. I wouldn’t be who I am without it. And it has kept me hopeful and positive even in the most challenging of circumstances.
FAMILY: Family for some isn’t just the genetic/biological people in your life. It can be the people you’ve hand picked to be a part of your journey. Friends and even those you surround yourself with everyday (like the folks at the cleaners you choose to frequent because they make your day that bit happier) are also your family. And family is number ONE! They are the people that make this earthy existence worthwhile. Sometimes you have to experience almost losing them to realize that. Or other times you need someone to teach you their value. Like the movie City Slickers’ famous scene. Here is a clip to refresh your memory and sorry if there is one swear word in it. I thank God everyday I have my number 1 (index/pointy finger)! I love my family with all my heart. So much so that it has stretch marks on it to prove it!
3. FITNESS: Since it is in the center and tallest, the middle finger quite literally is the backbone. The quote “your health is your wealth” is important because it is hard to enjoy the other bits of life without it. I have to say this is my biggest struggle and yet I am super grateful that I have made it this far. Maintaining your fitness, and that includes physical, mental and emotional, keeps you grounded. And when you feel good, you look good. So you don’t need to succumb to the pressure society puts on people to diet or resort to plastic surgery to look attractive. It will shine through naturally. I try my best to balance it all out, but if things go awry, I get back on the fitness train. And thankfully, it usually sorts itself out!
4. FINANCES: It isn’t a coincidence that a wedding ring gets placed on the ring finger. Something precious and costly symbolically attached through a commitment. Finances are indeed costly if the commitment isn’t respected. Though frugal, I am not a cheapskates, in fact I’m far from it. I love to spend money, just not on myself. I love to buy things for others. It isn’t that money is evil, it is the love of money that is so. Yet I do realize the importance of spending wisely and also saving. I am thankful to have enough to provide for a home and a car and the ability to travel, all because of finances. I am extremely appreciative to have a Hubby who is so hard working. And most importantly I am content with the fact that through my life I have had no money, loads of money and some money, and yet I am still the same person inside.
5. FUTURE: That little finger, called a pinky. It’s just at the end, down there, in the future. And yet, it is so important. Our plans, goals, hopes, and dreams, those are all future notions. I for one am beholden to it because it is what I look forward to in little things, such as a bucket list. Even my countdown to this day is a spark of excitement. I love that as humans we have the ability to time travel through our thoughts. We can look back in the past and reminisces and look forward to the future with wonder. Some espouse the notion of the “power of now” and while I don’t discount that, I also love being able to think about the future because it gives me guidance as to where I want to go. And though the path may take a turn or bend, I can still have my eye on the prize. I am so grateful for the promise of the future.
So if you have read this far, well done! That means you haven’t overdosed on tryptophan (the common element in turkey that makes you sleepy). I am not a philosopher and not trying to be preachy like somehow I know it all. I certainly do not! But I have lived long enough to know that on this day, Thanksgiving, besides gorging on food, it is good to indulge in some soul searching. And a bit of soup searching doesn’t hurt either. In fact, I have the best recipe for butternut squash soup. It is the perfect starter for a meal like today. It is delicious and nutritious. You can even make it with fresh pumpkin if you really want to be in the pilgrim mode! And since you have your opposable thumbs, you will be able to slice and dice the veg to do all your prep!
Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 6
2 kg butternuts squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 red onions, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 liters vegetable or chicken stock
Extra virgin olive oil
16 fresh sage leaves
* ½ – 1 fresh red chilli, to taste, deseeded and finely chopped (optional, if you want a bit of a kick)
Firstly, heat some olive oil in a very large sauce pan and fry the sage leaves for about 30 seconds until dark green and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon onto some kitchen paper to dry. These will be used for sprinkling over the soup for garnish.
In the same pan, add to the oil (which will now be flavoured with sage) the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves and chilli (if using) and a good bit of salt and pepper. Cook gently for 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Then simmer for 30 minutes.
When the squash is soft and cooked through, whiz the soup with a hand held liquidizer. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
To serve, pour into bowls and garnish with the crispy sage leaves.
I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving. If you aren’t American nor sitting down to a turkey dinner, you can still celebrate the holiday. Maybe you can just take a moment and dwell on what you are thankful for in your own life. Even if it is simply the gift of good eyesight, the ability to see, in order to read this. Or the blessing of enough money to have a smart phone so you can call someone you love. And once you think of one simple blessing, so many more gratitudes will begin pouring forth!
Grateful for my faith, family (which includes you), fitness, finances and the future!
We had a little break from our #WCW last week because of my travel schedule, but I hope you enjoyed the recap. There has been lots of lovin’ and crushin’ goin’ on hasn’t there? Well guess what? Today you are in for a treat my friends. We are throwing our female foodie infatuation country style to none other than the Pioneer Woman! This beautiful red head embodies all that is great about America. She loves her family, her country and her kitchen. And we get to benefit from it. Whooo hoooo! Since Thanksgiving happens to be tomorrow, HELLO, and she is the go-to for all things turkey day, who better than to show us how to make the most incredible dessert to finish on a (sugar) high note!
Y’ all know I have a massive sweet tooth, and I am uber fond of pumpkin, and not just this time of year! So while this tasty treat will be devoured today and tomorrow, I betcha I’ll be baking this baby all of the other 11 months of the calendar too. The great thing is you can use canned/tinned pumpkin puree. Sure you can roast a whole pumpkin and pop the flesh into a food processor. Totally fun DIY action! But let’s be real, when you have a sweet tooth raging you need it asap, and that’s why this recipe is da bomb!
I’ve been following Ree Drummond for quite some time. With a fabulous blog/website she covers a lot of ground folks. She is not only a fab cook for her family, but also the cowboys on her family’s Oklahoma cattle ranch. Pretty impressive for anyone, but especially Ree who was a total city girl wearing high heeled pumps and all before falling in love with her chaps wearing Marlboro Man. She also home schools her four kids, is an avid photographer, and a best selling writer. And not just cookbooks, which are awesome, but she writes children’s books too. Like I get tired just seeing all she gets done in half a day. But her unabashed and unapologetic love for butter might be a hint as to her secret superpower.
In a world of glitz and gloss it is refreshing to witness someone so naturally gorgeous and genuine ascend into the galaxy of fame. She now has a popular Food Network show and her Thanksgiving Day special is visually delicious! While not super famous on this side of the pond, yet, I think her ginger hair will give her a leg up in my soul home Ireland! Her approachable recipes will endear her to the English and her wit and humor will give Europe the lift they need. I’m totally rooting for her! One of the things I love about her most is her strong faith. Nowadays people in the media have to keep it under wraps for fear of offending anyone. But like me, her faith is who she is, so it wouldn’t be authentic not to share it! God bless her!
So without further ado, here is The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond’s perfectly autumnal feeling, but good the whole year long, Pumpkin Sheet Cake. I’m sharing the tutorial on snapchat (username: blissbakery) if you want to check it out before it vanishes in 24 hours. But the great thing about The Pioneer Woman’s blog is that Ree does a step by step photo description to accompany her written recipe. Seriously I think she has eight arms but just hides them in her apron!
Ingredients:
2 sticks Salted Butter (8 oz or 229 g)
2 cups Pumpkin Puree (not Pumpkin Pie Filling!) 450 g
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice (if not available just mix cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves
3/4 cups Boiling Water (6 oz or175 ml)
2 cups Flour (340 g)
2 cups Sugar (416 g)
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Buttermilk (4 oz or 112 ml)
2 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Maple Extract (optional)
FROSTING
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
1 stick Butter, Softened (4 oz or 114 g)
1 pound (16 oz)Powdered Sugar (called Icing sugar over this side of the pond), Sifted
Dash Of Salt
1 Tablespoon Half-and-half Or Milk (more If Needed For Thinning)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a sheet pan with baking spray and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks butter. Whisk in pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until it’s totally combined. Whisk in boiling water until mixture is smooth and combined. Set aside.
In a measuring pitcher, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and maple extract. Whisk and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Pour in the pumpkin mixture and stir until halfway combined. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir until combined. Pour into the pan and bake the cake for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
To make the frosting, mix together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth. Add half and half and check the consistency. It should be somewhat thick but thin enough to spread in a thin layer.
Spread the frosting all over the surface of the cake. Cut into squares and serve. Keep leftovers in the fridge, as frosting will get soft.
NOTE: You may double the frosting amounts if you like a very thick layer of frosting!
Since there are only two of us here at the moment, I actually cut the recipe in half. And since they don’t sell Half and Half here in the U.K. I substituted single cream. It turned out amazing and am so thrilled to have a new pumpkin recipe in my arsenal. Mostly, I am over the moon to have The Pioneer Woman as our Woman Crush Wednesday, I just wish it was more than one day. Maybe I should start a Woman Crush Week and do a recipe everyday! Thanks Ree for all that you do and all that you are. You are such an inspiration to me and so many others. Keep up the good work and keep the Faith! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!
This is an important week my friends! Not only is Thursday my favorite day of the year, Thanksgiving, but Friday is none other than the Late, Late Toy Show. For those of you who don’t live in Ireland or are not Irish, it is not only the most highly anticipated show every year, but it’s 2014 installment was the most watched television show of the century! It is basically a mash up of The Late, Late Show(like the U.S version of The Tonight Show) and Oprah’s My Favorite Things episode. It is what really gets the country talking about the Yuletide season, and gets the kids fine tuning their Christmas list.
Since Ryan Tubridy, the show’s host since 2009, was a customer of mine in the shop, of course I am a fan! Tubs (as he is affectionately known) is really a great guy, a wonderful father and happens to be a massive America aficionado. In fact, last year he read out my email about Thanksgiving on his popular daily radio program. While I never actually voiced to him my opinion of the Toy Show, I felt now that I am openly sharing on this blog I would touch on a couple important points.
Though on the surface, the Toy Show looks to be an ad for materialism in all its glory, there is actually another element to it: Fantasy. A great article by Irish Times writer Shane Hegarty, which you can read here, touched on the fine line the show walks in terms of consumerism. But at the end of the day, his coining of the show as a National Treasure is accurate. It does bring people from around the country together to celebrate the season that’s in it. And looking back on my own childhood I wish I had been whisked away into a winter wonderland such as the Toy Show. For some kids in difficult circumstances it is one of the coping mechanisms they use. Fantasizing about what they could have or experience keeps them going.
As an adult watching the Toy Show, as I did when I lived in Dublin for the past seven years, I feasted on all the amazing toys and wondered if there were kids watching that had little or nothing as my child self. Growing up I literally had two toys. One was a doll called “Little Miss No Name” that had a plastic tear stuck to her cheek. Quite sad and tragic looking for a toy. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t scrape it off her face. And I had a weird looking stuffed owl made out of naugahyde. His nick name was Naugie and he wasn’t warm and cuddly at all, which you kinda want in a stuffed animal.
They lacked the shiny bells and whistles of today’s toys. They weren’t even considered nice back in the day. But then I acted in a super popular Mattel Barbie Doll commercial and things got a little better. Though I found out years later about my mom spending all the money I made on it, I did get to take home a Barbie Doll after the day of filming on set was complete. And that’s all I cared about. I finally had a nice toy to take to school on share day, and something to play with that represented the possibility of a happy life.
You see, most poor children know they are in fact poor. While donations and handouts are important and helpful, poor kids still feel a bit of stigma. Even in my situation, once my Barbie doll commercial was a success, kids confronted me about going through the free lunch line in the school cafeteria. They questioned why I should be getting handouts if I carried around a new Barbie. So rather than explain that my parents were divorced, my mom had a drug habit, and we were on welfare, I just quit eating lunch at school. I would rather feel the grumbling in my tummy than the shame of the situation.
While not every needy kid would go so far as to turn down a free lunch, kids are aware of their circumstances. And if some people criticize the Toy Show for excess in light of the needs around us, I say, let the show go on! Because whether or not impoverished kids watch the show with longing, there can also be an element of hope. It is hope that someday, they might get a shiny new toy. Or in my case, be able to provide for their kids’ super incredible Christmases. My daughter and son still say those December 25th mornings were unforgettable lifetime experiences. And I quietly think to myself, yep they were for me too!
HO-HO-HOpe and love,
YDP
P.S. I’ll be posting some great recipes for Thanksgiving later, but here are a few posts that I’ve already shared with delicious ideas for you!
Most women I know love their precious diamonds and gold, and for them a carat or a karat are their best friends! Not me! For as long as I can remember the only gem I’ve had an obsession with is a glistening Carrot Cake. Not only do I love it and I bake it often since it’s my favorite cake, but I also research it. One thing I like to do is look high and low for the best tasting carrot cake I can find, much to the chagrin of my kids sometimes. When they were growing up we were always called the Three Muskateers. But one day it was more like Three Muskatears as I was on the hunt for what was supposed to be the best sugar free carrot cake recipe in Los Angeles. However, it wasn’t in the nicest part of L.A. Driving around in our GMC Suburban SUV with my son and daughter in the car she said, “Are you willing to risk our lives for a carrot cake?” Okay, maybe that was a dramatic response because we weren’t entering gang territory with a twenty-one gun salute. It was just a scavenger hunt for a twenty-four karat carrot cake.
But all that research led to my finding the best recipe ever! While my version has all the sugar, it is without a doubt the tastiest and moistest carrot cake you will ever have the pleasure of eating (I am already counting on you to bake it!). I usually bake it into cupcakes, but have also used this recipe to make a two or three layer birthday cake as well (depending on the size of your baking pans). And I somehow never feel guilty eating it as I think of all the carrots and raisins and nuts I am consuming, healthy right?
CARROT CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour plus about 40 minutes to cool and frost
Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour sifted
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 cups caster sugar
1 ¼ cups canola (or veg) oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated, peeled carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium bowl. Once blended set aside.
In a large bowl whisk sugar and oil until well blended. Add eggs one at a time and mix. Add flour mixture and stir until well blended. Stir in carrots (and walnuts and raisins if using).
Divide batter among cupcake pans that have been lined with paper liners. Fill about ¾ full.
Bake about 14-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in pans about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing them.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients:
250 g of cream cheese cold
100 g unsalted butter, room temp
600 g Icing sugar sifted
pinch of salt
drop of vanilla extract
In a stand mixer beat icing sugar and butter with paddle attachment on medium speed until mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium high and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat or it will become runny.
I am such a carrot cake fiend that my Hubby and I even had it for our wedding cake! And my son and daughter in law asked me to make it for their wedding too, though the top of their three tier cake was a red velvet cake. Even if I’m not baking it, I think it is fascinating to actually look back in history to learn when the carrot cake was invented and by whom. There is even a carrot trivia website if you are interested. And you might even want to know the difference between a carrot, carat and karat. Carrots are important to eat all year, not just for Easter to impress the Easter Bunny. Certainly incorporating them into savory and sweet dishes is the ultimate way to add vitamins and flavor.
It is even nice to make a pecan praline, whizz up into crumbs, then decorate the sides of the cake for extra crunch!
