Cow Tipping.

The first time I’d ever heard the term “cow tipping” was in 1990 when first moving to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Our residential neighborhood was surrounded by Amish farmland, with local, bored teenagers bragging about this night time exploit.  What exactly is “cow tipping”? An activity of sneaking up on any unsuspecting, or sleeping, upright cow and pushing it over for entertainment. The practice of cow tipping is generally considered an urban legend, and stories of such feats viewed as tall tales.  Except if you happen to live in a rural area, with even adults bragging how they did this activity during teenage years.  Personally, I saw this as cruelty to animals; I certainly wouldn’t enjoy being hurt and/or frightened being pushed down onto hard ground in my sleep!

Spring forward to 2009 with the moving to Utah; cows here are “handsomer”, for lack of a better word, than the overworked black and white milking cows of Pennsylvania.  Where those East coast cows would back away if you stared at them; cows in the Southwest have, what I would definitely call New York attitude, as they stare back with “whatchalookinat?”  Asking about cow tipping, folks would ask, “What is that?” and once explained would proclaim, “Well that’s stupid!”  So much for cow tipping in the Southwest.

Which now brings my convoluted thought processing to “beef tips”.  Did you ever go to a restaurant where the special for the evening was beef tips?  The server explains how this is a special cut of tender beef, prepared in a rich gravy and served over, well something; rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, a pureed vegetable.  Sounds really good, and it has to be special, considering the price is almost equal to a T-bone steak.  Here comes the surprise, where exactly does this “special cut of tender beef” come from on the cow?  The tips are small, about one inch; is there only one tip in each cow!?!  Originally, a beef tip was the tip of a tenderloin or sirloin steak which was trimmed off to give the steak a smoother, rounder appearance.  Nowadays, while quality restaurants may perform the same trim job, beef tips could simply be a steak cut up into one inch pieces and called the same thing.  Depending on the quality of the beef itself, the cooking process is the same, but may take longer.

The recipe I’m giving uses a simple London broil cut, lean, with all excessive fat removed as the fat will only make the gravy greasy, not tastier.  A hint for all those hunters bringing home elk and deer this season; this recipe works very well for those meats also.  I use Portabella mushrooms as they have a meatier texture, yet mild flavor; they are often used, as a substitute, for vegetarians who want to partake of a “burger”, just not the meat part.

Beef Tips with Egg Noodles

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean London broil

4 Tbsp. flour

1 large onion, julienned

1 lb. portabella mushrooms, cut into one inch pieces

1 cup red wine (merlot or burgundy)

1 cup beef stock (not broth, too watery)

1 tsp. dried, crushed thyme leaves

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 lb. wide egg noodles

Preparation:

Spray a 4-quart crock pot bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

Cut London broil into one inch pieces, mix with the flour to coat all sides; place in bottom of crock pot bowl.  Place onions over beef, mushrooms over the onions in a layering process.

Whisk together wine, stock, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic; pour over mushrooms.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerator overnight (8 hours). 

Next day, remove plastic wrap, place bowl into cooking unit, cover with appropriate lid, set on low and let cook for 8 hours.  At 7 and ½ hours, prepare egg noodles according to package directions.  Serve beef tips over egg noodles

Makes 6 servings.

Note: If a thicker gravy is desired, stir in one teaspoon of corn starch, at a time, until desired consistency is met.

Mary Cokenour

To Dump or Not To Dump.

Infomercials, they seem to be taking over, not just entire cable channels, but advertising altogether.  One I admit falling for was Cathy Mitchell’s Dump Dinners Cookbook which came with an awesome 9 x 13 baking pan plus Dump Cakes Baking Book.  What a bargain for $19.95 plus shipping and handling!  While I have not dumped any dinners as yet, I have tried a couple of cake recipes which led me to a question.

Why the term “dump cake”?  Actually this term covers baking methods as far back as the 1600s, colonization of the United States and creativity due to a lack of ingredients.  Names like Cobbler, Grunt, Pandowdy, Sunken and Brown Betty became synonymous with locations throughout the eastern states.  Two basic methods developed, the first being “one bowl”; all ingredients mixed into a batter within one bowl, poured into a baking pan, baked and served.  The second was layering and topping with uncooked biscuit dough (origin of WW1’s dough boys), rolled oats, bread crumbs, crushed crackers or graham crackers.

American cooks (1800s to present time) tend to use fruit as a major component, whereas the British colonists brought over their recipes of savory recipes using beef, lamb and mutton.  Personally, while discussing this next baking project with friends, it seemed that almost everyone had recipe dating back to mom, or grandma.  To judge both methods, I prepared two  “cakes”, the first being one bowl using spiced apples (thank you to the late Marie Watkins) , the second with cherry pie filling from a can. 

Apple Pie Dump Cake

Page 8, Cathy Mitchell’s Dump Cakes Baking Book

1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling (or another fruit pie filling)

1 package (15 oz.) white cake mix (or yellow)

3 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1 – Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 9 x 13 inch baking pan (or 2-9 inch round pans) with nonstick cooking (baking) spray.

2 – Place apple pie filling in large bowl; cut apple slices into chunks with paring knife or scissors.  Add cake mix, eggs and oil; beat 1 to 2 minutes or until well blended.  Spread batter in prepared pan; sprinkle with pecans.

3 – Bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (mine took 60 minutes altogether).  Cool in pan at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Apple Walnut

Cherry Walnut

Note: the items in parentheses are my own personal changes

This recipe produced cakes; real cakes that rose and became yummy snacking cakes which my taste testers enjoyed.  Truthfully, I didn’t see much difference with this recipe than following the instructions on the box and adding pie filling.

The layered method produced results which were, well, iffy to the taste testers, since some did not even give comments, positive or negative.  Sometimes it is best to remain neutral.  Anyway, with cake #1, I used peach pie filling; it was definitely a cobbler with the cake mix plus melted butter creating a crumbly topping.  Cake #2 was tart pie cherries and chocolate cake mix; this turned out to be a gooey mess with not all the cake mix and melted butter mixing together.  It was best to be served as an accompaniment with ice cream, or layered in a bowl with whipped cream, but not as is.

For the recipes, I sort of mixed and match from ones I read, and ones that were offered to me.

Peach Dump Cake

1 can (21 oz.) peach pie filling

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 box (15 oz.) white or yellow cake mix

¾ cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350F; spray 9 x 13 inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray.

Spread pie filling over bottom of pan; mix together cinnamon and sugar, sprinkle over pie filling.  Spread cake mix over pie filling, pour butter over cake mix as evenly as possible.

Bake 45-50 minutes (again, mine took 60), or until pie filling is bubbling up along sides of pan.  Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Step 1 - Fruit Layer

Step 2 - Cinnamon, Sugar Layer

Step 3 - Cake Mix Layer

Step 4 - Melted Butter Over Cake Mix

Peach Dump Cake Fully Baked

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cherry Chocolate Dump Cake

2 cans (15 oz.) tart cherries; drain water, but keep ½ cup; or 1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 box (15 oz.) Devil’s Food cake mix

¾ cup melted butter

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F; spray 9 x 13 inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray.

Spread cherries plus ½ cup water (or pie filling) over bottom of pan; sprinkle sugar over top.  Spread cake mix over fruit, pour butter over cake mix as evenly as possible.  Spread walnuts over top.

Bake 45-50 minutes (again, mine took 60), or until liquid is bubbling up along sides of pan.  Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Step 1 - Fruit Layer

Step 2 - Sugar Over Fruit

Step 3 - Devil's Food Cake Mix Layer

Step 4 - Melted Butter Over Cake Mix

Step 5 - Crunchy Chopped Walnuts

Cherry Chocolate Dump Cake Fully Baked

When it comes to these recipes, I say try them as is, or play with them to see what you can create yourself.  One thing for sure, you’ll definitely decide if you rather dump bake, or dump the cake.

Mary Cokenour

Oh So Easy Shrimp, Veggies and Pasta.

The most difficult part about making a pasta recipe is choosing the pasta. Do you want tubular; long and thin; long, flat and thin; curly; wavy; a shape such as a bowtie or shell; yada, yada, yada? There are so many choices in the world of pasta and it basically depends on what shape you feel like looking at on your plate, and forking over into your mouth. For this recipe I chose pappardelle; a broad, flat, long pasta that is shaped into a "nest" when drying; once cooked though, it's snakes alive!

Shrimp and Vegetables over Pappardelle

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large zucchini, cubed
1 large yellow squash, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (8 oz) package Pappardelle
water to cook pasta
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 lb. large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups tomato vodka cream sauce**

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat, sauté zucchini, yellow squash and onion till the edges just begin to brown.  While waiting to brown vegetables, heat water in a large pot and cook Pappardelle until al dente.

Add the garlic, salt, pepper and shrimp to the vegetables; mix. 

When the shrimp turns opaque, drain the pasta and place a serving on each plate.   Spoon sauce over the pasta and top with the shrimp and vegetable mixture.

 

 

Makes 6 servings.

** Recipe for Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter

¼ cup diced onion
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup vodka
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Romano cheese

Preparation:

In a large skillet, medium-high heat, melt butter and sauté onion until translucent. Add tomatoes and cook until liquid reduces by half; stir frequently to keep from sticking or burning.

Add cream, vodka and pepper flakes; bring to a boil; reduce heat to low; add in cheeses and let cook 10 minutes to let sauce thicken.

Makes 4 cups.

Mary Cokenour


 

Just Another Baked Cod Recipe.

The other day I tried to fry up two one inch thick pieces of cod in a skillet.  A little olive oil over medium heat, seasoned with salt, black pepper and dill; lemon juice splashed over them at the last minute of cooking.  Sounds yummy, right?  Well, I don't know what went wrong, or maybe I do; while the fish did brown slightly on both sides and turn opaque, the middle did not cook through.  I don't think it was the cooking technique, it was because I used defrosted fish; unfortuately, frozen is all that is available for purchase around these parts.  Utah is a landlocked state, so if fish comes in, it was fresh at one time, but now is totally frozen.  Freezing fish changes its texture; even carefully defrosting and cooking, the outside may be flaky, but the deep inside tends to be rubbery.

That doesn't mean that I have given up entirely on fish; I still buy the frozen and still attempt to find ways to get it done right.  This post is another of those attempts; I needed to bake it a little longer than fresh fish, but the rubbery texture was almost...almost nonexistent.  So, while my recipe says to bake 25 - 30 minutes, that is based on defrosted fish; fresh fish should be about 10 minutes less in baking time.

Baked Cod with Squash

 Ingredients:

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup olive oil, divided in half
2 Tbsp Italian herbal mix, divided in half
2 tsp coarse sea salt, divided in half
1 tsp garlic powder
2 (6 oz) cod fillets, one inch thick, bones and skin removed
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
 

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a 1 and 1/2 quart glass baking dish, spread the squash slices over the bottom.  Drizzle 1/4 cup of olive oil over the slices; sprinkle one tablespoon of the herbal mix, one teaspoon of sea salt and the one teaspoon of garlic powder over them.

 

Lay the cod fillets (skin side up) on top of the squash; drizzle with remaining olive oil; sprinkle remaining herbal mix and sea salt; drizzle lemon juice over all.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes; until cod is opaque and flakes easily.  Remove one fillet and portion of squash to plate; spoon liquid from baking dish over all.

 

Makes 2 servings.

 

Mary Cokenour

Sweet and Sour Pork Roast Made in a Crock Pot.

So, I was going through some cooking magazines and saw several recipes geared towards "sweet and sour". Whether it was pork or chicken, none of the recipes involved any type of frying, simply crock pot cookery or baking in the oven. Which got me to further thinking, since I had a boneless pork loin roast sitting in the freezer and I usually make pulled pork with that cut of meat. I don't know if I warned you of this before, but my mind tends to be its own game of Trivial Pursuit.

I noticed one recipe, for ingredients, it simply had: boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into pieces, soy sauce, brown sugar;  for preparation it had: place in crock pot on low for 6 hours.  The recipe name was "Hawaiian Chicken Teriyaki" and try as I might, I was just not seeing it; nope, not one second of imagery.  Instead, I pictured "sweet and sour pork" in my mind, what the ingredients were and what it would look like if I did not fry up the pork in a cornstarch coating.

The house smelled amazing as the ingredients cooked away in my crock pot; the final product though was simply out of this world!  Oh, how did I get from "sweet and sour" to "Hawaiian teriyaki" and back to "sweet and sour"?  Yeah, its that Trivial Pursuit thing again.  Anyway, here's the recipe and I'm very sure you are going to lap up your plates so clean, you'll think they were not used at all.

Sweet and Sour Pork Roast

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 lb boneless pork loin roast

1 large red onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks in natural juice; strain juice, but reserve
3 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce

Preparation:

 

 

Spray a 4 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; place pork roast inside.  Place onion, bell pepper and pineapple over and around roast.

 

 

 

In a small bowl, whisk together reserved pineapple juice, flour, brown sugar and soy sauce until all flour is incorporated.  Pour mixture over roast, fruit and vegetables; cover and cook on low for eight hours.

 

 

 

 

Remove roast from crock pot to serving platter to rest for five minutes; surround with fruit and vegetables.  If serving with rice, substitute half cup of cooking water with sauce from crock pot; cook rice according to directions.

 

Makes 8 servings.

 

 

Now just in case you need to know how to make simple white rice, but this isn't the fluffy variety.  This rice will be moist and almost a "risotto" consistency.

 

Ingredients:

 

4 cups water (or 3 and 1/2 plus 1/2 cup sauce for this dish)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 Tbsp butter

2 cups long grain rice

 

Preparation:

 

In medium sauce pan, bring water (or water plus sauce), salt, black pepper and butter to a rolling boil.  Add the rice and stir vigorously (helps keep rice from sticking immediately); allow to boil for 15 minutes and stir occasionally to make sure it is not sticking.  Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. 

 

Makes 8 servings.

 

Mary Cokenour

Slowed Cooked and Smoky Pepper Steak

Usually when I make Pepper Steak, I use a skillet or a Wok; the dish cooks quickly on the stovetop. One problem, sometimes the strips of meat are not tender enough; the quick cooking sealed in juice and flavor, but the meat did not tenderize. I do not marinade the meat overnight, so if the cut is not tender in the first place, well there you go.

Recently I purchased a three pound package of sliced round steak and intended on making Pepper Steak.  While browsing through the newsfeed on my Facebook page though, I came across a recipe for "Hoisin Beef Stew"; regular stew ingredients: beef cubes, potatoes, celery, carrots, mushrooms; but instead of a broth as the cooking medium, the recipe called for Hoisin Sauce.  Interesting concept I thought, maybe next time I make stew I'll try the recipe out.  Then it hit me, I've never done up Pepper Steak in the slow cooker, so here was a chance to try out this method and play with the Hoisin Sauce as a cooking medium.  I love Hoisin Sauce by the way; the flavor is just so above using plain soy or teriyaki sauces, and you barely need to add any other seasoning to it.  Besides adding it to recipes, it works as an excellent glaze or barbecue sauce all on its own; so yummy on ribs or brisket.  Besides beef, chicken or pork, Hoisin can be used on wild game such as Elk and Deer; it cuts the gaminess of the deer meat, and only enhances the elk meat to a whole new level.

The meal I made took eight hours to cook in the crock pot before the meat was fall apart in the mouth tender; the peppers, onions and mushrooms were perfectly cooked.  Yes, I added mushrooms to this dish, mainly because I had a pound of fresh sliced mushrooms on hand and didn't want them to go to waste.  I am so glad I made that choice!  The flour I added in at the start helped the Hoisin sauce and any juices from the other ingredients to create a medium thick sauce that went well on a brown and wild rice mixture I made for a side dish.  If you've jumped onto the gluten free fad bandwagon, you can use rice flour instead of regular white flour.  Overall, this recipe came out pretty well, and I would make it again; maybe add in garlic, or some julienned carrot.

Now remember, if you try this recipe out and you think the Hoisin sauce is not enough in the seasoning genre; add sparingly and keep tasting, you don't want to lose the overall flavor of the Hoisin and you can always add, but not take out.  If you add any hot seasoning such as dried chile peppers, remember, the longer it cooks, the hotter it gets.

Hoisin Pepper Steak

Ingredients:

3 lbs. round steak, cut into 1/4 inch thick strips

1/4 cup flour
1 each large green, yellow and red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch strips
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cups Hoisin sauce

Preparation:

Spray interior of a 6 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray; set on low.  Place meat inside and sprinkle flour over top.  Layer bell peppers, onion and mushrooms; pour Hoisin sauce evenly over all.  Cover and let cook 6-8 hours; until meat is tender.  Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Lentil Soup is Hearty and Versatile.

Lentils, I don't know why folks cringe and/or make faces when they hear that word.  The lentil is part of the Legume group; guess what, so is the peanut and I don't see many saying "yuck" to that.  Lentils are high fiber, low fat, help lower blood sugar and blood pressure and NO cholesterol; if you're a diabetic, this is great news.  In taste and texture, they're pretty similar to beans, but cook more quickly.  Now while they can be served as a side dish, my favorite way of eating them is in a soup.

When it comes to a bean, split pea or lentil soup of any kind, I'm more of a purist; the bean, split pea or lentil should be the star while the other ingredients are supporting actors.  For example, my grandmother's Split Pea Soup; even in the photo (click on the previous link) of it, you can see split pea is the main focus.  Depending on how spontaneous my want of soup is, or if it's for a later meal, decides how the soup is cooked; stove top or crockpot (slow cooker).  For the Lentil Soup recipe I'm going to post, I'm going to make it all vegetarian first; then I'll post options you can add to your soup.

Lentil Soup for the Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

2 cups dry lentils
4 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
1 medium onion, diced
2 large stalks of celery, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp Italian herbal mix
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

Preparation:

Put the lentils in a large bowl, cover with the water; cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight.  Next day, strain lentils from water; place in a 6 quart crockpot with all other ingredients listed.  Set on low and cook for 8 to 10 hours; until lentils are tender.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.


Lentil Soup for the Stove Top

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable, canola or peanut oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large stalks of celery, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 cups dry lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp Italian herbal mix
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

Preparation:

In a large soup pot, saute the onion and celery on medium heat until softened (about 10 minutes); add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes being careful that the garlic does not brown or burn.  Stir in remaining ingredients from the list; when bubbles begin to form around edge of pot, reduce to low, cover and cook for 60 to 90 minutes; until lentils are tender.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Options

- before serving, add in 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and a 1/2 cup of chopped fresh dill.

- for a spicier taste, add in ground chile powder; the amount is dependent on how how you want it.

- skip the onion, celery and minced garlic; roast two heads of garlic, squeeze the pulp into the soup mix and let cook according to crockpot or stove top time.

- brown a 1/2 pound of bacon, ground lamb, ground beef or sausage (mild, hot, Italian), drain fat, and add with the other ingredients at cooking start.

- use beef broth instead of vegetable broth

Whether you go purist, add a ton of other vegetables or meat; Lentil Soup can be a pretty yummy meal, especially on a cold, blistery day.  Try it!

Mary Cokenour

Potato Chips? Sweet!

Green Giant Multigrain Chips

Website: https://www.greengiant.com/pages/ProductsSnacks.aspx

Green Giant, that big green guy who sells us loads and loads of vegetables, has decided to expand his industry to snacks. Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips is the newest item out on the market, and I have to tell you that it tastes good! I like crunchy foods and to find a sweet potato chip that has a ton of flavor and crunch is perfect for me. I've tried many brands of sweet potato chips, mostly they are either extremely bland or over seasoned. I've even tried sweet potato tortilla chips, but they ended up being simply tortilla chips with flavoring and no real vegetable mixed in.

These Green Giant Chips are different, real sweet potatoes is the third item on the ingredient list; we all know that the higher up on the ingredient list, more of the item is actually in the mixture. The whole grains are corn, rice, brown rice and buckwheat flours; while the oil used in sunflower and the flavoring agent is natural sea salt. The nutritional facts are: NO cholesterol, 6 grams of fat, 80 milligrams of sodium and 19 grams of carbs for a serving size of one ounce (about 18 chips). The average size of a chip is about one inch wide by two inches long; you can eat 18 of these...not too shabby!!!

Now my one big problem is going to be, will the supermarket keep these chips in stock; and will they be bringing in the other flavors to try???  If you're looking for a healthier snacking chip, give these Green Giant Multigrain Chips a try; just make sure to leave some in the store for me to purchase.

Mary Cokenour

My Birthday Dinner.

Yesterday, December 26th, was my birthday and I am 21...again.  You know how some women, when they're about to turn 30 decide to be "29 again"; nope, not me, I'm 21.  Someone on Facebook posted one of these quizzes, one about your mental age; well mine came out to 28, so see, I still don't even qualify to be 29 again anyway.  If you're a reader, and hopefully a follower, of my travel blog, you can tell from my adventures that becoming and feeling "old" is not on my agenda. 

Actually, I have my life pretty much planned out to the age of 200.  "Impossible!", you say, but why; why shouldn't we all have expectations of a very long life and do what we can to make it all worthwhile?  For my first 50 years of life, I lived on the East Coast, primarily in New York and Pennsylvania; at age 50 though, I moved to Utah.  For the next 50 years I intend on enjoying life in the Southwest, exploring Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah; maybe even get to a few other states out here.  That takes me to age 100 where I intend on going to Europe and spending 50 years exploring England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.  I've been a "ghost hunter" since about 1999, so experiencing the haunted castles of these countries is number one of the to-do list.  Roy and I, oh yes, my hubby plans on doing all this with me, want to also visit all those places from our favorite British mysteries: Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Morse.  Our biggest thrill would be to meet Doctor Who, and Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood); perhaps a Cyberman and Dalek too.  "Ridiculous!", you say; but then again, you're the old becoming old with the nay saying, not me.  Which takes me to age 150 when Roy and I intend to head off for Australia, New Zealand and whatever other lands are in that area.  "Why?", you ask..."Why Not!!!"", I say.

You have to admit these are pretty adventurous goals for a woman who wasn't supposed to have even been born, or continued on living after being born.  No, no; I was not planned; I was supposed to be born a male and named Stephen.   Oh I got the day of birth correct, December 26th, Saint Stephen's Day, but I got the sex all wrong, born with the wrong genitals and all that comes with it.  I did get very sick after I was born, doctors thought I would die, but nope, I lived; and messed up the plans and lives of family members...or so I was led to believe for so many sad years.  With the help of a couple of friends, and most especially Roy, I accepted myself, developed love for myself, and realized that these family members brought their own misery upon themselves; and missed out on a wonderful chance to enjoy a wonderful female...ME!  I didn't quit, I didn't give in, I didn't commit suicide; I knew my death would make others happy and I'd be damned before I'd allow that satisfaction.  That past, however, is past and cannot be changed; now I'm living everyday to its fullest and having a great time!!!  I truly hope what I've just written inspires someone else to pick themselves up and say, "Yes, I am worth every bit of living!!!"

Anyway, last night I cooked up one of the most delicious steak dinners I've ever eaten.  "What!?!  You didn't go out for your birthday?"  No, Roy was out of town on business, but promised to take me to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants when he returns; so it was up to me to treat me.



Steak; I purchased two Rib Eye (one for my birthday, and one for a weekend meal) that were a half pound each, 1 and 1/2 inches thick and very little fat.  I seasoned both sides simply with cracked black pepper and crushed sea salt.  First I preheated the oven to 425F and sprayed an aluminum baking dish with nonstick spray.  For ten minutes I seared one side of the steak in the oven; ten minutes for the other side; I reduced the heat to 350F and let the steaks cook to medium-rare for another 10 minutes.






While the steaks seared, I sautéed sliced mushrooms (8 ounces) and a julienned onion (large) in a large skillet; three tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat; again simply seasoned with the black pepper and sea salt, with a dash of garlic powder.

Once the steaks were done, I added a baked potato and a small side salad (Green Goddess dressing and shredded Cheddar cheese).  For dessert, a slice of New York Style Cheesecake with whipped creamed and chocolate sauce.  "Holy Moly Mary, you're not supposed to eat all that!!!"  Hey, it was my birthday, and I deserved every bit of it.  ...and now to make you even more jealous, my blood sugar two hours after was only 97...97!  Another three hours later, I was ready for bed, took my blood sugar and it was only 112.  Next morning, I found I had lost a half pound....oh yeah, you're all jealous and you know it!

Overall, I had a happy birthday; yes, my past still rears its ugly head at times and overwhelms me with sadness.  I find a way to deal with it, to overcome; as the saying goes, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" and I am living proof of this.  Next birthday you have, do not push yourself down by saying, "I'm old", lift yourself up and say, "I AM all that, and the whole potato chip factory too!"

Mary Cokenour
 

Bernardone's Family Pizzeria in New Mexico

Bernardone's Family Pizzeria

933 West Main Street
Farmington, New Mexico, 87401

(505) 325-0303

Website: http://bernardonesfamilypizzeria.com/

Now being a former New Yorker who has grown up on Italian food, a good amount of it pizza, I was excited about trying out the cuisine at Bernardone's.  While I do judge pizza by New York standards, the use of a wood burning brick oven is pretty impressive; and it does a nice job on the dough.

 

Bernardone's has a sort of fancy look on the outside, but the interior is rustic with booths lining most of the walls while tables and chairs take up the central space.  There is a menu over the ordering area, but it does not have the entire menu listed, so go by the paper version.  Basically you order at the counter, pay and then a waitress will bring your drinks, appetizers and main dishes later on. The staff are friendly and will explain menu items; you will get things your way and with a smile.

To start off the dining experience, we chose the Baked Mushrooms alla Toscana; button mushrooms coated in olive oil, fresh bread crumbs, herbs and garlic.  It came to the table just as described on the menu, "piping hot from the oven".  The bread crumbs were crispy and flavorful;  the mushrooms were not soaking in olive oil, but had a mild flavor of it which was a nice touch.







There were four of us present, and since it was lunch time, kept the dishes simple; two pizzas, a calzone and a pasta (from the gluten free section).  Yes, I said "gluten free"; Bernardone's created this section of the menu to let diners indulge in pasta, but not suffer for it later on.


The Cheese Calzone contains Ricotta, Romano and Mozzarella cheeses; I did a little "create my own" by having meatballs added in.  I notice that calzones made out in the Southwest are definitely not like New York calzones.  I'm used to them being so stuffed with cheese, they're ready to explode; while the ones out here have thin layers of cheese in an airy pocket of dough.  Don't get me wrong, this calzone was delicious; but I missed all that cheese.  The marinara sauce served on the side was also delicious and I enjoyed the chunks of tomato it contained.  Being baked in the wood burning oven also gave the calzone a unique flavor overall.

Fusilli Campagnola was the gluten free pasta dish ordered; pasta sautéed with garlic, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, calamata olives and mushrooms; topped with fresh basil and Romano cheese.  The portions at Bernardone's are generous and the diner who ate this dish merely stated that it was good.  It surely must have been because she basically left her plate clean...no leftovers!







Pizza Time!

First pizza ordered was the "Pizza Ultimo" 10 inch Personal size; pepperoni, Italian sausage, green bell peppers, red onions, black olives and mushrooms.  Second pizza was a "Create Your Own" 10 inch Personal size consisting of ground beef, green chiles, white onions, feta cheese and fresh basil.  Once again the wood burning oven gave the dough a crispy crust and unique flavor; overall the pizzas were delicious and certainly should be tried when you visit Bernardone's.  Did they live up to the standard of a New York pizza?  Of course not, this pizza was made in New Mexico, not New York; but I still would order one and enjoy it at Bernardone's.

Pizza Ultimo

A "Create Your Own" Pizza

When looking for an Italian eatery in Farmington, New Mexico, I would definitely recommend Bernardone's Family Pizzeria over some chain restaurant that imitates Italian cuisine.  Bernardone's makes their food the true Italian way...with love.

Mary Cokenour