by Krista | Jun 2, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
Luscious dollops of sunshine seeped through the dark rain clouds Monday night, delighting my heart as I drove to CEC for a delectable evening of dear friends and delicious food.
We had a jolly crowd this week, everyone relaxed and happy to be together, sipping French wine and Belgian beer from Jonathon as we discussed camping, work foibles, dreamed of travel destinations, and our favorite toys as kids. Lego seemed to be the dominant favorite, followed closely by Lincoln Logs and other hands on things that once gave free reign to our youthful flights of fancy.
With only appetizers to prepare, we were soon loading our plates and heading out to the deck where we ate under the glow of mason jars filled with tea lights.
Darren shared cheese finds procured at the Seattle Cheese Festival last month: smoky cheddar and soft cheeses flavored with garlic and herbs.
I made Bosnian Cevapi (beef and pork sausages) with a Hot Pepper Jelly Sauce.
Selwyn stirred a bubbling pot of Cranberry Chili Smokies.
Jon and Janelle brought even more lovely cheeses: chevre blue, sharp cheddar, drunken goat and a few others I can’t remember the names of, all paired with a chewy loaf of rosemary bread.
Don and Jen served beautifully herbed salmon.
Deb made savory and sweet Pineapple Chicken Tenders that, alas, I wasn’t able to photograph because they were snatched up before I had a chance.
Toby finished things off with crispy Zucchini and Feta patties. I just love that bright green color!
What is your favorite appetizer? 🙂
This is my contribution to Wanderfood Wednesday, kindly hosted by Wanderlust and Lipstick.
Toby’s Zucchini Patties with Feta
(From Epicurious)
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (from about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup (or more) all purpose flour
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup (about) olive oil
1/2 cup (about) corn oil
Directions:
- Toss zucchini and 1/2 teaspoon salt in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Transfer to sieve. Press out excess liquid; place zucchini in dry bowl.
- Mix in egg, yolk, 1/2 cup flour, cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Mix in parsley, onions, and dill. If batter is very wet, add more flour by spoonfuls.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons corn oil in large skillet over medium heat.
- Working in batches, drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls into skillet. Fry patties until golden, 5 minutes per side, adding more olive oil and corn oil as needed. Transfer to paper towels. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead.
- Place on baking sheet, cover, and chill.
- Rewarm uncovered in 350°F oven 12 minutes. Serve with plain Greek yogurt.
Deborah’s Pineapple Chicken Tenders
(From All Recipes)
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup light soy sauce
2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins or strips
skewers
Directions:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix pineapple juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce. Remove from heat just before the mixture comes to a boil.
- Place chicken tenders in a medium bowl. Cover with the pineapple marinade, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread chicken lengthwise onto wooden skewers.
- Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken tenders 5 minutes per side, or until juices run clear. They cook quickly, so watch them closely.
Selwyn’s Cranberry Chili Smokies
Ingredients:
1 bottle chili sauce
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 packages smokies
Directions:
- Brown smokies in frying pan or oven.
- While smokies brown, combine chili sauce and cranberry sauce in saucepan.
- When smokies are browned, add to sauce and simmer 10-15 minutes until ready to serve.
Krista’s Bosnian Cevapi with Hot Pepper Jelly Sauce
Ingredients:
1 recipe Bosnian Cevapi
1 jar hot pepper jelly
2-3 Tbsp water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place cevapi side by side in baking dish.
- In saucepan combine hot pepper jelly and water over medium heat, stir until mixture begins to simmer. Add more water if necessary.
- Pour sauce over cevapi.
- Cover baking dish with foil, and bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
by Krista | Jun 1, 2010 | Gulliver Tuesday
Before traversing the gorgeous, fairytale Bosnian countryside, my imaginings of Bosnia consisted of the horrific images of burning buildings and massacres flickering across television screens in the early 90’s. Thus far we had seen little evidence of those tragedies, but as we drew closer to the city of Mostar the pristine mountains and clear rivers gave way to bullet-ridden churches, crumbling ruins of bombed homes, store fronts marred with scars from mortar rounds.
One three story home caught my eye. The bottom and top floors were completely gutted, shattered by artillery of some kind, but the middle floor was mostly intact and there was laundry billowing in the warm spring winds.
What horrors had these people lived through? Where do you go when your homes, offices and churches are being fired on? How do you start rebuilding when the war finally ends after four long years? What manner of person comes home to a bombed out house and immediately sets about making it homey again by stringing laundry, cooking dinner? I fuss when my power goes out or the hot water is gone, yet this person had an entire wall missing and used it as the ideal place to catch a breeze to dry their laundry.
I am grateful for my intact walls today.
We entered Mostar mid-afternoon, wending our way towards the Old Town when we turned a corner and saw the remains of a synagogue. The walls were riddled with pockmarks left by thousands of bullets. It is closed now, the windows bricked up, the courtyard overgrown with weeds. I wished I could see laundry billowing from a balcony.
Here and there were signs of hope, life, and renewal as Bosnians mended broken houses of worship, restored shattered homes, and raised new buildings where old ones could not be redeemed. It was peaceful, calm, but I felt anxious somehow, wondering if that same mending and restoration could heal the families and communities shattered by that devastating conflict. I hope so.
Next week I’ll take you to wonderful Old Town Mostar with the delightful self-appointed guide we found in a parking lot. 🙂
by Krista | May 31, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
Happy Memorial Day, dear ones. 🙂
Today I am honoring my military heroes, four dear family members who have served or are serving.
My Grandpa, Alfred Bjorn, Danish Armed Forces, Retired
My cousin, Darren Swetlishoff, Canadian Armed Forces, Retired
My brother, Dana Bjorn, United States Armed Forces, Retired
My brother, Evan Bjorn, United States Armed Forces, Active
Thank you for enduring loneliness, loss, privation, fear, and pain so we can be safe and free.
I love you all and you mean the world to me.
by Krista | May 28, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Hello dear ones! I’m so glad we made it through another week, and hope you have beautiful things to look forward to this weekend. 🙂
The last week has been a rough one for me. The horrible pains and illness I experienced from mold in my last apartment returned with a vengeance, and after a week of agony I finally found the culprit: mold in my new apartment too. Arrrgh. I couldn’t believe it, and had awful visions of having to move again. Thankfully this time around it was easily dealt with and removed and I’m feeling heaps better every day. 🙂
I’ve been looking for ways to make everyday life just a bit more beautiful, and this week I:
Made myself a Narnian Tea.
Started reading a good story.
Used fresh herbs from my little garden and made a bouquet of chive blossoms.
Listened to books on cd while I did housework.
Made another Narnian Tea because the first one was so lovely. 🙂
And made Asparagus Pesto Quiche with Goat Cheese.
I also started a list of beautiful things I want to do this weekend, and I’m so excited to tackle it: cleaning up some old outdoor lanterns and putting them on my patio, making a new cd of favorite music, and finding pretty flowers to put in a glass jar.
I’m also excited because I won TWO giveaways in the past week! I hardly ever win anything, so this is fun!! The lovely Mia at Bright Morning Star gave me a $40 gift certificate to CSN, and I was able to get the tongs and microplane I’ve been needing. Yay! She has two more giveaways going on right now, so scoot over for a chance to win! My second one came just this morning from Mischa at Itinerant Tidewad for a selection of Kusmi Tea. It feels like Christmas at my house!! 🙂
What are things that you are doing to make life a bit more beautiful? I’d really love to hear your ideas. 🙂
Happy Weekending!!!
Asparagus Pesto Quiche with Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup cottage cheese
4 large eggs
2 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp pesto
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Place asparagus in saucepan, cover with water, bring to boil and simmer 3-4 minutes. Drain.
- Combine asparagus with remaining ingredients except for goat cheese.
- Pour into greased pie plate, sprinkle with goat cheese and bake for 30-40 minutes until edges brown.
- Serve warm or chilled.
by Krista | May 27, 2010 | Literary Nibbles
The Chronicles of Narnia were among my favorite stories as a little girl, read over and over again in my various nooks: behind the couch, in a blanket fort, tucked up on my bed.
Last week I had such fun making Turkish Delight, that magical confection that charmed and enticed me ever since I first read about it in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Another fond food memory from the book is Lucy’s scrumptious tea with Mr. Tumnus, the faun. I loved picturing them strolling arm in arm through the snowy woods, visiting away like old friends even though they’d only met moments before.
I adored Mr. Tumnus’s cave, and longed to have one of my own that I could decorate cozily. I spent many a happy moment imagining a roaring fire, thickly carpeted stone floor, walls lined with books and treasures, and two chairs (“one for me and one for a friend”).
Then there was the tea. That beautiful, wonderful tea, served in the glow of a crackling fire.
First there was “a nice brown egg, lightly boiled, for each of them.”
Then, “sardines on toast, and then buttered toast, and then toast with honey.” I’d never had sardines on toast before, but it’s really quite splendid! I liberally buttered piping hot toasted grainy bread, topped each slice with sardines, and added a sprig of fresh dill. Lovely.
Finally, “a sugar-topped cake.” Admittedly this was a little tricky to recreate since that is the only description given, so I gave my imagination free reign.
I thought it should be something wholesome, old-fashioned, yet utterly delicious. I settled on a banana bread batter studded with dark chocolate chips and baked in popover tins so they’d be nice and tall. When the muffins cooled, I sliced each one into five 1/2-inch layers, sandwiching each layer with pure sour cream. I drizzled each little cake with a sauce of sour cream thinned with rum and sweetened with powdered sugar. A light dusting of nutmeg finished them off.
Wow. I devoured the first one in minutes. The sour cream is absolutely heavenly mingled with the sweet cake and just a hint of rum-flavored sauce.
That Mr. Tumnus sure knew how to put on a good spread. 🙂
Sardines on Toast
Ingredients:
4 slices grainy whole grain bread
butter
1 tin sardines, drained
4 sprigs fresh dill
Directions:
- Toast slices of bread and butter generously.
- Top with sardines and a sprig of dill.
- Serve warm.
Sugar-Topped Banana Cake with Rum Sour-Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
banana bread muffins (use your favorite recipe and add dark chocolate chips. Bake in popover tins so they are nice and tall)
1 1/2 cups extra thick sour cream
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp rum or rum flavoring
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
Ground nutmeg
Directions:
- Slice banana bread muffins into 1/2 inch layers.
- Sandwich layers with extra thick sour cream, then set on individual dessert plates.
- In small bowl mix 1/2 cup sour cream with rum and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth.
- Drizzle each muffin with rum sauce and dust with nutmeg.
