Sometimes your eyes are just bigger than your stomach ......

As Thanksgiving approaches I just can't help but wonder why for years now I keep making the same mistake over and over and over again. Although the holiday has not arrived I had a preview of what was to come at the dessert table at work today. Obviously since it was a dessert table I'm sure you have no trouble guessing what sparkled and called succulent to me; there was the sensuous German chocolate cake, the fresh berries lathered in whip cream, some cranberry souffle tempting morsel with a brown sugar topping and a banana bread pudding. I gazed with longing and lovingly at them, until I broke down and tasted each and every one and kept telling myself, just one more spoonful, just one more bite, just a little bit more until I grumbled and growled and whined to myself about my inability to just say no! and my upset stomach. After more than twenty years in the food business you would think by now I would learn control ~ just a little, restraint ~ just a bit, temptation ~ turn a blind eye, but alas instead I tasted and tasted and tasted again.

Since it is the season to give thanks, I must give thanks for an energetic metabolism that just seems to keep on giving, but I am sure I hear the voice of some wise muse echoing famous words that go something like how long do you think this is going to go on honey; suggesting I close my lips, skip the chips, sit on my hips and make one trip for the berries!

2010! Let the Good Times Begin!

2009 has ended and now it is time to make the New Year's resolutions and see if and how long we can keep them.

When I was unemployed I vowed to post every day to the blog and for the most part I was successful in my literary postings. Once employment became a regular part of my routine however, it seems I have been forced to abandon the daily postings in exchange for a few more hours of sleep.

So now that 2010 is upon us I am making a new resolution which is not to post everyday, but to post as often as possible.

As most of you know by now this blog does not necessarily have a central focus, but is more of a potpourri of photography, fiction, recipes and as a new addition in the new year I hope to delve in to the realm of Astrology and perhaps to do some astrological readings for anyone who may be interested.

For the purpose of this post however, I am starting the New Year with a recipe.

With the cold and "wintryness" of January, the holidays over and everyone zippering their wallets and mouths, around the middle of the month, when the January blues are singing their song, you may find yourself doing the cabin fever dance. When this happens ~ find your way to the grocery store, scramble through the kitchen cabinets and pull from the blog the following extremely easy recipe; although it may be a few more calories than you're willing to count you will not be sorry you did!

Pineapple Bread ~

What you need -

1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 #2 can crushed pineapple minus 2 tablespoons from can
6 cubed slices white bread

What you do -

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and then beat with a mixer; add pineapple and mix with a large spoon. Stir in bread cubes. Bake in casserole uncovered at 350 degrees for 3/4 to 1 hour.

Serves 6 to 8

Bonn Appetite!

The Regency Cafe

I am so grateful for the small, well actually mid-size cafe which sits on Lansdowne Avenue next to the now closed but petitioned to re-open Lansdowne movie theatre. This cafe has become my home away from home as a solace from an extremely slow internet and a jumping cursor that would rival any young grasshopper.

I was born in Lansdowne and having returned due to rather unusual circumstances was delighted to stumble upon the Regency Cafe at its former location across from the Lansdowne train station. I use to grab my cup of - may I just say - more than delicious coffee and head for the Media local. Always I was amazed that such a cute and innovative cafe was located in Lansdowne and not the city. The owner is among the finest bakers I have ever encountered. His cherry almond scones, blueberry muffins and lemon sugar cookies, oh and the vanilla cupcakes are an orgasmic experience for any pallet. His quiches of all varieties and there are several are light and fluffy, both egg and cheese as well as crust, a true party in your mouth.

There is entertainment once a week, I believe on Thursdays; although I have not had the fortunate experience to attend yet, and there is thankfully and blessedly for me the internet access. I come to this cafe once or twice a week to write, edit my photos and eat; and although I sometimes resemble a potted plant, sitting at a table in the corner, computer plug with its teeth grinding in to the socket they provide for me, everyone is always nice, feeds me well and hasn't chased me yet. As a distressed girl on unemployment who could ask for more than this; oh except maybe a job!

I end todays post with my recommendation as a former owner of a food business to definately visit this creative and unique cafe. If you visit now you can not only access the internet, not only eat until your tummy sings to you, but you can visit the WorldWide Photo Print Exhibit organized by one of the exhibitors John Kelly Green, with outstanding photos by other exhibitors, among my favorites Becky Baxendell and Maura Ciccarelli.

Full of Soup's Split Pea with Pistachio Soup

Fall has long been my favorite season and never more so than when everyone would venture home from the lazy hazy days of summer to Full of Soup's soup kitchen at The Bellevue Hotel.

The chef Jeff Davis, never without creativity and invention had everyone talking with his creation of Split Pea with Pistachio soup. Forever we had folks requesting a recipe for the soup ~ well here goes!

Split Pea with Pistachio soup

what you need ~

8 quart stock pot
1 bag Split Peas
3 14oz cans vegetable stock
3 14oz cans water
1 medium size onion chopped
3 medium size fresh garlic cloves
juice of one half fresh lemon
one half jar chunky peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger
2 generous tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
roughly 1/4 lb finely ground pistachios (possibly less depending on preference)
dash of hot sauce to taste

what you will do ~

saute garlic and onion in olive oil until golden brown.
add washed split peas and three cans of vegetable stock and three cans of water; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and let cook.
add juice of 1/2 lemon, thyme, ginger, salt, pepper, brown sugar. add peanut butter and stir until peanut butter is dissolved. continue to cook and when peas are almost soft add dash of hot sauce and finely chopped pistachios. continue cooking until peas are completely soft.

puree to a smooth consistency or leave as is.
garnish with finely chopped tomato

Bonn Appetite! :O)

The Faces of Unemployment

Although I'm not quite sure I can match this fellow, facial hair for hair, despite the fact that the older I get it seems there is always something to pluck, pick or shave, I believe after four months of unemployment I may be taking on a strong resemblance to his physique. I try to convince myself that the mirror in all of its brilliant bevelment doesn't necessarily give an accurate reflection of self, but confusion vanishes and truth becomes self-evident when the scale reflects its wicked numerical renderings back at me and I am forced to admit the mirror is as honest as it is reflective.

Always slight of build at 18 years old I was 5'2 and weighed 85 lbs. Happily I consumed large bowls of Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Marshmallow and Rum Raisin ice cream and Tastycakes, the chocolate ones, with the cream in the middle and the vanilla icing with the chocolate stripe down the middle. But twenty years have passed, and a few glasses of red wine, margaritas, a few chips and hundreds of tomato salsa products later the 85 lbs. have multiplied to 110 lbs.

So what's 25 pounds in 20 years you may say; but if we continue to follow the same mathematical sequence, by the time I am 60 I will be 5'2 140 lbs and will not only resemble this fine fellow, but may be mistaken for his sister. The powers that be will take me to slaughter, possibly at a time when political correctness may no longer be revered and there will be no green groups or politicians left to save the older pigs for an elderly pig farm retirement community. All my years of paying into the system will have been for naught. There will be no Social Security or Medicare, only a space for me on an oiled and industrialized slab waiting to be packaged by my new caretaker Oscar Mayer!

No I must keep my lips sealed. I must not reach for those potato chips or that chocolate chip cookie. I must stop convincing myself that one more glass of red wine will lower my cholesterol to that enviable number, whatever it may be. As I continue to look for that job, wherever it may be, I must stop having lunch after each interview. I must drink black tea or coffee rather than a Starbucks Carmel Macchiato at each Internet cafe I visit; and I must skip that cocktail after the ending of each vacuous interview. Yes I will vow to keep control and composure over what enters my lips, but while I do this .....I will most likely post a recipe for Split Pea with Pistachio soup in one of my next posts.

So in closing always remember Bon Appetite and keep those lips sealed! :o)

Living In America

First let me introduce my friend, chef and former business associate Jeff Davis from Full of Soup in Philadelphia at the Bellevue Hotel. Anyone who knows Jeff knows he is as silly as he is creative and talented. He is the author of all of the poetry on the blog, as well as all of the recipes and will on occasion be a contributing editor. This photo is indicative of certainly his silliness, but
also shows the remnants of a creatively prepared delicious spare rib. I am hoping to grab the
barbecue sauce recipe for what I call this Happy Birthday America photo!! May you all have
a lip smacking, finger licking, tongue wagging Fourth of July!!

Imagination and Creativity Culinary Style ~ By Jeff Davis

When I was a little boy I loved to watch a British chap on tv who seemed to be having a ball while he worked. He was Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet; even his name was fun and dealt with food; that was when I was 8 years old, now 40 years later chefs of both genders can become as famous and revered as actors or musicians. Thanks to our apparent insatiable appetite for reality tv, producers are intent on giving us as many regurgitations of "Top Chef" as we can stomach. I believe there will be fame and fortune awaiting not only the next great celebrity chef, but also pride for he who brain-childs the next creative and innovative way to utilize their own local resources, as well as their intuitive abilities and welcome their own internal culinary wizard into their living rooms and kitchens.

The issue here is ingenuity, even Einstein proclaimed to prefer imagination over intelligence; and with that in mind, embrace your own imagination and I'd like to share a little of mine with my own recession-proof recipe for Sicilian Bread Salad.

Sicilian Bread Salad

What you need for the salad:

~ one loaf black olive Italian bread
~ 1 1/2 pint Bleu Cheese crumbles
~ three large eggs - hardboiled, cooled and peeled
~ one large ripe tomato

For the dressing:

~ 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
~ 1tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
~ 1/2 tsp. A-1 sauce
~ 2 Tblsp. pesto (if you don't have pesto use one Tblsp. fine, minced fresh basil)
~ 1 Tblsp. Dijon mustard
~ 1 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dice 1/3 of the olive loaf into 1" or 2" cubes and toast the cubes to make croutons, by spreading the cubes on an oiled cookie sheet and baking for ten minutes. Let bread cool. Dice the eggs into pieces about 1/2 inch to 1". Dice the tomato into similar size.

Add all the dressing ingredients except olive oil in a medium mixing bowl; then slowly whisk in the olive oil, so the dressing emulsifies or becomes a uniform consistency. Fold in the salad ingredients gently so as not to mash the egg completely. Salt and Pepper to taste. Either serve immediately, or refrigerate for no more than an hour. If it sits too long the croutons will become soggy.