Author: Gail

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter C

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? A Burst of Flavor: Cornbread Cornucopia! This is the perfect accompaniment to any bean dish. It’s delicious hot and savory when eaten later warmed up in the microwave. 
CORNBREAD CORNUCOPIA 
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 cups wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 pound smoked sausage link, pre-cooked and diced

1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded 

1/4 cup pickled jalapeño peppers, sliced

1 tablespoon pimento, diced
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Sift cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sea salt, and sugar into a mixing bowl. Blend beaten eggs and oil; add milk. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients stirring until just blended. Fold in meat, cheese, peppers, and pimento. Pour into an 8″x8″ pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick oil. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm with butter. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter B

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? A Burst of Flavor: Balsamic Reduction Sauce-It’s Sweet! This is the elegant dark sauce you find drizzled over salads, cheese, meats, vegetables, and even fruity desserts in restaurants. At home, it can be made in minutes. You’ll feel like a master chef when you swirl it over your favorite dishes. I do. 
BALSAMIC REDUCTION SAUCE-IT’S SWEET!
Ingredients:

1 cup imported Italian balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup pure honey
Instructions:

Mix vinegar and honey together in a reduction pan.* (If you do not have one, simply substitute a 2-quart pan instead.) Bring contents to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Stir occasionally. You will need to use the exhaust fan on the stove since the aroma of vinegar will fill the kitchen. It will take 10-30 minutes to reduce to half the amount, depending on how thick you want your sauce to be. I prefer it closer to molasses so it stands up when drizzled. Watch carefully so it does not burn. Set the timer every10 minutes to see how it coats the back of a spoon. (It is also helpful to use the markings on the measuring tool.) Once it has reduced to half, remove from heat and set aside to cool. It does thicken up as it cools. Store in the refrigerator. Drizzle on foods in teaspoon-size portions. Enjoy! You’re Welcome! 
* A reduction pan tapers from wide at the top to narrow at the base to encourage evaporation when reducing liquids. It often comes with a measuring spoon that has markings on it for accuracy. 

Eating My Way Through the Alphabet; Letter A

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? A Burst of Flavor: Angel Hair Pasta Partners! When you’re short on time and need things at your fingertips, turn to this quick weeknight dinner option. You’ll appreciate the convenience without sacrificing flavor. The texture is pleasing and the presentation is reward enough. Make this and you’ll be able to put your feet up and enjoy the evening. 
ANGEL HAIR PASTA PARTNERS
Ingredients:

6 ounces angel hair pasta, uncooked

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

4-6 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 green pepper, cut up chunks

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1/8 teaspoon basil

1/8 teaspoon marjoram 

16 Italian-style meatballs, fully cooked

Parmesan cheese for garnish 
Instructions:

Cook and drain pasta per package directions. As pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and green peppers. Cook 2 minutes until tender; remove from heat. Stir in Roma tomatoes and meatballs. Return to low heat and warm through. Add drained pasta and gently toss with basil, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Serve pasta meal sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Add a side of crusty garlic toast. 

Keep Calm and Eat Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Waffles! 🍓 “Post a Quote Challenge!” 🍓

Greetings! Here is a challenge that provides a pleasant diversion from regular posting. It has no thought-provoking questions to answer and no need to dig any deeper than the tip of your tongue. Whether your blog is fashion, food, art, poetry, photography, fiction, or non….everyone has quotes that impact them, in my opinion. Perhaps you will take a moment to share those quotes with others by accepting this challenge. It’s really very simple, actually.
I have Shamira to thank for this well-deserved break. Her blog,   http://smilingnotes.wordpress.com is like food for the soul. In it she shares her love of food and travel through a category entitled “FoodVentures” where her experiences of dining out take on new meaning. Ask Shamira about the yummilicious “Wafels & Dinges” cart throughout New York City! 

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
The Rules of this Challenge are:
– Post 1 quote a day for 3 days (can be your own or from other sources).
– Nominate 3 bloggers to participate per post.
– Thank the person who nominated you.
🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
My Nominations are:

http://bambaheadquarters.wordpress.com
http://chefkevo.wordpress.com
http://crossovertheroad.wordpress.com

Keep Calm, Eat Waffles, and Post a Quote! 🍓

Gail    http://snapshotsincursive.com

A Burst of Flavor

Herbs and spices make all the difference in Gail’s Kitchen. Whether it’s fresh, dried, or a liquid extract, adding herbs enhances the flavor of any dish. And compliments it. Maybe it’s time to cut back on the salt a little bit in exchange for a little zing! Pull up a chair for “Eating My Way Through the Alphabet: A Burst of Flavor!” Within a few short months of blogging, the response continues to amaze me on this journey of the palate. Thanks very much to all of my followers on http://snapshotsincursive.com for the uplifting support, award nominations, and moving words of encouragement. What’s cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? It’s as simple as reciting your A-B-Cs. One of my passions is being at home in my own country kitchen. I love to cook, and my husband loves that I do it often. Now more than ever, since I am retired, I relish the thought of creating something delicious from scratch. I adore time-honored traditions using tried-and-true recipes. Yet, I often never think twice about tweaking old favorites or modifying others to suit the inner craving of the moment. Most of the recipes serve 2-4 people, but can be altered in any direction. The leftovers are golden morsels to be eaten again later or shared with others. And I love to share. To me, seeing a smile in gratitude is thanks enough. The recipes you will find here in the next several weeks can be prepared very easily. Feel free to contact me with questions. Now take a deep breath, inhale the aromas, and join me on a tasteful journey entitled, “EATING MY WAY THROUGH THE ALPHABET: A BURST OF FLAVOR!”

Dining Away From Home: The Coffee Pot and Bear’s Mill

Just across the state line off of Route 121 through a bucolic stretch of rolling farmlands sits the historic town of Greenville in Darke County. (The Wild West star and folk hero, Annie Oakley, got her roots in this area.) Many of the buildings are as original in character as they are rich in personality. Take the “Coffee Pot”, for instance. They serve seriously good espresso and decadent desserts to share! It’s enough to rev up your engine and keep you going for a trip down the road to a functioning gristmill dating back to 1849. At “Bear’s Mill”, I keep supplied with fresh cornmeal ground on the original French buhr stones powered by water from the Greenville Creek. This is the same yellow cornmeal used in recipes from Gail’s Kitchen and featured often in “Eating My Way Through the Alphabet”. Some things are really worth the trip!

The Open Arms of Love

“Just imagine becoming the wayyou used to be

as a very young child,

before you understood

the meaning of any word,

before opinions took over your mind. 

The real you is loving,

joyful, and free. 

The real you is just like a flower,

just like the wind,

just like the ocean,

just like the sun.”
~ Miguel Angel Ruiz

Keep Calm and Eat Strawberry Waffles! 🍓 “Post a Quote Challenge!”

Greetings! Here is a challenge that provides a pleasant diversion from regular posting. It has no thought-provoking questions to answer and no need to dig any deeper than the tip of your tongue. Whether your blog is fashion, food, art, poetry, photography, fiction, or non….everyone has quotes that impact them, in my opinion. Perhaps you will take a moment to share those quotes with others by accepting this challenge. It’s really very simple, actually.
I have Shamira to thank for this well-deserved break. Her blog, http://smilingnotes.wordpress.com is like food for the soul. In it she shares her love of food and travel through a category entitled “FoodVentures” where her experiences of dining out take on new meaning. Ask Shamira about the yummilicious “Wafels & Dinges” cart throughout New York City! 

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
The Rules of this Challenge are:
– Post 1 quote a day for 3 days (can be your own or from other sources).
– Nominate 3 bloggers to participate per post.
– Thank the person who nominated you.
🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
My Nominations are:

http://bazallen.wordpress.com
http://chewtrue.wordpress.com
http://anxiouspen.net

Keep Calm, Eat Waffles, and Post a Quote! 🍓

Gail     http://snapshotsincursive.com

Timeless Shades of Romance

“There is one timeless way of building. It is a thousand years old,

and the same today as it has ever been. 

The great traditional buildings of the past,

the villages and tents and temples

in which man feels at home,

have always been made by people

who are very close to the 

center of this way.”
~ Christopher Alexander