Sylvia's Scenario

This was our last weekend of canning for the year.   We have finished squeezing the juice out of the grapes from our small vineyard of gewürztraminer grapes so we can now make grape jelly. Since these are not concord grapes, our grape jelly is golden, not purple.  Looks like honey and just as sweet, too! As you can see, we get plenty of grapes.  We also get a lot of a variety of white seedless grapes but we eat all those, no problem.  They are so sweet, like little bundles of sugar. The  gewurztraminer grapes are also sweet and delicious to eat but the seeds are a pain so we make jelly out of them.    So first we bring them in and wash them, getting them ready to process. After they are washed and cleaned, we put them through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. One end spits out the skins and seeds and the other end is where the juice flows out.  The by-product of all the grapes is this mash of skins ...

Just like my pie crust recipe and my pancake recipe, I have tried so many banana bread recipes, too many to count.  But now I've finally found one that I'm keeping.  It's a combination of a couple different recipes I've tried over the years, the main part being from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook which I base a lot of my recipes on.  If they are testing all their recipes to perfection, which they do in that cookbook, then why am I still changing the recipes?  I don't know, but I do.  It's in my genes, I think… You can make this recipe without the chocolate swirl, just omit that part of the recipe.  But I love it, as does every single female I've shared this banana bread with.  I took a loaf to work this week for our monthly staff meeting and the whole loaf was gone by the end of the day…Dietitian's know good food when they taste it.  Sorry, Nick.  I would have sent you a loaf but both loaves ended up disappearing before I c...

Have you carved out your Jack-o-lanterns yet?  Well, don't throw away those pumpkin seeds.  They are a delicious and nutritious treat.  This part of Halloween was always as much fun as carving pumpkins when my kids were little - saving those precious seeds, setting them aside and then preparing them to eat! Munching on them after they're toasted is a true fall experience.  Do miss out. 1.  Wash the seeds and remove the strings to the best of your ability.   2.  Soak the seeds overnight in salted water (1-1/2 tsp. salt per 2/3 cup of water)   3.  Place the seeds on a cookie sheet  and toast in the oven at 300 degree for 45 minutes or until  golden.   These are always a fall favorite food to have around.  I've seen recipes using soy sauce or worcestershire sauce but I just like them with a little plain salt by soaking overnight.  You get a true pumpkin seed taste this way.   Save the s...

Here is another recipe from  Flavor First  cookbook.  I love it and it's so healthy and delicious  I could just scream!  I still have some tomatoes and Swiss chard in the garden and this recipe uses both so if you're trying to use up your last little bit of garden delight, here's the recipe for you. Serves 4 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or drained canned, diced tomatoes 1 Tbsp.  chopped garlic 1 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini or great Northern white beans, rinsed and drained 3/4 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth 3 cups chopped Swiss chard or 1-1/2 cups thawed frozen spinach 1/3 tsp. ground black pepper 1/2 tsp. salt (optional) 4 ounces dry whole wheat rigatoni pasta, cooked until al dente 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil 1.  In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes, or until  the tomatoes are tender. ...

This recipe is a lot easier to make than the  halloween cookies   previously posted and I actually got this recipe from Martha Stewart!  I bought the lollipop sticks and green styrofoam at a craft store. I was giving them away at my husband's office so I needed an easy way to distribute them so they wouldn't crack and break if they were laying flat and sticking them in styrofoam made for an excellent presentation!  Makes about 15 12 ounces white chocolate chips 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil Lollipop sticks Mini chocolate chips 1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside. 2. Melt white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water; stir occasionally. Remove bowl; mix in oil. Drop 1 tablespoon of mixture onto prepared baking sheet. Use the back of a teaspoon to quickly spread into a ghost. Place a lollipop stick at the base, spinning to coat. Add chocolate chip eyes. Refrigerate ghosts 5 minutes, then peel off.

This is the first recipe I made out of my new cookbook Flavor First by the Biggest Loser dietitian, Cheryl Forberg, RD.  Now, I know why she calls her book Flavor First. Yummy!  If you don't eat shellfish, you can substitute bite-size pieces of fish such as salmon or flounder. Serves 4 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves 2 scallions, coarsely chopped 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp. red chile flakes (optional) 3 Tbsp. + 1/2 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion 1 medium red bell pepper, diced 1 medium yellow bell pepper, diced 1-1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil 1 pound prawns or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined 1/4 cup tamari salt and ground black pepper to taste 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds for garnish 2 cups cooked brown rice or cauliflower rice 1. Combine the cilantro, mint, scallions, ginger, garlic, chile flakes (if desired), and 3 Tbsp. of the ...

I mailed off my Halloween boxes to my kids today. I discovered this recipe last year and it was a big hit. I took some to work to our poor, starving intern working with me who highly appreciated them. But besides being cute, these cookies are deliciously addictive! I'm not even a sandwich cookie person myself but this recipe changed all that. (Can you believe that I easily pass up Oreos? Now, how many people do you know like that?) I bought sandwich cookie cutters at Williams-Sonoma last year and used the cookie recipe on the box which is surprisingly a great recipe. I dyed the dough orange for the Jack-o-lanterns and made the frosting yellow between the two cookies so it looks like light shining through the Jack-o-lantern. Too cute! My kids love them and so will anybody else you make them for. Such a treat. Last year, I also made these skeleton sandwich cookies. You also get a witch and cat in the cookie cutter kit but since they are a little time consuming to make, I on...

I have tried many different recipes for pie crust but now I've come up with the one I plan to keep for awhile.  It uses shortening and butter and this pie turns out perfect every time!  And apple pie is my favorite especially when they are apples that come straight from our tree!  I also use more in the filling than most recipes call for because I like the middle to be piled high with apples.  My pie pans are rather large and tend to make big pies.   So, if you want a big apple pie, here it is! Makes 1 pie which usually serves 8 but I cut the pieces smaller because the pie is so dense so it will easily serve 10-12 Make crust for a double-crust pie 2-1/2 cups flour, plus extra for rolling 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 8 Tbsp. shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled 12 Tbsp. (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and chilled 6-8 tablespoons ice water 1.  Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor unt...

I'm still looking for ways to use up our plums after making countless jars of jam.   It is fun to eat them now and find different ways to put them in recipes. Last night we had my  Plum Good Chicken .  Here is a delicious cake that is like an upside-down cake only you don't flip it over.   It's good while still hot with ice cream! Serves 6-8 7 Tbsp. chilled unsatled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus more for the pan 1 cup flour, plus more for the pan 2 Tbsp. sugar, plus 1/2 cup for topping 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 6 Tbsp. milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1 egg 5 plums, pitted and cut into eighths 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease an 8 X 8-inch pan with butter and dust with flour; set aside. 2.  In a food processor, pulse together the flour, 2 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add 4 Tbsp. chilled butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form.  Put into a separate bowl. 3. ...

This is a perfect dish right from the garden and really hits the spot when it starts getting cooler outside (like now!)    And for whatever reason, I've been feeling like eggplant lately.  Or    maybe I just feel like French food!  Ratatouille is a traditional french stewed vegetable dish originating in Nice, the french word of touiller means to toss food.  Que c'est delicieus! Serves 4     2 Tbsp. olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced 1 small eggplant, cubed 2 green bell peppers, coarsely chopped 4 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped or 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes 3 to 4 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 tsp. dried leaf basil or 1 Tbsp. fresh basil 1/2 tsp. dried leaf oregano or  2 tsp. fresh oregano 1/4 tsp. dried leaf thyme or 1 tsp. fresh thyme 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (In general, you can substitute one teaspoon of dried herbs for one tablespoon o...

pumpkins Bon Bon Squash zucchini plums and more plums and lots of jam grapes some tomatoes lots of potatoes and onions artichokes Swiss Chard and apricots in July another bountiful harvest.