I will Survive...... Hurricane Sandy

     To all my loyal readers, friends, and family,

     

     It's been a ruff few weeks and I haven't been able to post on food or growing in life.  I have been out of town, helping to take care of my mother, down south.  She broke her wrist and hasn't been able to fend for herself, so I decided to race down and help the family out.  You see my Mother works extremely, hard and even takes care of some of her grand kids full time.  I am in awe of all the things she does and really don't know how she does it.

     THE HURRICANE:

     Here's the part where I tell you how Hurricane Sandy, has effected me.  I live on the Rockaway Peninsula in NYC and have loved it since I moved there.  It's almost like being in the burbs, and yet your in one of the largest cities in the world.  It's a schlep to get to where I live but I love the place, there's beautiful beaches and I have a yard which I absolutely love.  I can be outside and tend to the garden and then go to the beach for a lovely walk.  It really is a nice place to be.

     Your probably wondering, what is this, and why I told you all about my lovely neighborhood in NYC.  Well because of Hurricane Sandy, I lost almost everything.  I am sure people had it much worse than I do but the fact is I have never lost everything I own in about fifteen minutes.  I am still at a loss to explain how it is that I am going on and not sinking quickly into a sever depression.  I think the only thing that saves me is the fact that the love of my life survived.  Because of our crazy dog Mojo, Ben got out in time, when the flood waters started pouring into our house.

     I may have lost all my belongings and my home, but the love I have for Ben has kept me afloat in these horrible times.  See because I am away from home taking care of my mother, we were separated during the storm.  When the power shut down in my home, I didn't have a way to even talk to my loved ones in NYC.  I had no way to help them and it hurt my heart to be so helpless and not be there for the ones I love so dearly.  

     See things can always get worse, but tragedies like this storm make one realize that there are so much more than material posessions.  I may have lost stuff, but I didn't lose the man I love, I didn't lose my crazy dog, or my wonderful mother-in-law, or brothers and sister- in laws.  I can come out of the darkness, and thank G-d that he spared these wonderful people in my life.  I can hold my head up high, even when I am stressed out about this situation.

     I am truly a lucky woman, that I have what I have in this life.  Some people lost loved ones and homes in the storm, and I want you all to send your prayers out for those people as well.  If you can donate money or goods to shelters, red cross, or organizations that are trying to help please do.  

     I will leave you with these wise words.  "I will survive, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive"  Gloria Gaynor  (I will survive)

     PS I will try to post as often as possible and recipes will be coming soon, again.  In the mean time, there are great places to volunteer to help, you can find some of those at NYC.GOV

Again, thank you for staying around during these insane times.

Beef & Wine oh so Fine!

     Recently, I promised Wine Roast.  Well I was reminded that I am making it again tomorrow and thought I should share now with you the recipe before I forget.  I made this for Rosh Hashanah because it has a somewhat sweet gravy which I cook down as a gravy and it's super easy, you can pretty much set it and forget it for a few hours.

     I am not of fan of making savory dishes sweet so when I came up with this recipe on accident, I thought well that's pretty good, I need to write that down.  It's so simple and a recipe good for a weekend meal or a meal where you don't want the main course to look like you've been slaving away in the kitchen but really haven't.

      One day I was inspired by Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon and I made it with a wine that was given to me, and it didn't turn out well because the wine wasn't a wine I would drink.  If I ever give you good cooking advice, here's something every home cook should know.  DO NOT COOK WITH WINE YOU DO NOT LIKE TO DRINK!!!!  Wine is great to cook with but the flavor intensifies when you cook it.  So don't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink because you won't eat what you have cooked, as simple as that.

     Once again I was given wine and thought I am going to try this again.  It was a sweet red wine, very inexpensive but it was good to drink and therefore safe to cook with.  I decided ok it's sweet, but I will take the chance.  I didn't want the roast to come out super sweet and I was positive the wine would become sweeter as cooked but lucky me it didn't.  The ending result is simple, Wine Roast.  Yummy!!

     Here is the recipe which I want to share with you.

Wine Roast
1 Roast(this can be a cheap chuck roast because you will cook it on the stove or whatever you prefer)
1 Bottle of sweet red wine
1-2 medium sized onions sliced thin
1 TBS. of vegetable oil
3-4 TBS flour
salt & pepper to taste and mixed in with the flour

1. Dredge the roast in seasoned flour.
2. Heat oil in the pan in which you would like your roast to cook in.  (You must have a lid)
3. Cook the roast on all sides on medium high heat until browned.  Just a couple of minutes on each side.
4. Add the onions and wine to the pan.
5. Cover pan with lid and turn down flame to low.
6. Depending on what size roast you have this recipe can cook from 2-4 hours and you must turn the roast every half hour, so that it cooks evenly.
7.  When your roast has cooked through, take it out of the pan and let it rest on a cutting board for at least 15 minutes.
8. While the roast is resting, mix 1 tsp of cornstarch and 1 TBS. of water and add to the drippings and cooked wine.  It should cook for a few minutes and thicken up.
9. Finally, slice roast and serve with gravy.

NOTES:  If you have more time and do not want to add corn starch to your gravy, you can cook it down uncovered for 15-20 minutes but be sure to stir to get all the good stuff that may be cooked to the bottom of the pan.

     I hope you enjoy the wine roast, it is spectacular and simple.  It has amazing flavor and you don't have to buy an expensive piece of meat to enjoy this dish.  Don't be afraid to cook with alcohol, the fact is the alcohol cooks off and you are left with flavor.  So don't be afraid to try this recipe with whatever kind of wine you like.

     Here is to future great dishes.  I send my love and want you to have a wonderful weekend.
RhodaGrows

Compassion Meditations

     Today I was sitting with my niece & teaching her about compassion meditation.  I closed my eyes & tried to explain the feelings of peace which wash over you during meditation, that the mind wanders & its ok to allow that freedom.  I see the freedom of mind as positive because you can learn many things from yourself.

     I couldn't believe that such a young person could understand such a complex subject.  She had a small enlightenment.  I don't have children of my own but have multiple nieces & nephews.  They are inspirational to me on so many levels & when we have long intellectual conversations I am overwhelmed in awe of them.  How wonderful they all our & how they're opinions differ so greatly.

     Your probably thinking where are the recipes, the cooking & jokes.  Well I created RhodaGrows as a way to talk about the growth in all of us. Everyday we grow as people by experience & learning.  I want people to walk their own journeys & know that there is someone with an open mind there to talk about it or listen to what you have to say.

     RhodaGrows is about the human condition & our journeys to enlighten the heart, mind & spirit.  I write about food because it is one of the many joys in my life.  It helps me to cook & share the fruit of labor with others.  Food is important because it nourishes our bodies & brings us together & therefore norishes the soul.

     The journey to happiness is there & you should never give up while on the path there.  Just never forget to give love , kindness, & compassion towards others.  Those people around you could very well be the key to happiness.

     I wish you all  healthy, loving, compassionate, & happy lives.  I send with you as always my love.  Pay it forward & spread the love.

     RhodaGrows in so many ways, welcome to my family.

Gone Bundt not Forgotten

2:38 PM Thursday!

Lady Grey Bundt Cake without the Icing

      First off, I want to send many thanks to the Christina at www.hungryaustralian.com.  Christina you really inspired me on this recipe and my holiday meal wouldn't have been the same without it.  I send my thanks and my families.  Not one person disliked this cake and I will be sure to make it again. www.hungryaustralian.com
   
     After the holiday I was super tired.  I didn't think I would be able to do anything for a week.  I had cooked possibly more than I had ever at one time in my whole life.  It was love that charged me onward in my journey no matter how tired I was.

     My in laws are great people and unlike some people, I really love my Mother in law.  She is great and one of my best friends.  I always thought that it wasn't possible to get along with the in laws but as it turns out, my in laws are great, loving, and kind.  They miraculously accepted me when they really didn't have to have anything to do with me.  I come from a kind of insane upbringing and well dysfunctional family doesn't even cut it in my case.  So when a family took me in when they didn't have too was the most amazing feeling in my life, and I will always be grateful.

     Back to the reason I haven't been on in a few days, well there was Rosh Hashanah and it was so amazing and inspirational this year.  I split the cooking duties with my Mother in law and we went to each others houses for meals.  It was awesome but since it was my first holiday of cooking alone for the family(around 8 people or more) I was extremely excited to do so, and honored.  We often have Friday night meals with one another but this was even more.

     I took the simanim and cooked different dishes with them and then the main dishes were my signature wine roast and something new for me Balsamic-soy-honey glazed chicken.  It was all a big hit but the dessert is where I got the most questions with its unusual name and story.  I got the idea of this cake from a website/blog called hungryaustralian.com.

     Hungryaustralian.com had a recipe called Lady Grey Bundt cake with Rosewater Icing(sounds great, right).  I read the recipe and fell in love but I had to take it into my own hands and create a parve recipe for the meat meal we would be having.  Also honey is a big part of this sweet holiday so I incorporated it with flare.  If you are a strictly Kosher cook don't be afraid to look at the non-kosher recipes on the web because you can always make them your own.  Baked goods are especially easy to make kosher and parve(non-dairy, non-meat) it's also a good idea for vegetarians and vegans to change up these recipes.

     The cake I made in the end was a Parve Lady Grey Bundt Cake with Honey Icing.  It was a huge hit and now it's on the last slice and though I am trying to eat healthy it is taunting me with its uber-goodness.  If your not familiar with Lady Grey it's a type of tea like Earl Grey and made by Twinning's.  I love Earl Grey teas and Lady Grey is just that, ( a more feminine Earl Grey, nah!) it's Earl Grey with hints of Lemon zest and orange zest.  It's a wonderful concoction with the bergamot oil which is added to the Earl Grey.  It's a wonderful tea and I would advice anyone to try it before making this recipe because some find the bergamot in Earl Grey to be to strong on the palate.  I don't so I went all in.

Lady Grey Bundt Cake with Honey Icing
Cake Ingredients.  Icing recipe below.
3 cup Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup. Strong Lady Grey Tea(from3-4 tea bags)
and 2-3 Steeped Bags of the previous used Lady Grey
Lemon zest from one lemon
2 1/4 sticks of margarine (or butter if you are making the cake dairy)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Eggs

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Rack in the middle of oven.
2. Grease Bundt cake pan with shortening, cooking spray or marg., dust with flour.
3. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a small bowl, set aside.
4.  In large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar on medium speed for three to five minutes.  Or until pale and airy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary so that everything is combined equally.
5.  Add vanilla, and eggs one at a time then mix until incorporated on low speed.
6.  Open the 2-3 tea bags which have already been steeped gently so it doesn't go flying and add to your creamed margarine and sugar.(yes I am serious.  Don't be scared of this step.  The tea actually looks like real vanilla bean.)
7.  Add steeped tea and flour a little at a time alternating between flour and tea.  Mix until just combined.
8.  Pour evenly into pan.
9.  Bake an hour and check with a skewer or wooden toothpick.  Stick the skewer in the highest part of the cake and cook till the skewer comes out clean.
10.  Cool 1 hour then invert and cool another hour.

Honey Icing Recipe.

1 c. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp.  vanilla extract
1 TBS. Honey
1-2 TBS. Lemon Juice or Orange Juice

Mix all ingredients well with a whisk or fork and  drizzle over the cake when completely cooled.

     Notes:  I am serious when I say add the tea leaves from the inside of the used tea bags.  It truly gives this bundt cake a unique look.  It almost looks as if you had added real vanilla bean but if your like me and real vanilla beans aren't an option then you get the look without the price.  With a little time and patience this cake comes out amazing and inexpensive but nice enough that you can serve at a holiday or special meal.

 

Have a wonderful weekend all. Shabbat shalom. & if I'm not back before Yom Tov, Shana Tova!

From my family to yours Shana Tova.  For you that don't know, Sunday night starts the Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashanah.  I'll be offline during these two days.  So enjoy the recipes I've posted & ill see you all soon.
     Look forward to my special red wine roast, which can be made with a simple chuck roast.  No slow cookery needed.  Balsamic-soy-honey glazed chicken.
With much love,
RhodaGrows

Frozen Broccoli Magic

     8:55 PM

     Today was a boring day but I had been planning a lovely broccoli soup for dinner, possibly in sourdough bread bowls because I made sourdough boules last night.  There are a few things better than the wide array of broccoli soups that I make.  You can make them with dairy or without and still the colors and textures are truly amazing.  There is something so comforting about warm soup, especially in cold weather.

     Tonight I decided to go with broccoli and cheese soup, blended to perfection with the emulsion blender.  I like making my own soups because the packaged stuff just has to many chemicals, salt and fat in them.  They also never taste as good as the real thing.  I think the only pre-made soup I buy is tomato.  It reminds me of lunch as a child.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup(smiles).

     I made the soup with some extras because I just happened to have frozen leeks in the freezer as well as broccoli.  Don't underestimate frozen veggies.  I love fresh, as I am a southern girl that grew up on a farm but  when something isn't in season, I go for frozen.  Also it never hurts to have extra veggies in the freezer for quick meals, if your just too tired to go all out for dinner.  Stir fry's are amazingly easy to make and these days you can find all your favorite veggies in the freezer.  Frozen mixed veggies and some minute rice, you'll be ready for dinner in no time flat.

     Also I cook on a budget and I find great deals on frozen veggies.  One of my favorite stores is called Trader Joe's.  You can get great stuff there on the cheap.  They even have a great amount of Kosher, Vegan, and Vegetarian foods.  I don't know what I would do without their Vegetable Stocks, frozen veggies, Kosher Cheese(they have the best Cholov Yisrael Feta Cheese I have ever had), and granola.  I also like the fact that the store is about sustainability and that they have food that is in season.  Again it's the farm girl in me which sees the importance of sustainability and organic produce.

     Before I go on a tirade about Sustainability and Organics, I should probably get back to dinner and why it was a dish I want to share with you.  I love simple, cheap and yummy meals.  I strive to save money in this economic downturn, we have all felt the pinch.  So sometimes I am just in the mood for comfort food and an easy evening.  I don't have to cook huge dinners every day(thank goodness).

     So Broccoli & Cheese soup, simple, easy and ready in less than half an hour.  Here's the recipe, please enjoy.

Broccoli & Cheese Soup
2 1/2 c. Frozen Broccoli Florets (Steamed for 5-7 minutes)
1 c. Frozen Leeks(Steamed with Broccoli)
1/4 c. Butter
1/4 c. Flour
4 c. Veggie Stock
1 c. Milk
2 c. Shredded Cheese (use whatever you like, I use a cheddar mix)
Spice/ Season with Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt and Pepper.

     After steaming broccoli and leeks set them to the side.  Melt butter in soup pot, then mix in flour and stir constantly for 3-5 minutes but do not brown.  You just want to cook the raw flour taste out of the Rue.  Add milk and stir with a wire whisk.  Add seasonings and one cup of the vegetable stock at a time stirring frequently so that nothing burns onto the bottom of the pan.  Add your veggies back to the pot and cook on low for about ten minutes.  Then add your cheese and stir till melted.
   
      If your florets are small or you chopped them before steaming, you don't have to have a blender for this soup.  My husband actually prefers the florets chunky in the soup, but I like it blended so we have the best of both worlds.  Use an emulsion blender to blend at least half of the soup and veggies, till smooth.  Then add it back to the rest of the soup.  If you want it all blended then of course use the blender for the entire pot.

     WARNING:  If you are using a blender or emulsion blender please be very careful.  The soup is hot and accidents happen.  You don't want to get a cut or a burn from splashing soup.  If your using a stand up blender don't fill it up entirely.  Leave at least a third of the inside of the blender empty or it will splash out even with a lid.  Keep this in mind whenever blending soups or purees.

     Serve with fresh bread, croutons..... anything you like really.  We used the fresh sourdough bread from last night after heating it up quickly in the oven for five minutes.  Cost of soup to make is around 3-4 dollars. Extremely cheap considering getting a soup of this quality in a restaurant would probably double the cost and that's without the good sourdough or other great toppings.

     So you see, this is a great dinner for during the week, it doesn't take long and it's enough for a lot of people.  I would say 4-6 people depending on serving size.  The soup actually freezes well so if you have extras and won't eat it within a few days, get a good freezer bag and toss it in.  Thaw in the fridge and heat it up on a low heat stirring frequently.

     I hope this helps with the budget friendly recipes for during the week.  With much love, please enjoy.

RhodaGrows

These are the Sourdoughs of Our Lives

Time 10:04 PM

Fresh Sourdough Bread

     The past 60 days have been a learning experience for sure.  Something I have loved for years is good old fashioned sourdough breads.  I worked in a chain bakery years ago and I took such pride in our bread.  All of the bread, cake, etc... were essentially from a single sourdough starter, that had been started more than 30 years ago.  It was amazing the smells in the mornings when I would open the store and the bakers had been working all night.  It was a great job experience I had in which I had to wake up at three in the morning to be at work.  (It may be the only job I ever had in which I had to get up that early in the morning.)

  

     I had the extreme inspiration of getting some awesome sourdough bread at the local grocer.  Well what do you know, very few stores had Kosher pre-made sourdough bread.  The only ones I found were extremely dry and well, not so good.  BUT!  The taste of sourdough was still in the bread so I ate it anyway. The fact was it was so hard to find that when I finally did get some I was so happy!

     When I was finished with the expensive bread I thought it was time to get cooking!  How could I not try to make sourdough when a few months ago I actually achieved Parve puff pastry, which is very hard indeed. It couldn't be as bad as the puff pastry, I was sure.  Oh boy was I in for a treat.  

     It turns out that sourdough is such an art that I had to use a beginners starter recipe, which is not my style at all.  I had to start from the beginning, making the fastest, easiest starter I could find.  If your new to sourdough starters(which I was), then I have to tell you, in theory it's very simple.  Grow yeast in flour and water, feed the yeast and take care of it like a pet.  Feed it daily and it will grow.... and grow.... and grow.... and if you didn't measure properly it will grow out of the container and onto the counter where it may take a week to pry the dried stuff off.

     I followed strict instructions, even taking off some and giving it to another person and now my sister in law has taken it upon herself to give my crazy ideas a test drive with her own starter which I gave her.  It was a nice idea and fortunately my starter started working.  Within ten days I had a good starter going, that I even made my first batch of bread with.  It wasn't sour enough so I kept feeding it and babying it, wanting it to be perfect because the flavor was not yet San Francisco enough for me yet.

     In the mean time while my beginners starter was working magic, I looked into wild yeast growing.  Turns out you don't even have to start a starter with yeast because wild yeast(which is the best for sourdough) is in the air and will grow in flour and water too!  So I thought to myself, maybe I should start a wild yeast starter.  This was not one of my greatest achievements, I have to say.  It was however the smelliest.  

     See the websites make the wild yeast starter look so easy.  It's like if you just mix water and flour together this great tasting yeast will form and voila! sourdough will form!  It's so magical it could almost make itself.  Oh no no no, this is so not true, do not believe them!  See yeast is natural, and a fungus which can be found everywhere just about in the world.  It floats around and just maybe you can get some to grow, I honestly don't know if I caught any because my wild yeast starter began to smell like stinky cheese and I thought I would be sick if I kept it in the house so with much sadness for what I thought would be a work of art I threw it away and then there was one.

     What I didn't realize then was that I had an awesome starter.  It might have been easy because I added a little yeast from the beginning (taking the easy way out I thought) but it was awesome.  I have had much success with my starter.  The bread it makes is amazing! and so yummy.  It still hasn't gotten the extra tangy taste yet but its getting there and I absolutely love making bread.  It's so great to have a nice piece with some good tomato soup or some kind of stew.  It's heaven in bread.

     Some people don't realize that once you get a cooking groove on and you know what you like, it's actually quite easy to make your own bread.  I am not saying go start a starter for making bread twice a year but the fact is once your starter has matured it can be refrigerated or frozen for future use.  You can keep your starter alive easy enough.  There are also tons of recipes you could not imagine to make with sourdough starters.  Pretzels, cakes, pancakes, and of course bread, with many more I am probably not yet adding because I don't even know the extent to which the starter is so versatile.  

     So I offer you this and with much love, hope that you enjoy sourdough in its many forms.  I want to offer you the recipe that I started with.  I have changed it because the fact is that I don't cook as well if I follow strict instructions.  I have to change the recipe to fit me.  Normally with baking I don't change much because baking is like chemistry, if you don't add enough of one ingredient, your recipe could fail, but where this is concerned, I actually was able to work with it and find what fit my flavor profile best.  

RhodaGrows Beginners Sourdough Starter

     *You will need a container which is plastic, ceramic or glass.  A wooden spoon that will fit in the container and measuring cups and spoons.  You will need several kitchen towels, or a paper towel and rubber band which is large enough to seal onto the container.

     1cup All Purpose Four (not self rising) 

     1cup Warm Water (not to hot, cause you don't want to kill the yeast)

     3TBS Sugar

     1 PKG. Active Yeast

Day 1:  Too activate yeast add warm water, sugar and yeast in your container.  Mix till a little frothy and let it sit for five minutes.  Then add the flour, stir until just blended(lumps are ok) then cover and leave in warm place for twenty-four hours.

Day 2:  Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of warm water.  Mix, cover and set in warm place twenty-four hours.  Repeat these steps for Day 3,4,5,6, and 7.

Day 8:  Your starters smell has probably changed and you may have noticed when you feed it that it rises or doubles in size with lots of little bubbles.  That's normal and a great sign that your starter LIVES!  But on this day you must either throw out half, give it to a friend or freeze it.  The half in which is left over add 1cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water, stir and sit in a warm place for twenty-four hours.

Day 9:  Remove 1/2 cup of starter and to it add 1cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water, stir and cover in warm place for 24 hours.

Day 10-14: Repeat Day 9.

On the fourteenth day your ready to bake, and so use whatever recipe you wish to make a great sourdough bread.

     

     If making your own starter sounds crazy or out of your league don't worry, you can buy starters, starter kits, or maybe your a lucky person that knows someone which has there own starter.  If so trust me when I say, they will give you some surely because when they feed their starters they must throw some out or bake with it.  I say most people probably don't bake every time they feed their starter so they would be glad to give it away rather than throw it out.  Or you can ask me.  I will send you some starter!

     There are some great websites and books out there that will help you on your sourdough journey as they have helped me greatly.  King Arthur Flour has a wonderful website with recipes and lots and lots of information on sourdough, they even have a sourdough starter kit.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough

     

     Without this website I would be completely lost on my sourdough journey so with much love, and great respect I offer you the greatest website on sourdough there is!

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/

     These were just a few websites I found on my journey please let me know if you find any out there that may help me as well.  Share and share some more.  I am always looking to try a new recipe or test a recipe for readers so please, send in questions, recipes, comments and I will get back to you personally.  If you need a recipe for something in particular also don't hesitate to ask.

     

     With much love, I hope you create an amazing sourdough with which you and your family can love.  Send in your questions and comments as well, they are always welcomed.

     RhodaGrowsKosher