Vestibular migraines…

Vestibular migraines…

March 21, 2021 / No Comments

Occasionally, I have vestibular migraines and although I haven’t had one for a while – yesterday was the day. (Does anyone here have them?) They’re crippling! To be diagnosed, you must have a history of “regular” migraines in the past – I do. It starts with severe vision disturbances, the room taking different shapes and feeling as if it’s moving. Then the headache hits. The past few times, it has also made my lips and tongue numb and tingling! Yesterday, when I knew it was happening, I yelled for Doug who was working on our lower deck Our five month old cocker spaniel, sensed something was wrong and went to the door looking for him! My medication I take for it was upstairs and there was no way I could get up there at that moment. Fearing it was a stroke, Doug threatened to take me to the E.R. He asked me to smile and I managed an even one. Thankfully, it was not a stroke and I just spent the rest of the day resting in bed.

Anyway, the migraine blew the afternoon and the rest of the day yesterday. Today has been a “dizzy hangover” from it. I slept 3 hours yesterday afternoon and when I felt a little better, I lay in the bed and watched Girl Meets Farm on the Food Network. Doug kept me company for a while and we decided it would be great to try some of Molly’s delicious looking recipes. I ordered her cookbook late yesterday and it just arrived. It must have been in the Amazon warehouse here! Anyway, I’m looking forward to feeling better and digging into some of these delicious recipes!

I also loved hearing the story about how she and her husband met at Julliard. They are each classically trained musicians. They now live on his family farm on the border of South Dakota and Minnesota.

Dianne
Mama’s tea cakes…

March 9, 2021 / No Comments

I’ve been craving my mama’s Southern Tea Cakes for several weeks now. I tried making a “healthy” version of them using King Arthur baking sugar substitute and almond flour. I have to tell you, they were terrible. Not even remotely like the freshly baked tea cakes that would be waiting for me when I got home from school. If your heart is set on something, a not too good substitute just doesn’t satisfy.

So, today I made the real thing…from Mama’s recipe. No substitutions. Real vanilla extract. Real sugar. Real butter. I followed the instructions carefully and even sifted the flour and baking powder together. (Sometimes I skip the sifting but not today.) I iced half of them with the chocolate icing Mama used to make. Butter, milk, cocoa and powdered sugar. Finally, my craving for tea cakes was satisfied. I only made one dozen. After those are gone, it’s right back to our healthy eating. But, sometimes, you just have to reach back in time and enjoy the memories.

Years ago, after mama passed away, I made a cookbook of her recipes and a family tree at that time. Our family tree has grown and I have found more of her recipes, so I need to redo this little book.

Dianne
Corn biscuits…

March 3, 2021 / 6 Comments

I scooped out what I thought was self-rising flour to make buttermilk biscuits. I cut in the butter and mixed in the buttermilk. It mixed beautifully. As I floured the surface and went to gently knead and roll them out, I realized my mistake. I had used White Lily self-rising corn meal mix! (I ordered some and paid a premium price for it since you can’t get it here! Haven’t even made cornbread with it yet!) All I could do was finish making them and get them in the oven at 450 degrees! Corn biscuits?! Hopefully, they will be good…

Dianne
Yankee pot roast…

September 15, 2014 / 1 Comment

After a busy weekend, I have a few goals for today: organize my desk & file the papers that have been stacked up for a while and buy groceries! I enjoyed having my daughter and her family over to “hang out” yesterday afternoon while their realtor had an open house for their home. They’ve purchased 6 acres in a nearby small town and are looking forward to building there. Since I did not have any goodies on hand, my ten year old granddaughter and I made homemade brownies which were delicious. It was decided by my grandchildren that Grandmom needs to buy groceries! Since the weather is cooler right now, I’ve been in the mood for a delicious “Yankee Pot Roast”! Sounds like a dish for one night this week…

The recipe and post below was featured in my previous blog, My Southern Heart.

Yankee pot roast…

Published October 25, 2011

Yankee Pot Roast is quickly becoming one of our favorite meals. True, there is some prep work involved but it’s worth it in the end. It is a delicious meal! It’s essentially an entire meal in a Pampered Chef stoneware bowl or dutch oven – whatever you have. Tonight, I’m serving it with a small tossed salad and hot cornbread muffins.

Every time I prepare this, I’m reminded of the time, years ago, that my older son brought home his precious fiance to meet us. She grew up in upper New York state and I thought it would be a fun idea to surprise her with Yankee Pot Roast. The funny thing is that she had mentioned to my son that she was hoping for some good Southern cooking! In the end, I prepared both and we all fell in love with her…and, thankfully, vice versa. They have been happily married for about 16 years now and have 3 beautiful daughters.

Here they are…the ingredients all assembled and ready to become delicious, tender Yankee Pot Roast. The only thing missing are 2-3 fresh stalks of celery which I didn’t have.

Yankee Pot Roast

One 3-4 pound beef roast, or larger depending on size of family of course ( this one was a 2 & 1/2 pound eye round roast). Rump roast is hard to find here but is my preference.

Kosher salt (about 1 tablespoon)

Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper

3-4 fresh carrots (or more if you’re cooking a larger roast)

2-3 fresh stalks of celery (or more for larger roast)

4-5 large Idaho potatoes (or more for a larger family) (washed, peeled – or not – and cut into quarters)

2 cans Beef Broth or 1 large box of beef broth

1 & 1/2 cups good red wine (This one is a merlot from Columbia-Crest in Washington state. Reasonably priced and good for this dish.)

1 large onion cut in quarters (the small onions above came from our garden so I used what I had)

4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence (if you’re not using fresh herbs also, increase to about 1 & 1/2 or 2 tablespoons)

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme

2 sprigs of fresh tarragon (all the fresh herbs came from my garden this morning)

Flour – Just enough to dredge roast really well.

Liberally sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt and Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper all over roast.

Dredge the seasoned roast in flour.

Preheat the Extra Virgin Olive Oil…

Saute’ the veggies in the preheated EVOO until slightly browned…just enough to give them some color.

Remove the vegetables to a separate bowl and brown the roast on all sides on medium-high heat.

Remove the roast and add the beef broth to the hot pan. Stir to “deglaze” the pan or get all the good pan drippings off the bottom of the pan. Add the red wine to the beef broth and stir briefly.

Combine the roast, carrots, onions, minced garlic, celery and herbs in stoneware bowl or dutch oven. Pour the beef broth/wine mixture over it. Cover tightly with lid and tightly wrapped foil on top of lid. Bake at 300 degrees for about 2 & 1/2 hours and then add the potatoes cut into quarters. Bake for another 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Enjoy!

Dianne
Rainy day muffins…

September 12, 2014 / No Comments

It is 46 degrees and raining (again) this morning. There are so many beautiful shades of green here in Iowa that I cannot complain about the rain. Hopefully, all this rain will evolve into the amazing jewel tones of Autumn…my favorite season. My farmer friends tell me, however, that they need more very warm days and sunshine to mature the crops. So, we’ll pray for just that and an abundant, successful harvest here in the Heartland!

A couple of nights ago, I made these muffins and, to be honest, they’re even better two days later. Something about all the flavors and the moisture of the prunes having time to absorb. I wouldn’t say that they are my favorite muffins ever, but they were very good with a cup of fresh coffee on this rainy morning.

Now, if I’d put Banana-Prune Muffins in the title, you would probably have skipped on by, right?! They really are good – try them!

Banana-Prune Muffins

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup butter (melted)

1 egg

1 cup mashed, ripe banana

1 & 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup finely chopped & pitted prunes (or chopped chunky if you prefer)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Prepare the muffin tins with Pam, grease & flour OR use paper liners as I did.

In one bowl: Combine and whisk all the dry ingredients together.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, vanilla and egg. Beat until smooth. Blend in the bananas.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Gently mix in the prunes.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for about 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Enjoy warm with butter and homemade jam or honey!

Dianne
Montana Morning Muffins…

August 22, 2014 / 2 Comments

Low clouds are hanging over the mountains this morning…but they’re still visible and beautiful. I would never tire of this scenery! Temp in the 50’s this morning with a slight drizzle. My granddaughter Sarah and I are going to be out to walk Annie in a bit – rain or not. Yesterday morning, Sarah and I made Montana Morning Muffins (we gave them a new name) and they were delicious for breakfast this morning with my son’s freshly brewed coffee. He is off until Tuesday and that’s great. His birthday is Sunday and the girls and I will be baking his birthday cake. We will probably head to Yellowstone tomorrow and I can’t wait to see it. I love this rugged, BIG SKY COUNTRY!

Here’s the recipe, as promised, for Montana Morning Muffins (adapted from the recipe for Orange-Yougurt Muffins in the Williams-Sonoma book, Muffins & Quick Breads):

Montana Morning Muffins

3 large oranges

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

5 tablespoons butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup plain yogurt

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter standard muffin tins.

Finely grate the zest from the oranges – just the orange part. Ours made about 3 tablespoons of zest.

Combine the zest, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the water in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Add the butter and stir until melted, about 1 minute more. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, milk and reserved orange mixture until smooth. Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Spoon into prepared tins, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake until toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. 15-20 minutes. Cool in the tins about 3 minutes, then remove. Enjoy! (I think the pics are clearer if you click to enlarge).

As we were downloading the pics of the “food photo op” I saw my granddaughter’s amazing photos below all taken with a simple small point and shoot. I think she’s asking for a more powerful camera for Christmas and I can’t wait to see what she does with that if she can do this with the small camera she has! Obviously, it’s all about having an eye for composition. Enjoy! Don’t forget to click to enlarge for a clearer image.

Below, a yellow-bellied marmot!

By the way, I am doing these posts this week on the MAC computer with my granddaughter’s help. I am so not used to a MAC! ;-

Dianne

Yankee pot roast…

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