For Amanda #3

Our cat Bo (her full name is very long).

For Amanda #2

Patches, commonly called "pooky", and many other nicknames.

For Amanda #1

My friend Amanda suggested that I post pictures of our "yummy kittens". Such an endeavor was rather inevitable on my part; nevertheless, these posts are dedicated to her. :)

Our baby Jasper

Impromtu Supper

Supper before last, I made up a dish and tried one that I'd seen that day on a cooking show.



1. The one on the left is my version (very similar) of a dish made on French Frood at Home.
I cooked some onion, radishes, and peas in butter and seasoned them with salt, (pepper?), and dill. It requires very little cooking, and is unique and tasty. I don't believe I'd ever seen radishes cooked before and was intrigued. Just that short amount of cooking takes off a good bit of that peppery flavor found in radishes. (I do like radishes raw as well.)

2. On the right is a pasta dish wherein I used extra wide whole grain noodles, ground beef, tomato, dried basil, garlic, eggs, milk, water, and salt and pepper.

I wouldn't mind making that vegetable side in the summer using fresh chives and dill. Yum. :)

Hungaria: Meal #22

Here is the rest of my Hungarian meal. I forgot to take pictures of the chicken dish after it was cut up; so you'll have to use your imagination. :)

biscuits to go a bit with my cold plate instead of the recomended rolls & butter.



A "modified" version of Paprika Chicken. :)

Preparation & radishes

I started prepping food for my ethnic meal and thought I would post some photos. I also made supper for my dad. This is not an exhaustive gallery of what I've done, but shows a good bit. :)

Apple and Pear sauce



Beautiful Radishes



Hungarian Cold Plate (In this case casserole dish.)



I layered farmers' cheese, smoked provolone, and hard salami. This dish also contains ham, turkey, cucumber, red and yellow bell pepper, and radishes.



As part of our supper I made a little hash. We'll call it "Hungarian Hash". :)



First, I cooked some ham, turkey, hard salami, and bell pepper in olive oil/salt&pepper; then I added a bit of leftovers consisting mainly of roasted potatoes. I did a bit of chopping and further cooking; and that was all.

Along our road #5

This photo was technically taken from our yard; but it still sort-of counts. :)







A "red" rose.



Rose hips

Italy the 2nd: Meal #21

This meal was based off of Giada De Laurentiis' book Everyday Italian and from a recipe I recently saw her make on TV. :)

A great resource for her recipes is http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Extra wide whole grain noodles with pork sausage, peas, and mushrooms



Homemade Pita Chips with White Bean Dip



Raspberry Mousse

China: Meal #20

This meal was based about 75% off of Cooking the Chinese Way by Ling Yu.





A Chicken soup with water chestnuts



Fruit Float (This is made with homemade gelatin.)



Little wonton "pillows"





I didn't want to go to the fuss of making meat-stuffed wontons; so I invented a recipe.
This isn't exactly how I made these; but I will try to post a usable version here.
These would be good assembled a day ahead of time and baked off the next day as a side for a breakfast, brunch, or as an appetizer.

Wonton "Pillows"

>preheat oven to 375 F.

(I'm sure these could be fried in oil as well.)

>Ingredients

1 package wonton wrappers

16 oz. cream cheese (You might want to let it soften a bit.)

1/4-1/3 cup honey

1/4-1/3 cup zante currants or raisins

a small cup of water

>Assembly

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the cream cheese, honey, and dried fruit by hand or with an electric mixer.
Put a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper and, using a pastry brush or your fingers, brush water around the edges of the wrapper. Seal into a triangle with your fingers (a turnover shape). Then, brush the pointed edges with water and fold into an envelope shape.
Bake at 375 F. for 15 minutes. Makes a whole package of wonton skins, over 2 dozen, but i'm not sure how many. :)

Italy: Meal #19

This meal was inspired by Giada De Laurentiis' books Eveyday Pasta and Everyday Italian. Please pardon my photos. I think my camera may have accidentally been shifted to a different setting, and was therefore non-cooperative.

Candles and tulle



A sort-of chicken lasagna (I changed the recipe a lot, into a different recipe really, but it was tasty.)



Roasted Bell Pepper Salad





Panna Cotta with strawberries



The Panna Cotta was very cozy to make. It reminded me of making instant pudding at night for my mum, Shaina, and myself.

Mad Hungry: Meal #18

This meal was inspired by, yet not in bondage to, "Mad Hungry" by Lucinda Scala Quinn.




Pork Chops with an apple and onion topping on a bed of brown rice, with oven roasted asparagus on the side.

Along our road #4