I Just Love Frittatas

There are many different recipes for a frittata. This is how I made my most recent one (pictured)
1. Saute 1/4 onion, finely diced,  in iron skillet. Turn heat off after onions are transparent.
2. Have some chopped up cooked greens ready. I used kale this time...a big bunch was reduced, through cooking and fine chopping and squeezing the moisture out...into 1 cup packed chopped greens.
3. Have about 2 cups of brown rice, cooked (leftovers are great) ready to go...or more.
4. Have some grated cheese ready to go.
5. Break 7 or 8 eggs into a bowl and whisk until all blended and frothy.
6. Add the rice, chopped greens, cooked onion and about a handful of shredded cheese and stir until well combined.

The skillet should be refreshed with a teaspoon or 2 of oil, and heated for 30 seconds and then you add the egg mixture. The heat should be turned to low...very low..and you should sprinkle grated cheese on top. Then put a lid on and let cook nice and slow for about 20 minutes or until egg is set. Bring skillet to table and cut frittata into wedges and serve. We like Tapa Tio on it.

My new mandolin

Here is my birthday present from David and Amber. This was the first time I used a mandolin..it was great! The slim slices of potato piled up ever so quickly and quietly under the device.

You have to soak your potatoes to get the excess starch out. I put them in a bowl of cold water for 2 hours, then drained them and blotted them dry.

Here are some of the potato chips I made. After paying 4.00 for the peanut oil, and standing over the hot  stove over bubbly hot oil, waiting for them to fry nice and crisp, I decided I would rather buy potato chips!

 The rest of the thin sliced potatoes were used a different way: I smothered them in cheese sauce and microwaved them...two 4.5 minute sessions in the microwave. Then I sprinkled chipotle Mrs. Dash on them...Yummy!

Tomato Flavored Chocolate

Here is a picture of some unusual candy brought back from Japan by Amy and Fox.  At first they thought this candy was confiscated by airplane officials in Japan, but then realized they had them hidden in a special place in their suitcase! This is Chocolate with tomato in it.

I thought it was quite good...since I consider a tomato more like a fruit. Amy does not like tomatoes so this was quite unappreciated by her. I, Joan, enjoyed it!

Favorite Dried Fruit

First of all, before I tell you about the dried fruit I am willing to pay $6.00 plus a pound for, let me tell you about butter pats.

Butter pats are the cutest little ovll dishes..about 3 inches in diameter tha used to be used on tables at dinner time. Each person got their own tiny plate with a pat of butter on it.

Once, my sister Sandy and I went to a pioneer heritage type park in Frisco, Colorado that had all kinds of small pioneer homes that you could go into. One of them had a gorgeous display in a hutch that consisted of rows and rows of butter pats leaning up against the back wall of the hutch: each one unique and cute as could be.

This one I own is the only one left (the rest got broken over the years) of a set of them I had from a collection of dishes found in my husband's mother's garage when she was cleaning it out

The dried fruit here on the little butter pat dish? Dried cherries! These were purchased from a store called Sprout's in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. MMMmmm....

Pizza Dough

I just thought this was fabulous...

Light Fruit Meal Easter Evening

We wanted something refreshing and light and nutritious and fruity for supper...and here it is:
Equal parts nonfat Greek yogurt and full fat honey Greek yogurt in bowls.......put drained Morello cherries (Trader Joe's brand) and fresh pineapple chunks and some sliced banana and a few chopped walnuts on top!

Popcorn in a Paper Sack

I have heard you could do this: Make popcorn in your microwave just by using a paper sack.
Yet, I always was afraid: afraid that the paper sack would burst into flames. Then a friend of mine told me her husband does it almost every night. No oil needed ...just the kernels and a lunch sack. I had to see if there was anything on youtube about this. Yes! The gal did hers for 5 minutes, which seemed too long to me. And she stapled the bag shut before microwaving it. (It did not spark, by the way.)

I read in a magazine that 1/4 cup kernels in the sack is fine, then fold the open end of the sack a few times nice and tight...and microwave 2 minutes. That seemed like not enough time.
After experimenting, I have found that a scant 1/4 cup ( take a tablespoon of kernels off the top of a full 1/4 cup for about 3:00 or 3:07 minutes worked best!
Dump contents of paper sack into bowl and add melted butter (of course!) and a dash of salt