Pasta with Mozzarella and Olives

 

2 + cups dry bow tie pasta

½ pound mozzarella, sliced into small cubes

16 – 20 green olives, Castelvetrano, pitted and sliced in half or quarters

2 Tablespoons red onion, diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon orange juice

1/16 teaspoon lavender salt

1/8 teaspoon lavender pepper

Directions: In a small sauce pan sauté diced onions in olive oil; this is way too much olive oil for the amount of onions but fear not as this becomes the dressing. Stir until limp and translucent, a tiny amount of salt may be added; then add the tablespoon of orange juice and continue to stir and then remove from heat. Meanwhile cook the pasta al dente. Using a slotted spoon carefully move hot, al dente pasta to a heat proof casserole dish or bowl. A tiny amount of salt may be added to the pasta. Pour onion, olive oil, orange juice mixture over pasta and toss. Add mozzarella and toss and then and slice olives and toss. Dress with lavender pepper.

Notes: This is a nice dish to serve warm on a cold winter day. The onion slivers will adhere to the al dente bowtie pasta. Do continue to toss occasionally to prevent the cheese from settling to the bottom of the bowl and to help the mozzarella slightly melt onto more pasta. This is fast, easy and delicious.

Serves several people as a side dish; 4 people as a main dish.

Book Review: "Smelly" Kelly and His Super Senses

 

 

Beth Anderson writes a delightful story about an immigrant with an unusual talent and an even more unusual career in “Smelly” Kelly and His Super Senses: How James Kelly’s Nose Saved the New York City Subway published by Calkins Creek. Danger, coupled with an extraordinary amount of exercise, abounds in Kelly’s life. Ms. Anderson describes the NYC subway system of the first half of the 20th century which is ancient history to a child. Illustrator, Jenn Harney, evokes the New York City subway system darkness, smells and noises with bright colors against dark blue and gray backgrounds. Bile colored swirls waft through the pages leading the reader on an interesting path. As always Ms. Anderson includes a collection of facts and primary and secondary sources in the end papers. 

 

Visit author Beth Anderson:  https://bethandersonwriter.com 

Visit illustrator Jenn Harney:  http://jkharney.blogspot.com/

Boulder Book Store:  https://www.boulderbookstore.net/book/9781684373994

Previous posts about Beth Anderson:  http://bethsbiblio.blogspot.com/2020/05/book-review-inconvenient-alphabet.html

Cherries in phyllo pastry

 

16 ounces frozen dark sweet cherries, slightly more than 3 cups

8 ounces phyllo sheets (1/2 of a box of phyllo)

1 Tablespoon olive oil, to be divided

2 Tablespoons butter, to be divided

Sprinkle of nutmeg, less than 1/16 of a teaspoon

It is best to have all the ingredients out on the counter before opening the phyllo.

Generously grease a 9 1/2 inch pie pan. Layer 2 to 6 sheets of phyllo pastry in the pan, edges will hang over. With your fingers, gently and rapidly spread olive oil over the top sheet of phyllo. In the opposite direction layer another 2 to 6 sheets of phyllo and spread olive oil over the top sheet. Continue until all 8 ounces of phyllo sheets are in the pan. Do not add olive oil to the top layer. Add all the cherries; dot the cherries with slivers of butter. Carefully fold the excess phyllo over the cherries. The cherries will be visible in the middle. Dot the folded over phyllo with slivers of butter. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Remove from heat; cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then serve.

Serves 6 people.

Notes: Very good and a fast, easy way to eat warm fruit at breakfast on chilly mornings. Serve in bowls and spoon the excess juices over the baked phyllo pastry.

Individual Quesadillas

 

6 white corn tortillas, small

6 yellow tomatoes, smallish

6 slices provolone cheese

Grease baking sheet. Lay out the corn tortillas. Slice tomatoes and place on tortillas. Top each tortilla with a slice of provolone cheese. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

Serves 2-6 people.

Notes: Grilled cheese variation 2

Grilled Cheese and Pink Lady Apple

4 slices Swiss cheese

1 Pink lady apple

4 slices of brown bread such as wheat and oats or pumpernickel

Whole grain mustard

Grease cookie sheet or flat cake pan. Place bread slices on pan. Spread each slice with mustard. Slice apple. Divide apple slices and place on bread. Top with Swiss cheese. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

Serves 4 people.

Notes: Grilled cheese variation 1

Date: 27 October 2020

 

Brownies

 

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ounce (2 squares unsweetened chocolate, 100% cacao)

2 eggs

½ cup flour

Cream butter and sugar; add vanilla and cream. Melt chocolate over low heat and then add to sugar and butter. Add eggs to butter and chocolate mixture and mix. Add flour and mix again. Grease a small cake pan or a small, 6 ½ inch diameter, pie pan and then dust with flour. Pour in brownie mixture. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.

This recipe makes 6 large brownies or 12 moderately sized brownies.

Notes:   

·       Quick, easy and very good.

·       Wash eggs; crack individually into a separate bowl; look for debris or the unlikely bad egg; remove any egg shells; add to brownie mixture and then repeat with second egg.

·       Pie pans have a smaller diameter across the bottom and then the pan widens to the rim. This pie pan is approximately 6 ½ inches across the bottom and it then widens to almost 9 inches at the outer rim.

Spaghetti with Red Onion and Swiss Chard

 

4 to 6 ounces whole grain spaghetti, dry

½ red onion

5 leaves of Swiss chard, rinsed and patted dry

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

2 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese

Lavender salt and lavender pepper

Cook pasta according to directions. Dice onion and sauté in olive oil in a large skillet. Dice the stems of the Swiss chard first and add to the onion and olive oil. Fold the remaining chard leaves and slice into small ribbons, approximately 1 ½ inches by ½ inches. Add to skillet. Grind a small amount, 1/8 of a teaspoon or less, of lavender salt onto the cooking vegetables. Add al dente spaghetti. Add butter as needed. Stir and continue to cook until vegetables are soft and pasta and vegetables are thoroughly mixed. Serve with a grinding of lavender pepper and small shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese.

This recipe makes 2 servings as a main dish and 4 servings as a side dish.

A friend, Wanda, gave me my first lavender salt and pepper and she purchased them in Palisade, CO.    

https://www.nielsenvillage.com/

 

Oatmeal Cookies

 

¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

A scant ½ cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

¼ cup water

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups oats, uncooked

Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and cream again. Add egg and mix. Add water and mix. Add 1 cup of flour, and the baking soda and cinnamon and mix, thoroughly. Add the second cup of flour. Add the oats, one cup at a time. It might be best to switch from the hand mixer to a wooden spoon for mixing the second and third cups of oats.

Grease a baking sheet. Drop dough by spoonfuls on the baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes. The subsequent batches may need less time, like 11 or 10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from the lower shelf to the upper shelf so the cookies are not too crisp or burned on the bottom.

This recipe makes 3 dozen cookies.

Peach Cobbler

 

5 fresh peaches

1 cup flour

½ cup sugar

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

1/16 teaspoon lavender salt

To make the topping, place dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a slotted spoon. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cream with a mixer or cut in with a fork. Peel peaches, slice and place in greased deep dish pie pan. Distribute the topping evenly over the peaches. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.

Serves 6-8 people.

Lavender was grown in Palisade, Colorado: https://www.nielsenvillage.com/

Pumpkin Scone

It has snowed and it is time for Pumpkin Scone.

The dry ingredients may be mixed in advance.

2 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon ginger

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a slotted spoon. This mixture may be stored for a day or two. However, it is easiest to add the oats, last. That is after the butter, milk, pumpkin and eggs have been mixed with the flour, sugar and spices.

Add the wet ingredients.

1/4 cup sweet (unsalted) butter

1 cup cream or half and half or milk

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin

2 eggs, beaten

Use a fork to blend the butter into the dry ingredients. Then add the cream or milk, stir. Then add the pumpkin and stir. One at a time, crack 2 eggs and mix with a fork in a separate bowl and then add to the mixture.

Grease and flour a deep dish, 10 inch pie pan or a similar sized casserole. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes. Test by inserting a fork or table knife into the scone. If the knife emerges clean, the scone is completely baked or done.

Icing

2 tablespoons sweet (unsalted butter)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Melt butter. Add vanilla. Sift powdered sugar into butter and vanilla. Pour or smooth onto warm scone.

Serves 6-8

Gnocchi and beet greens

1 pound of gnocchi

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

2 cups coarsely chopped beet greens including part of the stems

1/8 teaspoon lavender salt

1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese

K-12 schools and colleges reopening in the time of Covid-19

 

With the rapidly unfolding novel coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic, reliable information from reputable sources can be helpful. 

Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 12:15pm Eastern Daylight Time, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will host a free webinar with back to school, information during the Covid-19 pandemic. This webinar is for parents, teachers and leaders. A panel of experts will be addressing planning, guidelines and concerns about returning to K – 12 schools this fall. There is an opportunity for question and answer response via email. Registration is not required.This webinar will be recorded.

In addition Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has also published guidelines for returning to college.

Link to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: K-12 school reopening webinar: https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/news-and-events/events/august-20.html?utm_source=Public+Health+Updates&utm_campaign=6a4db8df40-

Link to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Back to college guidelines: https://www.jhsph.edu/covid-19/articles/covid-19-and-college-campuses-what-you-need-to-know.html?utm_source=Public+Health+Updates&utm_campaign=9da6562c68-

Some schools have released very specific guides. David Richards, Dean of Library Services at the University of Nebraska, Omaha has shared information which was compiled by several experts from the University of Nebraska Medical Center Global Center for Health Security. The document is titled Higher Education Pandemic Mitigation and Response Guide. This is a comprehensive 24 page checklist. 

The University of Nebraska link follows: https://www.unmc.edu/healthsecurity/_documents/Higher-Education-Pandemic-Recovery-Guide-Step-I-III-5-12-2020-v1.35.pdf

Blueberries in Puff Pastry

 

1 1/2 - 2 cups of blueberries

8 – 10 sheets of phyllo dough or puff pastry

1/8 pound (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter

2 butter wrappers for greasing pie pan

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/16 teaspoon lavender salt

Wash blueberries. Remove any stems and discard all soft and squishy berries. Thoroughly grease a 9 1/2 inch deep dish pie pan with butter wrappers. All at once, place 4 or 5 sheets in bottom of pie pan. The ends of the pastry will overlap the edges of the pie plate. Slice off the first tablespoon of butter and then cut into five pieces and distribute evenly on the puff pastry. All at once, place the second 4 or 5 pieces of puff pastry on top of those in the pie plate. Slice off the second tablespoon of butter and then cut into five pieces and distribute evenly on the puff pastry. Place blueberries on top of the pastry; they will be one layer of blueberries thick and in places two blueberries thick. Sprinkle nutmeg, lavender salt and sugar evenly over the berries. Dot the berries with the third tablespoon of butter. Fold the excess puff pastry over the blueberries and then dot the top of the puff pastry with the last tablespoon of butter.

There will be extra phyllo dough; refold it in its original paper and then place in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for future us.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The pastry needs to be covered or it will become tough in the oven.

Serves 6 people.

Notes: This can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator and then served for breakfast.