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Memorial Weekend Camping

27 May

(this is Jeanette posting)

We had a great time camping over Memorial weekend at Interstate State Park in Wisconsin.  John and I were the first to arrive at our campsite on Friday afternoon.  We set up our tent and enjoyed the beautiful weather.  Saturday was a gorgeous day also, and we went for a little group hike (about 1.5 miles).  Normally I’d want to do much more hiking, but being pregnant slowed me down a lot.  And there were a lot of little kids in our group, so it worked out well to go for the shorter hikes.  Unfortunately our friends the Brazeltons (who organized the camping trip)  were not around too much due to Paul’s recent bike accident, but they did hang out at the campsite most of the day on Saturday, and for a bit on Sunday.

We ran in to some not so nice weather on Sunday.  Saturday night/Sunday morning a thunderstorm came through (around midnight), but it lasted less than an hour.  Sunday morning started off pretty nice, but we could see there were a lot of clouds and it looked like more rain was coming our way.  At this point everyone decided to go home Sunday evening, instead of staying until Monday morning.  We went for another little hike before lunch, and got a good view of the gray skies.  Just before dinner we decided to pack up the non-essentials (which was pretty much everything but stuff to make dinner, some chairs and the Thanghe’s “group” tent), since the sky was beginning to look quite threatening.  We started feeling raindrops as we were loading up, and just as we finished up the rain came in a downpour.  The guys moved a picnic table with the propane stove under the tent awning, and John made dinner – which we’ve now dubbed “Thunderstorm Spaghetti”.  The rain came down pretty strong and we saw a little bit of hail too.  The park ranger even stopped by to inform us of a Tornado Warning – although they were pretty sure it wasn’t going to get too close to us.  We ate dinner in the tent, and lucky Ein got to clean up after the kids - who were eating spaghetti with a spoon since the forks were packed away.  As soon as we finished dinner, we packed up the rest of the stuff and everyone headed home.

On our drive home we realized how serious the storms were.  Once we were on 35 and heading South, we saw a lot of storm damage.  Many huge trees were down, the roads were covered in green from leaves and branches (and snow on the side of the road! -John), and road signs were mangled.  Thank goodness we didn’t see that at our campsite!  Although it is pretty awful that it happened to others.

It was nice to get home on Sunday evening, we unpacked, showered and cleaned the dog.  Monday was a pretty lazy day, which was nice.  We had to wash the dog again, since he managed to roll around in some racoon poop near the campsite – very stinky stuff!

Along with our limited gallery of camping pictures, here’s a nice shot of the campsite on Saturday just before lunch time.

 
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Posted in What's up?

 

French Onion Soup

01 Jan

Ingredients

 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 ½ cups thinly sliced yellow onion (5-6 medium onions)

½ teaspoon salt

pinch sugar

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ cups dry white wine

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 cups low-sodium stock (beef, chicken or vegetable), chilled

salt, pepper and cayenne

12 (1/4 inch) baguette slices, cut on diagonal

3 cups grated Comte cheese (or Emmentaler or Gruyere)

 

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To cook onions: Heat butter over medium heat in Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot. Stir in onions, salt and sugar. Cover pot. Reduce heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes or until onions are soft. Uncover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes or until onions are dark-caramel color.

To add garlic, wine: Stir in garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in wine. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until wine evaporates. Stir in flour. Cook for 2 minutes.

To add stock: Take pan off heat. Stir in cold stock. Return pan to heat. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce to low. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Taste and season as needed with salt, pepper and cayenne.

To toast bread: Meanwhile, toast baguette slices in 300-degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

To serve: Ladle soup into 6 oven-safe bowls. Top each with toasted baguette slice and 1/2 cup cheese. Place bowls on rimmed baking sheet. Place under broiler. Cook for 10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Nutrition information: One serving provides 640 calories (46 percent from fat), 32.9 grams fat (18.5 grams saturated, 10.1 grams monounsaturated), 89.9 milligrams cholesterol, 29.5 grams protein, 49.1 grams carbohydrates, 3.3 grams fiber, 862.3 milligrams sodium.

 
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Posted in Soups

 

Crispy Coconut Chicken

01 Jan

Ingredients

  • 2/3  cup crushed multigrain crackers (about 8)
  • 1/3  cup flaked coconut
  • 1  jar (9 ounces) mango chutney
  • 3  tablespoons lime juice
  • 1  teaspoon curry powder
  • 8  chicken drumsticks, skin removed
  • 2  cups frozen peas, thawed
  • 1  cup cooked brown rice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Place crackers in a large zip-top plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add coconut to the bag and shake. In a small bowl, stir together the chutney, lime juice, and curry powder. Remove 1/4 cup of chutney mixture and set aside. Dip the chicken drumsticks, one piece at a time, in the remaining chutney mixture, then place drumsticks inside the bag. Shake to coat.

2. Bake drumsticks on a foil-lined shallow baking pan for 40 minutes, or until they’re done. Cover chicken loosley with aluminium foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to prevent overbrowning.

3. In a bowl, toss peas with reserved chutney mixture. Microwave on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through. Combine peas and rice and serve with the chicken drumsticks.

 

 
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Posted in Main Dishes

 

Best Risotto

01 Jan

Ingredients

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry vermouth

4 cups chicken broth, brought to a simmer

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup ( 1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Salt, to taste

 

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To cook onion: In wide, heavy saucepan over medium, heat olive oil. Add onion. Cook for 5 minutes or until translucent.

To add rice: Add rice. Lightly toast for 2 minutes, stirring constantly with silicone spatula. (Note: Do not brown rice.) Add vermouth. Cook, stirring constantly, until all wine is absorbed and rice begins to stick.

To add broth: Ladle in enough warm broth to just cover rice. Cook, stirring vigorously every 1 to 2 minutes, for 5 to 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Continue adding broth, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and waiting until broth is entirely absorbed before adding next ladleful. Do this for 20 minutes or until rice is soft but not mushy. (Note: You may not need all of the broth.)

To add cheese: Turn off heat. Add parmesan and butter. Stir vigorously until risotto is creamy. Stir in parsley. Season with salt.

 

This risotto can be spiked by adding herbs or saffron or by replacing the onions with leeks. If adding vegetables, meat or seafood, cook them separately and stir in just before serving. For the cheese, parmesan or pecorino are best; they add flavor without competing with the natural creaminess of the rice.

Makes 4 servings.

 

 
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Posted in Main Dishes