Creamy Ricotta Custard

First of all, I apologize for creating this custard in a small casserole dish. I was replacing my custard ramekins but hadn't made it to the store to accomplish the feat before making this dish. I much prefer making them in ramekins, but as you can see. Any logical glass oven proof vessel will do. I promise you won't be disappointed.



Ricotta is a fresh cheese (as opposed to ripened or aged), grainy and creamy white in appearance, slightly sweet in taste, and contains around 13% fat. Ricotta (literally meaning "recooked") uses the whey, a limpid, low-fat, nutritious liquid that is a by-product of cheese production.


Ancient Roman cooks recognized the binding properties of eggs. They were experts at creating several egg-based dishes, most notably patinae, crustades and omlettes. These foods were either savory (made with cheese, meat, pepper etc.) or sweet (flavored with honey, nuts, cinnamon etc.). Food historians generally agree that custard, the sweet almost pudding-like substance we Americans know today, dates to the Middle ages. At that time custard was eaten alone or used as fillings for pies, tarts, pastry, etc. Flan is probably the the most famous and widely adapted custard dessert in the world. It is important to note that custard was not unique to Europe. Similar recipes flourished in Asia.





CREAMY RICOTTA CUSTARD



3/4 C part-skim ricotta cheese
4 oz. tub-style cream cheese, at room temp
1/4 C granular sugar substitute (I use Splenda)
2 large egg
1/4 C heavy cream
1/4 t vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg, for garnish

Heat oven to 250.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat ricotta and cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar substitute and beat until well combined. Add eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla; beat until well-blended.
Transfer mixture to 4 (8 oz) ramekins. Place ramekins in a baking dish. Add hot water to baking dish to a depth of 1 inch. Bake until custards are set, about 45 min. Remove from water bath and cool on rack. Serve chilled or at room temperature, sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg.


This creamy, cheesecake-like custard goes well with fresh berries scattered over top and around the plate. Such as strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries. A dollop of whip cream as a finish. This would be worthy of company. Or....great plain for any time of day!

Crustless Clean Out The Frig Quiche

Quiche....

According to Wikipedia:

Although quiche is now a classic dish of French cuisine, quiche actually originated in Germany, in the medieval kingdom of Lothringen, under German rule, and which the French later
renamed Lorraine. The word ‘quiche’ is
from the German ‘Kuchen’, meaning cake.

In French cuisine, a quiche is a baked dish that is based on a custard made from eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. Usually, the pastry shell is blind baked before the other ingredients are added for a secondary baking period. Other ingredients such as cooked chopped meat, vegetables, or cheese are often added to the egg mixture before the quiche is baked. Quiche is generally an open pie (i.e. does not contain a pastry covering), but may include an arrangement of tomato slices or pastry off-cuts for a decorative finish. Quiche is predominantly a breakfast dish, however it is acceptable to eat it for lunch or dinner. There is no one recipe known as a "breakfast quiche" because all quiche are breakfast foods. This is, however, not the case in the United Kingdom, where quiche as a 'breakfast food' is unheard of, as well as in France where it is usually sold in boulangeries for lunch.

Quiche became popular in England sometime after the Second World War, and in the U.S. during the 1950s. Many attribute Julia Child introducing Quiche to America. Today, one can find many varieties of quiche, from the original quiche Lorraine, to ones with broccoli, mushrooms, ham and/or seafood (primarily shellfish). Quiche can be served as an entrée, for lunch, breakfast or an evening snack.

I personally love Quiche. The first time I ever made it I was working for a doctor and it was my turn to provide lunch to the staff. I decided on quiche. I was young at the time and thought it would provide accolades that I truly was sophisticated and continental! Yes, youth has its folly. But, accolades were provided...to the quiche. Everyone loved it.

Recently, I have been visiting my low carb past. This falls into a most acceptable low carb dish, as well as delicious. Hence, crustless. If you wish to have a pastry (pie) crust, by all means add it and enjoy.


CRUSTLESS CLEAN OUT THE FRIG QUICHE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup heavy cream
8 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper (your preference)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 cup chopped canadian bacon (or any leftover meats like turkey, ham, beef, pork, seafood)
1 cup finely chopped zucchini (or any leftover vegies, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, etc)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
3 tbsp green onion, chopped
1 Roma tomato, chopped for garnish

Mix eggs and heavy cream, salt, pepper and pour into a Pam sprayed glass pie pan. Have all your vegetables chopped and ready. Save 1/4 cup of canadian bacon for top, then mix remaining canadian bacon with the veggies and mushrooms. Add to cream mixtures in pie pan and gently press so veggies sink into egg/cream mixture. Sprinkle all your cheeses over the top, edge to edge. Sprinkle remaining canadian bacon and green onions on top.

Bake 40-45 minutes until top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Rest 15 minutes before cutting. Garnish with chopped tomato. Enjoy hot, room temperature, cold. Keeps nicely in refrigerator for several days. I like to portion into zip lock bags and freeze for fast microwaving. Serves 6 generously or 8 smaller wedges.

Easy Homemade Doughnuts

Sometimes.....ya just gotta have 'em!

Hot....
Melt in your mouth.....
Doughnuts............

There are hundreds of recipes similar to this one, I'm sure. But when you cut to the chase. It just silly simple.

Oh, and did I say easy. Yes, easy. Uh, did I mention it is yummy. Okay, okay....I'll just shut up and give you this 'its so simple its silly' recipe.



1-2 cans biscuits (not flaky type)
powdered sugar
cinnamon and sugar
can of chocolate frosting
Oil


If you have two brown paper lunch bags you may put powdered sugar in one and cinnamon and sugar in the other. You will be dropping hot doughnuts in the bags and shaking gently to coat. if you do not have bags, bowls will work and a spoon for coating the doughnuts.

Heat oil to 350 degree. Remove biscuits from can. If you have doughnut hole cutters, great. But if you do not, take a cap off a water bottle and cut the center out of each donut. Save these 'holes' for frying too.

Oil should be at least 2-3 inches deep in skillet. I prefer a deep fryer. Do not crowd the fryer. Perhaps 2-3 donuts at a time may be added. Turn the donut when the bottom turns golden brown. Remove doughnut immediately, briefly rest on a paper towel to absorb excess oil. Then select powdered sugar or cinnamon and sugar and coat donuts either by gently shaking in a bag or spooning over donut in bowl. Or, using the chocolate frosting, ice the top of the donut. You can also use white icing and sprinkles to decorate.

Southern Honey Fried Chicken With Buttermilk Waffles

I have watched Alton Brown on food network's Feasting on Asphalt munching on fried chicken on waffles.

I have observed in several other programming this being featured as well. Researching southern cuisine I have ran across similar recipes.

Well.......I've had enough. I first thought it bizarre. Then I rethought it when my mouth watered. I just had to try it!

And I did. And it was. Yummy, that is. Crunchy fried chicken with a bite of waffle and a drizzle of maple syrup. That could quite possibly be the perfect bite.

Yes, my wheels are turning. Yes I'm thinking kicking it up a notch higher. Next I am going to try boneless fried chicken tenders over waffles and drizzled with sausage gravy. It may be a heart attack on a platter, but what a way to go. Oh heck, might as well serve a side of freshly made home fries too.

But here is the sweeter version and deserves its own kudos.

Note: I would start the waffles first and continue cooking them while you fry chicken. Keep waffles layered between paper towels in a warm oven until dish is ready to be assembled.



Honey Fried Chicken


1 whole chicken cut into parts
4 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup honey
1 cup flour
1 tbsp seasoned salt
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
2-3 cups vegetable oil

1. Cut and clean all chicken parts. Set aside in a bowl of ice water.
2. Place flour on a large plate and set aside.
3. Coat frying pan with vegetable oil, and heat over a medium flame.
4. Combine and briskly stir the eggs, buttermilk and honey until ingredients are
   evenly mixed. NOTE: Mixture should have the same consistency as syrup.
5. Generously season both sides of chicken parts with salt, garlic salt, poultry seasoning,black
   pepper and cayenne pepper.
6. Dip chicken into the egg and honey buttermilk batter and let excess batter dip
   off.
7. Evenly coat the chicken in flour.
8. Fry the chicken for 8-10 minutes on each side or until chicken is golden
   brown.
9. When done, place the chicken on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Buttermilk Waffles



* 2 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 3 eggs, separated
* 2 cup buttermilk
* 1/3 cup melted shortening
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* Maple Syrup

1. Combine and mix dry ingredients.
2. Add egg yolks, buttermilk, vanilla and melted shortening
3. Whip egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, then fold in.
4. Bake in preheated, lightly greased waffle iron.


Serves 3-4.


Place waffle on plate. Stack fried chicken as you would like to present it. Drizzle the chicken and waffle with maple syrup.

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

Granted this may not be the most attractive blueberry coffee cake. But it certainly tastes nice with a cup of coffee in the morning. The crunch of the streusel topping is delightful with its sugary sweetness. The pop of a blueberry in your mouth wrapped around a moist cake.......refreshing.


This is a Saturday morning, curl up in the corner of the couch in your jammies with a hot cup of java and a warm from the oven piece of coffee cake. How about bites between reading the funnies on Sunday morning? If you play your cards right, there could possibly be a piece leftover for Monday morning and the rush out the door to the office.

I've seen this recipe several places, but I believe Land O'Lakes created it.

For the cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup milk or half & half
• 1 egg
• 2 cups fresh or frozen, unthawed blueberries
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

For the streusel topping

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F for baking

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, butter, milk (or half & half) and egg, blending with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined

Gently fold in blueberries and lemon zest by hand, transferring batter to a well-greased and floured 8 or 9 inch square baking dish, or 9 inch springform pan.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in softened butter with fingers and mix until topping resembles coarse meal. Crumble topping over batter and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Canned Peach Pie

There is no argument from me that FRESH peach pie is THE BEST. With that said, however, there are those times when you have to resort to the cupboard and canned peaches.

My inspiration to make this pie came from the fact I observed an over abundance of canned peaches in the cupboard. Time to scale them down!

The darker filling appearance comes from the addition of brown sugar which lends a hint of carmel flavoring as well as cinnamon and nutmeg.

Don't feel like making your own homemade crust? No problem, pick up a ready made crust at the grocery and this pie is a snap to make. Ahhh.....no peeling peaches. No removing peach stones. Quick and easy.






2 29oz canned peaches, drained very well
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons Flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter, cut in small cubes


400 degree oven. Lay bottom crust in 9 inch pie pan. Place drained peaches in a mixing bowl. Add brown and white sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg. Mix gently to blend. Place peach mixture in bottom crust. Dot the top of the peaches with the butter cubes.

Lay top crust layer on pie and flute the edges to seal. Make an egg wash with 1 egg beaten and 1 tablespoon of water. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the pie top and edges. Use a knife and cut slits or a design of your choice in the top for venting.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until crust is golden and peaches are bubbly.

Fruit Kabobs

Okay....it's simple.

Yes, Nothing to it....

Everybody has eaten them....


But you know what?! I still like eating them. Humid days bring me back to revisiting this easy fix many times through the dog days of summer.

Just in case it has slipped your mind to throw something so simple as this together, I drop it in just as a reminder.


2 quarts of strawberries
1 pint of blackberries
1 canteloupe
4 kiwi
1 pint of raspberries
1 container of strawberry yogurt
1 cup cool whip
Wooden skewers



Clean and halve strawberries. Rinse blackberries and raspberries carefully. Do not let them sit in water. Peel kiwi and cut in chunks. Peel and remove seeds of canteloupe, cut in chunks.

Thread the fruit on the skewer in the pattern of your choice. Mix yogurt and cool whip together. Place in a decorative platter with dip bowl.

Serve.

Cabbage Rolls

I posted a recipe for Spaghetti sauce a few posts ago. I had sauce leftover from my spaghetti dinner.

So, I decided to incorporate that and make cabbage rolls. Normally, cabbage rolls have a simple tomato base which I've never thought was very flavorful.

This was my attempt at adding a little more flavor to the pot!

• 12 leaves cabbage
• 1 cup cooked white rice
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 4 cups of leftover spaghetti sauce with meat
  
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
  
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage leaves 2 minutes; drain.

1. In large bowl, combine 1 cup cooked rice, egg, milk, onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper. Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and roll up, tucking in ends. Place rolls in slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce and then stir in the spaghetti sauce, mix well. Pour over cabbage rolls.
3. Cover, and cook on Low 8 to 9 hours.

Kentucky-Ohio Salad

The Kentucky portion of this salad originated at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill in Kentucky.

The Ohio portion of this salad was a twist I added to it here in my Ohio kitchen....

According to Wikipedia,

Gelatin, a protein produced from collagen extracted from the boiled bones, connective tissues, and intestines of animals, has been well-known and used for many years.

It was popularized in the Victorian era with spectacular and complex "jelly moulds". Gelatin was sold in sheets and had to be purified, which was very time-consuming. It also made gelatin desserts the province of the relatively well-to-do. In 1845, industrialist Peter Cooper (who built the first American steam-powered locomotive, the Tom Thumb), obtained a patent (US Patent 4084) for powdered gelatin.^[1][2]

Forty years later the patent was sold to a LeRoy, New York-based carpenter and cough syrup manufacturer, Pearle B. Wait. He and his wife May added strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon flavoring to the powder and gave the product its present name in 1897. Unable to successfully market their concoction, in 1899 the Waits sold the business to a neighbor, Orator Francis Woodward, for $450.

Beginning in 1902, Woodward's Genesee Pure Food Company placed advertisements in the Ladies' Home Journal proclaiming Jell-O to be "America's Most Famous Dessert." Jell-O remained a minor success until 1904, when Genesee Pure Food Company sent enormous numbers of salesmen out into the field to distribute free Jell-O cookbooks, a pioneering marketing tactic at the time.^[3] Within a decade, three new flavors, chocolate (discontinued in 1927), cherry and peach, were added, and the brand was launched in Canada.

As of 2008^[update], there are more than 158 products sold under the Jell-O brand name and about 300 million boxes of Jell-O gelatin sold in the United States each year.

So, one could say...its an old fashioned dessert that continues to be used and new recipes created from it.

For me, I just have to have jello in one form or another throughout the year. This recipe sounded unique, a bit unusual and I just had to try it. It will end up being a 'keeper' because it was refreshing as well as unique.

2 packages (3 oz) lime gelatin dessert

2 cups crushed pineapple (drain juice, but save)

Pineapple juice and hot water to make 2 cups (very hot)

1 cup cold water

1-1/2 cups grated cucumber (Scoop seeds from middle before grating)

1/2 miracle whip

4 oz cream cheese

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Drain pineapple and cucumber well.

Make gelatin dessert according to package recipe. Cool to consistency of egg white.

Fold in pineapple, cucumber and lemon juice, miracle whip and softened cream cheese.

Pour into mold or glass casserole to cut in squares and refrigerate. Unmold and serve on crisp lettuce .

Gourmet With a Twist Spaghetti Sauce

O Sole Mio...traveling to Italy today for my menu choice.

There is something deeply satisfying to put a sauce on to simmer for hours. The smell permeates your home.

Walking past the sauce pan and stirring occasionally, along with a taste test and perhaps an additional sprinkle of this or that makes you feel like an artist!

This is a great weekend dish. Great to put on the stove to simmer while you catch up on housework or laundry. Sit down in the evening to a side salad and garlic cheese biscuits and enjoy a plate of spaghetti with a sauce that didn't come in a jar.

The unusual 'twist' in this recipe is the 1/4 cup coffee. It adds a depth of flavor you cannot put your finger on.


3 pounds Ground Chuck
1 cup chopped Onions
1 cup chopped Green Pepper
2 small cans chopped Mushrooms or preferred 1 quart fresh sliced mushrooms
1 medium can Tomato Sauce
2 cloves minced Garlic
1 package Spaghetti Sauce Mix
Cayenne Pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
3/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Sage
4 Bay Leaves, (4 to 6)
2 small cans Tomato Paste
1 Tomato Paste can Water
1/4 cup cold coffee
Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Brown ground chuck and onion until beef is browned. Crumble ground chuck with wooden spoon while cooking. Drain off excess fat.

2. Add green pepper, mushrooms, tomato sauce, garlic, spaghetti sauce mix, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, thyme, Italian seasoning, oregano, sage, bay leaves, tomato paste, 1 tomato paste can of water, 1/4 cup cold coffee, salt and pepper.

3. Simmer several hours. Remove bay leaves.

4. Serve over hot spaghetti with grated parmesan cheese, toss salad, garlic cheese biscuits.



Garlic Cheese Biscuits

2 cups bisquick or jiffy baking mix
2/3-3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix baking mix and milk, until just mixed. The variance in milk was given in case you prefer a less 'firm' biscuit, add the additional milk. Mix in the cheddar cheese.

Bake at 450 degree for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown on a Pam sprayed baking sheet. Add the garlic powder to the melted butter and baste with a pastry brush on top and sides of hot from the oven biscuits.

If you've ever eaten the yummy bread at Red Lobster Restaurants....this will walk you down memory lane as a close second.

Tuna Noodle Bake

How many times does the working woman run out the door in the morning and FORGET to lay out meat to unthaw for dinner?!

Uh....hopefully, I'm not the only one.

Sometimes, it is just simply I'm hungry for Tuna!

Do you have 'those' in your family who are not very fond of tuna? Here is a recipe that has a hint of chicken pot pie elements mixed with noodles and to 'them' the dreaded tuna.

Most likely, after the first bite, they will be ready to ask for seconds. No complaints from this house!

A nice toss salad and warm dinner roll or biscuit rounds out this simple fare.



2 cans albacore tuna (less 'fishy' taste)
2 jars chicken gravy
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas
6 cups of cooked noodles (8-10 oz)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup crushed potato chips
1 cup shredded chedder cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degree.

Cook noodles according to package with 1/2 tsp salt added to water. Drain and place in Pam sprayed glass casserole dish, toss with 2 Tbsp butter. Add tuna, gravy, soup, carrots, peas, salt and pepper and stir gently to mix.

Top noodle mixture with shredded cheddar cheese. Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter with bread crumbs until dry and crumbly, then toss with the potato chips. Sprinkle bread crumb and potato chip mixture on top of cheese.

Bake in oven uncovered until bubbly. Approximately 20-30 minutes.

Roast Beef Stew

In the mood for comfort food? How about from skillet to table in 35-40 minutes?

This stew recipe came from an idea my mother presented. We had cooked a roast on Sunday and had leftovers. Opening the refrigerator to explore also discovered three ears of fresh corn that needed used.

Viola! Supper.

Fast, easy and leftovers re-purposed.

Here is an interesting tidbit of 'stew' history from Wikipedia, then onto the recipe!

Stews have been made since prehistoric times. Herodotus says that the Scythians (8th to 4th centuries BC) "put the flesh into an animal's paunch, mix water with it, and boil it like that over the bone fire. The bones burn very well, and the paunch easily contains all the meat once it has been stripped off. In this way an ox, or any other sacrificial beast, is ingeniously made to boil itself." Some sources consider that this was how boiling was first done by primitive man, perhaps as long ago as ½ to 1 million years ago.

There is evidence that primitive tribes boiled foods together as a prelude to mating rituals. Amazonian tribes used the shells of turtles as vessels, boiling the entrails of the turtle and various other ingredients in them. Other cultures used the shells of large mollusks (clams etc.) to boil foods in.There is archaeological evidence of these practices going back 8,000 years or more.

There are recipes for lamb stews and fish stews in the Roman cookery book Apicius, believed to date from the 4th century. Le Viandier, one of the oldest cookbooks in French, written by the French chef known as Taillevent, has ragouts or stews of various types in it.

Hungarian Goulash dates back to the 9th century Magyar shepherds of the area, before the existence of Hungary. Paprika was added in the 18th century.

The first written reference to 'Irish stew' is in Byron's 'Devil's Drive' (1814): "The Devil ... dined on ... a rebel or so in an Irish stew.

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, beans, peppers and tomatoes etc.), meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), allowing flavors to mingle.

Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry.

Stews may be thickened by reduction or thickened with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, a dough consisting of equal parts of butter and flour. Thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used.

ROAST BEEF STEW


1-2 pounds leftover beef roast, cut in cubes
1 whole onion, diced medium chunks
1 cup baby carrots, cut in thirds
3 ears of fresh corn, cut from the cob
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 -5 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 jars Beef Gravy
1/2 tsp. Marjoram
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/2 tsp. Mural of Flavor (Found at Penzeys)
1 tbsp. Parsley
2 Tablespoons oil



Heat oil on medium heat. Add onions and carrots. Saute until onions become translucent, but not browned. Add corn, potatoes, gravy, all spices except parsley. Place lid on skillet and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking until potatoes are fork tender. Add frozen peas and parsley. Continue cooking five minutes until peas are just heated.

A nice slice of crusty artisan bread and butter or hot from the oven steaming biscuit completes this winner.

Strawberry Cream Salad

Summer....

Ripe red delicious strawberries. Don't you think that is one of the essence that speaks summer?

I remember growing up, you had to actually WAIT for summer to grow or purchase strawberries. Unlike today where they are imported year round from other markets and countries.

Back in my childhood days, there was something special about waiting for the month that produced strawberries. Did they taste more ripe? Did they taste more sweet? Did the perfume fill your nostrils? My memory seems to think so. Oh, the anticipation!

With that said, there is something to be said about the year round availability of today. You can make this unusual 'salad' upon a whim.

I stumbled upon this at Allrecipes.Com. It is similar to a strawberry pretzel salad. I am a bit mystified that they are both in the salad category, I think they could also be in a dessert category as well. The crunchy, sweet and salty cracker-walnut flecked meringue layer lends an unusual twist. The cool and creamy cheese layer and satiny strawberry topping is heaven in your mouth. The original recipe calls for 6 egg whites. Next time I make it, I am going to reduce to three egg whites and see if it gives an even more crunchy crust. I provide that to you here....

3 egg whites 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 2 cups white sugar, or half Splenda 2 cups coarsely broken soda crackers 3/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup white sugar 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin mix 2 cups boiling water 1 (20 ounce) package frozen, sliced strawberries

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and sugar and beat on medium speed until stiff. It seems using pint of egg whites, it takes longer beating. Fold in cracker pieces, walnuts and vanilla. Spread into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake in preheated of for 25 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool.
3.	In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping and spread atop cooled crust.
4.	In a medium bowl, whisk the boiling water into the gelatin to dissolve. Mix in strawberries and let stand for 15 minutes. Pour over the cream cheese layer, cover and chill until serving.