Author: cathysmaha

I am a country girl, born and raised on a farm in Central Iowa. I am the youngest of three children by 9 and 14 years….I was the OOPS! Being younger had its advantages in that I was an Aunt at age 7 and grew up with my niece and nephews. My Father died from a farm injury when I was 12, which forever changed my life and strengthened my bond with my Mother. I tagged along with my Mother to visit older people in our community and learned about their lives in the early 1900s, enjoying the many wonderful traditional foods and family stories. I graduated from a class of 25, which gave me the advantage of being involved in sports and clubs that would not have been possible in a large High School. At that time, Home Ec was still an elective and I loved the cooking lessons (not so hot on the sewing classes). While at the University of Northern Iowa, I began to collect and read cookbooks. Perhaps it was the absence of Mom’s home cooking that drew me to dream about cooking (and eating) wonderful food. After college I moved to St. Joseph, MO and then to Scottsdale, AZ and began to experiment with traditional recipes and discovering those of my own. It was such an adventure to discover new dishes and restaurants in historic St. Joseph, Kansas City, then Scottsdale, Phoenix, San Diego…and the list goes on. In the early ‘80s, I moved to Denver, got married, started my telecommunications sales career and discovered the fabulous restaurants in Denver and Aspen. My career took me to cities never before experienced and the seafood in San Francisco, Cajun fare in New Orleans, Tex-Mex in Dallas, Italian in New Jersey, etc. are experiences I will cherish. In 1986 our first daughter, Megan, was born and then Sarah in 1988. Instead of indulging in dinners out, we were cooking more at home and seeking ways to have good meals with limited time. Dinners went from adult gourmet to more kid friendly meals. Megan’s tastes were more basic while Sarah adopted a gourmet palate at an early age. At age 6 her favorite meal was steamed artichokes and crab legs with drawn butter…still her favorite. Megan’s tastes expanded rapidly when she went to college and started cooking for her roommates and now loves to whip up gourmet dishes. I am blessed to have many gal pals that also share my passion for good food. I love to try new restaurants and look forward to the ‘pot luck’ feasts at our book club meetings and other gatherings. It isn’t just the good food that brings us to together, but the great love and admiration we all have for each other. We are addicted foodies…but we try to remember our 12-step foodie program is needed. God grant me the serenity to only eat the food that I LOVE, the courage to walk away from junk food, and the wisdom to recognize the difference. Oh YEAH!
Family Favorites · New Favorite · Skinny · Vegan · Vegetarian

Fresh Peach Salsa…Oh my!

cathysmaha5 Comments

Peach Salsa was a new discovery a few years ago.  We’re lucky to live in the great state of Colorado which produces some of the finest peaches in the world.  I love salsa, but fresh peach salsa is my favorite.  My family has grown very fond of it and we can’t wait to have the first peach salsa of the season.

Peach Salsa was served last year as one of the dishes at daughter Megan’s bridal shower and included in the favor of three of her favorite dips.  Today we’ll savor it and enjoy the last few days of summer in Colorado.

PEACH SALSA

2 cups diced fresh peaches
1/2 cup sweet onion
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced
fresh lime juice
salt

Mix all ingredients together. Fantastic with chips; also great with grilled fish or chicken.

Family Favorites · My Roots

Slow Cooked Green Beans…just the way Mom used to make!

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Green Beans are a favorite of mine in the summer.  Fresh green beans from the garden are the absolute best.  While other vegetables haven’t fared well in my garden, the green beans did very well.

I crave green beans cooked the way my Mother taught me,  sans the Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Great memories…great flavor.

Slow Cooked Green Beans with Bacon

Fresh green beans, cleaned and snapped
chopped onion (optional)
4 to 6 slices bacon, chopped
garlic salt
2 cups water

  • Sauté bacon and onion in heavy pan/skillet and cook until most of the bacon drippings have cooked out of the bacon. Drain most of the bacon drippings off.
  • Add green beans and about 2 cups water. Cover and cook on very low heat for a couple of hours and season generously with garlic salt.
  • Watch closely and add more water as needed.
Family Favorites

Dutch Baby Pancakes with Fresh Fruit

cathysmaha5 Comments

Pancakes…not my favorite EXCEPT for the Big Dutch Baby Pancake with fresh, seasonal fruit.  I discovered this recipe in the early ’80s in my tried and true ‘Sunset Ideas & Recipes for Breakfast & Brunch’.    The pancake is easy to make, spectacular to serve and yummylicious to eat.

It was a surprise, the first time I made it, to see that the pancake rises as it cooks and collapses when taken from the oven.  Relax–it’s part of the fun!

The original Dutch Baby Pancake was served with powdered sugar and wedges of lemon, but I’ve never tried anything but the pancake with fresh seasonal berries and fruit.  Fresh strawberry in the spring is wonderful and brings excitement about the spring and summer days to come.  My absolute favorite is fresh peach and raspberry.  The combination of the peaches and raspberries are divine.  Today, with fresh Colorado Palisade peaches and fresh raspberries, our family with savor the summer’s sweet peach harvest until we can enjoy again next summer.

BIG DUTCH BABY PANCAKE

3-5 Quart pan (iron skillet, paella pan, or large skillet or round baking dish)
1/3 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk

  • Place butter in pan and set in a 425 degree oven.
  • While butter melts, mix batter quickly. Put the eggs in a blender or food processor and whirl at high speed for 2 minutes.
  • With motor running, gradually pour in milk, then slowly add flour; continue whirling for 30 seconds.
  • Or, in a bowl, beat eggs until blended; gradually beat in milk, then flour.
  • Remove pan from oven and pour in batter.  Return pan to oven and bake until pancake is puffy and well browned (20-25 minutes), depending on pan size.

After baking I use a spatula to assure the bottom of the pancake has not stuck to the bottom of the baking pan. Move to a pretty round plate or platter.  Fill with fruit, sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Have a shaker or bowl of extra powdered sugar for those that may enjoy a little more.

To counteract the sweetness of the pancake, I serve with crisp cooked bacon.

You can serve is several ways. My favorite is filled with fruit:

  • Fruit:  Sliced fresh fruit (I like fresh peach/raspberry best); sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Cut into wedges and serve.
  • Powdered sugar classic:  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and squeeze thick wedges of lemon over at the table.
  • Hot fruit:  Glazed apples or pears served with sour cream or yogurt.  Or heat banana or papaya slices in melted butter or margarine over medium heat, turning until hot; serve with lime wedges
  • Canned pie filling/cherry or apple filling, add lemon juice and ground cinnamon to taste.  Top with yogurt or sour cream. Topping can be heated or cold.
  • Syrups
Family Favorites · Fish · Salads · Sandwiches

Tuna Time: With Avocado or Tomato

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My go-to quick-lunch or dinner in the summer is tuna salad.  It’s simple, full of protein and wonderful paired with a fresh tomato or avocado.  The tuna salad is made the way my Mother made it.  The tomato and avocado serving vessel wasn’t used on the farm…just straight up on Wonder Bread!

To serve in a tomato:  Wash the tomato and slice off the top stem of the tomato.  Slice the tomato in the middle, but not entirely through the tomato.  Slice 2 more times to where, when opened, the tomato is shaped like a sunburst.

Several years ago, I became excited when served tuna salad in a half of an avocado.  I peel the ripe avocado, removing the pit, putting a scoop of tuna salad inside the avocado to serve.  Double yum!

TUNA SALAD

  • For every can of tuna, drain, and flake the tuna in a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add two boiled eggs, chopped for every can of tuna.
  • Add chopped dill pickle (or dill pickle relish) to taste.
  • Add 2-3 chopped green onions.
  • Stir in a enough mayonnaise to bind the tuna salad together.  (I’ve used plain Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise).
  • Salt to taste.

Enjoy!

New Favorite

Grape and Goat Cheese Bites

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As daughter Sarah and I planned for appetizers for their wedding reception, we found this Grape and Goat Cheese Bite appetizer.  What’s not to like…goat cheese, pecans and grapes.  Simple.  Luscious.  And, again, a Pinterest find.

GRAPE AND GOAT CHEESE BITES

  • Finely chop pecans in a food processor.
  • The hardest part of this recipe is rolling the goat cheese into balls.  Only take a small amount of goat cheese from the frig at a time since it is easier to roll when cold.
  • Roll room temperature goat cheese balls in chopped pecans (so nuts will easily stick to goat cheese).
  • Put goat cheese ball on a toothpick and top with a fresh, washed green grape.  Voila!
Family Favorites · My Roots · Vegetarian

Cucumbers and Onions–Mom’s Style

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My Mother was an avid gardener growing lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, squash, green beans, peas, sweet corn, peppers, raspberries, strawberries, etc.  The rich top soil of Iowa made for  a prolific harvest each year. She would can and freeze vegetables and fruit for the family to enjoy all winter. Our farmhouse basement ‘fruit room’ was a treasure trove of pickles, canned tomatoes, relish, vegetables, soups, etc.

 

One of my favorite summer side dishes was my Mother’s cucumbers and onions. The recipe is simple, not written down, but made from memories in that Iowa farm kitchen.

CUCUMBERS AND ONIONS–Mom’s Style

Peel and thinly slice cucumbers and sweet onion.  Soak in cold, salted water for 30-45 minutes.  Drain.  In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise, dash of milk, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over cucumbers and onions and serve immediately.

Family Favorites

It’s my Birthday…Popcorn Cake!

cathysmaha6 Comments

I’m from Iowa and I’m pretty sure popcorn is its own food group.  We grew popcorn on the farm from time to time and I remember stripping the tiny dry kernels from the cob.  My best popcorn memories are, of course, eating it! Popcorn for dinner, leftover popcorn for breakfast, kettle corn at the fairs, popcorn balls in the fall…why not a popcorn cake? My college buddy, Mary, celebrates her birthday in late July.  When we were in college and celebrating BIG for her birthday, I decided to make her a popcorn cake.  A month later, Mary made me a Snickers birthday cake (winding my favorite miniature circles of Snickers bars into a cake). Until this year, it was the only popcorn cake I’ve ever made but I decided to celebrate my birthday BIG this year by making myself one and sharing it on my blog. Happy Birthday to Me!  Now that I’ve told everyone about it, does that I mean I have to share?

POPCORN CAKE

2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
2 tablsepoons vinegar
2/3 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 teaspoon baking powder

  • Pop about 10-15 cups of popcorn (2 batches in the air popper).
  • Bring sugar, water, vinegar and syrup to a boil.  Add cream of tartar and boil to soft crack stage (260 degrees–use candy thermometer).
  • Add the melted butter, vanilla and baking soda. Stir well. Pour over popped corn and stir to mix well.
  • Pour popcorn mixture into a buttered angel food cake pan. Push the popcorn down with buttered hands to remove air pockets. Let cool.  (Note:  if you have any remaining popcorn mixture, use buttered hands to shape into popcorn balls about the size of a baseball.  Place on waxed paper to cool.)
  • Once cool, take a knife and go around the sides of the angel food cake pan to release the popcorn mixture from the pan. Push the cake out of the pan from the underside of the pan (removable bottom).
  • Decorate as you wish. I decorated the top with colored candies and candles and tied a purple ribbon around the middle. Add candy to the popcorn mixture or use icing to write on the top.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (and Mary, too!)

New Favorite · New Traditions · Vegetarian

Strawberry Bruschetta

cathysmaha1 Comment

Ok, I’m on a Pinterest roll this week.  I LOVE this website and used so many ideas from Pinterest for both daughter’s weddings.  I noticed several family and friends pinned this Strawberry Bruschetta and I had to try it.  It is amazingly simple yet fantastically delicious.  I’m made it for parties, assembled and ready to serve.  It’s like dessert for an appetizer.  It feels soooo right.

It’s summer!  Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY BRUSCHETTA

1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced
1 tbsp. sugar
1 French baguette
4 oz. goat cheese
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ cup minced basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the  strawberries and sugar in a small bowl; toss to combine.  Let the berries sit for about 30 minutes so that they begin to release their juices.  Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on top of each baguette slice.  Top each slice with spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Top each slice with the basil leaves and cracked pepper, to taste.

Slightly adapted from Whole Foods via The Curvy Carrot and via annies-eats.com
New Favorite · Skinny · Vegan · Vegetarian

Cucumber Cup Appetizers

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Pinterest is a wonderful invention, giving us instant access to so many wonderful ideas.  One of those ideas that daughter, Sarah, and I chose for one of the wedding appetizers was cucumber cups.  What the heck is a cucumber cup, you say?  Read on….

Wash the cucumber.  Using a potato peeler, peel stripes around the cucumber.  Cut off the round end of the cucumber.  Cut the cucumber into 1″ slices.  Taking a grapefruit spoon or teaspoon, hollow out about 2/3 of the center of the cucumber.

Fill each cucumber cup with the filling of your choice.  Some of the ideas I’ve used include:

  • hummus with a chopped piece of red pepper on top
  • goat cheese with a drizzle of honey and a pecan or walnut on top
  • cream cheese with salmon/lox and a sprig of fresh dill
  • dip…any dip you please

It’s cucumber season, so cut some cups for an easy appetizer that will chill you down after a hot day.

New Favorite · Nicaragua

Tres Leches Cake…delicioso!

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Tres Leches (Three Milk) Cake was not on my radar screen until 8-10 years ago.  A friend served it for the Holidays and I was instantly in love!  When my sister and I traveled to Puerto Rico a few years ago, we couldn’t get enough of it!

On my way home from Nicaragua several weeks ago, I wasn’t ready to let go of the cuisine and was happy to discover Tres Leches at the Miami airport.  It was good, but not of the quality I truly wanted to experience.

Once home in Colorado, I had to make it from scratch.  It tasted wonderful, but not the most beautiful presentation I’ve ever seen.  Oh well, I’m more about the taste, especially when fresh strawberries graced the top of each serving.

TRES LECHES CAKE

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
  • In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
  • Use an electric mixer to beat egg whites, in a large bowl, until forming soft peaks.
  • Add sugar a bit at a time and beat until well mixed.
  • Add egg yolks one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each egg yolk is added.
  • Continue beating and add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk.
  • Mix very well then add the remaining flour, milk and vanilla extract.  Assure all are mixed well together.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  Use a toothpick, fork, or skewer to poke several holes in the cake.

THREE MILK SYRUP:

Three Milk Syrup

12 ounce can evaporated milk
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream

  • Mix the evaporated milk, condensed milk and heavy cream together until well blended.  Pour over top of prepared cake.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more.
Pouring Three Milk Syrup over Cake

I served the cake without the following frosting but with strawberries.  Just in case you are more of a frosting person, here it is:

FROSTING:

1 cup cold whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • Before serving the cake, whip together the cream, sugar and vanilla in a chilled bowl.  Use an electric mixer to beat until stiff peaks form.
  • Spread frosting over cake.  Cut into squares and service.  Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.