Book review, a few kitchen failures, and other reasons I've been AWOL!

Hey there, dear readers.  I can't believe it's been over two weeks since my last post.  I've tried a few recipes that haven't turned out so there hasn't been much post.  I hope everyone has had better luck in their kitchen!

We've been busy as a family the past two weeks too.  Hubby and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary in July!!  We had a very nice dinner out to celebrate.  My oldest was in a musical at our local outdoor theater, my youngest was taking a reading class, and my middle is continuing her drum lessons.  Plus all of their other classes.  And the dog.  He's discovered the joys of the dog beach and we've been taking him quite a bit.  He's not so fond of the bath he gets afterwards though.

I've been reading this fascinating book, The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan.  Tracie is a reporter who has written for the New York Times and O Magazine.  She uses her skills and experience to go undercover to learn how our food supply works as a day laborer and as a minimum wage worker.  First in the fields in California, then at Walmart in Michigan, then at Applebee's in New York.  What's even more impressive is that she chooses to live authentically on the wages she earns in each job.  Parts of the book are a bit heavy on statistics but it's necessary to truly understand how and why we Americans eat what we do.  Tracie certainly did her research.  Her narrative is very enjoyable to read too.  Here's the cover:

Has anyone read this book?  If so let me know what you think in the comments!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.  I can't believe school starts soon- 3 weeks!  :(  I'll be back with a recipe when I can find a great one.

Sarah

Chopped Beef Mounds with Noodles Women's Day June 1951 (FAIL!)

The beautiful cover of the June 1951 issue of Woman's Day.  

This should have been a success.  Beef and noodles were in the title.  My girls could live on pasta alone and my men could live on beef.  So what went wrong?  Following are the actual quotes I jotted down as everyone came to the table:

"Wow!  It looks like poooooop!!!!!!!!"

"What's wrong with the pasta?"

"Mom… I just don't think I can do this."

"Why does it smell like meatloaf?"

After a little encouragement begging I got everyone to try it.  And then I got to enjoy this:

"It tastes better than it looks.  I think it nom nom nom…" (The blessed child's mouth was too full to make out the rest.)

"Ok, I tried it.  Now can you make me a pb and j?  Pleeeeeeeeese???"

"Sorry, mom.  I just can't eat anymore."  (This was after one bite followed by what I hope was fake gagging.)

"What kind of meat is this??"  

I got one thumbs up and I liked it so I'm posting the recipe despite it being a "fail".  (It's a "fail" if not everyone likes it.)  Just be forewarned that if you don't like meatloaf you may want to skip it.

Here's the original recipe:

I doubled the recipe so here's what mine looked like:

1 15.5 ounce can of Tomato Sauce
1 LB Ground Beef
1/3C Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs (I'm thinking It could have used more- like 1/2C)
1/2C Hot Water
Dash of Cayenne
1t Garlic Powder
Dash of salt
1 16 ounce package of corkscrew pasta
(I forgot the parsley!)

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix the ground beef with the tomato sauce.  (This is gross.  Use a spoon and just keep mixing it until the beef looks like really thick beanless chili.)  Then measure the hot water in a large measuring cup.  Add bread crumbs and seasonings.  (This will also look gross.  A bit like baby vomit.)  Mix well and add to the beef mixture.  Mix until it's all uniformly together.  It will be loose like… oh never mind.  I'll leave the analogy to you.

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop spoon the mixture into 6 or 8 "mounds" on the baking sheet.  Bake in the oven about 30 minutes until done.

Make the pasta according to the package directions.

When "mounds" are done remove and place on a plate.  Tent with foil to keep warm.  Spoon the drained pasta onto the baking sheet and stir to pick up all the yummy drippings and greasy bits.  Keep moving the pasta around on the sheet until it's well coated.

Serve "mounds" on top of pasta.  Top with chopped parsley if you wish.  (I bought fresh and forgot to use it!!  I wonder if it would have made a difference to my table mates?)

Here's the finished product:

Make at your own risk!  ;)

Sarah

Chicken Paella- FAIL! (UPDATED for reader Aileen!!!)

So the recipe I mentioned last time was this- Chicken Paella from the December 1955 issue of Women's Day.  It had so much promise.  It looked like it would be warm, comforting, and delicious.  But alas I was wrong...

Here's the hot mess:

Yum, hu?  I had to put the veggies on the plate so it didn't look totally depressing!

The Family's reaction:

Hubby- "It needs more flavor..."  Adds salt and Tabasco.  "It's ok I guess."  When asked if I should make it again he politely asked me not to.
DD15- Ok first a little background.  This one is a somewhat picky eater.  She also hasn't learned to cut her chicken herself or at least acts like it.  (Not sure how she functions when her mommy isn't around.  I'm afraid to ask.)  So the fact that this dish included bone in chicken didn't bode well from the start.  She took a bite of the rice and asked how to eat the chicken.  I rolled my eyes at Hubby, who was trying not to laugh.  Then she complained it was fatty. I don't need to continue with the details but suffice it to say Little Miss had a few carrots, said she was full, and went up to her room.
DD13-  Ate more than her brother and sister but claims she didn't like the meal.  I think she was thwarted by peer pressure.  She thanked me for dinner, something she usually does so she looks like "the good one"- an old family joke, but tonight I took her words to heart regardless of their sincerity.
DS9- My dear son, despite his advanced palate, has the same chicken cutting phobia as his oldest sister.    (Apparently removing the shell off king crab legs is ok but cutting chicken off the bone is just too much.)  He ate a bite of the rice and said it was good.  Then looked at the chicken and said it looked confusing. (What have I done to these children???)  He then finished the rice, had a few carrots, and asked what else was for dinner.  Can you guess the answer?????????????  Sigh...
The Pooch- He would have LOVED it.  But he has an allergy to chicken.  I kid you not.

But there's always a silver lining isn't there?  I'm thinking I can rework the recipe to only make the Spanish rice! (I've been looking for a good Spanish rice recipe for Taco night.  It's harder than you think.)  Also I got a manicure today.  This is a silver lining in and of itself, right?  And I didn't hack off a chunk of the freshly applied polish like I usually do when chopping onions.  Victory!

Happy New Year!

Sarah

Update starts here.   One of my readers, Aileen, asked if I would post this recipe as it sounded similar to one she used to make.  So, Aileen, here you go!

The recipe continued.

If I were to try it again I'd use more saffron and a way bigger pot!

Here's how much Saffron I used.  And it wasn't enough.

This was the pot I used.  Not too pretty...

Let me know how it goes!