annie blog

Happy Friday, y’all!

It’s a sunny Friday here in Starkville. Spring keeps teasing us….but she isn’t here to stay, yet. Meanwhile, I am thoroughly spoilt when it comes to weather. I don’t like the cold, anymore. When I lived in St. Louis, I found chilly weather to be invigorating. Now, I just find it to be cold. That, and I want to wear sandals.

During the recent bit of winter weather that has come to be known around here as “the snow that wasn’t” I did quite a bit of baking. It’s a compulsion, really, and one that I can do without a problem because of these folks that I live with and the rate of food consumption around here. For instance, these cinnamon rolls, from Smitten Kitchen, well, they were gone after one breakfast. (I filled them with cinnamon, sugar and butter instead of the cranberries….but when cranberry season rolls around, I shall be making those buns, stat.)  This is now my go-to cinnamon roll recipe.  Yes.  I like it better than Pioneer Woman’s.  Also, Smitten’s  pita recipe? It was great. I made the pitas and we had them with salmon croquets inside along with a tartar sauce from the awesome cookbook, Keepers. Jon said, “I think this is the first pita I’ve ever eaten.” And, you know what, they are so good that one might think that even if he had eaten a pita before — which he probably hasn’t, odd as that may sound. My man has a very extensive and detailed food memory.

Speaking of bread..I guess that I’ll make some King Cake this weekend.  Fat Tuesday is just around the corner…

Also, just around the corner is the latest song in Jon’s song project.  I didn’t call your attention to his last two songs and they were good ones — so I really should have!  You can listen to all of his songs right here on his blog.  The next one up is inspired by Iggy Pop, I think.  It’s great!

Speaking of music, have y’all heard of St. Paul and the Broken Bones?  They just released their debut album and it’s kind of amazing.  You can hear an interview with them and hear some of their music, too, here.  They are based out of Birmingham, Alabama. I’m really excited about this band! The lead singer looks like an accountant but sings like Otis Redding. If you like soul music, you should check them out.

Here they are doing “Call Me”:

St. Paul and the Broken Bones performs “Call Me” for World Cafe from WXPN FM on Vimeo.

Alright, time to have your mind blown. Did you know that President John Tyler’s grandsons are still alive. Yes, that would be the John Tyler, the 10th president of the USA. Crazy.

I’m kind of astounded at this DIY of a temporary backsplash that I found over on Apartment Therapy. It’s really good looking. If it were mine, I’d say it was my permanent backsplash and call it a day.

Speaking of DIY…this DIY confetti tablecloth looks cute.

I found this article about the little French girl who played with wild beasts to be fascinating. Also, the picture of her embracing that giant frog was sweet…

Speaking of kids and animals, this pinterest page entitled It Wants To Eat Your Young is hilarious. I think that the one of the baby and the whale at the bottom of the page might be my favorite.

Okay, I’ve got to go check over Charlie’s math before we get started on the next subject….making banana bread.  (This one!)  It’s more baking, I know.  Perhaps it is a sickness, after all…

One last thing.  Richard Grant is a travel writer from Britain.  He lives in the Mississippi Delta.  You’d probably find all of his articles interesting.  I particularly liked the one about Morocco and loved the one about St. Lucia.  He has a way of writing that really makes you feel like you’re there.  Like you are experiencing everything that he is.  And, he has a sense of humor, too, as you will see if you read this Delta Crime Report.  He’s taken to reading the local papers and putting together a little list of the crazy crime happenings over there.  What a hoot.  I particularly like the “O Brother Where Art Thou” feeling of this one.

Happy Friday, y’all!

I really love slaw. Don’t know what it is, maybe it’s the crunchy, maybe it’s the creamy, it’s probably all of it together. This is my favorite new recipe. Hope you like it!

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon (I use more) grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
One half teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Whisk together the vinegar, ginger, mayonnaise, lime juice, and sugar. Slowly whisk in the sesame oil until it is emulsified, then mix in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To a large bowl, add:

One small red cabbage, thinly shredded
A handful of baby carrots cut into matchsticks
Four or five sliced radishes
Four or five scallions, white and pale green parts only, sliced thinly on the diagonal

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to combine. Check the seasonings and add more salt and pepper if needed.

This is also pretty topped with toasted sesame seeds.

I’m endeavoring to do better with my menu planning. I don’t know about y’all, but, if I’m not careful I can find myself in the car on the way to Kroger every single day. And that’s not all that helpful to my schedule. So, I’m going to list the stuff we’re having this week here. Maybe you’ll see something that you like to try, or something like that. Also, including it online means that if I lose my little slip of paper with all the planning on it I don’t have to rack my brain.

And that’s always a good thing.

Fish tacos with lime sauce and pineapple salsa

Pasta with cream sauce and tomatoes and artichokes

Quiche

Pork tenderloin sliders with hoisin sauce and sweet potato fries

Bacon fried rice

Chicken with pan sauce, rice, and roasted cauliflower

Huevos rancheros with fruit and cornbread muffins

Creamy carrot coconut soup

Fried chicken from Kroger because I am slacker sometimes

I should just mention here that several of these recipes come from the new cookbook, Keepers, by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion.
It’s a good one.

Happy Monday y’all!

This is a picture of the Saturday morning mess caused by biscuit making. Cheese biscuits are always on the menu.

Hey, y’all, my bookish Southern man, Jon, has written a song.

Guess what the song is named? Coincidence…it’s called Bookish Southern Man.

It isn’t really autobiographical, though.

What does it do? It grooves, y’all!

What do you think?

This is a great salad, y’all!

I’ve been meaning to share it for awhile but haven’t gotten around to it.

My haven’t-got-around-to-it list is epically long. What about yours?

Anyway, about this salad. I call it a very southern salad because it uses the extras from cornbread to craft a salad with buttermilk dressing. And y’all know how southerners are about their cornbread….(though, I must admit that this southern gal has not one, but two sons who will not eat cornbread. This baffles me.)

This is an excellent make ahead salad since you marinate the kale in the dressing beforehand. This salad is also great news for the lazy among us (I count myself in this number) because you can make the dressing, marinate the kale, and serve the salad all in the same bowl.

For the salad you will need:

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon White wine or apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

About 6 cups of kale, ribs removed and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick pieces. Or, use baby kale.

Chopped smokey ham or diced, cooked bacon – maybe a third of a cup

1/3 cup finely grated extra sharp white cheddar cheese

2 cups of three-quarter inch cubed pieces of cornbread, lightly toasted

In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt and whisk to blend. Add the kale and toss to combine well. Let the kale salad marinate until the leaves become tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. (at this point, the salad can be covered and refrigerated for about two hours) Mix the ham or bacon and cheese into the kale salad. Then very gently fold the cornbread into the salad. Season with cracked black pepper and serve.

Jon has a new song, y’all.

It’s called Gotta Work and I think it’s funny and true.

One of the verses references Thales. Y’all probably know about him — I didn’t, or if I ever did, the part of my brain concerning pre-Socratic philosophy had been bypassed or overwritten or something.

Be sure to listen to the mouth trumpet. It’s tremendous!

This little buster here asks:

Hey, why don’t we glue a toupee on a bald eagle’s head?

Why not, indeed. Though, I’m sure that the actual gluing would be a spectacle to behold.

But, agh, we don’t want to tax our brains with thinking, no. We are giddy! It is Friday!

Have a happy day, y’all!

So, my Jon made a song, y’all!

I like it for many reasons. It’s his, it moves, it’s jangly.

Check it out here.

Something fun for your Saturday!

I admit it. Sometimes I’m an ingredient snob. To illustrate my position here, you should know that I don’t insist on organic or locally sourced or pesticide free anything like that — though I think those things are great.

I really do.

My snobbishness mainly consists in wanting to actually understand what is in my food. You know, words I can actually pronounce.

Since I do a lot of whole foods cooking, I actually don’t run into this problem all that much.

But I do have a problem with it when my baby asks for a cake with frosting from a can.

So, I hunted around and thankfully found one that was choclatey, glossy, and having the exact consistency as that I could get out of a can.

Here it is.

It is awesome. Also, it can be achieved with butter, sugar, cocoa, cream, sour cream and espresso (optional).

It’s a keeper!

Happy Tuesday!!

Now, I know this recipe is a bit late for the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, but it would be perfect for your Valentine’s Day celebration.

Look at me — being super early, for once. Ha!

This is yummy , and refreshing, and would be delightful for just about any other time of year so, you know, it’s a good one to have in your repertoire.

Pomegranate margaritas. Yes, please.

If you need to serve six people, I suggest doubling the recipe.

These are yummy y’all!

Happy Monday!