2019 Food Blogging Here

In 2019 I really slowed down on posting...there were a total of 63 posts, almost half the average number in a year. Part of the time the reason was gardening. When I really find myself in the garden a lot it means that I have lost interest in being in the kitchen. 

Another reason was that I was fixing up the living room in the farmhouse. It is a good sized room 15' x 20' I think, plus it has high ceilings and I painted the ceiling plus crown moldings at the ceiling, which left me with a sore neck. Higher ceilings also mean larger walls. It was worth it because that room became the front bedroom, with a lovely view towards the far hills and large windows with lots of light coming in. That was in May and by July we were working on the other bedroom, which needed some structural work near the single window. Had major surgery in August, too. In October I had returned to working on the farmhouse with more painting of walls and trim. Our goal was to have it ready for our daughter and HER Sweetie and his son for Christmas, which we accomplished.  

Somewhere in there I also painted my bathroom in the main part of my own home. It's actually astonishing that I had time to blog at all!

This year, 2019, I'm only involved with one baking group for the full year, the Bread Baking Babes. I really enjoyed the Cake Slice Bakers, but I didn't need the calories involved when I would bake a cake a month, so I only baked with them for a while. Lately I've skipped a few of the bread challenges, too. Sweetie has returned to his weight loss diet and it really helps him to not be diverted by the fragrance of freshly baked bread. I still bake some of them, but try to do it so that we can easily portion the bake and freeze the extra right away. For example, in February for our BBB Anniversary, I made the Chelsea Buns, but froze most of them as soon as they were cool and iced. It's a Paul Hollywood recipe you may want to make. 

Another great recipe from the BBBs is the Sourdough Multigrain Sandwich Loaf one from May.

In June the Sourdough Raisin Rosemary Bread sparked the taste buds with zingy fresh rosemary and sweet golden raisins.

Another bread that features rosemary is Panmarino which uses 1/3 oz. of fresh rosemary.

The final bread of the year was more a pastry; Kringle. I made mine with raspberry, almond and lemon flavors, but caramel is good and maple walnuts works, too. I think this might be my favorite breakfast pastry and we have it at Christmas each year now.

I started the year with a delightful French Apple Cake, made the non-dairy way through substitutions.  Although I enjoy spiced applesauce type loaf cakes, this kind of apple cake with lots of thinly sliced apples and a rum-infused custardy cake is my favorite.

In February we celebrated my round-number birthday with a non-dairy spectacular Chocolate Layer Cake. You can use regular yogurt and butter if dairy isn't a problem for you and it will be even more delightful.

Maple, being another favorite winter flavor, had it's turn in Maple Blondies. 

For late summer and early fall when you have lots of jam, try the Jam Crostata - sort of a combination of cookie and tart.

A Whole Roast Chicken seems like a boring recipe, but I found one that is scented and flavored with lemon and fresh thyme, sealed in it's cooking vessel which keeps in the moisture, and is simple but delicious. Bookmark this one!

Again on the savory side, do you ever get pre-cooked chicken at the market? I made a sauce that will wake up that chicken. This Lemon Mushrooms and Capers Sauce will perk up your taste buds and would also be delicious with roast turkey or pork chops.

A great way to flavor chicken is with garlic and 11 Clove Garlic Chicken is a winner.

For Sweetie's birthday, we made InstantPot Cheesecake! So moist and delicious!! You do need an InstantPot and a 6" springform pan. It might be the best cheesecake ever.

 Sweetie loves his pies, too, so for Father's Day I baked a Fresh Peach and Ollalieberry Pie. Blackberries work well, too.

In April I had to make some little cakes to take to a meeting. I searched the Internet for a Chocolate Glaze That Hardens when cooled so that I could wrap up the little cakes individually and the icing wouldn't stick. This is a great recipe to have bookmarked and is great for cookies, too.

For chocoholics you should also try the Queen Mother Cake with Chocolate Ganache frosting.

Of course when you have too much zucchini in summer and early fall, turn to Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Frost it, or anything the needs frosting, really, with 1-Minute Fudge Frosting.

Pancakes with Tropical Flavors are easy to make and a real treat with pineapple, bananas, dates and pecans lending lots of flavor.

When it gets to be late August it's time here in Northern CA for Gravenstein Apple Sauce. There is some on top of those tropical pancakes.

Not all the recipes here are mine or from a cookbook or off the internet. Sweetie has his own way of doing a stir fry. This one includes Shrimp and Stir Fry.

Do try the Roasted Veggies Over Stuffed Tortellini With Pine Nuts. It's a delightful vegetarian meal that's perfect when summer and fall harvest gives you lots of veggies. 

For Thanksgiving you can skip the turkey and serve Roasted Butternut Squash 'Tenderloin'.

A sweet take of winter squash is the Pumpkin Pie Bars that are almost like have pumpkin pie, but easier.

Need a new cookie for your Christmas cookie tray? Try Gingerbread Espresso Crinkles. 

Another one is Frosted Coffee Bars, a recipe from a friend of mine.

For entertaining year 'round, try Fresh Triple Onion Dip. It has many of the flavors of the dip made with onion soup mix, but uses fresh ingredients and is too good to stop at one dip into it.

If you enjoy a bit of alcohol with your dessert the Tipsy Parson recipe can be adapted for eating with seasonal fruit year 'round. 

 You can also add alcohol to delicious home made Eggnog.

That's it for 2019, although there are still a dozen or so recipes not shown here, so feel free to check out the year right on the blog. In 'web view' there is a sort of calendar that you can use to look at a particular year or month in a year. I find that wandering around in past years keeps me inspired as I find a recipe that I haven't made in a long time, or a delicious one I had forgotten about. Happy cooking and baking!