Author: Bri Sperry-Renfrew

N is for NOT giving up!

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 9 Comments

It was tempting to post about N being for NOTHING, or NIHIL, or NADA or NONE.  It would be easy to note that and be done.  But I signed up for this challenge, so I’m NOT giving up or giving so little so easily.

“NOT giving up” isn’t really a very original idea, though, is it?  Who needs another blog about perseverance?  Let’s go with something a little more edgy…like NIGHTMARE.  To keep on theme, we could even call it a “Recipe for a Nightmare,” but that’s not really what it is.  You could toss all the ingredients it took for my nightmare into your brain bowl, and you wouldn’t come up with the same result.

My nightmare was me being in college – some college, somewhere – none that I ever attended – and realizing that I had forgotten my schedule and missed all my classes.  I’ve had this nightmare before – several times.  It’s always either high school or college and I’m like a mouse in a maze trying to find my way to some classroom when I realize that I’m already too late.  I will have missed the class. I will have failed to be where I was supposed to be and will have no good explanation for it.

I don’t know why I consistently have this nightmare.  This never happened to me in real life.

But dreaming about college last night actually does make sense in way.  I went to see a movie that was about a guy’s experience in college.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie, so I guess it makes sense that I would find myself on a college campus in my dreams.  The movie was based on one my favorite books, and even though I knew going into it that the movie had to be different to make the best possible movie, I couldn’t help but keep making comparisons as I was watching the movie.  This was a lot of work for my little brain.  The movie provides plenty for one to think about, so in this case, it might have been better if I hadn’t read the book.  I could have just watched it for what it was.  Still, I appreciated so much about it.  It made me think about some hard things, but it also let me think about them in ways that allowed me to draw my own conclusions and see the beauty and the truth of a situation just through the imagery and dialogue (or lack of it.)  It didn’t tell me what I was supposed to think, as if I couldn’t figure it out for myself.  And in the end, the breath-taking end that it is, there is an element of “NOT giving up” on something.

If you haven’t seen the movie, Blue Like Jazz, based on the book by Donald Miller, I hope you’ll go see it.  It’s NOT your average “Christian movie.”

L is for Life

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 7 Comments

KKKKick me back to F for Failure to blog yesterday, but I got a little taste of L – an appetizer of sorts – a day early.  L is for LIFE, which in gloriously, challenging, bewildering and miraculous ways does go on in spite of blog challenges.  Life’s recipe changes moment by moment sometimes – sometimes bitter, often sweet.

I’m off to cooler climes with special people…

J is for: JUST The Best Recipe Ever

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 6 Comments

JUST in case you didn’t happen to get a copy of the 1993-94 MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) recipe book with my friend, Lee’s, recipe for chocolate cake, I’m re-printing it here and including a few of my little changes.  If I could eat only one thing for the rest of my life this would be it.  FYI, I usually only use about half the frosting that the recipe makes.  I use the rest on vegetables or whatever…JUST kidding!  Maybe.  Seriously, though, the key to this recipe is not getting the frosting too thick (I usually don’t use the full pound of powdered sugar) and putting it on the cake while it’s still hot, so it sinks in and makes more of a nice glossy icing.  JOY!  JOY!  JOY!

JUST the Best Chocolate Cake Ever

(That’s what I call it; my friend is more humble than that.)

Cake:

2 sticks margarine (I always use butter instead.)

1 cup water

1/4 cup cocoa (I use dark cocoa.)

2 cups sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, well-beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk (I usually sour 1 % milk with vinegar, but prefer buttermilk if I have it on hand.)

Frosting:

1/2 cup margarine (Again, I use butter.)

3 Tbsp cocoa (Again, dark.)

5 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cake:  Preheat oven to 400.  In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat bring margarine, water and cocoa to a boil.  Set aside.  In mixer bowl, mix together sugar, flour, soda and salt.   Add cocoa mixture to sugar mixture.  Add beaten eggs and buttermilk mixed with vanilla.  Beat well, pausing to scrape sides and bottom of bowl.  Pour into a greased and lightly floured 9 x 13* cake pan.  Bake for 25-27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.   Prepare frosting while cake bakes.  Frost while still warm.

Frosting:  Bring margarine, cocoa, and milk to a boil.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth.  Top with nuts (if your husband and kids will let you get by with it.)

*Again, I switched things up a little.  You’re supposed to use a 9 x 14 “sheet cake” pan, but I JUST prefer a thicker cake.

(J Day: A to Z Blogging Challenge April 2012)

I, eye, aye, Italian insects

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 8 Comments

Thanks to the interest and ingenuity of my youngest daughter, I actually have something to blog about for today’s entry in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.   Moments ago, this was our conversation:

Me:  Ugh!  I still have to figure out something to blog about today.

Daughter:  I – Italian food!  You can blog about that great lasagna you made the other night!

This is probably a much better idea than what I was considering: insects.  It was going to kind of be a justification for my son’s attempt to convince his teacher that he should be allowed to use Insects as the I food on his CHRISTMAS acronym food art activity.   He was inspired by a television show he’d seen and we’d discussed just days before – Animal Planet or Discovery Channel – one of those shows.  But the teacher was not impressed, so he had to use boring old ice cream.  If you’re feeling curious, adventuresome, and iron-stomached, check out this website: Girl Meets Bug.  I haven’t added any to the lasagna, but feel free to experiment!

Classic Lasagna With Italian Turkey Sausage

1 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausage

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 28 oz. cans whole tomatoes (puree in blender, undrained)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp pepper, divided

1/2 tsp salt

30 oz. fat-free ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 egg

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

15 lasagna noodles (or enough for 3 layers in a 9×13 lasagna pan)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook, rinse and drain noodles.  Set aside.    In a large saucepan cook sausage, onion, carrot, garlic and pepper flakes over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, basil and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  In a separate bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, and remaining pepper.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.  Layer one-third of the noodles, one-fourth of the meat sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers twice.  Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan.  Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.  Return to oven and bake uncovered 10 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden. (12 servings)

Hungarian Hodge Podge Helper

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 6 Comments

Perhaps it’s fitting that a hodgepodge of H words has had my little imagination hog-tied for today’s H entry in the blog challenge.

I’m sure that by now it’s quite apparent I’m only a faux foodie, so it won’t come as a shock if I confess that Hamburger Helper was the first idea that lassoed me.  Aside from the appealing alliteration (yes, it’s a sickness with me) I don’t shy away from the place it’s had in the life of my family.  I know; I know…even as I type this, a zillion healthy food bloggers are ready to unleash their hounds upon me.  I appreciate that.  I also appreciate the convenient and budget-friendly solution that the product provides.   If you’ve never been in one of those situations, I’m happy for you.  Many people are, however, as I was reminded a few months back when I helped put together food boxes for Kitchen on the Street, a faith-based, non-profit organization that is fighting hunger in my state and others.  Just as I’m thankful that my family can afford to eat a little healthier these days, I’m thankful for the hope that these groups are providing – Hamburger Helper and all.

If my Hamburger Helper days represent days of tight budgets and hectic schedules, the Hungarian restaurant, Novak’s in Albany, Oregon represents a hopeful adventurous time of discovering new places and new foods and the people who lovingly labor over them.  This was one of the gems my husband discovered when a job relocation took us to the Pacific Northwest.   The schnitzel, pearl noodles, and red cabbage (and everything else I ever ate from their menu) are heavenly, but this place is great for two other hot H words – hospitality and history.  If you never make it to Novak’s, I hope you have something comparable closeby.  Everybody needs a hearty helping of hospitality and history every now and then.

Glorious GORP!

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 2 Comments

I have been Going, Going, Going all this G-lovin’ day, so now at 8:59 p.m. PST I’m finally Getting around to the G word that I’ve been anticipating ever since I signed up for this Challenge.  Ah…the memories…the Rocky Mountain high induced by the memory of life on the trail with friends who mock your hairy legs.  It was there, over 30 years ago, amid the grand and glorious Rockies that I was first introduced to the concocted grub that would sustain and energize me and a handful of other friends and leaders from my church youth group over the course of a 5-day backpacking trip across the Continental Divide. Yes, hikers, I’m talking about good ol’ GORP.

Wikipedia reports that gorp might stand for “good old raisins and peanuts,” “granola, oats, raisins and peanuts,” or “gobs of raw protein.”  You get the idea: a snack mix that usually contains things like nuts, raisins, seeds, dried fruit and toasted oats.  Variations are endless: dried cranberries, chocolate covered raisins, other dried fruits (such as apricots), cereals such as Rice or Corn Chex and Cheerios, chocolate chips or butterscotch morsels, or M & M’s.

Alas, no gorp for me today, so I’m draGGinG myself to bed…

Friendship (without the bread) is…festive!

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 2 Comments

Am I the only female who fears fouling a friendship by foregoing Friendship Bread?  (By the way, welcome to “F Day” of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.)

Am I the only one who gets palpably flustered when I see a friend approaching with  a Ziploc bag of yeasty goo?  I’m not faulting the friend; it’s me.  I’m terrible at saying, “No.”  When I see that fragrant bag of starter, I see Failure with a capital F.  I know I will fail the friend and the floppy bag of bread waiting to be born.

My friend, Ruth, never approached me with a Ziploc bag, but she did graciously give me a recipe or two.  Conveniently, one of them starts with an F – Festive Tossed Salad.  Actually, she emailed it to me on December 9, 2004.  I’ve since re-typed it to share with other friends, but I’ve kept the original one I printed off.  Ruth and I now live 1,000 miles apart, but every time I pull that faded, stained, messy old thing from my recipe box, I have a chance to think of the lovely friend and talented cook that gave it to me.  I think I’d even let her approach me with a Ziploc bag.

Festive Tossed Salad

Dressing:

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 tbsp finely chopped red onion

1 tbsp lemon juice

2-3 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp prepared mustard

1/2 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a blender, food processor or salad dressing shaker and blend thoroughly.  Refrigerate until needed.

Salad:

6 cups torn Romaine or red leaf lettuce

4 cups spinach

1 cup crumbled Feta cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 medium pear or apple, cored and cubed

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup chopped cashews

2 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a salad bowl, combine the lettuce and other salad ingredients.  Drizzle with desired amount of dressing.  Serves 8-10.

E pluribus unum for a crowd

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 13 Comments

(Day 5 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge)
“E pluribus unum”

“Out of many, one”

A motto of America – the concept of a casserole

Think about it.  You take a set of diverse ingredients and combine them into one dish where they harmonize and enhance one another.  I mean no disrespect to America’s noble motto, although I do acknowledge that even the loosest association with that mystery glop they served in my college cafeteria might leave a bad taste in one’s mouth.  Conversely, such an association might bring a measure of dignity to the common casserole. ..

Husband:  “Sweetheart, what are we serving the Chesterfields for dinner Saturday?”

Wife: “But, of course, Darling!  That fabulous new e pluribus unum dish!

Husband:  “The one that goes so delightfully with a Malbec?”

Wife:  “Exactly!”

Husband:  “Magnificent!”

If this catches on, which I’m sure it won’t, I recommend using the acronym EPUC for “E pluribus unum – culinary.”  (I added the C so no one would get it confused with Emergency Power Units or the European Peace University.)

Here’s my EPUC recipe.  No mystery, no glop – just healthy diverse ingredients uniting to bring joy to your taste buds.

Enchilada EPUC

(This makes one 13×9 pan and an 8×8 pan.  Even if you’re not serving a crowd, you’ll want the extra for leftovers.)

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. sweet Italian turkey sausage

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 can sliced stewed tomatoes

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 tsp black pepper

16 medium flour tortillas

8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or more, depending on your diet!)

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray baking pans with cooking spray.  Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Saute the sausage, bell pepper, and scallions, stirring to crumble sausage.  Cook until the sausage is browned and the vegetables are just tender.  Stir in the chili powder and cumin.  Add the tomatoes, beans and pepper.  Reduce heat and simmer 4-5 minutes.

To assemble the enchiladas, spoon the turkey mixture (about 1/4 cup) onto each of the tortillas.  Roll up and place in the pans.   Top with the cheese.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned.

Day 4: Giving the “deviled” its due

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 13 Comments

So far my recipes for the A to Z blog challenge have included the oft-villainized cream cheese, breading, and bourbon.  If we’re going to continue down this highway to diet hell, why not throw in a good dose of deviling?

My Secrets from the Southern Living Test Kitchens book defines deviled this way: “A term that refers to highly seasoned food such as deviled eggs or deviled crab.  (Can I just insert my own salivating ‘Yum!’ here?)  The hot, spicy flavor might come from red pepper, mustard, hot sauce, chili powder, black pepper, or horseradish.”

The book goes on to provide a recipe which includes Dijon mustard and instant potato flakes.  It says the flakes make for a “full-bodied filling.”  Feel free to turn your eggs into voluptuous temptations, but for now I think I’ll stick to the boring basic-bodied variety.

In my opinion, one of the secrets to a heavenly deviled egg is starting off by mashing the yolks with a fork to a fine, crumbly consistency.  Lumpy deviled eggs are just dastardly.  Then I add a little salt, a little sweet pickle juice, Miracle Whip (NOT mayo) and plenty of mustard.  I cream this mixture with a hand mixer and then pipe it into the egg whites.  I prefer paprika for a garnish, but if you want to go Southern Living style, use fresh dill springs instead.

Isn’t deviling divine?

Day 3: CHOCOLATE…or carrots?

~ Bri Sperry-Renfrew ~ 13 Comments

“BIG C

little c

What begins with C?”

– Dr. Seuss’s ABC

In this case, Dr. Seuss and I don’t come to the same conclusion.  He was perhaps a little more creative with his camel on the ceiling, but my first thought was CHOCOLATE.  I have, however, already had my climactic moment with chocolate this week thanks to an NPR article.   It seems almost cavalier to encroach again upon its crave-worthy blessedness.   Instead I will bloviate on carrots.

Two things:  first, that well-intentioned maxim our mothers taught us about eating carrots to improve our vision has been proven false.  One has only to check out my thick glasses to confirm this fact. (I ate my carrots!  Honest!)  Secondly, if my husband and I are any example, the way you approach carrots says a lot about your relationship.  In our case, opposites most certainly attract.

In my appetizer-less, meat and potato family, savory ruled supreme.  Take for example the often mistaken-for-a-vegetable grain (and fellow C-word), corn.  Rather than canning the corn we grew, my mother cut it from the cob, stirred in half and half and butter and baked it before freezing it.  I still remember the summer she got the recipe from a fellow ranch wife.  Copacetic!

In my husband’s family, all vegetables received a healthy baptism by sugar.  We have had to compromise, which to be honest, usually means that my husband has to doctor up his own veggies.  With one recipe; however, I have succumbed.  That it includes bourbon may help its case. I think I’ll make these for Easter to go along with the chocolate bunnies.   That ought to ensure a good sugar coma.

Bourbon Carrots

3 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp bourbon

1 1/2 lbs baby carrots

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

3 Tbsp brown sugar

Chopped parsley for garnish

Bring water to boil in a 3 quart pan.  Add carrots, granulated sugar and salt.  Return to a boil and cook 5 minutes or until carrots are tender.   In a large skillet, melt butter and brown sugar over medium-high heat.  Stir in drained carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes or until well-coated.  Add bourbon.  Cook and stir 3 more minutes.  Remove from heat and transfer to serving dish.  Garnish with parsley.