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Showing posts from November, 2011

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

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The rocky economy of contract negotiations and lay offs at the factory where my dad worked sent my mom back to the job market when I was a toddler. The truth is that my mother's feminism was borne more of necessity than her desire to be independent. One dish dinners were the way to go and one of my favorites was chicken and rice. Okay, so I am guilty of being a little snobby about recipes that start with a can of soup. But I loved that casserole and so came up with an alternative that has a little more sophisticated flavor but still satisfies the comfort food zone. There's a song lyric Farmer Paul and I sang to our sons when they were young, "Chicken is nice with palm butter and rice." It's a fun song, one of those catchy tunes kids like and laugh at. There's no butter in my recipe. I tend to substitute olive oil every chance I get.  I'm willing to bet folk singer Dave Van Ronk would have enjoyed this casserole just the same! CHICKEN & RICE 4 b

Making the best of it...

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The lights flickered but never went out at our house but lots of friends and family were left powerless from Saturday's Halloween Blizzard. My nearly 80 year old mother held out stubbornly for two nights wrapped in a sweater and a comforter flipping through magazines by candlelight. It took promises of hot cocoa, Captain America on DVD and the recliner. She's camping out here until her power is restored so we're making the best of it. And enjoying every bite! MOM'S APPLE CRANBERRY GINGER CAKE 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup olive oil 2 eggs 2/3 cup molasses 1/2 cup applesauce 1/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce 2 1/2 cups cake flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Dash salt 1/4 cup hot water Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch round (or square) pan using baking spray with flour. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and oil. Beat in eggs, molasses, applesauce and cra