Where Did The Time Go?

 Its been a bit since I took the time to post.  And to anyone following me, I sincerely hope you didn't miss me too bad!  I've been busy.  Like really busy.

September 17th was the day that I incorporated my company - Nosh Nibblz LLC, with the state of Arizona.  Woohoo! It's a healthy homemade pet treat business. The idea came to me when  I was asked by the ladies at the dog groomer's how I was doing since they last saw Teek (the sheltie) three months ago.  They knew I had been widowed last August, that I had found love again, and that I was working hard in my fiftieth year to start fresh. I was talking about the amazing cakes I had been baking, and that I thought I should go into business baking custom goodies.

And then it dawned on me. When I asked if there were any really healthy homemade pet treats around the area they said NO! Nosh Nibblz was born.  I went home and wrote the business plan in an afternoon.  The concepts and questions poured out of me as if my mind had been waiting to be poured out.  Fascinating.

Fascinating because my departed husband (God WHAT word do you use for a man you were married to for 28 years that passes unexpectedly!!!???) Anyway, he had several degrees, one of which was an MBA, and he was an entrepreneur. Always talking about this business and that which he was going to start, as soon as the timing was right and he had all of his ducks in a row. And all of the right equipment.  And certifications. It got to the point that when he began talking about yet another idea my eyes would glaze over. And that's a true regret of mine. Would he still be around if I had just LISTENED??? Yeah , well, welcome to the lovely world of the self-flagellation of grief.  It sure creeps up and smacks  you right on the back of the head sometimes. It's not logical at all. In my defense I was working more than full time, taking care of the house, shopping for food, etc. Soooo. 

Anyway, it really felt like Steve was right there just unlocking all of those ideas, asking me the tough questions, playing devil's advocate (I firmly believe he went to a heaven of his own, in the universe, and is having conversations with all of the brilliant minds that have passed)and generally encouraging me. Because step by step I

outlined my plan and pulled the trigger.  And so far so good.  My husband Terry is helping, we call it our company, and we're working hard to get our name out there and finish the steps we need to take to make it successful.

And guess what? We're having FUN!!! We get to make our own hours, wear what we want (I have decided my "uniform" will be leggings and a series of snarky or sweet or empowering t-shirts).  

And so that's where the time has gone.  Because I wanted to write this blog to share a slice of my life.  Not to let the blog BE my life, ya know?

Because I know better than most that life is short, and grab what happy you can, and hang on to it, and go ahead and take chances.  Life is not a leftover. 

 

Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Bake

 

A friend of mine recently hosted a Pampered Chef party on Facebook.  Well, it was hosted for her, by a woman who turns out to live in New York, (I live in Arizona and my dear friend lives in Australia) and by chance the host had the same sense of humor that I do! She’s also gone through some of the same catastrophic life events that I have, and we bonded immediately. I’ve never been one to meet a new friend virtually, but I’m convinced she’s a soul sister. 

She posted a recipe from the PC site, and I had to modify it quite extensively, because I didn’t have all of the ingredients. That’s ok.  In cooking as well as life you gotta work with what you got!

It amazed me again that my passion for food led to a new friendship.  Food seems to be the constant in my life, my metaphor, my mantra. Food nourishes us, body, and soul.  Food can be sweet, sour, salty, again like life. Many a dish has been seasoned by my tears.

I remember reading something from Deepak Chopra once that discussed the way we feel when we eat is just as important as what we eat.  Digest that for a moment.   Makes a lot of sense to say a blessing before you eat, doesn’t it? And it doesn’t matter if it’s a formal religious blessing or not, just be thankful and put yourself in a positive frame of mind.  Comfort Food.

So the next time you sit down to eat, take a moment, breathe, and think of something or someone you love.  Nourish your body and your soul.  This is the only journey we have. Life is not a leftover. 

 

 

 

8 chicken thighs

3 lemons

2 tsp pepper divided

2 tsp kosher salt divided

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp oregano divided

3 large potatoes, quartered

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1 can sliced black olives, drained

1 pound asparagus, ends removed, chopped into thirds

1 large onion, sliced roughly

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place chicken thighs in bowl, drizzle with olive oil, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt, and 1 clove garlic minced, zest on one lemon and juice of one lemon.  Let marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour.

While chicken is marinating, prep vegetables.

Mix all vegetables in a bowl with more olive oil, juice, and zest of one lemon, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper.

Place chicken thighs on sheet pan or large cookie sheet, spread vegetables around, pour any remaining juices over, slice remaining lemon thinly and place over meat and vegetables, and bake for about an hour and a half or until the temperature of the chicken thighs reaches 160 with an instant read thermometer, and potatoes are tender.

Serve with Zucchini Tsatziki Sauce

 

Zucchini Tsatziki Sauce

½ zucchini grated, not peeled

Juice and zest of one lemon

½ cup Greek yogurt plain

2 cloves garlic minced

Stir together, taste, and adjust seasonings.

Serve cold.

Piece of Cake

 We’ve all heard that old chestnut.  I’m still trying to figure out what it means, because to me, a mostly savory food kinda gal, cake is indeed NOT a piece of cake.  Baking, in my opinion, is much too unforgiving; recipes must be followed to the letter, and there is little room for leeway.  There is no fly by the seat of your pants in baking. (There is also no CRYING in baking!)  And sometimes (shudder) there are metric measurements to be measured.  (YIKES!) I remember the debate in 1975 over whether or not the US should convert to the metric system (like most of the rest of the world) and I hadn’t given it a thought until I started to teach myself the art of cake and pastry making at home. I cringed when I flipped open my new Great British Baking Show cookbook  “Amazing Cakes” and saw the ingredients listed using metric.  But then, whew, it listed the normal way (normal for me). I spent too much time with my calculator figuring out how many grams equaled one tablespoon, and how many grams in a stick of butter in my favorite butter yesterday – Kerry Gold.  And even though I spent the time looking up and calculating conversions, I STILL made a cake mistake! And that’s why I’m sharing this recipe.  I added too much butter to the cake.  About a half a stick too much.  I didn’t realize this until I had the cakes in the oven and was starting my cream cheese buttercream icing.  Oops.  Too late. Oh well, I thought to myself, lets just see what happens and I’ll write about it ! Turns out the cake tasted fine and was just a bit denser and less spongy.  I’m gonna blame it on the metric system… this recipe comes from https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes/pink-lemonade-scratch/   I love the tips I learned from it, and I’ll surely be using it often as I learn how to bake. 

 

 

INGREDIENTS 

FOR THE PINK LEMONADE CAKE LAYERS 

2 1/2 cups (285g) cake flour 

1 1/2 cups (300g) sugar 

1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt 

2 1/2 teaspoon (12g) baking powder 

1 1/2 sticks (12 T) (169g) unsalted butter....Cut into 1/2 inch slices onto waxed paper to soften slightly (still very cool 

to the touch). If it becomes too soft, refrigerate for a few minutes. Do not soften in microwave 

4 large eggs 

3/4 cup (190g) frozen pink lemonade concentrate (thawed) ( if you cannot find pink, you can use regular frozen lemonade) 

1/2 cup (121g) milk 

2 teaspoons (7g) lemon extract 

zest of 1 lemon 

pink coloring gel, if you want the cake layers to be pink....we used AmeriColor Deep Pink 

FOR THE LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 

2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, slightly softened but still cool to the touch 

2 8oz packages Cream Cheese (453 total gram weight) Use full fat cream cheese. Do not use reduced fat or cream cheese in the tub containers. Soften very slightly 

2 teaspoons (8g) lemon juice 

1 teaspoon (4g) lemon extract, optional 

Zest from 1 lemon, approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons (3g) 

6 to 6 1/2 cups (690g - 747g) powdered sugar, adding more if necessary 

INSTRUCTIONS 

FOR THE CAKE LAYERS 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 

Grease and flour two 8 x 2 inch round pans 

In the bowl of your mixer add the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Whisk to combine dry ingredients for 30 seconds. 

In a separate bowl, add the eggs, Pink Lemonade concentrate, lemon extract, zest & milk. 

With the mixer on low speed, add the slices of butter a few pieces at a time to the dry ingredients. Increase the mixer to medium speed and beat until the dry ingredients look crumbly like coarse sand. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl. 

Method is important when using Reverse Creaming. With the mixer on low speed SLOWLY ADD 1/2 of the egg mixture, increase to medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. The batter will become thick and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. ADD THE PINK GEL COLOR, Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 pourings, beating for 20 seconds after each addition. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. 

Let the cakes cool in the pan 10 minutes, then turn out. 

Works well for cupcakes 

Makes 7 cups batter 

FOR THE LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING 

Cut butter into 1/2 inch slices and add to the bowl of your mixer, beat until smooth. 

Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating until blended. 

Add the lemon juice and lemon zest. 1 teaspoon lemon extract, optional for a stronger lemon flavor. 

Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until well blended. 

This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly and remix. Do not microwave to soften 

Additional note – I added fresh raspberries to the top to make the cake look even more pretty. I think next time I’ll add it to the layers as well! 

Enjoy!