Recipes

I have provided a short snippet for each post, so hopefully it give you an idea as to what the entire article is about. Just click on the link, to read the entire article.

Recipes...

Here are just a few of the recipes that I have posted. All have been tried by me.

Focaccia Bread Recipe

Now, if you do not have a sourdough starter and would like to make one, you can visit How to Make Sourdough Starter to get started. If you would just like to make the bread, but without using a sourdough starter, please visit Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice at the above link and you can follow her recipe. While there, please take the time to view some of her other mouth-watering recipes.



French Fry Dip

As you may or may not know, I like to make our own home-made fries (yep, another shameless recipe link) and I can think of nothing better to go with those fries, than a good dip. With this in mind, I decided to experiment with a dip I found over at Super Mommy to the Rescue (by the way, I stole the photo from Super Mommy, because her picture turned out a lot better than mine). Well, to the great shock and disbelief of my wife, I actually kept track of what and how much I added, so I am able to share this recipe with you. Although, we used this batch for the fries, this dip can be easily paired with chips or any veggies of your choice.



Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup

Last summer, we had several huge batches of tomatoes from our garden and when the first batch landed in the kitchen, I did what I normally do with our tomatoes: make a batch of salsa. Well, that first batch gave us twelve quarts and with the next harvest we gained an additional fourteen quarts. So, with the thought of yet another harvest coming and finding ourselves chin deep in salsa (yup, shameless plug), my wife and I decided that we should think about doing something else. Putting our heads together, we came up with a brilliant plan: what about soup?



Thanksgiving Day Turkey

The above photo is a pretty good representation of what our turkey will look like when completed. You would have thought that after doing this for so many years, I would have thought to at least take one picture of ours. Unfortunately, whenever I do think about it, it's too late. Anyway, this is how I've been preparing our turkey for the past several years. It comes out very moist (thanks to the turkey bag) and the aromatics really give the turkey an added boost.
As an aside, even though it has never happened, I always have the fear that our turkey will turn out like the one an Christmas Vacation. Anyone else have this fear?



Salsa Recipe

Once again the tomatoes have invaded our home. From the time of only having one or two available to use, we now have 30-40 that are ripe and ready to go (what you see in the photo is less than half of the tomatoes we used). So, what to do with them all? Well today, I plan to make a few batches of salsa, but later harvests will be used for soup, tomato base, and just plain canning. This recipe is for a very large batch of tomatoes, if you have a much smaller harvest, you will need to halve or quarter this recipe. Now, on to the recipe...



How to Make Sourdough Bread Starter

Being that the cost of a loaf of sourdough bread is roughly $4.00, I decided that since we are trying to save money, why not try and make my own sourdough bread. So, with this thought echoing in my mind, I went on a journey to discover what I would need to do. I have made regular bread before, but I have never even attempted sourdough, basically because with terms like starter and sponge...it seems a little intimidating. However, as you will see, it is pretty easy.

Making a Biga


Making Italian Bread


Making Tangy Potato Salad

My wife and her family are having a get-together this weekend, so I once again had to open my big mouth and volunteer to make something. So, now I am now stuck with making potato salads for my wife and her family. Since I must now make not one, but two salads (again, the big mouth comes into play), I decided to give you the recipes so you can try them as well. The one today is the recipe I recreated from my grandmother's salad. I plan to begin this recipe on Thursday, which will allow the flavors in the salad to really become pronounced. As you will see, this makes a large amount of potato salad.



Apple Pie with Crème Fraîche and Black Pepper

Okay, I know it's strange posting the deserts first, but I like to make them a few days in advance. This way, they are not only done and out of the way, but it also allows the flavors to blend together longer. It may seem strange to use Crème Fraîche (a rich sour cream) and black pepper in an apple pie, but one taste of this pie and you may be hooked.

Dieting/Fitness

I have provided a short snippet for each post, so hopefully it give you an idea as to what the entire article is about. Just click on the link, to read the entire article.


Dieting/Fitness...

Counquering a Weight Loss Plateau

n August, 2007, I began my weight loss program. I weighed 296 pounds of pure, unadulterated fat (can we say Jabba the Hutt??). In November, I weighed 254 pounds, with 15 of that in muscle. In December...254lbs. In January....254lbs. In February....254lbs. What is going on here!!!! I am killing myself with these exercises and this diet, but I'm still at the same weight!!! I'm losing inches, but I'm not losing pounds. I am no longer a fitness nut. I QUIT!!!!! Has this ever happened to you?



Why you Need to Add Strength Training to your Routine

Don't you just love counting calories? I know, I hate it too, but it is an important part of any lifestyle devoted to staying fit. Dieting is only part of the equation when trying to lose weight. You must also adhere to some sort of exercise program, which includes both weight training and cardio workouts. Why must I do both? Well, you CAN get away with doing only one or the other, but if you REALLY want to lose weight, and lose it quickly, you need to include both in your weight loss regimen.



How to Find the Right Exercise Equipment

Okay, you have decided to take the plunge and stick with this exercise thing, but you want to buy exercise equipment that will last past the 90 guarantee. We have all been there: you’re rocking-out to your tunes and pedaling away on your stationary bike, only to see yourself flying over the top of the bike and landing on the floor with a handle in your hand. What happened?



My Total Gym and Me

As you may know, one of the pieces of equipment I use in my exercise routine is the Total Gym. Well, over the course of a few months, I have had several people (OK, 3 people) ask whether it really works. So, in response to those "several" comments I will, over the course of the next few days, give you my review of the Total Gym.



Tips Before Starting your Weight Loss Routine

s you begin your new fitness routine, there are a few things that you might want to do. By taking these few extra steps, you will be able to monitor your weight-loss much more effectively. These few steps should take you only a few minutes to complete and by doing so, you will have those all-important baseline measurements that you can use to show off to your friends at a later time.



Exercise Delemma

I am facing a dilemma: I need to change-out my exercises, but I really do not want to miss-out on the benefits of the exercises I am currently doing. Now that I have totally confused you with that statement, let me try to explain. For the past several weeks, I have been concentrating on strength training. That is, I have been using my Total Gym almost exclusively. Yes, that's right, I have been sadly neglecting my Nordic track.

Friday Fotos: 5/7

I sense a slight problem ahead...

courtesy of... failblog.org