This week's recipe is a very simple loaf cake, provided for us by a good friend's grandmother -- it is Nan's Lemon Loaf.
Nan’s Lemon Loaf
Loaf:
½ Cup of Margarine
1 Cup of white sugar
2 Eggs
1 ½ cups of All Purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup finely chopped Walnuts
½ cup milk
Topping:
1 Lemon (juiced)
¼ cup of sugar
Mix all ingredients.
Bake in greased loaf pan, lined with wax paper or 2 smaller pans at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and pour over juice of 1 lemon mixed with ¼ cup of sugar.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Sunday recipe time
It's Sunday again. The hardest thing I have to do each Sunday is decide which recipe to share today. Should it be a side? a main? a dessert?
The SU and I eat so much rice and chicken that many of the dishes we have will sound the same or be variants on the same old same old. It's a challenge.
Today I'm offering up Mini Cheesecakes. I found this recipe, originally in an old cookbook that I have had forever and a day (but lost when we moved from the house to the condo and have not been able to replace it). It was purchased from a street vendor, the ones that come around to your office to sell books and I've never seen it in a store. I'd love to replace it though. It was, I believe, called The Encyclopedia of Cooking. I got some very good recipes out of that book but this was my favourite.
I have made only one small change in the recipe from that book. In the original recipe it calls for cottage cheese that has been allowed to drain over night (so that it is dry) but I don't bother with this, just use the cottage cheese as is.
You will need small muffin tins, and small or med (I usually use med) paper muffin liners.
I have this old set of muffin tins that were my mothers, I love them as they are straight sided, most modern mini pans have angled sides. My mothers tins are probably older then me, show their age and are not pretty but they are perfect for this recipe.
If you have a large food processor this recipe couldn't be simpler but you will wow your friends and it will become a signature dish. I started to make these cheesecakes about 20 years ago and I cannot show up to a family function or friends event without them. I make them as gifts, by request and for parties I'm not even attending.
Mini Cheesecakes
For the cheesecakes
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese
1 cup of Sour cream (250 ml container)
2 cups of Cottage cheese (500 ml container) --Optionally drain overnight
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of sugar
For the graham crumb crust
1.5 cups of Graham crumbs
3/4 of a stick of melted butter.
Instructions
Melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave) and pour over the graham crumbs.
Line the muffin tins with the paper and press about a tsp of the graham crumb mix into the bottom of each paper cup. Don't make it to thin. A shot glass is ideal for pressing the crumbs down and firming them up.
Note: This recipe makes 48 mini cheese cakes (if you use small muffin tins - fewer if you use bigger tins). So you may have to make it in batches if you don't have enough tins. I have 16 (2 pans of 8) so I make it in 3 batches.
For the filling. This gets complicated so pay attentions.
Into the bowl of a food processor, place the cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese.
Turn on the mixer and allow to mix for about a minute.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Add the vanilla, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Add the sugar, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Continue to run the mixer for 1 minute until the mix has a consistency of melted ice cream.
Spoon the mix into the lined cups, 2-3 tbsp per liner. In my small cups this fills each cup.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 12 minutes exactly. The surface will dome up and look crusted or slightly firm but will collapse down a bit as they set.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, remove and allow to cool completely. At this point the cupcakes can be frozen in a sealed container, if it's just you and you don't want to eat the whole batch.
Serving suggestions:
The original recipe recommended using 1 can of Blueberry pie filling and topping each cake with a tsp of the filling, chill for 2-3 hours before serving.
I've done this with Blueberry and cherry filling.
Alternately, I've taken the cupcakes plain and set up a topping bar, of prepared and sugared fruits to top the cakes at the event, just setting the toppings in dishes around the cakes with small spoons and let people add their own.
Most generally, I will serve about a 1/3 of them plain, 1/3 with blueberry and a 1/3 with the cherry. Many people seem to really prefer these just plain, and actually that is the way I prefer them.
Fat savings: Since you're already only having 1/48th of the recipe (if you stick to only 1 cake) the caloric content of each cake isn't that bad. However you can reduce that further by using low fat cottage cheese, low fat sour cream and low fat cream cheese. I've used all three at the same time and no one had commented on any flavour difference.
The texture of these cakes is lite and not heavy at all, some cheesecakes are so heavy and rich I can't eat them, but these little suckers are so light, it doesn't even feel like you're eating a cheese cake at all.
Enjoy and pass it on.
The SU and I eat so much rice and chicken that many of the dishes we have will sound the same or be variants on the same old same old. It's a challenge.
Today I'm offering up Mini Cheesecakes. I found this recipe, originally in an old cookbook that I have had forever and a day (but lost when we moved from the house to the condo and have not been able to replace it). It was purchased from a street vendor, the ones that come around to your office to sell books and I've never seen it in a store. I'd love to replace it though. It was, I believe, called The Encyclopedia of Cooking. I got some very good recipes out of that book but this was my favourite.
I have made only one small change in the recipe from that book. In the original recipe it calls for cottage cheese that has been allowed to drain over night (so that it is dry) but I don't bother with this, just use the cottage cheese as is.
You will need small muffin tins, and small or med (I usually use med) paper muffin liners.
I have this old set of muffin tins that were my mothers, I love them as they are straight sided, most modern mini pans have angled sides. My mothers tins are probably older then me, show their age and are not pretty but they are perfect for this recipe.
If you have a large food processor this recipe couldn't be simpler but you will wow your friends and it will become a signature dish. I started to make these cheesecakes about 20 years ago and I cannot show up to a family function or friends event without them. I make them as gifts, by request and for parties I'm not even attending.
Mini Cheesecakes
For the cheesecakes
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese
1 cup of Sour cream (250 ml container)
2 cups of Cottage cheese (500 ml container) --Optionally drain overnight
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup of sugar
For the graham crumb crust
1.5 cups of Graham crumbs
3/4 of a stick of melted butter.
Instructions
Melt the butter in a small saucepan (or in the microwave) and pour over the graham crumbs.
Line the muffin tins with the paper and press about a tsp of the graham crumb mix into the bottom of each paper cup. Don't make it to thin. A shot glass is ideal for pressing the crumbs down and firming them up.
Note: This recipe makes 48 mini cheese cakes (if you use small muffin tins - fewer if you use bigger tins). So you may have to make it in batches if you don't have enough tins. I have 16 (2 pans of 8) so I make it in 3 batches.
For the filling. This gets complicated so pay attentions.
Into the bowl of a food processor, place the cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese.
Turn on the mixer and allow to mix for about a minute.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Add the vanilla, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Add the sugar, while the mixer is running (through the feeder)
Continue to run the mixer for 1 minute until the mix has a consistency of melted ice cream.
Spoon the mix into the lined cups, 2-3 tbsp per liner. In my small cups this fills each cup.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350F for 12 minutes exactly. The surface will dome up and look crusted or slightly firm but will collapse down a bit as they set.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, remove and allow to cool completely. At this point the cupcakes can be frozen in a sealed container, if it's just you and you don't want to eat the whole batch.
Serving suggestions:
The original recipe recommended using 1 can of Blueberry pie filling and topping each cake with a tsp of the filling, chill for 2-3 hours before serving.
I've done this with Blueberry and cherry filling.
Alternately, I've taken the cupcakes plain and set up a topping bar, of prepared and sugared fruits to top the cakes at the event, just setting the toppings in dishes around the cakes with small spoons and let people add their own.
Most generally, I will serve about a 1/3 of them plain, 1/3 with blueberry and a 1/3 with the cherry. Many people seem to really prefer these just plain, and actually that is the way I prefer them.
Fat savings: Since you're already only having 1/48th of the recipe (if you stick to only 1 cake) the caloric content of each cake isn't that bad. However you can reduce that further by using low fat cottage cheese, low fat sour cream and low fat cream cheese. I've used all three at the same time and no one had commented on any flavour difference.
The texture of these cakes is lite and not heavy at all, some cheesecakes are so heavy and rich I can't eat them, but these little suckers are so light, it doesn't even feel like you're eating a cheese cake at all.
Enjoy and pass it on.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Job hunting blues
OK it's been 6 months of unemployment. In that time I've sent hundreds of resumes, have had only a few interviews and have blown through most of my savings.
One of the interviews I had was with a provincial government agency that is looking for trainers. I actually had 2 interviews with them. The first was with the HR manager and it seemed that he really liked me, we connected and as result I was advanced onto the second round. I was also told that they were only seeing two individuals and that I was one of the 2.
However, the hiring manager and I did not connect and so I did not get the job. I assumed it had gone to the the other person they were seeing.
A week or so after I received the results, saying thanks but no thanks, I heard from a head hunter about this great job. We talked and discovered it was the same job with that same government agency. I declined to pursue it with him, since I'd already been rejected.
That all was in late February or Early March. It's now June. I've had no less then six head hunters call (2 from the same firm) about my ability to meet the challenges of this job. I'm more then qualified. The second last headhunter tells me they deal with this particular agency regularly and that they are a pain in the ass. To quote him: "They go out of their way to find reasons to reject candidates."
That isn't what is causing my blues, well not that alone though it is part of it. I cannot seem to see what I'm doing wrong or if I'm doing anything wrong. The positions I've been applying for are well within my abilities, the people I've spoken with have all told me my resume is impressive, my qualifications solid, I'm great in interviews and always get good feedback but still nothing. I do realize the economy is in the shits and that the job market is flooded and so employers can pick and choose but still... it boggles the mind.
Last week, a friend of friend told me about a job her friend was hiring for. I have the experience, I have the ability and the desire. She asked for my resume to pass on to her friend. Great I sent it.
He reads it at her place (he happened to be there when I sent it) and tells her he's very impressed and that my resume is solid. Definitely wants to see me. Subsequently, he emails me to ask if I'm available for a phone interview with HR. I answer that I'm available at his convenience. He emails me right back to ask if I could come in on Friday for a in person interview and that HR will contact me about the phone interview, I tell him definitely I'm available. Then silence. Nada, the week goes by. I email to ask about HR no word from them. I get a phone interview invitation from another firm, scheduled for Friday, I email the first guy to say I can still meet Friday but I've booked another appointment, just so he can work his schedule around that. Nada.
Friday comes, I phone him in person - but only get voicemail. I leave him a message asking for either a contact in HR or to hear from him, I'm still interested and would like to meet with him to discuss the role.
Not a peep. So strange, he just dried up or lost interest or who knows. The friend of a friend that put us in contact is puzzled and pissed at him, she says she is going to find out what happened. I thanked her but said that she'd done her part the rest is between him and I. Still if she wants to find out what the hell happened, I'd be thankful.
So this week dons and I'm feeling blue and it just hit me all at once and on Tuesday I really began to feel depressed. I met our real estate agent on Monday to discuss selling the condo.
My phone is completely silent. The job boards are drying up, getting nowhere with cold calls, emails and resume submissions go unanswered. It all just gets to you after a while.
Then just when I'm down, I'm blue and feeling defeated I get a call. The second phone interview, the one from last Friday, well they liked me. As a follow up I had submitted a few questions to them via email. They called to answer my questions and invited me to an in person meet.
Now I don't have anything yet but an appointment but I suddenly felt the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders. Somebody liked me. Somebody took the time to speak to me. It was exactly what I needed at that moment. The SU says I'm acting like I've got the job already and warns me not to get too excited. And while it is a good job and I would be a good fit for it, I'm not excited in that I think I'm a shoe in or anything. I realize I'll have to fight for this job, give killer interviews and do very well on the skills testing they are giving me and then kick ass in a sample training session. So it's a long haul and I could drop the ball at any of those blocks.
No, what I'm excited about is that I know that there is hope, it's not hopeless. My submissions are being seen and reviewed. I'm not just sending endless emails, faxes and letters out into the empty ether but that they are going to people and some of those people will like me enough to speak to me. And that's all I can ask, beyond that it's up to me to win the role. Whatever role that may end up being.
So, I've been blue, I'm down but I'm not out and I'll comeback stronger and meaner and fitter ready to fight for my life and the life that I want.
One of the interviews I had was with a provincial government agency that is looking for trainers. I actually had 2 interviews with them. The first was with the HR manager and it seemed that he really liked me, we connected and as result I was advanced onto the second round. I was also told that they were only seeing two individuals and that I was one of the 2.
However, the hiring manager and I did not connect and so I did not get the job. I assumed it had gone to the the other person they were seeing.
A week or so after I received the results, saying thanks but no thanks, I heard from a head hunter about this great job. We talked and discovered it was the same job with that same government agency. I declined to pursue it with him, since I'd already been rejected.
That all was in late February or Early March. It's now June. I've had no less then six head hunters call (2 from the same firm) about my ability to meet the challenges of this job. I'm more then qualified. The second last headhunter tells me they deal with this particular agency regularly and that they are a pain in the ass. To quote him: "They go out of their way to find reasons to reject candidates."
That isn't what is causing my blues, well not that alone though it is part of it. I cannot seem to see what I'm doing wrong or if I'm doing anything wrong. The positions I've been applying for are well within my abilities, the people I've spoken with have all told me my resume is impressive, my qualifications solid, I'm great in interviews and always get good feedback but still nothing. I do realize the economy is in the shits and that the job market is flooded and so employers can pick and choose but still... it boggles the mind.
Last week, a friend of friend told me about a job her friend was hiring for. I have the experience, I have the ability and the desire. She asked for my resume to pass on to her friend. Great I sent it.
He reads it at her place (he happened to be there when I sent it) and tells her he's very impressed and that my resume is solid. Definitely wants to see me. Subsequently, he emails me to ask if I'm available for a phone interview with HR. I answer that I'm available at his convenience. He emails me right back to ask if I could come in on Friday for a in person interview and that HR will contact me about the phone interview, I tell him definitely I'm available. Then silence. Nada, the week goes by. I email to ask about HR no word from them. I get a phone interview invitation from another firm, scheduled for Friday, I email the first guy to say I can still meet Friday but I've booked another appointment, just so he can work his schedule around that. Nada.
Friday comes, I phone him in person - but only get voicemail. I leave him a message asking for either a contact in HR or to hear from him, I'm still interested and would like to meet with him to discuss the role.
Not a peep. So strange, he just dried up or lost interest or who knows. The friend of a friend that put us in contact is puzzled and pissed at him, she says she is going to find out what happened. I thanked her but said that she'd done her part the rest is between him and I. Still if she wants to find out what the hell happened, I'd be thankful.
So this week dons and I'm feeling blue and it just hit me all at once and on Tuesday I really began to feel depressed. I met our real estate agent on Monday to discuss selling the condo.
My phone is completely silent. The job boards are drying up, getting nowhere with cold calls, emails and resume submissions go unanswered. It all just gets to you after a while.
Then just when I'm down, I'm blue and feeling defeated I get a call. The second phone interview, the one from last Friday, well they liked me. As a follow up I had submitted a few questions to them via email. They called to answer my questions and invited me to an in person meet.
Now I don't have anything yet but an appointment but I suddenly felt the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders. Somebody liked me. Somebody took the time to speak to me. It was exactly what I needed at that moment. The SU says I'm acting like I've got the job already and warns me not to get too excited. And while it is a good job and I would be a good fit for it, I'm not excited in that I think I'm a shoe in or anything. I realize I'll have to fight for this job, give killer interviews and do very well on the skills testing they are giving me and then kick ass in a sample training session. So it's a long haul and I could drop the ball at any of those blocks.
No, what I'm excited about is that I know that there is hope, it's not hopeless. My submissions are being seen and reviewed. I'm not just sending endless emails, faxes and letters out into the empty ether but that they are going to people and some of those people will like me enough to speak to me. And that's all I can ask, beyond that it's up to me to win the role. Whatever role that may end up being.
So, I've been blue, I'm down but I'm not out and I'll comeback stronger and meaner and fitter ready to fight for my life and the life that I want.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Recipe Sunday errrr Monday
We had a great weekend, went camping with my sister and her husband. Not a lot of sleep and I came home smelling strongly of campfire.
Everything, including me, went right into a wash.
As a result I could not post a recipe for Sunday, so I'm posting one today.
Meatloaf
This is my mother's meat loaf. We like it, it's comfort food and it's pretty good.
1 lb of lean ground beef
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 egg
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled
1-2 drops of Sesame oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optionally - Add 1 tbsp of Cayenne or Chili Pepper
1 can of Campbells Tomato soup.
Mix the meat, bread crumbs, the raw egg, Sesame Oil, Garlic and herbs, the green pepper and Onions in a bowl. Optionally add in the Cayenne or Chili Pepper and Salt and Pepper to your liking.
Add half of the can of Tomato Soup into the mix. Reserve the remaining soup for later.
You will want the meat to be somewhat wet but dry enough to hold a shape when formed into a loaf. Add additional bread crumbs if it's too wet, but not too much or your loaf will be dry.
Form the meat mix into a loaf shape and place the shaped loaf into a bread pan (or rectangular baking dish).
Push the boiled eggs into the body of the loaf, until they are completely covered by the meat mix, in a strainght line so that the eggs form a line through the meat mix. Reshape the top as needed in the pan.
Take the remaining tomato soup and spread evenly across the top of the meat loaf. Sometimes my mother would wait and do this last step until the meat was almost cooked but mostly it was just added at the beginning of the cooking process.
Place the loaf pan on the centre rack of an oven that has preheated to 350F. Cook for 30-45 minutes until the meat is done.
Serve with mashed potatoes, and freshly steamed vegetables.
There is nothing like good old fashioned comfort food on a cold cold June 1st. This past weekend has been exceptionally cold for the end of May and Early June and so I've been thinking of these old comfort foods.
Enjoy.
Everything, including me, went right into a wash.
As a result I could not post a recipe for Sunday, so I'm posting one today.
Meatloaf
This is my mother's meat loaf. We like it, it's comfort food and it's pretty good.
1 lb of lean ground beef
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 egg
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled
1-2 drops of Sesame oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Optionally - Add 1 tbsp of Cayenne or Chili Pepper
1 can of Campbells Tomato soup.
Mix the meat, bread crumbs, the raw egg, Sesame Oil, Garlic and herbs, the green pepper and Onions in a bowl. Optionally add in the Cayenne or Chili Pepper and Salt and Pepper to your liking.
Add half of the can of Tomato Soup into the mix. Reserve the remaining soup for later.
You will want the meat to be somewhat wet but dry enough to hold a shape when formed into a loaf. Add additional bread crumbs if it's too wet, but not too much or your loaf will be dry.
Form the meat mix into a loaf shape and place the shaped loaf into a bread pan (or rectangular baking dish).
Push the boiled eggs into the body of the loaf, until they are completely covered by the meat mix, in a strainght line so that the eggs form a line through the meat mix. Reshape the top as needed in the pan.
Take the remaining tomato soup and spread evenly across the top of the meat loaf. Sometimes my mother would wait and do this last step until the meat was almost cooked but mostly it was just added at the beginning of the cooking process.
Place the loaf pan on the centre rack of an oven that has preheated to 350F. Cook for 30-45 minutes until the meat is done.
Serve with mashed potatoes, and freshly steamed vegetables.
There is nothing like good old fashioned comfort food on a cold cold June 1st. This past weekend has been exceptionally cold for the end of May and Early June and so I've been thinking of these old comfort foods.
Enjoy.
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