I hope everyone enjoyed December and if you celebrate the holidays I wish that yours were filled with happiness. I believe we could all do with a little bit of happy to send 2009 off on the right foot (or, could we say to boot it out the door come midnight?)

Things here Shikishi land have been silly amounts of busy with school and work and school again. Not to mention crafting for the holidays and cooking and did I mention school? I have a feeling this later will be causing a fair dent in my blogging until I settle back into a routine. Currently just trying to stay with the class is proving difficult!

However I have lots of yummy foods planned in the coming months – I cannot wait until spring when I can test run a recipe for Berry Pudding that looks absolutely divine! I am also thinking of joining up with one of the local craft fairs this summer and trying my hand at selling some of the monstrous creations I have been designing. Of course, I may chicken out in the face of all the truly amazing creativity that seems to run rampant in Portland these days – but we shall see. For now I may just update everyone via here on what I am making and how my learning to sew using an actual machine is coming along.

Did I mention the machine? The mate finally tired of me continually stabbing myself and broke down. So for Yule this year I received a lovely little Singer that I have not the foggiest how to use! (This too may need to be back burned until I get a handle on the school situation!)

This is where you can expect to find me for the remainder of the week. It is a good thing the proprietress of The Green Hand book shop is quite allowing of me coming in to sort through her piles or flop on her sofa during my study breaks!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year. I look forward to a return to cooking (and posting!) in the near future. Until then . . .

Yoghurt Marinade for Chicken

1.5-2 lbs of chicken pieces on the bone

In a shallow pan mix:
1 1/2 cups plain yoghurt
2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground red chili pepper

Mix well and layer the chicken, skin side facing up, in the mixture. Cover with cling film and marinade for 1-2 hours before grilling.

While I am mystified by this continuing 60+ degree weather, I am never one to say no to delicious foods cooked on the grill.

Wishing you and yours a safe, happy and scrumptious holiday!

The end of the grilling season is upon us and the boys have taken to making heartier meals outside on the BBQ. For our labor day meal we opted to mimic the Mexico City styled grilled corn that we’d had a few weeks ago at a local taqueria called El Rayo.

The corn is soaked in water for a few hours and then rolled in a mixture of lime juice and melted butter before being placed on the grill. Once the corn is properly grilled and charred, remove it and slather with a spicy chipolte mayo (1/2 cup mayo, 2 tsp crushed chipolte, 1 tsp adobo sauce, juice of 1/2 a lime, cilantro). Traditionally the corn would also be rolled in a crumbled Mexican white cheese – however we could not find any at the local Hispanic markets so opted to leave that step out.

I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and the grilling season – but I know that I, for one, cannot wait to get back to my comfort food stand bys!! Here’s looking forward to an amazing (and delicious) autumn!!

Well, I pulled out the gorgeous glass pie plate that I have and decided to make a spoon pudding instead of a torte. And it was absolutely divine. So either way – layered beautiful torte or slightly messy spoon pudding – this dessert is easy (it has to be if I didn’t mess it up too badly) and delicious. Plus it makes you look like a pro in the kitchen with little to no effort – always a bonus!

Black Forest Brownie Spoon Pudding

1 package gluten free brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker’s new line – which is about 1.00 cheaper than the brand I normally use)
1 can of cherry pie filling
1/4 cup slivered almonds.

Make brownies according to directions. Spilt between 2 round cake pans and bake for 35 minutes or until done but still gooey soft on the inside. Cool and remove from pan in chunks.

Place 3/4 of the brownie pieces into the bottom of a nice shallow serving bowl and pack lightly. Spoon 3/4 of the can of cherry topping onto them. In the center place the remaining brownies, spoon the remainder of the cherry topping on and sprinkle with almonds.

And you’re done.

Enjoy!

It was 90 and humid here in Maine, which automatically makes it a beach day for just about anyone able to find a way out to one. It also means grilling outside because it is far too hot to even think of turning on the cooker.

On the way home from the beach we stopped at the local market and picked up a nice pound of pork tenderloin that was on sale for 4.99 a pound. We set this to marinade in a simple mixture of sea salt, cracked pepper and a heavy slathering of stone ground spicy mustard before tossing it on the grill.

This is a simple and cheap marinade that goes great with pork or chicken on the grill.

Since the goal was not to cook we made a bean salad to go on the side. This is a great way to use up some canned items you may have in the pantry and the left over salad materials from earlier in the week.

Canned bean salad
3 12 oz cans of beans (I used pinto, garbanzo and black) – drained and rinsed
1/2 seedless cucumber peeled and diced into small pieces
1/2 onion, diced
a handful of grape tomatoes, halved, or 1/2 a beefsteak tomato diced

Mix all in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the following ingredients, whisk well.
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of red chili pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
- slowly add in 1/2 cup cider vinegar or brown rice vinegar, tasting periodically to see when it is at a good mix level with the oil for your personal taste.

Combine with the bean mixture and chill for 1 hour before serving.

And with that posted, I am off to swelter in the back yard while I think of what to put on the grill tonight! Happy eating everyone!

Last Saturday, however, I ventured to the local Farmer’s Market and picked up some gorgeous tomatoes, a bunch of basil and a tonne of cucumbers. There was also a place up the road that sold fresh cheese so I stopped and picked up some mozzarella, figuring on a basic salad for dinner.

This is my take on a classic Italian salad, only leaving out the day old bread in order to make it gluten free. I sprinkled it with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt.

To accompany this lovely plate my husband had picked up some rib eye steaks, which we marinated in a “Jamaican” style marinade before putting them on the grill.

Jamaican Style Marinade for Beef or Chicken
1/3 cup oil
juice of 1 large orange
juice of 1 lime
3 large cloves of garlic, diced
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1 tsp lime zest
1 tsp orange zest
pinch of red chili powder

Mix well in a bowl and pour over meat. Keep in fridge for 2-3 hours before grilling.

One of my favorite gluten free treats (because they are seriously hard to mess up – even for the baking challenged like myself!)

Pignoli

8 oz almond paste
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, 1 egg white
1/2 cup pine nuts

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl use a fork to mash the paste until smooth, add sugar and mix together well. Add the eggs and continue mixing until everything is creamy.
Put the pine nuts on a flat plate and take about 1/2 tsp of the dough at a time, roll into a ball and then dip and flatten slightly in the nuts.

Cook on wax paper or a silicone liner (this dough is extremely sticky and you will have a difficult time getting it off your bake-ware if you don’t). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and the middle is not “pasty”. Cool before serving.

Rhubarb Topping with Orange Syrup
4 large stalks of rhubarb, cleaned and chopped into 2 inch pieces
the juice of 1 medium orange
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup water
3 TBSP cane sugar

In a sauce pan start to heat your rhubarb in about 2 tsp of water. Stir frequently until rhubarb is soft to touch (it may start to resemble applesauce in a way). In another pan add water and sugar and heat through, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add orange juice, ginger and zest to rhubarb and then add the simple syrup (sugar and water mix).
Remove from stovetop and allow to cool.

In chilled glasses scoop about 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream. Top with rhubarb mixture.

Now, after walking for a few hours we opted to stop for food and drinks down by the water. We had noticed on arrival that several new places where dotted along the shore (well, reasonably new for someone who spent their entire childhood on the island growing up). However, sadly, our favorite – Jones Landing – was no longer running as a restaurant but instead only hosts private events. So, back up the hill we went to try out The Inn on Peaks Island – a nice little place that sported a sign on the side of the building toting a pub.

(yes, too much sun after a month of rain makes me a tired foodie indeed)

The menu was simple – slightly more upscale than a burger joint but nothing fancy. The prices were *swallows* summer priced. David ordered the Salmon Burger with Wasabi Teriyaki and I went with my favorite fried Haddock Sandwich. The food, when it arrived, looked lovely.

And it ended with the looks, sadly. My sandwich, while delicious in regards to the fish, was poorly put together and the bottom bun had cheddar cheese melted to it with grease – making it something I had to eat with a fork and knife. David’s was nothing more than glorified tinned fish. Which, when one lives in Maine (the state who flaunts the landlock salmon as one of our emblems), is a sad thing. To top it off a piece of the lettuce was wilted and browned.

We ate because we were starving after our walk but the overall experience was severally disappointing. The waitstaff at the Inn was lovely, she even offered to take our photo together when I busted out the trusty Olympus to start documenting, but I would probably not eat there again unless they can guarantee me a more satisfying meal. The outcome for the 2 sandwiches and a drink each was close to 33.00 and, in my opinion, not worth it – even during the summer months.

It’s a good thing the view was lovely.

Gluten Free Pasta salad made with brown rice pasta, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, garlic, carrots, Romano cheese and Italian dressing.

Hope everyone had an awesome and delicious weekend!