Have you ever tasted lava????

Hello People!

I hope this blog finds you all well! I have a short story to tell about the brittle recipe I posted the other day.

I went to a friend's house and we went walking because we are old and the mid section is not as small as it use to be. She at least has the fact that she has had 4 children...I can only attribute mine to Heineken. SAD! Anyway, we went for a trek in the forest behind her house and then we went back to her house for a 'lite' lunch. It was good she has a vegetable garden which she used to get the lettuce and tomatoes out of for our "turkey" sandwiches! YUM-O!

So after we rest and eat our sandwiches I ask if I could use her kitchen to make some peanut brittle, otherwise I would have to leave so I could go and make it at my mom's house. She said "SURE" help yourself! I get the ingredients out and I realize that although I have the butter, vanilla, baking soda, corn syrup, etc. I forgot the most important part to make the candy...the SUGAR! She had been making jam so she was out of sugar, so she had to borrow some from the neighbors! That should have been a hint and a half but I pushed through. We chit chat as I make the brittle and it gets to the color I like and I proceed to take it out of the microwave. Now common sense would tell you that when taking hot liquid, especially candy, out of the microwave one should use care and be cautious! Well I didn't want to keep imposing since I was already using her baking sheets and her Pam and the borrowed sugar....so I decided that I would just use a "paper towel" to hold the Pyrex dish that contains this lava liquid with NUTS. I keep talking as I pour out the brittle onto the prepared baking sheet, as I do some of it drops onto my finger. Can you say pain? YEAH it hurt....but that pain paled in comparison to the pain I felt when out of reflex I stuck my finger in my mouth! Have you ever tasted lava? Have you ever felt lava bubble up on your finger and your tongue? Lava is a very HOT thing and it does not play well with the flesh! Don't try this at home kids!!!!! Well actually try the brittle just make sure you use the proper utensils when handling the lava!

I hope you all enjoy your brittle! I did blistered finger and all!!!!:P)

See ya when I see ya

Peace! Mattie

Brittle

Use any combination of nuts you like, or just one kind. If using shelled pistachios, rub them between your palms to remove their skins.

Makes 1 1/2 pounds.

Nonstick cooking spray

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups mixed nuts, such as pecan halves, cashews, pistachios, coarsely chopped if large

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Spray a rimmed baking sheet and a wide metal spatula with cooking spray; set aside. In a 2-quart glass measuring cup, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring until sugar is moistened. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir in butter and nuts; return to microwave for about 5 minutes, until the sugar mixture is thick, bubbly, and very pale brown in color. Mixture is very hot; use handle when holding and pouring. Remove from microwave, stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture may foam up). Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheet, spreading mixture as thinly as possible with the prepared spatula. Let stand 20 minutes until hardened, then lift off sheet, and break brittle into bite-size pieces.

I got this recipe from Gary's daughter, I believe she got it off the Internet or some place like that...maybe even a cookbook. I don't know where it came from, BUT I do know it is simple and good! You may have to adjust the microwave time for cooking depending on the power of your microwave. The color of the sugar/nut mixture should be pale or caramel to medium brown for best results, otherwise you run the chance of having chewy brittle which means your sugar did not reach the hard-crack or candy stage. ENJOY!

See ya when I see ya

Peace! Mattie

Julie and Julia...go see it!

SO I went to go see Julie & Julia yesterday...I thought it was a good movie surprisingly...I think they could have elaborated a little more on Julia Child's life but I guess the movie was suppose to be about 'Julie'. Go see the movie I think you will like it. In the movie they show Dan Aykroyd doing his parody of Julia, hilarious...BUT the one thing I didn't like and this is in agreement with my friend J, they could have shown Julie have more mishaps or mistakes, she allegedly did 500+ recipes in 365 days and only had two or three mistakes and a couple of breakdowns...come on even Julia Child had more than that and it was Julia's recipes being made!

I could see myself in that movie with the blogging and the cooking could be a sign....I don't know time will tell!

I submitted some recipes to the Chamber of Commerce in the town where I live they are putting together a cookbook to sell at the Chamber to the people who come in, the lady I gave the recipes to is a friend of mine and Gary and she commented that she noticed the Gumbo recipe was not among the ones I gave them...well of course it is not among the ones I gave you why would I give you a good recipe for YOU to make money on and you have a job and I not make money on it and I don't have a job. HELLO! Then she went on to say that she held back some of the other recipes she received for herself rather than put them out there for masses. Everybody is always looking out for themselves, or what they can get out of something, remember that.

I have a cornbread stuffing recipe that I am going to put on here for the holidays or whenever you want to eat stuffing...I got it from my mom I caught her in a good mood, which is a rarity. Now-a-days to catch her in a good mood is really rare, she is old and cranky! Or is it because I can push her buttons and piss her off...and I do just that whenever possible.....

See ya when I see ya

Peace! Mattie

Quiche or a Quickie...either way.....

Here is a quick and simple Quiche that you can make and add any ingredients you like...

Quiche:

1 9" pie shell (unbaked)

3 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

2 tbs of floor

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 onion (yellow or red) diced

or you can use green onions

1 large tomato diced

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Monterrey jack cheese

1/2 sticks butter or margarine

1 bunch of spinach

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Saute onions in butter until soft, add the spinach and sauté until spinach wilts stir in tomatoes, add the 2 tbs of floor (this will act as a binder and thickener for the filling). Cook until flour is incorporated. Let cool, so when added to the eggs the eggs will not scramble.

Or temper the mixture with the eggs to be sure eggs will not scramble.

Beat eggs with can of evaporated milk as if making an omelet, add salt and pepper, add cooled spinach, onion and tomato mixture (if not already added). Stir in cheese and pour into pie pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the tip of a knife inserted comes out clean

(With this quiche recipe you can add any ingredients you like for the filling, i.e. you can use ham (fully cooked) and broccoli or turkey breast (fully cooked) and spinach, etc. You would sauté these items with the butter and let them cool before adding them to the egg and cheese mixture.)

recipes can be made anyway you like, when making the salsa or the quiche your imagination is the only limit to what you can add.

I get requests for this quiche all the time as well as the salsa, try them they will be your favorites as well. Enjoy

See ya when I see ya

Peace! Mattie

Here is a story about Pam...the salsa lady

Hello people!

I hope you all have made the salsa and enjoyed it. I told you it was GOOD! Anyway...let me tell you about Pam, she is my hero. I met her when I was working at this law firm downtown and she is the nicest lady you want to meet, very motherly and funny. She told me this story one time of being in a rollover accident when she was young and she had her daughter in the car with her. She was driving a VW Bug at the time, and this was back in the day when you didn't have to wear seat belts and car seats...what is a car seat? Yeah I am talking about WAY back in the 60's early 70's.... SO when the car flipped her daughter, who was a baby in a bassinet or I think she may have just been laying on the seat, went under the dash...Pam said they couldn't find her daughter at first because of where she was... scary huh?! Pam said that her and her daughter survived the accident with little or no life threatening injuries... BUT Pam loss her sense of smell. CRAZY!

I may even have the story mixed up with the fact that she also survived a head-on collision in which her best friend died. I couldn't get over the fact that she loss of her sense of smell...that stuck with me and became...well a joke... I would see her or someone eating something or someone would get flowers or coffee would be brewing and I would always say WITHOUT THINKING about it... Pam do you SMELL that? Or Pam can you smell that...to which she would always reply NO MATTIE I CAN'T!!!! Stop asking me that question.... And I would say oh snarky(clever huh).... I forgot....But I have never met anyone who could not smell it was just weird to me AND I had never met anyone who survived a rollover accident AND a head-0n collision talk about being BLESSED and touched by an angel....HELLO! ANYWAY Pam made this salsa once for a firm pot luck and I hounded her for the recipe, well actually I kept asking her to make it for pot lucks and 'just cause' I wanted some...SO when I asked her for the recipe she gave it to me...if I am not mistaken it is a family recipe that she makes every time her and her family get together... it is a family recipe for her and she shared it with me and I am sharing it with you...

Oh by the way...speaking of angels and being blessed beyond measure...believe it or not... Pam was in another rollover accident a few years ago...I just had lunch with her the other day she looks good. She is my hero!


See ya when I see ya

Peace! Mattie

"Cause people like to say SALSA!" (Seinfeld)

Hello People!

This is an extension of my other blog namely, itsjustmattie.blogspot.com. I had someone suggest to me that I should write a book...then it was suggested that I should write a book with recipes in it, since I like to tell stories and cook. SO here is some recipes and some stories....hope you all enjoy it.

SALSA!!!

This recipe was given to me by my friend Pam S. I am putting her name her to give her credit for her recipe, that way when I become rich and famous no one will be able to say she stole those recipes!!! Smart huh? It can't be plagiarism if you give the author credit!

2 cloves of garlic
4-6 chillies (little dried red ones!)
1/2 cup ketchup (more or less)
salt and pepper to taste
blend in blender until well crushed
1 bunch cilantro (blend as much as you want)

ADD:

2-4 bunches of sliced green onions - or - any onion you prefer
2 cans chopped green chillies
2 large cans of either stewed or crushed tomatoes (depending on how chunky you want it & DON'T use the cheap stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!)
or
10-14 fresh tomatoes chopped (you can chop in blender if you want)

There you have it Pam's SALSA! It is good stuff

See ya when I see ya

Peace! Mattie