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Mandolin Slicer – My favorite thing (rnts)!

My Favorite Thing — Right Now This Second!

… is my Mandolin slicer! It’s the best thing since sliced… well, EVERYTHING! I am now a slicing fool! You name it… I’ll slice it (vegetables and fruit that is). Cucumbers, Potatoes (white and sweet), Peppers, Carrots, Onions, Cabbage and even Celery … and my favorite all time thing to slice (because of what I do with the slices) is Apples. I ♥ baking some Apple Chips (although baking Potato Chips (especially sweet potatoes) is a fav too!

I have never been one to do much cooking or baking, so I had never heard of (or at least paid any attention to) a “mandolin” until watching a segment on the Food Network (see my blog re: Kale Chips). None of the cooks in my family have ever used any type of slicer. They still do it the old fashioned way — with a knife (whichever one they can find in the knife drawer). Not me — never again. I like the modern life.

My slices are now identical in thickness, which I imagine is important for cooking foods evenly and consistently. The mandolin comes with attachments to slice thick, thin, medium, or julienne (which I’ve not tried yet). Most importantly, at least to me, evenly sliced items make a lovely presentation. In my book, it’s ALL about the presentation. If you make it look pretty, people will be more likely to eat it, buy it, read it, use it, etc. Last, but definitely not least, is using a mandolin takes much less skill than cutting with a knife, and slicing can be done very quickly — I ♥ saving time in the kitchen.

If you don’t have a mandolin already, I highly recommend purchasing one… and trying my simply yummy Apple Chips recipe below!

Apple Chips

Ingredients:
1 Apple per large cookie sheet (I like Fugi applies)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cinnamon to taste (no need for sugar!!)
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Directions:

  1. Preheat an oven to 200 degrees F.
  2. Wash apple(s).
  3. Slice apple(s) as thin as possible (I can get them paper thin with my mandolin slicer).
  4. Grease cookie sheet with Olive Oil.
  5. Arrange single layer of apples onto the sheet and sprinkle generously with Cinnamon.
  6. Bake @ 45 minutes, then turn.
  7. Bake for another 30-40 minutes (check regularly… my oven is crazy and hot).
  8. Cool and enjoy the crispy goodness!

Buying a mandolin has been a great investment — saving me money and time. No longer do I pay extra for a veggie or fruit tray. Now, I do my own slicing! How did I ever do without one?

 ♥  My Mandolin is My Favorite Thing … right now this second!  ♥

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Right Now This Second…

My Favorite Thing — Right Now This Second!

Recently I was participating in one of my favorite pastimes — watching the food network, and for the first time ever, I actually tried a couple of the recipes. It’s not unusual for me to say I’m going to try a recipe, and have even gone as far as to print them, but never seemed to get around to actually trying one. Always with the greatest of intention though!

That Green Leafy Thing

Anyway, this particular segment really intrigued me because it included three things that I really love: 1) easy-to-do, 2) snacks; and 3) Kale. Now anyone who knows me knows I ♥ me some snacks… but baked kale chips? What? That green leafy thing? The kale I normally cook is something I affectionately call “Bluefield Greens” – cooked with smoked turkey (my momma’s recipe). But, in my quest to find healthier snacks, this sounded like just the ticket. Go on… do tell.

Here’s what I can tell you – I absolutely love them! Right now this second, they are the best thing ever! They are light, crispy and practically melt in your mouth and healthy too (and I hear kids like them). This snack has definitely replaced popcorn for me… for real! And that’s saying a lot!! Only one problem – I can’t seem to make enough. Here’s the recipe.

Baked Kale Chips!

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 pinch (or 2) of pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  2. Remove the leaves from the stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry (salad spinner or paper towel).
  3. Place the kale leaves in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Massage the oil into the leaves.
  4. Arrange kale onto the sheet and sprinkle Salt and Pepper.
  5. Bake until the leaves are crisp to the touch and the edges are brown (but are not burnt) – about 15 minutes. (If they turn too brown, they’re a little bitter). Check at the 12-minute mark, to be sure.
  6. Enjoy!

I’ve now made them three times – and they are definitely a “must make again” snack. Next time, I think I will add some garlic or make them a little spicy! If you’ve got a craving for popcorn or potato chips, try making a big batch of crispy baked kale chips instead… and let me know how they turn out!

 ♥  Baked Kale Chips are My Favorite Thing … right now this second!  ♥



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90 Degrees in the Shade

 Today is… National Ice Tea Day????

Although today is National Ice Tea Day, it’s FREE lemonade for all in Nature’s Air Conditioned City (my hometown of Bluefield, WV)!  Residents are treated to that cool refreshing drink when the temperature reaches 90 degrees.

Serving free lemondade is a long tradition (72 years) and is a rare treat indeed, as Bluefield, WV usually lives up to it’s nickname of Nature’s Air Conditioned City. But apparently not this year — it’s 90 degrees in the shade! in Bluefield!  It’s the 3rd time this year (and Summer’s not even here yet!) that lemonade will be served. 

But Wait, There’s More…

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  • This year has set a record of the earliest date that lemonade has been served.
  • There have been 35 summers that the temperature never reached 90 degrees.
  • In 2010, Bluefield served its historic 200th serving of free lemonade. 
  • There have been many summers when the official thermometer at the Mercer County Airport never hit 90 degrees.
  • Bluefield hit 90 degrees a record 18 times during the summer of 2007.
  • There was not one single 90-degree reading in 2008 or 2009.
  • The highest the mercury has ever climbed to date is 96 degrees, set back in 1988.

Looks like 2011 is off to a record-breaking start… can you say “global warming”?  I can attest to a definite shift in the climate (both winters and summers) in my hometown. What do you think?

Free Lemonade, that cool refreshing drink…
being served in Bluefield, WV on June 10, 2011
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
 (and is… My Favorite Thing, Right Now This Second)!

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Cherries – My favorite thing (rnts)

My Favorite Thing — Right Now This Second!

Dark Cherries

Cherries are one of my all time favorite fruits, and I enjoy them fresh during the summer months regularly. But before you know it, they are gone and you have to wait until next season to find them fresh in grocery stores.

Some of my best summer-time memories growing up in West by God Virginia were picking cherries right off the trees in the neighborhood (One had to be very careful with which neighbor it was though. Some of those mean ol’ neighbors would come out with their rifles pointed! ha ha ha). All those good ol’ fruit trees (cherry, apple, pear, and peach) in the ol’ hood are gone now. So sad! 🙁

A friend recently introduced me to Dark Sweet Cherries (the frozen kind). Not only are they good tasting, but they are good for you too!  I found them in the frozen fruit section at the local grocery store.  Who knew!!!  Imagine how many times I’ve passed them up while getting frozen strawberries for making strawberry shortcake? Now, lucky for us cherry lovers, they can be eaten all year round. 

Some interesting tidbits my dear friend also told me about cherries… they are considered a SUPER fruit and they help with inflammation. I also found out that cherries provide vitamin C, beta carotene (19 times more than blueberries and strawberries) potassium, magnesium, iron, fiber and folate (a water-soluble B vitamin that occurs naturally in food. fyi “folic acid” is the synthetic form of folate). And, as if taste alone was not enough, for added bonus — a diet incorporating cherries lowers body weight, cholesterol AND reduces body fat (i.e., “belly” fat – woo hoo!!) according to a clinical study by the University of Michigan. And did I mention the frozen ones are already pitted?!!

From now on, I plan to keep a bag in the freezer so I can nibble on their sweet deliciousness whenever I want – Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall!  It’s sure better for me than eating those Reese’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups that I love!  ♥

Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries are My Favorite Thing … right now this second!



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