Showing posts with label Homemade Lilac Soap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homemade Lilac Soap. Show all posts

Friday, March 28, 2014

Best Omelette Recipe, Hemel Hempstead - Anglophile Friday

Best Omelette Recipe
In my opinion, of course

Ingredient list:

2 eggs
Celery
Broccoli
Onion
Peppers
Bacon (gluten free, nitrate/nitrite free, MSG free)
Stilton Cheese
(this was Stilton with apricot, although I'm partial to Stilton with cranberry - of course)


Saute veggies. (I always make the bacon way ahead of time and keep it in the freezer). Set aside on a plate.
Whisk eggs.
Pour into a no-stick skillet that's at med-high heat
Swirl eggs around by tipping the skillet back and forth and around to cover the bottom of pan.
Turn to low and cover for about 30 seconds. You can peek and see if it's wet looking on top but not runny and not dry. If so, it's perfect!
Uncover, add veggies and bacon and top with cheese on one side of the omelette. Cover, take skillet off burner, and let sit about 30 seconds. You don't want anything to make that omelette brown. Ewwww on brown eggs.
Roll omelette out onto plate.

Didn't the title read 'Anglophile Friday???'
Yes, you read that right. But please just bear with me. You'll eventually understand why I dared label this 'Anglophile Friday.'


 Yummy Apricot Stilton
A surprise from my husband,
who got it at the Eau Galle Cheese Factory
(and of course we know it was made in England, not in Eau Galle) 

But I covered that topic in another post. Read it HERE


This was delicious!

Henry Crabbe, owner/chef of the restaurant 'Pie in the Sky' makes a terrific omelette. Mine isn't too bad either.

Henry Crabbe, our new favorite detective/restaurateur
Mystery/Drama/FUN

Yes, another great British mystery show.
Who can NOT love their sense of humor!


And, I found out that at least some of the episodes were filmed on location at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, England.

From Hemelonline.com:


"Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom with a population of 81,143 at the United Kingdom Census 2001 (but now estimated at around 89,000 by Hertfordshire County Council). Developed after World War II as a new town, it has existed as a settlement since the 8th century. It is part of the district (and borough since 1984) of Dacorum and the Hemel Hempstead constituency.

Origin of the name

The settlement was called by the name Henamsted or Hean-Hempsted, i.e. High Hempstead, in Anglo-Saxon times and in William the Conqueror's time by the name of Hemel-Amstede. The name is referred to in the Domes day Book as "Hamelamesede", but in later centuries it became Hamelhamsted. Another opinion is that Hemel probably came from "Haemele" which was the name of the district in the 8th century and is most likely either the name of the land owner, or could mean "broken country".  Pre-World War II residents knew it affectionately as "Hempstead" whereas the majority of present day residents simply call it "Hemel"."

You can read more about it, here: Hemel Hempstead.

Photo via en.wikipedia.org
Hemel Hempstead

If I ever get back to England, I just might look up Hemel Hempstead. And a sad note about the TV series - Richard Griffiths, the actor who played the lovable Henry Crabbe, died exactly a year ago today -  on March 28, 2013, at University Hospital, Coventry, of complications after heart surgery. He was 65.


Some of you might know Richard Griffiths from the Harry Potter movies.


***

Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps
Buy Any Five, Get One Free

'French Lilac & Lavender'
Natural, handcrafted vegan soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at



Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following: Inspiration Monday and  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday  and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday  and What we Accomplished Wednesday and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  Adorned From Above  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Good Fences and  Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and The Charm of Home and  Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Shadow Shot Sunday and  Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday

Monday, March 3, 2014

Tuscan Chicken Stew - Gluten Free Recipe, Crowd-Size Main Dish Recipe


I was looking for something interesting to make for dinner sometime this week and came across this Tuscan Chicken Stew recipe that I'd originally tried in 2010. It was delicious, and I have no idea why I've not made it since - except that it's easy to put a recipe away and forget about it, I guess.


Because we had such a great pepper crop that year (Carmen Italian sweet pepper), I used fresh peppers, rather than using store-bought roasted peppers from a jar. So, I washed and seeded six Carmen peppers, cut each into four large hunks, placed them in a large Ziploc baggie and poured in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. I shook the bag to thoroughly coat the peppers with olive oil, then spread them out onto a heavy cookie sheet and roasted them for 45 minutes in a 325 degree oven. If you use fresh peppers, like I did, just check them with a fork to make sure they're tender before taking them from the oven.




Tuscan Chicken Stew - Gluten Free Recipe:

Keep in mind that this makes enough for 10 people.

Now, on to the Gluten-Free recipe:

1 1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed
1 1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. black pepper
3 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. (I used 5 large chicken breast halves)
1/8 c. olive oil
3-4 large cloves garlic, minced
2 c. chicken broth (I use only Pacific Organic Free-Range Chicken Broth, because it's gluten-free and is the only one that doesn't give me a headache!)
4 -  15 oz. cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
6 large fresh Carmen or Red Bell peppers (roasted as above)
OR  3 -  7 oz. jars of roasted red bell peppers, drained and cut into largish hunks
10 cups of washed baby spinach (I used 1 1/2  bags of baby spinach)
1 can medium, pitted black olives, drained (Sorry, I couldn't resist. The colors were beautiful, but they just needed that little accent of black.) or you can throw Kalamata olives in there. Either would be great!

Mix, then saute in olive oil:  chicken, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic until chicken is done.

Add chicken broth, beans, and peppers. Simmer.
Just before serving, stir in the olives and spinach.  Stir until spinach is wilted.


Serve immediately.

Serves approximately 10 people.

One more thing: Be sure to plant Carmen peppers in your garden this spring. They're a sweet Italian pepper, and it's not unusual to have a plant yield 18+ peppers! 

By the way, did you see my blue weather widget on my sidebar this morning?
(just to the right) It was -29 degrees F. when we got up today!


***

Check out My Handcrafted Vegan Soaps
Buy Any 5 or More, Get One FREE


'French Lilac & Lavender'
Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at


Although I usually forget to do it, there is an outside chance that this post will be linked to one or more of the following:  Mosaic Monday and The Marketplace  and Market Yourself Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and Adorned From Above and  We Did it Wednesday  and Rurality Blog Hop and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and Weekend Reflections and  Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and A Favorite Thing Saturday and Weekly Top Shot and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday

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