Lil' Chef in Kansas

It must be a sign from the Foodie Gods

2009-07-26T19:57:00.001-07:00

Wow, I am almost ashamed of myself. On August 31, it will have been one FULL YEAR since the last time I blogged. *Smacks self on hand* I can not believe I let myself slip. All those great recipes over the past year were not documented or shared with my fellow food lovers.

Well, this has to change. You ask, 'Why now Lil Chef? Why decide to go back to your blogging ways instead of keeping your nose in your cookbooks?' Because I miss documenting amazing recipes and reliving that experience again and again through my verbal cooking and baking. And I missed you too. ^_^

Another reason would be the sign that I had the other day. There are people who believe in signs and those who do not. I am one of the believers. I was simply making french toast sticks, when to my shock, I cracked one of the eggs that held a double yolk. I have NEVER gotten an egg with a double yolk before! The reason is probably due to the fact that most of these eggs are kept back from the public due to lighting technology that allows one to view the shadows within the egg and thus discard the abnormal. I say, free the double yolks! Let the cooks of America have their luck! We need it now a days!

(I was sad that one of the yolks broke in all my excitement, but it is still cool!)

My whole blabbing about this is because I feel that things will really start looking up for me and my family. And of course my cooking. Who could go wrong?

So this week, I will be dropping a new blog segment called 'Would you eat at my house?' It will hopefully be coming weekly, depending on the circumstances and Lil Bits mood. I am so excited.

The first segment is Pork Schnitzel with a sour cream sauce and Parmesan noodles. Desert, Pecan Fingers, courtesy of Miss Betty Crocker, circa 1965. Be prepared to drool. I know I am.

Until then, I am going to go eat a bomb pop.

Theres no place like...well...a farmers market :)

2008-07-31T19:02:00.000-07:00

A long long time ago, I can still remember...wait, no I can't! Not too long ago, I was introduced to farmers markets. I was shocked and surprised at the idea of being able to go to a closed off area and pick out some of the freshest and finest produce, meats, cheese, breads, plants and whatever else from the region. And get everything at a lower cost to what the grocery stores had to offer. Most of the time I got a better selection, without the hassle of the stores just slopping items into the shelves.Around my area, we have two main markets. One is called the City Market and has been running for YEARS! It has cute little shops all around and vendors come from near and far to share the fruits of their labor. I went to this market back around June with my dad, who is also a foodie like me. Hell, he is the one who taught me to cook! Mom was the baker and I still struggle with that side of my cooking. But I digress.
Dad and I had a pleasant morning. If you want the good stuff, you should be there by 6AM when it opens on the weekends. We unfortunately did not get there until 9AM and met the traffic. After driving in circles for about half an hour, we got to finally go walk the promenade. At first, your nose just tingles with the new smells being sucked in and your eyes pop at the array of colors that are presented before them. Not to forget the drooling that soon follows. To my disappoint though, a lot of the produce that was being sold was not farm grown. It was purchased off of places like Dole for a lower cost and being resold to the market goers. Seriously, if I wanted it that bad, I would have just driven the mile and a half to the store. Thanks. But once you get past the pushy sales people with the same ingredients at each stand, one reaches what I consider mecca. Row after row of farm grown items. Bison meat, fresh eggs, baked breads and cookies from that morning, not to mention the pies, honey from different regions (you get different flavors depending on the area and flowers), plants, produce...oh the list goes on and on for me! Thank goodness for the little samples! I probably would have started eating half of the items I saw had I not seen them. HA! That day, I left with some cookies from a nice Mennonite family and a belly full of cheese curds, bread and fruit. I had pictures...but those are on the other camera and I am waiting for my new USB plug in...grrr...As for our second market, it is called the Overland Park Farmers Market and is right in old Overland Park. This is convenient for us since it is only 15 minutes away, vs City Market which is around half an hour or more in the art district of down town. (Still very worth the drive, just once in a while). I got to go to the OP market with our buddy Justin. I was up early and ready to go. Upon arrival, it is clear this is a smaller market, but you do not see one mention of a Dole product along the two lines that run at least 100 ft. Peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, peaches, melons...oh man. I did not know what to do. There was an absence of bison meat and fresh eggs, but I think I can live without those two things. Instead I had homemade jams and jellys, breads, mixes, treats, and again my favorite, fresh out of the dirt produce. This time, my hands could not stay away from my wallet. I got two onions, two green peppers, a huge garlic bulb, a basket of raspberries and some chocolate chip cookies (organic mind you) all for under $10. And the size of the onions, garlic and peppers...wow. I would have expected to pay more elsewhere for them! Like these were all softball sized! It was crazy! True test...would be taste. We left that day greatly satisfied in our purchases and were even more pleased to see that right next to the market was a new restaurant (which will appear in the future I am sure) that works with mostly local and seasonal ingredients. That is soooo awesome and I can not wait to check it out. This time, the line was around the building and we both had other things to do that day.
Once I got home, I was whipped and instead of putting my ingredients to use, I grabbed the cookies and a glass of milk.

Mmmm...the cookie monster in me lives on. Or is that the baby wanting those cookies? I can never tell anymore...

A day away from the computer screen

2008-07-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Work. Career. Slave labor. Whatever you want to call it, we all do it. Thank goodness for hobbies or you know most of us would be behind our desks day in and day out trying to meet the 'man's' requirements for getting stuff done.

But I am lucky. I have a career where I am allowed to wear whatever I please to work (I really just need to wear clothes, nudity not an option), do what I want to do and be creative as I please. I love coming in to work and slipping on my black fuzzy slippers each morning. Comfort :)

On those few occasions, we are lucky enough to be given a day out of the office, away from the droning effect of the computers and headaches caused by client/account demands. And boy are they fun!

My boss, Connie, took us out to Pizza 51 and the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. YEA!

Now, the museum just got a new building about 2 years ago and it is a whole modern section. Really cool pieces and the building is a piece of work itself!
But to start. We got to leave at one...and boy were we hungry...and head to Pizza 51 which is off of Oak and 51st across from the UMKC campus dorms. This is a cool restaurant and I like how they used the original setting to their advantage. The once gas station makes for a great pizza shop! And the pizza is amazing, granted not D'Bronx, but still awesome. We got the cow special, veggie special and a simple cheese and pepperoni pizza. (I also like to call this heartburn city, as I experienced that joy an hour later. :P )I am sure you are asking, did we eat it all? Not even close, but it was soooo delicious. We savored the beef, canadian bacon, pepperoni, sausage and cheese with a delicate tomato sauce. The crust was surprisingly crisp all the way through! I like crispy crusts :) Add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and I am set! I stole your picture of the pizza Cari, hope you don't mind :)
Full and satisfied, we headed off to the museum...only after jumping into Russell Stover's and grabbing a handful of free samples. Chocolate covered cherries are the bomb!

The museum itself was awesome. I have one favorite statue that I see each time I go there, but I never remember the name or who the artist is. Silly me.While in the new building I found some food pop art that made me laugh. It was a whole bunch of pieces taken from billboards around Coney Island and placed together. Pretty cool. The corn looked so yummy. I was full, but show me food and I am ready to eat again!
Our day ended at 4 with a group picture. Are we not the cutest group you ever saw? (The boss man for my studio is missing, he had to stay and finish something in the office...boo!)
It was nice and relaxing and something we needed. Now, to only think how high the pile of work will be on our desks tomorrow morning...booo!!!!

So, the question appears...when is our next day out? Maybe a massage? hehe...

'I am fogging...'

2008-07-28T08:27:00.001-07:00

Hehe, I told you Justin, I will make you famous :)

On Saturday night, Mike and I were very lucky to have our vegetarian/vegan buddy over to cook for us! YEA! *My disclaimer is that though I like veggies, I was never huge on the idea of vegan/vegetarian dishes until I met this man. He has opened a new line of cooking to my eyes!
I had been a lazy toad all day anyway, and this was going to be a nice evening to just kick back, relax and let someone else dirty the dishes!

Menu was: Corn chowder with corn fritters and a pineapple mint lemonade. Dessert was a banana bisque. Which we still have a debate on the title because Webster defines 'bisque' as a cream soup made with lobster or shell fish. But a minor detail none the less.

I wish I could quote the ingredients, but I sadly can not. I just know that when he was making the corn stock, it was to die for! The leeks, onions, carrots, celery, corn cobs....all simmering with water...OMG!

I kept sneaking the fresh corn, so that is probably why we only hadafter 5 cobs two cups left. It was so crisp fresh and amazing. To keep me busy, Justin had me help with toasting croûtons for the dessert. That kept my hands, and mouth busy. I was shocked we had some left to be honest. We actually ended up making a second batch because Mike and I could not resist the tiny morsels covered in sugar and cinnamon :)
My main goal was to catch Justin in the act of cooking. The top photo was as close as I got. I was not fast enough for this chef. Grrr...I will get you my pretty. hehe!

Once we got to sit down, I can barely describe the smell that floated in the air and filled our noses and lungs. All the mixtures of fried goodies (the corn fritters) and the soup with all its herbs and spices. Not to forget the sweet after smell of cinnamon sugar on toasted bread. *drool*

Justin was nice and let me fry the fritters :) I take pride in my fascination with oil and all its goodness. HAHA! *smacks chest to make sure heart is still pumping blood* we are good.

As for the flavor of everything, it was so clean...so fresh...so...AMAZING! I cheated and added cream to my soup just to test it out. It was good, but I should have left the soup well alone. The fritters had a nice crisp shell and a bite once you hit a pepper and this snap when you found a piece of corn!

Already leaning towards full, I still had to squeeze dessert in. Yes, I said DESSERT! The bisque! It was creamy, cold and crunchy with the croutons. I tried to finish it, but my tummy and baby girl said 'no more! you are going to explode!'.I could not thank Justin enough for doing this. It was so cool to see a different form of cooking but also to munch on it for the evening :) That is the best part.

But I will have to keep Justin on speed dial. For those mornings/evenings that cooking is just not going to happen by my hand and calling out for pizza is not an option. Be prepared man :) Be prepared... hehehe...
P.S. - Mike cooked too :) Now kids, do not follow his lead and use a knife to stir. HAHA!

I went Top CHEF!

2008-07-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the title might be a tad misleading. But I attempted to be a Top Chef by creating my own quick fire challenge. My challenge, use ONLY what I had around to make dinner, without going to the grocery store for one single item. And as of yesterday, that was a tough challenge for me. As our fridge was empty!!!A And the pantry, well, that just had a ton of spices and dried ingredients that I did not have a craving for.

So I set to work, knowing that I had half an hour before hubby would come walking through the door going 'fee, fii, foo, fum, I am hungry as an englishman!'. Hehehe..can you tell I have read jack and the bean stalk lately?

The menu in my mind: Roesti with green peppers, onion and garlic. Followed by a nice day old french bread split and toasted, filled with a runny egg, topped with cheese and bacon bits. I mean, lots of bacon bits. *Again, i cook for the joy of food, not to avoid heart attacks people, but in moderation, this is all ok :) We do not eat bacon so often nor processed meats.

With plan in mind, I set to work. Grating potatoes, slicing and dicing the peppers, onions and garlic. Getting the bread together and ready to go, grating the cheese, heating the skillets and by the time that I hear the door handle turn with a soft click, I was off! I would not be disturbed! I had to complete this challenge in the next 15 minutes upon his arrival!

The roesti was a new thing for me to try out. I had read up on it once and fell in love with the idea of a giant potato pancake. Now, I do not like potatoes so much, but this was one recipe that hit my exception list. It was super easy too! One potato, skinned and grated (your choice, some people find that the skins of the potato add flavor or vitamins), veggies of your choice grated/chopped/diced and added (as I said, I used green pepper, onion (white) and garlic) and to add American flair to it, I wanted to add cheese, but thought that might be a tad bit of overkill on the dairy portion.The important step is to remember to use a tea towel or cheese cloth and ring out some of the moisture from the potatoes! Otherwise you will have wet and oily potatoes...Ewww... In a mixing bowl, you put the now 'dry' potatoes and add about 1 tablespoon of oil and mix together. Then add all the other ingredients and mix. The smell is amazing...mmm. In a medium sized skillet, heat a very small amount of oil. I did one rotation of the pan. You could also use just a tablespoon of butter, that would add some amazing flavor if you let it brown a tad too. Then throw in the potatoes and just start to brown slightly, this will help the inside be a little crispy too, but also cook off some of the oil, since I notice potatoes are like sponges (granted not as bad as mushrooms, but just as bad). Once the potatoes start to brown a bit, form them into a pancake shape and let them sit. I cooked mine on medium heat, about 5 minutes on each side. Allowing them to brown nicely and get super crispy.

In the meantime, while those were cooking up, I went for the next step, the main portion. My hungry hubby is not a fan of runny yolks like me, so I made him a scrambled omelet instead. To add a small amount of mystery and flavor, I added about 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard with the eggs and for some richness, a bit of cream (since I was out of milk). Omelet complete, I got the toaster oven going to make a perfect piece of french toast. HAHA! sorry bad joke, i know.

While the toast was going, I had to flip the roesti. This is complicated, as it needs to be flipped at once and is not as firm as an omelet. You are supposed to take a plate, place it over the skillet, flip the skillet over the plate, then slide the uncooked side back into the skillet. WOO! That was more challenging than I thought it would be! But so so worth it! Now to let that cook for another 5-6 minutes.

With the roesti flipped and the toast started, I took chopped bacon and fried it to a nice crispy state. *Ding, toast time!* More like assembly time! Toast on plate, egg, shredded smoked cheddar, toast for a few seconds to melt cheese, add bacon and viola! Master piece done.

My favorite part was unveiling the roesti though. Cutting into that crisp shell to unveil a creamy center. I was in heaven! And so was hubby! He ate it all up! NO KETCHUP NEEDED! MUAHAHAHA!

I succeeded at my quick fire challenge, I fed the masses and they enjoyed it all! My only down side to the challenge was chopping my fingers. Not once, but twice. Damn knife safety. I need to work on it when chopping onions. HAHA! At least this time I had an excuse for crying.

My last comment will be...watch out top chef-ers...I am coming for you...

Salmonella, shamonella...

2008-07-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

Everyday it is something new that has to be recalled for salmonella, e.coli, or even listeria! This is getting absolutely ridiculous if you ask me! I am tired of spending good money on a product, have already started ingesting it, only to find out, it has been recalled!

This last scare with the tomatoes was grueling. Especially since the tomato season is quickly approaching. Putting people on edge with everything they ate. Not to mention putting my family and husband on edge as to what I ate with little one. This was hard, because we were unsure of tomato sauce on pizzas, pastas or even soups! This was really distressing.

But now, the FDA is saying that they have found another strand of salmonella. This time it is seen on jalapeno peppers. Granted, I am not a spicy foods fan, so ti does not effect me so much, but what about those days that oging to Jose Peppers for queso or salsa sound so good? How are we to be assured that those are safe? The FDA and media are making it harder and harder to be comfortable eating anywhere but your own home.

Heck, I can not wait until we have a house so that I can try my hand at a garden. That way I will know what is growing in it, what is being used to fertilize it and how it is treated in general.

My reasoning for this little rant is because I would like it if the government would make up their minds as to where this is coming from, why and fix it. I think it is stupid to keep scaring the public and causing caos wihtin a region that is already in a panic due to the economies standing.

Curse you FDA.... If you are interested, here is the associated article from CNN.

Who ever sent the sweet tooth fairy my way...

2008-07-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

I shall have to hurt you! Not really, I kind of enjoy the fact that she came to visit.

When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing to sit in the kitchen while my mom would bake. Mostly because I was given the chance to lick the spatula or the bottom of the batter bowl.Well, only after battling with my sister as to who would get that privilege. Just to say, because you are the oldest, does not mean you beat out the cuteness of the younger sibling. BOO!

But now, as an adult, the spatula and bowl are all mine! MUAH HAHAHA! wow...evil cookie monster came to life again...uh oh!

Since cravings have been getting stronger lately, I have had to obey more and more. And this last week cookies just sounded marvelous. I am not talking about just any cookies, these are called chocolate sprinkles. Mmmm...chocolate! Mom used to make these all the time and the smell of cocoa powder combined with butter....then the dough rolled in powdered sugar *excuse me, need to wipe drool from my face.*

This is one of the simplest doughs to make, but the waiting time on it is NUTS! You must wait for the dough to set over night so that it is not too sticky to form into balls.

Add a little sugar, flour, vanilla and baking powder and chill. 24 hours...geeze! might as well tell a pregnant woman that she can not eat for the next 24 hours when she wants something now!

I was fortunate and it was close to bed time. I was able to sleep through it all, only thing is that I spent most of my night dreaming of cookies. And that big fuzzy cookie monster. How I miss him. *sigh*

Upon awaking, I was super pumped that I would get to make my cookies at long last! But my plans were foiled due to heat. Our apartment was at 75 degrees already (it was only 10 a.m.) and to turn on the oven, would be a curse to us both. I had to wait...longer....

FInally, i suckered. Around 3 o'clock, after we had been running errands around town, I turned on our toaster oven and made half a dozen cookies. I watched as the little chocolate balls started to flatten and looked oh so gooey and edibly delicious.

Timer! Then the cool down....*tap, tap, tap* Ok, forget that!

Do not fear I only suffered a minor burn to my tongue, the milk helped to calm that. But I will say, it was all worth it just to get to have powdered sugar smeared all over my face and shirt and get the chance to smell sweet chocolate and success fly through the air.

Now, since the sweet tooth fairy left, who wants to go talk to the weather man about taking the humidity and heat down for a day, so I can cook the rest of my dough?

A restaurant review!!! GASP

2008-07-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Most of you are probably thinking 'holy crud! You eat out? You cook, but you still eat out?'

I know, I know, shocker, especially with this economy, it is cheaper to just stay at home and make something yourself. Despite how long it could take, it always seems to taste better. But that is my opinion.

While working for the man, I put in a little over time to get a few oextra dollars so we could go out and try one restaurant I knew Mike would really enjoy. He likes seafood, while me, I like those breaded fish pieces you get in the grocery store with ketchup :)

On the Plaza we have a restaurant called McCormick and Schmick's. They are well known for flying in fresh seafood DAILY for their clients. And it is always the good stuff! Ok, coming from a Midwestern girl who would rather eat steak and potatoes, I am sure that sounds funny.
It was a nice surprise that I could take him there though. We started with one of his all timme favorite starters, calamari. I have a little thing against the full baby calamari, but when it is just a tentacle that does not bug me so much. But this stuff was amazing. A simple breading of flour, salt, pepper, and my guess is paprika. Mike thought it might have been chili powder or a creole seasoning of some sorts. We will never know because that is one thing I did not ask about. The sauces that accompanied the calamari though were AMAZING!!! An orange horseradish sauce, sherry mayo, and cocktail sauce (made fresh). Who could go wrong! The horseradish was not overbearing at all! It had a nice sweet tang to it and really enhanced the flavor of the breading and the buttermilk soaked calamari. For once I can say, I enjoyed the calamari IMMENSELY!
Now comes the interesting part of the meal. The main course. I figured Mike would go after shrimp or even something on a half shell. NOPE! I was wrong! Instead he went after one thing that decides to eat us, the shark :) A Mako Shark to be exact. It is described as having a nice clean and non fishy taste to it. Too bad for me, it has such a high mercury count that I would dare not even try it. I did venture to try the red pepper aioli and buttermilk mashed potatoes though. And wow! Did those blow me out of the water! The aioli was very bright and not heavy! I loved it! At first, I must admit it, I thought it was a roasted red pepper cream sauce, but I didn't think that would make sense. Needless to say, Mike cleaned that plate to the last BITE! No shark better mess with him!As for me, I like the simpler things. I went for the classic fish and chips. The cod was being reserved for a dinner dish, so I settled for the haddock. Both are gorgeous white fish that are low in mercury counts, so it made me all too happy to take a bite into the panko breading and taste the clean fish with a bit of malt vinegar and tartar sauce. The chips were gorgeous too. You can tell they had just been cut earlier that day. The coleslaw on the other hand left a lot to be desired to me. It was fairly bland, having no flavor other than cabbage and mayo. I like to have a little bit of a hit from vinegar followed by a sweet touch of sugar. I was not able to clean out my basket though and those fish pieces and chips will become meals later this week, like fish tacos and maybe a form of hash on the weekend. We shall see.Everything was so relaxing on a sweltering 100 degree day. The atmosphere (moose head included) made you feel like you had been taken away to a camp ground and were fishing for everything from the red fin tuna to salmon. The wait staff was attentive, but not overly attentive and really knew what they were talking about when it came to recommendations. That is what can make or break a eating out experience to me. For a business that has been around since 1821 (that is what I read, so do not quote me 100%) it still impresses me to this day.

After such a wonderful meal, it makes me feel guilty that I have a horrible craving for a Big Mac. Oh well, back to the craving board :) or should I just got to the store and buy that cantaloupe that was taunting me. hrmmm...

Do you like a hot bath in the oven too?

2008-07-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a whole bunch of wedding giftcards, I have been able to stock my kitchen with all the little goodies and trinkets to my hearts desire. One thing I really wanted was a set of ramekins. I know these are great for individual sizes of foods. Like chicken pot pies, mac and cheese and many more. The one thing I have always wanted to try and make though, would be a souffle or something to that degree.

This was going to be fore my girls night again. But what would be something that would be light and perfect ending to a pasta dinner? Of course souffle was the first thing that came to mind, but having never done it before, I was not in the mood to possibly fail at dessert today. That will be saved for another day when I will not mind letting them fall.

Instead I chose to make Raspberry Lemon Custard Cakes (You can see the recipe here). Now, I have made custards before and plenty of cakes (ok, guilty as charged, the batter came from a box). But this was something I needed to complete in the next half hour before that bell rang. OH NO!

After sending hubby to the store, I was able to get going. Who can go wrong with some lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, and the sweetest raspberries that just pop in your mouth with the taste of the sun in their juices. Mmmm!It was the simplest recipe to use. The hand mixer really helped with it all though. I can not wait until I have my kitchen aid in the kitchen though!
My favorite part was staring at the gorgeous white peaks that had been formed from the combination of sugar and egg whites, then the pale yellow from the yolks being beaten with the lemon juice and zest and a small amount of raspberry extract. After about 25 minutes in the oven, taking a bath in a pna of hot water, they came out perfectly puffed up and golden brown. Curse the fact that we still had to eat dinner.

But it was all worth the wait to dig into the angel food cake layer and then hit the creamy custard that was in the bottom with the fresh raspberries that burst once your spoon touched them!
Oh...the gooeiness of it all! I would not change this recipe...well, ok, I would. I want to try it with blueberries, since I know blueberries go so gorgeously together. Mmmm....I can not wait until after we go to the Blueberry Patch now!

It was the perfect ending to the meal though. It was light and fluffy and that can of cool whip was destroyed. May it rest in piece...at least until I buy a new can to replace it. HAHA!

Don't you want to be my neighbor?

2008-07-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Each month, my girl friends and I try to get together just to chill out and vent or get away from the significant others (sorry honey :) ). This month, it was going to be at my place and I was not going to settle for hot greasy pizza for dinner on a even hotter, stickier day. I got everything toghether and decided I was going to do a challenge. I was going to make my own pasta. I mean, how hard could it be? Those cooks from the cooking shows (with last names like DeLaurentis, Batali, Lagasse) all make it look so easy! Boy, do you learn not to trust a tv...and fast.

I read for a few days on how to construct the well, and stir everything together. No biggie? Right? Wrong!

The first batch of dough was so cracked and dry that I gave up and threw it away. 3 cups of flour down with three eggs. Round 2 was a little smoother. I found a hint that said to add bits of milk as you went to help make the dough moist. And praise the pasta god, I was able to have it come together nicely. Now, like most doughs, I had to let it rest.

Not like I get to rest though! Oh no! Need to make the stuffing for my mini ravioli's.

It was super easy too! I just used 1 cup ricotta, sauteed mushrooms and garlic, Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup freshly grated), chicken and 1 egg. OH! How could I forget my pride and joy, some of my fresh sweet basil from my own garden. *Puff out chest (no caterpillar invasion will take over my garden)

It all looked absolutely amazing and the smell... I can not even describe the way that my senses were just going off the walls with pleasure!

After a rest period came the hard part. Rolling out the dough. I do not have a pasta machine, so this was going to get sticky. Literally. I grabbed the rolling pin, my trusty sil pat mat and the dough with a bowl of flour. My arms have never hurt so much! The dough was so elastic that I could not get ti to stay rolled out for the most part until after I added a tad more flour. I rolled it all out to around a quarter inch. But even this proved to be too thick in the end. But oh well. I also lacked a ravioli cutter. So I resorted to something familiar from my college days. A shot glass :)

I placed a quarter teaspoon of filling in each little bit and then put some water around the filling to help seal the dough together. Use the shot glass and viola! I had pastas! I had to test it before the girls arrived and got my salted water going. Oh the agony of waiting! I was so proud and impressed that I even dragged my husband away from his activity to try my pasta and all its goodness :) Oh the melt in your mouth flavor blew me away! The garlic and mushrooms melted so well with the cheeses and chicken.

I got down to work and made up a big batch for the ladies! And to my joy and surprise, it was all gone before the night even got underway! YEA!

Now, what did I learn from all this you ask?

Get Mike to roll out the dough next time, he has the super strong, buff arms hehe! :) :)

Try, try again....

2008-07-13T20:24:00.001-07:00

Weekends. Oh how I love weekends. Especially after trying weeks. This week was definitely one of those trying weeks, so on Sunday I decided to TRY something again. I was going to attempt buttermilk biscuits.

Now to some people, they look at this as a simple task. Me on the other hand, I find it a challenge. Really anything that has to do with baking is a challenge. My mother was always the one who could get in the kitchen and make yeast rolls and all that fun stuff with such ease. Thank goodness for birthdays when she has to do as I please and make fan tans or even better, poppy seed cake with that delicious orange glaze. MMMM!!!

Simple as it sounds, buttermilk biscuits have few ingredients. Just flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter and a little bit of lard with buttermilk. It is the humidity that can ruin these or...in my case...the fact of overworking the dough. I was lucky enough that the dough came out looking pretty good with nice give. But that leads up to the hard part. The cooking process.

My oven had been preheated to 450 degrees and was just crying for the biscuits, as I debated opening up the can that I had in the fridge and trying to pass those off as 'homemade'. Curses, Mike would be able to tell the difference and I have to keep going. I came this far. Slowly, but reluctantly, I slid the pan in and set the timer that would count down to the fate of my biscuit making skills.

In the mean time, I distracted myself by making hubbies favorite breakfast food. Sausage gravy that would accompany the biscuits. Drat, the biscuits. No...can not open the oven, let the heat stay. Let them rise and gain in all the beauty that is fresh biscuits. The smell of simmering sausage took over the air and therefore took my mind away from what sat in the oven.

*Beep, beep* What is this noise that is invading my sausage dream. OH! the time is going off. Now...the moment of truth. Did I succeed in my little adventure, or did I fail and cause the biscuits to come out flat and dense.

To my surprise, I had gorgeous little dumplings staring back at me from the oven. The smell of buttermilk smacked me in the face with a bit of heat from the oven. Oh, but was it worth it. I was giddier than a school girl though. I had gotten them to a gorgeous golden brown, but the true test. The taste test.
I sat my guinea pig...I mean, hubby down with a fresh plate of biscuits and gravy. First bite...to torture me, he let it linger. Not nice. But to my joy he was really satisfied! I then had to have a bite. And wow...with some strawberry jam and butter, they really hit the spot! I could not have been happier. Needless to say, I had to puff my chest out the rest of the day, just elated at my creation. *sigh*

With all said, done and devoured, I cleaned up my area where I created a masterpiece in my eyes The finaly thought came down to the count of biscuits left. The recipe made a dozen, Mike had 3, I had 1 but I only have 7 left on the cooling rack? Here kitty, kitty, kitty, want to tell me why you are licking your paws in satisfaction?

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

2008-07-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

After the excitement of Wednesday, things have calmed down a bit. We are starting the house hunting process and getting all that fun stuff together, but also, work has picked up for me. I was in the studio for 11 hours yesterday starring at the same...freaking...project. What do I want to do when I get home? COOK!

It was a rough day for both of us, so my idea was a good old fashioned comfort food. Slightly sweet with a touch of salt...CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!! This is my husbands FAVORITE! I am a peanut butter girl to be honest. (If you need proof of this, see a entry titled 'captain my captain').

Now, I have come to the conclusion that I want to use my husband as a lab rat, in a sense. I am bound and determined to teach him that there is more than lunch meat wraps, macaroni'n'cheese, burrito meat and manicotti or toasted cheese to be eaten. And, yes, anyone, even you can cook! *I think Remi should appear right here, with Guasteu's cook book :)

Being a tad sneaky, I tried to subtly use my pregnancy powers to convince him that cooking some cookies would lead to happiness, and it worked :) Cravings are such a joy! Now, I wanted him to cook these (we used to trusty Nestle Toll House cookie recipe, but I melted the butter, vs creaming it) and he was a success at making them! I just smiled and giggled as he measured out the ingredients, stirred them together and then put them on the cookie sheet. It reminded me of a kid when he was ready to pour the chocolate chips in dough, a little uncertain, but still debating if he should dump the whole bag or reserve some, and then as they finished cooking, the quiet question of 'can I have on yet?'. Silly, you'll burn your tongue!

They came out AMAZING! For his first batch of cookies, I was so proud of him and he got to reap the benefits of chewy chocolate chip cookies and now we have some dough in the freezer for a later date! YEA!

Only problem I see with this situation...is keeping me away from the cookie dough...mmm...cookie dough...*drool*

My little oven...

2008-07-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

Is cooking a little GIRL!!! YEA!!

Only 100 days to go and then this little muffin will be ready to love!

Cook's Block

2008-07-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

I know I can not be the only one who gets this little bug that likes to creep up on chefs/cooks. Lately, for some reason, I have found inspiration in other cooks recipes, but none in my own. It is just plain frustrating to me. One example would be what to do with half a pound of ground beef for dinner.That resulted in just making some spaghetti with meat sauce. So creative, but when you are tired and have a SUPER early morning, it works.

Anyway, in lou of not having a new recipe to really post, I am going to go back to one that I had made, but never posted the final images.

Being fascinated by images of food, I always like tot try and figure out what has been used to create a dish. One that got me was rumaki. Now, I do not have a taste for seafood...at all. I eat canned tuna and cod. That is about it. Midwestern girl, through and through. So I altered the recipe and made a beef rumaki.

To accomplish this, I took a beef tenderloin (about a 2" thick piece) and cut it into bite sized pieces. I then wrapped the pieces with water chestnuts and bacon (mmm, bacon...*drool*) After wrapping all the pieces, I put my oven on the broil setting.

I wanted a little sweet and savory, so I added some brown sugar on top of the rumaki with half having red pepper flakes for a little more of a kick. The rumaki was then put under the broiler for about 7 minutes until the bacon started to crisp and the beef was a nice medium well.

In the mean time, the rumaki needed a buddy. So I made about 4 cups of rice and a simple vegetable stir fry. Bless those who made stir fry.

Mmmm...the smell of sugar, bacon, beef and veggies made the apartment just glow and sparkle with aroma. Needless to say, I had to dig in before I could let hubby get a bite, but I think it was worth it for him. :) (Sorry the picture is a tad blurry. I am still trying to figure the new camera out since I lost the USB plug in for my other one...booo)

Food blogging, my stress reliever.

Look what I got in the oven!

2008-07-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Lookie! I finally have a bump! WOO HOO! 23 weeks and 4 days, this is awesome! That little bump controls the food that goes into my mouth and what appears in my dreams at night. What a little angel :) How about helping put a stop to mommy's 'cooking block'. At least with ground beef :)

It might not be fall, but apples are great any time!

2008-06-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

I guess apple's don't keep the doctor away, but boy are they delicious!

One of my favorites are pink ladies, followed by golden delicious apples. With food prices going up slowly, everything is getting pricier and I had to have these apples though, despite being out of season.

Eating them with peanut butter, caramel, on rice cakes, or just plan. They are just the perfect sweet treat after they have been chilled in the fridge for a while. It is pretty funny because our dog, Kobe, loves apples. I normally will give him the remainder of the apple that I don't finish and he just chews at it bit by bit. He loves those kind of treats.

Another rummage through the fridge and I noticed I had a few apples sitting there. Looking sad that they had not been eaten. Bananas had taken their place and they were sad that they had to just rot away. So I made a bold choice to try and make pastries again.

Back in high school I had attempted to make mom a raisin pie. The dough came out over worked but the filling was good.

Apprehensive, I resorted to one of my favorite food blog lists. From SmittenKitchen to PioneerWoman, I just browsed to see what I could do with the apples. Dumplings seemed too boring to me. Apple pie was just a tad too much. Then I found it. Apple galettes/tarts! GENIUS!!!

Taking a few ideas from SmittenKitchens simple apple tart, I created a few touches of my own.

First, I made a flaky crust from a recipe out of Betty Crocker's cookbook that grandma mcdaniel gave me. Not to sound overly proud, but the crust came out damn freaking awesome! In Mike's words 'it is almost perfect'. *Puffs out chest with pride*

The filling I decided to use was a combination of the pink ladies and golden delicious apples. Each cut up super thin so they would cook well. As shown on the SmittenKitchen site, I used the peels and cores and put them in a sugar water to cook down into a nice syrup.

In the mean time, I rolled the dough to about a 1/8th to a quarter of an inch. Since the dough had enough butter in it (Paula Dean would be so proud), I did not need to grease the dishes. Again I used my muffin top pan and made mini's.

Laying the apple slices, I was able to arrange them in a circular pattern. I also dusted them lightly with some cinnamon and butter for a nice flavor and color. Then the dough was folded over the edges and made a nice little cup hold. I used an egg wash to help brown the crust with a little bit of sugar to add a sweetness to the crust.

They were cooked at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, rotating half way through the cooking process so that they would brown evenly.

Before they were complete, I drained the syrup and let it cool down to room temperature. It thickens up nicely.

Upon removing the tarts from the oven, I drizzled the syrup over the apples that were visible to give it a nice glossy look. And finally, time to devour!!!

Now, where is the whip cream again?

Rice and Canola oil...what to do...hmmm

2008-06-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

I love carbs. My favorite starch/carb is rice. As a huge fan of Rice-a-Roni and their boxes of flavored rices, I do not think I could ever go hungry again. I particularly enjoy the four cheese and italian cheese and herb. Needless to say I like cheese too.

After having made a fresh box a couple days ago, I knew I needed to do something with the remainder, since eating the rice with chicken would only last so many times for me.

I watched Mario Batolli a lot when I was in college. The man was fun to watch for me. Some of the ingredients I knew I would never find in Kansas without paying a price out the behind and some of the recipes I knew I would only try again (at least authentically) in Italy.

One morning, hungover and hungry, I turned on Mario and zoned while debating whether or not to eat Ramen or grilled cheese. To my surprise he was making a nice mushroom risotto. Fast forward in TV time a day. Taking the cold risotto, Mario made arancini, or fried risotto balls. I was drooling, but being a poor college kid, I lived with my ramen.

Fast forward to the here and now, and it hit me. Why not make arancini, Amy style. So I jumped in the kitchen one late morning, heated up about half an inch of canola oil and got to work.

First, I took out the cold rice and put in a mixing bowl. I had about 1.5-1.75 cups left. To this I added two eggs, some bread crumbs, shredded mozzerella, a small amount of flour to help bind and some (here is my secret) chili powder. Just a small amount for a little kick.

My breading was some unseasoned breadcrumbs, one egg beaten lightly, and flour. I started out rolling the rice into balls, rolling in flour and shaking off to get rid of excess flour, roll in the egg and off to the breadcrumbs. Now, I am never neat and tidy when it comes to breading. Ok, I am far from neat and tidy. I look at cooking/baking as 'the more of a mess you make, the better it will taste in the end, because you had fun'.

Upon rolling out over 20 rice balls, it was time for the fun part, FRYING!!! Ask my husband, a pan of oil just screams to me to drop something in it and try it out. I kept the heat on a med-lo to a medium depending on how many I would put in at a time. Less than 45 seconds later, I had golden delicious balls of rice, cheese and breading. Muah haha!

Add a nice green salad and you have a pretty good vegetarian meal if you ask me! Justin will have to be the call on that one :) I want to try it again sometime and do some toasted pine nuts in there for a bit of added protein.*

Mike even said they taste good with a bit of ranch dressing to dip in. I do not disagree by any means! Amazing...that is all I can say.

Too bad the oil was still sitting there...poor, poor wonton wrappers...they met a crispy death with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar :)

*I cook people, I do not try to avoid heart attacks.

Hi, my name is Amy and I am a fruit snack junkie...

2008-06-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Actually it should be my husbands name in the title, I am the jelly belly-aholic. Oh, the guilty pleasures of processed sugars.

It is funny though. Each time I go to the store, I like to go up and down the isles seeing what there is to see and each time I pass the cereal isle, there are the gummies. If they are on sale, I know I should buy some. Especially since I like to eat them every now and again. Or worse, I buy the fruit roll ups. Who could not like orange and cherry together?

But it is always interesting to go to the freezer (yes, I keep them there to hide them from our everyday eyes and also to keep them nice and cold. mmm...) and see that they are all gone! Follow the dog and cat...or the trail of wrappers and there you have it. My husband will be sprawled out on the bed eating a whole box to his hearts content or they will be laying all around the desks in the loft. I just have to laugh because I never knew that the simple joys of a sugar high could be so nice. I guess it is somewhat better than coffee or mountain dew. Maybe?

Just know, this blog is all for you honey :) And yes...I will buy more fruit snacks someday. Be happy with your chocolate for now. Maybe I will try slipping you some fruit leathers instead. HAHAHA!

You want me to cook on a what?

2008-06-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was in Girl Scouts for most of my life. Actually, to be technically correct, I still am an adult scout. Got to love life time memberships. Anyway, cooking on the campfire was a favorite thing to do. I remember warming up cans of Crisco just to fry up dough for doughnuts in the morning or making foil packs. One can not forget the ever trusty hot dog on a stick or 'walking taco salad'.

This all leads up to Mike and I going on our first camping trip. I thought for two weeks straight about what recipes would be fun to do while camping. Needless to say, we had MORE than enough food. But thanks to the rain, I was limited on cooking. I did make breakfast the first morning though and pre-made the sausage and gravy.

For breakfast we had something called, 'Garbage'. Sounds bad, but it was used to clean out whatever you had leftover from the weekend. It is basically what I call a dirty Denver omelet. Peppers, sausage, bacon, cheese and eggs. I will like to try it with some goat cheese when I can.

Wes made some amazing fried potatoes with peppers and onions. Let us just say, there was NOTHING left to eat once we finished. I thought the group was going to finish the pots and pans too!

It was a great trip though. We were lodging at St. Joe National Park with Wes and Mel, John and Kim and Justin and Abby. Since Mike and I were limited on time, due to work, we all decided to go to a close by rock field to check it out. Our stop was at the Elephant Rocks. These are a whole bunch of rocks that were formed by a volcano and have smoothed out over the years and if you look just right, they look like a herd of elephants. Super cool! I climbed on ONE rock :) GO ME! 24 weeks pregnant and still trying to keep up with everyone. The guys jumped around like gazelles the whole time. Silly boys.

Unfortunately a storm moved in and that night it rained really hard. Not to mention the cold air that moved in. Wes and Justin got a great fire going and Wes put together some awesome foil packs veggies. We all just sat around roasting hot dogs and cheesie dogs with s'mores for dessert. All went to bed, full and tired.

The next morning we packed up and headed home. It was a cold morning and Hardee's was the closest fast food chain for breakfast. Needless to say fried biscuits...fried sausage and processed cheese product...not a great breakfast. I wanted my oven. BADLY! Five hours later and I was happy to see my electric toy. Mike I think was happier to see some home made spicy sausage biscuits and gravy.

Personally, I was grateful for the shower. And a stocked fridge :)

Mama MIA!

2008-06-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

A childhood (and adulthood) favorite of mine has always been pizza. I remember eating Little Ceaser's at sleep overs, then those interesting frozen dough sheets called pizza from Tostino's and finally reaching Papa Keno's or the pizza capital of the world, Italian pizza. Oh how I miss that pizza.

The closest I have found in the area to the italian pizza was Minsky's. But then, one late night at work, I was introduced to the best pizza in the Kansas City area. D'Bronx. I mean the name itself makes someone curious.

It is known for its D'Bronx special which has sausage, ham, green peppers, olives, onions, mushrooms, pepperoni and cheese....LOTS of cheese, piled on one of the most amazing crusts. My mouth will not cease to water.

The original store in Westport is very rustic. Across the street from a little bar that one of our friends used to go to a bit. Take a step in and you can smell the delicious delicacies that float in the oven, waiting to get to their final destination of a patrons plate. The dining room itself is nothing too special, just chairs and wood booths with tables and walls that have been scribbled on throughout the years by visitors wanting to commemorate their visits. I would have to say what makes the experience would be the serving staff. They just have that air of not caring to them that makes it a little more interesting to me.

Since they opened a new location on 103rd and Metcalf, the neighborhood was all a buzz. My parents would frequent the joint weekly and then take Mike and I a few times. Now it has come down to Mike and I ordering the Large (16") D'Bronx special at least once a month. If you thought pizza tasted good cold, this is one of those pizzas that hot, cold or other, would taste just as good the day that you took it from the oven. Kobe, our dog, seems to love it too. He likes to like the remaining flavor and then rip the box to shreds. How cute. :)

Looking at a box will never be the same again...

Captain...oh my captain

2008-06-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

So, I must blame Stacey for this new obsession with the wonderful oat and corn cereal known as Captain Crunch.

Not too long ago, while my work station was on yet another temper tantrum, I was sitting across from her and smelled the sweet smell of peanut butter, but I heard a weird crunch. Peeking over the divider I saw the glory. Peanut Butter Crunch. I was immediately taken back to a time of such simple days. That and my stomach started growling. I just had to eat a little.

I have fond memories of this as a kid going to Camp Oakledge in the Ozarks. They used to set up carts with boxes of cereal and then serve the hot foods family style. If it was your turn to get the cereal though, be quick, because the good stuff always disappeared in a heart beat. I pushed and pulled just to get that box of PB Crunch. It was so sweet on those hot summer days with cold 2% milk poured over it. Kind of took me away from the fact that I still had a mile hike back to the sailing camp site. But what kid does not like Peanut Butter? Seriously!

Needless to say, I went out and bought a few of the largest possible boxes of PB crunch and that led to Berry Crunch and finally, the classic, Captain Crunch. This led me to thinking again. When I was little mom used to buy those 5 lb jars of pb both crunchy and smooth, and we would eat to our hearts content. According to wikipedia, each child will eat up to 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches up until they are in highschool. If only they would have counted college and the early years in the work force. I could only imagine the count.

Kim and I alone could have doubled that. My favorite was pb cookies. Oh those were heaven. Especially when mom would be making them in the kitchen. I liked mine nice and crunchy with the ever so slightly chewy center. Below are some pics of my recent attempt at humidity and pb cookies. I like to make these and then roll them in wax paper rolls. That way, like with most cookies, you can just slice and cook some fresh without having that stale, rock hard crunch to them.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour, sift or stir before measuring
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

Preparation:

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls; place on greased baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork; dip fork in flour periodically to keep it from sticking to the peanut butter cookie dough.
Bake peanut butter cookies at 375° for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Depending on the size of your cookies will depend on how many you get out of the recipe. I like mine really big :)

All I have to say is peanut butter, you are wonderful...though I question you and your relationship with hamburger lately....

To my pappy

2008-06-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today is that one day of the year that we celebrate father's. Father's DAY!

My dad has been a father for almost 25 years now and soon to be a grandfather to Mike and I's first little one come October. Mike is so excited to be a dad, that he can not wait for fathers day next year.

But I would be lying if I said that I could not wait for Mother's Day.

Anyway, I was thinking, what would be one good thing for dad this year. He is diabetic and watches his sugar and carb intake fairly well. So I knew doing the traditional cake was going to be way too much.

SO...

I opted for a new idea. Back in December I got a muffin top pan. All I have used it for before was blueberry muffins. Oh how I love those, but that is another blog and rant all together.

But I mixed up some German Chocolate cake batter and popped the dough in the muffin top pan! 15 minutes later and I have a selection layers for mini cakes!

Add a little frosting (the wonderful coconut walnut for the guys and cream cheese for the gals) and you have....

MINI CAKES!!! Granted they are not the most gorgeous looking, but boy...were they yummy! Especially with the grilled burgers. MMMMM!!!

All I have to say, is I hope all the fathers out there had a great day and that it continues to be great!

Tornadoes and tacos?

2008-06-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well, what can you expect when you live in the heartland where tornadoes are so prominent.

Another night of being under a tornado warning. Listening to sirens cry and wail that weather was coming. Unpleasant weather. Right now we are lucky that the bad part of the storm has mostly past us and headed toward North KC (please don't hit work, we still need money!) but there is such a tail attached that it is not looking like sleep will be a big part.

I haven't been sleeping for about the past two weeks, thanks to little one kicking the crap out of my stomach and other insides that I am assuming look like soccer balls. Not to forget my love of the cat crawling on the counters and table and making himself happy. Even with no food in any of those places. It is nuts. I don't get cats. Thank goodness for my protector, Kobe. The bravest corgi you will ever meet. (hahah, bravest, my butt! He would lick an intruder)

I did finish my first semester back at school, finishing my perspectives of hospitality class with a strong B (almost an A) and confidence to keep going. I was going to go into a class that only lasted 8 weeks next semester, but due to little one coming and needing to work, I have no way of doing this. 10 AM classes are not something that work wants to have you do. Bummer. But I will get back in the spring, I hope, budget pending.

Recipes have been flowing to me lately, and that is a great help. I have cut back on our grocery budget (bummer big time, but thank goodness for Aldi's) and am able to make almost 6 meals a week on 40 dollars. For me, that is f-ing amazing. I know there are people out there doing better, and I give you made credit, but I am sure I will change things again once little one is present and accounted for, but we will see.

Thank goodness for the beef from Uncle John, granted I would have preferred organic beef, but minimal hormones work for me. Reminded to self, find someone who has some venison for trade. I really want some roasted deer. Mmmm...that would be an awesome fall meal. Ok, craving aside, I have some beef fillets thawed in the fridge. One is being marinated to make a new version of rumaki I created and want to try big time. I think that will be dinner tomorrow night. If it is successful, then I will post some pictures and the recipes. I might have to work it a bit. But I am confident. We will have some nice long grain rice and a veggie stir fry. So if J and J show up they will have options that are meat free.

Saturday is going to be another trip to a farmers market for me. More than likely, just to save gas, I will just venture to the Overland Park farmers market. Yea farmers markets! I will have some chicken out that day, but another fillet to eat. Hmmm... maybe a simple grilled meal with mom and dad over. Who would want to mess with these steaks? They are super tender and the marbling is beautiful. As for the chicken, I might save that for dinner on Sunday night. Do I hear lettuce wraps?

Lettuce wraps. Man, those bring back a lot of memories. At one point and time I was on a gluten free diet. I did not do well on it because I loved my french fries, greasy food and carbs. Oh how I love my carbs. But unfortunately, your stomach can be so intolerant at times, that nothing sticks. I went through dense breads that tasted horrible and had to be kept frozen, rice pastas that got old fast, frozen corn gets old too and no milk. Soy milk. Are you kidding me? I drink a gallon every 4 days or so (yes, by myself) and soy milk was just so ungodly sweet to my taste buds and rice milk...um, no. Yes, I ramble. Love it. I finally found something that worked, lettuce wraps. I bought lunch meat, cheese, miracle whip, and a big hunk of lettuce that was on sale. I loved the bibb, but it was so pricey at the time that regular lettuce was all that I could. It was my savior.

Of course, now I moved into the Asian/Indian influence and I like to add a stir fry sauce with the chunked chicken and have carrots, cucumber, rice, and delicious dipping sauces. I think this week will have an avocado mayo present. We shall see. Thank goodness for a hubby that will eat anything.

Alright, for now, I am back to watching the doppler on weather.com and listening to the weather radio.