Blogs can be a great source for recipes!

Looking for something different to do with sweet potatoes? I came upon a blog with a description of a great sounding sweet potato apple bake. A lack of exact quantities notwithstanding, the dish turned out very well.

Sweet Potato Apple Bake
3 large or 5 medium sweet potatoes
2 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Butter
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Several tablespoons dark brown sugar
Orange marmalade (The kind with the peelings left in the preserve - Kroger has a good one if you are in the Southeast.)
Pinch of salt
Granulated white sugar

Boil the potatoes until they are about half done to put them on a par with the apples as to baking time, and slice them a bit thicker than 1/4 inch. Make one layer in a 2-quart, deep, oven safe dish.
Over the slices sprinkle a couple of tablespoonfuls of dark brown sugar, plus a little salt, dot this with bits of butter, add a generous dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg and a few dabs of orange marmalade.
Next add a layer of sliced apples, with the same brown sugar butter spice and marmalade garnish.
Repeat these two layers, then add a final layer of potatoes.

Over the top add more sugar, more butter, more spices, more dabs of marmalade, and a sprinkling of granulated white sugar for a glistening finish.

Bake at 350 deg F, about 30 mins to brown and heat through.

I need a list of synonyms for delicious! This is a tasty alternative to the standard casserole with all those marshmallows.

Awesome cream cheese appetizer

Published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution a while back, this fresh take on the cream cheese and preserves appetizer is yummy!

Unwrap one box of cream cheese and put it in the middle of your serving dish. Over it pour
6 oz mango chutney (chopped if necessary), then
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts, and
1/3 cup sweetened, flaked coconut

Serve with your favorite crackers.

Give a greyhound a new home for Christmas

Greyhounds are the best! They are wonderful, gentle, sweet natured, beautiful, thoroughbred dogs who love nothing more than a soft place to lay their heads. No, they do not require any more exercise than any other breed and they do not have to run. That doesn't mean they don't love to run given the chance.

My Greyhound Adoption Persona for Firefox users is now available on their site. If you would like to wear it, you'll find it here:
Firefox Persona - Greyhound Adoption

The Korean pancakes, greyhound Persona

No, there are no pictures. They didn't look as pretty as I hoped. They tasted good though they were a little thick. I'm anxious to try them again with some modifications to the recipe. Next time I'll post step by steps. Korean food always has steps. Lots of preparation, little cooking time.

I'm working on a Persona for Firefox about Greyhound Adoption.  Here is what I have so far:

Its a greyhound, bag packed, making his way to his forever home. I'm going to submit it to Firefox for approval. I'll keep you posted.

Experiment day

When we lived in Korea, we often went to a certain restaurant near our home. It was situated on the slope of a hill, and consisted of multiple little houses, all decorated in the traditional Korean style, with the traditional heated floors. The kids love it - they would bring their blankies and snuggle on the warm floor. The parents loved it too, both for the food and for the fact that the kids would fall asleep, snuggled on the warm floor!

One of the menu items was Pindaetok, a pancake made of mung bean powder, topped with green onions, beef, kimchi, bean sprouts, and whatever other ingredients of the day. They were delicious, and we always ate too much of this appetizer to fully do justice to the wonderful Korean bbq that followed.

So today we are going to try and make Pindaetok, or Bindae Dok with spicy soy dipping sauce. Report to follow.

P.S. Being a transplant to the south, I never thought I would like grits, until I tried garlic shrimp grits. Today I am adding the best cheese grits I have ever eaten to the list of Grits Likes. If I can persuade the maker to share the recipe, you can try it too.

Ami Simms Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative Priority Quilts

Ami Simms is a well known quilter whose mom had Alzheimers. Ami decided to do something about it, and the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative was born. Quilters everywhere are helping the effort by constructing small quilts (fit into a Priority mailer) that Ami sells by auction on her website, or that serve as your "receipt" when you make a suitable donation to the AAQI at any the quilt shows Ami attends.
I am so thrilled that the three little quilts I sent were among those taken to the show in Houston, and that they were deemed worthy of $50, $50 and $65, by those willing to make a donation to the cause.

You can read more about Ami and her project here: Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative

Rain = Comfort Food

It's pouring with rain here in Georgia today. Definitely a day to make something hot and full of carbs! Here's a recipe for a delicious corn casserole from allrecipes.com. You know I cannot leave a recipe alone, so I've added some optional ingredients for your tasting pleasure. I have tried all of them - even some combos of them - with great success.

RAINY DAY CORN CASSEROLE
(Good for any other day too)

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 (8.5 ounce) package dry corn bread mix
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained (or about 1 1/2 cups frozen, thawed under running water.)
1 (14.75 ounce) can creamed corn
1 cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine butter, eggs, corn bread mix, whole and creamed corn and sour cream. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.
Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown.

You can add stuff if you want -  a can of chopped chilies, or some pimiento, or a handful of cheese, or sauteed onions and green peppers, or bacon. It’s very forgiving.