Tortellini Bento

Taco Bowl

To make your own crunchy taco shell bowl, spray both sides of a soft tortilla with a small amount of cooking spray.  Drape the tortilla over an oven safe bowl or measuring cup.  Bake 375* for about 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Taco Bento

I got a new bento box from Whole Foods today.  Laptop Lunch Box.  There are multiple removable containers (some with water tight lids) that can be rearranged in various configurations.  I made loaded nachos for dinner.

Another Peach Cobbler

Hot diggity! I just bought a 5 lb box of fresh peaches for $6 at Whole Foods. I could think of nothing I wanted more than a big scoop of peach cobbler. We are trying a different recipe this time because the other one was a bit heavy like a pancake.

1 C. sugar
1 Tb. flour
4 C. sliced fresh peaches
nutmeg and cinnamon,
Combine together in a bowl, and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

1 C. sugar	1 C. flour
1/3 C. butter	1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt	1 egg

In a new clean bowl, cut cold butter into remaining ingredients to form a crumbly dough.  Sprinkle on top of your peaches.  Bake 375* about 25 minutes.

Tamales

Filling	Dough
1 14 lb. pork loin	2 C. masa harina
1 large onion, sliced	1 tsp. beef base
3 cloves garlic	2 C. water
	1/2 tsp. salt
Sauce	2/3 C. lard
1 pkg. (4 or 5) dried chili pods
2 C. water	corn husks
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours. Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chili pods. Place chilies in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chilies and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in 1 C. of the chili sauce.
Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour. Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chili sauce over. Thank You Allrecipes Yield: about 16 tamales.

Exciting Orchid Updates

The top two orchids are phalenopsis. The one on left is my newest plant, the one on right the largest. My newest orchid has tiny pink flowers which up until now I had only seen and enjoyed for the week I purchased it. My largest orchid has light purple flowers, and has bloomed 3 times in captivity and has created two offspring. I am excited to point out the new roots on both plants and light purple on the tips of their leaves which means they are doing quite well.  These orchids are growing in a peat moss wood chip blend.



The bottom two orchid are cattleya. The on the left is "blue", the one on right is "golden sunburst". Neither has bloomed in captivity yet. They both required extensive pruning of the root systems and leaves. If you notice brown powder around their bases, it is cinnamon. Cinnamon helps prevent root rot and pests.  I am overjoyed to point out the upward growing bullet shaped growths, which I believe will be new stems from which flowers will be capable of growing.  Also, the golden sunburst is growing new roots that are much greener and healthier than the mess of white roots it is poking through.  these orchids are growing in clear vases filled with 50/50 blend of water marbles, and clear glass marbles.

Brown sugar

Brown sugar can be a bit problematic because, when left unattended, the moist sugar can quickly transform into a rock-like state. This happens because the sugar dries out and the molasses used to keep it brown hardens and sticks it together like glue. There are several ways to avoid this problem.

1. Use a terra cotta sugar disk ($5) (or a .25 unglazed plant saucer), which will gradually release moisture into the sugar.  I use two plant saucers.
2. A slice of bread
3. Marshmallows. 3 or 4 regular size or several minis.
4. Keep in an air tight container.