A TOAST TO GLUHWEIN FROM THE CHRISTMAS MARKETS!

Do you know where you have to go to find one of these mugs?

My Brother and Sister-in-law got me started on these...and luckily, I can find these (occasionally) stateside, rather than in GERMANY!  They brought home one for me from their travels in Germany during the holiday...where there are quite a few Christmas markets that sell every type of Christmas item imaginable.  They are also famous for serving  Glühwein: a type of mulled wine that is served during the holiday season in collectible mugs such as these.  I actually picked up a few at local thrift stores!  To find out more about the markets...there are youtube videos to view...all a little different and all very enjoyable. 

view Christmas Markets 

There are 10 to view on this page...ranging from 1-5 minutes.  Have fun!

 

NOT A JOB...A SOURCE OF INCOME!

Take a different path...

I attended a media conference ( TechPhx ) recently and was chatting with a fellow attendee on the way to our cars.  I said something to her that nearly blew her away.  It wasn't anything I had thought of myself, but it seemed to take her by surprise.

We were discussing "needing a job"...and I turned to her and flatly stated that I didn't want a job, I wanted a source of income or rather provision.  You could see lightbulbs going off in her head.  "Oh," she said,"I never thought about it like that before!  ...but, you're RIGHT!"

We have trained ourselves to think that the only way to provide for ourselves and our family is to get (or make--taking the entrepreneurial route) a JOB...and if we work hard and go to college we will be rewarded with a good job and equally good wages.

Well, Dorothy...we aren't in Kansas anymore.   It is only in the recent past that people thought of having a job and that being their source of income or provision.  

In days gone by, we didn't hold that mind-set, and that mind-set didn't have the accompanying mind-limiting attributions.  

Your "job" was to provide for yourself and your family...and that meant you wore many hats and did many things.  You could provide for yourself by farming and gardening.  Probably both.  Your provision might show up in the form of hunted game or a catch of fish.  Your provision could come from your ability to sew and knit your own clothes.  You might have a few chickens.  Maybe you also grew and ground some wheat and baked your own bread...all without having a "job".

Fortunately, you could sell off your "extra" eggs or chickens, or you might be handy with a needle, or with wood working, or metal-smithing.  All these things might become a source of income--your provision--without you becoming a chicken farmer, or a seamstress, or a wood carver, or a blacksmith.

You could barter things you couldn't do or didn't want to do yourself.  

The trick is to provide for yourself as much as possible, barter or trade what you can't or won't do, and find a few things to sell.  


Suffice it to say that "jobs" tend to enslave us away from  being able to enjoy and live our lives.

    

Kitchen: Indian Summer Pudding

Indian Summer Pudding

I was in the mood for apple crisp the other night, but it was still kind of hot...like over 100°.  I also had wanted to see what I could do with my Mom's recipe for Malt-o-Meal with added beaten egg, brown sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla beaten into it.  This, Indian Summer Pudding was the result.

I used Organic Blue Cornmeal for the base.  It makes a lovely lavender color when prepared.

I was lucky to find this at Sprouts...keeps in freezer!

This dish is best eaten soon after making...

• 1/2 cup blue cornmeal (fine ground) 
• 1 TB ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• one large beaten egg
• 1 TB Sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
• 1 TB butter
• 1 tsp high-grade vanilla
• milk to thin--if needed
• 
  

bring water to the boil...add a pinch of salt if you wish, but it is not necessary.  While stirring with a whisk, slowly add the cornmeal.  If it gets too thick to stir, you can add more water or milk. (Make sure you have  all ingredients right next to the stove--you don't want to leave the pan--you need to continue stirring or pull it off the stove.)
Reduce heat to low...whisk in beaten egg.  This will "fluff" the mixture a little.  When the egg is "cooked" you can turn the heat off and add vanilla, sugar (or agave or your choice of sweetener), and butter.  You want a thick paste that will "set up".  If it is too thin it won't act like a "crust". (It will still taste ok though.)

Lightly butter a casserole or deep dish pie plate.  Smooth the mixture over the bottom.

The "filling" is really a quick fruit compote that I serve with pork or chicken.  You can substitute any fruits and nuts that you prefer.  This is what I usually use.

• 1 can sliced peaches packed in pear juice. (You will use the juice from the can, pears might work with this, too.)

a couple of handfuls of dried fruits and nuts, including  

• raisins (golden or otherwise, or currents)
• dried Montmorency cherries
• dried blueberries
• dried cranberries
• raw almonds
• raw pepitas

add spices to taste:

• cinnamon (alone) OR with
• a little ground clove (very little or one whole clove)
• allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla (after away from heat)

Heat the peaches, dried fruits and nuts, and spices, until the fruits and nuts are plumped...stirring as needed over a low heat. (It will burn if you leave it too long)

When the fruit is plumped, remove from heat and allow to cool.  The mixture should be much thicker.

The topping I used was 

• 2% Fage plain Greek Yogurt with a little 
• agave syrup to sweeten.  (Add to your taste...or leave it plain--it's good that way, too.) 
• 1 tsp vanilla

you might use almond flavoring or even cherry.

This didn't take very much time...and my husband LOVED it!!  I managed to get one serving of this, my son didn't get any.  My husband had seconds and then took the balance in his lunch the next day. 

This is the kind of recipe that you use what you have on hand, and what you like.  There is nothing "exact" about it.  I liked that I could put in the ground flax seed--and my husband didn't balk a bit.  You could easily sneak in all kinds of healthy additions--wheat germ, etc.  Just don't overpower it.

The colors and flavors remind me of an Indian Summer

Let me know if you try this and what fruits and nuts you used!
 

Chicken Tri-color (Ingredients only)

Recipe (Ingredients only) for Chicken Tri-Color

Chicken Tri-Color over Bow-Tie Pasta

(serves 6)

• Chicken breast or breast tenders. roughly 1/2 a chicken breast or two tenders per serving cut into bite size pieces. Brown in a little olive oil. (to speed up the process, begin with boneless, skinless breast or tenders...left-over chicken cut into bite-sized pieces will also work, however--if previously cooked chicken is used--wait to add as the last ingredient.)  

• 1 large yellow or white onion (dried minced works well in this, too 2 or 3 TB) 

•  3 TB dried basil

• 1/2 to 1 tsp anise seed (optional--we like the strong licorice overtones it adds)

• 1-15 oz can + 1-8 oz can of diced tomatoes (whole tomatoes will also work if you chop them up a little--I sometimes use the tomatoes that have basil already in them--if you have garden tomatoes--Go for it and pat yourself on the back! (3-8 oz cans will also do fine--and if you are not making 6 servings--cut back to two cans of tomatoes or one large)

• Fresh Baby Spinach washed(equal to 2-3 servings)

• 2 small to medium yellow squash (crookneck is best, any will do--you can even substitute another summer squash like zucchini)

• Serve over Bow-Tie pasta (cooked according to package directions and how many servings you are making)
  

• top with a little extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese (we like a blend of 6 Italian cheeses, but in the photo we used a smoked string cheese), olives, and raw pepitas for a little crunch. 

Kitchen: Chicken Tri-Color

Chicken Tri-Color over bow-tie pasta

This is one of my favorite dinners.  Bow-tie pasta is the perfect pasta for this dish.  

Chicken Tri-Color over Bow-Tie Pasta

(serves 6)

• Chicken breast or breast tenders. roughly 1/2 a chicken breast or two tenders per serving cut into bite size pieces. Brown in a little olive oil. (to speed up the process, begin with boneless, skinless breast or tenders...left-over chicken cut into bite-sized pieces will also work, however--if previously cooked chicken is used--wait to add as the last ingredient.)  

• 1 large yellow or white onion (dried minced works well in this, too 2 or 3 TB) 

•  3 TB dried basil

• 1/2 to 1 tsp anise seed (optional--we like the strong licorice overtones it adds)

• 1-15 oz can + 1-8 oz can of diced tomatoes (whole tomatoes will also work if you chop them up a little--I sometimes use the tomatoes that have basil already in them--if you have garden tomatoes--Go for it and pat yourself on the back! (3-8 oz cans will also do fine--and if you are not making 6 servings--cut back to two cans of tomatoes or one large)

• Fresh Baby Spinach washed(equal to 2-3 servings)

• 2 small to medium yellow squash (crookneck is best, any will do--you can even substitute another summer squash like zucchini)

• Serve over Bow-Tie pasta (cooked according to package directions and how many servings you are making)

• top with a little extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese (we like a blend of 6 Italian cheeses, but in the photo we used a smoked string cheese), olives, and raw pepitas for a little crunch. 

 

•  Chicken Tri-Color Ingredients only link

 

 Preparation

Fairly simple procedure--begin by cutting raw chicken into bite size pieces--remember they will shrink a little.  Brown the chicken in a pan.  (For better browning, use a little larger pan, or don't place as much chicken in the pan at a time as shown here...I was rushing things a bit...

brown the chicken, adding chopped onion or dried minced onion & spices

Season the browning chicken with salt and pepper to taste, adding chopped onions or dried minced onion, basil, and anise seed.

add the tomatoes

Add the tomatoes and allow to simmer about 10 minutes.  

ease the washed baby spinach in--this is only half the bag

The baby spinach will need to be "eased" into the pot, a little at a time.  We are just trying to "wilt" the spinach, not "cook" it.

lastly add the thinly sliced yellow squash 

Thinly slice the washed yellow squash and add it too the pot while the spinach is wilting.
We think the yellow squash is best when slightly undercooked, but you could cook it longer.

plated over bow-tie pasta

It is pretty to look at...and very tasty, and on the "healthy" meal side you could use a whole grain pasta or brown rice pasta or skip the pasta altogether and serve it on a bed of spaghetti squash.  You could use a nut based cheese.  What is on sale, what do you have in the cupboard (or from your garden)...these recipes are not "exact"-- substitutions are expected!  You could use canned chicken and frozen spinach...though the result would not be quite as satisfying.

Kitchen: Corn Fritter Pancakes for DINNER!

Corn Fritter Pancakes...Great for Dinner!

We enjoy eating "breakfast" for dinner once in a while.  It can lower the average cost of dinner meals if you throw in "breakfast" for dinner.  Pancakes and eggs...and sausage or bacon or a slab of ham if you desire meat as well, (my husband does...).  Add a fruit salad and milk or a cup of coffee and there you are.

Making these is pretty simple.  Use whatever pancake recipe you prefer...you can even use pancake mix.  You will need to adjust the liquid because you will be using a small can of creamed corn which adds some moisture. 

Here is the recipe that I used--I actually prefer substituting half wheat flour and reducing or eliminating the salt, especially since there is salt in the creamed corn and baking soda will add saltiness.

Corn Fritter Pancakes *

combine dry ingredients

 in a batter bowl or large (8 cup) measuring cup

• 1 cup unbleached flour just stir to add a little air before measuring--sifting is not required
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 TB baking powder (look for a product without aluminum in it)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (OPTIONAL--I chose to omit this)

using a whisk (or a fork ) mix thoroughly to distribute the ingredients well.

combine liquid ingredients 

• 1  cup (plus maybe a little more) buttermilk or sour milk** (see info below)
• 1 egg well beaten
• 2 TB cooking oil (like olive, corn, canola, etc.)
• 1 small can of creamed corn

blend the liquids until well mixed

Add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring lightly to combine.  You are just trying to combine and wet the ingredients--over mixing is not a good idea.  If you find that there is NOT enough moisture, you may need to add a bit more milk.  How can you tell?  If the batter does not spread on it's own--it is too thick.  If it runs all over the place, there is not enough flour...it not as easy to fix that...so better to be too thick, than too thin!

**to make "soured milk" place 1 TB apple cider vinegar (you might substitute lemon juice) in the measuring cup and then fill with milk to the measure.

To cook the pancakes, heat the griddle and then check with a few drops of water to see if they dance around.  If they instantly dry up--too hot...reduce heat and wait until the drops dance.  If they just sit and sizzle or do little--not hot enough.  Make sure you use some oil on the skillet to keep them from sticking. (You will need to add more during the cooking process)  

you want to see "bubbles breaking" and dryness around the edge to turn

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to get a "perfect" size consistently.  The batter should spread mostly by itself, but ok if you help a little.  Wait until you see the edges beginning to "dry"--won't appear shiny...and the bubbles beginning to break...then turn...only once for best results.

It won't be long to cook the other side.  If you like--remove them to a warmed plate, and place in a warm oven or even the microwave.  If there will be any time at all before serving, it might be helpful to place them on a paper towel to help keep the excess moisture build up.

Serve with butter and usually these are topped off with a dusting of powdered sugar--use a sieve and sprinkle the sugar on top.  Of course, you might like honey, or maple syrup, or even molasses on top.  A couple fried eggs, or maybe scrambled and a slice of ham go well with this.  A fruit salad and you have your breakfast for dinner!

• The plate used at the top is by LENOX: Desert Vista.

Corn Fritter Recipe only

Kitchen, Craft and Home: Recipe Only

Corn Fritter Pancakes *

combine dry ingredients

 in a batter bowl or large (8 cup) measuring cup

• 1 cup unbleached flour just stir to add a little air before measuring--sifting is not required
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 TB baking powder (look for a product without aluminum in it)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (OPTIONAL--I chose to omit this)

using a whisk (or a fork ) mix thoroughly to distribute the ingredients well.

combine liquid ingredients 

• 1  cup (plus maybe a little more) buttermilk or sour milk** (see info below)
• 1 egg well beaten
• 2 TB cooking oil (like olive, corn, canola, etc.)
• 1 small can of creamed corn

blend the liquids until well mixed

 

Add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring lightly to combine.  You are just trying to combine and wet the ingredients--over mixing is not a good idea.  If you find that there is NOT enough moisture, you may need to add a bit more milk.  How can you tell?  If the batter does not spread on it's own--it is too thick.  If it runs all over the place, there is not enough flour...it not as easy to fix that...so better to be too thick, than too thin!

**to make "soured milk" place 1 TB apple cider vinegar (you might substitute lemon juice) in the measuring cup and then fill with milk to the measure.

Sealed to keep the health benefits intact!

Flax seeds have many health benefits (like Omega 3 and lignans)...and here is a product that I found that I liked because the seeds are already ground.  They are sealed to protect the health benefits...if you purchase it already ground, it may become rancid and cause more health problems. 

Chickens that eat the seed lay eggs that contain more Omega 3.

You can purchase the seeds whole, but if you eat them that way, they will pass through you whole and you will not benefit nearly as much from them.  

Grind them in a coffee mill...or if you don't use it that often, you can try these little packets.  They are sealed to help keep them safe.  

Here is a link from WebMD flax seed that has quite a bit to say about the health benefits...

Here is a link to Carrington Farms.

Kitchen: Farro, Orzo, Rice side dish

Farro Wheat, Orzo, Japonica Rice, and Garbanzo

I really like the taste and texture of farro wheat, though it can be a little bland--which makes it a perfect canvas for absorbing whatever flavors and seasoning you desire.  I couldn't decide whether I wanted rice or farro or orzo...so I opted to go for all of them!

Cooking times and amount of water or broth needed to cook each grain varied, so I did have to cook each one separately, but the pans were not hard to clean, so it wasn't a problem.  My thought was that each time I make one of the grains, I can either cook extra to freeze or just save the leftovers, so I could eliminate that step...at least for the rice and farro wheat, the orzo should be cooked at the time.

Since the rest of our meal was a little spicy, I opted this time out anyway, for very little seasoning.  I used a well seasoned chicken stock (not broth) to (separately) cook the rice and wheat according to package directions.

• 2/3 cup cooked Farro Wheat (using chicken stock)

• 2/3 cup cooked  Black Japonica Rice (using chicken stock)

• 2/3 cup cooked orzo (using plain water)

• lightly season with celery seed and onion powder (optional: if you used a good stock)

Combine the three starches, add a little more stock if it seems a little sticky.  Combine well.  Top with

• shredded cheese (I used a 5 cheese Italian Blend cheese)

• warmed garbanzo beans (chick peas)--or substitute your favorite bean or pea.

So, as is, a nice side, which you can see could be enhanced in many ways...begin with onions and slivered greens (kale or mustard or collard), stir in shredded carrots, use a wonderful olive (black or green)...whatever you have on hand, and whatever will complement the meal.  Mushrooms would be nice..............

Home: Mayor Bans Soda?

I am incredulous that so many people are allowing this insidious (perhaps even perfidious) idea that Mayor Bloomberg has about limiting the size of "sugary" drinks, i.e. soda mostly, but others too.
I am definitely on the side of making healthy CHOICES--I personally do not drink soda on a regular basis--maybe 4 or 5 in a whole year--if you make me.  I would NEVER drink diet soda filled with artificial sweeteners.  I have NEVER smoked...not a cigarette, and not anything else.  So, I am not here to defend those products.  I am here to insist that "we the people" refuse to allow elected and appointed officials--people who WORK for us--to continue to tell us (and businesses) what to do and how to do it. 
They keep saying "Look how well bans worked on smoking!!"  Does anyone see a link here?  Smoking was made so INTOLERABLE and SO EXPENSIVE that people have found their way off of cigarettes...but have they just switched to over-eating as their new addiction?  

Everyone is now on the "green" bandwagon...again...I have been on the side fighting (through education--not necessarily legislation) for ORGANIC--NATURAL--NON-GMO--PROTECT THE TREES, BEES, AND THE PLANET SIDE since I was a little girl!  

So this uppity, know-it-all MAYOR--(MAYOR--not elected LEGISLATOR) decides that we are too fat...so we should be FORCED to make better decisions.  He defends his plan by stating that basically in certain situations there are ways around the "law".  He says if someone wants 32 oz in stead of 16 oz then they can order TWO drinks.  Or they just might head off to the grocery store and buy a liter bottle on their own!  So, the mayor seems to feel that either generating MORE TRASH or denying the merchant the soda sale in preference to the grocery store where there is NO LIMITATION...that is somehow better.

Empty calories, they say, are at the root of the problem, yet once again ALCOHOL is exempt.  I am a teetotaler, I don't drink...once every 5 years or so I may have a sip of wine...but generally one could say I don't drink alcohol.  Talk about your empty calories!! And honestly, I am not so much worried about an over-eater (even of sugary fluids) driving on the same road with me...but I am very concerned about the same over partakers of alcohol...they don't even have to be in a car to cause problems... 
domestic violence, loud parties which break out into gun battles...this is where my concerns lie.  Driving while under the influence of alcohol, or soda...I'll take the soda drivers.

Your body needs carbs, protein, and even fat...many vitamins and nutrients are FAT SOLUBLE or need fat to manufacture...and fat enables that satiated feeling.  Alcohol on the other hand is 7 cals. per gram!  And you do NOT need it at all.  Certainly we can say that when you go to the ball park--you can get all the beer you want, and all the hot dogs you want...(for NOW, anyway), but that soda...well now, that is the reason that everyone is FAT.  An when you go to the movie theater--it's the SODA'S that are causing you to be fat...the over-sized candies, the extra buttered popcorn...that has nothing to do with it--YET.


Perhaps alcohol was exempted because there are so many government agencies that have their fingers in the pie.  We even have a Federal agency devoted to ALCOHOL (ATF).  What on earth would they have to do if we got government out of the alcohol business.  


Look what New York had up it's sleeves for beer producers--the smaller ones being the most affected--of course.  From RT  http://rt.com/usa/news/new-york-beer-state-063/

" The Brew New York website adds that for smaller breweries that handle distribution on their own, such as Oceanside’s Barrier Brewing, they will now have to pay not just a state tax but an additional New York City excise tax of $3.72 for selling there swill in the Five Boroughs. For them, the new rules will require them to pay more than $8 extra on each barrel. These craft beer producers will be among the hardest hit since producing only a limited supply of brew and keeping the cost-per-bottle higher in order to conduct business on a wider scale are necessary." 

Let's not forget the Federal Excise Taxes collected on beer.
http://www.ttb.gov/beer/tax.shtml 

It's kind of like the crazy reasoning of funding health care for children with special taxes collected from CIGARETTE sales.  Once the sales decline, just as "they" want, then there are no funds for the account that is supposed to cover health care for children...and we can't stop funding that...so we have to take it from someone else's pocket.


So even if it is a "good idea" based on "sound principles"--there is NO JUSTIFICATION for a MAYOR to impose these limitations.  


Where will this end?  I guess if we go to an ice cream parlor--they will have not only limit you to a single scoop, but the size of the scoop.  Maybe we can keep people in their houses if we just force them to spend their money on what we think is right?  If they can pay all their bills on time, then they MUST be able to handle their finances...but if they are having problems making any payments...perhaps the government needs to step in and tell you what to spend and how to spend it.  If you want to be able to keep your Fannie Mae home--you might have to have ALL your expenses and payments channeled and approved through your personal appointed accountant from the IRS.  


Little by little we are being told we are too stupid to figure anything out on our own...because little by little we have allowed our governments from local to state to federal to control everything we say and do...all they have to do is say "it's for the children" in the state of AZ and they will pass the law, whether it really will benefit children or not.


There is another little thing they fail to tell you.  People don't often  CUT things out.  They are more likely to REPLACE them with something else.  I keep hearing that if you just cut that one soda a day you will lose pounds.  Seriously??  Unless you drink only water...you will replace that soda with something else which may have calories.  It may even be something with artificial sweeteners that has NO CALORIES...but studies demonstrate the people who partake of artificial sweeteners are more likely to crave more food...not mentioning the vast medical problems that can arise from them.  (Migraines, jaw pain, weight gain--yes, weight gain)  


Remember when "they" told us how bad fat was for us?  I knew that was a horrible idea.  We do need fat.  I knew several people who drastically cut their fat intake.  They blew up like a balloon!  


Back in the day when I was painfully thin--so thin that I had a teacher threatening to go to the authorities thinking my parents were denying me food!  She was mistaken.  I happened to have an extremely active metabolism at the time.  I ate a lot of organic and whole foods, but I also ate "junk foods"--just to keep my weight above 100 pounds!  Cheese cake and french fries.  And I was still desperate to keep my weight up.  Not so today...forty years later...I am quite the opposite.  I have a very under-active thyroid and metabolism.  Keeping the weight OFF is the challenge for me at this point.  As I said, I don't drink soda, so that NYC law wouldn't change my situation either way.  

I am a proponent of eating right, but I am NOT a supporter of any government figure or body insisting that they control us by force.  WE are supposed to be a limiting factor on the government!

My issue with Bloomberg is that he has no right to enact or enforce this or the other bans and taxes he has done.  This is interstate commerce!  International commerce!  Who died and made him king?  I guess it is-- WE THE PEOPLE.

 
 

CRAFT: Quick Hair Bow

Less than two dollars and about 5 minutes!

I pull my hair back and secure it with a barrette.  Is it the most attractive that way?  Probably not, but I don't care for hair in my face!  I had purchased two barrettes with similar scarf knots, but the barrettes broke.  I looked everywhere to try to replace them.  Nothing to be had, and anything I could find was priced at $5.00 and up!  I actually gave up looking for replacements for a while, until I happened to come across this scarf at a thrift store for 99 cents.  I really liked it, and decided to buy it.  I tried tying it onto a ponytail, but it was so heavy that it kept pulling out.  (I have extremly fine hair.)  I ended up throwing it into a drawer for about a year.

At one of the dollar stores I found some plastic tortoise barrettes that came 3 on a card.  I decided to purchase them and see if I couldn't fashion my own scarf knot barrette.  

tie a bow, hot glue it to a barrette, DONE

• The scarf had cost 99 cents.
• The barrettes were 3 (on one card) for $1.00
• A little hot glue

The most time comsuming part was trying to charge the camera so I could take pictures, and heating the glue in the glue gun!  I will admit that I tied the bow several times until I was happy with it.  

I will dress this up a little using fancy vintage buttons--using special vintage button pins--so I can easily change them.  Bits of old jewelry and perhaps a sparkly piece from a shoe decoration might dress it up.


You probably have some scarves or pieces of fabric, or something you can readily transform.  

• You can match your clothing.  
• Tie the scarf or fabric in any design.
• I'm even thinking about making some with velcro so I can just switch them out or maybe use multiples on one.

from the back

 



 

KITCHEN: POT PIE "PASTY"

hand held pot pie--pasty version with substitutes in dough

Hand Held Pot Pie--Pasty version

     I am fond of chicken pot pie and beef pot pie.  Those that are currently available in the stores...I am not so fond of.  I decided to try to make my own version of a hand-held pot pie using the Cornish pasty as a model. 

•  "Pasties" are connected to Cornwall England and were eaten by miners...The traditional Cornish pasty would have been filled with uncooked skirt steak, potatoes, "swede" (aka rutabaga) and onion.  Also, the bakers of these hand-held lunches placed sweet "pie" like finish at one end of the pie.  Lunch and dessert being baked into one item.  They were made into a "D" shaped half round, not sealed on the top, as this one pictured above is.  There would be a thick sealed crust that served as a "handle"--and initials of the "eater" were often placed on one end, so the "eater" would know which end to start with...meal or dessert.  
• Historically, though, I believe the pasties began as a venison version...and there seem to be plenty of recipes that include other meats, veggies, and fruit versions, pre-dating the Cornish version.

 I chose the following pasty recipe--only I tweaked it with a few changes and substitutions.  (link to the original recipe)
http://www.food.com/recipe/butte-pasty-dough-278820

• 3 1/3 c. flour
• 1 1/3 c. shortening or butter flavored shortening 

 This I changed to:

• 3 1/3 c. flour 
• 1 packet Flax Paks* (ground flax seed)
• 1 TB wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp Vege-Sal (or a celery salt)
• freshly ground pepper (to taste)

 and fat substitution

• 1 1/3 c. mashed avocado and butter combined (about half and half)

Combine the dry ingredients well. Mash a whole avocado and add butter to make up the difference to 1 1/3 cup of "fat".  The avocado could probably be substituted for all the fat, but in the case of desiring a more flaky crust...I chose the butter.  (Though it didn't really make a very flaky crust.)  Proceed by blending the "fat" into the flour with a pastry cutter until it is fine and crumbly.


The original recipe called for quite a bit of liquid, which I prepared, but didn't use nearly what it specified.

• one egg, whisked
• 1 TB white vinegar
• 1/2 TB sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• cold water--enough to bring the liquid to one cup.

I did make this preparation, but did NOT need nearly that much of it to moisten the flour enough to form a dough.  I don't think I used more than half of this mixture, since the avocado has a measure of moisture to it, besides the fat.  

This dough recipe was supposed to make TWELVE large pasties...I was only able to manage EIGHT, and I felt that I probably should have rolled the dough out a little thicker than I did.

Another "misjudgement" I made was in the time it would take to bake the pasties.  Silly me, I thought that since I had already pre-cooked the filling, that it would NOT take a full hour for the pastry to bake...WRONG.  I was doing a face palm when I realized how over-done the filling must be!  Though the results were not exactly what I was desiring, I can see that if I continue to tweak the recipe, I may end up with what I am going for.

To make the filling prepare 

• carrots and celery, diced small
• 2 TB olive oil

If you are using onions, then dice and add those together with the carrots and celery into a heavy soup pot, bringing them to a sweat, and beginning the browning process.  Since I used leeks instead, they tend to burn and develop a "bitterness" if you try to brown them too much.  I added the leeks after the carrots and celery were browned.

• boneless, skinless chicken thighs, (raw) diced (small chunks)

Stir in raw chicken meat (breast would work fine too).  Brown it and season with

• salt
• pepper
• poultry seasoning
• garlic

 stirring all the while to make sure it doesn't burn!  
Add

• 4 cups chicken stock or broth

Allow the meat and veggies to cook--although when I do this again, I certainly will not cook them 'til tender, since they will have more cooking time in the oven.


It is important to STRAIN the stock/broth off and allow the chicken and veggies to cool since this type of recipe does NOT call for gravy to be baked into it...you can use the liquid to make a gravy to pour of the top of it.  If you try to put a hot filling into the dough you will have a mess!!    I added a little milk and thickened the stock with a flour and water mixture to make the gravy.

After "resting" your dough for at least 15-20 minutes in the fridge--wrapped in plastic.  Divide your dough into eight balls, and cover in plastic, rolling out one ball at a time.  I used a dessert or salad plate to measure.  (About 8 inches)

I had seen another pasty recipe that sealed the dough at the top, and decided that although it wasn't a traditional finish, it worked best for me.  (You can use a thinner crust if you seal it on top.)

Place the drained and cooled filling on the center of the round and pull up the edges, fold and crimp the edges.  Seal well.  Brush with an egg wash.  Poke a few holes to let out the steam.  Place  four on a baking sheet and set in a moderately hot oven.  I tried 375°, but I think I could have set mine at 400° and cut down the baking time.  Start with the cooler oven, though.  It still took an hour to bake these.

When they come out of the oven, you can smother them in that wonderful gravy!!


These froze very well, the gravy didn't freeze as well.  Taste was fine, just didn't look as nice...a little lumpy!

You can see the little ice crystals from being frozen!

Great to keep these on hand!

*These are handy little packets that keep the milled flax seeds ready for use--and it stays fresh.  Ground flax seeds often go rancid...this way you are good to go!  Sprinkle on cereal or into baked goods--a little goes a LONG WAY!

http://www.carringtonfarms.com/Flax-Products/Flax-Paks.php