SOUR CREAM YEAST ROLLS

Spring has definitely arrived here in our Nation's Capitol. The trees are all a bud, the sun is shinning and the temperature has hit over 30 Celsius, teasing us with summer temperatures. I know it won't last but in the meantime I'll take it. So I've naturally been taking advantage of the nice days and been working in the garden and doing some spring cleaning. Ryan has been asking for some homemade rolls, in particular the potato rolls that are his favorite , but today I decided to do a quick sour cream yeast roll, that can be made quickly without much fuss. They are also a great dinner roll, or like I like them ,with some fresh sweet butter and homemade strawberry jam.

The recipe called to bake them in a 9X13 pan, but I had just taken out the round pan from the dishwasher, and decided to put them in there. You can see how versatile this recipe is. They were still steaming, when I couldn't wait any longer and just pulled one apart and slathered it with butter.

SOUR CREAM YEAST ROLLS

21/2-3 C. flour

2T. sugar

1 pkg. active dry yeast(1/4oz)

1 tsp. salt

1 C sour cream

1/4 C water

3 T. butter divided

1 egg

In a large bowl combine 1 1/2 C. of flour, sugar, yeast,and salt. In a small saucepan heat the sour cream, water and 2 T. of butter to 120 degrees, add to dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg and 1/2 C flour and beat for 2 minutes longer. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl , turning once to grease the top. Cover, place in a warm place and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and turn onto a lightly floured surface, divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place into a greased 13 X9 baking pan, cover and let rise about 30 minutes, Bake at 375 for 30 minutes until golden brow. Brush with remaining butter that is melted , remove from pan onto rack.

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY//Hummingbird cake

For those of you who read my blog you know that I am not someone that spends much time reflecting on the past. I am a firm believer that whatever decisions I made in the past were made with te best intentions and to the best of my ability with the information that I had at the time and therefor, why look back there isn't anything I would do differently and I have no regrets. It is what it is. Thus, I have become someone who tries to live in ,"the present" and looks to always move forward. But that being said, it is time to share how this blog came to be because it is coming up to it's one year anniversary in a few days. I am going to break one of my rules and I am going to look back.
LIFE has a way of sometimes knocking you over, in the fall of 2007 I was looking forward to going back to teaching English to French immersions at my old elementary school.It was a part-time position that I just loved. After 30 years of teaching full time it was a nice to work the mornings and have the afternoons free, (relatively speaking, for those of you who know better, know there is no such thing as part time teaching, as you tend to spend most of your free time preparing for the next day, correcting, planning etc.) but the point was I could leave at noon and do what ever pleased me afterwards.
I had spent that summer with Ron in North Carolina and we had a wonderful rest on the coast in Naggs Head , but deep down I was exhausted and while I couldn't quite describe it I knew I was off. When we returned home I made the usual yearly Dr. appointments before returning to school, one was a routine mammogram. When I had a call back I wasn't worried because these things happen and besides, breast cancer doesn't run in my family. I think you can guess the rest. After the second mammogram everything happened super quick, the phone call, the consult, the biopsy, the surgery ,the treatment, the tears, the recovery. My two sons were absolutely wonderful, in their quiet way, they take after their dad (thank God) they took charge and took care of me. To fill in the empty spaces they encouraged me to start this blog and they put me on Facebook (I haven't quite figured that one out yet, but I'm getting there).This food blog has been such a wonderful surprise, I've turned into a foodie, I've found pleasure in cooking and baking again, I'm even getting interested in photography, but mostly I've discovered a wonderful group of supportive women and men that have inspired me, accepted me and allowed me to share and be a voyeur in their kitchens and life.
I wish I was more computer savvy, there is so much more that I want to do with this blog, but just don't know how. I want to do so much more with my photography but again ...don't know how. I'm a bit afraid of adding things to the blog but then worry if I've overloaded the system and it crashes I wouldn't know how to repair it. So, please bear with me, I'm still learning, I won't be shy anymore I'll start asking for help, hang in there with me I promise I'll get better. Hope you have enjoyed the year so far.Do take a look back, have a cup of coffee and drop me a line rita.stasi@gmail.com.

HUMMINGBIRD CAKE
3C flour
2C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 C vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 (8 oz can ) crushed pineapple with juice
2C diced bananas
1C chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan or baking Vessel. Measure and mix first 7 ingredients. Stir in pineapple with juice and next 3 ingredients. Pour into pan.
Bake for 70 minutes.
Cool completely and then ice with cream cheese icing.
Garnish with lemon swirls or pineapple slices or pecans.

STRAWBERRIES AND MELONS WITH LIMONCELLO AND FRESH MINT/ PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED ASPARAGUS

Where has the time gone? I can hardly believe that it is Easter already. The last 2 weeks were spent in Florida for some much needed warmth, and relaxation, and the weather there did not disappoint us. How wonderful to walk in the sand and have the ocean waves come tickling my feet, or just relaxing on the porch catching some rays while reading a good book. It doesn't take much to make me happy. We ate out most evenings and I got my fill of grouper and crabs. We could have stayed for another week, but alas Ron got called to work , and we are going to have an Easter without him. So as a result, I am making a simple breakfast/brunch for my family and friends that are here.
Our LCBO puts out a seasonal book called,'Food & Drink", and it is always filled with wonderful simple recipes that taste good and are easy to make.

The limencello adds just a touch of sugar and superb refreshing flavour to fruit. The fruit can also be cubed if you don't have a melon scooper. I'm not including a recipe as it is self explanatory, don't forget to add some chopped mint to the fruit.

The Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus is another quick and easy starter that can actually be prepared the day before.

Snap off the bottoms of your asparagus, wash and dry , drizzle with some Olive oil and sprinkle with some salt . Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes if thin asparagus are used , a little longer for bigger asparagus. You can also grill them on med. heat on the B.B.Q. or Panini Grill. When cool wrap them with Prosciutto strips, or you can also use Westphalian ham.

I don't have it pictured but a lovely Lemon Aioli would be a great accompaniment to the asparagus.

Here is an easy one.

LEMON AIOLI

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. finely grated lemon peel

2 tsp. lemon juice

pinch of cayenne