Roger's View of the World, Love and Seafood Gumbo! http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog Seize the Day! Put no trust in the morrow! -- Horace Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:15:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Anniversary Cooking http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3307 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3307#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:13:36 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3307 Nothing like a great choice: Apple, Cherry Pie or Both?

Nothing like a great choice: Apple, Cherry Pie or Both? and à la mode?

Pies are very simple desserts, but enormously satisfying to make from scratch. If you use your own apples , you may find that they really do taste better; afterall, if you care for your orchard or one tree, the apples will always be more flavorful!

Sautéed apples, varied seasonings and a wonderful sauce makes a pie perfect.

Sautéed apples, varied seasonings and a wonderful sauce makes a pie perfect. CLICK on the picture for our apple pie recipe

 I have had far too many pies filled with raw apples and no more seasonings except one : cinnamon. If you make it yourself, you can make it your way…. and your way is usually best!  ;)    BTW, the topping requires 1/2 cup of butter which I didn’t list…. funny, my grandmother did that a lot ,to!

Making a cherry pie is wonderful when you use Cherry Brandy (Kirschwasser) and make a nice thick sauce

Making a cherry pie is wonderful when you use Cherry Brandy (Kirschwasser) and make a nice thick sauce! CLICK on the picture for our Cherry Pie Recipe!

Years ago, Laura and I would drive over to South Pasadena to a place called ‘House Of Pies.’ They carried a wide variety and my favorite of their fruit pies was cherry. For years I tried to duplicate their simple sweet and deliciously thick filling. Mine reminds me so much of theirs.

These two go into the freezer until Sunday.

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3307 0 40 years ago http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3298 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3298#comments Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:19:07 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3298

Here we are 40 years ago discussing going to the same college...

Sometimes, we look back and we are truly surprised by the things that have happened… and after 41 years this shouldn’t be too surprising. I am amazed at how much I have changed and how much Laura is still so much like the young woman I remember.
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Today, Laura and I spent a romantic morning cleaning out here office and preparing her for school! There was much interesting stuff enough to keep the most determined cultural anthropologist busy for years!  However, this afternoon , I began preparing a number of pies for Sunday ( our 38th wedding anniversary).
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Sometimes, it goes by all too fast.
]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3298 0 Special Gingerbread http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3292 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3292#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:31:01 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3292 very special gingerbread

very special gingerbread

Maybe I have seen the ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ one too many times, but I wanted to make some gingerbread (in the shape of coins) for shipment to someone stationed in a modern day Chateau D’If far away from home.

The nice thing about gingerbread is that it lasts for a very long time and will withstand the most abusive of baggage handlers, plus my daughter Kristin said it was one of the things she was most fond of recieving from home.

I tinkered with the recipe a bit adding more spices ( which is to my liking) and some honey to the molasses.

1/2 cup butter
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup honey
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
7 cups flour
approx 1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
10 teaspoons of my spice blend*

*( 8 parts ginger, 4 parts cinnamon, 1 part cardamon, 1 part allspice, 1 part cloves, 1 part nutmeg, 1 part mace, 4 parts orange zenst, 3 parts lemon zest)

bake: 350 degrees for 13 minutes

.... on it's way tomorrow!

Oh Yes, it is very good… and time only makes it better!

“And I had but one penny in the world. Thou should’st have it to buy gingerbread.” – William Shakespeare

enjoy!

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3292 0 remembering Labor Day http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3288 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3288#comments Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:45:21 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3288 remembering Labor Day!

remembering Labor Day! CLICK to follow my favorite Union!

Karla contributed this wonderful drawing of her sisters ( alter egos) and her celebrating Labor Day! For those who you might not now the complete history of Labor Day , here is a link to the Department of Labor’s summary:  CLICK HERE!

What do I remember most about Labor Day? I remember how I joined Local 93 of the Teamsters Union while working through college, the fun of Labor Day Picnics and the unwavering support of Labor in running for elective offices… I enjoyed winning, but when I lost it was not their fault.

Remember Labor Day! Have an enjoyable time.

Roger

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3288 0 little temptations and the diet http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3282 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3282#comments Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:46:37 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3282
hungry during a diet?
Hungry during a diet? That’s normal… but why do I always find interesting things to explore when I am dieting?? CLICK on picture for something fun!

 I have always found dieting a bit challenging, after all it doesn’t seem at all a very natural thing to do. However, I am sure the evolutionary psychologists might tell me that periods of feast and famine were very nature in the human experience and that I am only duplicating the experience of my ancestors. However, knowing why I do something doesn’t make it any easier.

Obiously the tempting Concord Grapes dangling over 12 feet of picnic tables and patios is only a slight irritation, but finding recipes new bagels designed to hold several times the goodies that a regular one might hold doesn’t make it any easier! CLICK on the picture above to see what I mean.

With Thanksgiving not all that long away, I am ready for something extravagant… maybe, another yummy Ostro-Turgoosen ducken bird!

;)

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3282 0 something nice from Iraq http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3279 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3279#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:02:06 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3279 gift from Iraq

One of Kristin's nice friends thanked me for some 'Baklava" with a hat... lord knows, I always need one! ;) CLICK on the picture for a look at my Baklava!

 Glad you liked the Baklava… let me know what else  you need!

Roger

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3279 0 brown sugar biscotti with pine nuts and almonds http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3274 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3274#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:01:55 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3274

Brown Sugar Biscotti with Pine Nuts and Almonds

I remember asking my grandmother once how she ‘improvises’ in the kitchen and she gave the usual ‘trial and error’ answer, but on closer inspection I realized that she worked in two very distinct ways. First, she would vary the proportions and types of ingredients which offered a few extra notes to the basic recipe. But more importantly, there were times when she would depart significantly and approach the ‘problem’ in an entire new way. For example, why use the same ingredients in making certain noodle with sauce recipes that were designed before the advent of real refrigeration? Logic must triumph over tradition at times.

This goes a long way to say that I tried a variation of our Biscotti recipe with the addition of brown sugar. Using brown sugar has some significant limitations… but under the heat of making the biscotti added something nice. Oh yes, I added a small amount of pine nuts to the project, not enough to make Laura object ( as they are around 11 calories each!), but enough to make an effect.

Yummy there were!

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3274 0 quaker oats steel cut is great http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3271 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3271#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:16:03 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3271 quaker steel cut oats

My Quaker Steel Cut Oats Arrived! CLICK on picture for manufacturer's site

The last post I made on the subject of steel cut oats ran along the lines of  ’I wonder if Quaker makes this?’ I checked it out and found that the best way for me to buy this was on-line. Our ancestors in San Luis Obispo are used to buying at a great distance. A hundred years or so, people here abouts would by everything from clothes to prefab homes via the Sears Catalogue of their day. We have some aspects of civilization, but most of us have to go on line. ;)

Anyway, I ordered my oatmeal and checked it out… perfect!  For guys like me who lived on this during my youth and young struggling times… it is a wonderful memory.

I hear they have it at Target out West… but that’s a ways for us!

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3271 0 happy birthday sweetheart http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3268 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3268#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:37:33 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3268 karla's happy birthday greeting

Karla designed this sweet birthday greeting of her parents celebrating her mother's birthday!

Some people find birthdays — as I do — as friendly reminders to appreciate each day granted to us and show our appreciation to those who matter to us most.  Happy Birthday, Laura….

]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3268 0 Do you celebrate birthdays or hold a month long celebration? http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3257 http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3257#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:55:44 +0000 roger http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?p=3257
An old family favorite : Cantonese Sweet & Sour Pork — CLICK on the picture for a link to the recipe

Well, when you try to celebrate two birthdays together you need to have a dish that everyone loves. In our family, one of our favorites is Sweet and Sour Pork… and an apple pie! It may sound a bit unusual for someone to prefer an apple pie over the tradition birthday cake, but if that’s what the birthday girls want… that’s what they get!  Karla also started a fun tradition of having little celebrations of someone’s birthday ( hers in particular) all month long… it can be a little fun…. but challenging.

our apple pie
Not just any apple pie will do… See Canyon Apples, a special nutty cobler topping and our own sauce makes it wonderful.

O
h yes, we can’t forget presents and those little touches that make anyone smile.

‘Happy Birthday Laura and Mom.’
]]> http://www.rogerfreberg.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3257 0