Still in full Fibro mode...

Hi everyone.  We're still in a full-blown, knock out, drag out Fibro Flare and to make that even better I came down with the flu this week.  I'll be back as soon as I can & am thinking of some yummy fall dishes for y'all.

MWAH from Faerie Gothmother!!

Down Time

Hi Folks,


We're experiencing some technical difficulty by way of a full blown Fibro attack combined with a bad bout of Bronchitis.  Faerie GothMother's taken to her bed & is drowning herself in Chicken Soup trying to get better.  Hopefully, we'll be feeling ourself in a few more days!


Love to all *sniffle*

Ever notice when you're sick everyone in the house tells you to rest, but no one wants to do the dishes??

Squished Spuds

The Stuff

• 5-8 Red or White New Potatoes
• ¼ Cup Butter or Margarine
• 2-3 TBSP Minced Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 TBSP Grated Parmesean Cheese (optional)

Making it Work

• Chuck the potatoes in a large stock pot or dutch oven
• Cover with water & add a ½ handful of salt (about 4 TBSP)
• Bring to a boil
• Boil potatoes until they are tender.  Usually, if you stick a fork or knife into one of them & it falls off, they’re done. Drain the potatoes & place back in the pot.
• In a small saute’ pan, add the garlic & butter on medium heat.  Sauté the garlic & butter until the garlic is a light brown color.  Don’t step away…darned garlic burns easily.
• With either a potato masher or a coffee cup, smush the potatoes a couple of times until they break up into large chunks.  Don’t go crazy now, we’re not making mashed potatoes here, you really just want to break the skins & open ‘em up.
• Pour the garlic/butter mixture over the potatoes.  Add pepper (about five or six cranks of your pepper mill – or, if you’re using pre-ground pepper about 1/8 tsp) & parmesean
• Toss everything around with a wooden spoon.

Faerie GothMother’s Corner…

Whenever I see a sword swallower perform, it makes me wonder...What sort of activities did they used to do to make them realize they had this talent?

Fall is in the Hair...

LOL, just kiddin'! I'm workin up some yummy nom noms for the fall. I don't know about you, but I luuuv fall food...apples, pumpkin, hearty soups & stews (I admit it...I'm drooling on my keyboard).

Gotta go, I'm getting the locks snipped today.

Happy cooking everyone !

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Tripe Schmipe

OK!   I did it!  I finally tried the tripe stew (Mondongo) that my friend, Evelyn raves about.  We frequently order Spanish food from this little joint in New Britain, CT for lunch at work.  So far, I've loved everything I've tried....but was terrified of the Mondongo ;o)  Something about cow's stomach is just a little bit scary for those of us who weren't raised with it LOL.


So anyway, Evelyn ordered it yesterday & I had promised her that I would at least try a bite.  Amazingly (to me), it wasn't half bad.  The tripe really doesn't have much taste to it at all, it kind of takes on the flavors that it's cooked in.  I think, for most people, the texture would be the biggest thing.  A little rubbery, but once you get used to it, its OK.  The stew was full of carrots, potatoes (or yucca...I couldn't tell) & was in a wonderful tomato-y broth.  I don't know if I'll ever develop the deep love of it that Evelyn has, but I wouldn't mind a small bowl once in a while.

So thank you Evelyn & Andrew Zimmern (I'm a huge fan of Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel) for convincing me to expand my culinary appetite and try something new!

Faerie GothMother's Corner...
If we aren't meant to have late night snacks, why is there a light in the fridge??

EEEKKKK...It's the Blob!

Ok, I know, I know...Meat Loaf.  The bane of many a young kid's existence.  But not all Meat Loaf is the same!  I prefer mine kind of plain, I don't like chunks of unidentifiable matter hanging out in there.  So here's my take on it.  Maybe this is a good time to overcome your childhood fears of the Meat Blob!!

The Stuff

• 1-2 lbs Ground Beef (you can substitute ½ Ground Turkey or Buffalo if you like)
• 1 Egg
• ¼ Cup BBQ sauce or Ketchup (I prefer BBQ sauce)
• 1 ¼  Cup Seasoned Breadcrumbs

Making it Work

• Plop everything into a large mixing bowl & squish with your hand (stop it…I mean it…the meat won’t kill you, really!).
• Keep squishing
• …and squishing
• Once all of the stuff is well blended, dump it into a loaf pan (or you can make a round blob & put it on a cookie sheet) & press it in so it compacts a little.
• Put a squirt of BBQ sauce on top & rub it in (this makes a nice, nummy crust)
• Bake at 350* for about an hour. 

If you have any leftovers, cut thin slices & put it on white bread with some mayo.  Sounds weird, but it makes a great cold sandwich.  This also freezes really well.  I like to re-heat it by smothering it in some brown gravy & wrapped in foil (it helps keep it moist) in the oven…don’t nuke it.

IF the meat was fresh (never frozen), you can also freeze it unbaked.  When you’re ready to bake it, put it in a COLD oven, then turn it on.  You’ll probably need to bake for an additional 30 minutes or so.

Faerie GothMother's Thought of the Day...


Be completely content being perfectly UN-perfect!

STOCK it to me!

Let’s dish about stock for a sec…Soup stocks are relatively easy to make & are extremely versatile in the kitchen.  Stocks are a little heartier than your average broth and make your soups, stews, etc. taste oh-so-good!  Here are some basic stocks you can make as a base for anything from soup to gravies.

I like to freeze half of my stock in ice cube trays for easy use in gravies & other dishes.  The rest can be frozen in a container or in a zip lock freezer bag (if you lay it flat, you’ll save room in the freezer).

Vegetable Stock

The Stuff

• 3 Medium to Large Carrots, broken in half
• 1 large Onion (white or yellow), cut in quarters…leave the skins on!!!
• 2 Stalks of Celery, leave the leaves on & cut into very large pieces
• 1 Bayleaf
• 1 or 2 whole cloves of garlic
• 2 TBSP Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp whole Peppercorns (or 1/8 tsp of ground pepper)
• 2 TBSP Tomato Paste (optional)
• Water

Making it Work

• Add everything to a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Cover with water leaving about two inches of head space.  
• Bring to a simmer (small bubbles – don’t boil it).  Simmer for 2 hours.  
• Pour stock into a large bowl using a strainer/colander.  
• Let cool & store.

...and throw away those used up veggies.  They've done their duty and given you all of their vitamins & nutrients (they're also pretty tasteless by now).

Chicken Stock

The Stuff

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Large Carrot, broken in half
• 1 medium Onion (white or yellow), cut in quarters…leave the skins on!!!
• 2 Stalks of Celery, leave the leaves on & cut into very large pieces
• 1 Bayleaf
• 1 or 2 whole cloves of garlic
• 2 TBSP Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp whole Peppercorns (or 1/8 tsp of ground pepper)
• Water

Making it Work

• Add everything to a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Cover with water leaving about two inches of head space.  Bring to a simmer (small bubbles – don’t boil it).  Simmer for 3-4 hours (you may need to add some additional water as it cooks).  Pour stock into a large bowl using a strainer/colander. 
• Let stock cool & store.

Fish out the chicken from the muck in the colander & chop it up.  Throw it in a freezer bag & freeze.  This can be used when you use the stock to make Chicken Soup or you can add the chicken to some spaghetti sauce or something for dinner tonight.

If you like you can also use about a pound of any other chicken you like (thighs, bone-in breasts, wings,  etc.).   Yes, the broth does get a richer flavor using the bone in chicken with the skin, but I like to cut the cholesterol & use boneless/skinless.
Even better is using the carcass of a whole chicken you had for dinner the night before.

Beef Stock

The Stuff

• *Beef (See notes below)
• 1 Large Carrot, broken in half
• 1 medium Onion (white or yellow), cut in quarters…leave the skins on!!!
• 2 Stalks of Celery, leave the leaves on & cut into very large pieces
• 1 Bayleaf
• 1 or 2 whole cloves of garlic
• 2 TBSP Kosher Salt
• 1 tsp whole Peppercorns (or 1/8 tsp of ground pepper)
• Water

Making it Work

• Add everything to a large stock pot or dutch oven.  
• Cover with water leaving about two inches of head space.  Bring to a simmer (small bubbles – don’t boil it).  
• Simmer for 4-5 hours (you may need to add some additional water as it cooks).  
• Pour stock into a large bowl using a strainer/colander. 
• Let stock cool & store.

Fish out the beef from the muck in the colander & chop it up.  Throw it in a freezer bag & freeze.  This can be used when you use the stock to make Beef Soup or you can add it to some BBQ sauce & put it on buns for dinner tonight.

Beefy Notes: Here are some options for beef to make your stock…

• 1 small London Broil cut into 1 inch pieces
• Beef Bones – These tend to render a more fatty stock which will need to be skimmed once it cools.    

I usually use the London Broil because it’s more lean than the bones – I sometimes add a couple of beef bouillon cubes to my stock to amp up the beefy flavor.

Fish/Seafood Stock

The Stuff

• *Fish Bones/Fish Heads/Fish Tails, Shrimp Shells/Crab Shells
• 1 Large Carrot, broken in half
• 1/2 medium Onion (white or yellow), cut in quarters…leave the skins on!!!
• 2 Stalks of Celery, leave the leaves on & cut into very large pieces
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 TBSP Kosher Salt
• 3 or 4 whole Peppercorns
• Tomato Paste (optional)
• Water

Making it Work

• Add everything to a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Cover with water leaving about two inches of head space.  
• Bring to a simmer (small bubbles – don’t boil it).  Simmer for 2-3 hours (you may need to add some additional water as it cooks).  
• Pour stock into a large bowl using a strainer/colander. 
• Let stock cool & store.

You won’t be fishing anything out of this baby…dump all the gumk in the trash & take it out right away!

*You can go to your local fish monger (I love that word…monger  ;o), and ask them for these items.  I’m a bit squeamish & have issues with using fish heads.  I don’t like my food staring up at me from the pot (I know, I know…Anthony Bourdain would have a fit LMAO), so I use fish tails instead.

Faerie GothMother's Corner...

Is it really possible to kill 2 birds with 1 stone? And why? What did the poor birds do to deserve that? Why not kill 2 clowns instead? Now they're scary!