Tormented Kitchen

Hi followers! I'm back with an actual recipe!  It's one of my oldest, favorite things that I learned from my mom. It's the easiest and most delicious fruit dip. We even have a German-sounding made up name for it. We call it Frutenglasa. To say it, the last "s" has to sound a bit like a "j" or "zh" sound.  It's great with strawberries or fruit salad. It's great with watermelon when it's hot during summertime. You can even smear it on crepes or a puff pancake, add some fruit and have a very elegant dish. Mom has a top secret, special change she does to this recipe that I will share, too.  For special occasions, she will substitute orange liqueur (like Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec) for the orange juice.  My last batch, I only subbed 1 tablespoon of Triple Sec and kept the other 2 as OJ. This stuff is almost addictive. And I have even stuffed it inside birthday cake as a filling layer. Super awesome stuff it is. ...

 I have been meaning to do up this post on chocolate dipped strawberries since early February. Well, time has not been on my side lately. So I'm too late for Valentine's Day, but just in time for Mother's Day. Well, Mother's Day in the US.  Not so sure when that falls in other countries. Men and inexperienced cooks take note. This recipe is so easy, even you can do it! It's impressive, but always has an impact, even if the chocolate isn't perfect. You don't have to use strawberries either. You could actually dip anything you like in melted chocolate. Cookies. Pretzels. Potato chips. Just keep in mind the typical shelf life or refrigerator storage lifespan of the item you are dipping. For berries, they are good for about 3 days. I'd even go for a banana, but you'd have to eat it right away so it didn't turn brown. And apparently my sister and bro-in-law grill bacon and cover it in chocolate.  So get creative! Ingredients 1 1-lb pac...

 Yesterday, I made pie. I was so excited to bake! I had some nice firm D'anjou pears just waiting to get eaten somehow. It didn't take much deliberation to decide upon a pie. The last time I made pie, the kids were excited too. Yesterday was an off day for them. Eric was completely uninterested in it. Even after I tried to make it sound different and fun by calling it "pear-ple" he was not into pie. Some days are that way. Anyhow, the pie turned out nicely. However, I have a distinct lack of photo evidence. I will admit to digging out the video camera in an attempt to cook and video. This is actually harder than it sounds and I will require a filming assistant (probably Justin) if this is going to become a regular feature. Let me just say for today, for this recipe, no video will be appearing. At least the concept of video cooking is now on my radar. You can refer to some of the other photos from other recipes, Rhubarb Strawberry Pie or Apple Crisp , if you need ...

Some days, I get tired of eating regular salsa. You know, the kind with tomatoes. I'm also not a huge fan of cilantro. A tiny bit is OK, but too much tastes weird to me.  (I know this could be considered a "defect" of my taste buds. Or a defect in my brain processing taste-bud information.  Whatever.)  Anyhow, I decided that mango salsa would be a really easy alternative to normal salsa. I went pretty mild with batch, but you could amp it up with more onion, more pepper, and switch the herbs.  I used mint so it was much fruitier and more refreshing than the typical cilantro bite. Also, the heat in peppers comes from the inner membrane and seeds.  Remove all that to keep it mild, or leave it in for some fire. Ingredients 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced 1 green jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed 1/2 cup diced red onion 2 sprigs of mint, stems removed and finely chopped 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar sprinkle of salt Method 1. Combine all the ingre...

One of my hubby's coworkers asked for a good apple crisp recipe and this is it. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I am tooting it a little, and very softly, so I don't want anyone getting any attitude. I think it turned out great.  The apples were tangy and covered in sticky sweet cinnamon-y goo syrup. I had mine with vanilla ice cream, Justin had his alone.  I liked the ice cream as a contrast to the warmth and the sweet-tang of the apples. I'm not a huge fan of apple desserts any more.  So to get me to actually like cooked apples with cinnamon, it has to be pretty damn good. And yes, I like this or I wouldn't post it. Ingredients 4 firm and sour apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious if you want a milder apple) 1 Tablespoon flour 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon lemon juice or a generous sprinkling of Fruit-Fresh 1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons) 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats 1/2 c...

I have never been a die-hard banana lover. My attitude used to be "take them or leave them" but since having children, my taste for them has changed. For anyone who has not experienced pregnancy, there is really no way to describe the ways it can change you. It's more than just physically carrying a baby. Your senses change. The baby has a strange way of letting you know what he or she wants or needs through cravings. Oddly enough, some of these changes don't go away. Both kids love bananas and I think it has permanently changed me. For example, I now really like banana desserts with cooked bananas. I'm still so-so with eating a banana from the peel, but something warm and sweet gets my attention. Also, I used to like donuts a little bit. Now I can mow down donut after donut (which is not so good for my mommy pooch). A few nights ago I was inspired. What could I make with some ripe bananas? I thought about how I could fry them. In an eggroll wrapper? Maybe. ...

Perfectly summery, a variety of seasonal fruit is welcome in my house at any time. After a visit to the farmer's market, I brought home some lovely peaches, nectarines, strawberries, plums, apricots, just to name a few of the delights found there. I also saw stalls for jerky and local honey along with the fruits and vegetables. I let the stone fruits sit out in a bowl for a day or so to fully ripen. Around here, there is no such thing as "ripe off the tree" unless you grow it yourself.  Even with farmer's markets, sometimes you get so-so produce. Anyhow, breakfast one recent morning consisted of Puff Pancakes topped with this fruit combination and little extra syrup, plus bacon. Ingredients 2 white nectarines, pitted, peeled, sliced 2 plums, pitted, peeled, sliced 1/2 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced 1/2 lb Bing cherries, pitted  and cut in half 1/4 lb blueberries 3 Tablespoons sugar 4 generous sprinkles of Fruit-Fresh Method 1. First, as with a...

Early summer is really the best time to pick rhubarb from the garden. However you can still find decent rhubarb at a few farmer's market stalls or the grocery store if you are desperate. I asked my mom to bring me a cutting from her rhubarb plant to add to my garden, but it's already too late into the season. Maybe I can get my own rhubarb plant next year. Still, Mom had a few decent stalks left so she brought those so I could make pie. I don't make pies very often and I was really in the mood for rhubarb pie. So I did. And it was good. Ingredients 1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced 3 1/2 cups rhubarb, diced 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup Minute tapioca 1 Tablespoon butter Pie crust for double crust 1/4 cup milk (you won't use it all) 3 Tablespoons sugar (you don't have to use it all) Method 1. Combine rhubarb, strawberries, tapioca, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix up then let sit on the counter about 15 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, prepare pie crust. 3...

Frog's Eye Salad. Doesn't that name just sound gross? It sounds kind of like Halloween food to me. When I look at this in a bowl, I think it should have a nice name. Maybe I will just call it something else. Maybe I will just call it ambrosia or picnic fruit salad. Or I will make up something odd like "insalata con acini de frutta" which really means nothing in Italian. I like making up words. How about Fru-cini? Prounounced Froo-cheenee. What about Fru-cina-lata (froo-cheena-laa-tah)? This dish uses a tiny shaped pasta called Acini de pepe . They are just little balls of pasta. For anyone unfamiliar with the pronunciation of Acini de pepe , the correct way to say it is "ah-chee-knee duh pay-pay". Wow, I didn't realize I was going to be giving Italian language lessons on a food blog. Go me! Anyhow, I gleaned this gem of a recipe from my dear hubby's stepmom. It makes a lot of food. This fills a very large mixing bowl, and it's fairly ...