Answering Rena: Secret Subject Swap

 

 

Today's post would normally be our monthly Secret Subject Swap. The way it works is that bloggers pick a secret subject for that month, send them to me, I put them in my sorting hat, and send them out to another participant. We each get a unique subject to write about or question to answer.

Although still a Secret Subject Swap, for this post, we each have individual prompts, not sent in by each other, but submitted by just one person.

For the past 8 years, our friend Rena had participated in this and many of the other challenges I run. Rena died unexpectedly in the middle of March. I was finally able to write about it just a few days ago, I hope you'll check it out, here's the link to Rena: Mourning to Missing.

When Rena died, she'd signed up for this Secret Subject Swap challenge through the year. I had 9 of her prompts sitting in monthly documents waiting for assignment to different friends. I could not get myself to delete those prompts, it just felt callous, disrespectful. I thought I might address them, over time, in my own blog posts, but then realized that maybe some of her other friends would like to join me. Some did.

Rena took the time to ask some questions. Today her friends are taking the time to answer some of them.

So, each of us have a subject, prompt, or question, sent in by Rena. We're answering in memory of a friend, a collaborator, a valued and missed member of our blogging community.

I have Rena's August prompt, and my subject is: If you could go back to school to become anything you'd like, what would it be and why? 

I'm going to start with the two guesses I think Rena, well probably all of you, would have made.

Then I'm going to say WRONG! 

First, writing. Truth is, I thought a lot about it. I had a middle school teacher who, after I'd turned in a writing assignment, suggested it. I even took over running my dormitory area newspaper for a while in college. But, when it comes to writing, I do best when I feel the stories, when they almost pour out of me. I'm not sure how I'd handle a career of being assigned the story and having to make a deadline. Sometimes, yeah. As a side gig, yeah. But daily? I don't know.

Truth is, I wonder if all of that structure, of the subject matter being out of my hands, whether it might diminish my love of writing. Or maybe it would actually hone my skills, provide focus and growth. Hard to say. 

So how about being an author, writing fiction? I love a good mystery. In fact, I did start my own book. I wrote the first sentence. That was 10 years ago . . . Still got that sentence. Nothing else, though.

OK, so you're thinking along the culinary lines.

Perhaps I'd want to be a chef, or a baker, or both. Maybe work privately, or even open my own restaurant.

I could apply to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Or more locally, both MIT and Harvard have culinary arts majors.

But the food industry is grueling. Chefs are, for the most part overworked and underpaid and, unless they can afford to go out on their own, unable to nurture their own creativity.

Truth is, my recipe development often comes from a place of stress relief, a creative way to get out of my own head for a while. My recipes tend to be more pedestrian. My creations are always geared towards the specific tastes of my family. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

BBQ Pork Corn Chip Nachos

I'll tell you about one thing I have loved my whole life, as far back as I can remember, and still to this day. It's ballet.

If I could, I would love to be a ballerina. Yes, it's a difficult life, both physically and emotionally, but I'd make the sacrifice. Any and all of them.

NY would be the place to go. Although some colleges do offer dance programs, it's almost true that by the time you get your degree, you're almost too old for the industry. So Julliard, Joffrey, School of American Ballet are where I'd be battling to be accepted.

One problem, though. Well, there is the whole talent issue. But more than that is the constraint that's insurmountable by effort, and practice, and guidance, and even luck. 

Seems I've been unable to change the fact that I'm only five feet tall. 

I want to thank Rena for her years of support and friendship. And I want to thank everyone who wrote these posts today, for standing by my side as we honor a friend lost way too soon. 

 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts in honor of Rena. 

Climaxed 

What TF Sarah 

Part-time Working Hockey Mom 

On the Border

BBQ Pork Corn Chip Nachos         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3 boneless pork loin chops

3/4 cup of my Blackberry BBQ sauce or the BBQ sauce of your choice, divided

2/3 cup canned black beans, drained

1 green onion, chopped

1 (8.75 oz) can corn kernels, drained

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar, divided

1/4 cup drained, sliced pepperoncini

1 bag (8 oz) scoop sized corn chips

NOTE: I often make barbecued grilled pork chops for dinner, making sure to have enough leftovers to use the next day for these nachos. If you're using leftover pork chops, you'll have to warm it before mixing with the other ingredients.

Directions:

*Marinate the pork chops in 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce in a resealable bag for 24 hours, turning now and then. 

*Grill the pork chops until completely cooked through. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. 

*Heat the beans in the microwave for about 1 minute, just until warm. Chop the pork into very small pieces, mix with the beans, green onions, corn, and 1/4 cup of the cheese, then toss with 3 TBSP of the remaining BBQ sauce. 

*Place in the center of a round baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, then the pepperoncini. Surround with the chips.

*Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese melts. To serve, drizzle with the remaining TBSP of BBQ sauce.

Caramel Apple Custard Bars: The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree Blog With Friends

 

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends themed collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about his partnership is that it's not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may a recipe, sewing tutorial, crocheting, crafts project, book review, and/or technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree.

I made Caramel Apple Custard Bars.

Caramel Apple Custard Bars

 

 

Although the saying "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" doesn't really have anything to do with apples per se, I made an apple recipe. I mean, what was I going to do, use pears?

Besides, an apple a day . . . 

As far as the meaning of the saying goes, my little (OK, not so little any more) apples actually do fall pretty far from the tree, especially when it comes to cooking. Neither of the boys do any at all, even a grilled cheese sandwich is more work than they'll take on in the kitchen. When it comes to ordering take-out, though? Apples, meet tree.

But when it comes to eating, that's another story. We all have our individual tastes, of course, but we agree on many favorite foods. This time of year, a lot of them include apples. When the boys were little, I'd invite a bunch of families, we'd all go out to the farm and pick apples, come back to my house where we'd all make apple pies and applesauce, and then have a hearty dinner together before everyone headed home. 

These days the apples come from the store (Braeburn and Honey Crisp are our favorites), and besides the apple pies and applesauce, I make Caramel Topped Apple Spice Bread, Apple Pie Cheesecake, Apple Cinnamon Ring, and so much more.

Today, in honor of my boys and as a nod to those days at the apple orchard, I'm sharing a new apple recipe. If I'm lucky, really really lucky, maybe it'll entice those apples to come visit this old tree?

As always, grab those ingredients together to start:

 

 

Prepare the crust and press into the pan:

 

 

Layer on the apples and sprinkle with the caramel baking bits: 

Beat together the custard ingredients, pour over the apples and sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon.

 

Bake, cool to room temperature:

 

 

And slice:

 

 

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:

 

P. J. of A 'lil HooHaa shares Apples, apples, everywhere!. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares The 🍏 Apple 🍎 Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree 🌳.

Caramel Apple Custard Bars

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
 2 cups quick oats

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp apple pie spice

6 TBSP butter, melted

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

 

2 apples, cored, peeled, sliced

2/3 cup caramel baking bits

 

3 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk (I used fat free)

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1 TBSP flour

1/2 tsp apple pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 X 11 baking pan. 

*Mix together the oats, powdered sugar, salt, 3/4 tsp apple pie spice and vanilla. Mix in the melted butter. Press into the bottom and partially up the sides of the prepared pan.

*Arrange the apples so they cover the crust. Sprinkle with the caramel baking bits.

*Beat the eggs, brown sugar, evaporated milk, lemon zest, flour and 1/2 tsp apple pie spice. Carefully pour over the apples, then sprinkle with the cinnamon.

*Bake for about 50 minutes, until the edges brown and the center is set. Run a knife gently around the edges. Allow to cool at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour before slicing.

*Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Berry Pie Crisp: Self-Improvement Blog With Friends

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends themed collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about his partnership is that it's not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may a recipe, sewing tutorial, crocheting, crafts project, book review, and/or technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is Self-Improvement.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here's a peek at what we all came up with:

I made a Berry Pie Crisp.

Berry Pie Crisp

For me, since becoming a parent anyway, self-improvement has been about balance. How could I get everything done that needed to be done in a day, many of those responsibilities at the same time, and still be able to focus on myself? Growth, I found, only came with balance. I worked on a strategy that included making lists and prioritizing tasks. If I went to bed at night feeling accomplished, I woke up a better me. Pride serves as inspiration, frustration attacks the ego.

These days, self-improvement is less about balance and more in finding success through compromise. Three things are very different now. First, the boys are grown, taking some of the pressure off in terms of what needs to be done for others on any given day. Second, there's Covid. Being in a "denial" state resulted in a self-imposed stay at home order. With lack of verifiable public information, that's not only been more strict than should been necessary, but has been more prolonged. The third is the compromise between Hubs' need for a lower fat diet and my continued need to express myself through recipe development. When it comes to being a better me, especially in this stress filled time when friendships are strained, my exposure to news needs to be curbed to lessen anxiety, and I'm desperately missing my son, pride continues to serve as inspiration.

It may seem absurd, a bit of a stretch, maybe even as though I'm missing the point, that I'm sharing a dessert recipe as a representation of self-improvement. I get that. But, back to the balance and compromise that foster self growth, this simple act of creating something satisfying for all fits the current bill. I ended the day feeling accomplished, the main ingredient for waking up the next day ready to strive to be a better me.

We love summer fruits in desserts, especially berries. I had been craving my Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie, and Hubs was asking for my Mixed Berry Pie. I was concerned about the amount of butter in the Mixed Berry Pie crust, and knew I couldn't use the cream cheese in the Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie. In the fall, I had made a pie hybrid, my Butterscotch Toffee Pear Crisp, I could use that template and create something that would satisfy both of our cravings nicely.

First, gather and prepare the fruits. Use whatever assortment you choose as long as you have about 6 cups of berries:

Make the topping:

Prepare the crust:

Then just assemble. Mix the filling and spread into the crust:

Dollop with the topping:

  Bake:

Cool, cut and serve: 

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:


 

Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares Get more sh** done ✅. 


 
 



Sarah of The Crazy Mama Llama shares Don't Mind Me . . . I'm Just Homeschooling. 

 





P.J. of A 'lil HooHaa shares Self Improvement.

Berry Pie Crisp

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

NOTE: It doesn't matter which berries you use or the ratio you choose as long as the quantity is about 6 cups.
 

Ingredients:
1 pie crust
1 TBSP flour

3 cups strawberries
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup blackberries
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/3 cup toffee baking chips

6 TBSP butter substitute, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup quick oats 

OPT: whipped cream or powdered sugar for serving

Directions:
*Rinse and pat dry all of the fruit. Hull and slice the strawberries. Set aside.
*Cream the butter substitute, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup flour and oats. Set aside.
*Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the crust to a 10 X 13 rectangle. Grease an 8 X 11 baking dish.
*Spread 1 TBSP flour over the pie crust, then flip it over into the baking dish so the flour is on the bottom. Gently manipulate the crust to fit into and up all sides of the dish, then fold under any excess crust.
*In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup brown sugar with the cornstarch, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and toffee chips. Gently mix in the fruit and arrange evenly in the baking dish.
*Drop the oat topping, by tablespoons, onto the fruit. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the top and sides have browned.
*Cool, cut and serve. Can top with a dollop of whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Lemon Fluff Refrigerator Bars: Family Fun Blog With Friends

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends themed collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about his partnership is that it's not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may a recipe, sewing tutorial, crocheting, crafts project, book review, and/or technology post all related to the theme of the month.

This month's theme is Family Fun Month.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here's a peek at what we all came up with:

I made Lemon Fluff Bars.

Lemon Fluff Refrigerator Bars

Whenever I think of family fun this time of year, it brings back memories. Usually they include a day at the water, whether it's a pool or a sandy beach, cooling off is often a goal in the hot days of August. I grew up just a few hours drive from both the cool ocean waters of Cape Cod and Plum Island, as well as the fresh lakes of New Hampshire. Most weekends included trips to the beach, always ending with a cook out.

With the boys it was very different. We're land locked here with few lakes that are set up for swimming. Family fun when they were growing up included trips included vacations back home to Boston and/or New Hampshire, or, when at home, days spent at the private pool we belonged to, always ending with a cook out.

The thread running through all of these experiences was ending the day sitting on the deck with a cold drink and the grill heating up. And always, of course, there's dessert. Often I'd make something featuring either fresh fruits or citrus flavors. It was a bonus for me if the dessert were no bake, like the recipe I'm sharing today, so I could put it together in the morning and stick it in the fridge, spend the day with my family and come home knowing dessert would be ready. 

As I've been talking about pretty constantly on this blog, due to Hubs' dietary restrictions, most of my recipes are made with a lower fat content. You can make this recipe without doing that, just using the corresponding full fat ingredients you have at home or prefer to use. I would if I could.

As always, I start by pulling my ingredients together.

I separate the cookies from the center and beat the centers with the fluff (what we New Englanders call marshmallow creme) and cream cheese.

I crush the outer cookies and, reserving some for the center and the topping, use them to make the crust.

Once the jello and lemon juice have cooled a bit, I whisk in the evaporated milk, beat it and some of the reserved cookie crumbs into the cream cheese mixture,

pour into the shell, sprinkle with the rest of the reserved cookie crumbs, and it's ready for the refrigerator.

Once it's set, slice

and serve!

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:

 


Melissa of My Heartfelt Sentiments shares Family Fun.




 



Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Family Movie Night. 


 

Lemon Fluff Refrigerator Bars

                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 box (.3 oz) sugar free lemon jello (can use lemon jello mix with sugar)
25 lemon sandwich cookies 
4 1/2 TBSP butter substitute (can use butter)
4 oz fat free cream cheese, softened (can use full fat cream cheese)
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
1 can (12 oz) fat free evaporated milk (can use full fat evaporated milk)

Directions:
*Heat the lemon juice in the microwave until hot. Whisk in the lemon jello mix and set aside.
*Lightly grease an 8 X 11 baking dish. Spray your spatula and beaters with nonstick cooking spray.
*Separate the filling from the cookies, putting the cookies into a food processor and the filling into a large bowl. Process the cookies until they're crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup for the topping.
*Melt the butter substitute, add to the cookie crumbs, then press into and slightly up the sides of the baking dish. Refrigerate.
*Place the cream cheese and the marshmallow creme in the bowl with the cookie centers. Beat until smooth.
*Whisk the evaporated milk into the jello, add to the cream cheese mixture along with half of the reserved cookie crumbs and beat together. Pour evenly into the prepared crust, sprinkle with the remainder of the reserved cookie crumbs and refrigerate for at least an hour and a half.