League tour of Cosanti

We learned so much in such a short time . . . Amazing place and Roger Tomalty was a great tour guide. He has a passion for Architecture, having worked with Paolo Soleri since the 1960's. At 94 years of age, Soleri is still creating and it is fascinating to watch the bronze bells being poured at the foundry.

Mary Garbaciak did a fabulous job again as tour chair and presented Roger with a copy of Tastes & Treasures cookbook. He was very interested in our book since he has many recipes and wants to write a cookbook for Cosanti.

Watermelon Carving

Ice carvings are amazing but I would love to know who can do this with a watermelon. Send in your photos of food carvings to see how artistic the world can be.

Wonder how long it took to create this beauty???

Barbara Barrett enjoys Cookbook

Ambassador Barbara Barrett has a long list of major accomplishments. The Historical League honored her as an Historymaker in 2008. She is a supporter of Tastes & Treasures, reordering the cookbook again to give to members of the Arizona Woman's Forum.

To read her fascinating oral history and biography visit
http://www.historicalleague.org/hm.htm

Twice baked spaghetti squash

Great way to go Italian. Also try Braised Chicken over Fettuccini on page 168 of Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash (about 4.5 lbs.)
One 14.5-oz. can creamy tomato soup
1/2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1/2 tbsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese, room temperature
One 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
One 7-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained (about 2/3 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place whole squash in the microwave and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, until soft enough to cut.

Once cool enough to handle, cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds.

To a very large baking pan (or 2 medium baking pans), add 1/2 inch of water. Place squash halves in the pan(s), cut sides down.

Bake in the oven until the insides of squash halves are tender, about 40 minutes.

Remove pans(s) but leave oven on. Once cool enough to handle, remove squash halves from the pan; place on a dry surface with the cut sides up. Set pan(s) aside.

Scrape all of the spaghetti squash strands out with a fork and transfer to an extra-large bowl. Set aside the bowl as well as the hollow squash halves. Empty water from pan(s). Return squash halves to the pan(s), hollow sides up.

In a medium bowl, combine soup, garlic, dried minced onion, Italian seasoning, pepper, and cheese wedges, breaking cheese wedges into pieces as you add them. Stir thoroughly, until mostly smooth.

Add soup mixture to the extra-large bowl of spaghetti squash strands. Add spinach, mushrooms, and basil, and mix thoroughly.

Evenly divide squash mixture between the hollow squash halves. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the tops.

Return pan(s) to the oven and bake until filling is hot and mozzarella cheese has melted, 15 - 20 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle, evenly cut each of the stuffed squash halves in half, leaving you with 4 large pieces. Serve up and enjoy!

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Thanks to HungryGirl for recipe and statistics.

PER SERVING (1/4th of recipe, 1 large piece): 275 calories, 8g fat, 974mg sodium, 35g carbs, 6g fiber, 15g sugars, 14g protein

Barley Salad

Hillside restaurant on Camelback Road in Phoenix serves this delicious salad. I couldn't wait to get into my kitchen to re-create it.  

Tastes & Treasures has a recipe for Black Bean and White Corn Salad on page 183. This Barley salad is very similar with Pearl Barley substituted for Black Beans.

Barley Salad
Ingredients: Use any amount you like to recreate your own version.
Pearl Barley cooked
green onion sliced thin
cilantro
parsley
tiny tomatoes quartered
radish sliced thin
craisins
almonds
walnuts chopped or pecans chopped

Toss with a Lemony vinagrette and enjoy.

Optional ingredients:
dried apricots sliced thin
dried mangos sliced thin

Books donated to Dysart School District

When the Dysart School District requested 17 of our Arizona Recollections and Reflections, League board member Margaret Truman Baker jumped at the chance to take the books to them.  Margaret’s parents bought a citrus grove in the Dysart School District in 1946 (family still lives there), and Margaret and her eleven siblings all graduated from Dysart Schools.  Her father, and then she, served a combined total of 25 years on the district’s governing board.  Margaret tells us she was the first woman and the youngest person ever elected to the board, at 30 years old—so she is “historic” there.

The librarians were most appreciative of the donation.

Irish Bread Braid

I found this delicious treat on Pinterest. Great for a St. Patty's Day dish.  Spinach is good with anything . . . also try Greek Spinach Pie on page 194 in Tastes & Treasures Cookbook.

Posted March 6th, 2013 by girlversusdough

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If I found this Irish Bread Braid is at the end of a rainbow, I’d be one happy gal.

I never know what to make for St. Patrick’s Day in my kitchen because it all SOUNDS. SO. GOOD. So instead of making corned beef and cabbage or colcannon or shepherd’s pie or soda bread, I usually just get overwhelmed with all the possibilities and end up getting a Shamrock Shake and calling it a day. #sad
But not this year, friends! No sir, no ma’am. This year I’m making this savory crescent braid, all stuffed with corned beef and spinach and potatoes and melty white cheese because, well, I just explained all the reasons. It’s mostly for the melty cheese, though.
To the end of the rainbow!


You’ll want to prepare your ingredients first. If you’re using chopped spinach from the frozen section, make sure it’s thawed and drained completely. You’ll also want to boil the potatoes ahead of time, too, so they have time to cool completely and you can slice them easily.


Place the dough sheets on a baking sheet and pinch the edges together to seal into one big rectangle. Top it with corned beef and spinach…


Then the taters…


Then the shredded cheese. Use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut the long sides of the dough into 1-inch strips to get it all ready for the braidin’.


Fold in the short end, then alternately cross each strip over the filling to make a “braid” effect. Kinda neat, right?


Once the dough is fully braided, brush on a little egg wash and sprinkle the top with caraway seeds. YUM.


Bake the braid until it’s a deep golden brown, the filling is warm and the cheesy is uber-melty, about 25 minutes. Let the bread sit for a few minutes out of the oven before slicing into it, otherwise all that magical cheese will ooze away!


Slice the braid into strips and serve, either with some Thousand Island dressing, Dijon mustard or on its own.

If you’re lucky enough to get a slice of this bread braid, then you’re lucky enough…