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  My wife was looking for something to take to her flower club meeting. A trip to the store where I work revealed strawberries on sale for 99 cents. After purchasing 5 lbs, t sliced them for her to put on angel food cake. In my haste, I didn't waste time coring them, just cutting off the top and slicing them. After I finished I looked at the pile of tops and decided to dice up as much as possible from around the core. This was the birth of a new recipe. Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups of finely diced strawberries    1 cinnamon stick  1/2 teaspoon molasses  1 cup all purpose flour  1 1/4 cup buttermilk 1 egg 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda  1/2 to 1 teaspoon banana extract  1 banana sliced thin Begin by adding the strawberries to a small sauce pan. Simmer over medium low heat until the berries start to break down. Add the cinnamn stick and molasses. Allow to simmer until ready to serve. Now start on the pancakes.m

I love popcorn. It is my favorite snack. Watching TV, I frequently have a bowl. At the movies or theme parks, I have at least one or two boxes. I even have a couple of commercial machines. We're not talking little reproduction machines, but full size poppers.  For church movie night, I'll have a machine there. I think you get the hint, I am obsessed. These two recipes will make some of the best kettle corn you have ever eaten. No burned kernels, no burned sugar, just sweet and salty goodness. The first is my version of typical kettle corn, the second is a brown sugar cinnamon treat. Traditional Kettle Corn Ingredients: 12 cups of popcorn 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons Karo syrup 2 tablespoons water Salt to taste You can use pre-popped corn from you local store, microwave popped corn, or pop your own according to the package directions.  Salt to taste. In a small sauce pan add the butter, sugar and Karo syrup a

This is a quick easy recipe that is perfect for anytime.  Beef, onions,  and peppers are always a delicious combination. Ingredients: 2 pounds of sirloin or flank steak. 2 bell peppers 1 medium onion 2 cloves of garlic  marinade Marinade: 1/4 cup olive oil Juice of one lime  1 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder  1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon dried cilantro 1/4 teaspoon coriander  Pinch of red pepper. Mix all the ingredients together.  Slice 2 pounds of flank or sirloin steak against the grain in 1/2 inch pieces. Place in zip-top bag and add 1/2 of the marinade.  to rest over night. If you have a vacuum sealer, add to a vacuum bag and seal on the wet setting. Vacuum sealing speeds up the process making the meat ready to grill in a couple of hours. Slice the peppers in thin long strips. Slice the onion in half from top to bottom, then s

We love Williamsburg Virginia. Anytime we get some vacation time, you can find us there. If you have never visited this living history museum, you need to make the time to do so. It is not a place you can visit on an afternoon, you can spend days, even weeks and not see it all. My wife and I can spend hours at an exhibit, only to return another day and spend additional hours. Our last visit, we watched how they built the kilns to dry bricks, spent several hours at different cooking demonstrations, had a visit with Thomas Jefferson, watched the wig maker, and the cooper. One thing is certain, if you are looking for me, at 10 AM, you can find me at the Raleigh Tavern bake shop. Every morning the baker fires up the two wood fired ovens and bakes ginger cakes. There is nothing better than those beautiful cakes hot from the oven. Yes, I will be there every morning, on our entire stay. Have even been known to get a couple for the road when leaving. To say I am obsessed is an

Recently we had the urge for fajitas. Nothing goes with them quite like spanish rice. This is my recipe for a great tasting side dish.  Ingredients: 1 small onion 1 small jalapeño pepper 3 roma tomatoes  1 cubanelle pepper 1 clove garlic 1/8 teaspoon cumin  1/8 teaspoon chili powder  1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt  5 tablespoons olive oil 1 packet salt free chicken bouillon 1 cup long grain rice Begin by placing all the ingredients except the bouillon and rice in a food processor. Puree the vegetables and spices until a wet paste is formed. Place mixture in a sieve over a medium sized bowl.  Scrap the mixture removing as much liquid as possible.  You should have about 2 cups. If short you can add water. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until oil is shimmering. Add rice toasting to a light brown. Stir thoroughly making sure all the rice is toasted. Lower heat to simmer and add the liquid and bouillon to t

We love salsa in our house. This is a cooler salsa for summer that substitues cucumber for bell peppers. It is refreshing with a bit of heat. Ingredients: 5 roma tomatoes  1 sweet onion 1/2 cucmber 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste  1 jalapeño pepper  1 to 2 tablespoons cilantro 1 teaspoon keylime juice Begin by slicing the tomatoes in half and scooping out the seeds and membrane. Reserve them. Dice the tomatoes finely.  Half the cucumber and remove the seeds. Again remove the seeds Dice the sweet onion. Half the jalapeño and remove the membrane and seeds. Dice finely.  Finely chop rhe cilantro.  Combine all the ingredients.  Place the membranes from the tomatoes in a double layer of cheese cloth. Squeeze out the juice into the mixture. Mix thoroughly.  Enjoy

After  church today, my wife and I went for a drive to St Augustine. Earlier in the week, my eldest daughter took me to Rype and Readi Market. If you are in the area and looking for locally grown organic vegetables, this is the place to go. After loading up on tomatoes, peppers, bok choy, honey granules, strawberry plants and tomato plants, we headed home. Wondering what to make with the bok choy, I decided to saute it as a side for stir fry. To a large skillet add: 3 tablespoons canola oil 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 cloves minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon ginger 2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper 2 tablespoons diced onion 2 tablespoons bacon bits Heat the ingredients over a medium heat until hot. Add bok choy, sauteing each side until leaves are wilted and stalk is blistered. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve. Sirloin Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce Thin slice sirloin and place in a disposable zipper bag. Marinade: 2 cloves minc