FINALLY RESOLVED! Having Problem with AT&T Uverse Connection to Internet

 4-21-2012   Finally received a new modem from U-Verse.     I am glad to have insisted on getting a new replacement shipped.      I know I did not have any problem before this new service and with other modem and that it is this defective modem that is causing online connection outages for the last two months.       So far, the connection is steady and continuous.    So don't get talked into a inside home tech support if the previous box before installing the new service worked.   They may have shipped you a defective box.      I know this has nothing to do with the food, but because of this I have not been able to get online, etc.

===================================
I want to apologize for not responding to some of you via e-mail or through this food blog site's reply.     Ever since I changed to AT&T Uverse Internet Service back in early March.  I have had bad luck of being cut off or have connection for only 10 min in a day or way past midnight or when no-one in the neighbors are using their internet.   I am pretty upset about their service.     It's a some kind of joke that I am finally able to log on today at home because I am on vacation with my grand children.     But I am already seeing the degradation on the connection just because I am online. 
I will try to resolve this issue and post back on response as soon as I can consistently.
Thank you all for the kind notes and dropping by.
Polly

One Pan Banana and Zucchini Bread

When I am energetic in the morning, I love to wake up and head right down to my kitchen and start making my lunch or breakfast.   This morning, I decided to make banana bread.     Start right at 5:15 am and finished at 6:30 am.     Here is a regular quick bread recipe that usually yield one loaf, but I made it into a banana bread and a zucchini bread.      Just when you are ready to pan the mixture in.     Separate half of the batter into a separate bowl and mix each bowl with shredded zucchini and the other with finger mushed banana (chunky)     Zucchini is peeled, but leave some green peel here and there and be sure to squeeze the liquid out (to remove bitterness and too much moisture).       Bake them in a square pan lined with parchment paper.    I sliced them up and took some to work to share with the co-workers.     But, soooorry.    They tasted so good, I almost ate them all by myself at my desk.    

 

Ingredients:

1-3/4 C AP Flour

1-1/2 heaping tsp  Baking Powder

1 Stick Butter, Soft - room temp

2/3 C Sugar

3/4 tsp salt

2  Eggs

1/2 C Sugar

1 C Zucchini - shredded & liquid squeezed out

1-1/2 Banana - in good shape - no over riped - separated into chunks with fingers

1 tsp Ceylon grounded Cinnamon

1/8 tsp grounded cloves

1 tsp Orange zest

Procedures:         Preheat oven to 375'F

Shift flour, salt, Ceylon cinnamon, cloves, and baking powder together.     Set aside.

Beat 1 stick soft butter till fluffy and pale with 2/3 C sugar.     Set aside.

Beat 2 eggs till pale with 1/2 C sugar.

Add egg mixture into butter and add orange zest.   Mix.

Add flour mixture and mix gently and thoroughly.    Separate into equal 2 portions.

Mix one portion  with banana.    Mix the other portion with squeezed zucchini.

Line 8x8 brownie pan with parchment paper.      Option:  Muffin cups or 2 loaf pans

Add both mixture side-by-side into the pan and bake till tester come out clean.

Tip:  Control one bowl mixing technique, my method of beating butter and eggs, separately, till fluffy and pale, then, mixing them together always result in a fine crumb cake for any of my basic cake baking.

Enjoy!     

Hello! Mom

Here is my mom with her spring garden.

 

Rustic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I have my own special cake recipe that yields 'fine crumbs', but I thought I will give a try with this recipe from one of my favorite Alton Brown's cooking books.     The crumb turned out coarser than mine; it is moist and the taste of carrots and spices were appreciated joyfully. 
I used several different size spring form cake pan with parchment paper, so I can share some with my families.

 Cream cheese frosting.

 I had to put raisins in my carrot cake.     It goes so well with carrots.

Moorish Chicken and Pine Nuts Pie

This is my first Moorish Chicken and Pine Nuts Pie.     I am quite pleased with the tasty results of mixing raisins, spices, and pine nuts with shredded roasted chicken breasts enveloped in home made puff pastry.     The recipe calls for raw chicken pieces.     I roasted the organic whole chicken with whole Dijon mustard stuffed between the breast and skin + salt & pepper.    Then finger shredded chicken breast.    I vacuum packaged the rest and freeze them for other use.

Home made Pizza dough with Ground Turkey Pizza Sauce

Once you learned a good pizza dough recipe, it's almost unthinkable to eat the pizza out.... but naaa...  sometimes, it is just so enjoyable to have them made by someone...
This pizza crust recipe here is from the Mozza book.    I just love it.     Just like Jamie Oliver's Hamburger and Hot Dog buns recipe, you come to trust it and do it over and over with confidence.     The sauce is half scratch half ready made jar of Ragu's Mushroom Spaghetti sauce.      One night my sister decided to treat me to spaghetti.     She made so much that I was able to add other ingredients - fresh romano tomatoes, more spices, Parmesan cheese, etc, and made into pizza sauce / topping and sloppy Joe with it.

Japanese HOKKAIDO Loaf Bread with Raisins

I tried to make the same soft bread, but I am afraid I have let it proof 30 minutes too much.    So, it is non-conclusive that if the Gold Medal's unbleached flour produces the bread texture of fine crumb with long strands like the breads sold at most of the Asian grocery stores.

 One dough made into three different breads - Bread with Raisins, White Bread, and Hamburger buns.

 Ground Turkey Sloppy Joe.      Actually, it was a ground turkey spaghetti sauce that my sister made.      We had so much of it, that I made it into Sloppy Joe and pizza sauce.

Stir Fried Spicy Bell Pepper with Beef and Candied Orange & Beef with Broccoli

I love it!   I found a few good use of candied orange peels I made a few months ago while making my "Calisson de Polly".    I love the food adventure and learn about the spices the different cultures use.   They really bring out the interesting dimensions to the flavor and make the ordinary dish 'new', I think.    Of course, I wanted to make the dish that my mother makes, but I don't have her 50 years old wok (an excuse.)     Flank steaks were cut into strips and marinated in 'potato starch' (not corn starch)  with less sodium soy sauce, pinch of sugar, and a bit of water.
Stir fry the beef first in oil.  Set aside.   In the same wok or saute pan, stir fry bell peppers.  Add Oyster sauce and candied orange peel.   Return beef.   Add chili peppers and Salt and Pepper to taste.  

 Broccoli is blanched first, then stir fried.  Return beef back and stir fried.