Made From Scratch Tuesday 3/20

Want to know what the best meal in the world is? A meal someone else cooks for you! The other night, one of my friends made an amazing meal. I knew I had to put the recipes up here, so here's today's guest post, by Audrey.

When I was growing up, in Massachusetts, we always had fish on Fridays whether or not it was Lent. My grandmother was an Irish Catholic from Southie and I guess that’s just how things always were. Now that I’m an adult living in Indianapolis, I have pretty intense seafood cravings that can only be satisfied one way. I refuse to eat frozen fish, so I headed up to one of the few local fish markets we have in town that sells fresh to pick up some supplies.

Unfortunately, the pickings were slim by the time I got there – it was, indeed, a Friday during Lent. I bought a beautiful Chilean sea bass, the last three scallops in the city, and a dozen clams to steam before heading over to Jen’s house to cook for her and her husband. One of the major advantages of being such close friends with your usual blog author is that she feeds me all the time. I owed her.

Herb Crusted Chilean Sea Bass

Grated Lemon Rind

Bread Crumbs

1 Small Handful Fresh Parsley – chopped

2 Cloves Garlic - minced

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Chilean Sea Bass Filet with skin on(about 1 lb)

Olive Oil

Mix bread crumbs, lemon rind, parsley, garlic together and spread on plate. Brush fish with olive oil on top and bottom. Press fish to breadcrumb mixture and place on cast iron skillet. Bake in 400 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before removing from skillet and slicing into servings.

Sea Scallops with White Wine Garlic Sauce

(This recipe may be at least partially stolen from somewhere else)

1 T Olive Oil

Sea Scallops

2 Garlic Cloves – Minced Fine

2 c. Chardonnay (inexpensive is fine, we used Fat Bastard)

3 T Fresh Lemon Juice

1 T Butter (optional)

Chopped Parsley for Garnish

Heat skillet with olive oil on high until oil smokes and place scallops in pan. Flip after 2 minutes to sear the other side for another 2 minutes. Turn heat down to medium and pour wine into pan. Remove scallops after another 2 minutes and add lemon juice, garlic, and butter (if you so choose. I’ve done it both ways and it’s always great). Reduce by half and pour over scallops. Garnish with parsley and serve.

New England Steamers

1-2 doz. Fresh Clams

Olive Oil

3 Cloves Garlic – Chopped Coarsely

3 Pearl Onions – Chopped Coarsely

½ Bottle Chardonnay

Enough Water to Cover Clams

Small Handful of Fresh Parsley

Melted Butter and Hot Water Bowls for Serving

In the bottom of a pot (that has a lid), sautee garlic and onions in olive oil until they are soft. Add wine, water, clams, and parsley to pot and steam with lid on high until clams just begin to open up (usually about 5 minutes, but as long as 10). Remove from pot and discard any clams that have not opened up in 10 minutes (DON’T EAT THESE ONES!). Serve with hot water and melted butter.

I also served these up with asparagus (because it’s one of my favorite veggies). I like to grill my asparagus with a little oil or butter, some coarse sea salt, and a little lemon juice. I just roll them around every 2 minutes or so to keep them from burning. A little crispness is fine.

I’m not sure I’ve paid my debt back to Jen yet, but I’m sure this is a step in the right direction.

Now it's time to link up all of your creations!
Here are the rules:
1. You can link up as many posts as you'd like.
2. The post has to be made from scratch.
3. The post you link up MUST CONTAIN A RECIPE! 
4. If you want to put my button somewhere, that'd be cool. You can grab the code for the Made From Scratch Tuesday button on the top right of my sidebar.  

Guest Post: Attack of the Whiny Monster

Meet Amanda:
So, before we get started, I have to say this blog thing is weird to me. I’ve never done it before, so thanks to Jen for helping me to get started! A little background on me: I’m married to the best man ever, and I have two great kids, aged 8 and 5. I work as a call center trainer, and I usually work around 50 hours a week or so, plus driving time, which is about an hour each way.





This is my usual evening: I pick up the kids, and I’m immediately attacked by the Whiny Monster of I’m Hungry. The Monster attacks every night, and while I can sense his presence, I’ve not yet found a way to silence him in the car. We get in the house, where Whiny Monster is distracted by the TV (thank God) so I can cook. I know my time is limited, because once Whiny Monster comes back….he’s back with a vengeance.

So what’s a Mom to do? Well, I have a go-to list of foods I make that take about 15-20 minutes to make. And I have to confess, they use convenience foods. There is no reason to avoid them, unless you have a food allergy. God bless green can Parmesan cheese and pre-made tortillas.

If you have a Whiny Monster at home, or just a regular hungry person, here are some ideas for you.

Cheese quesadillas with salsa and sliced oranges. You can add refried beans to the quesadillas unless Whiny Monster will morph into Picky Monster.

Egg and Cheese quesadillas with fruit: Make eggs to your preference. Heat a skillet and add one tortilla. Top with cooked egg and cheese of your choice. Top with tortilla. Flip when brown.

Breaded Tilapia with potato cubes: Take thawed tilapia filets and sprinkle with garlic powder, black pepper, dried basil, and parmesan cheese. Cut potato into medium sized cubes. Sprinkle with the same mixture and spritz with cooking spray.  Put potatoes into a 400 degree oven first, then add fish 15 minutes later. Bake until both are lightly browned. Serve with some sort of vegetable that they won’t eat anyway but makes you feel better as a mom.

 Photo by David Stephensen

Cold cereal- Hey, it has vitamins. And minerals. And they eat it.



Turkey smoked sausage with macaroni and corn. Turkey smoked sausage is better for you, and it’s usually cheaper too.

Parmesan Crusted Fried Chicken, noodle-y things from a bag, and veggie:
Four chicken breasts
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 egg

Beat egg and dip chicken pieces into it. Dredge in Parmesan cheese mixed with garlic powder. Take 2 tablespoons of oil and heat it in a skillet. When hot, add breaded chicken and cook for about 5 minutes on each side. Don’t turn the chicken until it lifts easily from the pan.

Hope this helps you be prepared for when your own Whiny Monster of I’m Hungry attacks! Thanks for letting me visit, Jen.

Guest Post: Urban Gardener

Meet Audrey:

She's a 20-something insurance professional who lives life adventure to adventure. (She's also the one who tilled my garden, but that's a story for another day.) She enjoys being active, whether you define that as biking through Indianapolis or knitting on her couch. You simply won't find her sitting still. She enjoys seeking out the beauty others overlook or dismiss. This year, Audrey decided to set out on a new quest, cultivating a garden on the small patio of her lakeside apartment. Keep reading to see what she planted, harvested, and most importantly learned in the patio planter experience!

The Urbanization of the Vegetable Garden

I'm an apartment person. I don't particularly care for mowing grass or replacing garage door openers. I do, however, love fresh produce and I cook primarily from scratch. As we all know, there's a huge difference between the produce department in a grocery store and the local farmer's market, but there's nothing better than food grown with your own love, a little sweat, and maybe a tear or two.

But how can I grow my own juicy tomatoes and spicy chilies...and maybe strawberries? Hmmm...

Then my boyfriend's mother brought me an upsy-downsy tomato planter. Plants in containers! It makes so much sense I don't know how I didn't think of it before now. Then it occurred to me that I could grow many things in containers. I did a little reading online for some tips.

I started with the grape and big red tomato seeds as well as basil, chives, cilantro, jalapenos and a packet of assorted bell peppers. I bought some cheap pots and found some free pots that I could poke holes in (I even had chives in a pizza express cup that's been moving around with me since college).

This was getting fun. I love to be able to nurture things. So I wait. I went to my local farmers market to pick up some veggies one day and the proprietor asks how my pots are coming along and casually mentions that his starters are on clearance. $2 a flat! I'm going to need more peppers, and some roma tomatoes are a given, so let's see what's over there. I picked up some dusky eggplant, several healthy looking cayennes, a few more bell peppers, some cherry peppers, okra, and some squash and zucchini plants that I wasn't so sure about. I even grabbed a cantaloupe plant just to see if it could work.

The upsy-downsy tomato idea had already been scrapped. The bucket just isn't big enough, but it's perfect for cayenne's and cherry peppers.

I chose the healthiest starters I could find and stuck them in buckets hoping for the best, my mouth water at the thought of fried okra.

One of the most important things to consider when planting an urban container garden is that the nutrients in the soil are quickly depleted. I used miracle grow and bought an organic pesticide for the aphids. The best part of container gardening, in my opinion, is the lack of furry thieves leaving half-eaten tomatoes around...well, besides my dog. He thinks green tomatoes are tennis balls. I also had some casualties due to the notorious Indiana summer storms. Next year I'll find a way to weigh down the buckets more.

As for the results? I have more jalapenos than I know what to do with. I've made some killer dips and my famous poppers with them. I have tons of fresh tomatoes and what I can't eat immediately either get turned into tomato sauce or sundried tomatoes. I've made pesto with the basil and I love having fresh herbs always on hand. Plus I'm saving a fortune. The eggplant never set fruit so I think I'll try another variety next year. Mildew killed my squash and zucchini, but I didn't think they'd make it when I bought them. I lost interest in my cantaloupe when it overtook my balcony and I just kind of let it go. The assorted bell peppers are gorgeous and one of the plants is producing a beautiful purple fruit that's just a little sweeter. Oddly, they turn green when you cook them.

Summer is coming to an end now and soon the plants will wilt, but I'm planning for next year already. I'm hoping to score a habenero plant and I'll probably try some other tomato varieties. I intend to grow more romas because I absolutely love them. I had so much success with the peppers that I'll be sure to grow them again as well and I can't imagine buying those blister packed herbs ever again. I'm also hoping to grow some green beans and garlic, and I'm going to give squash and zucchini another shot, but from seed this time.

So in closing, if you think you can't have home-grown veggies in a cramped space, why not become an urban gardener? It's a fun and rewarding project and my veggies rival the ones at produce stand down the street.


This post was linked to some of the parties shown here




Canning Week is coming! August 23-27 is canning week here and over at my blogger buddy's page here. We'll be having a linky party, recipes, tips, tricks, and GIVEAWAYS!!! See the button on the right? Go ahead and slap that on your blog and let me know so you can get your entries in early. We're also on Facebook! Join up to our group for an additional entry!

Guest Blog: Cakes

Ever wonder where all of my creative ideas started? You may remember my mom from one of the first posts on Messhall to Bistro. She taught me all the basics in the kitchen, and is the reason I can keep all the bellies full and happy in my house now. I can also blame her for my lack of measuring skills. She taught me how to get the feel for recipes, and use my senses rather than mathematics to cook. So without further ado, meet the Mom.

Beyond dinners and brunches, she also does cakes. Meet Bobbi, a "forever 29" baker, quilter, and mom.




I've always like to cook and bake. I used to sit and watch my grandma as long as she'd let me be in the same room.She was my mentor and inspiration to be a better cook and baker. Through the years, I've broadened my horizons a bit...at least in the kitchen! These are some of my recent efforts.













Like what you see? Bobbi is located in East Central Indiana and can be reached at AnotherBobbiCreation@gmail.com.

This post was linked to Spotlight Yourself Wednesday



House of Hepworths

Because Bass Players are Sexy...

So after my first attempt with fondant, my sister wanted to try it out. She decided she wanted to make a guitar cake. We made the cake late Sunday night and let it cool over night. Then we cut the neck and laid it on the board.

Then we made the template for the body of the guitar and cut out around it

Then a thin coating of frosting


Then color the fondant and roll out. It takes two people on a big cake to place the fondant on the cake. Make sure you smooth it out over the cake and seal the edges by pressing.




Continue this with all colors for all sections of the cake. Shape the other items to decorate and add finishing touches. Secure pieces with royal icing (egg whites and powdered sugar)




Here's what we learned in our cake:

Make sure you leave enough room for 6 strings, otherwise your electric guitar becomes a bass!!

Wilton's Forest Green coloring doesn't take as much as the other colors when coloring fondant

Making strings is a lot harder than you'd think

The recipe for chocolate cake on the back of the Hershey cocoa box is very moist, which is great for the cake, but a little harder to carve

All in all, her first try and my second try at working with fondant was a lot of fun and it didn't turn out that bad.