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Jun 7, 2018

My Birthday Poem

Today is my birthday so I celebrated by writing a poem (and baking a cake!).

Well I finally made it to seventy two!
And I’ve learned a few things that might help you
I was scared at first about getting older, you know
Would my hair turn grey, would my nose really grow?

There are some things you simply can’t avoid
Like wrinkles, but they’re proof that your life was enjoyed
So you want to take a nap? Do it – it’s reviving
Nothing wrong with that, just not while you’re driving.

Don’t lie about your age, there’s no reason to miscount
Enjoy the benefits – get that senior discount.
So you need to wear glasses, that bothers you a bit
Truth is without reading glasses, I can’t see… a thing.

The serenity prayer is kind of my plan
Accept what you must, and change what you can
The list for accepting is not very long
Your eyes or your muscles may not be as strong.

But the list you can change… where should I begin?
Fix your bones and your heart and your hair and your skin
Diabetes & cancer & stroke can be prevented
It’s up to your lifestyle – you just reinvent it.

No sodas or fast food, no junk or diet drinks
What’s that you say? This really stinks!
And easy on the pizza & sweets & ice cream
Jenny, you’re killing me. This is a bad dream!

Instead of coffee, drink water or tea instead
And no booze except one glass of wine that’s red
Eat veggies, wear sunscreen, exercise must be done
I know what you’re thinking. Can’t I have any fun?

I’m not here to say that I never cheat
An occasional pizza and gelato I eat
But the next day I’m back on this plan of my making
I cook every day, and do all my own baking.

I know it’s a lot and I’m not saying it’s easy
But you can live without things in bags that are cheezy
Feed your body with the best fuel at every meal
Then see how fabulous you can look and feel.

~~ ❤️ ~~

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Filed Under: General
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May 30, 2018

Why You Should Aerate Your Flour

Why Do You Aerate FlourBread dough too dry? Cookie dough too heavy? You probably didn’t aerate your flour.

The two cups in this photo are exactly the same size. The left (red) one contains flour that I aerated, scooped into the cup, and leveled off with the back of a knife. The right (blue) one I did NOT aerate, just scooped it into the cup, and leveled it off with the back of a knife. Then I weighed the flour from both cups.

You can see that the flour that was aerated (red) weighs less than the NOT aerated flour (blue) and that’s because flour settles in the bag or container and if you measure it without aerating, you will probably be using too much flour. This can cause baking problems, especially if you consider that 3 cups of flour, that should weigh 13 1/2 ounces might weigh 15 3/4 ounces if not aerated before measuring. That’s exactly 1/2 cup more flour than you need!

Oh… one more thing. Aerating is not sifting. To aerate flour, you simply stir it around in the container with a spoon or spatula to incorporate some air. You can see how I aerate flour in my Quick and Easy Chocolate Cake video at the one minute mark: Click here to see it. I hope this is helpful and you have great results with all your baking. ? – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Helpful Hints
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May 23, 2018

This Marble Loaf Has No Butter

Butterless Marble LoafIf you like baking without butter, this marble cake is one to try. It’s not too sweet with lots of dark chocolate swirls. With all the controversy about butter being good or bad for you, I still bake mostly without butter just in case they are wrong again. And I don’t miss the butter in this moist and light cake.

A marble loaf never looks the same twice and when you slice it you never know what the swirl will look like. I always hope it will have an even mix of white and chocolate just like this…

Healthier Marble Loaf CakeMy baking cocoa of choice is Dutch process, which produces a rich dark color and is less bitter than regular powdered cocoa. You can find Droste brand at World Market. I also really enjoy adding some fresh orange zest to this pound cake because chocolate and orange go great together. Plain or with orange, you won’t find a marble loaf this good at any store. Try it for dessert or afternoon tea, or serve it when you have company and wait for the raves. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Baking Without Butter, Sweets, What I Cooked Today
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May 17, 2018

My Healthier Apple Crisp

Simple Apple CrispI love all desserts made with apples so I try to make them as healthy as I can and still be delicious. I did it with this easy homemade apple crisp. It’s made with 100% whole grains, no butter, and not too much sugar.  You can use butter if you like but you’ll be using a lot less butter than most other recipes.

There’s not much cleanup here either – basically just one bowl and a cutting board. I combine the apples in a plastic bag and you don’t even need a mixer. I use granny smith apples, which are always available, but make sure you slice them thinly so they cook up nice and soft.

Considering the ingredients (rolled oats, whole wheat pastry flour, lots of apples) I thought, “Why can’t I have this for breakfast?” If you can have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, well that’s what’s in my apple crisp. I even put it in the breakfast category because compared to some breakfasts, like a bagel with cream cheese (no fiber/no fruit), this is a healthier choice. And more fun. Sometimes my breakfast is a hard boiled egg, toast, and apple crisp for dessert. Yum!

Oh, and you can add nuts to the topping if you like (more protein if it’s breakfast!). Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Baking Without Butter, Breakfast, Sweets
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May 5, 2018

My Ribs are Really Popular

Best Recipe Bbq RibsGuess what? I just found out that my video for these fall off the bone ribs is the second highest viewed ribs recipe on youtube after Gordon Ramsey. Well knock me over with a spatula! It makes me proud because I was just making my home videos for fun, never expecting them to be so popular. But that means lots of people are cooking at home and I’m glad my videos and recipes are helping. Here are my current top 5 most viewed videos.

Fall Off The Bone Ribs – 4 million views

Cabbage Rolls – 3.9 million views

Faster No Knead Bread – 2.8 million views

Easy Whole Wheat Bread – 2.8 million views

Hash Browns – 2 million views (My Hash Browns? I couldn’t believe it!)

It’s exciting to watch these numbers grow. I don’t make ribs often but when I do, I always find myself saying, “Wow, I forgot how good these are!” If you haven’t tried them yet, summer is coming! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Main Dishes, What I Cooked Today
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Apr 29, 2018

Potato Salad Without Mayo

Potato Salad Without MayoPotatoes are my friend – boiled, mashed, roasted, hash browned, I love them every way, and in the summer, potato salad is my favorite. I tried for years to make a good potato salad without mayo but was never happy with the result. It was always too dry and if I added more oil, it was too oily.

This time I decided to try something different. I added some of the potato cooking water to my dressing and it was better but still not good enough. Then I tried something crazy. I mashed a little bit of potato and added that to the dressing along with the water. Bingo! It was great. The potato salad was creamy, tangy, and delicious.

So now I’m sharing this recipe for creamy potato salad no mayo, just in time for summer. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Soups/Salads/Side Dishes
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Apr 25, 2018

Whole Grain Cookies

Crispy Oatmeal CookiesIt seems that I’ve been making these crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies a lot lately. They keep well, there’s no white flour, they have lots of fiber, and instead of chocolate chips I’ve been using part of a 70% dark chocolate bar (the one that’s good for you), chopped up and added to the final batter. Of course the toasted nuts add a lot of extra flavor.

They are big – about 5 inches across – so we usually split a cookie for dessert. But then we split another one because… well… because I’m in charge in the kitchen and I said it was okay. Today I also made salad, salmon patties, and spaghetti with chard for dinner. Then we had half a cookie for dessert. That’s the truth. We each had half a cookie for dessert. What happened after that is… quite frankly… confidential. ?  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Filed Under: Sweets, What I Cooked Today
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Apr 11, 2018

Fall Off The Bone Beef Ribs

Easy Beef Ribs in the OvenYes. You can make beef ribs that fall off the bone just like my pork baby back ribs with just a couple of small changes. First: Cook them longer. Two: Lower the temperature. After seeing so many questions about beef ribs I decided to try them myself so I could share the recipe. The two changes are very simple:

  1. Reduce the oven temperature from 300 to 275° F.
  2. Cook them for 3 1/2 hours in the oven (baby backs take 2 1/2 hrs). You can cook them even longer in the oven if you like but they are very tender after 3 1/2 hours.
  3. I was never able to remove the silver skin off the back but if you can, it’s best to remove it. (there’s good how-to advice on removing the silver skin in the comment from RussS below – thank you, Russ!)

I cooked 2 pounds of ribs and my dry rub recipe was just enough for 2 pounds. If you cook more, you’ll need to double the rub recipe. My homemade rub and sauce always get raves and both are easy to make. I see a lot of people use Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce but you should know that the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. My homemade barbeque sauce is easy to make and really worth trying. For tender fall off the bone beef ribs click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Main Dishes, What I Cooked Today
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Apr 8, 2018

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip CookiesIsn’t everything better with chocolate? Today I made my incredibly easy peanut butter cookies but upped the game by adding dark chocolate chunks and extra peanuts. Oh My! They are so good and so easy. These peanut butter cookies have no flour so they’re even gluten free. This is a simple one bowl recipe and I just added some chopped up 70% chocolate bar and some additional chopped salted peanuts. I don’t think I’ll ever make them plain again.

You could use chocolate chips but using a plain dark chocolate bar is a healthier choice. Just use my original recipe for peanut butter cookies and add about 1/4 cup of chocolate chunks or peanuts or 1/4 cup total mixture of both.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Easy Recipes For Beginners, Sweets, What I Cooked Today
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Apr 4, 2018

Polish Stir-Fry ( Haluski )

Best Recipe HaluskiHow can something so easy be so good? I love haluski so much I just can’t get enough. My mother used to make it and I never asked her for the recipe but I finally figured out how to make it like she did and it’s so good! It’s basically a Polish stir fry of cabbage and onions that is quick and easy so you need to prep everything in advance. It only takes 20 minutes to make. I slice the cabbage by hand and then rough chop it after that.

Most haluski recipes use lots of butter but you don’t need to. This whole pan has only 2 tablespoons of butter and some of that is stirred in at the end for a great flavor and finish.

Now about the sauerkraut: I LOVE the addition of sauerkraut but I know it’s not for everyone (except us Poles ??) but I do recommend trying the kraut version for a true Polish experience. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

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Filed Under: Easy Recipes For Beginners, Main Dishes, Polish Cooking, Quick & Easy
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