Mother’s Day recipes with Union zest

http://www.unionplus.org/blog/union-issues/union-made-mothers-day

http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Other-News/Union-Made-Mother-s-Day-Recipes

Union-made recipes to impress her on Mother’s Day

Remember how mom used to make your food special? Whether it’s her famous smiley face pancakes with extra chocolate chips, her finest PB&J’s cut into diagonals with crust removed just the way you like, or your favorite birthday cake she baked every year, nobody can do it  quite like mom.If one thing is true on Mother’s Day, it’s your turn to do the cooking. Why not surprise her with one of these recipes that are union-made AND delicious?

List of Union Made Recipes for Mother’s Day

• Empire Kosher Ultimate Hashana Chicken
• Linguine Ham Primavera
• Roasted Almond Crusted Salmon with Pomegranate Glaze
• Creamy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp & Vegetables
• Turkey Mignons with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Glaze

Make sure to try them with one of these union-made desserts, and share one of your dessert ideas below.

Don’t forget to use your Union Plus Flower Discount to buy a special arrangement for your mom!

And to stay informed about ALL your Union Plus benefits & discounts, sign up for free e-alerts here.

Empire Kosher Ultimate Rosh Hashana Chicken (Thank UFCW members for Empire Kosher)

Ingredients: 1 Empire Kosher 8 Piece Cut Up Chicken, 1 tablespoon Empire Kosher Rendered Chicken Fat, Salt, pepper to taste, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 garlic clove, minced, 1 shallot, minced, ¼ cup pomegranate juice (all natural unsweetened cranberry juice is also good), ¼ cup low salt Kosher chicken broth, 1 granny smith apple, cored and diced into ½” pieces, ¼ cup honey

Recipe Instructions:

1. Pat chicken pieces dry with a paper towel. Season lightly with salt, pepper and cayenne.  Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat rendered fat in a Dutch oven or large 12” skillet on medium high heat until smoking. Add 4 chicken pieces to the skillet and brown on both sides for 5 minutes.
3. Remove from skillet to a clean plate. Repeat with remaining 4 pieces of chicken.
4. Leaving the juices in the pan, add the garlic and shallots, stirring and browning until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the pomegranate juice and broth, stir, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and add apple pieces.
5. Simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes, until the volume is reduced by half.  Add honey to the skillet and stir into sauce.
6. Place the browned chicken pieces in a casserole dish large enough to accommodate all 8 pieces  Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake for 40 minutes, or until cooked through (160°F for white meat and 175°F for dark meat).

Linguine Ham Primavera (Thank UFCW members for Farmland Ham)

Ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, 3/4 pound Farmland Ham, Julienne Ham Strips, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, 3 cups fresh assorted vegetables lightly steamed, 2 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, 4 oz. uncooked linguine, 3 cups lowfat milk, 1 clove garlic crushed, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Recipe Instructions:

1. Cut ham into thin strips. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan. Add garlic and cook until tender. Blend in flour. Stir in milk, basil, oregano and pepper; heat until mixture begins to bubble. Add vegetables and ham. Cover and simmer over low heat until mixture is thoroughly heated.
3. Add pasta and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired, before serving.

Roasted Almond Crusted Salmon with Pomegranate Glaze (Enjoy with Montepelier Almonds to supportUFW members)

Ingredients: 1 pound of salmon (cut into 4 pieces) or 4 salmon filets, 2 egg whites, lightly beaten, 1 cup crushed roasted almonds, 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, 1/2 cup regular seasoned bread crumbs, 1/3 cup flour (any kind works), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon  pepper, 2/3 cup pomegranate balsamic vinegar (regular balsamic will work too), 1/3 cup pomegranate juice

Recipe Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place aluminum foil on a baking sheet, then set a wire rack on top. Spray the rack with non-stick spray. In a bowl, combine flour, panko, almonds, bread crumbs, and a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, add the egg whites and lightly beat with a fork.
2. Season the salmon with the remaining salt and pepper on both sides. Dip each piece in the egg white and coat thoroughly, then set in the bowl filled with bread crumbs, covered each piece completely and lightly pressing so the coating adheres. Gently place on the wire rack. I find that spritzing each piece of salmon with non-stick spray or olive oil gives the crust a nice crisp.
3. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and fish is flakey. Immediately after the fish goes into the oven, combine the vinegar and pom juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 5-8 minutes, watching carefully as mixture does not boil over and stirring every so often. Turn off heat and let sit aside for 10-15 minutes to thicken. Drizzle on salmon before serving.

Creamy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp & Vegetables (Thank BCTGM members for Dannon Yogurt and Dakota Growers Pasta)

Ingredients: 6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti, 12 ounces peeled and deveined raw shrimp, cut into 1-inch pieces, 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced, 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced, 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, 3 cloves garlic, chopped, 1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, 1-1/2 cups low-fat Dannon plain yogurt, 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)

Recipe Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook 2 minutes less than package directions. Add shrimp, asparagus, bell pepper and peas and cook until pasta is tender and shrimp are cooked, 2-4 minutes more. Drain well.
2. Mash garlic and salt in large bowl until a paste forms. Whisk in yogurt, parsley, lemon juice, oil and pepper. Add pasta mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle with pine nuts.

Turkey Mignons with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Glaze (Thank UFCW members for Butterball poultry products)

Ingredients: 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 4 Butterball® Turkey Mignons, 6 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

Recipe Instructions:

1. For balsamic glaze, heat balsamic vinegar in small saucepan on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 12 minutes. Set aside.
2. Prepare mignons according to package directions for grilling.
3. Top each with 1-1/2 tablespoons blue cheese. Return to grill 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top each with 1 teaspoon of balsamic glaze.

Know what you are talking about?

The Americans

I hazily remember when this show first popped up at a possibility thinking huh… could be interesting spy/mole drama but most likely no, just another red dawn phobic ooo your neighbors could be KGB. Then I forgot all about it. Now suddenly these cryptic ads start popping up while I’m enjoying my junk tv. The flag waves, then shifts to red and the C in The AmeriCans morphs into a hammer and sickle and I’m like WTF. It pisses me off because hey… there are commie Americans here, there, then, now and we’re not living plastic lives waiting to be called to action. I think my rage and suspicion and the dangerous musical crescendo to accompany the minimalist ads are probably a premonition that genuine mining of complex social issues and the pain that the death of the Soviet Union caused is not gonna be a hallmark of this show.

Counter opinions?

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/americans-fx-asks-viewers-root-410370

 

‘The Americans’: FX Asks Viewers to Root for KGB in Cold War Thriller

1/9/2013 by Michael O’Connell

Stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys and the spy drama’s EPs tell reporters enough time has passed to sympathize with Soviets — but are quick to point out that an al-Qaeda version would be “impossible.”

FX

Briefly sidelined by Sandy, FX’s The Americans started production in New York in December and gets a speedy launch on the network later this month.

The thriller, which stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as embedded Soviet spies in 1981 Washington, DC, made an appearance during Wednesday’s Television Critics Association winter press tour — and producers were quick to emphasize who viewers should be rooting for.

“It might be a little different to believe and get used to, but we want you to root for the KGB,” said EPJoel Fields. “They’re going to try to get the Soviets to win the Cold War.”

History knows they’re fighting a losing battle, but the creative team behind the high-profile launch expressed a confidence that more than enough time has passed for American audiences to not hold a grudge.

“If you tried to tell a story like this about al-Qaeda now, it would be impossible; no one would want to hear it,” Fields continued. “I feel even the same could have been said up to 10 years after the cold war ended.”

But this isn’t Homeland. Though the Showtime hit went oddly unmentioned during the discussion, the similar theme of covert ops takes a backseat to the odd, forced family dynamic of two Russian spies raising their in-the-dark children as Americans.

“The show is about marriage and that marriage in an allegory for international relations,” said creator Joe Weisberg. “And international relations are an allegory for marriage.”

Speaking of the show’s tricky time period aesthetics, producers made more than a few jokes about Russell’s high-waisted jeans and defended their musical choices — particularly one steamy scene that used Phil Collins‘ “In the Air Tonight.”

Though the track is synonymous with a similar moment in Risky Business, they called it “perfect for that time.”

Less superficial matters of the time will also play a big part of the show. Fields pointed out that the attempted assassination on President Ronald Reagan will come early in the series and will be a “big event” in the lives of the characters.

As a closing pitch to root for the bad guy protagonists, Weisberg said he wanted viewers to take a hard look at both sides of the Cold War.

“These were these really competing value systems,” he said. “And there’s no question that repressive socialism failed, but unbridled consumption hasn’t exactly led to great satisfaction — and one problem is how do we express that dramatically.”

Tired of whispering…

Marxism isn’t for wimps

Russian Santas

http://www.radioclashblog.com/archives/2012/12/24/santas-satellite-soviet-space-age-festive-cards/

 

Comrade Sim’s Good Eating Turkey

Here’s the recipe I promised. Happy Holidays.

Good Eating Turkey

combine one or two onions diced along with a few cloves of garlic and spices (cordomon, coriander, turmeric or jerk seasoning); mix in blender with olive oil. or saute with olive oil according to taste. add 1/2 cup water to make paste.

slice and or punch holes in turkey along breast, thigh and wing as deeply as possible in as many places as possible. be careful to puncture both front and back.

stuff marinate paste into turkey cuts.

wrap turkey in aluminum foil. refrigerate over night. place turkey in oven with foil and or cover.

cook until done. brown and serve.

Fruitcake without Fruit or Cake

I commandeered the following recipe from a sweet but kind of bougsie site called theblissfullycontentlife.blogspot.com

I happened on it by semi-accident. I was searching for depression era recipes to snazz up for the kitchen-istas of the current depression/recession. I found this site which is shabby chic, voluntary simplicity style. While the practices are suitable for inclusion in the adviso for RED living, the ideology is sticky (and undercooked.)

Voluntary simplicity is a philosophy which eschews consumerism and sets “simple”, homemade, garden-fresh or organics as the ideal. What’s wrong with this picture? Well, it’s the same as the trustfund baby who goes dumpster diving. Yeah, it’s cool that you can furnish your apartment for free and you saved some ratty couch and Ikea bookshelves from languishing in a landfill… but that’s not a model for the way the rest of us can live (it’s random, slightly dangerous and time consuming) and VOLUNTARY simplicity has little or nothing to do with INVOLUNTARY poverty.

(Note how Trustfund Baby covers the stained couch with a blanket he ordered from a pottery barn catalog. eg The dumpster diving trustfund baby is a common enough occurrence in the Pacific Northwest to be cliche.)

Fetishizing the lives of the poor and calling them wise or privileged is ass-backward. Sharing techniques for mutual survival and interdependence, I’m down with.

Liberated/Stolen/Commandeered recipe below (comments and photos are the original blissful blogger) I recommend you use more red food coloring and please send me photos if you happen to sculpt this modern fruitcake sans cake into an eye-catching design like a hammer and sickle.

******

(Julia’s) Aunt Barbara’s Popcorn Cake

This is a doozy of a cake and is so simple you will jump for joy! This is the PERFECT go-to dessert and works wonderfully as Christmas gifts to neighbors.

Best of all, it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish.

The recipe comes from my dear, sweet Aunt Barbara.

If I could steal her recipe book for a day, I would. She absolutely is one of the finest cooks I know and every one of her concoctions are divine.

Aunt Barbara’s Popcorn Cake

12 cups popped popcorn

1 pkg. marshmallows {regular, large size}

1 stick of butter

1 large pkg. peanut M&M’s

1 pkg. spice drops

3-4 drops food coloring {optional}

In a large pot, melt butter on medium heat. Add marshmallows and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until melted and completely blended. Add food coloring and stir.. Remove from heat and add popcorn. Stir with wooden spoon, adding spice drops first, then M&M’s. Keep stirring to make sure everything is coated well.

Now comes the sticky part. You can use a greased bundt pan {like I did here},a 9″ x 13″ pan, or any other mold. Use the spoon to pour the popcorn mix in, then slightly wet your hands. Press mixture down. Put in refrigerator for at least 15-20 minutes to cool.

Remove, cut into pieces, or just package up for gifting:).

This cake has many options…I have used red food coloring and a molded heart pan for Valentine’s Day. A friend had an oval “egg” pan and used light colors for Easter one year.

The possibilities are endless!

Factory Fire Fashion Boycott

Lenin Disapproves…