I Love You Recipes

“Looking for a gift for a guy?” I asked.

Her eyes widened. I had startled her. She was sixteen or so and unattractive, chubby, shod in old dirty tennis shoes, and she had pink hair and a bolt in her nose. Her girlfriend, whose hair had gone blue and whose earlobes were mounts for what looked like chrome lug nuts, was about the same age but noticeably even more hardened. Her attitude screamed that she had neither time nor patience for anyone not tattooed, studded or otherwise festooned, especially not anyone as old as me. She had the coldest steel-blue eyes that I have ever seen. She could have stopped armies with those eyes…frozen them dead in their tracks…I swear.

We were in the aviation section of Powell’s Bookstore in downtown Portland, Oregon. Powell’s claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. Any corner of any floor of Powell’s holds about a zillion more words than a brace of Oxford Unabridged Dictionaries. The place covers floors and floors and a city block. Just in case that’s not enough to accommodate everything that anyone would ever want to read, more floors are planned. I suspected that these two had been in Powell’s before. I was almost certain that they had never been in the aviation section.

Ignoring Blue Hair’s death rays, I stepped nearer and removed a book from the shelf. “Let me show you one of the best books that I’ve ever read,” I said, offering it to the one with pink hair. Her eyes had returned to their sockets. Perhaps she was considering that I wasn’t The Devil.

“It’s about two brothers who were about your ages. One was fifteen and the other seventeen. They spent a winter rebuilding an old worn-out Piper Cub airplane in their father’s garage. Then in the summer, against their father’s wishes, they flew it across America. Just the two of them. They navigated using a gas station roadmap. They didn’t have the money even for a radio, and they slept under its wings a lot of the time. Almost got killed a couple of times. Learned a lot about themselves and each other and their family and about what it’s like to be free and to take risks and to flick their finger at the world. It’s a true story. It happened in 1960. It’s so good, even people who don’t like to read, like reading it. I’ve read it twice. The New York Times and USA Today went crazy over it. Almost anyone would, even if they don’t like airplanes; because really, it’s not about airplanes. Your friend would like it, I bet. It’s got a brothel in it, too.”

The one with the pink hair smiled. It was a small, tight, guarded smile, of the kind that someone who’s been around more than she should, gives on the very rare occasion when she smiles at a stranger. Most strangers who want to talk to her don’t want to talk about books, I guessed. Her girlfriend looked jealous. We hadn’t spoken a word to each other and we had already decided that we didn’t like each other and nothing was going to change that.

“Thank you.”

I don’t know how she could stand to speak with that slug of steel poking through her nose. I would have thought it would hurt like the dickens. But she didn’t seem to mind. There was a soft, sweet vulnerability to her voice that was very appealing. Maybe in another time, among other friends, she would pursue a less metallic life.

“You’re welcome,” I said. She had opened the book now and was examining the writing with what seemed like genuine interest.

I turned and walked away. I had done my deed for the day. I hoped that she liked FLIGHT OF PASSAGE: A TRUE STORY, by Rinker Buck. If she did, I was pretty sure that her guy friend would, too. It was, after all, really a book about going one’s own way to find one’s path through life. That’s what pink hair and nose bolts are all about. I know that, even if I am on the downhill side of sixty.

This sweet and tangy chicken is easy to prepare. Try this recipe to whip up a two-pound batch of chicken wing appetizers, or when thighs go on sale.

1/3 cup cornstarch
3/4 cups water
4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 – 2 pounds chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks (use crushed pineapple if you are using chicken wings)
1 large green pepper

Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking pan or casserole dish. Or use an oven safe chicken fryer to brown the chicken. You can use it as your baking pan, too.

Prepare the sauce:
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the water and stir until smooth. In a sauce pan, stir together the pineapple juice, sugar, vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, bouillon granules and ground ginger. Place over medium high heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil. Once boiling, stir constantly and cook for 2 – 3 minutes; until thickened. Remove from heat.

Prepare the chicken:
Heat the oil in a large skillet (or chicken fryer) over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cooking and turning until brown on all sides. Place the chicken in your greased baking pan and pour the sauce over the chicken, or simply pour the sauce over the chicken in your oven safe chicken fryer.

Bake and finish:
Place the chicken in the oven. While the chicken is baking, slice the green pepper into long thin strips; drain the pineapple. After the chicken has baked for 45 minutes, add the pepper and pineapple to the chicken and lightly stir to coat. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until heated through.

Yield: 4 – 6 servings.

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Lightly seasoned with honey, mustard and pecans, this salmon recipe is a fast-fix meal that deliver delicious high quality protein.

1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1-1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup pecans
4 teaspoons Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
4 6-ounce salmon fillet
Salt
Pepper, freshly cracked and ground
Lemon wedges
2 – 3 sprigs parsley, optional garnish

Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Prepare the topping:
Melt the butter and stir together with mustard and honey in a small bowl. Mince the parsley and finely chop the pecans. In a small bowl, stir together parsley, pecans and breadcrumbs.

Assemble and cook:
Dust the salmon pieces with salt and pepper; place the salmon in the prepared baking sheet. Generously brush the salmon with the honey-mustard glaze; evenly sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top. Cook the salmon just until cooked through, approximately 10 – 15 minutes.

Serve:
Transfer the salmon to a warmed platter. Squeeze one lemon wedge over the salmon, discard wedge. Add remaining lemon wedges and parsley to create an attractive presentation. Encourage your guests to adjust the lemon flavor by squeezing juice from the lemon wedges onto their serving.

Yield: 4 servings.

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Carrots benefit from a slightly sweet, slightly tangy glaze flavored with orange juice, brown sugar and a pinch of ginger. You’ll love serving this recipe. It looks and tastes like a bowl of sunshine.

1 pound fresh carrots
1-1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Mint leaves for garnish

Scrub the carrots and cut into 2 – 3 inch pieces. If the tops are particularly thick, cut them in half.

Steam the carrots until they’re just tender. Transfer the steamed carrots to a pretty serving bowl; loosely cover and place in a warm spot to keep warm. In a saucepan over medium heat stir together the orange juice, sugar and margarine. Cook, stirring frequently, almost to the boiling point. Mix the cornstarch in the water and whisk it into the hot juice mixture. Continue whisking until the glaze is thickened. Add the ginger and stir to blend. Pour the glaze over the carrots and toss to coat. Garnish with mint leaves.

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

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The fragrance of orange coffee cake will bring your family and friends from the far corners of your home. This delicious and easy to prepare recipe is light and moist.

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water** or vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan.

Place the topping ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a fork, pressing the ingredients lightly against the sides of the bowl to force some of the orange oil into the sugar. Prepare the coffee cake by sifting the flour, salt, baking powder and 1/3 cup sugar together into a bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon of grated orange peel. In a large bowl combine the 1/4 cup melted butter, milk, orange juice, egg and orange blossom water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; stir until all are just moistened. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the topping. Bake for 30 minutes.

Yield: 9 3-inch squares

*Magic: this recipe is exclusive to I Love You Recipes. It is from my personal, unpublished collection.

**Look for orange blossom water in Middle Eastern and European markets. In a pinch, you can often find it at your local liquor store, though you might experience sticker shock. You can delightfully enhance the flavor of purchased orange juice with just a few drops of orange blossom water.

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