Saturday, April 4, 2009

FEEDING THE MISSIONARIES

We had these WONDERFUL young men over for dinner 3 weeks ago. It has taken me too long to post about it.
Elder Garcia, from Texas, and Elder Naylor, from San Diego, Calif.,
Elder Naylor's mom, Diane, is a blogging friend of my daughter, Robin. When she found out that Robin was from Boise she posted a comment on Robin's blog that her son was on a mission here. I went to Diane's blog & recognized him as the new Elder in our ward! Now she, her son, & his companions refer to me as "the blog stalker!" Look at Diane & Robin's really GREAT blogs--click here:
Diane Naylor and RobinSmith


Our cute granddaughter, Hannah, joined us which made it an especially enjoyable evening.

We really love having the missionaries in our home, but having Elder Naylor here is especially fun because of the blogging connection between his mom & my daughter. They met each other online through mutual blogging friends & family!
This was our Dinner Menu:
Thai Chicken Curry (recipe below)
Saffron Rice
Egg Rolls
Fruit Salad
Coconut-milk Pudding Rolls (recipe below)
Vanilla Pecan Fudge

Thai Chicken Curry
(neither I nor Alan care much for curry, but this was delicious!)

Makes 6 servings
1 can (13.5 oz.) coconut milk
1 Tb. chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. curry powder
1 1/2 # boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in very thin 2" strips
2 bags (6 oz each) baby spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut in strips (I used more because I love basil)
1/2 tsp salt

1. Puree 1/2 C coconut milk, ginger, garlic, onion, lemon rind, pepper flakes, paprika, & curry in blender.
2. Heat mixture in skillet over med-high heat. Cook until thickens & turns brighted, 1-2 minutes.
3. Add chicken, remaining coconut milk. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low & simmer, uncovered, 8-10 minutes until chicken is done.

4. Stir in spinach, basil, & salt. Stir until spinach is just barely heated through, and remove from heat.
Serve immediately, with Rice, if desired.

I served with an easy Saffron Rice package mix:


Coconut-milk Pudding Rolls--these are FABULOUS!
Recipe by Eleanor Kondo Ream, Salt Lake City. (
I found the recipe in either LHJ or BH&G.)
If you look closely at the picture, you will see
a pudding on the pan bottom....from the coconut milk added after the dough rises --sort of a reverse frosting. Yummy!
Makes 24 small rolls (9x13 pan)
1 pkg dry active yeast
3 1/4 cups plus 1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted & cooled, plus more for buttering bowl
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 can coconut milk

1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water. Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 cup sugar, melted butter, salt, and egg until smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 more flour & knead into soft dough, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour, as needed. Put dough in large buttered bowl. Cover & allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. (Note: I do all of this in my bread maker, on the "dough" setting. It is so much easier, faster, & less messy.)
2. Whisk together coconut milk, remaining 3/4 cup sugar, & 1 Tbsp. flour until smooth. Set aside.
3. Divide dough into 24 small balls. Put them in a 9x13 inch pan. Cover, & allow to double, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour reserved coconut milk mixture over raised rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.

The Elders with me (Linda), & Alan. I'm not sure if he is adoring, amused, or contented, or what, but I love the after-dinner look on happy hubby Alan's face!

16 comments:

diane said...

Linda, you are my hero! What a fabulous menu. Did my boy eat all the rolls? He is a hearty eater.

Your hair is so cute. Is that your natural color? I want to copy you.

Thank you for feeding my son. You are the Queen blog stalker.

I will be linking this post.

Robin said...

MOM. You are an awesome cook! Thanks for feeding Hannah. And I know you love to feed the missionaries.

Kristen said...

Mom, you amaze me! When I feed the missionaries they get chicken n' rice, broccoli, rolls, and brownies. Nothing like your amazing 5 star restaurant quality meal. And although I think it is awesome that you posted the recipes, of your 4 daughters, I am the least likely to try making them (but I bet Robin, Sally, and Emily will).

I'm also glad you posted pictures. Your house looks sunny and inviting - so it's obvious that you fed them a long time ago since we haven't had sunshine recently until today.

You look gorgeous and I think those are mighty lucky missionaries!

Sally said...

This looks fun. Hannah looks so cute and you look great, mom! Your wainscoting looks good! I hope you will blog about your remodel. That would be awesome.

Fun post to read!

Emily said...

This post is so fun to read for so many reasons: I love blog connections and how random people who should know eachother, do get to know eachother through blogging. I want to see more photos of your remodle! Your hair is amazing and gorgeous (I hope I can have amazing hair like you when I go grey), Alan's expression is lovely. Hannah is sooooooo cute, the missionaries are wonderful in all their wholesomeness and good humor. The food makes me hungry, especially since fare around here has been a bit lack-luster lately (I want to make everything you made, but especially the coconut pudding rolls...YUM! thanks for including the recipes!). And you are a good blogger, except for the infrequency. ;-) That's okay, I'll settle for whatever I can get.

This makes me feel closer to you and I miss you. xoxo

Linda Austin Hart said...

Diane, yes, it's my natural color. I guess it's time to change my blog profile picture.

Sally, I likely won't blog about the remodel because I goofed & took no "before" pictures.

Emily, your encouraging email made me get going on this post, so you win the (prizeless) motivator award.

Thanks everyone. The recipes really are yummy. That is probably what I'll prepare on my day to cook at the cabin.

Annemarie said...

Elder Naylor is my cute nephew! I know my sister appreciates this and the yummy meal you fed him. That boy is one of my most favorite people to cook for!!

davers said...

Mmmmmm ... mom's cooking is the best! I'm jealous of those missionaries.

Anonymous said...

ok, Linda, I read your blog--do you ever sleep? You make my head spin!! And thanks for the receipes. They sound yummy. I wish I were a good cook. Besides when I get in the kitchen, I eat everything in sight I loved Sister Thompson--a sister who isn't stick thin!! You are so lucky to have daughters.
Grandma Pat loved conference!!

Valerie said...

You have a fun blog, Linda. Thank you for sharing!!!

Travelin'Oma said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog. It led me here and now we're going to have an awesome dinner tomorrow night. I wish the cook came with the recipes, though!

Linda Austin Hart said...

Pat- sleep? about 9 hours on a regular basis, but every now & then I pull a 4-5 hour sleeper. I have another friend who uses that eat-everything-in-sight as an exuse to not cook at all. Seriously, she doesn't cook at all, and she's about as thin as a pencil. She says, "would you ask an alcoholic to be a bartender?"

Oma- tell me how it turns out. I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

Nice post. I like your blog. Found you on facebook & I believe that I am your 2nd cousin, once removed, Susan Karuther.

Linda Austin Hart said...

Susan-- I hope you checked the box for follow up comments so that I can find out how we are related. Who are your parents?

Anonymous said...

I found your blog by reading thebossyblog.blogspot & clicking on one of your daughter's blogs. You're the blogging family.

I'm going to make those custard rolls. Thanks for the ideas.

KDub said...

I wish I had served in YOUR mission... then I KNOW I would've eaten well!!