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74 degrees and watching the Masters on a Sunday. For some of us, just the thought is simply exhausting. Posted with Blogsy
Today I slept in and my husband made me a hotdog, chili, cheesy omelet. Sorry. No recipe. He made it and I did not ask questions. This afternoon I was thinking about my new cookbooks. I really haven't had the time to bury myself with them. Work, Gym, Everyday *****. It's hard to do more. Tonight I was relaxing and took this picture by accident. I was messing around with my my iPad's
Yesterday we planted onions, potatoes, peas, beets, cilantro, and green onions. The Hub even went fishing (nothing caught). We are actively stalking our asparagus garden and really relishing spring. But, you give me snow and I'm smiling. We did some target practice. Ate some yummy fried shrimp. And then just watched the snow. Today delivered the best snow. We were able to throw many snow
There is something so liberating about making a dish the day ahead of time and then just having to cook it on the day you plan to enjoy the dish. I rarely use a crock pot but sometimes the crock pot can make these make ahead meals even more fun because you can have the dish simmering all day. This will allow you to graze on your finished meal all day. I just had a cabbage roll, some sauerkraut
Perhaps the phrase 'Death by Chocolate' was inspired by a cake like this. My wonderful darling sister found this recipe from a Hershey Cookbook. Last time I visited my sister I begged and pleaded that she make it but to no avail. Therefore, I had to take matters into my own hands. You'll notice I only made a half a cake so pretty much it's half the fat and half the calories, right? I wonder
Deviled eggs are a family favorite. Honestly, I think my husband is much better at making them. Probably because he has way more patience than me. But, today he had to shoot up the hills with his friend (having fun target practicing). So while they were having fun I figured I'd make fun. The fun I made were these deviliously delicious deviled eggs. The devil is in the chipotle
This was actually (in my opinion) the best potato salad I have ever made. Why? Honestly, I think because it was room temperature. I cooked the potatoes, let them cool, mixed them with everything else and then set on the table to serve. Obviously this worked because I made the salad close to dinner time. You will need to refrigerate if making the salad in advance. 6 russet potatoes (
There is no butter in this brisket. Buttery is in reference to the texture. It cuts like a stick of soft butter. Melt in your mouth deliciousness. The Hub and I bit the bullet and purchased a Big Green Egg last weekend. I've heard that they are amazing but you can never imagine how much until you actually cook on one. This weekend is supposed to be pretty dreary and rainy so today was my outside
The Hub and I are pretty darn excited! I think we've perfected the venison burger. As lean as venison is, it can sometimes be a bit dry. Grilling venison burgers has been troublesome because they tend to fall apart because there's not much holding it together. So to keep the patties held together I tried cooking in a cast iron skillet. Okay, I'll admit this version was a little fattier than I pref
Last weekend I made a delicious blueberry and peach pie. I don't bake very much so when I do and it turns out I get pretty darn excited. Last summer when I was visiting my sister down south I brought home a basket of peaches and froze some to enjoy in the colder months. With a few bags of peaches still lurking in the freezer I was trying to figure out something to make that was d
Yesterday I had a moment. With Bacon. I cut into a piece of slab bacon from King Family Farms and was struck by how perfect it looked. It tasted pretty perfect too!
Fried Oysters are so simple to make and they make such a great snack! I love the crunchy texture of the fried panko with the creaminess of the oyster.1 pound drained oysters2 cups panko bread crumbs1 egg 1 cup milk1 cup flour1 1/2 tbsp of salt1 tsp of cracked black pepper1 quart of canola oilGet 3 bowls ready for oyster dredging. In one bowl place the flour, in the second bowl place the egg and
Gosh, it's been soooo long since I've last posted. (Sorry!!!) I've been wanting to come back because this blog has been a lot of fun for me but life always seems to take hold. Finally I decided there is no time like the present to share with you some of the deliciousness I've been cooking. Over the last year a German friend has taught my husband and I how to make sausage. This same German frien
Friends, there is a new writer in the blog world. Charlie sent up his new blog at cp247.blogspot.com. Check it out and post the address to your feed reader. This kid is brilliant, funny, and wildly charismatic. I can't wait to be enlightened by what this kid has to say.
The pepper sauce that makes the bed for these scallops combines red bell peppers with hot peppers to get the desired spiciness of the sauce. I was in the mood for a little heat so I used more hot than mild peppers. It's important to adjust to your personal preferences. Using all red bell peppers for this recipe will result in a sweet pepper sauce.Seared scallops are one of our favorite seafood
Recently, I had some friends over for dinner, one of which is a vegetarian. As you probably have noticed by reading this blog, I love meat. The challenge: create a vegetarian meal that is enjoyable and satisfying to all, even the meat lovers. I made palak paneer which is a favorite comfort food in my house but I wanted to offer a few sides for a little variety. I ended up making this roast caul
At the Farmer's Market this week, I picked up a whole chicken from a local farm, King Family Farm. Roast chicken is normally a staple in our house but I realized I haven't roasted a chicken in quite a while. I was craving not only the tenderness and wonderful flavor of roast chicken but also the smell that emanates from the oven as it's cooking. I marinated the chicken 24 hours prior to cooking
What an amazing experience.Friday night I attended the 'Roger Waters-The Wall, Live' concert in Columbus. I was sitting in front of two gentleman that, prior to the concert, were giving the couple sitting next to me advice on where to eat. Honestly, there aren't a lot of places in Columbus that impress me but one restaurant, Big Fat Greek on Fishinger, is amazing. Of course it was difficult to
I feel like it's time to get my soapbox out. I'll say up front, I am not perfect. I make a lot of mistakes. I have a lot to learn. We all need to work on becoming more aware and making better decisions.Do you remember the post on Snowville Creamery milk? Today I was in the grocery store and watched as a woman was choosing Horizon milk when that brand sat right next to locally processed Snowvi
The book by Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Food Life, had a tremendous impact in the way I look and think about food. In this book Barbara discusses the way her family strictly limited the foods they consumed to those produced locally, with few exceptions. After reading the book, I realised that I needed to make more of an effort to move away from the mass produced products th
In Athens, Ohio we are extremely fortunate to have a wonderful farmer's market. In 2006, Audobon Magazine, ranked the Athen's Farmer's Market as one of the top 10 finest in the country. Living here in Athens, it is easy to see why the market has received such high accolades. Strolling through the market, under a clear blue sky, with the sun shining down on a Saturday morning is mood altering.
Have you ever had a Cuban Panini? If not, I would highly recommend that you make an effort to get one on your plate soon. Cuban sandwiches or panini's are made with a combination of roast pork, grainy mustard, pickles and cheese. The Rosemary and Garlic Infused Ham Roast was a perfect roast to use in one of my favorite sandwiches, the Cuban Panini. I reserved the juice from the bottom of the pan a
In an effort to lighten up I love making popcorn for dinner. This is especially nice on a day when lunch was particularly heavy. Such a day presented itself a few days ago. I was looking for a way to make the popcorn a little special compared to the standard microwave popcorn that is super easy. I air popped the popcorn and then made a yummy garlicky spicy butter. Very satisfying.Spicy Garlic
When cooking with pork I prefer pork butts (the cut from the front shoulder) because the fat content provides for a flavorful, moist piece of meat. The last time I cooked a piece of ham roast I ruined it. I didn't realize that it requires a much different cooking technique compared to the pork butt that I am much more familiar with. The ham roast does not have as much fat marbling as a pork but
Back to the Green Goddess get together this weekend at my sister's house. She served us this beautiful Chocolate Cake with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting on Saturday night. My sister baked and cooked for at least two days in advance of our visit. She's recorded the menu on her blog, 'Season to Taste'. She served this cake along with an a gluten free Almond Lemon Yogurt Cake topped with an Alm
Last weekend I visited my sister for an annual 'Green Goddess' weekend. A few years back, my sister and her friends started the 'Green Goddess' weekends in a way to keep connected with friends and enjoy each others company while indulging their culinary obsessions. Basically, this means this weekednwe had a lot of great conversation while eating great food and sipping on great wine. My sister
Grilled pizza can often have a lot more flavor and texture than oven cooked pizza. One of the secrets to good pizza is cooking at a very high temperature which sometimes can be difficult in a regular oven. Recently I made grilled burritos for a football tailgating party. (I'll have to share this recipe later.). The burritos were a huge hit and it got me thinking why not try grilled calzones.I
Dried beans have always intimidated me. I've just never been successful with them. Even after soaking overnight they always seemed to be 'crunchy' and they would take forever to cook. But, in my heightened awareness of the local food movement along with the knowledge of how much our energy and environment is impacted when we rely on the mass production and distribution of foods, I've decided to
I can't remember where I saw a recipe similar to this but I think it was from a Jamie Oliver show. Normally, I'm not a fan of tempura's because I think they seem 'bready'. The insiration for this dish used turmeric to season the tempura. I loved the idea of seasoning the tempura. Why stop with turmeric? Tumeric has a very mild flavor. I decided to try it with more indian flavors to make mor
The butternut squash plants were super prolific this year. It's perfect because this winter squash can store for 3-4 months easily. Plus the squash is so versatile. Some of my favorites (besides this delicious dessert) are oven baked B-nut squash fries, butternut squash ricotta ravioli in a browned butter sage sauce, butternut squash gnocchi, thyme butternut squash bread, or B-nut squash and p
This was the first year I've been successful at growing green onions. They are beautiful so I was inspired to make a favorite, Mongolian Beef.Mongolian Beef is by far one of The Hub and I's favorite Chinese dishes. One of the Chinese restaurants in town makes an absolutely spectacular version of this simple dish. This restaurant makes it so much more flavorful than a lot of the other Chinese resta
Pickled Beets are amazing. Last year I became obsessed with beets. It's sad that I let so much time go without beets in my life. I say that because my mom used to make beets but until last year I haven't had them since childhood. That is time wasted.But, no worries. I am making up for lost time.Pickled beets have the most amazing texture - smooth and firm. It's hard to believe they're not candy. W
We recently made a batch of pickled beets. I was really surprised at our harvest this year as last year was a little disappointing. Well, when you harvest beets, we're also harvesting beet greens. Nobody in our house is too disappointed with that since it's one of The Hub's favs. To give you an idea of exactly how many beet greens we had to use up, the greens filled 4 (FOUR!!!) plastic grocery bag
Looking for that quick and easy dinner idea that is full of flavor but EASY? Well, I came up with this little treat one evening when I wasn’t in the mood to cook. We had recently gotten home from vacation, the garden needed weeding, the carpet (which was really dog hair) needed removed and in general life was really overwhelming trying to keep up. I did eventually get caught up on getting my life
Next time you're encountered with a sweltering hot summer day and you need a little pick me up try this icy cold beverage. Sipping on this drink will make you forget about the heat and will put some extra bounce in your step. 3 cups ice2 shots of gin4 large leaves of basil1/2 cup of pineapple juice1 1/2 cup of diet tonicThrow it all in a blender. Blend until the ice cubes are completely ground.
I am having the most delectable harvest of beets this year. It is hard to describe how pleased I am. It seems like I won the lottery because I have lots of beets AND beet greens. Both are soooo amazingly yummy. In an effort to please the husband I roasted beets for a salad. The Hub is used to me coveting the beets for my batches of pickled beets (which are also amazing – especially canned up
I’m not typically a sweets person but every now and then I find the calling to get in the kitchen and bake. I love lemony desserts. When I saw the recipe for 'Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon and Thyme’ on the Pioneer Woman’s blog I couldn’t resist. I’ve tried this recipe in a multitude of forms – mini muffins, regular muffins and cakes. My favorite for sure is the cake form. I’ve not had the greatest l
It’s been a week since we returned from an exhausting vacation out to the west coast, San Francisco, specifically. I became increasingly interested in the San Francisco food scene once I purchased and read the book A16. The chefs at A16 have gone through a thoughtful, investigative journey through the Campania region of Italy to understand the ingredients and culture of the region. The other ke
Beets are so underrated. There are tons of recipes using beets in salads but so often when I talk about my love of beets people will look at me like I’m crazy. Maybe they’re just under rated where I live. Maybe in the Metro cities more people are accepting of this root vegetable. Or maybe I feel this way because I truly started to really appreciate them last year so I think everyone else shoul
Well, I apologize that I’ve been slacking on the posting lately, but when I get home from work I feel like my life is a whirlwind of things that need to get done or be tended to. First, remember that gorgeous new puppy that joined our family in March. Well, let’s just say, he is a bit high maintenance. And, we discovered I’m not the most nurturing type, at least from the perspective of having
(**Photos are from the Washington Post article.)Snowville Creamery, a local success story, is expanding into the Washington DC market through Whole Foods. Washington Post ran a really great story on the local creamery.Great milk. Great story. Check out their website to find out where you can get their milk. Warren and Victoria Taylor began the crusade two years ago to bring fresh, minimally proc
Smoked Salmon can evoke strong emotions of pleasure in me. I simply love it. We eat it often in our house - for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Regardless of what type of smoked salmon, cold smoked and brined or heat smoked, the salmon can be refreshing and comforting all at the same time. While I had the smoker out this weekend to cook the corned beef we had for dinner, I also threw on a salmon fill
There isn't anything too complicated with this roast but I wanted to share it with you anyways because it was that good. Sunday, I enjoyed the warm weather by smoking this beautiful corned beef roast. I say it wasn't complicated and I mean it. I seasoned the roast by usng the packet of spices that comes with most corned beef roasts. The special part was the smoking. When the weather is breezy and
I've grilled potatoes a lot. But I've never done them directly on the grill. Works great and pretty damn good to boot!6 red skin potatoes1/2 cup chopped rosemary1 tbsp kosher salt1 tsp freshly ground black pepper1/4 cup olive oilMicrowave the potatoes for about 5-6 minutes. Don't forget to prick each potato with a fork so they don't explode. Allow to cool slightly. Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch
I am so lucky. Our farmer's market is amazing. We have a local pizza joint that makes all kinds of flatbread to sell at the market. My all time favorite is Afghan Snowshoe Nan. It is heavily dosed with a sprinkling of nigella seeds and has horseradish in the dough. If you ever have the opportunity to try it - DO! It has a wonderful complex flavor and texture. This is what I threw together for lunc
The Hub has been working like CRAZZZ-EEE! As a doting wife, I failed miserably last Saturday. When he got home after a full day (on a SATURDAY!!!) he was hungry and I had nothing for him. I felt so inadequate so on Sunday I had these yummy pinwheels ready for him when he got home from a another full day. The pinwheels taste great but were a bit messy. 1 sheet puff pastry - thawed2 links of ital
About 10-12 years ago I dabbled with my hand crank pasta maker. At some point I pretty much said forget it. I wasn't thrilled with the work to make super soft noodles. For some reason I've been wanting to try it again. Saturday night I made the most exquisite homemade pasta. (My sister tells me I shouldn't always claim that each of these recipes I'm posting is fabulous. I should be more critical.
Yup, that's me. I love this food blog thing but for some reason I haven't been able to get myself to the keyboard lately. I've been travelling, potting (clay), and dealing with a newborn. That is a new born puppy. Whoa!!!! Stop in your tracks before you think about getting one of those things (puppies). Unbelievable. I took the week off work to get the puppy acclimated. I have no idea wher
I don't know what can be more satisfying than getting outside to smoke meat as soon as the weather starts to warm up. This past weekend we had temps in the mid 60's -low 70's. How better to celebrate than with smoking a pork butt? It was delicious!It was a large butt so we had a lot left over. Smoked pork is leftover's best friend. I can think of a ton of ways to use it up. This time, the creative
