Roasted Vitamin A

I love red heads.....and I love the color of carrots. This is the simplest way to cook them. Trust me you will eat them no other way. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of them in the roasted state because the scoundrels at the house swept in before I had a chance.

Ingredients


1 bag of baby carrots
Olive oil to coat
Sea salt to taste
A sprinkling of thyme and pepper. Be generous now.

Place them on a pan and toss with oil and herbs. Bake at 350 until they are wrinkly like your grandma.

Peach Deliciousness

The last of the seasons peaches were in the store this week. Amazingly these were the best I have tasted. They actually tasted like the peaches
I remember growing up and not the tasteless things found in the store nowadays due to pesticides, chemicals and genetic tampering of our food.... That is another post though.

The recipe for the peach crisp came from
the Pioneer Woman, who provides awesome inspiration. Plus, great recipes. Try it, I will not disappoint you!

Roasting Chesnuts

I can remember chestnut trees when growing up in Pennsylvania. They had a prickly outer shell that I liked to squash. I never picked them for cooking as I would now. Florida is not a chestnut producing area, so I am forced to buy them in the store at this time of year.

They are highly perishable...which I just learned after roasting a bad batch. So store them in the fridge until use.

To roast in the oven at 350', you must cut a x into the flat side of each. This let's steam escape so you don't have popping nuts in your oven. Roast for about 20 minutes...turning halfway through. You will see the x's curling up at the edges.

They will be smokin' hot so be careful not to burn yourself when peeling. We eat them plain,
but someone suggested dipping them in butter....which sounds utterly delicious because butter makes everything delicious!

Fingerling Potatoes

Fingerling potatoes are heritage potatoes that grow smaller than the average potato. They are oblong and knubby, therefore named "fingerling" due to resembling a finger.

They taste sweeter to me and have a more delicate, waxy texture. They are awesome roasted with garlic, onions and tossed with a good quality olive oil. A sprinkle of sea salt with fresh herbs completes the masterpiece.

Stir Fried Cabbage with eggs and shrimp

I made this delicious dish as a side last night, but could easily have made it into a meal.

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage thinly shredded

1/2 pound shrimp halved

4 eggs

4 minced garlic cloves

1tbsp water

4 tbsp oil

1tsp soy sauce

1tsp fish sauce

Salt

White pepper


Add garlic to wok and lightly brown. Add shrimp and fry for 1 minute or until pink. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon. Add cabbage. Cook until softened, but not mushy. Add tbsp of water. Stir. Add shrimp back to wok. Make well for eggs. Crack eggs and start to cook. Break the yokes when they start looking slightly white. Then mix eggs into the cabbage mixture. Add soy sauce and fish sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Plum Color

I had bought these Japanese eggplants at the Asian Market last week with intentions on making an Asian dish. However, they found themselves converted to an Italian meal. The color is so beautiful. I want hand dyed yarn in this color. I stuffed them with a mixture of ground sirloin, sautéed garlic, celery, eggplant, paprika, parmesan cheese, and a homemade tomato sauce. Of course no Italian dish would be complete without a coating of melted Italian cheeses. They were rich...but good. Even my son ate them. However, I refrained from using the word eggplant.

Squash Cassarole

The best squash casserole I have tasted. Sauté 2 cups of yellow squash with a large onion and a stick of butter. When soft add a can of cream of chicken soup, 2.5 cups crumbled corn bread, and salt/pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. During the last 10 minutes add a cup of sharp cheddar cheese to the top.

Sinful!

Fillipino Bliss

I made the easiest and most delicious chicken yesterday. After thumbing through one of many cookbooks, I came across this receipe for Fillipino adobo chicken. Unbelievably I already had everything I needed at the house. Usually, I am off and running to the grocery store for one thing and coming home with 30. I only let it marinate for 5 hours, but really it should have been overnight.

6 cloves of garlic minced
4 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup organic apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl.  Marinate chicken overnight...trust me won't disappoint.

Place chicken and marinade in a dutch oven and simmer for about 40 minutes.  

Remove and either grill or fry for a few minutes to get a crispy coating.  

Reduce the marinade for another 5 minutes and then serve with chicken over rice.

Today Addy and I went to Ward's and picked up some locally grown strawberries.  The child is picky, but she loves strawberries.  As you can by her face!

I made some smoothies with the rest.  Some plain yogart, milk, strawberries and a banana.  Wayyyy better than any store bought stuff!

Cheesy Stuff

I have wanted to try cheese making for a loooong time. I love cheese. Usually expensive cheese. The kind that my kids used to call stinky when they were small. Even when I was little my affection for cheese was great. I used to lock my Italian grandmother in the basement when she would go for the laundry, just to sneak the fresh romano and ricotta by the spoonfuls! She used to get me with the tea towel when I finally sprung her. How we laughed about that when she was alive.

Abby loves goat cheese. I just bought some brined in wine. Very good! We thought about getting a dairy goat for cheese, but are moving so that's out of the picture for now. So I will have to be a consumer of fresh milk for my venture in cheesemaking.     New England Cheesemaking Supply Company has great stuff. I need to order a kit after the move. I dream of fresh cheese rolled in fresh herbs from my garden. Sigh.........

Kombucha

I try to buy organic produce and food.  I wish it weren't so darn expensive to eat healthy.  One of friends at work has an earthy daughter that farms and sells her wares.  I buy them greedily when I can.  She sells a drink called Kombucha.  I saw it last time.  Interrogated her on the stuff I saw being carried out.  You take mason jars and she fills them with Kombucha, which looks like tea.  I did some research and it was very interesting.  Kombucha is a fermented sugary tea that is made with the Kombucha mushroom.  Actually it really isn't a "mushroom", it's  a symbiotic, probiotic colony of yeast and bacteria (the friendly type).  It reproduces itself and will continue to make batch after batch from one starter.  It actually  looks kinda gross.  The starter is added to the tea and let to ferment for 7-10 days.  The tea when finished contains dozens of elements, that  promote healing for a variety of conditions, such as:

• Acts as a gentle laxative, helping avoid constipation.
• Aids in the relief of arthritis.
• Cleanses the colon and gall bladder.
• Aids in healthy digestion
• Relieves colitis and stomach cramps.
• Returns gray hair to it's natural color.
• Helps stop non-infectious diarrhea.
• Relieves bronchitis and asthma.
• Clears up Candida yeast infections.
• Regulates the appetite and reduces fat.
• Aids with stress and insomnia.
• Improves eyesight, cataracts and floaters.
• Relieves headaches including migraines.
• Puts Lupus into remission.
• Helps reduces the alcoholic's craving for alcohol.
• Eliminates menopausal hot flashes.
• Clears acne, psoriasis and other skin problems.
• Thickens hair and strengthens fingernails.
• Enhances the sense of smell.
• Vitalizes the physical body and adds energy-including sexual energy!

 Supposed to taste like a wine/cider mix.  I'm not to sure about home brew from someone I don't know, but I did find it at Wards supermarket in the dairy department.  Will pick some up on my next weekly visit.  God I love that store!

Julie and Julia

The chicks and I went to see Julie and Julia on Monday. I adored this movie. So did Abby.   Julia Child was funny, charming and a kick ass cook. I would love to channel her! Of course we are buying the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking to take to Tybee Island this week. Our goal is to cook every meal with things we have never cooked before. Should be delightful. Each paycheck I am wanting to buy one piece of expensive cookware that will last a lifetime. My first purchase this week will be a dutch oven from Le Creuset. This stuff makes me drool. Abby got accepted into the culinary magnet program which is totally awesome. They travel to different states for cooking competitions, go to New York to the Culinary Insititue of America. They have a restaurant, do catering, have a garden, meat locker, do ice sculptures, etc. I'm so thrilled for her. She wants to go to culinary school in Paris. I'm there! Paris will be her graduation present. Her sister wants to go to Ireland as her graduation gift. Passports need to be had this year.

Pink Salt

I don't love heavily salted food, unlike the chicks. But I do love the different type of natural and artisan salts that are out there. They are beautiful and exotic. Some are quit pricey, but we try and by something new a few times a month. The HimalaSalt Artisan Carved Zen Cubes are awesome. The pretty pink salt is in cube form and comes with a grater to shave off salt in a powdery form. It's all natural and unprocessed like regular table salt. I've also recently bought celtic sea salt.It's very crystal like, grey and looks moist. Haven't tried it yet. We have salts infused with herbs. Very yummy. Very fru-fru.