Perfect Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob could not be simpler to make on the stove.

Boil some water, add corn with a touch of sugar. 

That's it.

But how do you know when it's done?

Easy.

After the corn has been boiling for about 10 minutes,
there will be a definite moment when
the scent of corn will fill the air.

All of a sudden, the kitchen smells amazing!

That's how you know it's ready!

Top with butter, salt and pepper, maybe
a little squeeze of lime and some
cayenne pepper and enjoy!

Okra in the Oven

Sometimes the simplest dishes are the best!

This okra is fantastic!  Seriously.

What makes it so great is the fact that 1) it is not fried;
and 2) there is absolutely no sliminess to the vegetables whatsoever. 
Never been a fan of the slime factor with okra. 
That is no longer an issue though as this is my

new and improved way of preparing okra.

This is all you do:

1.  Slice okra about 1/3" thick.

2.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil.

3.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.  Bake (425*) on a foil-covered pan for about 10-15min.

Yum!

Pasta e Olio

This is an easy, satisfying, budget-friendy meal
that my family loves! I especially like this dish for those
times when the pantry is getting bare, I don't feel like going to the store.

The ingredients are things I keep in stock pretty much all the time:

1 pound spaghetti
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.In a large pot with boiling salted water cook spaghetti
pasta until al dente. Drain.

2.Meanwhile, in a large skillet over low heat saute garlic,
parsley, and red pepper flakes with olive oil.  Cook until garlic turns
golden in color, about 10 minutes.

3.Toss pasta with garlic mixture and butter.
 
4. Top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

  You could even jazz this up further by adding fresh
tomatoes, spinach, mushooms, etc.

Eating Weeds

Have you ever eaten dandelion greens?

They are an amazing source of vitamins and can be eaten raw or
cooked, just like spinach.

As part of our ongoing quest to try new foods, I picked up a bunch
of dandelion greens at the market.

I served them as a salad with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette and...

hubby and I are not fans.

Our son seemed to enjoy it though as he went back for seconds.

The taste is very bitter.  I had already read this and so decided
to add slices of mango to the salad to counteract the intensity of the
greens.  This actually was a good idea and it did work but
the flavor of the salad was just too intense overall.

Are we likely to try dandelion greens again?  Yes.
Hubby and I agreed though that these are better suited
to be blended with other, milder greens.

Mayan Couscous

If you've never had couscous, I highly recommend trying it. 
It's even easier to make than rice. 
Seriously, you can't mess it up.

The blackbeans, corn, cilantro, jalapeno...it's just all very yummy together. You can find the recipe here.

 We had this last night with tofu tacos and it was fabulous!
Even with the jalapeno, this really is not a hot dish. 
I think this is what made it such a nice
compliment to our spicier tacos.

1 cup couscous
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 clove unpeeled garlic

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
 
1.Combine the couscous, cumin, and salt in a large bowl.
Stir in the boiling water and seal with plastic wrap.
Set aside for 10 minutes.


2.While waiting for the couscous, cook the unpeeled
garlic clove in a small skillet over medium-high heat until toasted and
the skin has turned golden-brown. Peel the garlic and mince.
Stir the garlic into the couscous along with the black beans,
corn, onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, and lime juice.
 
Serve warm or allow to cool.
 

The recipe makes alot but that's okay
because the leftovers will be my lunch today!  ;)

Asparagus with Pecans and Parmesan

I love a simple sautéed asparagus with nothing more than a little butter, olive oil, and garlic.  But for a fancier presentation, this is the way to go:

1 bunch asparagus spears, ends trimmed

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 (8 ounce) package sliced mushrooms

1/2 small onion, minced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Steam the asparagus by placing in a skillet with about 1/2" water and covering until desired tenderness.  Drain and remove to a serving dish; keep warm.

2.  Meanwhile, melt half the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once melted (it's ok if it begins to brown), stir in the sliced mushrooms, and cook until they brown, soften, and begin to release their liquid; pour into a serving dish, and set aside. 

3.  Melt the remaining butter in the skillet, and stir in the onions. Cook until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 3 minutes. 

4.  Season with garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper. Stir in the chopped pecans, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

5.  Sprinkle the onion mixture with half of the Parmesan cheese, and stir in the reserved mushrooms. Pour over the asparagus in a serving dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Enjoy!

Alot of Calories but No Regrets

Hubby and I just returned from a long weekend on Martha's Vineyard.  If you've been, especially during the off-season (as it is now), you know there is not much to do except stroll or bike around, shop in the few stores that are open, and eat.  And eat and eat and eat.  Shopping was more something to do between meals, and every meal was an event.

The day would start with a big breakfast served in the dining room at our bed and breakfast.  We would then head out for sighseeing but it wouldn't be long before one of us would say, "Where do you think we should have lunch today?"  So we would find our way into some fantastic restaurant around noon and have an enormous and delicious meal.  Dinner was the same.  There was also wine and cheese in the afternoons at the inn and we never passed up dessert at dinner.

In other words.....  We did not go hungry.

I didn't mean to take this picture but, as you can see, our plates are pretty empty.

In fact, I think I'm still a little full.  But I'm inspired.

There are several dishes we enjoyed during the trip that I intend to try to recreate at home

and will post recipes and photos here.

Broccoli Rabe

Do you know this vegetable? 

It's really very pretty and can be found in the section of the produce department near all the other less commonly used veggies that I don't know how to cook yet.  This is something I'm working to correct though.  I told hubby that I'm just going to start picking up odd fruits and vegetables now and then.  We both enjoy trying new foods so it should be a fun experiment.

Back to the broccoli rabe (I think it's pronounced 'rob'). 

It's also known as rapini and I prefer this name.  It just sounds fancier. 

The taste is bitter but boiling it before sauteeing is supposed to cut the bitterness.  That's what I did for about 5 min. or so and I think it turned out well.  After that, you just saute it like spinach.  I heated about 2TBSP olive oil in a skillet, added 2 cloves of minced garlic, the veggies (about a pound), a little red pepper flakes, and cooked about 15 min., then topped with shredded parmesan. 

It's always a good sign when hubby is standing in the kitchen after dinner and eating what's left in the pan. ;)

I think it looks kind of like a bouquet of flowers.

Why Didn't I Think of That?

Every once in awhile I see someone do something in the kitchen that
is so simple and practical that I wonder why I never thought of doing
the same thing.  Today it happened while having lunch at the seafood
counter in Whole Foods Market. If you haven't eaten there, I highly recommend it.  It is probably the best quality and most flavorful seafood around in such a casual environment.  The store near me is amazing (Emeril taped an episode there last year so I think that says something), with five interior mini restaurants,

a full wine bar, classes - it's my favorite store. 
And I heard they give away a free baby tree to every customer on Earth Day. 

I am so going to get my tree this year! 

Anyway...

I'm sitting at the counter watching one of the chefs cooking and assembling fantastic looking food and I noticed that rather
than slathering oil over the fish by hand or pouring from its container, he had a spray bottle and just sprayed it over the pan or the fish on what appeared to be an as needed basis.  

Maybe others have seen or heard of this, or already do it yourself,

but this method was new to me and I thought it was brilliant!  

I Almost Made a Cake Today

I like grocery shopping.  I really do.  Sometimes I even love it! 

I will spend time planning meals and writing out my list in anticipation of a shopping trip.  Once there, I will take time to smell the produce, sample whatever is being offered that day, pick up a coffee to stroll around with, and generally have an okay time all by myself.

However, one time when this is not the case is when I find myself needing to run to the store for only one thing!  This is irritating enough all by itself but what makes it worse is that the store closest to my house is one of my least favorite.  I don't go there for regular shopping.  If I am there, it is only out of necessity.

So, today I decided I wanted to make a cake.  I printed the recipe and started checking for ingredients only to find that I was missing one thing.  One!  But it was probably important. 

I debated about whether this was worth a trip to Store I Don't Like. 

Turns out, I really didn't want cake as much as I thought.

Do you have places you avoid even though they are convenient?

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day has never been a really big deal in my family.  We wear green and eat potatoes and all that but we're not those people you see in the parades with their costumes or in the bars drinking green beer. 

A tradition that we do have for St.Patrick's Day is an Irish-themed dinner.  Tonight was supposed to be corned beef, colcannon, soda bread, and maybe an Irish creme cake for dessert.

However, my son, the competitive chorus singer, has a rehearsal concert tonight.  The kid really is musically gifted and I absolutely love seeing him perform on stage!  So we will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. 

That's probably okay though because it's quite possible

that I am the only one in the house aware that
today is St. Patrick's Day as I am the only one wearing green! 

Best Bruschetta

Everyone seems to have their own ideas about what makes a great bruschetta and this one is my husband's absolute favorite!  Anytime we order bruschetta in a restaurant, he always compares it to mine
and points out how I could have made it better. 
He's awesome like that!  ;)

Here's the recipe:

2 cans diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings, drained

1/2c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4c. olive oil

1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1/2c. fresh basil, chopped

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

French baguette, sliced

2c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1.  Combine all ingredients, except bread and cheese, in a medium size bowl.  Allow to marinate 15-20 min.

2.  Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted.

3.  Spoon bruschetta over each slice and sprinkle with mozzarella.

4.  Continue broiling until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

I should have taken a picture prior to adding the cheese

because the colors really are gorgeous!

There's No Place Like Home...

I am currently out of town which really sucks because I miss my guys.  Although, I have to say that it's times like these that help us all to appreciate how great we have it at home.  The family is surviving on leftovers and take out and I am rapidly becoming a regular in the hotel restaurant. 

One more day of hotel food followed by a day of airport food and then I'll be be back at home,

my favorite place in the world.

Mmmm....Butter

I woke up this morning with a serious craving for butter.  Real butter, not that fake stuff.  So, as I was slathering butter on my toast and thoroughly enjoying every single bite, I realized that on the subject of butter, I am in complete agreement with Julie Powell when she says,

"Is there anything better than butter? Think it over, any time you taste something that's delicious beyond imagining and you say 'what's in this?' the answer is always going to be butter. The day there is a meteorite rushing toward Earth and we have thirty days to live,
 I am going to spend it eating butter.

Here is my final word on the subject, you can never have too much butter."

What Do You Put in Your Coffee?

If you had asked me this question a week ago, I would have said, "Two Splendas and a spoon of Coffee Mate".  That would tell you the brands I was using but not the ingredients that are going into my coffee.

See where I'm going with this?

Have you ever read the Coffee Mate ingredient label?

Here it is:

The number one ingredient is corn syrup, followed by vegetable oil, sugar, and who-knows-what.

The powdered stuff was fairly new but I threw it out and

replaced it with this:

Milk and cream.

I've also switched to organic coffee and replaced

the Splenda with pure honey.

Good stuff.