A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Promises to Keep by Jane Green and Fish Balls Recipe served with my Mother's Homemade Tartar Sauce

 

Promises to Keep by Jane Green  

I read this novel recently and enjoyed both the story and the recipes included in the book.  It's the story of a young chef sorting her life out on all fronts: romantically, professionally, and her place within her family.  The town Stephanie moved to reminds me a bit of Eureka Springs, AR so the book felt cozy and homey and like getting to know people I would like.

I'd definitely recommend the read and the recipes.  Gene and I both enjoyed the Fish Balls (although I flattened mine out slightly and added my mom's homemade tartar sauce) for dinner last night and the Gingerbread Trifle is next on my list to make. I'll be storing the book with my cookbooks for sure. 

Kraft Foods to Increase Amount of Whole Grains in Its Products

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100727/BUSINESS/7270316/-1/NLETTER01/Kraft-Foods-to-increase-whole-grain-in-products?source=nletter-news

Eat Clean Diet: Sweet Potato/Cucumber Salad

When I saw this recipe in the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook I knew I had to try it. It's so different!  Sweet Potatoes and Cucumbers?  Interesting pairing.  I made this the other night when when Colleen and Matt and the kids came over, along with Rodney and Aunti Miranda. I knew Aunti would go along for the tastebud ride with me!  We each ate a large serving of it, tasting and comparing to other food combinations.  Our final evaluation was that although we didn't out and out love it and vow to make it once a week for the rest of our lives, that it is different and interesting and a nice balance of sweet, savory, salty, and sour, and full of textures. 

Ina Garten's Spinach & Cheddar Souffle

 

Aunti Miranda tortured enticed me with this pic of Ina Garten's Spinach & Cheddar Souffle she made the other night while Matt, Colleen, and the kids are in town. How yummy does that look? I can practically smell it!

Note that it calls for frozen, not fresh spinach.  Frozen spinach really is one of the best deals in the frozen section.  Think of how much fresh spinach it takes to make one of those 16 oz bags--pounds of the stuff! :-)  I always have a bag of spinach in the freezer and a block of cheddar in the fridge. Can't wait to try this one.

Thanks for sharing (well...the photo and recipe) Aunti!

Just for Fun: Cookie Monster

 

I Heart Summer: Fresh Green Beans

 

In the south, we are traditionally horrible about overcooking our vegetables, particularly our green beans but with summer's fresh produce I've found that there really can be a nice middle between my love of my Nannie's beans with bacon and onion, and a nice tender-crisp bean with lots of color and taste.

This recipe bridges the gap between the love of bacon flavor without all the saturated fat and also between a torturous cooking time and on-the-spot dinner.  I also throw in some walnut pieces for extra crunch and flavor that enhances the bacony goodness.

Eat Clean Diet: Cole Slaw

I'm crediting this recipe to Eat Clean Diet. I could have sworn I found it, or something very similar, in either one of the ECD books/cookbooks or on the ECD web site, but going back, I can't for the life of me find it again.  Wherever in my brain, on the net, or in an ECD book it came from, this is what I wrote down so I know wherever the original recipe came from, this is how I ended up making it.

Let me give a caveat. This is not your grandmother's cole slaw but it is very good, much cleaner and crisper tasting, but you have to go into it not expecting the same mayo-tongue feel.  The bite of the yogurt is a perfect match with the other ingredients and it was wonderful on top of a pulled pork sandwich and as a side to meatloaf. It's lightness and bite worked in its favor with the heavier meat entrees I ate it with.

Quick & Painless Meals: Crockpot Chicken & Dressing

My new favorite meal for a busy day is to throw chicken breasts or thighs and dressing into the crockpot. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.  There's no reason that stuffing has to be baked.  Granted it doesn't look as pretty in the crockpot but it's delicious and hearty and good for you if you take the extra 10 minutes to add veggies and nuts into the dressing mix.

Happy Independence Day!

Kansas City Weekend: The food: Gates Bar-B-Q & The Flying Saucer & My Own Recipe for an Appetizer I Loved

Our hotel, the KC Airport Hilton, wasn't our first choice but since the Cards were playing the Royals...hotels were hard to come by that weekend.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise since the rooms, food, and service were exactly what we were looking for.  The only ironic twist was that the hotel was hosting a Jesters (supposedly similar to the Shriners but we'd never heard of them) convention and they didn't seem to have a sense of humor which is rather odd.  Maybe the Jesters are the cranky Shriners who got kicked out because all the Shriners I know are fun and love to party.

In the hotel Cafe Weatherby, we enjoyed a wonderful appetizer of pulled pork topped red potatoes that I decided to recreate at home with a couple of substitutions:  mainly omitting the cheese and adding cole slaw for texture and creaminess instead of the sour cream they served it with (recipe and step-by-step photos at the end of the post).

The two most fun meals we had over the weekend were lunch at Gates Bar-b-q near the art museum and a late night appetizer fest at The Flying Saucer near the Sprint Center.