Birthday Celebration

We celebrated a birthday yesterday, and enjoyed this homemade cheesecake- yes, I did actually bake it! Lemon curd and raspberries decorated it.

The best part of the day, right behind all of the hugs and kisses was watching our "tween" thoroughly enjoy her presents. It was an electronic birthday- camera and cell phone, and pure joy! The cell phone is a prepaid minute type and she just really just loves listening to the ring tone! When was the last time you really got excited for a new gadget? I can't remember truly enjoying my cell phone, instead of viewing it as a nuisance or a necessity. Oh, to be young again!

Happy, happy day!

Trader Joe's- A Field Trip

Who doesn't like a good field trip! A couple of girlfriends and I traveled to Trader Joe's today. I had to share some of the pictures with you because this store has taken visual merchandising of food to a new level! I love this store, and could probably camp out there, but we did have to get home to our Little Ones! Of course, a bit of lunch was eaten. The fabulous margaritas were Cactus Flower- look at that color!

Trader Joe's


Like a European Flower Market

Orchids in every size and shape

Elevating the visual display of cookies

Not such a secret- "$2 Buck Chuck" wine by the case

I even like the grocery carts

And finally, Cactus Flower margaritas- shopping is very hard work!

It's Apple Season!

It's apple season, and the baking has begun. Start with a favorite of mine, Apple Crisp, and the whole house smells great while it's baking! The scent of cinnamon always enhances your decor (a real estate staging tip)- go ahead and bake something today!

Apple Crisp

4 cups sliced apples ½ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup dry oatmeal 1/3 cup melted butter

Place apples in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Combine dry ingredients and melted butter, mixing until its crumbly. Sprinkle over apples in baking dish.

Bake 375° for 30 minutes, until bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and/or caramel sauce.

Pumpkin Bread- a Favorite Autumn Treat

Autumn is approaching and I am nesting a bit in this cooler weather- you know cleaning house, reading books, and cooking some of my favorite fall dishes. This quick bread is super easy, tasty, and freezes well- one of my all time favorites!

Pumpkin Bread

2 cups sugar

¾ cup water

1 cup oil

2 cups pumpkin (1 small can)

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons salt

3 1/3 cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup nuts (pecans or walnuts)

Mix ingredients until smooth. Do not overwork batter.

Pour into 2 ungreased 9x5 loaf pans.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour, 20 minutes

Lentil Salad- Perfect Picnic Food

This Lentil Salad has become my "go to" salad this barbeque season! Not only is it tasty, but easy to make, and improves the longer it sits! Great for picnics, since there is no mayonnaise and tastes good at room temperature. I just throw the salad together, so here is my impromptu recipe.

Try it this Labor Day weekend- you will not be disappointed!

Lentil Salad

Cook half of the bag of lentils according to directions on the package. Use the whole bag if feeding a crowd! Lentils expand a bit, so it makes a lot.

When the lentils are cooked and still warm, mix with your favorite Italian dressing and dried Italian seasoning to taste.

Then add: chopped carrots and celery, one chopped red or yellow bell pepper

The best part: Add anything marinated and from a jar! I use:

marinated artichokes

spicy banana peppers

sliced black olives or green olives

roasted red peppers

pickled green beans

marinated mushrooms

And the list goes on, only guided by your creativity.

Stir all together and let blend for at least a couple of hours- great overnight!

The pictures are decorated with a fresh nasturium- they add a slightly peppery taste.

A Game for Bloggers

Okay- I am a sucker for games, especially ones that are food based. I came across this one at Chocolate and Zucchini and filled it out according to directions. Here are my results- I really am a "foodie" at heart.

The Omnivore's Hundred is an eclectic and entirely subjective list of 100 items that Andrew Wheeler, co-author of the British food blog Very Good Taste, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life.

The Omnivore’s Hundred
Here’s a chance for a little interactivity for all the bloggers out there. Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I am a "foodie"- 65 items off the list, and I would try all of the others! Andrew Zimmern and Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel had better watch out.

Visiting Farmer's Market, Part 2

We went to our Wednesday night Farmer's Market, unable to make the larger Saturday one this past weekend. What I like about our Wednesday market is that it is right downtown amidst the shops and has a very unique mix of vendors. My photographic eye (LOL), caught the amazing array of flowers, and some fresh dill, but the veggie stands did not turn out as well. You will just have to wait until this Saturday to check out our abundant vegetable choices here in the Midwest.

Does your area have a Farmer's Market? What do you buy there and how do you prepare it? Let me know your thoughts...

Visiting Farmer's Market

We are fortunate to have an awesome Farmer's Market in my city. Going to it is one of my favorite summer pleasures! I love the displays of colorful fruits/veggies, flower bouquets, assorted baked goods, meats and cheeses- even homemade pasta and Chinese rangoons! I am salivating already!

I will be getting up bright and early tomorrow to shop, but I thought I would share some tidbits of information about Farmer's Markets today. Happy Weekend!

1. Don't forget a tote (forego plastic)- or even a wagon if its pumpkin season!

2. Buy raw, local honey. The raw part is good for aches and pains in joints, and the local part helps with allergies. Two Teaspoons a day helps keep the doctor at bay... and its really hard to get my family to eat honey- LOL

3. Try something different. We have great Asian farmers, so I am on the lookout for some different peppers, cabbages, or veggies that I am unfamiliar with.

4. Try and buy organic, if possible. This is especially important with berries- which are in season right now-because you do not peel berries and they absorb a lot of pesticides.

5. Enjoy the fact that you have reduced the carbon footprint a bit by buying local- good for you!

6. I find that produce lasts longer from the market since it is so much fresher, usually picked that morning or the day before.

7. What's for dinner tonight?Please add your thoughts to the Farmer's Market ideas and happy shopping!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

As a family, we celebrate most major holidays with the deep frying of a turkey. The tradition is now being passed to my husband and the next holiday will be ours. Deep frying the turkey keeps it moist and succulent with a great crispy skin. I, myself, really like all of the fixings that go with the traditional turkey dinner- I am a glutton for dressing/stuffing, as my jeans tell me this morning!

Some pictures to highlight the event:

Rhubarb- A Springtime Treat

Rhubarb- a springtime favorite of mine and chefs everywhere. This tart, stalky vegetable has decorative, yet toxic, leaves and edible stems. The bright red stems are used in a variety of recipes, and as a child we ate them right out of the garden- savoring every puckering, sour moment. This vegetables conjures up balmy spring days, dirty hands and knees, and that first bite after its been rinsed off by the garden hose. To me- rhubarb is as spring as lilacs, sheets on the line outside, and flip flops. Here are some of my favorite rhubarb recipes- sure to bring a pucker, I mean smile, to your lips!

Rhubarb Compote

This recipe is as easy as making apple sauce. Roughly chop rhubarb stalks and put them in a slow cooker or pot over low temperature until they are tender. You may need to add a bit of water so they don't scorch. Once tender, mis in sugar and a dash of cinnamon to taste. Remember, rhubarb is tart so you will need the sugar!

Serve warm with whipped cream or over vanilla ice cream.

Rhubarb Crisp

Streusel top and bottom:

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter-melted

Mix together and put half on the bottom of a 9x9 glass baking dish or pie plate. Reserve the rest for the topping.

Filling:

3 cups diced rhubarb

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 tablespoon water

Stir together and place over streusel in bottom of dish. Top with remaining streusel.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, until bubbly.

Serve warm with ice cream.

Rhubarb Cake

1/2 cup shortening

11/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 cup sour milk. To make the milk sour, add 2 tablespoon of white vinegar to it.

2 cups flour

3 cups rhubarb, diced

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and salt. Beat in sifted dry ingredients, alternateingly with milk and baking soda mixture.

Fold in rhubarb.

Pour into a 9x9 pan.

Toppping: 1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake mixture.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Makes a great coffee cake or afternoon snacking cake.