Vacation

Posted on May 12, 2012 | 0 comments

I’ve been a little distracted this week. Tomorrow is the first day of our vacation so my whole week has consisted of tying up loose ends before we leave. We’re only going to be gone for a week but something  bad will inevitably happen at work it I leave a bunch of things undone. Between tidyng up at work and tidying up at home, there hasn’t been much cooking happening around here.

We’re doing a road trip this week – driving from Nashville to Washington DC with stops in Asheville and Williamsburg. I’m very excited. We decided to drive so we could relax and take plenty of pictures along the way. We might even stop and eat at a few Diners Drive-Ins, and Dives spots. If you want to follow our trip, I’ll be posting pics via Instagram and Tumblr daily.

Asian Broccoli Slaw with Ginger Soy Dressing

Posted on May 6, 2012 | 0 comments

Sometime a light veggie dish like this is just what the doctor ordered – especially when you’re trying to eat lighter to compensate for some less than stellar food choices (don’t ask). Broccoli slaw mix is new to me. I’m not a huge fan of broccoli so I’ve never bought it but it was on sale at my favorite store so I decided to experiment.  Although it’s shredded broccoli stalks, it really doesn’t taste like broccoli at all. There’s a crunchy fresh taste that I can’t really compare to anything. It doesn’t have a strong flavor by itself so you could add any dressing to it.   If you want to make this a little more hearty, you could add shrimp or chicken. The dressing is tart/ sweet, and a little salty from the soy sauce – make sure you use low sodium sauce. If you leave out the oranges, this would make a good stuffing for spring rolls.

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Strawberry and Cheese Coffee Cake

Posted on Apr 29, 2012 | 0 comments

When my new CSA emailed and said they wanted to give us a share of their early strawberry crop, I was thrilled. I’ve had such bad luck picking strawberries at the grocery store, that I was really excited about getting what I hoped would be juicy, delicious, organically grown berries. I’ve been sucked in too many times by the big red glossy berries at Publix. When I get them home, they’re hard and tasteless and I feel stupid because I fell for it again. I wasn’t disappointed in the berries from Delvin Farms. They weren’t huge like the commercially grown ones but there were tasty and sweet. YAY! Finally.

I ran across this recipe in my new Southern Living cookbook but it was using blueberries. When I found out we were getting strawberries, I knew they would be perfect for this. I swapped some of the butter for applesauce and switched whole wheat pastry flour for half of the all purpose flour. This cake was moist and not too sweet. It’s good with or without the crumb topping.

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Eat Better For Less – Get to know your grocery store

Posted on Apr 20, 2012 | 0 comments

This week I’m starting a new series called Eat Better For Less. I’ll  be sharing all of the tricks I’ve found for getting the most out of my monthly grocery budget.  The rise in the cost of food is putting a crimp in everyone’s pocketbook these days so saving a few dollars here and there can really make a difference.

Most people that shop regularly have a favorite grocery store. Personally I’m a Publix fan so 70 percent of my heavy duty shopping is done there. I shopped at Publix for years before I started paying attention to all of the extras that they offered to help me save money. Where ever you choose to spend your grocery money, it’s important that you get to know your store. Here are 12 things you should find out about your favorite stores to get the most out of your shopping experience. Don’t worry, I’m going to go into more detail on each of these later in the series.

•  Does your grocery store have a customer loyalty program? If so how do you sign up?
• What is your store’s coupon policy?
• Does your store require you to buy the specified number of  items to get the sale price? Ie 10 for $10
• What special programs does your store have? Baby Club, Pet  club, Catch of the Day, Fine Wine Club etc
• Does your store issue store coupons?
• How do your stores sales cycles run? Sunday through Saturday?  Wednesday through Tuesday? Etc

• What do the special tags mean on certain items on the shelves?
• Does your store have a prescription transfer bonus deal?
• How do you sign up for your stores newletters, deals, and  promo emails?
• Does your grocery store sell produce, meat, or diary from  local providers?
• Does your store sell quality store brand products?
• Does your store sell items in bulk bins?

Lemon Chess Cake Bars

Posted on Apr 15, 2012 | 7 comments

If you aren’t from the south you may not get chess squares or chess pie. I had never heard of them until I moved here and for years and I didn’t  understand everyone’s fascination with them. Every potluck or bakesale I’ve attended here has had some version of them and I’ve always avoided them like the plague. One day I was at a hot chicken shack in my neighborhood and they had these luscious bars in lemon and strawberry. Oh my goodness – they were good. Really good.  They were still really sweet but adding tart lemon juice helped even out the sweetness so you can enjoy them. I’m not a complete convert but I’m definitely climbing on the bandwagon.

I got this recipe from one of my church members. It came from one of those little community cookbooks that’s probably older than I am. She’s been making this for 30 years and I can see why. It’s easy and comes together quickly. If lemon isn’t your thing, substitute a few tablespoons of almond extract for the lemon flavorings.

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Fasting and Recipe Salvage

Posted on Apr 14, 2012 | 0 comments

Fasting

This week hubby and I were getting back to normal after Holy season. Our pastor called a church-wide fast from Ash Wednesday to Good Friday and we were determined to make it all the way through this time. We chose to do the Daniel fast which is strictly vegan but on Sunday’s we could eat what we wanted. Fasting really isn’t my thing so I entered into it with apprehension and trepidation. The first 3 weeks were a test of will but the last 3 weeks were all about exploring different recipes for grains, beans, and vegetables. I have to say I really got into to it after a while. I doubt that we would ever adopt a vegan life style but there were some keepers in this experience.

Keepers

1. Almond milk – I’m not a fan of soy milk but I really like almond milk.

2. Meatless dinners and lunches – we found out that meals could be delicious and satisfying without meat

3. Meal planning – Because there was a lot more prep work to do, a little planning went a long way during this fast.

Not Keepers

1. Vegan cheese – We found a brand of vegan cheese that actually melted like real cheese but it wasn’t the same. I’ll stick with the real deal.

2. Soy meat substitutes – I didn’t really care for any of these except this killer veggie hot dog I had here. Chicago style no onions.

Recipe Salvage

This was one of the recipes I tried during the fast and I debated long and hard on whether to write a post on it.  I saw the original recipe in Food and Wine magazine and you can find it here. The picture was amazing and it looked so delicious that I had to try it.  I’m not going to say this recipe was bad but it definitely wasn’t seasoned enough for our tastes. Actually it was really bland. Being the frugual person I am, I couldn’t stand the thought of throwing it out so I started thinking of ways to reinvent/salvage it. This really applies to any savory dish that didn’t quite turn out the way you expected. Luckily I fixed this on a Saturday so the next day was a fast free day. I bought some spicy andouille sausage and served it as a side dish.

When I run across a recipe the doesn’t quite turn out as expected I have a few tricks to make it more palatable:

1. Add more fresh herbs, seasonings, or lemon zest - Herbs and seasonings are always my first choice to perk up a dish. Throw in a few tablespoons of your favorite finely diced herb or a few shakes of your favorite seasoning. If using premade seasoning mixes, be careful of the salt.

2. Add a strongly flavored cheese – Everything tastes better with cheese. Add a cup of gorgonzola, Parmesan, or a good smoked gouda or cheddar to give it some richness and flavor.

3. Serve it as a side to a highly seasoned main dish – This is what we did. It was a really good accompaniment to some spicy andouille sausage.

4. Add a little smoked sausage, bacon, or ham – a little diced smoked meat goes a long way to upping the flavor of a bland dish.

5. Add rice or other grains – Occasionally I  run across a dish that turns out much more salty than I expected. If it’s a soup or casserole, I add plain unsalted grains to offset some of the salt. This also works with potatoes.

6. Add some umami – Soy sauce, fish sauce, or good canned tomatoes can add a depth of flavor that will completely changes a dish.

7. Go hot - Sriracha, Louisiana hot sauce, thai chili paste, or any spicy sauce will work. I’m partial to Sriracha.

What do you do to salvage recipes?