Crab Hush Puppies w Chili con Carne

When I was little my mom let us choose what ever we wanted for dinner on our birthday's.  My brother and sisters used to pick pizza, fajitas and Mac n' Cheese. Normal things that most normal kids love. I however, am not now nor have ever been entirely  normal. I looked forward to my birthday dinner and as early as  I can remember I requested seared jumbo sea scallops in garlic butter and home made hush puppies. Sweet, crispy,  hot hush puppies. I haven't had them in years. I've never even attempted to make them myself! Not until tonight. Boy oh  boy did I miss them. 






I came across a recipe for crab hush puppies in 'Smart Cooking the Costco Way' and knew I needed to make them immediately. A year later I actually did.

They were worth the wait. I didn't have my jumbo sea scallops but opted instead to serve them with my world famous home made chili. I had left over roast beef from enchiladas and so I came up with a chili con carne that was sweet, spicy and wonderful.    My hush puppies were in love immediately.

If you love all things spicy like we do, don't forget to add a tablespoon or two of your favorite hot sauce right into the batter. If you have kids who are wimps like ours are, save the hot sauce to serve along side of these babies. I personally recommend Srirachi Hot Sauce which you can find in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores. Nom.

Crab Hush Puppies
4-6 cups grape seed oil for frying  {please see note below}
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt (yes, that's correct)
1-2 tablespoons of your fav hot sauce
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 lb Dungeness crab meat {I used fresh/jarred claw meat from the meat counter}
5 large green onions, thinly sliced
extra hot sauce to dash on the puppies or tarter sauce if your wimpy



Heat oil in a heavy 4-quart pan over med-high heat until it registers 350F on a deep-fry thermometer. Preheat oven to 170F.
While the oil is heating, stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together hot sauce, eggs and milk then add to the cornmeal mixture and stir until combined. Fold in crab.
Carefully, drop batter by small spoon fulls into heated oil. Don't over crowd the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown, adjusting heat as necessary. Transfer with a slotted spoon or fork to paper towels to drain briefly. Transfer each batch of hush puppies to a shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven till ready to serve. Add more oil in between batches as needed and let heat back up to 350F {I don't own a thermometer, I just put my hand close to the oil and guess can expertly tell when it's ready, usually just 30 seconds or so after adding more oil.}
Serve immediately.

note:

Grape seed oil has a moderately high smoke point of approximately 216 °C (421 °F). As a result, it is more ideal than several other cooking oils for high temperature cooking and can be safely used to cook at moderate temperatures during stir frying, sauteeing or deep frying. Due to its clean, light taste, and high polyunsaturated fat content, it is also used as an ingredient in salad dressings and mayonnaise and as a base for oil infusions of garlic, rosemary, or other herbs or spices.

Hello darlings.

For the chili con carne:

Pretty self explanatory but I suggest using R.W. Knudsen 'Very Veggie' juice for the base. Lots of stewed tomatoes, beans, mushrooms, onions, lots of garlic and chili powder. I used corn since I was using the roast beef (carne) this time, they just go good together in my opinion.

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Artichoke Pesto Pasta with Grilled Shrimp

I swore I would never ever be that parent who lives and breathes vicariously through their children's
lives. If you were to ask me I would tell you that I think I'm doing a pretty good job at fulfilling that goal. I would then go on to tell you that I actively encourage all 4 of my youngin's to aspire to what they want to be by engaging them in the things they are good at and helping them to work through those things that they aren't perfect at.  It's hard being a 4, 7, 8 and 19 year old after all.


I love baseball. I always have. The crack of the bat, the smell of the grass, the fresh air and the way the major league players look in those grey pants   the old fashioned, all American feeling of it all. I was never great at playing the sport but I sure wished upon more than one star that I would be the team hero at least once rather than 'Odd Man Out' more often than not. That's the thing about baseball. It's a team sport but when your up to bat or a pop fly is hit to your corner of the field, ALL eyes are on YOU. As a kid, one minute it feels like you're the team Super Hero and the next minute, you strike out (again) and you are shunned and ridiculed.






Being the mom of 3 boys (and 1 perfect little girl) means I can get my fill of watching and being a part of sports like my fav, baseball. My oldest son had a serious love affair with basketball and played his heart out on city leagues, clubs and in junior high where he was even team captain for 2 years, until when he got to high school and wasn't quite good enough to make the team.

It broke his heart but to my amazement he didn't sulk or even complain. Instead, my 13 year old son, went home and all on his own wrote a resume to the head coach of the High School Team listing all of the reasons why he was qualified to be a part of the team no matter what he had to do. Whether it be by being a team manager, passing out and picking up the balls, encouraging his team mates (which he did graciously and enthusiastically) and by just doing whatever was need of him, just so long as that he could be a part of the team while he practiced and practiced and practiced.


Which he did. And he got better. And they let him play. Joy.




























Back to baseball and my 7 & 8 year old boys. My 8 year old could care less about sports. I'm o.k. with that. Really. I find it exhilarating that all of my children are unique and special with a set of their own  interests, skills and personalities. My 8 year old son loves art and building things, especially Lego's & Origami.

My 3rd and youngest son, age 7 was very eager to play baseball much to my excitement. He has my family's body type which I prefer to say is "Athletic" instead of "Big Boned".  He has a natural athletic ability when it comes to physic and strength and if we can just work on that coordination and speed thing I think we might have something here……..

"Not living vicariously through my children. Not living vicariously through my children."


Today was the last game of the season. When I asked him to go get ready to go to his game he pouted and sulked and then flat out protested. I said "What's wrong Nolan, I thought you liked baseball?" and do you know what my son said to me?



"My favorite part of baseball is the end. When it's over."


Wow.

Maybe he'll change his mind.

Maybe not. And I'm o.k. with that. Kind of.

There is always comfort in pasta. Always. As long as it's a good quality, better yet home made pasta you can really sink your teeth into. As long as there as a fresh sauce or pesto you can twirl your noodles through life will be o.k.  Molto Bene!!

Not home made, but this pasta was fabulous. Thick and non starchy cooked to Al dente perfection with a hollow center to soak up even more of the green sauce! Swoon.

A twist on your traditional pesto, artichoke hearts make a light and lovely green pasta sauce. This unpretentious pesto would also pair well with jumbo grilled shrimp alone as an appetizer. 

A twist of lemon, a toss of freshly grated Parmigiana ~Romano and a bit of Italian parsley along with pine nuts or walnuts and you have yourself a guest worthy meal in minutes. Don't forget the wine!

Ingredients

1 package of pasta, cooked to package directions
5-7 artichoke hearts (found in glass jars)
1 large handful fresh Italian parsley
2 handfuls of walnuts or pine nuts (about 1 cup for those who measure)
1/2-3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiana~Romano2-3 cloves fresh garlic
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons of water to thin pesto to desired consistency
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
red chile flakes if desired

1 lb. large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Pre-heat grill. Spray a grill pan with oil. {You can also bake shrimp at 400F for 8-10 minutes or stir fry). Grill shrimp over medium flame until they turn dark pink, about 3 minutes per side. Don't overcook or they will become dry! Remove from heat and set aside. No need to season shrimp for this recipe.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Combine all ingredients, artichoke hearts through cracked pepper in a food processor or blender till combined.  Toss pesto with pasta to coat. Sprinkle with chile flakes for some heat if desired. I do. ;}

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Pepita Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms //// Appetizers to Bring to Your HolidayGet Togethers.

I made these savory stuffed mushrooms in preparation for our upcoming Thanksgiving get togethers. I think that one of my favorite parts of the Holiday's is taste testing all of the possible appetizers that may or may not make it to our family dinners and the small gatherings we 'squeeze in' with our closest friends. Thank the Lord we have such large families and such good friends so I can taste test to my hearts content!  Can I get a  'HALLELUJAH!'

 All of the women in our group thought these were an amazing appetizer! I  l.o.v.e. stuffed mushrooms in a perfectly stalky kind of way and these were just a bit different than any I've ever had, very light and healthy without the cheese overload and yet they fulfilled my cheesy, stuffed mushroom addiction  craving. The Pepita seeds were a wonderful twist to the usual pesto. My husband 'liked' them but said he expected more 'kick' which is to be expected of my cooking….. and from men  ;}   It ain't got no beef in it honey!

As I so eloquently mentioned before, I have an appetizer fetish/love/addiction which I am not ashamed of whatsoever. In fact, if it were up to me, I would quite happily live off nothing but appetizers (and the appropriate wine) for dinner every. single. night. 

I have high hopes that I will be most diligent in posting my absolute  favorite, tried and true (don't fret Martha, I know I'm no expert.")  Holiday appetizers which are totally family reunion worthy (I know what expectations that brings) and yet so simple that they will bring you ZERO stress while throwing together and the most skeptical of MIL's will appreciate.


This is my vow. I got your back!

• 20 small cremini or white mushrooms, *stems removed
• 4 tablespoons (plus a few to place on top) unsalted Pepita's (pumpkin seeds), toasted
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves 
• 2 ounces fresh Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 3/4 teaspoon grated orange rind 
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2-3 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

Preparation

1. 
   
2.  Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Arrange mushroom caps, stem sides up, in pan; cook 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Turn mushrooms over; cook 5 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. Place mushrooms, stem sides down, on paper towels to drain and cool.
3.  Place 4 tablespoons Pepita's, parsley, and next 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a food processor; process until chopped. With processor on, slowly pour oil through food chute; process until well blended.
4.  Fill each mushroom cap with about 1 teaspoon pesto; top evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons Pepita's. Serve either warm or chilled. Place a small sliver of shaved Parmesan for presentation if desired. 

NOTES:  I find it much easier to use my fingers instead of a knife to 'pluck' out the mushroom stems. It makes a nice 'cavity' for stuffing's that way. 

Use any combination of herbs or greens you desire. 

Make sure to pat dry the cooked mushrooms so they are not soggy. This appetizer is best served immediately or chilled and served. 

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Baked Cauliflower with Buffalo Sauce and Home Made Blu Cheese Dressing

I work in an place that is predominantly employed with women. It is a fast paced, usually high stress work environment that doesn't allow for mistakes or some one could die. This makes for a large group of women who are mostly type A personality. A group of women who get up every day ready to save lives, treat people who are sick or injured and give a lot of attention to detail for 8-12 hours straight. We do this while working along side other strong minded women and surgeons who expect nothing less than perfection and efficiency in as short of a time as safely possible.

I love my job. 

I am lucky to work part time right now and with a flexible schedule so I can spend a lot of time with my 3 young children. So when I go to work it's a little like spending time with a group of friends and catching up on each others lives. I think my favorite part of working in an surgery is that every day I get to work with several different people and do many different types of surgeries from total joint replacements and spinal fusions to urology and fertility. 

What's strange to me, working in a place with mostly women is that almost ALL of them are into football. Big time. More so in fact than most men I've ever known. Picture 7 nurses in the lounge Monday morning all fighting for the sports page and talking stats and irate over the referee's bad call the night before. Picture news paper clipings of football articles taped up in the women's locker room. These women can carry on a conversation with the male surgeons about football as easily as my friends and I do about recipes and everyday happenings. Weird.

I learned early on when I started working at my current hospital 3 years ago not to mention the fact that I wasn't a football fan. That is an unforgiveable sin as far as my co-workers are concerned. 

While I'm not a big football fan ( shhhhhhhhhhh.......)    I do like football food. Hot wings, chips and dip, 7 layer bean dips and brats with saurkraut.  Mmmmmm. 

Love the food, hate the calories and more importantly the way I feel after indulging. Hot wings are my weakness. I could eat a big pile of them covered in chunky blue cheese and lick the sauce of the plate afterwards with out a bat of the eye. 

When I discovered this much healthier version of hot wings, minus the wings I nearly jumped out of my chair. Now I didn't have to feel guilty about eating my beloved hot wings and could eat them when ever I craved them which is often. Sometimes before noon. Im not ashamed.

recipe source: Curvy Carrot

Servings: enough for at least 3-4 people 

Ingredients 

1 head cauliflower, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces 

1 cup buttermilk 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons garlic salt 

1 cup buffalo sauce 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted


Instructions 

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, flour, and garlic salt, whisking until mostly smooth (it’s ok if there are a few lumps left). 

3. Very gently (cauliflower can be pretty delicate), place the cauliflower in the bowl and lightly toss to completely coat with the buttermilk mixture. 

4. Place the cauliflower in a shallow baking dish and bake for about 15-18 minutes or so (watch it, it may start to brown up quickly on you.) 

5. Meanwhile, combine the buffalo sauce and the melted butter in a small bowl. 

6. Carefully remove the hot cauliflower from the oven and pour the buffalo sauce mixture over it, stirring gently to coat it as best you can. 

7. Return the cauliflower to the oven and bake for another 5-8 minutes or so. Let cool slightly and serve immediately.

Recipe originally from PETA.    {Who knew Peta had vegetarian recipes?}

*see home made healthier blue cheese dressing below {my own recipe}

Enjoy!

Home made healthier Blue Cheese dressing:
  

TIME     5 MINUTES        YIELDS     1 /12 CUPS 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup buttermilk

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar

• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 

In a small bowl, mash 1/2 cup blue cheese and yogurt together with a fork. Stir in lemon juice, vinegar,  garlic powder and salt and pepper until well blended. Top with more crumbled blue cheese. Makes a little more than 1 cup.

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Greek Yogurt and Goat Cheese Tzaziki Roasted Red Pepper Zucchini Rolls with Pesto Dip A.K.A. Extremely Creative and Interesting Snacks for an Unbearably Boring Mom.

Let's talk about creative energy, or rather the lack there of. For instance, I'm pretty sure that I had something rather interesting to say 15 minutes ago but since then 1 million and 1 other extremely important things have happened. Such is the life of a mom of 4. Any mom actually, but I speak for myself (disclaimer numero uno).

Case and point. In the last 15 minutes I have:

Tried to console a very distraught 4 year old little girl about a broken crayon which her 8 year old very artistic brother absolutely had to have because it was  "Imperial Blue" and the exact shade he needed to finish his bird drawing and "NO!" another shade of blue from the enormous bucket of crayons wouldn't do and excuse me please but it in fact is not a crayon but a pastel! ..............................

Stopped 3 times to put on baby doll clothes. On the same baby doll.

Tried to reason with a dramatic 6 year old over why it's not the end of the world when someone touches him, looks at him, breathes on him.

Prepared myself for yet another night of over reactive drama and whining about how grosssssss dinner is before they even know what it is.

Tried to take a picture or two of for mentioned dinner when the house we moved into several months ago does not have ONE SINGLE north facing window, or any decent window for food photography for that matter.  (note to self, look for new house immediately. post note, be in complete denial that the housing market is yet again rising faster than my strategic abilities allow.)

Exaggerating? Who me? NO. Not this time my friends, not this time. Life as a mom, end of story. 

Again, I'm pretty sure I had something very creative or mildly interesting to say in regards to this post 15 minutes ago but alas, you will forgive me as my creativity has been sucked away over the years and replaced with the cutest of cute, adorable, little, needy monsters. 

What's the opposite of boring? These super cute snack containers from Planet Box. I. heart. their lunch boxes and so when they offered to send me one of their brand new sectioned snack boxes, 

"The Shuttle" with a perfect little dipping container I was waiting by the window for the UPS guy.  

This little snack container was much roomier than I imagined and perfect for my portioned, 5 a day small meals. As you can see it held my 'second' lunch quite nicely and I won't even mention the fact that my dear husband swiped it from me the  next morning. I did get a nice text message around lunch time about how fantastic my zucchini rolls were. Cudos.

I love Planet Boxes sleek and convenient  design and that the magnets were interchangeable. My boys loved this alien one and when mommy wants to take it to work I simply take the magnets off or I can switch them out for one of their other cute magnets. These cute space guys ended up on our fridge. 

Several different sizes to choose form with eco-conscience design and cute carriers. I love it!

Back to School Time Already! Time to get a sturdy lunch box that will last through the year! 

Planet Box sent me these items, all opinions are my own.

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Almond and Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade and The World's Best Ever Steak Marinade

This weekend as you well know is Father's Day weekend. Instead of hanging out around the house and  grilling some steaks and swimming in the pool we decided it would be a good idea to take all of the kids and meet the fam up at Big Lake for some camping chaos fun. If you didn't read my post from last year you may not fully appreciate how difficult interesting it can be when camping with 3 young children and a cranky teenager. If your up for a good laugh read about our adventure here.  I remain very optimistic that things will go much better this year.......

For one thing, I'm going to make things a LOT easier on myself and stick with the basics. Simple, yet good food and packing just what's necessary instead of trying to plan for every inconceivable disaster. Quite frankly I'm just too pooped to plan.


Last weekend we grilled up some steaks which turned out to be hands down best ever and all around awesome. I'm not a huge red meat so when I'm craving a nice steak or burger It better be good. I like my meat very tender and super flavorful. These steaks were both and the tangy, sweet flavor can be attributed to this marinade which worked wonders on the meat. Man, it was so good!

I also attempted to make a red pepper, cilantro pesto from Dara at Cookin' Canuck  but ended up tweaking the ingredients and process a bit to end up with more of a tapenade. I love tapenades in every variety, they are so versatile and satisfying in a grown up sort of way. They can be paired with steak, on top of smoked or grilled fish (my favorite) or as a stand alone hor d'oeuvres with crackers, a baguette and of course a good aperitif.

Basically, for this to be a tapenade instead of a pesto, you need to use a bit more almonds and less red pepper. Preferably use a small hand food processor or pulse just a few times in your regular one. I love my little manual one for chopping garlic, finely mincing onion, herbs and making salsa and guacamole. It's just a tiny little thing and so easy to clean. I use it daily.

Almond and Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade

1 small red bell pepper, roasted

3 cloves garlic

1 cup blanched almonds (2 handfuls)

small handful cilantro

squeeze lime juice

2-3 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil

Pulse all ingredients except lime juice and oil in a food processor until coarsely chopped.

Drizzle in oil and lime juice. Pulse until desired consistency.

Happy Father's Day to my dad who is the coolest and most gerous guy I know and to my sweet and as perfect as they get husband who keeps me grounded, happy and calm. 

and to all you other dad's, I hope you have a wonderful day!

(camping or not)

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Grilled Eggplant Caprese with Parmesan and Garlic White Bean Puree

Summer in Phoenix means very long, hot days and cooking is the very last thing I want to do. Sitting by the pool with an ice cold drink while waiting for my grill to work it's magic on these eggplants however, is my idea of a perfect summer supper. Grilling thick slices of eggplant brings out a wonderful smokey flavor that baking just can't replicate. In a pinch broiling them will do but I find that not only is the flavor not up to par but they turn out a bit soggier than when on the grill.











Now that the kids are out of school I seem to have lost any and all motivation to cook over involved meals. We have a fun, semi-structured summer plan to keep our bodies in motion and our minds from turning into jello. On the 3 days during the week that I work my mom is nice enough to have a short, fun and interactive lesson planned for them. They've been learning about insects, ocean creatures and the different parts of plants so far. After their lesson they do a fun project or a craft about what they learned.

On the week they learned about insects, they learned all about bees and how they make honey and interact with each other in the hive. We have a fun trip to a small, family owned farm near our house that has several bee hives on site! How cool! This will also let them see how and where plants, our food in particular grow. Right now they think that bananas grow at the grocery store and hot dogs grow on trees. O.K. not really, but living in the city they've only seen the few pathetic plants and herbs that mommy tries to grow in pots. So we are looking forward to a trip to a real farm.

Eggplant is almost at the end of it's season here in the Phoenix desert so we will have to pick up several while we are at the farm along with heirloom tomatoes, peppers, purple and green beans, 

summer squash and strawberries. 

Tonapah Rob's Vegetable Farm. Heirloom Tomatoes

I'll have to post about the whole bee hive experience and pick up a bottle of the local, Organic honey they produce there! They also have over 300 hens so hopefully we will get some nice fresh eggs. 

So excited!

Simple Summer Supper

For the Eggplant Caprese

2 medium eggplants, sliced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
8-10 oz fresh mozzarella ball, sliced
fresh Parmesan, grated
handful of fresh basil, chopped
EVOO for brushing eggplant
salt

For the White Bean Puree

2 cups dry white beans
4 cups chicken broth or water
1 small leek (optional, for more flavor)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 head garlic
1 teaspoon EVOO
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked pepper

Preparation: The night before, soak your beans in a covered bowl of water.

In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. Place in a slow cooker with water, salt

bay leaves and rosemary sprig. Cook on low for 8 hours. Do not pick up lid.

Putting it all together:

Fire up your grill on medium heat.

Using a paring knife, remove peel from eggplant. Slice into 1/2 pieces. 

Lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. 

Remove loose skin from garlic. Cut the top 1/4 inch off of the head of garlic.

Lightly drizzle the exposed garlic cloves with oil. Place on grill. 

Cut the dark green leaves off the leek, discard. Slice the remaining white and light green

stalk in half lengthwise. Brush lightly with oil. Place leek cut side down on grill.

Place eggplant on grill and press lightly. Cook 5-6 minutes on each side (leave the leek face down). 

I like to close the grill lid to let the smoke work it's magic. Be careful not to let them burn.

Remove from grill. Set eggplant aside. Carefully chop leek into small pieces.

Meanwhile, remove rosemary and bay leaves from cooked beans. 

Put leek into the slow cooker with the beans. Carefully squeeze out cooked garlic cloves into

beans. Using an immersion blender, puree the beans until smooth. 

Spoon onto a deep plate. Top with freshly cracked pepper.

On top of the bean puree, place a slice of grilled eggplant, top with slice of mozzarella, tomato, chopped basil, repeat. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and garnish with basil.

I know it may sound like a lot of preparation but it's really not. I just wanted to explain in detail.  Also, 

the flavor of the bean puree was so complex thanks to slow cooking in the herbs, the grilled garlic and leek and paired wonderfully with the eggplant caprese.

 It makes this a complete and very satisfying dinner. 

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Smokey Baba Ganoush {roasted eggplant dip}

Teenagers. sighhhh.  Why didn't anyone ever warn me about how exhausting, annoying and all around taxing teenagers are? I'm pretty sure that had someone warned me I would have planned better. Prepared myself in some way, maybe gone to  pre-conditioning therapy, meditated more or sent him to boarding school at age 13. That would have been smart, best for everyone. Had someone only warned me.








I'm trying really hard to look on the bright side of the situation, see the positive. There are a couple I think. He never did drugs, drank (that I know of anyway) is a well mannered and mostly happy go lucky kid. He is healthy (well until I get through with him after this latest shenanigan anyway) and has potential..... I hope.

Hope. Pray. Wait. That's really all a mother can do when your teenager goes off to college for his freshman year, all expenses paid for by dear old mom and dad and comes home with a big, FAT 1.0 GPA. Yup.

My son. The boy we raised and taught to be responsible, trustworthy and work hard in life. The boy who was in Honors, AP and IB courses throughout high school. The boy who may or may not be cut out of our WIll. Not that we have any money left after throwing it away on what turned out to basically be a one year, $12,000 all expenses paid vacation in Eastern Arizona, middle of nowhere USA.


Hope. Pray. Wait.


Time for the boy to take responsibility for his own actions. Self accountability. Figure out things for himself. Hopefully not crash and burn and when he inevitably does, I pray he will man up and make things right. Finish school and be a strong, smart independent young man who comes groveling back to his poor defeated mom and dad and begs for our forgiveness and tells us how incredibly smart we really were.

What? O.K. so maybe that last part is a bit of a stretch.



Which brings me to baba ganoush. Of course.

BRAIN FOOD, Cardiovascular Health and Free Radical Protection

In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals like fiber, magnesium and potassium, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. 

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. 

photo source

For more information on how to choose and store eggplant visit World's Healthiest Foods

Smokey Baba Ganoush {Roasted Eggplant Dip}


recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Small Plates by Joanne Wier, published 1998


TIME    45 MINUTES      SERVES    4

Ingredients 

• 1 large eggplant

• 1/4 cup tahini, plus more as needed

• 3-5 garlic cloves, roasted

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin  

• salt, to taste

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

Directions 

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill. 

Preheat an oven to 400°F. 

Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill 4 to 5 inches from the fire. 

Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.  

Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin. 

Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl. 

Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste. 

Add the 1/4 cup tahini, roasted garlic,1/4 cup lemon juice, paprika and cumin and mix well. 

Season with salt, then taste and add more lemon juice, if needed. 

Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well. 

Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley. Place the olives around the sides.

Bon Apetite!

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Lox, Dill and Caper Petite Bites

For Mother's Day I can think of nothing sweeter than waking up to home made cards and love notes from my four children and then maybe enjoying a relaxing brunch with my mother. Most days breakfast means oatmeal, eggs or cereal straight out of the box for the kids and maybe a banana and coffee for me. Although I try to be better, there are just so many easier options available when trying to get everyone out of the house by 8:00 a.m.  intact and with both shoes on the correct feet. So when it comes to Mother's Day, even though I want to show my own mom how much I love her by enjoying a gourmet brunch that we both love so dearly,  I have to relinquish to the fact that I'm just to tired to make anything fancy and just to poor to afford a resort style affair.


So when I made these darling little appetizers  for a recent party I had, I knew I couldn't wait for an excuse to make them again. I brought these to our family Easter get together and we enjoyed them with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio out on my sister-in-laws patio looking over one of the many gorgeous Phoenix golf courses and mountains.

When my mom and I both were popping these into our mouths faster than I could arrange them on a plate for my guests, I knew I had a keeper. Smoked salmon is one of my favorite treats and the remaining short list of ingredients in these petite bites pair together so wonderfully you will savour each and every single salivating chew.

Lox, Dill and Capers on Persian Cucumber

with whipped cream cheese.

Now, on a sadder note, my favorite online photo editing program has come to an end. Picnik has been my savour when it came to making the food shots that come out of  my point and shoot look presentable. Doesn't it seem that just when you  really  get comfortable with something it tends to change or vanish all together?  I don't get attached very easily when it comes to inanimate objects but Picnik was this non-techy  girls best friend.  I suppose I will just have to be a big girl and really learn how to use the Photoshop that has been hanging out somewhere in my computer for the last few years.

Lox on Pumpernickel

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day and get to spend time showing those you love how much they mean to you and hopefully enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation!

You Will Need:

1 petite loaf of pumpernickel bread

1- 14 oz. container of whipped cream cheese (you will not need all of this)

6 oz. salmon lox (smoked salmon)

2 Persian or English cucumbers (seedless)

1/4 cup minced red onion

capers

fresh dill

Putting it all together:

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the rind off of the cucumber leaving thin strips for appearance sake. Slice cucumber 1/4 inch thick. Using a small food processor, mince onion. I mixed some of the onion right into my cream cheese.

Using a spoon, spread a bit of cream cheese (whipped works best) onto 1 of the sliced cucumbers and the pumpernickel, reserving 1 of the sliced cucumbers for layering on the bread.

For the cucumber bites, simply top with cream cheese, salmon lox and a bit of fresh dill. 

Look for packages of salmon lox that say 'Pre-Sliced' then you simply have to pull them apart and fold them on top of your  hors devours/.

For the pumpernickel bites, top with cream cheese, cucumber, salmon lox then garnish with a bit of minced onion, capers and a fresh dill sprig.

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