Good Booty

Mom took me to the World Market yesterday, and I went crazy in the food section. It made me miss the Fresh Market in Gainesville :-( I like living in Leesburg, but one thing I don't like is the lack of places to get good food. Take a look at some of my "booty:"

Stir-fry sauces. I had ordered the black bean sauce from a Thai market online previously, and I think with shipping and everything I paid about six dollars. Both of these cost me five. SCORE!!

They had an entire section of little sample-sized bottles that were like a dollar, and the raspberry conserve is from that section. I hope conserve is a fancy word for jam :) I almost got a little bottle of the garlic oil, but I decided on the big one. It's not like we're not going to use it all! The roasted garlic salsa was calling my name, and the fact that it was on sale did not help matters!

Tonight's dinner - chicken stir-fry using the garlic oil and chile garlic sauce. I found out too late that we're very low on frozen vegetables, so this stir-fry is a little unconventional: corn (I much would have preferred baby corn), green beans (not exactly a Chinese vegetable), baby carrots, yellow onion, and some red pepper strips. I followed the recipe on the jar, and this dish packed some HEAT!! I was glad I had milk to drink! My lips were burning after eating, but Mike enjoyed it. He's more couragous in that department. I think next time I'll cut the amount of sauce used in half.

Weekend Breakfast

Last night I came across a new blog that had a yummy-looking recipe for blueberry pancakes that made me wish I had some blueberries. BUT, I realized, I do have some strawberries, so I decided to give the recipe a try this morning.

Sizzling on the skillet. The first time I overloaded the panckes with berries and they almost didn't cook all the way through, but this recipe was amazing. It's a little different in that it has cornmeal in it, and the change was refreshing and light-tasting. I decided to take the blog owner's suggestion and use sour milk instead of buttermilk, and it was easy to make and lended a nice flavor to the pancakes. I wonder if I can do that in other recipes, too? Instructions on making the sour milk can be found along with my version of the recipe here.

I also made a potato casserole, Mike's favorite, which I don't make very often. I shredded the potatoes, then tossed them with olive oil and mixed in some swiss cheese. After baking for 40 min at 350, I sprinkled some cheddar on top and let it brown, and the result was a simple, cheesy dish that Mike put away quickly, making me glad I only made a little!

pancake recipe adapted from Carrie's Kitchen Creations

Garlic-Grilled Game Hen


Mike made dinner Friday night on the Big Green Egg. He also made the baked french fries and broccoli with cheese sauce (by Green Giant - yummy!) The Hen was excellent; garlicky and moist, with a bit of smoky flavor from the Egg. Mike got the recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens grilling cookbook, but it was originally for a whole chicken, so it required a bit of adaptation. All he really did was work some minced garlic and salt under the skin of the hen, then stuff the insides with lemon slices, red bell pepper slices, and garlic. The skin was brushed with lemon juice and oil, which gave it a lovely golden color. Beautiful. So as to waste nothing, I cooked the bones and what little meat was on them in the crock pot to make a nice broth for cooking rice at a later date.

Having a Cornish Game Hen so close to Valentine's Day made me smile. Our first Valentine's Day together, Mike requested one of these for his dinner, and I had no idea what is was. After a panicked phone call to my mother, the hen actually came out pretty good, but not as good as this. I've come a long way since then, but this dinner was all Mike! Way to go, hon!

Valentine's Day Dinner!

I decided to make fondue for our Valentine's Day dinner in favor of going out somewhere, since a) any restaurant would be way overcrowded; and b) there are no good restaurants in this town! I decided to do it ALL myself, even make the french bread for dipping!

For the bread, I decided to try the dough hooks on my Kitchen Aid mixer for the first time, and I really liked it! It's a happy medium between doing it by hand and letting my bread machine do it. I may never use my bread machine again!

After kneading, before the rises (there were a total of three!)

Ready to be rolled out!




Right before visiting the oven.

The beautiful final product!!

We really enjoyed our cheese fondue, with the bread in cubes and pieces of carrot and celery (hey, we had to have vegetables somewhere!) Mike said, "I'm not trying to flatter you or anything, but this very well may be the best French bread I've ever had." High praise from Mr. Picky himself!

On to dessert: chocolate fondue, with strawberries, pineapple, banana, and angelfood cake. I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate like the recipe calls for, and it was soooo good!

This is Mike's version of eating fondue: with a spatula, to slop on even more chocolate! Coming from the guy who won't even use the trainer chopsticks at a Japanese Steakhouse, I shouldn't be surprised!

I've been trying to take steps towards a simpler life, and the steps are manifesting themselves mostly in the way I eat. So Friday night, when I had to leave early for class, I decided to pack myself food instead of picking something up on my break:

Peanut butter, 5-grain Triscuits, an apple (brushed with lime juice to keep it from browning), a Laughing Cow cheese wedge (garlic and herb), and peach yogurt. To drink, fresh squeezed orange juice and water. Oh, and that MIGHT be a piece of Ghiradelli chocolate behind the peanut butter. Maybe. No comment. I didn't even have to buy a soda from the machine! Not only did I save money, it was much healthier than anything I could have gotten on the road. Maybe I'll bring my lunch when I have class on Saturday. There's at least one other person in my class who brings food in favor of going out, so maybe this will be a chance to make a new friend as well!

Mediterranean Focaccia

My new favorite website is the King Arthur Flour home page. I spent way too much time going through their recipes and pulled out several, including this one. It caught my eye because the dough can be frozen, and I've been trying to build up my stock of meals in the freezer.

The recipe tells you to mix the ingredients together until you have a "shaggy mass," but I wasn't sure exactly what a shaggy mass is. So, after I did the mixing, I took a picture so I can remember exactly what a shaggy mass looks like:



After the rising, ready to be rolled out:

I decided to make two small focacce so we would have leftovers, so we had to do them in shifts. Mike grilled the first one until it was slightly crispy, then brought it inside for me to top while he put on the second one. I decided to make them like a pizza - with Newman's Own Vodka Sauce applied sparingly and an Italian Blend of cheese. Then I put on thinly sliced garlic and pepperoni strips. After topping, they went back on the Egg until melty and cheesy! Mmmmm...

The focaccia was healthier than pizza because the crust is much thinner. I think next time I'll try to find ways to make it more flavorful - maybe brush it with garlic butter before topping it? At least around the edges? Also, the garlic slices were not as soft as I would have liked. Next time, I'll roast it! Mike must have liked it, because those leftovers I was hoping for? Not so much. There are two more balls of dough in the freezer for another time. We'll see how they turn out!

Steelhead Trout with Brown Jasmine Rice and Vegetable Medley

This was the most well put-together meal I've made in a long time, but I didn't really plan it that way. I dusted the trout with Penzey's Black and Red Hot & Spicy Salt-free seasoning and some coarse kosher salt, then Mike cooked it on the Big Green Egg while I prepared some brown Jasmine rice and a veggie. The vegetables were a new blend by Green Giant called "Healthy Weight." It seemed like a ploy to make more money to me, but hey, I had a coupon! It was a blend of sliced carrots, sugar snap peas, black beans, and edamame in a light butter sauce. It was quite tasty, and a good way to introduce Mike to edamame. The spiciness of the fish paired well with the mild taste of the rice and vegetables. I love it when we have a satisfying, delicious, yet healthy meal!

updated 2-11: Apparently there was a problem with the photo - I think it's fixed now!

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from the back of the King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour bag, and since the flour is so good, I figured the recipe would be good, too. I was not disappointed - the loaf was slightly nutty and moist, and was wonderful with my mom's homemade peach jam. I decided to mix the dough by hand, because there is nothing quite so satisfying as doing it yourself. That is, when you're not in a hurry! I had the choice of adding either honey, maple syrup, or molasses to the dough; I chose molasses because it has the most nutritional value of the three. It imparted a nice, slightly sweet flavor. I think I'm going to go snack on a toasted slice now! Maybe with some Canadian honey this time...

[logs off quickly]

Recipe can be found here at the King Arthur flour website.

The Best Things in Life are Free...


There are pros and cons to living in Florida, the cons including the heat, the humidity, the bugs, and the old people. But one of my very favorite pros to living in Florida is the CITRUS! My grandmother has a yard full of citrus trees, and I spent about an hour last week picking from the higher branches. I was rewarded with lots of free citrus which I have been squeezing like crazy since then. If you've never had fresh-squeezed orange juice, you haven't lived!!

mmmmm....oranges :)

Either a pink or red grapefruit, I'm not sure. I like to throw a few grapefruits in to the squeezing pile to mix in with the oranges.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is heaven.

Ah, the Super Bowl...

The only time I blog during the show and watch the commercials. In honor of the occasion, Mike made some ribs on the Big Green Egg.

Ready to go on the Egg!

So beautiful I just had to share a close-up!

What you don't see is Sophie just out of the camera frame trying her best to practice her telekinesis skills.

These were GOOD! Easily the best ribs I've ever had.

Specifics:
Pork, Full Slab
Pre-Cooking Rub: Kosher Salt, Penzey's Brown Sugar
Cooking (3-2-1 method): 3 hours over indirect heat at 250 degrees (with drip pan underneath). Then 2 hours wrapped in foil with beer and BBQ sauce over direct heat, still at 250. Then, 1/2 hour out of the foil and 1/2 hour basted in sauce.

Rosemary French Bread

Every once in awhile, even the best cooks have a misadventure in the kitchen. While I don't claim to be the "best" at cooking, I certainly had an adventure with this bread, if not a MISadventure. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but it was originally meant to be done completely in the bread machine. Well, in my book, french bread cannot be square, so I decided to have the dough mix in the bread machine and follow directions for rolling up and baking the bread in the oven, taken from a recipe for plain 'ol french bread. Thus begins the adventure.

I put the ingredients in the bread machine and set it to start. A minute later, I take a peek to see how the dough is mixing up, and instead of a shiny ball of dough, I see something resembling flour soup. So I tried adding flour in small increments until I had added at least a half-cup more. Okay, crisis averted.

Or not.

I happened to glance at the bag of flour on the counter and realized that I had used AP flour, not bread flour. DOH! I guess that had something to do with it. The flour/liquid ratios sounded about right to me in the original recipe.

The dough finally came out of the bread maker and looked pretty normal to me. I had never done the traditional rolling up the dough to make a French loaf, but it was pretty uneventful. The second one came out of the oven looking a lot better, though, so I guess practice makes perfect!

fresh out of the oven!

With spaghetti, meat sauce (pulled out of the freezer from the last time I made meat sauce), and green beans. I realized too late that I didn't have the ingredients to make the traditional spaghetti side dish - salad. You can tell this is my plate because you can see the spaghetti peeking out from under the sauce - if this was Mike's (aka Mr. Picky), it would be sans pasta.

The thing about making bread at home is, I like to have the leftovers the next morning, slathered with Canadian honey or my mom's homemade jam. So, if I'm going to make a savory bread, it had better be really savory to justify not being able to eat in the a.m. This bread was just mild enough to tease me into wondering if it would be good for breakfast. And for all those curious minds that just have to know, the answer is...not so much. Maybe it would have been more strongly flavored if I hadn't had to add so much extra flour. I definitely plan on playing with the recipe and making French bread again!



p.s. - I don't know why Blogger is making parts of this post all funky, but if I could figure out how to fix it, I would! Sorry 'bout that.

Root-Beer Barbecue


This is something I've heard of online and have been wanting to try: take some beef or pork (in this case, a piece of bottom round roast and some boneless pork chops that needed to be used), put it in a crock-pot. Cover the meat with root beer and cook all day. Drain the meat and shred, then add a barbecue sauce (homemade or your favorite bottled), heat through.

This was good, but I've gotta say it didn't taste that much different than other barbecues I've made in the crock pot. The root beet did a good job of tenderizing the meat, but you couldn't really taste it in the finished product. But still a good meal.

Pork Stir-Fry

I found a neat little table in Kraft's Food and Family magazine that lists ways you can make stir-fry. I chose this combination of boneless pork chops, fried in a sauce mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce, Italian salad dressing, and sesame seeds (which I did not have). The article makes suggestions for vegetables to pair with the meat (in this case, sprouts and carrots), but I used a frozen stir-fry veggie mix. Layered over brown rice, this was a good way to enjoy pork chops, which I'm not usually a fan of. I like the idea of having an entire meal in one bowl. And I felt so sophisticated eating with my pretty chopsticks! The Food and Family table is a great tool to print out and have on hand. I think I am going to get some sesame seeds to try with this recipe next time.

When did this happen?!?

I was in line at the grocery store yesterday, waiting for the lady in front of me to quit with the attitude, when I took a look at the contents in my cart.

hmmm......let's see .......organic, hormone-free milk ......organic rice .......cage-free eggs ..........eco-safe, chlorine and phosphate free dishwasher detergent .......natural tortilla chips .........and cloth bags to carry home my purchases.

WHOA! When did that happen?!? My husband took one look at my bounty sitting on the kitchen counter and officially declared me a "tree hugger." I don't think I've quite gotten there yet, but since I've started blogging, I've been introduced to the lifestyles of people who live differently from me. It all started when I stumbled across the what I believe is now-defunct blog called Vegan Lunch Box, which was written by a mother who packed vegan lunches for her first grader. She put a lot of time into it, and the lunches were always adorable. I realized that while it is a challenge, you CAN eat a healthy vegan diet and get plenty of protein, etc. It's not just salads! From there I moved on to more radical vegan blogs - ones whose doctrine I would never agree with, but nonetheless I enjoyed seeing how someone lives differently than me. I found a blog written by a lady who runs a small beef farm, and another who runs her own soap-making business. Then there's the guy who is completely self-sufficient, living hours away from civilization, tending to his garden made up entirely of plants that are native to the area - oh, to spend a day with THAT guy!

I started to think about how my food choices affect not only me, but me nation and the world as well. I buy organic milk because I like to support the small farms that produce it, plus the growth hormones regular cows are given scare me - I see too many fifth grade girls who look a lot different than when I was that age! I buy cage-free eggs because I would never think it's okay to keep a dog or a cat in a shoe-boxed size cage for it's entire life - why would it be okay for a chicken? Plus, both of these foods taste a LOT better than their mass-produced counterparts. But I'm getting ahead of myself. What I really wanted to do was thank YOU, the blogging world, for exposing me to the way other people eat! I am a better cook and a better person because of it!

In honor of my 200th post: 20 food facts about me:

1. I started cooking as a preschooler

2. We have a picture of me standing on a chair in my diaper, helping my mom stir something.

3. If you want a good laugh and if you ask very nicely, she’ll probably post it on her blog.

4. I believe that there are very few things in life that cannot be improved with garlic.

5. For me, the hardest part of cooking is following through to the “cleaning up” stage.

6. I have not yet been able to bring myself to try sashimi.

7. I do not like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.

8. I try really hard to like raw tomatoes.

9. My mother, grandmother and I all agree that if we had to live the rest of our lives on two things, it would be fruit and cheese.

10. One of the greatest joys of my life is to have other people enjoy my food.

11. I think that iceberg lettuce is a waste of time.

12. I am very picky about sweet things.

13. I can be dangerous around those sweets I like.

14. It would be weird for me to cook without my dog underfoot.

15. I need breakfast to function.

16. I love to try foods from different cultures (exceptions being lots of Asian “delicacies” – i.e., dog, cat, sashimi…)

17. My husband taught me that there is indeed a difference between the taste of Coke and Pepsi.

18. My favorite drink is fresh-squeezed orange juice.

19. I credit myself with expanding my husband’s palate in a major way.

20. The blog world has been one of the best things for me to expand my cooking horizons. Here’s to another 200 posts!

Stromboli

We had another Big Green Egg first this week: Stromboli! The dough came from the pizza place across that recently opened near our house, but I didn't feel like doing a pizza. This Stromboli has provolone cheese, pan sausage, and pepperoni in it, served with a side of marinara.



Nothing fancy, but you can't tell me that doesn't look good! The dough came out crusty, with the Egg lending a slightly smoky flavor.

A very simple, satisfying meal!

Rainbow Trout in Maple-Dill Brine

In my ongoing quest to try to expand our fish palate, I got some Rainbow Trout from Publix yesterday. Once I got home, I decided to try this brine, even though it called for 8-10 hours of brining in the fridge, and I only had about 3 hours. I also did NOT use real maple syrup like the recipe calls for.

Here's the brine ready to go, featuring fresh dill from my herb garden, brown sugar, garlic, and (of course) kosher salt.

The fish after brining. I don't know what 8 hours of brining would have done to this filet, because it had already started to cook a little.

Here it is, in a not-so-good picture on the plate.

We also had parmesan-crusted potato wedges and steamed broccoli with parmesan cheese. The fish turned out much better than the picture! I didn't think it needed any more time in the brine - maybe a more firm filet (tuna or salmon?) would require that extra time. This was very different, and we both enjoyed this recipe. I think we'll be trying it with other types of fish as well. Oh, and I got real maple syrup today, so we'll see if that really makes a difference :)

Seriously.

I have been cooking...really. It's just that once I get it all over with, get the kitchen cleaned up, and do whatever else I need to do, blogging has lost it's appeal. Here's a look at what's been cooking at the Wolfe House:

I thought this was salmon, but according to the guy at Winn-Dixie, it's actually steelhead trout. It cooked up and tasted like salmon, but the texture was a little different...more flaky? It was a nice change. I wish I could find a REAL fish market that features more than tilapia and salmon. One more thing I miss about Gainesville!

Chocolate covered strawberry for dessert. Local strawberries are on the market right now, and I've gotta say they aren't as good as I was expecting. Maybe it's just the apples are so good I can't think of anything else. Have you ever had a Honeycrisp apple? As of today, I have, and HOLY COW.

Pizza on the Big Green Egg. Nothing special, but very tasty.

I came home from class on Friday night and this meatloaf was waiting for me. It was really good! AND I didn't have to make it!

By the way, I hope you all like my new look. I never actually said anything about it, but Mike put together the banner for me, and I think he did a bang-up job!

Dinner Pictures

After Christmas I cooked down the carcass from the turkey and got two gallon freezer bags full of stock. This week I pulled out one of them and made a turkey soup with carrots, celery, sweet Florida onions from the farmer's market, and basmanti rice.


I had never tried basmanti rice in soup before, but I liked it better than regular ole rice. I'd really prefer pasta, but Mr. Picky won't have any of that!


Next up, another Big Green Egg adventure: shrimp! I marinated them for a few hours in beer, canola oil, lime juice, minced garlic and Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade from Penzey's Spices.

Here they are plated up, along with some beer bread with cheddar cheese, and a green salad made with veggies from the Farmer's Market, along with a Roasted Garlic-Parmesan dressing I made that turned out very tasty. I get tired of the bottled stuff from the store!

Christmas Food!!



Mike did the Christmas turkey for my mom on his Big Green Egg. It was a 20-pound turkey, and the instruction booklet says the Egg holds UP TO a 20-pound turkey, so he was a little concerned about fitting it on there, but he needn't have worried. He made a brine out of water, kosher salt, soy sauce, brown sugar, allspice, pepper, and garlic, then let the turkey sit in that for 36 hours.

Mike puts the finishing touches on the bird, right before letting it sit on the Egg for about 3 hours.


Isn't it beautiful?!? Mike cooked the bird on Christmas Eve, but had to leave right before it was done for band practice. He nonchalantly told me to "take it off in about 20 minutes," which is a lot more complicated than it sounds!! What he really meant is that he wanted me to lift a flaming hot broiler pan off a 375-degree smoker, which is full of boiling, popping water and grease, and oh yeah just happens to have a 20-pound turkey on it. No problem, hon! Luckily, my uncle was over for Christmas Eve dinner, and he was more than happy to help out. I wish I had gotten a picture of him almost burning his eyebrows off (he didn't realize you have to "burp" the Egg before you open it all the way)! We got it in the kitchen, despite the dog trying her best to trip my uncle, and wrapped it in foil until the next day:


Do they look like brothers? Not really, but then again they're only related by marriage. My brother and Mike expertly carve the turkey at my mom's house.

The bounty. Beautiful. And delicous!!

Mike followed Smokin Okie's Brining 101 instructions, which can be found at cookshack.com.