Pictures

Not much to say in this post...the pictures say it all.

James and I went on a much needed hike at the end of last week. Here are some pictures of the lake about an hour from our house.

And on the way home from the lake, we stopped for a short hike to get out of the car and get the dogs running. The leaves are in full force.

Yesterday afternoon, a hungry doe was checking out our grapes.

In mid stride on her way out:

Have a good week!

B

Eggplant

We've always struggled with this one. While I think the eggplant itself is so pretty (i love the deep purple color. now only if the top was orange instead of green it would be perfect :) ), it has always been a challenge to cook something delicious with it. This season I was determined. All I wanted was one, just one, "keeper" recipe for eggplant. While there is still an eggplant pasta recipe I plan to try, the recipe below is our current keeper. It came in at a 3.5, which for eggplant means it stays in the recipe binder.

Baked Eggplant with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce
Serves 4
Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good

1 peeled eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1 1/4 pounds)
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper (We used Red Bell Pepper because we had it on hand)
1/2 teaspoon dried pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (used a little less, see note about tomato sauce)
1/4 teaspoon salt (used a little less if even any, see note about tomato sauce)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (8-ounce) mushrooms, sliced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce, divided (Did not have plan tomato sauce on hand so used jarred, flavored spaghetti sauce. I believe it was Basil and something flavored. I cut back on the seasonings a little because the sauce was flavored.)
2/3 cup (about 3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1) Salt eggplant slices and place in colander on top of a plate. After 30 minutes, rinse eggplant thoroughly and pat down with paper towels.

2) Preheat broiler. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray.

3) Lay eggplant out on the sheet. Broil 8 minutes, flipping once, until both sides are a little brown.

4) Turn oven to 375°F. Coat a 1 1/2-quart baking dish (round if possible) with cooking spray.

5) In a large nonstick pan or skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, green pepper, pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic, and mushrooms. Cover. Saute 7 or 8 minutes, until soft, lifting cover to stir occasionally. Jack heat up to medium-high. Take cover off. Cook a few more minutes (not more than 4 or 5) "until liquid evaporates."

6) Pour 1/2 mushroom/onion mixture into baking dish. Place 1/2 of the eggplant in a layer on top of that. "Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon pepper." Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on top of the eggplant. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese. Repeat layers, leaving off the mozzarella at the end. Cover (with tin foil or dish lid) and bake 60 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup mozzarella and all the parmesan. Bake 5 minutes. Cheese should melt. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes.

While this recipe is time consuming, it is the best eggplant recipe we've tried at home. Make sure you don't skip over the part about it baking for 60 minutes and just read "Bake 5 minutes" like I did. Once I realized it had to cook for 60 minutes and it was 8pm, I cooked it for about 40 minutes and left the cheese off at the end. Into the fridge it went for the next night. The next night I baked it without the cheese for another 20 (until the sauce was bubbly), added the cheese, and baked for an additional 10 min.

The mushroom, onion, and pepper mixture added great flavor and we think that is what makes the dish a keeper. For the men in your lives, you will need to add a side salad or veggie to it. The dish has a kick with the red pepper so don't decrease that spice. It has been great for leftovers also.

Oh and check out the site where the recipe came from. I've pulled a few other recipes from there that I look forward to trying.

Enjoy!
A

Is it too early?

As we've gone on our evening walks, I've noticed no one else has pumpkins out yet. (Side note: No, we don't act that old where we take "evening strolls." An evening walk is simply a walk to get the pup his exercise, a break from studying, and the few minutes together that we get during the day.) Apparently no one else has been to Wal Mart in the past week to see these beauties for only $3.98. I couldn't help but snatch one even if it was only mid-September. It really is a beauty...great size and no blemishes, and as the sweet, little elderly lady digging through the bin with me said, "it has a perfect stem, too."

I can't wait to get the seeds out and roast them in a month or so :)

Happy Fall, yall!
A

New Ingredient

We stepped out of our comfort zone this week and embraced a new ingredient: chicken sausage. I bought some when it was on sale a while back and put it in the freezer. (I'll share my OCD sale shopping thoughts one day) Ever since, I've been looking for a recipe that I couldn't pass up to use this ingredient. I ended up settling for a pasta recipe I found and it turned out to be a "don't pass up" one. Below is the recipe with our modifications.

Pasta with Escarole, White Beans and Chicken Sausage
Eating Healthy in 2009. Copyright 2007 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved.

Prep Time:10 min Cook Time:15 min
Level:Easy
Serves:4 servings (serving size 2 cups)

Ingredients
3/4 pound whole-wheat bowtie (or other shape) pasta (we used whole wheat rotini)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces lowfat Italian-style chicken sausage, casings removed, crumbled (used smoked chicken sausage, cut off "casing," and sliced in halves instead of crumbling)
1 medium head escarole, rinsed, drained and chopped, about 8 cups (used baby spinach and an 8 oz bag provided more than 8 cups)
1(14-ounce) can low-sodium cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (used 2 cups of chickpeas)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (only needed 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves (used 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried thyme)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce grated Parmesan

Directions
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, deep saute pan or 8-quart stockpot. Saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Stir in the sausage and cook until heated through and browned, about 4 minutes. (Sausage never browned and I sautéed for almost 10 minutes) Add the escarole (or spinach) and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beans, 1 cup of chicken stock, sage (thyme) and red pepper flakes and simmer until the mixture is heated through and liquid is slightly reduced. Add the sausage-bean mixture to pasta and toss well, loosening with the additional 1/2 cup chicken stock if necessary. (The additional half cup was not needed) Season with freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste.

Divide among 4 pasta bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

Around here we rate our dishes after the first time we try them. Once we've consumed our meal, I ask Wes "whadaya (this translates to "what do you" for you non-southerners) give it," and he responds with a 1-5. The ratings are for everyday meals, not "company/fancy" meals. A 5 means delicious, never tasted anything like it, fairly easily, would like to have on a regular basis meal. We rarely give out 5s and consider it a keeper if it is 3.5 or up. This one was between a 4 and 4.5. That's a keeper! There is only one meal I can think of in the past two years that received less than a 3 and was thrown out immediately. Actually, we ended up having grilled cheese sandwiches and McDonald's hot fudge sundaes for dinner after tasting that meal. In general, if the meal was time consuming to prepare and does not receive a 4, I toss it (the recipe) because there are just too many good ones out there for something that is just "okay" to be taking up space in the recipe binder.

Back to the pasta mentioned above, the dish had a little kick to it with the red pepper and it is great to be able to use whatever green, bean, and pasta you have on hand. We think the leftovers will be even better.

Enjoy!
A

Best time of year

Okay, I'll admit that it is just a matter of opinion, but I firmly believe that fall is the best time of year. The smell of fireplaces being lit for the first time in months, leaves changing, pumpkins, Halloween, and cool, crisp air. And yesterday, I walked out the back door and caught a nice view of an early fall moon.

The leaves are starting to change around here, and the nights are getting chilly!

Out of our own backyard, we've got grapes! They are a little tart but ready for picking. The vines are a gnarly mess right now, but I am digging in as much as I can.

As I mentioned last time, we have been loving our local farmer's market. We stocked up on tomatoes recently. I just can't resist a summer tomato. The first dinner I made was roasted tomato soup. Perfect for a chilly, fall evening. Toss halved, seeded tomatoes in olive oil, garlic and herbs. Then, roast in the oven. The rest I can't remember (haha) but basically put together a few simple, classic ingredients and blend into a soup. Some chicken stock, onions, fresh basil, and a little half 'n half should do it. I quickly sauteed some bread cubes in butter and garlic for homemade croutons.The second recipe the tomatoes went into...pickled vegetables. Okay, you have to really like vinegared, pickled things to try this one. I found some cukes at the farmer's market to add to this as well. Quarter tomatoes, slice fresh garlic cloves, quarter yellow onions, and add pickling spices to glass canning jars (Mom hooked me up with a bag full). Pickling spices are whatever you want them to be. For me, yellow mustard seeds, whole peppercorns, sliced horseradish, basil leaves and dill sprigs. Dissolve kosher salt in cider vinegar on the stove and then let the mixture cool. Add the cooled mixture to the jars and put in the fridge. The longer they sit, the better they are. I did the same thing with cukes and red onion.

B

(No Title)

Back in elementary/middle school, I believe they taught us a title should be one of the last things you write down. Since I like to follow my own grammar rules and I could not come up with a title because I don't know what all this post will involve, there is simply no title.

Things have been crazy and I'm glad Brit has picked up my slack with the blog, and might I add some pretty cool posts at that. Seriously, salmon spawning? Who gets to say they casually went out to watch the salmon spawning? So awesome.

I'm on a short break from work traveling and thought I would try to catch up a little. I just got back from a week at Disney for a conference and am preparing to head to the upstate, Cleveland and NYC over the next couple of weeks. Yep, that's right, I get to go to NYC for work and I am so excited. Wes and I took our first year anniversary trip to the City and I have had a craving to go back since. Let me know if you have any great suggestions for lunch and dinner spots in the Times Square and Central Park areas.

When I have to head out of town without Wes, I try to make dinners ahead of time for him so he can run in from school (back in the day it would be work), heat something up, and get his nose back in the books (back in the day it would be house projects). A few staples for this occasion are chicken pot pie, baked ziti, and shrimp or chicken pasta. Two of these types of dishes provide enough variety and plenty of food for a week. These dishes are also great to make ahead for busy weeks when you are home. I'll provide the recipes we use in a later post.

A few changes have taken place around here since school got into the full swing of things. I'm learning lots of new things! A few key things I've picked up on are how to

- blow off the drive, walkway and deck. Holy pine trees around this area! We did not have these in the upstate and I will not miss them in the future.

- mow the lawn.

- start the grill without burning someone. The last time I tried to start the grill (back in high school), I forgot to open the lid and unfortunately Mom was the first one to open the lid after it was heated. Piece of advice: open the lid before lighting the grill. If you wait to open the lid after you start the grill, there will be a small burst when you open the lid for the first time. Oh and don't worry, Mom was okay. She did not have to go the ER.

- do dishes, laundry, and clean.

I'm joking about the last one, kind of. I've mentioned before I was/am spoiled rotten growing up and now by my husband. Growing up, I didn't do yard work. The first almost two years of marriage the only yard work I did consisted of a flower here and there, I didn't do the dishes, I occasionally did the laundry and I never cleaned by myself. Yes, I'm lucky and no you can't have him. We knew taking on this new adventure of school that things would change. I must say, I'm loving it! I feel so responsible. (Wes, I still appreciate your help whenever you are able to ;) )

Life is busy, life is good, and I'm so thankful.

Lots of recipes to come.
A

Here fishy, fishy

We were able to do something this past weekend that I never thought we would be able to do in Utah. I thought for sure I would have to reserve it for some Alaskan adventure one day, but this past weekend we went to see the salmon spawning!

A friend asked if we wanted to go along to watch this annual site. We were pumped!

For about two weeks, the salmon swim tirelessly upstream against the current to spawn and then die after laying and fertilizing the eggs. (I hope I have all of these facts correct.)

It was a really cool thing to see and experience.

Where we are, there are cows everywhere. Ranchers let their cows roam freely, grazing. I included a pic of a calf...soo cute. It kind of looks like Riley...

I uploaded two videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMwNKYb25_Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a8Q6l-bico

B

What's growing on?

It has been an adjustment learning that the growing season out here is a month or two behind what I am used to in the tropical climate of the Carolinas. Tomatoes just started rockin a few weeks ago, and now we are harvesting summer squash. We plucked our first zucchinis last week. We spread them across three meals. First, we grilled some and then we roasted some more. YUM! I love veggies roasted in the oven with simple olive oil, S & P.The remaining. we stuffed. We scooped out the middle, boiled the shells to get them soft. We put the pulp we had scooped along with onions, mushrooms, and any other veggies we had around in a skillet on the stove for a few minutes. Then, tossed that mixture with bread crumbs and a beaten egg, filled back up the zucchini shells and cheese on top. Finally, bake and then enjoy.

Back to the garden...her are some pics of what's growing, zucchini, acorn squash, apples, grapes, and a few cantaloupes are trying like crazy to tough out the chilly nights. We have had a few nights of frost, so we are keeping the tarps handy for covering

.

This past weekend was beautilous! We rode bikes everywhere...breakfast, farmer's market, bar....in that order.

The farmer's market is something I look forward to every week. There are so many reasons to love it...it's supporting local farmers who don't get subsidized from our government and are in a continuous struggle to maintain quality and variety over cheaply priced, poorer quality, generic options at the grocery store. There are about 7,500 varieties of tomato. At your typical, major, grocery store chain you may be able to buy 3-5 varieties all year, always the same. There are so many more to try, buy, or grow your own.

Along with variety, other reasons to visit your local farmer's market are supporting a local economy in your community, it's a lot more fun than the grocery store, and of course, prices.

Here's what we took home for $20.

Enjoy your week!

B

Design Help

First, happy Friday and day before college football Saturday!

Now here is the challenge:




This is our bathroom. Notice I did not say "one of our bathrooms." This is it. Huge adjustment going from two spacious bathrooms to one not-so-spacious bathroom. Good thing I work from home and we both aren't trying to get ready in the morning.

On to the more important matter at hand, the bath decor. What shower curtain do I put in here? I could also put a window topper in here if necessary. I am stuck though. Do I do a pop of color or keep it black and white? At one point, I was thinking yellow. Maybe a wide yellow and white stripe, but obviously I wasn't completely sold on it because I didn't do it. It's a tough one because it is such a small space with already a lot going on between the wallpaper, floor and wall tiles. I need to do something though. I can't look at that vinyl liner any longer.

The great thing here is that the possibilities are endless since I have a very talented mom who can make anything as long as the fabric exist. Who knows, she could probably make her own fabric too if she wanted! We won't attempt that craft for this project though. Really though, I need help. What do you do to help this bath? Keep in mind, we're renting so there will be no wallpaper stripping, painting, tile demo, etc. We're just looking for thoughts on a shower curtain and, if needed, window topper.

A

Food in Utah

In continuation from my previous Utah post, let's talk food!

In addition to our lunch at Eva, we enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner at a quaint little restaurant close by Brit and James' house. All of the food was yummy. We even scored a free calamari appetizer because they forgot about our prosciutto and something (help Brit!) with bread appetizer. While I may not be able to recall the prosciutto appetizer in it's entirety, I remember it being delicious. A few bottles of wine and some pasta later, we were happy hikers.



James cooked chili for us one night and it had the perfect spicy kick to it - just enough heat but not enough to make you sweat. Maybe we can convince James to do a guest post and share the recipe. Brit also needs to share the recipe Mom used to make the cornbread. It has corn kernels in it and was perfect with the chili.

Brit had some fresh berries waiting to be used so we made some adjustments to a staple, guest-worthy dessert recipe Wes and I use.

Sandra Lee Semi Homemade Berry Cookie Cobler

Ingredients
2 bags (12 ounces each) frozen mixed berries, thawed (We used fresh berries but frozen mixed berries is the easy, economical route)
1 container (21-ounce) apple pie filling
1/3 cup granulated sugar (Omit sugar. It is really too much with the cookie dough)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 roll (18-ounce) prepared sugar cookie dough
Vanilla ice cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix berries, apple filling, sugar (omit), and cinnamon. Transfer fruit mixture to an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. (We used a round pie dish because we used less berries) Crumble cookie dough over fruit, covering thickly and completely. Bake uncovered until cookie crust is golden and crisp, and juices bubble thickly, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.




Here are a few more recipes we tried in Utah. There is no source for where they came from because Brit and I made it up. Woohoo, goal (see last paragraph of this post)accomplished with the help and confidence of Brit. Unfortunately, we did not stop to take pictures for these.

Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4 (1/2 Pepper per serving)

2 Pasilla/Poblano Peppers
Quinoa (My new obsession. Picked up a 4lb bag from Costco the other day)We used maybe 1 1/2 to 2 cups. We just made the amount the box of Quinoa stated and then used however much we wanted
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can corn (drained and rinsed)
Chopped tomato
Cheese to sprinkle on top (We used Gouda I believe but you can use anything from cheddar to pepper jack to fancy Taleggio)
Cilantro
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400. Get your Quinoa cooking. Cut the peppers in half horizontally. Discard of the seeds and any other insides you would like to remove. In a medium bowl, mix together beans and corn. Begin adding the cooked quinoa to the bean and corn mixture. Add enough until it looks well proportioned to you. Lightly mix in the tomatoes. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and cilantro and toss.

In a baking dish (lined with foil for easy clean up), place your pepper halves cut side up. Snuggle them up close to each so toppings that spill over will land in the next pepper. Spoon your quinoa, corn, and bean mixture into each pepper half. Be generous. It should be overflowing. Cover with foil and bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes or until peppers have softened and start to blacken just a little on the sides. Remove peppers from oven and uncover. Place cheese on top of the stuffed peppers and place back in the oven uncovered until cheese melts (5 minutes or so).


Dijon Skillet Shrimp

Serves 4 small portions (It was late and we had just been to a movie so we weren't starving)

16 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
White wine (enough to cover the shrimp)
Basil
Red Pepper Flakes
Dijon Mustard
Minced Garlic
salt and pepper (I think we used salt and pepper)
Olive Oil

In a bowl combine all ingredients except olive oil. After mixing the ingredients together, place shrimp in the mixture and toss to coat. You can let it sit for a little while but I don't think we did. Heat olive oil in a pan over med-high heat. Pour all contents of shrimp and white wine mixture into heated pan. Cook and enjoy!


Kabob Beef Marinade

Kabob Beef
Red Wine (enough to cover the beef)
Olive Oil (just a dash. maybe a little more than a teaspoon)
Rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Combine all ingredients and marinate for at least an hour then grill to desired doneness. So easy and great flavor.

Enjoy!
A

Jugs

Milk jugs, that is...

Every Tuesday morning, I start my day by checking my front porch for milk. A local farm just north of me delivers their fresh milk and other local goods like cheese, jam, and eggs right to my front door. While this is becoming more popular in large cities, there is still a small country feel. I imagine the milk truck stopping in front of my house and a man in an all white uniform and hat skips to my front porch with milk in hand. I have never seen nor heard the delivery truck, so I check the wooden box on my front porch like a kid looking under a pillow for a dollar left by the tooth fairy. I wonder if the milkman wears a tutu and wings...

Another exciting discovery...a two-wheeled dream come true! I have been on the hunt for a cruiser style bike for some time now. I had recently convinced myself to be patient and wait for the right thing to come along. And then, there she was! James was cleaning out the garage so that both of our cars can fit in there in the winter (THANK YOU, James!) and found exactly what I've been looking for. I'm going to try to screw the basket that I bought onto the back this week, but in the meantime, she rides like a two-wheeled dream...

B

B.E.O.L.T

I have been looking forward to this lunch for a day or so now. Bacon, fried egg, red onion, lettuce, and tomato on a bagel. (Miracle Whip slathers, too, of course.) If you like all these things, together they are your new best friend. The order in which you stack each ingredient on your bagel is very important. Me? I'm fried egg, tomato, lettuce, bacon, onion, Miracle Whip...in case you need some guidance. I like avocado on it, too, but fresh out today.

Yum, yum...eat up!

Pigskin

As I stepped outside this morning to water my herbs (let's just say they aren't doing awesome), it felt like fall. More importantly, it felt like FOOTBALL! I can't believe it is that time of year already. Where did 2010 go?

Back to the more important subject, college football. The Gamecocks kick off the season tonight with a Thursday home game. I'm a little nervous as I'm not quite sure how Wes will handle the situation. Even though we aren't going, he is down on campus today for classes and will be surrounded by the overly excited (which I don't blame them) fans and let's just say we love our Tigers around this house. While I'm not into the whole bashing the rival because I find it rather annoying when others do and let's be honest, Gamecocks nor Tigers have any right being boastful, I can't pull for the Gamecocks either. Although, I'm sure that time will come when we pull for the Gamecocks as long as they aren't playing Clemson. That time will probably come sooner than I imagine since I saw USC folders sitting on a certain someone's desk, purchased by a certain someone. I was shocked.



No matter the team, college football is magical. It does something to you. It rattles something inside of you and makes the days feel different. And nothing, nothing, does it more than seeing those Tigers run down the hill! 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, C-L-E-M-S-O-N, fight tigers, fight tigers, fight, fight, FIGHT. (just couldn't resist)



And just for fun, a throwback


Make us proud boys!

Did you know...

Peanuts are actually legumes like peas, but for cooking purposes are thought of as nuts.

I had to share this quick fact because I read it while in Utah and got laughed at when I announced it, but I just read it again in a different magazine.

This is fascinating to me.