Sharing Great Food

I got this great sticker this week....I think it says it all! Why didn't I think of that? It pretty much sums up why I love my job.

This week I also attended a cooking class at the Buford Highway Farmers Market. If you haven't tried these classes, they're really informative and so affordable....the class cost $20 and you get a $10 gift card for the market. It's such a great value.

The class I took this week was with Chef Eric Cutillo from the Buckhead Life Group Restaurant Kyma. All the food was really terrific and the recipes are ones that I'm sure I'll use. One of my favorites was the Herb Seared Tuna with Quinoa Salad.


I'm sharing below the Quinoa recipe because it was so great. It was served with seared tuna (fabulous!) but it would make a tasty and healthy side dish to include in almost any meal.


2 cups quinoa, cooked
1 tsp preserved lemon, diced fine
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup tomato petal, diced fine
1/4 cup scallion, sliced thin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
salt/white pepper


Combine all ingredients, adjusting salt, pepper and lemon seasoning as needed. Enjoy!

Summer Parties, Beach Time

I've been quite busy this summer cooking for regular clients and I've also had several parties and bridal showers. Recently, I was hired to prepare food for a 50th birthday party. The client wanted an old-fashioned cookout, so the menu included potato salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, and some extras.

I made this platter of fruit skewers....this is always a hit, especially with kids. It was great for the hot summer day.

I also grilled two kinds of chicken, tequila lime chicken and barbecued wings. They were both good. And, hot dogs and hamburgers and trays that included all the toppings necessary for both.


Tomorrow we're driving to North Carolina for a friend's wedding and Sunday I'm headed to the beach for a much-needed week of doing nothing.....nothing but reading, knitting, eating fresh seafood, and walking on the beach!

Penzey's Spices - I Like It!

Last week I had some errands to do that took me to Sandy Springs. A few of my chef colleagues had been saying how much they loved Penzey's Spices and had mentioned there would be a store opening soon in Atlanta....and, in the shopping center where I had an errand, was the new store!

So I had to go in. Now, I was prepared to not be swayed from buying my spices at either the DeKalb Farmers Market or the Buford Highway Farmers market. But I am very impressed by two things with Penzey's Spices:
(1) The fresh taste and smell of the spices and (2) The small size containers available. Most of the spices and rubs are available in sizes 1 oz or less.

Make that three things: the prices.

The small size jars are around $1.00 and some change each. And, the small sizes are perfect to me because ideally you should replace your spices every year since after that time, they start losing their flavor.

The selection was really good. And, I don't know if it was because the store has just opened, but they were giving a box of (4) free small jars with every purchase. And inside was a coupon worth $5.00....I'll definitely go back and use that! I spent about $8.00 and came home with seven different spices and some salt. Not bad!

Last night's dinner was an assortment of roasted vegetables (cleaning out what we had in the refrigerator) and roasted turkey. I used the French blend on the turkey and it was really delicious.


Think about it: You can buy a jar in the spice section of the grocery store and spend anywhere from $4 to $6. Or, make the trip to Penzey's Spices on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. It's in the shopping center with Trader Joe's.

I think you'll like it! I do.

This Week's Vegetable Challenge

We have a new Saturday farmer's market in Brookhaven and I checked it out this past weekend. Loved it! It was small, about 15 vendors, but there was an abundance of fresh vegetables, a couple of bakers, an ice cream vendor, and more. And I love

having the market in our neighborhood....another reason I love living in Brookhaven. The market is on Dresden Drive in the parking lot behind Haven.


I came home with quite a load and we've been enjoying lots of tomatoes all week.


Yesterday, I got my weekly CSA box from Moore Farms and I'm presented with a couple of challenges. One item included was "ground cherries". They're the ones that look like a small, yellow tomatillo, on the right in the picture below. The taste is sweet but also nutty so I'm thinking of coming up with a sauce for pasta, maybe along the consistency of pesto. Should be interesting....can't wait to try it!


I also have a squash challenge on my hands. I have all these lovely squashes that are crying out to me to be prepared in some yummy way but my husband doesn't like squash! Maybe I'll find a neighbor to share with. A friend also gave us some fresh corn from a garden in North Georgia. I wish you could smell this corn! It is so fresh, and the best we've had this summer...so delicious, can't say enough about how good it is.

We have so many vegetables in the house! Tonight's dinner is definitely going to be a vegetable plate with fresh made cornbread...can't wait!

Fresh Eggs and Julia Child

I love having a neighbor who has chickens....it means fresh eggs for me! And they are so beautiful! And I know right where they came from and I know they're fresh. And I know the chickens. Even if one does tend to peck at me.

This week I got a dozen fresh eggs and decided to make
Eggs Benedict for dinner. I turned to my c1967 edition of Mastering The Art Of French Cooking for the recipe for Hollandaise Sauce. I had a hungry husband so there was a version using the blender (I actually used my mini-Cuisinart). Leave it to Julia Child to make things clear: this version, using the blender vs creating by hand, "is well within the capabilities of an 8-year old child" so hopefully I could pull this off!




And, viola!.... it was delicious. The entire meal was very easy to make and packed with flavor. I added oven-roasted herbed potatoes and slices of fresh tomato to the meal. In the end, there were two clean plates and we both enjoyed this very much. Try it sometime, breakfast for dinner is a great way to change things up. And don't forget to turn to Julia Child to keep it real.

Light and Delicious Spinach Lasagna

Here's a great recipe for a spinach lasagna that is really delicious and only has 272 calories per serving. I can't remember where I got this, but it's a good recipe for lasagna with not a lot of calories. Enjoy!

Light and Healthy Spinach Lasagna
1 cup onion, minced
1 tsp canola oil
salt/pepper
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low-fat, 1 percent milk
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 (10-oz) packages frozen, chopped spinach, squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz whole milk cottage cheese
1 large egg
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 cup Fontina cheese, shredded

To make the sauce:
Combine onion, oil and 1/8 tsp salt in large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring until softened. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in 2 3/4 cups milk, bay leaves and nutmeg. Bring to simmer. Whisk in cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk. Simmer til thickened. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves. Stir in spinach and1/2 cup parmesan. Season with salt/pepper.

Process cottage cheese, egg and salt with immersion blender till smooth. Set aside.

Pour 1 inch boiling water over noodles to soften, about 5 minutes. Drain and dry with paper towels.


Assembly:
Spread 1/2 cup sauce over bottom of 13X9 baking dish. Lay 3 noodles on top, spread with 3/4 cup more sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan. Layer 3 more noodles, sauce, parmesan, Fontina cheese. Continue creating layers will all noodles and sauce are used, ending with Fontina cheese and parmesan on top.



Cover, bake on middle rack at 425 about 20 minutes. Remove foil and heat broiler. Transfer to upper rack and broil til cheese is melted, about 4 minutes.

'Tis The Season

Fruits and vegetables are pouring in at my house! I've been busy shelling peas and butterbeans, shucking corn, making peach jam, canning beans....and cooking for clients.

Today is an office day, tomorrow another client cook day....so grateful to love my job and be busy.


The vegetables have been so wonderful, especially the corn. We've been eating yellow corn right off the cob, and I got a couple dozen ears of white corn that I cut off the cob. Can't decide which I like better, but they've both been great.


I've had lots of great tomatoes too and made some great salads.






Not to mention the great watermelon and canteloupe we've had. What a great time of year.....my favorite!