Yes, I'm still cooking

I realized I have not done a good job about blogging about my food adventures lately - even though I'm back to cooking most of our weeknight meals.

I'm continuing to l.o.v.e. our Papa Spuds weekly deliveries. The last couple of weeks have been even better since there is an abundance of delicious summer crops so I'm able to get a lot for my money. We've gotten tons of stuff - green cabbage, red potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, salad greens, collards, kale, basil, corn, raspberries, blueberries, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, fresh milk and even - this week - flounder fillets caught the day before from the Carolina coast.

All these crops have made for some delicious - and easy - dinners. Most nights we've paired whatever protein we feel like (chicken, pork, beef... and now fish!) with potatoes in some sort of fashion (potato salad, roasted potatoes, boiled potatoes, etc.), and two or three fresh veggies.

{my shipment for the week - minus the flounder: sweet corn, red potatoes, kale, basil and tomatoes}

Last night, I made PW's Spicy Pasta Salad with Smoked Gouda, Tomatoes and Basil... since I've always had luck with her pasta dishes. I added some roasted chicken --- since I need to get my protein --- and used cellentani instead of mostaccioli and it was a perfect dinner. My fresh Papa Spuds tomatoes and sweet basil were perfect in it!


Even Chad, who doesn't prefer thicker pasta (he's a spaghetti/angel hair kinda guy) loved it. The best part was I was able to do all the prep the night before (cook the pasta, chop my veggies and cheese, make the dressing) and quickly assemble it that evening so I could feed Chad before he had to run out the door to Bible study.

Tomorrow night we're going to be cooking the flounder - which I'm leaving up to Chad. Despite my comfort in cooking, I don't have lots of experience cooking fish so I'm passing the buck on this one to the mister. I'll be happy to do the accompaniments - roasted potatoes, corn, sliced tomatoes and sauteed kale! ;)

So I'm sorry for not keeping you update with my cooking, but fear not - I'm back in action.

My produce box - April 26

Yippee! Like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, I anxiously counted down the clock Tuesday afternoon and couldn't wait to rush home to see the goodies I selected for my first week's shipment from Papa Spuds.

For 20 credits (about $20), I received:



- Asparagus (~0.90 lbs.)
- Tatsoi (1 bunch)
- Arugula (1 bunch)
- Sourdough, Old World (1 loaf)
- Snow Pea Shoots/Tips (~1 lb.)
- Salad Mix (~1/3 lb.)
- Sweet Potatoes, Covington (~2.0 lbs.)

All local, and almost all organic + pesticide-free.

A couple of new-to-me items include tatsoi and snow pea shoots/tips - both of which are in the "greens" family which I'll be able to eat raw (a la salad-form) or sauteed.

And my menu for the week is as follows:
Monday (pre-Papa Spuds delivery): zucchini and tomato lasagna with a ricotta-lemon-basil white sauce
Tuesday: Tatsoi & pea shoot saute with grilled Asian-marinated ribeye on top, sourdough
Wednesday: Roasted sweet potatoes, asparagus and wilted arugula
Thursday: "Papa Spuds Salad" - all my leftover veggies + greens assembled into somewhat of a cold salad with homemade dijon-shallot vinagrette and toasted sourdough

I rarely make dinner plans for Friday thru Sunday, since we often end up making plans with family or friends and my meal prep goes out the window. That, and I deserve a couple days off from cooking!

But, all in all, a good first week!

New food feature: My produce box

So for probably about a year now, I've been realllllly interested in co-ops, CSAs and online farmer's markets. I'm not some crazy nut about my food - but I think it's increasingly important to know where your food comes from, what you're eating, how it was raised/made, and supporting local farmers. Mass-produced food only really became a big thing starting in the 60s (thank you, McDonald's) and has changed the way we eat... and not for the better. With the sudden and alarming rise of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. over the years, it's important to be making educated decisions about your food choices (especially if you're in charge of food within your family!)

During the warmer months, Chad and I are really good about going to our local farmer's market to get lots of fresh fruits and veggies. But during the the cooler months (or weeks where we're just too busy), we often end up falling into the rut of liking the convenience of going to a grocery store 5-minutes away.

But that didn't keep me from every couple of months looking at some local CSAs and wanting to try them. I would bring it up to Chad, he'd semi-listen and agree that it was interesting, but never really give me the "Yes! We should do it." that I was hoping for.

Finally, I decided - especially after he made the point that what we eat/cooking/buying food is my domain in the house - that I was done thinking about it and it's time to take action. One of my good friends joined a local "online farmer's market" - Papa Spuds - and I think I had been just as excited as she was every week to hear what goodies she got.

The way it works is you can pay (for the service we're getting) $23/week and with that we get 20 credits to buy fresh, locally/and-or/organically grown produce that is delivered weekly right to our doorstep. Then you choose whatever items you want to buy for your 20 credits - sample list here - from a variety of in-season veggies and fruits, plus meats, cheeses, breads and more... all either local and/or organic. The site gives you the option to filter by category, local-only, local-and-organic, organic-only, pesticide-free, etc.

Yes it might be a tad bit more than what you'd pay for in-store (assuming you'd buy local/organic anyway), but you get the added satisfaction that you are getting to choose exactly which farm your food is coming from and you are supporting local farmers with your purchase!

The reason I think/hope that the bit more in cost will be made up for, is that hopefully it will significantly decrease our trips to the grocery store, and thus purchases of stuff we REALLY don't need. We will eat for lunches and dinners what we have purchased for the week from Papa Spuds (perhaps with a few supplemental things from the grocery store - like pasta if we want to use that, grits, cereal, etc.). Especially now with our little boy coming in the next few months, I am even more determined that I want to know what my child is putting in his mouth - so I will be making my own baby food with produce that I know is organic and pesticide-free.

So why is this exciting for you? Because each Wednesday (I'll get my deliveries on Tuesdays), I'll post a picture of my produce box and let you know what I'm cooking for the week based on my box. During summer months, it will be easier to get produce that I'm used to working with, but - being the adventurous eater I am... and a husband that luckily will eat just about anything once - buying in-season will force me to pick items I'm not necessarily used to and hopefully learn new recipes to share!

If any locals in the Triangle area are interested in hearing more about Papa Spuds, holler at me. If you sign up thru PS using me as your reference, both you and I will get an extra 4 credits!

And for my non-local readers, I encourage you to explore if there are any groups like this close to your home!

A Southern Staple

I am a huge- HUGE- fan of grits. I could (and sometimes do) eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

First thing to know about cooking grits: Please only buy Old Fashioned Grits... not instant grits or quick grits. They aren't nearly as creamy and good. Making Old Fashioned Grits only takes about 15 minutes, so it's not like the instant kind is saving you that much time.

My old-standard variation of grits (perfect for breakfast):
Grits
Butter
Sharp Cheddar (white or reg)
A couple slices of Kraft Singles (don't hate... the processed cheese helps it get much creamier)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Salt

Follow the directions on the box of grits. When it's close to being done, add the butter and cheeses. Then season to taste. The worst thing you can do to grits is leave them undersalted.

I think what I like most about grits is the ability to customize them. Sometimes, when I'm feeling so inclined, I replace a bit of the water with milk, cream or half and half - or some combination of the above - to make even creamier grits. Or, if you're serving grits for dinner (as like a side accompaniment to meat), I substitute water with chicken stock. Just makes it a bit richer.

And while I love grits as a side dish, they can also steal the show. Shrimp in grits is one of my favorite meals to eat. Such a favorite, in fact, that they were even served at our wedding. I've gone to many a wedding with so-so shrimp and grits, so I made sure to test them at the country club before they were put on the menu. And they were fabulous.

But the great thing about shrimp & grits is every version is different. Here are two of my favorite versions.

The Point (restaurant in Raleigh) Shrimp & Grits <--- served with a Tabasco butter sauce. This recipe looks similar (except please don't use quick grits).


Crook's Corner (legendary restaurant in Chapel Hill) <--- Chad's favorite version. It's lemony, which is different from any other version I've had and amazingly delish. Recipe here.

Lucky for me, I'm heading to the holy grail of shrimp and grits this weekend - Charleston, South Carolina...one of my favorite places on earth. We're going for a dear friends wedding on Sunday, but make no mistake - shrimp and grits will be consumed more than once!Saturday night we're having dinner at one of Chad's favorite places - Fleet Landing - which boasts itself as the only restaurant downtown with a waterfront view. Last time we spent 5 days in Charleston, I'm pretty sure Chad ordered She Crab soup at ever place we visited - lunch and dinner. Fleet Landing's blew the rest of the competition away. However, he has yet to try it at 82 Queen or Poogan's Porch - so I'm hoping to drag him to one of those places for lunch on Sunday... except it will be hard to pull him away from Jestine's!

Avocado soup review

So last night I whipped up some homemade avocado soup. My only change? I added a bunch of fresh lime juice and lime zest in with the soup. Avocado+cilantro+lime are one of the holy trinities of cooking. You can't have just two of these ingredients and not the third. It's sacrilegious.

Oh, the soup? It was pretty. And tasty. And pretty tasty.


I love eating bright green things. (Also: say hi to my pretty roses in the background - straight out of our yard! Our hot pink knockouts are doing fabulously!)

Even Chad really liked it - which I was concerned about because passing off a meatless soup as dinner is no easy feat. I added a little cheddar (fresh grated - not that awful store-bought shredded) on top though, which tends to pacify him.


One thing of note: as delicious as the flavors of this soup were, I couldn't help but think this soup would be better served chilled. Avocado and cilantro are such bright and fresh flavors, eating them warm seemed a bit odd to me.

So to test it, I made a little bowl to bring to work today to eat right out of the refrigerator. Anyone who works with avocado knows that it turns brown very easily - so I was worried about how it would keep overnight. However, it appears the abundance of lime juice kept it from over-ripening. I definitely don't think it would have kept longer than a day though.

But I decided I prefer this as a cold soup! A little bowl of this, along with some of my doctored up black beans, made quite a delicious, healthy and filling lunch!

Menu

My ladies Bible study group is having a Christmas party tomorrow.

I'm making this:


Christmassy Chocolate Bark

And this:


Dried Cherry, Pecan and Rosemary Brie en Croute

Delicious and festive! I'll let you know how it turns out. Have a great weekend everyone!

Snobbery

I really think of myself as an accepting, non-judgemental person. I get irritated by people that think they are better than others, and live their lives to show how superior they are. The way I see it - if you have to talk about how much money you have: 1) you are that desperate you must show your superiority, 2) your self esteem is so low that you hope you bank account can compenstate for it, or 3) you have no class.

But there are some times I catch myself being a snob. However, it's not towards people - its towards food! But since I'm in the marketing/advertising/PR arena - I'll call it a by another term: "BRAND LOYAL."

What kicked off this train of thought? I walked into our breakroom this morning and there is a canister of Kroger brand coffee with the note that says "For Sharing!"

My first (sarcastic) thought: "Wow, how generous of you."

Isn't that awful?!

But hear me out first. There are many things I can buy at the store and don't mind buying the store label, cheap knockoff version, etc. Flour? Harris Teeter brand works just as well as Pillsbury. Sugar: Who needs Domino? I can get Dixie! Cooking spray? Pam who? WalMart works fine. Dishwash detergent? Whatever lemon scent will do. I don't need Electrosol.

However there are certain items that I insist on buying the big daddy product (and price tag):

1. Laundry detergent: Must use Tide. No other will do.
2. Milk: Horizon Organic - 1%
3. Coffee: Millstone, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts - or any specialty brand at Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Fresh Market
4. Ice Cream: B+J's, Haagen Dazs, Edy's - that's it! Blue Bunny??? - get outta here.
5. Canned Tomatoes: Hunt's
6. Italian cheese: Do people actually buy stuff in the Kraft green can? I'll spend the $11 on Locatelli Pecorino-Romano.

There are several others as well. Of course these products are great products - but as much as anything, I'm loyal to them. Why? MY MOM USES IT. Ask most women why they buy things they do, their answer will be because that's what their mom always used. Even if it makes no sense. Chad and I were at the store buying something (which I cannot recall at this time), but he asks why we can't buy the generic (couple dollars cheaper version) - my response, a snappy "BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT MY MOM USES!"

If I worked in the advertising space - I'd do a whole campaign around it. Tagline: Why? Because your Mama said so.