Eat Your Vegetables

When making my grocery list Saturday morning (more on that later this week...riveting, I know) I wanted to  use different vegetables rather than the same old green beans or broccoli. So I decided to prepare some kind of  squash and zucchini side dish. Note: I usually don't like squash or zucchini so I masked the flavor cooked only with ingredients that I love (garlic, onions, mushrooms, and cooking wine) and hoped it turned out alright. There really wasn't a back up plan, so this is another one of those times when Greg's tolerance was appreciated.

Here it goes! I started with one small squash and one small zucchini.

 I chopped them into similar sized chunks.

I threw about a quarter of a large yellow onion, a teaspoon of minced garlic, and sliced mushrooms into a pan with a bit of butter. I sauteed it all together for about 5 minutes until the onions were translucent and the mushrooms were sweating.

 Then I turned the burner to high, and put the salted and peppered s. and z. in the center of the pan for 5 more minutes to let them brown.

Cooking wine makes everything better, right? Sure! Throw some of that in there too! I used about 1/4 cup in the bottom of a small baking pan and then put the vegetable mixture in the pan and drizzled some more of the wine on top.

 

I baked it at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

 After baking, I sprinkled some shredded Parmesan on top. 

Thankfully, it turned out really good! How did that happen? I actually ate my entire helping without even pinching my nose to choke it down. Now I'm itching to try some more new things before going back to school in two weeks! Any suggestions?

Vermont Maple Syrup

 
Greg and I went to Vermont last weekend and had a great outdoorsy vacation. We hiked, saw some beautiful lakes, streams and waterfalls, and on the last day we went to a beautiful golf course with mountains and lakes all around. We had high expectations about dining out, but we realized once getting into the town, that our selection was limited. It was a one horse town. And that one horse was actually more like a reindeer who only came around between October and April. Yes, a ski town in July definitely has a deserted feeling. All of the ski shops were closed down for the summer. There were no chain stores or restaurants - not a Target or Home Depot for miles. There were family owned hardware stores and antique shops run out of old barns. It was very picturesque. On our first night, we went to a restaurant that kind of reminded me of a Ruby Tuesday. It was dark inside with a not-been-renovated-since- it-opened-in-1982 look. The waitress actually leaned the whiteboard with the specials against the booth next to us that another couple was sitting in, so we had to inconspicuously try to look over so they didn't get super uncomfortable at us staring them down. I had shrimp baked with crab "crumbles" and Greg had fried clams. Both were too rich, but tolerable.


Seeing as this restaurant was the one that came recommended by our hotel (and seemed to be the most popular hangout in town) I was a bit concerned about feeding ourselves for the rest of the week. By chance, we walked past a tiny shop that caught my eye. It was called the Downtown Grocery. I was surprised that a grocery store could fit into such a small space, but then I realized that it is actually a brand new casual fine dining restaurant in the town.  It ended up being a lovely meal. They served seasonal local food, so their menu changes daily. I had Gnocchi and Greg had Chicken Confit. We ordered a side of brocolini, which had a vinegary dressing with Parmesan on top. The best part, though, was the homemade warm pound cake with strawberries, which was one of the best things I've ever tasted in my life. The bottom had a bit of a crunchy crust like it had just been baked and the inside melted in our mouths. I also had their raspberry ice cream which had fresh raspberries in it. Delicious!

Photo Source

(BTW: I hate taking a camera into a restaurant to take pictures because I feel uber tacky but afterward I'm always disappointed that I didn't. Therefore, I stole this picture from the internet)

I did however, have my phone out snapping a few shots of this "breakfast shop." It was absolutely delicious, but it was actually built out of of someone's house which is why, as you'll see in the pictures, it looks like we're in someones living room. (With the kids' school pictures and all).

 I had spinach quiche and cornbread.

  Greg had apple cinnamon pancakes with Vermont maple syrup.

The kitchen was up the stairs from the split foyer. It was hilarious to me, although no one else seemed to notice or care. It was really quaint, and the food was literally homemade and incredible.

We had a couple other awkward moments at restaurants, like on Sunday night when the restaurant we went to was closed, so we went to the only other restaurant in town and they sat us in this TINY room with one other family and no music on.  The other family kept making comments about not being able to talk about some big family issue because we were sitting there. So awkward!!! Finally they left and our food came. Greg had the "Vermonter Burger" brushed with maple syrup, which was his favorite meal of the trip. A cheeseburger with maple syrup - of course that was his favorite. That's all I would ever have to make to satisfy his taste buds, apparently.

I thought that I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between Mrs. Butterworth's syrup and the "real stuff," but I definitely could. We bought some to bring home and I made pancakes last night for dinner.  Yum!

De-LIGHT-ful

When I was in college, I used to work retail. On my lunch break I would walk to Whole Foods to get a fresh Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad from the salad bar. Honestly, finding that salad was probably the one cool thing that came out of that job. (It was a less-than-awesome job).

Now that I'm a teacher (a way awesomer job) and have the summers off, (totally awesome) I'm not buying lunch that often, but I still crave that salad. I love having a cold dinner in the summertime too. It's so refreshing and feels healthier for some reason. I made my own version of it at home a few days ago. You can really add any ingredients that you like, but I kept it simple.

I just cooked up some bowtie pasta, chopped some fresh romaine, and added some leftover cooked chicken  that was in the fridge. I added some pepper, shredded Parmesan cheese, and creamy Caesar (or creamy Italian) salad dressing. Then I tossed it all together and chilled it for about an hour. It was so good on a hot day last week. You could also add red and yellow tomatoes (which also makes it more visually interesting) but I didn't add them because Greg doesn't like fresh tomatoes. I think it also might taste really cool and satisfying with some crisp cucumber. Like I said, you can add anything you like to create different flavor combination, bell peppers, banana peppers, even some big crunchy croutons. So dig in your fridge tonight and throw together a nice cold pasta salad using what you've got, it's budget friendly and definitely refreshing!

Breaking Tradition

Greg and I have a tradition of going to the Severn Inn each Independence Day. We've done it since 2007. We usually finish dinner and have just ordered dessert when the fireworks show begins. They have a back patio where we go out and watch the fireworks display over Annapolis. By the time we return, our dessert is waiting!

This year, however, I wanted to break with tradition.  I didn't feel like all the fuss of reservations, parking, dressing up, and paying an arm and a leg (even though the food/wine/atmosphere is awesome and it's a great evening out). Instead, Greg and I spent the day together, then we made our own little 4th of July "barbecue," even though, as you may remember, we don't own a grill. We did our best, and I kept remarking about how much fun it was to do something easy and simple. I wore shorts and a t-shirt, cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on a Foreman Grill, and didn't worry about a thing. It was awesome.

To watch fireworks, we went with Greg's brother and his girlfriend to a hill near the Naval Academy bridge. We had a fun time, sitting and talking, and eating some leftover watermelon. When we got home, the pups were terrified of the firecrackers that people were setting off around our neighborhood and were both getting as close to Greg as they possibly could, ending their long-held jealous fighting over the rights to the couch.

I hope you had a great holiday! Thanks for reading my thoughts about food and holiday traditions.

The Nightly Ritual

 Meet our live-in dish washer. Her name is Camden.

  She is thorough.

 She is diligent. 

She is fastidious.

 She is invested in her job.

 She never asks for smoke breaks.  

 She is conscientious.

 

She is detail oriented.



Anyone hiring a crumb-licking dog? Please send all inquiries to Food For Thought Inc.

That Little Something

 I made these for my mom's birthday in May. I used a simple chocolate buttercream recipe for the frosting. That little something I added was almond extract. I also chopped almonds in the food processor and added them to the frosting to add some texture. A few sliced almonds on top added the perfect touch.

The cupcakes were just from a box of yellow cake mix.

The frosting consisted of:

3/4 cup butter softened
8 cups of powdered sugar (I use a few cups less so it's not too sickly sweet)
1/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 teaspoon of almond extract

Directions:

Beat butter on medium until smooth
Beat 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating well.
Beat in remaining sugar (taste to get the desired sweetness)
Beat in additional milk to reach spreading consistency.

Use a disposable piping bag and snip about an inch off the end to get the dollop shape.


Altered recipe from Better Home's and Gardens New Cook Book 14th edition