Food for Thought: Srping/Summer 2013 Update

I shared my Spring/Summer List for 2013 a few weeks ago, and I thought that I would update it

#12 on that list was to light a fuzzy dandelion head on fire because (according to pictures on Pinterest), it is supposed to burn very beautifully and colorfully.  So Pinterest lied.  I am sad about that.  The dandelions just went up in flames in about 1 second.  As you can tell from the picture, we could just barely capture the flame.  I even lit several dandelions on fire from several different parts of KY (they are EVERYWHERE this year!)--still nothing.  *sigh*

{At least I did some weed prevention...}

I took a day off to support my hubby as he enrolled in school (WOOT!).  He will be getting a degree in computer programming; he starts in June!  WOOT!  Anyway, that took up a bit of the morning so I planned a date for us to go ziplining in the Red River Gorge as a celebratory/make-up for April's camping trip that didn't happen.

First things first was lunch.  The hubby had always heard of the restaurant Miguel's Pizzeria at the Red River Gorge, but he had never been so we went.  It was a very unique restaurant.  You filled out a piece of paper with your crust type, cheese quantity, sauce quantity, slice number, and ingredients; then you gave it to the cashier who rang it in.  Then you sat down while your pizza was cooking.  All the ingredients they used were REAL down to homemade crust and sauce.  SO DELICIOUS!  We were ravenous, but I managed to snag a picture.

{This pizza had CHUNKS of garlic!  I was sold!}

After lunch, we had some time to kill so we went on a leisurely stroll around the state park.  

{Such a beautiful waterfall that came straight out of the rock (we might have snagged a sip or two of that fresh mountain water).}

{Isn't nature just amazing?}

{The speed limit at the state park--23 mph.  How funny is that?}

Then on to #3 zip line tour of Red River Gorge!  The hubby and I ziplined on our honeymoon, and it was fun.  That tour was a lot of work though--you had to keep your head and body straight, steer yourself, and brake yourself (glider system)--sooooo much work!  This zip line tour was a piece of cake because they used a different system (trolley) where all you have to do it hold onto the handles.  That's it!!!  You can look around, move your body, move your head, don't have to worry about steering, the lines were at least 5 times longer and faster, and they braked for you!!!!  Just AMAZING!!!

{Awesome awesome place!  I HIGHLY recommend zipping with them!}



I CANNOT wait to go back!!!  My mom is scared of heights, and I am not sure my grandparents would be willing to do this adventure.  Maybe when my brother comes home on leave?  Sounds like a plan to me!

For Mother's Day, my mom and I co-hosted an afternoon tea party with coffee and teas and delicious foods.  I made Bee Sting Cake, lemon ginger cookies and scones (coming soon!); my mom made the sandwiches.  This afternoon tea is one of those themed parties I was talking about on my list (#5).  We even used beautiful, handpainted delicate girly china (sorry--forgot to get a picture....)  It was very nice (if I can say so myself), and most importantly, everyone had a blast!

{The full afternoon tea food spread}

{Orange, cheese & green onion, plain and chocolate chip scones}

{Lemon Ginger Cookies}

{Tea sandwiches: salmon with lemon butter on pumpernickel, chicken salad on whole wheat, cucumber with dill cream cheese on rye, and ham and horseradish mustard on sourdough}

{As a favour, all the ladies got to take home a flower bouquet}

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Since I have been focusing on crockpot meals over the last few months, I figured that making a salad or two would make easy sides for those meals.  I found a few recipes, and this week I made one because I had some spare time (surprised? I was!).  This salad I wasn't too sure about--raisins, hot sauce, and cauliflower?....  Yeah sounds strange, but I took a leap of faith.  This salad is DELICIOUS!  Even the hubby loved it!

{Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Salad}

{Soak raisins in hot sauce and lemon juice for about 1 hour (or while you roast and chop the rest of the ingredients)}

{Mix cauliflower florets, onions, chickpeas, and cumin seeds together with olive oil}

{Place coated ingredients on a baking sheet to roast}

{Roast until the edges of the cauliflower start to brown}

{Mixing cooled roasted veggies, soaked raisins, and fresh herbs}

{Allow mixed salad to sit overnight}

Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Makes 4 servings

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 small snack box of raisins (about 3 oz)

1 tablespoon favorite hot sauce

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1 sweet onion, in 1/4 inch slices

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Mix lemon juice, hot sauce and raisins together in the small bowl; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Toss cauliflower, chickpeas, onions, cumin seeds, and oil together until everything is coated.
4. Place coated ingredients on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
5. Roast for 30 minutes or until edges of vegetables turn brown; remove from oven and cool.
6. Meanwhile, chop fresh herbs and place in bowl.
7. When vegetables have cooled, add to herbs in bowl along with raisins and hot sauce mixture.
8. Combine all ingredients together until well combined seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
9. Refrigerate overnight.

I love this salad because cauliflower is an underused and underappreciated vegetable, in my opinion.  I have been roasting it over the last six months (another salad and a cheesy gratin), and I just love the slightly sweet taste it gets when I do.  Good thing I brought the rest for lunch today (after painfully setting some aside for my mother--hope she appreciates it...) because I cannot get enough of this salad!

Tell me--are YOU adventurous in your culinary life?

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Blackened Chicken

As soon as the weather warmed, my husband asked "So when am I grilling?"  In fact, last night he complained because he doesn't get to grill often (twice a week or so for the last month...).  What can I say?  The man loves to grill!  The hard part?....  Finding recipes to grill.  Growing up, we grilled the same few recipes all the time (hamburgers, steaks, brats, etc).  As always, I've wanted to branch out and explore some grilling recipes. 

{Blackened Chicken--please excuse the torn apart chicken...  I was hungry and couldn't wait!}

Enter Blackened Chicken.  I've never really had it before, but I've always seen blackened chicken on menus.  I figured why not.  The recipe very easy, and the hubby grilled it to perfection!

{Chicken breasts waiting for their marinade}

{Mixing the spices up}

{Coat one side of the chicken and let it sit overnight}

Sorry for the lack of grilling pictures...  For one thing, my husband HATES to take pictures even though I told him I would only taking pictures of the food (I am working on that); plus, he did this while I was out of the house, and he hates taking pictures whether photographing a subject or being in them.  *sigh*

Blackened Chicken

Serves 4

2 pounds chicken breast, boneless and skinless

1 tablespoon oilve oil

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3 cloves garlic, minced

1. Place chicken breasts in a container with a lid.
2. Mix together remaining ingredients and spread onto one side of the chicken breasts.
3. Allow to sit for 1 hour up to overnight.
4. Set up a grill for medium-high heat.
5. Grill chicken over medium-high heat until browned about 4 minutes.  Flip chicken and turn grill down to medium-low. 
6. Cover grill and allow chicken to cook until done about 25-30 minutes.
7. Transfer chicken to platter when done and rest for 10 minutes.
8. Serve.

I've seen blackened chicken served several ways: on a sandwich, over a bed of rice (what we did), over a salad, with pasta and cream sauce...  The possibilities are endless! 

Have you ever eaten blackened chicken?

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Tuesday Tip: Grow Your Own Herbs

I love using fresh herbs for cooking.  However, the grocery store REALLY loves fresh herbs (for the most part) and buying them on a weekly basis can get expensive fast.  The solution?  Grow your favorite herbs yourself!  Most require little care--just an occassional watering and full sun.  Don't make excuses about not having enough room!!!  I have an 8 foot by 4 foot balcony that I grow chives, parsley, cilantro, basil, oregano, nasturiums, hot peppers, wheat grass, and jello.  I'll get to the jello in a minute.

{I prefer to start everything from seeds because A) it's cheaper and B) I love to watch things grow!}

My cats love to be on the balcony too.  I call it the Jungle because it will get that way by the end of June.  They just love to lay out there, eat my chives, and bird watch.  Just FYI--cats should NOT eat chives, onions or garlic because it is toxic to them.  However, my oldest, Loki, loves to eat the chives and will demolish them in 10 seconds flat if you don't watch him closely...  DARN CAT!

Anyway...  On to the tour!

{Growing some pansies this year!  Pansies are one of the few edible flowers and can be used as garnish for dishes}

{See how I have to have a wheat grass decoy in front of my chives?  Those chives are regrowing from last year's seeds!  I am so excited!}

{Ari--my second cat and the most scaredy cat EVER!  We have had him almost 4 years, and he still doesn't like our sudden moves, loud noises, picking him up, or coming at him in any way....  If you sit or lay down, he is all over you like white on rice!}

{Ziffi--our youngest and most adventurous cat.  She figured out how to get onto the bathroom shelf and top closet shelf...  Both not easy places to reach!  She constantly has a mischievous look on her face...}

{Cilantro growing!}

{Loki--our oldest, chive-eating monster}

{I believe these are violas--whatever they are is beautiful!}

{Parsley coming up}

Okay--the jello story.  The other side of the planter with parsley in it, I planted some 'seeds'.  Nothing was coming up, and I was starting to get worried.  After a torrential rain last week, I figured that something would surely pop up because everything else was beginning (the peppers, basil, oregano, and nasturiums were too tiny to photograph).  I went over to check and had an inch thick of this jelly-like substance.  Being me, I poked it, touched it, and smelled it.  Nothing.  It looked like unflavored gelatin, and I believe that it was.  Since I got the seeds from my mom, I made fun of her about getting old and such.  Then she said, "I had the same thing happen to me!"  So either this was a Monday morning/Friday afternoon job or my mom is getting old, blind, and senile.  (LOVE YOU MOM YOU ARE THE BEST)

I also have a bird feeder (one of those suet cake ones) for the cats to bird watch.  They've run into the sliding glass door more than once, and it has not decreased it's entertainment value!  Mwahahahahaha

So see!  You CAN grow herbs and plants that you like in as little space as I am.  Even if you only like parsley, then grow parsley in a pot on your windowsill.  And if it produces more than you can use, then preserve them.

Do you grow herbs in your space?  If so, what do you grow?

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