Month: May 2013

Epic Lentil Salad

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Memorial Day Weekend is over and we are back on the healthy eating train.  We kind of pigged out this weekend.  We ate red meat; deep-fried things; things made with boatloads of butter.  We ate All The Things.  So, I took an extra day off and with the goal of setting things to rights, I made this salad.  I was inspired by a photo I saw posted on the internet of someone’s lunch at Los Angeles restaurant.  I thought to myself: This salad is perfect.  This salad is epic.  It is so epic that it might just be The One Salad.  The salad that would undo the nutritional damage of a holiday weekend in one meal.  Ok, maybe it didn’t do all that, but it certainly made us feel way more virtuous than where we were late Monday night.  My salad contained lentils, chickpeas, asparagus, orange and yellow bell pepper, jicama, carrots and tomatoes, but the beauty of it is that you can use whatever vegetables you want! A few months ago I happened to …

My New Favorite Way to Eat Eggs: Perfect, Creamy Scrambled Eggs

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I never skip breakfast–it’s the most important meal of the day, right?  During the week, we eat a very consistent breakfast of either oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins, walnut and blueberries, or as it’s starting to get warmer, a cold cereal medley of grape nuts, whole oats, shredded wheat, blueberries and walnuts.  I don’t think we are deficient at all in whole grains and fiber! But, on the weekends, when I have more time, I like to have an egg breakfast.  It used to be that my favorite way to eat an egg was over medium or poached, but a few months ago the Man of the House learned a scrambled egg technique that elevated the lowly scrambled egg to the top of my list of favorites.  I’d been eating scrambled eggs the same way my entire life, but this technique resulted in an egg that is so creamy and decadent, I can’t go back to the way I used to make them. The secret is cooking them gently over medium low heat while you …

Blueberry Mojito

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I’m kind of a chronic over-purchaser of certain items, and the item varies from week to week.  This week, I overbought limes.  Every time I went to the grocery store (which is often) I bought 8 to 12 more limes.  I guess in my mind, a home without limes is just not the place to be!  So, in an effort to utilize all these limes, I decided to make mojitos!  Earlier this week, I had some friends over and made a pitcher of traditional mojitos.  They were good, but they just weren’t minty enough in my opinion.  So, I changed it up a bit and made this one with mint-infused simple syrup, and that seemed to correct that missing element.  I also added some frozen blueberries, because I had them on hand and it’s always great to be able to make a cocktail with ingredients at your fingertips!  Plus, it keeps me out of the grocery store, where I might buy more limes.  As an added bonus, the frozen blueberries help keep the drink cold!

The Evolution of a Quiche: Crustless Quiche with Greens

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This morning, I decided to make a quiche for breakfast.  I love quiche. In fact, I love all kinds of egg custard type dishes, but quiche is near and dear to my heart and has been a favorite of mine since I was fairly young.  I was first introduced to the wonders of this eggy concoction when I was in middle school.  There was a product in the…ahem…1980’s that was called “pour-a-quiche” and my mother used to buy it.  Now, this product came in a milk carton and it was just as the name said, you simply poured the pre-made quiche mix into a ready-made pie crust and popped it into the oven!  Hey, we liked instant stuff back then!  Later on, when I went to college, one of favorite professors, who was also a  fabulous gourmet cook, made me one of her quiches.  It was the most amazing, decadent, wonderful dishes I had ever had.  It was lovingly baked in a homemade, buttery pie crust and filled with spinach, bacon, ham and cheeses. It …

Quick Pickled Red Onions

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Pickled red onions are one of my favorite condiments and this is a very easy way to make them.  I do not remember how I came upon this recipe in order to credit it properly, so if anyone recognizes it, please let me know!  I’ve had it in my recipe file for quite some time now, so at this point, I almost consider it “mine”! 1 large red onion, sliced thinly and placed in a glass bowl1/2 cup sugar1/4 cup red wine vinegar1/4 cup white vinegar1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt1 1/2 teaspoons whole peppercorns1/2 cinnamon stick Combine the sugar, vinegars, salt, peppercorns and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, pour over the onions.  Bring to room temperature, then put the onions into a container and refrigerate.  These onions will last around three weeks refrigerated. Pour vinegar mixture over onions I like to put them on sandwiches, especially on Pulled Pork Sandwiches, but my favorite way to eat them is on a bagel with cream …

Cue it Up: Pulled Pork Sandwiches on Light Brioche Buns

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and we celebrated by having both of our mothers to our home for a barbecue.  I did a lot of cooking.  I mean, a LOT.  I smoked a seven and a half pound pork shoulder, made some delicious pickled onions to go with it, barbecued chicken, baked beans and to top it off, some soft fluffy brioche buns to hold that delicious pork!  I was exhausted when it was all over, but it was fun and rewarding to honor our moms with a meal made with love that they didn’t have to cook themselves! The first time I ever made North Carolina Style pulled pork sandwiches was the year that the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl.  I remember this because that’s the Man of The House’s favorite team and that was a very festive football season!  We had planned a big Superbowl party and I decided to try my hand at smoking a pork shoulder.  We were living in a different house at the time, with a very tiny yard …

Mango Banana Daiquiris

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This Sunday, we are inviting our mothers to join us at our home for a barbecue; and when I say barbecue, I mean pulled pork that’s been slowly smoked for hours, barbecued chicken, baked beans, corn-on-the cob, and coleslaw! At first, I had planned on making more traditional (and more ladylike) brunch fare–perhaps a quiche, a cake, finger sandwiches…but then it hit me that my mother has been wanting me to make pulled pork for quite some time and I simply haven’t had the time to make it–it takes about 4 to 6 hours to smoke.  Now that our propane grill has been converted to natural gas, it’s easier and more convenient to smoke a large roast without worrying that I’ll run out of propane before the meat is done. So, now that there aren’t any excuses, I’ll be smoking that pork shoulder roast all day tomorrow!  At this moment, the pork shoulder roast is marinating in a spice rub.  I’ll be posting the recipes and the how-tos throughout the weekend! To get things off …