Take the survey

Not long after the pet food from China was in the news for killing a number of cat and dogs here in the states I realized I had this bottle of apple juice in my pantry. If you can't read the stamped on label it say: Concentrate from China. It still sits on my shelf; staring at me.

In the market today I noticed two bins of garlic. One filled with loose heads and the other with three heads packaged together. The packaged garlic stated it was a product of China.

Huh? I live in California and Gilroy, the Garlic Capital, is close, well closer than China. Where does that garlic go? I do understand the global economy but we can't get apple juice and garlic from the west coast? Washington is just brimming with apples, where does that juice go?

China seems to be on the end of some serious recalls from pet food to children's toys. It makes me uneasy to think of food being prepared in countries with safety standards not up to ours. Give me good ole American fresh spinach any time. Oh wait, China doesn't seem to have the market cornered on food contamination. How soon we forget.

So I'm back to my original question, would you drink this? Please take the little survey on the left. I'm really interested in what you have to say.

A juicy drink

This is easier than opening a carton from the market, well, almost as easy. I love limes and we have just an abundance in the markets this summer. The ginger gives it a bit of a punch and it is very thirst-quenching. I put cut up limes in my water when it's real hot, too.

Gingery Limeade
Cooking Light

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger (don't substitute!)
1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 1/2 cold water

Combine first four ingredients in a small pan, whisk until sugar is dissolved. Give it a bit of heat, if needed. Strain mixture through a sieve into a pitcher. Add juice and 2 1/2 cups cold water through the sieve, discard the ginger and lime zest. Chill completely.

A few pretty slices of lime couldn't hurt and I suppose a bit o' rum would be nice, too.

I cooked............

I know, I know this is a food blog. But being in an RV traveling around the country and cooking is just not what I had in mind.

I love to cook but I had a bit of adjustment to my NEW kitchen. The stove is tiny as is the oven. I have ordered a new microwave/convection oven. But my most treasured purchase would be my electric skillet. Yep!!! Amazing because I had never used an electric skillet 'til now.

Who knows what made me think of getting one. My mom used one for years maybe it was remembering that skillet sitting on her counter.

Anyway, we arrived mid afternoon at our destination of Little Rock. I decided I had items in the fridge to cover dinner. I started by cooking some sweet Italian sausage in some beef broth, adding a chopped red pepper and one cube of garlic*. I had some frozen meatballs which are a Mr Doodles favorite. Put all of the above in the skillet along with Trader Joe's starter tomato sauce and simmered to meld the flavors for a good half hour. Meantime I cooked up a bit of penne pasta. Toasted some cheese bread with a garlic parmesan cheese paste and Voila a meal that I could be proud of cooking.

I'll get better at this I hope so stay tuna'd.........

*cube garlic is an itty bitty piece of compressed garlic that comes frozen in a package of a dozen I think. I got this package in Canada but sister moon says that Trader Joe's also carries this product.

Food to keep you from rusting

Because she's concerned with her family's health, lil bird sent a list of ten items that would instantly upgrade your health. Her father has had a time with his cholesterol and this had some good ideas. He's also been watching his calorie intake so the Cabbage reference jumped out at me. Not that cabbage will reduce your cholesterol, no it's more of an antioxidant, but it can be combined with other helpful ingredients that will.

This article also had a great explanation of the term antioxidants. "Just as the name suggests antioxidants keep your cells from oxidation. Think of oxidation as rust."

I served this last night for some friends and it got rave reviews and hopefully none of my guest are rusting this morning.

Asian-style slaw
4 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon sriacha, an Asian chili sauce (I used BBQ sauce)
1 head Napa cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup toasted peanuts
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

I made the dressing and added some Tabasco chipotle hot sauce, about a teaspoon. Then marinated a can of rinsed garbanzo beans for about an hour in the dressing. I mixed this all together and chilled for 30 minutes before serving. I'd never tasted "sriacha" so I'm not sure how spicy it is but I tasted the dressing along the way to get the right "bite."

September Pets

We've just a few pets this month but I think we can blame that on the busy Summer time. If you have a pet don't forget to send us a link to their photo on your blog.

We'll be collecting the next Food Bloggy Pets of the Month posts for October so get your permalinks sent by the 29th (or so) of September. Send them to our e-mail.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
We know we can't get enough of Ziggy at Soul Fusion Kitchen and looks like he can't get enough, either. Summertime is tough on our little friends and Ziggy's short 'do is just the ticket for these blistering Southern California days.

Check Sylvie's blog for some great recipes, too. Ziggy is just a bonus.




••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Here's one of our own, lil bird's Multi. He owns anything he can get into or on top of.

"I'm in your office, watchin' you work."


•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Next is Buddy Cat who is the traveling companion to our own Doodles and Mr Doodles. As you know, they are on a long adventure traveling the Americas in a RV. They are heading to Memphis, Tennessee an area known for BBQ.

Check out her post and find out why the cat's in the tub.


•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Ok, you might be asking, where is Buddy dog. Well he's over on my other blog, French Benefits. He had a run in with a pet care product. So if you are a dog owner and use flea prevention products you might want to check out what happened to our pooch.

Calling all pets

Just a reminder--

On your blog post please a wonderful pix of you furry, hair, or scaly friend and don't forget a link back to us. We'll be collecting the next Food Bloggy Pets of the Month posts for September so get your permalinks sent by the 29th (or so) of August. Send them to our e-mail, pbetouffee@gmail.com.

Then everyone drop by around the 1st of September to see who we've corralled.

baby shower food

first off, my apologies for being m.i.a. on this blog for so long. june 12 - july 31 was a black hole in my life due to some crazy s&*% going on at work - thank you department of homeland security. then i took a week off to hibernate. then i tried my hand at a little party planning and small-time catering, which kept me busy cooking, but with no time to post.

anyway, the reason for the party planning is that my good friend sarah is having her first baby, so i was happy to co-host a baby shower with another friend. sarah's expecting a little boy and, as she and her husband are true bruins, the colors planned for the new addition to the family is blue and yellow. i went with a rubber ducky theme for the party...


rubber ducky centerpiece


more rubber duckies


the buffet

for the food, i planned a pan-asian theme, which was a good reason to make cool salads and hors d'oeuvres that would also complement the family specialty egg rolls and fried rice that sarah's sister planned to make. here's what the final menu looked like:


tofu satay with peanut dipping sauce


kitchen wench's sweet & spicy soy chicken wings


chinese chicken salad


asian beef noodle salad

the chicken salad didn't follow any particular recipe, just shredded iceberg lettuce and napa cabage, topped with shredded chicken (costco rotisserie chickens rule!), sliced almonds, toasted sesame seeds, scallions and fried wontons and served with feast from the east salad dressing - a westside favorite. the asian beef noodle salad was a combination of a few different recipes for the dressing for the bean thread noodles and the sliced beef and served on a bed of spinach and garnished with basil, mint, cilantro, carrots and scallions.

for dessert, we had cupcakes...


cupcakes


duckies up close

the cupcakes were yellow cake with buttercream frosting piped on with a pastry bag and topped with rubber duckies molded out of wilton's candy. mooncrazy found me a cool cupcake stand to make out of styrofoam disks, ribbon and wrapping paper. to be honest, i cheated with the buttercream and used frostin' pride, which comes in a milk carton in the frozen section at smart and final. you thaw it out and then whip it up with your mixer. it's very easy and the frosting is lite and not overly sweet.

anyway, a good time was had by all and there were tons of leftovers to eat all week!

What a tasty leftover

While we were visiting our friends in Canada, they had a get together with friends out at our campsite. We ended up with 30 + friends and a fantastic BBQ. Nothing special but burgers and hot dogs on the grill, salads, my well known hoosier style potato salad, that sister I believe posted here on PBE. But the best part was the fresh corn on the cob. Wow!!! Dear friend Beverly J brought the corn, way too much I might add, and enjoyed by all.

There lies the reason for this post. What does one do with left over cooked corn on the cob. Well, the next day my husbands family came to visit. I took all the corn off the ears, combined that cooked corn with chopped fresh tomatoes, a bit of cilantro and made a cold salad. What a hit that was. I suppose you could add a salad dressing of your choice such as an oil and vinegar type. But certainly not needed with fresh corn. I'll see if I have a photo but I'm sure you get the picture. And when you have some left over corn try this if you haven't already cause it's a tasty leftover.

An all-American condiment

These are so easy. If you've never made pickles try this one. I found the recipe in the back of Cooking Light.

I used the small pickling cukes because I like their flavor. Sometimes the bigger ones can have a bitter flavor. If you do use the standard cucumber make sure the skins have not been waxed.

*I was out of mustard seeds so I used a half teaspoon of Creole Mustard from a jar.

6 cups thinly slice pickling cucumbers (about 2 lbs.)
2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds*
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced.

Place 3 cups cucumber in a medium glass bowl, top with 1 cup onion. Repeat with remaining cukes and onions.

Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small sauce pan; stir well. Bring to a boil; cook one minute. Pour over cucumber and onions; let cool. Cover and chill at least four days in fridge. I removed mine from the bowl and put in a tall glass quart canning jar. It took up less room in the refrigerator.

Next time I make these I think I'll add some small peppers because I love the hot and sweet flavors together.

Note: Pickles may be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Fish & Chips Canada style

One thing I do look forward to when visiting our friends is dining on good fish and chips. And dang they sure are good here.

Now I must also say that some folks up here eat gravy on their fries, ahemmmmmm!!!



But I being the true pseudo Canadian that I am, eh!!! I enjoy good malt vinegar on my fries.

Now I hate posting these photos of the fish cause my sweet sister moon is horribly allergic to fish of any kind.

Something of interest

Summer has hit the PBE women head on. With Doodles out of country and the lil bird tied to her desk at work and me, I admit it, not been cooking anything new for a while--we have not been posting much. So I'm not ashamed with just giving our readers a link to another site. I think it's nice to find new cooking sites and since this one has always been on my Bloglines for a while I thought I'd share.

Nicole at Baking Bites has quite a site, very complete with recipes and baking tips. I still make the marshmallows that I found on her site when it was called Baking Sheet. Today she has a great little quick post for rolling out pie crust. I use my grandmother's rolling pin and an old rolling sheet from Tupperware. I've tried other things but this is the combo for me.

So find yourself some summer fruits to wrap around or check out her post for Lemon Meringue Pie.

Mexican Sauces

In the spirit of house cleaning I ran across this photo and can't believe I didn't post this. While at my local ethnic market a few months ago I noticed these little packages of sauces and because I'll buy anything that's new and compact, only four ounces, to have on hand I picked up a few plus they were only a half a buck. What a bargain.

Now, I don't use very many canned products because they are usually loaded with sodium and they never taste as fresh so why bother. Well, these little packs are great to throw into something that needs a little lift. I put one in the rice the other night and it was great. I was amazed to fine they had a nice fresh taste. One of the kitchen staples you need when the fresh tomatoes, in the winter, are tasteless.

Halp!

Our gardener friend always loads down my beloved with bags full of goodies in the summer. This time we received some lovely peaches, a variety of tomatoes and this almost dry bush of peppers. My problem is I don't know what to do with them. They look like they are starting to dry, some still fresh and plump while other starting to wrinkle a bit.

Any help would be appreciated. A name. A recipe. They look like those peppers in Kung Pao dishes. I was thinking of slipping one or two into some refrigerator pickles I made. Love spicy pickles.

Peaches!

Another reason to love summer is our peaches. We get them all the month of August from local farms and they are yummy. I buy just a few each week so I have them on hand for fruit smoothies. My beloved enjoys that for breakfast when he knows it's going to be a hot morning.

The other night I had guests and wanted a light bit of sweet for dessert. Grilled Peaches sounded good so here's what I did:

• beat together some heavy cream and mascarpone cheese
• pealed and cut it half some fresh peaches
• lightly oiled with canola oil both sides of the fruit
• grilled on a hot grill for about two or three minutes a side--don't move them you want those wonderful grill marks
• sliced some pound cake and assembled the dessert

I decided I could have even done without the pound cake and just a dollop of whipped cheese on the bottom and top. This was quite tasty, light and a great end to a meal.

Wanted: Sou chef to assist with recipe

America's Test Kitchen has so many good idea but I have a problem with their remakes of recipes. They have more steps than the plans to build a nuclear reactor and that produces way too many dirty dishes--the recipe, not the reactor. Sure, it only takes them a fraction of the time because they have some intern filling little bowls with a half teaspoon of this and a 1/4 cup of that and before you know it you've a sink full.

Now on to this delicious dish, Stir-fry Chicken with Bok Choy. Again, it isn't so much the recipe as the way to prepare. The whole idea is to protect the delicate chicken from the hot oil of stir-frying. Their take on this was to "velvet" the chicken and stir-fry but not in the true sense of the Chinese tradition. I've done a velvet before which includes dipping chicken in egg whites then in simmering broth. Way too much work, this is easier.

Coat the raw chicken breast pieces in a mixture of one each tablespoon of sesame oil and cornstarch before browning a single layer in a hot pan, then turning to brown the other side. It did save time and use less oil.

The rest of the recipe was your typical stir-fry of the vegetables, then add meat, then add a final sauce which was quite tasty.

Stir-Fry Sauce
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (I omitted this due to allergies)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Stir until everything is coated and slightly thickened, about a minute.

I've made this twice, once following the recipe and other changing the veggies which is fine as long as you keep the proportions.

The Dog, Cat and Bird Days of August

Welcome to our first Food Bloggy Pets of the Month for August. So many of our Foodie Friends have animals they love so we thought we'd give them a little blog time. Thanks to all who've sent a link and don't forget to visit these adorable pets on their food blogs.

Didn't make this month's deadline? Check out the procedure for September. Don't forget your link back to PBE

***************************************************************************
Our very first is darling Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen. Seems like he was quite the party animal and was "over-served". Take a well deserved nap, Ziggy. Hopefully we'll see your eyes next month.

***************************************************************************Next we have Chester, a Cockatiel in Laura Rebecca's Kitchen who seems to have an interest in cooking, ahem, and not being cooked. Laura's repainted the blog. You look marvelous in pink!



***************************************************************************
Mr Woofy joins us, too. What a big fluffy darling he is after his bath even if it does put him in a funk. Ellie at Kitchen Wench, his caretaker, has a very thoughtful post this month. If you care about food and the environment take a look.


***************************************************************************
One of PBE's own is Buddy the cat and since Doodles and Company are in Canada with no 'net connection I knew she'd want to participate in our first ever Bloggy Pets.

Looks like Buddy the cat called "shotgun" first and Doodles is in the back seat but what actually happened is their truck is so wide the two of them can sit comfortably together.

Buddy is having a great time on the road though is said to enjoy their time camp because he gets his human's full attention.

Read more about Buddy and the Gypsy Caravan on Doodles other blog: Tombstone Tumbleweed.

***************************************************************************
Another on of PBE's pets is Buddy the dog, I know it can be confusing but rest assured, they are never in the same house at the same time.

Buddy dog lives with me, Sister Moon and my beloved. He seems a bit retrospective but in actuality he's just waiting for dinner.




***************************************************************************
These are lil bird's doggies and as you can see, the two have just finished their spa treatments and are relaxing with my beloved. Max is on top, he's the youngest and Multi is tucked on the side. They are all watching the baseball game, Go Dodgers.

What's on their menu? Only the finest whitefish and sweet potato casserole. No recipes here for that one.

Thanks to our participants. Look back next month for another installment of Food Bloggy Pets of the Month.

Meatloaf on the grill

This is not so much a recipe but a different way of doing it. I do like America's Test Kitchen; both the TV show and website because they come up with interesting ways to save time and make food more tasty.

I tried their Glazed Meat Loaf last weekend with great success. I'm not going to post their long recipe as it's quite involved. What I will talk about is the method. They roasted the meatloaf, not in a loaf pan, but on a rack over a sheet pan. Over the rack was a piece of foil the size of the loaf with holes poked into the foil. See their website for illustrations. I know, I should have taken photos.

Because I hate to heat up my kitchen in the summer, I cooked mine on my gas grill outside. I have three burners and I lit all three, brought the grill up to 400, then turned off the center burner and that's where I put my sheet pan with the meatloaf. Closed the lid and monitored and adjusted the burners to keep it at 375. Cooked it for one hour and let it rest for twenty minutes. I then spooned on the glaze and cooked it under the broiler in the kitchen. They say twice, which I did and it was a perfect addition.

I did change the glaze recipe and here it is.

Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup (non HFCS from Trader Joe's)
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 cup cider vinegar (I used balsamic)
3 tablespoons light brown sugar

Stir and simmer until slightly thick. Spread one layer on cooked meatloaf then broil until bubbly. Add another layer and broil again.

Although the meatloaf recipe produced a tasty dinner I might not follow the recipe completely. They do have a huge long list of ingredients that I didn't think changed the flavor. What they were trying to do was get a soft, tender loaf using only ground beef; no pork or veal and only two eggs. They came up with the idea of using 1/2 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin. Odd, I know. What I did like was sauteing the celery and onion with the garlic before adding to the meat. I hate a strong onion flavor and this tones it down a bit.

August Food Bloggy Pets of the Month

Just a reminder--

we'll be collecting the first Food Bloggy Pets of the Month posts for August so get your permalinks sent by the 28th of July. E-mail at pbetouffee@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to seeing some old friends, pay attention Ziggy and Mr Woofy, and meeting some new ones.

We're going to try this for a few months to see if it raises like good bread or falls like a flan in the cupboard.

"sun"day dinner

sorry. cheap pun. couldn't resist.

weekend before last, i tried out the solar oven on a "traditional" sunday chicken dinner. i prepared the chicken and put it in the roasting pan, stuffing the cavity with a quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic, some sage leaves and a sprig of rosemary and simply salting and peppering the outside. by the way, this is a koshered chicken, is there any other kind?



after about three and a half hours in the solar oven, this is what it looked like...



check out all those lovely juices in the pan, soon to become gravy!

and, look ma, no salmonella!



i also cooked some potatoes in the other pan (about two hours). just before serving, i quartered the chicken and seared skin side down in a hot pan, then i made some gravy in the pan to go over the potatoes and plated everything up. alas, the vegetables you see on the plate were stir fried not sun cooked.

A picnic done up right

This sandwich really is a walk in the park; it looks fussy but is easy. I made it years ago for a picnic and had not tried it again since yesterday when a few of us had a pre-concert picnic. It was a request, so who turns down a command performance.

The sandwich, by no means, was alone. Appetizer was slice apples, celery, carrots and cucumber with a Thai peanut dip. I'm hoping for that recipe because the curry spice really zinged with the apples.

Next was a basil and green bean pasta salad artistically done is shades of green, a fruit salad loaded with all the best of our summer markets, and another sandwich, this one a vegetarian Muffaletta on a tasty olive bread. We each brought a dish and it was fun to lay it all out on the blanket and eat alfresco.

We enjoyed the concert and intermission gave us a chance to break out the hit of the picnic, a wonderful Apple Strudel made by one of our previous guest chef, Teri. The only crummy part about this wonderful meal was Teri was home with a bad back. She couldn't share the feast or the praise we all heaped on; that strudel was a big hit. You might have noticed I didn't get a photo--it would have been a blur it flew from the plate. Possibly she'll share her recipe for the strudel and Muffaletta.


Picnic Sandwich
1 package sheet puff pastry; thawed
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
1½ cups shredded Swiss cheese
4 tablespoons spicy mustard
½ cup sliced olives, green or black
¼ lb each sliced meat; ham, turkey, roast beef and corned beef
1 egg, beaten

Roll one sheet puff pastry gently with as little flour as possible; about 1/4” thick. Fit pastry in a spring form pan. Cut pieces to form the sides. Pinch pastry together with a little water.

Spread one tablespoon of mustard on bottom of pastry. Layer meat, olives, mustard, and cheese ending with meat.

Roll other sheet of pastry as tin as first and cut circle slightly larger than top of pan. Seal edges and brush top with beaten egg. (yes, that is a smiley face)

Bake 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until brown. Use lower third of oven so the bottom crust cooks. Cool before removing from pan and cool completely before cutting.

Well have another picnic before summer ends if only to bring Teri along with one of her tasty dishes.

Note: Would you like to print a recipe? Click the following link to download a PDF. Easy to print pdf of recipe

Introducing Mexican food to Canadians

Our dear friends the Nutz, Mr D and Ms G are Mexican food challenged. Not that the group doesn't care for it, they just didn't know what to order. Mr Nutz is a meat and spuds kinda guy so Mexican food was a tad bit of a challenge.

Here's the scenario...Mr Nutz drives by this place he says looks interesting and has breakfast with lotsa cars in the lot, always a good sign.

So we venture to The Monterrey House for dinner that nite as Mr Doodles and I are going to educate/suggest food items. We soon discover the place does not have a liquor license however the food aroma coming from the kitchen convinces me this is a good choice and the group agrees.

The six of us are led to our table by a sweet young man, come to find out he is the owners son and our lovely waitress happens to be sons fiance. I explain to them that four of the group had never had good Mexican food before. Being the good marketing person he is, the young man prompltly went to the kitchen for some samples. One of which was a chilli queso.

Now most folks use chilli queso as a dip which is fine and very good. However the Monterrey House takes a very small corn tortilla fried flat and crisp, then spreads a thin layer of the cheese sauce on top. Now it is what you put in the cheese sauce that makes it tasty, let me tell you these were tasty!!! And I know the cheese was not the velveeta thick gooey cheese, this was the real stuff. Google chili con queso and you will come up with a boat load of recipes. But do try it the way we had it served.

Let's see what they had, tacos. which were a big hit because they were fresh tortillas, crisp. Mr N had a cheese enchiladas, Mrs N had a chalupa and a stuffed burrito which she barley touched because of the size. Mr D enjoyed his stuffed burrito with the green chile sauce on the side. Ms G is a big guacamole fan so the guacamole salad was a must as well as a taco and I'm not sure what else. I had their chile relleno, which were wonderful, light and fluffy along with the obligatory refried beans which I love and these were quite good. In fact as good as a tasty spot in Oxnard that we used to dine with family.

And then the waitress ask if we want sopapillas.......HELLOOOOO!!!! If you read my previous post I'm a big fan of sopapillas. And the ones she brought out were perfect little light and airy pillows of fried bread dough and lightly sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar with of course the bowl of honey to dip if ya want. Needless to say that topped off the meal and all were happy Canadians. I might add that I was the only non-Canadian as Mr Doodles was born and raised in the same area these fine friends came from.

So if you are ever in Golden, Colorado make it a point to go to The Monterrey House for breakfast, lunch and do include dinner. You will be glad you did....oh and tell them the Canadians sent you.

Oh and stay tuna'd cause we are driving onto the Plains of these United States....must be some good farmers markets just around the corner I HOPE!

ps....sorry there are no pics of the above dining fiesta - how could I forget my camera DUH!!!

Warning: unabashed bragging in this post

Last July we attended a BBQ with a twist. The hostess asked everyone to bring a home-made apple pie. Mine was a rustic apple tart served with my mom's apple dumpling sauce. I think that's what actually won.

Comes July again and another contest, cookies this time. I used a recipe I'd found on fellow blogger's site, La Vida Dulce's Chocolate Shortbread.

We have another winner. Yup, they enjoyed them enough to bestow a second victory. Sadly, we had to leave before the judging so I received the news when we returned from vacation.

This is an easy recipe, though I'm sure fattening and artery-clogging. They will melt in your mouth and go directly to your hips. My way of getting around this is to cut them into small cookies and give most to the neighbors so I don't eat them all. One thing is important, use Dutch process cocoa, it will make a world of difference.

southwestern salad

i love to make this salad during the summer, as it goes really nice with grilled items, like chicken or fish, and a fruity white wine, like sauvignon blanc. the original recipe in cooking light actually calls this a "salsa," but i think it's great as a side dish in its own right. i've found that it's actually better to make it a day in advance and let the flavors develop overnight (like flavors tend to do when they're in the fridge all night with the lights off). here's the recipe, as bastardized by moi:

5 ears roasted corn (you could use less, but corn was on sale 5 ears for $2, so i had five in the fridge!)
2 cans blackeyed peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, minced (i only had yellow on hand; it turned out fine)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2-3 jalapeno peppers, de-seeded and minced (don't forget your gloves when chopping up these babies!)
3-4 tbsp olive oil
3-4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste

enjoy!

here comes the sun

so, because i am becoming such a little greenie (not the dog treat, mind you), i recently decided that i wanted a solar oven. what's that, you ask? well, basically, it's a dark plastic box with a clear plastic lid that collects heat inside and gets hot enough to cook food. i found out about this earth saving cooking device from the path to freedom urban homestead folks. a popular brand of oven, called a solar sport, is made by the solar oven society. this great company is not only helping to save the environment, they're helping women and families in third world countries that are sun rich, but fuel poor. some women in africa have to spend a full day searching for wood just to have enough fuel to cook their food. the solar oven allows them to use the sun's energy as a free and endlessly renewable resource to cook their food while simultaneously freeing up their time for jobs, for other chores and to spend with their families. another problem with using wood as cooking fuel is that the wood not only adds excessive amounts of carbon to the atmosphere, it is usually burned in closed areas risking injuries from fires and increasing health problems from the families that constantly have to breathe in all that smoke. another great use for the solar oven is to make it simple to use the sun to make safe drinking water by pasteurization. every purchase of a solar oven from the solar oven society helps to fund the organization's efforts to distribute solar ovens in developing countries.

my loving family bought me one for my birthday (thanks, family!) and, i'm embarrassed to say, it promptly sat on the inside of my house for almost two months. work's been a little crazy recently and that, coupled with june gloom, has made it difficult for me to find a day that i'm not at the office and is also sunny enough to use the oven. well, today was the day and i decided to test out my solar oven! i haven't been to the market in a while and i didn't have much on hand, so i decided to keep it simple for my first test and just make a pot of basmati rice. at about 11 am, i put the rice and water in the pot (two black camping-style cooking pots come with the oven), arranged the oven facing south in direct sun on a table on my rooftop patio and put the pot in the oven...



then i clipped the clear plastic top on the oven and let it be (now that's the real meaning of "set it and forget it," mr. popeil)...



the oven also comes with an oven thermometer, which i put in so i could see how hot my oven would get. after setting everything up, i set about pottering around in my garden for a while. after about 15 minutes, the temperature inside the oven was almost 150 degrees. by about 45 minutes to an hour, it was up over 200. the manual said it takes about two hours to cook rice, so i left it to cook and went about my day. about two hours later, i went back upstairs to my patio and checked out the oven. the temperature inside was about 225. i opened up the oven and lifted the lid off the pot to find this...



...a perfectly cooked, steaming pot of basmati rice - i kid you not!



i was so excited! i cooked food with the sun! it was so simple and didn't heat up my kitchen and didn't add to my carbon footprint and all the energy was free! i can't wait to try out some other foods. i'm thinking during the weekdays, i could use it as an electricity-free crock pot and make stuff like red beans for red beans and rice, indian-style dal and stews and such. i'm really looking forward to doing some low and slow braising, like alton brown's baby back ribs. i also got the reflectors for the oven, which direct more sunlight into the inside so you can boost the temperature up to 300 to do baking. can't wait to try that either. yay!

Looking for a good sopapilla

recipe...now there is a story to this request but then isn't there always.

Sister Moon and I were on a trip (I called it our Thelma & Louise trip but we didn't kill anybody or drive off a cliff) that took us into New Mexico. So we stay overnite in Gallup, NM check into our hotel, I iced my finger after breaking it removing luggage from the trunk. That's another story but not for the food blog. Anyhow, we go to this local spot highly recommended. Great food, had posole for the first time, then tamales and god knows what else. BUT we topped it off with a sopapilla another name for fried dough served with honey so what's not to like. Some serve it with powdered sugar or maybe even ice cream. I'm a purist I like mine with honey and that's it.

Now fast forward to where we are, the Nomads, in Cheyenne, Wyoming and we find a local Mexican joint that has great food, even posole almost as good as mine or sister moon's. They served sopapillas. Now get this theirs was whole wheat cinnamon but served with honey.

I must say whole wheat would not be my first choice but it was good none the less. Mr Doodles has never had sopapillas and to be honest he said he could do without - SHAME!!! What's not to like it's fried dough served warm.

So maybe our good blogger friend Christine may have a sopapilla recipe or anyone else that would care to contribute. I know I could Google for a recipe but I am looking for a tried and true.

Oh yes and some drizzle chocolate over......so stay tuna'd.

here's a photo I took off the Internet.

Tarragon, basil, sage and thyme

Close to the Paul Simon hit but not. This is my summer herb garden; almost out of hand. Basil and thyme, I've got oodles of recipes, cook with those two herbs all the time. It's the sage and tarragon I'm struggling with so off to the 'net and here are some quick ideas.

• Caramelize onions an then throw in whole sage leaves and roast for about 8-10 minutes.
• Swirl two tablespoons unsalted butter in a skillet over medium. Stir constantly until it brown and stops bubbling, add the sage and cook until crisp. Serve over cheese raviolis or plain cooked pasta.
• Chopped tarragon into your regular potato salad. Also in chicken or egg salad.
  
• Chopped tarragon and chives into omelets.
  

I happened to visit Kalyn's Kitchen and found this recipe for roasted mushrooms with tarragon. How timely. If you have any recipes specific to these two herb, share the permalink with us.

A cool salad idea for your hot 4th of July

When the thermometer moves much past 85 I stop using my oven and move to the gas grill outside. My kitchen is small and I get claustrophobic when it's hot. Go figure, I can sleep in the tear drop. I also have trouble eating anything hot in the summer so salads are a big seller at the Cafe Moon.

Here is an quick and easy alternative to a green salad. It's quite yummy with grilled anything. There a many variations but the sweet of the dressing and the salty cheese makes it a hit.

• Enough chopped Napa Cabbage for two
• Crumbled blue cheese, Point Reyes,* if you have it
  
• Chopped pecans
• Dressing

Toss this all together and refrigerate about 20 or so minutes before eating. I like it nice and cold and the cheese and dressing to melding together.


Dressing

1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon dried onion
3-4 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard, I like Dijon
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients in a covered jar and allow to stand at room temperature for a few hours. Refrigerate one hour before serving. Shake well just before using. Will keep one week in refrigerator.

This dressing is great drizzled over avocado and grapefruit, too.

* Point Reyes Blue Cheese is spectacular and when I get to Whole Paycheck, and feel I can afford it, I pick it up. Here's a trick to stretch an expensive cheese like this. Wrap the cheese in a plastic and then in a freezer bag and freeze. When you want to use it over a salad, grate the frozen cheese over the salad and then rewrap and return it to the freezer. It extends the life of your precious purchase. Mine never last more than a month or two so I'm not sure how long it can last.

Simple cookin'

The Gypsy Caravan and our little Tear Drop headed West to Mc Grath State Beach last week. Oh so lovely was the weather and although we stayed a few days we only really cooked one night. With Andria's Seafood five minutes away who could resist. I knew we were in the right place when Mr Doodles said, "This looks like my kinda place!" If you find yourself in Ventura Harbor, drop in. It's not fancy, just simple and good.

With my seafood allergy I stayed away from anything fishy but everyone else dug right in. Scallops, Fish and Chips and a great looking Clam Chowder loaded with the main ingredient; clams. Not so in some restaurants. Darling husband gave his approval with a clean bowl. They're menu included a grilled chicken sandwich and fries (fried in their own oil, I always ask) and it was tender and tasty.

That next night we started with a bbq'd tri-tip, baked potatoes, and an avocado and tomato salad with lime and olive oil. We finished the meal with a great fire and toasted marshmallows. Aren't simple meals the best? Trust me it was a wonderful meal but it might have been the company, too. The only thing missing was lil bird and company.