holy macaroni!

Mac and cheese must be the best comfort food ever, and since I've been craving it all week, I decided to give it a go tonight. Its a simple recipe, but a bit different than the standard.

8 oz macaroni, cooked
8 oz light sour cream
8 oz mild cheddar cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
12 oz light cottage cheese
1/4 cup skim milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix together, put in a 9x13 inch pan, and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

**Feel free to use higher fat versions of all of the ingredients, but I found the recipe rich enough for my tastes by using these lighter varieties.

I chose not to add a topping, but this recipe would probably be even better if you put some sliced cheddar cheese on top and baked it (just how my mom makes it!!). You could also mix bread crumbs and melted butter together and put it on top.

My family always used to put a jar of stewed tomatoes (from the garden!) on our mac and cheese, and that is how I like my mac the best. Since I didn't have any stewed tomatoes, I put a little of my leftover gazpacho on top instead and it was pretty yummy!

Yay for eating homemade mac and cheese while watching 'cloudy with a chance of meatballs.'

Side note: you could also add bacon bits to this dish...... this was Tom's special request, and though I aim to please, you've gotta draw the line somewhere don't you?

Today I'm going to point you to another food blog. Back when i was in grad school at Emory, I was in Grad Senate with a gal named Julia, who has the funny/entertaining/useful blog Cooking for Gringas. Aaaaannnnndddd, her current blog post is completely fitting, because I happen to love mojitos, and I totally know where she's coming from when she says that you can't find a decent one anywhere. And since I happen to have mint in my fridge right now, I just may be using this recipe in the not-so-distant, courteous of Miss Julia...... http://cookingforgringas.blogspot.com/2010/06/bailamos-mucho-yall.html

lunchtime musings

it's my lunch break, and in addition to eating some leftover gazpacho, i'm also giving lots of thought to Pope John Paul XXIII's Daily Decalogue:

1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.

2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behaviour; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.

3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.

4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.

5. Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.

6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.

7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.

8. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.

9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.

10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for 12 hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

cold gazpacho on a hotlanta day

Phew, yesterday was HOT! It just came out of nowhere, and looking in my fridge I knew there was only one thing that I wanted to cook, and it certainly didn't involve adding more heat to the house. Thats right: I put together some veggies and made gazpacho.

Gazpacho is a wonderful Spanish treat, because it is easy, healthy, and very refreshing. I used this recipe, and the only revisions that I made were to use fresh tarragon and basil rather than dried. And I used low-sodium tomato juice (biiiiiiig mistake). Also, I used my immersion blender rather than putting everything into a blender. In fact, I would say that my immersion blender is right up there as one of my all-time favorite kitchen must haves (thanks Mom!), just after my pink garlic press (thanks Lisa!).

I must say that my gazpacho did not turn out exactly as I wanted to, and I think it stems from the fact that I used low-sodium tomato juice. I don't know why I did that. The dish really needed the full-salt variety, and after I made the soup and allowed it to chill for two hours it was evident that the dish was missing something. Adding more salt helped, but I think that full-salt tomato juice and maybe also more lemon juice would do wonders for this dish. The fresh basil was a delight, and I will add more next time I make this dish (I only used about two or three large fresh basil leaves).

The world played a lovely trick on me, and just before feasting on gazpacho the heavens opened and we were blessed with one of those huge thunderstorms that produces hail and cools the hot summer air. We switched out electric lights for the many candles Tom keeps around the house (gotta love the guy!), and drank cool white wine and ate cold gazpacho and Italian bread just as the air outside turned cool. Oh well, its the thought that counts right?

That Italian bread was no accident by the way. I have a delicious (I hope) recipe coming up later this week that calls for stale Italian bread, so we ate half of the fresh stuff last night and will use the other half once it gets a little old. I'm trying to embrace the whole "menu planning" thing rather than going to the grocery store every night, so if its ok with you I'm going to give myself one shiny gold star for this little pre-plan of mine.

Anyone have any tips for how my gazpacho could be improved next time? I'd like to have a good recipe in my box, because these hotlanta summers leave me with a need for cool refreshment.

And for the fun post of the day, check out this post: http://kfddesigns.blogspot.com/2010/06/hand-painted-knobs-for-sale.html This gal is truly inspirational, and I LOVE the hand-painted knobs, love that she is from Atlanta, love the idea of supporting an independent artist. When I get into redecorating mode, I'll definitely look her up. I'm kind of partial to the orange knobs, what about you?

Spanish Rice minus the box

We've all been there. You just got home from work, you're tired, the dog wants to go out, and all you want to do is veg out and eat potato chips. The thought of cooking anything is daunting, but you suppose you can whip up a box of Spanish Rice. But oh hold on.... Perhaps making Spanish Rice from scratch is almost as easy and tastes waaayyyy better than anything you can get in the supermarket.

Its true. I just made Spanish Rice and it was quick, easy, and if I may say so myself very tasty. I'll keep the instructions super short too so you can just get up and make some fancy rice right now.

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1 cup rice

2 cups water (if I do this again - and I will! - I'll use chicken broth instead)

1 15oz can diced tomatoes with chopped jalapenos

1/2 t cumin

2 t chili powder

salt

Put the onion, bell pepper and garlic in a pot with the olive oil on medium-high heat until onion becomes translucent. Add rice and cook until rice begins to brown. Add water (or chicken broth!), tomatoes and spices. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is cooked. If you're feeling super motivated, chop up some parsley and mix in to the rice.

Food pics below.

Notice how the garlic appears to be so important? Not accidental. Yummmm

The rice before it begins to brown oh-so-nicely

The ingredients just before they are covered

The finished product. Not afraid to admit I ate three bowls

Now you may not believe it, but this fine dish was my entire dinner. If I was cooking for both Tom and I, I feel pretty confident he would have insisted on a meat dish and a piece of bread to accompany this creation, but when its just me I prefer to rely exclusively on side dishes. If you are trying to lose weight, decrease your  grocery costs or save time, this strategy may also work for you. And if it wouldn't, I'm betting you could throw some chicken in this dish and make most of your family happy.

Are you partial to the meat/potato/side tradition of the good old U S of A, or do your 'side dishes' take center stage? Or, are you as fabulous as my Grandma was and eat your dessert first so that you'll never have to say "I'm too full for dessert?" 

If you have any cost- or time-saving cooking tips, please let the rest of us know!

Fruit of our Labor

After getting home from vacation last night, Tom went to check on the garden. Our absence didn't seem to phase our little Eden one tiny bit, and in fact Tom came back in with this little beauty:

This tomato only leaves us with one agonizing decision: what to do with it. I think our inaugural tomato just might need to be eaten as is. In fact, eating a tomato much like you would eat an apple is one of the true joys of summer. Now don't go trying such a feat with one of those knock-offs you'll find in your grocery store. Those are a completely different species (in my opinion) than the kind you'll pluck from your garden (or from the bin at your local farmers market).

And while we're on the subject, when's the last time you took advantage of the delights of a farmers market? Besides getting higher quality and more tasty food, you'll also be filling the pockets of your local farmer and getting to know the people who sustain you. Not sure where to start? This website will point you in the right direction: http://www.localharvest.org/

If you've got a favorite tomato recipe or any ideas on how to enjoy fresh produce, kindly leave a comment. Your idea just may end up being featured right here on this little blog.

bike rides, alligators and a book about dreams

Yesterday Tom and I left the ocean to take a bike ride. After getting past the grocery stores and golf courses, we managed to enter a bit of the 'real' South Carolina, as I like to call it. The part that's been here since before tourism and before condos. We even found a little marina that offered tours to Sandy Island, 9,000 acres of protected woodland rich in history. According to the website, this island is home to about 120 people, most of whom are descendents of slaves who worked the rice patties prior to the Civil War. Sadly, tours to the island have been cancelled for 2010 due to military deployment. Maybe next time.

I also was hoping to spy an alligator on our Tour de South Carolina, but sadly no. I found lots of potential spots, but though I did find a couple of little turtles that slid into the water as soon as I came near, the alligators were not to be found.

Since Tom spotted an alligator on the golf course a couple of days ago, it is possible that the alligators in these parts are too upscale for swamps like the ones above.

I'm currently reading my favorite book of all time, which I haven't opened since I was in high school. But what better time than now to read a book about following your heart and living you dreams?

The Alechemist, by Paulo Coelho

the $200 meal

For two years now, I've been wondering when exactly I'd take a stab at Eggplant Timbale. After watching Giada De Laurentis effortlessly craft this beauty on TV, I decided that I would wait until the perfect occasion and do it myself. And when I got a springform pan for Christmas last year, it is of the timbale - and not a cheesecake as intended - that I dreamt.

So when I heard that each of us would be responsible for a meal while at the condo this week, I knew immediately that I would try the timbale. I usually don't try daring new meals for the first time when I am trying to impress people, but I figured I'd throw caution to the wind this time and give it a whirl. So when Tom got back from golf this morning we headed to the local Piggly Wiggly to pick up our supplies for this meal. Plus some snack, breakfast and lunch foods... and about 60 dollars worth of alcohol and mixers. And when the final tally rang up at $200, I thought to myself "this meal better be good."

Eggplant Timbale is rated difficult by Giada, which really does add a certain amount of intimidation. The recipe can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/eggplant-timbale-recipe/index.html

Despite Giada's warnings, I must say that this recipe was really not too difficult. I didn't cook my eggplant on the grill, and just put it in a pan on the stove to cook, but other than that it was pretty straightforward. If you can line a pan with eggplant and fill it with meat, pasta and sauce and then cover the whole pile of goodness with more eggplant and bake it, well then you too can make a timbale.

Slicing eggplant

Cooking the eggplant (a little olive oil, salt and pepper on each side)

The finished product

Take-home message: Don't let a difficulty rating keep you from making a recipe for two whole years. You've got it in you, and it probably really isn't that difficult to make anyway. If you find yourself questioning yourself, enjoy the process, look out the window to gain perspective, and start again with gusto. Julia Child wasn't born a chef, but she sure did have a lot of fun. And really, can there be anything more admirable than taking joy in creating something out of nothing?