Start Your Morning With a Taste Bud Bang!

Tags

beverage, chili, cocktail, lime, mango, pepper, smoothie

Mangoes are on sale at my grocery and I bought way too many of them. Usually I just eat them plain or make them into salsa. I am needing some variety and this smoothie sounded like a wonderful breakfast. Add vodka and rim your glass with sugar for a cool treat on a hot summer afternoon.

Chili Lime Mango Smoothie (a variation of this recipe by Matchbox Kitchen)

• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 cup limeade
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend into a smooth puree. Add more pepper if you want it spicier but be careful, the heat builds up as you drink it. Serves 1.

Why You Should Visit the Local Farmer’s Market…

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farmers markets, fresh, heirloom, Kentucky Proud, local, shop, vegetables

Want to buy gorgeously fresh produce that tastes better than anything you’ve ever bought at the grocery?

Want to support your local economy?

Want to eat pesticide free?

Want to know where you food actually comes from?

Shop at your local farmer’s market! Don’t know where to find a farmer’s market near you? Check out this website! In the Lexington area, check out this link.

The gorgeous bread pictured below is from the Berea Farmer’s Market. Photo credit to my friend, Beth.

Pomegranate Margarita

Tags

adult, beverages, cocktails, juice, lime, margarita, pomegranate, tequila, tex-mex

I recently bought a bottle of pomegranate juice for a really good price. This recipe was the perfect use for it. I used a bit less tequila (as I do not really love it) and was thrilled by the result. Next time you make Tex-Mex, you should make a pitcher of these.

Pomegranate Margarita (from Confections of a Foodie Bride)

• 2 cups homemade margarita mix (see below)
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 1/2 cup silver tequila
• 16 oz bottle 100% pomegranate juice
• Salt or sugar, for rimming
• Lime wedges

Mix all ingredients in a pitcher. Pour over ice into salt or sugar-rimmed glasses.
Serve garnished with lime wedges.

Margarita Mix

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (~8-12 limes)

In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool then add the lime juice. Store in a refrigerator until ready to use.

Sorrel and Strawberry Salad with Pistachio Dressing

Tags

dressing, gluten free, pistachio, salad, sorrel, strawberry, vegetarian

Sorrel is an freshly tart little green perfect for spring. I love it with strawberries especially. Whatever salad you make with your sorrel, be sure not to overwhelm it with toppings. The flavor is to be enjoyed not ignored like boring iceburg.

Sorrel and Strawberry Salad with Pistachio Dressing

• 1 to 2 cups sorrel leaves
• 6 strawberries, washed and sliced
• 1/8 cup feta cheese
• 1/4 cup shelled pistachio nuts, plus more for garnish
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
• About 1/4 cup hot water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• Splash good extra-virgin olive oil, for dressing

Purée the dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. Place greens, strawberries, and feta on a plate. Top with pistachio dressing. Enjoy!!

Lavender Lemonade for the Grownups

Tags

adult, beverage, cocktail, lavender, lemon, lemonade, liqueur, refreshing, summer

Everyone loves lemonade. That tart, sweet combo is unlike anything else. Especially in the hot summertime. This lemonade takes it to a whole other level with the addition of lavender liqueur.

Lavender Lemonade for the Grownups

• 1 1/2 cup prepared lemonade
• 1 to 2 shots of lavender liqueur
• Sugar for rimming the glass

In a shaker, combine the lemonade and liqueur.  Pour into a sugar rimmed glass. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Coconut Cake

Tags

cake, coconut, dessert, family, favorite, flaked, food, Southern

Nothing is more Southern than sitting on the porch with a big slice of coconut cake and glass of sweet tea. Come and get it, y’all.

Our Favorite Coconut Cake (an old Kraft recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box)

• 1 pkg (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
• 2-2/3 cups flaked coconut (7-oz pkg), divided
• 1 pkg (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 tub Cool Whip, thawed

Heat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the cake batter and bake as directed on package for 2 (9-inch) round layers, stirring 2/3 cup coconut into batter before pouring into prepared pans. Cool cakes in pans 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, beat pudding mix, sugar and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. (Pudding will be thick.) Stir in COOL WHIP. Refrigerate until ready to assemble cake.

Stack cake layers on plate, filling layers with 1 cup pudding and 3/4 cup of the remaining coconut. Frost top and side of cake with remaining pudding mixture. Press remaining coconut into pudding mixture. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Rigatoni with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

Tags

cheese, Italian, Kentucky Proud, main dish, morel, mushroom, parmesan, umami, vegetarian

This lovely dish is a great way to use those morel mushrooms I mentioned in my previous post. At the time that I prepared this dish, morels had not yet popped up from the ground. I know that they would be wonderful in this recipe because their fantastic umami quality.

Rigatoni with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce (from Spoon, Fork, Bacon)

• 1 lb. mezzi rigatoni
• 2 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, microplaned
• 2 sprigs thyme, minced
• 1 lb morel mushrooms
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt to the water, followed by the pasta. Cook until al dente. Drain into a colander and toss with a dash of olive oil. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté onions for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and mushrooms and continue to sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and allow the liquid to reduce by 2/3. Lower heat to medium-low and stir in cream and butter, if using. Add pasta and stir together until well coated. Top with Parmesan and fold together. Adjust seasonings. Top each plate with extra Parmesan and cracked black pepper and serve.

 

Mountain Mushroom Festival 2013

Tags

festival, food, fungi, Kentucky, Kentucky Proud, morel, mushroom, wild

These are morel mushrooms.

They are a special culinary delicacy, going for as much as $50 per pound fresh. As a child, my family and I used to hunt for these special woodland gems. Each family has it’s own secret tricks. In an old apple orchard. In an elm stand, a cedar grove. My grandfather insists that you must place the mushrooms in an old paper sugar sack so they don’t sweat or break down.

The City of Irvine hosts the annual Mountain Mushroom Festival each spring. I went with my good friends, David and Kathryn, and met up with some of their friends. We walked through the booths and looked for goodies.

Gotta love the cheese dip on the chin!

We discovered the typical fair concession food, including corn dogs, cheese steak sandwiches, and lemonade. And some locally ground grits and cornmeal…. We saw some interestingly dressed people. And a llama. Emu eggs. Random junk sold as treasure.

The Mushroom Festival also featured an Agate Hunt/Gem & Mineral Show. (For those who don’t know what agates are, check out this link.) Aren’t they just lovely?

It was a wonderful little weekend trip. It was great to spend time with some awesome people celebrating an equally awesome fungi. (Recipes using morels to follow later this week).

Kathryn and I in front of a giant wooden morel.

*The first and fourth photos taken by Kathryn. The rest by me.

27 Things to Do Before I Turn 28!

Tags

26, 27, 28, birthday, Bucket list, goals

Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be. ~ Rick Warren

Last year I published 26 Things to Do Before I Turn 27.

Here is what I accomplished on that list~

• Eat a food I have never previously tried  7/18/12 – Jack fruit
• Make pizza on the grill  8/3/12 – see post here
• Go to a wine tasting  9/12/12 – Breax Winery in Loudon County, VA
• Run another 5K – October 2013, Komen 5K, Lex KY
• Make homemade pasta 9/15/12 - gnocchi 
• Repair a relationship. If not able to repair it, heal from the loss and move forward.  
  

Not nearly as successful as I thought I would be. I have a lot of things in the works. This next year, I want to keep on track. Accomplish more. And have as great a year next year as I did this year!

27 Things to Do Before I Turn 28!

1. Travel outside of the country. Canada counts. (this Sept vacation!)
2. Red presidential biographies through President Martin Van Buren. (stuck at Jefferson)
3. Finish the cross stitch project I started last year. 
4. Go to Thunder Over Louisville. (I MISSED IT in 2013!!!)
5. Get a professional massage.
6. Purchase new furniture for my house.
7. Paint my kitchen.
8. Go out on a fancy date with the hubby.
9. Buy a bookshelf for my National Geographic collection… Yes, I am a nerd!
10. Start a compost pile.
11. Buy a decorator kit and make gorgeous cupcakes.
12. See Niagara Falls. (trip planned for September)
13. Go canoeing/kayaking.
14. Volunteer at a worthy charity/organization.
15. Buy a pair of chopsticks and learn how to use them.
16. Mail a secret to PostSecret (my most favorite blog).
17. Go to IKEA.
18. Dye my hair red (or a shade of red).
19. Be able to do 10 push-ups without a break.
20. Work on my flower beds.
21. See something in the Southwest.
22. Make my own homemade sausage.
23. Figure out my religious views.
24. Complete 25,000 words on my novel.
25. Read 50 books in 2013.
26. Make all this year’s Christmas gifts.
27. Get Michelle Obama arms. (I have no idea how to measure this but I am gonna try!)

 

 

A Tale of Two Dips

Tags

appetizer, Cinco de Mayo, dip, jalapeno, Mexican, queso, ranch

Cinco de Mayo is nearly here. It’s one of my favorite times of year because the blogosphere is full of delicious Mexican dishes of every variety. If I were forced to choose only one cuisine I had to eat for the rest of my life, it would be Mexican. Real Mexican. Not the Tex-Mex, cheese dip covered stuff you can get anywhere.

With that said- here are two great dips that maybe tend more toward north of the border… But they taste amazing… Who really cares where something is from as long as it tastes DIVINE?!

On a trip to Texas a couple of years ago, I ate at Chuy’s and loved their creamy jalapeno dip. I have been trying to recreate it ever since. When I found the recipe below, I was absolutely tickled to death. I love it’s fresh flavor and that it can be served with chips or veggies for those low carbing. Try it! I know you’ll love it!

Creamy Jalapeno Dressing

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup mayo
• Juice and zest of 1/2 lime
• 1 green onion, chopped
• Small handful cilantro
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeds and stem removed (use gloves!)
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency. If too thick, add a bit of buttermilk. Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge.

Who doesn’t love a good queso? With delicious, creamy cheese. Just enough spice. The American cheese melts amazingly well and is about $6/lb at the deli counter. You will be so in love with this dip that you won’t want to eat anything else. 

Queso Blanco

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup white onion, diced
• 1 large jalapeno, seeds and membranes removed, using gloves
• 12 oz white American cheese, shredded
• 4 oz Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1/4-2/3 cup cream, depending on the consistency
• 1 roma tomato, seeds removed and diced
• 1 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Cook the onion and pepper until softened and reduce heat to medium-low. Add the shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the cream. Stir until mostly melted. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, and additional cream a little at a time until you reach desired consistency. Serve with chips.

Both recipe are from Confections of a Foodie Bride.