Hungry Times Two

I left my house this morning in a tizzy, trying not to get too worked up as a so-not-sexy line of sweat eeked its way down my left temple as I scrambled to find my sunglasses in my purse. All this fuss over the 90-degree weather has me thinking about the delights of summertime. Here's a list, in no sort of order, of all the foodie things I love in the summer. What are yours? - Grilled anything. Especially veggie kabobs and chicken. - Limeade and Tequila - Fresh peaches. - Ice cream. Any flavor. Well, except butter pecan. That's just gross. - A lime slush from Sonic (it's not elegant, I know, but it tastes fantastic when you're hot just cannot deal with any more humidity and you just want to crawl out of your sticky skin). - Salads of all kinds. I recently discovered Red, a restaurant on Church Street next to the Tribe club, and it has a fantastic one with blue cheese, dried cherries, nuts and all the fantastic things that go into a tasty salad. - A cold glass of ice w...

Just don't go. www.ru-sans.com That's really all I can say about that.

Monday evening I made the Black Bean Chilaquiles from the Moosewood Low Fat Cookbook. It was work-intensive, with lots of chopping and shredding, but the great thing about a casserole-type dish is that you're good to go for days later - though I am a freshness fiend, and leftovers have a two-day max rule (a whole ' nother blog post for sure!). These were super-tasty and healthy! I served it with a spinach avocado grapefruit salad from the MLF Cookbook, which is basically what it sounds like, with a dressing of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Here's the Black Bean Chilaquiles recipe: Beans, black, 1.5 cup (one can) Olive Oil, 1 tbsp Onions, raw, 1 cup, chopped Red Ripe Tomatoes, 1 cup, chopped Lime Juice, .3 Tablespoons 1Cup of Crushed baked tortilla chips Cheddar , Low Fat, 1 cup, shredded Salsa, Medium, 2 Cups Swiss chard, 2 cups, chopped Directions Preheat oven to 350°. Dice the onion and sauté in the oil over med-high heat. When it becomes translucent add the ...

A shout-out to a great technique spawned by Scott – Each week, pick one cookbook and choose 5-6 recipes to use for dinner ideas. It’s an easy way to develop a grocery list and it saves us time/effort during the week when we’re sitting on the couch after work, beer/cocktail in hand, going “Whaddaya want for dinner?” The "test week" was Classic Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals: The All Occasion Book. Yeah, it’s Rachel Ray, but she has some good ideas once a while, minus her annoying “Evoo”-speak. Next was the Better Homes and Gardens Easy Everyday Cooking, which was awesome. I highly recommend the Ratatouille Pizza. This week, we’re all about the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals . The Moosewood is an Ithaca, NY establishment known for its veggie-friendly menu. Or, in the words of a former newspaper colleague and Ithaca College grad who was a total meat and potatoes guy, “that place where they have that weird vegan stuff. Their brownies s...

I said I would post a photo of my Mom in her sombrero, so here it is. A pitcher of margaritas and a shot of tequila and look at her smile! Truly one of the best people ever, this woman.

A declaration, damn it - I'm giving up fried foods. And beer. For now. Let's see how well this works. After a week of semi-decent eating, smattered with an unfortunate Otter's Chicken dinner and a Bleu Cheese burger and fries at McCabe's (though well deserved after a hike), it's apparent to me that if I'm to have any success in the nutrition department, I'm going to have to throw the gauntlet down and just really focus on the healthy stuff I can have instead of the scattered, smothered, covered and fried goodies that I can't. I am looking forward to FRESH being the operative word this weekend and into next week. But damn, that burger at McCabe's was tasty, especially washed down with a bottle of Blue Moon. If you see me with a fried chicken leg or a platter of fries, you have my permission to berate me mercilessly and even smear my pristine reputation on this blog.

Man created a grocery menu, and it was good. We’re finally back on track from our “What the hell’s for dinner?” phase and have planned out meals for the week. Only a little OCD, folks. Just a wee bit. But really, it helps to know what you have in your cabinets and fridge crisper drawers will actually translate into real food you actually want to ingest. Scott masterfully took the helm, culling six recipes from Rachel Ray’s 356 Meals cookbook (shhhh…don’t tell chef/foodie travel god Anthony Bourdain that I own RR’s stuff…he doesn’t approve). It’s not brilliant material, but I need guidance now and then so I don’t wind up making the same pasta/stir-fry/Mexican every week. We’ve all been down that road, right? Last night’s first meal of the week, Curry in a Hurry, turned out a little fiery than we wanted. Somehow mango chutney and cilantro didn’t make it into the grocery cart, so I was sans flavorings and thickeners for my chicken curry. For the sweet and thickening, I added (no judgeme...