05/20/13
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Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops & Steamed Vegetables with Shallot Oil

SUNDAY

Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops  |  Brown Rice  |  A Medley of Steamed Vegetables with Shallot Oil

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I came across this quote a few days ago and found myself thinking about it quite a bit today.  It sums up both our day, as well as our dinner this Sunday…

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Nothing fancy…the day was filled with barn, horses & baseball.  The girls needed to ride, there was plenty of packing to do at the barn in anticipation of the upcoming show this weekend and Max had an afternoon baseball game.  We all made it home around 4:00pm.  I chopped the vegetables and set the lamb chops in a marinade before leaving this morning.  It was so nice to come home to a staged dinner, waiting only for a hot grill and some boiling water.  With so little to do, Michael and I sat on the deck and watched the sailboats coming in for the day, enjoying the last few hours of the weekend.  The weather was spectacular and we were all together…so wonderful.

The dinner itself was a celebration of foods in their simplest, most natural state.  How such an uncomplicated meal can yield such amazing flavors is a testament to the perfection of whole foods.  It was such a pleasure using my new steamer and cooking this way couldn’t be any easier…why haven’t I tried this inexpensive piece of kitchen equipment before?

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05/18/13

May 19th ~ Weekly Dinner Menu

Weekly DINNER Menu Sign

SUNDAY

Grilled Rosemary Lamb Chops  |  Brown Rice  |  Steamed Vegetables with Shallot Oil

MONDAY

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Basil Pesto  |  Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Toasted Herb Breadcrumbs

TUESDAY

Saké-Steamed Salmon with Saké Butter  |  Aromatic Brown Rice  |  Steamed Baby Bok Choy

WEDNESDAY

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Honey-Soy Glaze  |  Spicy Peanut Noodles  |  Garlicky Spinach

THURSDAY & FRIDAY

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05/18/13
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Baby Back Ribs, Potato Salad & Kale-Apple Slaw

FRIDAY

Molasses Mopped Baby Back Ribs  |  Potato Salad  |  Kale-Apple Coleslaw with Poppy Seed Dressing

 

Intro Collage

Next weekend we celebrate Memorial Day.  In towns all across the country we will remember the men and women who have died while serving in the United States Armed Services.  On a much less profound note, this holiday also marks the unofficial beginning of summer…the season for vacations, picnics & barbecues.  We will be away for the Memorial weekend {at a horse show} so on this Friday evening we are celebrating this seasonal milestone, in advance, with some traditional barbecue fare.

Unfortunately, my schedule today did not afford me two hours to tend a charcoal fire and ultimately smoke the ribs over wood chips so I adapted the recipe for Molasses Smoked Baby Back Ribs, from the June,  2013 issue of Food & Wine, for indoor cooking.  Tonight’s ribs were not as sweet as my traditional baby back ribs and had a bit of heat on them from the various spices used in the mop sauce.  The kids each gave a nod to my version while Michael & I enjoyed the more “grown-up” taste the molasses lent the sauce we used this evening.  Both versions, however, yield wonderfully moist & tender {and sticky} rib meat.

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05/17/13
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Spicy Chicken Dosas

THURSDAY

Spicy Chicken Dosas  |  Sliced White Peaches & Nectarines

 

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The alarm went off at 4:00am…

Michael had an early flight to Los Angeles this morning and won’t be home until tomorrow evening.  Unable to get back to sleep, I headed downstairs to work on next week’s dinner menus.  I had one hour before the round of children’s alarms would begin to ring…the last bit of quiet I would enjoy for the rest of the day.  In a blink we were deep into the usual morning routine:  showers, breakfasts, lunches to be made…”wait, where’s my red-striped blouse?  I need that blouse today!”…dogs following us around like shadows not wanting to get left behind…“Mom, Duke {the dog} just knocked my science project to the ground and it ‘s broken”…the never-ending trickle of papers & forms to be signed {how many times and in how many ways do I need to give consent for my child to participate in 8th Grade graduation activities?}.  Locked and loaded in the car by 7:45am {I was ready for lunch and a nap} and children dropped off at school by 8:00am, I headed off to my first meeting of the day.  After her morning classes, Maddie needed to head up to the barn to ride and get back home to study for her evening calculus class at the junior college.  She and I enjoyed a brief lunch which left me 1 hour to get dinner somewhat prepped, as well as pack an after-school snack for Max & Mallory, before the afternoon activities began.  I would be picking the children up from school at 3:15pm and we needed to head directly to Max’s baseball game {4:00pm warm-ups for a 5:00pm game}.  We arrived home at 7:30pm.

Fortunately, the foundation for this evening’s dinner was last night’s left-over Spicy, Oven-Fried Chicken.  All that was left to do was chop some vegetables and mix up a yogurt-curry sauce.  The meal was light {a good thing when you find yourself having dinner at 7:45pm} and, with the prep done earlier in the afternoon, ready in 15 minutes.

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05/16/13
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Oven-Fried Chicken & a Peach Salad

WEDNESDAY

Spicy, Oven-Fried Chicken  |  A Salad of Peaches, Mozzarella & Basil

 

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Deep frying {anything} does not take place in my kitchen.  Unfortunately, not because of any nutritional concerns but rather…it’s messy, very messy.  Even though I have been known to savor the crisp, salty skin of fried chicken as well as tender, golden french fries, I simply cannot face the prospect of cleaning splattered grease from every nook & cranny of my kitchen.  Even cooking bacon or another family favorite, Perfect Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs, results in a thorough kitchen scrub down.  With that being said, I am always on the lookout for ways to fake it improvise, such as with these Bistro French Fries and Southwestern-Spiced Sweet Potato Fries.

I have made this Spicy, Oven-Fried Chicken several times since it first appeared in the June, 2000 issue of Bon Appétit and each time it never fails to satisfy that craving for salty, crunchy-coated chicken with moist, tender meat.  Make extra for lunch the next day…it tastes wonderful cold as well.

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05/15/13
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Korean-Style Steak & a Cilantro Salad

TUESDAY

Korean-Style Steak  |  Cilantro Salad

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When I plan our dinner menus I begin, for the most part, with the entrée…usually a protein…adding vegetables, grains, etc. as a complement.  This dinner, however, was put together in reverse order.  Last week I came upon this recipe for Cilantro Salad at 101 Cookbooks and quickly became curious of a salad which features this strongly-flavored herb as the main attraction {no lettuces} and adds only some blanched, fresh asparagus to make up the body of this beautiful green dish.  Not only were Heidi’s photos of the salad enticing, but also her endorsement was compelling…”Unless you absolutely loathe cilantro, you must, must(!) try this salad.”

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05/14/13
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Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with a Creamy Sumac Sauce

MONDAY

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion & Cumin  |  Creamy Sumac Sauce

 

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I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day!  I returned home yesterday after a wonderful retreat here.  Days filled with yoga, hiking, swimming, massage, reading…resting.  It is not until you stop…really stop…that you begin to realize how much “noise”  is associated with day-to-day life.  Shutting off the sound every now and then gives us the opportunity to hear ourselves from the inside.  I left that very peaceful place with a renewed sense of clarity and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the people and events that have brought me to where I am now in my life.  As we sat down to enjoy a very simple dinner together as a family last evening, I thought to myself…there really is no place like home.

The burgers, as well as the accompanying sauce, are extremely fragrant thanks to the additions of mint, cilantro, cumin,lemon, garlic & sumac.  Sumac is a sharply-flavored, powdered spice that can be difficult to find depending on your location.  I was able to purchase mine at the local Whole Foods Market but you can also order it online here or there.  Each burger was served, without a bun, on a bed of raw, baby spinach & red onion and dressed with some of the creamy sumac sauce.  Cold, seasoned cucumber chips rounded out our dinner.  We all agreed these burgers were amazing!

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05/12/13

May 12th, 2013 ~ Weekly Dinner Menu

Weekly DINNER Menu Sign

SUNDAY

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Happy Mother’s Day!

MONDAY

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin  |  Creamy Cucumber Salad

TUESDAY

Grilled Korean-Style Steak  |  Cilantro Salad

WEDNESDAY

 Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken  |  A Salad of Nectarines, Mozzarella & Basil

THURSDAY

Spicy Chicken Dosas

FRIDAY

Molasses-Smoked Baby Back Ribs  |  Potato Salad  | Kale & Apple Coleslaw

Continue reading «May 12th, 2013 ~ Weekly Dinner Menu»

05/10/13
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Grilled Sausages, Lemon Risotto & Roasted Asparagus

THURSDAY

Grilled Sausages  |  Lemon Risotto  |  Roasted Asparagus

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This evening’s dinner was supposed to be a Pantry Soup…a variety of ingredients taken from the pantry, fridge & freezer that become transformed {with a little bit of kitchen magic} into a savory and satisfying meal, pleasing the palates of everyone gathered at the dinner table.  Well, I just didn’t possess that kind of magic today.  To be completely honest, I simply did not want a soup tonight.  Last week, when I planned the dinner menu for this evening, a simmering pot of lentil, sausage & kale soup seemed like a good idea… after all, I had a jar of lentils and some arborio rice sitting in my pantry and several lovely sausages waiting in the freezer.  But, quite frankly, after last night’s dinner, I was looking for a meal that required minimal assembly.  It was a lovely evening…sunny & mild with cool Bay breezes, fog gently creeping over the Golden Gate…perfect for grilling outside.  Tonight, the lentils would remain tucked away in the pantry but the sausages were destined for the grill. The arborio rice would become a refreshing lemon risotto and some fresh asparagus…simply roasted with a bit of olive oil & sea salt.

So very simple… Continue reading «Grilled Sausages, Lemon Risotto & Roasted Asparagus»