What Did You Eat?

Mental Health Week

People are sending me e-mail asking if I'm OK. Yes, I am--and thanks for caring.  This week has been exhausting.  Squirrel season is coming to an end (or so I'm promised), but someone needs to tell that to  the babies that keep falling out of trees.  I was thinking of blogging my dinner for last night, ramen noodles and bagel chips.  But, I doubt anyone would be interested in that.    Right now, eating is on the fly, but I intend to organize  some menus for next week.  Organizing my life. That's an interesting idea.  And thanks to everyone who left comments!  They lift my spirits.

WHB: Artichokes Stuffed With Shrimp (Parsley)

I can't remember exactly when I first had stuffed artichokes, but it was probably during the time I was living on the Gulf Coast and shrimp was very cheap.  We would go to the docks, where the shrimp boats unloaded their freshly caught crustaceans, and buy large amounts of the shrimp for as little as fifty cents a pound.  Then we went home, divided them up into plastic bags, and froze them.  This recipe started out long ago, probably in Louisiana, as a reliable family dish made with stale bread and cheap shrimp.  Back then, shrimp wasn't fancy food, it was a basic source of protein, like inexpensive ground beef.  Well, shrimp certainly isn't cheap anymore--I paid $9 for a pound.  But, it was worth it.

WCB: My Favorite Thing

Here I am, looking intently at the other side of the yard. But, I can't walk there.  Mom got a temporary restraining order forbiding me from going there.  My own yard, and I can't go where I want in it.  All because of the stupid squirrels.  Two of them were moved to the outdoor cage and mom says they can't become "habituated' to me. What the hell does that mean?  So, I have to stay far away from them, or creep closer and hide in the bushes.  And if I do manage to get close to their cage, mom yells, flaps her arms and hisses at me--to show the squirrels that I'm dangerous. So, I play along and walk away, but I do it as slowly as possible, with my head held high. I'm not going to let those squirrels think they rule things around here.

Never Throw Away Your Pastry Scraps.

Maybe some of you remember the last Daring Baker Challenge with the Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart?  I saved my scraps of leftover chocolate shortbread crust and stashed them in the freezer.  Since then, each time I got ice cubes, the scraps seemed quite forlorn, pining to fulfill their culinary destiny.  So, today I used a small amount to make two tartlets.  I like this shortbread dough because it tastes very good, and can be pressed into a tartlet or pie tin with your fingers, like Play Dough. No rolling required.   After baking them for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees, I filled them with Greek yogurt (after they cooled, of course).  Then I scattered some berries and sliced nectarines on top of the tartlets.  They seemed a bit healthy, with the yogurt and fruit. Although the crust does contain butter, it required barely two tablespoons of the dough to make each tartlet.  Most important, they were delicious.  Greek yogurt, which I adore, makes a good substitute for pastry cream. And making just two tartlets kept the calories under control.

Note to self:  Buy some of those fancy fluted tartlet pans.

WHB: Swordfish With Amandine Sauce (Lemongrass)

Well, this was a good day, because I prepared and ate this marvelous dish.  It definitely makes it on the list of my favorite meals for this year.  It comes from the genius Cindy Pawlcyn, who knows how to combine flavors so well.  Everything about this dish delighted me--the flavors and textures, and the simplicity in preparing it.  I'll be making this again and again.

Since it contains lemongrass, I'm making that my herb of choice for Weekend Herb Blogging.   Lemongrass used to be one of those ingredients that I would read about, but it was never in any of the grocery stores where I lived. But, now it's always in the stores around here.  And that's a very good thing, because lemongrass has a lovely floral taste that's quite distinctive.  I hope it becomes as common as bananas in groceries everywhere.   This week WHB is being hosted by Katerina at Daily Unadventures In Cooking.  Stop by her site and see all the great herby recipes in the Roundup. And make sure you check out Kalyn's Kitchen, our fearless leader's blog. Almost two years ago Kalyn created WHB and the anniversary celebration should be quite spectacular.   Who knows what Kalyn has in store?

WCB: Big Game Hunting

I bet you can't guess what I'm doing.  Those flowers are called hummingbird flowers, so I've been staying close to them for days, waiting to pounce on a nice little hummer.   But, so far I haven't seen one. So, I decided to check down in the bush, to see if they were there.  Don't act like I'm terrible because I want to eat a hummingbird!  I'm starving people!!!  Well, I'm sure some of you will be happy to learn I never got a hummer. 

Presto Pasta Night: Gemelli With Garbanzos

My intention was to make some won tons yesterday, but I couldn't find the time.  So, I settled on this amazingly fast pantry recipe.  I decided to use items on hand, and surveying my pantry I saw canned garbanzo beans and my favorite pasta, gemelli.  Both of these ingredients are often paired together in Italian cooking, because they work together beautifully.   With the addition of basil, sliced red bell peppper, garlic, and parmesan, this was a good tasting, fast recipe.  I have an electic kettle that heats water quickly, so that cut the preparation time. All together, it took me barely 15 minutes to make this dish.  I love dawdling in the kitchen, making a long, drawn out meal. But, there are other times when I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than spend a lot of time cooking. This was one of those moments.  I can't say that this is my favorite gemelli recipe, but it was good tasting.

 

Squirrel Chasing Food: Joe's Special

Gee, what a fun day I had. Not. I spent quite a bit of it trying to coax Taboo, the squirrel, back into her cage, after she escaped two times.  It was a real battle of wits, with me trying to act like The Horse Whisperer, thinking that a quiet, resolute manner would "speak" to her. Well, it didn't. Instead, it all degenerated into me chasing her, to no avail.  You can't catch a squirrel that doesn't want to be caught.  Finally, after almost two hours of chaos, she went into her cage for the second time.  By that time, she hated me.  I was the bad guy. But, after a couple of hours she must have realized that she needed to be on good terms with the food provider, so we're friends again.

All this activity caused me to crave protein. And I had a big bag of spinach that I needed to use before it became a big bag of slime.  I also had ground chicken and decided that a skillet full of Joe's Special would be just the thing. True, real Joe's Special requires ground beef, but I didn't care.  When you're the cook, you can make these critical decisions. I chased a squirrel. I needed a Joe's Special.  You purists can deal with it.

WCB: Roundup!

Hi Everyone! Here's the Roundup.  Thanks to everyone who took part this week.  Next week, WCB is hosted by Bad Kitty Cats and Megan at Bad Kitty Cats.  So, drop by and say hi to them all.
 

WHB: Asian Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce (Ginger Root)

Several months ago, Kristen at Dine and Dish posted a recipe for Asian meatballs. I read it and immediately knew I wanted to make them.  I finally did today, and  they were delicious.  I made some changes in the recipe, using ground turkey instead of veal and pork. I have nothing against pork, the ground turkey was on sale and I often use it instead of pork.   I also added some minced ginger root that wasn't in the original recipe, because I'm hopelessly addicted to it.   Soy sauce, sesame seed oil, and ginger root are my favorite flavors.  Just the smell of them makes my taste buds stand up and salute.   I can't remember exactly when I first had ginger root, but I can't imagine life without it. It's like garlic and peppercorns, a vital ingredient.  So, even though this recipe contains cilantro, which I also love, I'm choosing ginger root as the starring herb for Weekend Herb Blogging.  WHB was created by the marvelous Kalyn at Kalyn's Kitchen, but it's being hosted this week by the incredible Katie at Thyme For Cooking.  When I grow up, I want to live just like Katie.  Stop by her blog and check out the WHB Roundup on Monday.