A Girl's Gotta Eat!

We planted a raised-bed garden in our backyard this year. It was our first attempt, and we planted a wide variety of veggies: cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, a variety of herbs, tomatoes…you name it. We've definitely picked up a few tricks to use next year, like 6 tomato plants in a 5 by 8-foot space is too many, but overall have experienced a fair amount of success. In our recent Food Network Magazine , there were 3 different tomato pie/tart recipes, but this was a must as soon as I saw "corn custard" in the title. It seemed like the perfect combo: tomatoes from the Nash garden plus fresh corn from our Delvin Farms CSA equals deliciousness in a pie shell. I was sold. We made it that weekend, and I am (only somewhat) ashamed to admit that within 12 hours, it was gone…not a crumb to be found anywhere. Our Delvin Farms corn was so sweet you could eat it raw straight from the cob, and our tomatoes have been so juicy, it was the perfect food marriage. The...

In the fall of 2008, Mike and I went on a fantastic cruise to Alaska . While in Ketchikan , we decided we needed a light lunch while out on the town. We had been walking around for a while, taking in the sights and trying to catch a glimpse of the jumping salmon in the river that runs through town, and spotted a little café tucked away, with the tasty aroma of coffee wafting from its doors. Mike had a cappuccino; I had a mocha. We both ordered smoked salmon bagels, which was easily one of the tastiest things we ate on the entire trip. And let me assure you that we ate lots of tasty things. When we returned, we wanted to re-create that delicious spread, but encountered 2 dilemmas. First, we needed to find he right recipe. Second, we had to find good, affordable smoked salmon. Finding the recipe was easy (see below). Mike discovered it on food.com (previously recipezaar.com). Finding smoked salmon that wasn’t crazy expensive proved a little more difficult, so we reserved making the spr...

Truth be told, muffins are up there as one of my favorite things both to make and to eat. There's something about a warm muffin fresh from the oven, split open and enjoyed with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee that just can't be beat. Several months ago I spotted a recipe for Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins that I knew I had to try. Since we had a cooler day today, and because Mike was busy studying, I decided it was well past time to whip up some of these bad boys. The recipe may sound difficult and decadent, but in truth falls only in the latter category. There's not even a need to bust out your mixer, because everything is stirred together by hand. And because you melt the butter, you don't even have to plan ahead and set butter out to soften. This was my kind of recipe. Now, my plan is to take them to the office tomorrow, so one batch would simply not be enough. I made up a second batch and made some regular-size muffins and some mini muffins. Other that a lit...

As I may have mentioned in a previous post, I’ve become hooked on farm-fresh eggs and milk from Nashville Famers’ Market (for those of you in the area, my faves are JD Country Milk and Schrock Farms). A few nights ago I was on the hunt for an easy dinner that at least resembled something healthful, so decided to go for a frittata. I had just received an oven-safe skillet for Christmas and figured this would be a good way to break it in. Many of the recipes I found made a bigger frittata that what I felt like was necessary for just Mike and me, and none of them used the exact ingredients I was hungry for, so I decided to wing it. I must say, the result was quite tasty and heated up well the next day for lunch at work. The following is my “recipe” for our Mediterranean Frittata . Cook about 4 slices bacon in a large oven-safe skillet until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, reserving the 2 to 3 tablespoons of the drippings in the skillet. Crumble the bacon once it co...