bluegill on the grill

with all the excitement, i forgot to tell you - i did actually find the time to go pick some blueberries!

i actually went over 2 weeks ago - when the patch had just opened. it was an adventure finding the place, but i put a couple ice cold waters in the car, cranked up the tunes and set out on my mission. it was my first time picking (at least that i can remember) and i didn’t really know what i was in for. the patch had just opened a couple days prior to my arrival, so it was not easy-pickin, as they say. there were still a lot of green berries, so i had to be choosy and careful. 

it was really kind of fun, almost meditative. i went all by myself, and when i got there, there were several other cars in the lot, but i could not see a soul. so, i grabbed a bucket, and buried myself in the patch. the bushes are so tall that you can get back in there and hear people just on the other side of your row, but you can’t see anyone. at one point, i was noticing how loud the birds were, thinking to myself, gee, those birds sound angry, i better move away from this area. then i heard a nearby mother tell her daughter it was a recording to keep the real birds away. i literally laughed out loud, and a few minutes later, caught sight of the mother, and told her thanks, because i thought i was about to get attacked! she laughed and then informed me that the reason the necktie was tied onto my bucket was so i could tie it around my waist and pick with two hands, instead of holding the bucket with one and picking with the other. i laughed again and fessed up to being a first-timer. she already guessed that. at least i can laugh at myself, right?

i ended up picking for about 2 hours, and was thanking god above that i wore a teeny tiny tank top, because i think it was the hottest day we had had yet. (now we’ve had hotter!) the little farm was all on the honor system, and i was feeling dumb again when i went into the unattended shed to weigh my crop and realized i did not bring anything to carry them home in. a quick search of the vehicle led me to my trader joe’s reusable shopping bag, which actually worked out perfect! i got just over four pounds and gave half to laura. 

i ate a good bunch of them over the next day or so, but i wanted to be sure and freeze some for this winter. the best method i found is to lay the berries in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze for 24 hours so they get nice and hard. do this first so that you aren’t piling them on top of eachother when they are thawed and then smushing all the ones on the bottom. then you can transfer them to containers or baggies, or better yet, you can foodsave them, and since they are hard frozen, they won’t smash when the foodsaver vacuums all the air out! voila! they will taste fresh as can be come winter time. yum, i can’t wait for some blueberry pancakes!

and since it’s been awhile, wanna know what jonny bowden has to say about blueberries in the 150 healthiest foods on earth? blueberries are food for your brain. the protect against mental deterioration, loss of coordination and balance, memory loss, and more. they are packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, which can help prevent the big killers such as alzheimer’s, parkinson’s, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and even arthritis. the author recommends 1/2 cup a day (i wish i had more!) of wild or frozen blueberries. (au naturel, of course.)

 

here is the dinner that sarah and i cooked when she was in town. well, pretty much, she did most. i’ve been making this bread for a long time now, but i got the recipe from her in the first place! and make no mistake, this isn’t exactly health food, folks. 

 

 

• fresh or frozen bluegill filets
• fresh herbs, the more the merrier
• salt and pepper
• olive oil spray

 

combine all in a foil packet and grill about 5 minutes on either side, or until done. we used fresh herbs from my garden - a small handful of each: basil, oregano, parsley, dill and cilantro. almost like a wilted fish salad!

 

cheesy bread

 

• 1/2 loaf french bread (8-10 slices)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup mayo (not miracle whip!)
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 2 tablespoons basil (or any herb, more or less to taste)

 

melt butter and whisk in mayo. cream together with shredded cheese so it is like a paste. spread generously onto bread and place onto a piece of tinfoil on the grill. grill about 10 minutes, or until toasted. (not a closed packet, just on a piece of foil so it doesn’t drip down and start a fire and ruin the bread.)

 

fried zuchinni and squash

 

• zucchini and squash, sliced about 1/2″ thick
• 1 egg
• approx 1/2 cup flour (or half and half wheat/white flour)
• a few tablespoons cornmeal 
• a few tablespoons seasoned salt

 

ok, so sarah made this and i don’t know exactly how she did it. but she sliced the zucchini and squash, dipped in egg, then dredged in flour mixture and pan fried until crispy. she said it’s a basic flour batter, but the important part is to season it up pretty good since zucchini and squash can be a little bland. whatever, it was damn good!

that’s a little footloose reference incase you didn’t catch it. 

i know i have been a shittay blogger lately. i am so sorry. it’s kinda tough when i pretty much cook in a tinfoil pack on the grill every night. well, the last time was like 2 weeks ago. i haven’t cooked a whole lot lately. it’s just been so crazy. i mean, really.

the day of my last blog, we headed out on a mini vacay with kristi and marc. first stop, indianapolis for the night. then, we headed on down to southern indiana for some breweries and wineries, en route to a little town near the kentucky border where we saw the black crowes in concert. (freaking rawked!)

on sunday, we parted ways with our friends and jason and i headed on into kentucky to visit some distilleries. he had a couple vacation days, so we were just driving in the convertible with a map and some destinations in mind, but no real plan. we ended up staying in kentucky on sunday night, toured around on monday, came back to southern indiana on tuesday and hit up a couple more wineries and a couple more breweries before getting home late tuesday. i tell you what, if you ever need tips on how to fit mass amounts of alcoholic beverages into a very small car, just ask me. when we unloaded, i could not believe it all came out of our teeny tiny trunk. good times!

got up wednesday, cleaned up the house real quick, and jetted on down to fort wayne to visit laura in the hospital. she had her babies, jackson and myles, and they are dolls! i’ve never seen babies so small! but mom and babies made remarkably speedy recoveries and were released from the nicu one week after birth! at four pounds and some change, i’d say those are some tough and determined little guys!

wednesday evening, sarah and my goddaughter, olivia arrived, and we enjoyed the lake and eachother until friday. sarah and i did prepare a pretty awesome meal on thursday, which i *promise* i will post tomorrow. yum! love to get together and cook with my girls. and spending time with olivia was awesome too - dang, she grows so fast. i am proud to say i had a hand in her early swimming lessons. we went to the beach and i taught her how to kick her legs, then she sat in a little tube at the end of the dock and kicked her way around in the water. of course, when she saw me jump off the boat, she wanted to jump in, too. not even two yet, and i’ll betcha she still remembers swimming with “aunt bill.”

when sarah and olivia left on friday, i headed up to see my mom at her summer workshop in lansing. we did a little shopping at the upscale clothing second hand shop, where i got awesome deals. i came home with a bag full of name brand clothes - the most expensive thing i got was $14 but most was more like $6 - and some still had tags! love that place! then we went and saw “momma mia” which, admittedly, i wasn’t all that excited about, but i knew that it must be good since it was my mom’s third time seeing it! it was a pretty good movie. i will say, it’s girls night material. not so much for the husbands!

my brother joined us for a few hours as well. if you haven’t read his blog, well, little turd has lost over 70 pounds. i hadn’t seen him in awhile, and i don’t want to spoil his big reveal, but dayummmmmm. that’s all i will say - because i know he doesn’t want me gushing about it, and one of these days he’s going to put pics up. i think. well, hell, i don’t know, go see him in detroit if ya really wanna know! 

saturday, i came home and jason and i decided to go out car shopping. basically, with my new job, i am driving 80 miles a day and jason drives the same. we don’t want to put all those miles on our convertible, because that’s just a fun little car, and can’t drive the tahoe because that would cost waaaayyy too much in gas. so, i got a new car. well a 2002 eldorado and it’s a beaut. couldn’t beat the price, and we had done our research. 37k miles, and it gets high 20’s mpg. so. i drive a caddy! haha, it’s kinda funny actually. but i do love it!

sunday, jason wanted to go meet jackson and myles, so we dropped over to norm and laura’s. when we got home, i spent the rest of the night getting ready to start my new job on monday, and working on a freelance job. i’ve been working on it ever since. it’s a calendar for my local elementary school, and i bet you never realized how much time goes into laying out a whole calendar with pictures and all. but, i like to do what i can for my community, ya know? i am going to get paid, but i’m not charging very much!

yesterday, i started the job, and it is awesome. make that AWESOME. i never use caps on this blog, so that’s saying a lot. i love the people i work for, love my co-workers, love the new avenue i am headed down. we do signs. all of em. anywhere you see a sign, i can do it. plus, banners, printing, etc. it’s pretty interesting and fun. i have a lot to learn since i come from a strictly printing background, but i am a pretty fast learner. family and friends, you’ll be getting an email as soon as i get my new work account set up, so you can check out my website!

i was going to post some food pics and recipes, but quite honestly, it’s 11:15 and i have to get up at 6:45. i stand here and promise you - and myself… strictly food tomorrow!

make it a great day!

cherry pepper chutney

during the summer, bbq is always popular. a couple summers ago, i tried making my own sauce, and it tasted pretty darn delish. now i’m hooked. it’s usually never the same. sometimes, i’ll throw a little sweet baby ray’s in there, or sometimes i’ll use honey for tangy sweet bbq, or maybe peppers or hot sauce for a little spice.

this time around, i happened to have almost a quart of michigan cherries in the fridge. i knew there was a way i could incorporate them into my bbq, so i set on a mission to make it up. it was a little trial and error and lots of tasting, but the result was fantastic. and, being ever inventive, i was able to get two meals from it. 

i also knew this would be the perfect thing to bring to my friend shaye at smarter than pancakes’s birthday party picnic blogging event. check it out on the 28th - she’ll share what all of her guests have brought to the picnic!

 

the recipe starts off with a chutney, which i served over tuna steaks. i then used part of that chutney and the flavors involved to make a bbq sauce, which inspired a jerk-style rub massaged into pork ribs. if you want to skip the chutney, just combine the two recipes and you’ll have lots of sauce! i hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

• 4-8 whole, fresh banana peppers (depending on how hot you like it)
• 1 cup sweet cherries, pitted
• 1 cup stewed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup catsup
• 2 tbsp hot sauce
• 4 leaves fresh basil
• 8-12 leaves fresh oregano

 

 

wash peppers and place on second shelf of grill over high heat for 4-6 minutes. (until the skin has blistered and is easy to peel off.) let cool and remove peels, stems and seeds. (if you really want it hot, you can leave the seeds, but they don’t puree that well.)

pulse all ingredients briefly in food processor. just enough so that everything is chopped, not pureed. 

take half of the mixture and strain it through a fine screen or cheese cloth. pour the liquid back into food processor.

what’s left in the strainer is your chutney. great over fish! (i served mine over tuna steaks. for the crust on the fish, i placed white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, dried orange peel, and freshly cracked salt and pepper on a plate, dipped both sides of tuna, and seared on the grill.)

 

sweet heat bbq sauce

 

 

take what is remaining from chutney recipe above and add:

 

• 1/2 cup catsup
• 2 tbsp hot sauce
• 2 tbsp worcestershire
• 2 tbsp bbq of the americas* (spice from penzey’s, ingredients to follow)
• 2 tbsp apple cider molasses
• 2 tbsp organic honey

 

puree all ingredients until saucy. may need additional seasonings to taste.

 

jerk-style rib rub

 

• 1/4 cup bbq of the americas* (spice from penzey’s, ingredients to follow)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 3 tbsp spiced pirate’s pepper (spice from st. john spice company, ingredients to follow)
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp raw cane sugar

 

mix all ingredients well. rub generously into ribs. cover with bbq, place in crockpot with 2 dark beers (enough to cover) and cook on high 4-6 hours. 

remove from crockpot, slather some more sauce on and grill to desired level of char. (the sugar in the rub and in the sauce helps to get that tasty char that makes the ribs so finger lickin’ good!)

 

*bbq of the americas ingredients: salt, paprika, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne, black pepper, white pepper, cinnamon, thyme, ginger

*spiced pirate’s pepper ingredients: black pepper, white pepper, green pepper, red pepper, garlic, onion, oregano, sea salt, other spices

hi everyone, she says, sheepishly. sorry i haven’t blogged. i’ve been in a weird place. my friends have been pestering me - thanks! no, really, i mean it. 

right after my last post, i quit my job. as in, reached a point where i simply could not take it anymore and up and left! whoa. honestly, i am not here to trash my former employer, because i did have eight years there - not for nothing. but there have been a lot of things happening over the last couple years that have really bothered me. anyone that knows me knows i am a pretty nice person. and i am good at what i do, and friendly to my customers and peers no matter what. that’s just me. 

for the last couple of years, i have been basically just beat down. i had left two years ago, and in a moment of weakness, agreed to go back. in the time that i was gone, i gained a new direct supervisor. she was there when i left, but didn’t really know too much. when i came back, i thought it was great that she had learned so much and was finally asserting herself. but i take it all back now. there is a big difference between asserting yourself and becoming a raging bitch. whoooooops, did i just say that?

let’s just say that i have been treated as if i don’t know how to do my job. treated as if i am trashy and inferior. treated as if my customers don’t like my work. treated as if i am a moron. treated as if her mistakes were my own. i’ve been yelled at, insulted, and humiliated. i’ve been micro-managed, second-guessed, and greeted with skepticism. 

it’s good to be assertive. but a good business can’t be run with an iron fist. waving said fist with reckless abandon will cause the whole thing to come crumbling down. and cause loyal employees to leave you high and dry. 

i hate how i left - mostly because of my customers. in reality, i should have left a year ago. but, i loved my schedule, loved the work i did, and had so many great relationships with customers. it’s tough, and i have been struggling with the decision ever since. it’s caused a lot of turmoil in my brain, and probably always will. i just reached a point of no return, where i was so angry, i just left. i didn’t yell or scream or say one word. i just left.

then i wrote my boss a long and detailed letter explaining why i would not be back. man, that felt *so* good. and needed to be addressed, because no employee will put up with it as long as i did. i only stayed because i was comfortable there, and i did have six good years there. i guess i was hoping she would simmer down, but it only got progressively worse. so. that’s all i have to say about that. 

what’s really awesome is, it made me aware of the bigger picture. yeah, i knew everything that was happening, and i knew it sucked, but i still went in to work, treating each day as a new day and arriving with a smile on my face. when i left, i was really feeling down on myself. and that’s where i realized that i had actually fallen for it. i didn’t think i’d be able to find a job, i was worried nobody would hire me.

then i emailed one of my vendors, and got an almost immediate reply: “we have an opening.”

i thought to myself, wow, that was a quick response. so i called. set up an interview. got the job. 

just like that. within a week of leaving my job, i landed a new one working for some really awesome people. those people think i am valuable. those people wasted no time and minced no words. those people hired me to be a full time *store manager* for their sign shop. management, baby!!!!!!!!

i feel so much better about myself now!

 

now, i am leaving town until tues or weds next week. i start the new job on august 4th, so gotta get my traveling in while i can!

pesto

you can never have too much food, right? ha! i think it is a disease with me. here it is thursday, and my fridge is still full from the weekend. i swear to goodness, if i eat another hamburger…

with all the leftovers, we’ve been working on polishing off our salads and burgers from the weekend, so there hasn’t been a lot of excitement in the kitchen. i’ve also been trying to come up with some new ideas for all those leftovers. luckily, there are a lot of fruits and vegetables, so it hasn’t been altogether unhealthy.

jason and i had t-bone steaks one night, and they were so large, we had a lot leftover. i knew the odds of us actually eating the steak were very slim. so i tried to think of an innovative way to use it. normally, i might just foodsave it and stick it in the freezer for later, but then i had a vision of my grandma rau’s ground bologna sandwiches. yum, my mouth just watered.

i’ll spare you the picture because it came out looking kind of ugly. i don’t have a meat grinder, so i took every piece of meat i could get off those t-bones and chopped them very small. not shredded, chopped. i ended up with about a cup-cup and a half of steak. then i added some chopped jalapeno and onion and a couple tablespoons of olive oil mayo and voila! steak salad sandwiches. normally, i would add pickle, but i was planning on packing these in jason’s lunch and he hates pickles. (i know! crazy!) regardless, i wish i would have thought of this years ago because it was great!

next week, i’ll tell you some of the crazy ways i’ve been using up the extra burgers in the fridge. for now, we’ll cover the wrap-up of foods i decided to make from the weekend. since it was so hectic, i did not get pictures of everything. i also bought all the ingredients to make aunt jean’s potato salad, and i even went so far as to boil the potatoes, but then ran out of time, and stuck them in the fridge to head out to a party with norm and laura. laura’s dish to pass happened to be potato salad, and she made so much that she sent me home with a huge container of it, so i ixnayed the other potato salad.

for this party, i was planning on making bruschetta since i had a baguette, but then i realized i also had a fresh ball of mozzarella and a plethora of tomatoes, so i picked up a block of parm and some fresh basil from the store to make some pesto and i whipped up some mozzarella toasts. 

pesto is a very easy and basic thing to make, but i did get a lot of compliments on my batch over the weekend. i made enough so that i could put it out with the cheese and cracker tray - i don’t know about you, but i could eat the stuff by the spoonful! my basil plants aren’t producing quite the amount of leaves needed for the amount of pesto i wanted to make, thus the reason for store bought basil. i bought three of those little plastic containers they have at walmart. (boooo, fresh bunches would be much better, but no such luck!)

 

 

• approx 3 cups fresh basil leaves
• 8 oz. parmesan (i think, one of those triangle wedges!)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup olive oil

 

clean basil leaves and remove stems. place in food processor and chop slightly. add cheese and nuts, and chop again. with processor running, drizzle olive oil in through spout on top. you may use a little less, maybe a little more, just enough to make it a moist paste. voila, simple! (do you put garlic in your pesto? one friend mentioned this over the weekend, and i kind of thought, huh! i’ve never put it in, but i’m intrigued, sounds yummy!)

 

friday, i spent some time preparing foods before heading up to kristi’s place at lake george. my herb garden came in very handy in making the herb butter for sarah’s radish sandwiches, and let me tell you - if there is one recipe from the delish that you want to try, make it this one! i got endless compliments, and it was not only tasty, but a really fancy looking spread that was quite easy! i myself am not a big radish fan, and so many people on friday night told me the same thing - maybe you’re not big on radishes, but the whole combo together is excellent. thanks, sarah!

while i was whipping this dish up, i also made a quick greek salad so i could let it marinate for saturday. given the craziness of the schedule, i didn’t even attempt to make my own dressing, which i am sure is so easy. instead i used kraft, and it was pretty good, but next time i’ll put a little more effort in.

 

 

greek salad

 

• 2 english cucumbers, approx 1″ pieces
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, whole
• 1 4.75 oz jar kalmata olives, pitted and drained (maybe more if you like)
• 4-inch x 4-inch x 1-inch block feta, crumbled into large chunks
• 1/2 large red onion, 1/2-1″ pieces
• 1 cup greek vinaigrette, give or take a little

 

combine all and let sit overnight.

approx. 3 inches tall, glass with silver top. may be at bottom of lake. moist table salt inside.

i’m searching! trying to find it, get it back together. it was a loooong weekend! 

the first picture of the weekend looks pretty tame, right?

everyone pretty much just chillin. then it got hot.

and then it got hotter…

before i knew it, the sun was down, the felt was out and we had a poker game going. bring on the visors and shades! if you don’t know poker, that hand right down there is what some might call a bad beat! jason went all in on a bluff - right into *my* pot, against *my* cowboys, and caught runner runner for a flush! dagnabit!

so i made him take a baster!

he did split the money with B that game, and we teamed up to take ‘em all down on the second game, so i won’t hold his bad beat against him. 

sunday, it was just me and jason all day. it was beautiful out, and we stayed in the boat with leftover veggies, mexicali dip and pesto all day. i think i drank one beer and about twenty waters!

*come monday* somehow, we all had the day off. so, we regrouped with some boat drinks and did it again! but, not too crazy. we did all have to work on tuesday! 

of course, there was food galore. i never have a problem in that area! we’ll cover that tomorrow. it’s time for me to catch some zzzz’s!

simple fruit salad

let’s see, three parties this weekend. one being my own. good thing i stocked the freezer full of cheese, koegel viennas and gourmet burgers over the winter! food is right at the top of my list of things to do. today i got the house pretty much cleaned up, bedding and beach towels all washed, and fruit salad made. 

thursday, i have a few errands to run in town in the morning, then the rest of the day will be spent preparing my dishes for the weekend. the first party is thursday night, for which i am making bruschetta. i originally bought the baguette to make radish sandwiches (recipe from sarah below), but i got backed up on my recipes this week and never got to it. now i think the baguette is a little too hard for this recipe, but it will work just fine for bruschetta. i still have the radishes, so it’s still on the agenda! looks mighty tasty!

i’m not sure yet what kind of dish i need for friday, but i’ve got options. probably the radish sandwiches. the trick to this type of weekend is to be clever with your food choices. and since it’s going to be busy, do as much ahead as possible! so, i try to choose recipes that are going to last a few days, and a few servings. we’ve got aunt jean’s weight watchers potato salad on the menu, definitely some mexicali dip, and i’m going to give this greek salad a try, which was mentioned on the delish awhile back, but i’ve never tried it. i also have a bag of fresh jalapenos and some laughing cow cheese should the need for grilled poppers arise. that and a plethora of cheeses, crackers and veggies (some with dip, some for the grill if needed) and we should be good to go!

as i mentioned above, i already made the fruit salad. i believe one of my girlfriends may have audibly gasped when i told her it was for the weekend. here’s the thing: i have made a few fruit salads in my time. even though my husband pretty much only eats bananas and green grapes, i still love to make it for parties because it’s always a hit. there are fruit salads that you want to make and serve immediately. anything with any extra sauce on it, or fruits such as apples, pears, bananas, raspberries or blackberries probably should be made the day of. but - if you choose your fruits wisely, (and for heaven’s sake, don’t put anything in there but fruit!) you can make it last several days. the trick is firm fruits, almost underripe. and nothing that puts off a lot of juice, turns brown or gets mushy. makes for a great breakfast and a popular side dish. so, check my recipe below… i’ve been eating it all day (what a healthy late night snack!) and it still tastes the same as it did at 10 a.m.  i promise, it will be good till saturday, if not sunday - if it even lasts that long. 

today, i’m sharing three recipes, maybe one of them will look good for your weekend! sarah’s husband, nick, provided us with his famous “cowboy caviar” recipe, which looks darn good!

 

 

 

• 1 bag green grapes (3-4 cups)
• 1 container fresh bing cherries, pitted (2-3 cups)
• 1 container strawberries (2-3 cups)
• 3-4 large, firm peaches
• 4 firm nectarines
• 4 firm plums

 

pit cherries. (do you have a cherry pitter? or i think they also call it a stoner. if not, get one!) quarter or halve strawberries, and cut peaches, nectarines and plums into approx 1″ pieces. leave grapes whole and toss. will last several days - no sugar or lemon juice needed!

 

 

nick’s cowboy caviar

 

 

• 2 - 15 oz cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 4 tbsp canola oil
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground sea salt

 

mix together and serve with tortilla chips. it is quite healthy and filling and tasty! kind of an alternative to salsa. we had green onions already from our garden this year and it was fun making a dish from something we grew ourselves.

 

 

build your own radish sandwiches

 

 

• baguette
• sliced fresh radishes
• arugula
• 1/2 stick butter (smart balance half & half)
• fresh or dried dill, thyme, basil, and parsely

 

whip butter with herbs and spread on lightly toasted baguette slices. serve on platter with arugula and radishes sprinkled with a little sea salt. eat as sandwiches or just layer arugula and radishes on top of one slice of bread. it is very delicious. the peppery arugula and spicy radish with all the herbs is a very good combination. the radishes came from our garden also and it is usually hard to come up with different ways of eating radishes. i got this idea from the barefoot contessa and it really was a winner.

portabella manchego burgers

last week i was so inspired by my girlfriends and brother (who has lost over 50 pounds now!) that i had to take a little time off from blogging to reflect… ok, i’m totally lying. it’s been hectic as all get out. thankfully, the garage sale is over and done, and all of the leftover junk has been donated to goodwill! if you could see my garage, you would be amazed. it’s actually kind of… empty! 

what with setting up for the garage sale and a weekend chock full of activities, i fell totally off the wagon cooking-wise. heck, i must have gotten knocked unconscious in the fall, because i couldn’t even *find* the wagon for a few days!

i will say - i did my best to order decent foods. well, besides the emergency pizza on wednesday night. and the spinach artichoke dip on thursday night, which somehow appeared on our table. friday night i did great - peel and eat shrimp only. but then jason and i discovered that our local liquor stores now carry shiner bock… shiner bock, a favorite of my dad’s and coincidentally, also my husband’s, is made in shiner, texas and for years has been something that we thoroughly enjoy - one at a time. we couldn’t get it up here, so whenever we travel anywhere we can find it, we smuggled as many of those little babies swaddled in towels as we could fit in our bags. needless to say, we were excited to see it!

above is a shot from the afterparty of saturday night’s beer and wine tasting up at lake george. i did pretty good with the food there - a huge spread of fruits, veggies and cheeses… although, i will say the cheeses were somewhat exotic, so i *of course* had to try one of each. i think there were 6 or 8 different ones. but then, of course, the whole event “beer and wine tasting” explains itself and where the diet ideas went…

they say that beer is a huge contributor to weight gain/lack of weight loss. many traditional style diets have you stop all together for a couple weeks or a month at the beginning of the program. it’s very hard for me in the summer to give up my beer. it is a part of my life, and i know i need to make a conscious effort to switch to rum and diet or something, but i love beer. i love it so much! it’s another thing that is somewhat new to my palate. like tomatoes and onions, i used to be very narrow-minded in my beer choices. michelob ultra, busch light, and corona were some of my favorites. only in the last year or so have i discovered the exciting world of bitey hops in an ipa and the rich malted barley taste in a doppelbock. i can’t quit now!

so, what i am trying to do is remember the balance i talked about in the beginning of this blog. if i can’t totally cut something out, then i need to try and balance it by eating healthy foods, and being reasonable with my intakes. we’re getting older, it’s not so hard. this is what i feel is best *for me* - not necessarily for everyone, but it’s most realistic for me. 

the other problem is, my summers get crazy, and sometimes it’s just easier to eat bad food than it is to put together some creative and healthy meal. there are always events in the summer and tons of people are up at their lake places (or mine). it’s funny how you have some friends you really only see during the summer. or places you may go ten times in one summer but never once in the winter. regardless, i am trying to be aware of my choices and not let one bad one ruin the whole deal.

on the flip side of that, i am trying to take total advantage of the quality and quantity of produce available in the summer. laura and i had made plans to go pick blueberries when the season comes, which is soon, but we didn’t realize exactly when the season is, so she probably won’t be able to go - she’ll either be practically on bedrest or a new mom to twin boys. but, i’m still going, and being a good friend, i’m even going to pick some for her!

exercise is also something that comes much easier in the summer months. the swimming alone is a great workout for me. i am trying to work on my distance swimming, and have seen an improvement for sure. i never use a float when i jump in the water anymore - which is a big step. i always had that crutch, which i now realize how much of the workout it was taking away. i’ve also been doing pull ups on the front of the boat, and lots of dancing and walking.

i did totally stock up on produce on monday. i have the fixins for a delicious fruit salad in the fridge, as well as a wide array of veggies. once again, this weekend, i am on the hunt for some healthy alternatives. i am definitely trying aunt jean’s potato salad this time around, and will probably make some kind of veggie-laden salad - pasta or otherwise. we’ll see. if you have any new ideas, i’d love to hear em!

before i get to today’s recipes, i promised a few of you pics of my new hairdo. my parents gave me money for my birthday, so i decided to take the money and indulge myself in a fresh cut and color. i love them both - i got light brown overall color with blonde highlights and dark brown lowlights. thanks, mom and dad!!! (yep, i got a little burn on my forehead and nose today. one of the really important tasks i am trying to accomplish this week while on vacation is to catch a tan before the weekend! i know, life’s rough.)

 

here’s my birthday dinner. simple, but practically all of my favorite foods in one meal! 

 

 

modeled after cindy’s recipe here but i did forget to put my fresh herbs in!

 

• 1/2-3/4 pound ground venison (or beef, turkey, etc.)
• 1 cup diced portabella mushrooms
• 1 cup shredded manchego (you could use any cheese, we liked the strong flavor of this)

 

let the meat warm up a little at room temp while you dice mushrooms and shred cheese, it makes it easier to work with. combine all ingredients and grill to desired doneness.

melt about 2 tablespoons butter and brush generously onto insides of buns, and a light coating on the outside. grill 3-4 minutes or until toasted.

 

 

red skin potatoes and onion

 

• 6 medium sized baby red skin potatoes
• 1 medium vidalia onion
• 1 clove elephant garlic
• 3 tablespoons butter (i used the new smart balance 50/50 sticks)

 

slice potatoes with skin on and place on tinfoil. slice onion and dice garlic, and place pats of butter on top. finish with some freshly cracked sea salt and pepper and close up packet. grill on top shelf over medium heat about 30 minutes. if you want the potatoes to get browned a little bit, move them to the bottom shelf when you put the burgers on.

 

 

veggie pack

 

• 1 cup brocolli
• 1 cup cauliflower
• 1 sweet pepper (i had yellow)
• 1 cup diced portobella mushrooms
• 1 clove elephant garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter (i used the new smart balance 50/50 sticks)

 

chop veggies to desired size and dice garlic. place all in foil pack with butter and finish with freshly cracked sea salt and pepper. grill on top shelf of grill about 20 minutes.

 

i miss you. i’m sorry i have been neglecting you. and it’s been bad. i have eaten out every meal for like five days. i’ve been trying to order good stuff - so not awful. but thank god i just went to the grocery store, so i promise to feed you with some good eats this week. it might not be tonight, since today is my birthday, but hey, i’m on vacation all week! woot woot! definitely some delish plans that i hope will make you love me again. 

 

yours, in need of inspiration,

jessica

ughhhh, i feel like i have been plagued by one ailment after another these last couple weeks. today i came home from work, chowed down on some veggies and avocado dip, then ran out to my follow-up eye doctor appointment. (i got crazy cool purple glasses!) while i was there, i noticed a burning sensation in my stomach. it got progressively worse, until… uh oh, up it came. not so pleasant. now my throat has been burning all night as well as my belly. you know, that icky feeling?

the last thing i felt like doing was cooking a dinner or blogging about food. tonight i got stuck on fit tv. what’s especially hilarious is, i’m just watching. like, wow, that looks fun. but here i lie in bed! it seems like the shows i am interested in are on really late at night. we have a bunch of free channels right now, and if i had dvr, i would be recording an awful lot. right now, i’m stuck on a show called “shimmy” and basically, that’s what you do - shimmy. it’s like belly dancing almost. looks like fun. i need to search through the line up and see if it’s ever on at a regular time!

in a regular world, i would be calling in sick tomorrow for sure, but i am on vacation starting friday and going all through next week, so i’ve gotta go in tomorrow or else i’ll screw up all my plans! i’m thinking i’ll be ok, i just think i ate something bad and it seems like it was a one time deal. 

so, short post today, i’m going to bed! have a good one!