One of my favorite summertime treats is sorbet. I love almost any flavor of sorbet and it’s so simple to make. Originally I was going with a straight up strawberry sorbet made with a simple syrup but when I saw the limeade concentrate in the freezer, I knew the combination was too good to pass up. I switched out the simple syrup with the prepared limeade and added a bit more sugar to counter the tartness. It was very refreshing with a hint of citrusy lime in the background. This is definitely one of my “make again soon” recipes!
Wow, I can’t believe where the time has gone. It’s been 2 years since I posted my first recipe and it’s been quite a journey. You learn things about yourself as well as others when you put yourself out there on a blog for anyone to see. This blog was supposed to be about leaving something for my boys, a remembrance of times shared around a plate of good food. But what I didn’t expect was the kindness I receive from so many friends, family and bloggers that enjoy the same love of food and family that I do. So to start off another year of recipe sharing, I have a great pork kabob that is both easy to prepare and tastes terrific. The soy and honey marinade go perfectly with this tender pork and just about melts in your mouth.. The kabobs grill in minutes and will go with just about anything . . . maybe fried rice or vegetables added to the skewer. We ate our kabobs with a garden salad and sweet potato fries out on the patio. It was the perfect outdoor meal!
A few weeks ago I was asked to make nine dozen cupcakes for an office party where Joe works. I knew it was going to be a challenge, especially since I had little time to prepare. I thought a variety of cupcakes would work best and went to work looking through recipes. When I found this muffin posted on “A Bountiful Kitchen” I knew it would be a big hit. The muffin was so moist inside topped with a crunchy walnut streusel. And the contrast of the salty maple glaze gives your taste buds a real treat. They were so addicting I had to make another batch.
Every summer when the corn and tomatoes start showing up at the farmers market I make a batch of black bean and corn salsa. Nothing tastes better along side a good grilled steak or chicken or as a topper for your favorite taco. Plus I could eat it all day with nothing but tortilla chips. It’s completely vegetarian and packed with everything good for you. I found these little cast iron half pint kettles at a Lodge Factory Outlet in the little town of South Pittsburg, TN, near the Alabama border. What a store. . . they have almost anything you could dream of, if you’re into cast iron. A little room at the back has some great bargains on many of the cast iron skillets, dutch ovens some other items listed having a scratch or blemish. I couldn’t find anything wrong with them and came home with a large 12 inch skillet, a griddle/grill and these mini kettles.
Looks sinful huh! Actually it doesn’t seem that bad after the Kookamonga burger challenge Joe and I witnessed in Memphis. We went to this little joint called Kooky Canuck where they make these monster burgers filled with 4, 6 or 8 pounds of ground beef alone. We watched while a young couple (ironically they were from KC) attempted the 2 person challenge of eating a burger with 6 pounds of meat loaded with an additional 6 pounds of cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and bun. If they completed the challenge in 1 hour or less they ate for free. I knew they were doomed when it was announced that the burger was a mere 18,000 calories. If you could see the eyes on the young girl, you would know she was about to freak out! So while we may be in a butter coma for the evening, I think we’ll survive. As long as we don’t do this very often. Once a year or so I treat my guys to a steak dinner with all the trimmings and Father’s day seemed like the perfect time. Firing up the grill for some grilled corn on the cob and a medium rare rib-eye steak is about as good as it gets, but add a little herb butter and you’ve got something extra special. You certainly don’t have to add green chile, but it sure does spice it up. I planted some herbs earlier in the Spring that are coming along quite nicely so I snipped some chives, parlsley and thyme plus I had some cilantro in the fridge. Along with some salt and green chile this butter makes any meal special. Just don’t do it too often!
I’ve been feeling guilty for being away for so long but honestly I needed a break. Joe and I took a road trip to Tennessee, first to Memphis where we stopped by all the tourist locations, then headed farther east, driving South to North through the Sequatchie Valley where we went in search of my family tree. We had fun researching through libraries and archives trying to dig up little tidbits of interesting history. And when we returned home I had a little present about to be delivered (actually it was kind of big). Joe let me pick out my dream stove, a gas stove with a few extra bells and whistles. I haven’t cooked on gas in ages but it’s what I wanted to get back to and believe me there’s been some challenges. So while I’ve been relearning how to cook I’ve taken a couple weeks off to practice. My first test was nine dozen cupcakes for an office party where Joe works. I was a bit nervous about temperatures and fretted over every little detail but in the end my new oven didn’t let me down. So now that things have settled down a bit I’m hoping to get my groove back and post a few recipes again. This week I found cherries on sale and they were so good! I decided on individual crumbles because Joe loves that crumbly topping. I cut down a pie filling recipe and altered the crumb topping so that it fit perfectly in my half pint jars. So cute and irresistible, plus they tasted great too!
One of Joe’s favorite sandwiches is the “Fireball” from PepperJax Grill. They serve an awesome Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and if you order the Fireball you get a sandwich loaded with jalapenos along with the juice. I thought I’d give it a try to try and recreate this tasty sandwich. I cooked it outside on the griddle which made this so easy. It was almost like a stir fry, adding each item to the griddle for a quick toss in butter and olive oil.
I love this time of year when I can grill outdoors. So many things to grill and everything always tastes so good. One of my easy go to meals is grilled chicken. This time I’m trying out a soy sauce and ginger marinade for the chicken that will pair with a fresh pineapple salsa. Pineapple salsa brightens up grilled chicken with it’s citrusy fresh taste and looks beautiful on a plate. This recipe will make up to six pieces of chicken. Since it’s just Joe and I most days, I grilled what we wanted for one meal and saved the rest to grill the next.
I love chorizo but chorizo didn’t always like me. Recently I found a local smoked meat market that makes their own chorizo. It is much lower in fat and doesn’t cook out an excessive amount of grease the way some do while maintaining the spicy flavor. First thing I wanted to make was soup. I imagined a healthy and tasty black bean soup loaded with beans, chiles and corn and now a chorizo sausage that was lighter with very little fat. It was terrific if I do say so myself! And the best thing of all was I didn’t have to share. Those who won’t touch beans don’t know what their missing!
I’ve found that you can make pizza with almost anything. Whereas pizza might have been considered Italian in the past, it’s now anything you can imagine. Some of our favorites are Greek pizza, Verde pizza, Flatbread pizza, Barbecued Chicken pizza and Breakfast pizza. If you’ve ever eaten at California Pizza Kitchen you know they sometimes add a scoop of coleslaw or black bean and corn salsa in the middle to enhance the flavor. I find it appealing and another layer to add to the flavor of the pizza. So when I had leftover Chipotle pulled pork and sauce, it was logical to make pizza and add a scoop of coleslaw to go on top. Josh ate it morning, noon and night until it was all gone!
