Wow, what a fast couple of days.  Since I did not have camp this week I had free days , or so I thought.  Not so.  I had tons of stuff to do. 

I had to do sheets and bedding from the spare room where my sister and nephew stayed.  I had to go to Costco and get lots of things that fit well into the Element.  I went to Jazzercise after a week away and oh my am I feeling it!  Three times this week, I feel much better even with the soreness.

Yesterday I went to BJ's and Kohl's to pick up the items that Costco did not have.  I think I'm set now on paper towels, cheese sticks, new pillow for husband, plastic wrap, hummus, and yes two new cookbooks. 

I know, it's a sickness.  I bought the Williams Sonoma Preserving cookbook at Costco and Planet Barbecue at BJ's.  I glanced through them last night and they both look great.  More cooking!

Yesterday I decided to make dessert since dinner was simple - ribeyes on the grill, pasta with pesto and fresh green beans.  I made Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler and it was good.  And pretty.  Not too difficult.  I did use pecans rather than walnuts, we are in Georgia and I like them better. 

Cinnamon Biscuit Peach Cobbler from Taste of Home Magazine
serves 12

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup water
• 9 cups sliced peeled peaches

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda; cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until blended.
2. Transfer to a floured surface; knead 10-12 times. Pat into a 12-in. square. Brush with melted butter.
3. Combine the walnuts, cinnamon and remaining brown sugar; sprinkle over dough to within 1/2 in. of edge. Roll up jelly-roll style. Seal dough; set aside.
4. For filling, in a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon peel. Gradually stir in water until blended. Add peaches. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
5. Cut biscuit dough into twelve 1-in. slices; arrange biscuits over filling. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
   

Today I worked a few hours at Macy's for KitchenAid, then the library, Trader Joe's, the bank, and home for laundry and dinner.  I am ready to relax!  I will be leaving tomorrow to go to Pittsburgh for my niece's baby shower.  I hope to get an early start, but still have to pack my clothes and gather the mountain of stuff from my sister's shopping spree last week. 

I am so glad that I finished the baby blanket a while ago.  I am in process on another for my stepdaughter and need to get back to that.  Life is good, all works out as it should, now to deal with the shopping mountain!

This week went by quickly!  I cooked for a client on Tuesday and then I've just been doing stuff all week.  I teach cooking camp again next week so I'm conserving my energy!

It has been hot here again as it has been almost everywhere.  I don't totally change the way we eat in the summer, but after the holiday weekend I was feeling overloaded with meat.  I like meat, often I crave it, but I needed a rest.

Tuesday for "whatever" night I had leftover mashed potatoes for dinner.  My husband came home from his meeting, asked about my dinner and was a little surprised by my answer.  He had the usual meeting pizza.

Wednesday I had planned for steaks and zucchini but was still feeling too heavy from the weekend.  I decided on the leftover pasta that I had - penne, two kinds of mushrooms, no meat.  I also had zucchini boats  - garlic, butter, parmesan.  Delicious.

Last night I ventured into some animal protein.  My husband works with people who cook and quite some time ago came home with a photocopied recipe.  I have had it on the counter waiting for the perfect time.

I don't know the source, nothing on the page, but it was quick and easy and perfect for summer.  Also no mayo in the slaw!  I made the slaw about 2 hours before dinner and kept it in the fridge.  It was nice and crunchy at dinner, some water was released.  I served it with black beans.

Shrimp Tacos with Citrus Cabbage Slaw
serves 4

1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sour cream
kosher salt and black pepper
8 ounces cabbage, shredded
1 cup corn kernels
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
8 small flour tortillas, warmed

1. In a large bowl, whisk the orange and lime juices, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. 
2. Add the cabbage, corn, and jalapeno and toss to combine.  Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 
   
4. Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Serve with the tortillas and slaw.

Today is continuation of errands and cleaning.  My sister and nephew arrive tomorrow from Pittsburgh for camp week.  I think I may stop at the grocery store so we can avoid that this weekend. 

My menu plan for next week is hopefully easy since my week will be harder.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled the week, but in addition to camp everyday I have the Y class Monday night and a library program for teens Tuesday night. 

Tonight I am smoking my first turkey breast with high hopes that it will give me leftovers for next week!  I'll also make a blueberry cake for snacks.

This was a long weekend for me.  A few weeks ago I asked my husband if he'd be off on Friday or Monday for the 4th of July and he wasn't sure.  I decided to mark off both days for me and take an extra long weekend.  Turns out he was off today, so I had my extra day Friday.

I had a peaceful day of a little work and a little knitting planned for Friday.  I did my weekly menu planning early Friday and saw fudgy brownies in Fine Cooking.  I had everything I needed so I made brownies pretty early Friday.  After I cleaned the kitchen and ran the dishwasher, I decided the kitchen was closed for the day. 

I had to run out to get a printer cartridge to get some library program printing done, then home for lunch and knitting.  Small trauma - when I heated my lunch the demon cat ate my knitting needle.  She's fast with powerful teeth!  After eating I ran to the yarn store for new needles.  I need to be very vigilant while knitting. 

We ate dinner out on Friday night and shopped for a new mattress and looked at new refrigerators.  Saturday morning was Jazzercise, grocery shopping and the kitchen was open again for dinner - pork piccata.  I also needed to make my breakfast casserole that was on the menu for Sunday.

I love the cookbook A Real American Breakfast by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.  The Sunday morning breakfast was another casserole and it is delicious.

Almond-Cinnamon Toast Featherbed

Butter deep 9- or 10-inch baking dish.

Slice bread approximately 1/2 inch thick. Toast slices until crisp and golden (If they are too thick for your toaster, this can be done on a dry griddle or on a baking sheet in a 400-degree oven.) Stir together 4 tablespoons softened butter, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Spread mixture evening over the toast.

Arrange 2 to 3 equal alternating layers of the bread, bits of almond paste, and mascarpone in the baking dish. Cut or tear the bread slices if needed to make snug layers.

Whisk eggs with half-and-half, amaretto and salt. Pour custard over bread mixture. Drizzle the 3 tablespoons melted butter over the surface. Cover and refrigerate strata at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Remove strata from refrigerator 20 to 30 minutes before you plan to bake it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Plan on a total baking time of 55 to 60 minutes. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and scatter almonds over the top if you are using them. Continue baking, uncovered, until puffed, golden brown and lightly set in the center, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Serve hot.

I used challah bread, a 13 x 9 baking dish and made 2 layers, mascarpone and did not use almonds.  We had some home made breakfast sausage also.  After breakfast we relaxed, read a little, took a little nap and went to a friend's house.

My chef friend Rosemary invited us to her pool for the holiday.  The pool in her neighborhood.  We arrived, got organized, went to the pool, there was a catered bbq lunch, we ate, talked, relaxed in the pool, back to the house for chatting and then home.  We had a very pleasant 4th of July.

This morning we were up and ready for 7:15 Jazzercise.  I had to drag myself there slightly, but did feel better after.  Home for breakfast which was Migas from the same cookbook.  Migas are roasted poblanos, roasted jalapeno, roasted tomato, eggs, corn chips crushed, cheese, cilantro and they are wonderful.

Tonight will be ribs on the grill. Slow cook, easy cook.  Maybe another nap and some knitting.  Maybe the pool.  The weekend weather has been perfect.

Back to work tomorrow with a personal chef customer.  I'm ready though after my long weekend.

I had such a nice time yesterday cooking for dinner last night and for breakfast this morning.  Actually dinner for tonight is done since we're having pulled pork again.

Yesterday we got the wood chips soaking and the grill burning so I could get the pork butt on by 6:00.  I wanted to make sure to get the temperature holding between 225 and 250 before we went to Jazzercise.  All went well.

About 4:30 I took the meat off of the grill to cool slightly to shred.  It fell apart so easily and was so delicious. 



Since the pork was cooking without needing attention from me, I made potato salad yesterday afternoon to have with the pork.  I do not like mayo, so I made a salad from The Barefoot Contessa and for fun used purple potatoes.  It too was delicious.



I had to wait for potatoes to get tender in boiling water so I used that time to make a breakfast casserole that we had this morning.  Here are the before and after pictures.  It was very good, a recipe from Ellie Krieger.



Blueberry Almond French Toast Bake from Ellie Krieger
serves 8

• Cooking spray
• 1 whole-wheat baguette (about 18 inches long, 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 large eggs
• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the bread in a single layer in the baking pan. Whisk together the eggs, egg whites, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour the egg mixture over the bread in the pan, spreading it around so the liquid saturates the bread. Scatter the blueberries evenly on top and sprinkle with the almonds and brown sugar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the baking pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.

I have leftovers for brunch tomorrow and I'll pop some in the freezer for another day.  I love having the freezer with ready to go meals.

Since I was in the kitchen anyway and since the berries are beautiful right now, I needed to make my favorite berry pie.  I love Fresh Raspberry Pie. 

All of my cooking is done.  I did not do any knitting yesterday so I think I'll do that today.  We've been to church, had breakfast and now I can hear the dryer telling me the towels are done.

I have a library program tomorrow with teens in Rockmart.  I have all of my recipes ready and just need to get all my equipment organized.  And then the rest of the day is for relaxation!  Sounds good to me.

Last week was another session of kid's cooking camp.  We had the competition on Thursday with guest judges and then invited guests for lunch on Friday.  Both groups did a great job in the competition, the judges came up with a 1.6 point difference between the groups. 

Thanks so much for the great volunteer assistants and the wonderful judges who take time out of their day to come and visit with the kids.  They do get a great lunch but I know they are working, have deadlines, lots to do.  I did manage to remember to take some pictures of the prep and of the food. 

Get all ingredients ready before you cook:



Sauteed apples cooling and the finished apple turnovers:



Raspberry lemonade ready for presentation to the judges (Meghan Foley, Virginia Willis and Mary Moore):



More great looking and great tasting food:



The potatoes were a delicious surprise for everyone.  The team took some pieces of several recipes to create this original recipe.  It was so good we had it for lunch with guests on Friday. 

Twice Baked Asparagus Lime Potatoes by LiJuSa
serves 12

6 russet potatoes, scrubbed
3 cups water
1 1/2 pounds asparagus
3/4 cup butter, chilled
1 1/2 tablespoons shallots, finely diced
3/8 cup key lime juice
2 pinches salt
cooked bacon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Rub potatoes with olive oil, pierce once and bake until tender, about 1 hour.
2. Cool slightly and cut in half lengthwise.  Scoop pulp into a bowl and reserve shells.
   
3. Mash potatoes.
4. Bring water to a boil in a large pot.  Add asparagus and cook until crisp tender, 3 to 4 minutes.  Using tongs, transfer to a bowl of ice water.  Drain and pat dry.  Cut into small pieces.
   
5. Cut butter onto 8 equal pieces.
6. Over medium heat, melt one piece of butter in small saucepan. 
   
7. Add shallots to pan, stirring until softened but not brown, about 30 seconds.
   
8. Pour in lime juice and bring to a boil. 
   
9. Add one piece of butter to the juice whisking until just melted.  While whisking constantly add each remaining piece of butter one piece at a time until each piece is incorporated. 
   
10. Mix about 2/3 of sauce with potatoes, taste, add additional if desired.   Fold in asparagus, salt, pepper and bacon. 
    
11. Mound filling in shells.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven.
    

No cooking last night for me.  I thawed stuffed pizza that I made a couple weeks ago and it was perfect.  Now I have a raspberry pie almost finished baking.  I have pork slow smoking on the grill, potato salad finished and a blueberry almond breakfast casserole done for tomorrow.  Time to relax!

Wow, did we eat a lot today!  And it was all pretty delicious.   My husband and I do not have children together, but he has two daughters and Chrissy happened to be in Atlanta this weekend so we got to see her. 

She is a wedding planner and had a wedding in Decatur on Saturday.  She knew she would finish about 6 pm and even though Greenville isn't too far, it is too far after a couple days of wedding planning!  She decided to come to our house Saturday to visit, sleep and relax a little.

I worked a few hours on Saturday doing my job of Product Specialist for KitchenAid.  I was showcasing the Food Grinder attachment for the stand mixer at Whole Foods in Buckhead.  I love the attachments and the food grinder is my second favorite (if I had favorites), the first being the pasta roller/cutter.

I told Chrissy that I was picking up our dinner at Whole Foods so we would be having a casual meal on the grill whenever she was finished with the wedding.  As much as I love the food grinder I had thoughts that after 4 hours of making and cooking sausage patties that my own dinner had better be pretty easy. 

I finished at Whole Foods at 3 and checked out the fish counter.  There was beautiful sockeye salmon so I grabbed some.  On to produce where I grabbed some South Carolina zucchini.  Then to the bakery for a baguette and dessert.  I was good to go. 

Dinner was all on the grill - salmon, zucchini planks, warmed bread and then raspberry cake.  This was a very nice, very easy dinner.

Today Chrissy knew she would want to sleep a little, she is pregnant and due in December.  I spent some time Friday avoiding menu planning and finishing the baby sweater so I could give it to her.  I did it!  Sleeves, buttons, ends in, all done.  Very cute, have to get the picture from my husband.

We went to church, the grocery store (I planned my menu Saturday) and then home to make breakfast.  The sausage was so good on Saturday that I needed to make it for brunch for us.  Usually when I demo something for several hours I need a break from even thinking about eating it no matter how delicious.  Not this time. 

I cut the meat, added the herbs, spices, put it through the grinder, made stone ground grits, eggs and juice and we had a very nice brunch.  The recipe was from Alton Brown and I will never buy sausage again.  Luckily it makes quite a bit, I made patties and they are in the freezer ready for whenever.

Breakfast Sausage from Alton Brown

• 2 pounds pork butt (2 1/2 pounds with bone), diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound fat back, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine diced pork with all other ingredients and chill for 1 hour. Using the fine blade of a grinder, grind the pork. Form into 1-inch rounds. Refrigerate and use within 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. For immediate use, saute patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Saute until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

We had dinner tonight of pork chops with mushroom gravy, smashed red skin potatoes and fresh green beans.  This appears to be a week of pork. 

Tomorrow is the second session of kid's cooking camp week.  We are cooking food for the beach, city and country.  I know we'll have fun and I'll be having great lunches again next week.  Note:  Make sure to get in Jazzercise!

Now I'm going to do some knitting.  I have lots of knitting to do and started an easy blanket.  Not much thinking to it, but good for those after kid's cooking days.

It's Friday!  I have a few things to do, but a little of everything which I like.  This week overall was a variety week after having camp  every day last week.

This week I had my class at the Y on Monday night, I so enjoy my monthly class at the Y.  Tuesday I was going to clean but I managed to avoid that totally and did some relaxing.  Wednesday I had a library cooking program in Fayetteville.  The program was sold out (it was free but signup required) with about 28 kids from age 4 to 12. 

The library summer theme this year is "Make a Splash at the Library" which is not a favorite of the librarians since books and water should not mix.  My program was Water, Water Everywhere and I made fish (lives in the water), zucchini (contains water) and lemonade (made with water).  The kids helped me cook and everyone sampled.  I have no pictures because an hour long program + kids helping + tasting for all does not equal pictures. 

Thursday I had a personal chef customer.  It was a little strange because usually I see my customer and don't see the kids.  My customer started a new job recently so I just got to say goodbye to her and the kids are off school so I got to see them.  I had a good day of cooking and in addition to the meals I left them a treat of fresh fruit. 

Today is starting out well.  I like to get to my desk about 6 when I'm not working but didn't get here until 7.  I decided to pick up a row of knitting while I was rested and I also did one row.  About 7 more rows and the baby sweater is done!

I checked email at my desk, emptied the dishwasher and made a meal for my Loving Meals MInistry.  The family has three young children and the mom is on bed rest due to have twins.  They need food!  I made Chicken Piccata with Mushrooms big enough to avoid.  It's a lighter recipe from Eating Well.

Chicken Piccata with Pasta and Mushrooms from Eating Well January/February 2008
serves 4

• 6 ounces whole-wheat angel hair pasta
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 chicken cutlets, (3/4-1 pound total), trimmed
• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 10-ounce package mushrooms, sliced
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons butter

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
2. Meanwhile, whisk 5 teaspoons flour and broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm.
3. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they release their juices and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in parsley, capers, butter and the reserved mushrooms. Measure out 1/2 cup of the mushroom sauce. Toss the pasta in the pan with the remaining sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the chicken and the reserved sauce.

Now I have a load of laundry in, I need to dust a little, maybe vacuum, make a menu for us for next week, get to the bank.  Next week is another session of kid's cooking camp.  So much fun but I need easy meals for that week so I can make sure I don't avoid Jazzercise. 

I have a training session with KitchenAid this morning so need to be ready to watch online at 10:00.  Going away party tonight so no need for dinner for us!

Monday night was my regular monthly class at the Y near my house with my group from the Wellness Center.  For this class the theme was berries since they are so nice now, but I used some filo shells and referenced another recipe that no one remembered.

I promised I would put it on my website.  I also mentioned that I had a recipe for home made maraschino cherries that I saw in an article, can't remember now from where, and I printed it and it was on my desk to try.  They wanted that also.

So here we go:

Key Lime Mini Tarts from Betty Crocker 2001
makes 60 with filling leftover

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice, I use Joe and Nellies
8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
4 packages mini filo dough shells, 2.1 ounces each, in freezer section

Beat milk and lime juice in large bowl with whisk or hand mixer until smooth and thickened.
Fold in whipped topping.
Spoon some into each shell.
Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.  Garnish with lime zest if desired.

I have kept the filling in a bowl covered for a couple days.  The shells will get soggy if filled for too long, but you can pipe the filling into the shells as needed once it's chilled. 

Basic Maraschino Cherries source unknown

1 pound ripe, thoroughly washed cherries (stems and pits intact)
2 to 3 cups Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

Place cherries in a glass jar or container with a lid.  Pour the liqueur over the cherries.  The goal is to add enough liqueur to immerse the cherries, but they will bob to the top of the liquid anyway.
Refrigerate at least 2 weeks.  Gnetly swirl the container every 2 to 3 days to immerse the cherries in the liqueur.

I haven't tried this yet so if anyone does, let me know how it is.  Next week is another week of kid's cooking camp so unless I can get things this weekend, it will be a while before I try the cherry recipe.

Now I am going to get ready for a library program, titled Water, Water Everywhere.   I have the equipment ready to go I hope and I have the recipes printed, I need to get my grocery list together so I have food. 

I had some time to try new recipes and am so glad that I did!  Friday night was steak, salad and bread.  Easy dinner except I made the bread and grilled it.  I found the recipe in the latest issue of Fine Cooking and it looked so delicious I couldn't wait. 

Once I started I was a little worried, the dough seemed soft, I couldn't see how it would work, but it did, it was wonderful dough and everything worked like the recipe stated.

I made 10 individual balls of dough and let them rest for about 1 1/2 hours.  It isn't a yeast dough but the recipe said "rest". I also made the pesto like filling and crumbled the cheese. 



After the resting period I just followed the recipe: Grilled Naan filled with Herbs and Cheese from Fine Cooking May 2010.

---

I made mine on The Big Green Egg.  I love that grill!  Mine cooked a little less evenly than they might have with a gas grill, bit the smoky flavor is terrific. 

Saturday I made another easy dinner and used the Egg again.  I smoked some salmon, had salad with it, some angel hair tossed with pesto and grape tomatoes and fresh blueberry cobbler.



Yesterday while dinner was cooking I made breakfast for today.  I love stratas and had a new recipe I wanted to try.  This was called Kentucky Hot Brown Strata from the cookbook Real American Breakfasts by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison.  This is one of my favorite cookbooks and the strata was perfect. 

Kentucky Hot Brown Strata

• 1 (1-1 1/4 lb)  country bread or sourdough bread, crusts removed if thick (1 loaf)
• 6 ounces chopped smoked turkey or roast turkey
• 6 ounces bacon, finely chopped and cooked crisp
• 1 large tomato,  chopped
• 3/4 lb cheddar cheese,  grated (medium or sharp)
• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups milk or half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  

I used sourdough bread, smoked turkey, grape tomatoes, no sage and extra sharp cheddar.  Very, very good.



No cooking tonight.  I made two appetizers this morning while the strata was baking and am taking them to my friend Rosemary's house for dinner.  It will be a nice relaxing evening with good food and good friends. 

Tomorrow I'm cooking for a customer, also Tuesday and then I'm headed to Washington DC!

We are having a nice quiet day today after a busy Friday and Saturday.  My Friday wasn't bad, just some errands but my husband worked until 3 am Saturday.

Saturday morning I went to 7:15 Jazzercise by myself, husband did not want to go and then came home to get ready for the day.  I had a library program scheduled.  It was tied into Asian Heritage month and was at the Flat Shoals Public Library in DeKalb county.  I must say I am getting to see lots of new places in Georgia doing programs for libraries.

I asked my husband to come and help at the library because I had agreed to teach a class at Cook's Warehouse Saturday night also.  I was asked Wednesday evening about Cook's and knew the timing between classes was tight, but possible.  I wanted to make sure I could get cleaned up from the library quickly to get turned around for Cook's Warehouse. 

All worked well.  We got to the library at 11:45 after terrible traffic on 285.  Wasn't expecting that but stayed good on my timeline.  We got setup and got water boiling for the program.  I had decided on Noodles Three Ways to show several Asian ingredients and also show how some ingredients are common in other cuisines.  I had an hour for the program and for eating so I had to be very organized!





I made all the noodles at once and then divided them into the three different recipes.  The audience was wonderful!  They asked questions and loved the food.  They were ready to go home and try the recipes for their families.






I made Sesame Noodles, Peanut Noodles and Spicy Coconut Noodles. All are good and with summer coming are a good way to get some easy interesting meals. 




Sesame Noodles
serves 6 to 8

1 pound linguine or noodles of your choice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
8 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups snow pea pods, cut in half
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Cook linguine 9 to 11 minutes or according to package directions.
   
2. Meanwhile, whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, rice wine vinegar, crushed red pepper, scallions and cilantro.
3. Add noodles, snowpeas and bell pepper, toss to coat.
   
4. To serve garnish with sesame seeds. 
   
5. Add cooked chicken, turkey, pork, or shrimp if desired.

The program was scheduled for 12:30 to 1:30 and I stayed with my timeline.  We left the library clean and happy at 1:50.  I drove home, unpacked the car, my husband said he'd do dishes, I changed to a clean chef coat and headed to Midtown. I was home for 20 minutes, just enough time. 

Wendy (cooking school director) had called me Wednesday evening to see if I could do a class with the teen girls from Hillside.  I had worked with them a few years ago and had fun so of course I said yes. For more information check out www.hside.org. 

The class started at 5 so the assistants and I started at 4 getting everything prepped and organized.  The girls had requested a Southern menu so I planned Catfish with Lemon Pepper, Southern Oven Fried Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese and Blueberry Cobbler.

The girls arrived at 5:00 and were excited to cook. They got into groups and started cooking.  They did a great job.  Once a group had their recipe in the oven, they cleaned their dishes and area and helped set the tables for dinner.  While things finished cooking we reviewed the recipes so everyone could ask any questions and we could talk about changes they could make to the recipes such as different fruits in the cobbler.

Dinner was served at 6:30 and it was delicious!  I love having someone cook for me and I was hungry! I got home about 8:15, asked my husband to make me a cup of hot tea and relaxed.  My legs were very tired! 

Today we went to church, went out for breakfast, picked up some groceries, bought some dishes and have been relaxing.  Now I have to go make dinner.  Quick and easy sausage with roasted red pepper pizza.