Salsa Verde

12 fresh jalapenos, seeded and diced
1/2 large onion, diced and sauteed in oil till light brown
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Blend jalapenos, garlic and 2 tbsp. water until creamy. Add to onions and stir. Salt to taste. Cool salsa. Serve with chips and fritos. ENJOY!

Sushi, Anyone?

Nicole spent a couple of hours slicing salmon, avocado and cucumber, as well as preparing sticky rice for these lovely sushi delights!

Christmas Dinner

What will you be serving? I spied this delicacy at Walmart and had to capture it for all you gourmet cooks!

1,2,3...

1. Roll out the brand spanking new grill and deposit "match-starter" charcoal in the bottom. Add a match and VOILA! I am now a FIRESTARTER EXTRAORDINAIRE!
2. Add marinated chicken and proceed to grill it, catch it on fire, douse it with water, smoke it and yourself. Spend lots of time frantically moving pieces around the grill, hoping for the "right" spot. Sit lazily in lawn chair for at least 3 minutes at a time, then hop back up to put out another fire. ahhh, the joys of cooking on the grill! My technique needs a bit of fine-tuning but hey, it was my first time. I haven't grilled over charcoal since my single days; when I would throw a steak, or a few bacon wrapped quail, on a small hibachi and attempt to impress the date. I've graduated to the big grill now. Watch out Bobby Flay!
3. Plate it up! mmm mmm good!

Farmer's Market Haul

Texas grown sweet onions, new potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon AND Georgia peaches.

Mmmm Mmmm Good!

The kids and I ate at Schoepf's tonight. We had ribs, brisket, chicken and sausage. Good ole Texas BBQ!

Vitamins A, C and B6

Sweet Potatos have recently been classified as an "Antidiabetic" food. If you want to know why, go HERE. They are delicious roasted with butter, salt and pepper.

Local Flavor

Margarita on the Rocks is a Texas favorite! I usually prefer my margarita frozen but last night John and I ate at Chili's and both had the "Presidente" margarita. I think those blue container thingies are really cute. This is "Margarita Madness" month at Chili's. We thought perhaps margaritas were half-priced but upon asking the waitress, we learned that no! they are full price but the waiters and waitresses get "points" for selling them and some sort of prize. We really couldn't see how that would inspire the patrons to buy more margaritas?!? Another curious thing about margaritas...in the days of old(thinking of when I first had a margarita, 30 years ago) they were always made with lime. Last night, I noticed that the strawberry with sugar around the rim margarita seemed to be quite popular! It did have tequila but is that enough to classify the drink as a margarita? Not for us purists. So here is John's version of a traditional margarita on the rocks. Our family believes he makes the best margaritas around!
2-3 tbsp frozen limeade concentrate
1 jigger Cuervo Gold tequila
1 1/2 jigger water
1/2 jigger orange juice
wedge of lime
Mix above ingredients in measuring cup and stir well. Salt rim of glass before filling with margarita. Serve over ice and with a wedge of lime.

Scrumdiliumptious!

Marinated Goat Cheese
10 oz. log of chevre
fresh thyme and rosemary leaves
crushed garlic
good quality olive oil
Cover bottom of glass container with olive oil. Slice chevre into 1 inch rounds and place 3-4 round on top of the olive oil. Add a sprig of thyme and rosemary, as well as crushed garlic sprinkled liberally. Add 3 more rounds of chevre, a liberal splash of olive oil and more garlic! Add the remainder of the cheese, another sprig of thyme and rosemary, sprinkling of garlic and more olive oil. If you are using a narrow jar, you can completely submerge the cheese in oil. If a wider jar, like the one above, bring the oil about 2/3 way up. Marinate in fridge overnight. To serve, allow the olive oil to "melt" at room temperature and then spread the marinated cheese on crackers. Fantastico!

All That Jazz!

I couldn't resist snapping a photo of these gorgeous "Jazz" apples. The produce guys looked a bit bewildered as I bent this way and that trying to get the perfect shot. I started to explain the Photoblog project but decided it might be more fun for them to talk about the crazy lady snapping photos of the apples and eggplant and heaven forbid, the celery.

Eat Your Vegetables!

Fresh green beans liberally splashed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and roasted in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. It doesn't get much better than this!

P.S. EAT YOUR CRABLEGS BY CANDLELIGHT!



Today is Nicole's birthday and she is 19!! Last year to be a teenager. She requested crab legs for her birthday dinner and I was happy to oblige. Actually, we aren't eating by candlelight but the photo turned out dark. I didn't use the flash because there was an overhead light and Nicole didn't want to wait around while I fiddled with the camera and took multiple shots. hmmmm, wonder why? However, the lighting does looks somewhat like candlelight. hehe

Gooey Goodness!

Granny Smith and Fuji apples waiting patiently to be dressed in their caramel robes.


Christy has been asking for caramel apples and today was the day to create them! This is a form of art, let me tell you. Aside from a couple of blisters on my fingers, brought on by the need to quickly rescue the candy thermometer from sliding completely beneath the gooey goodness, the caramel apple creative process went off without a hitch! Can you see the caramel bubbling?


Christy dipping and twirling the apples in caramel! There is a method to the madness.


Voila!