November 29, 2010

Vegetable Lentil Soup

I’m declaring this week– SOUP WEEK! It’s like Shark week– but with soup! After scarfing down too much food, all I want is something simple and hearty with lots of vegetables & fiber. Soup always comes to my rescue! Make it one night and you have a few days worth of leftovers. This time of the year is so jam-packed with activities, it’s nice to just quickly warm up a bowl of soup and have lunch or dinner in an instant. Pair a bowl with a crusty hunk of bread and a nice green salad and you are feeling good about the holidays coming up. I know I am.

So yeah, let’s kick off SOUP WEEK!

I’m really warming up to lentils these days. My mom made me a really great Ina Garten soup with lentils and kielbasa (will make & post sometime soon!) and I’ve been nuts for lentils ever since. This Vegetable Lentil Soup is pretty hearty and of course perfect with garlic croutons. There’s lots of vegetables in the mix and it’s a really good base if you want to experiment with different flavors. Add some cumin and you have some smokey depth! Add chunks of sweet potatoes and you’re using a power food in addition to all this tasty goodness. I bet kale would be awesome in there too…I’ll probably try that next time! I threw in some freshly grated Parmesan in one of my servings (NOM!) and in another bowl, I added freshly sliced avocado (TASTY!) Go ahead, make this and use it as a springboard for your new favorite soup. Or if you are just looking for something to put in a bowl that will warm up your freezing hands, this will do the trick, no doubt.
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November 28, 2010

i’m stuffed!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was super low key & fun!

My dad busted out some great red wines & we played with Cooper all afternoon.

This is what our table looked like:

We started off with my Mom’s Green Salad. Always a favorite.

And here’s my plate! Stuffing, turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes & gravy.

I fixed Cooper a plate of all the good stuff but he wouldn’t touch any of it! He missed out.

He did like blowing out my mom’s fancy candles, though!

I’m still stuffed and looking at these pics don’t help. Totally looking forward to eating lighter this coming week!

Thinking there might be a lot of soups & salads in my future…..What about you?

Uncategorized

November 24, 2010

It’s crunch time!

Soo much to do in the next few days! I’ve just been to the market (what the HECK was I thinking?!) and now I’m ready to get to work!

I decided to play it safe and make things from my arsenal so I don’t have the added pressure of pulling something off I’ve never tried before. Been there, done that and have like 12 gray hairs to prove it.

So here’s my lineup/game plan!

For Thanksgiving I’m in charge of Pumpkin Cream Pie & helping my mother with everything else.

The day after Thanksgiving we are visiting with Casey’s family, and I have a HUGE TO DO list for that.

The tough part is that I have to pack all this stuff up in advance so I can prep it while I’m there.

Lots of lists have been made… Believe me.

For appetizers we are having a Sun Dried Tomato Goat Cheese Log with garlic crostini.

I’m making some type of mushroom bruschetta concoction. Might look something like this…

I’ve been inspired by Tara & Whitney. I might make something that’s a combo of their two recipes. We’ll see!

I’m making my Simple Caesar Salad with lots of extra croutons for the kids to munch on.

My nephew Henry is a huge crouton fan! I always make him his own bag. He loves it.

This will go along with a red sauce spaghetti & sausage dinner…with a BUNCH of my famous garlic bread (recipe soon!)

I’ll bust out some Spicy Maple Walnuts if I get a chance. They’re totally easy, so I’m not worried.

I’ve made Fleur De Sel Caramels already. They were a hit last year! I got a few requests for them again this year!

Also…hoping to get this post out sometime (soon!) for Easy Apple Cranberry CAKE. OMFG it’s good.

Say hello!

So that’s what I’ve got cooking. Which only makes me realize that I’d better get at it!

I hope you all have a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving! Eat an extra scoop of stuffing for me!

xoxoxo

Tracy

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November 22, 2010

And the winner is….

Using a random number generator,

Jennifer T!!

Congratulations!! You’ve won:

Here’s her favorite food memory!!!

I bet your grandmother would be proud! I hope you love my current 3 fave things!

THANK YOU to all of you who entered my first giveaway! I REALLY enjoyed reading all of your favorite food memories. There were soo many good ones! I had soo much fun with this!

around the home, Uncategorized

November 21, 2010

A Fave Food Memory: Pasta Making

Thank you to everyone who posted one of their favorite food memories so far for my FIRST GIVEAWAY!!

It ends tomorrow, so you still have a chance to enter!

I thought I’d share one of my many favorite food memories with you while we are on the subject! Over a month ago, I was in my grandmother’s kitchen learning how to make pasta from scratch. She was moving back to New York, so I had to quickly make plans to see her before she left. I had such a wonderful time and learned A LOT in the process. If I hadn’t come up with my 31 comes before 32 list, it might not have happened. So, hooray for motivating lists!

When I walked into my grandmother’s kitchen, she had everything set up for us to make pasta! I could tell that she was a bit stressed by the move, but our time together was a welcome relief for her. In the back of my mind, I knew it could be the last time we cooked together (at least for awhile) so I soaked it all in and appreciated every second of the experience. I also snapped as many pictures as I could! She went to use her hand mixer, and I pushed it aside and told her that I wanted to use my own hands. I wanted to feel the dough and see what it took to make it. She looked up at me proudly and patted me on the back. That was my favorite moment.

I left her house with two trays full of big fat scrumptious cheese raviolis, a few stories of her younger days, as well as THEE pasta/polenta board her father made her over 30 years ago. I am truly blessed. It’s a big deal that I have it now.

What I have taken away from the experience is that putting in the effort to make things from scratch REALLY makes a difference. When you make something by hand– with love, it shows. My grandmother has always inspired me to grow my arsenal of cooking techniques. She taught me to pay attention to what I eat and figure out what’s in it and how I can replicate it at home. She has always made things from scratch, even when her hands began to fail her and for that I am thankful.

When I talk to my dad about his favorite food memories, he beams. He always goes back to the time when my grandma made a ridiculously HUGE batch of potato gnocchi. There were soo many of them that she had to use every available surface in the house to set them. Their beds were covered! I love that story just as much as I love seeing his face when he tells it.

Food memories are sacred; especially when they reference the love that someone put forth to create them. So if you keep that in mind when you are cooking for others, I’m pretty sure it will help your cooking! You are not just making food, you are making a memory. Even if you burn the chicken, it’s a memory!!

I’ll post our “pasta recipe” soon! I just need to figure out what my handwriting says!

Oh and btw, we can cross these two things off the list now!

26. Learn a recipe from my grandma.

27. Make pasta from scratch. (maybe with my grandma?)

recipes, Uncategorized

November 20, 2010

Nut-Stuffed Delicata Squash

It smelled like Thanksgiving in my house this afternoon, thanks to this dish. Now I REALLY can’t wait to dive into my Thanksgiving plate in a few days! If you are looking for something to serve at a Meatless Thanksgiving, look no further. I found you an incredible recipe! You couldn’t possibly miss meat when you take a bite of this dish because the texture of the nuts combined with the sage & Parmesan almost replicates real sausage. So incredibly hearty…all nestled in a big sweet roasted Delicata Squash. Uh huh.

Now that I’ve tried this recipe, I can’t wait to do some improv! I served mine with a drizzle of olive oil & fresh grated Parmesan but now I’m thinking of —a creamy dose of Alfredo sauce on top! Would be totally decadent… but hey it’s the holidays! Fantasizing about a few drizzles of aged balsamic glistening on the plate makes me salivate. How about a few fried sage leaves for garnish? I’m soo doing that next time WITH the balsamic. YES. Oh wait! White Truffle OIL! Omg. Noted.

around the home, Uncategorized

November 18, 2010

Thanksgiving Decor 2010

I was getting my house tidy last week for a certain house guest, and got motivated to take down my Halloween decorations. I normally keep them up until after Thanksgiving, but I kind of missed the clock that rests in the center of the mantle. I never realized how much I look at the clock until I took it away. I’d catch myself looking at the glittered black skull in the center of the mantle for the time! DOH!