Birthday Feast

Today is Pete's birthday! Last year we traveled for both our birthdays to celebrate turning 30, but this year we're keeping it more low key. We're having a big meal that I've been working on for the last few days. The menu:

• Fancy cheeses and crackers (Cheese is required at the birthday celebration of a Wisconsin native)
• Swiss Chard Lasagna with Mushrooms and Ricotta (I hope this is good because it was a process to make. It's in the fridge and ready to put in the oven when I get home tomorrow).
• Chopped Italian Salad (without the meat)
• Bread
• Wine
• Dorie Greenspan's Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake (I'm currently a bit obsessed with Dorie's cookbooks)

Happy Birthday Pete!

Cinco de Mayo

Pete and I are planning a themed meal for Cinco de Mayo tomorrow! (Which, FYI, is NOT Mexico's independence day. It's the day they defeated the French in a key battle.)

Here's the plan:

• Tortilla chips with salsa (bought from the store) and guacamole (made by Pete)
• Carne asada - My mom made this over the weekend and it was a hit! I picked up the flank steak at Costco yesterday.
• Margaritas! - We tested recipes this weekend, and I've listed my favorite combo below.
• Mexican chocolate ice cream - We're looking for any excuse to use our new ice cream maker.

Margaritas

I like my margaritas on the rocks without any sugar. The combo of liquor and sugar makes me feel kind of sick, but you could add sugar, simple syrup, 7-Up or limeade (we might even experiment with adding Squirt!). Also, my mom thought these were a little strong, so you could cut down the amount of tequila.

1. Pour some salt on a plate. Use a slice of lime to wet the edge of the glass, and then turn the glass upside down onto the plate to stick the salt to the rim.

2. Put ice cubes in the glass.

3. Add:

2 oz. Silver tequila (I found I much preferred silver to gold, and there's a bottling company that makes it out of Hood River called Monarch. Not sure if local is better for tequila, but I liked it!)

1/2 oz Triple sec (This is an orange flavored liqueur with less alcohol content. We also bought the Monarch brand of this.)

Juice of one lime (I threw in a couple of the wedges too)

Splash of Grand Marnier (For tomorrow, I actually bought an organic blood orange liquer from Michigan called Thatchers. It was right next to the Grand Marnier, but way cheaper.)

Enjoy!

P.S. This recipe for a gin bucket also looks pretty darn good.

P.P.S. While researching recipes, I stumbled upon a whole website of recipes using Coca Cola, including this horrifying recipe for Coca Cola Rice. So wrong.

Cookbooks: Super Natural Every Day

I've recently whittled down the number of food blogs I follow to just a few favorites that consistently have winning recipes. One of my top blogs is 101 Cookbooks by Heidi Swanson. She has delicious, wholesome, easy recipes - many of which have become regular week night go-to meals for me. I just bought and started reading Super Natural Every Day, her new cookbook. So far, I can tell that she and I have very similar tastes in the tools we use and how we stock our kitchens. (She likes to keep about ten different kind of nuts and seeds around - just like me! I'm glad someone else shares this addiction.) She's a vegetarian, which I'm not, but I often prefer vegetarian food and her recipes have such great flavor!

One tip I've picked up so far: Whenever you cook up a grain or rice, make a big batch and freeze the extra in a freezer bag. Then, just pull it out and warm it up next time. If you're ambitious and cook up dried beans, you can do the same!

She also admitted that she does not make homemade broth. So refreshing! So many food writers make me feel inadequate with their weekly routine of broth making. It sounds wonderful - but who has time??

I had to miss her book signing in Seattle last weekend :( and it sounded amazing. Darn. But, I've been on a kick with her recipes lately and I can't wait to try more from the cookbook!

A few winning recipes:

• Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup - A good, basic lentil soup recipe made more interesting by the saffron/Greek yogurt on top. I really like this addition, but Pete said he'd skip it next time.
• Double Broccoli Quinoa - Just made this last night and it was delicious! We didn't have Parmesan, and it still had great flavor. I'd probably add some tofu next time.
• Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie - Pete wasn't in love with the whole-wheatness of this, but I thought they were awesome! I'll definitely make them again for a quick dessert that's a crowd pleaser. Plus, I love any dessert that involves my cast iron skillet.
• Simple Cauliflower Recipe - I usually add tofu to this and eat it with brown rice. This is a long-time standby for me. LOVE cauliflower.

Lemony Salad Dressing

Inspired by my dear friend Kristin, I've been having delicious salads for lunch these days with her easy salad dressing. The salads consist of many veggies (duh!) like spinach, beets, carrots and tomatoes. This week I added tempeh and a little cottage cheese on the side. And then I top it all off with the dressing. Yum!

Picture source

Kristin's Spring Salad Dressing

Olive Oil, about 3 Tablespoons

Fresh Lemon Juice, about 1 Tablespoon

Diced garlic, 1-2 cloves

Freshly ground pepper

Salt

Grandma's Taco Salad

I was trying to figure out what to do with some ground turkey in my freezer. Then I remembered that I have some lettuce, tomatoes and dried kidney beans - and voila, I'm halfway to having what I need to make Grandma Gilliam's Taco Salad. This is my grandma on my dad's side - she grew up on a farm in North Dakota, moved to Seattle to work at Boeing during WWII and settled in the Yakima area. (That really has nothing to do with the salad, I just thought I'd provide a little background.)

This salad doesn't involve anything particularly innovative or interesting; it's just easy and healthy, and it tastes good! You could easily make it vegetarian by just leaving out the meat.

Grandma Gilliam's Taco Salad

Lettuce - whatever kind you prefer: green, read, iceberg
Ground beef or turkey
Taco seasoning
Kidney beans
Green onions
Grated cheese - cheddar, colby, pepper jack, whatever
Tomatoes
Olives
Fritos - you can try other brands, but I think Fritos rule!
Catalina dressing
Other ideas: avocado, sour cream, salsa

Cook the ground meat with taco seasoning. Mix all ingredients together in a salad bowl. Top with Fritos. Serve with dressing, salsa or whatever!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have a weakness for kitschy, retro food. Especially when it tastes good (and, it usually tastes good because it involves a lot of fat and sugar). This includes Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I received a special PUDC pan one year from a friend, and then about a year later I inherited my Iowa grandmother's 1956 Betty Crocker Cookbook. A perfect match! I've used the recipe from her cookbook a few times, and it's always turned out well. Plus it's so pretty and colorful. It's fun to arrange all the pineapple, pecans and cherries at the bottom of the pan. And, how can you not like the way the finished product looks?

I brought it to a get together this weekend and everyone gobbled it up! I'll have to look for an excuse to make it again.

My grandmother's cookbook


She signed her name - Lila Messerly


Here's the recipe!


Can't forget the special pan


The finished product

The Betty Crocker Cookbook has some AMAZING cakes in it. I kind of want to try the Baked Alaska. Nobody makes cakes like that anymore. I'm bringing it back! Down with cupcakes! Up with incredibly complicated, ornate cakes!

Farmers Market Finds

Today I went to the Capitol Hill Farmers Market and, as usual, came home with more than I'd planned:

• Patty Pan Squash - yellow, light green and dark green
• Carrots
• Potatoes - Red, Purple and Fingerling (My favorite potato guy was there from Olsen Farms in Colville!)
• Apples - Gala and Golden Delicious
• Nectarines
• Onions
• Yellow Wax Beans

I successfully resisted the urge to buy a warm, soft pretzel - only because I've eaten so much this weekend. But, I highly recommend them!

I think I'm going to roast a bunch of stuff all together later this week - squash, potatoes, onions and tofu. I'll let you know how it turns out.

And, I already ate one of the apples while I sat on the beach at Golden Gardens and read my book. Sunny day, good book, crisp apple - it's the best of summer meeting the best of fall!

P.S. Speaking of Farmers Markets, I used the Local Goods Smoked Jalapeno Barbeque sauce as a marinade for chicken breasts - quite good!