Movies

Today; On the French Chef! An Academy Award!

I'm getting so excited and I have a year left to wait!!!!

Tres, Trois, Three

It has been a busy week, but I can't let today go by without saying Happy Third Birthday to my little baby blog!


I love my personal birthday. I've embraced the fact that I'm getting wiser each and every year. I'm embracing my little crows feet. And I'm really embracing the random gray hairs I'm getting! But I don't often use my birthday as a time for reflection and deep thoughts. I just want to have fun.

For this blog I'm very proud of how far it's come. How I've managed to keep going at it for three long years. Sure I've had some slow times, but I still push through. There have been prolific times as well! We started three years ago with a few recipes, a few challenges and few new ideas. Some of the ideas have come and gone. Some of the challenges persist. The recipes range a little more than they used to, from full step by step version to throw a little of this and do a little of that and you might get something good types. We've added pictures. Some great pictures and some that have been downright embarassing and totally unappetizing.

I think in the next few months you might see some changes. As I said recently, I've volunteered to be an educational resource for our local farmer's market and I will be utilizing Eat With Me quite a bit. I hope the biggest change you will see will include lots of locally grown foods and seasonal menu ideas. You might see more topical news stories linked in. Perhaps some tips on making the most of your $1 as our economy continues to tank!

And yes, this is my blog, but I want it to be a tool that you can use. If you have an idea or want to know more about something, or instructions are not clear, please contact me and I'll see what I can do. If my writing is crap, let me know. If your hips are getting wider from eating good food you've prepared from a recipe on this site; I can't really help you, or myself for that matter.

Thank you so much for sticking with me for the past three years and I hope to give you another great year!

Pantry Raid for Cinco de Mayo

I didn't go to the store over the weekend for our weekly shopping and wasn't in the mood to go on Monday night. So...Pantry Raid!!!!

To start, there were two boneless pork loin chops. Perfect start.

Next step...it's a holiday, so let's go for something with a Mexican inspiration.

Take the chops and slice into thin strips and heavily season with a plethora of herbs and spices. Saute with some olive oil.

Saute 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a pepper in the pan with a little additional olive oil. Add a small bit of water or broth to deglaze the pan and start a seasoned sauce.

Add a can of diced tomatoes and the sliced pork back to the pan. Stir and simmer until heated through. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Serve up in tortillas.

Dress with a little shredded cheese, sour cream, guacomole...whatever you like.

This was actually really tasty. Highly seasoned, but not overly spicy! And I didn't have to go shopping!!!

Mexican Spiced Pork Tacos

2 boneless pork chops; sliced into thin strips
1 1/2 tsp chimayo chili pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
10 grinds black pepper
2 TB olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 lime, juiced

Mix the first 8 ingredients together. Let sit for an hour (in the fridge).

Saute the pork strips, in batches, in the olive oil. Remove to a plate.

While the pan is still hot, add the oinion, garlic, peppers. Cook until they start to sweat and soften. Add 1/4 cup of water to deglaze the pan, releasing the toasted spices in the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a minute. Add the tomatoes and the pork. Stir and cook until heated through. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Use as a filling for tacos, for a main dish with rice/beans on the side. This would work well with chicken and probably beef, maybe even a firm white fish. Tasty.

mmm, curry

This was a tasty curry dish.
Chicken Colombo

Chicken, curry, coconut, tomato, sprinkling of cinnamon...

Chicken Colombo

2 TB olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14 ounces) peeled, chopped tomatoes
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound), cut into strips
2 TB curry powder
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
½ cup coconut milk
2 pinches ground cinnamon
Cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, for garnish

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until golden brown.
• Add tomatoes, chicken, and sprinkle over curry powder; season with salt and pepper.
• Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring, until mixture has thickened and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 25 minutes.
• Add coconut milk and stir until well combined; cook 5 minutes more.
• Sprinkle over cinnamon.
• Serve over rice.

Recipe from The Martha Stewart Show

This was a very easy recipe and very tasty. The original recipe called for red rice, or purple rice. Rice I couldn't find at my stores. So I used jasmine rice. Perfect. The process is very simple. Use a type of curry powder you like. I had a few different types, so I actually blended them together and had a fiery curry. Here's an unassuming dish and you take a bite and your mouth starts to sing out a bit from the heat. If heat isn't your thing, you can find curries that are not spicey and have a much more mild, yet rich flavor.

Top Chef Spoiler

I'm a little sad to see Mark go from Top Chef...so long mate.

I was cheering for you...you were fun to watch.

Potaytoe, Potahtoe

BAKED POTATO


This is nearly perfect as it...but...it can get better....

...with some bacon, cheese and sour cream...

sure, it's not all that good for you, but you know what...it's soooo satisfying.

step 1: heat the oven to 400 degrees.
step 2: wash the potato
step 3: poke it
step 4: rub with a little olive oil
step 4: bake for 50-60 minutes
step 5: done

No foil wrapping. The skin was slightly crispy. Perfect.

Help from the smarties please?

I'm curious and I don't understand...

Review this graph at the Washington Post about imports and exports of grain around the world.

Why is it...why do countries export products that they are running short on?

Take for example South Asia (which appears to be India on the graph).

They are importing 7.9 metric tons of grain. YET...they are importing 7.5 metric tons of grain. Wouldn't it just make more sense to import the difference of .4 metric tons?

I'm sure that maybe they are exporting wheat and importing rice, or something like that? But in a global economic climate like we're in now, wouldn't it make more sense to balance it out a little more...keep it "local."

Or are the exports bringing in so much extra money that the countries can't afford not to export and it's just better for their economy to import the cheap stuff?

And then you look at North America...obviously there are surpluses there. Good. And we should be exporting to countries that have the stronger need...but again, let's say we keep what we need...then we don't need to import.

I guess by my logic I wouldn't have my tasty jasmine rice or other tasty goodies in my pantry...

I wasn't an economics major for a reason...

Perfectly Perfect

****Scroll down for an UPDATE****

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Martha Stewart Loves My Whoopie Pies!!!
My photo was shown on today's (April 29, 2008) episode in an early segment of the show.

"Uncapped Whoopie Pies"
(click on the photo for the greatest effect!)

Ms. Stewart highlighted a few of the cookie photos from the cookie contest she's running. Mine was the third to last one...and she said:


"Now these look really good. Kevin Sharkey, beware."



OMG!

It's a good thing....the best cookie contest ends May 4!!! FINGERS CROSSED!!!


:::UPDATE:::

You can view the clip of my cookie on Martha's webpage now.

Click here.

Then when the page opens, click on the blue tab for "Tuesday, April 29." On the right hand side, there will be a button that says "Play Entire Show" (under the small ad). There will be a short commercial. Martha will chat for a minute. She starts talking about the cookie contest at 1:45...my cookie appears at 2:20!!!!

RayRay gives us stuff in a pan...

Not bad...

Tonight's dinner came from a Rachel Ray mélange. She gives us pasta with bacon, tomatoes and cheese. All wonderful things, by themselves...together, they aren't bad...

I don't have the recipe in front me so let's see if I can get this right.

~~~~~

Boil a shapely pasta until al dente.

Fry up cut up bacon until crispy. Remove to a plate to drain. In the pan, with the fat, saute one onion, diced. When soft and just starting to brown add four gloves of garlic, minced. Add a pinch of salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Add 1/2 cup of wine. Simmer until reduced. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water from the cooking pasta. Simmer for a few minutes. Add a pack of grape tomatoes. Cook for a minute until they are about ready to burst. Add the pasta. Cook for a minute, the sauce will start to soak in. Add basil, cubes of fresh mozzarella (1 cup?) and freshly grated parm. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Email

I received a glorious email this morning from The Kara. Emails/Comments like this make me very happy. Read on...

Good Morning, My Friend,

I cooked - yes it's true - yesterday!

Inspired by ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE I have been trying very hard to keep it local (at least East Coast within a distance I would drive from my house). To that end, I am SUPER excited about asparagus which is just about everywhere now. I went to Whole Foods yesterday and cannot believe how much money I spent on just 2 bags of groceries - oy! The cost of food is no joke and the cost of good food is hilarious.

Anyway, they had a recipe at the Whole Foods Market that looked pretty easy with lovely seasonal asparagus and I tried it and even fed it to my friends who concurred it was delish! It's in the same vein as the 'pudding' or whatever that Barbara Kingsolver has in her book with asparagus and morels, but thought I'd send it to you b/c the recipe is lovely AND seasonal :)

Asparagus and Brioche Strata - serves 6-8

1/2 loaf brioche (about 8 slices) or other soft bakery bread sliced
7 large eggs
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups milk (I actually used a little bit less)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch (about 1 lb.) thin asparagus, tips and tender stems cut into 2- inch pieces I was having dinner with vegetarians so I did not add the 1 cup (about 1/3lb). diced deli ham which is optional.

Halve the bread slices on the diagnol and lay them across the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or 2.5 quart casserole dish, overlapping the pieces slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, ricotta, milk, salt, pepper, and
1/4 cup of Parmesan. Pour mixture over bread and press the bread down into the liquid. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 1 day.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle top of casserole with asparagus
(and ham if you did it) and press some pieces down into the bread.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup Parm and bake until browned and the center is almost completely set, about 1 hour. Serve warm or room temperature.

Sending my lovees,
Kara

Thank you Kara. This recipe sounds great and I love that ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE has influenced you and you're trying to make it a part of your life! Bravo.


For those of you who haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. Truly an influential book, well thought out, well written and for me, life changing! I really understand Kara's comment about the price of food, especially local food right now. Even if you can eat locally, just one meal a week, you can make a difference. Find a local farmers market and pick up some ingredients on a Saturday and make them for dinner that night. Take baby steps. Eggs are a big thing right now. If you can find a local supplier, you're have fresher eggs and you can get them more affordably. The eggs I buy at the store are $3.25 a dozen. The eggs I can get from a local farmer are $3. That's a quarter savings in my pocketbook. That's $3 back into my local economy, $3 directly to a local farmer, no middle man!! That's less fuel transporting the eggs from the farm to my door.

Think Globally, Act Locally!

Updates

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BLOG

You can view all the blogs that I visit on a regular basis by clicking on the "Blog Roll" link on the right side of the page.

OUCH!

So my head made a very firm, loud connection with the floor yesterday...and it was worth the pain I've endured since!

Yesterday was Maryland Day on the University of Maryland campus. The University opens the doors to the public who can enjoy 400+ free events. I work for the performing arts center and had a ton of great things going on. I took advantage of a masterclass with a group called 500 Clown. This group from Chicago is about physical, risk-taking theatre.

We played a whole bunch of theatre games. And it was a ton of fun. During one game we had to keep ourselves aware of what was happening and either tap a person on a shoulder, or call out someone's name. If you messed up, you had to die...a glorious stage death. Well, I messed up and I was totally, fully committed to dying...and I darn near did. I guess I felt like I was dying by a gunshot, so I leapt backwards and landed on my skull....it's possible I may have blacked out for a moment. Took me a few minutes to get back up to my feet, but once up, I gave myself a moment to balance and then got right back into the play.

But dang do I hurt...I've loaded up on advil to dull the pain...and the muscles hurt from all the physical play we did the rest of the day...at one point the guy in the plaid kilt in the photo jumped on my back while I was running around the room...it was all wonderful fun...but my day of rest needs to be extended by a bit!

Vote for me!

I just submitted this photo to Martha Stewart's cookie contest. Click in and rate my cookie!

Community Market

I think I'm going to need some help!

(freshly picked berries from a local Maryland farm-2006)

When we moved, I almost immediately volunteered to be a part of the Cheverly Community Market. And the first market is less than a month away!

I just added some links to the sidebar of the webpage. Click into the CCM sites, read about what's going on. Mark your calendars. And make a visit to this lovely hamlet and spend a morning buying locally grown produce.

But why do I need help? I volunteered for the education component of the market.

Although I like to think I might be smart, I'm having worries about what I'm going to be educating people about!!!

My conversations with the market manager have guided me in my thinking; but the topics are still very broad...

But for now I'm thinking of using an ingredient that will be sold at the market and providing a list of recipes featuring that ingredient, then selecting one of the recipes and highlighting it here on Eat With Me. I will provide a shopping list, step by step photo instruction and a place for feedback. I will also do what I can to come up with important facts around the feature ingredient.

What do you think? What type of seasonal/market fresh ingredients would you want to know more about? This is your chance to influence more of what will happen here on Eat With Me and what may happen at the Cheverly Community Market...please give me your ideas!

Gardening Updates...

Why not right?


A close-up of one of our beautiful peonies! I cut this Friday morning to enjoy at my desk at work. It opened up fully and was completely fragrant. Stunning. And I'm glad I cut this when I did. By Saturday afternoon, the blooms on the shrub looked like this...

Yes...they are beautiful, but they are on the verge of falling...totally open and the edges of the blossoms are beginning to wilt.

These are the giant blue hostas. We had no idea what they were going to be when they started poking through the dirt...they are stunningly large. Those leaves are over a foot wide!

Here are the lilies...I think that's what the feedback is leading me to believe. The exact type...don't know...but they are getting tall!

We haven't shared many photos from the front of the house...it's nice...but not as nice as the backyard...but our Japanese Maple tree is stunning right now...when you catch it in the afternoon...the sun is hitting it just so...fiery!

And some backyard. We have our red and pink Azaleas in full bloom. And my little tomatoes are trucking away. Woot!

Fast, Full of Flavor and Great

Not much to look at, but this was a great dinner the other night. Again, a variation of a recipe from Everyday Food, but with many more changes to the original recipe.


Toss some peppers, onions and corn olive oil, then roast in the oven. I seasoned with salt, pepper, a little garlic powder and cumin.


After the veg has some time in the oven, I added some tomatoes.


Meanwhile I poached some chicken, cut it up and prepped some tortillas. The original recipe called for corn tortillas...I had a pack of flour tortillas, so I used those. Brush with a little oil, cook in the oven for a few minutes until they start to crisp and puff. Top with some shredded cheese, the cook until melted. Top with chopped chicken...


...then top with the roasted veg. I tossed the veg one final time with a squeeze of lime juice. Garnish with some cilantro. Fresh, filling and full of lots of flavor.

You can find the original recipe HERE. I was a little skeptical of roasting salsa with the veg, so I had intended to just make my own salsa and add it on the top. Instead, I just added the tomatoes. I think it worked well. In essence we have an open faced quesadilla...the possibilities are endless...