I’ll take Things That Grow for $1,000

One of the best parts of living out here, and raising animals and having a garden is seeing everything change before our eyes.

The baby ducks…

and baby geese…

baby radishes…

And only a couple weeks ago these teenage chicks were these little babies…

And really, I don’t think this picture was taken more than a month ago…

So how did this happen?

Scribbling

Can you read that? Does it make sense? It’s for a one-pot chicken and rice dish.

I hate printing out internet recipes. It seems like such a waste of paper and ink. So I usually just grab a scrap of paper and start scribbling.

I jot the most important things down (spelling doesn’t matter), but sometimes my shorthand confuses me and I have to run back to the computer and doublecheck myself.

The method works fine when I’m cooking right away. However, I do occasionally find stray papers around the kitchen with ingredient lists and cryptic notes that make no sense.

The recipe above is based on the one found here:

It turned out really good, and was very simple. I ended up browning the chicken quickly under the broiler right before serving to make it look more appetizing. But the taste was right on.

Oh, and please, don’t analyze my handwriting…I don’t want to know.

This Post is NOT About Food

This post is for Kimberlee. She’s the talent behind my beautiful new blog, and she’s ill. So ill, in fact, that she couldn’t look at a single post about food. So this post is not about food. It’s about her.

If anyone needs superior graphic design work done, she’s the one to contact – just click on the “Valvick Design” link at the bottom of this page. Not only is she super nice (even when she’s under-the-weather and can’t think of food), but she’s also incredibly professional and easy to work with.

Thanks Kimberlee. I love my new site. Feel better soon.

Grilled to deliciousness

We joined the lovely Anna and her family for dinner yesterday, and it was a day that was made for grilling. And we did.

In fact, we grilled everything, starting with the appetizer. Asparagus wrapped with pancetta and grilled to deliciousness.

This is one of those dishes that makes me lie. If I tell the kids they won’t like something, they keep pestering me until its either gone or I give in. So I lie. I have learned that if I tell them something has alcohol in it, they don’t bug me as much since they know they can’t have alcohol.

However, my kids are not stupid, and I knew that if I used that excuse with the asparagus, it wouldn’t take them anytime at all to see through it.

So I just didn’t tell them when it was ready, and saved it all for the adults.

And if this makes me a bad parent, well, I’m in good company.

‘Cause Anna didn’t tell her kids about it either.

Poison Pasta

This may not look like its poisonous, but believe me, it is. And we ate it for dinner tonight

Ages, eons and centuries ago, when Nick was 5 or 6, we were having dinner at Olive Garden. Nick, as usual, was having Fettucini Alfredo and (gasp!) there was a penne noodle in with his fettucini.

And being the loving, kind-hearted and caring parents we were, Paul and I managed to convince Nick that eating different kinds of pasta together created poisonous toxins. We even got the server to back us up!

Eventually Nick’s common sense kicked in, however it took a couple of years. which was nice, because its always good to have easy entertainment as close at hand as a box of spaghetti mixed with a couple of pieces of farfelle.

Now fast forward to tonight. Once again, I found myself with partial boxes of fettuccini, linguini and spaghetti noodles. So I combined them and served them together.

And thus, I have poisoned my family.

Deliciously.

Garlic Lemon Shrimp Pasta
Cook according to directions on box and drain, reserving approx. 1/2 c of the
pasta water: 1 box fettuccini (c’mon, be daring and mix in some linguini)

Combine in a bowl and marinate 15-20 minutes
1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 cloves garlic, crushed
zest from 1 large lemon
2-3 T olive oil

Heat additional 2 T olive oil and 2 T butter in a large skillet
Add 2-3 cloves garlic to oil and saute until it starts to smell delicious
Add marinated shrimp (cook in two batches if necessary to avoid crowding)
Season with salt & pepper

When shrimp is cooked, remove to bowl; set aside.
Squeeze juice from 1 lemon into pan
Add 1/4 cup heavy cream.
Season to taste with salt & pepper
Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired.

Add pasta to pan and mix to combine. Stir in shrimp.

Serve with grated Parmesean.