Pork Roast

The other day we grilled a pork roast. I have several rubs in the cupboard but am interested in experimenting with different seasonings. So I decided to come up with my own rub.



This is the "naked" roast.



Here I am applying my rub.......



Here is the roast and if I do say so myself, it tasted pretty good!!

This is what I used in my rub:

1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash table blend, 1/8 t paprika, 1/4 t tumeric, 1/8 t ground mustard, a spinkle of tarragon, and a sprinkle of dried basil leaves.

My winter project will be to learn more about herbs and spices and how to use them to enhance dishes. Ought to be interesting!

Pickle Pak

What's new in the world of pickles???

Yup, pickles have gone the way of pudding, jello, and fruit.....little indivual pickle paks!! I had a coupon for Mt. Olive pickles so decided to get the paks. Mostly because they amused me. Don't ask me why....just one of those days I guess!

Aren't they cute?? You can eat the whole container for 10 calories. Now that is what I call "figure friendly"!

Thai Shrimp Gyoza

At Trader Joe's the other day I was looking through the frozen food section and found Thai Shrimp Gyoza. It sounded good so I decided to try them.



You can pan fry, steam, or microwave these. I chose to steam them.





Here they are in the steamer. They taste like egg rolls, which I really like.



These are the entree I made the other day to go with the Thai Shrimp Gyoza. Have you ever seen those bacon wrapped small fillets at the the store? That is what is in these puff pastry bundles. Sort of my take on Beef Wellington.



To avoid the pastry becoming soggy on the bottom, I just cut the bottom out. It was the best solution I could think of to avoid "soggy bottom".



Here is the "Beef Wellington" and steamed Thai Shrimp Gyoza. It was all pretty good...I will try this again!!

Trader Joe's

A day off and a trip to Trader Joe's!!!!! What could be better than that?? I am feeling a little sad because we will soon be heading South for the winter and there isn't a Trader Joe's in Bullhead City. Sure wish they would correct that oversight!



Trader Joe's puts out a flyer every other month. This is the current issue. As you can see, it is emphasizing "dinner-in-a-hurry" options. The flyer is 15 pages and showcases several products they sell. Trader Joe's does not have "sale" items, instead they charge "reasonable" prices each and every day. And to be perfectly honest, I have found that they do have very reasonable prices. At least I surely haven't found anything outrageously expensive.



Like a lot of other retailers these days, Trader Joe's is on the "eco-friendly" bandwagon. They have reusable shopping bag options. Not only are they reusable, they are cool looking and fun. The shopping bag in the middle is priced at 99 cents and just plain fun looking. The two bags on the sides are both insulated. The black and red one has a five quart capacity and keeps cold foods fresh for up to 5 hours, more if you put ice packs in it. Is is the first insulated bag they offered, as far as I know and was 5.99 when I bought it. That one is no longer available. The blue and black one is their new style and has an 8 quart capacity. I like the squared corners, it not only holds more but it is easier to pack. I just bought this one today for 6.99 which I think is a good price for it.

This is my very long commercial for Trader Joe's today!!

Peachy Cake

Today was a day off so we decided to bake something in the Dutch Oven. Since we had some fresh peaches, they had to be the main ingredient...



I just sliced three medium peaches, sprinkled them with cinnamon and nutmeg, then made a simple syrup with brown sugar. Those little squares are butter....everything tastes better with a little butter!!! Just ask Paula Deen!!



To make life easier, I used this mix to put on top of the peaches, the only adjustment I made was to puree a peach to add to the mix and omit the oil. Otherwise, I followed the package directions.



Spread the batter over the peaches and sprinkle it with the cinnamon streusel packet. Then place the cake in the Dutch Oven.



Here is the Dutch Oven in the Volcano being baked with charcoal. This is one way to keep the kitchen cool on hot summer days!!



This is what I ended up with. It was good but if I make it again, instead of using a simple syrup, I would use brown sugar and to make a caramel sauce. But just sitting out on the patio and fooling around with the Dutch Oven made for a nice summer afternoon!!

Tofu

Like millions of other Americans, I have weight issues...so I routinely look for a vegetarian main dish to make on occasion. So what am I going to do with these ingredients?



I am going to try a new main dish: "Seared Tofu with Garlic, Swiss Chard, and Pine Nuts". I got that beautiful Swiss chard at the Farmer's Market on Tuesday.



Step one is to toast the pine nuts until they are golden brown.



Step two is to coat firm tofu in soy sauce and pepper, and sear in olive oil until golden about 2 minutes on each side. I used lemon infused olive oil to give it a little more flavor.



Next step is to saute the garlic about two minutes, add the chard and cook until it is wilted. That takes about 30 seconds.



This is what the finished dish lookes like, fried tofu on a bed of Swiss chard topped with pine nuts!! And it was really tasty!!

Here is the complete ingredient list. I got this recipe from the Weight Watcher's website.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces firm tofu, drained, and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
6 Cups Swiss Chard

Tahoe Mountain Soap Company

So what does a soap company have to do with a food blog??? Good question....it just so happens, they are a vendor at the Lake Tahoe Farmer's Market and the vendor I selected to feature this week. So sorry to digress from food, but in my defense, these all natural soaps have ingredients such as oatmeal, honey, lemon, cinnamon, rosemary, peppermint and vanilla. So I guess technically I can put The Tahoe Mountain Soap Company on my blog!!





The sign actually says it all. They also have a web site http://www.tahoemountainsoap.com/.



Some of the soaps made by The Tahoe Mountain Soap company are Honey Citrus Scrub, Cocoa Butter, Apricot Oatmeal, Lavender, Cinnamon, Rosemary, Peppemint, Eucalyptus, Mandarin Lime Calendula, Oatmeal Rose, and Apricot Vanilla. With that selection everyone can find one that suits! And for people like me they have two soaps that are unscented.



Handmade Moisturizing Lotion is another product made by the Tahoe Mountain Soap Company.



Rock Island Sea Wool Natural Sponges are also offered by the Tahoe Mountain Soap Company. I'm pretty sure this giant one is for display only!!



Ah, these are more like it!! Also notice the natural lava pumice stones...my helps to keep my heels smooth!! Take some time and check out the website: http://www.tahoemountainsoap.com/.

Stuffed Onions

The other day we made stuffed onions in the dutch oven, using the volcano and charcoal.



They sure turned out good and aren't they pretty??

To make these beauties, take your onion (and the reds were better than the whites) and make cuts in them both ways so you have created a series of squares, being careful not to cut all the way through the onion. Then cut garlic cloves into slivers to wedge in between the slices. Using Superior Touch "Better Than Bouillon", dab the top of the onion so you have a little stickiness on which to sprinkle a small amount of McCormick's Chicken Rub. Drizzle the whole onion with a small amount of garlic infused olive oil. Place in the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 2 hours. If baking this in a regular oven, wrap it in foil and bake for 1.5 hours. This recipe is definately a keeper!!

Grateful Bread Company

As promised, I was at the Farmer's Market on Tuesday. This weeks featured vendor is The Grateful Bread Company.



This wonderful bakery is family owned and operated. It has been open for business Sacramento for 19 years....must have good stuff there!!



A example of the fast variety of breads they make.....I bought a loaf of volkornbrot...now I have never heard of that before, but it is heavy rye sourdough bread. This bread is VERY dense and really tasty!!



As you can see, they have lots more than bread!! Next week I intend to buy one of those great looking blueberry scones!!



Those cheesy garlic bread sticks are really, really good!!



More of their wonderful bakery products. The gals that operate this booth at the Farmer's Market in Lake Tahoe do six Farmer's Markets weekly in Northern California. They use organic flours and ingredients whenever possible without any added fats or sugars which makes their breads a perfect vegan product. Their products are also hand made...no machines at The Grateful Bread Company!! They hand knead all of their doughs. This bakery has wonderful products made daily by hand....how could they not be successful?? Oh and I will let you know how good the blueberry scones are next Tuesday!!

The Preview

This is kind of a "cop out" blog. My son is visiting this week , from Wisconsin so, needless to say, my time will be kind of short. Equate that to "my blog will suffer" due to time constraints. After all, I also have a job I have to show up at!!

But here are the highlights of the week...

Tuesday, I will be back at the Farmer's Market and featuring another vendor. AND I am thrilled and honored to be mentioned on the home page of Dedrick's Cheese website. They put a link to my blog and the post I did on their very impressive store. Thank you for the link!! I appreciate it!!

Wednesday we are taking my son to Virginia City to see the sights.....and I also intend to introduce him to Trader Joe's. He likes to cook too!!

Thursday we are going to Placerville to tour the wineries (more blog material I am sure!), a brewery, and of course the tasting room of Winterhill Farms that has the certified extra virgin olive oils. Dedrick's Cheese Store is also on the agenda!! I am looking for some Manchego Cheese for some recipe I recently read.

When we get back from Placerville, Rex is grilling rib eyes and making "Lori Thomson's Easy Delicious Stuffed Onions". This recipe can be found at www.winterhillfarms.com website. That is where I got it and it sounds good, I'll let you know Friday or Saturday after we have them. I will also be making some roasted beets and a salad recipe my son gave me. I hope I will have room for it all!!

This is how my week is starting to shape up, I don't intend to neglect this blog, but daily posts just might not happen.....keep checking though. Please!!

Micro Cooker

Recently we received a small micro cooker from Pampered Chef. It was a gift from Rex's daughter.



It took me a while to appreciate this pan, but I just love it. I went on the Pampered Chef website to look at it. The recommended use for it is sauces, microwaving chocolate chips, melting butter, and heating soups. See those wonderful holes in the lid?? The vented lid can double as a strainer. I use this pan to steam veggies in the microwave. The pan is wonderful for that!!



Don't those veggies look yummy??? And so healthy!! I am the only one that eats them so this small micro cooker is the perfect size to make just enough steamed vegetables for me--and I'm worth it!!