Zuchini Boats

As promised, I am going to tell you what I did with the zucchini I got at the Farmer's Market on Tuesday. The simple explanation is I scooped them out and stuffed them.....but the pictures are going to add a lot to that explanation..



The vegetable mixture you use to stuff the zucchini with are up to you....I sauteed a mixture of chopped tomato, garlic, scallions, broccoli, mushrooms, and fresh basil in olive oil or EVOO as Rachel Ray calls it. But you can use whatever you want or whatever you have on hand. They just need to be a mushy consistency, so saute for about 5 minutes.


The mixture will look something like this...I actually had too much filling so I used the rest of it as sauce on grilled pizza....works for that too. I would also use it as pasta sauce, stuff like this is just so versatile!!



Ok, here is the zucchini. I used a vegetable brush to wash them, then sliced, them in half and boiled for about 8 minutes. As you can see the seedy stuff needs to be removed, creating the "zucchini boat". I have found a grapefruit spoon works beautifully to remove the seeds.



Now put the zucchini in a baking dish and top with your filling....



Now the last step is to top this with a sauce, it can actually be any sauce you like. Maybe ranch dressing or something that tastes good to you, I use a dressing I buy at Trader Joe's. It is called Cilantro Salad Dressing and is found by the pre-washed salad greens, as it has to be refrigerated at all time. Oh and a 2 tablespoon serving is only 45 calories!! I also top my zucchini boats with crumbled blue cheese....but you could use feta or anything that you like.

I like my cheese melted a little so I just zap it in the microwave until the cheese melts and the boats are warm. The zucchini and filling are already hot from the sauteing and boiling so it is just a matter of warming up the dressing and cheese. This is a wonderful use of all the fresh veggies you get at the Farmer's Market and as a bonus, it tastes great!!

Foodies Blogroll

Until recently, most people that have gotten to this blog have checked it out because Rex and I promoted it on our "Happy Camper's" blog. We have done the "Happy Camper's" blog for over two years and decided to "branch out". The result is this "Recipes To Eat" blog and website. But in order to keep growing a blog like this you need "traffic" to it. You need readers, you need to promote your blog....so I applied to something called "The Foodie Blogroll".

The "Foodie Blogroll" is actually a listing of blogs devoted to, well, food. Cooking it, eating it, finding it, and loving it.........all activities I am fully engaged in!! Thankfully, "The Foodie Blogroll" accepted my blog and a list of other food blogs are now prominently displayed in the left hand column of my blog. This is what is called "one hand washing the other"....we all want to promote each other's blogs to people that have an interest in food or "foodies".

I am amazed at how diverse blogs that feature the same subject can be!! It is so cool to read and learn so many different aspects of food preparation, cooking, shopping, tasting, etc., etc. I love it and never tire of the subject and quite frankly it is nice to find an entire community of people that feel that same way!!

Tuesday Tahoe Farmer's Market

As usual, I made it to the Farmer's Market Tuesday morning. There was a big crowd like there always is. That is really good for the vendors, but sure makes it difficult to find a parking spot!!

My shopping list this week was actually smaller than usual but it looked something like this:



Doesn't everything look nice and fresh??? I have a special recipe in mind for the zuccchini that will show up here in a day or two.

Mary

Kathy R's Shrimp Dip

Last night I added a recipe called "Kathy R.'s Shrimp Dip". Kathy is actually my former husband's. niece. She has become a good friend and she gave me this recipe 40 years ago. Yikes!!!! 40 years!!! Where in the hell did they go??

Anyway one of the reasons I think this dip is so good is because the shrimp is mashed so it is mixed throughout the whole dip. It puts the flavor of shrimp in every bite.



Whenever I take this dip to a gathering, I am always asked for the recipe. It is a definate keeper!!





And, as you can see.....it looks good too!!

Next Food Network Star - Part 4

And the good news is: my cable connection is back and I actually got to watch this episode.

Ok, the first challenge - the technique video. I personally thought it was somewhat unfair to expect the contestants to give an instructional video on a technique they had no idea about. I understand the "step up with confidence " goal, but, hey if you've never cleaned a squid before....how is that possible?? They were mostly right in their evaluations, Jennifer did apologize, Arron was wooden, and Adam was silly. Kelsey did do the best job with this challenge and she was rightfully chosen as the winner. So look for her "technique" video to be on the home page of the Food Network website tomorrow.

Now the next challenge. Cooking fish with a weird ingredient for 30 Coast Guard members. Some of the combinations were really odd. I mean fruit loops, marshmallow cream, jelly, and caramels. I can understand why some of those dishes didn't work!! I do have to say that Adam kept up with his silliness and so did Nipa during her presentation. Again, Aaron was wooden, but the surprise here was his food. His food in past episodes has been among the best.....that was a let down, I had come to expect his food to excell. And predictably, Jennifer was apologizing and the judges are right, she looks great on camera. Very appealing and friendly, it is a shame she wrecks it by her lack of self confidence. Again, Lisa was more likable and actually fun. She handled landing on her ass very well and turned a negative into a positive. It also showed what she is made of....and she is made of finer stuff.

While I couldn't taste any of the food, I think once again the judges picked the correct winner-Kelsey. And her reward is awesome.....her recipe on the menu of Red Lobster for a limited time. How cool is that???

I was wrong with my guess last week. I predicted Jennifer to be the contestant going home and of course it was Nipa. After watching tonights episode, I agree that Nipa needed to go and my prediction for next week??? I feel it is a tie between Jennifer and Adam. Can't wait to see who goes home next Sunday!!

Lake Tahoe Farmer's Market, Again

Tuesday I went to the Farmer's Market again. I really love fresh produce....you just can't beat it!! Although, as I mentioned before, the Farmer's Market at Lake Tahoe is just so much more than produce.....



Vino!!! This wine is produced at the Boeger Winery in Placerville CA. They make several types of wine but my favorite by far is their Riesling. In talking to the gentleman in the picture, I learned that they only put up 140 cases of Riesling a year. Since they only put up that small amount, he doesn't bring Riesling to the Farmer's Market. That being the case I asked him to bring me a bottle this week and he did....so now I have a bottle of Boeger Riesling to enjoy!! Of course the per bottle price is up $2 since last summer...



Lake Tahoe has it's share of artisans and this potter is one of them....beautiful stuff here!!



This beautiful plant is lavender. It smells great!!!! Along side this plant is made up wreaths and sachets. I have read that lavender is good to have in the bedroom as it's lovey scent helps one fall asleep...ya if Rex would go for that I would try it...but I don't think THAT is going to happen!!



Oh my goodness, what would we do without Placerville CA??? All of this wonderful cheese can be found at Derrick's Cheese Shop in Placerville. I have been there and in addition to cheese they have olive oils, vinegars, candy, baked goods, crackers, and flat breads...it is a wonderful shop and I am looking forward to seeing it again in August when Chad and I go to Placerville.

Well that is another glimpse at the Tuesday Lake Tahoe Farmer's Market...

Mary

Pretzel Bread

A few days ago, I said I was going to be making one of the bread recipes out of the "Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook". Well I did and here is a picture of it:



This bread is soooooooooooooo good I can hardly believe it. Of course a bread with ingredients like beer and pretzels certainly has a lot going for it!! The recipe (which is in the recipe section) calls for thin pretzel sticks broken in half. You would think that there would be chunks of pretzels throughout the bread but there isn't so do yourself a favor....if you are looking for a new bread to try in your bread machine, make pretzel bread!!!

Last Saturday we went to the Rendevous in Carson City. As you know all of those types of things are full of vendors. One vendor had a knife that interested me because I do use a bread machine. The lady told me she also uses a bread machine and that this knife will even cut the bread while it is warm. That little tidbit got her a sale:





This fiddle bow knife for cutting bread can be found at www.mountainwoods.com. And it DOES cut hot bread right out of the bread machine!!

Next Food Network Star - Part 3

Once again I have to base my comments of this competition on whatever videos and comments I can see on the Food Network website. While this is sort of OK, I feel that I am probably missing a great deal. But here goes:

Jeffery was sent home. My opinion of him was of a person that was somewhat shy and reserved....but very tall. On a video I did get to see his potato challenge...Sophisticated Home Fries....not really inspired is it?? Also his on camera presentation was lacking, he didn't make eye contact and seemed aloof. And "salt" in a bottle....it's been done. So I am confident the judges made the correct decision. I have since watched Jeffery's exit interview and I feel if he would have been able to project that personality in the competition, he would still be in the running, but that didn't happen.

I know that next winter I will be able to watch this whole season on either the Fine Living network or the Food Network but it is really frustrating now that I can't see them. I will look forward to seeing them and see if I feel the same way about these contestants..who knows??

So who is my pick for the next eliminated contestant?? My pick is Jennifer.....she just doesn't do anything for me.

The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook

How is that for a title to my blog?? Actually it is the title of a cookbook authored by John Schlimm. John Schlimm is the great-great-grandson of Peter Straub, who founded the Straub Brewery in the 1870s. I had the good fortune to meet John today at a cooking demonstration and sampling of three of his recipes. Not only did I get to sample some of his recipes, I got a copy of his cookbook "The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook". And, I might add he graciously autographed it. How cool is that???

I found John to be a very intertaining speaker and an obviously accomplished "beer chef". The recipes he made today were "Beach Party Punch", Blazing Hot Wing Sauce, and Blue Cheese Dip. They were all great. Oh and the punch.....let me just run down the ingredient list for you: rum, vodka, amaretto, gin, beer (of course), Sprite, orange juice, pineapple juice, and ice. WOW....it REALLY packs a punch!! (No pun intended!!).

The Ultimate Beer Lover's Cookbook lives up to it's name....there is 27 chapters. John has recipes for any and all occasions. His recipes range from appetizer, breads (one of which I will be making tomorrow), soups, salads, vegetables, sandwiches, poultry & eggs, pork, freshwater fish, seafood cookies, pastries, ice cream, chuggers, shots & shooters, chasers, milkshakes, and beer on fire. In fact, one of the recipes in the "Beer On Fire" chapter is called the "Burning Bush"--(I don't think he means George W) and it goes like this:

1 ounce Hot Damn 1/2 glass beer 1/2 glass apple cider

Pour the Hot Damn into a shot glass. Pour the apple cider and beer into a tall glass. Light the shot on fire and drop it into the glass. Making SURE that the flame is extinguished, chug.

Use extreme caution with the fire!!

As you can tell, John Schlimm has a great sense of humor and I thourouly enjoyed his talk!

Also at the bottom of every page or two John has a quote so I will put one at the bottom of this blog:

"Some guy is claiming that a tonic of beer and urine will improve your garden. Come on if that was true, wouldn't frat houses be like tropical rain forests?" --- Jay Leno

Bob's Red Mill Bread Mix

Remember a few days ago when I blogged about my "Breadman Bread Machine"? In that blog I mentioned that I bought a book with bread recipes and that I really had never found a "store bought" bread mix that I liked. Well now I have to eat my words!!

Since I am spending the summer in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I must confess to having several bread machine failures due to the high altitude. The other day, I noticed a package of "Bob's Red Mill" bread mix so I decided to give it a try. Couldn't be any worse than what I have been getting using my own ingredients. And it was in a grocery store in Lake Tahoe so if it sells here it must work in higher elevations. That is what I thought anyway.





I can't believe how much I loved this bread and how well it worked here. The first mix I bought was a rye mix and boy was it good. So as soon as the rye bread was gone, I made another trip to the store and got the 100% whole wheat mix. I am in heaven...in past summers we have eaten only english muffins because we couldn't get bread to turn out right, well we now have the option for great bread. I AM a "Happy Camper"!!

Lake Tahoe Farmer's Market

Today is Tuesday and that means Farmer's Market. The Farmer's market at Lake Tahoe is wonderful, all that great Northern California produce looks so yummy. Another thing I like about this Market is the fact that it is so diverse. In addition to produce, there are plants, wine, honey, jams, cold pressed olive oils, soaps, breads, kettle korn, pottery, decorative gourds, and fresh flowers. I think that is just about everything.









I took some pictures, but as I was listing all the items offered, I realized I sure did a poor job of taking pictures to represent everything. So on future Tuesdays I will be taking more pictures so I will finally get it all.

Let me start with the variety of fruit on sale today. Here is the list: peaches, at least three types of cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, apricots, pluots, plums, and kiwi.

Now for the veggies: red onions, white onions, yellow onions, shallots, beets, garlic bulbs, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, lettuce, red leaf lettuce, spring mix, spinach, Swiss chard, asparagus, cactus leaves, various fresh herbs, and probably some stuff I missed.

Anyhow here are today's pictures, but there will be more next week!!

Next Food Network Star - Part 2

As I mentioned before, I have lost my cable connection and now have to rely on online videos to see as much of the show as I can.

So here is my opinion, based on what I saw online. Maybe I am alone on this, but the emphasis the judges place on ones "culinary point of view" seems to hold too much importance at this point. If they expressed it as their "culinary speciality", I might understand it better or even "culinary niche". Point of view just doesn't make much sense to me. As I wrong on this????

Ok....from reading the comments on the Food Network website, I understand Lisa made a better impression this week. And Adam served almost raw eggs....yuck. I also learned Nipa walked out of the evaluation room. Wow---sounds like a thin skin to me and a little bit short of professionalism.

I can't imagine cooking, plating, and serving 30 people on a moving train either, so as in most things it is easier to critize than "walk in the shoes". I know that these challenges are designed to quickly weed out the "faint of heart", but some seem a little extreme. Getting rousted out of bed at 3:00 AM without any warning also seemed a little extreme to me. Oh well nobody asked for my opinon!

So the elimated contestent turned out to be Kevin whose "culinary point of view" was "Romance in the Kitchen". When I first heard it I thought it would be hard to convey and turns out I was right.

Mary

The Upcoming Week

Another busy week is on the horizon. First off is Sunday with another episode of The Next Food Network Star. That's the good news, the bad news is we've lost our cable connection for the summer so I am going to "make do" with the highlights I can see online at the Food Network Website. I am also going to miss the new series on HGTV to select another design star. Oh well that's life.

Then I will be looking forward to Tuesday and the wonderful farmer's market we have here at Lake Tahoe. Watch for Tuesday's blog as I will be sure to include pictures of this wonderful market. I found a great recipe the other day I am dying to try called "Peach Pudding Cake". I will be busy baking that on Tuesday afternoon. Look for pictures of that cake!! It sounds really good!

The rest of the week I will be working so that involves a lot of "brown bagging". I always take my lunch (plus snacks of course!) to work. I really don't like people I don't know playing with my food. In upcoming blogs I will be talking more about "brown bagging" and hope to get input from others. It is always fun to see what comes out of other people's lunch box!

Have a great week!

Trader Joe's Rice

I love rice, well I guess I should revise that. I have never liked white rice but love the nutty flavor of brown rice. Wild rice is also a favorite so I usually mix them when I make it.

The other day at Trader Joe’s I noticed a bag of “Brown Rice Medley”-a delicious blend of long grain brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds. That sounded good so I decided to try it. That turned out to be a good idea, Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley is so good I ate it plain without any type of topping on it. I always put some “Better Than Bouillon” chicken base in the water when I make rice for flavor and that was absolutely all it needed. This rice blend is absolutely fantastic. It has great flavor and a little crunch.



Because it is mostly brown rice and you have to cook it a long time, making the whole bag at once makes a lot of sense. In the long run it saves a lot of time because you can freeze it. It can be thawed by soaking it in hot water for about 5 minutes. The yield is about 7 cups.




Fortunately I have that handy little kitchen gadget called a “FoodSaver” that I use to bag up cup size portions. Having this rice in your freezer in these cup size portions is a great time saver!!

Mary

Mueller - Thurgau

Most of my friends are aware that I started drinking wine about 4 years ago. Previous to that I never drank it. By listening to a "time share" pitch, we were given a case of wine. Since I hate to either waste or throw anything away, I, of course, drank it. By the time I got done with that case of wine, I kind of liked it. So since then I enjoy wine tasting whenever it comes up and I have been known to buy a bottle or two, or do I mean a case??

Recently we were in Northern California along HWY 101. HWY 101 leads to Oregon and the beautiful Oregon Coast. We found ourselves in Gold Beach, Oregon on a nice Saturday in May and came across the 21st Art, Seafood, and Wine Festifal. Well---lead me too it!! The $10 admission fee included a very pretty wine glass----wonder what I should do with that??

One of the wine vender's had Mueller-Thurgau wine for tasting. Now I have never even heard of Mueller-Thurgau wine before, but when the lady said it was a Riesling blend, I decided to try it. I am so glad I did. It is a smooth, medium sweet white wine and I love the taste.

The Muller-Thurgau grape was created by Hermann Muller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. Vineyards in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, England, Australia, and New Zealand make white wine with these grapes. Oh I guess I should include Oregon in that list. I understand it is also called Rivaner or Riesling x Sylvaner.

The vineyard I purchased this wine from was Abiqua Wind near Silverton, Oregon. It is called Chloe's Breeze and touted as a "refreshing summer sipper, an aperitif or easily pair it with a wide range of cuisines, from light salads and pastas to zesty dishes".

This wine has a really nice flavor that I totally love. It is one I will definately buy again!!

Mary

the Next Food Network Star - week 1

Ever since I saw the first promo about this season of the "Next Food Network Star" competition I have been anxiously waiting for June 1st to roll around. I must say I was not disappointed. Based on the first episode, I feel it will be an exciting season and I am already looking forward to next Sunday to see episode two.

After looking over the Food Network website, I was surprised to learn that this is season four. I totally missed season one and didn't see season two either. We didn't have cable TV during those two seasons. Last year's competition was the first one I was I was able to watch.

As the ten competitors were introduced tonight, I was amazed by their impressive backgrounds. Don't know why, they are competing to become a host of a Food Network show. Stands to reason they would have credentials.....

First up was Elton Brown, telling them to look into the camera and sum up their "culinary point of view" in one sentence. I admired how well the majority of them did. That could not have been very easy!

The next morning, when the contestents arrived on set, one of them made the comment "kitchen heaven". I totally agreed. Those piles of fresh veggies looked wonderful. The contestents were split into teams of two and had to make three dishes in 30 minutes. Then they had to plate them and serve their dishes to the three judges, plus five current Food Network stars...wow talk about intimidation!!

Anyway, I did manage to pick the contestent that was sent home. It was Cory, so now we are down to nine and I am anxiously awaiting next week's show!!

Mary

Furi Knife

Of the many tools essential to any well stocked kitchen, a great knife is on the top of the list. Chopping, slicing, dicing--they all require a well sharpened knife. The one that I have been using the last 2 or 3 years is called a Furi East/West 7 inch Santoku Knife. Boy is that a mouthful! So where did I become exposed to that particular knife?? Watching Rachel Ray on the Food Network of course!!



This is my knife, you will notice it has an orange handle. It is a well know fact that orange is Rachel Ray's favorite color. From what I have read, the manufacturer of this knife developed that handle at the request of Rachel. The handle is called the "Gusto Grip" and is designed to keep your hands from slipping and also from getting tired. I can, with all honesty, say that it works, my hand does not get tired and it has never slipped and I use this knife daily.



What the hell is this crazy looking contraption?? It is the Furi Knife sharpener. As any cook knows, a sharp knife is absolutely essential. I figured if I was going to spend the money for a Furi knife recommended by Rachel Ray, I might as well go all the way and get the sharpener too. I am so glad I did.....it works perfectly. It keeps my knife sharp, making food prep so easy. I love this whole system. In addition to the blades shown here, it has two other blades. The one shown here is the one I use just about every third time I use the knife. One of the other blades I use about once a month and the third one I only use about once every 6 to 9 months. It is called the recovery blade. All in all, I love this knife and most of the other knives I have are collecting dust in the drawer!!

This is just a note regarding tomorrows blog......

Tomorrow night, the Food Network's competition to choose the next Food Network Star....I will be watching and will have more than one comment to make I am sure!!