Peas and Carrots (and blueberries, and pizza)

Although this meal, Pastina with Peas and Carrots, may not be exactly figure friendly, it is certainly Sophie friendly.  And we have always really liked it.  Anything with mascarpone cheese is something I have a hard time resisting.

My camera has been through it.  So just click on the link to see what it's supposed to look like.  I had to show the cheese...mmm! Now, with the leftover mascarpone cheese, spread it on a croissant or toast and sprinkle a little powdered sugar on it for breakfast...good gravy!  It will make you want to hop on a plane to Italy!

When I was teaching, I would watch the Food Network every Christmas break and summer--the t.v. would at least be tuned into it all day whether I was watching or not.  Giada is one of my favorites because I love Italian (and any Mediterranean food in general).  So this year since I've stayed at home I've been able to catch her show (a little) more often.  This was a meal she made for some kids, but it looked really good to me, so Daniel and I have had it many times.  And now Sophie gets to enjoy it!

Pastina with Peas and Carrots 

Pizza (homemade dough with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce)

 Blueberries at the pool 

Sophie is going to be an eater.  Or at least it looks that way.  :)  

Bachelorette weekend, Salad and Friends

I said I would blog about the meals in Savannah, so here they are.  Well, this is just one meal--the meal that my brother-in-law Damon created for us.  It was A-MA-ZING!  He's so talented!  The "tablescape" to use a Sandra Lee (not a fan) term was all Sebrell, my sister.  She's also crazy talented, which I guess is why she's so successful at her event planning business.  They live on the Moon River on the Isle of Hope in Savannah and have the perfect yard for entertaining by the marsh.

The meal began with fried green tomatoes on a bed of mixed greens with a remoulade.

Next was the main course: filet mignon, shrimp and grits with green beans (I think the beans were cooked in a brown butter).  Melt-in-your-mouth-good.  That's all I can say.  Well, I guess I can say, GOOD GRAVY!

Our dessert was a cupcake by Gigi's Cupcakes in Savannah while we sat in the hot tub after dinner.  Our flavors were chocolate, margarita, wedding cake and strawberry.  I had the wedding cake, which was really a white chocolate and it was divine!

So that's Savannah.  Now for salad.  This was our dinner tonight.  I wasn't really thinking when I planned this I guess because I only planned a salad.  So I cut up some strawberries to go along with it and I added some veggies from our farm bag and it was very good and filling.

The salad is from Down by the Water, which is the Junior League of Columbia's cookbook.  I make this salad all of the time.  The dressing is so yummy.  Tonight I only made 1/4 of the dressing and I did add a few other things to the salad.  The recipe is at the bottom.


In closing (and I'm doing an "in closing" because my mom said she feels like I end my blogs on a cliff) I wanted to show a sweet picture of Sophie.  I keep trying to get a picture of her standing alone, which she has done, but I can never get to the camera before she plops back down again.  I almost had it here, but she was on her way down by the time I got it.  Her expression is so funny.

I went running tonight with my friend Kelly.  We were talking about perspective and how important it is to get a reality check on our own perspective sometimes.  Whether it's realizing how very blessed you are (or as Daniel and I are...just look at this sweetness trying to stand alone) or being able to tell your story and have it not hurt anymore; perspective is huge.  God's perspective is everything.  We can't see it all of the time of course, but if only we could.  One day we will.   I love having friends to talk to and to help me think about things in a new perspective.  I also love my sweet husband and my sweet baby more than anything on this earth!

Sweet and Sour Dressing
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce or to taste
salt and pepper to taste


Salad
1 package ramen noodles (discard spice packet)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter (I only use a couple of tablespoons)
1 bunch broccoli, coarsely chopped
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
4 green onions, chopped

Sukiyaki Stir-fry

We actually ate dinner by 6:15 tonight!  Daniel got home at 6:00 and I had supper ready.  That doesn't happen too often!  Right now I'm listening to Daniel sing to Sophie in the bathtub.  So sweet!  Bath time is her favorite time of day.      

We got bok choy in our vegetable share bag last week, so I'm finally using it (and the spring onions).  We love this meal and have it every so often.  It tasted extra yummy thanks to the organic veggies I think.   Sophie had a little brown rice, banana, green beans, peas and yogurt for supper.  Her new loves for any meal are cheesy scrambled eggs, cherries, strawberries, frozen peas, bagels, bananas and cheese toast.  

 Sukiyaki Stir-fry

Two Meals

I really have more than two meals to blog, but I've been out of town and just all over the place and you know how that goes.  So this first meal was from last Thursday.  I would definitely call this the Hughes Signature Meal.  Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.  We had this first with Robert and Betsy down at the lake and I immediately went out and bought the cookbook.  The recipes in this cookbook are not low-fat as in using low-fat products (mayo, salad dressing, etc).  No, these recipes are just naturally low-fat and really flavorful.

Daniel calls this a "Power Meal."  Ever since he had it the Wednesday before he ran his first marathon, (The Eugene Oregon Marathon and he ran it really fast!) he is convinced that this recipe will give you any and all the strength you need for whatever you are going to do tomorrow or the next day or the next day.  It's very yummy and very healthy!

Ok, I spent the weekend in Savannah for my younger sister Mary Glenn's bachelorette party.  We all stayed at my older sister Sebrell's house on the Moon River and Friday night we had the most delicious dinner that my brother-in-law cooked.  He's fantastic and I did take pictures, but not with my camera.  I'll post when I get them.  It was such a great weekend--lots of good food, lazy day on the beach, great company!

Now for the next meal.  This was tonight's.  Eggplant Steak Lasagna Stacks  This came from my Rachael Ray Yum-O Family Cookbook.  I bought this cookbook because last year in my classroom we would have "Cooking School" on Fridays and we used a lot of the recipes from here.  They are very kid-friendly (at least to make...I probably wouldn't have eaten eggplant for anything when I was a child).

 

Spinach-Cheese (and sausage) Bake, fruit, All-Bran muffins

Ok, I realize that this is probably within the "Breakfast for Dinner" category, but I didn't really think it through very well when I planned it (which was a while back because I was taking this meal to someone tonight, so I made extra for us to have too).  BUT. This meal has ALL 5 food groups.

This recipe is from Cooking Light and so it doesn't call for sausage.  I only just recently started adding the sausage, which probably makes it not so "light" anymore.  

Spinach-Cheese Bake recipe

All Bran Muffins:
2 cups All Bran
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup oil or applesauce
1 egg
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
Combine the milk and All Bran in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes until cereal become soft.  Combine flour, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl.  Add egg and oil to cereal and mix well.  Stir in flour mixture.  You can add fruit.
Bake 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Pancakes!

Sunday night is waffles/pancakes night at our house.  Tonight it was blueberry pancakes.  The only time we don't do it is if we go to Stax or Daniel's parents' house for lunch after church.  Then we will just have cereal or something.  But usually it's pancakes or waffles.

This recipe was my grandfather's (Thomas Calvin Everett, Jr. 1905-1990) creation.  We always had them when we went to visit them in Darlington and we usually had them on Sunday mornings at home in Florence.  I do remember a few Sunday nights enjoying a hot waffle while Mary Glenn and I watched The Magical World of Disney and my parents and Baba watched Murder, She Wrote.  Sometimes we watched Murder, She Wrote too.  Jessica Fletcher.  Very talented crime solver.

Here is the recipe and below are variations:

2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
You need 3 bowls--one for the flour, one for the yolk mixture and one for the egg whites.
Separate eggs.  Beat yolks and add milk and oil.  Whip egg whites until the form soft peaks.  Add yolk mixture to flour and then fold in egg whites.  You can use this same recipe for both pancakes and waffles (regular or Belgian).  Makes 6-8 Belgian sized waffles.

Variations I've done (add these to the batter):
--Add fruit (blueberries, bananas, strawberries)
--Make healthy by substituting applesauce for oil (it turns out fine) and adding cinnamon
--Add chocolate chips
--Add bacon
--Add chocolate chips AND bacon and top with warm maple syrup
--Make savory by adding sauteed veggies (onions, peppers, spinach, cheese, squash, zucchini) and top with salsa and sour cream.
--add ricotta and lemon zest

When Daniel and I make this, I do 3/4 of the recipe rather than half because (and people who have seen me eat waffles can attest to this) I eat at least two Belgian-sized waffles or 6 good-sized pancakes.  They are like the "Hot Doughnuts Now" for me and I can just inhale them!

Out To Eat.

Well, Thursday night we used our Living Social Deal and ate at Brioso.  The excellent fresh pasta makes up for the not-so-superb customer service there.  I had the Zucca, which is butternut squash ravioli with a creamy, tomato-mascarpone sauce.  There is a hint of sweetness from the squash and it's so smooth.  Daniel had linguini with Zucchini e Gamberi sauce, which is shrimp, zucchini and roma tomatoes in a white wine sauce.  He said it was very good too--I didn't taste his.

Last night we celebrated Daniel's birthday with a night out downtown.  We ate at Nantucket.  Um, yum!   Daniel had a 7 oz. filet with whipped potatoes.  I had company crab cakes with creamed corn risotto and wilted spinach.  Bananas Foster cheesecake and Creme Brulee for dessert.  And then stayed at the Westin...ahh.

Downtown was so crowded last night and this morning with Artisphere and the Saturday Market going on.  Some people hate that, but I LOVE it!  It wasn't like can't-move-crowded.  Just lots of people loving our artsy and fun downtown.  This morning we saw a painting by Jeannie Maddox  that to look at here just looks like a photograph, but it was an oil painting that was HUGE (48"x84") and so refreshing looking and we loved it and it was $28,000.  So we just admired it.  All of her pieces made me want to go swimming.  This one is called Phil.