Oven-dried Tomatoes, Frog Jam, and assorted Bentos

Rose Rounds asked how I made the oven-roasted tomatoes. I found the idea on The Local Beet, one of my favorite localvore blogs. They used juliet tomatoes, which are long like Romas but smaller in size. I couldn't find any of those, and the Roma's were too expensive. Tony's had a sale on "cocktail" for 79 cents a package, so I grabbed one of those to experiment with.



Local Beet said to set the temperature to 200 degrees, then stick them in for 8-12 hours, unattended. The problem was I took that "unattended" thing too literally, and I let them stay in the whole 12 hours. (In my defense, I was out for the afternoon during the key end time, so I didn't check on them at all.)

They ended up way too dry. A few crumbled to powder in my hand.



So I was out 79 cents. Lesson learned!

The next batch I used the cherry tomatoes from my Dad's garden. I really did not want to ruin these, and they were even smaller than the cocktails, so at about the 6 hour mark I checked on them. They had shrunken quite a bit, but all of them still had pockets of moisture on their bottoms. Every hour after that I checked again. At hour 8, many of the smaller tomatoes were ready (dried but still soft and chewy looking), so I pulled those out and let the rest keep drying. An hour later, they were all done.



Looking forward to using them in frittatas, salads, and maybe a sauce. 

Another lovely treat I've been enjoying this summer has been frog jam.

Yes, you read that right.



I picked up a jar in New Buffalo this summer, and I am IN LOVE. Way better than plum butter, and even the blackberry jam I got at the farmer's market earlier in the summer.

It isn't made of frogs, thank goodness. But can you guess the ingredients?



Figs - raspberries - orange peel - ginger. F-R-O-G, teehee.

It is F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. It's raspberry, but with richer, sharper notes from the figs and ginger, and a nice burst from the orange peel at the end. I am definitely going to be looking for this again next year. (Or my next visit to the New Buffalo area.)

Despite all the lovely food photos I have taken this summer, I actually haven't been that good at maintaining the foodstyle; I've skipped more than a couple of Sunday Cooking sessions, especially as the summer waned, and I was pretty bad about bringing in lunches on a daily basis. That said, when I did do it, I ate really well. My goal this fall is just to do it more often.


PB&frog jam sandwich, yogurt, blackberries, and Mom's bread and butter pickles. Easiest lunch ever!


Drier's ham salad sandwich, deviled egg salad, black bean and corn salad, blacberries, and a handful of snack mix. This was leftovers from the vacation. :)


Kale frittata, blue cheese coleslaw, yogurt and watermelon.


One of my favorite grilled meals of the summer: portabello swiss sausages, pineapple, and onions. We ate this and our turkey-bacon wrapped chicken thighs most often on the grill this year.


Pretty table set during my parent's visit. Hmm, maybe we should eat at the table more this fall...

What was your favorite foodstuff this summer?

Sunday Cooking: A random assortment of photos

The corn is coming into season. Repeat: the corn is coming into season. Let the joy spread across the land!

I did not buy from this vendor at my farmer's market; there is something about the abundance of varieties they have of everything that makes them seem sketchy. I never see a sign proclaiming which farm they are from, they sell too many vegetables that are out of season in the Midwest, and their signs are always perfect and printed. I much prefer to buy from the people across the aisle with the price of their cherries hand-written on a cardboard flap who only have the 3 main seasonal items available. Thank goodness, one of those items was their first crop of corn. I didn't want to have to buy from the generic/supermarket vendor, and I really, really wanted some corn.



The farmer's market also had some lovely hanging plants, which I did not buy but I should have; we already killed the plant Hubby bought on Memorial Day. Didn't even make it 6 weeks!





It was so dead the leaves crunched into powder when I touched it. Sorry, little plant! I think I might try that big white one next.

While we were there, we stopped at the local cigar store for Hubby. He loves going there because the inside is lush and full of leather chairs and big TVs, and on Sunday they don't charge sales tax on cigars or tobacco. As taxes are now 38% for tobacco, that's quite a sale. (I know, it's not good for him. I'm working on it.) But the cigar store has an actual cigar store Indian. You don't see those around much!





I was dressed for the casual, hot weather. Even wore my new coral New Balance walking shoes!


Target bird top from 2011, Lands End white knit shorts 2011, brown crossbody bag 2011, my beloved Ralph Lauren aviator sunglasses. Those have paid for themselves over the last 3 years; the first expensive sunglasses I ever bought, and the only ones I wear.

When we got home, it was time for some quick cooking. Like Helen said she was doing a couple of weeks ago, now that it is grilling season I am really trying to limit the Sunday Cooking so I am just prepping veggies, salads and marinades, and the rest we are grilling or eating cold. But I am also finding that lunch is a struggle without prepping something else, so this week I made a "breakfast casserole", also known as a frittata, egg dish, or crustless quiche. This particular version was inspired by this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen, but you guys know I love my quiche and I love mixing up different flavors.



Even here I didn't stick completely with the recipe. I cooked off the bacon in the microwave, then put the mostly-cooked pieces in the skillet so they would crisp up and render a little bit of fat. Then I removed the bacon and tossed a large onion sliced into rings into the skillet to cook down until it was soft and browning. THEN I removed the onion, added the chopped kale and wilted that. Chopped the bacon, mixed all of those ingredients together and placed in the bottom of the Corningware dish. (Best kitchen purchase I ever made. So perfect for casseroles in the oven, for serving at the table, and because I also bought the glass and the rubber lids they store and stack in the fridge too. Hunh, except for the ramekins, I think I have this whole set.)

ANYWAY, then I mixed in the eggs and cheese (I did add all 10 eggs which is 4 more than I usually put in my quiche), and seasoned it with some Worchestershire and Northwoods seasoning from Penzeys.



When it came out of the oven, I was so enamored by the high puff. It looked like a loaf of bread! It did flatten a little but it stayed pretty puffy. I definitely had to cook it longer than 20-25 minutes recommended in the recipe. In my experience and my oven, breakfast casseroles always take 40 minutes. Otherwise they don't finish in the middle.




I also made another batch of blue-cheese coleslaw. With fatfree sour cream, a bag of shredded coleslaw, and a container of blue cheese, it is super-easy and pretty healthy to make. Way better than anything you would buy at the deli counter! I season it with a couple of shakes of apple cider vinegar, kosher salt and pepper, celery seed and some Wall of Flavor, but the blue cheese really does all the work to give it such a deep, cool taste. Make it the day before you serve so the cabbage has time to soften and soak up the dressing.



And that was all I needed to feed myself lunch for a few days!



Bonus: a couple of outfit photos from Monday and Tuesday!

Phillip took Monday's photo in my office.



The new Gap white pants (which are completely gone from the website, alas. They stretch out a lot, I should have gotten a size smaller), my turquoise Clarks sandals from last year, a new hot-pink cami from Lane Bryant and a cute pink-and-turquoise print Target top. Which you may never see again since I ripped a hole in the front, DAMMIT.

On Tuesday, Hubby was home so he took the photo while I was rushing out the door.



Purple Old Navy blouse worn open, new white Target sleeveless tee, silver circle pendant necklace from Loft Outlet, black Gap pants and olive Clark sandals.

Lesson learned from both of these photos: never ask a man to take your outfit photos. Both lowered the camera to unflattering angles, Hubby chopped off the top of my head, and neither told me to unwrinkle myself so I and my clothes looked their best. Men!!

Next up: grilling on the 4th of July!

Sunday Cooking: Easy come, easy go

For posterity's sake, I am noting that I skipped Sunday Cooking last week. Not just the post, the actual cooking. I had plans all weekend and only a small window of opportunity to cook, and when I asked Hubby what he would like me to whip up quickly, he asked for another round of the bacon-wrapped chicken thighs from the week before. I wasn't in the mood for more of that, but I made them anyway.

I cannot express how much of a mistake this was. For both of us.

I won't go into details, this last week definitely taught me that it takes almost nothing for the foodstyle habits to come undone. They are mostly definitely not second-nature like I presumed they were, and junk food still holds a strong allure that I have to actively overcome.

So back it was to Sunday Cooking this week!

First up was a Miracle Mac and Cheese recipe I found on Budget Bytes this week. I used whole wheat elbows, skim milk and low-fat sharp cheddar cheese. So, so easy, and it tasted great. It reheats okay too.




Next I made a Green Pasta Sauce that Sheila from Ephemera sent me. I hope it's okay to re-print the recipe here, Sheila; it's so good I definitely want to share it.

++++++

Sheila's Green Pasta Sauce
(For the WW people: 5 PP per serving, makes 4 servings)

3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of olive oil (3 PP values)
1 bunch of chard, kale or beet greens
1 bunch of spinach or watercress
1 250 ml tub of skim ricotta cheese (16 PP values)
Nutmeg
Salt, pepper

Sauté the chopped up garlic in the olive oil. Wash, then remove the stems and roughage from the chard, etc. Chop up (makes a lot, about 12 cups!) and then gradually stir into the garlic/olive oil until it’s all reduced (down to a much smaller amount). Add a bit of water if it seems dry. Add nutmeg (a few good shakes), salt and pepper to taste.

Put into a blender with the ricotta and puree until smooth, or puree with a hand blender. Serve immediately (for 4 people) or freeze.

Great with any kind of whole wheat pasta. Add chicken or prawns and lots of veggies and you have a delicious meal!

++++++



After cooking the spinach and kale, with seasoning added.



The finished product. I used a hand blender in a big bowl since I don't have a stand-up blender anymore (never used it).

I have several bags of whole wheat pasta that I have been buying over my last few shopping trips, and this will be great with those. Hubby loved the flavor and was eating it with a spoon before I stopped him. :)

For lunches, I cut up watermelon and strawberries, and bought some roast beef for sandwiches. I haven't posted any bento boxes in a while, but here is one from a couple of weeks ago.


This was the bacon-wrapped chicken, roasted carrots, blue-cheese coleslaw, and a cut-up granola bar. Delicious, but too many days of it was not a good idea.

The last thing I made this weekend was shredded pork. I got the recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything app. I was browsing through it on my iPhone, and was amazed at how easy it sounded. I usually make shredded pork BBQ-style in the crockpot, but it requires a LOT of barbecue sauce, and then it can't be eaten as anything else. This version can be used in tacos or BBQ or anything I feel like having.

It was super-easy, and even better I didn't have to print out the recipe; I opened the app up on my iPad and just read it from the screen!



I did not follow the last sentence about using pork shoulder; I couldn't find one at any of the 3 grocery stores I went to, so I did it with a 2-pound loin roast. Then I quartered a large onion, added plenty of minced garlic, salt, black pepper, 2 bay leaves, and a good seasoning of Northwoods.




The whole recipe is this:
1. Cut up pork into 1-inch cubes, add all the seasonings, onion and garlic into a Dutch oven. Cover with water and heat until it boils. Turn down to simmer so it still bubbles, and let cook for 1 hour until the pork is tender.
(I let it go longer because I had the leaner roast. I did taste-test it at that time, and added a little more kosher salt and some Worchestershire.)
2. When pork is tender, let cool. Remove pieces from liquid, and shred it with your fingers.

That was the whole thing!

I think we are back on track this week. Fingers crossed!
Next up: catching up on all my blogs. I think my Shelley had a birthday last week. Woohoo!

And how were YOU last week?

Just a Regular Day

Today was Leap Day. It was just a regular day, except that I managed to photograph it.

I got dressed. I wanted to try the red/orange/pink trend before it's over. Luckily I had all of this in my closet.


I ate lunch.



I took photos of my goofy cats.



Are they not the best? Emily on the left, and George on the right. They were SO excited when I stepped out on the porch for my morning photo; they both came booking over to the sliding glass door and wouldn't let the other scare them away.








After work, I got my hair colored, and did some damage buying beauty supplies: new shampoo, new conditioner masque, refill of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, and new eyeliner. There's a couple of packages from Gap on their way too. I've missed going on a girly shopping spree!

How was your Leap Day?

Hump Day

Gosh, how did we get to Wednesday already? I'm so far behind in everything I need to do!!

Anyway, I promised I would wear something out of my sister's box of clothes every day this week, and I would photograph it. I am not sure I am going to make it to the end of the week; turns out none of the awesome skirts fit. The good news is they are all too big, but the bad news is that means I will never be able to wear them. They are so gorgeous, I'm pretty bummed about it. I might get one of them (a fabulous houndstooth) taken in, just to see it works.



This was Monday. One of two great Lane Bryant tunic sweaters; the other one was a strong green. I did wear it over the weekend, but unfortunately the color did not work on me as well as this peacock blue one did, so I passed it along to my friend Jessie. She looks AMAZING in green, so I know she will rock it.

I know a white top and black pants is a bit of a cop-out, but you know, when the sweater has enough character you don't need to overload with other stuff. I did wear my pretty gold circle necklace with it, to help emphasize the cowl neck.




Tuesday was a bit dressier than I have been lately, but it was all in service to the yellow Banana Republic sweater that made its way back to my closet in the box. It's a little snug right now, so I layered it under a Tria tweed jacket instead of over a button-down like I wanted to wear it. The sweater is short-sleeved and has cute ruching at the shoulders. Maybe you'll see it again later this winter or spring when it fits better.

The details of this aren't clear, but the pants are a navy pinstripe, and the jacket has great gold embellishment all along the hem. I added a couple of triple-strand gold necklaces to finish it off.





Today this will be the outfit, although I may mix it up with a different necklace or scarf. I cheated and wore it last Friday, but I like this sweater so much I am repeating it. This is a Forth & Towne oldie but goodie. Love the melon-y color, the faux-wrap look, and just the general weight and softness of the fabric. This is almost 5 years old, and it's still one of my favorites.

Sometimes I don't mind having gained the weight back because it lets me re-discover beloved pieces again. And believe me, I have plenty more in smaller sizes in the basement! :)

Lastly, I am enjoying all the food I made this weekend. I've had leftover soup a couple of days, and yesterday I brought in this:



There are cauliflower pizza crust/pancakes under the pulled pork, which worked out very well. They gave the pork a nice base but wasn't as carb-heavy as just bread. I added some of the roasted veggies with it. Yogurt, a mix of clementines and blackberries, some store-bought granola (Shelley, I had to concede defeat on making my own for now), some Special K crackers (which are so good!), and a couple of extra clementines filled me up for the day.

Aaaaaand now I am late for my day. Have a good one, all!

Sunday Cooking: It's like I invented cooking

I am not a natural cook. I avoided it all costs as a kid, preferring to be the one whose chores were to set the table, do the dishes, entertain the guests, anything to get away from actually chopping and mixing and learning how to make food for myself. The first few years of living on my own, I rented apartments where I never turned on the oven the entire time I lived there. Frozen dinners, sandwiches, and restaurant food was my main sustenance. I worked in food service (irony at its finest) so my meals at work were covered -- and prepared by someone else. When I got married, my husband did know how, but everything he knew how to make was elaborate for family holiday meals. So we fell into the same patterns that I had as a single person.

About five years ago, I started to teach myself how to cook. It's been an eye-opening experience, and oftentimes I end up laughing at myself because when I come up with something new (to me), I act like I am the first person to come up with this idea.

For example, chicken salad.

On Sunday, I roasted a chicken. Not my first time, but the first of the season.



I ended up being frustrated by it, mainly because I didn't set the oven temp high enough and it took twice as long to cook as it normally does. But the prep was very easy, and it tasted great once we were able to eat it hours later. When it cooled, I pulled it apart, and put the meat in a container for the week and the carcass and leftover veggies in a bag in the freezer for chicken stock next week.

On Monday, I could not figure out what to do with the chicken for lunch. I only had unseasoned spaghetti squash and carrot soup for veggies, so I was at a loss as to how to prepare anything. I ended up cutting up some chicken and throwing it in the squash, then adding in some dressing and cheese and microwaving the whole mess at work. It was supremely unsatisfying, especially since I had spent all Sunday cooking all of it.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up dreaming about chicken salad. Of course! But I'd never made it before, in fact I rarely eat it. But I gave it a try, making up a recipe out of items in my kitchen.




Chicken, 2 ribs of chopped celery, a handful of dried cranberries, a tablespoon of real mayo (I didn't have light, and since it was my only fat of the day I knew it would be okay), and plenty of Penzey's Mural of Flavor seasoning (with orange and lemon peel so it's a high, bright taste). It was delicious. I toasted some wheat bread, slathered the chicken salad on, and had my lunch ready to go.



The rest of the meal was fruits and veggies -- a big container of my carrot-ginger soup, and plenty of clemetines. I used my third lunch bag, one without any special containers that just fits in whatever I have wrapped. It's not as fun as a Bento, but it gets the job done. Plus there is a top section where I can fit snacks and whatnot.



I splurged with a small Vosges bar, a leftover stocking gift from Hubby. Bacon-chocolate, yum. And yet another clementine and some sugar-free Jello. (It's filling a needed dessert hole right now for me. Who knew?)

It was so good I am having the exact same thing today. Good thing I made an extra portion!



I felt like I had invented cooking. With chicken salad. Hee!

Are there items that you make that you feel when you make them, you have cracked some secret code of cooking?

Close Call

Not sure if you noticed yesterday, but I had a really close call with the blog: Google summarily disabled my account, which locked me out of Gmail, Reader, Calendar, Google+, and worst of all, Blogger. For a brief time they shut down LFD altogether, but then reinstated the link without allowing me to log in. For the day, LFD was careening down the internet highway like a car without a driver!

By 10:30 last night, after two pleading messages, they reinstated my account. They did not explain why it was disabled in the first place, so naturally I am concerned it could happen again. It scared me to realize how much of my internet presence is tied to one web conglomerate, and how it could all disappear in a blink.

I'm taking action to prevent some of that from happening again: over the weekend I will be moving LFD to Wordpress. It might be a bit bumpy for a bit; I hate learning new interfaces so I might be crabby as I get familiar with my new surroundings, but I hope you will all come with me as I move! I have some new ideas for regular features this year, like monthly magazine reviews (think of it as sharing the pages I dog-ear to remember, LOL), more recipes, and maybe even some conversations about exercise. (!!)

Anyway, I was so flustered yesterday by losing my blog and my Reader I didn't manage to get an outfit photo. But I got one of my laptop lunch box!




Meatloaf sandwich, roasted carrots (so good I just ate them cold!), flavored yogurt with kiwi, blackberries, and pomegranate seeds, granola for the yogurt, and clementines. (Oh, and an oatmeal packet for breakfast.)

The last outfit photos of 2011

Wow, what great responses to yesterday's post about weight-loss tips! Cynthia, I love the link to that NYT article you sent. So much to think about!

I also loved that there were some common tips that work pretty much universally: track what you eat, track your progress (somehow), plan your meals, and have a positive attitude.

I would add just one more: enjoy what you eat. It's food, and well-prepared food is supposed to be enjoyable. Food is not just fuel; it affects all of our senses. So don't waste your calories/points/checkboxes on something that doesn't taste good. Conversely, not everything that tastes good is calorie-laden. Fresh oranges, homemade tomato sauce, a simmering bowl of seasoned bean soup, a slice of warm crusty whole-grain bread -- these are healthy, delicious, satisfying choices.

Anyway, onto the outfits!



This was Thursday before Christmas, one of my last days at work. We had our department holiday party after work that day, and this easily made the transition to party wear. Plus, I finally added some color to the dress!


Friday was my last day of work for the year. Hurray!



This transitioned into a travel outfit nicely -- all I did was lose the belt. :) I got the turquoise top from Lane Bryant this summer, but have yet to find the right outfit for it. This was close...maybe it will work better with my black ponte skirt? I definitely liked it with the long-sleeved top under it. A work in progress for 2012!

This one is for my sister: the last Bento of 2011.




Leftover Maui chicken from the Yardhouse, peeled clementines, and pomegranate yogurt with blackberries.  Yummy!

I hope you all have lovely New Year's. We'll be staying in that night, but I have plans for the day and the next day. Plus reflections and resolutions to make. Plan on seeing a few more posts this weekend from me! :)

Happy New Year!