Remembering growing up...

I wrote this post only weeks before this skit aired on SNL. Now I read this and think...that's really hysterical. The SNL sketch is pretty close to what I saw that night. So read on, and then watch the clip for a good chuckle. "I'm gonna go watch the football game." That's how it usually starts. This football season started out a little bit on the rough side...And so the first U.T. game of the season, I stayed home while Ryan made his way to a local Tex-Mex place to watch it on PPV. We'd just watched some inspirational cooking shows on PBS, and Ryan left the TV on when he walked out the door....

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Agua Fresca II

We wised up for Agua Fresca, Part Deux. Instead of running all the melon through the food processor and pushing it through a sieve, I used the juicer. Worked wonders! Then, I added a good squeeze of lime and some fresh mint. The three flavors combined for an icy-cool refreshment on a 100-plus-degree day. Ryan's dad introduced us to the watermelon-mint-lime salad (cube watermelon, then add fresh mint and lime, marinate for 2-3 hours in the fridge and serve at a summer picnic) and the same idea works just as well as a beverage. Could make a pretty good margarita, too--just add some tequila and Triple...

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Early Morning Inspiration

Just a few photos of fresh morning fruit: blueberries and Texas figs with wildflower honey, the sweet nectar of li...

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SalisBEERy Steak

We had quite the success in the kitchen the other night. Out of sheer invention came one of the best meals we've had yet. It was a true team effort, and the name was Ryan's brilliant brainchild. Read on, friends: this is one you'll want to whip up for sure. Seasoning:1 teaspoon Season-All 1/2 tsp black pepper1/4 tsp celery salt1/4 tsp cayenne 1/4 tsp saltMix together well 1 large sweet potato, cut into large matchsticks3 medium red potatoes, cut into large matchsticks1-2 tablespoons olive oil to coat the potatoesPreheat the oven to 450. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray. In...

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Home Court (dis)Advantage

We had plenty of okra from Greenling and needed something to do with it. Pickled okra was the obvious choice. So, one hot Saturday morning at around 7, I hopped on the bike, grabbed the (wrong) wallet, and headed to the store for lids, the right kind of salt, and some dill seed. Pickling proceeded. At about this point, we realized that we do not own any kind of jar tongs to get the boiling mason jars out of the boiling water. Luckily for us, we're inventive and brave, and we wound up using regular old kitchen tongs with a wing and a prayer. Seriously. Three of our four jars popped satisfyingly,...

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Manana...

With the leftover tortillas and meat, we whipped up breakfast tacos. Now that's a good way to start the d...

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Viva La Fiesta!

Mmmm...tacos. We cooked grass-fed beef from my dad's neighbor with all the right seasonings (for us: plenty of garlic, s&p, celery salt, and some cayenne), and added onions and peppers from Greenling. A few months ago, I bought a cast iron skillet (which I love) and learned to make homemade flour tortillas. So, I busted it out. Ryan says that he'll never go back to store-bought--what a compliment! The salsa is also homemade--and it's my mom's famous recipe. We had jalapenos in the basket, too, and cilantro, so the salsa was a jiffy: Here's the skinny:1 large can organic peeled whole tomatoes,...

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It was a...DISASTER!

Now, I'm the first to admit that I am still learning my way around the culinary arts. But I've made eggplant parmesan [once] before [with a chef's help] and it was great [because I had a chef helping]. Making it on my own couldn't be too different, right? And by the looks of things...it turned out pretty good. But then we tried to eat it. Poor, sweet, understanding Ryan. I ignored every warning he tried to give me ("Are you sure you know how to make eggplant parm?" "Do you know what to do with an eggplant?" "I can make French onion soup if you want!") and went ahead with my plan. I sweated the...

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Easy Veggies

Sometimes, nothing is better than just simple roasted vegetables. Summery zucchini, squash, and red potatoes tossed together with plenty of seasonings (including celery salt, garlic powder, sea salt, fresh pepper) and olive oil were roasted at about 450 until very tender. The details are a little fuzzy (no, there wasn't any wine involved this time...but this dinner was a couple of weeks ago!), but I'm pretty sure this was the night that Ryan stopped by Boston Market for a rotisserie chicken and I had roasted veggies ready when he got home. Just goes to show, when in doubt (and when you're drowning...

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Dressing up a weekday meal

Ryan's generous colleague sent a bottle of white wine home with him one night. In our four-year history together, we've only ever saved one bottle of wine for a special occasion--and every time a special one comes about, we forget to open our special bottle of wine. So I didn't think twice when I popped this bottle open for nothing more exciting than a Wednesday evening dinner. Mushrooms, onions, and squash (all from Greenling) sauteed together in plenty of butter, minced garlic, and sea salt with a splash of wine. The veggies topped off a mini-mountain of whole wheat cous cous, and a sprig of...

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When life hands you lemons...By all means, don't waste 'em!

It was a hot Saturday. We're talking 100-plus degrees. In the shade. Ryan and I had made a trip down to Torchy's for breakfast tacos, and then over to Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop to look for an earth-friendly messenger bag. We left with a pair of Earth-friendly shoes and a t-shirt for Ryan, and with an unquenchable thirst that kept begging the question, "Where should we stop for lemonade?"Not wanting to pull over yet again and shell out more cash for a beverage when we'd done enough shopping already, we decided to make it at home.Talk about hitting it out of the park. We made a simple syrup on the...

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Updates Coming Soon!

I learned something VERY exciting over the weekend: people actually read my blog! Yes. You do. And you like it! You really, really like it! (So leave me a comment, ok? Puh-lease?)My heart is a-flutter with the thought of you, my dear readers, perusing through this site. And here I am, leaving you with no fresh material!Well, rest assured, a big honkin' update is on its way. Let me tell you: there is fresh salsa. There are homemade tortillas. There is agua fresca. (C'mon, we're in Texas. Mexico is not that far away, folks.) I will be catching up this week, no doubt about it. And in the meantime,...

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