Exploring with Food

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

The Hubby and I got a chance to explore some food the other day! We took a drive down to Sunset Beach and then walked around the local shopping area. There is a very large department-grocery store there called Jusco and right next to that is Depot Island and America Town. We went in to just look around. It is stimulation central! There are clothes, food, people, language you don't understand! It was awesome! We decided to just pick out a few treats at the grocery's bakery section. We got 4 different things:

This was a sweetbread with a green tint to it. It might have been green tea, not quite sure. It was only a little sweet, not too powerful in the sweet department. 

This sweet bread was the same as the one above only it was not green. 

This doughnut-like pastry was dense and it had a strawberry yogurt-like frosting on top. Again, it was not overly sweet. Not what we thought it was going to be, but happy we tried it!

 This guy was the best! Happy Halloween! I believe it was a sweetbread with some sort of a sweetened yam spread on the inside and used to glue on the almond eyes. I liked it, Hubby, not so much! Tehehe!

After eating our goodies, we stopped by a beach shack and got an Orion beer.

This morning we went and had brunch at Camp Cortney with Hubby's XO and his wife. It was wonderful and the view was spectacular! (cant upload right now....) I look forward to meeting new people and starting to explore this island some more!

Coming up: We get our house tomorrow and I will get pics up ASAP. I also have some recipes to share from our time home in MN. Yes, I did do a little cooking, and my mother did some baking! 

Keep checking in!

Blogging Break

I have taken a blogging break.

Reasons:

1. Moving from North Carolina to Minnesota
2. Living with my parents for 2 weeks
3. Breakfast/Dinner/Lunch with in-laws & parents
4. Catching up with old-time friends
5. Saying goodbye to extended family
6. Getting ready to PCS (move) to Okinawa Japan

Needless to say...there are/were a lot of reasons as to why I have not been blogging. Don't get me wrong, I still love to blog and I love that people (albeit few) are reading this, but I had to take a back seat for a while. But soon I will be back in that saddle! 

Right now the hubby and I are staying at a hotel on a military base in Okinawa. We are busy, taking care of paperwork, getting a car, getting a house, getting this and getting that....and on top of it all a Typhoon came through and closed down the entire base! So, enlieu of all this hub-bub, bear with me as I slowly get back into the grove of blogging. Oh yeah! Once I get a kitchen...recipes will be a-coming!

THANKS!!

Here are some photos for your viewing pleasures....

More pics coming soon! 

A Different Meal

Now its time for a BREAKFAST recipe! Can ya stand the excitement!?

Ok, so I am a fan of making breakfasts. I can do all different styles of eggs: omelets, scrambled, over easy, sunny side up....except for poached...but soon I WILL master that one!

But this is was I made in the meantime...

~Extreme Breakfast Sammich~

2 slices bread

2 eggs

2 strips of bacon

1 tbsp. goats cheese, softened

1-2 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

salt

pepper

Pre-heat a med. sized skilled over med. heat. Toast bread in toaster. Cook the eggs, over easy, in the skillet, once done remove from pan and season with salt and pepper. Keeping the pan over the heat, cook the bacon until it reachers your preferred doneness. Once toast is done, spread the goats cheese in a thin layer on each side. Top one side of the toast with the 2 eggs, and other other side with the sun-dried tomatoes. Once the bacon is done, drain on a paper towel and place over the eggs. Bring the two slices of bread together to form a sandwich, slice and serve with fruit. 

This one was a hit with the Hubby! He likes new a creative things with his breakfasts...and I sure LOVE making them for him! Another one that he liked was an omelet with leftover veggies (peppers, onions, zucchini), parmesan cheese, and Cholula Hot Sauce. Served with bacon and OJ. 

Be creative! I think next time a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning comes around, I am going to make some sweet potato hash browns or skillet hash...who knows!

ENJOY!!

RR - The Pit...

BBQ!! 

So, when the Hubby and I randomly decided to make a trip up to Raleigh, NC, we needed a place to eat dinner. I had heard of, and even walked by, this place...I think I walked by because it looked closed, or it was an off hour or somethings...little did I know what was inside!

Where we went: We had dinner at THE PIT BBQ. The Pit was started by Ed Mitchell and he specializes in whole hog pit-cooked barbeque. His restaurant has become known in the Raleigh area as one that servers tasty spins on classic southern dishes.

What we had: To start out the meal, we ordered some drinks. Hubby had a seasonal brew and I had some hard cider by the brand name of Original Sin. I like me a good ol' cider every now and then. This one was good, not too sweet. We were also brought a little basket of "munchies" that contained small biscuits and what I believe were hushpuppies. They were alright...slighly over breaded and a little bit too crisp...but man were they good when dipped in the BBQ sauce that was on the table.

Hubby chose the BBQ Ribs for his meal and his sides were cole slaw and sweet potato fries. I decided to stay light, and because I am a sucker for sweet potatoes and cornbread, I had the sweet potato skillet corn bread.

What we thought: The food was okay...with the exception of the ribs. They were very yummy, tangy, and moist. Fall off the bone good, in the NC barbeque style. Not a saucy, lick-your-fingers type, but a good clean tangy rib. If there is one thing the Pit does well, it is the meat. The sides were okay...the coleslaw needed more sauce and more tang, the sweet potato fries were just that...fries. Hubby was served quite a lot of them...so I was stealing some of course! The sweet potato skillet cornbread? It sounded a lot better than it was. I wish it was served with honey! (I didn't ask for any though...) I was served with a maple butter that could have used more maple flavor. The bread was moist and it did taste like sweet potatoes, but it confirmed for me that the two should be kept separate. You eat cornbread to taste corn, and you have sweet potatoes for their unique flavor.

Overall: 3 out of 5 Yums!
I would really like to go back and taste more meat. There was a menu option that I did not try, and looking back on it I should have, but it had something to do with chicken, barbeque, brie cheese and what not...but I thought it would be a little bit too much food. Oh well, now I know! But I would for sure like to sample more of their meat offerings...I feel like that is the star of the restaurant. Bring on the MEAT!!

Grillin' Action

I got to fire up the GRILL a few weeks ago! Just a simple supper...nothing too fancy, but, when its done on the grill, it seems so much more special!

Just some sweet Italian turkey sausage and green beans. I tossed the beans with some garlic, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Then I put them on a small baking sheet and grilled them next to the sausage. T'was yummy!!

I had some time this week to edit other pictures besides food-related ones! Here is a sample: can you guess where it is from? Probably not...oh well, it looks cool!

NEWS: Stay tuned for a few restaurant reviews from a recent trip the Hubbs and I took to Raleigh, NC! Great time, great reads!

ENJOY!!

Dream Kitchen!!

I am going to start a list of the products and things that I would someday like to have in my kitchen. Some I may already have, some I dream of having....gotta get my own kitchen first right? *smiles*

So, here goes:

• Knives: 8-inch cooks knife, 14-inch chefs knife, 4-inch paring knife, 10-inch serrated bread knife, flexible knife, boning knife
• KitchenAid artisan stand mixer
• Tongs: Various sizes, nylon heads so as not to scratch nonstick cookware
• Mandoline
• Silpat baking sheets
• Immersion blender
• Food processor
• High-powered blender
• Wok
• Salad spinner
• AccuSharp knife sharpener
• Pots/Pans/Skillets: 2 and 4 qt. saucepans, 8, 10, and 12 in. skillets, 2 or 3 qt. sauté pan, 6.5 qt. stockpot w/ strainer
• Large cast-iron skillet
• Steamer
• Dutch oven
• Pyrex measuring bowls
• Pyrex baking dishes
• Roasting Pans
• Olive oil turrets 
• Fish spatula 
• Set of high-end steak knives
• Scale
• French Press
• Electric Juicer
• Stainless Steel mixing bowls
• Kitchen Scissors 
• Glass Batter Bowl
• Sifter

Here some other fun things that I think would give my kitchen some flair and character!

"Unzipped" glass bag container

(perpetualkid.com)

Babushkups Glasses - Just too cute!

(perpetualkid.com)

Half-pint Glass Creamer

(fredflair.com)

Storage bottles w/ stopper tops

(rockettstgeorge.co.uk)

Chatterbox Nibbles dish - Remember paper fortune tellers??

(rockettstgeorge.co.uk)

Stitched Recipe Box Dishtowel - too cute, just for looks *wink wink*

(anthropologie.com)

Peacock Dinnerware - I LOVE peacocks, again, more for looks

(anthropologie.com)

SoHo Spices Lg. Spice Board - 

Nice sleek way to store spices. Can't decide if I would put it inside a cupboard or display out in the open...

(satinbox.com)

Veggie (tomato & onion) and Fruit (kiwi & orange) cutting boards/trivets

Cute and fun, and dual purpose!

(popdeluxe.com)

Produce bags - you can wash fruit and veggies in the bags! and store them in there as well! 

(blueribbongeneralstore.net)

50 Healthy magnets - quick reference guide for healthy snack and food choices!

(blueribbongeneralstore.net)

Kitchen Pencils - Fun kitchen related sayings, cool stuff!

(blueribbongeneralstore.net)

Peel and Stick Chalkboard -

I want one of these in my kitchen area to do a menu/grocery list thingy

(blueribbongeneralstore.net)

MN Marvels Dishtowel - Gotta represent my home state!

(patinastores.com)

Am I My Herb's Keeper? - Great way to store herbs!

(uncommongoods.com)

Sponge Gloves - I would like to see how these work...if they do, it would be awesome!

(prankplace.com)

Sili Gourmet Honey Jar - Very sleek and stylish look

(kitchenkapers.com)

Just a few of the fun things and gadgets that I would like to have in my future kitchen! I have not even considered furniture/appliances yet! Yikes! Tehehe!

ENJOY!

Couscous Experiments

I tried cooking a new grain! COUSCOUS. It is made from semolina wheat and wheat flour. The flour is moistened and rolled into small spherical shapes.

There are different varieties of couscous and the specific one that I used in this recipe was Israeli Couscous, which is a larger, baked wheat couscous-like product similar to the Italian orzo. So it ends up being more like a pasta versus a rice in texture and taste.

Anywhos....on the the recipe!

~Israeli Couscous w/ Dried Fruit~

(adapted from Food Network Magazine)

2 c. Israeli couscous

2 1/2 c. boiling water + 2 tbsp.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. cranberries*

1/2 c. sliced almonds

1 tsp. chopped parsley

salt

pepper

In a med stock pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over med. heat. Add couscous and toast, until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Once toasted, add boiling water (I heated mine in the microwave). Stir to combine. Simmer, covered for 5-7 min. or until a majority of the water is absorbed. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 min. Meanwhile, in a med. skillet heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over med-high heat. Sauté onion with cinnamon until golden. Add the cranberries* and 2 tbsp. water and cook for 2 min. Once the sautee and the couscous are both done, combine them together and add the almonds, parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

*Feel free to use whatever fruit you have on hand. The original recipe called for raisins, but since I did not have them, I used cranberries. I have heard that apricots are also good in this dish.

Something that I really liked about this one was that they used cinnamon when sauteeing the onions! I think I am going to try and incorporate that into some other dishes that I like, just to give them a little bit of flair!!

I served this with some shrimp that I just baked in the oven at 375 F. and seasoned with some classic Old Bay to give them a kick. Of course, some lemon juice was squeezed over the top before eating!

ENJOY!!