Skip to main content

Happy New Year!

Image
By
Just two of the many Belgian beers we tried on our trip

Hello and Happy New Year friends!

Given that it is a new year, and resolutions are an expected topic of conversation, I thought I would talk about mine quickly (feel free to skip past this, my feelings won't be hurt. Hell, I won't even know).

I've never been one to really make a list of resolutions - it felt kind of silly and trite to be perfectly honest. This year though, I have one grand resolution: to take better care of myself in 2012. Yes, it's ridiculously broad. And yes, it covers the expected "eat better" and "exercise more". But it also includes working less (cutting back on those 12 hour days that I experienced throughout November and December), saying "no" more frequently (no more overextending myself) and spending more time and energy on the things I truly enjoy (like cooking and sharing our cooking experiences here).  Hopefully that means that you can expect to see more frequent and consistent posts from us as well (lucky you!).

OK, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about food!

We've just returned from eating and drinking our way through Brussels and Bruges. We had street food, French food, traditional Belgian food and many, many beers. Craig kept the official list, but I think we tried over 30 different Belgian beers. It was a pretty inspiring trip - I have a list of dishes that I'm anxious to try and I'm excited to give home brewing a try as well. If all goes according to plan, we'll be starting our first batch of home brew this weekend.

With that said, here's what's on the menu for this (very short) week:

Sauteed curried chicken, sesame noodles & green salad
Turkey burgers, oven fries & green salad (I had curry ketchup for the first time last week. I'm going to try to make it today. If all goes well, we'll have some curry ketchup to enjoy on those turkey burgers!)
Sauteed fish, baked potato & steamed broccoli

Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll check in on Sunday with next week's menu.






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bacon Makes it Better - Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

By
As I mentioned in this week's check in , roasted cabbage with bacon is one of my favorite dishes. The sweetness of the cabbage and onions with the smoky saltness of the bacon just can't be beat. There are a bunch of very similar recipes all over the internet, but I first saw it over at the kitchn . Roasted Cabbage with Bacon adapted (slightly) from Faith Durand 's recipe at thekitchn.com 1 head of green cabbage, outer leaves removed, cored and quartered (I've made this with red cabbage and it's just as good) 2 red onions, peeled and quartered 5 slices of thick bacon, cut into large pieces Salt and Pepper Heat the oven to 450. Place the cabbage and onion in a large roasting dish. Drape the bacon over the veggies. Please in the oven and cook 15 minutes. Flip the cabbage and onion and place back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Check your cabbage - if it's roasted to your liking, toss with salt and pepper to taste and serve. If it needs furth...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finding the Perfect Granola Bar Recipe

By
Granola bars. As far as prepackaged, convenience foods go, I figured that would be the easiest to start with. While I wasn’t entirely wrong, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Last weekend I made my first batch, using Alton Brown's recipe  (with just a few tweaks to account for what I had on hand).  They weren’t terrible, but they were way too sweet and the bars fell apart when we tried to eat them. So, I gave it another go yesterday.  The result is pretty darn delicious (if I do say so myself), but again, they fall apart when we eat them. I will happily gobble this batch up, but I am determined to find the perfect bar. Anyone have any advice? In the meantime, here’s the recipe. Delicious, but crumbly , Granola Bars Adapted from  Alton Brown's Granola Bars After I put these in the oven, I realized I should have included cinnamon.  So, add some if you are so inclined.  This makes 12-16 bars, depending on how wide you cut them. Ingredients: 2 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Red Wine Vinaigrette

By
If you are trying to get away from pre-packaged, processed foods, salad dressings are the easiest place to start. Any dressing can be made at home, from a simple vinaigrette to a creamy blue cheese. My current favorite is a red wine vinaigrette. This couldn't be easier to make and I always get a ton compliments on it when I serve it to guests. Here is a rough guide (it's not exact enough for me to really call it a recipe - adjust the amounts depending on how much dressing you need at the moment). Red Wine Vinaigrette garlic, one clove roughly chopped salt dried oregano dried basil fresh ground pepper red wine vinegar olive oil The trick to making a yummy salad dressing is starting with a garlic paste, using a mortar and pestle. Place the chopped garlic and a few pinches of salt in the mortar. Using the pestle, grind into a paste. It should look something like this: Once you have your garlic paste, put in whatever container you are going to use for storing and serving the dressi...
Post a Comment
Read more