Corn Chowder

My overabundance of sweet corn has turned into chowder. I'm a tad late posting a corn recipe mid-September...I made this a little over 2 weeks ago, but I somehow think that people are still eating corn from their gardens. Thus, they must be getting sick of corn by the middle of September and need a good chowder recipe. How's that for justification?

Like most recipes I create, this one was born after a web search gave me Tyler Florences' version (bacon-less) and Saveur's version (bacon-ed up). I obviously had to have bacon in my chowder, so I've made a hybrid of both of the recipes. 

Herb-Marinated Shrimp Wrapped in Basil & Prosciutto

Things I shouldn't do: 

1. I shouldn't blog while hungry. Always ends badly. Think me in the pantry eating Swedish fish and Pirate's Booty (yes, I have a 5 year old).

2. I shouldn't shoot my blog photos while hungry. Always ends with photos that are not as beautiful as I would hope for. Photos that are passable (today's photos), but kinda sloppy because all I wanted was to consume the photo's subject.

Things I should do:

1. Find out why peanuts keep coming out of the washer at the end of each cycle. My children don't eat peanuts. I don't store them in my pockets. I don't have a pet elephant. Strange.

2. Cook more things on skewers. Or "kabobs" as us Midwesterners call it.

3. Make more should and shouldn't lists.

Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Summer is coming to an end...hurry and preserve all you can! Especially tomatoes. Because tomatoes at the grocery store during a Minnesota winter taste like mealy, mushy, watery, unflavorful disgusting-ness. And that is something you do not want. Ever.

The term recipe is a loose term here. Not really a recipe at all, I'd say. More of a technique, a method, a fun way to make your house smell delicious beyond compare. There are no measurements in this recipe, which you may love or hate. Its one of those toss this in, toss that in kind of thing. You just have to feel the tomato love.

Sweet Corn Pancakes

Yesterday I wanted to kill somebody. Like real homicide. CSI: Minnesota. Today I had my first experience with coding HTML. And coding HTML incorrectly completely ruins your whole blog layout which in turn makes you start crying and beating your head with the sides of your hands because you have no idea what you did or how to change it back makes your life difficult.

Being a blog novice I haven't yet fully realized the consequences of changing formatting, dabbling with the layout, or messing with the HTML. Key words: haven't fully realized - until yesterday.

Gyros

If you do nothing else meaningful in your life this week other than eat this gyro your life will suddenly be meaningful. Your life will be utterly fantastic. Downright joyous.Your life will be...actually it will be none of these things. You'll be the same person you were before you ate the gyro, only fuller. Sorry. I tried. But you should still make these for dinner! Lamb! Say it with me: LAMB!

Muffin Tin Quiche with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Cottage Cheese

Do you need breakfast ideas for busy mornings? Mornings that you seriously couldn't fathom conversing with anyone, but you're forced into conversation because two little beings are asking to be fed and clothed and for some odd reason don't understand mime? They don't understand that talking is not allowed until

Margarita Pie + Door County

This week has been absolutely wonderful for my soul and being! Back to school has got probably all parents leisurely sipping coffee in luscious peace and quiet wondering why they need to have summer vacation anyway to be the best time for all parents. Having a kindergartner had me feeling like a back to school newbie. Watching my son get on the bus for the first time was a roller coaster of emotions, but I've stabilized and processed this new experience and feel just great! The cliches are true, they grow-up so fast. Bittersweet. 

Grilled Tofu with Wasabi Honey Glaze

In my quest to make you believe (and maybe myself, too) that I have a somewhat healthy way of cooking and eating - which I'm totally failing at because apples are not healthy when you eat them with cream cheese - I present to you (if there even is a "you") tofu. However, tofu is not really healthy at all. Tofu is made of soy and I think soy is actually bad for you. Something about it disrupting your endocrine system. Hormones going berserk. So in an ever-failing quest to be healthy, I give up. Tomorrow I'm posting something about mixing sugar with sugar and topping it with white flour and chocolate chips. Not really. But close. 

Creamy Caramel Fruit Dip

Welcome fall.  I know, I've been whining about summer leaving, but doesn't every woman have the right to change her mind? Yes, we do. Its chilly here in Minnesota today - so fun to pull out the boots. A lovely Labor Day celebration at Dassel's Red Rooster Days. I wish I had remembered my camera to document 3000 pounds of chicken atop charcoal. I'm questioning that number, but it sounds like the right amount if I were to guesstimate how many chickens are needed for everyone in Dassel to eat half a chicken per person.

Crepe-Style Waffles

Eating waffles and pancakes at our house has become routine. I never thought I would be that mom. The routine pancake mom. Just kidding. There is no such thing as a routine pancake mom. Just a robot who lives inside of me. Kidding again. I never imagined just how much children can love pancakes. I'm personally more of a french toast gal. Crispy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside. Don't get me wrong, my kids like french toast, but pancakes and waffles are on another level. So to prevent kitchen boredom I'm always mixing up some new pancake recipe. Like this one I found in a church cookbook from the seventies.

Charred Tomato Sauce with Fennel

Don't leave me summer! NOOOOOOOOO.  Don't. Leave. Me. I will bottle you up and put you in wonton skins. I'll make you into cookies and bread. I'll blanch you. I'll char you into this sauce. But you'll still leave me. Does anyone want summer to leave when you live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota? Uh, no.

But let's stay positive! Tomatoes. On the grill. This is a perfect end of summer recipe. Grab a huge box of tomatoes when you head down to the farmer's market this weekend, some herbs, onion, garlic, and a carrot. You could leave the carrot out, I just threw it in because it looked lonely in the fridge. The recipe below is for only 20 ounces of sauce (about 2 batches of bolognese sauce), but you could easily triple or quadruple this baby!

Edamame and Pork Fried Brown Rice

Stir-fry is always one of my favorite meals to make. All those odds n' ends in the fridge get used up, its on the table in a flash, usually full of vegetables and clean-up is relatively quick. Unfortunately, stir-fry is too exotic for my 5 year old to eat, so I just deconstruct it for him. He gets rice, veggies and whatever protein is going into the wok - all not touching each other. I'm not a short order cook! Or am I? Sigh. 

Here is napa cabbage from my CSA which was still fresh after almost a month in the crisper. I love things that last a month in the fridge without rotting. Rotten food is so un-cool.

Ricotta Beet Green Ravioli

You never throw away the green tops that adorn beets, do you?? No, never! You should saute them and mix them with cheese and turn them into ravioli which you should top with butter and devour until you have to unbutton your pants. But seriously - don't throw them away, k? It's criminal. Beet greens taste amazing sauteed simply in garlic and olive oil. Add a fried egg and you've got yourself a delicious breakfast or lunch. Other than that cooking method, I'm stumped. So after a quick web search on "beet greens" I'm inspired to make ravioli.

Chicken and Dumplings

Who in their right mind makes a hot chicken stew when its 86 degrees outside? Me, that's who! Why? I know - WHY? Why did I whip this up in the middle of August? Because I had cold chicken that needed to be made into something yummier. Something edible. Something that didn't go into the trash, because I loathe wasting food. Two chicken thighs and 2 legs later you have...Chicken and Dumplings. So much more appealing than nawing on a cold chicken leg.

Kale, Sausage, & Potato Soup {Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copy Cat}

Continuing on the Kale Saga I present to you ever so delicious soup with kale. And sausage. And potatoes. And beans. And fairy dust. And sparkles. Not really. I know - you're thinking potatoes and beans. Why the overkill? Well yes, in fact, I am putting both in the pot. And you must put both in your pot, too because the soup becomes more hearty and manly. Yeah, I'd call this man-food. And who doesn't need another man pleasing food recipe in their back pocket? Or just plain DEE-LISH-ISS food recipe in their back pocket, but it's not really in your back pocket because that would just be ridiculous to keep recipes in your back pocket, not to mention super unorganized so just keep it in your recipe binder or wherever you keep recipes. OK? Thanks. Uh-huh. Rock on! WORK IT. Well... now that I've got that out of my system. You're not still reading this are you? Because I would stop now if I were you.

Gazpacho

It's Monday -- the day I let my 2 year old zone out on the iPad all morning and the 5 year old take on the Star Wars Wii Empire. Umhmm, Mom of the Year Award. Back to the grind. But only for 3 more days because on Friday we're headed to Northern Wisconsin to go salmon fishing! Whoop. I guess the boat is wavy and vomit-inducing because the captain won't allow you on-board without taking Dramamine. OK. Just not the usual booze cruise I'm used to. Next Monday I'll need a vacation from my vacation. Next Monday I'll need a recipe like this Gazpacho recipe. One I can throw all ingredients into a blender, whiz, chill and have ready for supper after a mad session at the gym. A recipe my kids will eat. A recipe that my husband will eat. A recipe that says "go on with your bad self, girl."  Actually, this recipe is none of those things, but it is healthy!

Corn and Kale Fritters

Another confession. My other confession was here. Today's confession: My family eats dinner with a table half-full of legos. We have an 8-person table. One half Star Wars Empire, one half happy family complaining over corn and kale fritters. We just carry on as if the other side of the table isn't full of chaos. Does that bother you? Shock you? No? You must be a parent of small children. Good thing we're only a family of 4. Where else would anyone sit?

Chicken Stock

Have you ever felt you have a hoarding problem when it comes to chicken stock? I have. Weird? Probably. Half of my deep freeze is containers of stock. Homemade stock is...well...its my essence! Wierd, again? Look at the ingredient list of boxed stock. It's about 2 inches long. No thanks.

Blueberry Coconut Baked Oatmeal

Confession: I hate doing dishes. I could cook all day and be happy as a clam. But to do all those dishes is sheer torture. Job hazard, I guess.

Lavash Bread

Baking bread using yeast was something my mother never attempted. She baked frozen bread loaves and in my childhood memory they were a special treat. The bread pan would sit atop the fridge and wait. All afternoon. It would get bigger and bigger. Then we got to bake it. The smell. OH, the smell. And then the butter. OH, the butter. And my life was complete.

Minestrone Summer Soup

I love soup. I love making soup. I love chopping up the carrots, onions and celery that start most soup. I love eating soup. I love reheating soup in a huge coffee mug. I love using a gigantic spoon to eat soup. I want to marry soup.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've discovered the trick to making soft, light and fluffy cookies. Cookies that don't flatten into pancakes. Cookies that aren't crispy, like crackers. Flat and crispy cookies are sooo not my style. Refrigerate the dough! Ta-da! Are you totally blown away? I know. Everyone's been doing it for centuries - OK, maybe not that long, but I'm a late-adopter.

Monkey Muffins

Muffins are on my radar today. Muffins that are mini and incredibly easy and have a fun name. Monkey Muffins. I wonder how someone picked the name of these little morsels of deliciousness? Maybe because the people who eat them look and act like monkey's most of the time? Probably not.

Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

After a weekend of naughty eating and drinking my weight in beer (yuk!) I'm going on a veggie burger fast. Veggie burgers will make me feel better about my food choices, right? That little voice in my head will stop berating me for eating 3 bags of Australian licorice last week - RIGHT? Ahem. Yes. You are still here? The title of this recipe has roasted garlic as the first two words - so as to warn people. It's garlicky. Which, for me, I love. Especially when roasted to a sugary, mellowed-out garlic flavor. Others - maybe not so much. You might consider throwing half the head of garlic, instead of the whole head. 

Chocolate Pudding

Are you a mother of small children? Do your children devour pudding packaged in plastic cups with ingredients with the letter 'X' in them? Yeah? Me, too. But I loathe the idea of giving my kiddos hydrogenated oil of who-wha-where and maltodextrin-whaa-ja-say? Solution: Wholesome homemade pudding. Seriously yummy. Seriously simple. Oh, and you could easily put this in a baked pie shell, too!