approaching joy

tasty tuesday :: a discussion

When I first started blogging I was SO excited to talk about food.  

A little back story: My mom is a great cook, but she was also dealing with two whiny kids, a husband who was working out of town, and some major time constraints so I grew up on canned... lots of things.  Pasta was occasionally spaghetti-o's and occasionally something that ended in "-roni".  I didn't even realize that people ate asparagus that wasn't fresh out of the can and wasn't smothered in Velvetta. I can even say that I've eaten Spam and lived to tell the tale.

So when I "fell in love with food" after college, it was because my eyes were opened to a whole new dimension of food that I had not preveiously known existed.  And then I fell in love with a man who also knew about the wonders of good (fresh, non-processed) food and it was just natural that I wanted to share this overflowing love with everyone.  So I did.

But then I got uncomfortable simply re-telling (re-blogging) other people's recipes. I mean sure I could blog about the 20% of meals that we have that start with an idea in our heads, get worked out in our kitchen, and end up like this:

(i.e. the best steak EVER)

But most (70%) of our meals start in someone else's head, get perfected in their kitchen, get published on their computer, and then get tweaked (for better or worse) in our kitchen, like this pasta from Dinner A Love Story that we had last night:

 (i.e. super yummyveggie pasta that the picture doesn't do justice to)

 For those of you counting, the other 10% looks like this:

And that's okay too.

I guess my question is: What is "okay" for a non-chef wannabe food blogger?  Where is the line between my very slightly adapted recipe and someone's original recipe?  What gives me the right to share someone else's hard work?
Also, please know that I'm not questioning any other bloggers out there, just myself.  Maybe it's too many nights staying up to watch Chopped but I know that I am only occasionally capable of making a cacaphonie of flavors appear out of the contents of my refrigerator.

What do you think?
If you're a blogger- Please share how/what you choose to post when the original idea isn't yours to claim.  Let the rest of us know what you use as "guidelines".
If you're a non-blogger- What do you think when you come across a recipe that says "adapted from + link to another page"?  Do you ever go over to the other page?
To anyone- Am I weird in having this conundrum?? 

tasty :: Food Blogger Bake Sale

I mentioned earlier in the month, I that I am participating in this years Food Blogger Bake Sale and was so stinking excited to see my name in the official news release.

Check it out:

(North Little Rock, Ark.) – April 20, 2010 – This Saturday, April 28, Arkansas food bloggers will join others across the country in the third annual Food Blogger Bake Sale, raising funds for Share Our Strength in the organization’s fight against childhood hunger. The Arkansas event, hosted by Christie Ison of Fancy Pants Foodie, will be held adjacent to the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market in North Little Rock, 6th and Main Streets, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Offerings will include items made by local bloggers, including: Hillary Kleck ofSensory Sun; Lisa Mullis of Arkansas Outside; Sunshine Crawford of Make Life Delicious; Julie Kohl of Eggs and Herbs; Stephanie Hamling of Proactive Bridesmaid; Gina Knuppenburg of Desperately Seeking Gina; and Paige Burkham of Approaching Joy. Professional offerings will include gluten-free items by Dempsey Bakery, and other treats from the Peabody Hotel, Argenta Market, Brown Sugar Bake Shop, Whole Foods, Blue Cake Company and Gigi’s Cake Boutique.

Last year, the Arkansas team raised over $1,000 with its first sale, and all proceeds went to support Share Our Strength programs such as No Kid Hungry and Cooking Matters. Ison, a graduate this May of Pulaski Technical College’s Arkansas Culinary School, will be a volunteer chef with the Cooking Matters program in Little Rock this summer.

Organized in 2010 by Gaby Dalkin of WhatsGabyCooking.com, the national Food Blogger Bake Sale features food bloggers from across the country who unite to support the cause by holding bake sales in their states on the same day.

Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit, connects children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. Through its No Kid Hungry® campaign – a national effort to end childhood hunger in America – Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in effective federal nutrition programs; invests in community organizations fighting hunger; teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals; and builds public-private partnerships to end childhood hunger, at the state and city level. Working closely with the culinary industry and relying on the strength of its volunteers, Share Our Strength hosts innovative culinary fundraising events and develops pioneering cause marketing campaigns that support No Kid Hungry. Visit Strength.org.  

I'm so pumped to be joining these other women to help out children around the state!  
Also, I "know" Christie, Gina, and Julie from web interaction and am excited to meet these (and other) blogging superstars in real time. Yay!

For the sale I want to make "chocolate chip muffins". This is where I take a chocolate chip cookie recipe and stuff it into a mini muffin pan.  The "mini"-ness allows people buying things at the bake sale to think they're getting more bang for their buck. ("Three for the price of one?!? And I don't have to make a sticky mess to share with my toddler?  Win..."  I'm not even a Mom and I can already foresee me making that decision.)  I hope to have a cute package design that beckons all potential FBBS supporters as well.

But here's the deal: This week has been so insanely crazy I haven't pinned down my exact recipe yet.  {Eek!} 
That's where you guys come in.
I have the internet so I have options, but I need opinions!

Should I go with this version from the Pioneer Woman?

{photo credit}

OR 

Should I go with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen?

{image credit}

What do you think?? 
For the last set of "muffins" I think I made the second version from Smitten and the Mister lurved them.  But the addition of coffee and flax really intrigues me on... Oh Pioneer Women... Always throwing me for a loop when I'm least expecting it.

#1 Please vote down below in the comments and I will announcement the winner (and post pictures of the resulting "muffins") later this week.

#2 Are you guys like me and go to your favorite blogs to search for recipes?  Or do you rely on Pinterest? Or are you more of a traditionalist and bust out the Ladies Association Cookbook circa 1992 like I've occasionally been known to do?

tasty :: quick zucchini salad

 

This week is all about spring and keeping things fresh but to tell this story I need to go back to Christmas.  

Ryan's family has this amazing tradition of an Iron Chef inspired cook-off that happens on Christmas eve.  It's a sibling cook-off that begins with major smack talk starting around November and culminating in a crazyfun, wine-fueled day in the kitchen.

In short-It's basically amazing.  We even get chef's coats.
See:

This recipe comes from the enemy.  And by "enemy" I mean "Kristal and Simon (the couple on the right) who are extremely cool cats.  They got it at this site and I have totally put my own spin on it.

Wash off 4 small to average-ish sized zucchinis.  If you have a mandolin or other normal type of slicer machine machine, use it to slice the zucchinis "paper thin".  I usually get closer to "cardboard thin"... but do what you can.  I , personally, don't prefer the outside "skins" (because I think they're too bitter) so I take the first two slices per strip out. It's your call though.

Once all of your zucchinis are sliced, add three tablespoons of olive oil and mix it thoroughly to make sure every slice is lightly coated but not slick with oil. (I use my hands for this part.)  
Zest one lemon and add it too the zucchini bowl along with the juice from the lemon.  Stir it all up again (with a spoon this time) , trying to make sure everything gets evenly coated.

I topped this with a third of a bag of salted/ roasted pistachios, a half a bag of sliced almonds (from the bag that had a whopping 3.5oz), a half a container of feta cheese (approximately .5 oz) , and a few twists of the pepper shaker.    Mix all of this around with a third swish. 

Here's where I went off script.  When I served this to my family a few weeks ago for Easter lunch and they weren't too keen on the "dryness" that came with feta. To combat this (haha- I just used a war term.  The roomies are watching Army Wives in the next room) I added a half a small container of grape tomatoes.  I think this adds two things: 
juicyness and twang.... just a little acid to give it a boost.  Add another shake or two of pepper but hold off on the salt.  The pistachios add a lot and I hate for it to be salt overload.

 

Put it in the fridge and let it marinate for a while.  To taste best, raw zucchini should really be given the chance to contemplate life (i.e. soak in all the olive oil goodness) for at least an hour (overnight would probably be even better) and served cold.

Try it and let me know how you like it! 

 

tasty :: slightly tangy, totally delicious chicken with rice

Looking back over Tasty Tuesday I've realized that I like to share dessert and appetizers and drinks. This means one of two things: I would be an awesome caterer or my future family may starve from lack of real sustenance. Here's something delicious to remedy that.

The Mister and I made this original recipe from the lovely folks over at Dinner a Love Story. We liked it so much on Monday we made it on Wednesday with some changes to adapt more to our taste. To me, those two things (the ability to be easily made on a weekday night and the easy adaptation) are the marks of a great recipe. Read on here for our recipe but seriously go visit Dinner A Love Story for even more of these awesome everyday meals.

Start cooking a pot of rice for three people. The Mister and I used some jasmati that was in the pantry with a dollop of butter added from the very beginning. Use what you have but if you haven't tried jasmati I highly recommend it - so yummy and so what more flavor than dear old Uncle Ben's.

Chop up four pieces of bacon into inch and a half pieces and throw it into a large skillet on medium/high heat (and yes, by "large" I mean "big", now is not the time to skimp.) Chop up a small onion, rinse a half pound of portabellas and rough chop them and keep these in a bowl by themselves. Drain your can of artichokes, chop a whole container of cherry tomatoes in half, zest one lemon, and put plenty of salt and pepper on this mixture.

Once you're on the home stretch with the vegetables, the bacon will be start to show signs off being cooked (i.e. not raw) but not crispy and here will be brown bacon-ness on the bottom of the pan. Pour a few gluts of olive oil (2 tablespoons?) on top and let it sizzle for the next two minutes while you finish up with the veggies. While you're waiting, take one chicken breast and split it in half

Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon (set aside on a paper towel and when it cools snack on while cooking) and immediately put your two pieces of chicken breasts in the pan and let them cook for 3 minutes a side. Again, there should be crispy brownness hanging on the bottom of your pan. Yum. When finished browning, set the chicken aside (and no snacking since it's not cooked through all the way.) Thrown in the onions and mushrooms for about three minutes. If you're like me you'll want to keep cooking them. If you're like my Mister you will prevent people like me from doing craziness like that.

{the aforementioned brown bits are very apparent here}

Dump your remaining veggies. Take a picture with your phone. Throw it onto Instagram and impress your friends with your culinary talent. By then another three minutes will have gone by and you can add a half cup of white wine and half cup of chicken broth to the mixture while you're stirring like a banshee with your wooden spoon. By doing this you are getting all the aforementioned brown yumminess off the bottom of the skillet and adding approximately a ton and half of flavor to your dinner. Squeeze the chicken back into pan and bring all this yumminess to a boil. When it starts bubbling, cover it, turn it down to a simmer, and let it cook for another 8-10 minutes.

If you haven't been attending to your rice, now would be an excellent time to make sure it's not burnt… not that I would know anything about that (sarcasm). When you've got that under control, add 2 teaspoons of *dijon mustard to 1/3 cup of heavy cream and stir, stir, stir.
*Quick word about mustard: I hate it. I used stone ground mustard because it reminds me less of the mustard soaked sandwiches my dear father served me as a helpless child. Despite my intense hatred- in my opinion it is super necessary in this recipe. for the love of all things tart please don't leave this step out.

Right before the ten minutes are up throw in half a bag of spinach.  It gives it really pretty color (and the required Popeye vitamins) and will quickly cook down and spread out over the dish.  When the timer buzzes, pour the cream into the skillet and make sure every bit has been blessed with the polka dotted sauce.

Cut up everyone's serving of chicken and use a ladel to spoon an equal serving of veggies, meat and cream sauce over your bowl of rice.  The picture I have is the best shot that gives a hint of the consistency:: it's thin, (the vegetable jucies  plus the olive oil base account for this) but it has the creamy taste followed by the twang of the mustard.  Yum. This is seriously delish stuff folks. Definitely a new go-to for a weekday meal since all this cooking can seriously be done in 30-40 minutes. 

Does anyone else have a major mustard aversion? Or any other childhood aversion that causes you to avoid lots of recipes as soon as you see that it's including on an ingredient list? I know I really need to work on it… obviously I will be tackling my problem two teaspoons at a time.

tasty tuesday :: simple salad dressing

And sometimes you just get tired of the stuff from the bottle...

Make sure that no one you plan on serving is lactose intolerant and that you have access to a grocery store that has a schmancy cheese section. As long as you're good on those two counts you are good to go.

There is none.  Make like Nike and "just do it."

{This, ladies and gents, is an action shot.}

Pour half a cup of buttermilk into a large bowl with half a cup of sour cream.

Finely mince one garlic clove and whisk it all up.

Add six of the eight ounces of the most amazing Gorgonzola that you happen to have on hand.  
(If you currently live 60 miles from the nearest schmancy cheese section (like I do) please disregard the "happen to have on hand" part- I know you had a make a special trip for stuff like that and appreciate the sacrifice and dedication that you are willingly to make for delicious food.)

No I realize that there is a whisk in the picture above but I'm going to need you to mentally Photoshop that because my actual Photoshop skills are not that good.  If you try to whisk it you will end up with a massive chunk of cheese in the middle of your whisk and your boyfriend will look at you weirdly as you pry the whisk open and come up with plan B... or maybe that was just me...

Regardless- Plan B is this: Use a spatula.  Much better for "smooshing" which is a requirement for this part.  You want to take the small chunks (or the one ginormous chunk in my case) and totally incorporate it into the mixture you already have working in your bowl.  
See those pieces of garlic already hanging out in there?  Your job is to make that cheese resemble those teeny tiny pieces of garlic.

And while your smooshing, add lots of freshly ground pepper.  It adds a bite that you will appreciate later.

{Another action shot.}

Continue smooshing.

When everything is adequately smooshed, crumble the last two ounces of Gorgonzola into the bowl and fold it in.  
Softly, no smooshing allowed this time.  This time we want texture.

Amazing velvety texture.
The night we made this, the Mister and I had it with Romaine, grilled chicken breast, carrots, grape tomatoes, and avocado slices and it was the most filling/ (relatively) healthy/ delicious salad I had eaten in a long time.

What about you guys- What are your preferred salad accoutrements?