I've mentioned my Irish friend Judith before on both my blogs. She's an amazing cook. And I seriously mean amazing. She's been in the process of writing a cookbook that fuses Irish cooking with Southern cooking, and she's been writing this book for a couple of years now. The focus is on fresh, whole foods and she's got great stories of her upbringing in her lovely Ireland. The book is near completion and you should be on the lookout for it sometime early next year.
In the meantime, she's started a food blog and she's posting some of her delicious recipes. Check it out, get in your kitchen, and start cooking!
In addition to her blog, she's also got a website called The Ulster Kitchen, for all things Irish.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Cheesy Chicken and Rice soup
My mother in law came over yesterday for lunch. This is what I made: cheesy chicken and rice soup.
Jen made this for me after I had Wyatt. It's a recipe from CL that I had overlooked at the time, but she zeroed in on it and I loved it. I had a craving for it over the weekend and got the ingredients so I could indulge.
My twist on it: I use precooked brown rice from TJ's instead of the wild rice it calls for. I also used a couple of glugs of white wine, red potatoes, doubled the amount of garlic, and added a little celery. I used half cheddar cheese and half processed cheese ( I just couldn't use the amount of processed cheese it calls for). The end result is sooooo good. It's similar to a baked potato soup. In fact, if you add a few slices of precooked bacon and chopped green onion, it would be a good version of baked potato soup. And who doesn't like baked potato soup? In fact, when I was pregnant with Ethan and couldn't stomach anything except fruit loops and cocoa puffs, I distinctly recall sending David out to Atlanta Bread Co, for a cup of this soup. And I guarantee that my version has lass fat and preservatives than theirs.
Warning...it makes a lot, so make it when you want to feed more than just yourself. I'm not too sure if it would freeze well since it is dairy, so I sent the mother-in-law home with some. And I had it for dinner and am eating it for lunch as I type. Enjoy.
Jen made this for me after I had Wyatt. It's a recipe from CL that I had overlooked at the time, but she zeroed in on it and I loved it. I had a craving for it over the weekend and got the ingredients so I could indulge.
My twist on it: I use precooked brown rice from TJ's instead of the wild rice it calls for. I also used a couple of glugs of white wine, red potatoes, doubled the amount of garlic, and added a little celery. I used half cheddar cheese and half processed cheese ( I just couldn't use the amount of processed cheese it calls for). The end result is sooooo good. It's similar to a baked potato soup. In fact, if you add a few slices of precooked bacon and chopped green onion, it would be a good version of baked potato soup. And who doesn't like baked potato soup? In fact, when I was pregnant with Ethan and couldn't stomach anything except fruit loops and cocoa puffs, I distinctly recall sending David out to Atlanta Bread Co, for a cup of this soup. And I guarantee that my version has lass fat and preservatives than theirs.
Warning...it makes a lot, so make it when you want to feed more than just yourself. I'm not too sure if it would freeze well since it is dairy, so I sent the mother-in-law home with some. And I had it for dinner and am eating it for lunch as I type. Enjoy.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Freak?
I've felt for some time now that I may be perceived as a bit of a nutrition freak. I realize with my posted articles of interest regarding diet sodas and plastics that I may be over the top for some. Compared to my extended family of good ole southerners, I guess I am a bit of a freak. I DO buy mostly horomone free meats, nitrate/nitrite free bacon, organic produce, and I try to avoid anything with enriched flour as the first ingredient. Other items I try to avoid...partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. I almost solely use brown rice, not white. Avoid white bread like the plague. While those are all things I do in practice, let me assure you, my pantry is full of things you wouldn't find in a true "freaks" pantry. Fruit Loops cereal straws, fruit gummies (no real fruit contained...sorry), chips, crackers, candy, etc.
While you won't ever see me drinking a diet soda (sorry, no bending on this rule), I will buy it for parties at my house.
And knowing all the hoopla regarding plastics contacting our food, have I gone "plastic-free" in my kitchen? Nope. My kids still drink and eat off of plastic. I did, however, recently throw out most of my plastic food storage containers and replaced them with glass pyrex dishes, and I like it much better. So much easier to clean.
It's all about trying to make better choices, educating yourself, and allowing yourself freedom at times.
And speaking of freedom, I'm really craving a big turtle sundae from Brusters today. I think my boys need some time out with mom.
Peace out.
While you won't ever see me drinking a diet soda (sorry, no bending on this rule), I will buy it for parties at my house.
And knowing all the hoopla regarding plastics contacting our food, have I gone "plastic-free" in my kitchen? Nope. My kids still drink and eat off of plastic. I did, however, recently throw out most of my plastic food storage containers and replaced them with glass pyrex dishes, and I like it much better. So much easier to clean.
It's all about trying to make better choices, educating yourself, and allowing yourself freedom at times.
And speaking of freedom, I'm really craving a big turtle sundae from Brusters today. I think my boys need some time out with mom.
Peace out.
Monday, April 14, 2008
I'm back...
I'm getting back into the swing of things here. We've had company with us since Wednesday and they just left this morning. Our sweet friends from Tampa spent their Spring Break with us and it was great having them. A lot of eating was done by all, though, so I'm trying to get back to a more "normal" routine. I did alright, though. I managed to run on the treadmill twice and walk my neighborhood once, so I kept with my 3 times a week workout. I just loaded up on sweets and white breads. We did have a nice dinner out a Zuma, where I actually consumed a good amount of sushi. We finished off the evening at Cafe Intermezzo where I had the best chocolate and coconut cake ever. Not surprisingly, the scale this morning was not nice. I've got to get back down to my comfort weight.
I've got a good start to the week...just finished an hour workout and a 20 minute sauna session. I'm hydrated and feeling good.
For dinner last night we had a little dinner party for our freinds and another couple. I tried a recipe from CL that I've had for a long time but never made and it was great! It's Chicken Supreme. You marinate it all night, so once you're ready to make it, it doesn't take long at all. Just bread it and throw it in the oven. The recipe calls for margarine, but since I think margarine is a four letter word, I used butter. I also used my own homemade bread crumbs that I use for everything (a mixture of equal parts whole wheat breadcrumbs, wheat germ, and ground almonds). I also threw in some Italian Seasonings in the crumbs. There you go...easy and good. Maybe next time I'll throw in some parmesan cheese to the crumbs as well. We also had roasted red potatoes with olive oil and seasonings, and a nice green salad with blue cheese and cranberries. A nice meal if I do say so myself.
I've got a good start to the week...just finished an hour workout and a 20 minute sauna session. I'm hydrated and feeling good.
For dinner last night we had a little dinner party for our freinds and another couple. I tried a recipe from CL that I've had for a long time but never made and it was great! It's Chicken Supreme. You marinate it all night, so once you're ready to make it, it doesn't take long at all. Just bread it and throw it in the oven. The recipe calls for margarine, but since I think margarine is a four letter word, I used butter. I also used my own homemade bread crumbs that I use for everything (a mixture of equal parts whole wheat breadcrumbs, wheat germ, and ground almonds). I also threw in some Italian Seasonings in the crumbs. There you go...easy and good. Maybe next time I'll throw in some parmesan cheese to the crumbs as well. We also had roasted red potatoes with olive oil and seasonings, and a nice green salad with blue cheese and cranberries. A nice meal if I do say so myself.
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