lara – Page 42 – Feed Your Kids

Quesadillas

I feel a little silly for even posting an entry on quesadillas, since they’re so simple, but some of you have asked what we eat on the nights when I don’t post something “gourmet”, so here ya go… We frequently will have quesadillas as a quick weeknight dinner or even for lunch, when we have … Continue reading “Quesadillas”

We frequently will have quesadillas as a quick weeknight dinner or even for lunch, when we have time. Quesadillas are one of my favorite ways to use leftovers (frittatas are another). You just take two tortillas and load ’em up with your favorite fillings and then slap ’em on the grill. I do usually layer a bit of cheese on both sides, just to ensure that everything sticks together and stays in place when the cheese melts. These quesadillas were made with some leftover BBQ chicken (chopped up), some fresh chopped spinach and a mixture of cheddar and monterrey jack cheeses. I recommend cooking your quesadillas in butter (or margarine, if you must – at least it doesn’t burn/brown as quickly as butter does), rather than oil. There’s just nothing like the flavor that butter gives them. Pam is great for some things, but not for these.

Completed Shelving

Our shelving unit in our family room was actually completed quite a long time ago, but I forgot to post update photos after it was installed and painted. We are VERY pleased with it and would HIGHLY recommend the carpenter that created it for us. His name is Gary Ramsey and his company is called … Continue reading “Completed Shelving”

Here are the shelves, right after they were installed:

Here they are, all loaded up with our junk:

Stir-fried Chinese Long Beans

We got some long beans from Hubby’s parents’ farm this week and decided to try this recipe from Epicurious. Quite tasty. I didn’t have Thai chiles, so I used a tiny bit of jalapeno. I also added a bit of finely chopped ginger and didn’t chop the peanuts, but just left all of them whole; … Continue reading “Stir-fried Chinese Long Beans”

We got some long beans from Hubby’s parents’ farm this week and decided to try this recipe from Epicurious. Quite tasty. I didn’t have Thai chiles, so I used a tiny bit of jalapeno. I also added a bit of finely chopped ginger and didn’t chop the peanuts, but just left all of them whole; they got nice and toasty-brown in the pan. We will definitely be making these again.

“Cuban” dinner – Cubano pressed pork sandwiches and oven-roasted corn

These sandwiches were great. Unfortunately (for you, anyway), the recipe is from Fine Cooking magazine, which is VERY protective of their recipes and only makes them available if you subscribe to their website. The basic idea, though is: Brine a whole pork loin roast overnight with some apple, black peppercorns, brown sugar, herbs and then … Continue reading ““Cuban” dinner – Cubano pressed pork sandwiches and oven-roasted corn”

Brine a whole pork loin roast overnight with some apple, black peppercorns, brown sugar, herbs and then brush it with a mixture of maple syrup and Dijon mustard before baking. Slice it thinly and then serve it for dinner with side dishes of your choosing.

The next day, take some of the leftover pork and put it on rolls (we used bolillos) with sliced ham, Swiss cheese, and dill pickle slices. Brush the insides of the rolls with olive oil that has a little salt, lime juice, garlic and finely chopped cilantro mixed in. Grill the sandwiches in butter (like a grilled cheese sandwich), pressing down on them (HARD) while they’re cooking. You can use a panini grill, if you have one, or just use a small saucepan or saute pan to press down on the top as you’re cooking. These were a big hit, even with Girl, who is not normally a big fan of pork.

We served the sandwiches with Cuban Oven-Roasted Corn. The recipe can be found here. If you’re aren’t lucky enough to have a Wegman’s store nearby, you can use any brand of BBQ seasoning (or make some with my recipe) as a substitute for their brand. For the basting oil, just mix half olive oil and half canola oil with finely chopped fresh herbs (I used oregano, parsley and basil) – maybe 1/2 cup oil (total) mixed with 1 – 2 Tbsp. herbs – it doesn’t have to be EXACT and you can use whatever herbs you like. Rosemary, thyme and/or cilantro would all be good, too.

Home Maintenance

We have an old, wood deck in our backyard. For some time now, it’s been in need of repair. The problem is that we have a lot of large, overhanging trees that were dropping debris that was then getting caught in the grooves in between the boards. The debris was then getting wet when it rained and was trapping moisture in between the boards. This trapped moisture was causing some of the boards to rot. We hired a painter/carpenter a couple of weeks ago to come repair any broken/rotten boards and then powerwash and paint it.

This guy’s idea of fixing the problem involving cutting out the broken sections of boards (apparently, it’s OK if you also cut the boards NEXT to the one being repaired).

He then painted the (top only) deck with a roller. No attempt was made to get any paint in between the boards (where the main problem was in the first place). The places where he put new boards in were absolutely obviously…BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PAINT ON THE SIDES.

I’m not going to mention our painting/repair contractor’s name, but….I will say that the “jackass” contractor in this person’s post sounds VERY familiar. Maybe EXACTLY familiar….

Well, because we like “projects” and because we are (I’ll admit it) a bit perfectionistic, we decided to just tackle it ourselves. We spent most of the day today pushing bit of leaves and debris through the grooves in the deck and clearing any dirt out of all of the nooks and crannies. Hubby then VERY thoroughly power-washed the whole thing (he even did the outdoor furniture, while he was at it). Tomorrow we’ll paint.

These are the putty knives and palette knives that we used to clear out the dirt/leaves/acorns/screws, etc. from the deck grooves. We made the kids give us a hand. They weren’t crazy about it, but they were good sports and were actually quite helpful. We took them to see the new “Indiana Jones” movie as a treat afterwards.

I’ll post photos of the finished project when we’re done. Heck, we might even have to have a party out there.

Patriotic Cookies

We made these fun star-shaped cookies using this favorite recipe. We frosted them with poured fondant icing and then decorated with various sprinkles. They were quite good – we’ll be munching on them for the next couple of days. Boy and Girl, passing out patriotic trinkets Boy and Girl, on the picnic blanket

Boy and Girl, passing out patriotic trinkets

Boy and Girl, on the picnic blanket

Video from last night’s fireworks…

We went to see the Austin Symphony’s fireworks display last night at Auditorium Shores. The music was wonderful; the weather was perfect and all four of us had a blast. We packed a lovely picnic (Kitchen Door chicken salad sandwiches, fresh organic melon from Hubby’s parents’ farm, cherries, carrots with ranch dip, homemade star cookies, homemade lemonade and perhaps a smuggled “adult beverage” or two) and got there early. While we were waiting for the music and fireworks, we played board games, read books and passed out themed temporary tattoos, patriotic pencils and small American flags (leftover from our big July 4th bashes in previous years) to the other event attendees. We also saw local Austin celebrity (???) Leslie, in all of his patriotic backless-panted glory.

I took some video of the fireworks finale – sorry that the video is in two parts; I had a camera glitch partway through.

Jackrabbit cocktail

I recently read an article (this one in New York magazine, I think?) about Laurent Tourondel’s “BLT Market” restaurant in New York and a cocktail that he serves there called a “Jackrabbit”. The article gave the ingredients (organic carrot juice, ginger simple syrup and vodka), but not the proportions, but I thought that I would give it a try. Boy has recently decided that he likes this organic carrot juice that is available at Costco, so I had it on hand, anyway. The final result was tasty and would be a great brunch alternative to a Bloody Mary or Screwdriver, but will definitely NOT be giving the Lime-Basil martini a run for its money. If you really like carrot juice, then you’ll love this cocktail. The drink is very sweet and filling, so I recommend serving it in very small cocktail glasses.

Jackrabbit cocktail

Makes eight 4-ounce drinks.

1 cup carrot juice
4 Tbsp ginger simple syrup (recipe follows)
3/4 cup vodka

Combine ingredients in a large cocktail shaker or lidded plastic container. Add a few handfuls of ice. Replace lid and shake until the liquid is well chilled and the outside of the container has condensation on it and is “frosty”. Strain the drink into small (4 oz) chilled cocktail glasses.

Ginger simple syrup

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 large “knob” of ginger – about 4 inches long

Peel ginger and chop coarsely. Combine water, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan and simmer until the liquid has evaporated a bit and started to become syrupy. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature. Pour into a lidded plastic container and refrigerate overnight. (You can use the syrup at this point, but the flavor will be better/stronger if the ginger “steeps” a little longer.) Strain to remove the ginger. Keep finished syrup in the refrigerator. Will last approximately 1 week.

The ginger simple syrup is also delicious if combined with vanilla-flavored vodka for a delicious holiday drink.

If you really like the flavor of carrot and ginger together, give this recipe a try.
Carrot-Ginger Bisque
My best friend and her husband serve this bisque EVERY single Thanksgiving. I made it one year and served it (VERY well pureed), as an appetizer/first course, in antique china teacups.

Leftovers for lunch…

Mmm…leftover grilled beef, tangy horseradish cheddar cheese, creamy pesto mayonnaise (1/2 cup mayonnaise mixed with about 1 Tbsp. prepared pesto sauce), juicy ripe sliced tomato and peppery baby arugula on whole grain bread.

Author: lara