at home with ann

It was a million degrees here on Wednesday.  I used to relish the hot summer days, but it's different when you are carrying a little sweaty inferno with you everywhere.  We usually take a walk in the later afternoon, but there was no way that was happening, so we headed out to do some errands.  We took advantage of the air conditioning and samples while wandering around Whole Foods.  After several laps and one near disaster getting wheat germ in the bulk foods aisle, we came upon the sushi bar.  I should have listened to my cravings and picked us up sushi for dinner, but I stuck with my planned menu of red lentil curry.  I love curry, but it wasn't exactly light and refreshing.  This is my long-winded way of saying that last night I knew I wanted to keep dinner light.  I loved this dish, it fit the bill perfectly.  Plus, it only took about 20 minutes to prepare, and can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.  Salmon, Asparagus ...

We went to New Hampshire to celebrate my Mom's birthday this past weekend.  The plan was for everyone to help with cleaning up their yard, pruning, weeding, and planting for the summer.  Everyone else worked very hard and I stood around chatting with my sister and held the baby.  I did do some cooking, though.  We had salmon for dinner, and I brought along this Spring Vegetable Quinoa.  I'm not even sure if mushrooms are Spring vegetables.  I have absolutely no idea when mushrooms are in season, but, as you know, I've been on a mushroom kick lately, so in they went. Spring Vegetable Quinoa Ingredients: 2 cups quinoa, rinsed 4 cups vegetable broth (I think you could cut this down to 3 1/2 cups, mine was a little soupier than I wanted.) 3 small shallots, sliced 1 small onion, chopped Olive oil 16 oz. mushrooms, sliced 1 bunch asparagus, sliced into 1-2 inch pieces 1 cup fresh spring peas (or 1 cup frozen peas, thawed) 3 green onions, sli...

A couple years ago we were out to dinner and Jon had a loaded baked potato along with his steak.  It was huge, topped with all the good stuff: bacon, cheese, scallions and sour cream.  He's been talking about it ever since, so I knew I would make it for the birthday dinner, with my own twist. Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes russet potatoes, scrubbed (I baked two so we could have leftovers.  No one is going to eat more than one half of these at a time.) olive oil kosher salt milk cheddar cheese bacon scallions sour cream Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick potatoes with a fork several times. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for about an hour, or until the skin is crispy and the inside is soft. Allow to cool until you can handle the potato. Cut in half and scoop flesh into a bowl. Add milk, sour cream or greek yogurt, and stir until creamy.  I used milk.  Season with salt and pepper. Refill potato skins with mashed filling, top ...

Last night was pizza night, because it was Friday, and Good Friday, and I actually had someone to eat dinner with for a change. I used the usual recipe for pizza dough , and did an assortment of vegetable toppings.  One pizza had lightly sauteed red peppers, and onions.  The other was topped with roasted broccoli, asparagus, and grape tomatoes.  The sauce on both was just crushed tomatoes, oregano and garlic.  For cheese I used freshly grated mozzarella and a few dots of ricotta.  I would highly recommend topping pizza with ricotta, it adds a whole other flavor of mild creaminess. Also, Jon would like to add that the Chimay Grande Reserve you see in the background of these pictures is excellent, and a perfect accompaniment to pizza.

All the snow finally melted from our yard this week.  My tulips and daffodils are growing inches every day.  Spring is coming. One of my favorite things about Spring cooking is finding good asparagus on sale.  The beautiful, thin, green stalks give me hope that it will be warm soon. Lemon Asparagus Quinoa Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked quinoa 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion or shallot, chopped 1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch segments 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/2 lemon, juiced salt and pepper parmesan cheese Start by cooking the quinoa.  Bring two cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, add 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, the quinoa, and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa looks partially translucent. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a frying pan.  Preferably one with a lid.  Add in chopped onion and saute about 5 minutes.  Wash and trim asparagus and cut into 1 ...

I always find great recipes in Cooking Light.  They are creative, flavorful and varied.  I also really like to use their recipe website,  My Recipes .  This one is from an article they did about under 300 calorie casseroles.  I make a lot of casseroles, because, despite how it might appear, I don't cook big dishes every day.  Casseroles can be made in advance, freeze well, are good gifts for people who are sick or have new babies, and reheat well when taken to work.   This recipe reminds me of mac and cheese, but it doesn't have any cheese in it besides the parmesan sprinkled on top.   Asparagus and Ham Casserole very slightly adapted from Cooking Light   Ingredients 1/4 cup breadcrumbs 3 3/4  cups  uncooked egg noodles 2 1/2  cups  (1 1/2-inch) sliced asparagus 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour 1/2  teaspoon  dried thyme 1/4  teaspoon  salt 1/8  teaspoon  black peppe...

I like to try cooking new things on Sunday nights.  I have the entire afternoon to work on it if I need to, and it's one of two nights a week we have dinner together, so I like to make it a little fancier than normal.  Many of the dinners I normally cook are one-dish meals, so this is a time when I can expand a bit.   I don't cook meat very often, but in my continuous efforts to improve my skills, I am trying.  This was my first time working with a pork tenderloin, and it was very easy.  I found the recipe on the Food Network, and it appealed because the glaze sounded good and was made up of all things I had in my pantry. Pork Mediallions with Balsamic-Honey Glaze adapted slightly from Food Network Ingredients For the balsamic-honey glaze: 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard Salt and freshly gro...