at home with ann

I've made Mediterranean Couscous salad many times before.  It's one of my favorite cold summer salads, perfect for a side or main dish.  Excellent to take to parties, and excellent eaten straight out of the fridge.  Perhaps I should stop sharing that I eat food straight from the fridge, fork in hand, lest you think I have no manners.  Last year, I shared a version of it here .  The Lemon Tahini Dressing on that one is amazing, and I highly recommend you make it.  This is essentially the same salad, just with an easy, light vinaigrette dressing instead.  My in-laws came over yesterday to visit Colin, and we had this with lunch.  Colin had been shorted on his morning nap and wasn't his usual cheerful self the whole time, but at least everyone seemed to like the couscous.  Mediterranean Couscous Salad 1 cup whole wheat pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered 1 english cucumber, chopped 1 red bell...

This is another easy vegetarian dish.  I usually have the bulk of the ingredients (chickpeas, rice, canned tomatoes, spinach, onion) on hand, so it's a good option to keep in mind.  My completely sporadic posting schedule might make it hard to see, but I usually try to balance our eating for the week by offsetting any meat based or heavy dishes with lighter vegetarian fare.  Mediterranean Casserole 1 cup uncooked brown rice, steamed according to package directions 1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream Olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes salt and pepper 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice 1 bag fresh spinach, or one box frozen spinach, thawed 8 oz. feta cheese, cubed or crumbled Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook brown rice according to package directions.  Stir in yogurt or sour cream and set aside. In a saute pan, heat olive oil o...

Hello wonderful readers!  We had a fantastic time in Alaska last week, and if I ever finish sorting and editing the 200+ photos I took, I will share a little recap with you.  When we arrived home at noon on Saturday after traveling since 7AM Alaska time on Friday, I can assure you that I had no energy to cook or shop for food.  So, when I woke up inexplicably bright and early on Sunday, I hustled over to the market to restock our kitchen before the weekend masses descended on the store.  Aside from a few setbacks (forgetting my shopping list and a crazy delay at the deli), I escaped with food for a few days, and a great meal planned for dinner last night. As you know, we love cooking on the grill.  Charcoal grilling can be a lengthy process, so we reserve it for weekend evenings when we don't have anything else going on.  Lounging around on the porch waiting for the coals to heat often results in us eating dinner on the late side, but it's always worth th...

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of our move to this house.  I can't believe it!  It's certainly been quite a year.  While there are advantages (free reign to decorate how I want, plenty of space, our own yard and wonderful porch) and disadvantages (replacing the water heater, the prospect of paying a mortgage for the next 30 years, the mysterious scratching noise in the attic) to owning a home in the suburbs as opposed to renting an apartment in the city, one of the things that has significantly changed are our weekend activities.  Back in the day, we would go out to eat at one of the many fantastic restaurants a few steps from our apartment.  Now, although the suburbs do have some good dining out options, we usually find ourselves cooking at home. If you've been reading for a while, you know that homemade pizza is one of our favorite weekend dinners.  It's great to cook together - even when one of the cooks is kind of bossy like me....

Before we get started today, I need to jump on the royal wedding bandwagon. I've actually always been on the royal wedding bandwagon.  In 1981, my mother and I watched Charles and Diana's wedding together.  I was too young to remember watching, but I do remember that dress.  I visited St. Paul's Cathedral when I went to England at age 15, and hoped I'd run into William around London and he might decide that I'd make a good princess.  If it wasn't going to be me, Kate makes an excellent choice.  I confess that I haven't seen all the coverage yet today (although of course I DVR'd it), however, my first impression is that she looked lovely and they seem very happy.  It has been reported to me that they had the same hymn at their wedding as we did at ours, and also my mother said Kate didn't look as beautiful as I did on my wedding day, but mothers are supposed to say things like that. I should have made scones.  Instead I made couscous. This salad ...

This is one of those recipes I always come back to.  It's a nice change from the usual Italian or Greek flavored cold salads, and has some of my favorite ingredients (broccoli and feta).  In case you haven't noticed, I like to top almost everything with at least a little cheese. I would make an unsuccessful vegan.  Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta recipe from Cooking Light Ingredients: 1 cup uncooked couscous (I used whole wheat) 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (I probably used about double) 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion 1/3 cup shredded carrot (I grated the carrots on my large microplane grater) 1/4 cup raisins 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar) 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 Tablespoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1 teaspoon ground ginger 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.  Add couscous, remove from heat, and cover for at least 5 minutes, or un...

This post is part of my vacation series highlighting some amazing recipes from my favorite bloggers! Eat Live Run - Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers We've spent the better part of a week discussing what kind of grill we'll be purchasing when we get back from vacation.  These would be a perfect kick off to summer grilling.  PS- We're going charcoal, time to be grilling purists.  PPS- We still have a gas grill so I can cook veggies all week and make them into wraps with goat cheese. Baked Bree - Mixed Greens with Berries and Glazed Almonds I love salads like this.  Greens, a fruit, and a protein are the perfect combination.  

You may have noticed that I often start with recipes I find online, and then change a whole bunch of things about them.  Part of the reason I do this is to suit my personal tastes, and the other reason is to try to create my own dishes.  When I first started cooking, I followed recipes to the letter.  I felt confident following directions, but not so much going off on my own.  I remember going out to the grocery store late at night mid-cooking to pick up some ingredient I thought I couldn't possibly live without.  If you are just getting into cooking, don't be scared, the worst thing that can happen is you end up eating egg sandwiches for dinner. This dish exceeded my expectations.  I am a big fan of Mediterranean flavors, and this was a great combination.  Plus, you can make strata in advance and chill in the fridge before baking.  It's perfect for brunch, lunch or dinner. Mediterranean Strata adapted from Cooking Light Ingredients: 8 oz b...

This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had a chance to blend together.  It tastes good warm, cold, or room temperature, making it an excellent take-with-you meal.   Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta slightly adapted from Cooking Light Ingredients 1 3/4  cups  water or vegetable broth, or a combination 1  cup  uncooked couscous 1 1/2  cups  small broccoli florets 1/2  cup  finely chopped red onion 1/3  cup  shredded carrot 2  tablespoons  red wine vinegar 1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil 1  tablespoon  sugar 1 1/2  teaspoons  curry powder 1  teaspoon  bottled minced fresh ginger 3/4  teaspoon  salt 1  (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese Preparation Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually st...

I call this spanakopita eggs because it has some of the main Greek ingredients in common: spinach, egg, onions, feta.  It does not have layers of buttery phyllo dough, so it's much healthier. The entire process took less than 10 minutes, so it's perfect for a last minute meal. Start by sauteing 1/4-1/2 cup onion in olive oil. When the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes, add in 1-2 beaten eggs.  I used one egg and about 1/2 cup of onion.  Stir until eggs are cooked.  At this point I realized that there is no way to take an attractive picture of scrambling eggs. Serve over a bed of baby spinach, topped with chopped tomato and a little crumbled feta.  That's it, dinner is ready!