Strawberry Dressing

Happy Wednesday guys!  Thank you all so much for the well-wishes!  I feel a tad bit better today - I think it's mainly from actually having to get around and do things, forcing my body to "feel better".  It's all mental, right?

I've still got a tad bit of congestion, but for the most part, I'd say that I'm at about 90%.  So not too shabby of a turn-around from yesterday's -2%. 

Had a volleyball game tonight and it really blew!  Lost all 3 games!  I have no idea what happened, but we'll just have to take out our aggression on next week's match! 

Anyway, I thought I'd keep up with the strawberry theme of this week and post this quick and easy strawberry dressing I whipped up the other day.  It was the perfect accompaniment to my salad!

Ingredients:

1 cup strawberries (about 5-6 large ones)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Combine strawberries, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. 

Seriously... that easy?  Yup.  Sure is!

I'm gonna try to rest up and get back to feeling 110%, but I couldn't just not post on a regularly scheduled day!  I'm dedicated, let me tell you!  Be back tomorrow to share our CSA goodies with you!  Hint, hint - tons more green!  Have a good rest of your night (what's left of it anyway - I'm sure most of you are already in bed by now - I know I usually am!)

A bit under the weather...

I woke up this morning feeling like death.  But really, Andy just spread his sickness germs to me and I feel like he did this weekend.  So I'll be spending my sunny day off from work, inside... in the dark, and cuddled up with the dogs.

I'm delving into the world of green smoothies as we speak.  Taking baby steps of course.  Lots of fruit, with just a little bit of swiss chard thrown in there for the "green" effect.  Like I said.  Baby Steps.  And who knows, maybe it'll make me feel better.

Have a Happy Tuesday guys!

Strawberry Shortcake

Happy Monday guys!  How was everyone's weekend?!

Well, mine was... lucky!  I went to the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and ended up winning around $40.  My strategy?  Betting on food-related horses!  Worked on 2 out of the 3 races that I bet on.  Besides a sun-burnt face, we had a pretty good time!  We went to a Derby party on Saturday (of which I brought Derby Pie fudge - which was a hit! - recipe soon to come) and just got to see some friends we haven't seen in a while.   We did a Kentucky Derby pool and I won that too!  Another $45 in my pocket!  So needless to say, I'm feelin' like a lucky girl, right now!

Anyway, let's talk Shortcake.  Growing up, my family's version of a Strawberry Shortcake was cutting up some strawberries and putting them in one of those bowl-shaped Angel Food Cake things they sell at the grocery and topping it with some Cool Whip.  You guys know what I'm talking about right? 

I mean, don't get me wrong, it was good, and one of my favorite treats as a kid.  But looking at one of those packages of Angel Food Cake "things" (I say things because I haven't the slightest idea what they're actually called - if you do, feel free to let me know!) now, I see that it's just loaded with sugar and ingredients I can't even pretend that I know how to pronounce!  I never knew what a proper strawberry shortcake was like.  You know... with some actual shortcake (or as I like to think of it - a sweetened biscuit)

Ingredients:

Shortcake:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
1/3 cup milk, plus extra for brushing
1/2 vanilla bean

Strawberries:

5 to 10 large strawberries, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon sugar


Whipped Cream:

1 cup Cool Whip (or you could make your own - but I gotta keep some things from childhood, right?)
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
 
Preheat oven to 450F.

In a small bowl, combine sliced strawberries and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes to release juices.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, combine the egg and milk.  Add to flour mixture and stir until mixture comes together.

Knead dough a couple of times, adding more flour if mixture is too wet.

Roll out dough to 3/4 inch thickness and cut into 4 equal squares.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Brush tops of biscuits with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown and cooked through.

Cool to room temperature and cut each biscuit in half.  Place a layer of strawberries on bottom half of biscuit and top with Cool Whip.  Place top half of biscuit atop of Cool Whip and try to restrain yourself from gobbling up the whole thing in less than a minute!

This is such a simple and fulfilling dessert that I wish I just had an overabundance of strawberries so I could eat it all spring/summer long!  I have a feeling that I'll be doing this almost weekly =)

Have a great rest of your Monday guys!  The weather is nice 83F and sunny sunny sunny - so we're heading out to the back deck to grill some burgers!

Creamy Carrot Soup

Today, in most parts of the U.S., is just another Friday.  But here, in Louisville, KY (and well, most parts of Kentucky in general) it's more like a holiday!  What "holiday" you ask?!  Why it's Kentucky Derby weekend!  Louisville seriously gets their party on.  Most places of employment have a 4 day weekend (or others just make sure to ask for the days off!).  Celebrities come into town and all that jazz.  All for a couple of horse races that take maybe 2 minutes to finish!  But you know, I don't think it's really all about the horse races (although it is tradition) more than it is about getting all dressed up and drinking.

And the hats!  When most people think of the Kentucky Derby, I think a Derby hat is one of the first things that come to mind! 

While I won't be donning a Derby hat this year (nor have I ever) I'll be spending today at Churchill Downs for the Oaks - sipping Mint Juleps and looking as good as I can (seriously, my dress is hella cute!) and hopefully meeting up with some friends!  My sister has offered to give us a ride down there (she's freakin' awesome!) and hopefully we'll end up finding a ride back home, too - so no worries of being unsafe!

Anyway, we've got a Derby party to attend to on Saturday and I need to bring something with me!  So help me out and vote in this week's poll!



This is not really a Derby recipe, but I was really in the mood for soup, so soup it is!


Ingredients:
Adapted from The Meaning of Pie's recipe

1 small onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 white potato, cubed
4 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce (like Tabasco or Sriracha) 
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and Pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup milk

In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter under medium high heat.  Add onions and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add in carrots, potatoes, and chicken broth.  Simmer for about 5 minutes or so.

Stir in Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, sugar, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Let simmer on medium to medium low for about 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaves and blend up soup with an immersion blender until you reach your desired consistency.  Slowly stir in the milk until incorporated.  Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and garnish with croutons.

This was a quick one-pot meal that was a really tasty lunch!  Now, if you'll excuse me - I'm heading to the Oaks!  Have a great weekend guys!

CSA Week #1

I figured since our CSA started yesterday, I'd do a special weekly post every Thursday from now on! 

The mass amount of rain had a big effect on many Kentucky farms so our first share wasn't as plentiful as Grasshopper's had hoped for us.  But you know... that's also the risk you take with joining a CSA.  You benefit when the farmers benefit.  But you also go through the sparse times also.  I think it kind of gives you perspective of how the weather really effects the produce we receive.  Me?  I'm not complaining at all, because I definitely appreciate all that our local farms do for us and I'm happy to get anything and support our farmers!

Grasshopper's Distribution does a good job with substituting some canned produce in these times, so we're very lucky either way!

So this was our box this week...

Lots of greenery, obviously!  The contents included:

• green onions
• mixed greens
• head lettuce (which still had the roots attached so I chopped the top off and planted the root part in my garden... all you avid gardeners out there - was that a good idea or am I just a novice idiot? lol)
• pint of strawberries
• bunch of swiss chard
• bottle of Bourbon Barrel Foods Soy Sauce
• jar of pumpkin butter
• jar of salsa

All locally made products!

Some beautiful strawberries!

So yeah, that was our haul this week.  You guys have any recipe ideas for me?  I'm in the process of making some strawberry shortcakes with some of those strawberries, so that should be delicious!

If you guys received a CSA this week, what did you end up getting?  I'd love to have a weekly round-up of your CSA goodies (if you participate in one), or even if you made a weekly visit to your Farmer's market - I'd love to see the local produce everyone gets!  So feel free to e-mail a snapshot of your goods (as well as your name and blog title (and don't worry if you don't have a blog, your name will be just fine!) as well as link to your blog) at mtlabor85 (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll post them in next Thursday's CSA post!  

Seared Scallops w/ Creamed Corn & Asparagus

Happy Wednesday everybody!  I just got home from picking up our first CSA of the year!  The rain really did a number on the farms because we didn't get as big of a share as they had hoped for us to get - but hey, I'm happy with anything!  We ended up with a bunch of mixed greens, scallions, lettuce, and a few strawberries.  They also subbed in some canned stuff due to the lack of actual produce - pumpkin butter (can we say yum?!), garden salsa, and soy sauce - all locally made of course!

What's also great about today is the sun is shining!  No rain (with the exception of a few sprinkles this morning) all day!  Hallelujah!

Anyway, this past Sunday was slim pickins in the house.  Well, I wanted to experiment and test my abilities with what we already had, anyway.  We had just went to the grocery on Saturday and I picked up some scallops from Whole Foods, not really knowing what I wanted to do with them yet.  Andy just so happened to get some corn and asparagus, so the dish just came together naturally.  After checking my handy dandy Flavor Bible (best resource ever!), all of those components were a go!  Don't you just love when a meal comes together like that?

Ingredients:

6 sea scallops 
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large corn on the cob
1 to 2 tablespoons of whole milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
about 10 stalks of asparagus
1 tablespoon butter
4 strips of bacon

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place bacon atop foil and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until browned and crisp.  Place on paper towel-lined plate to dry, then chop into small pieces.

Heat a small saucepan under medium high heat and add butter and bay leaf.

Cut corn from the cob and place in saucepan.  Cook for about 10 minutes or so, until corn has slightly softened.  Season with cayenne pepper and salt.  Add in milk and heat for about 2-3 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and puree corn with an immersion blender, adding more milk if needed, until you reach your desired consistency.  I like my creamed corn slightly chunky, but smooth at the same time.  Heat on low to keep warm while you make the asparagus and scallops.

Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add olive oil.  Add asparagus spears and saute for about 5 minutes, or until bright green and still slightly crisp.  Remove from pan with tongs and set aside.

In same skillet, add more olive oil, if needed and bring heat up just a tad.  Season scallops with salt and pepper and add to skillet.  Cook for about 2 & 1/2 minutes per side, or until nicely browned.  You don't want to overcook them because they'll still continue to cook after you take them out of the pan. 

To plate, add a good amount of creamed corn to form a base.  Then place about 5 asparagus spears on each plate.  Arrange scallops on or around asparagus and garnish with bacon (not a crucial step, but definitely one I wouldn't want to skip, hehe). 

I loved how so many different textures were going on here.  The smoothness of the corn, the crunch of the asparagus, the delicate scallop.  It was perfect!  This was definitely something I could see myself eating at an elegant restaurant (hey, maybe it'll be a dish in my restaurant one day??? - a girl can dream, right?).  It was fresh, flavorful, and definitely hit the spot in a hurry! 

Well, I'm off to go play some volleyball (can we say undefeated for the season so far?  Hopefully I didn't just jinx us!)  Have a great rest of your Wednesday guys!  And stay tuned tomorrow for some pics of our first CSA pick-up!

Reasons why Tuesday is awesome...

Source

#1.  I'm officially on Summer vacation from school.  I'm also officially "done" with my college career, in general.  Well, until I start Culinary School in September - which is something I am much too excited about.

#2.  In all of my 25 years of existence and girlhood, I have never received a manicure nor a pedicure.  And today, at 2pm, I'm checking that off the list.  Yeah, my girl friends are majorly excited about this.  Me?  I could take it or leave it - but at least I can say I've done it.

#3.  Today is the day before our CSA starts.  I heard rumors from their Facebook page that we should be getting some Strawberries & Head Lettuce - the Asparagus has been "drowned" out by all of this rain!  And I'll also take this moment to do a little PR for CSA's in general. 

What is a CSA?  Community-Supported Agriculture.  It's supporting your local farmers.  It's getting fresh from the farm produce every week (or bi-weekly, sometimes).  It's reducing your carbon footprint.  And it's definitely worth a look.  To see if your area provides a CSA, check out Local Harvest and just punch in your zip code, and more than likely, there's a CSA near you to join!  And if you're in the Louisville, KY area, I highly recommend the CSA we do, Grasshopper Distribution - they have several pick-up spots around the city, and even work with you to customize your own pick-up spot if none of their chosen ones work!

Are you guys involved in a CSA?

Have a great rest of your Tuesday guys!!