For snack... carrot salad and some linky love!

I was supposed to roast some peppers on my grill today,  but it was so hot and stuff,  I just didn't feel like it.  So I grabbed a few carrots and made this dish,  Bistro Carrot Salad pp. __

     It was good,  but it did not sound as good as the recipes I was researching outside of Mr. Bishops cookbook.  They were all talking about adding Dijon Mustard.  Oh,  how I would have traded the mustard for the lemon,  it sounds so good!  Anyways.  The dish was still tasty,  I enjoyed it.

Now for some LINKY LOVE!

1) Speaking of carrots... I ran across this site.  It's about a carrot museum.   That's right,  a museum dedicated to carrots.

2) Two sites about being a Nutella Freak.  I am one,  I love Nutella!  I eat it by the spoonful,  well I did till I went on a "diet" last week. Site one and  Site Two.

3) This pizza sounds so good!  I cannot wait till my diet allows grains again so I can eat it!

4) Not only does she briefly cover what's bad in today's overly processed foods… she goes to my favorite shopping store, MEIJER!  I miss that store so much!  I knew it was Meijer by looking at the shelves (so weird) and then I confirmed it when I saw the sales stickers :D.  I'm such a Meijer geek.








Now to end your reading of this blog post with an Irish Proverb...

More Peas Please

 

So I am doing something new.  Instead of making these dishes for dinner,  I am making them for lunch so that I have better light to work with and my mind is not tired from a long day of being wife and mom.  

     Today's dish was Peas with Onions and Mushrooms (pp.247).  Yes,  there are onions,  and yes I did eat them.  Sad thing is, I burnt the onions a bit.  The other sad thing is,  the normal housewife would think they caramelized the onions,  but the truth is,  they were burnt.  Anything to get away from that onion flavor.   I love mushrooms,  so I knew that is would have to be a great dish.  With the mushrooms,  do you think it would become a wee bit like a 'pealaf'?  Haha!

Anyways.  The dish was similar in the sense it used the same herbs as the last pea dish.  Parsley, Basil, and Tarragon.  Funny thing is,  because of the burnt onions and mushrooms,  the "outdoors" flavors turned more earthy and melodious.  It was very smooth tasting and wow,  so good.  I ate the whole bowl.

Wordless Wednesday #7 Roasted Pepper Dip

Roasted  Red Pepper Spread with Goat Cheese and Herbs pp. 253

Tuesday-Video Blog Braised Celery

My first attempt at slow motion photography.  Please bear with me as I experiment at your expense. 
The dish was "Braised Celery with Butter, Shallots, and Parsley pp.94"

A Sad, sad post.

What could possibly make this post sad?  I lost my professional camera (The link is a dramatic song with a cute pug to make my story more emotional),  I now I am stuck with my pocket camera that takes horrible pictures.  So far, I think the last time I took pictures was on Thursday.   Not sure where I put it down.  I only have three spots in the house where I leave my camera,  so I has to be around there somewhere!!!

Anyways.

Tonight I made Grilled Eggplant with Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano.  They tasted like burnt marshmallows.  I could not stop eating them,  it make me think of burning marshmallows.  I wonder if they would work between two graham crackers with chocolate??  Eggplant smores anyone? 

Looks like I was by a foggy ocean... let's use our imagination...

So depressing.  I want my good camera back!

Linky Love Friday #8 and Trip pictures

Since I did not cook dinner (My Dad is still here and I am trying to show him some awesome places to eat around town...) I am just going to show you all a slide show of two places I ate at on my trip.  Nothing thrilling,  just something to keep you busy while you visit my site till I can get back to my normal schedule next Monday.




Now for LINKY LOVE FRIDAY!!

Now, I have been watching "Masterchef" and I love that show (except for all the crying that goes on,  that drive me crazy!).  I have been challenged in my abilities to cook just from watching this show.  After the chili episode,  I wanted to know... How do you make chili without chili pepper?!?  I grew up thinking that that is what made chili-- chili.  So I did some research.  Talk about history lesson peeps!  Chili originated in Texas, and they do not use chili powder in that recipe.  That is why they were so shocked that the lady (forgot her name already) made that mistake... enjoy this link and learn :D

http://www.texasescapes.com/CFEckhardt/National-Dish-of-Texas-Chili-Con-Carne-Recipe.htm

I was making cookies today and I did not have brown sugar.  Rushing online to find a subsutuew I thought it would be awesome to have a list inside my door so I do not have to always use the internet.  I have a few links that you all might find useful and maybe you will want to print one of these out and tape it in a place for reference.

1. http://www.recipetips.com/print-tips/t--200/food-substitutions.asp?ProcessPrint=true&Print/Category=knowledge&Print/Id=200&Print/ZoneId=0&Print/Template=http://www.recipetips.com/print-tips/t--200/food-substitutions.asp
2. http://allrecipes.com//HowTo/common-ingredient-substitutions/Detail.aspx
3. members.core.com/~mmj1123/cooks/substituteingredients.pdf  (takes you to a PDF)

"It tastes like the outdoors"

Herbs from my garden.

Well,  I am back.  I went to Louisville, KY to serve my sister who had a baby.  We had many other fun adventures,  including going to Beale St. in Memphis, TN to eat some ribs.  I will post some pictures of that tomorrow.  It's nice to have some time off, but I feel horrible when I up and leave you, my dearest readers.  I am hoping to find some guest bloggers to post when I need a break or some other circumstances.  Anyways....

Turbo helping

Frozen Peas

     I thought I would do an easy recipe to ease back into cooking through this book.  It was an herbed pea recipe.  I did not have any chives or mint,  but I put Basil, Tarragon, and Parsley in the mixture.  Turbo helped by dumping the butter and herbs into the pot.  Then with great excitement,  he stirred them.  A few peas were lost in the adventure,  but we still had a great dish in the end.



The dish was great!  My dad (who is visiting right now) said it tasted like the outdoors (I am pretty sure in a good way).  He inhaled the whole dish before I had a bite!  I really enjoyed it,  but I think mostly because I am in love with Tarragon right now.  I never knew that basil and tarragon could dance so well together!  Buttered Peas with Fresh Herbs -pp. 247:

Finished dish with Gumbo.