My husband is the best husband EVER! xox Thanks babe.

gorgeous strawberries, then in season, stuffed with seasoned mascarpone cheese and almonds

Is there anything better than Vollmer Farms fresh berries? These were
fresh when we made these gorgeous little berry bites. YYS!

2 pictures for you

lime/ginger/black sesame seed oil/garlic marinated ahi tuna,
jicama/carrot/tart cherry slaw, wild rice blend cooked in 1/2 stock,
1/2 water with garlic. YY ... Schlurp!

creamed purple potatoes, purple potato chips, pan seared branzino, rainbow chard salad in cara cara and agave nectar.

yum! pretty! I liked using the ground black sesame and salt on the
chips, the chips were made in a pan with sesame oil.

scallops and shrooms, YYS!

Succulent scallops, simple preparation (lemon, garlic, olive oil and
butter), sauteed mushrooms, ginger, shallot, lemon, thyme. YYS!

I love this story: McDonalds, Dru, Ernie, and the neighbors.

Ever wonder what's in McNuggets?  http://www.naturalnews.com/032820_Chicken_McNuggets_ingredients.html

There's a reason my kids have never had them - not by my buying them, anyway. True story - when my oldest was 6, he and his little brother, 2, went on a playdate to the movies with neighbors. My 2 neighbor friends were shocked and delighted when they brought all the kids (7 total) to McD afterward and my son said, "but there's nothing here I want to eat. What about the salad, I suppose that's not so bad." so he ordered a salad for he and his brother. The other kids ate mcnuggets and fries and sodas. Operation don't go there successful.

Evelyn has still not eaten anything from McDonald's. It never became part of our habit.  It never will.

So proud my husband is a part of this!

http://blogs.usda.gov/2011/12/12/midwest-schools-find-benefits-in-serving-local-foods/

Something occurred to me today: YYS on CrockPots

Today I have 2 stocks on the stove - one chicken from last night's Lemon/Lime/anise chicken (it smells awesome!) and now beef.  I went to an ethnic market (Mexican) to get beef bones for the stock.  So many groceries no longer have a butcher on site.  this place does, and they also have limes 10/$1 right now. It's a crime really.  So I asked the guy in the back if they had any trimmings (no, they throw them away) and he looked at me like I had lost my mind.  "I only put out what my customers buy." Well, the chicken and the egg might suggest differently.  Like, perhaps your customers would by beef fat for the birds (suet), or beef trimmings for stock, or whatever.  So he brought me out to the case and showed me what I had.  Then he asked me what I was doing with them - I told him - roasting them in a hot oven with a little salt and pepper then turning them into a stock, which will be used for tonight's dinner, and the balance frozen, for use later on (and to meet the other stocks in the freezer: lobster, chicken, and vegee at the moment).  I made sure I got 2 marrow bones, one for each son, so they don't argue over it!

He looked at me, astonished, and I told him, this is what we do.  He then remembered me at the same market buying up the pork bellies (to make bacon).  I asked him if he cooks at home, he doesn't, he works a lot, is divorced, and has a 6 yo and a 1yo he is caring for. He uses the crock pot a lot.  His eyes about popped out of his head, and you could see him beginning to salivate when I suggested to him that the next time he uses his crock pot at home, he caramelize the onions, and brown the meat - and add some fond and flavor - before putting them in the crock pot.  See, crock pots don't actually add any flavor.  They don't do what meat wants done to it - or vegetables, for that matter.

So I came home with my beef bits, salted, peppered, rested, roasted, then plopped them in a hot pot with some bay, rosemary already blossomed, then seared off the bones - added a sweet onion 1/8th cut, 4 carrots, a head of celery, and about a teaspoon of black peppercorns.  My nose is conflicted.  I feel like a dog with its nose out the window.  It smells really good in my kitchen right now.  

Next time you cook using a crock pot, try this -- sautee or roast whatever protein you are planning to use -- snatch up all those brown bits from the pan.  Incorporate them into the liquid you are using to cook.  Then comment here.  I'd love to hear how it works out for you.  I bet you'll never put raw meat in your crock pot again!  

Crockpot does not add any flavor. Your success depends on you putting the flavor into the pot!

Pea Soup, YYS!

Split Pea Soup with ham (and ham stock of course!) with shaved
parmesan and dumplings. Is there anything better on a cold winter
evening?

YYS!

Banana Bread! Yummy Yum ... [gone]

This is it, the banana bread you've no doubt read about in other
posts. There are other pictures of it I'm sure - on the family blog,
in my picture books, on YYS. It is SO good. Moist. Dependable.
Delicious. Foodies love it. Old ladies love it. Children love it.
I've decided it's not my imagination or ego. It's just.good. Alone,
with butter, wine, coffee, you name it. Off I go to make 18 more
loaves. My husband is not allowed to come into the pre-Christmas
meeting without it. And if there are too few, there will be
consequences. I love him too much to see him harmed. ;)

cranberry sorbet. YYS!

More of a granita, really. I used lime juice and zest, a few frozen
organic raspberries, and for the liquid after the berries and sugar
cooked, I used some of the kids juice - pomegranate / cranberry. For
alcohol (you need to use it so that the mixture doesn't fully freeze)
I used triple sec.

Yummy Yummy SCHLURP!

This will make a nice palette cleanser between cookie and appetizer
courses tomorrow!

breakfast casserole. YYS!

hash browned potatoes, caramelized onions, ham, peppers, scrambled
eggs and cheese, in a little personal baking dish. YYS!

YYS seared and oven roasted turkey breast

As pretty as this is, not my favorite -- we used a pre-brined turkey
breast. For my taste, too salty. The rosemary and thyme seasoned the
bird perfectly and the pan sauce was divine, but next time we'll brine
ourselves. YYS!

Pumpkin seed goodness

cleaned, picked over, rinsed, dried, salted, evoo'd, and peppered,
cooked at 375 til done. Yummy. crunch crunch crunch. Schlurp!

Pork Roast and roasted root vegetables

Oh how I love a good Sunday night dinner using ingredients aleady in
the house. Perhaps my favorite of that ilk is roasted vegetbales. In
particular, fennnel. It transforms into this yummy yummy wonderful
thing I could eat all day long! YYS!

some more of summer, 2011

Nice summer dinner, corn and bean salsa, sockeye salmon steamed over
onion with white wine, farm fresh eggs, tomatoes and basil, grilled
artichokes, and BBQ Ribs. Y, Y, S!

end of summer 2011 YYS!

Simple salad with greens, candied (grilled) figs, blue cheese, and
balsamic dressing

beets napoleon

asparagus with shallot and garlic

coconut shrimp with yummy sauce

a pear, sliced

pork n beans

said pork on grill :)

what to do with old, tired, mushy pairs? make them yys, of course.

dinner: cous cous, cabbage, candied braised beets, flank steak with
chimichurri on toast points.

Tonight has been brought to you by the color *yellow*

Herb marinated Halibut, corn and black bean salsa, fresh corn on the
cob, and potato salad topped with a nice hard boiled egg. YYS!

Nacho Mama's BLT and edamame (video)

http://youtu.be/Ccmm5B06zTc
(it's a safe link. Posted by me.:) )

Fava beans, grilled salmon, and orzo ... love me some summer cookin'! yummy, yummy, SCHLURP!

ridiculous corn, crab, and avocado gaspacho

hold the yummy yummy ... SCHLURP!

when I'm walking, I strut my stuff ....

Let me go walk, like I blister in the sun ... let me go walk ....

stove-blistered tomatillos for Mean Gene's green Chili

Prepping tomatoes for oven roasting

... and then adding to pasta primavera. Wow was it good. Love
making oven-roasted tomatoes - great when local tomatoes come into
season and they're plentiful.

Farfalle primavera with lobster cream sauce

some roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, sauteed garlic,
chardonnay, savory, rosemary, lobster stock, finished with cilantro,
and pecorino romano. Yummy, yummy, Scluuuuuuuuuuuuuurp! Forgot to
shoot it plated, it was so good! this was along the way. The
mushrooms were so tasty.

Om Nom Nom Sunday night dinner on the patio

filet topped with grilled onioin, red bliss potato salad, steamed
broccoli, red cabbage cole slaw with cara cara and roasted red
peppers. I LOVE SUMMER FOOD SHOPPING!

Yummy, yummy! Schlurp!

Tuna with ramps and peas ... YYS style.

If you've never tried ramps, try them. If you've never grilled tuna,
try it!! (especially with a quick marinade of lime, garlic, sesame
oil and ginger) ... the salsa brought a burst of flavor and color to
the plate. Yummy. Oh never mind. Schlurp.

Let's cook! Dinner with friends, dinner at home.

We had dinner with the Hoffners last night. We brought some artichokes
and berries (with magical dipping sauce) and shrimps with zippy sauce
and onion dip - they had blackened chicken, a thai noodle dish, a red
curry rice, stuffed mushroom caps and stuffed cherry tomatoes. yummy
yummy schlurp!

Tonight we had chicken kebobs with our standard marinade (If you have
had grilled chicken at our house, you know it). 3 bowls: rice,
chicken, grilled vegees. Naan bread. Yummy.YUMMY. Schlurp. We
finished with berries and cream over baking powder biscuits. YYS!