Cooking
This week I want to tip my hat to my partner in this little venture, Zarah. I don't know how that girl does it all - studying, working and blogging. My guess is she does each exceedingly well too. I know she keeps a mighty fine food blog!
Not too long ago, Zarah gave her blog a new look and set up some categorized archives which are a huge aid in browsing the many recipes she has posted on her blog. This week I spent some time looking through those recipes and picked out a couple to try. I was sorely tempted by many of the great looking sweets and baked goods I found at Food and Thoughts, but after dallying in the bakery for much too long and sneaking a quick look at the sweeties, I started perusing the savory bits. And there I found my dinner: Mormor salat and vegetarian meatballs.
Both were very easy, though I managed to over-process the bean mixture for the meatballs. Even so, they tasted great, and it's obvious if I hadn't been so heavy-handed on the pulse button, they would have had a really nice texture. Even in their less-than-chunky state, the firm little bits of green bean provided a nice contrast to the rest of the ingredients. I went for quick and easy, so I just spooned the mixture directly into the hot frying pan (the same one where I had sauteed the pepper, garlic, and smoked paprika), forming little patties. On Zarah's recommendation, I used smoked paprika rather than chili powder and she's right - it has a wonderful smoky flavor that is just perfect for these "meat" balls.
The salad is as simple as simple can be - heavy cream, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper tossed with a delicate lettuce. I used a red Boston lettuce and (I'm with M. on this...) threw in some cherry tomatoes. It was very, very good! If I hadn't cut the recipe in half, I expect I would have consumed the entire head of lettuce. I'll bet this dressing would be nice on a fruit salad too.
It's been a pleasure dining with Zarah - I hope there will be a day, not too far off, when we can really and truly dine together. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
This is my last weekly Dining with the Bloggers post. I am finding a weekly schedule for something like this leaves little time for the more creative aspects of food blogging. I will certainly continue to try recipes from many different food blogs, and I'm sure there will be times where I'll want to share what I've found, but it will be when the spirit moves me, rather than every Wednesday!
- Dining With The Bloggers - November 16th
Another busy week and another hasty entry for Dining with the Bloggers... I'm so sorry!! I'm especially sorry because this week I am Dining with Niki at Esurientes - The Comfort Zone, and there are so many tempting options that I must forgo for...
- Dining With The Bloggers - September 7th
I can't believe how fast the summer went! There is still some warm weather yet to be enjoyed and the abundant September produce to look forward to, but there are signs everywhere that autumn is on the way. The kids are back in school, the lawn is...
- Dining With The Bloggers - April 27th
Nothing like a little serendipity. When Zarah and I decided to schedule our Dining with the Bloggers themes in advance, we picked a bunch of themes and assigned dates without giving it much thought. As it turned out, the theme for this week - my last...
- Dining With The Bloggers - March 23rd
I hate to rush through this post - the recipe I found this week is really wonderful. And just look at that lovely Dining with the Bloggers logo that Zarah made. It's just that it's late and I really must get to bed... Our chosen theme this week...
- Dining With The Bloggers - February 2nd
Zarah of Food & Thoughts and I have decided to team up and co-host Dining with the Bloggers. Each week you’ll hear from both of us about tried and true Blogger recipes. So when you finish up here, head on over to Zarah’s for the next course! ...
Cooking
Dining with the Bloggers - November 30th
This week I want to tip my hat to my partner in this little venture, Zarah. I don't know how that girl does it all - studying, working and blogging. My guess is she does each exceedingly well too. I know she keeps a mighty fine food blog!
Not too long ago, Zarah gave her blog a new look and set up some categorized archives which are a huge aid in browsing the many recipes she has posted on her blog. This week I spent some time looking through those recipes and picked out a couple to try. I was sorely tempted by many of the great looking sweets and baked goods I found at Food and Thoughts, but after dallying in the bakery for much too long and sneaking a quick look at the sweeties, I started perusing the savory bits. And there I found my dinner: Mormor salat and vegetarian meatballs.
Both were very easy, though I managed to over-process the bean mixture for the meatballs. Even so, they tasted great, and it's obvious if I hadn't been so heavy-handed on the pulse button, they would have had a really nice texture. Even in their less-than-chunky state, the firm little bits of green bean provided a nice contrast to the rest of the ingredients. I went for quick and easy, so I just spooned the mixture directly into the hot frying pan (the same one where I had sauteed the pepper, garlic, and smoked paprika), forming little patties. On Zarah's recommendation, I used smoked paprika rather than chili powder and she's right - it has a wonderful smoky flavor that is just perfect for these "meat" balls.
The salad is as simple as simple can be - heavy cream, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper tossed with a delicate lettuce. I used a red Boston lettuce and (I'm with M. on this...) threw in some cherry tomatoes. It was very, very good! If I hadn't cut the recipe in half, I expect I would have consumed the entire head of lettuce. I'll bet this dressing would be nice on a fruit salad too.
It's been a pleasure dining with Zarah - I hope there will be a day, not too far off, when we can really and truly dine together. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
This is my last weekly Dining with the Bloggers post. I am finding a weekly schedule for something like this leaves little time for the more creative aspects of food blogging. I will certainly continue to try recipes from many different food blogs, and I'm sure there will be times where I'll want to share what I've found, but it will be when the spirit moves me, rather than every Wednesday!
- Dining With The Bloggers - November 16th
Another busy week and another hasty entry for Dining with the Bloggers... I'm so sorry!! I'm especially sorry because this week I am Dining with Niki at Esurientes - The Comfort Zone, and there are so many tempting options that I must forgo for...
- Dining With The Bloggers - September 7th
I can't believe how fast the summer went! There is still some warm weather yet to be enjoyed and the abundant September produce to look forward to, but there are signs everywhere that autumn is on the way. The kids are back in school, the lawn is...
- Dining With The Bloggers - April 27th
Nothing like a little serendipity. When Zarah and I decided to schedule our Dining with the Bloggers themes in advance, we picked a bunch of themes and assigned dates without giving it much thought. As it turned out, the theme for this week - my last...
- Dining With The Bloggers - March 23rd
I hate to rush through this post - the recipe I found this week is really wonderful. And just look at that lovely Dining with the Bloggers logo that Zarah made. It's just that it's late and I really must get to bed... Our chosen theme this week...
- Dining With The Bloggers - February 2nd
Zarah of Food & Thoughts and I have decided to team up and co-host Dining with the Bloggers. Each week you’ll hear from both of us about tried and true Blogger recipes. So when you finish up here, head on over to Zarah’s for the next course! ...