Strikes my fancy

Lime and Soy-Glazed Chicken With Cabbage Slaw Ingredients 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 1/2 to 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces 1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced (4 cups) 2 large carrots, coarsely grated 4 scallions, thinly sliced 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 teaspoon sesame oil kosher salt and black pepper Directions Heat oven to 400° F. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, stir together the sugar, soy sauce, and 3 tablespoons of the lime juice; add the chicken and turn to coat. Roast, skin-side down, until the sauce is simmering, about 10 minutes. Turn the chicken skin-side up and roast, basting occasionally, until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the cabbage, carrots, scallions, and mint with the ginger, canola oil, sesame oil, the remaining 3 tablespoons of lime juice, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Serve with th...

Pasta With Sausage and Tomatoes Ingredients 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, broken up with your hands 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 2 tablespoons olive oil kosher salt and black pepper 3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage links 12 ounces cavatappi or some other short pasta 3 cups baby spinach (2 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan, for serving Directions 1.Heat oven to 450° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, mix the tomatoes (with their juices) and garlic with the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast until the tomatoes have charred in spots and the juices have thickened, 40 to 45 minutes. 2.After the tomatoes have roasted for 20 minutes, place the sausage on a second rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes. Thinly slice the sausage. 3.Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add the tomatoes, sausage, spinach, an...

Lemony Tuna and Olive Oil Pasta Ingredients 12 ounces linguine (3/4 box) 3 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, sliced 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 6-ounce cans oil-packed tuna 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest kosher salt and black pepper 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Directions Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta. Wipe out the pasta pot and cook the oil, garlic, and red pepper over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pasta, tuna, lemon zest, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and the reserved pasta water to the pasta pot and cook over low heat, tossing, until the sauce is slightly thickened and coats the pasta, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the parsley and toss to combine. Heidi's changes: Instead of lemon zest I used some lemon juice Skipped the parsley I like my dishes with more color! This dish just looked bland. Maybe it would have bee...

Im not really sure why, but I just had this thought of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, talking about having her own chair off in a warm room. That is what this precious little chair made me think of. Or in the old Cinderella, singing of her "own little corner, with my own little chair." ;-) It started out looking like this. I saw it in a pile of broken furniture at an auction. In all honesty, it looked like the old farmer's "burn pile". He was going to have PLENTY of pieces for winter. The auctioneer was about to move on, when I asked if I could just buy one piece. I pulled this out and payed $2 for it. Honestly, it was the legs that drew my eye. They were so ornate, yet it was the only bit of it that could be called that. I loved that all the rest was simple. The back looked like it would have held a bar, but both pieces were broken...so I wasnt going to be able to do anything to that. I decided to saw them off and sand them down. They ended up looking like li...

In following the month of cooking that we did in November. Pasta With Sausage and Tomatoes Ingredients 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, broken up with your hands 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 2 tablespoons olive oil kosher salt and black pepper 3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage links 12 ounces cavatappi or some other short pasta 3 cups baby spinach (2 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan, for serving Directions Heat oven to 450° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, mix the tomatoes (with their juices) and garlic with the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast until the tomatoes have charred in spots and the juices have thickened, 40 to 45 minutes. After the tomatoes have roasted for 20 minutes, place the sausage on a second rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes. Thinly slice the sausage. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water; drain the pasta and return ...

Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad With Pistachios Ingredients 1 pound carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths 1 pound shiitake or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling kosher salt and black pepper 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 1 cup quinoa 5 cups baby spinach (4 ounces) 1/4 cup chopped salted, roasted pistachios Directions Heat oven to 425° F. On 2 rimmed baking sheets, toss the carrots and mushrooms with the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Combine the vegetables in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice and thyme. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Divide the spinach among plates and top with the warm quinoa and vegetables. Sprinkle with the pistachios and drizzle with the oil. Serves 4. Heidi's changes: Used regular brown mushrooms Skipped the pistachios Since it's gotten colder I'm ...

Yes, the month of October is in our rear view mirror - but I didn't keep up with what we cooked in October! As you might remember we started with the Real Simple month of cooking...and after the first week, the 3 of us didn't cook the same dish again! So I'll highlight dishes that at least 2 of us made. Chicken With Wild Rice and Grapes Ingredients 1 cup wild rice blend 2 teaspoons olive oil 8 chicken thighs (about 3 pounds) kosher salt and black pepper 2 cups red seedless grapes 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 1 pound green beans, trimmed 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Directions Heat oven to 425° F. Cook the rice according to the package directions. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. In 2 batches, cook the chicken, skin-side down, until golden, 5 to 6 minutes, then transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Place skin-side up and roast until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the grapes an...

Meg moves from Phoenix to Spaulding, WA. The story follows her journey to get to know her neighbors and to make friends. It also includes a "beauty pageant" with only 3 requirements: you are a resident of Spaulding, you have a sponsor who was a past Queen(?) and you perform a talent. This was my latest book club book. I have to admit - I wouldn't have picked this up on my own (and one of the main reasons I love my book club!). There were times I thought this book was very slow. There are moments she has "flashbacks" and I started just skipping those. There were times I thought this book was very funny. There were times this book just made me thing "huh?". Overall I'm glad I read it - would I recommend it? Probably not. My book club was also very divided in what we thought about the book. I have been told her first book was better (and non-fiction)

Today I share some of the things I bring to Football Sunday. First you need to know that it's at least 80% male and that I've been watching a lot of Steelers football (hanging head in shame). A couple Sundays ago I thought I'd bring some food along - some semi-healthy food ;-) Stuffed Baguette Makes one 12-inch long baguette; about 24 slices Ingredients: Baguette about 14-inch long 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature 4 oz fresh goat cheese 1 large garlic clove, minced ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper (about 1 medium) ½ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes in olive oil ¼ cup finely chopped Kalamata olives 2 oz finely chopped spicy salami About 2 tbsp minced Italian parsley About 1 tsp minced fresh thyme Freshly ground black pepper Salt to taste (very unlikely since there’re plenty of salty ingredients) Preparation: Slice off both ends of the baguette. Using a long thin knife and working from the both ends, hollow the baguette out leaving about ½-inch thick crust all...

I've been picking out paint colors, working on seating arrangements, coming up with a menu and hiring staff. The long story about that will come some day, but today a project I'm working on in regards to that. When we bought all the equipment we got this beer fridge: Lovely isn't it? When I started to sand it down (the advice I got online instead of trying to take the stickers off), most of the stickers just started coming off. So I worked on getting them off. Of course, in my stubbornness I was doing it with my hands and got a few cuts under my fingernails. Lessons learned for "next time"! After peeling for hours I got to this point: And then I was ready to paint! I used a black spray paint that also had a primer in it. And 2 1/2 coats later we have this! There are some places where I just couldn't get the sticker goo off (should have used goo gone!), but overall I'm pleased with the new look. It also now matches all the other fridges ;-)

Wow - the blog has been neglected by me lately. I have so much to blog and yet so little time to do it! Yesterday was beautiful here. Fall is my favorite season and so when it's a beautiful day - a girl has to be outside enjoying it! I headed to the Cabbagetown's Chomp and Stomp in the early afternoon with 1 goal in mind: to get a corndog I hear about a year ago. This man (Jim Stacy) has a food truck and makes corndogs...yum? The line was pretty crazy (my number was 226 and they were in the 190s when I got there) - which made me a little scared (what if it really wasn't worth the hype?). But all in all = worth it. I just got a regular corndog this time around...keeping it simple. But next time I'll try the polish kielbasa or the spicy italian sausage! Great mix of batter with just a touch of sweet. And the hotdog was good too! Of course I left having not taken enough pictures or buying the 1 piece of art that caught my eye.... One day I will learn and be bet...