The Bounty of Oregon

We're back from the wonderful week we spent exploring the bounty of Oregon. That's actually the name of the month-long festival celebrating the harvest...land and sea. Our thanks go out to the friendly folks in Oregon for making our visit so enjoyable!

If you get the opportunity to visit this beautiful state, please try to go during harvest time. You'll get to see the grape vines in the orchards heavy with berries, road stands full of apples and pumpkins (there is even a map of these called "The Fruit Loop" and trees bursting with color.

Did I mention the seafood and the wine????? Wow!

The Joys of Eating from the Farm Market

Yesterday my husband, daughter and two year old granddaughter joined me for a trip to the farmers market in Waxhaw to drop off some of my recipe cards for Donna and Bill to hand out with their home-grown butternut squash (it was so beautiful that I couldn't leave without a bag-full!), and we ended up gathering the ingredients for a late breakfast from the vendors there.

Fast food? Yes! Healthy and delicious? Most definitely! We bought a package of the most deliciously fresh organic whole grain pitas, then a container of Bosky Acres soft goat cheese and couldn't resist some giant oatmeal cookies.

We all piled back into my Forester and off we headed for Northlake Mall and a day of shopping. I sat in the back seat with Mary and spread the pitas with goat cheese and we all enjoyed that and the cookies more than anything we would have found at a fast food restaurant!

Mexican Spaghetti Recipe

While in Mexico City, my friend Manuela prepared Sopa Seca de Fideo, which she called Mexican Spaghetti. She told me the recipe is in the the cookbook "Frida's Fiestas," which is a cookbook honoring the famous Mexican artist wife of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo. Of course, I had Manuela help me find a copy in English! Here is the recipe. It is delicious!

Sopa Seca de Fideo

1 lb. thin spaghetti noodles
10 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
Salt
3 parsley sprigs
2 c. chicken broth
Pasilla chiles, fried and chopped, to taste
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 c. heavy cream

Saute noodles in hot oil in a saucepan until golden. Drain off all but 3 T. of oil.

Puree the tomatoes with the onion, garlic, and salt to taste. Add the puree to the noodles and simmer together until the mixture has thickened. Add the parsley and chicken broth to cover. Cover the saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the broth absorbed; add more chicken broth if needed. Discard the parsley.

Pour the noodle mixture onto a heated serving platter and garnish with chiles, avocados, cream and cheese. Serves 8

A Celebration in Mexico

We just returned from one of the best experiences we've ever had in a foreign country and I had to share some of the culinary discoveries we made. We visited Guadalajara, Mexico City, Acapulco and Taxco in Mexico.

Just feast your eyes on the display of fresh fruit in the picture! This picture was taken on a narrow street in the colonial silver mining town of Taxco in the mountains of Mexico, where the native farmers set up their colorful displays of home-grown fruits and vegetables along side hand-made crafts. It's customary for the vendors to offer their fruits for tasting before purchase, and we enjoyed tasting sun-kissed fruits that were new to us.

In Mexico City, we visited the large and bustling market where everyone was friendly and helpful....and the displays of produce, cheeses, breads, and fresh meat and seafood were dazzling. Although I wasn't there to purchase, the vendors seemed delighted to introduce me to new tastes and to pose for pictures. The language of food (and sales) is global!

While we were traveling, we tried to eat as many dishes as possible that were typical of the areas where we were. The food was fabulous and nothing like what we find in our local Mexican restaurants in Lancaster County. We had oysters on the half shell that were as large as dinner plates, tender and so sweet! Tortas Ahogadas (drowned pork sandwiches) were one of my favorite fast food items, and a late night visit to a taco stand introduced us to delicious soft corn tortillas topped with savory meat, beans and cheese. Poblanos stuffed with a sweet and savory pork mixture, topped with a creamy walnut sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds was one of the most beautiful and delicious dishes we had. The waiters were so helpful; many spoke English and those who didn't were patient with my broken Spanish.

We were introduced to "tequila completo" in the Mexican state of Jalisco, a tradition of sipping smooth premium tequila alternately with the tomato-citrus beverage called Sangrita. This was so delicious that I wonder why that tradition hasn't followed migrants across the border into our area! The non-alcoholic Sangrita is so healthful that I made some when we got back home and even my 2-year old granddaughter loves it!

Mexico is a country filled with history, natural beauty, and friendly people. With a government filled with corruption, no social "safety nets" for the poor or disabled, high unemployment and extremely low wages, there is a huge chasm between the classes. As industry moves south of our border, however, the middle class is growing and there is hope for many. What an educational experience this visit was for us and also served to remind us of all that the American people have to be grateful for here in the United States.

Waxhaw Treasures

Put my chef duds on this morning and took some recipes to the Waxhaw Farmers Market for those who need more ideas about what to do with all the absolutely gorgeous eggplants there. I bought one of the beautiful little fresh-cut flower arrangements that Donna cuts from her own flower beds. What a compliment to the senses to have bunches of colorful flowers next to the baskets of shiny at-the-peak-of-ripeness red and green bell peppers, zuccini and yellow squash, corn and beans and the sweetest little watermelons I've ever tasted!

I had to pull myself away from that dazzling display and headed for my friend Vic at "What's Your Beef?" and he served up great conversation while he was cutting my beautiful veal shanks for Osso Bucco and perfectly-sliced scallopini for Veal Parmesan that I'm preparing for a client.

The Waxhaw, NC Farmer's Market and "What's Your Beef?" custom butcher shop....two real gems in the Western Union County area of Waxhaw!

Recipe: Shrimp Ratatouille with Boursin Cheese Grits

Shrimp Ratatouille with Boursin Cheese Grits

Makes 6 servings

SHRIMP:
35 shrimp (16 to 20 count), peeled and deveined
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chopped basil
Salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil

BOURSIN CHEESE GRITS:
4 cups milk
1 cup quick grits
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
4 ounces boursin cheese

RATATOUILLE
¼ cup olive oil
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
1 eggplant, peeled, large diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 green pepper, diced
4 ounces Michelob Bavarian style wheat Beer
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup tomato juice
Basil, oregano, salt, pepper to taste

MARINATE: Combine shrimp with 1/4 cup olive oil, 6 cloves diced garlic, 2 teaspoons chopped basil, and salt and pepper. Let marinate 30 minutes.

MAKE GRITS: Bring milk and butter to a boil. Add grits. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper. Add boursin and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Add beer and cook for 3-4 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

RATATOUILLE: Heat 1/4 cup oil in large skillet. Add eggplant and cook
5 to 7 minutes until brown. Drain excess oil. Add onion, garlic and peppers. Cook another minute. Add zucchini and squash. Add tomato products, salt, pepper and herbs. Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.
When almost ready to serve, heat a sauté pan and place shrimp mixture in heated pan. Cook shrimp for 30 seconds on each side.
Serve in individual bowls with grits topped with ratatouille, then shrimp.

Chef Tim Thomas, Sea Island Resort

Cooking up this blog!

I just finished setting up my new blog spot...well...not really finished because I haven't uploaded my picture yet to my profile and still have tons more to learn about this medium that is so new to me! Check back and I promise you lots of recipes, local news, and restaurant reviews as well as exciting news from my kitchen table!

I went to Philadelphia, PA and stayed at the beautiful Loews Hotel a couple of weeks ago for the USPCA annual conference and joined more that 200 other personal chefs for classes and LOTS of great food and "celebration." You can imagine how much information we shared, and how much fun we had! (I'm the one in the striped skirt - what WAS I thinking wearing horizontal stripes???) with friends at the famous Striped Bass restaurant.)

First of all, for most of us (people in general) food is JOY. For all of us "foodies" anything involving food brings us unexplicable happiness. So, because every class I took was related to food and my business (which is FOOD service) it kept my interest far more than 99% of all my PSU classes all those many years ago!

Chef Mark Tafoya, executive chef of The Guilded Fork and founder of the Culinary Podcast Network is solely to blame for my introduction into blogging because he taught the "new media" class. (Check out #104-A Taste of Philly to hear some of our fabulous speakers.) I have a feeling this will be addictive!