Monday, October 19, 2009

Cooking up a storm

Megan and I have been trying to make more of an effort to eat healthier over the past couple of months, which means we've been cooking a lot more. We've been trying some new things and eating some of our old favorites as well. Unfortunately, the pictures don't really do justice to the food. For some reason food is hard to shoot. Anyway, here's what we've been up to in the kitchen:

Cannelini dip, arancini, marinated butternut squash, olives and assorted cheeses. Mmmm...lots of antipasti.

Potato and peas with cumin (our first attempt at Indian cuisine). This ended up pretty well, though it was missing something that you normally get from eating at an Indian restaurant.

This can was the start of a big batch of basic tomato sauce. It was the first time I'd cooked with San Marzano tomatoes, but I had heard a lot about how they're the best Roma tomatoes. After tasting the sauce I'd have to agree. Just a little onion, olive oil, thyme, and these tomatoes and now I've got a base for all kinds of dishes. The first use was spaghetti with basil tomato sauce.

Ragu Bolgnese simmering. There's a reason Megan and I call this stuff Italian crack. About a cup of this with a half pound of spaghetti (don't use Barilla, I'm begging you) is some of the best pasta you'll ever have. I like Mario Batali's recipe, but there are as many recipes for ragu as there are Italian grandmothers.

Some other stuff that we've been having is pan seared ribeye with polenta and pancetta sauteed mustard greens, leek and potato soup, and leftovers.

There'll be more to come because we're getting into my favorite time of year to cook: fall is for braising!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Danny's Big Weekend




Sorry about the high pitch squeal!

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Down on the Farm


Danny had a fun adventure on Saturday. He got to meet some farm animal friends up close. We went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead in the OP to enjoy the weather and give Danny something new and fun to do.

There were cows, goats, bunnies, and evil (Megan's opinion) swans to see along with lots of others.



This goat was pretty friendly. I think he figured we might have food or those weeds on the other side of the fence were really tasty.


Hanging out with Mommy by the big tractor.


That's a big longhorn and a little buffalo.


Monday, September 21, 2009

Update coming soon...


Sorry for being lame and not posting much. Some computer trouble has slowed us down. Many updates to come once that's resolved.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Working Hard

Boy, supervising Mom and Dad is hard work! Who knew washing cars could take so long?


Thursday, August 20, 2009

Antipasti night


With the threat of thunderstorms making lawn work a tenuous proposition last night I took the opportunity to do some shopping on the way home for an antipasti dinner. One of our favorite dinners is nibbling on small portions of a variety of dishes. The assortment last night included some of our favorites.

Caprese salad, country bread, roasted fennel w/ Parmesan, Danish blue and Trugole cheeses, prosciutto and melon, and olives

My feeble attempt at artistic photography

Danny sent a couple of his animal friends with his regards and apologies for not being able to join us at the table. I guess he had a prior engagement playing in his swing.