… of salad dressing mix and create some yummy, fresh and semi-homemade dressings that are sure to please. Here are recipes for a couple of my favorite dressings that start from a package: 1) Italian and, 2) bleu cheese ranch. Both are so easy to make and bursting with freshness that you normally don’t get out of the bottled stuff. For the Italian dressing I use Good Seasons, and for the bleu cheese ranch, I use Hidden Valley.
Every now and then in the heat of the summer when cocktail hour rolls around, instead of starting off with a glass of crisp white wine, I like to change things up a bit. One of my favorite ways to do so is with this cool and refreshing summertime sangria. Yes, Virginia, you can add ice cubes to red wine without upsetting the wine gods, if you are careful :). Actually, you’ll appease them with the addition of fresh fruit, brandy, and orange liqueur. The combo is oooh, sooo good!
I know, we all lead such busy lives, and trying to get everyone just to sit down and eat together is close to impossible, especially when you throw ultra-busy kids into the mix. But think about it – when is the last time you brought out the cloth napkins, matching water goblets, candles and fresh flowers and decorated your dining table just for your family (or for your spouse or even just yourself?) Well, what are you saving all of that stuff for?
Years ago, Clawson’s Restaurant and Pub in beautiful Beaufort, N.C., served a delicious shrimp salad in a pita pocket. Beaufort is on North Carolina’s crystal coast, right outside of Atlantic Beach and Morehead City, and has a great collection of wonderful restaurants and bars for such a small area.
For some insane reason, this dish disappeared from Clawson’s menu quite a while back. However, ever since the first time I had it, I’ve tried to replicate the recipe at home and love my latest low-calorie, low-fat version. I hope you will, too!
Last week’s tip was to “grow your own” fruits, veggies and herbs – if you have the space and time to have your own garden. The reality is that many people do not. The next best thing to enjoying the fruits of your own labors is buying local, fresh produce at area farmer markets and vegetable stands. The quality in most cases is far superior to what
you get at the big grocery chains.
I feel fortunate to live in the Triangle area, where I can get some sort of locally grown vegetables and fruits almost year-round. By purchasing locally grown food, I feel like what I’m getting is quite fresh, while at the same time I am supporting the local economy. Plus the food just tastes better, especially if it was picked the same day it is sold. Give me a cucumber that looks like it just came out of the field instead of one of those waxy bright green things you get at the grocery store any day.
I didn’t discover mojitos until about five or six years ago, but it is now one of my favorite summertime cocktails. I grow my own mint (see my recent post Grow Your Own), which is an essential part of this recipe. I thought the traditional mojitos (with rum, lime, mint, sugar and soda water) were great, but then I had a blood orange mojito at a poolside bar in Naples, Fla., that was stellar. It was made with Bacardi O rum, blood oranges, mint, orange juice, lime, sugar and soda water. It was like drinking liquid sunshine.
However, the best mojito I ever drank was last year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was a delicious and refreshing pineapple concoction to die for. I have tried to replicate the recipe, and think I’ve done a good job.
“Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” – Simon & Garfunkel
“Tip of the Week” is a new section to my blog, inspired by my recent post on Food Network Magazine’s 100 Greatest Cooking Tips. Each week I will offer a tip related to food or drink designed to make life easier and/or better. This week’s tip is “Grow Your Own.”
“You cannot teach a crab to walk straight” – Aristophanes
Aaaaah, crabs. I love the sweetness of the meat, whether it’s Maryland blue, Dungeness, rock, Alaskan King or soft shell. I have to admit that sometimes I’m lazy and just buy the fresh crabmeat that comes in the plastic containers. I usually buy it only when it goes on sale –it’s just too expensive otherwise. Then comes the hard decision – do I just sauté it in butter, or do I make crab cakes? Either way is fine with me because both are a treat!
I recently bought Casey’s backfin/blended lump crab to make cakes. I do not like using a lot of filler in the mix, and this recipe is so easy, and oh, so tasty!
The kids were invited to sleepovers the other night, so Brad and I took
advantage and went to one of our favorite Indian restaurants in Raleigh. Located in Raleigh’s Brier Creek shopping center, Azitra’s décor is upscale and sleek. The service has always been good whenever we have dined there, and the food is tasty, fresh and spiced to one’s preference – hot, medium or mild. Azitra offers a number of vegetarian/vegan selections and prices for all dinner entrees range from $11.00 to $22.00.
Don’t let the title of this post fool you. While this milkshake is low on fat (1.5 g.) and calories (197) it is big on flavor, thanks to the fresh strawberries. And it is so easy and quick to make.
As soon as we got home from picking strawberries the other day, I whipped up a batch of milkshakes to reward our hard work. They were bursting with the natural sweet flavor of strawberries, which were less than two hours fresh off the vine. The kids loved them, and so did I. And the best thing about these shakes is not feeling guilty drinking them!
Kel's Cafe of All Things Food 