CAPRESE SALAD - MY WAY

1/2 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes
your favorite salt
fresh basil
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar

I first chop the tomatoes into halves and place them in a bowl. I grind salt over them, and stir. Allow to sit for about 20 minutes. Then chop or shred fresh basil into tomato mixture. (Save some basil to sprinkle on the top of the salad before serving.) Allow to sit and blend flavors for an additional 10 minutes.
Slice the fresh mozzarella. Drizzle your serving plate with fresh olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Place 2 slices of the mozzarella on the plate. Spoon 1/4 of the tomato mixture onto each slice. Top both with additional slice of mozzarella. Spoon the rest of the tomato mixture onto these slices. Top with additional fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

WHITE TRASH RAINY AFTERNOON MENU

I have been stuck inside for days now. I've grown bored, and slightly bitter. And hungry, of course. I'm also broke which has limited my menus. I went on a tightly budgeted shopping trip yesterday and came home with ingredients for ranch pretzels, Texas hash, and easy yogurt pie.

RISOTTO PARMIGIANO

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RISOTTO PARMIGIANO

5 - 6 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice (I use RiceSelect)
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley (optional)
salt and pepper
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

In a small saucepan, bring stock to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

In a medium saucepan, saute the onion at medium heat, stirring until the onion is translucent but does not brown. Add minced garlic, rice and stir. Turn heat to medium high and stir in 1/2 cup broth.

Bring heat to medium-high, and pour in about 1/2 cup of the stock, keeping the mixture boiling, stirring continuously.

As the broth is absorbed, continue to add broth as needed, 1/2 cup at a time.

It is important to keep the mixture boiling, but keep stirring to keep it from sticking to the pot.

It may take about a 30 minutes for all of the broth to be absorbed by the rice and for the rice to become tender.

When rice is done, stir in the butter and cheese, then serve warm. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for a garnish, if desired.

The whole cooking process may take 25-30 minutes. Once all the stock has been absorbed, and the risotto is tender, remove the pan from the heat and quickly stir in the butter and Parmesan.

******This makes a SUBSTANTIAL amount of risotto. I usually halve the recipe 

Lemongrass!!

Forget that schlepping all over the Daytona area for fresh lemongrass. I now have my own lemongrass plant!

Just one step closer to green curry.

The new kitchen

I need to jazz it up a little. I'm thinking about wall decals for the cabinets or for above the sink.

Whoo hoo

Just got a new job in Florida!! I'm leaving Daytona today to go back to Pennsylvania, pack up my life, try to get as much stuff done as I can get done until I have to be back down here to start on October 8. I'm a little frazzled, a little fearful, a little ecstatic, and very overwhelmed.

So . . . I don't think I'll be posting for a while. But I shall be back.

It's official

I'm making pork dumplings AND New England clam chowder. I'll eat the dumplings today and the chowder tomorrow.

I'm making my shopping list now but before I leave the house I have to fill out an application, print resumes, and pack up the books I sold and take them to the post office. Ugh. It's raining and I really wanna curl up with a good book and do nothing but read, but a forty year old slacker is just so unattractive.

Cleaning House; Recipe-wise that is

Last night, I spent about two hours going through my recipe "collection". I have one of those little binder book with transparent sleeve in which you can place recipes. I never, of course, put my recipes in those sleeves. I just shoved pages ripped from magazine, little recipe booklets, and recipes given to me by friends in it until it became a large unwieldy mess. It was next to impossible to find anything in it.

So I ripped it apart. I threw away all the recipes that I have never made and that I don't think I ever will make. I got rid of those that just didn't seem that special or different.

Now I want to type all of those that are left and have them on the computer so I can find them more readily. I want to try all those that I have tried and if they don't thrill me, they are gone too.

School started today and I'm not working. I plan on moving to Florida as soon as I get a job down there so I decided not to take a contracted position here, but I never realized how I would feel when school started. I'll do day to day subbing until I make the move, but I won't get any calls for a few days I'm sure. That will keep me busy and I'll have some money coming in.

I have so many other things I could be doing, like filling out applications, packing stuff, getting rid of stuff, and just talking care of odds and ends, but right now I feel so blah that I can't do any of it so I'll just waste time with my blogging and the internet and become even more behind and overwhelmed.

Ugh.

Leftover Hell

I went on a massive cooking spree this week. I made a sausage/potato chowder, chicken pot pie (homemade stock and I hand rolled the dough), and a large ass roast. My fridge is packed and I can no longer stand the sight of any of the above dishes.

I cannot cook for one. Instead, I cook enough for marauding armies. None of it will freeze well and I'll probably end up throwing a lot of it out. I am a food waster and should be flogged accordingly.