Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Sometimes it is hard to be a food blogger.  There are days when meals are easy everyday food that no one would be interested in hearing about.  I have been going through a period like that lately.  We have eaten lots of homemade soup, but they are soups I have talked about before.  I did make a wonderful chicken noodle soup the other night with twice the celery and carrots that I normally put in it and half the noodles;  very good and good for us.

But Friday night, before we went to a concert,  I made a quick meal of these pizzas that were in a Weight Watcher’s cookbook.  I’m not sure what it was about them, but they were a hit.  It might have been the artichoke hearts, the roasted red peppers or the balsamic vinegar, but we both loved them.  I added a bit of bacon to the recipe because I love bacon in pizzas.  The dressed lettuce is placed on the tortillas and heated briefly in the oven to warm everything and slightly wilt the lettuce.  David even said that this would be good on Sunday nights when we normally have real pizza.  I agree.

Give these a try for a quick supper or lunch.

MEDITERRANEAN-STYLE SALAD PIZZAS

1 heart of romaine lettuce, thinly sliced ( about 3 cups)
1 tomato, seeded and chopped ( I skipped this )
1 (8 1/2 ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup canned cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (7 ounce ) jar roasted red pepper, drained and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 strips of bacon, sliced, cooked and drained
4 ( 7 inch ) whole wheat tortillas
8 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Meanwhile, toss together the lettuce, tomato, artichoke hearts, beans, roasted pepper, vinegar, oil, and black pepper in a medium bowl.  Arrange the tortillas on a baking sheet.  Top each tortilla with about 1 1/4 cups of the salad (I think I used a little less)  and sprinkle with some of the cooked bacon and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella.  Bake until the cheese melts and the lettuce wilts slightly, about 5 minutes.

As an aside, while walking today I saw flocks and flocks of birds heading South.  I understand that Florida is the only state in the SE without snow today.  I think the birds are heading for the Bahamas.  I would be too if I could.  Stay warm.

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This dish was inspired by Mary of One Perfect Bite.  Mary consistently turns out one beautiful dish after another on a daily basis on her food blog.  Everything she posts is worthy of consideration and her photography is stunning.  She recently posted a recipe for minced chicken with oyster sauce that was served on a bed of rice.  I loved the presentation and the flecks of red and green peppers which studded the meat.  She mentioned using the meat mixture in lettuce wraps and I knew I had to try it.  Although I love white rice, for the foreseeable future, we are avoiding white rice, white bread, white potatoes etc.  My guiding principle in serving food is COLOR.  Bright orange, bright red, bright green, dark leafy vegetables and vibrant red strawberries, blueberries and navy blue blackberries are all in my current lexicon.

I decided to use a package of organic ground beef that I had just purchased to make Mary’s recipe.  The only other change I made was adding water chestnuts to it for added crunch.  We loved it and there was even enough left over for a whole wheat tortilla wrap the next day.  I will be making this often.  With it I served roasted butternut squash which I seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and ground cumin.

GROUND BEEF LETTUCE WRAPS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of lean ground beef
6 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced water chestnuts

Leaves from one head of Bibb lettuce, washed and spun dry.

Heat a wok or large fryig pan over medium high heat.  Add oil and heat until it shimmers.  Add onion and garlic and saute briefly being careful not to burn the garlic, about 2 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium and add the ground beef.  Cook, breaking up pieces until it is no longer pink.  Drain off fat.  Stir in oyster sauce, soy sauce and pepper.  Dissolve conrstarch in chicken broth.  Add to pan and cook and stir until thickened.  Stir in diced peppers and water chestnuts.  Serve in lettuce cups.

Speaking of colorful food, what do you think of pink?  Pink grapefruit that is.

This is our neighbor Bill’s tree.  Here is the sign that he posted by his mailbox.

How lucky we are to have such a great neighbor.  His pink grapefruits are delicious.  And guess what?  Mary of One Perfect Bite even has a recipe for Pink Grapefruit Salad Dressing on her blog today.  Think I will give it a try.  Thanks Mary.

Printable recipe Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps

I have been reading many of your blogs.  Now that we are no longer traveling for a while, I have more time to sit at my computer.  Since before Thanksgiving we have been gone more than we have been home.  In the car, returning from our last trip, I made mental lists of all of the things I want to accomplish in the next 6 weeks.  There are many household projects to get done, but spending more time on my blog is one of my goals.

As expected, many of the food blogs are showcasing lighter food.  It may be New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, but I suspect that it is also that our bodies are merely physically rebeling against all of the overindulgences.  Frankly, I just want to eat healthier this year.  I plan to spend a lot of time at the Farmers’ Market at Flagler Beach.  The Plant City strawberries should be ready for picking soon, if the frost hasn’t damaged the crops too much.  I want to find a local source for fresh eggs and fresh meat.  I no longer care if a whole chicken is on sale at Food Lion for 69 cents a pound.  I would rather pay more for an organic, pesticide free, free range bird. 

We did attend a Weight Watchers meeting yesterday and I am pleased with the new program that they have put in place.  The old Points System they used was based on calories.  This resulted in rewarding even bad choices in food if the calories were the same as good choices.  For instance a croissant with a pat of butter had the same number of points and calories as a poached egg, 1 slice of whole wheat toast, 3 ounces of protein and a pat of butter.  The way Weight Watchers is now calculating the points system is by factoring in protein, fiber, fat, and carbohydrates.  Also most fruits and vegetables have 0 points so they become a more important part of the choices that you make. 

David has been craving more seafood in our diet. so I made this creamy fettuccine with shrimp and bacon the other night.  I adapted it from a recipe in Cooking Light magazine.  Instead of using cream it calls for light milk thickened with a little flour to give it a creamy consistancy.  It goes light on the bacon and adds lots of vegetables to the mix. We enjoyed it and I didn’t feel like I was deprived of a thing.

CREAMY FETTUCCINE WITH SHRIMP AND BACON

1/2 pound uncooked fettuccine ( I used linguinni )
2 bacon slices
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup reduced fat or fat free milk
1 tablespoon flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and keep warm.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 6 minutes or until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan.  Crumble bacon and set aside.

Add shrimp and garlic to pan, saute over medium-high heat 2 minutes or just until shrimp are done.  Transfer shrimp mixture to a large bowl; keep warm.

Combine milk, flour, and salt and pepper stirring with a whisk.  Add milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Remove pan from heat; add cheese, stirring until blended.  Add shrimp mixture back to pan and stir.  Add pasta to pan and stir gently to combine.  Add a  little reserved pasta water if necessary.  Sprinkle in parlsley and serve.  Serves 4.

Now for the drawing of a copy of As Always, Julia.  Using Random. Org. the winning number is #15.  That would be Barbara of Moveable Feasts.  Congratulations Barbara.  Email me with your address and I will send you a copy as soon as possible.

Thank you everyone for your encouraging comments.  It has given me inspiration going into my third year of blogging.

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With the New Year,  I have been wondering if my blog is still relevent.  After two years of giving it my best with enthusiasm for all that I have cooked, I wonder if I have made a difference or inspired anyone.  I hope so.  Even Julia Child wondered about the relevance of her fledgling cookbook and spent ten years trying to get it published.  I am not comparing my humble missives to Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but we all know that when we put our words out there for others to read we are hoping that they will make a difference.

As of January 7th,  I will be celebrating two years of blogging.  It has been such a worthwhile endeavor.  I have met so many wonderful people, both personally and online.  All of you are my friends.  I visit all of you more often than I have been able to respond to your words.  We have a wonderful community of bloggers!  Communicating with each other keeps all of us inspired.

Back in the day,  people communicated by real mail.  A new book has just been released with the letters between Julia Child and Avis Devoto.

Julia and Avis were penpals for two years before they ever met.  Avis became a support system and sounding board for Julia as she worked her way through the writing of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  She recognized early that Julia had a very special book in the making.   We don’t have a book here, but I would liken their relationship to what we are doing here.  We are supporting each other in our individual efforts to communicate our own stories.  We talk to each other in our comments on each of our blogs.  By supporting each other we keep the creative juices flowing.  Thank you  for your comments.  I would like more.  All of us would welcome that.  So I am contemplating what changes I need to make in the future to make my blog more relevant. 

To thank you for your support I will send a copy of As Always, Julia to one lucky winner who makes a comment on this post.   You have until Wednesday January 5th at 9:00 PM.  International bloggers welcome.

This is a great dish to serve on New Year’s Day with collard greens and black-eyed peas.  It is easy to double if you are expecting a crowd and bubbles away on top of the stove as you are busying yourself with other pursuits.

The recipe was in an issue of Bon Appetit.  The only changes I made were in the type of ribs I used and eliminating the turnips.  My supermarket had boneless country style ribs, but they were cut from the rib end of the loin.  They were leaner than ribs from the shoulder or butt.  I liked them and they were very tender and moist.  The recipe called for 3/4 pound of carrots and 3/4 pound of turnips.  Believe it or not, there were no turnips in the produce section.

We are on our way back to Florida via Hilton Head.  We are celebrating New Year’s with our good friends.  It is a tradition and every year the food is a tradition also.  Slow roasted pork butt, potato casserole, black-eye peas, collard greens and corn bread.  I hosted the get together last year.  For a recap and the recipes go here.

Happy New Year everyone.  I consider every one of you a friend and I wish the very best for you in 2011.

SOY-BRAISED PORK COUNTRY RIBS WITH CARROTS

1/3 cup low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons dry Sherry
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot chili paste
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 5 x 1 1/2 inch strips (sometimes called boneless country-style pork ribs.  See text of my post to see what I used.
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 green onions; white and pale green parts finely chopped, green parts thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 whole star anise ( I omitted this)
3 long strips orange peel removed from orange with vegetable peeler
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces

Whisk chicken broth, Sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, and hot chili paste in small bowl to blend; set aside.  Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper.  Heat peanut oil in heavy large deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, cook ribs until browned, about 4 minutes per side.  Transfer ribs to plate.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add chopped onion to skillet and saute until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add white parts of green onions, garlic, and ginger; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth mixture, stirring to scrape up any browned bits.  Add star anise and orange peel; bring to simmer.

Return ribs to same skillet.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Add carrots to skillet, pushing to submerge in sauce.  Cover and simmer until vegetables and ribs are tender, gently stirring mixture occasionally, about 30 minutes longer.  Transfer mixture to platter.  Serve with steamed rice.

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