Ahhh, if you’re one of the many making changes in your diet to cut sugar for a myriad of reasons, this will help! Vanilla bean infused honey… you can drizzle a little (or a lot) in your Greek yogurt for a fabulous taste! You can use it for many things, this is just what I happen to use it for… (oh, but since I can smell the bakery and the heavenly bread I keep getting images of a nice piece of toast (with the bakery bread), slathered spread lightly with Kerrygold grass fed cow butter (yep, sounds healthier already doesn’t it??) and a drizzle of the vanilla bean honey… oh boy! It’s dangerous living near a bakery… ha ha… Dr. Oz would remind you that honey is still sugar, so tread lightly… let me know how YOU use it… or what else you put in your Greek plain yogurt to make it tastier??!
Here’s the how… not much to it!
4-6 oz. honey
1-2 vanilla beans
Slice the vanilla beans at each end, then scrape the “meat” out of the inner part of the vanilla bean. Once you have done that…
In a heavy small saucepan, heat the honey (on low) until it’s warm, add the vanilla bean (“meat” and discarded bean portion), stir it around. Keep it on low about 10 minutes or until fragrant. Turn off, let cool, place in glass container.
If you like chicken curry, you will LOVE this recipe. I wasn’t exactly sure WHAT chicken curry tasted like, but after mastering Chana Masala, I thought I would give this a whirl, and WHOA! Enough said! This is seriously good stuff! It’s not difficult, so give it a try!
I got the original recipe “Indian Chicken Curry II” from AllRecipes.com. After reading all the reviews there were several changes. I left out several ingredients and used different quantities of other ingredients… this is how I made it…
The lineup of ingredients… I like to have them measured, chopped and ready to go!
CHICKEN CURRY
Ingredients
3 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil if you don’t have coconut oil)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, (I use a microplane, or you could mince)
3 (heaping) tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ginger root (I use microplane, or you can grate or mince)
Salt to taste
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste (buy it in the tube!)
1 cup plain yogurt (NOTE: most yogurt is 6 oz, not 8oz…)
1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
Directions
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent.
Nice to toast the spices before you add… Easy! Add spices to nonstick pan (dry), turn heat on medium and roast until fragrant. Turn off. That’s it!
Stir in garlic, curry, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger and salt.
Stir 2 minutes, then add…
Chicken pieces, tomato paste and coconut milk.
Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer 20-25 minutes. SLOWLY add yogurt. Remove bay leaf. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve over rice.
You simply will not believe how good this is, and how it creates the most wonderful smells in your kitchen! A nice accompaniment to this dish is a fresh salad with avocado, rice wine vinegar and olive oil and some Naan bread… It’s good warm or cold (can wrap in foil and place in oven until warm) serve with olive oil for dipping. TASTY!
Coconut Oil… have you heard the rave reviews about all the wonderful things it can do? From what I’ve read this past weekend it can aid in losing weight, help prevent or even help those with Alzheimer’s, moisturize skin and hair, increase HDL (good cholesterol), decrease LDL (bad cholesterol), decrease triglycerides, the list goes on and on. We’ll have to wait for long term studies, but for me, I’m jumping on the bandwagon, and taking 1 tablespoon a day. It can’t hurt. Let me know if you’ve tried it. WHY are YOU taking it? HOW are you taking it? I tried eating it off the spoon (it’s like lard), that was a little difficult, so I heat it ever so slightly and swallow… a tablespoon is doable, I personally chase it with a Triple Ginger Cookie from Trader Joe’s :) some people but it on toast, in coffee, in oatmeal, in smoothie’s, use it as oil and topping when making popcorn… AND the reason I bumped into the health benefits about coconut oil was because I saw a recipe for Double Coconut Muffinson the Smittin Kitchen website… whoa, they sounded good, and I had just spoken to my mom who told me about a video that someone just told her about (click HEREto see it) about how it’s helping Alzheimer’s Disease, and also helping to prevent. I’m sure long term studies are a ways off, but if you have a family history of Alzheimer’s you know how devastating it can be. I vowed to try this, it’s worth it to me… so now, I think everyone I know is taking this for one reason or another. I just didn’t want you to be left out of the loop!
Google Coconut Oil and you will see so much information it will make your head spin. Try to read from reputable sources and realize that anyone can post anything to the Internet… From what I’ve read, you should buy VIRGIN coconut oil. Ideally Organic virgin (or extra virgin) coconut oil. UNREFINED, since they alter the makeup of the oil when it’s refined. Refined is good for using as a moisturizer for skin and hair. One more thing… you can often find it in the grocery store in the baking aisle, however, often times these are NOT the virgin organic varieties… those are mostly found in the health aisle… ask if you are unsure. Read HEREthe Health Benefits of Coconut Oil by Charles Mattock, I got this from Dr. Oz’s website…
Here is a blip from Nutiva (extracted from Amazon):
A deliciously healthy cooking oil. Better than butter. USDA organic. Unrefined & no trans fats. Rich in lauric acid. A soothing body oil. The coconut oil myth. Coconut oil has been mistakenly described as not healthy. The fact is, coconut oil is cholesterol-free and rich in medium-chain good fats that doctors recommend. Why is it that baby formulas often include coconut oil? Because coconut is one of the world’s most nourishing super foods. Nutritionists suggest enjoying up to 3 tbsp of extra-virgin coconut oil each day, so help yourself to this heavenly, creamy taste of the tropics. Nutiva’s cold-pressed Coconut Oil is: Extra-virgin & pure white: not refined, deodorized or bleached! Organic: so it’s free from pesticides, GMOs and hexane. Versatile: Ideal as high-heat cooking oil (up to 350 degrees), as a nutritious substitute in baking, a better-than-butter replacement on bread, vegetables or popcorn, and as a luscious oil for skin care, hair care, and massage. America needs an oil change. While doctors suggest we consume a 4:1 ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3, the average American diet provides a ratio of 20:1 or more – contributing to heart disease, skin disorders, and arterial inflammation. So avoid out of balance soy, corn, and canola oils with their trans fats, oxidation, and GMOs. Cook with coconut oil (with only 1% Omega-6), and use olive oil (also low in Omega-6), and hemp oil (with the perfect 3:1 Omega ratio) for unheated recipes. Nature’s ideal all-purpose cooking oil. No trans or hydrogenated fat; no cholesterol or hexane. Unlike other brands, we press our coconuts within 2 hours of chopping. No refrigeration required. Solid at room temperature and melts at 76 degrees. Any coconut husk fibers at the bottom of the jar are indigenous to the processing and harmless. Coconut oil contains medium-chain good fats with 50-55% lauric acid – a healthful nutrient that supports the metabolism. Certified organic by QAI. Product of the Philippines.
A disclaimer… I in no way am trying to provide medical advice, only passing along what many others have told me. Ask your doctor if you need to know if this is OK for you…
OK, so I’m a little late getting in the swing of things… a friend sent me an email asking if we’ve been to Black Bean Co… a neat little restaurant on James Island (and another location on Spring Street). We’ve heard of it, but had never been. Had heard it was good, but that was coming from healthy food loving people, ha ha… I was assured that the food was good and the yogurt was to die for… we went, we saw, we tasted… we fell in love… went back the next day, and the next day, and the next day… and hopefully today!! It’s FRESH, HEALTHY food that tastes out of this world good. It’s not the healthy food that you have to try to choke down, no my friends, this is pure delight… from the very first to the very last bite… when you leave you can’t help thinking about when you’ll be back, what you’ll be ordering… it’s just all so good!
One of their sides is yogurt… It is a dream come true. My guess is that it’s vanilla bean infused honey added to Greek yogurt. You can definitely see the vanilla beans and you can taste honey, but the combination is to die for, then it comes with a little granola that changes each day, it’s not that overly sweet processed kind, it’s REAL granola… but SHHH! Don’t give the secret away, would hate to know they were out of stock!
We’re working our way down the menu… I only managed to get photos the second day, ha ha… but here they are, just so that you can see how delectable these wraps are. They have more… but this is out of this world!
The wrap above is the SOUTH WEST CHICKEN (Roasted chicken, black beans and jasmine rice, fresh local sweet corn, roasted tomatoes, spicy southwest chipotle sauce, shredded carrots, parmesan cheese, mixed greens) – did you read that description? Oh heavens… To. Die. For. Good. Spicy and perfect in every way!
This one is the BLACK AND BLUE (Chicken, (turkey or tofu), blue cheese, mixed greens, avocado, fig balsamic vinaigrette, black beans and jasmine rice) – oooooh!
The last one we got was the SPRING STREET (sorry no pic, was hungry!) it has chicken, turkey or tofu, hummus, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh homemade tzatziki, mixed greens and sprouts! I think this one was my favorite, but I have a great passion for tzatziki, ha ha… so that may have sealed the deal! They have many vegetarian options (almost everything can be made without meat, with tofu substituted)… and don’t forget about the yogurt, but remember, don’t tell anyone!
We recently had dinner at our friends house… Chana Masala… Hmmm? What? Never heard of it… It’s a vegetarian Indian dish, the main star is chickpeas, and let me tell you… this is TASTY! I’ve since read many recipes for different versions, but I really liked that one so much I got the recipe from Alison. She said it was in the Post and Courier Newspaper years ago (5/28/03), she made a few changes and whatever she changed (their archives skip that period) was perfect… try it, it’s easy, healthy and delicious! When I was reading the Smitten Kitchen blog for her version of Chana Masala she made a good comment, she said the spices aren’t cheap, but go ahead and get them, they’re an investment. I don’t know that I would have spent so much on spices if I didn’t read that first. It made sense. You can make it many times with the number of spices we bought. Above all, it’s HEALTHY. So if you can splurge on the spices, do it! Here goes…
CHANA MASALA (recipe from the Post and Courier newspaper, Alison’s adaptation…)
Chop up one large onion and sauté it in olive oil, some recipes say to sauté until brown… I didn’t let mine get quite that far since it was still going to be cooking…
Now add 4 chopped garlic cloves and 1-2” piece grated fresh ginger, and the way to do that the quickest and easiest is to use a microplane tool, they’re awesome! Rachel Ray pointed that out, apparently the smaller garlic is chopped the better it is for you… well you can’t beat doing it this way, it’s more of a paste so you don’t get any big hunk of garlic.
Now toss in one box of Pomi chopped tomatoes and 1/3 box of Pomi tomato sauce. (If you can’t find POMI, use canned, but canned tomatoes were one of the foods I featured to never eat because of the BPA, click HEREto read the post from 10/19/11…)
Stir in 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 whole green cardamons, 2 whole black cardamons, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, salt to taste, (I only had green cardamons and I used 5, it was fantastic)
and 1 chopped jalapeño (I left just some of the seeds for a little heat, for less heat remove membrane and seeds) and 1 tsp turmeric…
Add 2 cups water (or a little more), 2 cans chickpeas (or a brand in a carton like FIG), and 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro stems.
Bring to boil and then add 2 tsp coriander powder and 2 tsp Chana masala (or Garam masala seasoning).
Cook until sauce thickens (at least an hour) and serve over basmati.
The salad we had that night went perfectly with the Chana Masala… Quick and easy…
SALAD
Baby lettuce with salt, pepper, olive oil and rice wine vinegar. Fresh avocado added right before serving. You could toss baby carrots in Madras curry powder, salt, pepper and olive oil and roasted until tender and put on top of salad.
OK… and here ya go… this is what you end up with! This photo was snapped before we all sat down to enjoy this scrumptious dinner! Guess what’s on the menu this week?? You guessed right!
Here’s the recipe minus the photos and my comments in red…
You see this label? MEMORIZE IT! Run to Whole Foods and grab some of this oh so delicious cheese. It’s called Sartori Espresso BellaVitano and you will not believe your taste buds… Had this at a friends house (thanks guys!), and ran out the next day to nab some…
Don’t worry about the espresso keeping you up at night… I asked the cheese lady… she laughed at me, ha… go figure! Serve it with light thin wheat crackers. A real treat! Enjoy!
Have you ever wondered how to make hot chocolate from scratch? Well wonder no longer… here’s the scoop, and you will flip when you see how quick and easy it is! I have fond memories of hot chocolate! Growing up in Michigan as a young kid my mom told us we had to drink something warm before we walked to school (you heard me… back in those days we walked… miles i think it was, over mountains, through streams, in extremely cold temperatures. Ok, so I exaggerate a little but not a lot!) – so it was usually hot chocolate. I didn’t grow up drinking a latte for breakfast while in kindergarten, darn… that would have been nice, ha ha… Anyway, a tasty treat indeed…
Ingredients include… UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER (like Ghirardelli or Hershey), Sugar and Milk
Fill your liquid measuring cup with 1 cup of milk (I use organic 1%, but any milk will work). Place it in the microwave until it’s hot (every microwave is different, mine takes 1 minute 30 seconds). (If you prefer not to use a microwave you may certainly use your stove! Heat the milk on low until hot.)
Add 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of sugar (I use unbleached cane sugar, but any will do). [A note on the quantities here… this recipe is from Ghirardelli, from the actual container of unsweetened cocoa, if it’s too chocolately for your taste, cut the amount the next time, same with the sugar…]
Stir the cocoa powder and sugar together until it’s all mixed up…
Now add the hot milk to the cocoa powder/sugar mixture…
Stir it well. Get all those hunks of chocolate sweetness mixed in. Give it a taste… if it’s not hot, toss place it back in the microwave for a few seconds till it’s warm again!
Ahhhh, now the best part (and it’s totally optional), give it a good swirl of whipped cream (REAL whipped cream or Redi-Whip, but not that chemical laden “non-dairy” whip stuff that comes in a tub in the freezer section… *GASP!* Just say NO! Friends don’t let friends eat Cool W… oops, sorry, got carried away…
Enjoy, you will be surprised how quick and easy… and remember… cocoa… GOOD FOR YOU!!! Not so much the sugar… if you can wean that down, pat yourself on the back!
I realize that knowing how to make tea isn’t difficult. I used to live in Michigan. Iced tea was different there. I live in the South now… have lived here since 1989. When I came to Charleston, one of the most fabulous treats was SWEET TEA! It seems like I could drink it sweeter in my younger days. Syrupy sweet tea is too sweet for my taste, and with all the talk about how you shouldn’t eat sugar, here’s a way to have your sweet tea and be able to drink it too! Making sweet tea isn’t rocket science, really… The way we made tea in Michigan was to put water and teabags in a jar and set it in the sun. And. Wait. And. Wait.And. Wait. Then we would pull out the teabags, pour it over ice, stir in some sugar that went straight to the bottom, and a squeeze of lemon. Ohhhh, how I loved iced tea in the summertime. Since there isn’t a lot of sun in the winter, we never had tea in the winter, something that we in the South have on a daily basis… Here it’s not milk with dinner, it’s tea (for the record, I still drink milk with dinner, but I drink tea during the day). Tea has lots of good stuff going for it. Obviously the more sugar you add the less “good for you” it is, but you will be amazed at how a small amount can be plenty! Trust me on this… If you’ve developed the taste for unsweet tea, follow the directions below and skip the “add sugar” part!
Brewed Sweet Tea – Makes 2 quarts
Ingredents:
Water
2 FAMILY SIZE teabags (good if you can get the ones for iced tea, doesn’t matter what brand…)
Sugar (I buy cane sugar, not granulated sugar, it’s more of a tan color, hasn’t been bleached), but whatever you’ve got will work
First, fill a saucepan with a few inches of water, cook on high until it starts a rolling boil… then…
Turn the burner off. Add two FAMILY SIZE tea bags and dip em around good… then set the timer for 5 minutes… gives em time to get a nice hot soak…
When the timer goes off after 5 minutes. Remove the teabags. Then add 3 tablespoons of sugar. That’s how much I use for 2 quarts. You can start with that and add/subtract until you get it how you like it…
Now give it a good stir, kinda like Jello, need to stir in the sugar… don’t want to crunch! Now let it cool a bit…
Now pour the concentrated mixture into a 2 quart pitcher…
Finally… add cold water to the container until it’s full… (I use cold filtered water from the fridge). Then pop it in the fridge and enjoy whenever you like!
The thought of a lemon in my water at a restaurant makes me queasy… I used to love it, but now, unless I have it at home I simply can’t do it… My thanks to Dr. Oz for letting us in on some of the SHOCKING RESTAURANT SECRETS. Many are common sense (did you really think restaurants have the time to wash the lemons, cut them up and serve them to you with a gloved hand?)…
This is from the DoctorOz.com website (click on above link to see from his site), it will change the way you eat out… Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t STOP me, it just helps me make wiser decisions… Like how the h#!! can a lemon be truly that nasty?? Oh, heavy sigh…
Secret: Restaurant lemons are often as dirty as the floor.
Most restaurants never wash their lemons. They stay in the box that they were shipped in until they end up on your plate. In an independent test, Dr. Oz discovered five out of five lemons from five different restaurants were coated with germs including mold, bacteria, staph and Candida yeast – the type found in the mouth and vagina.
Ohmygosh! Enough said… No more lemons out… EVER.
Solution: Always order your lemons on the side and squeeze them into your drink or onto your plate yourself. Make sure that the juice doesn’t touch the germy lemon rind.
Secret: A dirty bathroom means a dirty kitchen.
Although it may seem counterintuitive to associate a restaurant’s bathroom with their kitchen, these two places often share the same level of cleanliness. If a restaurant can’t be bothered to keep the toilets and sinks clean, then imagine what their refrigeration and workspaces look like in the kitchen.
Never really thought about this one… but it makes sense, if they can’t keep the places that you see clean, then holy cow… No more restaurants unless bathrooms are C L E A N !
Solution: Do not eat at a restaurant where the bathroom trashcan is more than half full. This means the bathrooms are not being regularly monitored and cleaned.
Secret:Buffets are breeding grounds for bacteria.
Part of the danger of buffets is that the food sits out at inconsistent temperatures. The food on the bottom is burnt, while the food on the top is too cold. Additionally, you don’t always get real ingredients at buffets. A recent test from West Virginia University concluded that scrambled eggs from two restaurant buffets were not made from real eggs. Instead, the samples were made from liquid egg substitutes containing less protein and more water.
Thank goodness I’m not a buffet type gal… never liked em… I call it ‘achhoooooo food’ – of course there are exceptions, but for the most part, this is a good rule. And eek, those eggs you think have lots of protein may not have any at all…
Solution: If you want to eat at a buffet, go when it first opens to ensure the highest quality of freshness. For for lunch, aim for noon, and for dinner, go at 5 p.m.
Secret:The daily special is often a bad choice.
Restaurateurs know that many diners will order a special, and consequently raise the price. Sadly, the daily special may not actually be special; instead, they are usually made of the food the chef needs to get rid of fast. This includes aging meat and fish, old veggies and leftover sauces – all of which could cause a nasty case of food poisoning.
This one is N E W S T O M E ! Since the “specials” usually cost more, thought there was something “special” about them…
Solution: If the day’s special appeals to you, don’t be shy about asking the waiter questions about the ingredients.
Secret:Veal is often actually pork.
Veal is expensive meat; often, restaurants will swap it out for pork. Once the meat is pounded and slathered in breadcrumbs and sauce, only a discerning diner can tell the difference.
Eyeeeew, I don’t care for slathered meat… so I don’t have to worry about this one, whew! Solution: Ask for veal to be grilled and never breaded. It’s healthier and you can more easily assess the quality of the meat.
When it comes to food, you get what you pay for. Anything that’s all-you-can-eat is usually either low quality or food made from starch or heavy in fat.
Makes sense! I don’t like all you can eat places… I don’t like big portions, therefore thought of it as a waste, without realizing it’s super cheap to start with…
Solution: If you want to get an all-you-can-eat option while dining out, order pasta, grains or veggies; avoid any meat.
Secret:Decaffeinated coffee masks as caffeinated coffee.
If you order coffee past 8 p.m., it’s most likely decaf. Restaurants don’t want to wash two pots so they often use one and fill it with decaf. It saves them time and money to serve only one option.
For this one I say…. YAY! On the show they mentioned that it’s better this way, than to order decaf and get regular… So true! THANK YOU RESTAURANTS FOR DOING THIS!! I can’t tolerate any caffeine at night and a cup of regular coffee would do me in until morning. I know. It’s happened.
Solution: If you need caffeine, order an espresso or cappuccino. Because these options are made when you order them, there is a better chance they are caffeinated.
Years ago, well, 2002 to be exact my sister was telling me about this wonderful granola recipe she was addicted to. She sent me the recipe, and I made it several times, it was wonderful, I think she got it out of a magazine in a waiting room somewhere… since then I have made a few notes, sometimes I use less sugar, more cinnamon, different nuts, different dried fruit. It’s just granola, so add more of what you like and less of what you don’t! It’s wonderful on top of yogurt, in a bowl with milk (and fruit) or all by itself! I add more cinnamon if I think i’ll be eating it out of hand, less if I think I’ll be topping yogurt and fruit, but it’s up to you my friend, do what you like! This is what I do…
Hint… this is especially good… plain Greek yogurt, a swirl of honey, a few tablespoons of granola and a sliced banana… it will keep you going strong for hours!
INGREDIENTS
4 cups old fashioned oats (any brand will do, but old fashioned and not the quick cooking, it won’t be the same, I speak from experience!)
1 1/2 cups (or more) slivered almonds (this is key… the thicker crunch, the TASTE of the almond, oh yeah, SLIVERED, not SLICED)
1/2 cup (or less) LOOSELY packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon (or less) cinnamon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon (real) vanilla
1 1/2 cups (more or less depending on your taste) of dried tart cherries (you can use ANY DRIED FRUIT YOU LIKE, I find cherries to be especially scrumptious, decadent and GOOD FOR YOU!) – Note: dried fruit is optional. Often I skip the dried fruit and opt for fresh berries when I’m ready to eat it…
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. If you’re using a dark pan, you might want to bump it down a bit, every oven is different, just keep an eye on it!
In a LARGE bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, sugar, salt and cinnamon with a wooden spoon. (This is the pre-stir together pic, go ahead and stir it up good, but gently, don’t want to break up the oatmeal).
HINT: when measuring this mixture, use the measuring cup to measure the OLIVE OIL first, then the honey, it will slide right out!
Warm the olive oil and honey mixture. You warm this mixture by placing it in a small pan on the stove (low), or in the microwave if you PROMISE not to walk away from it, you don’t want it HOT, you just want it warm enough to mix together… it doesn’t take long! Hmmm, sounds like I’ve repeated this step before, doesn’t it?
Once the olive oil and honey mixture is WARM (not hot), add the vanilla… PURE vanilla if you’ve got it.
Now you want to drizzle the warm honey/olive oil/vanilla mixture over the dry oat mixture. You want to drizzle and not pour like I did in this photo… Do what I say, not what I do… ha. I was trying to take a photo and pour, apparently I don’t have those skills down pat… yet! Give me time! Good grief, what part of DRIZZLE didn’t I get?? It’s all good, some quick subtle stirring is needed to coat the oat mixture with the oil mixture… gentle, remember you don’t want it to be the consistency of flour when you’re done…
I know, I know! This looks a tad pale… trust me, after it basks in the warm glow of the oven it will turn a magical color… Now pour this mixture onto an ungreased 9 x 13 cookie sheet. It’s ready for the oven! Bake it at 300 degrees for 40 minutes total… STIR IT AROUND EVERY TEN MINUTES!
After it’s done, pull it out of the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.
Once cooled, go ahead and add the dried fruit. In my batch, I’m adding dried tart cherries.
Store the granola in an airtight container and it will last for 7-10 days(+), or freeze it and it will last 3 months!
I have heard so many wonderful things about Charleston Restaurant Week in Charleston, SC. Sorry I am late in posting this… The link to Charleston Restaurant Week from the Charleston Restaurant Association’s website is fantastic… it shows the price for each restaurant (some are 3 courses for $20, 3 courses for $30 and 3 courses for $40, some vary a bit, but it shows the price AND THE MENU FOR EACH RESTAURANT… OH how I love a menu!). These prices may not seem ultra cheap, but these restaurants aren’t cheap. They’re fantastic, beautiful, well known restaurants that for a few weeks each year offer a limited menu for a lesser price, so that everyone can experience these restaurants at a reduced cost. Click HERE for the link that shows restaurants/menu’s etc. – a blip from their site:
CHARLESTON RESTAURANT WEEK JANUARY 12- 22, 2012
Mark your calendars! The dates for the next installment of Charleston Restaurant Week are January 12 – 22, 2012. The event is part of Restaurant Week South Carolina sponsored by the South Carolina Hospitality Association. Charleston Restaurant Week, executed by the Charleston Restaurant Association (CRA), is one of the most highly anticipated culinary events in the Charleston area.
It is an opportunity to enjoy the world-renowned cuisine of the Lowcountry as participating restaurants offer prix fixe menus consisting of three items for one price. 3 items for $20, $30 or $40. View all restaurants participating and their Restaurant Week menus below. Bon Appetit!
Ok, so it’s not the cheapest popcorn you’ll ever find, but it is one of the very best out there. I grew up eating popcorn, so I’m somewhat of an expert on this subject. When you need a snack, that should be more healthy than not… what comes to mind? Carrot stick? Nope… POPCORN! Not from the movie theater but from your local store. It’s the popcorn in the red bag, it’s delicious, it’s PERFECT. If you haven’t tried it I highly suggest that you do, you won’t believe how good it is. Crunchy and perfectly salted, I like the “Touch of Sea Salt” but they have many varieties, that’s just my personal favorite! So if you’re craving something… give it a whirl!
A few years ago I ran across this fantastic recipe at Whole Foods…Chicken Sausage Jambalaya with Shrimp. It made a good bit and it was TASTY with a capital “T”! If you’re having a group over for New Year’s Day, this might want to be something you consider?? Here ya go…
CHICKEN SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA WITH SHRIMP
Serves 12
This one-pot meal is great for feeding a crowd of friends.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons safflower oil, divided
2 (12-ounce) packages pre-cooked spicy Italian chicken sausage, sliced diagonally
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/4 cups long-grain brown rice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 (1-pound) bag frozen okra
1 (1-pound) bag frozen Whole Catch® Tail-On, Peeled & Deveined, 41/50 Cooked Shrimp
Hot sauce for serving
Method
In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add sausage and cook until lightly browned. Remove from pot and set aside. Add remaining oil, celery, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook until softened. Stir in tomatoes, broth, water, rice, thyme, salt and cayenne. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 35 minutes, stirring now and then. Add frozen okra and reserved sausage. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until rice is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add frozen shrimp and continue cooking until heated through. Taste and season with more salt or cayenne if desired. Serve with hot sauce.
Nutrition
Per serving: 320 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 90mg cholesterol, 460mg sodium, 34g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 23g protein
I don’t lie when I say these are the best tasting cookies ever! These have been a ‘tradition’ in our family since we were little kids… and we make them every year… they make beautiful cookies to hand out as gifts to neighbors and friends. If you’re going to do that then you need to (at least) double the recipe, this makes a fair amount depending upon the size of your cookie cutters…
I featured this recipe back in February as Valentine’s Day cookies… but the recipe came out of a magazine many years ago (1960’s) in an article about the best Christmas cookies… Here’s the recipe…
CHRISTMAS BUTTER COOKIES
Sift 2 3/4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
In mixer bowl add 3/4 cup soft butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Beat until fluffy and light. Slowly beat in flour mixture. CHILL ONE HOUR.
Flour your work surface and roll out dough. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
YIELD: 4 dozen (IF you don’t eat the dough… good luck to ya!)
FROSTING
Mix 1/4 cup butter, 4 cups (1 box) confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup scalded cream and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Blend until smooth. Scoop into separate bowls and add food coloring (hint: yellow and blue mixed makes an awesome ‘grinch’ green). Scoop colored frosting into Ziplock bag (I use freezer) and snip a little off the corner. Squeeze onto cookie to decorate! If you need the frosting thinned a bit more, I have great luck just using light cream, add a little at a time until it will easily come out of the bag to decorate.
Fred's end of the cookie lineup, LOTS of frosting, his are the ones everyone wants to eat!
My husband and I made THE BEST pasta dish the other night… it came together and it was OUTSTANDING… quick and easy too! We used spinach spaghetti (Whole Foods), you can use fresh spinach pasta, spinach linguine, or I’m sure regular pasta will do just fine… keep in mind there is also the quinoa pasta available… might be tasty? We’ve made this several times and we get between 1/2-3/4# fresh large shrimp. Frozen shrimp will work just fine. Just run them under cold water to thaw. I’ve used both frozen and canned artichokes, both work fine, as long as they’re thawed/drained. The feta and olives add the perfect touch. I made it for the two of us, adapt the recipe below to suite your needs, add anything else that sounds good to you! Hint: I often will buy some of the veggies (red onion and red pepper) at the salad bar or the bulk veggies cut up at Whole Foods if I know I don’t need the entire pepper/onion… Last time I think the red onion/red pepper was sixty five cents!
Spinach Spaghetti (or any pasta, spinach is especially good in this recipe)
Olive oil for sautéing
1/2- 3/4 lb. shrimp (I bought fresh, large, deveined shrimp)
Red pepper (about 1/4 of a pepper)
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, chopped
Artichokes, chopped small (I used either one can, or about 8-9 frozen and thawed artichokes) – drain in either case…
Feta (a few spoonfuls for each plate)
Kalamata Olives (a spoonful for each plate)
S&P
Splash of white wine or pasta water
I used a stir fry pan, I heated some olive oil (about 1/2-1 tablespoon, add more if you need it), once the oil got hot and was dancing around I added the shrimp and cooked until pink and they were done, about 3 minutes, then add a few cloves of minced garlic, cook this for one minute. Holy cow does that ever smell good! Then put this shrimp/garlic mixture into a bowl while you do the next step… (Make sure your shrimp is done, but not OVER done… when shrimp turns pink and opaque, or you see the ends curl up, that means its done)…
Add a little more olive oil to your pan (1/2-1 tablespoon), when hot, sauté the onions and red pepper. When onions start getting translucent add the artichokes and cook for a few minutes (until hot), and add the shrimp back in. Now I have brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan (yippee), time to deglaze the pan. I used a little white wine, but you can use water, broth, etc. Literally a few tablespoons, just enough to be able to stir the brown goodness stuck to the bottom of the pan and turn it into heavenly taste for the pasta dish… Add the cooked and drained spinach pasta to the veggies. Toss to coat, add more olive oil if necessary. Using tongs (to pick up all the little veggie pieces) put some of this fabulous mixture on a plate (we use a low rim soup bowl that works perfectly as a small pasta bowl). Sprinkle feta and olives on top. Grind a little pepper and you’re ready to go!
Your eyes just rolled back in your head didn’t they? Too good! Catch you back here tomorrow!
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