Desperately Seeking Gina

May 31, 2012

What the Weekend Tasted Like

The holiday weekend was dedicated to the kitchen.

It’s almost silly how much I love our basil plants. We’re pretty much using it with every single meal. Funny…as I started typing this sentence, the smell of basil wafted through the house as Thom is outside at this moment watering the container garden and the whole-house fan is circulating the air from outside.

I attempted pita bread with mediocre results the first time. The second attempt {and different recipe} resulted with awesome puffy pitas and a little puffy-pita-dance {working on a Recipe Review post for later this week}.

No weekend is complete without something sweet for the sweet-tooth in the house. Cherry Oatmeal Bars recipe can be found here. Throw in a half cup of white chocolate chips. You won’t regret it.

How did your weekend taste?

May 27, 2012

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

Hey, friends! I hope y’all enjoyed the weekend {yes, I realize we’re still in the midst of the holiday weekend, but I’m assuming y’all are out and about enjoying it and not at home waiting for me to post again}. It’s quiet here at the Cove. Well, at least at my house. Boat loads of people have been cruising on by on their way to the lake and we’ve been watching boaters on the lake all weekend long. Last night we drove through the campground down at our park and it was nice to see it filled with happy campers! {nice for me at least-Thom’s a little bitter about people invading our space}

I have to work on the holiday itself so I’m soaking up every little minute of this holiday weekend at home. And, when I say soaking, I mean soaking in syrup. I picked up some fresh Arkansas blueberries and after inquiring about what I should do with them, I decided that, yes, pancakes sounded awesomely perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

These were amazing. Seriously. Make these next weekend. Or for dinner tonight!

Lemon-Blueberry Pancakes
inspired by the ever-inspiring Pioneer Woman

2 cups pancake mix
1 1/2 cups milk {actually, fill just below 1 1/2. Make up the rest with lemon juice}
Juice of two lemons {my lemons were small}
Zest of two lemons
1 egg
3/4 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Measure milk just below the 1 1/2 mark. Add lemon juice to bring it to 1 1/2. Add lemon zest and stir to combine. Beat egg into milk-lemon juice.

Pour milk mixture into the pancake mix. Stir til just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in blueberries. Add melted butter and stir to combine.

Ladle batter onto hot griddle and leave alone until tiny bubbles appear around the edges. Flip and cook just 30 – 45 seconds more. Remove from griddle and keep warm while finishing. Serve warm with butter and warm syrup!

I think I might write a poem about warmed blueberries popping on my tongue and the juice that dances across my taste buds.

Never fear! That blueberry was promptly eaten exactly 2.5 seconds after I snapped this shot.

May 25, 2012

Recipe Review: Stir Fry Vegetables with Garlic, Ginger, Lime

Thai flavors are fast becoming one of my absolute most favorite dinner experiences and we’re building quite the Thai repertoire here at the Cove. I’m learning to make quick work of chopping fresh veggies so that Thom can quickly add them to a hot wok. Having the ingredients chopped and at-the-ready makes for a quickly put together meal.

This recipe, a Thai stir fry, is as tasty as it is quick and easy to prepare. The stir fry is easily adapted to whatever veggies you have in the ‘fridge, and the sauce is simple. Admittedly, the sauce ingredients may not be staples in your household if you don’t do a lot of Thai or Asian cooking, but once you start building your supply of these ingredients you’ll be all set to throw together any Thai stir fry. And, your taste buds will thank you!

Recipe: Stir Fry Vegetable with Garlic, Ginger, Lime from About.com {this site has an awesome plethora of Thai cuisine recipe and is our favorite go-to spot for recipes}

Ingredient Notes: We had all on hand except for the fresh veggies and coconut milk but it was easy to add them to our grocery list and work them into other meals for the week. An awesome advantage to this simple, quick recipe is that you can throw in whatever veggies you have on hand.

Method Notes: Thom uses his well-seasoned wok that he’s had for at least 20 years. Most stir frys are cooked on high heat for a short period of time, but this method calls for sauteing the veggies in the sauce at medium-high heat. If not using a wok, cast iron would be the next best thing or you could even use a non-stick fry pan since it’s not cooked at high heat {it’s not recommended to cook non-stick on high}.

Again, having the veggies chopped and sauce made in advance is the key to getting this dish to the table. Want the veggies more tender? Chop them smaller.

The Review: We’ll definitely be making this again and again. The flavor was very Thai: sweet and spicy with a refreshing lime/ginger flavor lightening up the creamy sauce. We served it over white rice which soaked up the sauce. My favorite vegetable for this stir fry is broccoli and we added a chopped jalepeno for added kick.

Want to stock your pantry for Thai cooking? Consider these key ingredients:

Coconut milk
Fish Sauce
Green onions
Limes or lime juice
Ginger {we buy a chunk and freeze it, cutting off what we need per recipe}
Soy sauce
Lemon Grass
Unsalted peanuts

{btw, most of these are substitutes for more exotic ingredients not available in Arkansas {big frown face} ie: Lime/Lime juice for kaffir lime leaves}

May 23, 2012

This post brought to you by the letters P & M…

So, I dubbed last weekend Margarita Weekend. Pineapple Margaritas to be exact.

Will you think less of me if I admit to just really, really needing a drink to unwind?

Or, if I share that I may or may not have successfully created two recipes during said drink{s} for a Recipe Review post, but by the time they {pizza & the drink recipe} were finished, it was too late to take natural-light pictures and I may or may not have been a bit too tipsy {read: drunk} to actually photograph them anyway?

How about if I told you that I actually Dreeted {I’m totally claiming copyright on this new label: drunk tweeted} a direct message to someone I only know online-challenging her to a drinking contest where I would undoubtedly “drink her under the table.”

True story. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it publicly, but hey, why pretend that I don’t do silly things, or that I don’t just let loose once in a while?

I can say, though, that the Pineapple Margaritas were d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s, and quite refreshing for a sizzling Saturday night. You can find the recipe here. I added a bit more pineapple juice because I love the stuff.

I did manage a picture or two before the tequila set in…

As for the pizza I was meaning to review? The Roasted Garlic pizza recipe can be found here. I could barely get a slice to my lips without mishap so getting a pic was a definite no-go. Thom thought it was the best pizza he’s ever eaten. I thought the roasted garlic was too sweet. But, that might have been because of the pineapple?

So…there you have it. I drink, occasionally. I do silly stuff, always. I claim it all and wake up with nary a hangover- definitely.

Still friends?

May 18, 2012

Greek FoodFest Friday

Guys. I’m moving way out of my comfort zone here. I made a little video down at the Greek Food Festival. My first foray into Vlogging!! No photoshopping-breakouts and all {oh, and the lighting is super bad…my eye makeup is SO not that dark!!}