Grilling

These past couple of days I have made some pretty tasty food. We just recently discovered that the grill that the previous owner had left behind, actually worked. We just had to get a propane tank. I grilled steak out the first night that we were able to use the grill. I loove grilled foods.. whether it's steak, or chicken, or veggies.. like a ratatouille. I love the taste of charred foods.. ooh especially charred bell peppers. There is nothing better than grilling out especially in the summer and, now that we are coming to the last couple of days of summer here in Virginia Beach, you almost have to take advantage of the grill. So anyways, this is what I made the first night of christening the grill: I marinaded the ny strip in olive oil, lemon juice and zest from one lemon, 1 jalaepno (the seeds and ribs had been removed bc that is where all of the heat lies), 3 small garlic cloves minced and salt. We like our steak medium rare so we only grilled it on each side for a few minutes. I made some roasted potatoes to go along with the steak. It was delicious!!!! I went to this really cute wine bistro type place that we have here in vb  the other day and they had taken romaine hearts and charred them whole on the grill. They served them whole and crumbled some gorgonzola cheese over top and had a few slices of asian pear on the side (pear and blue cheese pairs very well). Anyways, I was thinking about taking this idea of charring the greens but maybe using a different type of cheese.. maybe feta? Or if I used gorgonzola I would probably drizzle some honey over top of the romaine hearts to give it some type of dressing.. maybe mixing honey and olive oil, salt and pepper? I just absolutely loved the idea that they had as making the charred hearts of romaine as a salad.. so raw and yet so simple. The effect that it had as presentation was phenomenal.. very catchy!!!
 Lately, the food trend around here seems to be "back to basic," and if you think about it, there is nothing better than biting in to a fresh apple over having apple sauce. I feel like with all of the growth in technology and the widespread of gourmet food, we have forgotten that simple, raw etc goes a long way. It's funny because it seems like even the nicest of restaurants are beginning to incorporate more "raw" food into their menus. I feel like I am using the term "raw" too often and not specifiying what I actually mean. Raw in regards to raw foodism refers to uncooked, unprocessed, organic food. In this blog the terms "raw" and "organic" are interchangeable. Natural food sections are being incorporated more and more in grocery stores and more and more I am meeting people who prefer "organic" over "regular" food. I actually enjoy eating raw vegetables. The taste is simple and fresh and the texture has substance. The next time you choose to make green beans get the raw string beans and grill them. The smokiness from the grill along with the texture that it creates really just pops in your mouth! :)

where to begin

It's funny because I have been completely against blogging for such a long time and suddenly came to realize that I would truly enjoy it. I don't consider myself to be a good writer, but I actually enjoy sharing my thoughts. Regardless of who reads my blogs, words etc, I think that the idea of being able to write to share with others is quite refreshing. I have always admired people who can write to move others... and I used to write quite a lot when I was in school, when I actually had free time, and then from all of a sudden I became a mom. haha It still sounds weird to me being a mom. I love it, but the idea of being a mom always reminds me of  women who have short hair and wear aprons and bake cookies and drive mini vans. haha I am the complete opposite of that. Now I know that that is quite the ridiculous stereotype of a "mom" because in fact my mom was/is nothing like that. Nowadays mom's are more like the professional types, which is nice, but at the end of the day, we all share one common bond and that is that we are moms.
 So aside from being a mom, I love to cook. Clearly from the name I am sure that you could have guessed, but I just find that cooking is a way to escape from reality. I don't know where I inherited this gene because my mom and dad don't cook, but there is something about it that just calls my name. The kitchen is such a comforting place for me..haha Maybe it's the science mind that I have that correlates cooking to some type of experiment; I don't know. Maybe it's a way to make people happy. It's this art of giving something to others and let's face it, who doesn't like to eat....good food that is. Next time you are having a bad day try making your own whipped cream...it's really quite simple. I call it my midnight cap because sometimes when I can't sleep and I have a lot on my mind, or if I just want something sweet late at night, I make it as an alternative to chocolate (even though I would eat a warm chocolate ganache cake anytime)...
Midnight Cap:
heavy whipping cream
sugar (white or brown) or you can even use honey
vanilla extract (I have started to use coffee liquer)
In a bowl pour about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beat it until it becomes thick, add the sugar(add however much you like) and vanilla extract (1 tspn) and continue to beat until it becomes so thick that you can hold the bowl upside down over your head... I've learned my lesson :) and enjoy.