Tuscan Peasant Bread with Olives

The first of the herbs are coming in from the garden and yesterday I bought new onions and garlic at the farmer's market in Temple, NH ... today all I could think about was a fresh vegetable fry-up over some penne pasta and a good loaf of bread for slopping up the juices and some olive oil ... I can taste it already!

I bought The Bread Bible awhile ago and have been itching to try a few new bread recipes, so I got out my clay bread baker and made this Tuscan Bread ... I put green and black olives into the dough and plan to have a small dish of olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper for knoshing with it.

Harvest Bars ... and a Story

I went through a phase when the kids were all in high school when I tried to get them to eat more fruits and nuts. It seemed that they were forever wanting junk food and, while I love a good potato chip, I realized that good carbs and fats were locked in other treats that were just as satisfying as chips and chocolate bars. I discovered this fruit bar recipe on the back of one of those bags of dried fruit and began making these bars as treats for sleep-overs, sports team half-time breaks, bake sales, and the family cookie jar.

Sigh ... they last a lot longer these days when I make them.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Sometimes you just need a sunny porch, a good sweet muffin, and a cuppa Joe. What more can I say? Norm, a Facebook friend, posted a link to a recipe for Snickerdoodle muffins the other day. I happened to read it mid-morning... just about coffeebreak time ... the rest is history.

Carrot and Chickpea Tagine with Greek Yogurt and Caraway Rice

It's such a sunny hot day ... sunny and hot, just like this gorgeous plate of leftover Carrot and Chickpea Tagine that comes from sunny northern Africa!

What a mixed -up, but wonderful dinner we had last evening! This Morrocan tagine paired really well with my favorite take on steamed rice (a favorite from an Indian restaurant we frequented in North Carolina). Dollops of Greek yogurt cooled the heat of the spicy hot and sweet tagine. We also broiled chicken wings that were treated with lemon juice, olive oil and a lemon-pepper spice rub. A cold bottle of  LaBelle's Seyval Blanc gave a light fruity something to sip ... sometimes it all comes together in such a pleasant way!

Warm Potato Salad

I've made this salad three times now and I feel that I have finally got it the way I like it ... you need to make it and make it your own. So here you go ... so simple, so good, so perfect with any roasted ham or fish fry or grilled chicken (put some tarragon in the dressing for the salad sitting beside chicken!) or steaks. My,my,my!

I make this salad 'by guess and by gosh', as my Mom would say. I eyeball how many potatoes I need for the number of folks eating and then play with the amount of dressing to toss in. I'll give you servings for four ... how's that?

All That's Left Are the Crumbs ...

Our little church joined forces with a local artisans group this weekend to host a craft fair and community potluck supper in celebration of  springtime. It was a fun event that brought different people together. Some people baked cakes for a benefit cake auction, some baked them for a small cake contest, some brought their wares to sell at the craft fair, but everyone contributed in some way to a nice evening of dinner and chatter. The cake auction raised a small amount of money to seed the efforts of our local 250th celebration that will be coming up in 2012. A fun day, all around!

So ... I made a Coconut Carrot Cake with the requisite cream cheese frosting to contribute to the cake auction, as I am not the competitive type. I left the cake contest to far better bakers than I!

Talk About A Hasty Lunch! Some Fun On The L Train

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BDZFPpLMRU

Happy Friday, all! These guys make prep and serving an art, what a hoot!

Pulled Pork in Spicy Red Sauce with Cole Slaw

 

There's nothing like a big old sloppy, gooey pulled pork sandwich with an ice cold beer!

A while back, I came across a post that had a simple way of treating a pork shoulder to a massage with some great Tex-Mex spices, a long slow bath in a bubbling broth spiked with chilis, cilantro, onions, and garlic and then a pull session with a finish in some picante tomato sauce. Golly! What could be better, I thought?

Take the pulled pork and the picante sauce and make enchiladas! Yes ... it was stellar! Pam @ For the Love of Cooking graciously gave me permission to use her recipe in a recipe share. I've made this recipe twice since first seeing it. It is in my personal cook book at this point. It's that good ... and it's totally adaptable to so many other applications!