{N}osh…The Little Ones Eat: #AtoZChallenge 2016

Feeding the Little Ones today is much more exciting than yesteryear!   Today we allow the Little Ones to get in there,  roll up their sleeves and unleash their creative juices.  One thing for sure,  if you want to keep the ‘picki-ness’ and the prickly food attitudes at bay,  get those young chefs engaged and involved!

You know, they’ll never turn their

faces up at their creations.

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Instead,  they’ll be nosh-ing everything in sight!

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 In all fairness to the years gone by, there wasn’t the amazing social media outlets that virtually puts cooking with children on autopilot.  Perhaps if there were,  we would have the likes of these nutritious delights:

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Do you have a Little  One who loves to create yummy meals to nosh?

Do tell……

Next. The Letter {O}

{L}unch Box: #AtoZChallenge 2016

One habit that I’ve picked up since doing this cooking thing is, packing (and carrying) a lunch to work.  Lunch is usually the leftovers from the dinner of the night before.  I used to think nothing of dropping nearly ten dollars a day for lunch – and sometimes a little more if my work hours crept into the dinner hour!  I don’t even want to begin to do the math on how much money I’ve wasted on other people’s food  *gasp!*

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Dare I say that this business of packing lunch has awakened a new obsession (?).  The lunchbox.  Here’s a peak at a few of the ones in my ‘lunchbox rotation’:

This one is made of  candy wrappers.  I fell for the shine, the texture from the basket weave and the bright colors.

This one had me at the graphics.  It has that ‘Where’s Waldo’ kinda look. Never a dull moment.

I carry this one when my lunch isn’t so big.  This was a definite ‘must-have’.  Oh the memories of a simpler time!  Who can pass up Dr Seuss?

This one is pure nostalgia.  It’s the size of the ones I  carried as a little girl.  It doesn’t hold alot ….they seemed soooo big back then.

Besides,  it’s Audrey!

So there’s a sneak peek into my new obsession.

What are you  obsessing about these days?

Do tell. ….

Next. The Letter {M}

{K}nife Skills: #AtoZChallenge 2016

How do they do it?

Have you seen the lightening speed of the hands of chefs as they slice and dice onions, tomatoes and the like?

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Making the proper cuts can make the difference between seeing food prep as a chore or as a joy. Proper cuts can mean the difference between unevenly cooked dishes, poor flavor development, and standing ovation meals!

Who knew? *head scratch*

The art of properly holding the knife and producing uniformed cuts of food is so vital that knife skill is usually the first skill course that culinary student learn.

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Try as I might, I just can’t seem to get my hands coordinated enough to ‘make it work‘ *blink!  blink! *.  The whole knuckle-thing is so unnatural. My fingers have a mind of their own and staying tucked is not ‘on the menu’.

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I’m not going to give up. I’ll have to do loads more reading and watch a sh!t- load more videos!!!!!

I’m going too have …..  if I want to keep my fingers!

Have you aced  the knife?

Do tell….

Next. Letter {L}

{H}ash: #AtoZChallenge 2016

At one time or another you’ve had a meal that included hash.  I consider hash a ‘dump meal’ *and I mean it luv-ingly. Really*.  Got left-overs in the fridge? – Veggies? Meat? Onion? Garlic?  (or both). Add a potato.  Throw it all in a well- oiled skillet with your favorite seasonings

And there you have it. Hash.

The corn beef  version is the most well-known but once you realize that this is reeeally a meal made from anything in the fridge, it’ll soon be in the rotation for breakfast,  lunch and dinner.

No. Really. Just remember these few simple steps:

☆ Choose your Meat. Not a meat eater? Skip this step.

This is where you throw it into a skillet with a little oil. Cook until crisp.  Transfer to a plate – when done. Use a spoon with slots so that you leave the fat and juice.  The fat is where the flavor lives!

☆ To the fat left in the skillet, add anything that had an ‘onion-y’ taste.  Yep!  That means shallots,  garlic,  leeks even onions.  Season to taste (that’s if the fat is not already flavorful enough for you).  

☆ Remember to add in your potatoes.

Cook to your liking.  Want more veggies?  Add them now.

☆ Remember that meat that you cooked earlier?  Yep!  It wants back into the party.  Add it back into your skillet of goodies.  Again, cook to your liking.

{Didn’t use meat? Skip this step}

For more protein, add an egg.

Finish with your favorite cheese topping .

☆ Plate

Enjoy!

I’d luv to know your favorite Hash recipe

Do tell….

Next.  Letter {I}

{G}adgets: #AtoZChallenge 2016

I have a confession to make.  I am a gadget junky!  Not a luv’er of  all gadgets tho’.  If it’s electronic,  book-related or kitchen related, I go ‘ coo coo for CoCo Puffs’ over it!  *you do remember this tag line for the cereal,  don’t you? * 

The gadgets that get my attention had to meet only two criteria.  It must:

☆ be cute but functional

☆ and have the ‘ahhhhhhhhhhh!’ factor!

That’s it!  If it has those two things,  it has me at the letter ‘G’!

So I confessed about my luv for spices.  Gadgets are easily a close second in the area of vices!  And,  for the purpose of this post,  kitchen gadgets fit the bill nicely *flashing a big cheesy grin*

Here’s just a few of these little Luv-lies:

The Cute Factor : It’s a bowl

The Ahhhhhh Factor : The Splash!

 The Cute Factor: It’s a Cutting Board

The Ahhhhhh Factor: It’s a Paint Drip!

The Cute Factor: It’s  a Tea Infuser

The Ahhhhhh Factor: It’s A Dude just ‘hanging’ out!

These are just a few gadgets that I’m luv’ing now. I’ve got much more over on My Pinterest Page

What’s your food vice?

Do tell. …..

Next.  Letter {H}

{F}ood Trucks….A Few {F}un {F}acts: #AtoZChallenge 2016

The last time that I did this challenge, for my Letter ‘F‘, I blogged about ‘Farm to Table ‘

I luv’ed the concept then and even thought about re-blogging it for this post.  *wasn’t sure if that would be cheating.  Sheepish grin* .  So I picked a not-so-new-but-equally-as-exciting  ‘F’ word.

No. Not that F-word!

 The other one – Food Truck, of course!

Wikipedia defines a food truck as

“A food truck is a large vehicle equipped to cook and sell food.^[1] Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratch. Sandwiches, hamburgers, french fries, and other regional fast food fare is common. In recent years, associated with the pop-up restaurant phenomenon, food trucks offering gourmet cuisine and a variety of specialties and ethnic menus, have become particularly popular.^[2] Food trucks, along with portable food kiosks and food carts, are on the front line of the street food industry that serves an estimated 2.5 billion people every day.^[3][4]

Today’s food trucks are not the mobile grease machines of yesteryear that went, largely, unregulated *read ‘food petri dish’*.

The food trucks today can be as well-equipped as a well-appointed chef’s kitchen and clean enough to “eat off of the floor” *in the proverbial since*.

Food trucks existed well before the early 2000s, but many sources pinpoint 2008 as the unofficial onset of the food truck phenomenon.

I found this infographic about theseverything trendy ‘Meals on Wheels’. Check it out:

I’m lucky enough to work in an area that I can, at lunchtime,  run out and grab a food truck meal.  I hope that you can too!

Got a favorite food truck?

Do tell….

Next.  Letter {G}

{E}dible Flowers: #AtoZChallenge 2016

It’s planting season again, and I am soooo  ready to restart my herb garden. I haven’t had much luck growing flowers so last year I planted my first herb garden!  *grinning from ear to ear*.

Definitely have a green thumb with herbs!  The success of my herb garden has me rethinking adding flowers to this year’s planting project.

I figure,  if I’m going to plant flowers, why not make them edible!

I’m thinking like bouquet-worthy flowers.  Lavender,  Day Lily,  Nasturtium like flowers.

*I feel a learning moment coming on*

All I’ve ever done with flowers is arrange them in a vase.  Not eat them!  I went surfin’ and found the following resources the tells about these edible beauties:

☆ Want the Do’s & Don’ts? Find them HERE

☆ Just how DO you use them?  Look HERE

☆ Check HERE for some unique cooking ideas like the one below

Rather I decide to try my hand at something as fancy as the cookies,  I know that if a decide to grow edible flowers, they’ll definitely make a breathtaking salad!

Have you used edible flowers in any of your dishes?

Do tell…

Next. The Letter  {F}

 

{D}econstruction: #AtoZChallenge 2016

Can I tell you how much of a fan I am of  ‘Chopped‘- one of the many amazing culinary contest shows on the Food Network?  The premise – four contestants  *with better than mediocre culinary skills*  compete against each other by turning ‘mystery  basket ingredients’ into a three course meal.

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 The prize?  Bragging rights and ten thousand dollars! *blink. blink*  

YEP!

I did say ‘ten thousand smackeroos!

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Of course it’s not as simple as cooking whats  in the basket.  Of course not!  That wouldn’t be fun,  right?  RIGHT!  So here’s the twist…..

… the ingredients have to be presented in a ‘deconstructed’ form of their original self!  Alright then!  Since I’m new to the notion that really good food involves more than opening a package and popping it into the microwave, the whole idea of deconstruction – relating to food …. and what’s that?!

the best that I can come up with  *and this after shamelessly watching some uncalculated number of episodes! *  my safe guess is that deconstructed meals have these three ‘Musts‘:

☆ you take foods that are normally combined in the dish

☆ change their forms – use your culinary know-how

and

☆then plate them together in a different way.

‘BOO YOW’

DECONSTRUCTION! !!!!

It’s not just about taking the dish apart, but putting its elements back together.

I know that it’ll be a minute before I can do this little trick!

What food tricks do you have?

Do tell….

Next. The Letter {E}

{C}hermoula: #AtoZChallenge 2016

Since starting this, now love affair with all things food, I cannot stop buying herbs and spices!  I’ve gone from having salt,  pepper, old bay and garlic salt as the only spices on my spice rack to an impressively well-stocked spice closet!

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Finding meals that include these spices & herbs is very exciting. Replicating classic dishes that include many of these spices is fulfilling and satisfying. It makes me feel very ‘Top Chef -like’. *smiling coyly*.

Since today’s letter is ‘C‘ I went in a search for recipe that would rep my {spice} rack well.  I came up with Chermoula- a spicy North African sauce,  that can do  double duty as a marinade.

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Charmoula (you’ll also see it spelled Chermoula) is a spicy sauce and marinade made of a complex spice mixture containing- among other things- herbs, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, cumin,  paprika, coriander and in some cases,  lemon. This sauce is used on meat and fish and can even be adjusted to make a unique vinaigrette.

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It may be a little while before I mix up this tangy delight.  Mainly because I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to spicy hot flavors.  But when I do,  or will definitely be blog fodder.

What herbs and spices are your favorites?

Do tell. …

Next…. the Letter {D}

{B}ourbon: #AtoZChallenge 2016

Hey Luv-lies

Day Two of the #AtoZChallenge. And yes, the party is heating up!   *Woot! Woot!*

So I’m watching one of my favorite food shows – you know,  the one with the hip young dyed-blonde haired chef that visits “Triple D’s” in a fire-engine red sports car.   Yep.  That show.  One of the Triple D’s that he dropped in on was serving up a plate of chicken that had me drooling! *grabbing a napkin*

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You know sometimes I wonder why I temp myself watching these shows.   All of the amazing food has me adding to a list of  ‘places to eat if I’m in _________ town’ *fill in the blank*. I just know that my list is going to come in handy….. I just know it! 

I wait,  pen in hand, for the segment where they name the ingredients and was surprised to learn that the secret ingredient of all of this deliciousness is {B}ourbon!  Who’d of thunk it!

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The smokey caramel & vanilla flavors enhances the distinct flavors of,  both,  sweet and savory dishes.  That makes it BFFs with sugar, pecans, chocolate *umm hmmm- chocolate*, mint,  peaches, apples and pork.  With so many flavor pairings, bourbon is great in marinades,  sauces, glazes, brines, cakes,  pies, cookies AND of course,  chicken!

Bourbon whiskey, which gets its name from Bourbon County, Kentucky, is distilled from a grain mash that’s at least 51% corn (but usually 65% to 80%) and may also contain barley, rye, and sometimes wheat (as in Maker’s Mark brand). The distilled liquor is then aged in new charred oak barrels from which it gets its color and smoky, caramel undertones.

Save the Top Shelf stuff (Blanton’s & Eagle Rare ) for sipping and toasting. For cooking up  bourbon-infused yumminess, the simple stuff (Jim Beam, Wild Turkey,  Old Crow,  or Heaven’s Hill) will do just fine.  *Wink* *Wink*

Have you used bourbon in any of your #Yumlicious dishes?

Do tell. …

Next….. the Letter {C}