Week in Review: Space Oddity, Poda, and Memorial Day

Happy Friday!

Very much ready for the weekend.  Here in the U.S., it is Memorial Day Weekend.  It is a day of remembrance for the men and women who have died serving our country.  Despite the fun to be had with cookouts and picnics, it is important to keep this in mind on Monday and honor our fallen soldiers.

With that being said, let’s talk about food and entertaining.

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I love a good burger!  Now, I know for all my vegetarian and vegan readers I may be loosing you here (but make sure to check out the other recipes at the end of this segment)… but for those omnivores out there, you know what I’m talking about!  And Memorial Day Weekend is always a great weekend to grill out.  Mama’s Gotta Bake takes the art of burger making to a whole new level.  Make sure to check out her Burger Bible full of great tips and tricks for making the perfect burger.

Not into meat, or need some great additions to your Memorial Day eating, these recipes from fellow bloggers are sure to please!

Potato Crusted Italian Spinach Mini Quiches from Curious Cuisiniere

Green Chili-Chard Baked Frittata with Farmhouse Cheddar from Full and Content

Cucumber Avocado Tea Sandwich Bites from The Humble Foodie

Goat Cheese and Zucchini Blintzes with Cilantro Cream Sauce from What Jew Wanna Eat

Coconut Lime Macaroons from ButterLust

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Hopefully this weekend you will be spending it with family and friends.  Possibly they will be staying one or more nights.  Erin over at Neaten Your Nest did a wonderful post on House Cleaning After Guests.  Perhaps not thought of as the most exciting part of having company, but Erin tips are a great reminder of things to do so they don’t get put off for weeks to come.  And while you’re looking at doing a little cleaning after they leave, make sure to check out Neaten Your Nest’s recipes for Green Cleaning Products that you can make at home!

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For the last week and a half I have had David Bowie’s Space Oddity in my head.  This is, in fact, one of my favorite Bowie songs.  I love the whole Major Tom saga.  (Which means I also enjoy ‘Ashes to Ashes’  and ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ which include the Major Tom character).  So needless to say I am very excited about Canadian Astronaut,Chris Hadfield’s version of the song that he did WHILE IN SPACE!

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Catch up with this week’s Green Door Hospitality posts!

Homemade Staples:  Bleu Cheese Dressing

Lunchtime Hospitality:  Roasted Red Pepper and Zucchini Soup

Wordless Wednesday — Chicken Cacti

Simple Appetizer Alert:  Goat Cheese Crostini

Simple Appetizer Alert: Goat Cheese Crostini

I love recipes with versatility.  There’s nothing better than having a basic recipe that can be modified to create several variations.  This is one of those such recipes.  For this tasty and simple appetizer I used garlic and fresh parsley.  However, the pairings with the goat cheese are practically endless!  But in the effort to not make this post endless, I’ll just name a few.  Feel free to chime in other combinations in the comments though!

• Garlic and Parsley
• Lemon and Thyme
• Sun-dried Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives
• Cilantro and Lime
• Rosemary and Garlic
• Honey and Thyme (this is what our dear friend Chris made as part of our wedding appetizers)

**When combining it with herbs, make sure to use fresh.  Dried herbs will get lost and their flavor won’t come through as well.

Goat Cheese Crostini — modified from Cooking Light Magazine

• 4 ounces goat cheese, softened
• 2 Tbs fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• French bread baguette

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut baguette into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Lay flat on a cookie sheet and toast in oven for 10 minutes.

Combine goat cheese, parsley, and garlic together in a medium bowl.  Stir until well combined and soft.

Spread goat cheese mixture evenly on baguette slices.

If desired, pop back into oven for 5-7 minutes to cook the goat cheese ever so slightly.  (This is my personal preference but it also tastes quite good without this last step).

Wordless Wednesday — Chicken Cacti

Lunchtime Hospitality: Roasted Red Pepper and Zucchini Soup

The subtle flavor of the zucchini is the perfect compliment to the roasted red peppers in this soup.  With only a little bit of garlic and oregano, I kept the seasoning simple in this recipe so that the vegetables could shine.  Despite the weather warming up, this is a great soup to have during the spring and summer months.  Serve with a crusty baguette and a salad for the perfect meal!

Roasted Red Pepper and Zucchini Soup

• 8 oz roasted red peppers, thinly sliced
• 8 oz zucchini, thinly sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs dry oregano
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Cracked black pepper, to taste
• Aleppo red pepper flakes (optional)

In a dutch oven, or large pot, heat 2 Tbs olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and let sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Add roasted red peppers and zucchini and sauté for 10 minutes.  Add oregano, as well as salt and pepper to taste.

Pour vegetable broth and cream over the peppers and zucchini mixture.  Bring to a boil for a couple minutes.

Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat, and using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a smooth consistency.

Return to heat and adjust seasoning to taste.  If you feel the soup needs more of a “kick”, add 1 tsp or so of aleppo red pepper flakes.

 

Homemade Staples: Bleu Cheese Dressing

As I’ve mentioned before, nothing beats homemade salad dressing.  When I make a dressing I know how fresh it is, and exactly what ingredients are going into it (or not going into it)!

Bleu Cheese Dressing is a big favorite in our home.  It’s great with a variety of different types of salad — but my favorite is what you see above.  A wedge of iceberg lettuce smothered in bleu cheese dressing with fresh bacon.  But anyway you serve it, the pungent, savory flavor of bleu cheese is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Bleu Cheese Dressing — modified from David Lebovitz

• 4 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 3-4 drops of Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl combine bleu cheese, salt, and pepper.   Mash bleu cheese with the back of a fork until finely crumbled.

Add sour cream, buttermilk, and lemon juice and mix until combined.  Add Worcestershire sauce a drop or two at a time, tasting until you feel that the dressing flavor is where you want it to be.  If dressing is too thick for your taste, add a little more buttermilk until consistency is right.

Week In Review: Golden Girls, Consumerism, and Food Revolution Day

Happy Friday Everyone!

AND…. Happy Food Revolution Day!  (And a big thanks to Miss Marzipan for cluing me in to this!)

So what is Food Revolution Day??  I’ll tell you…or rather I will have them tell you. “Food Revolution Day on 17 May is a global day of action for people to make a stand for good food and essential cooking skills. It’s a chance for people to come together within their homes, schools, workplaces and communities to cook and share their kitchen skills, food knowledge and resources. Food Revolution Day aims to raise awareness about the importance of good food and better food education for everyone by focusing on three simple actions – cook it, share it, live it. The first Food Revolution Day took place on 19 May 2012 with more than 1,000 events in 664 cities across 62 countries.” (Sourced from Food Revolution Day website)

Check out the Food Revolution Day website for activities going on all over the world.  But even if there isn’t something going on in your area, you can still take part.  Just cook something!!   Have some friends and family over.  Share in making some good, homemade food!

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Speaking of good, homemade food…I am personally declaring this dessert week!  All of the delicious recipes from other bloggers that were beckoning me to link to are dessert related.  So make sure to check these out to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Chai Chocolate Pots from Things My Belly Likes

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Cake from A Taste of Wintergreen

Salted Pecan Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze from Welcome Company

Peach and Strawberry Popsicles from In.gredients

Almond Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce from Forks Up

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Nowadays there seems to be a Phone App for everything.  Some of them seem to be silly and pointless.  Some are fun –like the app that Megan over at Pink O’Clock shared that allows you to add borders, fonts, etc. to your phone photos.  And some will go a long way in advancing our consumer knowledge of what kinds of products we buy and where those products come from.  If you are not already aware of this, check out the Forbes article that discusses BUYCOTT, a new app that allows you to scan product bar codes to determine what company produces it and who owns that company.  From what I’ve heard they are still working out a few bugs, but I am excited about the concept of becoming a more educated purchaser.

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I love the Golden Girls.  And what’s not to love.  The crazy and fun hijinks of four older women living in Florida –brilliant.  So when I saw this on BuzzFeed, I just had to share!  28 Ways You Identify With Dorothy From The Golden Girls 

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Catch up with this week’s Green Door Hospitality posts!

Elegant and Affordable:  Creamy Lemon Asparagus Soup

Impromptu Entertaining:  Meyer Lemon Bars

Ingredient Spotlight:  Zucchini

Wordless Wednesday — Shadows Fall on the Stable

Homemade Staples:  Pecorino-Black Pepper Bread Sticks

Guest Post on Gourmet Veggie Mama:  Classic Mojitos

A Pitcher of Mojitos for Everyone: Guest Posting on Gourmet Veggie Mama

Today I am very excited to be a guest blogger on Gourmet Veggie Mama as part of her Cocktail Thursday Series!

Lauren is a freelance writer and editor.  Her blog, Gourmet Veggie Mama, is wonderful blog full of tasty vegetarian recipes.  Plus, Gourmet Veggie Mama is a fellow member of the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance!

I encourage you to check out my Classic Mojitos Recipe and while you are there to take a look around at Gourmet Veggie Mama!  Her Chard and Caramelized Onion Pasta Bake sounds like heaven!