Category: Food and Drink

New to the Grill- Garlic, Rosemary and Balsamic Marinated Lamb Chops

One of the family favorites here is bone-in pork chops. Nice, thick chops that always are too big to eat in one meal… The Girl and I have to save the leftovers for breakfast- forget your Wheaties, I tell you leftover grilled anything is truly the Breakfast of Champions! I had to learn how to grill lamb riblets from The Husband’s aunt, as my parents never served them. We will make them occasionally, these beautiful grilled lamb riblets, cut from a small, Frenched rack of lamb… yum!

But never have we grilled the diminutive lamb chops that we have seen in the butcher’s case. So, we made some tonight!

This was a very simple recipe we came up with after looking online for ideas-

Garlic, Rosemary and Balsamic Marinated Lamb Chops 
about five servings, two small chops per person

  • 2 1/2 lbs Lamb Chops
  • 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons chopped, fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried and crushed)
  • 6-8 crushed or minced garlic cloves

IMG_7013In a zip-top bag or glass baking dish, place the lamb chops and remaining ingredients. Rub the oil, vinegar and seasonings into the chops by hand or by squishing the bag around until the chops are well covered.

Refrigerate the chops in the marinade for two to eight hours.

IMG_7019Grill over medium-high heat for three to four minutes per side, less for rare, more for medium doneness.

We served this with roasted cauliflower, spinach and caprese skewers.

Wow, these were delicious! What a nice change form the usual pork chops or sirloin. Lamb is an ever so slightly gamey, meaty alternative. The meat was so very tender and the bone helped to keep the little chops from drying out on the grill. Did I mention how tender these were?

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Two Moms Finally Let Loose at the Fair, Part One

We made it!

We came, we lingered, we laughed. Oh, how we laughed.

Black Magic roses... stunning color and shape!
Black Magic roses… stunning color and shape!

We delighted in the floral specimens, scarcely believing that roses could achieve that color or dahlias could be that perfect. We wanted to die for the level of fluffiness we witnessed in the bunnies on display. The student art floored us- what talent! The collections and cooking entries included everything from the amazing to the confusing. We left with enough examples of beauty and to fodder for laughter for ages to come.

THE FLOWERS

Fair Award Winner "Charlotte Ann"
“Charlotte Ann”
"Ketchup and Mustard"
“Ketchup and Mustard”

Roses have names, we know that. “Peace, Mr. Lincoln, Iceberg, and Julia Child” are all common varieties, but today at the fair we found many far from common- names like the enigmatic titles given to race horses or those found on the back of sailboats… a few could be romance novel titles, honestly.

Stunning "Memphis Magic"
“Memphis Music”
"George Burns," what a fabulous tribute!
“George Burns”
"Power Point" is another winner
“Power Point”

A sampling: “Renegade, Black Magic, Playboy, The Fairy, Wise Portia, First Kiss, Super Hero, Betty Boop, Foolish Pleasures, Mother’s Love, Power Point, Nemesis, Seattle Destination, Bees Knees, Shameless, Lusciously Lucy, Monkey Business, Jump for Joy, Hot Cocoa, Gourmet Popcorn. ”

Huge dahlias!
Huge dahlias!
"Clouds and Rain"
“AC Clouds and Rain”
"Mary Eveline"
“Mary Eveline”

The dahlia displays were no less stunning- what amazing symmetry and size! Annika’s take-away after seeing the dahlias was how much these flowers seem to jump right out of a Dr. Seuss book. I left wishing I could come back with a golf club. “Fore!!” Just kidding… kind of.

THE CRITTERS

We were both sad to see that there were no fancy chickens in the livestock barns, but were completely delighted with the bunnies. Oh my GOSH, it was a fluffy overload. How can something be that impossibly fluffy? Here are a few of our favorites:

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Annika’s Goth Bunny
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World’s Cutest Bunny
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Fluffiest Neighbor #2

These are a few of the fluffiest, cutest, most adorable critters I have ever seen at a state fair.

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Fluffiest Neighbor #1

There were as many people crowded around the bunnies as there were anywhere. Everyone wants to just marvel at their sweetness, and who can blame them?

We left the animals saying goodbye to the mama pig and her piglets, reminding Annika of how she prefers to eat marzipan pigs to the real ones. Mama Piggy gave me an entirely different idea: it was high time to visit the corndog stand.

Why I am really at the fair...
Why I am really at the fair…

Coming up in Part Two- Student Art and Photography, and the Home and Hobby collections, displays, crafts and foods.

Home Made Spanakopita and a Nice Pinot Grigio…

My good friend Joy has been in the same boat with me for the end of this school year. She’s another mom with 8th and 12th grade graduations, and I just scored- she shared party leftovers with me.

IMG_6985Joy’s spanakopita now shares the same ranking as my mom-in-law’s enchiladas- dishes that I will never order at a restaurant ever again because someone’s home made version can never be topped. Ever. I humbly place my cinnamon rolls on that pedestal, too. Joy’s pastries were the lightest, most buttery, cheese and spinach-filled Greek pillows of happiness. Unbelievable.

This stuff was that good. Thanks, Joy, what fabulous snacks!

IMG_6986And thanks, too, for the bottle of the Pinot Grigio, the Santa Margherita 2013 from Italy. I’m not too familiar with Pinot Grigio, but I like how it is light, a little sweet and fruity, but still a little on the dry side. I prefer less sweet wines, and this was lovely with the different melons and the spanakopita. A very nice, light wine to sit and share with friends this summer- what wine isn’t better when shared with friends? Joy says it is in Costco now at a great price. Get your summer wines stocked up, everyone!

Rainbow Carrots… Magically Delicious, Maybe?

A couple of weeks ago, a bag of miniature rainbow carrots caught my eye at the grocery store- it is funny how my attempt at finding new things to do each and every day has me looking for the novel in my every-day activities. I picked up the carrots thinking my kids would like these more colorful versions for their lunches… nope. The carrots couldn’t compete with the end of the year parties and activities and got shoved to the back of the vegetable drawer.

Cal-Organic's Rainbow Carrots
Cal-Organic’s Rainbow Carrots

About ten days later I rediscovered the bag and they became the side dish at dinner. The rainbow carrots did not taste any different than ordinary, every-day orange carrots, but they looked really nice! As with other carrots, they are available in the pre-peeled bags as baby carrots, but are about half the price if you buy them by the bunch. Really, for a couple of bucks, this makes a nice change at dinner and was an inexpensive way to try something new. I’d buy them again- maybe the next time I volunteer to bring the vegetables and dip at a potluck?

Microwaved for 5 minutes, ready for the oven after seasoning...
Microwaved for 5 minutes, ready for the oven after seasoning…
All done! They keep their color, but taste the same as ordinary carrots.
All done! They keep their color, but taste the same as ordinary carrots.

Roasted Carrots
Serves 4

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

  • 1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped about two to three inches long… “baby carrot” sized
  • 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper, just a sprinkle of each
  • 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

Toss carrots and olive oil together in a baking dish such as an 8″x 8″ baking pan. Sprinkle brown sugar, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder over the carrots and toss again. Bake carrots for 45 minutes to one hour… I like my vegetables well cooked and go for the full hour, usually. If you are more pressed for time, you can reduce the baking time to 20-30 minutes by microwaving the carrots alone for 5 minutes, then toss in the oil and seasonings.

Until trying them roasted, I never cared for cooked carrots. Yum!

Let’s See If That Dump Cake Recipe Book Really Delivers…

I’m dubious, but I bought this book at the drugstore. Have you seen the late-night infomercial with the lady mixing up delicious cakes in minutes, no… SECONDS flat! “As Seen On T.V.” stuff… I know you are wondering about it, too, don’t deny it… we all are on the verge of purchasing a case of Left Handed Turnip Twaddlers, just like Opus the Penguin.*

I was game enough to plunk down ten bucks at CVS- no dealing with shipping, handling or over-the-phone credit card purchases. For less than the cost of a movie I will entertain myself for a couple hours with either surprisingly delicious cake results, or, even more fun, surprisingly ridiculous, disastrous, experiments.

It’s a win-win around here!

Three ingredients go into the greased 9″x13″ pan- Berries, Chocolate Cake Mix, and a Stick of Butter
Step One: 3 cups of strawberries go into a greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan.
Step Two: Evenly sprinkle the chocolate cake mix on top of the berries.
Step Three: Lay one sliced stick of butter on top, trying to cover as much of the cake as possible.
Finished cake has some spots with dry cake mix...
45 minutes at 350 and here it is. Finished cake has some spots with dry cake mix…
But, it tasted pretty good.
…but, it tasted pretty good. This wasn’t too bad, honestly. I wouldn’t make it for company… but I’m going to give it another try with one of the apple cake recipes

*Can I get a shout out from anyone who recognized the Bloom County reference?