Potato Bundles

These are SO good. You have to try them! Full of flavor, tender chunks of baked potato with a creamy sauce. I find myself with staples in my kitchen such as potatoes. On any given weeknight, I find myself trying to piece together a meal and get it ready before I leave for class at 4 or 5pm, so Bryce and cook it when he gets home. I'll find a couple frozen chicken breasts, or hamburger meat to thaw, and then I see a bag of potatoes. Of course, you could do a baked potato, or mashed, but this is such a delicious twist on your regular potato. Plus, it doesn't have any irregular ingredients (that you wouldn't normally have sitting around) other than maybe the heavy cream.



I found this recipe on one of my fave food blogs, Pioneer Woman. You can find the recipe here.

Or here:

Potato Bundles
from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients
6 whole Russet Potatoes
1/2 onion, diced
1 stick butter
1/2 cups heavy cream
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
Paprika to taste
2 tbsp minced (or dried) parsley

Pile potatoes and onions on a square of foil. Add 2 tbsp of butter. Splash on cream. Then sprinkle on salt, paprika, and black pepper. Sprinkle parsley on top. Wrap bundles tightly and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until very tender.

Serve bundles right on the plate. Serves 8.

Dad's Pico de Gallo

In Mexican cuisine, Pico de gallo (Spanish for "rooster's beak") is a fresh uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, onion, and sometimes chilis (typically jalapeños or serranos). Other ingredients may also be added, such as lemon or lime juice, fresh cilantro (coriander leaf), cucumber, radish or other fresh firm pulpy fruit such as mango. (Wikipedia, where else?)

It's a very simple recipe, and pretty much all recipes for it are very similar. At most Adams family get togethers, Dad makes a big bowl of salsa that we snack on all week/weekend. Bryce and Tim could probably finish the whole bowl in a couple hours if they were given enough chips. I love it because it's all fresh ingredients, and you can control how much of each ingredient you prefer.

When I studied abroad in Mexico, I remember at a lot of restaurants and meals, it would just be like any other condiment expected, sitting in a little bowl at the table.

When Dad makes it, and the few times that I have made it, we don't usually make exact measurements in the recipe.

Pico de Gallo
(approximated)
Makes a medium size bowl. Can refrigerate for a few days.

Ingredients
1 onion, diced (depending on how much you like onions)
1-2 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds if you don't want it too spicy!)
Juice of 1 lime (I love the lime, so I like about 2 limes juiced)
5-8 tomatoes, diced (we usually use Roma tomatoes)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Dash of cumin

*Can also add 1 mango, diced or chopped up pineapple chunks

One of my weaknesses

I have to really think about the decision to buy these when I am at Target, because I know that I can and probably will eat the entire bag within 1-2 days.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

My mouth is watering just thinking about this cake. Maybe it's just because I love baked goods in the breakfast category...coffee cakes, tea cakes, crumb cakes, croissants, breads, pastries, scones, muffins. Does it get much better than that?

I randomly found this recipe when I had about 1 cup of fresh blueberries that were on the verge of getting too ripe. There's not much I can say other than you need to try this recipe.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
Recipe from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. I use a fork. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.





I actually found a video of Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) making this. Without cable, and missing the Food Network channel, I liked watching it on youtube.

Caprese salad

Or "Insalata Caprese" pronounced "kah-pray-zay." Insalata Caprese (salad in the style of Capri) is a simple salad from the Italian region of Campania, made of sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil. In Italy, unlike most salads, it is usually served as an antipasto (first course), not a contorno (side dish).
(Info from Wikipedia)

Summer is a perfect time for this refreshing salad with fresh tomatoes and basil. Plus, if you're Italian, it's very patriotic with the 3 colors of the flag. I wish I was Italian.

Some people will also add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Some people also will serve it in a different style than I did by slicing the cheese and tomatoes in thick slices. I think it's just naturally a very pretty salad.

(photo from romaexperience.com)

I don't feel like I need to give a recipe. Tomatoes+Mozzerella+Basil+olive oil+salt+pepper. All to taste.

P.S. Having a basil plant is SO much cheaper than buying it at the store!! And so much more convenient...because you can use just a couple leaves, and the others won't go bad in the fridge! Plus, you don't have to have a garden to have a basil plant...just grow it near a sunny window in a pot.

Store vs. Garden

From the store vs. from the garden.

Crazy, huh?

(The garden ones are smaller and/or looks like it needs some clearasil)

Smoothie

I got on a smoothie kick this summer. It's so easy and refreshing. In Venezuela, "jugo" (juice) is served at all restaurants, and it's simply fruit blended and served. I loved the parchita (passion fruit), melon (cantaloupe), and fresa (strawberry). In Mexico, it's "aguas frescas" (fresh water) made from blended fruit. Love it!! I really like the agua de jamaica (hibiscus flowers) and horchata (rice and coconut).

Anyways, for my smoothies in Southwest Virginia, I usually throw in a ripe banana, some vanilla yogurt (eyeball it-between 1/2-1 cup), a few frozen strawberries (5-6), and some frozen blueberries (1/4-1/2 cup).

I'm intrigued by green smoothies. I haven't tried one yet. It sounds crazy to add spinach or kale to a fruity smoothie. But I have heard great things about them...

Grilling

We love to grill. We love the summer. Grill and summer just go together. Too bad it's almost over.

Grilled chicken, grilled burgers and dogs, grilled veggies, grilled kabobs, grilled steaks.

At our co-op that I was so excited about, it turns out that they sold too many shares, so the produce was very limited unless you got there RIGHT when they opened. And even then, I wasn't how much variety you'd get. They also found themselves in a pickle with other issues. Some friends have talked about just getting their money back. I would like to get a refund, seeing as though I only got 3 shares, but who knows. Anyways, there was an abundance of zucchini and pickling cucumbers in July. I mean, tons of them. One week when I went, I only got zucchini and a cucumber. 5 lbs of it.



Zucchini on the grill is WAY better tasting than steamed. In my opinion. Toss it in olive oil, sprinkle some good kosher or sea salt on it and throw it on the grill.



We eat a lot of chicken around here as well. It's versatile...and more economical than a good steak. When we grill chicken outside, we tend to go with the bone-in pieces because we have found that the bone and skin keeps the chicken moist. BBQ chicken on the grill. Yum. Might just have to go to the store to get a couple chicken breasts for tonight.