 If serving corn salsa for dinner is wrong - I don't want to be right. It's so stinking hot outside that salsa really seems like the best option for dinner. You know it's a scorcher when it's too hot to even stand on the deck and grill something for dinner. (I'm determined to try and fry an egg on my back deck one day -- I'll keep you posted on that little experiment. ) 🍳 Wouldn't we all just prefer to eat salsa and chips for dinner anyway? This roasted corn salsa is delicious as a meal. It's equally delicious on a taco and a burrito. It's delicious on a salad and and over a bowl of grits. I would eat it in the air, I would eat it in a chair. I would eat it in the car and in a bar. I couldn't resist. 😂  This scrumptious roasted corn salsa is refreshing and hearty and the sweet corn just steals the show. You know how much I love a good pan of roasted vegetables and adding just a few fresh herbs and spices really brings out their flavor beautifully. Stock up on the chips friends - you're going to eat a lot of them while you devour this salsa.  Roasted Corn Salsa 1 pound plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise 2 ears corn, halved lengthwise 2 onion, sliced into 1/2" rings 1 poblano chile, seeded and halved 2 jalapeno, seeded and halved 2 Tablespoon canola oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled 1 teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons lime juice 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 12 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
 Process lime juice, cayenne, tomatoes, garlic and 1/2 t. salt until smooth. Add to corn mixture along with cilantro. Let sit for 1 hour.
Sometimes I add a half and avocado to my corn salsa because I'm obsessed with avocados and because they make everything better. I'd love to hear from any of you who make this salsa with modifications. Let me know what kinds of peppers, seasonings, and spices do you add to make it unique. 🌶
Ciao!
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 When it rains it pours. Literally. Right into our master bedroom closet. 💧We've known that our roof was in bad shape for quite a while now but honestly, we've been trying to ignore the not-so-great looking patch repair jobs and hoping that our HOA would also turn a blind eye to the mismatched shingles covering the giant holes in our roof. We've even tried praying for hail to come and finish it off so that our insurance company could help with some of the cost of replacing the roof. 🤣 Well, after this latest leak, we were forced to deal with our roof problem head on. It was either that or start wearing wet clothes everyday. As much as we hated to spend the money, we bit the bullet and shelled out the cash to replace our roof. (At least this major home expense is above ground so that we can actually SEE where our money went. 💩)  So while I wallow in self pity over our money pit of a house, I will console myself with my favorite foods. I'm not sure why the consumption of decadent food makes me feel better about spending money on costly home repairs but somehow it does. Maybe I feel like I'm actually SAVING money that we would otherwise be spending on restaurant meals. OR maybe food has always been my way of comforting myself. (Phycologists would have field day with me! 🤣) I made this Sicilian Caponata to serve alongside some grilled chicken breasts. It was super easy to put together while the chicken cooked on the grill. I also prefer this stovetop method to roasting vegetables because I didn't have to heat up the house by turning my oven on in the middle of summer which is how I normally roast my vegetables. I think this Caponata is going to be a side dish that I make a LOT this summer.  Sicilian Caponata 6 Tablespoons oil 1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch chunks 1 zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 red onion, cut into 1 inch pieces 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 2 Tablespoons white sugar 1 Tablespoon tomato paste 1/4 cup fresh basil
Stir in basil just before serving.  The good news is that our new roof is on and it looks amazing. The bad news is that the forklift driver that was delivering our shingles, knocked out irrigation system by driving over the power box. 🤦🏻♀️ Oh well, it's time to move on to our next repair job anyway. 💁🏻♀️
Ciao!  Do you have any idea how many zucchini a single plant can produce in one season? It's a ridiculous number. I would go as far as to say a single zucchini plant can yield more zucchini than my entire neighborhood could consumer in a summer. I didn't realize how prolific zucchini plants can be and I foolishly put 4 plants in my garden one summer. 😬 Needless to say, I became a door to door zucchini saleswoman that summer - pushing my wares on anyone who would accept them. When I wasn't able to give away my vegetables anymore, I started disguising my zucchini in delicious baked goods like breads and muffins. Not too many people turned down my freshly baked zucchini treats. (There's more than one way to get rid of extra zucchini.) 😂  I ate so much zucchini that summer that I thought I was going to turn green. I scoured the internet and cookbooks for new and interesting ways to prepare it. I only wish that I would have had this grilled zucchini recipe in my repertoire when I was drowning in the long green vegetable. The delicious Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is the perfect compliment to this Grilled Zucchini. I love how delicious this zucchini really is without adding sugar or fat or cheese. A healthy zucchini recipe that tastes amazing. This might even be worth planting a single zucchini plant next year.  Check out this beautiful pepper that I found. (Is it weird to describe a vegetable as beautiful?)  Grilled Zucchini with Red Pepper Sauce 4 zucchini 1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded 1 1/2 Tablespoons + 1/3 cup olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 Tablespoons sliced almonds 1 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 garlic cloves 2 teaspoon chopped fresh basil
 Arrange zucchini over sauce and drizzle with remaining sauce. Serve. I have a feeling that this grilled zucchini was meant to be a side dish, but I turned mine into a main course. I served it alongside a spoonful of whole wheat couscous and triangles of toasted flatbread. It was a delicious way to incorporate more vegetables into our diet.
Ciao!  Signing up for a camera class was one of the best ideas I never had. I did so much complaining about being an inadequate photographer to my husband that he finally got tired of hearing it and he bought me a gift certificate to the Atlanta School of Photography. His not-so-subtle gift was just the nudge I needed to get myself the help that I needed to improve my photography skills. I hesitantly signed up for the most basic level workshop that the school had to offer and and invited a friend so I wouldn't have to endure the class alone. If I was going to look like a complete incompetent, I needed to bring along some emotional support. Even though my friend and I were confident that we were about to make fools of ourselves, we packed up our gear and headed to Atlanta for our 5 hour, intensive, hands-on camera workshop. What did we have to lose - except our pride?
Much to my surprise, we were not the most unknowledgeable students in the class. Our class was made up of 6 other inexperienced camera users just like ourselves. The instructor was amazing and at the end of the day our heads were swirling with terms like aperture, focus points and metering mode. Feeling overwhelmed with information, I feared that it would all be forgotten unless I started to practice right away. So, Ben and I spent the next several weekends practicing my newly discovered camera skills. We scoped out the most picturesque places in Georgia. We visited majestic waterfalls and beautiful gardens - all in the name of experimenting with my camera. My family was SUPER patient with me while I honed my camera skills. They carried around all my gear and patiently waited 4-5 minutes for me to make all of the necessary adjustments to my camera to set up a single shot.
I had a great time snapping pictures of landscapes and people but I still feel most comfortable with food photography. There's no wining, squinting or moving from a cheeseburger. I've been doing it so long that I know how to put the product in the perfect lighting to avoid shadows and over exposure. With any luck (and lots of practice) someday, I'll be just as efficient at landscape and portrait photography as I am at food photography. Today, I'm back in my comfort zone. Capturing the colors, the textures and the juiciness of this Brandy Chicken. I only wish that my photographs could capture the amazing aroma and intense flavor of this dish.  Brandy Chicken 4 boneless chicken breasts 1 Tablespoon kosher salt 2 onions, sliced thin 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon brandy 6 cloves garlic, minced 3 sprigs fresh thyme 2 Tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Spread onion mixture around chicken and sprinkle with parsley to serve.
Clearly, brandy chicken isn't the most photogenic of food subjects. Even though the colors are monochromatic, this chicken is anything but bland. The rich brandy, onion sauce really takes this chicken to a new level.
Ciao!  It's corn season in Georgia!! 🌽 I grew up in Northeast Ohio where corn is at its peak towards the middle to the end of the summer and it took me a long time to get used to corn season happening in early May. Quite honestly, the first couple of years that I lived in Georgia, I missed out on eating any of the fresh Georgia corn. I assumed that the corn that was in the bin at the produce stands in May had been shipped in from somewhere warm and tropical. Clearly - I'd never make it as a Georgia farmer.  Now that I KNOW that May is Georgia corn season - I take full advantage. I'm buying fresh Georgia corn everywhere that I see this month - produce stands, grocery stores, gas stations. I'm not kidding. There's actually a little produce stand attached to a nearby gas station with fresh, locally grown produce. My latest corn creation is a scrumptious little side dish with a kick. This fresh corn dish pairs perfectly with halibut. If it's not corn season in your part of the world, save this recipe in your email inbox or make it with frozen corn if you have to.  Chile Lime Orange Roughy with Corn Saute 4 Orange Roughy filets 1 Tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoon canola oil 2 2/3 cups fresh corn 1/4 cup chopped red onion 2 teaspoons chopped jalapeno 1 clove garlic, minced 1 Tablespoon cilantro, chopped
 Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro. Serve with fish. While there's an abundance of fresh corn available this month, there seems to be a shortage of fresh fish in my little town. There are a couple of stores that sell fresh seafood but I can't always depend on the selection. This recipe was originally intended to be prepared with halibut but since there was no halibut to be found, I opted for the freshest fish that I could find in the seafood case. Orange Roughy turned out to be a perfect substitute. If you try this was another type of fish - send me a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Ciao! |
