Herbs
I've begun my second season of growing herbs in my AeroGarden. Very, very cool. Being that I don't live in a climate where I could even dream about tending an herb garden year round, this is great. A few more weeks and I'll be able to cook with fresh, home grown herbs.
I'm at the end of week 2 and all my herbs should have sprouted and should be "hatless." I took a picture at the end of week 1 and neglected to share it...so here you go.
I apologize for the "jaunty" angle at which the photograph is showing. I took it in the direction in which I wanted it to appear. Apparently blog spot assumes that all photos should be vertical. Additionally, while I took a "week 2" photo, I'm having difficulty getting the computer to give me access to any way I can feed the pictures from my computer/card to the computer. Hopefully by the time I need to share week 3 pics, this will all be sorted out. You would notice, if the week 2 photo were here, that my parsley plant isn't doing anything. I'll give it another week before I completely give up.Date Night--Sort of
On to new and different things...
Date night on Wednesday, didn't turn out exactly as I had planned, but it was lovely nonetheless. Again, I have a photo which I'm unable to include. I'll describe instead. I set out cheese and crackers for our hors d'oevres. I made Manhattans. I had the fire going and I lit candles. (All of this made for a lovely photo. *#%@ computer!)
Sadly, as Josh came up the stairs I was lighting the candles instead of handing him his drink. Maybe that's where things went wrong. He'd had a rough day, he wasn't in a cheesy kinda place (don't say it, I will--he's ALWAYS in a cheesy kinda place...I know, I know) although he ate enough cheese and crackers that he asked me to wait until 6:00 to even begin cooking dinner.
Which leads me to dinner. Chicken Parm from BOB. Very good. But I didn't make pasta. Josh says chicken parm should have pasta. Strike 2 for Kristen. I used the fettuccine that I had earlier with meatballs that I made.
Meatballs
That leads me to my next topic. I made meatballs for dinner on Tuesday (CO--no BS at home, okay to make "smelly" food). These were good meatballs. I'll share the recipe (this is a Giada recipe):
- 1 small (6-ounce) onion, grated
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1/4 cup
- 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
, plus 1/4 cup - 1/3 cup Italian-style bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
- 8 ounces ground beef
- 8 ounces ground veal
- 2 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 (1/2-inch) cubes
- 1 pound bucatini or other long pasta
For the meatballs: Position an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the onion, 1/2 cup parsley, 2/3 cup Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef and veal. Using your hands, combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 16 (1 1/2-inch-diameter) meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make a hole in the center of each meatball and place a cube of mozzarella inside. Reform the meatball so that the mozzarella is completely covered with the meat mixture. Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes until cooked through.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Add the meatballs and sauce. Toss gently and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and Parmesan.
Okay, changes I had to make: no veal, no parsley, I diced my onion instead of grating it, and regular mozzarella. Still very, very yummy. Giada also had a recipe for a tomato sauce with the meatballs, but I used my own to which I added some pancetta.
Roasted Veggies
One more cooking topic...Pretty much any vegetable can be roasted following the directions which I posted previously. Green beans with tomatoes are oh so yummy. Asparagus is great, too. And cauliflower takes on a "beefy" taste according to Josh.
Oh, and roast for 25-30 mins.
Bleach
Completely different topic here. I have a girlfriend who swears by bleach. She buys bottles and bottles of the stuff and uses it to clean everything! Well, I'm a convert. I used bleach to clean my entire bathroom earlier this week, and it has never been cleaner. I even scrubbed the floor (on my hands and knees--boy did I feel that for several days) and wiped down the baseboards. I'm on to do my hall bath as soon as I finish here (that may explain the great length of this entry, huh?)
Best Compliment Ever
Given by the best mom ever. I told my mom this morning that I wanted to be Ina Garten (of Barefoot Contessa fame). She told me she thought I was already there. I'm certain I'm years away, but boy did it make me feel good.
Given by the best Bible student ever. My li'l sister Bible student, said from the stage, the day she was baptized, that I was her "inspiration." My goodness!
If I'm not careful, my head will swell.
I guess that's all that's fit to print.
Toodles!
2 comments:
I am intrigued by the AeroGarden. I don't buy a lot of fresh herbs, but enjoyed using mom's when she had some growing outside last summer. Trying to decide if it's worth it for my own AeroGarden (and also which size will fit best in my future kitchen).
I plan on doing the mixed lettuces next in mine. I love the herbs, I've done that a few times and your right it does come in handy. I've made these meatballs too and you are right they are really good. Do you have Giada's newest cookbook, I dont - if so what do you think?
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