Children of the Corn

I was a main character in my own horror movie today. No, I didn't fall prey to demonic corn-cult worshipers. It was much more urban than that. The black walnut tree that I have watched mature from a mere seedling when we bought this house was hacked up by some over-zealous tree trimmers working for the area telephone company. I no longer have a tree with branches, I have a pole with a little green stuff on top.

I am not an idiot. I do understand the importance of keeping a 6-foot radius clear around the overhead telephone/power lines. I don't want my trees rubbing against the lines and shorting out phone service or icing up in winter and taking down the entire grid in a storm. But, I also don't see why a ladder or truck couldn't be used to properly trim the trees instead of just standing on the ground and whacking off any branch that you can reach. I don't get it. I guess I just don't have the lack of caring (or common sense?) that would make me a good tree trimming employee.

To the telephone company's credit, they did respond very promptly to my call with the complaint. Someone was at my home within just a couple hours to investigate the damages. After our conference under the branchless, shadeless tree, the contractor for the tree service was brought over to discuss the next actions. The pole (that was formerly known as a black walnut tree) will be completely removed tomorrow, along with some proper trimming of other trees that could possibly cause issue for the lines in the future. Replacement is still being considered. I am weighing those options. The ending of my tree chopping horror movie is still being drafted. What other innocent souls may perish upon the return of the evil tree trimmers remains to be seen.

What does this have to do with corn? I don't know. It is just that last night I threw together what we thought was a great corn recipe and I had been trying to think of an avenue to share it here on the blog. In no way shape or form is Creamed Corn with Roasted Green Chiles and Spinach a horror. Even though it does require grasping the sweet corn nearest you and blindly whacking the corn from the cob, there is no evil in its preparation. I promise. It is also a pure common sense (possibly even for those that have none) alternative for serving up some of that sweet and juicy sweet corn that is flowing in from the gardens and fields.

So...that's my story. While I don't have any recommendations for a good tree trimming service, I do have what I think is a great side dish of Creamed Corn with Roasted Green Chiles and Spinach On My Plate.

Creamed Corn with Roasted Green Chiles and Spinach

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2-3/4 cup diced onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 4oz can diced roasted green chiles (I used chiles from last year's garden that I had roasted, chopped, and frozen in ice cube trays...then popped into freezer bags for storage...3 cubes for this dish.)

fresh corn cut from 4-5 ears of sweet corn (or, if you must, frozen corn will work when sweet corn is not in season)

1/2 tablespoon flour

1/2-3/4 cup heavy cream

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

4 cups chopped fresh baby spinach

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
Add the onions and saute until translucent.
Add the garlic, being careful not to burn.
Add the sweet corn and stir to coat with butter & onions in the pan.
Allow corn to cook slowly and almost caramelize or brown, but not burn. Stir, but not too frequently, you want a little crust.
Add the green chiles and heat through.
Add the flour and stir to coat the kernels of corn and cook out the "raw" taste.
Add the cream and bring to low simmer.
Reduce heat and simmer to desired thickness for the cream.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the chopped spinach, stir to combine with other ingredients and coat with cream sauce.
Cover skillet and simmer until spinach is wilted. (Serves 4-6)

What a Dip!

What a dip I am. I start a new promotion for the blog in order to keep myself motivated and STILL, the blog is neglected. I was busy...out of town...not feeling well...working...too happy with sunshine to come indoors...buried in chores and everyday life...just give me a minute...I know I can come up with another excuse. Really. Excuses are easy for dips like me.

But, there is no excuse necessary for some dips. Roasted Garlic Dip is so rich, so cheesy, so deliciously wonderful that you might even forgive me for being such an unorganized, blog-neglecting dip. Seriously. I am a dip who loves Roasted Garlic Dip On My Plate.

Roasted Garlic Dip

1 head garlic

16 ounces cream cheese

2 cups shredded Asiago cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup fresh, chopped parsley

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut a half inch off top of head of garlic. 
Place garlic in a small baking dish. Drizzle top with olive oil.
Cover dish with aluminum foil and roast for 40 minutes to 1 hour. 
Allow to cool slightly. 
To "harvest" the roasted garlic, squeeze the cloves from the husk.
(You may want to roast a couple of heads of garlic, as this is so sweet and wonderful that you will eat the cloves straight from the skin before they ever can dream of becoming part of the dip.)
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. 
With a food processor or electric mixer, blend cream cheese, Asiago cheese, heavy cream, sour cream and parsley until well-blended.
Add garlic and blend again.
Spread mixture in a greased casserole or baking dish and top with shredded mozzarella. 
Bake 20 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. (Serves 8-12, depending on appetites)

Fridge Friday: Episode 9

I am cranky today. There is too much on my to-do list, and not enough hours in this day. The wind is a hot and blustery 20 mph pain in my backside with 30-40 mph gusts just to remind me that it can (and will) do whatever it wants. The dogs are barking at imaginary sounds, people are pestering me, and my bottle of Aleve is almost empty. It is one of those days, but here is my Fridge Friday fridge...

Is it just me and my grumpy mind, but does my fridge pretty much always look the same? Most likely, it does. Why wouldn't it? I tend to buy the same types of groceries over and over. On the top right, we have milk, OJ, and a few sodas; the top left holds assorted condiments and at this point, an impressive stack of blocks of cream cheese (I wanted cream cheese for the Candied Jalapenos, but forgot that I had already purchased some. *shrug*). The middle shelf always has the eggs, pickles, extra butter, and some veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, red & green cabbage this time), and today has a bowl of limes and a lemon. Bottom shelf is another mish-mash of fresh veggies (zucchini, green onions, spinach, celery, sweet corn, brussels sprouts), an icy cold beverage, and luscious blueberries and strawberries. There is also a Gladware container with a package of ground beef and some bacon perched on top of the beer. More odds and ends of produce in the bottom right drawer and some cheeses in the bottom left. I am a bit of a creature of habit, and pretty much always put things in the same places. I could probably be a hundred miles away and tell you were to find the jalapenos in my fridge (bottom right drawer, by the way).

Part of the agenda for the day includes Hubs smoking a pork butt at the farm for dinner with some family tonight. The cabbage will be made into coleslaw at some point, and I will fry up the bacon and ground beef to add to my big pot of Cowboy Beans to round out the side dishes for the meal. I don't have those things made yet (and if I don't get my butt moving and get this blog post done, we might just have to have pulled pork and no sides...like that would fly *eyeroll*). So, I am going to zero in on the bowl of limes. Last night, I zested and juiced a few of those tart jewels and whipped up a batch of White Chocolate Lime Cookies.

I am torn by these cookies. They are everything that I love in a cookie: sweet, but not too sweet; tart with real lime; soft and chewy; and EASY. I think that is what makes me feel so guilty. They are so completely, utterly, totally, easy because they start with a cake mix. (OK, serious bakers can click away now. Sorry.) Think what you want about my baking skills, but it has been a trying day and at this point, you might have to just shoot me before I would give up these White Chocolate Lime Cookies On My Plate.

White Chocolate Lime Cookies

1 box white cake mix

1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature (melting it makes the cookies texture tough)

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon grated lime zest (don't skip this, it is worth it)

1 1/4 cups which chocolate chips

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons grated lime zest (again, do it; really)

5-6 tablespoons FRESH lime juice (don't open a bottle, squeeze a lime, please)

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cover cookie sheets with parchment.
With mixer, combine cake mix, softened butter, eggs and 1 tablespoon lime zest until blended and smooth.
Stir in remaining white chocolate chips with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 10-13 minutes or until set at edges and just barely set at center.
Cool 1 minute on sheets; transfer to wire racks and cool completely.
Combine powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons lime zest and enough FRESH lime juice make icing just thin enough to drizzle off fork.
Drizzle icing over cooled cookies. (4 dozen cookies)

Did you think I was going to let this post slip by without another voyeur slide show of other people's fridges? Of course not. I love it when you are willing to share your fridges here on the blog. 

Also, be sure to check out Jeanne at Jeanne Eats World and her fabulous Fridge Friday posts. Scallops on her plate tonight. Doesn't that sound good?

In Favor of Butter

There are some people that are shocked at my unashamed use of butter. They question the saturated fat content, bring up the issue of heart disease, and try to lure me to the world of artificial fats. Sorry. I am not going there. I love my butter.

I grew up with margarine. I don't remember real butter ever appearing on my mother's table (not to say that it might not have from time to time; the huge tubs of Country Crock are just ingrained in my brain). I was fine with margarine and even continued to use it when on my own. Then, I finally tried real butter. Nothing compares. Instead of the slabs of fake saltiness spread on my toast, just a little smear of real butter offers a perfect creamy flavor. Its richness sets baked goods apart. Real butter is the real deal for me.

That isn't to say that I just grab sticks of the stuff straight from the fridge and chow down. Ew. Everything in moderation is really the key to a healthy lifestyle. I try to eat a balanced diet of whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. I indulge in ooey gooey treats from time to time, but I do try keep the number of doughnuts and Klondike Bars that I eat to a minimum. Really, I believe it is about moderation and not making any one item of food a villain. All life and all foods (except possibly marshmallow fluff...GAG) are to be enjoyed and savored. I truly do savor butter.

Someone else that absolutely savors butter is Paula Deen. That lady has more than earned the title of Butter Queen of the Food Network. I don't often watch her show, but I can't recall a time that I haven't seen her rolling a stick of butter from its paper wrapping into her mixing bowl. She is absolutely in favor of butter, which is what makes it so funny that when I finally decide to try one of her recipes, IT DOESN'T INCLUDE BUTTER. Truly. I was just as shocked as you.

I had salmon fillets defrosting and remembered that I had seen a couple of different Food Network chefs make Salmon Burgers. I wasn't searching for butter or Paula when I stumbled onto her recipe, but it seemed to hold promise and most importantly, used ingredients that I had on hand. After chopping the salmon and combining it with the peppers, onions, and soy sauce, the aroma from my mixing bowl tempted me to dig in right then. Instead, I formed the patties and fried them up in a little olive oil on my grill pan. Of course, I had to sample one right away without the Sesame Mayonnaise. Delish. Piling the patties on toasted whole wheat buns with the recommended sauce, lettuce, and tomato was flawless. Even a devoted butter lover like me can be incredibly happy when I have Salmon Burger with Sesame Mayonnaise On My Plate.

Salmon Burgers with Sesame Mayonnaise

Salmon Burgers

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 pounds salmon fillers, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil

8 toasted whole wheat buns

8 lettuce leaves

8 slices tomato

Sesame Mayonnaise

1 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

In a medium bowl, combine peppers, panko, garlic, and salmon.
Add beaten egg, soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt, tossing gently to combine. 
Form mixture into 8 patties.
Lightly coat a grill pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.
Grill patties, 5 minutes per side, or until desired degree of doneness. 
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all Sesame Mayonnaise ingredients. 

Spread sauce evenly over toasted buns. 

Top each with a lettuce leaf, tomato slice, and salmon patty. 

Cover with tops of buns.(Serves 8)

Fridge Friday: Episode 8

This episode of Fridge Friday should probably be called Fridge Friday Flop. I don't know if I jinxed myself in my earlier rant where I claimed that I didn't mind if some of my menus didn't exactly turn out as I had planned, or if it is karma kicking me for making fun of a commenter that stated they have never "served a bad or mediocre dish" on Epicurious's How to Throw Terrible Dinner Parties. (I cried bullsh*t. We have ALL made something that wasn't up to par.)

Now here I am, facing the time crunch of Friday ticking away from me and staring disgustedly at a pan of what was supposed to be a Baked Omelet Roll which is hopelessly overcooked and not willing to roll at all. Fridge Friday Flop. I had the eggs, ham, and cheese in the fridge and thought that this recipe that I have made a thousand times would be a perfect addition to the blog. The eggs had other ideas.

Thankfully, I had just baked a gorgeously delicious pan of Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Muffins last night. The remainder of the carton of blueberries is still in the fridge (second shelf, between the pickles and the cherries, under the strawberries), and I can save this Fridge Friday post by sharing a beautiful muffin.

The recipe is from The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook. They tell us that they were looking for "rich, moist, and dainty muffins, not the big, bland, coarse muffins so popular today." Let me tell you, with the addition of sour cream, there is no flop here. They hit their mark. While I certainly loved the light as air Blueberry Cinnamon Crunch Muffins that I posted back in March, the heavy batter of these muffins is more cake-like (dare I say possibly even pound cake-like?). Rich and even more beautiful when brushed with a lemon syrup and dusted with lemon zest and sugar, I won't mind a Fridge Friday Flop On My Plate with Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Muffins.

Lemon-Glazed Blueberry Muffins

Muffins:

2 cups unbleached flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 1/4 cups sour cream

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Lemon Glaze:

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Muffins:
Heat oven to 350.
Grease muffins tin.
Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Whisk egg in a second bowl until light-colored.
Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick.
Add melted butter in 2 or 3 addition, whisking to combine after each addition.
Add sour cream in 2 additions, whisking just to combine.
Add blueberries to dry ingredients and gently toss.
Add sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed.
Use ice cream scoop to drop batter into greased muffin tin.
Bake until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of muffin come out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
Allow to cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
Lemon Glaze:
While muffins are baking, combine 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest and 1/2 cup sugar in shallow bowl.
Bring 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar to a simmer in a small sauce pan.
Simmer until mixture is thick and syrupy and reduced to about 4 tablespoons.
After baked muffins have cooled 5 minutes, brush tops with glaze, then dip tops of muffins into lemon sugar. (12 muffins)

Why Just Blogging Is Enough

I hear it all the time from the real bloggers: "This is not a hobby, it is a business."

I hear it all the time from well-meaning readers and friends: "You should have a restaurant/cafe/catering business/cooking show or classes."

Thank you. It is very flattering that you all think that I am capable of making this fun little venture into something more. It is awesome that you look to my future and see big dreams for me. You are wonderful. It is great to have such total support.

But, the reality is that this IS my hobby. This is an effective release for me. I like cooking. I like sharing it. End of story.

I am happy letting this all be fun and games. I am happy with good food On My Plate and still some of my menus being flops. I am happy with typing silly, little stories and sharing recipes. Maybe someday, I might want to expand my horizons. Maybe someday, just blogging for fun might not be enough for me. When that day comes, I will take the next step. But, for now, I just want to cook and eat and share and enjoy. 

I love your support. I love your comments and praise. Who wouldn't? But my ego gets kept in check within the reality of my kitchen. I am a real cook (not a chef or in any way a professional) that screws things up and honestly can't follow a recipe to save myself. I am an amateur with a cheap camera that often takes fuzzy photos in bad lighting. I get too wordy in most of my posts and discover embarrassing typos nearly every time AFTER I publish. But, I like to share what is On My Plate. I love to hear that you enjoy the posts, made the food for your family and friends, and even appreciate knowing when things don't quite work out.

Pasta with Zucchini, Bacon, and Goat Cheese fits that theme of ego check. I have made this meal no less than 4 times since recently pulling the recipe from an old Bon Appetit magazine. We heart veggie and pasta dishes, and this is a variation of something that we have prepared for years. Using ingredients that I usually have on hand (goat cheese being the only specific item that I would have to add to the shopping list), it fit very well into our menu rotation. I haven't yet shared it because I can't seem to get a good pic. The first time I made it, Hubs didn't get home from the farm until after 10pm...no light for a photo then. The second time, I seriously overcooked the zucchini and while the dish was still tasty, it was U.G.L.Y. Both the third and fourth times this dish graced our table, I should have checked the forecast because cloudy weather prevented good photos. 

I snapped a pic anyway. I am sharing it anyway. If I was blogging for a sponsor, that wouldn't work. If I was serving the dish to the public, the less than perfect presentation wouldn't work. The pasta is still delicious. We still ate it and will eat it again. We love good food and Pasta with Zucchini, Bacon, and Goat Cheese is the kind of good food that makes just blogging more than enough On My Plate.

Pasta with Zucchini, Bacon, and Goat Cheese

12 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups chopped red onion

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

3 cups pasta (use your favorite shape, rotini works well)

3 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch half-moons

1 1/2 cups chopped tomato (seeded)

1/3 cup chopped fresh oregano

1 cup soft, fresh goat cheese (crumbled)

Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. 

Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. 

Pour off all but 4 tablespoons drippings from skillet.

Add onion and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. 

Add zucchini and toss with onion and coat with bacon dripping, saute lightly. (It should be tender, but still crisp.)

Add wine; boil until reduced by 1/3, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until slightly underdone. 

Drain.

Add pasta, bacon, tomatoes, and oregano to zucchini and onion in skillet. 

Toss over medium-high heat until sauce coats pasta, about 3 minutes. 

Add cheese and toss until beginning to melt, about 2 minutes. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. (Serves 6)