Dutch Baby

This has been a week of must cook dinner FAST.  For some reason, this is always a challenge for us because the things I consider fast typically come out of boxes and frankly, we never have boxes of anything more than cereal  and past.  David discovered a terrific solution - Dutch Baby.  Turn on oven to  450, run eggs, milk and flour through the blender, throw in cast iron skillet, shove skillet in oven.  20 min later - dinner.  David made a simple icing - melted butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice. It was fabulous.  WE have since found variations that include ham and swiss cheese or suggest throwing berries on top. I think the possibilities are endless.  

The meal reminded us of advice from two very different people. Lynn Rossetto Casper advices that when you don't know what to make for dinner, turn the oven on to 350. By the time it's warm, you'll have something figured out.  The other piece of advice comes from one of our favorite people that has ever been on this earth - Grandma Pop.  Always keep eggs on hand because when you have extra people for lunch, you can always make eggs.  There are endless possibilities with eggs, and none take very long. 

Didn't have any more vanilla ice cream for the strawberries. Cookies and cream is a good substitute....now to eat before it melts. 

Gourmet Meet Green

I do love it when I get to claim greeness when I'm not really trying to be green at all.  I caught part of the NPR show, A Splendid Table this afternoon and on of Lynn's guests was talking about gardening and it's relationship to people who love food.  This guest, who I cannot remember the name of, said it was such a shame that people drive to the store, buy thyme in a plastic container and bring it home in a plastic bag when growing herbs is easier than juniper.  This person mentioned junipers often so I guess that's a common bush or something.  

I admit it - I grow herbs because I like them. They make ordinary things, like roast chicken and potatoes taste better. I also grow them because I'm forgetful and never remember to put herbs on the list, much less remember them at Kroger. So, having herbs just off the patio means fresh herbs when I want them. But according to this guest on Splendid Table, having my fresh herbs is a green thing to do.  I suppose that I'll get to take credit for the rest of the garden too, which is also grown for taste and my high standards for tomatoes. But hey, I'll take the green points when I can get them.

I also now have a project thanks to this show. Alpine Strawberries.   Apparently, this variety grows in shade, produces fruit all summer long and has more strawberry flavor than normal berries.  Time to research....but after I go make dinner. 

Edelweiss Restaurant

It was a long day for both David and I, so we decided to find a place to dine. After a few minutes searching the WYFI member card book, we decided on Edelweiss Restaurant. German food is usually tasty.  Loved the location - table outside on the patio, surrounded by trees. We really wanted to be happy with this place as we loved the table.  Well...umm...yea...we didn't.  Pretzel was good, wine selection was ok and actually liked the pork. But the spaetzle, it's such a german thing and one of my favorite foods on this planet.  I don't like mushy spaetzle...it's not tasty.  Maybe I wouldn't be so disappointed if i didn't know how to make spaetzle.  

We had to remind ourselves that Edelweiss is in the German American Klub, so it's kind of like eating at the VFW hall or a supper club. It's not on the list of place we will be frequenting, which is sad because it has one of the best patios for a restaurant I've seen. At least I had a coupon...

Food Land Begins

So...I talk about food, I make food, I eat food, I buy food and I critique food. I like food, ok, I really like food.  So, food land begins.  There are reasons why my co-workers want me to bring in treats and why it's so damn hard to choose a  restaurant. It's because I like food.  So here's to all of you that hear me talk about food.  Now it's in print.