Of course, Mom's dumplings are better

Why would I listen to some random lady at the grocery store instead of listening to my own mother?

Since returning from a long-overdue trip to Mexico last week, I've been craving nothing but comfort food to warm my bones now that the Pacific Northwest fall has finally hit. Finally, I decided it was time to make chicken soup with Mom's fluffy, delicious dumplings made from Bisquick.

But when I asked an employee at Albertson's where the Bisquick was, she asked me what I was making. "Dumplings," I said, wondering why the heck she was being so nosy. Then she got even nosier. "Oh, you don't want to use Bisquick," she said, then proceeded to tell me that her mom made dumplings with just flour and water and they were absolutely the best, blah blah blah.

Problem is, I believed her. I looked up a recipe for dumplings that used 2 cups of flour, 1/3 cup of shortening, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 cup of milk and they were ... not as good as Mom's. They look good, though!

But I could give a rip how my dumplings look. I want Mom's dumplings! Looks like I'll be heading back to the store for some Bisquick soon!

Happy Birthday Derek!

Who wouldda thought that chocolate and mangoes could go so well together?

I've been contemplating a birthday meal for my co-worker Derek for weeks, and I finally found the perfect cake to go with the luau theme that's been developing.

When we first started working together, we quickly discovered that both got married on and have a true love for Hawaii. And I think the guy might even like food more than me. So what better way to celebrate his birthday than with food?

I made all my Hawaiian favorites: Kalua Pig, Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad and Hawaiian Bread. And even though Derek had requested carrot cake when I'd asked him what his favorite was months earlier, I knew I just had to make this recipe for Cocoa-Mango Upside-Down Cake as a logical finale to this meal.

Plus, we had to restore our blood sugar after this strenuous hula lesson:

Got unsightly zucchini? Make fritters!

Once again, I failed to grow anything this summer aside from a yard full of weeds, but that's never stopped me from collecting the kinds of recipes I would need for the garden that I will someday have.

Which means I absolutely had to read the recipe that went along with the Pacific Northwest Magazine article, "Attack of the summer zucchini, and what to do with them," because one of these days, I'm going to have so much zucchini it'll be coming out of my ears ...

But until that time, I have other problems. Like the weeks-old (don't tell Bryan), now unsightly zucchini from Trader Joe's, which I could think of no other way to use than through the accompanying Turkish Zucchini Fritters recipe (scroll down).

Because the zucchinis are grated, I was able to cut off all of the brownish spots and put some use to veggies that I otherwise would have thrown away. Eh, it might not have been the healthiest way to eat zucchini, but it kept them out of the compost and made for a delicious late-summer dinner!

This Bread Pudding was made with love

Last weekend I took Bryan to Eva to celebrate his birthday, and he ended up ordering the Grilled Pork Loin not so much because he wanted pork, but because he really wanted to try the Corn, Thyme and Bacon Bread Pudding that accompanied it.

And as you would imagine, he ended up much more interested in the delectable bread pudding, although the pork also was quite delicious.

And as you also would imagine, I became determined to try to emulate that dish.

I found a recipe on Epicurious for Arugula, Bacon and Gruyere Bread Pudding that looked like a suitable base for my creation, and I ended up with a creamy, smokey bread pudding that might not have been quite as good as Eva's, but somehow still tasted as delicious (because it was made with love, as Mom would say!).

Bacon and Smokey Gouda Bread Pudding
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 day-old (or older) baguette, cut in 1-inch chunks
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/2-3/4 c. smokey gouda cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a small casserole dish.

Cook bacon until crispy, then add garlic and shallot and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, until just cooked through but not burning.

Stir mixture along with drippings into a large bowl with the bread chunks. Mix together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and stir into the bread chunks along with cheese. Continue stirring until the moisture has been soaked up, then pat down evenly into the prepared casserole dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 10 more minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before serving.

Bacon makes everything better, like grits!

Since we had potatoes for dinner last night, I decided to mix things up a bit and make grits for breakfast instead of the usual eggs, bacon and potatoes we eat way to often on the weekend.

Once upon a time, I ate grits almost every day for breakfast, and that's likely the reason I eat them rarely now. But with gluten now off the menu (except when I cheat), I need to add as much variety to my carb repertoire as possible to keep my taste buds from craving bread and other wheatiful foods.

I followed the package directions, bringing 3 c. of water with 1/4 t. salt to a bowl, then slowly adding 1 c. of grits and stirring continuously for 5 minutes, turning the heat down to low. After removing the grits from the heat, I added 2 T. unsalted butter, about 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (cheddar is preferred, but I was too lazy to open a new package!) and pepper to taste, then scooped the grits into 2 serving bowls.

Top them with 1-2 eggs each, and chopped bacon, and you've got a flavorful breakfast that'll stick to your bones!

Summed ends with grilled potatoes and broccolini

Not being one to just follow a recipe correctly, I decided to modify Stephen's roasted potato recipe by throwing the lubed-up potatoes on the grill. Bryan was sure they would take forever to cook, but over a medium-low flame, it only took about 20 minutes to cook the potatoes, which is actually how long they've been taking me in the oven despite Stephen's assurance they take only 15 minutes.

Similar to his recipe, I tossed about 1 lb. of potatoes cut in 1/4-inch slices in about 2 T. olive oil, 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. Mrs. Dash Garlic Seasoning, then placed the potatoes inside of a burger grilling grate — I don't know if we've ever used that thing to grill burgers, but it works wonders for vegetables that too easily fall through the regular grill racks!

I cooked them for about 8 minutes on one side, flipped the grilling grate over and cooked the other side for about 8 more minutes. I gave each side another 4 minutes each, moving the grate around to more evenly distribute the charring, and each piece turned out perfectly cooked.

And also being one to not waste anything, I used the olive oil and seasonings that remained in the bowl to coat a package of broccolini that we also threw on the grill for about 10 minutes. As Bryan put it, "I don't think I've ever had a bad grilled vegetable," but these ones were among the best I've tasted the summer.

I'd walk 5 miles for this feast any day

When Mom, Stephen and I get together, it's always all about food. Even if all we do is a short, five-mile hike, in the end we'll feast like we hiked 20 miles.

 

This weekend was no exception, especially since it was the celebration of Mom's birthday. Pictured, clockwise from the grilled fish: sauteed baby bok choy and curly kale, grilled beets, grilled pasilla peppers, grilled oysters, roasted rosemary potatoes and grilled asparagus.

It was a group effort that only took us about a half-hour to make, and yes, even though it was Mom's birthday, she did the majority of the cooking.

She grilled the tilapia, which she'd sprinkled with salt the night before to tenderize it a bit, and also squirted a bit of lime juice on top before throwing it on the grill for about 20 minutes. Mom also brought the oysters, which were wrapped in foil and seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil, then quickly grilled for no more than five minutes. And she grilled the peppers (watch out for spicy bites!), which were simply rubbed with olive oil before being placed over the flames.

Stephen and I were in charge of the rest. I grilled the asparagus, tossed in olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper, then cooked until tender but still crisp, about 8-10 minutes. And Stephen made the roasted potatoes, which were tossed with olive oil, fresh rosemary and "lots of salt," he said. Although he usually uses red potatoes, this time he used Yukon Golds with much success.

He says the key is to preheat the broiler for at least 10 minutes before placing the potatoes in the oven. Toss them every five minutes, and they should be done in 15 minutes.

As a rosemary hater, I was skeptical of this dish, but it turns out I only hate dried rosemary because the subdued flavor of this freshly snipped rosemary was simply one of freshness rather than pine needles!

Stephen also made mojitos with fresh mint from his garden, and he prepped the beets and greens that he bought the previous day at the Olympia Farmers Market. We simply wrapped the beets in foil with olive oil, and left them on the grill while we were cooking everything else, about 30 minutes. Delicious! And Mom quickly stir-fried the greens with olive oil and garlic, then added a smidge of oyster sauce at the end.

I can't think of a better way to end our weekend!