Recipes from YOU!

When doing demos around the state, I always ask people to send me their creative ideas for using our product line so we can share with the rest of y'all.  You send, I test, I post, and you receive a complimentary sample of one of our flavors.  Thanks to Lisa for submitting her idea for the Meyer Lemon PDS---she sprinkles the DRY mix right out of the package over hot cooked pasta and prawns in a BIG bowl with some EVOO.  Toss and serve with a salad and voila, dinner! How easy is that?! She broke my record for getting dinner on the table!  Another client, Sue, uses the Lemongrass PDS as a filling for chicken breasts by mixing the dry rub with some ricotta cheese, stuffing the breasts and cooks them in a 350degree oven till done.  Serve with your favorite sides, rice and roasted veggies.  Wow! Another record dinner on the table and such 'fusion soul!' David sent me his recipe for baked beans. He added our Portuguese Smoked Pepper  right out of the packet along with his other ingredients to his beans, baked for an hour and OMG, the flavors!  Rich and smokey and yummylicious! Thanks to all of you and the rest of my 'Rockstar Cooks' out there. Holiday wishes and send me your dishes! 

HOLIDAY MARKET!

This is your personal invitation to party with me in Booth  #8 this Saturday, Dec 12/13th at the fairgrounds. You know I'll be hooking you up with good tastes and pulling your butt out of hot water with some great last-minute gifts! See you there!

Gratitude...

I never ceased to be humbled when I'm cooking for the 'truly hungry'.  I had the pleasure of prepping for our city's annual Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate, estimated numbers as high as 1,500-2,000.  Got a LOT of experience peeling yams, carrots, and onions! Also got a chance to meet some equally generous volunteers, one being the president of the community college who shared a workspace with me.  We are truly fortunate in this 'land of plenty'.

Border Patrol

Took some time recently to visit the 'other' Portland; East coast that is.  Actually I tooled around all over New England which is not the first time for me.  It's just been a long time since I'd been there.  I still love the accent, the diversity, and of course the food.  You can NOT go to that area and NOT have at least ONE lobster roll !! (see pic) Check that one off my list (twice).  Or not have a Modern Pastry cannoli---lines not as bad here as at their rival down the street--Mike's Pastry; lines out the door and down the block! Was it worth it? It was pretty damned good but this bakery had many equally decadent and gorgeous desserts.  I actually ordered their uber large 'white chocolate peanut butter cup'.  Yowza!! Decadent and sugar overload!  Next time I'll try Mike's, if I can get in, but there are only a few things I'll wait in that kind of line for!

Buck's Naked BBQ was a real tasty find---new since I'd been to Maine.  Good food, plenty of it, sauces of your choice and a lot of the food I grew up on---greens, okra, brussel sprouts, sweet potato pie, etc.  Somebody in that kitchen was 'puttin' their foot in that food!'  Worth a repeat trip.

Visited LOTS of historical sites and had fun playing 'tongue-in-cheek' with the ALMA FOODS products.

Great time seeing old friends and family and THAT was the best part of it all.  While I LOVE puttin' on the feedbag, reconnecting with special people is priceless!! Get out and see other areas, other cultures; life is about 'living'.

Classic New England Lobster Roll

Another Plum Dessert....

I teased you talking about plum desserts and since I was on a roll, I made a fruity, crispy Plum Crisp out of the rest of my plum bounty.  I just loooove fruit crisps---especially topped with some good quality vanilla ice cream!  Perfect for these hot summer days!

Dog days of summer.....

I cannot believe that we are coming into August already!  In spite of the heat, I must cook--albeit I try to do it uber early or uber late to outwit the heat!  Sometimes, though, you just gotta fire up the Viking and whip something up like recently when I had a batch of plums that were better for baking than eating...Never one to let food go to waste, I went the dessert route and whipped up this Plum Cornbread using some of our Camas Country Mill's 'Floriani Red Flint Cornmeal'.  Sensational !! I grew up on cornbread but my mother never took it in this direction.  She would get such a kick out of this sweet version because she always believed that dessert should be eaten first! Yummylicious!!

A Tasty Escape from the Heat!

Don't know about you but this record heat has been kicking my %$#^&!!  What better way to beat the heat than the Oregon coast?  Come, no run with me, to Florence this July 3, 5pm-8pm to the @All About Olives store in Old Town where I'll be whipping up some tasty sauces for bbq and for desserts using their incredible selection of oils and balsamic vinegars.  Free wine tasting and sweet/savory nibbles!  Ahhhhhhh.......

Demos out and about....

If you want to escape the heat this weekend, come nosh with me at the coast this Friday, June 5 from 5pm-7pm.  It's the First Friday Art Walk in Old Town Florence and I'll be cooking up some tasty chow at the Olive store using some of their amazing oils/vinegars paired with the ALMA Foods line.  Such a great selection of flavorful olive oils, balsamic vinegars, olives and other store merchandise!  Fun, fun, fun. ...

June 6th, this Saturday, my buddies at Long's Meats are having their weekly bbq in the parking lot; thought I'd mosey on over there and show how my rubs can infuse their meats with off-the-chart flavor in just a fraction of the time!!  Can you say FREE nibbles? (mine, not theirs!) Let your nose follow the smells--yummylicious! All day starting at 10am....

"Turkey" Napkin Fold

At a recent cocktail party, my friend was so inspired by our natural surroundings and the creatures milling about that she created these 'turkey' napkin folds as an homage to our feathered friends.  Now I know the wine was flowing but we saw it---don't you?  Check out the pic.

Priorities

It's very easy to lose oneself when one is a solo act and trying to create success.  I made the time to go to a networking event this morning and reconnected with a lot of business colleagues who are also friends.  Man, the energy, the love, the support was off-the-chart!  No amount of success can replace that kind of connecting so, periodically, I must remind myself to pull my head out of the sand and engage. Great meeting and a great way to go into the weekend!