Work with what you've got

I had a frustrating morning yesterday. Everything I tried to do just didn't work. That said, I was almost afraid to attempt preparing lunch, for fear it would be a disaster. We were pleasantly surprised that it was not. I was going to make gnocchi primavera, until I realized that I didn't have any little green peas. I did, however, have some green beans in the freezer, so... gnocchi with green beans and pesto! (Inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe; see link below for Mario Batali's version.) Although I had to rethink the sauce and vegetables, my homemade gnocchi turned out great, and lunch was delicious. The gnocchi recipe I used was from Pampered Chef, but the link I'm posting is similar. If you don't have a food mill, you can use a potato masher or ricer, but I wouldn't recommend a food processor. Don't be intimidated by the length of the recipe. Gnocchi is really easy and quite fun to make. Of course, if you don't want to try your hand, you can buy it in the Italian specialty section of the grocery store.
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/gnocchi-recipe/index.html
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/trenette-with-pesto-beans-and-potatoes-pesto-genovese-recipe/index.html

Breakfast, lunch, & dinner

I'm so proud of myself-- I prepared 3 meals today, and all were delicious! I just realized, though, that we've consumed a lot of dairy today. Breakfast was fresh strawberries with whipped cream and granola (okay, so Nick made the granola last night), drizzled with honey. Lunch was grilled pimiento cheese sandwiches, inspired by the one I ate at Early Girl in Asheville. (I love my bread machine!) Supper was shrimp pesto penne.



Recipes:
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pimiento-cheese-recipe/index.html

Shrimp pesto penne
While pasta cooks, combine 1-2 T each olive oil and butter in medium saucepan. Add peeled, deveined shrimp, enough cream to cover, and 2-3 T pesto. Heat shrimp and cream mixture until shrimp turn pink. Combine with pasta.

A yummy vacation

We just got back from Asheville, NC, where there are fabulous local restaurants everywhere! Unfortunately, one of our favorites was closed for the week, but even without Tupelo Honey, we ate very well. Rosemary braised seitan with truffled parsnip-potato mash and broccolini at Laughing Seed... sweet potato hashbrowns and sauteed kale at Green Sage... lobster mac & cheese, pecan crusted trout, and braised bok choy at Lobster Trap... grilled pimiento cheese sandwich at Early Girl Eatery... and an amazing Indian buffet of dishes I can't spell or pronounce at Mela. When we weren't dining in downtown Asheville, we enjoyed fresh, local (well, mostly local) produce and meats which we prepared at the cabin. If you're ever in Asheville, check out these restaurants and Hickory Nut Gap Farm, which supplies many of them. I'll try to post pictures soon.

Since we couldn't eat at Tupelo Honey Cafe, I decided to try to recreate part of their menu at home. My first attempt-- candied ginger cornbread. It turned out pretty well, but I should have added sugar and more ginger. The cornbread was delicious with sweet potato bisque (a.k.a., Moosewood's Potage Jacqueline; see recipe link below). I used a standard buttermilk cornbread recipe and added chopped crystallized ginger.

Tomorrow I'll be trying to recreate Early Girl's grilled pimiento cheese-- I'll let you know how it goes!

www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/recipes_archive.html#51

Many of the restaurants I've mentioned have posted their menus online. Check out the restaurants section of www.romanticasheville for inspiration.