June 2011
8 posts
Did Ja Know?
That I’ve moved? It’s true!
Head right on over to www.bevcooks.com for a new and improved food blog! Site. Whatever.
What are ya waiting for? Go!
Please and thank you.
-bev
I've Moved!
In case you didn’t know:
I’m now over at www.bevcooks.com!
Be sure and check it out and let me know what you think!
Site Update
Alright you guys, I’m moving!!!
From this moment on, all content will be on the official site of :
www.bevcooks.com
Please update your RSS or bookmark or whatevs if you do that sort of thang!
And I won’t mind if you need to let the big time food magazines what’s going on.
Really, go ahead. :)
-bev
Tempeh and Black Bean Tacos
When we were in Florida on vacation, (hey, I warned you) my sister-in-law and I discovered a most charming Mexican food place that side of the Mississippi. Both sharing an addiction for the cuisine, we high-tailed it there after circling the address in a local brochure.
Now, you might think of most Mexican food as greasy, heavy and the gateway to a gut bomb. But this place, THIS place: light,...
I have a big surprise for you tomorrow! A change is coming. It’s gonna be good.
Espresso Steak Salad
You’ll have to forgive me as it’s possible that over the next 4 or so weeks, I’ll most likely start every post with, “When we were in Florida on vacation…”
Just saying it now.
When we were in Florida on vacation, we spent a handful of afternoons in the historic part of downtown St. Augustine, in order to give our sunburns a rest. Stinkin’ cutest place...
Garden Pasta with Shrimp
After a rental car trip from St. Augustine to Jacksonville, 2 flights with a stop in Dallas, a shuttle bus to our car in the economy parking lot, and the half hour treck to our house, we made it home. Tired, sunburned and one of us with a broken toe due to surfing (not me) we gave our wallet a break and ate from the yard. Thank goodness the heat and our timed watering produced just enough for us...
We’re back! And boy oh boy, have we found ourselves a luscious garden. I’ll share more soon, but for now, to prepare a simple garden dinner and keep Aaron away from peeling my sunburned skin.
Too much?
May 2011
38 posts
Well friends, the beach calls!
But when I get back, I have a big, BIG surprise for you. So, stay tuned and have a wonderful holiday break!
Mediterranean Barley Toss
Gorgeous. Day.
The sort of day perfect for a run, a smidge of yard work, reading a book outdoors, thrifting tank tops for upcoming beach vacation, and a nap.
While the nap has yet to happen, I’m sure it will be lovely when it gets here.
I guess by then it will be called sleep.
Unless I’m talking about napping tomorrow, which I might be, and therefore tricking you.
...
3 tags
Thai Chicken Salad
Wow, what a day for the books, huh? Half the country spent the afternoon huddled under stairs in its basements. Oprah had her final episode and the world stopped in their tracks to view it. American Idol will pick a new winner, launching a career for a ripe youngin’ into superstardom. I washed my hair.
I’M TIRED.
With the amount of mental and emotional energy that went into...
3 tags
Slow-Roasted Tomato Pasta
I’m not gonna lie to you. I never got out of my robe today.
I knoooow, I knoooow. I have an excuse though! It rained all day.
What, not good enough? Let’s see, what about this: all my house work was done?
Um, okay. What about: I needed to slow-roast tomatoes today, and that required absolute pajama comfort?
No? What about: There is only 1 more Oprah episode left and it has...
A little dinner sneak peek, shall we?
3 tags
Seared Ahi Tuna With Asparagus
I remember when I first moved to Kansas City, Aaron giddily drug me around to a gajillion restaurants, introducing my face to all kinds of new tastes and textures.
I’d be embarrassed to admit what I’d not eaten before moving here, so let’s just pretend that I told you and you gasped and I was all, “I KNOW.”
One afternoon we dropped in on a swanky plaza...
5 tags
Grilled Naan Pizza with Prosciutto, Arugula and...
I still can’t get over this new Radiohead album. I’ve listened to it maybe 2 million, 749 thousand, 628 times and it still reaches into my soul innards, gives me a massage, rips me to shreds, and then puts me in a hot air balloon and shoots me to a place where the phrase “new spring chicken” is smiled upon.
And no, I’m not on drugs.
It’s just what I needed...
When ya garden, weekend flowers are free.
Sunday.
(those aren’t my feet, just so you know)
7 tags
Shrimp-Boil Kebabs
A few months ago a pair of finches in love decided to build a nest right on top of our back porch patio speaker. They immediately discovered our frequent in and out pattern. Scared to death, the little finches would sit, pouting, on a nearby power line, waiting for us to remain indoors.
YOU CAME TO US FINCHIES. DEAL.
The stubborn little couple stayed, and is currently keeping their new...
3 tags
Middle Eastern Stuffed Peppers
In preparation for our fabulous summer Floridian beach house vacation creeping up, I started reading the old Nicholas Sparks book “Nights in Rodanthe” a couple of days ago. You know, to get me in the mindset.
Sunset walks on the beach, tunics and sandals, kite-flying and wading in the cool ocean water, crisp white wine on the balcony.
It’s exactly like the book!
Except...
Peony, you’re such a beautiful flower, I’ll forgive you for having such a sissy name.
5 tags
Bistro Chicken Twist
About 347 years ago Aaron and I obtained a rather urban lifestyle. Freshly married, we lived in a warehouse loft downtown. We played regularly in an indie band together. We gallivanted with the city folk from social event to event. I wore high heels ‘round the clock.
In short, we were hip.
During those days we weren’t often seen without our floor neighbors, KR and JR. From...
2 tags
Good Old Fashioned Burgers
This past Saturday I was sitting at the kitchen table, meal planning, a hobby that makes me so giddy, others who know me might view it borderline inappropriate. Aaron was peacefully sitting on the couch, flipping through his newest “This Old House” magazine. My head was down and my pen scribbled quickly over a page in my trusty meal planning blue notebook. It was then that I heard a...
Farm Fresh Eggs
A few days ago I visited a friend who has a newborn baby. As I hopped out of my car, I was walking up to her newly finished, grand back deck to discovered her, comfortably lounging in a hammock, under a pergola, with her baby.
Um, am I walking across a page in Southern Living magazine?
You see, she and her husband have a farm. And chickens. And bees. And a huge garden. And a perfect life...
5 tags
Corn Saute with Zucchini, Mint, and Spicy Tofu
Remember when I talked about getting a new bed for our bedroom and moving our old bed out and into a guest bedroom and that other bed which was in another guest room to the basement, resulting in mad chaos in my life and home? Well, that’s all figured out now.
Mostly.
But what I’m left with is a rather large lamp next to my bedside table that no longer works, so I had to get out...
1 tag
Homemade Ranch Dressing
There are a few things in life that people possess monstrous opinions about. Politics, religion, relationships….and ranch dressing.
Ranch dressing is tricky, I tell you. How much tang? How much kick? How thin or thick should it be? You’re liable to lose a limb if you find yourself in a situation of opposing ranch opinions. I’ve been there. It wasn’t pretty.
I was...
4 tags
Green Chicken Curry with Pineapples and Cherry...
You know how in the movies when sexy or intense scenes flash across the screen, they’re mimicking flashing thoughts in our brain? That totally happened to me today. I was in the garden, waist-deep in weeding, when vivid thoughts violently interrupted my psyche, making me dizzy and nearly blind.
You see, there is an issue here. They weren’t erotic or untamed thoughts at all. They...
4 tags
Seared Skirt Steak with a Garden Wedge Salad and...
I’m not even going to warrant this unexpected drop in temperature with a fussy attitude. Nope! Instead, Aaron and I took advantage of the chill by wrapping up in a warm blanket with a bottle of red wine and spending a lazy afternoon next to our back porch fire pit, enjoying the warmth of crackling limbs and twigs.
Take THAT 55 degree day. We win.
Despite the chilly day, our garden is...
The first harvest of the season! I see a nice wedge salad with radishes in my near future.
Tears will be shed tonight.
Fancy Pants Topping for French Toast
We all know how to make french toast. So I’m not gonna get all food bloggery about that. BUT, I have to tell you about a quick and fancy topping you could incorporate into your weekend french toast ritual. That is if you have a weekend french toast ritual. If you do not, sit down and reevaluate things in your life.
Alright, so pour about a 1/4th cup heavy whipping cream into a bowl. Add a...
2 tags
Mussels in Cream, Shallots and Herbs (oh my!)
Okay, I’m not asking you to karate-chop a lobster, but ya just gotta try mussels. Take a deep breath, do a set of jumping jacks and tell yourself you’re a strong, adventurous eater and you’re ready to take the next step in your culinary life.
Plus the finished dish looks so dang impressive you’re mighty sure to wow your guests, husband or even kiddos with these...
5 tags
Sweet Potato Foil Packet Tacos
We all know that I have a completely controllable, absolutely natural, no-need-to-worry-about obsession with tacos.
WELL, while blog surfing the other day I stumbled across a different take on the beloved food: sweet potato foil packet tacos. Instead of a tortilla, little chunks of sweet potato cradle seasoned ground meat, fresh spinach and an array of Mexican condiments, wrapped in foil and...
6 tags
Spicy Shrimp with Edamame, Asparagus and Wheat...
There are only 11 episodes left on Oprah. ELEVEN. Does anyone else experience heart palpitations over this fact?
Are you hosting a party? Attending a party? Can I attend yours? Should I host? Stop obsessing?
Moving on to food.
This recipe = to die for. Try it on a weekend when you have an adequate amount of time to cook the wheat berries. Last time I cooked them I thought, “ohhh...
2 tags
Chicken Cacciatore
I have a brand new bed in our bedroom with no frame. I have a smaller frame and a mattress sticking out of one of our guest bedrooms. I have another guest bedroom completely empty. I have one mattress in the basement and a box spring stuck on the basement stairs.
Please, don’t even try to figure out my plan, and more importantly, if I even have one.
Luckily I dug out an old Real Simple...
5 tags
Spring Vegetable Soup
Well, we wanted the heat. Mama N listened and we GOT THE HEAT. That didn’t slow us down though. After a gratifying day of gardening, gutter cleaning, gutter fixing, hedge pruning, rose bush training and even buying a new bed (aka “saving my marriage”) it’s turned into one heck of a pleasant spring evening.
A dusk like tonight has me craving something green, something springy, something...
4 tags
Mother's Day Canadian Bacon Strata
One month, 9 days, 8 hours and 27 minutes ago I witnessed the birth of my niece, Breckon Raney. What? I’m not obsessed at ALL with Miss Breckon. To watch her enter this world was one of the most marvelous and life-changing things I’ve ever seen. (and plan to see, whaaaa!)
So this year, Mother’s Day is a little bit more special to me. I’m not going to get all corny, I...
Happy Mother’s Day Weekend Mom! I love and miss you!
3 tags
Orzo Primavera
Well hello Friday night. How you doin’?
And howdy Mr. half a box of orzo.
Oh, and I’d totally forgotten about you ear of corn!
But not you asparagus. Not you.
I see you back there, half of a red bell pepper. I remember you from earlier in the week.
Ooooo, hello 1/4th of a red onion! You’re lookin’ so fine.
Okay okay olive oil, I hear you screaming.
Gosh,...
Fridee afternewn.
I love not working.
3 tags
Guacamole Quesadilla
Okay I know this isn’t a taco PER SE, but it involves a corn tortilla, and I’m hungry. The Cinco de Eato celebration continues for lunch with a simple guacamole quesadilla.
Make your favorite guacamole recipe and lay it between two corn tortillas. Smother with cheese and broil for a nano second and voila, lunch!
(don’t be scared. it’s good fat.)
4 tags
Cinco De Taco!
I think it’s safe to say this holiday was made for me. Never mind that I’m American or the history itself of Cinco de Mayo. But hello, TACOS.
It’s the one day of the year that you can eat 37 tacos and not be considered a freak.
I just started my day with a breakfast taco, and it ain’t endin’ there. We’re meeting some friends tonight for tacos, a few tacos...
4 tags
Seared Salmon With Corn, Mushrooms and Greens
I was going to cook last night. Really, I was.
But then this happened:
A local patio needed to be visited, the sun needed something to soak into, gossip needed to ensue, memories needed to be made, yadda yadda.
Chicken soup for the soul, but with wine and pizza instead.
So here we are, 24 hours later and I’m sitting down to a snappy and seasonal dinner. It’s light, bright...
3 tags
Rigatoni with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream
Just shy of a month, hubs and I are going on vacation. V.A.C.A.T.I.O.N. And not just any vacation, we’re meeting our family for a week at a beach house. In Florida. On the beach. By the ocean. On the sand. By the water. In Florida.
I’m a smidge giddy.
So, I have roughly 4 weeks to shape up, tone up, tan up, and man up. (what?) This means up-ing my game with my runs, establishing...
4 tags
Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice
Aaron wanted to cook tonight.
Let me repeat that, AARON WANTED TO COOK.
I gasped, teared up, and started doing the electric slide in my living room when he delivered the news. He’s a TERRIFIC cook. He really is. He just never gets the chance to perform in the kitchen since, A) he’s either too busy at work, or B) he’s really busy at work.
His forte is Asian type foods. And...
The Ultimate Family Challenge Contest Kitchen...
A substantial amount of fun was had over the last 48 hours. My sister-in-law Carolyn was in town visiting. When we’re together things get dangerous. Things get crazy. Things get silly. Things get fun.
After a successful morel mushroom find at the farmer’s market, a lazy afternoon eating subs in the park, and the viewing of the hysterical “creme fraiche” episode of...
April 2011
42 posts
Spring just got really good.
The Royal Breakfast
What would have been overheard in our living room at 5am this morning, from Aaron’s face.
“I still can’t get over the fact that she was a stripper before this.”
“Wow, and to think she has two kids already.”
“You know Prince William had to beg her to stay away from the scones, and she was like ‘nuh uh, dude.’ That’s why the ring...
4 tags
Pea and Potato Curry
A morning walk with a girlfriend and our dogs - check.
A may-jah patio and garden clean up - check.
The back yard mowed and edged - check.
Old Natalie Merchant blasting on our patio speakers - check.
296 accidental screams due to thinking a wasp was on me - check.
The rest of my street this close to calling the cops in fear for my life - check.
Ingredients for a celebratory royal wedding...
I can’t believe I’m this excited to wake up before 5am and open a can of baked beans.