More pics

Another set to wet the appetite...

Back Log of FOODS ...

Here is a collection of foods I hope to find time to write about soon. I'll leave captions off to entice you to come back to find out more. 

It's been a long time

With my main pastime loves being cooking, eating, and writing, it's really a shame that I don't post more blogs. 

In an effort to explain the joy of eating, cooking, and flavor profiles, I wish I could clone myself, JUST so I had a second stomach so I could eat more of tonight's super simple, and super yummy supper.

Wheat noodles, a can of diced tomatoes, a cup of salted, starchy pasta cooking water, 2 ounces of goat cheese, and left over balsamic reduction from this week's salmon (I'll try to get THAT posted soon too!).

One pot.  One meal.  One bowl.  One happy girl. 

The goat cheese made the sauce soft, tangy, and creamy.  The balsamic reduction made it sweet and elegant.  The wheat pasta has such a great mouth feel, texture, and nutty taste.  And the tomatoes added enough acidity and "Italian" flair to make it simply awesome. 

Stay hungry my friends!

Kids and Plumbing by Guest Blogger, Samantha Baldwin

This post is part of our series: 10 Things Women Should Know About Plumbing.

If you have little ones, you have little toys. Kids love playing with their toys anywhere and everywhere but when G. I. Joe wants to go for a swim in the toilet, there’s more to worry about than just germs.

Toys: A Leading Cause Of Clogged Sewer Lines

Sewer pipes clog when their insides become coated with oily deposits that in turn trap solid objects that try to make their way down the drain. The bigger the object that gets stuck, the more surface area the oily deposits have to stick to, the faster the sewer lines end up clogging.

Toys that go down the toilet are a big help to the clogs. They’ve got lots of surface area for the grease to stick to. Once they’re embedded in the grease, they’ll start snagging all the other things that go down the drain, like toilet paper and tampons, and before you know it, your pipe is clogged and raw sewage is backing up into your basement. Once that happens, the 99 cent toy you bought with their happy meal is now costing you thousands of dollars to clean up after.

So even if your toilet isn’t immediately clogged, a child flushing a toy down the drain is still a big problem. So what now? Well, the good news is, your toilets, sinks, showers and tubs are all going to keep working for the time being. The bad news is, if a toy is stuck in your sewer line, nothing short of hydro-jetting is going to move it out.

A Plumbing Snake Just Isn’t Gonna Cut It

A plumbing snake, which is essentially a long wire with a spatula on the end of it, will scrape the toy off the inside of the pipe once it becomes stuck, but it won’t push it down the line. You’ll likely have to have the line snaked several times before the toy makes it to the county sewer where the pipes are larger and a clog is the county’s problem, not yours.

Hydro-jetting, which uses high-pressure water to scour the inside of the pipe will push everything down the pipe, will clear the toy all the way down on the first try. It costs more than snaking the line, but it gives you the benefits of knowing the line is completely clear and, because it cleans all the greasy deposits off the inside of the pipe, it will actually have the long term benefit of preventing future clogs. The one downside to hydro-jetting is there is the potential for it to backfire, almost literally. If a clog is big enough, it may take the jetter time to break through it. With 18 gallons a minute flowing into the clogged sewer pipe, the time it takes the jetter to break through may be too long, and all the water it shoots down the pipe can very rapidly back up into your house. A good plumber will actually have you sign a waiver acknowledging the potential for this to happen.

In the end, the #1 rule when it comes to children’s toys and toilets is prevention. Once the toy is down the drain, you’re stuck. Keep the toys, and any other foreign objects for that matter (including feminine sanitary objects), out of toilets at all cost.

Adding on to the Carrot Soup

I've been rather obsessed with the Roasted Carrot and Tomato soup from last week.  In fact, I've had to double the recipe and make it a few times a week because my husband, son, and I have been devouring it!! 

I tried the oven roasting method and didn't notice that much difference in the taste of it.  It's a nice way to save time, and if you've got little kids who hang on you while you're in the kitchen, it's an easier alternative to standing at the stove and stirring a saute pan.  Just throw the carrots and onions in a 400 degree oven on a cookie sheet with olive oil and salt, and in 30 minutes, you've got the guts to your soup.  You can roast this at night while watching TV, then throw the roasted veggies in the fridge or freezer to make the soup later when you've got time/energy/will.

I had my husband come "play" with the hand blender / immersion circulator for one batch so I could report on that texture.  I didn't like it as much as I like the blended soup.  The creamy smoothness I get from putting everything into the blender wasn't duplicated with my stick blender.  It was still wonderful, but just not the same creamy smoothness that I have been craving since I first tried this recipe.

Stay hungry.

Roasted Carrot Tomato Soup

Today's creation is a roasted carrot and tomato soup.  And it's so good, my tummy hurts from eating two HUGE bowls way too fast.

One medium red onion
6 large carrots
olive oil
salt
white wine
6 cups chicken broth (or 6 cups water and 6 boullion cubes)
6oz can tomato paste

Dice onion and carrots, but they don't have to be pretty because you're going to puree the whole thing once it's all cooked.  You will want the carrots about the same size just so they cook evenly.  You don't want some to burn while others aren't even tender yet, and you'll get that if they are very uneven.  No need to get out the ruler here ... just a reasonable eyeball is plenty good.

Add a little olive oil to a heavy duty pan, large enough to hold 8 cups or more in volume.  Add the diced onion and carrots and a little salt to help bring out their moisture.  Be careful not to over salt at this point.  You'll want to check for seasoning after you've purred your soup, because you never really know how salty your stock, broth, or boullion will be once it's reduced.  I cooked the carrots and onions low and slow.  Didn't really bring the heat up past a 7 while they were roasting.  You can also place your pan in the oven and let it roast, rather than having it on the stove top at this point.  You want the slow caramelizing of the natural sugars in both the carrots and onions to come out slowly so they don't scorch and burn. 

Once the carrots are tender, crank the heat up and watch it carefully for the caramalization to get a little darker, but still be careful not to burn it.  Now deglaze with a cup of white wine.  Scrape up the toasty bits of carrot and onions that got stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Add the 6 cups of broth / bouillon and water.  Bring this to a boil just to get it's attention, then turn it off.  Using a slotted spoon, scoop out half of your cooked carrot chunks and place them in your blender or food processor.  Yes, more will fit, but do not put more than 1/3 max capacity into your blender or processor.  Ladle a cup or more of the liquid into the blender too.  Put the lid on the blender.  Place a kitchen towel over the lid and hold it down tight.  HOT LIQUIDS IN THE BLENDER WILL EXPAND, SPLURT OUT, AND BURN YOU.  Putting the kitchen towel on top of the lid will help protect you from getting hurt.  Your mixture will be very thick, so use a spatula and scoop it back into the soup pot.  Scoop out the rest of the cooked carrot chunks and repeat the pureeing process.  Do it in 2 batches so you don't get hurt and don't send carrot soup splattering and shooting all over your kitchen.

Return the last of the puree to the soup pot and stir.  Add your tomato paste and whisk everything until it's all blended, thick, creamy, and smooth.  Taste for seasoning, and add a little more salt if you'd like it.

Would be fabulous with a big hunk of crusty bread with Parmesan cheese toasted on top.  But I had mine straight up with a side of diet coke.  Twice.  Yeah ... two bowls of this and there's more to have for supper.  I'll freeze what's left so I can have more later.  This would also make a DREAMY pasta sauce.  Add some roasted butternut squash chunks to some whole wheat pasta or some spaghetti squash, and you'll have a dreamy meal that you'll swear should be illegal!

Stay hungry.