The Simple Joys of Summer- Blueberry's in Milk

One of the best things about the summer is how full of flavor fresh fruits and vegetable's are. They taste best when kept in their most simple, freshest form.  Vine ripened tomatoes still warm from the sun, eaten as an apple; their juices dripping down your chin. Plump blackberries staining your fingertips with you sneaking half as many as your pail can hold. You can't beat nature in most beautiful form.

My childhood memories from summer always include my parents countertop lined with more tomatoes then one knows what to do with, zucchini's larger then my forearm and enormous bowls full of fresh picked blueberries from our neighbor Emma's patch. Snacking involved popping cherry tomatoes one after another, handfuls of blueberries with each pass through the kitchen and crunching on green beans right off the vine while playing in the backyard.

Even as an adult, I feel the very best way to eat blueberries is as I did as a child: a nice handful placed in a bowl, top with ice cold milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar.  It honestly can't be beat!   Lately I have been adding sprigs of fresh mint as well.  It makes a pretty garnish, but please don't throw it away!  Tear it up and enjoy the lovely flavor it brings to the blueberries.  A match made in heaven.

What are your simple joys of summer?

Angel Hair with Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon and Green Onions

One of my most favorite things about summer time is the wonderful bounty I get to reap the benefits of from my parents amazing vegetable garden.  There really isn't much better then vegetable's that come straight out of the dirt and go directly into your kitchen.  This evening at dinner I found myself the proud owner of big, beautiful green onions.

Oh how I love green onions!  I can eat them any way... raw dipped in salt, scrambled in eggs, sliced into large sections and sauteed with stir fries,  grilled, I could go on and on.  So, when I say proud owner- I mean it!

As much as I love onions, I HATE canned tomatoes- that is unless they are canned by my mom or they are high quality San Marzano's.  But my dad told me about this product he stumbled across at Marc's.  They are Italian cherry tomatoes canned in their own sauce by the company Rienzi.  Both him and my mom have raved about how good they were, so the last time I was at Marc's I snagged some up.  They are also available in Picante style, so be watchful- they will be much spicier!  Delicious, but a bit of a different taste.

So tonight I was thinking pasta.  A simple homemade sauce made from these beautiful green onions, I'd give the tomatoes a whirl, a little garlic, herbs from my garden and some bacon for good measure. The outcome was wonderful!  The tomatoes tasted very fresh and are very plump and juicy- not at all what you would expect from these canned little guys.  I will most certainly be buying them again.  A definite new pantry staple.  Yum! Thanks Mom and Dad for the recommendation!

Capellini with Cherry Tomatoes, Bacon and Green Onions

Half a box Capellini Pasta (Angel Hair), cooked al dente (7-8 minutes)
4 strips Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, cooked and set to drain on paper towels, chopped
2-4 green onions (depending on size), both green and white parts chopped
half yellow onion, diced
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets 
2 garlic cloves, minced
a nice bunch fresh herbs; Basil, Italian Parsley, and Oregano, Chiffonade (cut into long thin strips)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Saute the yellow onion in the olive oil until translucent.  Add the green onion and garlic and saute until soft and fragrant, but still colorful.  Carefully pour in the tomatoes, with the sauce and add the broccoli.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the fresh herbs, reserving some basil for garnish.  Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes.  Add bacon, toss with pasta and top each serving with the reserved basil and fresh  parmesan cheese.  Serve immediately.  

Fridays, Feasting With Friends- Featuring Judy Trapp

“One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.”  

~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'

Anyone who has tasted my mom's cooking understands how amazing she is. I owe my whole love of cooking to her.  She taught me all the basics- how toss a salad, bake cookies, the secret to a perfect hard boiled egg, the trick to creamy mashed potatoes, and how to prepare and stuff a turkey.  She had such a wonderful way of teaching how to do something.  It was completely hands on.  She would tell us what we needed to do and then just let us do it.  I am sure we ate lots of lumpy mashed potatoes until I learned how to make them just right- and she never complained.  She knew that if she critiqued too much we wouldn't gain confidence in the kitchen.  Instead she would just guide our hands in the right direction knowing we would get it in time.  Even today, having a house of my own, she is still the first person I call when I need some direction on a recipe.  And to this, Mom I thank you!  

So for this segment of Fridays, Feasting with Friends I bring you no other then my mom, Judy Trapp.  She is a woman I feel more people definitely need to learn more about!  She is humble, modest and the most sincere person I have ever known.  What a wonderful example God gave to my sister and I of a Virtuous Woman! I am proud that as I am growing up into motherhood I am becoming more and more like her.  I love you Mom!

Judy Trapp

My mom and Jackson when he was just 5 months old.  

• What is your favorite thing to cook? I love to bake, especially breads.  But for favorite foods I guess I would say "comfort foods".  Roast Chicken, pot roast, pork and saurkraut, etc.  I also love making soups of all kinds. 
• What is your least favorite Thing to cook?  I have to say appetizers.
• What is your favorite restaurant and are there any you are dying to try?  Can I say two? Number one all time favorite is Pier W.  My next closest to #1 would be Mallorca.  Dying to try?  I'd have to say one of Michael Symon's restaurants.  
• Where did you learn to cook and at what age did you start cooking?  I learned most of my cooking and especially baking from my sister, Mary Ann.  She is a wonderful cook and baker.  I spent a lot of time at her house when I was young.  There wasn't anything she didn't try and perfect.  
• What would you choose to be your last meal on earth? Anything Shrimp!  Or also scallops.
• What are you currently reading?  I've been reading Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaib and Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You by John MacArthur and I'm almost finished with Bordeaux Betrayal:A Wine Counrty Mystery by Ellen Crosby.  This one is about wine country in Virginia.  
• What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget?  That's a toughy.  I have quite a few.  One is an appliance gadget- the egg cooker.  One's I use the most are the cheese grater, herb gratter and zester and also my garlic mincer.
• Do you have a signature go-to dish?  I don't know if it would be a signature dish but I bake scones for special occasions with a homemade clotted cream and jam.
• What is your favorite thing about Cleveland?  I love Cleveland.  We have a beautiful Metropark system that very, very few cities have.  The West Side Market.  The cultural aspect of Cleveland with the Orchestra, museums, operas and Theater District is second to none!  
• Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you still cook it at home?  Pieroges.  One memory is going to St. Peter and Paul Church somewhere in the now Treemont area of Cleveland.  I went there with my father and waited in line for them.  If you were "real good" while waiting in line you got a nice warm, butter dripping pierogi for free!  Now we go to one of the several churches that make them, usually St. Josaphat.  And when we get in the car we eat several of the nice, warm, butter dripping pierogies!  Also my sister, Mary Ann would make a cream shrimp dish with hard boiled egg and served it over mashed potatoes- real yummy.  I had it once when I went to visit her in Florida and made it for you and your sister one afternoon for lunch.  It was still very yummy like I remember.  
• Top 3 Movies of all time?  #1 Gone with the Wind #2 Godfather 1,2, and 3 #3 Moonstruck.
• Where do you do your grocery shopping?  Mostly at Giant Eagle, Heinen's, Marc's and Super Wal-mart.  Each one of these stores has their purpose.
• What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?  Chocolate.  Chocolate cake and Godiva liquor at special times!! 
• Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year? Master a good healthy whole wheat whole grain bread
• You have an amazing herb garden in your backyard and I was lucky enough to have you help me with mine.  My only woe with having a garden is I can't clip from it now that it is blanketed with snow!  What is the easiest way for me to preserve and dry herbs so I can enjoy them year round?  Having an herb garden outside your backdoor in your own yard is a real joy.  Nothing is better than picking and using them fresh.  Unfortunately living where we do once a frost comes not many are left.  Thyme and Rosemary are there under the snow, but that is about it.  I found trying to dry them and keep their taste is very difficult.  They need to be dried quickly to keep color and flavor.  I do all my drying in the microwave.  Put a cup of water in the back of the oven. You don't want to blow out your microwave.  On white paper towels (no prints) place a single layer of clean, dry herbs and cover with another paper towel and set the oven to 30 second intervals.  Keep timing until the the herbs are crisp.  Let dry in air before packing away.  I used jars.  Also herbs to put in sauces or soups you could pack in ice cube trays and fill with water to freeze.  As you need some, take a cube out.  About one teaspoon will fill a cube.  But always remember when it comes to herbs- Fresh is Best.  Tiny herbs like Thyme simply air dry and they dry quickly.  There is so much more but limited to space and time, so these are the basics.  

Gourmet Tomato Soup

Ingredients

3 Quarts of tomatoes

2 Cups chicken Broth

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 celery rib, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4-1/2 Cup cream or Half and Half 

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

Saute carrots, celery, onion with garlic until soft but not brown.  Add tomatoes and begin cooking until they soften and add the chicken broth.  Bring to boil and then simmer until all if soft.  If you want a creamy soup, mash the veggies and tomatoes with a potato masher.  Add the cream and season with salt and pepper.  If using half and half, don't boil.  You could season with basil or dill.  Also you could add shrimp or rice or even a pasta, tortellini is good.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when ready to serve.

Thank you so much mom for taking the time for this interview!  I loved reading all of your answers!  I made this soup last weekend when I was craving a grown-up grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup dinner and I was incredibly happy with the results.  It is a very simple recipe but the flavor is amazing.  This was one of those times cooking when the recipe came out exactly like I remember my mom's tasting.  It was a proud moment!  Please everyone stay tuned next Friday for my interview with my dear friend Tera Pepper!   

How About Some Culinary Resolutions This Year?!

OK, I am never really one for making New Year's Resolutions.  In the past I would always tend to go all gun-ho for a month or two and then just somehow completely forget about them.  (But then again, doesn't everybody?!)  So it has been ages since I attempted anything like it.  Sure I would love to loose weight, get more organized, etc. but I need to focus on those things differently then as a "NYR".  While reading one of my favorite food blogs The Bitten Word I was completely inspired to create my very own Culinary Resolutions of 2010.  This is sooooo doable and also so much fun!  Since when were NYR fun?  Drum roll please.......

• Stretch my Own Mozzarella by Hand- After reading about this in Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle last year I have been dying to try this.  Well, this will be the year!  I will need an extra set of hands- any takers?   
• Cook a Whole Fish- With growing up the daughter and now a wife of a fisherman I have cooked countless fish filets but have never made an entire one, head and all.  There are two recipes I would love to try- Salt Crusted and also Thai Fried Fish with a Chili Sauce.  We will see which one wins out.  Maybe both!
• Learn to Make Pasta by Hand- I want to make sure to do a gnocchi and also a spaghetti of some sort.
• Shop at Local Farmer's Market's More Regularly- There are so many amazing ones around here I need to start taking advantage of them.  Luckily I have the Trapp Co-op (love you Mom and Dad!) so our countertops are abundant of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, etc.  But I want to extend to eggs, dairy, and any vegetables that my parents don't already grow.  Buying local and reducing my carbon footprint has become more and more important to me and this will definitely help that.
• Cook Beef Wellington- I have eaten this at a restaurant only a few times and my parents made it one Christmas Eve, but I have never attempted it myself.  After watching so many of the contestants on Hell's Kitchen mess it up millions of times, I know it will be a challenge.  But I feel I need to at least attempt it!
• Make Homemade Ice Cream- This will involve purchasing an ice cream maker at some point.  I am pretty sure I can find a second hand one at a local Goodwill...  anyone have one in their basement collecting dust I could borrow? :)

These last two resolutions go hand in hand.....

• Expand My Herb Garden to Include Some Vegetables- My herb garden began with just a handful of the most common- parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, planted in a long pot that I carried with me from one renter to the next until we finally moved into our very own home.  Here I finally have my in-ground Herb Garden I always wished for, and each year have expanded bigger and bigger to incorporate a wide variety of herbs and even a few flowers for color.  This year I would like to add some onions, garlic, leeks, and possibly some potatoes.
• Begin Composting- I grew up in a home with the Tuperware bowl on the countertop collecting the days  worth of eggshells, vegetable peelings, used coffee grounds, etc. waiting to make it out back to the family compost pile.  I finally have a yard of my own with the room to do so.  Now I just have to decided on which type to do.

There you have it!  8 New Years Resolutions that I think I could actually accomplish and have fun doing at the same time.  Have any of you ever made Culinary Resolutions or do you have any for this year?  What were they and where you successful?  I would love to hear all about it- please leave them in the comments!

Food, Oh Glorious Food!

Food. Isn't it such a beautiful word? It not only conjures up the instant thought of "What's for dinner tonight?", what new restaurant do I want to try out this weekend, or the fabulous memories that a single food item can bring back to life. I love all things about food, cooking, baking, the sharing of recipes, the togetherness that a good meal can bring to a table-full of friends and family. I devour cookbooks like novels and I admit that I am 100% addicted to cooking magazines as well. On any given night, you are quite likely to catch us at home on our wonderful new couch snuggled in afghans watching one of our many favorite cooking shows (Top Chef, Iron Chef America, or Hell's Kitchen anyone?!) Thanks to Julia Child, Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and the like, the home cook has so many options and resources available to them.

My life as a foodie began when I was young. My parents were always encouraging us to try out new foods growing up. We could never leave the table without at least eating a spoonful of the new, weird, or just unappealing (at the time) vegetables, seafoods, or whatever was for dinner that night. They would always tell us that the more we try something, the more we will fall in love with it. And you know what- THEY WERE RIGHT!  My own proof of this is will appear in one of my next posts so stay tuned!!

My mom and dad love to tell the story of the time we were all out to a fancy restaurant and they ordered lobster for my sister and I to have for dinner. I was only a baby at the time, and the server was astounded that not a single drop of lobster fell off of my highchair tray and onto the floor.  I like to think I had good taste even then!

I am proud of the fact that I will try pretty much anything. Ok, almost anything- I'm no Andrew Zimmern! But I AM adventurous and because of that I have found some truly amazing food out in that beautiful world of ours. I have decided to keep this blog as a place for me to share my new recipes, talk about failed attempts in my kitchen (yes, this does happen!), review cookbooks and restaurants or anything else foodie that comes to mind. I hope you enjoy my journey as much as I do. Happy eating!