More Than Food

Pulling pictures together to write this post and it feels a bit like all I have done this weekend is make food, collect food and eat food.  Let's take a look.

Friday night my husband was working and I took the opportunity to make a "wife-friendly meal" that I saw Katie Lee make on The Kitchen - Low Country Boil Packets.  Low Country Boil is one of those things I could eat until I pop.  One day I hope to be part of one where they dump the buckets of food down the middle of the table and people just reach in and chow down.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the clams in this recipe, but I made it work with a little extra shrimp. I was surprised by the lemons in the recipe just because I don't remember lemons used in boils I've had in the past, but who am I to turn down a lemon?

For this particular version, you make individual foil packets to be cooked on the grill.  Layer the sliced potatoes and sausage - top wtih shrimp and corn - sprinkle with scallions and a couple lemon slices and tightly wrap in foil. Great thing is you can prepare packets in advance and it only takes 15-20 minutes on the grill.  However, this is where it went wrong for me. I could not get the grill to light...20 matches later, I decided to just cook them in the oven.

I set the oven for 425 and cooked them about 20 minutes. The shrimp was a bit overdone, but everything else was perfect. At this point, I was still on the fence about the lemon, but as I tasted those buttery, lemony potatoes with a hint of Old Bay seasoning, I was sold. In fact, it got me thinking about a lemony roasted potato recipe I saw on Rachael Ray recently. I have a feeling you are going to see that one soon.

Saturday day morning I decided to address some tomatoes my mother-in-law had given me. They were mostly Roma tomatoes, so not my favorite for sandwiches and such. I found this  Crockpot Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes recipe on Grow a Good Life blog. I had some spaghetti noodles, but no sauce in the pantry so it seemed like a win/win. I supplemented the fresh tomatoes with some of the frozen ones that needed to be used up too. I started with about 5-6 pounds of tomatoes which pretty much filled my large crock pot. Chopped onions, carrots, olive oil and spices joined the tomatoes for a long day of simmering.

Pretty much from the start those Italian herbs smelled amazing. After about 4 hours it looked like this...not very saucy yet. To be honest, I expected the onions and carrots to be more cooked and broken down than they are here.

There was a whole direction about using a food mill to process the tomatoes to remove the seeds and skins. But, I am a little bit lazy and decided to just use my immersion blender. If nothing else, it was a whole lot less messy.  Once blended it was back to simmering for several more hours.

It didn't thicken up quite the way I expected in the crock pot. I ended up moving it to my Dutch oven and simmering it on the stove for about 30 minutes to reduce the liquid a bit. I ended up with almost two quarts of sauce.

One quart into the freezer and one for a Sunday night spaghetti (I added turkey, peppers and onions). We have leftovers for lunches :)  Full disclosure...was it the best sauce I've ever eaten?  No, but it's not bad and I used up things we had, so that is a win. I am not particularly loyal to any one brand of sauce, so buying sauce can be hit and miss too.

On Saturday there were a couple of festivals I really wanted to check out. First was a Festival of Nations, I found out about last minute. In addition to crafts and entertainment, there were 60+ food booths representing just about any cuisine you could imagine. That one sounded like a complete mad house - they were expecting 125,000 over the course of two days. Huge crowds are not my favorite, but the chance to try all those foods in one place had me seriously considering it...maybe next year.

The second festival was the food truck festival I mentioned in the last post. I decided to brave the heat and humidity to check it out.  My husband was busy getting ready for his game, so I went by myself, right as it opened. I had a chance to circle around the 20 or so trucks to check their menus and make some choices before any serious lines formed.

I had looked up most of the trucks and their menus prior to the event. I was super excited about this one and the menu I found online. I had picked out three items I wanted to try....and not a single one of them was on Saturday's menu...whomp! whomp!  Spoiler alert: I have still never tried poutine. Although these choices may have been delicious I ended up skipping this truck completely. For a festival like this I really wish more of the trucks had smaller plates available. Even the trucks that sold tacos sold them in threes for $8+.  With a somewhat limited budget and one tummy I didn't want to invest so much in a single dish.

The first item I bought was the Drunken Pig cupcake. It was kind of ironic because I had told my husband before I left I wasn't interested in the sweet trucks in the least. However, when I was walking by this one I heard a woman inquire about the Drunken Pig. My ears perked up immediately because I have had that cupcake at another event.

This pictures is actually from the first time I tasted the Drunken Pig last summer - you will see later why I used this picture today. Cupcake description from Sweet Divine\speaks for itself on the flavor of this cupcake that helped them win Cupcake Wars on Food Network  Newcastle beer and sharp cheddar cheese cupcake, sharp cheddar cream cheese frosting, topped with BACON!!  

Clearly they do NOT skimp on the bacon.  A beer cupcake is not something I would try without the lure of cheese and bacon. It is perfection with sweet and salty, creamy and crunchy.  Chances are I will sidle up to the Sweet Divine truck in the future and ask them to "take my money".

Speaking of the lure of cheese.... welcome to the Cheese Shack!

Since I was by myself and it was ridiculously hot and humid I decided to shop for my goodies and take them home to share in the cool goodness and company of my beloved.  On the way to the car I had a scary moment, in which I felt like I would pass out. I just can't take the heat/humidity. Fortunately, since I arrived early I was parked close by....a bottle of water and full blast a/c got me home safely (don't worry I did not start driving until I recovered).

Drum roll, please.....here is the budget busing bounty (I spent the whole $26 from the change jar and I am okay with it).  First up: from Seoul Taco (Korean/Mexican fusion truck). I got one beef and two pork tacos. The pork was the clear winner and my beloved did let me have a little bite :)  I confess I have had this truck's tacos before and knew I liked them - just forgot to go all pork or maybe their beef was better last time.

My wildcard purchase was this Feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean Stew) from Brazilian Express.  Feijoada is billed as the national dish of Brazil. The beans are cooked with short ribs and smoked sausage and served with rice. I am a sucker for pretty much any ethnic cuisine...call it a "national dish" and of course, I want to try it.  In the picture below notice the crumbling looking substance - farofa.

In Brazil, where farofa is particularly popular, typical recipes call for raw cassava flour to be toasted with butter, salt, sausage, olives, onions, garlic, hard-boiled eggs, and/or baconuntil golden brown. It is an essential accompaniment to feijoada^[1] and Brazilian barbecue. In Brazil, farofa is also used in a stuffing for poultry and other dishes, usually containing raisins, nuts, and/or finely chopped sweet fruits like apples and bananas.

This particular farofa didn't seem quite as fancy, but had a good flavor. I would have liked a bit less or had it completely on the side. It was a bit dry with the rice.

Because I was sharing and wanted a sure thing....the Buffalo Melt. It ended up being my husband's favorite (although he liked everything I brought home). The sandwich was rotisserie chicken smothered in buffalo ranch sauce and mozzarella - all perfectly grilled. Pretty much buffalo chicken dip in grilled bread. Yum!

Finally my Drunken Pig cupcake - It was super hot out...the box tipped over in the car...it was delicious...enough said.

Sunday was game day. Every couple of weeks my husband several friends over to play Dungeons and Dragons. We always do a potluck meal. Since they often play Sunday mornings, my breakfast Pinterest board has been busy. I enjoy coming up with new ideas to feed them. As soon as I saw these Game Day Breakfast Sliders from Mom Endeavors blog, I knew they were next on the menu. Super simple - layer split Hawaiian rolls with cheese, scrambled eggs, ham and more cheese.

 Brush with melted butter mixed with a touch of brown sugar and yellow mustard.

 Bake for about 15 minutes to get everything hot and melty. They did not last long!

My husband and friends played Dungeons and Dragons eons ago - long before I knew them. Since we've been together the guys have talked about playing again. Finally, back in February they started a game. I tried to play with them a couple of times, but turns out it isn't really my thing. Honestly, it is  more fun to be able to conspire and plan the games with him - which makes me the unofficial Asst Dungeon Master (not to be confused with Assistant to the Dungeon Master for The Office fans). If I were still playing, he would have to keep all his planning a secret. That would be pretty difficult in our small house. The hours he spends preparing for each session would be off limits for me. He does an incredible job planning each session (sessions themselves are 4-5 hours each a couple times a month). He currently.has a massive campaign in progress. I can't wait to see what the guys think as it continues to unfold. They are on session 13 and my husband is confident it will be at LEAST that many more to conclude. I am amazed at how creative and artistic my husband is. I snapped a few pictures today of maps he created, which were actually in use for today's session.

I love this scroll he made for his group. It is a contract between a character he created and the rest of the group, who have been "hired" by that character. I think it looks cool with its Norse inspiration.  The text is seriously funny in the context of the group - such a clever guy. I want to preserve it so it can hang in his command center as a memento of this campaign. There is something really great about seeing someone you love enjoy what they do...not to mention being proud of their mad skills :)

Finally, one big announcement....I read an ENTIRE book this weekend. I seriously can't remember the last time I read a book.  My 16 year old niece recently read and recommended this one.

We had a good discussion about the types of books we like. We both like a book with a good hook, written from more than one character's perspective and some solid plot twists. (I am also obsessed with historical fiction, but didn't win her over to that...yet.) She is currently reading the Jodi Picoult book Small Great Things. She picked it out after I recommended the author. That reminds me I need to check if she is finished...my reading mojo is primed and Small Great Things is next on my list.

Meanwhile, at least I did something non-food related this weekend. As for the book, it was pretty good story. I felt like I could tell when the author was trying to make the reader suspect certain people and didn't buy in. I am honestly, not sure when I solved the "who done it" part of the book, but it did make sense. I hate when I read a mystery and the conclusion seems out of left field. I enjoyed the book, but mostly, I like that my niece and I can now discuss the book and the various themes in it.

Like I said it has been awhile since I read a book. I used to love to read, but since I got my "old lady eyeballs" - welcome to 40! - it has been more of a struggle. This weekend I just embraced the magnifying glass and enjoyed.

How was your weekend?  Hope you are off to a great week!