Vacation

I got back from vacation today...a week in Northern Michigan, in a cottage by Bass Lake. It was the vacation I had been dreaming of for months. The kind of vacation when you forget what day it is, or even what time it is and you spend your day in flip flops and shorts. I read, laid on the beach, searched for beautiful rocks, walked and of course cooked. We (Dan and I) set out for Michigan on Friday night around 6pm and stopping for just a quick snooze somewhere in Iowa arrived to a rainy Michigan on Saturday evening. We made quick work of settling in to the little cottage on Bass Lake and headed for the grocery store to buy food for the week. We ended Saturday evening as we ended many this week with a glass of wine at the water's edge. Sunday morning we visited the local farmer's market in Interlochen and bought all kinds of fresh produce.... Blueberries, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, plums and watermelon and local honey. After the market we headed out for a drive, stopping at Point Betsie and the Sleeping Bear Dunes State Park. Monday rolled around and it was one of the best days of the whole week. The sun was shining and we spent the entire day sitting by the lake, reading and sipping on mimosas. Nothing else except for the delicious dinner we made from our farmer's market purchases. Grilled Chicken with a Peach-Honey Barbeque sauce, corn on the cob, cucumbers with onions and potato salad that Dan had whipped up. Tuesday brought around a bit of rain so we headed up to Lake Charlevoix, walked around the downtown then stopped and ate at a mexican restaurant in Traverse City. Wednesday morning started with a 3 hour walk, and the afternoon we headed to Esch Beach on Lake Michigan where I started my second book of the week. Dinner was wine, cheese, bread, olives and salami and smores over the fire pit on the beach. Thursday started innocently enough with a drive to "wherever the wind blows us" and we ended up visiting 4 wineries. Michigan is full of wineries and we sampled and bought at almost every stop. Friday was Dan's birthday so we headed back to Point Betsie and laid on the "somewhat chilly" beach and read our books until the rain started, then headed back to the cottage to "use up" the stuff that was in the fridge. I concocted a chicken dish, where I pounded 2 chicken breasts flat and then stuffed them with roasted tomatoes, sauteed spinach and garlic and brie cheese. Dan made some mashed potatoes, sauteed green beans and a blueberry crisp....and of course wine and cheese. Saturday morning we woke up to rain, steady rain and loaded up the car to come home. We stopped at 2 more wineries in southern Michigan and headed back to Denver, sad for vacation to be over, but so grateful that it was exactly the vacation I needed. I'm not including a recipe with this post, just some great pictures of the delicious food we ate this week.

I'm cooking dinner....that's final!

This week, as most do, flew by at lightning speed. Monday morning I was off to Yuma, Arizona. I love to go to Yuma, even though it's miserably hot, it provides me the opportunity to indulge in my "every 6 week" IN n OUT burger...which I find to be one of the most delicious burgers I have ever eaten in my life. I flew back to Denver on Wednesday night, headed straight downtown to the Oxford Hotel to pick up Kelly who was in town working for 2 days. Dinner at Zengo. Soft shell crab tacos, sushi, and braised short ribs...it is truly one of the most consistently delicious places I have ever eaten, and it is very near the top of my list of places I love to eat. Picked her up again on Thursday night and we walked through Larimer Square and the 16th Street Mall, then back to Zengo (not only is it one of my favorites, it is absolutely one of hers, so being that she doesn't get to Denver often, she had to take advantage of her time here). Friday night dinner at Le Central and "Julie & Julia" with Dan. While I'm not a food critic, although I could probably play one on tv, I was not really impressed with Le Central. The best part was the French martini!!! The movie however, was great. Sometimes it may sound frivolous to think that someone could be so passionate about food, but it was nice to see that and know that following your passions can really pay off. So, by the end of the week, I hadn't eaten a home cooked meal all week and I was determined to cook dinner on Saturday night. Armed with a idea I had been thinking about for a couple weeks and fresh from the inspiration of the movie, I whipped up some Lasagna Rolls, baked a couple loaves of bread and then stirred up a chocolate-coffee cake. A little red wine and ah.......bon appetit!

Lasagna Rolls

9 lasagna noodles

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 medium onion, diced fine

6 button mushrooms, diced fine

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 garlic clove, minced

salt and pepper to taste

Bechamel Sauce (see below)

Tomato Sauce (homemade or store bought)

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the lasagna noodles until they are pliable. Don't over cook them. Lay them in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet to cool. Set aside. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until garlic is tender, being careful not to burn the garlic. Remove mushroom mixture and brown the ground beef in the same skillet. Drain any grease and add the mushroom mixture back into the pan. Let cool slightly and then add herbs and cheeses. (It may be necessary to add more ricotta cheese if mixture seems too dry). Spread a layer of meat mixture onto each lasagna noodle and roll up, like a cinnamon roll. Set aside.

Bechamel Sauce

In a small saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter until melted. Add 2 tablespoons flour and stir until combined. Slowly stir in 1 1/4 cups warm milk. Stir until thickened. Add a dash of nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. (Although not traditional bechamel, for this dish, I also added 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese to the sauce).

To assemble, pour the bechamel in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place lasagna rolls, seam side down, in the sauce and then pour your favorite tomato sauce over the top. Sprinkle with more parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and let cheese brown a bit.

The end of July already?

It's been a while...work has really been beating me down! The days of summer are flying by and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot of it. I think a vacation is in the works...hopefully soon. A relaxing one, where all I do is sit on a beach and drink a few cocktails and maybe read a book. Ah! I spent 4 days in Nebraska this week and tonight when I got home I discovered some blueberries lurking in the back of the refrigerator. I forgot that I had bought them. Luckily, they were in perfect condition so I whipped up some muffins from a coffee cake recipe that I've made for years. I made some alterations to the recipe, as the milk in the refrigerator that the original recipe calls for had not fared so well in my weeks of travel.... This recipe can be made into a coffee cake or muffins.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

1/2 cup butter + 2 Tablespoons

2 eggs

2 cups fresh blueberries

8oz. cream cheese, diced

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

3 cups flour, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream the 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the sour cream and water. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries in 1/2 cup flour. (This helps keep the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the batter while baking). Add the blueberries to the batter. Fold in the cream cheese and the lemon zest. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch greased and floured pan or muffin cups. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons butter until mixture is crumbly. Spread on top of batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes if making large muffins or 1 hour if making 9x13 coffee cake.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

As usual, it's been a busy week. I spent Monday through Thursday in Yuma, Arizona. It was so hot, and I was definitely thankful my job doesn't require me to spend much time outside. I came home Thursday night, although it had seemed the universe had been conspiring against me getting home that day. I had planned to see Celtic Women at Red Rocks on Thursday night. The day started with a cancelled flight from Yuma to Phoenix due to mechanical difficulties with the plane...fair enough, I don't want to fly on any planes that have mechanical difficulties. So, I drove (like a bat...)to Phoenix. Got to the airport, made it with about 10 minutes to spare before the plane was boarding. Then a thunderstorm is dropping rain at the airport in Denver, so we have to circle for an extra 20 minutes until the storm passes. The concert starts at 8pm, by the time I am in my car and on my way to Dan's house, it's 6:30pm. So, to save you the rest of the story, we made it in perfect time, saw an awesome concert and as we turned around to fold up our seats, rain drops started again. Friday was a vacation day and I spent a lot of time cooking up some deliciousness for the 4th. The menu included pulled pork bbq, oven roasted potatoes, bleu cheese coleslaw and baked beans. I also made one of the easiest pies ever when you have some fresh fruit. We have always made it with peaches, but you can actually use any fresh fruit or in a pinch, canned fruit works well too. But, it's summer so there is no excuse not to take advantage of the fresh fruit. I should also mention my version of beer margaritas...easy and so refreshingly good. Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July.

Fresh Fruit Pie

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup flour

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

2 cups cold water

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 oz. package jello (same flavor as the fruit)

Fresh fruit

In a small bowl combine melted butter, flour and powdered sugar, pat mixture into a 9" pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick. Remove from heat and add jello. Stir well to combine. Place mixture in refrigerator to cool and thicken. Add the fruit and mix well, pour into the baked pie shell. Chill at least 4 hours. Serve with whipped topping.

Beer Margaritas

1-12oz. can frozen limeade

2-12oz. cans beer

4oz. tequila

4oz. vodka

4oz. spiced rum

1-12oz. can sprite

Mix in pitcher and serve over ice.

Turkey Burgers and a Marathon

I just finished a marathon...26 miles. Now, it took 4 days, but I'm finished!..Okay, the truth is Dan and I have been walking at Crown Hill. We had been doing six miles every night and today we did eight, which brought us to our marathon status. Someday I will run a real marathon, my goal has always been to do it before I turn 50. I have SEVERAL years before that happens, so the goal is absolutely attainable, it's just a matter of doing it. Now on to the turkey burgers. I had been obsessing about turkey burgers for about a week. Don't ask me why, it was just something that popped into my head one day and wouldn't leave until I made some. So, Friday after our 6 miles I made turkey burgers. I can't really give you a recipe for these particular turkey burgers because it was one of those throw this and this and this and voila it's a turkey burger. But, here's what I did.

I mixed ground turkey with diced fresh mushrooms. The mushroom will help to keep the turkey burgers a little moister. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, season salt, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne. Cook them on the grill until they are done.

I sauteed yellow pepper and red pepper strips with sliced red onions until they were tender, then tossed in some balsamic vinegar.

Finally, I took some cabbage, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper and tossed it together in a bowl.

The picture is Dan's burger, to which he added some dijon, jalapenos and light mayo. They really were delicious.

It's all about the blueberry...

Life is so busy right now, but it's summer, so I'm happy to be on the move. I spent the week here in Colorado...Colorado Springs and Pueblo. I worked in Denver yesterday and last night Dan and I went to see "Rent" at the Buell Theater. It was very good. The guys who originated the roles on Broadway and also starred in the movie had returned to the touring production. This morning, I decided I needed to use up the blueberries that had been in my fridge all week. I personally love the combination of lemon and blueberries, so I toyed with the idea of some kind of lemon blueberry cookie, but I tend to not have a lot of luck with cookies here at a higher altitude. What I decided was to return to the old stand by...a cupcake. I mixed up some batter then after they were out of the oven went to walk with Dan at Crown Hill. (This way I have worked off the cupcake before I ever eat it.... )I think we did roughly 6 miles. As we walked I considered the idea of adding a citrusy syrup to the cupcakes...the recipe is what evolved after I got back home and finished up the cupcakes. They make me think of summer and I'm so happy it's here.

Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes

1 stick butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 eggs

1/3 cup sour cream

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest and eggs until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and lemon juice. (Mixture may look curdled at this point, but will smooth out when you add the dry ingredients). Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter into 12 paper lined muffin cups. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Brush tops of each cupcake with the following mixture;

2 Tablespoons Barcardi Limon

3 Tablespoons simple syrup

Let cool completely. Meanwhile make frosting.

Lemon Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 cups confectioner's sugar

Beat all ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes and garnish with more fresh blueberries.

Zuchinni...

Okay, let me first say, hello, my name is Greg and I am a slacker...admitting it is the first step, I know. But I appear to only have been a slacker on the blog, so I guess that doesn't make it time for a full blown intervention. I've had a busy month, weekends packed with stuff to do, weeks filled with travel for work. I just haven't done much cooking. Let's see, a quick update...I made a surprise visit home to see my mom for Mother's Day, back to Denver on Monday and off to Rapid City, South Dakota on Wednesday. Back to Denver on Friday, then off to Arizona for the next week. Over the weekend, I helped Dan a bit with his back yard, met his friend Ann who came in for the week from England. Lots and lots and lots of rain over Memorial Day weekend, Denver Art Fair downtown, Boulder Creek Festival on Monday...tea in the tea house in Boulder and all the while rain. Then Wednesday off again to New Mexico. I finally broke and had to take a vacation day on Friday, just to rest and do the things that keep getting put off. So, during my trip to Arizona, I had some Zucchini Patties that were served with roasted red pepper hummus. The zucchini was so ground up that the only way you might know it was in there was to read it on the menu. I decided to try to make my own and wanted to actually see the zucchini. Here is the result. I'll be home for a couple days then off to St. George, Utah on Wednesday. The Belmar Farmer's Market starts this coming weekend, so it's getting to be that time of year where inspiration is just a vegetable or two away!

Zucchini Patties

1 small zucchini, finely diced

1/2 small onion, minced

1 egg

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dried italian bread crumbs

1/4 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients well in bowl. If the mixture is too runny, add more flour as needed. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 teaspoons butter in a large skillet. Drop batter into pan. Cook on each side until browned. Drain on paper plate and serve with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.