What’s Your Favorite Meal?

Some folks like meat and potatoes. Others like soups or desserts (hey, that can be a meal!) or raw vegetables.

I was recently thinking of my favorite meal. I think it’s salad. No, not the bland American salad with iceberg lettuce, a tomato and maybe a few cucumber slices. No no no. I mean THIS KIND OF SALAD:

Actually, I like my salad to be even more packed than that.

Because it’s been so hot, I’ve been making more salad meals. I’ve discovered that I really, really like these kinds of meals. My perfect, favorite salad would have these ingredients:

Romain lettuce
Bibb lettuce
Radicchio
Pepperoncini
Stuffed grape leaves
Greek olives
Banana pepper rings
Feta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Roma plum tomatoes
Artichokes
Cucumbers

…and those are just the basics.

I used to hate salads as a girl. But then again, all we had was the boring American salad. And I disliked tomatoes and cucumbers then, so all I’d eat is the iceburg lettuce, lol! No wonder I didn’t like salads.

I like to make these for the family, but unfortunately, they can be a little expensive. Some of the nicer ingredients I like may cost as much as one of those cheap netbooks. It’s a nice price for a netbook, but no so nice for one meal.

What’s your favorite meal?

BBQ, Baby!

Well, after procrastinating for MONTHS, I finally mustered the courage to open the BBQ grill. I got it only last year. It’s a VERY nice grill (well, best one I’ve ever had) and it came in very handy when we had no kitchen during the 2010 kitchen renovation.

In April, we had a vicious windstorm that blew the grill right over! I was afraid of looking inside. I had become rather burned out from fixing things, and didn’t want to face a broken grill. So I procrastinated. But then the weather got very hot and then I got a nice patio set. So I reconsidered. I know! It sounds like something out of the bipolar rehab treatment centers or something, I was up and down so much. :-p

But the grill worked and I had a blast cooking!

The only problem with the grill is the ignitor. It’s that little battery-powered device that, when pressed, ignites the gas. The ignitor ALWAYS dies on me after ONE TIME, for every grill I’ve ever had. I put in a new battery, I check the contacts, everything. What is it with ignitors? They never last more than one time.

SO I have to light the grill by hand, which I hate. :-p

Does your grill ignitor work? Got any suggestions for mine?

Guest Post: Vacation Cook-Off Vietnamese Style

This is a well-done (get it, haha!) guest post about Vietnamese cooking. I have never had Vietnamese food (only Korean), but after reading this article, the Pho dish with shrimp sounds wonderful! Learn more about Vietnamese cuisine; would you try it? If you have tried it, did you like it?

Vacation Cook-Off Vietnamese Style

Vietnamese cuisine is fast becoming globally renowned, for its exotic tastes and simplistic, fresh ingredients. Cooking for a family requires taking health into consideration and there are many calorie-conscious options to chose from. Consider taking a family vacation to Vietnam and learning about the unique culinary tastes from the friendly Vietnamese people.Travelling to Vietnam is not expensive and the term ‘value for money’ comes to mind. Whether it’s for decent and family-friendly accommodation or safe and mouth-watering street food, what better way to is there then to take a vacation and return with delectable and healthy recipes that can be easily replicated.

Lets Cook on Holiday

Many moms often want to take vacations and not have to step foot into a kitchen. However learning to cook in Vietnam is a completely different experience. Even more enticing is the idea that family and friends have the opportunity to learn together. Cooking courses are not necessarily designed for 3 Star Michelin chefs but more for having fun with your loved ones.The prices of the cooking course range from $15 to $50 and are usually half day courses, beginning in the morning and ending in the afternoon.

The cooking course begins with a trip to the local food market where you learn while helping to choose the ingredients to cook with.There is nothing more exhilarating than experiencing local produce at its finest. At first it may be a culture shock, as we are used to our own supermarkets with perfect aisles and clearly marked items. Vietnam’s local markets are more rustic and the experience is more authentic. After returning from the local market, the class begins and is usually finished in time for you to enjoy a delicious lunch cooked by you.

Fabulous Pho and Fresh spring-rolls

The types of food you learn to cook will vary according to where you take your course. Interestingly the food changes from North to South of the country with different variants of spring-rolls, broths and noodle dishes.

You will learn to cook Pho, a broth with noodles, which is one of the traditional Vietnamese dishes which may be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner (I personally prefer to have it for dinner). Pho is all about fresh ingredients including mint, basil, lime, chili and ginger. One can make a meat, chicken, shrimp or vegetarian Pho. A staple ingredient for Vietnamese cooking is Fish sauce which is used in all kinds of dishes, including the Pho. Pho is easy and quick to cook and is a healthy and hearty dinner option for the working Mom or Dad.

A cooking course would not be complete without learning to make fresh spring rolls.Fried spring rolls are tasty but laced with calories. Fresh spring rolls are a perfect replacement as they are not deep-fried and have a wonderful texture and taste. They are a fantastic way to get the family involved in preparing healthy appetizers.The main ingredient is Rice paper and it’s up to you to decide what you wish to put inside. My favourite is rice paper filled with pork, fresh herbs, vegetables and peanuts with a tangy Hoisan Dipping Sauce.

Once you’re home from your amazing trip, these dishes are simple to re-create in your own kitchen and many of the ingredients are easily available from supermarkets and speciality Asian stores. More Importantly it is an inexpensive way to relive your holiday moments and feed a hungry family, healthy and tasty food.

Kerri Prissman writes for Essential Travel, providers of travel extras, travel information and travel news.

Sidewalks Are Sizzling

After an outright rainy spring (we were literally deluged with rain), June is dry and HOT. Man, can’t it EVER just be 70 degrees and perfect for stretch of time? Things bob up and down too much.

Anyway, I haven’t been cooking much in this heat. My region broke records this week with 97 degrees and intense humidity. It’s way too hot to run the oven or stovetop (even when we make tea, it pumps more heat into the house). So I’ve hit the doldrums as far as dinner time goes. The heat makes me listless, and I can’t stop work at my job because I’m listless. By the time everyone wants dinner, I am pooped! And out of ideas.

Unfortunately, I’ve resorted to take-out Chinese or pizza at least once a week. That stuff is expensive. But at least it’s not MY kitchen that’s getting hot!

If we don’t do take out, I may grab cold fried chicken at the local deli or something (also expensive).

I guess I’m totally out of ideas this year. I haven’t had a chance to unpack the barbeque grill and set it up (but then again, it’d been raining since January). Even then, I dislike standing over the greasy grill, cooking heavy meats in the blazing sun outside. When I grill, all the grease from the grill sprays into my face and on my glasses. Ick, it’s disgusting. I have to stock up on acne cream all summer long. :-p

What do you do for summertime meals? I’d love to know. I’m a totally out of ideas!!

Botany Monotony

My son is taking a biology course right now. He finds the sections on plants rather dull, but I actually like them. This is coming from a lady who never took biology in school. Can you believe that I managed to get my high school diploma without completing a biology course? I only took a few weeks of it…. I think that’s all that was required. Halfway, I quit and took more art classes. Ugh, I was such a Bohemian.

ANYWAY. SO we’re learning about botany (again– this is my third child). I think that knowing about plants helps you to be a better gardener. I never knew anything about pollination or monocots or root systems. I have found it to be helpful in my culinary exploits. Translated, that means: I no longer kill my garden plants. Haha

So the son would much rather be learning about ATV Parts, I’m sure. Or guitars– sheesh, guitars! We have so many guitars you’d think we have a tree growing out back.

Well, with all this school activity going on, I haven’t had any time to cook anything good. :-p I use my George Foreman grill and slap on some hamburgers or hotdogs these days. Oh how I love that grill!! I will have to do a review. It’s phenomenal! But it shows you how little I’m doing in the kitchen– just enough to squeak by.

How’s your summer turning out?