I Heart Food

Baked Pear and Arugula Salad (Barefoot Contessa)

Baked pear halves stuffed with melted Stilton blue cheese, toasted walnuts and dried cranberries, drizzled with a Port wine, apple cider, olive oil, lemon and brown sugar vinaigrette.  AKA heaven on a plate.

Did you know that I have a secret obsession with delicious food?  Cooking it, eating it, photographing it, sharing it.  I'm no pro, but it's true.  I enjoy the art of presentation.  I live for experiencing new tastes together that I never thought would work, i.e. roasted watermelon and cayenne pepper.  This is sort of a new development and just another trait I'm pretty sure I inherited from my dad.  I'll be honest, many nights end in Lean Cuisines or canned Lentil Soup, but when I have the time and energy, I find myself inspired to try something adventurous.  Most of the dishes I try are not attempted in bulk;  Wes is usually my guinea pig for a meal for two.  

My go-to Caprese Salad.  I LOVE a good salad.  This one takes about 2 minutes to throw together: Artisan lettuce mix, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, Texas Toast croutons, Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing, cracked pepper.  De-LISH.  

Zucchini-Potato Pancakes with Prosciutto and Plain Yogurt  (Williams-Sonoma)  This one was a winner with Liam.  So many great tastes together and great for breakfast or lunch.  

Chicken and Artichoke with Garlic Sauce (Primal Blueprint Quick-and-Easy Cookbook)  

With a prep and cook time of less than 30 minutes, you'll still have time to paint your nails and shave your legs before dinner time!  The perfect grain-free/sugar-free dinner dish, or couple with some whole-wheat pasta or garlic bread if you're not into the primal thing.

While I love cooking, I don't have the same enthusiasm for baking.  My family tries not to eat sugar  anyway, so I guess we don't consider it a huge domestic loss.  It's just that I've had SO many bad experiences baking at 7,000 feet;  I can't seem to get the flour/water ratios to work!  And if you don't get things right, you've just wasted a good one to two hours of your life.  I'll leave the cupcakes and layer cakes to someone else.  However, thanks to my mom, I do make a mean pie.  Well, pie crust.  ;-)

Bon appetit!