my second love in life...

well, in order for me to be able to keep up writing every day in may, i feel that i must include my second passion in life...which is food. i absolutely love cooking, grocery shopping, planning meals the whole shebang. except for doing the dishes, but i digress.

here you can see me at 1 1/2 years old sitting on the counter while my mom is cooking. she told me that i would just sit there mesmerized and wouldn't touch a thing. my sister annie is in the curls, and that's my other sister carol who was going through chemo at the time.



so here is an example of what i like to cook...simple things with loads of flavor and home made. i like to know what's in the food i eat and i try to stay away from preservatives and bad stuff like that. so i bought some lean ground turkey to make some meatballs with some spaghetti the other night. i had made enough to have leftover sauce and meatballs so i could turn it into this delicious submarine sandwich. that is fresh mozzarella cheese on one side and grated parmesan on the other. it was delicious.



i hope your mouth is watering now...if i ever get a chance to meet you in person i'd love to cook for you!

cheers!
xo diane

beautiful day part 2

okay, so if you read yesterday's blog you know that my friend caroline and i went to central market and were going to make something great with our finds. she's a vegetarian so instead of burgers & steaks we opted for something a little healthier....

a grilled veggie sandwich!

but first, here's arty vandalay whilst we grill...he was busy reading magazines and chatting with the girls...



i grilled zucchini, onion, a portabello mushroom and roasted a red pepper. we got some fresh pita bread from phoenicia bakery here in austin which is amazing. i took some simple goat cheese and added fresh garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, onion powder, red chili flakes and salt & pepper for our spread. we built the sandwiches with spread first, i added avocado, the roasted red pepper, mushroom, onion, tomato and mesclun greens. WOW! what flavor! so here is the sandwich in all its glory:



cheers!
xo diane

beautiful day part 1

we decided to spend a great deal of time outside today since the weather was so beautiful! sunny, dry, breezy and about 80 degrees. caroline and i went to central market to do a bit of grocery shopping for our grilled veggie sandwich.

since caroline is from chicago she was amazed at the bounty of produce that we offer here in the south. here are a few of her observations:

funky fruit


texas grown herbs


a plethora of dried peppers


and her favorite, the salsa bar


see what we did with some of the goodies that we got tomorrow!

cheers!
xo diane

smoking ribs

okay, so yesterday was another beautiful day in austin. not quite as cool as saturday but lovely nonetheless. so i decided to smoke some pork ribs. using mesquite chips soaked in water, the process is quite simple really. light up half the grill with natural wood charcoal and leave the other half open so your ribs aren't over direct heat.

here they are at the beginning:


i smoked them continuously for about 2 1/2 hours then finished them off in the oven for another hour or so. they were dark, rich and delicious! full of smoky flavor. my house smelled like a real texas bbq! we had some southwestern style rice and beans on the side and life was good.

here's carlos while we're outside:


and our table full of the activities we were partaking in during the smokefest.


and me....reading bon appetit to be inspired.



i'll have to post a picture of the finished ribs later....

cheers!
xo diane

the most beautiful day

i am sitting here in austin, tx at noon on saturday may 3rd and am in awe of the AMAZING weather that i am experiencing at this very moment. its cool, there's a breeze and its about 72 degrees. that makes it the most perfect weather in my book.

i'm going to go outside in my backyard and read my latest issues of bon appetit, everyday food, and take a peek into my newest cookbook, italian easy.



i used to watch this cooking show featuring ruth rogers and rose gray of the river cafe in london and it was amazing. the way it was filmed, the way they talked about food, and the dishes looked absolutely scrumptious! they even gave that cute rocker chef jamie oliver his start. these women know what they are doing!

well, off to be enlightened by food! have a great day....

cheers!
xo diane

blog-a-day for may

my friends venus & nicole extended a challenge to their friends to blog everyday in may. well, since i seem to need another challenge in my life right now,(insert sarcasm here.) i figured i'd join in.

i've been making some pretty delicious dinners lately and will be showcasing them here since i can. today's feature is one of my favorites of all time. its giada delaurentiis' short ribs w/ tagliatelle.




these are so succulent and delicious! you braise them for about 3 hours and then i garnished it with fresh parsley & bittersweet chocolate. yes, you read it right, chocolate! it just adds a slight hint of richness and sweetness to the dish.

the recipe is online. i follow this one exactly which usually isn't my style. i like to cross-reference many recipes and make my own. this one was just perfect on its own.

if you decide to make it please send me a picture or at least let me know how you like it....

cheers!
xo diane