Working on EAT & DRINK book 4

Marcus and I have been busy over the past couple months recipe testing and wine pairing and tasting for EAT & DRINK in the Northwest book 4. Things are finally starting to come together, albeit the IFBC, switching jobs and moving all within the same couple months. The Northwest wines being celebrated in this next book are some of the best! Perhaps with this book more than others, I am thinking of the ingredients in each dish that will pair well with wine, rather than ingredients first- wine pairing second. Perhaps it's just my awareness and development of my palate over this year-long EAT & DRINK writing experience or the evolution in how I am thinking and writing recipes now. Here are the list of recipes that will be in the next book!

1. Warm Chicken Panini With Lemon Feta, Grilled Zucchini And Peppadew Dressing


2. Spring Pea Soup With Seared Scallop, And Tarragon Oil (Optional Scallop)


3. Thyme Profiteroles With Lox And Fried Capers


4. Lamb With Cilantro/Mint Pesto And Smashed Yellow Potatoes


5. Ham Wrapped Chorizo-Apricot Prawns Over Baby Mixed Greens


6. Ahi Tuna Slider, Mango-Nectarine Salsa, Pickled Shallots, Ginger Mayo


7. The "Green Salad"- Artichoke Hearts, Asparagus, Herbs, Olives, Citrus And Avocado


8. Caesar Lamb Burgers


9. Prosciutto, Local Blue Cheese, Fresh Peaches, Marcona Almonds With A Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette


10. Guinea Hen Wrapped In Bacon With Blackberry Balsamic Glaze Main


11. Pomegranate Molasses Chicken Wings


12. Flank Steak With Sun Dried Tomato/Ginger/Date Sauce With White Bean Salad


13. Corn, Black Bean Stuffed Poblanos With Goat Cheese And Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce


14. Slow Cooked Chipotle Pork Tacos


15. Gorgonzola And Salami Pizza


16. Grilled Polenta With Manchego And Morels In Sage Brown Butter


17. Crab/Scallop And Shrimp Seafood Salad With A Green Goddess Style Dressing


18. Salmon With Fresh Summer Tomatoes, Balsamic And Fresh Herbs


19. Steak Roulade With Blue Cheese And Cherry Bacon Compote


20. Citrus Pound Cake With Honey Lavender Glaze Fresh Raspberries

So much to say- so little time

Things in my life, to say the least are a bit nuts. I'm making myself little notes about all the things that I want to blog about when I actually have more time, but at the moment, I am stretched a bit thin and I only have time for notes in both words and pictures. When it rains- it pours as they say, and I feel like I am in a monsoon.
Mark and I bought a house- and because of the government loan that we have, it's a mess of hoops to jump through. I'm transitioning jobs, which is over the top exciting news!! BUT because we are moving- everything is on hold until we close- (May 22nd hopefully), I'm working on EAT & DRINK book 4 and lastly, apprenticing part time at the HerbFarm. I didn't mean to get this busy, it all kind of just happened.


The cutest fat robin at the HerbFarm watching over the lovage beds.French Breakfast Radishes, delicate, dainty and hot pink.The teenage chicks

Sweet Corn

One of my very first food memories is the taste of raw, sweet, corn on the cob.
It is a rather rebellious flavor to me. Mostly because of the way in which the sweet corn was acquired but also because I didn’t eat it cooked- I ate it raw, the “wrong” way.

When I was about five and my brother and neighbor were seven, we stole several cobs of corn right out of our neighbor’s backyard.

We had to wade through fields of three-foot tall, tickly grass and climb over two fences to reach the corn field. Once we ripped off the cobs, we ran back through the field to our secret fort, a little hollowed out area under a canopy of leaves in a giant bush in my parent’s front yard. At the time, it seemed that we knew what we were doing with a small, 4-cup red saucepan, half full of water and a book of matches. Obviously, it made sense to light a fire and attempt to boil water, all under a canopy of leaves in the summer. Thankfully, none of the matches would light, which led us to try the corn raw. We were breaking the rules, of course, by attempting to light a fire without an adult present, but even more rebellious to me was peeling back the stalks right there, letting the corn silk fall on our bare summer legs and taking a bite of corn that wasn’t even cooked! The starchy, sweet kernels popped unfamiliarly in my mouth and left me a changed girl.

After my raw corn experience, I even tried to convince my mother that it was the only way I was ever going to eat corn on the cob again. At my request, I vividly recall one dinner where she gladly set a pale yellow, uncooked, corncob onto my plate, probably thinking it would be the last raw corn I would eat. And not to her surprise, it was. Who knows why my devotion to raw corn on the cob wavered? It’s likely due to the fact that I was treated to sweet corn cooked in a multitude of ways throughout my childhood and my preferences continued to evolve.

Now my tastes for sweet corn are far from rebellious, but just as innocent: sweet corn, in season, hot off the barbecue and slathered in melted butter with sea salt. While the thought of eating raw corn isn’t as exciting as it once was, I do have to nibble on a raw corn kernel now and then, before the cobs hit the grill, simply for sweet nostalgia.