Food In Many Forms

This is a lot of mint, and there is much more where that came from... there are already two jars of mint syrup in the fridge leftover from mint juleps... and now there are two large bunches hanging in the basement to become tea... what you see here is probably less than one tenth of the patch and it grows like a weed. There must be some recipes out there that require exorbitant amounts of mint... I can put mint in rice or couscous ... season some lamb .... make some tabbouleh  or tzatziki sauce ... bottle up some mint jelly ... bake cookies ... churn out ice cream ... but I am leaning toward a Middle Eastern theme, maybe some Fattoush salad , Couscous and Lamb Kabobs... this is an opportunity for me to practice making a multi-course dinner!

Rice, Shrimp, Scallions, Plum Tomatoes, Garlic, Olive Oil, Parsley, Cajun Seasoning....   It was even better the next day, after marinating in the fridge. Ingredients: 1 cup white rice 2 Tbsp olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning 1 pound frozen shrimp, tails on 4 plum tomatoes, chopped 2 bunches scallions, chopped 3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley Lemon wedges, for serving Directions: 1. Cook rice, set aside (1 cup dry should make 3 cups cooked rice) 2. Heat oil in a large skillet and throw in garlic, wait 1 minute until you can smell the garlic cooking 3. Cook defrosted shrimp with the garlic and add cajun seasoning 4. When the shrimp are nearly finished, add scallions and allow them to brown a little before adding tomatoes 5. Pour in rice and allow it to warm back up if it is no longer hot 6. Add parsley and serve. I always seem to forget that cooked tomatoes turn into soup, and the liquid from the semi-frozen shrimp and the tomatoes made for a lot of "soup&qu

I was looking for decadence, and I got it... but then Lemon Curd is about the most decadent spreadable I have ever lathered on a piece of bread. It is pretty much lemon meringue pie filling (and it has all the butter, eggs and sugar to prove it).                                                                                                                                          " In late 19th and early 20th century England, home-made  lemon curd  was traditionally served with bread or scones at  afternoon tea  as an alternative to  jam , and as a filling for cakes, small  pastries  and  tarts ."  - Fruit Curd, Wikipedia The British don't mess around when it comes to tea time. And the Food Network doesn't mess around with French toast - lemon curd, blueberries, powdered sugar and maple syrup add up to pure deliciousness.    Ingredients: Basic Recipe: 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon sugar 1 pinch salt 1/2 Tbsp butter

If given the choice to eat 4 overripe bananas or make them into a cake - I would make them into a cake every time. This recipe was so much fun to try with my boyfriend and I was happy to have the extra hands when we were preparing the caramel. As a general rule, I like to cut the fat in half in my baking recipes - it almost never has an effect on the flavor. The butter may be needed for the caramel sauce, but the vegetable oil can definitely be cut in half from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup. Caramelized Banana Loaf Cake  Rachel Ray Magazine, December 2009 Ingredients: 3 to 4 large bananas 3/4 cup sugar 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, in 1 piece 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup vegetable oil Directions: 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Grease a 5-by-9 loaf pan. Trim both ends off each of 3 bananas to fit

  My obsession with french toast began with my mother's basic white bread and egg recipe and was further provoked by repeated visits to La Madeleine for their version covered in bananas, strawberries, honey, syrup and who knows what other secret, delicious ingredients. So it is no surprise that I clipped out a recipe called " Perfect French Toast " from the Food Network Magazine and vowed to attempt all three variations -  lemon blueberry, chocolate and strawberry shortcake. I'm working in my best friend's kitchen today and I know she would appreciate the leftover english muffins, so I am going to start with the Strawberry Shortcake .... Ingredients: Basic Recipe: 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon sugar 1 pinch salt 1/2 Tbsp butter Extras for Strawberry Shortcake Variation: 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 3 Tbsp sugar 3 cups halved strawberries 4 English muffins, halved Honey (for drizzling) Vanilla Yogurt (for toppin