Onion Creek Kitchens at Juniper Hills Farm

for those of you that have not been able to experience the beauty of Juniper Hills Farm, you must put that on your to-do-list now! sign up for a cooking class or stay the night at the cabins. a group of us spent the weekend relaxing, eating and drinking. on friday, we took homemade dough, made individual pizzas from a variety of toppings and cooked them in the outdoor oven. pesto, chicken, sausage, onions, alfredo sauce...whatever combination you craved. saturday night, asian foods filled the air. Wonton Sesame Crisps with Wasabi-Lime Cream, Chinese Broccoli Stir Fry with Garlic, Chinese BBQ Pork and Singapore Sling's topped off the evening. one drink equals 1/2 bottle of wine, so i was told. they were yummy! to complete the weekend, we made brunch for our lovely hosts. dutch pancakes made in the cast iron skillet, sausage, fruit, potatoes. oh and burnt bacon...courtesy of yours truly. another fabulous weekend with friends. how can you go wrong?

Pork belly, you say?

had a lovely dinner at Fino last night. small plates are a perfect way to try out a variety of items on the menu. but i have to say it works best with a small group. i am always sad when the plate is passed around and when it finally reaches me, i get the tiny remains of what was once a perfect bite. this was my first time trying pork belly and i must say it was lovely. salty goodness with a fennel, orange slaw, accompanied by spicy peanuts. the combination was perfect. one day i would like to try an entree, but the small plates continue to make me happy. thumbs up to the calamari, fried goat cheese and spicy fennel sausage flatbread. the tempranillo completed the meal. although i should say my company completed the evening. shhhhhhh....V!

new phone!

ok, it has obviously been a long time since i have posted. but since i haven't given out the blog address to anyone, it probably does not matter. i have a new phone with a much better camera now. my hope is to take more pictures of my food and blog about it. a few friends encouraged me to post more often and not worry so much about it (beware, my grammar and spelling sucks!). i should have lots to talk about since we all will be going to juniper hills farm this weekend to eat, drink and be merry!

5th annual pumpkin carving party

it's that time again. each year we make lots of chili and tell our friends it is a byop party. bring your own pumpkin, of course. this all started with 2 of my very close friends back in charlottesville, va. sally, bryson and i made chili, carved pumpkins and i think we even watched the great pumpkin. so i wanted to carry on the tradition...and here we are 5 years later with 17 people coming over tonight. yikes! i stick with a simple chili recipe that includes, red and green peppers, kidney beans, black beans, onions, garlic, crushed tomatoes, chili powder and cumin. i forget how simple chili can be, yet so yummy. it is going to be perfect w/ this cooler weather. there are a few toppings to choose from, like sour cream, cheddar cheese, and scallions. we are going to have lots of cornbread and beer on hand too. last but not least, there will be a pumpkin ooey gooey cake for dessert.
it's funny though. every year i end up not getting to carve a pumpkin. i am usually running around making sure everyone is ok, had enough to eat, needing a tool to carve the pumpkin, etc. but it's always fun and i always take lots of pictures to remember the evening.
hummm...what am i going to do with the pumpkin seeds this year?

salmon = yummy

the lemon dill cedar planks I had laying around were put to good use last night. it was too easy. i soaked the plank for about an hour, careful to not get the seasonings wet. the salmon was placed on top and grilled it until cooked all the way through. it soaked up all of the yummy seasonings. since it was sunday, i had plenty of veggies to choose from to go along w/ the salmon. i decided to cook the broccolini. it was placed in boiling water for 2 minutes, then sauteed for a few more minutes in a pan. the pan already had 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, lemon zest and minced garlic waiting for the arrival of the broccolini. after a few minutes, i squeezed some fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper before plating it. to make the dinner complete, i boiled 2 yukon gold potatoes that were chopped in water for about 8 minutes, drained it and added it back into the pan with some olive oil and rosmary, until browned.

cannellini beans

my new favorite:

cannellini beans
arugula
red onions (sliced thinly)
basil
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

the longer you let it set, the tastier it gets.

Cannellini beans are loaded with nutrients your body needs. They help reduce cholesterol, prevent headaches and give you energy to spare.
They are a traditional Italian bean, (a haricot bean which is the edible pod or seed of any of several beans, especially the kidney bean).

mom is here!

wow. has it been that long since i last posted? it's going to take some time for me to get used to doing this. and i need to learn how to post pictures too. i didn't even post about the wonderful trip to Italy, either! so many good foods and wine. i wouldn't even know where to start. that may be a later post. (w/ pictures)
mom is in town. we had friends over to taste mom's wonderful cooking. pansit, caldereta, chicken adobo, mungo, beko and white rice. all the dishes jean i and i grew up eating. don't forget about the spam appetizers. the kitchen smelled soooo good when i came home from work. i promised mom that i would cook the rest of the week, since she spent the day cooking for us and our friends. i need to start learning how to make these dishes. they are quite simple too.

Goals: more pictures, more posts, more food!