Homemade BLTs = Love

February 25, 2010 | Posted by Lorraine as Recipe, Sandwiches at 6:02 pm | Comments »

On some days, it feels like the height of summer here. On those days, much as I love my usual comfort food of stews and roasts, all I want is a sandwich. A good, filling sandwich made with crispy fresh organic lettuce, juicy red tomato slices, and cool, creamy mayonnaise. A sandwich like this one: my homemade Bacon Lettuce & Tomato sandwich, otherwise known as the BLT.

Because however hot it gets, I always love bacon.

I’m fine with just this sandwich and a tall glass of water, but some people like adding sides to this delicious meal. My mom absolutely must have a small pile of barbecue Kettle chips, and my husband likes a crunchy kosher pickle to nibble on between bites.

Whichever way you want to have this sandwich, I urge you to have it. It’s perfection in a sandwich.

Homemade Bacon Lettuce & Tomato Sandwiches
Serves 2

4 slices good bread. Whole wheat is fine, but I prefer brioche (who doesn’t?)
6 slices thick bacon. Turkey is fine. Pepper bacon is awesome. So is regular smoked bacon. I could go on, you know.
Fresh lettuce, washed and spun-dried
Fresh red tomato, thickly sliced
Cheese slices. Optional. I LOVE provolone on this, but anything that you prefer. Or none at all.
Good mayonnaise. Hellmann’s/Best Foods has my heart.

Cook bacon over LOW heat. You want it crispy but not charred, with a little bit of chewiness in there. Set aside.
Lightly toast bread slices.
For each sandwich (this recipe makes two): Spread one piece of bread with mayonnaise. On the other slice of bread, make layers like so: Bacon, Tomato, Cheese, Lettuce. Top with mayonnaised slice of bread. Repeat for other sandwich.

Healthy Breakfast Choices

February 17, 2010 | Posted by Lorraine as Uncategorized at 7:14 am | Comments »

My husband and I, night owls for a long, long time, have become morning people. And by that, I mean really early morning people: we’re up by 5, mostly 4:30. We’ve been getting a lot more done since switching our schedule, but one of the biggest perks has got to be having lots of time for breakfast.

Because, gosh, do I love breakfast. Bacon, eggs, sausages, pancakes, waffles… some of my favorite foods in the world are breakfast foods.

Lately, though, I’ve been wanting to go a little healthier when it comes to planning our morning meal. Much as I love bacon, I realize that having it every day is not a good long-term plan.

So recently we hit the grocery, and picked up some healthy breakfast options, which I share with you here:

  • Oat Bran. As a child, I had porridge every single day. Oat bran, the healthier, more fiber-ous cousin of oatmeal, takes minutes to cook, and is simply delicious with some low-fat milk and raw sugar sprinkled into it. It’s good for my husband, too- who’s a diabetic.
  • Fresh Berries. The aforementioned oat bran becomes even more heavenly with some fresh berries mixed in. I’m partial to blueberries and strawberries, but that’s only because it’s next to impossible to find raspberries where I live.
  • Fresh Melons and Mangoes. A no-brainer. Sweet, smooth, and perfect cold on warm mornings.
  • Smoothies. Truth is, I was wary of the Smoothie Breakfast- I’m the type that likes to bite into her breakfast. Then I made Simply Recipe’s Berry Banana Smoothie, and it. is. wonderful. Really wakes me up- like a shot of sunshine when it’s still dark out. If you’re open to tofu (the silken type) in your smoothie, check out this goodie as well. Yum.

What are your healthy breakfast choices?

When Steak Means Love

February 15, 2010 | Posted by Lorraine as For the Grill, Grilling Out Recipes at 7:17 pm | Comments »

I’m not sure why, but I crave the same thing every Valentine’s Day: a good steak.

Back in College, I was a vegetarian for a few years. It wasn’t particularly difficult for me- because I was never a big meat eater. Now, of course, I embrace almost all types of meats. And although we try to keep our diet to mostly fish and chicken, there are simply times when nothing but a steak will do.

I know there are tons of methods out there on cooking the “perfect steak”. Today I’m sharing our method with you. I learned this from my husband- and let me tell you, he knows his steaks.

Our Way to Perfect Steak

First, and most important- chill the steaks. Sometimes, on particularly hot Summer days, we even freeze them, but a good chill is really what you need.

Brush your skillet / grill / grill pan with a very thin coating of extra virgin olive oil. Heat over high heat. You want to get it very, very hot. Smokin’! This will help keep your steaks from sticking.

Put steaks in hot pan / on grill. Don’t touch or move them. Wait until teeny tiny drops of blood start showing on the surface. As you wait, start counting… depending on the thickness of your steaks, you want to know how long this takes.

Immediately turn steaks over. Again, do NOT move them. Count up to the same amount of time it took for the blood to show on the first side.

Remove from heat. Let sit for ten minutes, then season well with kosher or sea salt and/or fresh cracked black pepper, if that’s your thing.

* If you want fancy grill marks on your steak, you’re allowed to pick it up after a minute or so, and rotate slightly.

Spice Fest: Dal Aloo!

February 9, 2010 | Posted by Lorraine as Vegetarians are Fun at 6:07 pm | Comments »

Indian food is not something we have on a daily basis- something I wonder about every time we do have an Indian dish, because seriously? The cuisine is awesome. Some of my favorite vegetarian options are Indian, and when you combine just the right amount of spice and cool and perfectly cooked Basmati rice- it’s almost unimaginably good.

Case in point: for dinner last night was Dal Aloo, which is basically a lentil and potato curry- but tastes like so much more. Make this today, and you’ll agree:

Dal Aloo

3 large potatoes
1 cup dal (lentils) – I used yellow
coconut oil (may substitute with vegetable oil)
4 small yellow onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 cup coconut milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala spice powder
salt for seasoning

Combine dal (lentils) and potatoes with enough water to cover, and boil until cooked.

In a medium to large saucepan, saute onions and garlic in coconut or vegetable oil. Add cup of coconut milk, bring to a boil, then immediately reduce flame to low, and add spices (coriander, chili powder, turmeric, Garam Masala). Mix it up, stirring continuously.

Add potatoes and lentils to the saucepan, as well as some water (around 1/4 cup). Simmer, and adjust seasoning.

Serve with a good amount of fluffy Basmati rice- or some flatbreads.

And I know how imprecise the recipe seems, but that’s the beauty of Indian cooking, I think. It’s definitely not a “set it and forget it” thing- with Indian food, you want to be standing over the stove, tasting here, tasting there, adding this and adding that.

Cherry Strawberry Milkshake

February 8, 2010 | Posted by Lorraine as Drinks at 4:12 pm | Comments »

I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day. Yes, I buy into all the commercialism, the heart-shaped chocolate boxes, the teddies with t-shirts that say “I Luuuuv You”, the flowers. That said, my husband and I make it a point every year to spend Valentine’s Day at home. For me, there’s nothing less romantic than being stuck in two hours of traffic while trying to get to a fancy restaurant.

This means, of course, that we prepare our Valentine’s Day lunch and dinner at home- and let me tell you, when I’m doing the preparing, everything is pink. Pink napkins, pink lemonade, pink frosted cupcakes- and this, which I love to serve in the afternoon as part of our pinkstravaganza.

I use maraschino cherries, because I like them, but feel free to use fresh cherries. The same goes for frozen strawberries- use fresh if you have them.

Cherry Strawberry Milkshake

8 maraschino cherries
8 frozen strawberries
4 scoops vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup cold milk
1/4 cup strawberry syrup (I use Hershey’s)

Put everything in a blender. Blend until nice and thick and oh so pink.
Serve in 2 tall glasses.

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