gravy gravy everywhere

I made these veal rollups (roulades) and decided that I must have mashed potatoes, then I must have a creamy gravy, then I must put it all over the plate.

pasta, pesto and poultry

We had a bumper crop of basil this year so I decided to make pesto but added it to ricotta for a creamy pesto sauce for the spaghetti.  I also did a baked version of Buffalo-style chicken wings - spicy!

cajun fish

Living in a land-locked area, sometimes we just get seafood cravings.  Cheaper than a trip to the gulf coast, this dinner was a cajun pan-fried fish topped with shrimp sauce.

spicy stir fry and veggies

I love the nutty, sweet flavors that come out from roasting just about any vegetable.  My basic technique for roasting almost any vegetable is to cut things in about equal sizes, coat lightly with oil, season, and bake at 400 degrees until done and a bit browned.  The garnish on this plate is a bunch of mixed veggies I found while cleaning out the refrigerator - I just roasted them all up.  The main dish is a spicy chicken stir fry that I served over brown rice (I love the convenience of the already cooked and frozen rice at Trader Joe's).

pork, corn and squash

We make a lovely vegetable dish here in New Mexico called calabacitsas - it consists of summer squash, green chile, fresh corn, onion - and maybe a touch of cream.  Here I served it with a pork cordon bleu (just like chicken cordon bleu but made with a pork cutlet).

grilled lamb and creamed spinach

I marinated the lamb chops in a pomegranate-rosemary blend which left a nice glaze after grilling.  Fresh spinach turned into a lovely creamed dish to go with the lamb.

colorful and tasty too!

Take a look at this beautiful blush macaroni and cheese - there is a little bit of tomato paste in the cheese sauce, along with fresh spinach.  I roasted some tomatoes to place on top.

crab cakes and asparagus - light and easy

What more can be said?  The crab cakes were oven baked instead of sauteed.  The asparagus goes great with lemon and some Pecorino Romano shavings.

fried chicken as a salad, add a cookie for dessert

I baked this 'fried chicken' and used it as a base for a Buffalo Chicken Salad.  The chicken pieces had a bit of a hot sauce glaze that married beautifully with a blue cheese dressing.  The dessert is a giant, one-pan chocolate chip/pecan/oatmeal cookie that I cut into individual wedges.

garden produce in pizza and salad

As I made the pizza sauce, I threw in some chopped kale from the garden, I also topped the pie with some squash blossoms.  The salad is shavings of carrots and zucchini in an herb vinaigrette.

a look back at a summer menu

I started the day by making breakfast quesadillas - this one has some of our squash blossoms on it:

Dinner that evening started with crab toast appetizers, then grilled steak, creamed fresh corn, and ended with brownies and raspberries:

chipotle, cauliflower, and chops - oh my!

The appetizer is beer-battered boursin-cheese stuffed squash blossoms served over a garlic-chipotle salsa (try the one from Trader Joe's).  Then I grilled some lamb chops with a honey-chipotle glaze and they are served with Indian-spiced roasted cauliflower.

a new mouth to feed

Just 3 days old, here is a behind the scenes look at the little girl elephant born Oct. 2, 2013 at the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, NM.  She is having a great time with her maternal herd - here you see big sister Daizy (4 years old) and Mom Rozie keeping an eye on the new calf.  Also hanging out, but not in this photo, is her grandmother Alice.

squash blossoms and stir fry

The summer season is over so it is fun to look back over some of our delicious summer meals - this is a look at our first squash blossoms from the garden that I fried with a tempura batter, a great accompaniment to the beef and broccoli stir fry.

salad and lasagna

I harvested some more kale and made this lemony kale salad -  a bright taste that included pistachios.  The savory vegetarian main dish was a delicious cheesy-spinach lasagna.