Skip to main content

Thoughts and reflection on food and other delicious things.




  • I hope you all had a wonderful Solstice!  


  • In appreciation and celebration of the longest day of the year (I know, I know... every work-day seems like the longest day ) and the fact that summer is definitely here in Shadow Hills,  I thought I'd share a very zippy and fresh tasting grill sauce/dipping sauce/ marinade with all of you!

Cilantro Lime Grill Sauce
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend for about :30 seconds. Brush on chicken, pork, veggies or seafood while grilling, or use as a dipping sauce.  If you double the recipe and add 1 cup of white wine, you can use it as a marinade.






It's my new favorite "go to" when I hear this coming from the direction of my husband, "Hey honey, are you hungry?"  Which we ALL know translates to "I'm completely starving and haven't eaten anything in at least an hour... what are you going to make 'us'?"  It's super fast and heck, grilling ANYTHING is my preferred cooking method when the weather is wonderful, the nights are warm and you can sit outside and dine al fresco!

Its pretty much a guarantee that at least three seasons out of the year, you'll find me in front of the grill instead of inside cooking.  Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my carefully designed, mid century modern kitchen that we had built about three years ago... I mean who wouldn't?  

It used to look like this:



Yup.  Awesome right?  I thought something like this (see below) would better suit our home and how we entertain.



(please note how the Chusky knows where the best seat in the house is!)



A massive improvement I'd say!

Enjoy Friday!  Go grill something!


















Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Summer comes 'round again.

As the evenings get warmer and the crickets song helps even the busiest of brains lull off to dreamland, I realize that it's summer, again. We barely had a winter here on the mountain and spring was about two full weeks, maybe.  Gardens are taking hold and my zuch plants are soon to overtake everything else in a matter of days. Summer to me means grilling pretty much everything, every day to keep the heat out of the kitchen. Working in the shop kitchen for hours on end this time of year is not just exhausting but dehydrating! What are some of your favorite things to grill?  Do you prefer marinates or dry rubs?  Do you wrap your baked potatoes in foil on the grill or just plop them directly on the grill (well olive oiled of course)? Then there are the summer desserts... fresh berries, stone fruit, homemade ice cream.  One of my go to sweet treats is this peach and citrus sour cream cake.  (recipe at the end of this entry). Of course the star of easy summertime fo...

Summer 2017... It's A Wrap!

Although it's topping 114ºF here in Shadow Hills, CA over this long, last-kick-at-Summer holiday weekend, I can't help wishing for that first sign of Fall.  Snuggly sweaters, big fuzzy socks, heavily spiked Hot Cocoa... mmmm, I can just taste it! When we were kids, the end of Summer was always marked by the Jerry Lewis Telethon (was it possible to stay up all night?), shopping for the last bits of things needed to start the new school year and one final Cook Out before Dad would cover up the grill and wheel it back into the garage until next Summer. There were always people visiting at one time or another over Labor Day weekend.  Friends coming back from Holiday up in Cottage Country would stop in, knowing full well the grill would be fired up, ice cold beer in the cooler and that final cannon ball into the pool before they head back to their respective homes in the City.    Man, I think back and smile. Remembering. SNAP OUT OF IT J...

You Should Be Grilling Everything!

I was listening to a very wise man at work today, telling me his trials and tribulations of smoking ribs over the weekend.   He loves to cook and appreciates everything that I bring in for work-folks to enjoy.  After our conversation I realized I should have asked him for his beans and BBQ Sauce recipe... (putting that on the list for tomorrow).  I adore men who cook...and not just grill but  really cook.    They get into the science of it.  I, first and foremost, am a baker and that in it's simplest form is chemistry.  From day one really.   I remember my first summer job, a bake shop in Wasaga Beach (long gone now)... no A/C, Central Ontario Canada summer's with humidity that would choke a goat.  My job was to make Rum Balls.  From 7:15am to 5pm, make...rum...balls.   To this day, I can't look at a rum ball.  The added bonus to this "summer job" (where I was paid $2.1...