'it's getting hot in here,' or 'YOLO'

can we talk about the weather for a second here? I hate the summer. specifically july. I don't mind summer nights, swimming, or a nice breeze, but this 95-degree-no-wind-no-rain-for-500-years thing really bothers me. NOW, mind you, I do not complain about the weather in any other month other than july, so I'm allowed to complain about july, right?

but I digress. every year around this time, I just get so sick of the summer and start craving things like warm soups and cardigans and going to the mall just to feel the big, soft, knit blankets at pottery barn that come out in the fall (am I the only one who does that? once I sat on the couch and put one on me. it was awesome). I hate making my kitchen hot though, so I eat sandwiches. a girl can only eat so many sandwiches though, which brings me to the point of this post (yes, there is one). I came across a great vegetarian jambalaya recipe on pinterest about a month ago and even though I wanted to make it right then, I didn't -- because I hate summer and I hate july and I want to sit at pottery barn with blankets on!! jambalaya is hot, spicy, uses the stove, and dirties dishes -- 4 things my sandwich-eating-self couldn't mentally deal with in july.

so I just thought about it a lot. a LOT. and then I got sick of thinking and sick of letting july win, so I just made the f-ing jambalaya already. I was all like, "live every day like it's your last! carpe diem! fight fire with fire! YOLO!" (okay not the last one, I'm not that cool. I just heard that on the 'streets' the other day and knew that's what all the cool kids were saying. thought I'd incorporate that into a post about jambalaya. obviously.). anyways -- standing over my stove, sauteeing sausage and peppers in my 100 degree kitchen was not fun at the time, but the resulting pot of amazingness was worth it. it will be better in January after I get back from pottery barn though.

this recipe serves 6 and it's vegetarian -- I added meat though (this particular time, I added andouille sausage, bacon, ham, and shrimp).

1 medium onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 pepper, in the color of your choice!, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp. olive oil

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 c. water

1 c. long grain rice

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, pepper - to taste (I like it hot).

In a large skillet, saute the onion, celery, creen pepper, and garlic in oil until tender (add meat right ...NOW, if you want it in there). add the tomatoes, water, rice, soy sauce, parsley, and spices and stir and smile and sweat and love your jambalaya. this is a necessary step. once it's heated through, you can bring it to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer and cover it on the stove until all of the liquid is absorbed, OR transfer it to a baking dish and cover it and bake it for an hour at 350 degrees.

(*I apologize for the phone photo! my real camera died)

Also, pretending you're emeril lagasse while making jambalaya is absolutely a necessary part of this whole process, but I will let you use your own discretion with that. 

-Hannah

To Market, To Market to Meet a Young Goat Farmer

Last Thursday was a fabuous day. There were fireworks at the Mendon Carnival, the Brighton teachers won their first softball game annnndd The SouthWedge Market opened for the season!!! Being the foodies that we are, the last of the events was the most crucial for Allison and I. We gathered our baskets and filled them with spinach, asparagus, a plethora of rhubarb, fresh baked bread and the prize of all prizes... Smoky Paprika Double Cream Cheese. This lovely treat was sold to us by a fabulous man who entranced us with tales of his farm of 23 milking goats and free samples of all flavors of goat cheese in their creamy wonder. With our treasures in hand, we went wee wee wee all the way home to create a fabulous BELT (the sandwich not the one you wear on your waist) inspired dinner.

Best Sandwich Ever....
Toast up some slices of delicious hearty bread (any kind will do really but the better the bread the better the sandwich). We made open face sammys but you could do two slices if you wished.
Cook up some bacon (we used home smoked bacon but I know most of you do not have the luxury of brining and smoking your own strips of pork belly).

Spread your bread with goat cheese. Layer on fresh spinach leaves and strips of bacon. Top with a fried egg.

Put on your bib because you will be drooling all over as you eat this.

We ate this with a stout from Troegs.

Making Spinach Less Healthy and Way more Delicious

Sunday I attended a community dinner barbeque. I had just returned home from Oneonta and was not in the mood for an extensive cooking experience or for going to Wegmans so I created this little dish from the contents of my cupboard and a bag of fresh spinach I bought at the farm stand (freshly picked that morning).

Spinach Bacon Salad

In a small pan, cook up 6-8 strips of bacon (I alway lean toward more so I can eat some before).

Rinsh bag of baby spinach leaves. Chop up 1/4 cup of onion and add to leaves.

When bacon is done cooking combine 2 tsp of bacon grease, 2 Tbl. rice vinegar, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, basil (fresh or dried), 1/4 tsp of cayenne, 2 tsp of maple syrup. Whisk together or combine in small jar and shake it up baby. Pour over spinach and onions and toss to coat.

Top spinach with crumbled bacon, 1/3 cup of chopped almonds, 1/3 cup of sunflower seed meats, and some shredded asiago cheese.

We ate this with sausage (of course), grilled corn and potatoes and pasta salad.
Summer has arrived ladies and gents!