Did you know those Sugar Free Candy's that Jelly Belly distributes will give you a tummy ache? It says so on their packaging. How is a person supposed to choose between a happy mouth and an angry tummy?

I want to know why plain sunflower seeds are not enough and they have to be flavored?

My mom has turned me onto using glass bowls for transporting lunches. I used to use plastic for both hot and cold meals for Niel and me. But then my mom told me that microwaving plastic isn't really as safe as it is reported. She suggested glass as an alternative. She is picking some up for us this week. I'll still use plastic for transporting cold meals though.

Some peaches I had brought were going a little soft so I decided to make Peach Melba. It was so delicious and easy to make.

Peach Melba Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson



Peaches:
3 cups water
3 1/2 cups sugar
1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 peaches

Raspberry sauce:
3 cups raspberries
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

To serve:
1 large tub vanilla ice

Put the water, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla pod into a wide saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Bring the pan to the boil and let it bubble away for about 5 minutes, then turn the heat down to a fast simmer.
Cut the peaches in half, and if the stones come out easily then remove them, if not then you can get them out later. Poach the peach halves in the sugar syrup for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Test the cut side with the sharp point of a knife to see if they are soft, and then remove them to a plate with a slotted spoon.

When all the peaches are poached, peel off their skins and let them cool (then you can remove any remaining stones). If you are making them a day in advance then let the poaching syrup cool and then pour into a dish with the peaches. Otherwise just bag up the syrup and freeze it for the next time you poach peaches.

To make the raspberry sauce, liquidize the raspberries, confectioners' sugar, and lemon juice in a blender or a food processor. Sieve to remove the pits and pour the puree into a jug.

To assemble the Peach Melba, allow 2 peach halves per person and sit them on each plate

This past Friday was the 40th anniversary of the Big Mac.

One town was so excited about the anniversary that they opened a museum to celebrate the Big Mac everyday.


Photo from CNBC.com

For some reason I thought I didn't like tropical fruit. I thought this because I don't like Mangoes or Papaya. It's not because I didn't grow up surrounded with it. I did. My parents and brother all enjoyed Mangoes and Papaya. I preferred berries. Then Niel pointed out that I do like pineapples, coconuts and Quenepa.

What are Quenepas some of you may wonder. Wikipedia describes them as a tropical fruit similar to Lychee. Niel brought some home the other day and I had not eaten any in a while. I would say they are tarter than Lychee though. But of course still tasty.

I mentioned how Activia has been a life savior for me before. The yogurt tastes pretty good and helps. My favorites are blueberry and berry. One day we were looking for those flavors and all the store had was vanilla and peach. I decided vanill and it tastes just like frosting. It's tasty but a bit too sweet for me. So I just add berries and its wonderful. I won't eat another brand of yogurt any more but I wonder how other vanilla yogurts taste.

I think I may have found a hot food that is too hot. Mamazumas Potato Chips. As Niel says its like "tasting the devil's ring of fire." Oh dear.



Picture found on:
http://nonstopbiscuit.com

I made yet another dish from the Cornmeal Weekend Cookbook Challenge, Corn Pup Muffins. They were so tasty and easy to make. I think they would be perfect food to pack in a lunch or serve at a brunch.

I'm not a person that decides to order beef or meat for a meal very often. So I was a bit skeptical when Niel suggested we go to a BBQ place for dinner Friday night. But I do like to try different restaurants and Niel made a big effort to find this place. And I am so happy he did! It's called Fette Sau(fat pig) and is in the next borough over. We're on the border of it, so it was only a 10 minute car ride for us. We found parking immediately. Another plus.

This was by far the best meal I have ever eaten. I think I can safely say the same for Niel. I was so shocked how much I enjoyed the dinner. The meat wasn't doused in BBQ Sauce, but was smoked and seasoned. There was sauce on the table if you wanted it, but we really didn't see the need. We ordered boneless sirloin, smoked pastrami, pork belly and two sides. The prices were also pretty reasonable. Yet another plus. You order at the counter and seat yourself. Food is given on neat tin trays. And drinks in jam type glasses. The ambiance is very saloon like with family style seating, a TV that showed a roaring fireplace, and a bar. There was also outdoor seating. After the meal I was thinking of occasions when we could just go back. Thanks Niel!!



Beer photo by Niel

Why do advertisers torture consumers with commercials of products that are no where near me???? Like Jack In The Box and Sonic. So not fair! I know some of the high lights of my travels has been to try restaurants/fast food joints I don't have near me. Such as Cracker Barrel, Chick A Fla, Waffle House(how I love thee), Perkins, Hardees and Steak N Shake and others.

And why also do they sell some products in some states and not others? And if they do only for a short period of time. Such as finally getting coke floats at a local McD's.

I also saw on another blog that a local supermarket sells fried ice cream. I know it may not be as good as the real thing, but I would like to try it still.

My coworker recently read an article in The NY Times how red meat is actually good for the brain in moderation. The fat helps with memory. Haven' been able to find that article.

Another recipe I found on Abby's site. Southern Grits Casserole. It's a yummy breakfast dish that will feed a good crowd.



Southern Grits Casserole
AllRecipes - Submitted by Ella Baldwin

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups water
2 cups uncooked grits (Quaker, of course.)
1/2 cup butter, divided (The real stuff is always best.)
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided (Extra sharp, always)
1 pound ground pork sausage (I like it spicy!)
12 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I use skim.)
salt and pepper to taste (Fresh-cracked black pepper is great.)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish.
2. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan, and stir in grits. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 5 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Mix in 1/2 the butter and 2 cups cheese until melted.
3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until evenly browned. Drain, and mix into the grits. Beat together the eggs and milk in a bowl, and pour into the skillet. Lightly scramble, then mix into the grits.
4. Pour the grits mixture into the prepared baking dish. Dot with remaining butter, and top with remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned

Another favorite Armenian dish of mine is Kibbeh. It is ground meat mixed with spices and herbs that stuffed in Bulgar wheat.

Kibbeh is primarily served as an appetizer. Much like Dolma the recipe is altered depending on what the country and household makes it.

I found some premade in the freezer section of my local Middle Eastern store, but it was a tad too sweet. I prefer it savory.

Kibbeh makes a great appetizer.

Zataar Bread or Zaatar Manakish is yet another favorite of mine. Originated in the Middle East. It is a flat bread spread with olive oil and topped with a spice mixture of thyme, oregano, lemon etc. Sometimes cheese or meat are added but I prefer mine with just the spices.

I usually eat it as a snack or serve it as an appetizer. So delicious.

I love Dolma. It's one of my favorite Armenian dishes. Dolma is meat or grains stuffed in vegetables or grape leaves. My family's favorite way of eating it is with stuffed grape leaves. My mother actually serves it two ways both hot and cold. The hot she serves with meat and yogurt on top to cut out the heaviness and give extra flavor. Niel enjoys it this way. The cold Dolma, (my favorite) is stuffed with grains, garlic, mint, and lemon.

It takes a long time to make. So I was pretty happy to see that I could purchase the cold Dolma in a can. I was a little hesitant at first but it tastes pretty good. Now I just have to learn to make the hot kind for Niel.

Yesterday I posted about my Asian Feast. Today will be about my Armenian feast. Yes I know a lot of other cultures eat similar dishes to the one in my picture but I'm Armenian so I am calling it an Armenian feast. And it was delicious. We enjoyed Hummus, Tabbouleh, Dolma(stuffed grape leaves), Ajica, and Basterma.
I get enjoyment reading about the variety of international dishes on other food blogs I read I hope that I can do the same when it comes to Armenian food.

I recently made Cooking Ninja's recipe for Gochujang Bulgoki(Korean Spicy Pork).

It was really tasty. The only thing I did differently was I didn't include the carrots. The recipe was still very tasty. I think they would be perfect for appetizers as well.

I served the Gochujang Bulgoki with pork dumplings we purchase from a local Asian market and sesame noodles from Thai Kitchen. For dessert custard tarts(also from the local Asian market) and watermelon. Mmmmmm.

There is a take out place in Niel's old neighborhood that we like to buy chicken from on occasion. It's called Chicken Galore and apparently they have a sister location in New Jersey. But Niel and now I too like to call it Porno Chicken. That is because their logo is of a sexy chicken. Well if chickens could be sexy that is.

Chicken Galore has really flavorful chicken, but also fries and macaroni salad. They used to have good biscuits too. But now switched to cornbread. They are under new management and were renovating for a few weeks. We both were wanting some of their food while they were closed. They finally reopened and they now offer gyros on their menu. Pretty good also.

I was at the Asian market near my office getting some ingredients for one meal I was making when I spotted bottles of Korean BBQ Sauce. I knew I had to get one. It was tough choosing but I was happy with my pick. It was spicy and flavorful. If you've never had Korean BBQ or Galbi before perhaps add honey(my choice) or brown sugar(Niel's pick) to make it less spicy. But if you can tolerate spicy then eat it the way its made. I poured it on top of some ribs I had and let it bake. It was so delicious.


Rib photo by Niel

Song Stuck In My Head: Albi The Racist Dragon by Flight of The Conchords

I hadn't been camping since I was ten. Niel is an avid camper. He goes every few months. This is the first time since all of the time we have been together we went together. I honestly don't know why it took so long, but it was a lot of fun. Below a few pics of the meals Niel cooked. We enjoyed hot dogs and macaroni salad for lunch, steak, Italian sausage, baked potatoes, and corn for dinner and scrambled eggs, toast and breakfast sausage. All yummy!



Song Stuck In My Head: Pass The Dutchie by Musical Youth
(Niel cooked with a Dutch Oven and that is where the song came into my head)

Recently I tried a recipe for Fried Okra that was submitted by Hot & Sweet Bowl for the Cornmeal Weekend Cookbook Challenge.

The recipe is very tasty. Never really liked Okra before this. But I guess anything tastes good fried.

I've mentioned before my local supermarkets caters to the Irish immigrants in my nieghborhood by carrying Irish and British products.

In the international isle I spotted a can of golden Treacle. I purchased it because as I have also mentioned if I can't get over to England or any of the other British countries any time soon I sure will try their products.

Treacle is yellow cake drenched in golden syrup. When I opened the can it smelled heavenly. Sort of like condensed milk. But the cake itself which I needed to warm up tasted like graham crackers. It was pretty interesting. I'd be curious to try the black Treacle pudding as well.

I have a list of more desserts to try from across the pond but if my local supermarket doesn't carry them all I know I can find it on the Internet.

I wanted to post about some yummy recipes I have found over at Shall We Cook. Thanks for finding and posting such tasty meals.

Meatloaf Pie

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Squash Fries

Bacon Baked Beans