Blog

BLT salad

July 22, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com 2 Comments

this morning we got up early-ish and went in search of the nearest farmer’s market. we’ve been out of town a bunch so we thought we could get to know our new corner of the delta a little better.
we went the wrong directions and then made it back to greenville for their market just in time to buy some beautiful cherry and pear tomatoes, some speckled butter beans, and lady peas.
the tomatoes were too small for a BLT sandwich, so tonight for dinner we made the next best thing… a BLT salad. something about the lemon juice, garlic, and mayonnaise in the dressing was the perfect combination… boone had thirds. if you find yourself wanting something easy and summery, this adaptation of a southern living recipe might be just the ticket.

What you Need:

1.5 quarts cherry, pear, or other tiny tomatoes

1/4 Cup hellman’s mayonnaise (don’t you dare substitute with ANYTHING but homemade)

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper

1 garlic clove

1/2 yellow onion

1/2 head of green leaf lettuce

What to Do:

first, slice your the tomatoes in half, lengthwise using a serrated knife. if you don’t have a tomato knife, you should seriously consider investing in one since it makes things in summertime so. much. better. truly…how did i live without this thing?

crush the garlic into a paste, and slice the onions into thin ribbons. cook the bacon in a skillet until it’s crispy and brown. Once the bacon is ready, drain it using paper towels. Now comes the healthiest part…cook the onions in the bacon drippings until they’re translucent. i know… my weight watchers’ commitment isn’t looking so good right now. don’t judge me.

mash the garlic clove into a paste using the flat side of a knife or a garlic press. combine with the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to make the tangy dressing.

combine the bacon, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes, then mix in the dressing. voila! a light, delishy summer salad.

Blueberry & Peach Crumble

July 15, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com Leave a Comment

ina garten is my cooking hero. no…scratch that. outside of my own immediate family, ina garten is my cooking hero. now, don’t get me wrong, i think that the fantastic bloggers over at smitten kitchen and bake or break are pretty fantastic, and i’m a big ole fan of Lynne Rossetto Kasper at the Splendid Table on APM, but something about Ina Garten’s recipes and style really resonate with me. For her, food is a way of showing her love, her care, her respect for other people.the Barefoot Contessa has this great way of balancing simplicity with detail. to me, this, and creating something that gives joy, tastes good, and brings people together, is what food is all about.

this summer crumble recipe from the barefoot contessa blends freshness, simplicity, love, and togetherness in just the right way. i’d decided to make the crumble in the first place because boone and i were both going out of town and i had a huge pile of peaches that were all on the over ripe side of ripe, a huge bag of fresh blueberries from my aunt’s farm in south mississipi, plus we were heading to a dinner party for some friends who’d just moved into a big old farmhouse. i was running a little behind schedule and decided i’d wait to bake it until i got there…it was so easy that i pulled it together and we were only a few minutes late. as far as the baking goes, it was too bad they’ve got an antique stove and oven combo. it turns out the stove works perfectly but the oven…not so much. anyway, that just meant that i saved the crumble, baked it at my house, and served it to boone as a going-away brunch before he left for a week long trip to NC, then took the rest over to a pal and new neighbor. it was a hit.

the next time you’re looking for an easy-peasy dessert, try this one on for size.

Blueberry & Peach Crumble

Serves 6 to 8-ish (depending on how hungry you are)

What you need:

For the Fruit:

4 to 6 ripe peaches

1 cup fresh blueberries (mine were fresh but I’d frozen them the day before)

2 tsp grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup stevia (or 1/2 cup sugar)

1/4 cup flour

For the Crumble:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 cup stevia

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

What to do:

Preheat the Oven to 350, and then get your stockpot out and boil some water. cut an “x” in the bottom of each peach and then drop the peaches into the boiling water for 30 seconds or so, and pull them out with tongs and drop them into ice water or cold, cold water..Let them cool briefly. The immersion will help you easily peel the skin off, which helps with texture and flavor. They’l start slipping and sliding everywhere, so be careful as you cut them into smaller wedges. (I sliced from top to bottom and the pit came out pretty easily.)

grate the lemon zest, and then mix the peach slices, blueberries, stevia, flour, lemon zest and lemon juice together and pour into your baking dish. my hero suggests using ramekins, an idea i LOVE but one that just didn’t work since i needed to transport them.

after you’ve prepped the fruit, it’s time to make the crumble. y’all, this was so crazy easy.. i’m a dough moron (meaning that rarely does pie dough or pizza dough or bread dough EVER turn out like i want it to, but this was too simple to mess up)
basically, you cut the butter into little pieces then mix it with the flour, brown sugar, stevia, and salt using your paddle attachment on your mixer. i smushed it around with my hands a little bit for good measure, but once everything was combined and rolling around in little pea-sized balls, i knew it was ready to go. i took the dough-peas out of the mixer and smushed them again into flat little pieces, then laid them on top of the fruit until in covered most of it. (of COURSE you could do something fancy with cookie cutters if you felt so inclined, but remember, i was pressed for time and not really into that sort of thing, anyway.)

Bake the crumble for 40 to 45 minutes at 350 until it’s bubbly and brown, and serve. Honestly, i’m of the school that pie NEEDS vanilla ice cream to “cut the sweet” but this was just the right amount of sweet and fruit, so it didn’t even need it.besides, my weight watchers commitment is totally on a backside with leading a teacher retreat, moving to a new town and house, going to a 4th of July BBQ, and attending a week long conference in LA so i couldn’t in good conscience have this crumble AND ice cream for breakfast.
but you could.

Tomato and Watermelon Sorbet

July 8, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com Leave a Comment

we went down to vicksburg, ms for the fourth to see some sweet friends, watch fireworks over the river and remember what it feels like to drive on hills. while we were there, our host, James, took us to The Tomato Place, a delicious little hole in the wall sandwich shop and produce stand. LOVED it. while we were there i decided we HAD to have a smith county watermelon, because every self respecting girl in four states knows that THE BEST watermelons come from there. Somehow we ended up with the biggest darn watermelon in the history of the world (maybe my eyes were bigger than my stomach) and after hacking into it, eating as much as we could for dessert, and then breakfast, and then dessert again, and THEN making watermelon margaritas and STILL having two bowls of leftovers, we had to do something. On top of that, I’ve been buying up locally grown tomatoes like they’re going out of style, and boone had reached maximum capacity for BLTs, and I couldn’t just let the beauties rot.
enter the tomato-watermelon sorbet. since it’s been SO HOT down here, a little refreshing frozen dessert seemed just like the thing we needed…and since i’ve been WAY off my weight watchers commitment, i needed to stay as low-cal as possible. I found this recipe in Southern Living and Cooks Corner Cafe and thought i’d give it a try.

Tomato-Watermelon Sorbet.

Serving Size: 8-12
Weight watchers points: 1

What you need:
3 ripe tomatoes (homegrown or locally grown is best) enough to make 1.5 cups of juice
1/4 to 1/2 ripe watermelon cut into pieces and de-seeded (enough for 6 cups)
1 lemon for 2 tablespoons of juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup stevia (or white sugar)
an ice cream maker and blender

What to do:
first, a note. this is a SUPER fresh tasting, fresh smelling treat. My version ended up having a really strong tomato taste at the beginning, then finishing with a light, sweet watermelon flavor. when I make this again, I plan to cut the tomato juice down my half since it was a little too much for me. Just a thought.

ok, to the recipe. after you’ve cut up the watermelon (we got home and did this within 15 minutes… i was too greedy to take photos of the whole melon… sigh) dust it with the 1/4 tsp of salt and the stevia. let it sit for 30 minutes. the watermelon will reduce a bit and get really juicy.

cut the tomatoes into quarters (i recommend cutting the skin off, as well.) and juice them using a wire mesh strainer over a measuring cup.with 2.5 tomatoes (although we had too many i just couldn’t spare them) i got almost 1.5 cups of juice. like I said, this may have been a little too much for my taste, but the original recipe called for 3 cups of tomato juice and 6 cups of watermelon, so maybe not.

Pour the lemon and tomato juices into a blender with the watermelon and puree until smooth. Freeze in an ice cream maker and serve! Southern Living says you can even sprinkle a little salt on it…but i’d eat it just like this on a hot, hot, hot july day.

the blt.

July 8, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com Leave a Comment

like i said, i’m a glutton for summertime produce. boone and i counted that we’d had twenty two (22!) BLTs or plain tomato sandwiches over the past ten days.that’s at least ONE a day. there was one point where we broke out in tomato hives and itched for a few hours, but it was all worth it since tomato season only comes once a year.

the new Delta Magazine had a fantastic article about the best BLTs in the Delta and almost all of them had something extra like fried green tomatoes or catfish added. now, no doubt those are all delicious but my favorite BLT is as basic as it gets and comes right from my own kitchen. read on.

The Classic BLT
Weight Watchers Points: 9
Serving Size:2

What you need:
4 slices of white bread
5 slices of thick cut bacon
hellman’s REAL mayonnaise (don’t you DARE substitute this)
2 ripe, locally grown tomatoes
salt, pepper
green bib lettuce

What to do:
Toast the bread (we don’t have a toaster, so we just use the oven on broil) and while it’s toasting, make the bacon. I use the microwave and cover the bacon with a paper towel and cook on high for 3 minutes. My mom uses a skillet…

Cut tomatoes into thick slices. Once the bread comes out of the oven, spread the mayonnaise over both sides of the bread, layer the tomato slices, bacon, and lettuce and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If you’re feeling fancy, use an avocado for a little extra creaminess…totally unnecessary, but it sure does something great with the acidity of the tomato and the salt. delicious.

i’m going to plant some tomatoes in august just so i don’t have to wait until next july for another sandwich as good as this one.

summer’s bounty…

July 8, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com Leave a Comment

i am the greediest glutton when it comes to summer vegetables. seriously…we had 5 fresh locally or homegrown tomatoes sitting in the windowsill, and when i saw that the grocery store had more locally grown ones, i bought two more. who does that?

i’ve been on a cooking streak this week, making things with the tomatoes from our garden, the farmer’s market, and around town, plus the blueberries and peaches my mom brought up from my aunt’s farm, and the watermelon we got in vicksburg from smith county, mississippi. i had so much fresh produce that i just HAD to do something delicious with it. here are some tidbits to whet your appetite for the recipes…coming soon!

it may take a few days to post the recipes considering that boone and i moved into our new house in our new little town about two weeks ago and still don’t have internet… just makes things a little more difficult, but don’t worry, recipes for blueberry/peach crumble, tomato/watermelon sorbet, and the best damn blt are on their way.

what summer vegetable or fruit can’t YOU get enough of?

Lemonade Sorbet

May 31, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com 1 Comment

Lemonade Sorbet
Weight Watchers Points: 1 per serving
Serves 6-8

Mississippi gets boiling in the summertime and already by memorial day was 97 degrees. We’re making a move at the end of June to a new little town and the thought of loading boxes in the heat makes me want to wilt… but the heat also means it’s time break out my ice cream maker and enjoy the fruits of my labor. the long weekend gave me a chance to make a southern summertime staple in my favorite form…frozen.

What You Need
4-6 lemons (for 1 cup on lemon juice)
1 1/3 cups of water
7 tsp of stevia
3 tsp sugar

What to Do
In a small pot on medium or high heat, make a simple syrup by boiling the water and adding in the sugar and stevia until both have completely dissolved and the liquid is slightly thickened. Remove the syrup from the heat and let cool.

Grate the lemon zest and squeeze the lemons (if you don’t have a juice strainer, make sure to strain the lemon juice for seeds).
Mix in the lemon juice and zest. Chill in the refrigerator until cool. (also, make sure that your ice cream maker bowl is frozen..it takes mine 24 hours to set, so plan ahead, peeps).

Once the lemonade mixture has totally chilled, freeze it in your ice cream maker according to your maker’s instructions (mine took about 35 minutes to totally freeze mine) then transfer it into a container and let it harden in the freezer.

we had some monday as a memorial day treat because it was outside it was H-O-T and this was delicious…cold, sweet and tart at the same time. the flavor is pretty intense, so your serving size should be on the conservative side, but from having little tastes all week i can tell it’ll be perfect for a summer time treat.

Warm Homemade Banana Pudding (light!)

May 28, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com 1 Comment

Warm Homemade Banana Pudding
Weight Watcher’s Points: 5 per serving
One batch: 8 servings

Warm banana pudding… truly, there’s no dessert so sweet, and creamy, and velvety. some people think that homemade banana pudding should be cold, and made with vanilla or banana flavored jello pudding…but once you’ve tasted this, you’ll never go back. It’s not that I won’t eat the cold, jello-based, slightly crunchy kind from buffets or pot lucks, (i mean, it’s BANANA PUDDING. I’ll eat any kind any where…) but the jello version just isn’t as silky, comforting, and refined as the warm homemade kind that my grandmother used to make.

In fact, she taught me that real banana pudding involves bananas, actual nabisco ‘nilla wafers, and baked custard. Not everyone is aware of just how amazing this custardy-kind truly is (which means more for me!)

To celebrate losing 7 pounds, I decided that I could splurge a little with my favorite dessert, BUT I didn’t want to entirely blow it out points-wise, so I made a few substitutions for a heavy-on-taste but lighter- on-fat-and-calories version and took it on over to our friends Ashley and Will. You can ask them if they could tell it was “light” and whether they ate more right out of the serving bowl… (our secret)

What you need:
4 ripe bananas
1 box of reduced fat nabisco ‘nilla wafers (or the regular kind, but that adds more points)
2 cups skim milk (or whole milk..whatever floats your boat)
6 egg whites (tradionally 3 whole eggs)
1 tsp vanilla (oops. i forgot this, but it turned out just fine)
1/6 cup stevia + 1/6 cup sugar (or you can use 1/3 cup sugar if you aren’t worried about calories)
1/8 teaspoon salt

What to do:
getting started is easy-peasy. preheat your oven to 315 (unless you’re using only sugar. then preheat it to 325) thinly slice a banana and layer it with your ‘nilla wafers.

in this bowl it took me about 18-20 wafers and banana slices per layer, but i’m not a stickler for perfect layers, so that’s up to you.

once you’ve got the bananas and wafers taken care of, tackle the custard. separate your eggs, then combine your sugars/stevia mixture, salt, and egg whites into a bowl and whisk together vigorously (you want them frothy)

take the milk and pour it into a small saucepan on low heat. warm it until it steams (under no circumstances should you let it boil..seriously, you’ll get up with chunky milk. so. gross.) then pour it slowly stirring it into the egg mixture.

pour the mixture over the wafers and bananas and bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. let it cool for 20 minutes then cover it until you’re ready to serve it!

this stuff is bananas.

Dining Out Delta: The Church Picnic

May 27, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Every spring near the end of the school year, our sweet little church hosts a beautiful picnic and outdoor service. boone was off competing in “dude-lympics” an all weekend athletic competition hosted by some college friends, so he missed it, but my mom came up to keep me company and help me pack and she loved it. honestly, what’s not to love about a southern church picnic?

it’s funny, but you can usually tell what denomination of church is hosting the picnic or the part of the country you’re in by the spread of the table. our church in Atlanta was a really progressive place, so the majority of pot-luck items were meatless or vegan, and had foods from various countries and regions of America.

…

Dining-Out Delta: Doe’s Eat Place

May 20, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com 1 Comment

This is the first installment of my Dining Out Delta posts… and I can think of nowhere better to begin than a classic establishment with first-rate food. Boone’s folks came from North Carolina two weeks ago and we took them to the best steakhouse in the south..and then not long after that we ate their with some pals…although there are other Doe’s Eat Place’s around the south these days, the original is still nestled in an old house in a neighborhood in Greenville, Mississippi….

Bourbon Peaches & Cream Popsicles

May 1, 2012 by biz.w.harris@gmail.com 2 Comments

Bourbon Peaches and Cream Popsicles

Weight watchers points: 2 per popsicle

Last fall I bought twelve popsicle molds on sale so I’d be ready to go when this summer rolled around. I had the molds, but the only recipe I could remember from my childhood summers involved freezing snapple lemonade…delicious, refreshing, but not exactly gourmet.

But….thanks to pintrest, sometime around January I found this dressed-up popsicle recipe using some classic southern ingredients (ahem…peaches??? bourbon? yes, please). This weekend ended up being around 85 degrees, so I decided it was absolutely alright to break out the molds and test them. Since I’m still trying to stay true to my weight watched commitment, I ended up modifying the ingredients a little from the original to make it lower-calorie.. read on for the recipe!

What you need:

1 1/2 cup peaches (fresh is best, but i used frozen peaches without added sugar)

2 oz bourbon

2 packets truvia (or any kind of stevia crystals)

1 1/2 cups greek nonfat yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

thaw the peaches and smush them a little bit, then sprinkle one packet (1 tsp) of stevia on them. pour the bourbon over the peaches and let soak for 20 minutes to an hour.

Mix the second tsp of stevia and the tsp of vanilla into the yogurt.

Drain off the excess bourbon (I didn’t do this and ended up with popsicles that would put you over the legal limit). Then, pour both the yogurt and the peach mixture into a blender or food processor, and mix together. Once combined (and the peaches have been chopped into smaller pieces) pour into your popsicle molds and freeze for 2+ hours or until completely hardened. Enjoy!

Blog

Footer