So what does that tell me as a “foodie”. Everybody is going back to their boring but easy routine. Now it’s time for a blatant commercial. Two Sisters Gourmet Seasoning Blends can shake you out of the boring routine.
If you are about to fry, bake or roast a chicken – sprinkle on your favorite flavor. A little Outrageously Garlic goes a long way.
If you have just pulled out the baked potato – in addition to your butter or sour cream – sprinkle on a little Tearless Onion and Chive for a tasty spud.
OK – by now you are bored with my constant stream of fresh food and healthy eating. Life just isn’t like that. It’s the middle of the summer, we’re on vacation, it’s hot and we’re lazy. So today, I celebrate July 21 – National Junk Food Day!!
I think like many people, my food junk food intake has a strong correlation to my mood – one extreme or the other and I am all over junk food! In our family it takes many forms. A stressed day at work brings on my secret delight – a bag of crunchy Cheetos! My husband is mint chocolate chip ice cream hand packed from the local creamery ( you know that has more fat). My daughter would be mac and cheese and my son would be pizza.
Apparently , according to Nielsen, Oklahoma City has the highest per capita rate of junk food consumption. Food Network came up with an odd but delicious assortment of 30 ways to top a hot dog, but most surveys agree that America’s top three items are
1. Chocolate
2. Pizza
3. French Fries
4. … in fact fried everything.
If you are YouTube, you can find videos for fried ice cream, pizza, Snickers, hamburgers but the most popular seems to be the ubiquitous fried Oreo!
Fresh fruit in summer makes me drool! Week after week we have been picking fresh strawberries at a nearby farm. Blueberries are starting to come in – and peaches in the south. I always have fruit in my shopping cart in the summer. It’s the perfect thing for the heat. But then I have a dilemma – too much fresh fruit!
There are plenty of ways to use of fruit – TSG Summer Fruit Crisp with anything you heart desires, pies, fruit soups, and in our house grilled – but my favorite for breakfast, lunch or dessert is smoothies!
The basic concept of a smoothie is simple – approximately equal amounts of fruit and “liquid” (be it yogurt, milk, juice or ice) – and a blender, food processor or milk shake machine to mix it up until it is a frothy light confection. If it’s too watery, add fruit – too thick, add some juice – it’s how you like it that counts. In fact, as soon as I finish this, my reward is a woodland fruit smoothie with strawberries, blueberries and a banana, with ice this time to keep the calories down and the refreshment up!
Experiment with what you have on hand. My typical is with low fat plain yogurt and fresh fruit with a little ice. The kids will think they’ve fooled you allowing them too much sweet – but you will know the truth.
All around this weekend the barbeques were lighted and the scent of dogs and burgers filled the air – along with major squeals from happy family get-togethers. We happened to be down the street from my brother and sister-in-law who had a healthy 26 for the weekend. We expanded with the kids home to a happy foursome – six if you count the dogs. And they should be counted for slider night.
As you well know, I love the kids coming home for all the usual reason, but also because they cook for us. With several new food magazines for inspiration – they couldn’t decide how best to celebrate the holiday. There were too many recipes for burgers to choose from, so they decided on a variety of sliders – you know –mini hamburgers so you can eat more than one without guilt!
Amazingly, a year ago, my daughter didn’t even eat hamburger (we’re talking age 20), but now she is in pursuit of the ultimate burger! Who says they don’t grow up? We all sat around discussing our favorite flavors and decided on four different varieties of burgers to try.
Burger Basics
Burgers are easy to customize with a little imagination. Just take high quality ground meat, add seasonings cut finely to mix well, some sauce or egg for binder (so it doesn’t crumble on the grill) and voila!
The men decided bacon was a must to add, that combined with barbeque sauce was one for the grill. Another version went Florentine with spinach, garlic and cheese. There was also a Mexican version with chili powder, Jack cheese and a little salsa. Or you can try the Mango Peach Salsa Sassy Burgers. Finally, there was the mushroom and cheese burgers with chipotle mayo – as you can tell we are largely a cheeseburger kind of family. We each had four tiny samples, but all were delicious!
Burger Tips
When making burgers use the finest quality meat, add finely diced herbs or other ingredients, add a binder such as egg, sauce or breadcrumbs to keep it whole on the grill. Taste test! Make a tiny burger of your favorite combination and grill first for flavor check – start light! You can always add more, but it’s harder to take out or add more meat to compensate.
Burgers Don’t Have to Be Beef
For all those years my daughter didn’t eat ground beef, that didn’t mean she didn’t eat grilled patties in a bun. Turkey burgers were a weekly staple in our house with mustard, onion and parsley for flavor. We also had our fair share of salmon burgers with mayo and dill. If you still crave meat, but want something with a little less f at, you can always use bison with a heartier flavor which is increasingly available in grocery stores.
If you can grind it, mix it and grill it – you have a burger for a holiday feast!
I admit it – this is one area where I have learned a lot in the past year. I thought I made pretty good ribs, but I didn’t understand what an art it really is. Now we think barbeques is the realm of the US, but I learned my lessons from the British born boyfriend of my daughter, Tom – OK, he is an American citizen now, but he still has a cute accent.
Barbeque in America is big business! Everyone thinks the BBQ from their region is the best – Texas, Memphis, Kansas City, Carolina. There are barbeque festivals in almost every state in the union – over 500 and counting! At the Memphis in May International Barbeque Festival people compete for over $100,000 in prizes. There are sites dedicated to ribs! And party people who specialize in grilling, roasting and smoking!
Silly me, I just used to slather ribs with sauce and throw them on the grill for a nice char – boy was I mistaken. To do really great ribs, they need to be slow roasted for several hours and just finished on the grill.
How to Make Great Ribs – Easy but NOT Fast
Again there’s a lot of regional lore about what’s best. Some people recommend boiling them to cook them, but generally that leaches out the flavor. In our house you rub the ribs lightly with oil. Sometimes we then pat on a dry rub of our favorite spices. Then you can put them in a crock pot smothered in your favorite for several hours on low or wrap smother them in sauce and wrap them in foil in the oven for several hours. The key is low slow cooking about 225 degrees, until the meat starts to separate easily from the bone. You can use either TSG Raspberry Grilling Sauce or try this recipe with Sisters Southern Sweet Barbeque Sauce – or a combination of both! Here a link to the TSG recipe that’s a little faster.
Then onto the grill for that caramelized and crispy finish.
Easy Grilled Corn Too!
If you don’t want to cook inside, I recommend BBQ roasted corn for a perfect picnic. Just take your corn in the husk – soak it in water for about an hour – then drop onto the grill. The corn will cook inside in about 10-15 minutes. Or if you like a little char and don’t have the hour, take off the husk, brush with olive oil and drop directly on the gril.
Keep all the mess outside with almost no clean up after – that’s my idea of a summer vacation! Even better, Tom is coming for the weekend and he’s going to do the ribs!
OK – you’re going to get tired of my grilling blogs over the next couple of months, but really, what’s better than some fresh local food grilled and shared in the back yard on a warm summer night?
Kids Love Grilled Vegetables
For those of you who lament every getting your children to eat vegs – this has to be the answer. Take just about any fresh veg you can find, slice it, spray or brush lightly with it with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and it’s guaranteed to vanish! My family generally moans when I ask what vegetable they want with dinner, but in the summer I have to grill three times what I think is the correct amount because it is stolen before it ever hits the table.
For a family, you can make it a fun day if you start at the farmer’s market in the morning where everyone can pick “their” vegetable to include. Maybe you can make it a game to add one “new” variety each week. This way each child has a vested interest in trying their new vegetable!
Easy Grilled Vegetable Recipe and Variations
My husband, – you know, Mr. BBQ – and I have different opinions about the best, easiest, and tastiest methods for grilling vegetables but the result is the same. I like to slice my vegs in pretty large pieces and put them straight on the grill for those nice markings you get in restaurants. I like yellow squash (it seems to hold up better than zucchini) red peppers, onions, asparagus, eggplant (for me- just the little ones) , onions and mushrooms (they go fastest). Really simple oil, salt and pepper is great, but you can add a little extra flavor by marinating with balsamic vinegar – and for a little extra flavor you can add fresh basil, rosemary or oregano – depending on your taste! If you are short of time you can use TSG Garlic Parmesan Vinaigrette, Vermont Maple Dijon, or Island Ponzu Sauce.
By the way – those mushrooms and tomatoes seem to grill best on a skewer – they’re a lot easier to handle en masse! For the onions and asparagus, it helps to have a smaller vegetable grill to put on the barbeque so they don’t fall in. Here Rick and I differ – I think they should still be metal for texture in the barbeque – and not coated. He likes some of the “basket” styles better, but I think they come out more steamed than grilled. And a little “spritzer” is handy to get the oil/marinade on the flip side when you turn them over.
Either way – when they are finished don’t put them in the oven to keep them warm – they get mushy. Besides, if you leave them out on a nice platter – everyone who goes by steals some and they’re one of the healthiest snacks you can find! Eat up!
Summer is coming up! The kids will be home and there will be lots of outdoor entertaining and picnic opportunities! Want some help in feeding the crowds? How about simple ways to use Apple Cake Mix to make a variety of new taste treats? There are a lot of great recipes in the TSG Recipe Box to tantalize your taste buds, but here are five new, easy ways to use apple cake! Thanks to Rita Held our great recipe creator!
Send us your recipe ideas and earn a chance to win 3 boxes of apple cake. We will choose ten recipes at random in a drawing
Believe it or not, the catalog to be released in August was shot a month ago. I spent a week tasting our new products and looking (and eating) comfort food, holiday desserts and other great treats! I thought it would be fun to show you a little of the behind the scenes effort.
We all know that you eat with your eyes as well as your mouth, so food styling for the catalog is very important. There can be a lot of “bad press” about how food stylists “cheat” the dishes to make it appropriate for a magazine shoot. Take for example ice cream, it’s impossible to get real ice cream not to melt under hot lights. But the attitude of companies, savvy consumers and digital photography have changed the issues in shooting food and allowed all of our photography to be much more “natural”.
When we prepare food for the catalog, we actually create and test recipes (that’s a popular day in the office because they get to taste finished dishes, not just product). At the shoot our fabulous stylist Catrine Kelty prepares each of the dishes (with leftovers) and then works with our great photographer Paul Saraceno to bring it to you in the best possible light.
It’s true that we do help out our dishes a little – after all they do have to sit on the table for hours at a time and need to keep looking fresh. We spritz the lettuce with water to make it glisten, hand arrange the leaves, stack berries just so, and melt our cheese with a gun that peels paint off walls so it gets perfectly brown.
Tips to Make Your Table Look Great
Here are the top tips that Katrine uses in preparing our food whether for photography or your family table.
Set the table beautifully – make sure you keep a nice centerpiece and candles ready to be lit every night.
Use fresh, high quality ingredients – there’s nothing more sad than wilted lettuce!
Like those quesadilla? Well here are two of our great recipes using the Two Sisters Gourmet Black Bean and Corn Salsa, but you can really add your f avorite ingredients and make them your own:
We had the children home last week and it reminded me how special it is to have the family gathered around the kitchen table. We all picture a Norman Rockwell painting or an episode of Leave it to Beaver and sigh. We all have been brainwashed into believing the family dinner is on the decline – because it certainly feels that way in our house. But take heart!! There are some good statistics!
NPD, a consumer research organization says that nearly 47% of all consumers say the family eats together at least 5 nights per week. 81% of people want to eat dinner at home. And 71% of teens have dinner with the family at least five nights per week, up from a few years ago.
This is great news because eating together is good for everyone. We all know the statistics that children are less likely to be involved in drinking and drugs if they eat with the family regularly. Family dinners are also good for nutrition and stress control in all family members. The dinner table is where we learn to take interest in each other, discuss issues, form opinions and gain self esteem. Even when the TV is on (in 40% of HH) there is still a positive benefit.
But we also know that 80% of women are the people responsible for getting the meal on the table – it doesn’t have to be difficult. The easiest way to get a meal on the table could be to use frozen or prepared dinners to take home from the grocery store, but that can be expensive and not necessarily the most nutritious.
Five Easy Family Dinners
Tacos – Families love tacos! They are a great way to get in vegetables and minimize prep time. You can make them either beef or chicken (ground or shredded). Add some chili seasoning, lettuce, tomato, salsa and you’re all set. All you have to do is warm the shells and cook the meat – the family can do the rest.
Baked Chicken Fingers with Creamy Dip – you can make them fresh and simple, or use frozen chicken fingers and your Lemony Fresh Dill blend made into dip.
Crockpot Pulled Pork – Start it in the morning and its ready when you walk in the door. Only 3 ingredients.
My maiden name is McCarthy, I’m sprinkled with kisses from the sun (freckles) and I’ve actually kissed the Blarney Stone (now that shouldn’t surprise you) and I’ve lived in Chicago and seen the river dyed green – but when it came to writing about Irish food and St. Patrick’s Day I actually drew a blank. Even after searching Google.
St. Patricks Day Myths
What I learned is that much of the American hoopla about St. Patrick’s Day is just that – American hoopla. Until recently, St. Patrick’s Day was a religious holiday in Ireland. And we all know it was to celebrate driving the snakes out of Ireland. Right? Except there were no snakes in Ireland. Those snakes were most likely heathen symbols.
And ready for this? St. Patrick wasn’t Irish. He was actually born in Scotland or Great Britain in 373 A.D., was enslaved in Ireland as a youth and returned in adulthood as a priest when he probably took the name Patrick or Patricus. Oh Well! Why ruin a festive celebration with facts? I think we just needed a celebration in March – a month that is frequently without one. So what to make?
Of course, most traditional Irish plates include potatoes (although that didn’t begin until after the great potato famine) and are very simple – meat, potatoes, vegetables. You can do a great corned beef in your slow cooker or a lamb stew. There boxty which is an Irish potato pancake (rhyme). There’s fun potato and sausage dish called a Dublin Coddle. But my personal favorite, Colcannon (mashed potatoes with onion, kale and bacon), is traditionally served at Halloween.
Easy Recipe – No Bake St. Patrick’s Pops for Kids
For the kids, I found this great, fun, easy no bake idea to help celebrate – St. Patrick Cookie Pops. Now this is celebrating!
So on March 17, I’ll wear my green (the shamrock was a symbol of rebellion in Victorian times), have a Guiness (my one per year) and say Erin go Braugh! (Ireland Forever) with all my other American Friends!
