Eat This: Easy Peasy Fajitas

Everyone in Texas has their own recipe for fajitas.  Well, almost everyone.  Mine is pretty simple.  I think many fajitas I've had over the years are unnecessarily complicated flavor-wise. Try these and I promise you will make your own take on them as well.  I am afraid the only process photos I have are cooking photos.  I had a lot going on today and the prep isn't necessarily photo worthy anyway!  Try this.

Savor The Summer: Garlic Ginger Pepper Jam

I love the taste of Summer from the fresh corn to the nice fiery hot Jalapenos I grow in the back yard.  I also like grilled meats and think that once in awhile you might like to have something sweet and hot on a freshly grilled chop.  Enter this jam.

Eat This: Fish Friday - Maple Mustard Salmon

Stone Ground Mustard and Maple Glazed Salmon

I love salmon. When the wild caught, Copper River Salmon is available, I am always a step away from a feast.  Tonight, I made something a little different; Mustard-Maple Glazed Roasted Salmon.  It was DELICIOUS and so easy. 

Sadly, I was very lazy and only have the final product photographed, but I'll walk you through the process.

Eating This: Fresh from Southern California

Riverside Farmer's Market

I have been on a bit of a mini-vacation in Southern Calirofnia, hosted by friends in Riverside at their home.  The setting is idyllic, really beautiful and I know why they love being here so much.  Food is important here:  Fresh food. Local food. Delicious food.  Our dinners have been really extraordinary.  Here are some photos of the fresh products from their garden and the local Farmer's Market and the resulting meal!

Eat This: Fresh Blueberry Jam

Hello.  My name is Marc and I am a canning and preserving addict.  

I admit it.  Don't want to change it. Enjoy doing it and sharing with friends and neighbors.  Today I made fresh blueberry jam.  The blueberries came from a local farm here in North Texas and bought at the local Farmer's Market.  I water processed the results and it turned out great!  Next time I think I will do some spicy version, maybe a Jalapeño or other pepper infused variety.

Fresh Saturday: Purple Hull Peas For The Freezer

I love peas. Almost any kind.  When I was at the Denton Farmer's Market a couple of weeks back, one of the vendors I buy from was taking orders for Purple Hull Peas.  He has a family farm and grows a pretty large variety of things.  I ordered a half bushel of peas and they came in on the 4th!  It was amazing that farmers were in the market on the Fouth of July, but hey, that's their bread and butter and they were mobbed.  I also bought Blueberries which you will see in a subsequent post.

Eat Here: Coco Pazzo Cafe, Chicago

From the website - Try sitting outside and enjoy the neighborhood ambiance.

Last week I was in Chicago attending the American Library Association's "Annual Conference".  26,000 librarians, vendors and others converged on Chicago.  No surprise, a lot of Tweets, FaceBook and blog posts revolved around food.  Chicago has a long tradition of foods from everywhere you can imagine.

The Modigliani inspired murals high above head are just a small part of the ambiance.

Grow: Herbs and More

Lemon Thyme, German Thyme and Lavender

Living in North Texas we get some pretty extreme weather.  From ice and snow in the Winter to triple digit temps in the Summer.  So I do what any right minded person would do: I do container gardening on the patio.  Easy. Cheap. Manageable. So much less maintenance, and, when the weather gets dicey?  I move them under cover with no trouble.

Sweet Basil

I bought one basil plant at the Home Depot for $3 and we have been eating off this monster all season.  From caprese salads, to sandwiches and salads, it is a Summer staple we love each year.