Mediterranean Skillet Dinner

This is Marie, with an article about something that I cooked.

You know those days when you walk in the door, look at the kitchen, and say “I have no ideas?” Well, foodies get them too. Possibly more than most, because I can’t just open a can and put the contents on a plate unless I’m willing to get some really impressive puppy dog looks, and possibly a growl or two. Well, except for the baby, as he likes beans of all descriptions and isn’t fussy about sprucing them up. So when Grant presented me with a shredded cheese packet that had a recipe on the back and said, while pointing vigorously, “This! Make this, it looks good!” there was no competing recipe to delay the implementation much. Continue reading “Mediterranean Skillet Dinner” →

Community Pie, Chattanooga TN

This is Marie, suitably contributing an article about dessert. Our daughter and I enjoyed a very good one on our trip to Chattanooga, and we were in serious need of a recharge when we came to it. We had visited the Creative Discovery Museum with our friends from The Boys Made Me Do It, and completely wore out the baby. This was our third or fourth visit to this children’s museum, and it is great fun seeing the baby grow up and explore new areas of it. Continue reading “Community Pie, Chattanooga TN” →

Del Torro’s Artisan Chocolate Sauce

(In today’s chapter, Marie writes about a new product that we were invited to sample.)

We received an invitation to try out some chocolate sauce by Wheeler del Torro, a chef based in Boston who has also worked in Philadelphia, Paris, and a host of other places. He’s been getting some recognition for his desserts and treats after a few years of making a name in pop-up restaurants and other food events, and has a vegan ice cream shop as well, which looks pretty interesting. Should I ever happen to be up in his area I’d stop by, as enjoying ice cream without a stomach ache afterward would be a delightful thing. He offered us the opportunity to try one of his jars of chocolate sauce, and it shows the craft he put into it. Continue reading “Del Torro’s Artisan Chocolate Sauce” →

Macarons

(I asked Marie to share a few words about what the heck these crumbly and creamy treats are, and she has this to say…)

We chanced on a beautiful display of macarons the other day after dinner and had to pick some up. They look like little jewels in the case, in all those pastel shades. We chose four (vanilla, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry), and then asked which are most popular – apparently the strawberry is one of the top sellers. I should have taken the green tea as well – it must have been excellent. I liked the vanilla one best of those we got. Continue reading “Macarons” →

Pizza 3.14, Marietta GA (CLOSED)

This is Marie, contributing a small article about a local pizza joint we tried out. No one enjoyed the visit more than the baby did, because they have an arcade with a game that shows trucks jumping Monster-Truck-style over unlikely bits of terrain, and the game had a wheel and lever and buttons. He did not care in the least that all he got to see was the teaser footage; for him, it was an unending free video game. Continue reading “Pizza 3.14, Marietta GA (CLOSED)” →

Farm Burger, Dunwoody GA

This is Marie, contributing an article about Farm Burger Dunwoody, a recent addition to the franchise that we first visited in Decatur three years ago. We wound up there because of an unfortunate rebellion on the part of my car which required Grant to pick me up from the repair shop to which it had been towed. The baby in particular was totally thrown off and spent some time in the car sobbing that he wanted “eat-eat!” It’s hard to explain to someone with a still-limited grasp of English that although we needed to stop at an unnamed fast-food franchise to take advantage of their changing table (sorry, anonymous restaurant – I will have lunch with you sometime soon to make up for carrying a bellowing unhappy baby though your door) we were not stopping there, and the fries he would get at the actual location were going to be eating are better in all possible ways. And luckily we do keep a few munchies in the diaper bag for situations like this. Continue reading “Farm Burger, Dunwoody GA” →

Oliebollen

This is Marie, contributing an article about a traditional Dutch treat that we got at the last visit to my parents’ place. Mom wanted to make oliebollen, which are a kind of proto-donut, because it’s a traditional New Year’s treat in the Netherlands, and I was more than happy to partake. The rest of the family was slightly bewildered at the sudden need to make fried goods in the middle of the day. You really do need to have a particular reason to make these if you are making them at home, and the near vicinity of New Year’s was not convincing since they are not Dutch. Continue reading “Oliebollen” →