Attention Atlantans and NYC friends:

I would like you to meet Scoutmob.  This awesome website offers great deals on uniquely local spots.  Some of my current favorites include:

- 50% off at Cook’s Warehouse

- 50% off at B.Braithwaite (Looking for a baby gift?  Perfect stop on the Westside)

- 50% off at Shaun’s (they have a GF menu!)

- 50% off at Savvy Snoot (great used furniture place on the Westside)

Why do I love Scoutmob?

• It’s totally free and you get all kinds of amazing deals.
• Each day you get fun/quirky write ups about each of the places that are featured on the daily deals.
• I get to use the cool ScoutMob App for my new Iphone that makes me feel trendy.
• You don’t have to have an Iphone to use the deals.
• Daily emails that tell you about cool, local goings on, that are unique to Atlanta.

Check it out for yourself.  I just wanted to make the introduction.  Click here to visit their website: Scoutmob

For those of you that have already drank the Scoutmob Kool-Aid: What deals have you used?  Any NYC feedback?  We love it in ATL?

Dear Mini-Food Processor,

You have been a wonderful kitchen gadget for our family.  Making hummus with you has been a favorite Sunday activity.  Your salad dressings are delicious and you always know just the right amount to make.  The perfect size for a batch of pesto, you’ve been a great friend in our tiny apartment.  Even though we keep you on the top shelf, almost weekly I stand on my tip toes, grab you, and put you to work.

You’ve been working overtime recently, as we’ve had an endless supply of basil.  Thank you for your hard work.  You never disappoint.  Even when I fine a large chunk of garlic in my hummus that you forgot to chop up, I don’t mind because I know that I ask a lot of you.

I have a confession to make, Mini Food Processor.  You’re going to have a new home.  It’s not that we don’t love you, but it’s time for us to buy a bigger food processor.  You will always be our first and I  have many fond memories of our time together.  Now that we’re moving into a home with a more spacious kitchen, it only seems right to buy a larger model.  I’m looking forward to working with our new food processor, chopping onions and other veggies, but just know that you will never be forgotten.

Your new home with the Williams will be much more spacious than the living conditions you’ve had for the past year.  Meredith will take good care of you, I promise, and make many yummy foods with you.  Keep chopping away.

Love,

Betsy

Basil Dressing (in the Mini Food Processor)

This is a great dressing for salad and delicious to add to other summer dishes. Lighter than pesto, so it absorbs better into whatever you’re making.  Also, let’s be honest: Sometimes I’m a little cheap to make pesto.  Pine nuts are pricey so this is a solid alternative to pesto and not as rich.

Great to use with:

• Roasted potatoes
• Pork chops
• Grilled bone-in chicken breasts
• Tossed in a cold quinoa salad
• Salad dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
• juice from ½ a lemon (add more if you want it to be more tart)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 4 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• s&p

Put all of the ingredients, except olive oil, into food processor and mix.  Once blended, add olive oil.  If you want it to be more liquid thank thick (less like pesto and more like salad dressing), add more olive oil and white wine vinegar and less cheese.

Other Great Uses for the Mini Food Processor:

Hummus

Pesto for pasta or pizza

Recently a group of us hosted a luncheon to celebrate my good friend, Mary Stuart, and her baby that’s on the way.  On a steamy, summer day, it can be difficult to create a menu.  When it’s hot outside, we’re not looking to eat heavy, rich, foods.  Instead your food should be light and refreshing.  Also, this luncheon was not at my house, so I had to take transportation into account when planning.  I  didn’t want to be assembling my dish upon arrival, so my ‘quinoa for a crowd’ actually tastes better when made a day in advance.

As the name implies, this recipe makes a lot of food, and I always make too much food when I’m playing host.  Leftovers are delicious and this quinoa makes for a great lunch during the week.  In our Atlanta group of friends, I’m not the only gluten-free eater, so we labeled the items for the luncheon that were gluten-free and kept them at the beginning of the buffet line, in order to best avoid contamination.

Quinoa for a Crowd (Serves about 10-12)

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups quinoa
• 5 cups vegetable broth (or water)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoons salt & ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 1 red onion
• 1 bag frozen, shelled edamame
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes

Vinaigrette

• ½ cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 table spoon white wine vinegar

Rinse and drain quinoa if package instructs you to.  (Some do and others don’t.)  I have a very fine strainer that I use for rinsing my quinoa.

Heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add quinoa and stir for a minute while cooking.  Add 1 cup broth and stir while the quinoa absorbs the liquid.  Once liquid is absorbed, add 3 more cups.  Lower heat to medium-low.  Let cook, stirring occasionally.  Add salt and pepper.  Add more liquid as needed.  You’ll know the quinoa is done because it will ‘pop.’  Not like popcorn, but you’ll see that the quinoa becomes bigger and there will be a little line in the middle of each grain.  It will take about 20 minutes for quinoa to cook.  (Unlike risotto, I think it’s hard to overcook quinoa.)

Remove quinoa from heat and let cool to room temperature.  Meanwhile, finely chop red onion.  Heat shelled edamame (according to cooking instructions on bag).  Drain and let cool.  Cut tomatoes in half.  Put onion, edamame and tomatoes into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk lemon juice, honey, olive oil, white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.  Taste.  Depending on how tart or sweet you like your food, add more honey and olive oil (for sweetness) or add more mustard or lemon juice (for tartness).  This is completely about your flavor preference.  I find that anytime I make a vinaigrette, I keep sampling it until I’m content with the flavors.  (Not very precise or scientific, I know!)

Once your quinoa has cooled, add the grain to your large bowl.  Mix with tomatoes, edamame, and onions.  Add your vinaigrette and toss.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  If your salad dries out a little, just add some more lemon juice or olive oil before serving.

As I mentioned, this quinoa, is the gift that keeps on giving, so I brought the leftovers to a dinner that same night.  Still delicious.  And I ate it for lunch the next day.  And the next.

Another highlight of the luncheon was the chicken salad that my friend Meredith made, using one of Emeril’s recipes.  I loved the cashew and apple combination.  Salty, sweet and tart, all in one.  Not too much mayo either.  You can see this naturally gluten-free recipe here.  (The only change Meredith made was omitting the parsley.)  Of course, thoughtful Meredith even remembered to bring gluten-free crackers for the chicken salad!

What do you like to make when cooking for a crowd?

Summer squash is a favorite of mine.  I love the different colors, textures and shapes.  Squash can be roasted simply but I also use it in squash casserole.  Yes, ‘squash casserole’ sounds a bit funny, but I promise, it’s delicious.  This is my grandmother, Dot’s, recipe and even though I never actually ate her version of it (because I was too young to appreciate squash casserole), it reminds me of her.  This recipe also makes me think of my mom because she always makes it in the summer, when I’m around.  My dad doesn’t like squash so when I’m in town, there’s someone else to enjoy it with her!

I found myself with a bounty of squash and onions this weekend so I made squash casserole for a dinner group.  You can bake it before hand so it transports easily.  I posted this recipe last summer, but I realized when making it on Sunday, and following my blog recipe, that I forgot to mention that you should melt the butter.

Oops.  It still turned out alright but I had to laugh at myself for messing up my own recipe.  (It looked a little funny but tasted yummy.)

Dot’s Summer Squash Casserole

Inngredients:
3 pounds summer squash, chunked
3 medium onions, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup water
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup 2% or whole milk
Parmesan cheese (the original recipe also calls for crumbled crackers on top but we just skip that step now to make it GF! Instead I sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top)

Directions:
Cook squash & onions with water, sugar, salt and pepper until mashable (about 45 minutes).
Beat two eggs lightly.
Add milk to eggs and mix well with squash. Add butter and mix.
Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes. (With 10 minutes left in cooking, remove from oven and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.)

Perfect for a 4th of July cookout!  Transports with no trouble and reheats easily.  You make make it and freeze, and just reheat before serving.  Happy cooking!

It’s hot in Altanta.  Really hot.  I’m sure there are better ways to describe this weather, but the only word that comes to mind is brutal.  The heat hasn’t broken either.  Despite the mini-rainstorms, it hasn’t been enough to side track these crazy temps.  It continues to be hot…and brutal.

On Monday, after a sweaty afternoon of running errands  (Who knew it could be so sweltering just to run errands??), I came home to find a bag full of Georgia peaches outside my door.  My wonderfully generous friend, Maury, left me this beautiful treat.   What is a better answer to heat and high temperatures than making a peach crisp?

Is it a crisp?  Is it a cobbler?  I’m not really sure.  I tend to use those words interchangeably, but I’m sure there’s a proper distinction.  (I do know, however, that it’s not a pie.)  I created this recipe on the spot and I made sure to write down what I did so I could share it with you.  I love the combination of GF oats and chopped pecans.  It’s the perfect crunchy duo with the soft, tender peaches.  I’ve found in the past that it can be difficult to find the proper ratio between fruit, crisp topping, and butter.  Too much flour and oats, makes it too dry, too much butter makes for a soggy crisp/cobbler.  Sort of like Goldilocks, I want it to be just right.  (Our girl, Goldilocks was eating porridge…Crisp is much better!)

Peach & Blueberry Crisp

• 8 peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1 pint blueberries
• (Really, any combination of fruit works.  These are what I had on hand.)
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 ½ T. cornstarch
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 6 T. cold butter, chopped into cubes

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter an 8 x 8 pyrex dish.

In a bowl, mix peaches, blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar.  (I add the sugar last to eyeball just how much I need.)

In another bowl, mix flours and brown sugar.  Add oats and pecans and mix.  Then add butter and mix with dry ingredients.  (A food processor can be helpful for this step but I was feeling a little lazy.

Pour fruit mixture into Pyrex dish.  Spread evenly throughout dish.  Add flour mixture on top of fruit.  Spread evenly.  (It will look like you have too much but you want it to be thick.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until fruit starts to bubble.  You can make this ahead of time and then just reheat for 10 minutes before serving.  (I think it gets better over time.)

Serve warm.  Of course everything tastes better with vanilla ice cream.  Mmm…just right.

I love Thursday nights.  In fact, anyone who eats dinner with me on a Thursday night, inevitably hears me remark about how much I love Thursday nights.  Why do I prefer this particular evening?  You have almost the entire week behind you and the entire weekend ahead.  What a great moment in time with many things to look forward to.

I think part of my enthusiasm for Thursday nights goes back to my life teaching at a boarding school.  Wednesday nights were my dorm duty nights so I basically worked until midnight on Wednesdays, doing sign-ins, proctoring study hall and enforcing lights out.  Having a Wednesday night like that made Thursdays even more amazing.  Also, by Thursday evening I was usually finished with athletic events for the week as well as Dean’s meetings, advisory events, and all of the other things that come with dorm life.  Glorious Thursday nights…

I savor cooking dinner on Thursday nights because I can just relax and enjoy my time with David and whoever else we have in our home.  When I came home from work yesterday, my arms full of fresh vegetables, I smiled to see David on our tiny porch smoking his pipe.  (Yes, my husband occasionally smokes a pipe.)  I joined him on the porch for awhile, chatting and enjoying the fact that it was…Thursday.  Nowhere to be, nothing to do.

Going with the “laid back, chilled out” Thursday night theme, I roasted a bunch of vegetables for dinner, including summer squash, carrots, and onions.  I served them with sautéed yellow snow peas and red quinoa.  A perfect meal for leading into Memorial Day weekend.  So easy.  So simple.

Simply Sauteed Snow Peas:

Snow peas are great for cooking because they can stand up to heat well and still maintain their crunch.  David likes to eat them raw, but I prefer them sautéed, with garlic.

• 1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed (I used yellow this time, but green are great too)
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in pan on medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for a minute.  Add snow peas and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Snow peas will still be nice and crisp.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend is full of relaxation, cooking, and delicious food.

There has been no shortage of rain this year in Atlanta.  In fact, it has rained since we got here.  But I’m hopeful that we’ll start seeing the benefits from the down pours we lived through last fall and early this spring.  Flowers, vegetables and fruit galore.

Spring is in full bloom and I couldn’t resist posting some photos of these gorgeous flowers from Crystal Organic Farm.

Don’t they just make you want to play outside?

From now through the end of the summer, gorgeous bouquets like this can be found at The Local Farmstand.  Isn’t nature amazing?

Many restaurants in Atlanta implement the culinary perspective of southern tradition meets fine dining.  I love this combination, particularly when a restaurant does it differently and uniquely.  On Saturday night, I got to experience quality southern food in a casual, laid back environment at Parish Foods & Goods.  Formerly an old pipe factory, Parish is located in the Inman Park/Virginia Highlands area.  The restaurant’s rustic vibe is welcoming, yet the quality of food is not compromised.  Chef Nick Melvin uses seasonal, local produce to create an ever-changing menu that pleases a variety of diners, even gluten-free customers.

Last weekend David and I went to dinner with my cousin, Margaret and her boyfriend, Chip so we decided to try Parish.  This was my first trip to Parish, but I had heard many cool things about not just the food, but also the ambiance and décor at Parish.  For those of you that remember, last Saturday’s weather was unusually freakish and weird, even compared to the last nine months in Atlanta.  Fortunately, like every other restaurant in Atlanta, Parish had valet so upon arrival, we handed off the keys and made a mad dash to the front door.  (Has anyone else noticed that valet is everywhere in Atlanta?  I mean, it’s not like parking is tough here.)

We went inside Parish and I immediately fell for the décor and the atmosphere.  The bar is warm and welcoming.  (Cue Cheers theme music.)  I can definitely see just going to Parish for a beverage and an appetizer, sitting at the bar.  The exposed brick and understated interior makes Parish feel anything but pretentious.  There was live music in the front of the restaurant and of course the ‘old person in me,’ wanted to sit far away from the solo artist and his guitar.  Unfortunately, there was a prom group occupying the back of the restaurant so we stayed near the tunes.  Good news, though!  The music didn’t bother me at all.  The tables are cozy enough that we didn’t have to shout at each other across the table and I ended up enjoying the music.  It didn’t dominate the feel of the restaurant, but provided nice background noise.

Once we were seated, the waitress was very attentive and informative about the menu.  I love the huge chalkboard that overlooks the main dining room, because it adds to Parish’s casual vibe, and provides a written reference for the specials.  It also listed the fresh vegetable side dishes which I immediately gravitated towards.  (Yum, carrots, greens, snow peas…) The chef briefed our server about the gluten-free options on the menu and I was impressed by how many items were naturally gluten-free or could easily be tweaked.  As I’ve mentioned before, appetizers can be particularly tough to find GF options, but there were many on that evening’s menu.  Some of my options included:

• Milk & Honey Salad (sans house made nougat)
• Parish Sausage Plate
• Eggs & Bacon (skip the brioche toast)
• Crab & Avacado
• New Orleans BBQ Shrimp (hold the toasted baguette)

Wow!  It made me want to come back to Parish just for the appetizer options.  I’m not used to having so many choices so I had some difficulty deciding what to order.  David and I ultimately decided to share the Crab & Avacado appetizer that included lump crab, avocado, ginger pickled beet root, and ricotta salata.  Chip and Margaret chose that appetizer too, and it was thoroughly enjoyed by both the gluten-free and glutenous eaters.  It was the perfect size for sharing but I could have eaten the whole thing by myself.

Crab & Avocado Appetizer

While we often associate southern food with “battered and deep fried”, there were many non-fried, gluten-free entrees on Parish’s menu for me.  Yes, I was momentarily envious of the ‘Big Easy Fried Chicken” platters the waiter carried past my table, but my eyes quickly moved down the menu to my other options.  Of course the buttermilk braised pork and dumplings, with spring succotash also caught my attention, but I was sure that dish wouldn’t be an option.  When the waitress told me that I could order the pork without the dumplings, I was psyched because I love braised pork shoulder.  So instead of the dumplings, they let me get my choice of one of their veggie sides.  Since the dish already came with spring succotash, I ordered the roasted carrots.

When they brought out our entrees, mine didn’t look any different than David’s who ordered the pork and dumplings, with dumplings.  Actually they looked so similar, that I was nervous at first, but upon close examination we found the dumplings in David’s and purple carrots buried underneath the tender, braised pork.  Yummy!  I loved the crunch of the carrots and peas with the tender pork.  Both a contradiction and a complement.  I could really taste the flavors of the meat and veggies because they weren’t overpowered by a thick sauce.  The two boys and I all ordered the pork and Margaret ordered the duck special that also looked amazing and most likely gluten-free.

Braised Pork (sans dumplings)

My only gluten-free criticism of our dining experience at Parish was a lack of gluten-free desserts, but honestly, by the end of the meal, I was so full, that dessert probably wasn’t an option anyways.  Maybe in the future, they’ll experiment with some southern gluten-free desserts, as their menu’s always changing.

After dinner we checked out the downstairs part of Parish.  For lunch and throughout the evening, this part of the restaurant is open, selling sandwiches, salads and lighter food.  I will have to go back to check out my gluten-free options.  They have a nice area to sit outside that would be nice when it’s not pouring rain.  Parish is also known for their brunch, giving me yet another reason to return to Parish.  Has anyone ever tried Parish’s market or their brunch?

Final Verdict: Loved the overall feel of Parish and enjoyed the food.  I will definitely be back to try out other options and see how the menu changes as we head into the summer months.  The staff understood my gluten-free needs and were very willing to accommodate me.  Worth the trip (and a return trip)!

Parish Food & Goods – 240 North Highland Ave – Atlanta, GA 30307 – 404.681.4434

In the winter, I find myself missing homemade blueberry muffins.  I love the taste of a blueberry muffin in the summer, packed with freshly picked huge blueberries from my in-laws’ farm in Linden, VA.  While we do freeze blueberries so we can make muffins after the season, those remnants of summer are usually long gone by the time December rolls around.  Recently I was craving some kind of breakfast muffin but I didn’t want to use flavorless fruit that had traveled thousands of miles to get to me.  I also wanted to create something in my kitchen that involved the least amount of grocery shopping.  Isn’t it so nice when you realize you already own every ingredient you need for a certain recipe?

I had some beautiful north Georgia apples in my fruit bowl and I thought perhaps I could use those in some kind of baked good.  I was envisioning apple pie meets blueberry muffins.  Yum.  These apples inspired me, as did a whole wheat apple muffin recipe from Smitten Kitchen.  Of course I had to omit the whole wheat flour from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe, and replace it with other flour concoctions.  These muffins turned out so well, in fact they might be some of the yummiest muffins I’ve made.  The chunks of apples added great texture and the teff and amaranth flour were a great compliment to the apples.  I actually think those flours might even be better than the whole wheat and all-purpose flour combination in the original recipe.

A word of warning, these muffins were a little difficult to transport because they were so moist and delicious.  I had extras so I refrigerated them and they tasted fresh for the remainder of the week.  Great for breakfast or with tea in the afternoon.

Teff & Amaranth Apple Muffins (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup white rice flour
• ½ cup brown rice flour
• ¼ cup teff flour
• ¼ cup amaranth flour
• ¼ cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain yogurt (or buttermilk)
• 2 large apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 450.  Grease and lightly flour 18 muffin cups.  (I used rice flour.)

Mix together the flours, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Set aside.  In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and ¼ of the cup of brown sugar.  Beat until fluffy.  Add the egg and mix well.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once.  Mix in the yogurt gently.  Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the pieces of apple.

Put batter into muffin cups in a muffin pan.  Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on top of the muffins.  (I sprinkle liberally because the brown sugar is delicious on top.)

Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400 and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.  They are done when you can insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then put on a wire cooling rack.

These apple muffins make a great component for a brunch and you can make them a few days in advance.  Enjoy!