Make This!! Corn Fritters

Make This: Corn Fritters

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen's website this a.m.

I didn't have all the ingredients but improvised and used what I had on hand. They were absolutely fantastic! I'm happy the recipe makes a lot, as I'm looking forward to having these for breakfast tomorrow morning with a sunnyside egg on top!

Here is the link to Smitten Kitchen's recipe. My adapted version is below.

Corn Fritters adapted slightly from Smitten Kitchen

2 cans yellow corn, drained

4 bunches of green onions, chopped

1 cup arugula, chopped
1 red pepper, diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 tsp salt

1 rounded tsp coriander

1 rounded tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coarse ground pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

4 large eggs

1 cup, plus 2 Tbs flour

oil for frying

Drain corn and combine with pepper, herbs, cheese and spices.  Add eggs and mix well. Add flour & mix well.

Heat 2-3 Tbs of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Scoop out corn mixture.  I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the fritters and they turned out large. Next time I would use the measuring cup, and only fill it halfway for smaller fritters. Fry the fritters about 3 minutes on each side (until very golden brown).  Drain on a paper towel. I did not add more salt after the fritters were finished as I felt they were seasoned enough. 

Enjoy!!

Prosser Wine Weekend!

Wine Weekend 2015

 

For the past few years, Omid and I have travelled to Prosser, Washington for a wine tasting weekend with our good friends, Katie & Tom.

 

The trip always starts out the same: we stop in The Dalles for lunch at  Cousin's restaurant. The food isn't great, but the atmosphere is fun. 

 

Reunited!

Let's get this party started!
Fun fact: We've been friends for 19 years!

If you haven't tried Tito's vodka yet, DO!

It's smoother & tastier than Grey Goose and is American made too!

Thanks Katie for finding this tasty treat!

First wine tasting of the day always starts out Pontin del Roza to meet our friends
Scott & Dustin.
 

Omid and Katie playing bocce ball at Pontin del Roza.

Apple trees at Pontin del Roza

After checking in with Dustin, we headed out to their vineyard to do some target shooting.
*Please don't go into random vineyards and shoot! We know the owners and still asked their permission!

Yay Katie!

Two good friends!

BOOYAH!

I LOVE everything about this photo!!!!!

GO COUGS!!!

Our little friend. He spun around & around when shot.

I love the two-toned head of hair the cow on the right. Too cute!

We had plans to have dinner with Scott & Dustin at PDR on their lovely patio. Unfortunately, Scott wasn't feeling well so we went with plan B, grilling at our hotel. Omid packed a portable kitchen so we were good to go.

Next, we headed to Davenlore winery.  On the way there, we talked about WSU's Cougar Gold Cheese. Katie casually mentioned that she had never tried it before...or Ferdinand's ice cream. My head was spinning! I couldn't believe it!

But...as luck would have it....Davenlore has samples of Cougar Gold cheese out. YAY!!!!! While Katie had a sample, I stood by the Cougar Gold and had a meal. It's good stuff!

Katie sampling her first Cougar Gold Cheese!!!

Last May, Dustin told us to visit Davenlore, and the owner/winemaker, Gordon Taylor wasn't there. This year, Gordon strode right up to us and introduced himself. We spent a lot of time chatting and Omid invited Gordon to have Persian BBQ with us. Not only did he accept, he invited us to have dinner at his home, instead of the hotel where we were staying! On to plan C!

With the famous Gordon Taylor of Davenlore.

This, friends, is the view from Gordon's home. It's breathtakingly beautiful.

Kebab barg & jujeh kebab. Koobideh followed!



Grill master hard at work!

Gordon helping to 'fan the flames.'

Cheers to new friends!

Dinner is served!!

Here's to new friends selfie & jazz hands too!☺

 

Fireside chat

 

 

As we were leaving, Gordon bestowed two very much appreciated gifts to us:
One, a bag full of chickpeas from Pullman, and two, a treasured bottle of wine.

Thank you Gordon for your hospitality and for welcoming us into your home!

 Everything about this past weekend was amazing! I love all the memories that we made.

Cheers to a successful weekend with friends old & new!

“The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences.”
― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild 

Make This!!

Sizzlin' Chicken  Skewers

These chicken skewers are extremely tasty. The marinade is really simple and tangy. I'm sure you have the ingredients in your pantry right now: peanut butter, barbecue sauce & soy sauce. I found this recipe in a 2005 issue of Kraft Food & Family magazine.

Kraft Food Kitchens used to mail Food & Family out for free, now they charge for their subscriptions. I finally bit the bullet & paid for a new subscription ($13.98/1 year - $18.98/2 years). The magazines are full of great recipes and I have a stack in my cupboard from 2005-2007 that I can't bring myself to recycle. You can click this link to get your own subscription. It's worth it!

Sizzlin' Chicken Skewers adapted slightly from Food & Family Magazine

1/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs

Mix water, bbq sauce, peanut butter, soy sauce & sesame oil in a bowl. Cut chicken into strips & place in a gallon sized Ziplock bag. Pour half of the marinade over the chicken & refrigerate for several hours. Thread chicken onto skewers & grill. Serve with reserved marinade for dipping.
NOTE: I actually poured all of the marinade over my chicken & made up extra marinade for dipping, as I used about 1.5 lbs of chicken.

Make This!!!

Bleu Cheese & Bacon Potato Salad

 

This potato salad packs a lot of taste with just a few ingredients.  It's the perfect side dish to a barbecue & oh so easy to make.

Bleu Cheese & Bacon Potato Salad adapted slightly from Mommy Savers

6 slices cooked bacon, chopped
1/4 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Boil potatoes until fork tender. Let cool, then quarter. In a bowl mix mayo, sour cream, salt, pepper, green onions & cheese. Add potatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. Enjoy!

Pig Roast 2013

We had our 2nd annual pig roast this past Saturday. The weather was a perfect 79*, 65 people were invited, 63 guests came. It was a huge success and we want to thank everyone for coming! Here are some photo highlights of the day.

 

 

Barley & Remy inspecting the pig.

 Omid & Ward stuffed the pig with lemon grass, bay leaves, limes & garlic.

Check out those sutures. Ward could have been a surgeon!

The pig was on the rotisseries for 9 hours!

We had a surprise for the guests after everyone was done eating. A belly dancer! I passed out dollar bills to the guests & told them we would be playing a game. I didn't know how else to explain why I was passing out money, as I didn't want to give away the surprise. If you are ever in need of a belly dancer, contact Zahara! She did an amazing job! It was so much fun to watch her dance & to see the guests' reactions as well.

Thanks to everyone who came & to the Kelloggs, Stevens & Bacons for helping to make the pig roast a huge success!☺

Summer Kick-off!

School is finally out and our good friend Jeff decided it was time to start the summer off with a bbq - just not as his house. Omid's parents were nice enough to host the party. Omid & Ward made ribs (a contest). Actually it was no contest. Omid's ribs won hands down like always. You can't mess with perfection! The boys checking out the ribs.

Omid's baby back ribs. Sooooooo goooooood.

This was before he painted them with his secret bbq sauce.

Omid's ribs are finger-licking good!

Hungry kidlets.

After dinner, Omid's dad made Turkish coffee for everyone. Omid's mom has a hidden talent we never knew she had. Fari can read coffee grounds!

Sampling Turkish Coffee

Wards coffee grounds about to be interpreted.

What does it say???!

Wards grounds said what we all knew. He has a big ego & is full of wisdom. So funny!
Lin found out she was going to get a 'big diamond' soon. She is really looking forward to that!


Next we all played the game Catchphrase. So much fun! It started out as the boys against the girls. The boys didn't like that we were winning, so then we switched to all play. We are a competetive bunch - I only wish I had taken video of the rounds. It was a lot of fun!


The girls winning - like always!

"It has big feet, big shoes & a red nose..."
The word was clown, but Omid guessed Rudolph. So funny!

Sour....cream!
Get this game for loads of fun! Just look at Ward laughing if you need confirmation!

*We actually heard about this game about ten years ago while we were camping. The campsite next to us was having so much - Naseem went to investigate. The next thing we know, Naseem is sitting around a picnic table with this family having loads of fun. We bought the game a few days later.