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You say Tomato, I say...delicious.

7/28/2016

Summer is in full swing, and we all know what that means..........................tomato season! What, you were expecting a list of things like outdoor concerts, beach visits, vacations, and cool/refreshing beverages? I suppose those are okay too, but there’s just something special about a fresh tomato. What people don’t realize is that the majority of the tomatoes they eat (especially during the winter time) have traveled for a while, and naturally they must be refrigerated as they make the trek to your supermarket. The problem with this is that tomatoes are temperamental travelers. Their optimal flavor and texture are forever lost in this chilly environment. Think about it...they thrive in warmer temperatures for a reason, right?

Obtaining local tomatoes from a farmer’s market or CSA box (which is where I got these from) will lead to the discovery that while the grocery store offers a somewhat decent tomato, there is a far more amazing world of tomato-ey possibilities out there. Excited yet? You should be.

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Eating out vs Eating in - The Costs of Convenience

7/21/2016

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It’s 5pm and you’re heading home from work after a long day. You’re starting to get hungry as you sit in traffic and glance over at a fellow traffic-endurer who is working on obliterating a fast food feast and throwing empty wrappers into the ever-growing pile in his back seat. Now you’re tempted to grab something on the way home so that you can plop down on the couch immediately and watch TV until exhaustion sets in and you eventually pass out. Or maybe you call up your spouse and tell them you’re eating out tonight. Eating out is okay if you do it once in a while. We all deserve to treat ourselves occasionally.

Let’s be honest though. What percentage of the time do you opt for the eating out over the eating in? Probably more often than you’d like to admit. Convenience? Sure, it’s convenient...but at what cost? What are they actually putting in your food when you eat out? Even if it’s “healthy,” chances are you have no idea. Let’s discuss the implications of your decision.

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Fig and Honey Jam with an Indian Flair

7/13/2016

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FIGscally Fit Foodie is continuing for one more post, and today it’s with a minimal effort (and low number of ingredient) masterpiece that I refer to as Spiced Honey Fig Jam. The fig tree in my backyard was kind enough to provide me with an abundance of figs this season, so it seemed fitting to do a savory (see my last post about fig-braised beef) and a sweet preparation that went beyond the normal dehydration or just eating them straight up.

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Figscally Fit Fig-Braised Beef

7/10/2016

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Shortly after moving into my house in 2010, I planted a fig tree. It was approximately two feet tall, had about three leaves, and there was no fruit in sight. In the early part of 2011, my dogs decided to level the tree and take it down to a nub that was about four inches in height. It was shredded and I figured it was done. I was wrong. After five years, the tree is now about seven feet tall and wide (after having 150 figs harvested from it this season).

Yep, that's my fig tree - it seems to love this Texas summer heat!

So what do you do with 150 figs in a short period of time? Well, you eat some as-is, of course. You also can dehydrate some for later, grill them, candy them, make a sauce, or make FIG JAM (I’ll give you this little gem in the next post). 2014 was the first year when I got a significant yield from my tree, and I decided to invent a dish that is much more outside-the-box...

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Cookware 102 - Cleaning Your Cookware

7/7/2016

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By now you’ve read my previous blog post about choosing the proper cookware for your kitchen and are no doubt armed with your new primary set of stainless steel cookware, a non-stick pan, and a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, right? The question we’re addressing today is how do you clean each of these effectively? All three varieties have varying characteristics and therefore cannot be cleaned the same way. We’ll go through each type of cookware and how to clean each one.

It’s a good idea to have some hot water, a paper towel, and a towel readily available. For the most part that covers the primary cleaning of all of these, but every so often you neglect the cookware or burn something and have it stick (eek!) and something more drastic is required. Don’t worry, this is fixable. Well, the pan part of that equation is fixable anyhow. You might want to consider starting over on that burnt food, however!

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You say Tomato, I say...delicious.

Eating out vs Eating in - The Costs of Convenience

Fig and Honey Jam with an Indian Flair

Figscally Fit Fig-Braised Beef

Cookware 102 - Cleaning Your Cookware

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