Well, unfortunately, I’m too late to enter this food blogging event (happens too often), but I really wanted to, so I’m posting this anyway.

Click is a monthly food photography event hosted by Jugalbindi. April’s theme was scoop - use any kind of kitchen scoop and photograph it. View the entries and winners.

Lately, I’ve been eating a lot of brownie-loaded chocolate ice cream (blame Dan - he brought home the first carton, and now I’m hooked). And last fall, while visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Oak Park, IL, near Chicago, we discovered this wonderful little shop called Olive and Well. It’s a specialty shop that carries mostly olive oils, balsamic vinegars and various gourmet condiments, breads and sauces.

They have lots of small casks of olive oils (probably hold a couple of gallons) with little paper cups for tasting. We tasted almost all of them and finally settled on one. Then I noticed the vinegars - and I’m a vinegar freak, just ask Dan - so I went over to see the flavors … and then I saw it - strawberry balsamic vinegar. I poured some into a little tasting cup and lifted it to my mouth - before I could even taste it, the aroma tingled my nose and my mouth watered instantly. I knew I was going to be buying this one So I did.

And what goes better with chocolate than strawberries? That’s right - strawberry balsamic vinegar. Scoop out some brownie-chocolate ice cream and drizzle it with strawberry balsamic vinegar - a dessert truly to die for.

Oh, about the scoop Years ago, when we first moved into the neighborhood and I was on the board of the Civic League, it seemed like every few months, someone was having a Pampered Chef party - I had one annually for a few years myself. This is one of the gadgets I got during those years. Works great - it has anti-freeze in the handle that flows down into the scoop when you use it, to help melt the ice cream so it scoops more easily. I love it.

I discovered the New York Times No-Knead Bread recipe a few months ago on SteamyKitchen.com and have made it a few times myself. Just doing my part here to get the word out You, too, can make delicious artisan bread at home with just a few minutes of hands-on time.

Just plan ahead by about 22 hours. It needs to rise for 18 hours right after mixing, then roll it around a little, then let rise another 2 hours before baking. But with the price of bread rising so much lately, it’s nice to be able to throw together water, flour, yeast and salt and get this result the next day:

When we first bought our house, the wife of one of Dan’s co-workers gave me part of her rosemary shrub. I had several herbs that I had been growing in window boxes attached to the fire escape outside our apartment in Norfolk’s Ghent neighborhood, and all of these were planted for the time being in a half-whiskey barrel.

This is our rosemary shrub a week or so ago - it’s blooming One day last week, I was cutting back the thyme, which is under part of the rosemary, and kept brushing against it, setting off waves of rosemary and thyme fragrance. Mmmm.

Our first exchange student, Olaf, from Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany, helped us dig out our first herb garden, and it’s grown from there. I love cooking with fresh herbs, as well as fresh veggies. Can’t wait till the veggies are grown enough to pick.

Anyway, this is about the perennial herbs that are available now. We had a dinner party last weekend, and I made the Herb-Crusted Pork Roast from the January 2007 issue of Cooks Illustrated. It was delicious

I used rosemary and thyme from my garden and basil from the store. One friend brought the penne with four herbs and cheese, and another brought the homemade applesauce with rosemary. It was quite the herby dinner

Herb-Crusted Pork Roast

2 1/2–3 pound boneless center-cut pork loin roast
Table salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 large slice hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus an additional 2 teaspoons
Ground black pepper
1/3 cup packed fresh parsley or basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Cut pocket in side of roast. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground (you should have 1 cup crumbs). Transfer crumbs to medium bowl (do not wash food processor workbowl) and add 2 tablespoons Parmesan, shallot, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Using fork, toss mixture until crumbs are evenly coated with oil.

Add parsley or basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, remaining 6 tablespoons Parmesan, 3 tablespoons oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to now-empty food processor workbowl and process until smooth, about twelve 1-second pulses. Spread 1/4 cup herb paste inside roast and tie. Season roast with salt and pepper.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add roast, fat side down, and brown on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes, lowering heat if fat begins to smoke. Transfer roast to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Spread remaining herb paste over roast and top with bread crumb mixture. Transfer baking sheet with roast to oven and cook until thickest part of roast registers 145 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 50 to 75 minutes. Remove roast from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Internal temperature should rise to 150 degrees. Using spatula and meat fork, transfer roast to carving board, taking care not to squeeze juices out of pocket in roast. Cut roast into 1/2-inch slices and serve immediately.

This is my entry this month in the food blogging event Grow Your Own, hosted by Andrea of Andrea’s Recipes. The round-up of all the recipes is here.

Several years ago, Dan gave me a copy of “The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” by Rebecca Wells for Christmas, and I absolutely *LOVED* it. It’s a wonderful, can’t-put-it-down kind of book. Toward the end, I started reading it more and more slowly - I didn’t want it to be over.

This past Christmas, I bought “Ya-Yas in Bloom,” Wells’ latest book, and it was just as much fun.

So that’s what came to mind when I saw that Lisa of Champaign Taste and Simona of Briciole were co-hosting Novel Food as a food blogging event. I did a search and amazingly enough, found this site dedicated to all things Ya-Ya, including recipes compiled by book club members.

I’ll definitely be going back to that site for more recipes, but for this, I decided to start with a starter - Artichoke Dip. The Ya-Yas are always having great parties, and artichoke dip is always a hit at parties.

I did tweak it slightly - the novels are set in Louisiana, so Dan and I thought a Louisiana Artichoke Dip was screaming for some hot sauce. Shhhhh - I didn’t have Louisiana Hot Sauce, so I used Texas Pete. I also left out the bacon.

Artichoke Dip

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and diced
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350°, mix all ingredients and spoon into a 9″ quiche dish. Bake for 20 minutes and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with toasted French bread slices.

You can also cook this in the microwave until bubbly.

For a delicious variation, add a package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained) before cooking.

– submitted by Sister Mary Bad Girl, tweaked by Kim

btw, the Ya-Yas all had pet names for each other, and there’s a Ya-Ya Name Generator on the site. If I use my married name, the Ya-Ya name doesn’t really suit me - Duchess Jokes a Lot. But if I use my maiden name the Ya-Ya name is this: Queen Loves to Cook. It’s karma, man.

This is my entry this month for yet another food blogging event called “No Croutons Required,” sponsored by Tinned Tomatoes from Scotland. The theme this month is spicy vegetarian soups or salads. The round-up of the inaugural event is here.

I love the idea of gazpacho - mixing together the pungent flavors of garlic, onions and peppers with tomatoes - but I don’t really enjoy the sharp flavors of these ingredients raw. So I cook them! Then the flavors are mellowed and I enjoy it much more. So my entry is “Hot Gazpacho.” It’s also good chilled - still cooked, not raw

btw, I left out the traditional cucumber, since it’s a cooked soup. Hm, maybe I ought to try it, though … or maybe I’ll serve a cucumber salad on the side next time. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Hot Gazpacho

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green, yellow, and red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley
sour cream
cilantro sprigs

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, jalapeno, bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, then saute veggies 5 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and stock and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cilantro. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

I’m trying harder to be on time for these food blogging events. Too often, I make the foods and take pictures, but I can’t seem to get the blogging part done in time. I made this one, though

When it’s chilly and windy like it’s been lately, I love a nice, old-fashioned New England Pot Roast. The flavorful beef, the well-cooked potatoes and carrots, the caramelized onions, the savory brown gravy over everything … it’s major comfort food for me. So that’s what I made for the Monthly Mingle One-Dish Dinner for this month, hosted by Meeta of What’s For Lunch, Honey? The round-up of all the recipes is here.

I use Betty Crocker’s recipe, the same one my mother used when I was growing up. I’m not really a fan of horseradish, so I used to leave it out, but it didn’t taste right. I’ve since learned that the strong flavor of horseradish is tamed considerably by the long cooking. Good stuff. And the recipe makes so much, we can eat the leftovers for days

New England Pot Roast

2 tbsp. canola oil
4-lb. chuck roast
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 5-oz. jar prepared horseradish
1 cup water
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
24 baby carrots
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and brown roast well on all sides; reduce heat. Spread horseradish over both sides of beef. Add water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer on stove or place in 325*F oven for 2.5 hours. Add vegetables. Cover and cook until tender, about 1 hour longer. Remove to a warm platter. Prepare gravy and serve with beef.

Gravy

Skim excess fat from broth. Add enough water to broth to measure 2 cups. Shake 1/2 cup cold water with 1/4 cup flour in tightly covered container; stir gradually into broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute.

I don’t generally bake much, but this food blogging event caught my attention kochtopf is having a one-off event: Make a heart-shaped something for your valentine. So I decided to make sugar cookies. I thought it would be cute to add some red food coloring, to make them pink - that worked out great. The recipe that came with the heart-shaped cookie cutters I bought called for vanilla or lemon extract; I decided to go with raspberry extract, to go with the pink color of the cookies.

Here’s the recipe, with my adjustments:

Heart-Shaped Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. whipping cream
1 tsp. raspberry extract
5 drops red food coloring
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. light corn syrup
2-3 tbsp. milk
heart-shaped candies for decorating

Preheat oven to 375*F. Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg. Blend in cream, extract and food coloring. Combine dry ingredients, and add until well blended. Shape into a flattened ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour. Roll out onto lightly floured board until approx. 1/4″ thick. Cut into heart shapes with cookie cutter. Place on parchment covered baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Cool.

Stir together confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup and milk until smooth. Dip half of a cookie into icing, then set on waxed paper and sprinkle with heart-shaped candies. Let dry about 1/2 hour. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.

And the round-up is here: Heart-Shaped Goodies Round-up

I celebrated the first really cool day of fall with one of our favorite cold-weather meals: meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. I was also inspired by the food blogging event “National Meatloaf Appreciation Day.”

My meatloaf is a pretty traditional one - it’s from the Betty Crocker cookbook I was given by my mom when I got my first apartment in college. The only change I made is that I use 1 lb. of ground beef and 1/2 lb. of ground pork instead of 1-1/2 lbs. of ground beef.

This time, I put chili sauce on top instead of catsup. I still put catsup on my meatloaf after it’s sliced; Dan likes his with the gravy. We love it as is and since there are only two of us, we usually get to enjoy it for several days

I was sure I had all the ingredients I needed, but sure enough, one was missing - bread crumbs. Yeah, I could make my own, but it has to bake for an hour and a half already, so Dan went to the little store up the street. We almost ended up with Italian-flavored bread crumbs - would have been an interesting twist, I guess - but then he found the plain ones (shopping by cell phone, don’tcha know), so we used those. (When I want Italian-flavored bread crumbs, I want to season them myself with my own herbs from the garden.)

Anyway, it came out just a fabulous as we remembered - moist but firm and just delicious. I also made mashed potatoes and green beans with diced tomatoes and garlic - a real stick-to-your-ribs dinner.

Betty Crocker Meatloaf

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg
3 slices bread, torn into small pieces
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 cup catsup, chili sauce or barbecue sauce

Heat oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients except ketchup. Spread mixture in ungreased loaf pan, 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2 or 9×5x3 inches, or shape into 9×5-inch loaf in ungreased rectangular pan, 13×9x2 inches. Spread catsup over top. Bake uncovered 1 1/2 hours.

Another food blogging event. This one is about meatless barbecue recipes. I made up this one several months ago and it turned out so well, I served it when we went “camping” in May with some friends, one of whom is quite an accomplished cook. I didn’t have time to make it over the last couple of weeks; I hope that doesn’t keep it out of the roundup. Anyway, here it is:

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables and Vinaigrette

1/2 cup couscous
1 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic — minced (divided use)
1 onion — peeled and quartered
1 red bell pepper — cored, seeded, and quartered
1 green bell pepper — cored, seeded and quartered
1 yellow bell pepper — cored, seeded and quartered

Dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme — minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley — minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Chop one quarter of the onion. In a saucepan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil and saute one clove minced garlic (reserve other clove for dressing) and the chopped onion. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous; turn off heat.

Toss remaining onion and peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill 8-10 minutes or until tender. Dice into 1/4-inch pieces.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper and reserved minced garlic. Combine couscous with grilled vegetables; drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.

Leftover Tuesdays is a food blogging event where you make a dish and make sure you have extra to make a new dish with the leftovers. This is my first entry, and it’s also an idea I’ve had for a while but I never actually made it before - the salad, I mean. It turned out really well.

So one day I made salmon poached in water and white wine with tarragon sauce. Then I used the leftover tarragon sauce and salmon to make salmon salad.

Poached Salmon
2 cups white wine
2 cups water
1-1/2 pounds salmon

Bring water and wine to a simmer in a large skillet. Season salmon with salt and pepper and poach gently, skin side down, for 8-9 minutes, until just cooked through. To serve, spoon some Tarragon Sauce onto dinner plates and place a serving of salmon on top. Pass remaining sauce at the table, reserving some for the salad.

Tarragon Sauce
1/2 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 large shallot, coarsely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white wine vinegar

Put all ingredients in the food processor and process until the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. May be made one day ahead and chilled.

Salmon Salad with Tarragon Sauce
2 cups leftover poached salmon, flaked
1/4 cup leftover Tarragon Sauce, or to taste
1 stalk celery, finely chopped

Mix celery with tarragon sauce, then gently mix flaked salmon with the sauce. Serve on crackers as an appetizer or on bread or rolls for sandwiches.