Roasted Beet Success

Remember how I picked up some golden beets at the Farmer's Market the other day?  Well this was my first attempt at making anything with beets at home, and I will have to call this a smashing success.  Here's what I did.

I preheated the oven.

I washed the beets and took the tops off, also washing them and saving them for later.  I had one smaller beet, and one larger one, so I actually cut the big one in half so that all the beet "pieces" were the same size.  I then drizzled them with olive oil (skin on) and a little salt and pepper, then placed them in a foil packet to roast in the oven. 

I roasted them for about 40 minutes, or long enough that I could easily sink a knife in and out of them.  I then slipped the outter skin off and chopped them into bite-sized pieces.

I decided to have them on a salad.  I used my two kinds of lettuce, also from the Farmer's Market, plus some spinach, toasted walnuts, feta cheese, and grapefruit slices.  I used Newman's Own Olive Oil dressing combined with a little grapefruit juice to bring out the flavor, then tossed my beets with all the ingredients. 

The result?  EXCELLENT!

Let's Talk About High School

So I recently missed my 15th high school reunion (yes, I'm old).  I considered trying to go, but in the end, it just wasn't that feasible for me to travel all the way to New England for the weekend.  Work is really busy, Greg's schedule is busy, I have Clyde to think about...  I just couldn't figure out the logistics.  I actually haven't been to any of my reunions since I graduated from high school. 

I was graduating from the police academy around the time of my 5th reunion...

getting married around the time of my 10th...

 and this year, like I said, I just plain had too much going on and it didn't make sense to go up there for it.

High school was an interesting experience for me.  You may or may not know that I went to a private boarding school.  I was a day student, so I didn't live in a dorm like the majority of the student body, I just came to campus each day for classes and extra curricular activities (I lived about 20 minutes from campus). 

I grew up in a VERY small town, and if I'd gone to my local high school, I would have had 40 people in my graduating class.  Yes, you read that right, I said 40.  In the whole class!  Instead I went to a HUGE boarding school with about 400 kids in my class.  That included a lot of people I never even met while I was there.  To say I experienced some culture shock my first year or two there would be an understatement.  I actually had a pretty hard time adjusting.  I missed my close-knit group of friends from elementary school and junior high, and on more than one occasion, I wished I were back in public school with them.

Still, I did realize that I was experiencing things I never would have experienced if I'd gone to public school.  We had hundreds of international students and kids from all over the US too. 

I participated in concert choir where we got to travel each year to perform and even had CD's created of our performances.

I took a lot of interesting classes that I wouldn't have taken in public school, like Middle Eastern Religion and History, Gender Roles, and creative writing.  It was really like an intro to college. 

We had to participate in a sport each term, be it team or rec, so I played field hockey as a team sport in the fall, did rec downhill skiing in the winter, and did a bunch of different rec sports in the spring, like tennis, weight lifting, and running. 

My high school also had a unique "work program" in which each student has to do a "job" each term to help out at the school.  I had many different jobs, like working in the cafeteria prepping and serving food, vacuuming a dorm, and even helping administratively in the Dean's Office.  It's a cool program because it levels the field for all students, including those coming from wealthy backgrounds and those on full financial aid.  Everyone had to do a work job, no matter their background.

My high school dynamic was very different than most.  We didn't really have the traditional heirarchy of popular students.  It's funny, because I totally love movies like The Breakfast Club, but my high school experience was really nothing like that.

The cliques we had were more based on which dorm you were in, sports you played, or clubs you were in, if anything, so there weren't really popular or unpopular students just people you spent more time with due to what you were involved in. 

We didn't do the whole prom court thing either.  Our prom wasn't a big "date" event, people went alone, with friends, or with a date, it didn't really matter.  Junior year, I went with my friend Katie, and senior year, I went with my boyfriend (seen below in the PSU hat), but we hung out with a bunch of friends.

I don't know that I fully appreciated my high school experience until my junior or senior year.  It took a while to really get used to that kind of environment.  It also took me a while to appreciate the opportunity I was given to get that kind of education, meet people from all over the world, and particpate in things I wouldn't have if I hadn't been a student there.

I really do appreciate that I had that experience now and I think it really shaped the person I am.  Even so, the thing about boarding school is that no one is FROM there, so it's been hard to feel a big connection since I left.  At least when you go to public school, a lot of the class comes back there as "home base", and that's not the case with boarding school.  I'm friends with many of my classmates on Facebook, but I wouldn't say I am that close with them anymore.  There's only been a handful of people from high school that I've seen since I left, so I feel kind of disconnected from my friends from high school.  It is what it is.

I'm actually probably closer with some of the friends I grew up with than my high school friends. 

Going away party my childhood friends had for me when I went to private school.

How was your high school experience?  Did you go to your reunions?

Cooking Class At The Liberty

Hi all!  It's been a busy little weekend here, and I'm hoping to have a bunch of down time today and relish in it :)

I have done some fun things this weekend!  First off, yesterday I took a cooking class with my friend Sarah at The Liberty. 

This was the third class like this (Upstream in Charlotte and Michael Anthony's in Hilton Head)  I've taken and I really enjoy learning the techiniques and of course eating the delicious food the restuarant chefs prepare!

The class was held in the bar area at the Liberty.  The seat configuration was slightly awkward, but they made it work.

Our class theme was French Country Cooking, a Taste of Provence.  French cooking class?  Yes please!

The first course prepared was a wild salmon salad with beets, avocado, potatoes, egg, and mustard dressing.
The chef was knowledgeable and personable.

Working the huge slab of salmon...

I've mentioned before that cooking fish at home intimidates me, but the chef made this dish seem pretty easy and accessible.  I feel like I could successfully make this.  The chef grilled the salmon with the skin on, but when he flipped it, the skin peeled right off.  Neat!

The finished product...

The tangy mustard/dill dressing was so good. 

The recipe for the dressing:

1 small garlic clove

1 TB Dijon mustard

2 TB olive oil

1 TB fresh dill

2 TB lemon juice

1 TB capers

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper

I also learned a good beet roasting techinique I want to try: roasting the beets, skin on, with herbs and olive oil on 375 for an hour and 10 minutes.  I'm really into beets right now, especially the golden ones.

Sarah and I really liked this dish.

Next up, was the Bouef a' la Nicoise, or country beef stew with red wine, tomatoes, olives, and buttered noodles.

I'll admit, and you've probably noticed, I'm a little lazy as a cook.  I don't like horribly labor-intensive recipes (that means yours Martha Stewart!), and this one was kind of complex, so I'm not sure there's much chance I'll ever make this at home, but it was FANTASTIC, so maybe I should!  You're supposed to cook the meat in this dish three different ways- braise it, slow cook it, then carmelize it.  That's probably just too much work for me...hehe.  Also, the tomatoes in this dish were fantastic, but they were also slow roasted in an oven for like 3 hours. 

Anyway, it was off-the-chain good.

The meat was so tender and flavorful, and it was served over pappardelle noodles (I love those!).  So, so good.

The dessert course was a Country French Blackberry Galette.  This was kind of like a lazy man's pie.

As we know, I do make a mean pie, but this was actually an easier version of pie, yet still beautiful and tasty.  My mom makes a similar version of this with apples and pre-made pie crust when she's in a hurry.

The most interesting thing I learned on this dish, was that you can use your hands to blend the butter and flour mixture into dough instead of a food processor or pastry cutter, like I usually do.  It actually seemed to work pretty well for the chef, so I may give that a try sometime.

Anyway, it was delcious and very filling!  This easily could have fed two or three (or four) people.  I got about 2/3 of the way through mine and was stuffed!

Following our awesome class, Sarah and I wandered over to nearby Atherton Mills, for their Saturday Farmer's Market.

I really wanted some greens, and also some beets after being inspired to try roasting them by cooking class.

I got both from this stand, which is local to Charlotte.

I also picked up a grass-fed filet mignon for my dad as a father's day present, and we explored the other booths, before heading out.

It was a wonderful Saturday morning and early afternoon in Charlotte.  Hope yours was just as fun!

When The Men Are Away...

Sorry I've been off the grid practically all week!  I had an inspection at work that took up a ton of time, worry, and attention and I've pretty much come home and crashed every day this week after the exhausting process of making sure all my stuff was in line.  Blogging definitely took a back seat.  I'm glad to be through that stress now and hoping to be back on track!

The one bright light this week was that Erin invited me over to dinner on Tuesday night.  Her husband was traveling this week too (mine was as usual), so she thought a girls' dinner at her house would be fun, and it was definitely a welcome diversion from all that stress! 

Erin prepared an awesome meal of salmon (an Oh She Glows recipe), asparagus, and sweet potato, plus a salad on the side.

Erin also made us yummy POM drinks!

Erin's dog, Emma, kept us entertained.

She's really hard to get a picture of because she moves around like a high speed cotton ball!

Erin was able to get her to hold still for me.

After some dinner conversation, I ended up showing Erin one of my favorite parody sites, Food Network Humor.  Many laughs were had.

While laughing til our stomachs hurt, Erin got out our dessert, which were vegan peanut butter cups from Earth Fare.  YUM!

Behold the deliciousness...

Oh yeah.  Decadent and rich, would be the two words I'd use to describe this PB cup!

Erin and I had a great time.  I guess next time it'll be my turn to cook and entertain when our boys are both away again!  Thanks for having me Erin!

A Playdate With Quiche

Sunday morning I had a playdate with Kelly, and Clyde had a playdate with Rascal.

We wanted to keep it low-key since it was just us, and I was honestly thinking about just making plain ol' batch of scrambled eggs, but then I thought I quiche might be a little more exciting.

I made a crust-less quiche with tomatoes and broccoli.

Crust-less Tomato and Broccoli Quiche

-About 1 1/2 cooked broccoli florets (I just microwave them in a bowl with a little water for about 2 minutes or so, then drain)
-1 medium diced tomato
-6 eggs
-1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
-1 cup shredded cheddar
-About 3-4 tablespoons of cream cheese (optional)
-salt and pepper to taste



Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350.
Butter a pie dish (mine is ceramic).
Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper, together in a bowl. 
Stir in tomatoes, broccoli, and cheddar.
Pour into pie dish, and dot with piece of cream cheese.

Bake about 40 minutes, until done. 

As you can see, it's pretty gorgeous, and kind of ridiculously easy.  You could pretty much sub in any veggies you want and they would be great in this dish.  I also think the cream cheese adds a little interest and gives random creamy bites, so try it if you haven't!

Eaten with a side of fruit salad and a muffin Kelly brought.



While watching our crazy dogs interact...

Excellent Sunday brunch had by all :)

Taste of Charlotte

Saturday I had a date with Jen and Kelly to check out Taste of Charlotte.  Mmmm, food!

For our first stop, we paid a visit to the Charbroil/Flatout wrap booth.

We were hooked up with a delicious chicken sausage sample, plus coupons for Flatout wraps.  Score!

We found the booth where you purchase coins for food, and headed out to find our lunch.

Some booths have free food samples, and others have food you buy with your coins. 

We got a free rice sample at one booth.

Also a bag of free chips.

Last year at Taste of Charlotte, I got Chana Masala from the Woodlands booth, and I have to admit, going into this year, I knew I kind of wanted it again because it was so good last year!

Mmmmm, Indian heaven :)

The only problem with it was that the portion was so huge I wasn't too hungry for much else!

Jen got some pulled pork sliders, and only wanted one, so Kelly and I each had a bite of the other one.

I definitely had room for a little dessert, especially when I saw there were CUPCAKES.

I had a mini red velvet from Polka Dots.

And we couldn't pass up the TCBY booth when we saw that.  It was pretty hot out and the froyo helped cool us down ;)  I had the white chocolate mousse with Reeses pieces on top.

I actually had a bunch of coins leftover and we were full, so I snagged a bag of kettle corn and another cupcake on my way out.

Taste of Charlotte was a great way to spend a couple hours in uptown with my buddies!