It was last October when we discovered The New Scenic Cafe.   We were staying at the A.G. Thompson House in Duluth (also fabulous!)  and we had heard raving reviews about this New Scenic Cafe for a dinner destination.  I say “destination” because it’s really not  actually in Duluth, it’s up north about 20 minutes on the Scenic  Highway.  After ordering a seasonal appetizer of figs in a brown  sugar and butter sauce with brie cheese and walnuts…. well, the  rest is history.  Sweet Bjork treated me to another Scenic Cafe dinner  for our anniversary.  Sadly, the fig appetizer wasn’t in season, but I  was highly impressed with my heirloom tomato sandwich with fresh  mozzarella, garlic chips, basil, shallots, and grilled ciabatta bread.  This place is the REAL DEAL!  I’d highly recommend this restaurant to  any person who likes food.  Creatively prepared locally grown food - I  like!

It was last October when we discovered The New Scenic Cafe.  We were staying at the A.G. Thompson House in Duluth (also fabulous!) and we had heard raving reviews about this New Scenic Cafe for a dinner destination.  I say “destination” because it’s really not actually in Duluth, it’s up north about 20 minutes on the Scenic Highway.  After ordering a seasonal appetizer of figs in a brown sugar and butter sauce with brie cheese and walnuts…. well, the rest is history.  Sweet Bjork treated me to another Scenic Cafe dinner for our anniversary.  Sadly, the fig appetizer wasn’t in season, but I was highly impressed with my heirloom tomato sandwich with fresh mozzarella, garlic chips, basil, shallots, and grilled ciabatta bread.  This place is the REAL DEAL!  I’d highly recommend this restaurant to any person who likes food.  Creatively prepared locally grown food - I like!


Chicken Bulgur Salad:  here’s the story.  While I made this salad, Bjork video taped me using a really nice video camera that he’s using for work.  The grandiose plan was to make a vlog (video blog) with the recording!  As you can see… things didn’t work out.  The salad turned out great - it was crunchy, refreshing, and super healthy!  However, the video format wasn’t compatible with iMovie, resulting in no vlog.  Since we were trying to vlog, of course, we didn’t take pictures!  Oh, well.  Try this salad if you like lots of flavor!  It’s like heartier tabbouleh.  I even made it without chicken for simplification, and it was still excellent!
If you click on the picture it will take you to the recipe.

Chicken Bulgur Salad:  here’s the story.  While I made this salad, Bjork video taped me using a really nice video camera that he’s using for work.  The grandiose plan was to make a vlog (video blog) with the recording!  As you can see… things didn’t work out.  The salad turned out great - it was crunchy, refreshing, and super healthy!  However, the video format wasn’t compatible with iMovie, resulting in no vlog.  Since we were trying to vlog, of course, we didn’t take pictures!  Oh, well.  Try this salad if you like lots of flavor!  It’s like heartier tabbouleh.  I even made it without chicken for simplification, and it was still excellent!

If you click on the picture it will take you to the recipe.


My summer breakfasts have been revolutionized by this little bag of frozen fruit!  These smoothies are so easy to make and super healthy (110 calories and at least one serving of fruit).  The bag has frozen fruit and a few chunks of frozen yogurt (see picture) to add creaminess and sweetness.  You just blend it with a little skim milk (and maybe add a little more fruit, if you are like me) and then enjoy.   YUM!

My summer breakfasts have been revolutionized by this little bag of frozen fruit!  These smoothies are so easy to make and super healthy (110 calories and at least one serving of fruit).  The bag has frozen fruit and a few chunks of frozen yogurt (see picture) to add creaminess and sweetness.  You just blend it with a little skim milk (and maybe add a little more fruit, if you are like me) and then enjoy.   YUM!


Indian Spiced Chicken Pita Burgers

Indian Spiced Chicken Pita Burgers


Indian Spiced Chicken Pita Burgers

     When I saw this recipe in my Great Food Fast cookbook, I knew that it would be a good one for us.  We love Indian food - plus, it looked like a fresh, creative take on a regular burger. 

I ran into a few bumps along the way as I ventured into this new recipe.  Bump #1: because it was a bit more stressful and difficult than my usual meals, I forgot to take pics along the way.

Secondly, I had excitedly bought chicken thighs (what the recipe called for) on sale a few days ago.  A pack of 8 for only $3!!  I was thrilled.  I was NOT thrilled, however, when I realized I had neglected to buy boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which are what the recipe really calls for.  So I spent a good portion of my time pulling chicken thighs apart and salvaging the best parts of the meat for these burgers. Not the best time of my life.

Once they had been pulled apart, I cut up the chicken thighs and “marinated” them in the lemon juice, curry, fresh ginger, scallions, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Once that hard work was done, I had to let the chicken sit in a blend of spices for about 30 minutes (bump #3 since I was not planning on this).

After the 30 minutes, I put the chicken/marinade mixture into the food processor.  After about a minute of processing, the chicken was cut into much smaller pieces - somewhere in between ground and chopped.  The pieces were all different sizes, too, which made it interesting (but tasty)!

 

Then, I formed the chicken into patties.  The recipe called for 16 patties.  I knew that I was making my patties too big when I got down to the end of the chicken mixture and only had about 5 patties made. Bump #4.  I re-made the patties and the size was TEENY TINY - but it worked out ok because they went into a pita, and we put 2 or 3 patties into the pita. 

After the burgers had been grilled, I put the yummy pitas on the skillet to toast them up.  It was at this point that I ran into bump #5 - a pin-head speck of mold on each of the pitas.  I am not going to make myself more professional or gourmet than I really am - yes, I really had mold on my pitas.  Fortunately, there was one pita that was just fine.  So much for “pita burgers”.

I put three mini burgers into the (one) pita, along with sliced cucumbers and cilantro.  The topping for these burgers was a cumin yogurt sauce.  Bump # 6 - The sauce tasted a little weird.  Oh, well.  Bjork didn’t “mind” it… and I used hummus instead.  Since I ate mine without a pita, you can see the creation that we developed for eating the burgers plain.


Ok, I have been showcasing all the problems I had while making this… but really, this was a YUMMY recipe - the burgers were so juicy and full of flavor!  My favorite thing about them was that they had this melt-in-your-mouth kind of texture unlike a regular burger.

Tonight’s dinner lesson: you can still get a good meal and a good story out of dinner mishaps!


Smoked Salmon & Strawberry Salad

Smoked Salmon & Strawberry Salad


Smoked Salmon & Strawberry Salad

Tonight we didn’t go out for dinner (thank goodness - I’ve eaten out almost every night this week).  I needed something easy and healthy.  I checked the fridge - fresh strawberries, spinach, and a new champagne dressing were all calling out to me.  As I pulled these items out, I remembered a wonderful gift that I had been given recently: smoked salmon.  Not having a lot of experience with smoked salmon, I was a bit apprehensive… but the gift-giver had recommended using it on salads, so I decided to give it a try.

                     

After chopping the spinach, breaking up the salmon, and slicing the strawberries, and drizzling all of it with my champagne dressing, I was ready to enjoy this beautiful salad.  It was a great combination of sweet, smoky, and tangy - and if that isn’t enough - the total time spent preparing it was about 7 minutes.  A perfect, easy, healthy meal.  YUM!  Thanks, Sarah, for the delicious salmon!  I can’t wait to use it again!

                


Tomato Basil Pasta

Tomato Basil Pasta


Tomato Basil Pasta with Bread and Olive Oil

Truthfully, I had thought that tonight would be a good night to go out to eat.  I didn’t really want to cook, I was exhausted from work, and I just wanted to sit and talk with Bjork at a restaurant somewhere.  Fast forward to reality : Bjork was tired with a headache (not ideal for going out) and I quickly realized that it was time to get some sort of a comfort food meal going. 

Because I was a bit lazy, I wanted something simple.  I had seen a recipe in my Great Food Fast cookbook by Martha Stewart for a shrimp, tomato, and basil pasta. (Please note, I have previously referenced a Fresh Food Fast cookbook - this is not the same one - although, oddly, they both happen to both end with “food fast”.)  As much as I love shrimp, I decided that I was going ULTRA simple tonight: just tomatoes, basil, and pasta.

How did I put these together?  Boiled the pasta (angel hair).  Chopped the tomatoes.  Chopped the basil.  Drained the noodles.  Added a small amount of tomato sauce to noodles.  Added tomatoes, let sit covered for a few minutes.  And finally, add basil.  It might be easier than making Macaroni and Cheese.  Nothing special here, but wow - it was so fresh and yummy!

                    
What I really didn’t anticipate as I made this meal was the brilliant (again, simple) complimentary food that I would spontaneously think of.  Hot, crusty bread and smooth, rich olive oil.  This will give you an idea of how UNfancy this is - I happened to have some parmesan rolls in the freezer… I toasted those up in the oven.  I also happened to have some very high quality olive oil (thanks mom) and some adorable bread/oil dipping plates (thanks again mom).  And I’m going to have to be honest here - the bread and oil was BETTER than my pasta.  Maybe it had something to do with my mood…

                         
I would just like to say that simplicity is delicious.


Couscous, Sweet Potato, and Black Soybean Salad

Couscous, Sweet Potato, and Black Soybean Salad


Couscous, Sweet Potato, and Black Soybean Salad

Who would ever want a salad with couscous, sweet potatoes, and black soybeans in it?   I don’t know what first compelled me to try this recipe from my Fresh Food Fast cookbook by Cooking Light.  But let me tell you - it’s SO GOOD.  The flavors are unique and fresh.

Starting out today, I had no couscous, so I used quinoa instead.  I just tossed that in the rice cooker.  Then, I took my frozen, pre-cut sweet potatoes and steamed them in the microwave.  I cut up green onions and cucumbers.  The original recipe does not call for cucumbers, but I always like to add some extra veggies.  Finally, I rinsed out a can of black beans (haven’t found black soybeans anywhere). 

Now - time to mix.  I put about 1/3 cup Newman’s Own Lime Basil Vinaigrette in a large bowl with some salt and pepper.  I added in the previous ingredients and tossed them all together. 

The final touches include 2 fistfuls of (baby organic) spinach and feta cheese.  Mix that all up and you have yourself a SUPER healthy, filling, flavorful salad!! It will keep in the fridge for a few days, but I usually just add a little more spinach the next day to keep it fresh.  It was a yummmmy lunch!

              


Ciao Bella Gelato - it’s a new summer staple.  My two pints were purchased at the local SuperTarget.  Which flavor, you ask?? I tried the Blood Orange sorbet (supposedly with fruit juice imported directly from Sicily), and it was very refreshing!  But it’s hard to beat the smooth, sweet Mango. YUM!  www.ciaobellagelato.com

Ciao Bella Gelato - it’s a new summer staple.  My two pints were purchased at the local SuperTarget.  Which flavor, you ask?? I tried the Blood Orange sorbet (supposedly with fruit juice imported directly from Sicily), and it was very refreshing!  But it’s hard to beat the smooth, sweet Mango. YUM!  www.ciaobellagelato.com