I was beginning to wonder...

Just when I was beginning to wonder how I would manage to have great tasting pancakes in those weeks post partum...Batter Blaster. Cause pancakes are really hard. Don't miss the demo video, it's my favorite.

I'm really sorry: Bacon Parmesean Corn

My dad is allergic to corn. My brother is allergic to corn. Two of my nieces are allergic to corn. I'm very sorry to be mean but I have to post this anyway. The rest of you people who are not allergic to corn need to know about this. If you can't have corn just stop reading now. You don't want to know.
A few times a summer I recall that I am in fact not allergic to corn and I can consume it. Good ol' corn on the cob. At the right time of summer the juicy sweetness is nearly addictive. Pair that with a couple other things and you may as well sign yourself up for a post-summer corn rehab. No, I am not lacing my corn with crack, I've heard that's pretty bad for you. I chose to go with an only slightly healthier option. Bacon. Bacon is my crack of choice. Don't worry, I share.

This takes a minute to put together and can be a bit clumsy. Honestly though, the hardest part is mastering the technique of holding the bacon on the corn while you eat the juicy, charred kernels.


Bacon-wrapped Corn with Parmesean

• Fresh, juicy summer corn
• bacon, 2 slices per ear
  
• Parmesean cheese
• fresh cracked pepper
• kitchen twine

Clean and rinse your corn, removing the husk. Place the cheese on the bacon slice and top with pepper. Wrap the two slices of bacon (side by side) around the corn like a big bacon-y candy cane with the cheese against the corn. Secure the bacon by wrapping with kitchen twine. Toss on the grill until the bacon is crisp, turning a couple times.

What the future holds...

Today was a nice warm day and so I went to the pool along with two of my nieces. One of them thinks that any stranger is just a friend waiting to happen. At the young age of five she has already mastered the art of small talk.
To another little girl : "So, do you like goat cheese?"

I only hope little Nadia can one day embrace things with the same zeal.

Why do I cook?: Ranch Dressing

I just finished reading The Amateur Gourmet in which he explores why he started cooking in the first place. Over the years many people have asked why or when I started cooking and I have always struggled with an answer. So I have decided to explore that a bit. I don't know if I can pin-point when it all began. It really has been an evolution with odd turns, set backs and progress. (This may take a few posts)
Often the next question out of someone's mouth is, 'Was your mom a cook?" Again, I always struggle to answer this question. My mom made dinner every night. We didn't eat a lot of processed or packaged food(Until our teen years which I am convinced was self-defense because the three of us ate non-stop and always had friends over. Even so, she always prepared main meals.). She made things from scratch. We were all welcome in the kitchen. There was a time where one of our chores was helping to plan and prepare dinner. (Suddenly we had homemade pizza at least once a week.) So I suppose the answer is yes. On the other hand, I don't think that is what brought on my love of cooking. It was still something that you just did to eat. I still feel like the way we approach cooking is very different. So I don't know if I can chalk it up to that. While I know that the food we ate and made growing up has shaped some of the things I do, I don't think that it spawned it. I did, however, learn that many of the things I asked for in the store were full of "junk". While I didn't know what "junk" was at the time or why it was in the salad dressing I wanted it stuck with me. Now I can find clever ways to avoid the junk....

Dilly Ranch Dressing
( all amounts are approximate)
1/4 cup each mayo, buttermilk and cottage cheese
1/3 of a clove of garlic
1 small slice of onion
1/2 teaspoon dill
1/8 teaspoon each basil and thyme
pinch of salt
fresh black pepper

Whirl it all in a blender (I like to use my immersion blender) until smooth. Adjust seasonings and liquids to get desired flavor or consistency. Go eat some salad.