March 28, 2009

Did you know that Texas produces her own olive oil?  I didn’t!  Not until last year when I noticed that Dallas foodies were freaking out about this new olive oil from the Texas Olive Ranch southwest of San Antonio. They have 40,000 olive trees there, and produce the most delicious olive oil.

Texas Olive Ranch

It has a wonderful fresh olive flavor, but isn’t too sharp like some good olive oils are.  You know the ones…they make you cough after you taste them?  That isn’t desirable to me in olive oil, but we all have our own taste, right?

I hadn’t tried the Texas olive oil until Central Market was sampling it recently, and I got a taste and immediately grabbed a bottle, after I wiped away the oil dripping down my chin and licked my fingers!  At $13.99 for a 16.9 fl oz bottle, it’s definitely not pricey for a great olive oil.

Besides Central Market, in the Dallas area you can find the Texas Olive Ranch olive oil at Tom Spicer’s and Flavors from Afar.  You can also buy it in person in Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.  The web site says online ordering is coming soon, so all of you outside of Texas can order this scrumptious olive oil.  This is my oil of choice now for hummus, pesto, salads, you name it.  If you have the opportunity to try it, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised that a great olive oil can come from Texas, not just from Spain or Italy!

~BigSis

March 27, 2009

Hey BigSis! I bet you wish you had some of BigT’s homemade Pita Chips to go along with that hummus! I normally buy my pita chips from Trader Joe’s but these were really good! I’ll definitely be making this recipe myself!

BigT just started the P90X Workout Regime a couple of weeks ago so he’s being very disciplined with his meal planning. (If all goes according to plan, maybe we’ll have him do a guest post in the near future about his progress.)

The last couple of mornings that I’ve been up at 5:30, the same fitness expert, Tony Horton, that does the P90X videos has a new program called The 10 Minute Trainer. I’ve actually gotten sucked into that infomercial! The guy is good! I’m actually considering getting the videos.

Healthy snacks are a part of the daily plan, so BigT decided to make a big batch of these pita chips to take to work. I’m not sure where the original recipe came from but he got it from his stepmom, C.

Pita Chips

1 T. Kosher Salt
1 T. Dried Basil
1 t. Garlic Powder
1 t. Onion Powder
1 t. Dried Oregano
1/2 t. Black Pepper
1/4 t. Celery Salt
1/2 c. Olive Oil
8 Pitas (he used Western Bakery Alternative Pita Bread)

Mix all spices and oil in a large bowl. Cut the pita bread into eighths. Toss the pita pieces into the spice & oil mixture, then place on a single layer onto two cookie sheets. Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

When these were done, I was wishing that I had some of your Healthy Hummus to dip them in!

~LilSis

March 26, 2009

I’m literally making a batch of hummus every week. I didn’t make one last week though, and guess what? I was a little bit low in energy and my workouts weren’t 100%. I don’t think that hummus is a miracle food – although it is really healthy – but I think it gives me a great boost of protein that I need. Last week I guess I was on more of a salad kick and didn’t have good balanced meals at night, so back to the hummus I go!

I used my usual Healthy Hummus recipe, and tweaked it a touch. I had some dill and chives left over from last week’s Potato Ho Down Dilled Potato Pie, so they went into the hummus, giving it the great green color. I used 5 cloves of garlic, crushed and sauteed as always, and the juice of 2-1/2 lemons. I clearly like my hummus really lemony and garlicky. I also like to use a great flavorful olive oil in it, even though it doesn’t take much. My favorite right now is Texas Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I’ll talk more about that incredible product next time.

Dill Chive Hummus with Green Dippers

All this green hummus needs is some lovely green veggies to scoop it up with.  Besides my hummus addiction, I’m still nursing my asparagus obsession, and probably will until it gets too expensive.  I found great asparagus at Central Market for $1.50 a pound, and also got some fresh sugar snap peas.  I blanched them separately for just 3 minutes, and shocked them in salty ice water before draining and drying them off for a week of tasty dipping!

~BigSis

March 25, 2009

LilSis and I have talked about our dream trip to Italy; the only delay is the lack of funds to make this dream come true!  Well, here is a potential solution to that little problem.  I had Food Network on Saturday while I was doing weekend cleaning, and in a commercial break during  Barefoot Contessa I saw an ad for a sweepstakes to win a trip to Italy, courtesy of Olive Garden!   I just entered and wanted to share the details with you so you can enter too!

Olive Garden Italian Sweepstakes

• 4 grand prizes will be awarded, with a value of $7000 each
• Winners get to take a guest, and spend 8 days in Rome, Florence and Tuscany on a guided tour
• The contest is open to residents of the US and Canada who are at least 21 years old
• You can enter once a day until April 12th
• Check out the official rules, and enter Olive Garden’s Sweepstakes to win a trip to Italy.  You can’t win if you don’t enter!

~BigSis

March 24, 2009

Need a good laugh?

I was reading the ladies over at Where’s My Damn Answer the other day and their guest post was done by Jenny on the Spot. I love her blog and am very glad to have come across it! While reading through some of her recent posts, I came across this YouTube video.

I might think this is so funny because I’ve lived with so much testosterone in my house for way too many years! The male humor might have rubbed off on me a bit. (You’ll know what I mean after you watch the video.)

And, check this one out! Be patient for at least a minute until she starts the facial exercises…It’s hilarious!

Okay, your turn…let’s all make the ‘ugly face’ together. No double chin for us!

~LilSis

March 23, 2009

I’m not a huge fan of all of the folks on the Food Network because I feel like lots of them are just television personalities, not real live chefs or even great cooks.  You know who you are!  I do like Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) because her food always looks easy to do, and anything I’ve made of hers has worked.  And we know that Bobby Flay is a great chef, has been since he was a very young man, and his Goat Cheese Enchiladas are on my Cooking Bucket List.  I also have had good luck with a few of Giada De Laurentiis’ recipes.  I just wish we didn’t have to see so much cleavage when she’s cooking!  I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, I just think the prosciutto ravioli or nutella bruschetta would come out just as well if the “girls” were covered up a tad.  That’s just my opinion; I’m sure the guys out in TV Land disagree!

Anyway.  I don’t need to get off on a rant.  I had Food Network on over the last weekend while I was cleaning, and happened to hear Giada talking about this fried olive recipe.  Since I have a deep love for all things olive, I dropped my vacuum cleaner and ran to the TV.  This recipe for Italian Fried Olives looks scrumptious and I would SO make them ASAP if I didn’t know that I would eat every last ding dang one of them as soon as they came out of the hot oil.

Giada's Italian Fried Olives

Green olives are filled with a mixture of gorgonzola and ricotta cheeses, thyme and lemon zest. They are then tossed in flour, rolled in egg and then rolled around in bread crumbs before being briefly fried.  How good does that sound!!??   Oh my gravy.  These are on my “must try” list, even though I had to tolerate eyefuls of cleavage to see how they were made!

Hey, Giada!  Thanks for the awesome appetizer recipe!  Now how ’bout breaking out a turtleneck, sister?

~BigSis

March 22, 2009

There are not words to describe how much I love my Lollia Wish Shea Butter Handcreme that Bo gave me for Christmas! Thanks again, Bo!

I just love this handcreme! There is something about this Wish scent that I just can’t describe. I want to say it’s something similar to a sugar cookie scent, but it’s much more than that.

The combination of the key ingredients in this handcreme are amazing:
A Burst of Italian Bergamot, notes of Cinnamon and Pepper, Rice Flower, Jasmine and Ylang Ylang, sheer Amber Woods and Vanilla Bean. Shea Butter and Macadamia and Brazil Nut Oils.

Lollia Wish Sugared Pastille Shea Butter Handcreme

I’m sure that the Amber in this handcreme has something to do with me loving it so much. I am a loyal L’Occitane customer and several of my most favorite scents from L’Occitane contain Amber. I’m still mad at them, though, for discontinuing the Lavender Amber Incense.

Here’s a look at some of the other products in the Wish scent. Now, I want to try the Wish Petite Perfumed Luminary . The candle is a little pricey at $32.00 but they say that it burns for 80 hours.

Wish Petite Perfumed Luminary

After reading through the ingredients on the other scents, I think I’m going to have to try the Relax Shea Butter Handcreme.  I just noticed that this was on “Oprah’s Favorite Things” list in 2004.

These are the key ingredients in the Relax scent:
Rich Lavender, White Orchid, Tahitian Vanilla, Bee Blossom Honey and Indian Amber. Shea Butter and Macadamia Nut Oil.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the Relax Handcreme in the petite size for $8.00. The regular size is $24.00, but I think it will be well worth it if it is anything near as nice as the Wish scent.

~LilSis

March 21, 2009

Happy Caturday, friends!  I hope you had a great week, as I did.  We had St. Patrick’s Day and the first day of spring; all in one week.  Plus we’ve had great weather all week here in Big D, AND SisMama and I booked tickets to go see LilSis and her boyz soon!

The other good thing about this week was that my friend Mojo Jojo had a birthday on Friday.  I’ve been looking for an occasion to try out the Irish Cream Bundt Cake ever since LilSis reported seeing it on RecipeGirl, and then Noble Pig made her version.  It looked so delicious and easy and moist that I had to try it.  With all this buzz around one cake, it just had to be good, right?

Only one problem…I’m not a huge fan of Bailey’s Irish Cream so I don’t have it and didn’t really want to buy any.  I do have a bottle of Kahlua from my last trip to Mexico a long time ago; bought in the airport because the bottle was really cool!

Kahlua Bundt Cake

I used Noble Pig’s recipe, but just substituted milk for half of the liqueur in the batter and Kahlua for the other half.  I reduced the amount of liqueur in the glaze by a tablespoon or so and added a touch of milk.  The substitutions came out great, and we all liked the cake.  It truly was moist and tasty, with a beautiful brown crust.  The Kahlua flavor didn’t scream “This cake is full of booze!”.  It just added a depth of flavor to the vanilla cake, and the pecans were perfect in it.  Will I make this again?  Oh, yeah!

After the attack of the knife and forks at the office!

Thanks for the recipe RecipeGirl, LilSis and Noble Pig!  And happy birthday, Mojo Jojo!

~BigSis

March 20, 2009

Today is officially the first day of Spring. I love Spring! I love all the blooming flowers and the smell of the air. Also, Spring means that Summer, my favorite season, is right around the corner.

I know in some parts of the country, Spring is a time for thawing out, seeing those first signs of green again, and saying goodbye to the winter blues! I spent three winters in Upstate New York, so I can relate. Now, we’re blessed to live in a part of the country where we don’t have to worry about snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures.

In honor of the first day of Spring, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to talk about here today. I was thinking it might be nice to make a big green Spring Salad or maybe grill some Spring vegetables for dinner, or talk about Spring cleaning tips. None of those really got me too excited.

I must already have Spring Fever because all I could think about was being outside today after sitting at a computer all week. So, while outside, I thought it might be fun to share some photos with you.

Here in Southern California, you can smell Spring in the air! At this time of year, the jasmine are blooming and the air smells like a bouquet of fresh flowers. It’s amazing how fragrant these are for being such small flowers!

We have a lot of jasmine in our backyard and they grow in these massive beautiful blankets.

While enjoying the flowers, I thought that this might be a good time to introduce you to Iris. She’s my little wood nymph and my latest garden sculpture. She lives right here in the same flower bed with the jasmine.

Instead of Spring cleaning inside, I need to do some Spring cleaning out in the garden. I had to take a picture of the ivy growing on Iris before I cut it back. I love how it looks, but it will get out of control if I don’t take care of it now.

I wish that I could take a Mental Health Day today and just work in the garden for the entire day. I guess I should be responsible and maybe just take a half day!

I hope this first day of Spring brings sunshine and happiness to everyone!

~LilSis

March 19, 2009

I hope you remembered to visit Evil Chef Mom yesterday to check out this month’s Potato Ho Down roundup. In case you missed it, her “As the Potato Peels…The Western Episode” is a fun and creative story showcasing all of this month’s Potato Ho Down entries.  Check it out!

BigSis and I were so happy that Madame Potato Ho Sparkey Marie and Madame Potato Ho Christina Shane let us join their Ho Down! The fun monthly blogging event was founded by Krysta of Evil Chef Mom and Cathy of Noble Pig.  We love both of their blogs!

Thanks to both of you for letting us join your fun!

~LilSis