BUSY WEEK and COLORFUL RICE

Yesterday has been a week since I was on the net! This was one hecktic looooooooooong week! Yesterday, I first checked FoodBuzz and buzzed off all the yummy creations I missed through the week and boy, was there some pretty tasty, wonderful food to admire! Just to mention few that really intrigued my taste buds: Warm and Cheesy Gnochi Salad @Welcome to Sandra's Easy Cooking , Chocolate Panna Cotta @The Cultural Dish , Ceviche @Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves , Skirt Steak with Stout Pan Sauce @The Cultural Dish , and my personal winner KEY LIME PIE @Cherry Tea Cakes ! Love it!!!

Now about the recipe. We cook rise pretty often (I always choose rice over potatoes), although potato is the most loved starch as far as my family is concerned! They could eat "any way" potato three times a day! Rice as rice, all white on the plate is not that inviting, so I always try to add some color to it: sometimes just by adding a dash of turmeric that will turned it light yellow, or some browned vermicelli pasta to give it some movement, but mostly I add colorful veggies that really bring the rice to life. And as far as the flavor busting, well: "Spices to the rescue!"

Colorful Rice

FRIDAY DATE NIGHT at HOME

My book “Table for Two” by Warren Caterson arrived yesterday. I was so excited while opening the envelope to finally lay my eyes on the recipes. The book is signed by the author which makes it even more special!

So what is “Table for Two” about? As Warren says in the Preface of the book, the idea for the book came from a simple but frequent lament he came across over and over again: “I’d love to cook more, but I don’t know how to cook for only two people.” The recipes are simple to follow and the selection is amazing: from soups to salads, seafood, meat, vegetarian recipes to my two favorite meals: dessert and breakfast. And if you have leftovers in your fridge, no worry, there is a whole chapter dedicated to transforming them into a yummy meal for two! But before the recipes starts, Warren introduces us to cooking terms, ingredients, and a measuring chart.

Yea, for me reading a cookbook equals reading a romance novel!

The idea was born as soon as I saw the cover of the book Table for Two. On the cover there is a couple engaged in a conversation and as it was Friday, date night was making a complete undeniable sense! And so the sinister plan of removing the kids (not so kids anymore, 13 and 17) from the house was born: “Ohh you both look so tired! It was along week and you both worked so hard; studying,   doing homework, bla, bla, bla! I think you deserved a break, would you like to go to movie theater?” And the rest is history! While daddy drove them to the cinema and made sure they bought tickets, snacks, and were safe inside the building, I whipped together a nice dinner for two: white rice, BROCCOLI AU GRATIN (from the book), spicy orange cordials, and for dessert cookies “Mint Toppar” that I baked a day before with a cup of Turkish coffee! Yep, you got to keep romance going on to keep it interesting in a relationship!

Broccoli au Gratin came out super delicious (recipe a total keeper), the side of rice complemented it nicely, and sipping the cordial between bites added a refreshing sense to the atmosphere.

Spicy Orange Coridals For Two