It's getting to be sweet potato time!

BAKED SWEET POTATOES WITH SCALLIONS AND CILANTRO

4 small slender sweet potatoes (2 lb total)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Prick potatoes several times with a fork and put directly on oven rack in middle position. Put a sheet of foil on lower rack (to catch any drips) and heat oven to 450°F. Bake potatoes until soft when squeezed, 30 to 35 minutes.

Mash together butter, scallions, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Slit potatoes lengthwise and put some butter mixture in center of each.

Makes 4 servings.

Gourmet
Quick Kitchen
November 2004

Epicurious.com

Happy First Year!

Today marks exactly one year since I started this blog. I don't think I've committed to writing anything that long. I now look at the world through a "I wonder if I can post about this" mindset. More often than not I do post about it. So to start off the new blog year I have to talk about the Southern Women's Show. I attended with my friend Amy and her mother-in-law B.(Who is the best sport I know).

The show was at the convention center and was comprised of booths that were advertising anything from alcohol to candy thongs(yes edible thongs). I only wanted pens. There were several booths holding raffles for free vacations. While B was talking to the Ron Jon resort rep, Amy and looked over at the next booth. The booth title was "Enjoy Florida Naturally". "Ooh," I thought, a conservation booth. I then looked closer and the sub head was "Nude Recreation." And let me tell you they did not send their finest to advertise the joys of being nude. If I wanted people to sign up I would have sent a Playboy and Playgirl playmate as bait.

My friend who loves to get one over on her MIL told me that she was going to send the MIL over with the ploy that they had a week free if you signed up. We were positive the MIL would notice the tasteful pictures of nude tennis players and scream, thus providing us with hours of glee in the re-telling.

We sent her over and I scurried away because I was laughing so hard. Amy watched from a Bahamas vacation booth and gave me running commentary which started with "She's talking, oh,oh she's filling out paperwork, oh no she's signing up." I needed a Depends at that moment.

The MIL walked away and came over

"Amy how could you send me there?"

"What's the matter?" Amy feigned ignorance.

"That man had horrible breath. I couldn't stand it."

I stared at her "Didn't you see the nude pictures?"

"No, there were no nude pictures."

Amy: "Barb, didn't you see the asses on the board. We sent you to a nudist resort. Didn't you read nude recreation?"

That's when she shrieked. "Oh my God! I filled out the giveaway."

Amy's answer "Pack light."

That made my day. It hit the MIL later on that the guy may have been trying to look down her blouse. Fresh meat!

Italian Wedding Soup

I made this and the kids love the meatballs. Other than the meatballs, everything else is pretty easy to throw in. It is a good kid recipe. There is something about flinging meatballs in a pot that makes my kids want to eat this soup.

Meatballs:
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and pork. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet.

To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and curly endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about 8 minutes. Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese if desired.

Recipe courtesy of Foodtv

The Affair...

I had a friend who had an affair. Notice how I said had? I would have understood if her marriage was unhappy and hey, I would have understood if it was a one time thing. But when she told me about it she added the fatal words that ended our friendship "I will do it again." So in spite of her being as close to me as a sister, I ended it.

I did it because I knew that there was nothing wrong with her marriage, just her lack of self esteem at the time. I did it because in a world filled with selfish people I knew her husband was not one of them. He was good and kind and decent not to mention drop dead gorgeous. He adored her. I knew she did it because she was feeling unattractive and when you have a twenty-two year boy saying he found you attractive either you sink with him or you swim away.

But this post is not about right or wrong. I was thinking the other day why I wouldn't have an affair. At some point in your life you think about your attractiveness to the opposite sex. And if you don't, you are lying to yourself. I have had a couple of opportunities to turn a light flirtation into something more. I never have and won't.

Why?Because I am one lazy gal. Snark and I have been together for 13 years. I know at this point in my marriage if I don't feel like shaving my armpits one day Snark is not going to comment or really care. The same goes for legs, oh ,and the waxing thing.

I look at myself in the mirror. I see saggy boobs, stretch marks and cellulite. And he is the only man who knows that the boobs and stretch marks are badges of honor.

I've been with him long enough that I can say "you know..." and be distracted by something else and won't complete the rest of my sentence. Yet, he knows that I really want that last Godiva bar in the freezer (which is precisely what happened last night). And you know what, he got up and got it. Of course he ate half which peeved me, but I didn't say he was perfect.

I also know that love is not the only thing that holds you together. If people expect love to be the be all end all then they are probably headed for an affair.