Well cultured

Do you know what this is? There's kielbasa in the background, but in the foreground? It may look strange (even disgusting to some), but my friends that gravy smeared pile of fries isn't some stoned college kid's answer to the late-night-snack question. 

It's poutine (pronounced "puts-in" where I come from). This French Canadian delicacy is an amalgam of  French fries, turkey gravy, cheese curds, and sometimes pieces of turkey, though turkey a poutine does not make.

I'll let a real French Canadian give you the road map to perfect gravy slathered heaven. Chuck's show is a favorite on the Cooking Channel. I love his accent.

It wasn't until my early twenties that I started to realized that New England, specifically the Northern portions of New Hampshire where my family hails from, actually can claim regional and culturally based cuisine. Like living down the street from the Eiffel Tower ... it is easy to take for granted what is right in front of you. For a long time I took for granted that I had a food culture at all.

That was a perfect segue into what I really wanted to talk about in this post. Not heart attack inducing entrees, but food cultures. 

Now, food culture can be an incredibly broad term. Americans have a food culture that is different from Thailand, France, Spain, Morocco, etc. However, the concept can be used with even more precision. Tennessee's food culture is a far cry from New Hampshire's. And even further, Berlin and Concord can feel alien when examined on a food culture basis. Get into people's homes- eat dinner with them- and you find that the gap gets wider still. Each of us is born into a food culture that shapes not only the food on our future plates, but the significance that food holds in our lives.

It's kind of a big deal.

So ... my food culture. Well, you could probably assume from the beginning of this post that I am French Canadian. My folks were born in Berlin, NH and as with lots of families that originated in and around the Great North Woods, hunting and fishing and all around foraging hold a place at our table. My mother always had a garden when I was little and was adamant that my sisters and I learn to feed ourselves and to feed others. There was always more than enough food on the table and the processed stuff rarely found its way into our cupboards. Food wasn't just for fuel, it was for celebrating; a way to show someone you love them.

With this set of rules there are also recipes woven in to the fabric of who I am today. My mom's Bouliabaisse,  Roasted Beet and Potato Salad, Summer Fresh Caprese, Feel Better Chicken Soup, Morning Hash made with the previous night's leftovers, the perfect egg sandwich, the list goes on and on.

My husband's family has added to this familial food culture of mine. Everyone brings something to the table- a meal is meant to be shared and enjoyed together. Grammy's handwritten recipe books are treasured and serve as a road map to a family history's worth of meals. Christmas Cookies, Sugar Pie, Grammy's famous German Chocolate Cake, Baked Haddock, Jello Salad (which my husband and brother-in-law affectionately call "Booger Salad", since it is made with lime flavored jello).

There's a lot of joy in these memories and flavors, but food cultures can create problems for us as well. Unhealthy relationships with food, fostered by personal experiences or the rules we were raised with, can create battles with weight and nutritional deficiencies. Over-eating, under-eating, limited diets, food allergy battles; these can all be side effects of the very same things that bring so much joy to our lives.

I am learning that becoming deeply in touch with my personal food culture allows me to maintain the good points and hopefully move on from the bad ones. It is a constant work in progress.

I think I will give you some homework. Think about your own personal food culture. What value did your parents put on food. What foods were off limits? What foods were celebrated? How have your family's attitudes about food bled into your adult life? Have they affected you positively or negatively?

If anything, this is a great examination into who we are as family members and as individuals. If anything, we gain more insight into who we are ... and that's never a bad thing. 

I would love to hear from you about your favorite aspects of your personal "food culture". Is there a recipe you can't live without? A "food rule" that has helped shape who you are? I would love to learn more.

In the mean time, feast with your family. You'll never regret it. xo

Stuffed to the gills ...

I posted a photo recently of some stuffed eggplant I made. The recipe came out of necessity. Mark harvested all of our large fruit when night temperatures were predicted to dip into the 40s. There are still new eggplants growing and I'm sure I'll be making another batch of this stuff by the end of the month.

Sorry for the photo quality. I just really wanted to eat the damn thing.

Okay. To start:

Boil a big ol' pot full of water, lightly salted. Puncture your eggplants of choice all over with a fork, then dunk them into the pot, allowing them to cook until softened fully. Keep in mind, the eggplants won't want to cooperate and you may have to keep turning them. It's okay, this is good for them- they just don't know it. Allow them to cool before you man-handle them.

In the mean time, boil up a cup of Basmati rice, following package directions. It should only take about 15 minutes. To the rice add the following, in no particular order, using a very large bowl. This makes a lot of stuffing:

1 cup Italian bread crumbs (these are optional, my gluten-free friends, or you can make your own bread crumbs out of a gluten free loaf, well toasted and pulsed in the food processor).

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

1 diced heirloom tomato (that's just what I had on hand, you can use any tomato you want)

2 Tbs chopped basil

2 Tbs chopped parsley

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

1 half onion, diced

3 or 4 garlic cloves, pressed or run over a microplane

S&P to taste (you won't need much salt, with all that cheese and such)

When the eggplants are cool enough to touch, cut them down the middle the long way (keep their green hats on, it helps the small end stay whole) and scoop out the innards with a grapefruit spoon, or score with a sharp knife and then scoop. You can use your hands. That method is what I fall back on most of the time.

When you've gutted the shells, careful not to bust the eggplant skin, dice the eggplant guts and add it to the rice mixture.

Now, stuff that eggplant. I mean, really heap it in there. When all the skins are full, place them in a baking dish with a bunch of tomato sauce in it. I topped each stuffed eggplant with a slice of mozzarella for effect. Bake those suckers at 400 until the sauce underneath them starts to bubble and the cheese on top starts to brown. That's the kind of timing I use when I cook- by sight. Don't be afraid to open the oven door. This isn't  a souffle we're making.

Serve each of the eggies with a bunch of sauce and watch them disappear. These were a huge hit at the table and are a creative way to use up all those purple monsters lurking in your garden. 

Good luck using up your produce, everyone. It's no easy task. When in doubt, spread the love around then tear up your plants and start a winter crop! Our garlic goes in the ground next month. More on that soon.

In the mean time, eat up and pull out those sweaters. Winter, she's a'comin' for us. xo

A movable feast.

Let's talk about feeding people.

In Hillsborough County, 9% of residents don't know where their next meal is coming from. In Coos County, that number jumps to 12%.

My profession allows me to create menus and healthy meals for my clients. It is exciting and creative and fulfilling. I love what I do. But as I'm doing this job I can't help but think of those that don't have the luxury of planned, healthy meals.

September is Hunger Awareness Month and the New Hampshire Food Bank has been promoting the effort. It is through the Food Bank that I get the opportunity to participate in Cooking Matters, a division of Share Our Strength. I am a culinary volunteer for classes that teach children, adults and families how to cook healthier meals, shop smarter, and enjoy meal time with their families. It is incredibly rewarding and the Cooking Matters staff is full of gifted and passionate people. I am honored to be in their company. I like the "teach a man to fish" concept of providing aid. It is one thing to give someone a meal, but teach them the independence of cooking for themselves and you can change their life completely. It is a skill I took for granted- an education I was blessed with at a young age. I am thrilled to pay it forward.

This is a strange time for the Food Bank. People are sending their kids back to school, taking a break after summer vacations and preparing for the holiday season. The need for food/monetary donations is up, but the influx of any donations is down. We're all just preoccupied. Please consider making a donation to the food bank or simply spreading the word about hunger in our country. We hear of famine across the globe, but it lives in our own back yard.

It doesn't need to.

In other news, I was thrilled to get a call from the Concord Monitor the other night. I had sent out press releases to local media outlets in an effort to extend my reach in the Greater Concord area. I was delighted to get a text message the following afternoon while I was in the middle of a cook date.

"Great write up in the paper!"

I had forgotten all about it. Talk about a fast turn around. I was thrilled when I saw the headline:

Fairy godmother is her business model

I had never thought of it that way, but was I ever thrilled at the comparison! It wasn't long, but I was pleased with the whole article. Some great friends of mine shared it across social media. Here's hoping people read it and get a better understanding of what I do for a living. I get a lot of confused glances when I tell people I'm a "personal chef." They're not sure what to do with a title like that.

I am also expecting a piece in the Hippo Press soon. Back in a past life of mine I was a writer there, so it felt strange to be sending them a press release (and I told them so in my e-mail!). Regardless of that, their food writer Luke Steere gave me a call and we had a long chat about my business and what I love to do- feed people. That piece will have a photo with it, which should be helpful down the road. I know the Hippo has a ton of readers, I hope they are interested in what I do! I am so anxious for the next issue. I will let you know when it hits news stands.

As with most of my posts, I like to end with a good recipe or two. So, why break tradition?? Our family runs around a bit crazy in the mornings and the earliest of us need a fast way to get breakfast in. The answer was a combined effort between myself and my sister Melissa:

Egg Cups.

Lightly grease a muffin tin and add to the cups any vegetables you desire. These had a bunch of Swiss Chard and Shallots in them. Leave enough room to crack one egg into each cup on top of the veggies. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes, maybe 20, minding the doneness of the yolk. I like a runny yolk, so I went with a few less minutes and finished with a quick blast under the broiler. Garnish with Sriracha. Because it belongs at breakfast. Even on cereal.

Besides that, we've been inundated with peaches at our house. My favorite start in the morning is plain yogurt with sliced peach, crushed walnuts and a bit of honey. It's an energy boost! Our favorite peach dessert this year has become a welcomed favorite by many of my clients- several request it over and over again. I can't take credit for it. The folks at Bon Appetit Magazine gave me this gem- and when I say it is incredibly easy, I mean it. God bless and easy dessert that even a cook (not a baker) can master pretty quickly.

Nevermind the "Blueberry" in the title, this recipe will work with any fruit you throw at it. I like mixing peach and blueberry when the season is at a crossroads.

Blueberry Drop Biscuit Cobbler (copied and pasted for your convenience)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. crème fraîche or sour cream
• 6 cups fresh blueberries (about 2 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 3 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter; using your fingertips, incorporate until only pea-size lumps remain. Gently mix in crème fraîche. Knead in bowl until a biscuit-like dough forms, 5–7 turns (overmixing will make dough tough).
• Combine remaining 1 cup sugar, remaining 3 Tbsp. flour, berries, juice, and zest in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Pour into an 8x8x2" glass baking dish or divide among six 6-oz. ramekins. Tear biscuit topping into quarter-size crumbles; scatter over berries.
• Bake cobbler until juices are thick and bubbling and topping is cooked through and deep golden brown, 20–25 minutes for ramekins or 45–50 minutes for baking dish. Let cool for at least 1 hour.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2012/08/blueberry-drop-biscuit-cobbler#ixzz26AKC2U4j


That about covers it for now. What a great summer I was blessed with. I hope you feel the same about yours. Now, it's time to toast to changing leaves, heartier fare, and layered clothing.

This New Hampshire native wishes you all the best that Autumn has to offer. xo

Augustus

This month usually throws me for a loop. Outside of my sister's looming wedding there are birthdays, bridal showers, anniversaries, bachelorette parties, weddings. With lots of celebration comes lots of indulgence. As a person who cooks for a living, it's difficult to keep the ol' girlish figure. It takes discipline and I don't have a ton of that virtue lying around. Thank god we live in a society that values a "boot-strap" philosophy. There's plenty of assistance for the do-it-yourself-er, and I'm a fan of getting help when it's needed.

So, being an American- one who, as my nutritionist would say, is "lit-up" by food- it behooves me to be proactive in my approach to health and my weight in the future (ie, after children, which is an eventual and inevitable thing). I've struggled to maintain my weight my whole life, and the struggle continues. Nay, it continues to get more difficult. I exercise regularly ... about five to six times a week ... I eat good foods, maintain a healthy diet for the most part ... but there is this trigger in my brain that overwhelms my gut signals when it comes to delicious food. When that happens, I'm more likely to finish a platter of food for 20 people than I am to stop when I'm actually full.

It's a problem. But, I'm working on it.

Seems the whole house has gone health-crazy, trying desperately to not make a trip to Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn trip before the clock strikes 8 pm. We're big ice cream fans around here. We try not to have it in the house at all.

In the midst of all this dogged running, crunching, squatting, lunging madness, I've found some pretty awesome and healthy recipes. Now, when it comes to eating healthy the key is to make food as easy as possible. Anything that requires too much trouble is out the window. That's why I fell in love with this little concoction right here:

Eggplant coins. It's a riff on a recipe I found on Pinterest, called Eggplant pizza.

Mark Bittman wrote that he used to say he never invented a recipe in his whole life ... but lately he's backtracking on that statement. To read a great piece by him recently, click here. So that said, the inspiration was there and I just took it to a different place.

I love photographing my cutting boards. They are usually scattered and my mise en place is never really "en place" ... ya' dig?

Most of the ingredients for this came from our humble home garden. We are slowly pulling heirloom tomatoes from the vines, but it feels like hundreds of pounds of them are sitting there all green and lovely, refusing to move. Dammit. Get some color already. The eggplants, on the other hand, are always ready to party.

So I sliced them into coins about a centimeter thick, lined them up on a baking sheet, brushed them with olive oil, then baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime I sauteed the chopped tomatoes in olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a bit of left over canned "tomato sauce" I had sitting in the fridge that needed to be used before it went fuzzy.

When the "coins" were done, I topped them with tomato paste, my simmered tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and added basil in the last five minutes of cooking. I think the thing cooked for a total of 30 or 32 minutes. I ate them until I was over-full.

Banh Mi knock offs have been a regular in the house, too. With two dozen cucumbers picked on average a day, I need to figure out ways to use them. They're covered by pickled carrots and red onion here, but trust me- they make an impact.

Banh Mi sauce is what gives this whole shin dig a little spring in its step (and its name). I like using the following ingredients for pretty consistent results:

0% Greek Yogurt

Maybe some sour cream? If you have it.

Cilantro. Lots.

Fish sauce. A good splash.

Lime juice. SO tasty.

Sriracha. Enough to give you a rosy glow.

Mix that together and set some aside as a dip, shmear, whatever. Toss your protein in the rest and grill up for one satisfying meal. I love to add cabbage, slices of cucumber made by using a peeler, and lots of zippy pickled carrot and onion.

That could be eaten as a salad, a wrap, on a baguette, in a panini on your trusty George Foreman Grill, you name it.

All of this was lying around. I absolutely recommend finding any used summer issues of Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, Cooking Light ... their recipes are good all summer and many of these savvy publications get the fact that we're all too busy to make a creme anglaise or some other ridiculous culinary feat at 5:30 at night with a hungry family as an audience. It aint happenin'. By some stroke of consumer polling, they figured out we would prefer if they would just KISS.

Keep it simple, sister.

That's more like it. 

May all of your bikini wishes and ice cream dreams come true. xo

Post pizza satisfaction.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people categorize pizza alongside sex.

"Even the bad kind is good," I hear them say.

As untrue as this may be, pizza has had an iron-clad grip on my heart for going on 3 decades. Raise your hand if you feel the same.

That's a good show of hands.

Pizza, flatbreads, pies, no matter their form these guys are the easy dinner kings- giving freedom to kitchens everywhere when the weekend is finally here and let's face it: we don't want to cook for real, but we sure as hell can't bring ourselves to deal with take-out.

There's never a bad time to pick up a few new pizza ideas. This Friday the family put together three summer favorites to pair with loads of red wine and a fire out back built in the half-an-oil-drum we buried as a fire pit. It looks a lot prettier than it sounds. I swear.

Yankee ingenuity is a powerful thing, folks. That is also where our evolution of pizza comes from.

I choose wines solely on their labels. A vineyard's smart marketing is truly their gain when it comes to this drinker. 

It helps that I love chickens. ::cluck cluck::

Stoic with Red.

I took the easy route and bought pre-made pizza dough ... the kind you have to knead yourself, not the pre-baked. I've been so busy lately that it's been a while since I made my own dough.

Don't judge me.

Anyways ... the first Friday night pizza I put together was: Eggplant.

We have these fancy Japanese eggplants in the garden this year, all long and thin and funny.

They're coming along faster than their shorter, fatter counterparts. I sauteed them with garlic, olive oil, white wine, some cherry tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. once everything was soft and "saucy", I layered the mixture over tomato sauce and then topped it with shredded mozzarella. It was pretty awesome on a whole wheat crust.

There she is, pre-baking time. Very excited about how it came out. The leftovers were even better! After a day in the fridge, this pie was super flavorful!

Next up was the summer squash white pizza. The base was olive oil and garlic, just smeared all over the top. Then I layered thinly sliced summer and zucchini squash, topped it with thyme, goat cheese, salt and pepper. This one was the overall favorite of the night. Who knew?

And there's dinner. The chip in the plate gives the shot character. We only use the good plates for company.

Melissa threw together a caramelized onion and chicken sausage pizza with mozzarella on a multigrain crust. In the long run, huge pizza success. The moral of the story? Get creative. Pizza is just bread with a bunch of stuff on it. That stuff can be anything. Go the garden, see what's ready to eat, and wing it.

Remember ... even the bad ones are good. Right?

Happy eating! xo

Dinner is served.

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on value.

I'm not talking about money, necessarily. I'm talking about real "value." What is a sunset worth? The sea? Losing an admiral amount of weight? Seeing your favorite band from the front row of a huge auditorium?

How about an easy meal with your closest friends and family?

I have some fantastic clients in this line of work- from as far North as Lebanon to as far South as Hollis. One of my favorite tasks for these splendid folks is giving them the freedom to play host.

For some of us there is nothing more stressful than trying to entertain a room full of people AND trying to make them all dinner at the same time.

Then think of the dishes.

That's an herb and garlic crusted 6LB beef tenderloin to feed 12 people. Do you want to man-handle that kind of meet with a kitchen full of people?

I didn't think so.

I just wanted to drive home the value of having a dinner party surrounded by friends and family. One where you can drink as much wine as you want because if you get drunk, the food won't suffer.

I don't drink while I work. The food is great. Trust me. I cook with a smile and it shows.

So the next time a momentous occasion is on the horizon and all you want to do is celebrate- call me. I can make sure that you actually do just that: celebrate. Forget sweating in that dress/suit you paid a lot for because the apron and the oven don't care how long it took you to get dressed.

Forever Feasting to the rescue. Your holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and foodie-friend meals will never be the same.

And that's a good thing.

Here's gluten at you, kid.

We should talk about the should haves ... not about the can't haves. As a nutritionist told my husband and I recently, "We're looking for progress, not perfection."

I thought that was brilliant. It gave me chills.

Then I had ice cream cake.

The truth of the matter is, food is powerful stuff. We take for granted all that it can do for and against us. I find myself shaking a fist at the ice cream that has crept its way into our freezer (I didn't buy it, I swear). I can't help but salivate for loaves of bread with gobs of spread (butter, jam, makes no difference). It takes will power to avoid those things we know are not so good for us. Our brain wants them so badly, but our body's cells cry out in anguish ... I have a feeling that's where eater's remorse comes from. I experience that pretty frequently.

I find this to be a really lovely shot of mussels at Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier.

Plus, mussels are gluten free. I'm addicted to them.

And then there are the folks who have been told, either by a doctor, nurse or surgeon, "You have a ___ allergy." Insert whichever one suits your situation.

Then, imagine that after you've been given this diagnosis you realize that everything you've eaten in the past week contained that allergen. It is so embedded into your life that you have no idea how to get rid of all of it at once. What would you eat?!

We don't all go through it, but a lot of us do. I'm here to tell you that there is no end to the pleasure of good food. A lot of our problems arise from processed foods. Put a whole-foods spin on things and you'll feel like a new (wo)man. Do a lot of label reading. If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. Scratch that: if a five-year-old can't pronounce it, don't eat it.

I have lots of clients who have to avoid gluten in particular. I have my own theories on the exploding population of people with gluten sensitivities and ciliac disease ... theories that involve GMO wheat and maniacal corporations viewing our heads like giant wallets ... but I digress.

Living gluten free, dairy free, garlic free (yes, I know people with garlic sensitivities) might not be easy at first, but it is possible. If you feel like you're in over your head, perhaps it's time to call a nutritionist and a personal chef? Talk about a weight off your shoulders (and your middle ... hehe!). Our job is to make sure you stay healthy, but also that you can still find joy in your meals every day.

If you aren't excited about every single meal or snack that comes into your life, you need to make some adjustments.

Maybe the following lines of text could help you find new meals you may not have thought of before?

How about some recipes and pretty pretty pictures?

This here is from a girls weekend with my foodie friends from college. Chicken on the grill with that simple Lemon Anything vinaigrette I wrote about a few posts back. We threw some asparagus on the grill, too. And then the grill lit on fire- like, engulfed in flames. We had to turn the propane off and back away slowly. Thank goodness the chicken was cooked all the way through.

Gluten and dairy free turkey burgers! I used brass fennel, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil and an egg. Usually I would recommend adding some bread crumbs to the mixture to add girth, but it really isn't all that necessary. These were dynamite. Turn them into meat balls and douse them with marinara and you have the makings of a great Italian meal. We put these together during a romantic week away. 

Fennel Turkey Burgers:

1 LB ground turkey (93-7 works really well)

2 Tbs fresh chopped fennel fronds

2 minced cloves of garlic

1 Tbs olive oil

1 medium egg

S & P ... about a tsp each

Form into four equal sized patties and allow to chill for a few minutes. Grill on high heat until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees or more.

The next night we did Puttanesca Haddock with Green Beans:

1 1/2 LB haddock fillet

2 cans (14 oz) of diced tomatoes in juice

2 minced cloves of garlic

3 Tbs olive oil, divided

1 or two anchovies, depending on how you like it

1/2 cup kalamata olives

1 Tbs capers

2 Tbs fresh chopped basil

1 LB washed and snapped green beans

S & P to taste

Start fish in a 400 degree oven, dressed with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook until opaque in the center. Meanwhile, start one Tbs of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and anchovy and allow to cook until anchovy is liquefied into the mixture. Add tomatoes and allow to heat through. Next add olives and capers. Allow sauce to simmer until slightly reduced and saucy. Toss all that basil in just before serving. Blanch green beans in hot, salted water until bright green, then rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Toss with remaining oil, salt and pepper.

Arrange on plates with beans first, then sauce, then serving of fish, then more sauce. This meal should feed four people, but it fed Mark and I just fine with some left over to give to a friend who lived nearby.

 The following night was baked sweet potatoes with maple sugar and butter, grilled corn, and sirloin steak with a my newly invented and brilliantly dubbed: Up-North Guiness Sauce. BAMF!

Up-North Guiness Sauce

This is powerful stuff flavor wise. It can be devious on its own, but slather it on some Porterhouse and you have heaven on a plate.

1/2 bottle traditional Guiness (a bit more if you enjoy more of a beer taste) 

3 Tbs maple syrup

3 Tbs unsalted butter

S & P to taste

Throw all of that into a pan and allow to simmer on low heat until reduced significantly. Spoon over anything that once had a face.

I put this together and used the ratios strictly by accident and I was beyond thrilled with the results. It will be a repeat offender in my kitchen from here on out.

These are Chocolate Cherry Heirloom Tomatoes. They're producing fruit the fastest in our garden. Very excited to watch them change color!

I've been told I need to stop eating so much cheese. But with a place like Butter's Fine Food and Wine just a stone's throw away, that might not be possible. I'll give up ice cream instead. Maybe.

Now *that* is a healthy looking grill. It all came together for Melissa's next birthday dinner (one that fell on her actual birthday- well done, sister).

So, I had found this recipe on an epicurious app and made it for some clients. I liked it so much it was what I decided to bring to the party. Too bad I wasn't bright enough to take a picture of it with the sauce. Just imagine it's beauty for me.

Grilled Shrimp with Tzatziki Sauce and Greens

1 LB large/jumbo shrimp

1 cup diced cucumber

1 cup Greek style yogurt (I used Cabot)

2 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs chopped dill

2 Tbs minced shallot

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

5 oz mixed greens, or lettuce right out of the garden (my preferred option)

1 Tbs olive oil

S & P (lots of it)

Skewer your shrimp, dress them with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill them for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side- you know ... until they're done.

In a bowl mix the next five ingredients together and season generously with salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to chill for a bit.

Lay your shrimps on a bed of lettuce and sprinkle them with the feta. Serve with LOTS of the sauce. Be sure to make extra sauce because you'll want the leftovers to put on everything. That stuff could make a gym sock taste amazing.

I've been long winded enough for this post. I'm glad you lasted through the whole thing! Thanks for reading!

And remember, no matter what adversity your gut may face there is always a way to appease the gastric gods. Don't hesitate to ask for advice, find an awesome food blog to follow (*ahem!*), and try new things!

Now ... I have a bone to pick with the remaining ice cream in the freezer. I'm going to give it a piece of my mind. 

xo