Author: lynley

lynley http://imwiththebandlfarris.wordpress.com i bake cookies for bands i make art i play the accordion i hunt graffiti i knit i dj i cook i am process driven i love whiskey i had a spiritual moment at graceland the past is our present its the whole karmic enchilada

there’s another cook in the kitchen

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when you love cooking for yourself and others it tends to be a rare thing to have someone show up in your kitchen to cook for you.  i think for me it has happened only handful of times but i always gladly hand over my kitchen to those individuals and accept the role of sous chef.  when justin was in for a visit he took control of the kitchen and cooked up a yummy feast.

honorary chef in the farris kitchen

on the menu was a spaghetti with a chunky vegetable bolognese sauce topped with fresh mozzarella pearls………

i think i could have just eaten the sauce with no pasta, so good and chunky

and  toasted garlic bread

you really can’t go wrong combining butter, garlic and bread

 

 

summer tomato breakfast

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its homegrown tomato time.  i love using them at about every meal including breakfast.  my latest creation i’m calling “a summer tomato breakfast,”  grilled tomatoes topped with a poached egg, black pepper,  parm cheese, basil and oregano.  yes my friends that is the way to start a summer day.

light and flavorful just like summer

RECIPE —- SUMMER TOMATO BREAKFAST

serving 1

1 ripe summer tomato sliced thick (i also suggest heirloom tomatoes)

olive oil

egg

2 cups water

all to your taste:  basil, oregano, parm cheese and black pepper

*heat water in a sauce pan to a simmer, crack egg into the simmering water, lightly splash water over egg to cook through, cook egg as desired aka easy, medium or hard, (i recommend medium)

*while you are poaching the egg, have olive oil heating in a skillet over medium high heat, add tomato slices, grill till both sides are slightly toasted.

*place tomato slices onto a plate, top with poached egg, garnish to taste, black pepper, basil, oregano, and parm cheese

meatless monday — summer garden vodka sauce

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nothing is better than a big bowl of pasta

as you all probably know steph and i are just a tad obsessed with paul newman’s vodka sauce.  it is not only the best vodka sauce that can be bought in a jar it is EXTREMELY hard to find.  we have been known to buy multiple jars when we stumble across it.  my favorite is when one sister finds it and calls the other sister going “i’m at this store, they’ve got it.  how many jars you want?”  so if there is a jar in the cabinet, of this sacred sauce, it has to feel just right to open it up and use it.

meatless monday last week just seemed to be calling out for mr. newman’s vodka sauce.  dad’s garden has started chugging out vegetables like crazy and those tomatoes, zucchinni, onions all just seeded calling for a pasta dish.  as i sat down and tasted my creation i knew i had been right……….. mmmmmmmmm

 

a havana kind of sunday

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i had one big request when i was in knoxville last for a visit, that was to make a trip to asheville.  i love me some asheville, nc and its only an hour and half away with a beautiful drive through the mountains.  kind of a perfect way to spend a sunday or so my friends justin, erin and i thought.  while you really can’t go wrong wherever you eat in asheville, my favorite place is Havana, a cuban restaurant that is worth the drive.  cuban food is one of my top favs and if you aren’t in florida it can be hard to find.

i had a pork cuban bowl that had rice, beans, pork, topped with salsa and plantains.  erin got a plantain sandwich that had guac on it and justin went for a tilapia with a side of plantains.  have you noticed the them of the meal…..plantains!

that is what i call a bowl of food

justin and erin about to dig in

justin’s request for a “serious” photo

i’m on a catfish kick

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in the last week i’ve eaten catfish twice.  i don’t know what has gotten into be but i can’t seem to get enough of it.

it started at the Bluegrass Restaurant in Ballard County Kentucky.  i have been eyeing this restaurant for some time on my drive between knoxville and springfield.  this time i actually stopped.  what made the restaurant so intriguing the sign that said they had their own pond raised catfish.

the sign that caught my eye

the bluegrass restaurant is worth the stop

i had to order the catfish at the Bluegrass, ya know the saying “when in rome….”.  it was the best catfish fillet sandwich i have ever had.  cornmeal breaded which made it flaky and crisp but not overly fried.  the catfish was the lightest, flakiest catfish without an overpowered catfish taste,(i feel i’m not conveying this to its worthiness).  while i ate i was entertained by a tv that flashed pictures of all things local that have happened in the last year, parades, proms, 4H competitions.  i’m thinking this is now going to be a regular stop on my tennessee-missouri route.

and the french fries weren’t bad either

BUT WHAT THERE’S MORE………

i think the bluegrass got me a little addicted to catfish.  when the fam had lunch at cafe roswitha i had to get the catfish special.  her fish was a cajun seasoned catfish with mashed potatoes and a salad.  the plate looked like a ton of food, but shockingly it was light and not heavy which may have allowed some room for coconut cream pie!

mmmmmmm now that is lunch

 

meatless monday — give me those leftovers

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3 times is usually my limit with leftovers.  as in i can eat it 3 times after making it before i can no longer look at it or consume it.  meatless monday was a hodge podge of vegetarian dishes.  the main course being a red beans and rice dish i did using a meatless chorizo sausage.

this was a total impulse buy but oh it was worth it

i also had some macaroni salad leftover and thought why not its leftover night.  i little unknown fact about me i’m a total sucker for grocery store/premade deli macaroni and cheese.  i think it might be all that mayo they put in it.  i love it and i’m not ashamed to say that.

 

20,000 meals in 20 days

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how do you do 20,000 meals in 20 days?  simple its called summer school. at the end of the school year i got recruited to cook for summer school at the high school level.  summer school operates a little differently than the rest of the year as in all meals, i repeat all meals, are free to everyone, even anyone 18 years or younger who walks in off the street.  we do breakfast and we do lunch.

today we calculated the numbers and we are averaging a 1,000 meals a day.  currently on a staff of 4 ladies.  when i found that out i was so thankful.  i have been so exhausted from work which isn’t like me.  yesterday i even fell asleep on the floor of my living room for 45 minutes.  i thought i was getting sick or something but no just making a 1,000 meals in a day.  if the janitors weren’t helping run the dishwasher i don’t know when we’d get out of the kitchen. we had 5 ladies till our range cook slipped a disk in her back.  i normally function as a line cook, aka the pizza queen, plus making sure all things have been prepped and packaged for the rest of the lines.  deli, grill, salad, etc.  now i’m range cook, cooking all things hot and line cook, making 60 pizzas a day.

i have gotten pizza making down to a fine art.   you ready for this…..i can put together 5 pizzas in 5 minutes.  no joke i timed myself the other day.  granted the night before i lay out all the dough on baking sheets.  but in 5 minutes i lay out 5 presheeted pizza dough on my table, ladle a 1/2 cup of sauce and spread onto each dough, then each pizza gets 8 oz of cheese and a combination of 3 oz of meat and or 2 oz of vegetables. today they got a selection of deluxe (sausage, pepperoni, olives, and peppers) pepperoni, sausage, cheese, and some happy Hawaiian (ham and pineapple). i’ve caught myself daydreaming about other types of pizza i can construct…….margarita pizza so simple, just need to get fresh basil into the kitchen, or a taco pizza with leftover taco meet from nacho tuesday, cheddar cheese, black olives and jalapenos.  then i’ll think that isn’t sanctioned by the state or federal government and then i say screw that i’m going to do that any way you know why these kids need some good food!

meatless monday — happy birthday Sir Paul

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sir paul the forefather of meatless monday

how fitting meatless monday landed on sir paul’s birthday this year!   i recently have gotten a little addicted to Dole’s salad kits, they are SO yummy.

look at them greens!

i highly reccomend,um ALL of them but for meatless monday i had the endless summer kit, along with some toasted garlic bread and yes my strawberry lemonade is in a beatles glass. happy birthday paul!

mmmmm

fully loaded breakfast cottage cheese

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now that’s breakfast

RECIPE:  1 serving

1/2 cup cottage cheese (curd size and fat content is your own choice)

1 peach chunked (leave skin on)

6 blackberries

1/8 cup shaved almonds

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp honey

*place cottage cheese into a single serve bowl, top with peach chunks, blackberries, and almonds.  sprinkle cinnamon on top of cottage cheese sprinkle, drizzle with honey.