So, I haven’t been in the South for very long but I have learned two things, so far, about Southern food: 1) It is delicious, and 2) it is the extreme opposite of “health food”. I wonder if point 2 has anything to do with point 1. I’m betting so.

Last night I went out with some girlfriends for a movie (The Expendables) and dinner. It was my first time trying fried pickles (on the left) and hushpuppies (on the right). Hushpuppies are basically fried cornbread balls. Now, cornbread is a new discovery for me and I am loving it, so I was definitely willing to try it fried. I’m usually not big into fried foods to be honest and it seems that in the South everything is “fry-able”. In some cases, I think they may be onto something!

So far, the Southern cuisine that has most caught my fancy is sweet cornbread and biscuits. Mmmm… biscuits. Not the style of biscuits I am used to of course, but delicious and tasty in their own way. It looks like I’m going to have to start hitting the gym a lot more if I plan on staying here.

The other night I made this dish (another one from Cooking Light magazine): Beef and Polenta Casserole (use Quorn beef instead for vegetarians). I’ve never had polenta before (honestly, I wasn’t even sure what polenta was) but it turned out well and the leftovers were even better. I’ve since found out that polenta is made from boiled yellow or white cornmeal and is pretty tasty stuff.

Beef and Polenta Casserole

2 medium zucchini/courgettes
1 (17-ounce) tube of basil and garlic-flavoured polenta (a tube of polenta sounds very very wrong, but it is good)
1 pound ground sirloin or Quorn beef if going vegetarian
1 (24 ounce) jar fire-roasted tomato-garlic pasta sauce (such as Classico)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (although I used more, so pepper to taste)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Italian blend cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut diagonally crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Cut polenta crosswise into 8 slices; coat both sides of each slice with cooking spray (I used olive oil instead)

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta slices; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Arrange the polenta slices in an 11×7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray (again, I just used a little extra virgin olive oil).

4. Reheat pan over medium-high heat. Add beef to pan. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring to crumble; remove from pan, and drain, if necessary. Add zucchini to pan; saute 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Add beef, pasta sauce, and pepper; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally. Spoon beef mixture over polenta; sprinkle with cheese.

5. Bake at 375 for 18 minutes or until bubbly and cheese melts.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Calories: 266; Fat: 7.6g; Protein: 24g; Carb: 24.7g; Fiber: 3.3g

In an effort to cook more, I’ve purchased a few Cooking Light magazines and am trying my hand at a few of the recipes. This was dinner tonight, and I must say it was incredibly easy to do. You can remove the steak and go fully vegetarian and this is just as good. Then again, anything with teriyaki is good with me.

Edamame and Steak Stir-Fry from Cooking Light

Cooking Spray (I used extra virgin olive oil instead)
8 ounces boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into thin strips (again going fully veggie is a great option!)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
3 tablespoons water
1 (5 ounce) package prechopped tricolor bell pepper mix (I just got two peppers and cut them myself)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I put in a little extra)
3 tablespoons teriyaki basting sauce (I just used the teriyaki marinade we had)

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray (again, I used extra virgin olive oil as I’m not big into cooking spray). Add steak to pan; stir-fry 5 minute or until steak is done. Transfer to plate.

2. Add edamame and water to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add bell peppers; stir-fry 2-3 minutes. Add garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in teriyaki; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Return beef to vegetable mix; toss to coat.

3. Serve over rice. I made brown rice, but Cooking Light suggests jasmine rice.

Serves 2 (serving size: 1.5 cups)

Calories: 345; Fat: 10.2g; Protein: 35.8g; Carb: 24.3g; Fiber: 5.3g

i’ll actually try to get some meaningful posts in here as well. perhaps some of my experiments with illustrator. i’m a real noob with illustrator, but i am hoping to change that this year. i just got surprised with a lovely new tablet as well, which i need to still play with. i’ve used a small tablet once before, i think, so it should be quite an interesting experience. for anyone wanting good tutorials on just about anything for the web, i highly recommend lynda.com. not all the tutorials are free, but it is worth signing up.

i love cupcakes! as a kid, we called them fairy cakes. i’ve recently found my favourite recipe from martha stewart for these chocolate cupcakes. i can’t recommend the recipe enough. it’s easy and delicious – without fail. the only issue i’ve had with both batches i’ve made is finding the perfect chocolate icing/frosting to go with it.  so, if you have a good suggestion for a really great chocolate icing, please let me know.

this weekend i plan on baking some of this delish looking banana bread from felicia. i find baking quite relaxing to be honest. very therapeutic – especially when i am |this| close to ending a relationship with a client.  agh. sometimes, it’s just not worth it.

i’ve been on the search for a really good chocolate chip cookie and i have finally found it thanks to nigella lawson. these are chocolate chocolate chip cookies and are quite delish! if you are ever in need of a really indulgent cookie, this is it!

125g. dark chocolate (i used milk choc)
150g. flour
30g. cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
125g. soft butter
75g. light brown sugar
50g. white sugar
1 egg, cold from the fridge
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 bags of chocolate chips

• preheat oven to 170ºC.
• melt the chocolate. i melted it on the stove over a pan of boiling water. microwave may be quicker.
• cream the butter and sugars.
• add the melted chocolate, the vanilla and the egg.
• combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir.
• add the ingredients to the mix, and then the chips.

this amount makes 12 large cookies. scoop a good spoonful amount per cookie,and don’t flatten the cookie (they’ll flatten themselves).

they’ll take about 15-18 minutes to cook.

then, enjoy!

(recipe from nigella)