a little bit of randomness

I don’t really have a specific topic for this post, and it probably won’t be my most stellar, but I just wanted to post and say hello!

Whew, today is Friday and boy am I a happy camper in the non-tent, non-outdoor form, of course!  Fridays always make me happy even though the weekends always fly by way too fast. 

Since my last post I went to the Farmer’s Market here in Las Vegas started by Molto Vegas.  I actually found out about it from our Staff Meeting at work.  Every meeting they highlight a specific program at UNCE, and this time it was the ‘Producer to Chef’ program with Bob Morris.  Wow, this really got me excited!  Doug Taylor, the executive pastry chef for Molto Vegas was also there because he was the man who started the great producer-to-chef relationship with all the local farms near the Vegas area (150 mile radius).  When they told us about this farmer’s market, I literally wanted to jump out of my seat with delight!  I’ve been to a few farmer’s markets here and just haven’t been that impressed.  This one . . . oh my gosh, loss for words.  It is located in a warehouse that is pretty cramped and there were a lot of people (word got out), but the product was just gorgeous!  The chefs in town get first dibbs and then the public gets to look around.  Connecting with the chefs is what really makes this farmer’s market work and helps the farmer’s to actually make money.  Boy, I am so glad they opened it to the public too. 

I got some really great things and oh let me tell you I could have bought it all!  I got some pumpkin blossoms, leeks, yellow summer squash, figs, peaches, plums, lemon basil and purple basil.  I cannot wait to try these out!  I already had a bite of the lemon basil and it about knocked my socks off it was so good.  It’s like basil with a refreshing lemon-y punch.  You have to try this!  I also had one of the plums which was juicy and so full of flavor.  Usually at the store they taste like flavorless hockey pucks. 

mmmm . . . I’m in heaven with this kind of stuff!  And you know what I’ve finally come to the realization that I have to go to culinary school no matter what that looks like or how I get there.  I’ve danced around the idea forever now.  This truly makes me excited and happy!  I’d like to go to Johnson and Wales because they actually have a culinary nutrition degree and I’ve taken a lot of the science-based classes already.  But, I may have to settle for the community college here because it’s way too expensive.  It is definitely on my must-do list :)  You have to hold me to it!!

This weekend we are planning on going to our friend’s double birthday/housewarming party which should be a lot of fun.  They plan on having beer pong, hehe!  Takes me back to the college days, although I wasn’t a big partier at all.  I didn’t even have a drink till I was 21 I swear.  But I do like to go dancing in da club!  I’d also like to get a good bike ride in on Saturday, but we’ll see how it goes.  I’ve been sorely sleep deprived this week and really just want to sleep in and catch up to be honest :)

Tonight for din din I went back on that chicken sausage broccoli pasta idea that I had in mind before my guy made us something special Wednesday :)  This is really a winner, and everyone I make it for really likes it.  My mom always requests it when I come to visit.  Oh and my mom is coming to visit me October 20th for a week!  I’m sooo excited!  Being that she is in North Carolina and I’m way over here in Vegas, it makes it really hard sometimes for me.  I do call my mom every day on the phone though!

Sorry for the terrible lighting, it was getting dark and the precious sunlight was dwindling!  Any camera pros know of a cheap light tent or some kind of light station to make great light?

I also added some of the farmer’s market leeks and TJ’s heirloom tomatoes.  This recipe is great because you can vary the ingredients based on what you have on hand :)

I also made stuffed squash blossoms because, well, I’ve always wanted to try and make them!  I stuffed them with a mixture of ricotta, parmesan, goat cheese, garlic, pine nuts and lemon basil.  This is sooo good and would also be great stuffed in calzones, added to scrambled eggs, or as a bruschetta topping.

Then I made a tempura batter to plop them in before frying them to a crisp.  Here’s the recipe I based mine off of and this one too.  Wow!  So good!  I didn’t know how easy tempura batter is.  The blossoms are very unique and I love the puffy tempura batter!  Once we started frying Chris got a little fry happy, so we decided to try anything we could find :)  Broccoli, sweet potatoes(these are my favorite), whole wheat tortillas  . . .

And even a string cheese!!!  

Oooey, gooey cheese in the middle!  Yum!  I love tempura batter, and I haven’t fried anything ever in my own kitchen.  Can you believe that?  Of course I’ve had it at restaurants though.  It was fun, a bit messy, but oh so good! 

Another big question for you  .  .  . I’ve been wanting to update my site for ages now, but it just hasn’t seemed to pan out mostly because I have no idea when it comes to website design.  I’d like to ask if you guys know of any one that is good with this kind of thing?  I’d be willing to pay, but I don’t have that big of a budget being that I just had to fork out my left kidney for grad school.  (Speaking of which, I’m going to be taking sports nutrition and research methods in physical activity).  I’d mostly just like to make it easier to navigate, with better graphics/background and add a few tabs, including a recipes tab with all my recipes I’ve posted.  Thanks for your thoughts!

Have you guys seen the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival itinerary yet??  Wow!  How freakin’ cool would that be?!  I am still in the process of being a featured publisher, but I would love to go! 

Well, if you’ve made it through this post and your head doesn’t hurt, I commend you!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Any fun plans??