Simple Living and Eating

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Shellfish & Peas Tagliatelle #Foodie Friday

Seafood: Langoustine & Peas Tagliatelle

I just want to put peas into every dish in the Spring. What is it about peas and Springtime? This is a fresh, light and simple seafood dish that can be made quickly any weekend night.

It is really important to try and get more fish into your diet and shellfish is very accessible because you can buy it frozen and not have to worry about the mealiness you can have from other frozen fish when it is thawed out.

I know a lot of you don't live by the ocean which is another reason why shellfish is great. It can be found in every supermarket's freezer section.

For this dish I used Trader Joe's frozen langoustine which tastes a lot like lobster but it is less expensive. You can use: clams, scallops, crab... any type of shellfish works with this sauce.

So Mangia,
Diane

Shellfish & Peas Tagliatelle

by Diane Balch

simplelivingeating.com

preparation: 15 minutes total time: 30 minutes Serves: 4 - 6

Ingredients:

1 pound of Tagliatelle pasta or linguine

1 tablespoon of lemon zest

4 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of dry white wine

2 clove of garlic minced

1 pound of frozen peas

12 ounces of seafood: langoustine, clams, scallops, or squid...etc.

garnish: Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1) Bring a large sauce pan of heavily salted water to a boil.

2) While water is coming to a boil melt butter in a large skillet.

3) Sauté garlic in the butter until it is soft not brown. When garlic begins to soften add wine and bring to a boil. Reduce for about 1 to 2 minutes.

4) Add the frozen seafood and peas, lower heat to medium low. Cook until seafood is opaque. Be careful not to over cook seafood it will get chewy.

5) When pasta is done add it to the seafood mixture and top it with lemon zest and salt and pepper. Garnish individually with parmesan cheese.

seafood recipe, peas,langostino, Italian recipe, tagliatelle, pasta recipe http://verygoodrecipes.com/italia

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Simple Living and Eating

Remember to visit and follow my co-host Adelina at Home Maid Simple she has different features and a wealth of information about family and home care.

Foodie Friday Features:

From: Frugal Follies

Cilantro Pesto

It is always good to remember that you can make pesto out of any herb or green. If you only need a little cilantro for a dish grind up the rest into this wonderful pesto recipe.

From: My Carolina Kitchen

Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin

As the weather gets warmer and we are having guests over more remember this great pork loin recipe. It is always a welcome change for dinner.

From: Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Candied Lemon Thyme Bread

If you want to knock your guest socks off with both taste and presentation serve them Miz Helen's gorgeous Lemon Bread.

This post is shared on the following wonderful food/craft parties. Be sure to check them out:

Monday Food:
Meal Plan Monday Organizing Junkie
Menu Monday @ Erin Branscom
Menu Plan Linky @ Susie Q
Mix it Up Monday @ Flour Me With Love's

Melt in Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

On the Menu Monday @ Stone Gable
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks
Recipe Sharing Monday @ Jam Hands
Mealtime Monday @ Couponing & Cooking

Clever Chicks Blog Hop @ The Chicken Chick
Mop it up Monday @ I should be Mopping the Floor

Tuesday Food:
Hearth & Soul Blog Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers
Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace
Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box
Traditional Tuesdays @ Cooking Traditional Foods
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays @ SS& GS
Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home
Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings
Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles
In & Out of the Kitchen @ Feeding Big & More

Wednesday Food:
Wholesome Foods Wednesday @ This Chick Can Cook
Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain
Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on Wednesday
Fresh Foods Wednesdays @ Gastronomical Sovereignty
Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ All She Cooks
Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network
Wednesday Extravaganza @ Hunger Little Girl

Thursday Food:
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive
Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs
Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch

Thursday's Treasures @ Chocolate, Chocolate & more
Pin it Thursday @ Sweet Bella Roos
Thursday Blog Hop @ The Busy Bee's

Friday Food:
Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple
Freedom Friday @ My Turn
Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home
Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Friday Favorite Finds @ Finding Joy in my Kitchen
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm
Friday Food Fight @ Run DMT
Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss
Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts
Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club
Friday Linky Party @ The Pin Junkie

Instructions for Foodie Friday linky:

This is a food party please link up only 3 food related posts. Thank you.

Click on at least 3 other recipes.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARTY HOSTS: BY EMAIL OR RSS...

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SPREAD THE WORD: PIN, FB, TWEET ETC... this party. It is good for you and me.

1) Copy the Foodie Friday Button's html from this website's sidebar.
2) Paste this html to the html page of the recipe you want to link to Foodie Friday. You can also make a word link or post our button on your sidebar. Please link back.

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By posting in this party you are giving this blog permission to reprint (with a link to your post) in recipe roundups and featured posts any recipes/articles you share with us.

M. Jacques' Armagnac Chicken #French Fridays with Dorie #Food Revolution Day

Roasted Chicken

May 17th is Food Revolution Day. A day to share with friends and family the value and importance of good food and essential cooking skills. It is kinda of sad that we even need to have this type of reminder of how important it is to cook from scratch, and to sit down to a meal with your friends and family on a regular bases. This type of behavior has always been taken for granted because it was just what people have always done.

Today families and friends are more sprend out than ever and we all are involved in numerous activities. Fast food companies have sold us on how quick and delicious their products are without geting us overly concerned about their products lack of nutrition and high fat and salt contents.

The more we become dependent on fast food the more insecure we become about cooking from scratch. You don't need to love cooking but, like with this recipe I am sharing today: any one can sauté up some vegetables, plop a chicken in a pot and cover it with some liquor and bake it.

I choose M. Jacques' Armagnac Chicken for both it's simplicity and it potential for intimidation. The title of this dish sounds fancy and complicated, but really all it is roasted chicken. A really good roast chicken recipe but nothing difficult to make.

Most recipes that one comes across are fairly simple, especially on blogs like mine that are geared toward busy families. If you slow down for a few minutes you can make a home cook meal that will cost you less than take out and be healthier for you..

so I lift my glass of Armagnac in a toast to the REVOLUTION!

Remember the motto of this blog:

"The best times you're going to have in life are at the dinner table and in bed, so relax and enjoy the simple things."

Click Here for M. Jacque's Armagnac Chicken Recipe

Note: As a member of French Friday's with Dorie I am not allowed to print the recipe. I invite you to take a look at this wonderful cookbook "Around My French Table" if you are interested in this or any other recipe I review.

Click here to see how the other Dorista's did.

This post will be shared on the following food/craft parties:

Monday Food:
Mix it Up Monday @ Flour Me With Love's

Melt in Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

On the Menu Monday @ Stone Gable
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks
Recipe Sharing Monday @ Jam Hands
Mealtime Monday @ Couponing & Cooking

Clever Chicks Blog Hop @ The Chicken Chick
Mop it up Monday @ I should be Mopping the Floor
Meatless Monday:

Meatless Monday @Veggie Mama's

Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory
Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What's for Dinner Mom

Tuesday Food:
Hearth & Soul Blog Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers
Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace
Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box
Traditional Tuesdays @ Cooking Traditional Foods
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays @ SS& GS
Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home
Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings
Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles
In & Out of the Kitchen @ Feeding Big & More
Wednesday Food:
Wholesome Foods Wednesday @ This Chick Can Cook
Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain
Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on Wednesday
Fresh Foods Wednesdays @ Gastronomical Sovereignty
Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ All She Cooks
Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network
Wednesday Extravaganza @ Hunger Little Girl
Thursday Food:
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive
Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs
Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch

Thursday's Treasures @ Chocolate, Chocolate & more
Pin it Thursday @ Sweet Bella Roos
Thursday Blog Hop @ The Busy Bee's

Friday Food:
Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple
Freedom Friday @ My Turn
Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home
Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm
Friday Food Fight @ Run DMT
Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss
Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts
Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club
Friday Linky Party @ The Pin Junkie

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Building a Canoe: What's Your Dream Project? #Simple Living in Practice

3 Generations Planning the Canoe

When my father-in-law was a teenager he built a boat in his basement. He spent the whole winter working on it. When Spring came and he was ready to hoist that boat out of the depths of his house, his teenage mind had not thought through the logistics of getting a full size sailboat up a narrow L shaped stairwell that was the only exit from the basement.

Tried as he might there was no way that boat was going up the stairs. His father took pity on him and got some help to remove a basement window and part of the wall to get the boat out. It was smooth sailing after that, so the story goes...

This is the boat story that my husband grew up with. He heard it over and over again as a kid... and as you might have guessed it planted a seed in his teenage brain too. He decided he wanted to build a wood strip canoe, but he grew up in Florida and didn't have a basement.

It wasn't until now, with a teenage boy of his own, that he has started to build his dream boat. Learning from his father's mistake he is constructing it in the garage not the basement.

Fortunately for my husband we have a master carpenter of a nephew who helped create the strong back to hold the form of the boat in which he is attaching the wood strips.

strongback

My daughter helping her cousin build the strong back.

When I asked my husband why he is building a canoe he said, "Why not?" He has always admired their beauty and how light weight a wood strip canoe is in comparison to a regular canvas canoe. Let me tell you, once you have had a few mile long carries canoeing you appreciate a light weight boat.

Father and son striping the wood.

Finished wood strips.

So this is my husband's Simple Living project, I invite you to think about what you have always wanted to build.

Attached wood strips.

A friend of mine's husband built a cuckoo clock over one winter, and another friend carved miniature civil war soldiers by hand and created a battle scene.

Whatever your dream... turn of the TV and engross yourself in a creative project. Who knows maybe someone else in your family might get interested too? Quality time together... that's always a good thing. Whether or not anyone joins you in the project it will make you feel more fulfilled and relieve more stress in your life, than a video game or yet another reality show.

This post is shared on:

Monday, May 13, 2013

Garam Masala Chicken: Bloggers Around the World go to India #Healthy Eating #Weekly Menu Plan

Chicken Masala

Once upon a time in the 1980's during a period of airline deregulation a young college girl would regularly jump on a flight to Paris or Amsterdam for anywhere between $59 - $99 each way. Yes, those of you who have only lived during this time of barefoot check ins... there once was a golden period of cheap air travel. Alas, I now enjoy the world by traveling through the world's cuisines. So on every 13th of the month come travel with me and my fellow adventurous food bloggers to another country and taste its' cuisine.

For my maiden voyage I crossed the world to India, who's cuisine is as vast and diverse as this country. Indian food is known for it's varied use of spices, yogurt, and curries. Some areas of this country eat predominately vegetarian. The meat eating sections stick to mostly chicken and lamb, the consumption of beef is against the law in some regions because it is prohibited in the Hindu religion and Muslims don't eat pork.

When researching for a dish to make for this post my attention was taken by a very popular spice mix called Garam Masala. It is used in many dishes and because this is a Simple Living blog and I wanted to share a simple recipe with you; I choose this spice mix as both an example of a classic Indian flavoring, and because it is simpler to use a spice mix when cooking then having to measure out each individual spice.

Just so you know Garam Masala is typically made up of: pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamon... but everyone in India has their family's secret way of making it.

So please relax, put on some sitar music and enjoy this India meal.

Garam Masala Chicken

by Diane Balch

simplelivingeating.com

preparation 10 minutes put together, 2 hours in fridge cook time: 1 hour

serves: 4

Ingredients:

2.5 - 3 pounds of chicken pieces: drumsticks and thighs

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 teaspoon of fresh ginger minced

1 tablespoon of fresh cilantro minced

1 teaspoon of salt

pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Whisk: garam masala, ginger, cilantro, salt and pepper together with yogurt.

2) Dip each piece of chicken into yogurt mixture and coat all over. Put into a 9x13 inch baking dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours up to overnight.

3) When you are ready to cook the chicken pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake chicken for about 1 hour or until the skin is lightly brown and the juice runs clear when you poke it with a fork.

Great served with the following dishes:

Warmer Weather Sides: