If you’ve been reading OHC for any length of time, you know that one thing I love is soups.  To widen that category out, I love soups, chilis, and stews so much that I could probably eat them everyday and be fine.  Give or take a few super hot summer days where all I want to eat is ice cubes, of course.

I’ve been experimenting with fresh corn a lot this summer.  While corn on the cob will always be a favorite, fresh corn can be used in so many other applications that it’s almost mind boggling. I have found it incredibly fun to do different things with the corn I’m getting from the farmer’s markets this year.

Once you remove the corn from the cob, it can be used in salsas, salads, or just satueed up in a touch of butter.  Each experiment always…

Scott: I think you should post about this.

Me: Post about what?

Scott: Dinner.

Me: What? Like what we’re eating right now?

Scott: Yes.

Me: But it’s nothing, just some veggies and pasta.

Scott: Right.

Me: ‘Splain yourself.

Scott: Well, what did you do?

Me: I made an easy and quick dinner because it’s crazy late and we need to eat.

Scott: Exactly.  Maybe people would be interested in this.  Maybe folks want to know how to just put something together quickly when they don’t have a lot of time. Or when it’s late and they are hungry but still want something healthy.  This is a good example of that.

Me: Well I’ll try.  I did just toss this together, no exact measurements or anything.

Scott: That’s the point!

This was the conversation that Scott and I had last Wednesday when it was late, we were hungry, and I needed to put some food in our bellahs.  I attended…

This summer has been notable for two reasons: heat and farmer’s markets.  Because of the heat, I have only wanted to eat a lot of cool things.  The HQ has been seeing various kinds of salads for meals this summer.  We have also been frequenting Farmer’s Markets because local towns have picked up hosting mid-week markets which fits our schedule a little better.

I noticed a lovely batch of green beans on a recent trip to the Farmer’s market and I had to have some.  I’m not the only one in this house who loves green beans, Rocky loves them too.  I picked up enough for all of us to enjoy!

Green beans are a bean that I have always been in love with.  I don’t care how you serve them up, I will eat them.  That includes fried green beans although I won’t…

The last installment of Salsa Week and this one just happens to be in a close running to winning the title of my favorite salsa!

Whenever I look at jarred salsa, the one kind I always search out is a black bean and corn salsa.  I love those!  The beans and corn add such a nice texture to the salsa.  It even allows me to handle a more spicier salsa because somehow the beans and corn seem to tame down the assertive peppers.

Eventually I wondered to myself if one could make salsa with black beans and corn as the main ingredient instead of them being added into a tomato based salsa.

You’re never going to know the answer to your question until you try it, right?  So that’s exactly what I set out to do and now I cannot get enough of this salsa.  I could pretty much consume the entire…

Day 2 of Salsa Week and this time we are kicking it with a Roasted Green Salsa!

Recently a reader contacted me with a question about my Roasted Tomato Salsa.  Then she asked me about a green salsa.  She said that her favorite Mexican restaurant serves this green salsa but that it’s not made with tomatillo.

Curious!

Because when we think of green salsa, we automatically think of tomatillos, right? Those little green things that look like tomatoes but are located with all the peppers.  She mentioned that the server didn’t really know what the salsa was because it was a secret but that they thought it was made from jalapenos.

While this could very well be the case, imagine how many jalapenos you would have to use to get the amount of salsa needed to serve an entire restaurant.  Exactly!  A crazy huge number!  I thought about it…

Corn on the cob has to be one of my most favorite things to eat.  It’s sweet, chewy, and with a pinch of salt, it can be a bit savory as well.  You get to eat it with your hands and if you’re doing it right, then you look like a mess with corn and butter all over your face.  The good news is that you look just like everyone else who’s eating with you!

I remember being given the job of shucking the corn as a kid.  I had to sit out in the back yard with a bowl and a paper bag.  The paper bag was for the husks and corn silk while the bowl was for the fresh cleaned corn. When we lived in North Carolina it was common place for people to shuck their corn in the grocery store instead of at home.

I admit that I…

It’s Cinco de Mayo!  Do you have any plans for embracing the holiday?  I’m going to hit up the store and hopefully make a nice feast for us for dinner.  In honor of the day, I’m sharing a new salsa recipe!  I’m very particular about salsa.  It has to be just right for me to enjoy it.  The best salsas that I’ve had have been at little Mexican restaurants.  I’ve tried to recreate them myself with zero luck.  I had no idea what the problem was because I tried every which way.

Recently I had some baby heirloom tomatoes that needed used up before they turned on me.  I was flip-flopping about what to make with them when I decided that I would try making salsa again.  This time I had a different plan of attack; roasting.

There is fresh salsa that can be made with all raw ingredients…

I make smoothies everyday for Scott and I to have with our lunch.  We’ve been doing this for almost a year now and love it! Back when I was doing the oh so boring Food-Log style entries, you could see my smoothies everyday.  Now they only get busted out for special occasions.

This particular smoothie combo is my very favorite. It’s clean tasting and very filling.  I don’t have it too often because I want to keep it special and I also save it for the times when I feel like my bod could use some very straight up clean eats.

You know those times when you’re feeling just a bit rundown.  Or maybe you had too much wine/beer/Boones the night before because it was Aunt Sally’s 80th birthday and how can you turn down an 80 year old on their birthday? Even if that…

This is a concept that I came up with a few years ago when it dawned on me that “pesto” can be made using a variety of ingredients.  I always have spinach on hand and (at the time) occasionally had sundried tomatoes on hand.  I decided to mix the two to see what would happen.

When I originally made this, I did add in some grated parm but left out the nuts.  This turned into an amazing spread and dip.  We instantly fell in love with the smooth spinach and the sweet chewiness of the sundried tomatoes.  The concept is super easy and can be adjusted to fit your tastes!

I never measure when I make this recipe, so this is more of a concept type post than an actual recipe with measurements.

Andrea’s Spinach and Sundried Tomato Dip

• Fresh baby spinach
• Sundried tomatoes (marinated or unmarinated, it’s up to you)
• 1…

I believe that some of the best recipes are ones you just have to create on the fly, not really knowing what you’re doing and hoping for the best.

Scott always talks about those big noodle bowls that you sometimes see at Asian restaurants and how delicious and yummy they look.

“I can make that for you.  What do they taste like?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well what’s in them?”

“I don’t know.”

“Haven’t you had one before?”

“No. I just think they look good.”

“I see.”

Not much info to work with but I decided to try and find out what I could do.  Scott was not feeling well one day and I decided to make him some “Asian soup”.  I put a bunch of stuff in a pot, added noodles and it was fantastic.  We’ve been having Asian Noodle Soup ever since when want some veggies or if Scott’s allergies are bad that day.

It’s evolved over…