Greek Chicken Pasta

You may remember that I had mentioned a while back that Superking and I were planning a big trip to Japan.  And then a couple months after finally making that decision (it takes a long time for Superking to make a decision like that), the earthquake hit followed by the tsunami followed by the nuclear/radiation disaster which is currently ongoing...

After much mourning and pouting (mostly by Superking;) for several months about not being able to go to Japan for who knows how long, I finally was able to convince him to pick another vacation spot.  Although after our luck with Japan, I hesitate to mention the place(s) we've chosen.  So I won't actually say the name but maybe you can figure it out based on this dish I made last night for my church home group meeting.

Imagine sitting in a small cafe made of stark white stone with a bright blue roof.  The cafe sits high on the edge of a cliff overlooking the bright blue waters of the Mediterranean. There are colorful flowers growing up the side of the building and the ocean breeze is blowing through your hair.  There you are with your best friend enjoying a lovely meal of chicken and pasta with fresh olives and local feta cheese.  Does life get any better than that?

Greek Chicken Pasta 
(Adapted from the Noble Pig food blog who got the recipe from Sunset magazine. My personal notes are in blue.)

Ingredients:
6 oz. spaghetti [you can use any kind of pasta, I used bow-tie]
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
8 oz. baby spinach [only need about 4oz if you use it more as a garnish like I did]
1/2 cup dry white wine [I found a nice Greek wine, Santorini 2009]
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes [didn't have red chile flakes but used red pepper flakes]
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved [any of your favorite olives would work well. I used a mixture of kalamata and Mt. Olympus giant green olives]
1 cup toasted pine nuts [I didn't toast my pine nuts but a friend said it really brings out the flavor of them. Put them in a frying pan with nothing else, turn the heat on low-medium, swish the nuts around a little until slightly golden]
1/2 teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken [you can usually buy these already cooked at the grocery store and they are great. You can carve the meat off pretty easily and either chop it or shred it with your fingers. The one I got actually had a little BBQ flavor which added a little smokiness.]
3 oz. good quality feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Cook spaghetti as package directs.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in spinach, wine, chile flakes, olives, pine nuts, salt and pepper. [If you are like me and don't like cooked or wilted spinach, skip adding it in now and wait til the end.]

pine nuts

feta cheese

kalamata olives (all the green ones were already in the pasta)

Drain pasta, return to pot, and add onion mixture and chicken. Stir to coat and cook over medium heat until warmed, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to plates and top with feta cheese. [Before I added the cheese, I chopped up my fresh spinach, sliced a large handful of grape tomatoes, and tossed those on top of the pasta, then added the feta cheese.] 

fresh spinach

lovely little tomatoes

One last note, it also helps if you are serving this to a crowd where there's a possible nut allergy, make sure you don't include the pine nuts in the pasta. Serve them on the side in a small bowl and your guests can serve themselves for whoever wants them.. For some guests, the olives and feta cheese may be a bit too strong so don't overload the pasta with these items.  Instead serve the extra olives and feta cheese on the side for anyone who wants extra.

change the chicken to turkey and you'll figure out the other place we''re going!

Did you figure out where we're going yet??

Local Farmers Markets

Over the weekend Superking and I visited one of our local farmers markets.  It happened to be opening day for the summer market though this particular market in Leesburg, VA does a winter one as well that has continued from October til now. 

We hadn't been to the market in a while but the weather was nice and we figured it would be bustling with spring/summer activity. And it was.  Definitely a lot more summer vendors than winter ones and now all the fresh fruits and veggies are making their comebacks as well.

breads from Becky's Pastries

Blue Ridge Dairy...cheese, butter, and yogurt

One of the farms there, Winding Woods Farms, specializes in making goat's milk fudge and soaps.  They actually just had a couple baby goats born at their farm and decided to bring them to the market to show them off.  Absolutely adorable! This particular breed is called Nigerian Dwarf goat so they are (and remain) very small.  Now I'm convinced I need to take one home for a pet! 

2 sleeping baby goats

snuggle snuggle

from Winding Woods Farms in Purcellville, VA

just born Easter Sunday

beautiful blue eyes

Its important to support your local farms and farmers markets, local businesses, local products.  Most of the time local foods are fresher and healthier.  They're not sitting in a factory or warehouse or even on a shelf for months on end before they reach your table.  They're also not usually treated with harmful pesticides and other chemicals that are not meant for human consumption.  And the flavors and aromas are much more prevalent. 

several vendors had beautiful strawberries, like Valencias Produce and Pleitez Produce

Potomac Vegetable Farm and Medinas Produce had lots of greens!

Have you ever walked through your grocery store and smelled the apples or strawberries or peppers? Probably not because most of what you're going to smell is the store itself.  However, when you get fresh produce from the farm, the aroma of each fruit and vegetable will entice you to take a bite.

pretty herbs from Quail Hollow Farm

lots of different mints

pretty flowers for Mothers Day

Buying local is important for the environment.  The environment of the world as well as your own neighborhood.  Do you realize how much of the produce in your grocery store is from somewhere else around the world? Another state, another country even.  Think about how much time, energy, and fuel is being used to bring your grapes from Chile to Northen Virginia or to California or Michigan.  And yet you probably have a number of farms right in your backyard that can provide produce just as good if not better, chemical free, fresher, tastier, from someone in your own neighborhood. Let's not even talk about rising gas prices.

Willowcroft Winery brought their antique car to show off

very nice smooth wines

Buying local is better for the animals.  Because local farms are smaller than massive corporate ones, they have the ability to really take care of each individual animal providing your food.  The animals are treated with the respect as they sacrifice their lives to put food on your plate.  They are able to run free outside and eat grass like God created them to do.  Healthier, happier animals results in healthier food and healthier happier humans.

Milcreek Farm...we get a lot of our bacon from them

Sweetz Bakery, awesome cupcakes!

It amazes me how concerned people are about the labels on their clothes or on their cars. But they're not at all concerned with the labels on their food or even where their food comes from. Please support your local farms and businesses!

Uno, Dos, Tres...Tres Leches Cake!!!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! I'm not even really sure what Cinco de Mayo is about but I love Mexican food! And when I saw this recipe for a Tres Leches cake, I knew I had to celebrate!

Now I'm normally a peanut-butter-and-chocolate-kind-of-dessert girl but a while back Superking and I went to a Mexican restaurant called La Sandia.  Excellent food and excellent service. But thats for another post.  Anyway, when we were there I decided to venture out of my peanut-butter-chocolate box and try their Tres Leches cake that was highly recommended by our waiter.  Ok, its different, I'll give it a try. I fell in LOVE!  It was awesome! So creamy and sweet!

"Tres Leches" means "three milks" in Spanish.  Evaporated milk.  Sweetened condensed milk. And half-and-half.  Those are the three milks that give this cake its name. Most of the time when you have something at a restaurant thats that awesome and then you try to recreate it at home, it never turns out the same.  This however, did not disappoint! I was actually surprised at how good it turned out. Super delicious, creamy, milky, surprisingly light, and sweet but not too sweet with strawberries as the perfect compliment.

This recipe I found on another food blog called Caleigh's Kitchen who says she adapted the recipe from Alton Brown, a FoodNetwork Star.  There's not much difference between the two.  Either way, you'll get a lovely treat to celebrate any day!

Ingredients:
Cake:
*1 1/2 cups cake or all-purpose flour
*1 tsp baking powder
*1/2 tsp salt
*one stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
*1 1/8 cup sugar
*5 eggs
*1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
*1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
*1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
*1 cup half-and-half
*1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla beans

Whipped Topping:
*2 cups heavy whipping cream
*1 1/8 cup sugar
*1 tsp vanilla

Directions for the cake:
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 9x13 cake pan and lightly sprinkle with flour.  In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.

Put your softened stick of butter in mixer and beat on medium-high until butter is fluffy.  Slow down speed to low and gradually add in sugar.  Be sure to scrape the sides of bowl.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and the vanilla.  Mix until combined.  Slowly add dry ingredients to the batter in 3 even batches and mix just until combined.  Pour batter into greased cake pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove cake from oven to a cooling rack for 30 minutes.  Poke holes in top of cake all over with a fork.  Allow cake to cool completely while preparing the glaze.

For the Glaze:
Whisk together the three milks and vanilla or vanilla beans.  Once combined, slowly pour glaze over cake. Refrigerate cake overnight.

can you believe I've never used real vanilla beans before this??

check out those vanilla bean flakes floating in the milky glaze!

now for the holes

lots of holes

now we watch the milk soak into the cake

For Topping:
Mix the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.  Whip on a low speed until stiff peaks are formed. Bump the speed up to medium and whisk until thick.  At this point you can either spread it over the cake like frosting or put the topping in a bowl to refrigerate until ready to serve cake and add a small dollop on top of each serving piece.

this is what happens when you try to use half-and-half to make whipped cream...it becomes a frothy milky mess

THIS is what whipped cream is supposed to look like!

Yay! I'm learning!

ITS SO FLUFFY!! (Despicable Me movie reference)

OH! Theres a cake thief!

Technically you're supposed to let the cake refrigerate overnight to let all the milk soak in...

but I couldn't wait.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to me!!

Sea Blue Restaurant

We haven't had much in the way of food adventures this week. Easter was a little exhausting. And then we ate on that leg of lamb for 5 days!! I'm hoping to have a little food adventure this weekend though.

view of Myrtle Beach from our hotel

In the meantime, I've been thinking about vacation so I thought I could do a retro-post about a place we went to in Myrtle Beach, SC this past September. Its called Sea Blue. A seafood restaurant, of course, but so much more than that.

First of all, its located at the end of a strip mall.  Yes, a strip mall. And not even a really nice strip mall.  So when we pulled up in front, we were a little suspect.  Why did have to make reservations for this place??  But, as my mother always told me, never judge a book by its cover for looks can be deceiving.  When we walked in, we were completely surprised by the elegant, intimate atmosphere. Its a small place, seating only about 15-20 tables plus the bar.  But each table was pristinely covered with white linen, soft glowing candles, and antique-looking silver and blue salt and pepper shakers.  The blue neon lights at the bar gave the place a hip urban feel and separating the tables from the bar was a large tank full of beautiful colorful fish.

check out the fish tank on the right

We began our meal with an appetizer of shrimp and smoked tomato grits.  Slightly sweet and savory, reminiscent of ham.  For the main course, Superking ordered Wagyu Beef filet.  At that time we hadn't eaten beef in about two years but if you're going to break a meat fast, this is the way to do it.  Our waiter was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and even brought out some samples to show us the difference between this top quality Wagyu beef and a regular USDA prime cut of beef.  The Wagyu was almost completely white with marbling (fat) which is what makes it so tender and juicy and flavorful.  It was amazing. For sides, Superking also had truffle whipped potatoes and truffle mac n cheese.  Both were very rich and creamy and the truffle was subtle.

seating area (picture from Sea Blue)

For my entree, I had macadamia crusted grouper fish served with lobster risotto and fresh veggies consisting of carrots, asparagus, shitake mushrooms, and green beans.  The fish was very moist and the macadamia provided a nice crunch.  The risotto was so savory and buttery.  Even the vegges were good!

bar area (picture from Sea Blue)

For dessert, instead of our typical chocolate peanut butter cake, we ordered a cheese plate...two cheeses: morbier and triple cream served with grapes, strawberries, a blackberry sauce, and candied pecans.  The morbier was fairly mild and semi-soft with a gray line in the middle. Our waiter explained that the gray line was a layer of vegetable ash which separates the morning and evening milkings of the cheese.  The triple creme was so soft, it was spreadable and had a very strong flavor which paired well with the sweetness of the blackberry sauce. Once the waiter discovered what cheese-heads we were, he began telling us of a smokey blue cheese they sometimes offer.  After oohing and ahhing over his description of it, he finally brought us a sample of it.  So amazing! Very smokey and very blue!  Not for the faint of the cheesy heart!

cozy booth and cool jellyfish artwork (picture from Sea Blue)

It certainly was not a cheap meal (think 3 figures) but it was worth every penny. And it was our last meal of the vacation which made it that much more special.  And whats also really neat about this place is that they strive to use local organic ingredients whenever possible, including sustainable seafood.  Next time you're in Myrtle Beach, you must go check out Sea Blue!!

cute salt and pepper shakers at our table

Ruby Woo and I are friends!

So this is totally not food related at all but I wanted to share.  My friends at Ruby Woo, a fashion blog, asked me to do a guest post while they are out of town.  I was so excited and honored!

But what, may you ask, could a food blogger contribute to a fashion blog? Even though food is one of main passions, it is not my only passion. I also enjoy many different crafts, including sewing. My guest post at Ruby Woo was about a recent craft project I did for my bedroom.  Check it out for Saturday April 30.