Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Fresh veggies and fish on a hot summer day

T and D, two friends of ours have an amazing garden (that just happens to be in the middle of the city) and during the summer months they are gracious enough to give me fresh veggies! This week, D gave me butter beans, fresh tomatoes and red potatoes from his garden. J and I shelled the butter beans (here's a photo of him helping me) then I cooked them in a little water, half and half and salt and pepper (they needed around 30 minutes to cook down). Once they were cooked through, I strained them and put them back in the pot with more half and half and a little butter and pepper. They were delish and J said they were very similar to his grandmother's recipe (mind you, he didn't say better :). I also boiled then pan sauteed the potatoes with a little butter, evoo, lemon zest and fresh tarragon. The salmon preparation was from Giada from foodnewtork and I didn't really like it :( I am including the recipe in the link section so you can try it out for yourself. I think I cooked the salmon for too long and that's why it didn't turn out correctly, but decided to include the pics anyway because everyone messes up a meal now and then. As always, if you want a recipe, just ask. I also love comments so please leave one if you feel inclined.
xoxo
J
shelling butter beans

J shelling the butter beans and the finished product....forgot to mention that I also made Grandmom J's celery, tomato and cottage cheese salad with the fresh tomatoes from T and D's garden. Thanks SO much for the veggies!!!



The finished plate...salmon wad dry but all other items were delish!

Cogan's Pizza

cogan's pizza norfolk



I went out for dinner with 2 girlfriends last Thursday night. We decided to go to Cogan's in Norfolk because they have good pizza, great happy hour specials and an outdoor patio. The wait was a bit long for the patio (it was a beautiful evening so we were kind of expecting that) but the drink specials and the promise of good pizza were enough to keep us occupied until a table opened. Once we were seated, we ordered a tomato, mushroom, artichoke, prosciutto and gouda pie (I bit of a clash of flavors, I know, but the pizza was really good!) The cheese was gooey, the crust crispy and the toppings all tasted really fresh. Cogan's has never let me down so I give it a hearty 2 thumbs up.


(Ps. their veggie sub and the portobello mushroom sandwich w/ artichokes and fresh mozzarella are also killer!)