Five and Dime Friday - Gotta Love the Cucumber

This is my favorite salad of the week and it happens to have five perfectly balanced ingredients. It's full of protein too and makes a great meal just on its own...

1. Arugula
2. Baby Lettuce
3. Gorgonzola Cheese
4. Toasted Walnuts
5. Cucumber

There's something about the texture of the crunchy nuts, soft cheese and crispy cucumber...yummmmmmmmmy!

For dressing I just drizzle a little Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil, a little salt and pepper and voila -- done!

Lazy Weekend Soul Rejuvenation

Still feeling body & soul rejuvenation after a glorious relaxing weekend with old friends. There's nothing like hanging with dear old friends who know you inside and out, and love you just the way you are. Being on the ocean doesn't hurt, and having two massage therapists come in the middle of the weekend really didn't hurt! (If you are ever in Santa Barbara or Los Angeles and need a healing, delicious, strong, amazing massage SARAH GARNEY is fantastic -- sarahgarney.com; sarah@sarahgarney.com)

The Lazy Lunch above was the Farro Vegetable Soup -- recipe posted last week -- and it was unbelievable. Farro is my new favorite thing after this soup. I made the soup on Thursday and we ate it on Saturday. The Farro (whole wheat berries) was still perfectly textured with crunch, chew and softness....yummalicious! Everyone loved it. I added a sprinkle of grated parmesan and threw in a parmesan crisp (Trader Joe's, of course!). The open faced sandwiches are thanks to D'Angelo's Bakery which makes an unbelievable lemon rosemary bread and olive bread and one of the most amazing food treats on the planet: artichoke spread. If you go there for breakfast, you can order Eggs Rose -- toasted olive bread with artichoke spread and a poached egg. Then, of course grab some bread and artichoke spread to go!

So, the rest of the lunch was toasted bread with artichoke spread or avocado and cheeses and heirloom tomatoes....easy easy easy.

The food this weekend was ultimate lazy fare. I made all the lazy stuff I've posted here that requires a maximum of about 15 minutes in the kitchen, which made more time for relaxing and having fun!

Here's to everyone taking time out for rejuvenation -- in whatever form you can get it in. You have to fill up every once in a while to be able to give. I know it's hard to set aside a whole weekend to fill up, so take what you can get, and exploit it!

Lazy Day Off

In Santa Barbara for a very unique weekend....six women gather each year around this time at our friend's beach house. We all went to high school together and a couple people have known each other since they were wee tots! Most of us only get to see each other once a year. A couple of them I see more regularly, but it's always just the most heart-warming thing to come together for a weekend of bliss once a year.

I brought my two dogs, Lucy and Tallulah, so we are all in integrity with the all chick rule.

We take turns being in charge of the food every year. This year I volunteered because it was rainy and cold in LA this week and I felt like cooking. I made a wonderful vegetarian chili with four different kinds of beans, corn, olives, mushrooms and all kinds of flavoring deliciousness including cumin. Think I'll add a beer when I warm it all up the final time.

Made a Farro & Vegetable soup that smells pretty good. Found it in Food & Wine magazine. It's Mario Batali's. Also from the same magazine I think I found a great Chickpea with Tomatoes and Carrots salad. Looks groovy.

Bottom line is I made a few big things and then got all kinds of lazy foods -- Lemon Pasta with fresh spinach and mushrooms for one dinner, Baked Potatoes with Asparagus and other veggies, lots of beautiful breads, cheeses, and yumminess that can all be thrown together so that no one is in the kitchen cooking for long.

I'm on a cake making binge and luckily it's Christina's birthday this week so I made a yummilicious looking chocolate cake cause she loves chcocolate. Will post the recipe and photo when I get back. Looks so moist and rich and oy can't wait to taste it!

So, here's to a lazy weekend -- enough prep done yesterday to make the weekend perfectly leisurely. Very exciting to have a good lazy break after months of hard work.

Lazy London and Paris Parasseux

Just back from London and Paris ... so wanted to share some Lazy tips from my travels in no particularly un-lazy order:

1. Lazy Eating Habits -- My friend Peter made up a new way of eating that I think is just the hippest, laziest way to eat: he is a FLEXITARIAN. He is a vegetarian during the week and indulges, as he wishes in meat, on the weekends.



2. Lazy Hotels -- London and Paris hotels have notoriously tiny rooms, so I chose to rent an apartment in each city. I used Farnum & Christ for the Notting Hill haven and a Paris Autrement for the Marais. If you are going to spend any time in your hotel room at all, I highly recommend renting an apartment for the sheer luxury of relaxing, languishing space. Also, if you have any hope of a bathtub, this is your answer. It's rare for hotel rooms -- other than very expensive rooms -- to have tubs. The only caveat: before you leave write out all the things that you would use a concierge for, and see if you want to give it up. For instance, calling cabs, printing boarding passes, theatre tickets, etc. Internet cafes have printers and you can google "internet cafes paris" for instance, to find locations near you for boarding pass printing. The only thing I didn't think of: emergency numbers. We had two guys start to break into our Paris apartment (by the way awesome neighborhood, an apartment that had never been broken into before) -- Aaron yelled at them and they ran but it was terrifying and I realized I had no idea how to call the police in Paris! LOL! So, get these numbers into your phone before you leave: police, ambulance, etc.



3. Lazy Chunnel -- Travel between London and Paris is FAR LAZIER via the EuroStar because flying between the two cities requires expensive, tense travel from the city to the airports which are far away from the cities. Only tip: buy food before you get on the train --- train food is not great.



4. Lazy London Lunches -- Oh my god there truly must be an Earl of Sandwich who has blessed this city from beyond. They literally have the best sandwiches on the planet in London, and they are delicately prepared with the freshest of light and lovely ingredients, i.e., not like our piled on, fat-ridden, porky, bulky sloppy American luncheon fare. I miss them. They are everywhere, and honestly I think the best, most consistently wonderful are from the biggest chain -- Pret a Manger -- which I think has now moved state-side (I haven't seen one in LA yet but I hear they are here).



5. Lazy Cafes -- They have it really right in Paris .... the energy at cafes (even the ones on busy corners, although more so on the little ones on side streets and alleys) is almost meditative, isn't it?.... There is the sweetest cafe right behind Saint Paul, with a view of the Seine where we watched a mother and her tiny little boy have the most relaxing, sweet afternoon tea time. Even squirrelly energetic little boys calm down at cafes. It's not the same here at the local cafe... maybe because some people are having wine, some apperitifs, some warm soups, some cool desserts ... feeding whatever their body's whim is for the moment, even a cigarette if that is the need of the moment. Satiated people and boys (with hot chocolate and croissant) sitting enjoying their luck.

I am clear how lucky I am to be able to dip into the worlds of other cultures...so much to appreciate, absorb, find delicious.

More lazy tips from abroad later...

Lazy Woman on the Road

I've been traveling a lot so I've missed a few Trader Joe's Tuesdays and Five & Dime Fridays ....and now I'm off to London and Paris for work and a wee bit of pleasure.

So, stay tuned...Happy Lazy Fall to All!

Lazy Liver

I have the most-amazing-in-the-whole-history-of-the-universe ACCUPUNCTURIST. I made an appoinment a few weeks ago to see her to keep on track with dealing LAZILY with perimenopausal symptoms. She's doing such an amazing job for me.

Little did I know that the few weeks since making the appointment would be filled with extraordinary stressors. The last seven days were so highly stressful, with wacky wild ass stressors coming from every different weird angle you could imagine, that by the time I got to her I was nearly a mess.

When I don't manage my stress as lazily as might best benefit me, my body starts getting wacky illnesses -- the kind requiring blood tests and ultrasounds and the like. I've got some real life "stuff" going on now that is in large part -- if not in all part -- due to the stress.

Marsha Connor my aforementioned most-amazing-in-the-whole-history-of-the-universe ACCUPUNCTURIST told me that my liver is the source of all this "stuff" and told me that the liver is like a dutiful royal soldier who stands up mightily to protect me against these stressors. But, she said "it isn't at no cost that he defends you..." So, the other duties of said dutiful soldier liver, like filtering blood and hormones and the like are unfortunately post-wartime duties that are left for more peaceful times.

I told Marsha that I have been craving a la Popeye massive amounts of spinach. Indeed, leafy greens that are slightly bitter are great for your liver soldier boy...as is water with fresh lemon or lime.

So, if you are ever in a high stress period, one thing you can do --- if you aren't finding time for bubble baths, massage, yoga, breathing, meditation, calming this and calming that, lazy this and lazy -- is put the right things in your mouth: drink lemony water and choose your green leafies at meals.

She also gave me a fabulously named chinese herb blend --- Serenagen (by Metagenics) -- it's amazing! It does its name justice -- it improves the serene factor!

Trader Joe's Tuesday - Chocolate & Wine

I had a fairly miraculous culinary experience this weekend. We went to Los Olivos, the

most amazingly Italian country-side like wine country located just 1/2 hour East of Santa Barbara. It's actually hard to get a bad flavor to accidentally land on a taste bud when you are in Los Olivos. We actually haven't ever had a disappointing meal, snack or sip there, but this experience at Saarloos & Sons was nothing short of heavenly.

Saarloos & Sons has partnered with a brilliant baking duo, who bake cupcakes filled with unique wine-infused creams, custards, patissieres, and gooey goodness, topped with just enough frosting that isn't at all too sugary. The cakes are moist, moist, moist, and fluffy.

But, when you grab your "Flight of Cupcakes" -- 6 tiny babies -- you walk just a few steps to the tasting bar, where they pour six glasses of elixir for you to drink with your tasty bites.

This was a first for me. Sure, I've had red wine with chocolate but really mostly by accident: red wine still in the glass while having dessert. But, these pairings were divine.

Well, Trader Joe's has plenty of wine and they also have plenty of cupcakes. So, if you can't make your way to Los Olivos in the near future, give TJ's a shot. My recommendation is a nice Pinot Noir with a deep dark chocolate cupcake today!

Buon Appetito Wine Country Style!

Five & Dime Fridays - Grill, Baby, Grill

My boyfriend was a non-fan of zucchini until I introduced him to GRILLED zucchini. It is amazing how charring zucchini -- even minimally on the edges or with grill marks -- really adds a most delicious dimension to the flavor. Now Aaron is addicted to grilled zucchini. And, he made the very best grilled marinated shrimp so this Five & Dime Friday is dedicated to him

So, here's a speedy 10 minute dinner (if you have a gas grill outdoors or a Foreman grill inside):

1. Zucchini -- cut tips off and cut lengthwise down the middle
2. Fresh Shrimp (or frozen that you've thawed in fridge while at work)
3. Frozen Jasmine Rice
4. Olive Oil
5. Spices

Heat up your grill. Take a big bowl and throw in about 1/4 olive oil, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 tablespoon herbs de provence, and some lemon or lime juice to taste -- enough to coat what you've got (so adjust if you do a ton). Toss the zucchini and shrimp in the marinade, while you throw the rice in the microwave. Throw the zucchini and shrimp on the heated grill. Neither of these items takes long to grill. One flip in 2 or 3 minutes and you are done. When you get back from the grill, your rice will be done and you'll have a lovely perfectly balanced fresh supper to serve!

Yummalicious!

Trader Joe's Tuesday: Bollywood!

The star of the week..... BOLLYWOOD!

I've been to India several times, and I'm a vegetarian, so you can probably guess how much I love Indian food. Well, there's a new Lazy Food at Trader Joe's:

CUMIN & CHILI CHICKPEAS

chickpeas seasoned with garlie, ginger & aromatic spices

All that needs to be said is that within 3 minutes you can have a meal:

1. Pop a bag of Trader Joe's Frozen Jasmine Rice in the microwave for a couple minutes. My microwave takes 2.22 minutes to make perfect rice.

2. Take rice out of the microwave and put in a microwaveable bowl.

3. Empty the contents of the chickpea bag on top of the rice, and pop it back in the microwave for another minute.

4. If you want to be fancy, while microwaving, chop up some cucumber and mix in with yogurt. If you have mint in the garden or fridge, chop up a few leaves and mix in to the cucumber and yogurt. And you have RAITA!

5. Dollop either the raita or even just a dollop of plain old yogurt or ...nothing at all! Seriously, it doesn't NEED anything else to be added but if you want to have that wonderful Indian symphony of sweet, savory, spicy and cooling all in one bite you can go the extra Lazy Mile.

Yum Yum!

Five and Dime Fridays -- Most Delicious Potatoes in the World!

It's FIVE & DIME FRIDAY and before we get to what we're gonna cook up we have to:

1. Ask a question
and
2. Tell a story

So, the question is "DO YOU KNOW ABOUT GROUPONS?" They are FANTASTIC! Go to groupon.com and sign up. It's free and they give you an offer every day of things you can save on -- food, spas, events, etc.

I have many excellent Groupon stories but the best one is the $80 worth of food we got for $40 at YAMASHIRO's in the Hollywood Hills, next to the Magic Castle. If you don't live in LA and have been a tourist here you may have heard of Yamashiro's because it's a great spot for tourists, just above Graumann's Chinese, next door to the Magic Castle, with a view of the Capitol Records building, and nestled in a lovely hill setting. The building has a great history, and the kitchen has a fairly new chef...and that's why we bought the Groupon because my wonderful friend and author, Franz Metcalf, said he was great.

The meal was nothing short of brilliant. One of the most spectacular dishes was Smashed Potatoes with Preserved Lemon which was served with my perfectly grilled salmon and white asparagus. I love potatoes and felt like I had tried everything but holy moly these were good. So, I googled recipes and found the link to a great meal by Suzanne Goin of Lucques. We made it and it truly was a wonderful meal.

I recommend following her recipe to a T, but here's anothe Lazy version of the Smashed Potatoes:

FIVE & DIME FRIDAY -- Lemony Potatoes!

1. Red New Potatoes -- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
2. Preserved Lemon -- 1 lemon
3. Olive Oil - 1 or 2 tablespoons
4. Butter - 2 or 3 tablespoons
5. Salt & Pepper

Steam or boil up the potatoes. Smash them up a little. You can use a masher if you want, but you don't really need it. Just squish 'em up a bit. Chop up the Preserved Lemon and throw it in the potatoes. Then add olive oil, butter and salt & pepper to your taste. You don't need a ton of oil and butter to make this work. This can be a very low fat recipe if you choose to make it that way!

There's nothing to it! Zesty fresh potatoes in no time!

Buon appetito!

Trader Joe's Tuesday -- Staying Hydrated!

"Triple digits" -- it's a horrible phrase here in LA because the proper translation is "I'm meeeeeeeeeeeelting!" When I went to the gym after 5 p.m. last evening it was 101! It was 96 when I came out nearly two hours later! Oy!

I'm going to be taking my fairy goddaughters to Disneyland this evening but it will still be quite hot when we go so Aaron was just saying "Remember to drink a lot of water..." I said "I always drink tons of water" but he's right, it's easy to get distracted and forget to drink. At home it's easy. On my desk at all times -- icy cold water, because that's the way I like it. AND, generally you'll find a slice o' something in it too.

My favorite thing to do is make a big pitcher of water with just a couple/few slices of orange, lemon, watermelon, cucumber and some mint. But, if I don't have all of those things I generally do at least one. I served a friend some ice water with sliced orange the other day and she said "I've never had this before." I was sort of shocked. She's quite a sophisticated well-travelled woman! But, it's true restaurants do lemon at most.

Many people hate drinking water, so in this heat it's particularly important to do whatever you can to make your water enticing. If you have to start with Perrier or San Pellegrino, go for it. Sometimes that's a necessary stepping stone to sipping pure flat water. Or, try one of the Vitamin Water type drinks that are at least moving you toward pure water, which is ideal for your body on so many levels.

Another way to move toward pure water is to add a splash of juice to your glass of water. One of my fav's at Trader Joe's is Blackberry Crush, but they have soooooo many juices. Just a splash can make a difference between finishing or not finishing your glass of water. If you really have a dislike of drinking water, start with more juice and wean yourself off it slowly as you make drinking pure water a habit.

The most excellent news about drinking a lot of water is that it gives you more energy. I've experienced this personally but if you want to read more about it, just google "drinking water gives energy."

So, when you are at Trader Joe's, stock up on little tasty tidbits you can add to your water to make yourself drink, drink, drink, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and ENERGIZE!

Five & Dime Fridays --

My first entrepreneurial pursuit when I was about 7 years old was Pizza Delivery! I don't remember the exact ingredients I used, but the one main ingredient was English Muffins! I'm pretty sure it was just english muffins, tomato sauce and cheese ...maybe some chopped black olives. I remember thinking they were delicious -- although, by the time I got them to the "customer" they must have been stone cold! The most important thing is that I sold out, and at 25 cents each that was a LOT OF MONEY! LOL!

Lazy Popeye Spinach & Chicken Pizza

1. Sourdough English Muffin or Pre-Made Pizza Crust
2. Pre-Made Tomato Sauce
3. Mozzarella and/or other cheeses you love that melt well
4. Fresh Spinach (tossed with a little olive oil, salt & pepper)
5. Pre-Cooked Roased or Barbecued Chicken

Preheat the oven to 450. Brush the english muffin or crust with a little olive oil. Just layer on all the other ingredients -- in order of appearance in the above list -- and put it in the oven. If you are using pre-made pizza crust, follow instructions on the package. If you are doing the English Muffin version, pop it in at 450 degree oven for about 5 minutes. NOTE: When I did this when I was a kid I did them in a Toaster Oven -- much faster and less energy waste!

Trader Joe's Tuesday -- Pasta with Tomato & Basil

OK, Aaron and I are now seriously obsessed with making the best Pasta with Tomato & Basil in the history of mankind. We saw a "Best Thing I Ever Ate" episode featuring top chefs sharing their favorite sauces. Ted Allen, previously of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and currently pretty much always on The Food Network, said his favorite sauces is the Spaghetti with Tomato & Basil at Scarpetta in NYC. People pay $24 at the restaurant for a simple lovely portion of what looks like the most amazing spaghetti you've ever eaten.

So, we googled the recipe. You can too, and you'll see several versions, including the one I'm including with this blog entry, where you can see video and stills to guide you through the process.

On the way to our very serious cooking session to try to mimic Scott Conant, I stopped at Roma Market, an Italian market that is so authentic and amazing that I wrote an article about it for Pasadena Magazine. I found the most amazing, ripe, huge, deep red Roma tomatoes I've ever seen. They always have fully ripe produce, so you can only buy for the day you want to eat/cook. Neither Aaron nor I had Romas left on our vines and none of the Farmer's Markets oddly had any either.

Then, also at Roma, instead of Spaghetti, I got a very expensive bag of pasta flown in from Italy (in fact no English on the package) of something that looked like Bucatini (very thick spaghetti). This was a mistake, we've decided.

We made the recipe -- it is fairly labor intensive, but really fun because you are infusing oil with basil, garlic and pepper flakes while you work on making the fresh romas into tomato sauce. I've always used canned tomatoes for my sauces.

It really was great, but it wasn't spectacular. I loved it more than Aaron. He blamed the noodles. I want to try another version of the Scarpetta recipe I found online (the one from Good Morning America) and see how that tastes. I think it loooks like the right amount of tomatoes (20, as opposed to 8 in the recipe we used). I'll report back after I make that one.

BUT, the next day I made another pasta sauce with the leftover tomato juices and canned tomatoes, and it was spectacular! ....which brings me to...... TRADER JOE'S TUESDAY!

There is a LAZY version of the Scarpetta recipe, for which you can buy all of the ingredients at Trader Joe's!

Use the recipe I posted and follow it. You can actually buy every single ingredient at Trader Joe's but if you want to make it super lazy (i.e., not do the fresh tomato part which is the labor intensive part), just substitute two large cans of tomatoes for the 8 fresh ones and seed them as well as you can (with washed hands), strain, etc.

If you want to do the non-Lazy version with fresh tomatoes, just make sure you find the ripest of Romanos in the lot.

TIP: To make the serving of pasta look super cool on the plate, take a can and take off both ends with a can opener. Stand it on plate, and then take tongs and grab pasta and drop into the "mold" you have made. Once you've put a full serving in there, remove the "mold"/can, and voila, it pretty much keeps its shape.

This make a Lovely Summer Supper! How can you go wrong with Tomatoes and Basil????

Buon Appetito!

Five & Dime Friday -- Summery Lemony Delight

We are having an unseasonably cool August here in Los Angeles. Apparently, though, it's going to start heating up this weekend....so I'm thinking of cooling things we can cook up as we move into the heat.

I don't eat meat or chicken but I always like to put lots of recipes here for chicken lovers because I know how much people like chicken. Obviously, you can substitute chicken for any other meat product...even chicken sausage or whatever you can sautee up in a few minutes.

Lazy Lemony Chicken Pasta

1. Lemon Pepper Pasta from Trader Joe's
2. Pre-Cooked Roasted Chicken
3. Sliced Mushrooms
4. Lemon
5. Butter

While the pasta is cooking, sautee mushrooms in butter and fresh lemon juice. Throw in some salt, pepper or favorite herbs if you wish. At the very end of the sautee process, throw in the the chicken pieces (or whatever meat you choose). Then toss with hot pasta!

The vegetarian version of this that I do for myself is with black olives or zucchini.

Light, lovely summery fare for you!

Trader Joe's Tuesday -- Lazy Day Late

My favorite time at Trader Joe's is right before closing. That's when I went tonight. It's so peaceful and feels almost like you're cheating when you go at that hour. Wait, it's so easy to get to things! Can it be true? It's not a Trader Joe's dream is it? No, it's just before closing, and all the "Crew" are excited to fulfill your every need so they can peacefully close the doors on time and get to the real work they need to do before they can leave.

I whipped around getting everything I need and one of the things I was almost out of was Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits. An old boyfriend confessed to one day reaching back into the TJ bag behind his car seat, reaching in a box for a cookie and munching all the way home on one after another of the Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits. I understand why. They smell mighty good. They even sound mighty good when being passionately munched by Lucy and Tulle.

But, as much as I love peanut butter, and as clear as it is that each ingredient in the list is edible, I have my peanut butter fixes in different forms.

The latest use of my Trader Joe's Peanut Butter fixes was in the form of Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies. I only bought two bananas because I thought they would definitely mash into a cup's worth o' banana. Not so. I was about 1/4 cup short. So, we filled the cup to the brim with peanut butter. What an awesome, subtle addition to these cookies.

The recipe link is attached to this blog entry. Check it out if you like a very rich almost muffin-like cookie with a subtle taste of banana (and peanut butter if you do as we did!). They aren't a typical chocolate chip cookie at all, but boy are they delicious.

Frankly I wanted to slather on more peanut butter because even though I didn't want to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, once I had the subtle hint of peanut butter and the cakiness of the cookie, it begged a spot o' peanut butter. I didn't indulge because the cookies were enough. But, peanut butter really is delicious isn't it.

My Trader Joe's favorite -- salted, creamy peanut butter.

Now, don't get me started on almond butter....

Five & Dime Friday -- Mediterranean Pita Fest

It's warm and sunny over most of the U.S. today, so here is a cool sandwich --- with super-cooling-cucumber --- that's super easy to make for lunch or dinner:

Vegetarian Mediterranean Sandwich
1. Pita Bread
2. Feta Cheese
3. Cucumber
4. Tomato
5. Olives -- Kalamata or regular ol' black olives

Non-Vegetarian Mediterranean Sandwich
1. Pita Bread
2. Roasted Chicken (or any of the pre-cooked chickens you can Find at Trader Joe's and elsewhere!)
3. Feta Cheese
4. Cucumber
5. Tomato

Directions:

I lightly toast my pita bread and thinly slice all the incredients so very bite has a bit of all the flavors in it. Pile all the ingredients in as you see fit --- or if you prefer, throw them all in a bowl and mix like a salad and then stuff the pita. Drizzle with a little olive oil and vinegar, throw a dash of salt and pepper and enjoy!

OPTIONAL ITEMS for both sandwiches: SPINACH, LETTUCE or other GREENS. If you have MINT in your garden (if you don't, by the way, it grows like a weed), it's a wonderful addition to salads and sandwiches with feta. I like PEPPEROCCINI too sometimes!

Lazy Gardener

Since I straddle two households, spending a lot of time at Aaron's, we did full out herb garden at his house, and he planted tons of tomatoes in the ground. At my house, I planted 6 plants in pots in the front where I would literally see their progress several times a day, and stay on top of watering. Where I normally plant tomato plants is in the backyard in the ground. But, boy can I neglect watering back there. So, the lazy answer for me is tomatoes in pots.

My plants are providing at least a tomato a day. And, oh my god how delicious. There is nothing like freshly plucked tomato on ANYTHING for a fresh delicious summer addition to any meal. And, that is one helluva lazy plant to cultivate -- whether in the ground or in a pot, you really can't go wrong, and they will just keep giving you tomatoes! The garden gift that keeps on giving!

So, run out and get a tomato plant if you don't have one...even if it's just one plant on your front porch. You'll feel so proud to serve your home grown delights.

Trader Joe's Tuesday -- Best Crunchy Sweet Thing of All Time

I'm posting Tuesday a wee bit early because I'm traveling tomorrow...and today's Trader Joe's gem is something I very proudly turned my boyfriend on to, not unlike a crack dealer really.

If you are looking for something to fulfill the crunch-sweet-plus-a-tiny-bit-o-salt thing, this is the ticket:

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Roasted Pistachio Toffee

Usually toffee is wedded to almonds or pecans. But, Trader Joe's in their inimitable genius made a happy marriage with pistachios!

And, it's DARK chocolate, which kicks it up a notch too.

What to do with it? Well, of course, munch it just as it is from the container. But, might I tell you that chopped up and put on vanilla ice cream... DREEEEEEAMY!

I'm going to make tiramisu later this week and I'm going to smash up a bunch of these babies and sprinkle them all over the top so it'll be dark brown chocolate, light brown toffee plus the green pistachios...then with a little lavender and a flower in the middle it'll be gorgeous! Will try to remember to post the photo.

Buon Appetito and Good Crunching to All!

Trader Joe's Tuesday - DUTCH CHEESE!

Run, do not walk! Run to your nearest TJs! Best Boyfriend in the World Aaron turned me onto the best thing on the TJ planet! DUTCH CHEESE -- It's sliced goat cheese, found in the same area as all the other sliced cheeses.

What can you do with it?

• Melt it! Put a slice on 1/2 a bagel, an english muffin or any ol' bread and put under broiler for a second. Top with a fresh sliced tomato!
• Chicken Cigar Rollup --- This is Aaron's creation -- Take a slice, pile on some grilled chicken strips (from the refrigerator section near deli meats), and roll it up like a cigar!
• Throw it on a Rice Cake -- This is my favorite afternoon snack now...cause I like the crunch of the Lundberger rice cake with the bite of the goat cheese.
• Eat it all by itself...it's that yummy!

Five & Dime Fridays -- Ricky Ricardo is Here!

"Lucyyyyyyyyyy I'm home!" says Ricky Ricardo.

And, what makes him most happy? Chicken and Rice! Well, here's the Lazy Woman take on Chicken & Rice.... a little different than Ricky's Mom's recipe. Here's the 5 ingredient recipe:

1. Trader Joe's Frozen Jasmine Rice
2. Canned Pinto Beans
3. Any of the precooked chicken pieces in the refrigerator section
4. Salsa of your choice
5. Optional 5th ingredient -- you choose!: sliced olives, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice, a little shredded cheese on top, etc.

If you want to be more like Ricky, you can leave out the beans, and make the chicken and rice the main part, adding extras for more flavor, juice and va-va-voom!

Babaloo to you all!