*Proprietary

I just read the label off of a jar of seasonings this weekend. There was an asterisk after the words "herbs and spices*", then the bottom of the label read: "*proprietary". This got me thinking: maybe I could make many of my ingredients proprietary, as well. However, I'm all about transparency -- that's part of the philosophy behind this blog. I want people to know exactly what they're putting into their mouths. The process of how I make the seasonings is proprietary, but I'd have to tell you what's in them.

After visiting a friend's food sampling party Friday night, and enjoying our annual family Missouri winery run this weekend, the ideas are swirling around in my head, knocking against my skull. I will have to keep them to myself right now, but I'm about ready to bust! Trust me. You will hopefully reap the benefits of these proprietary ideas soon.

Special thanks to my new acquaintance: I really enjoyed bouncing those cooking ideas off of you. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you this weekend. I feel so fortunate to have a husband who has a cousin who married a guy who has a sister who has the job that you do... hey, that sort of sounds like "The house that Jack built"!


FINAL NOTES
Central Hotel in New Haven, MO -- wonderful, historic B&B and very close to the wineries
Robller Winery -- I just loved the Vidal Blanc
Bommarito Winery -- You must try Nick's Hill, named after the owner; his daughter is a wonderful educator of wines. And thank you for the tour, Mr. Nick!

I will keep my mouth shut about another winery. I'll just give you this warning: Beware of women's restrooms with side-by-side toilets with no partition. Hey, when you're desperate, it works. But why not just a little wall??!!

Balsamic Marinade with Italian Seasoning -- huge hit!

Garlic Earth had a record THREE food demonstrations this past weekend. We want to thank our generous hosts and the courteous customers at Zuzu's Petals in Washington, Nutrition Stop in St. Peters and Purely Provence in Chesterfield/Augusta.

Our next demo will be this Thursday, March 26th at Sappington Farmers' Market from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. We'll share our Roasted Vegetable with Pork "Fried" Rice, Portabella Mushrooms and Eggplant in Balsamic Marinade and Wonton Chips.

The customers at Purely Provence seemed to really enjoy the Portabella Mushrooms and Eggplant in Balsamic Marinade. I took some of the leftovers right over to my dad and stepmom's house and we tossed it with pasta. They loved it! In fact, my friend who visited me at the Purely Provence demo requested I cook her the same thing the next day -- I'll use any excuse to visit beautiful University City! I served her family the mushrooms and eggplant with risotto. OMG. Here's the recipe:

Portabella Mushrooms and Eggplant in Balsamic Marinade
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 large eggplant and 2 large portabella mushrooms, chopped into 1-inch cubes
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped (into sixths -- halved, then cut into thirds)
2 - 3 Havarti cheese slices (or some mild, creamy cheese that melts well)

Combine vinegar, oil, seasoning and garlic into a large bowl or pot. Stir well. Add the eggplant, mushrooms and onions. Stir gently, but well. Let marinate at least 30 minutes, stirring often to cover vegetables.

Cook the mushrooms and eggplant over med-low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring often. Take note of the smell at first -- a bit vinegary. You'll know it's done when it all starts to smell sweet. There should be just a little "bite" to it, but not much. Just before serving, top dish with cheese slices. Let melt. Serve.

This can be served as is or with pasta or with risotto. For the risotto, I use Arborio rice (a must!) and followed a standard risotto recipe that's on the rice container. For 3 adults, with leftovers, I used 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice. It's standard to add warm broth to the rice during the cooking process -- to cut down on the salt, I used part broth (actually 2 veggie boullion cubes with water) and part water with the Garlic Earth Italian Seasoning (about 1 cup water to 1/4 tsp. seasoning). I added 1/4 - 1/2 cup white wine and a few handfuls of shredded Parmesan cheese towards the end of the cooking time.

What To Do With Outter Lettuce/Cabbage Leaves

I just read this tip in one of my hand-me-down magazines. It may have been in Bon Appetite or Food & Wine. I did this while reheating our corned beef and cabbage leftovers in the microwave:

Tip: Use the big outter leaf/ves of your lettuce or cabbage head to cover food in the microwave. It saves paper (sometimes I use a paper towel) and it's probably much more safe than using a plastic cover of some sort. I liked using the cabbage leaf since it's so durable. I was able to wash it off like I wash my veggies and fruit (with diluted white vinegar), kept it in the 'frige and could reuse once or twice.

How cool and green is that?

Great Day St. Louis cooking segment

My very nice former landlord captured this picture from last week's cooking segment on Great Day St. Louis (thanks, Mary!). The link below should get you to the segment:

http://www.kmov.com/greatday/food/recipes/?nvid=340282

Favorite Local Things

This product is easy on the environment and it's made right here in St. Louis, MO by Better Life cleaning products. I use it on my counters, in my sink, and it even gets stains out of clothing, upholstery and carpet! It rocks.

Italian Seasoning: 20% less salt

I was able to reduce the salt content today on the Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning by drying the fresh vegetables a little bit more prior to grinding the ingredients. According to my calculations, the Italian seasoning now contains only about 50% salt -- that's sea salt, which is naturally lower in sodium. This batch has the most beautiful, earthy color and has the best aroma ever.
The ingredients didn't change, their ratios didn't change, there are just more vegetables, herbs and spices than ever before. Most of the ingredients are organic, including all of the herbs and spices, toasted pine nuts, onions and sun dried tomatoes.

Songs that went into this batch: Howie Day "She Says", Blue Merle "Lucky to Know You", Keith Urban "Sweet Thing".*

*Love that ipod.