The flavor friend combination of fresh goat cheese and shrimp is one of my newfound favorites and roasting those shrimp is one of my favorite new techniques.  Preheat your oven to 410 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.  Thaw and peel shrimp, if necessary.  Toss with a little quality olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Put in oven and watch closely.  1/2 pound of 26/30 shrimp cook in about 7 minutes.  (26/30 means 26 to 30 shrimp per pound so determines their size).

I like using Lavash for a quick and light dough.  It’s an Armenian Flatbread, ready to eat.  Trader Joe’s carries it.  Spread a little olive oil on a baking sheet and lay the Lavash on top.  Roughly chop shrimp or keep whole if small enough.  Add small chunks of goat cheese, some fresh thyme, minced garlic and a sprinkling of olive oil.  Cook in the 410 degree oven until bubbly – about 5 minutes.

Goat cheese of choice I buy from Lara Hardwick of Petit Fromage on the SE corner 7th Ave. and Missouri in Phoenix, AZ.    Lara is very cool and her store is even cooler.  Stop by to see her and support her new adventure!!

Cheers,

Heidi

This is a great little sandwich for summertime grilling!  I’m cooking it tonight – but actually Dave grills it cuz it’s still 105 degrees out there.  UGH!!

Serves 4

Marinate Chicken breasts (1 per sandwich) in olive oil and red wine vinegar with a little salt and pepper or your favorite bottled Italian Dressing (I like Ken’s – low cal and not too salty)

Mix about 4 T. of pesto with 2 T. of mayonaisse or miracle whip.  Let this sit in the frig, covered, for an hour.

French bread or rolls are good for this.  You don’t want a dense bread – takes away from lightness of chicken.

Grill the chicken breasts over medium high heat and near end of cooking add a slice of fontina cheese, close the lid so it melts.  Place chicken breast on bread with some pesto spread and a little spinach, red onion and tomato.  You can skip the bread and serve it on salad or spinach leaves to reduce cals and carbs.    A nice little Pinor Noir adds a little spice to this dish!

Cheers,

Heidi

There is a folder on my laptop entitled “Story Lines.”  Each file is just a few words or paragraphs jotted down when I’m struck by a flighty flash of genius or I’m when watching a 30 year old memory bolt across my brain knowing it will be lost in a deep, black hole if not written down immediately. At times, a quick read through these ideas enables me to write creatively and entertain. Didn’t happen this time. 

Inspiration jumps out from strange places at unexpected moments. Today’s muse is Rice Krispies’ Treats and Chili Dogs, and I wrote this little missive while cooking them. 

If you’ve been following me on the radio, facebook, twitter or www.intothesoup.com you might have noticed I’ve been just a little busy. Sitting still doesn’t come naturally to me.  My husband likens me to a top. The string is yanked at the crack of dawn, and I spin from task to task until I pass out at 9:00 p.m.  

So, one wouldn’t think that with my current schedule and the changing of my many hats that I’d volunteer to cook for the end of summer girl scout party. No one asked me to, it certainly wasn’t expected. The offer just flew out from the ends of my fingertips in an email to the troop leader.

This morning Yahoo beckoned with sixty emails awaiting reply, the deadline for two magazine articles tugged at my sleeve, and several weeks’ of dirty clothes spilled out of the laundry room as I searched for clean socks.  When my cell phone chirped, “You have voicemail,” I decided to turn it all off and play in my kitchen.

As I pulled the box of Rice Krispies from the pantry and opened a can of tomato paste, my heart rate dipped below 180, and my breathing slowed. My mind cleared while my hands went through the familiar motions of mincing onions, browning meat, melting butter and stirring marshmallows. My soul was soothed as I walked through the house breathing deeply the scent of comfort food.

If this alone weren’t enough indulgence for one day, I spent a lavish 90 minutes with my good friend the Troop leader…just talking. The girls played in the pool; we had a glass of lemonade, ate a chili dog and caught up. I left the cell phone at home, spoke only of family and friends and relaxed.

Cooking calms me. We all have something that brings the temperature down: a good read, gardening, naps and long talks with an old friend. What we sometimes forget to do is utilize them. Everyone seems to be running at break neck speed in an attempt to keep up with email, phone calls, deadlines, housecleaning and family. Take care not to trip and fall my friends. I think I’ll go make a casserole.

Aroma Therapy seems completely logical to me, except for the fact that the type of associative memory smells they sell on drug store shelves are rather obtuse.  How many people grew up with vanilla bean, peppermint and jasmine floating through their windows – all at the same time?  More scents that make sense to me would be something akin to Chocolate Cupcakes or Chicken Noodle Soup.  Just be careful not to slurp down the bubble bath or gobble up the candle.

Smellory packs a big punch, especially if you’re blindsided by it.  A few days back I was setting up an event at a local casino and needed to get a vendor’s badge.  Security was located in a small trailer in the back parking lot.  I knocked on the door, walked in and was immediately transported to Montana. 

This strange little outbuilding didn’t have a very pleasant aroma, and neither did the cabin on Lake Mary Ronan where we spent our summer vacations.  The mind works in mysterious ways and instead of wrinkling my nose and wanting to open all the windows, my cerebellum took a little mini-vacation and sat me in front of plates of corn on the cob, fresh fried trout and cherry pie.

Reminiscent nosegays stir things up for everyone, and we all have faves – spaghetti sauce, chocolate chip cookies, BBQ’s, bacon and eggs, soup and anything roasting in an oven.  I’m the first to roll down the window when passing a bakery or a rib joint. 

Happenstance not withstanding, we often attempt to recreate these enticing fragrances and enhance our encounters with them. For example: spaghetti and meatballs on the stove AND Frank Sinatra work simultaneously to beam me over to that parallel universe and Friday nights in my parents’ kitchen.

There are also those heady perfumes which lead us into the depths of our gray matter that aren’t necessarily associated with food: sea air, sprinklers, sun tan oil, Colorado, lilacs, rain, clean sheets, diesel fuel, the dairy barn, pine trees and baby powder.

Even people smells trigger flashbacks; my late grandmother drops in quite frequently to say hello.  She wafts by most often when I’m doing laundry or oddly enough, shopping at the Mall.  My daughter wears my sweaters when I’m not at home and I inhale her hair when I kiss her goodnight.

Smellory is a powerful, glorious thing!  It is an instantaneous remembrance in the mind’s eye, a salve for the soul and the inspiration for letters to friends.  As for Montana, should you ever get the chance to rent Cabin #6 at Lake Mary Ronan Resort, see if you can spot the “Simpson7” engraved upon the wall – I was there and its aroma is pure therapy.