Pasta Primavera Contest Entry

I haven't had a whole lot of free time lately. It happens sometimes. But I did manage to carve out just enough to make pasta primavera for the Pioneer Woman contest.

There are a lot of fresh vegetables in this recipe, which means a lot of chopping. But once all the prep work is done, it is really a quick meal to make. Click here for a link to the recipe. I will definitely be making this one again. When I started making it, my biggest help in the kitchen, Jeffrey Stites, wasn't home and the boy had no interest in helping out this time, probably because there are mushrooms and zucchini in the recipe.

But I made pretty quick work of it and in no time, I had this... I think my minced garlic got buried under there somewhere.                                                    
Of course, you need to get the pasta going and then start cooking the veggies. I grated cheese while veggies were cooking and when everything was done, I just threw it all together. I had a really good idea of how I wanted it to look but here's this little problem of my lack of hand-eye coordination. (That's why I like photography-all my hands have to do is hold the camera and push the buttons). So it didn't look quite like I wanted it to. I was happy with the end result though, and I took lots of pictures and posted one to the website as my contest entry. This one isn't the one I entered, but I don't think it's too bad :-) The best part of the experience is that since my mother and father-in-law were down for the week, the primavera was enjoyed for dinner (twice). Which is, after all, the real reason I cook anyway.

                                                                                                                     

My first Chuckwagon Sandwich

The Stites family has the best vacations. Sometimes we plan things ahead of time, but usually we head off with a vague notion of what we want to do and the only certain thing is our hotel reservation. We headed off to Boone for Mother's Day weekend and it was one of those trips that combined a little planning and a lot of stumbling upon cool stuff.

We planned to go to Grandfather Mountain, and we wanted to go gem mining (we ended up at Gem Mountain). We also wanted to do a quick tour of Appalachian State University. But we didn't have specific plans for where or when. We headed out on a Friday morning and it didn't take long before we were singing and laughing in the car. Well, two of us were singing and we were all laughing. John does not sing. At all. 

We made a quick pit stop near Aberdeen at a really gross convenience store/gas station that had surprisingly good-looking fried catfish at 10:30 a.m. I passed on that and stuck with just a pack of gum. We ate dinner that night at Black Cat Burrito, a truly stupendous eatery in Boone, which reminds us lots of one of favorite Wilmington places -- Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. We took a quick drive through campus (it was raining, so no walking tour) and checked in at the hotel. It's a cute place right off the highway called Smoketree Lodge. The decor is stuck in the 80s and no one working there is over about 23, but it's clean and the staff is friendly and sweet. We love it. 

Saturday morning the incredibly smart Jeffrey (of Pooh Sticks fame) pointed out that we were actually very close to Tennessee. Since the boy had never been to Tennessee, we decided to take a quick trip across the border. And why not look for a geocache while we were there, right? We were actually the first to find a new cache in Roan Mountain State Park. This park is beautiful. There are dense woods with a thick tree canopy, a stream that runs miles through the park (lined with cuteness that morning since there was a kids' trout fishing tourney going on), cabins for rent, a steep ride up to the old Miller Farmstead with a gorgeous mountain view and much more. 

After our park visit, we headed back into NC and looked for a place to grab some lunch. Now, keep in mind we were pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. This is Appalachia country -- not doing so well economically and fairly off the beaten path. We were almost ready to give up and stop at a Hardee's when we decided to take the Business route of the highway in Spruce Pine. As soon as we made the turnoff and rounded a curve we saw a place called "50s Diner." It was a pretty nondescript restaurant, just brick with big glass windows. It could have been a Burger King in its former life. The menu has all the diner favorites -- burgers, chili cheese fries and milkshakes. 

And chuckwagon sandwiches. I had never heard of them, but Jeffrey said that the eastern Tennessee/western North Carolina area is known for these sandwiches.
If you don't know about them, basically it is a breaded burger patty deep fried and put on a bun. Of course we all had to order one. Jeffrey and I got ours with lettuce and tomato. The patty was much moister and more tender than I expected, and the tomato clearly came from a local farmer because it was the reddest, juiciest tomato I have had in a while. It was delicious. It was one of those sandwiches that makes your arteries cringe, but it was delicious. 

The moral of the story is this: don't be afraid to try new things at new places. When you travel, leave the chain restaurants behind and look for the local mom and pop places. Sure you might not know what you're getting into, but you never know what gems you can find.  

Pioneer Woman Blog Photo Contest

I am going to enter this contest. I thought about doing this today, but I am not feeling my best, so I think I will do it another day. I bought a plate to use in my picture, and I have already planned out what I want the picture to look like.

The contest is simple. Make Ree Drummond's, aka The Pioneer Woman, Pasta Primavera recipe, take a picture and upload it. On the contest site, she also offers really good photography tips that contestants are encouraged to use.

When I started my food blog, I thought it would be all about the writing for me. I loved writing columns when I worked as a newspaper reporter and what is a blog but an electronic column? And I really enjoy cooking and trying new restaurants, so I thought a food blog would be perfect. I knew I would be taking pictures, but I didn't realize how much I would enjoy that part of it. I love styling the food and trying different angles to get just the right shot. John is even into it, and I've already used one of his pictures on the blog (the veggies picture in the Stir-fry post).

I think that so far, I'm doing a pretty good job illustrating my blog. I am not fishing for a compliment, and I have no idea whether my pictures are technically good or even if anyone likes them. But this is a rare thing for me -- what I am doing with my blog makes me happy and that's enough. There is no pressure to please an editor or an audience. I mean, I really hope people like reading my blog. And I hope I get a huge following. But if I don't, I'm ok with that. I can't paint or sew or do anything very artistic in that sense. But I can write and take pictures. It's an incredible feeling when you know what you are writing connects with readers. I loved hearing reactions to columns I wrote for the newspaper. But this is more me, and as my own editor, I think I am doing a good job doing what I set out to do.

So if you like cooking and taking pictures, check out this contest. You could win a really good camera. And please feel free to share your feedback on my blog posts and...keep reading! Thanks :-)