These last few warm days with the tease of the toasty summer to come has me itching to get out the grill. And by get out the grill I mean make sweet puppy dog eyes until the fella drags the grill out of the garage and does his manly imperative above the open flame. The grill is his territory and Im happy to let him keep it.

Its been a crazy week and our cooking schedule has been thrown into a tizzy so I settled for the next best thing to the grill on such a tight schedule. We got out the grill pan and tossed some marinated portobellos on it and reveled in the meaty herby smells filling the kitchen. These couldnt be easier and I always do at least a double batch because they taste so good I can guarantee each of us will want to eat more than one. And until the nice weather is here to stay that grill pan is going to be getting a lot of use.

Portobello “Steaks”


2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry red drinking wine
1/4 cup oil
1-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. Montreal or Chicago-style steak spice
salt and pepper, to taste


The day or morning before you plan on serving these, mix together all ingredients but the mushrooms in a large glass or ceramic casserole dish with a lid. Lightly score the tops of the mushrooms in a criss-cross pattern. Place the mushrooms top-up on the marinade and swish around so the liquid fills some of the spaces in the underside, then flip over and lay them down with the tops in the marinade. Cover and let marinate until evening, or at least 4 hours, flipping the “steaks” over occasionally.


Preheat a cast-iron frypan or griddle; spray lightly with oil spray. Sear the mushrooms on each side quickly, then pour the marinade over mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes so that the marinade cooks and the steaks absorb the flavors, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove to serving dishes and spoon more marinade over top.


Original recipe from Diet Desserts and Dogs Blog.

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Its been a shamefully long time since Ive blogged.

Partly because I hit a plateau in the diet; I havent lost weight in a while and weve been eating the same handful of recipes over and over again so there hasnt been much to say. The fella also disappeared to Boston for a man vacation for a couple weeks and my single girl menus were nothing to brag about. Lastly with spring has come a full social schedule which hasnt left me time to sleep let alone write. I know, excuses, excuses.

No worries, during this time Ive continued to cook a few new and interesting things and I have a bunch of wine to tell you about. Hopefully Ill have some time to write about all of this soon. First I have to tell you about my newest obsession.

Ice cream.

A little fairy (okay it was my mother) left an ice cream maker for me a couple weeks ago and I havent stopped experimenting with ice cream since. Custards sweetened with agave nectar work really well so these have been some very tasty experiments. It also helped that I discovered David Lebovitz about this same time. This man knows what hes talking about when it comes to frozen treats so Ive stuck with his recipes thus far and been very happy.

Writing about food comes with a fair amount of hyperbole and metaphor but there is none of that when I say this is the best ice cream ever created . I mean it literally. Make this ice cream and you could seduce anyone. It could get you a promotion. You could probably use it to get out of jail. Okay now Im exaggerating but it really is that good.

Not only is it amazingly sweet and rich it is super easy. These four simple components make it taste like you spent hours slaving over complex mixtures of mysterious sweet ingredients. The secret really is the saffron which pairs perfectly with the coconut milk and creates a unfathomably delicious flavor. It tastes like....something. You cant quite wrap your mind around what but its fabulous and comforting and coats all of your taste buds in a halo of yum.

Ive already made this twice. The first time I made the recipe as is (all I changed was to use agave in place of his sugar) and it was enough to share with a friend after dinner. So I had to be a bitchy foodie running around telling people how good it was but not having any proof. The next time I quadrupled the recipe and that was the perfect amount of this. It was enough for the fella and I to nibble on for over a week and share with a few people so they could see what I was talking about.

If you have an ice cream maker you have to make this, its too simple and too good not too. If you dont have a machine Mr. Lebovitz has you covered. So go, now.

Coconut Milk and Saffron Ice Cream

2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup coconut milk
scant 1/4 cup agave nectar
scant 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring all the ingredients to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer gently for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, and chill the mixture thoroughly.

Once chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions. Once churned, be sure to scrape any saffron threads clinging to the dasher back in to the ice cream.

Vow to never buy store bought ice cream again.

Original recipe by David Lebovitz on his blog Living the Sweet Life in Paris.

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Ive been missing dessert something fierce while on this diet. Almost everything else I crave weve figured out a way to fake, and many things I used to lust after I just dont miss anymore. Not being able to bake however has been really disappointing. There are a lot of sweet things its impossible to make without sugar or flour.

Fortunately there quite a few blogs out there written by people with similar diet restrictions that are finding ways of making really delicious desserts without either. I decided to start experimenting with something simple and summery. The original recipe called for peaches but its not quite that time of year yet so pears made a nice substitute, they went well with the sweet almond crumble.

Somehow I managed to resist the urge to eat the whole pans of this yummy treat, in fact Ive been nibbling on it for days and very happy about it.

Pear Crumble

6 pears, chopped in bite sized pieces
(original recipe called for 8 peaches which arent in season yet)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup water, approximately

6 oz ground almonds
2 lemons, zested
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 teaspoons agave nectar
4 teaspoons cold butter


Preheat the oven to 320.

Heat gently in a saucepan with a tablespoon of butter and enough water just to cover the bottom of the pan but not cover the fruit, I used about1/4 cup. You can always add more water if you want. Cook gently until the fruit is soft, but not too pulpy. There should be just enough juice around the fruit to make the crumble juicy, not swimming. Pile into a small baking dish and spread into an even layer.

Pour ground almonds into a mixing bowl with vanilla and lemon zest. Spoon in agave and butter, rub together gently with your fingertips until a damp crumble mixture forms. Spoon over the fruit and pop into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.

Original recipe from Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried blog.

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