#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Writing
  • Contact

Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Weekend Dog Blogging #35

May 22, 2006 · Narrative

Chefs and cooks use an expression in the kitchen … “in the weeds.” It basically means you’re getting slammed left, right and center. Tonight I can totally relate.

I had planned to make this one pork chop recipe, but for reasons best left unmentioned, I had to dump the whole marinade and find a new one. I went to go make rice and found just b-a-r-e-l-y enough because SOMEONE forgot to tell me we needed more. Then I went to make the salad dressing, I find I didn’t have enough mayo to make this homemade dressing recipe I found (forget the fact that I was in the grocery store this morning and got TWO, yes TWO, grocery deliveries yesterday). I quickly find a new recipe, and The Husband fires up the grill and, of course, the chops are done way before the rice is, while I’m trying to juggling the six trays of cookies I decided to make RIGHT THEN and shoo the two dogs (did I mention we’re dogsitting Beau?) out of the kitchen, wrap presents, set the table … and … and … yup, in the weeds it was.

Yesterday was The Stepdaughter’s 12th birthday, and since The Husband took her and Nicholas to Hershey Park this weekend, we celebrated her birthday tonight. She could literally eat rice three times a day for the rest of her life and be very happy, so, of course, rice had to hit the table in some form or fashion. I created a new recipe for it, Sweetnicks’ Tomato Red Rice. It’s very simple to make and has tons of flavor. For the main course, another new recipe, this one I found on AllRecipes, Chinese Pork Chops. I’m not really a big fan of pork chops, to tell you the truth, but The Husband is, and he was very happy with these. I didn’t let them marinate ahead of time and they were still very flavorful, and cooked up in no time on the grill. While I was making dinner, I whipped up a Banana Smoothie for everyone. Nicholas downed two small glasses before coming up for air — guess it’s a winner. Recipes are all down below.

If anyone has a deepfryer and are looking for recipes for it, I just put a few cookbooks up for sale on Amazon, The Fearless Frying Cookbook, The Ultimate Fryer Cookbook and lastly, Fry Light, Fry Right. And if you need a deepfryer, I have one of those available too, first $30 takes it. A Bravetti I bought it last year from QVC, and it’s still in its box, never opened, never used. Drop me a line if you’re interested.

Tune in tomorrow to find out what is going to the office for treats. Until then… if you’re a fan of sriracha, you can check out my latest article over at The Paper Palate.

A year ago today… deja vu.

P.S. Angel Chef: I replied to your question, but in case you didn’t see it, the recipe you’re looking for is here. Hope you like it.

And now the round-up for this weekends’ Weekend Dog Blogging:

The perfectly-poised Nigel from La Mia Cucina:

Two charming newcomers from Acme Instant Food drop by, Janet and Harpo:

Shhh…. be very, very quiet, lest we disturb a napping Simba from Up a Creek without a PatL:

Another newbie, it’s Riley. His owner has him posted up on Dogster. Love the smile!

I figured I’d give Eli a break this weekend and let my parents’ dog, Beau, take the spotlight:

Another sleepy one checks in, it’s Ziggy from Soul Fusion Kitchen:

Bear from Farmgirl Fare enjoys a slurp from Mother Nature’s faucet:

And last, but not least, the tired troop from Dispensing Happiness:

Sweetnicks’ Tomato Red Rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, with a little bit of the liquid included
pinch of salt to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and pepper, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice begins to brown, stir in chicken broth and canned tomatoes. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Serve.

Banana Smoothie
1 cup sliced banana
1 cup ice
1 cup milk

Blend and enjoy.

Chinese Pork Chops
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
6 boneless pork chops

In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, vegetable oil, ginger, and garlic powder. Set aside some of the mixture in a separate bowl for marinating during cooking. Pierce the pork chops on both sides with a fork, place in a large resealable plastic bag, and cover with the remaining marinade mixture. Refrigerate 6 to 8 hours. Preheat the grill for high heat. Lightly oil the grill grate. Discard marinade, and grill pork chops 6 to 8 minutes per side, or to desired doneness, marinating often with the reserved portion of the marinade.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPRINT

Posted In: Narrative

Comments

  1. sher says

    May 22, 2006 at 6:42 pm

    LOL!! Oh, I know what it’s like to be “in the weeds”. Sometimes that happens and I feel like I don’t know how to cook or manage a kitchen at all. And, you made cookies too!!!!!

    Reply
  2. Cate says

    May 22, 2006 at 11:12 pm

    Sher, I totally wanted to yell “in the weeds!” but I know a) I would have gotten strange looks a la “Mom’s nuts!” and b) no one would know what I was talking about. ;)

    Reply
  3. Ruth says

    May 23, 2006 at 1:47 pm

    I only recently heard the expression “in the weeds” but that doesn’t mean I haven’t lived it many a time myself!

    Looks like you done good in spite of everything.

    Thanks for sharing

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Storytelling…
Through photos.
Words. And recipes.

Archives

Categories

Instagram

#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛

Pinterest

#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨

Copyright © 2023 Sweetnicks · Theme by Vicki Harrison Design