deep in the heart

I just got back from eastern Texas and now all of my clothes smell like mesquite. I was staying in Beaumont but working in Orange County. Vidor is in Orange County, which is the one city in the USA where, according to Neil, the KKK is alive and well.

Anyway, here's a recipe. Its from the Moosewood Cookbook. Emily and I grilled corn the night before and put the kernels of two of the cobs in the batter of the corn bread. We also doubled the recipe and cooked it in a 12-inch cast iron pan instead of the square 8-inch pan the recipe calls for. The benefit of cooking corn bread in a cast iron pan is that you can get the sides and bottom really crispy. All you have to do is get the pan very hot and coat it with canola oil before you put in the batter. Then bake as normal. Here's the recipe:

Buttermilk Corn Bread

Materials

8-inch pan or 12-skillet (double recipe for this one)

1/4 C honey
1 C buttermilk
1 egg
1 C yellow corn meal
1 S unbleached white flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3 T melted butter

Beat together egg, buttermilk and honey. Mix together all dry ingredients well. Combine all ingredients, including melted butter, and mix well. Spread into buttered pan and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

this is not a recipe

How about a post without a recipe in it? Will you still read the blog? There should be a way of keeping track of who reads your blog and when. The technology is out there but I just don't care enough to implement it, I guess. So I guess I'll never know if you decided to stop reading my blog because there wasn't a recipe in this post.

Anyway, my uncle gave me a great digital SLR. I was going to get one on my own, but he wasn't using this one any more and wanted me to have it. Its a Fujifilm FinePix S3Pro. I don't have a lens for it so I need to get a lens for a Nikon mount. I'm thinking about getting this Sigma lens: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/sitem/sku=352405&is=REG

Does anyone know anything about this? Josh? Suggestions?

Rest assured that once I get a lens on that camera I will be posting photo all the time. The recipes might have to split time with the photos even. Well see what happens.

Oh, you guys. You know I can't leave you without even just a little recipe. I'll keep it short and simple, but I've got to give at least a little something.

Pesto Orzo Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Materials
a grilling device (charcoal is the best, but even a foreman will do)

1 lb orzo
1 jar of pesto
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1-2 C peas
1/2 - 3/4 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lime
salt
black pepper

Cook the orzo and let it sit and cool. Emily recommends using chicken broth to make the orzo adding a little broth at a time to the orzo in a pot while stirring, like you would do with arborrio rice for rissotto. This will make your orzo tastier, but you can boil it water and drain it like any other pasta instead. Mix in the pesto, halved cherry tomatoes, and peas (defrosted if they were frozen.) Squeeze the lime juice over the shrimp and salt and pepper them before setting on a hot grill. By the time you put down the last shrimp, the first one will probably be done on that side. Flip the shrimp over as each looks done and starts to get pink and opaque. Don't over cook! It so easy to let the shrimp over cook but don't let that happen. If there is extra lime juice, baste the shrimp with it as you turn them over. Mix the shrimp with the orzo and enjoy.