Beignets de Courgette

That's correct....these are zucchini fritters. Anytime I pull the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of French Cooking off the overburdened shelf, we have a side or main dish that compliments the table, compliments the wine and is usually scheduled for the meal rotation menus.



What got me going on this one (it's a repeat side dish here) was reading Harriet Welty-Rochefort's book French Toast (my review may be found HERE. There is a bit of food mentioned...I am a sucker for Ex-Pat literature...and love the French cookbooks and experimenting with the recipes. So...viola!

One day, we hope to join friends in Carlucet France for a good visit and then we can experience the wonderful foods, wine, cheeses and a very good time soaking up the local culture in Mid Pyrenees. Can't travel now but...perhaps one day....

Beignets de Courgette


1 pound zucchini
1 small onion, minced
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Shred the zucchini and onion using a food processor. Toss all this into a bowl to mix it up gently. Now stir in the eggs, garlic, flour and salt and pepper and mix until blended. I used a wooden spoon and gently turned the mixture over and over.



Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons full into hot oil; cook until browned.



My stove runs hot so it took about four minutes per side. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain using paper towels. Keep the cooked fritters warm in the oven, use a low temperature.

These were so good. The sort of good that surprises your mouth when you gingerly take a small bite of the hot fritter.



They browned just that perfect almost too crunchy crust but kept the moistness of the vegetables. Would I make them again...oh yeah. Would I read more of Harriet's books? Sure. It's the easy way to travel and I can indulge in the food right here in my kitchen.

If you prepare these please drop me line and let me know if you like them. Bon Appetit!

Posey's Oysters and Seafood in Panacea Florida

Posey's was the place to go for good food, excellent oysters and laid back entertainment. The original building and business opened in 1929, formerly located in St Marks. It had survived storms and a kitchen fire...until 2005.
In 2005, Hurricane Dennis blew through causing irreparable damage. The old place sat by the waterside, a clear danger to anyone venturing inside the dilapidated building.

Click HERE to read about the original Posey's restaurant and the demolition. This photo below is the new location.




The new place is in Panacea, roughly 45 minutes from where we live...totally worth the trip for some delicious seafood.



Fried, blackened or grilled, you will be sure to have a great meal if you stop in here.



It's an interesting mix of clientele; there are fishermen, society ladies in Donna Karan, bikers, businessmen all being served by friendly waitresses sporting short white galoshes. Prices are very reasonable and the seafood is fresh. They even have a menu selection for those who like beef, pork and chicken.



But I just couldn't pass up that seafood. Next time I will order the grouper plate with extra hush puppies.

Next up will be Beignets de Courgette (Zucchini Fritters) linked to a book review.

For my American friends and family, have a safe and happy fourth of July celebration. Cheers to all!

What we shot during vacation. Plus, I have a new rifle!

I am sooo slow getting photos up of our vacation. It's been a hard week back at work after getting up late and lingering over second breakfast. I suppose, (I hope) this is what retirement will be like. In the meantime, here are a few shots of one of the days we went to the Otter Creek range in Wakulla county.

I am proud of my new rifle. ☺ In October we will be participating in Project Appleseed and I am looking forward to that very much. It's another fun thing Doug and i can do to enhance marksmanship skills, further our education as well as enjoy a good time together.




For the photo below, I stood on a bench to get this snap - you can see the plates way down range. You just pull the rope to set the plates up again after you shoot them down.



♫ ♫ Home, Home on the Range!! ♫ ♫



My only experience with a shotgun (when I was 12) consisted of me being overwhelmed by the noise and recoil...never have gotten over that :-) Doug is enjoying his time with a tactical shotgun though. I will just watch.



The shotgun makes these big ol' holes and lots of tiny scatter shot.



Afterwards, we are ravenous and head for the closest BBQ....... Hamaknockers.



The brisket is amazingly tender and it's difficult for me to try anything else. Yum!!

Next up is a visit to Posey's seafood joint. See ya there!!

Baked Apples, Book review links and Plans for July

First off, welcome and thank you to Ivy at Simply Beautiful and Healthy Living for becoming a follower of my site!

Hello family and friends. What interesting things have you been doing, eating, drinking and/or reading in your part of the world? Staying cool, planning vacations?

I have been reading a little more lately...a fine balance of fitting it in before dinner and a glass of wine or two, or later in the evening before bed. Having roughly 10 days off for vacation allowed me to get quite a bit more book time in as I didn't have to adhere to a schedule. Other than the dog's meds that is....otherwise, we did quite a bit of chillin' out!

My last book was How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher (For a review click on title)


This is the current book on the reading list at Cook the Books. Great read, even if it was printed waaay back in the 1940s. Of all the intriguing recipes in her book I will settle on baked apples. Growing up we had several apple trees which bordered our garden. My mother, an ingenious cook who made miracles with meager supplies, would use the fruit so many different ways. She made our applesauce, apple tarts, pies, roasted apples with pork and of course….baked apples. My father slathered the baked apples with way too much vanilla ice cream.




Baked apples

Apples…almost any kind, although Delicious are delicious.
Brown sugar (1 TB for each apple)
Cinnamon, nutmeg
Raisins, dates, leftover jam butter
water

“Core the apples, and put in a baking dish. Fill each hole with the fruit or jam, and put a dab of butter on top if you want to. Mix the sugar with enough water to fill the baking dish almost to the top, and bake slowly until the apples are tender.”

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A few other reviews I posted are The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and The Hills of Tuscany, both of which I added to my reading challenge at Goodreads as well as getting me in the mood for reading about foreign terrains again. Hey, it's a cheap way to travel and has me experimenting in the kitchen a bit more.

Beautiful Italian Countryside....would love to see this one day.....



Now I am gearing up for the humid scorching weather for July, planning some cooler meals and utilizing the grill and slow cooker more. As we speak I have a very large bowl of lemons I scored at Costco. Before they go bad I plan to make lemonade (all natural, no high fructose corn syrup for me), Lemon Posset and a Lemon Chicken with balsamic onions. Vodka Collins would be good too (Doug would use Sapphire gin in his).

Soon I will have some photos to share of us at the range as well as weekend outings in search of seafood. Can’t wait for the oyster months to arrive for fat, juicy salty oysters. Mmmmmmm………

I hope you all are enjoying summer and using lots of sunscreen!

The Picnic Game....would you like some Eton Mess?

It's that time of year again at Louise's site, Months of Edible Celebrations! This is the fifth year she has organized this event....come join in.




As I selected the letter E, I will be bringing a dish which starts with the that letter. Before I share the goodies, I will list what others brought (those whose letters preceded me).


I'm going on a picnic, and I'm bringing...

Aloo Gobi,
Blueberry Cumberland Salsa,
Crispy Curry Fried Chicken,
Dying for Chocolate Cake and

Eton Mess - Here is the latest creation of Eton Mess.




This is a photo I use for my site badge…feel free to grab it if you’d like a photo link...it's available here on my site. See, look to your right.



Couldn’t be easier to make and what a delicious way to use up fresh strawberries.

Ingredients

4 cups strawberries
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons pomegranate juice
2 cups whipping cream
1 packet individual meringue nests
Directions

Hull and chop the strawberries and put into a bowl and add the sugar and pomegranate juice and leave to macerate while you whip the cream.
Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft. Roughly crumble in 4 of the meringues nests - you will need chunks for texture as well as a little fine dust.
Take out about half a cupful of the chopped strawberries, and fold the meringue cream and rest of the fruit mixture together.
Arrange on 4 serving plates or glasses or in a mound, and top each with some.

It’s a light tasting summery dessert you should try at least one time. Bet you will want it again sometime. We love it.

Hope you all are well and I have enjoyed reconnecting with those of you (you know who you are) who have been absent from the blogging world!


I have some book reviews coming up soon as well as snaps of some outings we enjoyed during vacation.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc: Weekend Wine Review

Kim Crawford wines never disappoint. Never. The Sauvignon Blanc is one of our favorites and very reasonably priced at $13 a bottle in our area (North Florida).



This New Zealand wine from the Marlborough region (which is located in the northeast of the South island) has a wonderful climate for growing grapes. I have been reading about this as the New Zealand wines have been high on our favorite list for a long time. Why is that? Why are the wines from this region always reliable and easy on the palate? It’s the ideal temperature fluctuations and so…perfection! The grapes like this and make for a bright and clean taste. Lovely on these brutal hot evenings when humidity seems to have texture. This Sauvignon Blanc is going to be a staple in our wine rack this summer.

Enjoy with seafood, mild chicken entree or a light pasta meal.

Highly recommended!