GWSmith

Red onion goes in first...

XVOO to start off the saute

In this pic, the pasta, meatballs and the garlic stayed. Red onions are ready to go into the begining of the saute... Note also the fresh nutmeg, and of course, whats cooking without a great beverage ? [Y]

Ok everyone, its another round of Swedish Meatballs. This time, I wanted to try and make it TOTALLY vegetarian. This means everything from the meatballs to the sour cream.........This dish turned out to be VERY rich and tasty, we switched to the Morning Star brand this time. These were tasting more like pork then another brand we tried... Here, the first set of ingredients for the dish...

Thanks Ace. Now, some nice photos of this dinner AND the deck would be cool.... I have a whole set from last years deck dinners and breakfasts... This year, I MUST invest in a pair of outdoor speakers... (cheap boombox has been sounding a bit thin over the past few years!) J4, thanks for yours too! How did it come out in the end? Photos of a place setting ? Thanks Rick for your entry, simple as it is, its good to see a presentation of what I would call a good lunch. OK, my photos are organized from the dinner that was put together Friday evening..............stand by..... .......Gary

Thanks so much J4 for sharing !! Its good to see another cook's dish [Y] We belong to Laithwaites club, and so far after a year, they have been showing us some excellent wines (we go for the reds)... Boxx has seen our selection right from the case in photos, as he has shown his also.......a different club. My boss is a member of Zagot ... Ok on the trip to Whole Foods, yeah, thats a bit of travel for you... If you were in the mood for a drive, then I would say go for it [Y] NEWS: Photos from last night's dinner and this morning's French Omelet breakfast will be posted TOMORROW sometime, so keep and eye here for that.. .......Gary

Boxx, I suppose you are right..............things from WF are usually EXCELLENT and we don't mind paying the bit of extra expense to enjoy their cooking [] They also have a very nice VINO section. We actually have been stocking up on the Bogel Petite Sarah PORT ! They make it in limited amounts and its usually ready for sale during the Christmas holiday... The other Bogel during the winter season is 'Phantom' ! We have a little over half a case now, which was bought bottle by bottle as I find it. I remember last year buying up the last of a few bottles left at one of the liquor stores I frequent. Then, Chris will stumble on it and grab a couple more. Just a couple weeks ago, he brought home two more at a GREAT price. It usually runs $21.99 Sold during the off season, he found it for $16.99 ! OK, thats my wine story for the day [] .........Gary

Thanks for the contribution friends (in words) .. Rick, sounds like you are doing well with diet change, Dave has his health in order too! To compliment these improvements to your well being, how 'bout a photo of whats now on your tables?, hopefully something you all put together yourselves rather then something processed .. I know I cheat a little with photos of the Whole Foods offerings. I try to compliment those with something I have composed, be it a small side dish, or salad...(and we can't forget a bit of nosh to start things off) Come on, give it a try [Y] .Gary

Great banter guys !! And congrats on the workouts and diet changes too ! So glad its all working out for you and the lady [] With you and Boxx, I agree, live to EAT and enjoy life... Too many I know find dinner time a WASTE of time!! They are also of VERY simple - narrow tastes in food and would NEVER try some of the slightly adventuresome dishes we would eat on a regular basis! Most everyone here now know that both Chris and I are vegetarian, but we DO 'sea' meat of all kinds... But, hats off to your marinades and smoking your meats [] As long is it makes you happy and its done in moderation, then your all set. StewMan, good for you too! Keep that weight in check............a GOOD thing. No picture tonight, but Chris and I enjoyed a bit of Whole Foods once again, stuffed mushrooms and white corn as a side, with cumin, fresh rosemary and a bit of cyann and XVOO - sea salt... Of course, my BOX O WINE was handy this evening, have another glass going at this late hour. More to come [Y] .......Gary

Hi there DTEL ! Good to have you here poking around the foodie photos [] Thanks so much for your very nice compliments, and yes, you are right, it is a love and a bit of work to get those photos just right DURING the creation of some dishes. [] However, sharing is a big part of it and hopefully to inspire other food lovers to get creative and post their dishes too. So many dinners go by un-mentioned over the weeks, but I decided to include some of our Whole Foods choices on occasion. Perhaps you may have some great dishes from YOUR region that you may wish to share? Boxx, good to see you here as always, as I know you have posted some great dishes in the past and hopefully will again when you get the time. Yes, you did mention the Whole Foods flagship store in Austin, and ever since you mentioned it (because I didn't know that fact, and have learned something new) I now think of you and your state when I see the address on some of the packaging when it arrives here at home [Y] . All for now. .........Gary

And as always, the salad course is LAST. Here it is dressed with XVOO, a very nice FIG balsamic vinegar, RED salt, fresh ground pepper. There you have it in SHORT...... our little Tuesday evening dinner... Some home prepared, some prepared by WF [] Hope you enjoyed the tour.................lets see whats cookin' in YOUR kitchens 'til next time. ...............Gary

The VINO selection from New Zealand ! VERY nice and light for the fish....

Close up of my plate.... []

Our table setting, candles, star gazer flowers..................food here is the Salt Cod, fresh lemon slice, Indian cabage topped with organic broad leaf parsley...

Good TUESDAY evening to everyone..... Tonight, we decided to do up a dinner provided by Whole Foods. So lets start with the home created salad. Nice organic arugula, tomatoes and yellow sweet pepper topped with organic thyme...

Oh, and CLEAN setup there Ben []

Agreed T'Man, its just what I had mentioned in a previous post to Jason. Let the sub BE a true sub. If my Velodyne would go down to 30Hz cut off, I would have it there. But, alas, 40Hz. is as low as the LP can be set at... Hope you saw my DIY sub on the earlier page. It is loosly based on the SVS cylinder type subs. HSU had them a long time ago as well... ......Gary

Thanks so much Steve for stopping by for a look. Your compliments are always appreciated. Yeah, I hear you, my fast food madnesses are usually my lunches when I am NOT bringing my leftovers from dinners into work. Usually good fast food choices for me are, veggie burgs from Burger King (bottled water, NO sodas), the veggie flat bread (I get that without cheese) and the sinful hash browns at Dunkin Donuts, or a Veggie delight at Subway. All in moderation and not daily... Ok, again, thank you and stay tuned to see whats cookin' up next around here [] .............Gary

Ok Jason.............those settings sound pretty good to me. Keep us informed after you get more time to play around with the new subwoofer... (whats in that box for a driver?) Have a good one [] ............Gary

And for the FINAL photo of this little Italian 'tour', our vino selection.............. A very nice red wine which our Christmas dinner guests had brought in December. It was high time to crack this bottle open! VERY tasty for this dish.. [] Hope you enjoyed this one...............until next time...........hope this inspired you, so COOK and take plenty of photos to post right here on Fine Food and music [Y] ............all best wishes ..................Gary

Here is a closeup photo showing the dish...................topped with fresh organic broadleaf parsley and PR cheese []

Here is our table setting......................fresh bread heated, candles lighted, vino poured, we're ready to taste this dish !

Back to our dinner........................here the pasta goes into the water....

There are olives, smoked salmon on crustini crackers, rice wrapped in grape leaves and the classic cream cheese stuffed celery []

Meanwhile, lets take a look at our nosh for the evening during our Saturday evening show on NPR................A Prarie Home Companion with Garison K. [Y]