Weekend Herb Blogging #13Reflecting on 2005, Right Livelihood, and A Lucky Food For the New Year

This is the last Weekend Herb Blogging of 2005, and before I talk about black-eyed peas, I want to take time to reflect on the year that is ending. Without any question, 2005 has been a great year for me. Starting Kalyn's Kitchen has expanded my life in ways I never imagined. Writing the blog has been a rewarding way for me to combine three things I'm passionate about: cooking, writing, and photography.

In the study of Buddhism, one of the steps to enlightenment on the Eight-Fold Path is called Right Livelihood. The Buddhist principle of Right Livelihood means choosing work that at a minimum, does not cause harm to others, and at best, helps others in some way. Since my day job is teaching children, I do feel good about the work I do. However, I've come to feel that writing Kalyn's Kitchen is a continuation of Right Livelihood for me. I feel so lucky to be able to do something I love and have others possibly benefit from it. Also, as I said on my podcast Christmas message, I've learned so much from all the great people I've met from all over the world. I hope that 2006 will be a great year for all my wonderful readers and blog friends.

In the U.S., it's traditional to end the year with Resolutions of things you want to do better at in the coming year. I'm somewhat of a compulsively organized personality type, and love to make lists and check off what I've accomplished. My life is fairly much on track in lots of the things people make resolutions about, but I do have areas where I would like to improve. I think publicly declaring your resolutions can empower you to commit to them, so here are at least five of my resolutions for 2006:

1. Maintain the 40 pound weight loss I have been able to accomplish through the South Beach Diet, with an increased commitment to exercising 4-5 times a week. (That means more exercising and less reading food blogs!)
2. Drink more water and less soda. (Just do it. No explanation needed.)
   
3. Be more diligent about not wasting food. (I have two plans to accomplish this. First, I'm starting a new blog feature called "Second Helpings" where I create a new dish from leftovers. Second, I have a college-student nephew who lives near me, and I'm going to start sharing leftovers with him in a more organized way.)
4. Start another blog to feature South Beach friendly recipes and good cooking tips I find on other food blogs. (My list of bookmarks is out of control. Watch for my second blog, Food Blog Finds, coming in 2006.)
5. Last, but not least, I want to seriously resolve to spend more time with the people I love. I'm always driven to create, produce, succeed, and I don't always take time to focus on simply enjoying relationships. (If I was listing my resolutions in priority order, this would be number one for 2006.)

Now, back to blackeye peas. They are also called black-eyed peas or cowpeas, but they are actually a type of bean which is eaten all over the world. What makes them a New Year's food is the tradition in the southern U.S. of eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year's Day to bring wealth or good luck. Supposedly in this traditional southern dish called Hopping John, the peas represent coins while the collard greens represent dollar bills. I did find some interesting dishes on other food blogs using black-eyed peas. At Kitchen Parade, Alanna was showcasing Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad, which sounded wonderful to me. The other black-eyed pea dish that caught my eye was at Fresh Approach Cooking, where Rachel created Black-eyed Pea Risotto. Not for carb counters, but decidedly delicious sounding.

Tomorrow I'm having my annual New Year's Day "Soup Party" and as I type this I am cooking Hopping John Soup which contains black-eyed peas, ham, onions, celery, and collard greens. Check back tomorrow for that recipe, which will be my entry in Cooking Diva Melissa's New Year's Recipe and Photo Swap.

If you want to fit in a little Weekend Herb Blogging between drinking champagne and other festive activities, you have until mid-afternoon on Monday to blog about any herb, plant, veggie, or flower, link to me with the words Weekend Herb Blogging, and send me your permalink (kalynskitchen *at* comcast *dot* net). I will publish the recap of Weekend Herb Blogging posts from around the world on Monday evening this week, due to the holiday. Also, don't forget to check out Weekend Cat Blogging at Eatstuff, and Weekend Dog Blogging at Sweetnicks.

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Who Knew Low Carb Could Taste So Good?A Year of Great Tasting Food

The new year is coming, and for many it's a time to resolve to lose weight. Although I'm an advocate of the South Beach Diet, (at least my own version which has morphed out of my own food preferences), I'm not a low carb diet missionary, trying to recruit others into the lifestyle! I consider Kalyn's Kitchen to be a food blog, not a diet blog, and I consider the way I eat to be good food, not diet food.

However, I do know that others who are eating the low carb or slow carb way use my blog as a resource. It would make me happy if learning about this way of eating could help someone who has struggled to lose weight due to a love of good food. For that reason, during the month of January I'm going to do a little more talking about dieting. I'll be featuring a few posts telling my experiences on the diet, explaining the glycemic index, and giving suggestions for low carb products. Most of my posts during January will feature ideas for yummy food for anyone who is starting a low carb or low glycemic diet.

I'm going to call this series of posts Who Knew Low Carb Could Taste So Good? That means if you're not on a low carb diet, and don't intend to be, you will find plenty of good tasting food here just like always. Just to show you what I mean, today I'm going to review some of my favorite truly delicious things I have eaten over the past year. (Apologies from Kalyn: since I'm having a big party in two days, I'm not going to take the time to make all these recipes into links. However, if one of these dishes sounds good, you can find the recipe by visiting my recipe index in the sidebar, or by typing the recipe name into the Google search box, also in my sidebar.)

JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL

I started my blog in April of 2005. However, for quite a few months before that I had been sending recipes to friends who I had put on an e-mail list after they asked what I was eating. The first day I created my blog I posted 18 recipes which I had transferred from that e-mail list. Some of my favorites from early 2005 were Greek Lemon Chicken, Baked Fish with Onions, Peppers, Feta, and Olives, Grilled Tilapia with Parmesan Crust, Chicken with Kalamata Olives, and the original recipe for "Egg Muffins".

MAY

Favorite recipes in May included Georgette's Greek Zucchini, Rosemary Mustard Grilled Chicken, Alice Springs Chicken Casserole, Cafe Rio Salad Recipes (my most frequently "searched for" recipe by far), and Very Greek Grilled Chicken.

JUNE

In June school got out, and I was cooking lots of salads and grilled foods. Yummy favorites in June included Grilled Spicy Tuna, Ginger-Soy Pork Chops, Kalyn's Souvlakia, Kalyn's Low Carb Coleslaw, Summer Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese and Basil, and Grilled Lime and Chipotle Pork Chops.

JULY

In July I was chowing down on Broccoli Cheese Breakfast Casserole (still one of my favorites), "Wake Up Your Mouth" Thai Cucumber Salad, Italian Sausage Pasta Salad, Garden Spagetti Squash (my number two most "searched for" recipe), Grilled Sea Bass with Lemon and Capers, "Creamed" Zucchini, and Curried Chicken on the Grill with Cilantro Chutney.

AUGUST

August favorites included yummy dishes like Trudy's Salad in a Cucumber Cup, Cuban Pork Chops Mojo, Block Island Breakfast Casserole, Block Island Zucchini, Grilled Chicken Thighs with Asian Marinade, Janet's Mustard Chicken, and Val's Kid-Friendly Zucchini Rounds with Cheese.

SEPTEMBER

In September I posted about Basil Vinaigrette for Drizzling on Tomatoes, Chicken Stuffed with Chiles and Cheese, Green Chile and Cheese "Egg Muffins" (one of my favorite breakfasts now), Almond and Parmesan Baked Tilapia, Really Lemony Greek Pilafi, Chicken and Asparagus with Curry Sauce, and Turkey Cutlets with Dijon Sauce. The biggest thing that happened in September was that I entered the digitial camera age! Now I could take photos of my food. It was also so much fun taking photos at school that I started a student blog where my fourth grade students could blog to each other. (They love leaving comments and post things like "Do you like school? If you do, leave me a comment.)

OCTOBER

In September I cooked Marianted Flank Steak, Italian Sausage and Zucchini Soup, Mary's Perfect Salad Dressing for Spring Valley Salad Mix, Low Carb Snickerdoodles, Roast Chicken with Cilantro and Lime, and Nick's Chipotle Grilled Shrimp with Black Bean Salsa. In September I also started Weekend Herb Blogging, which has turned out to be a wonderful way for me to meet new blog friends and learn about interesting plant foods from all over the world. I also took my first restaurant food photo, started cooking lessons with Sophie, and published my first cookbook review in October. Last, but not least, it was in October that Rand and Bradley designed and installed new headers for Kalyn's Kitchen as well as Kalyns Kitchen Recipes and Kalyn's Kitchen Links.

NOVEMBER

In November I blogged about Leftover Roast Beef Italian Stew, Kalyn's Tabbouli with Almonds, Parmesan Chicken, Chicken Adobo, Thanksgiving Gravy, and published my first Kalyn's Kitchen Cooks the Best Recipes in the World recipe for Ginger Chicken from Thailand. I celebrated Thanksgiving dinner with my family this month, and my wonderful father also turned 80 years old, both occasions for a little diet cheating, and when I did lose complete control and eat at McDonald's, I confessed about it on the blog. (Just for the record: I have not had the desire to go back!)

DECEMBER

Of course there's always plenty of delicious food around in December. I was cooking things like Slow Roasted Asparagus, Chicken, Black Bean, and Cilantro Soup, Low Carb Macaroni and Cheese with a Grown-up Twist, Forbidden City Chicken, Sauteed Scallops with Garlic, and lots and lots and lots of soup! I discovered how hard it is to get a really good photo of soup! I made one of my favorite new dishes for the entire year, Cauliflower Fried in Butter. In Decmber I was interviewed about my blog by Bloggasm, and I published Kalyn's Kitchen Christmas Message, my first podcast. (When the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Eve I will officially stop bragging about the podcast, but for now, I am proud as punch for two more days!) The Christmas holidays came, and I had time to re-organize my recipe archives with a separate page for each category. (And now my sisters and sister-in-laws are requesting a category for marinades, so I guess I will be adding a new one soon.)

Of course December is still not over, so I will be cooking some great foods the next two days, including a special New Year's Food for Weekend Herb Blogging #13. Be sure to check back tomorrow to read about that. And if you're a blogger and would like to participate, just photograph and write about any herb, plant, veggie, or flower, link to my blog with the words "Weekend Herb Blogging", send me the link by mid-afternoon on Monday (moved ahead a day due to the holiday) and I will feature you in the recap on Monday night. I've already received one link for this weekend, and it's for another new plant I had never heard of. For me, the absolute best part of writing this blog and doing Weekend Herb Blogging is "meeting" so many interesting people from all over the world. Thanks to all of you for enriching my life this year.

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Family Party TonightHere's One of the Soups We're Having

I mentioned I was having a party tonight for some of my family, and promised to share some photos of the soup. Then I realized that I already had a photo of one of the soups in my archives, so I thought I'd share it early. This is from my recipe archives, first posted October 6, 2005. I've made this for several occasions since and it's been a hit everywhere I've served it.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND ZUCCHINI SOUP
5 links hot Italian Sausage (I used turkey Italian Sausage)
olive oil, for browning sausage
1 small onion, diced small
1 T finely chopped fresh garlic (or garlic puree)
2 cups diced zucchini (see instructions below)
6 cups chicken stock (or 4 cans chicken broth, reduced slightly)
3 cups frozen roasted tomatoes (or 2 cans diced tomatoes with juice)
1-2 cups water
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. dried basil
1 cup Dreamfield's macaroni
3 T minced fresh basil (optional)
fresh grated parmesan cheese for topping soup

Brown sausage in olive oil in large nonstick frying pan until well browned and firm. Remove sausage to cutting board and cut in 3/8 inch slices. Put sausage back in frying pan and brown both sides of slices well. While sausage browns, combine chicken stock, roasted tomatoes, oregano, and basil in medium stock pot and start to simmer. When sausage is thoroughly browned, add it to stock mixture. Put onions in pan you used to brown sausage and saute 3-4 minutes, until starting to soften. Add minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add onions and garlic to soup. Deglaze pan with 1 cup water and add to soup, then simmer 30 minutes.

Cut ends off zucchini and cut lengthwise into fourths, then trim away all but 3/8 inch of white part. Cut zucchini strips into 1/2 inch slices. Add zuccini to soup and simmer 15 minutes. Taste soup for flavor and add second cup of water if needed. Add pasta, check heat to be sure soup is at a very gentle boil and cook 15 minutes more. Stir in fresh basil if using and cook 5 minutes more. Serve soup with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

Counting Carbs?

If you are a serious South Beach Dieter or low carber, I hope you did not gasp when you saw the 1 cup of macaroni in this soup. First of all, there is a lot of sausage, zucchini, tomatoes, and broth compared to the amount of macaroni. Second, if you are careful about using Dreamfields pasta (which is absolutely delicious and has only 5 net carbs per serving) the carb count is very minimal. The macaroni does add a lot to the soup, but you could leave it out if you wanted.

Check back tomorrow to hear about the other soups we're having, plus a low carb cheesecake recipe I'm trying.

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Tallking About Christmas PresentsHappy Birthday to Rand

Happy Birthday wishes today go to my wonderful brother Rand. Since I moved away from my parents' house at age eighteen, when Rand was only four years old, who ever imagined that we would grow up to be the best of friends? Of course I can't tell you how old he is today, since then you guys could do the math and figure out my age (which I have vowed never to reveal). Let's just say that a lot of years have gone by. During that time we've shared a love of exotic food, travel, and movies. We spent time together in Hong Kong and Beijing when Rand was consulting on a television commercial there. I've visited him at his houses in Chicago and Venice Beach, and he has stayed at my house in Salt Lake City. We've had fun sharing the 80 ways we love our 80 year old dad on the family blog (Rand's idea) and eaten a lot of good Thai food together. It's great having a good friend for a brother.

My sister Pam left a comment mentioning that I'm always saying what a great brother I have, and it made me realize I need to be sure you know I have a lot of wonderful brothers and sisters. I'm very, very lucky that way. If I mention my younger brother Rand here more often than Sandee, Pam, Mark, Janet, David, Vida, Laurel, and Valerie, it's only because he is so connected with my blog. Rand and his partner Bradley have their own wireless technology blog and online store, and they were the ones who encouraged me to start Kalyn's Kitchen. This year for Christmas Rand gave me professionally designed (by him!) business cards. I tried to show you one, but have you ever tried to photograph a business card? Just for the record, the garlic in the background is out of focus on purpose! The other side has my logo, Who Knew Low Carb Could Taste So Good? and my e-mail address. The cards are perfect. Thank you Rand, and have a wonderful birthday. I love you very much.

For Christmas I asked people in my extended family (84 of us counting baby Brayden who was born on Christmas Day) to give me some kind of interesting hand-me-down plate, bowl, or dish that I could use for food photographs. Let's Dish will be a new feature on Kalyn's Kitchen where I mention who provided the dish used in a food photo. I thought this would be a fun way to share some of the people in my life. Tomorrow I will be cooking for some of those great people, as members of the family who live nearby are coming to Aunt Kalyn's house for a soup party. I probably won't try to photograph people attending the party, but maybe I can share some photos of the soup.

Before I finish, another reminder about Kalyn's Kitchen holiday message. This three minute podcast is your chance to hear my voice if you're reading from somewhere far across the world! As soon as the New Year comes I promise to stop bragging about this, but for now, I am quite proud.

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Weekend Herb Blogging #12A Recap with Photos!

Earlier in the week, I wondered whether to cancel Weekend Herb blogging due to Christmas being on the weekend. I just started my blog in April, so I hadn't blogged through the holidays and didn't know what to expect. I assumed lots of people would be busy with other things, and based on my blog stats, they were! However, I am happy to report that Weekend Herb Blogging did survive. I've decided having only three herb blogging posts means I can give you a sample of the photos in the recap, something I usually can't manage when there are a lot of posts.

NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A.

The lovely Paz from The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz sent a wonderful post on Holly. Paz spotted the holly in a flower shop when she was out walking, and managed to snap this shot before her camera battery gave out. She also shares some interesting information about Holly (don't eat the berries unless you are a bird, and then it's ok!) and tells about the origins of the song, Deck the Halls. Paz also has some other lovely holiday photos on her blog, so go check it out.

SINGAPORE

The second herb blogger was a new participant, the talented Stephanie from Mana Makan - The Feast Crusade. Stephanie shared some of the herbs and spices that go into her recipe for mutton curry, and they all looked so wonderful I wondered which photo to share, but since it was Christmas, this red and greek okra seemed like it was meant to be featured. Other things Stephanie photographed and blogged about include lemongrass, galangal, and curry leaves, so be sure to go visit her and read about those too. Stephanie also promises she will be back another time to share some of the rest of the things that go into her wonderful curry, so we look forward to that.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH U.S.A.
This week I wrote about the Ponderosa Lemon that was a gift from Ben, one of my students. I promised to report back on the juice, which prompted this photo showing the amount of juice I got from the gigantic lemon. (The juice was frozen before I thought of taking the photo which is why the jar looks a little frosty. I put it next to a can of my favorite addiction only to show the perspective and not because Coke is giving me a kickback.) I tasted the juice and to me it tasted just like regular lemon juice, which did surprise me. Now I want a Ponderosa Lemon tree in my house more than ever. I heard from a reader who told me that in Corpus Cristi, Texas, the local weathercaster brings the lemons on his show once in a while. Guess that's kind of the grown-up version of Ben bringing it for "show and tell" isn't it?

Next weekend is another holiday, but I figure that if Weekend Herb Blogging can survive Christmas, it can certainly survive New Year's. I know that lots of regular herb bloggers will be busy, but for those who want to do herb blogging, I will publish the recap on Monday again next weekend. If you want to participate, simply write about any herb, plant, veggie, or flower sometime over the weekend, link to my blog with the words Weekend Herb Blogging, and then send me the link (kalynskitchen *at* comcast *dot* net) and I will include you on Monday night.

I do notice a lot of bloggers are taking time off, and I will probably be posting sporadically over the next week. I'm having three dinner parties, so that should give me plenty of good material, but I doubt I'll have much time to work on posting it. Meanwhile I'm working on a couple of new features for Kalyn's Kitchen. Let's Dish will be a footnote added to some recipes where I tell you who gave me the dish used in the photo and share a bit of information about that person. Second Helpings is an idea whose time has come, at least in my freezer, where I show how you can make a second dish from leftovers of a recipe I have posted. Check back after the new year for those new features.

Speaking of blog features, if you have not heard it, you still have a chance to hear my actual voice on Kalyn's Kitchen Christmas Podcast. It's worth a listen, just to hear the tiny little political statement I sneak into the end of the podcast. It took me an entire day to create a 3 minute message, but I'm proud of it. If nothing else, my students were mighty impressed!

I want to end this post by sending some loving thoughts to a regular Weekend Herb Blogging participant and a wonderful person, Farmgirl, whose brother died on Christmas Eve. I know from personal experience that nothing but lots of time can reduce the pain of losing someone you love, but I hope that knowing that others are thinking of her can help Susan to make it through this difficult time.

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A Holiday Message from Kalyn's KitchenKalyn's First Podcast!

At this time of the year, it's so hard to put into words that feeling of connection among men that the holiday season represents. Whatever form your personal celebration takes, the season when one year ends and another begins has meaning beyond the simple passing of the year. The holidays represent the possibility of a better tomorrow, the hope for peace on earth, and the remembrance of those who have touched our lives in the year that is ending.

This year, starting Kalyn's Kitchen has changed my life in ways that I truly never imagined. I am honored that so many of you have chosen to make reading my thoughts about cooking and food a part of your daily life. It's been great making new friends, learning new things, and sharing my passions through writing the blog. I hope the year to come will be a wonderful one for all of you.

Now, I've been hinting for a few days about a Christmas surprise message. I took a class recently where I had the chance to make a podcast. How amazing our world is that we can record ourselves talking, and then others can hear it by clicking a link on their computer screen. I marvel at all the things that the mind of man can imagine. You'll need to have a media player installed on your computer and the sound turned on to hear Kalyn's Kitchen Christmas Podcast Message. I hope you enjoy it.

I'm going to take the next few days off from writing the blog, but I'll be back on Monday evening to let you know whether anyone was herb blogging over the weekend. Also, I will report about the flavor of the Ponderosa Lemon that I featured for my own herb blogging post this weekend. If anyone wakes up Monday with a great herb blogging idea, just send it to me by midafternoon on Monday (kalynskitchen *at* comcast *dot* net) and I will include you in the recap. Meanwhile, over at Eatstuff, Kiri has returned so Clare is having the best Christmas and Weekend Cat Blogging ever! Be sure to check it out.

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Weekend Herb Blogging #12Pondering the Ponderosa Lemon

This is going to be a short Weekend Herb Blogging post with no recipe because I'm busy today getting Christmas stuff ready and also I want to get my Christmas Message posted right after this. (Yes, I admit I'm bumping it up a day. I'm just like a kid waiting for Christmas about this message! I guess I just can't wait any longer to share it.)

Still, I think this will interest you, unless you live somewhere where lemons grow, in which case you might have already seen this gigantic lemon. The huge pimpled skin lemon above is called a Ponderosa Lemon. An adorable student of mine named Ben brought one to school for "show and tell". His grandmother spends the winters in Arizona, and she had brought some home to Utah for Christmas. I was completely entranced with the Ponderosa lemon, and Ben must have noticed because the next day he showed up with one for me as a gift.

When I did some online research on Ponderosa Lemons, I found that they are a little less hardy than other lemon trees, but can be grown most places where there is not hard frost. I borrowed this photo from Trade Winds Fruit, which sells the seeds, so you can see how they look when they are growing. I also found a place that sells the plants, and they even hinted about the plant being grown indoors, which certainly piqued my interest. Ben's grandmother told me that she has gotten as much as a cup of juice from one lemon. I buy the bags of lemons at Costco and squeeze the juice, so having a lemon tree would be wonderful.

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Inspired by Farmgirl's Lentil SoupGoodbye to Steve

It's always sad when you have to say goodbye to someone you really enjoyed having in your life. That happened to me recently when my next door neighbor Steve decided to leave Salt Lake for some new adventures in life. Steve was a great guy, charming, intelligent, and friendly, the perfect neighbor, and someone I will really miss talking to.

I live on a street where a lot of like-minded people enjoy each other's company, and I seriously doubt if Steve really had any idea how much everyone in the neighborhood loved having him around. He had a party to say goodbye on the day he closed on the sale of his house, and pretty much everyone in the neighborhood showed up. I made a double batch of this lentil soup for that party, inspired by a great lentil soup recipe that Farmgirl had on her site. Of course I had to change the recipe a little to preserve my reputation as The Woman Who Never followed a Recipe In Her Life. Farmgirl said she would not mind a bit if I called my version Steve's Lentil Soup, so that whenever I see this recipe I can remember what a great friend he was.

STEVE'S LENTIL SOUP
Inspired by Farmgirl's Lentil Soup with slight adaptations

(If you're counting carbs: This could be made lower in carbs by increasing the amount of sausage in proportion to the other ingredients, but lentils, carrots, and onions are all considered "good" carbs on the South Beach Diet.)

1 pkg. (14 oz.) smoked turkey kielbasa or turkey sausage
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 T finely chopped garlic (or use 2 tsp. garlic powder and add with liquid ingredients.)
1 cup lentils
1 can tomatoes, pureed in blender
3 cans water (use the can from the tomatoes)
2 T chicken soup base (Better than Bouillon brand is good)
1/4 cup dried parsley or 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 T sweet paprika (I used Penzeys)
1 tsp. smoked paprika (La Chinata brand is excellent if you can find it)
salt/pepper to taste
fresh chopped parsley for serving if available

Cut sausage in 1/2 inch slices, heat olive oil in large heavy soup pot, and saute sausage until well browned. Don't rush, this may take 8-10 minutes to get a good browning on both sides. Remove sausage and let cool.

In same pot, saute onions and carrots 3-5 minutes, adding more olive oil if needed and scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits of sausage that remain. (If using fresh garlic, add at this point and saute 2 minutes more.)

Add lentils, pureed tomatoes, water, and chicken soup base, and cook 20-30 minutes on low simmer. (If using garlic powder, add with these ingredients.) Cut browned sausage pieces into half moons and add with parsley, cumin, sweet paprika, and smoked paprika, and cook one hour or longer. You will probably need to add more water several times during this cooking time. I like to cook it until most of the lentils have disintegrated into the soup. (If desired you can remove some of the lentils without any sausage pieces and puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender. I've made this twice, and one time I did that and the other time I didn't and it didn't seem to make a great deal of difference.) Season with salt and pepper as desired. (It will not need a great deal of salt.) Serve with chopped fresh parsley as a garnish if available.

If you're a regular reader, I'm going to do my Weekend Herb Blogging #12 post on Friday this weekend, with a fun little item that was actually a gift from one of my students! Then for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day I'm going to bring you my Surprise Christmas Message. Don't forget to check back for that.

I don't know how many people will manage to fit Weekend Herb Blogging into their schedule for the next two weekends, but for anyone who is interested, I am moving the recap to Monday for those weeks. If you want to participate, just photograph and write about any herb, veggie, plant, or flower, link back to me with the words Weekend Herb Blogging, and then send me the permalink (kalynskitchen *at* comcast *dot* net). I will post a round-up of all the herb bloggers from around the world on Monday.

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Kalyn's Kitchen CooksThe Best Recipes in the WorldSauteed Scallops with Garlic (France)

I am still working my way through Mark Bittman's wonderful new cookbook, The Best Recipes in the World. In this book Bittman experiments with the best dishes from countries all around the world, and then presents them in a way that home cooks can duplicate. Bittman's famous "minimalist" cooking style, where he doesn't fuss, but does just enough fancy preparation to make the food memorable, really shines in a dish like this. Scallops can be a little tricky to cook at home, since they are so easily overcooked. Overcooking turns them rubbery and tasteless, so be careful. I live in Utah where it would be difficult or extremely expensive to get fresh scallops, but I used frozen scallops from Costco to make this (thawed in the refrigerator) and they were very good.

There are three kinds of scallops. The large ones like I used are sea scallops, always best cooked slightly underdone. Medium sized scallops are bay scallops, considered the most tasty, especially when they are caught wild. Calico scallops are the tiny ones you might see being breaded and deep fried in a fish and chips place; personally I don't think they have any flavor at all compared to the other two types.

I did dredge these in a tiny, tiny bit of white flour to get them nice and browned. Please do not call the South Beach Diet police. The total amount of flour in one serving would be well under a teaspoon of flour. If you're concerned about fat, most of the butter and olive oil is left in the pan.

SAUTEED SCALLOPS WITH GARLIC
from The Best Recipes in the World
(2 servings)

8 large sea scallops or about 1 pound bay scallops
2 T flour for dredging (most will be left on the plate)
1 T good quality olive oil
1 T butter
salt/pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
parsley, for garnish
fresh lemon slices to squeeze over if desired
(I did eat it with the lemon, which was my only real change to the recipe)

Dry scallops gently with paper towel. Put oil in medium frying pan and turn on heat to medium. Add butter, and while butter melts, dredge each scallop in flour on both sides. When butter is starting to foam, add scallops to pan. Cook until scallops are barely browned on both sides and starting to feel firm, but not until they feel completely firm, about 2 minutes per side for the initial browning. (This will depend on the thickness of your scallops. Mine were quite thick.)

When both sides are browned slightly, add garlic, lower heat a little, season with salt and pepper as desired, and cook about 2 minutes more, either stirring or shaking the pan so the garlic is well distributed around all the scallops. Garnish with parsley and serve hot, with lemon slices if desired.

I was planning to make these for dinner for my friend Georgette, but when she arrived I found out she was allergic to scallops. I also have a couple of sisters who are allergic to shellfish. I feel sad for them, since thick scallops like this are one of my favorite foods, something I would be likely to order in a seafood restaurant. However, if you make the scallops you could still serve them with Georgette's Really Lemony Greek Pilafi in her honor. This yummy rice plus Mary's Perfect Salad would be a great dinner combination.

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Split Pea Soup with Bay Leaves and Epazote(Don't Miss Kalyn's Christmas Message)

This is the second post about bay leaves for Weekend Herb Blogging #11. Today I'm going to share the recipe for a yummy split pea soup I made using bay leaves and just a touch of epazote to season the soup. I decided to show you another picture of these beautiful fresh California bay leaves since it's really difficult to get a note-worthy photo of split pea soup! Besides, you know what split pea soup looks like, don't you?

You could consider this post to be an herb blogging bonus since I'm guessing many of