It's been a while since I've cooked Aaron an extra nice meal so I decided it was time to do so!
Knowing he loves scallops, I thought I'd try cooking him some.
I was excited to try my hand at this seafood delicacy. They were delicious! (And I thought I wasn't a seafood fan!) My goal is to incorporate more seafood into our diet, and this provided a great first experience with it.
I also experimented with this mashed potato/yam dish:
A few years ago my Mom told me about a dish my brother-in-law, Hamish, made for her and my dad. She said he combined a yam with regular potatoes when making mashed potatoes, and that is was out of this world! She was right! I swear I couldn't stop eating it. I'm not sure what the exact ingredients he used were, but I used 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, one Red Garnet yam, and one medium onion. After dicing all three ingredients into square chunks I boiled them in a pot with a small amount of water until they were soft. After I drained the water I added about 2-3 Tbsp of butter and whipped the mixture with a hand-mixer until it was slightly combined--I wanted some chuncks to remain for added texture. I then topped it off with butter, salt, and pepper...so simple, so delicious.
Thanks, Hamish!!
But the evening didn't end there. After the girls went to sleep we made a large batch of hot process soap.
Before the oven:
After the oven:
Here's what it looked like this morning after I removed the soap logs from the molds:
The small log is for my Dad's birthday--it's scented with Star Anise essential oil--it smells just like black licorice...his favorite!
The longer log is scented with Ginger Lime fragrance oil and will be cut into tiny bars to be given as gifts at an Appreciation Luncheon Aaron is helping host at his work.
They both smell deelish! I'm toying with the idea of selling small bars of this soap with "Ginger Lime" inspired earrings. What do you think? Should I?
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! We'll be spending ours with my Dad in celebration of his 57th birthday...Hooray! I'm hoping we'll be able to visit a tulip festival while we're there...I'm crossing my fingers!
xo,
Pamela
Knowing he loves scallops, I thought I'd try cooking him some.
I was excited to try my hand at this seafood delicacy. They were delicious! (And I thought I wasn't a seafood fan!) My goal is to incorporate more seafood into our diet, and this provided a great first experience with it.
I also experimented with this mashed potato/yam dish:
A few years ago my Mom told me about a dish my brother-in-law, Hamish, made for her and my dad. She said he combined a yam with regular potatoes when making mashed potatoes, and that is was out of this world! She was right! I swear I couldn't stop eating it. I'm not sure what the exact ingredients he used were, but I used 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, one Red Garnet yam, and one medium onion. After dicing all three ingredients into square chunks I boiled them in a pot with a small amount of water until they were soft. After I drained the water I added about 2-3 Tbsp of butter and whipped the mixture with a hand-mixer until it was slightly combined--I wanted some chuncks to remain for added texture. I then topped it off with butter, salt, and pepper...so simple, so delicious.
Thanks, Hamish!!
But the evening didn't end there. After the girls went to sleep we made a large batch of hot process soap.
Before the oven:
After the oven:
Here's what it looked like this morning after I removed the soap logs from the molds:
The small log is for my Dad's birthday--it's scented with Star Anise essential oil--it smells just like black licorice...his favorite!
The longer log is scented with Ginger Lime fragrance oil and will be cut into tiny bars to be given as gifts at an Appreciation Luncheon Aaron is helping host at his work.
They both smell deelish! I'm toying with the idea of selling small bars of this soap with "Ginger Lime" inspired earrings. What do you think? Should I?
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! We'll be spending ours with my Dad in celebration of his 57th birthday...Hooray! I'm hoping we'll be able to visit a tulip festival while we're there...I'm crossing my fingers!
xo,
Pamela
This all looks so good! Thanks for the recipe, the yam and potato combination sounds fabulous! I am a huge seafood fan, but have never tried cooking with scallops before, I should try it!
That is such a good idea to tie in the soap with some earrings. That's an awesome idea!
And happy birthday to your Daddio!
Posted by: Dionne C | April 24, 2009 at 03:24 PM
My sister-in-law's family makes mashed potatoes that way too, and they are so good! Everytime he sees me making something with sweet potatoes or yams my husband wrinkles his nose and says he doesn't like them. And yet, he always ends up liking the finished dish.
I love the soap & earrings idea, although your soaps sound good enough to eat :o)
Posted by: marné | April 24, 2009 at 04:46 PM
Ooh, what a yummy mash! And, much healthier too! I'll have to give it a try. Oh, and I just remembered that my mother roasts butternut squash and then mashes it like potatoes (with a hand masher, I tried it once in the mixer and it didn't work right) with butter, salt and pepper - the best!
Posted by: Summer | April 24, 2009 at 09:25 PM
Oh wow... I can't wait to make some of those yam/mashed potatoes! They're so pretty too. Thanks for sharing :)
Posted by: Jodell | April 26, 2009 at 06:15 PM
Your food and soap look amazing. I wish we lived closer to one another! :)
Posted by: Erin | April 26, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Sooo..... did you make it down to Wooden Shoe? I have the good fortune to drive past twice a day, going to and from work, and this year is one of the best displays of color I can remember. Peak bloom is right now, too --- two weeks after the festival was supposed to have been over! Gotta love Mother Nature in Oregon.
Posted by: Susan | April 27, 2009 at 10:10 AM