Heida Olin's blog

Roasted vegetables are a staple in our house. They are so easy and so versatile. I'm never without root veggies, onions, and carrots so the base is always there. Last night I tossed a bunch of fresh asparagus on top of potatoes, onions, carrots, and red pepper to roast along with smoked sausage at the last minute (last 8 minutes to be exact) and it turned out scrumptious. I tossed all the vegetables with a little peanut oil for a simple change and used a Cajun seasoning for spicy interest.

I can honestly say I love to cook but more than cooking I like to talk about cooking. I love it when someone says they used one of my recipes from Lee Magazine and enjoyed making and eating the dish. Even better is when I suggest a recipe to a young lady and she can't wait to try it then raves about how good it was. I think I'll try sharing some recipes on these blogs that are delicious and simple. Salsa chicken is amazing and so simple you won't believe it could be as good as it is. It's great served with Spanish rice, or just over a nice green salad. Try it you'll be surprised.

March says Spring to me and Spring says time to start planting. Okay so this year March planting in Auburn might be a little iffy. Folks, I'm holding out for warmer weather to descend upon us very soon and we will all forget the cold bitterness of this winter. I'm ready for fresh stuff like salad greens and asparagus, with local eggs - doesn't that sound like a fritatta? Turkey bacon, sliced strawberries and what the school cafeteria calls orange smiles out of Mandarin oranges on the side. Now we're talking Spring!

Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez! Having lived in New Orleans for 5 years it was easy to get caught up in the happenings of Mardi Gras. It's an amazing party that starts the night before and doesn't end until you manage to move your car and make it home. I love the food styles in New Orleans and believe me eating them is no hardship. I always buy a bigger ham than my family can consume at Christmas anticipating gumbo and jambalaya on Fat Tuesday. Right now I have a huge pot of jambalaya cooking, French bread baking and a wonderful light tossed salad waiting for my jubileers to chow down.

I picked up a carton of Florida strawberries to put on our fruit tray for the Super Bowl Game and was amazed at how gorgeous they were. These were not the little deformed strawberries that often come out at this time of the year because of lousy weather and the industry pushing to have them on the market. No these were not to big, not to small, not to sweet, just perfect for chocolate covered strawberries.

OK, so we're past the major holidays and Valentine's day is a minor one but there is no denying it has to be the time to indulge in chocolate. You can go out and buy all kinds of expensive stuff but some of the best chocolate I have ever eaten comes from the kitchen. Fudge of course is my favorite and folks, the kind you make with sweetened condensed milk is absolutely fabulous. Unfortunately in Alabama making a complicated scratch fudge really does depend on the weather if you want it to come out the right consistency, if that doesn't matter, eat it with a spoon...

I have to tell you about a Spinach Salad I made yesterday for dinner. We were getting really tired of the run of the mill green salad and I thought it was time to perk up our options. We all like spinach salad but it can get really heavy and sometimes enough so that it needs to be a main course. Here's what I did to make it a great side salad. I used baby spinach, a chopped Fuji apple, candied walnuts, grated Havarti cheese and a light vinegarette. It was wonderful. So light and flavorful I plan to make it regularly.

I'm psyched! January was one of those months that couldn't get over soon enough for me. Every morning I'd wake up and wonder what might happen and generally I was dreading whatever it was going to be. Tomorrow is February 1 and I am so grateful I think I'll rise and do a happy dance first thing in the morning. This is the month of wearing red, love, and getting things together. I start a program with a couple of personal trainers on Tuesday from AU and I'm really excited about it.

The birds are ice skating on the birdbath! Honestly, every year I wonder if it could get colder but this one really takes the cake. (Hmmm think I might bake one today, use up the leftover eggnog) It's just not right! Alabama should not be this cold. I don't mind when it gets down to freezing at night but 18 degrees is a bit ridiculous. A lot of people in this region have heat pumps and they really struggle with warming up their houses. My husband says I'm a wuss but not being able to warm up your feet is a major bummer! Hopefully that's all I'll say on this subject.

For Christmas dinner I made a gorgeous ham and beef filets. There was, as always, way too much food so I took the au jus from the beef (I roast it on a bed of onions and peppers) along with the vegetables and froze that, we didn't need gravy and everyone ate their fill. These left over juices mixed with my chicken stock turned into a great noodle soup (yeah I made fresh noodles). It's such a cold night and I wanted something fast before the basketball game so I made the noodle soup and fried some leftover rolls in a little garlic butter. Yum.