Author Archives: Jessica

Breakfast Casserole

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Breakfast Casserole | CulinaryCousins.com

I know what you’re thinking…”her first post back in the blogging world and she chooses breakfast casserole? of all things??” Yes. It’s delicious, healthy, and only takes about five minutes to make. Who wouldn’t love that?

It’s summer and the LAST thing we want to do is slave away in the kitchen for hours on end…that’s best saved for those wretched winter months, when everything outside is grey and horribly dreadful. (I really hate winter, can ya tell? Summer is where it’s at.) I’m looking for quick 10-minute meals, using fresh ingredients, that are really satisfying. Breakfast casserole fits the mold. Continue reading →

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Tomato, Basil and Watermelon Salad

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This salad is the perfect summer dish. It’s light, refreshing, and pretty filling. It’s a Giada recipe, (love her), and it’s perfect as is. I wanted to make it a meal salad, so I added thick cut applewood smoked bacon, which complemented it nicely. Enjoy!

Start with cubed watermelon, and cherry tomatoes...

Start with cubed watermelon, and cherry tomatoes…

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Phenomenal Pancakes (Grain Free!)

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I’m not one to throw out the word ‘phenomenal’ very often. Especially in regards to food, as I tend to critique new dishes. But these are PHENOMENAL….

I’m sort of a ‘health nut’ and I love to read about the latest food trends, and “diets” (I SO hate that word, but ya know what I mean…). I recently read about the Paleo lifestyle- and while it seems like a great idea- I’m not sure I could every fully commit to it, but if I were overweight or had a serious illness or disease I’d be ALL OVER it. You can read about it here. Another great site to check out is this, and make sure you read It Starts With Food.  It’s fascinating.

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Ginger Soy Tuna

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Are you a Sushi lover? I’m not. To be honest. I’ve tried and tried to like it, but something about it sort of grosses me out. Seaweed, no problem. Rice and Vegetables, great. Fish, love it,  as long as it’s COOKED. That’s where Sushi and I have our differences. (But, I do love any sort of Sushi roll that is only vegetables or tempura fried shrimp (who wouldn’t?). )

So, to better acquaint myself with raw tuna, I bought a gorgeous sashimi-grade (read: you can eat it raw, top quality, kept frozen always) block of tuna. This type of fish is best served medium rare or, heaven-forbid, raw (ewww).  I thought the best way to serve it would be to eat it with some sort of sweet-salty-tangy glaze. Fortunately, I was right on. It was phenomenal with the glaze. Loads of fresh ginger made it really tasty. I served it over a bed of mixed greens tossed with some of the glaze that I made into a vinaigrette.

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This is exactly what great quality tuna should look like, not grey or dark purple. Pink and fresh.

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Food Find: Roasted Coconut Chips

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It’s Friday, so I’ll keep it short and sweet… I found these chips at Trader Joe’s and had to give ’em a try, since they sounded so different. The description says, “Mature coconuts soaked in fresh, young coconut milk, lightly dusted with salt and sugar.” Basically, they’re a healthier and tastier version of kettle corn: salty, sweet, crunchy, totally addicting. Try them if you have a TJ’s nearby. Happy weekend!

Crispy, Crunchy Perfection

Raw Kale Salad

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Are you tired of hearing about the “raw food” trend? Maybe you’ve never heard of it, and you’re thinking, “raw…kale…salad?! that can’t be right…”. No doubt about it, I’d say the South is probably the last region in the USA to embrace health food trends.

Who can blame us, though? Especially when it comes to a green that’s typically cooked with a ham hock for 3 hours (a la collard greens) ? The thought of eating it…raw…seems so very foreign. Truth is, once you take the leaves away from the tough stem, they are actually very flavorful all on their own. Baby kale is becoming as widely used in salad greens as baby spinach. Bottom line: kale rocks. I have it growing in my yard, and I use it in almost everything! (Kale chips are fab…another post for another day…)

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Red Velvet Waffles

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You know you’re reading this post because of the title. Red Velvet — that moist, decadent, chocolate cake concoction. Waffles — crispy, crunchy, airy goodness. Red velvet + Waffles = pure genius.  

I had the pleasure of brunching with Whitney in Charlotte a few weeks ago. We went to the Terrace Cafe, and ordered these bad boys. Of course, we knew better than to eat cake for a meal. (Or did we?) So we each got a normal brunch item too- but we had to get those waffles to whet our appetites… Continue reading →

Amazing Lemon Cranberry Scones (Gluten Free!)

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The finished product…crunchy and creamy with sweet and tart cranberries

As of right now, I don’t follow a strict gluten-free lifestyle. But I’m beginning to wonder if I should….

Gluten. Oh gluten. This was going to be my year. The year I FINALLY successfully  gave something up for Lent. After hearing a whole slew of bad press about this peculiar protein, I decided to make that my target. I was going to give up gluten for forty days. Welp, here we are, the week before Easter and I can officially say I epically failed. Epically. Like 4 days into it. I’ve eaten more glutenous foods since Ash Wednesday (start of Lent) than I’ve eaten in the past 6 months. No joke. WHY does that always happen???? That is why diets don’t work. When you are fixated on cutting something out, you eat it more often and in greater quantity- or maybe that’s just me, and my lack of dietary will power.

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Tuesday Refreshment…

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We all need a little refreshing at this point in the work week.  Yes- we are the Culinary Cousins, but No- food isn’t the only thing that inspires us. Here are a few things that made me smile today!

1. Azaleas are in full bloom here in SC, I cut these from my yard today and placed them in an heirloom blue jar from my grandmother. (LOVE hand-me-down things like that!)

Azaleas

Azaleas

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