Friday Night Photos: House Renovations v. 2.0.4 (and No Turning Back Now!)

In last week's photos I showed how my sidewalks had been broken up and taken away, and this week, more demolition! Now that I've expanded the plans to add a big addition to the back of my house for an office/studio/guestroom area, the current office had to come off. I should have taken a before photo earlier in the process, but the door you see open here led into a small hall where my washer and dryer was, and to the right of the door was my previous tiny office.

Ten Low-Glycemic Menu Options for a South Beach Diet Friendly Superbowl Party

Events like a Superbowl party can be challenging if you're trying to stick a low-glycemic diet, whether it's to lose weight or for medical reasons. When I started eating the South Beach Diet way, I soon learned that when I went to a party I should take something tasty that was diet-friendly for me. That way, even if I didn't want to eat any of the other food, I still had something good and didn't feel deprived. Now that I've been maintaining my weight loss for quite a few years I might indulge a bit more for special occasions, but I do continue that habit of making sure that the food I bring is South Beach friendly when I'm going to a party. I've already mentioned that Chili is a great Superbowl party food for South Beach dieters, so you might start your menu planning with that. Besides chili, here are ten more menu options that would taste great while you're watching the game, starting with the Shrimp Cocktail with Low-Sugar Cocktail Sauce pictured above.

Chili and the Superbowl Make a Great Team

Whenever I'm attending a Superbowl party and people start talking about football, I feel like I should hold up a sign saying "I'm just here for the food," but my lack of enthusiasm for football (there I said it) doesn't diminish my appreciation of Superbowl parties in the least. I mentioned earlier this week that I was going to spotlight chili recipes and was surprised I've only posted four chili recipes because I love to make chili. Asking a chili lover to pick their favorite is like asking a mother to choose their cutest child, but if anyone asked me I'd have to pick the Black Bean and Beef Chili with Lime, Cilantro, and Avocado Salsa (pictured above and inspired by a recipe in Fine Cooking) as being my absolute favorite. It's the salsa that makes this chili over-the-top good. That said, I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging when I say that all these chili recipes are outstanding in their own way. Pick your favorite chili and give it a try, and be sure to check out the collections of chili recipes from some of my blogging friends at the end as well.

Not Just for the Superbowl Chili Recipe

(Updated: January 2008) Later this week the entire United States will be consumed with madness as people obsess over football and finger foods. Nothing says Superbowl Sunday like a big bowl of chili, so I thought this week I'd focus on chili recipes I've featured on Kalyn's Kitchen. For years this was my signature chili recipe, and I made it in 2006 for a Superbowl party at the home of my brother Mark and his wife, Lisa, a couple of great cooks. (This is definitely one of those posts where I want to update the photo, but even if the photo isn't the greatest, this is a fabulous version of chili.)

Recipe for Indian Spiced Black-Eyed Peas with Tomato and Curry Leaves

I never could find the herb called curry leaves in Utah, so I was thrilled when BlogHer editor Snighda Sen brought some for me to the BlogHer Conference in San Francisco last summer. Then on the last day of BlogHer I got the news about Sher, and didn't feel much like cooking when I got home. Into the freezer went the curry leaves, where I forgot about them until a few weeks ago when I read that curry leaves can be frozen, and I finally tried cooking with them.

The first time I used them I didn't take photos, but I liked them so much I decided I had to make something for Weekend Herb Blogging using curry leaves. I found this recipe for Curried Black-Eyed Peas at Lisa's Kitchen, and it sounded intriguing. I'm pretty much a novice at Indian cooking, so I may have done some things in my interpretation of the recipe which aren't really authentic! But even if my version isn't authentically Indian, I loved the flavor of this spicy side dish with black-eyed peas, tomatoes, and delicious curry leaves.

Friday Night Photos: House Renovations v. 2.0.3

There's been a lot of progress on the house renovations since the last update when my contractors were working in the snow and still managed to get the porch framed in. In fact the house project is moving along faster than I can manage to document it! I'm sharing pictures in order to create a record of what happened, so actually the project is a little farther along than you see here, and I've explained how the project has expanded with the decision to add a large new office/studio area. More about that next time, but when this photo was taken on January 17, I was just grateful to finally have a porch and (temporary) steps to the front door!

Recipe for Pressure Cooker Refried Beans with Onion, Garlic, and Green Chiles

Life as I know it is being seriously disrupted right now at Chez Kalyn by a huge house remodeling project. If you're a regular reader, you know about the original plans for house renovations, since I've been sharing photos. But that plan morphed into me deciding to tear off a small addition that was stuck on to the back of my house, and add a big new space that will be my future office/studio as well as guest bedroom for visiting food bloggers or relatives. There will also be a real laundry room and a hall that leads out under a covered deck that was part of the original plan. I feel very grateful to be able to improve my house like this, and it's going to be wonderful, if only I can survive the next few months with all my office and photo stuff packed into the rest of my tiny house, where the dining room has been converted to blog central with two long tables side by side making a desk and photo table.

Recipe for Cauliflower Gratin with Sharp Cheddar and Parmesan

Well you must have been wondering what I ate with that Roast Pork with Herb Rub weren't you? The second time I cooked the roast pork, this Cauliflower Gratin went into the oven when I lowered the temperature on the pork and it was a perfect side dish. This dish is a close cousin to the Broccoli Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan I made at Thanksgiving, with a few changes. Obviously you can guess that I switched sharp cheddar for the Swiss cheese, but I also replaced some of the mayo with low-fat sour cream, which I thought worked with cauliflower and made the dish a bit lighter. The cauliflower needed a little more cooking before the gratin is assembled, but this was still very simple to make, and completely delicious!

Recipe for Pork Roast with Sage or Rosemary Herb Rub

Pork roast has always been one of my favorites. However, pigs nowdays are raised to be leaner than they were twenty years ago, so cooking a succulent pork roast is challenging, especially if you're thinking about restricting saturated fat to keep things South Beach Diet friendly. In the past my instinct would have been to trim off most of the fat, but on a pork loin roast like this (a cut of pork that's approved for South Beach) I urge you to leave most of the fat so the finished roast won't be too dry. Then if you're seriously trying to follow South Beach, when you eat the roast, cut off the fat and don't eat it (a good diet tip for any piece of meat!)

Recipe for Rosemary and Garlic Herb Rub

I started this month of South Beach Diet phase one recipes with Roasted Salmon with Rosemary-Garlic Rub. Since then I've used the Rosemary-Garlic Rub on so many things that I thought it should have it's own post so I can add it to Herb and Spice Blends in the recipe archives. I love this type of flavorful rub, and if it had been summer I would have used fresh rosemary and chopped fresh garlic, like I did when I made Sage, Rosemary, and Garlic Dried Herb Rub. However I was making this in the dead of winter, so I went with dried rosemary and granulated garlic. I've gotten good feedback from quite a few people I gave it to for Christmas, but I do want to point out that the rub is 40% sea salt, so if you're not a salt lover or need to monitor your salt intake, use it sparingly or modify the recipe to have less salt.

Friday Night Links: More Utah Food Blogs You May Enjoy Reading

This Wednesday, Salt Lake Tribune food editor Kathy Stephenson featured Kalyn's Kitchen and some other Utah food blogs in a piece called Blog Appetit. (Follow that link to read about some of the people blogging about food in Utah.) I know about some of the spotlighted blogs, but what was surprising to me was how many of the blogs mentioned were new to me. When my life slows down a bit, I look forward to checking out the other Utah blogs more thoroughly.

Besides the ones mentioned in the article, there are some more food blogs in Utah that you might like to check out (especially if you have more time than I do to read other blogs!) If you scroll down my left sidebar, there is a list for Food Bloggers in Utah Kitchens, where I list blogs in Utah that I'm familiar with. Credit goes to Holly from PheMOMenon, who has started organizing Utah bloggers into a group called The Utah Hive. So far we haven't managed a get-together, but I'm sure it will happen eventually. Besides Holly, a few other Utah blogs that are pretty active in the food blogging world include Taste and Tell, The Feast Within, and Two Peas and Their Pod (by my former neighbor Maria, who started her blogging career as a guest photographer on Kalyn's Kitchen.)

Recipe Favorites: Southwestern Egg Casserole

(Updated January 2008) Early January when we started the month of South Beach Diet phase one recipes, I wrote about Basic Instructions for South Beach Diet Friendly Breakfast Casseroles, sharing options for ingredients and different sized baking dishes. When I wrote that, I looked in Eggs and Breakfast Dishes at some of the egg casseroles I've made, and it was obvious (at least to me!) that some of them needed a new photo. A few days later I made this Southwestern Egg Casserole, a recipe I came up with in 2006 for an egg casserole you can make from almost entirely pantry ingredients. My friend Georgette stopped by on her way home from church, and she gave the recipe a thumbs up! When you want to make a tasty breakfast but your vegetable crisper is empty, give this recipe a try.

Friday Night Photos: Utah Taco Salad Wars - Cafe Rio Versus Bajio

This edition of Friday Night Photos is definitely for people in Utah, but others are welcome to play along. Here in the Beehive state, a certain type of taco salad is hugely popular, and now there are two competing local chains, each with their own taco salad version. First on the scene was Cafe Rio, and despite the fact that I've never gotten around to adding a photo, the post where I share the recipe that was given to me for Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Dressing is one of my most popular posts. Above is your basic Cafe Rio Salad, a layered concoction of flour tortilla, black or pinto beans, rice, seasoned chicken, lettuce, guacamole, chips, cilantro, and salsa. Everyone in Utah loves Cafe Rio Salads.

Two More Days to Nominate Your Favorite Blogs for the Food Blog Awards

It's time once again for The Food Blog Awards, sponsored by The Well Fed Network. If you'd like to show some food blog love, you have until Friday, January 9th at 11:59 P.M. EST to leave a comment nominating your favorite blogs. Then the distinguished panel of judges will narrow down the nominations to five blogs in each of fourteen categories, and voting will begin on January 19.

I was thrilled to win a food blog award in 2006 for Best Food Blog Theme, so I know what a wonderful feeling it is. (And I'm honored that a couple of people have nominated me this year, so this isn't a plea for readers to go and leave nominations for Kalyn's Kitchen.) I'm writing this post to ask you to think about what food blogs really enrich your life, and then check to see whether they've been nominated. If you don't see them listed in a comment on the nominations post, nominate them yourself. I promise you, any food blogger you take time to nominate will be thrilled, whether or not they make it into the final five. If you're reading this you must enjoy food blogs, so head over to The Well Fed Network and show some love for your favorite blogs!

South Beach Diet Phase One Breakfast Casserole Many Ways (Basic Instructions for Breakfast Casseroles)

Shown in the photo is Mushroom and Feta Breakfast Casserole.

(Updated January 2009) Hello out there! I can see from my blog stats that there are a huge number of new South Beach dieters using the internet to find South Beach Diet friendly recipes. I've been eating the South Beach Diet way since July of 2004, and I've been making this type of South Beach Diet friendly breakfast casserole for years. You can look in Eggs and Breakfast Dishes if you want specific recipes, but I thought it might be useful for me to update this post with my basic breakfast casserole formula. I've made this lots of different ways, so here are some recommendations for various-sized pans, and a few tips I've found are helpful.

Pressure Cooker Recipe for Spicy Pinto Bean Soup with Ham, Tomatoes, and Cilantro

I'm continuing the focus on South Beach Diet phase one recipes during January with this slightly spicy soup with pinto beans and ham, finished with a touch of cilantro. This is the second soup I've made using my new pressure cooker, and I'm loving the way the pressure cooker saves time, and keeps the colors in the cooked foods. If you pre-soak the beans, this soup could easily be made in less than 30 minutes in the pressure cooker. Even though I'm wowed by my pressure cooker, I realize some people are not converts, or don't have a pressure cooker, so I'll tell you how his soup could easily be adapted to cook in a regular pot, even with canned pinto beans if desired. I loved how this soup turned out, and it's definitely one I'll be making again.

Friday Night Photos: House Renovations v. 2.0.2

It's been more than a month since I shared the last photos of my house renovations, and you can see why from this picture of the contractor's truck in my neighbor's driveway, where we're paying them to store equipment and materials. For me, just another reminder of why I don't like winter in Utah, and not much work was happening during the early part of December.

Start Your Diet with this Easy Recipe for Roasted Salmon with Rosemary-Garlic Rub

In 2006 I wrote about ten reasons I love the South Beach Diet, and one of them is the way you can go back on phase one whenever you've gained a few pounds and want to quickly get back to your target weight. I know readers think I eat nothing but salad, but actually every December I indulge a little, and then in January I get back to my regular low-glycemic way of eating by doing phase one for a few weeks. I know other people who also do this, so for the third year in a row, I'll be posting all phase one recipes during January. If anyone asked me what phase one foods I'd never get tired of, salmon would be near the top of the list, so I'm kicking off the phase one recipes with this easy recipe for salmon with Rosemary-Garlic Rub. This recipe is easy enough to make after a hard day at work, and so delicious that you won't feel like you're dieting.