Kitchen Tip #1

A couple of days ago I gave my son a banana for breakfast and threw the banana peel into the sink. I then forgot about and walked into my kitchen about an hour later with the banana peel in my sink covered with fruit gnats. I wanted to just share a quick tip on how to get rid of these annoying little insects as it also seems that they seem to appear in my kitchen this time of year.

To get rid of gnats, fill a glass with vinegar. A glass with a narrow opening is best, I usually use a wine glass. Any type of vinegar will work, though I have had the best results with apple cider vinegar. cover the opening of the glass with aluminum foil and secure with rubber band. Next, poke several small holes in the foil, a toothpick works best. Set the vinegar trap close to an area where the gnats like to gather like the sink, fruit basket, or garbage. The gnats are attracted to the vinegar smell and will crawl down the holes and then not be able to get back out. Eventually they will all fall into the vinegar and drown. I find that this trap doesnt take long to work, I usually only have to set it out for a day! Hope this trick works well for you too!

Food for Fit for a Picnic

To start out, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Reading Cuisine has been light on posts lately. I really haven't been posting very regularly at all. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, my baby boy is not really a baby anymore, but a 16 month old toddler who is into anything and everything. I dont always have a lot of time to sit down and write a reflective or thoughtful post. I have another blog about our family for friends and relatives that I have trouble keeping up on! However, I am going to try harder at posting more frequently.

Secondly, however, I have just been uninspired in my cooking lately. I usually get in a cooking rut around this time. Our tomatoes are not ripe yet, so the recipes I have been saving for them can't be used just yet. I also am sick of hot weather by this time, although it has cooled down for a couple of days here in Columbus, Ohio, and am longing for fall. I can't wait until football season and the fun foods that go along with fall and football like Chili and the wide array of soup recipes and braising recipes I have been saving up. Chili and soup just dont go with summer.

Anyway, with all that said I decided to post one of my favorite recipes. I keep only the best recipes and transfer them to a program on my computer. The one I am posting is great for summer or fall! The recipe is for Chicken and Bacon wraps. They would be easy and great for a football game, but we have also made them for a picnic and they work great!! They can be serve hot or room temperature. I hope you enjoy them as well as we do. This recipe is from Cooking Light, but I have adapted a bit to our liking. The original recipe calls for fresh tarragon, but I use thyme since I grow it in our garden. I marinate and grill chicken tenders for the chicken, but you could use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery, or left over chicken from the night before.

Chicken and Bacon Wraps

½ cup reduced fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh tarragon, minced (I use thyme instead of tarragon)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 whole wheat flatbreads, such as Flatout
2 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
4 center cut bacon slices, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded skinless chicken

Combine mayonnaise, tarragon, and fresh lemon juice in a small bowl. Spread 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture over each flatbread. Top each with lettuce, tomato, 1 bacon slice, crumbled, and chicken. Roll up like a burrito or fajita wrap. Makes approx 4 wraps.

Note: This recipe would also work well with turkey, I am thinking left over Thanksgiving turkey.

Salmon with Lemon and Rosemary

I have made this recipe a couple of times and I do think it is one of my favorites. It is so easy to make and clean up! The salmon comes out perfectly cooked, nice and juicy with a lot of flavor! I have to give credit to where credit is due. This recipe is from Giada de Laurentis and the Food Network. This recipe serves 4, but can easy be decreased or increased in serving size. The recipe is as follows:


4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
4 teaspoons capers

4 pieces of aluminum foil

Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.

You can serve in the foil packets, but I serve it on a plate. The fish and other contents will easily slide off of the foil. I have served this with vegetables before, but it is also great on a bed of orzo or rice as there is a lot of juice left that can be poured over the rice or orzo. Really a winning recipe!