Newfound Food Crush

I like to watch Ghost Whisperer. Yes, it gets a little bit old that at the end of every episode everyone cries. But it's a guilty little pleasure that I like nonetheless. And lucky for me, the husband doesn't mind watching it either. He'll probably die if he finds out I told you, but he's a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt. Overall, the system works for us: I get to watch mind-numbing TV, and the husband gets to enjoy Ms. Hewitt's superb acting abilities. 

I've always enjoyed kidding him about his celebrity crush, partly, I'm sure, because I never really had one. Honestly. I've seen Ethan Hawke - actually talked to the man, though I'm sure he doesn't remember - and the sight of him in his Carhartt pants took my breath away. (You know this was years before your time, Husband.) But I've never been able to put my finger on my celebrity crush. That is, until yesterday.


A friend recently suggested I get my hands on a Jamie Oliver cookbook. He thought I'd be interested in Jamie's focus on cooking with homegrown food. That caught my attention immediately; my interest was only furthered when I heard about Jamie's love of wood-fired ovens. (Husband, can we get one? Can we, please?) Needless to say, I looked up the book, and believe me, I'll be buying it as soon as I save up enough allowance. Until then, though, I'll have to settle for looking at his very beautiful ... website.

Crispy baked tilapia with corn and white rice

Last night, Jamie inspired me to whip up some stir-fried corn flavored with ginger and red pepper. It sounds so simple - and it truly was - but I'm so used to putting just a little butter and salt on corn, I'd never thought of ginger. With just a few dashes of spice, we had a brand-new side dish. The husband was even surprised to find the corn had a little bite to it, thanks to the red pepper flakes. And the rice - white, at the request of the husband - was perfectly fluffy and even a little sticky after I rinsed and boiled and rinsed it again, as Jamie instructed. The man has filled me with all sorts of new ideas!


Tonight we did something my parents never did when I was growing up: We had breakfast for dinner. We poured ourselves giant glasses of milk and the husband fired up the waffle iron. I came home with a recipe up my sleeve and kept saying "pancakes," but the husband wanted waffles and wasn't really interested in Jamie's bananas, so I was on my own.

Banana-topped waffles

Because I used only half of a banana (leftover from yesterday's breakfast) instead of a whole, as Jamie instructed, mine didn't photograph quite like his. And I have to admit I was starving when I got home and a little impatient. I should have cooked the banana even longer than I did. But despite the fact that I didn't let my banana brown as much as I should have, it was still a nice addition to plain waffles. Cooking the banana in a fry pan with a little butter and a sprinkle of sugar gave it a sweet and dessert-like flavor that made me feel almost guilty. I cannot wait to make try this recipe again!

I may not start feeding the husband Jamie Oliver recipes every week, as I made him sit through Ghost Whisperer episodes every Friday night last year. But I have a good feeling I'll be getting a lot of inspiration from Jamie in the coming months, and if I keep making corn and rice like I did last night, I don't think the husband will mind.