Week at the Cottage

We've been at the cottage for the last week. We tend to eat too much and drink too much and it is just too much fun! I never thought of myself as a cottage gal but who doesn't love relaxing and wearing nothing but sweats and a smile...

Some helpful hints for those who cottage, camp or get away for a weekend. Do as much food prep at home before you go. It'll make it easier to do it in a space you are used to working in and won't cut in to relaxation time. Also stick to one food theme. I had some fresh lemons so I made a nice lemon, garlic and herb cornish game hen one night. I used a lot of the same ingredients to make a nice greek dish another. If you are going to be gone for a whole week or longer, pick two themes, maybe tex mex and greek. Or Indian and Mexican (yes, a lot of the spices and herbs are common like cumin, cilantro, coriander, peppers...) Keep it simple. The best tastes are often simpier than we think!

If you have a good knife or knife set, consider taking it if you are going to be cooking a lot or gone for along time. Sometimes the tools make all the difference in the world.

Also watch out for prepared foods and frozen foods. They are often laden with sodium and often have processed ingredients. I make a huge batch of gourmet burgers with different flavors at the beginning of the BBQ season. I freeze them and we are set for the summer! You can prep all your meats ahead of time. I put my marinade in with my frozen meats before heading out to the cottage. Then they get really flavorful as they defrost. All I need then is a fresh veg to round out the meal. Stop at those road side stands! If you don't have a farmers market in your area, then this is the best way to get the freshest veggies!

Here is my Cornish Game Hen recipe. It was delicious. And it can be done on the grill or in a frying pan.

I cut them in half, remove the skin and the rib bones from the hens. It makes it easier to eat and lighter in fat content. It will still be juicy, don't worry.

Mix in a ziplock bag or in a glass pan the following:
1/2 cup white wine
Juice from 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of salt substitute of any flavor like herb and garlic or lemon pepper. I used 1/2 a teaspoon of each.

Add hens and marinate at least 8 hours but I've left them sit for 36 hours and they are perfect!

cook them over a medium grill heat, toss them in a grill pan or frying pan and brown on each side then lower heat and cook for around 20 minutes. They will be juicy and tasty!