Posts from the ‘Entree or Main’ Category

Nov 19

Thanksgiving

Photo by James Ransom

Every year I make the same meal for Thanksgiving, there is little to no variations year to year because everyone loves it that way. It makes things easier sort of, the only planning involves the shopping and of course the preparation. I try to make as much in advance as possible to save myself work on the big day. This will be Percy’s first Thanksgiving with me and I plan on giving him a plate of food along with the rest of my guests. I am excited that this year my two cousins will be joining me as well. My menu is very basic, nothing fancy but everything is homemade and has withstood the test of time. The dishes on the menu are linked to former posts so that you can see the recipes. Mashed potatoes, well, no recipe required, so my potatoes have not lumps I use the food mill and then simply add sour cream, butter and salt and pepper, thats all, the same goes for the pumpkin pie, I used canned pumpkin and follow the instructions on the back of the can, I’ve tried other methods and quite honestly the results are so similar it’s not worth the extra effort. The meal is always served with wine, this year a Cabernet Sauvignon, Lambrusco, Sparkling blanc de blanc and I am still undecided on whether to serve a Chardonnay or white bordeaux.

Thanksgiving Menu

butter and herb roast turkey

dressing

mashed potatoes

oven roasted brussells sprouts

corn

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Oct 31

65 Comments

Happy Halloween, Cheesy Cauliflower Puree With Roasted Vegetables And Pear With Poire William Creme Anglaise

Halloween is a big day in our neighborhood, our community group the Society for Clinton Hill sponsors a Halloween Walk and other events, there are months of planning that go into this. Last year there were over 3000 children and adults that participated and this year I think there will be more, judging from the response we have gotten so far. We have a halloween map showing houses that hand out candy, a theatrical production at 313 Clinton Avenue, the Dead Zombie Band puts on an incredible show and everyone looks forward to it. Because we are a not for profit organization local business donate to help us defray the expense of putting this whole thing together. I am on the board of directors for the community organization and am in charge of the PR, social media and the website as well as helping to coordinate. It’s a tremendous amount of work but very rewarding. I will post photo’s this week. Happy Halloween to all!!

Sorry about all the cauliflower recipes, as I said in the last post it’s an obsession of mine and a filling and delicious sub for carb laden rice or potatoes or pasta. In this case I probably would have served over polenta but instead served with a cauliflower puree made rich with a little creme fraiche and grated comte cheese. The vegetables are simple, a small graffiti eggplant roasted with whole cherry tomatoes and shallot. For a textural diversion I sauteed some fresh bread crumbs in garlic, butter and olive oil and sprinkled over the top.

In an effort to satisfy my sweet tooth and still stay away from refined sugar and flour I created this simple dessert by poaching pears in Poire William (pear liquor) with a touch of maple syrup to sweeten and served with a créme anglaise again with a little maple syrup to sweeten and some Poire William. Créme Anglaise is a custard sauce made with eggs, milk or cream, sugar, vanilla and rum or some sort of spirit or liquor. Because I am not really eating refined sugar I chose to lightly sweeten with maple syrup, this was adapted from Julia Childs recipe in her book, “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom”. I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t thicken properly because there is no sugar but it worked just fine.

Cauliflower Puree with Roasted Vegetables

Really no recipe required for this I made enough for 2 servings

Cauliflower puree follow instructions but use creme fraiche rather than cream.

1 small eggplant cut into bite size pieces

cherry tomatoes

1 shallot peeled and cut into quarters

cheese of your choice I used comté and didn’t measure- grated – add as much cheese as you like

olive oil

salt and pepper

fresh breadcrumbs

1 small garlic clove thinly sliced

butter

Make the cauliflower puree and set aside. Clean and cut your eggplant and shallot, heat the oven to 400 degree’s. Place parchment on sheet pan and lay the vegetables and whole cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for approximately 20-30 minutes. The eggplant and shallot should be soft and the tomatoes nicely caramelized.

Heat a little olive oil and butter in a skillet on med high heat, add garlic and sauté until soft. Add the breadcrumbs stirring so that the fat is absorbed by the breadcrumbs. Toast in the skillet until crisp and browned.

Heat cauliflower puree in saucepan add grated cheese. Serve immediately with the roasted vegetables spooned on top, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and garnish with a little parsley if you like.

Créme Anglaise

2 servings

Adapted from a recipe by Julia Child

3 egg yolks

2-3 tbs maple syrup

1 cup half and half or whole milk

2 tsp vanilla

2 tbs Poire William (you can use the juices from the poached pears for this)

Whisk egg yolks with the maple syrup until the yolks are thick and pale yellow. Heat milk to scalding and add in a slow steady stream to the egg yolks whisking constantly. Pour into the saucepan and cook on medium to medium low heat until it thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon, using your finger swipe a line and if it stays intact it’s done. Remove from heat immediately, pour through a fine sieve to remove any bits of egg that may have cooked and add the vanilla and pear liquor. Refrigerate until ready to use, since this is best served warm heat over simmering water (bain marie) until warm to the touch. The créme anglaise which is usually a light yellow because of the maple syrup and vanilla is more beige in color.

Poached Pears

Heat oven to 375 degree’s. Peel, cut in half and core the pears, place in a buttered baking dish adding some Poire William, pear nectar or whatever liquid you like. Cover with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until pears are soft when gently poked with the end of a sharp knife.

If your créme anglaise is cold you can warm over simmering water. Spoon onto a plate and top with the pear.

You can add a cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pod or whatever spice you like to the pears and this will infuse with a gentle warm spice that would be delicious as well.

Percy as Count Dracula

Oct 20

55 Comments

Ottolenghi’s Cauliflower Cake And Apple Pear Crumble With Creamy Cider Syrup

I just have to say what a lifesaver it has been to have the guest posts. I have been so extremely busy I really haven’t cooked much of anything and most of what I have cooked is not noteworthy enough to blog about. Thank you so much to everyone who has submitted guest posts, you truly are amazing. I also have been delinquent in reading and commenting on your blogs. I will not be able to catch up there are just too many, once Halloween is done I should be able to breathe and get back to my routine.

Searching through the hundreds of cookbooks I have (and rarely use) I happened upon this recipe from “Plenty More” by Yotam Ottolenghi. Since my latests obsession is cauliflower this immediately grabbed my attention, the list of ingredients sounds delicious, I decided this is a recipe I have to try. It does contain some flour, one cup of all purpose flour but I subbed spelt flour making it lower in carbs and more healthful. It’s a simple recipe, easy to put together and with my current crazy busy schedule this was a must. I really do love Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, the photo’s are drool worthy and recipes are not complex they use simple ingredients but how they put it all together is genius.

Cauliflower Cake

from Plenty More- Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves 6-8

1 small head cauliflower broken into 1 1/2 inch florets

1 medium onion (recipe calls for a red onion)

5 tbs olive oil (I didn’t measure)

1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

7 large eggs

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1 cup all purpose flour (I used spelt flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp turmeric

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan or your favorite grating cheese

melted butter for brushing – about 1 tbs

1 tbs white sesame seeds

1 tsp nigella seeds (I misplaced them so just used sesame)

salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat oven to 400 degree’s

Place cauliflower florets in saucepan filled with salted water, simmer for 15 minutes until the florets are quite soft, they should break when pressed with a spoon. Drain and set aside in a colander.

Cut 4 round slices approximately 1/4 inch thick from one end of the onion and set aside. Coursely chop the rest of the onion and place in a pan with some olive oil and the rosemary. Cook for 1o minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the onions to a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and basil and whisk well, then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, cheese and 1 tsp salt (I used less salt) and plenty of ground pepper stir to combine and add the cauliflower stirring gently so as not to break up the florets.

Line the base and sides of a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter then mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them in the pan and swirl the pan around so that the seeds stick to the buttered sides. Pour the cauliflower mixture in the pan smooth the top and arrange the onion rings on top ( I sprinkled some of the grated cheese on top as well). Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown and set. A knife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving. It should be served warm or at room temperature rather than hot.

For Dessert was an apple Pear crumble using no refined sugar and almost no flour. To sweeten the fruit and crumble I used a little bit of maple syrup and served it with a creamy cider reduction, again made completely without sugar. The natural sweetness of the cider when cooked down into a syrup is intensely sweet, I softened it with a little heavy cream (to make even more decadent you could add a little butter also) and the end product was amazing on this simple crumble. The cider syrup would be great on oatmeal, pancakes or waffles also, instead of adding cream just add a little butter.

This dessert is great and you don’t feel badly eating it, you could even use a little less maple syrup because the cider syrup is sweet enough that you would never know that this is not loaded with sugar.

Apple Pear Crumble

Made 2

Crumble topping

1/4 cup whole oats

1/4 cup spelt flour

2 tbs toasted hazelnut flour (or any nut flour)

pinch of salt

2 tbs softened (not melted) coconut oil

1 tbs cold butter

2 tbs maple syrup

Mix everything together with your fingers until it is blended completely (it will look more like a cookie dough). Pre heat oven to 375 degree’s

2 -3 apples (if you don’t have pear use 3 apples)

1 ripe pear

1 tbs maple syrup

pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and salt

Peel and slice the apples and pears. Oil or butter the baking dish, mix the fruit with the maple syrup, spices and salt, lay the fruit in the pan. Add the crumble topping and pour a little apple cider over it. Bake for 30-40 minutes until crumble is browned and fruit is soft. Note: The crumble topping was patted into place rather than dropping in crumbles, after baking I broke it up kind of like a cookie crust.

Creamy Cider Syrup

Apple cider

Heavy cream

Pour about 1 cup cider in saucepan over medium high heat until reduced to a very thick syrup, it took about 20 minutes. One cup of cider reduced to about 1/4 cup of syrup. The more cider you use the longer it will take to reduce of course. One cup of cider in a saucepan took a little over 20 minutes on medium high heat.

Reduces to almost nothing you can see my hand reflected in the pan, LOL.

Add some heavy cream about 2 tbs and continue to cook another 30 seconds approximately. The sauce will be thick.

Spoon over the crumble and enjoy.

Oct 13

22 Comments

Guest Post – Keralas Creative Kitchen

The next guest post comes from Sumith whose amazing blog Keralas Creative Kitchen is a compilation of delicious recipes and artistic food styling. I was so thrilled that he agreed to do a guest post for me. Thank you so much Sumith this is a gorgeous dish and everyone please visit his blog you will be inspired and amazed because it is about much more than just cooking. Sumith takes you on a journey of the senses, an artistic romp with food. I hope you enjoy, follow the link below to see this post.

Thank you Sumith!!

Spiced Stir Fried Sirloin Steak- Sense of touch in cooking and eating food

Oct 7

70 Comments

Roasted Chicken And Vegetable Dinner

The method I use for both chicken and turkey is pretty much the opposite of the way most people prepare it. The usual method is to start out in a high oven temperature for a short time and then lower the temperature to finish cooking, the chicken or turkey is also roasted uncovered. For turkey I use my black and white speckled enamel graniteware pan which is where I learned about steam roasting. The poultry turns out moist and delicious every time and also cooks in record time. Today I made a small chicken, about 4 1/2 lbs, my graniteware is huge so that wouldn’t work for this little bird. A cast iron pan is great to roast chicken in, everything just seems to turn out perfectly. The chicken was done in a little less than 2 hours (this includes both rounds in the oven and resting time), I then roasted the potatoes, shallot and carrot in the same pan with the drippings. My Mom made chicken like this and always added the vegetables in with the chicken, I remember it being one of my favorite meals that she made.

I have been a bad girl and have not gone to the party at Angies for a few weeks so this week I am bringing this chicken and roasted vegetable dinner with me to the party. Fiesta Friday #140 is co hosted this week by the talented and beautiful Julie @ Hostess at Heart and Linda @ Fabulous Fare Sisters.

Chicken With Pan Roasted Vegetables

Serves 4 generously

1 whole chicken 4-5 lbs

1 whole shallot

1/2 lemon

3-4 sprigs thyme

handful of parsley

olive oil

salt and pepper

potatoes (I used micro potatoes)

carrots

shallot or onion

Heat oven to 375 degree’s. Coat the bottom of your cast iron skillet with olive oil. Wash and pat dry the chicken. Place in the pan and drizzle olive oil on the skin of the chicken and rub so that it covers the entire chicken. Sprinkle a little salt in the cavity, had lemon half (cut in half) shallot, handful parsley, 3 sprigs of thyme. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and drizzle a little more olive oil, squeeze the other half of the lemon in the pan. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 50-60 minutes. Take chicken out of the oven and remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Put the chicken back in the oven uncovered for approximately 20-30 minutes, just until nicely browned. Remove from oven and place the chicken in foil on a sheet pan, spoon some of the pan juices on the chicken and cover it to keep the chicken warm.

Put the potatoes, carrots and shallots in the pan with the drippings, stir around to coat the vegetables, season if you need to but I didn’t. Place another sprig or two of thyme in the pan and roast uncovered at 425 until vegetables are browned and tender approximately 20-30 minutes. At the end I put the chicken back in the pan with the vegetables, place back in the oven (after I turned it off but it was still hot) for about 10 minutes to heat through. Serve immediately.

Oct 2

76 Comments

Cauliflower Mash

My food choices lately are really pretty uninteresting and I apologize for that, my food repertoire is not that varied. Right now I am eating what works for me and my schedule and my taste and maybe later I will do a little more experimentation. This is not a recipe, and I am sure that many of you have made or tasted cauliflower as a subsitute for potatoes. It looks just like them, and really tastes very close but doesn’t have the high carb count that potatoes do. I put butter and sour cream or cream in the cauliflower just like I do potatoes. I don’t really count carbs but as a comparison I wanted to see what the difference is. One cup of cooked or raw cauliflower is 5 carbs and 1 medium size potato is 37, big difference. If you have leftover mashed cauliflower you can make soup with it, simply add some vegetable or chicken stock or even water, heat it up and you have creamy cauliflower soup.

Request: I would love to have some of you do guest posts, if you would like to please let me know in the comment section and I will contact you, or you can email me directly my email address is listed on the site. I would love to schedule several guest blog posts. Thanks so much.

I don’t know how cauliflower mash is usually prepared but here is what I did and it worked great.

Cauliflower Mash

Makes approximately 6-8 servings

1 large head cauliflower cleaned and cut into florets

3 tbs softened or room temperature butter (2 when you blend or process and one on top when serving)

approximately 1/4 cup hot cream, milk, half and half or sour cream (that has been brought to room temperature)

salt and pepper to taste

Place cauliflower florets in pot of salted water and boil until tender. Drain. Turn oven to 200 degree’s and put the cauliflower on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for about 45 minutes so that it dries out. The reason for this step is that Cauliflower absorbs liquid almost like a sponge and if you process the cauliflower straight from the boiling water it will be more like soup. NOTE: Alternately you can steam the cauliflower which would prevent it from absorbing so much water so the time in the oven to dry would be less, maybe 15 minutes.)

Put the cauliflower straight from the oven into the blender or food processor breaking it up into small pieces. add the butter, salt and pepper and a little cream or sour cream. Blend or process until smooth adding more cream as needed so that it’s the right consistency.

Dinner of roasted chicken, cauliflower mash and oven roasted asparagus

Percy is going to go to a Pug Meetup Halloween party next weekend and I am working on his costume, the cape was made by one of our Instagram friends at Fauxpaws Accessories. I am trying to find him a white tuxedo type bib to go underneath the cape and an amulet as well, I won’t push my luck with vampire teeth.

Notice a similarity? Bela would be proud!

Sep 28

41 Comments

Block Party, Tofu, And It’s Finally Autumn

It has been a crazy few weeks, the last week especially. Saturday the 24th our block association (I happen to be President) had our annual block party and the planning and preparation was non stop, I was so nervous, hoping and praying that it did not rain. The last block party was cancelled because of heavy rain and one thing for certain is that you cannot control Mother Nature. I watched the weather report every day and was so pleased that the weather was beautiful, we started out with some rain in the morning but it cleared to a bright, sunny slightly cool day. Everything went well, a few technical issues but our neighbors all banded together and the problem was solved. The block party is carefully orchestrated and members of our block all work together as a team. I started in June by filling out all the paperwork for a city permit which includes closing our street to cars, getting a sound permit from the police, getting insurance for the day among other things we have to do to prepare. We always have a blow up bouncy castle for the children to play in, this year we were so lucky that the local police precinct brought their rock climbing wall, the police supervise the children and make sure they are safe. We hired a DJ so there was great music and we collaborated with the local elementary school which is on the block and they provided a rock band comprised of students who attend after school programs at the Brooklyn Music School, they were amazing. When they played Nirvana’s great song “Smells Like Teen Spirit” the crowd went wild. All in all a great day for our neighborhood, we grilled burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and fish, there were assorted beverages and we had a bake sale.

rock climbing wall- not our block but thats what the wall looked like

It is starting to feel like Fall, up until a few days before the party it was almost 90 degree’s, humid and pretty miserable. All of a sudden, there is a slight chill in the air and the telltale signs of Fall are slowely becoming apparent. Today walking to the store I noticed they were setting out beautiful Mums, I love the colors and when displayed with pumpkins it makes such a beautiful Fall decoration, some local shops have painted fall scenes on their windows, our neighborhood seems to come alive at this time of year. The days are shorter and I am so happy to not be using my air conditioner which has run non stop the entire summer, it was so unbearably hot. I am looking forward to Halloween, a favorite holiday of mine, there is nothing about this time of year that I don’t like.

I’ve barely had time to cook or post on the blog, and have been absent on all social media as well. I continue with the change in my eating, avoiding sugar, grains, flour etc… but have not cut dairy or fats and I’ve lost weight. This is going to be a life style change for me, it’s not a diet, of course there will be times when I indulge but I plan on staying on this course for the long run. For the block party I had a bake sale and made cookies and cupcakes, I gave some to neighbors and the police and sold the rest. I love making cupcakes and made vanilla and chocolate using my favorite chocolate cake recipe from Hershey’s Cocoa can and my Tender Yellow Cake recipe for the vanilla cupcakes. The frosting is a simple vanilla buttercream using butter, cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla and cream.

My meals are small and consist of mostly vegetables and protein. I recently made a quick and easy stir fry using tofu shirataki, noodles made from tofu and Japanese yam, they are wonderful and so easy to prepare. I used what I had on hand, kale, red bell pepper, zucchini, egg and garnished with peanuts. This is not really a recipe you can use whatever you have on hand.

Tofu Noodle Stir Fry

Made 2 servings

red bell pepper sliced into strips

zucchini chopped or cut into strips

kale, leaves only, no stems chopped

2 scallions, white and light green parts chopped

1 tbs minced ginger

1 clove garlic chopped

soy sauce

toasted sesame oil

neutral vegetable oil to cook the vegetables

tofu shirataki noodles

1 egg beaten and cooked into a thin omelette, cut into strips

chopped roasted peanuts for garnish

First pour the noodles (they are fresh and are packaged in liquid) into a strainer and rinse well several times. Set aside to drain.

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet and add the ginger, scallion and garlic, cook until it’s fragrant and soft. Add the vegetables and cook until the vegetables are cooked through. Cook the egg either in the microwave or skillet and cut into strips. Add the tofu noodles to the vegetables and stir to combine, add soy sauce and a few splashes of sesame seed oil to taste. Stir in the egg and serve with some chopped peanuts.

Tofu is a great source of protein and I think of it like white walls, a blank pallet waiting to be transformed and enhanced. I bought a package of firm tofu the other day and made a marinade using white miso, soy sauce, mirin, honey, ponzu, rice wine vinegar, ginger and garlic chili sauce. I patted the tofu with a paper towel to remove excess liquid, cut into bite size pieces and added to the marinade and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. The next day I oven roasted at 425 degrees after drizzling with some sesame oil. The tofu absorbed the flavor of the marinade and became crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and was delicous with some broccolini steamed first then finished in the oven drizzled with the marinade from the tofu and some sesame oil.

Sep 21

98 Comments

Crab Cakes

I make crab cakes once a year, not sure why only once but it’s sort of a tradition with me although it’s at no particular time but whenever I think of it or feel like having them. This recipe is from one of the older Martha Stewart cookbooks and is the only recipe for crab cakes I have ever used. It calls for jumbo lump or lump crabmeat, has very little filler and is really delicious. As an aside I recommend lump not jumbo lump it makes it easier to form into patties and stays together better. You can make your own bread crumbs by first grinding bread in a food processor then drying in the oven or use dried breadcrumbs from your supermarket. This is a super simple recipe that comes together very quickly. They are not coated with bread crumbs although you could if you wish, they have a nice amount of vegetables in them and are delicious served with cole slaw.

The recipe made exactly 12 nice sized cakes so my friends got a crab cake sandwich on fresh ciabatta rolls slathered with a dressing made from mayo, sriracha, pickle relish and ketchup then piled high with a homemade traditional cole slaw. I made a few changes in the recipe to suit me, Martha calls for 2 lbs crabmeat, I found 1 lb was sufficient and if I did use 2 lbs I would add an additional egg, more mayo and breadcrumbs.

Crab Cakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart Cookbook- Collected Recipes for Every Day

Makes 12 crab cakes or 22-24 appetizer size

1 cup dried breadcrumbs

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1 lb jumbo lump or lump crabmeat (picked over for cartilage)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley (I use parsley)

3 scallions finely chopped

1 small red bell pepper- seeded and diced

1 small yellow bell pepper – seeded and diced (I didn’t have yellow so used green)

1 jalapeno pepper – seeded and diced (I used pickled jalapeño)

2/3 cup mayonaise

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Vegetable oil to fry

Gently mix all the ingredients together, you don’t want to break up the crab meat to much.

Form into patties, you can choose the size but make them quite thick. Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook the crab cakes until browned on each side. Place them on paper towel or paper bag to drain. Serve hot. NOTE: Because there is very little filler you have to work a little to form into patties. If they absolutely won’t hold together add a little more mayo and breadcrumbs.

I happened upon a photo that the media outlet Pop Sugar took of Percy and put on their site. I was tickled to see this and thought he looked so cute smiling. This was taken at Pugs Take NYC event which by the way was a huge success raising $4150 for Pug Nation Rescue of LA and the little pug Bella has had the surgery and is being fitted for a wheelchair.

Photo from popsugar.com

Sep 13

70 Comments

Stuffed Peppers, A Visit From A Friend And Nectarine And Meyer Lemon Preserves

Two weeks ago a new farmers market popped up only 2 blocks from my home. It’s small only 2 stands one with baked goods and the other fresh fruit and vegetables. It does not have an abundant selection but the vegetables are good and fresh and it’s great to have a farmers market during the week and near me. I’ve shopped there the past two weeks and have some beautiful produce to work with.

It’s been a really long time since I’ve made stuffed peppers, a really long time, I’m not sure why because I like them. I usually stuff the peppers with meat and rice and vegetables and simmer them in a tomato sauce, actually when I first made them years ago I saw a recipe using Campbells tomato soup. I made them on the stove top and the peppers were soft and tender and the filling was delicious, I always topped them with some cheese which melted on the peppers and the sauce that you spoon over the pepper was really good. So I bought some tomato soup and decided to recreate this forgotten recipe. I have never seen a purple pepper before you can see it below, I thought it was so pretty I had to buy it and thought it would be nice to have an assortment of colors. These are great because they are already individually portioned and with a salad you have a great meal. For a vegetarian version you can add lentils or beans instead of the ground meat, even tofu would be good.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Makes 4 large stuffed peppers

1 lb ground beef, pork, turkey or chicken

1 cup cooked rice, white or wild or both (I used wild rice)

1/2 cup cooked yellow split peas

1 medium onion chopped

1 large clove garlic minced

1 cup diced fresh tomato tomato

2 cups chopped kale (uncooked, it will cook down)

1 cup grated cheese, your choice, I used manchego and cheddar.

1 can tomato soup or tomato sauce + 1 can water (a can of soup is 10 3/4 oz)

Ready for the oven

Boil your rice in salted water until it’s cooked al dente. You don’t want it completely cooked or it will turn to mush when it’s cooked in the pepper. In another pot boil the yellow split peas in salted water until soft but a little toothsome.

Heat oven to 375 degree’s. Pour the tomato soup or sauce and water in a baking dish and whisk to combine. Clean your peppers, cut the top off and clean the inside of the pepper removing seeds and membranes. If the peppers won’t sit well cut/shave a very thin slice off the bottom of the pepper being careful not to cut a hole or the filling will fall out.

Heat a little olive oil in a skillet and add the onion and garlic, cook until soft and transluscent. Add the ground meat and cook until meat is browned. Drain any fat, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Add a little more olive oil and cook the kale until softened. Chop the tomatoes and add to a mixing bowl along with the meat, onion,garlic and kale, mix in the rice, split peas and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Note: It’s important to season along the way then before you stuff the peppers season again if needed. The cheese acts as a binding agent but you can also add a beaten egg.

Stuff each pepper all the way to the top gently pressing the filling into the pepper and place in the baking dish sitting in the tomato soup. Sprinkle a little cheese on top. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes, uncover, increase the temperature to 425 and cook another 15-20 minutes. The peppers should be soft but not falling apart.

Over the weekend I got to meet Gerlinde- Sunny Cove Chef. Meeting other bloggers is wonderful and a great perk that comes with blogging, she is such a lovely and sweet person. We had lunch at a local restaurant and walked around the neighborhood. Gerlinde is German by birth and lives in sunny California. She is also an accomplished and avid traveller, part of her blog is devoted to her travels, she calls it Wanderlust Blog. She brought me a gift, so sweet of her. Some meyer lemons from her tree, beautiful ceramic egg cups, some German pesto salt and some tea. I used one of the lemons with the nectarines to make this preserve. An unusual combination, maybe, but it works and the preserves are delicious, a little tart, a little sweet and the meyer lemon adds this wonderful flavor that is distinct to that citrus fruit. I only made one 16 oz jar using the nectarines I had that were over ripe.

Nectarine and Meyer Lemon Preserves

Made 1 16 oz jar

5-6 nectarines peeled and cut into slices- they were sizeable nectarines so if yours are smaller use more

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

pinch of cinnamon (about 1/8 tsp)

Juice of one meyer lemon (You will put half of the lemon in with the nectrarines while cooking)

Add the sliced nectarines to heavy bottom sauce pan along with the sugar, honey, cinnamon,lemon juice and half a lemon. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until thick, test it by placing a spoonful on a cold saucer it should thicken when it’s ready. It cooked for close to an hour. Place in sterilized jar, seal and process with your preferred method. No shots of this open the jar is sealed, waiting for winter.

Sep 6

88 Comments

Roasted Eggplant And Tomato Parmigiana

This is not a traditional eggplant parmigiana, I used what I had a ton of tomatoes and one large eggplant. I usually bread the eggplant and fry it but not this time, it’s a little different. Yesterday I oven roasted 3 baking sheets of tomatoes that I got at the farmers market. I bought an eggplant that I thought I would try to spiralize, it was too big and spongy and the spiralizer didn’t work on it. Cleaning out my freezer I found a small bag of bread crumbs (about 1 cup) that I had made from homemade bread that didn’t get eaten. So if you can see where I’m going I used what I had in the refrigerator and freezer and created a delicious casserole. The eggplant was cut into about 1/4 inch thick slices and roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil. Layer the tomatoes and eggplant with some ricotta and fresh mozzarella and there you have it. This is not really a recipe, I guestimated the amounts, with this type of dish you make it according to taste, it is open to interpretation, if you are watching your fat grams use less cheese or low fat/part skim cheese for example. I made two of them a little individual size for me and a larger one to take to my friends. You don’t have to make everything at once, the tomatoes were roasted the day before and you can even make the whole thing and refrigerate until ready to bake.

Roasted Eggplant and tomato parmigiana

Made 2 casseroles one larger than the other

Roasted tomatoes (I guess I used about 2 cups of roasted tomatoes approximately)

eggplant (I used one very large eggplant)

1/2 shallot (1 lobe) chopped

1 large clove garlic minced

1 cup breadcrumbs

approximately 1/4 cup grated cheese plus more for the ricotta and casserole

ricotta (about 8 oz)

mozzarella cut into thin slices (I used most of an 8 oz fresh mozzarella)

4-5 basil leaves torn

Heat oven to 375, cut the tomatoes into rounds and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes just until they start to caramelize but are not dried out. Set aside. I made the tomatoes the day before.

Slice eggplant into rounds or quarters about 1/4 inch thick. Place on parchment (brush some oil on parchment sheet) lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 40-45 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Set aside.

Heat some olive oil and a little pat of butter in a skillet, mince some garlic and chop 1/2 shallot, cook on medium high heat until softened. Add the bread crumbs and pan toast until golden brown. Spoon into a bowl and cool. Add some (if I had to guess about 2 tbs) grated cheese of your choice, parmigiana, romano, asiago or all of the above and some chopped parsley.

Beat an egg in a mixing bowl, add a little grated cheese and season with salt and pepper, add the ricotta and stir to combine.

Putting it together

I used a small rectangular pyrex and small oval baking dish. Layer some of the roasted tomatoes on the bottom of the pan. Place some of the eggplant on top, sprinkle with a little of the breadcrumbs, spread some of the ricotta on top and then continue to layer adding a few of the torn basil leaves in between each layer. You can make this however you like, my top layer was tomatoes which I sprinkled with a little more bread crumbs, some grated cheese and some mozzarella. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 40-45 mintues or until bubbly and the cheese on top is lightly browned. Let sit for about 30 minutes to set before serving.