Posts tagged ‘vegetables’

Jan 22

Guest Post- Beet and Gorgonzola Cheese Pearled Barley with Cream Sauce

The first guest post is from my good friend Mimi whose gorgeous blog Chef Mimi blog has inspired and delighted me for a long time. She is an amazing cook, prolific writer and world traveller and her delicious recipes are beautifully executed, photographed and I know eagerly gobbled up by her family. I am a big fan of risotto and love her take on it using barley and beets and creamy gorgonzola. Without further ado here is Mimi’s wonderful recipe, thank you so much for writing this post for my blog. Please pay Mimi a visit and if you want to print out this recipe you can do so from her blog.

When I first read through Eataly, the cookbook, this recipe caught my attention. It’s risotto made with barley, flavored with beets, and topped with a Gorgonzola cream! Plus, it was really pretty.

The Eataly cookbook, featuring “300 landmark recipes highlighting the best of contemporary Italian home cooking,” is a hefty volume. I’ve already made one recipe for the blog, and although it was poorly written, which seems crazy these days, it turned out great.

Maybe the Italians don’t follow the same recipe protocol as we do here in the United States? I assumed it was a universal thing, but who knows?

In any case, I knew I just had to try this recipe. Full disclosure, however, I substituted feta for the Gorgonzola.

Beet and Gorgonzola Cheese Pearled Barley with Cream Sauce
(that’s the actual name of the recipe in the book)

9 ounces pearled barley
2 cooked beets, cut into cubes
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Generous 2 cups vegetable broth
7 ounces white wine
5 ounces Gorgonzola, cut into cubes
1 3/4 ounces whipping cream
2 ounces butter, cut into cubes
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
A few thyme sprigs to garnish (optional)

Soak the barley in a large bowl of cold water for 2 hours. Rinse and drain well.

Put the beets, 2 tablespoons of the oil, a pinch of salt, and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the broth into a food processor and blend to a purée.

Pour the remaining broth into a pan and bring to a simmer. Keep over a low heat while you make the risotto.

Put the drained barley into a pan, add the remaining oil and a pinch of salt, and toast the barley over medium heat for 6 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the wine and cook for a few minutes until the wine has evaporated, then add a ladleful of the broth.

Cook the barley over medium heat for about 30 minutes, gradually adding in more broth, a ladleful at a time, until all of the liquid is absorbed by the barley, adding the beet puree 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Meanwhile, put half the Gorgonzola and the cream into a food processor and blend to make a light, creamy sauce.

Once the barley is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, the remaining Gorgonzola, and the butter.

Divide among individual serving dishes, flattening the surface with the back of a spoon. Drizzle a spiral of Gorgonzola cream sauce over the top of each dish and garnish with a drizzle of oil and some thyme leaves. (I obviously didn’t use thyme leaves.)

I served the barley and beet risotto with some rosé to make the meal even more festive. Or, at least, pink!

This risotto, although really not a risotto, is absolutely fabulous. I was surprised there was no onion or garlic, but it’s more about the taste of the grain, plus the broth and cheeses.

I know this would also be really good with Gorgonzola, but the feta cream was outstanding with the beet-flavored risotto.

Beet and Gorgonzola Cheese Pearled Barley with Cream Sauce

Soak the barley in a large bowl of cold water for 2 hours. Rinse and drain well.

Put the beets, 2 tablespoons of the oil, a pinch of salt, and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the broth into a food processor and blend to a purée.

Pour the remaining broth into a pan and bring to a simmer. Keep over a low heat while you make the risotto.

Put the drained barley into a pan, add the remaining oil and a pinch of salt, and toast the barley over medium heat for 6 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the wine and cook for a few minutes until the wine has evaporated, then add a ladleful of the broth.

Meanwhile, put half the Gorgonzola and the cream into a food processor and blend to make a light, creamy sauce.

Once the barley is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, the remaining Gorgonzola, and the butter.

Sep 25

22 Comments

Block Party, Judging At Community Garden, A Bowl Of Vegetables And A One Bowl Chocolate Cake

It has been an exhausting few weeks. It was crunch time as our annual block party was coming up quicker than I would have liked it to. Organizing is not my strong suite but as the block association president much of the planning and prep work falls on me and I have to step outside my comfort zone and try to be the party planner. There is always so much to do, not enough time to do it and invariably something goes wrong. I have had torrential rain and had to cancel because of it, this year it was sunny and hot (way too hot for me) almost 90 degree’s. Something I have planned on for a year was cancelled, the rock climbing wall that our brave policeman bring to events, the kids love it and it’s so much fun for all. Last year my reservation for the wall got lost when the Officer retired and we only got it for an hour, I reserved it this year, almost a year ahead and 2 days before the event the police contacted me with bad news, the rock wall had broken and needs to be repaired. The children were all disappointed but the block party went off almost without a hitch and everyone had a good time.

Vegetables from the community garden

I live across the street from a Community Garden and they asked me if I would be a judge for a food event at their annual Harvest Festival, I was more than happy to do so. We tasted fresh vegetables grown in the garden which were judged on beauty and taste. Other things we tried were homemade pickles and desserts made with apples from the tree in the garden. It was a lot of fun, everything was delicious and some of the other judges were a food stylist, food photographer and cookbook publisher.

The block party is something everyone looks forward to all year, our block along with people from the neighborhood come together to eat, drink, talk, we all love watching the children have fun in the bouncy castle and ride their bicycles and skateboards in the street without fear of traffic. I usually have a bake sale but have been so incredibly busy I only made cookies which sold out very quickly. We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, had pizza, drinks, music from a fantastic DJ and an amazing Ukelele group.

The day after I was completely exhausted and wanted a light simple meal. A bowl of roasted vegetables with cheesy cauliflower mash was exactly what I needed. I used an assortment of vegetables and mashed cauliflower with gruyere. Simple, healthful and delicious. Had some green beans, zucchini, tomato and shallot drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven at 400 degree’s. Cauliflower mash is so easy, simply boil the cauliflower, let it dry in the oven on 200 for about 20 minutes then put in the food processor with some butter, sour cream and season with salt and pepper. I added some grated gruyere and popped into the oven at 200 for a few minutes to heat and melt the cheese.

This super easy one bowl no measure chocolate cake is awesome. It’s a recipe on Food52. The fact that it’s quick and no measure immediately prompted me to give this recipe a try. The cake uses full fat plain Greek yogurt, I used Fage and you use the yogurt container as the means of measuring. Pretty cool right?

The cake will have cracks thats ok

Simple One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Recipe on food52

1 container (7 oz) plain Greek yogurt

1 container neutral flavored oil (I used canola)

2 large eggs

2 containers self rising flour

1 container unsweetened cocoa powder

1 container sugar

1 container warm water or coffee

Heat Oven to 350 degree’s. Prepare a 10 inch spring form pan by greasing or spraying the bottom, add a parchment round and then grease and flour the pan.

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix on low until the flour is incorporated, then increase to medium high and beat for approximately 2 minutes. Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Cake Tester should come out clean. Let cool in the pan, release the pan and remove the cake. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Aug 26

20 Comments

Caponata

I posted this recipe for Caponata years ago and I am afraid it’s been a long time since I have made it. This came about partly because I had gone a little overboard during my last visit to the farmers market, I tend to do that every time I go and I think I have mentioned this before but I hate to waste food. My Mom used to serve Caponata from time to time, usually it was purchased from the Italian supermarket commercially prepared. I liked it but thought it was too sweet, the basic idea is wonderful and it makes a delicious condiment slathered on some good bread. It really is so delicious. I think of Caponata as the Italian ratatouille. Its very easy to make, you can add what you like and subtract what you don’t.

I am going to bring this along with a loaf of homemade bread to Fiesta Friday #186 and this weeks co hosts are Colleen @ Faith, Hope, Love & Luck and Alex @ Turks Who Eat.

Farmers market haul

Caponata

Makes 1 quart

2 medium size eggplant stem end cut and sliced in half

2 cups chopped tomato or cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 small onion chopped

1 shallot chopped

2 stalks celery

3 cloves garlic minced

2 bell peppers medium size (I used a purple and red)

1/4 cup capers

pinch (or more) crushed red pepper flakes

pitted olives – didn’t measure but a generous handful cut in half if large

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Heat oven to 425 degree’s. Line baking sheet with parchment. Brush the eggplant with olive oil on both sides. Place on baking sheet cut side down and roast for 15 minutes. They should be browned on the cut side but not mushy. Cut the eggplant into bite size pieces and set aside.

Nicely browned

Heat some olive oil in a skillet and add the onion, cook until softened, add the celery and pepper and cook until soft and fully cooked. Add the tomatoes, capers, olives, crushed red pepper and continue cooking until the tomatoes are cooked through, add the eggplant, vinegar and sugar and cook until thick and most of the liquid from the tomatoes is reduced. Spoon into storage containers let come to room temperature and then refrigerate. I find it’s always better served the next day and served at room temperature.

caponata and a egg fried in olive oil on homemade bread

Aug 18

57 Comments

A Tale Of Two Cobblers

Making cobbler with summers best produce is one of my favorites. Using fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables makes this delicious dish even more amazing. I thought I would make both savory and sweet just for fun. The other day I went to the farmers market and stocked up on fresh vegetables and fruit without knowing what I would make with them, I was inspired by Mollie @frugalhausfrau, she and I were commenting about how much fun it would be to make cobblers, pandowdy’s, crisps etc… she has some awesome recipes make sure you check her blog out.

Both recipes are original or as original as any recipe can be. I posted the cobbler pastry on food52 years ago, it is adapted from Julia Childs Galette dough. The savory cobbler is Vegetarian, loaded with vegetables in a rich mushroom leek cream sauce. I used a biscuit cutter for the cobbler top rather than a rough look and to finish it, I grated some gruyere on top of each round. The beauty of the savory cobbler is that you can make the mushroom and leek base and add whatever kind of vegetables you like or have on hand. Note: For the savory cobbler I added some baking powder, I had thought about that before and my friend Emily who made this also suggested it. It’s not necessary for the sweet cobbler really as I treat it more like a pie crust but can be used for both.

The dessert cobbler is made with fresh ripe nectarines which are sweetened only with some gooseberry jam that I made a few weeks ago, the cobbler top is roughly pressed on top of fruit and sprinkled with a little sugar before baking. There is really no recipe required for this you can ad lib adding the type of fruit you like and sugar or jam. I love super easy to prepare foods.

This week I am honored to co host Fiesta Friday # 185 with the totally awesome Monika @ Everyday Healthy Recipes and I am bringing both a dessert and main with me, both in the form of cobbler

Pastry for Cobbler

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder (recommended for savory cobbler)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar or brown sugar (Use 1 tbs for the savory cobbler pastry)

3 tbs cold butter cut into pieces

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup whole milk

Whisk together the dry ingredients, add the cold butter and break up with your hands or pastry cutter until it looks crumbly. Add the sour cream and milk and mix with a fork. It will become a cohesive but slightly wet/moist dough. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Savory filling

3 small leeks, using only the white parts, cleaned VERY well (I cut into rounds and put in cold water rinsing until there is no sand in the bottom of the bowl)

1 package of mushrooms (I used white button) cleaned and sliced

String beans ( I used yellow) stem end removed (I did’t measure add as much as you like)

1 medium size zucchini – cut into bite size pieces

2 small carrots quartered lengthwise

2 tbs flour

cherry tomatoes cut in half

3 sprigs thyme

white wine (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup heavy cream (You can also use light cream, milk, half and half or non dairy milk)

splash of Worcestershire sauce (omit if making vegetarian or vegan)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 375 degree’s. Line a sheet pan with parchment, place the zucchini, carrots and beans on the pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle a little salt and pepper and roast until tender (approximately 20 minutes. While the vegetables are in the oven, put a little butter in a sauté pan and add the leeks, cook on medium high until softened, add the mushrooms and continue cooking until soft. Add the flour and continue to cook stirring so that the flour coats the leeks and mushrooms, add the wine, continue to cook, it will thicken considerably, stir in the cream and thyme, cook until thickened, you can add a little water to thin it out if desired. Add the Worcestershire sauce and cherry tomatoes and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, remove the thyme sprigs. When vegetables in the oven are done add to the cream sauce and let cool a bit and spoon into baking dish, or a 10 inch cast iron skillet.

Making the cobbler

Increase oven temperature to 400 degree’s. Press the pastry into a circle approximately 1/2 inch thick. Using a glass or biscuit cutter cut rounds using all the dough. Place on top of the filling, grate a little gruyere or your favorite cheese on top of the rounds and bake until golden brown and bubbly about 35-45 minutes depending on your oven.

Nectarine Gooseberry Cobbler

1 small cobbler made in 6 inch cast iron skillet – serves 2

First let me say many will not have gooseberry jam, you can use anything you want or omit jam and use just fruit mixed with a little sugar. I happened to have gooseberry jam in the fridge but any jam would be good, cherry I think would be delicious.

2-3 nectarines, cleaned and sliced

1/3 cup gooseberry or your favorite jam (if using just fruit add 2-3 tbs sugar)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place a sheet of foil or parchment on baking sheet. Mix the fruit and jam or sugar and put into the skillet, press the cobbler crust on top, sprinkle with a little sugar and bake until browned and bubbly approximately 30 minutes. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, heavy cream poured on or a spoonful of lightly sweetened creme fraiche.

Jul 22

26 Comments

Farmers Market Haul, A Guest Post, Zucchini Fritters And A Big Salad

The farmers market in my neighborhood is absolutely brimming with a fabulous variety of beautiful fruits and vegetables. I love going there and am always inspired by what I see and feel and smell and taste. The wheels are turning and I am so excited to announce that I will be doing another guest post with Teagan, her latest story is amazing and magickal. She brilliantly involves her readers in the stories, remember the Three Ingredients series?

What you see in the photo are pink gooseberries, sour cherries and plums. This guest post has been cooking for a while and I specifically shopped with that in mind. The fruit is so fresh and delicious and I am really looking forward to sharing the recipes with you, but that has to wait.

In the meantime I am going to share a recipe that I saw on Instagram, Zucchini Fritters with Feta and Dill. The recipe comes from Chef Michael Symon, some of you may have seen him on “The Chew”, Food Network or maybe you have eaten in one of his restaurants, well he is a wonderful chef and these fritters are so easy to make and really delicious.

They were delicious for breakfast with a 5 minute egg and salad. A light and satisfying meal.

My tomatoes

I am happy that my tomatoes are growing and it looks like they may just be turning from green to red soon. But in the meantime it’s great that the Farmers market has some beautiful tomatoes and the bounty this summer is phenomenal. I went again this morning and as usual my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I bought a lot, every year I plant basil and almost every year it dies, this year was no different. I was lucky to find a huge bunch of fresh basil and I plan on making some pesto with it.

Perfect summer dinner, fresh salad, simple vinaigrette and Rosé

Percy

I will leave you with a photo of Percy, he recently had dental surgery, 6 teeth pulled and he lost 3 or 4 while they were cleaning his teeth. It was a rough day post surgery and the day after, he was pretty sick. Percy can’t tolerate the heat and boy has it been hot out, my poor boy is miserable so we limit our time outside and I walk him very early in the morning between 5:30-6AM when it’s a little cooler out.

Mar 20

84 Comments

First Day Of Spring, Vernal Equinox

It was such a weird winter, unusually warm for long periods of time, then bitter cold, recently a snowpocolypse that was more hype than snow accumulation, but it’s finally here, the first day of Spring. It’s still pretty cold and there is snow and ice on the ground and its official now, we have moved on winter is a thing of the past. For several weeks now I have noticed the crocus bloom, buds coming on the tree’s, the daffodils in my yard will be blooming soon and again this year my chives have returned, I had no idea chives were so resilient. Going to the farmers markets will yield a plethora of produce and although I am not a warm weather person however, I do love spring and summer fruit and vegetables, can’t wait for the berries and plums and peaches.

It is rare that I post several days in a row but to honor this day I made soup using spring vegetables, a light and delicate soup using asparagus and leeks. So simple and quick to prepare. So to celebrate the first day of Spring I give you soup that is a lovely shade of green and screams spring. The ingredients are few, no spicing except for salt and pepper this soup is an homage to the beauty of fresh spring asapargus and the delicate flavor of a young leek.

I wish you all a wonderful first day of Spring or if you are in another hemisphere a wonderful first day of Fall.

ready to roast

Pureéd Asparagus and leek soup

Serves 2 or more depending on serving size

1 bunch asparagus cleaned and tough parts snapped off

1 medium size leek cleaned well using only the white and light green parts

3 cups broth of your choice or water

salt, pepper

olive oil to drizzle on vegetables before roasting

1-2 tbs butter (optional)

splash of heavy cream (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degree’s, line sheet pan with parchment. Layer your clean vegetables on the pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, you don’t want them to brown only to develop that lovely deep flavor that happens when vegetables are roasted. Remove from oven and place the vegetables in a medium size saucepan.

Add the broth or water and bring to a boil, turn to low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool in the pot for approximately 30 minutes. Using tongs place the vegetables in the blender and add a cup of broth. Pureé until desired consistency. Add back to the saucepan with a little more broth if you like your soup on the thin side, season with salt and pepper if needed, add the butter and cream and on low heat cook until it reaches the desired temperature.

Garnish with creme fraiche and chives.

A little peek at whats in store soon.

Feb 27

41 Comments

Vegetable Lasagna And A Frittata

Whenever I hear vegetable lasagna I think of that Seinfeld episode when Elaine is on a plane, sitting next to a guy she refers to as “vegetable lasagna” because thats what he ate. That show still makes me laugh. This is not a lasagna in the truest sense of the word, there is no pasta. Instead zucchini and eggplant are layered with ricotta, grated cheese, mozzarella and sauce. This is so good I really don’t miss the pasta, at all. This is me getting back on track, cutting carbs and sugar, trying to eat clean and light. I had some homemade marinara in the freezer, just enough, not having to make sauce made this a quick and easy dinner. This would also be delicious with a béchamel rather than ricotta.

The frittata is a wonderful for any meal, breakfast with a cup of coffee or tea, for lunch/dinner with a salad, it’s a light meal that satisfies. Fritatta is so simple to make and you can add whatever you like to make it your own. I used roasted tomatoes, zucchini and shallot along with taleggio and parmigiana. Please Note, the measurements of my ingredients are not exact. I don’t really measure but they are very close, I’ve gotten pretty good at eyeballing it and am usually really close. You can add more or less cheese depending on your personal taste.

Eggplant And Zucchini Lasagna (senza la pasta)

Serves 4-6

2 zucchini unpeeled, washed and ends cut off

1 large eggplant

1 1/2 cup ricotta

1 egg

handful flatleaf parsley chopped

1/2 cup grated cheese (I used parmigiana, asiago and romano) for the ricotta mixture

8 oz mozzarella (fresh if possible) sliced thinly or grated

approximately 2 cups marinara sauce

more grated cheese used when layering

Heat oven to 375 degree’s.

Slice the zucchini in approximately 1/4 inch slices and lay on parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, turn and drizzle more so each side is covered. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven until the zucchini starts to brown, turning after approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Save the parchment and keep the oven on.

Slice the eggplant with skin on in approximately 1/4 inch thick rounds. Rub or brush olive oil on one side, turn over and rub more olive oil on the other side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven until lightly browned, turn and roast the other side. You want the eggplant and zucchini lightly browned. Removed from oven and set aside. Because eggplant absorbs the oil I recommend using a pastry brush and brush each side with oil to make sure it’s evenly coated.

Mix ricotta with egg, grated cheese, parsley and some salt and pepper.

Slice or grate the mozzarella. Now you are ready to assemble. Spread some of the marinara in the bottom of your baking dish. Layer some of the eggplant, add a few dollops of ricotta, spread as evenly as you can (doesn’t have to be perfect) add some of the mozzarella, grated cheese and a few spoon full of sauce. Next a layer of zucchini and repeat the layering. I used eggplant as the top layer, spread some sauce on top of the eggplant, sprinkle some grated cheese and put mozzarella on top. Bake uncovered on a sheet pan for approximately 45 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Frittata

Serves 4

1 zucchini unpeeled, cut into thin rounds

1 shallot, sliced

8-10 (approx) small tomatoes, cherry, kumato, zima, whatever you can find that look good sliced in half

olive oil, salt and pepper

8 large eggs

3 tbs sour cream

approx. 1/2 cup grated parmigiana or blend of grateable cheese

approx. 1/3 cup taleggio grated plus a little more to sprinkle on top before baking.

Heat oven to 425 degree’s.

Place tomatoes, zucchini and shallot on parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil lightly coating both sides of zucchini and tomato, season with salt and pepper. Roast until the zucchini and onion are lightly browned and the tomatoes start to caramelize. Approximately 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Add a little olive oil in a non stick skillet (cast iron is great) and heat on medium high heat. Meanwhile beat the eggs with a fork, add the sour cream, and grated cheese (parmigiana and taleggio) season with salt and pepper. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degree’s.

Pour into hot skillet (oven proof) and when you see the egg is starting to set on the edges move the eggs gently (I push towards the center) letting the liquid stream to the fill in where you have moved the eggs that have set. When the egg is cooked about a third of the way add the vegetables and sprinkle with the rest of the taleggio. Place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, cut the oven off and turn on the broiler. Cook for another 5 (or so) minutes until it’s lightly browned. Remove to serving platter or board and let cool a bit before serving.

Aug 21

88 Comments

A Breakfast Skillet And Dessert

First let me say how encouraged and overwhelmed I am by all the support from all of you good people. Thank you, thank you!! Because of the outpouring of support it made me even more resolute. I have to say it really helps baring your soul to your friends, I have always found that a diet and exercise buddy helps me stay on track, I live alone it’s and it’s really easy to fall off the wagon, my best friend Carla lives in Long Island, not exactly close to Brooklyn but we talk on the phone almost every day and encourage each other. I feel now like I have LOTS of diet buddies in all of you and it has helped tremendously. I encourage anyone in the same shoes to do this, we will all cheer you on. Special thanks to Elaine @foodbod who chatted with me by PM on Instagram in the wee hours and Cheryl @cheryl cheffie cooks Wiser, who did a special post for me with fantastic salads, I am so touched. It means the world to me.

So far I am doing fine. This morning I wanted something substantial that would nourish and keep me from getting hungry. There is nothing worse than being hungry and perusing all the food blogs and food photo’s on instagram. I used what I had for this breakfast skillet, eggplant, zucchini (used the pieces left from spiralizer) tomatoes, kale and micro potato. Half roasted in the oven, I wanted the kale crisp like a kale chip, transferred to a 6″ skillet (portion control) added an egg and completed the cooking until the egg was done. At the very end I added a little bit of raclette and put it under the broiler for a minute. A dash of hot sauce and it was a great meal.

Skillet Breakfast

Made 2 #6 inch individual size servings

4 micro potatoes cut in half

approx a half of a medium zucchini cut into bite size pieces

handful cherry tomatoes larger ones cut in half

generous handful of kale leaves

4 asparagus stalks with tough end broken off and cut in half

4 tiny fairy eggplant cut in half or quartered lengthwise

Cheese, just a little, didnt’ measure. I used raclette but any good melty cheese will do

Pre heat oven to 375. Place all of the vegetables on a parchment lined baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, make sure the vegetables are coated with the oil. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, kale will be crisp and vegetables will have softened. Arrange in skillet, crack an egg on top and bake (again at 375) until the egg is done to your liking it took about 20 minutes for an egg where the white was done but yolk was runny. Add some cheese, I used raclette, and place under the broiler just until the cheese melts.

Dessert

I have to have dessert, something sweet it’s part of the fabric of my being. You have to be a bit creative when trying to lose weight and maybe a little crafty. I came up with this recipe, well it’s not really a recipe, but it is really good. It made 2 small parfait or maybe they are more like an ice box cake or a combination thereof.

Strawberry and peach parfait

makes 2 small parfait

4 Carr’s whole meal biscuits smashed into crumbs

1 7 oz container plain greek yogurt (I used whole milk yogurt)

3 tbs heavy cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

honey to taste ( I used a little more than a tbs for both the fruit and yogurt mixture)

fruit of your choice, I used strawberry and peach.

Cut the fruit into bite size pieces and drizzle with a little honey. Smash the whole meal biscuits into crumbs. Whip the yogurt and cream, sweeten to your liking and add the vanilla. Layer into small containers and refrigerate at least an hour or two before eating. The biscuit absorbs some of the fruit juice. It’s delicious.

I just have to show you the throw pillow I won in a charity auction to help pets with liver shunt disease. I love it!!

pug pillow

Lastly in memoriam for little Caleb a 3-4 month old dog in Atlanta that was brutally abused, if you think of the worst this is 100 times worse than you could possibly imagine. You can sign a petition by going to my facebook page . This has me so upset, to my very core, and it’s all over the news. Hoping they catch the monsters that perpetrated such a heinous and evil crime. Little Caleb is not the first dog to suffer horrific abuse and unfortunately he will not be the last. Raising awareness, supporting rescue organizations and being pro active reporting abuse perceived or otherwise is so important. RIP little Caleb. #justiceforcaleb

Jan 29

82 Comments

Chicken And Vegetable Roast For Fiesta Friday #104

Chicken and vegetables

This was a quick meal I made for yesterday’s dinner using what I had on hand, this really isn’t a recipe, you know how it is when you don’t really know what exactly to make and start putting things together. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, red micro potatoes, shallot, baby orange, red and yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes and garlic and before serving finished it with a parsley/garlic/lemon gremolata of sorts. Because I used boneless skinless breasts I made everything separately rather than roasting the vegetables in with the meat the entire time. You have to be careful how long you cook those breasts as they can dry out rather quickly and I wanted the vegetables to brown and caramelize. You can change the vegetables to suit your taste, add some spice if you like, harissa would be delicious, use chicken with skin and bones if you like. The whole meal took me about an hour and a half from start to finish and because I did most of it in the oven I didn’t have to babysit a pan on the stovetop.

For a change I thought I would bring a main course rather than dessert to Fiesta Friday. Join in, bring a dish and remember to link to Fiesta Friday, Angie’s old blog The Novice Gardener is no more it’s all in one place now. Angie and her lovely co hosts this week are Mila @ milkandbun and Hilda @ Along The Grapevine.

See you at the party!!!

Chicken and vegetable roast

Serves 3 or 4

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 lemon

3 small cloves garlic smashed

12 micro potatoes cleaned and cut in half

6 baby peppers of assorted colors halved, seeds and membranes removed

12 cherry tomatoes cleaned and cut in half

1 shallot cut in half

1 cup chopped parsley

Pre heat the oven to 375 degree’s. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the tomatoes, peppers and shallot, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and set aside. Place another sheet of parchement and add the potatoes, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes. Set aside.

Heat oven to 425 degree’s. Rub the chicken with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and thyme. Heat cast iron skillet or heavy pan on stove top, get it good and hot. Add some olive oil and the chicken breasts, sear until lightly browned. Remove from heat source. Add the garlic cloves, squeeze half a lemon onto the chicken, cut the lemon half in two and throw in the pan. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes remove from the oven, and take the lemon quarters and garlic out of the pan, set the garlic aside and discard the lemon, (NOTE: If there is a lot of liquid or oil in the pan remove all but a few tablespoons before adding the vegetables) add the potatoes and other vegetables and arrange arround the chicken breasts. Return to the oven and roast for another 15 minutes, the internal temperature of the chicken breast should be 165 degree’s. While the chicken and vegetables are in the oven chop the parsley, cut the soft garlic and add, squeeze the juice of the remaining half lemon on and season with salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, garnish with the parsley mixture.

Dec 3

69 Comments

Bread Poha

This is the recipe for Bread Poha that I saw on Sonal’s site Simply Vegetarian777 and fell in love with. Bread, spices, pea’s, simple comfort food and a delicious Indian dish. I saw the photo’s and immediately saved the recipe and then sweet Sonal sent me the spice packet so I have everything I need to put this dish together quickly. I decided to serve it with a 5 minute egg, a little runny, that golden yolk flowing on that delicious bread, well my friends it doesn’t get much better than this. Make this dish, you will be glad you did, really you have to try it, the recipe is linked above!

Step by step instructions and spice mix

Bread Poha literally takes minutes to make and is the very definition of Indian comfort food it can be used as a side dish, snack or main dish. I did a little research and saw many variations one showed the Poha with paneer (that looked delicious) among other things. Sonal masterfully mixes the spices, she sent me a packet that contained everything you need to properly spice the dish, It could not have been easier and I feel totally spoiled.

The Poha was breakfast with a medium soft egg (5 minute egg), I had some leftover cubed brioche that I had used in my Thanksgiving dressing the bread was oven dried and held up nicely during the cooking process but you can use any stale bread torn into bite size pieces. Thank you Sonal for sending me the spices you are so sweet and it opened up a new breakfast avenue for me, I think I could eat this every day!

I have had several people ask about the egg, how to do it. It is in between soft and hard boiled. I call it a medium soft egg. It is boiled for exactly 5 minutes. The egg has to be warmed first, not straight from the refrigerator, a room temperature egg is perfect. Bring lightly salted water to a rolling boil, gently lower the egg into the water and time it, at 5 minutes remove the egg and place in a pot or bowl of cold water. Let sit for 1 minute in the cold water then gently peel. The yolk will still be runny but the white of the egg will be firmly set. It works every time and yields a perfectly cooked medium soft egg.