Found: Mixed cherry tomatoes, few pieces of ciabatta bread, bottle of dried lavender I've yet to use Made: Bruschetta for lunch! Ingredients: 18 cherry tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise 3 cloves garlic, minced Olive oil Salt Fresh or dried basil Dried lavender Italian dressing (I currently am using a copycat Olive Garden recipe) Ciabatta or sourdough bread Shredded parmigiano reggiano cheese Instructions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a bowl, mix your cherry tomatoes with garlic, oil and a generous amount of salt. (Eyeball it -- I used 2 "glugs" of oil for my 18 toms.) Spread on pan and roast for 2 hours. In a container that has a strong sealed lid (I used a mason jar), mix your roasted tomato / garlic mix with basil (I used dried, didn't have the fresh on hand) and lavender. Again eyeball it -- the picture below shows my eyeballing. Add Italian dressing, mix well, and let the ingredients get to know one another for several hours -- or overnight is even better. To make the bruschetta, set your oven to broil. Place bread slices baking sheet and broil until both sides are golden brown (turn once during baking). Top with roasted tomato mix, freshly shredded cheese, and, just to gild the lily, drizzle with a bit more olive oil. Yum-mo!
P.S. Sorry I did not get a picture of the final "presentation" -- I forgot. Blame it on low blood sugar!
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1/2 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup peanut butter In a small pan, heat syrup and peanut butter over low heat. Whisk together until peanut butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Serve warm over waffles or pancakes. Note: This is great with Flaxseed & Oat Waffles and Biggest Loser Pancakes.
Well, it's not Friday yet, but I found these items in the fridge and didn't want them to go to waste: 1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream and 1/2 pint of blackberries. Whip the heavy cream until it has the consistency of whipped butter. Add rinsed blackberries and beat until incorporated. You can put in molds, or freeze in a log for later use.
HONEY BBQ SAUCE 1 cup ketchup 1 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup honey 1 teaspoon liquid smoke 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon onion powder Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Whisk until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and serve with your favorite meat or seafood. Happy birthday, Bill Murray! Bill was born September 21, 1950 in Illinois. In Coffee And Cigarettes, the Wu-Tang Clan make a point of always calling Bill Murray by his full name. This is one of my favorite scenes. Here's a coffee recipe in honor of him. Grilled Pork Chops with Coffee Barbecue Sauce
Plan in advance to brine pork chops basted with a coffee barbecue sauce in this recipe from a famous NYC chef. Ingredients: 1/4 cup fine sea salt, plus more for seasoning pork 2 pounds pork chops, preferably center-cut Freshly ground pepper Coffee Barbecue Sauce (recipe below) Instructions: Pour 1 quart of water into a deep container. Add the salt and stir until it is dissolved. Put the pork chops in the solution, submerging them completely and weighting them down with a plate if necessary. Refrigerate for at least 12 and no more than 24 hours. Remove the chops from the brine and pat them dry with paper towels. Prepare an outdoor grill or preheat a grill pan over high heat on the stovetop. Season the chops with salt and pepper and put them on the grill over direct heat. Cook for 5 minutes on each side, or less if the chops are thinly cut. After turning the chops, baste them with coffee barbecue sauce, letting the sauce caramelize onto the pork. Serve from a platter with extra barbecue sauce alongside. Yield: 4 to 6 servings Coffee Barbeque Sauce Use this coffee barbecue sauce as a marinade or finishing sauce for grilled or baked pork, beef, or chicken. The sauce may be covered and refrigerated up to 2 weeks. Ingredients: 1/2 cup brewed espresso or strong, dark coffee 1 cup ketchup 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped, about 1 cup 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 3 fresh hot chili peppers, or milder/hotter as desired, seeded 2 Tablespoons hot dry mustard mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 Tablespoons ground cumin 2 Tablespoons chili powder Instructions: Put espresso or coffee, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, onion, garlic, chile peppers, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, and chili powder in a small pot, stir them together, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat so the mixture is just simmering and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, let the mixture cool, then puree it in a blender or food processor fitted with the steel blade. The barbecue sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. I have two large rosemary bushes in my front yard in desperate need of trimming, so don't be surprised if you see a lot of rosemary recipes this summer! A wonderful use has been this rosemary honey, a breeze to make, and so good with a sharp cheese and crackers. Instructions: Bring 1 cup light-flavored honey and 5 rosemary sprigs (3 inches each) to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let steep until cool, about 45 minutes. Remove rosemary, or leave in for a stronger flavor. Ingredients:
One 15.5-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 T. chopped parsley 1/4 cup diced shallot 2 T. olive oil 2 T. fresh lemon juice 1/4 tsp. lemon zest 3/4 tsp. ground cumin Pinch of cayenne pepper Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups (lightly packed) baby spinach leaves 1 T. chopped basil Instructions In a medium bowl combine the chickpeas, parsley and shallot. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture and toss to combine. Serve the chickpea salad over a bed of spinach leaves. Top with the yogurt sauce and a sprinkle of basil. Yogurt with Orange Essence: In a small bowl, stir together 3 T. plain nonfat yogurt, 1/4 tsp. orange zest, 1 T. orange juice and 1/2 tsp. honey. Yield: about 1/2 cup One of this quarter's projects (see Notebook page) is to try to make jelly or jam. Freezer jam is a perfect baby step toward that goal. I tried the Blueberry Pomegranate Twists recently at Starbucks, and was really taken by that combination and wanted to apply it to freezer jam. And just to be EXTRA ambitious, I wanted to try a recipe with no lemon or processed sugar. Ingredients:
3 cups of fresh blueberries 2 1/2 cups of pomegranate seeds 3/4 cups honey 2 tsp. ginger powder 1 (0.6-ounce) sachet Ball Instant Pectin Instructions: 1. Wash and pick through blueberries and pomegranate seeds. All of the berries should be firm and ripe. 2. Mix berries with honey and ginger, let sit 2 hours. 3. Put honey-berry mixture in pot with the pectin. Boil on medium heat for 30 minutes, scraping sides of pot and stirring bottom as you go. The berries will burst and the jam will get thicker as you go. You can taste the mixture at this point, if you want sweeter jam just add more honey. Once the jam "sheets" of the back of a spoon, it is done. (I use a spoon, take a shallow scoop of jam and hold it above the pot, tip the spoon and let it slide off. When it stops falling in plops and begins to sheet, then it's ready.) 4. Ladle jam intocontainers, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space. Let stand 30 minutes, then refrigerate or freeze. Note: My jam took 12 hours to set. I love love love cooking for my family, and my sweet mama requested a raspberry salad dressing to take home. You bet! Now most recipes call for raspberry vinegar, but I tried this experiement with real raspberries and replacing refined sugar with honey. It has a gorgeous rosy color that will look great on my spinach, feta, pecan and strawberry salad! Ingredients:
1/2 cup boiling water 2 chamomile tea bags 1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries, not thawed 1 shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil 2 T. red-wine vinegar 1 T. honey Salt and pepper to taste Instructions: Pour boiling water over tea bags in a small bowl; let steep for 3 minutes, then pour the brewed tea into a blender, pressing on the bag to extract all of the tea. Add raspberries, shallots, oil, vinegar and sugar; blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour through a fine strainer into a small bowl, pressing firmly to extract pulp. Whisk in salt and pepper. Makes 1 cup. My sweet mama called yesterday and asked if I would post some non-cheese sauce suggestions for vegetables. It's HARD to cook for one, but by making these sauces all at once on a Sunday afternoon, you can have plenty for the week ahead of healthy eating.
For broccoli, try this Yogurt Spice Sauce: Ingredients: 1 tsp each: cumin, cinnamon 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt Zest and juice of 1/3 lemon Salt and black pepper to taste Instructions: Mix all in small bowl. Drizzle over steamed broccoli. For asparagus, try this Lemon Aioli recipe: Ingredients: 2 large egg yolks 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest Pinch of white pepper 3/4 cup olive oil Instructions: Combine yolks, lemon juice, garlic, salt, zest, and pepper in a blender. With blender running, slowly drizzle in olive oil, and blend until an emulsion forms. The aioli may be kept in the refrigerator for up to a day in a covered container. This Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is great over zucchini or summer squash. Ingredients: 2 to 2 1/4 pounds (4 large or 6 medium) red peppers 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 large garlic cloves, minced Salt to taste 1 fresh basil sprig 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes Instructions: Roast the peppers. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place the peppers on the foil, and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, using tongs to turn the peppers every 10 minutes. The peppers are done when their skins are brown and puffed. The skins won’t be black, as they are when grilled. Transfer the peppers to a bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate or with plastic, and let sit for 30 minutes until cool. Carefully remove the skins. Holding the peppers over the bowl so no juice escapes, separate into halves or quarters, and remove the stems, seeds and membranes. Cut into strips if desired, and place in another bowl. Strain in the juice. If storing for more than a day, toss with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Refrigerate until ready to use. If you wish, toss with the optional ingredients shortly before serving. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet or wide saucepan. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until mixture is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the peppers, salt, basil sprig and chili flakes. Pour in the juice that you set aside, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer the mixture over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes until the peppers are very tender and the mixture is thick and soft. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan, uncover and turn up the heat. Cook until most of the liquid boils off. Remove the basil sprig, adjust seasonings and remove from the heat. Serve warm or at room temperature. This will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks if you pour a film of olive oil over the top. For many steamed vegetables, I like this Asian Sauce: Ingredients: 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon Korean rice vinegar (or any vinegar will do, actually) 1 tablespoon pure roasted sesame oil 1 tablespoon honey 1/2 tsp. dried ginger 4 cloves fresh garlic, smashed or minced Instructions: Mix all in small bowl. Drizzle over steamed veggies. |
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