Monthly Archives: September 2010

Counter Culture

Posted by Heather in Counter Culture

This time of year there are a lot of birthdays in our family. This “fruit pizza” showed up for the last birthday and was enjoyed by many. A cookie dough crust is covered by a cream cheese mixture and then fruit is piled on top. This is a nice summer dessert which can be made with any combination of fruits.

Many years ago I came across my first fresh figs. I loved them and have been on the lookout since then to find more. When I ran into them at Costco several weeks ago, I bought them without a second thought. Loosely following a recipe in Emeril’s From Farm to Fork, I stuffed them with a sour-cream/whipped cream mixture, drizzled them with honey, and sprinkled them with lavender. A feast for the senses!

The colors of summer never cease to amaze me. Setting out fruit and vegetables on our table creates such beautiful kaleidescopes and I can’t resist taking pictures. I hope you are enjoying your fill because fall is just around the corner.

I made a very quick side dish this week by grating fresh beets and carrots and dressing them with Italian salad dressing. The raw taste of beets is just a bit earthy, but if you can tolerate them, they make an extremely healthy addition to your dinner plate.

Last, but not least, I made gluten-free pizza this week from an amazing recipe you can find over here at our friends Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I never thought dough this good was possible with gluten-free but look at the results!

I have several winter squash sitting in my kitchen and I can’t wait to begin cooking fall dishes. Roasted squash, butternut squash soup, pumpkin pie….the months of comfort food are on their way!

Market Fresh: Thursday

Posted by Alaina in Uncategorized

Market Fresh will be on Thursday this week and Weekend Fare will continue to be on Friday for the time being as we give Foodie Fridays a few more trial weeks! Thanks so much for being apart of our readership – we hope you continue to enjoy the recipes and reviews.

I have a big event (Walk for Kaz) coming up and it’s taking a lot of time and so meals have been a little less than stellar of late. :) Oh well…in two weeks life will be back to a more normal (though still busy) schedule! Thanks for bearing with us as we switch up our schedule a bit due to my schedule and due to the health concerns for Heather’s family.

Weekend Fare & Foodie Fridays

Posted by Alaina in Foodie Friday, Weekend Fare and tagged with ,

For our family gathering, I had a few food assignments and one was a side dish or salad. I went with the salad and we really like it! The ingredients of this pasta salad are reminiscent of a supreme pizza thus the name. The original recipe  is by Rachael Ray and I adapted it slightly for what we had. It went together so quickly and it’s great because it won’t spoil if it sits out for a bit. Perhaps my favorite ingredient was the fresh mushrooms – so good!

SUPREME PIZZA PASTA SALAD (adapted from Rachael Ray)
Print This Recipe

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium red or sweet onion, chopped
8 fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped 
40 pieces pepperoni, roughly chopped 
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, small diced
20 leaves fresh basil, torn or thinly sliced
1 pound pasta, cooked to al dente and cooled under cold water, then drained

Dressing:

1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Italian dried seasoning
1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, eyeball it
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, peppers, pepperoni, mozzarella, basil and pasta in a big bowl. Whisk garlic salt, oregano or Italian seasoning, tomato paste and vinegar together. Stream in extra-virgin olive oil while continuing to whisk dressing. When oil is incorporated, pour dressing over pasta salad, add a few grinds of black pepper to the bowl, then toss salad to coat evenly. Adjust your seasonings and serve salad.

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FOODIE FRIDAYS!

We are so excited to give this feature a try. There is so much we can learn and share from one another! I find myself inspired by reading other blogs. We hope you will find this feature encouraging and inspiring.

Here are just a few guidelines for participating in Foodie Fridays:
1) Leave a link to your post with Mr. Linky.
2) Your entry can include a recipe, a kitchen success, an ingredient, a tradition, a book/magazine/restaurant review, a favorite (or not) tool or gadget, food photos, recipe website, a food memory, a cooking or eating experience or anything food related.
3) Please link back here in your participating post.

Hope you have fun, meet new people, learn a few things, feel encouraged, and find inspiration as you cook, bake, and entertain!

Off The Shelf: September Magazines

Posted by The Cooks Next Door in Off the Shelf and tagged with , , , , ,

**Just a reminder that we are planning to try another edition of Foodie Fridays tomorrow! Hopefully we will get some participants! It’s a great opportunity to share your cooking adventures, best recipes, and more with fellow home cooks and foodies!**

Everyday FOOD — (Heather) This is a very seasonal issue, filled with late summer, early autumn food. The spread on tomatoes is beautiful, and the six fresh recipes all look amazing. The Cuban Dinner feature looks delicious, and not too hard to put together.

The Gnocchi dishes made me wish I wasn’t eating gluten-free just now (I wonder if I could substitute gluten-free flour blend??). A clever article on new ways for muffin tins features deep-dish pizzas, toast cups, mushroom tartlets, eggplant pies, and tortilla cups with fruit.

There is a helpful article on freezing summer produce, and then recipes to use your frozen produce in. And, there is a bake sale article filled with sumptuous baked goodies. Scattered throughout the magazine are one-pot dishes, side dishes and weeknight dinners. Definitely a great issue!

I chose to try the tomatoes with eggs baked inside. It was perfect for a light supper on Sunday evening, or if you’ve had a large lunch earlier in the day.

BAKED EGGS IN TOMATOES
(Everyday FOOD, Sept. 2010)

4 large beefsteak tomatoes
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
4 large eggs
2 tsp. snipped fresh chives
1/4 cup grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese (1/4 ounce)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch baking dish or pie plate with parchment. With a serrated knife, cut off the top 1/2 inch from each tomato. With a spoon or a melon baller, gently remove seeds and inner membrane, being careful not to break through flesh of tomato. Place tomatoes in dish and season with salt and pepper.

Divide corn among tomatoes. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and chives and season with salt and pepper. Divide egg mixture among tomatoes and top with cheese. Bake until egg mixture is set, 45 to 50 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 4.

Better Homes & Gardens — (Alaina) This issue has some really great looking recipes. I like that BHG includes all kinds of things around your home – organizing, cooking, gardening, decorating and more. It highlights some wonderful recipes including Donuts, Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew,  Mushroom and Poblano Vegetarian Enchiladas, and Buttered Apples in Maple Syrup Custard.

I made the Rustic Swiss Chard & Mozarella Tart. It was delicious and most of my family really liked it. The crust was amazing and I’m imagining all the wonderful combinations I could put inside of it. Sometimes getting my family to eat greens (which are incredibly nutritious) is challenging and I think this recipe is a great way to incorporate them into our diet!

RUSTIC SWISS CHARD & MOZARELLA TART
(Better Homes & Gardens, September issue)
Print This Recipe

1  recipe  Pastry, recipe below
1  bunch  Swiss chard, washed and chopped (about 5 cups)
1  cup  chopped leeks (I actually substituted sweet onions since I didn’t have any leeks on hand)
4  cloves  garlic, minced
1/4  tsp.  dried thyme, crushed
1  Tbsp.  olive oil
3/4  cup  shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley (optional)

Prepare Pastry, below. Wrap and refrigerate (up to 1 hour) while preparing filling.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For filling, in a large skillet cook chard, leeks, garlic, thyme, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. black pepper in hot oil over medium heat for 4 minutes or until chard wilts and leeks are tender. Cool slightly. Stir in cheese; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry to a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined greased baking sheet. Spoon filling into center of the pastry circle, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold dough over filling, leaving center open and pleating edges of dough. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden. Serve hot. Sprinkle with parsley. Makes 4 main-dish or 8 appetizer servings

Pastry: In a large bowl combine 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cut up 1/2 cup cold butter; cut into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Combine 1/4 cup ice-cold water, 1/4 cup sour cream, and 2 tsp. lemon juice. Add half the sour cream mixture to flour mixture; toss with a fork. Add remaining sour cream mixture; toss with fork until mixture is moistened. Form into a ball.

Cooking Light — (Alaina)  This issue is packed with healthy, easy recipes. It’s perfect for the home cook. It includes a list of the Top 20 ingredients to have on hand for quick cooking. And it has a section on cooking with your pressure cooker (I have yet to get one but they look awesome!). I think the October issue of Cooking Light will be a bit more fall-ish but this is a great magazine overall!

I made the cover dish – Maple-Glazed Salmon. It was wonderful – the dry rub really masked the fish-y-ness and gave great flavor! The kids liked this better than the last time I made salmon. I will definitely make this again. It’s also a quick recipe – 20-30 minutes from start to finish.

MAPLE-GLAZED SALMON
(Cooking Light, September 2010)
Print This Recipe

1  teaspoon  paprika
1/2  teaspoon  chili powder
1/2  teaspoon  ground ancho chile powder
1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin
1/4  teaspoon  brown sugar
1  teaspoon  kosher salt
4  (6-ounce) Alaskan salmon fillets
Cooking spray
2  tablespoons  maple syrup

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients; rub spice mixture evenly over flesh side of fillets. Place fish on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; broil 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Brush fillets evenly with syrup; broil 1 minute.

My Kitchen View

Posted by Alaina in Kitchen View and tagged with , , ,

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my extended family. There is never a dull moment and there is an abundance of delicious food! Seriously. My family is full of talented cooks. So, we ate too much, spent lots of time outside, and watched our boys have the best time.

My cooking adventures of late included several new recipes for the weekend. I made my first apple recipe of the season. Yum. I will admit that as much as I enjoy the cooler, fall weather…I’m not a big fan of winter and since fall leads to winter, I’m feeling a little hesitant to bid summer farewell. But, the fall brings hearty soups, apple and pumpkin dishes, muffins, breads and more. Sigh. That part, I most definitely welcome.

Our little garden has struggled through and while we haven’t had as much produce as I would like, we are still enjoying delicious, gorgeous tomatoes, beautiful and plentiful basil, and some okra - which is continuing to grow on me.

 This weekend, I talked local restaurants with a couple of my cousins and my brother and sister-in-law. Evidently I must try Recess and it really looks wonderful! Naked Chopstix, Bazbeaux, and Brugge Brasserie where a few I mentioned – all of which I enjoy. All of these restaurants are in Broad Ripple – a happening, hip area.

Finally, I was debating what recipe to share today but I think it will be these very yummy muffins! They were not your normal banana muffins – they were packed with delicious-ness – granola, coconut, and walnuts. Ina Garten’s recipe is one I will definitely be making again. I think her idea of dicing some of the bananas and mashing the rest also added to the great texture. These are great as we head into fall. And I’m pretty sure you could use different fruits and change up this recipe.

BANANA MUFFINS
Print This Recipe

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 bananas)
1 cup medium-diced ripe bananas (1 banana)
1 cup small-diced walnuts
1 cup granola
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Granola, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the melted butter and blend. Combine the eggs, milk, vanilla, and mashed bananas, and add them to the flour and butter mixture. Scrape the bowl and blend well. Don’t overmix.

Fold the diced bananas, walnuts, granola, and coconut into the batter. Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each 1 to the top. Top each muffin with granola, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly, remove from the pan, and serve.

Foodie Fridays & Weekend Fare

Posted by Alaina in Foodie Friday, Weekend Fare and tagged with , , ,

It’s a double feature today. :) I’m sharing a recipe and introducing Foodie Fridays – I hope many of you will join in and share your food experiences!

Peaches and blueberries are such a wonderful combination. I needed a dessert for company and found a recipe for individual Peach & Blueberry Crumbles which I adapted. Yum. They were absolutely delicious. I made them a few hours ahead and then put them back in the oven to re-warm them. I served them with fresh whipped cream (not pictured) flavored with a little vanilla extract and a hint of cinnamon. The only thing I would change is to add a bit less sugar to the crumble topping – it was quite sweet. These were quick to put together and looked elegant served in the individual ramekins.

PEACH & BLUEBERRY CRUMBLES
Print This Recipe

2 lbs. firm, ripe peaches, peeled & sliced or 4 c. frozen peaches
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tb. lemon juice
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. flour

Crumble: 
1 c. flour
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. (1 stick) cold  butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place peaches and blueberries in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Divide the mixture between six lightly greased ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the cut butter in a medium mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter until it is pea size. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 45 minutes or until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired.

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FOODIE FRIDAYS!

We are so excited to give this feature a try. There is so much we can learn and share from one another! I find myself inspired by reading other blogs. We hope you will find this feature encouraging and inspiring.

Here are just a few guidelines for participating in Foodie Fridays:
1) Leave a link to your post with Mr. Linky.
2) Your entry can include a recipe, a kitchen success, an ingredient, a tradition, a book/magazine/restaurant review, a favorite (or not) tool or gadget, food photos, recipe website, a food memory, a cooking or eating experience or anything food related.
3) Please link back here in your participating post.

Hope you have fun, meet new people, learn a few things, feel encouraged, and find inspiration as you cook, bake, and entertain!

New Feature

Posted by The Cooks Next Door in Blog Business

Tomorrow, we will have our first Foodie Friday! All you have to do is write a post sharing a recipe, a food memory, a cooking or eating experience, an ingredient, a photo, a restaurant or book review or anything food related. Occasionally we will have a specific theme  for Fridays but for this week, anything goes! We hope it will be a great opportunity for you to share your culinary adventures. And we hope many of you will join in – we can’t wait to read your posts!

On another note, due to a medical emergency in Heather’s family, our posting may be a bit different for an indefinite period of time. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.

We are so grateful for your continued support! And as always, we can be reached via e-mail.  

On and for this week, I will be participating and introducing Foodie Fridays with the Weekend Fare post tomorrow.

Off The Shelf: More-with-Less

Posted by Heather in Off the Shelf and tagged with , , ,

There are three cookbooks my mom owned that I remember as a child: The Joy of Cooking, More-with-Less Cookbook, and The Congregationalist Church of Cambridge, VT Cookbook. Of these three, it was the More-with-Less from which much of what we ate came from. When I got married I made sure I took a copy of this book with me.

What is so great about this 33-year old, picture-less cookbook? Not gourmet recipes. No. This book is all about the basics of healthy living. It covers breads, cereals, beans, main dishes, dairy, meats and fish, soups, vegetables, salads, desserts and gardening and preserving.

Some of my all-time favorite recipes come from this book. Things like: Honey Whole Wheat Bread, Oatmeal Bread, Edna Ruth Byler’s Potato Dough, Baked Lentils with Cheese, Tomato Quiche, Chinese Savory Beef, Basic Meat Curry, Creamed Chicken, Cucumber Salad, and Roman Apple Cake.

One recipe I’ve made many times is Eggplant Parmesan. It’s perfect for this time of year when eggplants are plentiful. It doubles easily too.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN
( More-with-Less)
Print this recipe

1 medium eggplant

1 cup bread crumbs (can use gluten-free bread)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. oregano

6 tomatoes, chopped (or one 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes)
2 green peppers, chopped (I leave these out)
2 onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. oil (olive oil)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. tomato paste (or thicken sauce with 1 Tbsp. flour)

1-2 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup additional Parmesan

Slice eggplant and place on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and broil 5-7 minutes. Turn slices, brush with olive oil, and broil until tender. Place in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. (I would use a smaller dish.)

Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and oregano and sprinkle over eggplant.

Combine tomatoes, green peppers, onions, oil, garlic and tomato paste in a saucepan. Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes then spread on top of the crumb mixture. Top with cheeses and bake uncovered 10-15 minutes at 375F. Can be made ahead and refrigerated.

Serves 4.