food lately: you know, from the last six months (part 2)

don't worry, there's more:

arugula salad with tomatoes and cheesy croutons 

pasta salad with cantaloupe, arugula, and prosciutto (awesome!)

pasta with eggplant, grilled onions, and tomatoes in cream sauce

one of my favorite pizzas i've ever made with eggplant, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto

and... the strangest pizza i've ever made with leeks, broccoli, and veggie patties, but not terrible

thyme & parmesan biscuits, fried eggs, and left over dressing 

cheese dip nachos (oh yes!)

a delicious feast of roasted sweet potatoes, greens, caramelized onions, chorizo sausage, goat cheese, and crepes (also one of my favs)

plus some sweet treats: 

brownies

and blue bell! 

xoxo

food lately: you know, from the last six months (part 1)

I obviously ate and cooked while I was working away. here are some things:

root vegetable soup with smoked coconut 

 

(vegetarian) french onion soup

 

lentil & eggplant soup with basil 

thai fried rice and sweet & sour tofu with broccoli 

southwestern sauté with soyrizo, peppers, and goat cheese, over polenta

eggplant parmesan and spaghetti 

sautéed  squash, greens, and onions with fried eggs

couscous with cucumber & tomatoes  and chickpeas with chard

pizza with zucchini & caramelized onions 

dill scrambled eggs with cheddar and paprika 

keep cooking team!

xoxo

food lately: not really but still good, part 2

because it has been a long time, there is more to share:

dinner of poblano hash with soyrizo & corn, fried eggs, and cornbread waffles

coconut-crusted tofu, fried bananas, jerk refried black-beans, and salad

avocado with salt & pepper (because what else does it need?) and succotash with the big lima beans - my favorite 

 more jerk-refried black beans, but now with sauteed pineapple, sweet potatoes, and goat cheese toast

and last but not least, my favorite treat of late - plain full-fat yogurt with my blackberry syrup and mini chocolate chips.  Better than ice cream folks 

xoxo

rant/rave: kale

I know you just saw this picture on Wednesday, but it's the only one I have of some kale. 

Yes, I said it was spinach, and it mostly was, but there was some kale mixed in there too.  Let me explain. 

First off, my mother is always ahead of food trends.  Yes, food trends are very much a thing, and I mean it especially in terms of health-related trends.  This meant yes to whole-wheat flour and bread, no to canned tomatoes, and being a trans-fat free house since I was in elementary school.  It was hard to say good-bye to oreos at age 10, but life goes on.  

As a result I'm now trained to feel guilt and think twice anytime I pick up a box of processed food in the grocery store.  

But back to the now current trend of kale: all my life my parents have raved about kale, how delicious it is and of course, how good for you it is.  But I never cared for it.  I was never going to pick it from a list of vegetable options, and I was probably going to complain a little (or a lot depending on your memory) while eating it. 

But yes, kale is some type of super food they say, and everyone and their mother is currently raving about it as the best thing ever.  Their making kale chips, kale salads, kale pasta, kale everything.  So I thought, maybe, just maybe I should give this another go.  We eat a lot of spinach and I keep it in the freezer for a quick super-food side. So I recently mixed it up and bought kale instead of spinach.  

We tried it, and both Jonathan and I agreed, it's so mediocre. The texture and flavor of spinach is much superior.  And you know what, spinach is still really awesome for you so we don't even feel bad about not liking the currently hot super-food.  We're sticking with spinach in my kitchen and enjoying every moment of it.  That said, because we weren't fans, I mixed in the remaining kale with the spinach so there is still some remnant of it in the house.  

But not for long.

Don't forget to eat your greens, but remember, they can be any type of greens!

xoxo

an afternoon in the kitchen

there really is no better place to be, so i was happy to get to spend a few hours cooking up a bunch of food last week.

Food like,

Mema's Cereal Mix:

Shelling Crowder Peas from the CSA:

Fresh Tomato Sauce Base: 

(pureed tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, all in the processor)

Oh and some cooked then shelled edamame too

 And large lima beans, in the slow cooker with a hot pepper, 1/2 an onion, and some stock.

One hour on high, then six on low

 

I love the transition from summer to fall cooking!

xoxo

squash of course

in blossom form though and so good.  

We got some squash blossoms in our CSA last week so I stuffed them with a combo of ricotta, goat cheese, and basil, dipped them in some egg and then flour and pan fried them to perfection:

Oh, and I had a little extra filling mix so i just rolled that in the flour and pan fried as well...yeah.

so delicious.

xoxo

summer salad

this was made a while ago, but it was delicious if i do say so myself:

watermelon, chickpeas, cucumber, feta, lemon vinaigrette. 

winner winner summer salad (so the rhyme doesn't work so well there...)

xoxo

Post Easter Fun

I know this is late, get over it. 

Post easter was spent doubling it up with the boys and ashley at the standard before madmen, drinking mystery beers for 2.50 and playing cranium.  it was a great end to a fabulous day. 

with some jems like these:

Jonathan's superheros & Casey's mad scientist

 

 But as promised, the recipes from Easter:

Menu:

Deviled Eggs

Roasted Turkey Breast, Caramelized Onion and Spinach Quiche

Black Eyed Peas, Biscuits, Roasted Asparagus, Potato Gratin, Citrus Salad

Lemon Cake

Recipes:

Quiche, adapted from Martha 

            Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 bag baby spinach

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

1 pie crust, prepared in dish

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Salt, pepper, nutmeg
           Directions: 
In a skillet over medium-high heat, saute onions until caramelized. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with a rack set in the middle.  Add spinach to the skillet; season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Saute until wilted. 
Put spinach-onion mixture in pie crust. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture into crust. Bake until center is just set, 60 minutes. Let it stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Roasted Asparagus (the easiest and most delicious) 

            Ingredients:

Asparagus, salt, pepper, nutmeg (or any seasoning combo you like), olive oil

             Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Trim ends, place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with spices, roast for 5-7 minutes.

Deviled Eggs

            Ingredients:

8 eggs, 1/4 cup mayo, 1 T Dijon, 1/4 t cayenne, salt, pepper, and paprika

             Directions:

Hard boil eggs and peel.  slice in half and put yokes in a bowl with remaining ingredients.  Mix up and dollop into egg whites. Sprinkle with a little more paprika and serve them up.

Potato Gratin, adapted from Martha

            Ingredients:

Butter, 3 lbs potatoes in 1/8-in slices, 1 clove of garlic, 2 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup Gruyere, shredded, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

             Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Butte a 2-qt baking dish and place a layer of potatoes in the dish. Sprinkle with cheese and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Repeat until the dish is near the top.  In a saucepan combine the cream, smashed garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and bring to a simmer.  Pour mixture over potatoes.  Cover dish with foil and bake until tender, about 40 minutes.  Remove foil and sprinkle with more cheese and make until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Citrus Salad
            Ingredients:
1 grapefruit, 1 orange, 1 lemon, Hazelnuts, Greens, olive oil, salt, pepper, honey, Dijon mustard
             Directions:
For the vinaigrette: zest and juice the lemon, whisk with the Dijon, honey, salt, pepper, and oil to taste
For the salad: toast the hazelnuts, segment the orange and grapefruit, wash the greens, mix it all up

Lemon Cake, adapted from Martha, of course

            Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temp; 2 1/2 cups floor, 1/2 t baking powder, 1/2 t baking soda, 1 t salt, 1 T lemon zest, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 2 lg eggs and 3 egg yolks, 1/4 cup and juice of a lemon, 1 t vanilla, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 lemon, powdered sugar.
             Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.  In a bowl mix together flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and lemon zest. In the bowl of a standmixer, beat butter with sugar; add eggs and yolks, lemon juice, and vanilla. Alternate adding in buttermilk and flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter in pan and bake for 35 minutes.  Let cool and dust with powdered sugar.

Hope you enjoy some of these!

xoxo

food lately: more plates

Some things I've been eating, that I'm ready to have more of:

Cheesy potatoes and succotash with rhubarb. Yes rhubarb! 

It's delicious, just saute it up with the others.

Potato pancake, veggie sausage patty, and cheesy eggs:

Squash casserole and roasted broccoli: 

White beans and artichoke saute, and sun-dried tomatoes and mozz toast:

Lemon potatoes, falafel, and so many greek dips:

Cheese toast and jalapeno eggs:

get cooking kids.

xoxo