Must Love Gardening!

Here comes the sun...

A sneak peek at our edible garden...

Getting our herbs started...

Hopefully our thumbs will turn green this year... I'll keep you posted!

Pimiento Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe comes from Bon Appétit magazine, the March 2011 issue. The recipe is on the cover and is said to be "Hands down, the tastiest version we've ever made." So I had to try it. 

Pimiento Mac and Cheese

  Photo by Alexa-iPhone

Photo by Matt

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, halved, divided
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) --I did not need this much once it was mixed later...
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided (Mine never got to "room temperature" because my kitchen was as cold as the fridge)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
3/4 cup drained mild Peppadew peppers in brine, 1 tablespoon brine reserved (I could not find these so I used other jarred peppers).
1/4 teaspoon ground ancho chiles
1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup (packed) coarsely grated mozzarella
8 ounces medium shell pasta or gemelli

Directions:
*Note: I am giving these directions in a different order than the magazine gave. I followed the magazine's timing and ended up waiting for many of the ingredients to get ready.
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-cup baking dish (or 6 individual dishes).
2. Boil water in large pot. Salt the water and cook the pasta until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to pot.
3. Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup water, bell pepper, and 1 1/2 garlic cloves to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover; reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until pepper is soft, about 15 minutes.
4. Toast panko in skillet over medium-high heat until golden, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to bowl, cool to lukewarm. Rub 1 tablespoon butter into crumbs to coat. Mix in 1/4 cup Parmesan.
5. When the bell pepper mixture is done, transfer it to a food processor. Add Peppadews and 1 tablespoon of brine, 2 TB butter, ground chiles, and 1/2 garlic clove; then add cheddar and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Blend until sauce is smooth; season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. When the pasta is returned to the pot, add the sauce and mozzarella and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Spoon pasta mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle with crumb topping.
8. Bake pasta until topping is crisp and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes (15 for individual). Let stand 10 minutes.
*After 25 minutes I decided to turn on the broiler and let it crisp the top for about 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Lasagna--mmmmmmmm

This recipe is one that I created myself. I was a little nervous about making a veggie lasagna. I am not sure why, I like vegetables and all, but I thought that I would really miss the meat. As it turns out, I didn't--Matt and I love this recipe, so hopefully you will too!

Vegetable Lasagna

Ingredients:
lasagna noodles
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
2 large or 3 small zucchini, sliced
1 1/2 cups of chopped fresh spinach
5-7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 1/2 jars of your favorite tomato sauce (more if it is very thick)
1/2 cup of red wine (optional)
4 Tb butter
1 Tb olive oil
12 oz container of ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup reserved for topping
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg


Directions:
Prepare lasagna noodles according to package. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sauce
1. In a large pan heat olive oil and half of the minced garlic over medium heat. Tip: Heat the garlic with the olive oil instead of adding it later--this will prevent burning the outside of the garlic. Let the garlic sizzle in the pan for about 1 minute. 
2. If you are using wine, add it to the pan now. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce and basil. 
3. Allow the sauce to bubble then turn it to simmer as you prepare everything else. 


Vegetables
1. Melt butter in a pan. 
2. Add garlic, onions, and zucchini. 
3. Sauté vegetables until tender but not overcooked. Set aside


Cheese
1. Mix ricotta, 1 1/4 cups mozzarella, parmesan, spinach, and the egg together. Add salt and pepper. 

Assembling the Lasagna
1. Use a 8x8 baking dish. Put a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce in the dish to coat the bottom.
2. Create layers, making sure to make a complete layer (but not too thick). The layers go in the order: pasta, cheese, vegetables, sauce. 
3. When you reach the top layer of sauce, then add one more layer of pasta, sauce, then the reserved mozzarella and a bit of parmesan.
4. Place the baking dish on a cookie sheet. Use foil to tent the dish, but allow for ventilation. 
5. Bake lasagna for 40 minutes with the foil on. Then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. 
6. After the hour of baking, remove the lasagna from the oven. Baked pastas like to rest a bit before being sliced and served. They hold up a bit better. If you can't wait, just don't expect a stack--it will still taste delicious though. Wait for 10-20 minutes, if you can stand it. 
7. Enjoy!

Very Vegetarian Chili

It is the season of Lent. This year I have given up eating meat for 40 days. I am having fun experimenting with Vegetarian recipes. Hopefully you will enjoy my experiments. As always, if I use a new recipe I tend to change it a bit, so you should feel free to do the same. 

This recipe for Chili is inspired by the Moosewood cookbook series. I left out things like bulgur and corn, then I added things like carrots and extra spice!

So here we go:

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots

3 cups chopped onions

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 14 oz can of black beans, drained

1 14 oz can of kidney beans, drained

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with their juice

1 TB Cumin

1 TB Chili Powder

Cayenne Pepper and salt to taste

(You might add a cup of corn, some black olives, or any other veggie you think would taste delicious in here)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, sauté onions, garlic, and carrots in 1 TB of cooking oil over medium heat until translucent. 

2. Add chopped peppers to the pot. Cook the peppers for 2-3 minutes if you would like them to retain a bit of crunch. If you want them soft then put them in with the onions and carrots.

3. When the peppers have reached the desired texture, stir in the beans, tomatoes, and spices. 

4. Turn the heat down and allow the chili to simmer for 15-30 minutes. The longer it simmers the thicker it becomes and the more the flavors incorporate.

5. Sprinkle with grated cheese, avocado, cliantro, green onions, or anything else you like on your chili. 

6. Enjoy!

JUSTIFICATION

How could I forget?? With our Valentine's dinner we had the yummiest wine! This bottle of JUSTIN's Justification was a present that my mom gave to M on his birthday.

We waited for just the right meal to share it. Not only is this wine delicious, but it is from our favorite vineyard, JUSTIN, in Paso Robles.

Visit  http://www.justinwine.com/       to check it out. Each wine there is delicious, the grounds are beautiful, and there is a restaurant as well as a bed and breakfast.

If you are ever even near Paso Robles, go to JUSTIN! Yum!!!

Romantic Valentine's Day Dinner--For Three!

The Menu

Valentine Salad

Filet Mignon

Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp

Parmesan Truffle Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Artichokes

Chocolate Soufflé 

with Raspberry Whipped Cream

And my karma coming true: baby shrimp and English Muffins... you'll see....

Hooray for our first married Valentine's Day!!

This year we had AL, my stepdaughter, with us for the romantic dinner. Most of the day we spent playing around the house, getting all of our outside energy out before the rain came. Then M went to work and AL and I got cookin!

The idea for this menu came from a few of my lovely food magazines. All of the romantic dinner sections sounded good, so I chose my favorite parts and changed them to my tastes and convenience. I thought it would be nice to make some sort of seafood for M, because he loves it and I love him. In came the shrimp! But I'm picky, so it needed to be a "Surf and Turf" theme... and I just stuck to the turf...

Either way, I'll go through the menu step by step.... this will be a long one!! 

Valentine Salad

Ingredients:
Red Leaf Lettuce
Radishes
Rainbow Carrots--I used purple and pink
Red Onion
Red Pepper
Tomato
Beet
  
Directions: Obviously I just chopped up a certain amount of each and tossed them together. But it's so pretty I had to put it in here!  We used my favorite Barcelona Vinaigrette from Whole Foods. You could use anything you like--it will probably turn purple from the fun colors in the salad!

The Main Course

  

Filet Mignon

Ingredients: 

2 beautiful Filets

Salt

Pepper

1 cup red wine

1 cup balsamic vinegar

butter 

Directions:

Steak cooks better if it has been allowed to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. I seasoned these filets with salt and pepper and then let them rest for an hour at room temperature (The resting helps them stay super tender).

1.  Melt 1 TB butter in a heavy bottomed pan over med-high heat.

2. Once the butter has melted,  sear the steaks for 1 minute on each side. 

3. Add the wine and the balsamic. Turn the heat down to medium. Cook for an additional 5-6 minutes per side.  This is for medium rare. If you like the steaks done more, just add a few minutes to each side. It is better to let the steak cook through instead of flipping it a million times. 

4. Once the steaks are done to your liking, remove them from the pan and let them "rest." At this point, if you want to reduce the sauce in the pan you can (keep cooking it). 

5. Put a piece of butter on the top of each steak. Or you may like to put Gorgonzola on top to melt while the rest of your food finishes. 

Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp

This recipe is mostly from Food TV, I just changed a couple of things...

Ingredients:

6 large shelled, deveined shrimp, tails on

3 pieces of prosciutto

juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 TB chopped fresh thyme

2 TB olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat your broiler.

1. Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper.

2. Mix in the shrimp, let sit for about 3-5 minutes in the mixture.

3. As the shrimp marinates, slice each piece of prosciutto in half, lengthwise. Then wrap each piece of shrimp with one piece of prosciutto.

4. Place each piece of shrimp on a foil-lined broiler pan.

5. Broil the shrimp for two minutes per side (flip half way through), four minutes total.

Parmesan Truffle Mashed Potatoes

Okay, I don't know about you, but I am in LOVE with truffle oil. I think it tastes good with everything. So I finally caved in and bought some. It is actually safflower oil infused with white truffles. Much cheaper than the real stuff, but still a bit pricey. That said, a little goes a long way so I in no way regret this delicious purchase!!

Ingredients:

4-6 peeled and quartered large potatoes, I used red (they're my favorite--smooth texture, 

                             good flavor)

1/2 cup cream (you can substitute half and half or even sour cream... but cream makes the 

                             smoothest potatoes!!) 

1/2 stick butter

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 tsp white truffle oil

salt

Directions:

1. In a large pot, boil the potatoes. The potatoes will boil for about 20 minutes. I always check by squeezing one with tongs. If it's hard, it's not done. If it the edges are soft you're ready to mash!

2. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.

3. Add the butter and cheese. Give the potatoes a stir so that these ingredients begin to melt. If the butter is room temperature you do not have to worry too much about melting. If it is coming from the fridge I would bury the butter in those potatoes!

4. Add the cream and salt. Get the potatoes to the consistency that you like. 

5. Finally, add the truffle oil and mix it in. YUM!!

Steamed Artichokes

I usually just trim the tops and bottoms of artichokes then steam them in about 2-3 inches of water until a leaf plucks off (usually around 45 minutes). It is nice to salt the water, or add other flavors like olive oil or lemon. The artichokes will absorb any flavors that are added to the water.

Dessert

Chocolate Soufflés with Raspberry Whipped Cream

This photo is courtesy of my hubby!

Okay, before I give you the details on how to make this DELICIOUS dessert, I have to tell you where it's from. For Christmas, Jeanette gave me the yummiest book ever, Bon Appétit Desserts by Barbara Fairchild. This link will help you buy it. It is basically the dessert bible. It starts with equipment and techniques, then has over 600 dessert recipes. As you read through it gives you tips to make your desserts come out perfectly. Thanks Jeanette!!!

Chocolate Soufflé

M does not usually want dessert, unless it's M&Ms or his mom's chocolate chip cookies. When I put this in front of him, however, he devoured it. It is so light and airy that even with the rich flavor you can eat lots. :)

Makes 4

Ingredients:

3 TB water

1 TB instant espresso powder or instant coffee powder

5 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceet 61% cacao), chopped

1 TB brandy

3 large egg yolks

4 large egg whites, room temperature

2 1/2 TB sugar

Powdered Sugar

Directions:

1. Butter four 2/3 cup soufflé dishes; coat with sugar.

2. Stir 3 tablespoons water and espresso powder in heavy small saucepan until espresso powder dissolves. 

3. Add chocolate and brandy. Stir over low heat until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.

Whisk in egg yolks, cool to room temperature

4. Beat egg whites in large bowl until foamy. Gradually add 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar and beat until medium-firm peaks form.

5. Fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. 

• Before you do this, they recommend putting just a quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then, when you mix the chocolate in, you are less likely to deflate your egg whites. The fluffiness is what makes the soufflé rise. 

6. Divide among soufflé dishes. Place dishes on baking sheet.

*The cookbook says that you can do this up to 2 hours ahead of time. The soufflés may stand uncovered at room temperature. I did not believe them, but I did it, and everything still came out great! This way, you can make the dessert before dinner, then as you finish dinner, you can pop these in the oven!*


7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake soufflés until puffed but still moist in center, about 14 minutes. 
8. Sift powdered sugar over soufflés (you will notice from my picture that I did not do this. It is because I was so excited that I forgot).
9. Serve with, in this case, raspberry whipped cream.






Raspberry Whipped Cream
This can definitely be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge. 
This is my own recipe, just thought it would taste good with the soufflés.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 TB powdered sugar (or more if you want a really sweet cream)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries


Directions:
1. Using an electric mixer, begin to mix the cream and vanilla. You may use medium or even high speed (just don't let it turn to butter!).
2. Gradually add in the powdered sugar.
3. Then add the raspberries. They should mix in and turn everything a pretty pinkish color. 
4. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. As I said before, don't over whip it or it could turn to butter! 
5. This will make more than you need for this dessert, but you can save it and put it on fresh fruit, waffles, and whatever else you can think of.

And Finally.... My Karma

As I have said before, I spent my life as a picky eater. For a long time, I preferred things that were orange or a beigy color (think grilled cheese, mac and cheese, quesadillas, or fries, chicken nuggets, and tater tots). Now that I am a parent, my karma is coming through. My dearest AL is a picky eater. Granted, she usually likes a more colorful plate, but it is still my karma. My little picky eater. I'll give it to her though, she'll try what I make. She just wont have more than one bite. So here is her Valentine dinner:

 Pre-cooked cold shrimp from the seafood section of Whole Foods, and garlic bread English Muffins in the shape of hearts.

I do have to add in the brightest side of this karma... She also ate an artichoke. 

Happy Valentine's Day. 

Hot and Sour Soup

For as long as I can remember, my family has enjoyed the best Chinese food at Tsing Tao, on Solano Avenue in Albany/Berkeley. Even as a little kid, my mom would always give me the tofu from Hot and Sour Soup. It was the best thing in the world!

As I got older, we kept going there. On each visit the hostess/waitress would update us on which of our family members had been in that week. Then she'd check in on how much food we wanted. Did we want the Hot and Sour Soup, wontons, and pot stickers only? Or would we also like Schezuan Chicken, Dry-Sauteed String Beans, and Mongolian Beef, too?

Whenever I visited home I'd go to Tsing Tao. I have still not found Hot and Sour Soup that even compares.

So imagine the day that I heard they were closing down. Living in Santa Barbara, I didn't even get to go there to say goodbye and indulge in gallons of my favorite soup. I was heartbroken.

So now it's my turn--I need to make Hot and Sour Soup!! I've tried twice, and it's getting better and better each time. I've created variations that are different from Tsing Tao's recipe. After all, I did not eat everything in that bowl! 

This version is vegetarian. If you choose to add meat (such as pork or chicken) I recommend cooking it first with the ginger, before making the soup itself. If you like egg in yours, lightly stir two eggs then whisk them into the soup and simmer for about 1 minute.

So here we go.

Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients:

2 TB canola oil

4 scallions, minced

1 one inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup bamboo shoots, thinly sliced lengthwise

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

12 oz. medium-soft tofu, drained and sliced

1 cup Chinese snow peas, thinly sliced 

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 TB sugar

1 tsp white pepper

2 tsp sesame oil
*optional: Sriracha* (I used to put it in, but my kids love this soup and can't quite handle that heat yet)

Directions:

1. In a large pot heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the bamboo shoots, garlic, ginger, and minced scallions. Saute for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add the tofu, snow peas, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar,  white pepper, and 2 tsp. of the sesame oil. Return the soup to a simmer. 

Simmering Soup

*The longer you simmer the soup, the more flavorful the tofu becomes. If you choose to cook this for a long time, wait to add the snow peas until you're a few minutes away from serving the soup. Otherwise the vegetables will get a bit over-done. *

ENJOY!