Picking up my CSA loot this week was quite exciting. I really missed it. I was thrilled to see a beautiful pint of cherry tomatoes. I was less excited about the green beans. I like green beans, but they don't excite me with possibilities. I was flipping through Farm to Fork looking for something that featured green beans and found a great recipe for a salad with beans and tomatoes. I didn't have the majority of the ingredients, so this is what I did instead:
Green Beans, trimmed (I think I had somewhere between 1/2 and 1 lb)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt
Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/6 c olive oil
1/6 c white wine vinegar
1 t sugar
Thai basil leaves, torn
Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt water and blanch green beans for 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately drain and put in an ice bath (no ice so I just ran cold water over the beans until they were cool. Put beans in a large bowl with tomatoes.
Mix dressing ingredients: oil, vinegar, sugar, basil, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss vinaigrette with beans and tomatoes and add more salt if desired. Divide among 4 bowls and serve with crusty bread and goat cheese. We ate the beans with our fingers, tomatoes with a fork, and soaked up the dressing with the bread spread with goat cheese. Really good. Really filling. Really simple. Really.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
A note on food storage.
I just made a huge purchase through Azure Standard (an organic bulk food source) and saved so much money compared to what I would have spent if I had purchased these things elsewhere. The only things I didn't buy through them were the quinoa (Costco), lentils (Co-op), applesauce (Costco), diced tomatoes (Costco), better than bullion (Costco), jam and peanut butter (Costco). I am ordering the masa through another site because it is really difficult to find organic/nonGMO masa. But it can be done.
Azure Standard will ship to your home (but shipping for my gigantic order would have been $187) or (and here is the best part) they had drop points along their trucking route in Idaho and Utah and you can pick it up at one of those drop points for only $4 or so. That is the option we chose. You have to create an account before you can see the prices. Their prices are really good. I placed our order on Friday and it will arrive on the 20th of this month. Then I can figure out my rotation schedule and we will be set.
Why masa? For pupusas and corn tortillas. If you haven't had a pupusa you need to become friends with someone from El Salvador.
Azure Standard will ship to your home (but shipping for my gigantic order would have been $187) or (and here is the best part) they had drop points along their trucking route in Idaho and Utah and you can pick it up at one of those drop points for only $4 or so. That is the option we chose. You have to create an account before you can see the prices. Their prices are really good. I placed our order on Friday and it will arrive on the 20th of this month. Then I can figure out my rotation schedule and we will be set.
Why masa? For pupusas and corn tortillas. If you haven't had a pupusa you need to become friends with someone from El Salvador.
Sunset Magazine S'mores
I thought I could just find this recipe online and link it to my blog but haven't had any luck. It is so delicious that I am going to take the time to type it all up. Just for you.
Step 1: Homemade Marshmallows
35 minutes to make, 2 hours to firm
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c powdered sugar
3 large egg whites (at room temperature)
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 c granulated sugar
2 T light corn syrup
1/2 t vanilla extract
Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Stir cornstarch and powdered sugar together in a bowl and dust pan with half of this mixture. Set remaining mixture aside.
Stir 1/4 c cool water and gelatin in a glass measuring cup and let soften.
Put egg whites in large bowl of mixer and beat on high until soft speaks form.
While egg whites are whipping stir granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 2/3 c water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat until it reaches 240 degrees which will take 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and microwave gelatin until dissolved, about 30 seconds, and stir into syrup.
Pour about 3 T syrup at a time into egg white mixture (while beating on high) and beat each addition about 20 to 30 seconds. Continue to beat until soft peaks form and the underside of the bowl is completely cool. Beat in vanilla
Spread in pan and let stand 2 hours. Sprinkle with 2 T cornstarch mixture and then cut (scissors are easiest) into 12 rectangles. Toss in bowl with remaining cornstarch to coat.
Can be made up to 4 days in advance, kept chilled in an airtight container with plastic wrap between the layers. Coat with more cornstarch mixture if they get sticky.
Step 2: Homemade Graham Crackers
1 hour
3/4 c butter, room temperature
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 T honey
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
Beat butter, sugars, and honey in a large bowl until smooth. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients and then add to butter mixture and beat until blended. Divide dough in half and roll each half between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 10 by 12 inch rectangle. Slide onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Pull off top parchment and cut dough into 2 1/2 by 4 inch rectangles. Bake until deep golden brown, 13 to 18 minutes, swapping pans halfway through. Cut crackers again after baking.
Let cook on pans 2 to 3 minutes and then separate pieces and transfer to cooling racks.
Will keep 1 week in an airtight container or frozen up to 2 months.
Step 3: The Ultimate S'more
24 graham crackers
12 marshmallows
4 bars Lindt dark chocolate with almonds, each bar broken into 3 pieces
12 squares foil
Assemble each s'more on a square of foil and gently fold and crimp edges to seal. Place in a fire (or oven heated to 350) for 2 to 3 minutes. Or, first roast the marshmallow, then assemble, and heat in fire or oven.
Step 1: Homemade Marshmallows
35 minutes to make, 2 hours to firm
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c powdered sugar
3 large egg whites (at room temperature)
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 c granulated sugar
2 T light corn syrup
1/2 t vanilla extract
Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Stir cornstarch and powdered sugar together in a bowl and dust pan with half of this mixture. Set remaining mixture aside.
Stir 1/4 c cool water and gelatin in a glass measuring cup and let soften.
Put egg whites in large bowl of mixer and beat on high until soft speaks form.
While egg whites are whipping stir granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 2/3 c water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat until it reaches 240 degrees which will take 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and microwave gelatin until dissolved, about 30 seconds, and stir into syrup.
Pour about 3 T syrup at a time into egg white mixture (while beating on high) and beat each addition about 20 to 30 seconds. Continue to beat until soft peaks form and the underside of the bowl is completely cool. Beat in vanilla
Spread in pan and let stand 2 hours. Sprinkle with 2 T cornstarch mixture and then cut (scissors are easiest) into 12 rectangles. Toss in bowl with remaining cornstarch to coat.
Can be made up to 4 days in advance, kept chilled in an airtight container with plastic wrap between the layers. Coat with more cornstarch mixture if they get sticky.
Step 2: Homemade Graham Crackers
1 hour
3/4 c butter, room temperature
1/3 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 T honey
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
Beat butter, sugars, and honey in a large bowl until smooth. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients and then add to butter mixture and beat until blended. Divide dough in half and roll each half between 2 sheets of parchment paper into a 10 by 12 inch rectangle. Slide onto a baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Pull off top parchment and cut dough into 2 1/2 by 4 inch rectangles. Bake until deep golden brown, 13 to 18 minutes, swapping pans halfway through. Cut crackers again after baking.
Let cook on pans 2 to 3 minutes and then separate pieces and transfer to cooling racks.
Will keep 1 week in an airtight container or frozen up to 2 months.
Step 3: The Ultimate S'more
24 graham crackers
12 marshmallows
4 bars Lindt dark chocolate with almonds, each bar broken into 3 pieces
12 squares foil
Assemble each s'more on a square of foil and gently fold and crimp edges to seal. Place in a fire (or oven heated to 350) for 2 to 3 minutes. Or, first roast the marshmallow, then assemble, and heat in fire or oven.
Tortillas and Pita Bread
My farmers went on vacation this past week which meant no CSA pick up for me. And it kind of ruined my life. I hadn't fully appreciated how much the CSA had simplified my menu planning, so meals have been more random and sporadic than usual. Last night I decided to do fish tacos (this decision was solely based on the fact that I had fish and a mango) and so I made tortillas for the first time. And they were amazing. And easy. Promise.
2 c flour (preferably pastry either white or whole wheat)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
3/4 c water or milk
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle oil over the flour mixture and work with your fingers until evenly combined. Stir in the water and work with your fingers to form a sticky ball.
Flour your counter and turn out dough and knead vigorously until smooth and soft for about a minute. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the dough and let rest for 15 minutes if you used pastry flour or 30 minutes if you used all-purpose. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into a circle, making it as thin as possible but also handling it as little as possible. (Some of mine were way too thick, but still tasted great).
Heat an ungreased griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Once hot cook each tortilla for 40 seconds on the first side and 40 to 60 seconds on the second side. Wrap tortillas in a towel to keep warm.
Tonight we are grilling chicken and red onion (seriously lacking in the veg department right now) and wrapping it in pita bread. This is my favorite recipe:
1 1/2 c warm water
2 1/4 t active dry yeast (1 envelop)
1 t honey
1 3/4 t salt
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour or 1 c whole wheat flour mixed with 1/2 c wheat germ or bran
2 c bread flour (I just use all-purpose)
Put water in a mixing bowl and stir in yeast and honey and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the salt and olive oil and then beat in the whole wheat flour and germ or bran (if using) until smooth. Add remaining flour in small increments until the dough is too heavy to stir. Turn out onto a counter and knead until it is smooth and supple, adding more flour if required. Put in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and set aside until doubled for about an hour.
Punch down dough and divide into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and cover with a damp towel. Preheat oven to 475 degrees with a baking stone or baking sheet. After dough has rested for 15 minutes roll each into a circle a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Drop the rounds of dough directly onto the stone or heated pans and bake for 3 minutes. They should be completely puffed. Remove from the oven and cover with a towel to help them deflate.
Both of these recipes are from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for everyone.
2 c flour (preferably pastry either white or whole wheat)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
3/4 c water or milk
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle oil over the flour mixture and work with your fingers until evenly combined. Stir in the water and work with your fingers to form a sticky ball.
Flour your counter and turn out dough and knead vigorously until smooth and soft for about a minute. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the dough and let rest for 15 minutes if you used pastry flour or 30 minutes if you used all-purpose. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into a circle, making it as thin as possible but also handling it as little as possible. (Some of mine were way too thick, but still tasted great).
Heat an ungreased griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Once hot cook each tortilla for 40 seconds on the first side and 40 to 60 seconds on the second side. Wrap tortillas in a towel to keep warm.
Tonight we are grilling chicken and red onion (seriously lacking in the veg department right now) and wrapping it in pita bread. This is my favorite recipe:
1 1/2 c warm water
2 1/4 t active dry yeast (1 envelop)
1 t honey
1 3/4 t salt
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour or 1 c whole wheat flour mixed with 1/2 c wheat germ or bran
2 c bread flour (I just use all-purpose)
Put water in a mixing bowl and stir in yeast and honey and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the salt and olive oil and then beat in the whole wheat flour and germ or bran (if using) until smooth. Add remaining flour in small increments until the dough is too heavy to stir. Turn out onto a counter and knead until it is smooth and supple, adding more flour if required. Put in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover and set aside until doubled for about an hour.
Punch down dough and divide into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and cover with a damp towel. Preheat oven to 475 degrees with a baking stone or baking sheet. After dough has rested for 15 minutes roll each into a circle a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Drop the rounds of dough directly onto the stone or heated pans and bake for 3 minutes. They should be completely puffed. Remove from the oven and cover with a towel to help them deflate.
Both of these recipes are from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for everyone.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Dear Lauren,
You should know that I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food. Don't get overwhelmed or intimidated as you try to incorporate new foods and way of cooking. Think of it as a form of play, a delicious form. Sometimes things don't work or taste good and that is okay, just throw it away and have dessert instead. I usually spend from 3p to 6p every afternoon/evening cooking/eating/and cleaning up dinner. It is a huge chunk of time, but I really like to eat good food. I realized the other day that the reason I feel like I never have anything to wear or look put together is because in order to dress well you have to spend time thinking about and shopping for clothes. I spend my time with food. So there you go.
I have thought and thought about the whole 3 month food storage thing and finally decided that if I had to live off of my food storage for 3 months my goal was to have food that was nutrient dense and food that I already use on a regular basis. I store very little in the way of canned fruit or vegetables because in my opinion they really don't have any nutritive value and they taste terrible (except for the fruit, but that is because it is usually packed in a sugar syrup) so the only produce-y stuff I store includes canned tomatoes, sweet potato puree and applesauce. So here is my list:
Steel Cut Oats (50 lbs)
Rolled Oats (25 lbs)
Wheat (75 lbs)
French Green Lentils (10 lbs)
Quinoa (15 lbs)
Dried Pinto Beans (25 lbs)
Masa Harina (10 lbs)
Pasta (12 lbs)
Applesauce (30 3-lb jars)
Tomatoes, diced (24 12-oz cans)
Tomato Sauce (24 12-oz cans)
Tomatoes, whole (12 28-oz cans)
Sweet Potato Puree (24 12-0z cans)
Tomatillo salsa/enchilada sauce (12 10 oz jars)
Organic Chicken Better than Bullion (3 jars)
Olive Oil (3 bottles)
Balsamic Vinegar (2 bottles)
Honey (5 lbs)
Maple Syrup (64 ounces)
Strawberry Jam (60 oz)
Peanut Butter (24 jars)
Yeast (6 jars)
Vanilla (3 bottles)
Organic Valley Powdered Milk (25 lbs)
Brown Sugar (5 lbs)
Sugar (10 lbs)
Kosher Salt
Sea Salt
A bunch of spices (garlic, onion, basil, sage, rosemary, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon are my basic basics)
Hope this helps.
I have thought and thought about the whole 3 month food storage thing and finally decided that if I had to live off of my food storage for 3 months my goal was to have food that was nutrient dense and food that I already use on a regular basis. I store very little in the way of canned fruit or vegetables because in my opinion they really don't have any nutritive value and they taste terrible (except for the fruit, but that is because it is usually packed in a sugar syrup) so the only produce-y stuff I store includes canned tomatoes, sweet potato puree and applesauce. So here is my list:
Steel Cut Oats (50 lbs)
Rolled Oats (25 lbs)
Wheat (75 lbs)
French Green Lentils (10 lbs)
Quinoa (15 lbs)
Dried Pinto Beans (25 lbs)
Masa Harina (10 lbs)
Pasta (12 lbs)
Applesauce (30 3-lb jars)
Tomatoes, diced (24 12-oz cans)
Tomato Sauce (24 12-oz cans)
Tomatoes, whole (12 28-oz cans)
Sweet Potato Puree (24 12-0z cans)
Tomatillo salsa/enchilada sauce (12 10 oz jars)
Organic Chicken Better than Bullion (3 jars)
Olive Oil (3 bottles)
Balsamic Vinegar (2 bottles)
Honey (5 lbs)
Maple Syrup (64 ounces)
Strawberry Jam (60 oz)
Peanut Butter (24 jars)
Yeast (6 jars)
Vanilla (3 bottles)
Organic Valley Powdered Milk (25 lbs)
Brown Sugar (5 lbs)
Sugar (10 lbs)
Kosher Salt
Sea Salt
A bunch of spices (garlic, onion, basil, sage, rosemary, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon are my basic basics)
Hope this helps.
Swiss Chard Sandwhiches
I made bread today and realized I was too exhausted to do anything complicated for dinner. These sandwiches were quite tasty.
1 loaf baguette style bread, cut into fourths and then sliced lengthwise
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into 4 1-oz slices
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 T olive oil
pinch of salt
2 to 3 T cream
4 slices of bacon
1 T brown sugar
Put bacon on baking sheet and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add onion and sauteed until softened. Season with salt. Add chard and cook until wilted, then add cream and simmer until tender and sweet.
Place a slice of mozzarella on the bottom piece of bread, top with chard/onion mixture and a slice of bacon and add the top slice of bread. We ate this with fresh blueberries with a bit of cream for dessert.
1 loaf baguette style bread, cut into fourths and then sliced lengthwise
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced into 4 1-oz slices
1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 T olive oil
pinch of salt
2 to 3 T cream
4 slices of bacon
1 T brown sugar
Put bacon on baking sheet and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Add onion and sauteed until softened. Season with salt. Add chard and cook until wilted, then add cream and simmer until tender and sweet.
Place a slice of mozzarella on the bottom piece of bread, top with chard/onion mixture and a slice of bacon and add the top slice of bread. We ate this with fresh blueberries with a bit of cream for dessert.
Lovely hot fudge sauce.
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I didn't read the recipe correctly and used semi-sweet chocolate and it was delicious)
4 oz (8 T) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 c half-and-half
1 1/2 c sugar
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water. Whisk until smooth. Pour in the half-and-half in a steady stream, whisking as you pour. Slowly add 1/2 c sugar in a steady stream, whisking as you pour. Continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved and isn't grainy, about 30 seconds. Add another 1/2 c of sugar and again stir until it is dissolved and no longer grainy. Add the remaining 1/2 c sugar in the same manner.
Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce becomes glossy and thickens slightly, about 25 minutes.
Serve warm. Makes 2 delicious cups. This gets chewy and fudgy when it hits the ice cream.
*Last night I made vanilla ice cream, this hot fudge, and caramel sauce for dessert. A good tip to remember when making caramel - be sure to heat your cream in the microwave so that it isn't cold when you add it to your caramelized sugar! If you add cold cream it can cause your melted sugar to seize and crystallize, which is exactly what happened last night.
4 oz (8 T) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 c half-and-half
1 1/2 c sugar
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water. Whisk until smooth. Pour in the half-and-half in a steady stream, whisking as you pour. Slowly add 1/2 c sugar in a steady stream, whisking as you pour. Continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved and isn't grainy, about 30 seconds. Add another 1/2 c of sugar and again stir until it is dissolved and no longer grainy. Add the remaining 1/2 c sugar in the same manner.
Cover the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce becomes glossy and thickens slightly, about 25 minutes.
Serve warm. Makes 2 delicious cups. This gets chewy and fudgy when it hits the ice cream.
*Last night I made vanilla ice cream, this hot fudge, and caramel sauce for dessert. A good tip to remember when making caramel - be sure to heat your cream in the microwave so that it isn't cold when you add it to your caramelized sugar! If you add cold cream it can cause your melted sugar to seize and crystallize, which is exactly what happened last night.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Grocery List for Lauren
Okay Lauren. This is what I purchased for groceries;
Red Star Yeast (2.16)*
Quick Oats (1.52)*
Blackberries (4.99)
Orecchiette (2.85)*
Rigatoni (2.85)*
Pappardale (2.85)*
Garlic (0.84)
Linguine (2.85)*
Spinach (3.79)
2 dozen eggs (6.39)
Coastal Cheddar Cheese (6.99)
Fresh Mozzarella (7.29)
Goat Cheese (6.29)
Chicken Breasts (16.59)
Apple Sauce (8.99)*
Cocoa Powder (5.99)*
Strawberry Jam (6.79)*
Chocolate Chips (9.79)*
2 32 oz Plain Yogurt (5.00)
1 32 oz Vanilla Yogurt (2.50)
2 gallons 1% milk (10.00)
2 pints raspberries (5.00)
1 pkg strawberries (2.50)
1 bunch bananas (2.59)
Buttermilk (2.50)
5 lbs all-purpose flour (4.99)*
8 oz bacon (4.99)
Pasta Sauce (3.99)
The asterisk indicates an item that I keep in my food storage that I am replenishing. Do you want my food storage list?
So with tax I have spent about $152.50. I lost 2 of my receipts and tried to remember everything that I purchased, but this is everything I could remember. Everything on the list with the exception of the buttermilk was organic. When I do huge food things as social events I take that money out of entertainment, not our grocery fund, so for that dessert party I spent another $45 or so on ingredients and there is no way I can pull that out of our weekly money. Last week's CSA pick up included: 1 bag red potatoes, 1 bunch basil, 2 onions, 1 bunch swiss chard, 1 bunch carrots, a bag of green beans, 4 Anaheim peppers, 1 crookneck squash. I just remembered I also purchased some hummus, so that was another $3 or so.
Dinners the past few nights have included:
Chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella and basil served with oven roasted purple potatoes and mascarpone cheese (leftover from another week), homemade pita bread and hummus, margherita pizzas, pasta and marinara sauce, and some crazy vegetable pasta dish I made with orzo, green beans, crookneck squash, and carrot.
Red Star Yeast (2.16)*
Quick Oats (1.52)*
Blackberries (4.99)
Orecchiette (2.85)*
Rigatoni (2.85)*
Pappardale (2.85)*
Garlic (0.84)
Linguine (2.85)*
Spinach (3.79)
2 dozen eggs (6.39)
Coastal Cheddar Cheese (6.99)
Fresh Mozzarella (7.29)
Goat Cheese (6.29)
Chicken Breasts (16.59)
Apple Sauce (8.99)*
Cocoa Powder (5.99)*
Strawberry Jam (6.79)*
Chocolate Chips (9.79)*
2 32 oz Plain Yogurt (5.00)
1 32 oz Vanilla Yogurt (2.50)
2 gallons 1% milk (10.00)
2 pints raspberries (5.00)
1 pkg strawberries (2.50)
1 bunch bananas (2.59)
Buttermilk (2.50)
5 lbs all-purpose flour (4.99)*
8 oz bacon (4.99)
Pasta Sauce (3.99)
The asterisk indicates an item that I keep in my food storage that I am replenishing. Do you want my food storage list?
So with tax I have spent about $152.50. I lost 2 of my receipts and tried to remember everything that I purchased, but this is everything I could remember. Everything on the list with the exception of the buttermilk was organic. When I do huge food things as social events I take that money out of entertainment, not our grocery fund, so for that dessert party I spent another $45 or so on ingredients and there is no way I can pull that out of our weekly money. Last week's CSA pick up included: 1 bag red potatoes, 1 bunch basil, 2 onions, 1 bunch swiss chard, 1 bunch carrots, a bag of green beans, 4 Anaheim peppers, 1 crookneck squash. I just remembered I also purchased some hummus, so that was another $3 or so.
Dinners the past few nights have included:
Chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella and basil served with oven roasted purple potatoes and mascarpone cheese (leftover from another week), homemade pita bread and hummus, margherita pizzas, pasta and marinara sauce, and some crazy vegetable pasta dish I made with orzo, green beans, crookneck squash, and carrot.
Monday, August 1, 2011
A dessert party. And dinner.
I teach the 12 and 13 year old girls at my church and they were recently invited to bring a friend with them to church. As an extra incentive I promised them a dessert extravaganza if they complied. Bribery works wonders. We ate chocolate chip cookies, vanilla vanilla cupcakes, caramel panna cotta, homemade (not from a box) chocolate pudding with whipped cream, orange cheesecake with gingersnap crust, and vegan chocolate orange cupcakes for our one vegan in attendance. It was a success. I am going to be fat.Dinner for Lauren: another pasta dish because I was in a rush. I just sliced one of the onions and sauteed it with a chicken breast that I cut up into pieces in a bit of olive oil. When almost cooked I added spinach until wilted, tossed it with cooked pasta and served it topped with some crumbled goat cheese.
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