Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

I know. I USUALLY do Meaty Mondays. This isn't a Meaty Monday because I have a vegetarian housemate. SO shoot me. You COULD always add crumbled bacon or ham or other smoked meat to the vegetable layer. It's already delicious as it is.  I have trouble stopping at one serving, and you probably will too. Actually is good at room temp for lunch, and reheats in a snap in the microwave. It's also grain free and gluten free.

In my house, this is a vehicle for leftovers. I had made a big batch of ricotta last week, and after we had lasagna from it, there was still a great deal of ricotta leftover. Plus, whenever I have too many vegetables lingering in the crisper, I just roast them so they can be added to omelets, or grain salads so they don't get all sad looking and end up in the compost bin. I roasted a baking sheet full of mushrooms, zucchini, red onions, garlic cloves, grape tomatoes and bell pepper, just doused them in evoo, salted and peppered and roasted them for about 35 minutes at 425ºF. Gives me about 2 cups of cooked vegetables. Two cups of pretty much any cooked vegetable works here.

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

Baked Layered Ricotta with Feta & Roasted Vegetables

Note: Please select organic / home or locally grown products for your table... and this can be made without eggs. Drain your ricotta for an hour or so in a fine mesh colander and don't expect the baked product to hold together .

2 lb. whole milk ricotta
2 large eggs
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1T dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cups roasted or cooked vegetables
Grape tomatoes or roasted red pepper for garnish (olives would work, too)
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle or spray

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Oil an oven-to-table 9" square baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, the eggs, the feta, and the herbs and spices through the black pepper. Mix well. Spread half the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer the cooked vegetables over the ricotta mixture. Top with the remaining ricotta mixture. This is easiest to do if you put little dollops all over the top, and then gently  even it out. Decorate the top with halved grape tomatoes, cut side up, or bits of roasted pepper. Drizzle or spray the whole top with a light coating of oil (Love my EVO oil sprayer for this) and place in the oven. Bake about 35 minutes until the top is browned and the cheese is puffy. Serve warm or at room temp. Serves 6. Maybe. It should, but not likely.

Pickled Broccoli Stalks with Ginger & Red Onion

Some days, when I'm not feeling particularly flush, the price of fresh vegetables I buy just astounds me. I buy organic, for both my health, and because I feel we vote with our dollars even more than our actual votes. But the price of a head of organic broccoli set me back on my heels a bit last Saturday. OK, granted, it was at Whole Foods, and for whatever reason, their organic produce is more expensive, for the most part than it is at my local Wegmans, but I was there for something else, so I bought it. I was thoroughly wishing my garden was producing at top speed. 

After using the top third of the broccoli head in a recipe, I put the big stems back in the fridge, figuring at the price, I'd peel them for a stir-fry. Busy week, no stir fry. As I was cleaning the crisper out for a "Scrap Salad" for lunch, I figured, I should do something with the broccoli stems that would be good, really good. Love them pickled. But as I reached for my usual Mediterranean seasonings, I took a turn East.

There were more but I ate 4 pieces trying to take a picture...

Pickled Broccoli Stalks with Ginger  & Red Onion

Four (4) thick broccoli stems, florets used elsewhere
1/3 cup red onion, in  1/4" slices
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3/4 cup water
3T organic sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2" fresh garlic, peeled and minced
1T coriander seed
3T kosher salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes



Peel the broccoli stems and cut into 2" long x 14" thick sticks. Bring a small pot of hot water to the boil and blanch the broccoli stems for 3-4 minutes until just barely tender. Drain well, and place in a heat-proof bowl. Add the raw onion to the hot broccoli and stir.

Bring the remaining ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan, and stir until the salt and sugar have dissolves. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes off the heat.

Pour the seasoned brine over the broccoli and onions, and let stand 15 -20 minutes until cooled to warm, and then cover and chill. Best served chilled, and even better each day late. keeps about a week, though you'll eat it all before that...for sure.

Creamy Sweet Potato, Kale and Smoked Turkey Soup

I have been gone from around here for nearly two months, and I'm sorry if you all came looking and I wasn't here. My husband was diagnosed with cancer beck in November and it has changed everything. Everything. More time spent in hospitals, and OR waiting rooms. I miss you. I've missed writing this blog, and especially, I've missed cooking. But since his ability to eat much is limited right now, cooking has taken a back seat to simple snacks like stewed fruit, grilled cheese and the occasional bowl of cereal. Not particularly interesting for a food blog.

A few weeks ago I had a lot of meals in the hospital cafeteria; while there are plenty of restaurants around Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, the weather was mostly in the single digits during the daytime, and only a crazy woman would venture out. I'm crazy, but not that kind of crazy. One day, after some sad and disappointing news from the surgeon, I went down to the cafeteria to drown my sorrows in soup.

They have pretty good food at Jeff; if you don't think so, you should try the dismal stuff they have at our local community hospital cafeteria, if you can ever find it open. Did I mention I've spent an awful amount of time hanging around hospitals? Anyway, the soup of the day was billed as Sweet Potato and Smoked Turkey Soup. Smelled wonderful and the color was gorgeous. The sweet potatoes were pureed into a creamy soup, and there were enough bits of smoky turkey and vegetables to keep it interesting. Soothing, satisfying and warming.  Good enough to know I could make a still better version. So here it is.

Please try to use organic vegetables in this if possible. More love in them. Fewer carcinogens, hopefully.  The easiest way to puree this soup is with an immersion blender. I use a Bamix. I've blown out practically every other brand until I got this Bamix. They invented the immersion blender, and they're made in Switzerland. Mine has lasted 8 years so far...Oh, and if you don't eat that piece of bread I have on the side of my bowl there, this soup is Paleo, dairy free, grain free, and gluten free, as long as your curry powder is gluten free. If you do dairy, a dollop of Greek yogurt, or sour cream on top would be nice.

Soothing creamy sweet potato, kale and smoked turkey soup.

Beautiful Creamy Sweet Potato, Kale and Smoked Turkey Soup

Two smoked turkey drumsticks (naturally smoked, free range if possible)
1 peeled large onion, studded with a single whole clove
1 bay leaf
1 large peeled carrot, sliced thick
1 large celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled
water
2 lb. sweet potatoes or orange yams, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 Tbsp curry powder, sweet or hot as desired
1 small bunch of Lacinato (Dinosaur) kale, sliced into ribbons (about 4 cups, packed)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the turkey drumsticks, the onion studded with the clove,  bay leaf, carrot, onion garlic and celery into a deep soup pot and fill with water until everything is covered by about 2" to3". Will probably be about 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, turn down to medium heat, partially cover and let simmer until the turkey is about to fall off the bone, about 45 minutes.

2. Remove the turkey, and set aside to cool. Remove the bay leaf, and the onion from the smoky stock. Remove the clove from the onion and discard the clove. Toss the onion back into the stock, along with the sweet potatoes, and the curry powder. Bring back to a boil, uncovered, and cook about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are falling apart tender.

3. Puree your soup smooth in the pot with your immersion blender (or carefully in a regular blender); you should have about 1-1/2 quarts of pureed soup. Shred the turkey meat into bite sized bits, and add it, plus the kale to the pureed soup. Simmer about 15 minutes until the kale is tender and the flavors meld. Taste for salt and pepper, then serve.

Makes about 6 hearty servings.

Curing the November Blues, Again: Lentil Soup with Speck & Kale

Another rerun. But until my Warrior gets out of the hospital. Reruns it is. Delicious nonetheless. 

Lentil Soup with Speck & Kale is a great lunch for a
gloomy, cold late Fall day.

I have the November blues. The cold is starting to already get to my Mediterranean  genes. We're halfway through November and I'm already looking for "Signs of Spring". The garden seed catalogs are still at least 6 weeks away, and since I'm planning a fallow year so I can work on the soil, I will be planting very little, and probably in Earth Boxes. The frost on the brown leaves on the ground makes them look like frosted cornflakes, but that just makes me think of the snow to come. It's getting dark way too early in the evening. That is not good. Am trying to think of things that will cheer me up. Maybe putting up the Christmas tree over the weekend will help. Maybe. This lentil soup, with speck and kale, though, and my favorite yellow, happy tablecloth will probably do the trick.

This is the kind of healthy soup that doesn't taste "healthy". Chock full of good stuff like lentils and kale, it'll warm you up without slowing you down. You could make this a vegetarian soup using olive oil in place of the bacon fat or butter, vegetable stock, leaving out the speck and adding about 2 drops of liquid smoke; also remember to use a vegetarian Worcestershire, or the Pickapeppa which has no animal ingredients. This is also gluten free.  A great carry-to-work-lunch, too, that will have your coworkers swooning around the microwave when you heat it up. Don't share unless you've brought extra.

Note: Speck is smoked proscuitto, and if your grocery or good deli doesn't carry it, use smoked bacon instead. It does not taste the same, but will still be delish.


Ingredients:

Lentil Soup with Speck & Kale
Serves 6

2T bacon fat or butter
3 oz. diced speck (can sub minced, smoked bacon)
1 lb. regular brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
1 large onion, diced finely
2 celery stalks, diced finely
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
1 quart of homemade or no  salt added chicken stock
1 quart of water, plus extra if needed
2 bay leaves
1T dried marjoram leaves
1T dried thyme
2 tsp. Worcesteshire sauce or Pickapeppa sauce
Coarse salt and pepper

1 lb. kale, leaves and small stems only, blanched, squeezed out and chopped

2T good quality balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Heat the bacon fat or butter in a deep soup pot, and sauté the speck until brown. 

2. Add everything else through the worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook about 45 minutes to an hour until the lentils are tender .

3. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed, stir in the kale and the balsamic vinegar, and heat through.  Serve piping hot.

Quick, Fabulous Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 / Fast Diet

Well, having been under the weather for the last month hasn't exactly helped my waistline any. I haven't really gained, but having had shingles has greatly reduced my ability to exercise. Feeling flabby. What it has done, though, is given me a little time to think up ways to make my fast days tastier. Since I am a firm believer in the Fast Diet (aka 5:2) which allows me the eat nicely on the 5 days I don't fast for my health, I'm always looking for tasty and filling foods to have on the 2 days I eat less. Usually this is Meaty Monday, but since it is a Fast Day for me, you're getting what I'm having today...

I love this mushroom soup. I love mushrooms, actually. I wouldn't make this with plain white button mushrooms as they are a little too bland. If they're all you can find, I recommend making it much more highly seasoned to make up for it. It's delicious, nutritious and quick. You need a pot, and a blender.  And a microwave if you want to garnish with a few mushroom slices...You can use a regular or immersion blender, although I prefer the totally smooth consistency you'll get with a regular container blender. Makes 4 good servings at less than 50 calories each.

Quick, Easy, Fabulous Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 / Fast Diet

Note: for a vegetarian version of this soup, replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable or mushroom bouillon, and the Worcestershire with either vegetarian Worcestershire or Pickapeppa sauce. All of the products I used are gluten free, but please read the labels if you are eating gluten free.

Creamy Mushroom Soup for the 5:2 Diet

Serves 4

1 lb. cremini mushrooms, 2 sliced, the rest chopped coarsely
4 cups water
1 packet chicken bouillon (I like Trader Joe's)
2 crushed garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley or basil for garnish (optional)

1. Place the sliced mushroom in a small microwaveable dish, with a teaspoon of water, cover and microwave for 1 minute at high. Set aside. (you can omit this entirely if you don't want to pretty-up your bowl of soup.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine all the remaining ingredients through the Worcestershire, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook , covered until the mushrooms are softened, about 10 minutes.

3. Carefully puree the cooked soup in batches, or with an immersion blender. Taste for seasoning, and  add salt and pepper as desired. Serve garnished with the microwaved mushroom slices on top and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Zucchini, Fennel and Spinach Soup with Basil: Another 5:2 Soup

Sorry for not having been posting for a few days. I do have an excuse; I have had shingles. While I am on the mend now, the last couple of weeks have been spent attempting to get some  sleep (highly unsuccessful) and smearing various goos all over the sore parts of me. Even considering cooking was more work than I could handle, although I did go in to my regular job more often than not. At home we ate from the freezer and takeout. Try to avoid getting shingles if you can. Painful, to say the least. Okay, VERY painful.


So this first post back isn't a Meaty Monday post, but a Fast Diet, or a 5:2 recipe for a soup I am planning to have today, and share with Donna at work. Takeout isn't good for my figure. Ahem.


This soup is deeply flavorful, but fresh tasting, quick to make, and partly stolen from a Rachael Rae recipe. It uses things you can still find in the farm markets and grocery stores in late September. It is also under 50 calories per serving, plus it is gluten free and vegan, unless you use a meat stock.

Zucchini, Fennel and Spinach Soup with Basil

Zucchini, Fennel and Spinach Soup with Basil

With a nod to Rachael Ray, as I saw a good-looking recipe in her magazine for a zucchini - fennel soup recently. My version still tastes rich, but will fit easily into your Fast Diet or 5:2 Plan.

1 lb. zucchini , diced (about 2 medium)
8 oz. fennel bulb , cored and sliced (about 1 small- medium)
2 shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups baby spinach (85g)
2-4 Tablespoons sliced basil leaves
(optional: 1 tsp. chicken stock base)
few grinds of nutmeg and white pepper
sea salt

Place the zucchini, fennel, shallots and garlic in a large saucepan, and cover with water.  Add the stock base if you are using it. Salt lightly. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer, and cook about 10 to 12 minutes until the vegetables are tender.  Add the spinach, basil, nutmeg and pepper, and cook an additional 2 minutes or so until the spinach has wilted and is bright green. Taste for salt  and pepper and add if needed. Puree with an immersion blender, or a regular blender and serve hot. Makes 4 hearty servings under 50 calories each.

The 5:2 Feast: Chicken with Zucchini, Tomatoes & Creamy Basil Noodles

The 5:2 Feast: Chicken with Zucchini, Tomatoes & Creamy Basil Noodles

I really wasn't going to post today. For two years now I've been posting three days or more a week,  with a full time job and ...a life, and just for August I was trying to cut myself some slack. Turns out I'm harder on myself than anyone else has ever been. I just "guilted" myself into writing this as I made my approx. 300 calorie dinner to take to work for the late shift. Today is one of my fast days. If you are on to the Fast Diet from England, you'll understand. These recipes  are both quick and easy to make, have great flavor, and are quite filling.


I made the creamy shirataki noodle part a few years ago, and it's based on some recipes written by Hungry Girl, aka, Lisa Lillien.  Back when I first joined Weight Watchers, her recipes were all the rage, but I was not a huge fan because of all the processed, fat free foods she uses in her recipes. If you don't mind that stuff, get your hands on a copy of her book "Hungry Girl 200 under 200". Sorry, Lisa, I didn't mean to damn you with faint praise, you filled a need for many of us, and helped a lot of people find good things to eat while dieting. Even if you don't make the recipes exactly the way she wrote them, the book will give you great ideas for dishes to fix on your fast days. Of course I've doodled with her recipe  a lot, with ingredients and technique, so it's the same in spirit... It tastes good, but doesn't include additive-filled things like fat free sour cream or fat free parmesan cheese. The chicken dish couldn't be easier too,  basically a "dump and run" recipe that anyone would be happy eating, dieting or not.

Chicken with Zucchini, Tomatoes & Creamy Basil Noodles

Serves 1

For the noodles:

1 8 oz. package of Shirataki noodles, drained, rinsed and cut in pieces with a scissors
2 wedges of Laughing Cow Light Original cheese wedges, cut in smaller bits
2T minced basil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
water as needed

For the chicken:

1 4oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in bite sized strips
1 cup of sliced zucchini
1/2 cup  canned diced tomatoes
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon of dried basil or oregano
1/2  cup water

1. Spray a small nonstick skillet with a quick spray of cooking spray, heat over medium-high heat and add the chicken strips. Stir and cook until lightly browned. Add the zucchini and the garlic, and cook for another minute. Add all the remaining ingredients,  cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, and cook another minute or two until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat and let it rest covered while you make the noodles.


2. Place the drained noodles in a small, dry, nonstick skillet over medium heat and stir for a few minutes until they are as dry as you can get them.  add the remaining ingredients for the noodles, through the grated cheese. Reduce the heat to low, and stir to melt the cheese wedges, adding a water a few tablespoons at a time to just make a creamy sauce.

Enjoy, and these both reheat well in a microwave for an at-work lunch or dinner. I like them in the same dish...


Disclaimer:

This makes an approximately 300 calorie meal. Your calculation may differ, and it will certainly differ with the use of other ingredients.

Another No-Grainer: Funky Flax Microwave Sandwich Buns

 Funky Flax Microwave Sandwich Buns
Delicious, no grain, no sugar, and speedy!

Probably the thing I miss the most are burger buns and sandwiches. And it's not that I never eat wheat or grains, (like I can really ever turn down a great piece of cake...) it's just that I generally try to limit my intake to keep my symptoms at bay. Even gluten free items usually have rice in them, and some of the other store-bought alternatives taste awful. Shockingly bad. When I do choose to eat grain, or a wheat product, it has to be worth it; consequently, many of my lunches and dinners are breadless.  Even when on busy days, a sandwich would be the most convenient thing to take to work to eat on the go, I end up going without, and tuna salad wrapped in a lettuce leaf gets old fast.

If I'm going to indulge in grain, it's going to be a piece of really good, fresh artisan bread or a roll, a great cookie or cake, or a homemade biscuit. Not that grain-free highly processed yuk from the supermarket. In the meantime, I've been fooling around with a recipe my friend Betty sent me that her husband calls "Funky Flax Muffins". These are fast, easy and you can literally make them while you are packing lunches or chatting on the phone. Bonus: they're damn tasty.

These really are very good -- kind of nutty tasting, and hold up to a good juicy burger, or a mayo based salad. Good buttered and toasted, too. There are quite a few kinds of microwave  flax-based breads floating around the web, but this one uses ingredients you can actually find easily in any supermarket. Nothing odd or spendy. Betty's version makes one big muffin, but its over 200 calories, and nearly a meal and a half if you are watching calories, especially if you add a sandwich filling or butter. My recipe makes two, at just over 100 calories each. ( Ran the recipe through Livestrong; your calculation may differ). I like them split and toasted, but, if toasting isn't an option, make them early in the day, or the night before, split each in half and leave it out for a while to dry out a bit.

Slice carefully when completely cool.

Funky Flax Microwave Sandwich Buns

Makes 2

Note: you'll need a couple of burger-bun sized ramekins or one of those Nordicware Eggs n Muffin Microwave breakfast sandwich makers to actually get these to the right size. Alternatively, just place 2 equal sized mounds on a piece of parchment paper and spread them out to bun size. If you are strict with a Primal / Paleo eating, plan, you may want to omit the cheese and add a seasoning salt, if you are not eating dairy products.

1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 grinds of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

1. Mix the flax meal, the garlic powder, the pepper, the baking powder, the  cheese if using, and the salt in a small bowl with a fork. Beat in the egg and the water. Let the mixture stand for 3-4 minutes until it thickens.

2. Place even portions in each of two microwave safe ramekins, or a microwave-sandwich maker, opened up, or, just make two round blobs, slightly smaller than the diameter of a burger on a piece of parchment paper. Microwave on high for about 60 to 90 seconds until the rolls are dry and puffed.

I knew I could find more than one use for my microwave egg pan!
Especially since I don't really like microwaved eggs...

3. Let cool for a couple of minutes, and then remove from the pans or paper. Slice each one in half after it has completely cooled. Toasting lightly before serving is recommended.

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives

I love ricotta, no, wait, I adore ricotta.  Used to drive my Mom crazy when we'd have lasagna for dinner as I'd eat all the ricotta filling and leave the lasagna noodles piled on my plate. I thought the filling was the best part, and I still do.When I have time, I like to make ricotta, not with acids like lemon juice or vinegar, but with cheese making enzymes. Much sweeter and better. There's nearly always some sort of ricotta in my fridge. This week though, I have store-bought ricotta to use.

Well, I started messing around, and having homegrown asparagus, and LOTS of chives, I thought  a savory cheesecake would be the way to go. Firm enough to cut, but still creamy. These are perfect. The flavor of both the asparagus and chives, and the Romano, too, come through beautifully, but you can still also taste the creamy goodness of the ricotta.

These are really delicious, little individual ricotta cheesecakes. It's a nice lunch or dinner with a salad and a glass of wine. These little cheesecakes are vegetarian, and gluten free, and great when you have omnivores and vegetarians at the table. Nobody will complain.

Note: To drain ricotta, line a colander or sieve  with paper towels or paper coffee filters and dump in the ricotta. Let drain for an hour or so before starting the recipe. My friend John, when he was packing to move, gifted me with some really nice little 4" spring form pans, he wasn't going to use anymore. Thank you, John! You can use similar pans from here, they're just a bit bigger, or just bake them in ramekins and don't bother unmolding.

Baked Ricotta with Asparagus & Chives
Serves 4

2 large eggs
2  large egg yolks
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
Black pepper, fresh ground
3-4 T minced fresh chives
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

2 lb. whole milk ricotta, drained for at least 1 hour
1-1/2 cups  asparagus, blanched and sliced into 1/2" pieces, and 20 tips set aside


1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray four 4" springform pans or ramekins with cooking oil spray. Set the prepared pans on a baking sheet.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs and yolks together, then whisk in the Romano cheese, the nutmeg, a few grinds of black pepper, the chives (more is better) and the garlic powder. When its well-blended, fold in the ricotta, and the cut asparagus.

Ready for the oven.

3. Divide the ricotta mixture evenly among the four pans, and press 5 asparagus tips in a circle on top of each pan. Bake for about 1 hour until browned and puffy, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Minutes away from....lunch!

4. Cool about 15 minutes in the pan, then run a thin knife blade around the sides and remove the springform rim.  If using ramekins, just serve in the dish. Serve warm.

Poor Girl's Pate: Mushrooms, Chicken Livers and Truffle Oil

Poor Girl's Pate.
Yes, I had it for breakfast this morning. Too, too good!

Back when Izzy was a newborn, she had a hard time with dairy products, and her Mom, who was nursing her, had to give them all up. This is a tough thing in this family; we are all Francophiles, and while we can do without a lot of things, good cheese is dear to our hearts. We came up with a lot of alternatives for Susan, --dairy-free cakes, cookies and I even changed up my favorite pate recipe to eliminate all the dairy products. Now that Izzy is older, and has gotten past her dairy issues, I am back to the original recipe, more or less, and I have to say, while the dairy free one is delicious, this one hits the ball out of the park. How can you go wrong with chicken livers, mushrooms, and truffle flavors? Ball out of the park? Can you tell I fell asleep last night watching the Phillies with Chuck?

I call this Poor Girl's Pate because, while I'd like to be able to afford to use real truffles and duck or goose livers to make it, my budget (and probably yours) is a lot happier with chicken livers, truffle oil and truffle salt. This is wonderful as a snack, hors d'oeuvre, or with a soup or salad for lunch or dinner. I admittedly had it for breakfast this morning. Mea culpa.

Poor Girl's Pate

2T butter
2T extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large shallots, chopped fine
8 to 10 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
kosher salt
1 lb. chicken livers
1/4 cup brandy or cognac
1-1/2 tsp. Herbes de Provence
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 scant tsp. black truffle salt
1/3 cup crème fraîche, homemade or purchased
4 tsp. Black truffle oil

Heat the butter and oil together in a 12" skillet over medium heat, and when the butter is melted, add the shallots and garlic, and stirring, cook until the shallots begin to look translucent. 

Add the mushrooms to the pan, add a pinch or two of kosher salt, and cook until they give up their juices and soften. Add the chicken livers to the pan, stir well to mix evenly with the mushroom mixture, and carefully add the cognac or brandy. If you have a gas range, if you tilt the pan away from you slightly toward the gas fire, and flame the brandy. If you have an electric or induction range, you can either use a match, or just let the alcohol cook out for a minute or two. 

Flaming the brandy or cognac.
Keep back, and keep a lid handy to smother it if the flames get out of hand.

When the brandy is mostly gone, add the Herbes de Provence and the white wine, stir well, and cook the liver mixture until the livers are just pink inside. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the truffle salt.

Dump the contents of the skillet into a food processor, and puree. Add the crème fraîche and black truffle oil and puree until completely smooth.

Serve with baguette, toasts, crackers or on pear slices. 

Makes about 2 cups. 

Easy Curry Lime Sauce: Everything Gets Sauced

My third grade nun always used to tell us that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. I'm sure she was trying to impress on us at the ripe old age of eight that what matters is what you actually do, not what you intend to do. In those days it mostly used to pertain to homework. Good intentions on my part, now that I'm grown, tend to be more along the lines of getting stuff from my to-do list crossed off.

Blood Orange Lamb Ragout with Goat Cheese Gnocchi was my plan for this blog post. But thanks to this unruly March weather, our dinner plans were switched from Saturday to Sunday, and while I did make the lamb ragout, there are no goat cheese gnocchi to be seen. Since I did not make dinner at home yesterday, the ragout will be tonight's dinner, with some whole wheat gnocchi from Italy. Ragouts are always better a day or two later, so that's no problem. What was a problem, was deciding what to write about today. I was thinking about it as I had lunch, cold roast pork with leftover Curry Lime Sauce, some sliced beets and hard cooked eggs, also napped with the sauce. Here was one of the best things I like to keep around in the fridge, right under my nose, (on my plate!) and I hadn't shared it with you. Shameful!

There a few sauces that keep well, and are a joy to have on hand because you can use them on just about anything, anytime, anywhere, which makes them as useful as a little black dress. This is one of them. this curry-lime sauce really jazzes up hors d'oeuvres, lunches and leftovers. Good as a binder for tuna, lobster or chicken salad. Cold meat or fish are great with it, hot or cold vegetables, especially asparagus, beets and cauliflower...cocktail meatballs, crab fingers... This one happens to be low fat, but rich tasting at the same time. You can also make it as spicy as you like, or not depending on the curry powder you choose. I made it last Saturday morning to serve with cold shrimp while my pal Betty was visiting, and it's still in great shape...although there is next to none left as I tend to eat it on everything. 

Easy Curry Lime Sauce

1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
2T (or more) Curry Powder, hot Madras, or your choice of milder
2T Olive Oil, extra virgin
3T fresh lime juice
1-2 T cane sugar or erythritol, or equivalent stevia depending on brand to taste
salt

Place everything but sweetener and salt into a small bow, and whisk until smooth. Add the sweetener of choice and whisk again. Taste for sweetness/spice balance, correct and add salt as needed. Chill for 1 or more hours so flavor can meld. 

Makes about 3/4 cup.

Easy Curry Lime Sauce: Everything Gets Sauced

Curried Creamy Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach: Recipe Evolution

Kasha, aka, The Farm Girl Cooks, posted a link on FB to an absolutely delicious-sounding recipe on the blog Three Many Cooks called "Curried Cream of Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach". I had everything in the house to make it. Perfect lunch for these damn cold, not-quite-spring days. Then I saw just two things I would need to change. My lactose intolerance won't allow me to use that much canned evaporated milk comfortably in my own food, and adding baking soda to acidic foods tends to reduce some of the  available vitamin content. 

I thought I'd just sub some of my coconut based coffee creamer for the evaporated milk and that would allow me to skip the baking soda too, since coconut products don't curdle in the presence of acids. Done, right? Wrong. While poking in the pantry for canned chickpeas I spied a can of light coconut milk, and a jar of Thai green curry paste. Hmmmm. Different flavor profile? Going to need to follow a Thai-ish line here, so will need to check out what else I have on hand to flesh out a variation. Maybe some basil and ginger? Not even close to authentic Thai, but wonderful, filling and healthy. 

While the "bones" are the same as the original recipe --tomato puree, chickpeas and spinach, the finished product is a very different soup. The result?  A recipe evolution.A dreamy, creamy, spicy, warming soup that, if your pantry and freezer is fairly well stocked, you can make from what you have around. Don't be afraid to change up the spices or sub good stock for the milk. A good madras curry will work here too, if you have some in your spice cupboard. It's by far the best lunch I've had all week--so good the girls at work were dipping their spoons into my bowl, too. Quick and easy deliciousness.

I'd like to thank the gang over at Three Many Cooks for the inspiration, and Kasha for pointing it out. This version is vegetarian,  vegan in fact, and dairy-free and gluten free. Maybe your version will evolve this recipe another fabulous step?

Curried Creamy Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach

Curried Creamy Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach

Ingredients:

1T safflower oil or olive oil
1 small onion, diced fine
1 T minced ginger (from a jar is fine)
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 T Thai green curry paste
1 13.5 oz. can light coconut milk
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (organic if possible)
1 heaping T dried basil
1T  sugar or granular Erythritol
1 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups  baby spinach, packed, or 1 cup  frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3T minced fresh cilantro, or frozen cilantro
Kosher or sea salt

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil until it thins and ripples, and then add the onion, ginger and garlic. Turn the heat to medium, and sauté until the onion begins to soften. stir in the green curry paste and cook for a minute longer.

2. Stir in the coconut milk and the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Add the basil and the sugar or erythritol, and let simmer for 5 minutes. 

3. Stir well, and then add the chickpeas and the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts, about another 3 minutes. Taste for salt, and add as needed. Stir  in the cilantro and serve.

Serves 3 - 4 

Simple Broccoli Rabe Soup: Breaking Winter's Back

According to my Farmer's Almanac, winter's back is broken on February 16th. I have a problem with that, because I am totally tired of the cold, spotty snow and general grayness we've had this winter NOW. I am officially  sick of winter. Either give us one good, deep, real snow, or just go away, Old Man Winter, and let us have spring.

Well, I'm sure that helped a lot. About as effective as trying to bail the ocean with a thimble. But I have other ways of keeping winter at bay, and yes, many of them involve food, chocolate or planes heading south. One of my favorites is a soup I took for granted as a child. Well, technically it isn't necessarily called a soup. It's one of the most comforting things I can think of to make a late winter day bearable: good greens, cooked in good stock with lots of garlic. Love in a bowl from an Italian grandma, I tell you. 

Greens are always one of the first things to pop up in the market at this time of year, because once February hits, it's already spring somewhere. So the greens are already starting to look good, not tired as they look in December. The broccoli rabe was very nice this week, tender not big and tough and woody, but if it isn't nice when you shop, just substitute some escarole or baby kale. Even spinach, just don't cook it so long. Look for greens that will cook to tender in less than 15 minutes; leave the braising greens like mature kale or collards for another dish.

If you have some homemade stock, some garlic, oil and your favorite greens, you are about 10 minutes from making the basic black dress of soups. You can dress it up innumerable ways. I like a dusting of Parmesan or Romano over the top, or a slice of toast (a crostini) grilled with some Gruyere on top afloat in the bowl, or even some small pasta like orzo, tubetini or pastene cooked in the soup. Leftover diced chicken or turkey, or tofu...all good. This soup hints of spring, and really will break winter's back.

This dish, basically greens cooked in broth, is only as good as your ingredients. If your broth isn't great, neither will your soup be great. If you use chicken broth, it should sing of chicken, if vegetable, it should be rich and robustly flavored. It should be utterly delicious served just as it is. Not a place to use up tired or worn out vegetables, sprouty garlic, or cheap boxed broth.

Italian greens in broth: Simple Broccoli Rabe soup

Simple Broccoli Rabe Soup

4 - 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1T extra virgin olive oil

3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced or thinly sliced

2-1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth

1 large bunch broccoli rabe, tough stems removed,  chopped 

Pinch dry oregano

Pinch or more of red pepper flakes

salt and fresh ground black pepper

Optional additions: 2 oz. small pasta like orzo or  pastene , croutons, slice bread  toasted and topped with cheese.

1. Heat the olive oil in a 4 quart or larger saucepan over medium-high heat. When it thins and ripples, add the garlic, and stir a minute or so until the garlic is coated in oil and fragrant.

2. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli rage, the oregano, and the red pepper flakes, bring back to a simmer, and cook about 10 minutes, or until the largest stems of the rabe are soft. Taste for salt and black pepper and season accordingly.

Note: if you want some sort of pasta in this, add to the broth just after the broccoli rabe and if it's the tiny stuff, it should be done when the rabe is cooked.

Roughly chopped broccoli rabe: looks almost springlike, huh?

Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Strata

As most of you know, I work in a kitchenware store, and the long hours coming up for the next couple of weeks are keeping me from experimenting in the kitchen. So what you'll find posted here is just like TV in the summer: reruns. I'll be posting some of my more popular and interesting posts for the next couple of weeks, and will be back with new recipes and rants in the New Year. May you all have all the best and happiest things in your life for the Christmas Season and in the New Year. And thank you for coming along for the ride with me so far.


Sometimes, I get lazy. Even though I love to cook, often I'd rather hang out with a cup of coffee in the morning, or with a glass of wine in the evening and not have to fuss much over a meal for the assembled family. This usually happens over the holidays or on vacation. Unfortunately, I also have a solid case of Italian Guilt, instilled most thoroughly by my mother years ago that I haven't been able to shake. Its forced me to find something delectable to serve the gang that won't force me to run around the kitchen at the last moment. Usually it ends up being a make ahead dish, and a good one. A strata.

In case you aren't up on just what a strata is, I'll explain. A strata is a layered dish, involving bread, eggs and usually cheese, plus whatever other goodies (generally pre-cooked) you want to add in. As it bakes, it puffs, almost soufflé-like and then settles into a rich, puffy, creamy dish that you can have for pretty much any meal. You can make them savory or sweet, both versions are great additions to your cooking repertoire.

The nice part is that a strata is much better if you assemble it hours in advance, or the night before, and let it set in the fridge until baking time. It bakes in about an hour, which gives the cook time for that second cup of coffee, or glass of wine. For breakfast or brunch with a savory strata, all you need is some fruit on the side, and maybe some pastry; for lunch or dinner, a good salad or a side vegetable, or a cold soup before the strata  is nice. If you choose to make a sweet one, it makes a wonderful breakfast  or a fabulous dessert for a light meal. I promise to give you a sweet strata recipe later into the Autumn.

I've been making this version for years, but I've adopted a technique from Cook's Illustrated recently that adds some weights on top of the casserole while it chills. I think it really does improve the texture. I always chill the assembled strata at least 8 hours before baking to be sure all the stale bread has had a chance to soak up the eggs and cream. I just make it up before I go to bed, and let it rest while I do.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Strata
Serves 6-8

Spinach, Mushroom & Bacon strata. Cheesy and easy to make ahead, 
and so delicious1

Ingredients

8 slices of stale Italian bread, sliced 1/2" thick
4T unsalted butter, softened
6 slices of smoked bacon, roughly chopped
8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 10oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
6 large eggs
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt
ground black pepper
cooking spray or butter for pan

Instructions

Spray an 8" square baking dish with cooking spray or butter liberally. Spread one side of each slice of bread with a half tablespoon of butter, and set aside. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook the bacon until just crisp, and then remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the onions and mushrooms to the fat, and cook until the onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes over medium high heat. Add the spinach to the pan and stir until heated through. Turn off the heat, and mix in the bacon. Set the pan off the hot burner.

Place 4 slices of the bread in the bottom of the prepared pan, buttered side up. Distribute 1/2 of the spinach mixture over the bread evenly, and then sprinkle over 1/3 of the shredded Gruyere. Arrange the remaining 4 slices on top of the cheese, more or less in the opposite direction from the bottom slices. Top with all the remaining spinach mixture, and then 1/2 of the remaining cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, the milk, the cream, the nutmeg, kosher salt and black pepper to taste, and por the mixture carefully over the top of the bread and spinach mixture in the baking dish. Place a large  sheet of plastic wrap flush on top of the top cheese layer, and place a small, heavy frying pan ( or as Cook's suggests 2 1-pound boxes of sugar) on top of the plastic wrap to weigh down the bread. Chill it weighed down for at least 3 hours, or overnight. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 325ºF, remove the weights and the plastic wrap and sprinkle over the remaining Gruyere cheese and bake for 55-65 minutes, until browned and puffed.  Serve hot or at room temperature, and remember, it will deflate just about as soon as it comes out of the oven, and that's supposed to happen...

Curing the November Blues: Lentil Soup with Speck & Kale

Lentil Soup with Speck & Kale is a great lunch for a
gloomy, cold late Fall day.

I have the November blues. The cold is starting to already get to my Mediterranean  genes. We're halfway through November and I'm already looking for "Signs of Spring". The garden seed catalogs are still at least 6 weeks away, and since I'm planning a fallow year so I can work on the soil, I will be planting very little, and probably in Earth Boxes. The frost on the brown leaves on the ground makes them look like frosted cornflakes, but that just makes me think of the snow to come. It's getting dark way too early in the evening. That is not good. Am trying to think of things that will cheer me up. Maybe putting up the Christmas tree over the weekend will help. Maybe. This lentil soup, with speck and kale, though, and my favorite yellow, happy tablecloth will probably do the trick.

This is the kind of healthy soup that doesn't taste "healthy". Chock full of good stuff like lentils and kale, it'll warm you up without slowing you down. You could make this a vegetarian soup using olive oil in place of the bacon fat or butter, vegetable stock, leaving out the speck and adding about 2 drops of liquid smoke; also remember to use a vegetarian Worcestershire, or the Pickapeppa which has no animal ingredients. This is also gluten free.  A great carry-to-work-lunch, too, that will have your coworkers swooning around the microwave when you heat it up. Don't share unless you've brought extra.

Note: Speck is smoked proscuitto, and if your grocery or good deli doesn't carry it, use smoked bacon instead. It does not taste the same, but will still be delish.


Ingredients:

Lentil Soup with Speck & Kale
Serves 6

2T bacon fat or butter
3 oz. diced speck (can sub minced, smoked bacon)
1 lb. regular brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
1 large onion, diced finely
2 celery stalks, diced finely
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
1 quart of homemade or no  salt added chicken stock
1 quart of water, plus extra if needed
2 bay leaves
1T dried marjoram leaves
1T dried thyme
2 tsp. Worcesteshire sauce or Pickapeppa sauce
Coarse salt and pepper

1 lb. kale, leaves and small stems only, blanched, squeezed out and chopped

2T good quality balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. Heat the bacon fat or butter in a deep soup pot, and sauté the speck until brown. 

2. Add everything else through the worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook about 45 minutes to an hour until the lentils are tender .

3. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed, stir in the kale and the balsamic vinegar, and heat through.  Serve piping hot.

For Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner: Spinach, Mushroom & Bacon Strata

Sometimes, I get lazy. Even though I love to cook, often I'd rather hang out with a cup of coffee in the morning, or with a glass of wine in the evening and not have to fuss much over a meal for the assembled family. This usually happens over the holidays or on vacation. Unfortunately, I also have a solid case of Italian Guilt, instilled most thoroughly by my mother years ago that I haven't been able to shake. Its forced me to find something delectable to serve the gang that won't force me to run around the kitchen at the last moment. Usually it ends up being a make ahead dish, and a good one. A strata.

In case you aren't up on just what a strata is, I'll explain. A strata is a layered dish, involving bread, eggs and usually cheese, plus whatever other goodies (generally pre-cooked) you want to add in. As it bakes, it puffs, almost soufflé-like and then settles into a rich, puffy, creamy dish that you can have for pretty much any meal. You can make them savory or sweet, both versions are great additions to your cooking repertoire.

The nice part is that a strata is much better if you assemble it hours in advance, or the night before, and let it set in the fridge until baking time. It bakes in about an hour, which gives the cook time for that second cup of coffee, or glass of wine. For breakfast or brunch with a savory strata, all you need is some fruit on the side, and maybe some pastry; for lunch or dinner, a good salad or a side vegetable, or a cold soup before the strata  is nice. If you choose to make a sweet one, it makes a wonderful breakfast  or a fabulous dessert for a light meal. I promise to give you a sweet strata recipe later into the Autumn.

I've been making this version for years, but I've adopted a technique from Cook's Illustrated recently that adds some weights on top of the casserole while it chills. I think it really does improve the texture. I always chill the assembled strata at least 8 hours before baking to be sure all the stale bread has had a chance to soak up the eggs and cream. I just make it up before I go to bed, and let it rest while I do.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Strata
Serves 6-8

Spinach, Mushroom & Bacon strata. Cheesy and easy to make ahead,
and so delicious1

Ingredients

8 slices of stale Italian bread, sliced 1/2" thick
4T unsalted butter, softened
6 slices of smoked bacon, roughly chopped
8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 10oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded
6 large eggs
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt
ground black pepper
cooking spray or butter for pan

Instructions

Spray an 8" square baking dish with cooking spray or butter liberally. Spread one side of each slice of bread with a half tablespoon of butter, and set aside. In a large non-stick frying pan, cook the bacon until just crisp, and then remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Add the onions and mushrooms to the fat, and cook until the onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes over medium high heat. Add the spinach to the pan and stir until heated through. Turn off the heat, and mix in the bacon. Set the pan off the hot burner.

Place 4 slices of the bread in the bottom of the prepared pan, buttered side up. Distribute 1/2 of the spinach mixture over the bread evenly, and then sprinkle over 1/3 of the shredded Gruyere. Arrange the remaining 4 slices on top of the cheese, more or less in the opposite direction from the bottom slices. Top with all the remaining spinach mixture, and then 1/2 of the remaining cheese.

Whisk together the eggs, the milk, the cream, the nutmeg, kosher salt and black pepper to taste, and por the mixture carefully over the top of the bread and spinach mixture in the baking dish. Place a large  sheet of plastic wrap flush on top of the top cheese layer, and place a small, heavy frying pan ( or as Cook's suggests 2 1-pound boxes of sugar) on top of the plastic wrap to weigh down the bread. Chill it weighed down for at least 3 hours, or overnight. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 325ºF, remove the weights and the plastic wrap and sprinkle over the remaining Gruyere cheese and bake for 55-65 minutes, until browned and puffed.  Serve hot or at room temperature, and remember, it will deflate just about as soon as it comes out of the oven, and that's supposed to happen...