The Lonely Bean

THE LONELY BEAN HAS MOVED

2009-10-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here at the LonelyBean, we (my team) are moving up in the world. I am now the proud owner of LonelyBean.com ! If you like the web design, you can thank my dear boyfriend, JONATHAN, and if you are nice to him, and offer him some dosh (or cook him dinner), maybe he will do the same for you.

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Sunday- eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs, eggs.

2009-10-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes from the blog Almost Bourdain, which I just discovered with the help of Saveuer.com. So okay, my tomato egg thing doesn't look as good as theirs, it is a bit fiddly. I made a cut in the tomato by accident, so some of the egg leaked out. Eeek. But it was delicious none the less!!

EGG BAKED IN TOMATO

INGREDIENTS

1 egg
1 tomato- medium sized, beef steak will be too big, roma won't work well either.
fresh basil
olive oil
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Cut top off tomato and hollow out, leaving a cm thick wall. Turn upside down and drain for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, groud the fresh basil, olive oil and salt together to make a paste. Add some parmesan cheese and a little minced garlic if you feel like it.
Cover the inside of the tomato with the mixture described above, then bake in the oven at 375 for about 10 minutes.
Remove tomato from oven and crack the egg right in, return to oven for about 10 minutes until white is cooked but yolk is runny.
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and parmesan cheese.

SOUP- squash medley

2009-10-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was tempted to say Butternutsquash soup, but thats not what we used. From the Harrisonburg Farmer's Market came Blue Hubbard Squash and Sweet Potato Squash. I wish I took pictures of them, but I did not... fail. Blue Hubbard Squash had a really thick skin, so thick that to break it open, the squash is put into a bag and thrown onto the floor to break it. Both had orange flesh, similar to butternut.

Another component I added to this soup was Japanese turnips. These are much smaller turnips that almost look like white radishes. We saved the greens which are edible. They have a very bitter taste, so I sauteed them in olive oil and garlic to try and mask it... but it was still bitter. It would be a good idea to chop them up and use them as a pesto sort of thingy.

SQUASH SOUP

INGREDIENTS

2 squash of your choice
cumin
olive oil
garlic- 2 cloves, minced
1 onion, diced thin
veggie stock
sage
milk
salt and pepper
japanese turnips, or regular turnips
paprika
Gorgonzola cheese- optional but highly recommended.

GARNISH (Optional, see image below)

3 radishes
walnuts
cilantro, fresh
olive oil
salt and pepper
red chili pepper flakes

Soup with garnish and gorgonzola cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop your squash in half, deseed (save them and roast them for a good garnish, see below) and rub the skin-free side with olive oil. Place both halves on a baking tray, skin-free side down, and roast for an hour or more, until tender.

Soup garnished with seeds

     2.      Once cooled, remove skin of the squash. Mash up the squash in a big bowl, and season. Add some dried or fresh sage and chili flakes until it tastes as you want it.

     3.     Heat up olive oil and add cumin, once aroma is released add onions and chopped turnips. After cooking for about 5 minutes, add garlic, sage and paprika. Add squash and mix throroughly. Now add the broth, allow to come to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and add milk. Cover and simmer for about 30 mins until desired consistency is reached.

     4.     While soup is simmering, get your garnish together. Chop everything up fine.. if you have a food processor, use that. The walnuts can be replaced by almonds or pine nuts, I would recommend almonds.

Broccoli For Breakfast.

2009-10-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday are egg days, if I'm in the mood. Last night we had an archaeology crew reunion, which means excessive consumption of alcohol. Eggs are perfect hangover food. Oh yeh, also, I tried out the highly touted coconut water:

I'm not sure if you are aware, my dear readers, of the current coconut water craze. But if you are a foody, you are in the know. For those of you who remain blissfully unaware, coconut water is not the same as coconut milk. It is only present in the young coconuts, and supposedly has 15 times the amount of electrolytes found in sports drinks (think gaterade). It is also filled with other goodies such as potassium, iron etc etc etc. The amount of electrolytes it has in it has led to this wonder drink to be advocated as a hang over cure.... or aid. So this morning I drank some. It was OK.... to be honest I don't think it tasted so great, but I did feel better afterwards. Though I can't decide if my suddent perkishness was a result of psychological conviction rather than the drink itself.

Moving on to eggs.

POACHED EGG OVER BROCCOLI PUREE

Usually I like to eat my poeached egg over a bed of spinach and an English muffin. But this morning I went for broccoli instead, because it was available.

INGREDIENTS

Broccoli
Olive oil
1 small garlic clove, minced.. or if you don't want to risk garlic over-powerment, use some garlic salt instead.
Parmesan Cheese, grated
Pine nuts, crushed
Red chili flakes
egg
toast
Herbs- basil, fresh if you have it.

DIRECTIONS

Poach your egg and steam your broccoli..... poach your egg last, we don't want any cold eggs.
Mush up your brocc, puree it if you can, add some olive oil, parm cheese, garlic, crushed pine nuts, whizz it all up. If you have fresh basil, throw that in there, otherwise settle for some italian dried herbs.
Over buttered toast, spread the brocc puree and top with poached egg. Season with salt, pepper and grated parm.

Pizza Pizza

2009-10-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

WHITE PIZZA WITH GARLIC, WHITE WINE, LEMON CREAM SAUCE, BROCCOLI, MUSHROOM, RED ONION AND FAKE CHICKEN

INREDIENTS

Fake Chicken
Broccoli
Red onion, sliced
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
White Wine
Mushrooms
Cream
Parmesan
Garlic
Pizza base
Mozzarella

For this pizza, saute the onions and olive oil together for a few minutes, add the garlic, broccoli, fake chicken, and mushrooms. Add some herbs of your choice, turn up the heat and pour in some white wine and lemon juice, Let cook until evaporated, add some red chili flakes and season to taste. Turn off the heat and add in some cream and grated parmesan, mix up and put on top of pizza, top with a little parmesan and a few bits of mozzarella cheese.

Down Home Night

2009-10-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

For Down Home Night at the Amato's, we bought some Morning Start Fake Ribs. These are seriously delicious. I doubt they are good for you, but surely they are better than real ribs? Fat wise? Cholesterol? Maybe? We ate them with some mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, cheddar beer bread from the "Staff of Life" who sell their breads at the Harrisonburg Farmer's Market (They sell out early). We also made some collard greens (recipe below), and topped it off with some mushroom white wine gravy (also below).

Famers Market Bounty: Cheddar Beer Bread, Chestnuts, Apple Cider Doughnuts, Apple Butter, Radishes, Red Onion, White Onion, Broccoli

Down Home Night: Ribs, Mash Potatoes, Broccoli. Collared Greens, and White wine Mushroom Gravy.

COLLARD GREENS

OK, I am not Southern... so I'm not sure whether this recipe technically qualifies as Collard Greens, but I'm going to ignore that issue. They must have been decent since Jon ate them and got seconds!

INGREDIENTS

Greens: I used Kale and Spinach
Red or White Onion: sliced
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tomatoes: cubed
Paprika- smoked if you have it
Cayenne Pepper
Hot sauce
Veggie Broth
Bay Leaf

DIRECTIONS

Chop up your onion into thin strips. Sautee in olive oil until soft, add some garlic and let cook a bit. Add paprika and cayenne pepper and stir, add a bit of water to make a paste.
Add tomatoes, allow to soften a few minutes.
Add greens, stir so mixed. Add broth and bay lead. Season to taste. Add as much hot sauce as you like. Allow to cook for about 15 minutes, on low and covered. For the last five minutes uncover, and continue to cook until there is as much or little broth left as you want. Season with more paprika if needed.

SPECIAL GRAVY

You need BISTO for this gravy, granules from the UK. If you can't get them, maybe try some American gravy granules? (snicker, snicker)

INGREDIENTS

BISTOOOO
Veggie Broth
White wine- the crap stuff you don't mind cooking with
Mushrooms
Sage
Fresh thyme, if you've got it
Butter

DIRECTIONS

Melt some butter over medium heat, add mushrooms and sage. Cook for a minute or two over high heat until the mushrooms have released their liquid.
Add some white wine, when it evaorates pour in the veggie stock. Add fresh thyme and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or so.
Add in BISTO. As much as you want it.. thi depends how much you want to taste the mushrooms and how much you want to taste the BISTO. So figure that out and let it boil to desired consistency. Ie. do you like it so thick you can slice it? Gran does.

Veggie Slop with tahini-yogurt dressing

2009-10-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

Quinoa is one of those trendy grains- but for a reason. It is a complete protein, which is quite unusual for a grain. High in fiber, magnesium, and iron, quinoa originates from South America and is apparently a candidate for NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System.... you know, those gardens on space stations that you see in the movies (Think Danny Boyle's Sunshine). And in case you were wondering, yes I did get this information from Wikipedia.

VEGGIE SLOP

YOU can put whatever you like in this Veggie Slop. I like to add at least one unhealthy ingredient to make it taste yummy, such as cheese. In this instance we used FRYING CHEESE... sounds so bad for you, doesn't it. We got it from Trader Joes, and as instructed on the back of the packet, you chop it up and throw it in a frying pan for a couple of minutes until it browns, similar to Halloumi but not quite as salty.

INGREDIENTS

Quinoa
Purple Cauliflower (!!!!!)
Kale
Sprouts- we used broccoli
Butternut squash- peeled, deseeded, and cubed. Save the seeds and throw them on top of your veggie slop for a delicious crunch.
Onion- Yellow or Red... sliced and diced.
Garlic- 1 fat clove, minced
Frying Cheese- cubed.
olive oil

DRESSING

Greek Yogurt- a good dollop
Lemon juice
Garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
a bit of olive oil
Tahini, a spoonful

INSTRUCTIONS

Cover b squash with olive oil and Sprinkle with salt, smoked paprika, pepper, and some cayenne pepper if you have it. If you haven't got smoked paprika, use something else. Red Pepper Flakes work well, as does Cajun seasoning.. the key is spice with a kick to complement the sweetness of the squash. Roast in the oven for about a half an hour, until golden.
Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Steam the cauliflower.
Saute some onions, add the garlic when onions are transparent. Add whatever herbs you like- maybe some oregano, parsley and sage? Thyme? Whatever you want. Throw in the kale (which should be chopped and washed), then add the purple cauliflower. When b squash is cooked, add it to the mixture. Fry the cheese. Wash the sprouts. etc etc etc.
When everything is cooked, throw it all together and assemble the dressing. Mix minced garlic, yogurt, lemon juice and tahini auntil you like how it tastes. Tahini can be a bit bitter, so the lemon is essential. If you want the dressing to be looser, add some water.
Eaaat.. with some crusty bread.

PIZZAS

2009-10-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Make Your Own Pizza nights are a favourite in dobbieland. We are lazy and use Bobboli Pizza bases, don't judge us. One of these days we will make our own dough.... one of these days.....

Here are the pizzas that came up the other night:

BROCCOLI, MUSHROOMS, PINE NUTS AND LEMON WITH SLICED TOMATOES, FRESH GARLIC, AND BUFFALO MOZZARELLA.

SPINACH, BACON, AND MUSHROOM PIZZA WITH BUFFALO MOZZARELLA (try with facon??)

MUSHROOM PIZZA WITH FRESH GARLIC AND SLICED TOMATOES, DRIZZLED WITH MARINARA SAUCE, AND TOPPED WITH BUFFALO CHEESE

Healthiness

2009-10-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

The other day we made veggie kebabs- we are talking mushrooms, red onion, bell peppers, sweet potato, and tomato marinated in olive oil, oregano, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage, and SMOKED PAPRIKA, and then thrown on the shoe saw. I am posting this form Virginia, so shoe saw is PC. Veggie kebabs are simple... do we need a post about them? Nah. Instead this post is about a side dish, which is ultra healthy. Lentils, spinach and sweet potato.... nutritious.

LENTIL, RED ONION, AND SWEET POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

Lentils... whatever kind you want. Wash them and keep an eye out for bad lentils, or even worse, stones that look like lentils.
Sweet potato, peeled and cubed.
Red onion, sliced.
Blue cheese or feta, or even halloumi
Spinach, cleaned
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Sugar
Salt
Pepper

Photo by DD

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook your lentils!!! This can take up to 30 minutes depending on your lentil.
Boil water and cook sweet potatoes.
Cook olive oil on med heat and add red onions, add some sugar, cook a little more and then cover and allow to sweat and caramelize.
In a big bowl, mix together lentils, sweet potato, spinach, red onion, blue cheese, and some lemon juice. If the mixture is dry, add some olive oil. Season to taste.

Mexi Salad

2009-10-02T06:52:00.001-07:00

FOR this Mexi Salad we aded a few nontraditional ingredients to spice it up, in cluding roasted sweet potatoes and home made garliccy tortilla chips.

INGREDIENTS

Sweet Potato, diced
Avocado, diced
Corn
Red Onion
Bell Peppers
Spicy Pepper
Black Olives
Corn
Tomatoes, diced
Lettuce Shredded
Fake ground beef
Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese
Refried beans
Mushrooms
Olive oil
Lemon juice

Optional: hot sauce, sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix diced sweet potatoes with some olive oil and paprika- I used smoked. Stick them in the oven for a half hour or so until golden and crisp.
Cut up a tortilla into triangles, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with whatever you fancy, we used salt, garlic powder and fresh ground pepper. When roasting these you have to keep an eye on them because they cook fast- 10 minutes tops. Remember to flip them half way.
Cook the sliced bell peppers in olive oil until tender, use a sweating technique. Add mushrooms when almost cooked.
Cook fake meat with desired seasoning. We were using 'mexi style' ground beef so we didn't need any, but if you are using plain, bring out the spices and herbs, chili powder, paprika, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme a bit of sage, some parsley... and sprinkle with some hot sauce if you want to kick it up a notch.
Grill corn wrapped in foil, when cooled shave off the corn.
In a large bowl mix together black olives, diced red onion, corn, avocado, bell peppers, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and sweet potato. Season with salt and pepper, a dash of hot sauce, and a dash of lemon or lime. Add some fresh cilantro if you've got it.
Line the bowl with tortilla chips, put a layer of shredded lettuce down, then fake meat and refried beans, and top with the mixture in step 6. Sprinkle with cheese and whatever toppings you like!

Dinner Last Night

2009-09-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

We had roasted butternut and delicata squash, walnuts, blue cheese, garliccy zucchini ribbons, mixed in with a mushroom couscous drizzled in sage brown butter sauce.

It was good.

I wish I took a photo.

The Dobbies Famous Chilli!

2009-09-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

Jon and I made this chilli when we moved into our first apartment two years ago. It has been our favourite recipe ever since. We like to modify it every now and then. For instance, the first time we made it, we used a mushroom medley from Food Lion that was fantastic!! This time we used a variety of squashes from the farmer's market, namely butternut squash (of course), yellow squash, and delicata squash.

A note on delicata squash: it is an heirloom squash with a sweet pulp that a lot of people seem to think tastes like sweet potato and corn. The flesh is silky and light. The skin is thin, so when roasted can be consumed (for more on squash varieties, click here).

INGREDIENTS

1 red onion, chopped fine
garlic- minced. we used 3 or 4 cloves because we made a massive batch
Mushrooms, chopped (we used baby portobellos, don't use big portobellos for dishes using chopped mushrooms, there is no point)
Squash deseeded, deskinned, and chopped: delicato, butternut and yellow
courgette........ or ZUCCHINI... thats for you mum
beans- we used pinto and butter beans
1 large bell pepper, diced
2 cans of diced tomato
2 cans of starter chili kit
spices: hungarian papria, smoked paprika, chilli powder, bay leaves, oregano, basil, parsley, sage, thyme, cumin.
1 spicy red chili, deseeded and chopped
red chili flakes
olive oil

Optional: sour cream, avocado, croutons, cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

dice up all your veggies, especially the squash. brush b squash with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, hungarian paprika, and red chili flakes. roast in oven for 30 mins, turning half way.

2. saute onions in olive oil until translucent, add spices. let cook for a bit. add bell pepper, let cook.
3. add garlic, squash and zuchini, season to taste. cover with some foil, turn heat down to medium low and let sweat until squash is tender.
4. mean while, mix beans, chili kits, cans of diced tomato, bay leaves, some smoked paprika all together. when b squash is done, mix it in. let it all simmer on low heat.
5. When squash in frying pan is tender, add in mushrooms, cook over high heat for a minute or two, then turn to low and cover with foil again. Allow to sweat.

6. Add all of the ingredients into the big pot of chili sauce mix. Cover if you don't want sauce to evaporate, if you think it need thickening up a bit, keep the lid off. Allow to simmer for 30 mins until flavours have mixed.

7. Serve with cheese and sour cream if desired, along with some crusty bread.

Harrisonburg Farmers Market and Chickpea and Blanched Zucchini Salad

2009-09-22T10:35:00.001-07:00

The Harrisonburg Farmer's Market has come a long way. I didn't get a photo of the market itself, but above is our bounty of veggies we got gor 20 bucks. Not bad! We also got three loaves of bread, two of which were from the bakery. My favourite part was the courgettes- we got two varieties. The light green stubby fat ones in the front, and the long darker green courgettes above them. The market seller informed us that the lighter ones havea sweeter, nuttier and more robust taste.

BLANCHED COURGETTE AND CHICKPEA SALAD

The inspiration for this recipe came from eat the right stuff, especially regarding the blanched courgette ribons and chickpeas. I used the light green courgettes described above, as you can see they are a lot greener, especially after blancing.

INGREDIENTS

Black olives
Courgettes- peeled into ribbons
Chickpeas
Black olives- ours were marinated in spicy red chili flakes
fresh cilantro
blue cheese crumbled
tomato, sliced into ribbons
olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Peel courgettes into thin ribbons. Boil salted water and blanch the courgettes.
2. Mix the chickpeas with lemon juice and olive oil, season. Add some red chili flakes and fresh cilantro.
3. Slice tomatoes, and mix with the chickpeas. Arrange over blanched zucchini. Yum yum yum yum yum.
4. Eat that ish

Food Updates

2009-09-21T20:05:00.001-07:00

We returned to VA a day or two ago, and are still recovering so haven't cooked anything magnificent yet. HOWEVER, today we went to Penzeys spices and I finally got some smoked paprika!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i've been looking for it forever... one that is reasonably priced. While i was there, I also got some hungarian paprika, so expect lots of yummy dishes infiltrated with paprika!!!!

Here is, to quote my partner in crime, a smorgasboard of photos from the past months of some meals we cooked up along our travels. Recipes will come later. Photos are crappy because my editor is poorly at the moment, apologies!

couscous with roasted sweet potato, facon, halloumi, tomato, and spinach with a creamy lemon sauce

Jon's dish: farfalle with creamy asparagus and pea carbonara sauce with facon

chili-ish dish: spicy tomato sauce with black beans, new potatoes, spinach, mushrooms and feta

courgette sauce with spaghetti

spaghetti with olive marinara sauce, spinach, and feta cheese
veggie patties and couscous with garlicy lemony tahini yogurt sauce.

polenta pizza with a broad bean pesto base, mushrooms, red onions, herbed goat cheese, and red chili

The Markets of Europe!!

2009-09-21T19:41:00.001-07:00

This is an explanation for the brief hiatus from the lonely bean over the past couple of months.

BERLIN

VENICE

ZURICH

BARCELONA AND MADRID

OKAY so some of them aren't markets..... and the above picture is sweeties.. but still, it was marvelous.

The Lonely Bean has gone on a (temporary) hiatus

2009-07-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

Due to my Mac being at the computer doctor, we have no access to internet at home nor any way to upload photos. When Mac is better, regular posting will resume.

ENCHILADAS... take II

2009-07-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

So for dinner we decided to go with one of our favourites- Butternut squash (and in this case a bit of sweet potato) and spinach enchiladas in a spicy black bean sauce. In a perfect world I recommend adding mushrooms, because, why not? But the point is, I already posted this recipe- it was the first I ever posted. So why repost? Two reasons.

The picture is better
Product Review

Don't

Currently, we do not have many spices. So to make our own tomato sauce for the enchiladas would require buying a bunch of ish we wouldn't use up. So we thought this "Old El Paso" dinner kit would work well. I'm going to go ahead and say don't buy it. Make your own. We added black beans to ours and it still tasted too much like tomato puree with taco seasoning. Don't get me wrong, it was a good meal. But the lesson is: make your own sauce.

Another picture of my sandwich model

2009-07-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

OUR LUNCH TODAY CONSISTED OF THE SANDWICHES LISTED BELOW.

Jon's: Carrots, hummus, feta, spring onions, sliced tomatoes, slithers of red chili peppers, and some avocado. On a sesame seed roll.

Sandwich model Jonathan, going to town on sandwich #1.
Sandwich #1

Claire's: Wilted spinach sauteed with olive oil and lemon juice, sliced tomato, garlicy cream cheese, scallions, sliced artichoke hearts on a cheese and onion roll.

Sandwich #2

Sandwich #2

Greek Pasta

2009-07-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

This dish would be even more delicious with some black olives and pine nuts. And of course, more spinach (we ran out). But anyway, it was pretty good. We used Penne, but I see no reason to exclude the other pastas. It would be seriously yummy with orzo too. I love orzo.

GREEK PASTA

Ingredients

Pasta
Olive oil
garlic
spring onions
red chili peppers, deseeded and cut into slivers
artichoke hearts
tomatoes, diced up
spinach
some dried oregano, feel free to add some fresh basil
lemon
feta cheese
avocado
olives if you are employed
pine nuts if you are financially secure, or if you get them for christmas like me.

Cook your pasta in some salted water
sautee a big fat clove of garlic in a glug of olive oil. Add white bits of scallions. Add oregano. Cook for a bit.
Add spinach, allow to wilt and squeeze some lemon juice on that ish.
Add red chili pepper and artichoke hearts.
Take off heat and toss in pine nuts, more lemon, green bits of spring onions, tomatoes, and olives. Season to taste. Add a bit more olive oil.
Throw in pasta with ingredients mentioned above. Throw some avocado in, and feta cheese. Season. Add more lemon juice if desired. Eat. yum yum yum yum.

Making Plans

2009-07-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

MEAL PLANS

Sammies:

spicy hummus, feta, tomato, avocado, shredded carrot, spinach on a roll.
artichoke hearts, cream cheese, wilted spinach, sliced tomato.
cheese and tomato with fresh basil.
breakfast burrito: fried (fake) ham, scrambled egg, cream cheese, spicy red pepper and wilted spinach in a tortilla

Dinners

Sweet potato and spinach enchilads with spicy tomato black bean sauce
Greek Spaghetti: with avocado, feta, spinach, tomato, spicy red chili peppers, olive oil. garlic, artichoke hearts
Veggie burgers: butternutsquash and black bean? Or how about black bean burgers with butternut squash fries?
Pizza: we have a base to use up. Butternut squash pizza? I've heard good things. Maybe with some feta and crispy fake ham.
Breakfast burritos using our last tortillas: scrambled egg, wilted spinach, cream cheese and ham?
Upon Jon's insistence.... pasta and tomato sauce. sigh.

That's all for now.. our grocery stock is limited.

Now for something completely different

2009-07-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

Jon's snack (left), my snack (right)

Thames at sunset from Wapping with Jon
Thames at sunset without Jon

Fotty want a crepe?

2009-07-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to visit the G's, so not much cooking. But before we left we needed to use up our left over store bought crepes (cringe.... but we don't have any flour!! leave us alone), so we decided to make some savoury ones for dinner.

SAVOURY STUFFED CREPES

Ingredients
Crepes
Spinach
Red pepper- roasted or sauteed in olive oil
Feta Cheese
Egg
Spring onions- or for you Americans, scallions.

Fry your eggs make them scrambled and well seasoned.
Cut up your scallions, peppers and clean your spinach.
Roast the red peppers or else sautee in olive oil. Saute or steam spinach.
Assemble the crepes- one layer of egg, then some peppers, scallions, spinach and feta cheese. Wrap up and stick in the frying pan until warmed through and the cheese has melted! yum yum yum.

Just because

2009-06-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Johan eating a chocolate stuffed churro in Easty. What a fotty.

GLORIOUS SANDWICHES

2009-06-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

I don't care whether or not you think Sandwiches are worthy of blog posts, because quite frankly, they are. Let's not be food snobs. Embrace the sammies. There's nothing better than grabbing a sammie and being able to eat various ingredients AT THE SAME TIME.

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO CALL THIS SARNIE

Ingredients

Bread: we used these wheat roll things.
Maymay-- if you have hot sauce mix sine with it.
sliced tomatoes
sliced cucumber
halloumi
smushed chickpea mixture: chickpeas, olive oil, lemon and salt.
mushroom
lemon juice
thyme

Pan fry the halloumi until golden.
Toast yo' bread
Saute your mushrooms, olive oil, lemon and thyme over high heat.
Create the chickpea mixture: smash up your chickpeas, olive oil, lemon and salt.
Assemble: chickpeas smothered one one slice, maymay on the other. Then halloumi, tomato, cucumber, and mushrooms.

Heat Wave = Gargantuan Salads

2009-06-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here in London, we are currently suffering from a heatwave. This is not weather that I bask in. This is weather where I want to remain immobile and do nothing. So that also goes for cooking.. no hot food!! No spicy food! Kicking it up a notch is currently BANNED.

So for dinner we had a salad. No wimpy salads, still gargantuan. Plus, if we eat salads for dinner that means we can indulge in exuberant deserts... which we did in the form of fried banana and nutella crepes (Note: this recipe is not posted because the crepes were store bought).

MASSIVE SALAD

Ingredients

Lettuce, Spinach whatever greens you want.
Tomato, sliced.
Roasted red pepper
Sweet potato, peeled and cubed.
Cucumber
Feta
Avocado
Fake ham
Artichoke hearts
Spring onions

Boil some water and cook sweet potatos until cooked, but dont over cook!! Next saute them in some olive oil and salt in order to give them some crisp.
Roast red peppers until blackened. Either place them under a broiler or stick them on the grill. Cook until soft.
Slice up avocado, ham, cucumber, spring onions, and tomato.
Fry ham in olive oil until crisp.
Slice artichoke hearts and grill until golden. Then stirfry with some butter and lemon juice.
Mix everything together, sprinkle with feta and cover with whatever dressing you desire. We used some honey mustard because that's what we had. But i think some balsalmic vinageratte would be extra good.

High Brow Breakfast Sammies

2009-06-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

We didn't do much cooking this weekend- Friday we treated ourselves to pizza which we ate on the canal by Regent's Park, followed by some rose, strawberries and nutella. Then we walked to nearby Primrose Hill to take in the view. On Saturday we went to Borough Market, the Tate, and Carnaby Street. When we got home we made a quick sweet potato, chickpea and mushroom curry for dinner, similar to this one.

Regent's Park Canal

Primrose Hill

The weekend does however, bring Saturday Sammies. Because we have the time to cook yummy sandwiches, rather than just settling for portable PB and Js, or simple cheese and tomato. We made two versions, partly because Jon hates poached eggs and I like them, and partly because we had two types of cheese.

JON'S SAMMY: Ham, Egg, Swiss Cheese, and tomato.

Ingredients

1 bagel
1 egg
CHEESE: we used a swiss variation
tomato
fake ham
maymay and mustard

Toast your bagel.
Fry your egg. When cooked layer cheese slices on top and let cook until the cheese melts. This is essential for the sammy.
Fry ham until crispy and brown.
Smother bagel with maymay and mustard, assemble!

CLAIRE'S SAMMY: A collated mess

Ingredients

Bagel: I made mine an open faced sammy as I wasn't as hungry.
Egg, poached
Red chili: deseeded and sliced thin
Goat cheese
tomato sliced thinly
cucumber sliced thinly
fresh basil
mustard
fake ham or facon... or real

Toast bagel, smother with goat cheese while still warm
Poach egg to desired hardness. I recommend keeping the yolk soft and runny, but it will get messy so beware.
Place sliced chillies atop of goat cheese, then cucumber, then tomato.
Fry ham and arrange over tomato.
Drizzle mustard over ham.
Arrange poached egg over sandwich.
Sprinkle with fresh basil.

Gargantuan Salads

2009-06-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

Enormous salads make me happy. There is nothing like a MASSIVE semi-healthy salad to make me smile. This particular salad was inspired by the Cobb salad. This photo is Jon's salad. Mine had boiled egg on it too. We topped it with some honey mustard dressing.

CLOBB SALAD

Ingredients

Lettuce
Cucumber- chopped
tomato- chopped
red chilies- sliced thin
halloumi- chopped and pan fried
sweet potatoes- chopped and grilled*
boiled egg- chopped
ham or bacon- real for the meaties, fake for the veggies

Wash your lettuce, unless you have a strange love for e coli.
chop up your ish!
pan fry the halloumi, roast or grill your sweet potato, deseed the chilies, cook the bacon etc etc etc
assemble!!!!!!!!! drizzle with dressing.

*NO we don't have a grill, but my genius boyfriend came up with the idea of covering the hob with foil and using ti as a grill and it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couscous Slop

2009-06-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Jonathan could eat pasta and tomato sauce for dinner every night and die a happy man. I on the other hand, can not. When I've had enough of pasta, I like to try other grains- couscous, quinoa, barley and rice are other options I would recommend. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Quinoa actually provides protein! But it can be a bit bland if not smothered in sauce. The same goes for couscous, but this grain often comes accompanied by spice packs, without which it is nearly impossible to infuse with flavour.

So tonight we bought some couscous. We got the garlic and mushroom kind from Sainsbury's for 60p (or something). Adding a bunch of veggies and some cheese gives it plenty of flavour and can provide quite a nutritious dindin.

COUSCOUS SLOP

Ingredients

couscous
onion
garlic
broccoli (or some other green.... i love to use spinach but someone doesn't feel the same way)
1 tomato
sweet potato, peeled
spices
cheese- i used halloumi. Goat cheese or feta would be yummy also.
red chili to kick it up a notch
mushrooms
lemon

Chop up your onions, garlic and red chili, saute in some olive oil until fragrant.
Meanwhile, steam some broccoli and boil the sweet potato cubes. If however, you are lucky to have an OVEN (its alright for SOME), then roast that ish with some olive oil!!
Add tomatoes and mushrooms to the onions and garlic and red chili mixture. Cook them over high heat for as short of a period as possible! Add some spices to that ish. I used oregano and thyme.... because that is currently all I have :( Squirt some lemon juice.
Remove mixture from heat. Mix with sweet potato and broccoli.
Cook your couscous-- typically you bring the water to a boil, throw it in, remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 mins. Use this 5 mins to cook your halloumi until golden.
Mix couscous with all of your veggies and eat! YUM!!!!

PASTA AMATO: Internets are reminiscent of Jamaican Bobsled Team.

2009-06-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

So we got the internet, but it is insufferably slow. In addition, my food never looks good. Dark times have enshrouded my "kitchen." We don't have a frying pan, just a pot, so when trying to take advantage of one of the few methods we have available to us (pan frying, sauteeing, stir frying etc), the food ends up looking like plated shit.

Moving on. Here is a dish that didn't require frying and is quick, simple and healthy. My all time favourite pasta dish, as introduced by the Amato clan.

PASTA AMATO

The freshness of the ingredients make this dish what it is. If you haven't got fresh basil, don't bother. Good olive oil and good tomatoes are very important. But above all, seasoning is of paramount importance!!!!!!!! We ate ours with some yummy garlic bread.

Photo by Jon

Ingredients

Pasta (we used Cavatappi, but linguine or spaghetti also works fine).
Tomato: fresh! De skinned and seeded.
Fresh basil leaves, torn.
1 clove of garlic, crushed.
Olive oil
Parmesan Reggiano
Salt and pepper!!!!

Boil some water, cook pasta following instructions on bag.
Deskin and deseed tomatoes and roughly slice.
Mix tomatoes with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Season to taste.
When cooked, toss pasta with tomato mixture. Top with torn basil and parmesan.
Taste once more and season as needed.

CAKES

2009-06-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Jon turns 22 and gets a zombie cake!!!!!!! Made with red gummy worms (lips, blood, and eye sockets), coconut (dyed black for hair), marshmallows (eyes), m&ms (eyes), lemonheads (teef))Jon turned 24 and what did he get? a chola cake!

Celebratory Arrival Cake for Jonathan

Cake Art by Johan, too good not to post AND a reminder to cut up the 6-pack plastic rings!

Veggie Burgers and the Internets are go!

2009-06-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

We moved into our flat on Sat. so have been on a brief hiatus without the internets. Its a bit.......... cozier than the old flat. Cooking abilities are limited, as we no longer have an oven. And the kitchen is..... compact. But we are only here for 6 weeks, and it's our shoebox, so its okay. But the good news is that Jon has arrived, so food pictures will be improving dramatically.

Meals from the weekend have consisted of food that doesn't require baking. On Thursday we had dinner out. Friday was pasta with chicken al pesto (below);

Photo by Johan

Saturday was grilled (fake) chicken salad; Sunday was pasta with tomato sauce; and last night we had the veggie burgers listed below, accompanied by Italian salad and pan fried potatoes. Tonight we are having pasta Amato. If the elevated pasta assumption isn't an indication that Jon has arrived, then I don't know what is. But, FYI, pasta Amato is my all time favourite pasta dish, simple as it may be, it is absolutely delicious and I will post the deets tomorrow.

VEGGIE BURGERS

Ingredients

Courgettes: grated and drained
Half a carrot: grated and drained
Spices: Turmeric, Cumin, Oregano, Fresh Cilantro diced up, red chilies diced.
Diced onion
Diced Garlic
2 new potatoes
Bread crumbs
corn meal
lemon juice
Chickpeas: cooked and smashed up
Optional: goat cheese, feta, halloumi (diced).

Photo by Johan

Dice up all your veggies. Slice the potatoes and cook until just about done. If using dried chickpeas make sure cooked and tender.
Mash up the chickpeas.
Add courgettes, carrots, onion, garlic, spices, lemon juice, and bread crumbs. Mix well.
Mash potatoes and add to the mix. The potatoes are what should make everything stick together, if it doesn't, try adding some flour.
Add cheese (optional)
Form patties. Coat in cornmeal.
Heat veggie oil over med-high. Add patties and cook on both sides until they are browned.
Serve over wilted spinach, buns, or by them selves with some hot sauce or guac.

Gaining a Johan

2009-06-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

The celebration begins tomorrow- no more long distancing. Johan will (hopefully) be getting in around 6:45. Then we celebrate all day... well, after what I'm sure will be a much needed nap on his behalf.
So, we move to our new place on Friday and Saturday. Don't get excited, by "place" I mean "shoebox." But it is only for 6 weeks and then we are going traveling until the beginning of September. So far, the Eurotrip is as follows (dates are tentative):

London to Paris: 26th July.
Paris to Sicily: 28th-2nd
Sicily to Athens: 2nd-4th
Athens- Astypalaea (to dig up BABIES, thats right I said it): 5th Aug- 5th Sept.
Astypalaea- Venice: 5th Sept-7th Sept
Venice- ___, this is disputed, we are thinking maybe Geneva or maybe Vienna or Berlin: 7th Sept-9th Sept
___ to Barcelona: 9th Sept-12th
Barcelona to Paris: 12th-14th Sept
Paris- London: 14th Sept.

Then down to Cornwall to visit the Grandparents until Sept 18th. We return to 'merica on the 19th. Please refrain from the "Then what?" question.. or worse "what are you going to do with your life?" You don't need the deets, all you need to know is that we are both bound for glory.

ANYWAY, the point of this post, besides serving as an outlet for my excitement and a means in which to brag, is to explain the brief hiatus of cooking for the next couple of days. I'm not buying groceries as I don't want more crap to haul across London, and therefore, this meal is from the archives and not conducive to what is currently in season. Meghan and I made it back when we were flatmates in November.

STUFFED BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Ingredients

Butternut Squash
Cherry tomatoes
Spinach
Garlic
Onion
Mushrooms
Red chilis
Goat cheese

Half the butternut squash and deseed. Save the seeds!! You can roast them with some olive oil and cayenne pepper, and then sprinkle over top of your cooked squash.
Score the squash and rub with olive oil, garlic and some red chili and place in oven for about 45 mins, or until tender.
Cook onion, garlic, mushroom and spices in some olive oil (i like to use thyme and oregano), add spinach, allow to wilt and then remove form heat.
This is where we messed up. You've got to scoop out the cooked flesh and mash it in a bowl, otherwise its just not going to taste as good and the texture will be a tad stringy. So do as I say, not as i do. Mash it with some goat cheese, salt , pepper, spices- whatever you want. But save some cheese to melt over top.
Mix the mushroom-spinach mixture with the mashed up squash. Arrange halved cherry tomatoes on top, and throw some cheese on top.
Bake for another 12-15 minutes, until cheese has melted.
Remove form oven and sprinkle with seeds.

Goat cheese stuffed courgette flowers

2009-06-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

As I said earlier, I tried courgette blossoms for the first time the other day. After returning from Florence I went on the hunt for more. And, as mentioned below, I found them at the Islington Farmer's Market, where I snagged up the remainders. I can't say enough good things about this market. It wasn't too big or two crowded. I got there at 11 and it was quite busy, so I have a feeling the good stuff probably sells out fast. There are a couple really good vegetable stalls selling everything from tomatoes to asparagus to courgette flowers. The Nut Knowle Farm stall selling goat cheese was delicious and had plenty of samples set out to try. Also present was meat, fish, fruit, cow cheese, flowers, pastry, bread..... everything.

GOAT CHEESE STUFFED COURGETTE BLOSSOMS

Ingredients

Courgette flowers, styles removed.
1 egg, beaten.
Flour
Salt and pepper
Oregano, thyme, parsley, basil- whatever dried herbs you can muster.
Goat cheese- I chose the Saint Stephen cheese from Nut Knowle Farm which has garlic, parsley and chive undertones.

Mix flour, salt, pepper and herbs together.
Stuff the flowers with cheese. If the petals don't want to come apart carefully slice about a 1/3 way down and open up the flower. After stuffing, twist the petals closed again.
Drench in egg and dip in the flour mixture.
Pan fry the blossoms in olive oil over a high heat until crisp and golden.

They are much prettier before being fried, aren't they?

Polenta Pizza

2009-06-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

Polenta is a good gluten free substitute for dishes like pizza or tarts. Though if you're not careful it can end up very bland tasting. Cook it in some broth or squirt some lemon/basil/Parmesan into it before baking it to give it some taste. For the topping, use whatever you want. In this particular version I went with a broad bean pesto, mushrooms, red onion and goat cheese.

POLENTA PIZZA

Ingredients

Polenta: you can find it ready made in the supermarket, or make your own. I chose to buy the instant polenta pictured below (along with the broad beans and courgette flowers from the amazing Islington Farmer's Market). I boiled half the pack before spreading it out onto a pizza tray for baking.

Olive oil
Garlic, minced.

Broad beans, de-podded and boiled for about 5 minutes.
Red chili diced
Mint, diced
lemon juice
olive oil
salt and pepper

red onion, sliced
mushrooms, sliced

Boil your polenta and then spread onto pizza tray. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes before taking it out and brushing it with olive oil and minced garlic. Return to oven for 10 minutes.
Mash up beans, lemon juice, mint, olive oil, and red chili into a spread.
Slice red onion up thin and saute on med high heat until soft. Add mushrooms and cook on high heat for a few minutes, saute with some lemon juice and thyme. Set aside.
Take polenta out from oven and spread over the broad bean pesto.
Throw the mushrooms and red onions over top, and sprinkle with goat cheese.
Return to oven for 10 minutes until goats cheese has turned golden, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and some more lemon juice.

Catching Up

2009-06-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

The past couple of days I have been in Florence, Italy. It was amazing- not only for the city, but also because of the people! I stayed with my friend Kim who is currently finishing up her Master's. (I recommend her blog not only because she is an amazing writer but because of her amusing insight). Her Florence Family is always so welcoming and a lot of fun.

SO we went to the San Lorenzo Mercato (see pic below), which was amazing. I accomplished two of my goals for 2009: eat courgette blossoms and truffle oil, and one of my life goals: visit Italy. First off, courgette flowers.... they were GOOD. I wasn't sure if i would like them or not, so i only bought the one.. which amounted to a grand total of 2 cents. ha! i dipped the flower in egg and battered it with some flour and seasoning (a garlic herb mixture), and pan fried it (after taking out the style). In the image below you can see some courgette flowers peaking out of the lower right hand corner. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for them at the Farmer's markets here- I want to try stuffing them, as I have read on the interwebz.

The truffle oil was also good- I tried it drizzled over pecorino cheese (!!) and also truffle cheese!!! After spending a very, very long time at the Mercato, we got all the ingredients for the FEAST.

The FEAST consisted of courgette patties topped with a tomato basil salsa, pan fried asparagus, sweet potato rounds with a smokey eggplant dip, caitlin's delicious Vegetable Pasta (the name doesn't glorify it as much as it should), an italian salad, and some olives, cheese and bread!

COURGETTE PATTIES

As courgettes are in season right now, its time to start taking advantage. The absolute key to getting these cakes to stick is to make sure that once grated, you strain!!!! Stick them in a clean dish towel and wring the towel to squeeze out the juice. You'll be surprised at how much comes out.

Ingredients

2 medium sized courgettes, grated. Though the smaller they are, the more flavour they have.
lemon zest and juice
1 garlic clove minced
onion diced (red, scallion or white)
flour
spices: red chillies, turmeric, cumin.
1 egg, beaten

Grate the courgettes- watch your fingers.
Add all the ingredients to the zucchini, you want to add enough flour until you can form blobs of courgette, make sure the mixture is not runny.
Heat olive oil over high heat and fry the patties.
Top with some lemon and whatever salsa you please. I find that dicing up some tomatoes with fresh bail, lemon and feta is delicious.

Minty Lemony Peas and Halloumi Baguette

2009-06-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

It's time to post a sandwich. Sandwich making is an art form, and I love it. And, in case you haven't noticed yet, I love halloumi. For this recipe, it is best to use fresh peas. That means you have to shell them, it's not so bad. Frozen peas won't be as good. Now, I'm going to be frank here. Don't read this recipe and think "eww peas." Because I was once a pea-hater, but fresh peas truly make the difference. They are a million times better than frozen peas, I promise. The mint is essential. I know-- mint, I don't often use it in my cooking. I don't particularly enjoy cooking with mint. But in this case, it really, really, really makes the sandwich, so don't even think about skipping it. This sandwich would also be delicious with goat cheese, but the halloumi provides a nice contrasting texture to the soft peas.

MINTY LEMONY PEAS AND HALLOUMI BAGUETTE

Ingredients

Peas, deshelled
Fresh mint, chopped up.
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
parmesan cheese or pecorino cheese.
Red chili pepper, diced and deseeded.
Lemon juice and zest.
Halloumi, sliced.
French baguette, toasted.
Garlic.

Rub olive oil and a clove of garlic on the french bread, toast.
Steam your peas for a couple minutes until cooked. Mush up with some olive oil. Add chopped peppers, chopped mint, shaved parmegan, a squirt of lemon, and season well.

3. Pan fry your halloumi until golden. No olive oil needed! Halloumi fries in its own brine.
4. Assemble the creation.

This...... this was good.

2009-06-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about this concoction for months. And now, here it is...

SWEET AND SPICY CHILI GLAZED TOFU WITH SMASHED POTATOES

For this recipe, I took two of the left over baked tofu steaks form yesterday (see below). I served it up with some fresh peas and carrots.

Ingredients

GLAZED TOFU

1 tomato, chopped up (can also use canned tomatoes)
Miso paste (I didn't have any, so I took a sachet of miso soup and added a little water to make a paste)
1 red chili, deseeded and chopped up
honey
1 clove of garlic minced
Chili powder
Paprika
Dash of hot water
2 tofu steaks
olive oil

new potatoes, quartered
olive oil
paprika
salt

Boil potatoes until almost cooked.
Heat olive oil over med-high heat, add garlic and allow to saute until fragrant.
Add red chili peppers, chili powder (a generous heaping), a teaspoon of paprika, and tomatoes. Allow to cook for approx. 5 mins.
Add in the miso paste and tablespoon of hot water. Mix well- mush up the tomato. Simmer for 3 minutes until reduced
Add 1 1/2 tbsp of honey, mix in well. Remove from heat if the glaze is a thickened sauce. Place tofu in pan and smother both sides in glaze. Place in baking tray, spoon over any glaze still in pan and cover tray with tin foil.
Cook in oven at about 400 F for 45 mins, turning half way. Remove foil for the last 15 minutes.
Once cooked, place potatoes in a bowl and smash them up a bit. Throw in baking tray with plenty of olive oil, salt and paprika. Bake in oven about 25 mins.

Rice bowl time

2009-06-01T15:59:00.000-07:00

Rice bowls are a wonderful way to fill your belly. It's best to use a couple veggies, a sauce, and then an extra ingredient that really adds that edge. My favourite ingredient is usually some sort of soy or good cheese- such as halloumi. Today I used baked tofu marinated overnight in a cilantro/olive oil/vinegar/scallion/garlic/red chili pepper/lemon mixture. To give your baked tofu a meatier, chewier texture, cut the block in half height wise. Next, slice it into steaks. I had 4 total. Place them on a chopping board with another chopping board on top. Balance a heavy pot filled with water, and let it rest there for at least thirty minutes. This presses the tofu down, do so before marinating (This method comes from Veganomicon - Isa is the queen of tofu!! Always refer to her for tofu recipes). One of my favourite variations is to make the tofu really spicy, and then top it off with fresh avocado to cool it off, with roasted sunflower seeds, shredded carrot and a fresh pico de gallo salsa.

Rice Bowl No. 1: Sweet and Spicy Tofu bowl!

Ingredients

MARINATE:

Tofu
Garlic
Scallion
Vinegar (Rice wine works best in this particular instance)
Sesame oil
Red chili pepper
cilantro
Lemon juice
Soy sauce

Rice
Spinach
Carrots- cut thinly
fresh peas
red chili pepper
honey
soy sauce
olive oil

Natural yoghurt
Lemon juice
Cilantro
salt

After pressing, marinate tofu over night, make sure to flip them once half way through!!
Bake tofu covered in oven for about 45 minutes. Broil before serving to make the tofu crispy and yummy on the edges.
Cook rice.
Heat olive oil and cook scallions and garlic. Add red chili pepper and carrots. Add soy sauce and honey. Make sure to toss well. Add peas and spinach. Remove from heat.
Make yogurt sauce. Combine yogurt, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice and zest.
Chop up your tofu, throw it in with the rice. Mix in the veggies, and slather with the yogurt sauce to cool it all off! Garnish with some fresh cilantro.

chickpea, spinach, potato paneer curry

2009-05-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

Curries are the best way to use up on-the-verge veggies, such as wilting spinach and sprouting potatoes. Make sure the potatoes are cut up small so that they can cook in the curry.

SPINACH, CHICKPEA, POTATO AND PANEER CURRY.

Ingredients

Spinach
Chickpea
Potato, sliced thin.
Paneer, cubed.
Onion, diced
Garlic, minced.
Spices: turmeric, curry powder, cumin powder, red chili flakes.
Veggie broth
olive oil

Heat olive oil, cook onion until soft, then add garlic until fragrant. Add spices and stir. Add a bit of broth to mix up well.
Add paneer, toss until covered, cook for 5 or 10 mins to allow the paneer to soak up some flavour.
Add chickpeas, potatoes and the rest of the broth, simmer for 10 mins, until the liquid is reduced.
Add spinach. Cook until desired thickness.
Eat!

Glammed up English Breakfast

2009-05-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is a glammed up, healthier version of the renowned English breakfast. If using real bacon, wrap the asparagus with it.. but if you are using facon, forget it.

Ingredients

Egg
Facon/Bacon
Mushrooms
Asparagus
Tomato
Olive oil
salt and pepper
Fresh Basil
Balsamic
Bay leaves

Steam the asparagus spears for a couple minutes until they turn a bright shade of green.
Roast tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and bay leaves. If you've got time, do so on a low heat for about 35 minutes. If not roast them on a higher temperature for about 10 minutes.
Poach egg! Tip: if poaching without any gadgets, bring your water to a boil, add a dash of white wine vinegar, and stir the water to create a whirl pool effect. Tip egg into the centre of the whirlpool.
Heat a frying pan on high and pour some olive oil in. Fry bacon/facon and sliced mushrooms.
Plate ingredients, sprinkle fresh basil over tomatoes. Season. Eat.

Comfort Food- No chicken noodle soup

2009-05-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

On lazy rainy days, soup is always perfect. My favourite used to be Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup, introduced to me by Johan during a bout of sickness, years ago. This is my vegetarian version, only its a bit heartier.

NO-CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Roasting the garlic will create a sweeter, not-so-harsh taste. If you've got fresh basil and pine nuts, sprinkle those at the end. Otherwise add a dollop of pesto. The potatoes are optional, if actually sick, skip them!

Ingredients

2 Garlic cloves
Spring onions (scallion)
Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Sage, Bay leaf.
Olive oil
Veggie Broth
New potatoes- sliced thin
Parmesan Cheese
Spinach
Angel hair pasta

If you like roasted garlic, roast the whole bulb. Cut off the top of the bulb, and peel off the outer layer of skin, leaving some on. Drizzle olive oil into the bulb, cover with aluminum foil, and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes (375 degrees F).
Heat olive oil in large pan, throw in the white bits of your spring onions, herbs and very thinly sliced potatoes. Fry the potatoes until golden- make sure to flip them so both sides are covered.
Add veggie broth. Dilute the broth more than usual, a lot will boil away. Let the broth reduce a bit. If you've got some Parmesan rinds lying around, add them in for flavor.
Break angel hair and add to broth.
Add spinach and mashed up roasted garlic.
Before serving, add the green bits of your spring onions. At this point you can add a dollop of pesto if you want. I did this, but only because i didn't have any fresh basil on hand. Also save some Parmesan over top. Throw some toasted pine nuts if you have any on hand as well.

Quick Desert

2009-05-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

It looks like smores.. but its not. Nutella and bananas is a glorious combination. I like to freeze the banana and cover it in nutella, and then put it back in the freezer. But here is another approach.

Rich Tea Biscuits (plain digestives will also work well)
Banana, chopped into little rounds.
NUTELLA.

Arrange into a sandwich. yum yum yum yum.

Chickpea Burgers with pan fried halloumi and spicy salsa

2009-05-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

I couldn't decide whether or not to post this, because the pictures don't do them justice. They look a little messy, but I haven't quite got the hand of food photography just yet. It turns out it is more than just a setting on a digital camera.

I ate mine on a bed of wilted spinach, but only because i didn't have any buns! These would be yummy with a nice sesame bun. The halloumi is optional, feta or goat cheese would work well too, especially to cool the spicy salsa off a bit. And, I need to give cred where it is due. Meghan's friend Eli introduced me to this salsa. He said it was called "Mother-in-law," a salsa from Trinidad. It's really good on top of dosa's, curries, anything! My mum even added it to a left over salad and said that was a delicious combination. I like to add left overs to a hummus sandwich with tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts.

CHICKPEA BURGERS WITH PAN FRIED HALLOUMI AND SPICY SALSA.

Ingredients

Can of chickpeas
Cumin Powder
Turmeric Powder
Olive oil
bread crumbs or gluten or flour
1 Egg, beaten
White part of scallions- chopped up

Grated Carrot
Plenty of Lime juice
Red chili pepper, diced
Green part of scallions, chopped
Cilantro, chopped

Halloumi

Mush up chickpeas. Mix with the white bits of spring onions, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin powder, and your solidifier (gluten, flour, breadcrumbs.. even quinoa could work well). Add some chili powder and whatever other spices you want. Mold into patties.
Create the mother-in-law! Add grated carrots with lime juice, chillies, spring onions, cilantro. Garlic can also be added but it will make your breath naff, so beware.
Pan fry chickpea patties in hot oil over med-high heat. Then cook halloumi if adding them. Arrange patties over burger or bun, then add halloumi, and then salsa.

Getting Rid of the Radishes

2009-05-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

I try to go grocery shopping only once a week. On that trip I buy one type of cheese, the essentials (milk), and one grain for the week, to save money. I try my best to get veggies from the market to support local businesses and to take advantage of the fantastic deals. My dinners tend to revolve around those ingredients. What usually happens though, is that my grains overlap so I don't get stuck with one grain (except for once when I got stuck with barley for what seemed an eternity). Same goes for cheese. This past Saturday however, I made an impulse buy: Radishes. I know. Out of all the impulse buys, I had to go with......... radishes. At the time, I had grand plans for enormous salads with loads of ingredients. But in reality, I had my enormous salad, and then thought "what am i going to do with the rest of these bloody radishes?!" So after some research, I found out that it is apparently quite common in France to saute the radishes in some butter and eat them on bread with salt. I tried that tonight, and it was actually delicious! Instead of frying them in butter though, I went the healthy route and opted for olive oil... but I negated that healthiness by spreading butter on the French Bread. Hmmm. Then I got rid of some more with the following..

POTATO SALAD WITH SPICY TANGY PESTO

The radish gives the pesto a nice tang, and the chilies give it some heat.

Ingredients

RADISHES, diced up nice and small
A good dollop of pesto- for a good recipe try Heidi's (she is a fail-safe) or ask my mum (shes on facebook now).
Red chili peppers
New potatoes- quartered
1 tomato- quartered
Facon, or bacon for the carni's.
Salad greens- i like to use a combination of spinach and arugula, but used watercress today.

Boil potatoes until cooked.
Spoon pesto into a bowl. You need it to be a runnier consistency than usual because it is more of a dressing in this recipe. I put a bit more olive oil in, and added some water. Some vinegar would be yummy too.
Dived up RADISHES and chili peppers, mix in with pesto.
Fry up the facon, then chop.
Over the bed of greens, through the potatoes, facon, tomato and your pesto mixture! If there is any left in your mixing bowl, rinse with a tiny bit of water, give it a swirl, and pour that over the salad. Season and eat!

Saag Paneer Pizza!

2009-05-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Indian = delicious, Pizza = delicious

Combined= ££££££££££££££££££££££££££

I wish I came up with it, but I didn't. I had a pizza similar to this when I went to Paris last winter. Megs took me to the Pink Flamingo pizzeria where we had the Ghandi. The saag can be made in accordance with your favourite recipe, but the key is to make sure it isn't dripping when used as the tomato-sauce substitute (or else it will make the bread soggy, bleugh). If you don't have a favourite recipe, the one below is how I usually make it. The tomato acts as a topping, and the grated paneer acts as the cheese, obviously. I chose to grate my paneer ahead of time and marinate it in a veggie broth/curry powder concoction to give it a bit of flavour (thats why it is yellow in the pic).

SAAG PANEER PIZZA

Ingredients

Pizza Base (Its always better if you make your own but for the time-challenged a ready-made base from the supermarket will do)
Paneer, grated.
Tomato, sliced thinly

Olive Oil
Spices: Turmeric, Cumin & Coriander.
1 Onion, diced
1 Garlic clove, minced
Red chillis, deseeded and diced.
Spoonful of Curry Powder, added to a bit of water to make a paste.
Salt and Pepper
Vegetable Broth (or Chicken Broth)
Lots of Spinach

Saute olive oil and onions, when softened add spices, garlic, curry powder and red chili peppers. Stir for 1-2 minutes, add broth and spinach. Season to taste. Simmer until Broth has evapourated.
Strain spinach (I save the left over broth for future curries), chop finely.
Smother spinach puree onto base of your pizza bread. Top with tomatoes, and then with paneer cheese. Bake in oven until Cheese is browned and dough is cooked! Thats it!

Ed. Note: How about Chickten tikka pizza? For the veggies, fake chicken can work just as well!

IT BEGINS

2009-05-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings ~~fotties~~ foodies!

Welcome to my blog, you may not know it yet, but it IS the best food blog of all time.

I will be posting on a daily basis what I eat for dinner, possibly lunch if its worthwhile, maybe even brunch if you are so lucky. This way, you can look just like me (See below)!!

Seeing as I scarfed down my dinner before taking a photo tonight, I'm pulling an old one out of the archives:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SPINACH AND MUSHROOM ENCHILADAS WITH SPICY BLACK BEAN SAUCE.

Ingredients

Half a Butternut squash
1 Tin of tomatoes
A couple handfuls of spinach
2 large portobello mushrooms
1 Onion
1 Garlic Clove
A cup of Veggie Broth
1 Hot red pepper
Grated cheese
Black beans
Flour Tortillas

1. Peel, deflesh and deseed butternut squash. Save the seeds!!! They are (almost) as good as pumpkin seeds. Clean the goo off, let them dry and mix them with some olive oil and salt. Cajun seasoning makes them taste yummy as well.
2. Cube squash, toss with o. oil, salt and pepper. Stick in the oven for 30-40 mins or until a bit caramelized.
3. Meanwhile, sautée onions, red chili peppers, and whatever spices you feel like until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms, cook over high heat and for a short period so mushrooms don't shrivel (Thanks for the advice, Rick Stein). Throw some spinach in until it wilts. Set aside.
4. Sautée second batch of onion and olive oil until translucent. Add some red chilis according to desired heat (GO on, kick it up a notch!), some spices, one clove of minced garlic; Chipotle Paste works well. Add in some chopped tomatoes (canned or fresh if you so desire), a cup of veggie broth, and some black beans. Allow to simmer until sauce is thick.
5. Assemble the enchiladas!!! This means putting the butternut squash, spinach, mushroom mixture into the centre BUT WAIT! save some sauce for before serving. Throw some cheese on that ish. Cover with foil... into the oven! After 20 mins, remove foil. Cook for another 10.

And there you go! I like to top mine with the roasted b. squash seeds and avocado to cool down the spice. Here are the results. Bear in mind this recipe is from the archives, where photos go to die. So it used to be a good photo.....