Showing posts with label and. Show all posts
Showing posts with label and. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf with Sun dried Tomatoes and Pecan Crust

Gluten-Free Turkey Meatloaf with Sundried Tomatoes and Pecan Crust
Gluten-free turkey meatloaf with sun-dried tomatoes and pecan crust.


A Turn Toward the New


The morning was cool and bright. It was going to be one of those quintessential Cape Cod autumn days. A day tourists swoon over. Worthy of a post card with The weather is sublime- wish you were here scrawled in black gel cursive between sips of a Hot Chocolate Sparrow latte. The sky was a cake bowl of cobalt blue with that particular pink edge to it that only painters notice, the blush that softened the tree line at the north end of the West Barnstable marsh gentling the heavy greens of the pines and oaks into a bluish, almost violet gray.

She brushed her teeth with fennel toothpaste and spit into the low slung sink, pausing to breathe. A long inhale to slow her heart. The cottage was pin drop quiet. The boys had climbed the rubber lined steps into the school bus hours ago, peanut butter and honey sandwiches bagged, milk money in their pockets. She had waved from the street and watched them navigate the bus aisle in shadow, avoiding her maternal gaze, not turning to wave back. Too risky, she understood.

The walk back up the curve of road to the rental she had found last spring felt different this morning. Not because of the air and its September clarity that sharpened the asters and the Queen Anne's Lace with impossible precision- though she felt a kinship with the acute focus the turning of the seasons always brings. That sense of realignment, a perennial return to purpose. Ironically, she always felt as if fall was the season of new beginnings. Not spring.

Fall was the season she woke up, as if from a dream.

Today was the first day of a plein air painting workshop. A post-divorce return to premarital roots, when she painted for the love of it- not the pragmatic bill-paying need of it. Painting for an income (however necessary it may be) is dangerous business. Courting the marketplace changes your work. A self consciousness slithers in and infiltrates your choices. The observer becomes observed. Judged. Rewarded for meeting expectations.

She had always been more than willing to please. To notice the cues and needs of others. It was more than habit. It was ingrained in her bones. She had an uncanny knack for it. And she hated it about herself. She hated her automatic willingness to anticipate and acquiesce. Sometimes she would hear her own words hang in the air and for a quantum, split second wonder who had just spoken. There were entire days lost to living outside herself, hovering above her left shoulder, just beyond reach.

Stepping into the tiny sunlit kitchen she stood still for a moment, tempted by the cluttered breakfast table. The sticky bowls and spoons. The allure of distraction. The comfort of routine. But it didn't take. She snatched her car keys off a hook and grabbed a canvas bag of painting gear by the door, turned the knob with her free hand and opened it wide. Three minutes later she made a right at the empty bus stop, and accelerated east down Old King's Highway.

To be continued...


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Saturday, May 3, 2014

Seared Wild Scallops with Pancetta and Leeks It Only Tastes Hard to Make

The best recipes, especially ones youre making for those holiday dinner parties, are the dishes that only have a few ingredients, are simple and fast to put together, and taste like you spent all day on them. This Seared Scallops with Pancetta and Leeks video recipe I just did for About.com is one of those. It would make a great first course, or you could double the portion for a main course. The three main ingredients go together so perfectly that all youll have to do is avoid the temptation to add a bunch of other stuff. Your restraint will be rewarded.

Many of the grocery stores are now selling frozen "wild" scallops. I got these at Trader Joes, and they are far superior to the "fresh" sea scallops in the fish case. Those fresh sea scallops are all soaked in a preservative brine to keep them white and prolong the self-life. Thats why they have that faint chemical aftertaste, and shrink so much when you cook them. Frozen wild scallops are not soaked in any solutions, and have a much better flavor. They are definitely worth finding and serving. Enjoy!
Click here for the transcript and ingredients.
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Sunday, April 27, 2014

Turkey Bacon and Brie Tart

Its always a pleasure to make new dishes from food left over from other meals.  Christmas is the greatest opportunity to be creative with leftovers and I am drawn to the tart, flan or quiche as a vehicle to use up those bits and pieces of delicious food.

Turkey, Bacon and Brie Tart

Serves 6 

1 quantity of shortcrust pastry, baked blind in a flan tin.
1 small onion, finely chopped
100g streaky bacon, chopped
Approx. 200-300g cold cooked turkey
250ml double cream
3 large eggs
100g ripe Brie
25g Parmesan, grated
zest of half a lemon
salt & freshly ground pepper

Heat the oven to 170C

1. Gently saute the onion in a little butter, add the bacon pieces and cook until golden, leave to cool.
2. Spread the onion and bacon in the base of the flan, chop the turkey into generously sized pieces and scatter over the onion and bacon.
3. Break off pieces of Brie and distribute evenly across the flan base.
4. Whisk the eggs, add the cream, lemon zest, seasoning and grated Parmesan, pour into the flan case.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the filling is golden brown and just set in the centre.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

This is a very rich tart and only needs a green vegetable or salad to make a meal. 

What did you do with your leftovers?
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Saturday, April 26, 2014

I Now Pronounce You Reader and Soup! – How to Make Italian Wedding Soup

I knew todays video recipe was called Italian Wedding Soup because its traditionally served at weddings, but I wanted to find out why this soup, with these ingredients in particular, was chosen.

I had a few theories. I figured the greens probably represented money,
and symbolized hopes that the bride and groom would enjoy a prosperous union. The soups signature mini-meatballs were a tougher nut to crack.

How could taking large, virile, normal-size meatballs and shrinking them
down to dainty little shriveled dumplings serve as a metaphor for marriage? I just dont see a connection. Well, come to find out (according to two reliable sources; Wikipedia, and my friend and fellow About.com Guide, Kyle) the name has nothing to do with people getting married.

Apparently, what we Italian-Americans from the northeast call Italian Wedding Soup is actually a misinterpretation of an Italian soup called, "minestra maritata," which basically means "married soup." The "married" refers to the delicious pairing of the greens and meat, and not the ritual of marriage.

So, the soup ended up being a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. What better choice for a first course at your Italian-American wedding reception than something called Italian Wedding Soup?

That should give you enough soup-related cocktail party conversation material for a while. Whether you fondly remember this from weddings past, or youve never had it or heard about it before, I really hope you give it a try. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 quart beef broth
1 quart chicken broth
Note: A little more or little less broth will not affect the recipe
1/3 cup pastina or other tiny pasta
1 bunch kale
salt and pepper to taste
For the meatballs:
1 1/4 pound beef
1 egg
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup cream
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
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Monday, April 21, 2014

Ugadi Pachadi and Paramannam Sweet Rice pudding

శ్రీకర నామ సంవత్సర ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు!!!!
Wishing all my readers and dear friends a very happy ugadi!!

Ugadi is a Telugu New year and on this day predictions are made for the New Year. The panchanga shravanam is done traditionally at temples.

Today I made Ugadi Pachadi and Paramannam (Rice pudding) as naivedyam (prasadam).


Ugadi Pachadi 

Ugadi pachadi is prepared of six tastes which consist of:
Source : wiki
  • Neem Buds/Flowers for its bitterness, signifying Sadness
  • Jaggery and ripe banana pieces for sweetness, signifying Happiness
  • Green Chilli/Pepper for its hot taste, signifying Anger
  • Salt for saltiness, signifying Fear
  • Tamarind Juice for its sourness, signifying Disgust
  • Unripened Mango for its tang, signifying Surprise
Ingredients:

Raw fresh mango  cleaned and chopped – 1 cup
Neem flowers – 1-2 tsp ( used dry flowers)
Jaggery grated – 1 cup
Fresh coconut pieces chopped – ½ cup
Tamarind paste – 3 -4 tsps
Ripe banana mashed – 1 no
Red chilli powder a pinch
Salt a pinch
Putanalu pappu/ roasted channa dal– 4 tsps



Preparation

  • Mix all the above ingrediants well to form a fine mixture


Sweet Paramannam ( Rice pudding with jaggery)

Paramannam is a sweet rice pudding made using rice, jaggery and flavored with cardamom. This is prepared at the time of festivals  as naivedyam ( prasadam).

Ingredients:

Sona masuri Rice – 1cup
Milk – 2 1/2 cups
Water – 1 cup
Cashews and golden raisins – 1 cup
Ghee – 2 tsps
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Sagu – 2 tsps



Preparation

  • In a pan add ghee and fry cashews and raisins to golden brown and keep aside
  • Boil milk and water in a cooking bowl along with sagu.
  • Add rice in above boiled milk and water and cook it to very tender.
  • Melt the jaggery in water and simmer to plain syrup.
  • Add jaggery syrup to cooked rice.
  • Add fried cashews and raisins to rice mixture.
  • Cook on medium heat until whole thing thickens and comes together.
  • Add cardamom powder and mix well.
  • Serve warm or cold.
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Sunday, April 20, 2014

Eating Drinking and Celebrity Spotting in Miami

Well, Kyle took me to Miami this past weekend. It was part work trip for him, all vacation for me. And when Im on vacation, its pretty much an excuse to eat everything in sight. 

Sadly, the only time we ventured into South Beach (Miami is big, yall!), was for Joes Stone Crab. Its apparently a celebrity chef favorite and without taking reservations, a guaranteed 2-hour wait. But, wait you should! Its totally worth it.
I ordered that incredible claw dish above (two stone crab claws, two lobster claws, and an Alaskan King crab claw) and the seafood bisque. The wedge salad was Kyles appetizer and we split their amazing key lime pie. Then Kyle freaked everyone when we thought he was having an allergic reaction to lobster. Spoiler alert: He kinda was, but everything was fine.

Oh, but I cant forget one of the best parts about dining at Joes: sitting ten feet from Martha Stewart...

...and Guy Fieri, if you care about him.
I wanted so badly to go over and say hi to Martha (btw, we BOTH ordered iced tea and key lime pie so were basically besties), but I just couldnt bring myself to interrupt her dinner. It was an exercise in restraint and tact I didnt know I was capable of. Apparently, Martha didnt feel the need to do the same when it came to Guys dinner. Here she is getting a photo with him:
So anyway, spotting Martha Stewart upon being seated pretty much preoccupied every thought I had for the first 20 minutes of dinner. Then my crab came and it was like "Martha who?"

I saw a few things in Miami that were just too beautiful not to capture:
{An incredible flower arrangement for a wedding held at our hotel.}
{The clever way this bar held its lemons, pearl onions, mint, and other beverage mix-ins}
 {This insane Bulgari designed San Pellegrino bottle}
I was particularly looking forward to enjoying some authentic Cuban food while in Miami. Versailles, which is like, the mega-mall of Cuban food, did not disappoint.

If you go, you have to start with a mojito. The stick of sugar cane alone is worth it.
 The empanadas were insane...
 ...the yucca fries were like Heaven in my mouth (especially when dipped in this addictive green saucey concoction)...
 ...and the paella?? Omg, lets just say it was worth the 45-minute wait.
Oh, and since I firmly believe that you can never have too many empanadas, I found this great local market specializing in all kinds of fantastic varieties.
Because I couldnt make up my mind on just one, I did what I always do and got as many as I damn well pleased.

Ham and ricotta:
 Prosciutto and queso:
 Spinach:
 I am officially preparing for my next Paleo challenge as we speak.

Please tell me Im not the only one who uses vacations as a reason to eat delicious food? TELL ME IT!!!
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

When it Rains it Pours Wine and Delicious Gourmet Food!

As soon as I get off the plane from my gourmet getaway to Colorado, I begin covering another major food event. SF Chefs. Food. Wine., which begins on Thursday, August 6th, and runs through the 9th, is hoping to become the premier annual culinary event San Francisco has been lacking.

As a longtime resident, Ive always thought that for a city with such an incredibly rich culinary tradition, San Francisco should have its very own signature annual food and wine event. Hopefully, this event will turn out to be exactly that.

San Franciscos Union Square will be home to the main tasting tent where chefs, wine makers and local farmers will feature the best in sustainable foods and local products. A long, eclectic schedule of classes and seminars will also be offered in nearby hotels and restaurants, allowing patrons to interact with chefs, vintners, distillers, ranchers, food authors, and other culinary experts.

Ill be attending the Thursday night San Francisco Chronicle "Rising Stars" Opening Reception, as well as many other events throughout the weekend. In addition to being on the lookout for standout dishes and recipes to create videos with, Ill be taking lots of pictures so you can see what promises to be some very beautiful food.

If you live in the SF/Bay Area and were looking for a great reason to go besides the food and drink, this event will be supporting four local charities; San Francisco Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, The Golden Gate Restaurant Association Scholarship Foundation, and Project Open Hand.

For ticket and schedule information please check out the SF Chefs. Food. Wine. website.

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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Quinoa Salad with Pineapple Broccoli and Mint

Quinoa salad with pineapple and broccoli and mint
Pineapple quinoa salad with broccoli. Fresh and healthy.

Spring is beckoning. I can feel it. And my winter-stiff body is aching to stretch and move and shed the yearly inertia that descends like a bear with the shrinking daylight. My brain is flickering awake. My taste buds are tiring of the heavy, creamy comfort foods that sustained me (thank you, lovely spuds, lasagna, and mac and cheese, I love you with all my heart).

I'm craving lighter, cleaner tastes.

Not to mention, missing my warm weather jeans. You know the ones. That stack in the back of the closet you haven't fit into since December, when you began wondering if the laundromat medium heat setting was shrinking your favorite Levi's. The jeans you have to lay down to zip, doing your best imitation of Jane Fonda's pelvic tilt, sucking in your breath and praying to the zipper gods. Your skinny jeans. You know what I'm talking about. You have two sets of jeans, right? Winter. And summer.

So here's what I'm thinking. Quinoa to the rescue.

Vegan. Versatile. Easy. Fresh. Light. This new quinoa salad with pineapple and broccoli and fresh mint is all of the above. And maybe, just maybe, it'll be the first step to fitting into those skinny jeans.


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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Bye Bye North Carolina and Hello Minessota


Hello friends, i had a great Bday blast.
Thanks a lot for the bday wishes. I was overwhelmed with all your wishes, thank you for making this day very special to me.

Time for a short break.

Right now im on my vacation to Florida.
 Once back, we are moving from North Carolina to our new home at Minnesota.
Im so eager to explore my new home and neighborhood, hope to get settled soon without much hassle. 
Bye Bye to my North Carolina buddies and Hello to my new buddies at Minnesota. 
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Monday, April 7, 2014

Free online recipes for all fruits vegetables meat and food

One thing everyone can certainly relate is food. Eat after an amazing thing in addition to air and water, is directly food routes. I personally enjoy a good meal, preferably a good home cooked meal. Indeed, one of the beautiful things about the work is out there in more calories that match to take more food to eat. Another advantage of the work, specially weight training, is that you build the more muscles more calories that you alone to burn. Well, lets stick to foods for this discussion.

Because of the Internet, recipe-s are fairly easy to come today, especially free recipe. This is a good thing for all of you whether your a professional culinary artist or just a beginner cooks.Get online, enter s free recipe into your favorite search engine and presto, all comes types of Sorten.Sie must now to eternity to cook more than enough food and then some.

Some of these free recipe sites have thousands of recipe-s, salads, meat, fruit dishes, deserts, vegetarian, wild game started and the list goes on I believe. Fortunately you would be to for the search engine features and well-organized sites otherwise literally days if not weeks required by all the desired recipe-s online and offline a life long to navigate.

Well, there are some specialty sites where only recipe-s just to be a food court, category, but it others single food on every conceivable a currency category have.Mouth becomes water just by you alle.Ich even prefer the healthy after all only a body, you could and kümmern.Ja, once in a while desert is called for each, but that can also healthy sein.Aber because people are going to want to eat you anyways, you want to do what.


Talk about food, try these free simple recipes on for size with Easy time recipes.

Author Ron Legarski is a business consultant for professional agencies.

http://www.solveforce.com

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Friday, April 4, 2014

SIMPLE AND EASY PASTA



I prepared this pasta dish in just 15 minutes after a long day out. We wanted to have something simple and tasty and I was not in the mood to cut any vegetables. I just cooked some pasta and tossed it with some sauces and lots of cilantro and it was absolutely delicious. Adding cilantro adds a nice subtle flavor to the dish. Again any type of vegetables can be added here for additional taste and nutrition.



INGREDIENTS

  1. Any whole wheat pasta around ½ a packet.
  2. Onion- 1.
  3. Chopped cilantro, 1 cup.
  4. Ground pepper according to taste.
  5. Low-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons.
  6. Chili sauce, 1 teaspoon (optional).
  7. Salt to taste.



PREPARATION

Cook the pasta to al-dente, drain the water, and let it cool. Meanwhile dice the onion finely. Add some oil to a pan or wok and when the oil is hot enough, add the onions and half of the chopped cilantro and sauté everything until the onion turns translucent. Then add the sauces, salt, pepper, and the cooked pasta and mix everything well. Mix in the remaining of the chopped cilantro at the end and serve hot.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Zucchini with Beef and Garbanzo Beans Kabak Bastırması



























I saw this recipe in a Turkish food blog, chez Ayşenur, and immediately decided to make it. Garbanzo beans and zucchini: how could it be bad? It certainly is delicious. Ayşenur says that this is a local recipe from Kilis, a city in Turkey near the Turkish-Syrian border.

2/3 cups of garbanzo beans
1/2 pound stew beef (I preferred beef but y0u can also use lamb)
2 zucchinis, medium size cut in half-rounds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 banana peppers or 1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp spicy pepper paste
3 cloves of garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
1 tbsp dried mint flakes

-Soak garbanzo beans overnight. The next day cook garbanzo beans and stew beef in a pressure cooker with 5-6 cups of water for 45 minutes. If you dont have a pressure cooker, then you should cook them for at least an hour or until the garbanzos are soft. Or if you want to use canned garbanzo beans then cook them for approximately 30 minutes (until the beef is cooked). Take the garbanzos and beef out and keep the water; do not throw it away.
-In a big pot heat the oil and add onions and pepper. Stir until theyre soft.
-Add the tomato and spicy pepper paste, stir for a couple of minutes. (if you cannot find spicy pepper paste, just use tomato paste and pepper flakes)
-Now its time to add garbanzos, beef, and zucchini. Add 3-4 cups of the water you saved from garbanzos and stew beef. Salt to your taste. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until zucchini is tender on low.
-Mix minced garlic and lemon juice and stir in when zucchini is cooked. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and turn it off. Sprinkle dried mint , cover, and let it sit for 10 minutes before you serve. You wont believe how tender the beef will be.

Ayşenur suggests that it should be served with bulgur pilaf. I have a bulgur pilaf recipe, but it would be too flavorful for this. You can also serve it with white rice. But if you want to try it with bulgur, heres how to make a simple bulgur pilaf: Heat 2 tbsp butter in a pot. Add bulgur and stir a minute (the ratio of bulgur you will use to water should be 1:2). Add 1 tbsp tomato paste (or more) stir for another minute. Add water and salt, bring to a boil, and then cover and cook on low until bulgur soaks the water.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Spiced Lamb and Vegetable Pasta Recipe


I enjoyed eating this wonderful dish so much that I had to go back for a second serving.

The spiced seasoning paste I use for this tasty pasta recipe is absolutely delicious and aromatic.

If you love vegetables and lamb then this dish is for you, it is perfectly spiced and the combination of pasta being stirred through the dish is fantastic.

I used Buckwheat pasta spirals but you can use any pasta of your choice. This recipe is gluten free if using buckwheat pasta and also dairy free as there is no need to add cheese to this perfect pasta dish.


Considering this dish uses little oil, lean lamb, buckwheat pasta, herbs, spices and a combination of zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and fresh spinach leaves....then this is one scrumptious very healthy recipe to cook.



Ingredients for Spiced Lamb and Vegetable Pasta
1 Zucchini (diced)
2-3 Handfuls Brussels Sprouts (sliced)
1 Red Pepper/Capsicum (diced)
1 Green Pepper/Capsicum (diced)
1-2 Large flat Mushroom (diced)
1/4 Cup Water
Rapeseed oil
1 Pack Lean Minced Lamb
2-3 Handfuls Fresh Spinach Leaves
2-3 Handfuls Buckwheat Pasta Spirals
1/4 Cup Water

For the Seasoning
1 Tbsp Tomato Puree/Paste
1 Tbsp Garlic Paste
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Dried Chives
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 Tbsp Rapeseed oil
Pinch Salt

Picture of Jeenas Spice Paste.


Picture of fresh vegetables.


Picture of cooked buckwheat pasta spirals.




How to make Jeenas Kitchen Spiced Lamb and Vegetable Pasta Recipe


In a small bowl mix all of the spice paste ingredients together well.

Heat a large frying pan drizzle some oil and add zucchinis on a medium heat.



Once the zucchini starts to soften add the lamb mince.

Chop at the mince using a spatula cook for a few minutes.



Add the spice paste, stir well.



Add 1/4 cup of water then red and green peppers, stir well and simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes.



Whilst the the lamb is simmering bring a small pan of lightly salted water to the boil and cook the buckwheat pasta until it has softened and almost cooked but not cooked fully, drain.

If you use wheat pasta you may need to cook the pasta for slightly longer as buckwheat pasta is quick to cook.



Add 1/4 cup water and the Brussels sprouts, stir well and simmer with a lid for 5 minutes.



When the Brussels have softened add the buckwheat pasta and gently stir well.

Simmer with a lid on for another 10 minutes.



Once the pasta is fully cooked stir well and sprinkle the spinach leaves on top of the pan, place the lid on a let the spinach cook for a minute or two.



Once the spinach has wilted your delicious lamb and vegetable pasta recipe is ready to serve.



You can serve this dish with the spinach left on the top or with the spinach stirred through the pasta.



Would you like to spoon some of this tasty lamb pasta onto your plate?



Enjoy Jeenas Kitchen tasty Spicy Lamb and Vegetable Pasta Recipe.



For more of Jeenas pasta recipes see Pasta Recipes Index Page


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