Thursday, December 9, 2010
Eggplant Pizza
A few weeks ago I made one of the most amazing pizza's I have ever made before. And surprisingly enough, eggplant was the star of the show. I am not a huge eggplant person but I was experimenting with it and got an amazing result with my pizza. Unfortunately I totally forgot to take pictures :(. What good is a blog post without pictures. I will be making it again soon and when I do you will be the first to know. i will be sure to take lots of pictures and share this amazing recipe with you. Can't wait to eat it again and share it with you.
It's time for some soup!
I was watching one of my favorite Italian cooks on TV. I watched her make this incredible looking soup. I decided to try it and change it up a little based on what my available ingredients are and what I like. Pappa al Pamadoro is what they call it in Italy. For this recipe you will need old bread. I find that it tastes best with old sourdough or french bread. The sourdough bread is good because even when you add it to the soup you can still taste the sourdough part of the bread which is super yummy. You can use any old stale bread for this recipe.
This soup is awesome because it is the entire meal in one bowl. It has plenty of protein and starch from the beans and the cheese I ad gives and extra depth of flavor and completeness to the meal.
Ingredients:
8 cloves of garlic
2 large white onions
28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 large vine ripe tomato.
4 cups of Chicken stock
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
small hand full of Fresh basil
1/2 cup of Olive oil
1 tsp of sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper
16 oz Can of white beans
Loaf of bread (any kind you like, you can use stale bread if you like and sourdough is preferred)
1 cup of ricotta cheese
Sweet Italian Sausage (optional)
Crush, peel and chop garlic. Chop onions. Save about a cup of raw chopped onions on the side. Put the rest onions in the bottom of the pan preheated with 1/4 cup of olive oil in the bottom. Have the burner on medium heat. Let the onions cook until they are caramelized. Do not burn. Add the garlic and let cook together for about 3 minutes. While the onions and garlic are cooking. Cut your fresh tomato into chunks and add to the garlic and onions. Add salt and pepper. Once the tomato has cooked down pour in the can of crushed tomatoes. add a tsp of sugar (this is used to cut the acidity of the tomatoes). Pour in the chicken stock. Open the can of white beans and drain out the juice and add the white beans to the soup. Let simmer for at least 15 min. Take the stale bread and cut it into chunks and add to the soup. Let it cook with the other ingredients and absorb the broth. The soup should start to thicken as the bread absorbs the broth. Let it simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
This soup is awesome because it is the entire meal in one bowl. It has plenty of protein and starch from the beans and the cheese I ad gives and extra depth of flavor and completeness to the meal.
Ingredients:
8 cloves of garlic
2 large white onions
28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 large vine ripe tomato.
4 cups of Chicken stock
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
small hand full of Fresh basil
1/2 cup of Olive oil
1 tsp of sugar
Salt and fresh ground pepper
16 oz Can of white beans
Loaf of bread (any kind you like, you can use stale bread if you like and sourdough is preferred)
1 cup of ricotta cheese
Sweet Italian Sausage (optional)
Crush, peel and chop garlic. Chop onions. Save about a cup of raw chopped onions on the side. Put the rest onions in the bottom of the pan preheated with 1/4 cup of olive oil in the bottom. Have the burner on medium heat. Let the onions cook until they are caramelized. Do not burn. Add the garlic and let cook together for about 3 minutes. While the onions and garlic are cooking. Cut your fresh tomato into chunks and add to the garlic and onions. Add salt and pepper. Once the tomato has cooked down pour in the can of crushed tomatoes. add a tsp of sugar (this is used to cut the acidity of the tomatoes). Pour in the chicken stock. Open the can of white beans and drain out the juice and add the white beans to the soup. Let simmer for at least 15 min. Take the stale bread and cut it into chunks and add to the soup. Let it cook with the other ingredients and absorb the broth. The soup should start to thicken as the bread absorbs the broth. Let it simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
Chop the basil into thin slices right before you are ready to eat. Put soup into individual serving bowls. should serve 4-6 people. Once the soup is in the bowl, drop a tablespoon of the ricotta cheese into the soup bowl. Sprinkle the leftover raw onions to the top, add some basil, sprinkle the parmesan cheese and top off with an extra drizzle of olive oil and some fresh ground black pepper. The drizzle of olive oil and the raw onions are key here. This dish cannot be served without it. I added an italian sweet sausage to the bowl to complete this amazing Italian dinner. Very healthy, and very hearty. I guarantee you will love it. Leave out the sausage for a vegetarian meal. If you want to go vegan, leave out the cheese or substitute it for some soy cheese.
Hope you enjoy as much as I did.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Baking Blunder
So I am really not much of a baker. I don't like to follow directions too much. Most of the time I just find what is in my kitchen and make something out of it. There are very few things that I have made the same way twice. I hardly ever cook the same meal twice unless it really really rocks. And even if I do make it twice over I usually change up the ingredients a little bit just for fun. I think that that is the fun part of cooking. There is always something new to be learned. Someone once told me that there are too many wonderful books in the world to ever read a book that you know will be crummy. TIme is better spent reading the good book because there are so many of them and so many good things to learn. I think the same thing about food. Life is too short to eat a cold hot dog or a frozen burrito every night. Now don't get me wrong, they totally have their place in life but if you ask me, try something new!
That is a round about way of saying that I am not really a baker. I have not found too many ways to be creative with baking. There is no way for me to tell how something is going to turn out when I put it in the oven. It is an act of faith when I put the cake in the oven. The batter may taste amazing but that does not determine how it is going to rise or cook or anything! Baking is too strict and unpredictable for me. However, every once in a while I try it. I signed up to make pumpkin bread for a baby shower soon. I remember making some amazing pumpkin bread when I was ten years old so I thought that I would go for it. I went out to the store and bought myself some canned pumpkin. Brought it home and opened the computer to find a recipe. Since I don;t bake very much I don't keep a lot of baking items at home. So as i was searching for a recipe I had two criteria. Number 1: It had to look yummy. That was a must Number 2: I had to have in my home all of the ingredients to make the bread. Ok so maybe I decided that I had to have all of the ingredients except for one or two. Who would keep baking powder AND baking soda in their cup board? What is the difference anyway? Oh well. I found a recipe that looked amazing. Not to mention I had all of the ingredients except for nutmeg and baking powder. I decided to substitute nutmeg for vanilla and to double the baking soda since I did not have baking powder. I made large muffins instead of bread and here is what came out.
The Batter looked amazing. It was a lovely orange color.
So lovely. the texture was amazing. I tasted them while they were hot. I put a little butter on them and they tasted fine. That same evening my In-Laws came over for coffee and desert. I was proud to display my wonderful muffins. That was until I took a bite. Everyone was so kind and no one said anything about how they tasted. Salty, not even sweet. Salty. I still don't know what I did wrong, perhaps it was doubling the baking soda and using ground rock salt instead of regular salt. Who knows. Whatever.
I am still looking for a scrumptious recipe for pumpkin bread. If anyone has any please let me know. I want something super sweet and moist and dense. Still looking.
P.S. the kitchen aid stand mixer is my birthday present from my wonderful husband. He knew that I wanted one so he got me a green one for my birthday. And in my favorite color too! What a guy. i love him so much. Here is another look at it.
That is a round about way of saying that I am not really a baker. I have not found too many ways to be creative with baking. There is no way for me to tell how something is going to turn out when I put it in the oven. It is an act of faith when I put the cake in the oven. The batter may taste amazing but that does not determine how it is going to rise or cook or anything! Baking is too strict and unpredictable for me. However, every once in a while I try it. I signed up to make pumpkin bread for a baby shower soon. I remember making some amazing pumpkin bread when I was ten years old so I thought that I would go for it. I went out to the store and bought myself some canned pumpkin. Brought it home and opened the computer to find a recipe. Since I don;t bake very much I don't keep a lot of baking items at home. So as i was searching for a recipe I had two criteria. Number 1: It had to look yummy. That was a must Number 2: I had to have in my home all of the ingredients to make the bread. Ok so maybe I decided that I had to have all of the ingredients except for one or two. Who would keep baking powder AND baking soda in their cup board? What is the difference anyway? Oh well. I found a recipe that looked amazing. Not to mention I had all of the ingredients except for nutmeg and baking powder. I decided to substitute nutmeg for vanilla and to double the baking soda since I did not have baking powder. I made large muffins instead of bread and here is what came out.
The Batter looked amazing. It was a lovely orange color.
Here is the final product.........
I am still looking for a scrumptious recipe for pumpkin bread. If anyone has any please let me know. I want something super sweet and moist and dense. Still looking.
P.S. the kitchen aid stand mixer is my birthday present from my wonderful husband. He knew that I wanted one so he got me a green one for my birthday. And in my favorite color too! What a guy. i love him so much. Here is another look at it.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Word to the Wise
So I was craving buffalo chicken wings this week. Nice and spicy with some creamy ranch dressing. Sounds good right? I decided to go out and buy some from the grocery store and I enjoyed about half of them. The rest I stored in the fridge. Before I knew it three days were over and whole refrigerator now smells like buffalo wings and when I tried the buffalo wings they no longer taste good, and strangely enough everything else in the fridge has started to taste like buffalo wings.... perfect. I guess the open case of baking powder in the back of my fridge is not quite as magical as everyone always told me it would be. I used to be a big fan of buffalo wings but all of the sudden I would not mind never eating them again for the rest of my life. There. Beware the Wings.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Amazing Garbanzo Bean Salad
This salad is so so yummy. If you have never tried garbanzo beans before (also called chic peas), now is a good time to try. They are one of the main ingredients in humus but can also be used to toss into lots of dishes to add an extra bit of bite. My husband and I love Garbanzo Bean Salad. It is super healthy with good protein from the beans and lots of vitamins. Here's how it works.
1 can of Garbanzo Beans
1 Large tomato
Red onion (I use about a 1/4 of a large red onion for this, use more or less if you wish)
A Handful of parsley
6 oz of mozzarella cheese
1 garlic clove
olive oil
rice vinegar
salt and pepper
Open the can of Garbanzo Beans and drain out the liquid. Rinse the beans with water and strain them. Place in your salad bowl. Cut your tomato into small cubes. about 1/2 inch in size. Place in the salad bowl. Cut the red onion into very small pieces. About one step up from being graded. Next take your parsley and chop it up. Put in the bowl with the rest of your ingredients. Take the cheese and cut it into cubes that are about the size of the tomatoes (about 1/2 inch cubes). Take the garlic clove and grade it over the salad and mix the salad well after grading in the garlic. Drizzle the salad with the vinegar and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix and enjoy!
Servings: about 2-3.
Note: If the Garbanzo beans are a little strong for your palate feel free to reduce the garbanzo beans and add more tomato so that a majority of the salad is tomato.
1 can of Garbanzo Beans
1 Large tomato
Red onion (I use about a 1/4 of a large red onion for this, use more or less if you wish)
A Handful of parsley
6 oz of mozzarella cheese
1 garlic clove
olive oil
rice vinegar
salt and pepper
Open the can of Garbanzo Beans and drain out the liquid. Rinse the beans with water and strain them. Place in your salad bowl. Cut your tomato into small cubes. about 1/2 inch in size. Place in the salad bowl. Cut the red onion into very small pieces. About one step up from being graded. Next take your parsley and chop it up. Put in the bowl with the rest of your ingredients. Take the cheese and cut it into cubes that are about the size of the tomatoes (about 1/2 inch cubes). Take the garlic clove and grade it over the salad and mix the salad well after grading in the garlic. Drizzle the salad with the vinegar and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix and enjoy!
Servings: about 2-3.
Note: If the Garbanzo beans are a little strong for your palate feel free to reduce the garbanzo beans and add more tomato so that a majority of the salad is tomato.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Opener
Greetings!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I am here to share with you my ideas about food and recipes. I love food and cooking healthy food is one of my favorite pass times. I will share my recipes here although I must warn you, I am not a measuring type of person so please be warned. For this reason I generally don't bake very much. Please feel free to give me feedback if you try any of the recipes or if you have any suggested adjustments or ideas.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I am here to share with you my ideas about food and recipes. I love food and cooking healthy food is one of my favorite pass times. I will share my recipes here although I must warn you, I am not a measuring type of person so please be warned. For this reason I generally don't bake very much. Please feel free to give me feedback if you try any of the recipes or if you have any suggested adjustments or ideas.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)