Sorry for the lousy photo above, but don’t let it stop you from making this delicious tart.  I found this fabulous recipe over at Smitten Kitchen, and I’ve made it twice so far, to rave reviews.  Even Master Chow, my honorable husband, fell in love with this, although he was skeptical that zucchini in a tart shell was much to rave about.

What I changed:  I doubled the filling and added a bit of Dijon mustard to the recipe.  That’s it.  This is a winner and I’ll be baking it often!  Recipe after the jump.
continue reading "Zucchini and Ricotta Galette"

While I was studying for another EMT test, I managed to catch Five Ingredient Fix on the Food Network this past weekend.  I like Claire Robinson’s show – she is entertaining, and the recipes are easy to pull together.  So when I saw her make this Creamy Broccoli Soup, I knew that I had to use up some broccoli in the fridge on this recipe.

It’s fantastic.  My husband had two bowls the first night, and we managed to share the leftovers.  I tasted the soup before the addition of the mascarpone, and the soup is delicious (and low fat) even if you leave it out.  I also added a dash of cayenne, and a bullion cube because I added a cup of water to the recipe to make up for the greater amount of broccoli that I was using in the recipe.

This soup will be making frequent appearances at my dinner table, that’s for sure!
continue reading "Claire Robinson’s Fabulous Creamy Broccoli Soup"

In an effort to take advantage of all the lovely squash in the stores right now, as well as to start liking Bon Appetit magazine again (they changed their fonts and photos last year, and I can’t stand it), I zeroed in on a recipe for Creamy Pumpkin and Cashew Curry.

One of the things I like about the layout over at Epicurious is that readers get to review the recipes.  So, after taking a look at those reviews, I tweaked the recipe a bit to suit our tastes.  Because of a well-stocked Asian market in my area, I was able to find curry leaves and use them for the very first time.  To my surprise, they taste like curry, even though they smell nothing like it!  Some of the Epicurious readers substituted curry powder for the leaves, so you may want to take that approach if you can’t find them in a store.  Additionally, I used kabocha squash, and I eliminated the coconut cream and stuck with coconut milk, instead.

Result?  We LOVED this curry.  It was flavorful, rich-tasting, with just the right amount of heat.  I served it over brown rice, and even the puppies loved getting a nugget or two of the squash!  Wendy at Pink Stripes is having a pumpkin week going on, and she also made this curry, so you may want to stop by.  Recipe after the jump.
continue reading "A Warm and Flavorful Pumpkin Curry"

This month, for You Want Pies with That?, Jenn of Piccante Dolce asked us to bake a pie that was inspired by a vacation we’ve taken or hope to take.

That was easy:  Nice, France.  On some travel or food show a few years ago, I saw pictures of the sun drenched Mediterranean, azure waters, and markets overflowing with beautiful produce.  So, I slow roasted some Roma tomatoes in the oven after tossing them with olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Then I layered them on top of crumbled goat cheese and fresh basil, all nestled in a savory butter crust.

How did it turn out?  A lot better than that awful picture! My husband and I (well, mostly me) almost ate the whole thing in one sitting.  Definitely on the repeat list.

Be sure to see what pies others came up with this month at the Pies with That blogroll!

The photo you see is of the broccoli after I steamed it, but before I dressed it.  Yes, the broccoli you see is naked.  But it had been sitting in the refrigerator for almost a week, so I had to use it up, the theme of Frugal Fridays.

Steam some broccoli until it has reached a tenderness that you like.  For me, that’s about 7-8 minutes.  While it’s steaming, whisk together some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, the zest of the lemon,  and some black pepper.  Basically, you have just made a vinaigrette, and you can increase or decrease the olive oil and/or lemon juice to suit your tastes. Have some parmigiano reggiano on hand.  When the broccoli is done steaming, toss it with the vinaigrette, and sprinkle some parmigiano over the top of it.  That’s it!  Light, healthy, and tasty.  And a post on this blog that does not involve cream, butter, or cream cheese – will wonders never cease?!

I saw these last year on Tanna’s blog, My Kitchen in Half Cups, and I knew I had to try them.  I’m amazed it took me this long to get around to it.  Why are they “frugal?”  Why, because it is a great way to use that sourdough toss off, instead of literally tossing it off.  Every time that flour mixture goes down the drain, something inside of me cringes.

I used my white starter, Son of Boris, to make these.  Boris Senior passed away last year, but Junior seems to be made of sturdier stuff.  I followed Tanna’s recipe for the most part, but when I couldn’t find my sparkling water or Aleppo pepper, I winged it by adding regular water, about 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper, and some garlic powder and salt.  Like Tanna, I found that one soft ball-sized onion was more than enough for my husband and me.  These really benefit from liberal seasoning, so next time I make these I’ll increase all the spices.

The coating was crisp and light, and the rings were best piping hot.  We stood at the stove and ate them as they came out of the oil, and were so full that we couldn’t eat dinner.  I find that my tolerance for grease has decreased dramatically with age.  But, obviously, not my taste for it.  Heh. These onion rings have been Yeastpotted!  If you want to join me for Frugal Fridays, see here for more info.

continue reading "Tanna’s Sourdough Onion Rings for Frugal Fridays"

This month, for  “You Want Pies with That?”, Ellen at Kittymama chose “Childhood Memory Pies” as our theme.  With spring in the air and summer just around the corner, what came to mind was the one summer when I was losing my front baby teeth.

Why?  Fresh corn on the cob.  One of the finest foods on earth.  Summer = corn.  What I remember is sitting out in the backyard, gnawing away at a corn cob in my toothless state.  I would not be deterred.  Pain was brushed aside as I gummed those ears of corn for all I was worth.  Ah, the memories!

So, when I saw a recipe for roasted corn quiche in King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains, I knew I had to make something like it.  I used my variation of Dorie’s Good for Almost Anything Pie Dough (left out the sugar in the crust), and filled the pan with roasted corn, peas, green onions, onion, a bit of leftover bacon, some thyme, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper, and a bit of left over habanero cheddar that was languishing in the refrigerator.

Into the oven it went (I used a 10-inch diameter pan, about 1-3/4 inches deep) and emerged 45 minutes later.  Served with a tossed green salad, it was a satisfying dinner.  And it will tide me over until I can get my hands on some good local corn later this summer.

To see the other pies that the Pies with That gang baked this month, check out the blogroll – a roundup will be up soon after June 7.

One of my favorite colors is green.  Just looking at these collards makes me feel so healthy.

I often have vegetables lurking about in the refrigerator, next to the butter, eggs, and cream (heh, heh), that need to get used up.  Traditional Southern-style collards are cooked a long time, with a ham hock and some butter.  Because of the high fat consumption around here due to my baking, I really try to cook as healthfully as I can, so a few years ago I started experimenting with collards, and this is what I came up with.

Clean and trim a bunch of collards (about 1 to 1.5 pounds), discarding the thick stalks.  Do not dry off the collards.  Chop coarsely and set aside.  Chop 3 cloves of garlic (more if you like a strong garlic flavor), and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed pot, over medium heat, preheat a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.  Toss in the garlic and a large pinch of red pepper flakes, and stir for about 30 seconds.  Don’t let it burn.  Add the collards, and enough vegetable or chicken broth to just cover them.  Add some kosher salt and pepper, and some garlic powder if you like. Bring to a low boil, boil for about 7 minutes, then turn down the heat to medium low, cover, and cook gently for another 23 minutes.  Check to see if the collards are tender (they won’t be mushy like traditional collards), and adjust seasoning.

Are you cooking frugally? If you are, and want to join me, send me an email  by noon on Thursdays, linking to something you made in the past week.  There are only three rules: (1) you made it in the past week,  (2) you made the dish (it can by anything – appetizer, baked good, etc.) with ingredients that you had on hand in your home or garden, and (3) link back to this blog and mention Frugal Fridays.  I’ll add the link to my post.  If somehow I miss you, or I’m out of town, or your email gets to me after noon, I’ll include you in the following week’s post.

Starting today, I’m going to be posting most Fridays (life happens, so there may be a Friday that I miss) on a dish that I made with what I had on hand in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.  No running to the store for a last minute item, just doing what I can with what I have.  Most of these recipes are going to be healthy, and have a vegetarian bent, but not all of them will, since Master Chow looooooves chicken.  And beef.  And lamb.  And pork.

This week, it’s asparagus, which we are starting to see in stores in my neck of the woods.  Asparagus with thick stalks tends to be more flavorful, and if you cook it the way my mom showed me, you will end up with the tenderness that makes some folks fans of thin-stalked asparagus.

It’s pretty simple.

1.  Start by holding up a stalk and snapping off the base, then use that one stalk as a guide to cut off the base of the other stalks.  I save those bits (cleaned up) to throw into soup.

2.  Next, peel the thick base of the stalks with a vegetable peeler.  My mom often skipped step 1 and went straight to this step.  Sometimes I do, too.

3.  Steam of boil under tender – al dente – but not mush.  For thin stalks this can take 2-3 minutes, for thick stalks, it can take around 6.  Bottom line:  don’t walk away.  You have to keep testing to see if the asparagus has reached the right level of doneness for you.

4.  Drain the asparagus, and while it’s still hot, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar (or balsamic), and kosher salt or sea salt, to taste.

This is quick, easy, and delicious.  Enjoy!

There are times in life when I really, really wish that people like The Equalizer, or the folks on Leverage existed in this world, and that they were on my side.  Or that I could conjure up Machiavelli, ply him  with food and wine, and get some sound advice on how to deal with nasty people.  Sometimes, I feel like I was raised amongst Hobbits in The Shire.  I need a cunning mastermind to help me navigate some of the perils of society.

Hey!  I can do that!  This month, Jacque and Natashya asked us to make a special pie based on someone famous.  So, in keeping with my savory theme of late, I decided to invite Niccolo over for dinner, and serve him a zucchini, lemon, and ricotta crostata.  Because he’s Italian, I thought the flavor combo would appeal to him.

I found inspiration from this recipe in the October 2008 issue of Bon Appetit.  It needed a bit of jazzing up, and I was happy to oblige.  I didn’t use Dorie’s pie crust (which I use for everything, including savory pies — I just omit the salt) because I like to practice with other dough recipes every now and then.  This was a good crust, but I still prefer Dorie’s.  The recipe can be found after the jump, but check out the Pies with That blogroll to see who others invited to dinner!  And I posted three times yesterday (making up for lost time), so scroll back and see what I’ve been up to.
continue reading "Where Is Machiavelli When You Need Him Pie? Zucchini, Ricotta, and Lemon Crostata"