by Krista | Jan 12, 2010 | Spring
It was spring in Perdifumo, Italy where I was staying at a fairytale villa with my friends Becks, Nat, Viss and Trish. It was our last day before driving to Rome to meet up with my brother Ryan and two more friends, Ben and Stace, for a 10-day drive through the Balkans, and we decided to spend it exploring the mountain villages near the villa. After a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, Nutella spread on chewy bread and hot coffee on the terrace, we loaded up and headed out along the windy roads.
We passed ramshackle stone houses, discovered the abandoned home of a duchess, and delighted in the simple details of white sheets drying against ancient stone.
After exploring and walking for a couple of hours, our tummies were rumbling and we were in dire need of sustenance. We had stumbled on the tiny village of Laureana Cilento – a place that charmed us with it’s quiet, narrow streets and unbelievably jolly and kind townspeople who waved at us from school windows and came out of their homes in aprons and house slippers to smile and nod.
On our way in I had spotted the Il Blu di Prussia Cafe and was smitten.
More antiques shop and artist studio than cafe, I was confused as I stepped inside, feeling like I was in someone’s living room. But then the owner, beaming and welcoming assured me that yes, yes, it was indeed a ristorante.
His name was Memo The Beautiful. He told us so himself as he clasped his hands to his breast then flung them out dramatically. We fell in love with him instantly. 🙂
He brought us limoncello and Coke (American rubbish! he informed us ;-)) out on the terrace, apologizing that they make everything from scratch so it would take some time. Apologize? Seriously? We were THRILLED! We sat out under some beautifully flowering trees and visited away happily as we sipped our drinks and waited.
Finally, all was ready. He led us grandly as if we were visiting dignitaries and seated us on antique chairs, around an antique table, surrounded by old books, chandeliers and and his own exquisite Old World paintings.
Then the feast began.
Memo served us antipasti: roasted peppers, eggplant, artichokes, puffy fritters, locally cured olives, sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, marinated lima beans, asparagus frittata, an assortment of hard cheeses, fresh bread and a lovely red wine served from a jug.
Next came homemade gnocchi with wonderfully savory Bolognese sauce. The gnocchi in Southern Italy was completely different than Northern, more like pasta than soft dumplings.
This was followed by the best roast chicken I’ve ever had in my life, with exquisitely crunchy skin, moist meat, and outrageously amazing potatoes crisped in the chicken juices, fluffy on the inside.
Before dessert we were granted a respite with luscious strawberries, still warm from the sun.
We leaned back in our seats and groaned as Memo and his lovely Aussie wife came out to visit with us while the walnut ricotta cake finished baking. Memo instructed that we must ALL come back to Italy so that he could find us good, Italian husbands. 🙂
Dessert arrived shortly, cool, creamy and and absolutely delicious.
With scarcely pinch of space left in our tummies, we still found room for sips from the tray of frosted bottles filled with homemade liqueurs, delighting in the strong flavors of lemon, almond and anise.
As our lovely dinner came to a close, we hugged our new found friends farewell, promising to visit them again some day. Then we were off to explore the mountain, finding a wonderfully overgrown castle and a secret garden we spied through the big blue door.
It was a beautiful day. 🙂
by Krista | Jan 11, 2010 | Winter
I’m the sort of girl who wakes up early, cheerful and absolutely ravenous! Oddly enough most of my friends can go for half the day without eating, and I’m practically perishing by the time they’re even thinking of food. I love them dearly but for sheer survival I’ve learned to carry nuts and dried fruit with me when visiting any of them. 🙂
Thankfully I have a few pals who like to eat before noon, and Betsy is one of them. Few things make her happier than waking up early and going out for breakfast with her hubby and friends. Whenever I visit I’m delighted to join in, and have feasted on many a Dutch Baby, Coconut Pancake, and sausage link with relish and abandon.
Most days though, I like to eat hearty and healthy at home. I usually start with a fresh squeezed juice of some kind. This morning it was ruby red grapefruit.
I like to serve it in a pretty glass, just because it makes it a little bit special.
This week I was craving muffins. Not sugary or chocolaty, but moist and grainy with lots of flavor and tender crumb. I found a marvelous recipe on the back of Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Bran.
Sweetened only with molasses and applesauce and using a scant 2 Tbsp of oil, they are low in bad fats and sugars. Thankfully they are not only healthy but delicious! Tender, moist and flavorful, they are easy to make, a snap to freeze, and reheat beautifully.
The only deviations I made from the recipe were to grind up the nuts (I don’t care for chunks) and use coconut milk instead of regular milk. I’ve been using coconut milk as a substitute in more and more of my baking recipes, and the results have been consistently wonderful.
I like them best sandwiched with peanut butter and creamed honey, served with simple scrambled eggs.
Moist Molasses Bran Muffins
(From Bob’s Red Mill)
Ingredients:
1 cup Wheat Bran
1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Raisins (Unsulfured)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Milk (I used coconut milk)
1/2 cup Molasses (or Honey)
3/4 cup Applesauce
1/4 cup chopped Nuts
2 Tbsp. Oil
2 Eggs, beaten
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Combine wheat bran, flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Stir in nuts and raisins.
In a separate bowl, blend applesauce, milk, molasses, oil and egg. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Spoon into greased muffin tin (or paper muffin cups) and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 marvelous muffins.
by Krista | Jan 8, 2010 | Fabulous Friday, Winter
It’s a quiet Thursday night and I’m nursing a sore throat with salt water and hot tea. It’s kinda nice to be cozy in bed, listening to Mediaeval Baebes, playing Scrabble on Facebook, and reading Anne Lamott.
A few days ago I was reading my new blogger friend Chaya’s post at Sweet and Savory Says It All and was startled to see my name in a list of blogs she’d chosen for the Sugar Doll Blogger Award!!! Thank you, Chaya! 🙂 Chaya was one of my first readers and bent over backwards to make me feel welcome in the blogging world. She provided tips and encouragement and I love her homey recipes that she makes for her beloved hubby and family. 🙂 I’m such a newbie at all this she had to tell me what I was supposed to do with the award. 🙂 So, dear Chaya, here goes! Better late than never! 🙂
10 things about myself:
- I have lived in 24 different places since I was born.
- I wish I had a treehouse.
- I am Canadian but have spent more of my life in the United States.
- I love to travel and Turkey, Romania and Australia are at the top of my go-to-next list.
- My favorite author is John Buchan, and I must have Earl Grey tea when reading his books.
- My favorite color is red and it never fails to cheer me.
- I do not like mushrooms. Nope. Not at all.
- My dream house would have a library. And a secret passage.
- I hang jewelry on my wall because it’s too pretty to hide away until wearing.
- I rediscovered the Library this year, and still can’t believe they let us take books away for free.
This past year has been a rough one with health issues, so I’ve been operating under the mantra if I put good things in, good will come of it. This year I’m determined to use a greater variety of whole grains in salads, soups, gratins, etc, and today I’m dining on a Quinoa Pesto Salad with Broccoli and Almonds.
I was inspired by Heidi at 101 Cookbooks and rummaged about in fridge and shelves to see what I had to work with.
I found red quinoa and set it to cooking in a pot of water with a bit of salt. Then lightly steamed some broccoli just until it was gorgeously bright green. When the quinoa was cooked, I fluffed it up and mixed it with a jar of pesto then added chopped broccoli, some grated feta cheese and sliced almonds.
Deeelicious! The pesto makes it feel richer than it is, and the red quinoa, bright green broccoli and pale almonds bring color and festivity.
Quinoa Pesto Salad with Broccoli and Almonds
3 cups cooked quinoa
1 bunch broccoli, steamed and chopped
1 small jar pesto
1 ounce feta cheese, grated
1 handful sliced almonds
Combine and enjoy!
by Krista | Jan 7, 2010 | Winter
I have been fascinated with the Middle East for as long as I can remember. My shelves are filled with books expounding on the culture, history and food of such places as Egypt, Israel and Iran. Slowly but surely I’ve been tasting and learning the foods of those storied lands.
My brother Ryan and I made a Lebanese feast for Easter, my Jewish friends invited me to celebrate Hanukkah with an amazing feast, and this fall Ryan, his girlfriend Melissa and our sister-in-law Kendra went to Munich, Germany and had a fantastic Persian meal in a lovely, dark little restaurant.
Thus it was with great delight that I met Remy and Heather at CEC this week. They are such a fun couple and make me laugh and think – a great combination! Remy is from Israel and shared a dish that surprised all of us: Mujaderra.
It is a humble looking dish of lentils, rice and onions in varying shades of brown accompanied by an equally neutral white yogurt sauce. It may not look or sound flashy, but don’t let its simplicity fool you.
It’s A M A Z I N G.
In fact, it was so good that I went home and made a batch the very next day. I was so impatient that I didn’t even wait for Remy to share his recipe, but searched online for “lentils and rice with yogurt” and found something that at least looked like the right thing. 🙂
I started out with a whole lot of oil and a whole lot of onions bubbling together in a saucepan.
I cooked them until they were gorgeously brown and sweet with charred edges.
I set the onions aside and rinsed and sorted the green lentils.
Then set them to cook while I measured out the rice. I understand that white jasmine rice is traditional, but I didn’t have any so I used Bhutanese Red.
When the lentils were partially cooked I added the rice and let them simmer until both were tender. Then I folded in the onions, topped with plain yogurt and dug in. Sigh. It was wonderful. Not as wonderful as Remy’s, but still tasty as all get out. 🙂
When I got Remy’s recipe that night, I could see that the extra “something” in his dish was the seasonings he added to both the Mujaderra and the yogurt sauce. Cumin, garlic, onion and bay leaves. Perfection. 🙂
Remy’s Variation of Mujaderra
“Traditionally this is made with caramelized onions instead of fried ones, but this version is faster and also very tasty.” – Remy
Ingredients for Mujaderra:
1 cup green/brown lentils
2 cups white jasmine rice
3 cups of water (for rice)
3 large onions, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
oil-vegetable or olive
1-2 tsp. cumin
salt to taste
Ingredients for Yogurt Sauce:
plain yogurt (non-, low- or full- fat)
garlic powder and cayenne pepper
salt
other spices you may desire (cumin and onion powder work well too)
Directions:
Sort lentils to make sure there are no little stones.
Put lentils, garlic and bay leaves in a pot with enough water to cover plus a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer covered until lentils are soft (but not mushy), approx. 1/2-3/4 of an hour. When cooked drain the lentils in a colander or sieve, and fish out the bay leaves and the garlic cloves.
In a separate pot heat up about a tablespoon of oil. When hot add 2 cups of white jasmine rice. Stir around till all the rice is well coated with the oil. Add 3 cups of water and salt to taste. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 20-30 min. or until the water has disappeared and the rice is soft.
Chop two to three large onions (you’ll want lots of onions, as this is where most of the flavor comes from). Put 2-3 tablespoons of oil (don’t skimp) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot add onion and some salt. Fry the onion until nicely brown, stirring often, then add a teaspoon or two of cumin.
When the lentils, rice and onions are all done mix them together in a large bowl or pot, reserving some of the onions to mound in the center as a garnish. Serve with yogurt sauce (below)
For the yogurt sauce, mix some plain yogurt with salt, garlic powder and some cayenne pepper. Add spices and salt slowly and taste as you go- you’ll want the sauce to be just a little more spiced than if you were eating it by itself- the rice and lentils can be a little bland. Mix till smooth and taste to get the right seasoning.
Simple Mujaderra
(From All Recipes)
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, sliced into rings
1 1/3 cups uncooked green lentils
3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (optional)
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions, and cook about 10 minutes, until browned. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Place lentils in a medium saucepan with enough lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 15 minutes.
Stir rice and enough water to cover into the saucepan with the lentils. Season with salt and pepper. Cover saucepan, and continue to simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until rice and lentils are tender.
Mix half the onions into the lentil mixture. Top with yogurt or sour cream and remaining onions to serve.
by Krista | Jan 6, 2010 | Winter
In honor of the lovely Kat’s birthday, the theme at CEC was a saucy one, filled with recipes “where the sauce makes the dish.”
It was also our biggest crowd yet with 15 chattering, laughing, cooking people crammed into the kitchen whipping up all sorts of marvy delights.
We started out with glasses of wine from Kristin accompanied by Don’s Spicy Chicken Wings and Cameron and his friend’s Crispy Fried Tofu with Tahini Sauce.
First out of the oven was Toby’s gorgeous Sweet Potatoes with Brandy sauce, studded with pecans and marshmallows. Followed shortly by Selwyn’s creamy and tart Apple Jack Chicken.
Meanwhile, Darren churned out gluten-free pasta while Kat, Heather and Mike made chicken and alfredo sauce for Chicken Fettucine Alfredo. Deb made a wonderfully creamy Garlic Chicken with Balsamic Cream Sauce. Annie and Aaron made a zesty and refreshing Spinach Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette. Remy made his version of Mujaderra (more on this tomorrow!) and I wrapped things up with Hot Fudge Pudding Cake with Creme Fraiche.
It was such a fun evening filled with much hustle and bustle, resulting in a Saucy meal that did our birthday girl proud. Happy Birthday, Kat! 🙂
Gluten Free Handmade Pasta
(From Group Recipes)
Ingredients:
½ cup tapioca flour or sweet rice flour
½ cup cornstarch
⅓ cup potato starch or arrowroot
⅓ cup fine brown rice flour, more for rolling out
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
4 eggs or 1 cup flax gel (see below)
2 tablespoons oil of choice
FLAX GEL: 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons hot water. (Let stand, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until thick. Use without straining.)
Directions:
Put the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Blend using the paddle.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat together the eggs (or flax gel) and oil.
While the mixer is on, slowly add eggs and oil mixture to dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Dough will be soft like play dough. If it’s not, add water, one tablespoon at a time.
Lightly dust your counter with cornstarch. Cut the dough into 8 pieces and cover 7 with a tea towel or plastic wrap.
Lightly dust a piece of dough with rice flour and flatten. Roll through the widest setting of a pasta machine. Continue to roll it through, folding it in half each time and lightly dusting with rice flour if the dough is tacky. Do this until the dough begins to hold together and seems smooth. It may take 5 to 6 times. Then decrease the thickness one notch at a time and roll through until desired thickness is achieved. Cut into desired shapes or leave as sheets. Place pasta flat on a cookie sheet. If layering the pasta or cutting it into shapes, dust it with rice flour. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a dash of salt. Drop pasta into boiling water and stir. Cook until al dente. Fresh pasta cooks in just a few minutes. When the pasta is done, drain and rinse it under hot water. Toss with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Use immediately or cool and refrigerate for later use.
Garlic Chicken with Balsamic Cream Sauce
(From All Recipes)
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and sprinkle with garlic powder, seasoning salt and onion powder. Saute about 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
Balsamic Cream Sauce
(From All Recipes)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 onion, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
Stir in the onion, and cook until it has caramelized to a dark, golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and cook for 1 minute before stirring in the chicken bouillon and cream.
Bring to a simmer, then remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted.
Apple Jack Chicken with Bacon
Ingredients:
1 pound bacon, chopped
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup apple jack brandy
1 Tbsp butter
1 apple, sliced thinly
2 cups heavy whipping cream
Directions:
Fry bacon until crispy, set aside 1 Tbsp fat.
Add chicken breasts and fry for a few minutes.
Add 1/4 cup apple jack brandy and cook until chicken breasts are done. Remove from pan but leave drippings.
In a separate pan, fry apples in bacon fat and butter until caramelized.
In pan with drippings, add remaining brandy and scrape off drippings. Pour in whipping cream and reduce.
Add apples, chicken and bacon.
Serve warm.
Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
(From Campus Cooks)
Ingredients:
1 cup flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cup hot water
Directions:
Sift first 5 dry ingredients into bowl.
Stir in milk and oil. Blend in the nuts.
Spread in prepared 9″ square pan.
Sprinkle with mixture of brown sugar and cocoa.
Over batter pour 1 3/4 cup hot water.
Bake 45 mins at 350 degrees. Cake will rise to top and sauce will form underneath. Serve warm.
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