Courage, Beauty and an Artichoke Sun-Dried Tomato Tart

by Krista | Apr 16, 2010 | Fabulous Friday

This weekend I get to visit my dear friends, Trish and Todd for three days of yakking, old movie watching, and utter relaxation. I can’t wait!

What beautiful “little thing” do you have to cheer you, dear ones! 🙂

Bravery and Toasted Anise Beef Sandwiches with Dijon, Roasted Peppers and Chevre

by Krista | Apr 9, 2010 | Fabulous Friday

Today, after days on end of black skies, hail, torrential rains, snow, and gusting winds, the sun came out. Beautiful, glorious sunshine streaming through windows, dancing across the water and setting my meadow aglow with dandelions. I love it!!! 🙂

Yesterday in the grocery store I was staring at the Asian food shelves trying to decide what fish sauce to get when an arm reached in front of me and a lady chuckled an apology as she grabbed a massive jug of soy sauce. Apparently I have the sort of face that says, “Please tell me what you’re going to use that for” because she launched into an exuberant and detailed story of the very, VERY best way to prepare roast beef. 🙂 With sighs of delight and hand pressed dramatically to her bosom, she promised that her recipe would turn the lowliest cut of beef into transcendent deliciousness. Then with a wave and a laugh she was gone. 🙂

Naturally, I had to try it! I found a big slab of beef on sale and took it home, covered it with lavish amounts of soy sauce, beef broth and a sprinkling of anise seed, and set it to slow cook overnight. Next morning my house smelled of beef with a hint of licorice, and, oddly enough, it smelled GOOD! I let it cool in the marinade as instructed by the Unnamed Woman, then sliced it thinly and nipped a few pieces out for a taste. Fabulous! Tender as all get out and packed with flavor. Dear Unnamed Woman, I tip my hat to you!

That night I froze most of it, but used a few slices to make marvelous toasted sandwiches. I spread seeded bread with grainy mustard, layered on the beef and topped it with marinated roasted bell peppers and crumbled Chevre. I broiled the sandwiches for 3-5 minutes until the cheese was browned and melty and then dug in. Bliss. 🙂

I wish you a most beautiful weekend, dear ones. 🙂

Anise Soy Beef

Ingredients:

large beef roast
1-2 bottles soy sauce
1 carton beef broth
1/2-1 tsp anise seed

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in crock pot and slow cook 6-8 hours. 
2. Let chill in marinade until cool. 
3. Drain and slice thinly. 

Toasted Anise Beef Sandwiches with Dijon, Roasted Peppers and Chevre

Ingredients:

1 loaf seeded whole grain bread, sliced thinly
Grainy Dijon mustard
Sliced Anise Soy Beef
1 jar marinated, roasted bell peppers
4 oz crumbled Chevre

Directions:

1. Spread each slice of bread with Dijon mustard.
2. Top with slices of beef, roasted pepper strips, and sprinkle with Chevre. 
3. Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes until Chevre is browned and sandwich warmed through. 
4. Serve immediately.

A Road Less Traveled and Kale Barley Gratin

by Krista | Apr 2, 2010 | Fabulous Friday

I find moving to be a rather emotional endeavor. It is not simply wrapping and unwrapping glassware, books and picture frames, it is unearthing things that have been buried for a while. Some of them are painful, like an unexpected photograph of the man who was going to marry me, and didn’t. Others are delightful: a forgotten candy cane, still in its wrapper, pictures from a dear friend in Germany, a scribbled note from someone who loves me. But all of them draw out emotions, both joyous and sad, and I’m officially tuckered out. 🙂

I was perusing Passage Paradis yesterday, delighting in her photographs of a bird market tucked away in Hong Kong, and it got me thinking about “taking the road less traveled” “getting off the beaten track” and other such things. I love to travel so very much, but I’m too broke to go anywhere for a while, so I’ve tried to look at my current surroundings with new eyes, as if I were a tourist in my own neighborhood.

Over the past week I have learned no less than FOUR different ways to get to my chiropractor up in Canada. 🙂 Two are rather dull consisting mostly of highways, gas stations and McDonalds, but the other two? Ohhh, they’re lovely, meandering past vineyards and hobby farms, through treed hillsides and alongside ditches filled with blackberry bushes.

On one particularly stormy day I had a few spare minutes and turned down a side road to a park I’d never noticed before. I found this:

It thrilled me to pieces and I couldn’t stop grinning, so happy with my discovery, so glad I had turned down that obscure road. 🙂

Thus inspired I got back to work and eagerly dug into my bowl of Kale Barley Gratin. Granted, this is not what you’d call a “pretty” dish, but it’s awfully tasty and so good for you. 🙂 Both barley and kale are simmered separately, then, while the barley drains, you puree the kale with a bit of broth. It turns into a vivid green sauce that is quite astonishing. 🙂 Then you mix it in with the barley, a roux seasoned with allspice and nutmeg, a mounded handful of grated Parmesan, and pour it into a baking dish and bake until it’s nicely browned on top. It’s great served hot from the oven, but is just as tasty reheated a few days later, or even eaten cold.

Kale Barley Gratin
(Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup pearl barley, rinsed
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 large bunch kale, about 1 1/4 lbs, stems entirely removed
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour (I used gluten-free)
1 1/2 cups milk or vegetable stock or chicken stock (I like chicken stock)
1/4 tsp allspice (I didn’t have grated, so I added a few whole to the stock while simmering)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Gruyere or provolone (I used Parmesan)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, add barley to 1 quart boiling water with 1/2 tsp salt and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.
2. While it’s cooking, cook the kale in a skillet of boiling salted water until tender, 6-10 minutes. Drain, then puree with 1/4 cup of the cooking water until smooth. 
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a small saucepan, whisk in flour, then add milk. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until thick. Season with allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper. 
4. Combine all ingredients, check seasonings, then pour into buttered baking dish or ramekins.
5. Bake until lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes.

Lovely Rain and Soup, Soup, Soup

by Krista | Mar 26, 2010 | Fabulous Friday

It has been raining all day. Not that dreadful chill-you-to-the-bones wintry rain, but a delicious, warm spring rain that smells of daffodils, hyacinth and budding trees. I love it!! 🙂

I had to stop by the drug store after work, and was delighted to see racks of potted fresh herbs for only $1.99!! I snapped up this beautiful basil, my first new plant at my new place, and it’s now sitting perkily on my patio. I can’t wait for it to grow big and bushy, ready to be turned into pesto and all manner of lovely things. 🙂

Although it was raining, I had to take a little stroll to the creek, to see how spring was advancing. It did me good to breathe in the rain-washed air and see the blackberry bushes leafing out and new grass poking up through winter’s brown leftovers.

I have much to be grateful for tonight, and I smile when I stop to think of it. 🙂 I had encouraging news from my doctor today, and that bit of hope did much to ease worries I didn’t even know were lurking. I made a new soup tonight that is so lovely I can’t wait to tell you about it on Monday! 🙂 This weekend I get to see dear friends, my brother and sister in law, cousins and their kidlets, aunt and uncle and parents for a whole day of visiting and feasting. 🙂 And I get to rest. 🙂

Do you have any lovely weekend plans? What is one thing you’re looking forward to? 🙂

Ghastlies, Lovelies and The New Do

by Krista | Mar 19, 2010 | Fabulous Friday

Life sure is funny sometimes. I don’t know about you, but it seems to hit me in waves of either catastrophe or loveliness and not much in between. 🙂 But lately, it’s been both, lovely bits of sunshine mingled with the ghastliness. 🙂

Ghastly: docs tell me my immune system is kaput.
Lovely: they’ve got me on excellent supplements that are already rebuilding this ol’ body of mine and I’m feeling better each day. 🙂

Ghastly: I need to fix my car from the accident, put four new tires on my car, and buy meds.
Lovely: I get my tax return AND my damage deposit back from my apartment in time to cover most of it. 🙂

Ghastly: I have eight meals worth of tacos made up and almost nothing else.
Lovely: I really like tacos. 🙂

Ghastly: under strict instructions to rest, rest, rest.
Lovely: free audio books and movies from the library, and friends who drive waaaay out here to visit me. 🙂

Conclusion: I’m a pretty fortunate lassie. 🙂

It’s been a good week. 🙂 Mums and I got to take a stroll on a particularly sunny lunch break and saw the most gorgeous countryside.

I got to hear Leahy in concert!! I didn’t think I could make it, but pain pills worked beautifully and I’m so glad I went. 🙂 They’re such a jolly lot and it is quite impossible to not emerge cheery and chipper from one of their performances. 🙂 Mums, Kat and my Office Manager Sharon went with me and it was a splendid Girl’s Night Out. 🙂 Yeah, this was a self-portrait. 🙂

And, last but not least, after much badgering, here’s a shot of the new do. For some reason I can capture food and countryside quite handily, but I can’t take a decent photo of myself to save my life! So, out of my collection of blurry, badly colored, poorly lit photos, here you go. 🙂 Oh, and I DO have two eyes, one just umm, hid. 🙂

A Spring Wander and Chickpea Stew with Kale, Tomatoes and Green Chilies

by Krista | Mar 5, 2010 | Fabulous Friday

In the midst of some rather frantic packing this past week, I had some beloved rellies come to town for a visit. They were a welcome respite from all the hustle and bustle and after a fabulous roast chicken dinner by Mums, we donned jackets and scarves and headed out into the glorious sunshine for a trek over the hills. I thought you might like to join us. 🙂