Are you hungry?: 8/1/09

Sunday, August 30, 2009

September Foodstuff - Focaccia Bread

Is everyone really busy or do they have pizza on the brain? I have read way too many foodie posts with different pizza recipes in the last few weeks. There was Kim over at ORMG who posted her wonderful vegetable pizzas, then Tortilla Pizzas were posted on Ginger Rose, and finally a delicious dish, Shrimp and Scallop Margarita Pizza on What's Cookin' Italian Style. Oh My Gosh I want a pizza!!!

First I checked the fridge and the pantry.... Not enough mozzarella for a traditional pizza, aka "a pie" if you are from Philly. I decided on the next best thing, Focaccia. Out came my bread machine (you all know how I love that thing) and prepared the dough.

Add ingredients, in this order, to bread machine:

1 cup warm water

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

2cups all purpose flour

1 cup stone ground whole wheat flour

2 1/4 tsp yeast (bread machine or rapid rise)

Select dough option, push start and return in about 11/2 hours to find prepared dough ample for making one 11 x 13 pan pizza!

Just a note, I let my dough rest for about 15 minutes before I remove it from the machine. While the dough is resting, lightly oil the sheet pan. Slice two or three ripe tomatoes really thin. Remove the dough and fold, forming a dome shape. Put dough on a lightly floured surface and flatten with your finger tips. Stretch the dough to an oblong shape close to the length and width of the pan. I stretch the dough by working it over my fists, similar to what you would see done in a pizzeria. Place dough on pan and press with finger tips into sides and corners, leaving dimples in the dough. Brush generously with olive oil so that oil slightly wells up in the dimples. Lay tomatoes on dough and press lightly onto dough. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, and a generous amount of grate Parmesan and Romano cheese. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 20 minutes or until pie is golden and cheese is melted.

Focaccia Pie

September's Foodstuff → BREAD

Are you hungry?
♥

Comments Recipe Tags: bread, dough, italian

Sunday, August 23, 2009

BSI - Easy Peanut Butter Wheat Bread

Ms Kim, author of Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet was my first foodie friend. She is the host of this week's BSI (Blogger Secret Ingredient) and chose Peanut Butter for this weeks contest. Now I don't claim to be any kind of culinary expert nor do I think my cooking talents even compare to some of the foodie blogs I frequent. You see I love to cook for family and friends. And, I love to eat and blog, so that's how this all started. I have never entered into any kind of food contest. However, after being inspired by Kim and the others who participate in BSI, I conferred with Red. He's my son, and official taster, who said, Go for it Ma! With that, I decided I should join in the fun. I'm nervous and excited. Red agreed to help me with the photos too[big grin] For the BSI nothing fancy from me, just an easy favorite; Bread machine Peanut Butter Wheat Bread.

About 15 years ago my mother bought me a bread machine. I just love that thing and home made bread! There is just no way I would be making bread as often as I do if it wasn't for that old bread machine!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cups bread flour *
1 cup whole wheat flour *
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup peanut butter

Bread machine method 'cause I'm no baker [ha ha ha]
Add ingredients to the bread pan in the order given except for the peanut butter. Set bread machine to basic setting and begin. If your bread machine has an "add ingredients" setting, at that point, add the peanut butter. If yours does not have this feature, add the peanut butter when the second kneading begins. In three hours you will have one loaf of delicious peanut butter wheat bread.

* The original recipe is from the bread book cookbook and calls for white bread flour. I reduced the white and added the wheat.

Peanut Butter Wheat Bread and Grape Jam, Yummy!

Here are our previous hosts:
Week 44: Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet - Peanut Butter
Week 43: The Sophisticated Gourmet - Brown Sugar
Week 42: My Kitchen Addiction – Lime
Week 41: Nutmeg Nanny – Coffee
Week 40: Chaya’s Comfy Cook – Broccoli
Week 39: Healthy Delicious – Plums
Week 38: Zoe - Feta
Week 37: ChezWhat- Potatoes
Week 36: Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice – Blueberries
Week 35: Girlichef -Greens
Week 34: The Ungourmet – Watermelon
Week 33: Bread + Butter – Bell Pepper
Week 32: Burp and Slurp -Corn
Week 31: Say Yes to Salad – Kabocha
Week 31 1/2: Simply Fabulous Now - Cherries
Week 30: Thinspired – Bananas
Week 29: To Be The Whole Package – Almonds
Week 28: Kristas Kravings – Lemon
Week 27: From French Fries To Flax Seeds – Coconut
Week 26: Plentiful Plants – Avocado
Week 25: Training Fuel – Eggs
Week 24: Dinner at Christina’s – Cabbage
Week 23: Hey What’s for Dinner, Mom? – Strawberries
Week 22: One Bite at a Time – Basil
Week 21: Just Sweet Enough – Black Beans
Week 20: What I Ate Yesterday – Kale
Week 19: What’s for Dinner – Orange
Week 18: BranAppetit! –Spinach
Week 17: Tales of Expansion Dates
Week 16: Biggest Diabetic Loser – Zucchini
Week 15: Sweet & Natural –Peppermint
Week 14: bella eats [and runs] – Ginger
Week 13: Coffee Talk – Walnuts
Week 12: For the Love of Oats – Pumpkin
Week 11: Trying to Heal – Sweet Potatoes
Week 10: The Inner Workings of a College Graduate – Eggplant
Week 9: Itzy’s Kitchen – Pears
Week 8: The Fitnessista – Cranberries
Week 7: Tri to Cook – Lentils
Week 6: Rhodey Girl Tests – Polenta
Week 5: Eating Bender – Butternut Squash
Week 4: Care to Eat – Apples
Week 3: On a Lobster Placemat – Mushrooms
Week 2: Hangry Pants – Tomatoes
Week 1: sportsnutritionliving – Quinoa

Comments Recipe Tags: baking, bread

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Papaya and Plantains

Papaya and Plantains

What a wacky combination right? Well, here's how it all began. I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things however, the produce looked so cool and refreshing, I couldn't resist checking it out. It seemed the papayas were beckoning me, "psst we're fresh and juicy, look over here". So I bought my first papaya. Moving on to get what I had originally came for, I had to pass the plantains, oh no. Fried plantains are my all time favorite cooked fruit snack. You guessed it, I bought them as well. Before getting through the produce section I had grapes, plums, tomatoes, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce in my basket too!

Papaya - After the grocery store trip, the unpacking, and preparing dinner, I spent some time reading papaya recipes online. There I found smoothies, salsas, salads, sauces, and even energy drinks. It seems Papaya is a salsa favorite! There's a wonderful Salsa Salad recipe on Foodo' del Mundo, Rachael Ray's Jerky Turkey Burgers with Papaya Salsa and Bobbie Flay's Pan Seared Grouper with tropical salsa. Most of the smoothies called for banana, which I didn't have, and orange juice. Later that night I used half of the papaya to make smoothies for Red and I. Prepared in a flash, these smoothies did satisfy my sweet tooth and my curiosity.

Papaya Smoothie

Combine all ingredients except ice, in a blender. Pulse a few times. Add the ice cubes and pulse until smooth. Makes 2 servings

1/2 Papaya about 3 cups
1 tbsp honey
juice from 1 orange
1/2 cup milk
4-6 ice cubes

Plantains - My 1st mother in law, Zoriada, was from Puerto Rico. She introduced me to this wonderful fruit 30 years ago. "Platanos" as she called them, are very sweet and delicious when fried. It is important to use ripe plantains for this dish. Ripe plantains have dark, sometimes black skins and feel just a tad soft to the touch.

Fried Plantains

Peel and diagonally slice plantains.
Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in your favorite skillet over medium-low heat.
Add the plantains, a few pieces at a time, and saute until lightly browned. Turn and sauté the second side.
Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat with the rest of the plantains.

Red likes them with powdered sugar. I like them plain. Zoriada served them, on several occasions, with a seasoned tomato sauce on the side.

Hope you enjoyed my wacky Papaya and Plantains post.... Are you hungry?

♥

Comments Recipe Tags: beverage, fruit, side dish

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Silent Sunday

(lime basil - my 1st snips)

♥

Comments Recipe Tags: herbs

Friday, August 14, 2009

Back to School Bash - Giveaways Galore!

Just had to give a big THANK YOU to Melissa, author of Frugal Creativity for participating in the Back to School Bash. I know it must be a grueling job posting and tracking all the wonderful giveaways she has been offering over the last few weeks.

I have been following Frugal Creativity for a while. I really enjoy reading her garden tips, budget ideas, recipes and reviews. The other day I was reading her Rubbermaid Food Storage review and entered into the giveaway she offered. I entered this one because I was really impressed with the Produce Saver lids. Seems I always have fresh vegetables left over. I like to keep a left over container for fresh anything. When there's enough to make a meal, which doesn't take too much time to accumulate, I use it.

I guess you figured it out, I won.... Woo Hoo! This is the FIRST giveaway I have ever won online! I don't enter giveaways, generally speaking; I was really, really surprised.
Thanks again Melissa!

♥

Comments

Sunday, August 09, 2009

Foodie friends, Fried Food Fest, and Caribbean Rice Pudding... huh?

Wow I’ve been really slammed this week! Prepared some really nice recipes, and even snapped some photos that were ok too. Unfortunately, that’s where it ended. No recipe posts, hardly any blog reading or commenting time. Not that I should be complaining, however I do hate it when life holds me hostage from the things I really enjoy. [short frown]

This post is a hodgepodge of recipes from the past week, and may be my longest post ever, but first my blog award!
My foodie friend Roz over at La Bella Vita awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award.
I really enjoy her blog and highly recommend you give La Bella Vita a visit! Grazie Roz ;)

“The rules for this blog award: .Accept the award. Post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.”

Don’t think I’ll make the “ten blogs” rule but here are a few of my new favorites:

1- Melissa author of Frugal Creativity has a grand blog. Melissa says, “I’m a mom who enjoys cooking, papercrafting, cardmaking, baking, and other creative endeavors. I'm also on a budget!” I always find first-rate information here.

2- Metz writes several blogs, of which Empty Streets is my favorite. I always visit on “Food Friday” to find delicious recipes and how to videos for those “visual foodies”!

3- Martha, a true Georgia foodie blogging via North Carolina, is authoring her second cookbook, Stir, Laugh, Repeat... Again. Her blog, Stir, Laugh, Repeat is a holding place for her cookbook. Martha always has a new recipe or cooking tip to keep me coming back for more.

4- Tara, who is a high school science teacher, loves cooking, and is interested in the cooking whys and hows. The author of Cooking from Scratch, she has some fabulous posts. If I didn’t read her bio, I would have thought she was a culinary professional!

Take some time to visit these blogs, you won’t be disappointed!

And now onto my hodgepodge of recipes! Using what I had on hand, we had “Fried Food Fest” one night. I know, fried food is not so healthy but being married to a native Floridian carries a fried food priority! I prepared Shrimp Egg Rolls, Clam Fritters, and Paula Deen’s fried Mac and Cheese.

Clam Fritters

Ingredients:
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 can (6-1/2 ounces) minced clams
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• Oil for deep-fat frying
• Tartar sauce and/or lemon wedges, optional

Directions:
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and pepper; set aside. Drain clams, reserving 2 tablespoons juice; set clams aside. In a small bowl, beat the egg, milk and reserved clam juice; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Add the clams and onion.
In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve fritters with tartar sauce and/or lemon wedges if desired. Yield: 14-16 fritters.
Original recipe - tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Clam-Fritters

Notes: Next time I will use more than 2 tablespoons juice to increase the clam taste. I thought the needed more clam flavor. Red and DH both ate later than I and said they were good and clammy![grin]

Chinese ~~Vegetarian~~ Egg Rolls w/ Shrimp

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
~~2 cups spinach leaves~~
1 cup carrot shredded
1 cup cabbage chopped [3 cups red]
1 cup mushrooms chopped fresh
1/2 cup scallions, spring or green onions thinly sliced
~~1/2 cup chestnuts chopped water~~
~~1/2 cup snow pea pods chopped~~
~~1/2 cup bamboo shoots chopped~~
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon ginger root grated
1 large egg beaten
2 tablespoons soy sauce, sodium reduced
1 tablespoon sherry dry
1 dash salt
12 each egg roll skins
1 x vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
1 x sweet and sour sauce as needed
[1 can tiny shrimp]
Directions

Preheat a large skillet or wok over high heat; add the 1 tablespoon cooking oil.

Stir fry spinach, carrot, cabbage, mushrooms, onion, water chestnuts, pea pods, bamboo shoots, garlic and gingerroot for 2-3 minutes.

In a bowl combine egg, soy sauce, sherry and salt; stir in the vegetable mixture.

Place an egg roll skin with 1 point toward you.

Spoon 1/4 cup vegetable filling diagonally across and just below center of skin.

Fold bottom point of the skin over the filling; tuck point under filling.

Fold side corners over, forming an envelope shape.

Roll up toward remaining corner, moisten point; press firmly to seal.

Repeat with remaining egg roll skins and filling.

Fry egg rolls, a few at a time, in deep hot cooking oil (365 degrees) for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Drain on paper toweling.

Serve warm with Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Makes 12 egg rolls.
The original recipe- recipeland.com/recipe/v/Chinese_Vegetarian_Egg_Rolls_48988

This egg roll recipe turned out really good. You see egg rolls are one of my hubby's favorites. It was a nice treat for him and one of those fried priorities for me.[big smile]

Another night I made an awesome pasta salad with the elbow macaroni I had left over from the mac and cheese. Pasta salad is a no brainer dish to prepare however; I was excited to try some of my fresh home grown lime basil in the dressing.

For the Pasta Salad Dressing, I used 1/8 cup rice vinegar, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, 2 fresh garlic cloves, and a handful of fresh lime basil. I mixed the ingredients is a cruet and let them marinate for about an hour. I poured it over the salad, covered, and refrigerated for an hour before serving.

All week I was craving rice pudding. I had made a small amount with some leftover rice that we had in the fridge. I think that’s what stared the craving to begin with. Last night I prepared Caribbean Coconut Rice Pudding. Red, who doesn’t really like coconut, absolutely enjoyed it.

Leftover Rice Pudding

* 2 cups leftover white rice [jasmine]
* 3 cups milk (any kind)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* Small pinch salt (optional)
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

* ~~Dash of nutmeg (optional)~~

Directions

1. Combine cooked rice, milk, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and stir in the vanilla and raisins. Cook until just about all of the milk is absorbed (20-45 minutes, depending on how absorbent your rice is). Stir in cinnamon and/or nutmeg, if using.

2. Divide rice pudding into individual serving dishes serve warm or chilled.

3. Makes 4-6 servings.

Original recipe from Nicole Weston at: www.slashfood.com/2006/09/10/rice-pudding-with-leftover-rice/

Notes: I made half this amount by decreasing the ingredients by half. All items [...] are my alterations. Also, the cooking time was about half.

The Caribbean Coconut Rice Pudding was on the package of Golden Star Jasmine rice.

1/2 cup Jasmine rice
2 cups whole milk
2 cups coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp raisins [1/8 cup]
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Wash rice thoroughly in several changes of water, put in a deep pot. Add both milks and rice, bring to a boil.
Lower heat and cook milk, gently boiling for one hour or until rice is cooked and the milk has thickened to the consistency of pudding. Add sugar and vanilla, cook about another five minutes. Distribute the pudding into four serving dishes and garnish with raisins and coconut flakes. Chill for one hour before serving.

Notes: It did take almost an hour to cook. Remembering reading about stirring and Jasmine rice, I only stirred once when combining the rice and milks. I added raisins rather than just as a garnish.

Hope you enjoyed my hodgepodge foodie post.

Are you hungry? ♥

Comments Recipe Tags: dessert, dinner, seafood, side dish

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Salads Sunday and Cheddar Cheese Crackers

Salad Sunday, what fun! After announcing the simple dinner menu, Red and DH were cheering me on as I started into the kitchen, like I was some kind of chef or culinary expert. [big eye roll] What they didn’t know was that I had already prepared the seafood salad, the pimento cheese spread, and the egg salad earlier in the day. I was going to try something new, cheddar cheese crackers. I should say this is new to me. Anyway, that was what all the hoopla was about, home made crackers. [another eye roll]

First I made the seafood salad. I used that imitation stuff made from haddock. Yes I know some may say it’s not really seafood salad but the guys loved it and funds allowed it so it’s all good!

Seafood Salad
1 lb seafood
1 green onion
1 stalk celery
¾ cup red bell pepper
¼ cup mayo + 1 tbsp
¼ cup sour cream
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
4-6 fresh lime basil leaves
1/8 tsp old bay seasoning
Salt to taste
6-8 turns pepper grinder

Shred the seafood block. Add the chopped onion, celery, red pepper and mix well. Process the ¼ cup mayo, sour cream, vinegars, fresh basil, and old bay seasoning until dressing is creamy and fresh basil is cut fine. Pour over seafood; add salt, pepper and the remaining tablespoon of mayo. Mix well and refrigerate about an hour. I served this on Cuban bread with lettuce and tomato. We topped those cheddar crackers with the left over seafood salad as a late night snack.

KitchenAid? 7-Cup Food Processor with Mini Bowl

Next I made the pimento cheese spread. You can find that recipe posted here. Finally I made traditional egg salad with dill pickle relish for Red. No sweet salads for him, or seafood salad for that matter. There aren’t many things he won’t eat and the egg salad was easy enough to whip up, problem solved.

Lastly, I started on to the first time task of preparing the cheddar crackers. I have to say I was a bit worried. I’m not too fond of baking and don’t do it very well. I have no idea why that is, it just is.

Cheddar Cheese Cracker Recipe
1 Stick of Butter – at room temperature
2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 325° and get out your food processor.
2. Throw all of those ingredients into the food processor and pulse until well mixed, about 10 times.
3. Dump the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to bring it together forming a ball of dough.
4. If the consistency allows, roll the dough out into a very thin layer, maybe 1/8 inch thick. If the dough is too loose to roll, toss it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Once rolled out, cut the crackers. You can use cookie cutters here if you would like fancy shapes, but I just used a pizza cutter for basic crackers. It’s your call.
6. Place the crackers onto a cookie sheet covered with foil, parchment paper, greased wax paper, or even better, a Silpat baking mat.
7. Bake for 11 minutes or until the crackers start to get just golden on the edges.
8. Place on a cooling rack until the crackers are no longer warm.
(http://www.eatingcleveland.com/2008/06/25/cheese-crackers-recipe/)

Well, this mix was really crumbly and never did come together to form a dough. I pressed it into a log about 14” long and 2” high and sliced it. I pressed each slice to the thickness of a cracker. They had to bake for 20 minutes.