In the kitchen

Strawberry & Mozzarella Salad

2 tbsp flax seed oil
1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

2 heads romaine lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces
2 baskets strawberries, hulled and sliced
6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4. c. fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons.

In a small bowl whisk together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Place lettuce in a large bowl and toss with 1/2 the dressing.  Toss strawberries with remaining dressing and place over lettuce.  Top with cheese and basil.

Yummy

We are having this tonight along with grilled turkey burgers.  Talk about summer!

Tahini inspired spread

.5 cup tahini
.5 cup water
juice from one lemon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt & pepper

Combine ingredients in a blender to make a smooth and creamy sauce.  I actually love to add ginger to this.

Tastes great on everything from broccoli to rice.

Minestrone Soup

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large onion, chopped
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups vegetable stock or water (or combination thereof)
2 bay leaves
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1/3 c. brown rice
1 16oz can kidney beans, undrained
1 lb fresh green beans, cut in 1" pieces

In a 6 qt pot, saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until softened.  Add stock or water, tomatoes, rice and bay leave.  Bring to a boil and cover, reducing heat to a simmer for 50 minutes; stirring occassionaly.  Stir in kidney beans and green beans and simmer for an additional 10 minutes (or until all veggies are tender).  Remove bay leaf before serving

Cassava Cake

We had a pot-luck at work on Friday. In addition to the chicken kelaguen wraps I took, I tried a recipe for Cassava cake that I brought back with me from my recent trip to Guam. It turned out pretty good - but next time I'll get the food processor going to make it without the "lumps"!

Cassava Cake

2 1-lb bags frozen cassava (get the grated if you can, otherwise you'll have to grate the root)
1 can condensed milk
1 can coconut milk
1 jar macapuno strings
4 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 Tablespoons butter (melted)

Put it all in a big bowl and mix with a spoon. Pour into a baking dish and bake at 350 for about an hour. If the top isn't as brown as you'd like, pop it under the broiler.

Scones

During a recent trip to Guam I was able to find my very favourite tea in the grocery store, Irish Breakfast Tea. I LOVE it and haven't been able to find it here in Okinawa. I've been enjoying a cup or two a day. Last night I was thinking about making a cup, but decided I was hungry. One thought lead to another, and before long I was in the kitchen testing a new scone recipe courtesy of the internet.

Preheat the over to 450.

In my food processor I placed:

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons softened butter

I blitzed for a few seconds and then added 1 beaten egg.
Blitz again and then add about 3/4 cup mild.

Turn onto a flour covered surface and knead a few times, until the dough is no longer sticky. Now there is much debate on the internet as to the "true" shape of a scone. I like my round, so I rolled out the dough to about 1/2" thick and then used a glass to cut circles.

Base for 10-15 minutes. This recipe made 12 2" scones, and here they are:

Now of course you don't eat them plain. I have both raspberry jam and black current. I couldn't decide which to have, so I had one of each. With whipped cream (clotted cream is another luxury I can't find here). And here they are, just waiting to be enjoyed:

Which they were (enjoyed) with a freshly brewed cup of Irish Breakfast Tea (for dinner).

Quinoa And Black Beans

This is what is for lunch today.

1. tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
.75 c quinoa
1.5 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. Cumin
1 c. corn kernels
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained
.5 c. chopped fresh cilantro
.5 lemon juiced.

Heat the oil in a med. saucepan and saute onions and garlic until nicely browned. 
Mix in quinoa, broth and cumin.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes (until all liquid is absorbed).

Take off the heat and mix everything else in.

This makes roughly 4-5 servings depending on how hungry you are.  Would serve about 8 if you kept it to a side dish.

 

It's delish!  I just made this today and I think it would taste better room temperature to chilled as a sort of salad.  Plus then you could add some fresh diced avocado... mmm yummy! 

Souvlaki Pork

2 lbs boneless pork sirloin cutlets
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp black pepper
6 cloves garlic, minced
.25 cup olive oil
.25 tsp splenda
.5 cup water
1 lemon cut in half and juiced.

Mix everything together in a large ziplock bag (including lemon halves).  Add pork cutlets and let marinate in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, pour everything into a slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 hours.  Before serving remove lemon halves and stir.

This goes beautifully with some fresh steamed broccoli with lemon butter.

520 cals, 54g protein.

PS.  I made this once, and I think you could easily drop the olive oil qty down to a tablespoon or two with no loss in taste.

Carrot Cake

In the late 1980s we were fortunate enough to call Christchurch, New Zealand home. There were/are many amazing things about Christchurch, but my whole family fell in love with Main Street Café. It was a wonderful non-smoking, vegetarian restaurant. I sure hope it is still there! Anyway, one of the very best deserts was their carrot cake. For nearly 20 years I’ve been testing various carrot cake recipes. None have come close. Until now, that is! I found an excellent carrot cake recipe in Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook, "Cook with Jamie". I was hesitant to reprint the recipe, but I found it online at Martha Stewart’s. So I guess it’s OK.

Jamie Oliver’s Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Icing
(Or in my case, Jamie Oliver's Carrot Cake with Lime Cream Cheese Icing)

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups light-brown sugar (I used dark)
5 large eggs, separated
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves (I didn’t have any so I left them out)
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup ground almonds
4 ounces shelled walnuts, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
10 ounces carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
Sea salt
4 ounces mascarpone cheese (I couldn’t find this, so I left it out)
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 scant cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Zest and juice of two limes

I also added about ½ cup dried currents – because I like them!

I tried a piece just after it was frosted and found it to be a bit strong with lime. However, today, after spending time in the fridge, it was FANTASTIC!

Poached Peaches with Strawberry Sauce

Serves 4 (80 cals, 19g carbs, 1 g protein, less than 1g fat)

1 6oz can frozen, unsweetened apple juice concentrated, thawed
1 cup water
1tbsp finely grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
4 medium sized ripe peaches or nectarines (pears could be a winter alternated), I've had fine results with canned in water or it's own juices, but not heavy syrup
4 sprigs fresh mint for garnish
strawberry sauce (recipe to follow)

In a med saucepan, mix apple juice, water, lemon peel and vanilla; bring to boil and reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add peaches and poach, partially covered over low heat for 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool in liquid.  When cool, carefully slip skins off peaches, cut in half lengthwise and remove pits.

Spoon Strawberry Sauce into 4 dessert plates making a little pool.

On each plate, arrange 2 peach halves in the center and garnish with mint.

Strawberry Sauce
on it's own it's 28 cals

2 cups fresh strawberries hulled and washed (I've had fine results with frozen and using raspberries).
1/4 cup unsweetened orange juice
Pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor, process until smooth.

Pesto Beef with Grape Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, minced
1/2 c. prepared pesto sauce (your own or store bought)
Fresh ground black pepper.
2 lbs round steak cut into 6 pieces
2 pints grape tomatoes (about 4.5 cups)
1 lb fresh mozzarella, drained, sliced and brought to room temp.

Grease your slow cooker crock with the olive oil.  And the onion, pesto and pepper to the crock; stir and combine.

Add the steak to the crock and turn the pieces with tongs to coat with the pesto mixture; add tomatoes on top of the meat.

Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.  To serve, use clean tongs to place steak in individual bowls.  Top each serving with a couple of slices of the fresh mozzarella, and some of the tomato mixture (use a slotted spoon to get the tomatoes out of the slow cooker).

I will add a photograph once it is done cooking, but it's still in the pot.