quick & easy – Page 3 – OwlCat Designs

July 25, 2012December 16, 2017

Super Natural Mango Ice Cream

Soft serve state……or popsicle, fantastic either way!

You may have notice that I am ~~obsessed~~ enamored with mangoes. For more on this delicious fruit, see the Mango Cheesecake and the Mango with Sticky Rice posts and a fun side salsa, geeez, I guess I am kinda crazy about them. Since it is really hard to describe a flavor so exotic and sweet that it transports you to faraway places where the sun rises red through the early morning haze and you hear a peacock’s cry in the distance. The view takes your breath away as daylight slowly uncovers the scenery, like unrolling an exquisite silk tapestry…

Well, beyond dreaming, this is not going to get much words from me, except it’ only 2 ingredients and a must-try! No added sugar since mangoes are sweet as a dream, and if you use coconut milk, the whole thing is vegan.

Remember to start this the day before you want to eat the super natural mango ice

Ingredients

2 champagne mangoes, peeled, cut into 1/2″ chunks
about 3/4 cups coconut milk (or half & half*)

*If using half & half, the mango ice is no longer vegan

Directions

Chop and freeze the mango pieces until rock hard. (best overnight, but minimum of 6 hours seems to work)
Blend the chopped, frozen mango pieces, until they look crumbly, like such…
With the machine running, slowly pour in coconut milk (or half and half, if going the dairy route) until the mango crumbles start to blend into a homogenous mass.
Either serve right away (texture is soft serve) or scoop into a small dish or popsicle molds and freeze until solid. Will keep for several weeks, if you can keep your fingers off of it 🙂

July 23, 2012December 16, 2017

Celery Watermelon Salad

It’s really pretty simple: When it’s hot we want cool foods (Ice cream and fruits anyone?) and when it’s cold out we crave hot. It may not be scientifically proven, but there is truth to needing balance. In everything…but since here we are talking a bit more specific about food and eating, I wanna share a something that I often share with my nutrition and personal training clients. Even if you take the healthiest food on earth, but you eat 17 times more than necessary you will still not loose fat. Balance is the key, and everything in moderation. Same is true for the indulgences in life, for depriving yourself always does not send a healthy message to your brain or body. And as Paracelsus already knew that ‘the dose makes the poison’ But no worries, with this recipe here, you’re pretty safe on the scale of healthfulness. So dig in, have some of this cooling summertime salad!

Since my red currant bushes did not grace me with a whole lotta berries this year, and I won;t have enough to make my grandma’s ‘Trübeli Kueche” I had to find another home for my backyard bounty. And a salad seemed as good a place as any. (I know I could have just eaten them with cream poured over top, like my Mom used to serve berries for desert sometime)

Yup, who wants to cook and heat up the house more when it is blistering outside?

Ingredients

5-6 stalks (the individual pieces, not sure on the official term, even googled it) celery, diced small
2 cups seedless watermelon, diced into 1/2″ peices
1/4 cucumber, cut into small chunks (if using a pickling cucumber, use half)
2 limes, fresh juice only
(optional: 1/2 cup red currants)

Directions

Toss all the ingredients gently in a large bowl and serve.
Yes, it’s that simple 🙂

July 5, 2012December 16, 2017

Balsamic Roasted Figs with Prosciutto

Few things spell summer like ripe figs on my tree. Undemandingly it lives in its, admittedly pretty big pot, on my deck in the summer and indoors in the winter, due to me not knowing if it would actually make it outdoors in the ground, or not. So rather than taking my chances, I lift weight so I can move the fig tree 😉 There you have it, the true reason for me to stay in shape. Well, thanks to the recent heat waves, we have been able to enjoy a handful of figs a day for the past week or so!

Summer cooking for me means lots of meals outside, fresh and simple ingredients and since I do want to make most of the beautiful weather, I don’t want to spend lots of time in the kitchen. It’s all about fresh, fast and easy for me these days! Of course without sacrificing taste!

fresh from the tree!

Roasting and adding balsamic vinegar intensifies the sweet taste and the bright flavors of the balsamic balance nicely with the caramelized fig juices; add something salty and you’re set!

So here is a quick and easy appetizers that is going to wow everyone at your next gathering but is quick enough to whip up for a surprise visit or even just a week night meal

Ingredients

Fresh Figs, cut in half as shown (I used about two hand full for two people, or about 10 medium size)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
freshly ground pepper and sea salt to taste
1-2 slices Prosciutto (get the real stuff, from Italy (Parma or San Danielle is what I generally use), US domestic Prosciutto is cheaper, but super extremely salty. Since you only need a little, this is not the place to be stingy.

Directions

Slice figs in half.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar
Grind fresh pepper overtop and sprinkle with a little sea salt
Place on a lined baking sheet and place in the toaster oven. Toast until hot and just starting to brown (it took a little under 5 minutes for me), serve with ripped pieces of Prosciutto.

July 3, 2012December 16, 2017

Very Merry Blackberry Ice

Many of you are wondering what kind of treat to serve for your 4th of July celebration. It has to be tasty, should ideally not be too filling and still feel good after a full meal, good for a hot barbecue day, but at the same time, you don’t want to go overboard on the calories either. I got just the treat for you: ice cold and healthy and you don’t even need an ice cream maker!
To your rescue comes…

Three ingredient blackberry ice!

I have not read up on my ice box deserts lately, but I suspect that this should actually be called ‘gelato’, since I am not only using cream…very very exited about my animal cracker cookie cutters 🙂

You can vary the amount of sugar you add to this, depending on how sweet the berries are. Just remember to start this half a day in advance or use already frozen berries.

Ingredients

12 oz (big carton/box) blackberries
6oz box raspberries or some strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup to 1 cup half & half, whole milk or cream

Directions

Wash and gently dry the berries by shaking them a little in a colander. Place back into original container and freeze until rock hard, about 6 hours (depends on the freezer)
In the bowl of a good food processor, combine the berries and the sugar, pulse until everything is crushed and starts to resemble a powder.
With the machine running, in a slow stream add milk or half & half through the feed hole on the lid of the blender bowl. You may have to scrape down the sides once or so as you are going through this, but work quickly as the berries will start to thaw rapidly as you are processing them. Keep adding half&half until the berries and the dairy form a creamy mass. The ice cream will be quite soft (almost like soft serve) either eat right away, or place in the freezer for approximately 15 to 20 minutes to firm up a bit before serving.
Enjoy with animal crackers or any other crunchy item you enjoy 🙂

June 3, 2012

Celeriac Slaw with Pineapple

Ahhhh summer! 🙂 The weather has been crazy! From 95 to 69 in two hours due to thunderstorms, then back up to hot the next day, after the early morning temps were in the low 50’s… So with the official start of pool season (Memorial Day) the grill has moved back to center stage for many, and we can never have enough ideas for sides to eat with all the great things that will be grilled up. And with the warm weather being here to stay, there won’t be much winter crop celery root available soon. So here, to ring in the changing season with one more glorious celeriac recipe, I made a salad, a slaw really, adding summery pineapple to make it more special. Even though this is a ‘slaw’, it is light and healthy, no heavy mayonnaise or heavy cream, but flavorful and perfect for that next summer picnic!

I have made a dressing with sour cream for this one, but use any creamy dressing you like. (Have also tried it with buttermilk)

Ingredients

1 medium celeriac (celery root)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into chunks
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup apple cider or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped mixed herbs (such as parsley, chives, thyme)
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Clean and peel celeriac, then grate on the coarse side of a grater or use your food processor. Drizzle with lemon juice, toss add the pineapple and set aside.
To make the dressing, mix the herbs, mustard, salt and pepper with the vinegar, then stir in the sour cream.
Add the dressing to the celeriac, stir until well combined. Toss something on the grill to go along with it or make a yummy salad platter like I did here.

May 17, 2012December 16, 2017

Nüssli Salat (lambs lettuce, Mâche or Corn Salad) with Eggs and Orange

A filling lunch salad for a warm day. When I was kid, my Mom made this a lot after Easter, it’s a good way to use up all the pretty Easter eggs. I am sure she still makes it, I am just not there to enjoy it that often 🙁 Over time, I have changed things around a bit, so for one I do not always use her creamy dressing, here I just made a simple vinaigrette but it would sure would be awesome with Sour Cream Chive Dressing or Greek Feta Dressing! I also started adding part of an orange, to pep it up a bit, and really like it. Add a bit of the orange juice from peeling and cutting the orange to your dressing.

In my parents garden, we used to grow our own Nüssli Salat. In the early spring, and when we were going to get snow or a hard frost, my Dad would cover it with burlap bags. Wait, I am thinking, not totally sure on this, but I think, he grew the stuff covered with bags all winter long… Hmm will have to check on that next time I talk to ‘Switzerland’, it might be that I was just a kid making winter looooonger than it needed to be in my Mom’s eyes. (My Mom did not really appreciate winter as much as I did)

Per person you will need:

Ingredients

a good plate full of Nüssli Salat, Mâche (Corn salad or Lambs lettuce)*
2 hard boiled eggs
1/2 orange, peeled pitted and sliced crosswise into rounds
2-4 tablespoons of your favorite dressing (vinaigrette shown here)

* If you can’t find this delicious lettuce, it’s usually available in the winter and early in the spring, anything with some substance could be substituted

Directions

Arrange on platter and off you go!

May 16, 2012December 16, 2017

Sour Cream Chive Dressing

Quick Dressing to throw together when you’re in a hurry. I love when one recipe leads to another, as the Guilt Fee Yogurt Chive Sauce inspired this dressing one evening, turning leftovers into something new. I liked it so much that it became its own recipe. It now has a permanent home, you know, instead of leftover land tent city 😉

It makes a wonderful creamy dressing without adding the calories of mayo. Use it on any salad or as a light refreshing dip for veggies.

You need

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup pickle juice or vinegar
1/2 cup chopped chives
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
a very small clove of garlic, minced (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

Mix everything in a bowl or shaker cup until well combined

May 9, 2012December 16, 2017

Kale #2 with Garlic

Pan roasted garlic lends its flavor to this easy kale side dish.

My favorite kale, hands down is Cavolo Nero or Tuscan kale or Lacinato kale or dinosaur kale (Oh yeah, it has many names). It doesn’t have the frilly edges typical of other varieties, but almost a bubbly appearance. Dark green with a dusty sheen, I find it to be ideal for kale chips, in case you’re looking to make some. If it is young, like from my garden, I eat it raw in salads, it’s that tender! Unfortunately it seems that it is bit harder to get at the store than the curly variety that has become so common, so the picture here is just for recognition sake, and memories until I have more growing in my garden. I made the dish (this time) with the frilly, curly variety. Good either way!

Directions

1 bunch of kale (curly or nero di toscana), cleaned, de-stemmed and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Directions

Remove stems and wash kale, chop or rip into pieces and spin dry.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium, add the sliced garlic and cook just until slightly golden (Don’t let it get black, or it will be bitter).
Add the washed kale, toss, then add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and cover with a lid. (If the kale is young and tender, you need less water/less cooking time)
Cook until the kale is almost done, add the cider vinegar, cover and cook for another 2 minutes, then open the lid and let any excess water evaporate before turning off the heat.

Check these recipes for more kale ideas: Kale #1, Tomato Kale and Cheese Omelette, Kale, mushroom &meatball skillet

May 1, 2012December 16, 2017

Mango Sweet Pepper Salsa

Chives and how to ~~get rid of~~ use them… Okay, one more… now I think I used almost a cup of chopped chives! I can feel a little better about using things up, I think. This one’s super easy and super yummy! Serve over or with chive burgers and guilt free chive sauce

Ingredients

1 mango, peeled and pitted
1/8th of a red bell pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
3-4 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

Chop the mango, finely dice the red bell pepper
Toss with 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and the chives

April 13, 2012December 16, 2017

Asparagus Fontina Crab Frittata

Elegant and special enough for a Sunday brunch, but easy enough for everyday. So indulge, treat yourself because you made it to Friday! With a side salad it also makes a great light lunch or dinner, in fact, why limit yourself? Have it any time you like!

Serves 2

Ingredients

5 eggs, scrambled
2 oz Fontina cheese, cubed
1 can crab meat, 6oz, drained (I used a regular ‘fancy’ not jumbo lump, although that of fresh would certainly be tasty)
about 1/2 lb asparagus
freshly ground pepper

no really, that’s it 🙂

Directions

Wash and cut the asparagus spears, then lightly steam them by adding to a saucepan, add 1 cup water, cover and heat until almost fork tender
Heat a oven proof skillet with just enough oil to make it non stick, add eggs and cook for about 30 seconds before adding crab meat in heaped tablespoon portions, then spread the asparagus and the cheese over your eggs.
Preheat broiler on low, when eggs are set, place skillet under broiler for 2-3 minutes, leaving door ajar, until top of Frittata is browned in spots and the eggs are cooked through.
Serve with some greens on the side, or a full blown salad to make it into a bit more of a meal.

Yes, it’s THAT good!