Laksa Ayam

Years ago while backpacking half way around the world, I spent some time in Malaysia, and this one town on the east coast had a fantastic night market, where one could fill up on fantastic foods for a couple of bucks. Some of my favorites where the flaky roti canaii, the massive grilled king prawns (more like emperor prawns, if you advance on that size scale, as they were literally fist sized) with sambal and the endless variations of flavorful soups that would be available at all times of day (or night)

For a long time after coming back I would make a chicken and shrimp based soup called Laksa, then I forgot about it, but last week-end in NYC we ate a delicious little gem called Niu noodle house and our dinner reminded me of Laksa, and back came the memories of the fantastic taste, flavorful yet mild.

You can make this totally from scratch by buying a whole chicken, cutting it into pieces and boiling it to make stock, then remove the meat from the bones, shred and reserve and discard the bones. Or you can use chicken broth (homemade and stashed in your freezer) and a chicken breast or rotisserie chicken, all depending on the time you have or your willingness to work. In the spirit of full disclosure, my not completely authentic version features some adaptations, to make the recipe fit our western pantry a bit better. For one, I use macadamia or cashew nuts, the original calls for candle nuts, which are rather difficult to come by in this part of the world. I also like to add a pinch of turmeric to give the whole thing a bit of color.

…and of course you can put lots more broth over the noodles

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces or left over rotisserie chicken meat
3 cups chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
(1/2 pound shrimp, or 5-6 per person, peeled and cooked, optional)
3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
7 oz or 200 grams dried rice noodles, size medium or smaller, or vermicelli
4 small shallots + 1 shallot for garnish*
3 garlic cloves
4 macadamia or cashew nuts
1 stem lemon grass, only thick end, bruised so it’s slightly crushed and split open
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1 pinch turmeric
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste

* as a shortcut, get ‘fried red onion’ in a jar from your Asian grocer

Directions

Using mortar and pestle, grind the coriander seeds to a powder, then add the nuts and process the same way. Press the garlic and the small shallots through a garlic press, then add to the mortar and pound everything to a paste.
Thinly slice the remaining shallot and set aside.
Bring water to a boil, then pour over the rice noodles in a heat proof bowl and let stand until softened but not mushy, (time varies, depending on the size of your noodles)
Heat a small amount of oil in a soup pan, and fry the seasoning paste from the mortar until it just starts to turn golden and a strong fragrance is released. Add the chicken breast and cook for another minute. Chicken will cook more in the following steps. ( If using cooked chicken, add after adding the broth)
Deglaze with the chicken broth and the coconut milk, stir to dissolve any lumps of the seasoning paste. Add the lemon grass and bring to a boil and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
In the meantime, heat a small frying pan, add the remaining oil and fry the sliced shallots until crispy, set aside.
Add a pinch of turmeric to the broth and season with salt to taste.
To serve, place the noodles into 4 bowls, top with shrimp and 3 pieces of hard boiled egg each, then ladle the hot soup over top and serve garnished with the fried shallot

October 18, 2012December 16, 2017

Ricotta and Spinach Malfatti

I have a secret fascination with gnocchi, or dumplings or whatever you want to call them. I think the part that really gets me is the fact that you make a sort of dough and then dump it in boiling water, AND if you do it right, it doesn’t fall apart but cooks and comes out of the water the same shape it went in. Seems crazy that should work at all, right?

In the center shown with slow cooker sauce and sweet potato

Well, since we are on the topic, here’s another one I tried recently. With the fall weather setting in, I am veering over towards more substantial foods, but this one is surprisingly light and delicate, for a dumpling. It’s mostly ricotta after all! Still fascinated that they hold together in the water, although it just occurred to me, duh, that pasta is essentially dough as well, cooked in water. I guess the fact that pasta is much drier and flat never allowed me to make the connection? 🙂 Now granted these are a bit more delicate than Spaghetti, and need special precautions, but as long as you keep the water just below a serious boil, you’re good to go. And they are worth every minute spent on making them. Don’t let the long list of steps scare you off, they are much easier to make than it is to describe how to make them, seriously!

Malfatti which translates literally as ‘ badly made’ are a regional specialty from Italy. I had first seen them on menus and tables back in Europe, then heard about them again when I started reading Robert’s blog, and his recent post on flour-less Malfatti reminded me to finally give them a try. Not flour-less, I’ll leave that for later, since that seems to require a bit more dumpling experience, I hear.

Another thing to keep in mind before running to your kitchen: all the recipes I saw recommended draining the ricotta in a cheesecloth lined colander, in the fridge overnight, some with a weight on it. However my ricotta did not cooperate and drained nothing, so here’s my solution: When ready to make the dough, blot with several changes of paper towels, squeeze and blot several times before placing in a large bowl.

So here’s what you need for the ‘screwed ups’ or Malfatti

Ingredients

2 cups ricotta, drained in cheesecloth in the fridge overnight
1/2 to 3/4 cups flour
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
semolina (or corn meal) for dusting so they don’t stick
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano or other hard italian cheese

Directions

Drain the ricotta overnight in the fridge in a cheesecloth lined colander over a bowl or blot with several changes of paper towels, squeeze and blot several times before placing in a large bowl.
Separate the egg yolk from the egg white, reserve egg white for another use, and add the yolk to the ricotta bowl.
Cut the spinach leaves into a chiffonade (roll up a few at a time and slice thinly) then add with the salt to the ricotta. Stir with a fork until mixed.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the flour over the ricotta mixture and using a spatula or your fingers, gently incorporate until just coming together.
Prepare a baking sheet with a non stick mat ans sprinkle with semolina.
Generously flour a work surface, turn out the dough onto the surface an knead 4 to 5 times. (Do NOT overmix or the dough will get tough = not good)
In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then reduce heat until just at a simmer and no big bubbly movement can be seen in the water.
Using 2 teaspoons, cut a piece from the dough, shape and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Sprinkle all the Malfatti with semolina while they are ‘waiting’
Gently slide dumplings into simmering water, 5 to 6 at a time and cook until they float to the surface. Scoop out using a wire skimmer and place back on the baking sheet.
Preheat broiler on low and when they are all cooked, sprinkle with the Pecorino and quickly finish the Malfatti in the oven until the cheese melts, they should stay white.
Serve with any sauce that makes you happy.

October 9, 2012December 16, 2017

Leek and Sausage Ragù

Late summer and the last tomatoes are picked from the garden. They are currently occupying the best part of my counter in order to go from green to a more desirable color… In the meantime the leeks are getting to the size where it’s worthwhile cooking them and even though I did not use our own tomatoes for this one, I just had to have some of the gnocchi we made the other day. And you know what? Sometimes I find the pretty red tomatoes from the garden a little too special for sauce, especially now, that there aren’t any more coming, so I am okay with using a can once in a while 🙂

Ingredients

28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage (about 2 links)
3 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 leeks (white and light-green parts only), cut into rounds and rinsed well(about 1-1/2 cups)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 small clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
grated Parmigiano, lots (about 1 cup)

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan or dutch oven over medium heat, add the onion and cook until translucent but not browned. Add the garlic, turn the heat up slightly and cook both until golden (not brown). Add the salt and spices, stir
Add the can of tomatoes and crush with a wooden spoon so the pieces break apart. Bring to a slow boil.
Squeeze the sausage from its casing, ‘dispensing’ meatball sized chunks into the boiling sauce, cook until sausage is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Turn down to a simmer and let cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes for flavors to blend, season with black pepper to taste and serve over potato gnocchi with lots of Parmigiano cheese.

October 4, 2012December 16, 2017

Potato Gnocchi

With the cooler weather, the desire for more substantial foods comes back as well. Thicker sauces and thicker sweaters are a hand in hand occurence in this house. I crave different foods when the weather changes, and a good plate of airy and light yet filling gnocchi has never been passed off by this girl here. But when you research or ask around, it seem that short of moving to a monastery in the Italian Alps and apprenticing for a solid three years, or at least adopting an Italian ‘Nonna’ (and they are hard to come by), there is no chance that you might even come close to something edible. Light and delicate and not rubbery, dense or chewy is what I am dreaming off and honestly due to all the info and feedback, it took me a good year of just looking at my potato ricer (that was purchased with just this very task in mind) before I attempted my first batch. When I finally went for it, I could hardly believe how simple it seemed. Had I only realized that it would be so easy to make these from scratch I would have eaten them weekly. So sadly I have lived without gnocchi for quite some time, having been served lumps of what must have been an illegitimate love child of paste and rubber, I had been too scared to even try the frozen variety at the store. Anyone know if they are any good?

But taking an afternoon and making a batch of nice, homemade gnocchi, is going to give you the best result. You just have to be mindful of a couple of important points and you should have no trouble creating a lofty, delicate gnocchi!

My little gnocchi factory 🙂

Go ahead, give it a try! The important factors (from my research supplemented by my limited experience) are using a potato ricer, and just barely putting the dough together, if you knead it as many recipe’s are calling for, it will get dense due to the gluten developing inside the dough, and last but not least of course, the type of potato is important too: Russet, or another starchy variety is recommended.

makes enough for about 3 meals for 2 people

Ingredients

about 2 lb of Russet potatoes (I used 3 big ones, might have been more than 2 lb, but that’s what most recipe’s call for)
1 egg
1 to 1 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp salt

Directions

If necessary, cut the potatoes into manageable pieces (so it fits in a pot) and cover with cold water, bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and cook, covered, until cooked and tender when tested with a knife.
Drain and set aside until juts cold enough to handle, peel the potatoes, cut in half and pass them through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Set aside, uncovered to cool to almost room temperature, about 20 minutes. (They need to cool down to the point where they won’t cook the egg that will get mixed in)
Slightly scramble the egg, then add to the potatoes with the salt and stir with a fork until mixed in.
Add about 1 1/4 cup of flour and gently incorporate into a crumbly dough, using your hands. Make sure the flour is all moistened then press all of it together against the bottom of the bowl.
Generously flour a work surface and wash your hands. Turn dough out onto floured surface and quickly knead until the flour is fully incorporated and the dough is soft and a little tacky but feels delicate and mostly smooth. About 30 seconds to 1 minute max. (do NOT overwork or the gnocchi will be tough)
Place dough back into bowl and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.
Line two baking sheets with parchment and flour lightly, set aside.
Lightly re-flour work surface and using a piece of dough about the size of a small orange, roll into a 3/4″ diameter roll on the floured surface, below the palms of both your hands.
With a sharp knife, cut the rope about every 3/4″so you get a little dough piece roughly 3/4″ square. Traditionally Italian Gnocchi have little ridges that are made by pushing/rolling the gnocchi over the tines of a fork, but you could just as well leave them in the ‘pillow’ shape after cutting.
Place the gnocchi in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat until you used up all the dough.
If you are going to cook them within the next 2 to 3 hours, you can leave them out on the counter,otherwise place in the freezer(on the sheets) and when frozen store them in zip top bags for use anytime!
To cook, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and slide the fresh gnocchi off the parchment into the water, about 15 to 20 at a time, stir and cook for 1 minute after they float to the surface. If they are frozen, cook right from the freezer but cook less at a time as the water temperature comes down when you add frozen things and the gnocchi will end up falling apart before they cook or (not sure what’s worse) become soggy.

October 2, 2012December 16, 2017

Nelson’s Pepper and Mushroom Soup

After watching me make soup a couple of times, Nelson surprised me the other night by making a soup of his own, using what we have, just like I would, he whipped up the most delicious little soup one can imagine! And all from the things that needed to be used up: 2 sad looking zucchini squash, celery, 4 mushrooms leftover from making pizza on Friday, the rest of the pizza sauce, a can of pinto beans, some speck and a lovely misshapen red peppers that were on ‘quick sale’ at the store. Oh, but I wouldn’t do it justice by forgetting the not-all-that-hot looking little hot pepper we got from Dawn’s garden that spiced up the whole pot. It was super awesome! I might be odd, but I had to have some for breakfast today, yes, it was that yummy 🙂

Ingredients

2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 big button mushrooms, cut into chunks
3-4 stalk of celery, chopped
1 can Pinto beans, rinsed (or frozen equivalent)
1 small green zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce (or about 1 cup leftover pizza sauce)
1 red bell pepper or ‘sweet ancient’ (long and funky looking)
1 hot red pepper (cherry or the one we had which looked innocent like a mini bell pepper)
1/4 cup diced Speck (pronounced “Shpek”, German slab bacon, cut into cubes)*
water (which should not be underestimated when making soup)
1 tsp salt
1 no salt added vegan broth cube from Rapunzel

*For vegetarian option, leave the Speck out, but make sure you blacken the red bell pepper, to give the soup some smoky depth.The odd little bag, you ask? Yes, that’s my frozen beans, I soak and cook beans for several meals and freeze them in snack size bags = just about a can of beans

Directions

Heat oil in a soup or stock pot, add the diced onions, celery and sweet red pepper, cook until softened and just starting to brown slightly.
Add the mushrooms and speck and cook just another minute before adding about 4 cups of water, the vegetable bouillon cube and the pizza or tomato sauce. If the beans are frozen, add them at this point.
Bring to a boil and cook until vegetables are tender and the soup gets cloudy looking and thickens a little, then add the finely diced hot pepper
In the meantime, cut the squash lengthwise into spears and chop into pieces, add to the soup and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Good with Rosemary Soca or corn chips!

September 29, 2012December 16, 2017

Breakfast cups

Breakfast cups or what to do with those leftover fajitas… You know how everything always seems to come in boxes and quantities for a church group? Or at least a family of 8. Well in my case, we currently are a family of 2, sometimes even a family of 1 and most of the packaged things are just too much. I guess we could just resign ourselves to eating the same thing for the next week, twice a day… Are we just that spoiled? Anyone like to eat the same all week? If you have an answer, please do share. As for myself since I don’t like to waste things, I am always looking for different uses for the ‘rest’of the package. Fajita “wraps” are great for just that, you can turn them into desert (brush with butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon), or breakfast, they don’t mind one bit 😉

I promise that after this, I will try and not just post breakfast recipes. Actually, I got an awesome one coming up next. Nelson offered to make dinner the other night. And not by buying it at a restaurant (the usual path of this) OMG I can hardly believe it! And he made one of the best soups ever! In fact I had it for breakfast this morning, it was THAT good. But even better than the soup? Shhhht! Don’t tell anyone, I don’t want to break the spell, but Nelson started to want to cook!!!! So now maybe I can stop worrying that I might starve when I am sick sometime or when we have kids down the road, they’ll eat only frozen pizza when I am out. Can’t say it enough, I am so thrilled! So Ladies (and fellas) 😉 there IS hope. And there can be more than one good cook in one household 🙂

But enough gushing, on with the show, just stay tuned for the Pepper & Mushroom Soup, coming up …

Ingredients

per person

2 fajita size tortillas
2 eggs
2 slices of prosciutto or ham (leave out to keep vegetarian)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup (packed) baby spinach leaves
(optional: a couple of pieces of tomato)

Peppered ham is wonderful too!

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF
Using a muffin pan or fluted Madeleine cups on a cookie sheet, form the fajita into it. It is easiest by ‘pleating’ the sides as you go around.
Place the prosciutto into the created cup, followed by the spinach and the cheese. (If you are making the vegetarian option, the cheese goes on the bottom, below the spinach)

Carefully crack one egg into each cup (add a couple of pieces of tomato, if you like), and place in the middle of the pre heated oven
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until eggs are set. ( The ones below I turned the broiler on for a couple of minutes at the end, but wasn’t careful enough=blackened)

September 12, 2012December 16, 2017

Campfire Chili

Cooking under the stars always makes things have a special taste. Whether cooked over the fire or on a camp stove does not seem to matter. I guess you could even get ok good results at home, IF you really have to 😉 but I strongly believe the view and therefore the mood you’re in while cooking influences the result and how could anything not be fantastic, having a view like that? ‘Cooked with love’ as my Peruvian friend likes to say. Or maybe ‘with peace in your heart’ would be more fitting.

For this easy and quick dinner I am using a variety of beans, to add some visual as well as textural interest, and you can certainly substitute your favorite beans for what was used here. Making this at home I would totally use frozen beans (I cook dried beans and freeze them in portions) but since this was going to be one of our optional meals, I brought some cans along so it wouldn’t spoil if we decided against it. If using cans just make sure you rinse them really well, they usually pack quite a punch of sodium. To get ‘the look’ below, use 3 different types of beans and some corn (the regular size can, US 15.5 oz) just understand that variety comes at a price: This dish feeds half an army (6 people) And since it was just the two of us, we ate it three times, with a side of cheddar corn muffins. The really awesome part about the quantity is we had leftovers (stored on the ice in the cooler) to take home and have for dinner after our trip. Nothing like coming back from an active vacation and dinner is ready 🙂

You may have notices that there is no onion in this recipe, and you could certainly add onion. We wanted to. Sadly for us however, the onion sat safely back at home in a bag with the extra cucumbers from the market, in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. But as I learned, with the right (rest of the) ingredients, that isn’t a problem at all and we could not even tell it was missing at all. Use a big can of San Marzano tomatoes if available, they are awesome for Chili. Yes, I am aware that they are Italian :), but trust me, makes all the difference. That and my secret ingredient, the steak seasoning.

cooking with wind guard and view of the lake

Ingredients

1 can dark red kidney beans (15,5 oz)
1 can butter beans (15.5 oz)
1 can small red beans (15.5 oz)
1 can no salt added corn (15.5 oz)
1 can San Marzano tomatoes whole peeled (or stewed, chopped tomatoes) 28 oz (big can)
2 lb mixed ground meat (half venison, half beef is fab)
4-6 tablespoons medium to hot chili powder (Penzey’s makes an awesome one)
1 tsp chipotle powder
2 tsp steak seasoning (such as the one from La Cense or Chicago Steak Seasoning)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat some oil in a pot over medium, add the ground meat, and proceed to cook and break apart using a spatula until the meat is cooked and not pink anymore.
Add the spices and the tomatoes, then stir in the rinsed beans and corn (don’t open all the cans before hand, in case you run out of space, you can pass on one of the cans, bug make sure the ones you use are well rinsed)
Cook until slightly thickened, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. The longer you stew it the more the flavors will blend (or heat, cook 10 minutes, and wait for the leftovers to do that)
Serve with some Cheddar Corn Muffins and maybe a glass of full bodied red…

By the way, this is soooo easy to make, even a novice cook can whip it up in no time!

August 24, 2012December 16, 2017

Healthy Camping Pt1

So many think that when you take food along or cook outside your kitchen that forcibly the quality of your food has to go down, as in unhealthy and bad for you. But there is really no reason for that, whatsoever. As proven by or most recent camping trip and many hikes before that (I made Vietnamese summer rolls on time, put the peanut sauce right into them), you can definitely ‘rough it’ without sacrificing on the food side of things.

This time we only had a few days so it was sadly much shorter than we would have liked. But hey, that was in June (yes, sometimes that’s how long it takes me to get a post completed) and now it’s only August, and even if you are cold easily, camping season extends till at least the end of September.
We set off on a blistering hot weekend where temps here in the Lehigh Valley topped out just short of the triple digit mark, drove through several fronts of thunderstorm and heavy downpour ( there was an inch of water in my kayak by the time we got there! ) up to the Catskills which proved to be cooler and therefore much more agreeable with everybody. Oh and the best part? It did not rain one drop once we got there!

We went with friends and the cooking duties were split evenly: we were responsible for one dinner and one breakfast.

But first, here are some general guidelines for meal planning, away from you regular kitchen:
Use seasonal produce for fresh and healthy meals. Most produce can be kept at room temperature for a period of time ( unless it’s berries, which we did put on ice in the cooler) Things like cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, bananas, apples, grapefruit, oranges, watermelon , cantaloupe , red bell pepper, onions or green beans, even kale if wrapped in a moistened paper towel before put in a plastic bag will happily keep a while. And if you end up having more space than expected, you can always store them on top of the rest in your cooler. ( don’t refrigerate your tomatoes or bananas)

Breakfast:

Mix up the dry ingredients for pancakes and store in a zip top bag, all you need to add is the liquid stuff (a liquid like milk, oil and eggs, if you are making them with eggs)

Omelettes are always a good choice, easy and versatile that can be made with pretty much anything added.
Desert: doesn’t have to be roasted marshmallow or smores either, branch out. Try fruit salad with watermelon or mixed berries with yogurt the first couple of nights. Yogurt keeps fairly well, it’s fermented. Folks used to turn milk into cheese and yogurt in order for it to keep before there was no refrigeration. Keep it cool, but you can also bring it along for a picnic on a hike, no need to panic about it. When you get down to the end of your supplies and the more delicate things are gone, make these chocolate bananas over the fire. Or make a fruit compote topped with granola for crunch!

Dinner choices beyond the hot dog and chips: Pieces of meat are healthier than mystery meat in a casing. That said this time we did have chicken sausage the one night. Carl at the farmers market is a sausage genius and I know for a fact that his chicken sausage is made from chicken breast he sells right there alongside the sausage made from it. Steak, pork chops and chicken breast can all be easily grilled but need to be kept cold on ice in your cooler until you are ready for them. In my experience, meat, like ground beef, sausage or steak. (Oh yes, I said we did it in style, didn’t I?) keeps well right on the ice or bottom of the cooler, submerged in the water. To make doubly sure and make it keep longer, freeze it solid at home, then place in a zip top bag to keep it from getting ‘watered’ or in one of those Rubbermaid ‘take alongs’ (storage containers), they seal the water out and keep the meat inside cool and dry. You can cook chicken breast pieces in an aluminium foil pack with vegetables and seasonings included. Potatoes do well cooked that way, too, although they do take a while, sweet potato seems quicker.

Oh and remember, aluminium foil is your friend, as is a good set of grill thongs and a mitt 😉

Wild Blue berries along the hiking route

Serves 4

Breakfast:

We decided to go with an omelette with spinach and feta for sustenance and flavor. I cooked these over a camp stove, not the open fire. And it ended up being easier to make one at a time since the pan i have, makes it hard to put more than 3 eggs on at a clip and still have it cook through. Wasn’t a problem at all since other really only takes minutes to cook.

Basic Spinach Omelette:

12 eggs (3 per person)
Spinach ( about 2 hand full per person)
4 oz Feta Cheese, cut into 1/2″ cubes

Variations on a theme:

Use Swiss Chard or Kale, instead of Spinach
Add some deli ham, or prosciutto for additional flavor
Use cheddar, Fontina or Swiss instead of Feta

with Fontina and Prosciutto

This one’s with Swiss Chard from the garden & Ham

Desert:

August 17, 2012December 16, 2017

Raw ‘Pasta’ Alla Checca

Serve up some summer!

‘Alla checca’ is one version of a classic Italian summer fresh uncooked tomato sauce. Dreamed up in Italy, when the summer sun ripens tomatoes by the minute and you just don’t want the extra heat nor want to spend much time indoors cooking sauce. When tomatoes are at their ripest and most flavorful, you want to give this recipe a try. Use either your own fresh picked tomatoes or something pretty from the farmers market, no watery, flavorless kind from the store will do here.

Summer Bounty!

To take this a step further, I omitted the pasta and went with another summertime favorite that abounds in gardens this time a year, summer squash. Using Julienne cut zucchini and yellow squash instead of noodles, this is THE best dish of the summer. Low in calories, refreshing and oh so yummy! And the colors were so vivid and bright, I just kept looking at it, until my whole kitchen smelled like the garlic I used and hadn’t cleaned up yet;) Not as bad as the one time my whole house smelled like onions for a week, because of my over zealous helper, but more on that some other time…

Use it as a vegan main meal or serve some meat or mozzarella cheese on top or alongside. A crusty slice of bread would go well here too.

Ingredients

2 medium summer squash (I used one zucchini and one yellow, for visual appeal and because that’s what I had)
2 to 2 1/2 cups of tomatoes, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp capers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup black olives, preferably niçoise
1/4 cup basil leaves
fresh ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Special tools: Julienne peeler

Directions

Julienne the squash like such, set aside in a medium bowl
Chop the tomatoes, add the garlic, capers and olives, cut into pieces if big, grind black pepper over top and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to mix the sauce ingredients. Let stand for about 5 to 10 minutes to let the tomatoes release some of their juices, then salt to taste (I find that with the olives and capers, I need hardly any salt)
Roll the basil leaves and slice into thin long ribbons, add about half to the dish, toss. reserve the rest for topping.
Divide the cut zucchini and squash on two deep paste plates (as a main meal, four if served as a side) Top generously with the ‘alla checca’ sauce and some more basil, serve and let everyone grind some more pepper on top, if they like.

August 3, 2012December 16, 2017

Edith’s Quinoa Pilaf

Once upon a time, it was during a rather difficult time in my life, my dear friend Edith introduced me to quinoa. At a time when I really needed good friends, she was more supportive than I could ever have wished for a friend to be. We all have times where we have to lean on others to be our strength, depend on others or where we just need to have someone’s support and company. I spent some long evenings over at her place and on one of those occasions, I helped her whip up a simple Pilaf that can be used as a vegetarian main or as a side.

Here a meal made possible by friends 🙂 Quinoa Pilaf and grilled buck tenderloin from my friends Rebecca & Marc

I am not claiming that this is exactly the way she made it, since who knows how well my memory serves me, and I have made various versions over the years, but to this day, anytime I make this dish, I say a little prayer of thanks to her and it warms my heart to know that I am blessed enough to have good friends that are there for me, when I need it most 🙂

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
2 cups shiitake mushrooms
1/2 lb (1/2 pack) frozen mixed vegetables (peas, corn, baby lima and green beans)
1 pack Tempeh, cut into cubes
3-4 tbsp Shoyu or Tamari (Soy Sauce)
1/2 cup water
coconut oil for cooking

Directions

Carefully rinse the quinoa in several changes of cold water to remove the saponins. (If you have a really fine meshed sieve, you can use that).
Place in a medium sauce pan and cover with water by 3/4″ (You are adding about 2 cups water), bring to a boil on medium, then cover and simmer until done and most of the water is absorbed.
In the meantime, place tempeh in a dish and drizzle with Shoyu or Tamari Soy Sauce, set aside to marinade.
Cut the stems off of the mushrooms, then slice the mushroom caps, set aside.
Heat some coconut oil in a big skillet, and add the tempeh pieces, (don’t pour the soy sauce in, pick the pieces out) reserve the soy sauce.
Cook until browned on one side, then flip each piece and cook on the other side.
Add the mushrooms, soy sauce, 1/2 cup water to the skillet and cook until the mushrooms are tender.
Add the frozen vegetables and cook until heated through. Combine the cooked quinoa with the mushroom and vegetables, and serve.

Here’s to good friends and those unexpected people that are there for you an of course the good food that connects us all!