Recipes

Asparagus/Goat Cheese/Quinoa Frittata
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, at room temp
• 1 1/2 cups sauteed asparagus (approximately 12 stalks, cut in half)
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 oz. crumbled goat cheese
• salt, pepper, dill

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. While I was waiting for the oven to warm up, I sauteed my asparagus in olive oil, garlic, and scallions. Once they were cooked, I turned off the heat on the stove top.  In a large bowl, I combined the eggs and milk, give them a good scramble; add some salt, pepper and dill.

Fold the quinoa into the egg/milk mixture and pour into a greased glass baking dish (I use olive oil to grease the dish). Gently add the asparagus and shake the goat cheese on top. You may want to take a rubber spatula to push the asparagus and goat cheese into the egg mixture, so it is not floating on top.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes and finish with the broiler on high for 5 minutes.  Your frittata will be bubbling, but should not be runny liquid.  Allow to cool slightly before eating, but as I said before, you can eat this cold.  It is great to have as a leftover lunch, as I did this week.

Noodle-free Lasagna
Ingredients:

• 2 eggplant, sliced
• 2 -3 lbs. medium to large tomatoes (red or yellow)
• fresh basil, onions, garlic
• mozzarella (shredded or sliced)
• a shake of nutmeg and garlic powder
• pecorino cheese

Slice and salt the eggplant in a colander. While that is resting, chop tomatoes and put them in a large bowl.  Heat up your pan with olive oil, onions, and garlic.  Give the eggplant a good shake to remove the excess moisture and added it to the pan.  Give it a nice grill, until the eggplant developed small amounts of brown on the skin.

Remove the eggplant from the pot, and layer an oiled baking dish with it.  Toss tomatoes and some fresh basil into the pot.  Give the tomatoes a shake of garlic powder and nutmeg.  Allow to simmer, so some of the liquid can cook off. Once the moisture began to cook off, spoon the tomatoes into the baking dish on top of the eggplant.  Add a generous shake of pecorino cheese.

Slice the mozzarella (or use shredded) and layer on top, covering the whole dish.  Place the disn in the toaster oven at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Turn on the broiler at the end to brown the cheese.


Homemade Ice Cream
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup organic half and half
• 1/4 cup organic skim milk
• 1 cup organic cane sugar
• 2 "splashes" of bourbon vanilla extract
• 2 cups frozen rasperries (or strawberries)
• 2 peaches, sliced
• a few frozen blueberries for good measure

I added the first five ingredients and pulsed the Cuisinart several times.  I then added the peaches and the blueberries.  It resembled a bowl of melted ice cream, but it had a really good taste. I put it in the freezer, until it got a little bit more "set."  It was even better (and more scoop-able) the next day.


Cabbage and Apples
Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 slices of bacon
• 1/2 of an onion (red or white), diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 3 - 4 cups of shredded/sliced green or red cabbage
• 2 apples, cored, and sliced into bite-sized pieces
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• Caraway seeds
• Pierogi (optional)

In a large pot, begin sauteing your garlic, onions, and bacon. Cook on low heat, so that your bacon doesn't get too crispy before the onions and garlic get a chance to cook nicely. Add the cabbage and cook on low to medium heat. Make sure the cabbage gets to take on the flavor of the onions, garlic and--most of all--the bacon!  Your cabbage (red or green) will be cooked enough when the color begins to get very bright!

This is the right time to add your apples.  I only cook the apples until they are warmed through; or you run the risk of getting mushy apples.  Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar and shake the caraway seeds throughout the dish.  If you want, you can also top the cabbage and apples with pierogi.
 
Mediterranean-inspired Quinoa
Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 cups cooked organic quinoa
• 1 can of organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• fresh parsley
• dressing ingredients: extra virgin olive oil, juice from 1/2 a lemon, lemon zest, fresh dill, honey and the requisite garlic powder, salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients and dress with 1/2 cup of dressing (I like to use more dressing on this dish b/c there are fewer ingredients).


Mexican-inspired quinoa:
Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 cups cooked organic quinoa
• 1 can of organic black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 - 4 scallions, cut very small
• 1 cup of shredded carrots (thanks to the mister!)
• 1/2 cup fresh corn
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• fresh parsley and cilantro
• dressing ingredients: canola oil, juice from 1/2 a lime, lime zest, ancho chili powder, honey and the requisite garlic powder, salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients, dress with about 1/3 cup of the dressing. The longer you let the flavors marinate, the better. You can also add goat cheese just before serving for another layer of flavor.


Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredients:

• Two large tomatoes
• Shredded carrots
• Bread crumbs
• Basil
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Mozzarella 
• Pecorino cheese

Begin by cutting the tops off the tomatoes and slicing a small amount off the bottom in order to allow the tomatoes to stand upright in the dish.  Remove the core and hollow out the tomatoes, reserving the tomato "meat" and liquids in a side dies. Chop up basil and garlic and fold into the tomato mixture; add pecorino cheese to your liking. Add about a cup of shredded carrots and enough bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup) to absorb the liquid.  Re-stuff the tomatoes with the veggie "stuffing" and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover with foil and bake in a toaster oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, take the dish out, uncover it and add a slice of fresh mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese is melted and slightly brown. 

Grilled Corn on the Cob
Ingredients:

• Shucked corn 
• Olive oil
• Salt, pepper and other fun herbs

Turn your grill onto medium heat. Cover the corn with olive oil, salt, pepper, and other herbs to your liking (garlic, Old Bay, cumin).  Place the corn directly on the grill and turn every 2 minutes until the kernels begin to brown. After 10 minutes, remove from heat. Add more olive oil and spices and enjoy.

Grilled Peaches with Bacon and Basil
Ingredients:

• Peaches (2 or 3)
• Basil leaves
• Bacon (2 or 3 slices)
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

Cut the peaches almost in half. You will find that the stone does not allow you to cut it in half like an apple, so you have to be resourceful--try to cut around the stone or separate the peach like an avocado. The more ripe the peach, the harder it is to separate. These were quite ripe, so I just cut around the stone, leaving two large halves of the fruit and two smaller slices. Place one basil leaf on the inside of the fruit and lay the bacon on top of the basil. Get some bamboo skewers or metal ones and skewer the peach so that the bacon stays on.  You can probably get a whole peach on one skewer.

Drizzle the peaches with olive oil so they don't stick to the grill. Heat on medium heat for about three minutes per side. I usually put the peach on the grill with the bacon side UP first. That way, you don't risk it overcooking and getting stuck to the grill.

Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove from the heat and allow the peaches to mellow for about 3 minutes (the bacon will continue to cook and the sugars in the fruit will, too).

Remove from skewers and put on serving plate. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  

Gazpacho
Ingredients (measurements are approximate):

• Red onion
• Garlic cloves 2 or 3
• Cucumber (1 or 2 seeded)
• Tomatoes (5 or 6; mostly red, but you can throw in a yellow one if you like)
• Green pepper (you can add a jalapeno for extra heat)
• Watermelon (optional, a cup+/- will do)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Basil
• Salt and Pepper

For garnish: cut up red onion and cucumbers, sprinkle feta cheese on top

In a blender, puree all of the above ingredients. I recommend cutting most of the veggies into bite-size pieces and removing the cores of the tomatoes. Once blended, pour the the gazpacho mixture to a mesh strainer above a bowl. You may need to use a ladle to push the gazpacho through the strainer and will be left with a vegetable pulp. Discard the vegetable pulp. Chill the gazpacho before serving (I like to chill the bowls, too). Add the garnish vegetables and enjoy.

Sauteed Zucchini
Ingredients:

• Two small to mid-sized zucchini
• Garlic
• Basil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Cut and quarter the zucchini. Put in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 5-10 minutes while you chop your garlic and wash/chop your basil. Bring your pan to a low/med heat. Add Olive Oil and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes. Shake the excess water from the zucchini and add to pan. Cook slowly, being careful not to overcook (mushy). Add basil about 2 minutes after zucchini. Move all items around pan carefully. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, checking consistency.

BBT - Basil, Bacon and Tomato
Ingredients:

• 4 slices of whole grain bread
• 6 slices of bacon (our favorite bacon comes from Countrytime Farm in Hamburg, PA)
• 1 large tomato sliced
• Bunch of basil leaves
• Condiments (mayo, salt and pepper)

I like my bread toasted for the crunch and will add just a minimal amount of mayo to the bread. I layer the sandwich with 3 slices of bacon, the tomatoes and then the basil on top. I always add my salt and pepper to the tomatoes. Stack the slice of bread on top and enjoy. I sometimes forget how filling this sandwich can be!

For a different taste on the BBT, substitute a thin slice of mozzarella for the mayo.

Cool Cucumber Soup
Ingredients:

• 5 or 6 cucumbers, seeded and diced
• red onion
• garlic
• mint
• dill
• plain yogurt (I really enjoy Siggi's plain yogurt)
• olive oil
• avocado (ok, ok...not local at all)
• small amount of water

I kept the Cuisinart on the counter and attached the chopping blade.  I added the first five ingredients and pulsed regularly until they were liquefied. I added the Siggi's and turned on the processor until it was fully mixed.  I then added a few glugs of olive oil on 2 or 3 occasions.

At this point, I took half of mixture (about 2 cups worth) and pushed it through a fine mesh strainer.  I tossed the veggie mash that was leftover in the strainer.  Now that I had more room in the Cuisinart, I added the avocado (I chopped it up first).  Also, I thought the consistency of the soup was getting too hummus-like, so I added a few splashes of water as the Cuisinart was mixing. 

I added the contents of the food processor to the strained soup and whisked it together. I let that chill in the refrigerator overnight before tasting.  At lunch today, I added toasted almond slivers, some diced onions and cucumbers and topped the cold soup with feta cheese.  It was decent, but I wasn't as happy with the results.

I think the dish could be made a little bit better with some heat--like jalapeno heat or some Cholula Chili Lime sauce.