Honey-nut Pears

There are some recipes that aren't recipes at all. Like this one. My aunt is a subscriber to a few magazines, and when I lived near her she would sometimes clean house and bestow her ageing collection of magazines on me. One of her subscriptions is a Martha Stewart publication, I think Everyday is the name. I would look forward to these the most for their beautiful photography and delicious recipes. When I saw the recipe card for this one I couldn't help but want to try it, even though I'm not a fan of pears.

Pears are strange for me. I only like them when they are at a specific stage of ripeness. They have to be not too firm but not too soft. When they're firm the texture is unpleasant, and when they're too soft I find them too juicy, and the flesh takes on a strange texture on my tongue. I also don't like how they brown and bruise so easily. But with this dish I find it's best to use a riper pear, because the juice mixes with the honey to form a sweet, syrupy sauce, and the flesh yields nicely against a spoon. The nuts are a wonderful, crunchy, contrast to the soft pear. It doesn't taste like pears and walnuts and honey, but a decadent dessert.

I find a bit of black pepper adds a nice compliment to the flavors, but that's certainly optional.

Honey-nut Pears

1 ripe pear

A handful of toasted walnuts or pecans

Honey

Black pepper (optional)

Cut the pear in half and scoop out the seeds and the vein that runs to the stem. Fill the indentation with toasted nuts and squeeze desired amount of honey over top. If desired, sprinkle with black pepper and accompany with a scoop of plain yogurt.

Shredded Carrot Salad

I'm a fan of carrots.  I like 'em raw, cooked, juiced, whatever, but mainly I just munch on them raw.  I don't even bother dipping them in anything because I'm simple like that (or maybe lazy).  But once in a while it's good to switch things up. 

I read about this salad on David Lebovitz's site a while back and meant to try it.  (Note: because David lives in Paris I couldn't resist using my Cafe Paris bowl). Months later, no years, now that I look at the recipe, I finally mustered up the energy to shred carrots and chop parsley and actually make a dressing, which, honestly?  Doesn't this seem decadent for the humble carrot?  For some reason I have no trouble stretching myself to make a simple dressing for other salads, but for carrots it was another story.  It's like when a close family member or familiar friend comes to dinner--you don't fuss over the meal, but if it's a stranger coming you go all out.   

Well, the results were worth it.  It was nice to eat raw carrots with a fork for a change. Besides being notably easier to chew, the dressing and parsley brought brightness and flavor.  I decided the salad wasn't complete, however.  It needed a bit of crunch and texture, so I added roasted and salted sunflower seeds to the salad.  That did it!  I may even have added raisins for sweetness, but I knew the others that were going to eat the salad wouldn't appreciate that. 

After raving about this salad, my best friend requested it for her Memorial Day barbeque, so I doubled the recipe and pulled out the food processor to do all the shredding for me, which I don't like to use because mine is so loud that I actually need to wear earphones while operating it.  Does anyone else have this problem with their processor? 

Carrot salad is not something everyone will love.  Some people will find it strange, which I don't really get.  It's carrots, shredded in a bowl.  But I loved it.  It reminds me of a carrot salad I once had with pineapple tidbits and raisins, but with more sophistication--and prettier.  At the barbeque, because some were not sure what to do with it, the carrot salad became an alternative to cole slaw and was piled on beef brisket sandwiches.  It was tasty that way too.  Who's kidding who?  My carrot salad had been upstaged by, ahem, hot cheesy artichoke dip and guacamole.  No contest, right?  My feelings were not hurt that it was only half eaten. More for me!

Shredded Carrot Salad

7 large carrots

half bunch of flat leaf parsley

juice of 2 small or one large lemon

2 tbl olive oil

1-2 tsp sugar or liquid sweetener of choice (maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, etc.)

salt and pepper, to taste

sunflower seeds, roasted and salted (optional)

Peel and finely shred carrots.  I only have one size to my shredder, so you see a short and fat shred to my carrots, but a true carrot salad should be thin and longer, so use a fine shred if you can.  Chop the parsley fine and add to the carrots. 

Make a dressing in a small bowl by whisking together the remaining ingredients.  Toss with carrots and give it a taste.  It may need a little more salt, pepper, juice or oil according to your taste.  Adjust seasonings.  David Lebovitz suggests that the salad should be moist and glistening, not swimming in dressing. 

Sausage and Egg Cups

I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with this idea, although I'd like to think so.  But it did occur to me of my own merit, so I'll let myself think it. 

I have a husband who, outside of meat and cheese, has a very limited scope of food, and unless I intervene, breakfast will consist of a frozen burrito, leftover pizza, even Ramen noodles.  If it's processed or packaged it is, by his definition, a top choice for breakfast.  Oatmeal, cereal, fruit...these things do not in his mind constitute food, unless to feed to farm animals.  I guess opposites attract! 

I've learned over the years not to force him to breakfast on any of the "weird health foods" that I and our children enjoy (pancakes and waffles and oatmeal are weird foods? Really?) Instead I try to tweak his favorite foods as healthily as possible.  Call it stealthy healthy.  One thing we can both agree on for breakfast is eggs and sausage or bacon, using products that are as free from additives as possible. Though they probably shouldn't be eaten overly often, these foods contain protein, and they're filling enough to keep my husband going until lunch time.

The above concoction is something he can grab in the morning and heat up, which is of utmost importance to him on a work day, and it's portion controlled.  What's of utmost importance to me is that in order to help him avoid eating processed foods, I can be true to my non-morning person persona and not have to get up extra early to cook breakfast!

Use pastured eggs or local eggs if you can find them, which will be far healthier than your average store bought egg.  This recipe is also gluten and carbohydrate free for those of you to whom that's important.  I like this as well, because I feel Americans as a whole consume far too many foods consisting of flours, to the detriment of our health, and anything we can do to cut back is nice. 

Next time I'd like to sneak in some asparagus and shredded parmesan cheese between the sausage and egg layer.  Mmmm.  There is probably no end to how you can mix up this recipe, so go ahead and create your own version.

Sausage and Egg Cups

1/2 pound ground breakfast sausage

1 dozen eggs (large work best)

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Divide the sausage into 12 pieces and spread out over the bottom and slightly up the sides of 12 muffin cups.  Put in the oven and bake for five minutes.  Take out the muffin pan.  Crack one egg over the top of each sausage patty and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Return to the oven for ten or more minutes, until the egg whites are firm.  It's important that you don't bake it so long that the yolks are dried out, as the eggs will continue to cook after they're out of the oven.  Also they will cook a bit more when they're reheated, so leave them a bit soft at the center, unless you are eating them right away and prefer them firm.

Let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Pancetta and Vegetables with Pasta

Originally I did not intend to add pasta to this dish, but I was making spaghetti for the kids and decided to mix some plain pasta in with the vegetables.  Mmmm.  I don't eat a lot of pasta, but it was really good and added a nice balance to the flavor and texture.  I'm always looking for new ways to make vegetables, and this one is a winner.

When I was a kid my mom would sometimes stop at farmer's markets to pick up fresh produce.  I loved going!  I would have taken some of everything if she would have allowed me to, especially in the fruit section.  I could have quite happily eaten my way through the generous mounds of berries, for instance.  Generally we'd come home with only a few items, and sometimes among them would be fresh Brussels sprouts.  I couldn't figure out why mom would want them, since I'd tried them cooked and thought they taste something like, well, garbage.  But they were so cute, like baby lettuce heads, and holding a container of them on the way home I got curious and I popped a raw one into my mouth.  I found it wasn't so bad after all, and regularly requested them from then on just so I could eat a few raw ones before they inevitably got cooked.  Now that I'm older I like cooked Brussels sprouts, especially prepared this way, with pancetta and balsamic vinegar and a companion of broccoli. 

Serves 4

Pancetta and Vegetables with Pasta

2 cups broccoli, chopped

2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved and trimmed

1 tbl. olive oil

1 tbl. butter

2 oz pancetta

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt, or, to taste

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tbl. balsamic vinegar

1/2 pound dry spaghetti

Grated parmesan cheese, optional

In a small saucepan, steam or boil the vegetables until crisp-tender.  In a separate pot boil spaghetti noodles until al dente, then drain and set aside. 

In a skillet heat oil and saute the pancetta until browned.  Add garlic, saute a few moments longer.  Add vegetables and saute until tender and slightly browned.  Add butter, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar;  toss wtih pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Straight-up Veggie Soup

When I had my first full-time job I didn't know how to cook yet and I was on a tight budget, so often lunch consisted of canned soup that I could heat in the microwave.  Man, how I wish I had known how simple soup is to make!  How hearty!  How delicious!  How inexpensive!  Now that I do know, I make soup all the time. My son relishes chicken noodle soup, my husband adores creamy potato soup (which I haven't shared with you all yet).  My daughter, well, she could care less about soup!  This is my new favorite soup.

This one is the easiest yet.  It's fresh, plain and simple.  It's reminiscent of canned soup but with more flavor and none of the additives.  I was a little worried I wouldn't like the tomatoes in this, but they mostly break down to give the broth a great flavor.  You may feel tempted to minestrone-ize it with pasta and beans. I can't tell you how to run your life, but I think it's perfect as is: a rich, hearty, brothy veggie soup.  Now that summer veggies are showing up at the market for reasonable prices and gardens are soon to be overflowing, there won't be a better season to make this. 

Besides, Mom always said to eat more vegetables, and this is a delicious way to stay on track.  Although, if I want my kids to eat it next time I'll have to chop the veggies up a lot smaller and serve theirs with pasta.  This time I was content that they let me have the pot to myself.

This is fantastic accompanied by sourdough bread!

Serves 6

Straight-up Veggie Soup

Adapted from "A Taste of Tradition" the Friends of St. Mary’s Russian Orthodox Church, Coaldale, PA

1 onion, chopped
2 cups green beans, fresh or frozen, cut in half
3 zucchini, chunked
1 cup celery and leaves, chopped
5 roma or 4 regular tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach
5 cups water
1 tbl. oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste

In a dutch oven lightly brown chopped onions in oil.  Add oregano and garlic, cook for one minute. Add
water and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, simmer, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes. 
 
Serve with lemon slices, if desired.

To be extra healthy, instead of water use a homemade chicken broth.

Marinated Chicken Stir-fry

Over the past week we've been to tropical islands, the Middle-East, and Greece.  Why not continue east?  I had no idea I was such a world traveler!  Now, I know this doesn't sound exciting.  Everyone has a recipe for stir-fry, right?  I never would have considered posting a stir-fry recipe until I made the best one I've ever pulled off.  My husband raved over it.  Raved!  If it wasn't Mother's Day weekend there is no way I would have gotten away with eating the last of it.  

I was inspired by a recipe for Asian chicken legs that I found in a newspaper.  The instructions are to marinate the legs in soy sauce, honey, garlic, and ginger, which is easy and super delicious, not to mention fragrant. But once I cooked the chicken legs the flavor wasn't strong enough because the juices mixed into it and watered it down.  I tried many times.

Recently I came across a Curtis Stone cookbook at the libary and I brought it home.  It's a gorgeous book, and I wanted to try everything in it.  It didn't hurt that there were lots of pics of Curtis Stone in it either (wink wink).  Anyway, there is a recipe in the book called Sticky Chicken Legs, and it was basically the same recipe I'd been trying to perfect, only the ones in his picture looked a thousand times better.  So I tried it.  I tried it, I really did.  To no avail.  Then I had a brilliant idea: to use the marinade with boneless/skinless chicken breasts for stir-fry!

This may seem elementary--now that I'm looking I see there are plenty of stir-fry recipes with a similar marinade--but I've never marinated my stir fry meat.  I think it has something to do with not wanting to add an extra step to the process.  But really, what was I thinking?  Of course the meat should be marinated!  The honey gives the chicken a nice brownness, and the combined flavors are so good.  Edamame is also my new favorite veggie.

Serves 4

Marinated Chicken Stir-fry

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 onion, chopped
8 oz frozen green beans, thawed
6 oz fresh or frozen edamame (shelled soybeans)
2 cups cabbage, chopped thin
1 tbl. oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbl. honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbl. ginger, minced

Marinate cubed chicken in the oil, soy sauce, honey, 2 cloves of the garlic, and ginger for at least one hour.  Saute in a very hot pan until chicken is no longer pink in the center.  Remove chicken from pan.  In the leftover pan juices saute the veggies, constantly stirring.  Add more soy sauce if necessary and the last clove of garlic near the end, when veggies are crisp-tender.  Return chicken to the pan, saute one minute more

Serve over rice and garnish with chopped peanuts or cashews, if desired.

Opa-style Greek Chicken with Rice

I was already making this Greek style dish when we saw on the news a report about the Greece's banking crisis.  It felt strange eating it at the same moment the Greeks were rioting at their capital.  But this dish is inspired by a fond memory.

Until recently our family lived in Miami, Florida.  We spent two years there, on South Beach actually.  It's a long story, how we got there, why we were there, but part of the reason is that three of my husband's sisters live there.  South Beach is a crazy town my friends, and if you haven't been you must go at least once.  Two blocks from our apartment was a place called Taverna Opa, a Greek restaurant where my seven year old niece begged to have her birthday party.  I knew that Opa's manager lived in my apartment building, a sharply dressed Greek man who I always seemed to be running into in the elevator (and who would not hire me as a waitress, I reminisce bitterly), but aside from this I didn't know what to expect.

When we walked in I looked around at the long wooden tables and the nicely spare decor.  I could see nothing about it that would lure a child to want to have a birthday party there.  But the food was fantastic!  Mouthwatering, in fact.  Unforgettable I say.  Everything was served family style: salads, fried cheese (saganaki), kabobs, all doused in lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Mmmm.  I've had Greek food in numerous diners run by the Greeks back in Wisconsin.  They served Spanikopita and Souvlaki and other traditional dishes but also American fare, and all for good prices.  But at Opa's I was eating authentic all the way, and I let everyone at the table know how much I enjoyed it, then and for weeks after.

I heard a little rumor before we got there that it was acceptable to dance on the tables, and I didn't really believe it.  I mean, we were in South Beach and all, where people danced on bars regularly, but on tables?  I was proved wrong.  Right there in the middle of the long, narrow table, my niece and all the little girls dressed in princess costumes, along with their aunties, got right up on the table to dance. Then the waiters came and threw piles and piles of napkins in the air like thick confetti. 

I was a little put off.  I couldn't find my plate, those napkins were being wasted, peoples' feet were a little too close to my food.  I was happier when they moved over to the empty tables, where the kids had an absolute blast dancing and jumping from table to table (Eek!  I know that looks dangerous!  It was well supervised.)  It was chaotic fun.  To top things off a Greek belly dancer arrived to join in on the fun.  For tips, of course.  What a crazy place!  So Greek, yet so South Beach. 

I guess this dish is my tribute to Opa's fantastic authentic Greek fare and my love for Spanikopita.  I've made this many times with ground turkey and that's good as well, especially when used for a filling for stuffed peppers (heck, it's great without meat too), but I've reinvented it a bit, and the marinating makes all the difference. 

Spinach and lemon go together like love and marriage.

Opa-style Greek Chicken with Rice

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into one inch chunks
juice of one lemon, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbl. olive oil
1, 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups cooked brown basmati rice
salt and pepper, to taste
feta cheese, lemon slices, and chopped or slivered almonds for garnish, optional

Put the chicken in a non-reactive dish (non-plastic).  Mix with oil, half of the lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate.  Marinate for at least one hour, or up to three (any longer and the lemon juice will start to cook the chicken).  In a hot skillet saute the chicken until no longer pink in the middle, remove from pan.

In the leftover juices saute the onion and spinach and the third clove of garlic, adding more oil if necessary.  When the onion is translucent add the rice and the remainder of the lemon juice, saute for a minute more, salting and peppering to taste. 

Serve the rice and spinach, top with chicken and garnishes.