I love grilled cheese!

The other night I needed to figure out dinner with left overs for me to munch at lunch the next day. Here's what I came up with:

• Sourdough bread

• Good mustard - I like Sierra Nevada porter

• Cecchetti garlic olive oil or good virgin olive oil

• cast iron skillet if you have one

• washed cilantro, stems removed about 1/3 cup leaves

• 2/3 cup baby kale, washed

• 2-3 Tablespoons of Wholemilk Riccotta

• 2 slices Provolone or Havarti cheese

• Dash of Simply Organic Ancho chili powder

• 3-4 slices baked bacon (bake raw bacon for 50-60 minutes in the oven at 350. Drain off fat every 20 minutes. Cool bacon on a plate covered with a couple of paper towels to drain additional fat. Tip: I used bacon I had cooked on the weekend for bacon and eggs breakfast)

Add a little olive oil in skillet. Place two slices of bread in skillet so each has one side touching pan - you're going to cook open faced. Spread a thin layer of mustard on one slice. Layer bacon, then cilantro and baby greens on one slice. On the other slice of bread, smear your Riccotta and then layer sliced cheese on top. Sprinkle with your favorite dried, ground chili. Cook covered on medium heat for 5-8 minutes until cheese is melted and greens wilted.

Put halves together to make a whole sandwich. For dinner, I had a glass of Zinfidel with my half sandwich. Bon appetite!

Best macaroni salad - well, I think it's pretty great

I grew-up eating macaroni salad in the summer but never really liked it. Too white and not enough flavor so I decided to create my own version.

Here's what you'll need:

• Brown Rice penne pasta or pasta of your choice cooked until tender but don't overlook. Fill pan with water and add pinch of salt and bring to boil. Add pasta. Approximate time 8-10 minutes in boiling water. Place in colander and rinse.

+ add 2-3 cloves garlic to cold water and cook with pasta until done

Then place in glass bowl and add:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

• 1/4-1/2 cup Best Foods mayonnaise

Cream garlic with mayo and yogurt

• 1/4 white balsamic vinegar

• 1-2 sweet red onions or 3-4 green onions chopped

• 1 fennel bulb stocks, cleaned of frilly leaves so looks like celery. Washed and sliced thinly

• 2-3 hard boiled eggs, peeled, washed and chopped. I used a combination of Duck and Chicken eggs because I had both

• 1/2-3/4 cup chopped Bubbies sweet pickles. Trust me, they're worth it. Super crispy and taste like my great grandmas homemade sweet butter pickles.

• 1 Tablespoon Sierra Nevada Stout mustard or mustard you have on hand. French's will work.

• 1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

Blend together and enjoy. If stored overnight, pasta will absorb the liquid/yogurt/mayo but flavors will open up and be more intense in day 2.

Bon appetite!

a.m. granola

I don't consider myself a picky eater but I am picky about the granola I put on my morning yogurt. No raisins or dried bananas and it can't be real sweet.

I also didn't find any recipes online that inspired me. So I decided to create a personal granola recipe based on my tastes and what I had on hand. I really liked the idea of controlling the ingredients and incorporating favors I thought would compliment any of the fruit yogurts I eat daily.

Here's what I came up with:

1 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds (Costco purchase late last year so I wanted to use up the bag. Tip: Nuts can be stored in the freezer to prevent them from going rancid)

1 cup organic walnuts (Trader Joes)

2 cups Irish oats (Trader Joes and these look like large grains and are very crunchy)

2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (Trader Joes)

1 cup chia seeds (Trader Joes)

1 cup finely ground flax seed (Whole Foods. I'll use whole flax seeds next time for a change)

1 tablespoon good vanilla (real vanilla, not vanilla flavor. Madagascar vanilla is delicious and worth the extra money.)

3/4 cup Cecchetti olive oil or another really good olive oil

1/2 cup local honey

And yes, I made way too much. I basically grabbed and poured everything into a large bowl and stirred it up.

Spread thinly on parchment lined cookie sheets. No more than 1/4 deep. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Stir. Bake another 10-15 minutes and pull from oven and stir. Bake to honey color, not brown.

I placed my granola abundance in glass jars and froze for future use. I do eat 1/4 cup every morning.

Alternative ingredients to add:

Coconut oil or dried coconut

Almonds, pecans, other nuts

Dried cranberries, cherries, figs

Bon appetite!

No guilt watering

We're in a severe drought here in CA and I love my herbs and deck garden. So what's a fresh herb, garden loving gal going to do? Not waste water from the shower while it's getting hot, water from rinsing my veggies and fruit, plus water from rinsing out my coffee pot and coffee machine parts.

'Brown' water doesn't have to be gross or smelly. And it's amazing how much I would otherwise be wasting down the drain that is now used for my deck garden.

Fresh Sage is awesome!

Squeeze and freeze

Got citrus? I don't always think to grab lemons and limes when I'm at the store so having  juice in the freezer has come in handy on more than one occasion. Since I'm also thrifty, I never turn down gracious friends who share citrus fruit from their trees; one of the benefits of living in California. But citrus will parish so right now as I'm being given fresh Meyers lemons, I'm juicing and freezing. 

Another option, my sister's cousin freezes her lemons whole and than mircowaves to defrost them, then juices them. Take your pick, it's all juicy.

Spring Salad Dressing

Whether you're a fan of Martha Stewart or not, I think she deserves credit for making food from scratch with fresh ingredients. I know it's easy to purchase salad dressing, but I think it tastes so much better homemade. And it really is easy. 

One of my new favorite creations uses:

1/2 lemon (Meyers if you have one)

1/4 cup good olive oil (Cecchetti)

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dried Tarragon

1 Tablespoon Sierra Nevada Stout & Stoneground Mustard

1 garlic clove

1/4-1/2 teaspoon Omnivore salt

Place in glass Kerr mason jar and using  a Cuisinart Smart Stick whip until smooth and garlic is minced fine or place in blender for same effect. Serves on washed greens with a handful of fresh berries or an orange. Bon appetite!

Hippity Hop...Easter is on its way....

Goodness! This bunny isn't ready for April and Easter. I don't consider myself very crafty, but I do love coloring eggs for Easter - and deviled eggs and egg salad.

Here's what you'll need to do these stenciled eggs inspired by Spring:

• Pantyhose and/or knee highs. Fishnets are awesome and make a beautiful pattern
• Rubber bands
• Leaves, flowers from the yard, onion skins
• Blueberries
• Turmeric
• cranberries, beets
• Tea bags and coffee grinds
• Assorted food color for egg dies - by adding you'll get better color intensity
• White vinegar
• 1-2 dozen white shelled eggs
• 3-4 cooking pots 

Wrap each uncooked egg with some leaves and/or flowers or onion skins directly on the shell with pantyhose and make sure hose are tight/firmly around egg and secured with rubber band. Use one or two bands depending on how you've cut up the pantyhose.

It is especially fun to send kids into the yard to find plant material to use - be specific in your directions. No non-edible or poisonous plant material. Geraniums, nasturtiums, roses, etc. all work well and are edible.

Each pot is for a separate color - put 1-2 tablespoons turmeric in one pot for yellow eggs, coffee and tea bags in another for brown, mashed blueberries in another pot for blue, cranberries and beets for red. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to each pot plus uncooked, pantyhose covered eggs and enough water to cover the eggs. Slowly bring to a boil, Simmer the eggs in the pot until they have reached the desired color. I error on overcooking since I will be eating the eggs later. 

Let the eggs cool in the pot to intensify the color plus I add a few drops of food coloring to help mother nature.

Gently unwrap eggs and continue to cool in egg container. And enjoy the beauty! Look what you've created! 

The beauties in these photos are thanks to my niece, Gabi, and nephew, Alex. It was a team endeavor.

Wine, words & crudite

My book club met on Sunday. It's wine and words thanks to our founder, April, and her brilliant idea to make this a ladies night/day out quarterly event. We also have food to go along with our discussion and everyone brings either wine or something to nosh to help the hostess. 

We read The Language of Flowers this time and started our discussion at Filoli Gardens nearby. We concluded at my house for afternoon tea and champagne. I made a Barefoot Contessa vegi dip that I've made some modifications to.

Here's what you'll need:

• Food Processor
• 1-2 cleaned cloves of garlic
• 8 ounces of cream cheese at room temp
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3-5 washed green onion with ends trimmed
• 1/2 bunch cilantro or flat leaf parsley
• 1 Tablespoon fresh dill or 1-2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or I use Omnivore salt with organic spices. It's worth it!)
• 1/4-1/2 ground pepper

Place garlic cloves in food processor and puree using steel blade. Add remaining ingredients and puree until smooth. This can be refrigerated for up to 1-2 weeks. I've even added water to it to use as salad dressing.

Serve with:

• watermelon radishes
• carrots
• sugar snap peas
• red bell peppers
• jicama

Think lots of color when you choose your veggies for dipping

Bon Appetite!

Use that roasted chicken good

I'm at the tail end of fighting a cold and felt brain fried while shopping at the Farmers Market last Saturday - no list or meals planned for the week. But, it was Saturday and my day to food shop for the week. And I have a fairly long commute to and from work during the week so if it doesn't get done on the weekends, it usually doesn't get purchased. 

Here's a great soup for dinner and leftovers for lunch. Tip: I froze individual servings in glass jars.


Buy a roasted chicken. 
Use that bird for a couple of meals including chicken salad. I deboned my chicken and used the meat for this soup. Too fatty otherwise for my taste.

Here's what you'll need to make this soup:


1 1/2 Tablespoons Cecchetti lemon oil or regular good olive oil
3 carrots peeled and sliced
1 fennel bulb washed including stocks and sliced
Saute for 15-20 minutes together in large pot or soup pot. In a cotton spice bag, add:


2 bay leaves
6 juniper berries
10 peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
Add to soup pot along with 16 cups water. I use filtered water from my Brita. Plus:


5-6 small washed and chopped baby potatoes

deboned chicken meat from your roasted chicken. You can add the whole circus if you want. Again, I did't this time.

Cook at least 2 hours on medium heat until potatoes are tender. 

Optional: Top with chopped cilantro or parsley. I didn't have any but thought it would have been a good addition.

Bon appetite!

Savings $ but still with some fancy

OK, I'm thrifty, but I still like fancy, nice products. And while I have a dishwasher, I'm the dishwasher. If you like to cook, that include pots and pans, knifes, etc that need to be cleaned by hand. 

I really like Mrs. Meyer's dish soap, but can't afford it for the amount of dishes I wash daily. My solution to the dish soap challenge? Use 3/4 Costco Kirkland environmentally responsible dish soap with 1/3 Mrs. Meyers. I'm hooked on the radish right now, but also love using the Basil.

And if you order it via Amazon Smile, please select my foundation, The Purrfect Catch, and Amazon will donate 5% of your purchase to help me spay/neuter, vaccinate and feed homeless cats here in Northern California.

Happy cooking, creating, and problem solving in the kitchen! Cheers!

Cowgirl Caviar

You can serve this as a salad or a dip with taco chips.

Here's what you'll need:

1-2 avocados, peeled and cubed/diced

1 can black eyed peas, drain and rinse

fresh corn cut from the cob and blanched in boiling salt water or 1 bag frozen corn, rinsed

2/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onion, washed and chopped/sliced

1/2 cup tomato, diced

Dressing:

1/4 cup good olive oil (Cechette)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

kosher salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. cumin

dash red pepper flakes

Add avocado right before serving.

;-) And this was originally called Cowboy Caviar but I've only ever seen Cowgirls making it! Bon appetite.

The Art of Artichokes

Ideally, the smaller the artichoke the better for this recipe and you can eat your heart out - as well as the artichokes.

You'll need:

Good Olive Oil (try basil or a citrus flavored)

dried chili pepper flakes

5-6 small artichokes

water 

Mayo, lemon, and garlic for dipping

Wash artichokes well, folding back the leaves like flower metals to remove any trapped dirt. Than cut them in half and place them cut side down in large pan or cooking pot. Add approximately enough water to to fill the pan about 1/4 inch. You don't need a lot of water. Also add 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oils and 1-2 teaspoons of chili flakes. Cover and steam for 10-20 minutes. They should be tender but you don't need to cook the small artichokes very long.

Drain and serve with a little dish of mayo. You can get fancy and add a bit of lemon zest and chopped garlic to dip in.

Bon Appetite. These go great as a side for chicken or beef. Happy Summer!

Pink

Need a dip to take to a picnic or potluck? This radish dip is easy and fun because few people can guess the vegetable causing it's pink hue.

Raw Radish Dip
• 1 large clove garlic or 2-3 small cloves
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (use fresh Meyers if you can)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 bunch radishes thoroughly washed with ends trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dill weed (I prefer a lot)
Fresh ground pepper

If you don't have a food processor,  chop garlic and radishes finely and blend remaining ingredients well in a bowl.

Or, toss in food processor radishes and garlic until minced. Add remaining ingredients until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

I love pink! Cheers.