Panzanella Salad

If you are a fan of any kind of Italian food, you will love this recipe.!! Italian cuisine has such a unique flare and take on fresh ingredients, but something that amazed me is their take on revamping boring old bread!!You know you are guilty of letting bread go stale, and you have no clue what to do with it! That hard brick that you let air out by accident cause your wine buzz got the best of you and you forgot to put away your left overs, mmhhmm, don't try and hide it LOL!! This salad recipe is so simple, refreshing, and in my opinion can be eaten year round. 

This recipe will vary among person to person, so please feel free to add what you like! Let's dive in shall we? This recipe has two parts: 

Ingredients for Salad

1/2 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
2-3 cups stale bread, cubed***
1/2 large red bell pepper, diced
1 cups fresh mozzarella/stick mozzarella diced
thinly sliced scallions for garnish

Ingredients for Tomato Dressing


1/2 pint cherry/grape tomatoes cut in half
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
Salt/Pepper to taste
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp, dried Italian seasonings


Directions

1.) Warm a nonstick skillet over medium heat. 
2.) Cut the tomatoes in half and chop your garlic. 
3.) Pour the olive oil into your pan and get it warm, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Sautee until the tomatoes release their juices. Cook just until their skins begin to wrinkle. Add in the salt, pepper, lemon juice and Italian seasonings. Stir together and remove from the stove. 
4.) In a food processor/blender, pulse the dressing to your desired texture. I like it very smooth. Taste it and make sure it's to your liking. 
5.) Add all of the dressing to the bottom of a large bowl. Pour in all of your diced veggies, cheese and bread on top of the dressing and toss to coat. This salad is best if allowed to sit for10-15 minutes so the bread softens up a bit. Toss again right before serving and top with the sliced scallions. 

This makes for a great dinner for two, or perfect as a side dish for 4. The prep work is simple and these ingredients are very easy to find at your local grocery store. You can use any short cuts you want in this recipe too like using bottled lemon juice, stick mozzarella, shredded mozzarella, frozen and diced veggie mix, what ever you like! If you really want to wow your friends or family, make it with the freshest ingredients possible, they are all fairly inexpensive. Please enjoy my recipe!! Thank you so so much!! 

****Cook's side note: I would highly suggest using an Italian bread loaf or sour dough bread for this recipe. Makes for a nice contrast against the vegetables and dressing. Please avoid using regular sliced bread, unless it's texas toast, you want the bread to be able to soak up the dressing without becoming complete mush. 

Also, I am working on taking photos of ingredients you will need before hand, what it looks like while I am preparing the dish and afterwords. Thank you for your patience!! 

Frittata

Weekend breakfasts for me are a treat, and I want to treat myself right with something cozy. This simple and tasty frittata is one of my favorites. I will say that this makes enough for 2-3 people (If eating other accompaniments or want a light breakfast), which I will gladly eat by myself if my hunger calls for it LOL. Here we go!

Ingredients:

4 Large eggs

1/4 White onion, thinly sliced

1 large red bliss potato, quartered and sliced thin

1/4 tsp. Chopped Garlic

2 TBSP. Bacon fat/Butter

Mixed shredded cheese of your choice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Parsley Garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.) Crack and whisk the eggs in a bowl, set aside. 

2.) Cut and slice the potato and white onion, set aside.

3.) Get a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add in the cooking fat of your choice. 

4.) Cook off the onions and potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly golden brown. Add in the garlic and stir to combine. 

5.) Pour the beaten eggs over the potatoes and onions. Stir so the egg goes underneath the potatoes and onions. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. 

6.) Reduce the heat to low and cover the saute pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Lift the cover and check if all of the eggs are set. Cook more if necessary. 

7.) Sprinkle cheese on the top of the frittata and cover again to melt. 

8.) Carefully slide frittata onto a large plate and enjoy immediately. 

9.) Garnish with fresh parsley if you so desire. :) 

You can eat this piping hot or at room temperature. Makes for a great breakfast or brunch item. 

Please enjoy and thank you! 

Veggie Stir Fry With Jasmine Rice

This is one of my favorite go to recipes! When I am looking to make something quick during the middle of the week this meal really hits the spot. This time around I am trying out something new. My grocery store offers bagged veggies ready to steam for only $1 per bag. I got two. This bag is a mixture of broccoli, red cabbage and carrots sliced very thin. I also made jasmine rice with this dish, it's so much better than plain white rice (not sushi rice, long grain white rice, BORING!). The rice makes it filling and the quick saute of veggies keeps them crunchy and full of nutrients. Here's what you'll need:




Ingredients
1/2 of a white onion, sliced thin
1/2 cut into match sticks, batonette***
1/2 yellow crookneck, cut into match sticks
1/2 bell pepper of your choice, sliced thin
1/2 rib of celery sliced thin lengthwise
1 bag mixed, sliced vegetables
1 large Handful of washed and torn spinach
1 TBSP minced ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
Ponzu Sauce TT
Teriyaki Sauce/Soy Sauce TT
Sesame Oil TT or enough to saute veggies
Fish Sauce TT                                               
Pinch of white sugar
Pinch of red pepper flakes


Directions:


1.) Wash and prep the vegetables as instructed in the ingredients list. 
2.) Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet on medium. Once hot, add in the vegetables. 
3.) Stir constantly while you saute the vegetables for 3 minutes. Add in the seasonings to your taste at this point and saute for 2 minutes or to your desired level of doneness. 
4.) Right before switching off the heat, add in your minced ginger and garlic so they do not burn. 
5.) Serve over freshly steamed jasmine rice. 

 My current obsession in rice

  
     


Final result! :D 


















This dish serves 4. You can eat leftovers of this and not feel guilty about grease, too much salt or cholesterol. You add what you want to it, TT. Soy sauce and Ponzu sauce go a long way especially when it concentrates in the pan so go light!! The sugar adds a new depth of flavor by enhancing the lemon in the ponzu sauce.I really hope you enjoy this dish and thanks so much for reading! 




**Cooks side note: Batonette is a french term used in the kitchen referring to a style of cut (vegetables, fruits, meats etc.) The size of a batonette cut measures 2 inches long x 1/4 in. x 1/4 inch. It is from this cut that you can make small dice cuts. 

Mixed Vegetable Soup

 This soup features a lot of great veggies and can be turned vegetarian by swapping out only one ingredient! Please feel free to use what's available to you in your area or seasonally available.




For this recipe you will need: 


Ingredients: 
1/2 large white onion, diced small
1 medium zucchini, diced small

Stems from 1 pint of button mushrooms, diced small
1 medium yellow crookneck squash, diced small
1 & 1/2 cups broccoli florets, chopped fine
2 stalks of celery, diced small
1 cup of lentils (your choice really)
4 cups of water (depending on your taste, the less water, the thicker it will be. )
2-3 cups chicken stock/vegetable stock
Handful of fresh spinach
2 garlic cloves, diced fine 
1 pinch of Herbs de Provence**
1 &1/2 TBSP tomato paste
salt and black pepper to taste
Red wine Vinegar to taste




Directions:


1.) Wash and chop all vegetables (minus the spinach) and set aside. 
2.) In a soup pot, add in 2 TBSP of olive oil and warm over a medium heat. 
3.) Add all veggies (minus the spinach) and garlic to the oil and sweat for 4-5 minutes. Stir often to make sure they don't brown. 
4.) Add in the tomato paste, Herbs de Provence and mix. 
5.) Pour in lentils and toss to coat with everything in the pot. 
6.) Immediately pour in the chicken stock and the water. Mix to combine. 
7.) Cook until the lentils are soft and vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes. 
8.) Season with salt, pepper and red wine vinegar to your liking. Wilt the spinach in at the last minute and serve. 

You could very easily puree this and the lentils will give it a nice thickness. Soups like this get better when they have time to sit, so it makes for great leftovers. Freeze in a mason jar and have it at your disposal for a sick/rainy day. Thanks so much for reading!! 

                               


**Cook's side note: Herbs de Provence is a french staple in the spice cabinet. This spice mixture is available at most grocery stores.  It may contain but is not limited to: Thyme, Basil, Fennel Seeds, Savory, Rosemary, Lavender and Tarragon. It's really popular in chicken dishes. Feel free to substitute this herb mix with Italian herbs if you do not have Herbs de Provence in your home. 




P.S: I am going to work on taking photos my prep work as I am making the food. I feel like it makes the work a lot easier on you all when you can see what I am doing throughout the whole process. Thank you! 

Japanese/Korean Inspired Dinner

2012 is off to a great start for me. I am proud to say I am eating healthier and creating more vegetarian options for myself. This meal I have created technically isn’t vegetarian because I added fish sauce in it, but please feel free to leave it out. I am in no way a vegetarian but it's nice to have the option. This meal I cooked for myself is Japanese and Korean inspired, I hope you try it for yourself. 

There are 3 parts to this meal: Vegetable stir fry, Korean seasoned cucumbers and jasmine rice. Here's the recipe for the vegetable stir fry. 

Ingredients

- 1 package bean sprouts, washed and drained (Sprouts of your choice, mung, soy etc.)

- 2 medium sized carrots, washed, peeled and sliced into thin 2 inch. strips

- 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, wiped free of dirt and quartered (you can use the stems too)

- 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

- 2 roma tomatoes, deseeded and diced

- 2 TBSP toasted sesame oil

- 1 tsp. grated ginger

- 1 grated garlic clove

- pinch hot pepper flakes

- TT Fish sauce

- TT Teriyaki sauce

-TT Ponzu sauce

- 1/2 of an onion sliced thin ( I forgot to add onion but please feel free to use it here)

Directions

1.) Prep the vegetables as they are listed in the ingredients. 

2.) Separate the vegetables into 3 different bowls: Bean sprouts in one, tomatoes and carrots into one, and mushrooms, bell pepper and onion into another. 

3.) In a large skillet, warm up the sesame oil. Add in the tomatoes, carrots and hot pepper flakes. Cook them for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes soften into a sauce. 

4.) Add in the mushrooms, bell pepper and onion and cook for 2 minutes. Be sure to stir every so often. 

5.) Finally add in the bean sprouts and liquid seasonings. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. 

6.) To prevent burning, add in the grated garlic and ginger at the end. Stir to combine for 30 seconds to 1 minute and remove from the heat. 

I apologize if the picture is dark, I am still getting used to this camera. As I said before, I left out onion in my stir fry but please feel free to add it. 


Moving onto the seasoned cucumbers, here is what you'll need: 

Ingredients:

- 3 large cucumbers

- 1 grated garlic clove

- 1 tsp. grated ginger

- pinch of hot pepper flakes

- TT fish sauce

- TT toasted sesame oil

- TT Black pepper

- Optional, scallion for garnish

Directions

1.) Add in all of the ingredients to a large bowl minus the cucumbers. You want to make it a little strong because the cucumbers will water it down slightly.

2.) Wash the cucumbers. (This is totally optional but I do it because it makes for a great presentation.->) Use a channel knife to score strips into the cucumbers. I save these strips and add them to the cucumber dish. 

2.) Cut off both ends of each cucumbers and throw away. 

3.) Cut each cucumber lengthwise and remove their seeds with a spoon. 

4.) Thinly slice the cucumber to look like half moons. (When they are scored, they look more like gears in a clock, kinda cool!)

5.) As you are cutting the cucumbers, add them to the large bowl with the sauce. Once all of the cucumbers and strips are added to the sauce, toss to combine. Allow them to marinade for at least 30 minutes at room temperature, or overnight in your fridge if you have the time. 

6.) Before serving, toss to coat once more and enjoy! 

In my picture, I left the seeds on some and others I didn’t. I wanted a variety. We eat with our eyes first after all! :D

Even though they have been marinated, the cucumbers retain their crunch. These are great served cold in the summer time! 

I drew inspiration for this recipe from two beautiful ladies I follow on Youtube, please subscribe to them if you are at all interested in Korean Cuisine. 

Maangchi - http://www.youtube.com/user/Maangchi

Aeri's Kitchen - http://www.youtube.com/user/aeriskitchen

Lastly we have the jasmine rice. As far as the jasmine rice goes, this always seems to work great for me! NOTE: You do not have to have a rice cooker, you can make this on the stove top. 

Ingredients

- Jasmine rice (I just eye ball the quantity for 1 serving but if you are serving a crowd, please measure.)

-Water 

- Optional, a pinch of salt or dried kelp 

Directions

- Wash the rice in a bowl until the water runs clean. Rice is notorious for sticking together and you need to get rid of the extra starch. 

- Pour the rice into a medium size pot and pour water over it. Pour enough so that 1/2 an inch of water is above the rice. 

- Bring the rice to a boil. Reduce to a simmer until almost all of the water is evaporated. 

-Fluff with a fork, put on a lid and remove it from the heat source. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes. 

If you want to time this recipe just right, make the cucumbers first. Their timing really doesn't matter. Then do the prep for the vegetables and then make the rice. Once the rice starts boiling, then cook the vegetables. They should finish around the same time. I really hope you enjoy these recipes and try them some day! Thanks for reading! 


Just a side note though, the cucumber side dish and the vegetable stir fry are very different in flavor so you might want to eat one first, and then the other. They are probably not meant to be on the same plate but I was feeling it The bell peppers are pretty strong and can make the cucumber side dish taste funny if you are eating both. lol. You have been warned! 

Fall Is In The Air!!

Don't you just love when fall arrives? You get those beautiful changing leaves, cool crisp air, scarves become the favorite accessory and my personal favorite, fall produce! I crave pumpkin pie all year round and when fall finally arrives, I try not to gorge myself haha. I wanna refresh or maybe teach those who don't know about fall produce. It's really simple and it will cost you a lot less to buy these produce items while they are in season. Let's get started. 


Buying seasonally is not only helpful to your wallet, but great for your body. You are buying produce that thrives in that type of weather and receiving great nutrients in return! Seasonal produce is cheaper to purchase because there is an abundance of certain crops at that time of year. For example, we all associate fall with pumpkins, squashes and apples right? We don't exactly eat juicy peaches and citrus now do we? No.... lol. Just because our grocery stores carry citrus all year round, doesn't mean we should buy it. 


Our society has become one of convenience and we are able to buy these produce out of season. What we would normally be growing ourselves last season, we are now importing from other countries and paying a great deal for them.Without a second thought, people will buy a bag of oranges and pay like 8 bucks for them. Get home, and realize that your oranges are full of pith and hardly any orange and have no flavor. I hear a lot of this too," My son's soccer team likes oranges before and after practice." I can't exactly argue that one, but what's wrong with giving them their own pint of berries or a juicy plum? We need to demand that our grocery stores stock up on seasonal produce! Grown either locally or in the United States! But that's another blog lol. 


Back to what I was saying before. Not a lot of people know more than a few fall produce. Things to look out for are: Blackberries, figs, apples including the honey crisp apples (Sooo amazing, please go try some if you haven't already. Their very seasonal, like 2 months out of the year), pomegranates, pomelos, plums, pears, grapes, persimmons and a probably a lot more depending on where you live lol. That's just the fruit!!


Vegetables include potatoes, leeks, onions, carrots, cauliflower, squashes, sweet corn, peppers, parsnips, fennel, cucumbers, broccoli, eggplant, the list goes on and on. I work at a grocery store and it is no coincidence that people are buying these produce! They are buying them in large quantities too, especially the fruits. The fall produce are those that have a great robustness and hearty feel. They are our comfort foods against the cold weather. Even the small berries, they are big and bursting with flavor! 


Soups are one of those simple and very versatile meals to make. Not only can you make up recipes for soup, but you can add what ever you want to them! They freeze great and can be enjoyed year round! Add any vegetables you wish, you really can't go wrong! 


Go online and find more about seasonal produce that's available in the fall. Also, if your city or town have fresh markets, I greatly encourage you to go to one! Farmers are more than happy to share how they grow their crops and how to get the most nutrients out of their produce. Produce bought from a market are going to cost you much less than paying for it at a grocery store, I guarantee it! Even organic produce! Farmers take great pride in organic produce, as they should. 


Did you know that: It takes a minimum of 7 years for a farmers land to even become ready to start growing organically! They have to get their soil approved by the government before they can grow any crops, and have to get it tested every few months or once a year? So if you ever wonder why organics are a little more expensive, there ya go! 


Anyway, please take my advice and buy seasonal produce. I have listed a few of the available fruits and vegetables that are really thriving right now. If you are an avid grocery shopper like I am, you will notice a great difference in price for what's in, and what's out of season. Just see the prices for yourself! If you like enjoying produce out of it's season, by all means by frozen produce. They are much better than canned. If you really enjoy foods like that, try making your own preserves or canned foods. You will reap the benefits of buying seasonally again and then enjoying the literal fruits of your labor. 


Have a wonderful fall season, stay warm! 

Produce Blog

 I am so sick of seeing things on t.v. about trying to hide foods with kids. Things like Mott's Apple Juice that has hidden vegetable juices, or WhoNu cookies that supposedly have added vitamins. Another one is Chef Boyardee with hidden vegetables in the meat sauce. LOL the packaging on the front has the word vegetables, like the kids aren't going to see it! Why do parents feel the need to hide these wonderful foods from their kids?


Kids palates change all the time, so constant exposure and introduction to foods is a must. If a kid doesn't like the taste of boiled broccoli, serve it to them steamed with garlic and a little butter. It's not hard! Any parent with access to television or the internet, have no excuse about not being able to find a way to prepare certain foods to their kids. People dedicate cook books and blogs to cater towards kids too for crying out loud. 


Produce is so essential to a kids health, they literally need great food to grow! Why would you feed kids cookies that have been manufactured with Vitamin D and C, and looks just like an Oreo? They will grow up thinking that all cookies are healthy and develop a bad diet into their adulthood. Those cookies contain negative calories and are a health lie. Either eat them in moderation or don't eat them at all. 


You can take supplements and shove vitamin gummies down your kids throats, but what they really need is a hearty diet. There are vital nutrients in vegetables and fruits that you can't get in the pill form. You can concentrate vitamin C all you want, but you will get more benefits from eating an actual orange. There are special enzymes inside fruits and vegetables that aid in digestion and repair your body, that are just non-existent in pills. 


When I have kids, I want to take them to local markets that open up around my town and inform them of what they are eating. They should know where their food comes from! Kids are so impressionable, for all they know produce comes from the store when it really comes from a farm that's only 50 miles away! Having kids harvest produce themselves, I think it makes the best impression of all. They see how the foods are being grown, how much effort and time it takes to grow them, and have a better appreciation for what they get served at home. 


 Local farmers from neighboring cities come together at beautiful markets to provide colorful and vibrant produce to people who have a great appreciation for food. Any child would be amazed to know that not all watermelons are red, some are yellow!  Also, bell peppers aren't just red, they are also orange, green and yellow!


Take a little time to show your kids or go on a field trip to a farm or local market. Let them see how these foods are grown and the people who grow them! Heck take them to your local grocery store and introduce them to produce. You know how cool a leek or a pineapple would look to a kid? Here's some pics just to show you:

Leek

Pineapple










Jamie Oliver made an attempt to go across America and teach elementary students about healthier foods, but I don't feel like it made much of a difference. I give him mad props for trying, but our nation is in dire need of a radical food change. Kids don't realize that chicken nuggets are ground with preservatives and deep fried and just warmed through and served at their school. I would much rather be served an actual piece of chicken like a leg or thigh that has been baked. 


Did you know that in Japan, kids eat their lunches in what they call "Bento Boxes"? Inside them are a wide variety of foods such as rice, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin etc. They are beautifully decorated and make eating them so much fun!  These kids are encouraged to eat up to 20 different foods in a day and up to 100 different foods a week, crazy right? It's a big change from the boring pizza or spaghetti night. That could be you or your family! 


Here's something to make that a reality! If you shop seasonally, not only will you eat a wider variety of foods, you will also spend less on produce. A lot of grocery stores will stock produce in their stores outside of their normal seasons in order to meet customer demands. It's nice to eat summer citrus in winter but we really need to demand seasonal produce. You can pay 4 times more for out of season produce than produce that is in season. To me it's just common sense! If you really want out of season produce splurge on the frozen stuff like berries, those are much more reasonably priced. 


There are tons of websites online that tell you what produce are available and at what time so I won't bore you with that lol. But here are a few produce that I feel are commonly associated with particular seasons: 

-Apples are associated with the fall, along with pumpkins and a variety of squashes. 

  








-Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are summer time produce.

  








-Asparagus and strawberries are tender spring produce.
















Just listing off those few produce makes me excited I just love fruits and vegetables so much! LOL I was that weird kid growing up who ate her broccoli and spinach. I feel so blessed to have been fed those  foods despite the fact that my mom didn't like them. She knew that those foods were beneficial for my health and my sister's health. 


Take this blog to heart and consider opening up your child/children to produce. Don't try and hide foods from them either because it will turn against you some day. If kids wonder why their favorite spaghetti sauce tastes so good and you tell them that it has onions in it, how are they going to react? Especially if they won't eat onions when they are visible in other foods. Take them on a field trip to a farm or local produce market and teach them about produce! When kids get hands on experience, they will carry that knowledge with them throughout life. 


I would love to read comments about kids having great experiences with fruits and vegetables! Thank you for reading.  :)