More on Tapas

The beautiful hosts of the Tapas party. And a good view of the yummy table of food!








Just so that your mouth is definitely watering...here's another view of the table! :-)

Our Latest Tapas Night

Mom and I thought we might kick off your November Foods of the World a little early with some pictures of our most recent tapas night. All of the local family loves Spanish food, and

most of us have lived there. No recipes this time around (maybe later).

In the picture above, you can see (top to bottom), Berenjenas Fritas con Ajo y Huevo Picado (Eggplant garnished with Garlic and Hardboiled Egg), Guisantes con Jamon (Peas with Ham), Pimientos Fritos (Fried Peppers), Ensaladilla Rusa (a wonderful Spanish potato salad), Tortilla Espanol (Spanish Omelet with potatoes), and Ali Oli (Garlic Mayonnaise).

Chorizo a la Llama (Flaming Chorizo) is a staple at our Tapa Nights. It happens to be the first tapa Mom and I shared in the first restaurant we visited in Rota, on Avenida de la Marina. A nice variety of aceitunas (olives) is also a must at our Tapa Nights.

Foods of The World - November 2008

Let's go to Spain ! Oh how I wish I really could ... but for now, I'll have to make do with just going there in my kitchen !! And on the beans blog ... in your kitchens !!

To get you started, I'm going to give you the link for a wonderful website that has amazing recipes. The people who run this site are friends of our family from way back !!

If you live in the States or Canada you can even order food from them ... but I'm really just directing you to the recipe section ! There's some yummy stuff in there !!

So ... get your research hats on. Find your recipe. Get cooking and photographing and posting ... I can't wait to see what you all do !!

(click on the La Tienda "photo" to go to the website ...)

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 28

Almost forgot to post this ...

Friday ... the kids had Dominoes pizza. Jono won a free large pizza from indoor soccer so we redeemed that voucher for their dinner. Rory and I had carbonara and the pastry pictured above. I'll post the recipe for it soon ... I made it up and it was yummy !

Saturday ... home made sushi ... always a favorite !

Sunday ... dinner is always hard on sunday night because we eat lunch late after morning church and then don't eat again until after night church. This week we had fried eggs and corn on the cob. Odd combo, I know ... but it's what we felt like !

Monday ... Rory cooked a stir fry.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday ... I know I keep doing this but I'm not sure what we will have. I've got all these veggies from our local organic farmer so we'll probably be doing something with them on rice !

****
Don't forget our Foods of The World series that is happening ... only a few more days left this month and then we will start with a new country !! I've chosen the next country and will let you all know what it is on Friday the 24th of October !!

***

For more Menu Plan Monday, be sure to stop by "I'm an Organizing Junkie" and check out the other posts !!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I got this recipe out of "Good Housekeeping ~ Baking" ... a cookbook I got from the library.

2 cups flour
1/2 cups plus one tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
8 ounces plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven. 400F/200C. Line your muffin pans.

In a bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, with a whisk or a form, mix egg whites, yoghurt, veg oil, lemon peel and vanilla. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture, until flour is moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into muffin pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 tbls sugar onto top of muffins.

Bake 20/25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

Immediately remove muffins from pan. Serve warm. Or cool on wire rack to serve later.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Cherry Almond Muffins

I got this recipe HERE ...

• 150g caster sugar , plus a little more to sprinkle on top
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 125g butter , melted
• 175ml Greek yogurt
• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 250g cherries, pitted and halved (I used frozen)
  

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases (not cupcake ones as these are too small). Mix the sugar, vanilla, egg, butter and yoghurt together. Sift the flour, baking powder and almonds into a bowl (use a wide mesh sieve), add the liquid ingredients and mix quickly (don't worry if the mix is lumpy), add the cherries and mix.
2. Divide between the muffin cases, sprinkle a little extra sugar onto each and bake for 20 minutes or until risen and golden.

A new series ...

Does anyone else get tired of putting the same old things in their kid's lunch boxes ?? I'm so on the lookout for new things to give the kids ... homemade things that travel/keep well !!

I've been thinking for a while that I'd like to post a series of lunch box ideas ... would you like to join me ?? Go ahead, grab the "what's for lunch...?" above, post to your blog and then link back here, or post right here if you are an author ! I'd love to see what you put in your kid's lunch boxes ! Or your husband's lunch box .... or your own lunch box ... or your neighbor's lunch box ... I'm not really picky about who the lunch box is for ... I just want to see what is in it !!

Here's a different sandwich idea that my kids love. I don't often keep cream cheese in the house, but when I do have it, they love this simple, refreshing sandwich. Cream cheese and sliced cucumber. Try it, you'll like it !!

Ps ... how do you like the lunch box drawing ?? Yep ... it was me ! Hidden talents, I tell ya !!

October is almost finished ...

... only 13 days left to get your POT LUCK recipes posted and then we'll be starting on a new country ! I'll be revealing next months country soon !! Which one will it be ..... ??

Our pot luck recipes so far have been ....

Vietnamese Vermicelli
Equadorian Quinoa And Vegetable Soup
Gyoza
Chicken Cous Cous
Korean Spicy Pork Ribs

Is This For Real ??

I discovered this in my google reader today ...

Would anyone really eat this ?!?!

CHECK IT OUT !!

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 28

• Pest Farfalle (We WILL eat this tonight! ha!)
• Mexican Chicken Soup
  

I will post the Sweet Corn & Potato Chowder recipe soon!
More menus *HERE*

Kiddos Kooking

Alia saw a recipe for making a strawberry milkshake on playschool this week and asked if she could make it for us. We got some strawberry's at the shop and when we got home she made us shakes.

We made a video of her doing the shake ... and then I made a video of the kids watching the video. I thought it was funny how funny they thought it was.

As for the taste ... well, let's just say I wouldn't buy this in a cafe, but if my five year old makes it for me ... I'll drink it every time !!

Alia loved it !!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 28

I will post Saturday and Sunday's recipes through the week.
Friday's Sloppy Joe's were great.
I made Beth's recipe.
I didn't use ketchup though because I didn't have enough.
I used half a can of tomato puree and added extra brown sugar.

Monday - tonight - we will be eating up the leftovers and having corn on the cob !
The rest of the week I'll be trying new recipes.
Tuesday - Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa and Naan
Wednesday - Whole Slow Cooked Chicken with Rice and greens
Thursday - not entirely sure but something with udon noodles and the rest of the greens.

And for the baking ... I'm going to try these Quinoa Muffins !!


For more ideas on what to cook this week ... and into the coming weeks ... click on the button above.

Menu Plan Monday

Ok so it's not Monday here yet, but I won't get to it tomorrow and I'm leaving town Tuesday night. They baby and I are flying to Ithaca, New York for my annual sister's get together. (There are eight of us sisters :) )
So here are my two days of menus and the boys will have to eat leftovers and fend for themselves while I'm gone because Jared doesn't cook - but his Mom is in town so I doubt they will starve.
Tonight we had - Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
Monday - Honey Pork Chops
Tuesday - Penne with Chicken Broccoli and Cheese


Here are the recipes :)

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos
(I got this recipe from my sister - not sure where she got it) We all love these and though they might sound a bit weird, the flavors really mesh well together. I promise! I usually half the recipe.



3 tsp oil
1 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
6 cups black beans rinsed and drained
2 cups water
3T chili powder
2t cumin
4t yellow mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper
3T soy sauce
4 cups mashed cooked sweet potato
flour tortillas
shredded cheese
sour cream
salsa -optional

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil. Add the beans to the pan and mash with a fork or potato masher. Stir in the water and remove from heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
To serve spread some mashed sweet potatoes onto a tortilla. Add some bean mixture and shredded cheese Serve with sour cream and salsa if desired. roll up and eat :)


Penne with Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese

1 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup butter
2 skinless chicken breasts halves cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves crushed
salt and pepper to taste
3 1/4 cups penne pasta
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 gorgonzola cheese, rind removed and diced small
parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Plunge brocoli in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Return to a boil and boil for two minutes, then drain in colander under cold running water. Shake to remove surplus water and set aside to drain completely.
Melt butter in large skillet or saucepan. Add chicken and garlic, with salt and pepper to taste; stirl well. Fry over medium heat for 3 minutes or until chicken becomes white. Meanwhile, begin cooking pasta according to package instructions.
Pour wine and cream over chicken mixture in pan. Stir to mix, then simmer stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes, until sauce has reduced and thickened. Increase heat, add brocooli, and toss to heat through. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
Drain pasta and add it to the sauce. Add gorgonzola and toss well. Top with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

(recipe from "Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer" Some of the recipes in there are written really wonky! For example, "Plunge broccoli. . ." ha ha)

Honey Pork Chops

(I havn't tried these yet- hope they're good)
6 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 t ground ginger
1 clove garlic minced
2 T soy sauce
dash of pepper

Place all ingredients except pork chops in blender and mix thoroughly. Place pork chops and the marinade in baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours turning chops occasionally while baking. Pork chops may also be grilled.(recipe from "Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer")

The Lady and Sons Chicken Fingers

I wanted to make chicken fingers one night, but I didn't want the same old chicken strips that I always make, so I went online to the food network which is one of my favorite sites for finding a recipe for something specific. This is what I found and I've made it oh so many times since.

16 chicken tenders or 4 boneless chicken breasts cut into 4 equal strips
garlic salt, pepper
2 cups buttermilk (It doesn't actually take 2 whole cups of buttermilk to make this... or three cups self rising flour, so I usually just put as much as I think it will take into bowls. ) (Also, if you don't have buttermilk, you can add a couple tablespoons of vinegar to regular milk and substitute it. I never buy buttermilk anymore.)
3 cups self-rising flour
Oil for frying (The recipe calls for you to deep fry these, but I usually fry them in a heavy skillet and turn them once.)

Sprinkle chicken tenders (as you can see in the photo, you can either do strips or nuggets. this day I was serving children, so I did nuggets, but I think I prefer strips.) with garlic salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, dip into buttermilk and back into flour.

Preheat oil to 350 degrees. Fry fingers in deep hot oil 5 to 7 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with honey mustard (we serve them with ranch) for dipping.

Pumpkin Carrot Cream Cheese Swirl Bars

I snuck up on my husband eating one of these and he said sarcastically, "Too bad these didn't turn out very good." :) It's a good thing we are sharing them with friends tonight or we might eat the whole pan - just the two of us.

Pumpkin Carrot Swirl Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup finely shredded carrot
Cream Cheese Topping (recipe follows)


Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan.

COMBINE flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda in small bowl. Beat granulated sugar, butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin and carrot; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; mix well. Spread into prepared pan. Drop teaspoonfuls of Cream Cheese Topping over batter; swirl mixture with spoon.

BAKE for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

FOR CREAM CHEESE TOPPING:
COMBINE 4 ounces softened light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in small mixer bowl until thoroughly blended.

I doubled the cream cheese topping. Why not!?!


I got the recipe at verybestbaking.com

Turnip and Potato Patties

I had never had a turnip ( that I know of ) before last week. When they arrived in our box of veggies, Rory was not thrilled. He hates turnip. I tasted one raw when I was chopping it up for this recipe and am wondering how I cannot have discovered turnip before now !! I LOVE IT ! It's such a fresh, crisp flavor !! Sort of radishy ...

Anyway ... my turnip hating husband loved these patties.

I got the recipe from Simply Recipes after doing a search on turnip recipes.

Turnip and Potato Patties

1/2 pound turnips, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 1/3 cups)
6 oz potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 Tbsp thinly sliced scallion greens
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil (high smoke point vegetable oils)
Salt and pepper
Method

In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the turnip and potato cubes for 15 to 17 minutes, until they are tender, and drain them. In a bowl, mash them with a fork and stir in the scallions, the egg, flour, and salt and pepper to taste.

Coat the bottom of a large, heavy bottomed skillet with about 1/4-inch of the oil. Heat the pan on medium high heat until the surface of the oil begins to shimmer, but not smoke. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of the turnip potato batter into the pan, flattening them into 1/2-inch thick patties with the back of a spatula. Fry the patties until they are golden, turning them once, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the patties to paper towels to drain off excess oil.

Makes six patties.

Equadorian Quinoa Vegetable Soup

(Click photo for link to recipe.)

OH MY GOODNESS! This soup is FANTASTIC! Just right for a cool crisp night! I added a few extra veggies such as leeks, carrots, celery...etc. (cleaning out the fridge.) I also doubled everything so that I could freeze some for a later time! You HAVE to try this soup! My husband said it would be really great with okra! He's on an okra kick...everything could benefit from a little okra in his opinion! ha! I will add it next time!

Sloppy Joes

I havn't had sloppy joes in YEARS - for some reason this sounded good as I was planning last week. I got the recipe from "Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer"
It's a book about making meals ahead and freezing them. I don't do that, I just like some of the recipes in it.

Sassy Sloppy Joes
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 T butter
2 lbs ground beef
7 oz. ketchup
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. celery chopped
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. brown sugar
1 1/2 t worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 t salt
1 t vinegar
1/4 t dry mustard

Saute onion in butter. Add ground beef; brown lightly. Drain off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

(I used ground turkey instead. I added twice the ketchup, dry mustard and celery)
It was pretty good.

My oh so late Menu Plan!

Monday - Pasta Casserole
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes
Wednesday - Spaghetti/no meat- French Bread -Steamed veggies. (I have to make this for my boys a couple times a month or they would FIRE me from the kitchen!)
Thursday (crock pot day) - Chicken with creamy chive sauce over mashed potatoes (This is so good - not the most healthy meal - but mmm so good. I'll post the recipe when I can get a picture this week)
Friday - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos (sounds WEIRD I know but they are delicious)Saturday
Saturday - Penne with Chicken Broccoli and Cheese
Sunday - ? I hope there are some leftovers

Vietnamese Vermicelli

Canadian Living Magazine: May 2005
Serves 2 to 3

Beef Marinade:
8 oz (250 g) top sirloin or strip loin grilling steak (1 inch/ 2.5 cm thick)
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced shallot or green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) fish sauce or soy sauce
Vermicelli Salad:
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegetable oil
1/2 cup (125 mL) very thinly sliced shallots
2 oz (60 g) rice vermicelli
2 cups (500 mL) shredded lettuce
2 cups (500 mL) thinly sliced English cucumber
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh coriander, mint or basil (or a combination)
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped dry roasted peanuts
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Noodle Sauce:
1/3 cup (75 mL) fresh lime juice
2 tbsp (25 mL) fish sauce (I just used soy sauce since I did not have fish sauce.)
1 tsp (5 mL) granulated sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) hot red pepper or jalapeño pepper, minced

Trim fat from steak. With knife held at 45-degree angle, cut steak crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Place each between plastic wrap; with meat pounder, pound each until about 6 inches (15 cm) long, 3 inches (8 cm) wide and 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick. Place in bowl. Add minced shallot, minced garlic, granulated sugar and fish sauce; toss to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Noodle Sauce:
In glass measure, whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and hot pepper. Set aside.
(Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.)

Vermicelli Salad:
Meanwhile, in small skillet, heat oil over medium heat until it bubbles. Add shallots; fry until golden, about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove to paper towel-lined plate. Set skillet of shallot oil aside.In bowl, cover vermicelli with boiling water and soak until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; rinse in cold water. Return to bowl; toss with 1 tsp (5 mL) of the reserved shallot oil. Divide lettuce between two or three large bowls or plates. Top with cucumber, half of the coriander and the vermicelli; sprinkle with peanuts and fried shallots. Set aside.Thread beef onto skewers; brush with 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the reserved shallot oil. Reserve remaining shallot oil for another use. Broil beef until dark and crusty, about 8 minutes. (I just stir fried some prepared *already cut up* beef I bought at the meat counter. Broiling sounds like it might be better though! Or even grilling on a BBQ!)
Place on top of noodles; drizzle with any pan juices. Sprinkle with green onion and remaining coriander. To eat, pour noodle sauce over vermicelli salad and toss to combine.

*A few notes on this recipe:*
*The recipe calls for dry roasted peanuts, but I have always just used lightly salted cocktail peanuts.
*The last ingredient, hot red pepper or jalapeno pepper, I just put a dash of dried crushed red pepper instead.
*And in case you are like me as of a few months ago, and don’t know what coriander is it is actually referred to as cilantro here in the states.
*I also use regular vermicelli pasta noodles from the pasta isle. Not rice vermicelli…