Bread

Have I mentioned how much I love my bread machine?

Oh yeah, that's because I hate it!!!

Aidan and I decided to make bread yesterday. Here is our brilliant result:


These really don't show all of the horror that was our "bread"


So, in the middle of Aidan's nap I realize that we are not going to have fresh bread for dinner.

So I pulled up the french bread post and started over. It turned out great!!



I will definitely make it again. Next time I will cut the recipe in half because it is too big for my mixer, but it still turned out great. Mine wasn't quite as crusty as hers looks.. maybe I needed to cook it longer or something.. we'll see. Thanks for the great recipe.

I'm In Love and You Will Be Too !


This is the coolest site !!!

You have got to check it out !

I warn you though ... if you put it in your google reader like I did ... you will have heaps to read !

And you will find some really cool blogs !

Like I have !

TASTESPOTTING

Click the word above ... go on, you know you want to !!

Then come back and tell me what you think !


Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 20

I missed last weeks menu planning due to the holiday...back on track now:Links to recipes:

Inspired ...

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As promised ... here are the two recipes for the yummy meal we had Sunday night.

They are both from The Inspired Vegetarian by Christine Ingram

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I served them as the main dishes ... not eating meat right now.

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Stuffed Mushrooms ( the adapted by Bonnie version )

I used:
6 big mushrooms
olive oil
garlic
fresh parsley
fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180C or 350F

Take the stalks out of the mushrooms. Don't throw them out. Put the mushrooms in a pan with baking paper on the bottom.

Heat a bit of oil and briefly fry the garlic. It called for 2 cloves, use what you fancy.

In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs (I used two pieces of bread ... chopped in my food processor), parsley (3 tbls), and chopped mushroom stalks. Add garlic, salt and pepper and 1 tbls oil.

Fill mushrooms with mixture. I then poured a bit more oil on top as it seemed a bit too dry.

Cover with baking paper. Bake 15/20 minutes ~ depending on size of mushrooms.

Remove paper at last five minutes to brown the tops ... I also added a bit of feta cheese before I put them back in for these last five minutes !


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Italian Roast Peppers

4 small red peppers, halved, cored and seeded
2-3 tbls capers ~ I used baby capers so I didn't need to chop as the recipe called for
10 - 12 black olives, pitted and chopped
garlic, finely chopped
50 - 75 g mozarella
25 - 50 g fresh breadcrumbs ( I used two pieces of bread )
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbls olive oil
1 tsp finely chopped fresh mint
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 180 C / 375 F.

Place the peppers tightly in a dish - lined with baking paper of course.

In a bowl, mix capers, olives, garlic, mozzarella and breadcrumbs. Pour onto the peppers.

Pour wine and olive oil (I mixed them first) on top.

Sprinkle with herbs and pepper.

Bake 30 - 40 minutes until the topping is crisp and golden brown.

I checked mine after 20 minutes and it was already crisp and golden brown but the peppers weren't cooked. So .. I covered it with tin foil for the remainder of the cooking time ! I might start out with the tin foil on top next time and then take it off towards the end !

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 22


Mondays come around so quickly !
Do they for you too ?
Here's the menu for this week ...





Friday we had pizza.

Good pizza.

Of course, the pizza we eat around here is always good.

That's a problem ! A big problem ... :)






Saturday we did a BBQ.

We all had something different.

You can read about it and get my yummy fish recipe here.







Last night, Sunday, we had the yummiest dinner.

Tried two new recipes and made that great focaccia bread.

I'll be posting the new recipes tomorrow.

You'll want to check back to see these:
1. Italian Roast Peppers
2. Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm having the leftovers for lunch ... at least I hope I am.

I wonder if Rory took them to work ??





Tonight, Monday, we are having a new recipe out of this book.

It's called Persian Minted Onion Soup and it looks delish.

I'll post the recipe later in the week if it's as good as it looks !

I'm also making the rest of the focaccia. Last night, in an effort to reduce our bread intake, I only baked half the loaf.





Tuesday and Wednesday we will be trying two more new recipes.

Tues ~ Spinach and Cannellini Beans
Wed ~ Balti Style Cauliflower with Tomatoes.

This is a great book ! I got Sunday's recipes out of it too !

As for Thursday, I don't have anything planned.

We'll see what happens ...


PS ... I'm having some spacing issues with this post. Driving me too crazy trying to fix 'em so I'm not going to !!

Fish a la Bonnie

Rory had a big fat steak for dinner tonight.

The kids had sausages.

I had fish.

Gotta love the versatility of a BBQ dinner !

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The fish I chose was called "Basa". A white fleshed fish.

I love fish wrapped in tin foil and cooked on the BBQ.

The way I made it tonight was delicious.

And easy.

All I did was put the fish in the tin foil.

Chopped a spring onion and slivered some garlic ~ put them on top of the fish.

And two spears of asparagus.

Then I topped with a bit of lemon juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and sea salt.

Wrapped it up and Rory BBQ'd it.

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I served it with an artichoke and patatas alioli !

DELICIOUS !!

Rory's Salmon

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This salmon recipe is one that my husband invented and I made him write down !

Normally, he just cooks something and then forgets what he did so we NEVER eat it again.

Grrrr !!

Here's how you make it:

In a bowl or tupperware or whatever

~ mix soy sauce, lemon juice, horseradish, wasabi, ginger and garlic ~

to taste.

Put the salmon (with skin on is best !) in the bowl or tupperware or whatever.

Spoon a bunch of the mixture on top.

Let it set 'til you are ready to BBQ it.

Then ... well, yeah, BBQ it.

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Here's what it looked like all cooked.

I'll post the veggie skewer recipe later and the onion one ... well, it didn't cook properly.

We wrapped it back up in it's tin foil and are going to try it a different way tonight.

Will let you know the results !

Something of Interest

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How pretty is this ?

It's the veggies all cut up for Quinoa Vegetable Soup.

I don't have a recipe to share today but am trying to make a habit so am posting this photo.

I also have a link for you.

I found this article to be so interesting.

You should have a read of it.

I've read it a couple of times now .... very interesting.


Garlicky Crock Pot Chicken

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I forgot to take a photo of the cooked meat ... so here's what it looks like RAW !

So I'm not eating meat at the moment ... except for last night.
We had Thai Chicken Soup and I sooo ate it !!
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S

This is a great recipe. Easy. Yummy. Well, I haven't tasted it but my family liked it !
They ARE eating meat.

So ... you need a bunch of garlic, chicken legs and fresh rosemary. Throw the whole cloves of garlic into the crock pot. Skin and all. I used heaps. Like two heads of garlic. Chuck a bunch of rosemary on top. Salt. Pepper. And then add a tiny bit of chicken stock. Not too much. I think I might have added like 1/3 cup. Maybe even less. Cook on low 8 hours. The meat just falls off the bones. Seriously, you can hardly get the cooked legs out of the pot in one piece !

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie Edition 21

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So ... I mentioned that I would try to post everyday (or so!!) with the Eat To Live recipes that I'm making. Uh ... yeah ... it's been a week since my last post !! Here's a photo of a meal from last week. A green salad with mandarins. A spicy stir fry that I didn't like well enough to share the recipe ... not that I can remember it anyway. I made it up. And orange/fennel salad.

I made a disgusting stir fry the other night. Just in case you wanted to know. So disgusting that I opted to have a banana for dinner instead ! Rory liked the stir fry though ...

Anyway ... I will try to be more faithful in my postings ! At least for your sake, Shay !! :)

OK ... onto the menu for the week.



Friday
Quinoa Veg Soup ! YUM !!

Saturday
Rory ordered us take away curry. I had a veggie one. Spinach and potato. It was nice.

Sunday
That disgusting stir fry for Rory and a banana for me.

Monday
Family ~ Spaghetti from the freezer
Me ~ Baked Cauliflower and Asparagus

Tuesday
Thai Chicken Soup

Wednesday
Rory's Salmon
BBQ Steamed onion (a Jamie Oliver recipe)
BBQ veggie kebabs

Thursday
Crock Pot Chicken Legs (I'll post this recipe tomorrow)
Israeli Salad




Israel 60 Celebratory Dinner Recipes

This year, Action Israel and many other organizations joined with the Allied Jewish Federation to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, one of the miracles of the modern world. Many dinners have been held this year in the Denver metropolitan area, including 100 on the Night of 60 Dinners in April . Our small community of friends of Israel held a celebratory dinner tonight. You can read more about that here.
In addition to being very delicious, these recipes are very healthy!


Traditional Chopped Israeli Salad
From: Avi Schwalb

Mix all together the following ingredients:
8 medium sized tomatoes diced into small squares
4 peeled and seeded cucumbers diced into small squares
2 medium sized green peppers diced the same way
2 red peppers diced the same way
3 bunches of green onions diced fine
1/2 cup Italian parsley chopped fine
Dressing:
The juice of two lemons
Two T olive oil
1/2 t salt
Mix all together and pour in salad.
Chill at least an hour—the longer the better.
Sliced Eggplants with Garlic and Tomato Glaze
From Judy Jackson in The Jewish Cookbook

2 Eggplants about 8 oz. each
5 garlic cloves, pressed
3 T tomato paste
6-8 T olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste
chopped flat-leaf parsley to garnish, if desired
1. Slice the eggplants 1/4" thick (not too thin). Sprinkle with salt and let stand 30 minutes.
2. Stir together garlic, tomato paste, 1 T oil, salt and pepper.
3. Grease a baking sheet with about 4 T olive oil.
4. Rinse eggplant slices and pat dry, and arrange on the baking sheet in a single layer.
5. Spread a little of the garlic mixture over each slice (use it all up). Drizzle remaining oil over all.
6. Bake slices in 375°F oven for 30 minutes or until the eggplant is tender and the glaze is slightly brown.
7. Carefully lift slices off with spatula and arrange slightly overlapping on plate. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
Delicious served either warm or at room temperature.

Israeli Cous-Cous Salad with Fennel and Goat Cheese

1 medium fennel bulb
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup sliced fresh basil
5 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 red or orange bell pepper, julienned
1/2 cup kalamata olives, quartered
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup Israeli cous-cous, cooked according to package directions
1 pkg goat cheese (I used goat feta), crumbled

1. Trim base from fennel bulb and cut into thin strips.
2. Whisk olive oil together with next six ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Put vegetables into dressing, tossing to coat.
4. Add cous-cous and toss lightly.
5. Sprinkle with goat cheese.

Note: If Israeli cous-cous is unavailabe, orzo may be substituted.

More recipes to be published tomorrow. Right now, with this blogger, WYSIWYG--isn't!

I have a new acronym WYSINNWYG-WIVA. What you see is not necessarily what you get—which is very annoying!

Spanish Tortilla and Salad

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Here's what I took to Spanish class last night.
My Aunt Lissa taught me how to make it ~ it's easy peasy !
You can add whatever you like.
For last night I did one with just potato and two with potato and chorizo.
The second one was for my family !
Ok ... here's how you do it !

~Tortilla Espanola ~
Slice a potato, an onion and a few cloves of garlic.
Throw them in a frying pan with olive oil.
I usually let the potato cook a bit before I add the onion and garlic.
You don't want the potato to get too brown so do this on a lowish heat.
(If you are adding chorizo, do it in this step too.)
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat 4, 5 6, eggs ... however many you want ... and a bit of salt.
When the potato is cooked to your desired tenderness, pour it into the eggs.
Then pour that mixture back into your frying pan.
Don't add more oil ... you just use what's already there.
Let it cook 'til it's pretty much cooked through ~ but don't burn the bottom !
Put a dinner plate on top of the frying pan.
Pick up the frying pan and turn it over so now the tortilla is on the plate.
Now, push the tortilla from the plate, back into the frying pan.
IS THIS MAKING ANY SENSE !?!
I found a tutorial for you ... I've linked those two steps so you can see photos !!
Anyway ...
Once the bottom is cooked, tip the whole thing out onto a plate and you're done !
~
So ... the finale of Spanish class was so much fun !!
I did not eat according to the Eat To Live plan ~ not AT ALL !!
But I'm not going to be so strict that I can't enjoy special occasions !
I was straight back into today though.
Here's what I had for lunch.
A slight variation on what I had for dinner last night.

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Yum Yum Yum !

And just look at how many nutrients went into my body !!

Lots and Lots and Lots !!

Monday's Dinner

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Here's what I had for dinner last night. It was delicious.

A salad consisting of :
spinach and rocket (arugula)
cucumber
alfalfa sprouts
tomato
mandarin
AND
asparagus, spring onion and slivers of carrot baked in the oven
TOPPED WITH
balsamic vinegar
soy sauce
sesame oil

Roasted Cauliflower


Grilled Baby Bok Choy


So yummy ! I want to write more but it will have to wait til tomorrow. I've got my last Spanish class tonight but I'm feeling a bit blah so am going to go sit in the tub and read my book for a bit before I start cooking. We have to take something with us. I'm making Spanish Tortilla ...

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 19

Only 3 days on this weeks menu...so far...still working out the camping menu. I'm pretty sure it will consist of all thing healthy... you know...hamburgers, hot dogs, smores, etc. :o) (tisk...tisk...)
But I have to tell you that last weeks meal Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Herbed Couscous
was FABULOUS, and SO easy! You have to try it! YUMMY!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 20

Have I really planned 20 weeks worth of Menu Plans !? In a row ?! Wow !!
~

Meals will be changing around here.

I've just re-read Dr. Fuhrman's book Eat To Live and have decided it's time to change my eating habits again ! I felt so healthy last time I ate like this ! Maybe posting about it will help me to be a bit more committed ! (kinda like the menu plans !)

I'll tell you all about what I'm doing ... what the 'plan' is ... later in the week.

For now, I'll just post the menu for this week.



Friday
Home Made Pizza

Saturday
Hamburgers cooked by Rory's sister ! Thanks Gina !!

Sunday (the day I re-read the book !!)
Rory ~ left over egg curry


Bonnie ~ Salad with lettuce, tomato, shredded carrot, mandarin, asparagus, garlic and onion

Monday
Bonnie ~ Salad
(like the photo ... but without the feta cheese)
Grilled Baby Bok Choy
That bok choy recipe is from one of my NEW FAVORITE cooking blogs !
The Kitchen Sink.
Go check it out !!!



Tuesday
Bonnie ~ Salad and tapas at last Spanish Class
Family ~ Salad and Tortilla Espanola ~ I'll make them one and make one to take to class.

Wednesday
Bonnie ~ Salad

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Family ~ Meatballs
(we froze the leftovers last time)

Thursday
Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Roasted Cauliflower


I'll be making this too ... to eat with my lunches !


I plan to try and update this blog once a day (or so) with what I've eaten for the day ~ with photos and recipes too. And also bits and pieces of what I've learned from Dr. Fuhrman's book.

I'm after some links ... do you all have any good ones for fresh salad or fresh fruit recipes ? I'd love to know about them if you do ...

Roasted Red Capsicum Soup

I got this recipe from Everyday Vegetarian ~ a book I checked out from the library. I searched and searched on line to try and find the book but couldn't find a picture of it anywhere. Must be old. Anyway ... here's a photo for you. I know it looks like it's called "yadyrevE nairategeV" but it's not.

I am wondering why I always make my eyes so big in photos. It's weird. I don't walk around like that in real life !! Oh well ... at least my mouth isn't open. That's often the case in photos as well !!


Anyway, here's the soup recipe.

4 large red capsicum (red bell pepper)
4 tomatoes
2 tbls oil
1 red onion ~ chop it up
1 clove garlic ~ I added more
4 cups veggie stock
1 tsp sweet chili sauce

Roast the capsicum. Don't know how ? Lucky for you, I've done a little demo on this very blog. (if you haven't worked it out yet, the colored words in my posts are usually linked !!) Once the cap is roasted, peel the skin and chop the 'meat' up.

For the tomatoes, score a small X on the bottom of each one. Pour boiling water over the top of them. Leave for a minute. Plunge into cold water and then peel the skin off. Chop ( the recipe says to take the seeds out first )

Saute onion and garlic. Add capsicum, tomato and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat. Simmer 20 minutes.

Puree in food processor. Return to pan to reheat gently and then stir in the sweet chili sauce. I think I'll skip the s.c.sauce next time. I don't know that it added anything.

The recipe in the book says to serve topped with pesto and parmesan. We did neither.

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - Edition 18

Spinach & Goat Cheese Chicken with Tomato Orzo - Original recipe calls for Brie, I am substituting goat cheese because we love it.
Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Herbed Couscous - Another Everyday Food recipe.
Pasta with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Crushed Red Pepper - Real Simple magazine. I always make the sausage and red pepper variation. Yummy, and super easy! (Photo below)I know I promised to share the recipe I use for Turkey Meatballs...soon!

On Sunday I am making my Grandaddy's famous pulled pork barbecue! My Grandaddy was a true southern man! He was from South Carolina. Like most good southern folk, he knew good barbecue. My Grandaddy used to pit roast a hog every Christmas. As far as I know, he didn't like to share his barbecue sauce recipe. After he passed away in 2001, my mom acquired the recipe. And now I have the privilege of making it a few times a year! The recipe I use is scaled down quite a bit, as I don't have the room to roast a whole hog! hee! hee! Pair the barbecue pork with some good 'ole southern coleslaw (I LOVE Paula Deen's recipe found *HERE*) and you have a mighty tasty meal! I'm hoping our Alaskan friends can handle this awesome barbecue! We'll see!

Find more menus over at:

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - Edition 19


I did manage to plan a menu with minimal purchases this week, thanks to the help of super cook ! I'm excited about that ! Very excited about that !! So, what are we eatin' ?

Friday :
Homemade Pizza



Saturday:
Homemade Sushi
IT WAS DELICIOUS !!!
We love sushi around these here parts !


Monday:
Slow Cooker Meatballs and Home Made Focaccia Bread

Tuesday:
Crock Pot Pumpkin Soup

Wednesday:
Chicken and quinoa with onions

Thursday:
Egg Curry


I need to post the egg curry recipe ! I will. I'm too tired to do it tonight though.

As for Monday - Wednesday. They are all new recipes. I'll let you know what I think after I try them !!

** Edited 13 May to add ~ meatballs were great ~ I've added the link to the recipe !! **