radish pickels

INGREDIENTS
1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup water

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

8 medium radishes (preferably breakfast radishes), quartered lengthwise

½ small red onion, thinly sliced crosswise

8 tarragon leaves

DIRECTIONS
Bring the vinegar, water, garlic, salt and sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan set over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, then add the radishes, onion and tarragon. Cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container and chill (they stay crunchy and flavorful for up to one week).

Leifheit Decorative Canning Jars, Set of 6- 4-cup

Tonight: Roasted red, purple, and yukon gold fingerlings with a zesty ragu bolognese.

2 lbs assorted fingerling potatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper

and

1lb ground beef
1lb ground pork
1 cup diced pancetta
1 carrot diced
1 med onion diced
1 stalk celery diced
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 T oregano
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1 cup large green olives diced
8 oz tomato paste
2 T olive oil

Directions

heat olive til smoking, saute onion over med heat about 5 min, add celery and carrot saute 5 more min, move to the side, brown pancetta, turn up heat and brown ground meat. Add remaining ingredients.

Reduce heat and simmer 1-2 hours.

heat oven to 375 degrees. roast potatoes with salt and pepper and olive oil sprinkling.

Enjoy!

Extravagonzo Infused Olive Oil- Roasted Garlic

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Squares... thanks pintrest

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Squares
1 pound white chocolate
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or 12 ounces of chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

*I happen to have a silicone "pan" with 24 squares in it - which I use when making this. In the past I have just used a 9x9 baking pan.

Line your pan with parchment or waxed paper, leaving an overhang. (you can also use foil however you will need to spray it with cooking spray).

Melt your white chocolate in your microwave for about a minute, stir until the chocolate is melted and creamy. Add in the peanut butter and stir until blended and smooth.
Spread mixture into your pan.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until a bit firm.
In a saucepan, combine your milk chocolate and your cream and heat over medium high heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly. Pour/smooth over peanut butter mixture.
Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Later, lift out the candy and cut into small squares.

Veggie Pizza

get your ingredients together, i chose to use whole wheat pizza dough, an arribiata sauce, mozzerella cheese, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and baby spinach.

spread your dough on slightly oiled pan, top with sauce and cheese, i prefer to put the toppings that have a lot of moisture under the cheese.

top with a little more cheese and put in a 450 degree oven 18-20 minutes

let cool 5 minutes, cut and enjoy.

"16"" Stainless Steel Pizza Pan"

garden update

progress with pepper and tomato starts :-)

leaning tower of leftovers :-)

whats left of my speedy spaghetti and meat sauce

saute 1 small onion til translucent in 1T of olive oil
brown 1 lb ground beef
add 1/2 cup red wine
season with salt and pepper and some italian seasoning
add 1 jar of your favorite store bought sauce
simmer 20 minutes

serve over hot pasta!

Enjoy.

p.s. leftovers make some people very happy :-)

Pomegrante Molasses slacked and grilled salmon!

1-2 lbs salmon of your choosing
2-3 T dijon mustard
2-3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 pomegrante molasses

filet salmon, marinate(preferably 24 hours or so) place on preheated grill, medium heat. cook to desired doneness 2 or 3 minutes per side or so. I prefer to serve with grilled asparagus and rice pilaf.

Chicken Adobo Makes For An Easy Dinner

3lbs chicken thighs
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c white vinegar
3 T brown sugar
4 cloves garlic
1 T grated ginger
1/4 black pepper
1 c water
salt to taste

so you hate brussel sprouts? try this...

Ingredients

4 cups of Brussel Sprouts.
2 small shallots
1 clove of Garlic.
A few sprigs of Parsley.
1 cup of flaked Almonds.
3 Tablespoons of Butter.
3 Tablespoons of Olive oil.
2 Teaspoons of French Dijon Mustard.
1 whole juice of Lemon.
A little water.

To the pan, add olive oil, then brussel sprouts face down on very low heat. Let cook a few minutes until they start to caramelise. Then toss them in pan so they cook on all sides. Still on very low heat. Add your chopped shallots and some crushed Garlic. Add dijon, lemon, and some water(5 tablespoons or so. Cook covered til tender. Add toasted almond slices and spinkle with parsley, butter and serve immediately.

3D Chocolate Printer creating multi-layer square

Just in case you need weird chocolate squares and are too lazy to make them yourself...

composting is good

so we got a new compost barrel.

best pagan eggs ever!

this resurrection sunday while people are busy praising the goddess easter, remember Jesus died for your sins and rose again to go the Father and send His Holy Spirit... but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a Reese's peanut butter egg :-)

Making an Earthen Pizza Oven

Project up on Indiegogo

Indiegogo

Help get this funded so there can be more cooking joy in my life and yours :-)

Apple Pie in the Apple!

Step 1: Cut off the top of 4 apples off and discard. Remove the inside of each apple with a spoon or melon baller very carefully, as to not puncture the peel.

If you’re a skilled interior apple excavator, salvage as much as you can so you can use it for Step 2. I, on the other hand, am not skilled so I just had to throw my interior apples away and chop up additional apples for filling

This recipe will make 4 baked apple pies (in the apple).

Step 2: Remove skin from remaining apple(s) and slice very thinly. These apple pieces will give you the additional filling needed to fill the four apples you are baking.

Mix sliced apples with sugars and cinnamon in a bowl. If you prefer more or less cinnamon make adjustments as desired. Same goes for the sugar.

Scoop sliced apples into hollow apples.

Step 3: Roll out pie crust and slice into 1/4 inch strips. You can also add a strip of pastry inside the top of the apple almost like a liner to add a little more texture/sweetness to the pie.

Cover the top of the apple in a lattice pattern with pie crust strips.

Step 4: Place apples in an 8×8 pan. Add just enough water to the cover the bottom of the pan.

Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and sliced apples are soft.

How neat does that look? The entire thing is edible and best served with ice cream if you ask me. Enjoy!

You can find the original posting on Pinterest or the Paper Plates and China blogpost: http://paperplatesandchina.blogspot.com/2011/08/pie-la-apple.html

frenched lamb chops

I prefer to use a rosemary dijon marinade on them, grill em and finish in the oven. Serve em rare with your favorite rice or potato dish.

Moroccan Chicken Noodle Soup

saw this on Mehans Kitchen, will make it soon.

Moroccan Chicken Noodle Soup


1 rotisserie chicken (I kept aside some for a sandwich for the next day)
6 c chicken stock (add more for the right soupyness)
3 carrots, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
3 ribs celery, finely diced
1 yukon gold potato, finely diced
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
2 bay leafs
1 T tomato paste
1/2 c cous-cous
spices: 1 t each of cumin, coriander, garam masala, paprika



In a stock pot, saute onion in some oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and potato. Salt, pepper. Add spices and tomato paste. Next add in swiss chard and let wilt. Add cous-cous and pour in chicken stock (you may need more, but you can also add water) and chicken and let come to a simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes, until flavors have matured and vegetables are cooked and cous-cous is plumped up.

tapas spreads for the day

white bean and sage:

1 can white beans
1/2 small white onion
1 t minded garlic
1 T fresh sage
olive oil
salt and pepper

saute garlic and onion over medium heat with a t of olive oil. saute til translucent then turn off heat and add sage. once pan cools mix with drained white beans, and process in food processor til smooth(may need olive to blend) salt and pepper to taste.

sweet potato spread:

1 coooked sweet potato, cooked and cooled and then peeled and blended in food processor with tahini and served with your favorite bread or crostini.