Pizza

Walking through Trader Joes today I somehow felt like I couldn't just walk away from that giant box of fresh basil in front of me... So I had to find a way to use it! I settled on pizza, and just a couple minutes after that encountered the pizza dough. Wow, what a way to save time, I thought. I could even make pizza for lunch! So here I go cheating and using store-bought pizza crust, but using that basil I really wanted.

Like many great foods, this one started with chopped basil and tomatoes.


I also sauteed onions, zucchini, and garlic in a pan.

Then I brushed the crust with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and dried oregano, and I added the toppings (including fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, and parmesan).

In the end, it was amazing. All that basil really blended well with everything else, and the whole wheat store bought crust was actually quite good.

Huevos en Chile (Eggs in Chili)

While in Mexico last summer, I discovered a new favorite food. Thanks to Luis's family, I have learned how to make it on my own! It starts with roasted tomatoes and chiles, which are made into a sauce, and put over eggs, then it's served with beans, tortillas, and avocado.

The first step is roasting the chiles, garlic, and onions. I do this on the stove in a pan that gets to be really hard to clean. They're put into the blender with some water while the tomatoes cook, and the eggs are cooked (with some diced onions).



After flipping the eggs, they should look like this:

When the tomatoes are done, they're added to the blender with some seasoning to make:

Then everything is added into the pan to simmer (I break up the eggs first):

While it's simmering, there's time to make tortillas!

Sadly, when everything was all done, we were too hungry to stop to take photos, but I did stop to take a picture of the aftermath. What a mess!

Morning Coffee

I love the way coffee looks in these cups.

Pasta with Salmon and Asparagus in a Smoked Gouda Sauce

Never made a gouda sauce? Well neither had I. But when I walked by the gouda cheese in the store, I was inspired, so I set out to try it.

SAUCE:
-Mushrooms and garlic sauteed in butter
-milk
-grated (or cut up tiny in a cuisinart) gouda
-tiny but of flour
-lots of fresh basil and scallions
-salt and pepper
-steamed asparagus
-cooked salmon



The finished product:

It was a nice change from our usual pastas, and the smoked flavor of the gouda complemented the salmon and the mushrooms really well. The only problem was, we had too much sauce for the pasta we cooked. Guess we're having leftovers!

I don't get credit for the salad, but it was a great accompaniment to the pasta.

Swordfish over mixed greens

I made a marinade for the fish that included:
-balsamic vinegar
-honey
-dijon mustard
-olive oil
-lemon juice
-fresh basil
-garlic
-onions
-seasoning
-pepper

Then I cooked it in a pan, covered. The salad greens were tossed with a balsamic vinegrette, parm and tomatoes set on the side, and fish set on top.

And served with bruschetta. :)

Bruschetta

One of my favorite foods. I make a basic bruschetta, but I tend to use a thin layer of parmesan under the tomato layer.


It all started out with the topping of fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I toasted the bread in a small amount of olive oil in a pan, to keep them from getting soggy, and give a tiny bit more flavor.

Avocado Popsicles

Ever had an avocado popsicle? Or an avocado smoothie?
Two of my favorite eateries serve these, and I wanted to figure out how to make them myself.

I threw avocadoes, milk and half & half, and splenda in the blender, and froze the mix in popsicle molds.


The end result was pretty good, but next time I'll add a little more milk to make the avocado flavor less intense.

A house favorite -- Calabacitas

This is one of those special dinners that is a favorite for both of us.

It's basically seasoned zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. We serve it with scrambled eggs and sometimes beans. And always with fresh tortillas and avocado.

Here's a summary of the process:





Cook them all up, and you get:

Fish with black bean salad

Another relatively quick dinner that leaves lots of leftovers.


This is the only time I use canned black beans, because it's just so quick! Just beware of the contents of some of the main brands of beans, stick to the kind without all the gross additives.

BEAN SALAD:
Black beans
Tomatoes
Red onions
Yellow corn
Avocado
Garlic, minced
Cilantro
Lime juice
Balsamic vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Serve over greens, with some cheese if you want.

FISH:
Mix together:
-bread crumbs
-chopped walnuts
-salt
-garlic
Cover fish in the above mix.
Then dip into beaten egg.
Cook in a pan with olive oil until golden brown and cooked through.

Shrimp Ceviche with Mango and Avocado

This is a great easy dinner. Watch out, if you make something else to accompany this, it might not get eaten!


Mix together chopped:
-tomatoes
-avocado
-cilantro
-onion (red if possible)
-garlic
-mango
-cooked + peeled shrimp (careful not to over-cook)
Add lemon + lime juice, salt, pepper.

Serve with tortilla chips, or any way you'd like.
I even tried this over mixed greens for a salad the next day!

Coconut Popsicles

No gross artificial flavoring or coloring here. Easy to make, and fun to eat! They're creamy and delicious, partway between ice-cream and fruit.

COCONUT POPSICLES:
frozen coconut pulp (I got mine at a Brazilian grocery store)
1:1 ratio of 1/2 and 1/2 and milk
sugar (doesn't need much)
cinnamon
--------blend everything in a blender really well. try to get the coconut chunks really small because they're a little hard to eat when the popsicle is frozen. use enough milk to keep things moving in the blender, but not enough to water down the flavor.
--------I got my popsicle makers at Target yesterday, and I love the shape!

Summer French Toast

Wondering what to do with all those strawberries you impulsively picked up at the grocery store? Cover your french toast with them!


Did you know that you can make whipped cream with Splenda? That was my experiment this morning, and it turned out just fine!

FRENCH TOAST:
7 slices of milti-grain/whole wheat bread
1/4 c flour
3 eggs
1 c milk (a little less if you use the pumpkin butter)
1-2 tbs pumpkin butter (optional)
nutmeg
cinnamon
vanilla
1-2 tbs sugar

Summer Breakfasts

Sometimes it seems like the key to eating isn't so much in the food, as it is in the atmosphere. Now that it's nice out again, balcony eating is back in style!


But for those who think eating is about the food, here's that part---


EGG SOUFFLE:
Mix eggs, milk, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, scalions
Pour the egg/veggie mix over toasted bread chunks (toast in oven while preparing the rest).
Cover top with shredded parm 10 min before done
Cooks for about 40 min on 375.