Making basic gnocchi! These are fluffy little potato “clouds”. You can toss them in sauce or a sage butter sauce.
Super moist Whole Wheat Apple Muffins!
A week or so ago I was lucky enough to have my sister visit and she brought me some fresh fava bean from her garden in San Fran. This was my first time tasting fava beans and I now think they are my favorite. Getting to the bean is a little bit time consuming but its well worth it!
To me, the beans are sweeter, kind of lemony and have a buttery taste compared to regular beans. These beans are hard to find in the store but you want to look for ones with a bright green color and firm to the touch.
Here’s how to shell/prepare fava beans:
1. Snap off the end of the fava pod and open it up
2. Remove beans from pod
3. Blanch beans. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add fava beans and boil for 2-3minutes, then drain
4. Place beans in ice bath for 3-5 minutes until completely cooled
5. Shell the beans, again…until you get to the bright green bean!
6. Enjoy them just as is, or in salads, as a spread… etc
Hurry because they aren’t in season for long!
People have been asking for some of the “Taco Night” recipes so I decided to put up the chocolate and vanilla ice cream sandwiches. These specific recipes are for the ‘chewy’ cookie part of the sandwich and you can choose any ice cream of your choice. My personal favorite combo is vanilla bean with the vanilla cookie and cookies and cream with the chocolate cookie.
Taco Night Menu:
- Carnitas
- Spiced Shredded Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- Roasted Tomato Salsa
- Pickled Red Onions
- Corn/Flour Tortillas
- Spiced Pepitas
Toppings:
- Cheddar Cheese
- Radishes
- Avocados
- Limes
- Sour Cream
- Ice berg lettuce
Dessert:
- Vanilla Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
I’m preparing for Taco Night!! More photos to come…
Simple salad with my personal favorite…hard boiled eggs and also cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery, cucumbers, spinach, leaf lettuce and cheese. (Soon all the greens will be from my garden)
Here’s a fast and tasty “go to” dressing for any green salad:
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- splash soy sauce
- Salt & Pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Put the Dijon mustard in a bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Add the minced garlic clove and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil very slowly but whisking quickly in order for the dressing to emulsify. This dressing will keep for many days… it actually gets better if you make it ahead.
My newest garden additions!
- White Peonies (my favorite flower)
- Stevia
- Spicy Globe Basil
- Sugar Snap Peas
Chocolate Coated Marshmallow Cookies
I came across this recipe and I automatically thought of my Mom. She use to tell me that when she was a little girl, her “Sunday treat” was chocolate covered marshmallows shaped as brooms. I always thought it was a little odd to have them shaped as brooms… these are similar but have a normal shape. :)
Bored with always eating the same kind of pasta dish? Try these Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Sausage! Can’t go wrong with these and they look super cute.
Maple Cranberry Cornmeal Quick bread
I was looking through the freezer to see what I can use up and I came across a bag of cranberries from thanksgiving. So I decided to use them up and make a quick bread that has maple syrup, whole wheat flour, cornmeal and cranberries as the main ingredients. You can add some walnuts to it as well, but as you know… I’m not nuts about nuts when it comes to baking or cooking.
Seed starting for the new garden! I’ve already planted the cold season crop of peas and spinach directly in the garden but here’s a list of the things I will be planting later on:
- Herbs: basil, parsley, thyme, cilantro, chives
- Tomatoes: cherry, rainbow heirloom
- Peppers: jalapeño, sweet bell mix
- Peas: snap, snow, shelling
- Beets: red, yellow
- Lettuce: mache, red leaf, looseleaf, little gem, salad blend
- Beans: yellow, green
- Other: Italian kale, green onions
Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad
No recipe on this one because I just mixed ingredients in a bowl and didn’t really measure anything out. But if you want to give it a shot… here are the ingredients:
- mayo
- dijon mustard
- apple cider vinegar
- fresh lemon juice
- honey
- cranberries and almonds
- minced red onion and celery
- s&p
- grilled chicken
Turnovers with random tasty fillings!
Ever wonder what to do with your leftover pie dough scraps? Make some turnovers with random fillings you have in your pantry or fridge. I used different combinations of jam, nutella and peanut butter.
-Roll out the dough and cut into rounds with a cookie cutter.
-Place a tablespoon or so of the filling. (Use egg wash or water to seal the edges)
- Brush your turnovers with an egg wash (beaten egg with a little water)
-Sprinkle with sugar and make three little slits on top!
-Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
Looking for something a little different to make? How about a Caramelized Onion Quiche?
They are actually not that difficult to make and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, hot or cold. You can add anything you want to the custard mixture such as bacon, ham, spinach, herbs, peppers…. etc.
