Sugar Cookie Melts with Lemon

 

WHO DO U LOVE? by Monsta X ft. French Montana

Several years ago my daughter, Katy, got me into K-Pop music and dramas. Her clear favorite was, and still is, Monsta X. And I couldn't disagree with her choice. Their music pulls you in and next thing you're dancing and just plain happy! If you really want to see their dance skills, watch this video. You won't be sorry! The recipe today is one that makes you just as happy as listening to Monsta X!

I've had this cookie recipe in my recipe collection for awhile and I'm not sure 

why I haven't shared it before. It's my take on the sugar 

cookie from Paradise Bakery - the first sugar cookie that made me 

question whether mine was the best I'd ever had! 

Their cookie was so light! It almost melted in your mouth!

Roasted Chickpea and Tomato Hummus

 

Come As You Are by Nirvana

Probably my all-time favorite Nirvana song.  Acceptance.  Recognition.  You don't have to fix yourself up - caked with mud - and no worries that when you get here I'm gonna blow you away with secret expectations.  At least, that's what it's saying to me!  This recipe is about finding the less than perfects sitting around my kitchen and inviting them to make this beautiful dish.

During this global pandemic I don't think I'm alone

in finding myself scrounging around my 

kitchen, trying to figure out what I can make out of what's on hand.

Thankfully, this is a technique I've had to

resort to many times, especially during our

lean university years - all 13 of them!

I'm still in love with the "put it all in a pan

and roast it" craze.  I used it to make my White Bean and Chevrè Dip.

I wanted to use that methodology again but

just use what I had already.

But the beauty of this approach, though,

is that it's so open to substitutions.

I had some cherry tomatoes that, like me, are past their prime

yet still have something to offer.

I had part of a red onion in my fridge that had also 

seen better days but was still had life.

A sprig of rosemary that's almost bin worthy, but not yet.

And a bit of white wine left in the bottle, even sweet wine, I believe,

found a new purpose.

I've gotten into the habit of keeping different types

of cheeses on hand specifically for this way of preparing foods.

The huge log of store brand goat cheese helped add

the tang that you'd normally get from tahini.

And canned chickpeas.

I'd say they look ready to work together!

If you could smell how tasty the aroma is!

A quick stir and remove the rosemary.

Use as you would a hummus and spread on veggies or crackers or crostini.

Or use as a spread on sandwiches or a burger topping!

The tomatoes give it an orangish tinge - sort of

 like pimiento spread and it packs the tanginess of

a pimiento spread - but it's not!

Enjoy!

Roasted Chickpea and Tomato Hummus

makes 1 pint

1 can chickpeas (garbanzos)

cherry tomatoes

1/4 red onion, sliced

4 oz. goat cheese - or cheese of your choice

1 garlic clove, minced

olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

rosemary sprig, or any herb you have

black pepper

kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 400°.  Place chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and rosemary sprig in a casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil, enough to coat everything nicely, and use your hands or a spoon and toss it all around.  Clear a spot in the center and add the block of goat cheese.  Drizzle some olive oil over the cheese as well as some black pepper.  Pour wine into dish around the cheese and onto the other ingredients.  Roast, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes, until there's a golden brown on the tomatoes, cheese, and chickpeas.  Remove and stir, picking out the rosemary sprig.  Let cool then add to a food processor.  Blitz on high, adding more olive oil, if needed to help with the consistency.  Season with kosher or sea salt to taste.  Store in fridge.

Miso Ginger Pork Marinade

 

Got It Good by Jem

Maybe it's the usual feeling of renewal and hopefulness that the spring season brings, but I'm feeling like good things are on their way.  And I'm not just talking about this recipe today.  Ok, I guess I am!  It is a good one that came to me in a flash.  And sometimes those flashes turn out really good.  I hope you think so, too!

You know how things not on your list 

make their way into your shopping cart?

Recently a three-pack of pork sirloin roasts 

found their way into mine.

They were separated and thrown into

the freezer for "some day."

Last week became that "some day" for one of those roasts.

I wasn't sure how I was going to prepare it 

but when it's turn on the weekly menu came 

around I settled on some skewers.

I don't think I've used pork on skewers before

so I thought about how I'd add flavor and what that

flavor would be.

I came up with these as starters.

Since I usually make my marinades by eye and estimations

I made sure I actually measured the ingredients

AND wrote them down.

I busted out a gallon storage bag and started

pulling out ingredients that went with the sake, Tamari, and miso paste.

The usual profiles I look for when creating a marinade are a fat, 

an acid, and some sweetness.

I think what I came up with is a real winner!

You'll find the sake in the liquor section of the store in the specialty wines.

The miso paste can be found in the asian food aisle or 

sometimes it's in the health food refrigerated area by the tofu.

Tamari is usually right by the soy sauce - and it's gluten free!

I prefer tamari because it's flavor is more mellow than soy sauce.

Please do not use toasted sesame oil, especially at that amount.

You will hate me and yourself, I promise.

I cut the pork roast into cubes and cut up some onions and 

bell peppers to join the party.

I had some grape tomatoes that needed used

so onto the skewers they went as well.

I used my broiler but the grill is just itching to

come out to play after a long winter's rest!

You don't even have to use skewers!

Just put the chunked up veggies with the meat

cubes in a roasting pan and broil away!

Broiling will give them gorgeous caramelized edges!

I hope you enjoy this lovely marinade - 

and don't think it can't be used for other

meats as well!

Miso Ginger Pork Marinade

1/4 cup sake (Japanese rice wine)

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

2 T. tamari (similar to soy sauce)

3 T. miso paste, I used a yellow one

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup untoasted sesame oil or avocado oil

2 T. honey

1 heaping teaspoon Chinese five spice blend

Simply squish the ingredients together in a storage bag or whisk together in a container.  Add your meat and let marinade for about 4 - 6 hours in the fridge.  Get out about an hour before cooking to let meat come to room temperature.

White Bean and Chèvre Dip

I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Creedence Clearwater Revival

The recipe today is one I gained through the grapevine.  This is true in a couple ways.  The actual methodology is one that is sweeping through social media now but using tomatoes and feta, brie, or ricotta.  It is a brilliant idea with so many applications, it lends itself to an abundance of interpretations.  I wish this version had been my idea but it's not.  While visiting my oldest daughter in Texas, she is the one who whispered this combination in my ear.  And just as Creedence didn't do the original recording of this awesome song, they did, however, make a smashing version of it!

Perhaps you've seen the quick videos on social media

showing how to make a quick pasta dish using a

casserole dish, some tomatoes, and a brick of feta or brie.

I've not only seen them but I've actually made the dish!

Here's my version using a brick of feta.

I stirred the mixture up straight out of the oven and added

cooked rigatoni and a dusting of grated parmesan.

It was insanely delicious and man, women, and CHILDREN

wolfed it down like there was no tomorrow!

In my books, that's a certifiable hit!

My daughter, Becca, and I were talking about the 

possibilities this method presented.

She came up with one that, at first, I wasn't

sure of.  But, after thought, decided it deserved a try.

Her idea was to use beans, as in legumes.

She would put the beans in with the tomatoes and pasta.

But we also thought that the beans in place of the tomatoes

would make a really good sort of dip.

I said I'd puree them up to make a creamy dip.

She would opt to keep it chunky.

I prepared a bit of both!

Isn't that pretty?

I used some chèvre, or goat cheese, and tossed in a tiny bit of minced

garlic and some chunky chopped onions.

I sprinkled some italian seasoning mix over the top

and poured a lovely bath of extra virgin olive oil and white wine

for them all to enjoy while they roasted away in the oven.

I held back on the salt as there was already potential

for salinity in the dish.

I used the post bake photo as the lead photo in the post but

when I stirred it up, while still piping hot, it created this

absolutely creamy, fragrant mixture that could be a dip

or a beautiful side dish to chicken or fish - or anything, really.

The onions softened up, the cheese completely melted at

the spoon's first touch, and the beans just happily went along

with the flow!

I scooped out half to put in the food processor to create a smooth dip,

per my own preferences.  I add the juice of a half lemon to help loosen 

it up for the blades.  I squeezed the other half lemon over the chunky

part still in the casserole dish.  At this point, I added some flaked sea salt

to season to taste.

To serve, I drizzled a bit more extra virgin olive oil over the top

along with some more flaked sea salt and some paprika.

Side by side, chunky and smooth.

Both a delicious dip.

Both with potential  to be more.

Both now residing in my fridge.

And as easy as this is to make,

both could be in your fridge in no time!

White Bean and Chèvre Dip

Printable Recipe Card

2 - 15 oz. cans white beans, I used cannellini, drained but not rinsed

1/2 onion, chunky chopped

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 - 4 oz. log of goat cheese (chèvre)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 - 2/3 cup white wine

italian seasoning blend

1 lemon

paprika, optional for garnish

kosher or sea salt

Preheat oven to 400°.  Place drained beans in a 9 X 13 baking dish.  Add chopped onion and garlic and stir until blended.  Drizzle some of the olive oil over the mixture and stir to coat the beans and onion.  Create a space in the middle of the mixture and place the log of chèvre in the center.  Pour the white wine over the beans and onions.  Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top, being sure to get some on the cheese.  Sprinkle the italian seasoning over.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes, making sure there are golden bits on the cheese and beans.  Remove from the oven and stir everything together.  Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the top.  Season with salt to taste.  Keep chunky or blend it up in a food processor.  Serve with extra olive oil and paprika as a garnish.

 

Barley Bowl

Chewy Chewy by Ohio Express
I've recently discovered barley and I am in LOVE!  It had always been something you'd find in a soup during the cold and blustery time of the year - a backdrop, a co-star, perhaps even a third wheel.  It is indeed a chewy entity, but not overwhelmingly so.  It's the perfect state of chewiness.  And it's so healthy!  I love what it does for my body!  If you haven't had a proper introduction to barley - please, let me do the honors!

I recently made a decision to dive deeply into a Mediterranean diet.

It's not a "plan" or "program."

You simply pretend you live on the Mediterranean and eat what those folks eat.

They're some of the healthiest people on earth!

Eating this way means LOADS of servings of vegetables and fruits - I aim 

for nine total daily.  Typically I get to around seven total.

This means whole grains, cereals, legumes, and nuts.

This means dairy is a side note - usually cheese from goats or sheep - or cultured

cow milk, as in yogurt.  This is a win for my lactose sensitivities.

Proteins sourced from animals mainly come from 

fish or chicken, some pork, and an occasional red meat fix.

Sweets are seldom and truly a special treat.

And olive oil is, literally, everywhere.

And I made the daring decision that I wasn't going to 

worry about the amount of olive oil, 

just to see what happened.

The decision to embrace this way of eating is what brought about the 

renewed acquaintance with barley.

It is no longer the co-star in a hearty winter soup.

It is the base of many meals.

It comes pearled and hulled.

The hulled barley, harder to find, is the more nutritious, but

pearled is good for you, too.

It cooks up fairly quick.  

I like to start checking it about 10 minutes before

the recommended cooking time as I like it still chewy.

I do not want a mushy grain.

I also give it a rinse with some cold water after I strain it.

I make up a container and keep it in the fridge

and make meals from it all week.

Taking a cue from the rice bowls I've seen, I start with a scoop of 

a half cup of barley in a bowl.

After that I take a walk around my garden and peek into my fridge

and produce box on my counter.

I look for color first.

I make sure that what I choose provides a vision for my eyes!

I mix fruits and veggies together with reckless abandon, 

fancying myself some mad culinary scientist.

This week I found a carrot, green onion, and arugula in my

garden containers.

An avocado and tub of tomatoes from the store rounded out my search.

Later, I decided to throw in a nectarine from Costco that needed to be used.

Sweet, pungent, crunchy, chewy, juicy - and bursts of vivid colors. 

I was ready to assemble!

This is what I discovered about olive oil - and fat, in general.

It brings food alive!!

It makes their flavors pop and gives them a pleasing mouth-feel.

When partnered with some good sea salt or kosher salt, you just can't beat it.

So the trend of telling us to eat more vegetables but omit fat sets 

us up for a short-lived relationship with those veggies.

They need each other!

After all my add-ins are peeled, cut, prepped in whatever fashion I choose,

I pile them into the bowl on top of that barley.

Then I drizzle extra virgin olive oil,

sprinkle some kosher salt over and some black pepper,

then give it a stir.

Right before my eyes, a masterpiece of delicious and nutritious

ingredients emerges!

And I can't wait to dig in!!

Barley Bowl

Printable Recipe Card

1/2 cup cooked hulled or pearled barley

1 carrot, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

1 handful or arugula leaves, chopped

5 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1/2 small avocado, peeled and chopped

1 nectarine, chopped

extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

black pepper

Place barley in a deep bowl and add all prepped produce to it.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt and pepper.  Stir gently to combine and taste.  Add more olive oil, salt, or black pepper, if desired.  This feeds just me for lunch!  But you could definitely make it larger to serve a family.