On The Menu ...

MONDAY
Sloppy Joes
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/sloppy-joes/

TUESDAY
Leftover Tortilla Soup

WEDNESDAY
Winter Squash Soup
http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/10/the-leaf-peeps/

THURSDAY
Chicken Tacos
http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/08/the-taco-joint-on-my-shirt/

FRIDAY
Hot Date

SATURDAY

SUNDAY
Do I dare make a Pot Roast again?
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/01/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/

Brussel Sprouts with Pine Nuts

Thank you Trader Joe's sample station again. These were delicious. My 3 year old devoured these faster than his spaghetti.

brussel sprouts
1/4 cup pine nuts (toasted) (or slivered almonds toasted)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
4 tbsp olive oil (or grape seed oil)
2 Tbs Pomegranate juice (or cranberry juice)
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Cut brussel sprouts in thirds. Saute in oil and juice. Toss with nuts and seeds.

Blueberry Muffins

These were made at a Kindergarten Mother's Day lunch last year. And I just had to make them again. I think next time I make them I will sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top to add an extra sweet and crunchy top. Perhaps a few drops of lemon juice too.

3 cups flour

1 Tbs bakin powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt (or buttermilk)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup blueberries

Heat oven to 375.

Combine flour, powder, soda, salt.

Blend butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

Alternate mixing in the dry ingredients and the yogurt.

Fold in blueberries.

Cook for about 25 min. Undercooking by juuuust a bit is great. Preferably just barely lightly browned. And if you haven't tried using silicone muffin holders .. you ought to. Holy cow they come out soooo easy!

Onion Strings

Well I have found a new favorite side. Holy cow these are tasty. Soooo tasty, that I am doing all that I can NOT to eat more while they all sit boiling hot on the table and I sit here waiting for my husband to get home with my monkeys so we can all eat them together. I am posting this BEFORE I even eat all of them. So yes go ahead and plan it in your menu. And I cut it straight from The Pioneer Woman. Her verbage at the bottom of the instructions is ooooh so true. I just wish I had another onion so that I actually could eat the entire first batch.

1 whole Large Onion
2 cups Buttermilk
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon (scant) Salt
¼ teaspoons (to 1/2 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
1 quart (to 2 Quarts) Canola Oil
Black Pepper To Taste

Slice onion very thin. Place in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk. Soak at least an hour.
Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
Heat oil.
Grab a handful of onions, throw into the flour mixture, tap to shake off excess, and PLUNGE into hot oil. Fry for a few minutes and remove as soon as golden brown.
Repeat until onions are gone.
Eat before your family sees them.
Repeat with another onion, because they’ll be really mad they didn’t get any.

On The Menu ...

MONDAY
flying home ... whatever airport food looks appealing

TUESDAY
Clean out my freezer night - Tilapia, peas, corn, homemade ice cream

WEDNESDAY
Blueberry muffins for breakfast
Mahi Mahi burgers (again clean out my freezer night)Onion Rings?

THURSDAY
Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup Yes it's time to pull out the Pumpkin. And this sounds HEAVENLY! and some crispy sourdough bread.

FRIDAY
Campout ? Hot dogs and s'mores?

SATURDAY / SUNDAY
Conference foods

Chocolate Ice Cream

So I recently stole my parents ice cream maker (with their permission) and have been determined to find the right recipe. THIS one is for sure a keeper. I've modified it a bit so it will fit my maker. It makes about a half gallon, which just isn't enough for any growing family. I guess I need to two ice cream makers.

10 egg yolks
4 Tbs sugar

3 1/2 cups milk
1 cup milk chocolate cut into small squares
1/2 cup dark chocolate cut into small squares

2 cups heavy cream whipped
____________________

Mix the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Scald the milk. Turn off the stove. And slooooooowly pour the the milk into the egg mixture 1 Tbs at a time at first. Whisk it quickly so you don't get scrambled eggs. Once it is all blended. Return the mixture into the pot and turn the heat back on to med-med low. Continue stirring constantly reaaaaally good for about 5-10 minutes until the custard thickens but does NOT become scrambled eggs.

Once it is nice and thick pour it back into the large bowl and add the chopped chocolate. It melts fast. Let the mixture get REALLY cold in the fridge. About an hour or two. Then add the whipped cream and blend in gently. Pour it in your mixture and wait ... if you can ... or steal a lick or two as it starts to thicken.

On The Menu ...

MONDAY - Vacation anything goes

TUESDAY - Ham steak, corn on the cob, fresh bread, broccoli

WEDNESDAY - Tilapia, salad, sourdough toast

THURSDAY - Garlic Chicken Legs, Sweet Potatoes, microwavable green beans (from a bag =)

FRIDAY - pizza?

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

I have an aversion to the Crockpot. We just aren't friends. Buuuut, I'm determined to find recipes that work for it b/c every Thursday I'm going to need it after soccer practice ends at 6pm.

This recipe is simple and thanks to Trader Joe's again, I found an easy great meal.

1 package of Chicken Thighs (yes that makes all the difference)
1 package of Taco Seasoning
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of chicken broth

Simmer for a few hours in the crockpot. And serve with lightly fried tortillas, fresh tomatoes, cilantro, lettuce, cheese, etc.

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Torta Panini

I LOVE Trader Joe's. Really. But now I am learning to love some Trader Joe's more than others. La Canada TJ's has the best samples, hands down. I sampled this one last week and knew what dinner was going to be the next night. I made this along with a salad, some fresh strawberries, and Charlie could not stop commenting on how this was the perfect meal.

1 container Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
1 container Genova Pesto
1 container whipped cream chees
Tuscan Pane (or other sourdough type bread)
sliced turkey
sliced Fontina

Mix the top three ingredients and spread on one side of each piece of bread. Add turkey and a slice of fontina. I put it in th broiler for a few minutes and then sliced them up. Perfect.

Chinese Chicken Salad

Mmm. Easy dressing. Thanks Yum Sugar for this one. I modified it a bit.

Ingredients

1-inch piece of grated ginger
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Freshly ground pepper

sliced chicken
4 scallions
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup chow mein noodles
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 bunch chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped almonds
cucumber chunked

Directions

1. In small bowl, whisk the rice vinegar with the sesame oil, soy sauce, grated ginger. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large bowl, toss everything with the dressing and enjoy.
   

Empanadas

Our friends Jeremy and Danielle made these for us. They were so good. Tonight my kids finally caught the love of them. This turned out to be a fairly easy meal b/c I could prep it in shifts. The night before I knew I was going to have leftover mashed potatoes. So while they were boiling, I chopped the onions and bell peppers so I could saute them the next day for this. So after dance and right before the baseball game, I had about 40 minutes to make salsa, make the dough, saute the stuff and miraculous find all the missing parts of the baseball uniform. I mixed the whole filling together and let it sit while we left for the game. So when we came home at 7pm dinner was ready in about 15 minutes and it was delicious.

Filling
leftover mashed potatoes (or 4 potatoes)
1/2 cup bell pepper
2 small onions chopped
3 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 cup corn
1/2 cup chopped pimientos
1 cup cream cheese room temperature
1 cup mild cheddar and mild jack

Saute the onions and bell peppers for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and be careful not to enjoy it like you do cookie dough!

Dough
1 cup warm water
1/2 Tbs vinegar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
3 Tbs melted butter
oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together. I found that when I let it sit for a good hour or two the consistency was much better. It's great to make right before a baseball game.

Serve with Lupita's Green Salsa and this great Salsa.

Salsa

1/3 cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
4 tomatoes
2 Tbs canola oil
1 Tbs vinegar
1 Tbs lemon
1 garlic minced
salt and pepper
2 Tbs Tabasco

Lupita's Green Salsa

Christmas Eve Lupita taught me how to make tamales. I need to do it again to remember the tricks. Buuuut I remember the Green Salsa she taught me how to make. This is Delicious.

6 Tomatillos (golf ball sized)
1 bunch of cilantro
3-4 jalapenos
2-4 garlic cloves
1/4 onion
2 avocados

This is the best part ... remove the peels on everything and stick it aaaaall in the blender! Add a little water a tablespoon or two at a time until it gets a little liquidy.

Salmon with an Indian Flare

So I modified this recipe from Cooks Illustrated The Best Recipe. It turned out to be very flavorful. I had a small salmon fillet but it turned out to be perfect b/c the spices were a mouthful. I did not have mango to add on top this time, but I bet that would soften the kick. It was still delicious without the mango.

Ingredients

1-2 Tbs fresh minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground corriander
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 good long wild salmon fillet
Sesame Oil

Chutney
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1/2 chopped onion
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 large chopped mango (this I didn't have tonight but look forward to trying it)

Mix all the spices together and smother on top of salmon. Pour lemon juice on top. Let marinade for no more than 30 minutes. Saute in Sesame Oil along with the chopped onions. Remove the salmon and cook the onions with the cilantro for just a minute more. Serve on top Salmon and enjoy!

My Mashed Potatoes

You know it's one of those staples ... well here is what I tried tonight that worked well for me.

peeled potatoes
whole garlic
salt
cream

Roast a whole head of garlic in the oven for 45 minutes at 350/400. Afterwards the peel comes off easily. Dump into the room temperature cream and mash in boiled potatoes. Add some good kosher salt and voila ...

My Spaghetti

I used to think that Spaghetti was just a matter of opening up a jar of your favorite sauce and boiling some noodles. But I have a hard time doing that any more b/c I can get so much flavor out of the most basic vegetables and herbs. So here is my favorite concoction.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 Large can of whole tomatoes
1-2 Tbs of Kosher Salt (or more if you desire)
3-6 leaves of fresh Basil
3-4 whole garlic cloves
1-2 Tbs olive oil

Dump into your blender and puree.

1 Tbs olive oil
1 bunch of scallions
1 zucchini
1 shredded carrot
1/2 red pepper
2+ TBS of fresh parsley and oregano
(Red pepper flakes if you're in the mood.)

ground beef
worchestershire sauce
garlic salt

Chop and sautee in the olive oil for about 10 minutes until nice and soft. Then add ground beef and cover with worchestershire sauce and garlic salt. Once it is cooked, add the tomato sauce.

Cook your favorite noodles and cover with sauce. Marshalls occasionally has some fun striped super long noodles. They make for an exciting kid meal.

African Tomato & Peanut Soup

This was a Nadia find back from my Rochester days. It's a very full soup and I looooove it.

1 Tbs canola oil
1 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp ground corriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped (or 1 can)
2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes
1 carrot coarsely chopped
4 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne
2 Tbs peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped dry roasted unsalted peanuts
1 Tbs chopped cilantro

Brown the onion in the oil. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots and cook for another 5 minutes. Dump into a blender and puree. Return to large cooking pot. Add water, salt, cayenne and peanut butter and bring to a boil. Serve and top with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Mmmmm mmm.

Good Goat Burritos

Mmmmm mmmm. A crowd pleaser. Thank you Nadia. She gave this great cookbook years ago when I was first trying to think of dinner without meat for every meal. I have so under utilized this cookbook. I am repenting of my ways. The few recipes that I have tried from Vegetarian Planet have been wonderful.

By the way, if you're like my family (not me and my daughter) then you might call these Good Cow Burritos and use chedder cheese instead of goat cheese. My family ... soooo uncultured. But they did lick their plates clean. =)

Good Goat Burritos
3 cups of chopped scallions
1 Tbs olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
2 cans of tomatoes
3 cups of cooked rice
1 can of Trader Joe's Refried Black Beans
1 can of Black beans
3 Tbs cumin (or more if you're like me)
salt and pepper to taste

Goat Cheese (or the other stuff if you must)
cilantro
tortillas

Saute the scallions for 5-10 minutes until you feel their done. Add the garlic and saute for the last minute or two. Then add the remaining 6 ingredients and cook until warm.

Get the BIG tortillas. They are so much easier to wrap a burrito correctly. Sprinkle the tortilla with water and cook on a skillet until slightly browned. Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the tortilla. Add the rice/bean mixture and top with cilantro, sour cream or whatever else you like. Sit on your comfy couch and enjoy the Olympics while eating.

On The Menu...

I'm back ... barely.

MONDAY
leftover Salsa Chicken turned into quesadillas

TUESDAY
uh ... It's National Pancake Day and we're getting free pancakes at IHOP. I'll be watching 2 extra kids tomorrow. Wish me luck on braving it with 5 kids on my own.

WEDNESDAY
Good Goat Burritos from Vegetarian Planet

THURSDAY
We'll be getting our teeth cleaned that day far from home. So we'll be eating out.

FRIDAY
Dad's in charge.

SATURDAY
leftover soup in the freezer?

SUNDAY
African Peanut Soup from Nadia

Salsa Chicken

Again, another Trader Joe's sample. I think I just go there when I'm hungry so everything tastes good. This was too easy. And I used the leftovers the next day in quesadillas. Mmm..

1 jar of Trader Joe's Salsa Autentica
Fontina Cheese
Chicken

Easy as that. Brown the chicken in your skillet. When cooked, remove it and then add the jar of salsa. Cut the cheese into small pieces and mix into the salsa. Once the cheese has melted add the chicken to reheat. And voila! C'est tres magnifique!

Oowey Gooey Brownies

Mmmm. Thankfully I was asked to make Brownies for a Church youth activity tonight. The recipe from Cooks Illustrated that I've been wanting to try for awhile had to wait when I didn't realize I had all the chocolates I wanted. So I found this one instead from Simply Recipes. Elise has never done me wrong. This recipe I guess originally came from Epicurious which of course I LOVE. Soooo, I just modified the almond/vanilla ratio and I think I prefer chocolate to the cocoa powder.

These brownies are sooooo oowey gooey. Heaven.

AND by the way, should you want to make enough brownies to fit into a large cookie sheet ... you will need to triple this recipe.

Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or chocolate chips =)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 cold large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and the sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides to make it easier to lift the brownies out of the pan when they are done.

2 Combine the butter, cocoa, sugar, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Set the bowl in a pot of barely simmering water. Stir the mixture until melted and is smooth. Remove the bowl from heat and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

3 Stir in the almond and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring quickly after each one. When the batter looks shiny, thick, and well mixed, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer. Spread the batter evenly in the lined pan.

4 Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out just slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely on a rack.

Sugar Cookies

Thank you Julie N. Every time I make these cookies I feel like I am back with my dear friend at Christmas about 8 years ago. We made waaaay to many cookies and then realized that frosting them was going to take a lot longer than we thought. She had the perfect sugar cookie recipe and I had the perfect frosting recipe. We were a match made in heaven.

SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

Cream butter and sugar. Blend oil, eggs, salt and vanilla and then add to butter sugar mix. Combine dry ingredients and add to dough. Chill for 3 hours (DO NOT FREEZE IT ALLISON ... it takes forever to thaw). Roll out and cut into shapes.

Bake at 300 for about 10 minutes

FROSTING
1 cube of butter
maybe half a bag of powdered sugar???
about a 1/2 tsp of almond extract
a little milk to thin it out, but nooooot much

(this is a la Pappadopolis style)

Porcini-Crusted Tenderloin with Chocolate-Port Sauce

Another great find from our cooking class at Sur La Table.

TENDERLOIN
6 beef tenderloin steaks cut into 1 1/4 inch thickness
2 Tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 Tbs peppercorns
1/2 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs olive oil
Salt to taste

CHOCOLATE PORT SAUCE
2 cups of port
2 cups beef sauce
1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 Tbs butter cut in pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Grind porcini mushrooms and peppercorn to a fine powder. Pat the beef tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the beef with salt. Sprinkle each side of the tenderloin with the porcini dust.

Add oil and butter to a large oven-proof skillet and place over high heat. Allow the skillet and oil to get hot but not smoking - about 1 minute.

Place the beef tenderloin into the skillet and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes on one side or until a deep dark caramelized crust is achieved. Flip and place the skillet into the oven for about 4-6 minutes to cook meat to medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest. Use the skillet for the sauce.

SAUCE
Deglaze saute pan with port. Reduce by half. Add beef stock and reduce by half. turn heat to low and add chocolate whisking constantly until chocolate is melted. Whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons with Candied Walnuts

Charlie and I went to a faaaaabulous couples cooking class at Sur La Table. This was our favorite find!

4 trimmed medium red beets
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1tsp lemon zest
2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
2 Tbs walnut oil
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 4 oz logs of fresh goat cheese
1-2 Tbs cream
salt and pepper
2 cups mixed baby greens (preferably spicy)
coarse sea salt (such as Maldon)
1 cup candied walnuts (recipe below)

heart shape cookie cutter (if you have time)

Cook beets. Measure all ingredients except oils into a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in the oils until an emulsion forms.

Once the beets have cooled, remove the skins and slice crosswise into 18 1/4 inch thick rounds. Use the cookie cutter to cut slices into hearts. Gently toss the beet hearts with 2 Tbs of vinaigrette and set aside.

Blend the goat cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Put in a plastic bag and squeeze in between the beet hearts. Oooooor, just crumble goat cheese pieces in between chopped beets.

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette. Place greens next to heart/goat cheese napoleons. Garnish with Candied Walnuts.

CANDIED WALNUTS
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
1 large egg white, at room temp
1/2 pound walnut pieces

Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl mix both sugars with the salt, cinnamon, and cayenne. In a large bowl whisk the egg white until frothy. Whisk in 1 Tbs of water until combined. Add the walnuts and stir to coat. Sprinkle on the sugar mix and stir to evenly distribute.

Line a baking pan with a silpat. Spread the nuts in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes and then stir the nuts. Continue baking until the nuts smell toasted and the sugar coating is caramelized (about another 10 minutes).

Let the nuts cool on the pan, separating them as they cool. Transfer to air tight container (if not used immediately.)

Valentine's Pancakes

Thank you Trader Joe's for sampling these last week. I made these Red Velvet Pancakes for Valentine's Day. Oooooh man these were so creamy delicious. Even my husband who thinks pancakes are just okaaaay, fell in love with these. I can't wait to make them again.

RED VELVET PANCAKES
1 Cup flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or mascarpone)
3 Tbs unsalted butter elted
1 Tbs red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla

MASCARPONE SPREAD
4 oz Mascarpone, softened
2 oz of creme fraiche
2 Tbs white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Wisk together the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl wisk together the egg, buttermilk, and creme fraiche, melted butter, food coloring, and vanilla. Add them together and wisk just until combined. A little lumpy is ok. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat and cook away!

Carrot Soup

For Valentine's Charlie and I went to a couples cooking class at Sur La Table. It was heavenly. We made a Carrot Soup that was perfect. Although it wasn't in our recipe packet. So I used this one from Cooks Illustrated. Thank you!!!! Soooo good.

Carrot Soup

2	tablespoons unsalted butter , or the same amount of vegetable or olive oil
1	medium onion , 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
2	tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
1 1/2	pounds carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin (about 4 cups)
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth or low-sodium vegetable broth
1	teaspoon table salt
	ground white pepper
	pinch ground nutmeg
1 - 1 1/4	cups whole milk
2	teaspoons minced fresh tarragon , mint, chives, or parsley

1. Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sherry and carrots; stir constantly and cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Ladle carrot mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.

4. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced herb and serve immediately.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

Okay so I only used the Lemon Cups for my Gourmet Club in NYC. No I don't make them for just my family. Buuuut they sure looked cool didn't they? This is one of my faaaavorite desserts ... I mean ... side dishes.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

1 shallot minced
1 rib celery, chopped fine
2 T. unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/3 cups risotto rice, preferably Arborio

1⁄2 cup white wine
Approximately 1 quart chicken stock
1/2 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced
1 Tbs. Rosemary, chopped up
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish
1/3 cup mascarpone
Pepper
Salt, to taste

Put the shallots and celery into a mini food processor and blitz until they are finely chopped or cut up finely by hand. Heat the butter, the oil and the shallot and celery mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn't stick. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Add wine until and stir until evaporated. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.

Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need to add hot water from the kettle.

Mix the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready - when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite - take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy, lemony mixture, and salt, to taste. Serve with more Parmesan if you wish.

Cannellini Bean and Kale Soup

Another winner from Abundant Harvest Organics. Too bad I just canceled my weekly delivery with them. A 30 minute round trip visit on a Saturday morning with just a 30 minute window to arrive at the truck was just not working for us every week as a family. Soooo I found Farm Fresh To You and am hoping to get their weekly deliveries to my doorstep starting next week. BUT I will gladly keep my door open to Abundant Harvest if they ever have a delivery site closer to home.

ANYWaaaaay... to quote my husband while he was dishing his second bowl, "You've outdone yourself! This soup is Rockin'. And this is HEALTHY for you??? Seriously, this is right up there with your Wedding Soup. I don't know how you do it." =)

Serve with Garlic Toast ... slice toast and butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt and dried parsley. Heat in the oven at 450 for a few minutes until lightly browned. Mmmmm mmm ... that makes goooooood dipping toast.

Cannellini Bean and Kale Soup

• 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled & finely chopped
• 1 medium celery stalk
  
• 1 leek finely chopped
• 1 ½ tsp rosemary
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 quart vegetable broth
• 2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch kale, center ribs removed, and leaves chopped
• 1 ½ tsp cider vinegar
• ½ lb Italian sausage, cut into bite size pieces (optional)

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery or leek, and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften. Add tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the broth, beans, kale. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer gently until vegetables are tender. Heat remaining oil in pan with Italian sausage. When browned and cooked through add to soup, stir the cider vinegar into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Potato and Cauliflower Casserole

Weeeeell, my husband wanted Steak and Potatoes tonight. And we recently watched Food Inc. This was sort of the nail in the coffin after other books and movies we've read/seen about the food industry. Sooooo we bought Organic grass-fed cow tonight. The last steak I bought on New Year's Eve was on sale for $1.49 per pound. This was $14.99 per pound. Ouch. Buuuut, it was delicious. A few years ago I tried wild-Salmon and now I have a hard time swallowing farm-raised. Soooo, is this the end of us eating beef most nights out of the week? And the end of our cheap beef love-affair? Time will tell. (I will also add that after we visited the Temple this week we did stop off at McDonald's for a reminder taste of our "Naive" to the food industry days, when we used to stop off there every Thursday night after working at the Temple 9 years ago.

So to embellish our new love of grass-fed cow, I cooked up my ginormous cauliflower that came in my locally-grown organic vegetable delivery. Thanks to Abundant Harvest, I found a new casserole recipe that well, at least the adults enjoyed (my daughter enjoyed it, and the other were alriiiight with it.) I'll be making this again soon ... since I still have 2 heads worth of cauliflower left on my one ginormous head.

POTATO and CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE

2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 Tbsp better
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

1 head of cauliflower (or one quarter in my case)
3 tbsp flour
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (but the good stuff)

Lightly grease a medium casserole dish and preheat the oven to 450. Boil potatoes until tender but still firm. Drain and set aside. Place cauliflower in a steamer basket and steam for 5 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Gradually stir in the heavy cream until thickened. Remove from heat and mix in 1/2 cup swiss cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange potatoes and cauliflower in dish. Pour cream sauce over veggies and sprinkle with remaining Swiss cheese. Bake 20 minutes until it gets bubbly and lightly browned. The brown stuff is the gooooooood stuff.