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Jen

Posted on

29 August 2013

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Power Breakfast

When we took up rowing, my friend Sue and I would often have a small bite to eat before practice (at the crack of dawn), and then a larger breakfast when we returned to refuel. “Power Breakfast,” as we affectionately termed it, is a protein-packed meal that goes great with a coffee, an orange juice, and the drive to GO HARD. Inspired by my friend Ally’s taste for yogurt with eggs and my own love affair with sauteed greens, I give you The Breakfast of Champions.

Step 1: Sautee your greens and onions

Step 2: Push them to the side

Step 3: In go the eggs

Step 4: Serve with yogurt or labneh and tomatoes or beets

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

21 August 2013

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Italian Dishes & Pastas

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Sausage e Fagioli

Pasta e Fagioli (fagioli = “beans”) is a classic Italian peasant dish. Here I’ve replaced the pasta with sausage, for a new twist on one of my favorite things to come from my mom’s kitchen.

Simmer the garlic in the stock

Cut your sausage into roundels or half-roundels

Mmm tomatoey….

Sausage goes in

Mushin’ my beans

A big simmer

Something green!

Nearly there…

Finito!

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Jen

Posted on

18 August 2013

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Baked Snacks, Blender Treats, Southwest-inspired

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Baked Black Bean and Corn Fritters with Spicy Sour Cream Dip

These fritters are baked, not fried, and inspired by my new-found love of Southwest-inspired cooking. This recipe takes a bit of time, but is well worth it. It yields 20-25 fritters–perfect for a party snack!

Black Bean and Corn Fritters with Spicy Sour Cream Dip

They emerge crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside!

The beans, onion, and spices get their groove on in the processor

A creamy filling

Hold the roasted corn by the husk and get ready to cut the kernels from it

Cutting the kernels

Corn kernels, cilantro, and bean mixture

Everything gets mixed

Scoop the mixture up with a small spoon

Use two small spoons to roll some of the mixture into a ball

Coat the ball in cornmeal

Once the ball is on the parchment paper, press the top down with a spoon

Ready for the oven

Black Bean and Corn Fritter

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

15 August 2013

Posted under

Dairy, Dips & Spreads, Middle Eastern

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Labneh

What can’t one do with labneh, the soft, creamy, yogurty cheese of the Middle East? Some things you can definitely do: Dip your veggies in it. Spread it on bread. Use it as a “dressing” on a salad of spinach, red onion, and tapenade. Dunk your over-easy eggs in it. Here’s how to make labneh the easy way.

Looks great in my jar!

On a spinach salad with olive oil, red onion, and sundried tomato paste

Strain the whey off the yogurt into a bowl

Use a good yogurt that you like on its own

The labneh emerges!

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

11 August 2013

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Dips & Spreads, Fish, Fruit in My Dinner

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JVRP Salmon (Salmon with Pesto, Sundried Tomato Paste, and Lemon)

My terrible photos really do not do this one justice! This is my recipe for JVRP Salmon, named for the excavation where I first made this dish. I was looking for something to make for a potluck, but only had access to a barbecue and a small electric hob. Knowing that most people would make meat on the grill, I decided to go for fish, and make use of the magic that is aluminum foil. This dish can be made very quickly if you’re short on time, but two of the more complicated ingredients can be made from scratch, if you are looking to make the whole thing a bit more involved.

Raw goodies in the pan

After the initial covered cook

Stir it around and let it continue to cook

JVRP Salmon

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

11 August 2013

Posted under

Blender Treats, Dips & Spreads, Rich Foods

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Sundried Tomato Paste

This sundried tomato paste is creamy, savory, and easy to make. It’s great on salmon, eggs, toasted bread, and anything where spreadable cheeses are involved. Why buy it at the store when you can make it at home in a few minutes?

Sundried Tomato Paste

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

11 August 2013

Posted under

Blender Treats, Dips & Spreads, Herbs

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Basil-Almond Pesto

Another recipe inspired by quickly expiring produce from my friend’s market share! In this case the basil I received had begun to oxidize, so I wanted to use it before it went completely dark and limp. I also used some basil from the plant I am growing on my window sill. I really do not like pignoli (pine nuts), so I decided to make my pesto with almonds, but you can use pignoli and follow the same basic recipe if you’d like.

Mmm, Basil Almond Pesto…

Washin’ my basil

Into the food processor it goes!

Blend it up

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

9 August 2013

Posted under

Dips & Spreads, Frying Pan Treats, Middle Eastern, Rich Foods, The Mighty Sweet Potato

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Sweet Potato Pancakes with Chive Dipping Sauce

This recipe is probably the most requested of all the things I make, but it’s not my own: the original comes from Orna and Ella in Tel Aviv, and there are tons of reproductions of their recipe online, including this one from Food 52, which is the basis for the one I’m sharing here. The sauce is really versatile, and can be used as a dip for veggies or pita, or spooned onto nachos in the place of regular old sour cream. It’s also really great on fish.

Prepping the potatoes

Into the pot they go

After boiling and softening them, give it a rough mash

That’s a nice consistency–not too smooth

Add the flour, sugar, salt & soy sauce

Mix it up

Fry time!

Chive chop

This sauce can also be eating on its own with a spoon… jussayin’

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Posted by

Jen

Posted on

9 August 2013

Posted under

Breakfasts, Desserts, Gluten-Free Baking, Jams & Chutneys

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Plum and Peach Jam on Gluten-Free Oatcakes

I took my friend’s market share this week while she’s away, and wondered what to do with the two smallest plums I have ever seen in my life (see picture). When I got home they had become mushy, so I decided to make a jam with them. I also used a peach (well, they told me it was a peach, but it looks suspiciously like a nectarine…) that had gone mealy–my least favorite thing about fruit. I had to put the jam on something, so I made some gluten-free oatcakes, too. I had everything this morning for breakfast. Yay breakfast!