Brussels Sprouts Hash, by Diane

I saw this recipe on Triple D, and it looked like a fun way to make one of my favorite veggies more exciting. It was made in a restaurant in the south, and they said it was a take on collard greens because it incorporates cider vinegar. I hate collard greens, but I thought the combination of flavors was unique enough and decided to try it. The end result: we all love this dish. I've made it twice now and literally have a hard time eating anything else at dinner. The tartness of the vinegar plus the sweetness from the shallots and the saltiness of the bacon (I use turkey bacon) pairs SO well with the brussels sprouts that they become addicting.

Unfortunately, the actual recipe wasn't posted, so I just had to watch them make it on TV and then try to recreate it from there. I'm still finding ways to tweak it, but I think this recipe is a good approximation of what it should be. Also, last night I ran out of cider vinegar and used red wine vinegar plus apple juice and I actually liked that better because it's not as much of a sour taste. So that's the one I'm posting today. :)

Ingredients:

3-4 cups fresh brussels sprouts
3 slices turkey bacon, chopped
2 tbsp. EVOO
1/2 shallot, chopped (can substitute red onion)
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. apple juice
1/2 cup radicchio, julienne style
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Boil water and blanch brussels sprouts and bacon for approximately 10 minutes before transferring to an ice bath.
2. Heat the EVOO in a large saucepan on medium high, add in brussels sprouts, bacon, and shallots.
3. Saute for 3-5 minutes until bacon and shallots start to caramelize, then add in remaining ingredients.
4. Cook until liquid boils out, approximately 10 minutes.

Simple Syrup with a Twist, by Diane

This is a very simple recipe (no pun intended) I've been using to perk up my drinks. Lately, I've been trying to make the switch to tea instead of coffee, and I get really bored with it. I love coffee because of all the fun flavors, and it occurred to me that I could do the very same thing with tea by creating a simple syrup base and adding in different ingredients during the cooking process. Usually, a simple syrup is just water and sugar in equal parts that is boiled down so that some of the water cooks out and it becomes syrup. Since I wanted a healthier version, I just put in much less sugar and boil it down longer. Same result. I also try stay away from white sugar, so I've been using honey instead since it pairs well with tea. Sometimes, even splenda works and then there's no calories in it.

So as for the flavors, you can really get creative and mix them or just pick one. Just try to stay as close to the natural source and as fresh as possible. Lately, I've been on a ginger kick, so I've been taking fresh ginger slices and adding it to the pot. You do an orange flavor (using orange rinds), lemon (lemon rinds), rose (rose petals), mint (fresh mint leaves), even fun fall flavors like apple cinnamon (bit of apple and a cinnamon stick). Some really great combos I've found are rose mint and lemon ginger. You can even mix in fresh plants like lavender to have a soothing effect.

Since there is flavor and sugar, you can just add it to your tea (or even soda or water) like coffee creamer to coffee. You can adjust the sweetness level as well, but know that the longer it boils down the sweeter it gets because the water is boiling out. I'm going to post the recipe for my current staple, lemon ginger simple syrup.

Ingredients:

10 slices fresh ginger, peeled
2 cups of water
2 tbsp. honey
1 packet splenda
1/2 of one lemon


Directions:

1. Heat water in a small saucepan on medium high.
2. Add in remaining ingredients, squeezing the juice from the lemon and discarding it afterwards.
3. Stir to blend and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a very low boil.
4. Stirring often, boil mixture until it reduces by 1/3 to a 1/2 of it's original volume (this should take quite a while, maybe around 30 minutes). Taste to make sure it's sweet enough, if not then add more honey.
5. Let cool, then store in a squeeze bottle (with the solid ingredients as well- in this case, the ginger slices- so the flavor intensifies) in the refrigerator.
6. When ready, squeeze 2 tbsp. of the syrup into a mug and fill the rest with water, heat in microwave, then add tea and brew for at least 5-10 minutes.

Mediterranean Brown Rice Vegetable Bake, by Diane

I grabbed this recipe from the September issue of CL. It was in an advertisement for a brand of brown rice, but it included ways to incorporate brown rice into dishes other than stir fry's and side dishes. I thought this was a really cool way to use it, and since I've had so many appointments to run to lately it was an easy way to make a healthy, filling lunch that I could grab a slice and go with and it would last me all week long! I also loved the mix of the ingredients which were unique as well.

As it turned out, I was not quite a fan of this dish. There were several problems that I found with the recipe. First, I baked it as directed, but it came out really moist and light-colored (in the photo, it had turned dark and hardened into a loaf-like consistency:

Even after cooking it uncovered in the oven for an additional 10 minutes so it could firm up, it barely darkened and simply fell apart when I tried to cut it. In the end, I took it out of the loaf pan and into a bowl and served it as a casserole. The other problem here was the spiciness that I was not really expecting. I think between the pepper and the red pepper flakes it was too much heat. I would have reduced them both in half at least.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chopped fennel
2 cups finely chopped mushrooms
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
½ cup low-fat ricotta cheese
2 eggs
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups brown rice, cooked
½ cup roasted almonds, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese




Directions:


1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onions, garlic, and fennel; sauté 6 minutes. Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook until all of the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Set aside and cool completely.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together ricotta cheese and eggs. Add cooled, cooked vegetable mixture and the remaining ingredients and mix well.
4. Lightly coat a 1½-quart ovenproof baking dish with oil. Place mixture in dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes.

Linguine con Vongole e Pomodori, by Cheryl

Alright! Let's bring this blog back from the dead!

So for the next couple of years my posts will most likely all be Italian dishes since what else is there to make while we're in Italy. I really want to hone my Italian cooking skills, although I might try some new recipes from other genres. This recipe is linguine with clams and tomatoes and back in the states it was always my go to dish at Italian restaurants. I've since found many others since living in Italy, but this is a great one to make. It was very interesting ordering the live clams since we didn't know how to ask for them in Italian or ask if they were scrubbed, cleaned, etc. After a lot of preparation with the clams it turns out that they were all set to go from the start. Oh well... some time and sanity was lost in the process, but that's okay. I got this recipe from the book Cucina Napoletana, which was a gift from Jon's parents' friends. This dish was very light for pasta and the tomatoes were bursting with flavor. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 lb clams
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
grape tomatoes, halved
linguine
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Boil salted water and cook the linguine until al dente.

2) Put the clams in a heavy saucepan. Add a little water, cover the pan, and steam over medium-high heat until the shells open (discard any that do not). Removed the flesh and discard the shells.

3) Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Saute the clam flesh and garlic for a few minutes until the garlic is soft and starting to color. Add the tomatoes and season with salt. Stir through and cook for another few minutes until the tomato starts to break down. Lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

4) Add the linguine to the pan with the sauce and stir through. Serve with a sprinkling of pepper and parsley.

Granola with Honey-Scented Yogurt and Baked Figs

Wow- it's been a while since we've posted on here! I've been a bit lazy about it during the summer, but I made a recipe tonight I HAD to post. It involves two of my favorite things- figs, and greek yogurt. Plus, I've always wanted to know how to make homemade healthy granola, since it's usually so fattening and laden with sugar. This recipe was easy enough to follow (I got it from the latest issue of Cooking Light), and it was really good and filling.
My only complaint is that the article doesn't tell you how to make sure the figs are fresh or what the different colors mean, so I had a lot of research to do before I bought them! Soft figs are ripe regardless of skin color, but it's still hard to know when they are overripe. Plus, it's really hard to find good figs here in the US (esp. around the east coast), so that made things a bit trickier and I'm sure it would have tasted MUCH better if you were somewhere else in the world (maybe, ITALY!).

ps- this clearly is not a photo taken by me, and is totally and shamelessly stolen from the CL mag. My camera is on the fritz, and we all know how our cell phone pics turn out on this blog...

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 large egg white
1 1/8 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons honey, divided
9 firm, fresh dark-skinned figs, stemmed and quartered
3 cups plain fat-free Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Combine oats and pecans in a small bowl. Combine egg white and 1/8 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat egg mixture with a mixer at medium speed until foamy. Fold oat mixture into egg white mixture. Combine brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg; fold the sugar mixture into oat mixture. Fold in maple syrup.
3. Spread granola evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 300° for 25 minutes, stirring once. Remove granola from oven; stir to loosen granola from foil. Cool on a wire rack.
4. Increase the oven temperature to 350°.
5. Combine 2 teaspoons honey and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl, and add figs, stirring gently to coat the fruit. Arrange the figs, cut sides up, in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle figs evenly with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt.
6. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until the fig juices begin to bubble. Remove from oven, and cool completely. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons honey and yogurt in a small bowl. Spoon 1/2 cup yogurt mixture into each of 6 bowls; top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons granola and 6 fig quarters.