After a long Saturday spent writing; cooped up in the house on a snowy afternoon I just needed something fresh, spicy and satisfying.

Brown rice with tofu and black bean sauce was the ticket.

Ginger and scallions added the fresh crunchy spicy thing.

Make sure to sautee the ginger or add it while the rice is boiling.

Too raw and it can be intense!

I added alot of crushed red pepper.

I love the heat!

It is hard to find a better breakfast than oatmeal.

For the money it is a big nutritious bang for the buck.

It is also tasty, filling and healthy!

I lightly toasted 2 cups of steel cut oats in 2 Tbspns of unsalted butter.

Then add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup walnuts.

Let everything toast until it smells like popcorn and has a deep golden brown color.

I then added 6 cups of water and 2 cups of light coconut milk.

Add a pinch of sea salt; nutmeg and cinnamon to taste!

Allow to cook on medium to low heat for about 1/2 hour or until all the liquid is absorbed.

I added some shredded coconut.

This breakfast will get you through your day with energy to spare!

I will even have a bowl for dinner or a snack.
It’s that delicious and satisfying!

This delicious bread is so simple to make that I can find no reason not to make a fresh loaf every morning!

There is nothing better than waking up on a snowy winter morning to the smell of bread baking in the oven.

This slightly sweet, crumbly quick bread worked well with 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup baking flour.

I also used turbinado in the place of granulated white sugar.

Ingredients

Raisin Soda Bread

3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour (or 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour)

3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons (42 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

3/4 cup (100 grams) Thompson raisins

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk (soured milk)

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture, with a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add most of the buttermilk. Using yours hands, or a wooden spoon, mix (adding more buttermilk if necessary) until you have a soft moist dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough into a 7 inch (18 cm) round. Place the round on your prepared baking sheet and then, with a sharp knife, cut a 1/4 inch deep “X” across the top of the bread.

Bake for about 40 – 50 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. You can also test that is fully baked by tapping the bottom of the bread – it should sound hollow. Remove from oven. This bread is wonderful when served warm with butter. It also makes great toast.

Makes one seven inch (18 cm) round raisin soda bread.

The dough hook on my Kitchen Aid mixer makes this a peice of cake!

I always use parchment paper.

This recipe is so quick and easy.

You can have warm bread in less than an hour!

What a great last minute surprise for breakfast.

Cold butter on warm bread is a special treat!

What is especially nice is that you can usually find most of these ingredients in your pantry at all times.

No buttermilk? Add lemon juice to milk!

No raisins? Use dried cranberries or prunes.

…even chocolate chips would work nicely and the kids will love it!

This easy, yummy dip can be whipped up just minutes before guests arrive and served warm with crusty bread or crackers.

This has become my new favorite dish to take to friends or to serve at parties.

Ingredients:

2 cans lump crab
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 chopped yellow or red pepper
5-6 chopped green onions
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp or to taste garlic salt

Mix the ingredients well and top with some extra shredded cheese.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Serve warm with bread or crackers.

I came across this recipe on The Huffington Post.

The photos, the raisins, the nuts! I just had to try it.

I am also convinced that I desperately need a Le Creuset baking dish!

I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour in this easy and delicious no-knead bread recipe.

Walnut-Raisin
Recipe Courtesy of
Big Girls, Small Kitchen

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup Thompson raisins
1 2/3 cups water
Cornmeal or more flour as needed

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the walnuts and raisins and stir to distribute. Pour the water over the flour mixture, then use a rubber spatula to mix them together and form a soft, ugly dough. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for about 12 hours, until there are bubbles across the top.

Dump the dough out onto a floured, non-terrycloth dishtowel. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Then, using as little flour as possible, shape the dough into a ball by folding the ends in. Turn onto a cornmeal-dusted non-terrycloth dishtowel, seam side down. Dust with more cornmeal, then cover with another towel. Leave for two hours. (That’s Santa’s rise.)

When there’s a half hour left to go of this rise, preheat the oven to 450�F and put a covered, heavy pot in the oven.( I use my 5.5 quart LeCreuset to achieve a well-proportioned loaf.) When the dough is ready, carefully take the pot out of the oven. Dump the dough, seam side up, into the pot and shake it to spread evenly. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15-30 minutes, until deeply brown and crusty. Let the bread rest as long as you can before slicing into it.

I store my bread in an airtight baggie, even though this makes the crust soft. To “re-crust” a whole loaf, you can dab it all over with water and bake for about 10 minutes in a 450�F oven. If you’re going slice by slice, just toast to rectify the crust.

This bread was hearty and delicious on a long ski week in Steamboat Springs Colorado and travelled well in ski jackets for mountain top noshing!

It toasted up so nicely.

Warm bread and cold butter on a snowy mountain morning!

Chilly outside and only soup and a sandwich will do!

I picked up these flowers at a local market and they completely set the tone for the weekend.

Even the colors inspired this Sunday’s menu.

Creamy baby lima bean and yukon gold potato soup with Kerrygold cheddar grilled cheese.

Fragrant rosemary and roasted garlic add to the rich creaminess of this meal.

Start by soaking the beans overnight.

Pour out the water and add fresh water for quick boiling.

When you’ve brought these beans to a boil pour out this water, as well.

For the final cooking add enough water to cover plus about 4 cups.

Add a large sweet onion and allow to cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Meanwhile, roast a head of garlic in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes

When the onion is done remove and place in the food processer with the roasted garlic, about 2 Tbspn of dried rosemary, 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 Tbspn flour.

Blend until creamy.

Add this to the boiling beans.

Add 2 Tbspn of vegetarian boullion and salt and pepper to taste.

Chop 5-6 Yukon Gold potatoes and ad to the soup and allow to cook on medium heat for 2 hours.

Grilled cheese is perfect with this soup!

This is the perfect winter meal for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Enjoy!

Fried potatoes and cheese sauce!

This is a more grown-up version of a comfort food favorite.

The scallions and garlic parmesan sauce make these sophisticated and pleasing on many levels.

Creamy sauce, crunchy potaoes, and the fresh burst of flavor from the scallions.

Start by chopping small red skin potatoes in quarters.

Wrap in aluminum foil loosely.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour or until soft.

Remove from oven and fry potatoes in a hot skillet with about 1/4 inch of oil and a large chunk of butter for flavor.

I added crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat!

Fry until crispy.

These came out a little lite. I would’ve like to cook them some more but my crowd was hungry!

While the potatoes are baking I made the cheese sauce.

I combined 1/2 cup shredded parmesan to about 1 1/2 cups half and half and about 5 cloves of crushed garlic.

Allow everything to come to a boil and remove from heat and pour over the potatoes and garnish with fresh scallions!

This is a new family favorite and a great side dish for any meal.

I love eggplant and I love basil!

This recipe combines my favorites along with cheese and the crispy fried goodness of eggplant in olive oil!

This is basically eggplant parmesean but with basil pesto instead of red sauce.

I also did not use ricotta cheese.

This was easy and so rich and delicious that I can’t wait to make it again!

Ingredients

2 large eggplants

2 large eggs

1 cup flour or Italian style bread crumbs

3 cups mozzerella cheese

1/2 cup parmesean cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 eggs

1/2- 3/4 cup of basil pesto

a pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Begin by dredging the sliced eggplant in the eggwash and flour.

I added slices of fresh basil to the 2 eggs for an extra bite of flavor.

Fry the slices until light brown and crispy and set aside.

Combine the pesto, heavy cream and nutmeg and mix well.

Coat the bottom of a large baking dish with the pesto cream mixture..

Place a layer of the fried eggplant on the bottom of the dish.

Combine the cheeses and 2 eggs and mix well and layer on top of the eggplant.

Then add another layer of the pesto and cream mixture.

Just keep douing this until you run out of ingredients.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly!

This light tomato, red onion and basil salad complimented the cheesy richness beautifully!

This kale soup is so simple, so delicious, so nutritious and so inexpensive that it would be just wrong not to share it!

This recipe comes from the Aunt of this guy; my “Cooking Buddy”.

The family comes from Albania and learning about a new cuisine has broadened my own cooking repetoire, especially when it comes to vegetables.

I have gained a new perspective on preparing and serving food and learned how to create complete meals from very simple ingredients.

The ingredients for this soup are: Kale, potato, onion, garlic and celery, olive oil and yogurt . With salt and pepper to taste.

We garnished with sheep milk feta cheese and fresh green onion.

A hearty wheat bread truly rounds out this meal.

I will make this a part of my regular rotation of dishes around here, to be sure.

And I would like to experiment with vegetable stock, which we didn’t use.

I had my doubts about the lack of broth but I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful the soup was without the added boullion.

And considering that most boullions contain MSG, sugar, sodium and other unnatural and unneccesary processed ingredients, it is nice to know that I don’t need to have homemade stock handy or run out to pick up something at the store when I want to make this soup.

The other thing that I like about this soup is that the olive oil and yogurt are added at the end of cooking.

From a nutrition perspective this helps to maintain the health benefits and maximum flavor of the yogurt and the olive oil.

Method

The process begins by boiling 1 large yellow onion and about 5-6 cloves of garlic.

We’re garlic lovers around here so I tend to use twice what I recommend at times!

I had 2 large baking potatoes which I chopped and added to the boil.

I then cleaned and chopped 2 large heads of kale and added them to the boil. Curly Kale worked well but I would have preferred Lacinto Kale.

I then chopped 4-5 large celery stalks and added these to the boil, as well.

I cooked this mixture until everything became soft and wilted.

Now, I was supposed to drain the water and pour the veggies into the food processor but I didn’t know that, so I just pureed everything together.

The cooking water was included and amounted to about 2-3 cups.

I put the pureed mixture into a large pot and continued to cook at medium heat for about 15 minutes.

We then added about 1 cup of olive oil and about 1 to 2 cups of yogurt.

We served this with some crumbled sheep milk feta and freshly cut green onion.

Salt and pepper to taste.

While in New York for a long weekend of friends and food I came across this cheese cake!

It was love at first bite!

I love chocolate and raspberries and the truffled white chocolate is the perfect balance of flavor and sweetness to contrast the chocolate and raspberry combination.

I searched the internet for a recipe and came upon this Cheesecake Factory Copy Cat recipe.

There was a bit of tweaking; for instance, I did not incorporate the raspberries into the cheesecake during baking but rather used frozen berries and a little bit of raspberry syrup for garnish.

I garnished the cake with the fresh berries and not only did this save me a step but added a texture contrast to the dessert.

I whipped the egg whites seperately.

I melted the white chocolate along with some heavy cream and mixed the melted chocolate with the whipped egg whites then folded this mixture into the batter.

For me, this was the essence of the “truffling”.

Ingredients

Crust:

1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs or 20 crumbled Oreo cookies (filling removed)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

1/2 cup raspberry preserves
1/4 cup water
4 8-ounce pkgs. cream cheese
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 eggs
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Optional Garnish:
2 ounces shaved white chocolate
whipped cream

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a large pan or oven-safe skillet filled with about 1/2-inch of water into the oven while it preheats. This will be your water bath.

2. Combine the raspberry preserves with 1/4 cup water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 1/2 minutes on high in your microwave. Stir until smooth. Strain to remove the raspberry seeds (toss ‘em out), then let the strained preserves sit to cool, then put the bowl in the refrigerator until later.

3. Measure 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (or crush 20 Oreo cookie wafers — with the filling scraped out — in a resealable plastic bag) into a medium bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup melted margarine. Press the crumb into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and side with parchment paper. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumb mixture flat into the bottom of the pan and about 2/3 the way up the side. Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

4. Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix for a couple minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs.

5. Remove the crust from the freezer and sprinkle 4 ounces of white chocolate chunks onto the bottom of the crust. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the raspberry preserves over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the raspberry into the cream cheese. Just a couple passes is fine, you don’t want to blend the raspberry and cream cheese together too much. Pour the other half of the filling into the crust.

6. Carefully place the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. When the cheesecake is cool, use the foil from the bottom to cover the cheesecake and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

7. Before serving, sprinkle the entire top surface of cheesecake with 2 ounces of shaved white chocolate. To serve, slice the cheesecake into 12 equal portions. Apply a pile of canned whipped cream to the top of each slice and serve.

Makes 12 servings.