For the Love of Food...and Parties

Welcome to my world. This is one of the places where I write down ideas and tips not only for myself, but also for everyone else. Enjoy!

[loreromana]

Mango Smoothie

This mango smoothie was delicious! My second attempt at one of the Vitamix recipes and I am very happy with the results.

[loreromana]

Happy Wednesday!

[loreromana]

Deep Fried Cauliflower

Recipe coming soon!

[loreromana]

Cheesy Pasta

A simple make ahead lunch option for those busy, long hour work days. I’ve had so many birthdays to celebrate this weekend, a Marathon to cheer for and help out at, and a couple meetings. The last thing I have energy for is a fancy meal so I put together two of my favorite ingredients...pasta and cheese...in a dish for work. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of cooked Rotini pasta

1 cup steamed broccoli florets

1/4 cup steamed corn

1 1/4 cup milk

1 shallot

2 cloves

S and P to taste

1 cup grated Marble Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup grated/shaved Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Poke the 2 cloves into the shallot and place in a medium saucepan, add the milk and simmer for a good 10-15 minutes. Remove the shallot, and stir in the cheese until it melts, season, and combine with the vegetables and pasta. Check the seasoning one last time. I found it needed some heat so I added a splash of Sriracha at the end. 

[loreromana]

Vegetarian Pita Wrap

I’ve been working more hours lately and I have also been trying to keep my lunches interesting so I don’t get tempted to spend my money buying them instead. This wrap contains simple ingredients I had in my fridge this week.

Wrap Ingredients:

1 pita wrap, cut in half and separated in the middle, like a pocket

3 Battered and fried zucchini slices 

1-2 tbsp Sheep’s cheese

1 baby cucumber, sliced

1 piece of lettuce

1/4 red bell pepper, sliced

Garlic dressing (see recipe below)

1 tsp Sriracha (optional)

Garlic Dressing:

1 tbsp mayo

1 tbsp sour cream

1/4 tsp of Piros Arany paste

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl until they have an even consistency. Spread the garlic dressing on one side of the inside of the pocket, and spread or drizzle the Sriracha on the other side. Nicely layer the rest of the ingredients inside and enjoy!

Tip: I love cheese, so I not only spread the 1 tbsp of cheese on the Sriracha side, I also crumbled another tbsp on top.

[loreromana]

Happy Wednesday!

[loreromana]

Vitamix Zucchini Soup

We’re well into our rainy season here in Alberta, and just in time for one of my soup posts.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup water

1/2 cup half and half cream

1 tsp lime juice

2 small zucchinis or 1 medium one, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

1/2 celery stalk, diced

1 tbsp yellow bell pepper, diced

1 small potato, baked, halved

S and P to taste

Instructions:

Combine all above ingredients into your Vitamix, in the order above, and lock the lid on top. Select the hot soups option and press start. The Vitamix takes about 5-10 minutes to complete the cycle, and in the meantime, use the tamper to press down any ingredients that aren’t blending. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

[loreromana]

Happy Long Weekend!!

Although it’s a chilly weekend, I will be spending my 3 days off with movies and ice cream!

[loreromana]

Cheese Stuffed Burger

Very easy recipe, if you find the Meatballs post from a couple weeks ago, that is what I used for my burger patty. I made too much of the meatballs mixture so I also made a few burger patties and froze them. For extra flavour, I placed a few small slices of cheese (cheddar) in the middle as I was forming the patty. It turned out quite well, with great flavour. 

Cooking Ingredients: 

Frying pan

2 tbsp unsalted butter 

S and P to taste 

1 frozen burger patty

Instructions: 

Heat the frying pan and melt the butter on medium high heat. Place the patty in the frying pan and brown nicely on both sides before turning down the heat and covering to cook well through, about 5 minutes on each side. Using a pairing knife, pierce the thickest part of the patty to make sure there is no pink left in the middle to make sure it is well cooked through.

Serve with your favourite burger condiments!

[loreromana]

Cheese Grilled Zucchini

I was surprised how delicious this was. I’ve never liked the texture of zucchini, but the golden brown cheese and corn on top helped mask that well. I even got a thumbs up from my brother!

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

2 tbsp Sheep’s cheese

2 tbsp shaved Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp canned corn

1 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil

S and P to taste

Sriracha (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the BBQ to 400°F. 

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and if it is a bigger one, you can cut it again like I did above. Drizzle even quantities of the oil all over the serving side (top side) of the zucchini slices, season with salt and pepper, and evenly divide the rest of the ingredients over each slice: Sheep’s cheese first, corn next, Parmesan last and if you are using sriracha, drizzle some of it on top for a little bit of heat. 

My zucchini was fairly small so I placed a small piece of tin foil on the BBQ before placing them on. I let them grill a good 15 minutes and at the end just placed them under the Broil for a minute to get a nice golden brown on the cheese. 

[loreromana]

Happy Wednesday!

[loreromana]

Double Chocolate Crepes

It’s a sweet breakfast kind of morning!

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 cup milk, room temperature

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tbsp brown sugar

A pinch of salt

4 tbsp coconut oil

1 small jar of Nutella

2 scoops vanilla ice cream

Instructions:

Blend or whisk the eggs, milk, flour, cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a blender or a medium bowl. You want to have the consistency of heavy cream for the batter. 

Melt 1 tsp of coconut oil in a crepe pan or a wider saucepan over medium heat. Using a ladle, pour about 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan, while holding with one hand and swirl the pan while pouring. This lets the batter spread evenly across the surface of your pan. Still on medium heat, once the edges turn brown, flip the crepe with a spatula and cook on the other side for about 10 to 15 seconds. Stack your crepes over a warm plate until you are finished.

On 1/4 of the crepe, spread a thin layer of Nutella and fold twice. Top with ice cream and serve.

[loreromana]

Ratatouille

I decided to make a Ratatouille dish again, since I couldn’t remember the exact measurements from my previous one. The one difference with this recipe, is that I added one of my favourite vegetables, corn, and cooked it all together in a pot, unlike the more popular Ratatouille that is nicely displayed in a wide dish. See a great example here: http://www.jamilacuisine.ro/ratatouille-la-cuptor-reteta-video/

Ingredients:

1 onion, sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)

2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, roasted and chopped

1 medium can whole or chopped tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

1 corn on the cob

S and P to taste

Instructions:

In a large pot, cook the onion and the garlic, with the 2tbsp of butter, over low heat to sweat, not brown. Add the olive oil and turn the heat to a medium-high to get a bit of colour on the onions.  Pour in the can of tomatoes, thyme, season with salt and pepper and let simmer about 5 minutes for the flavours to combine. Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is softened. Stir in the zucchini and the red bell pepper and cook the mixture over the medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. 

While you wait for the 15 minutes of simmering, take the yellow bell pepper and the corn to the bbq and grill at about 400°F. You want the bell pepper to be black on the outside, so it steams nicely on the inside. Make sure to turn both the corn and the pepper every 5 minutes. Once done, place the pepper in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap while you cut the corn off the cob. Covering the pepper for a few minutes, makes it easier to peel, after which you can chop, and add both the pepper and the corn to your Ratatouille. Let simmer a few more minutes, do one last taste test and adjust seasoning if desired. Just before serving, stir in the fresh basil and top each bowl with parmesan. 

Tip: This can be used as a side dish to lamb, or served with creamy polenta, or even risotto. 

[loreromana]

Happy weekend!

[loreromana]

Plăcinte cu Brânză (Cheese stuffed Pan Fried Pies)

Plăcinte is yet another one of my favourites! You can stuff them with sauerkraut, cheese, spinach, potatoes, etc. I usually make a garlic sauce to spread over it, grate some Greek Feta cheese and enjoy! 

Ingredients:

500g Feta Cheese

500g Flour

300ml warm milk

3 1/2tsp active dry yeast

3tbsp oil

2 cups green onions, medium dice

1 egg

½ tsp salt

Instructions:

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk and set aside. In a large bowl, add the flour, making a nest in the middle. Add the milk-yeast mixture to the nest, add the egg as well, and start mixing until all the flour is pretty well blended. Add the oil and the salt and continue mixing until all the flour is well integrated and you have your dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a floured flat surface until it springs back easily when poked. Place in a lightly oiled, large bowl, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest for about 1 hour. 

In a medium bowl, combine the green onions with the cheese and set aside. Grab the dough, remove from the bowl on a lightly floured surface. Cut about a handful of dough and with a rolling pin, flatten the dough, place 1tbsp to 1 ½ tbsp of the cheese mixture in the middle, and bring all the edges to the top to close. Turn it over, and with the rolling pin, flatten again, about as thin as in the photos above. Repeat this step until you finish your dough. 

Heat a larger frying pan on the stovetop, add about 1tbsp of oil and over medium heat, place 1 pie/patty in the frying pan at a time. Once the bottom part is golden brown, flip over to finish the other side. They can rest on top of each other and covered with a paper towel. 

Garlic Sauce:

3-4 minced garlic cloves, 2 if they are larger

1 tsp olive oil

¼ cup sour cream

S and P to taste

Combine all these ingredients together and refrigerate at least 15 minutes to let the flavours blend, before serving. (if you would prefer a thinner sauce, add a couple tbsp of water to thin out)

[loreromana]

Mint Potatoes

This is my father’s recipe. On one of our regular Saturday family lunches, this is what he surprised us with. They were absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:

1Lb new potatoes, halved and steamed

3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon

½ cup roughly chopped mint

½ red onion, small dice

S and P to taste

Instructions:

Use the juice from the lemon and combine with the olive oil in a small bowl, add the diced red onion to the mixture, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for about 15 minutes. Once the onions have infused with the lemon juice and olive oil, in a large bowl add the mixture and the mint to the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Tip: These potatoes pair very well with lamb.

[loreromana]

Happy Wednesday!