Spring Roll Peanut Sauce

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I am practicing making Vietnamese and Thai Spring Rolls and once I’ve got it truly mastered, I’ll add the recipe. But I have to share this Peanut Dipping Sauce now, because it is just so good.

We’ve been using it as a dipping sauce for baby cucumbers and carrot sticks and it is absolutely irresistible.

Ingredients:

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
2 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar (apple cider vinegar is fine, too)
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
4 pieces of palm sugar (about 3 Tbsp) or 2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy – both are fine)
Warm water as needed

In a large mortar and pestle, start by smashing the garlic cloves. Add vinegar, soy suce and palm sugar, and stir, crushing the palm sugar until it’s mostly broken down. Or just add the brown sugar.

Add sesame oil and peanut butter and mix in the mortar bowl, until smooth and creamy. Add warm water a teaspoon at a time until the consistency is a thick but smooth sauce. Check flavorings and add a little soy sauce or sesame oil if it’s tasting too sweet.

Can keep refrigerated for a week. You may need to add a little more warm water to loosen it up after it’s been in the fridge overnight.

If you don’t have a large mortar and pestle, you can always crush the garlic and just mix everything in a small bowl.

Palm sugar adds a wonderful flavor, but if you can’t get it, just use a little less brown sugar. (Brown sugar is sweeter than palm sugar.)

Baked Eggplant & Tomatoes with Pesto

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This is a delicious dish that looks gorgeous, but is very easy and really ticks all the boxes for me! The eggplant gets all creamy and the cheese gets all melty, and the pesto gets all… pesto-ey. Well, you get the point.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, stem end removed and sliced lengthwise in 1/2″ slices (save end pieces for another use)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Pesto
4-5 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/2″ slices (Any tomato is actually fine.)
1/2 cup grated Mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper the sliced eggplants and place in a bowl, leaning on the edge so the water can run off a bit from the eggplant. Let drain for at least 15 minutes.

Lay the first slice of eggplant in a 9×12 baking dish. Spread about 2 tsp of Pesto on the first slice. Top with a layer of tomatoes, and sprinkle on a spoonful each of Mozzarella and grated Romano. Slide the layer over until it is at an angle leaning on the side of the dish.

Repeat for the second layer, sliding eggplant over to partially overlap the first layer.

Continue with all remaining slices of eggplant. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake another 20 minutes.

Serve hot – it’s so good!

French Toast with Sautéed Blueberries

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I love French Toast. Don’t know why I don’t make it more often. Probably because Kumy is such a pancake guy. French Toast is honestly so easy that I’ve never written it down until now.

I also like using fruit with just a bit of of sugar, maple syrup or honey for sweetening. If the berries are really sweet, you may not need to add all the sugar. You can also substitute eggnog for the milk – it’s delicious – or you could just as easily use Oatmilk if you like.

Ingredients:

French Toast
3 1″ slices of bread (mine was a flatter loaf)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of salt

Berries
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp brown sugar or 1 tsp honey
1/2 cup blueberries or any other fresh berries

Mix eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a flat bowl or pie pan. Lay bread slices in the mixture, and flip them over. Let soak in for a few minutes, pushing down on them once in a while to make sure they soak up as much of the milk mixture as possible.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. You can add a little butter to the pan, but you really don’t need it with nonstick.

Place soaked bread in skillet, drizzling any leftover milk mix over. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until it’s starting to get a bit golden underneath. Flip over and cook another 2 minutes, until it’s golden on the bottom and starting to get a little brown.

Remove French Toast to a serving plate.

Quickly add the butter and let it melt. Toss brown sugar over and stir for 10-15 seconds. Add blueberries and sauté blueberries in the sugar butter mixture for a minute. Pour berries and everything over the French Toast.

Delish!

Roasted Eggplant

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Eggplants by Rens on Unsplash

Here’s another glorious roasted Eggplant recipe, where the addition of one secret ingredient (okay, it’s dried onion flakes) truly takes it to the next level. It’s delicious fresh out of the oven, but honestly even better warmed up the next day. We like it on pasta, or steamed rice.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants, cut into 1/2″ squares
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 heaping Tbsp dried onion flakes
2 Tbsp olive oil
grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix seasonings, onion flakes and oil in a medium bowl, Add eggplant and toss well to coat. Pour onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and flip eggplant over. Bake 5 more minutes. Remove and serve over rice or pasta, with some fresh, grated Romano cheese.

Would also be amazing in a wrap!

Green Beans, Mushrooms & Brie

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This is an incredibly delicious dish with rich, intense flavors, and a nice bite from the green beans. I used a Brie with mushroom, but regular Brie would be great, too.

Fresh Green Beans image by Gaby Yerden on Unsplash

Ingredients:

2 cups of mushrooms, quartered
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. green beans, snapped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp dried onion flakes
a chunk of Brie with mushrooms, 1.5 x 1.5 x 3″ cut into cubes

Start a pot of salted water boiling.

Heat 1 Tbsp Olive Oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until they’ve lost their water and are dry again. Make a well and add the 2nd Tbsp of Olive Oil and the seasonings and stir well. Turn heat down to low, and stir occasionally.

Toss green beans in the boiling water and let them boil for 4 minutes. Remove the green beans from the water, and add to the mushrooms. Stir to combine, adding a couple big spoons of the bean water. Let cook for a couple of minutes, and then toss in the Mushroom Brie. Add a little more bean water to loosen it all up and stir until the cheese is melted. Check seasonings and serve immediately. Delish!

Mel’s Kale & Chicken Salad

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This is a super delicious, super satisfying salad from Mel’sKitchenCafé.com. I made it for lunch today and Ali, who had popped in for a bike ride with Kumy enjoyed it, too. It looks like a lot, but it was really just about enough for 3 servings as a main dish. It’s got enough crunch and texture to make it interesting and satisfying.

Fresh Kale by Deborah Rainford on Unsplash

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups cooked rice, slightly warm or at room temp. (Mel uses a wild rice blend, but I had Basmati in the fridge. Trade Joe’s has a great frozen rice blend that would be great, or you could use quinoa.
6 ounces (about 5 lightly packed cups) coarsely or finely chopped kale
5 boneless, skinless thicken thighs, cook, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium apple, cored and diced
1/4 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1/4 cup Craisins
1/3 cup crumbled Feta cheese
2 medium avocados, diced

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the rice according to package directions, and let cool to room temperature.

In a large frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil, season chicken thighs, and cook thighs over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Flip over and cook another 4 minutes or so, or until the chicken is browning nicely and cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Cut into 1″ pieces.

At the same time, start a smaller nonstick skillet on a low heat and add slivered almonds, shaking occasionally so they toast on all sides.

Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth and well-combined. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.

Assemble the salad by placing the greens in the bottom of individual wide serving bowls. Top with rice, chicken, apples, almonds, Craisins, feta and avocados.

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss lightly to combine. Serve immediately.

NOTES
You can also use 3 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped up, in which case you don’t need any olive oil, or you could leave out the chicken altogether for a vegetarian dish.

Kale, Lemon & Chicken Casserole

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Lovely image of kale by Christina Rumpf on Unsplash.

I’d picked up kale planning to make soup or a lovely massaged kale salad, but somehow it just didn’t feel like a soup or salad night. Instead, I tweaked a Martha Stewart casserole recipe. We loved it – it was fast, easy and perfect for a weeknight supper. Next time – I’ll probably double the kale.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. shells or other pasta (bowtie or rotini)
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced or one heaping teaspoon garlic powder
1 package chopped kale (5-7 oz – but you could easily double it!)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup sour cream
Zest and juice of half a large lemon
3/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (or Parmesan)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Add pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water, and cook until al dente. Drain and return to the pot off heat.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan melt butter over medium high heat, add onion and cook 4-5 minutes until onion is softened. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring frequently.

Add kale, reduce heat and stir to combine. Cover and cook about five minutes, stirring occasionally until kale is tender. Add to pot with pasta.

Then add chicken, sour cream, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper and 1/2 cup of Romano cheese, and blend together gently.

Check seasoning and place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, and top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with slices of fresh lemon for squeezing over.

Delish!

Cucumber, Tomato and Avocado Salad

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This is a really interesting recipe from the New York Times, that replaces the oil in the dressing with the buttery fats from ripe avocadoes. I have made this a few times and tweaked it to a recipe that we just love. I used mini cucumbers, which stay really nice and crunchy, but you could also use regular cucumbers, scooping out the soft, seedy part. It’s bright, colorful and delish!

Ingredients

1 lb. mini cucumbers (6 small)
1 package grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise (2 cups?)
2 very ripe avocados
Juice of one medium lime
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder

Directions

Peel cucumbers in alternating strips and slice into 1/2″ slices and place in a medium serving bowl.(You can also just halve the cucumbers lengthwise and slice into 1/2″ half circles.) Add tomatoes.

Mix juice and spices in a small bowl, and toss with veggies.

Just before serving, cut avocadoes into 1/2″ cubes and toss fairly vigorously with the salad. The avocadoes must be really ripe, so when you mix them in they break down a bit and coat the other veggies.

Check seasonings and serve. Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Mel’s Cheesy Bacon Croissant Breakfast Casserole

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I mixed this up on Christmas Eve, and baked and served it for Christmas Brunch this morning. It was incredibly delicious – another great recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Mel uses shallots or red onions, and doesn’t add hot sauce, but other than that, this is really her recipe. We all flipped over it and I love that you can make the night before!

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 g) croissants, halved lengthwise (about 5-7 small/medium croissants, or 4 giant Costco ones)
8 to 10 slices bacon, chopped into 1″ slices (I use thick-sliced. See my bacon chopping trick.)
½ cup diced onion
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (freshly-grated is best)
9 large eggs
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 dashes hot sauce

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice the croissants in 1″pieces and lay in a 9×12″ baking dish. Bake 10-12 minutes, tossing halfway. You want them to be a little toasted.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon to a plate, and remove all but a tablespoon of the bacon grease from the skillet. Add onion and sauté 3-5 minutes.

Mix eggs, milk, cream, salt, pepper and hot sauce in a bowl.

Sprinkle bacon and onions over the croissants. Then sprinkle cheese over and finally pour the egg mixture over. You don’t need to toss it or anything.

Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Remove cover and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Let stand 15 minutes and serve. Wow.

Fresh Cranberry Butter Cake

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Fresh, luscious Cranberries by Rasa Kasparaviciene on Unsplash.

Fresh Cranberry Cake, from Barefeet in the Kitchen, is easy and so delicious! The most important thing is to thoroughly beat the eggs and sugar until they are super light and fluffy. It forms a nice crust on top by itself and keeps very nicely for a few days. Had a piece with my dear friend Louisa yesterday and it’s perfect with afternoon tea!

Ingredients

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 orange
2 cups all-purpose flour
12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries (about 2 1/2 cups)
powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5-7 minutes. The mixture should almost double in size. The eggs work as your leavening agent in this recipe, so do not skip this step. This mixture should form a ribbon when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.

Add the butter, vanilla and orange zest; mix two more minutes. Gently stir in the flour until just combined. Add the cranberries and stir to mix throughout, and spread in a buttered 9×13 pan. The dough is quite thick, so you’ll need ot smooth it with a spatula.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool completely before cutting, and dust with powdered sugar.

Amazing!