Color Chic

A Slow Start and Strawberry Jam...

Some days I really don't feel like being at the house at 8 AM... and today is one of those days. Finding balance is important and I'm still up early, but instead of rushing around getting ready for the day I will make Strawberry Jam.

Strawberries are abundant in our garden and if they spend much more time out there the slugs will discover them.

There's always a simple recipe on a packet of pectin and the food processor makes it that much easier.

The extra strawberries made a simple fruit compote (strawberries, a little sugar and lemon). Yummm... That will go on vanilla ice-cream later in the day!

Breakfast Brioche...

This time of year gets pretty hectic trying to fit everything in, there are things that just don't get done... this blog for one and a descent breakfast for another!

So this morning after doing a few chores around the house I was determined to make a nice "sit down and enjoy the morning with my sweetie" breakfast. 

I came up with these Breakfast Brioche muffin kind of thing... OK so you know I like to improvise so here is my recipe:

Brioche Bread Dough (from Bread in 5 Minute a day), this was already in the fridge

     I made 6" rounds to fit inside a jumbo muffin tin and topped with:

Hash Brown Potatoes cooked with sausage and hot peppers

Spinach, Eggs and Cheese.

Then I baked for awhile in hot 425 degree oven until the crust turned brown.

Sorry I know this is very vague and seriously very sorry about the lack of photos... I'm just glad I had a couple of extra minutes to get this post done!

Now... Onto a very busy Saturday! and tonight is Arlene's Christmas Party and I'll have lots more to share tomorrow!!!

Zucchini, Goat Cheese Pizza...

It's that time of year when there seems to be plenty of zucchini in the garden. While I don't have a  big garden, for us it's just the right size for something fresh each evening. Right now that something fresh is zucchini!

Picked at the right time, these will be perfect for tonights dinner!

It's surprising to me as I look back at my posts that I don't have more entries on pizza, because we've been having it a couple of times a week for a while now. A thin crusted pizza with a few healthy ingredients or simply olive oil with a touch of sea salt, makes a perfect dinner or appetizer.

I started with fresh basil and garlic

After placing this in the bowl for the immersion blender, I added olive oil and goat cheese.

I could have left this a little chunky but I choose to blend until I created a smooth paste.

 I placed this in the fridge for later in the evening and went about my day; an hour and forty-five minute walk, sipping champagne with a dear friend and swimming! It is because of this you will have to imagine chopping the zucchini thin, rolling out the pizza dough, speading it with the goat cheese, basil and garlic, then layering in the round on a perfectly rolled out pizza crust.

There are times when the pizza doesn't quite come off the pizza wheel as I would like it to, and of course this was one of those times when it messed up our perfect arrangement of zucchini. This was not due to too much champagne! But I still think it looks pretty darn good!

and it tasted devine!

I started making bread last fall out of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It wasn't until I tried the Olive Oil Dough that I started making pizza with it.  Since then I've felt a bit guilty for not sharing this fabulous pizza crust recipe, especially since it's the easiest part of making any great pizza. So I decided I had better share. Recipe follows!

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I'll be linking up to:

Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum

On the Menu at Stone Gable

 

A Garden Pizza...

Greens from the garden...

Mixed with a little lemon olive oil and vinegar...

A little pizza baked with salami, goat cheese and garlic...

Salad and pizza...

Together...

Delicious!

I think this may just be our favorite summer meal...

What's yours?

 

Start with the onions!

There are times when I have the meat thawed, onions in the pantry and a other stuff in the fridge and I don't even know what I'm going to cook until I'm sautéing the onions and browning the meat.

 

The meat is browned in the oven, because I do not like to clean up the greasy mess browning on the stove leaves. Trust me on this one, turn the oven to 425 degrees and brown it for 15 - 20 minutes.

 

It's during this process I take the time open a cookbook. Tonight I'm going to make "Spiced Beef & Vegetable Stew" or something like it! It's from my new favorite cookbook American Masala, Remember the Indian dinner?

 

Now it calls for radishes which I do not have, but I think it will be fine without them. First you're supposed to brown the meat with spices... whoops to late for that, it does call for some tomatoes so I'll add a can to the onions and then add ground spices instead of seeds, I also added a couple cloves of garlic.

 

Add potatoes, carrots and browned meat...

 

Now I prepared this in the morning after breakfast while enjoying a second cup of coffee, the process really only took 20 minutes. Then I let it simmer while I got ready for the day.

 

It still wasn't cooked all the way through before I left for work, but it was well on its way. I put in the fridge and brought it out when I got home. This really made the evening much more relaxing and my honey loved it... I won't have to tell him I didn't follow the directions, he already knows I never do! He's just happy to have a dinner waiting for him.

 

Served on rice with a dollop of Yogurt & Home canned Tomato Relish... It was a hit!

Spices used in this dish were: cumin, coriander, red chili pepper, cinnamon stick, sweet paprika, salt & pepper. I also added a can of water to cover the meat & veggies to simmer.

Tooting my Horn over at A Silly Little Sparrow, lots of other stuff going on... check it out!

Pasta & Roasted Eggplant

This winter thing is getting the best of me! I've made an honest effort to cook seasonally and buy locally this winter. Let's just say I'm getting a little tired of root vegetables, kale and spinach. 

Roth's Fresh Markets has the most beautiful produce and I just couldn't resist the beautiful eggplant. So I started with the basics plus an eggplant & red pepper, to put together our meal:

 

Chopped the onions and cooked them well in olive oil, and added 3 cloves of garlic after it had cooked down:

 

Sliced the eggplant & red pepper, tossed with olive oil and my favorite "Big Dans Original Sweet Chili Sauce" to give it a kick. Then roasted in the oven @ 400 for about 20 minutes.

 

While that was roasting I added a two cans of tomatoes to the onions and cooked the pasta. Once cooked I added pasta to tomato sauce:

 

Added the cooked vegetables:

 

Made a delicious salad:

 

Topped the pasta with Fresh Parmesan and we had a Colorful Dinner!

 

Bon Appétit! 

You can find my link & others over at Somewhat Simple for Strut Your Stuff Thursday!

& My Backyard Eden for Make it yours day

Oatmeal - Fully Loaded!

Growing up I remember my Grandma cooking the best oatmeal, creamy delicious with lots of brown sugar & butter and always served with buttered toast! Not sure if the health benefits of the oatmeal balanced eating all that butter, but it sure was good! This morning I decided to make a healthier version of Grandma's Oatmeal-- Oatmeal Fully Loaded! Of course you start with Quaker Oats:

 

Put in a pan and cover with cold water, cook until soft (sorry but I don't measure, just add water about 1/2" above oats).  If it doesn't look like you have enough water you can always add more:

   

Once cooked add apples, currents, pecans, coconut, and brown sugar, Stir it in and cover for a few minutes: 

 The heat from the cooked oatmeal will soften the fruit just enough to make it perfect!

 

Top the cooked oatmeal with nonfat plain yogurt and sprinkle with cinnamon, top with just amount of warm milk that suits your taste!

Of course serve it with buttered toast, sparkling water with a splash of OJ and French Press!: 

All that color and texture makes for a perfect breakfast!

Cookbooks to use or.... not!

Cookbooks are such an inspiration, I love looking through them to get inspired, I especially enjoy a cookbook with beautiful, colorful pictures.  I have several Great Cookbooks!   

However, it's not very often I follow a recipe...  usually because I don't have all the ingredients necessary.  

The other day my daughter asked me how do I just throw  a meal together the way I do, my secret... start with olive oil, onions and/or garlic and chicken broth. I almost always have these on hand because they are a great start to any meal. The other night I started with this: Another secret is to add something colorful to your meal. Right now I'm loving Kale and cook it often. It needs to be cooked a bit longer than other greens but it's awesome! After browning some chicken and setting it aside, I sauteed garlic, mushrooms, kale & olives in olive oil. After adding the chicken and chicken broth to greens, I cooked it a bit longer and then squeezed lemon juice over the top and let it simmer. 

Set over rice this was a wonderful... Simple Dish! 

Happy Thanksgiving! The color of Cranberries!

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so Thankful to have a lovely family to share the holiday with! And for getting to bring the most colorful dishes to the Thanksgiving table! Cranberry Sauce & Salad! 

The Cranberry Sauce on Left is a family favorite: 

Fresh Cranberries with Oranges  Simply grind up one package of Cranberries (cleaned of course) with one whole orange (rind included) and one cup of sugar. Let this sit for a couple of days so flavors have a chance to meld.

The sauce on the right was adapted from Wild Wood Restaurant in Portland OR, I found it in their cookbook and is supposed to be served with Leg of Venison with Cider-Baked Apples. I added a bit more sugar so it wasn't quite so tart and will definitely be making this again very soon!

Grind and place in cheesecloth square: 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tsps each: fennel seeds, whole cloves, black peppercorn, juniper berries.  Combine in a heavy saucepan: 1 bag cranberries (cleaned), 3/4 Cup Pinot Noir (I used a merlot), 1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar, 1/3 Cup Sugar (I used 2/3 Cup), Zest of 1 whole orange and juice from orange. Add bundled spices and cook for about 30 minutes and cool. TANGY GOOD!

Eggplant & Swiss Chard

Throughout the day my mind will wander to what I will be cooking for dinner, and I must say I hadn't intended on being so creative. But when I opened the fridge I was reminded of the Eggplant & Swiss Chard that needed to be prepared. So I started by Sautéing them in Olive Oil...

Cooked a bit of Polenta with lots of ParmesanReggiano

 

While Polenta was cooking I added 1 Can of Diced Tomatoes and Garlic to the Eggplant & Chard and let it simmer.

 

After covering the polenta with the warm winter vegetables, I topped with more Parmesan Reggiano. 

Not only was it beautiful & colorful, it was quite delicious!