Monday, May 4, 2015

Food with A fresh spring flavor

Spring/Summer season of Gruber Farms CSA shares have arrived! Wooooohooo!
Bring on the fresh local goodies. {happy dance} just makes you feel all good inside knowing you are eating fresh healthy foods, grown right here in the Lowcountry – love it. Doing your body some good, while doing your local community some good.





Packed with fresh ingredients and so many different textures your mouth won’t know what hit it.




Bright green beans, crisp lettuce, creamy potatoes, crunchy red radish and cucumber, with a sweet burst of grape tomatoes – add in the hard boiled eggs and tuna for a big dose of protein, all topped with a drizzle of homemade vinaigrette...oh my my.




This salad is a classic French-inspired dish, and downright delicious. Traditionally made with local olives, oil-cured tuna, and anchovies, this protein-rich salad from Provence has become a staple all over France.




The beauty of creating your own Salade Niçoise, is you can omit any items you don’t care for {olive and anchovies for this gal!} and/or add any elements you wish – such a perfect dish for the Gruber Farms CSA shares!





All the wonderful, bright elements of spring on one {rather large} plate. This makes a terrific lunch the next day too {if you are like my hubby and can't finish it all of it because you had a huge BBQ lunch earlier that say….oops. did I just call you out? love you!} 







Salade Niçoise
Severs 2

Ingredients

For the dressing:
1 clove garlic
Sea salt, to taste {1/2 tsp}
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 shallot, minced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the salad:
1/2 lb. small new potatoes, boiled until tender
1 tablespoon dry white wine
5 oz. green beans blanched
6 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
4 small radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs, halved lengthwise
1-2 (4-oz.) cans high-quality oil-packed tuna, drained
1/2 small cucumber, thinly sliced
½ cup loosely packed basil leaves, for topping
½ head of romaine lettuce
thinly sliced scallions, for topping
½ tablespoon fresh thyme for topping
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions

Make the dressing: Mince garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle heavily with salt. Using a knife, scrape garlic and salt together to form a smooth paste. Transfer paste to a bowl and whisk in oil, juice, mustard, shallot, and salt and pepper; set aside.

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until fork-tender, about 5-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl, then drizzle with the wine and let cool.

Toss the tomatoes in a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Add about 1/4 cup of the dressing to the potatoes and toss. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs {remove of keep yokes to your liking}.

Divide the lettuce between 2 plates. Arrange the potatoes, green beans, radishes, cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs and tuna on top. Pour any juices from the tomatoes into the dressing, then add the tomatoes to the plates. Drizzle both salads with the dressing, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with basil, thyme and scallions.


Friday, March 27, 2015

Food with A full helping of green goodness

Trying to eat your greens? You neeeeeed to try this.





The 38th Annual Cooper River Bridge Run is this Saturday. It’s just this little 10K that we have here in Charleston...only about 40,000 runners. no biggie. HA! {load up on your carbs tonight runners!} – these greens are a perfect way to get your much needed nutrients in for the big race. or for any night of the week. no race needed for this green goodness!





This will be my 4th CRBR, running with two of my uncles and one of my cousins this time {I’m SO EXCITED to have family visiting this weekend - not to mention my mom and dad here for an ENTIRE WEEK. eeeeek. happy dance.}





Rich dark green kale and creamy white beans blended together with bright stewed tomatoes...soo creamy and sooo good. This dish is paaaacked with great nutritional benefits, making this wonderful "meatless monday" option or spice up your green veggie side dish. 





I served this as a side with some {amazingly good} spicy Italian sausage, but next time {and especially for carb-loading} this would be delish over some thick whole wheat pasta!




Stewed Tomatoes with Kale and White Beans
4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cups chopped kale
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 (15 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, including all juice
  • 1 (15 oz) can Reduced-Sodium Northern Beans or Cannellini, drained not rinsed
  • sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • pinch of red pepper flakes {optional, but always a good idea}


Directions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn't burn.

Add kale, a little at a time to pot, gently tossing with tongs and letting each batch cook down so that it all fits. Season kale with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, and then add the red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar, toss to coat.

Add the cans stewed tomatoes and 1 can of Northern White Beans to pot. Gently toss to combine.

Let cook for 10-12 minutes until kale is cooked down completely. Taste for seasoning.

This kale dish is delicious paired with Italian sausage, or chicken, or simply on it's own as a vegetarian dish. Over whole wheat pasta would be sooo good too {trying that next!}

Monday, March 23, 2015

Food with A{n} eggcellent version of eggs

Lazy weekend. brunch in pajamas. life. is. good.





Oh and can’t forget my fluffy robe and fuzzy slippers. Now really people...can it get much better? Peach bellini’s? Ok stop.





Eggs baked to a dippy perfection in a mushroom, spinach and salty prosciutto mixture. Insert a bright burst of grape tomatoes and buttery, nutty Parmesan cheese and you have yourself the ultimate brunch, lunch – or even dinner.




Fancy-pantsy enough to serve to guests, on a special occasion, but simple enough to make for you and your hubby sipping coffee in your fluffy robe on a lazy weekend.





You can make these in one large casserole dish {as I did} or bake in individual ramekins for an extra-personal touch if you're entertaining. 





Serve with thick toasty bread to soak up all that deliciously gooey egg goodness, and round  out the meal with some fresh fruit {not just in the champagne}. 




Simply faaaabulous darhhhling. Although… next time, I would forget the plates and dive right into this dish with toast & forks alone. just a thought… 






Baked Eggs with Mushrooms, Prosciutto, Spinach, Tomatoes and Parmesan 
2 servings

Ingredients

  • 16 oz of Crimini mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 eggs
  • 2-3 tsp freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
  • A handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or whole
  • 10oz fresh baby spinach, washed
  • 4 slices of Prosciutto, chopped
  • 2-3 tsp chopped or torn parsley for garnish 
  • Toast for serving/dipping with the eggs 
  • Cooking spray


Directions

Preheat oven to 400oF. Spray a flat casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat and sauté mushrooms and thyme until they have released all their liquid and the liquid has evaporated, about 6-8 minutes. Add spinach and tomatoes to slightly wilt the spinach, about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and transfer to baking dish. Mix in the chopped prosciutto.

Create 4 small wells in the mushroom mixture. Break 4 eggs in the small wells in a casserole dish. {You can break each one into a small bowl and then gently pour it over the mushrooms.} Season eggs with a little salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste and sprinkle Parmesan over them.

Bake eggs until they are done to your liking, about 10 minutes for firm whites and partly-soft yolks. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and cracked pepper, if desired, and fresh parsley. Serve hot, with toast for dipping.



Thursday, March 19, 2015

Food with A happy {chicken} dance

It’s Thursday. It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is.... well you know where this is going... what rhymes with snoring? Boring!




Kind of like most weeknight chicken dishes...am I right or am I right? one of those “I don’t feel like cooking because I’m chilly and wet and tired and the week is almost done and so I will just toss a chicken breast on the stove or in the oven with some S&P and if I’m feeling crazy a little seasoning but it wouldn’t matter what seasoning because later I’ll just douse it in BBQ sauce because it’s tasteless and dry”- kind of boring...we have allllll been there.





BUT! not this chicken! This chicken makes you want to do a happy {chicken} dance and praise the sweet lord in heaven we have almost made it to FRIDAY people!





Salty prosciutto, crispy sweet bosc pears, creamy gooey brie cheese and peppery arugula, all stuffed together in a tender juicy chicken breasts that are seared golden brown then finished off in the oven. taste sensation! This has my name written all. over. it. I adapted this from one of my favorite blogs Skinnytaste.com – love her. Not only is this heavenly, it is healthy to boot! 1/2 of a chicken breast is only 233 calories my friends.





Pair this with some fresh steamed green beans for a lovely healthy {and super easy} side and you have yourself one NOT boring Thursday night chicken dinner – or should I say.... dare I say it.... WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!






Brie and Pear Stuffed Chicken
Servings 2 or 4 

Ingredients

  • 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup chopped shallots or sweet onion
  • 2 slices prosciutto, chopped
  • 2-3 large sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 Bosc Pear, peeled or not, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 - 3 oz good Brie cheese, skin removed, divided
  • 1/4 cup baby arugula
  • cooking spray or oil
  • cooking twine


Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees.

Pound your chicken breast to be even in size to ensure even cooking throughout. Make a lengthwise cut into the side of the chicken breast to create a pocket for the stuffing.
Season the inside and outside of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper.

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add the oil, shallots/onions, and prosciutto.
Sauté until golden, about 3 - 4 minutes.

Add the sage and pear, season with a pinch of salt, and cook 3 - 4 minutes or until translucent.

Remove from heat and add the arugula, letting it wilt slightly. Set aside to cool a few minutes.

Divide the stuffing and fill each breast with the pear filling and Brie.

Using the cooking twine, tie the chicken breasts closed with 3 pieces for each.

Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Carefully sear the outside of the chicken on all sides except where the stuffing is until golden brown.

Set the chicken in the skillet cut-side-up and place the skillet in the oven {if you don’t have an oven-proof skillet, place in a baking pan}.

Cover the skillet tightly with foil and cook 23 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Checking the chicken at the 23 time mark {if your oven is extra hot like mine!} to ensure no over-cooking.


Cut each breast in half to serve 4 or serve whole for 2 people.