Recipes / Food - Drink

[wannabee]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

I haven't been over there in quite a while -- I need to plan a trip! We used to have handspinning guild meetings near there, and we'd go there for lunch.

I nearly chocked on my soup when I (mis)read that. I thought you wrote handspinning gold! Like the miller's daughter in Rumpelstiltskin.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by wannabee

I nearly chocked on my soup when I (mis)read that. I thought you wrote handspinning gold! Like the miller's daughter in Rumpelstiltskin.

If she was doing that, she probably wouldn't be hanging out here!! LOL!

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by wannabee

I nearly chocked on my soup when I (mis)read that. I thought you wrote handspinning gold! Like the miller's daughter in Rumpelstiltskin.

Originally Posted by phenomshel

If she was doing that, she probably wouldn't be hanging out here!! LOL!

Yes, spinning straw into gold is one of our most closely guarded secrets.

(One of our guild members doing a demonstration at a fair once put the flax she was supposedly spinning in her lap, concealing some sparkly gold synthetic fiber that she was actually spinning. It looked as if the dull grey fibers in her lap were magically turning into gold thread as the bobbin filled on her wheel. The children were greatly entertained...)

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

Yes, spinning straw into gold is one of our most closely guarded secrets.

(One of our guild members doing a demonstration at a fair once put the flax she was supposedly spinning in her lap, concealing some sparkly gold synthetic fiber that she was actually spinning. It looked as if the dull grey fibers in her lap were magically turning into gold thread as the bobbin filled on her wheel. The children were greatly entertained...)

I would be greatly entertained

[vivaldirules]

Here's one not to try. Don't buy big, beautiful, fresh portobello mushrooms and set them on the counter for four days before brushing them with a little olive oil and tossing them on a hot grill. They were as dry as kindling and went up in smoke - literally. I suppose I should have stored them in the refrigerator to keep them from drying out so badly. Still, the sauteed Swiss chard and feta that I was going to have with them were stellar.

[Stitchawl]

I had a blast from the past! And my wife tasted a brand new dish!

Baked Stuffed Zucchini!

Doesn't sound so important to you, but you can't get that here! EVER!
When you are lucky enough to find zucchini in Japan, they are the size of small carrots and cost about $3 USD each. Usually chopped up and put in soups or made into pasta toppings.

But we stumbled into a farm stand on our motorcycle ride Saturday that was selling US sized zucchs, yellow squash, butternut squash, pattapan squash, etc., and we filled the saddlebags!

Last night for dinner I made the Baked Stuffed Zucchini. I added some fresh Rosemary and fresh oregano and basil to the recipe. We made a simple garlic bread to go along side.

BAKED STUFFED ZUCCHINI SQUASH

4 lg. zucchini squash
3/4 tsp. salt
1 lg. can Italian tomatoes
3 oz. tomato paste
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. chopped onion
Fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. dry oregano
1 tsp. dry basil
1/2 tsp fresh Rosemary
2 clove mashed garlic
1/2 c. sliced onion
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Warm squash, remove and discard ends. Cut thin slice lengthwise from top of squash. Scoop out seeds, leaving shell 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Cook squash in boiling salted water 5 minutes. Drain well upside down. Combine tomatoes and tomato paste in bowl; break up tomatoes. Mix 3 tablespoons of tomato mixture, egg and bread crumbs. Saute chopped onion and pepper in oil in skillet for 3 minutes. Add ground beef; cook until brown. Add salt and bread crumb mixture to ground beef mixture. Fill squash with mixture. Place in greased 2 quart casserole.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine remaining tomato mixture, oregano, basil, garlic and sliced onion. Pour over and around zucchini. Top with a few leaves of fresh oregano, basil, and Rosemary. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes; uncover and bake for 10 minutes.

[kindlekitten]

it's amazing that squash is so scarce there when we are entering the time of year that you have to keep your vehicle secured or you will come back to find zucchinis on your seat

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

it's amazing that squash is so scarce there when we are entering the time of year that you have to keep your vehicle secured or you will come back to find zucchinis on your seat

And if THAT is not karma-worthy, nothing is. Because it is so true.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by bjones6416

And if THAT is not karma-worthy, nothing is. Because it is so true.

[Latinandgreek]

I'm making chocolate chip strawberry banana muffins. Here is the recipe:

1 3/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Put together in a large bowl
chop up 1 1/2 cups of strawberries and add it to the flour mixture. Also add about a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

in another bowl mix 1/2 cup of milk or buttermilk, 1 egg, 1/3 cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract. Add this to the flour mixture. Add a mashed banana or two. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 F.

I've never tried this recipe before, and basically just modified a plain muffin recipe to whip it together. I'll tell you how it turned out in about a half an hour. All the mixing is done by hand, with a wooden spoon.

[Latinandgreek]

I just tried the muffins, they taste really good, but I should have added a second banana to the batter.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

it's amazing that squash is so scarce there when we are entering the time of year that you have to keep your vehicle secured or you will come back to find zucchinis on your seat

Originally Posted by bjones6416

And if THAT is not karma-worthy, nothing is. Because it is so true.

When I lived in Vermont, the local radio station ran a contest every year called "The Great Zucchini Give-away" and offered prizes for the cleverest ways of getting rid of your excess zucchs!

Not only 'back seat leavings,' there were 'gift-wrapped packages' left on park benches (this was before terrorist threats...) Old suitcases filled and delivered to people's homes, etc....

When I go back to the states next month I'm going to pick up a few packages of squash seeds so I can plant them on my veranda. Right now I have two baby zucchs growing that will hopefully live through the heat of the summer to produce fruit. They got planted a full month too late...

Stitchawl

[Stitchawl]

I made an interesting dinner last night... just a salad and sort of a quiche, but...

The salad was just cherry tomatoes halved, cucumber, and spring onion, all cut up to the same size but the dressing was a bit unusual. My basil plants were getting ready to take over the veranda so I cut them all back. This gave me a LOT of basil! I stuffed all the leaves into a Blender (I really packed it full!) added about a cup of good extra virgin olive oil, a couple of cloves of garlic, a few tablespoons of vinegar and the juice of one lemon. Pushed the button and let it run! A bit of salt and pepper mixed in, and poured over the veggies. Delish!

The quiche was 10 eggs, a package of Feta cheese, a package of Mozzarella cheese, a handful of black olives, and two packages of spinach, wilted in a deep frying pan with a bit of olive oil, and mixed in with the egg mix. A little fresh rosemary and a large amount of fresh oregano for seasoning. A bit a butter back into the frying pan and poured everything in, set over a low flame covered for about 20-25 minutes... Salt and pepper after cooking, and it was a mini-feast!


Stitchawl

[beppe]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I made an interesting dinner last night... just a salad and sort of a quiche, but...

The salad was just cherry tomatoes halved, cucumber, and spring onion, all cut up to the same size but the dressing was a bit unusual. My basil plants were getting ready to take over the veranda so I cut them all back. This gave me a LOT of basil! I stuffed all the leaves into a Blender (I really packed it full!) added about a cup of good extra virgin olive oil, a couple of cloves of garlic, a few tablespoons of vinegar and the juice of one lemon. Pushed the button and let it run! A bit of salt and pepper mixed in, and poured over the veggies. Delish!

The quiche was 10 eggs, a package of Feta cheese, a package of Mozzarella cheese, a handful of black olives, and two packages of spinach, wilted in a deep frying pan with a bit of olive oil, and mixed in with the egg mix. A little fresh rosemary and a large amount of fresh oregano for seasoning. A bit a butter back into the frying pan and poured everything in, set over a low flame covered for about 20-25 minutes... Salt and pepper after cooking, and it was a mini-feast!


Stitchawl

Delicious!
It looks Italian, or Greek (because of the cucumber and the Feta). Mediterranean for sure. I have few comments.

The basil dressing is not that far from pesto, except for the vinegar and the lemon juice. I would certainly try it with those ingredients, maybe one at the time. And then both. They are unexpected and I am curious. My basil could also take an heavy haircut.

The quiche. Very nice recipe. I am curious about the rosemary effect. I tend to use it in roasted food, mostly. Did you chop the leaves or just leave it whole, mostly for the aroma? Myself, instead of oregano, with the same ingredients, I would use fresh thyme.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by beppe

Delicious!
It looks Italian, or Greek (because of the cucumber and the Feta). Mediterranean for sure. I have few comments.

The basil dressing is not that far from pesto, except for the vinegar and the lemon juice. I would certainly try it with those ingredients, maybe one at the time. And then both. They are unexpected and I am curious. My basil could also take an heavy haircut.

I was trying NOT to make it taste like pesto. I deliberately left out pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. I wanted the basil flavor and aroma, but not a pesto taste. It worked, very well. At first I didn't add the lemon juice and it was just wrong!! All the flavors were fighting each other. I added the juice and everything seemed to come together!

The quiche. Very nice recipe. I am curious about the rosemary effect. I tend to use it in roasted food, mostly. Did you chop the leaves or just leave it whole, mostly for the aroma? Myself, instead of oregano, with the same ingredients, I would use fresh thyme.

I cut up the leaves. I thought that with eggs being so bland, it would need something to give it some 'punch!' I debated between oregano and thyme, and only chose the oregano because it too needed cutting!


Stitchawl