Feta-Veggie Bake

I got the idea for this veggie-feta bake from a recipe from the New York Times. I modified it a bit and came up with this version. When feta is baked it becomes soft and yummy. And when baked with lemon and red onion it will smell like a Greek restaurant in your house. The broccoli carmelizes and tastes great.

Feta cheese

Cherry tomatoes

Broccoli florets
Red onion
Lemon

Red pepper flakes

Olive oil ~ 3 tablespoons

Put a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan and preheat the oven to 400. 

Chop/slice/cut everything as seen in photo. Place on baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes.

 

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

This is another recipe from my Dad's recipe files. The panko really makes it! You could switch up the blue and parmesan cheeses if you'd like, and could use cheddar, monterey jack, romano, etc. instead. The most important thing about this recipe is not to touch your eyes after working with the jalapenos. 

 

12 medium jalapeno peppers, tops cut off, halved lengthwise, and seeded
8 oz low-fat cream cheese, softened
½ cup blue cheese, crumbled
½ cup parmesan, grated
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Kosher salt
¼ cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or use parchment paper. Fill each jalapeno pepper half with cheese mixture and then bread crumbs, and lay on baking sheet. Bake until jalapenos are tender and cheese is melted, 20-30 minutes.

Fresh Corn & Tomato Salsa

This salsa tastes like summer. The lime juice is wonderful and brings together these fresh ingredients into a delicious salsa. I used a homegrown jalapeno which is always fun to do. The salsa is jam packed with flavor, crunch, and goes very well with tortilla chips! Cheers!

1 cup fresh yellow sweet corn (cut off the cob)
2 roma tomatoes
1 small jalapeno
1/4 cup cilantro
1/8 cup red onion
2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1/2 lime
Kosher salt

Chop the tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro, onion, and garlic. Add to corn in a medium bowl. Add lime juice and salt. Stir and put in the fridge for a bit to chill.

Cold Lemon Balm Tea

Lemon balm is good for you. Cut off about a cup of lemon balm and put it in a medium bowl, boil some water, pour it over the lemon balm, and let steep for 30 minutes. Pour liquid in pitcher & refrigerate. Add lemon balm leaf to garnish.

Lettuce Wraps with Spicy Chicken & Peanut Butter

It always feels wonderful to eat homegrown vegetables. I grew the buttercrunch lettuce for these wraps which is a good lettuce to use for wraps, and you can experiment with different lettuce types. There is a recipe on this blog for a lettuce wrap and I used it and another one I found to come up with this version. Peanut butter in the sauce? Yes, please! The ingredient amounts are an estimate. I only measured the sesame oil because a little goes a long way, am I right? And the chili sauce--go more if you like it hot but the called for 2 teaspoons gives it a medium spice and will make your nose run.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. ground chicken

1/3 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 water chestnuts, chopped

1/2 tablespoon ginger, minced (I keep some in the freezer)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons peanut butter

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons chili sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons cilantro for topping

1 green onion for topping

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Let the oil heat up and cook the chicken, onions, garlic, water chestnuts, ginger, and salt. Turn the heat to low and add the remaining 5 ingredients, one by one, stirring after each is added. Cook on low for 15 minutes and then serve on top of lettuce, add toppings, and -- wrap it up because it will be messy!

Fresh Blueberry-Strawberry Trifle

Fresh summer fruit--the best. Homemade whipped cream feels like a cloud in your mouth and this trifle is bursting with the sweet fruit of summer. The pound cake adds texture and soaks up the yummy juices from the mascerated strawberries and blueberries. Other types of berries can be used if it suits your fancy. Click here for my whipped cream recipe.

2 cups fresh blueberries

2 cups fresh strawberries, tops cut off & sliced thinly lengthwise

1/4-1/2 cup sugar

2 slices pound cake, cut into cubes

Mix the fruit and sugar. Stir, and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours until juice is created. Add pound cake to a martini glass and layer with fruit and whipped cream. Cheers!

Dad's Simpler Foccacia

This is a recipe from my dad's collection and it's easy and quick--for bread that is. It is a yeast bread that only takes about 4 hours from start to finish. I added fresh homegrown Greek oregano, and you can use other herbs too, such as rosemary, thyme, or chives. 

3 ½ - 4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh oregano

1 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey

Place dry ingredients into mixer bowl and stir with paddle until well mixed. Add liquid ingredients and mix until it makes a moist ball. Remove paddle and replace with dough hook. Mix for 8 minutes. If mixture is too moist, add a little flour. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 1 ½ hours.

Shape and press the dough onto a 10” x 15” baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use your fingers to make dimples in the dough about 2 inches apart. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for one hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place baking sheet in the middle of the oven and reduce heat to 400 degrees. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool one hour before slicing.

The Best Pot Sticker Sauce

Here is a recipe from my dad's file for jao-tze/pot sticker sauce.

¼ cup dark soy sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons hot oil (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together and serve with pot stickers.

Limoncello Champagne Cocktails

This recipe is from my Dad's files and it has become my favorite cocktail of late. Delicious and refreshing. You could use sparkling wine if you can't get champagne. For a fancy sugared rim, rub the rims of the glasses with a slice of lemon and then dip into sugar. Cheers!

8 strips of lemon peel (3" x ½")
8 tablespoons Limoncello
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 bottle brut champagne

Roll up the lemon peel strips and place each in a champagne flute. Add 1 tablespoon Limoncello and ½ tsp lemon juice to each glass. Divide the champagne evenly among the glasses and serve.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Panko Bread Crumbs

Penzey's Spices is one of my favorite companies and I recently ordered a package of their dried (red) ancho peppers. They are dried poblano peppers. The anchos were rehydrated in a bowl of boiling water, rinsed, seeded, and dried off to prep them for this recipe. The peppers are slightly spicy and have a hint of cumin. After baking, the peppers turn sweeter and have crispy edges. The texture is similar to a sun-dried tomato. Of course, the cheese is delicious and the Panko bread crumbs are the best--nice and brown and crunchy.

4 rehydrated, dried ancho chili peppers

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Cumin, chili powder, & garlic powder to taste

Panko bread crumbs for topping

Preheat oven to 400.

Add cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder to the shredded cheese and mix. 

Carefully slice the peppers on one side to make an opening for the stuffing. 

Stuff each pepper with cheese mixture and put a toothpick through the peppers to hold them together. Sprinkle the tops of the stuffed peppers with Panko bread crumbs to cover. 

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Remove toothpicks and serve. 

Before and after photos: