Mozzarella Meat Loaf

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

1 egg

3/4 C cracker crumbs

1/2 C finely chopped onion

2/3 C ketchup (in two different 1/3s)

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tsp brown sugar

Combine beef, egg, crumbs, onion, 1/3 cup ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix well and shape into a flat rectangle about 10x12" on wax paper. Sprinkle cheese evenly over meat, roll up like a jelly roll and press ends to roll to seal. Place in a shallow baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Drain off fat from pan. Mix remaining 1/3 cup ketchup with the brown sugar and pour over the top and bake 10 to 15 minutes more.

courtesy of Montgomery Ward Relief Society's "Loaves & Fishes and other great dishes"

I suspect that this would serve... 7

P.S., if you dump all 2/3 C of the ketchup in before baking, well let's just say you won't enjoy eating that every day for the next week. Follow directions!

Baked Mediterranean Tilapia

Baked Mediterranean Tilapia (serves 4)

4 Tilapia Loins
1 large or 2 medium Vidalia Onions (or yellow onions) sliced ¼” thick
2 medium tomatoes sliced ¼” thick
4 Tbsp fresh chopped basil (or 2 Tbsp dry basil)
8 cloves chopped garlic
4 Tbsp olive oil
12 Calamari olives chopped

1. Defrost tilapia loins. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Sauté sliced onions in olive oil 2 or 3 minutes on each side until translucent
3. Place onions in baking pan. Place fish on top of onions. Sprinkle with olives, garlic and basil. Top with tomato slices. Salt & pepper to taste (we put S&P on the fish and on the tomatoes
4. Bake uncovered 12-15 minutes or until fish is opaque

Notes: we served this with asparagus, rice, and salad. We decided less garlic and more basil and we used green olives and black olives for lack of Calamari olives.

For the more pictorially inclined...

And now for your entertainment, we have Cooking with Sarah! Brought to you from the Loftus headquarters in Cincinnati, photography by D Loftus.

"There is no price for awesomeness... or attractiveness."

1. Defrost tilapia loins. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Sauté sliced onions in olive oil 2 or 3 minutes on each side until translucent

2.a peel onion, don't forget to smile...

2.b. Chop onion. Please realize this is an incredibly unsafe method, only shown for sheer comedic value. Notice that the tomatoes were already sliced. Magic!
2.c. Sauté those onions! When combining hot olive oil with anything in a frying pan, don't forget your Mickey Mouse apron. This is very very important.
3. Place onions in baking pan. Place fish on top of onions. Sprinkle with olives, garlic and basil. Top with tomato slices. Salt & pepper to taste (we put S&P on the fish and on the tomatoes

3.a Just look at that!

3.b chop olives. This may or may not be the most effective way of cutting olives in half. I'll leave this up to your interpretation and subsequent discretion.
Ohai! Yep, I'm still in this scene.
3.c Smash and chop your garlic. Don't be afraid to really smash the garlic. If it helps to sing "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles while you do so, be my guest.
3.d Place tilapia loins on top of sautéed onions. We added a few sprays of "I can't believe it's not butter" butter.

3.e Grab your basil from the garden and wash it!
3.f Roll your basil. I find it best to roll it longways before cutting, but you're the cook!
3.g cut your basil and look at how cool those curls are!
3.h Put olives and garlic on top of tilapia loins. Dexterously distribute your basil curls.
3.i time to put those tomatoes on! Then add salt and pepper...
4. Bake uncovered 12-15 minutes or until fish is opaque. Yes, the smile is required and is a validated cooking method. Don't question me, I'm a scientist! (I'm also well-versed in hyperbole...)
mmmm, look at that!
This meal just keeps getting better. Bring out your Asian roots and put some fruit and salad on the table on funky Japanese appetizer dishes!

Well, there you have it. Beauty, personified and seasoned.

Conference Weekend Indulgences

So here's a snapshot or two of the things I made for myself during conference weekend (General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This happens twice a year where the General Authorities, men called by revelation from God to be special witness of Christ, speak to the general membership all over the world via satellite about how to come closer to Christ). The first is straight-up pancakes ala bisquick whatever I could find in my fridge. In this particular case that meant soy milk instead of cow milk, so I added some cream to that.

And then we have my wacky attempt at Caprese. I had found a mozzarella ball on sale, so I just had to buy it. Which meant I had to buy tomatoes. And hey, check it out -- I still had fresh basil growing in my garden! So I decided I wanted a few more carbohydrates and rolled the mozzarella (sliced) in breadcrumbs. I would recommend going with a true, well-researched recipe including olive oil. But I just stuck all of that in the oven for a few minutes and enjoyed it all with a piece of toast.

Rosemary and Thyme and whatever else you've got!

Here's another easy one:

Sweet potato

Asparagus

Chicken

Olive Oil

Rosemary

Thyme **fresh from Sarah's garden!

The Orange Stuff

1. Wash and peel sweet potato, chop into disks and then into quarters.

2. Place foil inside a pyrex (or any other) pan, arrange sweet potato quarters on foil. Drizzle with olive oil, add rosemary and thyme until you feel like stopping, mix it up with your hands. NO UTENSILS ALLOWED! :-)

3. Bake at 400 for approximately 30 minutes, depending on the age and nature of your sweet potato (some of them are a little rough around the edges, just sayin')

The Green Stuff

1. Break off stems, rinse, and break again for bite-ish size asparagus

2. Steam (layer on frying pan, add water until almost covered, boil water and cover until desired tenderness is achieved).

3. Eat with a completely different meal, put leftovers in refrigerator.

4. The next day when you decide to make the meal this blog post is about, take it out of the refrigerator and throw cold asparagus pieces in with the sweet potato for the last 15 minutes of the bake.

5. Threw you for a loop there, didn't I? Time lapse! Now back to the future.

The Chicken Stuff

1. Follow directions - depends if you're using frozen, fresh, or funky chicken.

2. Cut in chunks and add to orange/green stuff just before enjoying

For extra flavor, toss in some Feta Cheese and breathe deeply!

Garnish Gently

More Mint
I don't remember the recipe on this one, but it involves melting sherbet and adding in frozen berries and bananas. Refreeze in fancy dessert dishes, and garnish with fresh mint!

Parsley Bonus!
And here's how we garnish a Loftus family favorite - spaetzle! Also, if you've never had corn from the Midwest, you haven't had corn.

Mint it!

Easy Cranberry Mint Romaine Salad

Here's a quick one I love. Romaine lettuce, cranberries, walnuts, raspberry-walnut vinaigrette, feta cheese, and fresh candy mint from the garden!

SWE Salad aka Lisa B's variation on Lebanese Fattoush Salad

Lettuce - romaine or any variety good leaf lettuce or spring mix
Tomatoes - I like grape tomatoes
Cucumber - the long skinny European ones preferably
Sweet bell peppers - red, yellow, orange or green
Green Onions
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Mint - I like to add a lot of parsley and mint

Cut everything in chunks and toss with dressing. Can either top the salad or toss in pieces of toasted pita bread. I like to use Pita Chips.

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice - equal parts
Minced Garlic - 1-2 tsp or to taste
Sugar - 1+ tbsp or to taste
Salt and Pepper

Add grilled chicken and it's whole meal!

Mac 'N Cheese Mangiamo

A few weeks ago I was in the kind of bind where I hadn't been shopping since before I left for Poland and had what was in my freezer and cupboard to work with in terms of making dinner. I was also coming out of a week of a body that was not very happy with me for switching time zones and eating heavy food for two weeks. I needed something comforting, and I needed protein. So here's what I had: Mac 'N Cheese mix from the cupboard, and ground beef from the freezer. Okay, that's easy enough. Luckily I was on the phone with a semi-Italian friend and foodie who gave me a list of ingredients and suggestions. Here's what I ended up with.

(1) Defrost meat with Olive Oil PAM on frying pan. Once browned, add minced garlic and minced onion.
(2) Make Mac 'N Cheese according to directions, but leave out the last 1/3 of the cheese packet.
(3) Add the meat to the Mac and stir.
(4) Obtain fresh thyme from Sarah's garden that has been hanging upside down in the kitchen for approximately 1 week (wohoo!) and chop dried Rosemary leaves from Shaw's.
(5) Add herbs while saying "Mangiamo!" in the most ridiculous Italian accent you can muster.

Stir, take a deep breath, and enjoy on a rainy day with a good episode of that TV show you love.

Joy

I believe in finding the joy in small things, tender mercies from the Lord. One such mercy is the bush of flowers that I get to pass every morning on my way to work. This particular cluster of flowers said good morning to me for my first two months. They were gone when I returned from Poland, so this is in honor of their memory. Pardon me while I spread some joy :-)

I Need Flavor Now Part II

Here’s how to put a little zing into your BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast) diet (when you're not feeling well). For dinner after being too daring with your food: raspberry jello with fresh mint leaves on top or cherry jello with key lime pie yogurt stirred in. For breakfast on the go: toast two pieces of white wonderbread, put some quality honey in the middle, and enjoy as you start walking to the subway stop. For a nice morning snack: put pretzels in cinnamon applesauce. Remember, Chocolate is NOT your friend right now, stay away stay away stay away…

What Zucchini Does When You Aren't Looking

"I always knew... it was gonna be the [zucchini]!" A month ago I planted three zucchini seeds. They took well to the soil and grew into some nice little zucchini bushes:

Then I went to Poland for two weeks. When I returned I found that they had exploded in size. Observe:

My little sister and I have a favorite SNL skit that is about a man who is very afraid of plants. The best way to explain this is to show you:


And so you see the inspiration for the added security measures I took against my zucchini plants.

I know I am not the first to accomplish such a feat, but this day shall ever be remembered as... the day I blogged about googly eyes. Just remember...

the eyes are the windows to your face

so make 'em smile!

"I Need Flavor Now!"

So here's the deal. When you spend two weeks in a European country eating heavy food and working insane hours only to return with jetlag and a very angry tummy, you turn into me right now. After three days on the BRAT (bananas, rice, apple sauce, and toast) diet, I was becoming desperate to eat something with flavor [have I mentioned I have Belgian chocolate in my refrigerator?]. So I went foraging in my cupboards and lo and behold, there it was -- a pack of raspberry Jello calling my name.

Later that day I decided I should try freezing and drying some of my herbs to keep the crowded plants healthy and useful over the winter. As soon as I reached my designated chair of jello enjoyment a culinary voice inside my head told me mint would go great in that! So here you go -- the tastiest dinner I have yet discovered for the times in your life when pepto bismol is your only comfort.

The Perfect Mousse

Welcome to the second attempt by my mother and I to make chocolate mousse cake. HUGE SECRET: timing is critical on this one. You've got to have everything ready to mix in when it needs to be mixed in. Granted, it's still all chocolate, sugar, and cream. But the texture will be off. So on the second round we got it right, and it was basically amazing. Try it!

12 oz chocolate wafers, crushed (or chocolate graham crackers)
4 eggs, ,separated
1/2 C butter, melted (this is important)
1 tsp vanilla
1-16 oz pkg semisweet chips
4 C whipping cream (don't you dare use Cool Whip!)
2 eggs
10 T powdered sugar
Chocolate curls, to garnish (we used leftover mini semisweet chips

Combine wafers and butter. Press on bottom and sides of greased springform pan. Chill. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler (or microwave). Add whole eggs. Mix well. Add yolks. Mix well. Add vanilla. Beat 2 cups cream until soft peaks form (there's a fine line here). Add 6 tablespoons powdered sugar and beat until stiff. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold whipped cream and whites into chocolate mixture until well blended. Pour into crust. Chill overnight. May be frozen at this point. Whip remaining 2 cups cream and 4 tablespoons sugar until stiff. Loosen crust from sides of pan with knife. Top with sweetened whipped cream. Garnish. Compliments to Sis. P from Montgomery Ward.

My choice of happiness: serve with vanilla ice cream, fresh berries, and mint leaves fresh from the garden!

Blog Title and Address

The web address for this blog is multicultural. If you can figure out which cultures are included and its hodge-podge meaning, I will send you some Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste.

The title for this blog comes from my favorite comic. Instead of offering a bribe for investigative cleverness, I'll give you a few clues in advance: think of an animal that serenades you in rumbling rhythms when content, now think of one who loves Italian food. Ok I'm really bad at this game because I'm dying to get a picture on this blog. Tada...



If you can catch the literary devices employed by the words in the title fitting with the blog content, despite it being from a completely different context, please impress me. I dare you.

Welcome to My Food and Gardening Blog

I am a structured adventurer. I love trying new recipes, as well as old family favorites. My favorite thing is to cook something new with friends, as well as to make something amazing for other people to enjoy. I also love gardening, which was how my mother and I bonded a lot during my Middle School years in Cincinnati. Now that I have a beautiful kitchen and a cute little backyard, both of these passions have room to grow.

I call my adventures structured because I rarely start by straight innovation. I learn the current best approach (oh no, I'm starting to talk like a P&G Proctoid!) and then see how I can make it suit my needs and adjust from there. For example, I will begin by learning the original recipe of a favorite pasta dish. Through doing so I discover the basic principles that lead to the tastes and textures I most enjoy. The next time I need some cooking therapy I apply those basic principles to make something new from scratch. Like any experiment, the desired result is not always guaranteed :-).

[I sometimes worry about some point in the future when I have children who will ask me a 2-yr old question and I give them a B.S. Chemical Engineering-level answer. I also worry about the time when my children will ask me a B.S. Chemical Engineering - level question and I will only be able to give them a 2-yr old answer. Never fear, my children will be balancing equations at age 5.]

And now for a Twist in the Plot!

I recently adopted an infant herb garden. I say infant because I got out of Provo and into Cincinnati too late to start from seeds. Ok, yes, I cheated and bought some small herb plants. But I am a firm believer that regardless of whether you were at the very beginning of something or not, it's all about how you sustain and develop that thing. :-) More details to come -- but needless to say, having fresh herbs readily available have greatly increased my capacity to experiment with deliciousness. AND as a matter of update, I planted some zucchini squash and columbine seeds my mother sent me in the mail and they are both growing! Excitement to follow.