Italian kale supremely pizza

Thanks to our unexpected chance to view a potential next apartment today, we decided to turn today's loaf into pizza dough! It is so convenient being married to an Italian - fresh dough, frozen aliquots of homemade red sauce, Italian sausage from famed Savenor's market, red bell peppers, crimini mushrooms, caramelized onions, and crisped kale made an excellent mozzarella pizza tonight. We caramelized the onions, turned off the heat, and added ripped up kale pieces to the warm pan before tossing onto the pizza (440def for 10 min then added the onion and kale to the pizza on the counter). It was perfect. Pizza stones and peels are awesome at getting that crispy perfect crust!

Pasta Carbonara

Deliciousness. Mike's first foray into adding wheat flour to semolina flour in pasta. Crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, grated Parmesan and fresh picked basil from our window garden = nursery fatigue gone :)

Spinach, Feta, and Sun-Dried Tomato Biscuits

HOLY COW!!!  We found these gems in a Ward cookbook from Cincinnati.  They are incredibly delicious cold or warm.  Fresh baked with a little bit of homemade butter on top?  Increible.  Fantastico.  Period.

Ingredients:
2C. bleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt (we skipped this)
6T unsalted butter, frozen solid (we only had salted)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 T. minced sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, plus 2 tsp of the oil (we only had dry sun-dried tomatoes, so I added olive oil to the skillet for the garlic and threw the tomatoes in for the last minute)
1/2 C. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (we have a couple bags of different green leafy vegetables we can no longer tell apart, guessing this time it was rainbow chard)
1 C. cold buttermilk (YUM)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees.  With a fork, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Using the large holes on a box grater (or a food processor), coarsely grate butter into the dry ingredients; mix quickly with fingertips to blend evenly.  Briefly saute garlic in tomato oil in a small skillet.  Scrape garlic into spinach; add tomatoes and feta, and mix with fingertips.  Mix into the above dry ingredients.

Stir in buttermilk with fork and mix until dough just comes together.  If necessary, add extra droplets of buttermilk over any dry patches.  Turn dough onto floured work surface and pat into ta thick disk about 6" across.  Cut in half with a knife (or a dough scraper), then cut each half into five parts.  Pick up each piece and gently, without overhandling the dough, shape into a round.  

 Spray a 9" cake pan (or 2 8" rounds, or a cookie sheet...) with cooking spray and arrange biscuits in pan.  Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes (we did 22).  Serve immediately.  Makes 10 biscuits.

Stinkin Delicious.  Let me know what you discover to eat these with!  So far... they taste great for breakfast and with red sauce and pasta.

THE Sandwich

Ingredients:
homemade 1/2 wheat 1/2 white bread
mayonnaise
dijon mustard
green bell pepper
avocado
zucchini
yellow heirloom tomato
lettuce
honey turkey deli meat
sliced colby jack cheese

Observe...

bbbBest Butter bEver!

Mike and I did something crazy tonight -- we made butter!  It is ridiculously simple and reminds me of happy church Primary activities Mom taught us how to make butter by shaking a jar of cream really hard for as long as we could :).  Turns out, with adult hands and reflexes, it's a lot easier than I remember!

We had the idea because we have been racking up recipes we want to try but constantly forget to restock our butter.  We are also trying to get closer to the source in terms of our food -- make things on our own rather than buy more expensive processed items with preservatives etc. chemicals whose long-term effects are not known (with a bit of practicality thrown in so we don't go completely crazy but improve our health where we can).  Basically, when you make it yourself, you can be pickier about your ingredients and final product.

The Process: it is as simple as purchasing a pint of heavy cream, placing in a 1qt mason jar and tightening the lid [ Mike does that part :) ], then shaking said jar while watching 10 minutes of a Netflix episode of your choice, you almost have butter!  Last steps are to pour out the remaining cream (now buttermilk mmmmmm) and mash the butter in a bowl to spoon out the rest.  Finally, rinse with cold water.  I did that part like hand-wash laundry... fill, swish gently, pour, repeat... ~ 6 times until the wash-off comes clear.  Place into container and refrigerate!  Ours was set like normal butter in ~1.5 hours.

Well, it turns out that the cost breakdown, according to Stop n Shop, is 1 pint of cream $2.59, 1 box of butter $3.00, and packaged butter has "cream, salt" as its ingredients.  So 60cents for the same no-preservative result might not seem like a large payout in this case.  But here is what we did learn: making butter is fun and easy if you have the time and desire.  Also, this is an ideal way to control the flavor!  Next time we will try to add salt to one portion, chives and garlic to another, cinnamon to another -- the choices are endless!  Then we will become the coolest dinner hosts in all the land, and maybe make someone smile.

Not convinced?

As Mike just pronounced, "I think making butter has got to be the single most easy thing to do."

Additionally, "You know what's awesome about butter when you scoop it with an ice cream scoop?  It looks just like ice cream!"

Still not convinced?

Try it for your next date night.

Chicken saltimbocca and bruschetta

This is one from our newly newly wed days. Will add recipes later :)

Fileting Fish

This fish came from Haymarket - Mike fileted it himself!

(slowly catching up on our newlywed memories.)

Snickerdoodles!!!

First time I have made these on my own. So yummy so easy! Now where is my glass of milk?

This was surprisingly yummy!  Our version looked just like the picture ;).  Feast your tastebuds.

Sweet Potato-Beet Hash

Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian

Show: Ten Dollar DinnersEpisode: Southwest Steak Supper

• Recipe categories: Meat, Bacon, Vegetables, Sweet Potato, Beets, 
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Photo: Sweet Potato-Beet Hash Recipe

Rated 4 stars out of 5

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Total Time:

55 min

Prep

10 min

Cook

45 min

Yield:

4 servings

Level:

Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 large fresh beet, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 slice bacon, cut into lardons
• 1 small onion, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss the cut sweet potatoes and beets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until vegetables are golden, about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, add the bacon and render the fat until the bacon is crispy. Add the onions and season with salt, and continue to cook until the onions start to caramelizeand turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted sweet potatoes and beets to the pan and stir to combine cooking another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary and serve immediately.

Rustic Packaging

We purchased some handmade items in a Silent Auction that we thought would be cute as wedding gifts for our friends, so I put my Japanese background to use and try my hand at making my own rustic gift wrapping. Okayyy, so the actual wrapping is a brown paper bag and crocheting string. But I think they look pretty cute!!  I feel so green and sustainable right now...

It feels good to create something with my hands. :) And even better that these are gifts!

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia

We ate this too quickly to get a picture!  Here's my new favorite baking sauce for white fish:

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Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

By: Phoebe 

"Flavorful recipe for this farm raised fish that is easy and done in minutes! The fish is broiled with a creamy cheese coating for an impressive flavor and texture."

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What to Drink?
	Sauvignon Blanc

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Prep Time:
5 Min

Cook Time:
10 Min

Ready In:
15 Min

Servings  (Help)

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Original Recipe Yield 8 servings

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

It is from allrecipes.com.  We just halved the recipe to put over 2 filets of tilapia.  Did not get very crispy (we put the pan on the second rack instead of the top rack) but had the perfect fish texture with 2 minutes per side + 2minutes with the sauce on it.  Served with rice and steamed carrots and peas from an organic New England farm!  YUM

My Husband Is The Best

Konbu dashi stock with soba, asparagus, baby bok choy, crimini mushrooms, mine with an egg on top since I worked 11 hours watching machines run without lunch. I love him :)

New Green Babies!!

I planted some wild flower seeds I got last year from a random work event, and they started sprouting within 3-4 days! They are soooo cute and I love them.