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Comment by Laura Dely on April 11, 2012 at 7:01pm

Filled with eggplant, olives, onions, tomatoes, capers, celery and olive oil, caponata is usually served as an apetizer with miniture toasts,

Meals-in-minutes delicious, this easy pasta with caponata meal is ready in about 12 minutes!

 While you cook a pot of De Cecco Cavatappi pasta,  heat 1 cup Trader Joe's caponata for each person you will be serving. Add a little chopped anchovy to the caponata if you like (I do).

Drain pasta, and place in baking dish and pour hot caponata over and toss. Shave fresh parmesean over the top and put in oven to melt cheese.  Add more grated parmesean and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy! 

Comment by Laura Dely on November 25, 2011 at 1:02pm

POST-THNAKSGIVING BREAKFASTS

is your refridgerator stuffed with leftovers from the big feast? Of course there are great sandwiches to be made with mooseberries and all, but if you are lucky enough to have some cold roasted sweet potatoes, think about making a hash with bacon and onion and olive oil with those. It's delicious and takes about 15 mins. to make, from refrigerator to fork. (Don't forget the black papper.)

I also have leftover mushroom sauce from the green bean casserole that will be great on pasta. (That was made with sauteed onions and mushrooms, mushroom stock, cream, milk, and roux.) (By the way, this was a hit, unlike past attempts to make a GBC from scratch. Last time, I followed a recipe; yesterday, I followed my instinct, which was KISS.)

Tell what you are making with your leftovers -- I would love to learn more ways to use what I have.

Comment by Laura Dely on August 21, 2011 at 6:53pm

GRILLED VEGGIES MAKE GREAT SANDWICHES

I live for great sandwiches, and this summer, I have discovered a sure way to get one: fire up your grill and throw on farmer's market finds.

I have marinated eggplant - before and after grilling - and added carrots, corn, peppers, mushrooms, onions to the grill. I love charcoal grilling, which although it's a carbon contributor, it produces such a superior quality result, I use it whenever I grill. (I use the hardwood charcoal that Whole Foods sells.)

I suggest microwaving the carrots and the corn a few minutes before adding to the grill. I peel back the husks, strip out the silks, then rinse the whole quickly and wrap it back up and toss it into the microwave for 2 minutes on high.

You have to watch the veggies carefully as they grill - you want the peppers to turn black, the corn and mushrooms brown, carrots speckled, onions to turn soft. Eggplant will burn quickly on a very hot grill -- turn it as soon as it starts to bubble or you'll lose that slice to the flames.

Pull the peppers off as soon as they are collapsing and black. Put them in a paper bag to cool or place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap -- wait for about 20 minutes, then peel off their skins, slice open and remove the ribs and seeds, and slice to suit your intented purpose.

When everything is ready, slice and assemble on toasted crusty bread that is spread with goat cheese or set with thick slices of part-skim or fresh mozzarella cheese. Or if you're vegan, just stack your grilled veggies and drizzle with your eggplant marrinade (I used olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, garlic, and red pepper flakes.)

Enjoy!

And hey -- why don't you post something about what you're eating in this season of great fresh produce and packed farmers markets! I also got bacon there yesterday, and have been eating it with french toast served with fresh diced peaches, ginger, cinnamon, and maple syrup. With super French Press coffee, this is a recommended way to start your day.

Comment by Dorothy Acosta on August 13, 2011 at 8:56am

I have found tuna in olive oil at the Italian Store and in a multipack at Costco.  (much cheaper).  I just joined and will add some favorite recipes.  I am especially interested in learning to cook vegetables in interesting ways.  Thanks for the recipes!

 

 

Comment by jill herndon on July 14, 2011 at 6:56pm

Thanks for the scouting.

 

I have made eggplant that is soooo good left over that I am using it as a bruchetta. Perfect for my dieting because it tastes so rich but is lower in calories thatn any beef I used to eat.

Comment by Laura Dely on July 13, 2011 at 8:46pm

What's in at local Farmers Markets this week:

Rainbow Chard

Beets

Scallions

Greenhouse Tomatoes; some yellow and some red (no heirlooms yet)

A little bit of Cauliflower

Squash: Zucchini, Pattypan, and crockneck

Re: the squash, I bought some pattypan and a small zucchini from the Courthouse Saturday Market and baked them after slicing and dipping in egg and crumbs. They were yummy with a quick fresh tomato, onion, and pesto dipping sauce one night, and then again atop spinach spaghetti with tomato sauce (bottled) and lots of Parmesan and a couple of twists of black pepper. 

I left half of the later batch in the oven, forgot about them until today. Too bad, they could have been reheated and enjoyed. Oh well.

What are you cooking these days of summer? I'd love to hear about it -- whatever it is.

Oh and here's how to rescue a commercial BBQ sauce: dilute thick, sweet brown kind with apple cider vinegar. I use about a 4:1 sauce:vinegar ratio for basting and eating; 4:2 for marinade. I did this for a 4th of July BBQ and it was delicious. I am still enjoying the brownies I made using a special, hit-fat cocoa someone gave me at Christmas. I also used some of the Chipolte pepper that was in the same gift, and some cayenne, and paprika  in the BBQ Rescued Sauce too.

 

Comment by jill herndon on March 29, 2011 at 10:58pm

Thanks for starting a group. I liked how the invitation came to my email box as an invitation.  And for the "Tonno" I find that Harris Teeter and Trader Joe's have tuna in olive oil; a little hard to find elsewhere or I am looking at the wrong shelves.

Comment by Laura Dely on March 29, 2011 at 7:26pm

Jacomina DeRegt made this wonderful not-too sweet cake for our March Circle Dinner. It was delicious. She sent the link to the recipe from the Cooks.com web site which is below.MY FAVORITE FRESH APPLE BUNDT CAKE
Printed from COOKS.COM

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Apple Pecan Cake

Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,191,155165-237198,00.html
Content Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.

1 1/2 c. salad oil
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chopped pecans
4 c. chopped apples

Mix oil, sugar, eggs, well with vanilla. Sift flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg - gradually add to egg mixture. Stir in nuts and apples. Pour into greased or sprayed Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 1 hour (or test with toothpick). Very moist - remove carefully. Frosting optional:

1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. milk

Bring to boil in saucepan 2-3 minutes.

Little powdered sugar to thicken

Cool; then drizzle over cake.