I'm back and I missed you.

The Epicurious Diva: One Meal at a Time

Hello, how I've missed you. Forgive me for the neglect. Anyway, don't cry, I'm back and here to share more recipes, musings and rants with you.

This photo was taken during my stay at Mwaybe Safari and Hotel in Uganda. It was the first time I've had passion fruit and it tasted exactly like how I imagined it to. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart and had a unique taste, unlike any other.

I'm glad to be back.
xo

Merry Christmas!

If this is your first time visiting this blog, it is probably because you've received a present from me.
I like giving homemade gifts and I'm a secret (not so secret) green girl.
Let's get to the good stuff...

Jar contents:
Long grain rice
chicken broth powder
chopped, dried apricots, apples, cranberries, and raisins
dried chives, bay leaves
salt and pepper

One jar serves 6-8 people

Directions:
Boil a pot of water.
In a pot or sauce pan, heat up as much or as little butter as you'd like.
Add a little bit of hot water to the pan, stir with a wooden spoon.
Add jar contents, stir.
Add more water, the contents should be in a soupy state by now.
Keep a lid on the pot for a few minutes. Keep your eye on it in case it boils over.
Check on the state of the contents. A lot of water should have been absorbed by the rice, so add a bit more water.

Cooking time: 15 minutes.

Other ideas:
Once you are done cooking the rice, the fun doesn't need to stop there. You can also try the following ideas:
Put rice in a casserole dish, flatten it until it is leveled. Place sliced/shredded cheese on top. I recommend a sharp, old Cheddar. Crush candied walnuts/pecans/almonds. Sprinkle on top. Bake for 15 minutes.

OR YOU COULD DO THIS:
Add a can of chicken broth and turn it into a chicken rice soup.

OR YOU COULD DO THIS:
Make a balsamic glaze to drizzle on top of the rice.
Directions for balasmic glaze:
in a small sauce pan, heat up balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper.

Friends, this jar of rice is really just a blank canvas for your culinary imaginations. I encourage you to listen to your intuition. Leave a comment and or a picture of what you've created.

Merry Christmas to all!

Chick pea penne

Chick pea penne has a nice ring to it. I was going to call it Chic Penne but that was too lame for my liking.
I made this dish a few weeks ago but have only found time now to blog about it.
This is vegetarian soul food at its best. Let's review the ingredients:

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of penne or whichever pasta you prefer
1 can of chick peas (cheap, and oh so healthy)
1/2 a chopped red onion
1/2 cup of chopped PRE-BOILED squash
1/2 cup of chopped grape tomatoes
1 cup of tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons of olive oil
as much BASIL as you want

DIRECTIONS:

1) Boil pasta. I'm not going to teach you how to do that because most of you already know how and if you don't, that's what Google is for. My only tip for you is to add some salt and olive oil to the boiling water. The salt gives the pasta a bit of taste and the olive oil prevents it from sticking.

2) In a pan, saute the red onions for 1 minute, then add squash. This is where you can add some seasoning of your choice. I added salt, pepper, and basil. Saute for 3 minutes until the squash is soft and browned.

3) Add in chick peas (drain from can and rinse before using).

4) Add tomatoes and tomato sauce to the pan. Stir gently.

5) Taste it with your long wooden spoon. Is it missing anything? More spice? Needs kick?

6) Put sauce on top of pasta and serve.

Summer Nights

Paultato and I spent Saturday evening cooking a fabulous summer meal.



First Course: Spinach salad with goat cheese croquets drizzled in balsamic raspberry vinaigrette



Second Course: Butter chicken and veggie "pizza"


Third Course: Fresh cat sashimi
Just kidding! That's Madonna (the cat) doing her thang.









The Epicurious Diva: One Meal at a Time

Bruschetta, baby

I bought a bag of pesto flavoured pita crisps today but had nothing to eat it with as they were pretty bland on their own.
I looked into the fridge and found a container of canned plum tomatoes.
At first, I was going to make salsa but personally, I feel that Italian food > Mexican food. Thus, I decided to make bruschetta. I didn't know how to make bruschetta so I had to look up the ingredients online. I didn't really follow it (as usual) but I learned that it requires olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I'm really shocked at just how EASY it is to make this delicious Italian appetizer. This is going to be a staple in my kitchen from now on. I will eat bruschetta as a snack or a meal. I loves it.

Here is my recipe for my version of bruschetta:

Serves 1-2 people (In my case, one. I ate the entire bowl of tomato goodness.)
Ingredients:
1 cup of canned plum tomatoes with liquid in tact
1/4 cup of finely chopped red onion (the finer the better to avoid bad breath)
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of finely chopped basil
3 tsp. of olive oil
2 tsp. of balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Put everything into a bowl and mix!!!

Can be used to top crusty bread, or in my case, pesto pitas. I like that the flavour of the pesto complements nicely with the bruschetta.

Sorry, no photos today. It was that good.

Last post of 2007: Caprese salad on a stick

This was another appetizer that I made for the Turducken dinner. I love Caprese salad and thought why not eat it on the go? This isn't really Caprese salad in the sense that I didn't use mozarella, but we can call it my version.

Ingredients:
a container of boconcini mini cheese balls (36 in Tre Stelle)
a pint of cherry tomatoes
toothpicks (I happened to find red and white plastic ones that matched PERFECTLY with the tomatoes and cheese)

Directions:
It's pretty simple folks. Just Poke and spear onto the tooth picks.

Now for the sauce:
The sauce is really just a balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients:
UGH..I hate measurements. I eye ball and taste as I go along.

balsamic vinegar (I use a sweet one)
olive oil
lemon juice
honey
brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Stir and serve.
Note: This is the same balsamic vinaigrette that I usually use in salads.



Happy New Year!

Pear & Brie on Focaccia

Isn't this so pretty? I love the use of earth tone colours. (Wow, that sounds lame.) As lame as it is, it is true. Anyway, this was one of my contributions to the Turducken dinner party. I got this idea by looking at a picture and I just ran with it. I wish life was as easy as cooking. *sigh*

This was a hit at the party. I was happy with the taste and the appearance. I will definitely make it again. When my best friend comes back from the Philipines, I will make it for her since she loves brie cheese.

Ingredients:
1 focaccia (mine was store bought), or flat bread, pizza dough
1/4 cup of sliced red onions
1/2 of a pear, sliced thinly from top to bottom
3 teaspoons of brown sugar
8 slices of brie cheese (I bought the double cream one so it was extra bubbly in the oven)
a few sprigs of lemon zest as garnish
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions:
Place bread on top of parchment paper (flat surface). Brush evenly with olive oil.
In a pan, heat up olive oil, begin to carmelize the red onions. Add brown sugar, salt, pepper and stir. That should take about 3 minutes. When done, place evenly on top of the bread.
Next, pan fry the pears in olive oil at medium heat. I didn't add anything in the pears, but you could add brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste if you wish. Sometimes I'm a purist and this was one time... I just prefer the natural taste of the pear. Cook the pear slices for about 4 minutes, flip on both sides. Then arrange the pair slices on the bread.
Onto the cheese! Arrange the brie cheese slices, alternating with the pear slices.

Since I'm a fan of lemon zesting, I added a few sprigs on top. My intention was purely for ashetic purposes but it actually added another dimension of flavour onto the bread! The bitterness of the lemon zest contrasted wonderfully with the sweetness of the pear.

Ok, so you've got bitter lemon, sweet pear, salty onions, creamy cheese, and chewy bread. WOW. Enjoy!


Pear & Brie on Focaccia