Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving. Give me a traditional Turkey dinner with all the trimmings any day of the week and I'll be a happy girl. Robin, Win and Tom...not so much. They think the traditional feast is for the birds. So with that said, Molly and I knew we had to kick it up a notch this year...and we were ready!
I am happy to report that this year's meal may have converted them to lovers of the Thanksgiving meal. Everything was just amazing. I call it traditional, but with a twist. Yummy Turkey and Gravy (a la Molly) and yummy sides (a la Me)! And I can't forget Molly's Pecan Sweet Potato Pie (OMG)! I wish I would have documented the meal better. Thankfully, Robin had sense enough to snap this quick shot.

2010 Riley Thanksgiving Feast- Pass Christian, MS

Roasted Turkey stuffed with LA Satsumas, Onions and Celery

Cauliflower Mash with Horseradish and Parmesan

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Roasted Carrots with Herbs de Provence

Rice and Gravy (Just gotta have it)

Cranberry Sauce (Old school canned variety)

Salad with Blue Cheese, Apples and Walnuts

Pecan Sweet Potato Pie

Lots and lots of Champagne and Wine

I COULD list every recipe in detail, but that would be madness. So, I decided to just post one of the luscious sides. I went back and forth between the Brussels Sprouts and the Cauliflower Mash, but settled on the Brussels Sprouts. If you would like a recipe for the Cauliflower (It's a real winner), just let me know. Enjoy!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Maple Syrup

Brussels Sprouts- Cleaned and cut in half ( think I had about 2 lbs)

1/2 lb Bacon- Fry it up, crumble into pieces and set it off to the side. Save the grease!!!!!!

Maple Syrup- Use the real stuff, no Ms. Butterworth! :)

Salt

Red Chili Flakes

In a large bowl, coat the cleaned veggies in the reserved bacon fat. Mix well. (You don't need to use all of the grease, but be sure the sprouts are glistening.) Then, throw them out onto a large cookie sheet, cut side face down. Drizzle with maple syrup and chili flakes and little sprinkling of course salt. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. Half way through, turn the sprouts over. This will make the entire sprout crispy and delicious.

After 30-45 minutes (or whenever they are fork-tender and a little crispy), pull them out and toss with the crumbled bacon pieces and a few more chili flakes. Serve and watch them disappear!

Chris Inglis' Sticky Date Pudding with Pear and Ginger

When I was 6 years old the Riley family moved into the house across from us in Auckland, New Zealand. It was as exciting as a flash of magnesium.

I can’t put it any better than my father who, when thinking about the Riley home, wrote “all I can do is recount stories of a lost civilization straight from H. Rider Haggard. How Margarette fished out a drowned cat from their pool, Robin cooking 3 sheep, a boar and 5 turkeys on a barbecue he brought back from Texas, Molly's sweet potato in orange skins and cassis jelly. The butchering of Bill Gates and his dreadful computer operating system.”

One of my father’s main contributions to all this was his infamous sticky date cake. He started making it in 1990 when Suzy and I were 10 and he has been making it ever since. Still going strong, this blog is its latest incarnation...

Sticky Date Pudding with pear and ginger

Cake
20 pitted dates, diced and fresh are nice
1.25 cups of water
1 teaspoon baking soda
60g of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
1.5 cups of self-raising flour
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
2 pears peeled, cored and cut into slices

Place dates, water and baking soda in a pot large enough to take all the mixture
Boil 5 minutes and remove from heat
Stir in chopped up butter until melted
Mix in sugar and eggs

Fold in flour, ginger and pear slices and pour mixture into cake tin lined with baking paper.
Bake at 180 deg C for 60 mins.

Caramel sauce
3 tablsp water
1 cup white sugar
2 tblsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup of cream

Heat water, sugar, golden syrup and vanilla in a pot until sugar dissolves.
Bring to a fast boil for about 2 mins. Add cream and boil for another 2-3 mins
until slightly thickened. Sauce will keep in the fridge for several days.

Pear, Stilton & Honey Roasted Betroot

There is a farm shop up the road from our house which sells wonderful beetroot called ‘dirty beets’. I tried them roasted in this salad and they were great. The quantity below serves 3 people as a main or 5 as a side salad.

Ingredients

4 large ripe pears

8 beetroot trimmed, scrubbed and peeled

A portion of stilton cheese (I used blue)

Lots of fresh rocket

2 tbs. clear honey

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Dash of olive oil

For the dressing mix the following:

4 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tbs. good olive oil

2 tbs. very finely chopped fresh basil

1/4 tsp. sugar

Rock salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

To make

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Slice the prepared beetroot into quarter wedges and boil in a large pan of water for 20 minutes. Drain and add to a large roasting tin with a dash of olive oil. Drizzle the 2 tbsp of clear honey over the beetroots. Add a sprinkling of black pepper. Shake the dish to ensure the beetroot is coated. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.

While the beetroot are boiling, peel the pears, slice into wedges and remove cores. Place in a small roasting tin and roast for approximately 10 minutes.

Leave to cool separately (otherwise the beetroot will colour the pears).

When you’re ready to eat, add the beetroot and pears to the rocket, crumble the stilton over and mix through the dressing.

Mediterranean Feast

For the past month or so, I have been consumed with our latest house project, the creation of a "master suite." Winston would argue that our contractor Andy is actually creating a new office and bath for him, but that's another post altogether. :) Now that Andy is 75% complete, I'm back to thinking about food, not tile, paint, or light fixtures.

This delicious meal was whipped up in the midst of the renovations. We were without air conditioning for about 2.5 weeks, so I used our grill as much as possible. Enjoy!

First on the list was this lovely Chickpea Salad.

1 can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 tomato-diced

1 handful of cilantro or parsley- ripped into small bits
olive oil and balsamic vinegar

2 cloves of garlic-diced

salt and pepper

Combine and let it sit on the counter while you are making the rest of the meal. It gets better over time.

Next, was a quick Tahini and Yogurt Dip.

Greek yogurt-plain

tahini- 2 tbs or so depending on your taste

salt and pepper

glug of olive oil

Combine and set in the frig until serving. Serve with pita

Next was the grilling! Most of you probably know that I refuse to eat beef (I'm weird like that), but I love lamb! Don't ask. ANYWAY, so next on the menu was grilling off the lamb sliders and red onion slices. The onion is self explanatory, but here's the scoop on the sliders.

1 lb ground lamb

3 cloves garlic- crushed

salt and pepper

sprinkle or two of breadcrumbs

1 tbs garam masala (Indian seasoning)

glug of olive oil

Combine and form into small patties. Grill on a medium flame until cooked. I like them pink in the middle. If you don't have access to a grill, just pull out a skillet and fry in a little oil. They're yummy that way too.

I also pulled together a simple green salad while the sliders were sizzling away on the grill. So, that's it! Throw it all on a plate and enjoy. Win and I certainly did!

Dirtball Back Porch Lunch

I’ve always been attracted to the concept of canned sardines—little oily fish in a can—and the fact they are good for you, cheap and accessible. But I’ve never found a way to eat them that was completely satisfying. They’re OK tasting but they ain’t a chicken taco.

Anyway, with nothing to eat in the house and Molly at Mahjong, I pulled a leftover can of Cento sardines from the icebox to give them another try. I enlisted mayonnaise, cracked black pepper, Cajun seasonings and Crystal to jazz things up. I put the mess on some water crackers (I would have used saltines, but Molly won't have them in the house). I discovered that the more Crystal I added to each bite the better the stuff tasted. Altogether—and with a beer, I would give it a B+ for an easy, tasty Riley lunch.

Peas and Parrano

When I was a child, I hated peas. If you wanted to set me off at the dinner table, all it took was a spoon full of peas. No way, no how.

Thankfully, I came to my senses. I think it had something to do with Molly's sinful pasta primavera. Here is a VERY loose interpretation of that dish. Enjoy! Pasta with Peas and Parrano

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Avocado

Pasta Ingredients:

pasta- cooked al dente

frozen peas- about 1.5 cups

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil- 2-3 glugs

2 tbs butter

2-3 tbs milk

lemon zest- 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

parrano cheese- it tastes similiar to parmesan

Salad Ingredients:

avocado- chopped

tomatoes- chopped ( I picked up the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes at Whole Foods, but use what you have.)

olive oil- 2 glugs or so

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the pasta, drain and set aside. Crush garlic and throw it in a skillet with olive oil. Add peas. Cook on medium heat until peas are defrosted (maybe 2-3 minutes or so). Add milk, butter, s & p, and lemon zest. Stir for another minute. Add hot pasta and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, until nicely combined. Add the cheese right before serving.

Serve with tomato salad and a glass of white wine.

Autumn Berry Loaf

A sign of summer’s end is definitely the ripening of the blackberries and raspberries and in Edinburgh now, there are berries abound! Often I cook them down to make a compote but I thought I’d try something different. I’ve amended a recipe for apple loaf to use up some of my plentiful berry harvest. The result is a moist berry loaf, quite tart in taste and perfect with a hot drink on a cool Autumnal afternoon.

Ingredients
225g blackberries and raspberries
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
175g butter
175g light muscovado or plain light brown sugar
2 rounded tbsp demerara sugar or dark brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1 small apple (whole - not cored or peeled)
2 large eggs, beaten
The zest of 1 orange

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
2. With your fingers, rub together the flour, baking powder, butter and light brown sugar in a large bowl.
3. Measure out 5 level table spoons of this mixture place in a separate bowl. To that mix add the cinnamon and dark brown sugar. This is for the topping. Set aside for now.
4. Grate the apple down to the core. Mix it in with the beaten eggs and orange zest.
5. Lightly stir the egg/apple mix into the large bowl of rubbed mixture. Don’t over mix.
6. Gently fold in ¾ of the berries with a metal spoon.
7. Pour mixture into a silicon or greased loaf tin. Scatter the remaining berries over the mix. Sprinkle over the topping.
8. Place in oven. After 50 minutes check on loaf. If it is browning too much, place foil over it at this stage.
9. Return to oven and bake for a further 25-30minutes.
10. Remove from oven and allow cooling in the loaf tin for 30 minutes before turning out.

Cominghome White Beans

Molly and I got back to Pass Christian at 10:30 PM Tuesday after over three weeks in New Zealand and a rainy, bumpy 24 hour series of flights back. We were beat, hungry and we knew there was no food in the house. Not good.

BUT! Win and Heather had been back before us, dropped off the car and left one of Heather’s wonderful meals for us in the ice box: a restorative bowl full of Cominghome White Beans, salad, and fresh bread. And there was red wine. After a minute of so in the microwave we ere home again. And happy to be here.

Thanks Heather........for the thoughtfulness and best beans ever.

Here’s her instructions:

1 lbs White Beans, rinsed and soaked
1 smoked ham bone with lots of meat
4 bay leaves
Black pepper- to taste
1 large onion - chopped
2 stalks of celery - chopped
3 cloves of garlic - crushed
Hot sauce du jour - a few shakes
Water
Salt- ADD AT THE END

In large pot, sauté onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil. Once the
veggies are soft, add the rinsed beans, ham bone, seasonings and bay leaves.
Stir around for a minute of two. Then add the water. It should come up 1
inch over the beans. Cover and bring to a boil. Once there, reduce heat to
LOW and simmer for 2 hours. The beans will begin to break down after 2
hours. At that time, take a wooden spoon and press some of the softened
beans against the side of the pot. This will thicken the beans. Add salt
to taste. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes or so.
Serve with rice and a crunchy salad.

Mexi - Bowl

Tuesday night's meal was made on the fly. Win had a serious case of "boat fever", so he and Charlie headed out for a sail before dinner. So that meant it was "Dinner for One!" Normally, I would have pulled out the eggs and scrambled up a tasty supper, but in light of the recent salmonella outbreak, I'm so off eggs. Instead, I pulled an organic chicken breast out of the deep freeze and scoured the fridge for inspiration. Here is what I came up with.

Chicken Burrito Bowl with Mexican Rice and Corn

(This is not a great photo...everything looks a weird shade of yellow. Sorry!)

Grilled Chicken

1 chicken breast- cut into chunks, marinated in olive oil, Mexican oregano, lime juice, S & P.

1 small onion- diced
Cherry tomatoes- a handful or so, cut in 1/2.

Mexican Rice

1 glug of olive oil
2-3 pinches of cumin powder

2-3 pinches of chili powder

2 bay leaves

S & P

1 cup of rice...I used basmati

Saute the rice in the oil and seasonings for 2-3 minutes until it "pops and snaps" a bit. Then add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of frozen corn. When the rice has come to a boil, cover and cook on LOW for 20 minutes.

Guacamole

2 ripe avocados- mashed

1 clove of garlic and a bit of onion- grated with micro plane

Lime juice

S & P

Combine and set aside. Be sure to put the seed back in the guac...it keeps it from going brown.

While the rice is cooking and after you have finished the guacamole, cook the chicken. I just threw the onions and chicken in my oiled black iron skillet. When the chicken is 75% cooked, throw in the tomatoes. (If you throw them in in the beginning, they will disintegrate before the chicken is cooked.)

Remaining ingredients:

Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salsa of your choice and a bit of shredded lettuce.

Once the chicken and rice are cooked, pile everything in a bowl and enjoy!

Ole!

Heather

Farmer's Market Meal

One of the many things New Orleans has going for it is its bustling Farmer's Market. We are lucky enough to have 3 amazing markets a week, but due to work schedules and budget constraints, I focus on the Saturday market. Each Saturday morning, I gather up my eco-bags and sometimes a sleepy friend or two and make the early morning pilgrimage downtown. I, along with hundreds of other NOLA foodies scour the many booths for the freshest veggies, most succulent seafood, yummiest bread and the sweetest fruits. Technically, the market is open until noon, but my market motto is the early bird gets the worm!

Grilled Shrimp Salad with Asian Pears, Gorgonzola & Walnuts
(Serves 2)

I'm happy to report that 99% of the ingredients used in this dish were purchased at the Crescent City Farmer's Market. The walnuts were from Whole Foods... :)

1 lb Shrimp- peeled and deveined

2 Asian Pears- washed and thinly sliced

Gorgonzola Cheese- small chunk

Walnuts- 2 handfuls

Salad Greens du jour- washed and spinned

So, this recipe is SUPER EASY and took about 5 minutes to make.

I "grilled" the shrimp in my black iron skillet with a little olive oil, dried herbs and S & P. Cook until pink...roughly about 2-3 minutes.

While cooking the shrimp, assemble your salad with the remaining ingredients. Drizzle with your favorite vinagerette and top with the sizzling shrimp.

Serve with a piece of grilled whole grain bread and a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Enjoy,

Heather

Salmon Fishcakes with Sweet Potato Chips

I wish I could take credit for the marvelous recipe below, but sadly I can not! This little gem was created by the lovely and talented Chante, our honorary "Riley" holding down the fort in Scotland. Thanks, Chante!

Lovely Chante and the Kiwis in the Big Easy

Salmon Fishcakes with Sweet Potato Chips

(Serves two- easily increased for more.)

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Best to make the Chips first. As they’re roasting, you can throw together the rest.

Sweet Potato Chips
2 large sweet Potato
Fresh Thyme finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Peel the sweet Potato and cut them into ‘chips’. Blanche the pieces in boiling water for 3 minutes. Lay on an oven tray and sprinkle of Thyme and salt and pepper. I spray over some olive oil too.
Roast the chips for approximately 20 minutes at 220 degrees (turning every now and then) until they are crisp.

Salmon Fishcakes
2 fillets of fresh salmon
1 bunch Spring onion
Ginger finely chopped
Zest of one lime
Juice from that lime
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut the raw salmon fillets into chunks and place in a bowl. Add the lime zest, lime juice, chopped ginger and salt and pepper to your taste. Chop the spring onion and cook them in a pan until soft. Add the cooked spring onion to a bowel.
‘Whizz’ the contents of the bowl together in a food processor or I have a hand held ‘Whizz’ which I use.
Pat the salmon mixture into 4 patties (I didn’t think they’d hold together but they do). Fry in a pan with a little oil until cooked through and golden on both sides.

Dip
1 small pot Greek Yogurt
Horseradish or wasabi to taste
2 tbs mayonnaise
Black pepper
Combine together adding as much wasabi/horseradish as you like. Great dip for both the chips and the salmon!
Serve all with a green salad.

P.S. I couldn't resist posting one more image Chante sent us this morning. Behold! (I have a serious case of vegetable garden envy!)

Enjoy,

Heather

Fruit Pies!

With so much tasty fruit in season, I've been making pies to share with friends. Also, fruit pies are one of the only desserts that Kevin truly likes, because they're not too sweet. I wish I'd remembered to take pictures, but I'm sure you can conjure images of peach and blueberry pie in your head! I'm posting the recipes I used below.

I'll be honest: I'm scared of pie crust, so I used a frozen one. Instead of Pet-Ritz, I tried Marie Callender's; the texture was nice and flaky, but I really thought it was too sweet. Next time, I might venture into the brave new world of pastry and try my own...

With both recipes, I thought the sugar could have been reduced by half (to make the fruit the main flavor, and not the sweetness), but I was afraid that would affect the texture too much. And does anyone know a good way to make sure pie holds together when you slice it? I'd love to know if you have any tips.

Peach Pie

8 large, ripe but firm peaches (3 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
Egg wash made with 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons milk

Slice the peaches into a large bowl (I left the skins on, because I like the texture, but you can peel 'em if the fuzziness offends you). Add the sugar, lemon juice and flour, toss well and let stand for 5 minutes. Pour the peaches and their juices into the chilled pie shell and scatter the butter slices on top. Brush the edge of the pie shell with the egg wash and lay the second round of dough on top. Press the edges of the pie shell together to seal and trim the overhang to a 1/2 inch. Fold the edge of the pie dough under itself and crimp to seal. Brush the remaining egg wash on the top crust and cut a few slits for venting steam.

Transfer the pie to the oven and place a baking sheet in the bottom to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°, cover the edge of the pie with foil and bake for about 40 minutes longer, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is deeply golden on the top and bottom. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool completely. Serve with Bourbon Whipped Cream.

Blueberry Pie

6 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries, rinsed and stems removed (if using frozen, defrost and drain first)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (for thickening)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter (unsalted), cut into small pieces
Egg wash made with 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons milk

Gently mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Transfer them to the chilled bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot with butter pieces. Brush the edge of the pie shell with the egg wash and lay the second round of dough on top. Press the edges of the pie shell together to seal and trim the overhang to a 1/2 inch. Fold the edge of the pie dough under itself and crimp to seal. Brush the remaining egg wash on the top crust and cut a few slits for venting steam.

Bake for 20 minutes at 425°. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes more or until juices are bubbling and have thickened. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let cool completely before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

I Love Carbs ( and veggies)!

Here is a awesome pasta dish from last Tuesday night. It was originally going to be a simple garlicy kale and orecchiette pasta (one of my favorites), but it quickly morphed into something a little more complex. To tell you the truth, I had to stare at this photo for a few minutes so I could remember what I put in the bloody dish...here goes!

Kale and Orange Cauliflower Pasta with Garlic, Prosciutto, Lemon and Peccorino

Mince and fry 4 slices of prosciutto in a black iron skillet with a little bit of oil. Once crispy, remove from skillet. (if you don't have, you can substitute with bacon)

While frying prosciutto, prep the veggies and remaining ingredients:

Wash, strip, chop kale (1/2 a bunch)

Chop cauliflower into small florets (1/2 head)

Mince 3 cloves of garlic

Zest and juice 1 lemon

1/2 cup grated peccorino cheese

handful of breadcrumbs

Boil the pasta of your choice, We like "little ears" and while you're doing that, cook the veggies:

In the same skillet with the flavorful prosciutto grease, add the kale and 1/2 garlic. Cook on high for about 5 minutes, until wilted. Add liberal amounts of black pepper and a dash of salt along the way. Once cooked, remove kale and add cauliflower and a bit more oil. Then add the rest of your minced garlic as well as more salt and pepper and 1 1/2 tbs of curry powder. Cook cauliflower until it is tender, maybe 5-10 minutes. If it's not softening up to your taste, add a bit of hot pasta water and cover for 2 minutes of so. This will steam the cauliflower nicely.

Once tender, add the cooked kale, lemon zest and another glug of olive oil. Add your cooked pasta and lemon juice and stir. While stirring, add the cheese, bread crumbs and crispy prosciutto. Give it a taste and season additionally if needed.

Dump it into a big bowl and serve it with a simple green salad drizzled with a tart dressing and big shards of peccorino.

Enjoy!

Heather

Similiar, but very different!

I experienced a bit of deja vu last night as I snapped a photo of dinner. Had I experienced this exact meal before?! No, but it did look strangely familiar to the meal we enjoyed on Tuesday night. :)

What can I say, Win and I eat lots of fresh greens and whole grains with an occasional piece of lean meat thrown on top. So yes, it did look the same, but after one bite all similiarities were washed away. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

Herb Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Couscous over Arugula Salad with Feta and Walnuts

Cilantro Couscous

1 cup water

1 cup whole wheat couscous

Boil water, add couscous, turn off. Cover and rest for 5 minutes. Fluff and pour into bowl.

In Cuisinart or handy chopper combine:

Zest and juice from 1 lemon

3-4 glugs of Olive oil

Cilantro (or parsley, if you don't care for the taste of cilantro?!) - 1 generous handful minced in Cuisinart

1/4 cup of shredded parmesan or romano cheese

S & P to taste (We like lots of pepper)

Whiz until it resembles pesto. Add to fluffed couscous. Combine and set aside. If it looks a little dry, just add more oil. The longer it sits, the better it is!

Herb Chicken

This isn't rocket science, so I'll keep it super short.

Chicken breast- boneless and skinless

Olive oil

Dried herbs of your choice

S & P

Grill in black iron skillet until done!

Arugula Salad with Feta & Walnuts

Well, here is another no-brainer! I will give you my go-to vinaigrette recipe just in case you're thinking of pulling a bottle of store-bought dressing out of the frig. (Blasphemy.)

3 parts Olive or Canola oil

1 part acid (vinegar, citrus juice)

1 part dijon mustard

1 part honey

1 clove of garlic - crushed

S & P

Combine and throw over arugula. Add the walnuts and feta and you're good to go.

As can see from the photo, I piled everything on top of one another. If you're not into that, just plate it separately and serve! Oh, and right at the end, shave a little more parmesan or romano cheese over the chicken for a little extra punch.

Enjoy,

Heather

Green is good

Yikes, it's been miserably hot out there for days, and I for one am OVER IT! Yesterday's heat zapped me of all of my normal "nervous energy", so the idea of heating up the kitchen with a labor-intensive meal was out of the question. With that said, I pulled together a quick meal that was packed with big flavor and big nutrition. Let's eat!

Grilled Pork with Garlic Kale and Basmati Brown Rice Salad

I don't know about you, but I LOVE KALE! As I write this, I'm thinking about my leftovers in the fridge. Yummmmm. Anyway, here goes:

Basmati Brown Rice Salad

*Cooking brown rice can be a real pain, but if you soak it for 30 minutes while you're prepping the pork and kale, it's a breeze.

1 1/2 cups Basmati Brown Rice

3 cups water

Soak for 30 minutes and then boil for 30 minutes. Strain, rinse and dump into bowl with:

Olive oil, a glug or two

Juice of 1 lemon or lime

Big handful of fresh basil, ripped into small bits (Thanks, Molly!)

S & P, to taste

Kale

1 bunch of kale, cleaned and ripped into small pieces

Garlic- minced, 3 cloves or so

Olive oil, glug or two

S & P, to taste

In a hot black iron skillet, throw in the garlic, kale and then olive oil. Stir fry on HIGH for about 3-5 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK!!! *The kale should not resemble the mushy,overcooked greens of your childhood. It should be bright green with a bit of texture!

Once the kale is done and out of the skillet, throw the marinated pork in!

Pork

*We don't eat a lot of meat, so feel free to adjust the amount accordingly!

2 Pork chops-boneless and pounded thin

Marinate for a few minutes in:

Olive oil

Cajun seasoning, such as Tony Chachere's

Herbs de Provence

Black pepper

Grill pork in same black iron skillet. If you pounded them thin like I did, they should only need 1 minute or so on each side. Slice into thin strips before serving.

Tower everything in a pretty bowl and enjoy!

Heather

Winshecommin Home?

When we lived in Auckland (1986 - 2004) one member of the family always seemed to be traveling back to the US to visit family or whatever. When Molly traveled it was a big deal because those of us left behind had to cook our own meals. (Yikes!)

As a consequence we developed a whole bunch of Mollygoneandleftus and Winshecommin home receipes. Here’s one below. There are a lot more in my mess of a cookbook, “My Food”, which you can download at my website:

http://www.robinrileyarchitect.com/

Go to the “More” page and look for “My Food” pdf on the far right...........

Regards,

Robin

WINSHECOMMIN HOME REDSAUCE EGGPLANT PASTA

12/11/09

Five peeled garlics

Olive oil

One can Cento anchovies

One half eggplant (skin on) chopped into one half inch pieces

One can Cento peeled Italian tomatoes (including all juice)

Oregano, ground black pepper

Eight minced black olives

Two handfuls minced parsley

Fry garlics in oil, add anchovies, and egg plant. Mix and cook. Eggplant will absorb all oil so be careful not to burn anchovies

Add tomatoes, spices and cook way down. You want mushy eggplant and a thick sauce

Add olives and parsley, stir to heat and serve over angle hair pasta w/ grated pecorino romano cheese,spinach salad and French bread. Red wine

Condiment Cooking

I decided to do a bit of "condiment cooking" on Friday night. With TS Bonnie lurking in the Gulf, I could think of no better time to clean out the refrigerator. The idea of throwing away rancid food after a storm makes me livid, so I hit the frig big time. I discovered a head of broccoli, a red pepper, a red onion, a package of button mushrooms, 2 key limes, leftover cooked rice, a nub of ginger and loads of Asian condiments. Are you thinking what I'm thinking...STIR FRY!

So, here goes!

In a hot oiled wok, (I used a combo of Sesame and Canola) add:

Red Onion, thinly sliced

Broccoli, small florets

Red Pepper, thinly sliced

Mushrooms, sliced

Ginger, grated

Stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Now it's time for the magic, so pull out your Asian condiments and start adding them to the veggies. I used a combination of:

Sweet Chili Sauce

Soy Sauce

Rice Wine Vinegar

Chili Garlic Sauce, aka Rooster Sauce with Garlic.

Juice of 1 lime

Continue to stir fry another minute and then add your cooked rice. Stir fry until veggies are al dente. Serve in festive bowls, if possible.

I normally garnish a stir fry with chopped cilantro and peanuts, but I was out of both. So, I raced out to the front yard and snagged a few leaves of basil from my plant. I gave them a quick chop and scattered it over the stir fry. Wow, what a great addition!

Win loved it. Life is good. :)

Maiden Voyage

I've been getting a lot of guff from a certain Riley about my lack of recipe postings. The idea of a family food blog is right up my alley, but what can I say, I'm a bit of a slacker. :) Actually, I haven't produced any noteworthy culinary delights in at least 10 days. It's been leftover pasta and scrambled eggs mostly. How sad is that?! The main culprit behind the recent downturn is the "Sanity", Win's 26ft Pearson Sailboat. My dinners have been no match against the lure of cool evening breezes, amazing sunsets, and spending time with family on the boat. I guess I can't blame him. :)

So, I have decided to post a recipe that received a lot of great feedback when I first made it a few weeks ago. It was one of those meals that inspired bad table manners, i.e. licking the plate. What can I say, it was that good.

Fried Green Tomato Salad with Shrimp Remoulade

Now, here comes the scary part. I'm the worst when it comes to writing down a recipe. For any of you that have been in the kitchen with me, you know that I'm an intuitive cook. I love the idea of following a recipe, but within 1-2 minutes, I'm over it. The measuring gets me every time! The crazy part of this story is that I am an avid cookbook reader. I love nothing more than to read one from cover to cover, but I can't remember the last time I cracked open of my beloved books for a recipe. So, with that said, take this "recipe" and play with it. Make it your own. Lick your plate clean. :)

Shrimp Remoulade

1 lb of boiled shrimp, shells removed and deveined

2 green onions finely chopped

Combine:

2-3 tbs mayonnaise

1-2 squirts ketchup

1-2 tbs spicy mustard

1-2 tbs horseradish

Juice of a lemon

2-3 shakes of hot sauce

Salt and black pepper to taste (We like a lot of cracked pepper!)

Combine shrimp, onion and sauce. Put in the fridge until the tomatoes are ready.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Thick slices of green tomato ( I was lucky enough to pull them from my own garden!)

Batter the tomatoes in milk and breadcrumbs. Place in hot skillet (with a thin covering of oil). Brown tomato slices on both sides until done- 3-4 minutes total. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Salad

Sliced Avocado

Salad Greens of your choice. I used Arugula.

Olive Oil ( I used one infused with truffles. Thanks, Kacey!)

Prepare salad greens and avocado. Drizzle with a little oil. Top with Tomatoes and Shrimp Remoulade.

I served it with a thick slice of grilled bread, but that is not a requirement. :) If you are unable to find green tomatoes, just use eggplant. It will go down a treat!

Until next time,

Heather

Welcome!

I thought I'd kick us off with a summer cookout that Kevin and I had with our friends Andy and Pepper during a visit to their new house in Oxford, OH last weekend. There was no way dinner was going to be bad, considering the location--their beautiful deck looking out over towering black walnut trees and the creek behind their house. And the weather was perfect for grilling.

After a false start (we let the fire die out because we were bumpin' our gums too much), we got down to business. Simple but delicious--the barbecue chicken my dad made when I was growing up (marinated for several hours in Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar salad dressing, then grilled until delicious), corn on the cob with butter and cayenne, and a tomato-and-onion salad with basil from Pepper's herb garden. And we had s'mores for dessert. It turns out there are few things tastier than charred marshmallows.