Marinated peppers

Simple, quick and delicious!!!

INGREDIENTS

•      3 large red bell peppers (about 2 pounds)
•      1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
•      1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (or more to taste)
•      1 1/2 medium clove garlic, minced
•      1 tablespoon chopped minced  fresh Italian parsley
•       Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

METHOD

       1 Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the whole red peppers, in the oven directly on the rack. Roast for about 15 minutes, turning if needed, until the skin is well scorched. Immediately place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap or in a paper bag, and allow to cool.

        2 Remove the skins from the peppers and rinse under cold water. Cut in half, remove stem and seeds, then cut into strips.     
   
         3 Add balsamic vinegar, garlic, and parsley. Toss gently to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper, adding more vinegar to taste if desired.

 Allow to come to room temperature before serving. 

Tapioca pearls with sweet coconut and mango

It is a delicious exotic dessert and so fresh.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup 1mm small dried tapioca pearls
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 cups 1/2 inch diced mango
• 1 vanilla bean, split along the length (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

METHOD 

      1 In a medium sized pot, bring the water,vanilla bean and sugar to a boil. When boiling, turn the heat to low and stir in the milk. When the mixture returns to a boil, turn off the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Make sure that you are not boiling the coconut milk. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

      2 Soak tapioca pearls in cold water for 20 minutes. The pearls will expand and turn bright white. Drain. In a medium pot, add about a quart of water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, add the drained tapioca pearls and stir constantly for 5 minutes. Immediately drain in fine mesh sieve and run cold water through the sieve to stop the tapioca pearls from cooking further. Combine with the coconut milk mixture and continue to chill in refrigerator. You can prepare everything above up to 3 days in advance.

      3 To serve, ladle the sweet coconut milk with tapioca into a bowl and add a big spoonful of diced, fresh mango.

Coconut red lentils curry

INGREDIENTS 

•     1 medium onion, finely chopped
•     2 tablespoons olive oil
•     1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
•     2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
•     1 teaspoon ground cumin
•     1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
•     1 teaspoon turmeric
•     1 tablespoon curry powder
•     1 teaspoon salt
•     2 cups water
•     1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
•     1 can unsweetened coconut milk
•     1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs

METHOD

       1 Cook onion in oil in a 3 1/2- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until edges are golden, about 6 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric, salt, and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

        2 Stir in water, lentils, and coconut milk, then simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and serve with cilantro sprigs scattered on top. 

Sesame shrimp

Simple and delicious. My husband absolutely enjoyed it!

INGREDIENTS

•     2 tablespoons soy sauce
•     2 tablespoons olive oil
•     2 teaspoons lemon juice
•     1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
•     1 dash lemon-pepper seasoning
•     1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
•     1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

METHOD

       1 In a resealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, lemon juice, garlic powder and lemon-pepper; add shrimp. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

       2 Drain and discard marinade. In a skillet, saute shrimp in remaining sesame oil until shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice if desired. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

Gratin dauphinois

A popular recipe coming from the French Alps with slice potatoes and cheese.


INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds potatoes
• 1/2 clove unpeeled garlic
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated Swiss cheese
• 1 cup boiling milk or cream

METHOD 

       1 Preheat oven to 425F. Peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8 inch thick. Place in cold water. Drain when ready to use.

       2 Rub the baking dish with cut garlic. Smear the dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.

       3 Drain the potatoes and dry them in a towel. Spread half of them in the bottom of the dish. Divide over them half the salt, pepper, cheese, and butter.

       4 Arrange the remaining potatoes over the first layer and season. Spread on the rest of the cheese and divide the butter over it. Pour on the boiling milk.

       5 Set the baking dish in upper third of preheated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender, the milk is absorbed, and the top is a golden brown.

Cantonese rice

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 cups cold cooked rice 
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup ham, diced
• 2 tablespoons frozen peas, blanched 1 minute in boiling water and rinsed under cold water  
• 1/4 c. green onion, finely chopped 
• salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

       1  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok. When very hot, pour in beaten eggs and scramble briskly with spoon. Set aside.
       
       2 Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in wok. Add rice. Stir constantly over moderate heat, breaking up lumps with spoon. Add salt.

       3 Continue stirring until rice becomes hot. Pour in scrambled eggs. Stir-fry to mix. Add stock to moisten scrambled ingredients.
Add diced ham and  green onions. Stir-fry until thoroughly heated and mixed.

      4 Taste and season with extra salt and pepper if desired.

This is a very flexible recipe. You may vary it with leftover turkey, duck, chicken, pork, shrimp, crab or lobster.

Radish salad

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups thinly sliced radishes  
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

METHOD

       1 Mix radishes, rice wine vinegar and olive oil together. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for at least an hour.  Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve .

 Makes 4 servings.

Mashed sweet potatoes

Easy and delicious sweet potatoes mashed with meat, fish or just vegetable.

INGREDIENTS 

• 3 to 4 medium sweet potatoes, about 2 pounds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 to 4 tablespoons half-and-half 

METHOD

       1 Cook sweet potatoes in boiling water until tender. Let cool slightly; peel.

       2 Mash with olive oil and the half-and-half to desired consistency.
Serves 4 to 6

Stuffed zucchini

Delicious serve with mix salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 zucchini, about 6-inches in length
• 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped onion 
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 tablespoon sliced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

METHOD

      1 Split zucchini lengthwise; scoop out centers and chop pulp finely.

      2 Mix the chopped zucchini with the ground beef, cilantro, parsley, chopped onion , salt, and tomato.

      3 Stuff zucchini skins with ground beef mixture. Dot each zucchini with olive oil. Put zucchini halves in a baking dish with about 1/2 cup water.

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Roasted apricots with rosemary

This week,  I could help but be tempted by the thought of roasted apricots with a little honey and a few sprigs of rosemary. Yum yum ...

 Roasted, dried, made into jam, or baked into cake… I like apricots. And it sure doesn’t get much simpler than roasting.
The way I made these hardly needs a recipe, line them up in a cast iron pan or glass baking dish, drizzle with honey, and roast for about twenty minutes  at 400ºF until they become soft and juicy.

 I think herbal flavors go so well with stone fruit, so a little rosemary in the pan added a delicious fragrance, and also enhanced the unusual herbal flavor of the honey.

Warm or cold, eaten alone or swirled with some yogurt…

Baked sweet potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed, dried 
• 1 tbsp. olive oil 
• 1/4 tsp. salt 
• 1/2 tsp. paprika 

METHOD 


       1 Preheat oven to 425°F.

       2 Slice potatoes lengthwise.

       3 Toss with oil, salt and paprika. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place potatoes on sheet in even layer. Bake 15 minutes, turn potatoes, bake 15 minutes.

applesauce and rhubarb

Just a plain and simple applesauce to serve with sugar cookies.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ribs rhubarb, peeled if necessary and chopped
• 4 large golden apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg      

METHOD
  
       1 Place rhubarb, apple, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in medium saucepan. Saute until rhubarb has wilted somewhat. Cover and cook over low heat until tender, about 20 minutes.
     
       2 Taste and add more sugar if needed. Beat to a smooth pulp and serve either warm, at room temperature or cold.

Quinoa tabouleh

This is a great recipe, and a nice twist on traditional bulgar tabbouleh. The quinoa gives it a very nice texture.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 2 bunches green onions, diced
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD 

       1 Rinse the quinoa well using a strainer or sieve. Place in a pot with the salt and 2 cups or 500mls of water. Cover and bring to the boil, then lower the heat as far as you can and cook slowly for 15 minutes until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

       2 Now turn off the heat, remove the lid and place a clean towel over the quinoa. Cover again with the lid and leave the quinoa  for another 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then fluff up with a fork and season with a little freshly ground black pepper. The cooked quinoa should be fluffy and the curl-like germ will separate slightly from the seed.

       3 While the quinoa is cooking, chop the herbs, and thinly slice the onions, diced cucumber and tomatoes. Add these to the cooled quinoa with the lemon juice and olive oil. Stir well to combine everything and serve fresh.  

You could make this, as it is a great dish to bring to picnics or potlucks where there will be a vegetarian. 

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.


INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 medium eggplant
• 2 medium zucchini
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato juice
• 2 cups water
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• fresh or dried herbs: basil, oregano, thyme, parsley
• fresh grounded black pepper 

METHOD

       1 Chop the onion.Cut bell peppers in thumb sized slices.Peel and dice eggplant.Dice zucchini.Peel, seed and chop tomatoes. 

       2 Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring constantly until golden.

       3 Add 1 cup water and the sliced bell peppers; cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, 5 minutes.

       4 Add 1 cup water, the eggplant and zucchini; cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, 7 minutes.

       5 Add tomatoes, tomato juice, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme and black pepper. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally; add additional water if necessary.

       6 Uncover, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until vegetables are tender but still retain their shape and liquid has evaporated, 10 minutes.

       7 Garnish with parsley and serve.

Equally good hot or cold it also makes a fine accompaniment to cold meats or fish, or maybe serve as a cold hors d'oeuvre.

Tian de légumes

Tian de légumes is perhaps one of the most typical dishes from Provence. Traditionally its made in a clay dish called a tian hence the name.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 3 zucchinis
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
• salt and pepper  

METHOD

       1 Preheat oven to 300°F.

       2 Cut garlic in half and rub the bowl with the cut garlic, after grease dish with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
  
       3 Slice the tomatoes, onions, aubergines and zucchinis approx the same size. Alternate the veggies by placing one of each to slightly overlap and then starting again.

       4 Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Drizzle with remaining olive oil.

       5 Bake until the vegetables are carmalised approximately 1 hour.