18 February 2008

Homemade Dried Apples

All I did was peel and core a Granny Smith apple, slice it thinly (1/4"), place on top of waxed paper on a cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake at 200 for 2 or 3 hours, stirring every hour or so (just lift them off the wax paper so they don't stick)

What came out was some apples like dried apples, and some more like apple chips. Both tasted amazing. Totally awesome snack!

Bringing Back an Old Favorite: A Variation on Mediterranean Strata

This weekend I had an awesome combination of ingredients hanging about in my fridge, so I adapted this old favorite into a spinach and mushroom variation. This was yummy for dinner but even better for breakfast the next day:

3 c. bread cubes/torn pieces (stale is better)
2 T. olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
2-3 c. washed chopped spinach
3/4 c. crumbled feta or grated parmesan cheese
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. chicken broth or water (if using water add 1 tsp. salt)
black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 10" pie dish with olive oil; place bread pieces in dish.

2. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onions 5-10 minutes or until golden. Add garlic and mushrooms; saute 2-5 minutes more. Add spinach and saute until wilted. Place onion mixture on top of bread pieces; spread out if necessary. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top.

3. In a large-ish bowl, beat eggs. Add broth or water, black pepper and salt if using; stir to combine. Pour egg mixture slowly over top, pressing with the back of a spoon to moisten bread so egg mixture will soak in.

4. Bake 35-45 minutes at 350. Test for doneness with a knife. It will be big and puffy but will deflate after a few minutes.

15 February 2008

Valentine's Day Salmon

We got our Valentine's Day Dinner recipe from an awesome food blog, which Christa kindly pointed out to me a couple weeks ago. The salmon was expensive, but amazing. I am about to go eat the leftovers for lunch.

Here's the recipe.

The only thing we did differently was substitute extra sake for the mirin (Japanese rice wine), so instead of 1/2 c. of each, we used 1 full cup sake.

Sides were sweet potato "fries" (in the oven), wilted spinach, french bread and roasted broccoli (using the roasted asparagus recipe).

08 February 2008

Reason #11

The Winds Cafe. Now I am *really* excited.

Top 10 things about Dayton

Maybe you didn't know this, but Dayton, Ohio, is actually exceedingly cool. I cannot wait to live there, for the following reasons:

1. They have seasons... for real... probably complete with beautiful fall colors.
2. They have the Eckardts
3. They have tornadoes (oh wait that's not cool)
4. It is probably weird in a cool way, like Chattanooga
5. It's only a 7 hour drive from Chattanooga.. read: frequent visits to Sus and Marie!
6. No matter how weird it is, it's where little Baby Mo will spend the first year of her life, so the memories are guaranteed to be sweet!
7. I will have my own refrigerator again! (It is yet to be decided if that small perk is worth giving up the fabulous ambiance of the avocado house along with one housemate who acts on every whim to bake something amazing and then share, and the other one who does my dishes all the time... and did I mention they both have fabulously loud laughs)
8. We will get to be real Americans for the first time ever. Living on the west coast you don't really feel like one, and living in Chattanooga you just feel like a $%&* Yankee, but I bet people in Ohio are real Americans. Like the kind that fly flags outside their homes.
9. I just cannot wait to check out Carillon Park. What the heck is a Carillon, anyway?
10. It is a wicked-cheap place to live!

We are hoping to get some sort of a three-bedroom place. This means that you're welcome to visit :)

04 February 2008

Hot Artichoke Dip

I am posting Erin N's artichoke dip recipe so the next time Katie asks me for it (usually about every 6 months), I can just send her a link instead of typing it out again :)

1 15-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
(sometimes I also throw in some chopped spinach)
1 c. mayonnaise
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 package)
3/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced or pressed
a dash of dill

Mix all ingredients in 8x8 dish. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Serve warm with those stellar organic tortilla chips from Trader Joe's.