Peaches and Rosemary: One sauce for main dish and dessert

Peaches! Big, juicy ripe peaches! When I got these in our box from SLO Veg, I knew we had to try something new and special and different. One of their recipe suggestions was for pork and peaches, and we just happened to pick up a huge pork loin during our big freezer stock-up grocery shopping trip over the weekend. Lee cut a whole pork loin into two 3-lb roasts and then cut the rest into steak cutlets, perfect for this recipe. I pan-seared the pork cutlets after seasoning them with coarse salt and pepper. The sauce was spooned on top along with a few peach slices. The pork was paired with a small baked sweet potato, green beans sauteed in butter and garlic and topped with almond slices, and a zucchini-squash-tomato-onion casserole seasoned with tarragon and topped with parmesan cheese. It was a plethora of vegetables, for sure! Tonight's whole dinner was built around vegetables, but the peaches were the star. We topped the pork cutlets with peaches and sauce, then used the rest of it on top of ice cream for dessert. The sweet sauce accented with rosemary was so delicious over vanilla ice cream!

Peach-topped pork cutlets, sweet potatoes, green beans and a layered parmesan vegetable casserole

Recipe from SLO Veg:

Rosemary-Mustard Pork Tenderloin with Peaches (Peaches) 

Ingredients:
2 1-pound pork tenderloins, trimmed 
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 
Vegetable oil, for the grill 
3 firm-ripe peaches, halved, pitted and cut into wedges 
1/2 cup dry white wine 
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar 
1 lemon 
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard 
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus 1 or 2 small sprigs 

Directions: Preheat a grill to high. Pat the pork dry and season with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill, then grill the pork, turning, until marked, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the peaches, wine, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Remove strips of zest from the lemon with a vegetable peeler and add to the pan; squeeze in the lemon juice. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the peaches are just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the juices in the pan. Transfer 1/3 cup of the liquid to a small bowl and stir in the chopped rosemary; brush onto the pork and continue grilling until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 145 degrees F, 10 to 15 more minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Meanwhile, simmer the remaining liquid in the saucepan until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt. Return the peaches to the pan along with the rosemary sprigs. Slice the pork and serve with the peaches.

The peach sauce worked wonderfully as a dessert topping on vanilla ice cream.

Breakfast of Champions

My hubby with his Breakfast of Champions!

We are living dangerously these days! We visited Costco this past weekend and bagged a humungous bag of MuscleMilk Protein Powder for our smoothies. I guess we actually boxed it, because everybody knows Costco doesn't have bags. Anyway, its for our breakfast shakes and we will be using lots of fresh fruits and vegies from our SLO Veg box, too!

Today I made a smoothie using protein powder, coconut milk, Greek yogurt, strawberries, blackberries, flax and chia seeds, and kale. It was really, really delicious, and the protein powder gives plenty of sweetness so no additional honey or anything is necessary. I made one a couple of weeks ago with our unsweetened protein powder and I wanted to add honey to it. I guess its all a matter of taste. I could lighten it up by using water instead of yogurt, and I may try it that was next time. But the coconut milk adds a nice flavor without much calories (50 cal per cup). The protein powder is 310 calories per scoop, which is considered one-half serving, so I used two scoops, but I think I will definately cut that back to one scoop per blender-full of smoothie. The berries were pretty sweet by themselves, and the kale gave it a nice balance. Chia and flax seeds along with the yogurt boosted the protein levels, so I think if I cut back on the powder I won't be losing much.

Lee and I are both overweight, so we are embarking on another try at Body for Life and we are gearing up for it now. Its supposed to be a lifestyle change, but its really hard to keep up that level of commitment to our workouts. I am hoping to give it 12 weeks and see some really big results. The eating part should be easy, but the getting in our daily workouts is the real challenge. I spend most of my spare time cooking or researching recipes, so I guess I will need to have it all planned out ahead of time make this work. I just need 30-45 minutes of workout time a day.

I have discovered I enjoy the simplier preparations of vegetables and fruits to complicated recipes, anyway, and since I have been practicing with my SLO Veg box of produce for the past year, I think I can do this. The plan calls for eating six meals a day: three basic meals plus three snacks. You eat about every three hours, so you don't really get hungry. The key is to eat carbs and protein in combination, like yogurt and fruit, eggs and oatmeal, an apple and cheese, stuff like that. Tonight we will be having grilled pork tenderloins cutlets with a small baked sweet potato and a half cup serving of quinoa. Tomorrow night we will probably have baked or grilled chicken with a zucchini/tomato/onion casserole. I should assemble that today to save time tomorrow. But I also need to go for a walk. Hmmm. Walk first, then cut up vegies, or cut up vegies now in my nightgown and walk a little bit later before running errands. Yeah, that works. Chop, chop!

 PROTEIN SMOOTHIE

1 scoop MuscleMilk Protein powder

1 cup Coconut milk

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

8-10 strawberries

12-15 blackberries

1 cup kale

1 tsp flax seeds

1/2 tsp chia seeds

Mix together in a blender until smooth. Pour into a nice glass and drink slowly, savoring each sip!

Casserole is done. Isn't it pretty? Okay, time for a walk. Blogger out!

Biscuits and gravy with Eggs; Planning Ahead for Dinner

Italian sweet red pepper for the first batch

Today I woke up wanting some biscuits and gravy...sausage gravy. So I decided to make myself some. It was destined to be one of those kind of days...

I started out with an onion and one of those crisp, bright green bell peppers from our SLO Veg box of vegies and fruit. I have been using the bell peppers in everything the last couple of weeks, and this is my last one, except for the ones I sliced and put in the freezer, that is. Anyway, I diced up a quarter cup of so of onions and bell peppers for two batches of ground beef. I also diced up half of my last sweet Italian red pepper for one batch. It was also going to be the starter for some hamburger that I would cook and freeze for quick dinners later in the week. One batch would be seasoned with Italian flavors and the other with Mexican spices. That way I could make a quick spaghetti sauce or tacos or rice bowls or stuffed zucchini or...lotsa things!

Diced onions and bell peppers are the basis for a good ground meat saute.

But back to breakfast. I made some drop biscuits using coconut milk and some coconut flour in my standard biscuit recipe. It was about two cups regular all purpose flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour. They came out a little more dense than I like, but I am experimenting with different flours. Drowned in gravy or slathered with homemade jam, they would be great anyway! I also had a couple of links of beer brats in the refrigerator, and (sorry honey!) today they were gonna be the sausage for my gravy.  Beer brats are Lee's favorite sausage in the whole wide world, and I am sure he would prefer to eat them whole, in a bun with mustard and sauerkraut. I saved him three of the links. 

I learned a great way to make sausage gravy from Pioneer Woman. I began by removing the casing and breaking the sausage into chunks, then adding in the onions and bell peppers. I let it all brown in the saute pan and then stirred in a scoop of flour, stirring until it glommed onto all the sausage chunks and absorbed any juices. Then I stirred in two cups of milk and stirred that while it cooked and thickened into a nice gravy sauce. I gave it a liberal sprinkling of pepper and a little bit of salt. I thought a bit of thyme would enhance the gravy, so I added a teaspoon full of dried thyme. Now that I think of it, I think I have live thyme plant outside...have to remember to check on that tomorrow and see if it is still alive. This is why I have to buy my vegies and fruits from the farmers, because I can't remember to water my own stuff at home!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/08/recipes-from-tomorrows-show-4/#comments

Eggs scrambled in coconut oil completed our breakfast plates and we even let the kid have some. Best part is, I have extra biscuits in that I put in the freezer so I can have some biscuits and jam in the mornings before work. Yummy!

This is the Mexican blend with oregano, garlic salt, pepper and chili powder, onions and bell peppers

The Italian blend has onions, bell peppers, sweet red peppers, and Italian spices of rosemary, basil, parsley, and garlic

Fish with Orange Butter Sauce

I love the recipes posted by the fishermen on SLOfreshcatch.com. They are about as straightforward as you can get. Butter and orange juice. Maybe I will salt and pepper the fish first? Probably, but it doesn't sound like it really matters. I guess this is a recipe you can't really screw up!

The only twist was when I opened my baggie of fish that was delivered from SLO Veg this week, one package said "Black Cod" and the other said "Halibut". Usually the packages are unmarked, and look like the same fish. Halibut?!? The latter is going in the freezer, because that one is MINE! All mine! Well, maybe mine and Lee's, but our, anyway! I have plans for that halibut, and it includes special time with my hubby. It's my favorite fish and I have a recipe that calls for coconut milk that will require my full attention. It's only half a pound of fish, for crying sake! I quickly defrosted another package of cod that I have put in the freezer last week when we went up to the races and couldn't prepare it right away. The kids will love it, orange sauce and all...

September 3-9 2013
Ling Cod Caught By Multiple Captains With Orange Butter Sauce

Posted on by margie on September 3rd, 2013

1 lb Ling Cod
4 T. butter
2 cups fresh orange juice

Melt butter in a pan, add the fillet, then douse with the fresh orange juice.  As the fish cooks, the orange juice will reduce and thicken.  Serve the sauce with the fish.

I paired our fish with a simple squash casserole where you layer zucchini, lebanese squash, onion (in this case I used leeks) and tomatoe slices, drizzle olive oil all over it, season it with salt and pepper and some dried thyme, and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Its simple and delicious!  Plus I have some leftover yellow rice with peas, so I think I have a really simple, well-rounded meal for the family tonight.

Penne with Pesto alla Trapanese

Almonds and tomatoes! Blend that into a fresh pesto for a quick pasta meal that is low in calories, yet hearty and delicious.

I found this recipe in a magazine a couple of years ago. Actually, I think I found it in Men's Health Magazine, one of my husband's favorites. The recipe comes from a Lidia Bastianich, host of Lidia's Italy. I have never seen the show, but she is quoted in the magazine article as saying, "This recipe brings me back to Sicily and the friend who taught me this new version of pesto with almonds. It's quick, simple and easy to clean up!" It sounded like the perfect weeknight meals I could make in minutes, and I loved it from the very first go.

You know, I think I will look Lidia up on the internet. Maybe I should start watching her show if it is still on... Okay, I am reading her bio now. http://www.pbs.org/food/chefs/lidia-bastianich/ I guess she is pretty reknown...I feel like I have been living under a rock now or something. She has a major NYC restaurant with her son and rock star chef Mario Batali as partners, plus she has jars of pasta sauce for sale with her picture on it and all. I really need to get out more. Sigh!!!

Now that I have some lovely tomatoes (Roma, cherry & red) from SLO Veg and all the other required fresh ingredients, I am thinking about this pesto. The key is to blend, pour onto hot pasta, and eat...no waiting. That's Pesto alla Trapanese at its best! Its gonna be our workout night go-to dinner.

Tonight I also cooked some opah fish seasoned with lemon pepper and coarse sea salt in butter and served it alongside the pesto pasta, which was linguine, not penne. Tomatoes, garlic, parmesan cheese and fish... I'd say that's about as Mediterranean as it gets!

Pesto with Pesto alla Trapanese

3/4 lb. penne rigate pasta
1/2 lb. cherry tomatoes, very ripe and sweet
8 large, fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp. unsalted roasted almonds
1 large garlic clove, crushed and peeled
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
2. While pasta cooks, rinse the tomatoes and basil and pat dry.
3. Place the tomatoes in a blender or food processor, followed by the basil, almonds, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Blend for a minute or more into a fine puree; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large pieces are left.
4. With the machine still running, add the olive oil in a steady steam to emulsify into a thick paste.
5. Scrape the pesto into a big bowl. Drop drained pasta onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the pasta, sprinkle on cheese, and toss again. Serve immediately in bowls.

What to do with Eggplant? Go Mediterranean!

Okay, let me first just say I am not a big fan of eggplant. I suppose it's because I have not eaten that much eggplant in my life. As a kid, just the name turned me off. But as an adult, I have tried it prepared in a variety of ways and I always seem to like how other people make it. I remember having an grilled eggplant burger a while ago that was fabulous. So a couple of weeks ago we got some eggplant in our box from SLO Veg and I totally ignored it. Well, actually, I sliced it, blanched it, and put in into the freezer. See it there in the photo? I never even gave it a mention!

Fork pricks to let off steam, ready to roast

Today I am making Eggplant Parmegiana with that frozen eggplant. The problema is, I now have another eggplant from our vegetable box delivery. As I browse through eggplant recipes: Moussaka, Parmigiana, Ratatouille, etc, I see one for Baba Ghanoush. I know I have had that at our favorite Mediterranean Cafe, Jaffa, in town and I liked it, so maybe I can make some. Lee would love it, I know, and it would make something good for him to take to work this week along with some pita bread. So while my breaded slices of eggplant are baking for the Parmigiana, I also put a whole eggplant on a pie plate, pricked it with the fork per the instructions below, and put it into the oven to roast.

OMG, as I am blogging I am also watching Giada on TV, and her show is "A Tour of Italy". Right this moment she is making a dish with eggplant where she roasts it and then makes little fried eggplant balls for an appetizer.  I am definately trying that with the next eggplant I get!

Wouldn't you know it! I have sesame seeds, but no tahini. I thought I had a little tube of it in the frig, but that is anchovie paste. Dang...I have to stop at the store.

Update: I mixed this recipe up sans tahini. It turns out it doesn't need it. The sesame seeds flavor it enough. I had to send a text to my husband: "Oh Dear! Hurry home. Just made fresh Baba Ghanoush. If you are lucky you will get here in time to lick the jar!"

Baba Ghanoush
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baba-Ghanoush-2/Detail.aspx?evt19=1

Ingredients

Makes 1-1/2 cups

1 eggplant

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
3. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Roasted and peeled eggplant

Pureed eggplant

I made a jar full of Baba Ghanoush...not enough, but its a start!

Eggplant Parmigiana

Fruits and vegies from SLO Veg are just so beautiful!

I have all the makings for Eggplant Parmigiana, and I can use the eggplant that I blanched and froze a couple of weeks ago. Well, sort of everything...I really don't have any shredded mozzarella cheese, but I do have mozzarella sticks. It's five days until payday and I don't want to make any trips to the grocery store if I can help it. I will cut those cheese sticks into little pieces and place them on top of each eggplant slice to melt down when I bake it. I had originally planned to use Mario Batali's recipe, but I noticed he didn't coat his eggplant in bread crumbs, and I think they will taste better with a crumb coating. So I decided to go with this other recipe from Allrecipes. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eggplant-Parmesan-II/Detail.aspx?evt19=1
Here is Mario's recipe if you want to compare: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/eggplant-parmigiana-recipe/index.html

The breadcrumbs I used today were some leftover rye bread that I had tossed into a bag and put in the freezer a few weeks ago. I know, not at all Italian, but I happen to love rye bread and thought it would be interesting. I defrosted the bread and crumbled it in the blender. Then I lightly toasted the breadcrumbs before coating the eggplant with them. A teaspoon of Italian seasoning plus some garlic, salt and pepper goes into the crumbs, then I coat the eggplant in a beaten egg mixture and dip it into the breadcrumbs. The eggplant slices get baked in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I didn't take any pictures of those steps...hummm. Slipping!

Oh well! Next I prepare my baking dish, which has a coating of olive oil followed by a half cup or so of pasta sauce. I went cheap here and used a can of Hunt's tomato sauce. I don't have enough fresh tomatoes on hand to make my own sauce today and I am trying to stay out of the grocery store, as I mentioned before. I use this tomato sauce all the time and the guys eat it, so? I usually add diced tomatoes to it to make it chunkier, but today I need a smooth sauce. About the only truly homemade tomato sauce I make is the fresh, uncooked one with almonds in it: Pesto al la Trapanese. I thought I had blogged about it before, but if I did, I can't find it. I will put that one on the list, because its soooooo awesome! I do like to try other sauces that come in glass mason jars, partly because they taste fresher than canned and partly because the guys use the jars for water glasses. They are sturdy and if they break a jar, its not like they ruined a set of glassware, now is it? When the grocery store runs a sale on that stuff, I stock up! Barilla pasta sauce, 3 for $5. I can barely buy canning jars for that price.

I layered the breaded and baked eggplant slice in the casserole and topped it with the rest of the can of tomato sauce, sprinkled on a generous layer of parmesan cheese and cubes of mozzarella string cheese. A little more basil flakes will go on top and into the oven it will go tonight for our dinner. It will need to reheat and bake for about 30 minutes, I am guessing.

I spent the morning cleaning my living room before I starting baking, but now I am going to some appointments and when I get home dinner will be ready to bake. That makes my evening easier and I will actually get to sit down with my hub and enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. I love my days off at home!

*Cook's note: This was not our favorite dinner ever. The eggplant was still a weird consistency.We had to cut with a knife. We decided the best use of our next eggplant would be roasted and pureed into Baba Ghanoush.