Tali Sauce Chickpea Salad over Greens

Tali sauce is a godly-delicious sauce that is offered by a Portland food cart, the Whole Bowl.  I've reingineered something similar (who knows the true recipe!!).  I freeze the sauce in an ice cube tray so I can keep it on hand.

I've found Tali Sauce is great tossed with cooked chickpeas and flat leaf parsley. Sometimes I eat it as is for a snack (carries well in a plastic container for work).

Put the chickpea mixture over a green salad dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, toss in cubed cucumber and you've got a full meal!

15 minute Mexican Dinner: Eggy Quesadillas

Been making these egg-tortilla contraptions... and realized this is a new favorite quick meal! Assuming you have the condiments handy (salsa, cooked black beans, cotija cheese) this goes together in a snap. Kinda messy but totally crave-able.

Tonight I fried up the egg in a tiny bit of olive oil, slapped a corn tortilla over the top.  Flip a couple times until the tortilla starts to puff up.

Then folded it into a quesadilla shape with:
black beans
cotjia cheese
avocado
tomatillo salsa
tomato salsa (trader joe's "roasted" is our favorite... gotta figure out how to make this in huge quantity and can it!)

Baking Stone Thin Crust Pizza

This makes an excellent pizza dough- crispy with bubbles! From Heidi's mention of Peter Reinhart in this recipe. All whole wheat flour was used in these photos and it was really good! Of course you can use white flour-- FYI in a previous batch using all white flour, I got more bubbles.

Each of the 6 balls of dough from this recipe makes a medium size pizza of 4 slices.  I generally serve 1 pizza per person along with a side salad since the dough is thin and the toppings are light.  Balsamic vinaigrette is a great choice for the salad.

Mix in a large bowl:
4.5 C (20.25 ounces) bread or all purpose flour (chilled)
1.75 tea salt
1 tea instant yeast

Now add liquids, mix with hands to combine.
1/4 C olive oil
1.75 C water, ice cold

Knead until it can form a ball. Split into 6 pieces and store in the fridge (individually wrapped) for at least overnight.

When ready, pull out of fridge, shape into a disc and let rest at room temp for 30-75 minutes.

Start preheating baking stone in oven, 500 F.

Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness with rolling pin on flour-dusted surface.

Spoon tomato/pasta sauce lightly.

Put toppings on. Cook for 5-7 min directly on baking stone.


Topping ideas

Tomato Mushroom:
thin tomato slices
basil
rosemary
thinly sliced mushrooms
sliced parmesan

Greek:
thyme
black pepper
caper
kalamata olive halves
spinach
crumbled feta

Gourmet:
watercress
fig
thin sliced red onion
walnut

Northwest:
Baby spinach
Portobello mushroom (or cremini)
Goat cheese crumbles
Black olives (optional)

Chef Salad with Buttermilk Herb Dressing

Threw together this salad:

lettuce
cooked yukon gold potato
cooked bacon
halved cherry tomatoes

with Buttermilk Herb Dressing.

Indian Chicken Drumstick Curry

This is a tomato-ey chicken curry made on the stovetop from Vij's cookbook. From start to finish it takes 1.75 to 2 hours, so plan accordingly.

Prep
mince 2 white/yellow onions
peel 4-6 cloves garlic
peel and grate 2" of ginger

combine spices:
1 TB salt
1 tea turmeric
1/2 tea ground black pepper
1 TB ground cumin
1 TB ground corriander
1 TB garam masala (prebought or make your own)
1/2 tea cayenne (don't be afraid- it needs the heat!)


Start cooking!
Fry onions in little bit of oil until golden (5-10 min).

Add minced garlic, stir 2 minutes.

Add grated ginger, stir 1 minute.

Add spices, stir 1-2 minutes.

Add 2 C tomato chunks (canned or fresh). Stir and scrape bottom of pan. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add 3 lbs chicken drumsticks (skin removed or pulled down to the ankle bone). Stir and cook 10 minutes until turns white.

Add 2 C water and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on med/low for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.

Turn off heat and let chicken cool for 30 minutes. Start a pot of rice.

Remove chicken from the curry sauce and pull chicken off the bones. Discard bones, any skin, and the cinnamon stick.

Put chicken pieces back in curry sauce. Bring up to a boil to re-warm. Optionally add half to 1 C sour cream, buttermilk or cream for extra richness.

Serve with cooked brown rice and chopped cilantro as a garnish.

Brioche Dough & Challah Bread (tastes like crescent rolls!!)

Ok I like brioche and I like Challah bread but what really blew me away was how this dough tasted like crescent roll dough (straight out of the can!). It smelled like crescent rolls while baking and - gasp!- tasted like crescent rolls only better. yes BETTER than crescent rolls.

Of course crescent rolls are not the kind of thing I eat- preservatives and yuck in a can. But I loved them as a kid, particularly rolling the dough around a foil tipped stick and baking over a camp fire. Yum.

So I'm pleased to have an alternative that's home made! And the huge amounts of butter and eggs is correct (I did a double take when first making it!!)

This makes a beautiful bread which is quite special, perfect for a neighbor gift, tea or brunch. It wraps up nicely to give out as presents.


Ways to use brioche dough:

• Braid 3 ropes of the dough (start from the center out and repeat on the other end). Brush with egg wash (1 very beaten egg + 1 TB water) and sprinkle poppy seeds or sesame seeds (See below for full directions on challah)
• Roll dough out, fill with cinnamons and raisins (or make a paste of medjool dates cinnamon and raisins!). Then roll up jelly-roll style, then put in a loaf pan or twirl into a turban. Or roll up jelly roll style with chocolate filling.
• Use for pastry recipes
• Fill with sweet almond paste or pastry cream or chocolate chunks
• Fold in chopped prunes and bitterweet chocolate

Brioche Dough Recipe
From this book on Artisan Breads. The recipe is enough to make 4 one-pound loaves. The dough freezes easily, so you don't have to bake it up all at once.  It is easiest to make up the dough and plan on baking with it the next day.

Mix yeast, salt, eggs, honey melted butter and water in a 5 quart bowl:
1.5 C lukewarm water
1.5 TB instant granulated yeast
1.5 TB salt

8 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 C honey
1.5 C butter (melted)

Spoon in the flour and mix until combined:
7.5 C flour (this is 2 lb and 1 oz of flour)- mine came out delicious even with whole wheat flour.  I like Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour. NOTE: Make sure the majority of the flour is bread flour/high protein.  If you use too much all purpose flour, the texture won't be as nice/won't get as much rise on the finished bread.

It's ok for it to be loose and lumpy.  Lightly cover and rest at room temp until it rises and collapses; about 2 hours.

Refrigerate to chill.  You can keep in the fridge for 5 days, or split into 4 portions and freeze.

Baking Up Refrigerated dough: divide dough into 4 portions and put aside the other 3 portions for other uses/loaves.

From your 1 lb ball, cut into 3 portions and stretch/roll each into long thin rope.  Braid the ropes starting from the center, working out to one end, then braid from the center out to the other end.

Allow the shaped challah bread to rise/rest for 40 minutes.

20 minutes prior to baking time: Place baking stone in center of the oven.  Preheat oven to 350 F for 20 minutes to warm up the stone.

Beat 1 egg with 1 TB water thoroughly to make the egg wash.  Brush egg wash over the challah loaf in two coats. Sprinkle poppy seeds (or sesame seeds or coarse sugar) over the egg-washed bread.

Using a large spatula, gently push the bread onto the hot baking stone inside the oven.  Bake for approx 25 minutes at 350F (plus or minus depending on the size of the loaf; wnat it to be golden brown).

Let cool. Then slice. 

Baking up Frozen dough: thaw one of your 1 lb dough balls for overnight to 24 hours in fridge. 
From your 1 lb ball, cut into 3 portions and stretch/roll each into long thin rope.  Braid the ropes starting from the center, working out to one end, then braid from the center out to the other end.


Allow the shaped challah bread to rise/rest for 1 hour 20 minutes.


20 minutes prior to baking time: Place baking stone in center of the oven.  Preheat oven to 350 F for 20 minutes to warm up the stone.



Beat 1 egg with 1 TB water thoroughly to make the egg wash. Brush egg wash over the challah loaf in two coats. Sprinkle poppy seeds (or sesame seeds or coarse sugar) over the egg-washed bread.


Using a large spatula, gently push the bread onto the hot baking stone inside the oven.  Bake for approx 25 minutes at 350F (plus or minus depending on the size of the loaf; wnat it to be golden brown).

Let cool. Then slice.

No-Cook Tabouleh

I'm really liking the blog NoRecipes. Tried out his Tabouleh and have decided it is irresistable!

Great for potlucks, picnics or lunch boxes as it seems to get better with age and isn't really temperature sensitive. I like that while being a cold salad, it has some heartiness from the grain, so it is a little more filling than a green salad.

The idea is you soak bulgur wheat (which is super cheap in the bulk bins!) in a lemon/olive oil dressing for a while. Then toss with liberal amounts of cukes, parsley, cherry tomatoes and voila!

Followed this recipe, but had to let the bulgur wheat sit longer in the dressing before it fully puffed up- probably overnight would be good next time. Note that you don't have to boil the bulgur or combine it with water.

Southwest Salad (Remixed)

We've been making some riff on this salad for a long time now. I used to get all complicated with the dressing, but now I chop stuff by hand and shake into a dressing. This is our go-to salad as we keep home-cooked black beans in the freezer which are ready to warm for a quick lunch. It is filling, hearty and the hubby loves it :)

Dressing: Combine the following into a dressing- play with the proportions until it tastes good!
olive oil
lime juice
garlic
chopped cilantro
salt
black pepper

Salad:
Prepare romaine or leaf lettuce. Toss with a tablespoon or 2 of the dressing. Arrange on plates.

Top with:
cooked black beans
avocado
cotjia cheese
sprinkle of chipotle pepper powder


Optional extra toppings:
corn
tomato
onion slices
scallion/green onion

Buttermilk Herb Salad Dressing

Similar to the "ranch" dressings out there, but fresher! Don't often have buttermilk in the house so this is a "treat" salad dressing lol.

Chop up parsley and put in a mason jar you'll use to hold the dressing.

Add:
cracked black pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
other spices you like (Penzey's Parisien, or oregano etc.)

Pour in 2-4 TB of buttermilk and a spoonful of mayonnaise. Stir or shake to combine. Adjust seasonings and buttermilk/mayo to the right taste and consistency.

Serving ideas: as is on lettuce, or with cheese or croutons.  Or add boiled potato chunks, snap peas and asparagus for a spring dinner salad:

Simple Black Rice Pudding

While I've made many a more complicated black rice pudding recipes, felt like doing it the simple way today.

Method:
Boil 1 C black rice in 3 C water until done (about 30-40 minutes?) stirring a couple times and making sure it doesn't boil over.

In a blender, whiz until combined into a milky beverage:
1/4 C unsweetened coconut
4 medjool dates, pitted
chunk of vanilla bean
pinch salt
2 C water

Once the rice is done, spoon what you want into a bowl. Pour the coconut mylk over and enjoy!

Eggplant "Bacon"

Inspired by these two blogs: post punk kitchen and Raw+Simple to try out making dehydrated eggplant bacon.

Thinly slice 1 japanese eggplant. I cut in half, then slid each half over the mandolin to make these slices.

Mix marinade in a small bowl out of these ingredients:
1 TB olive oil
1 TB tamari or soy sauce
1 TB maple syrup
1 TB apple cider vinegar
scant 3/4 tea liquid smoke (find an all natural brand- ingredients should be hickory smoke and water)
1/2 tea paprika
black pepper
chili powder (I used 1/4 tea chipotle and it was a little too hot! so use lightly)

Layer the eggplant slices with marinade between the layers. Let sit in the marinade for 30 minutes.

Lay on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate until crispy (about 4 hours for me at 120 F)


The slices were so pretty- it's got me thinking about other ways to use eggplant! Like this recipe, where it is rolled around tofu "ricotta" as a pretend-pasta!

Sweet Potato Chips

Just realized I have never posted these dehydrated sweet potato chips! I've made them countless times since receiving a mandolin from my Auntie (the mandolin makes quick work of these, instead of an hour shaving with a veg peeler or working delicately with a knife). These are a great snack as they are perfectly crunchy, but only 50 ish calories (I think?!) for an ounce, which is a good snack size. So they make a good work drawer snack... if only I could keep them around long enough!

Mix sweet potatoes and yams for a colorful treat. Sometimes I get the Okinawan sweet potatoes which are bright purple inside (but they have a bit of a perfumy scent/flavor so it changes the batch when I use these).

I've found I like them plain- just a little dab of oil. But you can add salt, paprika, chili pepper... just about any spice to them before dehydrating.

Method
Wash sweet potatoes/yams (I can get about 2 sweet potatoes into my dehydrator)

Cut off a little bit of a pointy end to get a flat surface to start from on the mandolin. Use mandolin (with cut resistant gloves for safety!!) to slice sweet potato into the thinnest rounds possible.

Toss with approx 1 TB olive oil (or you could try any other oil, hazelnut, flax etc.)

Lay on dehydrator.

If using salt, sprinkle over the chips.

Cook the sweet potato chips in dehydrator anywhere between 117-135 F until crispy, may take 4-6 hours.

I use a simple lamp timer to turn the dehydrator off while I'm asleep!

Tomtoey Mattar Paneer (peas & Indian cheese)

Adapted this from an old magazine recipe. Really good fresh tasting curry that didn't take too long to cook (assuming you bought the paneer ready made!) -- approx 20-30 minutes?

Paneer is availalbe at some Costco stores or at an indian grocer. To make it vegan you could substitute tofu for paneer and omit the cream or use coconut cream or cashew cream.

Saute 1 chopped yellow onion in olive oil (or ghee) until browns.

Add the following and stir for 1-2 minutes until you hear the mustard seeds popping:
2 minced cloves garlic
1 tea cumin seeds
1 tea mustard seeds

Stir in:
1 cup or approx 14 oz pureed tomatoes (blend up a can of tomatoes into blender or blend fresh tomatoes)
1 tea corriander
1/2 tea garam masala
1/2 tea turmeric
1/2 tea salt
1/2 tea paprika

Simmer the sauce until it thickens and reduces.

Stir in 1.5 C frozen green peas and stir. Cook until the peas are warmed.

Finally add 6-8 oz paneer (cut into cubes) and 1/2 C buttermilk or cream. Stir to combine, lower the heat (so as to not curdle the dairy) and warm thorought.

Serve over cooked rice or with indian breads like chapati or naan. Serve with roasted veggies (roasted broccolini in the photo above).

Palak Paneer (Buttermilk Spinach w/ Cheese)

Very fresh tasting version of palak paneer- nothing like the overcooked over creamed versions at restaurants. Based on Heidi's version at 101 cookbooks (this is a half batch- served 2 for a big dinner). The preparation takes the most time, then the curry itself goes together quickly (20 minutes?)

Prepare
Wash and finely chop 0.5 - .75 lb baby spinach. This is about half of a huge 1 lb box from Costco (i.e. earthbound farms' spinach). Set aside in a bowl.

Chop 1 yellow onion into small dice. Smash 3 cloves garlic. Grate 1 TB of ginger.

Cut approx 8 oz paneer into cubes (Costco sells in 2 packs or buy at an indian grocer. Paneer freezes nicely so you can reserve the extra).

Grind in mortar and pestle the spice mix:
2 TB cumin seeds
1 TB corriander seeds
2 tea mustard seeds
1 tea red pepper flakes
1/8 tea cardamom
3 cloves


Cook
Fry up the paneer in olive oil or butter until starting to brown. Use a spatula carefully when turning the paneer so you don't leave all the browned bits in the pan. Turn out browned paneer onto a plate.

Add a little more oil or butter to the pan. Saute diced onion until browning. Stir in 1/2 tea salt.

Add garlic, ginger, 1 TB of ground spices from above and 1/4 tea turmeric. Cook for 60 seconds until it releases some aroma.

Add all of the chopped spinach and stir a little to coat. Cook for 5 minutes or until the spinach is cooked down quite a bit but not scorched.

Finally add 1/2 C buttermilk, 1/4 - 1/2 tea amchoor powder (dried mango powder, or substitute some fresh lemon juice). Toss in the browned paneer and stir to combine.

Serve over brown rice, or with naan or chapati bread.

Cornmeal Buttermilk Cake with Fresh Corn & Raspberries

Found this gem in a book on farmer's markets desserts. Tweaked it a bit to be less sweet and potentially gluten free if you use the gluten free flour mix as described below. Since I rarely keep buttermilk I'll have to try it next time with rice milk or yogurt to see if that works too!

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and dust a 8" round cake pan with flour.

Mix 1 C raspberries and 1 C corn with 2 TB flour (wheat flour or gluten free flour mix) and set aside. Frozen is ok.

Sift together dry ingredients:
1 C coarse cornmeal/polenta
3/4 C gluten free flour (or regular wheat flour is fine too)
1 tea baking powder
1/4 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt

Beat together wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 C buttermilk
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
1/3 - 1/2 C honey

Combine dry and wet mixtures together. Now fold in the raspberry/corn mixture.

Pour into the cake pan. Bake 40-45 minutes if the berries & corn were room temp; 55 minutes if you used frozen raspberries and frozen corn.

Let cool slightly, then run a knife around the edges of the pan and invert onto a cooling rack or cutting board. Serve as is or with whipped cream or macerated berries.

Carrot Orange Smoothie

Something about carrot and orange is divine. When I have the time to dirty up the juicer I make the juice, but for a quick pick me up I just blend it all in a smoothie. Hence the smoothie is not a smooth but fiber's good for you!

Smoothie
Chop up 1 carrot into small pieces and add to blender with a peeled navel orange. Blend until combined and frothy.


Juice
Juice 1 or more carrots. Combine carrot juice with a peeled navel orange (or oranges) and optional peeled papaya in blender. Blend until combined.

Tortilla Egg Sandwich

This is a simplified version of Heidi's Unda-style quesadillas. See her post for better photos and good topping ideas! This is super fast- great for a breakfast as you can eat it with your hands.

Method
In hot pan oiled with butter or oil, start to fry up a beaten egg. When it is almost ready to set on the top, press a corn tortilla into the egg. Flip over, cook on both sides until starts to puff and browns.

Fill with salsa. Fold and eat like a sandwich.

Brothy Black Eyed Peas with Ham Hocks

This makes a luscious pot of brothy beans and pork. And it is super cheap (1 lb of beans is less than $1, and I got a huge organic smoked ham hock for less than $5)-- yielded 5 quarts, which is 20 cups (we could assume 10 two-cup servings).

Method
Soak 1 lb dried black eyed peas in water over night. Drain and rinse.

Put a smoked ham hock in the slow cooker. Pour drained soaked beans around the ham hock.

Add:
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 white onion, diced
1 jalapeno, de-seeded and minced
1 tea oregano
1/2 to 1 full tea black pepper

Pour water in the slow cooker to cover without overflowing.

Set on low for 9-12 hours.
Pull the ham hock apart with a fork and a spoon and separate the meat into bite-sizes, discarding the bones, any gristle or extra skin.

Add salt, and optional extra jalapeno or chili pepper to taste.

Serve as is in a bowl, or over brown rice.

Tomato Quinoa Black Bean Soup

This is a tomato-mex version of a simple soup I do when I'm down to pantry/freezer staples and I've got cooked grains leftover in the fridge.

Bring to boil:
pureed tomatoes (or roasted tomatoes)
garlic
chicken broth (or veggie broth)
hot water

Add and cook until soft (10-15 min)
carrot, thin sliced
celery, thin sliced
onion, diced

Add once the previous veggies are soft:
frozen corn
cooked black beans
cooked quinoa

Season with:
mild red chili powder
ground cumin
black pepper
salt

Serve hot!

Spring Salad: Shiitake, Asparagus, Baby Potato

Had something like this at New Seasons, but with goat cheese. Simply delicious!

Marinate thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms in olive oil, tamari, salt and pepper for 20 minutes or longer.

Toss greens with soy/sesame dressing or your other favorite dressing.

Top with:
boiled yukon gold potatoes
blanched asparagus
marinated shiitakes
shredded parmesan cheese

NOTE: I simply pour boiling/hot water from the kettle over the asparagus in a heat proof container and let sit for 5-10 minutes. That cooks it enough for eating as is or on salad!

Potatoes are good over green salad!

One of my favorite salads is a green salad with boiled yukon gold potatoes. I learned to love potatoes on salad from my host mother in Japan. Eating at her home for dinner was like eating at a restaurant (and I told her so every day!). Another variation of salad with potatoes is to combine with bacon, tomato and buttermilk dressing.

Serve the salad with either cold or hot potatoes-- both are good!

Boil the potatoes
Clean the potatoes and cut into chunks if they're really big.

Bring a pot of water to boil, add the potatoes and cook until you can push a fork through one of the potatoes.

This could be as fast as 5-10 minutes or up to 20-30 minutes depending on the size of your pan, how much water and potatoes and the size of the potatoes.

Drain and reserve potatoes. Use leftover potatoes in potato salad or served with breakfast.

Make the Salad
Prepare a green salad with romaine and frisee. Toss with ceasar dressing.

Cut boiled yukon gold potatoes in pretty halves and arrange over the greens.

Shave parmesan cheese and sprinkle dried herbs (like chives etc, or use a green herb mix from Penzey's).

Whole Wheat Chapati Bread

These are scrumptious for breakfast (served with steamed broccoli, cuke slices etc.) Also good for a sandwich, wrapped like a pita. From what I can tell chapatis are the same as roti (?)-- maybe it is just differences in regional names, or perhaps there really is a difference! Either way these are great indian breads.

NOTES: Use the following amounts for 6 chapatis, or double for 12 chapati breads. Use a high quality, fresh whole wheat flour dough, like Bob's Red Mill brand.

Method
Combine 1.5 C whole wheat flour, 1/2 tea salt, 3/4 C warm water. Knead into dough. Let dough rest for 4 hours +.

Cut into 6 pieces (about golf ball size). Flatten each piece until it's about 6" diameter. Store between sheets of wax paper (they will stick back to each other!)

Heat large flat pan until hot. Add tiny bit of oil or ghee to grease the pan. Lay the bread dough on the hot pan- let set for a minute or two until it realses from the pan - you can use a scraper to get it off in one piece.

Flip over to the other side-- cook until it's no longer doughy but doesn't have to be all the way done yet.

Using tongs, hold over gas flame to puff up and finish toasting the breads.

Serve with ghee/butter and spice mix (penzey's turkish spice blend is delicious on these!)

Simple Pineapple Fried Rice (vegan)

A simpler version of pineapple fried rice, with fewer spices and omitting the egg. This is a great "clean out the fridge" recipe as you can add most any veggie to it!

Saute 1 C onion slices in oil until starting to brown. Add 1 -2 tea minced garlic, stir. Add 2 C sliced mushrooms and let them release their juices.

Add:
1-2 C thinly sliced and chopped green cabbage
Optional: any other veggies, thinly sliced (carrot, celery, etc)


Add spices/liquid and stir:
White pepper
corriander
soy sauce
1 tea lime juice

Toss 1-3 C leftover cooked rice (brown rice is good but any will work- leftover/cold rice is best) with 1 TB sesame oil, braking up lumps. Dump rice into pan and stir.

Add and stir:
Raisins
Cashews
Pineapple
Green peas (frozen is fine)

Stir occasionally over high heat until some of the rice on the bottom starts to brown.

Serve hot with thin sliced scallion and sesame seeds.

Roasted Tomatoes (for open face cheese sandwich)

Roasted tomatoes are the ultimate topping/condiment for many dinners and snacks.

Roasted Tomatoes
Cut and core fresh tomatoes.

You can either roast whole small tomatoes (cut an X in the skin to prevent bursting) or slice larger tomatoes (make sure they're hefty slices, like 1/2" thick or thicker).

Lay on rimmed baking sheet.

Bake/broil at 400 F until they become soft and there are a couple brown/black edges. (some people roast with a little bit of olive oil but you don't actually need it). This usually takes 20-35 minutes.

You can roast garlic at the same time!

Open Face Cheese Tomato Sando
Spread olive oil and mashed garlic (or roasted garlic or garlic powder) and/or optional pesto over slices of bread. I use brown bread but any (non-sweet) kind would be good.

Mash roasted tomatoes over the top of the bread.

Top with thin slices of sharp cheddar cheese and/or parmesan. Crack black pepper over the top of the cheese.

Broil in oven or toaster oven (450-500 F) until the cheese gets sufficiently gooey. My hubby says he could eat this every day- sheesh!
Other ways to use roasted tomatoes

• Pasta or pasta salad
• Sandwiches
• Mexican salsa

Watercress Orange Avocado Salad

This is a yummy winter or spring salad, when fresh cirtus is available. Watercress is really good for you because it contains sulferous cancer fighting compounds.

Arrange peeled orange segments and avocado slices over a bed of washed watercress.

Dress with:
2 TB orange vinegar see vinegar recipe here (or sub any light flavored vinegar)
1 tea maple syrup
1 TB sesame oil

Banana Bran Muffins

Started as an experiment but turned out really good! A little flat b/c there wasn't a ton of batter to go around, but nice and moist. Hubby and I both downed 2 straight out of the oven.

Next time I might try adding cooked steel cut oats to the batter...

Stir to combine:
1 C wheat or oat bran, or wheat germ
1/4 C whole wheat flour (or use gluten free flour mix)
1 tea baking powder
1/2 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt

Optional/next time: 1/2 - 3/4 C cooked steel cut oats

Add to food processor with the following. Pulse to grind and combine.
2 C grated apple (from about 2 small apples or 1 large apple)
1 C mashed ripe/overripe bananas (or sub unsweetened applesauce or grated apples)

Finally add and pulse to combine:
1 TB molasses (or sub maple syrup)
2 eggs

1/8 tea ground cardamom seeds (or sub cinnamon)
grated fresh ginger

Pour into greased muffin pan. Sprinkle oats on top.

Cook for 30 minutes in 375 F oven or until done in the middle.