Strawberry Salad

I stole this salad idea.  I won't say where I stole it from, because to be honest, mine was waaaaay better than the place I get this salad from.  If you advertise a salad as having mint and feta, it should really have mint and feta.  Otherwise I just get angry that I spent $7 on a salad which didn't have the mint, part of the whole reason I order this particular salad in the first place and that I waited nearly 2 hours for it to be delivered to me.  Then I have to go home and recreate the salad myself. No more giving my money to that establishment, I'll just make it myself!

To start, I created a white balsamic vinaigrette. Its 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 3 tablespoons of honey, a dash or two of garlic powder, a dash or two of dried basil, a dash or two of dried oregano, some sea salt, and some fresh ground pepper.  Mix that up and let it sit so the flavors meld.

Then I made some candied walnuts:  Cook 1/4 cup sugar, 1 cup walnuts, and a tablespoon of butter over medium heat.  Stir constantly because once the sugar starts to melt things get a little sticky.

 
I took my salad mix - a spring mix with spinach and I added small pieces of bacon, fresh sliced strawberries, fresh mint, diced red onion, and topped with feta.

Sooooo good!

Mulligatawny Soup

I became obsessed with Indian food over our trip to Alabama, which I admit, seems like a strange time to become obsessed with Indian food. We stayed at a hotel on the way down that had Indian food delivery as an option and there I had the most amazing Chicken Tikka Masala and Mulligatawny soup.  I was determined from that point on to recreate these dishes.  While I'm not sure mine was quite as good as the wondrous bowl of spicy deliciousness that I had in that hotel room, this was quite good.  And don't worry, I'll continue to make this soup again with subtle changes until I find the perfect soup recipe.

So, to start, you'll need lots of delicious ingredients, including...

(Full ingredient list at bottom of post)








Red lentils...

Green Apples...

Some lovely aromatics...

And much much more....

Start by sauteing diced onion, carrot, and jalapeno in the melted butter for about 5 minutes or until soft.

Next add the ginger, garlic, apples, and diced tomatoes.  Saute this mixture for another three minutes.  Then add in all of the spices.

Next, add the lentils and the broth and let it all simmer for about 30 minutes.

Cook for 30 minutes to an hour.   At this point it will have this consistency.  

Then you can use an immersion blender or regular blender to blend some of the soup if you like more of a puree consistency or you can leave it chunky.  Same flavors, just a choice of consistency.  I went with the blended version.  Once blended, add in the coconut milk. Note: if you haven't used coconut milk before you should know that it will separate in the can.  Be sure to shake / stir well prior to adding it to the soup!

Top with oven roasted cashews and green onions and serve!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
 1 carrot, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp minced ginger root
2 green apples, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tsp cumin1/2 tsp aprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup red lentils
3 cups chicken broth
2/3 can unsweetened cocount milk

Chicken Tikka Masala

Start by marinating the chicken overnight.  To create the marinade, you'll need to start by mixing together the spice mix which includes:

1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Then take half of this mixture and combine it with 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 inch of fresh grated ginger, and 1 cup of yogurt.  Chop about 2 lbs of chicken breast into large chunks.  Place the chicken in the marinade and place in large ziplock bag in the fridge overnight.

Next, saute an onion in some butter until softened. Then add 2 minced cloves of the garlic and saute until fragrant. 

 
 Then add two cans of diced tomatoes, or fresh tomatoes if you have them.  I didn't have any decent fresh tomatoes.  Also add about 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper, and the rest of the spice blend.  Cook for about an hour or until the sauce is darkened and thickened.

While that cooks, prepare a pan lined with aluminum foil and topped with a baking rack to cook the chicken. Spread the chicken pieces out over the rack and broil for about 8 minutes and then flip and cook another 6 minutes or so until the chicken is done.

Mmmmm....chicken...

Once the sauce is ready, put it in a blender and puree. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream.  Add the chicken to the sauce.

And serve with rice and cilantro.

This was my first attempt at Indian food, so there is a chance I'll revise this recipe later. But it was pretty darn delicious!

Bacon wrapped dates with raspberry jalapeno sauce

Bacon wrapped dates are delicious.  The only way they become more delicious is when you serve them atop a raspberry jalapeno sauce.

You'll need these ingredients for the raspberry reduction: 6 ounces of  raspberries, jalapenos to taste, a teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 cup red wine.

Combine in a pot and cook over medium heat.

Meanwhile, make the filling for the dates.  Coarsely chopped pecans and jalapenos combined with goat cheese.

This really isn't an exact science, just mix as much of those ingredients together as you'd like.  More jalapenos if you like things on the spicy side, less if you don't.  I prefer to add the pecans and leave them in larger pieces because it adds a nice texture to the finished product.

Slice open the dates on one side and remove the pits.  Stuff dates with the cheese mixture.  Wrap the dates in bacon and secure with toothpicks.  Then place the dates on a cookie sheet and put them under the broiler, set on low.  Cook until the bacon is starting to crisp.  Turn the dates as often as needed to cook the bacon on all sides.

After the sauce has cooked for about 20 minutes and reduced to a nice thickness, it is ready to be strained.  Place a strainer inside a bowl so that you catch all the delicious sauce but remove the jalapenos and raspberry seeds.

Then drizzle the sauce on your plate, top with the finished dates, and serve!  So good!!!

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Spicy pumpkin soup doesn't taste at all like pumpkin pie.  So don't just assume that you wouldn't like pumpkin soup, because you might like this.  You should, it is delicious.

Start by taking a medium size pumpkin and remove the seeds.

Slice the pumpkin into pieces and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Once it is tender, remove from oven and cut the pumpkin flesh off the skin.

Put the pumpkin a food processor and pulse it until blended.  You'll need about 2 cups of pumpkin puree.

Next, toast the pumpkin seeds.  Coat them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some cayenne!

Then saute one diced onion, a diced jalapeno, and about 6 cloves of garlic.

Add 8 cups of chicken stock, the pumpkin puree, 15 oz can of white beans, 2 tablespoons of ground cumin, 2 tablespoons of dried oregano, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of honey.

Let it all simmer for a while.

Meanwhile, fry up some onion strings to top the soup with.  Soak thinly sliced onions in buttermilk for 20 minutes.  Then mix up some flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, and paprika.  Dredge the onions in the flour mixture.  Cook in hot canola oil. Watch carefully and be sure to flip them when they start to brown.

Remove and drain on a paper towel.  Once the soup has simmered for a while, use an immersion blender to blend the soup up.  Top with the onions and pumpkin seeds.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

These are brussel sprouts - cold, green, and not all that tasty, yet.

But despite their bad rap, brussel sprouts are delicious!  Wash and dry the the brussel sprouts.  Make sure they are dry so they will roast nicely.  Start by chopping the brussel sprouts in half, coating them in olive oil and salt & pepper.  Roast in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Flip them over about half way through cooking.

Meanwhile, heat some balsamic vinegar until it is reduced to a nice thickness.

Once the brussel sprouts are done, they will be nice and browned.  Yummy.

Then cook some bacon.

Remove the bacon and add onion pieces to the bacon grease, cook until browned.

Add the bacon and brussel sprouts back in and stir.  Then add the balsamic reduction on top!

Now, yummy brussel sprout goodness.

Corn Cake

Sweet corn cake is so yummy, i could really the whole thing. It could be a great side dish, or a dessert, or breakfast. 

Start with fresh corn.  You'll need 1 1/2 cup of corn.  Cut the corn off the cob and put it into a food processor.  Pulse until the corn is chopped into tiny pieces, but not pureed.

Next, you will need 1/2 cup of softened butter.  You will mix the softened butter with 1/3 cup of masa flour, 1/4 cup water, and 2 tablespoons of milk.

On top of that mixture, add 1/4 cup corn meal, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.

Stir that together, then add the corn pieces.

Place the mixture into a well greased 8 x8 pan.

Cook at 350 degrees for roughly an hour or until the edges start to brown.  Use an ice cream scoop to serve up little balls of deliciousness!