Semi-fried green tomatoes

I've posted this recipe before, but for one thing it was hidden inside another recipe and hard to find, and for another, I haven't tried making something new in a while (for shame!) so I have no new recipes to report right now and Jon feels like we need to post something here...

We love this recipe. There's lots of room for variations, too. I've tried this it corn flakes, I've tried it with panko, and last night we tried it with whole wheat panko (because that's all they had at the store). I think my favorite is the regular panko, but others preferred the corn flakes because you can get a more even coating on the slices with that. Also, the original recipe called for them to be served with fresh homemade salsa, but we felt they were fantastic on their own. Others I think might enjoy them with something like a ranch dressing. And The cayenne is not entirely necessary, either, as any seasoning (or none) will do.

Semi-fried Green Tomatoes

  ● 1/2  cup flour
  ● 1 tsp salt
  ● 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  ● 1 large egg
  ● 1 tbsp milk
  ● 1 cup cornflake crumbles or panko
  ● 4 medium green tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices
  ● 1/4 cup canola oil

In a shallow bowl combine the flour, salt, and cayenne.  In another shallow bowl beat egg and milk together. In a third shallow bowl place corn flakes, well crumbled (I go over mine with a rolling pin), or panko in a third bowl.
Coat tomato slices with flour mixture, then dip into egg mixture, then coat with crumbs/panko.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 4 tsps oil over medium heat.  Fry tomato tomatoes in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown, adding more oil as needed.  Drain on paper towels before
placing on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375℉ for 4-5 minutes or until tender.

I don't have a finished product picture (we were too hungry and they disappeared to fast!), but here's a before...

Summer salad with black eyed peas

I'm always looking for fun vegetarian meals to eat in the summer. In the winter we gobble up all kinds of vegetarian soups, stews, and casseroles, but that's not really summery, is it? So I did a few searches and found a few options, melded some, alterred others, and now I have a whole file of summer style veggie entrees. It looks like salad is the way to go! That makes sense to me, and the less time I can spend over a hot stove, or with the oven heating my already warm house, the better.

This recipe is a combo from several others scattered around the web. Some changes I'd make: next time I'd like to try the sun dried tomatoes not packed in oil, or maybe even fresh ones.

Summer Salad with black eyed peas

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
  ● 2 cups dry black-eyed peas (or about 2 cans)
  ● feta cheese, about 1 cup, crumbled
  ● 1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, about 8 ounces
  ● 1 cup Kalamata olives
  ● 2 green onions, chopped
  ● 1 garlic clove, minced
  ● 1 large bunch of spinach, washed, dried, and torn
  ● 1 lemon, both zest and juice

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the black-eyed peas and turn heat down to below a simmer. Cook uncovered until done, about 45 minutes. When done, pour into a colander and  wash with cold water to stop the cooking and cool.

2 In a large bowl combine spinach, feta, olives, onion, tomatoes, lemon zest, and garlic, and cooled peas. Toss to mix well. Squeeze lemon over top, to taste, right before serving.

Pea Soup with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This is a Taste of Home recipe. I know a lot of people will be turned off by the green-ness of it, but it's brilliant spring hue is exactly what drew me to it in the first place. I love fresh green things to eat, and we've been waiting so long, and will wait still longer thanks to a sluggish season, for that baby green. So I created it for the dinner table. It was good, but I don't care how many times they tout it as a main course, I think it got a little monotonous that way and would be better as a beautiful, and yummy, side dish. Additionally, I don't think it had enough protein as written so I added about the cannellini beans.

Pea Soup with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
  ● 1/2 lb. sliced baby portobello mushrooms, divided
  ● 1 tbsp. butter
  ● 1/4 cup chopped onion
  ● 1 garlic clove, minced
  ● 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
  ● 3 tbsp. sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth
  ● 1 tbsp. minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  ● 3/4 tsp. salt, divided
  ● 5 cups fresh or frozen peas, divided
  ● 2 cups cannellini beans (or one can)
  ● 3-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  ● 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  ● 4-1/2 tsp. minced fresh basil or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:
Set aside 3 tablespoons mushrooms for garnish. In a large skillet, sauté remaining mushrooms in butter until tender.

Add onion and garlic to skillet; sauté until tender. Stir in the cream, sherry, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer to a bowl and cream with stick blender.

In a large pot, combine 4-1/2 cups peas, cannellini beans, chicken broth and remaining salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until peas are tender (about 5 minutes). Stir in lemon juice and basil and heat through. Use stick blender to soupify.

Serve hot and topped with mushroom and cream sauce (we mixed our cream sauce in). Garnish with reserved mushrooms and remaining peas.

Nutrition Facts (from Taste of Home, not including cannellini beans): 3/4 cup soup with 2 tablespoons sauce equals 169 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 15 mg cholesterol, 612 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.

Butternut squash soup

I thought Jon, the resident pumpkin lover, would scream travesty when I made soup out of butternut squash instead of its orange relative, but actually I think he liked this one better. I know I did. It's just enough sweet and just enough spicy. Of course you can make it sweeter by using more cream or spicier by using more ginger (and I've heard of people adding curry, too).

Butternut Squash Soup

Origin: Alton Brown
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
  ● 6 cups (about 2 large squash) seeded 2-inch wide chunks butternut squash
  ● Melted butter, for brushing
  ● 1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
  ● 1 tsp. freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
  ● 3 cups vegetable stock
  ● 4 tbsp. honey
  ● 1 tsp. minced ginger
  ● 4 oz. heavy cream
  ● 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I failed to actually measure the heavy cream and ginger but I'm pretty sure I added more of both, particularly of the ginger, than is called for. In any case, this soup was delicious.

Margherita Pizza

We had a pizza party last weekend—the kind of pizza party that had me making four doughs and everyone lending their artistry to topping them. Before the party Calvin and I spent about 10 minutes with the cheese specialist at Whole Foods discussing the different kinds of cheesses used for topping pizzas and we came home with three different kinds of mozzarella in addition to a myriad of other toppings, so we had plenty of materials from which to work. They were all good, but this one seemed to be the favorite across the board and I know we'll be making this one again soon.

Margherita pizza (my own take)
Ingredients (dough):
  ● 3-3/4 cups bread flour
  ● 1 pkg rapid-rise yeast
  ● 1/2 tsp salt
  ● 1-1/2 cups warm water (~100-120F)
  ● 1 tbsp honey
  ● 1 tbsp olive oil
(toppings):
  ● olive oil
  ● 2 lbs fresh mozzarella (1 inch sized balls, sliced)
  ● 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
  ● fresh basil leaves, torn
  ● prosciutto (optional—we used prosciutto wrapped in mozzarella)

Directions:
Fresh mozzarella balls should be drained for several hours to eliminate extra moisture. I started mine draining six hours before we made our pizzas by pouring the whole balls into a colunder lined with a clean towel and placing it over a plate in the refrigerator.

Combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water, honey, and olive oil, stirring until mixture begins to leave the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface knead for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic, adding enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and turn it to coat evenly. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm and free from drafts (I warm my oven just a tad ahead of time then set it in there with the oven off). Let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and knead, on a lightly floured surface, about ten times to release the air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll or pat each ball into a 12 inch round. Place rounds on pizza stones or other baking sheet. Use a brush to coat lightly and evenly with olive oil, then top with tomato slices, cheese slices, prosciutto (if using), and torn fresh basil leaves. Bake at 450 for 10-13 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is beginning to brown.