Blood Orange Roasted Tofu and Asparagus

Spring is here!!! Which means asparagus is super cheap at the market. I dug and dug all over the internet for an asparagus recipe that wasn’t the same old same and came across this recipe from Eating Well. I loved that it had some of the asian flavors already in the recipe, but I thought it would be fun to add even more by upping the miso and swapping rice vinegar for balsamic. I had a blood orange in the fridge that I wanted to use up and it was SO amazing in this recipe. I don’t even know if I would make it with a regular navel orange. Ingredients juice from one blood orange 16 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch-1 inch cubes 1 1/2 lbs. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces 3 1/2 T. red miso 2 T. extra virgin olive oil 3 T. rice vinegar 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely sliced 2-3 teaspoons blood … Continue reading

Fried Green Tomatoes

A southern favorite, Steve and I finally tried our hand at these and made our own. They were delicious. Recipe Serves 3-4 as side dish. 3-4 firm green tomatoes, cut into slices 1/2 cup cornmeal 1 cup flour or almond … Continue reading

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe 3 servings. 3 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick strips 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced cumin, paprika, cayenne, sea salt and pepper to taste Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 450°F. 2. Line baking sheet with … Continue reading

Baked Baby Bellas with Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce

Baby Bellas, also known as crimini mushrooms, lend themselves well to this savory appetizer adapted from the folks at Season with Spice. Steve and I made these with a Roasted Acorn Squash Rigatoni. A perfect fall dinner! Recipe Mushrooms 1 … Continue reading

Entertain with Style…The Perfect Cheeseboard

I LOVE cheese!!! And I love paté. Luckily Steve loves these too and we’ve finally figured out how to put together a mean cheese plate. Tips for your Cheeseboard 1. Select cheeses from different types of milk: Goat, Cow and … Continue reading

Tomato Fennel Tart

Tomatoes are taking over our lives!!! Our garden is spilling over, they’re arriving in our Organics to You shipments, and the farmers are selling the most amazing heirlooms right now. We’re eating tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and we’re … Continue reading

Blood Orange Roasted Tofu and Asparagus

Spring is here!!! Which means asparagus is super cheap at the market. I dug and dug all over the internet for an asparagus recipe that wasn’t the same old same and came across this recipe from Eating Well. I loved that it had some of the asian flavors already in the recipe, but I thought it would be fun to add even more by upping the miso and swapping rice vinegar for balsamic. I had a blood orange in the fridge that I wanted to use up and it was SO amazing in this recipe. I don’t even know if I would make it with a regular navel orange.

Blood_orange_roasted_asparagus_and_tofu

Blood Orange Roasted Asparagus and Tofu

Ingredients

juice from one blood orange
16 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch-1 inch cubes
1 1/2 lbs. asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
3 1/2 T. red miso
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
3 T. rice vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, finely sliced
2-3 teaspoons blood orange zest
salt and fresh ground white pepper, to taste
chili flakes, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit.

2. In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 the olive oil, 1/2 the rice vinegar, and 1/2 the miso. Then add the tofu to the bowl and stir until generously coated.

3. Line cookie sheet with foil and spread the tofu out evenly on top of the foil. Roast the tofu for 15-18 minutes.

4. While the tofu is cooking whisk the remaining olive oil, miso, and rice vinegar with the blood orange zest and blood orange juice.

5. Once the tofu has cooked for 15-18 minutes mix in the asparagus and roast for another 10 minutes, or until the tofu is golden brown and the asparagus is tender.

6. Remove the asparagus and tofu from the oven, place in a large bowl and pour the sauce over it, then add the fresh basil. Stir it all together until evenly coated. Add salt, ground white pepper and chili pepper flakes until desired flavor.

 

Fried Green Tomatoes

fried green tomatoes

fried green tomatoes served with curred salmon burgers and baked sweet potatoes

A southern favorite, Steve and I finally tried our hand at these and made our own. They were delicious.

Recipe

Serves 3-4 as side dish.

3-4 firm green tomatoes, cut into slices
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour or almond meal
1/2 cup panko
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
cayenne and garlic salt
1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil
salt

 Instructions

1. Arrange sliced tomatoes on paper towels and sprinkle with salt to draw out some of the moisture. The breading will have a hard time sticking if you forget this step.

2. In three separate bowls combine flour and garlic salt in one, egg and milk (beaten) in another, and cornmeal and panko in the third.

3. Heat the oil on medium heat.

3. Dip the sliced tomatoes into the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and finally into the cornmeal mixture.

4. In batches fry the tomatoes for a few minutes on each side.

5. Arrange fried tomatoes on fresh paper towels to drain.

6. Serve with a spicy dipping sauce.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

salmon_burger_sweet_potato_fries

Baked sweet potato fries served with a spicy dipping sauce and served alongside a curried salmon burger and fried green tomatoes.

Recipe

3 servings.

3 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick strips
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
cumin, paprika, cayenne, sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Line baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.

3. Toss fries in olive oil and seasoning.

4. Spread fries evenly on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, take them out and mix them up, then bake for another 10 (or so) minutes.

5. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Spicy Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup mayo
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons sriracha
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
cayenne, curry, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients and adjust to taste.

Holy Guacamole!!!

This guacamole always disappears…sometimes before dinner is served. It’s perfect for fajita night with a couple of friends or double it up for a fiesta.

guacamole

Holy Guacamole!!!

Recipe

Serves 3-4.

3 avocadoes, peeled, pitted and cubed
1/2 onion, minced
1 jalapeño, diced
1/2 tomato, finely diced
1/4- 1/3 cup, finely chopped cilantro, plus a couple leaves for garnish
4 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Combine avocado, tomato, jalapeño, garlic and lime juice. Mash like crazy with a fork or OXO Good Grips Wire Potato Masher.

2. Stir in cilantro, chili pepper flakes, cayenne, salt and pepper. Adjust accordingly. I like a slow burn, so I always heat it up….not enough to make you sweat, but so you definitely know it’s there.

3. Serve with homemade tortilla chips….or store bought if you don’t have time to make your own.
4. Transfer to a fiesta inspired bowl and garnish with cilantro.

 

Baked Baby Bellas with Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce

Baked Baby Bellas (Criminis)

Baked Baby Bellas (Criminis) with Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce

Baby Bellas, also known as crimini mushrooms, lend themselves well to this savory appetizer adapted from the folks at Season with Spice. Steve and I made these with a Roasted Acorn Squash Rigatoni. A perfect fall dinner!

Recipe

Mushrooms
1 8 oz. package of Baby Bella mushrooms
1/2 cup Panko (you can find Sun Luck in most grocery stores in the Asian food section)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Fresh ground sea salt and pepper

Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayo
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Fresh ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mushrooms

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel

3. In a small-ish bowl combine Panko, parmesan cheese, basil, parsley, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper and mix well.

4. In a separate bowl beat the egg.

5. Dip the mushrooms in the egg mixture until fully coated then transfer to the Panko mixture and coat well again. Place mushroom on a Silpat(or Parchment) lined baking sheet. I swear by my Silpat and would definitely like another one or two!!!

6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown. Serve warm.

 Lemon Dill Dipping Sauce

1. While your mushrooms are cooking combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Entertain with Style…The Perfect Cheeseboard

Cheese Board

Morbier, Spanish Olives in the ramekin, Truffle Tremor, Peppercorn Pate, Adriatic Fig Spread, Fresh Pear and Fig, Firm Sheeps Milk Cheese and another gooey one in the back and Organic Cracked Pepper Water Crackers

I LOVE cheese!!! And I love paté. Luckily Steve loves these too and we’ve finally figured out how to put together a mean cheese plate.

Tips for your Cheeseboard

1. Select cheeses from different types of milk: Goat, Cow and Sheep.

2. Select different flavor profiles: stinky, nutty, spicy, delicate, bold…you get the picture.

3. Select different textures: firm, crumbly, soft, gooey.

4. Serve your cheese at room temp (take them out of the fridge about an hour before serving)

5. Pimp out your cheeseboard: Adriatic Fig Spread, olives, roasted peppers, nuts, cornichons, fresh fruit like pears, apples, grapes,and/or fresh fig. Turn your cheese plate into a charcuterie plate and add paté, proscuitto, soppressata, jamón serrano, or coppa to name a few.

sliced fig

fresh sliced fig

6. Don’t forget to provide some rustic bread and simple crackers.

7. There are some really impressive cheese boards on the market, so don’t be afraid to invest in one. I use a serving board from crate and barrel, but I’ve seen a couple on amazon that look pretty sweet. I like the look of serving it up on an old, rustic cutting board, but a pretty plate would work well too.

8. It’s nice to use different knives for each cheese, but they usually get mixed up in the end. For softer cheeses a spoon sometimes works better than a knife.

9. I like to pair with a Sauvignon Blanc or a Côtes du Rhône, but sometimes it’s fun to pair with different beers too… a coffee porter, pumpkin ale, or maybe a fresh hopped pale.

 

Some of My Favorite Cheeses

Rogue Creamery Caveman Blue (Oregon)- Is an organic raw cow’s milk blue cheese aged 6 months. It has a slightly sweet flavor, a rich buttery texture and a hint of bacon. Found at Whole Foods and Amazon.

Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor (California)- Is a pasteurized goat cheese that has had black truffle added to the mix and been allowed to ripen. This cheese has a great earthy quality while still being both tangy and buttery. Definitely my favorite right now!!! You can purchase Truffle Tremor from Amazon and have it shipped to your door for a small fortune or at your local Whole Foods.

Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor

Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor

Quattro Portoni Caseificio (Gritti) Quadrello di Bufala (Italy)- This mild flavored, semi-soft cheese is made from water buffalo milk and is from the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It is a washed rind cheese made in the same fashion as Taleggio, it’s more pungent cow milk counterpart. Quadrello di Bufala has a sweeter milkier flavor than Taleggio with hints of hay and grass. Once again, Whole Foods and Amazon both carry Quadrello di Bufala.

Mitica The Drunken Goat (Spain)- This Spanish goat’s milk cheese is made from the milk of Murciano-Granadina goats. During the cheese-making process the cheese is soaked in red wine for three days, giving the rind a deep purple color. The Drunken Goat has a very slight sweetness countered by a sharp finish and a firm texture. This easy to like cheese is    available at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Amazon

Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk (California)- Not for the faint of heart….this triple cream washed rind cheese is STINKY!!!! Like dirty feet stinky!!! And it is delicious with fresh sliced apple and rustic bread. This cheese is made with organic cow milk and has a super creamy mouthfeel. BEWARE: Your whole house will smell like stinky cheese and as the cheese comes to room temperature it will only get stinkier. You can find this one at Foster and Dobbs in NE Portland…maybe at Whole Foods or New Seasons (I know I’ve seen it around, but I can’t remember where).

Morbier (France)- Morbier is a raw cows milk cheese and is not to be confused with American Mobay (a goat and sheep milk cheese that looks similar). The tradition of Morbier began in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Traditionally farmers would press the leftover curds from the evening milking into a mold and sprinkle with vegetable ash to prevent rind and keep bugs away, then in the morning they would add curds from the morning milking, creating two distinct layers. This cheese is fairly mild, a little bit stinky, and has a nutty flavor. This style of cheese is easier to find and can be found at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and New Seasons.

Dalmatia Dried Fig Spread- A delicious spread that pairs well with most cheeses.Can be found at Whole Foods and most other high end or artisanal cheese shops.

365 Organic Cracked Pepper Water Crackers- These super simple crackers that won’t overpower your cheeseboard can be found at Whole Foods.

If you’re in the Portland Area Ken’s Artisan Bakery on 21st makes heavenly breads. They’re so delicious that I am inspired to make my own…how hard can it be, right? We’ll see what happens when I finally get around to it; until then I will continue to by Ken’s breads. He also makes amazing macarons!!! YUM!!!

Don’t be afraid to try something new!

Here are a couple of really cool cheeseboards:

 

Tomato Fennel Tart

Tomato Fennel Tart

Tomato Fennel Tart

Tomatoes are taking over our lives!!! Our garden is spilling over, they’re arriving in our Organics to You shipments, and the farmers are selling the most amazing heirlooms right now. We’re eating tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and we’re getting creative with these juicy little suckers. This tomato fennel tart, inspired by a recipe from Sunset Magazine (Nov 2005) put a smallish dent in our ever growing tomato supply and allowed us to put the fennel from Organics to You to use too. As an added benefit this tart is perfect topped with a sunny-side up egg for breakfast.

Recipe

1 disk Cheese Pastry Dough (or if you’re lazy, one pre-made pie crust sprinkled with ½ cup shredded gruyere cheese)

1 head of fennel rinsed and sliced crosswise in to ¼ inch slices (discard the base and the green stalks)

7 shallots, peeled and sliced in to ¼ inch slices

½ cup chopped Italian parsley (or curly if you prefer the taste), plus one tablespoon for garnish

1 cup shredded parmesan

20 cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved

Instructions

1. If you made your Cheese Pastry Dough roll it out so it’s atleast 12 inches diameter and transfer to your tart pan. If you’re using a pre-made pie crust simply unroll and transfer to your tart pan. Trim off any overhanging dough, poke holes in bottom of crust, cover with plastic wrap and put crust in the freezer for 30 minutes while you cook the fennel and shallots.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Heat medium sized frying pan on medium-low heat and add olive oil, fennel, and shallots. Stir frequently till fennel and shallots are a caramel colored brown, approximately 30 minutes.

4. Sprinkle veggie mix with 1/2 cup parsley, add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

5. Pull your crust out of the freezer and bake in oven for 20 minutes. If you are using a pre-made crust sprinkle the crust with the gruyere before baking for 20 minutes.

6. Once crust is golden brown remove from the oven, layer the parmesan cheese on the bottom of the crust, then the fennel/shallot mix, and finally add the sliced cherry tomatoes.

7. Bake in the oven till cheese is golden brown, approx. 10 to 15 minutes.

8. Garnish by sprinkling with remaining Italian parsley.

Steve and I had leftovers, so for breakfast we added a sunny-side up egg to the top of the reheated tart and it was delicious!!!

Tomato Fennel Tart with Sunny-Side Up Egg

Breakfast: Tomato Fennel Tart with sunny-side up egg

This tart is excellent served with a simple arugula salad tossed in a homemade lemon vinaigrette.

Peruvian Ceviche

My favorite restaurant here in Portland is Andina, a family owned Peruvian restaurant in the heart of the Pearl District. And they have their ceviche recipe dialed down. Here is my re-creation of this Latin American favorite based on the recipe I found on myrecipes.com.

Ceviche

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds firm white fish (mahimahi, ono, bass etc.), bay scallops, or prawns (if using fish or prawns chop into pieces approx.. the size of your thumbnail)

½ small-medium red onion, halved and sliced super thin (use your mandolin if you have one)

juice from 8-9 limes

½ cup cilantro finely chopped

1 habanero, seeded and minced; a jalapeno, seeded and minced, would also work well

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 sweet potato or yam (boiled and cut in to 1″ slices , peel if you like)

1-2 corn on the cob (grilled in the husk); once cooked remove husks and you can either break the cobs in half or slice the kernels off and serve in a bowl

1 head Butter or Boston lettuce

½ cup to ¾ cup Aji Amarillo Sauce

Serves 4.

Directions

1. Combine seafood, red onion, habanero, salt and lime juice in a medium size bowl. Stir well and let sit for 20 minutes covered in the refrigerator. Stir well after 10 minutes to make sure the seafood is thoroughly “cooked.”

2. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

3. My favorite way of serving this dish is family style, with the ceviche in a medium sized bowl and the sweet potato, corn, butter lettuce on a platter, and the aji Amarillo sauce on the side in a small dish with a spoon that people can pass around and take what they want.

Aji Amarillo Sauce

Ingredients

2 T. Aji Amarillo paste (can be purchased at Dashen Latino Grocery on NE Glisan)

2 green onions (chopped)

Juice from 2 limes

1 T. ketchup

¼ c. sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions

1.  Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Sauce may be refrigerated before use and can be made in advance.