Dairy-free · Salad · Vegan · Whole30 compliant

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Harissa and Avocado

Belinda

This recipe is from the food blog “Alexandra Cooks” and is such a lovely combination of flavors and textures, especially served with garlic rubbed ciabatta toast.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 5.24.06 PM

3/4 lb. carrots, scrubbed, root ends trimmed, but unpeeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Harissa to taste, I use about 1/4 cup of homemade Harissa, but I suggest starting with a teaspoon if using store-bought.
1/2 tsp sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
½ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro or a mix of the two
1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced

Send the carrots down the chute of your food processor with the shredder attachment in place. Transfer shredded carrots to a large bowl. Alternatively, coarsely grate with a box grater.

In a small saucepan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they begin to darken and smell fragrant. Add the garlic, Harissa, sugar, salt, and olive oil, and bring to a sizzle. Cook until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Remove pan from the heat and add the lemon juice.

Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix. Add the herbs and mix again.
Add the avocado, if using, and toss again. Serve immediately or let stand for an hour or so before serving.

Note: If you would like to make this ahead of time, hold the avocado until just before serving.

Meat · Pasta

One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese

Belinda1 Comment

This is the perfect warming, comforting family meal combining two favorites from the food blog, “Damn Delicious”

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 2.32.51 PM

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
8 oz ground beef
4 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 ounces elbows pasta
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat.
Add the garlic, onion and ground beef, and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
Stir in the chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bring to a simmer and stir in pasta. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes.
Remove from heat. Top with cheese, stir and cover until melted, about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Grains · Rice · Vegan

Moroccan rice with Harissa, dates and orange

Belinda

Enjoy this flavorful, exotic rice dish from the food blog, “Alexandra’s Kitchen”
The combination of the dates and orange gives the rice that wonderful Moroccan aroma.

Screen Shot 2018-10-19 at 10.21.46 AM

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp harissa
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed until water runs clear (do not use brown rice)
6 Medjool dates, pitted and diced
1 orange, zested and juiced

In a large skillet over high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium.
Add a pinch of salt, and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and bay leaf to the onions, and cook for another minute more. Add the harissa. Stir to incorporate.
Add the rice and stir for another minute or until each grain is glistening. Add the dates and the orange zest.
Squeeze the orange into a liquid measure and add enough water to create 1 and 1/3 cups liquid. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Stir to combine.
Bring to a simmer, cover the pan, turn heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes.
Let stand for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. There should be a bit of nice caramelization on the bottom of the pan — I like to scrape this up and incorporate it into the rice.
Serve immediately.

Do-ahead · Holiday Food · Pasta

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese

Belinda

This recipe is from the food blog “Damn Delicious.” It’s such a great time of year to serve this soothing, creamy and tasty dish.

 
Screen Shot 2018-10-18 at 9.59.57 AM

Serves 6

8 oz medium pasta shells
6 slices bacon, diced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped sage
1 1/4 cups half and half
1 cup whole milk
1 (15-ounce) can butternut squash puree. (You can also use sweet potato puree)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
10 oz shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, about 2 1/2 cups
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to the package instructions; drain well.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Drain the excess fat; transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the garlic and shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in the flour and sage until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in the half and half, milk, butternut squash and Dijon.
Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the pasta and cheese until melted, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and chives, if desired.

Dairy-free · Gluten Free · Meat · Rice

Spiced beef and rice pilaf

Belinda

The food blog “Matters of the Belly” is super. Noha is Egyptian and lives in Australia. Well worth signing up, if you love Middle Eastern food.

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 3.04.39 PM

Serves: 6

3 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1lb lean ground beef
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. mixed spice (any general mixed spice will work)
1 tsp. ground turmeric
½ tsp. ground cardamom
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
2.5 cups basmati rice
4 cups beef stock
7oz frozen peas
4 oz toasted almonds (blanched whole, or flaked, or slivered)
4 oz raisins
2 oz barberries (optional if you can find them)*
salt & pepper to taste
half a bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Place the oil, onion & garlic into a large pan on medium heat (use a pan that is nice and wide, moderately deep and has a tight fitting lid). Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until softened.

Turn the heat up to high, add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently to break up the beef, until it’s starting to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the spices and cook a further 2 minutes till the spices are fragrant.

Add the rice and stir for a minute to evenly distribute the ingredients; get all the rice grains nicely coated in spices & oil, then add the stock.

Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat to the lowest possible setting and place the lid on the pot. Leave it covered for 10 minutes.

Take the lid off, add the peas, almonds, raisins & barberries (if using), scattering them onto the surface of the rice, then put the lid back on and let it cook a further 5 minutes.

Take the lid off and use a fork to fluff up the rice. Have a taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Top with the chopped parsley & serve right away.

NOTES
*Barberries are a lovely Persian sour berry that can be found dried in most specialty Middle Eastern stores. It gives nice tangy pops of flavor and color, but the recipe will work absolutely fine without it!
Feel free to change the type of nut and dried fruit in this recipe, such as hazelnuts, pine nuts, chopped dried apricot or prunes etc.

Meat

Baked spaghetti squash with Italian sausage, basil and mozzarella

Belinda

Spaghetti squash is a great way of feeling like you’re eating pasta without the carbs. This is a recipe posted by the website “Delish” and is super easy and tasty.

Screen Shot 2018-10-15 at 12.16.01 PM

Serves 4

2 large spaghetti squash, halved
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup (or more) shredded fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 400°.
On a large baking sheet, rub insides of spaghetti squash with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
Bake until tender, 55 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and heat the broiler.
Once cool enough to handle, shred the spaghetti squash with a fork.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until browned. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the tomato sauce and fresh basil.
Divide the tomato/sausage/basil mixture between the halves.
Mix the two cheeses together and top with the cheese mixture.
Broil until the cheese is browned and the squash is warmed through, 4 to 5 minutes.
Serve hot.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Baking · Holiday Food · Nuts

Mini cranberry-brie bites

Belinda1 Comment

These are simple and fabulous and the rosemary and chopped pecans really take them up a notch. Another beauty from the website “Delish”

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 1.02.51 PM

1 tube crescent dough
Cooking spray, for pan
Flour, for rolling out dough
8 oz. wheel Brie
1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup chopped pecans
6 sprigs of rosemary, cut into 1″ pieces.

Preheat oven to 375° and grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the crescent dough, and pinch the seams together. Cut into 24 squares.
Place the squares into muffin tin slots.
Cut the brie into small pieces and place inside the crescent dough.
Top with a spoonful of cranberry sauce, some chopped pecans, and one little sprig of rosemary.
Bake until the crescent is golden, about 15 minutes.
Serve warm.

Uncategorized

We’ve moved to Pasadena, California.

Belinda

Well, we finally moved from the Westside of Los Angeles to beautiful Pasadena and are absolutely loving it. This is our front upstairs balcony that looks over a very quiet, tree-lined street.

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 10.47.31 AM

It’s so peaceful, the local traffic is a breeze, the homes are beautiful and elegant with tons of mature trees, the people are very friendly and community-minded and they seem to be more interested in cooking rather than eating out all the time.
Pasadena seems to have better and more interesting restaurants than the Westside of LA too. (I may get some push-back on that comment, but I stand by it)

We love our new home, but knew pretty much straight away that we would be doing a big kitchen/dining room renovation and reconfiguring a laundry room, maid’s room and bathroom behind it, hopefully installing a good-sized butlers pantry that would also hold my 1000+ recipe books and many folders of downloaded recipes from various websites.
I will be posting pictures as the work progresses but at this point we are narrowing down an architect. All suggestions and recommendations for new kitchen ideas would be extremely helpful.
Someone suggested an “appliance station” the other day which sounds fabulous, so that has gone onto our “dream list”

To be continued…

Appetizers

Pizza Nachos

Belinda

I love this combination, especially as it’s without all the dough pizza comes with. From the recipe blog “Delish” It’s a great recipe for your kids to make too.

Screen Shot 2018-10-14 at 9.09.09 AM

1 bag Tortilla chips
2 cups pizza sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 cup mini pepperoni
1/2 cup sliced black olives. (Try and buy Kalamata olives and slice them yourself, those tinned pre-sliced ones are pretty bad!)
1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
On the prepared baking sheet, add about half of the chips.
Drizzle about half the pizza sauce over the chips, then top with half of the mozzarella, half the pepperoni, bell pepper, black olives, and Parmesan.
Repeat to make another layer with remaining ingredients.
Bake until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.
Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Whole roast cauliflower with lemony yoghurt sauce

Belinda

This recipe comes from the food blog “Alexandra’s Kitchen”
I have roasted whole cauliflowers before, with spices rubbed in but this one is lovely as the lemony yoghurt sauce takes it to another level. (I personally love the charred top)

Screen Shot 2018-10-13 at 10.30.45 AM

Count on two people per head of cauliflower

1 (1 1/2- to 2-pound) head cauliflower with leaves
1/3 cup Kosher salt
1 to 2 tsp nice, flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
3 tbsp best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, divided

For the yoghurt sauce:
1 cup good Greek yoghurt like “Fage”
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt or to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil, optional
Za’atar or fresh chopped thyme leaves are an option to mix into the yoghurt

Preheat oven to 550°F with oven rack in center of oven.
Trim the stem of cauliflower, keeping the leaves intact, so it will sit level on a rimmed baking sheet—I line mine with parchment paper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil in a stockpot over high heat. Stir in the 1/3 cup kosher salt until dissolved.
Add the cauliflower to the water; place a heatproof ceramic plate on top of the cauliflower to keep it submerged or use a lid and partially cover the pot. Boil until tender and a fork inserted in the cauliflower meets no resistance, 10 to 13 minutes.
Gently lift the cauliflower from the water, transfer to a colander and drain in the sink. Let stand until the cauliflower has cooled slightly and is dry to the touch, about 15 minutes. Place the cauliflower, stem side down, on a rimmed baking sheet.
Rub 1 tablespoon olive oil between hands, then rub over cauliflower to apply a thin, even layer OR: drizzle the cauliflower with some of the tablespoon of oil, then coat your hands with the remainder and rub the oil all over it.
Sprinkle 1 to 1 1/2 tsp sea salt over the cauliflower (salt might clump in some places). You may need to turn the cauliflower upside down and rub it in the salt that falls on the sheet pan.
Bake in preheated oven until dark brown, about 25 minutes—this may take longer depending on your oven. If you find it’s not getting as dark as you would like, you can run it under the broiler, watching closely the entire time.
Meanwhile, make the yoghurt sauce: stir together the yoghurt, lemon, and salt (and thyme leaves if using).
To serve, smear the yogurt onto a plate. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with za’atar.
Remove the cauliflower from the oven, and carefully rub with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Place on top of the yoghurt smear. Serve hot.