This recipe for Beet and Goat Cheese Jewels is just gorgeous. It is different colored beets boiled until soft and then molded into a terrine with goat cheese holding it together.
The different colored beets look stunning. I’ll have to remember this next time I have a party.
I’ve been eating arugula since January, and now the crop is finially finishing up and going to seed. It will self-seed and I should have another crop later this year without my having to do anything. Which is one of the many reasons I love growing arugula.
I’ve been experimenting with cooking and freezing arugula, and finding what I like to use it in besides salads. So far I find it’s too bitter when by itself as a cooked green, but it makes a good addition to a dish. I also tried freezing it by itself, and I’ll see how that works and report back.
Also, I tried arugula pesto for the first time. Several recipes were too spicy, until I discovered this recipe, which has you roast the garlic in a pan and microwave the nuts (instant roasted nuts taste with less work!), softening the flavors and making a very nice pesto.
Since pesto freezes great, I made a doube batch and stuck it in the freezer to use later on pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, and so on. Of course, you can also use it right away on fresh pasta, too.
Here is my slightly modified version of this recipe.
Arugula and Walnut Pesto
(Enough sauce for 4 people)
Ingredients:
Directions:
To clean the arugula, fill a bowl with water and swish the leaves around. Remove, carefully blot with a paper towel or run through a salad spinner. Repeat twice more.
In a pan, brown the garlic cloves in their peels over medium high head, until the garlic is lightly brown and soft inside, about 10 minutes. Once they have cooled, remove the skins.
Heat the nuts in the microwave for two minutes, which gives them a roasted flavor. Great trick!
Put the aurgula, walnuts, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse while adding 1/3 cup of olive oil. Taste the pesto and add more oil as needed. I found that 1/2 cup was too oily for me and 1/3 cup was a little dry, so ended somewhere in between.
Add cheese and a dash of salt. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Enjoy!
Starting with Cinco de Mayo and continuing through summer, I tend to end up with extra tortilla chips. I don’t snack much, so they sometimes go stale.
Luckily, I’ve learned that you can do a lot more with tortilla chips than make nachos. Turns out that when you cook them, they add a nice corn flavor to the dish. Here are four things you can do with leftover tortilla chips:
Use Them In Scrambled Eggs. They give the eggs a Mexican undertone, especially if you throw in cheese, tomatoes, cheese, and peppers.
Crumble Into Soup. You can go so far to make a recipe like this Chicken Tortilla Soup, or you can just crumble some on top of soup to add texture.
Try A New Casserole. Lots of casseroles use stale tortilla chips. Turkey and Tortilla Chips Casserole looks interesting, as does this Monterey Chicken Casserole. I haven’t tried either recipe, but I like the idea of them.
Refresh Them. Like with Stale Tortillas, the key is the microwave. Lay them on a papertowel and microwave for 30 seconds, and apparently it refreshes them. I haven’t tried this, but I will.
What do you do with leftover tortilla chips?
Make Magazine tells you how to Brew Your Own Sake. I want to try this!
If I were going to describe the latest drink I made with DIY Cocktails, I would describe it as a grapefruit and elderflower soda with a strawberry chaser. That is to say, delicious.
This Pink Collins is delightful with fresh strawberries and grapefruit, elderflower liqueur, and the fizz of club soda. Like most well-made vodka drinks, you barely know you’re drinking alcohol, so be careful.
Pink Collins
(makes one cocktail)
Ingredients:
First it was root beer and now Marcia is making Orange Soda over at Serious Eats. It’s kind of like Orange Crush, except it *gasp* uses actual orange juice. Imagine that.
It’s spring! And tax day is on Monday. Either way, sounds like time for a cocktail.
Here are five spring cocktails for you:
What’s Up Doc, Cocktail? One of the best cocktails we’ve come up with. It tastes a lot like carrot cake.
Mango Margarita. Mangos are on sale right now, so here’s a mango margarita recipe.
Champagne Lemon Floats. Homemade lemon sorbet and champagne. Delicious!
Maple Bacon Bloody Mary. Okay, maybe Bloody Mary isn’t the first thing you think of when I say “spring,” but it is something you drink at brunch, and brunch is something people do in the spring. Anyway, this cocktail, with bacon and maple syrup, is worth a try.
Strawberry Tarragon Cocktail. Strawberries are just starting to come into the stores, so here’s a cocktail using fresh strawberries, gin, and one of my favorite herbs: tarragon.
Happy spring!
Remember how I made lemon sorbet awhile back? Well, DIY Cocktails came over and we made a mimosa-like drink with it.
It was beyond simple. We scooped sorbet into a champagne glass and add champagne. It melted the sorbet and voila, a new way to drink champagne.
But then we thought, lemon, sugar, champagne: why, we’re halfway to a French 75. All we need is the gin.
So naturally, we added the gin.
Best French 75 ever. Seriously, it could not have been easier, the sorbet, a shot of gin, and some champagne. You should try it.
Recipes:
Champagne Lemon Floats:
Ingredients:
Scoop desired amount of sorbet into a glass. Add champagne. Enjoy!
French 75 Floats
Ingredients:
Directions:
Scoop desired amount of sorbet into a glass. Add gin. Pour in champagne. Enjoy!
Here’s a cute Easter idea: Baby Chick Deviled Eggs.
Make deviled eggs as usual, but turn them into baby chicks with a carrot beak, olives for the eyes (or dried plums, as in this case), and the top of the egg as the “shell.”
As part of my 2013 lemon plan, I made lemon sorbet. It’s kind of like a lemonade icee. The recipe couldn’t be simpler. Here it is:
Lemon Sorbet
