Fresh Peach Pie

I have never made fresh peach pie, so this time of year and with lots of peaches in my fridge, this was the perfect time for one !
The pie seems to have been a hit with my girl friends at MCA.
They even sent me a note back telling me they award me a blue ribbon for the best peach pie. So it must have been good !
Also, my husband does not like to eat fresh peaches or peaches from a can, but he likes this pie.
I'm so happy !
Trying to avoid the 1 stick of butter needed for homemade pie dough, I used a box mid pie dough. How about that ?
Also, I made a second style of pie, as in - in the first pie the peaches were cut to cherry size pieces and in the second pie I used peach wedges.
The pieces hold better together and I would not recommend using the wedges unless you make an open face tart or galette.


Ingredients:

6 -7 ripe peaches
2/3 cup sugar
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons cold water
2 teaspoons corn starch
4 TBSP tapioca
1,5 TBSP butter


Directions:

Line the pie pan with the pie dough and put it in the fridge to rest.
In a large bowl place the peaches and add the sugar, tapioca, vanilla, lemon juice and the starch dissolved in the 3 teaspoons of cold water.
Toss and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Pull the pie pan out of the fridge and pour the peaches.
Line the pie with the lattice and and cut the butter into small pieces and place it on top.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
After the 35 minutes have passed, remove the aluminum and bake for 15 more minutes.
It will look bubbly and beautiful.
Let cool at least 10 minutes in the pan before eating.
Pairs perfectly with whipped cream.

Mixed Greens Salad

Refreshing. Easy. Quick.
Ingredients:
1 bag of mixed greens from your grocery store
croutons
pine nuts
1 egg, hard boiled, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chooped
ham, chopped
olives
salt
pepper
oil

Directions:
Toss and enjoy !

Grilled Chicken with Orzo

Following the recipe I used for THIS meal, I cooked orzo again as I love it so much !
But this time, instead of salmon or pork I grilled some chicken thighs (which I consider to be the most savory cut of meat from the whole chicken - yes, I do find the breast a little bit on the dry side ) using the George Foreman Grill.
All in all it took me under 20 minutes to have this meal ready on the table.

Cheesy Omelette

This is probably supposed to be a breakfast or lunch item, but if I remember well, I might have made it for dinner.
I mainly cook for dinner, as my wonderful husband is not home to have lunch together.
Ok, ok, I also seem to have built quite an impressive list of desserts here.
Can you fight with the sweet tooth ?
Ok, so after reading somewhere that you can make an omelette in the microwave and actually testing the idea, I wasn't necessarily convinced that it was the best approach, so I went back to the good ol' oven. And let's not forget the aluminum foil !
What is wrong with the microwave you might ask ? The eggs start to cook around the edges and it takes a lot of time for the middle to cook - resulting in an unevenly baked omelette. Try it for yourself once.

Ingredients :
3 eggs
about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cheese (I used 4 cheese sticks cut into pieces)
1/2 of a bell pepper any color you want
some type of already cooked meat (I used frozen already cooked sausage links)
salt
pepper
some oil or butter to grease the pan

Directions:
Beat the eggs a bit and add the seasonings.
Grease the pan and cut a piece of aluminum foil lrge enough to cover the pan really well.
Pour the eggs in the pan and evenly distribute the peppers and cheese pieces and then arrange the meat, cover and bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 10 to 15 minutes.
It should be wonderful when you take it out.
It keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave the next day.

Pork Patties

And to go well with the pillow soft rolls I made these pork patties which are DELICIOUS.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground pork (or any kind of meat for that matter, but make sure it is lean)
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 TBSP water

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients by hand for 5 to 10 minutes then let them rest for at least 30 minutes in a covered bowl, in the fridge.
Scoop 2 TBSP for every patty and form a ball then flatten it.
I cooked mine outside on the grill, but you can fry them in a skillet or use the indoors grill.
Make awesome hamburgers too !

Pillow Soft Dinner Rolls

Using THIS recipe, I made these rolls smaller and baked them in 2 round pans.
They triple in volume, so be careful when forming them not to make the dough balls to big and make sure you leave at least 1 inch in between them in the pan or on the baking sheet.
The dough was left to rise for 40 minutes, then after forming the rolls they rose for 40 more minutes.
They taste very good and for those who know Logan's Roadhouse Restaurant, you will find that my rolls taste very similar to their rolls.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Easy to make if you have everything on hand.
What do you do if you started to cook something and you realise that your pizza or tomato pasta that the recipe called for - has turned moldy in the jar in the fridge ?
Then you make your own.
I do not really think you need a recipe for this, as I never got a recipe from anywhere - just made it myself.
And it's really good and you can you it for pasta, pizza, beans and anything else that calls for tomato paste or sauce and it keeps quite well in the fridge.
But the fact that you made it yourself and you know what went in it makes it worth bothering to cook this in your kitchen.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes (about 8)
4 garlic cloves
1/2 onion
salt
pepper
dry oregano
dry parsley
dry basil
3 TBSP oil

Directions:
Place all the above in gredients into a food processor, process until a smooth paste has formed and pour into a saucepan.
Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Give it a taste and adjust the seasonings to your own liking.
Pour into glass jars when it has cooled down a bit and store in the fridge.

*** In this picture the partially green tomatoes were ripening.
When my neighbor gave me some green tomatoes, she told me to keep them on the table and they will turn red - sure enough they did in 3 days !

Orzo and Meat is what's for Dinner

If there is one kind of pasta in this world that I love, that is for sure ORZO.
For some reason, the grocery store where we buy our food supplies usually did not carry orzo.
So I sort of gave up on it and I was extremely happy when one day, recently, I found it on the shelf.


Bought it and brought it home and kept it outside, to look at it and imagine what I could cook with it.
While imagining what to pair it with, I remembered I wanted to make some pesto, but didn't get to it - so I thought orzo with pesto over some type of meat would be perfect.
Now when you need to cook 2 different types of meat at the same time you need to get inventive.
So I made 2 cute boats from aluminum foil to nest the pork in one and the salmon in the other.


Jeff says that inventions are born not from necessity, but from laziness, and that necessity is a distant cousin.
He may be right, but really in my case it wasn't laziness. LOL
Oh, and please run to the store for some fresh basil leaves or for a basil plant, like I got from Walmart.


Let's get to cooking !

Ingredients:
Meat of any kind (I used a salmon fillet for me and pork tenderloin for my husband)

For the Pesto:
pine nuts, about 1/2 cup (or any other kind of nuts you have on hand)
basil, about 1 cup if you have that much, if not, just use what you have
salt and pepper
1 TBSP oil
2 cloves of garlic

For the Pasta:
If you want to use orzo like me, use 1/4 cup of uncooked orzo per person
tomato sauce, homemade if possible
salt

For the salad:
1 medium tomato per person, cut into small pieces, drizzled with oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper

Directions:
First make the aluminum boats if you decide to use different kinds of meat and set aside in a pan that can go in the oven, like a pie pan.
Measure all the ingredients and put them close so you can have them on hand.
Bring water with a bit of salt to a boil, dump the pasta and boil it for 9 minutes, drain and keep in a bowl with a lid or a plate on top so it does not dry.
Heat a skillet, spray it with cooking spray, place the salmon in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side on medium heat, repeating the seasoning on the other side as well.
Now do the same with the pork.
When done cooking the meat, put it in the aluminum boats that you prepared earlier and turn on the oven broiler on the low setting.
Using a food processor or a food chopper, mix all the pesto ingredients and spoon it all over the meat.
Boil the meat for approx. 5 minutes, watching it so the pesto does not burn.
Chop the tomato, put it in a small bowl and add the oil, salt and pepper to it.
In a skillet or saucepan put the orzo and 1/2 cup homemade tomato sauce and heat up for approx 2 to 3 minutes.
Plate nicely and indulge.
Do not boil the pasta for longer because it will be too soft and it will turn mushy.

Iceberg Lettuce Salad

When my dear neighbor gave me some iceberg lettuce one day, I instantly thought of salad.
We all like croutons I assume, so I thought they would go well in the salad.
I also added cheese for some extra protein and since my dear husband doe not like olives, I only added them to my plate.

Ingredients:
iceberg lettuce
shredded cheese
2 hard boiled eggs
chopped salami or pepperoni, or even crisp bacon
croutons
olives

Directions:
Chop everything, toss together and serve.
Sprinkle some olive oil, salt and pepper and enjoy !

Gold Potato Wedges with Garlicky Dip

I happen to love potatoes and this is an absolutely easy and delicious way to cook them.
They go well with anything or you can enjoy them just with the dipping sauce.

Ingredients:
1 large potato or 2 smaller ones per person (try to use Yukon Gold if possible)
oil to fry them
salt (I prefer Kosher salt)
1/4 cup water

For the dip:
3 TBSP sour cream per person
salt and pepper to taste
1 chopped garlic clove
chilly pepper flakes if you like it spicy

Directions:
Cut the potatoes into wedges, salt them and put them in a non stick skillet when the oil if fairly hot.
Add the water and cover with a tight fitting lid.
Fry on medium heat for at least 5 minutes per side, so about 15-20 minutes in all.
By that time they should be both boiled, steamed and fried, all at the same time.
For the dip, mix all the ingredients and keep in the fridge until ready to consume.
Yummy !

Blogging Themes and Other Tools

HERE is the best source for just about anything (accessories) you need to add to your blog - like I sometimes say - "the clothing" for your blog.
Here is also the place where I found how to actually transform your columns, as in make your page show 3 columns instead of 2 (it is called a 3 column template).
It may not be easy at first, but you will pull it off (I had my sister walk me through).
Just give it try !

Homemade Lime Curd

I think I have said before that I wanted some lime curd, or lemon curd for that matter...as long as it was in the tart side.
So a bit after my birthday my mother and father in law had a surprise for me: Key lime pie !
And oh boy, was I HAPPY !
If you never tasted such a thing (such was my case), you should expect one of the best tasting desserts on earth, silky, smooth, cold, tart yes a bit sweet, creamy and all in all the perfect piece of pie !
I have always liked lemons and limes and lemonade (please no ice) and this pie was just what I needed to try.
So after tasting it, I thought I can surely make something similar myself - but how ?
Of course there are recipes out there for anyone to try, but I knew there had to be something special about this one.
Really I have not looked for a recipe for a Key lime pie per se - but - I think the best thing to do would be to make your own lime curd and mix it with a package of cream cheese and then fill in a graham cracker crust.
Ok maybe, decorate with some whipped cream to make it look pretty at the end - but that's about it as far as I am concerned !
All these having been said, I have to say that today I have ventured into making my first batch of lime curd.
It is so good, you won't be able to stop eating it.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup lime juice (2 regular limes will give you that amount of juice)
1/2 cup sugar
6 TBSP butter
1 TBSP lime zest or all the zest from the limes

Directions:
First choose a rather large glass bowl and a medium size sauce pan, making sure that the bowl is larger than the pan.
Fill half of the sauce pan with water and bring it to a boil.
Wash the limes, zest them then cut them in half and juice them.
In a medium size bowl place the eggs, sugar and lime juice and either by hand or with an electric mixer blend all the ingredients together, for maybe 5 minutes.
Now that the water is boiling, put the big glass bowl on top and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Melt the butter stirring with a spatula or plastic spoon and add the egg mixture.
Now stir gently and continuously and if you want, add the zest at this moment or you can save it to add at the end.
I do not think it really makes such a difference.
As you stir, you will see that in a matter of minutes the mixture starts to thicken.
This should take between 4 to 10 minutes.
From the moment it began thickening, do not keep over heat longer than 1, maybe 2 minutes longer.
Transfer to a jar, cool at room temperature and store in the fridge.
If you have any problems, although you shouldn't, ask me about it.

Video of Julia Child cooking Apple Tarte Tatin

With all the fuss going on these days about Julia Child and the movie about her life and her cooking, I thought it would be nice to actually see the master at work.
She is so funny and so captivating and her clumsiness makes you smile and keep on watching her cook just so you can see what she has figured out for repairing the damage.
Awesome !
And I think that this is how the beginning of televised cooking shows looked like.
Maybe on of these days I will make some apple tart tatin myself and I will post about it.
Wouldn't that be nice to see how Julia's viewers adapt her recipes?
On the website I found HERE there are also other videos of her recipes, and now that I have seen her I can say that Meryl Streep is the best actress they could have ever picked to portray Julia Child.

Porter Peaches Store

Doesn't this picture just make your mouth water ?!?!

Today my nice neighbor took me along with her to buy peaches.
And not just any peaches, the very best !
Hand picked and all, they even give you samples to taste so you can be sure you really like what you get.
I was hoping they would have some lime curd or lemon curd, as they had so much in the way of canned and preserved stuff - but they did not carry curd of any sort.
Maybe I should not be surprised by it, but I found out hat the tiny store we went to actually has a website !
We had this amazing sundae right in the store - with chopped fresh peaches on top, just to die for !

Fresh Cherry Pie

Let me tell you, there is nothing better in this world that fresh cherry pie.
And Jeff can vouch for that !
I posted earlier about pitting the cherries without a cherry pitter and now it is time to show the result of my labor.

This awesome fresh cherry pie !
The cherries were held in place with the aid of this cooking wonder called tapioca and with some starch.
Here it is a close-up of the tapioca pearls.

I used the store-bought-pie-crust-mix because it is so flaky and yummy and it is a snap to make it.
Add water to the dough mix, stir, spread the dough, transfer it to the pie pan, add the cherry mixture, bake and love it !

Ingredients:
1 pie crust for a 9 inch pie pan + extra dough for the top lattice(which is roughly another 9 inch dough)
1,5 lb of cherries, after you washed and pitted them and cut them in half ()
1 cup sugar or 1 cup of Splenda
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 teaspoons cold water
2 teaspoons corn starch
4 TBSP tapioca
1,5 TBSP butter

Directions:
Line the pie pan with the pie dough and put it in the fridge.
In a large bowl place the cherries and add the sugar, tapioca, vanilla, lemon juice and the starch dissolved in the 3 teaspoons of cold water.
Toss and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Pull the pie pan out of the fridge and pour the cherries.
Line the pie with the lattice and and cut the butter into small pieces and place it on top.
Don't forget about the "cute" detail (shown below).


Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.
After the 35 minutes have passed, remove the aluminum and bake for 15 more minutes.
It will look bubbly and beautiful.
Let cool at least 10 minutes in the pan before eating.
Pairs perfectly with whipped cream.
Update:
I found this really cool info on how to use a pastry tip to remove the pits.

Cooked Green Beans

My dear neighbor gave me some green beans and this is how I cooked some of them.
I already posted a recipe for green beans HERE, but this one is slightly different.
But I have got to tell you, they are so good !
Do not forget to add the minced garlic. It will make all the difference !
Thanks Kay !
Ingredients:
about 1 lb of green beans, washed, trimmed and cut
salt
pepper
3 to 5 TBSP oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 cup water
Directions:
Sautee the onion in the oil (it should not take more than 5 to 8 minutes or so on medium heat), add the water and the beans, cover and cook on medium heat for 10 to 20 minutes, until they are done.
You can take one out after 10 minutes and try it/taste it.
Add the garlic in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Season at the end and enjoy !
They are great to pair with meat or something else or just by themselves !

Sausage Links

This is the best kind of sausage links you can get.
Fully cooked, frozen and ready to eat after approx. 1 minute in the microwave.
Just perfect to pair with anything almost !

An Easy Salad Substitute - Tomato Wedges

I really have not heard of anyone that does not like tomatoes.
And I really don't know of anyone that doesn't like salads.
But what if you feel like having a sort of salad with your lunch or with your dinner, or just by itself...and you do not have the lettuce or spinach or any other greens ?
You then grab a tomato, slice it into 8 wedges, arrange them nicely on a plate, sprinkle kosher salt over them and indulge !
I love them !

Baked OR Fried Beans ?

If you need a side for some meat, my beans are perfect.
If you are a non-meat-eater, then they are just what you need !
And if you pair them with tomato wedges sprinkled with kosher salt, you're in for a treat !
These beans are just so yummy and they are easy to make.....BUT : it takes a long time for the beans to soak (6-12 hours or overnight in the fridge) and then they need to be boiled.

Ingredients:
1 cup beans
5 cups water for soaking
6 cups water for boiling
salt
pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
4 TBSP cooking oil
1/2 cup pecante sauce or chopped tomato
3 TBSP chopped parsled
Directions:
Basically for 1 cup of beans you need at least 5 cups of water (cold or hot) in which they will need to soak.
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and put the rinsed beans in.
Boil the beans for approx. 1 hour and when they are done, rinse them and set aside.
In a skillet or saucepan sautee the onion with the oil and salt and pepper, add the beans and the pecante sauce or the chopped tomato and mix.
Bring to a simmer and then turn off the heat and add the parsley.
You're done !
If you have tomato paste, you can use that instead, 2 TBSP being sufficient.

More Ice-cream

Here is some more of the ice-cream !

Coconut Pastries

I think you can make these any time and really you do not need much ingredients-wise, as many of us would probably have all the necessary ingredients in the kitchen already.
Even though this dessert is filled with coconut, you can swap that for any other filling of your choice.
Ingredients:
one package puff pastry of your choice
1 cup of milk (2% or anything else)
1 cup of sugar (white or use Splenda instead)
3 eggs
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
some powder sugar for garnish at the end

Directions:
Thaw the frozen dough and cut each spread sheet in 9 squares.
Bake the squares at 400 F for 10-15 minutes, until done.
Remove them from the baking sheet and cool them completely.
In the meantime, place all the filling ingredients in a medium size sauce pan and cook on medium heat until thickened,stirring often.
Let cool down and cut each pastry square in half, to open them.
Place a TBSP of filling in each one, close up and if desired, sprinkle powder sugar for garnish.
Delicious !

Tortilla with Butter and Cinnamon-Sugar

One afternoon my loving husband asked me for something I have never even thought existed.
He said : "Could I have a tortilla with butter and cinnamon-sugar?"
I, of course, made such big eyes and asked....what??
He said..."yes, you spread butter all over the tortilla so the sugar and cinnamon can stick to it, and then you roll it and toast it."
Ok, so that's what I did:
1 tortilla
1,5 TBSP butter, unsalted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
1 toothpick

I used the toothpick to keep the tortilla from opening or unrolling. Smart, eh ?
You need to toast it in the oven for approx. 5 minutes, at 400.
Or use a small toaster-oven if you have one.
Sorry for not posting a picture, but I just was in a rush when all this happened.
Jeff says he wants me to mention it was his idea. Cause it's only fair !
Congratulations Jeff for the recipe. So tasty !

*** Update august 5th 2009
I now have a picture of this delicious treat !