Fish baked over Salsa

Homemade salsa
2 8 oz. pieces of firm white fish, like cod or hake
Juice from 2 limes
Jalapeno, seeded veined and chopped
Salt
Capers

Marinate fish in lime juice and salt while you make salsa

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

spread salsa on bottom of baking dish. Add capers and place fish pieces on top of salsa.

Cover dish with aluminium foil.

Bake covered for 15 minutes, remove foil and bake another 15 minutes, until fish is cooked through.

Sprinkle raw jalapeno over fish. Serve

Easy homemade salsa

1 28 oz can whole peeled Italian tomatoes
1-2 Jalapenos
1 small sweet onion (like Vidalia)
cup of chopped Cilantro, stemmed and washed carefully
Juice of 1 lime
Salt

Squeeze juice from tomatoes in can. Pour into bowl large enough for all ingredients.
Chop tomatoes into small pieces. Add to bowl.
Chop onion finely. Add to bowl
Split jalapenos lengthwise and scrape out ribs and seeds (this is where the heat is). Chop finely and add to bowl.
Juice lime and add to bowl.
Chop cilantro finely and add to bowl at last minute,
Slat to taste

Portobello Parmesan

Portobello mushroom are very meaty and have a steak like flavor, but are not that expensive. you can grill them if you have a grill

3 TBS olive oil,
2 Portobello mushrooms Stemmed and washed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Lonely Guy spaghetti sauce (or store bought marinara sauce)
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 TBS cup grated Parmesan

Place a pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and lots of pepper. Sauté/ Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread ½ cup of the sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the sauce and top with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and top with the butter pieces. Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with a nice salad or on top of cooked pasta.

1 serving

1 half hour

Plain Brown Stew

This is adapted from a Julia Child recipe. Nothin’ plain about it, but that’s her title

One slice of bacon or slice of pancetta (deli counter) cut into ¼" slices
Cooking oil
2 lbs. stew beef
½ cup carrots (salad bar)
1 onion chopped
2 cups red wine (I know, I know)
1 can beef broth
Bay leaf
½ TSP thyme
½ TSP dried orange peel
1 TBS tomato paste (from tube)
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a Dutch oven or other heavy pan, render bacon/pancetta in oil over moderate heat for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from pan.

Heat fat until smoking and brown beef in batches (so you don’t crowd) on all sides until richly brown. Remove and put with bacon in bowl.

Add carrot and onion and sauté for three minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add wine to pan scrapping bottom and bring to boil until winey smell is gone. Add broth, meat and bacon along with tomato paste and herbs.

Return to boil. Cover top of pan with foil and put lid on. Place in oven for two hours.

Remove from oven and let rest for 1 hour.

Strain stew through colander into another pot.

Wash original pot. Melt butter in pot and stir in flour, browning a little. Add broth ladle by ladle to butter mix, stirring to dilute. Add meat to gravy.

Press any liquids out of veggies and add to broth. Discard veggies. When stew is warm, serve over noodles.

4-6 servings

3 hr

This freezes well for leftovers

Pita Pizza

Quick in-the-toaster-oven homemade “pizza”

Pita bread split in half (could also use English muffins)
Jar of pizza sauce (try them until you find one you like)
Packaged Mozzarella
Olive Oil

Heat Toaster oven.

Broil pita until is brown on edges.

Put TSP of oil on Pita and spread

Spread small amount of Pizza sauce on pita, spreading with back of teaspoon

Add cheese as desired

Broil in toaster oven until cheese begins to melt


Yields as many as you make

10 minutes

Variations:
Add cooked onions and/or garlic
Add slices of pepperoni or ham
Add other veggies form salad bar

Peas and Spinach

This is a really interesting combination.

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen peas
1/4 cup water
1 package spinach, washed
salt
pepper


Cook garlic in oil and butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes. Stir in the peas and water and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, salt, and pepper and cook, tossing, until spinach is just wilted, about 1 minute.

Peanut Butter Noodles

You are more likely to have creamy peanut butter than Tahini Sauce. If you are a big shot and have Tahini, use it instead

1 lb. spaghetti
½ cup creamy peanut butter
Red pepper flakes
1 clove Garlic, very finely chopped
1 bunch scallions chopped
1 tablespoon sesame oil
¼ cup canola oil
½ cup rice wine vinegar
⅓ Cup chopped basil (optional)
2 cups cucumbers (salad bar OK)

Cook pasta according to instructions. Rinse drain and return to pan.

Mix peanut butter, oils, and vinegar.

Add Chile, garlic and herbs and stir until smooth.

Toss pasta, cucumbers with dressing. Serve warm.

2-3 servings

Add shredded cooked chicken if you have it.
This is very good cold too.

Pasta with Butter and Peas

The sweetness of the peas against the richness of the butter makes a lovely combination.

1 lb. Pasta
4 TBS butter, cut into 1 TBS pieces
1-2 cloves of garlic
1cup peas (from Salad bar or frozen)
Parmesan

Boil lots of salt water for pasta.

Cook pasta according to package direction

When pasta has 5 minutes left, Melt 1 TBS of butter in small sauce pan and add

Garlic and stir for 2 minutes until soft.

Add peas, coat with butter and cook for two minutes. Turn off heat.

Drain pasta and return to pot. Add remaining butter, butter/pea mixture and cheese.

toss and serve.


2-4 servings

20 minutes

Parmesan Chicken Fingers

Chicken breast
Oil in a spray can, like Pam
Grated Parmesan (not the canned stuff)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cut breast into 4 or 5 “fingers”

Spray with oil and roll in Parmesan spread on plate

Roast 15 minutes until done, turning once or twice


1 serving

20 minutes

Variations:
Add red peppers flakes
Serve over chopped greens

Original Buffalo wings

This is the real deal. Accept no substitutes

36 wing sections (thighs and legs only)
4 cups canola oil
Stick of butter
Hot sauce to taste, at least 4 TBS (use Frank’s or Crystal)

Use a deep side pot or Dutch oven. Add oil and heat until almost smoking. Add ⅓ of wings and cook 10 minutes until golden. Drain well and put in warm oven.

Fry next two batches of wings in the same way.

Melt butter in microwave and pour in large enough bowl to hold all wings. Add hot sauce, add wings and stir to coat.

Serve with cold beverages.

1-2 servings

45 minutes

If you allow the oil to cool, you can store in plastic container in freezer and use again.

No Knead Bread

This really works!

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
Water
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1⅝ cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

One 1½- pound loaf

20 hours (most of it waiting)

Kinda MaPo Tofu

Tasty cheap and filling

1 package firm tofu, cut into ½ " cubes and drained on paper towels
Oil
1 can chicken broth
1 Bunch scallions, cleaned and cut finely
1-2 cloves Garlic
Red Pepper flakes
1 TBS soy sauce

Heat Oil in pan until hot. Sauté scallions 3 minutes until they start to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from pan and reserve.

Add chicken broth and red pepper to pan and boil vigorously until reduced by half.

Add tofu and simmer for 3 minutes until warm. Sprinkle scallion mix over tofu and serve over rice


2-3 servings

Lamb and Eggplant

A tasty and different one dish meal. For vegetarians, leave out the lamb

½ Lb. ground lamb
1 medium eggplant cut into ½ " cubes
1 bunch scallions, cleaned and cut finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup Cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half and salted
¼ cup feta cheese
¼ cup mint, chopped
Red pepper flakes
Cooking oil
Salt

After dicing eggplant, salt well in colander and let sit for ½ hour. Rinse well and drain on paper towels.

Heat oil in pan until hot. Sauté scallions 3 minutes until they start to brown. Add Lamb, breaking up into small pieces. Add Garlic. Sauté over high heat until lamb is well done. Remove lamb mix to bowl, leaving oil in pan.

Add Eggplant and tomatoes and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. You may need to add more oil.

Return lamb mix to pan, remove from heat. Stir in Feta, red pepper and mint. Serve


2-3 servings

45 minutes

Spring vegetable soup

Quick and filling. The salad bar is a great place to harvest small amounts of vegetables.

Soup Base
1 quart broth
Olive oil
1 medium onion, diced coarse
2 medium carrots from salad bar, diced or shredded
1 medium rib celery from salad bar, diced
Garlic, minced

Spring Soup
4 medium new potatoes, diced
1 cup green peas, fresh from salad bar or frozen
½ pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup egg noodles
4 ounces fresh spinach (1 cup or so) from salad bar
¼ cup fresh mint leaves if available

For the soup base: Heat oil in Pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, bring to a simmer, and simmer 10 minutes. Strain and discard vegetables

For the spring soup: With the soup base at a simmer, add new potatoes, peas, asparagus, and noodles and simmer until vegetables are tender and noodles are done, 8 to 10 minutes. Add spinach and simmer 3 minutes longer. Stir in mint. Let stand as long as you can to let flavors blend before serving.

2-4 Servings

Stewed Mushrooms

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms, cut into rougly equal size pieces
1/2 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/4 teaspoon dried)

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken on the edges, 5 minutes or so. Season wiht LOTS of black pepper. Remove them from pan.

Add more olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, salt and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.

Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender.
Simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve over Polenta or pasta or noodles.
Serves 2