Posts Tagged ‘garlic

04
May
12

roasted vegetables

one of the best ways too cook vegetables you have on hand it to roast them. Easy preparation.

On a stoneware sheet pan diced and bake what have you in a medium oven till tender about an hour or so.

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Here we have white onion, mushrooms, tomato, red pepper, and garlic. Season to your taste

with salt, pepper, and herbs. When completed, spoon on a bun, top with grated cheese.

Delicious !

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Store the remainder for many uses, over pasta or when you need a side of vegetables with your meals, or a filling.

04
May
12

pizza

 tonight’s deep dish pizza

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mushrooms, hot Italian sausage, beef, garlic onion, American cheese, parmesan, Romano.

04
May
12

pizza

 tonight’s deep dish pizza

mushrooms, hot Italian sausage, beef, garlic onion, American cheese, parmesan, Romano.

04
Mar
12

Tomato Vegetable soup/sauce base

Similar to Tomato Sauce with Pasta and Veggies

IMG_2480Checking the contents of the fridge, and since I haven’t made a soup type meal in a while, It would be a good idea to start with a vegetable based soup/sauce to use during the week. So I started dicing to a small, about 1/4 inch dice….. 

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green bell  pepper, celery, onions, red bell pepper, mushroom, under the knife, (I peel the onion after slicing). You can geek it up and arrange the diced veggies on a plate like a pie graph. (Learning to use the camera on a mini tripod and setting the timer to take the picture.)

IMG_2508 Close up view, isn’t digital photography wonderful ! Theirs no lack of film ! Instant gratification!

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I chose the stainless steel fry pan with about 2 tablespoons butter. The pan is hot but once the veggies are going turn down to a simmer just to soften as they will later cook  in the sauce.

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Started the base with frozen stock and there was about 1/2 can of tomatoes in the fridge, added, and set to a simmer.

IMG_2514 While everything’s percolating along, empty the dishwasher, gotta get my exercise!

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Added the sautéed veggies to the pot, I shaved about 1/2 of a frozen hot Italian sausage and diced for a bit of flavor. I don’t want to add any other meat to keep this sauce as flexible as possible for future use, lets say with chicken, sausage, beans or compliment with pasta or on a pizza shell . Hmmm over morning eggs would be great too. Just some crusty bread would be good right about now.

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 Are you ready for this ! How could I forget garlic!

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The final product, like they say you should be here to smell this.

I sweetened it with some simple syrup, then salt and pepper, a bit of herbs and a pinch of spices, just a dash of a dry rub.

It’s somewhat on the thin side but could be simmered down depending on it’s use. Would make a hearty stew don’tcha think?

04
Dec
11

Tomato Sauce with pasta and veggies

I’ve come to the point where I’ve read way to many recipes and blogs, books, and watched countless cooking shows over the years………so………. My posts are going a more descriptive route rather than a standard measured ingredients and directions format…..  and most likely I’ll refer to them in the future for repeats of some of the dishes I love with variations. Reading other peoples blogs  and cookbooks have influenced me also to go the more narrative style, better a little story of the actual  meal preparation. Thanks to all the bloggers I follow, excellent work!

Blogging right after eating has it’s advantages….

Two sausages from the the freezer along with frozen peeled whole tomatoes,  frozen prepared garlic cubes, frozen vegetable stock. On the fridge side, some defrosted tomato juice, carrots and onions, a bit of bacon fat, 1/2 a can of tomato paste, prepared pasta dough. Frozen sausage goes in the fry pan with 2 cubes of  frozen stock and brought to a boil covered,and then simmered, till sausage is defrosted and stock evaporates, brown the sausage,  I now have a small black and Decker food chopper that was orphaned, now  a new addition to the kitchen, I f*** with it, as adding too much carrots at once  causes it to jam and the blade lift and stop rotating , so some of the carrot is removed till the little chopper does the job and I add the rest of the carrots incrementally ,no problem with it processing  the onions ,add the diced onions and carrots,  and garlic with a dab of bacon fat. More of a tomato vegetable sauce, as one of the Frug’s recipes I recalled. If i have veggies like this available ,celery, green pepper etc., they can be sautéed and added to bulk up the sauce, a good way to get veggies into the meal.

Now in the garden a large green plant that is either broccoli or most likely, looks like Brussels sprouts, when I started them from seeds I didn’t keep track exactly what they are and where they were planted, but one of them is forming a small cauliflower,  frost is forecasted towards the end of the week ,maybe they will survive . The one I picked from closely resembles Brussels sprouts as the stalk is covered with small leafy projections that tightly formed would be Brussels Sprouts only these are less dense but have the definite taste of sprouts. Crisp, green and earthy.

Out of the frying pan goes the sausage to a pot, add tomato paste to the fry pan with the semi defrosted whole tomatoes and than some more frozen stock and season to taste, some thyme purchased for thanksgiving , dried basil and dried oregano . Now it gets poured in the pot with the sausage, simmered and sweetened with a touch of simple syrup and a splash of apple cider vinegar for balance.

Boil water for the pasta and roll out with the machine to noodles, boil and plate them. With the greens in a small pan pour out the pasta water over  the greens  to blanch, drain and plate next to the pasta. Spoon tomato sauce over pasta and greens,(take a photo) top with one half of a sausage, grated cheese.

Eat…………………………E X C E L L E N T ……!……. OOPS, no wine for now.

Now I’m thinking of Brussels sprouts pasta or ravioli after I finished my plate, a good meal, but that will be another kitchen encounter. Christmas looms ahead….IMG_1681

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17
Sep
11

garden lasagna

        from the Garden Lasagnaaug28 228

aug28 236       peel, slice, salt and let drain the eggplant,

roast on a baking sheet till some what limp

set aside for assembly

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  • sauté an amount of  garlic in a saucepan with oil

season with salt & pepper, add flour and more oil if needed and  cook like a roux

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add milk, I guess about 1/2 cup

more  stock than milk,

several slices of American cheese

cook slightly to reach a boil,

temper in two eggs,

simmer, should be  pretty thick and rich to compliment the

vegetables and  enough for a 13×9 size lasagna

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  • add about several tablespoons of tomato paste, heat through, remove from heat, set aside. Since the stock is rich, a slight salt and pepper is all I use, oops, and  a wicked small amount of smoked hot red pepper flakes, no more than a pinch, you want the flavors of the veggies up front.

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make wide pasta noodles, I like noodles between each vegetable so I go down to #2 setting.

I don’t fuss, mix about 1 cup flour and 1 egg in the kitchen aid with the beater, add a bit of water till it’s almost together.

no waiting either, right to the pasta machine. I made the pasta on demand, it ended up being 2 batches

aug28 248  boil, drain, trim as necessary, dry on kitchen towel                                           spread sauce on bottom of the pan

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IMG_1501 start assembly

  •   noodles
  • fresh sliced tomato
  • noodles
  • roasted eggplant
  • noodles
  • raw sliced green peppers for crunch

repeat

use a small amount of sauce with each layer

top with fresh herbs

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last, cover with noodles

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and sauce

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mmmmmmmmmmmmm…. now were talking lasagna ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

off to a 325 oven, bring it up slowly till slightly bubbly

I don’t know about 1/2 hour or more

if you made the sauce at the right consistency, it won’t be really bubbly or bubble over

of course give it time to rest before serving

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I hit the mark with this one, I could cut a piece from the pan and pick it up with my hand without it falling apart.

the simplicity and freshness of the flavors are apparent.

Now, to food bloggers who post REAL pictures of their food and kitchen my salute !!!!

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13
May
11

Eggplant spinach lasagna

Eggplant spinach lasagna

cut eggplant lengthwise, season and oil, roast in oven
set aside;

sauté chopped onion and garlic, green pepper in oil
add flour, season etc.
add cream, milk etc. to make a white sauce
add cheese
add chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce
cooked till thickened
set aside;

make wide pasta noodles
about 2 cups flours 2 eggs

assemble (13x9x2) as you would with layers of
pasta, eggplant and baby spinach with the sauce.

Bake till bubbly

sorry no pix maybe if I make it again I’ll take some pictures

17
Sep
10

grilled pizza

diced cooked chicken thighs, garden fresh picked oregano, chopped garlic, fresh peeled tomatoe, grated pecarino romano, roasted white onions, olive oil…grilled on a gas grille.

25
Apr
10

Broccolli Veggie Bake

fresh broccoli florets
sweet onions
sweet peppers
mushrooms
garlic
olive oil
butter
salt
pepper
flour
cheese
milk
egg(s)
bread crumbs

in 2 oven proof rectangular dishes arrange broccoli to cover each to measure.
Line one dish with plastic wrap long enough to fold over and cover the dish when filled
butter /oil the other.
coarsely chop broccoli, blanch in boiling water for 3-4 minutes till bright and crunchy
set aside in bowl, reserve a cup or two of the blanching water.
coarsely slice vegetables, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
oven roast about 20-30 minutes.
add the roasted veggies to the broccoli
In a pan, heat olive oil , butter , vegetable oil, etc and add flour for a roux,
planning on enough sauce to cover all the vegetables
add milk, cream, cheese etc.
thin with the reserved broccoli water so it’s not too thick.

go light on the cheese and milk for the sauce so the flavor of the veggies come through.

heat over medium heat stirring constantly to avoid lumps

temper in and egg or two,and season to taste, with herbs if desired

mix sauce together with the veggies and correct seasonings.turn into the baking dishes, and top with breadcrumbs, cracker crumbs etc

wrap the dish with the plastic wrap and freeze,
Bake the other dish about 350 for 20 minutes till bubbly.
finish cooking by broiling till crumb top is golden brown.
let sit several minutes till set up, serve.

When the other dish is frozen remove from dish return to freezer.

When ready to cook remove plastic wrap return to original dish and bake.

good side dish or main dish, and you have a spare dish frozen for future use.

03
Sep
09

Pizza

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Chicken,garlic,olives,parm regg, cherry tomatoes, olive oil

beerpacificoa

served in a glass over ice

a light finish






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