Recipes

A different kind of salad

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Needing a break from Resident Evil Requiem before going another round with the Moaning Zombie and her horde šŸ˜…, I decided to try a different idea for lunch.

First, I roasted some zucchini and carrots and then got started on some prep for quarterly cleaning while those cooked. Just oblique cuts and tossed in olive oil and my choice of seasonings (Italian / garlic / salt / pepper) and give a quick roast until the edges are cripsy-licious and much of the moisture is gone.

Waiting for those to be done, I had quarter cherry tomatoes and sliced+shredded onion. This worked out to being about 1/2 the mixture with the zucchini and carrots each being another 1/4. Tossed with some finely sliced almonds, and a bit of sunflower / dried cranberries salad topper. Then layered a healthy doze of feta cheese on top after plating out and a dollop of hummus.

For me, this is a rather different type of meal–it’s simply not the style of cooking I grew up with. That said, I found it very delicious. I’m also pretty sure that it would be easily adapted, such as swapping nuts/seeds for grilled chicken as the fatty protein or adding chickpeas for enough extra protein/carbs to turn it into a dinner helping.

Plus as a bonus, since I had a pair of good-sized zucchini and a small bag of carrots, this used those up while they’re still good. While also providing leftovers for prepping future meals :).

French Onion Soup Grantiee

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Standing in Publix, noticing that there is surprisingly unsalted broth and stock available as opposed to the lethal dose of sodium, I decided to take a shot at a recipe I came across a few days ago.

As a young boy, there were two staples of my weekends. One was watching Loony Toons in the afternoon because that’s all there was for cartoons. The other, was laying out on the living room floor playing with my toys as my mother watched her cooking shows on TV. There were usually three different programs on that she would watch featuring different chefs.

One of the chefs in those cooking shows was none other than Jacques Pepin. Imagine my great surprise, scrolling across YouTube when one of the suggested videos just happened to feature him! Now a much older man, hey, even I have some grey hairs now ^_^, but seems that he is still cooking :).

Coincidentally, I’ve never had much talent for soups and stews. My mother could make a good stew that would coat your insides. Mine on the other hand, often fall flat and I rarely make soups. Well, thanks to Jacques Pepin, I can now say that I’ve cooked at least one soup that I thoroughly enjoyed šŸ¤¤.

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25 Old-World Italian Cookie Recipes Your Grandmother Made

Iā€™ve probably had too many of these, at one point or another in my life. Also a nice find off Flipboard, because some of my motherā€™s baking recipes were lost or trashed during my last move. Among them the Italian sparkle cookies.

Maybe a decade ago, ma came across the recipe in a magazine or a website and it became yearly tradition to make a batch for the holidays. It was as close to a cookie one of the old Italian relatives used to make when she was younger, as she could find; I think it was one of my grandmotherā€™s sisters that made them.

The difference is, our relative made them as huge cookies. My mother, made as many freaking dozen cookies as she couldā„¢. I think the recipe called for something like 6 dozen cookies, and she usually made a couple dozen more, demanding so when six eggs were involved in the process. We usually had plenty for Christmas,plenty to give others, and a few frozen to help tide us over until next holiday season.

While I stand by my grumbling about having to make so many extra cookies, it was fun helping my mother bake the sparkle cookies šŸ‘. Iā€™ve often thought, that I might take a shot at it if I ever found a similar recipe, someday.