Fresh Pea Soup with Fresh Mint

Fresh Pea Soup with Fresh Mint

 

My husband’s favorite soup is Split Pea soup. This is another form of pea soup; a fresh bright summery pea soup with mint that I like warm or room temperature.  I hope he and you find it as refreshing as I do!

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek chopped (well cleaned)

1/2 medium chopped onion

1 clove chopped garlic

2 cups chicken stock

2-3 cups freshly shelled peas

1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

¼ cup of sour cream

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Garnish with sour cream and mint leaf

Clean the leeks well as they tend to have sand inside them very often.

Saute the leeks, onion and garlic until just soft.  Add the broth, peas and herbs/spices.  Simmer for 10 minutes and add the sour cream and mix well.  Cool soup to room temperature.

Puree in batches and return to the saucepan.

Warm and serve garnished with sour cream

 

 

 

Tips:

·        Chives are a nice garnish as well
·        Frozen peas are almost as good so you can whip this up in the winter as well.
·        I threw a hand full of lettuce into the soup to give a bit more of an added flavor.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Shrimp, Orzo, Spinach in a Fresh Lemon Vinaigrette

SHRIMP, ORZO, SPINACH IN A FRESH LEMON VINAIGRETTE

I saw something similar to this recipe on a cooking show and thought to adapt it a bit to use my mint and fresh shrimp I just bought. It reminded me of a Greek rice and spinach recipe I make which uses dill but in this I use mint. 

Below will serve 4-6 persons and I cut in half to serve the two of use.

Orzo is a great pasta which is found often used in the Mediterranean cuisine. Mixing in fish and greens makes for a beautiful looking dish. Adding a light vinaigrette brightens the taste immensely.

Kosher salt

1 pound orzo pasta

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped

1 large clove garlic

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2  cup water of the pasta water (after it cooks)

5 cups (6 ounces) spinach

2 tablespoon chopped mint

 Cook the pasta about 6-8 minutes until al dente. Drain and reserve ½ cup water

Make the vinaigrette and set aside .  (below)

Saute in a large pan the shrimp, shallots and garlic in the oil. The shallots give a

mild onion taste not to over-power the shrimp.

 

It takes only a few minutes to cook the shrimp on each side.  Remove the shrimp and add the water and the spinach (turning the heat to high) until wilted.

Add the cooked pasta, cooked shrimp, mint and vinaigrette to the skillet. Stir well.

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil,  Zest of 2 large lemons,  1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons), 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt,  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

TIPS:

·        I would replace the spinach with Arugula but don’t put in the mint

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Drying Fresh Herbs

DRYING FRESH HERBS

My dried Fresh Mint

I have a lovely herb garden growing and of course I want to "put them up" for use in the winter.

I have a few ways to save them but drying them is the easiest and great way to get the home grown herbs put up for use later.

First: Grow your favorite herbs.  Summer is the best time to cultivate them, water and prune and grow nice herbs.

Next Cut as they grow thus making the plant bloom fuller and bigger.

Take the stems and clean them.

Then pick the leaves off the stems.  

   Once dry of any water from cleaning them (lay on cookie sheet) place in a brown paper bag that has wholes poked around it to allow air to flow through.

Rap the top tight with a rubber band or string and place in a dark place. 

Let sit for 2 weeks or so until the leaves are brittle and dry.

Lay them out and crunch up making sure there are no stems in them.

Place in a air tight jar or spice container.  

ENJOY YEAR ROUND!

Beef Short Ribs Oven Baked- Roasted

BEEF SHORT RIBS OVEN BAKED - ROASTED

You might think I am a little nuts for making this dish in the middle of July, as it takes so long to cook and therefore filling the house with heat.  For what it seems as an endless time, our weather has been so full of rain, that a hearty homey dish was desired. With all the rain and humidity our air conditioning has been running non-stop anyway, so I succumbed to my desires and slow roasted these tasty beef ribs.  Boy was I glad I did!  Rich and hearty and just what I wanted.

This is a classic way of preparation and you will find many other variations from stove top, slow cookers to Korean spiced etc.

2.5 pounds beef ribs

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Oil

¾ cups of diced carrots, celery and leeks

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoon tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

1-2 sprigs of rosemary

2-3 cups beef broth

2 Cups red wine

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Prepare your diced vegetables making sure you rinse VERY well the Leeks as they tend to have allot of sand in between the leaves.

See how the sand is caught between the leaves:   

Sand hides between layers of leaves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Turn once browned on one side

  Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Lightly dust with flour. In a Dutch oven, warm the oil brown the ribs on each side.   

Remove from Pan

Remove the ribs to a plate and add the carrots, celery, leeks and garlic to the drippings, making sure to scrap the bottom of the pan. 

Sauté for 3-4 minutes on medium heat and then add the tomato paste and then the broth and bay leaf and rosemary.   Stir well.  Cook ribs in oven for 3 hours.

Remove the Ribs and cook the sauce on the stove top on medium high heat for 5 minutes to reduce and thicken sauce.   

Puree the sauce or strain it if you like a smoother sauce and top the ribs.








Tips:

·        Serve with White rice or butter egg noodles

·         Make a good soup from the leftover sauce

 

 

 

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

 

 

THAI CURRY MUSSELS

 THAI CURRY MUSSELS

Found mussels on sale for 4 dollars for a whole 2 Pd bag!  So had to pick them up.  I usually do a marinara sauce and remembered I had a can of coconut milk and red Thai Curry paste. I am experimenting here as my husband says “he does not like coconut”, but I never saw him turn down a Pina Colada – so let’s see how this goes.

1 tablespoon peanut or olive oil

3 cloves of garlic minced

Bit of diced ginger

¼ cup minced onion

1/2 cup white wine

3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1 can unsweeten coconut milk

1-2 fresh lime juice

1 lemon juiced (lemongrass would be best but I don’t have any)

2 pound bag mussels, debearded and scrubbed

2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves

1 tablespoon parsley (Should use cilantro but I do not care for it)

In a large pot sauté in the oil the onion and garlic.  Place the lemon, lime, milk, wine and curry in pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mussels and cover simmering until the mussels open and then add the basil and parsley and cook 1 minute more.

Serve in large bowls (with sauce) with a crusty piece of bread  

TIPS:

I have none as this was so good. I will try to come up with a soup recipe with the extra broth.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Pasta with Spicy Baby Octopus (Htapothi Makaronatha)

Pasta with Spicy baby Octopus  (Htapothi Makaronatha)

I celebrated my birthday with a lovely dinner with my husband at a restaurant new to us.  Our first course was a baby octopus dish cooked with garlic and tomatoes.  I could not get enough of it and came home to be lucky to find in my freezer baby cleaned Octopus. ( I know my house is like a gourmet store!)

So with my yummy thoughts and memory of the dinner I just had, I made a spicy rendition of a Greek Octopus and pasta dish was to be tried.

All tomatoes, parsley and the hot pepper were from my garden!  Reap the harvest!

This will serve 4 persons very well, especially if a salad is added and can be doubled easily. I also think it is a very elegant first course for 6-8 persons.

1 lb baby octopus, sliced into rings

4 Tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

¼ cup chopped onions

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

1/2 cup red wine

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon chile flakes

1 small jalopena pepper minced (optional)

1 bay leaf

2 Teaspoons. capers (optional)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

½ pound ditalini pasta

Make sure the Octopus is cleaned (washed and the plastic-like inners pulled out)  These are pre-cleaned and jut adorable baby Octopus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                             Then slice in small pieces: 

 

Saute in the olive oil the octopus, onion and

garlic for 3-4 minutes

 

.

 

Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes on low.  Add the remaining ingredients (all but the pasta) and simmer on low for about 30-35 minutes until the octopus is just about tender.

Add the pasta and keep simmering until the pasta is cooked and not over done (8-9 minutes on the average for small pasta)

 

 

Remember to stir (not to have anything stick) and add more water if it becomes too dry.  The ideal consistency would have all liquid, but a bit, is absorbed into the pasta.

TIPS:

·        Note I am using elbow macaroni instead of the typically used ditalini

·        If I had a fish broth or clam juice I might have used that instead of white wine.

·        Asian markets sell pre-cleaned and baby octopus, which I believe is the best

·        You could make this as a sauce and place over pasta of choice.

·        Often this dish is cooked in a clay dish and baked.

·        Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf.  Also, note I am using my smaller tomatoes from my garden and I cut them and placed them in the sauce.  They will have their skins come off into the sauce.  Blanching (placing the vegetable into boiling water for just a bit and then into ice bath) will make skinning them easy.  If I use Big tomatoes I do this, but I was lazy here. If you are entertaining with this--DO IT.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Salmon Salad with Avocado

Salmon Salad with Avocado

I had a lovely piece of Salmon last evening and had some leftover which was not quite enough for a meal for two.  So I made a lovely big tossed salad in a big bowl.

I grabbed a large ripe avocado and wanted to fill it with a salmon salad.

1 large ripe avocado cut in half (pit removed)
4-6 oz of cooked salmon shredded
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/2 lemon juiced

Mix your salad base as you please. I used lettuce, tomatoes, olives, sliced mushrooms,sesame seeds, and some onion.   I dressed it lightly with a thousand island dressing. Toss all together and plate. 

Mix the inside of the avocado, salmon which you have shredded, salt and pepper to taste and lemon juice and fill  each half shell with the mixture.  Place on top of the salad and enjoy.The avocado will become a creamy dressing in itself for the rest of the salad.


TIPS:

• I make stuffed avocado halves with a crab salad or shrimp salad as a side salad or side dish. This is a variation.

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

FATHER'S DAY EASY DESSERT MADE FROM PANCAKE BREAKFAST THE SAME MORNING!!

READY EASY SET GO DADS BREAKFAST AND EASY DESSERT FOR LATER

FATHER”S DAY EASY BREAFAST LEFTOVER BATER MAKES DESSERT!!!  Oh yeah!!!!

This was a total last minute idea.  I know I am out all day tomorrow for father’s day and our girls are not here to celebrate in person – but I know they will be on the phone/sykpe/text etc. (they live in Europe)

So my Job is to entertain him and I have a great day planned. His favorite thing is a dessert.  So after making pancakes this morning of which I eat none, I had left over batter. BOOM: watch how easy this is!!  He LOVED IT!  Fed him Father’s day dessert early!

Based on making true CREPES:  but easier and with the batter from the  morning!!!
Leftover or fresh pancake mix batter - make it and let it sit for at least one hour.

Dash of cinnamon to taste

Drizzle of agave syrup or honey

Butter or light cooking oil: just enough to wipe the pan lightly

10 strawberries sliced

Scoops of vanilla ice cream ( one to each pancake)

A good chocolate Syrup or melted chocolate

I made pancakes (any pancakes you want to make- packaged – or not). So the dessert came from leftover pancake batter. I covered it with wrap and kept it until dinner time.  HMM easy peasy here. 

Add some cinnamon and a little agave (sweetener: of your choice. I recommend honey or agave).  Just a bit. Mix well and bring to room temperature.

Heat a fry pan (non-stick preferred) with a bit of butter or cooking oil.  Swirl the pan and add some pancake batter and swirl pan to cover the bottom with batter.   (KEEP IT THIN – JUST LIKE A CREPE)

Place the pan back on the heat (medium heat) and cook until it bubbles up. Flip over and cook the other side.

Place on plate carefully and cook more.

To assemble:  Place a pancake on plate, top with strawberries and roll jelly roll style. Scoop a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle chocolate syrup of choice on top.

 Top with more sliced strawberries

 TIPS     Any topping of syrup will work, any ice cream will work.. I DARE your to think out of the box. !!!

Come on it's DAD..what does he like????

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Braised Rosemary, Garlic and Tomatoe Bone-in Chicken Breasts

Braised Rosemary, Garlic and Tomato Bone- in Chicken Breasts

Braising: is a method of cooking. Usually one sears the meat first (dry cooking - cooking the meat at a high heat until browned –it will not be cooked through) and then cooking in a sauce low and slow (wet cooking) Often called “pot roasting”!

How does your garden grow?   Well, mine is great – thanks!

   

    

There is nothing like cooking with fresh herbs and this is the time to plant them where ever you have sunshine.  I have a small patio with containers that I am presently growing: Parsley, Basil, Rosemary, Mint, Hot peppers and lots of tomatoes. I forgot to buy Dill and will plant that and a few more vegetables this weekend.

 

  I want to use some rosemary and some of my tomatoes. I worked up a nice sauce to braise two large bone-in chicken breasts.  (Note: bone-in breasts will give a good depth of taste to the dish rather than boneless chicken breasts.

 

 

 

2 Chicken breasts (bone-in) Salted and peppered

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

½ cup sliced onions

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 sprigs of Rosemary needles (removed from stem and roughly chopped)

1 teaspoon chopped basil

A bit of chopped jalapeno peppers (optional)

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes preferred (I had only a handful of fresh and had to add some canned)

Sear chicken in the olive oil until browned on both sides (high heat).

 

Remove the chicken  from the large fry pan and add garlic and onions to the pan.

 

  Sauté on a bit lower heat for a few minutes. Add herbs and sauté another 2 minutes.

 

Lower the heat and add tomato and cook another 3-4 minutes so the sauce begins to incorporate all the flavors. 

Add the seared chicken (nestle into the sauce) and lower heat to medium –low and cover and simmer for 40 minutes or so (turn the chicken 1-2- times)

TIPS:

·        The dish is about Rosemary with chicken... so think about other veggies you might like to put in the dish. I usually think more “root” veggies with rosemary and I think a potato chunked and placed in the sauce might sound good.

·        This was so fresh and the rosemary scented the home so nicely and it gave me a calm and serene feeling. Do not mess it up with a bunch of other items!

 

 

 

 

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

Baked low calorie Simple Salmon Cakes

Baked low calorie Simple Salmon Cakes -

I love salmon but often tire of the same recipes. I however always want to boost my Omega 3’s.  Salmon cakes are marvelous fried but to lower calories I used very little bread filling (only a tad of panko crumbs) and bake the patties instead of frying them.  I choose to lighten the taste and keep them simple this time rather than add Worcestershire sauce, lots of old bay, strong onions, celery and lots of dressing (mayo/mustard/hot pepper sauce) inside them.  The taste of these cakes highlight the natural salmon taste as the winning flavor.

1 pound salmon

1 egg - beaten

2 tablespoons red pepper minced finely (for color and just a bit of taste)

1 shallot minced

2 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Juice of half a large lemon

1 tablespoons panko bread crumbs

½ teaspoon old bay seasoning

1 teaspoon minced parsley or ½ teaspoon dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle of bread crumbs to just top the patties and a drizzle of olive oil.

With the edge of a sharp knife or tongs of a fork scrap the salmon so it shreds. Place in a mixing bowl.  Add all ingredients and toss to mix but not to make it too mushy.

Form into balls of equal size  (4-5) and place on oiled or sprayed with non-stick spray baking sheet. Once all balls are made (I made five) push down lightly to form patties.  Sprinkle with a light coating of panko bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. (just cooked and slightly pink inside).  Turn to broil and broil another 2-3 minutes to brown topping.

TIPS:

·        I served them on a lovely bed of mixed salad greens with olives, tomatoes etc with a light vinaigrette dressing.

·        Leftover patties will make a nice cold sandwich with a wasabi and avocado dressing

·        If you use dill in the patties, I suggest a creamy dill dressing

·        DO NOT overcook, as these are drier than a fried and heavily laden patty with more mayo/mustard dressing.

(PS: Canned salmon is a very easy short cut - watch for bones)

 

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

 

 

Chinese Fried Black Rice

                                                      Chinese  Fried Black Rice (The Forbidden Rice)

Black Rice was once revered so highly that if one was caught stealing it, they were put to death. (ie: The name Forbidden Rice)

I had heard about black rice and its value in being higher in iron and trace minerals than white rice and supposedly to have a great nutty taste, so I bought a bag a while ago. I decided to make some Black Fried Rice.  Fried Rice recipes can easily be changed up as to what you want to mix in.  As I am serving this with General Tso chicken, I thought a vegetable one would be best.

One cup of black rice

2 cups water

Good drizzle vegetable oil

Drop of sesame oil

1 carrot diced

1/2 onion diced

1 stalk celery diced

½ frozen peas

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cloves of chopped garlic

1 eggs beaten

Cook rice (boil water add rice, cover lower heat to simmer and cook until fluffy abut 25 minutes) Set aside to cool

In large pan heat 2 oils and add vegetables, garlic and onion. Stir fry 3-4 minutes. 

 

Add spices, soy, fish sauce and beaten egg and scramble. 

 

Add rice and stir fry another few minutes.

 

 

TIPS

 ·        Add zucchini, squash, green pepper, mushrooms etc chopped

 

 

 

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!

 

MOCHA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CAKE

MOCHA CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CAKE

 

I had my ladies group of friends in for a lovely luncheon recently.  They drove a good distance  to see me and a fabulous desert certainly was going to be on the menu!   Well, here is ONE!! Super great!

 I posted before some of the luncheon menu/recipes, but saved one UNBELIEVABLE Dessert recipe for you all.    I must say this is not mine.. I changed it a bit - basically not much, but it is a major keeper!

(This is prompted by my sweet friend Chase, who asked for a good dessert recipe: Chase this is for you) Chase: never fear my “special easy no-brainer cake recipe is coming.. But if you want to really wow that man/friend? Etc..!!  Try this!

2 cups cold heavy cream

12 ounces mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup coffee liqueur

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 (8-ounce) packages chocolate chip cookies

Whisk the cream, mascarpone, sugar, liqueur, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla slowly then on high speed until peaks form.

 

 

 

 

 

Place chocolate chip cookies flat in an 8-inch spring form pan, covering the bottom as much as possible) Spread a fifth of the mocha whipped cream evenly over the cookies.

 Place another layer of cookies on top, lying flat and touching, followed by another fifth of the cream. Continue layering cookies and cream until there are 5 layers of each, ending with a layer of cream. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

Run a small sharp knife around the outside of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Sorry I cannot remember where I got this.

NO TIPS HERE.. not my recipe and it is amazing as it is!

Seafood and Vegetables in light Avocado Sauce

Seafood and Vegetables in Light  Avocado Sauce over Pasta

 

I had two cooked lobster claws leftover from my Lobster salad dinner and needed to use them.  I found some frozen shrimp, squid and then looked for a few vegetables.  Then there was this lone half of avocado that needed to be used! Hmm....  As I started with the lobster in mind, I did not want to make an over-powering sauce.  A little Avocado ( no cream needed) a bit of cream cheese; again to get a creamy but a light texture.

Well, it surprised me, but I LOVED IT.                                                           Serves four.

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoon butter

½ small onion chopped finely

1 tablespoon minced garlic

½ cup or so chopped snow peas (trimmed first)

5-6 six quarter sized tomatoes chunky

10 peeled and deveined shrimp

4 squid, cleaned and sliced in small rounds

Meat of two lobster claws (optional)

2 tablespoons minced parsley (keep a small bit to garnish at the plate)

1 tablespoon fresh basil minced

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ cup white wine or seafood or chicken broth

2 tablespoons cream cheese

½ Avocado

Pasta enough for two

Boil water and begin to cook your pasta of choice to el dente stage.

Melt butter in olive oil and butter together and sauté the onion, garlic, parsley, basil, tomato and snow peas. Add shrimp and squid and cook 2-3 minutes until the shrimp begin to curl and turn pink.  Add the wine and cream cheese  and avocado and cook another 2-3 minutes.  

Add a bit of the pasta water if too dry. Add cooked lobster claws and stir/cook another minute. 

Add pasta to the pan, swirl to heat all together, plate and top with part of the parsley leftover and grate parmesan cheese on top.

TIPS:

1.      Change up any fish to the sauce
2.      Add other vegetables then just the snow peas and tomatoes (your choice)

3.      Asparagus and peas would be nice

4.      A bit of cream will make it a richer sauce ( but sometimes with rich shell fish a heavier sauce is not warranted and detracts from the elegant fish)

As always be your own Creative Dump Cook and change this recipe to what YOU have on hand!