Showing posts with label #SundaySupper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #SundaySupper. Show all posts

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Baked Zucchini with Spicy Tomatoes

The application of a little caramelizing heat brings out the best in these tender baby zucchini making sure they can still compete with the spicy tomatoes and feta cheese baked on top.  This dish is great as a vegetarian main or as a side dish. 

What’s your weakness?
I love a Cheeto or Dorito as much as the next person. Okay, okay, you’ve got me. I probably love them more. I’m not a big sweet eater so fatty and salty are definitely my dietary weak spots. That said, if I can add cheese to a vegetable dish – everybody saw my Sunday Supper potato chard bake a couple of weeks ago, right? – then my needs are satisfied in a much healthier manner.

This dish of baby zucchini topped with spicy tomatoes, feta cheese and crunchy pumpkin seeds was so good that we had it as a main course one night and delighted in it as a side dish the very next night. I was sad when it was gone.

The “unprocessed” challenge
This week Sunday Supper is featuring recipes that forgo the weird chemical ingredients that no one can pronounce, using just whole foods in their mostly natural state, if you don’t count things like pasteurizing milk to kill the harmful bacteria or making cheese out of it. I guess technically those are “processed” but, as far as I’m concerned, that’s in a good way. Our host this week is DB from Crazy Foodie Stunts and he got his inspiration for this theme from Andrew Wilder’s October Unprocessed Challenge. Whether you are willing to take the challenge or not, I'm sure we can all agree that if we can't say the ingredient or spell it, we probably shouldn't be eating very much of it!

These zucchini with spicy tomatoes, on the other hand, we will be eating more often.

Ingredients
1 lb 2 oz or 510g baby zucchini
1 lb 2 oz or 510g ripe tomatoes
1 small onion (about 3 oz or 85g)
2 red chilies
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 oz or 100g feta (I like one that is made with sheep’s milk but use your favorite.)
1/4 cup or 20g pumpkin seeds

Method
Cut the stems off of your little zucchini and then halve them lengthwise.



Chop your onions and tomatoes and mince the chilies and garlic.



Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and fry the zucchini halves until they are browned nicely on both sides.



Put them in a baking dish in a single layer.

Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the onion, garlic and chilies. Sauté for a few minutes until they soften.



Add in the chopped tomatoes, the smoked paprika and the sugar. Cook for about seven or eight minutes over a medium heat until the tomatoes start breaking down.



Spoon the spicy tomatoes over the zucchini in the ovenproof dish.



Crumble the feta over the tomatoes and sprinkle everything with the pumpkin seeds.



Bake in your preheated oven for about half an hour.

It’s done with the feta is nicely browning and the dish is bubbling hot and brown all around the edges.



Enjoy!


Check out all the great “unprocessed” recipes we have for you today!

Alluring Appetizers and Snacks
Stunning Sides
Enticing Entreés
Decadent Desserts




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Sunday, September 21, 2014

Cheesy Potato Chard Bake


This casserole of potatoes, chard and two cheeses is a great vegetarian main course option. It’s deliciously rich so it’s very filling and, best of all, you can easily double or treble the ingredients to feed a crowd. Add a green salad, tomato salad or some grilled asparagus to round out the meal.

Last spring I was in Providence visiting my girls and, as usual, they invited their friends over for dinner. I miss a full house now that they are living away but those evenings make up for it a little bit. Such a delightful group of young people, almost all students or recent graduates of Rhode Island School of Design! We had taken advantage of the farmers’ market that morning and had a couple of big bunches of fresh chard and some locally made goat cheese in hand, so we adapted a recipe from Bountiful * for creamed Swiss chard that is supposed to be served over baked potatoes, and made it into a casserole. It turned out gorgeously! One of the talented friends (Debora V. Fulop!) who helped to cook the meal has promised to illustrate some of the steps, since we didn’t take many photos and as soon as she gets around to it, I’ll share that recipe. Right now Deb is busy designing jewelry but she also takes commissions for other illustration and design work.

Meanwhile, this version is much healthier, with no cream in sight. I did use a mix of feta and mozzarella that makes this just as fulfilling to eat.

This week, our Sunday Supper group is celebrating the official start of autumn in the northern hemisphere with cozy dishes that fit the season. As temperatures start to cool down and you are looking for comfort food, it doesn’t get more comforting, in my opinion, than something made with potatoes and melted cheese. Make sure you scroll on down to see all the beautiful seasonal recipes we have for you today and find out how to join Sunday Supper on our mission to get folks back around the family table.

Ingredients
3 1/2 oz or 100g (without the hard stems) Swiss chard or other local greens - Kale also works great!
1 lb 6 oz or 635g new potatoes
2 cloves garlic
About 4 1/2 oz or 125g feta (I like to use sheep's milk feta for stronger flavor.)
About 4 1/2 oz or 125g fresh mozzarella
Olive oil
Black pepper – freshly ground
Cayenne pepper or paprika- optional

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Cut the new potatoes into chunks and chop your garlic. (If you can't find new potatoes, by all means, use regular ones but peel them first. I even peeled some of my new potatoes because they had some funny bits.)

Wash your Swiss chard or other greens really well and cut out and discard any hard middle stems. Chop the leaves roughly.

Slice the mozzarella and crumble the feta. Set aside.

In an ovenproof pan that is big enough to hold all of the potatoes, sauté the garlic with a good drizzle of olive oil. Add the potato chunks into the garlic pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring them around so they are coated with the olive oil. Drizzle in a little more olive oil, if the pan is too dry.



Add the Swiss chard, cover the pot and allow the chard to wilt.



Sprinkle everything with some generous grinds of fresh black pepper and stir the pot so that the chard and potatoes are evenly distributed.

Top with the crumbled feta and sliced mozzarella.



Sprinkle with a little bit of cayenne or paprika for color, if desired. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake, uncovered, in your preheated oven until the potatoes are tender and the cheesy top is golden and bubbling. Mine took about 30 minutes.



Enjoy!

Many thanks to our host for this week’s Fabulous Fall Foods Sunday Supper, Coleen of The Redhead Baker and, her host mentor, Conni of The Foodie Army Wife. Is summer still hanging on where you live or are you ready to celebrate autumn with seasonal fruit and vegetables and warming dishes for cold nights?

Appetizers and Drinks
Soups, Stews, Chili, and Casserole
Salads and Side Dishes
Main Dishes
Desserts and Baked Goods

*This is an Amazon affiliate link. I earn some small change if you buy through this link, at no extra cost to you.

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Sunday, September 7, 2014

Stuffed Red Kuri Squash

Beautiful Kuri squash are perfect for stuffing and roasting. If you can’t find them though, a butternut or tender pumpkin would also work for this Stuffed Red Kuri Squash recipe made with spicy Italian sausage.

Food Lust People Love: Beautiful Kuri squash are perfect for stuffing and roasting. If you can’t find them though, a butternut or tender pumpkin would also work for this Stuffed Red Kuri Squash recipe made with spicy Italian sausage.


Last year I heard the news that a great new farmers’ market was set to open in Safa Park, a lovely green space not far from the coast here in Dubai. But weekend after weekend other plans got made (and brilliantly executed) and we never did seem to get to the park, until finally, in late May, it happened.

To the Market, finally!
Now the farmers’ market had gotten good press regularly since opening so I knew it had fabulous food trucks and loads of fresh vegetables. The gourmet butcher would be there along with folks with games for the children and shopping opportunities from select purveyors of sauces, baked goods, jams, all natural ice cream and many handmade crafts. So, as you can imagine, I was rubbing my hands together with glee as we made our way there. 

Due to a big construction project along one side of the park, the normal entrance had been changed so we circled the containing wall, looking for the right gate. Whew! Found it. And snagged the last parking place in the parking lot just outside! By this point, I was clutching my shopping bags and practically skipping through the gate, only to be brought up short by the sight of one lone booth with fresh vegetables. And that’s it. 

Turns out that the farmers’ market had closed for the summer the weekend before but the vegetable vendor, who is also the organizer, thought it would be a good idea to show up one last time, in case not everyone had gotten the word. Crestfallen does not even start to describe me. 

Fortunately, the vendor did have a decent selection of produce, including a few weird little round squashes with crook necks that I had never seen before. He didn’t know what they were called, beyond squash, but said that they were grown locally and were great when roasted. Sold!

My guy! Ooh, ooh, talking 'bout my guy! 


Do you have a farmers’ market near you? 
This year, when the sweltering heat has abated somewhat and sitting outdoors is no longer a health hazard, the farmers’ market will resume operations on 10 October at a different location in Zabeel Park and this time I’m going to try to get there long before next May. I know I have readers from around the world. I’m curious. When do your farmers’ markets open and close, if they aren’t year round?

Ingredients
4 links fresh Italian sausage (My four weighed about 7 3/4 oz or 275g)
1 red Kuri squash (My guy weighed about 440g or almost 1 lb)
2 slices stale bread (about 1 3/4 - 2 oz or 50-55g)
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
Handful flatleaf or Italian parsley
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (depending on your tolerance/love of spiciness)
Olive oil
Salt, to taste

Method
Preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C and use a little olive oil to grease a small pan that will just fit the two halves of your squash side by side.

Make crumbs out of your stale bread in the food processor and divide them into two bowls, the smaller one with just a few heaping tablespoons full for topping, the balance in the larger bowl. Pour the milk over the crumbs in the larger bowl and leave to soak.



Mince your garlic and parsley and remove the sausage meat from the casing.

Meanwhile, cut your squash in half and remove the fibers and seeds. Slice just a tiny bit off of the bottom so the squash halves sit flat and place them in the oiled pan.



Drain your breadcrumbs in a small sieve and press down lightly with your hands or the back of a spoon to get most of the milk out.



In a large mixing bowl, put the sausage meat, drained bread crumbs, garlic, parsley and crushed red pepper in with the egg and mix well.



My locally made Italian sausage is plenty salty so I don’t add more salt to this mixture. If yours is not, or if you are not sure, I encourage you to cook just a teaspoon of the mixture in a small frying pan to check. Add a little salt to the mixture, if necessary.

Stuff your mixture loosely in the squash halves.



Top with the reserved breadcrumbs and drizzle liberally with some olive oil.



Roast in your preheated oven for about 45-60 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the squash and it is cooked through. If it’s getting too brown, you can cover it with foil and continue roasting until done. And, in case you are wondering, the peel is completely edible. In fact, it's my favorite part!

Food Lust People Love: Beautiful Kuri squash are perfect for stuffing and roasting. If you can’t find them though, a butternut or tender pumpkin would also work for this Stuffed Red Kuri Squash recipe made with spicy Italian sausage.


Enjoy!



Are you a fan of squash dishes? We've got everything you need for a festival of squash today!

Starters – Appetizers & Cocktails:
Pickles & Relish:
Soups & Salads:
Main Dishes
Side Dishes:
Sweets to Start or End the Day:

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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Apricot Habanero Jam

This spicy apricot jam is fabulous with some cheddar or cream cheese on crackers or toast, but our favorite way to enjoy it is as a glaze and/or topping on pork chops. 

This week we are Saving Summer with lots of great recipes that take advantage of nature’s bounty during the growing season and extend its use into fall and winter. Farmers’ markets and roadside stands are redolent with summer produce, if you are fortunate enough to live or visit some place that’s not hotter than the hinges of the gates of hell right now. 

As much as I love Dubai, there is no other way to describe our summer heat index. Just recently, though, I was able to visit the island of Jersey in the English Channel and I was practically skipping with joy to buy eggs and Jersey Royal potatoes at roadside stands. It’s all on the honor system. You just take what you need and drop the money in the box!
Photo credit: Glenys Claverie

Here in Dubai, the farmers’ markets close for the summer but fresh produce is flown in from everywhere around the world. These apricots were from Lebanon, if I remember correctly. I try to buy those items that have traveled the least distances.

Make sure you scroll on down to the bottom and check out all the lovely recipes and “how-to” instructions we have for you this week. And many thanks to my co-host, Tara, from Noshing with the Nolands. She’ll be leading the Saving Summer Twitter chat this evening so be sure to join in!

Ingredients
2 lbs or 910g fresh apricots
1 small habanero
3 1/2 cups or 700g sugar, divided
Half pack pectin - Just less than 1 oz or about 25g (I use the Sure-Jell brand and the box says 1.75oz or 49g.)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
 1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice, most pulp

3-4 clean, sterilized jam jars
Wide-mouth funnel for filling jars

N.B. Make sure your jars and lids are thoroughly sterilized because this quick canning method does not require a hot water bath or pressure cooking. If you have any doubts whatsoever, store the jam in the refrigerator once cooled.

Method
Halve your apricots and remove the pits. Pull the stem off of your habanero and discard it.



In a large pot, heat your apricots with the habanero, 3 cups or 600g of the sugar, the sea salt and the lemon and orange juices.

Cook over a low to medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming any white foam that forms around the top. The apricots and habanero should start falling apart and turning to pulp.



Get your jars ready for filling by lining them up on some paper towels (to catch the inevitable drips onto your countertop) and inserting a metal teaspoon into each one. A wide-mouth funnel will make this so much easier! Put the funnel into the first jar, at the ready.

Meanwhile, mix your pectin with the remaining half cup or 100g of sugar.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool for just a few minutes. Use your hand blender to puree the mixture to your desired consistency.



Return the pot to the heat and add in the sugar/pectin mixture. Mix well and bring the pot to a full rolling bowl for at least a minute.



Ladle the boiling hot jam into the clean jars, moving the funnel along as you go. Do be careful not to splash jam on yourself.

I completely missed taking a picture at this stage so here's one from when I made tomato chutney for Sunday Supper. Pretend this is apricot habanero jam. :) Same process.



Remove the teaspoons and screw the lids on the jars very tightly, using a towel to hold the jars and turn the lids, starting with jar one. When you get to jar three or four, start over at number one, trying to tighten them all just a little more.

Turn the jars upside down so that the hot jam further sterilizes the insides of your clean lids.



Leave the jars upside down until the jam has completely cooled, which could take several hours. Turn the jars upright and check that the center button on the lids have popped in, if your lids have those. Any jars whose buttons have not popped in should be stored in the refrigerator as this means the seal is not good and bacteria could get in. If this jam lasts that long. :) I could eat it with a spoon.


Enjoy!



Garden growing overtime? Fruit and veg box overflowing? Can't resist the local produce at the farmers' market? Then this is the Sunday Supper for you!

Learn how to …

Sip sunny cocktails and smoothies

Scoop up special salsas and sauces

Jump into jellies, jams and preserves

Pucker up for pickles

Slurp and spoon soup and a side dish

Dive into divine desserts


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Thursday, August 7, 2014

Saving Summer Preview

The Sunday Supper Movement is dedicated to bringing back mealtime around the family table with great new recipes every single Sunday and quick and easy weekday suppers, Monday through Friday. This Sunday, we are celebrating the bounty of summer by sharing recipes and methods for ways to make the most of fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit and even extending their use into the next season. 

It has been my privilege to be a part of the Sunday Supper Movement for more than a year and a half. In fact, this week is my 50th post with the group! I am delighted to be co-hosting for the very first time with my friend, Tara, from Noshing with the Nolands.

Enjoying the bounty of each growing season used to be a given before the days of refrigerated trucks and airfreight. My grandfather grew many of the vegetables his family ate while my grandmother preserved what she could by blanching and canning or pickling the harvest shortly after each crop was picked. This was a way of life for them, despite owning and running their own full time business. It’s just what you did back then to feed your family as economically and as healthfully as you could.

Now we have many options for saving summer produce, including our handy home freezers and Sunday Supper is making the most of them all this week! I would be most appreciative if you would stop by again on Sunday to see all the wonderful recipes and instructions we’ll have for you.

But, meanwhile, here’s a sneak peak at the Sunday Supper Saving Summer link list:

Learn how to …

Sip sunny cocktails and smoothies

Scoop up special salsas and sauces

Jump into jellies, jams and preserves

Pucker up for pickles

Slurp and spoon soup and a side dish

Dive into divine desserts



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Sunday, July 6, 2014

Bak Kwa or Grilled Chili Pork Jerky

Ground pork, seasoned with soy sauce, brown sugar and Shaoxing wine, and grilled over charcoal is a traditional favorite in Singapore and Malaysia. It’s popular all year round but demand increases during the Chinese New Year celebrations. 

I was a young slip of a girl of 18 when I first traveled to Asia. My father moved to Jakarta, Indonesia from Venezuela right after my graduation from high school. Back in the days before long-range airplanes, any trip from Houston to Jakarta meant at least two stopovers so, before the final plane ride, I took a rest stop in a hotel in Singapore and I knew that I had found my people: Those who eat fried rice and spicy noodles and congi and curry for breakfast. And grilled chili pork as a snack.

I was wandering up Orchard Road window-shopping when the most tantalizing aroma overtook me. It was sweet and smoky and meaty. Farther along, I found the source in a row of traditional Peranakan houses where a smiling grill man of uncertain mental acuity was standing just inside the open window, turning squares of flat meat over a large charcoal fire. Despite his white singlet, he was red-faced from the heat and glistening. He moved the pieces about the grill, turning each until it was the perfect blend of succulently cooked pork and crispy, scorched fatty bits, finally depositing them in a large metal tray, while constantly adding new pork squares to the grill. This bak kwa or chili pork was sold by the kilo, wrapped first in waxed paper then sealed in a plastic bag.

I dare say that over the years I have eaten my weight in chili pork, returning time and time again to my scantily clad friend on Orchard Road, until the developers in Singapore decided to “renovate” Peranakan Place and the original bak kwa shop was closed to make way first for a cultural center and later for more tourist friendly restaurants. I mourned until I found another source. Now the shops are almost everywhere, even in Changi, the award-winning Singapore airport. And the old Peranakan building now boasts a clean, modern bak kwa store where you can’t watch them grill the pork but you can buy it for take away. Sadly, bak kwa hasn’t made its way to Dubai, so here, I have to make my own. It’s not exactly the same because the pork in Singapore is much fattier that what we can buy, but, you know what? That’ll do, pig, That’ll do.

This week Sunday Supper’s theme is Summer Chillin’ – food that can be served cold. Bak kwa is not refrigerated in the shops despite being made without preservatives, additives or colorants. Just eat it within a few days of making it though, if it lasts that long. Many thanks to our wonderful host, Alaiyo from Pescetarian Journal for hosting this great theme.

My bak kwa was adapted from these two posts on Just As Delish and No-frills Recipe. Shannon and Cheah are food bloggers from Malaysia and kindred spirits in my spicy food loving world.

While researching recipes, I came across this taste test and thought I’d include the link for anyone traveling to or living in Singapore. So many types of bak kwa now!

Ingredients
1/3 cup, packed and well-rounded, or 75g dark brown sugar
5 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing or Chinese cooking wine
4 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 1/2 lbs or 670g ground or minced pork (The fattier, the better!)

Method
Preheat your oven to 265°F or 130°C.

Put all of your ingredients up to but excluding the pork in a food processor and mix well.



Add in half the pork and mix again.

Add in the rest of the pork and process one last time.



Line a large baking tray with heavy duty foil.

Spread the pork mixture out in the pan as evenly as you can.

Cover with a piece of cling film and try to smooth it out even more with your hands.



Remove the cling film and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 - 40 minutes or until fully cooked and kind of rubbery looking.



Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Pour off any juice that may have accumulated in the foil. Take the whole thing out of the pan and put it on a cutting board. Loosen the meat from the foil and cut into squares.



Sometimes it’s hard to get the meat evenly thin so feel free to slice any thicker pieces in half with a sharp knife. (If you are not ready to grill immediately, wrap the bak kwa in cling film and refrigerate until grilling time.)



Grill over hot coals, moving the pork squares around and turning them frequently until they are charred and crispy in places and soft and chewy in others. This is very quick, taking only a couple of minutes on each side.

Serve with an ice cold glass of Tiger beer, if you can get your hands on some.


This is a great starter or snack to serve your guests before the rest of the barbecue. I mean, as long as you are firing up the grill, right? Or bring it along to a picnic, no refrigeration necessary.

Enjoy!



Are you looking to beat the heat? Check out all the cool drinks, dishes and desserts the Sunday Supper crowd has got for you this week!

Brisk Beverages
Chilled Starters
Snappy Salads and Sides
Refreshing Main Dishes
Cool Confections




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