Too Lemony Too Salty Dressing

After 100 years of marriage I finally made a dressing that made E's heart swell.

6 anchovies mashed up

1 big clove garlic mashed up

Mash the anchovies and garlic together

Mix in a little country mustard

Mix in a little Worshteshire Sauce

Too much fresh ground pepper

Add too much lemon

And don't add enough olive oil

Toss with butter leaf lettuce.

Cheating Pesto Pasta with Chicken, Sun Dried Tomaotes, Olives and Mozarella

After teaching for Alana last night I went to the Bridge to pick up fixings for dinner. We already had pasta, store bought pesto, kalamata olives, some chicken and lemon at home. I got some sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil), a red onion, some more pre roasted chicken, some slivered almonds and fresh mozzarella balls. I was feeding three. So I made a pound of pasta and had leftovers.

1. Start water to boil.
2. Pull off the meat of the chicken and tear into desired size pieces. Place in large bowl.
3. Thinly slice desired amount of sun dried tomatoes. I think I used about 10.
4. Tear open and pit desired amount of Kalamata olives. I think we used about 15 or so.
5. 1/4 and thinly slice desired amount of red onion.
6. When water is boiling, salt and add pasta. Tonight we used strangled priest shapes.
7. Meanwhile, heat some oil and pan toast a handful of slivered almonds until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
8. In same oil, toast up some red pepper flakes and other desired herbs. Tonight I just added some Mexican oregano. Add oil and herb mixture to ingredients in bowl and toss.
9. When pasta is done, drain. Add to big bowl and toss with pesto. Add almonds and toss.
10. Salt and pepper.

Serve bowls, adding the small mozzarella balls on top.

Fried Wontons and...Fried Rice!

Haha! I added to the Fried Rice tonight.

Anything can be stuffed in a wonton wrapper and fried up and served with a dipping sauce and be successful.

Tonight I did this:

1. Sauteed some minced shallot and garlic and red pepper flakes

2. Eventually added some drained soft minced tofu.

3. Eventually added some shredded napa valley cabbage

4. Eventually added some tamari soy sauce, rice wine and rice vinegar.  Allowed to saute for longer.  Eventually removed from heat and cuz I was in a rush, put in a bowl and put in freezer to cool it down.

5. Meanwhile, prepped veggies for fried rice.  Minced green onions, carrots and celery.  Sauteed these over high heat, eventually adding brown rice and eventually adding some tamari soy sauce. Allowed this to "fry".

6. When tofu mixture was cool, started to heat some oil in a non-stick pan.  Began wonton assembly.  When about 15 wontons were made, oil was hot enough.  Dropped wontons into pan to begin frying.

7. Meanwhile, added 2 eggs to rice mixture and rolled together, turning off heat when done.

8. Turned wontons as necessary and removed to paper towel on a plate to drain.

9. To serve, mixed soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili oil toasted sesame oil, a little sugar and a little water together for a dipping sauce.  Put rice, wontons and dipping sauce in small bowl on a plate.

Blood Orange Salad with Olives, Feta and Fennel and Red Onion

1. Cut skins off a lot of blood oranges.   (squeeze the juice from the peels into a bowl).

2. Cut skins off some navel oranges.  (squeeze the juice from the peels into a bowl).

3. Keeping types of oranges separate, slice into rounds.

4. Thinly slice some red onion (keeping the circular shape)

5. Thinly slice a fennel bulb and toss with some lemon and olive oil to preserve it.

6. Heat some olive oil in a pan and toast some slivered almonds.

7. Pit and finely chop some oil cured olives.

8.  Mince some fresh rosemary.

9. Mix some honey into the reserved orange juice.  Squeeze a little lemon in to get the right sweetness balance.  I added some worshteshire to get more "body".  And some olive oil and shook it up.

To serve, arrange orange slices, onions and fennel to be pleasing to you.  Stacked might be cool...tonight we kind of scattered them.  I spooned a Little of the dressing over the orange, fennel onion arrangement.  Arrange the olive mash to your liking.  Tonight we clumped it around the plate.  Sprinkle the fresh rosemary and maybe some fennel greens for a little garnish and taste.  Sprinkle on the almonds and crumble some feta cheese on top.

Dinner at Olivia's

is always a special treat.

Tonight she made me a compari and pellegrino with a little lemon. This was a great way to start.

Sheila made crostini's with goat cheese, Olivia's sun dried tomatoes, a little parsley herb mixture and some smoked salmon or shrimp.

I made a blood orange salad. 

Steve made a radicchio salad with a simple wonder garlic vinaigrette.

Olivia then served chili pepper polenta cakes.

Diver Scallops on a bed a of sauteed fennel, leak, and spinach.

And if that was not heaven enough, Sheila surprised us with delicious coffee and chocolate shortbread cookies.  And Olivia dished out her homemade persimmon ice creme.

YUM!

 

the savory scones at farmer and the cook

the savory scones at farmer and the cook are SO GOOD that i have no desire to learn how to make them.  and i refuse to share mine.

this morning i called to find out if they were happening.  emy told me that they were "in the oven and should be ready in about 20 minutes"

oh!  i can't imagine i have done anything in my life to deserve such a special treat!

me and fried rice are gonna get married

yesterday i made fried rice with pre-made brown rice from rainbow bridge.  the nuttiness of the brown rice is awesome.  

for lunch i used shallots, kale, carrots, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, a splash of rice wine vinegar and eggs

for dinner i made it with leftover yellow onion, rosemary, sage, kale, lemon zest, lemon, roasted cashews, eggs and parmeson

for lunch today i made white rice and made the dish with shallots, jalepenos, kale, soy sauce and eggs.  i got an extra good "do" on it this afternoon.