A Pinch and a Dollop

You know the drill… another day at home, another boring meal! Wrong! There really is nothing boring about brunch, even if you cannot go out with friends! Cheesy eggs, tangy avocado, and luscious potato hash: sounds like a great morning to me! Especially if you pair it with a mimosa or glass of bubbly! This brunch hits all the notes and provides a real comfy weekend meal.

Using the discarded peels of the potatoes I peeled for the Potato Bread, you can use all the delicious bits and get a really filling, luxurious meal. Dress it up or down, sub or add any of your own favorite flavors and you will not be disappointed!

Ingredients:

• Peels from 3-4 large potatoes, or equivalent
• 1 shallot or 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 eggs (1 per person or more if you desire)
• 1 avocado
• 2 slices cheddar cheese
• splash(es) of green tabasco sauce
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• ~1/2 tsp thyme

Directions:

1. Add about 1 Tbs of olive oil to medium skillet on medium high heat. Let heat until pan is very hot, and then add shallot/onion and garlic, sautéing until golden brown. Stir often.
2. Once onions and garlic are browning, add potato peels, a pinch of salt and pepper, and thyme. Let potatoes cook without stirring until bottom layer browns and forms a crunchy layer. At this point, stir potatoes/onions and leave to continue to brown other potatoes. Repeat until the majority of the potatoes are browned and crusty.
3. You can use a separate pan to cook the eggs while potatoes are cooking, or simply move over potatoes to one side of pan and crack the eggs into pan to fry. If doing more than two eggs, you might prefer to use two pans; I simply hate having more dishes to do!
4. Cook eggs either sunny side up or fried over. Add cheese on top of each egg, cover to let cheese melt.
5. While eggs are cooking, halve and spoon an entire avocado into a bowl. Mash until lumpy or smooth, add a pinch of salt and a few splashes of Tobasco sauce.
6. Divide potatoes on two plates, place egg(s) on top, and top with half the avocado mash. Enjoy!

This morning, I woke up with the intention of making a green smoothie. It was all I could think of yesterday; the fridge is packed with fresh produce (and I mean packed)!

I went for a long walk, I had an ice coffee. I thought about making doughnuts, then ate 3 peaches and a handful of chocolate. No smoothie. So, I guess there is a win in there somewhere! Maybe for lunch…

Want to wow a crowd or your family with a super fun play on a classic? Make these mind bending dumplings, and they are sure to be a hit! Great for getting kids in the kitchen (and eating what they make), and these make a small amount of ingredients stretch really far! An easy way to impress and get to enjoy your favorite things in a new, fun way!

I am obsessed with making dumplings lately. You can literally put just about anything in them. And, while I don’t usually eat red meat for personal reasons, I sometimes get a craving for a burger. These satisfied both of my cravings at once!

I just threw this all together, so I am approximating measurements. Feel free to add or omit things you love or dislike on your own burger, and you can even make these vegetarian with meatless meat. You can’t really mess this up! You can use the dipping sauces or make up your own. Some people like to dip in ketchup or eat plain. All depends on what you like on your burger.

This makes 50 dumplings.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat of choice. (I used grass fed beef, but you can mix it up according to what you prefer for a burger)
• 1 pkg premade dumpling wrappers (I prefer round shape to square, but you can use either kind)
• 1/4c ketchup
• 1/4c mustard
• 1 pickle, finely chopped
• 2 slices cheddar cheese, finely chopped (or 1/2c shredded)
• 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 shallot or 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 2-3 slices good quality bacon
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• 1-2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1/2c water for cooking
• 1/4c water for sealing dumpling skins
• any extra herbs you might like to season your burger with

Dipping Sauce Option 1:

• 1/4c ketchup
• 1/4c mustard

Dipping Sauce Option 2:

• 1/4c ketchup
• 1/4c mayonnaise
• 1/2 small pickle

Directions:

1. In small skillet or fry pan, over medium high heat, fry bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from pan, and drain on paper towels. Leave grease in pan.
2. With pan still on, lower flame to medium, and add shallots or onions; fry in bacon grease until golden brown.
3. While onions are frying, add all other ingredients to a medium bowl. Crumble up bacon into small bits, and add to bowl. Add in shallots/onions, including the bacon grease.
4. Mix everything together with your hands until well incorporated. If you want to test a small amount in the fry pan to see if you need to add any additional ingredients, now is a good time to do so! Once you are happy with your mixture, set aside.
5. To make dumplings, place roughly half to one Tbs of filling in center of dumpling wrapper. Using a small bowl of water, dab your finger with some water and lightly wet all around the edges of the dumpling skin. This will allow you to press the dough together, and have it stick. Without the water, the dumplings will not seal, and you will lose your filling.
6. To crimp your edges, bring the center of the dumpling together, and pinch the top edges together gently to begin the seal, creating a half moon shape. Keeping the back flat, you want to work the excess dough on the front into pleats so your filling is tightly packaged. I have a video on how to do this below.
7. This is not typical, but I like to create 3 pleats on either side of center pinch, folding in opposite direction. It creates a pretty, symmetrical looking dumpling. I think they are typically pleated in one direction, but I was a clothing designer for 25 years, so this is just how my hands and mind work! 😉
8. It is a little awkward making these at first. Eventually, you’ll get the hang of it and your muscle memory will kick in! Don’t worry if they are not perfect looking or a little ugly at first; it’s all about how they taste, and even if they are not crimped properly, they’ll be delicious! Some people just pinch and seal the edges; that totally works too. No rules, just fun!
9. Once your dumplings are all sealed and ready to go, heat 1-2 Tbs of olive oil on a medium to high flame for a minute or two. Add about 25 dumplings to the pan at once. It’s ok to crowd the pan at this point. Not a problem if your dumplings stick together a bit too.
10. Once all the dumplings are in the pan and frying, you want to make sure they are all getting nicely browned. Once you see that they have a nice color to them, and are properly seared, you want to add about 1/2c of water to the pan and cover. This will allow the dumplings to steam and cook the wrappers and fillings.
11. After a few minutes, you’ll notice dumpling wrappers are hugging the filling, are slightly translucent, and almost all of the water has evaporated. You want to check that the bottoms are not burnt. At this point, you can take the dumplings off the heat, and serve!
12. (I only made 25 dumplings, and will use the rest of the mixture to make some burgers today)!

Click the link below to add to your Yummly Recipe Box!

Yum

You know those days when the fruit or veggies are just sitting in your fridge, taunting you? You know you should eat them before they go bad, but every time you open the door, you just grab something else?

That’s me with these strawberries. I just couldn’t do it! Every damn time. We buy our produce straight from the farm, so things have a very short shelf life, which I love usually. It forces me to get inventive with ingredients, but some days are a struggle. And, I hate throwing really good seasonal produce away.

Hence, the Strawberry Lemon Yogurt Loaf. Kill 3 birds with one stone, and you get a really tasty snack or breakfast! I used a recipe from Yay! For Food, and it is pretty great. I adjusted slightly, as I always do, and next time I would up the lemon factor because we like our lemon sweets pretty packed with lemon punch over here. As it is now, it is a little more subtle, so adjust your recipe accordingly if you want more of a zing! (I also skipped her drizzle- which may have added that extra lemon kick).

Ingredients:

• 2c all purpose flour
• 1/2c sugar
• 1 lemon, zested (I would use 2 lemons if not using glaze)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2c fresh strawberries, green parts and core removed, chopped (reserve 1-2 strawberries and slice for top instead of chopping).
• 1c unflavored yogurt of your choice
• 1/2c unsalted butter, melted
• juice from 1/2 lemon (I would do the whole lemon if not using glaze)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• sprinkle of turbinado sugar for top
• sprinkle of rolled oats for the top

For the Glaze (I omitted, but you might want to do for yourself)

• 1/2c sugar
• juice from 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper if using metal or glass pan. I use silicone baking pans, which I don’t love, as they tend to lose their shape when baking. But, it’s what I have! If using silicone, you don’t need parchment or anything to grease the pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Gently fold in the chopped strawberries so the strawberries are covered with the flour mixture. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, butter, lemon juice, egg, and vanilla extract until creamy and uniform in appearance. Then, pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
4. Fold the mixture together until the batter is just combined (you no longer see dry ingredients and the dough will look a little raggedy, thick, and not completely smooth).
5. Knead the dough a few times; do not overtax. Place dough into loaf pan, top with sliced strawberries (push them gently into dough) and sprinkle with sugar and oatmeal.
6. Bake for 45-65 minutes, or until a toothpick or fork inserted into center comes out clean.
7. If you are making the glaze, these are the instructions. I do not know what the result is, so comment below if you make it and let me know how it turns out for you! As the bread bakes, whisk together the lemon juice and sugar until well combined.
8. After the cake is ready and still hot, poke holes using a wooden or metal skewer or the tip of a knife into the top of the bread and pour the glaze over it.
9. Let the bread cool slightly in the loaf pan before eating. Best enjoyed the same day it’s baked.

Using Culinary Hill’s recipe for this unusual salad using uncooked ramen noodles and raw bok choy, I changed it up a bit to suit my needs and tastes. Super flavorful and delicious, it makes for a really awesome light lunch or side dish for dinner.

I have a handful of killer salad recipes, and this one will definitely be added to the rotation. I subscribe to a weekly CSA Farm Box, and this week’s fresh veggie selection came with a few small heads of boy choy. This is one of those greens I just cannot get into for stir frys and soups, and I had no idea what to do to use these until I came across this recipe.

Crunchy and delicious with the umami of the dressing, the cruciferous boy choy makes a great salad base because it will not wilt like lettuce does, and so you can enjoy leftovers of this salad where the dressing will continue to deepen in flavor as it sits!

Ingredients:

For the Salad

• 6 small bulbs boy choy, finely sliced
• 1-2 scallions, sliced
• 1 small cucumber, chopped
• 1-2 radishes, chopped
• 1 small avocado, diced
• 3 Tbs sesame seeds
• 1/4c peanuts or nuts of choice
• 1 package dry ramen noodles (no seasoning packet)
• (You can use any combination of fresh veggies you want, so feel free to add any additional ingredients you love: fresh corn, tofu, bell peppers, onions, carrots, etc)

For the Dressing

• 2 Tbs light brown sugar
• 1/4c olive oil or toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tsp chili oil (omit if you don’t like any heat. This just gives a slight heat, but not necessary)
• 1 Tbs soy sauce or Tamara

Instructions:

1. Break or crush up ramen noodles into small pieces. Place on a baking tray with peanuts and sesame seeds and spray with oil mister or cooking spray.
2. Place tray in 350 degree oven for a few minutes until nuts, seeds and noodles are brown and toasted. Make sure to check often so they do not burn.
3. Set tray aside to cool while you are making dressing.
4. Combine all of dressing ingredients in bowl and let sit while chopping vegetables.
5. Chop and combine all veggies and toss together in bowl. Add in cooled noodles, nuts, and seeds, coat with dressing, and toss all together. Enjoy!

I borrowed this recipe from Truffles and Trends after watching Jennifer Garner make these on her #pretendcookingshow. Honestly, I am a little obsessed with that show and how adorable she is! Jennifer made it look so easy and so awesome, I decided to give it a try, and so happy I did!

This is an amazing way to make a quick bread that doesn’t involve a million proofing sessions, and I could do it in the morning before anyone was awake. I am taking care of my mom while we’re quarantining, and she loves a delicious bread or pastry option in the morning, so this is a perfect starter!

I need to take more pics next time I make these, and I’ll update this post to add the steps in, but what you cannot see in this pic is how light and fluffy they are, and so buttery and delicious! I could not stop eating them when I made them, and I had two myself before she even woke up! I had to freeze half of the batch so I wouldn’t eat the whole batch in a day! Trust me, you will never buy store bought English Muffins again once you have these!

Recipe says it makes about 10 English Muffins, but I think I got about 12 out of it, maybe more. So, you can make them a little smaller and stretch it, up to you!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4c warm water
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp instant dry yeast
• 2 Tbs melted butter or oil (I used butter)
• 2 3/4c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• cornmeal for dusting (I didn’t have any, so I sprinkled my muffins with sesame seeds when frying)

Directions:

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle sugar then yeast on top.
2. Let sit and foam for 10 minutes.
3. Add in melted butter/oil, flour, and salt and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
4. Once combined, drop dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes, adding flour if needed to keep dough from sticking to surface. (You can probably knead in a stand mixer as well, but I did it by hand).
5. Shape the dough into ball and place into an oiled bowl (I like to use an oil mister with olive oil). Cover with a dish towel and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
6. If you are using cornmeal, sprinkle a few tablespoons on a piece of parchment paper or towel.
7. Once dough is doubled, knead a few times on floured surface and divide into 10 (or 12) portions. Shape each piece into a ball and then flatten onto cornmeal covered parchment to create muffin shape.
8. Sprinkle all of the flattened muffin shapes with more cornmeal (or sesame or poppy seeds) and then cover with dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
9. Heat a large frying pan or skillet and grease. Recipe says with cooking spray, but I used butter. I think it was worth it; made the dough super luscious and flavorful. Recipe says to cook on low heat 9 minutes first side and 5 minutes opposite side. I found I needed more time than that, so you might just want to watch the first batch or two and check for yourself. You want the bottom super golden and delicious, and the inside fluffy and moist. I also covered mine while they were cooking to steam a little bit.
10. Once cooked, you can split the steaming muffin with a fork, and add. butter or jam and all your favorite toppings. I made an insane burger the next day and used this as my bun. It was rediculously good!

There is literally nothing better than the smell of fresh bread: baking, frying, even just the yeast of the dough when it’s rising in the kitchen smells delicious! And, since the stay-at-home order started here in NYC I have been making a wide variety of breads and pastries that I have been too scared to try. Knowing how easy they are now, I’m a little disappointed I waited so long to try my hand at them, as I am having a blast coming up with these recipes and tasting everything!

I hate buying bread that has all kind of weird ingredients- stabilizers, dough conditioners, all kinds of sugars and unpronounceable names, so being able to control what goes into the bread, and making it fresh, I know it will always be delicious, even if I mess up sometimes. And, when making it for other people, I feel good knowing what is in what I am making and we’re all eating!

For this flat bread, I started with a basic recipe and adjusted it. I’ve been eating lots of plain white breads lately and have become a little bored, and was looking to add something more interesting to the everyday, and also sneak a little more nutrition in!

I’m working on remembering to take more pictures as I go, but I started halfway through on this one. Bear with me, I’ll start to get the hang of it!

Ingredients

• 1c warm water
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 Tbs active dry yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1c oat flour
• 1 1/2c all purpose flour (will need more for dusting)
• 1/3c 7 grain seed mix

Instructions

1. Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl; stir, and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Yeast should bubble up and foam.
2. While yeast is activating, combine flours in a large bowl. You may need more flour, depending on the environment conditions. You can always add more, so best to start with the 2 1/2c total and add as needed.
3. Pour in the yeast/water mixture, add the salt and oil, and stir together with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Dough will be sticky to the touch, but should come to a general ball formation fairly quickly and come away from sides of bowl.
4. Scrape all dough off spoon, and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand, adding flour to surface and dough as needed, until the dough is slightly sticky, but somewhat elastic. It should take about 2-3 minutes.
5. Place in an oiled bowl (I used olive oil in a misting spray) and cover with a dish towel. Make sure the bowl is at least 2-3 times the size of the dough so it has room to grow.
6. Let rise for 1 hour.
7. Punch down dough, and divide into 8 pieces. Some people like to make their dough into balls to roll out round, but I kind of love the look of a rustic free form shape, so that’s how I make mine.
8. Cover dough and let rest for ten minutes.
9. Heat griddle or heavy skillet over medium high heat. I like to use a cast iron skillet. I really like the way it heats and provides an even high temp all around, and like cooking on stone, it really helps create those beautiful little brown spots!
10. Roll dough as thin as possible in whatever shape you like, making sure the diameter of the dough is the same size or smaller than the pan.
11. Spray oil of choice or place a small pat of butter in the pan and gently place dough onto pan and let cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until browned. You will see small bubbles form as dough is cooking on the top; these will provide the lovely scorched bits that are so signature to flat bread. If you prefer to avoid these, you can flip when just golden brown.
12. Once you notice dough is cooked, spray with oil and flip to cook other side.
13. Repeat until you have finished all 8 pieces.

You can use these little canvases for anything you like. Pizzas, sandwiches, wraps. Savory or sweet. They can really go anyway. Nutella and bananas or hummus and veggies, really anything you can dream up!

Today we had tuna club sandwiches. I placed a single pieces of bacon, tuna salad, and 1/4 of a sliced avocado, and wrapped it all up! So amazingly delicious, you will never buy store bought tasteless wraps again after you try these! (And, after you make them, you can freeze whatever you won’t eat now and enjoy as you are ready. Simply heat in the toaster oven and enjoy)!

To add this to your Yummly Recipe Box, click the Yum Below:

Yum