Recipe for You

A fabulous recipe using a faux meat product!

"Bacon," Potato, and Green Onion Frittata

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped
4-5 green onions, chopped with the green and white parts separated
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium potatoes, shredded
2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. pepper, divided
2 lb. firm tofu
2-3 Tbsp. soy sauce, to taste
2-3 Tbsp. faux bacon bits (Bacos)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and the white part of the green onions and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and heat for another 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the potatoes, 1 tsp. of the salt, and 1/4 tsp. of the pepper. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, flipping the potatoes regularly until they are well-browned.
3. Blend the remaining salt and pepper, the tofu, and soy sauce in a food processor until they are creamy. Fold in the faux bacon bits, the green part of the green onions, and the fried potatoes and pour the mixture into a large, oiled pie or tart pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the center is firm.
4. Allow the frittata to cool for 10 minutes then invert it onto a serving plate.

Yield 6 Servings

Did You Know?

Did you know there are many other meat substitutions for vegetarian dishes other than plain soy? One of them is a meat analogue, which is also known as a meat substitute, mock meat, faux meat, or imitation meat. A meat analogue is a manufactured product made from rice, mushrooms, legumes, tempeh, and/or pressed-tofu. Flavorings are also added to the finished product to make them taste more like real meats. The most common meat analogue products are hamburger patties and sausage links. Many other meat products are also available in vegetarian-friendly options. Some of the more creative ones I've seen are soyrizo (soy-based chorizo) and Tofurky Jurky (tofu-based jerky)!

The Foodie's Fortune

Something more magnificent is coming your way!

Did You Know?

Grapes are one of the oldest cultivated fruits — they have been around for more than 8,000 years.

There are approximately 1,300 operating wineries in the state of California and over 60,000 registered wine labels.

Thought for the Day...

"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

~Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone

Recipe for You - Vegetable Jambalaya

Vegetarian or not, this recipe will be sure to please!


Vegetable Jambalaya

Ingredients
6 cups vegetable stock
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups whole grain farro (or any medium grain rice)
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cups quartered cremini mushrooms
1/4 pound whole baby carrots, tops removed and scrubbed
1 small zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch thick half circles
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer. Lower the heat to keep warm.
2. In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers, and celery and cook until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and farro to the pan and cook, stirring, until the faro is toasted and coated with oil, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, baby carrots, zucchini, bay leaf, and thyme, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Add 2 cups of the warm stock, salt, black pepper, and cayenne, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the stock, 2 cups at a time, as the previous addition is absorbed, cooking and stirring, until all the stock is used and the grains are plump and tender.
4. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the parsley and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 Servings

Foodie Language

deglaze - adding water, wine, or other liquid to a pan in which meats have been sauteed or roasted to dissolve the crusted juice that has dried on the bottom and sides of the pan

Thought for the Day...

'Just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect.'
~Leonardo da Vinci, artist

Did you know...Macrobiotics?

Did you know that macrobiotics is a way of life that follows a dietary regimen which involves eating grains as a staple food eating other accompaniment foods such as vegetables and beans? Macrobiotics also follows a manner of eating, where food is chewed thoroughly before swallowing. This helps to prevent over eating. It is recommended that highly processed and refined foods should be avoided. Although this diet includes many of the same foods as a vegan diet, the macrobiotic diet allows for certain animal foods such as fish and seafood. People suffering from cancer or other chronic diseases sometimes choose to follow the macrobiotic diet because of its low-fat and high-fiber content. Those who follow the macrobiotic approach believe that food and food quality can positively affect health, well-being, and happiness, and that a macrobiotic diet has more beneficial effects than others.

Recipe for You - Quinoa Pilaf

Quinoa Pilaf with Crimini Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well and drained
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves removed from their stems
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable stock, or water

Directions:
1. Place a medium sized saucepan on high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and tilt the pan around to make sure the entire surface is covered with oil. Add the shallot and cook until translucent. Add the crimini mushrooms and cook until brown. Add the quinoa, thyme leaves, bay leaf, kosher salt, and black pepper and stir.
2. Slowly and carefully add the vegetable stock (it will spatter because the pan is hot). When it comes to full boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, cover steam for about 15 minutes.
3. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, remove lid and fluff the quinoa and then replace the lid and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Simple Sugar Cookies

Simple Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons buttermilk
Sprinkles or colored sugar, for decorating

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
2. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add enough of the buttermilk to moisten the dough and make it soft, not wet.
3. Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place on a ungreased cookie sheet. With a brush or fingers, moisten the top of each cookie with the remaining buttermilk and slightly flatten the top of each cookie. Top with raw sugar or colored sprinkles.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

Foodie Language

reduction - the process of thickening or intensifying the flavor of a liquid mixture such as a soup, sauce, wine, or juice by evaporation. Reduction is performed by boiling liquid rapidly until the volume desired is reached.

Vegans

Veganism is yet another type of vegetarianism. Vegans have a very strict diet and do not consume animal products of any kind. This means their diet mainly consists of fruit, vegetables, tofu, and soy products. There are also nut, grain, and soy milks that can replace cow's milk. Additionally, there are products made from soy or gluten to substitute meat products such as sausage, burgers, and even bacon!

Vegan diets can be very healthful, but must be properly planned, so that the vegan doesn't suffer from nutrient deficiencies. Many people become vegans because of their concern over animal rights. Other reasons include cultural or religious practices, personal health choices, and concern for the environment.

The Foodie's Fortune

You will hear pleasant news.

Vegetarianism

These days almost all of us know someone who is a vegetarian, or you may even be one yourself. To be considered a vegetarian, one's diet usually consists of all foods except for meat, fish, and poultry. There are also different variations of this diet such as a semi-vegetarian, where the majority of foods consumed are vegetarian, but they may also eat fish, seafood, dairy, and even some poultry. Different classifications can be made based on a vegetarian's consumption of dairy products and eggs as well. There are lacto-vegetarians who eat dairy and not eggs, ovo-vegetarians who eat eggs but not dairy and lacto-ovo vegetarians who eat both.

What a mouthful! Who's ready for a salad?!

Strawberry and Mascarpone Filled Cupcakes

Strawberry and Mascarpone Filled Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box vanilla cake mix
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, chilled
5-6 fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:
1. Make the cupcakes according to package instructions. Lightly grease the muffin tin and fill the batter almost to the rim of each muffin cup. Bake according to package directions and let cool.
2. In a food processor combine the mascarpone cheese, strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice. Process the mixture until smooth. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Push the tip gently into the bottom of a cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps. Continue with the remaining cupcakes.
3. In a small saucepan bring the 1/2 cup sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium bowl combine the vanilla syrup with the confectioner's sugar. Stir until smooth. Working quickly, use a rubber spatula spread the icing on the top of the cupcakes. If the icing begins to firm up, place in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up again.

Safely Handling Eggs

Eggs are a very popular breakfast dish and are a common ingredient in many different recipes. Unfortunately, eggs are a high risk food because they can carry the bacteria Salmonella. They also pose as a potential cross contamination among other foods in the kitchen. This is why you must take certain safety precautions when handling eggs. Here are a few tips:

1. Cook your eggs to the proper temperature - they need to reach at least 145 degrees throughout. Cook eggs to a point where yolks and whites are solidified.
2. Purchase pasteurized eggs. You can enjoy a full range of foods such as over easy eggs, cookie dough, or Caesar salad dressing, without the risk associated with non-pasteurized eggs.
3. Be sure to wash your hands frequently when handling raw egg products as well as before and after handling them.
4. Refrigerate your eggs. The best temperature eggs should be stored at are between 38 and 40 degrees F. Make sure not to expose eggs to the “temperature danger zone”!

Food Safety

Do you know what the temperature danger zone is? It is the temperature range of 41 degrees F and 135 degrees F, in which disease-causing bacteria grows the fastest in. In order to ensure that your perishable foods don’t spoil, it is best to remove them from the temperature danger zone after a maximum of 2 hours. This means the food should either be eaten, frozen, or put in the refrigerator. When serving perishable foods to guests, hot foods can be held between 135 and 165 degrees F and cold foods can be held between 32 and 41 degrees F.

Be sure to practice safe food handling techniques!

Lobster Bisque

Lobster Bisque

Ingredients:
a 3-pound live lobster
1 medium onion
1 celery rib
1 carrot
1 vine-ripened tomato
1 head garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
8 black peppercorns
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup dry Sherry
4 cups fish stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

Fill a 6-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil. Plunge lobster headfirst into water and cook, covered, over high heat 8 minutes. Transfer lobster with tongs to a large bowl and in a measuring cup reserve 2 cups cooking liquid. Let lobster stand until cool enough to handle. Working over a bowl to catch the juices, twist off tail and claws and reserve juices. Reserve tomalley and discard head sacs and any roe. Remove meat from claws and tail, reserving shells and lobster body. (Lobster meat will not be cooked through.) Coarsely chop meat and transfer to a bowl. Chill lobster meat, covered.

Chop onion, celery, carrot, and tomato and halve garlic head crosswise. In a 6-quart heavy kettle heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté reserved lobster shells and body, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes. Add vegetables, garlic, herbs, peppercorns, brandy, and Sherry and simmer, stirring, until almost all liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add stock and reserved tomalley and cooking liquid. Simmer mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a large saucepan, pressing on and discarding solids. Whisk in tomato paste and simmer until reduced to about 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Add cream and simmer bisque 5 minutes. In a small bowl stir together cornstarch and water and whisk into bisque. Simmer bisque, stirring, 2 minutes. (Bisque will thicken slightly.) Add lobster meat with any reserved juices and simmer bisque 1 minute, or until lobster meat is just cooked through. Season bisque with salt and pepper.

Yield: 4 servings

Another Type of Soup: Bisque

Did you know that bisque is another type of soup, originating from French cooking? A bisque is rich and creamy with a thick, even texture throughout. Traditionally bisques were made of pureed crustaceans or seafood, wine, cream, and a variety of spices. Some creamy soups that are made from a vegetable base instead of seafood are also called bisques. The origin of the word bisque is somewhat of a debate. Some food historians believe that the word refers to the fact that this type of soup is cooked twice. Others believe that the origin of the word is related to the Bay of Biscay, located between France and Spain. The type of food from Biscay usually includes spicy ingredients similar to those used in bisque.

Recipe for You - Mango Gazpacho

Another variation of gazpacho with a taste of the tropics!

Mango Gazpacho

Ingredients:
2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and pitted
1 small green apple, peeled and chopped
1 small celery stalk, chopped
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 large jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
4 fresh cilantro sprigs

Directions:
Purée all of the ingredients except for cilantro in a blender. Chill for at least 2 hours.

(The soup can be made up to 8 hours ahead of time, but keep refrigerated until ready to serve.)

Ladle soup into 4 bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Traditional Gazpacho

Here's a quick and simple way to prepare Traditional Gazpacho:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled seeded and finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves large garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine half the tomatoes with the onion, cucumber and bell pepper in a large bowl. In a blender or food processor, purée remaining tomatoes with the tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, jalapeño, salt and pepper. Stir into vegetables and mix well. Chill until served.

Yield: 4 servings