Boo! What better way to start off a frightful Halloween night than with a healthful Saturday morning at the Pasadena Farmers' Market. I'll be there -- come say hello.
Photo: Getty
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
A Halloween Treat
(Ann Johansson / Los Angeles Times)
No tricks this year -- well, at least not right now.
I am feeling festive and thought I'd post a delicious recipe I recently discovered that is simple and potentially a BIG hit for you and your friends and family this week leading up to Halloween.
Tomato Soup with Ghost Toasts
Servings: 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced small
2 carrots, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 slices white bread (large enough to make 8, 2" croutons)
3 ounces white cheese, such as Gruyere, Cheddar, Jack or Swiss, cut in 4 slices
12 whole peppercorns, optional
1/2 cup whipping cream
Salt, pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, using a cookie cutter or scissors, cut the bread slices into ghost shapes. Cut the cheese slices into the same shape. Toast the ghosts in a toaster oven. Place them on an oven-safe tray, then place the cheese on top. Use 3 peppercorns to make eyes and a mouth for each ghost. Put them back into the toaster oven and toast again to melt the cheese. (If you don't have a toaster oven, you can broil the cheese toasts about 4 inches beneath the broiler element until the cheese is bubbly, 2 minutes.)
3. Puree the soup in a blender in two batches. Return it to the pot. Add the cream and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat, then serve in bowls with the ghost toasts on top.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced small
2 carrots, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups chicken stock
2 slices white bread (large enough to make 8, 2" croutons)
3 ounces white cheese, such as Gruyere, Cheddar, Jack or Swiss, cut in 4 slices
12 whole peppercorns, optional
1/2 cup whipping cream
Salt, pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, using a cookie cutter or scissors, cut the bread slices into ghost shapes. Cut the cheese slices into the same shape. Toast the ghosts in a toaster oven. Place them on an oven-safe tray, then place the cheese on top. Use 3 peppercorns to make eyes and a mouth for each ghost. Put them back into the toaster oven and toast again to melt the cheese. (If you don't have a toaster oven, you can broil the cheese toasts about 4 inches beneath the broiler element until the cheese is bubbly, 2 minutes.)
3. Puree the soup in a blender in two batches. Return it to the pot. Add the cream and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat, then serve in bowls with the ghost toasts on top.
Bon Appetit!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Pesto - A Spin on the Familiar
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Today I want to close our discussion on pesto with a variation on tradition: cilantro pesto. Last summer, the Los Angeles Times featured a recipe using this fun twist on a favorite staple.
Here you go, try it over pasta or get creative!
Cilantro pesto
1/2 cup unfiltered olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 large bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic minced
1/8 cup pine nuts
In a blender, combine the oil, vinegar and nutritional yeast and blend well. (Of course, as we know, if you have a marble mortar use it instead of the blender!) Add the cilantro and garlic and blend as needed for desired thickness and texture. Add the pine nuts and blend quickly to coarsely chop, giving the pesto a thicker texture. Makes about 1 cup pesto. (Los Angeles Times, Food, June 10, 2009)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 large bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic minced
1/8 cup pine nuts
In a blender, combine the oil, vinegar and nutritional yeast and blend well. (Of course, as we know, if you have a marble mortar use it instead of the blender!) Add the cilantro and garlic and blend as needed for desired thickness and texture. Add the pine nuts and blend quickly to coarsely chop, giving the pesto a thicker texture. Makes about 1 cup pesto. (Los Angeles Times, Food, June 10, 2009)
Post a comment and let me know what you think.
Enjoy!
Monday, October 19, 2009
We're #1!
Did you know?
Condé Nast Traveler announced that San Francisco was voted the #1 city to visit in the U.S....
for the 17th year in a Row!
Whoohoo! Let's hear it for my hometown!
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