Croque Madame – France’s version of fast food :)

click the pic for the recipe

This is basically a fancy grilled cheese (and ham) sandwich with a fried (or poached) egg on top then smothered in a rich white sauce called bechamel.  I added ham to my carnivore friend’s sandwich and left off the bechamel sauce (since he has a weird thing about sauces)….still delicious though.  Recipes vary slightly as you could use various cheeses or cook your eggs various ways….Vegetarians could use their usual ham substitute or try another meat substitute….I left it off all together on my sandwich.  The recipe I originally used called for Dijon mustard, which I love and was very good.  Other recipes call for mayo (which might appeal to more people)….Paul Deen even has a recipe.  Check it out:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/croque-madame-recipe/index.html

Preserving the Harvest: Garlic

confit of garlic

So I didn’t really harvest this garlic…unless you count picking up a bulk bag of it at Costco….I think we’ve all lost our minds at Costco (or other similar stores) at some point…you know, leaving with giant bags of “what was I thinking?” that would take a free standing freezing unit to hold everything and you only have a small refrigerator freezer….giant bags of lettuce, most of it ending up in the compost later because, lets face it, I don’t eat that much salad….giant boxes of olive oil and cereal that seem to last forever and you start to dry heave at the sight of Special K boxes…

I use a lot of garlic in recipes…but not enough, I discovered, to warrant a 5 pound bag.  Luckily garlic last a long time, but not really long enough when you have so much.  If you’re overwhelmed with a harvest of garlic there are many options for preserving it so that it last longer or can be used in more dishes.  You might roast it and make roasted garlic butter or make a garlic paste.  I chose to make a confit of garlic (cause it sounded fancy and it used the most garlic heads of the recipes I had–plus it was the easiest).

You’ll need:

5 garlic heads (not cloves…HEADS)

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 small dried red chili or 8 whole peppercorns (I used peppercorns)

1 1/2 cups olive oil (of which I have gallons)

Step One: Divide and conquer. Separate all the garlic cloves and peel them.

Step Two: Low and slow we go. Put the peeled garlic and all of the remaining ingredients into a small saucepan.  Set over low heat for 1 hour.

Step Three: Transfer. Remove from heat and let cool.  Transfer to a sterilized jar and cover tightly.  Store in refrigerator.

Can use the cloves and oil on pasta dishes, potatoes, veggies, or spread on toast.  Use the oil for cooking or in salad dressings and marinades.

Love Pretzels …

click the pic to go to the recipe

DON’T buy pretzels at the mall….Make your family this batch of carbo love…it’s a very simple recipe.  Keep it in mind for next Valentine’s Day maybe….however, DO use the parchment paper or a silpat for baking (as the recipe dictates)…I thought I could just do without on one baking sheet and they got a little…well…black on the bottom.  I made the dough following the instructions for using a food processor (again) and added the cheddar cheese “variation” ….but there are several variations listed (or plain is still very yummy)….

Nutty Vegan Burgers

If you’ve given up hamburgers or beef for Lent, now would be the perfect time for you to try these totally vegan nut burgers.  They passed the test with my very picky meat eating friend and he even requested the recipe.  So, Craig, here you go.  Enjoy.

You’ll need:

1 cup cooked brown lentils, drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup finely minced onion

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped unsalted dry roasted cashews (Trader Joe’s has a nice sized package and very affordable)

2 tablespoons almond butter (I prefer salted)

2/3 cup dry bread crumbs (can use plain or seasoned depending on your taste)

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (I’ve also used cilantro instead, or just leave out the herbs if it’s not your thing)

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Step One: Cook the lentils. If you can find canned lentils, I suppose you could use those as long as you rinse them and drain them well.  I, however, have yet to see the all elusive canned lentil but I do keep a supply of dried on hand.  So, if you’re working with dried, measure out 1/2 cup of lentils.  Rinse them and discard any stones you might find.  Then put the lentils in a pot and cover with about two or three cups of water.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down a bit and mildly boil for 20 minutes (but check around the 15 minute mark because they might be done).   Once the lentils are done, drain them well and then put them aside.

Step Two: Go nuts! Re-inintroduce yourself to that big shiny gadget that you keep buried in the cabinets –the food processor.  IF your nuts are not chopped already, put them in the food processor and pulse them a few times until they are chopped.  If they’re already chopped, just add them to the food processor.  Also add the lentils.  Let it sit there patiently waiting for the other ingredients.

Step Three: Sautee. Heat the tablespoon of oil (i’d use the pot I cooked the lentils in).  Add the minced onion.  Sautee about 5 minutes.  You could also add some garlic in the final 30 seconds if you’d like. Put the onions in the food processor with the lentils and nuts.

Step Four: Blend. Now add all of the remaining ingredients to the food processor and process until well blended.

add a tablespoon or two of water if the mixture seems too dry or crumbly while processing

Step Five: Shape. Shape the mixture into patties.  Depending on how large you want them, you’ll get anywhere from six to eight burgers.

Step Six: Bake. Put the patties on a non stick baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  I’d recommend flipping the burgers midway to get even brownness on both sides.  IF you are a fan of fried foods, you can fry these burgers instead of baking.  Fry about five minutes per side.

Vegan Green Tea Cupcakes

click on the pic to go to one of the many recipes posted on the www for these green tea cupcakes

***note: when Heather and I baked these beauties, we used regular light yogurt–vanilla– instead of soy (because I couldn’t find it the day I needed it), we used pre sweetened matcha powder because that’s what we “found,”  and we substituted 1/4 of the flour with rice flour as the book suggested…turned out great…very nice crumb.  But of course, wasn’t vegan anymore because of our yogurt substitution.