Saturday, January 23, 2010

Mediterranean Artichoke Dip

Who doesn't love Mediterranean food? And, especially artichokes? Some people love them with mayo, some swear by lemon, others with insist on dipping in spiced butter. This recipe is a combination of ALL that everyone is sure to enjoy. What an elegant, yet easy dish this is to prepare! I promise you will love it, but DO NOT give into the temptation to add salt. The natural ingredients from the Parmesan cheese, the mayo and the cream cheese is good enough to season this appetizer! NICE served with a chilled bottle of Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.

The recipe comes to you from my Ruralite Magazine (January, 2010 issue).

1 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. rosemary leaves, crushed 1/2 tsp. thyme leaves, crushed
8 oz. artichoke hearts (frozen or canned/drained)
3 oz. cream cheese (soft)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Optional: 2 TBSP chopped green onions and 2 TBSP chopped tomato (looks very pretty)


First, mix the spices in a small bowl like this.



Next, measure 8 oz. artichoke hearts. Process in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the cream cheese, mayo, Parmesan cheese, and the small bowl of herbs. Process all of this until it is creamy.



Lastly, spread into a 9" pie plate and bake in preheated 350 F oven for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Garnish with chopped green onions and tomatoes if desired and serve with pita chips or crackers.



Saturday, January 16, 2010

3-4 Whole Grain Casserole

Yes, it has been a while since the last post...between vacation and trying new things,,no good excuses.

I do have a lovely side dish or salad to share with totallly hopes to expand upon and make it your own

The original recipe comes to me from my friend Jessica Westfall who got it from a friend. I only modified it a bit BC i live in a place where I cannot get what I nws.

½ cup whole-wheat berries, rinsed
2/3 cup long grain wild rice, rinsed
¼ cup basmati or long grain rice rinced
¼ cup oat groats, rinsed
3 small bay leaves

5 Cups boiling water

1 bulb fennel (anise) cut 1/4 “ dice
¾ cup diced carrots ¼” dice
2 small zucchini ¼” dice
2 small yellow squash ¼” dice
2 cups dried cranberries
¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil or butter
2 tsp salt
½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/8 tsp. dried

Preheat oven to 350. Combine wheat berries, bay leaf and 1-½ cups of boiling water. Cover and bake 1 hour. Combine wild rice, bay leaf and 2 cups of boiling water in a 1 qt. casserole dish and bake 45 minutes. In another casserole, combine basmati with 1 ½ cup water and bay leaf and bake for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves in all dishes. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Heat large pot of water and 1 tsp. salt to boiling. Add diced fennel and carrots. Cook 3 minutes and add diced zucchini and yellow squash. Cook 2 minutes and drain.

Add to cooked grains in bowl with cranberries, sliced green onions and chopped parsley, oil/butter, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper and thyme. Toss well, serve hot or at room temp. Makes 10 ½ cups.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Halibut with Coconut Curry Broth

Since moving to AK I have learned to love Thai food and especially curry. Since I have a freezer full of halibut, I googled a lovely recipe for a Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth. I did find it necessary to spice it up a bit and had to modify the spinach (I used my own garden-grown New Zealand version of home canned spinach).

2 tsp. oil
4 green onions, chopped
2 tsp. green curry paste and 3 tsp. red curry powder (depends on how spicy you like it)--I also added about 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper-but we like it HOT
1 cup chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
salt to taste
2 cups spinach (I used my own homegrown, canned spinach)
4 cups diced zuchinni
4 (6 oz.) pieces of halibut, skinned
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
2 TBSP lime juice
Black pepper to taste
2 cups cooked rice

Heat oil, add onions and stir 3-5 min. Add curry and cook until smelling nice...3-5 min. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Salt both sides of the halibut fillets. Place fillets in sauce and coat both sides. Cover and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove fillets to individual serving dishes with approx 1/2 cup cooked rice on the bottom. Add spinach to remaining sauce. Heat through about 4 minutes. Ladle spinach/sauce over the top of the halibut rice and serve.

*** add 4 cups diced zuchinni,

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

I could eat soup EVERY night...this is truly COMFORT FOOD!


1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped carrots (I use my Vidalia chopper on this)
1 cup chopped celery (with tops)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil

Combine these ingredients in the crock pot...wait 2 hours and add the mixture:

1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme (I used my own lemon thyme)
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
Saute this for about 5 min.

Take out of the crockpot and finish on the stove. Add 6 cups chicken broth, potatoes and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover for 15-20 min, until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken and noodles and simmer for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, stir in milk; heat through but don't boil.