Photo: Tomato and Cream Cheese Toast

Simple but yummy.  Slices of tomato on top of toast and cream cheese.  And of course, fresh cracked black pepper.

Quinoa with Broccoli and Mushrooms

This is something I put together for lunch today using this is and that from the fridge and pantry.  It's something healthy and light that won't make you feel like you need a nap after eating.  Enjoy!

Makes 1 large portion or 2 small portions

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup water

1/4 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup mushrooms

1/2 broccoli florets

1/4 cup cooked lentils

small handful sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil)

olive oil

salt and pepper

feta cheese

Directions:

In a small pot over medium heat, pour about 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Cook onions and mushrooms until they get a little color on them.  Stir in the garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Add the quinoa, water, and tomatoes.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil.  Cover and lower heat to a simmer.  Wait 10 minutes and add in the broccoli and lentils.  Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.  If there is too much moisture cook with pot uncovered.  If you like fresh cracked black pepper like me, add more before serving along with feta.   

Chicken Pesto Sandwich, Revisited

This is very similar to the Chicken Pesto Sandwich post from about a year ago.  The only real differences are the bread and the type of pesto.  Instead of the ciabatta rolls Wuz and I used Japanese white bread and used a basil pesto instead of spinach.  This Japanese white bread is cut into thick slices of chewy goodness and is even better toasted.  The brand I bought is Cherry Blossom from a grocery store called Nijiya.   

The pesto Wuz and I used this time around is the same as the one from before but we substituted spinach with basil.  I wasn’t expecting the dark green color but tasted good nevertheless.  We couldn't decide which version of the sandwich tasted better but agreed they were good in different ways.  Enjoy!

Thumbprint Butter Cookies

A new year has come and I so has a new blog post! It feels like I haven’t put up anything new in forever but here it is: Thumbprint Butter Cookies.

I didn’t grow up eating holiday cookies during the winter (unless you count those butter cookies in the round blue tins that you can buy from the store) so I wanted to try baking some of my own this year.  These cookies are kind of like the Knott’s shortbread jelly cookies but better because well, they’re homemade by me.  No, I’m not that full of it but really, they are good cookies.  The thumbprinting and jelly-filling part of making these cookies can get a bit tedious but think of it as a small price to pay for what you’ll end up with! 

Butter Cookies (recipe found on epicurious)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.  In a large bowl beat the butter until creamy using an electric mixer.  Gradually add the sugar, beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined well.  Add in the flour mixture little by little.  Beat the mixture until it just forms a dough.

Divide the dough into two and form six inch disks.  Wrap each with plastic wrap and let them chill in the fridge for about an hour or so. 

Preparing the cookies to bake

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Take out one of the disks of dough and your choice of jam (I used strawberry).  Make balls of dough using a teaspoon and arrange on a baking sheet, about 1 inch apart from each other.  Now use your thumb to make little wells in each cookie.  (If you do this step when the dough’s too cold you’ll find that the edges will have cracks.  I personally don’t mind this but those of you who want more aesthetically pleasing cookies should wait for the dough to warm up a bit before making thumbprints).  Take ¼ teaspoon and scoop jam into each thumbprint/well.  Pop them into the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, until barely golden around the edges.  Let them cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Potato Croquette Benedict with Smoky Pepper Sauce

Potato Croquette Benedict with Smoky Pepper Sauce

I love eggs benedict but this is most certainly not the poached-egg-and-Canadian-bacon-on-top-of-an-English-muffin-with-Hollandaise-sauce version. This is something I put together using leftovers from my fridge and it turned out surprisingly well. Slices of toasted French bread serve as the base and are topped with slices of creamy avocado, a crispy potato croquette, a smoky pepper sauce, and a poached egg. There’s a nice balance of textures from the creaminess of the avocado and egg paired with the crunchy from the toast and croquette.

Croquettes are mashed potatoes shaped into patties, covered with breadcrumbs and usually fried but I baked mine. You can get them crunchy like you would from frying by mixing a little oil into the breadcrumbs and spraying the tops with cooking spray before putting them in the oven. Also, the smoky pepper sauce was left over from having pork chops for dinner one night and the recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com by Giada.

Breakfast Potato Croquettes

Yields 5-6 small croquettes

2 small potatoes, mashed

3 small sausage links, chopped finely

¼ small onion, chopped finely

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

~1 cup breadcrumbs

Pepper

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

1. Over medium heat cook the chopped sausage until they turn slightly brown. Remove the sausage and add onions to the same pan. Cook until soft and translucent. Season with pepper.

2. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.

3. In a small bowl combine mashed potatoes, sausage, onion, and parmesan cheese.

4. Beat the egg with 2 tablespoons water. Pour about 1/3 of the mixture into the mashed potatoes and mix well.

5. Measure out 1/3 cup of the mashed potatoes for each croquette. Use your hands to shape each one into round disks, kind of like patties.

6. Drizzle about 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil over breadcrumbs in a shallow dish or pie pan. Gently pat and coat each one with breadcrumbs. Place them on a baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, or until golden brown. (For extra color on your croquettes try spraying cooking spray on top of each one)

Potato Croquette Benedict with Smoky Pepper Sauce

Serves 2

4 Breakfast Potato Croquettes

4 eggs

1 tablespoon vinegar (for poaching the eggs)

4 slices French bread

½ avocado

1 cup smoky pepper sauce, or substitute with tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1. Begin by poaching the eggs.

-Line a large dish with paper towels or napkins and set aside for the finished eggs.

-Bring water to a simmer in a medium pot and add 1 tablespoon vinegar.

-Crack one egg into a small bowl and be careful not to break the yolk.

-Then create a “vortex” by using a wooden spoon to swirl the water and carefully pour the egg in.

-Use the wooden spoon to keep the whites together. Fish the egg out after about 2 ½ minutes and set to drain on the dish lined with paper towels.

-Repeat with the three other eggs.

2. Toast slices of French bread until golden brown. Put slices of avocado on each piece of bread.

3. Place a potato croquette on each slice of bread, followed by the pepper sauce and then a poached egg. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Pea Soup

If you have a bag of frozen peas sitting in your freezer and want to use it for something this soup is the way to go.  It’s a no-frills kind of soup that’s even easier than the roasted tomato soup I made about a week ago.  I was a bit wary about using frozen peas but they’re actually often sweeter and more nutritious than fresh peas since they’re picked in season and frozen at the height of their freshness.  Accompany the soup with a sandwich and to change it up, you can add a splash of cream to the soup for a smoother, velvety texture.      

Yields about 4 servings

1 lb. frozen peas

About 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or enough to cover the peas

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper

1. In a medium pot heat peas and chicken broth.  Let simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. In small batches blend the peas and chicken broth together until smooth.

3. Return blended mixture into pot over medium heat and add oregano, garlic powder, and season with salt and pepper. 

4. Heat the soup and stir occasionally, until it thickens.

Sun-Dried Tomato Caprese Sandwich

This is my version of a caprese sandwich using sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes.  I love the tangy flavor of sun-dried tomatoes and paired with the creamy fresh mozzarella, the flavors balance out nicely.  They’re super simple to make yet so delectable.     

*The sandwiches in the picture above are open faced but the recipe is for regular sandwiches.   

Serves 2

8 slices of French bread (makes 2 small sandwiches for each person)

4 slices of fresh mozzarella

5-8 basil leaves (about 2 leaves per sandwich, depending on their sizes)

½ to ¾ cup sliced sun-dried tomato

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

1. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.

2. Brush balsamic vinaigrette on all slices of bread.  Assemble sandwiches, placing basil first, then mozzarella, and sun-dried tomatoes last.