DITL: Recipe Developing and Gin and Tonic

I like it when it's Tuesday and I have nothing to do other than play in my kitchen. It makes me really really happy. The other big happy part of the day was an hour and a half long Skype date with my Stunt Guy. When you're living really far apart, you miss the littlest things. Seeing my guys facial expressions made my day.

Weetabix with a little stevia and some tea is a very British way to start my day. Then it was errands, followed by a banana.

 

I think I might be the only person that eats bananas this way. I open them upside-down. You get more banana that way.

I'm trying this Crystal Light energy for the first time. I like it, but I'm not sure how much energy it really gave me. 

Then, it was recipe development time. I had three main ones to work on today. The first was Parmesan and Cheddar Bread. Punching down dough is fun.

Then, Potato Cakes with Creamy Mushroom Gravy. This is based on an old recipe of my Nana's. 

Then, vitamins. I'm really trying to get better about taking them. Fish oil, vitamin C and D, and Multi's. 

While the dough was rising, I finally decluttered and figured out my panty. I had to condense down really quickly when my roommate moved in. I haven't been able to find anything for days. 

Seriously. I have a lot of random stuff.

See, much better. 

I finished the bread, whipped up some Blueberry Ricotta tarts, and then I cleaned up and it was time to chill out some.

Gin and Tonic, knitting, and some TV. 

The Cheese Bread was delicious.

So was the rest of this Maple Bacon donut from Voodoo Donuts that Myles brought me from Portland. I'd kept the tail end of it in the freezer, which I am also decluttering. Then, it was awesome Skype date time, followed by the gym.

Work out part one, followed by weights.

Work out part two. Lots of incline work.

Easy quick dinner of a turkey patty with goats cheese and tomato, another Gin and Tonic. I'm really pushing to work through this plateau so I'm trying not to eat too late. I was done at the gym at 11pm, so no carbs for me.

Then, British candy and 30 Rock. I'm on Season 4 now. 

Followed by some Julia Child, Queen Elizabath, and a tub of bubbles. That was just the kind of day that I needed.

The recipes I played with today will be coming soon. I was really happy with how they came out. Tomorrow, I get to go hang out with some awesome people and probably drink a bunch of beer. Sound good? Thought so.

Salmon, Sun Dried Tomato and Goats Cheese Omlitos

I feel as though I'm living a really muddled life these days. I'm working hard at my job, working hard on surviving being 2,000 miles from the other half of me, working hard on not spending money, working hard on getting this weight taken care of.

There really is a lot of working hard in my life and not very much quiet time. I really need to work on that quiet time. I was planning on getting away this weekend (which for me is tues/weds), but my plans fell through when sadly my partner in crime (the beautiful Tina, who is also working hard on being far from her other half) had to stay in town to finish some house buying stuff.

So now I have the whole weekend to myself. I've got a Groupon for a massage that I think I'm going to pull out, since Marshall is super swamped right now and I'm not willing to put my stressy shoulders on his plate. I've got a little bit of housework to do and a bit of writing, but biggest of all, I'm going to pull everything out of my pantry, figure out what the heck is in there, and come up with some sort of plan to work through it. 

When my roommate Josh moved in last week, I hastily made pantry room for him by shoving everything up onto the top two shelves in no semblance of an order. This will not do! Pantry busting shall commence!

So let's start with these little yummies. In my head I call these Omlitos. That's absolutely not a word. I really just made it up. They are like little omletty cupcakes. You can put any kind of leftovers in these, really, but I found the combination of salmon, sun dried tomato, pesto and goat cheese to be a real winner. They are easy to pack up for lunch the next day or two. You could probably even be so bold as to freeze them. I know I'm bringing you two fish dishes in a row, but I'm hoping you'll forgive me!

Salmon, Sun Dried Tomato and Goats Cheese Omlitos

Do yourself a favor. If you don't have a really good muffin pan that nothing ever sticks to, or one of those fancy silicon ones that I still seriously need to figure out how to add to my kitchen, use muffin liners for these. There is no added fat in them, so they have a tendency to stick.

I keep pesto in my freezer for times like this. If you don't have any on hand, use fresh basil instead.

1 Small Salmon Fillet, 4oz, cooked

3 Eggs

2 Tablespoons Sun Dried Tomatoes (chopped)

1 Tablespoon Pesto plus more for topping

2 Tablespoons Goat cheese

Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare six cups of a muffin tin so that the mixture will not stick. Use liners, silicon molds, cooking spray, whatever your preferred method is. 

In a small bowl, beat the eggs together with some salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix in the sun dried tomatoes and a tablespoon of pesto. Split the cooked salmon between the cups and then pour over the egg mixture, trying to distribute the sun dried tomatoes evenly. Top with a little more pesto and the goats cheese. 

Bake for about 22 minutes until the omlitos have risen and cooked all the way. You can serve these either hot or cold. For me it was cold with a slice of toast and a smear of brie, and a light mixed green salad.

Makes 6.

Other recipes you might like:

Cinnamon Star Cookies with Maple Glaze

Whilst I'm Not Cooking #6

Lets see. Whats new? Well, my new roommate moved in. I booked tickets to go visit my Stunt Guy in June. I then put an adorable count down to this on my phone because I'm a giant dork. We've given up on the idea of going to Europe in August, but hopefully we will have a lovely mini-vacation in Florida instead and then go and visit my family in December if money works out.

I've been cooking some on the weekends, which is good! Here are some recipes that I'm probably going to try and make someday. New at the bottom of this post is a link to all the other Whilst I'm Not Cooking posts. Since I'm actually making things from them, I'm updating them with notes and putting a little counter on how many of the recipes I've made. Check them out!


Blue Cheese, Hazelnut and Honey Polenta from Joy the Baker

Warm, Crisp and a Little Melty Croutons from Smitten Kitchen

Mini Donut Muffins from The Sweets Life

Parmesan Cheese Spread from 101 Cookbooks

Strawberry Passionfruit Tart from Desserts for Breakfast

The Photo in this post is entitled "Tabular" and you can buy it here.

Whilst I'm Not Cooking #5 Made 1/5
Whilst I'm Not Cooking #4 Made 1/5
Whilst I'm Not Cooking #3 Made 1/2
Whilst I'm Not Cooking #2 Made 0/5
Whilst I'm Not Cooking #1 Made 2/5

Parsley and Panko Crusted Salmon and Missing My Heart Sister

My friend Heather is my oldest friend. She and I have been friends for about twelve years. I call her my Heart Sister. She and her gorgeous baby girl Winry live 2,000 miles away in Georgia. Heather and I have a really great friendship. We can go months without seeing each other and nothing changes. It's quite lovely. Heather is busy working on growing Winry's brother right now and I'm thinking of her all the time. Subsequently, that means I am craving this dish all the time.

Heather made me a version of this several years ago and I make it often, especially when I'm homesick. This version is not quite the same as hers since I lost the recipe many moons ago, but I really adore it.

Marshall came over this week for some comfort food. With Stunt Guy gone, it continues to be nice to have someone to cook for. This is prime comfort food for me, especially with mashed potatoes and peas  and a nice glass of white wine.

It's really not just because it's delicious, it's because it's something Heather made me and it makes me think of home and family. The fish is super tender and melts in your mouth, and the flavor and the texture on the topping is really fantastic.

Parsley and Panko Crusted Salmon

I use salmon the most for this, though you could use tilapia or another lighter fish, just make sure you reduce the cooking time is the fillet is thin.

The Fish
1 lb Salmon Fillet
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

The Topping
2 Tablespoons Panko Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley (minced)
1 1/2 Tablespoons Walnuts (chopped)
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

If you have time, lay out the fillet and pour over a tablespoon of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and sit aside for a couple of hours. If you don't have time for this step, not to worry, it'll still be yummy.

When getting ready to cook the fish, preheat the over to 350F.

Set the fish on a non-stick baking sheet (Silpat is awesome here). Mix all of the topping ingredients together and spread over the fillet. Try to get the whole thing covered and keep the topping off the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillet. You want to be careful not to overcook it or the salmon will dry out. Serve immediately with mashed potatoes and peas, or maybe with rice and zucchini.

Makes 2 servings.

See more Marshall meals here:
Eggplant Parmesan
Asian Simmered Beef

Day in the Life #1

Every so often I get into a kind of rut where what I eat doesn't change much, or I'm not really doing much cooking. This isn't particular conducive to writing a food blog. So, it's Day in the Life time. Early morning tea with toast and Laurie's home made plum butter was first up for the day.

My weekends fall on Tuesday/Wednesday. Having weird days off is pretty standard when you work in the entertainment industry, and you get used to it quite quickly. One of the nice things is that on the weekends, life and restaurants feel much busier, but if your Saturday is a Tuesday, everything is nice and quiet.

My friend Dani and I almost never have the same days off, but when we randomly do we go to Brio for their Basil and Cucumber Gimlets. I don't know what it is about this drink that makes us both love it so. Maybe it's how fresh and delightful it tastes. Maybe it's just the right amount of sweet with the tang of the gin. Either way, we love it.

They are so perfect! The bread there is great too.

I tried the Chicken Piccata. I confess I didn't love it. The sauce was yummy, but it tasted like there was too much egg in the batter. I didn't mean to eat it all, but I finished my plate. Then, it was home to get dolled up for a voice gig. They wanted me on camera so I had to put on good makeup with fancy liquid eyeliner. It turned out that they didn't want to do the camera work after all, and they gave me the script so that I could go and record it from my home studio. Worked out perfectly for me because I hate being on camera and I'd always rather record from home!

Mini-recording session was followed by a short stint at the pool, which was blissfully quiet. I've been reading this fabulous book and I'm loving hearing about what it was like for Julia Child living in Paris in 1949. I would love so much to have been there! It really does sound like a heavenly time for food and wine and camaraderie.

The weekends are my long days in the gym. I usually spend two hours there one of the two nights. This  feels like a lot, but it flies by when you're watching the season finale of the Voice. I did an hour of jogging, followed by 20 minutes of weights, then forty minutes of incline walking work.

Back home it was cheese and crackers and wine for dinner. I'm still eating through the leftover cheese from my birthday. On the plate there is a Cave aged blue, Emmi Gruyere and Seaside Farm Cheddar. Plus a glass of wine to make me feel all classy. I've been working my way through 30 Rock and I adore it.

Finally, some candy imported from back home. When my Dad last visited, he brought me lots of goodies including Quality Streets and Fruit Pastilles. I'm rationing them out, slowly but deliciously!

Raw Zucchini Pasta with Peanut Sauce

Recently, I saw I had an opportunity to submit recipes for the Made Just Right recipe contest. The contest was sponsored by Earth Balance and you had to create an original recipe using one of their products. It seemed fitting to go ahead and play with an idea I'd had for a raw vegan dish. 

I recently received a spiralizer for my birthday, and I loved the idea of using zucchini to make a kind of interesting pasta. This dish is all about texture. I really like it, and it's ridiculously healthy which is good because I am still dieting (which is probably part of the reason why I haven't had so many recipe out of late). 

Raw Zucchini Pasta with Peanut Sauce

• 4 Zucchini
• 4 Carrots
• 1 Jalapeno
• 1/2 cup of Crunchy Peanut Butter
• 2 tbsp. of Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp. of Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbsp. of Lime Juice
• 1/4 cup  of Water

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the Peanut Butter, Soy Sauce, Rice Wine Vinegar, Lime Juice and Water. Mix together until smooth and set aside.

Cut the Zucchini and Carrots into ribbons. If you have a spiralizer, you can use this, but if not the easiest thing to do is to take a vegetable peeler and use it to peel down the whole vegetable. You'll be able to make thin ribbons, which will look almost like pasta

Deseed and mince the jalapeno pepper. Mix half into the dressing and taste. If you are happy with the heat level, stop there, if not just keep adding more.

In a serving bowl, mix together the dressing with the zucchini and carrots. The zucchini will have released a little water, which will thin the sauce out enough to coat everything nicely.

Grab a fork and dig in!

Serves 4

Strawberry, Chocolate Chip and Coconut Mini Muffins

Okay, so normally I know I would come to you with a story about where this recipe came from and who I made it for and how everything came about. But today, none of that. This randomly came from my brain. I am so proud of my brain right now.

I love when inspiration smacks you on the head and then whatever you make turns out exactly how you wanted. 

This may be my new favorite thing I've ever made. 

These little mini-muffins are so ridiculously delicious. The strawberries are bright, the chocolate is a deep contrast. The coconut adds sweetness and the toasted coconut on top if the perfect textural compliment. 

I love these. Please make them and love them like I do. 

Strawberry, Chocolate and Coconut Mini Muffins

3 Tablespoons Softened Butter

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Egg

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Cup Flour

1/2 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup and 2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Coconut

1 Cup Diced Strawberries (about 4 large ones)

1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Toast 1/4 Cup of Coconut in a skillet until it has turned a light brown. Set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Next add in the egg, milk and vanilla. Mix well, then add in the salt, baking powder and flour. Stir until everything is really well combined. Then mix in 2 tablespoons of the coconut, all the strawberries and the chocolate chips. 

Take a mini-muffin pan and either grease with butter or use liners. Fill the cups just over three quarters full. Sprinkle the tops with the toasted coconut and bake for about 18 minutes until they seem done. 

Makes 25. I ate three while taking the pictures.