When we went to St. Louis to view the 2017 eclipse, Kevin and Katy built a party around the event and served these luscious Asian Turkey Burgers. They reminded us of our Porkies (Barbecued Pork Patties) on this site, but are probably a bit healthier. We made them for a group of friends and they were a real hit.
Oven Dried Tomatoes going into the oven.
Dried Plum Tomatoes are absolutely luscious. The drying process intensifies the flavor and sweetness. These dried tomatoes freeze well and pulling out a package in the dead of winter, returns you instantly to the taste of fresh tomatoes from the garden. They are great in salads and can be used wherever sun-dried tomatoes are called for. It’s also an easier process than canning, and when the peak yield of tomatoes hits in late summer, this is a way to enjoy the crop later in the year, long after the tomato plants have been pulled up
Castelvetrano olives are a real joy. I discovered them in the Olive Bar at our local Heinan’s grocery store and have become addicted. They are buttery in flavor and not overly salty. They are great for snacking or in recipes. (Buy from the olive bar, the bottled ones are a little too briny.) So here’s a recipe I came up with to use them for a quick, but elegant dinner. I’ve made this 4 or 5 times in the past couple of months, so it’s time to add it to the website.
There is nothing like freshly made croutons to add the perfect finishing touch to a soup or a salad. I’ve been making these for a while and never thought much of it. I recently made them with soup for my friends Danielle and Bill. When they called me for the recipe, I knew it was time to add it to the website, so here we go. The trick is to use a good-quality bread and extra-virgin olive oil.
My friend Adrienne had a good idea. When you have leftover ends of loaves or bread that are going stale, cube the bread and put it in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. After a while, you’ll have a good supply of pre-cubed bread to make croutons quickly. No thawing needed! Just throw them in the pan.
After you have made this a couple of times you’ll figure out the amounts and how much heat to use. Really, it’s pretty hard to screw up unless you aren’t keeping an eye on it while it is toasting. Again, use a good quality bread (Avoid sandwich bread if possible) and your best extra-virgin olive oil.
This is one of my favorites for a quick, healthy breakfast. I developed this recipe when the boys were young to try and come up with a muffin that wasn’t loaded with sugar, saturated fat and empty calories. It has reduced sugar, no trans-fat and lots of fiber and all the nutrients from apples and nuts.
As with many others, I’ve updated the recipe with Vegan options and have fun testing out these recipes on my Vegan friends. There are probably other Vegan substitutions, but this is the one I have tested.