figgy-ness

I love figs. They are my Favorite Fruit of My Whole LIfe. This is a great appetizer for a yummy fall party that I made twice in the last week. (Twice! It was SO GOOD!)

Fig and Caramelized Onion PIzza

Ingredients:
1 pre-made dough from Trader Joes (or be fancy and make your own!)
1 medium red or yellow onion
7-10 small figs or 4-6 large ones
Honey
Olive Oil
Feta
Salt & Pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees and let your dough rest outside of the fridge.
Slice onion in half and then into 1/4 inch strips (lengthwise).
Saute onions in olive oil over medium-low heat, adding a pinch of salt and pepper along with a drizzle of honey until golden-brown (about 15- 20 minutes).
While onions cook, stretch dough and place on stone/sheet.
Cut figs into quarters or halves.
Brush a small amount of olive oil over dough.
Spread caramelized onions over pizza, press figs in gently, sprinkle generously with feta.
Bake for 12-17 minutes.
Enjoy!

It's quite a pretty result if you can use purple figs and golden onions, but it's just as yummy with other varieties as well. Yay for fall!

a new twist to a (maybe not so) popular breakfast item...

okay ladies, we need to jumpstart this food blog.
I made something this morning I haven't made in a while, and though i'd share it. It is so easy, and really good! (to me, that is)

Broiled Grapefruit...

set the oven to broil
cut grapefruit in half
sprinkle brown sugar over both halves
sprinkle shredded coconut over both halves
place in a cake tin, or on a cookie sheet
broil for 5 minutes, or until the sugar starts to caramelize and the juiced bubble, and the coconut browns
remove from heat and serve with a dollop of nonfat vanilla yogurt (or plain is good too!)

I love this with a mug of hot coffee... but you may like it with a piece of toast, too.

:)

wontons, wine, conversation...

Laura and I (and fabulous Tiffany) hung out last saturday night, and had AWESOME salad from Ho Sum Bistro... I made baked wontons and we drank wine and talked about boys and jeans and jesus and heartache and life. it was wonderful.

here's the wonton recipe:

#1
in a small bowl, mix reduced fat cream cheese (about 1/2 the container), 4 diced green onions (about 3/4 up the green), 1/2 small can water chestnuts, diced, 2 tsp freshly grated ginger

mix well and put small amount (like a melon baller size) in the center of a wonton paper. use your finger to line edge of wonton paper with water. Fold in half like a triangle and press firmly to seal all edges. then. fold long end in half and seal ends with water (like a fortune cookie??) or you can fold them like daipers... just make sure they are sealed as the cheese can ooze....

#2)
in a medium pan, brown 1/2 lb. ground turkey. add 4 diced green onions, 1/2 can water chestnuts diced, 2 tsp fresh grated ginger, 1 tsp sweet chili sauce (sriracha or any other hot pepper sauce), sherry vinegar or rice vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

repeat steps above to fold.

place gently on a greased cookie sheet.

bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

serve with your favorite asian dipping sauce....

yummmm.

Winter Standby

So, pretty much I make this soup AT LEAST every 2 weeks. I'll freeze half of it (cause it makes a lot) and we'll have lots of yummy healthy soup to eat for the week... and then the week after too! And it is SUPER easy to prepare, so that's good too.

TACO SOUP

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground turkey
1 white or yellow onion
1 can each:
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Black Beans
Corn
Diced Tomatoes
1 packet Taco Seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:
Chop up onion
Cook onion and turkey together in large soup pot until meat browns and onion is tender
Add contents of cans (liquid included)
Add Seasoning Packet
Simmer as long as you like
Garnish with Sour Cream, Tortilla Chips, Avocado, Shredded Cheese, etc

Cinnamon-Sugar Chocolate Banana Bread

It must be winter cause all I want to do is carb-filled sweets, get fat and hibernate until Spring comes again.

I must admit that this recipe is not my own... a friend directed me to it here.

But Dave and I made it tonight. And we are about to dive in. I don't think we will have any problem consuming A LOT of it.


Cinnamon-Sugar Banana Bread

3 very ripe bananas (the size doesn’t much matter; medium to large works)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter or spray an 8-inch square pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. Add the eggs, and stir well to combine. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla, and stir to mix. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips, and stir briefly. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the topping ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, and top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.


P.S. Yep.... it was delicious...


... that giant missing chunk from the middle? Eaten by the 2 of us in one sitting. Hooray for winter poundage!

A few bites from the Middle East....

Ladies.
I know we are all about baking these days... and goodness gracious, i wish i could eat those delightful treats... but, to add some culture to the group, i thought i'd share some easy middle eastern treasures with you. (don't worry, it's not hard, and tastes really good)

grandma ginny's chicken tawook

1 pkg. kosher, bone-in chicken cut into 8 pieces (you can get this at trader joe's)
3 lemons
8 tbs. butter (or 8 slabs from the stick... ) that sounds gross...
salt and pepper
paprika
cinnamon

- preheat oven to 425 degrees
- lay chicken pieces in a 9x13 baking dish
- season with salt and pepper
- place 1 slab of butter on each piece of chicken
- slice one lemon into rounds and place rounds on top of each chicken peice
- squeeze the other two lemons over the dish
- sprinkle paprika over for color
- sprinkle, generously, cinnamon over the dish
- bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the skin on the chicken is crackly dark, golden brown, and sizzlin' hot

white rice with garbanzo beans

this one is GREAT and becomes a complete protien w/ the bean and the rice! yes!

simply prepare any white rice of your choosing...
(i rinse my rice twice, then put olive oil in the bottom of a pot and heat it, then add the rice, and sautee it for a bit until the rice starts to get golden... then i add the water it calls for)
add a can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained, into hot rice
and serve with nonfat, plain yogurt.

I know, the last part sounds GROSS but is AMAZING. If you're a skeptic, you just have to try it! really.

There's a lot more to come.... but i'd love to get some of your families recipies...

Chocolate Chip Scones

This is a lovely scone that is made all of the time for our company. It is fabulous with coffee and people always feel special that you have made this just for them! When I am having a particularly hard day I make it for myself:) Enjoy it. You can also make it with any number of things other than chocolate chips! R


Mix dry ingredients
2 Cups Flour
3 tbls Sugar
1 tbls Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt
Take 1/2 cup butter and squish it in to the dry ingredients until most of the butter is mixed in to dry.
Mix wet ingredients
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Mix in to dry
Add 3/4 cups of mini chocolate chips
Mix till dough hardens a bit
Flatten out in to a circle
Cut in to 8-12 triangles
Place on non-stick pan 17-22 min at 350 degrees
Check them at 15 minutes...when bottom of scone begins to lightly brown. Take out. Best served warm...

only delicious

I love baking. I looooooooooooooooove baking for other people. This is good when the bakee is delicious and well-tested, not so good when it's a first try sort of situation. (i.e. don't bake a new, untasted cake for a dear friend's going away party that looks fabulously canadian, but is too icky-sweet to even enjoy. bah.) Anyway, I'm about to share with you the easiest and most delicious peanut butter cookie recipe you've ever had. People will fall at your feet in adoration when you feed them these cookies. They will clap their hands and cry, "More, MORE, MORE!" They will clamor for the recipe, and you will smile down upon them and, well, give it to them if you wanted to. Anyway, it's really good. And really simple. So I'm sharing it with you. Because I love you. And it was Valentine's Day a couple of hours ago. And I can't sleep. Which accounts for the rambling.

Here you go:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter (NOT Skippy, Bouncey, or any of that weird stuff. The natural kind. That you have to stir. I like Trader Joe's Crunchy Salted, but the unsalted and creamy versions work just as well. Be sure to add a pinch of salt if you use the unsalted kind.
1/2 cup Butter, softened (When baking, use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. It gives you so much more flavor control.)
1/2 cup White Sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/4 cup Flour
1 cup or so of Chocolate Chunks or Chips (Semi-Sweet or Dark are best.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Put 1/4 cup of white sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, blend Peanut Butter and Butter on high for 30 seconds. Mix in Sugars, Egg, and Vanilla. Blend well. Mix in Baking Powder and Baking Soda. Add flour slowly, making sure that it blends completely, scraping sides of the bowl when necessary. Fold in Chocolate chunks.
Shape a small spoonful of dough into a ball by rolling between your palms. It should be about the size of a shooter marble or walnut shell. Gently roll the ball in the sugar that has been set aside, lightly coating on all sides. Set cookie on baking sheet. Repeat until sheet is full.
Taking a fork, gently press tines into the top of the dough in an "X" pattern. Be sure not to smash your cookies, or they will turn out too flat.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven. Mine usually takes about 12-14 minutes. Just look for the golden edge on the bottom of the cookie, and pull it out when it looks done. Try not to overbake them or they will get all crunchy.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before devouring the test one that "broke."

Share. Enjoy. And seriously, you will love these guys. At least I do.

bbq chicken pizza

So ladies. I again forgot to take a picture, but it's more important to me to get on with this posting business. Favorite simple dinner number seventeen: homemade pizza. Barbecue Chicken is my personal fave, but any sort will suit you fine. That's the great thing about pizza; it can be made from nearly anything that's on hand. Pesto, red sauce, BBQ, veg, meat, cheese, it all works!

I like to use the Trader Joe's raw pizza dough, but Boboli's works great as well. Just be sure to follow the directions for baking on whichever crust you're using.

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough
1 Chicken Breast, grilled and diced
1/4 Red Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 Red Pepper, thinly sliced (shortwise)
1 Tomato, diced or 1 handful Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/2 Mozzarella Ball, shredded
1/4 cup Cheddar, Shredded
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (I prefer Sweet Baby Ray's from Safeway)

Preheat oven (usually 450 degrees)
Grill Chicken, Onions, and Peppers in a skillet until tender and delicious (season lightly with Salt, Pepper, and Cilantro if desired)
Shred Cheese and cut Tomatoes while toppings grill
Spread BBQ sauce on dough
Sprinkle Mozzarella on dough
Top with Chicken, Onion, Pepper, and Tomatoes
Sprinkle with Cheddar
Bake for 12-15 minutes
Enjoy.


We do pizza with a simple salad, usually just Romaine, Tomatoes, and Avocadoes with a little dressing; and a bottle of red wine. Such a nice, easy, date meal. I like to do a Pesto with a Veg pizza (Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, Red Potatoes, and Feta), or just a Caprese (Fresh Mozzarella, Tomatoes, and Olive Oil or a Light Pesto). Plus, it's so simple to do a kid version, or many different types for a party. Wahoo for quick, easy food! Enjoy!

this is a good start.

okay.

heidi and i would weekly talk about starting a food blog with all of you, and really never did much... but we did come up with a creative name: walnutheartsfood... because of the the word picture we all can draw to mind... and because walnuts will always remind me of us.

so a food blog it is.

heidi shared the first recipe. yeah for stone soup. i was there for lunch that day, and it was rainy-day-cozy-delicious.

I took this picture at the santa cruz farmer's market... and thought it was pretty... and here, then, is a recipe for stuffed bell peppers:

take 4 bell peppers that stand up well alone...

cut out the top and clean out the insides... seed free...

sprinkle salt on the inside of the pepper, and turn it upsidedown to draw out the moisture (or "kosher"....)

meanwhile,

heat 2 tbs. oil in a large skillet or pot with a lid

toss in 1/2 diced white onion and saute until soft

toss in 1 c. white rice and saute until starts to turn goldlen

put in 1 small can tomato sauce and 1 c. chicken stock and 1 handful lentils of you want.

cook until all liquid is absorbed and rice is soft.

add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.

drain and rinse one can of black beans.

grate your favorite cheese... the sharper the better....

begin to fill the pepper with rice, beans, cheese... repeat. Top with cheese...

place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min or until the bell pepper is soft.

remove from oven and set to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

serve with sour cream or guacamole... yes.

ENJOY.

i love you...

more to come.

Stone Soup

Ladies!  Welcome to the first post for the Walnut Hearts!  I thought to open it up I'd share one of the most simple recipes I know:  Stone Soup.  I'm sure you all remember the book from elementary school about the selfish townspeople who ended up coming together and sharing what small things they had to create a large and lovely meal.  We wanted to enjoy something cozy in the post-blackout storminess, and so we made it today for lunch.  I'm sorry there's no picture (I forgot to take one).

Stone Soup:

1 quart Chicken Stock  

1 can of White, Red, or Black Beans

1         Small Sliced Zucchini

4         Potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks

1/2    Onion, chopped

3        Carrots, sliced 

3        Stalks of Celery, sliced

1         Bell Pepper, chopped

1         Hunk of Parmesan  (optional)

1         Bay Leaf

1         Stalk of Rosemary

1         Pinch of Basil

1         Sprinkle of Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

Bring Chicken Stock  to a low boil.

Add Potatoes, Carrots, Celery, Bell Pepper, Onions.  You can add/detract any vegetables you have on hand.  Leek is a milder substitute for Onion.  Squash and root veggies are usually best.  Maintain a high simmer.

Add Bay Leaf, Rosemary, Basil, Nutmeg, Salt, and Pepper.  Add hunk of Parmesan.  (This adds a really delicious, subtle creamy/nutty flavor.  I add it to almost ALL my soups or sauces.)  Maintain high simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

Add can of Beans and Zucchini.  Maintain high simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Soup is ready when vegetables are tender and you are ready to eat.  Before serving, be sure to fish out the Rosemary stem, Bay Leaf, and now melted hunk of Parmesan.  Serve with cracked pepper and Parmesan (or any grated cheese) on top.   Makes 4 - 6 servings.

We had some leftover French bread on the side.  The great thing about this recipe is that you really can substitute ANYTHING and it will still be delicious.  I usually go a little heavy on the potatoes and light on the salt (the broth is usually a little salty for me already).  It's rustic and simple and so lovely for a cold day.  

Enjoy!