the pleased plate: July 2011

hot and spicy nuts

Add a flavor jolt to ordinary walnuts! I snack on walnuts when I need a little something to tide me over until mealtime and I add walnuts to my salads -- with this toasty-warm-spicy-kick going on, my tastebuds will be far from bored.

The 3 C's accent the line-up: coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper. Baked to toasted perfection and these are a winner!

~hot and spicy nuts~

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 cups walnut halves

1 Tbsp. cooking oil

Preheat oven to 300. Mix spices together in small bowl. Place nuts in a 13x9x2 baking pan. Toss with oil to coat. Toss with spices to coat.

Bake 20 minutes, stirring once. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to cool completely.

marinara sauce

You'd think that as a family with two young girls we would eat spaghetti on a regular basis, but as it turns out, I can't remember the last time I made traditional spaghetti with marinara sauce. So when my 5 year old started requesting we have spaghetti this past week, I knew I could not do her any grave injustice by not making it, because seriously, kids and spaghetti go hand in hand, right?!

Into the pot went onion, carrot, celery, garlic and olive oil -- all sauteed until soft. Next came the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf and dash of salt and pepper. It simmered throughout the afternoon and the house smelled soooo good. Then I had to sneak a taste to make sure all of the flavors were coming together:

And so my daughter got her wish and we all enjoyed classic spaghetti for dinner tonight! Nothing will go to waste; the remainder of the marinara will freeze for up to three months. The next time spaghetti is requested, it will be as easy as heat and serve!

(recipe)

caesar dressing

A couple of weeks ago, I made a caesar salad with homemade dressing and it was definitely better than any bottled variety. Today, I got real adventurous and made caesar dressing with one extra ingredient:

Anchovy paste -- a definite first for me. I thought I'd go big and see if this made any noticeable difference in the taste of the dressing. And, oh my, yes, it enhanced the flavor in a wonderfully subtle way. It added dimension, depth and an almost salty-spice to it. Way cool and really good! I am not scared of anchovy paste! But ask me to use real anchovies with little eyeballs looking at me and I think I'll pass!

Caesar gourmet for lunch, yum!

whole-grain spaghetti with lemon, basil, and salmon

Take the fresh and light flavors of summer -- basil and lemon -- and add it to whole-grain spaghetti, olive oil, garlic and capers. Toss and place over a bed of baby spinach leaves and top it with a pan seared salmon fillet. I love salmon and this was a great way to showcase and surround it with complementing flavors!

pesto macaroni salad

Macaroni salad goes GREEN by adding basil pesto and fresh green beans. Make it extra yummy by adding fresh mozzarella balls and torn basil leaves throughout. Sorry mayonnaise, you are not invited to this party.

energy bars

With a hard workin' husband and two daughters' snacktime, these energy bars fit the bill.

Organic corn flakes,

oats, sunflower seeds, and raisins make these delicious and nutritious.

wild west corn

I love.this.corn. I ate this off of the serving spoon before I could even get it on the plate. Twice. It was just going to my family so they don't care about double dipping! What makes this picture so accurate is the Monterey Jack cheese stretching its way up and up as it clings to the corn. Who knew that baking corn, Ro-tel, and Monterey Jack together could marry into such a perfect union together? To top it off, I crumbled these crackers on top to form a crust:

And since there are plenty of leftovers, I will get to enjoy this tomorrow all over again!

potato-beef bake

Some nights call for comfort food in the form of casseroles. This is a good ole meat and southern-style-hash-brown potatoes kind of meal. I served this next to hot crusty buttered French bread.

mandarin chicken salad sandwiches

I found this beautiful loaf of multigrain bread this morning at our town's Farmer's Market and could not resist pairing it with this mandarin chicken salad. I dressed up chicken salad by adding mandarin oranges, sesame seeds and ginger.

pineapple coleslaw

Turn your coleslaw tropical with hints of sweetness and tangy-ness by adding crushed pineapple and lime juice. This is a great summer side dish!

thank you

A lot of you are new to my site and I thank you for visiting me!

I have been doing a family blog for 3 years and just recently decided to start the pleased plate as a way for my friends and family to see the different dishes I have been cookin' up. But then after commenting on a few awesome healthy living blogging sites; I, in turn have received some new readers here! I am humbled that you read my words, see my food and comment! I love getting comments and feedback and knowing that there is a little community of us that all enjoy and appreciate whole foods made at home!

I am a former 1st and 2nd grade teacher and now a stay at home mom to two wonderful daughters -- my taste testers! Everything I make at each meal is for the girls, my husband and I. I am not a short order cook -- no making separate meals for anybody. As a family, we explore the diverse tastes and flavors that you see here.

My husband has grown our all-organic garden in our backyard for the past three years. With his dedication and expertise, we have enjoyed an abundance of: swiss chard, beets, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, jalapenos, habanero peppers, bell peppers, serrano peppers, carrots, flat leaf parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, eggplant, sunflower seeds, okra, strawberries and blackberries!

Thank you for visiting me and know that I value your feedback and have been greatly enriched by learning from you as well!

chocolate anise biscotti

This afternoon I felt like I was transported to a panetteria in Italy. My first try at making biscotti resulted in a huge success! I was intrigued to bake this because of the star ingredient: ground anise.

The anise has a sweet, aromatic licorice-like flavor and totally compliments the chocolate. It is subtle in the finished biscotti, but gives this a gourmet taste that is decadent!

Biscotti is twice-baked, so I first formed the mixture into a log and baked it off. After letting it cool a bit, I sliced it on the diagonal and re-baked it until golden.

I have never been a fan of store bought biscotti. I thought they were just a crumbly, dry cookie which didn't really serve any point for me. So, again, I was intrigued to bake them from scratch and yes, worlds of difference here! It is slightly crunchy, but moist at the same time. Such a beautiful texture that I am now a fan of! And the gourmet taste of chocolate with a hint of anise just puts this over the top.

I savored my coffee and biscotti and had an imaginary Italian afternoon. Oh, if only.....!!!

Ciao!

pickles

Everyday Tim comes in with an abundance of vegetables from the garden. I have had no trouble finding uses for squash, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, parsley, bell peppers and jalapenos. But the cucumbers were another story. I sliced some into my water...decorated my salad...but we had accumulated close to 8 pounds, so something had to be done!

I drew on the experience and advice of my mother-in-law (thank you Donna) to make PICKLES!

I added the liquid pickling mixture, made from Mrs. Wages all-natural quick process pickle mix, poured into the jars over the slices, closed the lids and processed them in the canner until they were sealed tight. Did you know that the salt has to be canning salt and cannot contain iodine? If it did, the liquid would be cloudy and that would not make a pretty pickle picture!

I only have 3 more hours to wait until I can try one (the wait is 24 hours)!

And so friends, when the garden gives you cucumbers, make pickles!

triple berry-lime smoothies

You only need 5 ingredients for this beautiful smoothie!

cranberry juice
frozen raspberries
frozen strawberries
honey
lime juice

chicken and corn chowder

I had some Yukon gold potatoes left over from our garden and I found a use for them in this soup. I cooked the corn, potatoes and shallots in low-sodium chicken broth. I blended half of the soup in the blender to make it creamy, then put it back in the pot and added cooked chicken and a few tablespoons of heavy cream.

Before I used the spoon for eating, you can see me lurking in the reflection! It looks like a fun house mirror -- just a little distorted!

sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos

Breakfast this morning was a breakfast taco with this all-natural sausage:

scrambled eggs and a mix of monterey jack, cheddar, and asadero cheeses and wrapped up in this whole wheat tortilla:

with a sliced Jazz apple on the side. Jazz apples taste so sweet right now! So delicious!

We had about 5 tacos worth of leftovers, so I wrapped each one in plastic wrap and foil and placed the bag in the freezer. These are perfect to heat up for busy mornings and I love getting multiple meals out of one morning of preparation!

asparagus with lemon crumbs

This asparagus has such a light and fresh taste that I ended up with a very large portion on my plate! I cooked a pound of fresh asparagus cut into 2 inch bite size pieces until very tender, but not mushy. Then I sauteed butter, dill, flat leaf parsley from the garden, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and pepper and added unseasoned bread crumbs. I tossed the asparagus into the crumbs and had a fresh buttery, lemony flavor explosion going on!

Giveaway

Head on over to The Kitchenarian to enter the giveaway and a chance to win Clearly Fresh Bags to help keep your farmer's market finds fresh. Tell her the the pleased plate sent you!

poached pears in honey, ginger, and cinnamon syrup

This dessert was so delicious! I simmered the pears in a simple syrup of honey, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla bean and Moscato wine. Then I thickened the syrup a bit and drizzled it over the pear. I served it alongside a scoop of Tahitian vanilla bean gelato. So elegant, you could serve this for a fancy dinner party, but your secret would be safe with me on how EASY this is to prepare. Desserts make for such happy endings, don't they?

What is the fanciest dessert you like to eat?

josie's hot cranberry punch

So the title of the recipe is hot punch and while I did follow the recipe and make it in the slow cooker, as soon as it was done steeping all of the flavors, I chilled it and put it over ice to enjoy cold! It is totally versatile! I would compare this to an Arnold Palmer which is a cold beverage consisting of half iced tea/half lemonade and all the rage this season. But, there is no tea in my concoction (which makes it kiddo friendly for the girls). It is made with cranberry juice, frozen lemonade, frozen orange juice and cinnamon sticks.

I can see this being great served warm in the winter, but it was a hit over ice as a tart, fruity, not-to-sweet sipping beverage for a hot afternoon.

Besides water, what quenches your thirst in the heat of the summer?

cranberry turkey melts

This is a great combination of flavors: cranberry sauce, turkey breast and pepper jack cheese -- all baked off until the crust is crispy and the cheese is melty goodness.

Since this reminds me of fall flavors and because it is so scorching hot right now, what are you looking forward to when the season changes into autumn?

bacon and egg sandwiches

I topped this classic sandwich with watercress. The result was an easy, no-fuss meal!

What are some easy sandwiches that you go to for a quick meal?

homemade pizza

This is the first time that I have made homemade pizza dough from yeast, flour, kosher salt, sugar, water and olive oil. It was super easy and yielded enough for two pizzas! Tim and I topped this one and the girls topped a smaller one. The veggies and herbs that came from our garden were green bell pepper, red onion, jalapenos and fresh oregano. So satisfying!

Do you have any homemade pizza dough tips?

spiced pumpkin waffles

You don't have to wait until fall to enjoy the comfort of pumpkin. Loaded with Vitamin A and fiber, this waffle is healthy and delicious!

What "seasonal" foods do you eat out of season?

frozen hot chocolate

Inspired by Serendipity 3 in New York City. I have heard so much about this little dessert cafe and of course, fell in love with the idea of it from the movie Serendipity. This frozen hot chocolate is the perfect treat for a summer afternoon and to satisfy a chocolate craving!

What restaurant dishes have you tried to recreate?

the pleased plate

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