Apricot Tapenade

Apricot Tapenade
from Home Made: the Ultimate DIY Cookbook by Yvette van Boven

1 1/2 cups dried apricots, soaked
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic (or more...)
salt & freshly ground pepper

Blitz all the ingredients in a food processor. If necessary, add some more oil. You can keep the tapenade in the refrigerator for some time. Make sure the tapenade is always covered with a thin layer of oil. The tapenade is great on toast, as is, or with cheese or cured ham.

Red Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

Adapted from Epicurious to what I had available today. Ella ate half of mine and then a plate of her own. She said, "It's the best food you've ever made!" I made it without the banana peppers but will be adding them when I have it for lunch tomorrow.

1 1/2 cups red quinoa
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed if canned (1 can)
1 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups cooked corn (cut from about 2 large ears)
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper (1 medium)
2 pickled banana peppers, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)
finely chopped fresh coriander (ie cilantro which I hate so I used a little fresh basil and fresh parsley instead)


Dressing:
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
1-2 tsp fresh ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp avocado honey
1/3 cup olive oil

Put quinoa with 3 cups water in saucepan. Bring to boil, then turn down heat and simmer 15 mins until all water is absorbed.

While quinoa is cooking, in a small bowl toss beans with vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

In a large bowl, make dressing: whisk together lime juice, salt, honey, coriander seeds and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking.

Add beans, corn, bell pepper and herbs and toss well. Add quinoa and toss some more. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before serving.

The result:


Adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Quinoa-and-Black-Bean-Salad-12245#ixzz0wAJMpbFf

Flo's Tomato, Goat Cheese & Onion Tart

1 prepared pie crust (puff pastry is best)

3 TB olive oil 

2 large onions very thinly sliced 

 6 oz. crumbled goat cheese 

4 or 5 ripe tomatoes sliced [GOOD tomatoes e.g. beautiful summer heirloom/dashti toms]

Salt & pepper to taste

GARNISH: fresh basil or tarragon leaves

   

Preheat oven to 375 degrees/according to dough packaging. 
 Place dough into a tart pan with a removable bottom, press into sides. Prick the dough all over (including the sides). Blind bake (cover with foil filled with aluminum foil and beans, rice or pie weights) for approximately 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for approximately 15 minutes until light golden brown.

Remove the crust from the oven and allow to cool. Sauté the onions in the olive oil over a very low heat until caramelized [optional: stir a little dried basil into caramelized onions towards end of cooking time]. Cool the onions completely and spread over the cooled pie shell. Sprinkle with 4 oz of the goat cheese and make decorative spirals on top of the cheese with the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle the remaining goat cheese and place under the broiler for approximately 5 minutes to brown and soften the goat cheese.

Garnish with small or shredded basil leaves, or tarragon leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Easy Gazpacho

I made this for dinner last night, and Nicki asked me to post the recipe. Works great when it's hot like it has been here, because it's nice and cold and doesn't require any cooking in a hot kitchen.

Gazpacho

16 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 cup cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 medium sized bell or sweet Italian pepper
1 large red onion
2 cloves garlic
2/3 cup of olive oil
juice from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 Tbsp fresh if available)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (ditto)
salt to taste

Finely chop the onion, garlic, cucumber and pepper (works best if you mince them in a food processor). Combine the finely chopped ingredients in a blender with the tomatoes and the olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire, vinegar, herbs and salt. Blend until smooth.

Chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours before serving. Serve cold with tabasco sauce, if desired.

Tante Ellen's Gazpacho

I have only had Gazpacho twice, once before you were born and again at Elizabeth's birthday party. Not made it because Jon says he doesn't like it... but I think I'm going to make it anyway, now that I have the recipe. 

Also, Tante Ellen said she made it according to the recipe but felt something was missing so she looked in the dictionary and found the vinegar part which made it just right! so here it is...

"GAZPACHO

3 Cups V8 (or tomato juice with worcestershire sauce, not quite the same, imo)

1/4 C lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, peeled

5 ripe tomatoes, peeled

1 small onion in chunks

1 carrot, peeled and in chunks

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped (about 2/3 European cuke)

1 green pepper, de-seeded and quartered

1/4 C fresh parsley

1/4 C fresh basil or cilantro

1/4 olive oil

1 small jalapeno pepper (I used sambal instead)

1 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp pepper (ditto)

and dash vinegar as per dictionary (we use white balsamic)

In food processor, combine 1 C tomato mixture, lemon juice, garlic, 1/3 of the carrot, onion, cucumber, green pepper, parsley and basil

repeat process using 1 C tomato mixture, olive oil, sambal, 1 tomato and 1/3 remaining vegetables.

repeat process using the last cup and the remaining vegetables. 

Mix 3 batches together, add salt and pepper - and vinegar - to taste.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Garnish with chopped cuke or tomato or croutons, or slivered basil or a drizzle of olive oil.

So there it is!"

Summer Pudding

Serves 4

Official recipe:

75 g/3 oz caster sugar

2 Tbsp water*

100 g/4 oz each of black currants, red currants, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, plums, pitted black cherries to 400g total **

6-8 large slices of white bread, crusts removed***

* OK. to start with, the amount of water and caster (fine but not icing) sugar is not going to be enough so double or triple it..

** I never use strawberries because I never read the recipe correctly, so just use whatever soft fruits are in season.

*** Buy a small loaf of white bread and get the baker to cut it lengthwise, if you can. The nicer the bread, the nicer the pudding.

Back to the official recipe (italics: my changes):

1. Place sugar and water in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar (or, indeed, Splenda) is dissolved.

2. Add black and red currants and cook over a low heat until tender. Then add other soft fruits and cook for a further 2 mins. Remove from heat and allow to cool thoroughly (or not!)

3. Turn the bowl over to measure a round of bread or two halves to make a lid. Cut bread into wedge-shaped pieces (parallelopipidums) to line base and sides of a greased (oh, that's where I always go wrong!) pudding basin (you mean a bowl?)

4. Now, here it tells you to pour the stewed fruit into the basin but my experience is that you're best pouring the juice equally over the bread first so that it is coloured because otherwise you get splodges of colour. Then add fruit.

5. Top with bread lid and cover with a saucer or small plate that will just fit inside the basin. Weight it down with a tin and chill in fridge overnight if possible.

6. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the pudding, cover the basin with an inverted serving plate (well, duh!) and invert to un-mould.

7. Serve immediately, with cream for those who like it.

How easy is that??!! Bon appétit!