Leeks and purple hull peas taste like Spring time in a bowl!
2 slices of bacon (optional) fried
8 ounces purple hull peas
1 leek
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Water
Salt and pepper to taste
Chop leek and clean in large bowl of water, then drain. Heat olive oil in saute pan and saute leek until translucent. Add bacon and cook until leek begins to caramelize. Add peas and cover with enough water to come 1 inch above peas. Simmer on medium heat until peas are cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.
I love Mexican style street corn. I also love creamed corn. So I really love this dish. I used canned coconut milk instead of cream to cut down on some of the bad fat. Instead of jalapeno, I used a Tablespoon of that creamy green sauce you can get at some Mexican restaurants to spice my dish up. I have no idea what that sauce is called and if you have never had it, you will have no idea what I am talking about. It looks sort of like a thin, creamy avocado salsa and it is very spicy. Anyway, if you have access to some, use that or stick with the fresh chopped jalapeno.
6 ears of corn
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
1 can coconut milk (NOT coco lopez)
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped fine (optional)
1 Tablespoon chili powder
4 ounces cotija cheese
Preheat oven to 350°. Shuck the ears of corn and remove all of the silk. Carefully cut away the kernels from the cob. Be sure the run the knife over the cob to get all of the juices. Put the corn and all of the juice in an 11″x7″ baking dish. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, coconut milk, jalapeno (if you are using) and juice of the lime. You may still have a few chunks of cream cheese, that’s ok. Pour it over the corn and then cover baking dish with tin foil. Bake until mixture is hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Remove foil from dish, stir to incorporate any stray chunks of cream cheese, top with cotija cheese and chili powder. Return to oven and bake until it begins to brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.
Granola is an extremely adaptable recipe. Have cashews instead of pecans, no problem. Don’t like coconut, leave it out. Want to reduce the oil? Go ahead but be warned it may be little more clumpy. I used this recipe for the garnish on my Blueberry Breakfast Ice Cream and thought I should post it since it was so yummy with the crunchy granola. Enjoy!
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup shelled pecans
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips or flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup honey
3/4 cup diced dried fruit, such as pineapple, mango, currants, goji berries, cherries, or whatever you prefer
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix together oats, nuts, seeds, and coconut. In a small saucepan, combine salt, brown sugar, olive oil, and honey. Bring heat to medium, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved. Pour over oat mixture and stir to coat evenly. Spread oats over prepared baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 40 minutes. Stir mixture in pan about every 15 minutes while baking to break up clumps and cook evenly. Remove from oven and let cool. Place granola in medium bowl, add dried fruit and vanilla, stir to distribute.
Ice cream for breakfast? Yes! If you make it with Greek yogurt, creamy coconut milk, and field fresh blueberries. I use a combination of honey and corn syrup to sweeten the dish as the invert sugar helps crystals from forming in the ice cream. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can pour the ice cream base in a freezer safe gallon bag. Place the bag in the freezer and squish it around to break up the ice crystals every 30-45 minutes over 4-5 hours. The Amaretto helps the ice cream from freezing too hard but if you are serving it to kiddos or do not want to use alcohol, substitute another 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/8 teaspoon almond flavoring.
1 cup blueberries (about 1/2 a pint)
1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
dash of salt
8 ounces Greek yogurt
1 can coconut milk (NOT Coco Lopez)
1/4 cup Amaretto
1 Tablespoon lime juice (about 1/2 of a lime)
Combine blueberries, honey, corn syrup, water, and salt in small saucepan. Boil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Let cool. In large bowl combine yogurt, coconut milk, amaretto, cooled blueberry syrup, and lime juice. Pour mixture into ice cream maker following manufactures directions.
I used the broth from my broccoli chicken soup plus a technique I first read about on the blog Ideas in Food to make a delicious, creamy risotto in only 6 minutes with just a few stirs. Alex and Aki describe soaking the rice in water to hydrate for 2 hours to reduce cooking time. Further in the comments there is a suggestion to soak it in the broth you intend to cook it in. Kenji Alt’s post on Serious Eats about risotto contends that the starch that thickens a risotto is mostly located on the outside of the rice, not inside the rice as is commonly thought. So I decided to combine the techniques and soak some Aborio rice in the broth from the leftover soup, then use the broth to finish the risotto with delicious results! The type of rice you use is important, it should be a rice that is suitable for a risotto like Aborio or Carnaroli which are short grained and high in starch. This recipe takes some prep time for the broth and letting the rice soak but instead of having to stir a hot pot of rice with gradual addition of liquids like traditional risottos call for, you get a creamy bowl of goodness in only six minutes with an occasional stir. It is also important to know that risottos should have a bit of “bite” to them. It should not exactly be crunchy but you should be able to feel individual grains instead of mush when you take a bite. Some people might consider it undercooked but it will actually get thicker and softer as it sits, so better to err on the side of underdone. You can also add some cream at the end but since I was using a creamy soup, I did not find that necessary.
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup Aborio rice
3 cups broth or soup, liquid only (you can strain out veggies and add them back with the broth when the rice is cooking)
1 Tablespoon butter, cold and in small pieces
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan
Combine rice and broth in a large bowl. Stir vigorously to agitate. Cover with plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator, uncover, and stir vigorously again. Use mesh strainer to drain liquid from rice and retain liquid. Agitate rice as it drains to help release starch from the rice. Heat olive oil in a heavy 12 inch skillet. Saute rice grains in olive oil over medium high heat until rice begins to brown and smell nutty, about 5 minutes. Add all of the liquid to pan at once and bring to a boil. Time to cook for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rice may look too soupy and taste a bit underdone but it will quickly set up. Remove from heat and stir in cold butter and parmesan to finish.
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