Apricot and Pluot Jam

This was a post from last night that I typed up but never hit publish. Oops!

It should be interesting to see how this turns out.  My original plan was to make peach jam until I realized that I didn't have enough peaches left, so I moved on to apricot jam.  I found a recipe to make freezer jam which seemed right up my alley, not too complex and not a big time commitment.  I started by cutting my fruit and heating it with a little lemon juice per the recipe.  Then I moved on to the mixing of the pectin. This particular recipe required you to boil water and then add it to a blender or food processor so that you could slowly add the pectin until it dissolves.  This step seemed easy enough.  Well this smarty pants read the recipe wrong and added 4 tablespoons of pectin as opposed to 4 teaspoons. The mixture in my food processor resembled taffy.  Wouldn't you know that I only purchased one package of pectin so I was in a bit of a predicament.  In an effort to not lose all of my apricots I got in the car and went to Jewel to get another container.  The approximate time was 9:30 p.m., so I was slightly irritated by this. Thankfully I live only a few blocks from the grocery store so round trip it only took me about 10 minutes.  The issue now was my original recipe was foiled because the new Pectin had a slightly different recipe.  So figuring I really had nothing to lose at this point, I added some Pluot and a little apple juice, the new pectin and let it boil.  The jars are cooling so that I can put some in the freezer and one or two in the fridge. We will see how it turns out.  I really need to learn to read more carefully when I am doing things like this.  As I was adding the pectin I thought to myself, "this sure seems like a lot of this for such a small amount of water" which probably would have been the point I should have glanced back at the recipe.  Oh well, live and learn.

I'm happy to report that I tried the jam this evening and its not bad.  It could have probably used a tad bit more sugar but considering it was my first time making this I would give myself 3 asparagus spears as a rating.

 

Pan Seared Scallops with Champagne Grapes

I have been looking for recipes to incorporate our Champagne grapes and found this on Epicurious.  It was absolutely delicious, I'm so happy I came across it.

Menu
Sliced Tomatoes with Basil
Pan Seared Scallops with Champagne Grapes and Almonds
Polenta

The best part about this recipe is it doesn't take long to prepare at all.  I was actually in a huge time crunch tonight trying to get dinner ready so my husband could take Izzy to the vet.  I was able to make this in a very short period of time, definitely less than 30 minutes.  I did have to skip the Almonds considering that was the one item I forgot at the grocery store. However, I'm not sure the dish actually even needed them.

As far as the polenta goes,  I had some that comes in the little tube that you basically just have to heat up. To prepare I put it in a pot and melted a small amount of butter and then seasoned it with a little thyme and salt and pepper.  I used a whisk to break it up and stir to get a smoother consistency.  The tomatoes were simply sliced, drizzled with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and sprinkled with fresh basil.

This meal was rated 3.5 asparagus spears

Challah French Toast Stuffed with Mascarpone

Apparently this was the weekend to re-create dishes from Father's Day.  I used my recipe from Father's Day Breakfast as my inspiration and made a few tweaks, delicious tweaks at that.  This morning I made Challah French toast stuffed with Mascarpone topped with fresh fruit.

 















Ingredients

• a loaf of Challah bread
• Mascarpone Cheese
• 3 eggs
• Skim milk (1/4 cup)
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon stick
• Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
• Apricots, Pluots and Blueberries
• Powdered Sugar

I used the Challah bread from Trader Joes again and also picked up the TJ brand of Mascarpone cheese.  Because I was using two slices of bread this time, I tried to slice them a little thinner than 1 inch.  In a bowl whisk together 3 eggs and approximately 1/4 cup milk. To the egg mixture add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Grate fresh nutmeg and fresh cinnamon into mixture.

I put a tiny bit of butter in the pan before cooking the french toast.  Spread some mascarpone on 1 side of each slice of bread. Put the slices together like a sandwich with the Mascarpone in the middle and dip the bread into the egg mixture. Be sure both sides are covered.  Let excess drip off back into bowl. Cook in pan until slightly browned on both sides.  Cover with fresh blueberries and slices of fresh apricots and pluots. Top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Peaches and Pluots

Menu
Grilled Ribeye
Truffled Wild Mushrooms over Whipped White Beans
Spring Greens with Grilled Peaches and Pluots, Bleu Cheese and Balsamic Glaze

My husband bought enormous ribeyes to grill for dinner.  Thankfully the thunderstorms cleared so that we could grill our meal. As you know we have a ton of fresh fruit that I need to incorporate this week so tonight I added peaches and pluots to our salad.

Spring Greens with Grilled Peaches and Pluots

I used the salad I made on Father's Day as a base and then added a few twists to come up with this version.  In a serving bowl, drizzle spring greens with a little grapeseed oil and add the balsamic glaze.  To make the balsamic glaze simply add 1/2 balsamic vinegar to a pan and cook on medium-low heat until the vinegar boils. Once boiling, lower the heat and let simmer until it thickens. Let the glaze cool before adding it to the salad. Add pieces of grilled peaches and pluots.  Be sure you let the fruit cool before adding it to the salad otherwise you will wilt the lettuce. To grill the fruit sprinkle slices with a little brown sugar, grill on direct heat for approximately 2 minutes. Add chunks of Bleu Cheese.  I highly recommend getting the Point Reyes Bleu Cheese, it is divine. Toss ingredients together.

Truffled Wild Mushrooms over Whipped White Beans
I got this recipe a few years ago from one of the flyers at Whole Foods. It is so good.  It's actually a vegan recipe for anyone interested. Clearly we are not vegan since we ate this with a big ribeye.  We have had this as a side dish a number of times but its also a great main dish with a nice salad.  It's a great substitute for a side of mashed potatoes! Last night I had cremini mushrooms on-hand so I used those rather than going to buy some wild mushrooms.  This recipe was apparently in the Vegetarian Times if you would like to see the nutritional information.

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 medium leek, white and pale green parts chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 lb. wild mushrooms, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tsp. truffle oil

Directions

1. Heat 1 tsp. oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add leek and sauté 2 minutes. Stir in beans, broth, garlic and thyme. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer bean mixture to food processor and blend until creamy and smooth. Return to skillet, cover and keep warm.
2. Heat remaining 1 tsp. oil in medium skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté 8 minutes, or until soft and brown. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley.
3. Spoon whipped bean mixture into shallow bowls. Top with equal portions of mushrooms. Drizzle each serving with 1/2 tsp. truffle oil, and serve.

I am not sure who my husband thought he was feeding when he purchased the steaks. They were delicious but boy were they insanely big. Needless to say I have leftovers.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Bars

I promised in my post from S's party, The Big One, I would get you the recipe for the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Bars.

1 c. light karo syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter (My mother-in-law uses Jif crunchy)
7 c Rice Krispies

1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Combine sugar, karo syrup & peanut butter and cook over low heat until sugar is melted.  Remove from heat and stir in 7 cups of Rice Krispies.   Pour into 9x13 pan.  In double boiler, melt chocolate and butterscotch chips.  Spread over Rice Krispies.  Let cool, cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Beef Enchiladas

I didn't have a lot of time to spare for cooking tonight so I made something that was pretty quick to prepare.

Menu
Beef Enchiladas
Avocado, Black Bean, Tomato Salad
Spanish Rice

Avocado, Black Bean, Tomato Salad
2 tomatoes, diced and seeded
1/2 cup of diced red onion
1/2 cup of black beans (I used some canned beans that were drained and rinsed)
1/2 Avocado, diced
juice of 1 lime
Salt
Mix ingredients together in a bowl

Beef Enchilada

• Brown 1 lb of Lean Grass Fed Ground Beef with 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
• Drain grease and add the meat and onion back to the pan
• Add 1 Chipotle pepper (diced) and 1/2 tablespoon of Adobo Sauce. I used San Marcos Chipotle Peppers.
• Add about 1/2 the package of enchilada sauce, I used Red Chile Enchilada Sauce by Frontera
• Turn heat to low and let simmer

Meanwhile grate your cheese, I used V & B Supremo Queso Enchilado. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  I cook the enchiladas in a 9 x 13 oven safe pan (I suggest spraying the pan or coating it with a little olive oil so the enchiladas don't stick)

When making the enchiladas, take the tortilla and add a small amount of the enchilada sauce. Spread the sauce all over the tortilla, I used El Milagro Flour Tortillas.  Add cheese and meat. Roll up the tortilla. Use a little more of the enchilada sauce as a glue to keep the tortilla closed. Add a little more sauce to the top of the enchilada and sprinkle with cheese.


Ready to go into the oven

Place in the oven on 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Top with some shredded lettuce and the Avocado, Black Bean, Tomato Salad. A little sour cream is always good too!

As far as the rice goes, I went with old reliable... Goya Spanish rice. It's delicious every time and easy to make.

This meal was rated 4 asparagus spears

Eh!!

The other night I made Mango-Cucumber Salsa and a Guava Marinated Pork Chop.  It didn't turn out quite as I had hoped, my reaction was Eh!  My husband's was the same, in fact he gave this meal my lowest score yet, 2.5 asparagus stalks.  His biggest complaint was the toughness of the meat.  We won't point out to him that he actually did the cooking as far as the pork goes (ha,ha). He also thought the flavor of the marinade was not strong enough. 

I do think there are just a few tweaks that need to be made to the dish to make it a good meal.  One thing I would do next time is let the pork marinade longer and secondly I would not cook the pork in a grill pan on the top of the stove.  My original intent was to grill the pork chops on the grill however it was pouring down rain when we were trying to cook so we had to come up with a plan B.  I think plan B should have been baking it in the oven.  The issue with the grill pan was the guava glaze started to burn and the meat got a little tough because it took so long to cook through.

Mango-Cucumber Salsa
In a bowl combine the following ingredients:
2/3 cup of diced mango
2/3 cup of diced cucmber
2/3 cup of diced red onion
1/3 cup of diced red bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup of diced green bell pepper
1 tomato diced
Chopped Cilantro
Salt

I think its a good idea to make this a little ahead of time so that it has time to incorporate some of the flavors
Guava Glazed Pork Chop
I used bonless center cut pork chops
1 cup Jumex Guava nectar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
Salt and Pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a ziplock bag and add pork chops.  Let the pork marinade for at least 3 hours.
When you are ready to cook I would say the preferred method would be to grill the pork until done.
If you want to brush the pork with a little of the marinade while it is grilling be sure to reserve a bit before you add the meat to the ziplock bag.

I will have to try this one again to redeem myself. :)