Salad fixin’s

Who doesn’t love a great big salad with lots of Fixin’s. What are your go to salad items?  For me it is tomatoes, spring mix lettuce, cucumbers, onions, basil, oregano, Kalamata olives, feta cheese, stop light-colored peppers, and a honey crisp apples.  I do love anchovies on a salad as well. But not every time. As far as dressings are concerned, I love balsamic vinegairette  a full range of Greek salad dressings made with Greek yogurt or olive oil, and homemade Caesar salad dressing.

What are your favorite go to Fixin’s?   How about salad dressings?

Crustless Quiche to Breakfast Pizza

Depending on how much Bisquick you add, you can build a great crustless quiche or, if you add more bisquick it can function like a breakfast pizza.  Be sure to use fresh ingredients.  Today I have Cabot Sharps (2x), Natrel Lactose Free Whole, garlic, olive oil, mushrooms, onions, green and red peppers. I use 10 eggs, two lbs of cheese, 1/2 cup of milk and 3/4 cup of bisquick.  Spray Pam Olive oil into a 9 x 12 glassware pan.  Add egg/bisquick, milk mix first.  Then mix cheeses, veggies, cheeses, veggies and cook about 50 minutes at 350.  Garlic and Montreal steak seasoning to taste.

Mmmm.

What Are Your GO TO FILLINGS

When it comes to scrambled eggs or omelettes, what are your GO TO FILLING ingredients.  For me it is the following list:

1. Thick cut applewood smoked bacon.
2. Onions.
3. Red and green peppers.
4. Mushrooms.
5. Cabot sharp/extra sharp cheese (variety changes).

How about you?

COVID - 19

It is not often that we run across an illness that captures the whole of the planet with its embrace.  Not only it’s potential reach to all our shores and bodies, but it’s subtle hold on our hearts and minds.

Now is the time to start asking yourself the social questions of import.  How many hands have touched my food?  How do I ensure that my food is not a carrier agent?  When do I limit my eating in restaurants or while out of control of the chain of custody of the foods you consume?

Already we see the reaction to the virus in large gatherings being analyzed for safety.  The Geneva Motor Show has been cancelled - altering the lives of its 600,000 participants for safety sake.

How and when will you question the safety of the varied “tables” in your life?

Combination is KING

There are a lot of very simple ingredients all around us. The key is to try and combine simple ingredients to create marvelous layers and dimensions on the palate and in the soul.

One of the simple combinations that we have been experimenting with lately, has been the exquisite jams of Stonewall Kitchen.  Combining their fresh fruit jams and or their hot pepper jams with either cream cheese or a splendid sharp cheddar or asiago is simply astounding. Play with the variety of crackers you use and you can take this handful of ingredients and create masterpieces of delight.

Throw on a fresh blueberry, or small piece of apple or pear and KABOOM.  Look up Stonewall Kitchen today.  We love the local Amish Country Store variety of local aged (2 years) cheddar or Asiago.  We also LAUD Cabot sharps and their reserve sharps.

“Give me chicken salad or give me death.”

While this oft’ quoted line is erroneously attributed to Patrick Henry, it is not.  It is just from me.  And, loving chicken salad as much as I do, it is clear that I also love to switch it up a bit for taking this comfort food into new alleys of my gastronomic journey.

There are key essentials for me that don’t come and go.  Only breast meat.  Always garlic.  Always sea salt or kosher salt.  Always fresh ground pepper.  From there, all is negotiable.

Tonight there will be celery, onions, cucumbers and avocado oil mayonnaise.  But it’s as possible to have been apples, celery, and raisins.  Or, pears and craisins.  Some days fresh cilantro and others fresh basil.  Curry powder.  Then, cayenne.

All in all - while I love the steady - I say, innovate now and again.  Take your palate out for a rendezvous with adventure.  Take your comfort for an amble in the fields of change.  Not too much, just a bit.  A handful of ingredients.  That’s all.  And, viola!  Something new.

PS, I just love eating it without bread or a roll and with a favorite pile of chips.  It all blends so well in the chewing.  Mmmm.

Gigantes Plaki

GIGANTES PLAKI - giant Lima Bean’s slow cooked all day.  Add three cups of diced or chopped tomatoes, sea salt and black pepper to taste and 1/4 cup home made pesto (extra virgin olive oil, garlic and fresh basil).

One of my favorite Greek dishes.  Fresh basil, oil, garlic, and tomatoes push this over the top.