Grilled Rosemary Balsamic Veggie Skewers

Tags

Gluten Free, Party Food, recipe, Side dishes, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

The longer days and warmer temps can only mean one thing: grilling season is here!  Cooking outside is such a nice break from being in the kitchen, and we do not reserve our grill for weekends or special occasions, in fact it is the cooking method of choice for a quick weeknight meal.

This huge wild flowering rosemary bush was just begging to become part of our dinner last night.

I got four woody stems about one foot in length to use as skewers for some veggies that I had on hand.

I used:

• 1 zucchini
• baby portabellas
• grape heirloom tomatoes
• 1 eggplant

These are just suggestions.  You could also add in some onions or bell pepper.

To prepare the skewers, remove the leaves from the stems, leaving about one inch at the top.  Set aside a couple of tablespoons for tossing with your veggies, and save the rest for another use, like this rosemary foccacia or savory pear tart.

To prepare the veggies, I whisked together a marinade of:

• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp finely minced rosemary
• 2 cloves minced garlic

I chopped the vegetables into bite size piece, and tossed with the marinade, then carefully threaded them onto the rosemary skewers.

Matt threw the skewers on the top grate off of direct heat for about 15 minutes or so.

Until the tomatoes were starting to shrivel up.

We served them up with some grilled salmon that was marinated for half and hour in the same rosemary balsamic marinade and grilled.

Happy Grilling Season!

XO-Jenny

Need more grilling inspiration?  Check out my grilled summer squash fajitas!

 

 

 

 

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Ruby Red Grapefruit and Avocado Spring Salad

Tags

Gluten Free, picnic food, salad, Spring, Vegan, Vegetarian

Spring is here! Spring is here!  Can I get a hallelujah?!  This has been the longest and coldest Texas winter in my memory, and I am so ready to bid it adios.  I am excited for the longer warm days so we can really get outside and soak up the sun.  After a long morning of playing outside, nothing is more refreshing to me than a big cold salad.

This one really just sprung from whatever I had in the fridge.  Grapefruits don’t typically make their way into our house.  When I caught them on special at Sprouts this week for 5 for $1, I decided I had to give them a fair chance to become something more than the sour and mediocre fruit I take them for.  I tossed one up in a garlic lime vinaigrette and some avocados and toasted sunflower seeds.  By far the tastiest way I have prepared it so far.

My kids were really excited too when I announced that we were having grapefruit salad for lunch, but then were a little confused as to why when they were served the salad it was not loaded with grapes and fruit.  They dug right in anyway, always living on the adventurous side of life!

• juice of 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cups baby spring mix
• 1 pink grapefruit, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 avocado, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup dry roasted sunflower seed (or freshly toasted raw)

In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, garlic, and olive oil.  Add in the lettuce and toss.  Top with the remaining ingredients.

Wow, that was easy.  It is definitely in the running for shortest recipe directions ever.  So refreshing and pretty too!  If you are not a huge fan of grapefruit, you could use blood oranges or any other citrus fruit you like.

Have a lovely first day of Spring (or fall if you are on the other side of the equator)!

XO-Jenny

Roasted Radish Pizza with Radish Greens Pesto

Tags

Gardening, Pizza, Spring

When I started my garden 6 weeks ago I had very little experience.  I was not a huge fan of radishes, but I read that radishes are fast an easy to grow, so I included them in my gardening plan for a boost of confidence.  Fast forward to today, and I have more radishes than I know what to do with.  I  tried the obvious, using them raw in salads, but it was rather uninspiring.  I then tried roasting a bunch tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper, and this really brought out their lovely earthy flavor.  I have also discovered that the greens mixed with almonds and garlic make a really good pesto. Lately, I found my favorite way to use the radishes is spreading the radish greens pesto over some whole grain pizza dough and topping it with some mozzarella and roasted slices of radish.  Now if you think you are not a radish fan like I did, try this recipe, and I am almost positive you will be converted.  If you already love radishes and have an over-abundance, this recipe is a great way to mix it up a bit.

I wrote the recipe in three parts, so that it would not seem too overwhelming (it really is not), and I suggest making the dough first, and then while it is rising, roast the radishes and prepare the pesto.

Roasted Radish Pizza with Radish Greens Pesto

Whole Grain Pizza Dough (see recipe below)

½ cup Radish Greens Pesto (see recipe below)

1 cup freshly grated part-skim mozzarella

2 bunches of radishes, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Sea Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon cornmeal for dusting the pan

Preheat Oven to 375° F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Toss the radishes with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn the oven up to 500°. Lightly dust a large baking sheet or pizza pan with cornmeal.  Roll out the pizza dough onto the pan with a rolling pin.  Spread the pesto over the dough.  Top with the mozzarella.  Spread the radishes evenly over the pizza in a single layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Spelt Pizza Dough

2 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast

1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

1 cup hot water

2 ½ cups whole spelt, plus extra if needed and for dusting

1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for greasing the bowl

½ teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment, combine the yeast, molasses, and hot water.  Stir for a couple of seconds to combine and let sit until frothy (about 5 minutes).  Add the olive oil, flour, and salt.  Turn the mixer on to speed 2 and let mix for 2 minutes.  The dough should come together and clean the sides of the bowl, but if it is too wet at this time, slowly add flour until this happens.  Let the mixer knead the dough on speed 2 for 3 more minutes.  Alternatively, if you do not have a stand mixer, follow the instructions above stirring until the dough begins to come together, and then hand knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 7 minutes.  Lightly grease the bowl and a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to cover the bowl.  Return the dough to the bowl and cover with the plastic wrap.  Leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

Radish Greens Pesto

2 packed cups radish leaves (just the top, stems removed)

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon

¼ cup whole raw almonds

2 tablespoons finely grated grana padano

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Scones

Tags

Bird Watching, Scones, Spring, Tea

The spring is bringing us many dreary days lately.  Days when the sun fails to make an appearance, and I am left with little to do besides hang out in my kitchen, baking and observing the magpies out the window.  Magpies are said to be very intelligent birds because they are capable of self-recognition in a mirror, but just by watching their normal behavior, I would have never guessed.  A couple of months ago, I noticed a couple of magpies collecting sticks and flying over to the big Blue Spruce tree in our yard, love birds!  Minda and I found the prospect of having a nest of baby birds in our backyard very exciting.

Since the building of the nest, I have seen the same couple of birds constantly hanging around, looking over their nest.  A couple of days ago I was in the kitchen and I heard squawking out my window, LOTS of loud squawking.  When I looked out the window there were ten magpies in the branches of the tree where the nest is.  I could not figure out what in the world could possibly be happening, but within a few seconds it was apparent.  A large crow flew out of the tree, he must have been stealing the eggs!  I felt sadness for the magpies.  I feel a connection with them, almost like they are my pets.  More than anything though, I was in awe of the way a whole flock of magpies came to defend the nest.  The intelligence of the magpie was then apparent to me.  They do not usually hang out in flocks, sticking only to their mates, but in the face of adversity, the whole magpie community pulled together.  It is very much like our own human behavior.

Our family spends most of our time like the magpies, with just our family unit.  Matt and myself, hanging around our nest and defending our brood.  The family time we have though is much more limited than the magpies.  With work and other responsibilities, we have only the weekends to really come together and reconnect.  I love to start the weekends off by baking a special breakfast for our family.  One of our favorites is these cinnamon scones.  If a buttermilk biscuit and a cinnamon roll were to have a love child, it would be this scone. They are especially delicious with a hot cup of chai tea.

Trying the raw flour is an optional step

Cinnamon Scones

Makes 8 scones

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup muscavado or other unprocessed sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting

1 tablespoon cinnamon, plus ¼ teaspoon for dusting

4 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup buttermilk, plus 1 tablespoon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ¼ cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with two knives. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon.

In a small measuring cup whisk together the 1 cup of buttermilk and vanilla extract and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk or flour as necessary). Do not over mix the dough.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and remaining tablespoon buttermilk and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about ¾ an inch thick. Cut the circle in half, cut each half into 4 triangles. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg mixture (there will be some leftover), and sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 14 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve fresh out of the oven (this is the best), or transfer to a cooling rack.