Saturday, May 31, 2014

Local Scenery

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A few Saturdays ago, my husband I went on a kind of "date", just driving around taking cool pics.  It was a foggy day so we got some good ones.  The pic of the poppies on the bottom, though, was taken on another, sunny day, but I just loved it, so wanted to throw it in here.  PS: I was in a hurry to post this, and just realized I didn't put my watermark on these pics; but I did take these!  :)
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My sunny-day poppy pic; love them.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Friday, May 30, 2014

Avocado-Feta Toast with Za'atar

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This was a DELICIOUS lunch.  Just SO good.  The website I got this from, Aggieskitchen.com, doesn't seem to be currently working, so I can't link it, but I hope the website comes back; I've gotten a lot of good recipes from there.  You just mash a half of an avocado with a bit of crumbled feta, spread it on a hot piece of hot toast, and top with Middle-Easter Za'atar seasoning.  I ate this with Kalamata olives and fresh strawberries; I just enjoyed this so much.

(The movers packed most of our stuff today and yesterday, but I still have some recipes saved up to post here.  I won't really be "cooking" for a while now.)
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Avocado-Feta Toast with Za'atar
from Aggieskitchen.com
makes 1 serving

1 slice favorite bread, toasted
1/2 avocado, diced
1 oz feta, crumbled (or to taste- I used about 1 TBS.)
a big pinch of za'atar
sliced tomato, optional (I didn't have, but would be so good)
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper

1.  In a small bowl, gently smash your avocado with a fork. Add in your crumbled feta and gently combine. Spread your avocado and feta mixture evenly onto toast. Sprinkle with za'atar. Top with tomato slices and season with salt and pepper as desired.
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*This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Indian Butter Chicken- Murgh Makhani

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This was a delicious, flavorful Indian dish.  I love getting the chance to use all of my nice Penzey's spices.  (Although I get my Garam Masala from Vitacost currently and love that version.)  We were having company when I made this, so I doubled the sauce part so that there'd by enough to go around, but I didn't double the butter.  There is a TON of butter in this recipe!  I actually decreased it a bit.  We had this with white rice, roasted cauliflower, and grilled naan bread, of course.  
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Indian Butter Chicken- Murgh Makhani
adapted from Food
(can double sauce if needed)

800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3-4cm pieces (about 1.5 lbs)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
2 cm ginger, peeled and finely grated
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder (can use mild)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
75 ml natural yoghurt (I used about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 -2 tablespoon oil, for brushing

SAUCE
1 1/2 tablespoons ghee or 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 cardamom pod, seeds lightly crushed
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon hot chili powder, to taste (can use mild)
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
275 ml tomato puree (about an 8 oz can)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
40 g unsalted butter (can cut in half)
100 ml double cream
1 tablespoon chopped coriander (cilantro), to garnish

1.  Place the chicken in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix, cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Mix together the yoghurt, garam masala, turmeric and cumin and add to the chicken, making sure that each piece is well coated with the mixture. Cover again and chill for 3-4 hours.

2.  Preheat the oven to 180°C/350 F.  Put the marinated chicken pieces on a grill rack set on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Brush the chicken pieces with a little oil and turn them over. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until just cooked through.  (Or- cook the chicken in a skillet and then remove pieces and make sauce in the same skillet.)

3.  For the sauce, heat the ghee or butter in a skillet and add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute or so then add the cardamom, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, fenugreek and chilli powder. Stir well and fry for 1-2 minutes until they give off a lovely aroma.

4.  Stir in the tomato puree and lemon juice and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir well to coat. Finally, add the butter and cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth.

5.  Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a warm bowl and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander (cilantro).
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Monday, May 26, 2014

Fresh Strawberry Pie with Coconut Oil Crust

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First of all, I hope everyone has had a peaceful and meaningful Memorial Day today.  I grew up on military bases, and am still around them and their families on an almost daily basis.  I'm honored to know so many great military members.  

It seems like Memorial Day means it is finally summertime, so I wanted to share this strawberry pie with you. These delicious strawberries were not local, but imported from Spain.  (So, as "close" as we can get to local....lol!  Just a few hundred miles away by plane....)  Anyway, they were delicious, and strawberries have been scarce here this year, so I'm just happy to see them from anywhere at this point.  Can't wait for the local ones though; they are so good!!  I hope I don't miss the small window for them.
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Since we're moving, I didn't replace my usual organic shortening when I ran out, so I couldn't make my usual pie crust; my mom's recipe that is my go-to.  I made the same filling recipe as in that post; just a different crust; I used coconut oil instead of shortening! And we all loved it.  My boys aren't crazy about coconut in things, but they had no idea there was coconut oil in here, and I used virgin oil (has a stronger coconut flavor).  You can see my pie crust shrank some while blind-baking it, but I nobody really cares about that; this is delicious.  (I'm a rebel and never use pie weights- oh my!)
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Fresh Strawberry Pie with Coconut Oil Pie Crust
adapted from here and Baking Bites

1 baked coconut oil pie crust (single), recipe follows
1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened (I just used 1/2 block- 4 oz.)

1. In small bowl, mash enough strawberries to measure 1 cup. In 2-quart saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup water and mashed strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute; cool.

2. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Spread evenly in cooled pie crust. Top with remaining strawberries. Pour cooked strawberry mixture over top. Refrigerate until set, about 3 hours. Store in refrigerator.

Coconut Oil Pie Crust
One 9-inch single crust
from Baking Bites

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, room temperature
4-7 tbsp water, cold

1.  Whisk together flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl.  Rub in coconut oil with your fingertips or a pastry blender, pressing it into the flour mixture and breaking it up, until mixture resemble very coarse sand and no pieces larger than a pea remain.

2.  Using a fork, stir in cold water until dough almost comes together into a ball. Add water gradually, a tablespoon or two at a time. Press dough into a ball with your hands and wrap in plastic.  Chill for at least 60 minutes before using.

(To bake crust for Strawberry Pie, roll out on a floured surface to fit a 9-inch pie pan.  Bake at 425 F for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool before proceeding with recipe.)
*Makes crust for one 9-inch pie.  Recipe can be doubled for a double crust.
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Spotlight: Portuguese Olive Oil

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Before living here in the Azores, I'd never really thought of Portuguese olive oil much.  I spent many of my growing-up years in Andalucia, Spain, where, if we were taking a trip to or past Sevilla, you could smell the intense fruitness of the olive oil factories from miles away, and I loved it.  Olive oil was everywhere, and it was part of the way of life.  So of course, we always used prized Spanish olive oil there.  
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Upon moving here, I was delighted to see the expansive aisle of olive oil in the grocery store here.  For such a small place, there is a great selection of olive oil.  I don't have a pic of the olive oil aisle, because I've heard that stores get mad if you take pics here.  I only have pics of two of the many, many, many bottles of Portuguese olive oil I've gone through in my 6 years of living here.  I'd always try to get a different kind of olive oil each time I bought it; within brands, there are tons of different kinds, even, and it was fun trying so many.  (I wish I had pics of more of the bottles; some are so pretty!  If, going through all my old pics, I find more photos of olive oil bottles, I will add them here.)
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I know the Italian olive oil is something to look forward to, and I am, but I've really enjoyed getting acquainted with your olive oils, Portugal.  :)  Gallo's Website (One of the biggest Portuguese brands.)  This olive oil all comes from mainland Portugal, as far as I know; not sure if any of the Azores islands produce their own olive oil.  PS:  If you're looking for ways to use olive oil, just search "olive oil" in my search bar up there on the left.
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Friday, May 23, 2014

Flourless (Gluten-Free) Peanut Butter Cookies

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These were SO good, quick and easy!!  A cooking friend of mine made them kind of recently, so I bookmarked the recipe.  Since we're moving, I'm on a never-ending quest to try to use up all the food I can before we leave, lol, and these used up a cup of peanut butter, yay!  I also brought them to the street bullfight; two birds with one stone!  They had a great taste and texture; the original recipe says not to use natural peanut butter, but I did half and half with natural and Jif, and they were great.
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Flourless (Gluten-Free) Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips or mini chips

1.  Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Beat the peanut butter, sugar, baking soda, and salt at medium speed of your mixer, until well-blended.  Add the egg and vanilla, and blend on low-medium speed until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.

2.  Scoop the dough by the tablespoonful (or make mini cookies with a teaspoon- I did this) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (a cookie scoop is best for this job) and push the top of the dough to flatten just slightly.

3.  Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes (a bit shorter for minis). Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan. The tops should be slightly crinkled and you will want to pull them BEFORE they begin to brown on the edges.

Yield: 18 cookies (or more if you make them smaller.)
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Homemade Tartar Sauce (+ Salmon Sliders)

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A few weeks after trying these Easy Salmon Patties for the first time, I made them again; this time, with homemade tartar sauce, and served inside a buttered & toasted Hawaiian roll, as a slider.  They were so good!!  I put my husband in charge of buttering & toasting the buns (as I was cooking the patties) and he used quite a bit of butter- lol- these were so good though!!  I really enjoyed the tartar sauce, too; I haven't made homemade tartar sauce in years, or maybe ever, but I'm going to change that.  
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Homemade Tartar Sauce
adapted from Simple Recipes
Recipe easily cut in half

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
1 teaspoon capers, chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons chopped shallots or mild onion
2 Tbsp chopped scallions
2 teaspoons lemon juice
6 drops Tabasco sauce or more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or seal-able container; cover and chill until using.
(To make salmon sliders, prepare Easy Salmon Patties.  Take a 12-pack of Hawaiian rolls, cut in half, and spread with a bit of softened butter.  Grill the cut, buttered sides for a few minutes on a hot griddle; set on a plate.  At the table, top rolls with salmon patties and tartar sauce and enjoy.)
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Monday, May 19, 2014

Spaghettieis- German "Spaghetti Ice Cream"

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In Germany, there is an ice-cream delicacy called Spaghettieis- there are ice cream parlors in towns that serve this, and other delicious ice cream treats.  It's just vanilla ice cream pressed through a machine, to resemble spaghetti noodles, and topped with red berry sauce (for the spaghetti sauce), and "shaved" white chocolate for Parmesan cheese.  I've never actually had real Spaghettieis, but have seen it in Germany a few times, and wanted to make it at home.  To make it at home, we pushed softened vanilla ice cream through our spaetzle press, pictured somewhere in that post.  
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We actually made this on a day that our freezer got left open all night on accident.  We had softened ice cream on hand, a 1 and a half bags of frozen raspberries, totally thawed out.  It was perfect- we squeezed the ice cream out, topped it with the delicious raspberries and their juice, and grated a white chocolate bar on top using my microplane.  
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Spaghettieis- German "Spaghetti Ice Cream"
by What A Dish!

vanilla ice cream, softened
frozen raspberries, thawed- juice and all
white chocolate bar
Equipment needed: Spaetzle press

1.  Press the ice cream through the Spaetzle press, into a bowl.  Top with totally thawed raspberries and their juice; top with grated white chocolate bar and serve immediately.  
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Spotlight: Bolo Levedos

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I wanted to talk about a few more local food items before we moved.  My family LOVES these bolo levedos; we call them Portuguese English Muffins, lol.  They are so good- like American English muffins but better- better flavor, and larger.  Usually we just split them, toast them and eat them with butter, but after Easter, we made delicious egg-ham-cheese breakfast sandwiches with them, pictured above.  (Split, toast, butter, optional, add fried egg, cheddar cheese, and ham warmed up on the a pan or griddle.)  This is one of my kids' favorite foods here.  I will really, really miss these.  Although, there are recipes online for these, and I just bought this cookbook, and it contains the recipe for these.  
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Friday, May 16, 2014

Salmon Rolls (Like Lobster Rolls, but with Salmon.....)

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Ever since getting that delicious Lobster Roll in Maine in 2012, I've been wanting to re-create it.  Well, even though I live on an island, this isn't the best place to get fresh lobster.  So, I went the easier route by just using salmon and making a Salmon Roll.  I roasted some wild salmon for this and we really, really enjoyed these.  Well, not all of my kids tried one, but whatever.  I found a great recipe for these from Food & Wine. (Some of us enjoyed adding potato chips to our sandwiches- very tasty!)  PS:  If you don't know what a Lobster Roll is... here is a Wiki article on it.  
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Salmon Rolls
adapted from Food & Wine

1/2 cup plain, low-fat Greek yogurt (I used full-fat, personally)
2 inner celery ribs with leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds roast salmon, flaked (4 loose cups)
8 hot dog buns or steak rolls
Melted butter, for brushing
Potato chips, for serving

1.  In a large bowl, combine the yogurt with the celery, chives, parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the cooked salmon.

2.  Heat a griddle. Brush the cut sides of the buns with butter and griddle until toasted. Fill the buns with the salmon salad, top with potato chips (or serve on the side) and serve.
*MAKE AHEAD The salmon salad can be refrigerated overnight.
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Chocolate Macarons with Strawberry Cream Filling

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I made these Macarons a while ago and was so happy they actually turned out this time!!  I went with a chocolate shell, and a cream cheese filling, flavored with homemade strawberry freezer jam.  Loved these so much!  They were fun to make and when something like this turns out right, it is very rewarding.  (The pics are big; but for some reason they are either huge or tiny, and I'm going with huge today....)
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Chocolate Macarons with Strawberry Cream Filling
Shells from here

Macaron Shells:
110 grams blanched almonds, ground (OR use 110 grams almond flour/meal)
200 grams less 2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
100 grams egg whites, aged at room temperature for 12-24 hours
50 grams granulated sugar

1. Using a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are finely ground. Alternatively, you can use ground almonds. Add in the confectioners sugar and cocoa powder and process until fully blended. Set aside.

2. Using a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually add in the granulated sugar, and continue beating until the meringue is stiff, shiny, and stiff peaks form. Add the almond mixture to the meringue mixture, and using a rubber/silicone spatula, mix swiftly but gently until no streaks remain. The whole process should take no more than 50 strokes.

3. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (I used Wilton #12) with the batter. Pipe small rounds (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) onto the baking sheets. Once you have piped out all of the batter, tap the cookie sheet on the counter to release any air bubbles. Let the maracons rest at room temperature for about an hour to allow them to harden their shells.

4. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes depending on size. Let the cookies cool completely before removing cookies from the cookie sheet.

Strawberry Cream Filling
adapted from here

4 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (can use reduced-fat)
2-4 Tbsp strawberry freezer jam, to taste
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar, or more to taste

1.  For the cream cheese frosting, beat butter and cream cheese a large mixer bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add jam.  Reduce speed to low; gradually add powdered sugar 1/3 cup at a time and beat just until smooth.  If desired, add more jam or sugar at this point to get to the desired consistency and taste you want.

2.  When ready to assemble macarons, fit a large disposable pastry bag with a round tip and fill with frosting. Pipe about a tablespoon of frosting onto the bottom of half the shells, then sandwich with remaining shells. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to three days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Monday, May 12, 2014

My 1,000th Post- Farewell to the Azores


More seaside cliffs- I can't get enough of them.
We have a little over a month left here, and I do plan to post more about the Azores in that time, but for my 1000th post, I thought I'd do a little tribute to the island we've lived on for the past 6 years and what we love about it.  I already get homesick thinking about flying away from here for the last time, and maybe never coming back.  I'll miss so many things, and here are some of them, in pictures. (I'm posting a LOT of pictures!  Some of them have made it on the blog before, but not most of them.)
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**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **