Sweet Olive Oil Crackers

Last week we were at a party to celebrate a friend who was retiring from her job.  It’s a big deal.  She’s not even 50 yet and she is able to retire!!  She wants to travel with her husband and so all of us surprised her with a party to celebrate and tried to disguise our envy.  :) 

The food was delicious.  There was a gorgeous cheese tray that the retiree herself put together  (she sure has a talent for putting together an eye-catching assortment of cheeses) and tucked in a basket with some other crackers were these unique crackers that were like nothing I had ever tasted before.  They were crunchy and sweet with a hint of anise which tastes like black licorice.  The new retiree said they were purchased at The Fresh Market.

So of course  they were first thing I looked for when I was shopping there this week.  I believe they are called Tortas but of course they were sold out on the day I was there. 

So, I dug around online and uncovered this same recipe several times on several different websites.  The ingredient list looked like all of the same flavors that I remember so decided to go ahead and I prepared a batch of them today.  The recipe I followed came from the blog Taste of Beirut where there is an excellent blog post and description with photos of how they were made. 

Here is the recipe.

Sweet Olive Oil Tortas

5 ounces of extra virgin olive oil 
peel of half a lemon or orange  (I used the peels from both.)
1 tablespoon of anise seeds (or ground anise) (I used seeds.)
3.5 ounces of white wine (or fresh orange juice)  (I used the juice of 1 fresh orange and 1 fresh lemon.)
2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of ammonia powder (I didn’t have any of this but will shop for it for the future.  It helps to make the crackers more crunchy.)
3 tablespoons of sugar plus more for sprinkling on the crackers
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon plus more for adding to the sugar sprinkled on the crackers
1/4 cups of sesame seeds, toasted till golden  ( I toasted them in a dry saute pan on top of the stove.  Toast them till they are a light golden brown but be careful not to burn them.)

Directions:

Peel the lemon (yellow part if possible only) to get a long strip. Place the lemon peel and the olive oil in a small skillet and heat the oil until the peel starts to brown. Remove the peel, add the anise seeds and cool the oil.
Sift the flour, baking powder and ammonia powder in a mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon  and sugar and mix in.
Add to the flour mixture the olive oil, anise seeds, wine or juice.  Mix to combine well. You should obtain a moist and firm dough.
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a bowl or plastic wrap. If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one day.
Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat. Place 1/2 cup of sugar (with a pinch of cinnamon if you like) in a small bowl. Place the sesame seeds in another small bowl.
Form small  walnut- sized balls of the same size if possible from the dough and line them up and cover them with a piece of plastic wrap. Take one ball at a time and press on it with your fingertips on the parchment-lined cookie sheet till it gets as thin as possible,  ideally 1/2 mm or 1/16 of an inch.
Sprinkle the crackers with a bit of sugar and sesame seeds.
Bake in a preheated 325F  oven for about 15 minutes or until browned around the edges and dry.

These are a delicious and unique cookie/cracker that we enjoyed with a glass of wine and an assortment of cheeses.  But I also think these would be very nice to enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee.  They are a bit labor intensive but so worth it!

Low Carbing It

Today’s lunch.  Bacon, pepperjack cheese and tomatoes wrapped up in Romaine lettuce leaves. 

I slipped.  For the past 6 weeks I have been humming along on a new diet.  I have been experimenting with a low carb diet and doing pretty well with it.  I loved how NOT hungry I was all the time.  I loved how nothing I was now eating did not give me indigestion anymore, and of course I loved how much looser and more comfortable my clothes were becoming.  But yesterday I slipped.  I indulged in a lot of the foods I have been avoiding over the last few weeks.  And it taught me a lesson.  I don’t feel good when I eat all of those foods!  My Mexican dinner last night of chips and salsa, a mini Margarita, an enchilada, and a chalupa with re-fried beans and a big chocolate brownie for dessert taunted me last night while I was trying to sleep.   It wasn’t pretty!

This is the Food Pyramid that makes the most sense to me.

Now I don’t expect to go hardcore low carb the rest of my life and never eat another piece of fruit or bread.   And while I don’t expect to go “Paleo” and eat like our caveman ancestors ate, a lot of that diet makes sense.  Man has been on the earth for thousands if not millions of years and wheat and agriculture has only been in existence in recent history.   And look at all the health problems we have today. 

One of the hard things about it for me is that  I LIKE  to BAKE bread and make desserts for my family and friends.  I like to experiment and try new foods and will continue to do so.  But, I also expect to experiment a bit more with foods with less sugar and less wheat.  I’ve done a lot of reading lately and I don’t like the idea that a lot of our food today has been genetically modified.  The wheat in our breads and flours today is not the same wheat our grandmothers and grandfathers ate.  So I have been trying out some alternative flours like almond flour.  A lot of what I have been eating could be considered gluten free.  I know it seems like gluten free is all the rage right now but seriously, why are so many more people feeling better these days when they avoid wheat?  I think it has something to do with how the food industry has tampered with the genetics of the wheat we now eat in the name of higher production and yields.

I usually don’t use my blog as a platform to spout off about politics or controversial issues.  I just wanted share that I have been changing some of the things I have been eating and I feel better.  I was also hoping to hear your thoughts on eating less wheat and wondering if any of you out there have had success with eating a low carb diet?

(Also, I have just created a page above on my menu bar called Low Carb Ideas.  It will be a work in progress and I will be adding any tips and tricks I have learned along the way!)

200th Pride and Prejudice Anniversary by Jane Austen

Did you know that it is the 200th Anniversary of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice?  It is very close to the top of my list of favorite books. 

It’s a story that never seems to loose it’s appeal.   At least not for me.  And I am a big fan of every movie or mini series that takes it’s turn telling the story of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.  I love the manners and etiquette of the day.  The clothing and their way with words.  No one ever says anything in the direct and to the point way people seem to talk today.    My favorite version is the BBC series from 1995.  Jenifer Ehle and Colin Firth made the perfect Lizzie and Darcy for me.

     

“It is universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

     

“Oh Mr. Bennet!  Have you no compassion for my nerves?”

    

The Bennet Family.  Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Lydia, Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, and Kitty.

     

Mr. Collins and his patroness The Lady Catherine de Bourgh, mistress of Rosings, and his wife, the former Charlotte Lucas. 

    

The silly youngest sister Lydia with her handsome (and loathsome) Mr. Wickham.

“Ah, Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman.”

         

And in the end, Jane marries Mr. Bingley for “she could not be so beautiful for nothing”.  And Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy much to Lady Catherine’s dismay and becomes mistress of Pemberly.

Mr. Darcy emerges from the lake.

And in case you missed it, here is the iconic moment that women the world over witnessed and it forever seared the image of Colin Firth as the only possible Mr. Darcy.  At least in my lifetime!

And before I go, Did you know that you can download Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for FREE from Amazon to your Kindle? 

How about you?  Are you a Jane Austen fan?  And if so, which is your favorite book?

Happy Anniversary Jane!!

Orzo with Lemon, Basil, and Parmesan

I was getting so tired of making potatoes as a side dish for dinner that I thought I would try something new. I gave this recipe a try for the first time and it won’t be the last. We are having an unusually mild and Spring like day on this end of January day and so I thought this would be a nice change of pace and taste a bit more like spring with the freshness of the lemon zest called for in the recipe. I used dried basil but believe me when I say I’ll be making it again with fresh basil from the garden or Farmer’s market later this summer! Use freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano if you have it. And if not, the stuff in the tall green can works just fine! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked orzo ( 8oz. or half of a package)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. butter

1-2 teaspoons lemon zest (I used a Microplane Grater and used the zest of 1 whole lemon.)

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used about 1 tsp. dried basil.)

2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Basil sprigs (optional)

Directions:

Cook the orzo according to package directions.  Drain and leave in the colander.  In the same pot that you boiled the orzo in, sauté  over medium heat, the garlic, lemon zest, and basil in the olive oil and butter.  Sauté just enough to take the “rawness” out of the garlic and the flavors have a chance to mingle.   Remove from heat.   Add the  orzo and mix well.  Add the Parmesan and stir together.  Add more to taste.     Taste and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Garnish with fresh basil leaves and thin slices of lemon if you like. 

My Cookbook Shelf in the Laundry Room

Today is a re-visit to my laundry room.  It was completed a few years ago but it continues to be one of my most popular posts.  Since then my cookbook collection has grown, I have a new and improved camera, and it continues to be one of my most favorite rooms in the house.  I know!  The laundry room .  Really! 

The main reason I like this room so much is my cookbook shelf.  When my husband and I updated the laundry room, we knew that the laminate builder grade cabinets would be expensive to replace.  So, we decided to dress them up a bit and we were delighted with the result and it cost very little money.  We invested less than $10.00 in a small miter box that came with it’s own saw and we cut narrow pieces of stock wood molding from Lowes’s, painted them white,  and framed out each of the cabinet door by gluing the molding to the laminate doors with Liquid Nails.  We replaced the door knobs too.

My favorite part of this project was creating the cookbook shelves.  We took the center set of cabinet doors off and sawed off the vertical piece of wood in the center of the cabinet space that the doors rested on.  We filled in the holes where the hinges used to be with putty and quickly hand sanded them along with the spots where we removed the center bar and touched them up with white paint. 

Then we once again used the miter box and cut out a frame for the shelf area with a wide decorative molding that we painted black and attached the pieces with Liquid Nails.  (Get the one that dries clear in case any oozes out the sides and you miss it cleaning it off.)

This is not a new project but it is one that is one of my favorites because it was quick, easy, and very inexpensive to do.  I actually was inspired when I first started blogging by an amazing post I saw by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality.  She wrote a wonderful post on how she updated her laundry room and I was so inspired I contacted her to see if she could give me the name of the color of paint that she used.  She was so nice about it and told me it was called “Grasscloth”  by Behr from Home Depot. 

I think the Before and After shots say it all.  The laundry room used to be the “catch all” room with soccer, lacrosse, and tennis schedules taped haphazardly to the fronts of the cabinets.  It was a depressing place to be and I usually kept the door closed.  Now, that door is wide open and I LOVE going in there.  Laundry is unavoidable, why not have a beautiful space to do it in?

And as for my cookbook shelf.  I couldn’t be happier.  I keep all my favorites in it.   How about you?  Any cookbook collectors out there?

Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps

I found something new to put into the dinner rotation.  It’s a recipe for Korean Beef and it’s delicious.  My husband and son ate it with jasmine rice and I had mine on lettuce leaves to save a few carbs and calories and it’s a keeper! 

I found this awesome recipe on the blog Lizzy Writes.   It is also pinned about a million times on Pinterest so that should tell you something.  :)

Korean Beef

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced (I used 1 tsp. of dry, powdered ginger.)

1/2 - 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers

salt and pepper

1 bunch green onions, diced

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown hamburger with garlic in the sesame oil. Drain off the fat and add brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper and red peppers. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Serve over steamed rice or in lettuce leaves.  Top with green onions.

 

It looks like this is going to be a recipe month on my blog.  With all of the crafting and the hectic-ness (new word) of the holidays, I ‘m a wee bit burned out!  I am also  starting to think about starting a new rag quilt.  Picking out the fabric is the majority of the fun and if this rain ever ends, I hope to hit a couple of fabric stores over the next few days.  I hope you all have a good week and if you have some extra ground beef that you don’t know what to do with….give this Korean Beef a whirl.  It’s soooo good!

Pasta with Sausage

I am a huge fan of the Barefoot Contessa Cookbooks by Ina Garten and I have slowly been dipping into the recipes of her new book called Foolproof.  Her recipes almost never disappoint me and this one was very good.  I  modified it a bit for my family from the recipe she called Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage on page 152 of her book.  (I once heard that Orecchiette means “little ears”.  They kind of do look like “little ears” don’t they?)

Today was the second time I made it.  The first time I made it  I followed the recipe to the letter including the broccoli rabe.   Although I served it on the side.  She mixes it into the finished dish.   Well, the broccoli rabe didn’t go over so well with the family.  I personally loved it.  It is a bit on the more bitter side as far as vegetables go but since regular broccoli is probably my favorite vegetable, I loved the broccoli rabe too.    If you have picky vegetable eaters at your house you might want to keep it on the side too.  But give it a try, it’s a delicious and very nutritious vegetable.

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

or as it is known is our house:

Pasta with Sausage

Serves 6

1/2 pound sweet Italian pork sausage (2 links)

1/2 pound hot Italian pork sausage (2 links)

1/3 cup olive oil  ( I only used about 1/4 cup.)

6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced.  (I used my garlic press.)

2 (14.5 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano.  (I used one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes.)

1/2 cup red wine

1/4 cup tomato paste ( I left this ingredient out.)

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 pound dried orecchiette pasta

2 bunches broccoli rabe (2 to 2 1/2 pounds total)

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prick the sausages with a fork and place them on a cookie sheet lined with foil.  (Makes clean up much easier.)  Roast for 15 to 20 minutes.  (I roasted mine for a full 30 minutes.)  Let cool and slice into 1/2 inch thick pieces.    Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Add the sausage slices and saute for 5 minutes.  ( I did not do this because my sausages were fully cooked from extending their time in the oven to 30 minutes.  If you do not cook yours for the extended time, then do not skip this step.)  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and their juices, the red wine, (tomato paste, remember I skipped this ingredient), 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper and let the mixture simmer over low heat while you prepare the pasta and broccoli rabe. 

Cook pasta according to the directions on the package.  The orecchiette  that I made took 12 minutes.   Cook your broccoli rabe in a separate pot.  I steamed mine in a couple inches of water till tender. 

 

If you want to prepare the recipe as the Barefoot Contessa intended with the broccoli rabe mixed into the finished dish, then you can cook the broccoli rabe  with the pasta.  Her is how she did it:

Bring a very large pot half filled with water and add 1 Tbsp. of salt.  Add the pasta and cook for 9 minutes exactly.  While the pasta is cooking, trim the broccoli rabe to just below the leaves and discard the stems,  Cut the leafy part of the broccoli rabe crosswise in 2 inch pieces.  When the pasta has cooked for 9 minutes, add the broccoli rabe to the pasta and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the past is al dente and broccoli is crisp-tender.  Drain in a large colander reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.  Add the pasta and broccoli to the pot with the tomato and sausage mixture.  Stir in the Parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon salt.  If the pasta seems dry, add some of the reserved cooking liquid.  Taste for seasonings, and serve hot with extra Parmesan on the side. 

 

This is a man pleasing and hearty dish!! Enjoy!

 

And before I go, do you write in your cookbooks?  As you can see I do.  I write down how everyone liked it, the date of when I made it, and also any changes that I might have made to the recipe.  This helps me out a lot.  And it’s kind of fun when you pull out an old cookbook and see the notes you made about something you might have forgot even making!