eggs in a nest

This dish is a fun twist on hashbrowns and eggs. If I remember correctly the original recipe that I read just used potatoes for the nest part but these lend themselves so nicely for adding in whatever is extra in your kitchen.

eggs in a nest

3-4 medium potatoes (cleaned, peeled and shredded)

1 large carrot peeled and shredded

1 small onion shredded

anything else laying around (squash, pumpkin, zucchini) cleaned, peeled, and shredded

chopped garlic

1/6 c flour

1 egg

2-4 more eggs for in the nest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Lightly coat a baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. In large bowl combine all ingredients but only 1 of the eggs.

3. In extra-large nonstick skillet (or two regular skillets) heat some oil over medium heat. To make a pancake, divide mixture in half and spoon both halves of potato mixture into skillet; evenly press and round edges with back of spatula to form two pancakes. Cook 4 to 5 minutes each side or until golden brown, turning once. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

4. With the back of a wooden spoon or a 1/4-cup measure gently press each pancake, slightly off-center, to make a 3-inch-diameter depression, deep enough to hold an egg. Pour one egg in each nest (Brett was extra hungry so we made him a larger pancake with two eggs as you can see in the picture). Place pancakes with eggs in oven, being careful not to tilt baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes or until eggs are cooked through. Transfer pancakes to serving plates. Makes 2 servings.

the wonders of pumpkin

Our garden is all planted. It rained forever after we planted it and I was scared that the garden would get rained out. But other than an overwhelming about of weeds, things seem to progressing beautifully.

The evening following our garden planting the girls all went over to Bek's apartment and she made a fantastic parmesan risotto. She put roasted pumpkin, pine nuts, and spinach in it. In America, or at least everywhere that I have been, we tend to only eat pumpkin, and squashes in the fall. Bek has inspired me to work these gourds into my meals more often.

So here I present to you the fantastic risotto that Bek served us and I later recreated for my husband, and a fun little recipe I found for "Pumpkin Pie Squares".

Pumpkin, Spinach, and Pine Nut Risotto

Ingredients:
1 cup Arborio rice
2-3 cup vegetable or chicken stock
½ butternut pumpkin, cubed
1 onion, diced
1 glove garlic, chopped
1 piece ginger, chopped
1/2 c pine-nuts
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Place garlic and ginger in a saucepan with a little olive oil.
2. Add the cubed pumpkin, cooking until soft. Remove and set aside. (I actually cooked this in a separate pan so I could be cooking the rice at the same time)
3. Add onion and a little oil to a fry-pan and saute.
4. Add rice and fry for a further 2-3 minutes with a little butter.
5. Gradually add stock, stirring until absorbed but still moist before adding more stock.
6. While risotto is cooking place pine-nuts on a tray and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes or until they turn a golden color.
8. When rice is cooked turn off heat and add all remaining ingredients including pumpkin, and parmesan.
9. Leave for 5 minutes before serving.


Pumpkin Pie Squares

yellow/orange squash of some kind - acorn, butternut, pumpkin (we used the other half of the butternut squash from above and ate as dessert)
honey
cinnamon
sugar

1. Cube the squash into bit size pieces.
2. Roll the cubes in honey and a dash of cinnamon until well coated. Spread as a single layer on a foil lined pan.
3. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes - until really soft
4. sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar - serve warm

Rafael with the tiller

the boys working the dirt

Our pretty garden

(pictures stolen from Sim's facebook)

eat your veggies - tomato & zucchini gratin

Brett and I both want to eat a bit healthier and that included eating more vegetables. One of our favorite veggie dished is the following Tomato & Zucchini Gratin.


INGREDIENTS
An onion
a couple of cloves of garlic
Roma tomatoes
A few zucchini/squash
Grated cheese - such as Parmesan or Romano
Some olive oil
Breadcrumbs

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°
1. Slice the onion thinly and sauté in a bit of olive oil.
Chop or thinly slice the garlic and sauté with the onions.
2. While the onions are cooking, slice the tomatoes and zucchini super thin. I love my mandoline, which make this so easy.
3. In a greased baking dish, layer half the zucchini, the onion mix and the tomatoes.
Sprinkle some cheese and a little salt and pepper, and then add the second layer of all.
Top with some more cheese, salt, and pepper.
Put a fine layer of breadcrumbs over the top and drizzle a little olive oil over.
4. Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes.
Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
Let the gratin cool for about 30 minutes and then enjoy.

We like the gratin best when it is only warm and I know that some people prefer it cold.

broccoli cheese soup

I made broccoli cheese soup the other night and we ate it with some crusty sour dough bread. Brett loved it and the leftovers were just as good if not better then the first night.

INGREDIENTS
• 2-3 T of butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
• 4 cups chicken broth – set aside ½ cup
• ½ a “loaf” of Velveeta
• 2 cups cheddar cheese
• 2 cups milk or half and half
• Some minced garlic - I used a lot :)
• 1/3 cup cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
1. In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until softened. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes.
2. Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk.
4. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into ½ c chicken stock until dissolved. Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick.